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shimmeringweeds · 8 months

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"Past or Future, Let Them Be." vs. "Even without seeing hope, it doesn't mean there is no hope."

In talking about theme, motivation, and growth.

Almost every photograph in season one conveyed a love story. Romantic, platonic, familial, it didn't really matter the form. Season one was about bonds, connections, helping one another, and fighting for a future with no regrets.

It was human. It was relatable. We all loved it.

Season two covered one photograph (two if you count Chen Bin) and a horror story, wherein "love" only brought pain. Bonds held you back, and secrets were kept before connections made. A struggle, full of regrets.

Completely different, weren't they?

I'm sure we all notice how, on the official character profiles, the stickers of the antagonists hide the "future" of "past or future, let them be"?

Interesting. The word "future" implies hope, something season two deliberately lacked. What we witnessed wasn't a fight for the future. It was a fight for survival of the present. In that tunnel? No one was thinking about their future. The game played was a cruel one. Mercy really wasn't in the cards. Who cares about the future when you are barely surviving the present?

Let's talk a little bit about the theming of "hope."

Pt 1: Cheng Xiaoshi . Even without seeing hope, it doesn't mean there is no hope.

Hope always exists, but it's so easily lost.

The first photograph where hope is explicitly themed is DouDou's, and the timing couldn't have been better. After the earthquake, Cheng Xiaoshi is teetering on the edge of hopelessness. He's hard on himself and hard on others. "Take care of yourself now and look forward"; "Live your life, be present, move on," he says. That's not bad advice but..... it's harsh. I wouldn't say these words lack all hope, but they ask you to give up the fight for a future you dream of.

In that moment, Cheng Xiaoshi is trying to cope. He can't save them. Not all futures are possible, and it's foolish to want something you can never have. It's heartbreaking for everyone to watch.

Qiao Ling is the mediator who brings him back. She communicates and is vulnerable and honest with him about her regret.

"I thought I could escape the past... but... he still didn't give up." Haunted by the past, struggling into the present, and fighting for a future you want.

The strongest Three Star Warrior is the star of Justice, rekindling hope. As long as we have hope, we will not be defeated easily.

(also, can we just... as an aside.... their roles????? LG courage-obliterating fear, QL wisdom - light the way, CXS justice - rekindling hope. Because, if that's not blatant theming then I don't know what is.)

DouDou's case heals Cheng Xiaoshi. He helped create a future... and that is BIG. He created a future. From the past. Actively. There is hope!

But doubt still remains like a double edged sword. It surfaces again with Xu Shanshan and culminates with Emma.

Cheng Xiaoshi doesn't wait for Lu Guang before he dives. The puzzle is linking. This is his fault. He has to make it right. Immediately. Alone. There is no time.

"Why is my kindness repaid with such consequences?"

In the trunk of the car, upon the discovery that the victim is Emma, the puzzle clicks with devastating swiftness. No one is there to talk him down. It's all his fault. Emma, Xu Shanshan, Qiao Ling, his parents. Who else has he hurt? He's caught in a decision. How does he make this right? Does he follow his heart, or does he follow logic - the rules driven into his head?

It's his fault and so.... Cheng Xiaoshi does not trust his heart. But what does he trust? He trusts Lu Guang. Rules it is.

Pt 2: Lu Guang: Past or Future, Let Them Be.

There are three rules, and the third is most important. In fact, you might argue that the first two rules are simply supplemental to the third.

I'm pretty big on rules myself. They exist for a reason and keep us safe. We trust that those who make the rules know what is best for us.... but, it's not really a one size fits all kind of deal, is it?

That third, important rule, that rule that exists to protect time and everyone in it, that very rule is what is destroying Cheng Xiaoshi's heart. We know Lu Guang sees that, and we know (now more than ever) how much he cares.

His character is still an enigma that is very hard to read, so this is just speculation but -- after the Earthquake, Lu Guang's perspective on the future seems to shift. He was always working to help others, but now he's more proactive about it. He keeps DouDou's flier, he immediately contacts Xiao Li about Xu Shanshan, he tells them what he saw in the photo, he trusts Cheng Xiaoshi to act.

