#external evil forces working against them | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

odinsblog · 11 months

Text

In the darkest chapter of German history, during a time when incited mobs threw stones into the windows of innocent shop owners and women and children were cruelly humiliated in the open; Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a young pastor, began to speak publicly against the atrocities.

After years of trying to change people’s minds, Bonhoeffer came home one evening and his own father had to tell him that two men were waiting in his room to take him away.

In prison, Bonhoeffer began to reflect on how his country of poets and thinkers had turned into a collective of cowards, crooks and criminals. Eventually he concluded that the root of the problem was not malice, but stupidity.

In his famous letters from prison, Bonhoeffer argued that stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice, because while “one may protest against evil; it can be exposed and prevented by the use of force, against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here. Reasons fall on deaf ears.”

Facts that contradict a stupid person’s prejudgment simply need not be believed and when they are irrefutable, they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this, the stupid person is self-satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack.

For that reason, greater caution is called for when dealing with a stupid person than with a malicious one. If we want to know how to get the better of stupidity, we must seek to understand its nature.

This much is certain, stupidity is in essence not an intellectual defect but a moral one. There are human beings who are remarkably agile intellectually yet stupid, and others who are intellectually dull yet anything but stupid.

The impression one gains is not so much that stupidity is a congenital defect but that, under certain circumstances, people are made stupid or rather, they allow this to happen to them.

People who live in solitude manifest this defect less frequently than individuals in groups. And so it would seem that stupidity is perhaps less a psychological than a sociological problem.

It becomes apparent that every strong upsurge of power, be it of a political or religious nature, infects a large part of humankind with stupidity. Almost as if this is a sociological-psychological law where the power of the one needs the stupidity of the other.

The process at work here is not that particular human capacities, such as intellect, suddenly fail. Instead, it seems that under the overwhelming impact of rising power, humans are deprived of their inner independence and, more or less consciously, give up an autonomous position.

The fact that the stupid person is often stubborn must not blind us from the fact that he is not independent. In conversation with him, one virtually feels that one is dealing not at all with him as a person, but with slogans, catchwords, and the like that have taken possession of him.

He is under a spell, blinded, misused, and is abused in his very being. Having thus become a mindless tool, the stupid person will also be capable of any evil – incapable of seeing that it is evil.

Only an act of liberation, not instruction, can overcome stupidity. Here we must come to terms with the fact that in most cases a genuine internal liberation becomes possible only when external liberation has preceded it. Until then, we must abandon all attempts to convince the stupid person.

Bonhoeffer died due to his involvement in a plot against Adolf Hitler, at dawn on 9 April 1945 at Flossenbürg concentration camp - just two weeks before soldiers from the United States liberated the camp.

—Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Theory of Stupidity

#politics #dietrich bonhoeffer #republicans #theory of stupidity #donald trump #dunning kruger effect #pedagogy #stupidity #germany #conspiracy theorists #mob mentality #interesting #ethics

846 notes · View notes

completeoveranalysis · 5 months

Text

[2]

NEW FAVOURITE COVER?

NEW FAVOURITE COVER!

Chapitre 201 - The Truth from within the Ruins

Oh this is just beyond gorgeous. Who can stand against the pure concentrated adorable that is Tsubasa Babies Family Photo? Now with all four of them!

I’m in love with all the tiny details that they clearly spent so long on - all the lovely folds of Sakura’s dress, the intricate detailing on Fai’s robe and staff. Lava Lamp is in his ceremonial garb, and tiny Kurogane IN HIS FANCY LITTLE OUTFIT. (AND HIS POSTURE? GET OUT. Incredible)

Kurogane doesn’t have Ginryuu yet (since this is Happy Childhood AU, so his father will still have it. Still has the moon though!) but Lava Lamp has the Syaoran Family Sword all ready to go. His outfit would be incomplete without it - they’re all wearing clothing from their home worlds, or maybe their families? I’m technically not sure which world Lava Lamp comes from, but his outfit is Family Legacy all the way down. I’m dying to know if Fai’s outfit is in the style of Seresu or Valeria - I don’t think they’re all that different, but I think I would put my money on Valeria based on the position of the fur and the curl motif. In which case it’s fun for me that his Happy Family AU is in Valeria instead of with Ashura. (sorry not sorry Ashura get fucked)

I suppose in this version he never had reason to leave Valeria in the first place, so it’s a very nice touch that the outfit doesn’t immediately resemble the clothing he wore in his backstory, since that’s all so closely linked to the death of his twin, who would be alive here. Very nice visual choices all around, especially with each of them in their own unique colour pallette. Oh, and even with the colour differences they all have bits of yellow somewhere on them, showing their connection.

The left/right split between them is really fun too - sword wielders on one side, phenomenally powerful magic users on the other, cats vs dogs, unique child/parent pairings, etc. It’s very funny to me that they found a super fancy chair for Sakura and a cushion for Kurogane, but nothing for the other two. But Fai draping himself over the chair is such an incredible piece of character flair, which I am in love with, but also, the TOUCH? The little touch of tiny hands? Sakura reaching back to put her hand on the back of Fai’s? Tiny Lava Lamp’s little grip on Kurogane’s arm? OH it’s so touching.

And behind them all? THAT WINDOW. Such a clear symbol positioned directly in the centre frame. At first I thought it might be an eye, but this is Happy Family AU so there should be no Evil Wolverine to spy on them. What I’m voting on instead is CLAMP playing with Tarot symbols again and this being the Wheel of Fortune, or a similar idea of a wheel of destiny. They use the latter idea a lot in their earlier works (RG Veda and X/1999 say hi), but I think the tarot symbol in particular really shines through with the ideas they’re playing with in Tsubasa/xxxHolic, and has a very strong parallel to the idea of hitsuzen.

After some much safer googling it looks like the “Wheel of Fortune” in Tarot can mean change or cycles or inevitable fate, but on the flipside could also be lacking control. I think the reversed meaning of the card really speaks to me the most about their situation in general, as it describes bad luck and misfortunes thrust upon you from external forces, that you are fighting to take control back from an unwinnable situation. That fighting it is impossible, that continuing to fight it can only bring more suffering, and that the only option is to let it go. To stop blaming yourself for the thing you did wrong, or the thing that you think was your fault. To forgive yourself, to accept it all, to let yourself move on, to accept that change is inevitable, and to finally be able to move forward and just let everything happen.

Because if that’s not exactly the whole situation we are in I don’t know what is. It’s a mirror for the things that Fai and Kurogane have already been through, and for what Lava Lamp Guy is still currently fighting, and CLAMP love to do drop these symbols all the time.

And this is a bit of a tangent but who’s gonna stop me? Clamp LOVE their tragic destiny pairs, especially in their early works - the couples deeply love but also cursed by fate, like Kendappa and Souma, Ashura and Yasha (flavoured differently in RG Veda, but still fitting this cycle again in Tsubasa), Subaru and Seishirou, Sorata and Arashi (unfinished), Kamui and Fuuma, etc. The characters who are so different from each other, so diametrically opposed, but in love still, and it burns so strong that they either have to kill each other or let the world burn around them - or both! They’re always fighting destiny, just like the reversed wheel of fortune, and they fight it to the point of obliteration.

AND THEN we have Tsubasa, and I think it’s so endlessly interesting that they took the same pattern and turned it around. Syaoran and Sakura definitely fit the theme (and wild that they took the Cardcaptor Sakura happy couple deliberately to make the most universe shattering tragedy out of it, but I still haven’t seen how their story ends, whether one will have to tragically die to save everything or whether they’ll get out somehow). But what I mostly want to talk about (surprise surprise) Kurogane and Fai, who fit the pattern exactly. Complete opposites, diametrically opposed, set up as antagonists and destined to kill each other but fall in love instead. That they both fight against the tragic pasts that defined them and eventually change their mind. Eventually, slowly, they accept love again and realise that they can actually live with themselves and each other if they let it all go.

And I think what really gets me is that if this was an earlier Clamp work they absolutely would have tragically died - they would have killed each other in the climax of Seresu and it would have been beautiful and terrible and no-one ever would have ever emotionally recovered from the complete and utter devastation.

BUT THEY DIDN’T.

CLAMP spend all of Tsubasa revisiting all their old works, taking us through a parade of the various tragedies they’ve sung across the years, all leading up to them ultimately breaking their own pattern and letting Fai and Kurogane save each other from the same Clamp fate that claimed every tragic pair before them. They choose each other and get out alive. They stop blaming themselves for the unchangeable parts of destiny and finally forgive themselves. And it’s just very emotional to me that it’s these two that make it, these two that get to recover and choose each other and live their lives inseparable from this point on. The two that had arguably the most tragic backstories also get to face their trauma, survive, and live.

And it’s just so beautiful to see how the CLAMP storytelling method has changed over the years, and to find out that after all these years, the big destiny story they really wanted to tell in their longest and most detailed work was about the two men who fell in love, against all odds and saved each other. Despite absolutely everything saying that it should be impossible, it’s Kurogane and Fai that finally flip the tarot card back around and live.

And I’m extremely interested in what this means for Lava Lamp and Not!Sakura.

95 notes · View notes

returnofthelightt · 3 months

Text

Hasta & The Final Girl Trope In Horror Films: A (Mini) Analysis

Here on this post, I wanted to make a short analysis on how I think Hasta connects to the The Final Girl Trope.

☆ Please note that the Final Girl Trope actually has evolved. The trope characters are not what it used to be, I will be going back to the original origins of this trope.

☆ In addition to the Hasta Nakshatra, I found that many of the women playing have Mula, Revati and Mrigashira as well. My research today only focuses on Hasta but please note it is not limited to this Nakshatra only.

