Quotes from the namesake
The Simpsons on Reddit! Woo-hoo!
2010.02.08 18:26 roger_ The Simpsons on Reddit! Woo-hoo!
Simpsons TV Show. The /TheSimpsons subreddit is fan base of redditors who love The Simpsons. The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield and parodies American culture, society and television.
2018.09.08 02:34 Duder963 The best quotes from the digital age
A community dedicated to showcasing the most powerful, inspiring, or otherwise impactful quotes from social media. Or any other modern media. We don't judge.
2017.09.06 20:16 doyouthinkimcute IceTSeentSomeShit
These are all ~~real~~ quotes from the show
2024.05.07 00:09 MirkWorks The American Religion by Harold Bloom (New Age)
11
The New Age: California Orphism
California, for most of this century, has been our new Burned-over District, replacing the western reserve of New York State, which was the religious hothouse of the nineteenth century. Though the New Age cults have no more than about thirty thousand members, their fellow travelers are an untold multitude. Virtually all our bookstores feature a New Age section, ranging from Shirley MacLaine recalling her previous incarnations to the memoirs of prehistoric warriors, Schwarzkopfs of 35,000 years ago. Networking in our America, these days, takes place either among the politically correct academics of the high camp of Resentment, or among the dank cranks of the belated Aquarian Conspiracy, trying to float our planet off into cosmic consciousness.
Religious criticism cannot be applied to Scientology, or to the Moonie Unification Church, any more than literary criticism can find its texts-for-discussion in Alice Walker or in Danielle Steel. The New Age is a borderline case, like Allen Ginsberg or John Updike. The warlocks and the mediums of California Orphism aren’t exactly Emanuel Swedenborg or even Madame Helena.
Petrovna Blavatsky, of whom W.B. Yeats sublimely remarked: “Of course she gets up spurious miracles, but what is a woman of genius to do in the nineteenth century!” The spurious miracles of the New Age are the comic outreaches of the American Religion, and might yield a few amiable insights to a properly disinterested religious criticism. The way not to criticize the New Age is simply to denounce it, which is the practice of Christian apologists such as Kerry D. McRoberts in his New Age or Old Lie (1989), an Evangelical ferocity of a treatise:
Health and Harmony worthies, after Trine, memorably included Emmet Fox, Norman Vincent Peale, Ann Morrow Lindbergh, Thomas Merton, and all of our current New Age prophets, seers, and shamans. These are legion, yet are varied ancestors of Swedenborg, Madame Blavatsky, and the Jesuit scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. The American 1960s doubtless originated the ferment out of which the New Age emanated, but the movement essentially was revived in the California of the later 1970s and may have achieved its greatest prominence throughout the 1980s. Its most enthusiastic (and uncritical) chronicler remains Marilyn Ferguson, who celebrated its promise in The Aquarian Conspiracy (1980). Her catalog of gurus began with Teilhard de Chardin, Jung, Aldous Huxley, and J. Krishnamurti, and then went on to include a remarkable mingling (among others) of Tillich, Buber, Gregory Bateson, assorted Swamis, Marshall McLuhan, Buckminster Fuller, and even Werner Erhard. California, she declared, was the “Laboratory for Transformation,” and the inevitable location for sparking a return to “the God within.” We are well within the belated repetition of what I have called American Orphism when we contemplate California Orphism.
Having read his way through Mrs. Eddy, Mrs. White, and the Book of Mormon, the religious critic encounters his inevitable defeat in the pages of Matthew Fox, David Spangler, David Toolan, Chogyam Trungpa, and the other major New Age authors. One reads the same passages over again, worried that one has missed the point, only to discover that points belong to the wrong mindset. Here, absolutely at random, is Trungpa:
Elevated consciousness would appear to be the common goal of all New Age Enthusiasts, including Ms. Shirley MacLaine, certainly the handsomest of the movement’s public figures. Monistic ecologists of the spirit, they proclaim that now is the acceptable time for a great leap forward in paradigms, despite one’s gloomy sense that the era belongs to Reagan, Bush, and similar anchors of the Old Age. If one must have apocalyptics, far better that they should be of the California Orphic variety than our multitude of Fundamentalist literalizers of the Revelation of St. John the Divine and the book of Daniel. California apocalypses are by no means all benign: any reader of Nathanael West’s The Day of the Locust can recall the fury that descends there on Los Angeles, and can wonder how ominous a prophecy it may prove to be. But New Age apocalypse is humane, indeed even sentimental. Our planet is not about to float off into a cosmic greenpeace, but at least it is heartening that the New Age Orphics dream of so amiable a conclusion.
God, for the New Age, is rather too purged of the anthropomorphic for my taste, and I assume that the Theosophical legacy is responsible for no otherwise uncharacteristic a Californian dehumanization of God. A God immanent both in outward nature and in consciousness evades the intervening space of incarnation. Christianity therefore is mostly irrelevant to the New Age, except insofar as Christianity already has been modified into the American Religion, of which the New Age is sometimes a charming parody.
One might say that the New Age is to the American Religion what Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is to Shakespearean drama: a great shadow’s last embellishment. The Mormon aspiration of mounting to godhood or the Southern Baptist experience of an uncreated self within one, is replaced by the entertainment of the notion that one’s own consciousness is God. And the Mormon ambition of populating a planet only with one’s own family, or the Southern Baptist passion for being alone with Jesus, is taken to the lunatic apotheosis that one’s very own spirit guide is built into the ecology of one’s own mind. American Gnosticism and American Enthusiasm are splendidly parodied by California Orphism, by a metamorphic glamour that dissolves the last empiric constraints which the universe of death exercises against our drive for spirituality.
Aldous Huxley, in his introduction to The Perennial Philosophy, gave a warning that New Age Enthusiasts, like everyone else, will receive nothing for nothing:
The absolute immanence of the New Age God is, I suppose, the inescapable poem of California’s climate, the cosmos as one grand orange, consciousness as its juice. “The sacramental consciousness of panentheism develops into a transparent and diaphanous consciousness wherein we can see events and beings as divine.” If one substituted “oranges” for “divine” as the final word in that Foxian sentence, after substituting “juice” for the two appearances of “consciousness,” then mere understanding might be advanced:
The perfect concentrate of consciousness is the Grail for which the New Age quests, a Grail it rather surprisingly identifies with near-death experiences, which now constitute a considerable American growth industry. Here again I must mutter my defeat, since I cannot understand how any near-death experience whatsoever can give evidence of the survival of consciousness after death. Carol Zaleski’s very useful Otherworld Journeys: Accounts of Near-Death Experience in Medieval and Modern Times (1987) notes the rise of IANDS (International Association of Near-Death Studies). IANDS has become a marvelous amalgam of near-death research with New Age ideology, complete with “maroon T-shirts, and a logo that combines the tunnel image with the Taoist yin-yang symbol,” as well as a quarterly newsletter hopefully entitled Vital Signs. As Zaleski shows, this is nothing new, but was inaugurated as early as 1903 by the British psychic research F.W.H Myers, himself a crucial influence upon my favorite modern literary critic, the late G. Wilson Knight. Still, the modern phase of near-death jamboree begins only with Raymond Moody’s relatively careful Life after Life (1975), a threshold work that does not cross over into New Age exuberance. That achievement belongs to Kenneth Ring, a Moody disciple who made the great leap and oranged himself:
submitted by MirkWorks to u/MirkWorks [link] [comments]
The New Age: California Orphism
California, for most of this century, has been our new Burned-over District, replacing the western reserve of New York State, which was the religious hothouse of the nineteenth century. Though the New Age cults have no more than about thirty thousand members, their fellow travelers are an untold multitude. Virtually all our bookstores feature a New Age section, ranging from Shirley MacLaine recalling her previous incarnations to the memoirs of prehistoric warriors, Schwarzkopfs of 35,000 years ago. Networking in our America, these days, takes place either among the politically correct academics of the high camp of Resentment, or among the dank cranks of the belated Aquarian Conspiracy, trying to float our planet off into cosmic consciousness.
Religious criticism cannot be applied to Scientology, or to the Moonie Unification Church, any more than literary criticism can find its texts-for-discussion in Alice Walker or in Danielle Steel. The New Age is a borderline case, like Allen Ginsberg or John Updike. The warlocks and the mediums of California Orphism aren’t exactly Emanuel Swedenborg or even Madame Helena.
Petrovna Blavatsky, of whom W.B. Yeats sublimely remarked: “Of course she gets up spurious miracles, but what is a woman of genius to do in the nineteenth century!” The spurious miracles of the New Age are the comic outreaches of the American Religion, and might yield a few amiable insights to a properly disinterested religious criticism. The way not to criticize the New Age is simply to denounce it, which is the practice of Christian apologists such as Kerry D. McRoberts in his New Age or Old Lie (1989), an Evangelical ferocity of a treatise:
- Concerns by some Christian writers that an ominous system, like the New Age, could usher in the reign of the Antichrist are valid, yet they are easily sensationalized. The biblical record clearly illustrates that we live in a theistic universe, not one left to the conscious, random reordering on a world-wide scale by diabolical co-conspirators independent of God’s foreordained “plan.”
- Harmonial religion encompasses those forms of piety and belief in which spiritual composure, physical health, and even economic wellbeing are understood to flow from a person’s rapport with the cosmos. Human beatitude and immortality are believed to depend to a great degree on one’s being “in tune with the infinite.”
Health and Harmony worthies, after Trine, memorably included Emmet Fox, Norman Vincent Peale, Ann Morrow Lindbergh, Thomas Merton, and all of our current New Age prophets, seers, and shamans. These are legion, yet are varied ancestors of Swedenborg, Madame Blavatsky, and the Jesuit scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. The American 1960s doubtless originated the ferment out of which the New Age emanated, but the movement essentially was revived in the California of the later 1970s and may have achieved its greatest prominence throughout the 1980s. Its most enthusiastic (and uncritical) chronicler remains Marilyn Ferguson, who celebrated its promise in The Aquarian Conspiracy (1980). Her catalog of gurus began with Teilhard de Chardin, Jung, Aldous Huxley, and J. Krishnamurti, and then went on to include a remarkable mingling (among others) of Tillich, Buber, Gregory Bateson, assorted Swamis, Marshall McLuhan, Buckminster Fuller, and even Werner Erhard. California, she declared, was the “Laboratory for Transformation,” and the inevitable location for sparking a return to “the God within.” We are well within the belated repetition of what I have called American Orphism when we contemplate California Orphism.
Having read his way through Mrs. Eddy, Mrs. White, and the Book of Mormon, the religious critic encounters his inevitable defeat in the pages of Matthew Fox, David Spangler, David Toolan, Chogyam Trungpa, and the other major New Age authors. One reads the same passages over again, worried that one has missed the point, only to discover that points belong to the wrong mindset. Here, absolutely at random, is Trungpa:
- Sometimes if your clothes fit you well, you feel that they are too tight. If you dress up, you may feel constricted by wearing a necktie or a suit or a tight fitting skirt or dress. The idea of invoking internal drala is not to give in to the allure of casualness. The occasional irritation coming from your neck, the crotch of your pants, or your waist is usually a good sign. It means that your clothes fit you well, but your neurosis doesn’t fit your clothes. (Shambhala, the Sacred Path of the Warrior [1984]. p. 85)
Elevated consciousness would appear to be the common goal of all New Age Enthusiasts, including Ms. Shirley MacLaine, certainly the handsomest of the movement’s public figures. Monistic ecologists of the spirit, they proclaim that now is the acceptable time for a great leap forward in paradigms, despite one’s gloomy sense that the era belongs to Reagan, Bush, and similar anchors of the Old Age. If one must have apocalyptics, far better that they should be of the California Orphic variety than our multitude of Fundamentalist literalizers of the Revelation of St. John the Divine and the book of Daniel. California apocalypses are by no means all benign: any reader of Nathanael West’s The Day of the Locust can recall the fury that descends there on Los Angeles, and can wonder how ominous a prophecy it may prove to be. But New Age apocalypse is humane, indeed even sentimental. Our planet is not about to float off into a cosmic greenpeace, but at least it is heartening that the New Age Orphics dream of so amiable a conclusion.
God, for the New Age, is rather too purged of the anthropomorphic for my taste, and I assume that the Theosophical legacy is responsible for no otherwise uncharacteristic a Californian dehumanization of God. A God immanent both in outward nature and in consciousness evades the intervening space of incarnation. Christianity therefore is mostly irrelevant to the New Age, except insofar as Christianity already has been modified into the American Religion, of which the New Age is sometimes a charming parody.
One might say that the New Age is to the American Religion what Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is to Shakespearean drama: a great shadow’s last embellishment. The Mormon aspiration of mounting to godhood or the Southern Baptist experience of an uncreated self within one, is replaced by the entertainment of the notion that one’s own consciousness is God. And the Mormon ambition of populating a planet only with one’s own family, or the Southern Baptist passion for being alone with Jesus, is taken to the lunatic apotheosis that one’s very own spirit guide is built into the ecology of one’s own mind. American Gnosticism and American Enthusiasm are splendidly parodied by California Orphism, by a metamorphic glamour that dissolves the last empiric constraints which the universe of death exercises against our drive for spirituality.
Aldous Huxley, in his introduction to The Perennial Philosophy, gave a warning that New Age Enthusiasts, like everyone else, will receive nothing for nothing:
- The Perennial Philosophy is primarily concerned with the one, divine Reality substantial to the manifold world of things and lives and minds. But the nature of this one Reality is such that it cannot be directly and immediately apprehended except by those who have chosen to fulfill certain conditions, making themselves loving, pure in heart, and poor in spirit.
- A number of those filling out the Aquarian Conspiracy questionnaire commented that their experiences had forced them to give up their previous assumption that bodily death ends consciousness. Despite their disaffiliation with formal religion, 53 percent expressed strong belief in such survival and another 23 percent said they were “moderately sure,” a total of 75 percent. Only 5 percent were skeptical and 3 percent disbelieving. (pp. 383-84)
The absolute immanence of the New Age God is, I suppose, the inescapable poem of California’s climate, the cosmos as one grand orange, consciousness as its juice. “The sacramental consciousness of panentheism develops into a transparent and diaphanous consciousness wherein we can see events and beings as divine.” If one substituted “oranges” for “divine” as the final word in that Foxian sentence, after substituting “juice” for the two appearances of “consciousness,” then mere understanding might be advanced:
- The sacramental juice of panentheism develops into a transparent and diaphanous juice wherein we can see events and beings as oranges.
The perfect concentrate of consciousness is the Grail for which the New Age quests, a Grail it rather surprisingly identifies with near-death experiences, which now constitute a considerable American growth industry. Here again I must mutter my defeat, since I cannot understand how any near-death experience whatsoever can give evidence of the survival of consciousness after death. Carol Zaleski’s very useful Otherworld Journeys: Accounts of Near-Death Experience in Medieval and Modern Times (1987) notes the rise of IANDS (International Association of Near-Death Studies). IANDS has become a marvelous amalgam of near-death research with New Age ideology, complete with “maroon T-shirts, and a logo that combines the tunnel image with the Taoist yin-yang symbol,” as well as a quarterly newsletter hopefully entitled Vital Signs. As Zaleski shows, this is nothing new, but was inaugurated as early as 1903 by the British psychic research F.W.H Myers, himself a crucial influence upon my favorite modern literary critic, the late G. Wilson Knight. Still, the modern phase of near-death jamboree begins only with Raymond Moody’s relatively careful Life after Life (1975), a threshold work that does not cross over into New Age exuberance. That achievement belongs to Kenneth Ring, a Moody disciple who made the great leap and oranged himself:
- Near-death experiences collectively represent an evolutionary thrust toward higher consciousness for humanity as a whole.... People who have had near-death experiences, as well as many other people whose lives have been transformed by one or more deep spiritual experiences, all these people as a totality represent in effect a more highly advanced human being…. To my thinking, the emergence of this new strain of human being…on the planet now, signals a possibility that the dawning of the New Age is indeed upon us. (quoted in Zaleski, pp. 107-8)
- At this stage I see no justification for treating contemporary near-death testimony as the foundation for a new eschatology or religious movement. Near-death literature is at its best when it is modest and anecdotal; pressed into service as philosophy or prophecy, it sounds insipid. (p. 204)
2024.05.06 18:13 LordGreim225 Assembly of Punitive Redemption (Narrative)
 | Ashers Crossing: submitted by LordGreim225 to war_for_Gryllus [link] [comments] ‘It was still dark out when general assembly was called suddenly. Klaxons blared & lights flickered. Officers of the night entered barracks & slammed canes & truncheons on the sides of bunks. ”Up! Up!” They shouted Soldiers awoke some falling out of beds others groggy, but they were guardsman & trained. Fatigues were quickly put on, the kestrels thicker variant known from there regiments. Flak armor & helmets clipped & tightened & boots on they ran outside to their NCO’s to form ranks & jog to assembly. Firsts squads gathered, then platoons, & Companies & battalions. Slowly but surely the formations were growing until they marched to there designated assembly area in a large plaza in Asher’s Crossing. Words between the guardsman could be heard whispered or spoken quietly Between them. No conversation could be truly heard, only snippets from all around them. ”What’s going on?” Probably just another Drill or inspection.” ”Who has an inspection this late at night.” ”Are we getting deployed?” “I’m way too hungover for this.” ‘Officers moved between the ranks, silencing anyone who spoke, others seeming to answer questions at times. Most didn’t know either. All that was known was an order to assemble was given to the entire force stationed in Ashers Crossing some 70,000 strong Kestrels alone. They weren’t sure if the other units in Ashers Crossing were ordered to do so. Those guardsman awake or on patrol were recalled & replaced by other forces garrisoning. The troopers continued marching, this wasn’t a battle assembly so while Lasguns were carried, many did not have full kit. Armories held grenades & vehicle crews assembled as well by there armored tanks & war machines. Cavalry trotted their hooves making a loud sound as the units moved across the stony ground. The 200th a grenadier unit was in battle equipment & positioned on the forward right of the gathered army, a position of honor & distinction. That wasn’t where they normally were positioned, but perhaps they were being awarded or something officers thought.’ ‘Finally the force was gathered in full. Silence was called for but the distinct sound of whispers could still be heard. A Stage made of rock from a large destroyed houses foundation nearly a story tall was Cleared of most debris & made to be a speaker point & place for officers to look out at the assembled forces. Large searchlights mounted on gun platforms used normally as a cheap Ariel & drone detection were brought to illuminate the massive plaza. Some officers were present on the Concrete stage but some were distinctly missing. Those gathered were also looking rather sheepish for some reason. A new figure approached & strode onto the platform. Some of the debris from the destroyed hab block was shoved to both sides. The mountains of detritus acting as a barrier so none assembled can see who walks on. ’Enter Stage right he thought to himself. His regiment has been absent for too long & it was time from a dramatic entrance.’ The Kestrel Guardsman watched as a giant of a figure near if not equal to the height of any of the gene enhanced grenadiers strode in an immaculate uniform of crème white. Gold braids decorated & a deep red it was almost purple sash was across his chest. Campaign metals & honors studded his carapace chest-plate. Those closer to the stage recognized him, those far back were trying to see the whispers of the new arrival were carried back from those in the front. Some who used his posters as target practice knew his face better than most, & it was odd seeing it without lasburns in it. This was the genuine article though. His Guards who came with him were in combat gear, tattooed & muscular scarred veterans. They marched in front of the stage in parade discipline, nearly a thousand strong. Nobody saw them enter the camp though as they turned to face the mass of Kestrel soldiers. It was hard to tell for all gathered given the size of the plaza but the newcomer did not look happy. The sound of marching could be heard as a new force marched into the plaza, not like the attempted silence of the kestrels. This was loud, & singing could be heard in accents of gothic they didn’t entirely recognize. The songs tune was recognizable enough, it was ancient made by some long dead empire of terra if anyone was educated enough to learn that. Many worlds had variations on it. The sounds of boots hitting the stone streets used in the song to keep step. ” Others garrisoned in Asher’s Crossing you were ordered to assembly for different reasons & your units given special orders. ;) “mine eyes here seen the glory of the Redeemer our lord!” ”He will smite the mutant. He will crush the deviant Horde!” “We will be his shield and armor! We will be his flaming sword, as we go purging on! ”Glory, glory, The Redeemer! ”Glory, glory, the Redeemer! ”Glory, glory, the Redeemer!” ”As we go Purging on!” ’Quoted from the Redemptionist comic’ As the song continued massive columns of tattooed guardsman marched into sight, black armored & gray fatigued. Their equipment was that for war. Snub & stub pistols & extra combat knives & machete's were apart of there equipment. Lasguns & other weapons of war were carried. Ogryn detachments with heavy ripper guns marched slowly next to there attached companies. Light Tauros vehicles mounted with quad linked heavy stubbe drove past. Some 30,000 guardsman marched until they were the forward unit & assembled & turned to face the kestrel force that vastly outnumbered them. There singing finally ending. They took up on both sides of the Lord generals honor guard & made a barrier to him in the thousands, though he was still visible. The guardsman who looked out at the Kestrels looked angry, they made no signs or insults but they held the masses in contempt it seemed, there regimental standard of a golden faced saint with a laurel crown looked down on all day for those up on the platform of the old had blocks foundation.’ ’Finally the lord general spoke. He had no Vox amplifier that they could see, his commbead linked to the Vox casters in the Kestrel army & around the plaza from back when this place used to be a public square & market on certain occasions.’ ”Soldiers of the Kestrel Redemption Corp, you disappoint me.” His words were spoken in a neutral tone, but an underlying frustration could be heard.’ ”I have fought with your people before, the 200th I hold in high regard. I still am honored to have fought alongside not once, but twice now, some of the honors I gave them still fly on there banners I see. Those who fought with us from the 7th Expeditionary force, I salute you. You have proven your bravery & skill in taking this great city & more. The rest of you…” ‘A long pause, as a massive projector sheet was brought forth by menials aligned to none, simply administratum serfs.’ ”I have given you & your officers a great deal of autonomy, privileges & rights that made you princes of the trenches.” ‘He chose those words carefully knowing it would strike a cord culturally.’ ”Yet what have I been given in return? Nothing but insubordination & poor examples of guardsman.” ’The massive cloth was lifted by anti grav devices & raised like a giant banner & a group of nearly 10 Cherubs flew above with a projector & images began to be displayed, nuclear detonation within the kestrel cordon that caused the Orks to assault imperial lines, guardsman who took picts with colleagues next to defaced posters of the lord general, las bolt burns clearly visible. More picts came up of more embarrassments & breaches of protocol, finally the projector ceased & the massive canvas dropped behind the lord general & the assembled officers.’ ”Well! Is this how Kestrels truly behave in representing your world! Does your namesake of Redemption mean nothing to you? Have you forgotten why you have that name, you are descendants of survivors who only live because of imperial mercy. You shame your brothers & sisters who have fought & bled here with honor from the 7th expeditionary.“ ’He spoke with a harsher tone now.’ ”I am within my legal right to have many of you scourged with whip & call for decimation of their entire units. I don’t know how things are done on whatever backwater garrison you came from, but this the Imperial Guard & last I checked the uplifting primer, you & your officers behavior is beyond unacceptable.” ‘He looked out at the crowd & was almost shouting the next words.’ ”Come on then, speak up! What say you in your defense! If You think yourself in the right speak up or only the you & the emperor will know.” |
2024.05.04 17:32 _Minkusbeck Could Have Been a Poignant Exchange on GMW But For. ...
In 'Girl Meets Pluto'. . .
Mr. Feeny: . ..Is he [Cory] a good father to you, you poor little girl?
Riley: I'm very lucky!
Mr. Feeny: Hmm. . . is he a good teacher?
Maya: I think he's the best there is .
Mr. Feeny: Oh.
Maya: But he says you are
If taken by itself the above dialogue between Mr. Feeny with Riley and Maya COULD have been a poignant exchange (and one might even take it as a glimpse of ' the show that might have been'). .
However, one must keep in mind several things. One- why wouldn't Riley have considered herself to be 'very lucky' to have Cory for a father, Cory blatantly favored her in class and let her get away with far more stunts and antics more than a fair-minded parent (or teacher) would have done? Of course, she frequently showed her contempt and ingratitude to him and Topanga many times- before and after this exchange.
Two: How many other teachers besides Cory has Maya been exposed to- and he let HER get away with stunts in class that fair-minded teachers would not have put up with.
Three: Yes, it was nice that Maya said that Cory said that Mr. Feeny said HE was the best [teacher] there is (and if one had just viewed the dialogue as an isolated exchange, one might have thought that Maya was also expressing respect and admiration for Mr. Feeny).
HOWEVER: let's keep in mind that ALL the above was said after Riley and Maya [who were near if not total strangers to Mr. Feeny] had helped Cory, Shawn and Topanga vandalize Mr. Feeny's garden, after Riley had stolen Mr. Feeny's daisies that hadn't belonged to her to gift to herself and Maya AND after Riley and Maya had just waved their hands in Mr. Feeny's face [GRRR!!] before launching into a rather snotty, taunting and bullying rendition of a Feeny Call without ANY of the above five making even the slightest attempt to apologize for ANY of the above - before, during or after the exchange- EVER!
Shoot, if Riley and Maya were supposed to have had any respect for Mr. Feeny after ALL that, I'd hate to see how they'd have treated someone they disdained and held in contempt (and what would have stopped them from tearing out Cory and Topanga's apartment walls on a whim?)!
Speaking of Maya though, a namesake of hers [specifically Maya Angelou] once said 'If someone shows you who they are the first time: BELIEVE them!'
Yep, that's what needs to be kept in mind when addressing how the two of them treated this old man who'd been nothing but a victim to them and how all five of those folks had treated him. IMO, Mr. Feeny was FAR more forgiving than any of them deserved!
IMO, actions and inactions definitely spoke much louder than empty platitudes.
I know this will likely get downvoted by those GMW fans who want to believe that show can do no wrong but I had to put it out there (and the above dialogue I quoted was verbatim of that exchange)!
submitted by _Minkusbeck to boymeetsworld [link] [comments]
Mr. Feeny: . ..Is he [Cory] a good father to you, you poor little girl?
Riley: I'm very lucky!
Mr. Feeny: Hmm. . . is he a good teacher?
Maya: I think he's the best there is .
Mr. Feeny: Oh.
Maya: But he says you are
If taken by itself the above dialogue between Mr. Feeny with Riley and Maya COULD have been a poignant exchange (and one might even take it as a glimpse of ' the show that might have been'). .
However, one must keep in mind several things. One- why wouldn't Riley have considered herself to be 'very lucky' to have Cory for a father, Cory blatantly favored her in class and let her get away with far more stunts and antics more than a fair-minded parent (or teacher) would have done? Of course, she frequently showed her contempt and ingratitude to him and Topanga many times- before and after this exchange.
Two: How many other teachers besides Cory has Maya been exposed to- and he let HER get away with stunts in class that fair-minded teachers would not have put up with.
Three: Yes, it was nice that Maya said that Cory said that Mr. Feeny said HE was the best [teacher] there is (and if one had just viewed the dialogue as an isolated exchange, one might have thought that Maya was also expressing respect and admiration for Mr. Feeny).
HOWEVER: let's keep in mind that ALL the above was said after Riley and Maya [who were near if not total strangers to Mr. Feeny] had helped Cory, Shawn and Topanga vandalize Mr. Feeny's garden, after Riley had stolen Mr. Feeny's daisies that hadn't belonged to her to gift to herself and Maya AND after Riley and Maya had just waved their hands in Mr. Feeny's face [GRRR!!] before launching into a rather snotty, taunting and bullying rendition of a Feeny Call without ANY of the above five making even the slightest attempt to apologize for ANY of the above - before, during or after the exchange- EVER!
Shoot, if Riley and Maya were supposed to have had any respect for Mr. Feeny after ALL that, I'd hate to see how they'd have treated someone they disdained and held in contempt (and what would have stopped them from tearing out Cory and Topanga's apartment walls on a whim?)!
Speaking of Maya though, a namesake of hers [specifically Maya Angelou] once said 'If someone shows you who they are the first time: BELIEVE them!'
Yep, that's what needs to be kept in mind when addressing how the two of them treated this old man who'd been nothing but a victim to them and how all five of those folks had treated him. IMO, Mr. Feeny was FAR more forgiving than any of them deserved!
IMO, actions and inactions definitely spoke much louder than empty platitudes.
I know this will likely get downvoted by those GMW fans who want to believe that show can do no wrong but I had to put it out there (and the above dialogue I quoted was verbatim of that exchange)!
2024.05.02 14:30 pillowcase-of-eels [Book/Music] Emilie Autumn's Asylum, pt. 3 – Retconned friendships, abstract deadlines, eternal returns: author's endless tinkerings cause delays and aggravate fans
[Thumbnail🪞]
Welcome back to this write-up about a complicated artist's complicated book.
Don't be absurd, of course you have time!
Part 1 Part 2
Now that we've established what the book is about, let's take a look at The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls' rich publication and re-publication history. I promise, it's more scandalous than it sounds.
Most of this installment condenses and combines these two excellent write-ups, which contain most of the receipts: TAFWVG: A History / The Bloody Crumpets: An Inconsistent History. 🔍 Anything that isn't sourced with links is in there. While there were only minor differences between the first and second pressings, the third and fourth editions came with significant alterations to the structure of the book and the story itself, notably the cast of fictional Asylum inmates... a handful of which had, in fact, been obvious avatars of EA's IRL friends and collaborators.
It turns out there are good reasons why most fiction authors don't do real-life inserts so overtly – but in EA's case, it did make sense, and was warmly embraced by fans upon release. When the book first came out, some of these people had been familiar to the fanbase for years, frequently appearing in candid pictures on EA's blog and leaving comments on the forum; some were also involved in her music and show. Recognizing that one character's name was a pun on So-and-So's username was a nice Easter egg for veteran fans, and newcomers got to learn about fandom lore; it brought the story to life and the community closer.
One side character, for instance, was named after EA's best friend from Chicago, whom many fans had had direct interactions with: she co-ran EA's online stores during the Enchant years, and acted as admin, main moderator and EA-liaison of the forum throughout its near-decade of existence.
One crazy girl who thinks she's a pirate is 100% OC... but her description and illustrations 🪞 were explicitly modeled after pictures of Bloody Crumpet Vecona (one of EA's back-up performers), who became the first stand-in pirate character 📺 in the live show. Captain Vecona was also celebrated as the “Asylum Seamstress” 🪞🔍: most of the iconic early Opheliac costumes were her design. She had a following of her own, even prior to touring with EA, for her professional costuming work and her collaborations with German photographer Angst-im-Wald. (Shitty archive link, sorry - most of those badass photoshoots seem to have been lost to time. But if you were a European goth in the mid-2000s, search your old hard drives: I promise you, you've downloaded some of those pictures.)
Inmate “Veronica”, a cabaret girl diagnosed as a nymphomaniac, was a doppelgänger of her namesake, burlesque dancer Veronica Varlow 🪞 – the ride-or-die Crumpet, whom EA often lovingly called her “husband”, saying they had been lovers in a previous lifetime. Veronica was part of every single tour post-Opheliac release and developed a solid fanbase of her own, which she maintains to this day.
Even the brave and well-mannered talking rats (oh yeah, there's talking rats in the Asylum story) were named after EA's real-life pet rodents, who had featured in glamorous photoshoots. (Slight NSFW for sideboob.)
You get the general gimmick by now: EA turns her personal life into art, which she turns into a fictional world, which she then prompts the audience to inhabit with her. The whole Asylum concept was essentially an open invitation to self-insert parasocial fanfic: “Here's this very personal world that I've created, in which I, the artist, exist as a fictional persona, alongside all these quirky inmate characters that you've seen in my stage show, and who are avatars my real-life friends. Come on in, make it your home, and populate it with your own zany Victorian alter egos.”
And it worked, to an extent: like I've said, most fans were on board before they'd even read the book, and the Asylum became “real” in that sense.
But it can get a bit disorienting to find your place in a fantasy world, when said world keeps changing based on the author's shifting feelings about her story, her target audience, and her friends... plus, you'd love to read the book, but the darn thing still hasn't shipped.
TAFWVG was first teased in spoken-word bonus tracks 🎤 on a 2007 EP. In spring 2008, EA started reading excerpts from her upcoming book at live shows. Early excerpts from the Asylum narrative featured a character named “Jo Hee” 📺; in the story, she is a cellist from “the Orient” (love that Victorian geography) and Emily's childhood confidante.
In real life, Lady Jo Hee, Center of Happiness, was the OG Bloody Crumpet. 📺 She had been there since from the very first Opheliac show in Chicago in 2006, accompanying EA on the electric cello – the only instrumentalist ever featured in the line-up besides EA herself.
In August 2008, Alternative Magazine ran a feature about the upcoming book.🔍, teasing some of its pages. Fans were quick to spot a very sisterly picture of EA and Jo Hee 🪞, borrowed from a fan-favorite photoshoot of the two. (An aside: this specific picture also became famous in the fandom for another reason. At some point, someone made an edit replacing Jo Hee with Amy Lee from Evanescence; for a while, it kept making the rounds in alt/goth internet circuits, casual onlookers kept getting excited about it, and Plague Rats kept having to step in and disappoint them.)
Anyway. For reasons undisclosed by either party, Jo Hee quietly left the Crumpets after that tour, never to be mentioned again.
By the time the book came out in late 2009, the character of “Jo Hee” had been renamed “Sachiko”. (I guess it didn't matter whether the one non-white character in the story was meant to be Korean or Japanese.) Jo Hee's face had been edited out of the (still clearly recognizable) photograph, and eerily replaced with Nondescript_Asian_Woman_023.jpg from Shutterstock.🪞
You'd think that the switcheroo would have raised more eyebrows, or at least some awkward chuckles, among fans of an artist whose better-known lyrics include “If I Photoshop you out of every picture, I could / Go quietly, quiet - but would that do any good?”. Yet to my knowledge, it did not. Possibly because, by the time people got around to reading the book, some fans had been waiting for their copy longer than Jo Hee had been a Crumpet.
A ROCKY RELEASE
Although the book seemed just about ready for publication at the time of those 2008 readings, the initial release was delayed by technical difficulties (some data had been lost during the editing process). And then delayed some more when, a year later, EA cancelled the US leg of a tour and slammed the door on Trisol, accusing the label owner of exploitation and embezzlement (he was allegedly selling fake tickets to her shows on a phony website). In August 2009, she signed over to The End Records, and we were back in business, baby!
Not only was The Book on its way to the presses, but the long-awaited release would coincide with a “Deluxe” re-issue of Opheliac, with new cover art and bonus tracks. For $100, you could pre-order the “Ultimate Book/Album Collection”, which included the revamped album, the book, a t-shirt, a tote bag, a recipe booklet and some bonus digital downloads, to be shipped in October. Or, for a more up-close-and-personal experience, you could purchase a VIP bundle for her upcoming shows in the fall: $50 plus ticket price would get you the book, a swag bag, and a meet-and-greet. (VIP tickets were capped at 20 slots per show; from what I gather, informal interactions with fans at the merch table were becoming overwhelming on previous tours. Again: fast-growing audience.)
Alas, due to printing issues this time, the making and shipping were soon pushed back to December. VIP ticket-holders were assured, at the start of the tour, that their copies would be shipped first as soon as the books were printed, with handwritten dedications from EA. Purchasers of the “Book/Album” bundle would receive theirs shortly thereafter. This seemed like a reasonable trade-off for a minor delay, and no one was too upset. (Well, some might have been, but at that juncture in Asylum history – for reasons that will become apparent in a later installment, when we get to EA's altercations with her fans – I guess they knew better than to get mouthy about it.)
