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ignitification · 3 years

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Colour Analysis III: (LoV Series II) - Dabi

Yes, no - you don't have any hallucination. It's here. It is. And yes, it took an absurdly long time to, but it's here so mh, yeah - enjoy.

I suddenly remembered that an ask, long ago, asked me about the design pattern evident for Dabi. It's here in case you want to have a look at it.

As I stated there, Dabi is a living contradiction, especially in terms of colour theory.

His colour pattern is a chameleon of sorts: he both represents light and dark at the same time, as if he cannot decide which one to stick with. I think that this duality has all to do with his genealogy. Inheriting his mother constitution and his father's Quirk amplified, Dabi goes through an adaptation process, manifesting especially by the change in his hair's colour (same as Tomura, that is - you can find the link for his analysis at the bottom of the post). The dyeing hair is also part of the process, but this time it comes about with a voluntary part, which brings us to the point that even if not entirely, Dabi's personality is build around a feeling and a character, which he wants to express and contrast at the same time. This is why, as I already specified the most important colour when it comes to Dabi are Blue, Purple and White (with a sprinkle of Red).

I.) Royal Blue

More than any other colour, Blue is what fits Dabi the most. His eyes are blue, his fire is blue and his clothes are blue (different variation, but you get the gist).

Blue usually stands for coolness, loyalty, intelligence and responsibility. But pushing this aside for a minute, blue has a distinct effect on the human body: it lowers the heart rate and the body temperature and has a calming effect. It's a constant colour which represents the tide of waves and the never-ending blue of the sky. In respect to Dabi, it can be seen how this hardly applies - but, at the same time it does. As Dabi inherits Rei's constitution and her resistance to the cold - but his father's 'fiery' personality, his fire manifests as both. It creates a friction, until the burns on his body become an evident purple. This characteristic has a distinct connection to Red (section IV) - however, the leitmotiv is that Dabi's body is used to the effects that blue should have on him, and instead of seeing it realise they are brought down and counter-affected by Red (which is a metaphor for his entire persona).

Blue has the feature of being ever-changing, which, as you'll have understood by now, is one of many contrasts in Dabi's appearance. He indeed goes through an exterior change - but as blue, he remains steady on a path (which is revenge, and will to actually prove to Endeavour that he is not a mistake), making his character consistent with his ideas throughout the arcs and steady.

An overuse of blue is cold and impersonal - indicating the presence of deep dark secrets and having a connection with feelings of sadness and depression. It creates the pictures of someone hiding in the dark just not to reveal their secrets, and for a long time we see Dabi trying to keep a low profile and then approach with an attitude of uncaring and cold indifference. He has burned his eye glands, which should allow him to express this feelings - but they are expressed, on the contrary, in the strength of his fire, and causes old feeling to settle and burn their way through his persona.

Blue is a susceptible colour and it hurts deeply - because in the first place, people associated with blue tend to feel too deeply. This fits the pattern of Dabi's fire being conditioned by his emotions, and why likely it creates deep wounds on his body: as a remainder that his feelings, expressed through the fire are way too intense and affect Dabi deeply. Deep enough for him to survive an astonishing fire and to hide for years in wait of having the right opportunity, the perfect opportunity to actually redirect this feeling onto the subject which caused them. As the constant colour that it is, indeed, blue (and Dabi) lives in the past.

Light blue is associated with healing, understanding and softness (his eyes), while darker hues are instead expression of power and knowledge (clothes - as a reminder of adulthood).

Finally, back on the literal meaning of blue: blue is a giver in the relationships that matter, but at the same time this colour can be unfaithful and deceiving (and we saw this in his interactions with the League at first and with Hawks, too). It is associated with intelligence and and consciousness (and indeed, the one who sort of had the reigns of the Training Camp was Dabi, and furthermore he is the only one who Ujiko retained mature enough to control a High End). This encompasses his characteristics of being reliable and responsible - and of course, Dabi embodies the whole spectrum.

Also on a final, funnily enough note, blue is usually associated with voice communication and someone who needs order, and strives for perfection as well as tending to be the one to speak in public. It's idealistic and expresses a will to satisfy its higher needs - and by doing that it expresses devotion in these ideals. So if you think about how Dabi's character is focused on reforming society, and giving Stain's will freedom and realisation, Dabi comes full circle - with a devotion which makes him focused on his goals (Stain's will, reformation of society and the Endeavour' downfall) , the commitment to actual plan their perfect realisation, and the ability to achieve it through the right means (The Broadcast).

II.) Pure White

White. Integrity, purity, innocence. Mourning, for some cultures. In particular in Japan, it is used as a colour meaning death, and is used in funerals. Same as for Tomura, Dabi uses both White and Black to somehow mourn himself and his loss (Tenko for his family, Touya for the himself he leaves behind) and especially in his adulthood, the concealing of such a colour through pitch black, is not only an effort to hide his identity but also to express a refusal to be the same person. White represents a new beginning, a blank slate. And if we consider these two to be somehow related (because death is seen as not the end, but instead a new beginning) it is clear how this colour, has a relevance to this character. After Touya's death, and his white hair hidden - he becomes Dabi, who has no time to still appeal to the childish feeling of wanting to impress his father and instead throws himself onto a new chapter of his life, because the past he will always remember, has been burned.

Same as blue, white brings serenity and peace - and at the same time it represents coldness and emptiness. I think this somehow emphasises the change in colour from red to white, and the loss of believing in strength (read: Endeavour) instead leaving an empty space in his heart, filled with emotions which he cannot control. The loss of innocence and the acquisition of the fact that Touya will never be what his father wanted him to, and the acceptance of such a thing - further brings out the meaning of the colour blue. (As already stated before, white, in Dabi's case is of enormous relevance - because it amplifies its relation to blue.)

Finally, white brings forward independence and freedom - and it stands for perfection. And I think it's really ironic how white, is not only the colour he inherited from Rei - a cold stark white - but at the same time, Endeavour has tossed him aside for the same reason, and that is because in his eyes he could not be more 'wrong'. But when his hair settles into his ultimate colour of white, Touya also breaks free from his father's expectation (but does he, really?) to start instead a new chapter as Dabi. Hiding the mistake he thinks he is, an instead embraces the personality that has been thrown onto him.

White is also the symbol of truth - which is tied to the revelation that Dabi is Touya Todoroki, and his dyed black hair becomes white, again (revealing the truth of his persona).

II.I) Pitch Black

Just to be as precise as possible, I'm adding a tiny section on black, which can be summarised in two sentences: black is associated with mystery, sophistication, power and authority. It brings forward the symbol of darkness, rebellion and ultimately it stands as a synonym of death. It's a colour which, when considered in respect to white, stands for the struggle between right and wrong - good and evil. Dabi presents himself as someone mysterious, and he does not reveal his name until far down the line. But he is still a representation of power, in terms of quirk and his position both inside the LoV and the PFL. Furthermore, him covering up his hair colour with black, as already said, has to do with wanting to appear a villain more than it has to do with his identity. He wants to fade into background for a while, and then come from the darkness to sweep everyone away - covering himself in black so it sends a clear message to everyone looking at him: that he is dangerous, and that there is no escape from his evil.

III.) Daunting Purple

Now, this is a controversial section. When I first thought of Dabi, I associated him with blue more than anything else, because after all, even if purple is an ever-present colour, it is just a reminder of how dangerous his quirk is, and how his body does not fare well in the friction of his firepower and his constitution. However, I think it is still important to put things into perspective when it comes to Dabi.

It is not a surprise, that Purple comes about as a combination of Red and Blue. The eternal struggle - which comes forth into the most detrimental way possible, for him. The shade of this colour has different meanings (not surprisingly) but, as far as I am concerned, Dabi's is a 'darker purple' (which is the one we have figured in the pictures) and fulfils its duty to evoke sadness and gloom. This is just a constant reminder of his story, and also the why Dabi is not very big on concealing the scars: because he thinks of them as a fair punishment, and that they remind him constantly of what and when exactly things did go wrong. Purple is also a colour associated with royalty and people with authority. On this meaning, there might a controversial stake, because it would actually give a relevance (or positive connotation) to the colour, however, as already stated before - I think that the scars are not only a reminder for himself, but same as the conscious choice of wearing black, Dabi makes a conscious choice to reveal his burn marks and to stitch his skin with evident metal piercings. He is putting them in evidence for a reason, and I'd guess this is the same reason for why he sticks on wearing dark colours, and to due his hair black: Dabi's objective is to appear as a heartless villain, and usually the image of somehow badly injured and wearing dark clothes, as sad as this might be, projects the image of exactly someone you'd like to avoid on the street.

