#and i also think the original commentary is very wise and responsible :) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

david-talks-sw · 3 years ago

Text

Analyzing Qui-Gon Jinn

As I already covered here, I don't think Qui-Gon is meant to be this "'True Jedi' who's ahead of the curb and who would've prevented Anakin from joining the Dark Side had he lived". He's not "the father figure Anakin should've had". To me, that's fanon extrapolation combined with now-non-canon EU material. I can't find any evidence in any of the (many) George Lucas quotes I've read to support the idea that this interpretation of the character was the "intended narrative".

Instead, I'd argue Qui-Gon's character has three purposes.

1) Out-of-universe, functional purposes:

SHOWING THE JEDI ARE MORTALS.

In every draft of The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon dies at the end. This mirrors Ben's death in A New Hope... but not quite. When Qui-Gon dies, his body doesn't disappear. He dies like a regular person would.

There's a reason for this.

"I wanted to convey the idea that Jedi are all very powerful, but they’re also vulnerable — which is why I wanted to kill Qui-Gon. That is to say, “Hey, these guys aren’t Superman.” These guys are people who are vulnerable, just like every other person." - George Lucas, The Phantom Menace Commentary, 1999

Qui-Gon's character is there to show the audience that - albeit being very powerful - the Jedi have limits, they have weaknesses, they can't fight a war on their own. They're not superheroes, they can be killed.

DELIVERING EXPOSITION.

Originally, Qui-Gon came in much later in The Phantom Menace.

In the first draft of the script, up until the moment when the Queen gets to Coruscant, it was just Obi-Wan, alone, on the Trade Federation ship...

... meeting Jar Jar, saving the Queen, finding and freeing Anakin and presenting him to the Council.

But it became clear to George that - especially at the beginning - the dialog was gonna be tricky because Obi-Wan alone didn’t have much to react to. Like, he'd either be completely quiet or he'd only be talking to himself.

So, when Lucas rewrote the script...

... instead of having Qui-Gon enter the story waaay later (when the gang arrives on Coruscant), George put him in the film from the start. Now Obi-Wan, has a sounding board and some of the complexities of the galaxy in the time of the Prequels can be explained as he and Qui-Gon interact.

And it's an interesting dynamic too.

Qui-Gon acts on instinct. He is wise, yet can also be reckless. He's always on the move, but sometimes that leads him into danger.

Obi-Wan acts on logic. He is very skilled and prudent... but being too prudent will lead him to being a stickler for the rules.

They complement each other perfectly, yet they both still have much to learn. Which brings me to my next point:

2) Qui-Gon is what Obi-Wan will grow beyond.

Qui-Gon says it himself.

Simply put, Qui-Gon is...

THE MENTOR'S MENTOR.

"Liam Neeson is a master Jedi, the center of the movie — just like Alec Guinness was in the first movie. When you start to cast a character like this, you think, ‘Where are we going to find another Alec Guinness? Where are we going to find someone with that kind of nobility, that kind of strength, and that kind of center?" - George Lucas, The Making of The Phantom Menace, 1999

Ben Kenobi is a new, better and improved Qui-Gon.

Thanks to the latter's teachings, Obi-Wan will learn from Qui-Gon's qualities, such as acting on instinct...

... but also from his flaws, like his tendency to rush into danger.

He even takes on some of Qui-Gon's rebelliousness, instead of always being so by-the-book.

"In the beginning, Obi-Wan is at odds with Qui-Gon, who rebels against the Jedi rules. But by the end of the film, he has become Qui-Gon by taking on his rebellious personality and responsibilities." - George Lucas, The Making of The Phantom Menace, 1999

When Qui-Gon learns the secret of transcending death, he's not able to appear physically, as his training isn't complete.

"We never see the ghost of Qui-Gon; he's not that accomplished. He's able to retain his personality, but he's not able to become a corporeal ghost.” - George Lucas, The Art of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, 2005, page 40

But he's able to teach Yoda, who teaches Obi-Wan... both of whom are able to show themselves.

Even with the recent changes in the Canon continuity, with Qui-Gon being able to manifest himself physically too...

... the point still stands: what took him about a decade to accomplish, Obi-Wan will eventually be able to accomplish instantly. And it's thanks to Qui-Gon's training.

So when it comes to the argument "Obi-Wan wasn't a suitable mentor for Anakin"... I'd say he was, because - for better or for worse - he studied under Qui-Gon, who acted as...

THE TRAINING WHEELS FOR ANAKIN'S TRAINING.

Here's what George had to say about Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan...

"[Qui-Gon] is very independent, always testing the rules. And we meet young Obi-Wan, who is constantly frustrated by his Master’s refusal to go along with the program." - George Lucas, The Making of The Phantom Menace, 1999

Here's what George had to say about Obi-Wan and Anakin...

"Even though he’s the stern taskmaster and mentor [Obi-Wan] still cares about Anakin [but he's] frustrated with their relationship and Anakin’s unwillingness to go along with the rules." - George Lucas, Attack of the Clones commentary, 2002

The wording is almost the same.

In training Anakin, Obi-Wan finds himself in same situation he was in with Qui-Gon... but this time he's more prepared to take on the challenge. After all: Obi-Wan's had a lot of experience dealing with this sort of personality, he's been keeping Qui-Gon from flying off the handle for over a decade.

