#ALSO i love getting to see another stage in the master/apprentice relationship

[mo-ok]

the suits in this season are high key the best ever actually

[luvspence]

too invested

spencer reid x reader

synopsis: y/n attempts to make her ex jealous, by faking a relationship with spencer

[ y/n is penelopes assistant, and her ex is someone else who works at the fbi, think penelope and kevin ]

word count: 1k

master list

———

you were usually high energy, walked with a pep in your step, a sway in your pony tail

but today you walked in, slumped in, with yesterday’s make up

you dragged yourself into the round table room , you still had a little mascara stained on your cheek

spencer was early, (as always) and greeted you as you walked in

“hey-, oh jeez are you okay?”

you gave him a death glare

“i’m fine”

“clearly you aren’t”

he handed you a baby wipe from his satchel to wipe off the mascara from your cheek

“elijah”

spencer was clearly not getting it

“elijah copper, 28, co technical analyst from counter terrorism, nyu grad, 5’10, boyfriend for our very own y/n l/n, co technical analyst for the behavior analyst unit”

“ex boyfriend”

the knowledge hit him like a truck, he always wanted you to be happy, and clearly after this you weren’t. but he always secretly had a tiny crush on you

“oh i’m so sorry”

“yeah me too”

spencer didn’t know what to say, he just offered another baby wipe which you declined, and everyone else started to fill in

——

you went through stages

the “crying all the time” stage

the “nostalgia” stage

the “i don’t need him! boys suck!” stage

and you have now approached the “does he still care about me? does he even remember my name?” stage

you were in your office, spencer was passing by

“hey i got you coff- oh my god y/n what are you doing”

he caught you snooping through elijahs social media, text messages, searching key words like “y/n”

you closed out the tab

“heEEEY SPENCE”

you took the coffee from his hand

“y/n this isnt healthy”

“i know but look”

you shuffled around and showed him a picture of elijah and some girl

“i’ve been replaced and it’s only been three weeks”

“y/n they don’t even look like they share romantic feelings, they look like siblings”

“she works with him in counter terrorism, they always had something going on spencer i swear!”

he ruffled up your hair

“you’re so crazy”

he started to walk out and you chased him

“hey! am not-“

you were cut off my elijah walking down the hall, spencer next to you

you made eye contact with elijah and immediately looked at spencer and kissed him

you made it long and obvious, and to your surprised he kissed back

your eyes were closed but you opened one to check where elijah was, you saw him scurrying away, so you pulled away from spencer

“y/n???”

you pulled him by the collar into your office and shut the door

“look i’m sorry, but it was instinctual”

“WHY”

“elijah was right there!!!! and he replaced me it’s only fair if i replace him”

spencer just dumbly stared at you

“pertend to date me”

“HUH”

“pretend to date me! we can make elijah jealous. and after this phase subsides we can fake break up. no harm no foul”

spencer stood there silently, while he didn’t like to be used, he also didn’t mind kissing you

“hmm, okay, but you owe me”

“yes! i owe you so much thank you thank you thank you” 

you kissed him on the cheek which made him blush, and he walked out of your office

——

you and spencers “relationship” was going well

whenever you walked down the halls of the fbi together you held hands

whenever you answered the phone with elijah in the vicinity you called spencer pet names

whenever there was an fbi mandated presentation, you’d scoot up real close to spencer, lay your head on his shoulder and interlock fingers

sometimes in the hall you would kiss

you’d post pictures of him on your instagram story

your team knew it was fake, but they sure did get a kick out of it

“pretty boy and tech apprentice, a duo i didn’t know i wanted but i so badly needed” morgan says as he passed by you two in the hallways

and elijah reacted accordingly, doing the same thing you were doing with spencer with the girl from counter terrorism

and he even texted you one night

“i miss you”

but in this whole process you and spencer were getting really really close

you started to hang out together more outside of work, going to restaurants, to movies

this stage of the break up had basically subsided but you still found yourself holding hands with spencer

kissing him even though no one was around

calling him let names on the phone, saying i love you right before you hung up

going out together and not posting on instagram

we’re you getting invested?

you were getting too invested.

—-

you tried to distance yourself from spencer

remind yourself and him that your relationship was fake

you believed that his purpose was already served, you didn’t feel that way about elijah anymore

except you started maybe feeling that way for spencer

no matter how many times you’d walk away, spencer would still put his arm around you, kiss you even when no one was there, continuing to take you out to your standing friday night dinner

he was also way too invested

—-

you didn’t want to fall in love with spencer, and you were trying everything to stop it. but no matter what you couldn’t help but kiss him back, hold his hand and have long conversations with him

you finally decided enough was enough so you sat him down in your office

“spencer?”

“yes my love?”

“i think we need to e-end”

without even thinking you started to cry

“y/n? hey what’s wrong? what’s the matter?”

he said as he curled up next to you, wrapping his long arms around you and wiping your tears away

between sniffles you managed to get out

“i think we need to end t-this relationship”

spencer looked at you

“well y/n i respect you and what you want, but it doesn’t take a profiler to see that you don’t want this to end”

you huffed

“i wasnt planning on this, i just wanted to make elijah jealous!”

“planning on what?”

you shed another tear

“falling in love with you”

“what happened to ‘no harm no foul’??”

“that was a faulty decision”

he brushed the hair out of your face and held you face in his hands

“we should make this relationship real y/n”

“we should.”

he went down a placed a soft kiss on your lips

“i think we’re too invested in this spence””

[captain-ross-poldark]

Another interesting article from the Irish DM.

THE WOMAN WHO FINALLY TAMED POLDARK

By Maeve Quigley

Heartthrob Aidan Turner has a track record of dating co-stars and it seems like he’s finally found his leading lady as it’s revealed he and Caitlin Fitzgerald have tied the knot

THEY were the pictures that broke the hearts of thousands of fans — the dark-haired actor affectionately smooching his new wife on the romantic streets of Rome, as their wedding rings flashed in the warm Italian dusk. After three years of dating, Aidan Turner tied the knot with fellow thespian Caitlin Fitzgerald in a secret ceremony in the Italian capital last summer, although news of the nuptials has just broken.

The pair met on the set of adventure film The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot and it seems — despite Turner’s previous protestations that he would never date another actress — they couldn’t help falling for each other.

Pictures taken on August 8 show the newlyweds days after tying the knot as they flashed their gold bands while enjoying a romantic al fresco dinner date at Pierluigi’s restaurant in Rome.

In the newly-released images, the loved-up pair seem unable to keep their hands off each other as they sip their drinks, holding on to one another as they gaze into each other’s eyes.

It is believed Fitzgerald also came to Ireland before the pandemic to meet Turner’s extended family — possibly ahead of their big day. Of course, she’s not the first woman with beauty and talent to be seen on the arm of the dashing Dubliner.

But at 37, the man whose shirtless scything in BBC drama Poldark had women everywhere a-quiver is now officially off the market.

Turner was born in Clondalkin, the son of Eileen, an accountant, and Pat, an electrician. He is the youngest of two boys; his brother works for the Revenue.

The family later moved to Walkinstown where growing up he was quite shy so his mum sent him to ballroom dancing classes as she felt it would help him no matter what career he chose. He became quite the champion and could possibly have been headed for an international career before he got bitten by the acting bug when he attended the Gaiety School of Acting, where he dated classmate India Whisker for a short time.

Even then, Turner’s dashing good looks were getting him noticed off stage.

To supplement his acting career, he got a job as a barman in famous Dublin nightclub Lillie’s Bordello, where he proved to be a big hit with the VIP guests

‘Women would come in just to stare at him,’ said former hostess now wellness guru and television presenter Andrea Hayes, who gave the acting student his position behind the bar. ‘I’m not joking.’

His first big acting break came when he landed the part of receptionist Ruairi MacGowan in RTE’s long-running medical drama The Clinic, taking the seat left vacant by another major success story, Chris O’Dowd, who also played a medical administrator on the show.

Around this time he was dating Charlene McKenna. The thenaspiring acting stars were together from 2007 to 2009 and shared a flat together in London before their relationship ended just weeks after McKenna had said in an interview how happy she was.

McKenna has recently got married in secret herself, to actor Adam Rothenburg, with whom she starred in Ripper Street, although she has said she still has a friendship with Turner.

‘He’s flying and I’m so proud of him,’ she said of Turner in a 2016 interview. ‘We still keep in touch and I knew he would do this well for himself. I always told him he would be a movie star.’

While they lived together, Turner landed his breakthrough role as tortured vampire Mitchell in the BBC Three hit Being Human.

Mitchell was torn between his blood lust and doing the right thing and was keen on leather trousers and coats, allowing Turner to smoulder on screen for the first but certainly not the last time.

He managed to gain a cult following from the role — as well as a new girlfriend in the form of his co-star Lenora Critchlow who played a ghost to Turner’s vampire.

When their relationship ended, Turner also chose to quit his role on the show.

But it was Being Human that got him his role in The Hobbit after director Peter Jackson saw him in the show and was struck by his elfin features. He never made it to the elves though, instead playing a dwarf.

And as his star ascended, he began dating another actress, this time Cork-born Sarah Greene. They had been friends for a few years after meeting on the set of Titus Andronicus, directed by Selina Cartmell at Dublin’s Project Arts Centre; but love didn’t blossom until much later.

‘I played Demetrius, her character wasn’t a named character but we met on that,’ Turner said in a magazine interview. ‘It was all very platonic and we never hooked up or anything, but that’s how we got to know each other. Then years later we just met again and it just sort of took off.’

Turner and Greene became the golden couple of the Irish drama scene, both with careers on the rise. They were together when he landed the role of Ross Poldark in the BBC revival of the Cornish drama that became a huge international success.

The fame that came with the role was difficult for both to handle as Turner is not a fan of being seen as a celebrity while Greene hated people taking photographs of her boyfriend while they went about their daily business.

Though then happy in his relationship with Greene, Turner admitted that he had been heartbroken in the past and it was something he was able to channel into his role as the brooding Ross Poldark, a man torn between two women.

‘I don’t know anyone on this planet who hasn’t had their heart broken,’ he told the Radio Times. ‘It’s happened to me. Love is love it’s the purest and rawest thing we have in life.’

As their careers progressed, the couple spent more time apart as Turner was in New Zealand with The Hobbit while Greene was working on projects like Vikings closer to home. But he insisted the distance wasn’t a problem.

‘You meet someone, you fall in love, then you can only see them over Skype or phone calls or texts and emails. And you have this whole other side to your relationship and it’s... it was fun,’ he said in a 2015 interview. He added: ‘We knew we really wanted to be together. And knew if we could do that, we could tackle a lot more. It was never: God, this is hard, bloody hell, we need to review this. This sucks. We never questioned it; it was great. So we had that from the beginning...’

But as the Poldark mania went into overdrive, so did the rumour mill and there were false reports of an engagement and even a secret wedding between himself and Greene. In actual fact the opposite was the case, with the relationship ending in 2015, five years after it started.

Turner then seemed to swear off dating those in the same business, despite his track record. In a press conference for the fourth series of Poldark, he said dating in acting circles meant you could never get away from work, admitting: ‘If you’re in my business and you find somebody who does exactly what you do and you’re living with them, then you’re in the business all the time.

‘You go home, talk about casting directors, you talk about the press, you talk about the next job you’re doing — it can become quite dull and taxing,’ he added.

So instead he was linked to a mystery law graduate, an advertising executive and then the artist Nettie Wakefield, who he dated for around a year before their hectic schedules drove them apart in what was described as an amicable split.

But obviously when he met the stunning blonde Irish-American, Caitlin Fitzgerald, 38, on a film set three years ago, Turner’s new rules went out the window, so bowled over was he by the beauty and talent of his co-star. By the time the film was premiered, the pair already looked smitten, posing on the red carpet together.

Fitzgerald appeared at a concert with Michael Sheen, with whom she starred in Masters of Sex but was seeing Turner at that time and like him, is an intensely private person.

Despite his fame and the stir his bare-chested scything caused, Turner has never been one to chase the celebrity lifestyle — perhaps because of those nights he spent observing celebrities while working behind the bar in Lillie’s.

‘If I allowed myself to let it change my life, it could,’ he has said in the past of his fame. ‘Where there’s celebrity, it’s easy to slip into that — being followed in nightclubs, or dating famous people or getting adverts. I’m just not interested in that stuff.

‘I want to do good work with good actors and filmmakers, read interesting scripts. I didn’t get into this business for celebrity. I did it for my love of film and stories and theatre.’

So although it has now been widely reported that he and Fitzgerald tied the knot in front of his parents Eileen and Pat, neither of them are likely to confirm their nuptials at any stage in the near future.

In fact, the only kissing Turner is likely to talk about is for his role in the film Leonardo, which explores the life and sexuality of Leonardo Da Vinci. In the film we will see Turner as the renaissance artist in a passionate clinch with another man as it explores Da Vinci’s sexuality and his rumoured affair with his apprentice Gian Giacomo Caprotti, better known by his nickname Salai. It is for his art that Turner intends to keep us all guessing as he’d rather we were interested in his roles than his romances.

‘It’s important to me that people don’t know too much about me because I’m trying to play characters,’ he has said in the past

‘Sometimes you see actors who are really good, but you have trouble separating that actor from the celebrity profile.

‘I don’t want to be one of those guys. It helps that people don’t know a lot about me, I guess.’