The bundles came first... and in many cases, “bundle” was a generous term, because they arrived incomplete. When the t-shirt or tote bag weren't missing, they were printed the wrong colors. Many digital download codes had to be requested via email. The book itself was beautiful, but poorly bound, typo-ridden, and missing entire pages. (This was largely fixed in the second hardcover release.)
As far as I know, everyone who complained to the distributor got their money back – and I imagine it was a nice surprise when some items showed up, inexplicably, months after they had already been refunded. But it was still a bit of a “sad trombone” moment for many loyal fans, who had to request a refund on the Ultimate Super-Cool Preorder Exclusive Bundle to purchase the book and album separately.
As for the VIP package books, those didn't start shipping until late 2010 – a whole year after the official book release, months after less invested fans had already received their non-preordered copies. Worse: none of the books were signed, much less lovingly adorned with a personalized handwritten note as EA had promised. (And had tweeted about doing during the year-long shipping delay!) After enough fans meekly expressed their intense disappointment, EA's BFF-forum-admin mailed out signed bookplates that people could stick in their book in lieu of a personalized autograph. No real explanation was given. As far as I know, this particular let-down didn't cause a mass exodus of disappointed fans – but, in the midst of other goings-on, it certainly contributed to eroding many fans' trust in EA's word.
EA TAKES ON HOLLYWOOD
The 2011 release of the largely-identical second edition was better planned and overall uneventful, which gives me time to catch you up on contemporaneous events – like the reason EA ditched the Opheliac red and went platinum blonde. 🪞
Around that time, EA got herself a supporting role and a solo number 🎵📺 in The Devil's Carnival, Darren Lynn Bousman's psychocircus-themed movie musical. (If you're scrambling to place the name: depending on what kind of deviant you are, DLB is either the guy who directed half of the Saw movies or the guy who directed Repo! The Genetic Opera.)
If you've clicked the last link: see the bad boy greaser she's dancing with at the end of the song? That's the titular “Scorpion”, played by Marc Senter, and they were totally hitting on each other while shooting this. 📝🪞 They've been an item for twelve years now, in what appears to be a loving and mutually supportive relationship, and they seem besotted with each other. That's only marginally relevant to the story, but it's nice to know that at least one nice thing worked out in all this mess.
Back to 2011. Through her friendship with DLB and the Devil's Carnival cast (a motley crew of top-shelf B-listers 🔍 that included Bill Moseley, Paul Sorvino, the chick from Spy Kids, and the clown from Slipknot), EA also made a bunch of new industry connexions. That's how she came to decide that TAFWVG was meant to be more than a book, more than a live show: it had to become... a musical. Full company, full orchestra, big names, the works. Her 2012 album, Fight Like a Girl, was written and recorded with this project in mind, with most songs narrating events from the book and EA singing as various characters – which turns love duets into finger food for Dr. Freud. 🎵
Shortly before the album release, EA announced on Twitter that the Asylum Musical was scheduled to debut in the London West End, under the direction of Bousman, in 2014. "Casting calls to be announced soon!" (They were not.)
But wait – this time, it was going to be an audiobook! EA had been teasing one since before the original release, so people were quite excited. (It also sounded like a more achievable goal for the calendar year than a West End debut.) In early 2014, recording was well on its way, and the 6-CD boxset was due to ship in May.
PLEASE STAND BY, YOUR ASYLUM WILL BE PROCESSED SHORTLY
First, EA discovered “a new microphone ... that, upon testing, produced a recording of far greater beauty and expressive quality”, which naturally meant the whole thing had to be re-recorded. Two month's delay. No biggie. Our girl is a perfectionist.
But our girl also had to write, coordinate and rehearse her upcoming “Asylum Experience” – an afternoon-long interactive theater event, directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, which would be performed at five dates of the Vans Warped Tour in August. (It's not exactly the West End, but it's a start! 🔍) And then she had to prepare for the filming of the Devil's Carnival sequel in the fall. So, obviously, the July deadline was not met. When she finally gave an update in late 2014, the ETA was basically “we are ever so close, but the audiobook gets there when it gets there; feel free to ask for a refund if you're not along for the ride”.
And then she signed with a literary agent. TAFWVG was going to be made into a “real” book, that readers could purchase in stores for a normal price and request from their local library – big event! (More for EA, I think, than for her fans. By that point, the second edition could be purchased as a PDF, and I believe most people who pre-ordered the audiobook had already read the story.) But this involved tailoring the narrative to a more general audience, which meant portions of the book had to be re-written... which meant further delays.
As EA assured her fans, their patience would be rewarded with a brand new, professionally polished version of the story – and in due time, I guess, a role in the movie. (“Let's hope she doesn't find another new microphone!” 🐀)
From that point on, there seems to have been an ever-widening gap between EA's enthusiasm and fan expectations. When audiobook snippets 🎤.mp3) were released, many fans were unimpressed by the oddly flat, overproduced recording (turns out a microphone can be so good it's a problem! 🐀), which highlighted EA's stilted, uncanny diction and not-quite-transatlantic accent. That caught everyone off guard, because she didn't use to read like... that. Even die-hard apologists had to concede through gritted teeth that, tragically, it was giving William Shatner. (If you're curious, you can find more previews here 🎤📝, along with EA's captions.)
Fans weren't just getting irritated with the various delays and excuses: they were baffled, angry, and embarrassed. When EA clapped back “U know U can just get a refund, right? That is totally within your power to do” on social media, and it came out that requests for refunds had been getting ignored for weeks or months 🐀, seasoned fans were like “Yeah, that tracks.” The whole never-ending ordeal was just starting to feel silly.
All told, the audiobook took two years to complete, with little to no new music in the interim. Two years is a long time for a young-leaning audience! Fans who had preordered at the end of their sophomore year were graduating high school by the time it came out. Others who had been in the middle of undergrad were now looking for full-time jobs. People had gotten pregnant, given birth and potty trained, or had houses built from the ground up. Genuine ultra-fans of the book had had time to... presumably, read other books. (“I wonder how many people passed away waiting for this shitty audiobook to be finished?”)
When the audiobook came out, many long-time Plague Rats had defected, either lamenting the misguided decisions of their favorite artist, or just calling EA a money-grabbing fraud and a lying liar. And a number of patient and unbothered fans had, quite simply, grown out of their EA phase.
Your humble servant, for one, ordered the audiobook the week it went on sale, and stuck with that preorder through five address changes and two graduation ceremonies. Now, bear in mind: through all the ups and downs, even as the charm dispelled, my taste in music evolved, and my perception of EA herself changed, I never formally stopped considering myself a fan. (Mama didn't raise no quitter.) To this day, and to my profound embarrassment, I give enough of a shit that I'm taking the time to write this story at all, and that I was able to draft most of itfrom memory.(Mama didn't teach me how to prioritize.) Well, get this: I have never once listened to the audiobook. I remember unwrapping the signed boxset (minimal artwork, flimsy cardboard, no liner notes), thinking “this could have been an email”, telling myself I'd get around to it for old time's sake... and then I never did, because it was ten hours long, and I just couldn't force myself to care about that story anymore. I was not an isolated case.
In light of this, I apologize in advance for any potential errors in the following paragraphs; others listened so posers like me wouldn't have to 🔍, and I'm going off of their word. The new and improved edition was, indeed, a different book – in that a bunch of things that felt meaningful to fans had been either reworked or excised.
THE AUDIOBOOK EDITS
The hospital narrative had been shortened in favor of the asylum story, and the controversial “Drug / Suicide / Cutting” diaries had been scrapped. Part of the fanbase applauded this decision, but others were disappointed 🐀, as they had found the diaries to be the most (some said only) personal, authentic, and insightful chapters in the book.
Curse words, some abuse, and all mentions of abortion had also been purged. It made the book tamer, but not by much... because Emilie's age had been changed from 27 to 17. Apparently, the literary agent had suggested this to make the book more marketable to a Young Adult audience. No other biographical detail had been altered, so the main narrator was now a 17 year old girl with no parents but an established music career, who checks in by herself into a high-security adult ward, no questions asked. (I'm still perplexed by this one. Did they not expect YA readers to know how hospitals work...?)
The pirate captain, formally known by her “mass of tangled black hair”, was now... a blonde. According to EA, this was a purely aesthetic change: it made the three main Asylum girls a redhead, a blonde and a brunette, which would look better in the stage adaptation. Between the lines, it also distanced the character from its original dark-haired muse: Vecona, who had left the Crumpets in 2008 after a rumored falling-out with EA over unpaid costume work.
The minor characters based on EA's old Chicago friends had been discarded entirely. Which likely made sense for EA – she hadn't lived there in years, the friend group had drifted apart as friend groups do, and by that point, there no longer was an EA forum to administrate or comment on – but not so much for her readers. Some fans had grown fond of these fictional inmates (wasn't that the point?), and weren't too happy to see EA symbolically treat them as disposable. Others were saddened that EA would just scrap these remnants of her old life, and of what felt like simpler, happier times in the fandom. Either way, children, this is why you shouldn't get a neck tattoo of your first boyfriend's name, OR openly base the “good guys” in your career-defining book on friends you made in your early twenties.
To compensate for the loss of... most named inmate characters, Veronica was given a much more prominent role in the plot. Namely, instead of being best friends, Veronica and Emily were now... in love! Lovers! Lesbian lovers! Which naturally meant that Veronica had to die. 🔍 Besides, fans famously love it when you pull a gay ship out of thin air between your two main characters, and then kill one of them off so that the other suffers more.
One last one, because I find it especially goofy: a scrappy teddy bear named Suffer, given to Emily by the talking rats, was replaced with...a Very Large Spoon, which gets its very own number in the musical. 🎵 The rationale was that Emily could use the spoon as a weapon in the climactic uprising against the Asylum doctors. Which, fair enough... except that, prior to being a cute and anachronistic 🔍 MacGuffin in the fictional Asylum story, Suffer the Bear had been a beloved mascot🪞 from the early Opheliac live shows. Some still remembered when EA had raised HELL, even starting a #FREESUFFER campaign on Twitter, because she thought someone had stolen Suffer from the stage (it later turned out that he had been misplaced in a flight case). All that noise back in the day... and now Suffer didn't matter anymore? The nerve. “She made shirts and everything!” 🐀
All this to say, reception was lukewarm. EA hadn't performed live since 2014 and the Devil's Carnival sequel had failed to make a splash (despite decent reviews, the franchise and main collaboration fell apart before the end of the promotional tour 🔍). People were checking out. There was only one way to correct this. A true paradigm shift. A fresh start – a new theme?
Hell no. It's another edition of The Asylum for Revisionist Tortureporn Friendfictions!
EA had reverted a number of the audiobook cuts (including swear words, mentions of abortion, and the narrator's age), but kept most of the changes to the Asylum narrative – namely, the omission of Former Friends Characters, and the romance between Emily and Veronica. In the newsletter announcement, she mentions being in the process of “re-recording the few little bits of the audiobook to reflect the current text version”. Not sure where we're at on that front; it's never been brought up again, and I don't think anyone's checked. (I assume most fans had war flashbacks when they read the word “re-record”, and instantly repressed that part of the communiqué.)
The “Drug / Suicide / Cutting” diaries were still omitted in the first release of the e-book, but re-included as a coda soon after, by popular demand, under the title “Evidence of Insanity” – with fantastical “doctor's annotations” like“W14A seems to have disassociated her own identity, episodic, each lasting for a longer period of time. We suspect she will continue further in this – stronger medication is needed, schedule electroconvulsive therapy.”
A physical paperback edition was released a few months later; in anticipation of this, the e-book was a stripped-down, text-centric version of the story. (Honestly not a bad call, because the digital version from 2012 was a scanned, non-searchable, 1.3GB PDF behemoth – not super Kindle-friendly!) No elaborate backgrounds and color photographs in this edition, but the pages were still illustrated with inserts of rats, keys, teacups, and... hold on... ciphers??🪞
As always in the Asylum, history doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes. In a throwback to the prelapsarian days of the Enchant Puzzle (remember? the one that no one ever managed to solve?), the e-book illustrations contained puzzles, which formed the master-key to... a scavenger hunt! And in keeping with tradition, the grand prize was an extravagant adornment hand-crafted by EA: the “Spoon of Royals”.🪞📝 Oh my!
Some of the puzzles are simple anagrams that can be solved for keywords. A clickable word within the adjacent text takes you to a password-protected link, which takes you through to an audio file – a song or an atmospheric instrumental that goes with that moment of the story. There are also more complex ciphers that decode into riddles. Each key depicted in the book has a number or letter engraved on it. The total number of rats in the book is apparently significant. One link takes you through to a blank page whose source code contains a list of coordinates from various bridges around the world.
Oh, it was a whole thing. When the book came out, you could send a picture of you doing EA's signature “rat claw” hand sign🪞 to request admission to a private Facebook group (the “Striped Stocking Society”) where people could help each other solve the clues and EA would occasionally pop in for a chat. There was also a series of mysterious newsletters in early 2018, culminating in a Los Angeles event where EA showed up in person to pass on extra puzzle-solving material to a handful of lucky fans (although said material raised more questions that it answered 📝).
Overall, it was a great idea! Although the fanbase was generally smaller and less active after four years without a new tour or album (and a fair amount of other drama, which we have yet to get into), the e-book puzzle did pique people's interest in purchasing yet another version of the same story.
Unfortunately, once again, EA overestimated either how intuitive her fans were, or how invested they would remain. After months of collaborative efforts across multiple platforms, a number of puzzles had been cracked 🔍, but it was still unclear how the individual anagrams and numbers and riddle-solutions all fit together as scavenger hunt clues.
EA kept up the hype for a while, but the few hints that she gave on social media only revealed yet more encryption factors without really helping fans connect the dots. One cipher remained unsolved on Instagram for days and days before EA caved in and hinted at which key to use. She did helpfully specify that if you didn't know how to read music, you'd better start learning. (...Was this a fun puzzle, or a prep school admission test?) The in-person LA event had also sown some confusion as to the rules and constraints of the game: would winning involve traveling to a physical location? That didn't seem very fair. EA had mentioned physically burying some items – but could you solve the puzzle from a distance? Is the Spoon of Royals literally just buried under the Shakespeare Bridge in Los Angeles, California?? 🐀
I'm just saying: if this had come up in 2008? People in corsets and platform boots would have been out there digging.
But this was 2018. As we've mentioned, the core of EA's active fanbase (a lot of whom had been teens and young adults when she was touring Opheliac) was fast aging out of the years when most folks have the spare time, dedication, or desire to essentially do super-involved homework out of love for their favorite singer. Uncovering new songs was a fun perk the first year – but after the new album came out in 2018, none of the passwords led to exclusive material anymore. It felt a bit lacklustre for something so labor-intensive.
(The new music itself wasn't a rallying point either. Behind the Musical was, quite literally, an intended vocal guide for the Asylum musical – so, basically a collection of demos. The sound was VERY Broadway Revival, somewhat Phantomish 🎵, in a way that's either good or bad depending on who's saying it. The violins, to fans' chagrin, sounded all-MIDI; no sign of actual instrumental recordings. EA sang all the parts herself, as she had on her previous album. I'm not saying there's no merit in a one-woman Andrew Lloyd Weber tribute. Many old fans enjoyed the new material well enough, some even really liked it – but most agreed that it just didn't hit like her earlier stuff used to, and that it felt rather unfinished.)
Unlike with the Enchant Puzzle, the prize itself was not much of an intrinsic motivation. While the Faerie Queen's Wings were a straightforward concept that evoked EA's own signature stage costumes, the Spoon of Royals was... a large spoon attached to a necklace, community-college-art-teacher style. It looked impractical both as a spoon and as a necklace, and more importantly, I'm not sure how many readers felt a deep emotional connection to the spoon in the story. The spoon that had usurped Suffer the Bear, no less!
In short: people gave up on the game because it was too hard, it came too late, and they had other things to do.
Thus, the Spoon of Royals remains unclaimed to this day, and I doubt I'll see anyone crack the puzzle in this lifetime. The Striped Stocking Society FB group was terminated in 2020, around the same time a bunch of fansites folded and EA closed her Instagram comments for the first time. By that point, both EA and her fans had bigger rats to skewer – but we have a ways to go before we reach that part of the story.
I would encourage you to give the puzzle a shot for the hell of it (in case you're a cryptography nerd and currently under house arrest or in a full-body cast) but... I just tried a bunch of the links, and the passwords don't work anymore. So I guess that's that. To quote old Bill by way of conclusion: “Much ado about nothing”.
By the late 2010s, what kept many fans semi-invested – if nothing else, because it clearly meant so much to EA herself – was the prospect of an upcoming stage musical adaptation. The way EA talked about it 📺, it was very much a “when”, not an “if”. Sure, ten years on, we were still collectively stuck in the Asylum, but it would at least be a new format – and a return to EA's main field of expertise, ie songwriting and performing. Not only did the core fanbase long for new music and new shows, but Fight Like a Girl and Behind the Musical had brought in small influxes of new fans who were very eager for any chance to see her live. So whether it was out of genuine enthusiasm for the project, or out of “let EA have her musical so we can maybe finally move on”, the fanbase was overall supportive.
Even though people still joked about the 2012 announcement of a “2014 West End debut” (seriously, what was she thinking?), EA had really buckled down in the intervening years, and it looked like the project was plausibly well underway. As in, we had more than just EA's word to go on: the involvement of other people, who did not reside in the Asylum, seemed to confirm that the musical was a thing.
submitted by pillowcase-of-eels to HobbyDrama [link] [comments]
Welcome back to this write-up about a complicated artist's complicated book.
Don't be absurd, of course you have time!
Part 1 Part 2
Now that we've established what the book is about, let's take a look at The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls' rich publication and re-publication history. I promise, it's more scandalous than it sounds.
“HER SPEECH IS NOTHING, YET THE UNSHAPÈD USE OF IT DOTH MOVE THE HEARERS TO COLLECTION” (HORATIO, ACT IV SCENE 5)
As I've mentioned in the last installment, TAFWVG has been released multiple times, in multiple editions – four of them, to be precise. And I wish I was exaggerating when I say that three of those four releases have been veritable masterclasses in testing your audience's loyalty. In case you're wondering: the secret is to alter your source material in strange and unpredictable ways, while also constantly messing up on the customer service front.Most of this installment condenses and combines these two excellent write-ups, which contain most of the receipts: TAFWVG: A History / The Bloody Crumpets: An Inconsistent History. 🔍 Anything that isn't sourced with links is in there. While there were only minor differences between the first and second pressings, the third and fourth editions came with significant alterations to the structure of the book and the story itself, notably the cast of fictional Asylum inmates... a handful of which had, in fact, been obvious avatars of EA's IRL friends and collaborators.
It turns out there are good reasons why most fiction authors don't do real-life inserts so overtly – but in EA's case, it did make sense, and was warmly embraced by fans upon release. When the book first came out, some of these people had been familiar to the fanbase for years, frequently appearing in candid pictures on EA's blog and leaving comments on the forum; some were also involved in her music and show. Recognizing that one character's name was a pun on So-and-So's username was a nice Easter egg for veteran fans, and newcomers got to learn about fandom lore; it brought the story to life and the community closer.
One side character, for instance, was named after EA's best friend from Chicago, whom many fans had had direct interactions with: she co-ran EA's online stores during the Enchant years, and acted as admin, main moderator and EA-liaison of the forum throughout its near-decade of existence.
One crazy girl who thinks she's a pirate is 100% OC... but her description and illustrations 🪞 were explicitly modeled after pictures of Bloody Crumpet Vecona (one of EA's back-up performers), who became the first stand-in pirate character 📺 in the live show. Captain Vecona was also celebrated as the “Asylum Seamstress” 🪞🔍: most of the iconic early Opheliac costumes were her design. She had a following of her own, even prior to touring with EA, for her professional costuming work and her collaborations with German photographer Angst-im-Wald. (Shitty archive link, sorry - most of those badass photoshoots seem to have been lost to time. But if you were a European goth in the mid-2000s, search your old hard drives: I promise you, you've downloaded some of those pictures.)
Inmate “Veronica”, a cabaret girl diagnosed as a nymphomaniac, was a doppelgänger of her namesake, burlesque dancer Veronica Varlow 🪞 – the ride-or-die Crumpet, whom EA often lovingly called her “husband”, saying they had been lovers in a previous lifetime. Veronica was part of every single tour post-Opheliac release and developed a solid fanbase of her own, which she maintains to this day.
Even the brave and well-mannered talking rats (oh yeah, there's talking rats in the Asylum story) were named after EA's real-life pet rodents, who had featured in glamorous photoshoots. (Slight NSFW for sideboob.)
You get the general gimmick by now: EA turns her personal life into art, which she turns into a fictional world, which she then prompts the audience to inhabit with her. The whole Asylum concept was essentially an open invitation to self-insert parasocial fanfic: “Here's this very personal world that I've created, in which I, the artist, exist as a fictional persona, alongside all these quirky inmate characters that you've seen in my stage show, and who are avatars my real-life friends. Come on in, make it your home, and populate it with your own zany Victorian alter egos.”
And it worked, to an extent: like I've said, most fans were on board before they'd even read the book, and the Asylum became “real” in that sense.
But it can get a bit disorienting to find your place in a fantasy world, when said world keeps changing based on the author's shifting feelings about her story, her target audience, and her friends... plus, you'd love to read the book, but the darn thing still hasn't shipped.
ROUNDS 1 & 2: THE HARDCOVERS
\A MINOR ADJUSTMENT\TAFWVG was first teased in spoken-word bonus tracks 🎤 on a 2007 EP. In spring 2008, EA started reading excerpts from her upcoming book at live shows. Early excerpts from the Asylum narrative featured a character named “Jo Hee” 📺; in the story, she is a cellist from “the Orient” (love that Victorian geography) and Emily's childhood confidante.
In real life, Lady Jo Hee, Center of Happiness, was the OG Bloody Crumpet. 📺 She had been there since from the very first Opheliac show in Chicago in 2006, accompanying EA on the electric cello – the only instrumentalist ever featured in the line-up besides EA herself.
In August 2008, Alternative Magazine ran a feature about the upcoming book.🔍, teasing some of its pages. Fans were quick to spot a very sisterly picture of EA and Jo Hee 🪞, borrowed from a fan-favorite photoshoot of the two. (An aside: this specific picture also became famous in the fandom for another reason. At some point, someone made an edit replacing Jo Hee with Amy Lee from Evanescence; for a while, it kept making the rounds in alt/goth internet circuits, casual onlookers kept getting excited about it, and Plague Rats kept having to step in and disappoint them.)
Anyway. For reasons undisclosed by either party, Jo Hee quietly left the Crumpets after that tour, never to be mentioned again.
By the time the book came out in late 2009, the character of “Jo Hee” had been renamed “Sachiko”. (I guess it didn't matter whether the one non-white character in the story was meant to be Korean or Japanese.) Jo Hee's face had been edited out of the (still clearly recognizable) photograph, and eerily replaced with Nondescript_Asian_Woman_023.jpg from Shutterstock.🪞
You'd think that the switcheroo would have raised more eyebrows, or at least some awkward chuckles, among fans of an artist whose better-known lyrics include “If I Photoshop you out of every picture, I could / Go quietly, quiet - but would that do any good?”. Yet to my knowledge, it did not. Possibly because, by the time people got around to reading the book, some fans had been waiting for their copy longer than Jo Hee had been a Crumpet.
A ROCKY RELEASE
Although the book seemed just about ready for publication at the time of those 2008 readings, the initial release was delayed by technical difficulties (some data had been lost during the editing process). And then delayed some more when, a year later, EA cancelled the US leg of a tour and slammed the door on Trisol, accusing the label owner of exploitation and embezzlement (he was allegedly selling fake tickets to her shows on a phony website). In August 2009, she signed over to The End Records, and we were back in business, baby!
Not only was The Book on its way to the presses, but the long-awaited release would coincide with a “Deluxe” re-issue of Opheliac, with new cover art and bonus tracks. For $100, you could pre-order the “Ultimate Book/Album Collection”, which included the revamped album, the book, a t-shirt, a tote bag, a recipe booklet and some bonus digital downloads, to be shipped in October. Or, for a more up-close-and-personal experience, you could purchase a VIP bundle for her upcoming shows in the fall: $50 plus ticket price would get you the book, a swag bag, and a meet-and-greet. (VIP tickets were capped at 20 slots per show; from what I gather, informal interactions with fans at the merch table were becoming overwhelming on previous tours. Again: fast-growing audience.)
Alas, due to printing issues this time, the making and shipping were soon pushed back to December. VIP ticket-holders were assured, at the start of the tour, that their copies would be shipped first as soon as the books were printed, with handwritten dedications from EA. Purchasers of the “Book/Album” bundle would receive theirs shortly thereafter. This seemed like a reasonable trade-off for a minor delay, and no one was too upset. (Well, some might have been, but at that juncture in Asylum history – for reasons that will become apparent in a later installment, when we get to EA's altercations with her fans – I guess they knew better than to get mouthy about it.)
The bundles came first... and in many cases, “bundle” was a generous term, because they arrived incomplete. When the t-shirt or tote bag weren't missing, they were printed the wrong colors. Many digital download codes had to be requested via email. The book itself was beautiful, but poorly bound, typo-ridden, and missing entire pages. (This was largely fixed in the second hardcover release.)
As far as I know, everyone who complained to the distributor got their money back – and I imagine it was a nice surprise when some items showed up, inexplicably, months after they had already been refunded. But it was still a bit of a “sad trombone” moment for many loyal fans, who had to request a refund on the Ultimate Super-Cool Preorder Exclusive Bundle to purchase the book and album separately.
As for the VIP package books, those didn't start shipping until late 2010 – a whole year after the official book release, months after less invested fans had already received their non-preordered copies. Worse: none of the books were signed, much less lovingly adorned with a personalized handwritten note as EA had promised. (And had tweeted about doing during the year-long shipping delay!) After enough fans meekly expressed their intense disappointment, EA's BFF-forum-admin mailed out signed bookplates that people could stick in their book in lieu of a personalized autograph. No real explanation was given. As far as I know, this particular let-down didn't cause a mass exodus of disappointed fans – but, in the midst of other goings-on, it certainly contributed to eroding many fans' trust in EA's word.
EA TAKES ON HOLLYWOOD
The 2011 release of the largely-identical second edition was better planned and overall uneventful, which gives me time to catch you up on contemporaneous events – like the reason EA ditched the Opheliac red and went platinum blonde. 🪞
Around that time, EA got herself a supporting role and a solo number 🎵📺 in The Devil's Carnival, Darren Lynn Bousman's psychocircus-themed movie musical. (If you're scrambling to place the name: depending on what kind of deviant you are, DLB is either the guy who directed half of the Saw movies or the guy who directed Repo! The Genetic Opera.)
If you've clicked the last link: see the bad boy greaser she's dancing with at the end of the song? That's the titular “Scorpion”, played by Marc Senter, and they were totally hitting on each other while shooting this. 📝🪞 They've been an item for twelve years now, in what appears to be a loving and mutually supportive relationship, and they seem besotted with each other. That's only marginally relevant to the story, but it's nice to know that at least one nice thing worked out in all this mess.
Back to 2011. Through her friendship with DLB and the Devil's Carnival cast (a motley crew of top-shelf B-listers 🔍 that included Bill Moseley, Paul Sorvino, the chick from Spy Kids, and the clown from Slipknot), EA also made a bunch of new industry connexions. That's how she came to decide that TAFWVG was meant to be more than a book, more than a live show: it had to become... a musical. Full company, full orchestra, big names, the works. Her 2012 album, Fight Like a Girl, was written and recorded with this project in mind, with most songs narrating events from the book and EA singing as various characters – which turns love duets into finger food for Dr. Freud. 🎵
Shortly before the album release, EA announced on Twitter that the Asylum Musical was scheduled to debut in the London West End, under the direction of Bousman, in 2014. "Casting calls to be announced soon!" (They were not.)
ROUND 3: THE AUDIOBOOK
2014 came, and brought... another TAFWG re-release announcement.But wait – this time, it was going to be an audiobook! EA had been teasing one since before the original release, so people were quite excited. (It also sounded like a more achievable goal for the calendar year than a West End debut.) In early 2014, recording was well on its way, and the 6-CD boxset was due to ship in May.
PLEASE STAND BY, YOUR ASYLUM WILL BE PROCESSED SHORTLY
First, EA discovered “a new microphone ... that, upon testing, produced a recording of far greater beauty and expressive quality”, which naturally meant the whole thing had to be re-recorded. Two month's delay. No biggie. Our girl is a perfectionist.
But our girl also had to write, coordinate and rehearse her upcoming “Asylum Experience” – an afternoon-long interactive theater event, directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, which would be performed at five dates of the Vans Warped Tour in August. (It's not exactly the West End, but it's a start! 🔍) And then she had to prepare for the filming of the Devil's Carnival sequel in the fall. So, obviously, the July deadline was not met. When she finally gave an update in late 2014, the ETA was basically “we are ever so close, but the audiobook gets there when it gets there; feel free to ask for a refund if you're not along for the ride”.
And then she signed with a literary agent. TAFWVG was going to be made into a “real” book, that readers could purchase in stores for a normal price and request from their local library – big event! (More for EA, I think, than for her fans. By that point, the second edition could be purchased as a PDF, and I believe most people who pre-ordered the audiobook had already read the story.) But this involved tailoring the narrative to a more general audience, which meant portions of the book had to be re-written... which meant further delays.
...Besides, and let’s have a teacup of “honesty time” here, if the new Asylum becomes an internationally best-selling novel, not only can we enact more change for good, but the Asylum Musical takes over Broadway faster, the Asylum Movie takes over theatres faster, and YOU are all dressed up as rats/inmates in said movie, you guessed it, faster (“Asylum Audiobook Announcement from EA”📝)Well, you know what they say in show business: if you can't make it in London, there's always New York.
As EA assured her fans, their patience would be rewarded with a brand new, professionally polished version of the story – and in due time, I guess, a role in the movie. (“Let's hope she doesn't find another new microphone!” 🐀)
From that point on, there seems to have been an ever-widening gap between EA's enthusiasm and fan expectations. When audiobook snippets 🎤.mp3) were released, many fans were unimpressed by the oddly flat, overproduced recording (turns out a microphone can be so good it's a problem! 🐀), which highlighted EA's stilted, uncanny diction and not-quite-transatlantic accent. That caught everyone off guard, because she didn't use to read like... that. Even die-hard apologists had to concede through gritted teeth that, tragically, it was giving William Shatner. (If you're curious, you can find more previews here 🎤📝, along with EA's captions.)
Fans weren't just getting irritated with the various delays and excuses: they were baffled, angry, and embarrassed. When EA clapped back “U know U can just get a refund, right? That is totally within your power to do” on social media, and it came out that requests for refunds had been getting ignored for weeks or months 🐀, seasoned fans were like “Yeah, that tracks.” The whole never-ending ordeal was just starting to feel silly.
All told, the audiobook took two years to complete, with little to no new music in the interim. Two years is a long time for a young-leaning audience! Fans who had preordered at the end of their sophomore year were graduating high school by the time it came out. Others who had been in the middle of undergrad were now looking for full-time jobs. People had gotten pregnant, given birth and potty trained, or had houses built from the ground up. Genuine ultra-fans of the book had had time to... presumably, read other books. (“I wonder how many people passed away waiting for this shitty audiobook to be finished?”)
When the audiobook came out, many long-time Plague Rats had defected, either lamenting the misguided decisions of their favorite artist, or just calling EA a money-grabbing fraud and a lying liar. And a number of patient and unbothered fans had, quite simply, grown out of their EA phase.
Your humble servant, for one, ordered the audiobook the week it went on sale, and stuck with that preorder through five address changes and two graduation ceremonies. Now, bear in mind: through all the ups and downs, even as the charm dispelled, my taste in music evolved, and my perception of EA herself changed, I never formally stopped considering myself a fan. (Mama didn't raise no quitter.) To this day, and to my profound embarrassment, I give enough of a shit that I'm taking the time to write this story at all, and that I was able to draft most of itfrom memory.(Mama didn't teach me how to prioritize.) Well, get this: I have never once listened to the audiobook. I remember unwrapping the signed boxset (minimal artwork, flimsy cardboard, no liner notes), thinking “this could have been an email”, telling myself I'd get around to it for old time's sake... and then I never did, because it was ten hours long, and I just couldn't force myself to care about that story anymore. I was not an isolated case.
In light of this, I apologize in advance for any potential errors in the following paragraphs; others listened so posers like me wouldn't have to 🔍, and I'm going off of their word. The new and improved edition was, indeed, a different book – in that a bunch of things that felt meaningful to fans had been either reworked or excised.
THE AUDIOBOOK EDITS
The hospital narrative had been shortened in favor of the asylum story, and the controversial “Drug / Suicide / Cutting” diaries had been scrapped. Part of the fanbase applauded this decision, but others were disappointed 🐀, as they had found the diaries to be the most (some said only) personal, authentic, and insightful chapters in the book.
Curse words, some abuse, and all mentions of abortion had also been purged. It made the book tamer, but not by much... because Emilie's age had been changed from 27 to 17. Apparently, the literary agent had suggested this to make the book more marketable to a Young Adult audience. No other biographical detail had been altered, so the main narrator was now a 17 year old girl with no parents but an established music career, who checks in by herself into a high-security adult ward, no questions asked. (I'm still perplexed by this one. Did they not expect YA readers to know how hospitals work...?)
The pirate captain, formally known by her “mass of tangled black hair”, was now... a blonde. According to EA, this was a purely aesthetic change: it made the three main Asylum girls a redhead, a blonde and a brunette, which would look better in the stage adaptation. Between the lines, it also distanced the character from its original dark-haired muse: Vecona, who had left the Crumpets in 2008 after a rumored falling-out with EA over unpaid costume work.
The minor characters based on EA's old Chicago friends had been discarded entirely. Which likely made sense for EA – she hadn't lived there in years, the friend group had drifted apart as friend groups do, and by that point, there no longer was an EA forum to administrate or comment on – but not so much for her readers. Some fans had grown fond of these fictional inmates (wasn't that the point?), and weren't too happy to see EA symbolically treat them as disposable. Others were saddened that EA would just scrap these remnants of her old life, and of what felt like simpler, happier times in the fandom. Either way, children, this is why you shouldn't get a neck tattoo of your first boyfriend's name, OR openly base the “good guys” in your career-defining book on friends you made in your early twenties.
To compensate for the loss of... most named inmate characters, Veronica was given a much more prominent role in the plot. Namely, instead of being best friends, Veronica and Emily were now... in love! Lovers! Lesbian lovers! Which naturally meant that Veronica had to die. 🔍 Besides, fans famously love it when you pull a gay ship out of thin air between your two main characters, and then kill one of them off so that the other suffers more.