Emma(1) and Lin Zhen/Yu Xia (2) were jobs taken to gather information. Chen Xiao's (3-5) job was taken to give closure. These three jobs helped a person in the present. Did they change the future? Oh, yes. But that wasn't the intent. And that's why you don't ask about the future, because the future will definitely be changed because of them.

Episode 5.5. When Qiao Lings asks them to take a job for Liu Siwen, they don't know the specifics. They don't know that Liu Siwen is now an old man. Upon failure, Cheng Xiaoshi asks Qiao Ling where in the world she found such a task? Lu Guang immediately scolds and reminds him not to ask about the future. Qiao Ling interrupts him (bless her, she was really like "stop, you're being an idiot too") She spills all the details.

In the end, Lu Guang breaks his own rule (as CXS points out, though he says he's just there to keep them in line. yeah, right. ). He actively helps Liu Siwen create a future. A future he literally spent decades fighting for. And that's where the tables turn.

Both DouDou and Xu Shanshan's cases twist two out of the three rules. They actively question the future and they actively change the future. They don't let the past be. And Cheng Xiaoshi is permitted to act outside of Lu Guang's direction. He receives that blessing.

Because Lu Guang saw how much his rules hurt Cheng Xiaoshi. He saw what over protection does to a person. Cheng Xiaoshi wasn't the only one deep in thought after the earthquake.

Episode 11: Pinnacle of Light "But Emma's fate changed because of me. That's why I'll try again, no matter what happens." ------- (BIG side eyes at that wording. Yeah, no wonder Lu Guang agreed to let Cheng Xiaoshi dive into blind surveillance footage.)

Cheng Xiaoshi dives into Emma's past. As himself. He talks directly to Emma. And Lu Guang doesn't stop him. This action is the exact opposite of "Past or Future, Let Them Be." Cheng Xiaoshi couldn't get farther from that phrase if he tried! And oh, he tried. He tried to save Emma. And Lu Guang just let's him. Knowing that death node cannot be crossed. He stays silent. Because he's guided Cheng Xiaoshi as far as he can.

At this point, he can only accept the aftermath of his guidance. Let him be.

Pt. 3: Past and Future vs. Past and Present vs. Present and Future

If season one was about fighting for a future, for hope, then season two was its antithesis. No matter what anyone did, the future was set in stone. It was all they could do to keep up. Qian Jin warping the narrative, disillusioned by the past. Li Tianchen controlling the tempo, always staying one step ahead, firmly in his present hell. Li Tianxi dying in order to reach a "future" (but she's not dead until there's a funeral, we've been through this).

Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang barely communicate the whole season. There's no time to. The present moment is that merciless. The start of Li Tianxi's photograph was refreshing because it was like old times, a comfortable place. The banter, the directions, the casualness of it all.

But the past did not give way to a future of hope, and the present came crashing down hard and merciless. And it never let up. The abductions, the deaths, the tunnel. The only reason any of them make it out of that tunnel alive is, ironically, because Xiao Li showed up. (or is it ironic. He's a whole other post I'll never write. )

Season one shaped the past for a brighter future. Season two displayed firmly that the present is fixed and the past cannot be changed.

So season three?

Present into Future. Season two left us with a question to ponder.

Do you accept the fate given to you as inevitability, or do you actively try and shape it?

We see both our "protagonists" and "antagonists" (it's more grey than that, really) moving forward but they're displayed as opposites. Liu Xiao pulls Li Tianchen up, active from the present, out into a future. Does he have a choice but to move forward? Is there anything he can change about his past regrets? No. Maybe not. Present, being directed by one Future.

But Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang? They actively drag us back down to the past. And on top of that it's a choice. A desperate, active choice made to do away with the rules. Past, reshaping potential Futures.

Because even without seeing hope. It doesn't mean there is no hope.

