#far cry 5 analysis

[afarcryfrommymain]

Ok actually I'm gonna continue this rant where everybody can see it. (Mostly focusing on the Heralds bc Joseph,,, could be his own post honestly but he's mentioned when its important.)

Another very VERY well-made part of the framing and body language and everything in cutscenes is how they convey who is in power in every single one.

Let's start with John. He has the least amount of cut scenes in the game but also is shown not in power in 2/3 (4 if you count the beginning of his boss as a separate one) of them. The framing of the first cutscene portrays him as in charge and the focus at first, but then the moment Joseph enters the scene hes shown to have much more control and John suddenly looks like when a child is sent to the principals office or is being scolded by their parents. And that feeling doesn't end when Joseph leaves, because despite him still by all counts having some form of power over you, you already have seen cracks in the mask, and hes suddenly much less intimidating. The second scene is of course all John and the control he can possess when left alone but again, I think a big reason he is seen as pathetic by the fan base because he was already shown early to act almost neutered by Joseph and that was most likely on purpose. See, Johns area of the game is overall the easiest, and it's the one that's hinted at to go do first because it's a low-level area. He is the weakest in-game, and they absolutely knew what they were doing making the first guy you're supposed to fight still intimidating by how off the rails he can be and how him being set off causes violent tendencies that are scary when you are vulnerable, as shown in the Bunker scene and the Falls End scene. The final one i talk about above is finally putting him in a place where he is vulnerable, and it frames it as such, and it shows his panic and desperation in the end.

(Side note, the second bunker scene, from what I remember is the only John scene you can really look all around in, and it makes sense because of course you would be looking for a way out in this situation)

Faiths scenes are a little weird and different because Faith's whole thing is making you think that you want this and that she's just a helpful guide. Nope! No control here shes just showing you all this cool stuff. And for that reason her cutscenes generally allow you to look around and the focus is on both her and the environment. The scene where she has you walk the path is obviously very whimsical in nature and its the "we aren't scary! If we were evil would bliss be so beautiful? Would i be so kind?" Of course we the player also feel almost creeped out by this, because we see the fake smile with too many teeth and know what happens if you stay in the bliss too long. Faith is definitely meant to be the 2nd area in the game, mid level fights, her cutscenes can be put off but not entirely avoided like johns, a greater sense of urgency, that sort of thing. And Faith herself is intimidating because you never know when she's going to show up and where. Half way through a quest? K now you're jumping off the statue. Just stepped out of the jail? You're being shown the end by Joseph. It keeps you on your toes. Of course you can put it off for a while which is something i did often in game. Her boss is also probably the most fucking wild just because the mind fuckery that was present in her cutscenes being used against you more aggressively than before. Faiths 3rd act breakdown is fun too because you suddenly hear her giving excuses and trying to garner pity (albeit while chucking magic at you and flying,, did I mention her boss fight is my favorite?? Its my favorite.) Her final cutscene is soft and she dies with a warning. "If you listen to him, he'll be right" its ominous and it leaves you confused. Isn't she on his side? Its a weird sensation that sticks for a while after her fight. Clearly something meant to come to mind at the final fight with Joseph.

(Side note for her: I did the "side effects" or "after effects" quest or whatever its called after I beat her boss and was finishing up the quests in that area and man was it WILD to hear her giggling after death,,, she made more of an impact than y'all give her credit for, this has been my daily "please talk about faith more" psa)

Every cutscene with Jacob, regardless of weather or not hes actually in charge somehow conveys that he is in control of the situation. Its obvious for most of them, him being free and walking around, carefully chosing his words and what the player sees constantly, even when Pratt tries to reveal his plans its too frantic to understand. His presence is always felt in the Whitetail Mountains and his section of the game is obviously the most desperate. Your focus is always on him. What he's doing, where he's going, what he's saying. And he knows. He makes every word matter. And he is always confident. Even to the end. Theres something to be said about how even in the Joseph cutscene of his area, who always fucking steals the show when he's around, we still have a portion of our attention on Jacob because both of them are an equal threat. His death cutscene is probably the best example of my point. Even when he's hacking up blood and bleeding out he still is confident. He adds to Faith's warning "you did everything he said you would" still trying to instill that helplessness he's been giving you as he dies but it feels more genuine. He dies sitting on a rock, Jacob is gone but it never really feels that way.

Ik that most of this is probably stuff everyone already knew but im a bitch for narrative framing and animation so I wanted to ramble

#far cry 5 #john seed #faith seed #jacob seed #far cry 5 analysis #im talking now #do i tag joseph???? #joseph seed #hes mentioned but not a focus rly #i made a readmore so yall dont have to like. scroll through a wall of text if you dont want to #lmao sorry for the essay i just had adhd and also need to take a break from world history homework #college rly do be kicking my ass

[inafieldofdaisies]

OCs Romance Chart | Saw this one from @nightbloodbix | Empty template under the cut

Tagging, @socially-awkward-skeleton @strangefable @strafethesesinners @josephslittledeputy @trench-rot @finding-comfort-in-rain @florbelles @corvosattano @jackiesarch @unholymilf @direwombat @adelaidedrubman @voidika @theelderhazelnut @onehornedbeast @marivenah @macs-babies @cassietrn @henbased @thesingularityseries @simplegenius042 @la-grosse-patate @g0dspeeed @wrathfulrook @carlosoliveiraa @shellibisshe @josephseedismyfather @kyber-infinitygems @dumbassdep and anyone that would like to do the tag <3

#shhh i'm still staring at Sabrina's hair in her icon <3 #but also laughing at Mer's answers... #oc: sabrina donovan #oc: mercedes “mercy” sibley #wip: in hope of tomorrow #romance chart #fc5 deputy #far cry 5 deputy #far cry 5 oc #myedits #fc5 ocs #character reference #character aesthetic #template #character template #oc tag #character analysis #ship dynamics

[swearingcactus]

Obscure Far Cry Promos and Content

I'm a big far cry fan, which means I have to make my own food in this economy. But sometimes I just want some ACTUAL canon or canon-ish or even just canon-adjacent content, y'know? It has gotten to the point I go into youtube rabbit holes or watch a remarkably below average hallmark movies for 5 minutes of an actor's screentime to hopefully hear Jason or Ajay or whoever talk. And so in these quests, I've found a couple obscure promos. Gonna compile them here for myself mostly :)

Far Cry 3

Far Cry 3 - The Voices of Insanity: Doctor Earnhardt //a live action video with Alec Earnhardt's VA

Far Cry 3 - The Voices of Insanity: Vaas //same thing but with Michael Mando

Hoyt Audition Far Cry 3 //the last part of "The Voices of Insanity" videos, couldn't find the one from Ubisoft's own account but someone else had posted it on youtube

Far Cry 3 for PS3: TV Spot

Far Cry 3 -- Island Survival Guide: Psychopaths, Drugs & Other Dangers // video narrated by Willis Huntley

Far Cry 3 -- The Savages: Vaas & Buck // this video shows a rare render of vaas with tataus on his arm!

Far Cry 3 | The Tribe: Citra & Dennis //this video has a deleted scene where Jason hallucinates the tatau snaking up his arm

Far Cry 3 -- The Tyrant: Hoyt

Far Cry 3 - Insane Edition // this is a promo done for a special edition for the game, Michael Mando probably couldn't shoot the promo himself and just voice acted, and so they used another actor and made it so the camera never sees Vaas's face.

^ There is also a survival guide titled Face Your Insanity written by post-Rook events Jason Brody as part of the Insane Edition.

Far Cry 3 | E3 2012 Step Into Insanity Trailer [NORTH AMERICA] // this has a few close-ups of Jason and Vaas switching places with each other

Far Cry 3 Interviews (via @lulu2992)

Far Cry 3 Tweets by Jeffrey Yohalem, the lead writer. (also compiled by @/lulu2992! Thanks again!)

Far Cry 4

Divya Kandala's Blog (archived on the Wayback Machine) // Divya Kandala is a fictional journalist who wrote a blog about her travels to Kyrat, her blog's basically world-building promo for FC4. You could also find the house she stayed at in Kyrat!

Far Cry 4 TV Commercial

Far Cry 4 | Kyrat Tuk Tuk Stories //this is the MOST we see ajay in third person in promo content

Far Cry 4 - CGI Trailer // this isn't exactly RARE but it took forever for me to find that clip of ajay's eyes reflecting from the kukri. plus he looks EXTREMELY caucasian which really doesn't help the rumors I've heard that they originally wanted Jason again as FC4's protag

Comedy Central Far Cry 4 Commercial feat Danny Pudi & Donald Glover

Far Cry 4 and Childish Gambino: The Collaboration | PS4, PS3 // a music video for Crawl by Childish Gambino done as a collab

Old Archive.Org link to the Far Cry 4 webpage that had a choose your own adventure campaign

^ and the youtube video to promote it

Far Cry 4 | Behind the Scene Trailer 1/3 [Europe] // developer vlogs when they visited Nepal and interviewed the ghurka that became base for Golden Path, you can see the village that resembles Banapur a lot!

Far Cry 4 Performance Capture Interview // you can see Janina Gavankar, Amita's actress doing some mocap in this

Janina Gavankar Talks Far Cry 4 - ^ and the interview with her after

World Gameplay Premiere - Walkthrough E3 2014 - Far Cry 4 // this was to showcase gameplay but they eventually took out this entire mission where you have to wingsuit to Ratu Gadhi (Yuma's fortress), which is a shame because it looked very nice.

Far Cry 5

i'll be honest, im not a fc5 girlie, so i dont usually do a lot of digging, and im pretty sure these are actually not obscure at all. but these are trailers i found that really blew it out of the park. the marketing team for 5 really went HAM

Far Cry 5: Teaser Trailer | Ubisoft //this has a peggie banging someone's head to a church bell rhythmically with the gorgeous view of Montana mountains as backdrop and i for one, find it hilarious

Far Cry 5 | The Sermon - Live Action Trailer

Far Cry 5 | The Baptism - Live Action Trailer //somebody once mentioned this one has Joseph looking like Trevor GTA and i have never quite known peace ever since. it really also shows the reality of how Joseph is actually just really Unwell, and lore that Joseph killed Pastor Jerome's daughter that never showed up in-game.

