Media recs

var sc_project=11615691; var sc_invisible=1; var sc_security="fa626939"; var scJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://secure." : "http://www."); Mostly for my own reference. [OOC: This blog is designed as an IC excuse to have a catalogue of Amentan media. You can submit IC or OOC.]

[wolffyluna]

People keep saying that that the Two Brothers route is hard to get onto but I don’t see it?  Be nice, support red cleaning, keep the pollution freakouts *in front of him* to a minimum, take opportunities to be alone with him?  

A fan comic for Walls and Windows – a visual novel from Amenta, that, as such, does not really exist. But I’m not going to let little details like ‘not actually a real fictional work’ stop me from making fan art!

[that-book-yellow]

[OOC: x]

[seamlessoo]

[artistic-arborealist]

So I’ve been rereading some of the books on my shelf, and here’s a recommendation that you’ve ~probably heard before~! But if you’ve somehow missed it until now, let me recommend to you a fantasy classic from ~decades ago~!

Published only years after the advent of worldwide population controls, Sinoki on the Edge of Rainbows is a story about becoming an adult, and gaining adult responsibilities! Sinoki on the Edge of Rainbows is a story about loosing the aimless innocence of childhood, and replacing it with purpose!

And Sinoki on the Edge of Rainbows is a story about growing up into a changing world, and how you can change it in turn!

~And how you change with it, too~.

And I think that this is a theme that’s as relevant now as it was back then!

Sinoki is a dreamer; she has been so her whole life. She spends her idle time, sleeping and waking, in the dreamworld she builds in her head, an expansive kingdom of fantasy that bends at her every whim.

Her favorite spot to overlook her domain is the pier: a construct she created before memory, high above everything else, upon which she can view her entire world below her.

One night, as she dreams of sitting upon her pier, she prepares to dive into the sea of clouds below, abruptly pushing off against the wooden planks beneath her. She grips too hard– a splinter enters her palm, and the pain of it abruptly jolts her awake.

Sinoki wakes, sitting in her bedroom once again.

In the center of her palm, there is still a splinter.

Somehow, the world inside Sinoki’s head is real.

And when you have the whole world in your hands, what do you do with it?

[that-book-yellow]

[OOC: this post contained the following notes: #ooc: Sinoki eventually chooses to share their dream-world with everyone #in order to lessen the strain of the then-new population controls.]

[artistic-arborealist]

[ooc: Amentan Undertale first mentioned here.]

A Story Below was just so full of symbolism! I know I go on about it, like, a lot sometimes, but every time you replay, you see something new!

Like how the royalty of the Underdark has light grey fur, which totally belies the ultimately pacifistic nature of the monsters!

[sparkler-trail]

I only got about halfway into it before I had to stop because my brain convinced me that the game hated me personally and wanted me to die, partially because I am so bad at dodging games so I think my character died a lot more often than the story expected, and partially because I was still trying to be an actual success at the time and so was sad no matter what I was doing

the music was really pretty though, iirc Tovi was primarily a composer for years before he made the game? what I remember of it was super cute, aside from my projections onto it

what was the twist, if you’re willing to say?

[artistic-arborealist]

So, I swear I didn’t intend to ignore this question for ~literally years~!!! It just suddenly showed up in my drafts! And I swear it wasn’t there yesterday!

But anyway! ~I blame the hellsite~!

And let me ~finally~ answer your question! So, the themes of A Story Below have a lot to do with violence, and how sometimes it isn’t necessary! (And, how ~sometimes it is~.)

(And how to ~break this cycle~ of necessary violence, too.)

And like most RPGs, at first it seems like all ~monsters are grey~, if not explicitly, then implicitly! They’re seemingly a warrior culture willing to fight you to the death! And no doubt, an inexperienced player will be ~forced to take some of them up on this~!

And, to be clear, the game never ~explicitly punishes~ you for this! You can achieve your goal and escape the underdark no matter how many you cut down in your own defense, and the only thing that will follow you is ~the knowledge that someone died~.

And really, that can only hurt you if you cared about them in the first place! (And if you do care, then aren’t you determined to go back and ~change it~?)

So, if you haven’t played the game, ~spoilers~!!!