Purple is also the colour of 'Fall', with its fading light. I found this particularly poetic when it comes to Dabi, as Fall might as well be the eternal representation of his character, and the fact that instead Dabi's fire just grown bigger and bigger, hurting him even more in the process - is the total contrary of fading light. But on the other hand, the light of his own personality, and those emotions he keeps tucked away just tend to be fade, dwindle at every sign of possible emotional connection.

Purple promotes the balance between mind and emotions - between the spiritual and the physical world. The balance between Red (emotions) and Blue (mind), and to which Dabi is not accustomed, yet. Finally, purple - among others - is also a mourning colour (reminder that both White and Black are also mourning colours). And it also inspires mystery, which again the image Dabi likes to project about himself onto others.

IV.) Flourishing Red

Red is Dabi's curse and representation. The contrast to white, and also the exacerbation of Blue. Red is the colour that gets the blood going (or rather, in this case, 'The one that turns up the heat' and which contrasts the calming effects of Blue) and the one who expresses passion and strength (which is why Endeavour's personality colour is Red - it's not a case that Red is associated with violence, anger, blood, obsession of power and strength, danger and fiery passion).

Red is the colour which Touya denies, and that instead comes back to bite him back. Red is energising and full of spirit and passion - and the image of a young Touya, striving to get better and make his father proud comes to mind. It's prideful and full of power - the will of a child, and his enormous Quirk-power struggling to keep it in check. This is why, Red after a while fades to Blue - and burns even more than it used to. Passion felt too deep, the exploitation of power which brings destruction. An all clear sentence to actually see why Dabi ends up with denying the all-too-overwhelming presence of Red and its characteristics, opting instead for a more suited to him Blue, which is also highly contrasting to the pure anger and passion associated to Red. The fact that Touya's hair changes, is an indicator of how he negates his father's influence, but still insists on hanging on those feelings, because he cannot let go of them. A walking oxymoron.

Thank for staying all the way, and for reading.

P.S. The colour analysis featuring Izuku and Shigaraki are respectively linked.

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erazonpo3 · 3 years

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Lost Legends

Okay so I read Lost Legends: The Rise of Flynn Rider and general thoughts? It was cute and fun, and I have gripes here and there but I can still recommend it. I don't want to compare it to WOWM because it's like apples and oranges but Lost Legends wins points for me by actually acknowledging the TTS storyline and characters, even though it's kinda brief and not quite as... entertaining.

And before I go into the in-depth spoiler review I'll jot down a few thoughts here: there's a lot to be said about tie-in media and 'canon', but where I think it becomes contentious is where two pieces contradict each other, and whether those contradictions necessitate a canonical hierarchy or cancel something out completely. And the reason I'm bringing this up is because while LL borrows TTS lore it also contradicts it? which is. ironic.

but i'll get into that. Spoilers ahead

Basic Summary of The Plot

Our story starts at the Dark Kingdom, with a short prologue. It's all stuff we already know from the series: King Edmund tries to grab the moonstone, his wife dies, Eugene gets sent away for his own safety. What's funny is that Ms Queen still doesn't get a name, but her Lady in Waiting/Handmaiden gets a name (Maeve), and it's Maeve who really drops the ball on dropping Eugene off at an orphanage instead of raising him as Prince Horace. Go girl give us nothing

And from here the LL timeline begins, as Eugene and Arnie are now twelve year olds (I think?) in an orphanage in Corona. Which is the first contradiction to 'canon' but shelve that thought for now. Eugene and Arnie are good little boys but they're getting too old to keep hanging around and the orphanage needs money for the evil Tax Man, so they decide they'll go off into the world and send some money back when they're rich off their famous adventuring. What happens instead is that The Baron's circus rolls into town (yes that Baron) and Eugene and Arnie decide to try their luck signing up for that gig.

To prove themselves to the Baron, Flynn and Lance have to perform a hazing ritual a heist. The heist is literally just to buy a key from the Weasel but it plays out as this huge dramatic thing with a guard chase which is eternally funny to me because two kids walk into a bar, buy a key and then leave, and it's treated like fucking ocean's eleven. The Stabbingtons try to betray them (those guys are here too) but Flynn and Lance outsmart them, beginning a rivalry for the ages. Also, the pub thugs are all part of the Baron's circus crew. Don't think about it too much.

Anyway, as this has all been going down, Eugene is really interested in getting to talk to this guy with a tattoo of (what we as the audience know is) the brotherhood symbol, which Eugene recognises from the note left with him as a baby. He wants to talk to this dude in the hopes he'll get a clue about who his parents are, but this dude keeps eluding him. He also hasn't had a chance to tell Lance about this yet, so when Lance finds out about it he assumes Eugene only tried to rope him into the circus so he could find his parents and ditch him. Cue an ongoing silent treatment.

Eugene eventually does talk to this guy and he learns that the Brotherhood symbol is from the Dark Kingdom but the Dark Kingdom is gone so he shouldn't bother looking for it. Bummer. And now the Baron is planning a huge heist of the reward money for the Lost Princess' return, and Eugene is getting cold feet. He's been okay with a little bit of thievery so far but this feels like too much for him, and he's not okay with pulling it off but Lance still won't talk to him.

As the plan unfolds, Lance and Eugene reconcile and then they work together to betray the Baron and return the stolen treasure that they stole back to the King and Queen. They get caught by the Baron, escape, then get caught by the guards, but it's okay because they're presented to the King and Queen and when Eugene explains that they felt really sorry about it and promise not to do it again they're let go. And so the story ends on a high note.

My Thots™

Okay so here are the thoughts

Canon Compliance?

The obvious takeaway here is that this story offers you a beautiful pie in the form of the characters you know and love and the established lore, then shoves the pie in your face with things like "Eugene already knows the Dark Kingdom and the Moonstone exist but he never brings this up" and "Eugene betrays the Baron in a very significant way but somehow they'll make up and he and Stalyan will get engaged". Which means that if the integrity of the series is important to you, you'll probably just mentally cross out Eugene knowing about the Brohood/DK/Moonstone.

And imo that's fine! My own approach to this story is a kind of general 'if it works it works, if it doesn't I'll leave it' thing to work my own headcanons around. Because there's a lot of fun things to pluck from, like a new ex-Brotherhood member and other characters that could pop up from Eugene's past and other worldbuilding details.

The Story

The story was pretty short and obviously very tailored towards a younger audience, but it still felt kind of... slow? Mostly because nothing particularly exciting is happening until the big heist and even that feels pretty underwhelming. And of course I don't expect a story like this to be particularly complex and can appreciate its simplicity, but I felt like if it had been longer there could have been more twists to keep things interesting.

For example, the Baron is set up as a character not unlike Gothel, who lavishes praise upon the boys and goes on about how they're 'family' but is obviously just manipulating them and would throw them to the wolves in a heartbeat. Eugene underestimates just how criminal the Baron is, but at no point in the story does the doubt we have in the Baron's sincerity ever amount to anything- Eugene only turns against him because he has a morality crisis, which I'll get to in a minute.

Misc. Thoughts

Okay so one thing I thought was really cute was that each chapter has a little 'quote' from a Flynnigan Rider book, and I wrote them all down so if you've read this far and want me to post those separately lemme know. Anyway I just thought it was a very cute touch.

An honourable mention goes to every time Stalyan shows up, she doesn't really do anything in the story yet still is somehow the only character holding the brain cell. Rapunzel gets an indirect cameo by Lance and Eugene stumbling upon her tower and going "Whoa that's Crazy. Anyway. " which is amazing, and Cassandra even gets a little mention by the Captain! And to answer the question nobody asked, there's a chameleon running around Corona because she's an escapee from the circus, and Pascal's mom's name is Amélie!