One last one, because I find it especially goofy: a scrappy teddy bear named Suffer, given to Emily by the talking rats, was replaced with...a Very Large Spoon, which gets its very own number in the musical. 🎵 The rationale was that Emily could use the spoon as a weapon in the climactic uprising against the Asylum doctors. Which, fair enough... except that, prior to being a cute and anachronistic 🔍 MacGuffin in the fictional Asylum story, Suffer the Bear had been a beloved mascot🪞 from the early Opheliac live shows. Some still remembered when EA had raised HELL, even starting a #FREESUFFER campaign on Twitter, because she thought someone had stolen Suffer from the stage (it later turned out that he had been misplaced in a flight case). All that noise back in the day... and now Suffer didn't matter anymore? The nerve. “She made shirts and everything!” 🐀
All this to say, reception was lukewarm. EA hadn't performed live since 2014 and the Devil's Carnival sequel had failed to make a splash (despite decent reviews, the franchise and main collaboration fell apart before the end of the promotional tour 🔍). People were checking out. There was only one way to correct this. A true paradigm shift. A fresh start – a new theme?
Hell no. It's another edition of The Asylum for Revisionist Tortureporn Friendfictions!
ROUND 4: THE E-BOOK & THE QUEST FOR THE SPOON OF ROYALS
In 2017, about a year after the audiobook release, EA self-published a digital version of TAFWVG through Amazon. The literary agent hadn't worked out in the end: publishers were put off by how dark the book was, even after the audiobook edits. EA explained that she hadn't been comfortable with some of the alterations in the first place; she respected the agent's input and had tried to give it an honest shot, but in the end, she wanted to do it the way she wanted to do it, solo... and this was it.EA had reverted a number of the audiobook cuts (including swear words, mentions of abortion, and the narrator's age), but kept most of the changes to the Asylum narrative – namely, the omission of Former Friends Characters, and the romance between Emily and Veronica. In the newsletter announcement, she mentions being in the process of “re-recording the few little bits of the audiobook to reflect the current text version”. Not sure where we're at on that front; it's never been brought up again, and I don't think anyone's checked. (I assume most fans had war flashbacks when they read the word “re-record”, and instantly repressed that part of the communiqué.)
The “Drug / Suicide / Cutting” diaries were still omitted in the first release of the e-book, but re-included as a coda soon after, by popular demand, under the title “Evidence of Insanity” – with fantastical “doctor's annotations” like“W14A seems to have disassociated her own identity, episodic, each lasting for a longer period of time. We suspect she will continue further in this – stronger medication is needed, schedule electroconvulsive therapy.”
A physical paperback edition was released a few months later; in anticipation of this, the e-book was a stripped-down, text-centric version of the story. (Honestly not a bad call, because the digital version from 2012 was a scanned, non-searchable, 1.3GB PDF behemoth – not super Kindle-friendly!) No elaborate backgrounds and color photographs in this edition, but the pages were still illustrated with inserts of rats, keys, teacups, and... hold on... ciphers??🪞
As always in the Asylum, history doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes. In a throwback to the prelapsarian days of the Enchant Puzzle (remember? the one that no one ever managed to solve?), the e-book illustrations contained puzzles, which formed the master-key to... a scavenger hunt! And in keeping with tradition, the grand prize was an extravagant adornment hand-crafted by EA: the “Spoon of Royals”.🪞📝 Oh my!
Some of the puzzles are simple anagrams that can be solved for keywords. A clickable word within the adjacent text takes you to a password-protected link, which takes you through to an audio file – a song or an atmospheric instrumental that goes with that moment of the story. There are also more complex ciphers that decode into riddles. Each key depicted in the book has a number or letter engraved on it. The total number of rats in the book is apparently significant. One link takes you through to a blank page whose source code contains a list of coordinates from various bridges around the world.
Oh, it was a whole thing. When the book came out, you could send a picture of you doing EA's signature “rat claw” hand sign🪞 to request admission to a private Facebook group (the “Striped Stocking Society”) where people could help each other solve the clues and EA would occasionally pop in for a chat. There was also a series of mysterious newsletters in early 2018, culminating in a Los Angeles event where EA showed up in person to pass on extra puzzle-solving material to a handful of lucky fans (although said material raised more questions that it answered 📝).
Overall, it was a great idea! Although the fanbase was generally smaller and less active after four years without a new tour or album (and a fair amount of other drama, which we have yet to get into), the e-book puzzle did pique people's interest in purchasing yet another version of the same story.
Unfortunately, once again, EA overestimated either how intuitive her fans were, or how invested they would remain. After months of collaborative efforts across multiple platforms, a number of puzzles had been cracked 🔍, but it was still unclear how the individual anagrams and numbers and riddle-solutions all fit together as scavenger hunt clues.
EA kept up the hype for a while, but the few hints that she gave on social media only revealed yet more encryption factors without really helping fans connect the dots. One cipher remained unsolved on Instagram for days and days before EA caved in and hinted at which key to use. She did helpfully specify that if you didn't know how to read music, you'd better start learning. (...Was this a fun puzzle, or a prep school admission test?) The in-person LA event had also sown some confusion as to the rules and constraints of the game: would winning involve traveling to a physical location? That didn't seem very fair. EA had mentioned physically burying some items – but could you solve the puzzle from a distance? Is the Spoon of Royals literally just buried under the Shakespeare Bridge in Los Angeles, California?? 🐀
I'm just saying: if this had come up in 2008? People in corsets and platform boots would have been out there digging.
But this was 2018. As we've mentioned, the core of EA's active fanbase (a lot of whom had been teens and young adults when she was touring Opheliac) was fast aging out of the years when most folks have the spare time, dedication, or desire to essentially do super-involved homework out of love for their favorite singer. Uncovering new songs was a fun perk the first year – but after the new album came out in 2018, none of the passwords led to exclusive material anymore. It felt a bit lacklustre for something so labor-intensive.
(The new music itself wasn't a rallying point either. Behind the Musical was, quite literally, an intended vocal guide for the Asylum musical – so, basically a collection of demos. The sound was VERY Broadway Revival, somewhat Phantomish 🎵, in a way that's either good or bad depending on who's saying it. The violins, to fans' chagrin, sounded all-MIDI; no sign of actual instrumental recordings. EA sang all the parts herself, as she had on her previous album. I'm not saying there's no merit in a one-woman Andrew Lloyd Weber tribute. Many old fans enjoyed the new material well enough, some even really liked it – but most agreed that it just didn't hit like her earlier stuff used to, and that it felt rather unfinished.)
Unlike with the Enchant Puzzle, the prize itself was not much of an intrinsic motivation. While the Faerie Queen's Wings were a straightforward concept that evoked EA's own signature stage costumes, the Spoon of Royals was... a large spoon attached to a necklace, community-college-art-teacher style. It looked impractical both as a spoon and as a necklace, and more importantly, I'm not sure how many readers felt a deep emotional connection to the spoon in the story. The spoon that had usurped Suffer the Bear, no less!
In short: people gave up on the game because it was too hard, it came too late, and they had other things to do.
Thus, the Spoon of Royals remains unclaimed to this day, and I doubt I'll see anyone crack the puzzle in this lifetime. The Striped Stocking Society FB group was terminated in 2020, around the same time a bunch of fansites folded and EA closed her Instagram comments for the first time. By that point, both EA and her fans had bigger rats to skewer – but we have a ways to go before we reach that part of the story.
I would encourage you to give the puzzle a shot for the hell of it (in case you're a cryptography nerd and currently under house arrest or in a full-body cast) but... I just tried a bunch of the links, and the passwords don't work anymore. So I guess that's that. To quote old Bill by way of conclusion: “Much ado about nothing”.
ROUND TOO-MANY: I'LL SEE YOU ON BROADWAY OR I'LL SEE YOU IN HELL
So, what now? Well, not much.By the late 2010s, what kept many fans semi-invested – if nothing else, because it clearly meant so much to EA herself – was the prospect of an upcoming stage musical adaptation. The way EA talked about it 📺, it was very much a “when”, not an “if”. Sure, ten years on, we were still collectively stuck in the Asylum, but it would at least be a new format – and a return to EA's main field of expertise, ie songwriting and performing. Not only did the core fanbase long for new music and new shows, but Fight Like a Girl and Behind the Musical had brought in small influxes of new fans who were very eager for any chance to see her live. So whether it was out of genuine enthusiasm for the project, or out of “let EA have her musical so we can maybe finally move on”, the fanbase was overall supportive.
Even though people still joked about the 2012 announcement of a “2014 West End debut” (seriously, what was she thinking?), EA had really buckled down in the intervening years, and it looked like the project was plausibly well underway. As in, we had more than just EA's word to go on: the involvement of other people, who did not reside in the Asylum, seemed to confirm that the musical was a thing.
[CONTINUED IN COMMENTS because Reddit is being ridiculous about the character count. I swear I was under 40,000!]
2024.04.29 05:12 KevinR1990 Livescreamers (2023) [Found Footage, Supernatural, Video Game]
Livescreamers (2023)
Not rated
Score: 4 out of 5
At once a love letter to horror gaming and a vicious takedown of everything toxic about the increasingly commercial world of video game streaming, Livescreamers is a film that combines the "set on a computer screen" conceit of Unfriended with a modernized version of the basic premise of the crappy 2000s horror flick Stay Alive: a group of livestreamers employed by a Rooster Teeth-like company called Janus Gaming decide to play a new multiplayer horror game called House of Souls together for a livestream, only for it to turn out that the game is haunted, knows a lot of their personal secrets, and makes it clear that if they die in the game, they die for real, leading them to start tearing each other apart as all their behind-the-scenes drama starts spilling out into the open. It's undoubtedly a better film than Stay Alive, too, buoyed by creative writing, some good scares, an authentic understanding of gamelivestreamer culture, and not least of all the actual game itself, which were enough to make up for some hokey acting throughout. This was a very fun ride that I would highly recommend.
I didn't bring up Rooster Teeth back there for no reason, either. Anybody who has one foot in geek culture knows about the behind-the-scenes chaos that destroyed that company, once a pioneer of online media made for and by nerds, in the last few years, from casual bigotry to pedophilia to overwork of its employees, and while writedirector Michelle Iannantuono was in large part drawing from her own experiences in media when writing these characters, the interview she gave after the screening I attended indicated that elements of Rooster Teeth's downfall also informed her writing, complete with some of the dialogue being direct quotes from leaked chat logs. Janus Gaming, like Rooster Teeth, is a company that loves to put forward an image of positivity and inclusion for its fans, but behind the scenes, it's an absolute shitshow where everybody has beef with one another and the leadership is as two-faced as the company's namesake. Taylor is grooming his underage female fans behind his wife Gwen's back, and their boss Mitch knew about it but covered it up to save face. Nemo had a frightening encounter with a mentally unhinged fan that caused him to close his DMs and stop interacting with the fans. Jon and Davey, a pair of very attractive young men, blatantly queerbait female viewers for ratings in ways that Dice, who is actually queer, finds distasteful. Dice finds themself overworked, tokenized, and underappreciated by everyone at Janus, especially with their health problems and Mitch's refusal to cover his employees' health insurance. The game knows all this and ruthlessly exploits it, throwing the characters into situations where they have incentive to leave one another to die if they want to progress, and when that happens, the knives come out. While I wasn't fully sold on the cast's performances, which often veered between overly histrionic and stilted once they left their clean-cut streamer personas, I did buy their characters as the kind of personalities you often encounter in the world of online fame, both the kinds who exploit their power over others and the normal people who find themselves slowly ground down by the industry.
And it was all helped by House of Souls, the elaborate tech demo that Iannantuono made for the film, evocative of all manner of horror games both classic and modern ranging from Resident Evil to Outlast to Until Dawn. Even beyond the more personal touches that the game serves up for the protagonists indicating that there's something else going on with it, this is a game I could see people not only actually playing, but eagerly watching others play, filled with creative environments, set pieces, lots of Easter eggs and deep-cut references that don't feel forced, and a very cool-looking "boss" monster who regularly accosts the protagonists throughout their playthrough. Movies about video games often have a habit of not understanding what games are actually like, or at least having a very old-fashioned understanding of such from back when the middle-aged screenwriters were kids with Super Nintendos, often throwing in the most surface-level references to more modern games to show that they're Still With It. With this, it's clear that Iannantuono is somebody who is fully immersed in modern games and gaming culture, and replicated on screen the kind of game you could imagine coming out on Steam today, or at least at the height of the 2010s boom in indie horror gaming.
The Bottom Line
Livescreamers is already one of the highlights of the Salem Horror Fest for me. Its video game references and satire of gamer culture mean that geeks in particular will get a lot out of it, but even if the only time you've ever picked up a controller is because you were buying one for your kids, this is still a very good horror flick that I highly recommend when it hits home video and streaming.
https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2024/04/salem-horror-fest-2024-week-1-day-2-it.html>
submitted by KevinR1990 to HorrorReviewed [link] [comments]
Not rated
Score: 4 out of 5
At once a love letter to horror gaming and a vicious takedown of everything toxic about the increasingly commercial world of video game streaming, Livescreamers is a film that combines the "set on a computer screen" conceit of Unfriended with a modernized version of the basic premise of the crappy 2000s horror flick Stay Alive: a group of livestreamers employed by a Rooster Teeth-like company called Janus Gaming decide to play a new multiplayer horror game called House of Souls together for a livestream, only for it to turn out that the game is haunted, knows a lot of their personal secrets, and makes it clear that if they die in the game, they die for real, leading them to start tearing each other apart as all their behind-the-scenes drama starts spilling out into the open. It's undoubtedly a better film than Stay Alive, too, buoyed by creative writing, some good scares, an authentic understanding of gamelivestreamer culture, and not least of all the actual game itself, which were enough to make up for some hokey acting throughout. This was a very fun ride that I would highly recommend.
I didn't bring up Rooster Teeth back there for no reason, either. Anybody who has one foot in geek culture knows about the behind-the-scenes chaos that destroyed that company, once a pioneer of online media made for and by nerds, in the last few years, from casual bigotry to pedophilia to overwork of its employees, and while writedirector Michelle Iannantuono was in large part drawing from her own experiences in media when writing these characters, the interview she gave after the screening I attended indicated that elements of Rooster Teeth's downfall also informed her writing, complete with some of the dialogue being direct quotes from leaked chat logs. Janus Gaming, like Rooster Teeth, is a company that loves to put forward an image of positivity and inclusion for its fans, but behind the scenes, it's an absolute shitshow where everybody has beef with one another and the leadership is as two-faced as the company's namesake. Taylor is grooming his underage female fans behind his wife Gwen's back, and their boss Mitch knew about it but covered it up to save face. Nemo had a frightening encounter with a mentally unhinged fan that caused him to close his DMs and stop interacting with the fans. Jon and Davey, a pair of very attractive young men, blatantly queerbait female viewers for ratings in ways that Dice, who is actually queer, finds distasteful. Dice finds themself overworked, tokenized, and underappreciated by everyone at Janus, especially with their health problems and Mitch's refusal to cover his employees' health insurance. The game knows all this and ruthlessly exploits it, throwing the characters into situations where they have incentive to leave one another to die if they want to progress, and when that happens, the knives come out. While I wasn't fully sold on the cast's performances, which often veered between overly histrionic and stilted once they left their clean-cut streamer personas, I did buy their characters as the kind of personalities you often encounter in the world of online fame, both the kinds who exploit their power over others and the normal people who find themselves slowly ground down by the industry.
And it was all helped by House of Souls, the elaborate tech demo that Iannantuono made for the film, evocative of all manner of horror games both classic and modern ranging from Resident Evil to Outlast to Until Dawn. Even beyond the more personal touches that the game serves up for the protagonists indicating that there's something else going on with it, this is a game I could see people not only actually playing, but eagerly watching others play, filled with creative environments, set pieces, lots of Easter eggs and deep-cut references that don't feel forced, and a very cool-looking "boss" monster who regularly accosts the protagonists throughout their playthrough. Movies about video games often have a habit of not understanding what games are actually like, or at least having a very old-fashioned understanding of such from back when the middle-aged screenwriters were kids with Super Nintendos, often throwing in the most surface-level references to more modern games to show that they're Still With It. With this, it's clear that Iannantuono is somebody who is fully immersed in modern games and gaming culture, and replicated on screen the kind of game you could imagine coming out on Steam today, or at least at the height of the 2010s boom in indie horror gaming.
The Bottom Line
Livescreamers is already one of the highlights of the Salem Horror Fest for me. Its video game references and satire of gamer culture mean that geeks in particular will get a lot out of it, but even if the only time you've ever picked up a controller is because you were buying one for your kids, this is still a very good horror flick that I highly recommend when it hits home video and streaming.
2024.04.22 03:34 tajpressplay I think I found my bio-dad but ugh…
The story is long so I’m going to start with the question first:
If you have a 1st cousin; will that person’s uncle also be your 1st cousin?
Now for the story:
So I grew up without a biological father (and mostly without a mother too) as my grandmother raised me after being neglected a lot as a child. I had a stepfather who I found out wasn’t my biological father when I was 12 (though I always had my suspicions).
My mom told me that my biological father was a criminal and when she found out that she was pregnant she left the area (Americus GA) without telling him. When I was in college, I set out to find him by contacting police precincts and jails in the Americus area. I got no hits based on the name that my mother gave me to look for. I then hung up my search for him and lived my life. I got married, had kids, now grandkids, got divorced etc.
Fast forward to Christmas 2019. My grandmother unexpectedly passes away at the age of 94. A friend of mine got me a 23andme test as a gift because they knew about me never knowing who my father was. I take the test and immediately find a half brother on my father’s side. I am the first blood relative that he’s ever met as he was given up for adoption upon birth. We have formed a great bond over the past 4yrs.
The test also connected me with a 1st cousin on my father’s side. This was very promising because it essentially meant that one of her parents are siblings with my bio-dad. I reached out to her for years to no avail. I then go online to see if maybe I can find her on FB since not everyone looks on 23andme for messages. That’s when I discover that she’s mixed-race which eliminates her mom from being my potential aunt.
I reached out to her on fb for years also to no avail. At the beginning of this year I decide to try to use her as a base to find relatives around her. She is from the Midwest but her family lineage quickly goes back to Americus GA as well as NYC. Both of those are interesting because my mom is from Brooklyn and said that she met my bio-dad in Americus GA. I knew I was on the right path.
After sending numerous FB friend requests and messages, I get a lead from a friend of the namesake family to reach out to a certain member of that family because she organizes the family reunions in Americus. I do some internet searching and find her number and gave her a call. She answers. I explain. She gets it. I mentioned who the 1st cousin was and she immediately said that that person’s dad only had one sibling, a brother. And that he was born and raised in Brooklyn and now lives in the Bronx.
At this point, it’s all coming together for me. My mom probably met this other New Yorker in little ol Americus GA and they hit it off for a night. I look him up online and WOW. I can see my complexion. I can also see a little bit of my son’s face in him. My son saw a picture of him and saw it too.
Needless to say, this connection to the family member who organizes the family reunions was the key. She then told me that he (bio-dad) has 3 daughters and is going to be surprised to find out he’s got 2 sons. I look up the daughters and come to find out that the older two are almost the exact same age as me and my half brother.
I reach out to him (bio dad) and one of the older sisters. I couldn’t reach out to the other older sister because I was already blocked on fb by her. Strange, I know. I sent both bio-dad and bio-sis a long text explaining who I am and that I’m looking for my bio dad and that I know that my mom didn’t tell him about me and that there’s no bad feelings. I also sent bio-sis my social media links to prove I’m a real person as I’m also somewhat of an influencer on TikTok and IG. I hear nothing from either of them.
A week goes by and my fiance and I are heading out the door to see a movie when I get a call from an nyc number. I answer and it’s bio-dad’s current wife. She explained who she is and that he denies the idea of me because (and I quote) he “doesn’t remember my mom’s name” lol. She then grills me for 30 minutes like I’m some freak of nature. I keep my composure and eventually the conversation turns around to be more civil. That’s when I found out that current wife is just about the same age as me. I also find out that I have a sister who is 15.
Current-wife and I both agree that the best thing to do is for him to take a 23andme test. Weeks go by. He never calls or responds to the original text. I know he got it because it was blue. After about a month I get a text from current wife letting me know that he is going to take the test and for me to not contact him or any family once the results come in….so that he can process it.
2 months later and I have 0 results. I reach out to current wife and ask if he ever took the test. She lets me know that he did but that he had to send in a 2nd test because the first wasn’t done right. A few weeks after that, I get the notification.
It says that he’s a 1st cousin. And guess what, he immediately calls me for the first time, after the results come in. I don’t answer.
Here’s the thing: how can his niece ring as a 1st cousin to me as well as him? It doesn’t past the smell test. I feel like I’ve been stonewalled from the beginning and now I’m thinking he never took the test. Someone else in his family did just so that he can prove he’s “not the father”. The way this family has stonewalled me from the jump, you’d think they are some royal family or something. It makes zero sense to me.
submitted by tajpressplay to AmIOverreacting [link] [comments]
If you have a 1st cousin; will that person’s uncle also be your 1st cousin?
Now for the story:
So I grew up without a biological father (and mostly without a mother too) as my grandmother raised me after being neglected a lot as a child. I had a stepfather who I found out wasn’t my biological father when I was 12 (though I always had my suspicions).
My mom told me that my biological father was a criminal and when she found out that she was pregnant she left the area (Americus GA) without telling him. When I was in college, I set out to find him by contacting police precincts and jails in the Americus area. I got no hits based on the name that my mother gave me to look for. I then hung up my search for him and lived my life. I got married, had kids, now grandkids, got divorced etc.
Fast forward to Christmas 2019. My grandmother unexpectedly passes away at the age of 94. A friend of mine got me a 23andme test as a gift because they knew about me never knowing who my father was. I take the test and immediately find a half brother on my father’s side. I am the first blood relative that he’s ever met as he was given up for adoption upon birth. We have formed a great bond over the past 4yrs.
The test also connected me with a 1st cousin on my father’s side. This was very promising because it essentially meant that one of her parents are siblings with my bio-dad. I reached out to her for years to no avail. I then go online to see if maybe I can find her on FB since not everyone looks on 23andme for messages. That’s when I discover that she’s mixed-race which eliminates her mom from being my potential aunt.
I reached out to her on fb for years also to no avail. At the beginning of this year I decide to try to use her as a base to find relatives around her. She is from the Midwest but her family lineage quickly goes back to Americus GA as well as NYC. Both of those are interesting because my mom is from Brooklyn and said that she met my bio-dad in Americus GA. I knew I was on the right path.
After sending numerous FB friend requests and messages, I get a lead from a friend of the namesake family to reach out to a certain member of that family because she organizes the family reunions in Americus. I do some internet searching and find her number and gave her a call. She answers. I explain. She gets it. I mentioned who the 1st cousin was and she immediately said that that person’s dad only had one sibling, a brother. And that he was born and raised in Brooklyn and now lives in the Bronx.
At this point, it’s all coming together for me. My mom probably met this other New Yorker in little ol Americus GA and they hit it off for a night. I look him up online and WOW. I can see my complexion. I can also see a little bit of my son’s face in him. My son saw a picture of him and saw it too.
Needless to say, this connection to the family member who organizes the family reunions was the key. She then told me that he (bio-dad) has 3 daughters and is going to be surprised to find out he’s got 2 sons. I look up the daughters and come to find out that the older two are almost the exact same age as me and my half brother.
I reach out to him (bio dad) and one of the older sisters. I couldn’t reach out to the other older sister because I was already blocked on fb by her. Strange, I know. I sent both bio-dad and bio-sis a long text explaining who I am and that I’m looking for my bio dad and that I know that my mom didn’t tell him about me and that there’s no bad feelings. I also sent bio-sis my social media links to prove I’m a real person as I’m also somewhat of an influencer on TikTok and IG. I hear nothing from either of them.
A week goes by and my fiance and I are heading out the door to see a movie when I get a call from an nyc number. I answer and it’s bio-dad’s current wife. She explained who she is and that he denies the idea of me because (and I quote) he “doesn’t remember my mom’s name” lol. She then grills me for 30 minutes like I’m some freak of nature. I keep my composure and eventually the conversation turns around to be more civil. That’s when I found out that current wife is just about the same age as me. I also find out that I have a sister who is 15.
Current-wife and I both agree that the best thing to do is for him to take a 23andme test. Weeks go by. He never calls or responds to the original text. I know he got it because it was blue. After about a month I get a text from current wife letting me know that he is going to take the test and for me to not contact him or any family once the results come in….so that he can process it.
2 months later and I have 0 results. I reach out to current wife and ask if he ever took the test. She lets me know that he did but that he had to send in a 2nd test because the first wasn’t done right. A few weeks after that, I get the notification.
It says that he’s a 1st cousin. And guess what, he immediately calls me for the first time, after the results come in. I don’t answer.
Here’s the thing: how can his niece ring as a 1st cousin to me as well as him? It doesn’t past the smell test. I feel like I’ve been stonewalled from the beginning and now I’m thinking he never took the test. Someone else in his family did just so that he can prove he’s “not the father”. The way this family has stonewalled me from the jump, you’d think they are some royal family or something. It makes zero sense to me.
2024.04.13 20:34 DetectiveFork A Possible Source for the Thunderbird Photo?
 | Could the Missing Thunderbird Photo be a false memory? Here's one old newspaper article that could have been the trigger. submitted by DetectiveFork to Cryptozoology [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/jcdbcf0ghauc1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=47f09363a96912f2c148d6ecb3546d1d37a35979 By Kevin J. Guhl Memories of the Missing Thunderbird Photo are so vivid. A monochrome photograph of a group of men, about half a dozen, posing with some type of flying prehistoric beast or impossibly large bird of prey suspended from a wall. Or some variation thereof. It was seen in an old book or periodical, strikingly recalled but forever out of reach for rediscovery. But what if the Thunderbird Photo is the product of jumbled and faded recollections, melded by later influence into a mental picture of something that was never there? If so, can we track down the initial trigger that generated this powerful image? Today we unveil one possibility. Could the Thunderbird Photo be a false memory? Mark Hall, author of "Thunderbirds: America's Living Legends of Giant Birds" (the seminal book on the topic), wrote, "My own expectation at this point in time is that there is a picture of a large dead bird somewhere in an old book. I think that a small number of people have actually seen that particular record. I think that many other people are only responding to the description of that kind of a photograph and are confusing that description with some picture they have seen of a commonplace bird." Mark Chorvinsky, the editor of Strange Magazine who completed the most exhaustive investigation ever taken into the Thunderbird Photo, said many of his trusted colleagues who investigated the anomalous insisted they had seen the photograph. "Why would so many people be certain that they saw it if they did not? But on the other hand, if the photo does not exist, how valuable are first-person accounts, which are the foundation for the widespread belief in many phenomena? If the t-bird photo is merely a false memory, how many other recollections of various phenomena are too?" Zoologist and author Dr. Karl Shuker proposed that a trigger for the Thunderbird Photograph might have been a photo of a marabou stork held up via its wings by African tribesmen, an image that was published in many popular books during the early 1970s, including "The Guinness Book of Records." Shuker wrote that while some skeptics might completely dismiss the Thunderbird Photo as urban folklore, he wondered if "at least some of those people who claim to have seen it have actually seen a superficially similar picture, depicting some large but known species of bird with wings outstretched, and years later have mis-remembered what they saw, erroneously believing that they had actually seen the thunderbird photo. Such an event would be a classic case of false memory syndrome." Dr. Karl Shuker suggested that this photograph of a marabou stork with African tribesmen, published in \"The Guinness Book of Records\" during the 1970s, might be a memory trigger for the Missing Thunderbird Photo. Included here on a Fair Use, educational basis. Our memories aren't like digital recordings, pristinely preserved for all time. They are highly malleable and often unreliable. Criminal psychologist and memory expert Dr. Julia Shaw describes how "post-event information" can influence our memories and come from many possible sources, such as discussing an event with others in person or online, reading articles about the event or related events, or seeing photos taken by ourselves or others. We are also prone to "memory borrowing," appropriating someone else's experiences as our own. People unintentionally confabulate disparate fragments of information into meaningful contexts, explaining how some have impossible memories of early childhood that are derived from stories told by parents, old photographs, etc. One 2008 study demonstrated that just showing participants photos of specific locations they had never visited made them more likely to mistakenly report having visited those places a week or two later. "Any source of information has the potential to change our memories post hoc," wrote Shaw. Why does this happen? As explained by Shaw, memory is made possible by the neuronal plasticity of our brains. Our brain cells—neurons—form networks that connect and store related information, enabling us to learn and adapt. It is an essential survival mechanism. According to scientific theory, wrote Shaw, "every time a memory is recalled it is effectively retrieved, examined, and then recreated from scratch to be stored again." Therefore, any time an event is remembered, it would be prone to corruption by present stimuli, replacing the original memory with a falsified version. The description of the Thunderbird Photo might be so evocative and mysterious that it has the power to convince people they've seen it, possibly incorporating memories of similar information stored in their brains. And this phenomenon has been happening to scores of people over the past several decades. Memories of the Thunderbird Photo are so pervasive that it is an oft-cited example of The Mandela Effect, a situation in which numerous people recall something as real which is provably false. The namesake of this effect is South African President Nelson Mandela, who some recall dying in prison during the 1980s when in actuality he died a free man in 2013. The commonality of such false memories has led to the fantastical notion that we are all catching glimpses of parallel universes in which these alternative realities, such as the Thunderbird Photo, exist. First False Memories? When readings accounts of the Thunderbird Photo, it's interesting to note that the source of the image tends to vary with the age of the witness. Men's adventure magazines, a staple of news racks in the mid-20th century, are a frequently remembered source of the Thunderbird Photo, especially during the 1960s. These vividly illustrated periodicals were known for their high-octane, lurid adventure tales and somewhat exaggerated reporting on burly men encountering exotic locales and women. The first widely printed description of the Thunderbird Photo appeared in one of these magazines, the May 1963 issue of SAGA, in an article by Jack Pearl called "Monster Bird That Carries Off Human Beings!" As one example, prolific Fortean investigator Stan Gordon recalled seeing the Thunderbird Photo in a men's adventure magazine in a bookstore during the late 1960s while attending college in Pittsburgh. "(There) were so many magazines like Saga and all those great magazines. And it was that kind of magazine, like an outdoor magazine. It was a larger, color magazine they had the picture in, but I don't remember which one," said Gordon. Like many other witnesses, Gordon recalls—albeit faintly—that the photograph showed several men standing with a huge, overgrown bird. John Keel, famed chronicler of the paranormal and author of "The Mothman Prophecies," recalled the photo a bit differently. "It looked like a pterodactyl or something; it had an enormous wingspread," he said. "The thing was sort of nailed to a barn, or hanging from a barn or something, and these men — a large group of men — were standing in front of it. They all were very rustic-looking, like real farmers. And one guy had on a top hat and they referred to him in the caption as a college professor, but he was probably just another cowboy... I would say it was like the 1880s or something." Keel believed he had seen the photograph of the "huge, black, pterodactyl-like creature" during the 1950s or 1960s, probably "in a men's magazine like Saga or True" or a tabloid like "The Tattler, Midnight, and other imitations of the National Enquirer." Witnesses who grew up in the later 20th century, from the '70s through the '90s, often recall having seen the Thunderbird Photo in a book, generally one about strange phenomena. One oft-cited source is the Reader's Digest tome "Mysteries of the Unexplained," originally published in 1982 and reprinted several times. The book DOES include a passage on surviving pterodactyls and one alleged example that emerged from ancient limestone and promptly perished, startling French workmen who were digging a railway tunnel in 1856. The book, however, did not contain the infamous Thunderbird Photo. Artist Andrew Minniear, who provided the Thunderbird Photo sketch used as the header image on ThunderbirdPhoto.com, said, "The photo I remember seeing and approximating in my sketch came from a dinosaur book in my elementary school library around 1990 or 1991. I remember that the photograph clearly showed an eagle or otherwise recognizable bird of prey and NOT a pterodactyl as is commonly shown in 'reproductions' of the original photograph. I also clearly remember a line of five or six men dressed in western garb standing in front of the barn wall with their arms outstretched, fingertip to fingertip to demonstrate the measure of the wingspan." The Lost Thunderbird Photo by Andrew Minniear. Used with permission. Starting in the 1990s, artistic recreations of the Missing Thunderbird Photo began to surface. It's likely that people who remember seeing the photo during the internet era are accurately recalling seeing one of these fakes online. Digital artist Chris Smith witnessed this first-hand when he posted his superb take on the photo online in 2010 and to this day it is the go-to example shown in articles, videos and TV programs about the Tombstone Thunderbird. These creators don't always make it clear that the image is artwork and not the real deal. The Tombstone Pterosaur by Chris Smith. Used with permission. However, there is an older generation who claimed to remember seeing the Thunderbird Photo long before the internet, New Age-section books or men's magazines. And in their memory, the photo appeared in a late 19th century or early 20th century newspaper. While the photo was originally said to have debuted in the Tombstone, Arizona Epitaph newspaper during the late 1800s, that claim has been proven inaccurate. The April 26, 1890 edition of the Epitaph featured a wild story about ranchers shooting down a dragon-like beast the size of a Boeing 737 on the desert outside town. It contains elements of the tale associated with the Thunderbird Photo, although it's not about a giant bird and there is no photograph, not even a mention of one. According to Mark Boardman, current editor of The Tombstone Epitaph, the earliest known photograph to appear in the publication was a 1907 ad for an act at the opera house. “Photos were very sporadic through the 1920s, interspersed with drawings and other illustrations,” he said. However, two of the earliest writers to mention the Thunderbird Photo stated that it appeared in a newspaper. Northcentral Pennsylvania resident Hiram M. Cranmer wrote a letter to FATE magazine that was published in its September 1963 issue and appears to have been the same source Pearl used for his article in SAGA. Thus far, it is the earliest published reference to the Thunderbird Photo that has been located. Cranmer claimed that there were massive birds in rural, mountainous Pennsylvania which boasted incredible wingspans between 25-35 feet. He dubbed them "thunderbirds" after the storm entities, frequently described as giant birds, that are central to the beliefs of many Native American groups. In his letter, Cranmer wrote, "Sometime about the year 1900 two prospectors shot and carried into Tombstone, Ariz., on a burro one of these birds. When nailed against the wall of the Tombstone Epitaph its wingspread measured 36 feet. A picture showed six men, with outstretched arms touching, standing under the bird. Later, a group of actors dressed as professors were photographed under the bird, with one of them saying, 'Shucks, there is no such bird, never was, and never will be.'” Cranmer expanded on this tale in a follow-up letter published in the March 1966 edition of FATE, writing: "Previously I have been able to get information about other birds through FATE’s readers. The most interesting was the thunderbird. A lady in Tombstone, Ariz., gave me a splendid account of a thunderbird two prospectors shot and brought into Tombstone and nailed on the side of the newspaper building, the Tombstone Epitaph. Its wingspread measured 36 feet. A picture was taken of six men standing under it with arms outstretched and fingers touching. The photo was copied in many newspapers. The editor notified colleges in states west of the Rockies asking them to examine the bird but no one came. So he got six actors dressed as professors wearing tall hats worn in the 19th Century to pose with the bird. One of them was quoted as saying, 'There ain’t no such bird, never was, and never will be.' The picture was circulated in papers all over the United States.” Robert R. Lyman Sr., who lived near Cranmer in northcentral Pennsylvania, documented the region's history of giant bird sightings in his 1972 book "Amazing Indeed: Strange Events in the Black Forest." He referenced Cranmer's information about the Thunderbird Photo, but added, "I saw that picture in a daily paper. Many other persons remember seeing it. No one has been able to find it in recent years." So, according to the claims of Lyman and Cranmer, it appears the Thunderbird Photo might have been syndicated in newspapers across the United States. This author and other researchers continue to scour digital archives, seeking the elusive, legendary photograph. But what if faded recollections are at play here, and witnesses like Lyman and Cranmer are misremembering images they did see in a newspaper, which merged with accounts of the photo and the Tombstone Epitaph article years later to create a false memory? Based on this hypothesis, let's examine one potential candidate that could have served as a trigger for people who remembered seeing the Thunderbird Photo in an early 20th century newspaper. The American Weekly "Roc" Article In 1896, publisher William Randolph Hearst introduced The American Weekly, a magazine included with his newspapers as a Sunday supplement. Each issue of The American Weekly featured sensationalistic illustrations and text, some of it fictionalized. It's 12-24 large-format pages were "filled with scantily clad showgirls and tales of murder and suspense," wrote illustration historian Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. Hearst and his rival Joseph Pulitzer were known for fueling yellow journalism during the late 1890s as each battled to gain the most readers via pulse-pounding reporting that increased the popular appeal of their newspapers. Content from The American Weekly would appear in Hearst's papers under various mastheads, sometimes titled simply as "Magazine Section" and credited to one of Hearst's three syndicates, International Feature Service, Newspaper Feature Service or King Features Syndicate. The Hearst company opened up distribution of The American Weekly to newspapers outside its ownership in 1938, and the magazine persisted in some form until 1966. Morrill Goddard, the editor of Hearst's flagship New York Journal who launched The American Weekly (first as American Sunday Magazine) in 1896, said, "Nothing is so stale as yesterday's newspaper, but The American Weekly may be around the house for days or weeks and lose none of its interest." Unfortunately, The American Weekly was printed on fragile newsprint, and few copies have survived to the present day. The Sunday, Feb. 13, 1921 of The American Weekly included a full page article headlined, "Did Sinbad-the-Sailor Really See a "Roc"? The article recounted Sinbad the Sailor's first encounter with the gigantic bird, the Roc, as told in the Arabian Nights. Deserted by his shipmates on a desert island while napping, Sinbad stumbled upon a large dome which turned out to be the Roc's massive egg. When the monstrous bird returned and approached its nesting place, the sky darkened as if covered by a thick cloud. Sinbad crept toward the bird and used his turban to fasten himself to the Roc's leg, which was the size of a tree trunk. When the bird ascended, it carried him away to a walled valley carpeted with diamonds and other jewels. "The legends of prehistoric times and the tales of mythology are always based upon something—what sort of creature, then, was it that flew through the skies and inspired this tale of Sinbad in ages long gone by?" the article pondered. The piece then went on to describe some of the massive winged creatures that lived in ages past. This included the Pteranodon, in particular the first North American specimens, discovered by Yale College professor Othniel Charles Marsh in November 1870 in western Kansas. Marsh estimated a wingspan of not less than 20 feet. The American Weekly article also focused on a few enormous but flightless extinct birds, including the "parrot-like" Diatryma (now called Gastornis) that stood more than six-and-a-half feet. A nearly complete skeleton was discovered in northwest Wyoming in 1916. Explorer Marco Polo assigned the Roc's island home to Madagascar, which was also the home of Aepyornis, the nearly 10-foot-tall elephant bird. With Aepyornis having gone extinct within memory of the Malagasy people, it had become associated with the legendary Roc. The article described the Malagasy traveling to Mauritius to purchase rum, and using the petrified eggs of the elephant bird to carry it back. The eggs held approximately two gallons. Finally, the piece showcased a photo of a man standing next to a recreation of an extinct, 14-foot-tall moa of New Zealand. Crucial to this discussion, the article also contained a series of illustrations that display elements similar to what Cranmer later described in his two letters to FATE that referenced the Thunderbird Photo. The central imagery of the Thunderbird Photo is a massive flying creature, wings outstretched and mounted on the exterior wall of a building. Some people remember it as being a barn. Others say there wasn't a building at all. But in the earliest description of the photo, Cranmer wrote, "When nailed against the wall of the Tombstone Epitaph its wingspread measured 36 feet." The American Weekly article included the following drawing depicting the Pteranodon's wingspread compared to a common sight of the day, a trolley car. It does not seem a stretch that the side of the trolley car could be misremembered as a building. https://preview.redd.it/6jcgij3diauc1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=e9dbb8e20bf568f56761e3e056d83fabba7b0a74 The next most distinctive element of the Thunderbird Photo is approximately half a dozen men in period clothing, possibly cowboys, standing in front of the creature, arms outstretched to demonstrate the creature's enormous wingspan. "A picture showed six men, with outstretched arms touching, standing under the bird," Cranmer wrote. But Cranmer added another odd detail (and thereby inferred there might have been multiple versions of the photo): "The editor notified colleges in states west of the Rockies asking them to examine the bird but no one came. So he got six actors dressed as professors wearing tall hats worn in the 19th Century to pose with the bird." While the American Weekly article doesn't depict a group of people, it does include two separate images of a man standing next to a gigantic, extinct avian as a size comparison. The first is a photo of a man standing beside a recreation of a moa. The second is a drawing of a man posing underneath a massive Pteranodon, its wings draped above his head. And the man in question is smartly dressed in a suit and a top hat. https://preview.redd.it/csv97pxhiauc1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=d51d94c16cbdac3d14ccc168c2ae7e5b672713d5 Finally, along the top of the article is a detailed illustration of the Roc in flight, massive wings spanning the page and Sinbad dangling from one of its talons. It resembles the bird—not pterosaur—that Cranmer stated was the subject of the infamous photograph. "Roc" might as well have been interchangeable with "Thunderbird" in the way Cranmer described the monster birds inhabiting his home state of Pennsylvania and other regions: "I first saw such a bird in April, 1922," he wrote. "I was standing by my gate at dusk when one flew over heading north. It passed a pine tree with branches spreading 50 feet, so I could estimate its wingspread fairly accurately. It was 35 feet." Lyman also claimed to have personally witnessed these birds, writing: "About 1940 I saw a huge bird which I am certain was a thunderbird. It was on the ground in the center of the Sheldon Road, about two miles north of Coudersport. It was brownish in color. Legs and neck were short. It was between three and four feet tall and stood upright like a very large vulture. When I was about 150 feet away it raised to fly. It was plain to see its wingspread was equal to the width of the roadbed, which I measured and found to be 25 feet. I will concede it may have been 20 feet but no less. The wings were very narrow, not over one foot wide." https://preview.redd.it/dgozh8jviauc1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=44d9c961eba0bf4fabf4c43bc75b24f48d5fb507 All of the elements of the Thunderbird Photo are present in the artwork that accompanies the Feb. 13, 1921 American Weekly article about historical analogs to Sinbad's Roc: a giant feathered bird, a large flying creature spread out along an exterior surface, and a man in a top hat standing beneath a colossal, winged beast. Cranmer was 30 in 1921 and Lyman was 26. It's likely that they both might have read the eye-catching "Roc" article in the popular and widely published American Weekly. Cranmer somehow learned of the 1890 Tombstone Epitaph article, as well, whether it be from a woman in Arizona or perhaps from its inclusion in Major Horace Bell's 1930 book, "On the Old West Coast: Being Further Reminiscences of a Ranger." Both men were deeply invested in tales of giant birds soaring over Pennsylvania. Knowing what we do about the malleability of memory, it's feasible that Cranmer's interest in "Thunderbirds," his knowledge of the 1890 Epitaph story (which doesn't mention a photograph but suggests one could have been taken, as the beast is being hauled into town at the article's conclusion), and vague memories of the American Weekly piece could have merged into a mental stew recollection of late 19th century Arizona men posed with their mammoth trophy bird. In Cranmer's mind, the dragon of the original tale, which did somewhat resemble a Pteranodon with its alligator-like head and leathery wings, might have been replaced with a giant, feathered bird. Lyman, who was aware of Cranmer's account of the Thunderbird Photo when he penned his 1972 book, could have unknowingly appropriated the photo's striking description into his own memory, blending with past triggers. Author, naturalist and pioneering cryptozoologist Ivan T. Sanderson popularized the search for the missing photo he believed he once owned, starting a Fortean obsession in the early 1970s that has never abated. Sanderson's description of the photo matched Pearl's SAGA article. According to Chorvinsky, it's likely that Cranmer mailed the same letter to FATE and SAGA, but SAGA ran it first, albeit as an unreferenced source in Pearl's article. Therefore, future accounts of the photo all have a direct lineage to Cranmer. And in that way, the 1921 "Roc" article is one potential source for the Missing Thunderbird Photo. Although likely just happenstance, this hypothesis manages to synthesize the competing claims that the Missing Thunderbird Photo depicts either a giant bird or a pterosaur, as both were present in the 1921 article. Since Cranmer, the earliest known source of information about the photo, attested that it was a bird, perhaps the idea that it shows a flying reptile extinct for millions of years is wishful thinking. Or, perhaps the "Roc" article influenced multiple early witnesses in different ways, spreading its roots deeper within the Thunderbird Photo mythos. On the other hand, many people are certain they have seen the real Thunderbird Photo, and I am not going to be the one to tell them any differently. As Keel said when questioned by Chorvinsky, "I have a clear memory of the photograph, you know. It's one of those photographs that sticks in your mind. It's not something that I read about, it's something I saw." Before we go, I want to acknowledge Cat Ann ( u/PM_MeYourEars ), my friend and fellow Thunderbird Photo researcher who passed away earlier this year. She and I came across this 1921 article independently and both drew similar conjectures. I already miss sharing such discussions with her, and always will. |
2024.04.13 02:46 SportMammoth867 Stand:「F.O.T.O.S」
STAND NAME:「F.O.T.O.S」 , aka (Friend on the other side) STAND TYPE: - Far-Distance Autopilot Type - Reconnaissance - Materialized - Humanoid (standard form)
STAND USER: Name: James Odie Aliases: “The Shadow Man of the Bayou” Nationality: American (U.S.A) Ethnicity: African American Birthplace: Louisiana, New Orleans Alignment: Mischievous Good Hair color: Black Quote: “Our shadows are a reflection of ourselves, both our physical and darkest parts”. NAMESAKE: "Friends on the other side" song by Keith David (Princess and the frog) STAND APPEARANCE:The stand is basically the user's shadow, except when active the places where its eyes and mouth turn white.
