#And god... That's so raw and intense as a sequence of interactions

[hephaestuscrew]

It's so emotionally powerful to me that we don't hear any interactions between Minkowski and Eiffel in the finale between the scene when she tries to send him back on the Sol and the scene where she witnesses him losing his memories. That's more than an hour in the middle of the finale with no direct interaction between these two central characters whose dynamic is a core element of the show. For me, this makes both of those dramatic scenes even more moving, because they feel juxtaposed in a way they might not otherwise be if there was a Minkowski & Eiffel interaction inbetween them.

As the Sol prepares to launch, Minkowski tells Eiffel goodbye and she knows it could be the last time she speaks to him. She thinks she might never see him again, but at least he'll be safe. She thinks he might never forgive her for that choice, but at least he will have made it through this.

But his stubborn desperation to fight alongside the rest of the crew defies all her plans to protect him. And the next time she speaks to him - after she's been shot in the stomach during her attempts to reach him, after she's continued to look for him even as she's bleeding out - he is injured in a way she would never have expected. When she first sees him hooked up to Pryce's machine, maybe she thinks for a moment that he's unharmed, that they might all make it through this the way she hoped. Then she learns that his memories are already slipping away from him.

There's her desperate attempt to protect him at all costs, and then there's a life-altering harm that she couldn't protect him from, which she witnesses. Between these two moments, there aren't any scenes with both characters in together to bridge that gap. There's Eiffel yelling "Goddammit, Renée, DON'T DO THIS!", and then there's him telling her "It was an honor to serve under you, Sir." There's him pleading with her and then there's him forgiving her. There's Minkowski saying "Go home, Eiffel. Hug your daughter.[...] Goodbye, Doug.", and there's the desperate heartbroken way she says Eiffel's name after the memory wipe has gone through. There's two very different kinds of goodbyes.

And then, afterwards, there's two very different kinds of introductions.

[darkobssessions]

Coping Tips for Autistic Women

I am compiling a list of resources for aspie women along with tips to manage symptoms and navigate the world. Regretably, most of my personal experience comes from living undiagnosed and unaware about this for the last 27 years. There was a giant elephant in the room with everything, and I have only recently worked it out. This means that most of my habits prior to this point were ones attempting to cope with a giant unknown, the limits of which were unclear. But they more or less worked, because, as I am realising, there’s always been something they are attempting to address.

With other diagnoses and ways I attempted to explain and understand my difficulties, there were finite causes and treatments. I should have been improving if I tried x, y, or z. And I did improve my symptoms in many ways, but there was something missing from the picture. That is that autism is my personality, my state of being, how I process and view the world. And no tool, medication, process or treatment was ever going to change who I really was. Being misdiagnosed (or being missed and failing to receive the autism diagnosis) means that I have been trying to correct something that you cant ‘correct’, and shaming myself for something fundamentally me.

Some of the tips I learned over time, from how I am as a person, without the framework of reference of neurodivergence or autism:

Sensory:

My sensitivity has always been a big waving flag. I felt and saw things others didn’t. I felt more deeply. I sensed the microeffects and changes in everything. I responded harder and faster to any chemical, environmental shift, any positive or negative event, As we all do on the spectrum, we attempt to navigate our sensory environment. And we come up with coping mechanisms, good or bad, before or after we realise we are on the spectrum. For me this was a strong aversion to the things that upset me, that disturbed my senses. It was an orienting of myself in a way to avoid the disturbances, going inwards, withdrawing and even shutting down. I learned that I could not and did not want to handle crowds, loud places, supermarkets. I lived in a giant simulation attempting to minimise and avoid as much as possible the things that hurt. I learned that I was extremely sensitive, no one else seemed to be, and I just had to manage it. Since discovering autism in the last weeks, I am able to embrace the fact that sensory overload is a thing, and I really do feel pain in my body when things are too much and too loud, and just wearing earplugs has mitigated so much of this. I was gas lighting myself before about feeling a certain way because there was no explanation, that I was aware of anyway.

Physical:

I have had so many problems over the years, since I was a young girl. I used to get food poisoning symptoms really easily. I had hidden allergies. I remember a lot of my childhood spent doubled up with stomach pains, or having a fever. My family didn’t know any better and fed me and treated me as they did every other member. I was not the same, I did not feel the same, but I took it all in. By the time I was in my early teen years, I had cemented my aversion to certain foods, taken the only control I had at the time against an encroaching and controlling mother and turned it into anorexia. I avoided things I didn’t like, again, and set up a system of control that made more sense than the gaping wounds and confusion within me. Starvation triggered bulimia. And a viscous cycle of malnourishment and dysregulation unfolded. I didn’t learn until many, many years later that my system was so sensitive and damaged that if I tried to go back to how I used to eat as a child, I would get terrible symptoms. So my coping tips as I have healed from the eating disorders and become more aware is to figure out what the triggers are, what hurts, and to avoid it. This along with adding in nutrient dense foods and working on the deficiencies has done wonders for me. I’ve done tremendous work on my autoimmune conditions, gut problems, sensitivities and inflammation levels and the difference is like night and day. That I can induce psychotic symptoms by deviating or introducing foods I am intolerant to is no joke. The tip I can share is elimination diets truly do work, the keto diet is recommended, and eating the carnivorous way saved my life. My eating disorders for almost 15 years INCLUDING the 7.5 years I was a vegan, mostly high raw and fruitarian depleted my nutrients so badly that every symptom was enhanced 100% and I was eating pretty much ONLY food I was actually intolerant to. Ahem, plants, I’m talking to you. The peace I feel, the nourishment and rest on a nervous system level having eliminated them is unreal.

Social:

I have always known I was different, in a deep, visceral way. How the adults in my life answered questions was inadequate. I saw through people and things. I was far too intense and serious. I learned to watch and observe humans and pick up cues so as to attempt to fit in. I spent the majority of my life masking, something I am only now finding out about and unraveling. I kept notes on the human experience, and saved colours, sounds, feelings, because I felt like I couldn’t communicate the truth of myself otherwise. Over the course of my life there have been inexplicable (until now) events. Lost friendships and relationships, strings of broken promises, people not acting on what they say, confusions and miscommunications, and many dangerous situations and predatory bonds. I made what sense I could of it from whatever lens I could find. It was the trauma, it was my soul contract, it was what I deserved, it was being targeted- all close, but not quite within the realm of being so naive, open and fundamentally different as you are on the spectrum. I just always assumed everybody was like me. I had to learn the very extremely hard way that not everyone felt and thought in the same way, nor had good intentions. I still struggle with the fact that humans don’t tell the truth. It is of no relevance whether they secretly know it. Most people are more comfortable with illusions. I always knew this, but the diagnosis gives me a lot more peace around it. It’s allowing me to accept the fact that if I look around the majority of the people I see are not walking around processing and over-analysing everything, feeling sounds, decoding patterns and obsessed with hacking the code of reality. Less pressure that way, and more in the way of what can be viewed as natural interaction on my part. I will solve the mystery of the universe out loud otherwise, and get the blank looks and the discomfort. I have found my people, a tribe of likeminded individuals, I have gathered friends over the years that didn’t run from my weirdness. But I am mostly content to be on my own, knowing that I can only use what is around me to try to convey how I feel and who I really am. And that will probably be a book, a movie or a work of art, much better than a 2pm rendezvous when I can’t stop talking about the hidden signs.

Emotional:

With the intensity of my emotions I have developed borderline personality disorder as a means to cope with being autistic and not knowing. I have been diagnosed with both that and bipolar because I have intense stints of emotions. They come and go in waves, lasting hours, lasting days and weeks. I consider it to be an energy management system to cope with the demands and stressors of modern day living. Creatives always withdraw and hibernate, and come out with new insights and art to share. The way that I feel and view the world is special. It’s at the basis of my writing, what I choose to engage with and how. My emotions make me who I am. I feel intensely, I share passionately about how I feel. I snap, I break, I shutdown, I come out again and I am a bright, shooting star. There is an excited little animal that lives within me and it is the strongest most passionate thing known to man. I thought that my negative experiences or trauma killed it, but this is before I knew it IS me and cannot die. So I have stopped trying to cram these emotions in or explain them. Stopped trying to attribute them to whatever script people were following when they dealt with me. Throwing me into the depressive, anxious, panic stricken, eating disordered basket case category. The missing piece now makes so much sense. The ways I responded to being autistic were coping mechanisms, such as developing a personality disorder, to deal with the pressure. My psyche splintered under the weight. My tip here is in embracing your inner life and world, embracing that you are different, so that all of the mental and emotional acrobatics needed to attempt to explain the issues or fit in can be put to rest.

Spiritual:

Being different and feeling differently means I naturally saw and expressed things in quite a strange way. I was convinced of a secret world to reality, behind reality, living on behind a paper shell, so to speak, that would rip if only I could reach out and tear it aside. That conviction was rewarded as year after year my awareness grew, my gifts multiplied, and the experiences I had revealed to me the hidden hand of god. There was very much design to the universe, a pattern, weaving through all things. And i was a part of it, not some discarded afterthought or simple byproduct that had no place. In the early years, I kept my convictions to myself, nursed them with experience. I died a thousand deaths in dark nights of the soul, crashing against the turf of my ignorance. I broke open, and everything I had been so sure of as a child was revealed to me again and again. I was convinced I had a purpose, I could feel the deep tides of human emotion and motion, could feel into the genetic sequence that had birthed me. I felt like an alien, but that slowly over time the map of my operation was being revealed to me. This is what it feels like so many years later to stand here and find out about being autistic and realise that how I felt in my soul all these years was real, and that I can begin to truly fulfill this mission now, to share my experience in words I know others will understand because they feel the same way too. It was the challenges that I never understood, while the gifts were the reason to stay alive. My message to myself and others now is that there is a point, a reason to persevere and understand yourself more. The suffering reveals so much of the true state of things, so that we can protect our tender hearts and build new things that honour who we really are, our souls. 

Resources, movies, literature to follow. I just wanted to share something of a summary now of my realisations since coming home to myself.

[jayjaysocks]

Listing my favorite animes (because I’m jumping on the bandwagon)

❗️⚠️ *spoilers!! (Duh)* ❗️⚠️

5. Deadman Wonderland

I was really really sad when I found out this anime got cancelled. The music was fantastic, the animation was really good, and the voice acting was incredible. Even the fucking dubbed version (I loved the voice they chose for Senji. God he was hilarious). I binged this show so fucking fast it wasn’t even funny. I loved watching the characters go through their own struggles and grow as people in the very small amount of episodes provided. There was a lot of development within the snippet that we actually saw, and I was thoroughly impressed with how well it was done. I wanted to scream or something when I found out there wouldn’t be a second season.

Sigh. Oh well. At least we got some of the manga’s masterpiece translated into a show, even if we were missing some fucking awesome characters.

4. Guilty Crown

Ugh, don’t even get me started. This anime was beautiful and I got so invested so freaking quickly. I literally go back every few years to rewatch it because I get ship starved.

Shu and Inori’s story was so beautifully done; between Shu uncovering his courage and Inori’s journey of self-discovery, I was continuously awe-struck and filled with feelings—I mean, I had never felt such raw emotion while watching something and I was completely blown away by the affect it had on me. Anger, hatred, sadness, it was all there (even for the main character lmao) and it was one of the first times I had ever felt a ship so heavily that I literally cried at the end. It was one of the very first Animes I’d ever seen and was one of the reasons I got such a taste for them. Thanks for throwing me down that rabbit hole, GC.

3. Soul Eater

This was literally the first Anime I’d ever seen, and my god I couldn’t have asked for a better starter. What I like about this one is that it’s style is so unique and different. It’s very punk and grunge, something I admired and appreciated in a genre that is normally the opposite (like Guilty Crown, for example). Also the fight scenes were badass, like holy shit just look at that gif ??? Freaking amazing.

I loved the way the show transitioned from light hearted to intense and adrenaline pumping so effortlessly. That can be said about a lot of shows, but this one went from *haha cute show* to *holy shit, like they’re actually gonna die ohmygod howaretheygoingtosurvivethis* so smoothly I was genuinely surprised. They made one of the main villains actually cool and each character had their own beautifully done arc. I loved and adored how the show solidified and expanded on the different friendships/relationships that were involved—specifically Soul and Maka’s (also, holy shit, Stein’s arc? Fucking prime, dude). There was a lot of growth in each and every friendship (CRONA!!!), and that really pushed the viewer to invest in the individual characters.

I am fucking delighted that this was my first anime, and (though the ending was a little anticlimactic) it remains one of my top favorites to this day. It set the bar pretty fucking high, and for that I am extremely greatful.

No one asked for Soul Eater: Not! It is the unspoken sin of the Soul Eater world (then again, it is called Soul Eater: Not!)

2. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

If you have been following me for a while, then you are no stranger to my love of FMAB. Some of my most popular posts are about this anime, and for good reason.

Unfortunately, I was late to the party. I actually didn’t watch this until last year, but got invested really damn quick. I have a tendency to be extremely picky about the animes that I watch/like (which is why NONE of these shows are that recent), to the point that I will literally research them before I start watching (a bad habit, do not copy me). I have an incomparably hard time finishing a show when I start, because I get bored really quickly, but this was an exception. I started watching and I just... didn’t stop. I spent a straight week watching FMAB, gobbling it up during any small amount free time I could manage, and finished it before I even knew what happened. I wasn’t picky about it, I didn’t research it, I just dove right in and gosh, I was not disappointed.

The subtle romance that was alluded throughout the entire show was super cute, the devotion the brothers had for each other was to die for, and the struggles that each person went through was more than moving. I never once found myself bored while watching, and that’s saying a lot for my adhd ass. I was invested in each and every second of that damn anime and I was never, ever left underwhelmed. That probably had to do with the fact that every. Single. Character. Had a purpose. I’m not even kidding. Every single person contributed to the big fight at the end and that alone is fucking fantastic.

Not to mention ALL the women, every female character, was a badass bitch. None of them were reduced to sex appeal or romantic subplot, they all had real feelings, real arcs and real, unadulterated badassery that I thoroughly admired and appreciated. I could watch this anime over and over again every single month and I wouldn’t get bored. Between the emotional struggle, self discovery, and personal development of each character, I promise you will not see a lack of plot or meaning here. The more you watch, the more you discover and that is not a lie. There are so many layers to its story, which only makes me wish I had watched this sooner.