Characters - okay really just Eugene

Eugene/Flynn is the title character of the book and we get the story exclusively from his POV, so there isn't a lot to say about Lance. On the one hand while I can acknowledge that this is a story about Flynn, not Lance, there's a few choices that feel like a missed opportunity at best given that this book really was an opportunity to explore Lance's character in a way the series never really does.

And it feels extra egregious when the plot demands conflict between Eugene and Lance, because while the emotion between them is engaging when it's happening, at other times it just feels like a convenient way to shove Lance offscreen again. (As a side note, as contrived as the conflict is these are also two twelve year old boys so. Can't blame em too much).

Also, Eugene coming up with the name "Lance Strongbow" on Lance's behalf while he's unconscious is one of those backstory things I'm not going to be acknowledging, thank you.

The Robin Hood Dilemma

Something I touched on after reading What Once Was Mine is that Eugene's characterisation prior to the movie isn't something writers seem to really like... dealing with. And it kind of makes sense that the author received a lot of characterisation notes from Chris Sonnenburg, because little Flynn does feel very similar to the Eugene we know; only the Eugene we know is an adult man who has since grown out of his Flynn Rider persona. But the Flynn Rider persona he needed to grow out of isn't something that ought to be cast aside entirely!! Stop being cowards!!

Taking a step back, the whole premise of the book is kind of a paradox- because Eugene needs to become Flynn Rider before he can learn to embrace his authentic self, but Flynn Rider isn't hero material, he isn't a good guy, he's not the right protagonist for a story for kids. So what we get isn't Flynn Rider, it's really just Eugene trying on a new name. That works for the beginning of the story, because he is just Eugene trying on a new name, but he doesn't grow into it.

At the beginning of the story, Eugene is an orphan in a poor but still functional orphanage run by a kind old lady, and he is surrounded by nice little boys. Eugene is motivated to leave and get a job by a desire to send funds back to the orphanage, and when he joins the Baron's circus he's taken aback to learn he's among thieves. Here's where I thought: okay, this might get interesting. We might be getting a G-rated 'angel falls from heaven' story about Eugene being morally corrupted by the Baron, of learning that the world outside is tough and he needs to look out for himself first and foremost-

but no. The Baron shares his plan to steal the reward money for the Lost Princess, because all the people he's surrounded himself with are already criminals who don't give a shit, but Eugene thinks that this is going too far! What about that poor lost princess who people need an incentive to search for? (he's like, projecting about his own parent issues which is fair, but still). And so the story ends with Eugene turning on the Baron to return the money to the "right" people (aka the king and queen of a kingdom?? okay) but he takes a single golden egg for himself so he can send it to the orphanage.

Which is all sweet and nice but. He still has to become Flynn Rider, asshole extraordinaire. He still has to lose his morals to the point where he'd take an inexperienced young woman to a pub that he, in this book, recognises is a dangerous place in the hopes that he can ditch her. He still has to go and become a wanted thief and rejoin the Baron and then ditch Stalyan on their wedding night.

The reason I'm going on about this so much is that the appeal of Eugene to me is that he is this good guy who wants to be a better person for the people he loves, but that means recognising that he has behaviour he needs to change, and his development is meaningful for that. Watering him down to a righteous Robin Hood hero does him a disservice.

The Real Villain Was Capitalism All Along

I will not elaborate nor should I

#hi i do book reviews now #sorry if you came here for anything else this is who i (cringe) am

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passionate-reply · 3 years

Video

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This week on Great Albums, I finally do a video on one of my very favourite artists: Gary Numan! And I’ve started with a not-so-obvious choice, his second solo album, Telekon. What makes Telekon so great? Click and find out! Or read the full transcript, which is below the break.

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums! Today, we’ll be talking about Gary Numan for the first time in this series, and most definitely not the last. Telekon, Numan’s second LP under his own name, is not a particularly obvious place to start tackling his enormous legacy, but I chose it partly for sentimental reasons: while I can no longer remember exactly what my first vinyl record purchase as a teenager was, there’s a solid chance it might have been this copy of Telekon. But, that aside, Telekon holds a pivotal spot in Numan’s discography, in that it’s basically the last entry in his very brief “imperial phase.”

Numan’s first major hit was, of course, the unforgettable “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?”, the main single off of his second album with Tubeway Army, 1979’s Replicas. Replicas was a bit patchy and stylistically diverse, a snapshot of the artist emerging from punk rock, and just starting to meld that with electronics and forge something new. Later in ‘79, Numan followed it up with something more cohesive: his arguable masterpiece, The Pleasure Principle. This album would pull no punches in its attempts to blast you onto your back with its synthesised screeches.

Music: “Films”

But, where to next? While all of Numan’s music is distinctively “him,” he’s also never been one to get too comfortable in any particular style. If The Pleasure Principle was Numan leaning into the punk side of Replicas, and tracks like “When the Machines Rock,” then Telekon represented a return to the dark and ominous atmosphere of tracks like “Down in the Park.”

Music: “The Aircrash Bureau”

While The Pleasure Principle had been defined by its buzzing, gritty walls of texture, Telekon tracks like “The Aircrash Bureau” emphasize eerie, whining synth lines, and create a sense of delicate frailty with traditional instruments like viola and piano. Where The Pleasure Principle strove for a busy and full sound, bordering on overwhelming, Telekon is bleak, hollow, and haunting. But aside from its sound, “The Aircrash Bureau” doesn’t necessarily push new conceptual and thematic ground for Numan, being narrated by the titular entity, a hopelessly mysterious force of death and chaos that seems to threaten us listeners. Equally gothic themes pervade the rest of Telekon, including its lone single and opening track, “This Wreckage.”

Music: “This Wreckage”

In 1980, Numan also released two other singles, “We Are Glass” and “I Die: You Die.” These standalone A-sides were clearly intended to be part of the “Telekon era,” as their sleeves prominently feature Numan in his iconic black-and-red leather jumpsuit, like the album does. They were initially absent from Telekon, though--at least, before some releases added them to the tracklisting. I like a big hook as much as anybody else, but I can still appreciate the commitment to ambiance and crawling, slow-burning song structures on Telekon proper. Thanks to the dominance of slower-paced material, the more strident moments feel well-earned--as on “Sleep By Windows,” the track usually cut for “I Die: You Die.”

Music: “Sleep By Windows”

While it’s easy to praise the artistic integrity of Numan’s aversion to including those singles, it was certainly a somewhat bold career move. But Numan was more or less on top of the world at this point--and he’d been hitting the top of the pop charts, with both Replicas and The Pleasure Principle becoming number one albums. If he was a bit cocky, that was understandable...and it ended up paying off for him in the end, at least this time, with Telekon also achieving that number one spot. But Telekon would prove to be Numan’s last LP to do so. While there’s never one clear reason why an artist falls out of the spotlight, it’s hard to listen to Telekon without coming away with the impression that Numan was a bit tired of his sudden and unexpected fame, which had swallowed him up when he was hardly a legal adult. “Remind Me to Smile” stands out as a track whose lyrics seem to embody Numan’s desire for relief from so much public scrutiny.

Music: “Remind Me to Smile”

“Remind Me to Smile”’s strikingly upbeat melody seems to embody the titular request, putting on a stilted facade of emotion despite the misery expressed in its lyrics. Numan’s diffident demeanour and social awkwardness, which he later learned to attribute to autism, undoubtedly made his life difficult. His personality also contributed to his perception by the masses as robotic or alien, almost as much as the futuristic themes of his art, grounded in his lifelong interest in science fiction. The much-beloved track “I Dream of Wires” is one of his most famous dystopian narratives, spinning the tale of an elderly electrician who’s lived to see himself become obsolete, in a high-tech world with no more use for his skills. With its chorus ambiguously referencing “new waves,” it’s tempting to interpret it as an expression of Numan’s own fears of the world of music continuing without him someday.

