Saturday, July 16, 2011

Apologies and the Core Theory

I'm not entirely sure why I decided to post the big clincher to the 'series' way early yesterday, but you'll have to forgive me for holding it in reserve. I have an order for this stuff, research into what came before needs to happen before I go into what happens next.

That said, I apologize for my scatterbrained post from yesterday. Everyone occasionally has moments when they are at less than their best. I won't let it happen again. It was kind of a freak circumstance.

Right. On to business. First, before I forget any further, I talked to James a few days ago. In my head. It was creepy as shit, but interesting. Got some info on his Paths, which is different, apparently, from the Path of Black Leaves. I have some theories on that, but those'll keep till I've done more research.

And now, my topic for the day- Core Theory.

I kind of feel a little guilty for tearing into Robert's work so soon after his death, but his Core Theory has been such a defining force for the stalked that I can't afford to ignore it and I've delayed it long enough.

Honestly, even now that it's been thoroughly discredited, the Tulpa theory, the concept of the Sages, and even the belief so many of us had that there's some obscure and/or complicated way of defeating slendy for good are all still alive and well among us. How many of us treat Nick, Ryuu, and Kay just a little bit differently, a little bit more respectfully, because they're the Sages now? How many times do people mourn over not knowing Slendy's weakness, as if this is a video game and there's a cheat code that will ensure victory? I've already discussed the Tulpa theory in relative detail.

Basically. Core Theory was an exercise in simple human arrogance. What the crap made us think we had some mystical power to change an eldrich abomination by thinking about it? That's the sort of thing no self respecting adult should even consider. It's foolish, arrogant, and self indulgent. We saw the first thing that resembled hope in this dark mess and grabbed at it, without stopping to consider what exactly it was we were signing on for.
I've seen the old blogs, where everyone was picking titles for themselves or getting handed titles by people they looked up to. It honestly reminds me of little kids playing dress up and thinking the clothes actually made them what they were pretending to be.

We learned, but slowly. And the lesson cost us. We lost a lot of good people trying to make Core Theory work. Hell, and even after Core Theory fell, Zero and Amelia still staged the doomed and frankly absolutely idiotic Solstice battle. My dear Quixoties, there are far better ways to lose your life than this.

Even after all of that, so many of us flocked to Robert every time he made a comeback. We still made a fuss when Maduin passed on the sage titles. And Nick, Ryuu, and Kay, you took them. You let Maduin pass you a title and validated it by treating it like it meant something.

Edit: Because I'm an asshole, it didn't immediately occur to me how terrible that sounds. To clarify. Kay, Nick, Ryuu? You were ALREADY that awesome. Sure, you deserve the attention and respect the titles have gotten you, but taking the titles was not the way to go. Because it doesn't change anything, just perpetuates a system that does more harm than good.

Edit the second: Because Cam ACTUALLY just smacked me. Sorry, guys. Really. As I said below. You want the titles, that's fine. You seem to have done a pretty good job of not expecting the title to do the work for you. What I'm trying to say is that I personally don't think it was a good idea. At all. I recognize I have no say in what you do with your lives. And I also recognize that I wouldn't recognize tact if it smacked me upside the head with a fish. I think it was a bad idea, and I think the best way to get anywhere with getting our lives back is to finally leave the last bits of Core Theory behind. I didn't mean to attack you, though I recognize that this is what I did. And yes, Cam is editing this for clarity and to save me a lot more foot in mouth. Doesn't mean it's any less true from me.

Titles aren't inherently bad. You know what, you want a title, that's fine. Some people like them, and that's their own damn business. What IS bad and DOES need to stop right now is the idea that taking a title makes you any different or better than you were before you started using it. That's bullshit. Giving yourself a fancy new name and patting  yourself on the back doesn't do JACK FUCKING SHIT. So remember, kiddies. If you want a title, make sure you give it the power, and don't expect it to give you the power.

If we ever want to get anywhere, that has to stop. The Core Theory needs to die. We will never get anywhere if we rely on DISPROVEN superstitions.

That said, honestly, the Core Theory was what saved us, even if it was wrong. Because, as I noted yesterday, look at the bloggers a year ago, then look at us now. We're united, we're fighting, we're learning and working together. THAT is the real power of the Core Theory.

We are FIGHTING. Look at us, we're so much stronger than we were. Just regular men and women all over the world banding together to trade notes and sympathies and offering comfort and crash space to each other. This is the key to EVERYTHING. If we want to defeat Slendyshit, it won't be because we weakened it. It will be because WE are strong enough now to defeat him.

That, I think, is what was responsible for that whole Revenant/Conduit debacle. It's been noted that it would be most effective as a distraction, and guess what, it was! Because we were too fucking busy running around chasing superheroes to notice how much stronger we've all become. And even now that we know the superpowers are fake, we haven't really noticed the power in our unity. If even Slenderp is worried enough about what we've become to throw out a big, fancy, power/energy/time consuming distraction, I'd say we're on the right fucking path. Don't you think?

So. Put down the fucking titles, stop looking for a miracle, and pay attention to what we can do. Because, you want to know a secret? All the titles do is tell you what you ALREADY KNOW about yourself. Or at least, what you should know. You don't need a title. You just need to know who the fuck you are and what you can do. We all need to take a long look at ourselves, join up with our neighbors, and brace ourselves for the day when our unity outclasses his horror.

