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I was initially clipping this to capture the overwhelmingly accurate, absolutely devastating hilarity of "you went for realistic, and sadly, you nailed it". And then just kept recording because I really fucking love the discussion about how to balance the line between like:

You are trying to tell a story that feels good and gives you the kind of lift you might be looking for in an explicitly fantasy story,

How to ensure it still feels grounded and rewarding in a way where you can "bring this good feeling back to earth" at the end.

Like they're talking about TTRPG's but they clearly make parallels to other forms of storytelling/worldbuilding mediums, like movies, and. like. Yeah. Yeah.

Like the framing of "you really recreated the feeling of powerlessness..." and wanting the fantasy element to manifest in there being the clearer, straightforward ways to solve complex issues, vs trying to ensure that you can have a victory and it feels feasible and substantial and applicable in some way, and has something you can take out of the fantasy world and hold with you back on "terra firma".

Its tricky! Its a tricky thing to balance, and I don't think there's a single "right" answer nor should there be because it depends. It depends on the story, and the intent, and the setting, and the medium, and etc. Big fan of this framework to explain it.

#dropout #zac oyama #adventuring academy #brennan lee mulligan #reaaaally like- like not even the specific takes as much as the framing of this. its part of why i think sometimes discussions about #good or bad or happy or sad or realistic endings miss the point a bit for me.#like whether an ending is 'good' or 'bad' or 'happy' or 'sad' or 'realistic' are often distinct discussions along w/ being deeply subjectiv #not to say that they're all COMPLETELY disjoint but assuming one EQUALS any of the others often flattens the discussion. to its detriment.#narrative meta #(?)#not cr #look ill be real im thinking about (among other things) some of the c2 ending discourse. not in a 'i cant see why people were unhappy' way #bc I totally understand why and I did have my own gripes. but also.#just like. man. some of those discussions were. happening in the same spheres and threads and all talking totally diff things. and migh #have really benefitted from this framing #anyway I looove adventuring academy. the Lou and aabria adventuring parties are ones I relisten to regularly. connie/jasmine's ones r also #vvvv good. I also typically love contested roll for the absurdity but in this case the specific discussion spawned is so good I don't even #mind the trade of the hilarity #anyway sorry. off my soapbox now. i just loved this discussion

Sometimes I feel like "Why did Thingol ask for a Silmaril?" is in the same tier of question as "Why didn't they fly the eagles to Mordor?"

#tolkien #silmarillion #narrative meta

Humanism and SPN: a match made...on Earth?

so i think it’s time i explained this blog’s whole idk theme. it’s raison d’etre, if you wanna get fancy abt it. like, it’s prolly pretty obvious (it’s literally in the name) but i still wanna break it down and make sure people really get where i’m coming from. this is also something i wanna talk abt a lot during my Great Rewatch so i think it would help to have something to refer back to when this topic inevitably comes up in future. let’s dive in, shall we?

