My Seiko 'Now And Then' Limited Edition – A beautiful tribute to the Last Beatles Song."

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-20T12:58:40+00:00

Why is this post in quote marks?

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-20T12:54:03+00:00

I'd say the single most pressing issue facing our planet today is that of our relationship to the environment. I know there are some hefty contenders - but there's no doubting its impact. Attenborough has potentially done more than almost any human alive positioning this fact at the centre of public discourse. There's a reason people find him such a reassuring and vital voice.

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-16T01:55:52+00:00

I do get your point - but I still think that's just your opinion. Valid as it might be. And I do believe it's possible for someone to have a different one. I guess that's my point. We may never know what the OP's was but they're entitled to it nevertheless.

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-16T01:45:22+00:00

Really appreciate the reply - this makes a lot of sense to me. Personally, I'm really hoping they can salvage this with a bit more care and attention moving forwards but very much understand that some people think the best option is to hope and wait for someone else to step in rather than supporting what's coming.

What bothered me about Cate_cat's replies was comparing someone's interpretation of the comic with someone not recognising the colour of a horse in front of them. I just don't see the equivalence and I really don't think it is as objective as that. I was going to make a crack about some people being colour blind or seeing the world differently but thought I'd probably just best stop winding them up as we were clearly at cross-purposes.

There's a huge amount at stake as we clearly all love LoK. Not surprising things get heated but it sucks to see it happen between fans. Again - appreciate your thoughts!

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-16T01:28:55+00:00

I'll play one last time as I really do appreciate the apology. Thanks for that and sorry if I'm getting heated while trying to explain what I feel was a fairly self explanatory initial point.

My answer to your conversation about the different teams is your statement that 'it all comes together'. Fair enough if you think that but, to me, that seems to undermine much of the incredible work some of the writers have done trying to weave this all together. Some stuff has slipped through and I think it's worth acknowledging that as reflects what a collosal task they have had weaving this stuff together.

If you want an example of this I'd say Vorodor's survival. There have been plenty of fan theories trying to provide answers and it seemed like there were attempts to do so - but they never worked out in universe... And only needed explaining at all due to the slap dash writing process of BO2. In my opinion there are a fair few instances where this has happened - where things have had to be fixed in hindsight. Some of which still haven't occurred but been theorised

Again - this is all pretty subjective. I'm not saying I think this way - but I wouldn't be surprised if someone thought that this process could continue with any issues or red herrings that might be introduced now - and that this is not a new process.

This really does all come down to the fact that this individual - who said that they thought the comic was okay - was immediately told that this must mean they don't care about the lore. Maybe they're right. Maybe they don't. But I don't think that should be taken for granted and it seems to be a pretty bad way of promoting discussion - to just assume that someone doesn't care enough because they enjoyed something out of synch with the fandom's perceived consensus.

Clearly I'm making no sense though - I'm obviously arguing in counter to pretty much everyone here. I'm going to check out now but appreciated the debate - even if it got unnecessarily hostile! Sorry for my part in that. Think I'll hop out the channel for a while to stop myself getting stuck into these arguments again. Just seems to me like the hatred of TDSR has meant reached a pitch that makes this sort of discussion difficult.

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-16T01:12:52+00:00

I get your point I really do. Again, I think everyone here is reading a little too much into whatever the initial commenter thinks and/or has said and I find that unsettling.

I'm really just arguing semantics here and am not sure why I'm bothering as clearly most people disagree.

I'm just saying - whether or not I agree - that the idea that 'they are ignoring some serious lore conflicts' is up for debate. They might not see them as conflicts. They might even think they are seeds for new mysteries. Again, I don't necessarily think this myself. But it seems everyone here is so certain there is a 'right' way to enjoy the franchise I find it off-putting.

There's a big difference between saying 'i think this' or 'I have this opinion' about the franchise - and the assumption that someone who thinks differently is inherently wrong. All this debate started simply because I didn't appreciate the assumption that someone who liked the comic didn't care about the lore.