Music: “I Dream of Wires”

The cover of Telekon is dominated by this bold black and red colour scheme, its criss-crossed stripes evoking the straps of Numan’s aforementioned jumpsuit without actually portraying him wearing it. The artist’s disembodied head appears to be floating, with a sort of ghostly halo behind it, adding to the album’s spooky feel. Equally mysterious is the expression on Numan’s face: his head is slightly tilted, and his eyes seem to drift away from meeting our gaze as viewers, which might be read as a symptom of his characteristic shyness.

While the title “Telekon” doesn’t particularly mean anything on its own, it seems to be derived from the word “telecommunication,” and could be interpreted as an outgrowth of Numan’s established association with things technological. Telekon is often concerned with ways of communicating with others, as on “Remind Me to Smile.” Phone calls are prominently mentioned on several Telekon tracks, as well as the aforementioned single "I Die: You Die." “Please Push No More,” perhaps the album’s most desolate moment, is anchored by what seems to be a call from a telephone booth.

Music: “Please Push No More”

After Telekon, Numan made yet another bold move: embarking on a “Farewell Tour,” and declaring his intent to retire from giving his much-lauded live performances. However, he quickly reneged. His next two albums, 1981’s Dance and 1982’s I, Assassin, saw him vary his sound even more drastically, adopting influences from jazz and funk. They also saw him decline ever further in relevance and commercial viability. To this day, Telekon is usually considered the last truly great album Numan made for a long time. I’m not a huge fan of his early 80s followups myself, but I do think that they’re at least a bit unfairly maligned. I’d challenge the notion that their stylistic shakeups came “out of nowhere,” and point to Telekon’s increasing emphasis on groovy basslines as a hint of where Numan would decide to go next.

Music: “Music For Chameleons”

My favourite song from Telekon is its closer, “The Joy Circuit.” While Telekon has a lot of pretty dejected-sounding tracks, “The Joy Circuit” seems to send us off on a more cheerful note, with a dramatic finish bursting with violin and viola. It’s tempting to see it as a sunbeam, parting the gloomy, grey clouds of the rest of the album...but Numan doesn’t let us off the hook that easy. The final line of the song, and hence the entire album, is “all I find is a reason to die,” which is a hell of a way to close the book. With that, I have to end my video--thanks for watching!

Music: “The Joy Circuit”

#music #albums #great albums #album review #album reviews #gary numan

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wtfzodiacsigns · 5 years

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My Experience With the Signs (Reprise)

Aquarius: They have a commanding presence to them that to some is intimidating but not to me. You stick to your “one way of doing things” far too much. they act emotionally detached even when everyone knows they’re the most sentimental person in the room. some of them get on my nerves with their one track mind, but for the most part we get along. they’re the type to say eww guiltlessly when you say you like something really lame (if they dont then they’re the lame one). don’t really get irony for some reason either. they dont understand how you can be ironically into something really stupid, like saying you ironically listen to journey or hall and oats sometimes.

Pisces: its a 50/50. Either I love you or I can’t stand you theres no in between. they all have high morals and will really push them on people. this isnt a big problem unless their logic makes absolutely no sense which happens. they can be very intelligent but this can lead some to become overzealous. they’re smart, empathic and very compassionate. they are equal parts capable of being my favorite person or me just wanting to kill them due to some of their know-it-all natures and ridiculous logic. they’re the type where you can chain smoke talking about every topic under the sun with for 7 hours. so long as you don’t offend them which can happen pretty easily. make one innocuous joke or comment and all hell will break loose.

Aries: we would be cool except you make every issue about you. I admire your ability to stay positive, almost to a level where i fear you’re actually just ignorant of the problem completely. they’re good at making light of other peoples situations, but if something happens to them that they don’t like, its as if the whole world has to go on hold for them to figure it out. they can be really exhausting this way and come off as being super self absorbed. these are the type to call you at 4am saying “guess what just happened to me.”

Taurus: honestly not much has changed. you are still lazy and still prefer netflix and your bag of cheetos to hanging out. but regardless, they’re level headed and easy to talk to. they love to use the blame game to explain away their problems so they dont have to put work into adjusting their behavior. they have sound logic and ideas and can be that friend that you make a meaningful glance to across the room when the person you’re talking to is full of shit. nothing phases these people. until something does. then all hell breaks loose and they are insane.

Gemini: (i dont know many so im sorry if this is an unfair bias) out of all the ones I’ve known, they’ve all sucked. they manipulate and lie to get what they want from people. usually control. every picture on their facebook page is of themselves. they think they’re really talented and special when really they’re just a methhead trying to pick up underage girls with their guitar at a party they weren’t invited to.

Cancer: they’re all super sweet honestly. prone to being down on themselves and making their poor self esteem painfully obvious. they can get defensive and close themselves off even though you really just wanna hug them. tend to make poor relationship choices though they usually dont figure that out til later. really just fun to be around and drink half a bottle of tequila with. you can really tell them anything and they won’t judge you. a wholesome bean.

Leo: the person who cuts into a conversation because you haven’t said their name in five minutes. these are a bit of a mixed bag. the ones who dont have any control of their ego are unbearable: naiive, arrogant, selfish, self centered, etc. but the ones who are aware of their own egos are typically nihilists who like really weird anime and rip on themselves to make them laugh. the self aware ones have this “dead inside” air to them but not in a depressing gloomy way just in a confident “life is meaningless so fuck it” way. also I’ve never met a female leo who wasn’t gay so theres that masculine sign bringin the gay.

Virgo: they overanalyze too much and it makes them anxiety ridden but they dont do anything about it. they can be critical, but trust me they criticize themselves the most. they can be pretty blunt, and its a good trait only about half the time. they are secretly very emotional though most will never know that. they are dying inside but are super good at faking it and turning it into a joke. range from being overbearing to overly detached in about half a second. people don’t really perceive them the way they should in both directions good and bad. they stick to their ways but not in an aquarius or taurus way, but more of a “I am at a loss I dont know what else to do” way. typically very understanding and kind but not at first. it takes time to get through that prickly cynical exterior. they’re moody and typically get way too caught up and drown in tragedies. if something bad happens they never forget and they let it follow them to their grave. they’re the kind of person where you can lay on the hood of their car at night listening to beach house talking about how cool space is. (true story)

Libra: another 50/50. they both make me the angriest most miserable person on earth and also happy to the max. they love passionately when they’re actually in love but are prone to cheaty behavior which they never address. They get caught up in what people think of them without realizing it and it makes them act irrationally. they have a habit of trying to get someones attention or respect by covering up their true selves and adopting all the interests and hobbies of the person they admire, basically a chameleon. this makes them seem fake. i wish they would just embrace who they are and be themselves because literally everyone on earth would prefer that. some, usually the men, can be extremely arrogant and think they’re the greatest thing ever at everything with no evidence. they can be incredibly insecure and have all sorts of weird ways of covering it up. can be manipulative. very flirtatious which is great if you’re interested in one and really not great while you’re dating them. don’t really understand the concept of emotional cheating, probably because they do it so much and dont want to look at themselves as cheaters but they are. if you find a loyal self aware libra with integrity and self respect though, my god they could rule the world through their ability for kindness and love.

Scorpio: I can be good friends with them but dating them is always a poor choice. they can be pretty oblivious and a lot of them get caught up in trying to look cool. its not because they care what people think its for some weird unknown self serving reason. these people can surprise you in all kinds of ways. because they keep themselves pretty low profile you never really know what they’re capable of. they’re unpredictable that way. they are pretty slutty in frivolous relationships, but once they commit they’re pretty attached. almost to an unhealthy degree. like they could get beat up, cheated on and abandoned by their partner and still love them (true story. like 3 of them). honestly though, usually just dorky memelords who wanna argue with you about politics and music using alien conspiracies as supporting evidence.

Sagittarius: oh you fiery eyed beauties. the independent ones are the best ones. they can talk all kinds of shit and not give a fuck better than anyone and its amazing so long as you’re not on the receiving end of it. the lazier ones are usually more clingy and unsure of themselves and usually use that fiery energy on their loved ones and themselves which isnt as fun. they are the greatest best friends. they know exactly what to say and when and they are the type of person where if you tell them you got cheated on they’ll go find the bastard and light their car on fire. essentially, a punk rock sagittarius can’t be topped by anyone. just stay away from the alcohol because you are so prone to being an alcoholic like please stop we love you.

