Fear & Hunger & Enlightenment

[@benzur3503]

31:09 Where’d kant write that qoute? It feels abit at odds with his insistence that only god can achieve true intellectual intuition while created beings require concepts to mediate between their understanding and intuitions. According to Kant, god’s thinking anything would literally create that thing. Thus making it correct. Factually, not necessarily at all ethically. Trying to google the qoute revealed to me the bizzaro world of qoute websites. Why on earth would anyone care about a pile of decontextualized unsourced information? Because a famous guy once said it? To qoute the great Fred Jones: “I think Coolsvile sucks!”

[@RatatTalks]

Hi, pinning this to issue a retraction as you’re correct, this is misinformation. I had been told the quote by a teacher years ago, but it seems they’d been spouting unsourced quotes. This quote is not only a prevalent misquote with no source, but is completely at odds with quotes like ‘Morality thus leads ineluctably to religion’ (Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone, 1793) In doing a deep dive to try and find the origins of this quote I believe it’s a modern invention. Though it has some basis in the intellectual framework of The Enlightenment, it seems more in-line with Locke than Kant, and Locke himself was a Christian who responded well to creationist works by people like William Whiston, and most of his writings on ‘soul liberty’ still put a lot of stock in the church. I do think there is an interesting analysis to be had of the concept of ‘soul liberty’ and Nosramus, but that’s not the analysis I put forward. So, yeah, I was wrong. I think the section still has some merit, but the quote is a misquote and the assertion on Nosramus is largely based on this. Make sure to fact check your own memory, folks.

[@benzur3503]

@@RatatTalks peer review is fun. Also- im not overly familiar with Kant, he might be withholding judgement regarding to if there is a god. Just in the case there is one, their thinking would coincide with immediate creation. The qoute could fit with him should he elaborate about this nuance on a later text than the critique of transcendental aesthetics from which i brought the point in the first comment here. But the philosophical process in getting from there to the qoute wouldve been interesting to follow. Its just that i dont think he’d be too quick to determine that man necessarily determines god. He might not rule it out though. Youre right to keep the video as it is. The qoute is meaningful enough once its misattribution is clarified to cut the chain of confusion, as im sure your own teacher didnt intentionally mislead you about its origin

[@SinOfAugust]

@@RatatTalks A cautionary tale. I found far, faar too many fake quotes that are being spread around by internet sophists and faux philosophers.

[@vagabondx2132]

the best thing you can do is be skeptical, @benzur3503 . i didn't catch that, but yes, you're correct.

[@crownedclown2697]

"Bombastic side eye" as moonscorch is just so funny. Rher's swag just flays off your flesh.

[@RatatTalks]

Mogged by the moon

[@synthwaverider]

One detail that I really like about O'saa is that he's willing to play a prank on the other contestants. Despite the circumstances and having Nas'hrah with him there's still a part of him that's jovial. It's very human of him to just be a dude that sometimes likes to be funny he's not all doom and gloom and serious.

[@RatatTalks]

That scene is amazing

[@reeses7839]

I also adore how he loves clubbing! He hates so many modern concepts, but the moment he opens his mind to a new one, he adores it. It's a funny little detail but has vast implications for his depth.

[@cyrusr2209]

@@reeses7839Clubs are modern day brothels lol it’d make sense he loves them

[@munchmastermedia6943]

I think one of the coolest things is that Fear and Hunger pulls in ideas and inspirations from countless sources to create a cohesive collection of ideas and plot points based off of what the creator found resonated with them. And now Fear and Hunger will go on as an inspiration continuing the cycle of deep rich lore we get to invest ourselves in. I love it

[@RatatTalks]

The berserk into demon souls into fear and hunger pipeline is crazy, can’t wait to see what awesome niche dark fantasy IP gets picked up by a community next

[@catdownthestreet]

Games that take inspiration from a lot of places are generally my favorite games, like Genshin Impact. Very different game from Fear & Hunger but you get the idea lol 😅

[@munchmastermedia6943]

@@catdownthestreet Genshin Impact is an odd case. It's a fun game if you like having to gamble for content. It would be different if you could just buy characters and their sig-weapons but personally I think it's just a slot machine cosplaying as a game.

[@munchmastermedia6943]

@@RatatTalks Demon souls, and berserk both have inspiration that they draw from and go on to inspire other things. It's less of a pipeline and more of a spiderweb.

[@RatatTalks]

Oh for sure, and that web doesn't just pull from fantastical fiction, it's also a reflection of human history and numerous other works outside of the realms of fantasy. Truly a beautiful tradition.

[@thetruecyrusplayz1256]

"To see the followers of Enki and Esoteric environmentalism collide and crash with the followers of O'saa and Eldritch Post-Colonialism set to the backdrop of a world defined by machines and systems of divinity created by fantasy Germans would be such a weird and cool setting." Definitely one of the Sentences of all time

[@RatatTalks]

It’s for sure a concept

[@MYTHONICS]

Osaa as a kind of mirror to Kaiser is an interesting idea

[@RatatTalks]

There’s the visual parallels, which can be read as them both looking to answer the human dilemma posed by Nas’hrah, but also the comparison between O’Saas B ending and Kaisers backstory of toppling established systems of power to benefit themselves. They both also strive for freedom, study ancient prophecies, all that jazz. Could just be that yellow is a cool colour though. Also this comment made my day, partly because all your content is amazing but mainly because without your videos I’d probably still be stuck in the sewers of Prehevil so thanks for that.

