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balladofhollisbrown · 30 days

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"The Need For Topical Music", written by Phil Ochs

Before the days of television and mass media, the folksinger was often a traveling newspaper spreading tales through music.

It is somewhat ironic that in this age of forced conformity and fear of controversy the folksinger may be assuming the same role. The newspapers have unfortunately told the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the cold war truth so help them, advertisers. If a reporter breaks the "code of the West” that used to be confined to Hoot Gibson movies, he’ll find himself out on the street with a story to tell and all the rivers of mass communication damned up.

The folksingers of today must face up to a great challenge in their music. Folk music is an idiom that deals with realities and not just realities of the past as some would assert. More than ever there is an urgent need for Americans to look deeply into themselves and their actions and musical poetry is perhaps the most effective mirror available.

I have run into some singers who say, “Sure, I agree with most topical songs, but they're just too strong to do in public. Besides, I don't want to label myself or alienate some of my audience into thinking I'm unpatriotic.”

Yet this same person will get on the stage and dedicate a song to Woody Guthrie or Pete Seeger as if in tribute to an ideal they are afraid to reach for. Those who would compromise or avoid the truth inherent in folk music are misleading themselves and their audiences. In a world so full of lies and corruption, can we allow our own national music to go the way of Madison Avenue?

There are definite grounds for criticism of topical music, however. Much of the music has been too bitter and too negative for many audiences to appreciate, but lately there has been a strong improvement in both quantity and quality, and the commercial success of songs like “If I Had a Hammer” have made many of the profit seekers forget their prejudices.

One good song with a message can bring a point more deeply to more people than a thousand rallies. A case in point is Pete Seeger's classic “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” which brought a message of peace to millions, including many of the younger generation who do not consider themselves involved in politics.

Folk music often arises out of vital movements and struggles. When the union movement was a growing, stirring and honest force in America, it produced a wealth of material to add to the nation's musical heritage. Today, there regrettably seem to be only two causes that will arouse an appreciable amount of people from their apathetic acceptance of the world; the Negro struggle for civil rights and the peace movement. To hear a thousand people singing "We Shall Overcome" without the benefit of Hollywood's bouncing ball is to hear a power and beauty in music that has no limits in its effect.

It never ceases to amaze me how the American people allow the hit parade to hit them over the head with a parade of song after meaningless song about love. If the powers that be absolutely insist that love should control the market, at least they should be more realistic and give divorce songs an equal chance.

Topical music is often a method of keeping alive a name or event that is worth remembering. For example many people have been vividly reminded of the depression days through Woody Guthrie’s dust bowl ballads. Sometimes the songs will differ in interpretation from the textbooks as with “Pretty Boy Floyd”.

Every newspaper headline is a potential song, and it is the role of an effective songwriter to pick out the material that has the interest, significance and sometimes humor adaptable to music.

A good writer must be able to picture the structure of a song and as hundreds of minute ideas race through his head, he must reject the superfluous and trite phrases for the cogent powerful terms. Then after the first draft is completed, the writer must be his severest critic, constantly searching for a better way to express every line in his song.

I think there is a coming revolution (pardon my French) in folk music as it becomes more and more popular in the U. S., and as the search for new songs becomes more intense. The news today is the natural resource that folk music must exploit in order to have the most vigorous folk process possible.

(Broadside #22, March 1963)

#phil ochs #topical music #protest music #folk music #transcribed by meee

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 3 months

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By Sharon Brous

Rabbi Brous is the founding and senior rabbi of Ikar, a Jewish community based in Los Angeles, and the author of “The Amen Effect.”

A somewhat obscure text, about 2,000 years old, has been my unlikely teacher and guide for the past many years, and my north star these last several months, as so many of us have felt as if we’ve been drowning in an ocean of sorrow and helplessness.

Buried deep within the Mishnah, a Jewish legal compendium from around the third century, is an ancient practice reflecting a deep understanding of the human psyche and spirit: When your heart is broken, when the specter of death visits your family, when you feel lost and alone and inclined to retreat, you show up. You entrust your pain to the community.

The text, Middot 2:2, describes a pilgrimage ritual from the time of the Second Temple. Several times each year, hundreds of thousands of Jews would ascend to Jerusalem, the center of Jewish religious and political life. They would climb the steps of the Temple Mount and enter its enormous plaza, turning to the right en masse, circling counterclockwise.

Meanwhile, the brokenhearted, the mourners (and here I would also include the lonely and the sick), would make this same ritual walk but they would turn to the left and circle in the opposite direction: every step against the current.

And each person who encountered someone in pain would look into that person’s eyes and inquire: “What happened to you? Why does your heart ache?”

“My father died,” a person might say. “There are so many things I never got to say to him.” Or perhaps: “My partner left. I was completely blindsided.” Or: “My child is sick. We’re awaiting the test results.”

Those who walked from the right would offer a blessing: “May the Holy One comfort you,” they would say. “You are not alone.” And then they would continue to walk until the next person approached.

This timeless wisdom speaks to what it means to be human in a world of pain. This year, you walk the path of the anguished. Perhaps next year, it will be me. I hold your broken heart knowing that one day you will hold mine.

I read in this text many profound lessons, two particularly pertinent in our time, when so many of us feel that we are breaking. First, do not take your broken heart and go home. Don’t isolate. Step toward those whom you know will hold you tenderly.

And on your good days — the days when you can breathe — show up then, too. Because the very fact of seeing those who are walking against the current, people who can barely hold on, and asking, with an open heart, “Tell me about your sorrow,” may be the deepest affirmation of our humanity, even in terribly inhumane times.

It is an expression of both love and sacred responsibility to turn to another person in her moment of deepest anguish and say: “Your sorrow may scare me, it may unsettle me. But I will not abandon you. I will meet your grief with relentless love.”

We cannot magically fix one another’s broken hearts. But we can find each other in our most vulnerable moments and wrap each other up in a circle of care. We can humbly promise each other, “I can’t take your pain away, but I can promise you won’t have to hold it alone.”

Showing up for one another doesn’t require heroic gestures. It means training ourselves to approach, even when our instinct tells us to withdraw. It means picking up the phone and calling our friend or colleague who is suffering. It means going to the funeral and to the house of mourning. It also means going to the wedding and to the birthday dinner. Reach out in your strength, step forward in your vulnerability. Err on the side of presence.

Small, tender gestures remind us that we are not helpless, even in the face of grave human suffering. We maintain the ability, even in the dark of night, to find our way to one another. We need this, especially now.

Here’s the second lesson from that ancient text. Humans naturally incline toward the known. Our tribes can uplift us, order our lives, give them meaning and purpose, direction and pride. But the tribal instinct can also be perilous. The more closely we identify with our tribe, the more likely we are to dismiss or even feel hostility toward those outside it.