Capricorn: usually very sweet. like to the point where you wonder if they’re “okay.” they will put up with some ridiculous shit from people. if you need emotional support though ask a capricorn because they will be there. usually like to keep in charge of themselves and accomplish their goals in their own kind of strange ways. usually neat and clean and smell good. they’ll buy you pizza and not ask to pay it back. if you upset one enough to leave your life then you’ve fucked up big time because they will put up with just about anything.they are precious keep them close and protected. I only met one i didnt like and they literally ended up the person i dislike most out of the whole human race that I’ve met. so i guess this means they’re just as capable of being complete asswipes as they are being squishy marshmallows.

Source: nanothestrange

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xiubaek-13 · 4 years

Text

The Masks of Destiny - Prologue

Pairing: None. Story is Monsta X + OC, but there is no romantic pairing.

Warnings: Not much in this prologue. Mentions of hell, inciting violence, questionable morals.

Word Count: 2,645

Genre: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons inspired world. Also, pirates.

Summary: Brought together in the town of Luskan, seven adventurers meet in the local tavern, The Cutlass, on the seventh night of the new moon as requested. They meet with Celaena, an infamous pirate captain who informs them of the concerning matters at hand. Unbeknownst to them, they have been watched since they arrived in the port. A mysterious traveller watches from the shadows, biding their time.

Prologue: Told from the perspective of the mysterious traveller.

***

In the depths of the Forgotten Realms your adventure begins. A candle illuminates an aged window on the bottom floor of The Cutlass tavern. It wouldn’t have been your first choice of venue but apparently your benefactor thought popular meant good. The place was falling apart, large chunks of rotting wood made you question the structural integrity of the place. And it smelled like booze, loose lips and vomit. Even the steady falling of rain outside couldn’t mask that smell. Gods you hated pirate towns.

You sat in the corner, out of the way and out of view of most of the patrons. With your cowl and hood covering most of your face you were able to sit back and observe, a task you were exceedingly good at. You were here to complete a mission. A mission that you felt was beneath you but you weren’t about to be the one to question Grazz’t, only an idiot would do that and think it was going to go well for them.

The demon lord was not to be trifled with. Many forgot that he was one of the few to rule over multiple realms in the Abyss, and had done so for centuries, unchallenged. Just because he didn’t appear like your typical demon did not mean that you should speak freely in his presence. He was always adorned in finery, everything about him was designed to draw you in, to make you susceptible to his charms. Rather, it was the opposite. You’d learned quickly to choose your words wisely with him. He was more skilled than any politician when it came to making deals and twisting words, hell he even manipulated other demons to keep himself amused. He enjoyed making you think that you’d bested him, gaining the upper hand in a deal only for him to lay all of his cards on the table at the last moment, showing you just how fucked you were.

This made some think that he wasn’t to be feared in combat. They were wrong. He won’t kill with brute force but he’ll turn you against your allies and force you to kill them before killing you himself. He was the ultimate tactician and manipulator and you were one of his best students.

Being one of his best was why you felt this task was beneath you. Your instructions were straight forward enough, follow the party, gain their trust, join them and sabotage their mission without them knowing. It was a mission that any acolyte could complete. There was something more at play here, there always was when Grazz’t delivered missions to you personally. The glint in his eye had hinted at it. Until you worked out what the ulterior motive was, you watched your marks.

This kind of mission should have gone to your sister Calaena, and would have if she’d been smart enough to serve Grazz’t. She didn’t have as much hatred for do gooders as you did. Your past experiences spoke for themselves and you learned from them. ‘Heroes’ were never to be trusted. Your sister and you had very different upbringings, you were always the perfect evil child while she was only ever half in on it. Her heart wasn’t as dark as yours and she was far more aloof. She would never serve a higher power, only herself. In some ways you envied her, especially when you were serving Lilith but once you had your exodus from the Underdark and found yourself in the servitude of Grazz’t you found a new purpose in life. A chaotic evil purpose. It pleased your dark and twisted little heart. Caleana had other ideas for herself once she escaped, commandeering a ship that she felt befit her and set sail. She was infamous as a master pirate thief. You never sought the infamy or recognition. All you strived for was the thrill of destroying those who thought they could make a difference. How naive they were. Dragons ruled this land for centuries for a reason.

***

Morons you think to yourself as you watch five adventurers make no effort to divert attention from their presence. There are two others in their group but at least the rogue and druid have the decency to avoid being the centre of attention. It was as though they were asking for the attention of everyone in the tavern, something that you would never do. You work in the shadows, unseen and unheard.

You turn your focus back to the troupe as you continue your assessment of each party member. At least this group was diverse. Sipping his ale and telling tales of the war is a tall and broad man, must be human. It didn’t matter where in the realm you were, there was always a fucking human. Why is it always a soldier? Do their armies not keep them loyal so the defect and set their own agenda? Almost every human you encounter has the same story, something about strength and purpose and a razed village, helping on a small scale or a sick relative. How boring. He should be easy to manipulate. Humans were prone to strong emotional reactions and illogical tactics.

The second being is a little surprising, if you were less skilled you would have picked him as the muscle of the group but the pouch of runes and herbs by his side and the Morningstar resting against his leg tell you he is a divine healer of sorts. This one requires a more in depth look, you recognise the slight shimmer around him as a glamour, one that is hiding more about him. You catch a glimpse of his ruby red eyes and wonder what he is. He seems quiet, gambling like he has no understanding of the game that he’s playing. Divine healers tend to serve a God and could usually sense evil. He was one you would clash with the most. You’d be wary of hiding your true nature from him lest he try to save you. The wide berth people were giving his back makes you think that his glamour is hiding either an object kept behind him, or wings. You kind of hoped that he was one of the sky people, for you had not encountered one of those yet. A feather from one of those wings would be worth more than its weight in gold.

Long blonde hair, a quiver full of arrows and a bow slung over his shoulder. You grimace at the pointed ears, recognising the wood elf quickly. Putting your kind’s history with the elves aside, this one was no doubt a ranger. They’re usually too perceptive for their own good but this one seems to be fully engrossed in dice games so at this stage you’re not concerned about him. He is different to the other elf rangers you’ve encountered in the past. They were all quiet, observing types, whereas this one is currently growling at the pirate who just beat him at their game. It’s almost animalistic but also childlike in its quality. It’s as though he was raised outside of an elven community. Something to delve into at a later date.

The last 4 additions are interesting to say the least. A changeling was always irritating, slipping their skin constantly, chameleons of personality. Why this one felt the need to also be a bard on top of that makes you unreasonably irritated, you just hope he doesn’t have a familiar too. He seems a little over the top and manic as he holds the attention of a crowd of pirates, weaving a fine tale about the rescue of a mystical wolf. He’s good, you’ll give him that. Further down the table the human chuckles and shakes his head at the bard’s epic tale. As good as he is, you can’t help but feel like there is something off about him, something you can’t quite put your finger on yet.

Tieflings are always a wild card, even more so when they have magical abilities. No matter how small, there is always a part of them that is demonic. They can never be wholly ‘good’ no matter how hard they try. Society would never believe that someone who looks they way a Tiefling does – horns, tail, elongated canines, solid eye colour and otherworldly skin tone – could be divine in nature. The one seated at the bar has rather small horns for his kind, his skin a very pale blue hue, and his eyes are solid gold. There is no point in using magic to hide his tail, and the pirates don’t seem to care. They are far more interested in the man himself, some speaking as though they have a history with him. It was rare to see a Tiefling so at ease with the people around it. You spot the scar on his throat, and catch a glimpse on similar markings on his wrists. Slave you think to yourself.

The autumnal Eladrin was more concerned with his surroundings than the people in them, staring off into the middle distance when a thought captures his attention. You feel similarly about him as you do the elf. Neither have a good history with your kind but spotting the druid makes one part of your travels here considerably clearer. It should be the middle of summer, it was until two nights ago, but when you had woken up the world was suddenly in the middle of autumn. At least you now understand what had happened. He held a quarterstaff and had odd runic shapes decorating his arms, usually common for a forest druid. As long as you refrained from harming nature when he was around he shouldn’t pose too much of a threat to you.