[@SnuSnuDungeon]

Enki is my favorite character to play as. He can be broken if you build him right and I find him fascinating. Great essay on Funger. Can't wait for the 3rd game

[@RatatTalks]

I do love Enki but honestly I'm a Cahara main if the b-roll didn't make it obvious enough, love me a rogue with a heart of gold

[@ZDubbed]

Saw a random video one day and it was supereyepatchwolf’s video on Fear&Hunger. From that day on I vowed to only WATCH that game

[@RatatTalks]

Super eyepatch wolf has determined my interests for the best part of a decade I totally get it

[@Argacyan]

While supereyepatchwolf was not the first time I looked into Fear & Hunger, he was certainly the first time I encountered someone playing the game & that being a positive context.

[@ZDubbed]

@@Argacyan lol💀

[@thomasledesma4439]

A lot of people hate on him but I think he's a really fun creator and I wouldn't have known about this game, wich became one of my favorites if it wasn't for him

[@ceinwenchandler4716]

His video introduced me to the game, too. To this day, I still want to play it LOL I have serious issues with my current laptop, though, so no gaming for me - of any kind - until I get it replaced, sadly.

[@PiggieMom]

Wouldn't have known you struggled with this one. Turned out great. Really enjoyed your thoughts on this world!

[@RatatTalks]

Thanks!

[@sirrealism7300]

Hmmm today I will make Communion with Sylvian by gooning

[@RatatTalks]

Sylvians top cultist

[@cock_sauce8336]

​@@RatatTalks You sure it's not gro-goroth if he's DESTROYING his peanits ?

[@RatatTalks]

Straight up destroying it.. and by it let’s jusr say..

[@jacobnas4465]

My peanits

[@budgetcommander4849]

@@jacobnas4465my stingits...

[@moch.farisdzulfiqar6123]

Dude, this is definitely the best Fear and Hunger explained video! It's more nuanced than several videos that I watched before even if they dig into esoteric stuffs. I mean, I never thought about environmentalism connection in the game narrative. Idk, if Miro consciously draw a connection to that or it was fully unconscious and he is an 'enlighten soul' himself, which is quite fitting considering he brought an indie game with RPG MAKER engine into something new on another level based on soul-like game. Kudos to you! Edit: Ah, I forget to mentioned about the inherent of Nietzschean Ubermensch ideas within this type of storytelling, especially the one that similar to Berserk. You mentioned about the Old God calling and their symbol as a failure of wisdom, and the true enlighten soul should decide their own goal, fate, and purpose in the world instead subservience to the Old God plan that leads them into futility and some short of nihilism in the end because they still would be indifferent to human and within the grand scheme of things. Kaiser actually kinda embrace this Ubermensch idea, but if only he didn't invent Logic! In my view, Logic just an Old God 2.0 especially after you explained that it's symbolized out of reversed Venuskha sigil. With the activation of Logic, Kaiser's action would lead into the rise of the Last Man (the most decadent form of human existence that unable to overcome himself in the verge of cosmic indifferent and life suffering, and would rather seek comfort, become more cynical, and be a doomer in general). Meanwhile, if Kaiser were true to the Ubermensch ideal, he should create his own value that didn't required to refer to the Old God teaching in any form, inspired other to heroically face the human condition and accept whatever tragic fate that will come in the end, and be faithful to earth that is living in this chaotic earthy life instead the 'hinterwelt' (utopia, idea of the Christian heaven, or in the game, the Artificial Green). Anyway, what do you think?

[@RatatTalks]

There’s another berserk parallel with the ubermensch philosophy in Guts being the struggler and Griffith becoming powerful within the system of divinity, I think the inversion of Vinushka definitely ties into what you’re saying here.

[@KH-tg3jl]

53:03 There is a sort of real world equivalent with O’saa’s B ending. Haile Selassie emperor of Ethiopia (Abyssinia) founded Rastafari with himself as the messiah of that movement.

[@KH-tg3jl]

Just remembered, Ethiopia was also one of the few African nations to successfully defeat it’s colonizers, the Italians, around the time of WW2. Making that event contemporary with Terminus

[@RatatTalks]

I read some of this in research mainly because of the Abyssinia/Abysonnia connection, and how much Garvey was super into specifically Ethiopia as being the place where the messiah will show up, but didn’t think the connection was direct enough. The ww2 thing I didn’t know though, that’s really cool. Sadly my knowledge of the war in Africa at the time of ww2 is limited, I only recently found out about the forgotten army.

[@MikeFoxclaw]

And there are some parallels with Islam stuff. There is a distinct mix of theologies going on, so I feel like middle east and east African cultures have a lot to get inspired by. In real world the information age is getting some real push back from more middle eastern and east and west African movements such as acts of terrorism and stuff. That stuff is actively suppressed in the information age such as today. It's a fun idea to chew on.

[@CloverKyng]

@@KH-tg3jlthey were occupied/colonized by Italy though. They were only freed by the British in WW2

[@Parzivle]

​@@KH-tg3jl *whispers* they never got ethiopiaaa

[@kenmagoesblep]

so happy this video got recommended to me! your essay writing is amazing, i really like your analysis on enlightened souls, it makes a lot of sense. the old gods being interested in people that seek higher knowledge and have a tendency of influencing people around them is so fitting; instead of chastising the thinkers for possibly stirring people away from their interests, the old gods choose to use them.