#时光代理人 #link click #sorry for the mess #hope it makes sense...#this show has my whole heart so let's just spill it #come cry with me I love to hear different interpretations!#my lc theories

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stil-lindigo · 5 months

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frankly, the people whose kneejerk reaction to bisan asking for a global strike form the 21st-28th is to say that it takes years to organize a general strike are really unhelpful! no one is saying otherwise, but palestine will be a smoking crater if we all wait for years to do anything - bisan is asking us to do something now. Like are we only supposed to do something if we can do it perfectly??? At some point it’s a valid critique about the work that goes into social movement, and at another point I feel like some people are just trying to absolve themselves from not putting any effort into observing a week of economic inaction.

like idk! I get it, okay! People have bills to pay that don’t magically go away for a strike, we don’t have nearly enough social infrastructure in place to support people to fully stop going to work for a week. But fuck, dude! Stop immediately responding in such a defeatist way! Cut out unnecessary purchases! Try to shop local! Put more effort into promoting Palestinian voices online! Attend a protest, call a local rep, do something!

#like am I going insane #why did I see a post with thousands of notes on it talking about how it doesn’t make sense to be asking for this sort of action #it doesn’t make SENSE?#like god! I hope you’re taking other more sensible courses of action then!#fucks sake man #bisan is living through a waking nightmare and some of you are so pedantic and miserly #palestine #free Palestine

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spibder · 5 months

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made some lil sticker designs of fnaf movie human/animatronic duos :3c they r on my redbubble if u wanna stick em anywhere lols

#i hope these pairings make sense i put thought into em even tho its basic thoughts lols #fnaf #five nights at freddys #mike schmidt #foxy fnaf #foxy the pirate fox #abby schmidt #bonnie fnaf #bonnie the bunny #chica fnaf #chica the chicken #vanessa shelly #vanessa fnaf #freddy fazbear #golden freddy #william afton #springtrap #springbonnie

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its-tortle · 4 months

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— taylor swift albums as months of the year —

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neon-ghost04 · 3 months

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“Husk didn’t fall for Angel Dust he fell for Anthony”

NO YOU DONT UNDERSTAND HUSK FELL FOR ANGEL DUST AND ANTHONY; THE PORNSTAR, THE CRACKHEAD, THE GUY STAYING AT A HOTEL FOR REDEMPTION, THE GUY WHO LOVES HIS PET PIG, THE GUY WHOS GOOD WITH A GUN, THE LOSER, THE GUY WHO CARES ABOUT HIS FRIENDS, THE GUY WHO LET HIS WALLS DOWN

He fell for all that Angel Dust is, and he fucking fell hard

#they make me ill #I hope this makes sense #hazbin hotel #Angel dust #husk #huskerdust #hazbin angel dust #hazbin husk

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redstonedust · 3 months

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here's a random thought:

#hope these options make sense

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verflares · 9 days

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(draconifies your zelink) oh whoops lol

+ an extra pic of em hanging out together :]

#(the weakest pitiful coughs youve ever heard) yay #modelled off those ancient scythian deer tattoos..... i like how theyre posed and thought itd be fun. also feat slight ld redesign #makes em look like how they'd might appear on a mural together. ish. LOL i get too impatient to try stylising that much #light dragon #loz #totk #dragon link #totk spoilers #link #zelda #princess zelda #totk au #loz au #tloz #artists on tumblr #sighs. is this enough tags. i hope so #this is very much for Me though bcus i have too many thoughts abt botw/totk dragons. its silly #i was glad to draw my boy again though. i have more ideas for him that ill get around to in like. uhhh. Who Knows.#my art #zelink #you know what. ill add it here too in like the loosest most tragic sense possible #what if we were trapped in mindless eternity forever....... together <3 #dragon link au

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soybean-official · 8 months

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To me it's like this

#vergil is already the most transfem character in video games. Hope this helps #does this post even make sense #it does to me... that's all that matters #devil may cry #devil may cry 3 #dmc fanart #dmc meme #devil may cry meme #vergil dmc #dante dmc #beanie art

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langernameohnebedeutung · 1 year

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Something I really love about tumblr is that when I say in real life that "yeah I'm writing" or "actually, I wanted to write tonight" or "- in the thing I'm writing, I---", this is somehow a wild piece of information about me as a human being. Which, not to diss on people for showing genuine human interest but I keep forgetting that not everyone has a project. People irl will be like "Oh you are writing? Wow what are you writing about! What are you planning to do with it! Can I read it?"