to get specific, I’m talking about modern Humanist philosophy, frequently referred to as “secular humanism”. you can find a good overview of what that means on the American Humanist Association’s website, especially their 3 Humanist Manifestos (available to read here, here, and here. the last of those is the current manifesto as accepted by the AHA, but all of them provide good context of what Humanism means as a whole). this is as opposed to Renaissance or Religious Humanism, which have notable differences, though tbh a case could be made for religious humanism bc of the whole “god is canonically real in SPN” thing. When I talk about Humanism though I’m almost always gonna be talking abt modern “secular” Humanism. also i can literally never decide whether humanism should be capitalized or not so expect lots of waffling on that. now tbh I'm not super educated on Humanism as a philosophy beyond the manifestos and what can be found with a cursory google search, so I'm gonna be learning more abt it as I go, but i understand it enough (and have considered myself a secular humanist for long enough) to have Opinions. I’m hoping that as I examine the show through this lens i’ll both gain a better understanding of Humanism as a philosophy as well as how supernatural relates to it. no promises that anything good or coherent will come of it but I'm excited to see where it leads me! also if you too have Opinions on this topic I would absolutely looooooooove to hear them. seriously. hit me up. finally, for context, i’m gonna include some quotes about Humanism which I think best exemplify its ideology and will hopefully give people unfamiliar with it an idea of where I'm coming from/why I think SPN is such a perfect representation of it. I also highly recommend reading the manifestos on AHA's website, since they’re basically the horse’s mouth when it comes to the modern (Western) Humanism movement. beyond it’s relevance to SPN as a narrative, it’s also just a beautiful perspective on life, and it always makes me happy to read about it. like you’re about to do right now! here we go: "While there is much that we do not know, humans are responsible for what we are or will become. No deity will save us; we must save ourselves." – Humanist Manifesto II (1973) "Humanism is the light of my life and the fire in my soul. It is the deep felt conviction, in every fiber of my being that human love is a power far transcending the relentless, onward rush of our largely deterministic cosmos. All human life must seek a reason for existence within the bounds of an uncaring physical world, and it is love coupled with empathy, democracy, and a commitment to selfless service which undergirds the faith of a humanist." – Bette Chambers, former president of the AHA "Humanism is an approach to life which encourages ethical and fulfilling living on the basis of reason and humanity, and rejects superstition and religion. The most immediate impact of living as a Humanist is that we believe this life is all there is - so what we do and the choices we make really count." – Stephen Fry "Humanists recognize that it is only when people feel free to think for themselves, using reason as their guide, that they are best capable of developing values that succeed in satisfying human needs and serving human interests." – Isaac Asimov "Does religion fill a much needed gap? It is often said that there is a God-shaped gap in the brain which needs to be filled: we have a psychological need for God -- imaginary friend, father, big brother, confessor, confidant -- and the need has to be satisfied whether God really exists or not. But could it be that God clutters up a gap that we'd be better off filling with something else? Science, perhaps? Art? Human friendship? Humanism? Love of this life in the real world, giving no credence to other lives beyond the grave?" – Richard Dawkins "There is nothing new about humanism. It is the yielding to Satan's first temptation of Adam and Eve: "Ye shall be as gods." (Gen. 3:5)" – Billy Graham, Christian evangelist (lol)

#my meta #humanism #secular humanism #narrative meta #gonna have as many different meta tags as i have posts on this blog lol #the great rewatch

ghhhhh the love, the weight, the tragedy, of looking at someone and saying "something bad will happen. we cant stop it. but come find us, after, and we will help." you cannot prevent the hurt, you cannot go back in time, you cannot reach into the pasts of your loved ones and turn the clock back. all you can do is promise to be there, after, all you can do is say "i will be here, after, okay? find us, we will be here, we will help you, we will be here to help. we'll be here to bring you home."

#critical role #cr spoilers #c3e37 #ashton #laudna #imogen temult #😭😭😭#cr liveblogging #you CANT CHANGE THE PAST BUT YOU CAN PROMISE TO BE IN THEIR FUTURE. IN THE PRESENT.#my meta #character meta #love in critical role #narrative meta

Also: absolutely fantastic symbolism inversion, with the coming dawn spelling the time limit, touching down into a safe landing as a death knell. The light is cresting over the hills and we are horrified by it. The city is almost landed and we are hoping with all our hearts we have a little more time. The night is almost over, and once dawn comes, the world ends.

#critical role #cr spoilers #exandria unlimited #exu calamity #exu calamity part 4 #exu spoilers #meta #spar speaks #cr liveblogging #my meta #narrative meta

just a couple of things

1. become my champion or lose a sister needs to stop (we’re 3 for 3 with vax and vex, opal and ted -ish-, fy’ra rai and opal) I don’t want to suffer anymore please

2. the ruby vanguard killed my husband and my father vs a god killed my brother ????? juicy juicy juicy dorym development

1. something something having sisters and being a champion of a god is not ACTUALLY guaranteed to result in tragedy. Exandria georg, which has a high volume of siblings who fucking love each other and gods who need champions and also deeply perilous situations-

(joke aside: HILARIOUS AND DEVASTATING PATTERN. I fucking love it actually. Its about love and devotion and bigger causes and someone who has been by your side for so much of your life- if not all of it. Its about allegiance and loyalty and the way the two differ. Its about siblings!!!! its about love!!! its about duty!! and devotion!!! You may not like someone or something but you love them. Or you may not love them or like them all the time but they are yours and you are theirs in a way that matters beyond that. Its about causes and love and devotion and duty and like.

If you come into a world and someone has always been there, at your side, less of a pillar and more of a bedrock.

If you have known someone their whole life and known you were responsible for them in some kind of way.

And you will lose them, unless. Unless-

So you swear an oath of devotion. Who are you swearing it to? Is it the first oath you're swearing, really, or is there one you already made, ages ago- and this is just an extension of that?

fuck okay i got a little in my head. great pattern though, in a tragic kind of way.)

