Wisdom: The Sumeru Archon Quest

I’m back and instead of photos I want to gush about video game plots. I  can do that sometimes, right?

I wrote this about three weeks ago  intending to drop it before the final part of the quest came out, but I forgot about it and so instead I’m going to drop it after the quest comes out but before I actually do the quest (so if the last part turns the whole thing on its head and Nahida turns out to be a cackling sophist, that’s on me).

But hey, if you like rambling diatribes about the merits of scholarly integrity, here goes: The super short version:

The Sumeru quest is freaking amazing, and I love the way it engages it’s overall theme - that is, the concept of wisdom and what it means to be wise in the pursuit of knowledge vs arrogant in the possession of knowledge.

The short version:

Someone in Mihoyo’s writing staff must like philosophy, because the way the Sumeru arc explores wisdom is fantastic. None of the other regions’ archon quests really explore their supposed core ideology this well: Monstadt is an intro quest and while I suppose there’s a whole thing about freeing Dvalin the later event quests the region mostly explores what freedom means to its people in the later event quests, Liyue’s contracts were more of a plot device while the story felt more like it was about other things, and Inazuma’s concept of eternity was better, it had it’s... issues.

But this quest goes all in not just on wisdom as an idea, what it means to be intelligent vs wise, how each is useless unless you have both, and how the protagonists understand this difference while in contrast the antagonists fail to do so.

The long version:

Nahida makes the point that despite her title neither she nor even Rukkedevata were the real gods where scholars were concerned: that the real guide to any scholar should be the truth.

But what does that mean, the truth. Isn’t what’s truth different depending on your perspective - how do you figure out what is true? Well, the arc explores that way more than I was expecting - but not through the protagonists, so much as through the antagonists and their actions.

The Sages are characterized as having little interest in the world as it truly exists outside of their perspective, as they are razor focused instead on the world as they (or their ancestors) knew it, wrapped up in dogma rather than doing what they're supposed to be doing, and so convinced of their own intellectual superiority that they instead dismiss any perspective that doesn't coddle their preconceived notion of how the world is supposed to work - to the point that the whole "make our own god" thing is just a big attempt to sacrifice everything else to create something that will reaffirm what they already know and the comfort in what they already have rather than ever risk changing and evolving their understanding. There’s another quote later about how the Sages don’t support anyone with a strong will that aren’t pliable enough to only study along the lines they deem acceptable and true (and worse, that they don’t allow knowledge to be shared, an instant sign they’re bad scholars): or in short, they are driven by a rigid adherence to tradition, dogma and elitism. Heck, their entire plan it based around literally removing any knowledge that doesn’t match their understanding from people’s brains and twisting it into something that supports their worldview, even though it leaves the people they do it to empty and ignorant forever.

They are, in short, more concerned with having knowledge than gaining knowledge.

And man, there’s that great contrast that the Sages dismissed Kusanali specifically because she wasn’t  immediately intelligent by their standards, missing the fact that having the mind of a child means her mind is open for growth, a capacity for learning and  understanding is exactly the quality that allows her to act and excel  despite them, and eventually (presumably) supplant and replace them.

More on that later, but it's a nice note about how intelligence ceases to be intelligence when it's not tempered with wisdom, because getting so wrapped up in the safety and superiority of what you know that you don't accept it when what you know becomes obsolete is a classic problem.

Focusing on what rather than how is the big pitfall of the ego, both when it comes to study and when it comes to looking at study from the outside - heck, and it even happens to us non-scholars too: don’t let it be said that it’s a solely academic problem. Not to bring up a fresh wound for many, but you can see it IRL in those sensationalist reactions to scientists’ changing understanding of the COVID virus - every week you got someone insinuating that because what we thought we knew at one point turned out to be incorrect, that must mean that nobody knows anything and science is a crock. But study isn’t gratification, and science isn’t what you know. It’s how you come to know it.

Once you become more fixated on what you know and how it must be true, it invariably leads to ignorance and arrogance.

Meanwhile - because I made a point about it’s the contrast that’s the most important - Nahida maintains that she doesn't really know anything but is characterized by and endless desire to learn and improve herself, as well as respect for others who try to do the same, which... chefs kiss. She’s like a tiny little Socrates, but with the added benefit of perceptible compassion for other living beings. In this, the Sages do double duty characterizing Nahida, because it becomes extremely clear the kind of person she is because of how well we can see the kind of person she isn’t.