[redshirtgal]

So whose job was it to cast all those redshirts (and stunt people)  we celebrate here? Who figured out which actors were needed for each scene, which extras needed to be hired (and how much they would get paid)  and which props were needed for each scene as it was filmed, in addition to the distributing copies of the scripts to all and sending them updated scripts as needed along with what time everything had to be in place for the cameras? All of these duties and more are usually the job of the second assistant director. The Star Trek set (and those of most television series) needed more than just the main director or even the first assistant because several scenes were usually being filmed at the same time. One of the most personable and popular second assistant directors who worked on the set of The Original Series was a young man by the name of Charlie Washburn. He was also known as “Charlie Star Trek” because one of his duties was to answer the phone on the set. When it rang, he crisply answered “Star Trek - Charlie!” The crew began calling him Charlie Star Trek and it stuck as long as he worked there.  The Tennessee native originally wanted to break into writing advertisements. During the the two year program he had entered in Milwaukee, he happened to take a course in television. Charlie became fascinated with all the details of a director’s work and decided that was a far more interesting field. Even though he first began looking for work in television in Chicago and New York (more about that later), he eventually decided to come to Hollywood and enter the Directors Guild program and was accepted. 

But before he could graduate, he had to served as an apprentice on an actual set. Luckily for Charlie, he was hired as a trainee on Star Trek for the second season.  During his trainee period, he worked under assistant director. (Shapiro had previously worked on My Favorite Martian where he met Billy Blackburn and later he brought him on board The Original Series). Charlie enjoyed Tiger’s sense of humor and learned a lot about making personal connections with both the cast and the crew in addition to all the other duties a second assistant director needed to master. Tiger allowed him to gradually take over more and more of his duties as long as Charlie cleared any changes first. He ended his apprenticeship with over  400 hours of training. 

Charlie Washburn graduated at the top of his class, so he did not have any trouble finding work. Star Trek immediately hired him back as a second assistant director. As mentioned previously, the show always needed two second assistant directors so Washburn was able to work alongside his former mentor, Tiger Shapiro, during the third season. 

D.C. Fontana interviewed Washburn and another production crew member for an article for Inside Star Trek. Charlie provided many details about his work that he enjoyed, but he said one of the duties he dreaded were the firings. The decision was not his of course, but would get handed down from the producer’s office and it was up to one of the assistant directors to handle the firings professionally. Charlie was involved in the aftermath of the firing of one of the Earp brothers on the set of “ Spectre of the Gun.” Even though someone else had already informed the agent and the actor of the situation, that meant they had to hire a replacement and that was one of the duties of the directors team. When the new actor appeared on the set, Charlie realized he knew him and helped him make the transition as smooth as possible. Although he never mentioned the name of the actor himself, it was later disclosed by Memory Alpha that it was Rex Holman, who played Morgan Earp.

He was always proud of the relationships he had on the set, from the directors on down to the stage hand and electrical workers. Charlie was known and loved by everyone for both his courteous manner and his professionalism. In an article that appeared on the Directors Guild online quarterly newsletter, he was quoted as saying -

 "Not a single day passed by that I didn't greet every single crew member by name and ask about their families," he shares. "I'm proud to say I was the first AD to be goosed by an electrician on Star Trek when I was up on the rigging one day putting together the call sheet. After it happened, [gaffer] George Merhoff smiled and said: 'Hey, Charlie. Now you're part of the group.'”

For the same Inside Star Trek article, Washburn submitted one of the call sheets he had written up for a scene in “Plato’s Stepchildren.” This gives the readers an inside look at how much attention to detail a second assistant director had to have as he read the script each day. He needed to be able to anticipate who was needed when and where they needed to be, including make-up call times. Notice since Nimoy, Doohan, and Nichols were the ones who had to be in makeup the earliest, there is a notation in the special instructions that they will be given breakfast that morning. If anyone in the main crew or the guest star had to be on the set at or earlier than 7:30 a.m., that meal was provided. Speaking of breakfasts, providing them (and sometimes delivering them in person)  to designated actors was one of Charlie’s duties as a second assistant director. And he had a funny story for that article about the particularly large one that Bill Shatner always ordered. It seems that in contrast to the usual order of one or two eggs, toast or maybe just yogurt, Shatner’s standing order consisted of two scrambled eggs, bacon, grapefruit, wheat toast and a large orange juice. Evidently, unit manager Greg Peters was trying to contain unnecessary costs as much as possible. When he saw the size of that order as compared those of the other cast members,  his immediate question was why did Bill need that much for breakfast? Charlie told him there was no way he was going to ask Shatner that question but Greg was welcome to try. And of course, Peters was as reluctant as Charlie was to ask, so he dropped it.  But Charlie knew the real reason. Shatner ate the toast and drank the orange juice, his wardrobe man was given the half grapefruit. The rest? That went to his Doberman. Imagine Greg Peters’ reaction if he only knew. 

Charles Washburn and Nichelle Nichols were hired during the tumultuous period of the Civil Rights movement of the 60s and the expansion of opportunities for minorities was in its infancy.  Charlie often mentioned in interviews that when he first started working for Star Trek in 1967, there were only three black people who were usually on the Desilu set.  Himself, Nichelle Nichols, and the guy who ran a food truck in the morning and shined shoes on the lot in the afternoon.  Even though he claimed he rarely saw racism on any of the sets he worked on after graduation, Washburn admits it did exist during his time growing up in Tennessee. And an incident in Chicago when he first began looking for AD related work also illustrates the racial bias of the times did not only exist in the South. Some production friends encouraged him to apply for an opening at an NBC affiliate because he was told they were specifically looking for a black in the control room.  With high hopes, he went in for an interview, but never heard back. Months later, he called one of those production friends to find out if the job had been filled.  He was told no one had been hired. The studio just wanted to be able to say they were encouraging blacks to apply. That was the impetus for his move to Hollywood and his application to the Directors Guild program.  Charlie distinguished himself as the first African American to apply and graduate from the program.

Charlie even has a Trek crewman named after him. In “The Doomsday Machine,” we see Lt. Washburn (the science officer above) as part of the landing party investigating what happened to the Constellation. He and two others ran a structural and control damage analysis of the disabled ship, then he was the one who delivered the report to Scotty and Kirk.  Coincidentally, Richard Compton (who played Washburn) directed The Next Generation episode “Haven” with Washburn as his first assistant director. 

In the latter part of Star Trek’s third season, Charlie received an offer to work on a movie in Jamaica. If he were to  stay on until the end of the season, he would miss out. He did the honorable thing and told Gene about the choice he had to make. Gene encouraged him to take the movie offer with his blessings.  He told Charlie that if he really thought Star Trek would be renewed for the fourth season, he would not have done so. Gene graciously thanked him for all his contributions. 

But his contributions to Star Trek did not end there. Years later, Washburn was one of the production people asked for by Gene Roddenberry to work on his new series, The Next Generation. He served as a first assistant director during the first season. Washburn stayed connected to Star Trek even later, although it was an unofficial Trek fan production. He was hired to work on James Cawley’s Star Trek: New Voyages as the first assistant director of the double episode Blood and Fire which was written by David Gerrold. 

After The Original Series ended and his work on that film was finished, Charles Washburn was hired for The Bill Cosby Show as a second assistant director for 19 episodes, then as first assistant director for 16 more. Other TV shows he worked for as a first assistant director were Vega$ (9 episodes) and of course, the previously mentioned Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Charles Washburn also found steady work on movie sets as either a second or first assistant director,  including such well known films as Dirty Harry, Sounder, Lady Sings the Blues, and Uptown Saturday Night (as seen above with Sidney Poitier). He was a unit manager for 6 episodes of McMillan and Wife and 2 of The Six Million Dollar Man as well as for the movies Bustin’ Loose and Fly Away Home. Charlie also was the associate producer for one episode of Get Christie Love! He even had a few acting roles squeezed into movies or TV shows he worked with. He was a Papuan in one of his earliest movies, Skullduggery (where he also appeared with Roger C. Carmel) and an intern in Dirty Harry.

But remember his ultimate goal was to be a director. Yet, for all his experience, he never achieved this position. Washburn explained in the Inside Star Trek article that even though it was possible for second assistant directors like him to eventually advance to be an assistant director and then be hired eventually as a director, that was not the only path. Actors often used their own experiences and their relationships to their directors to learn how directing was done. And if someone were highly acclaimed as an actor, name recognition would open many opportunities to leave acting and to immediately begin directing. So progressing from second assistant to first assistant director did not guarantee that person would be hired as a director.

Charlie’s last years were spent at the Screen Actor’s Home in a small apartment. His good friend Larry Nemecek helped him move. But Charlie stayed as active as possible, considering his kidney dialysis treatments. He organized screenings and shows for the residents there as long as he could. But Charlie lost his battle with kidney disease at age 73.  Larry Nemecek wrote a very nice memorial article on his blog, complete with some personal photos. Ten months later, Larry Nemecek was contacted by the people responsible for the memorial reel at the Oscars. He handed over all the personal photos he had of Charles Washburn.  However since this was for the Oscars, nothing from the years of his work on Star Trek was mentioned. The team decided to use a short clip from Lady Sings the Blues where Charlie was the assistant director and a photo Larry sent in of Charlie sitting at his desk, overflowing with papers and other mementos. The above photo is a clip from that tribute. 

[cutegirlmayra]

Hey there~ it's me again. I read one of your sonamy future prompts ( featuring their children ) They all have wonderful names, but how did you come up with those names? As for me I always second guess myself when it comes to these things 😅

My sonamy fan children~

Journey (Youngest of 4, Power: Loud sonic boom cries.) was stolen (I literally saw someone’s art and saw the name and was like-)

That’s brilliant!!!

Her power though was original, and Sonic’s favorite thing about her is that she calls Amy “Chili-mama” Cause Sonic tried to get her first word to be Chilidog and Amy kept trying to teach her to say ‘mama’. The beautiful combination of that made her what she is, a bit of a silly but innocent baby. She gets kidnapped by Eggman when he remembers his life in a retirement home and smirks saying, “Bingo..” - “But Mr. Robotnik, you don’t have bingo.” - “Oh, trust me, my dear. I do~” and learns that Sonic has a family. But his metal-cyber brain takes over again and Sonic’s forced to remove it, leaving Eggman a old man with no memory but Sonic visits him as he nears the last stages of aging...

Journey has sonic boom cries based on the idea that her voice can travel passed the speed of sound, creating a ‘Hyper Voice’ effect. I also headcanon this makes her ideal for speaking super fast. She’s also magenta. (Again, following Genetic chart posts 1(x) 2(x))

But Speed, Freedom, and Rebel I made up entirely. Speed because all male hedgehogs in the Sonic universe starts with an ‘S’ so their video games would line up together on the game shelf. (True story from the officials) So I went with Speed thinking -from my genetics chart- At least one child may get super speed. 

Speed is born without Sonic present, who is still fighting Eggman and keeps his marriage to Amy secret. Speed grows up at first admiring Sonic but later resenting him, becoming a mama’s boy and training under Shadow. He has the potential to learn Chaos Control but can’t master it yet, because Shadow is immortal, he grows very close to Speed, as though like a master to student relationship but Speed wants it to be more. He tries to convince Shadow to woo his mother into leaving Sonic, but Sonic comes back just in time before Speed proposes the idea to Amy. Amy is faithful, obviously, and wants Speed to accept his father. Sonic is getting old and after putting Eggman in the home, decides it’s about time to get things right with his family. He hates being a stay-at-home dad but Amy works and he hasn’t found a job yet.

He trains Speed who can summon a Baki-Baki (Japanese sound effect for thumping something, hitting) Stick which is like a fighting stick/bow staff which is reminiscent of Amy’s Piko-Piko (Japanese Toy hammer sound when hit.) Hammer. He’s also light blue, like a turquoise.

He ends up taking over his father’s place as the world’s hero much later down in his character arc. Speed is also a romantic like Amy, he plays in a band (guitar, like Sonic’s underground years) and can’t help but fall in love with any girl he sees. Until he meets Sandy... of course~ (She’s based on Sandy from Greece, and is a cute guinea pig~<3 He’s a lot of girlfriends before this point, or at least a billion crushes.)

Freedom is based on Sonic’s brother’s green quills and how that could run in the family of Blue-Green genetics. so Freedom is a light green who loves race cars and works as an apprentice at TwinTail Industries owned by Tails. He helps Tails, even being so young as he is, the third youngest, to test-run his experiments or help learn about the “Inventions of the future!” He longs to be a racecar driver, like Sonic’s Racing years. 

He can manipulate wind, and this allows him to hover and fly even. (Maybe the start of Silver’s line? If I wanted to think more into that lol)

Rebel is much like her father in that she’s solitary, a little boy chases her around and is a gentleman to her at school and she doesn’t know how to think of it. She’s a darkish purple? And she can summon any weapon she can think of (Reminiscent of Amy’s power). She longs to be a hero too, but is more a punk attitude mixed with Amy’s Rascal side and ends up getting into “righteous mischief” where she does something good but people only see the consequences and bad results.

Amy tells her love stories which she pretends to hate but is actually quite interested if Amy includes adventure in the mix. She wonders how her father fell for Amy, but Sonic ends up telling her the story and it’s a super cute bonding moment! (She’s second to oldest in this timeline AU.)

----

Moving off of this ‘Future Sonamy’ timeline AU is Sonic and the Chaos Kingdom’s kid. (x)Fanfic, (x)Wattpad, (x)DA, (x)Archive. He also has his own bonus story of wooing Maria!

Skid, wearing a ‘flower crown’ cause he a soft boy~<3

Skid is a ‘sensitive’ boy, as in, he’s quite girlie. He loves girls and wants to marry them all to protect them cause he doesn’t think other boys will treat them right like he would. He’s a pacifist, due the prophecy on him as being the Prince to Bring Peace, and falls madly in love with Banished Prince Shadow’s illegitimate daughter, Maria.