One of the great casualties of tribalism is curiosity. And when we are no longer curious, when we don’t try to imagine or understand what another person is thinking or feeling or where her pain comes from, our hearts begin to narrow. We become less compassionate and more entrenched in our own worldviews.

Trauma exacerbates this trend. It reinforces an instinct to turn away from one another, rather than make ourselves even more vulnerable.

There is another important lesson from that ancient text. On pilgrimage, those who enter the sacred circle and turn left when nearly everyone else turns right are grieving or unwell. But the text offers that there is another who turns to the left: the person sentenced to ostracization — in Hebrew, the menudeh.

Ostracization was a punishment used sparingly in ancient times. It only applied to people who were believed to have brought serious harm to the social fabric of the community. The ostracized were essentially temporarily excommunicated. They had to distance themselves from their colleagues and loved ones, they were not counted in a prayer quorum, and they were prohibited from engaging in most social interactions. And incredibly, they, too, entered the sacred space, where they, too, were asked: “Tell me, what happened to you? What’s your story?” And they, too, were blessed.

This is breathtaking. The ancient rabbis ask us to imagine a society in which no person is disposable. Even those who have hurt us, even those with views antithetical to ours must be seen in their humanity and held with curiosity and care.

We desperately need a spiritual rewiring in our time. Imagine a society in which we learn to see one another in our pain, to ask one another, “What happened to you?” Imagine that we hear one another’s stories, say amen to one another’s pain, and even pray for one another’s healing. I call this the amen effect: sincere, tender encounters that help us forge new spiritual and neural pathways by reminding us that our lives and our destinies are entwined. Because, ultimately, it is only by finding our way to one another that we will begin to heal.

#NYTimes #Tribalism #spiritual direction #Sharon Brous #community #humanity #humanism

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igotsnothing · 7 months

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Tag games! Tag games!

I was tagged by @agena87 and @eljeebee- both cool moots. Agena87 has been doing some super interesting stuff in Blender, along with creative edits that deserve a lot of appreciation. Lana is a newer moot who shares similar obsessions beyond the Sims (**cough cough**Mass Effect**) and finds the most interesting content to post- I always discover new things over at her simblr. Thank you for the tag, friends!

Rules: You can use any sims game to answer this questions!

Your 3 traits: bookworm, goofy, laaaaaazy

Your aspiration: Friend of the World. But that will be hard. Since I am somewhat socially inept AAAAND lazy.

In-game world you'd live in: Ok, NOT Forgotten Hollow. Shocking, I KNOW. Unless it was a really cool build. It's so small. Not enough for me. I like Brindleton Bay because I love the sea. Or Sulani/Selvadorada. That would be kickass and both worlds remind me of where I grew up.

Favorite townie(s): Or premade? Morgyn Ember, Caleb Vatore, Lilith Vatore, Simon Silversweater, L. Faba...AND Straud (post CAS). (AND LOU! OMG, I almost forgot my pupper!)

Most used pack(s): Vampiiiiiiiires. Country kitchen kit. And Supernatural.

Favorite decor object: The bookshelves by Strange Storyteller Sims always make it into my builds. A lot of stuff by Lili's Palace too. I love modern/contemporary builds but I end up doing these builds filled with antiques and frankly it pisses me off a little that I can't be more versatile and keep going for the same old when there is so much choice.

Something you want in the game: A storyteller mode where I can toggle day/night, seasons and other goodies without having to download a bajillion mods. Or getting rid of item slots on surfaces so I can clutter without OMSP or the TOOL mod BECAUSE I AM LAZY and I get tired of decorating if I need a math degree to move something 500 times.

What color is your plumbob right now? Chartreuse!

Have you ever seen @izayoichan, @simstrashkingdom, @magicofsimplestories, @alinelie, @aurorangen, and last, but never least, @greighish in the same room, all together? COULD THEY ALL BE THE SAME PERSON! NO! THAT'S INANE! But: you've all been tagged (if you feel like it- no worries).

#tag games #i love this stuff #i love my moots

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dragynkeep · 8 months

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(1/2) If you don't mind me sharing some more thoughts on your Everafter AU, including some constructive criticism on how Penny's time in the Ever After ends: I feel like Curious staying in the Ever After while Penny returns to Remnant wouldn't really work, because even if Curious' heart was fixed by Penny's time with them, they're immortal and they would still have their insatiable curiosity, with no way of answering their present and future questions while remaining trapped in a realm that they've already known top to bottom for eons: the way I see it, once Penny's presence leaves Curious' immortal life in the Ever After, then it could take centuries or millennia, but it would only be a matter of time until Curious starts mentally and emotionally suffering from their situation again and they eventually end up back at square one. It reminds me of an argument the cast of Coeur Al'Aran's 'White Sheep' posed about Salem's redemption: that the above scenario would basically happen to the fic's pseudo-redeemed Salem after she started outliving her new husband, all her eight children and her descendants, even if it took centuries for her to reach her breaking point again; unless the cast ended her immortality first.

(2/2) I feel like the only real way Curious can gain permanent peace and redemption in your AU is if Penny takes Curious with her through the door out of the Ever After, fulfilling Alyx's broken promise at long last. (From what little we know in canon V9 about Curious and Alyx's relationship and the broken promise, it seems to me that a Remnantian can carry the Cat through the door with them consensually, and that the reason Curious never considered this option again after killing Alyx in favour of solely turning to bodyjacking was because Curious' pain, rage and newfound Tragic Bigotry made them absolutely refuse to believe any human would ever go that far for them when Alyx did not.) As for the question of what'll happen to the Ever After now that its psychopomp and heart-healer has been removed from the ecosystem (one of the many things V9 refused to address, and yet another reason why Post-Character Derailment Team RWBY are narcissistic, mass-destructive monsters whom are far more fit to be the antagonists than the actual villains :P)... well, I imagine the Blacksmith could repurpose another ascended Afteran to take over the Curious Cat's duties without the Brothers' design flaws that made Curious go insane. Maybe Somewhat, given Little's relationship with Ruby. Once Penny and Curious are through the door, I can imagine Curious and the Blacksmith finally get a direct face-to-face for the first time ever, and the Blacksmith can give the Cat some closure by answering their questions about why the Brothers left and abandoned them. I think any one of several things could ultimately happen to the Cat after going through the door: 1. Curious accompanies Penny to Remnant, seeing it at long last, and they become a permanent supporting character. 2. Since Curious' design flaw of being unable to ascend because the Brothers didn't make them with a connection to ascension has effectively been bypassed by Penny bringing them to the Blacksmith's realm, the Blacksmith is able to finally ascend Curious, promising to make sure that Curious' new incarnation in the Ever After won't have the immortality and other fatal design flaws that the Brothers left in them. 3. The Blacksmith offers Curious a chance to stay with them in their realm permanently, where - given the Ever Tree's Yggdrasil motif and the Blacksmith's ability to open a portal to a desired location on Remnant - Curious would be able to observe any and all of creation for eternity via windows, resolving the problem of Curious' mental state suffering when they can't learn new things. And who knows, this whole "watching creation" deal would mean that Curious really would be always able to watch and be with Penny wherever she is on Remnant after they've parted ways. Sorry, just had to share these.