Then of course there’s things like the contrast between Cyno’s blunt need for as much clarity as he can get - which makes him the most open to learn, Ahlaitham’s cold understanding of human nature that makes him coarse but deductive, and Dehya’s coarse but perceptive common sense that she indicates is looked down upon but is in reality no less intelligent than the other two. And the fact that in the end, their biggest problem is that they can’t work together or take steps to understand each other - an unwise approach - until things have already gotten worse.

(This is probably the best arc the series has had so far. Great plot balance, great pacing, great characterization - something all of the other quests have had one or the other of in spades, while missing the rest)

Beyond surface appeal, what makes Ganon a compelling antagonist

I think cruising my blog would provide a good number of possible answers, but I guess my tl:dr would be (otherwise I could probably make a full 24h conference about it at this point): because he does reveal (if one is willing to look) the brutality of a world in which gods uphold a natural order through a given kingdom that will not budge on its god-given right to rule, and him as both a rebellious disorder to that status quo which also ends up devoured by said status quo as just one natural part of a cycle of creation and destruction that ultimately always kind of stays the same.

Also, I find the setup of a man born to a tribe of outcast women, considered exceptional by birth while also having to figure himself out + the role he needs to play in that kind of structure and in a very difficult context, someone who both is being granted a lot of natural power while also still being sneered at and considered lesser and/or inherently evil by those blessed by the gods (while also carrying a lot of unexamined baggage of their own), is just so juicy and interesting and brimming with potential psychologically speaking (especially when applied to his motivations of: why does he want power, why does he always alter his own body, his uncanny resilience, etc). It does come with a lot of baggage, as "the evil man from the desert" is far from being a neutral concept coming from a neutral historical place --but examining what kind of world would come to such conclusions is also deeply revealing of said world.

And then, Wind Waker gives him even more of a window to reflect on his own rage while also never apologizing for the horrors he commited, mourning what he wanted and what he became while also being the only one calling the gods of Hyrule out for being terrifyingly cold entities --far more than he could ever hope to become.

Yeah, I think Nintendo has been sleeping on Ganondorf ever since (even if I defend his TP appearance). But he has a fascinating cross-game story(ies), and I find him to be a deeply tragic --if horrendously flawed-- figure, which is partially why TotK was so disappointing to me, because TotK saw nothing but the surface level + the fact that putting him in a game sells and makes people horny.

(you'll notice I didn't mention Demise, because I think that, while the whole cycle thing wasn't bad or not that interesting, fans really overly simplify this concept in a way that has contributed to make Ganondorf extremely flat, which I am not here for.)

tbh if jonny and alex return as jon and martin in protocol, i do hope it'll be their alternate universe counterparts or something like that, not the original versions of them. much as i'd love to see them again, it would kind of ruin the deliberately ambiguous ending of tma if we got definite proof of jon and martin being alive in another universe. either way, i will try to keep an open mind and see how the story unfolds, but confirming they're alive would be really hard to pull off in a narratively satisfying way, imo.

I will actually die on the "Huntlow is forced" hill because it makes absolutely no sense for either of them to get together.

Especially Hunter, who is attached to the Caleb/Evelyn and Philip drama... and last time I checked, Willow isn't the witch from another world who turned Hunter's world upside down lmao.

dont make me tap the sign [sign that reads no one in 2001 a space odyssey was a villain everyone was acting under flawed information, assumption, and/or orders and this was a tragedy that could have easily been avoided had it not been tied up in bureaucratic red tape]

i’m gonna sound like a grandpa but i genuinely think modern day action/superhero movies are making people stupider bc why the hell are so many bitches saying they didn’t understand how gordy tied in to the rest of nope. like come on. girl. can you think about the themes instead of the plot for ONE SECOND i promise it’s not even that complicated guys

You like Doctor Who AND Black Sails???? Absolutely chef kiss, cannot believe we share a brain

yeah, I did for a hot second have a separate blog for Black Sails because I actually made this one to be specifically not fandom-related (3 years on and... well.....) so I'm slowly bringing my black sails posting over here instead, fuckit!