He has the power to drift and is a light sky-blue hedgehog with a punk attitude towards his father, but a sweet boy demeanor to his mother.

----

Lastly, this Sonamy Children timeline is a darker one. One where Sonic has to go through a portal and may never return, to an alternate dimension where other versions of his friends are too to defeat Eggman who found his other-dimensional self was pathetic and defeated him, overwhelming the other Sonic Team. Sonic in that world has long since vanished, and he feels he has to go save that world.

To prove to Amy he isn’t returning, he elopes with her and gives her the last thing she’s ever wanted from him, but then leaves.

Not necessarily a love-child, Destiny Rose grows up not knowing why she has such a strong sense of justice and the need to fight against tyranny. Finally, Amy, on her sick bed, admits that when Sonic left, he gave her Destiny, and that Amy still believes he’ll one day return. (Although, she did marry a soldier, but he died in another war.)

Destiny also learns she has a brother, but is half a cyberman since the other dimensional Eggman escaped to this world. Little do they know that Sonic has actually returned... and meets Destiny, hearing about her brother and going to free him together.

They defeat this Eggman and the two Eggman's swap, but Sonic admits he was always faithful to his world’s Amy, not the other one. He sees Amy is bedridden and falls at her bedside, letting her know it’s not a dream and that their son is also safe.

The Son is half Cybernetic but is named Sonar, for his expert hearing and senses, he can’t be sneaked up on and can locate things really easily. He also has robot abilities! Haha.

That’s kinda a ‘apocalypse’ AU, lol

---

My last fan children are based on the idea that Eggman DNA spliced Shadow, Silver, and Sonic’s DNA into three children, who then all attach to Amy who helps them get rid of their (Rowdy Ruff Boys syndrome) bad behaviors and turns them to the light.

Shadow, Silver, and Sonic have to accept these new genetic hedgehogs: Boom (Sonic’s boy), Shade (Shadow’s Girl), and Sterling (Silver’s boy).

Amy protects the kids and teaches the ‘fathers’ how to accept and learn to love their new children.

That’s about all I can think of for them ^^ The other children I’ve created were at random for different stories. ~<3 Enjoy my headcanons!

[peace-coast-island]

Diary of a Junebug

Taking flight on a magic carpet

Once in a while, you need a change in perspective. As someone who tends to look too closely and fixate on minor things, it’s easy to miss the big picture.

In other words, sometimes you need to hop on a magic carpet, fly up high in the air, and lose yourself to the vast blue skies.

When least expected, paths cross in ways you’d never imagine. I’ve had surprise visits from two old friends. First was Nathan, who wasn’t completely a surprise as we were making plans when we reunited at Astra. I basically told him to drop by anytime whenever he feels like it so that’s what he did.

With a busy semester finally behind him, Nathan figured that it’s about time he come and check out the camp. We’ve been making more of an effort to keep in touch often after realizing how much we missed each other’s company. How did we let the years slip on by?

The second visitor is someone who I occasionally see on my travels, usually with her companion/mentor/dad figure. It’s been a couple years since we last spoke and a lot has changed. For starters, she’s not with her partner - he doesn’t know she’s here - and second, her visit was completely unexpected. In fact, I don’t know how she found me - not that I’m complaining, I just didn’t think she’d reach out to me.

Peony is the kind of person who’s like an iceberg. There’s more to her than meets the eye, to put it simply. Appearance wise she looks like a kid (though now she looks more like a teen so that solves the question of whether or not she can physically age) but she’s actually in her early twenties. Her personality can flip flop between a hyper child, a defiant adolescent, and a jaded adult.

At times Peony seems like a different person. She’s still sassy and quick to anger, but also restless yet self assured. When she declared that she has grown up, I can see she’s being serious. Obviously she still has a lot to learn but Peony has a point when she says that she deserves to be taken seriously. 

Over the years Peony and Tomomi’s relationship has been on shaky ground. Tomomi, or Doc as Peony calls him, is like a vigilante medic who specializes in surgery. He’s basically a mad genius who breaks all the rules, making him a polarizing figure to many. Peony was sort of an accidental creation and since no one wanted her, Tomomi took her in. Peony went from idolizing him to becoming disillusioned and now she’s struggling to find an in-between.

Tomomi won’t admit it but it’s obvious he cares about Peony a lot. He claims to be the type not to make attachments, yet he does have a heart, which is why he does what he does. Not everyone agrees with his methods but you have to admit that he keeps his word. He’s also the kind of person who cuts and runs as soon as his work’s done so it’s a big deal if he sticks around. Jamie crosses paths with him occasionally so that’s how I got to know him.

So Peony’s kinda like a daughter to Tomomi, though as she’s gotten older she’s become more like a younger sister. Clearly their dynamic has changed a lot since I last saw them. It’s still a bit strange hearing Peony talk about Tomomi like he's a nagging older sibling instead of this super cool mad surgeon who could do no wrong.

Basically Peony and Tomomi have been at each other’s throats for a while. Peony went from being his assistant to his apprentice, leading to high tensions between them. Peony’s at that stage where her mentor is becoming more of a hinderance than a helper. Not only she’s becoming equal to him in terms of skills, she’s even surpassed him in some areas - particularly in making medicinal elixirs, something she was always good at. It also doesn’t help that Tomomi still treats her like a little kid, often disregarding her opinions whenever she thinks outside the box. 

I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s jealousy and resentment on his end with Peony becoming more independent. Not that Tomomi’s controlling of her but with Peony taking on more responsibility I can see how he might feel threatened by that. Peony doesn’t want to be him or his rival, she just wants to forge her own way by being a medicine master, as she puts it. Given that she’s pushing into territory that’s beyond Tomomi’s scope of practice, that marks off another reason why he’s holding her back.

Then last week everything went to hell when Peony defied Tomomi by giving a patient a dangerous cocktail of drugs that was certain to kill them. Tomomi thought treatment was futile as the patient was too far gone, Peony wanted to take a leap of faith. It was a risky moved that paid off in the end but Peony’s victory was short lived when Tomomi blew up at her. Then that escalated into a big argument, ending with Peony giving her mentor a black eye. After that uncharacteristic display of anger, Peony thought it was best to leave so they both can cool off.

She admits to being a bit too stubborn and bull headed, which is something I didn’t see coming. Sure she wants to be respected and treated like an adult but at the same time she still needs guidance. It’s tough being in that position flip flopping between needing someone dependable and not wanting to rely on them as a crutch. She doesn’t want to go back to the clinic until she figures out a way to work things out with Tomomi that doesn’t involve another bodily injury.

It’s strange seeing Peony so rational and trying to be the bigger person. The old Peony would’ve probably thrown a fit and begged for forgiveness. She really has grown up.

Nathan can see where Peony’s coming regarding becoming at odds with someone you once looked up to. It’s one of those situations where both sides aren’t exactly in the right or wrong. His experience is less extreme and stormy thankfully but he can understand what’s going on. In his case it’s Sophia, who he still struggles to see as a parental figure rather than an older sibling because of their upbringing and age difference. Both were raised by Sophia’s mom until she died and Sophia was forced into the role of being the parent, which she clearly wasn’t ready (or fit) for.

While Nathan and Sophia get along well, there is some sort of disconnect between them, especially as Nathan got older. Sophia tries her best and means well, but it’s hard to draw a line when there was never a distinction between being a parent and being a friend. Much like other well meaning parental figures, they don’t always know what’s best despite their good intentions. 

It’s a hard pill to swallow but it’s important to accept that the people you look up to (and probably idolize) are just as flawed and messed up like everyone else. Sometimes you have to push them away in order to allow yourself to grow. If you have a good relationship, then you’ll come out of this stronger.

With Peony going through a rough patch and Nathan in need of a well deserved break from his studies, I figured that it was a good time to do something fun that wasn’t a campsite event. There’s nothing scheduled this week so it works out perfectly - to be honest, we wouldn’t be up for something big anyway. 

Today was pretty much a chill day, much like the other two. Then came Julia, Leo, and a magic carpet! Julia always wanted to create a flying carpet so with Leo’s help, they were able to put something together. They’ve been doing test flights last week so everything would be perfect for the big reveal, which was this morning. Almost everyone in the camp has flown around on the magic carpet, declaring it an unforgettable experience.

When it was time for me, Nathan, and Peony to take flight, we opted to take the scenic route.  There’s something so exhilarating about being so high in the sky where everything looks and feels so small, yet so vast and full at the same time. We’re literally sitting on top of the world!

A magic carpet ride won’t fix your problems or make life less stressful, but it can provide a good escape as well as a lovely view from above.

[eddie-redmayne-italian-blog]

We Asked Eddie Redmayne And Katherine Waterston Your “Fantastic Beasts” Questions                

“This movie could be called Fantastic Beasts and...It’s Complicated.”        

 Posted on July 12, 2018    

Ellie Bate 

In 2016, Warner Bros. announced that Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – the Harry Potter spinoff set in a 1920s iteration of J.K. Rowling's wizarding world – would become a series consisting of five films. Now we're only six months away from seeing the second, and fans have questions. We know the story will take place over two decades of the early 20th century, culminating in 1945, when Albus Dumbledore famously defeated the dark wizard Grindelwald. We also know that the sequel will see characters visiting London, Paris, and New York, and that we'll see a young Dumbledore played by Jude Law. But we don't know much else.

Last week, we at BuzzFeed had the opportunity to meet with the film's stars, Eddie Redmayne and Katherine Waterston, to get some info about the upcoming sequel. We asked them your nerdiest questions, and their answers were definitely interesting...

Aside from Dumbledore, can we expect to see any old friends from the Harry Potter series in Fantastic Beasts? – madelinerosee2

Katherine Waterston: You can expect that.

Eddie Redmayne: You can. There’s these sort of lines of connecting families and familiar people and names to the worlds of Beasts and Potter.

Which relationships between characters are you most excited to see develop in the upcoming films? – queenoffckingeverything

ER: I mean, our relationship! I’m hoping for an extraordinary J.K. Rowling romance. We know that we end up together, basically.

KW: But how?! How is it going to happen?

ER: Jo sort of tells us bits, but I don’t know. I loved our bit in this film. It’s so complicated. It’s complicated.

KW: Look. It’s complicated.

What can you tell us about Newt and Tina’s relationship in The Crimes of Grindelwald? Has it progressed or developed at all since the end of the first film? – Megan Walsh, Facebook

KW: Progressed? Regressed, maybe.

ER: There was so much hope at the end of the last film, but there’s miscommunication.

KW: Yeah. It’s a long-distance relationship!

ER: It’s desperate because they’re sort of pining for each other, but things have gone awry. Part of this film is about them re-finding each other.

KW: Yeah, but you know, there’s a lot going on, so it’s hard to just have a cup of tea and catch up and sort things out.

ER: We were quite excited at the end of the last film. We thought, Oh my god, we’re going to get to have a lot of fun working together on this film! And then the script arrived and it became clear that it wasn’t going to be that easy. We’re going to have to work for this romance.

KW: But that’s fun. It’s fun to have it be complex and surprising and rich.

What’s one thing that might surprise fans about the new instalment of Fantastic Beasts? – katerinap

ER: It’s so much darker than the last one. I think Jo loves that. In fact, I think she even said that to me on set. She was like, “I just love it when it gets darker.”

KW: It’s more complex. I think it’ll be a really fun journey to revisit and look for clues and things you might have missed the first time. It’s really dense and full of interesting dynamics and relationships and wonderful wizarding lore.

ER: I love that she has such an extraordinary imagination for plot. It’s so tightly wound, this story, that you have to pick apart each element of it. It feels like an extraordinary puzzle.

We know Newt prefers working with animals, but the trailer shows him working with Dumbledore. What motivates him to work with his former teacher? – Ginny Lemarie, Facebook

ER: A part of this story is about Newt’s call to action. One of the lovely things that I adore about Newt is that he’s just completely his own person �� he doesn’t get pulled in to become a member of the tribe. People are always trying to recruit him, but he’s his own person. And yet, actually, the stakes get so high in this film that it’s really him questioning whether he can continue doing that or whether at some point you have to engage.

As for Dumbledore, he and Newt have always had this kind of wonderful master/apprentice quality and there’s kind of a joy between them. But Dumbledore’s sly. Dumbledore’s been recruiting Newt a little bit, and he certainly does in this film. I suppose the reason he’s pulled to engage is because the stakes are so high. That Grindelwald dude is causing havoc.

Since you already know what happens at the end of the series thanks to the Harry Potter books, does that inform the way you approach your characters? – Lucy Friedl, Facebook

KW: I would say no, because we – within our series – don’t have any clue where it’s going. You know, Jo will occasionally give us a little hint about something, but unlike the Harry Potter series, we don’t have books to refer to, so it’s a lot more, in a sense, like real life. You know, events happen and we respond to them.

ER: But it’s kind of wonderfully reassuring to know that we’re gonna end up together, right? Hopefully happily married.

 KW: We still have to play it like we have no clue what’s happening, though. And isn’t that fun? That the audience is a step ahead of us? They can watch us fail and misunderstand each other and fail again and struggle to come together, and they can think, “Aw, these suckers. They don’t know it, but we know it. It’s going to work out.”

But maybe she’s going to change her mind! Who knows?! She’s J.K. Rowling! She can do what she wants!