[@RatatTalks]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@sharronlee5842]

“Eldritch post colonialism” is a phrase I didn’t know I needed, especially as a horror fan and child of diaspora. I always liked Osaa but this helped verbalize why.

[@RatatTalks]

Yeah I think his uniquely non-Eurocentric concept makes him feel refreshing in general, but his outright anti-colonial ending cements how good it is

[@josedorsaith5261]

​@@RatatTalks How is his ending anti-colonial?

[@RatatTalks]

Thanks for the question: in his opening scene he talks about how the powers of Europa are causing issues in Abysonnia, through warfare and occupation. In his ending he overthrows entrenched systems of power and instills himself, an Abysonnian, at the head of the system. So there’s the obvious ‘he kicks out the colonisers’ part. But there’s also the more subtle stuff like the fact that the church of All’Mer, despite starting in the Eastern Sanctuaries adopts a very Europa-centric theology across the games, so by removing them and instilling himself, someone who studied the local god Amon and studied under notably non-Europan scholar Nas’Hrah, he’s removing conventional Eurocentric systems of belief in favour of a more patriotic/local system of belief.

[@TOUGHEYES]

​@@RatatTalksHold on, that's what I want to do with Irish Paganism.....

[@RatatTalks]

Deeply real for that one

[@umbransisters]

you bodied this!!! covering the enlightened soul and what that carries is such a cool subject for analysis and you really went in!!

[@V1ct0r8X]

An Enlightened Soul post Logic ending would probably be some kind of TikTok influencer or KZbinr 😂

[@RatatTalks]

My time to shine 🫡

[@RogerBluesky]

I love this comment.

[@awesomepork101]

By the gods I love O’saa

[@RatatTalks]

He’s very cool

[@smallkidneyjoe4046]

it's lookin' like i can rely on you for thoughtful and well-made essays, even for things i know very little about! great work once again.

[@wellyeet1840]

Dude still can’t believe you don’t have more subscribers and views. Your content is really interesting and well-produced imo

[@SaiyanGamer95]

A kinda minor thing (I'm making this comment as I go through the video), but Gro-Goroth isn't completely apathetic towards humans. Despite being God of death and destruction, he's also known as being a rather curious God and dons a human disguise to interact and observe humans.

[@RatatTalks]

Yeah he’s got Odin vibes, but I don’t think that strictly means he LIKES humans, more he just finds them mildly entertaining, a bit like Ryuk from Death Note.

[@breezeshooter42]

I love your analysis of O'Saa and I'd love to hear more about Termina from you.

[@RatatTalks]

If there's enough demand I'll happily talk about it forever haha

[@breezeshooter42]

@RatatTalks I love every character in Termina but my favorites have to be Olivia and Marina.

[@mistargrr]

​@@RatatTalks I would love to hear more about Termina and other horror games from you.

[@WobblesandBean]

4:30 I'm an American who lived in London for many years. Your description of Londoners is accurate.

[@RatatTalks]

Having lived and worked in and around London I’m sorry for you lol, Americans are viewed as such oddities by us too

[@epb45]

My preferred interpretation of Rondon is that it is as if the Angevin Empire lasted for much longer, and continued to expand

[@RatatTalks]

It’s got the same borders, so that’s probably what it’s meant to be, but I have to back England

[@acepower20]

Loved the breakdown and the theories! Please do more F&H soul videos~ No one else really talks about them, at least not in huge detail like you did. I suppose an enlightenment soul after logic would be more about beliefs (ethos). Maybe Neo from The Matrix is a good example of that. As a side note, while thinking about what a post-logic enlightenment soul would look like, I ended up asking chatgpt what a post-Aquarian eon Aquarius would look like, which I think is a very funny sentence 😂

[@RatatTalks]

I got a few ideas for future F&H content, maybe about the souls but also I got a very early draft script on the bugs in the games

[@courtneyp289wruosihj]

great video! i hadn't noticed there were so many enlightened souls running around. i wonder if in O'ssa's B ending, he's pieced together that a lot of the All-Mer statues are actually the sulfur god and that's why he tears one down. maybe he'll be involved in the 3rd game as a faction fighting against the sulfur cult

[@makeshiftboxes8198]

Nas’harah is chaotic evil done right.

[@RatatTalks]

Agreed

[@Dantalliumsolarium]

Oh this is awesome! I had never pieced together that the lab was made Before Valtiel, a little dense moment for me. But I love these character who try for and those who rejected the enlightenment path. O’saa’s B ending!! That’s so!! I do want to see how that would roll

[@RatatTalks]

Yeah it’s a really interesting ending for its implications

[@OathkeeperAlexiel]

Thank you for giving me the term "esoteric environmentalism", very handy way to describe a lot of my spirituality! 🎉

[@nna1u39]

I came of the hiatus too fast, fear and hunger is just that game. I still find myself coming back to it

[@daxwormzz]

AHHH!! I LOVE THIS VIDEO SO MUCH!!! I really enjoy how you talk about this game and it’s characters. I especially loved your analysis of Enki! His character arc is so wonderful to me, and I enjoy how you described it. Made me realize some things about his character that I never put the pieces together fully for. Like how his serving of the Old Gods has alienated him from humanity and the tangible world. Which is very Lovecraftian in a way! Nothin like an eccentric intellectual who loses himself in his studies of the occult and esoteric. Its made especially good through his character arc and how it’s resolved in him reconnecting with humanity through Nosramus. Weirdly heartwarming, in a way. It’s peak… this whole video is PEAK!!!!