The one that you need to watch the most is the last member of this rag tag group. He is dressed similarly to you, all black with a hood and cowl, daggers visible because you know where to look for them. He is observant, eyes assessing the room, lingering over you for a moment before continuing to scan the crowd. There is no doubt in your mind of what his role is, like recognises like after all, but he has another agenda. A fellow rogue always makes things interesting. He’s sitting away from the rest of the group, half hidden by shadow as he watches the bar. If he’s any good he’s already assessed routes to the exits and identified the marks that are likely to cause their party harm. He’s probably found exits for all of them unlike you, who only has to look out for yourself.

He leans in towards the pirate captain who sits beside him and smirks, muttering something that makes the captains eyes widen so much that they almost threaten to fall out of his head. He slides a handful of coin to the rogue before hastily departing. The actions don’t mark him as a textbook thief or assassin to you, it seems like he deals more in information. The pale skin, black hair and black eyes let you know that he is a Shadar-Kai, a race not unlike your own, but cunning, sneaky and highly skilled. Under different circumstances you might get along with him but you would have to mislead and fool him if you were going to succeed in your mission.

And you had every intention of succeeding. Now that you’ve completed your initial assessment of your marks, you figure there is no better time than now to test them. It was one thing to observe how they act on a night off, but it was a whole different thing to observe them when presented with the opportunity to fight. Not a planned fight either, not something they could prepare for. You find that a decent bar brawl never fails to show you someone’s true colours.

Pirates are almost always ready to throw down, drunken pirates even more so. They’ll throw more than punches too, things have a tendency of escalating quickly when there’s pirates involved, a fact that you are more than happy with at this moment in time. You grin to yourself at how easy it will be to get this altercation underway. You murmur to the man at the table next to you that the large, dim witted pirate near the bar keeps giving him the stink eye and that you’d even heard him tell the barkeep that only impotent men were bald.

Leaving him to seethe and mutter about how he’ll make the big man regret his words you start to duck and weave through the crowd as you make your way towards the bar, stopping only to tap a large brute of a man on the arm. You draw your hood back, revealing your long white hair, pointed ears and dark skin – the tone changing depending on the light (right now it is a lovely shade of greyish purple) but it could range between obsidian to hues of blue and purple with greys in between. He turns angrily, ready to yell at whoever touched him but when he spots you he takes pause.

“You look like the strongest man here.” You smile sweetly up at the man, angling yourself towards him so that only he can hear what you say to him.

He puffs his chest and beams down at you. “Well little lady, yer lookin at the champion arm wrestler in these parts. So not only do I look the strongest, I is.” He flexes his arms for good measure and honestly, he does look like he has the strength of ten men, it’s why you chose him.

You let your features shift into confusion. “See I thought that you looked like a strong man but that guy over by the window, the bald one laughing with the two bandits, he said he’s the strongest in the realm.”

You barely finish your sentence before the man in front of you starts to seethe. “Oh does he?!” He exclaims, cracking his knuckles and doing a few minor stretches, all good signs that your plan is working.

Nodding you reply. “He does, I’ve heard him tell so many people but I don’t think I believe him. How could he be stronger than you?” You gesture at the man standing before you, pointing to his muscles and then wave dismissively at the unsuspecting man in the corner.

The man hands his ale to you. “Wouldya mind holding me drink for a sec little lady?” You don’t exactly get a chance to accept or deny his request before his drink is in your hands and he is marching off to the other end of the room. You set it down on the table nearest to you and continue to move through the crowd until you are at the other end of the tavern, at a table with the perfect view of the mayhem that is poised to unfold. You chose this seat for its view but also because it’s next to an open window should you need to make a quick getaway.

No words are spoken, you thought there might be a challenge or a threat but instead the big man simply punches the bald man in the face then throws him across the room. The sudden moment of violence is all the tavern needs before cacophony erupts. Pirates start yelling and fighting, furniture is smashed and thrown, and anything and everything is suddenly a weapon.

With their pleasant evening ruined, the party find themselves in the middle of a bar brawl in a pirate bar. How they manage themselves now is going to be very helpful for you. You smile to yourself as they exchange a few quick looks at each other, speak two words then disperse into the fray.

Everything is going to plan.

A/N: Let me know what you think so far. What do you want to know more about? What do you think will happen? I’m trying not to bombard you with lore but if you want to know more about certain aspect of the characters or the world, please ask me! I’m trying something different so hopefully you enjoy it.

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bearogenes · 5 years

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Dear Bearogenes: A letter from a chameleon child.

I’ve hesitated asking you this because I know you spend a great deal of time helping others and thought perhaps my question may pop up at some point but it hasn’t. I technically fall under the trans umbrella but I will never transition. I am a boy but only sometimes. Sometimes I’m a girl, sometimes I’m androgyne, and other times completely agender. My therapist calls it Poly-Gender.

I just call it being a Chameleon. Typically a “shift” happens when I am sexually or romantically attracted to a person in a specific way. Body parts are just tools of expression for me, a paint brush if you will. But there are some ways of expressing that I don’t have the parts for and you are right, it really shouldn't matter but it does to some people. My partner and I talk about everything together. We are radically open and honest. He knows about me but…

He knows about this and is completely straight. He accepts me as I am but I can tell it makes him uncomfortable. I suppose my biggest question here is if its non-consensual to be in a boy shift when I am engaging in sexual activities with him. I’m attracted to partner all across my shifts. Perhaps having to ask that question indicates that on some level it is… We are poly (lazy poly at that) and I could try to find another to be with but I’m worried

Worried that the same problem will occur but in reverse. I guess I’m just very conflicted and confused. I want to apologize for asking a stupid question but my therapist says I need to validate more so instead I’ll simply say Thank You for taking the time to read this letter.

Most Sincerely,

A Chameleon Boy

I am going to ignore the deprecation of ‘stupid question’ and I won’t redress the questions you asked that you have already “answered” here because I have a hypothesis that I’d like to share with you that might help clarify them and change those answers.

The only exception is about his discomfort. That may well be a concern because he doesn't know how to help you come to understand and be comfortable with yourself. To that end, here are my thoughts in hope that they change your point of view and help you find a better way to not only approach yourself, but to find a way to be more integrated instead of disparate.

You've been defining yourself by your borders and found there aren't any. Labels only fit when there are edges, and if you’re remotely ‘rounded’ there are no places they can fully identify. The borders would have overlap, conflict or just remain unclear because they aren't labeled and readily understood through those labels. I think, perhaps, you may have been spending too much time trying to find the words instead of finding the shape of things and the why of those odd ‘movements’ that make you ‘shift’. I hear you struggling to understand yourself but I think you've been trying too hard and worried too much about the ‘consequences’ of those aspects of yourself that defy labeling so I have a few to give you to replace the inadequate ones and hopefully they will help you find a better perspective (of your own) on your nature.

Complex, but not really complicated, the ‘shape of YOU’ isn’t an edgy geometric pattern that’s meant to ‘stop and stay’ on one ‘face’. You’re adaptive and able to conform to the situation but you are also bearing ‘inertia’ from coming into it (as you must) so there is shifting and adjusting and ‘coming to center’. The situation puts pressure on you and you begin to change. To put it another way:

You are water, my friend.

You cannot find ‘edges’ to apply labels to that will fit because that idea fails to grasp your nature or your ability to change. You may ‘conform’ to an idea of the moment but it never permanently defines you. Shatter a glass of water and what happens? The ‘label’ of the glass you’re in is destroyed but you, the water, crashes outward in seemingly chaotic movements.

You will conform, for a while, to any situation but can’t truly be contained by it no matter how much you might wish to be because you are mutable in nature. In fact, I might guess here, that your emotional states frequently make you ‘rebel’ against those ‘containers’, even the ones you love start to feel like they don’t ‘fit’ in those moments. While you may return to feeling comfortable in them again, there is still that moment when ‘inertia’ makes you want to shift your way out.

To change metaphors for a moment: A candle never sees its own light and denies it’s existence because all it sees is the darkness outside the reach of it’s light. This is the moment when I hold a mirror up and show you what I see. In this case, I see something different and because I find such to be beautiful I wanted to offer my insight in the hopes it helps you learn to embrace the splendid gift of who you are.