There is nothing I have to offer in the ways of criticism, and for that I couldn’t be happier. Thank you, Hiromu Arakawa, for such an incredible piece of art. You deserve every bit of love that this manga/anime gets. You go girl.

1. Cowboy Bepop

Holy shit holy shit holy shit this anime is so fucking good and it has been my favorite for so damn long. I have been watching anime for years, and while some of the shows in my list have moved around, this one has yet to be bumped down from the top (and I doubt it ever will). There’s a reason it became such a cult classic.

For starters, the animation. I mean, just look at Spike and the way they animate his fighting (yes I am aware that this gif is from the movie, but that still doesn’t change my point). The sequences in the show/film have been reused in many other shows and for good reason. It’s good, incredible, actually and they make him look so badass with just a few hand movements. I was consistently impressed with the way the fight scenes were portrayed and wasn’t ever left underwhelmed or disappointed (or, for that matter, feeling like they completely over exaggerated/overcompensated the scene with huge close-ups and tons of debris and lights). I loved watching this and my heart was always pounding with every intense interaction. I didn’t feel bored during any of the episodes and always found myself laughing when they cracked a joke—pretty much all of their funny lines hit and that’s saying something, dude.

The show, while having a lighthearted surface, has a heavy meaning that you don’t see at first glance. It’s about dealing with grief and loss, and how the characters themselves accomplished that in different ways. The most prominent quote is the biggest indication of its moral “you’re gonna carry that weight”. Basically: ‘You’ve gotta pick up your baggage, because the world moves on, with or without you’. Or ‘You’re going to carry that weight whether you like it or not, because life keeps going’. When I figured out the show’s actual message, while staring at my ceiling in the long hours of the night, I almost cried. This realization brought something entirely different to the table, a new understanding of the show’s characters and overall essence.

The main characters, all of them, had depth. They had real, palpable depth, and even if you didn’t want to care you found yourself seriously interested in their lives. Each of them had relatively shitty pasts. Faye with her lost memories, Spike with Julia and the people who fucked him over, Jet with his old flame and the ISSP, Ed and her/his father... throughout the entire show we got to see how all of them dealt with these things, whether they wanted to continue on with life or not. The way they portrayed it was engaging, because the characters individual, contrasting journeys weren’t repetitive or one note. The beauty that the show holds so achinging close to its core, the layers of grief that the characters are wrapped in so delicately is almost suffocatingly real—because they’re all different. It’s something you discover when you think on the subject in a deeper light, which is another reason why I enjoy it so much. It has both a surface story and a deeper one. You can either take the show at face value or choose to understand the underlying moral.

This show inspired my very first, thoroughly fleshed out OC, and continues to inspire me to this day. It has contributed to my own personal growth, and has helped push me to continue my art and writing. It is beautifully written, beautifully executed and even though some of the episodes seem like filler, it has never disappointed me. I rewatch it all the time because there’s something so infinitely refreshing about the beauty of this anime, whether it be the way we watch the characters develop or the overall moral it portrays. This show has given us a message that is essentially timeless, it can be ‘carried’ through generation after generation, and still have the same impact—something I absolutely fucking adore.

I owe so much to this anime, including my very own artistic development. I discovered it during a really shitty time in my life and I couldn’t have asked for better timing. I will never tire of the bittersweet message or the thoroughly fucking fantastic animation. Everyone who contributed to this masterpiece deserves love, because it’s seriously fucking gold.

[365days365movies]

January 15, 2021: Casino Royale (2006) (Part 1)

So...we meet again, Bond. What’ve you been doing for the past few years?

...What. Not who, James, WHAT. Jeez.

Whatever. BrosBond had 3 movies after GoldenEye, and they were...not great, from what I’ve heard. Remember, I wasn’t as big of a fan of GoldenEye as many critics and fans were; so, I can’t imagine what I’d think of the latter three. Maybe one day, but not today!

Today, I’m focusing my sights on the revitalization of the brand. See, in 2002, Die Another Day came out, and that movie was apparently crazy. TOO crazy. So crazy, in fact, that audiences and critics accused it of losing the plot, and the production studio in charge (Eon Productions) had a yearning to change direction. And their inspiration came from...a surprising place.

See, Joel Schumacher’s campy, over-the-top Batman films were basically wiped out by Christopher Nolan’s 2005 reinvention of the character in Batman Begins. Which is, in my opinion, a highly underrated classic, Seriously. And in 2005, this film was absolutely a smash-hit. Batman was cool again, which a lot of people never thought would happen in film. Eon saw this, and thought...how can we apply that to Bond?

Out with Brosnan...in with Craig.

The first of the new, darker, reinvented Bond films is planned for release in 2006, starring Daniel Craig as the suave, sophisticated spy. And the director of the film was selected to be...Martin Campbell? From GoldenEye? The guy who kinda sorta started the modern over-the-top Bond? Really? I mean, OK. The writers this time are different...except for one. I didn’t talk about the writers last time because I don’t like putting people on blast if I don’t gotta. This time...maybe. We’ll see.

If this Casino Royale is basically Bond Begins, I’m definitely interested. Maybe this’ll revitalize that Bond-love from the Connery days. Let’s find out! We’re also gonna look at the Bond checklist again!

Gadgets: better have more cool gadgets than GoldenEye, I swear...

Bond Girl: GoldenEye’s Natalya wasn’t bad, to be honest; let’s see who his Inevitable Love Interest is this time.

Villain: Alec Trevelyan had so much potential. I need my dastardly villain, let’s do this. Oh, and let’s throw the henchman in here, too. Xenia Onatopp was...a lot...but she was a memorable henchman, at least.

Music: Of course. GoldenEye’s theme was good, and we’ll see how 2006 does.

OK, movie time. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

We start at an office building in Prague, where a man makes his way up to his office. Waiting there for him is, of course, James Bond (Daniel Craig). The man is Dryden, section chief at the British Embassy in Prague, whom M has accused of selling secrets, a big no-no. But Bond...isn’t a double-0 agent. Huh. You got me interested.

Apparently, agents get the two zeroes once they’ve killed two people on file. James hadn’t killed anyone...until recently. Which is when we get this.

OH SHIT

This is an absolutely BRUTAL fight. It’s not choreographed flashily, it’s not pretty...it’s rough. It’s intense. And it’s...oh my God, wow. Made me feel it. And what’s astonishing is that it’s SO short.

On learning this, Dryden tells him not to worry, the second one is...

...YOU GOT ME. I’M IN FOR THE FUCKIN’ RIDE

HOW??? How is it that in 3 minutes of screentime, I’m already more satisfied by Craig’s Bond than I was for the ENTIRETY of GoldenEye? That is masterfully done, right off the bat. WOW. We even get a smooth-as-silk segue into the classic bullet turret sequence, and that takes us right into the song and opening credits. And...wow.

Here’s the thing about Bond openings, as I mentioned last time: they were all directed by one guy up until GoldenEye, and were basically all silhouetted women with themes and scenes from the movie projected around them. The Brosnan movies followed suit, always having silhouetted women in one way or another. Die Another Day used CGI women and...a really bad Madonna song. It was...it is NOT GOOD, guys. Look it up, it’s the most 2002 thing I’ve ever heard.

But here’s the fin bit about Casino Royale. This is the first Bond movie opening with no women in it. Yeah. It’s the first one. And the song is Chris Cornell’s You Know My Name, and it’s good! Not sure it’s going in my soundtrack, though.

Finally, the opening credits sequence itself: it’s once again Daniel Kleinman doing it, and it’s actually inspired by the first James Bond book Casino Royale, which had already had a TV special and unofficial Bond movie made from it! The cover had a playing card motif, and the opening carries over that motif creatively. I really dig it, if I’m honest! Definitely a welcome break from the 44 years of Bond films preceding it.

Uganda! And we meet the villain of this film: Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen). And GODDAMN if that isn’t a Bond villain! He’s a banker, making a deal with a rebel leader, Steven Obanno (Isaach de Bankole), via their liason Mr. White (Jesper Christiensen). Setting up an attack by supplying Obanno with money, he sells his stocks of a company called Skyfleet, knowing that they’re about to fail.

Meanwhile, a ferret’s fighting an Asian species of cobra. In Madagascar. My zoology senses are EXPLODING, OH my God. So much wrong there. Anyway, there’s a bombmaker in the crowd watching the fight. He’s being tailed by Bond and another agent, Carter, who tips off the guy by being a bad spy. Bond chases him to a construction yard. What now, James?

Awesome. Why is this awesome when I said that the tank was dumb? Because at least it makes sense for a bulldozer to go haywire in a construction yard, just sayin’. Plus, this dude clearly isn’t the best, as he fires on construction workers and cops.

Eventually, this chase sequence brings us to the top of a crane, where this exchange happens.

I, uh...I love this movie already. That’s goddamn great.

The chase scene as a whole is also fantastic, as it continues off the bridge and into an abandoned building, then escalates into the streets, brings in law enforcement, and eventually ends with Bond at an embassy, facing down both the military and the bomb maker. He kills the guy, shoots some gas tanks, grabs the bomb, and then gets the hell out of there.

...Y’know what, that was fucking amazing, but he also almost certainly caused an international incident there. And I should be annoyed about that, but guess what! It makes sense! This is an inexperienced Bond, one who’s JUST been promoted to 00 status as 007, as the prologue explained. So, y’know what? I’m into it!

Cut to a yacht, like you do in a Martin Campbell Bond film. There, we have our villain, Le Chiffre, playing a card game. Also, he weeps blood. Yeah. HE WEEPS BLOOD.

OK, if that isn’t some Bond villain shit, I don’t know WHAT is. He’s also asthmatic, because I love it. I love it so much. He’s a mathematically-brilliant asthmatic that weeps blood. More, please. 

He’s also a person aware of what Bond did at the embassy, as it’s already become an international incident! Thank you for showing consequences, movie! Damn! I love it! This has two additional consequences. One, Le Chiffre notes that the code “Ellipsis” used by the bomber may be soon to expire, indicating a connection between the two. And the second consequence? M’s pissed.

M! DAME JUDI DENCH! One of my favorite things about GoldenEye was bringing in Judi Dench as M, and she made it through the reboot! And she’s still as entertaining as she was before, calling Bond out for his stupidity, and explaining that she misses the Cold War.

In her apartment, M does her normal exposition schtick, and her interactions with Bond are fantastic here. She’s understandably angry at him, and gives him what for, but she’s also clearly impressed that he FIGURED OUT WHERE SHE LIVES, as well as her REAL NAME. Shows her opinion of Bond and aspects of Bond’s character in a single, masterful stroke. 

Well. Goddamn. Done.

The Bahamas! Bond’s here to find Alex Dimitrios (Simon Abkarian), a Greek businessman who’s believed to have a connection with Le Chiffre himself. And, as James Bond is wont to do, he finds him at a party, playing cards. And here’s where the reinvention of Bond comes full circle.

See, Bond’s doing all the typical Bond things, yeah. But there are some differences present here, as well as some neat nuances. Bond isn’t wearing the suit, first of all. He actually hasn’t worn a suit the whole movie, which makes perfect sense for a spy. Suits aren’t exactly the least conspicuous thing in the world; bound to get you noticed if you don’t want to be.

And then, there’s the girl. This is Solange Dimitrios (Catherina Murino), the wife of Alex who was treated BADLY by him at the party. That gives her a reason to take Bond’s offer for a ride to his place, outside of just his raw animalistic charm that he seems to have in some of these movies. Look at that, already more chemistry than he had with Natalya in GoldenEye.

And yes, this results in her cheating on Alex. Is her cheating justified from a moral standpoint? No, of course it isn’t. And of course, this leads to the typical Bond-handsome-sex-GOOD sequence, but again, some nuance here! First of all, he doesn’t win her over with corny clever lines, like what we saw in GoldenEye multiple ties. Second, this is actually all an attempt to get some infomation from her about her husband. Bond might be enjoying it, but his womanizing here actually has a purpose. And that’s rare!

That’s further punctuated by the fact that he STRAIGHT UP LEAVES BEFORE ANYTHING HAPPENS. Yeah, she tells him that Alex just made his way to Miami, and he leaves! Dick move, yeah, but it makes sense! James isn’t here for pleasure, he’s here for work!

He follows Alex to a Bodies at Work exhibit (you know, the preserved and skinned cadavers put into poses that used to tour around the USA? I saw it in Times Square at the end of its popularity. A little ghoulish, maybe, but I think it’s pretty cool), where the two of them get in a very tense close-up knife fight in public.

Alex is dead, but not before passing off a package to someone else at the exhibition. Bond tails the guy to Miami International Airport, where the largest airplane in the world is set to be unveiled. Using the code sent to the bombers, Bond gets into the back, and goes to intercept the disguised bomber who’s set to blow up the SkyChonk (I mean it, that giant airplane is THICCC).

Time for another cool chase sequence! Some luggage is destroyed, along with a bus, the cops join in on the chase, an airplane is prevented from landing (making someone on that plane probably very upset), and Bond somehow manages to prevent the plane from blowing up. And it’s by the SKIN of his teeth, lemme tell you. Also, he blows up a dude with his own flashlight bomb.

Nice. Somehow, Bond isn’t arrested, and makes his way back to the Bahamas. And it looks like Solange isn’t the Bond girl after all. Because she was thought to be the information leak (which she was, to an extent), she was tortured to death. Whoof.

M’s in the Bahamas now, and the exposition continues. She’s done with Bond’s bullshit, and she plants a tracker under his skin. She explains that with the big boi plane destroyed, somebody stood a lot to gain financially from the stock crash to come. Except that the plane wasn’t destroyed, and that person lost $100 million by “betting the wrong way.”

That person, of course, was Le Chiffre, a manthematical genius and chess prodigy, who plays poker for fun, and plays the stock market with his clients’ money. Bond’s the best poker player in MI6 (a good addition that we already saw foreshadowed earlier! See what I mean?), and she’s sending him to a high stakes poker game that Le Chiffre’s looking to regain his money from. 

