finally did a second watch of states 2.5 and i was thinking about how perfect it was that the border between island 1 and island 2 didn't drop until the seventh day.
for me, states 2 was all about power struggle. there was the temporary conflict on plains due to a misunderstanding, there was the whole desert debacle with storminghell and saparata that caught davarit and zombta in the middle, there was whatever was happening with the seth-citadel and the sea people and notably wazzock's execution, and of course elanuelo and afreakinturkey. hell, even with the dead island in the center, the entire map is designed with the intention of evoking power struggle between nations and people.
and if that's the case then states 2.5 had the overarching theme of paranoia. schpood's reign started and continued due to the numerous threats on his life, people were on edge when it came to the covenant because they were shrouded in mystery, elysium questioned their own government multiple times over, conspiracies were rampant, leaders were constantly cautious, and meetings were tense with the looming question of what would happen once the border dropped. hell, you could even say that sidefall news embodied this sense of paranoia with its propaganda about the rising lava.
but alas i cannot give that title to sidefall because of course it manifests itself the best in fluixon. flux who was shadowed by "what ifs" refusing to be caught off guard by a hostile island 1. he became adamant in this idea that if you even lower your defenses you'll be taken advantaged of, that if you trust anyone just the slightest bit you'll be handing them the sword to twist into you. (which is so funny why that's exactly what he did to saps but on the other end, where saps was the one who trusted him and flux took advantage of that)
fluixon who is the architect, designing his own flawless getaways and traps because he's thinking with plan b, plan c, and plan d in mind because he can't Stop Thinking. his own personal relationships (besides the conspiracy) sabotaged because he's consumed by paranoia. which is why it's so satisfying during the blue cross meeting when he's told to his face that everything he had worked for and sacrificed in the name of a supposed greater good was all the effect of someone else's scare tactics. island 1 was never going to attack them without reason. it was fluixon (and the conspiracy) who were unable to see things without the visor of paranoia, of fear.
both states 2 and 2.5 are filled with scrappy people looking to survive except the people of states 2 were hungry for power and states 2.5 were afraid of it. it's just good game design, baby!