2. God there is so much at play here. Intrigued to see how this develops 👀👀. Like we have vengeance vs justice, revenge vs closure, the way Orym has tried so hard to make sure its not about killing his families killer but preventing more loss in the world. But there's also the element of newness, of Orym who has been carrying this weight and grief, balled it up and learned to balance it on his shoulders and walk and run and breathe with it Versus Dorian- days out, still not able to talk about it openly, not really.

And THEN. the ruby vanguard and gods stuff. And the larger philosphical questions. Wiiild shit. wiiiiiiild shit. i dont think its even really a thing of "ruby vanguard OR the gods!!!" but it definitely adds a fascinating element to it all.

#wow things r Wildin right now #critical role #cr spoilers #c3e93 #dorian #orym #spar speaks #narrative meta #?#for part 1 #my apologies about the dorym bit idk if that was your focus. i think its fascinating overall though #ask away!

heyo remember when the nein were in a flesh tunnel in an abomination of a living city, and their worst enemy lost friend was like. regenerating or swallowing the somnovum one flesh room away, and they were VERY POSSIBLY GOING TO DIE, and the world with them. and jester was like. okay you assholes. sit down, we're eating a feast.

and they sat down. in that flesh tunnel. and Jester created some soup and chicken satay and pineapple fried rice and grilled cheese sandwiches and pancakes, and they ate bread and soup and talked about last wishes and last words and regrets. And had conversations swinging from "if you die, what do you want us to tell your family?" to "well yasha, i think you made a big mistake going with beau when i was available-" to "if we die, i don't have any regrets" to "what do you MEAN you don't like soup-"

(essek. is making a joke.)

anyway. thats all. clustered in a grotesque flesh tunnel, floating in the astral sea, metres and minutes away from your potential doom, eating food and soup with people you love, people you trust, people you would die for, people you would live for. you know. thats all.

#wrote this a few days ago and then forgot about it but its been a quiet day and I missthe m9 so here you go #i know i made a post about the late campaign m9 like literally a week ago but have another one anyway #but the vibes of eating food while clustered together. facing doom. swinging from tenderness and sentimentality to joking and prodding #there was a lot happening in late c2 and im still processing and appreciating it to this day #critical role #c2e139 #scene #the mighty nein #found family #<3 #spar speaks #also sparked bc some of my late campaign posts have been popping up in my notifs and 🥺#my meta #kind of #upon reflection i mixed in a little of the 131 convo but the vibes remain the same #narrative meta #?

(im extremely caffeinated rn this might not make sense, lets go)

With recent events, absolutely amped for Bell's Hells to become a full manifestation of the concept "horrific force of nature".

Between Orym, and Fearne and now Laudna, plants that grow and sprout and die around them, all the pretty bits of nature as well as the horrifying aspects of it. Waking up with flowers grown over and into you. Branches outstretched like fingertips, roots that can ground and choke. Vines that move on their own and wrap around your neck like a noose. Poisons and toxins growing around you. Out of you. Exquisite. Fantastic.

With Imogen, a storm, raging, crackling, bearing down, rain that could either save you or flood you. The sky turning a deep, deep red, cloud cover and nature gone silent in the face of something awful. Lightning and wind that can tear everything to pieces, that drown out everything else, set things aflame and rip them apart. Sexy. Unparalleled.

With Chetney, a wolf, howling in the distance, bloodlust that crawls in your veins, rage that is bestial and also very, very natural. A wild look in someone's eyes, glint of sharp teeth in the dark, predator and prey and jackrabbitting hearts. Visceral. Passionate.

With Ashton- Time, space, gravity, literal forces of nature, slowling and warping and bending around you. Your limbs inexorably heavy, your feet no longer planted on the same patch of ground, everything going too fast or too slow. Laws of the universe, the things keeping it anchored- all bending around you to swallow you whole. Right before a big ole stone cracks your head open. Horrifying. Inexplicable. (cool as hell).

And even with F.C.G: Something manmade, a pure technological advancement, metal and magic fused. Except: everything about them, their purpose, their kindness- wrapped up in human emotions, feelings and passion. Vulnerabilities too. Insecurities, weaknesses, patterns of mistakes made by all living minds. There is nothing more natural. Nothing more inescapable. Mortifying. Awesome as fuck.

Bell's Hells! Forces of nature! By some broad definition. With all of the inherent horror and menace that term implies. Bell's Hells as a spooky, otherworldly troupe, except everything about them is the worst bits of this world come to life. hell yes.