Bond FINALLY dons his suit, and gets on a train in Montenegro, where he meets...

Vesper Lynd (Eva Green). THERE’S our Bond girl! Although, there’s a reference to Miss Moneypenny in their introduction, which is interesting. But Vesper is an agent for the British Treasury, supplying the money for the buy-in for the tournament. And their conversation on the train...wow. Now THIS is chemistry, seriously.

Vesper’s a great character, and she gives Bond NO quarter. She reads his character, and calls him out very accurately. They also explain why both Bond and Vesper are good at poker: it’s all about reading people. I’m genuinely impressed by how this movie is put together, and how well-thought out Bond is as a character. And this is the dimension I love to see in a Bond girl as well!

GODDAMN, I am in love with this movie. More coming in Part 2!

[xoruffitup]

So I Just Came Out of TROS: Immediate Reactions (SPOILERS)

I went into the film without reading leaks or spoilers. The friends I’d been camping out with for the premiere the last few days had, and their aura of concern and disappointment led to my lowered expectations and greater anxiety.

Without knowing how it would all end, I actually didn’t hate most of the movie while watching it. I could tell that contrary to TLJ, which was rather irreverent with how it removed original trilogy characters from their pedestals, TROS struck a balance between the new characters by giving classic characters their indulgent hero moments. I was mostly having fun with the movie. I enjoyed the comedic moments and battle sequences - the Reylo duel on top of the Death Star was intensely epic.

Still, the film felt odd from the beginning. The scenes seemed rushed and the dialogue flat without any room to process or sink in. They visited 3-4 planets within the first hour, and all the characters’ dialogue and decisions seemed predictable and uninspired. 

As deeply important as Reylo is to me and as EPIC as it was to see them fighting together with blue lightsabers (!!), I did at first appreciate that the film focuses on Rey as the protagonist. I appreciated that she struck out on her own, didn’t wait for directions, and advanced on her heroine’s journey. The film gave space for both her internal and external challenges.

However - making Rey in fact a Palpatine then effectively undoes any feminist perspective. It forces an external construct of identity on to her and obstructs her journey for self-discovery. This also necessitated convoluted, clunky expositions from both Kylo and Palpatine, in effort to align “Your parents were nobodies” with the fact of her being Palpatine’s granddaughter. Managing to make Rey both a Palpatine and then a Skywalker was also simply far-fetched, unprecipated storytelling; with a “twist” that was never remotely suggested in TFA or TLJ.

As I was still mostly enjoying the film by this point, I did cry a bit when Ben speaks with Han. This was a strange scene in the fact that it lacked any build-up or emotional gravity; Harrison Ford was just simply there without fanfare. But when Han touched his son’s face and Kylo called him “Dad” I was completely trembling in my seat in anticipation for Bendemption validation (haHA my innocence back then.)

And the REYLO KISS!!!!!! WE GOT ONE!! And oh my gOD it truly was the soft, lingering kiss I’ve most dreamed of this whole time!! I had really hoped Rey would gently touch his face at some point and she did! ;__; But then that rare, full-faced smile happened (I DIED) and then from this point I simply can’t get over the fact that Ben was only allowed one minute of joy before his death. Furthermore is how underwhelming, undeserved, and anticlimactic the moment was. I literally spent the few remaining minutes of the film feeling nauseous, trying to figure out whether he had actually just died or not. After all the concerted effort Disney made to paint this character’s backstory as one deserving redemption and life, such an abbreviated moment with no emotional gravity or musical aplomb was simply absurd. 

In terms of Reylo interactions, nothing in this film even remotely approached the complex beauty of TLJ’s connection scenes, which were intimate yet charged. Their dialogue to each other in TROS was stilted and cliched In comparison, lacking any of the raw emotional impact in their shared TLJ moments. 

I simply cannot believe how Disney made a completely different movie than anticipated. I cannot believe how slap-dash, nonsensical, and uninspired both the plot and dialogue were. It hasn’t quite set in yet, as I’ve been switching between anger and numbness since coming out of the theatre. In the meantime, I’m trying to purge and work through some of my initial reactions here.

Please feel free to message or ask me anything about the film. I’m still trying to make sense of things myself... I haven’t entirely written off the film yet, but I planned to see it a second time on Friday, when I hope I might find some more logic or redeeming qualities.

[incarnation-of-victory]

Thoughts on/reactions to the BNHA: Heroes Rising movie since I need somewhere to gush about it (now that I’ve gotten to see it officially in theaters):

NOT SPOILER-FREE/SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

(As an FYI, I saw the film in the original Japanese with English subtitles. Not sure if I’ll ever watch it in the English dub, seeing as I didn’t watch the first movie or the anime in English dub. I don’t mind it, and I’ll watch clips of it here and there, but I don’t feel like going out of my way to watch BNHA in its entirety in English.)

In no particular order (this is long, kinda a mess, not verb tense consistent, iffy at a few points because I don’t remember some exact details, etc. Be forewarned. Split into sections for a semblance of convenience):

The Fight Scenes/Class 1-A (General Overview):

This movie is pretty action-packed! The majority of the film consisted of fight scenes—but never quite to the point that it felt tiring. Now, I’m no expert on animation or fight choreography, but I thought the battle sequences were STUNNING! I really feel like the animators put a lot of care into this film.

Speaking of fight scenes, I was pleasantly surprised to see how a lot of the less-centric 1-A students were able to get their time to shine. Uraraka got a cool Badass™ moment (kinda reminded me of her fight versus Bakugou at the Sports Festival). Sero goes all out on a villain (was it Nine?), getting thrown back, but still earning a concerned “Sero!” from Bakugou (so that’s a win). Aoyama is surprisingly a force to be reckoned with his Navel Laser. Shoji deserves the title of Honorary Big Brother to Katsuma and Mahoro (the kids) with the way he devoted himself to protecting them throughout the battles (seriously made me emotional at one point!). Tokoyami and Dark Shadow were sick as usual! Kirishima gets another Unbreakable moment—this dude’s seriously got guts!

Todoroki, while arguably one of the main protagonists of the series, admittedly didn’t feel like he got TOO much screen-time during this film (I feel like it’s because they wanted to focus on the relationship between Deku and Bakugou). That being said, his defeat of Chimera was AWESOME. It was a nice touch having him remember Endeavor’s advice as he prepares his final attack, his father’s profile dissolving into his own. Todoroki really went Plus Ultra there (almost too much, like, damn, I think you got him). There were a few times like that throughout the film, like with Bakugou vs. Mummy, where I was like, pretty sure these villains should not be alive right now, but accordingly to anime logic, they’ll be fine (plus, we can’t have the hero students be killing anyone...). Basically, everyone was really cool, and I think this movie proves how they all deserve to be at UA.

The climax battle (Deku & Bakugou vs. Nine): I kinda wish I didn’t spoil so much of HR before seeing it officially—not that it ruined my enjoyment of it, but I feel like it would have been more intense/emotional if I went into it blind. So I knew going in that Deku and Bakugou were going to share OFA (and I may or may NOT have seen clips of it online beforehand... because I have no self-control), but it was still really great seeing it on the big-screen! Didn’t cry like I thought I would, but the moment where Deku and Bakugou did their Detroit Smash together for the first time got me kinda teary-eyed, with them doing an All Might-esque one-fist-raised pose. It’s just so heartwarming to see these two work together, carrying on All Might’s legacy.

Deku + Katsuma & Mahoro (the two main, local kids of Nabu Island):

Speaking of getting emotional: THAT scene when All Might arrives post-final battle and he’s cradling an injured Deku in his arms and Deku apologizes to him for having to give away OFA because he feels like he’s failed him: OH MY GOD! Major props to Daiki Yamashita for his voice acting in that scene (as for all his scenes as Deku, of course), it was so raw and emotional! Same praise applies to Nobuhiko Okamoto for his respective scenes as Bakugou, naturally.

Also, I SUPER enjoyed Deku in this film! I mean, I’m already a huge Deku stan (perhaps this comes as a bit of a surprise, since I never shut up about Bakugou and Bakugou only), but you could really see his development in HR! He comes across as a lot more confident, steady, level-headed, and sure of himself than he used to be! It was incredible to see him fight too: his first encounter with Nine in the forest stood out to me in particular. Ever the strategist. Sure, he’s still a little bit of a push-over (he apologizes to Mahoro, who’s just a little girl, after she scolds him for not coming to “rescue” her brother fast enough—it’s a pretty funny scene), but he really feels like he’s filling out his role as All Might’s successor. Not to mention all the parallels of his relationship with Katsuma to Deku’s own relationship with All Might. Also, of course, Deku is a huge sweetheart, and it was so endearing to see him interact with the island kids. Katsuma and Mahoro might seriously have some competition when it comes to the cutest characters in this film: they really amped up the sweetness of Deku in this film. But maybe I’m biased because I’m a Deku stan so I’ll shut up now. But seriously, big mama bear vibes from Deku with the kids.

While I’m on the topic of cuteness, Oh My God, Katsuma and Mahoro were PRECIOUS! Now I understand why Horikoshi couldn’t stop drawing them—seriously, they are the total opposite of the usual annoying kids trope. Katsuma’s shyness/timidness was adorable. Mahoro’s sass and attitude was adorable. On top of that, they were very brave and protective of each other. Their brother-sister relationship was also very wholesome. But seriously, almost every time these kids were on-screen, I could hear people in the audience going “Awww” and I was like “YES! AWW IS RIGHT!”

The Bakugou section (because my adoration of him warrants an entire section of its own):

This doesn’t seem like too natural of a segue, but cuteness has now made me think about Bakugou and how he was in the film. Can I just say, I love how all the comical, raging Bakugou scenes made the audience laugh; I love that we all share the same amusement of this angry gremlin. The part where Bakugou finds out that Mahoro tricked him by making an illusion of a villain and he goes into Rage Mode to the 10th power was amazing. The edgy guitar rendition of Bakugou’s leitmotif playing in the background as they zoom into his furious face thrice as he gets increasingly incensed, with fiery flames in the background, was peak comedy. And then Deku has to hold Bakugou back as the kids escape his wrath. Even when the two tumble to the ground, Bakugou Grudge-crawls up to them with Deku clinging to his back. One of my favorite scenes in the film: it was hilarious. Oh, Bakugou. Never change.

Bakugou’s old ways aside, I do like how he seemed to warm up to the kids a little by the end of the film. His genuine smile and sort-of wave upon seeing the kids saying goodbye to them as they sail away on the ship was sweet! Earlier, when Bakugou first grabs Katsuma and carries him along to show him where the “villain” is, once they locate it, Bakugou immediately yeets Katsuma aside like an empty soda can (he was fine, of course). While, admittedly, I found that moment hilarious, I did feel the general reaction of audience also being like, jeez, Bakugou, you don’t throw kids like that, lol. I did like how, despite tossing Katsuma aside, Bakugou did grunt a quick “Go hide” to him, showing that he did care at least a little for Katsuma’s safety: more than he outwardly demonstrates, at least. I like how the whole “proper handling of kids” thing came back during the final battle when Bakugou catches Mahoro from falling when Nine tosses her aside (not totally unlike how Bakugou tossed Katsuma aside earlier.. hmm...). And Deku was the one who punched (kicked?) Nine at that moment instead (showing a little reversal of roles when it comes to saving and fighting). Seriously, Bakugou puts Mahoro down so gently on her feet too! It was so sweet! And then he proceeds to give her his whole “This is why I’m going to be the number one hero” spiel too. If my memory serves me correctly, I think Mahoro wasn’t even going to fall that far, and would have probably been fine if she just dropped to the ground, but Bakugou still went out of his way to catch her, which is great. But yeah, though obviously Bakugou is nowhere near as bad as Nine, I like how this was one of the moments which proved the difference between Bakugou and the villains, that his rescue demonstrates just the kind of hero Bakugou is eventually going to become.

Another moment like that, which I haven’t seen too many people talk about, is when Bakugou and Deku are immobilized by Nine’s 2 Blue-Eyes White Dragons, and Nine gives a speech on something along the lines of how power is great and he wants to create a world in which the strong rule over the weak, yada yada, total domination. Deku, of course, is infuriated by Nine’s evil plans, but I was also pleasantly surprised to see Bakugou tell him off too, telling him how he’s crazy for wanting to do something like that. Of course, it's been clear for a while that Bakugou is not necessarily the power-hungry, overlord type, but this moment really made a little more clear to me that Bakugou is more concerned with winning and the sense of self-fulfillment that comes with it, rather than ruling over others with his power (though I don’t doubt that Bakugou finds some enjoyment in being able to beat up villains. I mean, look at that feral smile).

Also, Bakugou melting a whole-ass mountain and hurling it at Nine. Freaking lava monster. That is all.

The Deku & Bakugou Dynamic:

Deku really wasn’t intimidated by Bakugou anymore in the film, so I appreciated those moments when Deku stood up to him and wouldn’t take his shit. One example was when Deku held Bakugou back from scolding the kids. Another moment I thought was great was when Mahoro called them about Nine’s arrival, and Bakugou answers the phone, thinking she’s crying wolf again, and starts to chew her out until Deku snatches the phone out of his hand. Bakugou just stares at him in shock, he looks so offended, haha! He can hardly get out a word of protest before just slumping in defeat, annoyed, but still letting Deku talk to Mahoro on the phone. Really like those moments where Deku takes charge like that.

Bakugou eavesdropping (as per his usual nosy self) on Katsuma and Deku’s conversation, in which Katsuma apologizes for their prank earlier, explains his story, and Deku talks about how saving and winning are both important (*hint hint, nudge nudge*). And Bakugou’s so engrossed that he doesn’t notice his popsicle melting until it drips onto the floor. And he just stares at it in vague bafflement. Yes. Good.