Be ready.

~Elaine

16 comments:

  1. Elaine, if I was the sort to enter a relationship I'd ask you to marry me. I kid, I kid. You've got a fun mind on you, deary, and a bold one as well. I really do hope you will live a long while, I enjoy our conversations and reading all of this.

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  2. The Mad Ventriloquist likes titles. He gave himself a title: The Mad Ventriloquist. Does it have any power? Probably not. He wishes it had power. Then he could get beer quicker.

    The Mad Ventroloquist wonders why there is so much hatred about titles. Just because they can't do anything? Rocks don't do anything. People don't seem to hate them.

    Elaine has an interesting point, about being strong enough to beat the slender man. It always is better to work on getting stronger than making the opponent weaker.

    The Mad Ventriloquist is ready.

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  3. Shady, I'm flattered, but I think Nick might be opposed to this.
    Joking aside, thank you.

    ~Elaine

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  4. TMV, the problem isn't using a title. If you want a title, that's your own damn business. It's about expecting the title to give you power, instead of going under your own steam.

    If you do decide to use a title, then you should give it the power, and not the other way around.

    ~Elaine

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  5. I think there is one thing you forgot to mention. What they do is give people a leader, a banner to rush to. Empires have been built through that very quality.

    Seriously though, I like what you're talking about, but titles aren't all bad, even if they are simply psychological.

    -Joel

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  6. You have a point, Joel. Appropriate edit going up as soon as I finish typing this.

    ~Elaine

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  7. Elaine's right. Core Theory was a good idea, but it was just that: An idea. The title of "sage" consumed Zero, and look at where that got him.

    As long as we stand united, as long as we take our strength from each other, we have a chance. This monster, whether he came from somewhere else or we spawned him ourselves, is only unbeatable if we think he is.

    We don't need titles, we don't need theories, we don't need official statuses. All we need is right there with us.

    I'm ready. And I promise you all this: No matter what proxies, nightmares, horrors, diseases, or whatever he throws my way, I'm drawing the line in the sand here. I won't give up, even if I can no longer stand. (I'll bite his feet if that happens)

    Argh, sorry. I can never resist a bit of humor. What I'm trying to say is I'll fight him to the end, and anyone that stands with me is more than welcome.

    I've said it before and I'll say it again: No one can tell us our fate is set in stone.

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  8. Wow, Konaa. Thank you. You're absolutely right. And if everyone were as convicted as you, we'd have already won.

    ~Elaine

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  10. There's a lot of things I want to say right now, but I'll settle for this. Get all sides of a story before you decide you have the right to demand people fight their fight according to your rules. You have now made yourself exactly the same as the man you just denounced.

    As a personal note and I believe I can speak for the other two as well, we didn't accept the titles from Maduin because we wanted attention and respect. We took them because we respect him. The three of us have discussed this both publicly on our blogs and privately just the three of us and we each had our own reasons for agreeing to let him pass them onto us. None of them consisted of looking for a miracle or being a superhero.

    We are fighting for our gods be damned lives here. It's not a fucking game to any of the three of us. If you truly think that the three of us are some kind of a power trip, then you have a lot to learn about who we are. For someone who claims to want unity, you just went very far out of your way to try and isolate three people that have been nothing but welcoming and supportive of you and your theories.

    Deities I'm disgusted right now, edits or not. Elaine, honesty is an admirable quality. Plain old everyday nastiness is not.

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  11. Hmmm. Dressing up funny and taking a title and becoming more effective? That's kind of what I *DO* It's called a totem. And anyone who hasn't trained properly will end up just dressing up funny and taking a title. Doing THAT generally doesn't work.

    So I'm not saying you're wrong. I am just saying you're not right. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and put on a Fedora and Trenchcoat, and start looking for clues on how to restore my damn blogposts to your eyes. Because that is WHAT A SAGE DOES.

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  12. Damn sages! Hoarding all the trenchcoats to yourselves! We demand our share! DOWN WITH CORE THEORY! OVERTHROW THE SAGE WARLORDS! TRENCHCOATS FOR ALL!

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  13. Kay. Um. As I said. I have no tact, but this really wasn't supposed to be a personal attack. I'm sure you had your reasons. And I apologize for offending you-I'm making Cam proofread this again. I don't think you're on a power trip. I just think that people aren't letting go of the old stuff that didn't work because they're afraid of what happens without it or something, and until we let go, we can't step forward. Forgive my being a complete cunt in getting this across.

    Nick. Yeah, see, that works for you. And I guess anyone else who can do what you do-I guess there probably is somewhere? Maybe? I still don't know how that stuff works. But you do that stuff because it's how you work, because you're brave and clever and completely insane. It's got nothing to do with a title someone else gave you and all about how amazing you are. Which is the point I was trying to get across.

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  14. Uhm..I know its a bit late but

    could I come to the wedding?

    I bring good gifts

    of god that sounds like a threat I meant it in a non threateningway oh stop fucking up jesus.

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  15. I'll accept your apology. For the future however, you need to be certain that if you're going post something with the intentions of provoking debate, you don't do it in a way that turns debate into calling someone out unless you want to be feuding with those people. In that case, call them out with all the vitriol you want.

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  16. Titles make it so that those that need the light have something to look to for hope, for reassurance. They don't actually change anything. But sometimes, they give the confidence the receivers need to keep on going. Just a thought.

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