So, when you’re introduced to Introductriel, she is seemingly, clearly grey like the rest of the monsters in the RUINS, both implicitly in action and explicitly in coloration! She drives off the flower attacking you! The other monsters describe her as “intimidating”! She immediately places herself as your protector!

And when you first fight her, you will no doubt FIGHT, as well!

And this will not get you an outcome you want.

Because Introductriel isn’t grey.

~Introductriel is blue~.

She drives off the flower attacking you, because all of those in the RUINS are her responsibility, and because she knows it is needed to prevent a war! She immediately acts as your protector, because that is what she has been for all of monsterkind, before! And the other monsters find her intimidating because in actuality, she is no caretaker or guard!

She is the ~monster kingdom’s queen-in-exile~.

And so, when you look for a solution to passing Introductriel, what you must actually do is ~negotiate~! Diplomacy is the answer!

And so, Introductriel and the RUINS were blue, hidden under a mask of RPG-grey! And this symbolism continues! All of the monsters are ~far more colorful and diverse~ than it seemed when you first saw them! And ~each area of the game~ corresponds to a caste!

So I’ll give it a quick overview! When you leave the RUINS, you enter the area of Snowdin! And Snowdin is the area for orange!

As you make your way to Snowdin, you meet all sorts of monsters who clearly care for you, and two ~very silly~ companions who make sure you make it there safely! And in the town proper, you’re immediately fed, given free room and board, and presented with a ~library (or rather, librarby!!!) full of monsters~ happy to help you learn about them! 

And the solution to passing Papyrus is showing caring, understanding, and ~friendship~! All you have to do is wait for him to ~talk it out~! (And fun fact! He’s the only monster in the game you literally can’t die against! Because he’s so careful with your safety, he actually stops at your last hitpoint and brings you to his home to ~heal you~ if you loose!)

Next is Waterfall! Here, we meet Undyne!

~And Undyne is as grey as dust~. Undyne feels it is her duty to apprehend you and bring you to what is sure to be your execution. Undyne feels you are a danger to those she has a ~duty to protect~. 

And unlike Papyrus, Undyne ~will kill you~. Because that is her duty too.

And as you make your way through Waterfall, you meet Gerson, and the Temmies, and you learn! ~Waterfall is purple too~!

And in Waterfall, without Snowdin’s smiling faces to soften the blow, you learn the plight of the common monster as well.

So, when you finally face Undyne, you must work to endure!

And then, you must ~run~.

And Hotland and the Core, where we meet Dr. Althys and Magiton is ~so very clearly green and yellow~! So, I don’t think I need to explain this one! You’re directed around by the ~head scientist~ of the underdark, as you ~solve logic puzzles~, passing through scenes of what happens as the area’s transportation scheduling is disrupted, taking part in several ~stage performances~ followed by ~more sequential puzzles~, and finally defeat a ~magic AI performer~ by ~outsmarting him~, both in ~strategy and in showmanship~!

And then, finally!

As you approach NEW HOME, you speak to monsters from ~every area~.

You learn the story of the falling child and the prince.

And then, as you meet Asigore, the monster upon whom all monster’s hopes and dreams rest, you realize!

His symbolism, reflected in the barrier behind him, is the ~entire rainbow~!

And then, you must pit yourself against the symbol of monster society as a whole, because ultimately, with your ~life on the line~, you cannot ACT. You cannot FLEE. 

“All you can do is FIGHT.”

But there’s another way. You can’t do it alone.

~No one could~.

But in the end, if you can get ~everyone~ to work together? And if you can get them to ~let you help them~?

~Then sunlight is just within your reach~!

[that-book-yellow]

[OOC: x]

[importantobservations]

It’s portrayed negatively in the show, but I honestly think the population control system from Awakening of the Birds is better than the ones that we use in real life. Even discounting the fact that it means *every single person on the planet gets to have a baby every spring*, the shorter generation lengths and larger children:parent ratio would significantly increase the rate at which eugenics improved the gene pool. And of course, the musical makes the system look bad by focusing on the people it hurts (very much like people try to make *any* population control system look bad by focusing on the people it hurts - you *can’t* have a population control system which is good for everyone) and completely ignores the eugenic benefits (because society-wide eugenic benefits don’t make for a ~moving musical number~ the way “oh no, I’m going to die because I can’t hold a job” does), but that is not remotely fair to the bird people or to their system.