I always leave room to be wrong about the things I see, but the point here is not about me being right but about you learning to see yourself from a different perspective. It’s meant to offer you the tool to realign your understanding as you see fit, not to make you ‘conform’ to my idea of you because that doesn’t matter here. What matters is how you learn to see yourself and from there redefine those borders and learn to accommodate a different potential dynamic in your life.

You cannot master anything but yourself. Embrace your nature, especially the things that are ‘uncomfortable’ to you because only then can you truly learn to choose the shapes they will take and how those things will fit. You’ll learn that they do indeed fit, even though they don’t yet feel like it, because they are waiting for your will to decide what they will be in that moment. Nothing is ‘permanent’, and being adaptable is the ultimate goal of life because it means you have a greater chance to survive turbulent times.

Worry less about being tide or mist or ice and more about learning how to turn one into the other and to channel those ‘moments when you change’ into a confidence and comfort with your nature. You’ll find that you are far more powerful than you realize.

You are unbreakable. You “fit” everywhere. You “belong” nowhere.

You are water.

My best, as always,

- Bearogenes

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onceuponaplay-blog · 6 years

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Loki MBTI

Okay. I've been thinking about this for like two weeks since seeing "Ragnarok", and I've come to a sad, interesting, hopeful conclusion, that has to do with Loki's MBTI type. First off, let me also explain this is just my opinion of his typing, and I know that personality types are not end-all/be-all and so much more goes into a personality and characterization than four letters, but hey, humor me, and first let me break it down:(spoilers ahead)

In "Dark World" when Thor is flying the plane and in "Ragnarok" when they're getting to the ships he literally won't shut up. Okay, so maybe since Thor is Loki's family he'd be more familiar; How about standing in front of eighty-odd people and giving a lavish speech, making a dramatic entrance and declaring "Your savior is here!" before asking "Did you miss me?" (because having Cumberbatch reside on Bleaker Street just wasn't enough), and immediately schmoozing the Grandmaster upon arrival on a strange planet and partying it up with strangers? You don't have to agree, but for me this case is a definite "E" (I apologize for my behavior).

Much as Loki would like to be robotic and factual, he's not. His thought processes are complex and future-focused; the present is only the means to an end. Almost everything he does is to make something happen or to get a reaction. His senses serve to present basic information to him, then his mind interprets it through abstract and complex means. This is part of what makes him a great prankster and people-reader.

Again, Loki wishes he could cast aside sentiment; but he can't. While he is incredibly intelligent, this is not his driving force; his feelings are. From the very beginning his actions have been born from feelings, insecurity/anger when laughed at spurring the snake trick in a "Thor" deleted scene, envy of Thor the entire coronation chaos, insecurity/outrage over his true origins and Odin's hiding him a total meltdown, it continues through literally everything he does. (Not to mention the man is a drama queen and everyone knows it and loves it.)

Loki often makes mistakes when he judges something or someone too quickly(that Thor "thinks little of him", that Natasha isn't wired to figure out his plans, that he is "above" Midgardians), and once he concludes these things doesn't seem to question them until they're proven wrong. While he has his insecurities, Loki is a naturally decisive person, a fine trait in a leader as long as they are not misled.

If you don't believe the individual traits, then examine them together:

ENFJ

While this type represents people who are great and charismatic leaders, it also presents one of the best personality combinations for manipulation. ENFJs have the Introverted Feeling to understand people, the Judgement to determine the best way to trick them, and the Extroversion to grant motivation to the manipulation. One infamous accepted ENFJ villain is Hans of the Southern Aisles. As Hans was written to be the mirror in "Frozen", ENFJs cam commonly become "social chameleons".

Now the point all of this has led to: no person or personality type is a natural villain. But in particular, ENFJs seem like an odd type for a villain to be; they're idealists, they're charismatic, they're even termed "The Givers" and "The Protagonists" by psychologists. So what kind of things usually lead to idealists "going rogue"? Misled intentions. Is that Loki's case? NO. Well. It would seem. "The Avengers" is one of the most telling films of the case I'm about to make. Listen. I'm young. I watched this one before I watched "Thor", then I went back and corrected my mistake. But watching "Avengers" for the first time after getting to know the "Thor" Loki more, something struck me as weird. Motivation. But there's a fancier, more specific word that puzzled me more: conviction. When Loki first dramatically enters he introduces himself as "Loki, of Asgard", and goes on a full-blown rant about "glad tidings" and "glorious purpose"(after blowing some stuff up with the sceptre). So cool, but like, what? And he goes on to give another schpill about how he's doing this world a favor in Germany. But nothing we saw in "Thor" nor anything we see elsewhere seems to indicate that he actually cares about midgard kind. So I ask again, what gives? He's justifying himself. And you know what, he's been doing it since film one. "I could have done it Father! For you! For all of us!" But no, Loki isn't simply justifying himself to others; he's trying to justify himself to himself. And when does all this glory talk and misled morality come to the surface? When he's holding the sceptre, and never quite as much when he's not, did you notice? Theories have riddled the net about how Loki could have been victim to the sceptre' s control, and to a degree, I concur. The Avengers argue feverishly when in the same room as it, Bruce scarcely realizing he's holding the thing, and one of its integral functions is mind control. I don't think it controlled Loki "per se". I think it did what it did what it did to the Avengers and brought forth unsavory emotions they'd put at least a little effort into concealing until that moment when they confronted them head on(Steve's aggravation at Tony, Tony's irritation toward Steve. Both things that were present before but unearthed more by the sceptre's power). Now this is an interesting case, for the sceptre's power seems to appeal to true emotions and thoughts in different people. This rant brought to you to conclude, a thought process present in Loki is justification. This is addressed when Coulson says that Loki "lacks conviction", a comment that gives Loki pause and lowers his guard enough for Coulson to blast him through a wall. Because it's true, and it bothers him. Deep down, Loki wants to be a hero. He wants to be in the right, and his moral compass is so integral he has to justify every move he makes. But just as he would rather be sensing/thinking, he doesn't want to accept this part of himself that seems weak and, you know, burdensome. He's fighting it and feeding it at once. But what this leads to are his final moments in "Ragnarok". "You will always be the God of Mischief Loki. But you could be more." (That quote was rough sorry you get it though.) Sure enough the next time Thor and Loki see each other, Thor trusts Loki with the task of ensuing Ragnarok. And he does it. And boards the ship afterwards and lets Thor know that he has done so. And it's a fair argument that these things came from self-preservation, but when you consider the interactions between Thor and Loki throughout the film, it seems that all of this is leading to something special: a redemption for Loki. And maybe I'm too idealistic, but I think when the time comes he will seize the opportunity.

#loki #ragnarok #mbti #enfj #avengers #thor

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samwritesabout-blog · 6 years

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WHOSE GONNA SAVE THE PAGIES, IT’S THE DUO CALLED YOOKA-LAYLEE

(Disclaimer: This review was of the game patch 1.02, revision for patch 1.03 added below)

Plot Synopsis: While enjoying their peaceful everyday lives, chameleon Yooka and his bat friend Laylee are thrusted into an adventure when local evil corporate head Capital B steals a book known as the “One Book” from their home. Yooka and Laylee couldn't care less about why he wants it, but nevertheless the duo head off to climb his tower so they can get back what’s rightfully theirs.

I’ll admit, even if I know that these older collect-a-thon platformer games have not aged gracefully. I still did feel some excitement when I first saw the Kickstarter announced for Yooka Laylee. I have a pretty soft spot in my heart for the old Rareware games, such as Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64, and Diddy Kong Racing, and seeing Playtonic Games, a studio of formed of former Rare veterans from the 90s era, was an exciting prospect. Their games always that felt that they were coming from an earnest place, they seemed to know what made games fun and had an ambition to their designs seen in all of their outings. Some of their ideas worked, some of them failed, and while their games may not have stood the test of time, they never faltered, and they succeeded in making some very prominent early gaming memories, seeing a game that echoed Banjo-Kazooie’s 3-D collect-a-thon design definitely struck a chord of nostalgia in me. I knew I was being pandered to, but I was still curious to see what they could deliver on.

