you should talk about your thoughts on rw fanon (looking with huge eyes)
Oh god, there's a lot of major misconceptions have concreted into fanon, mostly around ancient society and ascension.
First things first! Ascension is not death! They are entirely separate things treated entirely separately by the text of the game. I can see where the interpretation is coming from, but it doesn't really align with how the text treats either subject. Five Pebbles may want to remove the self destruction taboo, but from his reaction to the rot it's clear that he doesn't want to die. Conflation of ascension and death only comes up as an offhand possibility that pebbs makes on iterator 4chan, when he's going into the possibilities of scenarios that even the other sliverists are doubtful of! (let me make clear that I am not a sliverist by any means)
Ascension is more of talked about as a form of transcendence, yeah? A Bell, Eighteen Amber Beads talks about their sitution as being "To have grasped at the boundless infinites of the cosmic void…", not as them seeking an end to life.
The beta dialogue goes into more detail, mentioning the "infinities of time and space" and the "boundless fractal planes of spirit and reality...", though this dialogue was cut and it's hard to tell how much it reflects the concept as in the released game.
As for the cultural misconceptions... there's A Lot to talk about, but the first that comes to mind is the common conflation of the five natural urges and the christian concept of sin.
It is true that the negation of urges is mentioned by moon as an alternative method of ascension, but much of what we know about the culture of the people who the fandom calls the ancients (which makes discussion of the depths a mess but that's something for another post entirely) points towards the urges not being seen as shameful.
Even the first urge does not seem to be particularly scorned! Being a warrior is presented as a cause for bragging in the Shaded Citadel pearl, being comparable with being an artist and a fashion legend. The second urge, also does not seem to be suppressed. Multiple sources attribute some level of honour to parenthood! The aforementioned pearl also mentions Seventeen Axes, Fifteen Spoked Wheel as being a "Mother, Father and Spouse" without any hint of shamefulness. Nineteen Spades, Endless Reflections expresses pride about having progeny, mentioning it alongside their owned land and esteem among their peers.
After some peer review, an esteemed friend has told me to add a section on purposed organisms as well! This is not so much my area, so I might be a bit off on some things.
As moon says, the majority of purposed organisms were tubes in boxes, and that the primal fauna of the world are almost entirely extinct. A lot of the fandom seems to ignore the first part, and i can't say I blame them, but the evolution of the creatures is so much weirder than people think.
Concept art for the creatures has this interesting quality to it, where the organic parts of the creatures have an almost... melty quality to them.
In the concept art, the flesh appears as if it's almost defying the machinery to form an animal shape. It's as if it's conquering its own artificiality the way the foliage grows over the (stone, brick and concrete, not mostly metal as some think!) ruins.
Of course, it's hard to really tell how much of this reflects the finalised concept, most of the integration is much smoother in the game, in line with a seamless kind of biomechanical design. There was always an intention of biomechanical strangeness, as shown in this screenshot of the devlog before the term "slugcat" even existed!
That said, the melty nature of the concept art shows a level of wild change inherent the biomechanical nature of the creatures, as if they truly are the result of these "tubes in boxes" almost revolting against their own boxes.
and considering centipedes... some tubes may not have had boxes in the first place!
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started writing in between classes and im deeply obsessed with orpheus parallels with ortega/chargestep so have this. warning for ortega being inebriated and wanting to die.
Time to rise Orpheus. The day breaks and you with it.
(I don’t want to. Don’t make me.)
That’s not an option. Get up Orpheus.
(I have no legs. I have no hands.)
You will be repaired, doll of lyres.
(I don’t want to be. I want to lay here and die.)
Scio, sweetheart.
(Will I see her again?)
Only on her deathbed.
(I don’t think I can do this anymore.)
You will.
Get up Orpheus.
Get up Orpheus.
Get up-
“Ortega! Get down from there!”
Chen pulls you off the ledge of the building you guess you were climbing over. You're not really sure.
You’re downstairs now. Your arm is over Chen’s shoulders.
“-tega! What did you drink? Can you even hear me?”
You’re nauseous.
You’re not nauseous anymore.
“Ok that’s. That can be someone else’s problem, come on.”
He lifts you once more. He’s good at that. He does is a lot when you fuck up or do something stupid which is always cause you’re a poor excuse for man.
You snuggle into the passenger seat of his car. It’s cozy, it smells like him. You don’t smell good.
“Drink this.” He says. He tips your head back and water pours into your mouth.
You do your level best to not choke.
You’re on the wrong side of your couch. This is Eurydice’s spot, not your’s.
Sidestep. Sidestep’s spot.