[@ashoulle8953]

awesome video!!! i've been playing termina a lot and also watched my girlfriend do most endings on funger 1 (because it's too much for me to play) and i find super interesting everyting that has to do with the greater philosophy of the game and the concept of enlightenment itself and i cannot thank you enough for talking about this, i love this video.

[@RatatTalks]

Thanks for the kind words! Shoutout to your girlfriend for the insane effort that is getting most endings on F&H!

[@kenku6440]

Fantastic essay. Not much of an academic myself, more of a character building type but philosophies are fascinating to me. I really enjoy these deep dives and learned a lot. Very well put together and the story you told was super informative and approachable.

[@BerryBoyXD]

I need a series about the different soul types from Funger

[@epb45]

I am also extremely Enki-pilled.

[@RatatTalks]

Deeply real

[@jmh8817]

I really like this analysis, in particular the dichotomy of nature and technology as present but unexplored themes in the series. Can't wait to be disappointed when O'saa's B ending is eventually not canon!!!

[@RatatTalks]

I do think the environmentalist message will be more pronounced in a potential third instalment, just not through O’Saa.

[@dpatino5485]

This analysis es awesome, thank you!! If you could do an analysis about the other 3 souls from the first Funger, I wouldn't complain

[@brokenrecorder4543]

When it comes to your final question about how would the enlightened soul look like during the age of logic... I'm afraid there wouldn't be any. From all the experience and lore videos so far on the series at large, enlightened souls are meant to be: a) knowledge seekers for old gods to use for themselves and b) people who challenge the current norms and create their own. Logic is signified by both Legarde and New Gods as a final, definite answer that is not to be questioned, so I won't be surprised if Logic itself is equipped with some sort of defense system that classifies next iterations of "trailblazing" enlightened as targets.

[@RatatTalks]

That would actually be a really cool arc for a newer enlightened character, someone who’s actively being targeted by Le’Garde/Logic for their ideas

[@62chipo]

i just realized... is LeGarde Dio and Griffith together?

[@RatatTalks]

Basically yeah

[@josedorsaith5261]

He's Griffith to a T. Even his torturer (Trotr) is a spitting image of Griffith's torturer

[@pd639]

Excellent video, my only advice would be to balance your audio volume between takes a little more closely. The shifts in volume made me jump a couple times after I cranked it up to hear the softer parts.

[@tsoiyuz]

I really enjoyed this one, along with your Vinland saga video, but this one especially. I hope you play Pathologic one day.

[@mohammadsheikh7564]

This was an incredible analysis. I would love to see more videos on these games.

[@nillsknillz]

Yes yes, more Termina and Fear&Hunger content please. That was a great analysis, kudos Enki is such a fascinating character. Looks like the weakest but with proper build he can become an invincible monstrosity. The most human character and such a good zombo-dad

[@katiemadsen5325]

Really well researched video! (I assume, I have not played this game so was actually very confused watching this😂) Definitely need to play it although it seems like torture 💀

[@Glassandcandy]

Listing Greek “ψυχή” but not Latin’s “Animus” in the soul example chart is wild and makes the Roman in me want to go all: “cruceficemus hoc barbarum gloriae imperii romae”

[@RatatTalks]

Bro called me a barbarian it’s over

[@samsalo1084]

The Coraline OST in the background is peak

[@RatatTalks]

Goated movie

[@Fanciest_Panda]

Great vid, never played the game but I love its themes and the discussion around it XD

[@Red-hm8cd]

She Enlighten on my Soul till I

[@Red-hm8cd]

She Fear on my Hunger till I

[@RatatTalks]

Must be enlightened when I get all this brain 💯

[@swagathachristie5242]

See I thought Betel was a reference to Betel leaves/nut, a minor stimulant often chewed by older folks in southeast asia that leaves red stains on the mouth. My brain is turned off for tonight so I am not going to make a jump to "what does this mean" but something something, betel is chewed socially by elders, the collection of knowledge in a casual verbal tradition while at the same time leaving a stain, which I suppose represents either ink or the permanence and increased mark that knowledge leaves on someone as they learn more. Is that anything?

[@RatatTalks]

That’s a pretty fun idea It’s also a reference to how the enlightened souls are the only dudes to not have their nuts hanging out in the first game

[@Immanuelle]

This was more of a lore video than an analysis video like I hoped. But I still loved it

[@reynaashes]

AAA was literally so excited to watch this video, been waiting for it!! sucks that you did have to go back and record for it but it still turned out so well! excited for the house of ashes video :D

[@RatatTalks]

Thank you for the kind comment!

[@EvertALove]

Loved the video, loved hearing all this. If the information age with logic becomes the cannon ending i think one of the elightened souls would be a Francis Fukuyama type of character. One who might claim wisdom would be declaring end of history type if thw next game takes place just after a cold war and logic being used as an internet of sorts. Just taking a stab in the dark. Only cause how often i heard it discussed while growing up in the later 90s. I guess would assume that vindland became a power then also . Huh. Hmm

[@will-ev2143]

There is the theory that the nilvian and the others tried to get the ball on logic going given they're on her hands There is a almost dialectical view of enki and nosramus that is interesting to look at the materialism of it is interesting I do think that logic has the inverted sign simply because vinushka is the force that is being reshuffled it's not nessisarily a ideological inversion

[@RatatTalks]

There’s a lot of the Hegelian dialect within Nosramus, and a lot of the Marxist dialect within Kaisers ‘end point of history’ thing for sure. I like the Nilvan theory, especially as it her seeking something as restrictive as Logic counteracts her soul archetype and desire for freedom.