Far Cry 5: Anything Can Happen, Everything Will - Live Action TV Spot | Trailer // mixes live action and game CGI renders, pretty cool actually!

The Making of Far Cry 5 | Behind the Scenes of Ubisoft [Documentary]

Far Cry 6 Comics

not gonna put in FC6 stuff because they're actually very easy to find! lots of trailers and mocaps and interviews on youtube :) Far Cry 6 actually has a more obscure lore in their comics

Far Cry: Esperanza's Tears comic // this is a Juan-centric prequel comic that features a completely new country, lore about Far Cry universe's political landscape, and lots of cameos from 3-6's characters! very interesting read especially if you're a sucker for backstories like me

Far Cry: Rite of Passage comic // this is more popular as it features Anton telling Diego the backstories for 3-5's villains.

There is also a book titled The Official Far Cry Survival Guide written by a fictional character called Hunter Nash, who supposedly grew up with Hope County-level of a doomsday prepper dad and winds up as a journalist who travels to the locations of 3-6 and wrote how to survive each location accordingly. It's adorned with official artwork of the games and plenty of survival tips. Not much lore-wise, but cool nonetheless! it also fuels my co-workers au ideas but that's personal.

i have actually found stuff like a really old MTV show called Undressed with Gianpaolo Venuta where he uses his Jason voice for his character, and how Patrick Kwok-Choon, the new voice actor for Ajay does voice acting in Thomas the Train Engine and Paw Patrol, and an indie movie with Greg Bryk where he wears fun sunglasses like Joseph, but that's neither here nor there to the franchise, so eh. // i'll edit this post if i find more, so maybe check back sometimes!

#far cry #far cry analysis #far cry 3 #far cry 4 #far cry 5 #far cry 6

[seedofjoseph]

I made the mistake of going through the recent #Faith Seed posts, and now we all have to suffer for it.

I blame the lack of multifaceted female or femme antagonists for this, but why is it that we all have such a hard time doing away with the Madonna/Whore or Mary/Eve dycotomy? Why is it that we allow ourselves to peel back the layers of contradicting traits that a male antagonist gets wrapped in, but we have to grit our teeth to do the same with their female counterparts?

Hell, I'm still struggling with this myself, and more so in the case of Rachel who is supposed to embody this dycotomy, The Mother of the cult and the Serpent tempting anyone who enters the Garden. So I'm sympathetic to the limited charitability we give her, but am also aware we spoil the male antagonists with it.

Shit, it's easy to see how John lies to himself and the audience about his convictions, to see him hide his doubt from the older brother he so admires. Yet we choose to look the other way when Faith screams about fearing what that older man she is trying to get you to worship, the older man her life revolves around, is going to do to her?

Again, I believe that growing up with media filled with male characters and not enough female characters in different narrative roles is to blame, at least in part. And at least in my case.

#far cry 5 #faith seed #this is not so much literary analysis #as it is me talking myself out of learned behaviors #AKA talking TO myself

[cyb3rtarot]

What Messages are Coming Through in Your Dreams?

Disclaimer: tarot readings are not replacements for professional advice. Take what resonates; don’t force a reading to fit. This is just a look into some of the energies in your dreams, not a comprehensive reading of what all your dreams mean. I used a recolored Smith-Waite, Tarot of Mystical Moments, Zerner-Farber Tarot, Oracle of the Radiant Sun, the Chakra Oracle, and runes.

pile 1↝pile 2 pile 3↝pile 4

༻❁༺

Pile 1:

Cards: four of wands, the hermit, empress rx, flattery (Venus in Gemini, 3rd house)|| exaltation (Moon in Taurus, 2nd house), queen of swords sideways, sharing (queen of action), completion, page of pentacles rx, page of swords, Ehwaz rune

The Dreams: hi pile one! Your energy came through strongly so your dreams could be more intense and vivid right now. You could also be having more bad dreams. You may feel like you’re in another realm or some kind of fantasy world while sleeping. In these dreams you could feel little control over anything or like you’re a different person. Like you’re “you” but feeling the experience of someone else. This could include very strong emotions. For example, melancholy you don’t feel while awake. Your dreams could be lonely during this time; you may frequently end up by yourself, others are far away, or they turn on you (one scenario I’m seeing is getting ostracized at a party). You might also feel like you’re having similar dreams repeatedly. Some of you are flip-flopping between these deeper dreams and lighthearted ones. Despite the contents, some of you are using dreams and sleep as an escape or coping mechanism.

Themes that could be common in your dreams right now: the moon (especially full), night time, the beach/ocean, planets in the sky. Palm trees, masculine side characters (one recurring in particular), sports jerseys, crying, flowing robes, pregnancy (especially a sudden one), gas stations, corner/convenience stores, brown or brick buildings, a different country, gray clouds or white skies, eating snacks, being a side piece or cheated on, feeling unappreciated, being ostracized or abandoned, a new family, being lied to, real life conflicts or enemies, the dream starting good and turning bad

The Messages: your subconscious is processing a lot right now which is partly why your dreams seem fantastical and out of control. But your dreams are also reflecting conscious fear. There’s a sense of imprisonment in your own mind while awake and it continues in your dreams. Huge themes in your cards are fertility, birth, and abundance. For a chunk of you, this is literal as I was picking up on a pregnancy around 5-9 months. But in general, your dreams are portraying something coming into fruition or being birthed, like something you’ve wanted or worked really hard on for a long time. The cycle is almost complete, but at this last step there’s hesitancy on your end. There’s a split between people in this pile who are making big physical changes like moving, starting a family etc, versus people who have gone through a big internal transformation and are holding onto limiting beliefs (overlapping for many). Whatever developments are coming feel inevitable and time-based; I don’t think you’re “blocking” it. But I do feel like there's a lot of present joy you can partake in if only you will accept it. I am never encouraging you to not think or to do something that’s toxic for you, I am only encouraging you to find a healthy balance between your rational and emotional sides :] When you deny yourself comfort or joy hopefully it’s for a strong reason, not because you’re afraid to be happy. I do see a lot of you have done significant shadow and healing work already, and now you’re in a transitory period. There’s also highly personal signs in your dreams, some from your guides. Your dreams are showing you one half of a story or sentence. You’re being encouraged to fill the other half through your own analysis instead of accepting your dreams as the full picture. It’s important to be realistic with this; don’t immediately take the worst case scenario of your nightmares and say it must be real life lol

Extra Details: just went through an upsetting time, Brazil, dark hair, love interest from another culture, very bright blue eyes, disappointment in love, a brother energy or friend who’s like a brother, Japan, Portugal, conflict with friends/family/neighbors (all 3 at once for some), mermaids, weddings, photoshoots, 4444, fear of abandonment due to trauma. One or some of you experienced a miscarriage in the past and you may be projecting that trauma onto future hopes for a family. For others this is fear caused by something you really wanted falling through and an opportunity to try again. Experiencing healthy, loyal love after toxic past love. Creative projects. Travel delays. Visas. 90 day fiancé?

༻❁༺

Pile 2:

Cards: two of wands, king of pentacles, seven of pentacles, birth (Venus in Cancer, 4th house)|| five of cups rx, ten of pentacles rx, ace of cups rx, friendship (Moon in Cancer, 4th house), the world, Jera rune

The Dreams: hello pile two! Like pile one I see your dreams feeling lonely, though for you it does seem like there are people talking to you in them. These dreams could feel very nostalgic, melancholic, or empty, as if you’re in your own world. I’m also seeing disappointment—dreams where you are longing for something deeply. Dreams where you experience a taste of what you want in real life, and they make you feel worse when you wake up. You might not even get to enjoy those moments. They could feel aimless, like there’s no plot or point to them. I see scenes where people are talking to you, but it seems like both of you don’t really want to be there. Like everyone’s nihilistic or apathetic. The dreams could also be extremely beautiful but you don’t notice it at the time. You could dream about people and places you loved in your youth, even fictional ones. Some of you might feel like you’re playing a game or in a game in your dreams? If you felt drawn to pile one I encourage you to take a look!

Themes that could be common in your dreams right now: childhood home or town, driving down long roads, bright/pretty sunsets, the ocean/coast, small towns or villages, dreams centered on conversations, friends and love interests you don’t know in real life or from childhood, video games, something out of grasp, pregnancy, travel, expensive cars, walking down the street, everyone being unhappy, the countryside, feeling used, being rich, being in a relationship, the Sun as an odd color (like purple), young children

The Messages: you guys have an energy of mourning in two different ways. One, mourning for a part of yourself that was lost from your earlier youth, or something left behind. There might be a loss of innocence, wonder, or happiness; a natural self acceptance that no longer comes easy to you. On the other side of this, I see some of you have lost people who were important when you were younger. For some this is due to a passing, but for others the relationship came to a close. Whatever this perceived lack is, it weighs heavily and comes through your dreams in the form of beautiful but melancholic nostalgia. The good times are right there, but you can’t fully enjoy them. Dreams where people are unhappy, apathetic, or ticked off could reflect a falling out, feeling like you let someone down (including yourself), or that you can’t make amends. Your dreams are a reminder that it’s the natural progression of life for things to end and begin anew. This doesn’t lessen the burden, but as time keeps moving so do you. Grieve and feel your feelings, learn lessons, but remember there’s still life for you to enjoy. There are new things to be found. Try heavy-handed self-compassion and forgiveness. Though there’s a focus on what’s no longer there, there’s a sense of acceptance. A few of you have just come out of a heavy healing period and might be feeling things you haven't felt since childhood. Or, you may suddenly remember things from childhood.

Extra Details: 555, longing for a better life, RPG games (particularly JRPGs), racing or racing games, vintage, having lived with a friend or relative of similar age to you, having lived near water, feeling like the world is changing too much, periwinkle, a child passing (already happened. A cousin or sibling?), going to therapy or being a therapist, a falling out with multiple friends (I’m mostly getting two friends), feeling numb, lonely, a friend who always wears their hair in a ponytail, a masculine friend with dark, big hair and glasses, empty villages, Japan, regressing. I see a lack of adult presence in childhood. Growing up, you might’ve felt like you only had those few friends or cousins to depend on, even though you were too young to take care of each other.

