R1M17 Jojolity Delibs

Judge Asana (Logic)

Both strats get [9] Jojolities, for the superlatively thorough integration of their theses through flavor text and mechanics.

I don’t really have much to say, and y’all probably skip these delibs for the results, so I’m gonna hum a few bars in praise of the strats and how they intersect with T7’s themes.

I’ve said already that you can look at T7 through two lenses: society’s relationship with the (super)natural and engagement with sociopolitical forces. R1M17 takes place immediately after major death and tragedy, and rather than try to shift away from that, we decided to lean into it. Under Lens 2, Gioia, Minali, and the yoga class are clearly affected by recent events, and so the question becomes: “how do we move on as a community and how do you move on as a person.” Life goes on, so must you.

SPW has a unique position, seemingly under Lens 1—the intrusion upon the mundane by the (super)natural, some might even say the ｢bizarre｣. And thus, the match setup of this yoga class, nominally a means to get away from the fear and terror of society, now surprised by this Stand battle.

Drawing from her own history and tribulations, Gioia immediately rebukes Minali’s perspective, one that views Stands and the supernatural as something to be recoiled from—understandably given recent events, but this still a shrinking from the world, when dharma calls us to be fully engaged in it. Yes, one must mind their mental state, lest they go mad from the injustice of the world, but for the sake of their wellbeing, one cannot fully retreat from it.

And who lives in that world? Another interplay of Lens 1 and Lens 2 is “who comprises society”, who do we include, exclude, protect, and neglect with systems and structures we create. If there is the human, mundane, and natural, must there be an nonhuman, abnormal, and unnatural?

The Afropessimist says “Yes, there will always be an underclass in any social arrangement that can be used as a stepping stone by others.” Thus, T7 asks “can you expand your community to include those whom you would consider different?”

I played a semantic trick with my earlier framing, SPW-11465 as an intruder, the supernatural outsider to human affairs—one could say it has no reason to fight. And yet, it is just as worthy of personhood, dignity. (I balk at the anthropocentric notion that one can be "worthy of humanity," since how doing so may imply that morality and rights apply primarily to humans and thus how we treat animals and "dehumanized" persons is permissible.) By virtue of their status as a moral subject, this Solar Agent still longs for companionship, still learns from its experiences, still wonders at this world, still strives for self-actualization and its wellbeing.

Duty and dignity are not just spiritual concepts, but sociopolitical ones as well. The duty that we have to tend to ourselves and each other and the dignity that we owe to humans and nonhumans manifest in how we direct our communities and the protection they give. Some direct them to enrich themselves and their own, at the cost of others. That is not love that is not community, it is tyranny under a smiling gaze. Will you recognize it as such.

If so, until all are free, go and do good work.

Judge Pranayama (Flamechar)

“Embody health and wellness!” Both teams have done wonderfully: I will explain why I feel both teams get **9s**:

SPW frames the beginning as fleeing rather than a fight in order to protect its health and wellbeing - as well as then focusing on the community aspect of wellbeing through a lens of the plant’s want to be closer to/accepted by ‘humanity’. That mobility section with 11465’s thoughts on children swinging in a playground and why they enjoy it? Chef’s kiss.

As for Gioia, she embodies this in several ways: using her fit and healthy body to the best of its ability through mobility; making SPW work in order to get flowers created (Exercise. Grind. Grow.); and lastly, the experiences she has had and how through that knows that Wellness is not retreating wholesale from the world. She even helps out our plant friend in the end, nice!

Judge Dhyana (Snek)

Logic has taken any analysis that I could and outsold once again, but let me see if I can comment a few words on why these work. Of course, the standard criteria applies: you made a compelling story and linked it to your strategic plays, crafting a compelling narrative.

If Logic is focusing on the themes of the tournament, let me discuss the players behind it. I started meditating during the pandemic, after I suddenly developed insomnia in May of 2020. At a time where I was unable to see my friends, and feeling a degree of the isolation that plagued everyone, there was a comfort in guided meditation. I was alone, but there was someone helping me to make that loneliness mine. I could take a moment, sit on the floor, and breathe.
I have another memory of being enamoured with yoga during my time at an all-girls summer camp (he didn’t know, chat). It was as far from the deep spiritual practice of Yoga as you could get, but it still offered me comfort and release with a group of others. I wonder now, as I type this, if I liked it because it guided me in the midst of an alienation I could not name.

Through yoga, (or how I understand it as an outsider who has done some cursory research and hopes to do more) the mind and the body come together and become yours, under your control.  I wonder then if that is why the word means “to attach, join, harness, yoke”. As if a plant connecting to concrete through mighty roots, or paper being taped together. In those moments of yoga, and meditation, of trying imperfectly but sincerely, my mind and body were finally mine.

When you are meditating, thoughts approach you. You must acknowledge them, and let them pass. You must do this over, and over, and over again. The thoughts will come, and you will let them wash over you and away. Then, between those moments, there is silence. There is peace.

Human or not, Gioia and the creature exist as beings, as minds within bodies. In this moment, they allow thoughts to approach them, acknowledge them, and let them pass. They push their bodies and abilities to their limits in the pursuit of their wellbeing… but not just as individuals. For they know that to be healthy is to be a social being. The yoga class, the guided meditation. In this moment, their mind unites with their body, and they unite with this community. They find Somewhere They Belong.

Minali is wrong of course, obviously so, even as she means well. Stands are a part of us, our soul, that which we yolk.
I’m sleeping better, nowadays. Thanks for writing this.

Be proud of what you’ve made here.

I think I’ve convinced myself to give you both a [10].