"One of the primary issues between this relationship between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon is that this is establishing Obi-Wan as the kind of straight arrow, the center of the movie, and Qui-Gon as the rebel, as the one who’s constantly sort of pushing the envelope. Which will switch itself in the next movie when, rather than having his master be the rebel, he has his Padawan learner become the rebel. I’m using Obi-Wan as sort of this centering device through all these movies, even as we get in with Luke and everybody else later on." - George Lucas, The Phantom Menace Commentary, 1999

3) Qui-Gon is who Anakin could've become if everything turned out okay.

I noticed this thing the other day, in The Phantom Menace, fight between Qui-Gon and Darth Maul:

Qui-Gon is pushing Maul back, he's rushing ahead... and Maul is completely in control. It's almost like he's luring Qui-Gon toward the reactor shaft and Qui-Gon is too taken by the fight to realize he's being led by the nose.

Of course, later on, Qui-Gon meditates, clears his mind, and goes back on the offensive so efficiently that Darth Maul needs to play dirty to land a blow. But that initial part? Where he's just aggressively pressuring the opponent who keeps controlling the fight by giving ground...?

That's a classic Anakin move.

A few months ago, I wrote that, as a character: Dooku is who Anakin might become if he strays from the right path.

Imma take it further and argue that, conversely: Qui-Gon is who Anakin could be if he stays on the right path.

Just like he does with Dooku, Anakin has a bunch of similar traits and parallels with Qui-Gon, and they're clearly intentional.

VISUAL PARALLELS:

From simple stuff like the length of their hair...

"George wanted Anakin to look more like Qui-Gon Jinn, to show that he was going beyond what Obi-Wan was teaching him -- hence the long hair." - Iain McCaig, The Art of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, 2005, page 45

... or the fact that Anakin and Qui-Gon are aggressive fighters who'll punch opponents in the face during a lightsaber duel...

"There's a line of training through Darth Tyranus and Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Anakin. You can follow that line, and there's an aggressive fault in that line. Mace isn't of that line, and that allows you to give him unique talents." - Nick Gillard, StarWars.com, Homing Beacon #126, 2004

... even their funerals are the same.

"The end of [Return of the Jedi] is Anakin at a funeral pyre, just like Qui-Gon is [in] here. So I wanted to keep those motifs— again, things to harken back to things that had been going on in the movie. We then have this moment, which is very important, where Obi-Wan commits, and tells Anakin that he’s going to train him, because that’s where the rest of the movie go." - George Lucas, The Phantom Menace Commentary, 1999

SIMILAR CHARACTERIZATIONS:

As mentioned in the previous section, they're both rebellious and have trouble following the rules... which can put them at odds with the Council, at times.

They're not perfect, sometimes they can be rash and impulsive. For example, George describes Qui-Gon's decision to have Anakin be trained as "controversial", "wrong" and "dangerous."

But unlike Anakin, Qui-Gon's rebellious nature isn't motivated by arrogance, like Anakin in Episode II, but by a drive to help as many people as possible. Qui-Gon is selfless, goes with the flow, trusts the Will of the Force, whereas Anakin has trouble letting go of his selfish desires and is determined to impose his will on the natural cycle of life and death.

Also, Qui-Gon is usually able to re-center himself when he slips. There's a peace and calm to him that Anakin still needs to acquire.

To be fair, Qui-Gon is a trained Jedi Master. Whereas Anakin's training was sabotaged by a Sith Lord almost every step of the way.

But the fact remains that if Anakin learned to let go of his attachments, if he can face the mirror and conquer his inner demons... he'd be what Qui-Gon is:

An incorruptible Jedi who follows the Light for the simple reason that it is the Light, no matter what.

A street-wise, kind man with a talent for spotting diamonds in the rough and listening to the mythological "Guide" archetypes.

A ferocious but extremely talented lightsaber duelist with the ability to center himself and stay on target. More quick on the draw than your average Jedi, but for all the right reasons.

Someone with a special connection to the Force, someone with the gift of foresight, who feels rather than thinking.

So that's who Qui-Gon really is. He is what Anakin could be.

And that's where Obi-Wan and Palpatine come back in (the good father figure and the bad father figure, the man who kept Qui-Gon grounded and the man who corrupted Dooku)... depending on whose guidance Anakin listens to the most, he'll either be the next Qui-Gon or the next Dooku.

#qui-gon jinn #meta #george lucas #anakin skywalker #jedi order #star wars #obi-wan kenobi #sw meta #jedi #qui-gon #qui gon/obi wan #anakin #sw #dooku #disaster lineage #lucas quotes #collection of quotes #long post #analysis

549 notes · View notes

rachelillustrates · 2 years ago

Text

On Bagginshield and soul-matches:

(Surprise! I have more thoughts.)

I wrote my original commentary on the development of their relationship before I had heard of Dwarven Ones, and I think fanon-wise it's well established that Dwarves know their Ones on sight (with varying degrees of realizing what that *feeling* means, how long it takes them to realize that, etc.).

In the interest/idea of Hobbits having soul-matches too - shoutout to "The Will of the Green Lady (and Her Husband the Smith)" by Dragonsteamfan) for the spark of my own headcanons about all this - if they know theirs by touch, then Bilbo would have recognized Thorin as his at their first meeting.

In going back through the gathering scene at Bag End, when he first meets them all - Thorin takes great care not to touch him as he circles around him at their introduction, studying him, but just far enough away that no part of them ever brushes.