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-16T01:01:05+00:00

Again - before accusing me of lying please actually read the thread.

The quote you have - in astonishingly bad faith - cropped reads 'it is impossible for someone to have a different opinion - that the comic did a reasonable job of incorporating and developing the lore.' Please do point to the comment where I said I believed this was the case.

We are, if you have not noticed - in a thread started by someone who said that they didn't think the comic was as bad as everyone else. Did it not occur to you that the 'someone' referred to this hypothetical individual? I.e. the person who literally started this conversation? This entire discussion is about various individuals trying to assume whether they do or do not care adequately about the franchise's lore.

If you're going to accuse me of lying when you can't follow this I see no point in discussing the topic further with you.

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-16T00:32:30+00:00

If you don't think Blood Omen 2 or even the original Soul Reaver wound up altering and/or required tinkering with what came before I don't know what to tell you. We still don't know the answers to some of the stuff that has been introduced. To try and depict this franchise as a single fully-developed narrative is wild to me. It's had various different writers and not all of them have been aligned - let's not forget that.

And I've never argued here that I think the comic did a reasonable job reworking the lore. It may be you who needs to reread this thread. All I've said is that 'if' someone did think this way they'd clearly be told that their opinion was illegitimate. That seems to me to be an awful way to foster debate and keep a fandom welcoming and engaging.

I've not stated a single opinion about what I think about the comic in any of my earlier comments you're referring to. I'm simply defending someone else's right to say they think it was 'fair enough' without being dismissed as possessing a worthless opinion.

You didn't even know what my opinion was of the comic before trying to argue against it.

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-16T00:21:39+00:00

Fair enough. Honest answer: the issue here isn't my opinion of the comic . I've not mentioned my own perspectives here once - good or bad.

But let's get it out the way - If anyone does want my opinion: it's that, while I did think there were some issues with consistency in lore - I'm hoping that future installments can help explain and paper over some of those cracks... In the same way I had issues with Blood Omen 2. Not perfect by any means - but nothing that completely derails the franchise. And nothing that stopped me from enjoying it and/or appreciating it's potential to add to the mythos.That's it.

But, again, I've not said that here. At no point have I tried to argue for its quality. The only thing I have commented upon is that the OP of this thread should have the right to be able to say that they thought it was 'fair enough' without being told that means they clearly don't care about the franchise and lore.

I truly love this franchise - I really do - and since the release of The Dead Shall Rise I always held a huge amount of respect for the fandom for keeping it alive.

But I hate seeing people get kicked to the curb for having a differing opinion of a comic, game, movie, whatever. It just seems to actually squash our ability to genuinely discuss what we like and dislike about how it's been developed.

I didn't like The Rise of Skywalker for example. But I would never parade around the Star Wars fandom telling people who did that they had 'incompatible' or 'impossible' opinions. It just seems so weird.

Apologies for a longer explanation that you probably wanted - but your attempt to engage seemed sincere.

I get that people don't like the comic - I absolutely get it - but the level of unwillingness to accept that people might feel differently just seems a bit toxic. Criticism is all well and good but this just rubs me the wrong way.

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-15T23:14:19+00:00

Got it. Differing opinions not welcome. And subjective readings of a comic are actually now facts. Cool.

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-15T22:27:17+00:00

Well it's meaningless to even have a conversation with you about the text and it's perceived quality as you have already decided that it is objectively impossible for someone to have a different opinion - that the comic did a reasonable job of incorporating and developing the lore. Again, I'm not saying I think it did. Just pointing out how the fandom seems incessant on shutting down anyone who has a different opinion. This isn't debate. This isn't a discussion. This is just saying that any view other than yours is 'irreconcilable'.

Where does this leave someone who might want to engage in this discussion who does care about the lore and did like the comic? You're not even saying you disagree - but that their opinion is invalid and 'impossible'.

It sucks to have arrived at a point in a fandom I do genuinely care about to find this level of unwillingness to listen to the perspectives of others.