This was another really small moment, but it was cute, so I have to talk about it. Deku’s training outside and Bakugou runs into him on his patrol. They have their whole talk about how they’re going to surpass each other, and then, right at the end, Deku kinda just smiles at him. It’s such a fond smile, you can even hear him giving a small laugh along with it. And then Bakugou meets it with a determined stare, and he almost gives a gruff little “huh?”. It was just a funny little stare down they had there, except they’re coming at it with completely different expressions/sentiments. Bakugou almost seemed a bit confused by Deku’s happy smile; it reminded me of that moment during Deku vs. Kacchan 2, when Deku takes a moment to smile at Bakugou, impressed by his progress, and Bakugou gets pissed at him for looking so happy. Like, c’mon Bakugou, let the guy be proud of you! I think now, post-DvK2, Bakugou does understand Deku’s words/expressions a little better, but he still doesn’t seem to fully comprehend how much Deku respects and cares for him. Either that, or he doesn’t want to acknowledge it. Here’s to hoping Bakugou comes to realize it at some point. Bakugou-accept-compliments/affection challenge 2020.

I think everyone’s already said what there is to say about Deku’s decision to give OFA to Bakugou, and Bakugou’s reaction to it. Even so, I have a few things to add. One, I like how Bakugou’s grown to respect Deku as a rival/fellow hero in the movie, which is especially evident once Deku gives him OFA. Deku, of course, trusts Bakugou enough to give it to him, saying how it’s alright if it’s him, really hammering in that bond they have between them (that and well... he’s really the only other option here...). Two, Bakugou’s initial reaction after Deku implies that they need to share OFA, his expression right before he reaches out his hand to take it, has some people talking. I initially thought that the reason Bakugou looked so defeated/begrudging/upset, was because him having to accept OFA/help from Deku in order to win was a blow to his pride (kind of like in the Final Exam team-up). Or that it also means that Bakugou can no longer beat Deku at his strongest (Bakugou with OFA would become the better hero by default, kind of like how Endeavor rose to Number 1 after All Might’s retirement, instead of earning it through besting him fair and square). But I’ve also seen people say it was because Bakugou was reluctant to have to put an end to Deku’s dream (not unlike the way Bakugou put an end to All Might’s career?), since Deku was forfeiting OFA. Which I can kind of believe, but then again, this is why Bakugou is so hard to pin down: we rarely get his inner narrative, so his expressions are often multi-faceted/layered. So who knows what he was thinking? Granted, I tend to actually not give Bakugou the benefit of the doubt in these situations, but I do hope it was a mixture of all these things. But I think Bakugou really did feel bad about Deku’s hero career potentially being over: he even asks him if he was sure about his decision immediately after accepting OFA. Which is a huge 180 from the beginning of the series, when Bakugou WANTED to put an end to Deku’s dream. Now that’s growth.

This is going to delve more into just Bakugou himself, but I had additional thoughts about the whole OFA transfer thing, and how All Might (tentatively?) concludes that the predecessors returned OFA to Deku, even though, supposedly, it is non-returnable. The fact that Bakugou doesn’t remember the OFA transfer might be a better thing that I thought, since, if it really was the predecessors’ decision to give it back to Deku (and not just because he conked out before the transfer was done), then that just means that Deku is the one who is really worthy of OFA, and not him. At least, that’s one way of looking at it. Which might have crushed Bakugou, even though Bakugou likely doesn’t want OFA for himself. But I almost think that explains part of Bakugou’s reaction I mentioned in the previous point. Maybe, deep down, Bakugou doesn’t think he deserves OFA? Sure, Bakugou’s made it clear that he wants to become the best hero with his own power/Quirk, but it still hurt/confused him in DvK2 that All Might chose Deku. OFA itself choosing Deku and not him might as well just confirm that Deku is truly the better hero. Of course, we can’t really know for sure why the vestiges returned OFA to Deku. Personally, I would find it kinda funny/sad if OFA just thought Deku was better. Maybe it’s destiny? Maybe Deku’s journey is just not meant to be over yet? Or maybe, Bakugou, in the OFA mindscape, actually relinquished OFA to Deku of his own accord? Either way, as much as I love Bakugou, I think the vestiges were right in going back to Deku. Not even just for plot-reasons, but that OFA really is better suited for Deku. It’s a Quirk meant to be used for the sake of other people, and Bakugou simply isn’t of that mindset (yet?). I’m sorry Bakugou, but I’d choose Deku too.

Overall, I really feel like Deku and Bakugou’s teamwork was so natural and in-sync! They seem to act like one unit, not even having to talk to each other during the final Double OFA showdown, like they’re on the same wavelength or something. This film really made me believe that these two are going to become hero partners in the future or something, they’re too good together to be ultimately separated. Or maybe that’s just me being hopeful. We’ll see.

Meme Corner:

Bakugou after finding out that Mahoro was creating an illusion of a villain:

Bakugou: *winces from the pain of breaking his arm using OFA*

Deku, not even bothered, multiple-time champion of the arms-breaking club:

also:

Bakugou to the kids: “I’m gonna show you why I’m gonna be the number one hero!”

*proceeds to get the shit beat out of him by Nine* (cue the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme).

Wrap-Up/Conclusion:

There’s probably a lot more to discuss (that other people will likely touch on), but this is mainly what I cared about, so I’ll leave it at that. But just as a brief summary for everything else: LOV was good as usual, were mainly only at the beginning of the film; speaking of, that opening car chase sequence was pretty neat; the brief, Endeavor vs. Dabi was cool; Endeavor hugging Todoroki after they were rescued and Todoroki Not Having any of it was funny; Nine was alright as the main villain, could use some more depth, but I guess that’s what the short spin-off manga and bonus material are for. Hawks was great too. Even though I didn’t watch the English dub, I really liked the short clip I did see of him in English. His English VA suits him well (as does the Japanese)!

I don’t feel like going into critiques, even though there certainly are things to critique in the movie. I just enjoyed this film for the joyride that it is. Main nitpick: maybe NOT drop a bunch of high-schoolers on an island without a Pro-hero presence. Maybe NOT do that. But we got the Good ol’ Hero Commission going: “Oh boy, what could POSSIBLY go wrong???  🤷🤷🤷” 

Oh, and I do think that this film is safe for anime-onlies. The only thing is that people who haven’t read the manga will see things/characters they don’t really know about it and will, thus, be left wondering a little about them, but I don’t think it’s a huge deal.

If you took the time to get to the end of all my rambling, thank you and congrats!�� I didn’t include screen-caps for this post because the movie’s not on digital or DVD yet (and I don’t want to use other people’s camrips because Reasons), so I might do additional analyses once that happens.

---

Link to Unofficial Part 1 of My Thoughts on HR (based on leaks, before actually seeing the film; but I do go more into depth on other points of the film, such as OFA)

[blueturtlez5415]

[Friday-9-24-21]: Courageous movie! This movie is a 10-year anniversary of its original release. This version is revamp in 4k with updated sounds/pictures, etc. Short summary of this movie: Four fathers have different stories that interact and intersect together and have various faith levels in God to get them through family life stuff. It gets real, raw and grips and maybe even challenge you. Some highlights. This movie is funny! It had its moments of wholesome laughter. Some my find it cheesy but it everything about it feels so legit. Nice. The Death scene! The character that dies in the film is so shocking...i still cant believe! Dang...never saw it coming...wow....poor *spoiler* *spoiler* Like this death is the turning point of the movie! Cast was fantasic! Javier is my favorite character! Now for dem quotes. [I really shouldnt be seeking quotes and post them for reviews but almost every time the quotes be...'dropping bars...' XD ] Anyway, the movie quotes that caught my attention: "Where are all the fathers?" "Divorce happens cuz u make it option." "People dont fight for their marriage anymore." "Do you feel messed up for not having your father around?" "Part of being a man is taking responsibility." "Never take your hand off the wheel." Mmmm. The action scenes are awesome. The last action scene sequence was "whoa bro! Intense and suspenseful!" Courageous is an awesome Christian faith movie. You dont need to be a Christian to relate to it cuz you theses themes are universal and touches the hearts of all people. If you can watch this film, watch it! Highly recommend it. That's all i got. Peace and God bless. #Courageous #anniversary #movie #awesome #amazing #emotional #fun #funny #death #family #honor #love #God #Jesus #faith #fatherhood #prayer #resolution #challenge #integrity #responsibility #Christian #intense #suspenseful #divorce #raw #real #universaltruths #unofficialmoviereview #moviejunkie https://www.instagram.com/p/CUOdJzbApG5/?utm_medium=tumblr

[utopianparadoxist]

[4. Gnostic Myth - Literally fucking everything. A Non-Exhaustive review.]

It’s honestly kind of weird to me how skeptical people are on this point, so before we dive deeper, let’s recap the sheer breadth of references to Gnosticism in Homestuck. 

For starters, no less than three--up to potentially five--of the human kid’s chumhandles reference Gnosticism. You’ve got the stunningly obvious ones, Jade and Roxy: gardenGnostic & tipsyGnostalgic are as direct as it gets.

Then there’s Dirk’s chumhandle, timaeusTestified, references Timaeus, a philosophical dialogue by Plato that named and described the Demiurge, the architect God who shaped the material world. The Gnostics would later adopt this idea for Yaldabaoth, the evil ruler of physicality. 

And given the number of references to Gnosticism seen here, Occam's razor suggests two others are likely specifically Gnostic references, too:

Dave’s turntechGodhead references, well, the Godhead. Seemingly a general name used for the “Unknowable, Unseen” nature of a variety of Gods across different traditions, Godhead is one of many terms used for Abraxas in Gnostic myth. 

And Jake’s golgothasTerror, commonly understood to be a reference to Christian myth, also easily reads Gnostic. Golgotha is the hill Jesus died on, but Jesus is as prominent a figure in Gnosticism as he is in Christianity. 

Moving away from the simple chumhandles, Jake himself suggests quite a bit of Gnostic influence--particularly through his reflection of the mythological image of Abraxas, much as Lord English reflects the mythology behind Yaldabaoth.

There’s a pretty direct link in the ABRACADABRA reference from Jake’s BARK book (for which Abraxas is already considered a potential root word), but it's also worth considering the way Carl Jung’s 7 Sermons to the Dead describe Abraxas. Two references are of particular interest to us.

It is the monster of the under-world, a thousand-armed polyp, coiled knot of winged serpents, frenzy.

The first is this, due to the similarity of language. Jake’s Angel-emanating Hope bubble could certainly be described as a coiled knot of winged serpents, for one thing. But more interestingly...

It is the lord of the toads and frogs, which live in the water and go up on the land, whose chorus ascendeth at noon and at midnight.

Abraxas is described as the Lord of frogs, specifically for their amphibious qualities. This puts new shades of meaning on Jake’s establishment of The Consort Kingdom, as it makes him literally lord of the amphibians.

The Aspects in general already closely resemble the Gnostic concept of Aeons--being Idea-Gods bound to “Pairs” that are meant to create reality in harmony. But in particular, some esoteric elements of Aspect relationships make way more sense when parsed through a Gnostic lens, too--just as Ying-Yang philosophy can help us make sense of the Class system.  Light and Void’s status as complementary Aspects is more obvious once you consider Gnosticism’s dualistic divide between the World of Light/Ideas and the World of Darkness/Matter. 

And Equius’ Void powers manifesting as super strength makes a lot more sense when you consider that in Gnosticism, the Physical realm was synonymous with the unimportant, the deceitful, and especially with Darkness.

On top of that, I’d argue that the Christian “biting of the fruit” imagery involved with the Alchemy tutorial also leans towards a Gnostic interpretation, as opposed to a more typically Christian one. 

After all, biting the fruit doesn’t damn John to penance and suffering, as the Christian myth of Adam and Eve does to its protagonists. Instead, it begins an endless climb towards Enlightenment, as Sophia’s descent to physical reality does in the Gnostic myth. 

And speaking of that Gnostic myth, Homestuck re-enacts it not once, but twice. Two different characters play out the role of ‘Sophia’, the Gnostic Aeon of Wisdom who attempts to interact with ‘the Unknowable’, and accidentally creates the evil God with absolute power over the physical world--Yaldabaoth.

In their acts of transgression against the boundaries of reality, these characters also create figures identifiable as “Yaldabaoths”--Gods who have complete mastery over the physical world, but cannot engage with the world of ideas.

The first of these characters is Dirk, who happens to have Yaldabaoth for a Denizen...although he never meets him, and in fact, loses his Denizen along with his planet in Collide. 

Dirk’s act of creation without a partner results in AR/Lil Hal, who attains cyber-omniscience and orchestrates the events of Unite Synchronize.  Just as Caliborn is linked to Jigsaw, AR is linked to Hal 9000, from  2001: A Space Odyssey, also a mastermind figure with complete control over the surroundings of his victims. 

Also like Caliborn, AR is set apart in the narrative by his inability to grow up instead of by an outright blindness to abstract thought. Eternal immaturity seems to be the mark of a Yaldabaoth figure in Homestuck, rather than a complete inability to perceive ideas. 

Consider that Equius and Gamzee are similarly stunted--Equius through his existence as a ghost, and Gamzee through being just That Big A Douche I Guess. Or, if we want to be specific, religious idolatry so intense it stagnates his growth as a person. 

The common denominator between all components of Lord English IS that stagnation. The same stagnation Bastian falls victim to under AURYN’s power. The same stagnation that drives Giygas to madness, and Pokey to the exploitation of the Nowhere Islands, countless other worlds, and ultimately, to The Absolutely Safe Capsule.

Which brings us back to Lord English. Calliope is the second Sophia-figure to play out the Gnostic Creation myth--with Caliborn as the Yaldabaoth she produces, also marked by a link to Yaldabaoth as his Denizen. 

In her case, the “Unknowable” element she attempts to breach is the playing of Sburb itself--which she identifies as a foolish act that allowed Caliborn access to the power to become Lord English in the first place. Aranea even describes Sburb as a game Cherubs were never meant to play. 

And now that we’re here, let's unpack Lord English as Yaldabaoth a bit more. Along this series, we’ve seen a number of archetypal Lord figures that Caliborn seems to be drawn from: Bastian, Giygas, Pokey...

But there’s one that we haven’t discussed yet.

“I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God,”

-Exodus 20:2-6, King James Bible

YHWH, Yahweh, The Tetragammatron: The Lord God of Christian tradition. Yaldabaoth as originally envisioned by the Gnostics was not just a random evil God, but explicitly a criticism of the spiritual movement that would eventually consolidate into mainstream Christianity as we understand it. 