(And I think a lot could be said about that, considering that if he recognized Bilbo as his One immediately - which seems likely, considering how his posture changes and the slight wide-eyed panic just visible on his face when he and Bilbo make eye contact, at Gandalf's introduction - he shoves that aside to immediately criticize him and distance himself from the notion. Even in the face of how breathless-quiet Bilbo's tone is as he looks him up and down in turn. Ahem.)

But then! After he is seated and gets what's left of the food, Gandalf calls for more light as he spreads out the map of the area around Erebor. And Bilbo has to lean in to do that, which presses him right into the space between Thorin and Gandalf.

Having literally walked up to my TV and measured out the space of Thorin's shoulders with my hands, there is no way Bilbo wasn't leaning on Thorin there, in order to get close enough to read "the Lonely Mountain" aloud.

He also goes back into his kitchen right after this, fussing at the space where his mugs seem to be set, and he is not putting the candle away. He set it on the table, and then chose to leave the room. Only to then get distracted by mention of Smaug and the dangers contained therein.

So, he goes from leaning in to read the map, brushing arm to Thorin's shoulder in the process, then chooses to step away and gets fussy over something that does not appear to need fussing over, before he gets pulled back into the greater conversation on the quest itself.

There is an empty space there as to why he chose to leave the room and why he seemed to be getting emotional.

So.

If Hobbits recognize their soul-matches through touch.

I believe that happened for him in that moment. Even if he got distracted from that news of his heart by all the danger and excitement of the quest. Which is a very nice parallel to Thorin actively shoving his own revelation aside before.

(Not to mention how when Gandalf insists that Thorin trust him, and hire Bilbo, there is quite a lot of blinking in his staring at the Wizard as he answers - like he's still fighting against it, "This CANNOT be correct what in Mahal's name am I getting myself into?" And that after Bilbo himself agreed vehemently with many of the Company claiming he was unfit to join them, which reads as further passive denial of his own feelings, on top of his fear about the journey itself.)

(Which adds very interesting weight to the gruff, resigned way Thorin shoves the contract at Bilbo's chest, without looking at him - "FINE. This is happening. Let's see what happens." And to the fact that, as Bilbo is reading over the contract, Thorin whispers to Gandalf that he cannot guarantee Bilbo's safety, "nor will I be responsible for his fate." He separates those two things - Bilbo's safety/the danger, AND his fate, which encompasses MORE than physical safety. Hmm...)

He also keeps standing, watching Bilbo read, while most of the rest of the Company have gone back to their own conversation to give him some privacy. Until he starts listing all the ways in which he might die, to which he turns away, but still doesn't sit back down.

And a lot of emphasis is put on how Bilbo won't come back the same, if he does come back, when he and Gandalf talk more directly about his choice. A conversation which Thorin was listening in on, with Balin, and to which he stares after Bilbo (after he tells Gandalf no and walks off) more than a bit longer than necessary.

Not to mention that as Bilbo sits leaning against his bedpost, listening to Thorin (and then the others too) sing, he looks dazed. Almost neutral. Spent. Which I've always thought was an odd choice, considering what's written in the book about the moment (it looks like he's disassociating) - BUT with the added layer of soul-match knowledge on top of his panic over the quest, the danger of it, warring with the adventurous Took side of him... it makes a lot more sense.

And then he's able to make sense of all of that, and finally snap and follow his heart, the next morning - when he's slept, and wakes up to an empty house, and has the space and privacy to really decide.

It's very difficult to figure out where to stop this commentary since this all barrels into e v e r y t h i n g else, so I will end with a note on what happens when he catches up with the party the Company and declares he's signed the contract, officially joining them after all.

We don't get Bilbo's reaction to Thorin in this scene at all, since it's so focused on his place in the entire group. But we do get a shot of Thorin turning back and looking at him as he has called out to them to wait, and catches up. He turns, as they all do, and looks at him in stern, frustrated disbelief, almost shaking his head at the end of the shot (as in, he moves as if he were about to, but then the camera cuts away). And he only speaks to Bilbo - actually, not even to Bilbo - in ordering the others to give him a pony, and he sounds resigned again. Then turns back to the path, urging his own pony forward, which signals Gandalf to start ahead too (that all happens at once, but technically Thorin moves first, just by a tiny smidge) and the others follow (and this effectively distracts Bilbo, as well, since his discomfort with the horses is already evident!). Which fits, still, with the idea that Thorin is shoving his feelings away, and Bilbo is passively distracted away from them.

So, again, watching all these scenes from the perspective of Dwarven Ones and the idea of Hobbit soul-matches too, I think it all fits and flows together even more solidly, with that Truth.

��

#bagginshield #lotr meta #inspiration #relationship development #soulmates #otp #writing #romance #the hobbit #thorin oakenshield #bilbo baggins #thilbo

33 notes · View notes

seokwoosmole · 3 years ago

Text

F4 Thailand Thoughts Ep. 6 [Pt 4]

I give great thanks to the writers for letting us have a bit of lightheartedness before things get too heavy and intense drama-wise. Thyme, I agree, Gorya's outfit is very cute! Yours is not. I don't know if Ren is starting to hate you or maybe your wardrobe's really that bad.

...