༻❁༺

Pile 3:

Cards: Temperance, four of wands, the Empress rx, devotion (Saturn in libra, 7th house), consciousness rx, devotion, traveling, the outsider rx, new vision rx|| king of wands sideways, king of pentacles sideway, the emperor, the high priestess, the emperor rx, defense (Mars in Taurus, 2nd house), seven of wands rx, Tiwaz rune

The Dreams: hi pile three! I feel like you guys are not remembering dreams as much right now, or only remembering fragments. There are more nights where you feel like you didn’t dream. This is my pile that’s astral projecting at bed time, and this is part of why I picked up on less dreams (both purposeful and not. Some of you just started doing this). Whether through the astral or your dreams, you’re having adventures that are opposite your real life experience. I see you guys having dreams others may think scary—like being chased, but you’re just vibing. There’s a sense of being stuck, trapped, or stagnant in real life; there’s also a lack of understanding and denial about your desires. Your dreams are fulfilling repressed wants by sending you to any and everything you don’t do in real life. The subconscious aspect of your desires is partly why so many fantastical elements make their way into this other life. Many of you also like watching and reading speculative genres (particularly horror, sci-fi, and fantasy), and this is also why those elements are in your dreams. Your dreams seem like a means of escape and fun to balance your day and night. To combat feeling trapped, you could have dreams of running far away from a creature, or exploring somewhere beautiful. A specific part of this pile has dreams of being in romantic relationships, and while you may genuinely not want one right now, it could represent another desire such as socialization. Your day and night are actual opposites haha. This was strange but there was a strong pull between this pile and pile 4, I felt like some of you have friends that would be in pile 4 (or you may resonate with some details yourself if you feel drawn to it).

Themes that could be common in your dreams right now: night time/full moons, fantasy creatures and companions (I saw green goblins? And vampires), historical settings, castles, feeling creepy, eerie emptiness, bats, forests, villages or towns (especially empty ones), pine trees, green meadows and hills, bright flowers, butterflies, cabins, scary situations but not feeling scared, theaters or plays (red curtains?), places that look like fairytales, being attracted to a character in the dream (even the bad guys lol), people you know as background characters, real life events replaying with different outcomes

Messages: your dreams or astral travels are a reminder of your real life potential! You guys don’t always have to hold the fort down. I feel like you portray an easygoing attitude and convince yourself you’re just okay with whatever. There are many highly spiritual people in this group, and you may feel like physical life doesn’t matter as much because your spiritual life has the real depth. But the astral and dream world are not meant to replace the 3D world. Your capacity to have these experiences is proof that you have amazing things in you, and if you wish, you can seek amazement in the waking world too. It’s very much within your capacity! I also feel like some of you guys have a “duty,” like there’s a constant responsibility you shoulder (or that you’re assigned), and you feel like you should just accept it peacefully. Your sense of duty is wonderful, but please also have one towards yourself! A lot of you guys want to travel internationally and the main blockage is your own self limits.

Extra Details: Latino (specifically Mexican for a chunk of you), Eastern Europe, Germany, 414, Titanic (the movie? You might find it romantic), “hit the road,” Indigenous American, travel list, familial responsibility, dissatisfied with a job, straight brown or black hair (reaches top of back), big eyes, stressed but can’t tell under the numbness, going through the motions, feeling on the defense or like a side character in your own life, having a job to pay bills but not a career, wanting to run away, feeling like your spiritual skills are developing too fast, rubbing hands on face when stressed (I see someone standing in a hallway outside their boss’ office, rubbing their face and then carrying on), literally taking the trash out (during the night, or to a dumpster in an alley?), over-sacrificing oneself, court or legal matters (including working in law), believing in fairies, or astral travels involving fairies, fairy rings near ponds?

༻❁༺

Pile 4:

Cards: egotism (mars in leo, 5th house), eight of swords rx, ten of pentacles rx, the lovers rx,|| truthfulness (throat chakra), imagination (brow chakra), riches (saturn in capricorn, 10th house), fulfillment (saturn in sagittarius, 9th house), the fool, eight of wands, eight of pentacles, nine of pentacles, king of swords, the magician, Fehu rune

The Dreams [CW for creepiness]: hi pile four! First I’ll say there was a strong link between this pile and pile 3, so if you feel drawn to it maybe check it out! There are similarities with you two having dreams with fantastical creatures popping up, and having dreams that others would deem as nightmares. You might also only remember little fragments right now. However, I feel you guys out of all the piles are having the most actual nightmares. I saw dreams that started out nice and calm then suddenly flip. There could be random characters popping up out of nowhere that don’t match the dream at all, like clowns or mascots. You might also have a lot of dreams where you feel watched, or are being watched by something in the background. Dreams where you feel a strong need to escape; you might feel preyed upon, followed, or anxious. It mostly seems like any weird things in your dream just “linger” instead of actually harming you, though there might be the occasional attempt. There’s also a strong sense of nostalgia, but tainted? Like you can’t enjoy it because of whatever else is going on, or it’s a reminder of what’s been lost as you’ve grown up. These dreams feel like you’re often alone except for whatever is loitering around you. Or when there’s someone else there, it’s like they’re kind of flat? Like a memory being replayed. A lot of you guys could dream of your grandmother. You might have dreams that actually look like “dreamcore.”

Themes that could be common in your dreams right now: beautiful places (I’m seeing a village by a gigantic mountainside, very bright blue skies, fluffy white clouds), cozy homes/cabins, grandmacore, cooking or eating, bananas?, PB&J?, having extremely different dreams everyday or in one night, scary creatures just standing there, feeling like you have to fight or survive, friends or partners from years before, caves, grimace??, eyes (floating eyes?), shadows, jumpscares

The Messages: Your cards got me riled up! I feel like a good chunk of your life, maybe up until right now, has been very tumultuous. You had to hold on and just find strength to survive, and this caused you to repress a lot. Your dreams are calling you to face what you’ve repressed—your shadow—because you are quickly entering a completely different era. It feels like all the ways you’ve had to struggle and fight are going to start giving way to a new life filled with things that bring fulfillment or contentment. I’m not sure exactly what these blessings are but they spoke of freedom, abundance, and new opportunities. It did seem like these are blessings you’ll bring about by your own hand instead of completely unexpected ones. Despite how off-putting or strange your dreams may be, they are prompting you to resolve things from the past that would make the future difficult to appreciate. We all carry scars, but doing our best to heal them will allow us to create a more joyful existence. What are the things you’ve pushed deep down that have been begging to come out? I do feel like some of you have been manipulated into staying silent, maybe about the way you were treated and harmed, and this has created a stifled feeling. I don’t know your individual situation, but I greatly wish for you to find a space where you can safely and truthfully exist. If you feel you need the help of a professional to do healing work or to escape any dangerous situations please research what’s accessible to you!!

Extra Details [TW abuse mention]: swears a lot, childhood trauma or abuse (some of you are still in contact with harmful people from your childhood and this is influencing you), Central Europe or Belgium, very close to a grandmother (especially one who’s passed), blockages in throat energy (could have trouble speaking up for yourself, saying what you mean, stumbling on words, or you REALLY want to talk about something), toxic or abusive friends, having no one to support you, you might just want to scream, seeing sequential numbers (like 234) or 8 a lot, feeling pulled towards a career where you use your voice or express yourself (writer, singer, motivational speaker, artist, communications), absent parents, a great new job or financial opportunity, lots of astral projection and lucid dreaming in this pile but also physically moving and traveling (some of you could go look at places you want to travel to in the astral or dream realm lol, or some of you AP into space? Cool. I also see someone AP-ing or lucid dreaming somewhere with a lot of vegetation), environmental activism, your childhood home or town being renovated/changed, rectangular glasses (thin frame), major Capricorn or Saturn in chart. If you already felt drawn to pile 2, you may resonate with it also.

༻❁༺

#tarot #tarot reading #free tarot reading #pick a pile #pick a card #pac #pick a deck #channeled message #channeled reading #pick a number #pick a picture #pick a photo #collective reading #free tarot #intuitive reading #divination #dream interpretation #tarot cards #collective message #tarot reader

[emmcarstairs]

The Heroine's Journey: Lucy MacLean

“The feminine journey is a journey in which the hero gathers the courage to face death and endure the transformation toward being reborn as a complete being in charge of her own life.” — 45 Master Characters

In her book 45 Master Characters, Victoria Schmidt outlines the steps and phases in the Feminine Journey as seen in many traditional stories such as myths and fairy tales. Unlike The Hero’s Journey, which focuses on the external, The Heroine’s Journey is about inner exploration.

In the following analysis, I will examine Lucy MacLean’s journey so far in Fallout (2024). I believe it will be interesting to identify at what stage she is by the end of S1 which will give us an idea of what likely awaits her in S2.

Note: This analysis is written for fun. It is my own reading of the character and her journey. You’re welcome to have your own. Spoilers ahead!

Schmidt’s Heroine’s Journey has nine stages:

ACT 1 Containment:

1. The Illusion of the Perfect World

2. The Betrayal or Realisation

3. The Awakening or Preparing for the Journey

4. The Descent – Passing the Gates of Judgement

ACT 2 Transformation:

5. The Eye of the Storm

6. Death – All Is Lost

7. Support

ACT 3 Emergence:

8. Rebirth – The Moment of Truth

9. Full Circle – The Return to the Perfect World

The Illusion of Perfect World

ACT 1

2. The Betrayal or Realization

In the first episode, we meet Lucy content in Vault 33. We are shown a whole montage of her perfect life in her perfect shelter. It’s designed to protect her. Outside is dangerous but in her bubble, she is safe and sound. But is this good enough?

Despite her obvious naivety, we get a sense she is after something else. In her first scene, she applies for marriage, which is telling of her being on the threshold of adolescence and adulthood. Now, if marriage is really what she is after, or if it is something she relies on to fit in the community she lives in, is up for debate.

The thing is, the heroine knows deep down that her little world is not perfect. And she subconsciously seeks freedom so she can exercise her growth. Perhaps the prospect of marriage is the closest to freedom she has known in the vault. Or perhaps it is the thrill of meeting someone from outside her containment. In any case, she wants change; her shelter has turned into a cage.

Here comes the moment when Lucy’s perfect world is shattered. On her wedding night, right after the consummation of marriage (the symbolic passing to adulthood), she is betrayed by her husband. This is the so-called “inciting incident”. He turns out to be a raider from the surface. Now, not only is she betrayed by him personally, but she is betrayed by her idea of the outside world. He is her first conscious contact with the world outside the vault. And it is a far cry from what she has believed in.