Don't be sorry to share these, I enjoy critiquing and talking about my projects and AUs with people who're interested.

And yeah, what you have to say does make sense, in that the Cat never getting the answers they need to move on wouldn't be a good conclusion to their story. I made it that way because I just phased the Brother Gods out of my mind and don't want to think about them.

But, I think changing it so that they get to at least meet the Blacksmith first, and shown how they changed through their friendship with Penny, would be a good ending even if they don't go to Remnant with them. Because I don't want Curious to go to Remnant to be honest because that's not where they belong.

Their home is the Ever After, and they can make a life there without having to attach themselves to the first thing that comes along. First with Alyx, and then with Penny. Only Penny allowing them to find the answers and push the Ever After to be a place where the people can make their own paths without having to hit the reset button would show the message more than just treating the Ever After like stage dressing that Curious has to leave.

#rwby #penny polendina #curious cat #au: everafter penny #answered #luke.txt

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waheelawhisperer · 1 year

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13, 17, 19, and 20 for the violence ask game

You didn't specify a fandom so I'm going to hit you with several. This is your own fault.

13) worst blorboficiation

I'm not 100% sure what this means but for Arknights I'm gonna go with Amiya. It feels like people forget that she's actually a competent warrior and capable leader instead of just an uwu cute daughteru character.

For RWBY, it's Blake. The fucking writers blorbofied her, idk how you top that.

Mass Effect: Garrus Vakarian. I love Garrus too, but people love to ignore the way the first half of his character arc was "cop that thinks cops have to obey too many rules" -> "vigilante who regularly kills people"

Every remotely villainous or antagonistic character in Fate Grand Order has been shoved into the blorbo box by the fanbase by the end of whatever storyline they appear in and by the writers by the end of their next appearance.

Every person attracted to men who watches The Boys wants to fuck Soldier Boy and the Homelander far more than anyone should ever want to. I cannot enter the tag without running into Reader x fanfiction featuring one of those two.

17) there should be more of this type of fic/art

Arknights: Mlynar getting bred. Also, I would kill to see more people remember Indra exists.

RWBY: More Freezerburn, more Ladybug, more Qrowin, more Dragonslayer, more Jailbirds, more Ironqrow, more Schneewood Forest.

Ted Lasso: I am begging someone to provide me with a gifset featuring every instance wherein Roy Kent says "fuck", "fuck you", "get fucked", or any variation on this theme. I need them for reasons.

19) you're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

I've never been ashamed of anything in my life (my ego is too big for that), but I'm getting somewhat frustrated that my relationship with RWBY is starting to remind me of an ex-girlfriend who threw a coffee mug at my head. I can't drop the show until I finish Volume 9, but I don't want to finish Volume 9 because all 3 episodes I've watched so far sucked.

Also I like Ch'alter unironically despite sharing all the very valid complaints about her and what she represents for Arknights.

20) part of canon you found tedious or boring

Arknights: Pretty much everything at this point because absolutely no one on the writing team knows how to condense a narrative and wouldn't be concise about anything if you held a gun to your head. Like I'm sorry but you do not need to write a Lord of the Rings-length novel and then decide that's not enough and write a second novel between the lines of the first one just to tell a story about a horsegirl fighting capitalism in a DBZ tournament arc. You can just trim the fat and convey the information effectively. It won't kill you.

Every Arknights event or main story chapter feels like a chore to read at this point, honestly, but the worst for me so far have been the Sui events. I love the siblings, but if they never release another event designed around Being Inscrutable it will be too soon.

RWBY: Every part of Volume 4 that didn't have Yang in it except for the Qrow vs. Tyrian fight, every part of Volume 5 that didn't have Yang or Raven in it, every part of Volume 9 I have experienced so far, and Jaune's stupid fucking 4-episode bullying arc.

Bloodborne: I have replayed this game multiple times and I have never cleared a single Chalice Dungeon more than once because they all suck.

Elden Ring: I hate the insistence on reusing all the worst bosses instead of the ones that are actually fun to fight, physically traveling across the world map feels tedious at times (I wish Torrent could move just a bit faster), mounted combat sucks ass, the Mountaintops of the Giants feels like they ran out of development time because it's honestly kinda barren, fuck the Consecrated Snowfield, and a lot of the dungeons feel same-y after a while.

#ask game #arknights #rwby #mass effect #bloodborne #elden ring #the boys

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jaxon-c6 · 9 months

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Following the advice from @willinglyghoulified I started playing Fallout 3 before I would play New Vegas further, so far I have only just left the Vault, but I already really enjoying it as well.

As for characters, I hate Butch (but could not say no to him when he asked my help to help her mother) and I really like James - he seems to be the father figure I would loved to have in my life if I ever would have any father. I am curious what caused him to leave the vault, his kid behind.

Despite the urge to spoiler it to myself, I will not do that. I once did it with Mass Effect and never again... It hits different if I discover it, whatever that may be, during the game.

Amata, well, she seems to be a nice girl. A good friend. Too bad I killed her father and didn't regret it at all. Hope she will not hate me for this one, I really like her.

And I also liked Jonas. I am sad he is dead but that didn't stop me from looting his body.

Not too far away from the Vault there was a robot like thing which played some musics, and it gives me horror vibes. I really don't like horror, I am afraid of them (but I still ended up watching some, being scared of all of them, but also somewhat enjoying it) and the game's sounds and atmosphere with that random robot thing flowing around playing music really reminds me of that.

I was scavening a nearby... ruined house, I think, and I already was on edge when suddenly I hear and see it, and it scared me. And it gives me the feeling that I better look around and I better be careful because then I will end up being really scared.

#fallout 3 #Fallout

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inky-duchess · 11 months

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Hello Duchess! Long time silent fan of your blog and work here.

I've been recently working in some of the politics and customs for one of my kingdoms, and would like to have some feedback from you.

In my story, there used to be a giant and very diverse with many different ethnic groups and clans, both from different neighborhood nations and the natives that were conquered. The treatment of the natives varied from place; in some they had more political influence and in others they were persecuted.