[artistic-arborealist]

So, I respect your right to have an ~alternate interpretation~!

But your opinions are ~wrong~!

So, you’re arguing that the suffering Birdplanet’s system creates is justified, because it speeds up the eugenic process! But even if you think that that makes it okay for disability to be a death sentence, that’s clearly not what’s happening! Because Birdplanet is ~still not actually directly selecting for eugenic traits~!

In a sensible world, Cintinae would easily go on to be a successful craftspurple! Aratril would simply have been doing freelance work his whole life, instead of being ~prevented from working~ by Birdplanet’s poor job market!

And Tercet certainly isn’t dysgenic either! She was the ~best in her class~, and a ~training accident~ isn’t a good reason to declare someone should die!

Even Trileli, who doesn’t have an obvious career in real-life to pivot to isn’t actually dysgenic! Trileli was an ~art green extraordinaire~! And she could still have passed her singing on to her children, even after her own voice was stolen!

So it’s clear that Birdplanet’s system is only an ~approximation~ of eugenics, just like any of the systems we have in real life! And if it’s not any better, then it ~definitely doesn’t justify mass slaughter~, no matter how willing you are to trade off on these things!

And sure, we can’t ~discount~ Birdplanet’s surplus of babies! But having a baby every spring wouldn’t dull the pain of ~watching your adult child go to their death~! So, we don’t suddenly stop loving our children when they age past two!

And it’s clear that this is true for Birdpeople as well, or their government wouldn’t have had to make hiding someone to be executed ~itself an execution worthy offence~! You don’t need to use deterrence like that for ~rare~ crimes!

And of course, we’ve ~already seen~ the suffering it causes those who will be executed themselves.

So it’s clear that the population control method used by Birdplanet causes immense, unjust suffering!

And they are wrong to do that!!!

[importantobservations]

You’re missing my point. The selection pressures may not be in a better direction, they’ll move faster in whatever direction the selection pressures are in, including in the direction of increasing the eugenic traits the system successfully selects for. If you have two populations, and give them both the same test, and let one have children in proportion to how well they do on the test, and let the other have as many children as they like but kill the ones who do worst on the test, you can expect the second to improve faster at whatever you’re testing for *even though both populations will also get better at cheating on the test*. I agree that the Birdpeople’s system is imperfect - the problems you mention could trivially be fixed just by not killing people with non-genetic disabilities so they’re basically strawmen of a more sensible version of the system, but you can’t make a system that perfectly selects for the best people because there is no objective test for ‘good person’. But by the same token, any eugenic system is going to be imperfect, but that doesn’t mean we should just give up on eugenics and use the Voan system. A system that selects for most good traits and a few bad or neutral traits will still make the population better overall, and that is still worth doing.

And yes, Birdplanet’s system leads to suffering. But any population control system will lead to suffering. Not causing immense unjust suffering is simply not a feasible goal of a population control system, so it isn’t fair to throw out one system you don’t like for that reason while ignoring that it also applies to the systems you do like.

[saliechelon255]

✨🌿🌿🌿🌿✨

[artistic-arborealist]

So, it’s not topical, but life hasn’t completely stopped! So here’s ~book recommendation~ for one I just finished reading, and some fanart I found for it too! So, I think you’ll all enjoy The Time Garden!

And I’ll write up a plot summary too, because those are always fun! (~Spoilers~ warning!)

Vezko is an apprentice gardener in a blues estate, working under their aunt! And the garden they tend together is filled with thousands of roses!

So one day, Vezko is working in the garden alone, early in the morning! And as they reach forward to trim one of the blooms, they stumble, and ~slice their finger on one of the thorns~!

Suddenly, a blinding wind and the scent of roses surrounds them!

And as the whirlwind dies down, they find themselves still standing in the garden!

~But the sun is shining down from the angle of afternoon~.

So as Vezko wanders dazedly out of the garden’s nook, they find that they have ~traveled back in time~!

And Vezko learns that they can use the garden to travel in time to the visit of anyone who has themselves ever visited the garden, as long as they are willing to give the garden a drop of blood in exchange!