☆ Many of these references that are used are personal opinions and theories. If you do not agree or have a different opinion I would love to hear it! But please be respectful in doing so.

The Final Girl Trope

The Trope Itself

Before diving deeper into the hasta Nakshatra, let’s look at the ‘Final Girl’ trope description.

The final girl in movies is usually the last person standing or is the only woman that can make exit in the movie. They are usually described as being the virgin or sexually unavailable, refraining from sexual activities, as well as alcohol and drugs. Additionally, many of the Final girls portrayed had Brunette her instead of Blonde (blonde characters - specifically women, were perceived as highly promiscuous). If not all the time, most of the final girls are known to be more intelligent or at least carry smarter decision-making. They are the first ones to sense that something is ‘off.’ As mentioned before, Hasta’s sign of Virgo, is ruled by Mercury (Mercury exalts in Virgo). Mercury rules human intellect, as it is a combination of the sun (the soul) and the moon (mind).

If we look at even the basics, the sign of Virgo is ‘The Virgin.’ Virgin women are often stereotypically described along the lines of being pure, innocent, chaste, and so forth.

Additionally, the women have an androgynous appearance - with their names and clothing sometimes being unisex. Claire Nakti in her Hasta Nakshatra video discussed how they manifest their traits through purity and by detaching from male influence. Claire also talks about how “Hasta women like to prove their worth without needing men, as well as female power separated from female appearance/sexuality” (this can be depicted in numerous ways such as their work, appearance and so forth). Hasta picks up all external influences, analyzes them, and discriminates based on their observations. Hasta picks out men and realizes only the divinity is deserving of her.

It’s hard to exactly state if The Final Girl trope exudes the real meaning of feminism, or at least women standing up for themselves against evil. However, I wonder if Hasta’s appearance in these films unconsciously aims to reject the typical views that some males hold of women (i.e. unintelligence), and how his perception of the Final Girl often ends up with the evil male lead having to disappear to avoid being killed or eventually is killed. Claire Nakti also mentioned how many Hasta women are involved in using books or poems to criticize male behaviour, male sexuality the struggles of women opening up, and the promotion of female independence regarding intellect. The Final Girl in the film must use her wit to decipher the situation and defeat the Killer through the use of her hands.

If we decipher Carol J Clover’s book on the Final Girl trope, she does mention how the victims in Slasher films are mostly viewed as women, whereas the evil characters are males. Often these Final Girls are initially stereotyped for the male gaze at the beginning of the film, but eventually, the viewer roots for the final girl to defeat the monster. The woman becomes ‘masculinized’ when she is forced to defeat the monster by utilizing a weapon.

Carol further emphasizes this action while discussing how the killing of the monster/killer can be related to ‘castrating’ the male, which in return eliminates the ‘threat’ to the uterine. The body part that represents Hasta’s is the palm of their hand. The Hasta Nakshatra is known for manifesting outcomes with their hands. In Komilla’s Sutton book, she describes how Hasta can be related to elephants, as they use their trunk as an extra hand to complete their task. I thought this was interesting considering the quote ‘to hold something/someone in the palm of your hand,’ pretty much means you the influence or control of something/someone. The symbolism of the hand of course can be also correlated to their Deity, Savitar - The Sun God. Savitar was known to be skillful with his hands.

In all, I do think Hasta has some correlation with the Final Girl Trope, whether it would be in films or tv shows. I do think there are many of factors (my own personal ones) and others that are discussed in Clover's book. It wasnt that long, but I hope you guys enjoyed reading it! Feedback would be greatly appreciated xx.

#astrology #vedic astrology #vedic astro observations #vedic astro notes #astro observations #hasta #nakshatra #mercury

95 notes · View notes

inficetegodwottery · 9 months

Text

So. Werewolf 5th Edition.

Werewolf 5th edition sucks. A lot.

Edit- I made some errors in my initial edit of this post that were fuelled entirely by being underinformed and almost insensible with anger, disappointment, and anxiety.

Some very informative responses have been made that I intend to incorporate into a much better and less rambling post with those updates and corrections. I'll probably delete this one soon as I type that one together, so folks only see the updated version.

Sorry for any mistakes I made on this old version, again, I was in an extremely poor place mentally and thoroughly dispirited by the total butchering of what was supposed to be a less shitty and mean-spirited version of a setting I care deeply for despite its foundational flaws and 30+ year history of exactly this thing happening.

I'm still very, very angry. But it's important to be angry and correct. This post was not made by someone informed of all the facts, and I intend to correct that.

Paradox Interactive has made the brave decision to reboot the controversial Werewolf the Apocalypse setting entirely rather than try and fix it, and have somehow done a worse job than the games studio that released an RPG book titled an ethnic slur.

It's taken me almost a month since this came out to be anywhere near mentally prepared enough to even collect my thoughts on it.

Man, it is rare to see an edition of ANYTHING that pisses off old players, new players, players who want to keep the lore the same, players who want to change the lore, conservative players, radical players, and even powergamers.

How do you set out with the intention of making an infamously dated and poorly researched/outreached setting LESS uncomfortable and racist from a modern perspective.... and end up with something EVEN MORE racist and uncomfortable, but also suffocatingly tonedeaf, insincere, and deeply sinister and corporate in its erasure of existing issues rather than addressing them whatsoever.

We made the Get of Fenris irredeemably evil because some of them in the past were nazis and also nazis like Germanic mythology, so the viking werewolves are all nazis now.

Okay, I understand why you did that from a modern political perspective even if its kind of heavy hand-

The Native American werewolf tribes have been removed entirely and replaced with American Murican werewolf tribes. Renaming and rewriting them to be more respectful was just too much work! Now they're more inclusive. :)

The Irish werewolf tribe is now the Nature Werewolves tribe, like every other tribe of Werewolves also is, but also stripped completely of celtic origins.

The Red Talons are openly genocidal ecofascist malthusians and somehow NOT IRREDEEMABLY EVIL like the Get of Fenris are.

Also the feminist all women werewolves are no longer all women or even feminist. AND ALSO SOME OF THEM ARE SOCIAL DARWINISTS AND THATS SUPPOSED TO BE A GOOD THING!?!

Also we entirely dropped the themes about how forcing children to be a part of a war they barely understand while also lying to them about the crimes their ancestors committed that led to the current crisis is fucked up and evil.

Now its actually awesome to be a child soldier born into a repressive apocalyptic death cult with a siege mentality and everything is cool about that actually, you're the Good Guys, and no amount of covered-up historic genocides or internal/external bigotry will ever change that! :)

Also we solved the way people were uncomfortable with the idea that werewolf society is transitioning messily from being horrible ableist assholes that discriminated for centuries against those they view as deformed, disabled, or sexual deviants to new generations that don't care about that stuff, by removing disabled werewolves entirely! Problem solved! No more discomfort or moral conundrums! We are the liberal-est!

There's just something so unbelievably fucked up and suspicious about erasing entire minorities from a fictional universe because they were handled poorly in the first edition, rather than talking to writers and outreach specialists FROM the real world equivalents to those minorities to try and rewrite them.

Don't worry, we removed the group the setting was bigoted against! Problem solved! Just remove the minority!

I've written my own post on why the Metis/Crinos-born should be renamed and probably rewritten, but as a severely disabled individual with multiple hereditary disabilities that severely impact my QoL, outright removing disabled characters in a work of fiction because the prejudice other characters showed them in-universe made people uncomfortable makes me want to tear out someone's throat with my teeth.

Sure, completely remove my ability to play disabled a character fighting back against prejudice and bigotry, rather than rewrite the most uncomfortable aspects of YOUR FUCKING PORTRAYAL OF THOSE CHARACTERS to make it more clear who the sympathetic one is supposed to be.

It's just so unbelievably cowardly and whinging and wretched.

So fuck it, I guess!

Fuck the deeply applicable themes of being born into a well-intentioned but deeply flawed and bigoted society, and trying to create the better world your parents always told you your ancestors fought for, while dealing with the fact that your world is built on mass graves those ancestors helped fill.

Fuck a game that deals with intergenerational trauma and the ethical hellscape that is a highly religious society devoted to the very same ideals it often violates just to win fights against the enemies it created through its own arrogance and prejudice.

Fuck a game that lets you play someone born different, born strange and sickly, bouncing constantly between people who pity you and people who view you as subhuman, before finally finding the people, the family who love and accept and fight alongside you for a world that has never accepted you, but WILL FUCKING KNOW YOUR NAME.

That's not relevant to the real world at all!

There are no kids born in deeply flawed and hypocritical societies, who grew up on stories of the glorious future their society would create, forced then to reconcile the hopeful dreams of a better world with the comprehensive list of horrific things done in the name of that future.

There are no children born confused and alone in their navigation of the maze that is past atrocities, ethnic conflicts, religious prejudice and dogma, or modern propaganda attempting to erase the histories of all of those things.

There are no disabled teens who spent their lives believing they didn't belong in the world, kept going only by the connections they forged with other outsiders and people who fought back against the kind of wretched bigotry that suffocates children to death, who found homes and families they could trust outside the pissant communities they were born into.

Apparently those people don't need a game! They don't need to explore those feelings!

Just throw some more nazis in, so we can pretend we care about social issues or understand the redeeming threads of a deeply flawed gameline, ostensibly so we market it to leftist youngsters, but while we also erase the entire point of a game WHICH IS ALL ABOUT BEING PUNKASS YOUNGSTERS DESPERATELY TRYING TO FIND THE REDEEMING THREADS OF A DEEPLY FLAWED AND PREJUDICED SOCIETY THAT CONSTRAINS THEM, FINDING A WAY TO REBEL AGAINST BOTH THE EVILS OF THE RACIST BASTARDS WHO RAISED THEM AND THE POMPOUS SHITHEADS WHO WANT TO DESTROY THE WORLD OUT OF GREED.