As such, Lord English borrows quite a bit from the Abrahamic God of Christian tradition. Down to his very name, in fact. After all, the Bible’s first introduction to God is...

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

-John 1, King James Bible

And words factor strongly into our own Lord’s construction of artifice and suffering. Doc Scratch’s precise lies of omission, The Condesce’s indoctrination of the masses through subliminal messages, movies and fiction informing the biases and self-loathing of Dave, Karkat, Jake, Dirk and almost every other character...

Culture is one of the antagonists’ most powerful tools, and that culture is transmitted through language. Indeed, you could say a common Language--a common Word--is the only thing truly binding all our protagonists together, across timelines and universes and bloodlines and species.

Lord English indeed. 

And even Lord English’s very existence mirrors the Abrahamic All-Father, distributed as it is in a structure reminiscent  of a Holy Trinity. 

You have Lord English as Father....

Caliborn as Messianic, Dark-Enlightenment Bound Son....

And Lil Cal as ever-present, indecipherable but suggestive Holy Ghost.

Moving back towards Lord English’s Yaldabaoth influences with this new context, I think it’s worthwhile to revisit the Realistic Red-Yellow Sun I’ve previously argued acts as a stand-in for his influence.

The sun is the mark of the nature of a Universe, and the Sun Dave sees when traumatized by his physical surroundings is the same as the one Terezi sees when being blinded by Vriska, and which all Trolls except Kanaya are noted to suffer the light of. It is bright red-orange, angry and hot and suffocating, a spiral of red in the sky that--

Wait. Wait a minute. A red spiral?

Yep, a red spiral. Pretty much the exact red spiral on Caliborn’s cheek before predominating, in fact. Caliborn even depicts the sun in that exact way in his rendition of Dave’s rooftop Ascent, marking the reality of Homosuck with his personal symbol. 

He even does it on the exact same page as John bemoaning the mangling of their own story. And let’s not forget that John’s primary conflict during this whole section is the simple, astonishing shittiness of the reality that Caliborn has constructed. 

Caliborn’s main form of aggression towards the characters isn’t any particularly hostile overture towards any one of them, but rather the construction of the inherently flawed and horrible reality they are all striving to escape from. Just as with Yaldabaoth’s subjugation of humanity. 

And the nature of their escape is, fittingly, best exemplified with the sequence in which John finally masters his powers. Typheus floods the chamber in Oil, encasing John in the raw, physical reality of his own imminent drowning. Suddenly, John’s existence is focused entirely on the material plane...and simultaneously, John is drowned in darkness. 

Jade tells us that the only way for John to truly free himself was to imagine a third option, outside the binary--Die or Escape--presented to him.  Her language is specific: John needed not to “find” or to “notice” a third option, but to “Conceive” it: To Create, or bring into being. 

And the moment he comes to that realization and begins thinking in terms of the World of Ideas, he is suddenly encased not in Darkness, but in overwhelming Light. John reaches Enlightenment over his world, and so masters his physical circumstances. Jade even references John achieving mastery over an explicitly “Confining” reality!

And the duality of that wording--The “Confining” reality and the “Conception” of Ideas--brings us to a final Gnostic symbol, and to the nature of our Protagonists’ final victory over Lord English.

And that is the symbol of the Cosmic Egg. 

A motif that recurs in many of Homestuck’s influences. 

The Childlike Empress enters a Cosmic Egg in order to force Bastian into saying her name, thus ending the old iteration of Fantastica and giving birth to the one Bastian will give form and texture to in the second half of the book. In The Neverending Story, the Egg is both the jail cell of the world, and it’s origin.

Mother 3 features not one, but two Cosmic Eggs. You have the Egg of Light, an Egg containing all manner of true secrets about the world--including memories of the apocalypse scenario that led to the creation of the Nowhere Islands. But it can be said that the Nowhere Islands themselves are an Egg, trapping the Dark Dragon within. To awaken the Dark Dragon is to destroy the Islands--the shot featured above of it’s back rising from within them is, after all, the final shot of the game. And yet, to do so is necessary for a free world to be born. 

Now, Cosmic Eggs are by no means explicitly Gnostic symbols (though I could easily argue both The Neverending Story and Mother 3 are pretty Gnostic works in and of themselves). But there’s a particular concept in Gnostic literature relevant to understanding Homestuck’s relationship to the image. 

A concept quoted to excellent effect in the following clip, which I highly suggest you watch: 

But here’s the original quote anyway, since I trust you’ll find it relevant:

The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Who would be born must first destroy a world. The bird flies to God. That God's name is Abraxas.

— Max Demian, from Demian by Herman Hesse

The birth of a bird requires the destruction of its own world--and such an act is apocalyptic, no matter how confining the bird’s reality. 

And this sentiment certainly pervades Homestuck. Dave has an egg as his Cruxite item. Calliope and Caliborn are born from a literal Cosmic egg. Trolls and Humans alike must destroy the eggs of their home worlds to be born into Sburb, and Ascend to Godhood. But we can go further than that, right? Surely there’s a symbolic egg in this story worthy of all my pretentious as hell build up? Of course there is. In fact, there’s likely two, though, in the end, they are one and the same.

The first of these is the Cueball, which has it’s origins in Caliborn’s God Tier clock. It seems to be a sort of ticking pendulum item, but by breaking off the timer it’s linked to and destroying his clock, Caliborn gains a permanent, unconditonal immortality, and invulnerability to all things except Cueball-infused weaponry.

Such as the weaponry Jade has Dave make in the Pre-Retcon timeline. She claims to get her intel from the Condesce and identifies the Cueball as an item Lord English is somehow vulnerable to. Dave, however, has a different idea:

And as it turns out, Dave’s impulse is also pretty on the money! 

After all, the nature of Lord English’s indestructibility is tied to a certainty that he will never, ever change. Lord English will not grow or have any ideas other than what he had already decided on in his youth--befitting his status of Childlike Emperor and Yaldabaoth.

The egg, by contrast, is a symbol of inescapable change. The Cosmic Egg is the promise of apocalypse--that nothing is eternal, and that eventually, every world ends so another can be born. Seeing as that is a premise Caliborn so strongly rejects for himself, it is a reasonable element to counter him with. 

Turns out Dave is right in identifying it as an egg! The Cueball that is Doc Scratch’s head does, after all, get used as a Literal Egg again and again-- Lord English asserting his dominance over both the Cueball and Calliope in his hatching from Doc Scratch.

But in the end, the Cueball reaches Lord English in a different way. He turns out to be able to stop the physical reality of the Cueball, but not the fundamental idea of it. In fact, in his attempts to do so,  he ends up creating it. 

Because the true Cueball turns out to be the Ultimate Juju--in other words,   the Story of Homestuck itself! 

Tex Talks has already made this case for Act 7′s language, but it’s worth repeating because the visual language is so clear and simple. Before the Juju manifests as the House shape, it materializes as a simple white orb--indistinguishable from the Cueball. 

And Vriska, standing straight and rigid like a Cue Stick, uses it like one--the Juju slamming down a shockwave and unleashing--something--at Lord English, something that will presumably pocket the 8-balls in the Black Hole that has just been created behind him, and thus ending Lord English’s Game of Billiards. 

And all the while, the domain of Paradox Space that all of our characters have been trapped inside? The game space that Lord English spent countless strange eons creating? All of that falls apart around us-- Lord English’s world meeting its Apocalypse right as his being is finally hit with the symbol destruction and rebirth he strove to avoid for eternities.

And the Beta kids trapped inside the Juju shine and buzz within, the metaphorical Bird fighting its way out of its shell. It’s not just them, either. The Dreaming Dead in the Void, in need of a savior?  The Alphas, Waiting once again at the end of the Masterpiece? 

The Betas may have been physically trapped in the Juju, but the entire cast has been trapped in the egg known as Homestuck from moment one--fighting to be free of the tyranny of Lord English’s constructed narrative. Struggling to be born.

Until now. All that’s left to find out is whatever the Epilogue has to show us. The nature of the world about to be born. Will we see a black End Screen, as Mother 3 gave us? Will we chart the new forms of Fantastica, as Bastian once did? Or are we in for something entirely different?

I honestly don’t have a fucking clue. But I’m excited to find out.

That’s all for now. I love you.

Keep rising.

Thanks to @betweengenesisfrogs for pointing out the link between Lord English and Cosmic Eggs! I would not have figured this shit out without you. 

Also thanks to banditAffiliate for writing about Lord English’s obsessive displays of dominance over his two weaknesses--Calliope and the Cueball. Fantastic stuff!

[Master Post]

[Patreon] [Hiveswap Discord] 

Keep rising.

[kitsunesbooks]

Re:Creators: My Favorite Anime of Spring 2017

As a writer who happens to dabble in the realms of philosophy, often do questions arise that entertain me for hours on end. I’ve sometimes found myself asking what it would be like to see my characters face to face. I’ve wondered what they would think of me, would we get along or would they all hate me for pitting them against such harsh environments and situations? It’s funny to think about things like this because I’m sure everyday people wonder what they would do if they met their god. It’s just that in this instance, I represent the god, as prideful and cocky as that sounds. Nevertheless, it’s been my belief for awhile now that an artist is the closest thing that humanity has come to becoming gods. Through art, and especially story telling, entire worlds can come into existence. This is the kind of subject material that Re: Creators tackles.

Re: Creators is for all intents and purposes, an isekai story. Isekai being that very prevalent anime trope/sub genre of story where the main character gets trapped in a fantasy world. However, to keep things somewhat fresh, the fantasy world comes into our world, or at least a version of our world. Within Re:Creators, characters from anime, manga, and videogames somehow make their way out into the real world and engage in kickass battles and debates on metaphysics. So if you know anything about me from the articles I’ve written, then you’ve figured out that I am 100% in on this show. The action and meat of the plot is great and all but it's all the metaphysics and mechanics of this universe that keep me thoroughly entertained. The conversations that occur between “creations” and “creators” are in depth and thought provoking. In a way, this anime is some bizarre form of wish fulfillment because I am actually getting theoretical answers to my questions.

The beauty of Re:Creators is how it takes characters who, for all intents and purposes, fit into strict archetypes and then slowly bends them to conform to our world’s rules. While using archetypes as a basis for character development is nothing new to storytelling, Re:Creators more or less bends the archetypes themselves through the small tidbits of character development shown throughout the series. One of the best characters in the entire show thus far is Magical Slayer Mamika. Mamika is a magical girl from what essentially is knock off Sailor Moon. As an added bonus, her design is heavily reminiscent of Madoka from Madoka Magica, which sort of helps to further cement her development and almost poke fun at a certain trope. Mamika basically tears apart the idea that injecting some “realism” into a magical girl story is in someway nuanced. While Madoka gets credit for making it work, it has opened the floodgates for a ton of really bad, edgy magical girl stories that are honestly hot garbage. Mamika however is more based in actual reality as opposed to realism. The first instance we see of Mamika is her fight with another “creation,” Selesia. Mamika recklessly goes all out and unleashes some devastating magic on her opponent with complete disregard to her surroundings. If this were any other character in any other show, she would be written off as just an asshole or a generic “sadist” character. However, when Mamika realizes that rules of our world conflict with her own, it shocks her. She came from a children’s magical girl show. Basically a Saturday morning cartoon. There isn’t any blood in her world and morality is all black and white for the most part. It is a simplistic world with little thought put into it and Mamika’s first interaction in our world is incredibly evident of that.

That first battle Mamika experiences is what sets her character arc into motion and has pretty much made her one of the best characters in the series thus far. Her eventual turnaround was very well paced and written and I hope we get to see just as much inventive and clever writing for all of our cast members. Mamika goes through a rampant sequence of development during the more recent episodes. We see that she still clings to her sense of morals but also shows that she is even willing to go against her own friends when they are doing something wrong. Mamika wants nothing more than peace, which makes sense given her source material. However, instead of Mamika’s judgement being simple minded as it would be in any magical girl show, or the plot focusing on how depressing her situation is, we see her learn and adapt. Her sense of justice doesn’t waver and instead adapts to the morals of our own world as she fights to protect both sides. All she wants is for the fighting to stop and for no one to be killed, and when she finally makes up her mind on what side to take, her actions have that much more weight behind them. Being the type of character she is, she shows everyone kindness, even the villains of this story, especially given they don’t match the archetypes of villains in a typical kid’s show. To Mamika, the villains of Re:Creators aren’t villains at all, they are just people who want to do bad things with good intentions. I could go on and on about Mamika’s character arc, but you are more than likely better off checking out the video Mother’s Basement put out on Re:Creators. Geoff does a, MUCH, better job at analyzing these characters than I do. Nevertheless, Mamika gives you just a taste of the kind of meta story Re:Creators is and honestly it is a hot contender for anime of the season if it hits the right notes.

One thing I can talk about that hasn’t been mentioned before is yet another intriguing character. With our Military Uniform Princess taking the role of main villain it was hard to think that the show would introduce an even greater threat, but it did. Magane Chikujoin is a villain character from a series in Re:Creators world called Yoru Mado Kiroku. Judging by how she acts and behaves as well as her abilities I pegged her as coming from a straight up horror series or maybe even a battle seinen with darker and more mature themes than your typical shonen series. She has a very clever ability that protects her almost indefinitely and she is a complete liar, so much so that she get’s a kick out of it. Lying is her weapon and she uses it to devastating effect. Magane is honestly a terrifying character due to her incredible ability as well as her contrasting schoool girl attitude. She is definitely much more of a villain than the Military Uniform Princess and there some big reasons why. Her knack for telling lies has gotten her involved with every major character in the series. She has a variety of strings she can pull, and while we saw her latest machination get foiled by the heroes’ raw determination and will, it is clear that Magane is willing to say ANYTHING to get what she wants. Compared to Mamika who has undergone a dramatic shift in her archetype, Magane’s archetype has only grown more rotten. She now finds herself in a world where she can do anything she wants without having her fellow characters get in the way. Bringing her to the real world was essentially the equivalent of unchaining a feral beast. Magane is shaping up to be the series’ true villain and it shows. The events of the latest episode proved her to be much more powerful than we anticipated, and with her acknowledgement of zero restraints she becomes that much more dangerous. Magane isn’t just a simple sadistic villain, she is a self-aware villain. She is aware of the existence of her world and ours. Not only that, but the way she behaves makes the viewer think that she might be aware of the world outside the screen, because Re: Creators is still an anime. It doesn’t exist in our world outside of that medium, yet there are several moments where Magane is talking directly to the camera and it seems more like she is talking to us, the viewer. There is one scene in Episode 9 that really hammers this home where she begins talking to herself, yet she is staring straight at us. Not only that, but the things she says are inquisitive and it’s almost like she is trying to convince us, the viewers, that she told the truth, when in reality she bent it. It is that one thing that adds so much more gravity to a character like this and it is incredibly intense.