[@wo0t7]

The name "bethel" isn't just a biblical hebrew reference to "house of God", the concept is older than that. "El" is a generic name for god in nearby mesopotamian cultures, and many of them had a view of divinity which doesn't fit into our modern understanding. For example, when we often think of "Gods" we think of either a completely immaterial and formless monad, or we think of distinct Greek gods in some other place that we can't see, like Mt. Olympus. In mesopotamian religions, it was quite common to think that one God was actually a part of another God, and yet completely distinct at the same time - "God A is the eye of God B, the wrath of God C is God D". They also beleived that certain aspects of the God could "indwell" in objects. Famously we think of pagan idols, but they also believed that their spirit could indwell in places like temples or even.... stones. I'm almost certain that the association of Bethel with stones in Fear and Hunger is a reference to that. Some scholars argue that certain aspects of Old Testament theology are in direct reference or influence from these nearby mesopotamian religions - the stone bethel in genesis, the shekinah, God's spirit indwelling in the sacred temple, etc. Source: The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel, Benjamin D. Sommer

[@RatatTalks]

This is so incredibly useful, as I’m currently working on a video on House of Ashes, and was wondering why so many Akkadian deities have the names they do. Thanks a lot for the comment.

[@DantusRattus]

YEEEEEEEEHAW LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS ONE 👁👁

[@RatatTalks]

Got the appropriately spooky and thematic rat pfp let’s go

[@epb45]

Daan is my favourite funger character after Enki. Given your profile picture, are you going to make a video pertaining to Daan, our most tragic little meow meow, at some point?

[@RatatTalks]

I’d happily discuss all the soul archetypes and their characters if there was enough interest

[@nitrorock1023]

​​@@RatatTalks would love an Endless Soul and Domination Soul Video, because Karin and D'arce are my two favorite characters.

[@Cooe.]

40:00 Ehhh... I'm fairly confident that Legarde still sits on the Golden Throne after being resurrected as a ghoul by Darce. I can't imagine he would consider himself divine any other way. Especially with him still being so physically close to his original goal. 🤷 I also don't think The Yellow King's powers are explainable by him just "being a resurrected ghoul".

[@RatatTalks]

I think the yellow king being ‘just a ghoul’ is a source of contention due to it being intentionally vague, he does literally do his ‘I am a god’ thing when he gets resurrected, so even if it’s a misplaced belief he does believe himself to be divine. Either way, he’d have to go through Mahabre and we know the Brehmen expedition was there, and likely found an object like the cube of the depths to fuel Logic. So either way, in either case, the theory is plausible if somewhat convoluted.

[@SamP-by7iv]

I want to believe that O'saa's B ending is cannon.

[@RatatTalks]

Me too

[@Malina313]

There is a lot of ignored info in this video. 1.The point of Enki's S ending is that he rejects godhood by using Soul Anchor and can use The Grand Library as a mortal so that he can aid humanity. 2. Industrialization and technological advance of the world is atributed in lore to God of Fear and Hunger (that hasn't been mentioned in the video), whose birth started the Cruel Age and made humanity push forward 3. Logic's birth is not a result of Enki's teachings, but because of GoFaH causing humanity to advance and Le'garde pushing the project

[@RatatTalks]

Hi, thanks for the comment. With regards to point one, that’s basically what I said, I just didn’t mention the soul anchor because its existence doesn’t really change the overarching point, it’s still a product of Nosramus. What exactly the soul anchor IS/how the guy made it is an interesting question though and one I’d like to hear theories on. With regards to the second point, whilst that’s true and would have been nice context (so I should’ve mentioned it), it isn’t essential in discussions around this soul archetype. Assuming what you said for point 3 is true then point 2 is essential, but the point I’m making is that Logic exists to answer questions posed that are far older than the cruel age, this is why Le’Garde will discuss the human dilemma with Nas’Hrah if you enter the bunker as O’Saa. The fundamental questions being answered by Logic are not exclusive to the cruel age, they are far older. So, whilst I appreciate the comment as it does provide a lot of context that definitely would have made things either to follow for people who haven’t played F&H, I don’t feel that any of these things are overly relevant to the topic at hand, being the philosophies and impact of the enlightened souls.

[@RogerBluesky]

Thank You so much for your thoughts! Very interesting, only if whimsical a bit sometimes. Ot was a well spent hour! "Eldritch post colonialism" is my favourite phrase from the essay.

[@RatatTalks]

The Whimsy is a feature

[@TheTongueTwisler]

I tried so hard to play the first Fear & Hunger but I just got destroyed so many times lmfao... I'll just stick to engaging with the game through video essays and other people

[@RatatTalks]

That’s totally fair, games really rough. If you wanted to give it another go I’d recommend picking Cahara (The Mercenary), and making sure you pick the options that give you Lockpicking, Escape Plan and Dash (I think the choices are Burglar, Abandon Comrades and then Rush for Destination). This is the build I run to just explore the world as it lets you just run away from every enemy, bypass locked doors, and just kind of explore and get immersed with minimal risk of random run endings. That said, games still hard and I’m sure you’ve already looked into character builds, so you can disregard this comment if it’s no help haha

[@herlockburger7821]

I hope you do more videos related to fear and hunger since I have a feeling you have more theories that you want to share

[@RatatTalks]

Torn between continuing to deep dive the souls or making a deep dive into the bugs

[@herlockburger7821]

@RatatTalks I didn’t know there was depth to the bugs lol. Personally, I would love a deep dive into the souls but the bugs (although from left field) might help make some weird food for thought theories.