No! We want a squeaky clean, sterile white game that AmericanTM parents can be proud of their kids for playing! A marketable game, that advertisers will gladly pay Revenue to put their products in! Play the good guys, everyone! You're the good guys! Be a big werewolf UwU!

Don't worry about historical atrocities or the flaws of the society that raised you! That's Pentex propaganda!

Fighting bad guys means you can't do anything bad yourself! The Emperor told me so! Deus Gaia Vult!

A hollow, performative, offensive jizzstain that should've been scrapped in its crib. I have no idea how this edition got past a quality assurance team.

Hell I have no idea how it got past a legal team, given the number of real peoples' likenesses they used without permission.

Devoid of artistic integrity or merit.

#werewolf the apocalypse #W5 #wta #owod #world of darkness #I'm just so tired man #putting most of this under a TLDR so I don't flashbang people with tabletop rpg drama #I genuinely thought the new writers would be better at this stuff than the old White Wolf #Nope.#turns out they're just as bad #I shouldn't have expected anything more from them after the V5 Chechnya bullshit #but I guess I just had the dumb notion of hoping they'd gotten better #how the fuck do you do worse than a company that wrote a sourcebook about the Holocaust???!?

178 notes · View notes

burning-sol · 11 months

Text

on a dime thinking about characterstics different pcs tend to share across the players.

charlie: everyone says it and it is so real, religious trauma and imagery cause i mean literally just look at peter and exandroth, gillion's whole deal being the chosen one, william's incredible distress discovering the absence of god. horror but especially body horror cause AGAIN peter and exandroth, gillion's often scary n fishy descriptions, the way charlie describes how ghoulish william looks with william literally decomposing. comically exaggerated personalities with gillion the most hero of heroes he's so hero just look at his titles, peter to be mistaken for a literal doormat, exandroth the fanatical violent all around super evil angelic force, william wisp the freak from deadwood who has ghost powers and was so dedicated to solving mysteries he died that's his thing. might i say they are all quite obsessive, gillion obsesssed with being the chosen, peter obsessed with rocks and lizard, exandroth obsessed with retribution, william obsessed with mysteries, and this can create a strong disconnect with the world around them. of the pcs i would say they are usually the most outcast of outcasts and the most freak of freaks. also autism.

bizly: very straightforward characters with no subversion, what you see is what you get. NORMAL, AVERAGE, UNDERWHELMING, these are terms you can use to describe chip rand AND connor <- also they all have the same brown hair. this makes their badass moments stand out and be triumphant, where would we be without chip's badass sword, rand's badass finale, connor's horrifying but also sort of badass moment with the book, and also thanatos is a compilation of every badass moment bizly could probably ever want. there's always some sort of family issues see chip no family, rand strained relationship with family, connor i think had something going on but i cant remember, thanatos and the holy family. definitely most likely to get into conflict with other pcs might i say, gillion and chip, rolan and rand, rumi and thanatos, that's literally one of every other players' character what can i say.

grizzly: these characters are all struggling to live up to incredibly idealised persona and for the most part end up failing, rumi's persona literally breaking down until they shed it completely to be true to themselves, dakota always trying to be a hero which has worked out so far but we're just waiting for something bad to happen, kian who pretended to make it as a rockstar after most definitely failing, aster is by proxy sort of failing to live up to the perfect persona that is her father. shapeshifters? i mean rumi is a changeling, aster can alter her form, dakota has a feral mode, and kian got bugged so you know (joke). lot of these characters are incredibly gender lets be honest here.

condi: feel an intense pull towards conforming, jay struggling to push against her family, vyncent from another world trying to adjust and appear normal, rolan getting a respected profession, everything with ryan. there is a struggle of identity that is incredibly external, jay as a pirate vs the literal navy, vyncent's repeated experience of sharing a body, rolan being a fucking bug, ryan had a confrontation that was the most direct thing you could bear witness to. the actual perfect balance of two very smart characters and two of the most incredibly stupid characters i have ever seen. honestly very on point about their observations of others and themselves but can find difficulty to express that to other.

and i totally forgot about the prequel pcs but ms g and finn are also autistic, harlem shade definitely has that classic super cool persona also gender, jason king god bless this normal dude dragged into whatever the fuck the other two have going on, arlin is the source of the family issues. i literally am too tired to write anymore so i apologise if i fucked stuff up i cant be bothered anymore send post.

#jrwi spoilers #jrwi riptide spoilers #jrwi pd spoilers #jrwi bitb spoilers #📚 my posts #📌 thoughts #<- and i really mean thoughts because this is by no means a super good post #im victim to the classic 'people like seeing patterns' thing so yeah

86 notes · View notes

moishe-pipick · 4 months

Text

From a letter by Dietrich Bonhoeffer while awaiting execution by Nazis, addressing many topics, written to three friends and co-workers in the conspiracy against Hitler, on the tenth anniversary of Hitler’s accession to the chancellorship of Germany…

‘Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed- in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical – and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self-satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack. For that reason, greater caution is called for than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous.

‘If we want to know how to get the better of stupidity, we must seek to understand its nature. This much is certain, that it is in essence not an intellectual defect but a human one. There are human beings who are of remarkably agile intellect yet stupid, and others who are intellectually quite dull yet anything but stupid. We discover this to our surprise in particular situations. The impression one gains is not so much that stupidity is a congenital defect, but that, under certain circumstances, people are made stupid or that they allow this to happen to them. We note further that people who have isolated themselves from others or who live in solitude manifest this defect less frequently than individuals or groups of people inclined or condemned to sociability. And so it would seem that stupidity is perhaps less a psychological than a sociological problem. It is a particular form of the impact of historical circumstances on human beings, a psychological concomitant of certain external conditions. Upon closer observation, it becomes apparent that every strong upsurge of power in the public sphere, be it of a political or of a religious nature, infects a large part of humankind with stupidity. It would even seem that this is virtually a sociological-psychological law. The power of the one needs the stupidity of the other. The process at work here is not that particular human capacities, for instance, the intellect, suddenly atrophy or fail. Instead, it seems that under the overwhelming impact of rising power, humans are deprived of their inner independence, and, more or less consciously, give up establishing an autonomous position toward the emerging circumstances. The fact that the stupid person is often stubborn must not blind us to the fact that he is not independent. In conversation with him, one virtually feels that one is dealing not at all with a person, but with slogans, catchwords and the like that have taken possession of him. He is under a spell, blinded, misused, and abused in his very being. Having thus become a mindless tool, the stupid person will also be capable of any evil and at the same time incapable of seeing that it is evil. This is where the danger of diabolical misuse lurks, for it is this that can once and for all destroy human beings.

‘Yet at this very point it becomes quite clear that only an act of liberation, not instruction, can overcome stupidity. Here we must come to terms with the fact that in most cases a genuine internal liberation becomes possible only when external liberation has preceded it. Until then we must abandon all attempts to convince the stupid person. This state of affairs explains why in such circumstances our attempts to know what ‘the people’ really think are in vain and why, under these circumstances, this question is so irrelevant for the person who is thinking and acting responsibly. The word of the Bible that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom declares that the internal liberation of human beings to live the responsible life before God is the only genuine way to overcome stupidity.

‘But these thoughts about stupidity also offer consolation in that they utterly forbid us to consider the majority of people to be stupid in every circumstance. It really will depend on whether those in power expect more from people’s stupidity than from their inner independence and wisdom.’

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, from ‘After Ten Years’ in Letters and Papers from Prison (Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works/English, vol. 8 - Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2010.

#antifascist

28 notes · View notes

basket-of-loquats · 1 year

Text

Literally cannot stop thinking about “I had my inhibitor chip removed a long time ago” “since when?” “Does it matter?” “Yes” because that’s!! There’s just so much packed into that! Of course crosshair would think it doesn’t matter! It was never about the chip to him, it was just about him and his brothers and when push came to shove his brothers left him behind. None of them knew about the chip at that point (I think idk it’s been a hot minute since I saw season 1). All crosshair knew was that the only people in his life he has ever been able to rely on to be by his side were not only not there any more, but they chose to not be there, seemingly picking this stranger Omega over him! And when he does find out about the chip and have it removed (idk what the general consensus in the fandom is but I suspect it’s likely after his head injury… tho idk if that constitutes as “a long time ago” but whatever) it doesn’t change anything to him! Except for the fact that he needed his brothers and there were extern forces actively working against him and pushing him to do things (somewhat) against his will and they still left him! So what does some chip matter? The empire is his means to survival now. He had the Empire even after his brothers left. So he has to commit himself to it now, because without it, and without his brothers, there’s nothing left for him.

But THEN you have Hunter’s perspective which is of course vastly different from Crosshair’s. Of course the chip matters to him! Of course he wanted some excuse for why Crosshair was acting the way he was. Tbh we all did! I think hunter’s reaction was also most of our reactions at this point bc like— yeah dude!! Obviously the chip matters! So much of the clone plot revolves around the chip! And Hunter is now desperate to know how much of the evil murder bot was that chip and how much was his brother. He needs to understand if there’s something worth saving here.

BUT THEN!! The FOLLOW UP?? The “this is who i am” like fuck dude!! That’s!! exactly the thing Hunter did not want to here!! Crosshair is actively pushing himself away from them! He’s realized now he can’t go back. Maybe he realized that when the chip was removed. That he’s too far down this path, that his brothers left him before and there’s no reason they’d want him again. The empire is all that’s left for him, so he embraces it. He thinks if he plays their game well enough he won’t be treated like every other clone, discarded without a second thought. So this is who he is now. He’s not their brother anymore, he’s a solider of the empire. This is who I am.