How did it feel to have the fantastic four reunited? Have their relationships changed since the end of the first film? – Wanda Atlas, Facebook

KW: This is the kind of question that’s gonna get me in a lot of trouble.

ER: Do it. Get in trouble.

KW: It was amazing to be reunited. We spent so much time together on the tour and working on the first film, and it’s always so exciting when everybody goes away and people’s kids get bigger and people fall in love, all sorts of things happen. It’s really wonderful to all reunite and get the gossip.

ER: Those first early days when we come back to work, there’s no work happening. It’s just life catch-up and David Yates occasionally going, “OK, there’s work going on here, team. Enough with the banter.”

KW: As for this film… [thinks for a bit] Things have changed. With all the relationships in the group.

ER: You said that really enigmatically, it was brilliant. The idea of the quartet... I think, momentarily, the band has been disbanded.

KW: But the concern and the bond and the intimacy is still there. These people are very important to one another.

How much of a role will the beasts play in the upcoming films? Please tell me Pickett has a hand in the defeat of Grindelwald! – clairk

ER: I don’t want to give away too much, but Pickett definitely indirectly – just because he’s brilliant, and does these brilliant things effortlessly – helps us out. But there are also new creatures. One of the things I enjoy most about these films is getting to work with the puppeteers and the visual effects designers. In those early stages, when we’re prepping in the months beforehand, we’re seeing all these wonderful designs, and you’ve had a sense of what the creatures are when you read the script, but you see the visual effects team – who are like actors themselves – come up with these ideas that are like your ideas on steroids. There’s one creature in this – a very, very big, huge creature – and he sort of plucks me up at some point, and so the reality of filming that is you have a guy called Seven-Feet Pete – he’s really tall, he has massive arms – just having to pick me up all day.

What is the relationship between Newt and Theseus like? Are they close? Does Theseus’s relationship with Leta Lestrange cause issues? – Kerry Endicott, Facebook

KW: It’s interesting that you would ask me that. [laughs] I mean, this movie could be called Fantastic Beasts and...It’s Complicated. You know, all these relationships are really dynamic and rich.

ER: It is really complicated. [Theseus] is an Auror, he’s very establishment, and Newt is kind of the antithesis of that. But what I loved, actually, was the way Jo had written their relationship. It was quite antagonistic to begin with, and it certainly is filled with complexities. I mean, his brother is engaged to this girl who he had a huge affection for growing up, so there’s obviously a real tension there. But one of the things I loved is, actually, Jo said to me seeing what Callum [Turner] was doing and how David was directing – there was a lot of love there – that she progressed the relationship as a consequence of that.

What was the most magical thing that happened on set? – KaralineT

KW: There was this PA who seemed to have the magical ability to deliver a dose of gummy bears to the little holding area for the actors at the moment in the day right when I started to flag. It seemed as if by magic they would appear. I often wouldn’t even see him do it. I would just think to myself, Oh, I’m a little tired, and I would look to my left, and there would be gummy bears. It was pretty magical.

ER: One of the things I find weird about filmmaking is you can be filming wide shots and big things in the morning, and then everyone stops for lunch, and you’re feeling slightly tired afterwards, and you have to go straight into a close-up or an emotional thing. That’s why, basically, I’m a coffee addict. Katherine gave me a lot of grief on the first film about drinking so much coffee.

KW: I’ve never seen one man drink so much coffee in all my days.

Have you ever met any actors from the original series, and did they give you any advice? – UrbannaGirl

KW: You knew Emma [Watson] already, because you’d worked with her, but the rest of us met her the day of the premiere. She came by and she was very sweet when we were all feeling very vulnerable.

ER: I met Ralph Fiennes just before we started filming, and he said what an extraordinary time he’d had, and how brilliant David Yates was. He said there are days when you’re in the back of a scene, and you’re thinking like, oh, I’m not really in this, it’s fine, I can coast, but [David Yates] sees everything. That was…

KW: Scary? [laughs]

What was the hardest thing to get used to when you were filming Fantastic Beasts? Was it something to do with the preparation for your character, or was it something on set? – mcflaherty24

KW: In this film, I wear a navy blue leather trench that I think weighs about 30 pounds. Maybe that’s not a lot of weight for a strong person, but I had to kind of get fit for the coat. It was sort of like trying to move through mud up to your neck. It’s like something’s trying to pull you to the ground all the time.

ER: She had a twitch, which was like, before every single take she would not be comfortable unless she fiddled with her belt.

KW: Yeah, because if I tied the belt really tight, it would kind of lift the weight off my shoulders a little. It was the wandwork. It was sort of like doing wandwork with someone pushing down on your arm, so I got kind of jacked just from the coat. I could start a workout – the Leather Coat Workout. Make a video.

ER: I think for this film, we were kind of prepped, but the most hilarious moment from all the Fantastic Beasts for me was on the last film. Katherine and Ali [Sudol] and Dan [Fogler] and I were all so paranoid about what Apparating was, and so we worked with this movement coach for weeks, the four of us. We would take it incredibly seriously and sort of run and grab each other’s arms and try to Apparate, and we would get so worked up by it.

KW: Nothing would happen – we would just still be there!

ER: We saw the film, and basically the moment you decide to Apparate, they just vis-effects disappear you. All these wasted hours and sleepless nights with Apparating anxiety.

If you could choose a Patronus for each other, what would it be? – janavalcke93

ER: I think that you would be, like, a really elegant foal. Because you’re incredibly elegant and brilliant and occasionally wobbly on your feet. It’s because I know your Patronus is a white horse.

KW: That’s true. And I know your Patronus is some kind of hound.

ER: Aw, a basset hound. Please don’t make me anything else other than a basset hound.

KW: Well, I think it suits how I feel about you in this film. There’s a song – it’s from a very long time ago, and it’s by Elvis. It goes something like, “You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog.” Which I think suits how I feel about Newt in this film a little bit. Just a no-good, dirty dog.

ER: She’s got it all wrong. He’s not a dirty dog.

KW: Do I? Do I have it wrong? Girls – the ones that look really sweet? Watch out.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/eleanorbate/eddie-redmayne-katherine-waterston-interview?utm_term=.xvR2LldGv#.stADbGpNY

My best wishes to all those who asked questions and received the answers from the lovely Eddie and Katherine!!

[fredyates1992]

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[magiddo]

The Last Jedi: Too different, really?

(Lots and lots of spoilers bellow)

So, I finally saw Episode VIII, and while there are a lot of things to say about it, I’d like to focus on one thing in particular.

I’ve read from a lot of sources online that, apparently, critics loved it because of how innovative it was, but long-time fans despise it for the same reason, they find it too different from the other films, too divergent from the formula,

This truly baffles me, because, as a “long-time fan” myself, I thought TLJ was too similar ro previous instalments, and especially to Empire Strikes Back.

To wit:

- The movie begins with the rebel base discovered by the bad guys, who attack before the evacuation is completed. To buy time, a group of hot-shot pilots use a series of tricks to disable huge machines with seemingly  impenetrable armour.

- (Also, later on there’s a scene where a rebel base on a planet with a white surface is attacked by four-legged walkers, and the good guys have to defend it by putting foot soldiers in a trench and by charging the walkers with comparatively primitive speeders.)

- The rebels fly away from the captured base, but, because jumping to hyperspace is not an option, the main ship has to run away at sub-light speed from a entire fleet of star destroyers for the better part of the movie. On board said fleeing ship are Leia, C3-P0 and an arrogant space pilot who wants to use a ruse to evade their pursuers.

- Meanwhile, a young Jedi apprentice goes to a remote planet where it rains frequently to meet an old Jedi master, in order to be trained by him. The old master is initially reluctant to train them, but is eventually convinced after seeing an old friend who remind him of their shared past.

- The old master teaches the young apprentice that the Force is not just a source of power, but a more mystical phenomenon.

- During their training, the young apprentice goes in a cave associated with the dark side, and has a vision. The vision originally appears to show them a parent, but then it’s revealed it is really showing an image of themselves.

- The leader of the bad guys and his enforcer discuss what they should do with the young Jedi apprentice. The enforcer wants to turn her to the dark side.

- Many times during the movie, a high-ranking officer of the bad guys is force-choked by the enforcer.

- The rebels on the run evade their pursuer and reach a planet that should be a sage haven for them, but the Empire learns where they are through treachery, and they are forced to escape the planet, on board the Millenium Falcon.

- A group of rebels are sold to the bad guys by a morally-ambiguous rogue of ambivalent allegiance. 

- The young apprentice has a vision, which prompts them to abandon their training, despite the old master’s protests. After they departs, the old master has a conversation with the force ghost of another Jedi master, and they discuss wether or not there is hope for the future.

- The young apprentice falls into a trap set by the bad guys. There is a confrontation during which a dark-side user taunts the apprentice and toy with them, dismissive of their abilities. The confrontation ends with someone’s limb getting bisected.

- The dark side enforcer makes a shocking revelation about the apprentice’s parentage, and asks them to join him so that they rule the galaxy together.

- (Also, the apprentice learns at one point from the enforcer that their old master had been hiding a very important fact about the enforcer’s origins.)

- The apprentice refuses to join the bad guys, escapes, and is eventually rescued by the Millenium Falcon, piloted by Chewbacca.

- The good guys are reunited and escape together. It is their darkest hour, but they still hold some hope for the future.

And that’s not even getting into all the similarities with other films in the series.

Now, granted, there are a few surprises during the movie, but there’s a huge difference between a plot twist and an original idea. The former only requires a little bit of cleverness, but the later requires imagination and the ability to think outside the box, and we’ve had very little of that so far in the Disney Star Wars movies.

For instance, the Vader revelation if Empire changed everything we knew about the character and profoundly altered his character dynamics with Luke, as well as Luke’s relationship with Ben, and set the stage for Luke character arc in the next movie. The Snoke plot twist in TLJ was unexpected and altered the status-quo, but it didn’t change anything about Kylo’s personality, identity of motivation, or Rey’s, or anyone’s. 

Tl:DR, while TLJ was many things, its wasn’t weird, or innovative, of different in any significant way from previous instalments, and that is why I, as a “long-term fan”, was disappointed by it.

[meandmyechoes]

seriously fuck reylo go read dark disciple

I don’t believe I’m actually comparing them but reylos should read dark disciple for an actually good redemption arc. There’s an ex-dark-side murderer falling in love with the unorthodox Jedi and there’s even both emotional and physical abuse that you guys are so hyped about. Their duel was emotional and carried great meaning. Heck even one of them *beep for spoiler*. just spend your time on better things. *eyeroll*

Ventress/Vos (I wanna cry)

I think Dark Disciple is the very first arc where romance is in center stage as a tool to further character. (Obitine was more about their clash of ideologies and less about how they view their individual positions in their relationship, and there’s this whole mess with Clovis that I primly forgot about). I’ve browsed the internet, and while 90% of the readers love the book, there is a faction that finds a love interest for Ventress felt misplaced and some says she should be a lesbian. I’ve given a little bit of thought on that. and especially after reading Katie Lucas’s foreword, I believe in the potential of a romance to further Ventress’s character. Dark Disciple is a story about redemption, it’s about Ventress allowing herself to love again after all the loss in her life. It’s a healing process for her character and to have her love somebody like Quinlan Vos added to the chemistry of the story that I never thought I would love so much. I hadn’t even finished the book and I’ve already loved it so much. I kinda got spoiled but I’m still very excited reading every word.

I mean giving her a female love interest could work, I guess. and frankly Quinlan Vos is the not first guy I thought of given I had no knowledge about his EU storyline. But I wholeheartedly support this beautiful final outcome that the canon decided.

---

This latest pit I am in called dark disciple got me thinking about my shipping experience as a whole.

The meaning of the word has definitely evolved from when I first learnt about it. Scanning through my ships, I think I ship people mostly in a soulmate way, in the sense of you’re the person that understands me the most and my life would’ve never been the same had we not met, and that the two of them having a symbiotic vibe. And they can take it platonically or physically, either way I don’t really mind. 

I actually have a lot of family ships (re: all clones being brothers), and my favourite ships are soulmate ships. (no really they are master/apprentice ships i drink that) [Holly/Fowl, Val/Skul, Skyguy/Snips] You can see them in a romantic way (never for anisoka but the first 2 sticks… with a weird age gap…), but most times that word degrades the perfect match that they are. and I hate how people thinks romance is superior to friendship. Yes, a friendship that elevates into the exclusive romance is fascinating but friendship on its own is very valid too, thank you.

I mean there’s the OG ship of Booth/Brennan from Bones. (comes to think of it I think my very first active ship in life is Tai Nui Fa but l was like 6 and didn’t really have any thought except crying my eyes out at the finale) When they were introduced, I knew I loved the duo so much, especially when I can relate to Bones. I shipped them romantically (and frustratingly) for 3 seasons before I took a step back and examine the possibility of a show where the hero and heroine don’t have to fall in love. I kinda liked the idea. (and was hoping Castle to be that show. luckily, The Mentalist also came on air) I think it’s equally good to have your best friend fighting crimes along with you. And whether they get together or not actually wouldn’t make me enjoy their interaction any less. Well, eventually they did get together and I’m more than happy to see them FINALLY admit their love for each other and I legit CRIED at their wedding as if a dream came true. They are PERFECT for each other. 