[@HeavensRipper-he4sz]

Finally someone who doesn't talk in that fake "oooh omg spooky scary wowwww" type narration where they talk really breathless that every imaginationless "lore" type channel talks with!!

[@RatatTalks]

I doubt I have the vocal range for it

[@randomtree7295]

53:40 This. This is why I love O'Saa.

[@dyl351]

This was a really *really* good video.

[@lleanerbean]

awesome video as always :) funger 1 kinda put me off playing these games altogether, because of its rly graphic imagery, but i might give termina a try after watching this video! good job on u for pushing through making this video as well!! (also very funny that the memberships are this new, i did NOT realize LMAOO)

[@RatatTalks]

You’re the goat for discovering it this early. Funger 1 has some really good immersive censorship mods that tone things town, but yeah Termina is just way more tasteful in the more shocking contents usage. To almost completely avoid it I’d recommend playing characters who largely bypass it like Marcoh or Levi, who can only fall victim to a single (in my opinion) over the top scene.

[@FakeHeroFang]

Funger 3 enlightened will be a Reddit Athiest, and it will be renamed to the Euphoric Soul. You heard it here first.

[@RatatTalks]

What a concept

[@AllThatIsMortal]

thinking about how Marina used to have the enlightened soul in the funger 2 beta… wonder what that could have entailed if she kept it

[@RatatTalks]

I honestly think Marina is really interesting having been changed, whereas with an enlightened soul they’re literally just a more friendly Enki.

[@boriss.2392]

The Godhand from Berserk are more like new gods imo, as they are replaced and change over time, with the exception of Void from what we have seen so far.

[@RatatTalks]

Well even with void we don’t know if he replaced someone, as the earliest incarnation we see is him and the 4 random other members. So yeah I guess they’re more like new gods.

[@hershey9399]

An enlightened soul after logic would be a sentient AI that deems its cause whatever that may be as the only path to stabilization or some other answer it derives from humanity. I strongly feel it would be similar to the oracle project on YT if you haven't seen it I recc that video heavily

[@modil2935]

It'd be interesting to see an Enlightened soul in fh3 be the equivalent of an internet intellectual type, someone who in the grander scheme of things is rather knowledgeable on world history and works of great thinkers of their world (the previous Enlightened souls + potentially O'Saa) yet uses that knowledge mostly to argue with people out of a perceived sense of superiority. Given what info we have on the third title i reckon they wouldn't be taken seriously in any academic field due to how obscure the lore on the old gods has become and as such wouldn't really be viewed as anyone of note (at least at the start of the game).

[@RatatTalks]

The 21st century enlightened soul being a debatebro would be hilarious

[@Hoogalindo]

Destiny.

[@corporeal5980]

Great video, cant wait for more to come

[@Ougerosity598]

23:18 My theory isn't a great one, but it is mine: Many amulets are religious items. And I imagine the old gods know that our feeble mortal minds need physical objects to not forget stuff. So this amulet-selling new god is given a low priority task that's still important in the(ir) grand scheme of things.

[@RatatTalks]

Honestly I’m just happy someone has any theories at all about this guy

[@semilegalalien1620]

One thing I found kinda weird in Funger universe is that Gods actually exist yet society seems to work similarly or sometimes exactly like our world, like that’s WILD! I always presume if deities and demons existed IRL things would be wildly different, but not in Funger i guess 🤷

[@RatatTalks]

The Old Gods influence is waning so I guess there’s some explanation for it, but yeah it’s kind of wild that wizards are real but people don’t really care haha

[@inklingofadream]

As a bystander Fear and Hunger seems like, should it become a long-runner with a couple more entries, it could wind up with X-Men continuity recursive and mirrored worldbuilding. (This is a compliment, a hyper-detailed yet vague setting equally prone to stagnation and invention. In the IRL sense, I mean, that came out confusing.)

[@RatatTalks]

I definitely see the x-men comparison, especially due to the heavy use of recurrent character archetypes

[@ZerkTheZealous]

25:34 I would say this isn't entirely true. Doing a 1 to 1 comparison is difficult, because both the god hand and apostles have a connection to new gods but, The god hand might be closer to the new gods. In the berserk manga it's already confirmed that the god hand is a group of entities that cycle between new members. And just like the new gods, the god hand secretly play/influence the world and has slight worship that can rise/fall. You need to remember that also that the god hand & the apostle both have an ascension process and both are transformed based on what misdeeds/events occurred in their past life before transformation. So the apostle quality of "new god" isn't unique to them. The old god in berserk would be closer to the concept that was shared in the forbidden/weird cannon chapter, the "idea of evil". -As it is an entity that live in the abyss. -It is a concept that can never go away -It ties it self to a basic human nature -It too plays with humans and manipulates the events of them. -The god hand don't work for the entity (like how new gods don't serve the old gods)

[@RatatTalks]

I did think The Idea of Evil might be closer to The Old Gods, but it's dubiously canon. I agree with your overall assessment that they aren't entirely one-to-one, but there are enough similarities to warrant a mention, especially where the motives of Diaba are concerned.