Idk what any of this was about I just have lots of feelings about these dudes so yeah

#nobody is going to read this lol #CROSSHAIR!!!#yeah #tbb #crosshair #the bad batch #star wars

143 notes · View notes

the-martyrfication-of-the-matron · 4 months

Text

Ahah

Cerberus sword my beloved

A post encouraged by @helpreverse45, @erionlextib and @aph-cronch

Tw, mentions of magically-motivated suicide

The Cerberus sword is one of many shards of Judge’s relic (one of the larger shards, with many tales and myths surrounding it, much like the other main shards: the red talisman, the moonlight ward and the wyvern staff). Much like many of Judge’ relic shards, it is an ‘external’ relic, able to be wielded or worn as opposed to consumed, as other relics require, as a result of them being broken and messing with the magic.

The Cerberus sword is always a dark black/grey/purple colour, but the shape and size of it forges itself to fit the wielder. For Aaron, it presents as the Demon Broad Sword that he has in canon, which is very menacing lmao. Spooky sword.

It does require a bond with the wielder. It won’t allow itself to be held by just anyone, and will force an unsuitable wielder to stab themselves with its blade if they are ever to try and lift it, to feed its need for blood, and ensure it isn’t dirtied by unworthy hands. It’s very picky. It seeks out those of Judge’s blood, or Shadow Knights, most often, but will make exceptions. Which is how Aaron ended up with it. Get hot wife and watch her die, and now you get the sword passed down generations in her bloodline because it seems that she’s descendant of that evil god that rivals your own.

It has so many myths surrounding it, but none are good… like at all, they’re all like massively just like aaa death

That’s probably because the sword absorbs blood… so.. yeah it’s a bit spooky. It craves blood, and will urge its owners to feed it. The less strong willed wielders will go on binge kills, the more strong willed will often take up jobs like hunting or guarding to keep it satiated.

That said, if left on a patch of dirt for long enough, flowers and grass and plants generally will grow around it. As much as it does take in violence, it does give back in life. Which works for Aaron… because he werewolf hunts and his whole thing is killing people with violence to protect the lives of others.

It is also impacted heavily by former wielders, so it takes on a bit of an extra edge against werewolves thanks to Aaron.

Drawings I’ve done of it in Aaron’s possession beneath:

#aphmau #aphverse #rewrite #aphblr #minecraft diaries #mcd

24 notes · View notes

rising-volteccers · 9 months

Note

"You... you really mean it, don't you?" regarding Liko when she calls herself a burden

Initially I had an idea on how to go about it but after watching episode 16, I decided to change this into another 'what if' scene between Liko and Dot at the end of that episode. I'm very fond of the bond that they have so hopefully it came across in this piece! I suppose you could see it as LikoDot if you squint haha

Series: Pokemon Horizons

Characters: Liko, Dot

Like a solitary bird on a lonely migration, the Brave Asagi glided persistently onward through the calm night sky where the full moon cast its gentle light upon the ruminating girl and her feline. To think that just a few hours ago, she and her friends faced off against an unknown enemy that had no reservations in harming them directly.

If not for the sudden burst of light that guided Liko towards her pendant and Arboliva’s timely appearance, that dangerous enemy might have gotten away with it.

She lightly shivered from the echoed memory of their voice gloating about erasing her memory again. Not just her but Roy and Dot too. Liko knew that Pokemon were capable of various feats but to come across one that wiped her memories of her precious friends… fear and anger warred within her.

A hot, uncomfortable warmth bubbled within her chest. Anger wasn’t an emotion Liko experienced often, nor one that she wanted to feel in the first place but it naturally came up at the thought of that person taking away something so precious to her. The Rising Volt Tacklers were important to her; they taught her the value of friendship, of forming bonds with people who care for one another. Without them, the Explorers would have made off with her pendant on that night before Friede’s sudden appearance.

How dared they do something so… so vile! Erasing a part of someone like that for no reason other than they could just felt so evil!

But when her thoughts focused on that, fear swiftly doused out that spark, leaving her chilled to the core. Liko knew that so long as her pendant remained with her, the Explorers would come after it. Amethio was no less scary in his own right but at least he would battle and claim the spoils after. This person chose to go the subtle, manipulative route instead up until the very end.

(Liko caught a glimpse of the person though the only real characteristics she remembered were their long hair. The pendant’s light and Arboliva’s appearance took most of her attention at the time).

Once again had it not been for the timely intervention by something or someone, her pendant would have been in the Explorers hands. She wasn’t blind to the fact that things worked out time and time again in the end because of unforeseen, external forces. Friede, that black Rayquaza and now Arboliva. Had they not appeared when they did…

Another light shiver rippled down her spine. Liko lightly rubbed an arm, an act that went unnoticed by Sprigatito. It briefly lifted its head to look up with a concerned nya?

Liko managed a tiny smile. “Don’t worry Sprigatito, I’m alright.”

Her starter eyed her for awhile longer before settling back into a tight ball by her side. Liko released a slow breath, hands grasped together over her chest.

Ultimately she was glad to have her pendant back but it was at the expense of troubling everyone. A single misstep could have been disastrous…

The soft swish of the door behind drew her attention back to the present before it could spiral. Liko looked up, surprised to see Dot in person. She went to lean against the railing next to her.

Until today, Liko didn’t expect to see her friend face to face like this. She was content to slowly form a bond with Dot–a fellow Nidothing super fan!–as she didn’t want to push the other girl too much or too quickly. Liko knew how overwhelming it could get, especially to someone who already said that in real life stuff was too troublesome. She had hopes of seeing Dot in person someday but never in her wildest dreams that today would be it.

Her expression crumpled slightly once she recalled seeing Dot hugging Quaxly as that Magneton charged up that attack. Liko placed her friends in danger again… she needed to apologize.

“Um–”

“Hey–”

Both girls paused, falling into a brief awkward silence. Liko cleared her throat before trying again. “Uh, what is it?”

Dot appeared to hesitate, head turning away slightly from her. “Oh, uh… nothing really…”

That sent Quaxly into a small fit with its angry squawks and flapping wings. It seemed that the Water-type’s displeasure flustered her friend.

“I get it, already!” Dot grumbled, turning to properly face her. A few more seconds passed by in silence.

“Thanks for coming to save me,” she spoke at last.

A smile easily came to Liko even as her heart ached. She didn’t deserve that gratitude seeing that Dot landed in trouble because of her. Still, Liko replied with, “It’s only natural. You did the same to me… even if it was because of me in the first place…”

Liko mumbled that last part but she underestimated how keen her friend’s hearing was. Dot stood up a little straighter from her slouch. Even with her eyes covered by her bangs, Liko sensed the heavy gaze.

“Wait back up, what do you mean by that?”

Liko had to squash down the sudden urge to curl in on herself. A part of her wanted to assure Dot, maybe wave it off like how Friede was prone to do. The rest didn’t want to add more to her guilt by lying to her friend.

Silence stretched briefly between the pair. At last, Liko relented.

“I… you got into danger because of me. I was a burden to everyone, causing a lot of trouble…” she whispered, grasping her hands atop her lap.

Sprigatito sensed her silent distress so it got up to rub its head against her arm in attempt to soothe her. Liko managed to free a hand to lightly rub Sprigatito between its ears.

In the meantime, Liko failed to notice the way Dot stared at her in surprise.

“Liko–you’re not a burden!”

Liko stared at her lap. Her silence easily answered how she really thought about it. Dot released a soft breath beside her.

“You… you really mean it, don’t you?”

“It’s true, isn’t it? I got myself caught and caused trouble to everyone. I put you and Roy in danger. I know that if it wasn’t for Arboliva, we could have had all our memories erased.” Her words rose no more than a whisper, tinged with frustration at herself.

Dot’s lack of response seemingly confirmed her thoughts. She really was a burden–

“Argh, this is why in real life stuff is such a pain…” Dot muttered, rubbing the back of her head. She took in a steadying breath before clearing her throat, prompting Liko to look up at her.

“Look, the opponent this time was… tricky. They messed with the signal to keep the airship from flying. Made loads of fake accounts to send us on a wild Farfetch’d chase when we were searching for you. They ordered their Pokemon remotely, meaning that they don’t want us to know who they are.” Dot paused, seemingly to catch her breath.

“You’re not a burden for getting caught up in that. I don’t think even adults could’ve handled the sort of stuff this person did. What’s important is that… you’re safe and back with us. It’s a pain but… I’d do it again to save you cause you’re my friend…”

Dot looked away as she mumbled the last part. Liko hoped that the night hid the warmth that suffused her cheeks. Somehow, Dot’s words chased away that lingering chill, replaced by a soft warmth filling her chest. A smile came unbidden, eyes shimmering. Liko quickly swiped at them with her hand.

“Thank you Dot. You’re my precious friend too,” she replied earnestly. Just like her, the cover of darkness hid the red tint on Dot’s own cheeks. The other girl mumbled something indistinct, though Liko caught a faint you’re welcome.

While it wasn’t enough to fully chase away her doubts, Liko trusted Dot’s words enough to ease her guilt. This time, a comfortable silence draped over them–which shattered by Quaxly throwing another small fit.

“Okay, okay!” Dot turned back to face her. She took in another steadying breath. “What I really wanted to say is, …uh, I’m sorry.”

“Huh?” Liko couldn’t hide the surprise in her expression. Why did Dot feel the need to apologize?

“I’m sorry for not saying anything. Half was it being a pain, and half of it was me wanting to tell you myself but…”

Now Liko got confused. What was this about?