Now, here on tumblr, it feels like everyone has a "writing" or at least it is normalised enough not to warrant a question. Yes, your writing, I get it. The "wip". The elusive "project" you are working on. Of course you're writing. That's just behaviour. We all do our daily little writing if we are not procrastinating our daily little writing and complain about our procrastinating, Doesn't require elaboration. You can easily never bring up your writing again after first mentioning that you are "writing" because no one is dumb-founded by learning this fact about you - or you can skip the basic "yes, I'm writing, no it's for fun, yes it is a story, yes fiction, yes I enjoy writing' - and delve head-first into the entire psychological depth and tell me all about your symbolism etc.

#writing #I hope this doesn't make sense

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skyberia · 1 year

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on the agency of puppets

#persona 5 #persona 5 royal #akira kurusu #ren amamiya #akechi goro #goro akechi #shuake #akeshu #artists on tumblr #comic #drawings #alt text in image #p5r spoilers #alternatively ''on the agency of a protagonist'' but that doesn't flow as well #special thanks to: mads @twinkle-art for saying something that immediately gave me an enormous hell brainworm that inspired this #and also vada my friend vada who read over my script & then called me gay. and also told me it wasnt completely unintelligible #i cant look at this anymore. i hope it makes sense. i'm going to lie down. i'm passing away

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ekko-idk · 1 month

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Laios: people are hard to understand... There's way too many social rules to follow, popular conversation topics, eye contact, etc. They also rarely say what they mean and often they say the opposite, so much so that misunderstandings happen regularly.. Monsters are predictable animals with a set of rules and precautions you can follow to either tame or defeat them. if you know what to do, they're very easy to deal with!

Kabru: monsters are wild creatures with jerky unpredictable movements.. Their attitude can change in a second and if you don't have an insane amount of knowledge about them they can be, and often are, very dangerous. Human cultures often have strict and easy to follow rules that depend on certain communication strategies that are somewhat agreed upon universally. People no matter of background also react the same to many things (smiling, frowning, pupil dilation, etc.). if you know what to do, they're very easy to deal with!

#I've been thinking about how they're kind of two sides of the same coins #And their fixations are in perfect contrast #I hope I worded everything in a way that makes sense #Rambling #Dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #kabru dungeon meshi #dunmeshi laios #I'm only watching the anime rn btw so sorry if it's inaccurate

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teddylou · 2 months

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so. roommate’s cat likes being on top of the fridge. and usually he goes floor>counter>fridge, but sometimes he will attempt the floor>fridge shortcut. but he misses and this happens

there’s a cork board that somehow supports his weight until one of us scoops him (or he falls)

#next time he does it i’ll actually get a picture #bc we haven’t yet #also i hope this drawing makes sense #that’s why i had to draw it bc i don’t have a picture yet #but it’s so stuck in my head #i don’t rly post but i thought this was silly 👉👈

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somnimagus · 7 months

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My page for @sheikahzine; about Impaz's duty to her village, empty of people and full of memories.

[id in alt text]

#legend of zelda #loz #twilight princess #loz tp #i'm still reeling that someone sent me an ask about this one.. that they took the time to find my tumblr and tell me they liked it #it really meant a lot; thank you to anyone that stops to leave comments like that. they make me happy #but yeah! here's the usual symbolism ramble:#i thought it'd be cool to have the 'spirits' flowing one way and the cats walking through them the other way #to kinda show the difference in life inhabiting the village in the past and present #link's face is covered because impaz was just waiting for 'the hero' so his clothes are what matters; not his face #and it (hopefully) gives a surreal and intangible sense to 'the hero' she could only hope would actually show up #you can feel free to interpret the glowy blue sheikah as ghosts or just as memories of the past! i couldn't decide either way #the one on the bottom left is oot impa since she's implied to be the village founder. so i guess she would be a ghost actually?#fan art #my art #project stuff #and ahhh the book-- everyone's stuff is so beautiful!!#especially the writing. some of the fics made me really tear up and some were so fun and clever. i really love them #a lot of them captured the sheer burden of the role of the sheikah; all of the time and grief and doubt #i know i always say this stuff about every project but. the people i get to work with in these are truly so skilled every time