This treatment followed them even after the fall of the Empire, and the continent was dived in many kingdoms and principalities, most of them have either gotten rid of the native population ( banishment,genocide,oppression) or the natives had to flee for other places. The main kingdom from my story, Anidra, has a very different story from the other kingdoms, the natives "willingly" surended to the Empire, and thanks to that they were able to keep a few of their land and to govern themselves somewhat independently, while the empire max immigrated people from their mother land, placing them on positions of power.

The empire fall, Anidra gets independence, a new monarchy rises in Anidra and as time goes on the natives slowly began losing power and increasingly receiving hostile treatment.

A coup happens, and the leader of the biggest native clan murders most of the Royal family along with many nobles, and declares himself king. Obviously he elevates people from his own clan and culture into important government positions, causing strife on the non native population and nobility, and also from neighboring kingdoms. The previous monarchy wasn't popular either, but they had made many dynastical marrieges, and now the other monarchs claim to have rights over Anidra.

The usurper decides to marry the one surviving daughter of the previously murdered king, bit that is not a very popular idea among his clan. When they have their children, how could that affect their succession? And what other problems could rise from the different factions and claims to Anidra?

I'd be really grateful to see any advice,correction or idea from you. Thank you!

It wouldn't effect the succession. By joining both claims, he's confirming the throne on his heirs through blood (by their mom) and conquest (through him).

The whole rundown about the natives and their treatment, does remind me of the treatment of Jews in Europe with each nation having a different policy, demanding tribute in exchange for tolerance and numerous expulsions and persecutions. I would think that there would be mass migration toward more positive kingdoms which may lead to a crackdown on movement.

#ask answered

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eternity-ts · 1 year

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A Killer's Whisper Part 3

"The expression on your face shows just how little you actually know." Jona drawled. "Oh yes, she is your blood, and the most interesting part is that neither of you were the wiser."

Wasea remained silent. As volatile as she knew she was, she would not give this woman the satisfaction of a response. Unfortunately, that only made Jona laugh again; her eyes sparking with glee.

"Oh, isn't this delicious..." She continued to draw out her words. "For all of your power and skill, you hang onto my every word."

Rage that had burned white-hot a few short moments ago made a sudden downward turn. All of that heat that had been coursing through her withdrew back to her chest cavity. She had felt this way only once before, and the results had been disasterous.

"The name, Jona." Her voice, while still bearing scars from earlier, receded to a somewhat feral growl.

"Why so calm?" The toying nature would have normally sparked and revived that anger, but not now.

"The name." Wasea repeated.

"They contacted me late one night, detailing the situation, and I didn't give a damn." Jona started off as if she were narrating a story. "It was more or less a late-night drama, and I was a captive audience."

Wasea continued to remain silent. Privately, she thought that the last thing anyone could use to describe Jona, while she was free, was "captive". In fact, if the entire story were to be believed, Jona could have simply ended the communication and not given a damn, as she claimed. No, there was more to this. There had to be.

"I don't believe you." The heat in her chest gave a single pulse that shook her visibly. Wasea stepped back and regained a respectable distance before continuing. "Stop wasting my time. The name, now."

"Wasting your time..." Jona almost looked to be at a loss for words, but her expression changed, as well as her tone. "You act as though yours was the only one wasted, but was it?" It went from disbelieving to accusatory. "You have been out here, decimating my organization, and you think it was your time wasted?"

"I've spent the last few centuries working my way up through your abysmal organization, seeking answers that weren't just going to appear, and chasing ghosts." Wasea countered. "You have sat in a cell, whining, complaining, and making foolish public appearances. May I remind you that it was your insanity that put you here?" Emphasizing the last question, Wasea crossed her arms. "Do not attempt to earn sympathy points with me, Jona. It will not happen."

"Who cares about sympathy?" The accusatory tone reverted to her naturally taunting one. "Sympathy is what led you to me in the first place. I am simply reminding you that you are not the only one with unfinished business." She stepped forward then. "If you want the name so badly, then I will accommodate you."

"Finally."

"My one question is: What will you do once you have it?"

"It really shouldn't matter." Wasea kept her arms crossed but tilted her head to the side slightly. "What I choose to do with it will be out of your control."

"You're right." Jona agreed with a strangely genuine smile. She let her posture drop to one more casual. "I really shouldn't be concerned about such trivial matters. The name you are so desperately searching for is Arlyna. She will be a matriarch by now."

"I know well who she is-"

"But what you don't know is this:" Jona paused for effect. When she had waited a maximum of three seconds, she finished with: "She is the brat's mother."

The heat still left in her chest drastically changed to an icy mass. The anger and frustration that she expected dissipated and left a void where it had once been. Visibly, Wasea looked as though she were about to be physically ill before she regained some control of herself. Blinking and swallowing hard, she pushed back the mass that had formed in her throat only to see Jona admiring her handiwork.

"Her own mother..."

"Oh yes." Jona looked as though she had thrown a winning spread down on a table and had bluffed players in a card game. "She wanted you dead, and she didn't seem to care if her daughter died in the process. Quite the show to watch." She added airily. "A pity it didn't have the desired ending."

"Why-" Wasea fumbled with the words as she worked her way through a barrage of thoughts bombarding her at once. "You were there..." That was the least of her concerns, but it had somehow slipped out. "How could she..." She remembered being there on that walkway, looking out at distant buildings, and discussing a bright future for the young asari standing beside her. She heard the carefree laugh that had both haunted her dreams and waking hours. She could see the young face that had spurred her onward when she questioned her motives...

"Why are you telling me this?"

A deadly calm had taken over, and her voice now reflected it. She was standing there, looking at Jona Sederis, but she wasn't really seeing her. The cold that had gripped her so suddenly acted as a buffer against the emotions that were threatening to spill over.

She had only felt this way one other time.

The result had been catastrophic.

"Information is power," Jona took a few more steps forward; her voice growing quiet. "And you won't have the chance to use it."

The shot that followed was just audible as the extended pistol barrel pressed up against her chest. The impact initially felt like a hard punch, but as the rounds pierced the armor she wore, a warm purple mist sprayed upward and into her face.

She was falling backward; the upper levels of the docking bay were visible past the silver glint of Widow's sun against steel. Her heart pulsed violently as blood that was never meant to leave the body escaped through a burn hole in her armor.

"I did say that you weren't the only one with unfinished business." Jona's voice came and went while the pulsing in Wasea's ears grew louder with each passing second. "I called for the deaths of ALL of Eclipse' enemies upon my release..." She then came into view and pressed her boot lightly against the chest wound she had inflicted; subsequently dropping the pistol near the fallen asari's dominant hand. This made a grunt of pain escape Wasea's lips, but Jona just nodded in satisfaction.

"And I am starting with you."

In attempt to get some form of speech out, Wasea clenched her jaw and tried to swallow down the pain. The medigel dispensors in her armor were working, but they were painfully slow.