Not only that but the danger has breached the walls of her shelter; she can’t ignore it. It turns out that her perfect world and the system she has lived in are broken. Her attempt at freedom ends with her husband’s hands around her neck. The history and ethics lessons have done little to prepare her for this. So a part of her begins to wonder what actually lies out there.

To top it off, her father, who is an Overseer and the biggest authority by her glass bubble’s standards, is drugged and taken hostage before her own eyes. She encounters the villain for the first time in the face of Moldaver. With her convictions shattered and her dad gone, she must make a choice.

3. The Awakening, or Preparing for the Journey

Lucy’s world is in ruins, metaphorically and literally. The others’ refusal to send a search party only reinforces the idea that her world has let her down. This is her awakening. She decides to take the active road and do something about it herself, hoping to rebuild what was lost.

From the story’s perspective, she has to find her dad. But as screenwriter Robertson-Dworet puts it: “As much as she leaves to find her father in the pilot, she also wants to fuckin' know what's out that door.” Moldaver also remarks in the final episode that Lucy’s curiosity greatly motivates her to leave the vault.

Given the raiders’ attack and with no established authority to prohibit her from doing so, she ventures to do just that. With the help of Norm and Chet, she gathers tools and prepares for the journey. What she isn’t aware of but will soon find out is that no material tools will help her with what’s waiting outside. She has yet to learn to trust herself and her qualities which will ultimately help her. It’s time for the trial by fire.

4. The Descent – Passing the Gates of Judgement

ACT 2

The descent may not be a literal one. In Lucy’s case, it’s ascent. She looks behind her as the door is closed and locked. There is no way back, only ahead. Often, the descent is about passing the gates of the Underworld. One of the first shots outside the vault shows us bones and a skull on the ground. The Wasteland is very much portrayed as the Underworld with its own set of rules.

From here on, the real journey begins. The heroine faces the consequences of her life-changing decision in the form of tests that will determine her worth. She might be advised to return to her perfect world, as Dr. Siggi Wilzig does after she lights the bonfire. After she refuses, he tells her that she will have to adapt and become a "different animal altogether," summarising the point of this stage of transformation in her journey. 

She will then try to use the tools she has at her disposal—literal and metaphorical—but they won’t work. With each encounter, she will lose weapons or belongings until she is left with nothing of the things she thought would help her. Think of the filtered water Lucy loses or how her dart doesn’t work against the Ghoul. She begins to look progressively worse as her jumpsuit gets dirtier and bloodier. She even loses her trigger finger. 

The heroine may also face societal prejudice. Lucy is stunned by people’s opinions about Vault dwellers and Vault ideals in general. She is being proven again and again that her sensibilities, HR manuals, and ethics don’t work in the Wastes. 

The heroine has to rely on her courage and instincts. She must let go of all control and surrender herself to the descent. After being stripped of everything, she must face her demons. Lucy strives to always do the right thing, but she needs to embrace the fact the fact that the right thing doesn’t always come in a neat little package. The world is more than right and wrong.

I believe the scene that best illustrates the first time Lucy actively trusts her instincts and by doing so, survives on her own, is Super Duper Mart. She uses threats, uses a makeshift weapon, holds a hostage (it’s a robot but still, it’s a big step for her), and most significantly, for the first time, murders another to ensure her own survival. Even though Martha had no humanity left, her murder is important in Lucy’s journey because her death becomes synonymous with doing the right thing, not for a cause or the greater good, but for Lucy herself. 

5. The Eye of the Storm

She emerges victorious with her bloodied face and tank top, and this is the most disheveled state in which we have seen her. By helping out the Ghoul, she is the victor not only in terms of survival but also in terms of morality. She shows him that she is morally superior to him. She’s successfully beaten her demons this time without losing sight of her golden rule. 

Still, it has taken a lot out of her to survive. The heroine feels weary, reminiscing about easier times. She seeks to find the familiar comfort she once had and may consequently settle for something she doesn’t really want. 

After this mini-climax, the heroine evaluates and comes to terms with what just happened. She concludes that she handled things well. Having survived the danger, she gains a false sense of security. In Lucy’s journey, this stage coincides with her meeting Max and their experience in Vault 4. 

Finally, Lucy finds a person she can trust. The world feels a tad bit better with someone by her side. At the same time, she dreams of going back to her own perfect little world. It’s so lucky that they end up in another vault!

While Max discovers the joys of living a simple life, it’s interesting to observe Lucy’s behavior. Although she feels safe for a moment, she starts noticing the people and things around her. She’s become more perceptive than before. Try as she might, she can’t go back to her old ways due to her experience on the surface. She wants to feel safe, she wants to sleep with Max; she wants life to be simple again. But she can’t help but look twice over her shoulder. She feels uneasy and grows suspicious of everything around her. It’s the newly found survivor in her screaming at her to get out. 

Eventually, Lucy learns that she has made the wrong assumptions about Vault 4 because of her ignorance and her raw instincts. They leave the vault unscathed, with Lucy fantasizing about a future with her and Max living together back in her perfect world. Soon they find the head but are forced to separate. Lucy gets the head, the kiss, and the promise that Max will find her in Vault 33. It looks like the journey is nearing its end. But it’s only the beginning. 

6. Death – All Is Lost

The heroine believes that her journey will soon be over, but it is time for her to face her biggest fear yet. Lucy delivers the head and finds her dad, thinking they can safely go back to how things were. Then, all of a sudden, her world is spun on its axis once more. 

Schmidt notes that few female protagonists make it past the stage of their “death”. Some of them die in the literal sense, some go back to their old lives defeated, and others fall into a spiral of depression. I believe this is Lucy’s final stage in S1. What will become of her in S2? Let’s speculate!

She learns about her mother’s fate and about what her father did to Shady Sands. And perhaps most jarring to her is that her father really believes that he���s done the right thing by dropping a bomb over a thriving city. Lucy’s role model turns out to be a fraud. The ideals she has lived and fought for, too. And it’s Moldaver, the villain, who seems to be on the right side of the story, despite her murdering her fellow people. It looks like the world isn’t simply divided into right and wrong after all.

This is the ultimate betrayal that leaves the heroine’s thoughts in inner turmoil. She feels humiliated and confused. All this time, she’s lived in a perfectly constructed lie. The events build up to her mercy killing her own mother, which is exactly what the Ghoul did to Roger in front of her. Purnell says: "She's learned from him. She has turned into him." She faces the death of her old self.

7. Support

ACT 3 Emergence:

The heroine’s journey is about building bridges between the individual and the group. Her inner awakening leads to her being more open to the help of others and helping them in turn. She isn’t afraid of betrayal anymore because, at the end of the day, she has herself.

In Lucy’s final scenes in S1, we actually see the beginning of this stage with the Ghoul offering her to travel with him and find out more about the past. She leaves Max behind and goes with the Ghoul. According to Schmidt, it’s during this stage that the protagonist will accept herself as she is and go on to share her knowledge with others. She will define her own world without an external authority. Her journey of self-discovery will guide the others around her to make amends with their own problems. 

We have already seen the Ghoul’s influence on Lucy. In S2, I believe we’ll see how Lucy affects the Ghoul for the better by balancing his sharp edges. But before that, she will need his help to get herself up on her feet so that she can be reborn and come full circle in a new perfect world.

Thanks for reading and I'd love to hear your thoughts!

#lucy maclean #cooper howard #maximus fallout #fallout #fallout prime #vaultghoul #fallout spoilers #fallout meta

[redrocketpanda]

From the person who brought you unhinged JJK S2 fish discourse, please accept my humble new offering: me holding up images whilst screaming ferally at you: did ya see?! did ya see what they did with the colour symbolism in episode 4 and what it Means?! Well dw cause I'm here to serve you a heinously long meta-analysis regardless. This episode has completely undone me and I need to give you a blow by blow account of why

I want to go in depth about the final scene of e4 bc that's really what set the cogs whirring in my mind, but let's start with the following image bc it exemplifies everything, not just in terms of the colour symbolism but of the heartbreaking changing relationship of stsg

Throughout the previous episodes and opening/credits of S2 we have been made to associate the colour blue + lightness with Gojo and the colour red + darkness with Geto. The sparkling blue eyes and stark white hair of Gojo, his Limitless: Blue technique, the white fish, the way he is often shown standing/walking in the light, turned to face Geto versus the black hair + dark eyes of Geto, the black fish, shown standing/walking in the shadows, turned away from Gojo (etc etc)

Yet the final scene of e4 flips this on its head and what this Means is, quite frankly, soul destroying

We join Geto as he walks along a dark, narrow corridor flooded with red light until he reaches heavy doors. He's confronted with his own image, reflecting back at him, before using both hands to prise open the door. When he steps into the bright white light of a high-ceilinged room, his face falls as Gojo emerges like a messianic figure from the applauding crowd, carrying the shrouded corpse of Riko (side note: god I have a lot of thoughts on Gojo as a messianic figure but I'll save that for another time)

Gojo approaches Geto with his head bowed (whereas usually he is always looking up at Geto) and the moment Geto lays eyes on Gojo he knows something is wrong (similarly to Toji earlier in the episode). He barely seems to recognise Gojo and though Gojo's eyes still sparkle with their bright blue infinity, his expression is dull and lifeless. Geto asks disbelievingly in a way that stabs me right through the heart: "Satoru. Is that you?"