“You don’t get it?”

Seeing that she didn’t know how to respond to that, Liko nodded ever so slightly, lips set into a polite smile.

“Well, you know, it’s about Nidothing…”

Oh! So was it about that? To think that Dot was going the extra mile of making her feel better.

“Huh? Oh, you’re…”

“You knew?” Dot looked surprised but really, nothing got past her when it came to Nidothing!

“Of course! You’re a Nidothing super fan!”

“I’m not!” Her swift denial startled Liko. Dot had a whole Nidothing costume didn’t she? Wasn’t that a sign of her being a super fan too? Liko would have gotten one herself if she knew where to buy it in the first place.

Dot smoothed down her bangs in a flustered gesture. “Why can’t you figure it out?” Abruptly, she leaned into Liko’s personal space, pointing at herself. “I… am Nidothing!”

“Eh?” Wait, so Dot wasn’t a Nidothing super fan but Nidothing herself?

The moment it truly registered in her mind, the only thing Liko could do was scream.

“EHHHHH???”

–

“Oof, she sure has a set of lungs on her. Still, Murdock would be happy to know about this.” A brief pause as the shadowed figure silently entered the elevator. With how flustered those two were, they didn’t notice. “I think those two would be alright, don’t you think so?”

“Pikapi!”

#Pokemon Horizons #Pokeani #Anipoke #Liko (Pokemon)#Dot (Pokemon)#LikoDot #Guruminshipping #Hana writes stuff

40 notes · View notes

sincerelyandyourstruly · 26 days

Text

#boyyuri

on xiaoven & yearning

—

so as we all know, "yuri is when there’s themes and motifs and yaoi is when there’s two blokes who do fuck all. if you reblog this you love trans people." (tumblr user dyggot, 2023.); that "yaoi is about entanglement and yuri is about yearning." (tags by tumblr user thyminesquared, 2023, screenshot and archived on this post.)

as should be clear from these definitions, this essay is not going to concern itself with whether a pairing counts as "yaoi" or "yuri" on the sole basis of the genders of the characters involved. although i understand the deeply gendered connotations of both of these terms, to ME, yuri is about the distance between one’s self and others around them (maybe people, maybe dreams and ideals), and the deeply-rooted desires that grow in that gap as a result.

as a post made to tumblr, put in the xiaoven tag, everyone reading this knows the basic lore surrounding their characters and world: that venti is the anemo archon, god of wind and freedom; that xiao is the last yaksha, who wields the power of anemo in battle to protect his homeland of liyue; that Visions are considered to be representations of a person's dearest wish, crystallized into physical form. but let's run over the basics again real fast, just to keep this piece from having external dependencies to understand, yeah?

venti is a wind sprite from mondstadt who ascended to godhood at the end of a rebellion against the at-the-time god of storms keeping his people in a cage made of windstorm thousands of years ago, and he chose his ideal of freedom to honor the bard who led said rebellion and died at the end of the final battle, but whether the nameless bard even got to see the clear skies he fought so hard to live under is currently up to interpretation. either way, venti took on the nameless bard's appearance so that his nation's people would never forget the true hero who won their freedom, but because thousands of years have passed the people have kind of forgotten by now anyway, and venti probably has a lot of identity issues about it!

also he's a bard who plays music in exchange for wine because singing to pass on the memories of heroes past and then drinking to numb the grief of people's forgetting is how he Copes™.

AND ALSO he will occasionally sleep for hundreds of years at a time.

Meanwhile, xiao is an immortal/"illuminated beast" from liyue whose true form is technically that of a bird, but he goes around in the form of a hot emo boy, ostensibly because he needs hands to don his mask, hold his spear, and do his dance to conquer the remnants of evil gods, the act of which literally taints his soul with their sins— his karmic debts.

anyway he was enslaved by an evil god in his youth because said evil god (probably) knew his True Name and because we're going by fairy rules this means he was forced to commit atrocities (namely eating people's dreams) against his will until the god of contracts geo archon zhongli killed his previous master, gave him a new name, and contractually tasked him with the job of subduing the demonic remnants of other defeated gods, which he has since proceeded to unflinchingly, unwaveringly, and unquestioningly obey for the last few thousand years. however, despite his unfathomable obedience and devotion to his duty, his Vision (his life's greatest desire) is that of anemo (of freedom).

also a few hundred years ago when he was about to succumb to the weight of his karmic debts, xiao's life was saved by the sound of someone (venti) playing the flute in the marsh where he'd been working, and so now his dream, the deepest wish he holds closest to his heart, is to someday "wear the mask and dance — not to conquer demons, but to the tune of that flute amid a sea of flowers." (xiao's character card, genshin impact, 2021)

…can you guys believe that the dihua flute moment was like all we xv shippers had to hold onto for like two years?! that, and xiao's extremely yearnful voiceline abt venti that's just like, "venti? is that what he goes by these days? his tunes are… nevermind." but the point of this recap i hope has become clear by this point: that the relationship btwn xiao and venti seen through these few snippets alone is just rife with potent yuri energy.

like, to elaborate on the opening of thie essay, yuri is specifically about the uncrossable distance between two people who are already sitting right next to each other, so close that only a single thread of wind could even hope to weave its way between them— although, as evidenced by the fact that such a thread of wind could weave its way between them, they are still shy of truly touching— and the painful yearnings of being unable to close that gap… even though you both exist so close to one another, so similar in both place and time, you are the only thing stopping yourself from reaching across that seemingly infinite distance.

as a result, i think that unlike yaoi, yuri— thematically speaking— tends to have a greater mutuality to it: whereas i understand being in a yaoi to be more about acting on one's impulses towards one another and passing along cycles of power, i believe that an important aspect of being in a yuri is the constant fear and anxiety of violating an unspoken boundary because you're afraid that you aren't actually on the same page about those.

deep down inside, you know that you're not supposed to want all the things you've built for yourself in all those private daydreams and self-indulgent fantasies you've created about yourself with the other person, because you know you're not supposed to have drawn your boundaries the way you have, such that the other person would be let in on the most intimate parts of your identity (if they were willing to see all that is ugly sleeping underneath your skin.)

as mentioned in the paragraph summarizing his lore, xiao's youth was marked by the fact that his very autonomy was continuously violated in service of forcing him to violate others' boundaries, crushing their hopes and devouring their very dreams. his deep cultural ties to liyue as the land of contracts means that he carries within him a keen sense of obligation as inseverable as the need to breathe; thus, saddled with guilt and believing himself to be incapable of gentility, he has come to view himself as nothing more than a weapon for others to use.

in signing his contract with the geo archon, xiao went from a situation where his agency was continuously denied and his boundaries intimately violated to one where he relinquished his agency and had his boundaries delineated for him by his new lord.

he has no desires of his own; immortals aren't so worldly. (if that were true, he wouldn't have a Vision.) he is not an active subject in his own life; anything he does is the effect of someone else's will. (if that were true, he would have stopped protecting liyue the moment that he learned his lord abdicated his rule.) he does not let anyone near him; it is inevitable that his karmic debts will force his hand against them. (if that were true, he wouldn't have been saved by the sound of venti's flute playing nearby.)

don't you see? he places himself in a subservient role to everyone around him, rigidly obeys every ritual of propriety, because he is afraid that by asserting agency over a situation, he will end up violating other people's boundaries again. except that this time, the responsibility for doing so would fall squarely on his own shoulders.

during the main quest arc for liyue, zhongli literally fakes his own death as an archon so that he can finally retire and be free from his own contractual obligation to the nation. this gives us reason to believe that xiao's contract with the geo archon has thus been rendered void, meaning he no longer has any obligation to continue his endless suffering for the sake of liyue— yet he does so anyway.

i think a lot of fans tend to view this as xiao needlessly chaining himself down to his duty, something that's often framed in fanworks as something rather tragic in venti's eyes. however, as the god of freedom, venti feels very strongly about giving other the freedom to make their own decisions, even if he himself may disagree with them or wish they had chosen differently. others' autonomy is deeply important to venti, perhaps even so far as to call it sacred: to order anything from anyone would be a violation for the boundaries venti has set for himself as an archon.

and because we're all familiar with genshin impact lore, what i have to say next should go without saying, we are all so familiar with it: the element of a person's Vision will be directly related to the kind of ideal they strive to meet and uphold, and as such, can generally tell you a lot about a person's desires.

xiao wields an anemo Vision— the only known anemo wielder in liyue until the arrival of xianyun, presumably because that is how deeply ingrained the binding sense of obligation is in its culture— and wears it visibly on his person at all times. it would be ridiculous not to believe that venti knows, and intimately so, just how xiao desires.

and i think that a lot of fans can fail to consider the idea that to xiao, his duty of protection is a choice he made of his own volition when he was first set free, and is, in all likelihood, one he continues to make in canon. yes, this choice comes with a great many obligations restraining him in various ways— but do our choices truly mean anything if they are not bound by obligation? this is something venti would obviously understand and respect as lines drawn in the sand by xiao himself, and he would never dare even suggest they be crossed.

it's clear from the various scraps of in-game lore that xiao craves proximity to and knowledge about his savior in the marsh. yet, he refuses to go out of his way to attain these things and will even deny ownership of these desires altogether because in a sense, they are blasphemy: venti, although not his archon, is still a god.

might seeking venti out over zhongli not be considered a sign of detracting, or perhaps even failing faith in the unwavering sureity of the geo archon? or even if it turns out that's not so— who is xiao to ask anything of venti? the god of freedom must surely be a flighty little thing, following his every capricious whim. to ask him to stay would be akin to tying him down, no?

clearly, there is no need for xiao to call out for him. if venti wants to be with him, he will simply be there.