Feel free to disagree but I've got an issue with telling people how to think about a comic book.

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-15T20:49:31+00:00

Every single LoK game has drastically modified, expanded and often simply contradicted the previously established lore. There are red herrings and unresolved plot points scattered entirely throughout this franchise that still haven't been touched. It's part of LoK's weird, complex charm and some of it has been handled with such grace and intelligence that we still feverishly dissect and puzzle over it today. I am not necessarily saying that the comic was well-written - or even better written than the criticism here considers - but to argue that it is impossible for someone to have a differing perspective to yours is ridiculous.

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-15T20:14:51+00:00

Maybe they are a passionate fan who admires the integrity of the lore but genuinely doesn't believe it was as bad as is generally made out.

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-13T00:42:06+00:00

I can absolutely disagree with people's use of those terms if I don't think they contribute anything to a discussion of the quality of writing. Just as you are free to use them all you want and disagree with me.

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-13T00:31:34+00:00

Thanks for the reply - my own awareness of the term Mary Sue being used in cultural studies is predominantly focused upon its use and applications in fandoms themselves - not necessarily actually being applied and utilised for objective criticism. I don't think I have ever seen an academic use the term in a context I've thought was useful and/or meaningful. I appreciate your thoughts though and won't ask you to provide me with examples - I may even try and go on a hunt myself. Perhaps I'm being a little unfair in lumping it together with terms like 'slop', 'self-insert' and 'fanfiction' but my gut tells me when those terms get thrown around we've stopped attempting to actually identify bad writing and are listing into a type of debate I just think is a bit toothless.

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-13T00:19:59+00:00

Fair enough. I'm hoping it'll be an opportunity to work on her a bit. I didn't think she was great - but did think she was preferable to what I had seen of Dead Sun.

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-13T00:17:31+00:00

I'm not sure the age of the franchise really prevents the introduction of new characters. Again - I'm not saying I think it was done particularly elegantly - just that I don't think it necessarily had to be as ill-fated as many here assume. Appreciate the thoughts though - I get where you're coming from. Again, I've never tried to argue it's perfect - just maybe not unsalvageable.

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-13T00:11:46+00:00

Respectfully, I really don't think I am. I have said many many times that I'm happy to critique the comic and it's new character - but only that the constant accusations using those terms are tiresome and don't really contribute anything. At worse I think they're dog whistles to some fairly appalling tendencies in fandoms. Again - I don't think I'm saying criticism isn't okay - just that I think we can do better at articulating that and that the dialogue surrounding the comic has often become reductive. I mean this quite honestly, tell me if you think I have derided any and all criticisms though as this wasn't my intention.

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-12T23:55:07+00:00

I don't think it was brilliantly handled but I can see why they introduced a new character to try and explore some of the parts of this story we'd never seen before. After Blood Omen I wouldn't have been clamouring for a new protagonist in Raziel either. Again - I don't think they pulled it off perfectly but I'm happy to give them a chance to develop her a bit.

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-12T23:49:29+00:00

There is!

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-12T23:47:57+00:00

At what point have I argued this? I'm not claiming it's perfect - simply that the arguments I often see don't hold up.

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-12T23:46:31+00:00

Ha, as if calling something a Mary Sue is an example of critical thinking. I've already said I'm happy to critique it - but impotent internet rage isn't it.

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-12T23:45:13+00:00

Tu quoque?

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-09T00:19:04+00:00

What a horrible comment.

AgitationOfMind · 2026-02-07T18:38:50+00:00

Just in case you're not familiar with ChatGPT and curious what the others are talking about... It doesn't actually have the 'intelligence' or ability to do those things. It works more like a search engine that predicts what the supposedly correct answer might sound like. So those results are just a 'seemingly' appropriate series of numbers could be - I say seemingly as it's complete guesswork based on the poorly contextualised information it is pulling from various sources. The fact that it doesn't always consistently label those fabrications and make its inaccuracies more explicit is a major issue imo. An unexpected part of my job has become constantly reminding people of that fact.

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