At the start of the conversation, the camera pans from Gojo on the left to Geto on the right and is shot from below in a way that emphasises the growing cavernous expanse between them

But it's what happens in the following moments that's really the killer

Gojo states that he fucked up and that everything that has happened is therefore his fault. Geto tells Gojo "let's head back" (I read this both as: let's head back home and as an indication that Geto wants things to go back to how they were). The camera then cuts to Gojo's mouth as he asks flatly - "Suguru, should we kill these guys?" - and then zooms out as he continues - "The way I feel right now, I doubt I'd feel anything about it." The camera zooms out, showing Gojo standing in front of the applauding crowd, holding Riko's body and continues to draw back, making Gojo seem as if he's getting further and further away from Geto, as well as from us, whilst his eyes glow ethereally

I want to do a separate post about what happens with Geto, Gojo + their relationship in episode 5 but I do also want to point out here: this is the scene that Geto experiences invasive flashbacks of in the following ep. It's the moment that he realizes that he's lost Gojo, that Gojo is now fundamentally different in a way that Geto doesn't recognise or understand, that Gojo is far beyond his reach

As Gojo walks past a motionless Geto, away from the light and into the darkness, we cut to Geto's downcast eyes, pupils dilating wildly as though he's in shock/about to cry (this harkens back to the fish, the way that Geto can no longer bear to look at the white fish as it swims past). We are then left with Geto standing in the bright blue-white light telling Gojo that there's "no point" in killing them, whilst Gojo replies in the darkened, red corridor "does there really need to be any point to it?"

Gojo is a broken man, a complete shell of who he once was and this scene demonstrates Gojo's transition as he turns away from Geto. The colour symbolism, though, is present throughout the earlier parts of the episode and beautifully illustrates how we arrive at this exact moment (as well lays the foundations for what comes next)

Let's return to our blue/red colour theory bc there's a lot going on here during this episode!

E4 starts on a banger: we're cruelly given a recap of Toji telling Geto that he killed Gojo and then within the space of about 7 minutes, Geto too has been killed. It's tragic and sad and none of us want to be reminded of it but I'm going to (srysrysry) because hey, check out what's going on. Notice the cool blue tint of Geto's "death" versus the vivid red of Gojo's? (a horrible eg I know but you should've heard my scream when I caught onto it)

And here's another cool example that had me ajdjsksjdk bc ofc I clocked Gojo using his red technique, but look at the blue glow around Geto's hand?! I don't recall seeing it being used for Geto before (correct me if I'm wrong) so it's interesting to see it being used here, plus us seeing Gojo using Red properly for the first time

Let's just pause here for a moment bc this is a hugely important moment for Gojo's character arc and the fight with Toji gives us an incredible colour theory moment

In the previous episodes, we've seen Gojo being able to easily use his Limitless Blue technique but remember how, in E2 Gojo tried to use Red and hilariously fucks it up announcing "I failed" and resorts to punching the bad guy instead? It isn't until this episode, after Gojo has used reverse cursed technique whilst on the verge of death to heal himself (idk if heal is the right word) that he is able to learn to use Cursed Technique Reversal: Red

We have this really beautiful animation sequence during Gojo's fight with Toji. A blue and a red droplet swirl around each other and then splash together to reveal a swirling rotation of blue and red rippling water. The colours converge, red droplet slipping into blue water, blue droplet into red. The droplets come together to form the shining purple infinity plucked between Gojo's fingers, granting him the "Hollow Purple" technique that allows him to blow a hole through Toji.

Gojo explains:

"Reverse cursed technique uses negative energy. While it can enhance the body, it can't regenerate it. Multiply that negative energy against itself to create positive energy... Take the amplified and the reversal, then smash together those two different expressions of infinity to create and push out imaginary mass."

Gojo + Geto, amplified + reversal = two different expressions of infinity -> create / push out

Toji "killing" Gojo was the moment that set Gojo on a different path, which allowed him to evolve beyond belief and causes him to ascend to, what he believes is, divinity. He takes the basics of Blue and Red (primary colours; Gojo and Geto) and mixes them together to create something new, something transcendent, something that surpasses who he (and Geto) were before. He becomes an unstoppable power that far surpasses everyone else, and this is what Geto recognizes: that Gojo has evolved without him (which we know from E5 has huge consequences for Geto's thinking)

And so now, finally, let us return to Geto at the end of E4

After Gojo asks Geto "does there really need to be any point to it?" (killing), the camera flashes quickly between the applauding audience and Geto's empty hand, which he then clenches into a tight fist. He raises his downcast eyes to look forwards (resolutely, looking into the future) and responds: "it's very important there is..."

We're left with the image of Gojo standing on a blue floor, surrounded by the clapping crowd. The floor wavers as an all consuming darkness pulses beneath him, locating Geto as it's central point as it surges out towards the crowd "...especially for a jujutsu sorcerer."

We're reminded of the conversation where Geto and Gojo almost come to blows whilst playing basketball in E1. Geto's argument that jujutsu sorcerers exist to protect non-jujutsu sorcerers whilst Gojo complains about having to protect "the weak" + patronisingly tells Geto to get off of his moral high horse.

Now we witness the extent of Gojo's apathy in action, as he pulls away from everything and everyone, and the swinging of Geto's moral compass from protection to genocide as he's left behind in the ruins of all that once was, of everything and everyone that he loved

#goddddd this gave me brain rot for about 6 hours?! #idk if people will appreciate it as much as fish discourse but FUCK I needed to just get it out of my system bc it's driving me insane???? #these two are making me + a good chunk of the internet unwell but i'm glad we can all be unwell together #also I have A LOT more to say about gojo geto + stsg more generally so I might continue to inflict long-winded meta analysis onto tumblr #like BOY do I have a bunch of shit I need to say about e5 so I guess that'll be another 5-6 hours of my life spent on that #rrp analysis #stsg #satosugu #gojo #gojo satoru #geto suguru #jjk colour theory #jjk fish discourse #geto #jjk #jjk season 2 #jjk s2 #jjk s2 e4 #jujutsu kaisen season 2 spoilers #jujutsu kaisen season 2 #jujutsu kaisen

[symphonybracket]

YouTube links: Mahler 2, Tchaikovsky 6

Comments:

Mahler 2

Have you ever wanted to feel like you're going to shake apart into a billion pieces if someone so much as looks at you. That's how I feel after listening to this beast. This symphony changed my life for real. It's famous for it's ending and for good reason!! It truly feels like your soul is getting blown up and steamrolled. Listening to it live was like getting peeled by god. It calls for 10 horns which is how you know it's going to fuck severely. It comes in 5 movements: good lord oh my god, hehe teehee, oh so that's why they call it the death shriek, crying on the floor for 5 minutes, and I Have Died. The part known as the "Death Shriek" is shown below! And if you're interested in learning more about the symphony, here's my favorite analysis website!

It's an everything in the universe piece and when I sang in the choir for it I think I actually ascended to a higher plane of existence for 15 minutes

I came across (imo) a good video giving a summarised background of Mahler 2, it’s called ‘Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 2: Explained in 3 Minutes’ by orchestra of the music makers on YouTube

There is also a piano arrangement!

Tchaikovsky 6

Everyone bangs on about the 4th movement but it's the 3rd movement that really hits

tchaik 6 is what i would listen to if i had an hour to live

the 5/4 movement of the tchaik lives rent free in my mind and i think about it every day

It’s beyond gorgeous. The melodies soar, the orchestra swells, and you just need to lie down for a while after listening to it. It’s Romanticism at its zenith. You want to weep and sigh, and it’s impossible to listen to it without literally feeling something.

Symphony No. 6, titled “Pathétique”, was Tchaikovsky’s final symphony. It is an intensely emotional piece, and to many scholars demonstrates the emotional turmoil that characterized much of Tchaikovsky’s life. He died about a week after its premiere, a fact which leads many scholars to debate about whether the content of the piece itself reflects the possibility that he may have committed suicide. The title itself is often translated to mean “impassioned suffering”, although this was most likely a later addition by Modest and not actually part of Tchaikovsky’s vision. Given these facts, many scholars interpret this piece to be about death and suffering. However, this piece can also be seen to represent life and all its contrasting moments. This interpretation is more holistic and inclusive of all of the moments captured in this piece, and also serves to break down the common narrative of Tchaikovsky as a tragic figure.

More comments about Tchaikovsky 6 below the cut (length warning):

Scholarship surrounding Tchaikovsky’s music tends to focus heavily on the ways his confliction over his homoerotic desires appears in his writing. However, his personal letters reveal a much more balanced understanding of himself that goes beyond the common narrative. In one letter written to Modest describing a new relationship with another man, he writes: “I awoke today with a feeling of unknown happiness and with a complete absence of that emotional sobriety that used to make me repent in the morning for having gone too far the day before.” Many of the letters he wrote regarding his relationships demonstrate no shame and no anguish beyond what can be expected of a man living in a homophobic society. It is important to take this information into account when listening to a piece such as this one that has been discussed so frequently, and to understand it beyond the turmoil and strife that it is seen to represent. Like many of Tchaikovsky’s works, this symphony displays a range of human emotions. It is not only representative of tragedy and “impassioned suffering”; it is a depiction of what it is like to live. It is also interesting to note that this piece is used as a signifier of queer desire in the novel "Maurice" by E.M. Forster, a novel also notable for its radical portrayal of a queer man who gets a happy ending. Much to think about there.

The first movement begins with a lone bassoon soloist playing a plaintive minor melody, which later comes back in the strings. As the movement progresses, it grows in intensity and texture. More instruments are added, and the music becomes more frantic, building and building towards the dramatic trumpet fanfare. Throughout this piece, Tchaikovsky continues to make significant use of contrasting dynamics and melodies, reflecting the emotions he hopes to convey through the music. Dramatic, tumultuous sections are interspersed with pastoral woodwind melodies, and the angry brass fanfares give way to a quiet ending.

The second movement is reminiscent of a waltz, and uses the strings and woodwinds more than the brass to achieve its floating melodies. The dynamics ebb and flow to build tension, but this movement never reaches the same levels of anguish that the previous movement does. Tchaikovsky makes use of pizzicato in the strings to convey a lighter, more cheerful mood, and features the upper woodwinds prominently. He also repeats themes frequently, giving the audience something familiar to listen out for as the movement progresses.

The third movement begins with frantic energy in the strings and woodwinds. As more instruments join the rush of music, the underlying eight note accompaniment does not let up, continuing the vivacious beginning through the whole movement. Instruments pass the melodies between each other and engage in conversations across the orchestra. Like the first movement, the brass play a prominent role in creating dramatic climaxes in the music, as well as supporting the march-like conclusion. Conductor Myung-Whun Chung describes the deceptively dramatic ending as, “one of the greatest, most thrilling, but most empty of victories in musical history,” observing that this movement has the energetic finality of a final movement. The reversal of having the true finale be a slower movement represents a shift away from the “Beethovian model of light over darkness” common in most other symphonies of this time period.