(and if he doesn't, then he won't.)

((after all, it is the duty of the servant to wait on the master's call.))

it's easy to imagine that these two immortals might end up in a sort of song and dance of propriety for a while, that at fight might be genuine, but eventually just becomes habit and custom. they both want, in some way, for xiao to lay down his duty, to be free of the strict hierarchy of master & servant or god & disciple. but for venti to say it so plainly would feel like he's trying to convert xiao to his ideals— a discomfort that would more than likely only be compounded by how seriously xiao takes the word of god(s), and how expressly venti hates being treated like anything but an equal— and so he would hesitate on his feelings; whereas for xiao to speak of his desires so plainly, it would feel like a betrayal of his duty— that which he chose to shoulder as his first act of free will.

you see it, right? the gap between these two characters, whose lives will otherwise touch and cross over and over through their long, immortal lives, and the mutual desires they can both plainly and painfully read in one another, yet never individually act upon due to their already-established senses of propriety, tradition, and boundaries?

these are the basic yuriisms of xiaoven genshinimpact.

#xiaoven #long post #only reason i put part of this post under a cut is bc it's 2111 words so in the interest of being polite i put 1356 of them under the cut #anyway happy birthday to xiao my son my melancholy yearnful boy c':#adapting this essay to the context of tumblr was more work than i anticipated #but i think it pairs nicely w/my xv moon/moon essay from a while back c:#i've actually been sitting on this one for a few months now; this entire chunk got cut from my submission to yaoizine vol 3 (yurizine)#and if you haven't had your brain chemistry altered by the yaoizines published by tshirt. what are you doing. go read them

7 notes · View notes

windvexer · 4 months

Note

Would you say that cataclysms or crises, like market crashes, wars, elections, pandemics, have their own spirits? Or put it another way, these things are not just chains of events, but separate energetic entities that initiate or guide the proceedings on the ground? If yes, would, erm, plinking spells at them with intention to get rid of them just make these constructs pay more of their... let's say transformative attention to a particularly daring spellcaster?

This is really interesting!

I hesitate to say that casting a spell at a market crash would make the spirit of the market crash rise up to harm you.

And I am 100% just basing this off of the fact that it sounds silly to me. Very much overlapping on conspiratorial, even.

Also I've never heard of it happening. And it doesn't line up with the way I think the world works.

For this to work, I think we have to believe 3 separate things:

All major national or global crises either are spirits in and of themselves, or are all guided and guarded by spirits (hereafter called Crisis Spirit).

A Crises Spirit (whether that be singular or a cohort has little relevance I think) would (A) notice energy directed against it, and (B) be capable of retaliation.

If it takes enough notice against any single person or working group, the Crises Spirit would choose to carry out targeted retaliation.

I do not believe that all catastrophes are, or are guided by, spirits. Not even the very big catastrophes. It's tempting to think that there is an organized malevolent force behind everything bad happening, but at this point we're basically talking about the New World Order except we're switching out key words for woowoo talk. So it's a big ask for me to buy into this line of thinking.

As a practitioner, I believe that if you look for a spirit, you'll find it. It's very easy to interpret a big lump of energy as a spirit, and depending on what your definition of "spirit" is, you're never going to not find a spirit.

Crises having their own energy: Yes

That energy automatically being a sentient being capable of awareness and retaliation: No

Even if we say that perhaps these events themselves are not spirits, but are guided by external Crises Spirits, I'm again stymied by the fact that we do not live in a good-vs-evil universe that specifically targets and harms people who try to stop bad things from happening.

Because the problem with this line of thinking is that anyone who wants to help the world then puts themselves in a position of a targeted martyr with access to hidden knowledge that gives them the ability to fight against organized, secret evil at the highest levels of control, and at that point just hang a Q on it.

So my main problem with this is the worldview. As in, damn, imagine the kinds of people you'd be aligning your worldview to in order to have to believe that this happens.

When a person begins their magical practice, I think they probably do rely a lot on what they're told by others. This is baggage. As in, a starting suitcase you need to begin your travels.

After a while, a practitioner begins to get a feel for how things really are beyond what they've been told. They have encounters. They get into situations. They go places. This is experience.

And beyond black pepper and Spells Georg, when a person really starts to make their path their own, I think that a big aspect to this is sorting through what baggage you no longer need, cleaning out the suitcase, and packing new luggage. This shift, I believe, should be inspired by and conform to personal experience.

On the one hand, I keep an active eye out for this type of thinking and do my best to not let it sneak into my suitcase. This is because worldview is a choice; you can choose how you align and orient yourself in this world, the results of which dictate your view. Yes?

On the other hand, I've never seen or experienced what you're describing in the real world and I simply don't believe it exists. My experience of the metaphysical, the spirit world, and magic, precludes there being universally present Crises Spirits that govern all world cataclysms.

This isn't to say that I don't believe spirits can make bad things happen or be involved in bad things. This isn't to say I don't believe there are gods of strife or chaos.

I just don't think there's a cabal of spirits who cause global catastrophe and that might retaliate against you if you try to stop bad things from happening.

#answered

15 notes · View notes

mongeese · 2 years

Text

Morality in Wolf 359

A month ago, I made this post about how Wolf 359 doesn’t have any good or bad characters, just people making choices. I also said I’d write a full-length essay about this topic. Well, here’s the essay! Be warned, it’s a hefty 2400 words, because I wanted to be thorough. If you don’t want to read all that, here’s a TL,DR.

People who were interested in reading this: @commsroom, @a-side-character, @firstofficerrose, @afrogsmoraldilemma

Now without further ado, the essay, below the read more.

Wolf 359 is fantastic for many, many reasons, one of the most prominent being its amazing cast of characters. The podcast is practically a masterclass in interesting and nuanced character development, and a huge contributing factor to this is the continual subversion of the hero and villain labels. As Wolf 359 continues into the later seasons, it becomes obvious that while these roles exist in the narrative to an extent, they are not nearly as black and white as we would expect. There simply aren’t “good” or “bad” people of Wolf 359; there’s just people, making decisions, and those decisions can either hurt people or help people.

Wolf 359 is an utterly unpredictable and insane story, with constant (and might I add, incredible) plot twists. There is, however, at least one predictable cycle, which I like to call the “villain escalation”. Basically, the previous “bad guy” gets replaced by another, even bigger threat, which demotes the old villain to “morally grey supporting character”. The new threat forces our main protagonists to cooperate with the old threat, leaving room for the old “bad guy” to change their behavior and develop more complex relationships with both the other characters and the audience. Now, this isn’t the only way Wolf 359 removes the hero/villain labels from the equation, but it’s one of the most prominent. By my count, it happens 3 times over the course of the podcast, though that could be extended to 4 or even 5 depending on how you classify a “new threat”.

The first subject of villain escalation is Dr. Alexander Hilbert/Elias Selberg/Dmitri Volodin, caused by Captain Isabel Lovelace. Hilbert starts as such a stereotypical villain it’s almost comical. I mean, the evil Russian scientist is manipulating our heroes and performing unethical experiments on them; it can’t get much more stereotypical than that. Then Lovelace comes aboard, and suddenly he’s an ally against her. It’s a very uneasy alliance to be sure, but an alliance nonetheless. (Note that Eiffel and Minkowski do accept help from Hilbert before Lovelace arrives, but it’s mostly done by force, and the real turning point in the perception of his character occurs after she comes to the station.) Through this alliance, we learn more about Hilbert: his past, his motivations, his personality. He’s brutal sometimes, yes, and cruel, and externally callous. But he is also motivated by a genuine desire to save people. He had a family, a sister, who fell victim to radiation poisoning, which inspired him to pursue science and push further. When Eiffel is sick, he does everything he can to save him. He repeats over and over again that he did the things he did out of a sincere desire to make the world a better place. Dmitri Volodin is not just an evil monster, and for most of the podcast, he’s on the side of the “heroes”. This pushes the audience and even some of the main characters to start genuinely caring for him, to some extent.

Crucially, though, this does not absolve him. Hilbert may not have been causing pain and death just for the fun of it, but still he did cause pain and death. And it’s all for nothing, anyway, because the Decima experiment is a failure, but even if we ignore that fact, what he did was unjustifiable. (We shouldn’t ignore that failure, btw, but that’s a topic for another essay.) It doesn’t matter what “greater good” he was working toward – he committed atrocities, and there’s no justifying that. And none of the people he has wronged ever forgive him. They work with him, they talk to him, even protect him if necessary, but forgiveness is never considered. Alexander Hilbert, while maybe not a bad person, is certainly not a good person. Even after his death, he doesn’t get to be redeemed.

I said before that this development comes as a result of the villain escalation, from Hilbert to Lovelace. That’s true, considering how I defined villain escalation, but it’s important to clarify that Lovelace was never an outright villain, instead existing as a morally grey character from her first introduction. She absolutely and seriously threatens all the main characters, making it very obvious that she will hurt them if she needs to in order to reach her goal. But at the same time, she’s their best shot at making it off the Hephaestus alive. It’s also clear that that Lovelace’s aggression, paranoia, and callousness comes from a place of trauma, and that despite her harsh exterior and frequent threats, she does want to get everyone out of this situation alive. She cares about them, in her own way. Really, I think her character in season 2 can be summed up by two occurrences. In episode 26, she saves Doug Eiffel’s life, on purpose, with her blood donation, but in episode 28, she very nearly kills him, on accident, with her explosive rig. She wants to save people, but her paranoia and rage makes it so that she hurts people instead. And just as it was with Hilbert, her trauma is not an excuse. What matters most is whether she helps the people around her or harms them, and in season 2, she does both in equal measure.