The 3-D collect-a-thon sub-genre of platformers was defined by the obsessive compulsive action of collecting everything in sight. There are items are scattered throughout all of the game’s open-world like levels. All of your actions are in service of gathering as many of the main collectible, in this game’s case “Pagies” and exploring each world to the fullest to do so. You collect these by doing a large variety of tasks within each world. Some of the tasks are simple, such as completing a platforming challenge, or collecting some finite thing scattered across the world. There are many more minor missions in each level however, to add some flavor to the adventure, be it a race against a go-getter cloud, searching for treasure with Shovel Knight, defending the life of an old skeleton explorer from enemy waves, or perhaps a boss fight against an octopus too lazy to leave his own home to fight you head on.

There's always a nice variety of things to do in Yooka-Laylee and while some of it can end up being conceptually charming, a large number of the missions end up feeling either unsatisfying, or can be infuriating to actually do. Either because of what is asked of you, or because the act of playing Yooka-Laylee itself simply just isn't very fun. Basic controls such as movement jumping and attacking all work perfectly fine. Yooka’s light and quick on his feet without ever feeling floaty or awkward and while his attacks are pretty close range, they’re also easy enough to spam and clear out threats no problem. Whenever the game gets any more complicated, such as needing to move in a direction other than forward however, there are some snags.

The camera is the most immediately obvious problem, with it doing a terrible job at following your actions. Often requiring the player to manually over-correct it to allow you to see where you need to go. Veterans of the genre may be used to this shortcoming, however it is simply inexcusable that it remains this sloppy. In all honesty, it isn’t so bad when just leisurely walking around, but when you have to jump from platform to platform under a time limit or perhaps use any of the movement abilities at your disposal, they are much more difficult to control. It’ll make even the simple act of just getting between areas a complete headache.

Just like Banjo Kazooie, there are abilities to be gained with each new world you enter. Spending your coin-like Quills, that you’ll also collect in each world. You can purchase a pool of skills from Trowzer the Snake, of which both the pun and the character stop being amusing by the end of the first world. This is an area that exemplifies where Yooka-Laylee misses some of the integrity of the design of Banjo-Kazooie. Since you purchase these skills in one place on the map, it can be hard to understand how the game expects you to use each of them. The point of the spread out molehills, the way to obtain skills in Banjo-Kazooie, was that they were always placed next to an area where the power was necessary. It gave you context for how to use the ability and an immediate situation where it was useful. With Yooka-Laylee some powers (such as Yooka’s invisibility being able to reflect lasers) are not conveyed to the player in any meaningful way, they are just dumped onto you at the start of each world and you are told figure it out yourself.

While the concepts of each of the five worlds in the game can be fun, the design of each landscape can leave a lot to be desired. The five worlds that you traverse through are greatly varied in themes and terrain, but it reaches a head with exploring and combing over those levels. The worlds are just way too large for their own good, and a lot of the vastness is wasted on empty space not occupied by anything, and segments of the levels can have trouble distinguishing themselves from one another. Some of the worlds can feel rather barren whereas other parts such as a tiny island can feel with too busy with collectibles and NPCs. This problem gets compounded and made actively worse when the game gives you the ability to expand worlds. The expanded levels sounds like a fine idea on the surface, to get more out of assets already made and to incorporate earlier game motifs with later gained abilities, but the end result is akin to adding another bale of hay to the stack you were already scouring through and tasking you with finding ten more needles.

On the level of an indie game made through Kickstarter, it’s easy to sympathize with the limitations that Yooka-Laylee was trying to work around, it would’ve been a larger undertaking on all fronts to create eight or nine unique worlds, so instead it was easier to make five worlds and stretch them all as far as they possibly could. However, its compromises work against the simple enjoyment that they were trying to evoke through the game. Banjo-Kazooie’s formula worked because it gave you a fair number of tasks in many compact levels. While Banjo had a max of 10 major collectibles per World, Yooka-Laylee instead has 25 Pagies in each. As a result it leads to every level long overstaying their welcome.

Unfortunately gameplay is not the only place where Yooka-Laylee misses the mark, as the writing of the game also fails to stack up. There’s definitely a lot of creativity put behind the characters and concepts here, but the writing itself always falls flat on its face. Coy references to other franchises and self-aware game humor can get a chuckle or two when used sparingly, however Yooka-Laylee’s writing doesn’t even try to hold back, thinking that referring to locations as “World 4” or addressing in universe contrivances for the sake of being a game is just the most brilliant new thing, and will always result in making a dialogue instantly hilarious. It makes sense reading into the credits that the writer is the only new member that Playtonic Games has on for this game. It all feels like the type of jokes that a fan of Banjo-Kazooie would think up, but lacks the refinement or charisma to actually make it into any of the games proper.

It wouldn't be so much of a problem if the game didn't make you have to endure the writing so often. You are given no options to speed through the dialogue easily, giving you nothing to save you from the heaps of text boxes you’ll have to read through for objectives and progression in levels. It can make even simple actions like going to the shop just fill you with dread.

For the presentation at least while Yooka-Laylee isn't perhaps technically impressive, it does manage to come out looking pretty nice. Thanks to its art design characters and environments in Yooka-Laylee are at least visually memorable and distinct from one another. There is something that can feel stiff when in motion though, something weirdly lifeless and robotic in how characters and objects move. They can feel as though they’re divorced from the world surround them. Everything can still run at a consistent framerate and can be visually inspired. That is of course, when it works properly, as at least on two occasions I encountered the game outright crashing on me. Both of which were after a fair amount of active use of the system to be fair, however it should still be wary of the possibility.

Its disappointing to walk away from this game so negatively, because it is clear that Yooka-Laylee wants to have ambition, and yet, all of its ambition rings as hollow. Yooka-Laylee never feels that it wants to be inspired by Banjo-Kazooie, but rather it feels like it wants to outright be Banjo-Kazooie. It gets so caught up in its misguided attempt to chase the ghost of what already was there, instead of attempting to find what it could become. So it results in a game that has no identity of its own, and feels inferior to the identity it wants to claim. There are some points where the game can be enjoyable, but it's often muddled in a sea of external frustrations. With more refinement, more focus, Yooka-Laylee could’ve been a fun return to a style of game that had fallen out of favor, but as it stands, it feels like nothing more than a shell of what had already come before.

5.5/10

+ Diehard fans of Rare will enjoy the familiarity of the adventure

+ Bright presentation and delightful creativity can still shine through

- Completing the game 100% can prove to be a tiresome test of patience and willpower

- The dialogue of the game is groan inducing and filled with many more misses than hits with its jokes.

- The archaic nature of the game design is more cumbersome than enjoyable.

Addendum: Yooka-Laylee received a large patch 4 months after its release referred to as the “Spit ‘n’ polish” patch, supposedly addressing many people's complaints with the package. This patch improves many aspects such as the camera, the load times, and allows you speed through dialogue and skip important cutscenes. You can even reduce the amount of gibberish voices that you hear if you do choose to let the dialogue play out. It also includes many little quality of life touches, a moves list is now available from the pause menu, there are now huge signposts all over the hub helping you find your way to each world in the still confusingly laid out, but at least now more manageable Hivory Tower. Even little touches I wouldn't expect like removing the need to crouch during invisibility in order to reflect things, or making the flight controls smoother are very welcomed changes. A little improvement can go a long way and it shows that the developers really cared about how people could enjoy their game.

While these improvements may still not fully make up for the game's overall design, it can improve the core experience and can allow you to appreciate what is there to enjoy quite a bit more. I would still never recommend going for 100% in Yooka-Laylee some objectives are still repetitive, some minigames that you’ll end up having to play remain to be just an obstructive bore rather than a nice change of pace, and scouring the levels for minor collectibles like Quills can be a nightmare. But the majority of your time will be spent in a more enjoyable environment than before. It isn’t perfect, and it wasn’t ever going to be, but the foundation it's on is much more stable. Playtonic Games care for their own property is plainly visible, and it can't help but make you respect their efforts on this outing a little bit more than before.

Updated score: 7/10

#Yooka-Laylee #Review

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