"It is a waste of time to hope that medigel will save you." Jona added as she wiped the toe of her boot against something. "It won't matter." She knelt down and activated her omni tool to display an image of a modded round. When Wasea's eyes fell on it, Jona continued. "Amazing what these things can do, isn't it?" She closed the holo display and carefully put a hand under Wasea's head to lift it so that she could make eye contact. "Poisonous rounds. By the time that medigel gets to the wound, the poison will have stopped it from doing what it's supposed to."

Jona let Wasea's head fall again and stood up. As she stepped away, a call came over her omni tool, which she answered promptly.

"Where the hell have you been?"

"Issue came up in securing the shuttle. Looks like Aria didn't have as big a pull as she thought." A turian male's voice came over clearly. "Inbound."

"Good. I've got a lot of catching up to do."

#Eclipsed #Wasea on the warpath #Fanfiction #Mass Effect

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dispatchwithlove · 1 year

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Have you ever wondered what Garrus and Shepard would look like in Elias and Chise's places? How an AU of the ancient magus bride? I love how you write, you write perfectly ❤️ I look forward to the new chapter of the Boy

First off, thanks for the kind words! I'm terrible at compliments but it means so much to hear that you like my writing :) I've actually never thought of an Ancient Magus Bride/Mass Effect AU, even though they're my absolute favorite characters. I did think of doing an ME/Dragon's Dogma AU but that just turned into an original story I'm working on 😁 Hmmm, what would Garrus be like in Elias place, and Jane in Chise's? First, Jane would not have the timidity that Chise does, I feel like she's a lot more forward and would tease the shit (lovingly) out of Garrus/Elias rather than just being shy and kind about it. She also would not hesitate to throw down though, which reminds me of the tenacity Chise possesses, so they have that in common.

As for Garrus/Elias I can definitely see some Archangel tendencies leading to him being somewhat like Elias. I think I see a huge difference in Garrus's concern for others though. Garrus really cares about justice and protecting others, while Elias doesn't so much (I think). Actually, maybe Elias is very concerned for people in general, in the sense of keeping the natural order of things. He cares about society being safe, right? Just doesn't really connect with individuals. I actually see a huge similarity in how Garrus handles Sidonis and Elias handles Stella. Damn, this question has just made me dive deep into these characters and I love it!

Long story short, I kind of am writing a world where Shepard and Garrus have magical powers, it's just an original story at this point (a female soldier with immense physical power and a dragon cursed male archer with the power of light). I would read the hell out of an ME/TAMB AU though! If you ever see one please rec it! 🙂 Also, a new chapter of The Boy will be out soon! I hope to post chapter 4 around Christmas, and my writing group is currently looking at ch 5 (which is all NEW content!), so that will follow sometime in January.

Thanks for the awesome question! Take care ❤️

#asks and replies #my writing

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gothmods · 1 year

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For the record i dont consider ai generated images to be art theft in of themselves because of how machine learning works but i do think having your artwork used for machine learning should be voluntary in the same way you would volunteer any other kinds of data or information for any other tech sciences venture - which necessitates transparency around how the data will be used/applied

And because of that i also think its extremely dicey for ai imagery tools to be paywalled or for ai images to be pay-for-use

But the problems that arise are not new problems, they parallel a great many prior discussion in art around creative freedom, derivitive or transformative work, economic exploitation of artists and so on

As well as other conversations around art and the accessability of mediums - who is excluded when we attempt to define what is "true art" beyond our own personal taste

And a lot of arguments made make me uneasy both as an artist with an interest in the expanse of art history in particular modern art, and as someone in close proximity to other disabled artists who rely on the assistance of others to create - sometimes to a degree where their only involvement is directing someone else's hand

But also on a shallower level i find it ironic that some of these argumenents are coming from people whove previously applauded fanfiction and other transformative works, and defended their creation wrt intellectual property laws

And i find it ironic that given how often ive seen the term neo-dadaist thrown around that people argue against ai art on the basis that its "just collage" or "presenting a premade thing as your own" (which, while inaccurate to how ai imagery works and the involvement of the human hand in it, is also blatantly dismissive of the multiple art movements that made use of techniques such as collage and premade commercial objects)

But also i just keep coming back to, you can dislike an artwork and feel it offers nothing of interest without trying to define it outside of art

And that perhaps some ai works feel soulless or uninteresting not because of the medium but becausr of the intent behind the work (am reminded of a twitter thread decrying ai art using overly smoothened disney sfm looking big titty porn images as an example - which i find very comical given the amount of those types of drawings done by digital illustrators that are equally bland)

As an artist i do not feel threatened by technology, i feel threatened by capitalist applications of technology

But im a ceramicist so this is not new to me, the invention of processes to mass pour-cast identical ceramic cups to be sold for $3 at target has not crushed the creativity and variety of the medium out of existence, nor has it crushed peoples interest in my work (the low wages of those people however has crushed their ability to buy things that are not those cheap commercial offerings)

The solution here is never going to be a further expanding of capitalist intellectual property laws nor is it going to be the ascent of artists to a higher wrung in the socioeconomic hierachy

But also some of you are just very pessimistic, art is one of the earliest recorded human behaviours, it has a long history before capitalism and despite the difficulties i truly believe it will survive long beyond it too

This is a somewhat rambly post but i have a lot of feelings about art and i dont appreciate being used as leverage against people exploring different modes of creation to my own and i really dont like that some people are effectively arguing for a legal framework wherein someone could take me to court over exhibiting a vase shaped similarly to one of theirs and i would just have to bleed up my limited income to defend myself

Because defining art theft in traditional mediums is murky in a way that you cannot capture in a set of legal guidelines - and even if you could intellectual property laws will always be applied in a way that primarily benefits the corporate world because taking something like that to court costs money that myself and many other artists do not fucking have and because the construct of intellectual property exists to protect capital

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voidling-collective · 2 years

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Okay so. Intro Post thing. That’s a thing we can do.

Hello! We are the Voidling System. We’re pretty small, and still figuring things out about ourselves every day. We’re still uncertain about origins, and mostly we have one person fronting while the others can be present, or give impressions or vague snippets from back (but are mostly completely silent). Full switches are rare, and very disorienting for everyone involved. That being said, here’s our members and a bit about what to expect!

Host- I’ll call myself Voidling, Void, or Ink here. She/They pronouns mostly! En/End if you’re feeling spicy. I will mostly tag with #void talks/void.talk even if it isn’t my own post or if I’m not saying anything on it, the two existing cuz I’m inconsistent and sometimes forget which one whoops- and #mecore for my stuff.

Yuki- Little gremlin boy with a penchant for biting. Half demon, and a bit magic but mostly uses it only when it’s funny. Uses he/him, and tags are #Yuki, #❄️, and #yukicore for stuff that reminds us of him. He also is the most frequent poster in #foxes are friends.