As mentioned before, ending on a movement with a slow tempo was a significant shift away from the standard of the time. This innovation inspired many other future composers to use the same technique, most notably Mahler in his Ninth Symphony. The quiet beginning builds up towards a chaotic rush of fast runs throughout the orchestra, only to stop abruptly and continue in halting, cautious bursts of melody. The movement continues with this cycle of rushing up to a climax and backing away as the movement progresses. Tchaikovsky highlights the horns in this movement, giving them both angry, blaring notes which cut through the string melodies and the flowing, lyrical lines that are passed throughout the orchestra. As the piece ends, the instruments fall away until all that is left are steady repeated notes in the basses, bringing this lament of a movement to an understated close.

#Spotify #mahler #tchaikovsky #round 4

[queerxqueen]

what are your gut feelings about canon byler in season 5?

oooooof okay these are my gut feelings, not getting into analysis so much as just speculating for funsies:

i'm very much expecting a return to mike's pov and us getting more understanding of his headspace and character, and i kind of think the development of byler hinges on that

like every other byler, i expect the painting to be crucial to byler getting together. (i have a messy draft of an analysis of the painting and how it parallels to benverly and the poem in it chapter 2 and how that informs my expectations of the painting's role in s5. i will... get around to finishing that at some point.)

as much as i'd love to see established byler, i doubt we will see them get together before the third act of the season, probably in the last 2-3 episodes. we might see a flash-forward epilogue at the end where we see them as an established couple, but that's as optimistic as i can get on that front.

that said, i do think their first kiss will be show-stoppingly awesome, and i do think they will have some delightful moments of romantic relationship development throughout the season. i'm not expecting heartstopper vibes or anything, but a few good moments like jancy and lumax have had (or any of the byler heart to hearts in s4, for that matter.)

as far as popular theories, i most subscribe to lettergate (mike has one or more unsent letters to will, signed, love mike) and birthdaygate (everyone forgot will's birthday on the day of rinkomania, it's not just a production error, and will be plot relevant)

i don't think we'll see full-blown evil will but i do think we'll see him tempted to the dark side in a classic luke skywalker kind of way, where ultimately his love of his friends will keep him grounded and make him not just paralleled to henry but a proper foil.

last: i need mike wheeler to cry and have a breakdown :))))) this is very important to me.

thanks for the ask, anon!!!!

#byler #stranger things #stranger things 5 #st5 #st5 speculation #will byers #mike wheeler #mike wheeler is gay #anon #answered

[jacobs-judge]

✦ The Subtle Design of Joseph Seed ✦

•••

•••

I’ve been playing Far Cry 5 since 2019, I love this game and can honestly recite half of the dialogue by memory at this point��� but how is it that I never clocked a specific design choice of Joseph’s?

Specifically that he wears an inverted version of a Priest’s Collar and Shirt?

•••

•••

Visually it serves as a way to distinguish himself from Catholic priests, as we know The Project at Eden’s Gate doesn’t follow a distinct religion - it’s simply grasping at different areas of Abrahamic faiths - so I doubt he’d want to seem like an ‘ordinary’ Clergy member.

It also separates The Project and Joseph from the only other Clergyman in the game, Pastor Jerome Jeffries. Joseph is the clear visual, spiritual and physical opposite of Jerome - which further distances Eden’s Gate from the usual Christian-based religious narrative and teachings.

It sets up a narrative of A Father vs The Father, Clergyman vs Prophet and it’s done through subtle design differences and obvious religious differences.

•••

[This part may be a stretch, but stick it out!]

You can also make the connection that Joseph wearing an inverted version of a Catholic garment is a visual representation of corruption in the church.

The white collar, specifically the white part is most likely linked to purity and how a Priest is one of God’s holiest followers.

An inversion of that, to have the collar suddenly turn to black, could represent corruption and sin.

The white collar hidden in a black shirt could represent purity shining through the cloak of shadow and sin, something that almost everyone houses inside of them.

Whereas a black collar hidden in a white shirt could represent sin being cloaked and shielded behind the guise of purity, luring wayward souls into believing their sins will be cleansed - when in reality they’re simply being hidden behind a superficial mask of purity.

•••

[I’ve probably given Ubisoft a little too much credit here, but this analysis wouldn’t leave my head - so I’m burdening you with it!

Enjoy my reawakened Far Cry 5 hyperfixation and coffee-fuelled design theory!]

#far cry 5 #fc5 #joseph seed #jacob seed #faith seed #john seed

[dreamsontheirway]

Mean Punch | S.R.

Summary: reader gets emotional and angry during their first case and spencer is there for her Warnings: punching a wall, blood Word Count: 1k

Navigation

Join Taglist

The summer air of California was so humid it seemed to press against your flesh firmly, suffocating you. You and the team were on a case, your first case, you might add, and the tension in your body was high.

You had just started at the Behavioral Analysis Unit, after finishing your training at the academy. You started dating Spencer Reid shortly after you accepted the job, and the team still didn't know about it.

You felt guilty not telling them, especially since you and Spencer had initially met while you were still completing your training. There just never seemed to be a good enough time to bring it up.

Your hands shook slightly as you flipped through the file containing your case notes. Your first case was going to be a really difficult one. It involved missing children, and you were dreading attending the crime scene and the morgue.

Spencer had warned you about these cases; he told you to keep a level head and process them in your own time. Nothing could've prepared you for the crime scene; a little boy's bedroom caked in blood. A stuffed animal, a bear, lay on the floor disheveled and dirty.

You felt tears rise in your eyes, and your cheeks started to grow red. Most people respond to traumatic situations with crying, but it was different for you. You got angry.

You had done a decent job so far of controlling the rage that was bubbling in your core, but it all seemed to fly out the window when you got to the morgue.

A young boy, no older than 5 lay on the cold metal. You thought to yourself how he should be cuddled up with that stuffed bear. The sight of the stab wounds that trailed up his torso caused bile to creep up your throat, threatening to erupt.

"Excuse me," you croaked out.

Time seemed to move in slow motion as you carried yourself towards the back exit. You could hear Spencer faintly calling your name, but you continued. You threw the door open so hard that it crashed against the concrete wall with enough force to cause vibrations.

You bent over then, heaving. Nothing came out, but tears stung your eyes from the pressure.

You felt heat travel from your stomach up to your head.

How could someone do this to a child? How can any of these killers do this to anyone?

Your eyes dried up then, and you succumbed to the rage that seemed to consume every cell in your body.

You yelled, a strangled sound, and kicked the trash can that sat innocently in the back alleyway. It flew, smashing against the wall opposite to it.

"Y/N!" Spencer's voice began getting closer as he was approaching the exit.

Your head felt so hot you thought it might explode. You wailed again, and against your better judgement, your fist collided with the concrete wall.

You realized then that you felt no pain. So you did it again, pretending the wall was the sick bastard that had done this to a five year old.

"Y/N, stop! Stop it!"

Large hands wrapped around you, yanking you away from the wall and into a warm embrace.

"No! Stop!" You screamed, although you could hardly hear yourself over the pounding in your head and the ringing in your ears.

"It's okay, it's okay," Spencer's voice cooed. "I need you to take deep breaths."

You struggled against him, arms and legs flailing. Your surroundings were blurred; all you saw was red.

"Y/N, please, I need you to stop."

Spencer's hand stroked the hair away from your face. The continuous motion began to calm you down, but your hands still shook rapidly. He guided you to slowly sit on the ground, you between his legs.

"That's it, just breathe."

Your body slumped against his, and the throbbing sensation from your knuckles finally caught up to you.

"Ow," you muttered, peering at your blood covered knuckles.

"Jesus Christ, Y/N. You scared the shit out of me."

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me, I," you trailed off.

"This is a really hard case, love. Especially for your first one. I'm so sorry."

Tears pricked your eyes at his remark, the feeling of validation spreading in your chest.

Spencer noticed, and held you closer to him, planting a small kiss atop your head.

He grabbed your hand then, inspecting your knuckles. He pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and began dabbing at your damaged hands.

"Please don't ever do this again," Spencer spoke, his eyes filled with anguish and defeat. "I hate seeing you hurt."

You nodded, leaning into him.

"I already worry about you enough now being on the team. I don't need you hurting yourself, too."

Spencer's words had a hint of humor to them, and you smiled into his chest.

"I know," you affirmed, sniffling.

You were interrupted by another voice chiming in.

"Uhm," Derek Morgan spoke. "Is everything okay out here?"

Morgan took in the information in front of him. Spencer cradling your shaking form, his hands working his handkerchief against your bloody knuckles.

You expected Spencer to flinch away from you, the threat of the team finding out about your relationship hanging in the air. But he didn't. Spencer merely continued to delicately dab at your knuckles with the soft cotton cloth.

"Everything's okay," Spencer spoke quickly.

"Sorry Morgan, I just had," you paused, thinking, "a bit of a breakdown."

Morgan chuckled, squatting down next to the both of you.

"It happens to the best of us. It shows you care. That, and you've got a mean punch."

You smiled at him, and he shot a wink at Spencer before leaving the two of you alone once again. You were sure Morgan would go tell the rest of the team what he had seen, but you didn't really care anymore.

“He’s right,” Spencer remarked.

You looked at him, a look of confusion on your face.

“You do have a mean punch.”

-----

Navigation

Join Taglist

CM Taglist: @cynbx @random000000 @lockwoods-coat-and-reids-vests @miralgr @xoyouronlyamorrxo

#spencer reid imagine #criminal minds imagine #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer criminal minds #spencer reid #spencer reid angst #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid flangst #spencer reid hurt/comfort #spencer reid criminal minds #spencer reid scenario #criminal minds fanfic #spencer reid x fem!reader smut #spencer reid x fanfiction #criminal minds fanfiction #angst criminal minds #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid one shot #spencer reid request

[novantinuum]

Pink Onyx AU- An Analysis and Theory Post, Part 3

[Part 1] | [Part 2] | [Part 3- You are here!] | [Part 4] | [Part 5]

~

Welcome once again! This is part 3 of my analysis series on the excellent @pink-onyx-au comic made by @ceephorsshitshow. If you haven’t already, please check out the first and second parts- linked above- for more information on what these posts are all about. A lot of this analysis will build on what came previously.