[@tony5ify249]

An enlightened soul after logic it's an AI

[@RatatTalks]

That could be fun

[@crusixblade2852]

"Breadtube" "Thinking" lmao

[@RatatTalks]

Sometimes they cook

[@Hoogalindo]

The Dungeons of Feet & Bathwater

[@RatatTalks]

Where I’m trying to get locked up fr

[@theonlybilge]

5:55 Ed Greenwood is a MASSIVE fucking coomer.

[@RatatTalks]

lmao is that true? Hilarious if so

[@theonlybilge]

@@RatatTalks Yeah, check out the 1d6chan pages on "magical realm" and on him. He's written about how in Forgotten Realms incest and public sex are just common.

[@RatatTalks]

The incest thing is kind of just a feature of most fantasy writers worlds sadly, but the public sex thing is insane. I'm cackling at this. Safe to say this will not be appearing in my next 5e campaign.

[@theonlybilge]

@@RatatTalks He made Forgotten Realms his _own_ _Magical Realm._

[@Bizarrnonsense]

i wonder if logic might be a sort of intellectual flytrap, to ultimately seperate the old gods from their most important tools - the enlightened souls and break the circle in that way. it would accumulate all the wisdom of the epochs and make it whole with the rest of humanities collective wisdom- truely the end of an era of trending philosophies and the ultimate harbinger of singularity.

[@camillaquelladegliaggettiv4303]

What do you think of the theory that Kaiser is a ghoul!Legarde who has sat on the throne and ascended?

[@RatatTalks]

Well, I literally replied to a comment about this like 30 seconds ago. I think it’s really 50/50 on if Kaiser is LeGarde (empowered by the throne) or LeGhoul (Darce ending S), or some mix of the two. He’s for sure LeGarde, and whatever he did to come back he’s going to continue to be important to the series.

[@camillaquelladegliaggettiv4303]

@@RatatTalks talk about timing. Me personally I'm in the LeGhoul camp. Hope it will be clarified in-game eventually

[@anonymoususer9197]

​@@camillaquelladegliaggettiv4303 well casting rot on him removes his skin. As well as the fact that d'arce seemingly being guided by the old gods throughout the ritual to bring him back seeming significant. I personally believe that d'arce S ending must have happened and maybe legrade returned to the dungeon at a later point also rejecting his godhood now knowing that it is a trap if he met enki in the library. I believe enki may have guided legarde the same way nosramus did for him. But i do believe he wandered the void at some point in addition to his rebirth

[@baconboi4482]

Waiting for the fear and hunger karting game

[@RatatTalks]

Red shell rupturing

[@AHPUROshankarMALDITO]

Before watching, id say enlightenment is superconsciousness, whereas most go for the easy power found in ego and id

[@RatatTalks]

I’d probably agree in the broad strokes, however this fictional universe to my view has a more defined ‘correct way of thinking’ embody the concept.

[@johnskelington]

I haven't watched past the 2 min mark yet. I'm just going to assume enlightenment in Fear and Hunger means, "one who is too much of a weenie to carry spears and eat corpses."

[@RatatTalks]

You’re kind of right here but in the second game it’s too much of a weenie to use a gun

[@lil_toucan_]

how does an enlighten soul appear after the internet asks an enlighten soul after the internet

[@RatatTalks]

Using my enlightened souls to complain about The Quarry for two hours 💯

[@ML-se6gq]

This is such a good video. It would be so nice to have a postcolonial paradise!

[@redbanana6841]

Really great video. Subbed.

[@brjefrco]

Spent and hour just to think of the word musk

[@RatatTalks]

Musky smell

[@brjefrco]

@RatatTalks I was refuring to the mad man

[@RatatTalks]

So was I hehe

[@andrecorso5712]

So you're saying Vinushka x Enki x Nosramus is a guy-guy(?)-guy(?) 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈 throuple that desires a solarpunk environmental/technological future in this grimdark world? All the while Enki stands there serving 💅 (knowledge) like a Timeless, Enlightened diva 💋? Sign me up, lol!

[@RatatTalks]

Exactly that, yes

[@andrecorso5712]

@@RatatTalks In all honesty and seriousness now, Enlightenment in Hinduism and Buddhism is taken to be: Phenomenological, that is, from first person perspective outwards; while also being Gnosis (Jnana, ie. We don't see reality because ignorance/Avidya "creates" Relative Reality/Illusion/Maya from Absolute Reality, taking Suchness/Thusness and making it dual, like experience-observer, good-bad, etc.) and also the end of Human Suffering and of Rebirth. There is a funny parallel here because in Hinduism you are reabsorbed/subsumed into the One/Divinity/Self. While Buddhism, without Soul or Self either has Inexistence (which is not Annihilation because you never existed in the first place) or Consciousness without Surface (ie. While alive you don't react as there is no contact of object-observer, the awareness is untainted as if taking a single arrow of physical pain for instance rather than two: Physical pain then going into suffering about wishing it away, etc. And upon death "you" remain as a meditative Consciousness without objects). These are the Hindu Upanishad and Early Buddhism Interpretations at least as I know them. Later on in Buddhism there is funnily enough the idea of rejecting this Going Out Of The World in favor of helping beings in the World, that is, the Bodhisattva path.