I could probably talk about this show forever, but I want to leave some of these characters as a surprise for those of you who intend to give the series a shot. This is an anime that is clearly aimed at artists. Whether you draw, animate, or just write, this series was made to be watched by you. The questions and conversations posed by Re:Creators can easily be applied to your own work, and through that it provides perspective. It makes us question the content we create. It makes us wonder just exactly how our characters would truly feel in the situations we put them in. It also makes us question the level of detail we give our worlds. There are so many minor and major details across this series that resonate with me immensely. Because of that, it has become one of favorites of this season, if not this entire year. If you are an artist, I urge you to watch this show. You will not be disappointed, and I’m sure you’ll come away from it with a renewed view on your work. Hope you enjoyed the article.

[subskywalker]

Edit: I fucking re read the entire fic again bc holy shit holy shit holy shit I am so????????? Having emotions??????? I have real tears in my eyes and this latest chapter had me at the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it!!!!!! I LOVE THIS AU SO MCUH I LOVE THIS FIC SO MUCH OH MY GOD!!!

I’m just?????? Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!! Like I will always be here to slow burn and the pining like Jane Austin who? They’re still not together (and I absolutely love it) and the pacing of this fic is absolutely lovely and the characterization and the interactions between all the characters and the world building!!!!! Y’all the fucking world building I’m still in so much awe of this fic and the writing and how just one little change literally alters everything. I just absolutely love this fic so much. And I needed to re read it bc the way the latest chapter ended????? Y’ALL!!! The sequencing!!!! The fight scenes and the imagery and the rawness of this and how emotional it is and it’s all just so breathtaking!!! And the way this fic is being told???? Like I’m deceased I love it I love it!!! And the intensity of this fic and the au it’s set it and who these characters are and what they have to do like it’s hitting me all over again!

*happy dance happy dance* tfw your all time fave fic gets updated and it’s the chapter you’ve been looking forward too 😍😍😍😍😍😍

[moonaskingtostay]

Rules: List your top ten episodes of The 100. Then, tag five or so people to do the same!

Tagged by @parapluiepliant

Oh boy this is going to be difficult ...

1. Blood must Have Blood Part 2 (2.16)

Look this episode is perfect. It’s the culmination of a very intense season, it’s emotional, it’s suspenseful, it changes our two leads forever because of the decision they have to make in the end, it’s thought-provoking, and it’s the 100 at its best. The first time I saw this episode I was physically anxious the entire time, that’s how invested I was in the episode, and it’s what made me a fan of the show. And that Knocking on Heaven’s Door scene ... *screams internally*

2. Spacewalker (2.08)

I’m not a Finn fan. I don’t hate him, like it’s pretty common in the fandom, but I mostly think of him as a kind of a bland character with occasional moments of brilliance in season 1. Like many fans, I’m fiercely protective of Clarke and Raven, and I think he’ll forever be the boy who hurt them in my mind. Still, this episode was a magnificient send-off for the character, and it gave us wonderful scenes between him and Raven while also changing Clarke forever. 

3. Nevermore (3.11)

I love bottle episodes. And this one fucking delivered. It was really harsh on our main characters. For Clarke and Bellamy obviously, who had to face through Raven’s taunts the super shitty things they did in the past, but it was also relentless for Jasper and Monty. It was brilliant writing (I will miss Kim Shumway A LOT even if her episode this season was kinda weak) and Lindsey Morgan’s performance made it fucking epic.

4. Hakeldama (3.05)

It’s a great episode, and it offers an interesting development for two key characters : Lexa and Bellamy. When Lexa was ruthless and antagonistic in season 2, we see in the episode Clarke reaching her and convincing her that blood doesn’t have to be spilled and that the grounders can change their very violent ways (RANT MODE ON : I’m side-eyeing a little bit Roan this season when he keeps saying Lexa taught Clarke how to be a better leader/treat her people AND the grounder equally because NO Clarke taught Lexa that, thank you very much, I loved Lexa and I have nothing against the writers trying to celebrate the character and her impact in the universe they created but there’s no need to distort the facts to achieve that RANT MODE OFF). 

But it’s also a very jarring episode for Bellamy who kinda digs a hole in hell for himself and pretty much suffers through the opposite development of Lexa : when in season 2 he was basically Captain America, there he just lets his anger and his pain do the thinking for him. It’s heartbreaking to watch a character you love spiral into darkness but it’s also kinda fascinating. But the real selling point of this episode is The Fight : it’s beautiful, relentless, angsty, wonderfully acted and to this day it remains in my opinion the best scene between Clarke and Bellamy. Hell probably one of the best scenes in the entire show. It’s raw and the best the show can offer. 

I also adore this episode for the face Kane makes when Jaha tries to tell him about the City of Light. SO BEAUTIFUL.

5. Murphy’s Law (1.04)  

Not necessarily the strongest episode on my list (but the first half of season 1 was uneven) but it’s an episode that means a lot to me because it sort of changed to way I was looking at the show and my thoughts about it. I honestly started watching the 100 after the Lesbian Batsignal, aka the kiss scene between Clarke & Lexa that was all over my dash. I was expecting a cheesy teen drama in a post-apocalyptic setting and ... well basically I was only in it for the pretty girls kissing. Then this episode happened and punched me in the face and told me I was an idiot and that this show had A LOT to offer. It was shocking but not gratuitous, set the tone and basically yelled at you OH YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO HAVE FUN WATCHING OUR SHOW WELL THINK AGAIN MOTHERFUCKER AND TAKE ALL THE FEELS. After this episode, I was hooked. 

6. Gimme Shelter (4.07)

It’s a slightly uneventful episode but it gives us a lot of beautiful, quiet moments between the characters and let them shine. Emori, Clarke, Abby, Kane and Bellamy are at their best there, their interactions are heavy and meaningful and the writing is subtle and intense. The best this season, so far.

7. Unity Day (1.09)

I’m very fond of this episode mostly because it made me aware of the potential in terms of world building for the show the first time I saw it. Season 1 was very much about adaptation and survival, and even flirted with the survival horror genre when the characters interacted with the grounders. Introducing Anya and that amazing negociation scene between her and Clarke on the bridge basically told the viewers that there was a lot of story potential behind our main character’s enemies and that their world was way bigger than we thought. This episode is also Clarke’s first steps in her role of leader, as in political leader, and it’s really important for the character and her future evolution on the show.

8. We Will Rise (4.06)

Overall I think season 4 has been slightly underwhelming so far. Not bad or anything, and we get some amazing character stuff, so I’m not complaining, but before this episode we had lots of strong episodes that never completely managed to impress me. The Tinder Box nearly did it, especially with its fantastic final sequence, but the Riley stuff dragged down an otherwise great episode. So We Will Rise happens and it’s action packed, makes the character move in different directions : Kane retakes his place as chancellor, Clarke joins her mother on Team Science, Bellamy starts to do some serious thinking about his relationship with his sister, hell even Jaha and Octavia start to evolve. This episode felt exciting when I first watched it and it made me feel great about the potential for the rest of the season. 

9. Thirteen (3.07)

It’s a polarizing episode. Because Lexa. And ... ok, I loved Lexa, truthfully, and I loved her relationship with Clarke, like I said earlier, they’re the reason I started watching the 100. Was I sad that she died ? Yes. Was I angry ? Meh ... not really. Of all the LGBT characters killed off by the TV gods, I think Lexa’s death is very low on my pissed-off-meter. Her character was well developed, her death served a purpose (literally nothing in the second half of season 3 can happen without her death) and let’s be real, she would have never become a regular on the show due to ADC’s schedule. I get why people were angry, and I’m glad it was discussed heavily on social medias etc (I would have prefered a more civil tone in these discussions but ... oh well it’s fandom). 

But regardless of what you think of her death, Thirteen was a great episode in terms of world building and storytelling. We have amazing scenes with Becca, answers as to how the world ended, the nature of the Commander, and just tons of fantastic ideas and new information. The episode gave us also an interesting scene between Clarke and O, showing a new side of Octavia ‘Speak with My Fist’ Blake who tries to manipulate Clarke and appeal to her emotions and shows that’s she’s way smarter and sneakier than she allows herself to be (that side of her showed up again this season when she started her assassin shtick. More of that for Octavia in the future maybe ? It’s interesting). So yeah, great episode, that I think people overlook because of the Lexa drama.

10. Bodyguard of Lies (2.14)

A very solid episode but what makes it go on my top episodes list is the kiss between Clarke and Lexa. Their interactions were really intense in this episode, all the stuff with Clarke and Octavia was brilliant, and it’s the episode that made me start watching the show. Also, I don’t care if you shipped Clarke and Lexa or not, if you thought their love story was interesting or bad, the pairing healthy or unhealthy, etc, the fact is that it mattered. It mattered to have the main character on a CW show be bisexual, and fall in love for another girl. It changed the show and it was amazing.

Special Mentions : Perverse Instantiation Part 1 (3.15) : action-packed, intense, and wonderfully crafted, Echoes (4.01) : a very solid start for season 4, too bad the stuff following was a little bit underwhelming, and Human Trials (2.05) : for that massacre scene with Finn at the end, CHILLS.

THIS WAS LONG SORRY.

I tag @rashaka, @butterfly-and-hurricanes, @novalian, @mego42, @falafel14

[jeffreyshowlive]

Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment Presents Monday Night ROAR 8/28/17

Hello everyone and welcome to another exciting read of JEFFREY SHOW LIVEEEEEEEE! I’m your writer Jeffrey Taylorrrrrrrrrr (WOOOOOOO!) So you all this past Monday Night while some was watching WWE RAW the Ladies of Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment showcased their amazing athletic abilities and talents at ROAR. First off there wasn’t a bad match of the night, like I honestly don’t have anything bad to say about this show from the production, attendance, drinks, ring, and anything else you can think of was just on point. You all waited long enough for this review so let’s not waste anytime and get right into it already.

Thunder Rosa defeated Lacey Lane w/Amy Rose via submission (3.8/5 Stars): Lacey Lane joined by Amy Rose makes their way to the ring first with a nice entrance. When I met Amy Rose prior to the show beginning I thought she would be in ring action so I was surprised to see that she was just a manger for the night but she was a damn good one if I do say so myself and I’m going to get into that more in a minute. Thunder Rosa eventually made her way to the ring with an American Flag by side along with some dope dancing moves that she shared with the crowd. Both women are now inside the ring and displaying some locks up in the early going on with some light arm drags and wristlocks. What happened next surprised me but also made me an instant fan of Thunder Rosa when she acknowledged that the crowd was too quiet and proceeded to hype them up. I have a huge admiration for the act because it set the bar for the rest of the night. Ladies thank Thunder Rosa for making the verbal call but also Lacey Lane and Amy Rose for waking the crowd up for you all because often sometimes wrestlers just ignore the dead crowd but it’s important that you interact and involve yourself with the crowd and the importance of that via match quality is crucial. The ladies were evenly matched in my opinion when you look at the sequences that took place during this match and the fast pace action between the two and both being able to keep up with one another but Amy Rose proved to be the edge in this match in the favor of Lacey Lane. Thunder Rosa went for a springbroad on the middle rope and got caught up and usually in this case the crowd eats you alive with BOTCHMANIA chants or making jokes at the athlete for the remainder of the night but instead Thunder Rosa embraced it and immediately got her balance back to land the move properly and kept the crowd behind her and excited for her next move, major respect for the natural instinct to perform. Thunder Rosa look like she was getting on a roll at this point about to finish the match early but Amy Rose finally got involved and saw that Lacey may be in danger and tripped Thunder up and held her at ringside as Lacey Lane put them paws on Thunder. The match from there went to the outside where Lacey took strong control at this point but knew she had to get Thunder back in the ring to finish it all off, great ring awareness on her behalf. Thunder Rosa executed this unorthodox surfboard maneuver that looked really nice and painful but that didn’t keep Lacey Lane down at all. Towards the end of the match we got a lot of near falls from both competitors and I was here for Amy Rose going at it with the fans on the outside back and forth and displaying how nervous she was by the face alone. Amy Rose is one of those managers that don’t have to say much but still get her point across with body language and facial expressions which really isn’t an easy skill just ask the late great Woman who had to scream all match and Vickie Guerrero at ringside. The match is now coming to an end with Thunder Rosa locking in the submission but Amy not letting her girl go out like that and causes a distraction but Thunder ends up releasing the hold and dropkicking Amy off the apron but turns around into a SUPERKICK by Lacey Lane for what you think would be a 3 count but it was just 2, SUCH A NEAR FALL!!!! So it turns out the move that Thunder Rosa was attempting to hit was a submission but it was in fact a nasty slam that got her the win it was really nice at that. Really good opening contest!

Kamilla Kaine defeats Aspyn Rose via pinfall (3 Stars out of 5): Kamilla Kaine comes out to the ring with so much INTENSITY! A lot of people are now calling her the female Goldberg which is interesting to me because I don’t see it. This match gets a three stars not because it was bad at all but I just can’t give squash matches more than three stars personally. I hope this makes sense but the booking and action of this match was really good and executed well but there were longer matches that had a lot more going on so I couldn’t just slap four stars on this one, I MEAN I COULD IF I REALLY WANTED TO! Let’s get into this match, I think Rose literally had one offensive move the entire match and the rest belong to Kaine There was this POUNCEEEE like shoulder tackle that wasn’t pretty at all but mad effective and Kaine followed up by taunting, she really does a great job of keeping the crowd energized like a Georgia Bulldogs football game. The match ends briefly after that shoulder tackle when Kaine hits a powerslam on Rose that landed dead in the middle of the ring but lifts her arm when it’s time for the three count which surprises me. From there Kaine proceeded to hurt the poor baby and put Rose in a torture rack slam and BY GOD Rose is getting up at this point but Kaine tackles her right back down with a SPEARRRR!!!!! Another great win for Kaine but I’m really intrigued to see what Rose can do in a match although she didn’t stand a chance against Kaine on this night I would love to see her in action soon in person.