thing about Black Sails for me is that on the whole I find it such a perfectly constructed bit of storytelling, with critique that has already been formulated better by other people, that I never know quite what to say about it that hasn't been said, youknow?

it's the show that I've watched that has felt the most like reading a book, with every season leading into one another and the themes introduced in s1 wrapping up in s4, and every piece interacting with one another, and you have to trust that the questions and thematic concepts raised at the beginning have real weight and will go places, which in this day and age of TV is a big ask, because most of the time a TV show has to work one season at a time/doesn't plan that far ahead, lest it get cancelled and/or stretches into depressing perpetuity

(or it's Doctor Who of course, which is just its own monster/mythology at this point, moreso than perhaps any other show, I'd say including Star Trek perhaps...)

but yeah, Black Sails. that's a journey that really matters, you get to the end and you've been holding your breath since probably s2, and you're realising that this is something that TV can do -- I think other shows that have manage the closest (for me) have been miniseries like Chernobyl or Pride & Prejudice and the like, because they've had that clear knowledge that this is the episodes they have, this is where it starts and ends, these are the ways everything talks with one another (Chernobyl and Black Sails especially have in common that the ending makes one want to go back to the beginning, because it's a realisation of OH THIS IS WHAT YOU'VE BEEN SAYING FROM DAY ONE!), but I've not seen it as strongly or as well-constructed (or... finished for that matter) in anything that had multiple seasons like this

+ youknow. multiple polyamorous relationships in different structures, multiple ways of discussing connection and love none of which are more important than the other for being a specific kind, multiple deconstructions of masculinity in popular mythology (pirates), banging sea battles and sword fights, plot moments that take your breath away, political commentary that makes you punch the air, and bits that have you going "OH I READ THIS BIT IN TREASURE ISLAND!!!" (but also you don't need to have read treasure island to watch it... potentially OH YEAH THIS GUY WAS A CYBORG IN TREASURE PLANET 😂)

Black Sails is kind of special. Truly one of a kind

EDIT: ALSO WANTED TO SAY HELL YEAH HIGH FIVE FOR BLACK SAILS AND DOCTOR WHO!

Btw, one Madney proposal I can't get out of my head is both Maddie and Chim show the rings to Jee, and where they're hidden. She steals them both, and after the chaos of Madney running around trying to find the rings, without the other person noticing, are just trying to pretend everything is fine. Maybe one of them says the word ring, is caught by the other, and trying to get out of it, and Jee-Yun runs to her toy chest, grabs the boxes, and hands them off with a "Mama's ring!" "Papa's ring!" Except she does not give them the rings they each bought. And the three of them are just staring at each other. And eventually someone remembers how to speak and starts the most romantic proposal speech of all time.

seeing how much detailed attention and love p5 got from davidpro just for stocean to be a low effort adaptation that only did one semi interesting thing (the adaptation of MiH) that was released in fucking netflix batches of all things and received little attention as a result, i think i will actually kill people when they inevitably pumb the budget and artistic direction and hype up for sbr and in all likelyhood remove the awful batch model for it too. IT SHOULDA BEEN LIKE THAT FOR JOLYNEEE. YOU DIDNT DESERVE HEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRR

;u;

the only pheaseble explanation i have for the new eps is that they had an entirley different writing team for the rest of the show. then they just last minute brought on different people for just these two episodes and only had them watch the other eps of fionna & cake, and then told them to create an ending based soley on that. and gave them a terrible, very short deadline.

obligatory disclaimer that this is not a vague about anyone following me but like. a Thing a notice a lot in fandom is people who are incredibly creative in their engagement with a story's worldbuilding, but who also seem to believe a lack of exploration into their particular favourite niche of that worldbuilding is like. an actual writing flaw. instead of necessary restraints to the scope and focus of a piece of art.

like im sorry but no, an indepth analysis of this fictional society's bartering system is not inherently the more useful element to explore the themes over our characters/plot etc etc.

Oh thank god they didn't get mollymauk back

REMINDER THAT SAPNAP WAS THE ONE WHO CONVINCED TOMMY TO KILL DREAM THAT VERY FIRST TIME. LITERALLY ANYTIME ANYONE POKED THE PEACE THEY IMMEDIATELY COWERED WHEN DREAM LOGGED ON. EVERY ONE ON THE SERVER THOUGHT DREAM SHOULD BE TAKEN DOWN A PEG. ITS JUST THAT TOMMY WAS THE (ONLY) ONE TO ACTUALLY SUCCEED .