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skeletoninthemelonland · 2 months

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"The Remnant Collector"

"the remnant what"

"the"

#i hope this makes sense #behind the codes #btc springtrap #springtrap #fnaf #starbsart

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poopystain · 1 month

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uhhhhmm

#undertale #flowey the flower #flowey #frisk undertale #asriel dreemurr #<- i guess #sorry i had an idea like this on the brain and the only way to get rid of it was to draw it #im so TIRED its early morning hours.#hope this drawing makes sense to other peoplw #my art #my doodles

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inkskinned · 1 year

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for a while i lived in an old house; the kind u.s americans don't often get to live in - living in a really old house here is super expensive. i found out right before i moved out that the house was actually so old that it features in a poem by emily dickinson.

i liked that there were footprints in front of the sink, worn into the hardwood. there were handprints on some of the handrails. we'd find secret marks from other tenants, little hints someone else had lived and died there. and yeah, there was a lot wrong with the house. there are a lot of DIY skills you learn when you are a grad student that cannot afford to pay someone else to do-it-for-ya. i shared the house with 8 others. the house always had this noise to it. sometimes that noise was really fucking awful.

in the mornings though, the sun would slant in thick amber skiens through the windows, and i'd be the first one up. i'd shuffle around, get showered in this tub that was trying to exit through the floor, get my clothes on. i would usually creep around in the kitchen until it was time to start waking everyone else up - some of them required multiple rounds of polite hey man we gotta go knocks. and it felt... outside of time. a loud kind of quiet.

the ghosts of the house always felt like they were humming in a melody just out of reach. i know people say that the witching hour happens in the dark, but i always felt like it occurred somewhere around 6:45 in the morning. like - for literal centuries, somebody stood here and did the dishes. for literal centuries, somebody else has been looking out the window to this tree in our garden. for literal centuries, people have been stubbing their toes and cracking their backs and complaining about the weather. something about that was so... strangely lovely.

i have to be honest. i'm not a history aficionado. i know, i know; it's tragic of me. i usually respond to "this thing is super old" by being like, wow! cool! and moving on. but this house was the first time i felt like the past was standing there. like it was breathing. like someone else was drying their hands with me. playing chess on the sofa. adding honey to their tea.

i grew up in an old town. like, literally, a few miles off of walden pond (as in of the walden). (also, relatedly, don't swim in walden, it's so unbelievably dirty). but my family didn't have "old house" kind of money. we had a barely-standing house from the 70's. history existed kind of... parallel to me. you had to go somewhere to be in history. your school would pack you up on a bus and take you to some "ye olden times" place and you'd see how they used to make glass or whatever, and then you'd go home to your LEDs. most museums were small and closed before 5. you knew history was, like, somewhere, but the only thing that was open was the mcdonalds and the mall.

i remember one of my seventh grade history teachers telling us - some day you'll see how long we've been human for and that thing has been puzzling me. i know the scientific number, technically.

the house had these little scars of use. my floors didn't actually touch the walls; i had to fill them with a stopgap to stop the wind. other people had shoved rags and pieces of newspaper. i know i've lost rings and earring backs down some of the floorboards. i think the raccoons that lived in our basement probably have collected a small fortune over the years. i complain out loud to myself about how awful the stairs are (uneven, steep, evil, turning, hard to get down while holding anything) and know - someone else has said this exact same thing.

when i was packing up to leave and doing a final deep cleaning, i found a note carved in the furthest corner in the narrow cave of my closet. a child's scrawled name, a faded paint handprint, the scrangly numbers: 1857.

we've been human for a long time. way back before we can remember.

#idk if it's still tradition but the kids at the local school next to walden when I went there #used to have a tradition where u had to pee in walden pond before u graduated or otherwise you'd fail one of your classes #as someone who did not do this im happy to report i did fail a class so maybe they had a point #they've torn the school down tho so who knows #i hope this makes sense #i think we've been human longer than we've been writing #ps this land was taken over by hostile combatants and colonialized . let us not forget that part of the reason #our 'history' is so short. is that we have systematically slaughtered the people who had history here before

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