Anise- hearth spirit, a bit sassy, mostly uses she/they are the moment. Genderqueer as fuck, and very fond of not only food related things, but also humanity in general. Has an overall distaste and irreverence for the divine, and a fair amount of sass as well. Uses #anise, and #humanity is such a wonderful thing, when she finds something she likes. The rest of us tag stuff she might like with #anise might get a kick out of this.

Vi- resident ??? She/Her, She’s still a bit blurry, and tends to talk in a more eloquent manner we dub “fae speak”. Tags with #vi.

Kokomi- the most recent member thus far! She/Her, and tends to be rather affectionate as well as nearly always sleepy. Has a great fondness for apples and flowers. Tags #the littlest dragon, #coco, and #🌸

Ozy- oldest member besides host, and largely dormant. Full dragon man, uses he/him. Tags with #ozymandias and #🐉

Apollo Leonov- fucking nerd (/affectionate), and space/astronaut based headmate. Think of like, some unholy mixture of Star Trek, Mass Effect, and that one ending of the Civilization game where you have a colony ship to Alpha Centuri, and maybe one very specific among us map, and you have a somewhat decent understanding of what his source is like. Very fond of plants and greenery, and space. Tags are #mr spaceman and it’s accompanying #dream me a dream (mister space man, dream me a dream was the goal) for his more space related interests, and #song of pells as his general tag.

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montyterrible · 1 month

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“How do I love thee, Lords of the Fallen 2? Let me count the ways…”

Having somewhat recently finished my first playthrough of the 2023 Lords of the Fallen, and after immediately starting a second playthrough, I wanted to put together some thoughts on the game; however, I also wanted to avoid writing another Mortal Shell - sized epic, so I am going with an internet staple: a clearly delineated list, with five entries just because. There are issues I could talk about at great length—like the enemy variety or how the “rune” system of passive bonuses equipable on weapons feels kind of boring or limited—but I want to focus on the things that I feel led to me ultimately loving Lords of the Fallen 2 overall since that feels more fun and better suited to this intentionally limiting frame than trying to say something comprehensive.

I LOVE THE LEVEL/WORLD DESIGN…

“I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight”

While I enjoyed Elden Ring and Lies of P for the most part, one area where both of those games kind of disappointed me was in their individual approaches to the recursive and generally labyrinthine level and world design people associate with the Souls-like sub-genre of ARPGs. I thought Elden Ring was too much of an open world game on the whole, with too much empty space and checklist-style design, while Lies of P was pushing in the opposite direction, with conventional linear levels so focused that they lacked a strong element of exploration. Both of those games do have some brilliant bits, but Lords of the Fallen 2023 was just a lot more satisfying to me in this regard.

It doesn’t reach the level of flexibility that the first half of the original Dark Souls has, but it often surprised me with just how consistently good it was at sending me out from a checkpoint, spinning me around five or so times, and then leading me back to that checkpoint again (to my surprise). It’s obviously more focused than Elden Ring since it has the more traditional Souls-y structure, but it’s also frequently willing to indulge in nonessential loops or significant dead-ends, in contrast with Lies of P. Furthermore, if you don’t engage with its system of optional checkpoint creation, that requires a consumable item, then some of these loops feel especially brutal, at least on a first playthrough, given the maze-like levels and the enemy numbers and aggression being quite intense.

“World design” factors in here because A) levels do loop back to one another at times in ways that I did not initially anticipate and B) the total space you explore is so dense. It’s not all incredibly interconnected via traversable paths, but as you explore and gain an appreciation for where each area is in relation to the others, you start to notice just how layered everything is. It’s possible to look up from the bottom of the world and place things at the top (or vice versa) in a really satisfying manner. In the end, you make your way all over, down, around, and under this particular mass of land that the game’s explorable world is situated upon. The effect reminded me most of Dark Souls 3, maybe especially because that is another game of this type where there isn’t an abundance of interconnectivity but where you can see the whole world from very early on and then get to spend the rest of the game traveling through it and visiting all the locations you were shown, while also looking back (often up) at the places you already traveled through.

I LOVE UMBRAL…

“. . . [I]f God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death.”

In still images, Lords of the Fallen 2 can look quite impressive visually, albeit in a sometimes “default” Unreal Engine sort of (Maximum Polygons) way, but there is a certain amount of crustiness to it when you dig in and get up close and personal. I’m not some kind of graphics obsessive or someone who really cares about console power and whatnot, but the most distinctive “current gen” aspect of Lords of the Fallen 2023 is probably the element of “Umbral,” which represents both a technical showcase and an intensification of an idea that’s been developing across other, similar games.

In Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, you can die (at least) twice thanks to the resurrection mechanic that lets you revive on the spot where you were killed to continue fighting. In Mortal Shell, losing all of your health causes the “Foundling” to be ejected from whatever “shell” it’s inhabiting, where you could keep fighting in that extremely fragile state or could scramble to get back into your body before a single hit kills you. Lords of the Fallen 2 intensifies and expands on this concept by instantly (without a loading screen) sending you to what amounts to the realm of the dead when you’re killed initially, with true death coming only if you also die in this Umbral zone. It’s actually possible to technically die again and again without resetting an area as long as you can escape from Umbral at one of the designated exit points, which crumble upon use.

Probably the most succinct way to explain Umbral is that it’s the Otherworld from the Silent Hill franchise, but entering and exiting it is completely seamless and freeform. Being in Umbral changes the game world into something more Fucked Up. Some of the changes are just visual, but Umbral does also come with new landmasses, interactable objects, and enemies as well that sit naturally beside, around, and amidst what you could see before, effectively creating the impression of a ghostly land that’s always just out of sight all around you.

One cool concept here is the Umbral Lamp, which has various active functions (like yanking the soul out of your enemies temporarily) but which will passively let you see into Umbral if you just hold it up. Doing this reveals the hidden environment and also allows a limited interaction between the planes. I tested this very early in my first playthrough when I noticed that a wall in Umbral had this grotesque protrusion that I assumed would have collision tied to it. Walking along that wall without the lamp raised was perfectly smooth, but if I held the lamp up, I’d collide with the obstacle. Keep in mind that you can pull out the lamp whenever you want and swing it over whatever part of the environment you like. I’m not technically in the know enough to evaluate exactly how impressive this is, but it’s a neat trick that feels like it might show off the hardware.

