#not alien

[lilalienz4ever]

who juggle little aliens?

the little alien juggler: hey !!!!!!

[insulalien]

Saskia from Class of 07!!! I absolutely love this show, dying for season 2 to be announced sighhhhhh

[howlingmoonaite]

I need your help guys. Does she look like a 11 year old or so? I always have trouble trying to draw younger people

[probablynotasquirrel]

My Take on We Happy Few

I wanted to take some time to talk about We Happy Few, video game that I feel is very underrated and misunderstood. I will avoid including spoilers for the game and put my ramblings under the cut due to length.

A Little Background: We Happy Few is an action-adventure survival RPG style video game set in the retro-futuristic fictional Wellington Wells. Citizens of Wellington Wells take a  drug called “Joy” which is mandatory. Anyone caught not taking their Joy is subject to harsh punishment.  The game takes place in the 1960s after alternative WWII events (leaving vague due to spoilers).

Gameplay: While it’s gameplay mechanics can be a bit repetitive, I find the story compelling enough that I want to continue playing it to uncover the rest of the story. The game features multiple protagonists, each with their own story that is interconnected to the others. Gameplay style could change slightly depending on the player’s play style but it relies largely on stealth elements. Some of the sadder/darker story details can be picked up if you pay attention to the environment. A lot of things can be noticed in graffiti and ambient NPC dialogue.  

Misconceptions: I read in a few places that people interpreted We Happy Few (WHF) as being negative towards mental health. Specifically,  the idea that taking anti-depressants is villainized in-game (because of the use of Joy). Yes, Joy is taken to make the individual happy but, it makes them happy through forgetting their past and altering their perception of reality. Joy allows its user to forget about not only the individual’s actions (or lack there of) but the past events of Wellington Wells. I think this contributes to the larger and deeper narrative of the game that trying to ignore the past or view it through rose-colored lenses because the truth of it is ugly and sad (i.e. Holocaust deniers, the way the U.S. Civil Rights Movement is portrayed in U.S. schools as being entirely peaceful) is wrong and inherently dangerous. WHF shows that even if the truth goes unacknowledged, the consequences of the forgotten/ignored actions not only remain, but become amplified. This is apparent due to the precarious state of Wellington Wells and the effects of Joy on its users (being a little vague to avoid spoilers).

Graphics Style: The game is very cartoonish in its depiction of people and I know that it can be off-putting for some. I think this is almost necessary though, as the game plays with a lot of heavy and dark themes. I think it would be almost too dark if the characters were more realistic. I think I should also mention that it also could be entirely intentional. Likened to the state someone is in while under the influence of Joy, cartoonish (almost comical) characters against a horrifically dark setting. I think it still is a beautiful game even with its cartoonish features.

Protagonists: As I mentioned before, you play through the game as different protagonists. Each protagonist has their own act to themselves, so you follow a single character through their story before switching to the next. While I have not played through all of the characters yet, I really enjoy the themes the game is playing with. The protagonists are unreliable narrators. This is shown subtly in a few different parts of the game.  I am not going to go into too much detail with this as to avoid spoilers, but this idea really blurs the lines on morality and self-perception. 

I know this was a long one, but I think We Happy Few is a good (possibly great, I should finish it entirely before giving it that label) game. It plays with some interesting and dark themes, the story (for me at least) is rather emotional and heartbreaking at times. I’m just really happy that I gave it a chance because I am really enjoying it. I would love to hear other people’s thoughts and interpretations, if anyone is interested in sharing :). 

[space-cat-jonesy]

Happy Halloween y’all!

[darcy-ff14]

Shameless selfie bombing of real life Marina but is really Joanna.

[chickenshit-outfit]

Why atheism? (If you don't mind me asking).

I don’t mind, anon!  It’s quite a long and personal story, so I’ll try to keep it as brief as I can.

I find that there is no evidence to suggest the existence of a god or gods, and that the “evidence” presented by religious/spiritual people is nothing but anecdotal experiences, poor science, and fallacy-riddled thinking.  Holy books and documents are inconsistent, angled, and are a messy mix of historical fact and fiction.  I respect them from a literary perspective and they give good insight into our world’s history, but they are hardly sufficient evidence for the existence of a god/gods.   I do think that it’s wrong to deny people a right to worship, and I will never advocate for the forced removal of religion.  I think that agnosticism and atheism is something that should be discovered through critical thinking, exploration, and observation.  It should never be forced on anyone.  But people don’t need religion to be fulfilled or to have self worth.  And I think that religion must always be criticized and challenged, especially for the sake of those who follow religious traditions/espouse religious beliefs and MOST especially for those who have suffered because of religion. 

I was a Christian for a long time.  I’ve always been liberal/progressive and my religiosity was always open and accepting, but I still strongly identified as Christian.  My parents were like-minded.  I went to a private religious middle school, high school, and university for my first two years of college.  My parents sent me to that middle/high school because, at the time, it was one of the top private schools in our area and had a near perfect graduation rate.  My parents grew up very poor, my father especially, and they wanted me to have what they didn’t have, as many parents do.  My school wasn’t a weird or cloistered environment as many religious schools are.  We had fun homecomings and proms, fun holidays like everyone else, and teachers that loved the subjects they taught.  We had exceptional sports teams, flourishing arts programs, and clubs ranging from your typical sort to gaming and tabletop clubs.  But a religion course was required every year, and my learning of biblical history/religion was extensive.  So it wasn’t just a “church every now and then” type of Christianity I was exposed to.  I was writing reports on what I read, what I learned, and what I believed.  In college it was less so, but religion remained.  And it wasn’t until I took a good hard look at what I believed, what I was taught, and what I read that I realized that none of it made any sense at all.  I realized that my faith was more of a wanting of something to be real, rather than the actual presence and proof of something real.  I did a lot of reading and research into the world of secularism and agnosticism/atheism.  There were some emotional triggers and situations that forced me to look at my faith objectively, but leaving my religion gave me such a better sense of self worth and understanding.  It really opened up my world.  

Atheism is what makes the most sense to me and what is the most reasonable thing to “believe.”  I’m not a scientist.  I’m not a philosopher.  But the burden of proof lies with theists, and until sufficient proof and evidence is presented, it makes no sense to me to believe in a god or gods.  And you don’t have to be a scientist or philosopher to understand that.  I find that most religions exist to fit a mold, to exert control over others, and to fall in line with pre-existing ideas of what “should and should not be.”  I don’t think it’s possible to be what we call a “hard atheist” or “hard theist,” meaning that one is 100% certain that there is or is not a god/gods.  But as I said before, the burden of proof lies with those who claim the existence of a god or gods.  And until testable, sufficient, overwhelming evidence is produced, I find no reason to believe in a god or gods.  There is so much wonder and beauty to the world on its own, and I don’t think we need religion to see that.  I hope I haven’t offended you at all with my reply, but I appreciate the ask!