Your wardrobe's really that bad. But luckily you're blessed to be played by Bright, who seems to pull off that Pepto Bismol Panther monstrosity like a model on the runway, so I'll forgive it. But Thyme being unable to tell Gorya that her outfit is cute may seem like an adorable romantic fumble but alas, it's another moment of both foreshadowing and character commentary how a major flaw he has and obstacle between Thyme and Gorya getting to have a successful and healthy relationship is his inability to properly communicate. But we'll get back to that. While Xiaoyou (Kaning) from both versions of Meteor Garden was written as a very weak and naive character, I was happy that Kaning was given more of a backbone, but F4 Thailand why????? You were doing so well in changing necessary parts of the original source material but why oh why did we have to keep the gross boyfriend?? I do not at all see how someone with as much dignity and common sense as Kaning would ever tolerate being with a guy like Tesla. My man Thyme is one of the richest people in the country and homie's named after an herb yet this whacko has the audacity to call himself Tesla?? Bless Thyme's soul during this episode because I'm a self-proclaimed pacifist and yet I would have beat the crap out of this POS. Also, no matter how much Gorya loves Kaning, she should love her enough to tell her that her boyfriend is trash. Girlie, you deserve to be with someone who isn't so tactlessly obnoxious and sleazy. You can do better. I will say though, Thyme's meltdown at Tesla's attitude (the first one) was hilarious to watch. He held in all that anger to take it out on a plushie he bought for his date, meanwhile, said date just looked at him so endearingly. I think, moments like this, when she can see him struggle, she really admires him. Exhibit A) when he seemed a bit awkward interacting with her family at first but ultimately developed a good bond with them or Exhibit B) tried to dress her knee wound very roughly but eventually got the gentleness down and Exhibit C) managing to be super-duper patient despite Tesla getting on every single nerve. These moments where Thyme "struggles" prove that him having a hard time in these situations just show that he's trying. He is making an effort to be better for Gorya and he's taking it seriously. I really love Gorya though for praising Thyme for being patient all day, but also putting him in his place and making it clear that they're not dating. And Thyme's response to this is beautiful. I hate my constant need to make comparisons to prior versions but Dao👏🏽ming👏🏽Si👏🏽would👏🏽never👏🏽I love Thyme's character development and his growing maturity especially in recognizing that he cannot always get what he wants simply by proclaiming it in hopes that it will be true. He doesn't delude himself into thinking that Gorya returns his feelings – he knows that his love is unrequited and instead of rushing Gorya into making a decision about her feelings, he says he'll wait, no matter how strong-willed she is. And Gorya's strong-willed nature is one of the things he loves about her, so knowing that this trait of hers is actually working against him, yet he accepts and encourages it, speaks volumes about how far he's come in terms of his character growth.

#f4 thailand #f4 #bright #bright vachirawit #tu tontawan #prim chanikarn #gunsmile chanagun #thai drama

27 notes · View notes

dreaminginvelaris · 4 years ago

Text

sorting acotar characters into hogwarts houses

idk why i decided to make this post but it was fun sooo...

lmk if y'all agree or disagree. Also please no hate, sometimes a post is just for fun and i don't need any negativity. UNLESS its hate for elain which by all means go ahead ;) (because of ppls sensitivity, this joke isnt an invitaion to go on a full blown elain hate rant just offer a few jabs, especially if you agree on the elain section and move on, if you wanna go on a rant, message me or submit a post and i'll response, all the love <3)

Slytherin: Ambition, Cunning, Leadership, and Resourcefulness

Rhysand: of course Rhys is Slytherin, the man screams Slytherin. We all know he's cunning, often coming up with plans to get what he wants, leader well duh, he's a high lord and loves it and is great at it, he's ambitious, he's a dreamer, so of course, he wants more, and he's resourceful, always being able to think on the spot. Rhysands second house would be Ravenclaw for sure though.

Eris: uhhh do I even have to explain? wants to be Highlord, boom ambitious. seems to be the one in charge of his brothers and has many responsibilities, boom leader. being able to achieve what he wants, boom cunning. resourcefulness...yeah I don't got an example for that one, anyways 3/4.

Azriel: daddy az is a Slytherin, I mean obviously this is the best house (is it obvious yet that I'm a Slytherin ;) but fr, I debated sorting him into Ravenclaw, but even though yes he shows Ravenclaw traits it's not the ones we see the most of or the ones that really shine through Azriel's reserved personality. The main traits azzy boo here has from Slytherin are Cunning and Resourcefulness, and imo these are the ones we see from him every page.

Amren: im putting amren here too, she's literally both!

Gryffindor: Brave, Courage, Daring, Chivalrous

Cassian: this one is self-explanatory, how many times has he put others before himself, how many times has he endangered his own life to save others. that's a Gryffindor soul he has. he always tried to do the right thing, he's brave as hell and reckless at times it seems from the little snide comments we've gotten from the books, he would have been a marauder no doubt.

Tamlin: I hate to do this I do because I love my lions, but I had to put this piece of shit somewhere and since he reminds me of peter Pettigrew bc of his cowardness, I'm sorting him in here. I'm so sorry guys ;(

Morrigan: helloooo, the house colors are red and gold??? obviously mor would demand this house, yes demand. but not just that she's crazy brave, at only what 18? i think, she stood up to her family, making a decision she knew could have her ending up in a horrible situation. but she always is brave, shes gotta when her evil family is still in her life.