So without further adieu- 

__

Question Four: What is it that makes Onyx finally front as themself? What’s unifying Steven and Jasper, here?

For the whole first six episodes of this comic, Onyx does not have any clear personality of their own- merely existing as a vessel for Steven and Jasper to continuously wrestle for control over. (Like, literally- Steven controls one half of their limbs, and Jasper the other.) 

In episode seven, however, this paradigm changes in a very dramatic way.

(Episode 7: Page 12)

Jasper is in the midst of trying to split Onyx by dropping a rock on them when the two realize that they’re crying… but that neither of them are consciously doing so.

(Episode 7: Page 13)

And then it finally happens.

(Episode 7: Page 14)

Take a good, nice look at that speech bubble. For the first time in this whole comic, it’s solid. It’s Onyx’s pink.

After multiple nights of these two taking this fusion for a spin as a mere vessel for their whims, the fusion’s unique sense of self has finally surfaced.

(Episode 7: Page 15)

And in one of the most stunning pages of the comic thus far, what they surface to is this haunting realization- the hollow understanding that they don’t truly want to be themself.

As I hinted towards in the last post, I think it’s vitally important to note the reappearance of the Gem battlefield in this page. It’s the same one we saw in the dream Onyx experienced. Not only that, but I’m fascinated by the cracking pink at the bottom of the wedge with Onyx… it appears very much like the bottom of a cracking diamond, and has that familiar oozing pink dripping from it. These two elements featured together alongside the splitting of Onyx as they realize they “don’t want to be me” paint a very clear picture of what binds everyone together in this fusion.

Everyone here- Jasper, Steven as a whole, and even his component parts- are highly dissatisfied with who they’ve become and the choices they’ve made in the past. Jasper doesn’t wish to be “herself-” at least, not as she is now. Neither does Steven. Neither did Rose, for that instance… with whatever out-of-context whispers of his mother’s memory still exists within his gemstone. Hell, Rose didn’t want to be herself so much that she outright “shattered” the old image of herself to become someone entirely new. That’s what I believe the cracking pink design in this panel represents.

Now, slight tangent… one of the biggest questions I had when I started this comic is what Jasper might stand to gain from a fusion with Steven- and I think the finer details of this particular page give us very clear hints as to what truths she might ultimately face.

(Episode 1: Page 9)

Early on into this storyline, Jasper admits that she does not understand anything Pink Diamond or Steven has done up unto this point. She does not have any context for why Rose made the decisions she has, and thus all her actions as a Diamond seem erratic and unreasonable.

(Episode 2: Page 10)

Specifically, she does not understand why Pink Diamond couldn’t manage to commit to any of the responsibilities she was given. To Jasper, every single choice Pink/Rose made was filled with immense hypocrisy. Wholly unfulfilled. 

(Episode 8: Page 9)

Thus, by the end of this, I think one of the big revelations Jasper is going to face will be what makes her and Pink Diamond irrefutably similar. Namely, the self loathing they both intensely felt.

The imagery of that shattering pink wedge at the bottom of Onyx’s frame, flanked by scenes of desolate battlefields right after the corruption blast are just oozing with the fleeting memory of Rose’s self loathing, to me. It is something she held intensely in common with all of them.

Except now… unlike her, who kept her self loathing tightly bottled up… Steven and Jasper are in a position where they just might be able to work out some of their difficult emotions together, as a pair. Because through fusion, mayhaps they’ll grow to understand that they aren’t so different than they originally thought. 

Perhaps through fusion… they’ll realize- and Onyx, too- that they aren’t alone in the way they feel at all.

__

Question Five: Is it possible that both Steven AND Jasper have a point?

The night after Onyx finally surfaces, Steven and Jasper reconvene in the woods.

In the conversation that follows, the two of them showcase very polarizing stances about the nature of fusion as a whole.

(Episode 8: Page 2)

Essentially, Steven believes that their fusion has free will and that it’s Onyx who is either splitting them apart or causing them to not be able to split whatsoever. He paints a comparison between their situation and what he’s witnessed with Sugilite- a fusion Gem who wanted to exist so badly that she essentially forced Garnet and Amethyst to remain fused even when they were entirely worn out from it.

He does briefly touch on the idea of both him and Jasper subconsciously causing it, but when he later clarifies his ideas, his focus swerves more towards Onyx’s role in the matter as a wholly unique third party.

(Episode 8: Page 3)

The thought he heard, I imagine, is Onyx’s “I don’t want to be me?” realization.

(A thought that- while they all share in the sentiment- I doubt either Steven or Jasper have acknowledged on their own, yet.)

(Episode 8: Page 3)

Meanwhile, Jasper’s opinion is that this is complete bunk, and that a fusion is nothing more than the combined whims of the individuals who form it. She sees fusion as something to conquer, an ability to wield. A body to drive.

(Episode 8: Page 5)

Jasper’s stance may seem a bit harsh and narrow-minded- given what we the audience know about fusion’s full nature beyond Homeworld’s rhetoric- but I do think her insistence that fusion is just “the combined power and wills of the Gem making them” brings up an interesting point about how fusion actually works, one that Steven is trying to brush over a little here. 

Not only- once stability is reached- is Onyx their own person with their own wants and feelings, but the very person they ARE is strongly influenced by the people who combine to form them and who THEY are. There’s a damn lot about a fusion’s actions and personality that can be traced back to their components, basically. Jasper is half right. 

Like, look at Garnet- before her existence as a fusion was revealed to Steven, she acted rather aloof and distant with him… a far cry from the spirited, openly affectionate, confident person she becomes by the end of the show. 

In my mind a large part of this can be traced back to what we learn in the s4 episode “Three Gems and a Baby,” where we see Garnet momentarily split in front of baby Steven. Steven is distraught about this, bursting into tears- and while one can’t blame the poor little guy (object permanence issues ahah), I think it brings up old traumas for Ruby and Sapphire. Traumas of rejection… of Homeworld Gems not understanding the point of fusion for them at all, of Gems being scared of them. Thus, Garnet becoming a bit more guarded around Steven before this very important facet of her identity is revealed would make sense to me- it all echoes back to what insecurities and fears Ruby and Sapphire are bringing into this fusion.

So, moving back to this episode of the comic, Steven wants to believe that it’s specifically Onyx who is causing their fusion issues because it relieves him of his duty to look into himself and analyze his own problems. (He doesn’t want to think about himself, because he often doesn’t want to BE himself.)

And Jasper isn’t willing to see Onyx as their own person because she’s too afraid of getting attached to yet another fusion who in her mind- once Steven gets the answers he came to her for- won’t ever exist again.

“Nobody I fuse with ever wants to stay.”

(Episode 8: Page 8)

Jasper is terrified of being abandoned by people, so much that she’s isolated herself in these woods so she never has to become close to anyone and risk that possibility again. Steven shares in this fear, although his way of coping with it is a bit different- by trying to make himself indispensable to others so they’ll have a reason to want him as a continual part of their lives. 

And thus these buried emotions have boiled in the pot while fused as Onyx to create a fusion who violently ping-pongs between falling apart and being outright stuck together because paradoxically, the two of them are afraid of being alone while ALSO afraid of the vulnerability that comes from not being alone. Staying as Onyx for too long is scary, because deep down they know damn well they have a lot in common to talk about. And yet, their loneliness and deep need for understanding and connection (Jasper is a quartz, and quartzes are ever so social) compels them to try.

Only time will tell if they manage to push past these deep-seated fears and find a true sense of camaraderie and companionship with each other.

_

Look out for the next post in this series at 7am PST tomorrow. Farewell!

#su #su future #steven universe #jasper #pink onyx #su meta #pink onyx au #my post stuff

[inafieldofdaisies]

"OC as..." Template Tag | Tagged by @corvosattano @chloekistune @marivenah

I ended up doing it for Sabrina in both WIPs since I love seeing the contrast between the two stories. Leaving a blank copy of the template under the cut.

Tagging, @socially-awkward-skeleton @strangefable @strafethesesinners @florbelles @fleurviolettes @adelaidedrubman @madparadoxum @unholymilf @onehornedbeast @voidika @direwombat @macs-babies @shellibisshe @aceghosts @josephslittledeputy @josephseedismyfather @vampireninjabunnies-blog @trench-rot @g0dspeeed @euryalex @cassietrn @carlosoliveiraa @nightbloodbix @theelderhazelnut and anyone that would like to do the tag

#tagged <3 #oc: sabrina donovan #wip: in hope of tomorrow #wip: a trial of errors #character template #tag games #oc tag #fc5 deputy #far cry 5 oc #fc5 ocs #far cry 5 deputy #myedits #character reference #character style #character analysis #template #ocs #fc5 au #moodboard #character moodboard #character aesthetic

[swearingcactus]

fc5 gameplay is ass

(yet another tumblr post bitching about fc5)

i think i finally can pinpoint what annoyed me the most about fc5. it's the way ubisoft tried to make this into a 'you can do whatever you want' kinda story where it doesn't have to be so linear (you get to pick which sibling you take down first, you get to pick which missions you want to do to get the resistance points up), but they didn't hash the story far enough for it to work properly.

i usually do little side missions first to get myself better weapons & get a feel for the surroundings before doing the main storyline and always, ALWAYS, i get too high of a resistance points than i like which just gets me into cutscene after cutscene when i would rather NOT progress the story yet. this wasn't the problem in 3 & 4 because you knew you're gonna progress the story if you choose to go meet certain characters.

it winds up making me feel like i haven't gotten a chance to do the little things i want first and meet all the side characters before i get thrown into the main story again and suddenly im dragged along to a level 3 resistance point and copters are shooting at me from all directions (which is BULLSHIT ASS GAMEPLAY TOO)

i read a comment from someone on youtube who also disliked this system cus they did side missions first and the npc dialogues weren't programmed to account for this. they got spoiled that eli dies because an npc said 'eli's death won't be in vain'. which, considering how big of a plot twist eli's death is supposed to be, is Big Oof. i got an experience with this too when i went with sharky and he said something about faith already being dead when she was Very Much Still Alive at that point of my run.

it just feels like this game was trying to be 'oohh you get to do whatever you want-- but choice has always been an illusion oooohhh'. which i wouldn't mind as much cus i mean. it's far cry. that's like the entire gist of the franchise: that you're stuck and hopeless somewhere. BUT i do think the resistance points and levels is a misstep cus what's the point of allowing 'freedom' when it just takes away the impact of the one story you wanted to tell?

i would also like to add that the way that they also made 'you can pick whichever sibling you want to kill first' thing also ruined the supposed 'family' dynamic imo. aside from joseph's little bitching video call every time you kill one of em, none of the siblings care/ever refer to one another. but then again, this is far cry and villains don't really interact with each other so imma give it a pass (side eyes the 1 (one) phone call between vaas and hoyt... pagan's little lunch with paul and short ass talk with yuma, none with noore...)

idk why i put this in a post cus i think ubisoft also realized this by themselves cus by the time new dawn rolled around they didn't do the same fc5 system and just kept the journal without the points

>> this is obviously just my experience and preference tho and other than that and the fact that easy mode in this game is NOT easy, the game has its moments. i mean it has john seed saying 'delivery free shipping' and jacob's entire only you sequence that even i who's read the storyline and knew what was gonna happen still left me just-- *chef kiss*

#far cry 5 #far cry #far cry analysis

[seedofjoseph]

You know, I shouldn't be as surprised as I am to hear how the gendered language used by John and Jacob infantalizes the female deputy (girl, Little Miss Wrath, honey, angel) while putting the male version on equal footing with them (man, Mr. Wrath, pal, fella). I mean, they are leaders of a Christian cult after all.