ABILITY: Shadow Side This Stand’s abilities mostly revolve around the manipulation of physical and conceptual darkness and shadows, while also incorporating some elements of voodoo mainly revolving around manipulating the shape of the Shadow to manipulate the owner of said shadow as well as entering the shadow world. Besides the ability to summon this stand in conditions where shadows don't exist and the user's, the stand itself has 5 main techniques that make it quite formidable. This stand can also sever its connection to the user and act independently.
WEAKNESSES: The stand can be driven back or deterred by exceptionally bright light. Telekinetically moving large objects takes a bit of effort and stamina Most shadow techniques require an object or person’s shadow to be present. In order for it to be manipulated. The technology it's best effective on is mechanical or tech that requires physical movement not digital stuff. Techniques: Shadow Morph: A person's shadow must be present for the manipulation to occur. disability can be resisted by light-based and darkness-based stand users. This ability can also be countered by Crazy Diamond. Shadow Stalkers: Shadow Stalkers can be driven away or destroyed by bright light focused on them such as a flashlight. However, those made from a person's shadow are a bit trickier to defeat. In order to defeat a shadow Stalker made from another person’s shadow, the owner of that shadow must truly and wholeheartedly be able to accept the darkest parts of themselves. Shadow World: besides FOTOS being required to leave the shadow world another way someone can escape is if they have an exceptionally bright light. One of the most needed requirements for manipulation is that FOTOS or a shadow spawns has to touch/possess the opponent's shadow. Despite its ability to split into potentially infinite copies of itself each copy made has about 75% the power of the original, and are identified by being a more blackish gray. The user is the only person who can undo the shadow morphing. It is possible to fight FOTOS using one’s own shadow, but
POWER: B ( A in shadowy or Dark areas) SPEED: A RANGE: A DURABILITY: B PRECISION: A POTENTIAL: A
submitted by SportMammoth867 to fanStands [link] [comments]
STAND USER: Name: James Odie Aliases: “The Shadow Man of the Bayou” Nationality: American (U.S.A) Ethnicity: African American Birthplace: Louisiana, New Orleans Alignment: Mischievous Good Hair color: Black Quote: “Our shadows are a reflection of ourselves, both our physical and darkest parts”. NAMESAKE: "Friends on the other side" song by Keith David (Princess and the frog) STAND APPEARANCE:The stand is basically the user's shadow, except when active the places where its eyes and mouth turn white.
ABILITY: Shadow Side This Stand’s abilities mostly revolve around the manipulation of physical and conceptual darkness and shadows, while also incorporating some elements of voodoo mainly revolving around manipulating the shape of the Shadow to manipulate the owner of said shadow as well as entering the shadow world. Besides the ability to summon this stand in conditions where shadows don't exist and the user's, the stand itself has 5 main techniques that make it quite formidable. This stand can also sever its connection to the user and act independently.
- Shadow Morph: This allows the stand to not only shapeshift and James as well, but also affect the shape of other people by manipulating their shadow. This technique allows the user to shapeshift their body, while their shadow is connected and alter their obvious physical features. This can allow the user to manifest some powers related to the shape that the shadow takes . This stand can also take shadows it's absorbed and make them into constructs that can be manifested for the user's physical body to utilize in physical combat. This can also be used to give the illusion of the user having other powers by having both FOTOS dive into something's shadow and then either reshape it or manipulate it. This can also be great for unforeseen and issues for their opponents as their Shadow needs to be taken into consideration when fighting this stand. This also makes this stand great for repairs as it can join the shadow back together and thus cause the destroyed object to be restored as well. Furthermore this ability can be used so that the user or a target can seemingly phase and go inside of someone's or something's shadow and therefore their body without altering their physical mass. Examples: Making their shadow muscular will make the owner muscular as well and increase their strength. The obvious physical features include but are not limited to: Height, size, large amount of hair, body shape,etc. If the shadow forms a wound on itself, signified by a white speck on it, while connected to the user and closes it then if the user, if they have a similar wound will be healed. However if the shadow replaces a missing limb then that limb will be colored black. If the FOTOS alters either a body part or the whole shadow of another person, then that person's physical body and its accessories will suffer the same fate. If The shadow stretches it's arms the user can do so as well. If FOTOS turns it's arms into wings the user will have functional wings as well. If FOTOS, when in use, is overlapped with another shadow, it will allow the user to disappear in an invisible ghost-like state. FOTOS can make it so that one can stuff a person into an object or person, though the shadow will have a bulge in it, unless fixed or ejected by the user. (One person claims they saw James take a python coil it into a ball the size of a yoga ball, shrink it to the size of basketball and stuff it into an alligator’s stomach which he widened to the width of a door and then proceeded to make it swallow the snake whole before twisting it's mouth shut when they were trapped in the swamp and he rescued them). If FOTOs creates a wall on a surface, even if there's not a physical wall casting it, if a person’s Shadow runs into it the owner of that shadow will feel as if they've hit a wall.
- Shade World: The shadow possesses the ability to enter an alternate dimension much like「Man in the Mirror」, but with very different applications. The main being sanctuary, transportation, and trapping. As for sanctuary this place allows the user and FOTOS to travel into a shadow colored world which they can then use a medium to hide out in or transport themselves to another shadowy area within a 3 kilometer radius (they can also choose to either eject out of that area or see through their exit shadow’s eyes. Not only this, this shadow world can act as a headquarters. This also makes it great for infiltration as entering the shadow of a building allows them to see a dark version of the real thing mirroring real time events making this stand great for scouting.This world is usually empty but there will be vestiges of another person. In this world FOTOS is at its strongest and can even manipulate it without affecting the outside world in general. The user is pulled into the shade World by either the shadow wrapping around their body then having them disappear in a puff of black smoke or by jumping inside FOTOS itself. This also allows FOTOS to act as a storage space for James.
- Shadow Puppet: FOTOS itself is capable of inserting itself into the shadows of both living and non-living objects and taking possession of both the shadow and the being attached to it. This allows Odie to either telekinetically manipulate objects, physically manipulate their shape, control their actions, or destroy them via their shadows. This can also be used as a surveillance system by have duplicate shadows take root in another person's shadow allowing the user not only to look at past memories of the shadow’s owner, but to also track them and inconspicuously listen to what they are doing and see through their Shadow’s eyes or even some the shadow of a possessed victim to help him. This can also be used without possession because whatever happens to the shadow happens to the owner (think about the “princess and the frog” where Dr Facilier shadow not only took the hats of Prince and Lawrence (his backstabbing Butler) and threw the hats, but when the shadow kicked Lawrence’s shadow the same happened to him). This technique can also be used to get around; they can use their Shadow as a medium to stick and move across to a surface or in the case of falling give the illusion of being able to fly by having FOTOS drag them around while it clings to a surface.
- Shadow Strength: Much like the stand Black Sabbath, FOTOS gets stronger in areas of darkness and is most powerful at night time. However unlike black Sabbath this stand is capable of absorbing darkness to empower itself by severing either part or the entirety of another object or person’s shadow, can can choose whether or not to harm something, in which case the shadow simply regenerates, and absorb the shadow to empower either itself and it's user or another person or Shadow Stalker.
- Shadow Stalkers: This allows the user to manifest either their own or someone else's shadow usually taking a human form but they’ll be colored black and grey with red eyes. The shadow spawns are created when FOTOS touches the target's/targets’ shadow(s) and also maintain a connection with their owners thus allowing any damage the shadow stalk receives to be transferred to their respective owners while leaving them unharmed as they simply regenerate, but this link can be severed by the user's choice but the shadow stalkers will simply regenerate. The Shadow Stalkers are also capable of taking on a corporeal form acting as manifestation of a person's darker traits and repressed Id, though they are absolutely obedient to Jame’s orders despite their nature. Both these stalkers have the ability to stay as a shadow and take on a corporeal form.
WEAKNESSES: The stand can be driven back or deterred by exceptionally bright light. Telekinetically moving large objects takes a bit of effort and stamina Most shadow techniques require an object or person’s shadow to be present. In order for it to be manipulated. The technology it's best effective on is mechanical or tech that requires physical movement not digital stuff. Techniques: Shadow Morph: A person's shadow must be present for the manipulation to occur. disability can be resisted by light-based and darkness-based stand users. This ability can also be countered by Crazy Diamond. Shadow Stalkers: Shadow Stalkers can be driven away or destroyed by bright light focused on them such as a flashlight. However, those made from a person's shadow are a bit trickier to defeat. In order to defeat a shadow Stalker made from another person’s shadow, the owner of that shadow must truly and wholeheartedly be able to accept the darkest parts of themselves. Shadow World: besides FOTOS being required to leave the shadow world another way someone can escape is if they have an exceptionally bright light. One of the most needed requirements for manipulation is that FOTOS or a shadow spawns has to touch/possess the opponent's shadow. Despite its ability to split into potentially infinite copies of itself each copy made has about 75% the power of the original, and are identified by being a more blackish gray. The user is the only person who can undo the shadow morphing. It is possible to fight FOTOS using one’s own shadow, but
POWER: B ( A in shadowy or Dark areas) SPEED: A RANGE: A DURABILITY: B PRECISION: A POTENTIAL: A
2024.04.10 21:26 ScarWinter5373 An analysis on what happened to Targaryen women...
without a known date of death.
Pretty much what the title says, an overview and analysis of what happened to the Targaryen women within ASOIAF without a known death date. Who they married, whether they may have had children, supported rebellions etc..
The Targaryen women who fall into this bracket include:
Septa Rhaella Targaryen
Princess Saera Targaryen
Lady Baela Targaryen
Lady Rhaena Targaryen
Princess Daena Targaryen
Septa Rhaena Targaryen
Princess Elaena Targaryen
Princess Daella Targaryen
Princess Rhae Targaryen.
From what little characterisation of her we have, she appears to be the likely candidate to be Dunk's lovewife. Although it renders House Tarth and Brienne illegitimate posers to Evenfall, it is probable that she fell pregnant with Dunk's son and unknowingly to everyone else, married Lord Tarth and passed the baby boy off as his. We know that she is the last child of Dyanna and Maekar, and probably was the birth that caused Dyanna's death. It is also known that she wanted to marry Egg, and slipped him a love potion to make him fall in love with her. From Aemon's quote we know she had multiple children, so she at least had some legitimate children with Lord Tarth if that theory is true. Although it's weird that Brienne does not know that she has a probable Targaryen grandmother, so perhaps she married Dunk and died in childbirth with a girl (cos GRRM looooves that). That girl probably assumed the Targaryen name and married Lord Tarth and was mother to Selwyn. We also know that she and Daella visited Maester Aemon, so she either travelled all the way up to the Wall (lol) or she had her children before 233, and so either lived at Dragonstone, or travelled to there, KL or Oldtown. Not sure when she died, but again like her sister, the easiest way to kill her off is at Summerhall.
Princess Aelora Targaryen
Princess Daenora Targaryen
Princess Vaella Targaryen
Queen Shaera Targaryen
Princess Rhaelle Targaryen
Conclusively, of the 14 Targaryen women who we have no death dates for, it is likely that Rhaella, Aelora, Rhaena and Vaella have no descendants, whilst the rest do. Septa Rhaella died during the reign of the Old King. Princess Saera likely died in the pre-Dance era. Rhaena and Baela most likely lived well into reigns of Baelor the Blessed and beyond. Daena possibly remarried and had descendants through a daughter, with Rhaena dying unmarried and childless, and Elaena living a long life filled with children and descendants. Aelora killed herself out of grief and never had descendants, whilst Daenora and Vaella probably died at Summerhall. Daella and Rhae both had children, with one being an ancestor to Selwyn and Brienne, via Dunk the Lunk. Shaera and Rhaelle probably died during the reign of Aerys II. To put it succinctly, we really need way more information on Targaryen women, and I really hope that they aren't all just killed off with childbirth/Summerhall. To put it even shorter, I would love a Fire and Blood 2, or more Dunk and Egg stories to fill in the blanks.
submitted by ScarWinter5373 to pureasoiaf [link] [comments]
Pretty much what the title says, an overview and analysis of what happened to the Targaryen women within ASOIAF without a known death date. Who they married, whether they may have had children, supported rebellions etc..
The Targaryen women who fall into this bracket include:
- Septa Rhaella Targaryen - daughter of Prince Aegon 'the Uncrowned' Targaryen and Queen Rhaena Targaryen.
- Princess Saera Targaryen - daughter of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen and Good Queen Alysanne Targaryen.
- Lady Baela Targaryen - daughter of Prince Daemon 'the Rogue Prince' Targaryen and Lady Laena Velaryon.
- Lady Rhaena Targaryen - daughter of Prince Daemon 'the Rogue Prince' Targaryen and Lady Laena Velaryon.
- Princess Daena 'the Defiant' Targaryen - daughter of King Aegon III Targaryen and Queen Daenaera Velaryon.
- Septa Rhaena Targaryen - daughter of King Aegon III Targaryen and Queen Daenaera Velaryon.
- Princess Elaena Targaryen - daughter of King Aegon III Targaryen and Queen Daenaera Velaryon.
- Princess Daella Targaryen - daughter of King Maekar I Targaryen and Lady Dyanna Dayne.
- Princess Rhae Targaryen - daughter of King Maekar I Targaryen and Lady Dyanna Dayne.
- Princess Aelora Targaryen - daughter of Prince Rhaegel Targaryen and Lady Alys Arryn.
- Princess Daenora Targaryen - daughter of Prince Rhaegel Targaryen and Lady Alys Arryn.
- Princess Vaella Targaryen - daughter of Prince Daeron 'the Drunken' Targaryen and Kiera of Tyrosh.
- Queen Shaera Targaryen - daughter of King Aegon V Targaryen and Black Queen Betha Blackwood.
- Princess Rhaelle Targaryen - daughter of King Aegon V Targaryen and Black Queen Betha Blackwood.
Septa Rhaella Targaryen
She did fly to Oldtown once a year to visit with her remaining daughter, Rhaella, a septa at the Starry Sept."That is the latest mention that Septa Rhaella gets in Fire and Blood, with her mother visiting her every year from ~56 A.C assumedly to her death in 73 A.C. Given the fact that those who die young within House Targaryen are at least afforded a date of death, I can assume that Rhaella did not die young as he was only 31 at the time of Rhaena's death. As a septa she of course never married or had children. It is also notable to include that not once are Septa Rhaella and Septa Maegelle noted to have been at the Starry Sept together, which is odd. To conclude briefly, she most probably died after her mother, but before 87 A.C when Maegelle is said to have taken leave to stay with Alysanne. I think had she been alive at the time, she would have accompanied Maegelle and offered some form of comfort to Alysanne.
Princess Saera Targaryen
Princess Saera herself was still alive and well in Volantis, and only thirty-four years of age."Saera had escaped across the Narrow Sea to Lys in 86 A.C, where she worked at a pleasure house before accruing a large amount of wealth before moving to Volantis and opening up a pleasure house. She had at least 3 bastard sons, all old enough to press their own claims without her help at the GC, and was wealthy enough to ignore Alysanne as well as not beg to Jaehaerys for help (not that I think she would have anyway). She was in good health in 101, and most probably alive in 103 given that Jaehaerys believed Alicent Hightower to be Saera returned from Volantis. I believe Prince Daemon and Laena visited Volantis in 115, where Saera is not mentioned, although this can be down to her paramour not being in power, as well as Daemon and Laena not being received well in the Free Cities. Her being 'only thirty-four' suggests to me thats he lived to be much older than 34, but probably did not live to hear of the Dance. Therefore, I think Saera died sometime between 115 and 129 A.C. She probably has a few descendants from her sons kicking around in Essos.
I have my own kingdom here' she said, when asked if she meant to return to Westeros."
Lady Baela Targaryen
The stormy marriage would prove to be the one made on Dragonstone, as the years would prove."Baela married Alyn Oakenfist in 132 A.C and it is known that she and Alyn had a very troublesome marriage, possibly due to his consistent cheating. In 134 she had given birth to a daughter, Laena, and by 136 was pregnant with a second child, most probably a son, who we know was born in 137. This is known due to the fact that the child is not noted to have been born by the end of 136, and we know that Aegon III was born in the last few days of 120. Alyn is known to have participated in Daeron I's attempted Conquest of Dorne in 157, and Baela being only 41 was most likely still living. Alyn had a questionable affair with her niece, Elaena Targaryen, presumedly after she was freed from the Maidenvault in 171. She also hoped to marry him, indicating that unless Aegon IV had brought back polygamy (I wouldn't put it past him), Baela had died by 175, when Elaena birthed Alyn's bastard twins, Jon and Jeyne Waters. I also cannot imagine the fiery, tempestuous Baela Targaryen, dragonrider and daughter of Prince Daemon, would have accepted or put up with an affair between her husband and her 34 years younger niece, let alone her birthing his children. So I think she died sometime before 171, during the reign of Baelor I. She is the ancestor of all future Velaryons through her son with Alyn.
She was the fairest treasure of the Maidenvault. Lord Oakenfist the great admiral lost his heart to her, though he was married to another."
She hoped to wed him, it was written."
Lady Rhaena Targaryen
So long as [my husband] is kind and gentle and noble, I know that I shall love him."Rhaena was the last Targaryen dragonrider, and we know that Morning died some time before 153 A.C, as she is not the last dragon described as 'no bigger than a mastiff's skull'. I think that Morning, Silverwing, Sheepstealer and the Cannibal were involved in a mini-Dance with Alys and Aemond's bastard son. This happened sometime between 145 and 153, as I can't really imagine the boy being younger than 14. This event probably saw the deaths of Morning, Silverwing, Sheepstealer and the Cannibal, as well as Aemond's bastard and possibly Rhaena. We know she married Garmund Hightower, although I'm not certain as to whether she lived at the Hightower with Morning in Oldtown or at the Red Keep. Given the last time a dragon lived at Oldtown, I cannot see Aegon III allowing it, so I think Garmund came to her and probably sat on the Small Council. They had six daughters, from whom I believe Aelinor Penrose, Jena Dondarrion, as well as the subsequent Lord's of Oldtown descend from. She probably chose Garmund for a husband and was happy with her marriage. For Rhaena's death, I think that she either died in the conflict with Aemond's bastard, enhanced by the name of her niece, as a possible tribute to her. Or she lived a very long life, which I admit was inspired by a piece of art I saw depicting her talking to Dunk and Egg in 211, aged 95. I like that idea because it means House Targaryen's story could go through 4 or 5 Targaryens. She is most likely ancestor to Jena Dondarrion, Aelinor Penrose and possibly Alys Arryn. She is also a possible ancestor to Brienne of Tarth.
Princess Daena Targaryen
She had a fearless "I'll dare anything" smile."Daena is the most interesting princess of her generation in my opinion. She was most probably in love with her elder brother, and the reason I believe they did not marry was due to the fact that Daeron I intended to marry Myriah Martell. She was married to Baelor to produce spares in the event of his death. However, he dissolved their marriage and forced her into the Maidenvault. We know that she is alive by the end of 170 and into 171, as she births Daemon and was known to have been freed from the Maidenvault by Viserys II. We also know that she had been considered a potential choice for queen in 171, but was rejected on account of her wilfulness, birthing an obvious bastard and her sex. Now, I believe that after she had been rejected by the Lords, she was probably married off again, as although she had given birth to a bastard, she was still an extremely desirable marriage prospect. Viserys II also didn't seem to care what his female relatives felt when it came to marriage, just look at Naerys and Aegon. I also think that it would've happened during Viserys' reign as I don't think Aegon IV would have been willing to part his precious Daemon from his mother. She most probably married a widower, or a second son. I think she is a possible mother to one of Daeron II's daughter in laws, and if I was to choose the most likely candidate, it would probably be Dyanna Dayne. They have similar names, Daena is the right age, Daeron II was known as a skilled marriage-maker (Baelor-Jena, Valarr-Kiera) and I can't think of a better place for a headstrong, defiant young woman to go other than Dorne. I also think that she was still alive during the First Blackfyre Rebellion, which creates a fun sort of dilemma for her, as she could choose to support her son, or her daughter's family. Adding the fact that Daemon does not once think to press his claim due to being the eldest grandson of Aegon III makes me think that they were not very close to eachother. I think that Daena outlived her son and the Rebellion, but died between 196 and 211, because I think Egg and Dunk would have gone to Starfall had his grandmother been there alive. It is also known that Elaena outlived her. She is a potential mother of Dyanna Dayne, and through her the grandmother to Egg and his line of Targaryens, making her the great-great-great grandmother of Rhaegar, Viserys and Daenerys.
Daena was lithe and athletic. She was an expert horsewoman and also a hunter and a fine archer."
Daemon was the name Daena gave to this child."
At that time Daena refused to name the father."
Septa Rhaena Targaryen
Rhaena was almost as pious as her brother and in time became a septa"She was locked up with her sisters in the Maidenvault. Probably didn't really mind given that she went on to be a septa. We know that she was alive as he was listed as having been freed from the vault by Viserys II. Had no children as a septa and most probably lived at the Starry Sept or Baelor's Great Sept. Known to have been outlived by her younger sister, Elaena Targaryen. Probably died sometime in Daeron the Good's reign.
Princess Elaena Targaryen
Elaena outlived her siblings and lead a tumultuous life once freed from the Maidenvault."Another interesting Targaryen princess, Elaena is very similar to her sister, Daena. Although not as pretty as her, she proved much more clever and dutiful. George confirmed that she was not the mother of Aelinor Penrose. Upon being freed in 171, Elaena began a relationship with her likely-deceased aunt's widower, Alyn Velaryon, whom she had born bastard twins and hoped to marry. He died, however, and she was married off to Ossifer Plumm. She was likely raped by Aegon IV, which led to Viserys Plumm, and through him is an ancestor of Brown Ben Plumm (Targaryen). Through her twins she also is the ancestor of House Longwaters. Afterwards, she married Ronnel Penrose and had 4 children, and during her marriage served as the de facto Mistress of Coin for her husband. She married a third time for love, and outlived Michael Manwoody. She certainly made it into the third century of Targaryen rule, living much longer than her siblings. I believe that she most likely lived into the reign of Maekar I, and died sometime in the 220s. She is the ancestor of House Penrose, Longwaters and Plumm and lived the longest confirmed life for a Targaryen woman since Visenya Targaryen. A very accomplished and skilled woman, who I hope to perhaps see in a future Dunk and Egg story, or the second Fire and Blood.
She bore the bastard twins Jon and Jeyne Waters to Alyn Velaryon."
Elaena became known as the true master of coin."
Elaena said, in her later years."
Princess Daella Targaryen
Will I talk with Egg again, find Dareon whole and happy, hear my sisters singing to their children?"One of the few Targaryen princesses to have a reoccuring name. We do not know too much about Maekar's daughters but we know that she was older than Egg and Rhae and married into a house and had children, as Maester Aemon recalls in his dying monologue. From that we know that she had more than one child and was old enough to have had more than one child. Although it would have been nice for Daella to parallel her namesake and marry into House Arryn, becoming the mother of Jon Arryn, I don't think this is possible due to the simple reason that it would have given Robert the perfect excuse to refuse the throne and pass it off to Jon Arryn, who would have inherited given a close proximity to Maekar I, as well as Robert's general lack of enthusiasm to take the throne. Given that Rhae is the sister mentioned to be more ambitious and scheming through the love potion incident, I don't think that she was the sister who had a child with Dunk and married into House Tarth. It is also notable that at one time she may have been betrothed to Aegon at one point. I'm not sure of the House that she married into, but it's none of the great houses. I think that possibly the Targaryens either fell back on their old friends, House Velaryon, or she was used as a tool to help smooth over Dornish intergration, maybe marrying back into her mother's house and becoming grandmother to Arthur, Ashara and Allyria Dayne. I'm not too certain as to when she died, but the easiest and most likely choice for her death would be at Summerhall.
Princess Rhae Targaryen.
From what little characterisation of her we have, she appears to be the likely candidate to be Dunk's lovewife. Although it renders House Tarth and Brienne illegitimate posers to Evenfall, it is probable that she fell pregnant with Dunk's son and unknowingly to everyone else, married Lord Tarth and passed the baby boy off as his. We know that she is the last child of Dyanna and Maekar, and probably was the birth that caused Dyanna's death. It is also known that she wanted to marry Egg, and slipped him a love potion to make him fall in love with her. From Aemon's quote we know she had multiple children, so she at least had some legitimate children with Lord Tarth if that theory is true. Although it's weird that Brienne does not know that she has a probable Targaryen grandmother, so perhaps she married Dunk and died in childbirth with a girl (cos GRRM looooves that). That girl probably assumed the Targaryen name and married Lord Tarth and was mother to Selwyn. We also know that she and Daella visited Maester Aemon, so she either travelled all the way up to the Wall (lol) or she had her children before 233, and so either lived at Dragonstone, or travelled to there, KL or Oldtown. Not sure when she died, but again like her sister, the easiest way to kill her off is at Summerhall.