Umbral adds so much to the exploration of the game because of how any given area is essentially doubled, though not all spaces have anything meaningful to see or find in the other realm. It’s often used as a puzzle-solving mechanic, where you have to willingly enter Umbral (risking true death) to bypass an obstacle, possibly via a path that only exists in the world of the dead. A fun horror visual you encounter a few times in the game is moving, in Umbral, along the bottom of a body of water, with plant life waving and debris and corpses floating around you like the water was still present. Even when Umbral isn’t used for anything meaningful, looking into it still reveals these extra macabre environmental details, like saintly statues that appear demonic if you shine your lamp on them. I accidentally jump-scared myself at times because I’d hold up the lamp, only to find an enemy from Umbral staring me in the face, or shrieking and taking a swipe at me as I yelped and dropped the lantern, narrowly avoiding being dragged into Umbral from the ghostly contact.

I LOVE THE “DREAD” METER (AND OTHER DISPLAY STUFF)…

“I love thee to the level of everyday’s

Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.”

I’m cheating a bit with this item, but, at least initially, this is an extension of what I was talking about before. When you are in Umbral, you have a limited amount of time to explore, as the number and type of enemies that continuously spawn around you from these little statues/frozen figures intensifies with time, ultimately culminating in the appearance of a very powerful reaper-like creature that starts hunting you down. I had some narrow escapes during my first playthrough of Lords of the Fallen 2, where I entered Umbral (willingly or not) and then only just managed to reach an exit point or checkpoint to escape before triggering the reaper’s appearance, or sometimes even as it was actively chasing me.

The meter that tells you how close you are to doom is a wonderful visual, though: It’s primarily this giant eye icon in the upper right part of the screen that periodically blinks (and that shuts when you’re in a safe zone). This was honestly a huge contributing factor to me getting the game after I saw it in pre-release coverage. Rather than go with some innocuous meter or minimalist bit of design, you have this very lively, large eyeball. It’s both goofy and kind of genuinely unsettling.

Other elements of the UI/HUD have a similar level of stylization, most notably the displays associated with the Umbral Lamp and ranged weapon/magic actions. Every character has the lamp, but then the other depends on whether you’re casting magic or are using a bow or various thrown objects. You toggle between these two options with the up and down directional buttons, and holding the left trigger “opens” the selected one, surrounding the larger icon with a bunch of smaller ones indicating actions and button inputs. These are all very colorful, and the arrangement (where the smaller icons sort of ring and overlap with the larger ones) just struck me as some level of idiosyncratic. Initially, the icons are even kind of mysterious or “confusing” in a way that I liked. When you hold up the lamp, for example, you see all these little options, one of which is a skull and another of which looks like a weird fetus.

Also kind of idiosyncratic is the choice to pull the camera into an over-the-shoulder position when the player holds the left trigger to either ready their aim or raise the lamp. I like this flourish because it seems kind of unnecessarily awkward. It helps with manually aiming, I guess, but the shift also makes transitioning from melee to ranged (or lamp) options a little disorienting. In combat, it obscures your view of the battlefield, for example, and while you can still evade, it feels like exposing yourself to take on this perspective. And maybe vulnerability was one consideration here, as this is the perspective from which you use your lamp, so holding it up and peering into the dark, in a sense, is meant to create this appropriate feeling of tension or horror, which is further enhanced by your slowed movement and more limited view.

Or maybe it’s just willfully different to avoid mirroring FromSoftware’s work too directly? There’s part of me that likes that option just as much (if not more) than the marginally more profound one I described above. In either case, seeing this awkward view change in the pre-release footage also charmed me.

I LOVE THAT IT IS LORDS OF THE FALLEN 2…

“I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints. . . .”

While I was initially intrigued at the prospect of a sequel to the 2014 Lords of the Fallen, I kind of… fell out of interest with it when I started thinking about what the massive time jump and the title (“THE Lords of the Fallen,” at the time of announcement) suggested about the relationship between the sequel and its predecessor. I did finish that first game and did continue playing it afterward, and probably would have stuck with it even longer if I hadn’t been constantly stressing about backing up my save to a USB flash drive to avoid losing my data to frequent crashes, so this framing of the sequel felt kind of like a snub to me.

What got me back on board and did push me to get it was watching a little of someone’s stream around the release date. When they spoke to a particular character at the hub and he directly referenced the events of the first game, including outright using the name “Antanas,” that was the point I decided to buy Lords of the Fallen 2023. To someone who hasn’t played the first game, I don’t think any of this stuff is too obviously being carried over and will just feel like the usual Souls-like vagueness around names and events and such being dropped casually, sans context. There is part of me that wishes it was more prominent, but I’m fairly content with what I got: Aside from the antagonist Adyr technically “returning” from Lords of the Fallen 1, there are two other characters carried over and one who has a connection via his ancestry.

Having these little footholds of pre-existing investment is ultimately what helped me get interested in the new stuff, I feel. I started out not really connecting with the new characters in a hard-to-describe sort of way. The writing and characterization were fine, I thought, but there was just something “off,” like they were a touch too generic maybe (but maybe that feeling only comes from having played so many of these games now that I recognize the archetypes). Eventually, though, those feelings changed and I did care when characters started meeting their, predictably, tragic ends. Some of these “quests” were more underwhelming than others, but I started caring at some point I can’t exactly identify. I think I also missed the more conventionally RPG-like dialogue system of the first Lords of the Fallen, which is replaced here with the more distant-feeling Soulsian approach of just having other characters as good as monologue at you.

This sequel’s aesthetic ended up being more consistent with the first title than I originally thought. Some shift in the visuals that I find hard to pin down had me thinking, pre-release, that the game was going in a more grounded direction, where the 2014 Lords of the Fallen had this colorful, kind of goofy, comic-book-like look to it. Having now examined the enemy models in particular up close, I think the perceived shift is just a result of more subtle changes that I’m again not qualified to identify specifically; however, the “Rhogar” (read: demon) designs here definitely look like they belong in the same universe from the first game, so it was just some change in… lighting(?) that threw me at first. The one thing I was hoping for that never happened was for the old enemies or areas to somehow return as well as a surprise finale or something. That would have really delighted me.

I LOVE THAT PARRYING (AND THE GAME) IS A BIT EASY…

“I love thee with the passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.”

Don’t get it twisted—I died a lot in this game, sometimes in ways that felt fair and other times in ways that seemed like BS, though that’s an element of even the “official,” FromSoftware-made, Souls games. I felt tension while exploring in a way that I believe enhances that exploration, and I certainly didn’t go into any fights just assuming I’d win. The threat was there. And yet, I’d say this game is probably easier than any of the other titles I’ve mentioned above, and even that the exploration and moment-to-moment fights might feel tougher than the big bosses in a way that seems awkward or even unintentional. And yet, the game still feels like a true sequel to Lords of the Fallen 2014 in this way, as my impression of some of the post-release discussion around that game was how it was in some ways a more approachable take on this style of RPG. I think Lords of the Fallen 2 carries on that tradition.