#far cry 5 #john seed #jacob seed #the deputy #deputy rook #I'm doing feminist analysis of an old game #like people haven't pointed this out yet #because I bet they did #I just haven't come across it

[youuuimeanmee]

Nol and Shinae's Dance Analysis.

I heard from some people, Quimchee planned the entire night sequence on December 21st to be filled with hints and set ups for events and character dynamics in the future. Though I don't know how far Quimchee is gonna put the hints since it's past Dec 21st already, but hey, Quimchee always insert some symbolisms and foreshadowings anyway so I wanna analyze this one particular scene because it has a lot of foreshadowing materials, and try to predict their dynamic in the upcoming Chess Game.

Analysis

1. Nol with the blindfold. He is hiding his eyes from crying so much. But why is he crying in the first place? One can only guess the reason, but we know the phrase: Eyes are the window of the soul. It immediately reflects our emotions, our fears, and our deepest emotive shades. Nol is hiding his true feelings (whatever it is: love, relieve, heartbreak, fear, anxiety) from Shinae. He is closing his eyes, ignoring whatever reality in front of him, and chooses to live in the moment with her --regardless of the consequences that might come after.

2. The head band covering Shinae's neck --or the delicate part of the body that must be protected, as Nessa once stated. Nol took it away from her. He also told her to take off her shoes earlier. Combine these two, and you have Nol basically rendering Shinae naked vulnerable in front of him. She believes Nol's excuse to play things fair without question; even without the blindfold, Shinae is pretty blind herself, because she couldn't see he's not fine at all.

3. Their outfits. They're both vulnerable in their own ways; Shinae without her shoes and her headband, and Nol in hospital gown with the bandages that covered his wounds. But, while Shinae's neck is out in the open (completely open with her feelings), Nol's neck is wrapped in bandages (hiding his feelings completely). They're not seeing eye to eye; it's not fair.

4. The dance movement. Nol is twirling Shinae around. Even in blindness, he had Shinae dancing at the palm of his hand. By lying and hiding behind a mask, he had her under his control. (Not that he has any malice --he just wants to make happy memories with Shinae before he's gone, but from here, we get a glimpse that Nol is capable of manipulating his partner to move like he wants to.)

5. The color. Rand said he has faith in his team. His words are in red in black, signifying power. He has conviction they won't lose to Yui. And sure enough, the duo is dancing without a care, they're building their team play. But notice the background color when they danced; they're not in the light (hope), but it's not completely dark either. It's basically grey. Despite Rand's hope, the situation seems bleak.

Nol who is blind, is guiding Shinae who is blind. You know what could happen?

This is the worst scenario though, I hope it won't happen.

The blind is leading the blind. One of them has to open their blindfold if they don't want to fall together. Fortunately, Shinae is quick to open her eyes from Nol's tricks. She saw Nol's tear stains and she immediately took the rein; she stopped their dance. Once it stops, we can see the light returns (even if it's not as bright as before).

Discussion

Nol and Shinae's dance has been teased for a long time, and we finally get to see it now. It's been teased from episode 5, when Nol proposed Shinae to be his partner. There has been many hurdles, but now that Shinae has fully accepted Nol's hand, they finally embark on a new journey as partners. Their dance represents their new partnership and how they work together as a team. And of course, being their first time, it's not all smooth sailing.

Nol and Shinae is a unique pair. They're almost like a mirror. Whatever Nol do that night, Shinae is able to keep up with him.

Nol and Shinae have the potential to be impeccable liars. They both can make nasty jokes that can cut their opponents deep. Like Nol's prank that reminded Shinae of her father in-coma, and Shinae's prank that reminded Nol of his abused days in the Hirahara Hospital.

They are capable of stealing. Nol stole the yearbook to investigate Alyssa to give Shinae the justice she deserves. Shinae stole some balloons from the poor, tired man to give Nol a happy birthday he deserves.

They both can equally be manipulative if they want to. Shinae doesn't want Nol to bolt from her since he seemed ready to do it anytime, so she lured him out using sweet words, shared her painful past to try to relate to him, and asked him to dance in Min-Hyuk's room so she could be with him longer. Nol doesn't want Shinae to bolt from him again since she seemed ready to do it anytime, so he listened to her music together, played around with her finger dance, asked her to dance --even taking away her shoes, and smile as Yeong-Gi so she won't run away from him anymore.

Whatever wholesome or nasty things, they could do it together. They'd be such a great partners-in-crime. But sometimes, because they're so matching, they often find themselves in unfavourable condition when they're not in synch. For example, like the first time they meet. Both of them were riled up by the mean guy's mockery; they stood up to teach him a lesson at the same time. But, because they had different idea on how to do it and they're not aware of each other's presence, Shinae ended up hindering Nol by spilling the juice on him --or Nol hindered Shinae by getting in the way, whatever floats your boat. Yes, it is an accident, but I believe Quimchee has been setting up their dynamic from the very start.

You get the gist. For the upcoming chess game, they need to fix their teamwork. And to get a nice teamwork, they need to be in synch. They already prove themselves they're capable of doing that, like their first prank and their tag team against Sang-Chul. But if they want to win against Yui, they have to do better. It's clear they're not there yet, because Nol is hiding too much from her. In fact, Nol is too smart for his own good and he hates putting his loved ones in dangerous or uncomfortable situation, it's possible he would "manipulate" Shinae in their partnership; he'd let her help him enough, but not enough to drag her into the mud with him.

I found this comment and I agree with this, though realistically, I'm not too hopeful Shinae could turn things around so quickly when this is just the very beginning of Nol-Shinae's partnership.

It's been hinted no matter how much Shinae is seem to be able to catch up to Nol, Nol is always one step ahead from her.

On their first "dance" in the Arcade Arc, what Shinae lacked is stamina. Right now what she lack is knowledge. Knowledge about Nol's past and the sticky situation surrounding Hirahara. Unfortunately, Nol is not ready to share it yet. Not at all.

Nol has always been in constant survival mode. Years of being preyed by Yui has build him to never show his weakness to anyone. Not to his friends, not even Nana --to some extent. Today, he just made a huge leap by crying on his loved one's shoulder instead of crying alone, but he's not ready to reveal it to Shinae. He has yet to process his feelings. It takes time. Things are gonna get complicated, especially when it's been foreshadowed that Nol is going to leave for a long time. If he does leave, it'll be a challenge to stay in contact and get close to him. And in the future, there will be much more things that Nol is keeping secret from Shinae. We already have Nol's investigation on Alyssa, for starters. Shinae has stated she doesn't like surprises and she doesn't like it when someone is going overboard for her sake. If she find out Nol has been manipulating her, doing all sort of things behind her back, and shouldering everything alone.... Welp. And she is capable of hurting Nol too, so... Yikes. I pray things won't get that far, I hope they won't hurt each other too much in the process.

I do hope we'll get a parallel of episode 65 on the next episode --Nol admitted to Shinae he's not fine at all, but since Nol is hard-headed, I don't dare to hope too much.

On (un)related topic, Rand, the Black King, has ordered Shinae, his Black Pawn, to inflitrate the opponent's den. Well, even though I said ordered, it's more of an advice on how to play the game. Shinae has the right to decide whether she chose to involve herself in this game or not. To make the decision, she needs to know what is exactly she's up against, and for who she's fighting for. And for that, she has to be aware of Nol's circumstances. Once she heard everything about Nol, there's no going back.

If Nol won't talk to her, I hope she can talk to Nana; I hope the two of them will meet. Yujing is currently brewing her article. If Shinae could learn about Nol's past from Yujing, it'll sting since she didn't learn it from Nol himself, but at least it'll start some conversation with him. Hell, she could even try to ask Rand if she's desperate enough. Nol is the same. If he wants to stand on equal footing with Shinae in the chess game, he needs to face himself, take a leap of faith and try to open up to her, little by little. He needs to believe Shinae is not as fragile as she seemed; she can take his burden and she won't leave him either.

If, in the future, Nol ever find himself immersed in his Antihero role for too long, or he's into his revenge plot too deep, Shinae needs to stop him from hurting himself. Maybe she even have to resort to some brute force if he keeps being stubborn.

Shinae and Nol have different stats in nature, so she has to get creative and proactive with her ways to make up for her weakness, if she wants to stand by Nol's side equally.

Just like Nol who has the capability to manipulate anyone -- including his partner -- if he wanted to, Shinae is just as capable to take the rein of their relationship, like the way she accepting and stopping their dance when she found something wrong. It's up to her if she want to continue the dance --letting her partner be blind, or stopping the dance completely if it means she could get him to open his eyes (come in terms with his feelings).

...

Maybe this is why Rand has so much faith in Nol and Shinae (especially the latter). Despite their flaws, despite their bleak situation, they can overcome anything as long as they're together. In due time, of course.

#i love yoo #ily #ily 222 #ily webtoon #ily analysis #ily meta #ily theory #nolan lochlainn #yoo shin ae #stalkyoo