Princess Aelora Targaryen
Slain in a grotesque mishap by the hand of his own twin-sister and wife, Aelora, under circumstances that left her mad with grief."The daughter of the possibly mad, but probably neurodivergent Prince Rhaegel Targaryen and Alys Arryn, Aelora is very notable for being part of the first incestuous Targaryen marriage in ~60 years and the only twin to marry her other twin. She is also notable for being the only other woman named to be Princess of Dragonstone. We also know that she eventually became mad with grief after accidentally killing her brother in a mishap. I believe that she and Aelor most likely loved eachother and that they were extremely capable and worthy heirs, especially her prior to the accident. It is odd that she is named heir, but not Daenora. Aelor and Aelora probably married to reinforce Targaryen exceptionalis in the wake of the Second Blackfyre Rebellion. Her death is also very interesting and the incident that led her to commit suicide, the first Targaryen to have killed herself since Helaena Targaryen and Gael Targaryen, was possibly linked to something in the way of sexual assault or rape. Or maybe her already damaged state of mind following the death of her brother, exacerbated by possible taunting by the Rat, the Hawk and the Pig is what lead her to suicide. She was likely a teenager when married, was probably very capable and intelligent and died very young, somwhere between 217 and 221. Again another Targaryen I hope to see more of in D&E.
Aelora eventually took her own life after being attacked at a mask ball by three men."
Princess Daenora Targaryen
An infant king would mean a long, contentious regency and there was also fears that the boy might have inherited his father's cruelty and madness."She was much younger than her siblings, Aelor and Aelora, which probably answers my earlier question as to why Aerys I did not name her the heir. Daenora most likely grew up with just her mother, Alys Arryn, and if the theory of Daena Targaryen being her mother is true, then Daenora's name could be a potential homage to her great-grandmother, Daenaera Velaryon. We know that she was much younger than her cousin and husband, Aerion Brightflame, and that she bore him a son. I cannot imagine that she would be happy with him being called Maegor. I picture her as a sort of parallel to the Queen Who Never Was, fighting for the claim of her son at the GC of 233, only to be ignored and passed over in favour of Egg, who has a weaker claim as the fourth son of the fourth son, with Maegor being the son of the third son of the fourth and the second daughter of the third son, giving him a stronger claim. Given her complete disappearence from the story, and the fact the she and Maegor are never brought up again, I think the she either fled to Essos with him (and he became the Tattered Prince) after his claim was ignored, or she remained and both her and Maegor died at.... you guessed it ..... SUMMERHALL.
Princess Vaella Targaryen
The girl sadly proved simple."Maekar's first grandchild and Daeron the Drunken's only child with his cousin, Valarr's widow, Kiera of Tyrosh. Known to have been simple minded and not clever. This leaves her options very limited, as being a septa was out of the question. I like to think that perhaps Kiera left Westeros and returned to Essos with her daughter, although the likelier outcome is that Vaella was left behind. I doubt that Egg was the type of person to marry off his intellectually challenged niece and let her be taken advantage of, so she possibly became a silent sister or was just left alone and never married. Her death almost certainly came at Summerhall.
The Great Council dismissed Prince Daeron's sweet but simple-minded daughter Vaella immediately."
Queen Shaera Targaryen
He had loved his sister Shaera and dreamed of wedding her in the old Targaryen fashion."Eldest daughter of Egg and Betha, Shaera and Jaehaerys brought back incest into the main line. She and Jaehaerys loved eachother and were quite selfish when they broke their vows and wed, similar to Jaehaerys' namesake in that regard. She raised a bad son, but a good daughter and she and Jaehaerys proved to be hypocrites when they forced their children into a loveless marriage, and allowed Aerys to bed and impregnate Rhaella at 12-13. She screwed her father over and helped to destroy the good will that Egg had built up over his reign by spitting all over his plans to bring the realm closer together. We know that she either did not attend Summerhall or if she did she survived as she is known as Queen, and she was alive in 260. I would hope that had she been alive during her son's reign that she would have attempted to curtail his worst excesses. But the fact that she is not mentioned at all during his reign leads me to believe that Jaehaerys outlived her, or Aerys disliked her and ignored her. She was most definitely dead by Robert's Rebellion.
King Aegon and Queen Betha seperated them but this served to inflame the mutual passion of the prince and princess."
Jaehaerys finally allowed himself to be persuaded to remain at King's Landing with his queen."
Princess Rhaelle Targaryen
Rhaelle, Egg’s little girl…she used to call me uncle maester."Last but not least is Princess Rhaella, the youngest child of Egg and Black Betha. The only dutiful one of her siblings, willing to put the interests of House Targaryen above her own wishes and desires. Her marriage to Ormund Baratheon was probably a little odd, given that he was likely 20 years older than her, and she had her son, Steffon, at around 16 years old. She was likely a good mother and wife, as Steffon seems like a good man from what we hear of him, and we know they probably lived at King's Landing when Ormund served as hand to her brother, Jaehaerys. I desperately hope that if she was at Summerhall with Steffon, she probably was, that she did not die there. Although, Rhaelle must have died by at least 270 A.C, else I cannot imagine Robert getting away with his 'dragonspawn' quote when he remembered his own Targaryen grandmother. She likely died at Summerhall or sometime during the 260s, at a very young age either way.
Princess Rhaelle was sent to Storm's End to serve as cupbearer to Lord Lyonel and companion to his lady wife."
Conclusively, of the 14 Targaryen women who we have no death dates for, it is likely that Rhaella, Aelora, Rhaena and Vaella have no descendants, whilst the rest do. Septa Rhaella died during the reign of the Old King. Princess Saera likely died in the pre-Dance era. Rhaena and Baela most likely lived well into reigns of Baelor the Blessed and beyond. Daena possibly remarried and had descendants through a daughter, with Rhaena dying unmarried and childless, and Elaena living a long life filled with children and descendants. Aelora killed herself out of grief and never had descendants, whilst Daenora and Vaella probably died at Summerhall. Daella and Rhae both had children, with one being an ancestor to Selwyn and Brienne, via Dunk the Lunk. Shaera and Rhaelle probably died during the reign of Aerys II. To put it succinctly, we really need way more information on Targaryen women, and I really hope that they aren't all just killed off with childbirth/Summerhall. To put it even shorter, I would love a Fire and Blood 2, or more Dunk and Egg stories to fill in the blanks.
2024.04.10 00:54 Tindo_Blends How I found out about Homestar Runner
WARNING: This post contains a lot of words
Alright, I'll confess that I wasn't old enough or even born when Homestar Runner was created or was popular, but I'm pretty sure no matter when someone got into the series, they have an interesting story as to HOW they found it.
For me, I found out about it about 2 years ago when I was 14. I was really into browsing tvtropes.com, and it seemed like every time I click on a trope, Homestar Runner was always the first quote at the top of the screen or the first image on the side of the screen (examples:https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InvisibleAnatomy or https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DropInCharacter). I even found Homestar Runner listed as examples of series using certain tropes. I ended up getting curious, so I decided to see the TV tropes page for Homestar Runner.
Reading about it peaked my interest, so I went to Youtube to find some video to watch. Of course, the first things I saw were the Strong Bad emails, but I didn't watch those videos, assuming that they were a little too niche or specific, because I wanted to find a video that was more simple for a beginner like me (plus in hindsight, there'd probably be many inside references I wouldn't get). The first Homestar Runner video I ever watched was "Donut unto Others" and I found it pretty funny. I started to watch other videos on the Youtube channel (out of order), such as "Diaper Sunrise", "Characters from Yonder Website" and "Flash is dead", and I even got around to watching some Sbemails for the first time. However, there was one Sbemail in particular that contributed a TON in my Homestar journey: Sbemail: Virus.
To know why this video in particular was important, I'll have to add context. After watching a Homestar Runner video, I'd scroll down to the comments to see what others thought. Some stand out comments would be people talking about how they've engrained certain phrases and sentences in the videos into their everyday vocabulary, and how they often forget that they can't "click the easter eggs" on Youtube. The latter of which interested me, as even though I new Homestar Runner was originally a website, I hadn't considered that there would be secrets hidden in the videos on the site. Even still, I didn't really feel like I was missing out on much. Then came "Virus", which itself was impressive compared to everything else I've seen so far. But then I saw one comment in particular that read the following:
What really made this long-running web series click with me was just how different it was to anything else at the time, as far as web animations are concerned. Back then, and even now, it kind of felt as if a web series had to have some sort of mature element or dark premise or humor. Some do it better than others, but I never found any of that stuff very interesting. I guess it was mostly for it being all over the place, I'm the kind of person that would brush something currently popular as "overrated" and not really get into it. But Homestar Runner was different. It was a lot more approachable to me. It's fairly lighthearted compared to most other works, even when taking into account the minor swears (sucks, freakin', crap), and the subtle hints at an inappropriate joke. Homestar Runner is really funny, engaging, and endearing. I love the characters, Strong Bad, Marzipan, Coach Z, Bubs, and especially the namesake of the site himself. I even love how everything looks. On the surface, the art style is pretty simple, and the animation isn't very professional, but I feel that it contributes to just how fun and unique the series is. It's just a really funny show and doesn't take itself too seriously, and that's something I love. It doesn't feel like the Brothers Chaps are trying to cater to anyone in particular. They just make what they like, and I like it too. It's simple, and it's extremely effective. And remember when I said that there were a lot of inside references I wouldn't get? That wasn't a problem anymore. Let's say I watched Sbemail: The Next April Fool's Day first. It's pretty funny by itself, and I probably would've seen the Peasent's coat and Beefy-Armed Backpack as a throwaway joke, but going back and watching Sbemail: Dragon makes everything make sense; it's like I've discovered the birthplace of the joke and it's significance, and it is so satisfying. On the opposite side is working my way to the top. The road to 20X6 is one of my favorite examples to use. In Sbemail: island, Homestar calls Strong Bad "Stinkoman", which I found pretty silly, and not much else. But later in Japanese Cartoon, Strong Bad makes an anime japanimated version of himself NAMED Stinkoman, which seems to have exceeded more than just a reference. And near the end of the cartoon, it introduced more elements, like 1-up and the setting, all of which would be expanded in the 20X6 game. It was not only cool to see concepts grow through time, it also felt like I was being rewarded for sticking around (even if I were almost two decades too late)
Homestar Runner increased my fascination in early 2000's culture as well, such as it's music, art, style, and entertainment. It being made around the late 90's and gaining popularity during the 2000's when the site was launched probably being a reason why. Now more than every, I seem to have an interest in certain things that were popular at the time that many would currently consider obsolete as of now, like listening to and burning CDs, 6th generation video game consoles, online message boards as oppose to social media, and the amount of creativity and personality that was far more prevalent at the time (I assume). Homestar Runner isn't the sole reason, but I'd say it's a large contributing factor.
And Homestar Runner is my biggest source of inspiration. I'm developing an animated web series of my own, and there are many aspects of it that were inspired by Homestar Runner. For example, I want my web series to be hosted on it's own website instead of a streaming service of TV network, as not only wont there be any rules or policies I have to abide to, but it also gives me the chance to show more personality and creativity then any current streaming service; it's my own thing. Of course, it should be noted that the reason the Brother's Chaps have there own website in the first place was probably due to there not being anyplace else to put their work at the time, but I'm glad they kept supporting it. I'd even say Homestar Runner is the main inspiration FOR making my own web series. (Of course, I can't make it now, what with the lack of money, lack of people, and my stupid age).
I'm so glad that I found the Homestar Runner fandom. It seems that today, fandoms for a current cartoon series always feel as if they think the creator owes them just for making something they enjoy, or that they become excessively attached to the work, to the point they feel that no one else should enjoy it but them. But this fandom is awesome. YOU'RE ALL AWESOME! I have never heard any negativity in the H*R fandom, it's just inside jokes, funny phrases passed around, great artwork, and discussions about the franchise. And might I add that Homestar Runner may have one of, if not THE BEST wikis any fictional piece of media has ever had? It seems like there's a page for ANYTHING that happens in the series, and everything from the franchises inception has been documented and preserved the best they can, while NOT using the "fandom" wiki at all! I don't care if it's a little slow, it's worth seeing all that hard work by fans. And Mike and Matt Chapman are also AWESOME! Sure, they may not update as much as they used to, but 20 years later, even as everything advances, they're still up on their game, which is impressive for an already timeless cartoon.
Homestar Runner is different than a lot of things. Rather than being something mature, gritty, and thought provoking, it's surreal, funny, and endearing. Rather than relying on what's popular and what's current, it makes it's own culture and expands upon that in ingenious ways. Rather than having a shady fandom or any controversy, it's full of incredible, loyal fans and created by two (three if you count Craig Zobel) great brothers, who do all of this out of fun and care first rather than profit. Sometimes I wish I were born much earlier to experience not only Homestar Runner in an authentic manner, but experience past culture, making me nostalgic for a time I never lived in to begin with. It's a scary time I currently live in; I love to create, but I'm always reminded of corporate greed, the rise of AI, and the dissuasion of creativity. But when I feel all hope is lost for someone like me to get anywhere due to my hobbies and interests, I like to go to Homestarrunner.com to not only put my mind at ease, but to remind myself that it's not too late.
Everybody loves the Homestar Runner, including me. Homestar Runner is awesome. The Brothers Chaps are awesome. You guys are awesome. EVERYBODY, AND I MEAN EVERYBODY IS AWESOME.
Thank you for reading this.
submitted by Tindo_Blends to HomestarRunner [link] [comments]
Alright, I'll confess that I wasn't old enough or even born when Homestar Runner was created or was popular, but I'm pretty sure no matter when someone got into the series, they have an interesting story as to HOW they found it.
For me, I found out about it about 2 years ago when I was 14. I was really into browsing tvtropes.com, and it seemed like every time I click on a trope, Homestar Runner was always the first quote at the top of the screen or the first image on the side of the screen (examples:https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InvisibleAnatomy or https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DropInCharacter). I even found Homestar Runner listed as examples of series using certain tropes. I ended up getting curious, so I decided to see the TV tropes page for Homestar Runner.
Reading about it peaked my interest, so I went to Youtube to find some video to watch. Of course, the first things I saw were the Strong Bad emails, but I didn't watch those videos, assuming that they were a little too niche or specific, because I wanted to find a video that was more simple for a beginner like me (plus in hindsight, there'd probably be many inside references I wouldn't get). The first Homestar Runner video I ever watched was "Donut unto Others" and I found it pretty funny. I started to watch other videos on the Youtube channel (out of order), such as "Diaper Sunrise", "Characters from Yonder Website" and "Flash is dead", and I even got around to watching some Sbemails for the first time. However, there was one Sbemail in particular that contributed a TON in my Homestar journey: Sbemail: Virus.
To know why this video in particular was important, I'll have to add context. After watching a Homestar Runner video, I'd scroll down to the comments to see what others thought. Some stand out comments would be people talking about how they've engrained certain phrases and sentences in the videos into their everyday vocabulary, and how they often forget that they can't "click the easter eggs" on Youtube. The latter of which interested me, as even though I new Homestar Runner was originally a website, I hadn't considered that there would be secrets hidden in the videos on the site. Even still, I didn't really feel like I was missing out on much. Then came "Virus", which itself was impressive compared to everything else I've seen so far. But then I saw one comment in particular that read the following:
To children born in 2009 whose entire existence is YouTube: Imagine if your favorite YouTuber jumped out of the video and started grabbing the words in the comment section. THAT is what this video felt like in 2004—on the original site where it was meant to be viewed.I HAD to go to that website to see what I was missing out on. It is impossible to describe in a cohesive manner how www.homestarrunner.com affected me, but I'll try. I should clarify that the reason I didn't go to the site earlier was because one of the few things I actually new about it was that it was Flash based, and guess what ended since 2020? Luckily, Ruffle's keeping it alive. The site was different from everything else I've seen so far. Not only was it full of personality and timeless charm, but there was always something to do, it felt like exploring! I actually prefer watching the video on the website as oppose to Youtube, and of course, the Easter Egg were a major contributing factor, as not only was there more content to watch, it also felt like finding something new, like treasure.
What really made this long-running web series click with me was just how different it was to anything else at the time, as far as web animations are concerned. Back then, and even now, it kind of felt as if a web series had to have some sort of mature element or dark premise or humor. Some do it better than others, but I never found any of that stuff very interesting. I guess it was mostly for it being all over the place, I'm the kind of person that would brush something currently popular as "overrated" and not really get into it. But Homestar Runner was different. It was a lot more approachable to me. It's fairly lighthearted compared to most other works, even when taking into account the minor swears (sucks, freakin', crap), and the subtle hints at an inappropriate joke. Homestar Runner is really funny, engaging, and endearing. I love the characters, Strong Bad, Marzipan, Coach Z, Bubs, and especially the namesake of the site himself. I even love how everything looks. On the surface, the art style is pretty simple, and the animation isn't very professional, but I feel that it contributes to just how fun and unique the series is. It's just a really funny show and doesn't take itself too seriously, and that's something I love. It doesn't feel like the Brothers Chaps are trying to cater to anyone in particular. They just make what they like, and I like it too. It's simple, and it's extremely effective. And remember when I said that there were a lot of inside references I wouldn't get? That wasn't a problem anymore. Let's say I watched Sbemail: The Next April Fool's Day first. It's pretty funny by itself, and I probably would've seen the Peasent's coat and Beefy-Armed Backpack as a throwaway joke, but going back and watching Sbemail: Dragon makes everything make sense; it's like I've discovered the birthplace of the joke and it's significance, and it is so satisfying. On the opposite side is working my way to the top. The road to 20X6 is one of my favorite examples to use. In Sbemail: island, Homestar calls Strong Bad "Stinkoman", which I found pretty silly, and not much else. But later in Japanese Cartoon, Strong Bad makes a
Homestar Runner increased my fascination in early 2000's culture as well, such as it's music, art, style, and entertainment. It being made around the late 90's and gaining popularity during the 2000's when the site was launched probably being a reason why. Now more than every, I seem to have an interest in certain things that were popular at the time that many would currently consider obsolete as of now, like listening to and burning CDs, 6th generation video game consoles, online message boards as oppose to social media, and the amount of creativity and personality that was far more prevalent at the time (I assume). Homestar Runner isn't the sole reason, but I'd say it's a large contributing factor.
And Homestar Runner is my biggest source of inspiration. I'm developing an animated web series of my own, and there are many aspects of it that were inspired by Homestar Runner. For example, I want my web series to be hosted on it's own website instead of a streaming service of TV network, as not only wont there be any rules or policies I have to abide to, but it also gives me the chance to show more personality and creativity then any current streaming service; it's my own thing. Of course, it should be noted that the reason the Brother's Chaps have there own website in the first place was probably due to there not being anyplace else to put their work at the time, but I'm glad they kept supporting it. I'd even say Homestar Runner is the main inspiration FOR making my own web series. (Of course, I can't make it now, what with the lack of money, lack of people, and my stupid age).
I'm so glad that I found the Homestar Runner fandom. It seems that today, fandoms for a current cartoon series always feel as if they think the creator owes them just for making something they enjoy, or that they become excessively attached to the work, to the point they feel that no one else should enjoy it but them. But this fandom is awesome. YOU'RE ALL AWESOME! I have never heard any negativity in the H*R fandom, it's just inside jokes, funny phrases passed around, great artwork, and discussions about the franchise. And might I add that Homestar Runner may have one of, if not THE BEST wikis any fictional piece of media has ever had? It seems like there's a page for ANYTHING that happens in the series, and everything from the franchises inception has been documented and preserved the best they can, while NOT using the "fandom" wiki at all! I don't care if it's a little slow, it's worth seeing all that hard work by fans. And Mike and Matt Chapman are also AWESOME! Sure, they may not update as much as they used to, but 20 years later, even as everything advances, they're still up on their game, which is impressive for an already timeless cartoon.
Homestar Runner is different than a lot of things. Rather than being something mature, gritty, and thought provoking, it's surreal, funny, and endearing. Rather than relying on what's popular and what's current, it makes it's own culture and expands upon that in ingenious ways. Rather than having a shady fandom or any controversy, it's full of incredible, loyal fans and created by two (three if you count Craig Zobel) great brothers, who do all of this out of fun and care first rather than profit. Sometimes I wish I were born much earlier to experience not only Homestar Runner in an authentic manner, but experience past culture, making me nostalgic for a time I never lived in to begin with. It's a scary time I currently live in; I love to create, but I'm always reminded of corporate greed, the rise of AI, and the dissuasion of creativity. But when I feel all hope is lost for someone like me to get anywhere due to my hobbies and interests, I like to go to Homestarrunner.com to not only put my mind at ease, but to remind myself that it's not too late.
Everybody loves the Homestar Runner, including me. Homestar Runner is awesome. The Brothers Chaps are awesome. You guys are awesome. EVERYBODY, AND I MEAN EVERYBODY IS AWESOME.
Thank you for reading this.
2024.04.08 11:53 RealMartinKearns Barron Read Along 19: "Six Six Six"
"Six Six Six", the culminating bookend to Barron's Occulation collection, is a Shirley Jackson Award Nominee circa 2011. The tale reappeared in 2018 within Strange Nation's " Dark Spirits: Strange Tales Inspired by Ghosts, Phantoms, Demons and Wraiths".
"Six Six Six" takes the trope of a haunted house and mixes in the occult before serving with a dash of eldritch dread. Barron's technique of pinning the throttle while also delivering macabre imagery is on full display in this short tale that builds tension to a fever pitch by its climax. "The vista was a snow globe shaken until its innards separated."
Characters
Wife -The Protagonist
Elvira -The Cat
Husband - Unnamed
Karl - Husband's brother
Carling - Husband's sister and presumed witch (appears in various other tales)
The Father - The late father of the three siblings and father in law to the protagonist. Deeply involved in the occult...
We begin with a couple having inherited the home of the unnamed groom's late father. Two things pop out within the first few paragraphs. One, the mention of music which continues throughout the story (more on those later), and two, the suggestive allusion to Carl Jung in this story. Both siblings to the groom, Karl and Carling, share the namesake that points us toward Jung and I am relatively certain I'm not reaching by bringing up Jung's archetypes; most notably, "The Shadow".
"Jung rejected the concept of tabula rasa, or the notion that the human mind is a blank slate at birth to be written solely by experience. He believed that the human mind retains fundamental, unconscious, biological aspects of our ancestors. These "primordial images," as he initially dubbed them, serve as a basic foundation of how to be human... The shadow is a Jungian archetype that consists of sex and life instincts. The shadow exists as part of the unconscious mind and is composed of repressed ideas, weaknesses, desires, instincts, and shortcomings." To expand, the shadow archetype is also has a personal variation and a collective. I believe Karl and Carling represent these respectively and encourage the reader to unravel which is which. More reading on the archetypes can be found on the Society of Analytical Psychology website and a more broad overview may be perused here.
As the story persists, our victim/heroine is subjected to tales of the family patriarch torturing his children in various ways before she is subjected to the phantasmagoria projector that once plagued her husband. This machine connects to Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman and other stories penned by Barron.
There's much here, far more than a first read will reveal, and more than I'll ever be able to decipher, but the story builds and progresses through heavy beats of horror as the couple continues to drink. We culminate at the drunken decision to break down the husband's bedroom door, which was nailed shut by the father before he passed. Once inside, he appears to stumble upon something he greatly fears and may even have been vaguely aware of this whole time.
It is here where Barron decided to leave the end of things up to us. Our heroine/victim feels the breath of infinity from beyond the door and decides to leave hubby to the void. As she walks downstairs, she stumbles upon a ritual being conducted wherein her husband appears to be in the sacrificial circle, Carling is on the chair, and dear old daddy is the master of ceremonies. They look up and are shocked to see her.
Discussion Questions:
I have a homework assignment for you all. Barron places the names of songs being played throughout this story. I doubt this is without further meaning. Would anyone like to chime in with how these might connect to the tale?
Sinatra/Elvis/Abba/Billy Joel/Beatles
Songs
"Moving Out" - Billy Joel
"Stranger" - Billy Joel
"Something Scary" -???
submitted by RealMartinKearns to LairdBarron [link] [comments]
"Six Six Six" takes the trope of a haunted house and mixes in the occult before serving with a dash of eldritch dread. Barron's technique of pinning the throttle while also delivering macabre imagery is on full display in this short tale that builds tension to a fever pitch by its climax. "The vista was a snow globe shaken until its innards separated."
Characters
Wife -The Protagonist
Elvira -The Cat
Husband - Unnamed
Karl - Husband's brother
Carling - Husband's sister and presumed witch (appears in various other tales)
The Father - The late father of the three siblings and father in law to the protagonist. Deeply involved in the occult...
We begin with a couple having inherited the home of the unnamed groom's late father. Two things pop out within the first few paragraphs. One, the mention of music which continues throughout the story (more on those later), and two, the suggestive allusion to Carl Jung in this story. Both siblings to the groom, Karl and Carling, share the namesake that points us toward Jung and I am relatively certain I'm not reaching by bringing up Jung's archetypes; most notably, "The Shadow".
"Jung rejected the concept of tabula rasa, or the notion that the human mind is a blank slate at birth to be written solely by experience. He believed that the human mind retains fundamental, unconscious, biological aspects of our ancestors. These "primordial images," as he initially dubbed them, serve as a basic foundation of how to be human... The shadow is a Jungian archetype that consists of sex and life instincts. The shadow exists as part of the unconscious mind and is composed of repressed ideas, weaknesses, desires, instincts, and shortcomings." To expand, the shadow archetype is also has a personal variation and a collective. I believe Karl and Carling represent these respectively and encourage the reader to unravel which is which. More reading on the archetypes can be found on the Society of Analytical Psychology website and a more broad overview may be perused here.
I didn't mention magic lanterns
The quote brings about the question of what is internal and what is external. Did they become blended in this home due to the ritualistic magic?Let's move on.
As the story persists, our victim/heroine is subjected to tales of the family patriarch torturing his children in various ways before she is subjected to the phantasmagoria projector that once plagued her husband. This machine connects to Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman and other stories penned by Barron.
I'd like to point out here that we are once again immersed in a story where Barron's pen interweaves words such as phantasmagoria and others of the like (transmogrified) without jarring the pace--which is exactly what this aside does. I'm still uncertain as to how the man does it.She sees Carling's face in the display as it replaces the image of a skull. Carling, the sister her husband referred to as devious and a witch. We also learn that Carling spent some time with her brother's wife without his knowledge, which indicates a bit of grooming and further muddies the waters when we try to decipher the ending.
There's much here, far more than a first read will reveal, and more than I'll ever be able to decipher, but the story builds and progresses through heavy beats of horror as the couple continues to drink. We culminate at the drunken decision to break down the husband's bedroom door, which was nailed shut by the father before he passed. Once inside, he appears to stumble upon something he greatly fears and may even have been vaguely aware of this whole time.
It is here where Barron decided to leave the end of things up to us. Our heroine/victim feels the breath of infinity from beyond the door and decides to leave hubby to the void. As she walks downstairs, she stumbles upon a ritual being conducted wherein her husband appears to be in the sacrificial circle, Carling is on the chair, and dear old daddy is the master of ceremonies. They look up and are shocked to see her.
End
So, what happened?- Were the family members there the whole time, lurking behind the creaks and cracks of the house?
- Did Hubby get pulled into the void and wifey enter an alternate reality where the family is planning to sacrifice hubby?
- Was this a setup to sacrifice wifey the whole time? That might explain Carling's visits to her.
- Where is Karl? (I'm also wondering if this is the final note on telling us Karl represents the repressed inner shadow. His absence punctuating the repression concept. Carling's presence exemplifies the collected unconscious of the collective shadow, which holds family genetic memories).
- Is this all a fevered dream and she ended up somehow killing him? (This may be a stretch but I do like the Shining-esque imagery of him coming through the door with an axe).
Discussion Questions:
I have a homework assignment for you all. Barron places the names of songs being played throughout this story. I doubt this is without further meaning. Would anyone like to chime in with how these might connect to the tale?
Sinatra/Elvis/Abba/Billy Joel/Beatles
Songs
"Moving Out" - Billy Joel
"Stranger" - Billy Joel
"Something Scary" -???
2024.04.06 18:32 SkRu88_kRuShEr Is this a metaphor?
 | So on the surface I get that this scenes primary purpose was probably to reinforce how shitty life was under Zincos stewardship. submitted by SkRu88_kRuShEr to Mignolaverse [link] [comments] However, during this re-reading cycle I’ve begun to notice certain words seem to carry greater thematic significance, in this case “the garden” he was accused of stealing from. There have been other references of Gardens throughout the series, especially in the Abe Sapien stories of their namesake, but given the way stories in this universe tend to use microcosm/microcosm dichotomies to illustrate parallels of past & future events I can’t shake the feeling that there’s more to this quote than there appears to be @ first glance. |
2024.04.04 14:27 eagle2120 [Very Long] Fate. Murtagh Spoilers
Hi All!
I’ve been teasing this post for a while so I’m finally excited to finally post it.
Fate. Let’s get right into it.
I think capital F Fate is a real force in Alagaeisa and the Fractalverse. It’s referenced a fair number of times within the direct World of Eragon, and across the Fractalverse as well.
First I’d like to start by establishing that Fate is a pattern; bear with me as this will rely on some passages from the FV, but as (I believe) they are the same universe, the same rules apply.
This is very exciting when you compare that knowledge with this bit from Brisingr:
OK.. but what does this have to do with fate?
Well, Fate as a pattern is a similar concept to the pattern from Wheel of Time:
The Great Pattern is the whole of existence and reality, past, present, and future. There is a separate Pattern for each of the seven ages, the Pattern of the Age, which can only be partly changed by those whose lives are the threads.
And there are special characters, call Ta'Veren, who have an outsized ability to change the pattern each age. Their direct choices change the pattern, whereas nearly every other character is at the mercy of the Pattern (Fate).
Similar concepts apply here in the World of Eragon. There are numerous references to the pattern, but lets look at these two that shore up this concept:
And:
This same concept is mirrored in the Fractalverse:
Sure sounds she can “reweave the pattern of the world”. Which makes the particular “eat the path” quip all the more interesting, because it re-inforces the fact that Angela is aware of the concept of Fate (which we already kind of knew due to her status as a fortuneteller in WoE).
Let's revisit the passage where she tells Eragon's fate:
So.. Angela has heard of this specific arrangment of the bones (from her profession), which is a bit odd, no?
And the “pattern" (heh) in the dragon bones that she’s never heard of before is one who is free to choose their own fate. That’s why his future is so muddied - because he has the choice to choose his own fate, so his future is not set in stone because HE is the one to choose it, rather than it being pre-determined. And again, we will come back to this concept as Eragon as the chosen “champion” of Fate.
The mighty powers fighting over Eragon's fate connects back to what we know above, where Bachel referenced Azlagur being able to pluck the strings of Fate. And it also implies there is ANOTHER mighty power, one that stands opposed to Azlagur who is also able to manipulate Fate (cough cough Menoa Tree cough cough).
Cool.
Let's keep pulling the fate thread, but pivot in a different direction for a bit. Let's talk about Elva.
Back to the actual passages themselves, is Saphira's instinct, dragon instinct (which is also intricately tied with magic), somehow tied in with Fate?I I think so. Her instincts are directly connected to fate. Which further strengthens the ties between Dragons/Worldless Magic/Fate.
I'd like to dig a bit further on this scene as well to understand the mechanics of the blessing cast by Eragon:
So what he's doing here is modifying the pattern of their life within the context of the larger pattern of the age to improve their outcome, at the expense of his own energy.
Whew.
And yet, we can still go deeper. Let's look at Eragon specifically in the context of Fate
Cool. Let's keep going.
I'd also like to touch on the "madness bursting forth" piece - What is Azlagur, if not "madness bursting forth"? A Corrupted Soft Blade, prophesied to burst from the ground? The groundwork has been laid for years.
We're not done here yet because Fate has a curious interaction with the entirety of Eragon’s family; not just Eragon himself. Let's look at a few passages...
And Murtagh seems to recognize his own unique connection with Fate:
There's another curious connection here with Fate:
The Penultimate thing I'd like to discuss is the concept of Visions, or Prophecies. Vision/Prophecies could not exist if fate did not exist. Doesn’t mean it will hold true, but it implies there are a limited range of outcomes, and that the prophesied thing is a likely outcome based on the existence of certain inflection points. That, no matter what decision you make, you will always arrive at that "inflection point" short of killing yourself.
And Eragon directly connects the concept of Visions and Fate together:
Well, it comes back to the concept of "Inflection Points" above. That there are certain things, no matter how hard or far you try to run from them, that are Fated to happen. And if you're not one of the lucky few who can directly influence Fate, these things will always come to pass.
BUT. If you ARE one who can manipulate the pattern, you CAN influence the inflection points. Which is why the "forces of Alagaesia" are fighting to control Eragon and Murtagh.
Because they, as the "icon/instrument/hero/champion" of Fate, have the unique ability to actually change the pattern of the world. Just as Eragon I did.
And THAT is why Bachel/Az care so much about Murtagh. It's not that he's a Rider (or just the fact he's a Rider), it's the fact that he can directly influence Fate. The "ancient forces" of Alagaesia want to control them because they can influence their plans to the point where they actually change the "inflection point", and can prevent or control those outcomes. They are the equivalent of a Ta'Veren.
Whew. Alright, we're at an obscene word count so the last thing I want to do is call out a few instances where we see Fate at work, or the events of the series directly manipulated by the ancient forces who can control Fate.
The last one is not overt, but I believe it's Azlagur directly manipulating Fate to influence Eragon:
Alright, last thing. Out-of-World, Chris has hinted about writing a book on free will vs. destiny, which supports everything talked about within this passage. I'm excited to see how that relates to everything surfaced here.
For any fractalverse enjoyers:
I am starting to believe true existence in superluminal space allows one to manipulate time al la time=4th (?) dimension, and that the Old Ones can move back and forth in time, and that the universe in FV is cyclical in nature...
There are still a few things I want to dig in to, but I'll cut the post off here and write about them in the comments. If you've made it this far you are a trooper, this was extremely long, even by my standards.
Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments.
submitted by eagle2120 to Eragon [link] [comments]
I’ve been teasing this post for a while so I’m finally excited to finally post it.
Fate. Let’s get right into it.
I think capital F Fate is a real force in Alagaeisa and the Fractalverse. It’s referenced a fair number of times within the direct World of Eragon, and across the Fractalverse as well.
First I’d like to start by establishing that Fate is a pattern; bear with me as this will rely on some passages from the FV, but as (I believe) they are the same universe, the same rules apply.
And Kira knew this was the pattern the Soft Blade served. Served or was. And Kira realized there was a question inherent in the design, a choice related to the very nature of the xeno. Would she follow the pattern? Or would she ignore the design and carve new lines—lines of her own—into the guiding scheme?… (Near and Far).So the “pattern” Kira describes are instructions in the form of a fractal. That is the “guiding scheme” that, well, guides the Soft Blade. And we know it’s specifically a means to communicate (aka language) based on this quote:
Kira couldn’t decipher any meaning, but she recognized the language as belonging to the same, all-important pattern that guided the Soft Blade’s existence (Shards, TSIASOS).Cool. Let’s keep going
The grasper did not understand the patttern of things. It did not see. It did not listen. It sought to conquer rather than to cooperate (Countdown, TSIASOS).Not understanding the pattern of things = Does not understand the guiding scheme (pattern) of the suit. Yet they were still able to control it because of the above quote. Which connects with what Kira mentioned above, about carving new lines into the guiding scheme. So the scheme can be overwritten through one’s own intent.
How can I be killed when there is a record of my pattern at the nest? (Exeunt 3, TSIASOS)Now here, the character is talking about a copy/record of their pattern in a technological storage device. So we can extrapolate that a pattern exists not only for the soft blade, but for every creature/being, and can be recorded at the Nest of Transferrence. Almost like a true name…
This is very exciting when you compare that knowledge with this bit from Brisingr:
Gradually he traced a myriad of connections between the events and emotions of Sloan’s life, and thereby he wove a tangled web, the patterns of which represented who Sloan wasSo your "True Name" is synonymous with your "pattern". And just as your true name can be expressed in the AL, your "pattern" can be expressed in Fractal.