We also see an interesting dimension of morality in the interactions between Hilbert/Selbert. The worst of Lovelace comes out when she’s with him. He’s the one who killed most of her crew, so she wants revenge on him personally almost as much as she wants revenge on Goddard Futuristics. In seeking revenge, she becomes her worst self. She gets violent, self-centered, becoming willing to hurt any number of people to reach her goal, in a way that is explicitly portrayed as a foil for Hilbert’s obsession with the Decima virus. It’s interesting, because when you compare them, the more “villainous” character, Hilbert, has significantly more noble intentions. Potentially saving lives with a revolutionary medical treatment is a lot more moral than tearing down the people who hurt you. And yet Hilbert is not more moral than Lovelace. This shows that intention is not as important as the effect you have on the people around you. It also shows how goodness is not innate, because Lovelace and Hilbert are quite similar in a lot of ways; they’re both consistently down with murder, for one, but there’s more subtle similarities as well. Thus the reason Lovelace is placed closer to the “good” end of the spectrum by the narrative can’t be because of some inherent morality. Instead, it must be because over the course of her life she has helped people more often than she has hurt them. Hilbert, on the other hand, has hurt much more often than he’s helped. Their day to day actions and decisions are what give them their moral statuses and roles in the narrative, not some designated classification of being a good or a bad person – both of them aren’t either.

The 2nd instance of villain escalation comes when the SI-5 board the station. At this point, we’ve been somewhat primed to view characters in moral shades of grey, but it’s still pretty obvious that they’re “bad guys”. There are repeated references to atrocities the SI-5 have committed, and they never let the main characters forget that they are in charge and that they would do terrible things to them if the situation calls for it. They’re opposite Lovelace, in a way, in that they are externally friendly, pleasant, and helpful, while being internally willing to harm any number of people. But still they’re human. Still they don’t deserve to be murdered, as Eiffel repeatedly reminds everyone.

The SI-5 members claim, as Hilbert did, to be working on behalf of a greater good that’s worth plenty of immoral actions (though to be honest, I’m doubtful how much they really believed that and how much they convinced themselves of it just because they liked being a part of something. But that’s a topic for another day). And as with Hilbert, this is not a justification. It’s more of the same, really. Maxwell cares for and helps Hera, but she still violates her autonomy in a pretty brutal way. Jacobi breaks after the mutiny, and in his brokenness becomes sympathetic, but still is not a completely good person. Then the 3rd and final villain escalation, the arrival of Cutter and Pryce, push both Jacobi and Kepler to make the decision to do the right thing and help the people around them. It’s not that any of them become good or become bad as things progress, or even that they were good or bad in the first place. They always had the capacity to do good things, we just didn’t see much of that side until the stakes got high enough. Their character shows in the decisions they make and the sides they choose to stand on.

Villain escalation is not the only way Wolf 359 flips the script on “hero” and “villain” roles. It also shows us that the protagonists, the “good guys”, can do bad things, and those bad things aren’t justified just because the people are good. Minkowski and Hera are lesser examples of this. Both of them hurt people: Hera tries to kill crew members multiple times and often lets her anger get the better of her, while Minkowski occasionally advocates for murder and actually does kill Maxwell. Minkowski also can hurt the people she cares about in a misguided attempt at leadership, such as when she sends Eiffel away in the finale. But again, these examples are relatively minor, though they are a further illustration of the fact that even seemingly good people can cause harm. The biggest subversion comes from Doug Eiffel.

For the first half of the podcast, Eiffel is portrayed as a semi-irresponsible goofball, who can be a bit of an ass but who is at worst harmless, and at best a resourceful and honorable man. This character assessment doesn’t stop being true, exactly. However, after about 40 episodes, we learn that he is also a man who ruined lives, for completely selfish and destructive reasons. That’s not something you can just overlook, or forgive. Once again, there’s no justification or absolution, even though Eiffel was at rock bottom and struggling with addiction. He did something awful, full stop, and our previous perception of him as a good person is flipped completely on its head.

Eiffel’s also shown to be a bit of a shithead even in the present day, on the Hephaestus. He commits microaggressions frequently as discussed in episode 51, “Shut Up and Listen”, and when confronted with this, he goes sullen and withdrawn. The harm there was unintentional, but it’s treated as just as real and damaging as all the other crazy threats the crew faces. This is a unique case, because Eiffel is actually forgiven by the people he’s wronged (Minkowski, Hera, and Lovelace), but that forgiveness comes because he made a tangible effort to do better, not because “he’s a good guy at heart” or some similar BS. All this is to say, Doug Eiffel isn’t necessarily a good person. He does good things and he does awful things, but because he makes the decision over and over to be helpful, and moral, and better, he is someone that the audience can root for.

I hope by now I’ve fully convinced you that Wolf 359 does not have any heroes or villains, merely people who are working with what circumstances they have, making decisions to either help those around them or harm them. This is a fairly radical position for a piece of media to have, with clear implications for the justice system and punishment. Wolf 359 doesn’t hesitate to explore those implications, either. It is extremely obvious that killing people, even if those people pose a threat to you, even if those people are seemingly reprehensible, is always immoral. The “villains” are kept alive whenever possible, and in those moments where they are killed, it is never a victory, always a tragedy. Mr. Cutter might be an exception, though I imagine Minkowski will still struggle post-canon with the fact that she took his life. That has interesting implications in the anti-capitalist part of the show’s messaging, as it implies that once someone causes a certain level of harm (as billionaires do), killing them becomes the lesser of two evils despite not being a moral act in and of itself. But honestly, I don’t feel equipped to unpack that right now. I will just say, that Wolf 359 wholeheartedly condemns capital punishment, which is of course a necessary consequence of the idea that people are not fully good or bad. You cannot kill only the bad people, because there are no bad people. Therefore capital punishment is just murder, and it cannot be justified.

I also really appreciate this position because it’s distinctly different from a redemption arc. No one is redeemed for their past. Hell, most of them don’t even apologize for their past behavior. They just start doing better. That’s a level of nuance I’ve almost never seen, and it offers fascinating commentary on the ideas of restorative justice. Wolf 359 tells us that even people who do awful, unforgiveable things can do better. No one is in a fixed moral position, and everyone is shaped by their circumstances. But importantly, this does not mean that you have to forgive anyone! You can rehabilitate, work with, and respect people while still recognizing the atrocities in their past, and while still withholding forgiveness. It’s a remarkable endorsement for restorative justice and a really important viewpoint to consider.

In conclusion: Wolf 359 is a fucking amazing podcast, guys. The writing is masterful, and it is incredibly fun and emotional, while also providing a cutting criticism of the current capitalist global system. In regards to morality and justice, it refutes the idea that people are internally “good” or “bad”, instead recognizing that everyone is just a person who does good and bad things, and the balance of these actions can change over a person’s life. This leads to a subtextual endorsement for restorative justice that is very radical (both in the leftist sense and in the cool sense). Overall, it’s a fascinating analysis of human nature and an excellent commentary on how we treat others. I love it so so so much.

#wolf 359 #wolf 359 meta #she's finally done yall!! pretty proud of myself for actually finishing it #hope you enjoy and that it's coherent :)

243 notes · View notes

anghraine · 1 year

Text

Not to way-overthink this or anything, but I feel like D&D alignment works best in terms of temperament rather than necessarily conduct. This is especially the case for the Lawful<-->Neutral<-->Chaotic axis.

It's interesting because I think this is generally accepted for the Evil alignments. It's really common to characterize Lawful Evil, say, with the example of a villain who may not care about specific regions' literal laws, but who generally adheres to a strict, clearly defined code of some kind that they're genuinely committed to and don't want to stray from.

Even if they end up in a situation where they have to choose between forwarding their evil plots or sticking to their code, and even if they reluctantly choose evil over the code, they're still essentially Lawful by disposition. It's wanting to follow The Rules (even if The Rules are self-imposed rather than societal structures) that aligns them with Law.

On the flip side, a Neutral Good character might end up following external rule systems because those particular rules don't get in the way of their moral purpose, or might sometimes even advance it, but not because they've actually internalized the rules or care all that much about them. It may be coincidental, or a matter of convenience. That doesn't make them Lawful. But if they're forced to choose between moral vision and personal or societal rules, they'd choose their morals without qualms—it's barely even a choice, really.

Even a Chaotic character doesn't morph into Lawful every time they happen to obey a law that isn't in their way. It's their temperament that is basically antagonistic towards Law, but that doesn't have to mean Chaotic Stupid in behavior.

Often, though, the idea that Lawful Evil can be evil with a strict personal code doesn't extend to Lawful Good having the capacity for good+a strict personal code, rather than outwards adherence to external laws and rules. But a Lawful Good character can do their damnedest to stick to a strict system of rules and order, even if nobody else agrees with them about it, and even if they consider specific external systems illegitimate. Not every revolutionary is Chaotic or even Neutral, and not every rule-abiding citizen of a corrupt government is truly Lawful.

I think there's also the idea that a Lawful Good character has to choose law (whether literal or a smaller-scale rule system) over morality when push comes to shove, or they're not truly Lawful, while this is typically not the case for Lawful Evil. But Lawful characters don't have to always pick the Lawful option when forced to choose, and aren't any more definitionally Lawful Stupid than Chaotic characters are Chaotic Stupid. A Lawful Good character is no less good than they are lawful.