Hufflepuff: Loyal, Kind, Patient, Hardworking

Gwyn: i choose my girl gwyn for Hufflepuff bc let's face it, she is the embodiment of Hufflepuff. She's loyal to her new friends, emerie and Nesta, and the priestesses. She's kind as we can see when she first met Nesta and when emerie and Nesta shared their stories. She's very patient never snaps at that bitchy priestess who idk the name of as well as patient when it comes to her and Azriel's tender new friendship and hardworking, always doing her job, running around the library, for her work, always researching more ways to help the Valkyries. i debated putting her in Ravenclaw, because of her intelligence, but i think she's a Hufflepuff through and through.

Elain: IT HURTS MY HEART PUTTING PLAIN ELAIN IN THIS HOUSE. but I gotta, the only trait this plant sniffer has out of all the houses is "kind and patient" EVEN THOUGH SHE'S NOT REALLY LMFAO. I've made a post on explaining why this dirt lover isn't as kind as the books make her out to be, and I would argue she isn't actually patient at all, I mean did we miss how she was basically frustrated Nesta wasn't getting better even though it had been like what 2 weeks, LMFAO. but yeah I mean she's not loyal unless you have food and money then oh yeah she'll be loyal and she's not hardworking bc I mean she never did jack shit and still doesn't, sorry to do this to y'all.

Note: some of yall are so soft. this is not an anti elain post. sorry i insulted her but hey its my post, and i have commentary on each character to explain why i feel they belong in a certain house. sorry i happened to insult your fav. but this isnt an anti elain post, just like its not anti tamlin or anti eris. its just a post about all the characters period, which is why i inculded all of them in the tags. hey, i even insulted Nesta a little bit, but I'm not gonna tag anti-Nesta bc it's not a fucking hate post. get off this post if it comes across you and you don't like what I say, it's not hard to literally just scroll, trust me I've done it multiple times especially when it's a hate post on my beloved characters and they didn't use the anti tags. it's not fucking hard, grow up.

Ravenclaw: Wisdom, Wit, Individuality, Intelligence

Feyre: I debated putting queen feyre into Slytherin, I mean she shows the traits for sure, but it's not really if she shows the traits it's what shines the most in her. Ravenclaws are known for their creativity (bae luna Lovegood <3) and feyres an artist, even in her darkest times she remained an artist, always seeing portraits in her mind, always admiring the beautiful colors of the world. We know she's intelligent, picking up reading and writing quickly, and we also see it when she's strategizing, with the inner circle. Feyre is so wise, she had to be, she had to grow up quickly, you often see her in the books giving advice, because even though she's only 21, she's lived a lifetime. and the whole book of acomaf can show you how witty she is, I mean its what made us fall in love with feysand.

Amren: tiny snowball amren is literally a slytherclaw, she has all the traits from both. but because of how well she is with coding languages and how she always reads and does puzzles i think she'd enjoy being a Ravenclaw.

Nesta: I thought about this for a while, really looking into where she would thrive, Ravenclaw is for her no doubt. She's herself, always has been even when that wasn't such a good thing... but she's witty too if you make sure to not count the "the book is about...a book" I'm sorry that line makes me laugh every single time. we haven't really seen much of her intelligence but I'm guessing she is. but really she would love to be in a house where ppl are themselves and read, i can already imagine her creating a book club where people can be themselves and enjoy smutty books like her.

Lucien: originally I was going to sort him into Hufflepuff but then I remembered how intelligent he is, how witty, and I remembered in acowar he talked about how being the youngest of what 7 heirs? he had the chance to really educate himself which he loved to do, to really learn about his court, idk this man just screams intelligence to me.

I left out emerie bc i honestly don't know where to sort her, i feel like i just don't know her too well or understand her enough to sort her, so feel free to lmk where she would belong :)

#acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #acosf #nesta archeron #feyre archeron #rhysand #tamlin #cassian #azriel #elain archeron #mor acotar #lucien vanserra #amren #gwyneth berdara #eris vanserra

80 notes · View notes

hela-avenger · 5 years ago

Text

To the Stars Who Listen- Part 7

Author: hela-avenger

Word Count: 1977

Summary: When Loki desires to never fall in love, he casts a spell to prevent such a thing from happening. Except, well, in the matters of love and magic, you never know the result it may have in the end. Loki x Reader

A/N: This one’s a bit long and the next one will also be pretty long. I’ve just got a lot I want to include! Tags are open! (Send me an ask/message/response.)

TTSWL Masterlist

Loki scowled as you led him once more out of the beaten path. He’s forced to descend down the damn hill again until you are content at the bare field that laid ahead of you. Loki glares at the sun that is beating down at them but is relieved at the cool breeze that flowed through the nearby trees.

“Why did you bring me out here again?” Loki asks. “Isn’t the point of an indoor training facility is to train indoors?”

“After the incident from yesterday morning I decided it would be best if we trained away from everyone,” you answer. “I really don’t need to hear more of my friends confessing things to me.”

“Come on,” Loki drawls. “I’m sure a tiny part of you enjoyed it.”

You hadn’t and yet a sharp sting runs down your spine at his words. As if your power was reprimanding you for lying to yourself. You try to ignore it but involuntarily shiver and Loki grins at the action.

You hate his grin.

You don’t necessarily hate him even though you had many reasons to.

Loki destroyed New York in an attempt to rule over mankind. He also got his ass chewed out by his parents when he got sent back home.