OK.. but what does this have to do with fate?
Well, Fate as a pattern is a similar concept to the pattern from Wheel of Time:
The Great Pattern is the whole of existence and reality, past, present, and future. There is a separate Pattern for each of the seven ages, the Pattern of the Age, which can only be partly changed by those whose lives are the threads.
And there are special characters, call Ta'Veren, who have an outsized ability to change the pattern each age. Their direct choices change the pattern, whereas nearly every other character is at the mercy of the Pattern (Fate).
Similar concepts apply here in the World of Eragon. There are numerous references to the pattern, but lets look at these two that shore up this concept:
"Eragon plunged his whole being into the flow of magic, and without relying upon the ancient language to structure his spell, rewove the fabric of the world into a pattern more pleasing to him" (Blood on the Rocks, Brisingr).Fabric of the world set by a specific pattern.
And:
“The threads of destiny may be plucked by those who know how. Plucked, and severed" (The Court of Crows, Murtagh).Notice the particular word choice here. Threads. Threads of a Pattern. Very clever, Chris.
This same concept is mirrored in the Fractalverse:
She [Kira] could allow events to continue unchecked, or she could wrench them out of joint and force them into a new pattern. It was no choice at all. Eat the path.Continue unchecked... as fate dictates. Or she, Kira, could wrench them out of joint and force them into a new pattern. Just like a Ta'Veren. We'll come back to this concept later on in the post, but remember that very special people have an outsized ability to set their own destiny, and by it, the pattern of the world.
Sure sounds she can “reweave the pattern of the world”. Which makes the particular “eat the path” quip all the more interesting, because it re-inforces the fact that Angela is aware of the concept of Fate (which we already kind of knew due to her status as a fortuneteller in WoE).
Let's revisit the passage where she tells Eragon's fate:
"Your future is nigh impossible to see... Here the wandering path, lightning Bolt, and sailing ship all lie together - a pattern I’ve never seen, only heard of... I see the mighty powers of this land struggling to control your will and destiny... Beware of losing your way, for you are one of the few who are truly free to choose their own fate" (The Witch and the Werecat, Eragon).There's a lot here, so lets break this down.
So.. Angela has heard of this specific arrangment of the bones (from her profession), which is a bit odd, no?
And the “pattern" (heh) in the dragon bones that she’s never heard of before is one who is free to choose their own fate. That’s why his future is so muddied - because he has the choice to choose his own fate, so his future is not set in stone because HE is the one to choose it, rather than it being pre-determined. And again, we will come back to this concept as Eragon as the chosen “champion” of Fate.
The mighty powers fighting over Eragon's fate connects back to what we know above, where Bachel referenced Azlagur being able to pluck the strings of Fate. And it also implies there is ANOTHER mighty power, one that stands opposed to Azlagur who is also able to manipulate Fate (cough cough Menoa Tree cough cough).
Cool.
Let's keep pulling the fate thread, but pivot in a different direction for a bit. Let's talk about Elva.
"Do you think that child will ever be content to be a tavern keeper or a farmer when her brow is dragon-marked and your words hang over her? You underestimate our power and that of fate" (Bless the Child, Argetlam; Eragon)Power of... Fate? How was Fate involved here..? Unless...
"Elva was unique. I shall not brand anyone else in a like manner. What happened in Farthen Dur just... happened. Instinct drove me. Beyond that, I cannot explain" (Intersecting Sagas, Brisingr).This is right after Eragon blesses the pair who just had their fortune told by Angela (which is especially curious because it implied they talked to Solembum, which is super rare). And also... look at the name of the chapter title. Intersecting Sagas.
Back to the actual passages themselves, is Saphira's instinct, dragon instinct (which is also intricately tied with magic), somehow tied in with Fate?I I think so. Her instincts are directly connected to fate. Which further strengthens the ties between Dragons/Worldless Magic/Fate.
I'd like to dig a bit further on this scene as well to understand the mechanics of the blessing cast by Eragon:
Eragon broached the barrier in his mind, immersed himself in the flow of magic, and with the full power of the ancient language, said... By imbuing the phrase with energy as he would the words of a spell, he ensured that it would shape the course of events and thereby improve the owm'ans lot in life. He was careful to limit the amount of energy he transferred into the blessing... Despite his caution, the drop of strength was more than expected" (Intersecting Sagas, Brisingr).So, the "blessing" Eragon casts is effectively a spell that manipulates the outcome of their life. But the actual timing of the energy expenditure here is the interesting piece, because it implies the existence of Fate. If fate or pre-destination did not exist, why did the spell take energy when he cast it, rather than when the event occurred?
So what he's doing here is modifying the pattern of their life within the context of the larger pattern of the age to improve their outcome, at the expense of his own energy.
Whew.
And yet, we can still go deeper. Let's look at Eragon specifically in the context of Fate
"It is your wyrd that shapes you, said Saphira. Every age needs an icon—perhaps that lot has fallen to you. Farm boys are not named for the first Rider without cause. Your namesake was the beginning, and now you are the continuation. Or the end. Ach, said Eragon, shaking his head.It’s like speaking in riddles... But if all is foreordained, do our choices mean anything? Or must we just learn to accept our fate?" (Bless the Child, Argetlam; Eragon)So... Eragon is an icon (hero) of Fate? This connects back to our previous point about Ta'Veren. He has an outsized ability to manipulate fate as the "icon" of fate itself. THAT is why his future is so muddled and confusing when Angela casts the bones; because he has the ability to choose his own fate, his destiny is not pre-determined. Therefore the bones can't tell his future because he has a large range of outcomes, depending directly on his choices.
Cool. Let's keep going.
"The world is stretched thin, Eragon. Soon it will snap and madness will burst forth. What you feel is what we dragons feel and what the elves feel—the inexorable march of grim fate as the end of our age approaches. Weep for those who will die in the chaos that shall consume Alagaësia. And hope that we may win a brighter future by the strength of your sword and shield and my fangs and talons" (Red Blade, White Blade; Eldest).The inexorable march of grim Fate. End of an age… that sure sounds familiar.
"I see our people stepping forth from the shadows and marching across the land!... even shall they cast down the false hero Eragon, and by their claw and tooth and blade shall they usher in the end of this age"We will return to the "false hero" bit later, but Bachel here is re-affirming what the Dragons feel due to their connection with wordless magic and fate. They can FEEL the rise of Azlagur coming because it's Fated to happen. That the end of this Era is approaching.
I'd also like to touch on the "madness bursting forth" piece - What is Azlagur, if not "madness bursting forth"? A Corrupted Soft Blade, prophesied to burst from the ground? The groundwork has been laid for years.
We're not done here yet because Fate has a curious interaction with the entirety of Eragon’s family; not just Eragon himself. Let's look at a few passages...
“None of that could be blamed on Murtagh. He was a victim of fate, and had been since the day he was born." (Around the Campfire, Brisingr)Victim of Fate... That’s one way to put it. Murtagh has a strange relationship with Fate.
And Murtagh seems to recognize his own unique connection with Fate:
A name of shame, a fear of fate. Break the bond, change the path" (Exile, Murtagh).Hmm. Change the path... That sure sounds like Eat the path. The same passage where Kira is manipulating the pattern through her own free will to change the larger pattern of the world.
There's another curious connection here with Fate:
The crownless prince afoot in a foreign land. Son of sorrow, bastard of fate" (Upheaval, Murtagh).Bastard of fate... yet Murtagh is not a bastard. So, why is he called as such? It comes down to his relationship with Eragon. If Eragon is the “true” icon/hero of fate, then as his half-brother, Murtagh is the bastard of fate. They, and Roran too, are all hinted to be directly connected by Fate:
"No matter how much Eragon abhorred what Murtagh had become, and pitied him for it too, he could not deny the connection that existed between them. Theirs was a shared fate" (To Answer a King, Brisingr).And
"They shared a laugh, and then the silence that so often intruded on their discussion asserted itself once again, a gap born of equal parts weariness, familiarity, and—conversely—the many differences that fate had created between those who had once gone about lives that were but variations on a single melody" (Around the Campfire, Brisingr).Roran also implies (albiet unknowningly) that he can manipulate the pattern of Fate:
"'Do?' Roran laughed and spun widdershins to stand toe to toe with the smith. 'Do? Why, I intend to alter the fate of Alagaësia!'" (Convergence, Eldest).and
Is it chance, random and cruel, or is there some purpose or pattern to all this, even if it lies beyond our ken? (My Friend, My Enemy, Inheritance).So... If Eragon, Roran, and Murtagh (who are all connected through Selena) it seems like the ability to manipulate Fate is not specifically tied to Eragon, but it's actually a genetic thing, too. Chris hints at Eragon's family being special [here]: (https://twitter.com/paolini/status/1626978186792927232):
Q: hi! Q- Why do Roran and Eragon heal so quickly? It’s mentioned that it seems to run in their family, is it their ties to the Royal Palancar family? If so, was King Palancar more than a “normal human”?Notice how Chris sidesteps the bit about Palencar being more than a "normal human"...
A: The in-universe answer is yes, because they're descended from kings.
The Penultimate thing I'd like to discuss is the concept of Visions, or Prophecies. Vision/Prophecies could not exist if fate did not exist. Doesn’t mean it will hold true, but it implies there are a limited range of outcomes, and that the prophesied thing is a likely outcome based on the existence of certain inflection points. That, no matter what decision you make, you will always arrive at that "inflection point" short of killing yourself.
And Eragon directly connects the concept of Visions and Fate together:
"A shiver crawled down Eragon’s left side as he recalled his premonition: banks of warriors colliding upon an orange and yellow field, accompanied by the harsh screams of gore-crows and the whistle of black arrows. He shivered again. Fate is converging upon us" (To Aberon, Eldest).So it begs the question... How?
Well, it comes back to the concept of "Inflection Points" above. That there are certain things, no matter how hard or far you try to run from them, that are Fated to happen. And if you're not one of the lucky few who can directly influence Fate, these things will always come to pass.
BUT. If you ARE one who can manipulate the pattern, you CAN influence the inflection points. Which is why the "forces of Alagaesia" are fighting to control Eragon and Murtagh.
Because they, as the "icon/instrument/hero/champion" of Fate, have the unique ability to actually change the pattern of the world. Just as Eragon I did.
And THAT is why Bachel/Az care so much about Murtagh. It's not that he's a Rider (or just the fact he's a Rider), it's the fact that he can directly influence Fate. The "ancient forces" of Alagaesia want to control them because they can influence their plans to the point where they actually change the "inflection point", and can prevent or control those outcomes. They are the equivalent of a Ta'Veren.
Whew. Alright, we're at an obscene word count so the last thing I want to do is call out a few instances where we see Fate at work, or the events of the series directly manipulated by the ancient forces who can control Fate.
"It was Fate that brought you here. You could no more have resisted the urge ot find Nal Gorgoth than a moth may resist the lure of a nighttime flame.Also, funny thing about this chapter name. Eragon calls pain "the obliterator" in Eldest when he suffers the pains from the fits caused by his back. And Chris re-uses the same word here, Obliteration, when Murtagh gets tortured by Bachel (inflicting a lot of pain). Just a clever coincidence.
"That we bring about the destruction of this era and the beginning of another. That we remake the world through fire and blood and bring to fruition prophecies and plans that span millennia. Do you not understand, Kingkiller? We are the instruments of Fate. We have been chosen to set the pattern of history, and by it, we shall have recompense beyond mortal imagining" (Obliteration, Murtagh).
"We hold the Blood-oath Celebration once every century to honor our pact with the dragons. Both of you are fortunate to be here now, for it is nigh upon us... Fate has indeed arranged a most auspicious coincidence." (Under the Menoa Tree, Eldest).Hmm. Very odd that Eragon HAPPENS to be in Du Weldenvarden on the exact same time and year to have his back healed, which only happens once a CENTURY. I'm sure that's not a coincidence at all.
The last one is not overt, but I believe it's Azlagur directly manipulating Fate to influence Eragon:
Eragon struck out in a random direction, allowing his feet to carry him where they would while he pondered... When he stopped, he was surprised to find himself in the same dusty room he had discovered during his wanderings the previous day.... Bemused by the coincidence... wondering what had drawn him back"Drawn him back... like moths to a flame... I smell Az's influence here. Next to tunnels with Archways, right before an assassination attempt by (what I believe to be) Draumar assassins. Yeah, okay. And Chris even hints at it with the "coincidence" piece. As Chris has stated several times before, there are no coincidences and he has been laying the groundwork for this for a very long time.
Alright, last thing. Out-of-World, Chris has hinted about writing a book on free will vs. destiny, which supports everything talked about within this passage. I'm excited to see how that relates to everything surfaced here.
For any fractalverse enjoyers:
I am starting to believe true existence in superluminal space allows one to manipulate time al la time=4th (?) dimension, and that the Old Ones can move back and forth in time, and that the universe in FV is cyclical in nature...
There are still a few things I want to dig in to, but I'll cut the post off here and write about them in the comments. If you've made it this far you are a trooper, this was extremely long, even by my standards.
Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments.
2024.04.03 06:02 happybdayyansim [4] YandereDev's Continued Conduct
![[4] YandereDev's Continued Conduct](https://external-preview.redd.it/cngWAvkPFxOBZh-LBpSR69GHyWV4VgfXQcrY-HxPU8I.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=e6fed20ebc27e8b6183e8dbad3f87c074ece35a6 "[4] YandereDev's Continued Conduct") | submitted by happybdayyansim to Osana [link] [comments] 4Chan BeginningsWe pick up this story on April 1st, 2014. Alex has just gotten rejected by Mike Z and this spite has spurred him on to create the single most influential post of his life.https://preview.redd.it/k0crx0k2j4sc1.png?width=1732&format=png&auto=webp&s=7ace84b31e5cd1f13ebab6b54344fcf333bac41e [Source] This post gained enough support that Alex decided this was a viable game idea. Over the next year, Alex will make numerous posts on 4chan about the development of Yandere Simulator. Taking numerous suggestions from his 4chan threads, he slowly built up his perpetual “debug build.” These suggestions are some of the building blocks of Yandere Simulator. They include:
Alex starts off in April of 2014 by saying that he isn’t planning on accepting “donations” or “committing money to the endeavor,” but by November 2014, he had created a Patreon. Over the course of the next year, Alex does very little to develop the game. On March 16th 2015. Alex makes a post talking about the possibility of ending Yandere Simulator. “To be honest, I think it's time for me to stop making bi-monthly threads about Yandere Simulator…I should probably spend my time developing the game instead of discussing it… perhaps the final thread should take place on March 31st or April 1st.“ On March 30th 2015, a well-known YouTuber posts their video titled “NOTICE ME SENPAI (Yandere Simulator Part 1).” It currently is sitting at 9.5 million views. (Huge thank you to Juan but not Forgotten on a farming site for compiling all of Alex’s Yansim history and posts in a easily accessible way!) Alex Hasn’t ChangedOnce PewDiePie plays Yandere Sim, the plan changes entirely. Alex now has to make the game “fresh” and “new” enough to get YouTubers to continue to make content, while also coding at above his ability to try and make the game as stable and optimized as possible. The more bloat Alex adds to the game, the more bugs appear. The more bugs appear, the more YouTubers pick up the game. The more YouTubers pick up the game, the more pressure was put on Alex to perform. The cracks appeared in his persona early on.On January 22nd, 2016, Yandere Simulator is banned from Twitch for sexualizing minors (pantyshots). Twitch lets Alex know that the game is banned and he reacts very poorly. Three YouTube videos, a hasty blog post and even approaching Twitch at E3 unprompted. By the end of 2016 people have started to become disillusioned with Alex and his “game.” Since the beginning of development, Alex has numerous public meltdowns such as:
TinyBuild Enters the ChatMarch 1st 2017, Alex announces a partnership with Tinybuild. The fandom becomes hopeful that this means the first rival, our namesake Osana, will be released soon along with the official demo. Alex makes numerous posts talking about how this partnership will revolutionize the game and his workflow, yet makes it clear that “no deadlines have been imposed” and “YandereDev retains ownership of the Yandere Sim IP.” Alex’s statement on his blog:“The inefficient parts of Yandere Simulator’s code are going to be fixed […] Osana is still my top priority […] I will continue to work with volunteers […] I honestly see no downside to this partnership.” Meanwhile, TinyBuild also makes a press release: “I'm super excited to announce that we've partnered up with YandereDev to co-develop and publish Yandere Simulator […] Imagine Hitman if it was an anime. The reasons we partnered up are:
Spoiler alert, the partnership did not last long. On June 10th of 2018, Alex made a post confirming the split happened in December of 2017. The exact reason for the split took a while to come to light. In 2020, Alex’s accounts were compromised and the reason for the end of the partnership was leaked. Some notable lines from Alex’s email are: “At the point in time when I decided to sign a contract with TinyBuild, I was in my darkest hour…I thought that the game was going to get unbanned from Twitch…none of those things came to pass…The codebase wasn't significantly improved, the game wasn't unbanned from Twitch…tinyBuild did nothing for me…If Alex Nichiporchik had not insisted that tinyBuild should get instant ownership of the spinoff, we would have had an online multiplayer Yandere Sim spinoff months ago…The programmer who tinyBuild hired to work on Yandere Sim didn't actually improve the code in any meaningful way…my own scripts began to look completely unfamiliar and foreign to me. I actually lost the ability to edit some parts of the game…My contract with tinyBuild states that if I want to terminate my contract, I have to pay tinyBuild back for all the money they spent helping me develop the game. That would be [the programmer’s] paychecks, which come to a total of $31,000…the termination agreement contains an NDA. As soon as I sign your termination agreement, I lose the ability to say anything negative about tinyBuild, forever…reconsider the terms of the agreement to make it less unappealing. I suggest removing the section that obligates me to pay you $31,000.” Alex is CheapMost of the “game” that is Yandere Simulator has been created by volunteers. Clearly Alex cannot manage to keep professional staff on the project. However, he expects professional quality products from his volunteers. In the beginning, he made it clear that he had no money, was making the game himself, and was not going to have “polishing” on the game such as voice acting, cutscenes etc. But, once he started achieving mainstream success, Alex changed his tune.“I made a Volunteer page with clear instructions on how to contact me if you’re a volunteer. I’ve spent around 8 ~ 12 hours a day reviewing and replying to volunteers.
On December 4, 2015 Alex made another update about his pay and volunteers. “My Patreon hit the “full-time” threshold pretty quickly,” Alex says. On December 15th 2015, his Patreon was at $3,739.66 a month. At the time, his goals were listed as:
This does not take into account how much (or little) he pays his “volunteers,” nor his YouTube, Twitch, or merchandise revenue. Instead of putting the money towards actually developing the game, Alex has spent money on anything from two Nintendo Switches to a Subreddit that he paid $3,000 for ($3,705.68 after inflation.) Despite making well over $300k over the last 8 years before even accounting for YouTube/Patreon/Twitch/Merch/Free Labor, Alex says in his 7-year Anniversary post that “I would like to exit the game’s “periodically add new content to make it a better platform for fun experiences” stage of development, and enter the game’s “focus exclusively on the rivals and finish the game” stage of development…In order to put the remaining rivals in the game…I’ll need a huge amount of money. To get that money, I’ll need a successful crowdfunding campaign…I don’t really have a choice in the matter.” Lack of Discipline & BloatAs early as December 2015, Alex has been pushing back the release date of the demo for Yandere Simulator. He expresses that he had hoped to release the demo by March 1st 2015, along with a kickstarter by April 2nd 2015. So far he has missed that deadline by 3,322 days and counting. There have even been posts on the Subreddit of people discussing what they’ve done in the past decade while Yandere Simulator still is releasing debug builds. There has even been a Twitter account which was dedicated to tweeting gaming milestones that happened before Alex finished even the demo to his “game”. Some notable examples include:Evangelion 3.0+1.0, the conclusion to the evangelion franchise was announced in 2008 for a release date in 2015, has been delayed 3 times before releasing on march 8th 2021 all before yandere simulator finished development. After creating and working on Five Nights At Freddy's for 7 years, Scott Cawthon announced that he will be retiring from the franchise, all before Yandere Simulator finished development. After being announced at E3 2019 and not receiving any major updates on development since, Elden Ring has gotten a full trailer and release date before Yandere Simulator finished development. [Elden Ring has been released and DLC announced for June 28th 2024] The Resident evil franchise has not only returned to its horror roots after a heavy action oriented phase, but it has also had 5 different games come out, one of them being the new Resident evil Village all before Yandere Simulator finished development. They have now also released the RE 3 and 4 remakes. Omori, an RPG Maker game that was funded on kickstarter [in 2014] ago without an update since, has finally gotten a release date before Yandere Simulator has finished development. In addition to the above milestones, there have been a few notable games which came out around the same time as Yandere Simulator’s first playable debug. These include: Five Nights At Freddy’s Franchise began in 2014 & has:
This all keeps happening because Alex has no self control, discipline, or the ability to keep his ego in check to allow for actual professionals to take over the game. In order to give the illusion of progress, Alex typically releases easter eggs, new game modes or minigames instead of just working on the main game. As of March 31st, 2024, the game currently has 44 different modes, 204 different hairstyles for Ayano, 61 player accessories, 32 hairstyles for senpai and many more customization options. Alex has also added 1980s mode. All before the second rival, Amai, has been completed. Stolen/Licensed AssetsAlex has an inability to pay artists fairly for their work, and often employs less than stellar people to hang around him. Throughout the entirety of Yandere Sim’s “development,” Alex has been caught stealing assets and using them without proper credit or licensing.Despite Alex claiming numerous times that the models in the game are not the final ones, ten years into development. All of his models are from the Unity Asset Store, and purchased in 2014. The models cost $35. In 2017 a masterpost was made to showcase the amount of stolen assets used for the “game”. Continued Reputation and RelevanceIn July 2020, a new Yandere Sim styled game called Lovesick was announced. Alex reached out to the main developer and essentially suicide baited to try and get Lovesick canceled. These private messages were obviously leaked. Shortly thereafter, “RIP YandereDev” began trending in the United States. Alex added 1980s mode to the game in 2021, and custom mode in 2023, yet the second rival, Amai, is nowhere to be seen. As of the time of writing, Alex claims that he is putting the finishing touches on Amai and she will be released soon.Alex’s reputation has been steadily decreasing as time has gone on. His game’s popularity (according to Google) has been steadily declining since June 2016. https://preview.redd.it/7nr4gvv5j4sc1.png?width=1335&format=png&auto=webp&s=7058449c0e2b939907edadcc557095d729f3f4d4 Huh, that's odd, let’s take a peek at the little blip for YandereDev. https://preview.redd.it/kwn94hq7j4sc1.png?width=1298&format=png&auto=webp&s=e422d922f575f747a615364030b6170d81640043 Hm, September 2023. Wonder what happened there… |
2024.03.29 00:49 PinkPengin [Offer] Pink Pengin Waxes Poetic about Cheesesteaks, Hoagies and Phanatics [US to WW]
Update: All claimed!
Editor's note: OK, I'm so mad! This offer was supposed to be tied to the Phillies' home opener against the Braves, but that game was rescheduled from today to tomorrow because of (possible) rain. I'm going to be super-busy tomorrow, so I'm still posting it today, but now I'm, in traditional Philadelphian fashion, gonna be salty about it. Let's just say this will probably not be the last time the Phils let me down this season. I guess it's good practice.
---
You may know that I (human Pink Pengin, they/them) live in the desert with my namesake, Plush Pink Pengin (she/her, actually purple and not pink), a couple of other humans, and our many cats.
But what you might not know is that until 2021, I was a LONGTIME Pennsylvanian, and my family is all from the Philadelphia and South Jersey area. I grew up spending almost every weekend in the city. I learned to drive there. (Surekill Expressway, anyone?) I can actually SPELL and PRONOUNCE Schuylkill, which is a pretty big flex; I will happily debate the proper way to order a cheesesteak for hours; I have successfully run from the bottom to the top of the art museum stairs; I regularly eat oddly-shaped soft pretzels procured from a rando standing on a concrete road median; and I have Very Big Feels about the differences between a hoagie and what some people CALL a hoagie but which is definitely a sub and that is NOT the same thing thankyouuuuu.
And I miss "home" more than I can possibly say. Well, I mean, I can say it; you just read a whole long paragraph about it. And I'm determined to say even more about it, which is where you come in.
In my collection of to-send cards, I have 11 Philadelphia ones, mostly history-landmark-themed. I thought it'd be fun to send them along with some of my thoughts on favorite Philly things to do or eat, city memories, Rocky quotes, sports rants, etc.
Are you interested? Are you a flaired user anywhere in the world? If so, comment anything even vaguely Philadelphia-related below to claim a card!
submitted by PinkPengin to RandomActsofCards [link] [comments]
Editor's note: OK, I'm so mad! This offer was supposed to be tied to the Phillies' home opener against the Braves, but that game was rescheduled from today to tomorrow because of (possible) rain. I'm going to be super-busy tomorrow, so I'm still posting it today, but now I'm, in traditional Philadelphian fashion, gonna be salty about it. Let's just say this will probably not be the last time the Phils let me down this season. I guess it's good practice.
---
You may know that I (human Pink Pengin, they/them) live in the desert with my namesake, Plush Pink Pengin (she/her, actually purple and not pink), a couple of other humans, and our many cats.
But what you might not know is that until 2021, I was a LONGTIME Pennsylvanian, and my family is all from the Philadelphia and South Jersey area. I grew up spending almost every weekend in the city. I learned to drive there. (Surekill Expressway, anyone?) I can actually SPELL and PRONOUNCE Schuylkill, which is a pretty big flex; I will happily debate the proper way to order a cheesesteak for hours; I have successfully run from the bottom to the top of the art museum stairs; I regularly eat oddly-shaped soft pretzels procured from a rando standing on a concrete road median; and I have Very Big Feels about the differences between a hoagie and what some people CALL a hoagie but which is definitely a sub and that is NOT the same thing thankyouuuuu.
And I miss "home" more than I can possibly say. Well, I mean, I can say it; you just read a whole long paragraph about it. And I'm determined to say even more about it, which is where you come in.
In my collection of to-send cards, I have 11 Philadelphia ones, mostly history-landmark-themed. I thought it'd be fun to send them along with some of my thoughts on favorite Philly things to do or eat, city memories, Rocky quotes, sports rants, etc.
Are you interested? Are you a flaired user anywhere in the world? If so, comment anything even vaguely Philadelphia-related below to claim a card!
2024.03.25 17:02 Turbostrider27 South Park: Snow Day Review Thread
Game Information
Game Title: South Park: Snow DayPlatforms:
- Xbox Series X/S (Mar 26, 2024)
- PlayStation 5 (Mar 26, 2024)
- Nintendo Switch (Mar 26, 2024)
- PC (Mar 26, 2024)
Publishers: THQ Nordic, Question Games
Review Aggregator:
OpenCritic - 63 average - 30% recommended - 27 reviews
Critic Reviews
AltChar - Semir Omerovic - 80 / 100In a nutshell, South Park: Snow Day! is a great game that offers plenty of the classic South Park humour on top of engaging and fun combat and an interesting main story. While it's quite short and strongly focuses on co-op which some may find as a drawback, I still think it's worth the 29,99€ price point.
While South Park: SNOW DAY! is a South Park product with it’s humor, story and character dialogues; the game itself unfortunately lacks this quality. If you're not a South Park fan, this game will appeal to you at first, but after a while you might get bored as if you've been buried under the snow.
South Park: Snow Day! successfully translates the flat, construction paper aesthetic of the show into a fun, modern 3D co-op action title priced appropriately for the amount of content available at launch.
South Park: Snow Day by no means lives up to its predecessors. Still, it manages to be worthwhile for those invested in the franchise.
South Park: Snow Day! brings a snow day to life by letting children direct power struggles between nations. The trademark humour of the series returns, making you laugh every step of the adventure. A robust combat system helps you coordinate with your allies while encouraging exploration and taking advantage of your environment. Even if you are alone, AI bots are trustworthy allies who do their best to help. Upgrades are also handled nicely, giving you a variety of playstyles for your character. While chaotic combat and satire might not be for everyone, this remains a solid game to play with others.
South Park: Snow Day! brings the cartoon’s up-and-down foray into gaming full circle. The co-op adventure underwhelms with sloppy action, repetitive combat, and a poorly implemented roguelite structure. Fans of the show’s first few seasons may get some laughs from its throwback humor, but the fun setup gets flushed down the drain like Mr. Hankey.
If you enjoy fighting endless waves of enemies in simple combat, then there might be something here to enjoy. But for most, South Park: Snow Day! is a decidedly skippable spin-off game, even if you’re the most diehard of South Park fans.
What’s unforgivable is that, at its core, South Park: Snow Day! isn’t remotely fun to play. Its combat and progression systems aren’t engaging, and only the most hardcore of South Park fans will find a glimmer of hope in the bulletproof humour that’s borrowed from the cartoon.
South Park: Snow Days! This game is full of humour and personality, combined with great visuals and music. It's so much fun to play!
South Park Snow Day could have been one the worst games of this iconic series, but it's not ! If you like the humor and you're cherish all these characters, you could have an enjoyable moment alone, or with friends. Playing this game in co-op eliminates this feeling of artificial difficulty. The experience feels a little bit old, but there are cool elements like playing cards. Give it a shot if you love South Park and don't expect a great game.
South Park: Snow Day!’s most prominent issue is one of fundamentals. The game’s namesake is very much intact and handled exactly in the way you would hope as a fan of the show, but the meat and potatoes of the actual gameplay leave much to be desired. Its humorous, surprisingly robust roguelike elements and attention paid to its source material simply aren’t enough to offset the detriments to its simplistic combat and repetitive structure.
If you love South Park, this will be the best $30 you could spend to have another adventure with all your favorite characters. With a completely different game style than the most recent South Park games, Snow Day! gives you five chapters of the main story totaling 5-6 hours, side quests that can be done more than once on multiple difficulties, and plenty of cosmetics for you to unlock. Solo play gets a little difficult during the ending of the story, but with friends, it should be an enjoyable time for all!
South Park: Snow Day! is a pretty good roguelike with tons of different cards to make each run feel different, complete with that SP humour.
Aggravating hack-and-slash combat and surprisingly sparse jokes make South Park: Snow Day! dull, toothless, and a big step in the wrong direction for South Park games.
South Park: Snow Day! has a lot of potential with some of its roguelike-inspired mechanics but ultimately fails to deliver an engaging experience whether you're playing it solo or in co-op. Combat feels unresponsive, the technical issues are numerous (on Switch at least), and the writing is some of the weakest in the series.
It doesn't make as much of an impact, but it offers what is needed to entertain.
A sporadically fun co-op brawler, South Park: Snow Day is a step back for the franchise. Card collecting and gag-filled combat will keep fans entertained, but there are plenty of better ways to have good times with weapons.
Quote not yet available
Despite being occasionally funny, the game is never fun.
South Park: Snow Day! sets aside the RPG elements of previous titles, in order to offer a multiplayer action game with pronounced roguelike mechanics, unfortunately quite repetitive in the long run.
While it may not be as riveting as its turn-based contemporaries, South Park: Snow Day! showcases an enjoyable 3D action battle system built for 4 players online, combined with the iconic comedic writing of Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
A third-person roguelike brawler that celebrates immature humor and co-op destruction.
After the successes of both Stick of Truth and The Fractured But Whole, South Park: Snow Day! is a big change of pace that left me with mixed feelings. It's an enjoyable game with some nice ideas, but at the same time, you'll be left wondering was this it?
The jokes were funny, and the game does play really well with no glitches. But (and this is what hurts the most), the game overall just isn't long enough. I managed to finish the game in just over two hours. When completed there was no real reason to keep on playing.
The game lacks anything for the player to work towards. If players enjoy collecting trophies, they can add some longevity that way.
South Park: Snow Day! bravely departs from the series’ previous installments, offering something new and interesting as well as a continuation of a beloved story for fans. While the plot is interesting and full of that usual South Park charm, fans might not find too much of a reason to engage in the game’s intended replayability, with the game clocking in at a short but satisfying 4-5 hours.
Snow Day’s moment-to-moment slapstick humor and inventive combat are undermined by unfulfilling progression and an acute lack of content.
South Park: Snow Day! is a good South Park game, but it's just a fine one when viewed without the license. The action is good, as is the inclusion of roguelike elements, but the camera distance can make the gameplay feel cumbersome. The inclusion of multiplayer is great, but the lack of local play is disappointing. While the different card combinations and level elements add some replayability, the presence of only five stages make the game feel short; the disappointment is lessened by the lower-than-expected price tag. It's a fun game, but you'll want to temper your expectations.
2024.03.22 01:19 littlecaretaker1234 The goofy present I got my girlfriend for our 10 year anniversary just arrived and I teared up a little
10 years together and we actually don't remember what day our anniversary is. It was during spring break because I had off from my teaching job and flew out to meet her, so it must be some time in March, right?
We aren't anniversary people and she isn't a gift person. Fortunately we've been on the same page this entire time- we usually do dinner and a date night some time in March and go a lot more hardcore gift giving on birthdays. But I thought, hell, if I'm ever going to get her an anniversary gift the tenth anniversary isn't a bad time to start.
Last year I made a document in my phone, "Lily 2023" and every time she made me laugh I wrote what she said in that document. This year, I flipped through, found a quote I especially loved, and got in engraved on a custom keychain. "When we were mice we were destitute, but at least we were free." A reference to a dream she had when we had been dating only a few years, but even in this dream where we were mice in an apocalypse , we were in love and dedicated to each other. I also got her a nicer dyed leather keychain with her name and her flower namesake.
It's super goofy but they just came in the mail, and reading that silly mice quote I just got a little teary. She dreamed of us together. Little hand in mouse hand. Life was hard but we had our love and we were free. It is so stupidly sentimental and I'm tearing up again. I might even cry in front of her when she opens it at this rate. I really thought it was something we were just going to laugh about, but it's legit making me reflect on the love I have for her and how we work as a team and I cherish her partnership so much. I really would want her by my side if we were both mice in an apocalypse. Wow. Is this what it's like to be anniversary people?
submitted by littlecaretaker1234 to TrueOffMyChest [link] [comments]
We aren't anniversary people and she isn't a gift person. Fortunately we've been on the same page this entire time- we usually do dinner and a date night some time in March and go a lot more hardcore gift giving on birthdays. But I thought, hell, if I'm ever going to get her an anniversary gift the tenth anniversary isn't a bad time to start.
Last year I made a document in my phone, "Lily 2023" and every time she made me laugh I wrote what she said in that document. This year, I flipped through, found a quote I especially loved, and got in engraved on a custom keychain. "When we were mice we were destitute, but at least we were free." A reference to a dream she had when we had been dating only a few years, but even in this dream where we were mice in an apocalypse , we were in love and dedicated to each other. I also got her a nicer dyed leather keychain with her name and her flower namesake.
It's super goofy but they just came in the mail, and reading that silly mice quote I just got a little teary. She dreamed of us together. Little hand in mouse hand. Life was hard but we had our love and we were free. It is so stupidly sentimental and I'm tearing up again. I might even cry in front of her when she opens it at this rate. I really thought it was something we were just going to laugh about, but it's legit making me reflect on the love I have for her and how we work as a team and I cherish her partnership so much. I really would want her by my side if we were both mice in an apocalypse. Wow. Is this what it's like to be anniversary people?