You shake your head, the smallest bit of clarity returning to your vision and mind. Chen has pulled a chair from the kitchen to sit in front of you. His expression swims but you think he’s concerned. Not a clue why.
“So. ‘Never gonna drink again?’” You spit onto the carpet and he grimaces.
“Don’t know what you expect from someone like me. When’s my word ever meant shit?” You wonder if you could get him to punch you.
“You- I’m not entertaining this. You need to get your shit together.” He doesn’t say ‘before you end up dead’, but you hear it anyway. Or maybe that’s you saying it.
You let your head tip back over the couch. He wants you to try. You don’t know how.
Yes you do. Rise from your corner.
But you’re already so far gone.
Then go all the way. Pursual when you cannot see your target is what you do best. Find them.
They’re not dead.
No.
They’re dead.
Not to you.
I already failed them.
Then fail again.
Isn’t the definition of madness trying the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome?
No, that’s a misconception. And anyways, when has that ever stopped you before?
Fair.
Now tell him something so he doesn’t send you to a madhouse.
You look back at Chen. His clenched teeth twist his scars on his lips and his hands are clasped together so tight you swear you hear the creak of metal. You slump forward, uncoordinated, and put one of your hands on his.
“I’ll tell my… therapist,” the word is still a rock in your mouth, “about. This.” You’re not sure if you mean the drinking or the climbing.
That’s not true.
Yeah well fuck you I’m not getting sent to a madhouse. I’m not crazy.
Then what’s this?
“That’s good.” Chen breathes out in a long relieved sigh. “That’s good.”
You tug him off the chair and into a hug. You know he can feel your heartbeat through your shirt, and you know he needs that.
Out of his view you stare daggers into the wall. You’re determined (for now). You have to find them again.
Miles to walk Orpheus.
And promises to keep.
And promises to keep.
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guys i think i might possibly just a little bit like submas
[image id: 12 drawings in a 3x4 grid, with each square representing a month. At the top it's titled "Hyperfixations Wrapped - 2023". Each square has a caption describing the what the drawing is about.
January's is "jat au and the telmessos <33" and depicts Jonathan Sims from tma as a scraggly angry cat. February says "its shaping up to be ingo and emmet" and shows Ingo and Emmet standing ominously against a dark background. March is "pokemon!! My trainersona/team and pokemon go mainly" and depicts Sol, a trainer oc with a sidecut, and who has a torracat named Spork on their shoulder. Spork is leaning forward and grinning widely, stealing the frame for itself. April says "ingo and emmet!!" Ingo and Emmet have shoved Sol and Spork off-frame, and are having a lot of fun being the center of attention.
May's is "ingo and emmet with a side of sol and varadian" and now Sol is pushing back at Ingo and Emmet, joined by Varadian, another trainer oc with long hair in a ponytail. June says "still ingo and emmet, with a side of varadian and sol. edged into jacke towards the end of the month". Sol and Varadian are staring down Ingo, who looks at them nervously, and Emmet, who is grumping. In the background, Jacke waves happily, clueless. July is "law of intertia au :>" and shows Ingo, Emmet, and Akari. Ingo is in the center, head bowed forward as he grips at his heart, blood trickling out of his mouth and staining his chest. Light halos him. To the left, Emmet looks at him sadly, visibly tired and worn down. His tie is red. To the right, Akari looks down angrily, red scarf covering the bottom half of her face. A spark of light shines in her visible eye. August is "Ingo and Emmet, and Stacy!! With Hisui au Sol thrown in for flavor". Ingo and Emmet stand in their usual point and call pose, except with their triplet, Stacy, standing in the middle of them pointing outwards. Stacy is dressed very similarly to Ingo and Emmet, though his coat is shorted than theirs and he has thicker gloves.
September is "Ingo and Emmet, and also Jacke :]" and Ingo is pointing excitedly between himself and Jacke, gesturing to the fact that they both frown a lot. October says "various aus (zoroark au mainly, but also loi, a81, and fr au)". In this drawing, Ingo is a zoroark who's just been caught by Elesa. She shouts loudly and points accusingly at him, holding up a pokeball as if to launch an attack on him. November's is "flight rising au and the Jubilife piano au!!" Ingo and Emmet are depicted as tundra dragons from flight rising, fluffy dragons with thick neck fur and large tusks. They still have their hats. December's is "ghost!Emmet au!!" Ingo and Emmet stand together in the icelands. It is snowing heavily. Ingo is hunched over and struggling, coat wet and weighed down by snow. Emmet stands near him, visibly concerned as he looks behind them, reaching out partially towards Ingo. Only Ingo leaves a set of footprints in the snow. Emmet is transparent and passes through the snow without leaving a trace. End id]
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