[@andrecorso5712]

@@RatatTalks I wonder if the future of Fear and Hunger is Phenomenology, rather than Logic/Rationalism/Cogito of Descartes. Like Husserl, Ponty, Bergson, Nishida, etc. Where observer can't be separate from observed as we can't take in "outside"/"objective truths"/Things In Themselves (Like Concepts, Absolute Reality or the Old Gods). Like depending on the kind of observer different perceptions and interpretations arise and "Mind makes it so" in a way like how both of these Indian Philosophies believe your mind at death shapes your future birth, etc.

[@LedyE]

I love that we all collectively agreed that Enki always slays the house down boots💅🔥💯💯

[@WWFanatic0]

Soooo....how long until the 3 hour Signalis breakdown...I mean, uh, analysis...

[@RatatTalks]

Ask worm girl

[@WWFanatic0]

@@RatatTalks Oh come on...everyone deserves that rabbit hole...but also thank you for another channel to add to my list!

[@WWFanatic0]

@@RatatTalks Just coming back to say I thought you were joking. No, you weren't! She just dropped her 6hour Signalis video. Thanks again for the recommendation!

[@HeavensRipper-he4sz]

AND THEY PRONOUNCE MAHABRE CORRECTLY YAYYYYYYYY

[@crystallinehearts8805]

Coraline Music 💕

[@RatatTalks]

Such a beautiful OST from an impeccable movie

[@seanwalsh6417]

Don't worry brudda I already got my 40 hours into Termina

[@benzur3503]

I dont think the world of funger is too limited to real world history. Its main theology is about a love of opposite primordial forces instead of an eternal war between them like the mannichean premise has been adopted by christianity. While it does reflect alot of real world history, i dont think the irl nazis had a bdsm whip officer commanding a meat tank while trying to get the internet to start working

[@RatatTalks]

Honestly the last part of this comment is something I honestly believe they were doing, what a strange bunch they were.

[@JohnQ5]

Hm, yes, very wise.

[@RatatTalks]

🤔🤔

[@leticiallime]

i didn’t like the game but I really like enki he’s a goth daddy

[@Aughlag]

I will be anticipating the house of ashes review

[@MalkuthEmperor]

20:14 huh? Thats just how academics are? 😂 I think you might have gotten that impression from reading about some of the more famous academics, this isnt that common of a thing otherwise- academics are pretty collaborative people, probably some of the most colaborative, because academic feilds requires it. (Btw, i wouldnt even mention this if there werent so many people that think that academics are thease stuck up egomaniacs that think that they know everything, meanwhille the contrary tends to be true overwhelmingly more of the time, because simply put, overcirtainty is not conducive to good research)

[@RatatTalks]

Maybe it’s just the field I did most of my studying in, but historians love writing lengthy articles disproving each other with less-than friendly language. This might just be because 20th century European history is highly contentious though.

[@timmyturner6817]

Disagreed that divinity and enlightenment are necessarily at odds in the franchise or that they are the result of the failure of wisdom. I think the Enlightened Souls that get visions from deities but turn down godhood like Enki may be pro-actively favored by the Old Gods for wanting to grasp pure concepts whereas their selfish soul-mates, who desire to usurp OGs, are exactly the sort that get engineered to fail. Not simply because of power but also because the New Gods are impure at heart. There are a lot of allusions to purity being incompatible with humanity’s need to self-insert itself into everything, diluting the mind to the point where pure ideas and their embodiments cannot be made manifest anymore. This much is explicitly stated by the traces of Gro-Goroth. We have real life parallels to this such as the heliocentric model of the universe. Humanity has a need to be at the center of all creation which obstructed people from obtaining true knowledge for generations. Similarly at their core the New Gods are all megalomaniacal individualists refusing to see past their own ego and insist that the world revolves around them. They’re obstructionists, they preach falsehoods, and they resort to violence to uphold the delusion of grandeur at all costs. Old Gods are not bound by such petty issues as they’re just concepts made manifest. Even Rher the jealous god of lunacy operates as a purely irrational agent whose very purpose is to account for the irrational, such as jealousy. The Old Gods are embodiments of the bigger picture. They are merely perceived as some kind of enemy to be overcome because it is hard to reconcile the implications of what they represent with one’s own self-worth in the grand scheme of things. Enlightenment transcends such follies, for the truly enlightened do not succumb to the temptation of becoming a New God themselves. Rather than being divorced from the divine they are the closest to it, observing the world for what it is rather than trying to impose themselves on it. The Logic Machine God is very likely to be a failure as we can see many negatives of the modern internet: It divides people into tribes. It has tinkered algorithms cater to everyone’s biases and/or self-gratification to the detriment of truth. It facilitates a world where everyone can become their own little New God, blissfully unaware that they are just prey of Logic’s proverbial web (influencers, anyone?) The enlightened soul of a post-Logic world will likely be those that relegate Logic to being just another part of the bigger picture and use it to understand the natural world better. The third entry likely will be used to deconstruct modernity and criticize our obsession with our self-imposed web. For all the power of the web at our fingertips - for all the potential of Logic - the bulk of humanity still cannot write better than a 9th grader, let alone think for itself. It doesn’t transcend. It is always at odds with their fellow man. It’s as impure every other age, albeit with the audacity to claim that it knows better after five seconds of Gooooooogling.

[@anonymoususer9197]

I dont know if its ever been confirmed but logics hue also seems to heavily be inspired by Evangelions human instrumentality. A state in which ego does not exist and everyone becomes one but everyone is also no one. If thats the case logic might not be entirely a failure in the sense of humanity being unable to transcend their egos. But since its also a prallel to the Internet like you said it really might fail too

[@lunairenova3339]