Amanda Rodriguez defeats Ashton Star via submission (3.5 out of 5 Stars): This is the match where the crowd really got into their zone and was like around the ring now and talking hella shit. Like maybe the drinks were starting to kick in at this point but a great shoutout to Starr and Rodriguez for their shit talking prior to the match beginning that immediately got the crowd engaged. Rodriguez expressed how she’s not able to talk about her boobs at shows as much as she would like and the fans expressed how they are not able to curse and be uncensored as much as they would like so with that being said thank you AWE! So much name calling from calling one another bitches to talking about each other bodies, but ultimately the hair is what triggered the fight. The hair psychology within the match during the early going was great it was like you want to talk about my hair well I’m going to ruin yours. After all the hair pulling stopped we saw Amanda hit some arm drags followed by a beautiful dropkick and the momentum was definitely behind her at this point where she capitalized with a beautiful suicide dive mid rope that connected to Starr. Once the two got back into the ring, Starr started wrestling and nailed a nice back slam onto Amanda from there we saw this crazy reversal sequence that took place from a jackknife roll thru to a guitine to finally a standing overhead suplex!!!!!! The crowd went fuckin nuts and it wasn’t even close to being over yet we then got Ashton signature back breaker which landed dead on the back of Amanda. There was this moment where Ashton set up for a tombstone piledriver but Amanda countered it oh so perfectly into a hurricarana. Mannnnn these two were really raising the bar high for the remainder of the show with this one. Clothesline and elbows at this point that led to a backstabber being countered to a captain’s hook that made Starr pass out which secured Amanda with the win!

Chip Day comes out on a ROAR show and at first I was upset like come on man handle your business elsewhere this isn’t the time or the place. However, Chip Day is a part of a huge storyline here at AWE and it needed some attention. As Chip was talking shit about what happen at the last show, The Hierarchy members (Murder One, Jimmy Rave, and Adrian Armour) alongside was Paul Cockhard was making a complete mockery of Chip in the VIP section above. While distracted Chip Day was assaulted by a nameless man that nobody’s knows but his tights look like they said Gabriel on them so we are going to go with that.

Chip Day defeats Gabriel (3 out of 5 Stars): I really like that if they did put a match on the card like this it was a jobber that Chip was facing. It was one of them matches like why the fuck is it happening but yay we get to see Chip wrestle. It was like no one legit knew who this kid was because the Hierarchy wasn’t claiming at first. The best thing about this match was Murder One commentary it was hilarious as hell and I would pay for that. Chip Day for some reason played with the jobber longer than he should have with slaps and kicks but eventually after Adrian made his way down to the ring Chip ended the match with no involvement whatsoever. It was cool little filler match to keep the showing.

Gabby Gilbert defeated Kiera Hogan via pinfall (3.8 out of 5 Stars): Kiera Hogan was originally supposed to face Mickey Knuckles but if you read the fine print card is always subject to change. Kiera Hogan came out to one of the hottest tracks out right now Cardi B “Bodak Yellow” and had the crowd rocking and moving and sounded so good in the Opera venue. Prior to the match beginning Josh took the time to announce Kiera recent signing to Impact Wrestling as a Knockout. In addition to that Josh asked would this be Kiera last match in AWE and she proceeded to answer that, “Atlanta will always be home.” KIERA WE LOVE YOU!!!! Gabby Gilbert came out to the ring looking as sweet as she could be but I FOUND OUT FIRST HAND THAT Gabby is super tough and isn’t the one to play with. When this match first started off the athletes exchanged pinfalls back and forth which showed a nice deal of athleticism. There was this spot during the match when Gabby slaps Kiera on the ass and the crowd exploded with an “ASS ON FIRE” chant it was so funny. The crowd was really behind Kiera the entire match which put everyone against Gabby which was funny because Gabby looks like the sweetest wrestler like Bayley and she is now being boo’d out the venue. Gabby however embraced this role and played the part very well, I haven’t seen Gabby prior to this night so I’m not sure if she’s use to playing the bad guy role but she did excellent on this night. Just a reminder ROAR has no rules in all of its matches so when Gabby went for the wooden chair the match leveled up within intensity. Ya’ll this match lasted a good minute and it was really good because of the movesets they were using wasn’t the normal but they really went all out and kept the fans engaged all the way thru. Now this match was the sloppiest of the night and some of the really big moments ended very softly to be honest but with all that said it didn’t take away from the overall experience of what these women provided on this date. Gabby ankle lock out of nowhere was crazy I was legit marking out at that moment for a second, it was just a lot going on ya’ll have to believe me. There was a moment when I didn’t know how Kiera would get the win because Gabby would not stay down but Jimmy Rave came out of nowhere and hit a mean backslam drop on Kiera and Gabby capitalized for the win. Fantastic ending to a great match.

Post-Match: Owen Knight is furious at Jimmy Rave attacking his girl and start releasing some pipe bombs on The Hierarchy in their VIP section above. Now Murder One mentioned JeffreyShowLive and noted that I indeed stated that Owen Knight promo sucked ass at the last AWE Event however I felt like he was commited to it but my point of saying that is that HE WAS FEELING SOME TYPE OF WAY THAT HIS WOMAN WAS ASSAULTED. Excellent promo by Owen Knight I don’t even remember what he said to be honest but I felt the passion it was believable even when he said “JeffreyShowLive don’t get bitches”. We all know that I get bitches, seriously I really do you guys. Anywho this was excellent to set up for the tag team main event match for next month event, well done and properly executed.

Intermission: Huckabee made sure he kept his distance too!!!! I’ll see you at 8 weeks. Shoutouts to Tamika & Danny at the commentating table for the night and Patrick with the sounds!

Isla Dawn defeated Ivelisse via pinfall (4.5 out of 5 Stars): Can you say. MATCH OF THE FUCKIN NIGHT! Really strong start off these athletes did not waste anytime feeling one another out they dived right into it. I saw a hammerlock slam from Ivelisse and that was a clear message like you know who I am and what I’m about, you better come with it. Isla didn’t back down for one minute though that was her cue to step up and take her down and don’t look back for the rest of the match. I honestly can’t say too much about this match because I wasn’t taking notes because it was so much action, I couldn’t keep up and I was living in the moment. I love my readers but can you really blame me for just wanting to enjoy this match and bask in its glory without excessively recording and missing something because I’m a detail writer. This was a very physical match; the crowd was split during this contest a little more people behind the undefeated Isla Dawn but the most part it was split. Kicks, knees to the face, and a dash of wrestling moves in there from time to time and it was going down. So many fuckin near falls during this match, I mean some of the nearest falls all night, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The match ended with exchanges of blows, combination, and reversals that lead to Isla Dawn having Ivelisse in a pinfall close to the ropes, Ivelisse grabbed the ropes and referee Grandpa Booker T proceeded to count to 3 giving Isla the win! Ivelisse felt unjust about the ending but under ROAR rules the ropes don’t mean a GOD DAMN THING! Ivelisse expressed her frustrations with the call by giving Grandpa Booker T a SUPERKICK SUCKASSS! The crowd went fuckin bannanas including myself, I’m guilty of losing my shit but a great ending to a great match.

Main Event Priscilla Kelly defeated Leva Bates via submission (4 out of 5 Stars): Although I really enjoyed the match of the night there’s a difference to the presence that this main event brought. This was a main event from the entrances to the actual match that took place these two athletes really took it there. This is another match that I really just enjoyed it and didn’t focus too much on the reviewing aspect of it. Leva Bates came out as Constantine with the cigarette and all. Priscilla in the beginning let it be known that “6 6 6” chants were dead and it’s now “Sex Sex Sex” which surprisingly the crowd was receptive to. The match began with Leva using the trench coach she had on as offense and it was so fuckin entertaining to start off the contest with. Priscilla was chasing the coat around like she was a bull before finally ending the game. Priscilla was very sexual during this match and the crowd went crazy for it, for example Priscilla was licking all over Leva. Priscilla from then used Leva own tie against her even taking it as far as fuckin Leva from behind with the tie. Leva managed to get out of that uncompromising position and tied Priscilla up to the ropes and you will never believe what happened after that. Leva pulled out a few dollar bills and threw them at Priscilla! OMGGGG. Leva told Priscilla if she wants to act like a whore, I’m going to treat you like one. Wait a minute ya’ll, Leva wasn’t done yet she from there threw water on Priscilla and treated it as holy water and Priscilla went fuckin NUTS!!!!!! Makeup wipes from then came out but I don’t know how they were used so that’s high key irrelevant but then Leva pulled back out her cigarette to burn Priscilla!!! THIS IS JUST TOO MUCH AT THIS POINT. The match from there went to the outside and ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE. Priscilla and Leva Bates involved a fan from the outside and were grinding all over him as they were beating one another up, I am not making this shit up, I swear. The match from there went into a photobooth and we didn’t know what the hell was going on but it had to be going DOWN! A really great match that was all over the place you all but it unexpectedly came to an end when Priscilla locked on a submission maneuver and under ROAR rules which means no GOD DAMN RULES Leva Bates didn’t stand a chance once it was securely locked in and tapped out.

Post-Match: Priscila Kelly is celebrating her victory and about to do her final wave on stage and BAMMMMMMM!!!! Out of fuckin nowhere once again Kamilla Kaine hits Priscilla with a SPEAR! I wasn’t ready, I had no idea this was going to happen once again and I was so upset because I didn’t get the footage. This is the third AWE show in a row where Kamilla is left standing over Priscilla motionless body, something has to give soon. This feud just keeps getting better and better, I LOVE IT.

Excellent show you all the next event will be held September 24th and you can find out more information on that at http://atlantawrestlingentertainment.com/index/ but this show gets a 4.7 out of 5 stars. Amazing show from top to bottom.

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[sparda3g]

Kingdom Chapter 569 Review

Hara must be a fan of cliffhanger endings. Before his break, he ended on a cliffhanger. Before the holiday break, he ended on, you guessed it, a cliffhanger; literally no less. At last, we return to the normal routine (until he takes a break that is). After intense moments, we are left hanging (haha…) with Bajio’s leap of faith. Hara doesn’t disappoint when it comes to the follow-up and this chapter is no exception. It was a thrilling chapter that had me shaking with fear and excitement, and it ended on, once again, a cliffhanger. And I’m not complaining.

Bajio was last seen jumping off the cliff while holding Yotanwa. If you guessed that he will jump off and land on the ground below, then you are wrong. The answer is he lands on the other side of the mountain. That really happened. The man is a monster. I have to admit, I laughed at the Quanrong Army’s reactions toward his suicidal jump, because it’s similar to mine. I didn’t even think of that possibility, but hell, he did it. I also laughed how some are asking to try to do it as well, but like hell they would. I probably choke if someone seriously try and fail though.

It’s kind of funny to follow their point of view. They are scanning the view to see if they have survived. They finally determined that they did and everyone is shocked. Seriously, they should have try to jump; it would be hysterical. Unfortunately, my fun ends since they have a bridge on the east side to cross that would lead them to their location. It’s bad enough that they won’t bother to sound the horn for reinforcements that could have alerted others as well. In other words, Bajio and Yotanwa are all alone.

I appreciate a page of the landscape view to give us the terrified sensation of where they are at. It’s dark, filled with trees to limit the space, and it’s only those two that must fight to survive. They have a sit down or lay down chat as they rest. This is the defining moment between the two. On one hand, it’s a nice discussion that shows the emotional side of Bajio. On the other hand, it gives me a really bad feeling for what’s to come.

It’s probably the first time we have seen them interact like friends rather than fighters. Granted, they do talk about their time in combat from the past like fighters, but they speak in your daily friendly manner. How much hell it was to take down the Three-Eye Tribe, how Bajio got lost in the midst of combat, and how Yotanwa was surrounded by hundreds of enemy. I had a bad flashback to when Shin lost his friend before sleeping. Aside from that, it was comforting to hear their history.

Despite all the moments where they were on a brick of losing, the strongest fighter to her is none other than Bajio. She hit the soft spot really good. He doesn’t want to acknowledge it for he thought that time where they fought wasn’t him. He was not human as Yotanwa more or less teases him. It’s rare to see Bajio being sincere, so this moved me.

What also moved me is Yotanwa’s somewhat apologetic words. If she didn’t go for the meeting in the Rita Mountains, she wouldn’t have become King of the Mountains. Most importantly, if he hadn’t met her, he wouldn’t have shed so much blood of his own. That’s seriously sweet. I also like how she uses her cloth to suppress his wounds. She is just fantastic. Her words, bravery, and skills are among the best classman you can ask for.

It leaves one question remain: what oath did Bajio create with Yotanwa? She doesn’t recall anything, so it was his self-made oath. He will tell her everything; that is if they survive the next onslaught. I got chills when the Quanrong Army arrived; Bajio left nothing but death flags. Make no mistake. It’s a hell of a setup for a grueling survivor scenario, but I seriously don’t want him to die. The series didn’t leave a pattern to know that a character will live, so this has me emotionally invested. From there on, it becomes an enticing, thrilling, and unnerving action-packed ride.

It’s as brutal as you can expect. Crap load of dismemberments, bloody hell mess, and downright impressive performance from those two. It’s unreal how those two are handicapped from all the injuries, yet still pull off a fighting will to escape. It added more with Rozo King indirectly hyped them to be more than human if they fight with those injuries. Like that one man said, “After that jump, I’m not even surprised anymore.” Sadly, it motivated the Quanrong Army to no longer hold back, and go all out to kill Bajio and capture Yotanwa.