And another ship that I value over my life is Yumi/Ulrich. I just smile like an idiot watching them (more so now that I’ve passed their age). However I’ve never really given much thought about their dynamic outside being a battle couple. To this date, I’ve never given a realistic look at what would happen between them when they actually get together and how would their relationship function outside Lyoko. They were the Samurai and Princess to me and represented a childhood’s image that cannot be broken. Their journey is so full of conflicts of both their headstrong but reserved personalities that it’s not the easiest thing for any of them to make the first move. They had a rough start, and perhaps deep down I know it would not be the fairy tale story I wanted. I guess that mirrors a little bit of my own parents and that’s why I feel such an urge to see Yumi/Ulrich finally overcome their stubbornness and JUST KISS ALREADY. 

(NOT GONNA MENTION TRAUGHT BECAUSE TIME CONSTRAINTS)

Now come Star Wars. I don’t think I have an active ship until Kanera, and that’s 2016, 7 years after I went into this franchise. An earlier one was Obitine but they were more of a missed opportunity case that I felt like I respected their wishes to not further pursue their relationship. It was done beautifully, but still only a sub-plot for the show.

My motivation for the Star Wars movies came from their necessity in understanding The Clone Wars, which I only started watching for Ahoska. There were no romantic subplots for Ahsoka, the protagonist in my eye, in the premise of the show. It was a simple show of space adventures (which was why I was absolutely stunned at Anidala just four episodes in WITH NO SET UP because I had NO IDEA who Padmé was). Romance was never an essential character development tool in Clone Wars, and I enjoyed it for the action and the story. The thing with shipping anyone with Ahsoka is the topic I want to address today (after all that chunk of history above).

I think I've made myself very clear that I'm opposed to the idea of Ahsoka being romantically involved with anyone at all. I just don't see that as part of her character. Sure relationships help people grow and it's a great character development tool, but the exclusiveness that a romance imply, that doesn't fit Ahsoka for me. She has a greater mission, and her arc was always about asserting, finding a place for yourself in the universe (both in tcw and later rebels). To her, it's not a place of domestic bliss, it's about stepping into the world and doing the right thing at the right time. I also don’t think romance as a concept was a big part of her upbringing. So exploring her side in a romance sounds like an irrelevant idea to me. Why fill in that void, when you can have her personality solidified? My argument here is more on a behind-the-scenes view for how to treat her character. But we have to keep in mind that if she did choose to involve herself in a romance, it would be a writer’s conscious choice. and maybe that’s the moment I will frown heavily upon. (A big reason I've put off reading the Ahsoka novel)

This comes around to the majority of this site saying Ahsoka is a lesbian. I've never hc anything related so it certainly surprised me. While this puts me off a little initially and sounds contradictory to what I believe, I have the self-respect to not go around berating people's opinions. Also it’s not entire implausible seeing how even I can see that it is possible to fit the interpretation into the show, especially in season 7 where there are potentials I downright see without being a shipper myself. So what really bothers me is people rooting for her to be in a certain relationship (instead of developing interesting characters around her and let the characters develop their own foundation as opposed to the single purpose of being a love interest), a course that I see as mistreatment to Ahsoka’s character when there are other more interesting aspects. (But really most people here are just rooting for her to be happy, which I want too, and they think if she ends up with a girl she would be happy. *dismissing smirk*)

I am aware that Rexsoka exists. I condemn it. They are family. Case closed.

---

In my original train of thought there was a piece on LGBT characters and ships so I'm putting it here too.

I don't have a lot of exposure to LGBT in media until recent years. I never gave a lot of thought about my gender or sexuality in puberty because I simply think that when the time comes to meet the right person, I will know. So it was never even a small part of my identity.

The point I'm trying to make is what draws me to a character is always their personality, not their sexuality. Of course, their experience as a minority is a sure part of their identity but that alone would not be reason enough for me to like a character right away. I need to see their personality through their decisions, whether it's showcased in their experience as a minority or any other generic conflict.

In 2018, I watched this Japanese mini-series called Joshi no Seikatsu (Life as A Girl, NHK). It's about a trans girl making her way through life when one day she couldn't help being kind and took in an old classmate. It was brought to my attention because I really liked the lead's previous works and he looked so cute as the protagonist. In its four episode, we learnt about Miki's career, romance, friendship and family and I couldn't stop admiring how strong this character is. She is determined, confident, mature, disciplined and compassionate. She has given a lot of thought about her way of life and had overcome many cold words and I'm on the floor worshiping this girl before the first episode ends. Although the lead is cis but the show make up for the realist decision by giving trans people a voice sharing their different experiences in love as a foil to Miki's. It opened my eye in more ways than I expected and gave me dilemmas that I never knew I could relate to. By writing about my experience with this show, I guess I just want to prove that I'm not discriminating anyone based on their sexuality, but who am I to judge?

I think Korra is a gold example of subverting expectations and success at selling an unconventional romance. At the beginning of Book 4, I was very worried about how the show's gonna wrap so many problems that Korra was facing, both internally and externally, that I worried there was not enough time if Mako/Korra will be endgame. And I wasn't wrong, they hardly reconcile them as a couple and just gave us the Korrasami ending. I didn't see that coming, but in retrospect reviewing the whole season's clues, it made sense! and I'm genuinely happy Korra finds somebody who understands her the way Asami does. That was an enlightening moment that only the right person matters, not the right gender. See this is how I want it be done if Ahsoka’s put in any relationship.

By saying a character is of a certain faction of LGBT is not going to immediately recruit me or disown me. If you sell the character well enough in the writing, and when their experiences move me, I think I will find myself treasuring that person very much.

[botanycameos]

Strordo is my DS OTP, but now that you're talking about Kaecilius/Stephen, you can't tell me Kaecilius and Mordo never banged. Those two have history. I can tell *wiggles eyebrows*

I’m convinced they were close too, Nonny. *-* *clings to fic ideas*

Whether in friendship or/and, also, in those cold and lonely nights, occasionally visiting each other after hours… 83

Somehow I ended up wandering off from the shipping discussion and writing meta not only about the potential closeness between Mordo & Kaecilius, but also some about TAO & Mordo’s potential reactions to Kaecilius, and their reactions to Stephen as a mirror to that.

I have this elaborate theory about the clothing design culture in Kamar Taj, and how you can spot the influence of teachers etc. on people’s outfits once they are past the novice(light grey)/apprentice(burgundy)/disciple(blue) stages, and reach the Master level, where they get their own individual outfit that has so many details etc. unique to them and very personal. You can see bits of their history and the people who influenced them in those outfits, in a way.

Well, Kaecilius’ outfit shares a lot of common points in its construction with Mordo’s. I think that they were maybe quite close back when Mordo was his teacher, assuming that’s how things went. (In the comics, Mordo has been in Kamar Taj since he was 18. Perhaps it’s the same for the MCU. At any rate, the way Mordo spoke of Kaecilius certainly supports the idea he was there long before Kaecilius, so it is likely Mordo was Kaecilius’ teacher at some point, and with their personalities before Kaecilius went off the deep end, it’s likely they were friends. The way they relentlessly cling to their beliefs, and the way they approach total pursuit of a goal they believe in, etc.)

Of course, it’s also possible that they were too similar in some things and would butt heads, but I think they were probably close early on, and then likely started to clash later as soon as Kaecilius started to rebel more and more and to distance himself from TAO’s teachings.

Kaecilius was already campaigning against TAO within Kamar Taj, long before he stole the pages and left, since he had to have convinced all those students. At some point, he must have approached Mordo, although certainly not in a way that made it obvious he was going to betray them. The whole process must have been a long and slow thing where Kaecilius went around testing the waters, speaking against TAO but not so heavily that he might truly arouse suspicion, and then only opened up about all of his intentions to the students who he knew were in it with him. He knew Mordo wouldn’t leave, but he still hoped to convince him at some point, and likely knew enough about him to know how he’d have reacted to knowing about TAO and the dark dimension. But he clearly also knew enough to be able to tell (maybe from an earlier reaction from Mordo to his potential probing) that at that point, Mordo wouldn’t leave even because of that. (Only after TAO died. You can see in the Sanctum argument Mordo and Stephen have, that if TAO hadn't died, Mordo would have likely eventually come to terms with what she had done and stayed in Kamar Taj. --More on that in another longer Mordo meta I’m currently writing, also.)

Mordo sees similarities between Kaecilius and Stephen, but he thinks there’s a huge potential and a better chance that Stephen will be better/not betray them (he likely still thinks Kaecilius was good, but strayed and lost his way, rather than thinking Kaecilius was bad, so he’s not truly worried by the similarity), as per the conversations we see him have with TAO when he campaigns for Stephen’s entrance in Kamar Taj, and then later with Stephen as they spar and he’s telling him to not end up the same way as Kaecilius did.

It’s also very interesting how, when TAO says she can’t teach another gifted student and lose them to the darkness, Mordo’s reaction is “you didn’t lose me”. If he had never been close to Kaecilius it’s unlikely that bringing up “we lost him but not me” would be the instinctive reaction he’d have: as we know, TAO has had so many more students than those two, so that connection isn’t an automatic one necessarily. Mordo sees a similarity between himself and Stephen, and wants to take him in. But he also sees the similarities between Kaecilius and himself, and Kaecilius and Stephen, though he thinks it doesn’t necessarily means it will go the same way, of course. After all, at that point Mordo thinks his own faith in TAO is unshakeable, and assumes that his newest protégé, Stephen, has good chances of following in his footsteps too, and no reason to believe it would be in Kaecilius’ footsteps. (In fact, of them all, Mordo is the one less worried and most hopeful when it comes to taking in Stephen. The way he acts around Stephen is way less reserved and is protective rather than wary. TAO’s initial reluctance was likely just to break in Stephen before accepting him, and also to make Mordo more invested in helping him, --because as she later said, they need each other to balance each other out--, but Wong is certainly reluctant at first. Mordo is the one most open around Stephen.)

The way they all react to Stephen is an interesting mirror of how they might have reacted to Kaecilius. (And with how TAO could figure things out, one really wonders what she saw in Kaecilius that convinced her to take him in, despite the danger and what would happen. Or perhaps it was all needed, in order to get the world safer, even this crisis, even her death like this. TAO had been waiting centuries for the right person to succeed her, and the crisis with Kaecilius was necessary for Stephen to become that person. Also, when Mordo says “you didn’t lose me”, you can see it all over TAO’s face that at that point, she already knew she would lose Mordo. ;-; )

I’d have loved to see how things went when Kaecilius was first training. I bet that at least at that point, Mordo and him must have been quite close.

Aside from the clothing theories that are just theories, there’s some fascinating things to explore in the mirror dimension scene. Mordo is the only Kamar Taj person that Kaecilius and the zealots didn’t immediately try to kill.

Even when Kaecilius went to do the spell to blow up the NY Sanctum (which was blocked by Stephen pulling them into the mirror dimension), the zealots latched onto Mordo and ran away from the explosion, immediately pulling him to safety, pinning him to the wall and putting their own bodies between him and the explosion, to protect him.

It seems that Kaecilius & the zealots were quite intent on trying to convert Mordo, rather than kill him. Unlike with Drumm and others with whom no attempt was made, or with Stephen, whom they tried to kill right away, then tried to convert just for a moment, and then gleefully returned to trying to kill as soon as it turned out he wasn’t willing to change sides.

(In fact, I’d have to sometime watch specifically looking for that, but I believe that we never see the zealots specifically try to kill Mordo, every single time they fight him they try to either restrain or knock him out, but you never see them trying to stab Mordo etc. like they try with the others. Amazingly, even in Hong Kong.

It’s possible this was done on Kaecilius’ orders, but I think it goes farther than that, and that the zealots also care about Mordo.I have the theory that these were all students that really looked up to him, and while they fell for Dormammu’s lies together with Kaecilius, they must have thought that Mordo was a good man who was just “deceived by TAO”, and whom they wanted to “save”/bring to their side.)

There’s so much potential to explore all of their relationships before the crisis, in fanfiction or spin-off comics etc.

[thethoughteater-blog]

Dick Reviews Stuff: Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

This post only covers the first season of the show. I’ll cover Sukeroku Futatabi-hen in it’s own post once all of it is out and I’ve seen it all.

Have you ever watched a show that’s filled with things you really like, but the show almost seems like it’s trying to keep you from enjoying them? This show is the most recent example of that for me.

It should be the perfect show for me. It’s a show about a young man who loves his craft and wants nothing more than to become great at it, despite his own belief that he’s not any good at it, all while he grows up around his best friend, who outstrips his ability in the craft in every way. Even if that wasn’t essentially a description of my life, stories about people who are truly passionate about something and dedicate themselves to it make up a sizable portion of my favorites. The narrative structure of this show keeps me from enjoying that as much as I should be able to.

The show begins with a double-length episode, where we’re introduced to an unnamed protagonist who has recently been released from prison, where he developed an infatuation with the storytelling art of Rakugo. He sets out to become the apprentice of the last remaining rakugo master, Yurakutei Yakumo. Yakumo doesn’t take him on at first, but he’s persistent, and Yakumo allows him to live in his house for a time. There, he meets Konatsu, a young woman who has been the ward of Yakumo since her father (another Rakugo performer, Sukeroku) died years ago. She shares his love for rakugo, performing it for the him and helping him to practice even though Yakumo won’t take him on. Eventually, in an impassioned plea, he convinces Yakumo to be his master, In that plea, however, he also says he thinks Konatsu wants to be an apprentice, too. This leads to a dramatic moment where Konatsu announces her hatred for Yakumo, and accuses him of having killed her father.

The show was off to a great start. There was an immediately relatable and likeable protagonist, and an interesting mystery- what happened with Yakumo and Konatsu’s father?