LOVE OR HATE IT. THIS WAS A TRAGIC COMING OF AGE STORY. TOMMY FOUGHT THE BIG BAD VILLAIN HIS ENTIRE CHILDHOOD UNTIL HE FINALLY FACED IT AS AN ADULT AND REALIZED THAT THE TERRIBLE MONSTER WAS ALSO HUMAN. DREAM IS STILL A TERRIBLE PERSON BUT HES A TERRIBLE HUMAN. ITS TOO LATE FOR REDEMPTION BUT HE COULD HAVE HAD IT ONCE, A LONG TIME AGO.

ITS NOT FORGIVENESS. ITS UNDERSTANDING.

TOMMY’S INHERENT TRAIT FOR COMPASSION AND KINDNESS WAS FULLY REALIZED AT THE VERY END. HE CHOSE TO BE COMPASSIONATE, BRINGING HIS CHARACTER ARC TO A PROPER CLOSE.

MAYBE IN THE OVERALL PLOT ITS A CONTROVERSIAL MESSAGE TO INTERPET AND THE ABRUPT ENDING AFTERWARDS IS KINDAAAAAAAA BUT THAT FINAL CONVERSATION WAS A PERFECT ENDING TO TOMMY’S CHARACTER ARC

I COULD WRITE A WHOLE FUCKING POST ABOUT THE RECURRING THEME OF “WHY TOMMY COMMITTING MURDER IS BAD FOR HIM FROM A THEMATIC PERSPECTIVE” IT WOULD TAKE LESS TIME THAN THE MORALITY SLIDE SHOW I SWEAR BUT HERES A QUICK LIST OF KEY POINTS I WOULD TOUCH ON INSTEAD:

WORDS OVER WEAPONS. THE DUEL. WILBUR’S BUTTON. SCHLATT IN THE CAMARVAN. JACK MANIFOLD. ENHANCED INTERROGATION TECHNIQUES. COMMUNITY HOUSE. DISC BUNKER. THE THIRD PRISON VISIT. THE EMPTY CHEST. THE FINAL CHOICE.

GOD ITS SO FUCKING GOOD. HOW DARE THIS BE AN IMPROV ROLEPLAY ON MINECRAFT. A WHOLE FUCKING BOOK ON JUST THIS.

Hey Friend!

Question! What did you think about the small stories told to Wren, Oak and Co. by the swamp witch and the Trolls? The Troll story was especially interesting to me and I wondered if you have any insights into what they could mean/play out/symbolically represent for the larger story?

hiya! 🥰

well, the story from the Thistlewitch was the big clue in for Wren's origin story.

i'm not sure if there's much else to be gained from the story specifically, but one of the quotes i like best from that particular scene is a quote that's not actually part of the Thistlewitch's story, but an observation Wren has during a pause in the dialogue:

“Just because a pawn is better treated doesn’t make it safer on the board.”

i think you could definitely extract meaning from this in the ways in which both Oak and Suren were raised and treated as pawns during their childhood.

and i'm gonna be real with you friend, i did not get much meaning from the troll story. like a lot of this book, it kinda left me like ???

the only thing i could think of that even remotely ties in is that at some point it's said that Nicasia is planning on having a competition for her hand in marriage, and one of the stories the troll told was about a goatherd tricking the kings into competing with one another for his heart.

i'm hoping it will come together better in the second book, but as of right now, it seems pretty fruitless to me (feel free to discuss/suggest in the comments/reblogs though).

–Em 🖤🗡

more theories and analysis

Every time I see someone complain about something not happening or a character not getting enough screen time on succession I always want to ask okay. What would you take out. What scene do you feel can be lifted out of the episode with minimal repercussions and would be better replaced with. I don’t know. Tom and Greg making fools of themselves. I 100% get wishing there was more time for tomgreg stuff in these episodes - as a tomgirl I have certainly thought it would’ve been nice to get a bit more Tom - but there’s a difference between “I would’ve liked to see something but unfortunately the episode simply didn’t have time for it” and “this is badly written because the show didn’t spend as much time with my favourite character as I wanted”