2024.03.19 15:00 Turbostrider27 Alone in the Dark (2024) Review Thread
Game Information
Game Title: Alone in the Dark (2024)Platforms:
- PlayStation 5 (Mar 20, 2024)
- PC (Mar 20, 2024)
- Xbox Series X/S (Mar 20, 2024)
- Alone in the Dark Looking For Jeremy Trailer
- Alone in the Dark The Dark Man Teaser
- Alone in the Dark Announcement Trailer
Review Aggregator:
OpenCritic - 66 average - 48% recommended - 49 reviews
Critic Reviews
AltChar - Asmir Kovacevic - 75 / 100Alone in the Dark, a remake of the beloved 1992 classic, endeavours to narrate a gripping horror story. However, while it excels in certain aspects, it falls short in capturing the essence of true horror.
Pieces Interactive recovers the master lines of the 1992 original to create a reboot that fails to revitalize its proposal.
I would not recommend making your purchase instantly, because in its first days it costs $60 USD, and the truth is, it is not worth it no matter how much it has decent elements. If you want to try Alone in The Dark, I suggest waiting for a discount after a few months or just being patient in case by some miracle they add it to Game Pass.
Alone in the Dark is a collective of issues and fails to impress or add anything to the genre. It is hard to revive the beloved series, but the previous attempts and the final package here all signal that Alone in the Dark should remain a nostalgia.
The latest attempt to revive Alone in the Dark is not considered a weak title but a disappointing one that failed because of incompetence or maybe even low budget. A title that can be enjoyed in some parts and even considered respectable, but in the end, due to the strange decisions of the creators and their inability to develop, it could not be a title worthy of the name of this series.
Alone in the Dark is an impressive reimagining that successfully revitalizes the franchise. Instead of leaning into the action elements that have become more prevalent in the genre, Pieces Interactive respects its DNA by opting to focus on the puzzle aspect of the adventure. As a result, the game carves its own niche which will lure fans of the genre. Although the action segments feel a little rigid and dated, the conundrums are well thought out and a highlight of the experience which helps to make this a must for horror addicts.
While this reimagining of the 1992 cult classic is lacking on some fronts, it makes up for the superb and unsettling atmosphere sprinkled throughout the whole game all while being a strong love letter to the original.
In conclusion, the Alone in the Dark Remake offers a compelling blend of detective intrigue, film noir atmosphere, and horror elements. While the narrative, graphics, and sound design excel in creating an immersive experience, shortcomings in gameplay mechanics, particularly in combat and stealth sequences, detract from its overall impact.
Alone in the Dark has fumbled once again, with this reimagining circling the drain to a pit of mediocrity. Though the game itself and the environments can be beautiful, it doesn't take advantage of its star-studded cast nor does it tell a story that is remotely sensical or engaging. Always offering just the bare minimum of staples for the survival horror genre and nothing more, it's sad to see the grand daddy of the genre be a shell of its former self. Maybe Alone in the Dark should remain exactly like its namesake.
Adapting a classic like Alone in the Dark to modern times has been a very tough gamble, improving a timeless classic and a precursor to what for many was the horror genre of the 90s is something very difficult, so we can't help but applaud trying. Unfortunately, we have to say that they have tried to innovate so much that the idea of what they should have really focused on, being alone in the dark, has been diluted. Far from being a bad game, it entertains, but it has completely lost its essence and does not give the real feeling of being a survival horror as its original was, but rather a simple action game.
As if this were not enough, it needs a good polish, since we have experienced quite a few situations where we have been forced to restart the game because the character has gotten stuck between two elements of the scenario. Fortunately, the game allows recording at any time and this is easily corrected by loading the nearest checkpoint with all the objects taken up to the time of saving (and there are checkpoints every so often!).
The game has a Deluxe edition that includes comments from the director, a 20s-style sepia filter and, most interestingly, the possibility of playing with the skins of the original 1992 characters! By the way, finishing the campaign with one character took us around 8 hours, so if we want to do it with both it will easily take us about 12 hours (the second round will be faster because we will already know what we have to do and where to go). And finally, mention that by completing some sets of collectibles in the second and third game you can unlock different endings or alternative scenes, a good incentive for the curious and that will further extend the duration of the title.
While it has plenty of rough edges, Pieces Interactive's take on horror royalty is the best the series has been in decades.
Those looking for a third-person action shooter may lose patience with Alone in the Dark. However, those looking for a traditional survival horror experience, one with its PS1 roots still slightly visible, might be reminded why they fell in love with the genre to begin with. The main takeaway though, is that Alone in the Dark is finally back, playing to its strengths, and catering to those who’ve missed it.
Alone in the Dark is the confidently silly horror remake the 1992 classic deserves.
"Alone in the Dark" is a successful survival horror game. As a fan of the genre, I am pleased about a few sensible modernizations such as the simplified inventory management and the interactive map. I can overlook most of the old problems, such as the unspectacular shooting sequences.
Although the performance of the two main actors is bad, the setting, the story, the weird gorgeous locations you get to visit and the gameplay make it worth your time and money.
Alone in the Dark has such a fantastic pulp horror aesthetic that it makes up for very lackluster gameplay. Stand out performances, a clear reverence for horror, and some great writing make it work. Though it might not quite be worth the price...
Fans of the original game will feel nostalgic, but if they look at the leaps that have been made in recent years in terms of development, their fervor will quickly subside.
Alone in the Dark is a slightly more campy form of horror compared to Resident Evil, with its focus on occult magic and otherworldly monsters over evil megacorporations unleashing deadly bioweapons. The performances and story of this remake kept me engaged, but weren’t groundbreaking. That said the atmosphere was strong throughout and included a number of moments which felt genuinely unnerving, although nothing as terrifying as Resident Evil Village for example. As a tribute to its original namesake, Alone in the Dark certainly lives up to being the best game in the franchise since The New Nightmare in 2001.
Great ideas and a storied history are mired in mediocre combat and a disappointingly unpolished delivery.
Pieces Interactive has chosen the Unreal Engine 4 and that choice has turned out very well. The environments are detailed and stylish. The characters generally look convincing and the facial animations are also convincing enough. It's not at the level Naughty Dog is at, but certainly good enough. It's a shame that the animations of the monsters are less convincing. They often feel a bit clumsy, which does not improve the tension. Of course we can't forget to mention the soundtrack. Musician Jason Köhnen creates the perfect oppressive atmosphere with his jazzy music that is needed in Alone in the Dark. At no point does the music miss the mark, and that's great. Developer Pieces Interactive has created a beautiful game with the reboot of Alone in the Dark. You will not easily come across a game that exudes so much atmosphere and constantly keeps you on the edge of your seat. The convincing characters, the beautifully designed Derceto Manor and the oppressive atmosphere make it an exciting adventure. And although the horror element of the dream world is the least exciting, the tension of walking through the enormous mansion makes a huge impression. The puzzles are varied and challenging enough to make you stop regularly to think. Add to this the excellent acting of Emily and Edward and you can say that the return to Derceto Manor is more than successful.
Quote not yet available
The game certainly gets better as time goes on, and the story is well-told enough that it's worth experiencing for survival horror fans. However, it comes with the caveats that the overall gameplay leaves a lot to be desired, and its survival horror contemporaries just do a better job on nearly every front.
If you liked the Resident Evil 2 remake, you will easily enjoy Alone in the Dark which makes for a solid survival horror game.
Alone in the Dark is a B-class game that can be compared to projects like Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle and Song of Horror. But it can't even come close to the legendary original.
This reboot of a long-dormant horror franchise doesn't do enough to justify digging up the dead.
‘Alone in the Dark is an impressive reimagining of the original 1992 game, enhancing the premise in every conceivable way. It boasts a stellar cast, whose performances bring the story’s beats to life. The unlockable secret endings significantly enhance its replayability. Its highly customizable difficulty settings make it accessible to a broad mainstream audience. Minor issues such as clunky gunplay and movement can be easily overlooked given its superb atmospheric immersion and ambient soundscapes.
Alone in the Dark serves up a classy and confident slice of old-school survival horror, all sliding puzzles, creaking floorboards, and long, dark shadows. Though it lacks the grander scope of its Shock & Gore contemporaries, this quaint tribute to yesteryear impresses with its kooky cast, strong atmosphere, and vintage ‘ghost story’ vibes. Crucially, Alone in the Dark finally fans have a new adventure they can be proud of.
Alone in the Dark is definitely turning out to be a masterpiece that needs to be experienced by new players and those looking for a blast from the past. Between the world and character design, along with the brilliant voice acting, you’re in for a hell of a ride while possibly running for your life at times.
There are bright spots here that genre veterans can and likely will latch on to, but Alone in the Dark feels a bit too rough and unpolished in areas that are too critical to the experience to ever be able to truly meet its full potential.
Alone in the Dark plays more of a moody psychological thriller with a heavy emphasis on puzzles rather than a traditional survival horror experience. That combined with the plethora of technical issues hold another remake of an original masterpiece back from reaching its true heights.
Alone in the Dark is a faithful take on the original, with some smart puzzles and a charming Southern tone despite some frustrating combat.
After several installments that have failed to do justice to the Infogrames classic, Alone in the Dark returns in a new episode somewhere between a reboot and a remake. An original story with an all-star cast that modernizes the classic and offers a new starting point for this mix of Lovecraft and intelligent humor.
Alone in the Dark is back, but ultimately falls short of the expectations.
Alone In The Dark is a loving remake, as well as an epic stand-alone. Even if you have not played the original, this is well worth a play. The scares are effective, and the tense nature of the game can’t be expressed enough; you will be terrified every time Dercito changes into something more sinister. The stealth elements aren’t perfect, and some of the movement and gunplay need some tweaking, but overall, the story is amazingly told with complex characters and a stunning narrative.
While not a complete triumph, falling down in the same places as many other survival horror titles, and a rather iffy last act to boot, there is still so much to fall in love with in Alone in the Dark (2024). It is a must-play for horror fans and would also make an excellent pool to dip your toe into if you're new to the genre, with the fantastic options on offer to make the game as accessible or as masochistic as you need it to be
Alone in the Dark (2024) is exactly what this dormant series needed after the deathblow that was Alone in the Dark: Illumination. It sticks to what made the series famous with classic horror clichés, hammy acting, a great atmosphere, and an engrossing mystery. It's not only a fantastic stand-alone title, but is in the upper echelons of reimaginings, leaning on the original title where it counts, but not enough to make it a crutch. It adds its unique ideas to further the experience and gives gamers a true dark-fantasy horror that would please any avid fans of Lovecraft.
Unsettling and narratively ambitious, this is the best Alone in the Dark game since 1992.
Alone In The Dark is an ambitious reimagining that does little to differentiate itself from the games it's inspired by. While it's clearly taking inspiration from both Resident Evil and The Evil Within to be a survival horror powerhouse, the flat feeling combat and timid horror elements stop it from standing above the games that inspired it. Despite this, a unique take on the story and the strong setting makes it well worth a look for horror fans.
Alone in the Dark is a perfect example of how to reboot a series without deviating too much from original source nor shying away from a new direction. If you're looking for some spooky vibes, you found them.
There are too many flaws at the heart of Pieces Interactive's Alone in the Dark reboot for a blanket recommendation, but anyone with a love for classic survival horror gameplay should - after a few post-launch patches at least - find a relatively worthwhile experience. The combat sections are awful and there's very little to actually spook you, but the puzzle-solving gameplay at the game's core shines. For that alone, it'll find just enough of an audience ready and willing to love it.
Returning to its interwar period roots, Alone in the Dark successfully reworks and expands the original game's scenario and characters, but its exploration, puzzle solving and combat largely stick to now familiar survival horror routines.
The new Alone in the Dark game is slow and the action is secondary. There are a lot of puzzles and you have to read journals, notes and clues to solve them. You'll enjoy the atmosphere, the intelligently written story, the two well-crafted perspectives, the great music, and just the puzzles. Want to shoot zombies in the head and not strain yours? Find something else.
Due to the clumsy and imprecise combat system, as well as the outdated graphics, Alone in the Dark fails to relaunch the series among the big franchises of the survival horror genre.
While true fans of the franchise might get a kick out of seeing a new take on an old story, Alone in the Dark is a tonal and functional mess that frustrates more than it entertains.
Alone in the Dark is, unfortunately, a missed opportunity. Despite an absolutely fascinating aesthetic and artistic structure, the game encounters terrible technical problems, so much so that it affects the performance of the game itself in terms of gameplay mechanics.
Alone in the Dark is, interestingly, a more communal game than I tend to expect from survival horror. You're frequently running into the other inhabitants of Derceto. I enjoyed talking to them, though the writing isn't especially good, but the game never really delivers on its title and all that company prevents it from ever really getting scary. This is a solid enough retread if you've played through Dead Space and the Resident Evil remakes and want more. But it won't bring many converts to the genre. We'll have to settle for being alone, together, in the dark. Which sorta defeats the entire point when you think about it.
Alone in the Dark is brilliant and ticks all the boxes for me. The setting, storyline, characters, gameplay and puzzles are fantastic. If you enjoy a mix of combat and puzzle solving with a horror vibe running through it, you certainly need to pick this game up.
The team at THQ Nordic has managed not only to bring Alone in the Dark back to life, but to breathe so much new life into it that it has become a stand-alone work perfectly in keeping with the modern era and, at the same time, with a noir-like charm that only games of yesteryear had.
Alone in the Dark marks a fine attempt at contemporary survival horror mechanics but is completely adrift with an incoherent narrative, dull design, and baffling tonal choices.
Alone in the Dark is a strong return to form for the series that helped kickstart the survival horror genre. Its excellent atmosphere, strong mystery, and largely engaging combat design lend to a satisfying and thrilling experience. Some of the character work feels underdeveloped, and a few design choices don't always make sense, but Alone in the Dark is worth the scares, and offers a decent amount of replayability for multiple playthroughs.
Alone in the Dark has come a long way from its initial showings. Clever writing, great performances by its two leads, and solid gameplay come together to give the franchise a new life.
2024.03.16 04:49 eagle2120 [Very Long] Trianna, Du Vrangr Gata, and the Draumar. And a touch of Fate.
Hi All!
tl;dr
Gold fangs and ruby eyes. Hmm. Where have we seen that before?
Let's take a closer look at Trianna.
First, I want to start with Chris' own words about Trianna:
During Eldest, after her encounter with Eragon, Orrin notes that she has been spending some time with him:
Curiousity, Pride, Ambition are the three that come to mind.
Orrin wants to be king of the Borddering kingdom, and is unhappy when he does not get his way. In a similar vein, Trianna is leader of Du Vrangr Gata, and reacts poorly when Eragon supplants her.
One other curious answer from Chris:
And it leads me to believe there is a chance that Vergathos (the memory drug that suprresses magic for people who don't join Du Vrangr Gata) COULD have a sprinkle of the Breath of Azlagur. Or if not already, it would be easy for Du Vrangr Gata to slip some in and start turning an army of magicians. Frightening thought.
Which brings me back to the tunnels. IF Trianna is Draumar, it makes the connection between her bracelet with the Ruby Eyes, and the Bear Statue with the Ruby eyes all the more curious. Because the arched tunnels are likely owned/operated by the Draumar. But there's still an unanswered question here.
How did the Dwarf Assassins/Draumar know Eragon would come back through the tunnels?
How indeed. Eragon actually questions it in his internal dialogue - Which is Chris hinting at the larger possibility; that an external force drove him back to the tunnel.
So here is my guess. Azlagur manipulated "Fate" in order to drive Eragon back to the tunnels, to drive the assassination attempt.
I know, it's a wild theory, and I can't fully explain it here. But it comes from this passage from Bachel, and sets the stage for the very long Fate-related post I've been writing for a while now.
If Eragon is the "hero" of the age, of Fate, then that would make Murtagh the "bastard" of fate, no?
Well how about a bit more from Saphira?
Fate is a real Force in Alagaesia, but it is not the end-all be-all. It can be overcome by very special people and through force of will, as Murtagh hints here:
Whew. Alright I need to stop as I'm getting a bit carried away, I don't want to spoil too much of the Fate post (although I might have already done that).
I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think in the comments.
submitted by eagle2120 to Eragon [link] [comments]
tl;dr
- The Bear statue in the Beor tunnels and Trianna's bracelet are directly connected
- Trianna is a Draumar, and she has a hand in corrupting Orrin (or playing to his weaknesses)
- Trianna is using her position as leader of Du Vrangr Gata to recruit additional Draumar
- She will (if she is not already) infuse the Breath of Azlagur to infect/recruit additional magicians to her cause
- Fate is a real force in Alagaesia
- Azlagur's machinations with fate what drove Eragon back to the tunnels near the Dwarf Assassins
As he pondered the situation, Eragon wondered aimlessly through the warren of chambers below Tronjheim until he found himself in a dry, dusty room lined with five black arches on one side and a bas-relief carving of a snarling bear twenty feet high on the other. The bear had gold teeth and round, faceted rubies for eyes"We later return to the same bear statue, right before the Dwarf Assassins strike:
When at last he stopped, he was surprised to find himself in the same dusty room he had discovered during his wanderings the previous day. There to his left were the same five black arches that led to caverns unkown, while there to his right was the same bas-relief carving of the head and shoulders of a snarling bear. Bemused by the coincidence, Eragon sauntered over to the Bronze sculpture and gazed up at the bear's gleaming fangs, wondering what had drawn him back"There are a lot of curious things about this passage, some that I will return to later. But the description of the bear is tugging at my brain:
Gold fangs and ruby eyes. Hmm. Where have we seen that before?
Trianna drew back slightly, then lifted her wrist so the serpent bracelet was at eye level... then lifted itself and fixed its ruby eyes upon him, wire toungue whipping in and out. Its eyees seemed to expand until they were each as large as Eragon's fist. he felt as if he were tumbling into the fiery depths; he could not look away no matter how hard he tried"Now this bit is especially interesting. There are a few parallels between the physical descriptions, specifically the ruby eyes, which is unique across the books. And we have NEVER seen Eragon enthralled like that before. Trianna is no doubt capable, but there's something more going on here.
Let's take a closer look at Trianna.
First, I want to start with Chris' own words about Trianna:
Do you have any kind of backstory for Trianna? She apparently comes from a family of magic users, she seems to have created a familiar for her protection, she learned how to summon spirits, and she'd been with the Varden for six years before Galbatorix died. But none of that is explored, which is admittedly because Alagaesia is really big and the books only focus on Eragon's fight against the Empire. Anything you could share about her?Chris is certainly hinting at something ominous here; we haven't seen anything overtly malicious from her, but she definitely has a history of mischievous behavior.
A: Trianna is trouble.
During Eldest, after her encounter with Eragon, Orrin notes that she has been spending some time with him:
"Why, just yesterday, with a single spell, Trianna helped me to discover two entirely new gases"This particular interaction is curious, because Orrin at the start of the series is VERY different from who he is at the end. And he and Trianna share a LOT of the same traits/character flaws:
Curiousity, Pride, Ambition are the three that come to mind.
Orrin wants to be king of the Borddering kingdom, and is unhappy when he does not get his way. In a similar vein, Trianna is leader of Du Vrangr Gata, and reacts poorly when Eragon supplants her.
One other curious answer from Chris:
Q: Why did Orrin want to be king? Is the reason connected with the Dreamers?Given how resentful Orrin is, he would be a pretty easy target for the Draumar to manipulate against the rest of the kingdom. And given the similarities in character flaws between the two, it is not a far stretch to say Trianna would be just as easily manipulated (especially considering her connection to magic, which has a direct correlation with the strength of dreams).
A: Orrin was resentful and ambitious. Had nothing to do with the Dreamers (although I'm sure they'd attempt to exploit that).
If the Dreamers had infiltrated Du Vrangr Gata... without arousing suspicion, that was alarming enough. But if what the cat said was true, they were operating upon a larger scale, and with a larger goal in mind, and they had already amassed a dangerous amount of influence"I believe what the werecat hints at is true -- The Draumar have infiltrated Du Vrangr Gata systemically. And that would not be possible if they did not have direct support from their leader; Trianna.
And it leads me to believe there is a chance that Vergathos (the memory drug that suprresses magic for people who don't join Du Vrangr Gata) COULD have a sprinkle of the Breath of Azlagur. Or if not already, it would be easy for Du Vrangr Gata to slip some in and start turning an army of magicians. Frightening thought.
Which brings me back to the tunnels. IF Trianna is Draumar, it makes the connection between her bracelet with the Ruby Eyes, and the Bear Statue with the Ruby eyes all the more curious. Because the arched tunnels are likely owned/operated by the Draumar. But there's still an unanswered question here.
How did the Dwarf Assassins/Draumar know Eragon would come back through the tunnels?
How indeed. Eragon actually questions it in his internal dialogue - Which is Chris hinting at the larger possibility; that an external force drove him back to the tunnel.
"Bemused by the coincidence, Eragon sauntered over to the Bronze sculpture and gazed up at the bear's gleaming fangs, wondering what had drawn him back"As Chris so poignantly points out,
(Not saying any of this is right, but I've been laying down groundwork for future stories for DECADES now. Time for the payoffs to start. :D)There are no such thing as coincidences.
So here is my guess. Azlagur manipulated "Fate" in order to drive Eragon back to the tunnels, to drive the assassination attempt.
I know, it's a wild theory, and I can't fully explain it here. But it comes from this passage from Bachel, and sets the stage for the very long Fate-related post I've been writing for a while now.
"it was Fate that brought you here. You could no more have resisted the urge to find Nal Gorgoth than a moth may resist the lure of a nighttime flame. The threads of destiny may be plucked by those who know how. Plucked, and severed"There is so much more I want to get into with the Fate piece, but it takes so much explaining it needs to be its own post. I will leave you with a few quotes to think about, to set the stage.
"Son of sorrow, bastard of fate, sing of sorry trechery"But.. as Murtagh points out, Eragon is the bastard. So why do they call him a bastard of fate?
"I see the sons and daughters of Azlagurs betrayers brought to heel... and even shall cast down the false hero Eragon... they shall usher in the end of this age"False hero... Fate... End of an age...
It is your wyrd [fate] that shapes you... Every age needs an icon - perhaps that lot has fallen to you... Your namesake was the beginning, and now you are the continuation. Or the end"Are you starting to see the picture yet? No?
If Eragon is the "hero" of the age, of Fate, then that would make Murtagh the "bastard" of fate, no?
Well how about a bit more from Saphira?
"The world is stretched thin, Eragon. Soon it will snap and madness will burst forth. What you feel is what we dragons feel and what the elves feel—the inexorable march of grim fate as the end of our age approaches"Fate... end of age... There are certainly some parallels across multiple characters and books, on both sides of the conflict. They both know something is coming, they both acknowledge it as the end of an age/era, and they both are looking for "Champions/Heroes" to represent them in the war to come... Which leads me to my main point.
Fate is a real Force in Alagaesia, but it is not the end-all be-all. It can be overcome by very special people and through force of will, as Murtagh hints here:
"By my will, I make my way"That sure sounds thematically similar to something else.. Eat the path, anyone?
Whew. Alright I need to stop as I'm getting a bit carried away, I don't want to spoil too much of the Fate post (although I might have already done that).
I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think in the comments.
2024.03.13 22:21 haygurlhay123 Literary Analysis of FFVII: Why Clerith Is Essential to the Narrative (part 3)
( continuation of https://www.reddit.com/cloudxaerith/s/N5yjrDfeRA )
III. c) Clerith makes Aerith and Cloud better off and saves the planet
Finally and most importantly, Clerith makes both Aerith and Cloud better off as characters, and saves the planet.
Starting with Aerith, Cloud’s personality and reserved nature allows for her to express her cheerfulness and satisfy her need to pull someone along with her excitedly. Her bubbly personality can truly shine when she’s with him, unlike when she’s with Zack, who doesn’t give her many opportunities to express her effervescent nature, as shown in Crisis Core. Aerith is actually either an extroverted introvert or an introverted extrovert; and Cloud’s decidedly introverted nature allows her personality the space it needs to burst forth. Unfortunately, Aerith dies so suddenly and keeps so many of her feelings inside that we don’t get to see how she develops beyond comparing her in Crisis Core to her in Remake, so this is pretty much all that can be said about her.
On the other hand, there is far too much evidence that Cloud becomes a better person and achieves the personal development needed for the plot to advance thanks to his love for Aerith and Aerith’s love for him.
Aerith motivates Cloud to be a hero of his own volition and not out of a sense of gendered obligation. Let’s come back to Tifa for a second. Tifa, who grew up in conservative Nibelheim just like Cloud, asks him to promise her that he will save her if ever she needs him, because she feels she needs a hero: someone stable, reliable and steadfast to help her when her world is falling apart. We all know that Cloud is less than stable and reliable during the events of FFVII: Cloud is unable to embody these characteristics for Tifa. Instead, he’s emotional, unsure, fragile and mercurial, characteristics often considered feminine. Aerith, on the other hand, displays the consistency and heroism Tifa wants from Cloud, and she does not ask Cloud to be her hero: instead Cloud takes the initiative to come and save her again and again, even when she tells him not to. She makes him act like a hero, and thanks to her, he becomes one. Think of Cloud’s resolution scene in Remake’s chapter 14. In the end, Cloud tells Aerith that he’s coming to get her, implying that he will both save her from Shinra and fall in love with her, despite her attempts to both downplay her predicament and protect him from the pain she knows loving her will bring him. In Japanese, Aerith responds with “It’s frustrating, but I’m happy”; she means that it’s frustrating that he’s stubborn and that he refuses to leave her to Shinra and to herself just because he could get hurt, but that it makes her happy that he’s willing to risk it for her. In English, her “If that’s what you want, thank you” expresses the same sentiment: it’s Cloud’s decision to come save her, and she can’t help but be glad for it, even if she tries to prevent it. The same thing happens in OG’s Sleeping Forest scene in chapter 1.43, when Aerith tells Cloud she’ll take care of Sephiroth herself and that she’ll return when it’s all over. Because he fears for her, he follows and tries to save her anyway, even if she assures him that only she can stop Sephiroth. In Rebirth’s chapter 14, Marlene tells Zack that in the moment right before her death, Aerith was really happy that Cloud came for her, just as she expresses in Advent Children: “You came for me, that’s all that matters”. Unfortunately, he is too late to save her in OG. But he can save what she died to protect, and because he loves her and she’s changed him, he does: Cloud becomes the hero of the planet, for want of becoming Aerith’s hero.
Let’s discuss how Aerith is the path that Cloud follows to go from who he is in the beginning of the game to who he needs to be in order to save the world. Recall that Cloud’s personal development is essential to the plot, because not only does the planet depend on his breaking free from Sephiroth and Jenova, but also because FFVII is symbolically the story of how Cloud overcomes darkness. Recall the first point I made in this whole analysis: defeating Sephiroth is for Cloud the equivalent of defeating his trauma and resisting the darkness in him (Jenova), maintaining the strength and integrity of his spirit and identity. Cloud needs to solidify his identity before battling Sephiroth, or else Jenova will be able to manipulate him and turn him into its puppet too. But after Aerith is gone and his ego is destroyed by the knowledge that he was never a SOLDIER, what could possibly fuel Cloud to fight against Sephiroth except rage, grief and emptiness? How can he save the planet if he can’t free himself of Jenova’s influence? His love for Aerith teaches him the answer: in order to find a motivation to save the planet that Jenova cannot exploit, Cloud must honor Aerith’s memory by becoming more like her and acting in her place.
This is a lot to unpack. As we’ve said, Cloud cannot fight Sephiroth if he’s fueled by the same dark motivators; to the planet’s benefit, Cloud ends up fighting Sephiroth because Cloud wants to save the planet and all its life. Instead of attacking Sephiroth, he must defend the world. Instead of hating and wanting to kill, he must cherish and want to protect. Because he loves Aerith, he also loves what she loved and what she left him to treasure. Because he cares about Aerith, he also cares about what she cares about. This is made evident in Remake’s chapter 8 when he listens to Aerith talk about what her flowers are trying to tell her, and even talks to the flowers himself, despite not really believing they can hear him. At first, he couldn’t care less about the planet’s fate, as he expresses to Tifa in Seventh Heaven when she tells him about Avalanche’s mission in OG’s chapter 1.3: “So let Barret and his buddies do something about it. It's got nothin' to do with me”. She even begs him to help, trying to cash in the promise he made her in childhood, and still all he does is relent to participating in the next mission for 2000 gil. Tifa is unable to convince him to care for the cause itself. However upon seeing how connected Aerith is to nature, he listens to her speak about the flowers intently, having just met her that day. At first, Cloud wanted to kill Sephiroth for revenge, and perhaps to prove to himself that he could. But he gradually comes to care about the planet itself, influenced by Aerith, and this concern hits an all-time high when she dies and he must honor her memory. His love for her is so strong that it is more powerful than his desire for revenge, surpassing vengeance and becoming his main motivation in defeating Sephiroth. Cloud loses Aerith, but instead of acting on the rage and grief of this loss, he acts on the love her feels for her. He cherishes the planet because Aerith cherished it, and he cherishes her. The selflessness that Cloud displays is also taught by Aerith, who sacrifices herself for the good of the planet.
This self-development isn’t a one and done thing: it reoccurs throughout the compilation. Cloud struggles with pushing back darkness and embracing light long after Sephiroth and Jenova are defeated. This is his journey, constant and grueling, and his namesake of Strife. Some more evidence supporting this can be found in the game World of Final Fantasy, wherein a character named Terra tells Cloud off for pursuing his hatred for Sephiroth rather than protecting and cherishing what he still has: “So when you find [Sephiroth], what are you going to do? Will killing him bring back the woman that you lost? This isn’t any way to honor her memory. To take your love for her and turn it into hate?” This further demonstrates that loving Aerith and honoring her memory is an essential component of Cloud’s journey, not only in FFVVII but across the compilation and beyond; it’s a constant for his character. It sounds cheesy, but all this is symbolic of how we must go on living, loving and cherishing after we experience loss just like Cloud, instead of succumbing to darkness like Sephiroth. This is one of the founding premises of FFVII: love and life after loss.
To further prove that Cloud’s love for Aerith is what saved the planet, and that therefore Clerith is the true romantic pairing of FFVII, here’s a quote from Cloud in OG’s chapter 2.14, once he’s understood that Aerith summoned Holy to protect the planet:
“I'm sorry... Aeris. I should have figured this out sooner. […] But, Aeris, I understand now. Aeris, I'll do the rest. […] Thank you… Aeris.”
In page 175 of FFVII Dismantled, Cloud decides he will take on her role as lover and defender of the planet. Making sure her sacrifice wasn’t in vain is a prominent motivation for Cloud:
“Aeris... is your sacrifice in vain? No, we will defeat Sephiroth and release Holy's power by any means - we won't fail. We will do it to save the life of this Planet you loved.”
Page 182 also contains vital information. Here is Cloud’s perspective as he barrels toward the final showdown against Sephiroth:
“But even [if it seems hopeless], I have to fight. To settle my past. To be my true self. And, more than anything else - to free her frozen smile. Also, Tifa's here with me. I'm not alone in my fight - Tifa taught me that. Everyone else came back, too. […] Everyone each has their own reasons to fight. And they're all connected to the life of the Planet. Everyone, let's go to the Northern Crater! To unleash Aeris's prayer, who left us with hope!”
Out of Cloud’s three stated reasons for fighting, he says the most important reason is “to free her frozen smile”. This can only be a reference to Aerith. Every one of these POV texts represents the inner thoughts and feelings of the character in question during a particular scene, and in the scene being referred to in this instance, Cloud speaks about Aerith:
“We have to do something, or [her] smile will remain frozen […].”
Aerith’s smile is to Cloud, and it is a treasured memory he uses to motivate himself. “[Freeing] her frozen smile” and releasing her prayer from Sephiroth’s interference in the lifestream are presented as one in the same from Cloud’s perspective. This text from Dismantled confirms that Aerith is Cloud’s personal link to the fight that concludes FFVII in a culmination of its story, character arcs, didactic messaging, world building and narrative. Loving Aerith means fighting against the odds to save the planet. Loving Aerith gives Cloud his plot purpose and narrative impact: saving the world. Loving Aerith is the vehicle to Cloud’s heroism. Clerith is essential to the narrative.
Also note that on this same page of Dismantled, Tifa is mentioned after Aerith (“Also, Tifa […]”), as the one who taught Cloud that he doesn’t have to go through this alone: that is his takeaway from their time together in the lifestream. If the takeaway was that Cloud and Tifa are meant to be and they love each other, then Dismantled would have stated that as plainly and simply as it stated that losing Aerith was equivalent to losing part of himself. Aerith is tied to his purpose and hope, while Tifa is tied to his courage and strength.
This dialogue and POV text on page 182 surrounding Aerith’s smile also occur the morning after the infamous ‘Under the Highwind’ night, so I would argue that their implied sex scene can hardly be canon, or at least canonically romantic: it wouldn’t make much narrative sense at all to include a canon sex scene with Tifa, followed by Cloud claiming his reason to fight on is, above everything else, Aerith.
Ultimately, Cloud’s defeat of Sephiroth reflect his success, and the impact of having known Aerith frees him from Jenova’s clutches. He knows who he is now, he is certain. This is why Clerith is the true romantic pairing of FFVII: Cloud’s love for Aerith and her love for him is what saves him, and the world. Clerith is essential to the narrative and themes at hand in this narratively and thematically heavy compilation. If one believes that Cloti is the one true pairing of FFVII, then large chunks of the narrative undercurrent of the plot have been ignored or misunderstood, particularly Cloud’s psychic wounds. However, a Cloti interpretation doesn’t take away much from the plot proper, which is why I chose the term “narrative” for the title: Cloti enjoyers might be missing out on the deeper truths and implicit thematics of the story, but their enjoyment is valid nonetheless and their experience of FFVII is more than rich enough. That being said, enjoyment and opinion are two different things, and because I’m cheeky, here’s something my media literacy teacher always used to say: “An opinion founded on facts is more valuable than an unfounded opinion.”
EDIT: Important and additional housekeeping here because I want to ensure that my criticism of Cloti is not misconstrued as misogyny. My Feminism in Fiction, Sociology and Gender Studies teachers never forgive me if that were true lol
Everything that I say regarding Tifa and Cloud’s relationship is not in any way Tifa’s fault. Cloud’s feelings, thoughts and traumas are not Tifa’s responsibility, and in fact, I think Cloud is guilty of mistreatment of Tifa if the game is played with a Cloti path, not the other way around. Neither is Tifa’s misunderstanding of Cloud’s true self her fault: she was a child, and he acted a certain way, so she took it the way we all would’ve taken it as children. Tifa is blameless in all of the aspects I’ve highlighted in my analysis. Nothing that happened is a failure on Tifa’s part. Tifa is perfect the way she is and shouldn’t have done anything different than what she did, and that’s kind of my point: the individual people in Cloti aren’t the issue, it’s the pairing together that leads to less than ideal dynamics. God knows I love me my Tifa and that I enjoyed her chapters in Traces of Two Pasts more than Aerith’s, actually.