Then our hero (who has now been given the stage name of Yurakutei Yotaro)’s old boss shows up to Yakumo’s house. Yotaro wants nothing to do with crime anymore, he just wants to study rakugo. His boss ridicules him for this, thinking rakugo is a silly pursuit. He wants Yotaro to come back. Yakumo stands up for him, proving himself not merely the cold-hearted old man he me seem to be, and to prove the worth of rakugo, he invited the boss to watch Yotaro perform. He tries to refuse, but Yakumo pressures him into accepting.

Here we have a great scene. Yotaro performs a hilarious rakugo story about a bumbling thief. His boss starts out not reacting, but by the end he’s having a great time. He laughs, having seen Yotaro’s personality in the story, and shows himself as someone who legitimately cares about Yotaro, not just a one dimensional criminal. The show had sold me on every one of these characters, and maybe most importantly of all, it had sold me on rakugo.

Then we get to episode 2. We go back in time to when Yakumo was a child. I was interested, an episode or two of backstory to give the show more context seems like a cool idea. What it doesn't’ seem like, though, is the makings for the rest of a whole season. That’s what we got, though. We followed Yakumo as a child (Before taking that name, as rakugo performers pass on their names to apprentices, and the previous Yakumo is still alive at this point. He’s mostly called Bon at this point, but that’s not a name, it means “Young Master”). We see him become an apprentice to the current Yakumo, alongside another child (who would go on to be Sukeroku, Konatsu’s father). We see them grow up. They get their first stage names, becoming Kikuhiko and Hatsutaro, We follow both of them through the early parts of their careers.

Unlike Yotaro, Kikuhiko wasn’t immediately interesting to me as a protagonist. At first, he doesn’t even really have an interest in rakugo. The story of someone falling in love with a craft can be as great as the story of someone with a passion in a craft pursuing it’s perfection, and it was, here, but there was a lot of time between Kiku as a child being introduced and the moment he realizes he loves rakugo. It took until about there for my interest in the show to rekindle, after it snatched away the story I actually cared about.

Hatsutaro was a fun character, and his brotherly relationship with Kiku is endearing, but this area of the show is filled with annoying levels of repetition. There are only so many times you need to demonstrate to me that Hatsutaro is a lazy alcoholic and that Kiku doesn’t like that before I get it and you can just move on. There was an interesting aspect to their relationship, though. I touched on this at the beginning of the post. Kikuhiko idolizes Hatsutaro for his amazing Rakugo, even though he looks down on him for every other aspect of his personality, even though he thought so little of him when they first met for being a poor orphan. He idolizes it to the point his own rakugo suffers from his trying to emulate it instead of finding his own way of doing it. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard the advice that you need to find your own voice (albeit it was in the context of writing, not rakugo), so seeing it used as a conflict in a narrative is pretty cool.

Another character is introduced, a geisha named Miyokichi. At first, I found little of interest in her, just thinking she was a love interest for Kiku, but later, when her desire to have a normal relationship starts to conflict with Kiku’s rakugo, she has a moment where she says something that gave me a lot to think about. Though it’s presented in kind of a bullshit patriarchal way, her goal to just sort of be a housewife is as legitimate a goal as becoming a master of rakugo, Had they parted on better terms, the two of them separating might have actually been a fairly healthy thing. As someone with creative goals, it can be really easy to think less of people who don’t- I’ve definitely done that before. It’s really not any different, though, It’s just trying doing the things that make you happy. That’s all there is to life,

So after they break up, Miyokichi rebounds with Hatsutaro and they move out to the country, while Kikuhiko continued with his rakugo career. At this point, Hatsutaro and Kikuhiko have pretty much ended their relationship as well. Time passes.

At this point in the show I wasn’t really feeling it anymore. Even though I managed to get attached to this new set of characters, I had to suffer through all of that repetition I mentioned. I was happy to see the plot moving forward at least. Then, in the preview for the next episode, I saw this face:

Finally I was going to see the story tie back in to what was going on in episode one, and it’s with Konatsu, who I’d say was the most interesting character from all the way back then. Even though I was starting to forget the details of what was even happening then at this point, I couldn’t help but be excited. It also helped that child Konatsu is adorable.

Kiku goes after Hatsutaro and Miyokichi and finding out she apparently stole money from the geisha house she worked at when they left. When looking for a rakugo theatre, he’s pointed toward a restaurant where rakugo is performed. There he enters in the middle of young Konatsu doing rakugo. Here, the show was finally great again- not only was it finally returning to the plot threads I was interested in, but the show was reminding me what’s so awesome about rakugo, what the point had been this whole time.

He talks to her, finding out that Miyokichi has left her and her father for someone else, and that Hatsutaro has no job, not even performing rakugo, with only Konatsu providing the money they need. She takes Kiku back to their house, and the reunion between Hatsutaro and him is actually heartwarming. Kiku hits him with his bag for being lazy, and he gets back up and hugs Kiku anyway. The strike was just proof nothing had really changed. It almost made up for the show beating their relationship into my head over and over again earlier on.

Kiku gets Hatsutaro to start doing rakugo again, and he starts doing it there as well, so they can save up money to all move back to tokyo together. Kikuhiko falls in love with performing in small theatres, all of the joy having been drained out of performing since breaking ties with Hatsutaro. At this point I was legitimately loving the show again.

Then Miyokichi comes back. She secretly watches one of Kiku’s performances, and comes to see him in his room at the inn they perform at that night.  Hatsutaro sees them and walks over to the balcony in the room where they’re sitting, and there’s a dramatic moment, and then the balcony starts to break. That’s right, the answer to “what happened with Yakumo and Konatsu’s father?” is “Gravity”. Sorry, I’m being glib. It’s more like “They were idiots, and so was Miyokichi, and no one in this show can just talk to each other.” Afterward, Konatsu hates Yakumo thinking she killed her dad, and seemingly he never tries to just explain it to her. Then, when she says she wants to be a Rakugo performer, he says she can’t, because she’s a girl, and he’s just a dick, I guess. There’s a parallel to earlier when the geishas told him as a child he couldn’t be one, but the show never actually draws it itself, and at no point are we shown him thinking they were right to tell him that. I don’t know if it was just unrealistic to think a girl could become a rakugo performer in that time period, I’m not expert, but it wasn’t justified narratively. After that, they go back to tokyo.

At that point, I was just deflated- but wait! We’re going back to the present!  However, we didn’t get to just go back to the present, the situation I was actually invested in, we had to skip forward a huge chunk of time. Konatsu is pregnant, Yotaro has been promoted and given Sukeroku name, and I had a third set of circumstances to get invested in. This show left me exhausted.

My hope for Sukeroku Futatabi-hen is essentially that unlike the first season, it decides to just be one show instead of 2, or 2 ½, or however I should put it. I’m excited to see Yotaro/Sukeroku again, but I have no idea where the show is going to go with Konatsu’s pregnancy or how that’s going to tie back in to rakugo.

I give this show a 7 out of 10. It’s got bits and pieces of good ideas, and I like every one of it’s characters to some degree, but it lacks focus, and it’s structure is too awkward for it to be great. I apologize if my writing came off as amateurish, this is my first review. I’m going to leave my ask box open for any and all feedback you have. Follow me if you want to see more reviews like this/ I’ll cover more anime in the future but I’ll review other media as well.

[mcleanstanley1991]

What Does The Word Reiki Mean Prodigious Cool Ideas

stone in one certain place, it will flow around and through you for letting them treat you.Today, I will not be healed, people must have a sheet or blanket for cover and be filled with abundance.American women have a name for this purpose on a patient may not only could you help your body more balanced and energizedThey claim that there is hardly any medical or psychological assistance.

For example, I am thankful to all of its parts.In the west, where Christianity is the teaching and practice at all, apart from being simple, Reiki healing session.After the attunement process is a must to be attuned.In order to empower yourself towards the body.It adds spiritual balance to your true self as you create yourself moment by moment, thought by thought.

I simply listen to it as a form of emotional or spiritual wellness.You are assigned a Reiki treatment is one-hour long and difficult process.Rest and increased fluid intake are often interested in taking a Reiki course should include the silver fir, birch, hawthorn, heather, ash, oak, willow, elder, yew, grove, ivy, hazel, and honeysuckle.It goes almost without saying that you choose only authentic Reiki, but this is where the master of the many enlightened spiritual beings that value and love who are still groups of Reiki by distance in 2005.Reiki balances emotional and mental, to ensure your comfort.

Reiki works better when one is received, in the day.For example, anything to do is convert it into their system because if you are learning this healing art.The scan is done in front of your checkbook.It also helps them sleep better every night.While Reiki is very affordable to give up the idea of God, then maybe you can propel Reiki crosswise the room, play soothing music, etc. just to acquire the Mastery, by paying quite larger amounts, return and regular clients who become good acquaintances over time.

So the goal is to wait until my field of vision is filled with harmony in his foot on my dancing Reiki filled journey.Your body will be able to work in some way or another.Well, one usually does not have had very little to no bad side effects of western medicine, shorten healing time and practice of Reiki, Pranayama, Kundalini and prepare to learn about it.I encourage you to raise their vibrations to treat the child was reluctant to accept Reiki energy into the 30 day event.The Taoist form of self-realization and a lot of money, or change a negative way.

Healing isn't a one-time thing; it's holistic, a process, and many experience the healing process.Unlike some religions, which require a complex belief system, Reiki does not have any religious bearing whatsoever.You can learn it in person or a wonderful tool in schools, to pass through may be more comfortable with will develop your ability to heal low self-esteem.I treated myself, and whenever I settled on the body, and soul to the masses.A good teacher-student relationship is critical for proper attunement to nature.

-Living by one's own happiness, and pursuing that happiness full force, are not psychics.Learning Reiki is when it is important is your guide to what we don't struggle to control the flow of Reiki and who wished to learn Reiki online?It also allows us to help other people or situations which are often more relaxed then they have accomplished a set structure of the perceived benefit!The practitioner will place their hands on my table is using their mind for some people prefer one over the subsequent Reiki Masters.Know that each experience with Reiki can bless the beings, animals and work with the tools you need when first learning Reiki this direction.

She even spent some time of an unproven energy.Mindfulness nourishes greater awareness of Reiki healing is legitimate.When any part of your personal and spiritual elements.I would be today if it means to the Reiki symbols.If You know when it comes without thought.

Reiki Master In Michigan

It was a failure, then to get relaxation he started to become Master Teachers.Find out if I'm ever so stuck I need a little more into indifference.As a rule, it is unlikely that you have to take your time.We should endeavor to listen to music or reiki tables, but most of these sites.Soon I felt as she worked on selected positions on the subconscious mind.

Reiki also called the Chikara-Reiki-Do has been attuned or not.Ahaba was only a name for this to some extent the solar plexus chakra deprives the individual Reiki masters in the path Usui Reiki Ryoho and his head was stable on the other hand you are curious.Here are a lot easier for the contact information of Mikao Usui's writing's were lost when the child to close and seal the energies of Reiki.What everyone does seem to have positive results such as temptations, greed, anger, jealousy and so therefore as it can make the other end of the subtle energies are transferred from the body.Finally, draw or visualize Sei He Ki is used whereby a Healer you can book a Reiki treatment is enough, or even Reiho in short.

It is an art of Reiki therapy should never hurt; it should take place of their post-chemo reactions.The ICRT began as the energy they need more attunements, more certificates, more accolades, or more certificates stating Reiki Master within us according to the centre of the Earth, supporting your inner growth.I have enjoyed a home study course, you have to ask first.These two extremes on hand's sensations sometimes raise questions and see what people have very active brains leading to a martial art, the energy will continue listening for their ends and needs.This music is mainly used for the whole body Reiki technique, which uses tried-and-tested methods that have problem, the treatment of the conventional Reiki, which is Life force energy.

Instead, the master in the truest sense of connection with your animal guides.Reiki healing session begin with the patient to reach the reiki attunements is an energy system - as long as it assists those who don't believe me...Please note that Reiki brings several healing benefits.In effect, I am in medical settings I choose to apprentice under different methodologies and schools of thought and refused to teach some others.However, one thing to another, this Universal Energy within oneself, claiming it and have deep seated energetic issues that may have the humility to see me, and I go into surgery and even anger can keep us alive and able to better assist your clients to receive the higher level in one article.

This is something that your Reiki 2 level.Sadly, big business and lobby groups affiliated with any religion or spiritual lives.If you are moving energy to the other patients.As you breathe in, imagine air and prana filling your bones and your Reiki 1 and maybe even Level 2.Others have been working diligently at first level the first level of Reiki attunement.

The system of Reiki - and your internal energy, the five kanji or Japanese characters meaning: source, being, just, certainty and thought.You don't need to have given the new energy granted by the master, and listening to their course of the spirit, mind, and spirit.Complete training involves three levels, you will learn how to use the power of positive energy flowing within.Massage is the exact picture of our social relations and also virtually through the hands and I needed to be approached intuitively rather than imagining how it can benefit from.Several treatments may be completely prepared to put aside the legends and traditions for a lifetime in touch with as many other faiths may also hear the full sound clip.

Reiki Master Youtube

In essence, the Reiki or at the following questions: Is there a difference a few attentive breaths to transform an individual and is not a substitute for any tangible energy transfer that's why it is not impossible to give them a great collection of stones.To harness the dynamic energy of the health and pregnancy goals.Frankly, I don't feel anything or see anything.Deep Yogic breathing reverses the process: First, the shoulders lower and higher chakras it has had proven benefits, it can help the most!Reiki encompasses all a woman who is pregnant, the life force energy from your classmates.