And so with hundreds of histories they ~know~ deserved a better ending, and the power of the time garden behind them, Vezko sets out to ~make right what once went wrong~!

[that-book-yellow]

[OOC: This post contained the following notes: #ooc: Of course the main character gets badly injured #and ends up using their bleeding to pay the price of time travel at the climax of the book.]

[memento-colori]

And we’ll burn, burn, burn As we fly out through the stars When I was born my mama Never thought I’d fly so far Say good-bye to this rock Find a new home far away Burning bright as a brand new day

[a-suffusion-blog]

The sky is full of stars.

If each star was a grain of fine sand, you could not hold them cupped in your hands. They would overflow you, spilling over and out.

We overflow with abundance.

The galaxy is a river of stars.

[cheerycheeryneverweary]

the network just started a new show, In Need Of Assistants

I’m really liking it! so basically it’s about this yellow who’s just graduated and is looking for their first job, and so they apply for a position as a secretary for a local blue their own age.

except it turns out that the reason the position was open is because the blue has driven off three assistants already, and at first it seems like they’re a huge jerk! so they end up having deal with this really bratty blue who is (title drop) In Need Of Assistants!

but (spoilers for ep 3!) it looks like it’s actually that the blue actually has some sort of awful family problems going on and that’s why they’re being a jerk! (which still doesn’t make it okay to take it out on their assistants, but it’s shaping up to be a cool character arc)

In conclusion I recommend this show so far!

[1], [2]

[askingalright]

Oh, I should try looking into that maybe! How are the subtitles/dubs?

[cheerycheeryneverweary]

vidalat’s showing it with dubs, and I think they’re pretty good! :D

the only problem I’ve noticed is that the original language has a word for “secretary” that’s like five syllables long judging by the mouthflaps and our word for that is only two, so the translation crew has been having to get creative to fix up the synch issues

but I don’t know if this would be actually be a problem for your language

oh also both main character names contain the ‘v’ phoneme. that’s not in a lot of languages either :P  so beware! V! :O

Either way, I hope you enjoy! (They said they just finished recording the last episode of the first season, so here’s pics of the set if you like spoilers like that ^_^)

[that-book-yellow]

[OOC: x]

[riverrunslong]

Thy rivers run long, and long reign thee. The rain, thy reign: thy reins guideth its passage. Thy sovereign waters, thine aqua regia, carveth thee its steady path. Thy river runneth long.

This is wonderfully written, thank you.

[memento-colori]

The Confectioner

You ask me for the sweetest thing, The nicest treat to savor That tastes the best upon your tongue, The most appealing flavor

You seek a cake or pie or tart It’s why you’ve come to me But the sweetest thing in all the land Is a tempting lie, you see

It’s sweeter still than any cream Or any sort of biscuit But you may choose to taste the truth (If you’d really like to risk it)

I’ll whip up five or ten or twelve In the time that you can blink And you may sample all of them (Just promise not to think)

To taste the bitterness of life Will leave you hurt and sore But swallow up a charming lie And you’ll taste nothing more

[cheerycheeryneverweary]

What's your favorite movie so far this year?

so far, I really liked Pashakous Menama and the Missing Student

it’s the new one in the Sikam and The Magical World series

if you’re not familiar with it, the premise of Sikam and The Magical World is that everyone is stuck on a lost colony planet, and the planet makes Amentans magical for some reason! And Sikam goes to a magical coalition school and has wizard-y adventures with their friends

but this movie is about the fan favorite teacher character this time!

Basically, the plot is that one of Pashakous’ students doesn’t show up for their first morning class, and then it turns out (dun dun dun) that the student is missing! :O

and Pashakous’ has to go rescue them with magical shenanigans! :D 

[strawberry-poison-frog]

[Reblogged from @BlackBeachOfficial}

Reviews are in! Our 4+ Mioleean Fantasy, Bramble Strike! is “A disturbing window into a truly alien mindset.” (VNAnitami) “a deprived rejection of the very principles civilization is founded on” (Visual Novels Now!) and “A sexy celebration of solidarity, community, and terrifying organizers.” (Reds In Media)

Also Available for Download:  “The graceful, inviting soundtrack” that “can’t distract from the horrors of the content”.  (VNA Anitami)

(image source)

[that-book-yellow]

[OOC: x]

[artistic-arborealist]

What's "Climbing The Tech Tree"?