Now he was here, claiming to be better, reformed.

You had yet to see it but noticing how miserable Loki was in the past months roaming the halls of the Tower you knew the slow punishment was certainly fitting the crime.

Though now, things seem to be working out for him.

“Look, I don’t want to question your superior knowledge on this matter but there has to be another way for me to expel the excess power I keep surging,” you state. “I can’t be blasting things hours at end so I don’t physically implode.”

“There are other ways but they’re more complicated,” Loki answers as he crosses his arms. He was hoping that would put an end to that question but you pestered on.

“So?” you ask him. “I can handle it.”

Loki snorts.

The arrogance you held was comedic. He would blame your humanity for the awful trait but his brother and his merry band of friends were endowed with it too.

“You’re asking me to teach you how to wield your seidr,” Loki explains. “In mortal words that should help you comprehend, you want me to teach you how to cast spells. It will expel your powers but not as quickly or as greatly as the siphons will.”

“So is that a yes?” you ask him unable to fight the smile on your lips. Loki rolls his eyes but you continue. “Come on. I’m trying to find the silver lining to this new power. If I can cast spells like a witch then I want to learn.”

“I take offense to the word witch,” Loki mutters, noticing how your fingers fidget with the gold siphons. Your obvious discomfort of them was written so plainly on your face. “Even if you could cast spells, you’ll still have to wear and use the siphons daily.”

“Are you agreeing to teach me then?” you ask him. For once you were excited at the prospect of this lesson.

“My spells of expertise reside on tricks and lies,” Loki explains. “They won’t work for you so I will have to figure out spells that rely on your ability of the truth.”

“Seriously?” you deflate. “There’s nothing you can teach me today?”

“Well I had planned to teach you how to pull out secrets and confessions in a more covert way, but you won’t allow my lesson, will you?”

You shake your head and Loki rubs his eyes tiredly.

“Just teach me something simple!” you offer. “Something that you as a kid managed to pull off and then I’ll subject myself to your lesson without questions or commentary.”

Loki watches you silently realizing that you needed this distraction. It’s been obvious from the beginning that this power was something you hated. He was confused by this anger. Had it been him in your shoes, Loki would be elated to be more powerful than before.

Of course, you were a different breed.

From what he could tell by his observations, you were beloved by all. Strong, kind, and smart to be considered at the same level as many of these heroes you surround yourself with. You did it all by yourself and with the single motivation of wanting to do good for the world.

Your intentions are and have always been so pure that Loki wonders if that is why the Book of Veritas deemed you worthy to release its power into you.

“I can teach you how to shield…”

“Come on, I know you have something more fun up your sleeve,” you interject.

Loki tries to think but he finds himself distracted by the warm smile on your face. He’s seen it in the company of others but never had it been directed to him. You had never spent this much time with him to deem him one.

“I uh… I cast childish spells. They all rhymed too. I don’t think…”

Loki doesn’t understand why his mind drives him to that particular memory again. Of floating rose petals and impossible possibilities. He’s horrified by it. Especially as you take notice of it.

“You know of one,” you point out, your smile widening. “What is it?”

Loki hesitates but he knows that if he withholds his response for too long you’ll be onto him in seconds. You’ll pry the answer out of him. The truth coming out one way or another.

“It was a foolish love spell.”

“A love spell?” you repeat amused. “Little Loki wanted to fall in love?”

Surprisingly enough, you don’t laugh or make fun of him. Loki is wary by the lack of it but answers your question nonetheless.

“I desired the opposite actually,” he explains. “I don’t wish to ever fall in love.”

“And why is that?”

“I’m not going to answer that,” Loki states.

You’re very curious to know the answer, but Loki’s privacy was one you had yet to invade without his permission. He deserves to keep his secrets in the same way that you didn’t always deserve the truth.

“So how do I cast this love spell?” you ask him.

“Wish to fall in love?” Loki asks, turning the focus on you.

You shrug carelessly, “Maybe.”

“Don’t have enough admirers already?”

“What are you going on about?” you ask with a roll of your eyes. “I don’t have any admirers.”

“You can’t be serious.”

You stare at him confused and Loki sighs in response.

“You are.”

Loki looks away in exasperation causing you to fidget again.

“Just spit it out already,” you exclaim.

“Bucky and Sam admitted they found you attractive yesterday morning,” Loki states. “And don’t get me started on the Captain…”

“Steve doesn’t see me that way,” you sigh. “We’re just friends. All of them are my friends.”

“Well, all of your friends are attracted to you.”

You can’t avoid the sudden warmth that encompasses your face as you realize he’s being honest. You try to stammer out a response but the words are useless.

“I uh… I mean… They’re not…”

You take a deep breath trying to ignore Loki’s obvious amusement.

“I don’t see any of them that way,” you respond curtly. “They are attractive men. Actually very attractive. I’m honestly surprised that the entire team hasn’t been poached by a model agency by now.”

“You’re straying away from the point.”

“Right, well…” you stumble. “The point is that I don’t find myself romantically attracted to them. They’re great guys but I need more.”

Loki doesn’t really care for your explanation and yet he finds himself intrigued.

What more could you possibly want?

You had the whole world in your hands and yet you desired more.

There was only one way to find the answer and he dreaded the mere thought of it.

“The love spell needs some binding elements,” Loki states. “I used rose petals but you can use whatever you can find.”