Cloti being inferior in narrative strength to Clerith is not a condemnation of Tifa, or even of Cloti. It’s just that Clerith is written to be such a compelling and fulfilling love story that even a great dynamic couldn’t compare. It isn’t that Cloti as a relationship is objectively “bad”, it’s that Clerith is supernaturally perfect. This is not analysis of real-life couple dynamics: this is fiction analysis. Keep that in mind.
submitted by haygurlhay123 to cloudxaerith [link] [comments]
III. c) Clerith makes Aerith and Cloud better off and saves the planet
Finally and most importantly, Clerith makes both Aerith and Cloud better off as characters, and saves the planet.
Starting with Aerith, Cloud’s personality and reserved nature allows for her to express her cheerfulness and satisfy her need to pull someone along with her excitedly. Her bubbly personality can truly shine when she’s with him, unlike when she’s with Zack, who doesn’t give her many opportunities to express her effervescent nature, as shown in Crisis Core. Aerith is actually either an extroverted introvert or an introverted extrovert; and Cloud’s decidedly introverted nature allows her personality the space it needs to burst forth. Unfortunately, Aerith dies so suddenly and keeps so many of her feelings inside that we don’t get to see how she develops beyond comparing her in Crisis Core to her in Remake, so this is pretty much all that can be said about her.
On the other hand, there is far too much evidence that Cloud becomes a better person and achieves the personal development needed for the plot to advance thanks to his love for Aerith and Aerith’s love for him.
Aerith motivates Cloud to be a hero of his own volition and not out of a sense of gendered obligation. Let’s come back to Tifa for a second. Tifa, who grew up in conservative Nibelheim just like Cloud, asks him to promise her that he will save her if ever she needs him, because she feels she needs a hero: someone stable, reliable and steadfast to help her when her world is falling apart. We all know that Cloud is less than stable and reliable during the events of FFVII: Cloud is unable to embody these characteristics for Tifa. Instead, he’s emotional, unsure, fragile and mercurial, characteristics often considered feminine. Aerith, on the other hand, displays the consistency and heroism Tifa wants from Cloud, and she does not ask Cloud to be her hero: instead Cloud takes the initiative to come and save her again and again, even when she tells him not to. She makes him act like a hero, and thanks to her, he becomes one. Think of Cloud’s resolution scene in Remake’s chapter 14. In the end, Cloud tells Aerith that he’s coming to get her, implying that he will both save her from Shinra and fall in love with her, despite her attempts to both downplay her predicament and protect him from the pain she knows loving her will bring him. In Japanese, Aerith responds with “It’s frustrating, but I’m happy”; she means that it’s frustrating that he’s stubborn and that he refuses to leave her to Shinra and to herself just because he could get hurt, but that it makes her happy that he’s willing to risk it for her. In English, her “If that’s what you want, thank you” expresses the same sentiment: it’s Cloud’s decision to come save her, and she can’t help but be glad for it, even if she tries to prevent it. The same thing happens in OG’s Sleeping Forest scene in chapter 1.43, when Aerith tells Cloud she’ll take care of Sephiroth herself and that she’ll return when it’s all over. Because he fears for her, he follows and tries to save her anyway, even if she assures him that only she can stop Sephiroth. In Rebirth’s chapter 14, Marlene tells Zack that in the moment right before her death, Aerith was really happy that Cloud came for her, just as she expresses in Advent Children: “You came for me, that’s all that matters”. Unfortunately, he is too late to save her in OG. But he can save what she died to protect, and because he loves her and she’s changed him, he does: Cloud becomes the hero of the planet, for want of becoming Aerith’s hero.
Let’s discuss how Aerith is the path that Cloud follows to go from who he is in the beginning of the game to who he needs to be in order to save the world. Recall that Cloud’s personal development is essential to the plot, because not only does the planet depend on his breaking free from Sephiroth and Jenova, but also because FFVII is symbolically the story of how Cloud overcomes darkness. Recall the first point I made in this whole analysis: defeating Sephiroth is for Cloud the equivalent of defeating his trauma and resisting the darkness in him (Jenova), maintaining the strength and integrity of his spirit and identity. Cloud needs to solidify his identity before battling Sephiroth, or else Jenova will be able to manipulate him and turn him into its puppet too. But after Aerith is gone and his ego is destroyed by the knowledge that he was never a SOLDIER, what could possibly fuel Cloud to fight against Sephiroth except rage, grief and emptiness? How can he save the planet if he can’t free himself of Jenova’s influence? His love for Aerith teaches him the answer: in order to find a motivation to save the planet that Jenova cannot exploit, Cloud must honor Aerith’s memory by becoming more like her and acting in her place.
This is a lot to unpack. As we’ve said, Cloud cannot fight Sephiroth if he’s fueled by the same dark motivators; to the planet’s benefit, Cloud ends up fighting Sephiroth because Cloud wants to save the planet and all its life. Instead of attacking Sephiroth, he must defend the world. Instead of hating and wanting to kill, he must cherish and want to protect. Because he loves Aerith, he also loves what she loved and what she left him to treasure. Because he cares about Aerith, he also cares about what she cares about. This is made evident in Remake’s chapter 8 when he listens to Aerith talk about what her flowers are trying to tell her, and even talks to the flowers himself, despite not really believing they can hear him. At first, he couldn’t care less about the planet’s fate, as he expresses to Tifa in Seventh Heaven when she tells him about Avalanche’s mission in OG’s chapter 1.3: “So let Barret and his buddies do something about it. It's got nothin' to do with me”. She even begs him to help, trying to cash in the promise he made her in childhood, and still all he does is relent to participating in the next mission for 2000 gil. Tifa is unable to convince him to care for the cause itself. However upon seeing how connected Aerith is to nature, he listens to her speak about the flowers intently, having just met her that day. At first, Cloud wanted to kill Sephiroth for revenge, and perhaps to prove to himself that he could. But he gradually comes to care about the planet itself, influenced by Aerith, and this concern hits an all-time high when she dies and he must honor her memory. His love for her is so strong that it is more powerful than his desire for revenge, surpassing vengeance and becoming his main motivation in defeating Sephiroth. Cloud loses Aerith, but instead of acting on the rage and grief of this loss, he acts on the love her feels for her. He cherishes the planet because Aerith cherished it, and he cherishes her. The selflessness that Cloud displays is also taught by Aerith, who sacrifices herself for the good of the planet.
This self-development isn’t a one and done thing: it reoccurs throughout the compilation. Cloud struggles with pushing back darkness and embracing light long after Sephiroth and Jenova are defeated. This is his journey, constant and grueling, and his namesake of Strife. Some more evidence supporting this can be found in the game World of Final Fantasy, wherein a character named Terra tells Cloud off for pursuing his hatred for Sephiroth rather than protecting and cherishing what he still has: “So when you find [Sephiroth], what are you going to do? Will killing him bring back the woman that you lost? This isn’t any way to honor her memory. To take your love for her and turn it into hate?” This further demonstrates that loving Aerith and honoring her memory is an essential component of Cloud’s journey, not only in FFVVII but across the compilation and beyond; it’s a constant for his character. It sounds cheesy, but all this is symbolic of how we must go on living, loving and cherishing after we experience loss just like Cloud, instead of succumbing to darkness like Sephiroth. This is one of the founding premises of FFVII: love and life after loss.
To further prove that Cloud’s love for Aerith is what saved the planet, and that therefore Clerith is the true romantic pairing of FFVII, here’s a quote from Cloud in OG’s chapter 2.14, once he’s understood that Aerith summoned Holy to protect the planet:
“I'm sorry... Aeris. I should have figured this out sooner. […] But, Aeris, I understand now. Aeris, I'll do the rest. […] Thank you… Aeris.”
In page 175 of FFVII Dismantled, Cloud decides he will take on her role as lover and defender of the planet. Making sure her sacrifice wasn’t in vain is a prominent motivation for Cloud:
“Aeris... is your sacrifice in vain? No, we will defeat Sephiroth and release Holy's power by any means - we won't fail. We will do it to save the life of this Planet you loved.”
Page 182 also contains vital information. Here is Cloud’s perspective as he barrels toward the final showdown against Sephiroth:
“But even [if it seems hopeless], I have to fight. To settle my past. To be my true self. And, more than anything else - to free her frozen smile. Also, Tifa's here with me. I'm not alone in my fight - Tifa taught me that. Everyone else came back, too. […] Everyone each has their own reasons to fight. And they're all connected to the life of the Planet. Everyone, let's go to the Northern Crater! To unleash Aeris's prayer, who left us with hope!”
Out of Cloud’s three stated reasons for fighting, he says the most important reason is “to free her frozen smile”. This can only be a reference to Aerith. Every one of these POV texts represents the inner thoughts and feelings of the character in question during a particular scene, and in the scene being referred to in this instance, Cloud speaks about Aerith:
“We have to do something, or [her] smile will remain frozen […].”
Aerith’s smile is to Cloud, and it is a treasured memory he uses to motivate himself. “[Freeing] her frozen smile” and releasing her prayer from Sephiroth’s interference in the lifestream are presented as one in the same from Cloud’s perspective. This text from Dismantled confirms that Aerith is Cloud’s personal link to the fight that concludes FFVII in a culmination of its story, character arcs, didactic messaging, world building and narrative. Loving Aerith means fighting against the odds to save the planet. Loving Aerith gives Cloud his plot purpose and narrative impact: saving the world. Loving Aerith is the vehicle to Cloud’s heroism. Clerith is essential to the narrative.
Also note that on this same page of Dismantled, Tifa is mentioned after Aerith (“Also, Tifa […]”), as the one who taught Cloud that he doesn’t have to go through this alone: that is his takeaway from their time together in the lifestream. If the takeaway was that Cloud and Tifa are meant to be and they love each other, then Dismantled would have stated that as plainly and simply as it stated that losing Aerith was equivalent to losing part of himself. Aerith is tied to his purpose and hope, while Tifa is tied to his courage and strength.
This dialogue and POV text on page 182 surrounding Aerith’s smile also occur the morning after the infamous ‘Under the Highwind’ night, so I would argue that their implied sex scene can hardly be canon, or at least canonically romantic: it wouldn’t make much narrative sense at all to include a canon sex scene with Tifa, followed by Cloud claiming his reason to fight on is, above everything else, Aerith.
Ultimately, Cloud’s defeat of Sephiroth reflect his success, and the impact of having known Aerith frees him from Jenova’s clutches. He knows who he is now, he is certain. This is why Clerith is the true romantic pairing of FFVII: Cloud’s love for Aerith and her love for him is what saves him, and the world. Clerith is essential to the narrative and themes at hand in this narratively and thematically heavy compilation. If one believes that Cloti is the one true pairing of FFVII, then large chunks of the narrative undercurrent of the plot have been ignored or misunderstood, particularly Cloud’s psychic wounds. However, a Cloti interpretation doesn’t take away much from the plot proper, which is why I chose the term “narrative” for the title: Cloti enjoyers might be missing out on the deeper truths and implicit thematics of the story, but their enjoyment is valid nonetheless and their experience of FFVII is more than rich enough. That being said, enjoyment and opinion are two different things, and because I’m cheeky, here’s something my media literacy teacher always used to say: “An opinion founded on facts is more valuable than an unfounded opinion.”
EDIT: Important and additional housekeeping here because I want to ensure that my criticism of Cloti is not misconstrued as misogyny. My Feminism in Fiction, Sociology and Gender Studies teachers never forgive me if that were true lol
Everything that I say regarding Tifa and Cloud’s relationship is not in any way Tifa’s fault. Cloud’s feelings, thoughts and traumas are not Tifa’s responsibility, and in fact, I think Cloud is guilty of mistreatment of Tifa if the game is played with a Cloti path, not the other way around. Neither is Tifa’s misunderstanding of Cloud’s true self her fault: she was a child, and he acted a certain way, so she took it the way we all would’ve taken it as children. Tifa is blameless in all of the aspects I’ve highlighted in my analysis. Nothing that happened is a failure on Tifa’s part. Tifa is perfect the way she is and shouldn’t have done anything different than what she did, and that’s kind of my point: the individual people in Cloti aren’t the issue, it’s the pairing together that leads to less than ideal dynamics. God knows I love me my Tifa and that I enjoyed her chapters in Traces of Two Pasts more than Aerith’s, actually.
Cloti being inferior in narrative strength to Clerith is not a condemnation of Tifa, or even of Cloti. It’s just that Clerith is written to be such a compelling and fulfilling love story that even a great dynamic couldn’t compare. It isn’t that Cloti as a relationship is objectively “bad”, it’s that Clerith is supernaturally perfect. This is not analysis of real-life couple dynamics: this is fiction analysis. Keep that in mind.
2024.02.28 22:00 definitelyjoking Jacob Sowerby, an outstanding minor character
I'm on another circumnavigation and have come to the Nutmeg of Consolation. After the crew's return to Batavia, we are introduced, briefly, to Mr. Jacob Sowerby, a botanist who has come to Batavia in hopes of being appointed as government naturalist.
Sowerby and Stephen meet, and the interaction goes poorly. Sowerby believes Stephen is a rival for the position, and upon Stephen mentioning his "little work on the phanerogams of Upper Ossory[,]" launches into an anti-Irish rant, including a great bit about:
A grateful Sowerby names a nondescript plant after Stephen. Revealing a sample to Governor Raffles, Stephen discovers the plant is a parasite, ugly, smells so bad the governor's wife asks that it be removed, and is probably insectivorous. Questioning whether Sowerby is making fun of him, Raffles assures him that Sowerby is too boring and humorless to even think of it, and that he doesn't conceive of plants as having any particular good or bad value.
A repeated statement in the series is that having a plant or animal named after you confers immortality (particularly in reference to Testudo aubreii, Jack's tortoise namesake). So there we have it, Sowerby has unwittingly triumphed over Stephen before vanishing forever from the series, giving him immortality in the form of an ugly, parasitic, smelly, bug-eating plant. An honor Stephen cannot possibly refuse or refute.
submitted by definitelyjoking to AubreyMaturinSeries [link] [comments]
Sowerby and Stephen meet, and the interaction goes poorly. Sowerby believes Stephen is a rival for the position, and upon Stephen mentioning his "little work on the phanerogams of Upper Ossory[,]" launches into an anti-Irish rant, including a great bit about:
the disgraceful events of 1798, when a numerous band of traitors rose against their natural sovereign, burnt my uncle's rectory and stole three of his cowsStephen is furiously angry, but he rises to the occasion and puts Sowerby down with a lengthy quote from the Venerable Bede's Ecclesiastical History. Despite this, he recommends Sowerby for the position of naturalist because his paper was the best of the candidates.
A grateful Sowerby names a nondescript plant after Stephen. Revealing a sample to Governor Raffles, Stephen discovers the plant is a parasite, ugly, smells so bad the governor's wife asks that it be removed, and is probably insectivorous. Questioning whether Sowerby is making fun of him, Raffles assures him that Sowerby is too boring and humorless to even think of it, and that he doesn't conceive of plants as having any particular good or bad value.
A repeated statement in the series is that having a plant or animal named after you confers immortality (particularly in reference to Testudo aubreii, Jack's tortoise namesake). So there we have it, Sowerby has unwittingly triumphed over Stephen before vanishing forever from the series, giving him immortality in the form of an ugly, parasitic, smelly, bug-eating plant. An honor Stephen cannot possibly refuse or refute.
2024.02.25 12:59 Dyortos This Subreddit is Lost w/Religion, False Prophets, Church Institutions & Denominations
The Lost Sheep, The False Prophets, The Wolves & Fake Christians
This Subreddit is Lost. They know not what Jesus preached. They are confined to false prophets and church pulpit pastors, lies and false gospels. You can quote Jesus to them and they still can't read what He was saying. They are brainwashed with denominations and specific doctrines. They make excuses for their sins and have been given over to a reprobate mind. Jesus loves them very much but this hypocrisy is building up His Wrath.Jesus came to save sinners but that doesn't mean we keep sinning. I hate Sin and so does Jesus! You cannot speak Truth on this subreddit without getting banned from a moderator whom themselves don't even believe in Jesus. Jesus Preached a convicting and offensive message to the world, His creation. The true Gospel of Repentance is not preached. They do not know what repentance means. They do not know that they have to stop sinning and practice righteousness. If I punch someone in the face and I repent and stop, then to just punch them in the face the next day, is that repentance? No! Jesus calls us out of sin and onto Himself into a new way of living, to Life Eternal with Jesus.
This Subreddit is filled with baby Christians that have no personal relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit! Jesus is not confined to a Bible. He has a voice, and I hear Him and have conversation with Him. He does not need a bible, the disciples did not need a bible, likewise followers today do not need a bible to know Jesus. You are able to speak and receive instruction from Jesus, personally. He speaks! He is the Living God Almighty!
Jesus is not confined to a church! He has a Voice, and His Sheep Hear Him. There are no denominations with Christ. They are causing Division in Christ not Unity. The Apostolic Church established the True Faith they got from Jesus. We do not need church, we are the temples of the Holy Spirit living inside of us!
As for you Atheists, God Loves You Despite Your Unbelief
As for you Atheists that scour this Subreddit ravaging around like wolves, you are agents of Satan doing the will of your father, the Devil according to Jesus, not me. Unbelief is the product of Satan. If you don't believe in Jesus and have the wherewithal to hate Christians for their beliefs when you yourself don't even believe Jesus/God exists then you are effectively beating a dead horse. The evidence you seek is waiting for you as soon as you get on your knees and go to Jesus in prayer until He answers you, this isn't done in church but in the comfort of your own home.We can only testify for Jesus if we have personal testimony of Him, not by stories in the bible. I cannot prove to someone that Jesus exists by pulling out the bible, showing them the OT prophecies and how Jesus fulfilled Genesis 3:15. That requires revelation from Jesus. Our testimony of what Jesus has done for us personally, is how we are able to speak for Jesus under His guidance. Otherwise, people will just think "oh, because you read it in a book?" Atheists love to use this excuse because many resort to scripture instead of testifying about our intangible relationship with Jesus in our lives.
He loves you and wants you to get to know Him but He won't force Himself unto you. Stop judging Jesus based off of the historicity of fake Christians that have done awful things in His namesake. They are going to Hell unless they Repent, Jesus will not be mocked, all will see at Judgement Day when He repays All according to their works, none excluded, that includes True Followers of Christ. I understand your various viewpoints on fake Christians that do not do what Jesus commanded them to do, Jesus also sees this and He gets it. Knowing Jesus involves developing a relationship with Him, this doesn't involve a Bible, it involves prayer & faith.
Jesus calls us out, He literally pleads with us to stop doing the things that separate us from Him. True Repentance is a transformed Life of righteousness in Christ. He literally talks to those that Follow Him, His Sheep Hear His Voice & they Follow Him and He knows them. He goes far beyond that of scripture, He is the Word of God the Father, the scriptures Testify of Him but the scriptures are not the Word of God. They may be God breathed, but they are not Him. You need the Holy Spirit to understand Scripture.
The New Believers
As for the new believers and those seeking Him in their infant phase, stay FAR away from asking questions on here and go to Jesus, friend. The Body of Christ is divided and you will hear mixed opinions and many voices coming from hundreds of denominationists all claiming that they know Jesus because they study Bible but do not Hear from Him nor Guided by Him. They are bible-onlyists and bible-believers but not Believers in Christ, a Follower of the Way, a Child of God Eternal. The scriptures show us how to start our walk with Christ and point to Him.We go to Jesus for everything we need, He is not confined to a book that has been manipulated over the centuries by the Apostate Church System of Religion. We go to Jesus in Faith and in Truth, to the Word of God Jesus Christ. He will be your guide through scripture, not the other way around with these bible-onlyists preachers, their bible study will not save them. They would rather get their information from scripture and not Jesus Christ Himself.
If you wish to Grow in Christ, we go to Him in the Spirit & in Truth, straight to the Word of God, Jesus Christ. Jesus can guide you through scripture when you ask Him. He will put verses on your heart, He will teach you what He was saying and edify you as you begin to start your walk with Christ. Repentance means to stop sinning, as sin separates us from God. It was One Sin that casted Adam and Eve out of the Garden. Sin Separates & Jesus Saves.
The Voice of God
- John 10:27 - "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."
What a wonderful thing to be able to hear from Jesus and also Speak to Him and have conversation with Him. Many that follow after pulpit pastors and preachers that know not the Gospel of Repentance & Faith are not hearing from Jesus despite Jesus always speaking.
The Gatekeepers
They are sadly not being led by the Spirit of God but through the false prophets therein the church institutions, the Babylonian System of Religious Rule, the anti-Christ led gatekeepers that shut up the Kingdom of God against men.- Matthew 23:13 - Jesus Said: "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in."
- John 5:39 - Jesus Said: "You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me,"
Being Led by the Spirit
Romans 8:14 - For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."Jesus Christ leads us by His Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ. I found out in 2023 that we are able to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit & within weeks of this revelation I went out seeking to discern His voice.
In 2023 I also started to discern and hear from Jesus. I was astonished. At first it was strange, and I had to be sure this was Jesus. I was not used to this but was eager to learn more and understand.
- John 16:7 - "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you."
- John 14:26 - "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."
How does one Hear the Voice of God?
So how does one Hear the Voice of God? I will share how it happened to me and how to as well. Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to those that Follow Him and although there are examples of people that were extremely deceived that heard from Him I am speaking to those that want to Hear from Him.I started to Hear from Jesus after I learned about the Gospel of Repentance & Started to Repent. One major thing I got out of my life was marijuana in 2023. I got on my knees and started to Pray to Jesus. As I was praying I found myself praying in the Spirit knocking on the Door (this was not a vision per say but something that my mind had created whilst praying).
I started to attempt to open the Door. This door was oval shaped with a pearl shaped door handle. As I attempted to open the door, the door did not open. I was curious and emotionally perplexed wondering what I was doing wrong. Little did I understand at the time is that, I am not the one in control, Jesus is.
I stood in prayer for a little while wondering what would happen next but nothing happened. After prayer I was confused but eager to understand and overall I trusted Jesus humbly despite what I was yearning for.
- Psalm 27:14 - "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."
- Acts 1:7 - "And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power."
- Acts 1:8 - But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
- I had to be patient and wait and trust in the Lord even after He showed me what I must do and Repent. Now for me, after getting of marijuana I started to Hear Him.
- John 14:23 - "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."
- John 10:27 - "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."
So, 1. what does the Holy Spirit sound like? 2. How do I know if it's not my own mind or something else like a demon? 3. How can I be sure?
- It is not an audible voice. Jesus speaks in a soft manner, guiding, directing & teaching His Sheep. He doesn't speak through your ears, but to your Heart, into your Spirit in which He gave you. The Holy Spirit can intercede in our thoughts also.
- This requires discernment which can only be given from Jesus. It's paramount that you ask Jesus for discernment in this area. Another way that will help you is that, the Holy Spirit WILL NOT TEMPT YOU TO SIN & SPEAKS AGAINST SIN & WARNS YOU OF IT.
- By taking the above context and asking Jesus through prayer, being patient & Following after Him, one can start getting to know the voice of God.
"Still Small Voice" is also translated as - gentle whisper, low whisper, gentle blowing, soft whisper, quiet whisper, quiet, gentle sound, still small voice, soft gentle voice
Do you Hear the Voice of God, friend?
Do you Hear the Voice of God, friend? When I was asked this question, I was trembling. I was eager to learn more about this. Because people hearing from the Holy Spirit is all over the NT and in the OT.- Acts 8:29: "Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot."
- Acts 10:19-20: "While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them."
- Acts 11:12: "And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house:"
- Acts 13:2: "As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them."
- Ezekiel 11:5: "And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the Lord; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them."
- Romans 8:26-27: "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God."
The Bible is Not a Substitute for a Personal Relationship with Him
It's essential to recognize that while the Bible is a valuable resource for learning about the historical Jesus and His teachings, it is not a substitute for a personal relationship with Him. Jesus invites individuals to know Him intimately, to commune with Him in prayer, and to experience His presence in their lives. Ultimately, the goal is to cultivate a deep, personal relationship with Jesus that goes beyond mere intellectual understanding or adherence to reading the bible.When I'm doing research into History, I commune with Him for guidance, likewise I do so when I go shopping, when I have a question, when I'm dealing with issues in life, when things are becoming to much. I don't open up my bible to get this information unless He puts scripture on my heart like a bible verse or something like that.
Following Jesus is not about blind faith. We can only testify for Jesus if we have personal testimony of Him, not by stories in the bible. I cannot prove to someone that Jesus exists by pulling out the bible, showing them the OT prophecies and how Jesus fulfilled Genesis 3:15. That requires revelation from Jesus.
Our testimony of what Jesus has done for us personally, is how we are able to speak for Jesus under His guidance. Otherwise, people will just think "oh, because you read it in a book?" Atheists love to use this excuse because many resort to scripture instead of testifying about our intangible relationship with Jesus in our lives. Does that make sense, friend? Brother, I hope you know that I enjoy reading the books of the bible but only because whenever I do go to scripture, I am asking the Lord for guidance threw since He is Teacher & Master.
Many just don't do this. They lean on their own understanding. They love preaching from the bible and not from their Heart. That's the issue of what the Pharisees were doing. They knew the law but not the Heart of it. They knew the tangible words of the scripture but not the intangible author of it in which Christ used men to write these things down.
Many people have a hard time understanding this simply because they haven't exercised their communication with God outside of scripture. Not saying you are doing this, but whenever I get someone asking questions and always seem to advocate for scripture above what Jesus has shown me it reminds me of the true heart of the problem, which is the spiritual side of Christ that people are not going to.
For me, this happened over time. I didn't just start doing it overnight. It took time to practice praying to God, asking Him for things and most of all, learning how He speaks back and to Hear form Him and communes with us, to those that Seek Him. I am no one special, just a willing vessel.
The Word of God is Jesus Christ not the Bible - John 1:1
"...and the Word Became Flesh.." - John 1:14Many people are deceived with what the Word of God is. Jesus is not confined to a book neither is he confined to a church pastor. Many do not know what John 1 means and they clearly don't understand that Jesus Christ predates written scripture. The book was written by men through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and many people worship Paul and his doctrines when they don't understand that they go hand in hand with Christ's teachings. Jesus used Paul greatly and unfortunately even the church loves to worship him and their own pastors.
The disciples didn't go walking around with a King James Bible they walked around because they could testify of Jesus Christ they had a real living relationship with him and his holy spirit. What's frustrating is that many people will deny this they will deny that Jesus Christ is not the word of God but it's the scriptures.. doing a little bit of research on John 1 and the etymology of the Word one will come to the easiest conclusion ever that he is not a written book he is not confined to a written book and that that written book was written by men whom can also make mistakes you wonder why people find contradictions and scriptures it's because they are men they are not God Himself.
I have nothing against those that read scripture as long as they are being Led by Christ. It's for those that only go to scripture for their information and not Jesus in whom will show them the Truths therein.
Repent = Stop Sinning Grace Only Applies to Those that Stop Doing Wicked Behavior & Follow Jesus Faithfully
Many people are deceived by the the doctrine of "Grace Only" just "Believe & Be Saved" which comes from the Gnostic Augustinian Doctrine that split the Church in two and still goes on to this day. The Church has no idea how to be actually saved and you see Jesus has many words for these Churches in the beginning of Revelation.I cannot prove this to you even with all the etymological evidence. Jesus wants us to stop sinning but many people will claim it's impossible, and it is if you aren't allowing Jesus to help you. You cannot stop sinning in your own power whilst at the same time sinning is a choice. Repenting is more than just a mere change of mind, it is followed by taking action! "Oh but that's works based" no it's not, the scriptures clearly tell us that he Ordained the Good Works WE ought to walk in, hence it's not of ourselves. Only Jesus is Good, and we can only do Good Through Him.
Repent means to Turn to God, so what are you turning away from in order to turn to God? It's called sin. Sin separates us from God. Christ allows us to be freed from the bondage of Sin, not to continue in it! When you take the Hebrew, Greek & English into account you get the full meaning of Repentance. Faith is more than just belief, it's trust, obedience and action. How can you forsake Sin and continue in it and say you have salvation? That's another thing, Salvation is not on the spot, you are not saved until your last breathe. He gives you time to repent and seek His Face and to align your life with His expectations.
When Jesus said "Go and Sin no more" He is saying that it is a choice to Sin or not Sin. If Jesus didn't give us this choice we would not have freewill to Follow Him. To those that stumble and want to Follow Jesus He asks us to GET UP and Follow ME, because WE are not done unless you want it to be. We only have an advocate with the Father if we are GENUINE with our Repentance, not the other way around. The Gospel has not changed since Genesis and many don't know that the Gospel is in Genesis. It was for One Sin that Adam was forced out of the Garden. It was one Sin that Moses wasn't allowed entry into the promise land. Many of the Israelites did not make it, in fact, God killed them for their disobedience and continued to Help those that came to Him.
If you do not stop sinning, you will end up in Hell. This is not a scare tactic, this is the Truth that many are unable to comprehend. Jesus Preached a lot about Hell and where most of humanity is going. It's a sad sad world we find ourselves in. Jesus wants us to be with Him forever, but He cannot look past our Sin. He is All-Just. You can actually please Jesus when you Repent and Turn to Him and Do The Right Thing. Many on this sub are brainwashed with Religion, which Jesus preached against. It's not about following the Law to a t, Jesus did that. Those that Walk in the Spirit are not bound by the law, and to those that reject Jesus they are bound by the Law.
Galatians 5:16-18 reads:
- "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law."
- John 5:14 - "Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."
- "When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more."
- Romans 6:12-14 - "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace."
Also the Bible will not save you, it's just a book. The Word of God is Jesus Christ, not the Bible. You must continue on with Him Faithfully, Be on the Right Narrow Path until your last breathe. Being a Follower of Christ is not easy, Repenting is Not easy, but its the RIGHT thing to do. Further more, anyone that Rejects Jesus is apart of Religion.
Repentance: Turning away from sin and toward God is integral (Acts 2:38). Genuine repentance involves a change of heart and behavior.
Obedience and Works Stemming from Faith: Genuine faith leads to a transformed life marked by obedience to Christ's teachings and good works (James 2:14-26). Believers strive to live in accordance with God's will.
Freedom from Sin Through Jesus's Sacrifice: Believers are liberated from the bondage of sin through Jesus's sacrifice and their faith in Him (Romans 6:18, 1 John 1:7).
Continual Growth and Discipleship: Following Jesus involves ongoing growth, learning, and discipleship (Matthew 28:19-20). It's a continual journey of becoming more Christlike.
Avoidance of Habitual Sin: True faith leads to a transformed life. Continual, unrepentant sin contradicts genuine faith and indicates a lack of belief in Jesus's teachings (1 John 3:6-10).
Perseverance and Narrow Path: Following the narrow path, perseverance, and staying faithful to God's ways are emphasized (Matthew 7:13-14). Straying from God's path risks eternal separation.
Rejecting God's Offer: Rejecting God and His offer of salvation, persisting in disobedience, or turning away entirely leads to spiritual separation (Hebrews 10:26-31).
Repentance and Eternal Consequence: Repentance from wrongdoing is crucial. Failure to repent risks eternal consequences (Luke 13:3, Revelation 21:8).
Sin's Consequence: Continual, unrepentant sin separates individuals from God (Romans 6:23). Rejecting God's offer of forgiveness leads to spiritual death.
The Prodigal Son: The parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) exemplifies God's unconditional love and forgiveness. Despite squandering his inheritance, the son is welcomed back by his father with open arms when he returns, illustrating God's willingness to forgive those who repent and turn back to Him.
Conviction of Wrongdoing: God's love is demonstrated through conviction. He convicts us of wrongdoing not to condemn but to guide us towards repentance and restoration. The Holy Spirit's role is to lead us into truth and righteousness (John 16:8).
Freewill and God's Love: God grants humans freewill, respecting their choices. He extends love, grace, and conviction, but ultimately honors individuals' decisions, allowing them to choose their path (Joshua 24:15).
Final Judgment and Need for Jesus: Scripture teaches about a final judgment day (Revelation 20:11-15), emphasizing the necessity of Jesus's sacrifice for forgiveness. Believers trust in Jesus for forgiveness of past, present, and future sins, acknowledging His role as the only way to reconciliation with God (John 14:6).
God's Desire for Salvation: God desires everyone to be saved and come to the knowledge of truth (1 Timothy 2:3-4). His love extends to all, and He offers salvation to anyone who genuinely seeks Him & Obeys.
This comprehensive breakdown encompasses various elements related to salvation, repentance, faith, obedience, God's grace, and the need for Jesus as the pathway to reconciliation with God. Each aspect contributes to the understanding of salvation as a continuous journey of faith and transformation in alignment with God's will.
In Hebrew, the word for "repentance" is "תְּשׁוּבָה" (teshuvah).
ת (Tav) signifies a mark, sign, or covenant.שׁ (Shin) implies sharpness, change, or transformation.וּ (Vav) can represent connection, conjunction, or union.בָ (Bet) signifies a house or a dwelling place.ה (Hey) often signifies revelation or the divine presence.
When considering these meanings in combination, "תְּשׁוּבָה" (teshuvah) reflects the idea of returning or turning back, a change or transformation (towards God), symbolically linked to returning to the covenant, dwelling in the house of God, and experiencing a revelation or divine presence through repentance.
People love John 3:15 but don't like John 3:16-21. We are living in the end days friends. No one that doeth evil likes to comes to the light, lest their deeds be exposed. Upon uploading the most crucial part of the Gospel series I am met with backlash instantly as was Jesus when He preached Repentance and Forgiveness.
Words of Jesus - John 8:11 (KJV): "She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more."
Matthew 5:48 (KJV): "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."
John 5:14 (KJV): "Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."
Matthew 19:21 (KJV): "Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me."
Luke 13:3 (KJV): "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
Religion & Denominations - Division in Christ
There are no denominations with Jesus, which includes. None of these - (Protestant, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Adventist, Episcopalian, Evangelical, Quaker, Reformed, Mennonite, Moravian, Anabaptist, United Church of Christ, Church of Christ, Salvation Army,Jehovah's Witnesses, Latter-day Saints, Apostolic, Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Christian Science, Seventh-day Adventist, Holiness Movement, Charismatic Movement,, Unitarian Universalist, Amish, Hutterites, Independent Baptist, Wesleyan, Restorationist, Fundamentalist, Calvinist, Arminian, Nazarene, Church of God in Christ, Vineyard Movement,
Church of the Brethren, Plymouth Brethren, Congregationalist, Christian Reformed Church, United Reformed Church, Free Methodist, Church of the Nazarene, Assemblies of God, African Methodist Episcopal Church, Episcopal Church, Greek Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic Church, Syriac Orthodox, Maronite Church, Antiochian Orthodox, Chaldean Catholic Church,
Byzantine Catholic, Melkite Greek Catholic, Russian Orthodox, Ukrainian Orthodox, Serbian Orthodox, Romanian Orthodox, Bulgarian Orthodox, Georgian Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox, Eritrean Orthodox, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, Church of the East, Old Catholic Church, Liberal Catholic Church, Polish National Catholic Church, Mariavite Church & Christian Atheist**) - none of these Follow Jesus, it's all religion. They all claim to follow Jesus but they cannot agree on anything especially the Gospel, it's why they all instituted themselves as the Truth by division and disagreement. Jesus claimed to be the very embodiment of the Truth, He is the Door, not the churches! We are either Followers of Christ or not.
Jesus preached against religion. Religion is made by man.
Religion is: My way to Jesus
Christian is: A Follower of Christ
Jesus wants us to know Him Personally - If you read the bible, do not lean on your own understanding and allow Jesus to guide you. He will guide you beyond scripture. Matthew, Mark, Luke & John contain the words of Eternal Life.