They send out more men to block their path as well as sending message for reinforcements without sounding the horn. Damn, why the bad guys are smart in this series? My worries rapidly grows the more Bajio takes the beating. My head keeps on ringing, “His time is up. His time is up. His time is up.” Yotanwa gets punched right in the face hard. I cringed seeing that. It’s still unreal to see her getting pummeled. She tried to continue fighting, but the number game overwhelmed her. She gets knocked out, the army carries her away, and Bajio stares in agony.

There’s a flashback when Bajio’s life changed with his bout against Yotanwa back in childhood. It’s the extended version of what was shown already, but for all the right reason. Not only we got to relive the moment that changed him forever, but we got the valid reason why. She didn’t come across as a tyrant to enslave him, rather gave him an opportunity to live as a human. She was never the monster that would take anyone as her slave. She treated them like family. Bajio’s tears got me. I love these characters.

Bajio goes berserk, which got me hyped. It also got me worried. This looks to be his swan song; his final moment. We actually got to see his eye for the first time. That’s like an omen that he has reached his end when you see something that you don’t see every day. He’s on his last stand. I pray to God for a fictional character to live. The next chapter will be a breath-taking one; I just know it. This chapter, however, doesn’t end there.

The Chieftains and their men are gathering up for the sunrise; just as Yotanwa planned. The one piece that was left out was the rendezvous point. Where exactly do they need to go to? One believed their task is to meetup with her by the sunrise; however, that’s not the plan. In fact, she never intended to have her as the prominent factor of winning the battle. The rendezvous point is the Quanrong City. I marked out.

When I saw Enpo, I was going bananas from excitement. I know it’s among the fans’ prediction and it’s the most likely scenario, but after brutal hardships, this is very welcoming. What makes it even greater is that Yotanwa knew she’s the perfect bait, which explains all of her action. She’s fine to take on hundreds or thousands of men alone; as long as her men wins the battle, she will be pleased. Thankfully, Enpo sees a chance to win her for he will have his Enshu Tribe to climb the wall and capture the city. I can’t help but hear Game of Thrones theme playing during the scene. Anyway, this make sense to use his tribe for this task. Great stuff!

The presentation is pretty stellar and rightfully so. I grasped the emotions from Yotanwa and Bajio’s words. Not to mention, I was awed by Bajio’s sentimental side, especially his childhood. I can’t see his face, but you can sense his emotions. The raw action was gruesome, the sequence got me thrilled, and the last stand got me praying. The setting added more to the grueling atmosphere. Still praying as we speak.

This was a hell of a chapter of survival. The calming portion was relaxing and very nice. The action was intense and brutal; some parts I thought I would never see actually happened. The presentation is stellar as said before with the intensity and climatic struggle to survive. The ending got me hyped for Yotanwa’s victory is near. Hell, it actually ended on a cliffhanger when you think about it. Clever. Bajio was undoubtedly MVP. So please, let him continue to live.

[gayatri001]

The Art of Creating Synchronicities: The 12 Keys to Experiencing Mystical Reality

An excerpt on synchronicity is from Sidewalk Oracles: Playing with Signs, Symbols and Synchronicity in Everyday Life ©2015 by Robert Moss

The Twelve Rules of Kairomancy: How to Experience Synchronistic Reality

Kairomancy - the practice of navigating by synchronicities. Divination by special moments. Alternative version: making magic by seizing those special moments.

1. Whatever You Think or Feel, the Universe Says Yes Before you walk into a room or turn a corner, your attitude is there already. It is engaged in creating the situation (and potential synchronicity) you are about to encounter. Whether you are remotely conscious of this or not, you are constantly setting yourself up for what the world is going to give you.

What attitude am I carrying? What am I projecting?

“ideas are projected as a direct result of the force by which they are conceived and they strike wherever the brain sends them by a mathematical law comparable to that which directs the firing of shells from their mortars.” - Honoré de Balzac

synchronicity is ultimately a reflection of our own consciousness and perception.

“We are magnets in an iron globe,” declared Emerson. If we are upbeat and positive, “we have keys to all doors…T he world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck.” Conversely, “A low, hopeless spirit puts out the eyes; skepticism is slow suicide. A philosophy which sees only the worst… dispirits us; the sky shuts down before us.”

2. Chance Favors the Prepared Mind

“creators actively court chance. They’re always ready to notice and amplify with insight some accident of their environment virtually everybody else thinks is trivial or fails to notice. This capacity is, in a deep sense, what makes creators creative.” --John Briggs

“The writing of a book gets under way when the writer discovers that he is magnetized in a certain direction… Then everything he comes across — even a poster or a sign or a newspaper headline or words heard by chance in a café or in a dream — is deposited in a protected area like material waiting to be elaborated.”   --Roberto Calasso

3. Your Own Will Come to You

“I found that every intense imagination, every new adventure of the intellect [is] endowed with magnetic power to attract to it its own kin. Will and desire were as the enchanter’s wand of fable, and they drew to themselves their own affinities….One person after another emerged out of the mass, betraying their close affinity to my moods as they were engendered.” -- George Russell on the law of spiritual gravitation

What we feed our minds and our bodies attracts or repels different parts of ourselves as well as different people and different classes of spirits.

4. You Live in the Speaking Land

As Australian Aborigines say, we live in a Speaking Land. How well we can hear depends on how we use our senses, both inner and outer. How much we can use and understand depends on selection, on grasping what matters.

Spirits of place include the spirits and holographic memories of humans who have lived and loved and struggled on the land before us.

5. Grow Your Poetic Health

“The bottom of the mind is paved with crossroads,” -- Paul Valéry

Kairomancers take care of their poetic health by developing a tolerance for ambiguity and a readiness to see more angles and options than the surface mind perceives.

Pay attention when the same theme, or symbol, or image comes up again and again synchronistically, just as you might pay attention to recurring dreams. When a theme or situation comes at you again and again in dreams, that is often a signal that there is a message coming through that you need to read correctly — and that, beyond merely getting the message, you need to do something about it, to take action. It is the same with rhyming sequences and repeating symbols in waking life.

When you begin to notice a repetition of a certain situation in life, you may say, “Okay, we’re going around the track again. Maybe I want to make sure that I’m not just going around and around in my life in circles of repetition, but that I am on a spiral path.” Which would mean that each time life loops around to where you think you were before, you’ve risen to a slightly higher level, so you can see things with greater awareness and, hopefully, make better choices.

There is a whole education in the art of poetic living in Baudelaire’s poem “Correspondances”:

La Nature est un temple où de vivants piliers Laissent parfois sortir de confuses paroles; L’homme y passe à travers des forêts de symboles Qui l’observent avec des regards familiers.

Nature is a temple whose living pillars Sometimes let slip mysterious messages; We walk here through a forest of symbols That watch us with knowing eyes.

Baudelaire, the urban dandy, has it exactly right: we are walking in a forest of living, synchronistic symbols that are looking at us. When we are in a state of poetic health, we understand that “the imagination is the most scientific of the faculties, because it is the only one to understand the universal analogy, or that which a mystical religion calls correspondence.”

6. Coincidence Multiplies on the Road

This refers both to outer movement and to inner transitions, especially when either carries you outside your normal rounds. You’re not just going through the constant rounds of your life. You’re out and about. You’re going somewhere new.

Nonetheless, unless you’ve changed your eyes, you won’t see the new things. You have to have different eyes in order to see different landscapes. Even so, it is generally true that when we are in movement, not in the familiar rut, we are more likely to notice and to generate and experience coincidence.

The bigger side of it is that when we are in motion in terms of life passages, including challenging passages, when we are falling in or out of love, falling in or out of relationships, when birth or death is in the field, coincidence and synchronicity tends to multiply not just in our perception, but in objective reality. It multiplies because everything is astir. Things are not constant. They are themselves in motion.

“If I think that my life is linked to the dramas of other people in other times and that I have inherited karma from what they did or did not do, maybe I can reach back to them, launching from the moment of Now. Maybe my thoughts and actions now help or hinder in their own time — which is also now — and may be more helpful as I rise to greater consciousness of how all this works.”

It is possible to operate with these two seemingly contradictory visions of reality: linear karma in Chronos time and the simultaneity of synchronistic experience in the multiverse in a spacious Now. It is like the observation in physics that something can be both a particle and a wave, and you will see it one way or the other according to how you observe it.

7. By What You Fall, You May Rise

When we are seized by terrible emotions of rage or grief in our own lives, we can choose to try to harness the raw energy involved and turn it — like a fire hose — toward creative or healing action.

You will want to remember that on the path of transformation and synchronicity, you reach a point where you break down or you break through, and sometimes the breakdown comes before the breakthrough.

Sometimes a fair amount of Chronos time is required to appreciate what Emerson called “the compensations of calamity.” He wrote that such compensations become apparent “after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a loss of wealth, a loss of friends, seems at the moment unpaid loss, and unpayable. But the sure years reveal the remedial force that underlies all facts.”

8. Invoked or Uninvoked, Gods Are Present

“Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous,”

In the Odyssey, as in ancient Greek society, dreams and visions are the most important mode of divination and signposts of synchronicity.

Consciously or unconsciously, we walk on a kind of mythic edge. Just behind that gauzy veil of ordinary understanding, there are other powers, beings who live in the fifth dimension or dimensions beyond. To them, our lives may be as open as the lives of others would be to us if we could fly over the rooftops — and nobody had a roof on their house, and we could look in and see it from every possible angle.

A kairomancer is always going to be willing to look for the hidden hand in the play of coincidence and synchronicity, and to turn to more than one kind of oracle to check on the exact nature of the game.

9. You Walk in Many Worlds

Part of the secret logic of our lives is that we are all connected to counterpart personalities — Seth calls them “probable selves” — living in other times and other probable universes. Their gifts and challenges can become part of our current stories, not only through linear karma, but through the synchronistic interaction now across time and dimensions. The dramas of past, future, or parallel personalities can affect us now. We can help or hinder each other.

In the model of understanding I have developed, this family of counterpart souls is joined on a higher level by a sort of hub personality, an “oversoul,” a higher self within a hierarchy of higher selves going up and up. The choices that you make, the moves that you make, can attract or repel other parts of your larger self.

The hidden hand suggested by synchronistic events may be that of another personality within our multidimensional family, reaching to us from what we normally perceive as past or future, or from a parallel or other dimension.

10. Marry Your Field

“The poet marries the language, and out of this marriage the poem is born.” --W. H. Auden,

What is your field? It’s not work in the ordinary sense, or what your diplomas say you are certified to do, or how you describe yourself in a job résumé — although it can encompass all of those things. Your field is where you ache to be. Your field is what you will do, day or night, for the sheer joy of the doing, without counting the cost or the consequences. Your field is the territory within which you can do the Work that your deeper life is calling you to do. Your field is not limitless. You can’t bring anything into creative manifestation without accepting a certain form or channel, which requires you to set limits and boundaries. So your field is also the place within which the creative force that is in you will develop a form.

And out of this constancy — through tantrums and all — will come that blaze of synchronous creation when the sun shines at midnight, when time will stop or speed up for you, as you will when you are so deep in the Zone that no move can be wrong. Depending on your choice of theme and direction, you may find you are joined by other creative intelligences, reaching to you synchronistically from across time and dimensions in that blessed union that another poet, Yeats, defined as the “mingling of minds.”

When the sun no longer shines at midnight, when you are back on clock time, you won’t waste yourself regretting that today you’re not in the Zone. You are still married. You’ll do the work that now belongs to the Work.

11. Dance with the Trickster

The Gatekeeper is one of the most important archetypes that is active in our lives and is one of the keys to calling in more synchronicities. He or she is that power that opens and closes our doors and roads. The Gatekeeper is personified in many traditions: as the elephant-headed Ganesa in India; as Eshu/Eleggua in West Africa; as Anubis in ancient Egypt; as Hermes or Hecate in ancient Greece.

Trickster is the mode the Gatekeeper — that power that opens doors in your life — adopts when you need to change and adapt and recover your sense of humor. If you are set in your ways and wedded to a linear agenda, the Trickster can be your devil. If you are open to the unexpected gift of synchronicity, and willing to turn on a dime (or something smaller), the Trickster can be a very good friend.

The Trickster will find ways to correct unbalanced and overcontrolling or ego-driven agendas, just as spontaneous night dreams can explode waking fantasies and delusions. Our thoughts shape our realities, but sometimes they produce a distinctly synchronistic boomerang effect. The Trickster wears animal guise in folklore and mythology, appearing as the fox or the squirrel, as spider or coyote or raven.

The well-known psychic and paranormal investigator Alan Vaughan tells a great story against himself about the peril of taking synchronistic signs too seriously. He read that Jung had noted a perfect correspondence between the number of his tram ticket, the number of a theater ticket he bought the same day, and a telephone number that someone gave him that evening.

Vaughan decided to make his own experiment with numbers that day in Freiburg, where he was taking a course. He boarded a tram and carefully noted the ticket number, 096960. The number of the tram car itself was 111. He noticed that if you turned the numbers upside down, they still read the same. He was now alert for the appearance of more synchronistic reversible numbers. Still focused on his theme of upside-down numbers, he banged into a trash can during his walk home. He observed ruefully, “I nearly ended by being upside down myself.” When he inspected the trash can, he saw that it bore a painted name: JUNG.

It was impossible not to feel the Trickster in play. Alan felt he had been reminded — in an entirely personal way — that the further we go with this stuff, the more important it is to keep our sense of humor.

A title of Eshu, who is both Trickster and Gatekeeper in the Yoruba tradition of West Africa, is Enforcer of Sacrifice. He is the one who makes sure that the gods receive their offerings. The price of entry may be a story, told with humor.

12. The Way Will Show the Way

Caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar.

Wayfarer, there is no way, you make the way by walking it.

Make it up as you go along Make it up as you go along Make it up Make it up The way will show the way

Make it up Shake it up Fake it up Bake it up The fox may know the way The star will light the way The dream will show the way The heart will find the way The way will show the way

Creating Synchronicities: The Oath of the Kairomancer

Twelve rules for the kairomancer, and one OATH, which will help us to remember the heart of the practice. To navigate by synchronicity and catch those Kairos moments, we need to be:

1. Open to new experience;

2. Available, willing to set aside plans and step out of boxes;

3. Thankful, grateful for secret handshakes and surprises; and ready to

4. Honor our special moments by taking appropriate action.