You can’t help the smile on your face as he conjures a small gold bowl in his hands for you to use. You eagerly take it from him and Loki watches as you skip away to collect whatever you can find.

“You are going to bind your desires to these elements so I would suggest you choose wisely.”

You heed his warnings before coming back to him.

“Ok I’ve got them,” you tell him. “What now?”

Loki looks down at the filled bowl and scowls.

A few autumn leaves, daisies, and blades of grass.

“Interesting choices,” Loki mutters. “Do you have your spell in mind?”

“No,” you answer. “But why don’t you tell me how yours went and I can just… copy that.”

Loki notices the mischief laced in your smile. Your intentions were so blatantly clear because you had no wish to hide them from him. He wonders if this was a side effect of your powers or if it was from your original character.

“A yellow rose petal for friendship, a white one for youth, a red rose petal for love and a blue one for truth,” Loki states. “...And that is all you’re hearing from me. The rest is none of your concern.”

“Fine,” you smile. “Keep the juicy bits to yourself.”

You take a deep breath and look down at the contents inside your bowl.

“For my heart I wish to have... a man who loves me with all that he has. Blades of grass to signal he’s lean. A fighter, a lover, a man of means. Autumn leaves and daisies of plenty. I hope to find love when I least expect it.”

Loki could taste the magic in the air. He closes his eyes and feels the warmth and softness brush against his skin. He waits to hear your shocked gasp as the elements in the bowl begin to float away but it never comes.

“Is something supposed to happen?” you ask him as he opens his eyes to find the bowl still filled. “I feel like something should have happened.”

“You’re indeed right,” Loki frowns. “Your binding elements should have flown away to find your perfect pair.”

“Did I do it wrong?”

Loki shakes his head. He could still feel the residue of your magic and the spell was perfectly casted.

“Repeat it again.”

So you do feeling the bowl grow warm in your hands.

The magic is more pungent now and Loki feels how heavy it lays around them. Before he could decipher the phenomenon, the entire contents of the bowl blew up between them. You and Loki are covered in the debris of grass, shrivelled up leaves, and daisy petals.

“Ok,” you cough out. “Was that supposed to happen?”

“Not at all,” Loki scowls as he brushes off the remains from his person.

“What does it mean?” you ask as you pull off a petal from your hair.

The magic was fading away from the air and Loki had no explanation to offer as to why your love spell had gone wrong.

Perhaps your demands were too much, but if that were the case that meant Loki’s spell had actually worked while yours didn’t. Someone who wanted love couldn’t achieve it while someone who didn’t had.

Loki lets out a sigh.

“I have no idea,” Loki shrugs as he takes the bowl from your hand and makes it disappear. “You might have infused too much of your power in it and burnt out the spell.”

You can’t help but chuckle.

Loki wasn’t necessarily lying but he wasn’t telling you the entire truth. The thing that surprised you immensely was that you really didn’t care to know what he could possibly be hiding.

Not this time. Perhaps not ever.

TTSWL Tag: @catsladen @is-it-madness @manyfandoms-marvel @mejusttryintogetby @illogicalfangirl @ariel-snow-tmnt @islinglivesinshire @musicconversedance @missmadwoman @smaranshakthi @adaydreamingdragon @poetic-fiasco @like-a-wildfire @jasminecalia @ha-tep @charbokbok @setsuna-meiou31 @ms-blvck @country-cowgirl-101 @bepo-is-sorry @hufflautia @waitforthehurricanrose @fictionalhoomanofnowhere @sanniegirl1214 @telenari @anonymouscastiel12

Loki Tag: @unicorniorosacomefrutillas @thesilentbluesparrow @oddly-drawn-muse @josiehosiedaninja @hp-hogwartsexpress @sadwaywardkid @wolf-lover74 @sizzlingbarbarianglitter @sigyn-nightshade @aoirohi @horsesandwolvesaremyanimals @just-a-donut-who-reads @day-dreaming-fox

All Works Tag: @jmb959 @astudyoftimeywimeystuff @hellocookiecutter @steve-rogers-personal-hell @buckybarnesyard @not-zari-tak @strangersstranger @thefridgeismybestie @ariel-snow-tmnt @badhollandfluff @what-a-flammable-heart

194 notes · View notes

themelodicenigma · 5 years ago

Text

FF7R Localization

Wow. This is getting ridiculous. All the people screaming at Square Enix NA for the localization/translations of FFVII Remake—you really should stop and think about what perspective you have at this moment. I understand though, really, and I’ll express why further down, but seeing the rationalization at the heart of these criticisms is making it difficult to not be frustrated at the fandom’s behavior.

A lot of you are really showing you haven’t spent the time understanding the localization/translation process that takes place within the company. Not to mention, that you refuse to listen to what the people who are officially involved with the game are telling you. This process in question directly involves the localization team internally in Tokyo at Square Enix Japan. A process that is accomplished alongside the developers and staff directly involved with the project in Japan. The recording sessions where people are physically location-wise isn’t one unified place, nor might be those who are outsourced to be a part of the process, but communication and involvement is retained through this process across the world. There are a myriad of paratext that describe this process that Square Enix has done for many different projects—Kitase talked about this for FFXIII, Nomura talked about it for KH3, and now Ben Sabin talks about it in multiple interviews for FFVIIR (here and here, go nuts). Ultimania interviews also typically cover it as well, the Asako Suga (Supervising Dialogue Editor for most KH games) interview in the KH3 Ultimania is a very good one as well. Honeywood, who was responsible for beginning the steps to a better localization process after the OG FFVII, left the company with a good foundation here for what they do and how it’s achieved.

