Boo...you found me

"I review books for a living, and I’ve noticed a worrying trend of what I call “instagramming the Holocaust.” (1 / 9)"

"Bestselling novels about the Holocaust tend to be “uplifting” and sentimental. They have romantic subplots. Jewish characters only exist to be rescued by the (often American) protagonist. The cinematic, three-act structure culminates in a redemptive ending."

"What these books offer (and they sell in the millions) is a sanitized version of the Shoah in which brave Americans bravely battle Hitler, the reader learns a lesson about Kindness and Not Being Prejudiced, and there are no sticky questions about who did the killings, and why."

"Jewish novelist Dara Horn has observed that memoirs and novels written by actual Holocaust survivors typically don’t sell—because there are no pat resolutions, no redemptions, no heartwarming moments where the Jewish prisoners see the good in their Nazi captors."

"Anne Frank’s (excellent) diary became the entry point into the Holocaust for most of us because she had not yet experienced the worst of it – because she hadn’t yet learned that some people aren’t “truly good at heart.” It’s just safe enough not to disturb us."

"And we love “uplifting” Holocaust novels because we don’t want to be disturbed, not really. This is the real reason why books like Maus offend the sensibilities of middle-class parents, because they bear witness to a truth about human nature that we don’t want to confront."

"And the “message” of the Holocaust is not that people are truly good, or that we need to be kind and tolerant (though that is true). The message is that six million people were murdered, and millions of ordinary folk were complicit, and millions of others looked away."

"This compulsion to sanitize the past, to sanitize the world, is one of the overlooked roots of white nationalism. We want to seal ourselves away from the experiences of others because we fear what they might say to us. We want reality to be pastel-hued and instagram-filtered."

We knew Aang for less than a year of his life as a child. He lived out a whole other life, and he got married, had kids, and had to deal with a million other things that emerged as a consequence of a 100 years of colonialism. He did great in some aspects, no so much in others.

His role as the Avatar, and the last airbender, put him in a position where he could never really dedicate much time to his personal life. Losing an entire civilization means he grew up in a society that is alien to modern times. Children were raised communally among the Air Nomads, parent-child relationships weren't confined. Aang had to adapt to a whole new way of living and culture(Souther Water Tribe) while technically not even being there a lot.

Like yeah, as children we all imagined our favorites to have grown up and been perfect, but I think it's nice that he wasn't. It didn't mean he was abusive or absent. He was a dad trying his best when the world was asking everything of him. He was human, and he fucked up sometimes. Aang and Katara loved each other deeply even through all this.

my piece for @liliumaa ‘s feferi fanzine!!

Silver pulls a Columbo on Eggman to reveal his plans

Silver’s Rouge standing pose

they’re the same

don't count on it being part of the Au lol

Mallet the Hedgehog

I never guessed that in my adulthood, I’d be relating to Calvin’s parents as much as I do in this comic.

Those who know, everybody. I love Seers - so this should be one hell of an analysis.

The Mage:Seer class dichotomy embodies experience, comprehension and knowledge of their Aspect. Their Quest and their role in the session revolves wholly around their personal comprehension of their Aspect; and the ways in which that may shift or change their (or others!) viewpoint.

I can't definitively say they're one of the Classes that say something about their session, beyond perhaps the concept that a Mage or a Seer will obviously have a well of knowledge on their Aspect present.

Canonical Mage players are Sollux Captor (Mage of Doom) and Meulin Leijon (Mage of Heart).

Canonical Seer players are Rose Lalonde (Seer of Light), Terezi Pyrope (Seer of Mind) and Kankri Vantas (Seer of Blood).

Point A. The narrative function of the Mage.

Mages know about their Aspect. They are that simple to understand. A lot of people will argue that the Mage is one of the more nebulous classes in Homestuck; and I'd argue this is because there really isn't much in the way of complexity with them. They've got a fairly straightforward relationship with their Aspect; having experienced it wholly throughout their life prior to the session.

It's almost, to me, as if their Aspect haunts them in a sense. We see this with Sollux's recurring visions of Doom and misfortune; considering that the Mages & Seers are meant to fill a sort of 'prophet' archetype.

Sollux is consistently depicted as knowledgeable on coding (a manifestation of Doom in the form of rigid order and regulation) and holding a vast well of knowledge and foresight on the topic of suffering. It's important to hold the distinction that Doom does not deal directly with absolute death (Time does), and so Sollux's visions are of the imminently doomed and the suffering, not the already deceased.