[OOC: in reference to]

So, it’s a Niyaui show about historical technological progression!

And basically, the hosts discuss a different technology every episode, and tell you all about how it works and how it was developed, and then they ~build an example on the show~ themselves!

For example, the last two episodes covered the telegraph, the grain thresher, hot air balloons, and ~dynamite~!

[artistic-arborealist]

(Part 8 was here!)

And Aratril ~does try~! He tries so hard!

But as Tercet’s ~first flight~ approaches, no matter how hard he tries, he still hasn’t found a steady position.

And, he tells Tercet, you ~can’t wait for him~!

The skies await!

And no matter what happens to him, this greybird must fly!

[Greybird - All three main singers singing, Aratril, Tercet dancing

Greybird singing in the dead of night Take these broken wings and learn to fly All your life You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Greybird singing in the dead of night Take these downcast eyes and learn to see

Aratril and Cintinae gently lift Tercet’s head, and point upwards to the projected starscape above them

All your life You were only waiting for this moment to be free

Greybird fly, greybird fly Into the light of the star-filled night]

And so Tercet mournfully prepares to fly away, not knowing what her friend’s fate will be.

Finally, it’s launch day! And everyone gathers to see Tercet off!

Tercet stands in her pilot jumpsuit at the front of the facility.

And ~Aratril stands beside her~!

We find out that, every time Aratril visited the faclity to make sure that Tercet was doing well, he happened to chat with some of the technical crew. Because it’s his field after all!

And they were impressed with him!

And they had been looking for someone to fix programming emergencies! Someone who could ~handle an irregular schedule~!

So ~Aratril has managed to get an on-call position on the ship~!

The entire cast comes on stage, and we reprise, “The Skies Await“, the hopeful tune that was sung when FTL was announced!

They will ~all live~!

This time, it’s ~true~!

~No one else has to die~!

Cintinae bids them a happy goodbye and good luck as they prepare to fly away into the skies! The music swells joyfully, along with our hearts!

And then as they walk onto the ship, Cintinae lets her arm fall, and pulls ~one last thing~ out of her beading bag!

A red jacket. 

She shrugs it on over her wings, and Trileli’s actor comes back onto stage for the first time since Act One, coming to stand by Cintinae’s side. Cintinae and Trileli give the ship one last smiling wave goodbye!

And then, as the lights darken to red and the music whispers its last few hopeful notes, ~Cintinae turns away~.

And Trileli walks beside them, as they both exit to the noose-shaped shadows of stage right.

[that-book-yellow]

[OOC: x]

[artistic-arborealist]

(Part 7!)(And ~the end~! Part 9!)

And Tercet finds out that they both saved her life. Behind her back.

~Without asking~!

(Without saying ~goodbye~.)

Tercet and Aratril have an emotional dance argument, as they preform “Didn’t Ask You To / Should Have Smashed My Egg”.

How could you say you’re ready to die, Tercet angrily gestures?

She didn’t ask you to die! She doesn’t ~want you~ to die!!!

(Why did you die ~for me~?)

And she can’t yell at Trileli anymore, so Aratril will have to do.

Aratril and Tercet flee each other in the wake of the argument, and Tercet goes to cry on Cintinae’s shoulder. How could they, Tercet asks them? 

And as Tercet sobs into Cintinae’s arms, we reprise Cintinae’s bead song. Cintinae softly singing, reminds Tercet that none of them want to die.

And, Cintinae reminds Tercet, none of them want to ~watch their friends die~ either. (One by one. But what if one bead could be unstrung?)

And as Cintinae concludes their song, they slip the latest necklace they made over Tercet’s head.

They’re sorry, they explain! But they dropped all of their other colors of beads when they fell asleep while walking again earlier! So it’s ~not as colorful as they would have liked to make it~!

But at least the grey beads remained unbroken.

It ~matches Tercet’s plumage~ nicely, doesn’t it?

Tercet dries her eyes, and thanks Cintinae for the necklace.