In my last campaign, I got away with playing a Lawful Good warlock who refused to lie unless mind-controlled, but was willing to kill if she considered it just, or in the service of building a more just social order. At one point she calmly told her human bff's flawed love interest that if he did wrong by her friend again, justice would find him. He turned out to also be a Lawful Good warlock and actually respected her more for this, both because of her loyalty to her friend and her commitment to justice, and he ended up as a lifelong bro to my character ("lifelong" being 130 more years, so their relationship as surrogate siblings actually survived her bff/his wife by a very long time).

At another point, my character defended her friend's pursuit of vengeance against a colonizer as fundamentally just and likely a net good for the world, and therefore morally acceptable. The DM (rightly IMO, obviously) considered this consistent with her Lawful Good alignment and actually gave me inspiration for handling it in what he considered an interesting way. Lawful doesn't have to be this one size fits all characters box.

#long post #alignment #anghraine babbles #anghraine's gaming #i was thinking about how tumblr fandoms characterize every other character as chaotic #in part because of the fad for describing almost everything that way #but also in part (i suspect) because they find it a more interesting and appealing interpretation #which. okay. but as someone who does see characters as lawful or neutral more readily #it's like ... luke is chaotic faramir is chaotic elizabeth bennet is chaotic etc etc #i'm just like ... not all characters with the capacity for independent thought are chaotic #it's okay they're still cool

61 notes · View notes

azure-wolf-227 · 1 year

Text

Magical Girl Katarina AU: Dark Magic

Note: These headcanons on Dark Magic are applicable to all of my AUs where Katarina is born with this element.

The Dark Magic that Katarina uses is different from the Dark Magic that is known in Sorcier. Her Dark Magic is best described as “Pure Darkness” while the magic that is used by Raphael, Sora, and Sarah is “Corrupted Darkness.”

Pure Darkness is innate while Corrupted Darkness is acquired. Meaning that Katarina was born with her Dark Magic while the Dark Magic that Sorcier is more familiar with is acquired through human sacrifice.

Demons are naturally born with Dark Magic and can use either the Pure version or the Corrupt version depending on their intent. The Tenebrous Horde Demons and Monsters use Corrupted Dark magic.

Okay so, in Katarina’s previous world, magic exists but it has been mostly forgotten about. People with the potential to be mages exists but they do not know how to access that magic. It’s like, most people think that magic is fantasy so those born with magic subconsciously suppress it or try to rationalize it. Therefore, they cannot activate their magic by themselves and need an external force to awaken it.

Monkey Girl/Mashiko Hayashi was born with a connection to the Dark Element but she couldn’t access her magic until she bonded with the Wand of Darkness.

In contrast, people in Sorcier know that magic exists and expect to use it (at least, the nobles do). That’s why they manifest their magic so young.

Dark Magic was once natural in Sorcier but an event in the distant past made it so that the Dark Mages lost their magic and new ones could be born. Those born with the affinity for Darkness were instead granted other elements connected to their bloodline, but because they were not completely compatible, their power was weak. This explains why Katarina’s Earth Magic is so weak; she is connected to the Earth element through her Claes blood but she was meant to have the Dark Element.

In this AU, Katarina was born with Dark Magic along with the Earth Magic from her Claes blood. Her Dark Magic was dormant until she regained her memories of her past life.

The real difference between the two is the intent of the mage who has that magic. A Natural Born Dark Mage can use the Corrupted version of the element; just the same, a mage who acquired Dark Magic through a ritual could use Pure Darkness.

Of course, it’s easier for mages who acquired Dark Magic to use the Corrupted version due to the nature of the ritual.

Dark Magic is associated with death, destruction, the night, the shadows, and “bad” emotions like anger, sadness, fear, and envy. It can also affect a person’s mind and memories. These things are not inherently evil but do have negative connotations.

Here is a list of how Katarina uses her Dark Magic:

The ability to see ghosts and spirits. This power is passive, meaning it’s always on.

The destruction aspect is similar to the Cataclysm power from Miraculous. She can specify what she wants destroyed and how she wants it to break. This power can work on living beings but Katarina only uses it against the Demons and Monsters.

Control over shadows and darkness. Travel through shadows, cover an entire area in darkness, uses shadows as solid attacks, make shadow constructs, etc.

Ability to see in the dark

Since her Familiar is a wolf, Katarina/Mashiko has a connections with them and she can command them. This does not work with dogs so they still chase her.

Sensing dark magic and negative emotions. Her Dark Magic sense only allows her to sense the Dark Magic in a general area while Iyashi/Raphael can pinpoint the specific source.

Lock away memories. This power has only been used once in her Past Life and Katarina rather not use it in her current life.

#hamefura #story idea #worldbuilding #magical girl AU #magical girl katarina au #dark magic

27 notes · View notes

stewblog · 2 months

Text

Dune: Part Two

In my review of Dune: Part One three (!) years ago, I described it as a compelling and arresting “half” of a story. It’s an assessment that held up nicely on a recent revisit. But now that Part Two has arrived, how does Denis Villaneuve’s adaptation of this sci-fi cornerstone shake out? Dear reader, allow me to tell you.

Epic filmmaking comes along only rarely. James Cameron wants his Avatar films to feel this way, but they come across as technologically impressive and little else. Not since Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Lord of the Rings have we seen a series of films that feels fully awe-inspiring and materially impactful in the way that Dune: Part Two often feels. But this is not an emotionally riveting drama, this is an intergalactic tragedy that serves as an epic-scale warning about the dangers of unbridled power and ambition, as well as the poison of religious manipulation and fervor.

The ending of Part One served as a fitting cliffhanger. It was half the tale, but it was the end of Paul Atreides (Timothee’ Chalamet). Forced into exile by the treachery of the Emperor (Christopher Walken) and the vengeful violence of Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard), Paul was no longer intergalactic royalty. He is now, as Part Two opens, at the mercy of Arrakis’ Fremen, and thus begins the journey of Paul Maud’Dib.

But where Part One was a film composed largely of exposition, explanation and setup, Part Two is almost entirely payoff. If your lingering complaint with Part One was its somewhat passive tempo and lack of action, boy are you in luck. While I wouldn’t go so far as to describe the film as “action packed,” it’s a consistently thrilling ride as the insurrection unfolds. Villaneuve displays a mastery of scale and impact, delivering setpieces that recall moments like the Battle of Aqaba in Lawrence of Arabia (if T.E. Lawrence had stormed that city riding a titan-sized sandworm, of course). It is, at its core, as stark a battle of good versus evil as anything we’ve seen in a while on a scale like this.

But while there is a stark morality found in the core of the film’s values, its characters are often much more complex. With the Harkonnens having laid waste to House Atreides and taken over spice harvesting, Paul and his mother, Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) are now at the mercy of the Fremen. But it isn’t long before he ingratiates himself into their tribe and proves himself a capable ally in the fight against Arrakis’ destructive new overlords. This happens in no small part due to the fanaticism of Fremen leader Stilgar (Javier Bardem), who fully believes the “prophecies” seeded millennia ago that point to a man like Paul arriving to become their messiah, the Lisan al Gaib. And while Paul himself considers such prophecies nonsense, he becomes more and more willing to play into them for his own aim of avenging the murder of his father and the slaughter of his House. This all culminates with events and a decision that are chilling and horrifying in equal measure.

And that’s what ultimately makes this now completed film so compelling. There are no real heroes in the story of Dune. There are no noble motives being pursued (by the major players, at least). There are only murderers, manipulators and those seeking raw vengeance at the expense of all else. And yet Villaneuve’s craftsmanship makes such sordid trappings feel engaging and even relatable. Paul’s descent into becoming a vengeful warrior and religious scion is, in its own way, heartbreaking, especially given the emotional toll it takes on Chani (Zendaya), the woman he comes to love. Their relationship is the emotional throughline of the whole story, and it’s anchored by the terrific performances from Chalamet and Zendaya. Chalamet becomes far more formidable as a leadership figure than I honestly thought he had in him when Part One began, but he more than capably sells the dramatic shifts Paul makes both internally and externally. Zendaya’s work is much more subdued at times, but her magnificently expressive face provides the necessary window. If nothing else, few in Hollywood have a better “mean eyes” expression than her.

The entire cast is as on-point, as they were in Part One. Those wishing Javier Bardem had more to do last time out ought to be beyond pleased as Stilgar becomes a dominant presence as his zealotry evolves from mildly comedic to spine-chilling. It’s a true sight to behold and Bardem fully sells the weight and intensity and genuine passion this character experiences. The true standout, though, is Austin Butler as Feyd, the psychotic nephew of Baron Harkonnen. He disappears under a pale sheath of facial prosthetics and weirdo vocal choices to deliver a truly unnerving and hateful villain.

Butler’s look and performance meshes perfectly with the stunning monochrome aesthetic of his homeworld, Giedi Prime. A stark, nearly sterile landscape overtaken by hauntingly smooth architecture that looks sort of like what you’d get if H.R. Giger tried to blend his work with the Art Deco style. It’s as memorable a sci-fi landscape as we’ve seen in ages. At minimum, you’ve never seen fireworks like these people fire off.

At the end of it all I was left in mild awe at what Villaneuve had accomplished. Dune, the novel, was a work that I had to force myself to get through. It always kept me at arm’s length, I felt. And yet somehow Villaneuve and company have managed to translate that into one of the most enrapturing and engaging epics that Hollywood has seen in its modern era. Some may be frustrated at the feeling that we are once again left on a cliffhanger (of sorts), but the point at which Dune: Part Two cuts to credits feels as natural an endpoint as Part One. This is the conclusion of yet another definitive chapter in Paul’s journey, even as it immediately begins a new one. I can’t wait to see how Villaneuve pushes it further.

#dune #dune part 2 #timothee chalamet #zendaya #movie reviews #javier bardem #rebecca ferguson #josh brolin #austin butler

5 notes · View notes