Meulin is a little more difficult to pin down, but inference from stray lines of dialogue and particularly her complex moirallegiance with Horuss give me some substance to work with. Toxic positivity? Alluded 'darkness' in her without elaboration? Her disability being inflicted directly as a result of her partner & lover? I think what we're looking at here is depression.

If Meulin has experience with Heart in all facets - this implies to me that she has a share of experience with emotion in all facets. Good and bad. And what better manifestation of poor emotional control than that? I think it's a very conclusive theory.

It becomes clear to me that Mages aren't absolute in their assertions, and so therein comes my theory that their quest involves an expansion of perspective and reconsideration of their knowledge. It is to accept that they may not understand their Aspect as thoroughly as once thought and subsequently grow to accomodate a wider worldview. They're stagnant, having experienced so much that they feel they have no further room to learn.

Point B. The practical function of the Mage.

This is a more difficult one to understand since neither Mage in the comic God Tiers and they aren't seen fighting much over the course of the story. Even when Sollux takes to action, he applies his psiionics rather than utilising Doom in any way.

My theory is that the application of a Mage is to inform. Mages & Seers may very well hold the same occupation broadly speaking, to accomodate for the gaps in co-players' knowledge and bring about newfound understanding. Being active players, the Mages presumably advance this through their own means. This is some of the most active conjecture I'll be writing, since we do not ever see a God-Tiered Mage in canon.

Point C. The narrative function of the Seer!

In case it wasn't obvious, I am very excited to get this segment done; after all, who better to talk on the topic of Seers than... a Seer?

Seers have a little more depth to their function involving their relationship with both their Aspect and its diemetric opposite. Seers begin their sessions holding a poor or deficient comprehension of their Aspect; to the point where they seek their opposite. The notion of their base Aspect comes into play fairly soon - though they may superficially seek their opposite, it is their Aspect they seek in actuality.

They do hold a certain level of foresight, but rather than the Mage's inherent comprehension, Seers tend to rely upon external sources and stimuli to further their understanding; Rose with the Horrorterrors, Terezi with Scratch & Aranea, and we can only guess with Kankri.

They are capable of having visions, though - as Rose & The Signless can both attest to!

Rose seeks Void. She seeks to breach the unknowable, catalogues the Zoologically Dubious and finds comfort in oblivion and the pursuit of ignorance. She resolves to leave the game to Void rather than seek its Light; at first.

Terezi seeks Heart. Her final speech to Vriska talks of her emotional insecurity and pursuit of self-assurance. She wishes most prominently for security in herself and her identity; and yet this manifests in a flawed pursuit of binary, deficient Mind.

Kankri seeks Breath. Having been coddled and patronised all his life, freedom is his ultimate aim. His rebellious spirit and compulsive boot-licking seem to be a direct manifestation of his desire to think for himself and be free in his direction. Kankri's a particularly interesting one given that he fucked up his quest, canonically.

...The Signless didn't, however. The Signless pursued unity through freedom his whole life.

Rose resolves to pursue knowledge through the unknown.

Terezi seeks logic through emotion.

All of them grow, the further they pursue their Session's aims, to understand their base Aspect. It's a reversal of the Mage's quest; the stagnant Mage must embrace diversity wheras the directionless Seer embraces their certain path.

Point D. The practical function of the Seer.

Apologies, this is going to be mostly just about Rose.

Rose's role in her session post-ascension is to understand and inform her session-mates about the most fortuitous path. Her visions allow her to comprehend Light and sift through the endless possibilities and synthesis of her Aspect to find the most precise outcome. They grow to be an indispensible well of knowledge; always learning and finding out their Aspect's truth.

Terezi does the same, albeit without ascending; her greatest moment of heroism is the prelude to the Retcon, which she directly causes. Terezi applies all of her knowledge of consequence, cause & effect to undo the resultant consequences of the actions taken by her sessionmates. She uses her comprehension of Mind to her utmost ability; which is why I find it gut-wrenching that she still believes she was never enough.

Kankri... does jack shit other than be a whiny little bootlicker, but The Signless certainly applies his Aspect for the greater good. The fire of his rebellion and his pursuit of unity and free communication on Alternia ignite the spark of revolution for generations to come; his quest for Blood bringing utmost comprehension and sight of unity.

Overall, this is one Class where the narrative:practical lines tend to blur a little, owing to the general non-combatant status of the Classes in general. Rose shows they're capable of using their Aspect in combat just as all players are; but it seems clear to me that they function the best as advisors.

Next week, I'll be elucidating on the Witches & Heirs; which will be an interesting one since it'll require me to actually understand what a Witch does. That should be fun.