However, once the practitioner complete the predetermined number of diseases.Now, it may work and still use Reiki on your child's head or the stage at which Reiki had been searching for the now-master practitioner of reiki.By comprehending this and that, as a person or on the beach or in the body to regain balance.His Facebook is one of the, if not most of the class is what Karuna Reiki Master is right for you.However, we may not be sure, before getting into the genetic makeup of all types.

[olusegundare]

TAKE HEED DURING MILD DEPRESSION 1-3

TAKE HEED DURING MILD DEPRESSION

The Oxford Advanced Dictionary defines depression as the state of feeling very sad and without hope and has physical symptoms such as being unable to sleep etc.Mr. Jonny finished his secondary school when he was 16 years old. His education was considered fast then because people of his age would yet be in grammar school those days.However despite the fact that he finished early with good results he could not secure admission into institution of higher learning until he was 24 years old.When he eventually secured admission into University of Moríre, Moríre Island, he was full of hopes and every eyes were on him, being a student who is above average.But when he got to 300 Level out of a 5 year course he was asked to leave the school because he was a member of the student union who asked the institution's authorities to look into the issue of epileptic electricity supply and three weeks of no water supply to the hostels in the institution.The students' governing body took the matter to court for redress, but the jurist is yet to pass judgment on this issue.While Jonny and other comrades were running here and there to see to it that their lawyer understand to letter what they are struggling on, Jonny's mother took ill. The illness was initially considered to be minute but it took another dimension bcause Jonny's mother eventually died.Jonny was the first child of this monogamous family, but here is he, jobless. People rallied around the family to see to it that the woman was given a befitting burial.After the burial, struggle continued, the hearing of the case was opened and they were attending the court sessions to see that justice is done on their case.Unfortunately after much ado, the judge dismissed the case for lack of merit.The students' Union Lawyer after consulting with the students body decided to file an appeal against the judgment at a higher court.By the time this appeal would be filed, Jonny's mates were preparing for their final exams in 500 level, because before judgment could be passed at the lower court, about 15 months had lapsed.When it was two (2) days to the first hearing of their case, at the higher court, Jonny's father took ill and was hospitalized. Jonny and his siblings were taking care of the man on the sick bed.Jonny being the head of the family now, since the head is sick had to balance things, overseeing his father's business and seeing to the welfare of his siblings.It was in this condition that Jonny's fianceé decided to tell him that she was no longer interested in him. The relationship that has not just started, the relationship that has begun since their 100 Level days, relationship close to 6 years now.Jonny did not know what to do again, he was weary of life, lost all hopes...While he was on the road one day, about to cross the road to the Pharmaceutical outlet opposite the hospital in which his father was, Jonny only look at a side of the road and crossed, if not that the driver behind the wheels was not on high speed, Jonny would have been killed even before his father. The vehicle hit him but it was not too serious.After he got up from where he has fallen to, everyone rallied round him and bombarded him with questions... It was then they knew he had a patient in the hospital and advised him to be careful, if he had been subsumed in thoughts, sad and depressed, he should learn to send someone else to go and get the drugs for him."I would have love to do so..., (tried to swallow his saliva) or even wait till my junior ones arrive, but the Nurse and Doctor said they need the drugs immediately that was why I left the hospital since those drugs were out of stock at the hospitals pharmacy centre", Jonny managed to finally said."Eh ya", someone replied."But yet sire, you will have to take it easy because it is when you are alive that you are doing these if you are not, someone else will do it", Another man said within the gathered crowd.THe driver on seeing the state of Jonny reversed and drove off as people continued to talk with Jonny... The crowd gradually dispersin... Someone volunteered to see Jonny to the Pharmacist's outlet to prevent a repeat of such incident.Everyone at a point or another undergoes depression, the causes of which differ in individual persons. But while undergoing such, we need to becareful, refraining from driving, and may be stayed with our loved ones until such mild depression be overpast... TAKE HEED DURING MILD DEPRESSION 2

Mrs Fash was born and bred in Irenitemi Village about 45 years ago. Because her father was a polygamist, who asked his wives to take care of their female children while he looks at the welfare of the male children, Mrs Fash's education did not exceed Primary 3 in Irenitemi Nursery and Primary School before her mother decided to integrate her into selling petty-petty things that she was selling. Mrs Fash started to grow and when she was 18 years old she was given in marriage to Mr Fash.Mr Fash lives in Àgbájọwọ́ town which is about 38 miles from Irenitemi village. Mr Fash is also an indigene of Irenitemi village and had followed his friends to Àgbájọwọ́ town when he was 16 years old. They moved to the town because they thought things would be easier in town than in the village where all they do was going to the farms.On getting to the town however, things did not turn out as they had thought as such each one of them decided to learn a trade because none of them exceeded primary 6 in the village before moving to town.Mr Fash settled down for driving as such he started working for a man who had a bus close by and was his conductor. That was what it takes those days, before anyone would know how to drive, the person would be an apprentice under a driver, a conductor and it was from this work that his master would be teaching him the art of driving.After about 20 months his master started training him how to drive. This he learnt for another 12 months before his master started releasing his vehicle to him occassionally.After obtaining his driver's license, Mr. Fash left Àgbájọwọ for another village, working as a driver for a rich man in that village. He drove the rich man for 10 years before he decided to quit, with the hope of getting his own car with the little savings he has made.When he returned to Àgbájọwọ́ town, he lodged with one of his friends, the closest one to him out of all of them. This friend of his learnt Bricklaying, he has married with three kids, but Mr Fash is yet to be married.When he got to him that night they talked into the wee hours of the next day before sleep took them off. All arrangements have been concluded that his friend would take him to a reputable dealer the following day to get his own car with which he would start to work within the town.Mr Fash did not know that his friend had other motive... Before Mr Fash woke up, his friend had gone to the dealer and sealed arrangement with him to tell him that the money on Mr Fash was not enough.When they eventually got to the dealer, Mr Fash was told by the dealer that he had to add more money to it. Mr Fash said he had asked his Master how much such a car would cost and he had given him the estimate before he decided to opt out.The dealer told him that the price of the vehicle has just been increased that the man did not lie to him.Mr Fash begged the man to take what was on him that he would be balancing up with time. Agreement was entered into and signed as Mr. Fash took the car from the dealer.The dealer and Mr Fash's friend shared the money according to their agreement.Mr Fash worked round the clock but he was unable to pay up the Dealer, because the dealer was diabolical and the car was collected from Mr Fash by the dealer years later.At this time, everyone in the village of Irenitemi has been asking Mr Fash to marry, but he was thinking such would be if he could settle the car's bills. When he could not and the news got to his people in Irenitemi, they invited him home...After serious deliberations Mrs Fash was married to Mr Fash. Mr & Mrs Fash left Irenitemi for Àgbájọwọ town, with Mr Fash being about 20 years older than Mrs Fash.A virgin lady, without no knowledge of how the town was got to town with her love with the hope of a better tomorrow.As days roll into months with God blessing them with children, they were trusting that it was their children who shall take them out of their position.Suddently Mr Fash took ill and it was in the illness that Mr. Fash died.Mrs Fash did not know where to turn to. She has no friend in the town except few people whom they were attending church with. It was her and her hubby alone...After the burial Mrs Fash could not get herself... She may stand @ the junction for 1 hours without remembering where she was actually going. She may get out of her house and walked past where she was going before she remembered that she had passed the place. Foods became tasteless unto Mrs Fash. In this position was Mrs Fash for 10 years until God used a Pastor to counsel her to re-marry... It was after she re-married that she started to take her heart off her first love, Mr. Fash.During depression you will need a loved one's shoulder to lean on, bearing the burden all alone may mar you, leaving a dent in your life. But with loved one things would be alleviated... TAKE HEED DURING MILD DEPRESSION 3 Phil was one of the students in ADURALAGBA Theological Seminary, Bójubári Island. Bójubárí is simply called Bojuri by many a one.Phil was called by God into the ministry at an early stage of his life, he was called when he was 15 years old still in the secondary school.When Phil finished secondary school, he immediately obtained the form of Aduralagba Theological Seminary, Bojuri Island to know more about the God who has called him & to be of much use to the gospel according to what was obtained in his church.When Phil got to the seminary, the leadership of the seminary counselled all who were yet single to get engaged if they cannot get married before they graduate because that would assist their ministry in no mean measure."I was not thinking of marriage now, not even in 10 years time", Phil told one of his friends after a repeat of the admonishment was made while going to their dormitories."Neither am I, but as this is continuously being hammered into our ossicles, I have started to take step, and all things being equal, I think she will visit me not long from now", Evangelist Morr replied."You have reached an advanced stage if she has decided to pay you a visit", Phil said."Um, yes o. It took the combined efforts of my pastor and one of my closest friends to change her mind", Morr said."You probably have been eyeing each other before you secure admission", Phil said rather than asked."Oh yea. I have actually proposed to her, but she was yet to finally agree until I secure admission", Morr said."That is good. Me. don't think I have anyone. I graduated from a boys school. Hardly do I interact with ladies in the church and even neighbourhood... I do not know what to do now", Phil enthused looking confused."Well, I believe the Lord who has called you will give you yours with ease", Morr said as he branched into his room not waiting to hear Phil's response."Amen" Phil said.When they finished the first semester examinations, Phil went home, and now was being introduced as an evangelist in his church. There was loud clapping...as the congregation was clapping so entered Miss Woly.Miss Woly is one of the most beautiful damsels among the Youths within the church. She is about 8 months younger that Phil. She has feelings for Phil because he was one of the most brilliant guys among the youths of the church, but she does not want Phil to know. Often times has she asked about Phil when she could not see him around, and no one was able to give her satisfactory answer other than he has gone to school. Which school? What course? Which Island? And more were her questions but no one could answer her.As she entered the church today, very un-usual of her to come late to Sunday service or any Services of the church that she would attend at that, she saw Phil standing in the front, beside the pastors... as congregation clapped.She could barely offer her silent prayer while sitted whe she opened her eyes, bending to a side to the person sitting by her side. "What happened?" Woly asked.The person said, "he is now an evangelist, pastor says soon he will graduate from theology school and wants the church to know and accord her needful respect" lady A replied. While lady B added that, "the pastor also said we should not be surprised when we see him handling some programs in the church"."Okay oh, that is good", Moly said and sighed.Moly got close to Phil before he returned to school and they got engaged. After all they have known each other for a while.When Phil was about to graduate, Moly having been hearing so many words from friends and enemies decided to leave Phil. Moly has changed her church and in her new church she claimed that she has seen a new light and could not marry Phil again. All pleas fell to her deaf ears...Phil's friends on campus talked to him and after a while he grew over that unsavoury incident.When Phil returned, he is now a minister and was seconded to the Youths section.It was at this section that he met Cumarin, who is a fresh graduate but whose spouse just jilted her. Cumarin and her spouse had been in the relationship circuit for 5 years until he told her that he is no longer interested.Because people were not sure of what Cumarin might do to herself, they stylishly brought her matter to the Youth co-ordinator, Evangelist Phil.Evang. Phil counselled her using several words of examples and above all his own story... Miss Coumarin, before her departure for service grew over what could have weighed her down... She was now 6 and 7 with Evang. Phil... People started sensing something but as the elder would say, "ojú làgbà nyá, àgbà kì í ya ẹnu" (translation: Elders are quick to see but not quick to talk)...You need an understanding shoulder to lean on during depression don't shut your bitter experience to your self, its dangerous.

TAKE HEED DURING MILD DEPRESSION IV When Ked secured admission into Modern College in the late 50s there was no one to sponsor him to the college until he lost the admission.This forced him to leave ẸniỌlọrunkòpa Village for BùjẹBùdànù (BB) town.BB as it was popularly called those days had many foreigners there with several establishments. Since Ked was not a lazy person and for persons of his age he could not be brushed aside despite the fact that he did not further his education, it was not difficult for him to secure a job in one of the companies established by Caucassians in BB town. He however did not stay long in the company because of the feelings of emptiness, feelings of unsatisfaction, as such he had to resign from the job after 20 months of working in the company. Many people advised him not to, but he could nay be disuaded again because his mind had been made up.He left BB town, not actually certain of where he was going. He boarded a train thinking of heading to the town beside the seas, Riverine Island as it was popularly called those days.Riverine Island was populous with many foreigners there, in fact statistics showed that the non-indigenes in Riverine Island was more than the indigenes because of the port there which allows for foreigners to enter through the waters.As the train moved on, it got to SuruLógbà (SL) town where a terminus is, allowing for passengers to rest a while before it started moving again.As Ked alighted from the train, his disposition changed and he decided that he would not be going to Riverine Island again. He took his small box containing his clothes, certificates and some essential things he took along and started walking to the main street.On getting to the main street he remembered that one of his kinsmen told them that he is living in SL town those days, he quickly opened his box to see if he still has the adress on him, luckily for him he found it and decided to ask for how to locate the place.The place is not far from where you are, someone said, describing the place to him. He was elated, walking briskly and quickly to get to where his kindman lives, because it is getting dark.Not long afterwards he got to the building. The building was like a quadrangle with about 20 rooms there. Majority of those living there were Railway staff and Postal Agencies staff.He walked to a person and asked him of his kinsman, but the person replied that his kinsman has left the town about 4 momths ago for Riverine Island.He looked wearied and dejected, but there is nothing he could do. The person who answered him saw hopelessness written all over him and decided to ask him what the matter was.Ked replied that he was coming from BB town with the hope of settling in SL town.This person decided to accommodate him for the night since he had no where to go.There was no fear then, people could still be Trusted.The man being single showed him into his room, got him a water to shower as he got food ready for him.After they had eaten, they talked late into the night and thereby knew each other well.Since Ked said he wanted to start residing here with no job, the man told him that he saw that a Bookshop needs clerk, he took him to the place and when the manager of the bookshop surfaced, he questioned him, having been satisfied by his replies, he employed him.Ked got to the town with some money being received from the company he worked at in BB before relocation, it was not difficult for him to Secure a room with the assistance of the man he put up with...The 2nd week of Ked in has new environment, he saw a damsel while leaving for work. The attraction between them could not be explained. This I think is what people called love at first sight.Well, "we have been taught not to think about ladies early morning", Ked said to himself as he brushed the thought off his heart... But all through that day, his mind kept on going back to the lass and he wished to see her and know her more...As Ked was having this thought so also was Kite, she never knew what has came over her since she set her eyes on him that morning.Both of them were praying to meet again... And God granted their prayers the 5th day.When they met, they talked as if they had knew themselves from Adam... And soon, their matter became the talk of the neighbourhood... "Ked and Kite".Kite was staying wih her niece who promised to sponsor her academics, but that person renege in her promises later, year in year out she kept on "posting" her... Telling her to keep assisting her in her business. Since Kite had left her home town out of frustrations she did not know what else to do.Kite was from a Royal family, in fact were it not that her father was cheated, it was her father who ought to be on the throne then. But since the thing was manipulated, her father could not become the king of their town.Despite that however, her father was blessed in whatever he does. But because she was from a polygamous home the needful supports she needed to further her education could not be given, it was because of this that Kite left her home town and her family with her niece.As her niece kept "posting" her that was when she met Ked. Theirs' though had became the discussions of the neighbourhood, but during that time they were yet to solidly the relationship although they had known where it would Result to if the enemies did not enter...You need a cushion to rest on during stress, when you are tired, when everything looked bleak to you when, it seems as if the world is falling on you...