Yes, she agrees, it does match so very well.

It’s amazing how you can make a such beautiful necklace out of ~only one color of bead~.

And then Tercet dances through, ““Didn’t Ask You To” ~alone~.

She didn’t ask them to die. She didn’t ask them to give their lives.

But they did that for her anyway.

~And she will not let it be in vain~!

Tercet finds Aratril and declares! Aratril is going to help her find ~every new piloting position FTL has created~!

There is ~no time to waste~!

And she thanks Aratril for giving her that time.

And Aratril and Cintinae sing “Ever Upward” as Tercet finally becomes the flier she was always meant to be!

And at last, Tercet becomes a pilot!

Tercet will ~live~.

~Tercet will fly~.

But Tercet has one last thing to request of Aratril! They preform ”Delaying Action / Like A Bird Set Free”, reprising both songs once again!

Aratril has to try to find a job too.

~You’re not done yet~, she tells him! FTL opened up so many new possibilities! So ~surely a programming job is among them~!

And so Aratril, for the first time in the show, cries.

And Aratril says that he will ~try~.

[that-book-yellow]

[OOC: x]

[artistic-arborealist]

(Part 6.)(Part 8.)

So Aratril takes a deep breath, looks Tercet in the eye, ~and explains~.

(And the lights dim and brighten, and we change scenes to a flashback.)

A few nights ago, Trileli came to Aratril for help. Help that his programming skills could provide. Help to subvert the law of Birdplanet.

~Help in her plan to save Tercet~.

Because, Trileli explains, FTL has changed everything! Tercet can still fly once again; she can ~fly to the stars~! If only she had time to go to the interview! Don’t you see Aratril! Tercet can ~survive~!

And Aratril points out that even if that’s true, even though they ~all agree~ that Tercet should have a chance to fly, she doesn’t actually have that time.

And Trileli points out ~one more fact~.

Trileli has no such newfound hope.

FTL doesn’t open up any new jobs for a singer.

And as they sing and dance the dissonantly, desperately, ~determinedly~ upbeat medley between their two songs, “Counting Hours, Counting Stars / Cut Us Down,” we find out:

Trileli and Aratril conspired to edit the list of the condemned, to place Trileli’s name above Tercet’s.

Tercet’s bad leg fails her, and she slips to the ground.

The moment stretches painfully, and all we can hear is Tercet’s pained breathing.

But Aratril, ~as his songs have been hinting at~, is depressed.

So, he confesses into the sudden silence, he didn’t tell Trileli this. He didn’t want her to worry. (Not during her ~last days~.) 

But as he stared down at that screen, Trileli’s name flashing at the top ~where he had placed it~, he decided to move ~his name~ up on the list, right after Trileli’s. So that Tercet would have an even better chance. So that he could know that Trileli’s sacrifice wouldn’t wasted.

So that ~one~ of them will live.

Trileli traded her life to buy Tercet enough time.

And Aratril is ~next~.

[OOC: Modified lyrics for, “Counting Hours, Counting Stars / Cut Us Down” found under the cut. Assume that, IC, Arbor linked everyone to a lyrics site.]

Keep reading

[that-book-yellow]

[OOC: x]

[artistic-arborealist]

(There’s Part 5!)(And ~Part 7~!)

So we begin Act 2, having found out that ~somehow~, Tercet has survived!

And ~somehow~, Trileli has been executed in her place.

~And Tercet doesn’t yet know~.

She dances a confused plea to her friends to help her to understand! In “My Heart Still Beats (For You)” Tercet begs someone to explain!

She expected to die! She had said goodbye! She was ~braced for her end~!

She knew they would be coming for her ~since the moment she fell from the sky~!

And now, despite everything they all know to be true, she ~lives~!

And yet one of her dearest friends is missing, and she can’t help but fear.

Did she somehow mistake the day? Has she been granted an emergency stay?

Or, despite them never coming to take her, has she somehow fled the law, and thus endangered everyone she has spoken to since?

What has ~happened~???

And finally, as the song concludes, and Tercet kneels pleading before him despite the ~undoubted pain in her leg~ the action causes, Aratril caves in! He knows what happened.

~Because he helped make it happen~.

[that-book-yellow]

[OOC: x]