One way it does this is through making grinding an incredibly accessible process. Since enemies spawn infinitely in Umbral, it’s easy to do a little grinding without even necessarily meaning to as you simply cut down the weaker demons because they’re either in your way or just on your way (somewhere). You don’t have to constantly visit a checkpoint and reset the level to get more sources of EXP to appear and can instead just go into Umbral and let the EXP come to you.

Bosses and enemies also have simpler move sets than in the more recent other big-name Souls-ish titles, and since enemies repeat so much throughout the game, you can get pretty comfortable with them individually. Parrying, as previously noted, also feels easier. That’s partly to do with the enemy repetition giving you so many opportunities to learn their attack patterns and timings, but they also tend to attack in simple and more easily readable ways. Most of them are humanoids, so how they hold and swing their weapons (or limbs) just makes a lot of sense even the first time you encounter them. Parrying is a matter of timing a block with the enemy’s attack, rather than performing any additional inputs, which means that you can also accidentally get parries even as you simply raise your shield or weapon to defend yourself.

I thought I’d try parrying out against the first proper boss—a heavy metal angel with her feet out—just to see how it went and found it so satisfying and reasonable to pull off that it became a staple of my first playthrough. I even went with a lighter, very small shield to maximize the risk of mistiming a parry since I felt so confident doing it (and since it’s possible to regain health in this game through certain mechanics I won’t get into here). The sounds and visuals associated with parrying just felt rewarding, as were the effects associated with breaking an enemy’s stance and delivering a “Grievous Strike,” up to and including the perhaps overly chunky wind-up and splattery noises that are meant to sell the power of the attack.

I reached a point years ago, when I still hadn’t played that many Souls-esque games, where I was no longer interested in punishing duels and was more invested in novelty and mechanics (“gimmick fights,” even). I can still buckle down and learn fights if I have to—and I certainly had to when I played Lies of P—but getting to bypass that process of dying over and over and having to come to terms with the fact that you might have an hour or more of learning ahead of you before you make meaningful progress in the game again seems just fine to me. Re-playing some Elden Ring in preparation for its upcoming expansion, I just found myself kind of tired of the Margits of the gaming world. Lords of the Fallen 2 was arguably too easy at points, even for me with this mindset, but I generally just found it fun. The exploration was the thing that really drew me in—that and sometimes feeling like I was trundling through the cover art of a heavy metal album—and the fights were more so the seasoning than the meal itself.

IN CONCLUSION…

“I love thee freely, as men might strive for Right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.”

This game was essentially a gift when I bought it, and if dollars and hours are equivalent, I nearly got my money’s worth with my first playthrough alone. However, I think Lords of the Fallen 2023 had the misfortune of being priced into the same associative tier as titles like God of War: Ragnarök or The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom when it lacks a lot of that polish, scale, and detail and would probably feel more at home at 50 dollars instead. It carries on a bit of its predecessor’s jank, and however massive of an undertaking it actually was to create, it has this scrappy quality to it at times when the seams really show. It was very unfortunate for it to release a month after Lies of P as well—a similar game that was both cheaper and more polished and that also had the more audacious and novel premise.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Lords of the Fallen 2 will receive a critical/popular reappraisal in the future. That’s probably just a safe bet at this point for literally any piece of media, but I genuinely think that the stuff with Umbral and the level and world layouts are going to catch people’s attention in a wider sort of way in time, probably after a price drop or steep sale.

(Title based on and quotes above taken from Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnet 43, “How Do I Love Thee?”)

#lords of the fallen #dark souls #video games #review

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keeganhogan · 3 months

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Godzilla (1954)

Going into this film, I was not sure what to expect. I have never actually seen a Godzilla film, and my pop-cultural knowledge of the iconic monster extends to about as much as some of the Godzilla films made in recent years that seem to draw in audiences simply for some giant monster destructive action. However, that is not how Godzilla began. To first touch on the special effects, they are very obviously in the early stages of innovation in that regard. While some of the visual spectacle is lost on a 21st century audience, I still found appreciation for all the different ways they achieve the effects of mass destruction that the monster wreaks. Using high camera angles to capture the horrified faces of the actors, plenty of miniatures for the Godzilla actor to trample through, practical effects, stop-motion, editing, and pyrotechnics all come together in this film and work together far better than I ever thought that many different kinds of effects could. Godzilla truly feels massive and immortal in this movie. The loud, echoing footsteps indicating his presence, the iconic roar that, after some brief research, is created by a glove coated in resin on a double bass – a completely inhuman sound – in combination with the aforementioned special effects bring the fear, tragedy, and disaster experienced by the people in this movie to life. The black and white used in this film is used so expertly, as the stark contrast between shades gives the film a very noir-esque ambiance, which fits very well given the somber tone and topic of the film. The dark shadows cast across the streets of Tokyo contrasted with the bright white of Godzilla’s fires paints a very depressing hellscape of destruction to liken to the disaster of the bombing of Japan during the war.

Godzilla itself seems to be a way for the Japanese public to collectively deal with the trauma of the nuclear bombs that were dropped by American forces during the war. Doing some more research, I learned that the American occupation prohibited public discussion of atomic bombs, meaning that the Japanese public was suppressed in dealing with that trauma as a nation. Godzilla seems like a response to this, allowing for that discourse about nuclear weapons to be had. On the one hand, testing of hydrogen bombs is the reason that Godzilla is unleashed upon the Japanese people, and its radiated nature likens it to the atomic bombs themselves. On the other hand, it is also somewhat like a vengeful spirit of those who died to the bombs. Because of this representation, this film works almost as a coping mechanism, providing an idealistic world where scientists, the government, and the public all work together to conquer this threat that they could not in real life. I also found the likening of the Oxygen Destroyer to the atomic bomb interesting as well, as Serizawa, its inventor, knows that it will be used for horrible things if revealed to the government and public to take down Godzilla. This inner struggle that Serizawa has reminded me a lot of the movie Oppenheimer that came out just last year. The knowledge that the weapon will bring the world into a worse state of being because of its existence, but also the necessity to use it to save the people of the present day was the same dilemma that Oppenheimer experienced in that film. I’m not entirely sure if the inclusion of this discourse in Godzilla is meant to bring more focus on the way that the world treats weapons of mass destruction like this and less on the invention of said weapons or not. However, unlike Oppenheimer, Serizawa decides to take his invention to the grave with him, instead of having it be unleashed upon the world. This anti-nuclear sentiment of the film is where that similarity is clearly different, but of course that is also comparing fiction with historical truth. Another notion of anti-nuclear sentiment comes from the paleontologist, wonderfully played by Shimura Takashi, who notes that another Godzilla will surely awaken given the rise in H-bomb testing that awoke the first. This new creation of mass destruction will only lead to more trauma of nuclear fallout.

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