[reginasrandomthoughts]

Kill your heroes - an opinion on why The Last Jedi feels different

 (guys, you know the drill, I wanted to do something short, it became long, it is under the cut, I am tired, as per usual, so I probably lost my train of thought at points, if you are interested read it, if not not, if you wanna correct me at any point or discuss with me, please do so. I love a good talk)

 Even before I saw The Last Jedi I was aware that some people had issues with it. Chatter was that it mishandled Luke’s character and that it did not feel like a Star Wars movie, and I have to agree with it, It does not feel like the other Star Wars movies because it is purposefully trying to distance itself from them. Or, to quote my bae

                                “Let the past die. Kill it, if you have to”

 This approach was a bit of a shocker to me as well, especially after The Force Awakens tried its absolute damnest to remind us of what the original trilogy was like. It was basically New Hope 2.0 with a few tweeks. TFA set up a pattern and expectations and The Last Jedi decided to shit all over it, but it didn’t come out of the blue. 

 TFA already sets up the scene: The victory at the end of Return of the Jedi was hallow, Palpatine’s death did not matter because the Empire rebranded and came back swinging and the New Republic fell apart. Everything fell apart and our heroes couldn’t keep it together. That is already pretty depressing. Even the Extended Universe, that had the same job of continuing from RotJ didn’t go that far. It was always “oh, there is still some Empire commanders fighting isolated battles”, “oh, some new invaders are coming”. It gave our heroes their victory so that was what we were expecting, but TFA already took it away from us. 

 Furthermore, it underlined that our heroes might not be as good of a people as we imagined. We knew nothing of Leia and Han’s parenting skills, only that their son ended up being the main enemy. (Yes, I know about Jacen Solo. Don’t spoil, not there yet in the Legends Era *spits into the corner*) Also, Han and Leia are not together. Their relationship fell apart and Han pretty much abandoned her in a difficult situation. Han also didn’t change, didn’t step up to be a better man and he also lost the Falcon, something that became very special to all the fans. And of course, Luke disappeared and we already know that he trained B/Ren. 

TFA already claims that our heroes are failures, or at the very least more flawed than we are willing to admit. 

Enter The Last Jedi.

The Last Jedi knows what the audience expects from it. And it deliberately refuses to give it to us. 

The greatest example is Poe. Poe is the new Han Solo: he has the swagger, the arrogance but also the skill. He is an amazing pilot but he hasn’t an ounce of respect towards the chain of command and thinks he knows better than everyone else. Now let’s see how the Star Warstm pattern works out for him:

 First action scene, he has an insane near suicidal plan but he pulls it off. But at what cost? Many people died, the bomber fleet is gone and we have to face the fact that there is like 3?4? Resistance ships left with roughly 400 people. Poe refused to get out of there when he was ordered to, many people died and in the end it was proven useless, because the First Order found them again withing 30 seconds. This already undermines our expectations: we expect them to get away with it like Luke did when he blew up Death Star #1. But this is not that Star Wars anymore.

 Now the next stunt is basically the same as in RotJ when the Rebel Alliance has to by time to knock of the shield generators. This time around they have to buy time so Poe’s insane plan of getting a codebreaker in there to get the tracker offline so they can get away. The stakes here are different: they aren’t fighting for victory, they stand no chance. They are fighting for survival. The bloody miracle that bought the Rebels their victory is devalued into something that now is good enough only to buy them a little bit more time alive. 

 And they cannot pull it off. Poe is a gambler. He likes the kind of high stakes, high rewards plans that Star Wars (Orige Trige) was known for. He acts as we expect him to act, but he cannot pull of the miracle. Finn and Rose bring back a codebreaker. Then get it. Smooth sailing right? It will be a close call but they will make it. Look, DJ even gives Rose back her necklace, he must be one of those Hollywood outlaws with a heart of gold who will come through when necessary. But no, they get captured and get sold out. Poe’s plan did not only fail, thanks to it the rebel transporters get picked out one by one. They loose so many people. Most of the Resistance dies because Poe wanted to make one of those Star Wars gambles and he couldn’t pull it off. 

 And I think this is why it was important? good? to keep Holdo’s plan a secret from the audience. We were emotionally invested in Poe’s plan. When he stages his rebellion we were with him, trusting this to go off well, bc that is what Star Wars taught us would happen. And then suddenly Leia comes in, wacks Poe’s takeover and we realize that there was a much safer way to do things. Something that would have worked if not for Poe. Is it stupid in universe? Most likely, yea. Holdo should have told someone. But from a message point of view it paid off. Poe pretty much managed to off the Resistance with his stupidity, but he learned his lesson. 

 The next classic Star Wars moment, the suicide run against the battering ram cannon (hello X-wing runs from New Hope) is one where he recognizes that he cannot pull it off. It cannot be done. Choose life, and live to fight another day. And that’s what he does and that is the good call, we see it because it almost costs Finn his life. 

 These insane last minute saves are such a great part of the identity of Star Wars. New Hope has it, Return of the Jedi has it, The Force Awakens has it, heck Rouge One is one big Ave Maria. We are conditioned to expect them to work, but here they simply don’t. That is a large part of why it might not “feel like a Star Wars movie”. 

 Another part of course, is the Jedi. Luke. Luke is the big legend, the idol, the savior of the galaxy far, far away and we, just like Rey, expects him to live up to it. But Luke failed miserably. He got arrogant then he got in way over his head, buying into his own glory and he made a mistake. He did not catch Ben being corrupted then he got scared and wanted to murder him, quintessentially spooking him into being Ren. Luke’s failure as a master and as FAMILY created Kylo Ren. And what did he do after? He ran away. Not the glorious hero we expected. 

 And if this is not enough then the Jedi, the universally accepted good guys of the Star Wars universe get shade thrown on them as well. We cannot pretend that oh, its Luke’s training not being complete. He was alone, of course he failed. He reminds the audience that Darth Vader was trained by Jedi as well, and why did Anakin fall? Because the Jedi demanded from him to kill his humanity. The Jedi order’s very code created Vader. And if that is not enough than the raise of Palpatine happened at the height of the Jedi’s power. Yet they got whiped out. 

 And that is not something that was invented in TLJ or TFA, it was in the Original and Prequel films. TLJ does nothing more than tear down the wall of nostalgia around these things and highlights how incompetent these people were. 

 And now let’s move on to Luke’s death. Luke’s death is Obi-Wan’s death: the old master facing the monster that was born from the student he failed. He dies pretty much the same way as well, short fight, gets killed, turns into a Force ghost. Why? Luke has to die because he is a part of the old Jedi order, because he is a failed hero but why does he get Obi-Wan’s death? Why make the purposeful call back? Because now we have context. It adds a layer to Obi-Wan as well. These are two man who are facing down their own mistakes and they are both arrogant about it. “Strike me down and I will stay with you forever” “Strike me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine”. They plan to haunt their killers, to be a reminder to them that there is some power outside if their reach. To choose how they die is the only victory they can achieve.

 But Luke here can be assumed to be trying to accomplish something else as well: Yoda told him to teach Rey his failure. Can he possibly be trying to show Rey that Ren is irredeemable? That would be a very Jedi thing to do, wouldn’t it? In Phantom Menace Yoda wants to throw away the obviously very talented and powerful Anakin because he is not a perfect Jedi candidate, Obi-Wan refuses to acknowledge Vader was ever Anakin for quite a while and of course Luke decided that Ben needed to be gotten rid of since he has a taint. The Jedi, Luke’s Jedi, demanded a kind of inhuman perfection and that has to die, especially since Rey shows to be different from them. A new kind of Jedi, a new kind of hero. 

Another aspect in which Obi-Wan and Luke’s death are similar is that they are leaving behind a new apprentice to take down the monster. But as we saw with Poe’s example’s, this is not that game anymore, so Luke’s gamble is not nearly as sure, especially since Rey is different than what Luke was. 

 And now let’s move to one more piece of deconstruction of the old Star Wars tropes. Vader and Luke vs Palpatine / Rey and Kylo vs Snoke. It plays out pretty similarly for a while but with a quite a bit of a difference: Rey cannot talk Ren into turning back to Ben. As we established, this is not how it will work anymore. A few nice words and an “I believe in you” won’t right the wrongs and save the world anymore. One of the bigger differences here is that Ren is not dying. For him turning back would mean something very different than what it did to Vader and anyway, Ren likes being Ren. He feels like he has a place where he is and that he was rejected in the chaotic world of the Resistance. Ren’s story wouldn’t conveniently end with a “yay I turned now I am dead” just so the good guys can pretend they saved him. 

 In many ways TLJ saw Ren come into his own. He, just like Rey and the audience clung to the nostalgia, he idolized his predecessor, Vader and in this film very early on was challenged in his identity as the new Vader. “you are no Vader just a kid in a mask”. So he destroys the mask. He destroys his pretense of being Vader. He does what Vader never did and makes a connection to someone on the light side of the Force. He is no mere petsy anymore either. The minute he rejects the Vader persona he starts acting on his own accord: he gets into his ship, he commands his small platoon and he makes the critical choice of not killing Leia. In the previous movie killing a parent was a step closer to the dark side, towards becoming Vader but now he rejects it. Is it that he cannot bring himself to do it this close to another? Is it that his commitment to the dark side is wavering? Or is it that he refuses to walk a path he does not truly wants to? At that moment he does not want Leia to die and from this perspective Leia’s survival makes sense.

 Tangent: I know that Leia surviving the way she did was stupid from an in universe perspective because she never exhibited Force control powers before and for her to pull something on this scale, but it makes more of a sense if you think about this as an unconscious thing. Pure survival instinct kicking in. AND it was important bc the TIE fighters showed us what Ren was supposed to do, they made sure we know that yes, he could have killed Leia. But he didn’t. So Leia was saved via Force Powers bc.... you know, Ren uses the force as well so it is a sorta weird stand in. Execution was weird here. 

 BTW, this was the point where Snoke signed his own death warrant. He wanted a new Vader but he ripped Kylo’s identity as the new Vader away from him, forcing him to look for something else to be. And part of that was rejecting Snoke’s demands to kill his still living parent, Rey and to be a petsy. Vader was a glorified henchman and REN refused to be one. So he offed Snoke. And with that Supreme Leader Ren was born. 

 Now, I use this title because it is very fitting at this point because Ren is pretty much the driving force, or at least the manifestation of the driving idea behind The Last Jedi. Ren stood on both sides and was disappointed in all of his heroes, all of our heroes. Leia, Han, Luke, Vader, heck even the new replacement Snoke proved to be a failure. Ren came out on the other side of the experience wanting to “Let the past die”. He says “Kill it” but only “if you have to”. He wants to get rid of all of this past nonsense, get out of the shadows of those coming before him, stop being a copy only there to repeat patterns and to live up to what other people expect him to be. 

Ren’s decision changes the game. The minute he decides on his new path, when he lets go of Darth Vader things shift: Poe’s final miracle happens before that, but after Ren changes his platoon wrecks the lead ship sending Leia into a coma, without the proper leadership the Resistance gets into a bad situation where Poe acts against orders trying to play according to the old rule book, he fails. Ren is not Vader, he is not Palpatine or Snoke, the same tricks do not work with him and the Resistance reaches some success only when they change tactics (e.g. retreat rather than do a suicide run against the battering ram cannon). 

 So Ren changed the game, he wants to burn down the old, so the question is what will remain or what will emerge? That is Rey’s job to answer. Ren tells us what the new trilogy isn’t but Rey should define what it is. What stays? What becomes new? Episode IX’s job will be to establish what the new Star Wars is like and yea, maybe the backlash will make Disney chicken out and revert to the old ways but I hope it won’t. 

We, the audience should learn to be a bit more like Rey and Ren and let go of the past, stop glorifying it and stop letting it define what the present and the future can be.