Differences based on the team, circumstances, and even those outsourced to assist should be considered for every project SE does, but the overall approach to localization/translation is done about the same way. Has been for years now, with the changeup being in what is affected by the goal of either closer or simultaneous releases between the different languages, especially ENG and JPN. It’s a joint effort and everyone is on the same side—if you have a complaint about how something was handled in the game, this isn’t the sole responsibility and accountability of one person or one division of the company. The localization team are still people who work on the game, the final product we receive, directly and deserve more recognition than being treated like outsiders to, what could be considered, the primary developers.

But, that’s even if the issues at hand are actually issues to begin with.

It’s absolutely okay if you don’t like the way a localization turned out, that’s totally fair to not be satisfied. If a fan’s mindset behind translation/localization is to get the same experience of that of the original language, then I can’t blame you for such a goal—if anything I feel the same way, and objectively that’s a good goal to have. Additionally, it’s also fair to even have a preference between any of them, and I definitely encourage learning and understanding whatever the primary language is for a game.

However, I would implore you to also understand that this goal, through the effort and agreement of those creating the game, can be met in different ways, and analogous to that, a translation can be expressed in a multitude of ways within a context. There is an allowance of flexibility to capture the context in whatever way they see fit—and if it has a different approach or wording than the original, that does not make it “wrong” or a “mistranslation”. This type of thinking is very limited in how translation/localization works, especially for a creative project, and it fails to acknowledge the multitude of ways in which something can be said, and how contextual elements can influence the expression that can be made. There’s a difference between being wrong on a translation level by the book and being wrong contextually. It certainly can happen both ways, but often, fans will complain of things that aren’t contextually “wrong” to a consequential degree and that were intended to be the way it was in the target language.

I mean jeez, it’s all too typical that to a fan who has engaged in heated, and probably nonsensical, debate of LTD shit for 20 years would want to look at the differences through the lens of this offense. I’ve seen the same shit before in other fandoms and it’s stupidly petty.

Was it written for Olette to say “What a romantic story!” because the localization team are “Sokai” shippers? Or, is it because they saw the opportunity to add a more direct connotation to Olette’s response to Kairi telling her about Sora? You know, the person she literally has romantic storytelling with?

And for the hot topic, was Aerith’s lines in the train graveyard of claiming Cloud as her bodyguard there to preserve some apparent self-indulgent need to be “Clerith fans”? Or, was it done to express that light part of Aerith’s character in this situation where both other people are clearly much more tense? With a line of dialogue that characteristically match what she is physically doing?

“Context” is multiple and broad in meaning. The context of the circumstance and the responses by either characters did not change in either the JPN and ENG version, but there was however a different approach to their lines that emphasized a certain connotation that already fits other elements of the context of the scene. It really isn’t an issue objectively or false in nature, and there’s no means in which you can say it’s not intended to be what it is when the people with the authority of working directly on the project collaborated with the very same people you’re saying it goes against. It’s made, finalized, and meant to be what it is by decision.

C’mon, if you’re actually comprehending the multitude of resources that describe the localization process SE as a whole does for their games, knowing this is done with cooperation with the developers and those who can even fluently speak ENG and JPN who are on the development team [e.g. Yasue for KH3]—how can you truly have the audacity to say that something isn’t intended for how it was written in the target language? Really. Now there are certainly mistakes and contradictions that can be pointed out that actually DO change context and affect the understanding of the game’s world—FFXIII being the example for lore concepts—but people going line by line and pointing out the most inconsequential differences, things that don’t actually change the context of the scene or contradict all pertaining elements/persons involved....

Wow. Let’s talk about the actual mistakes that matter for understanding the story and not a line of dialogue that hits your personal nerve regarding shipping.

Wanting the game’s localization/translation to be as close to the original language [specifically, the primary language of those creating it] isn’t a problem, but the behavior and rational I’m seeing that treats this process by the lens of the LTD definitely is. Not to mention, the lack of understanding that the above goal can be met on a contextual level that has every right to be additive in whatever way the official team who produce these games see fit in the chosen language. The FFVII fandom really needs to stop treating everything as some conspiracy and mal-intent to give a false version of a game that everyone’s, including the development staff, efforts have been put into. This commentary that SE NA are the ones to blame, that there is even blame deserved to be had, and that the translation approached wasn’t intended by all parties involved in the process—how about we wait until someone from the development team somehow reveals that the localization managers rebelled against everything they worked on together and the end result was different than expected.

Otherwise, @-ing at Square Enix NA about how their creative team has an “LTD agenda” and are “Clerith-biased” is not going to be a good look for you in their eyes.

#ff7 #ff7 remake #square enix #kh3 #ffxiii #lightning returns #kh2 #localization #translation #aerith #kairi #kingdom hearts #final fantasy #aerith gainsborough #ffvii

40 notes · View notes

fatalism-and-villainy · 4 years ago

Text

Nobody asked for a Qi Ye reaction post but here one is nonetheless (at almost 1500 words.... hello.)

[~spoilers~]

One of the first things I can say is that I love love LOVE Priest’s writing style. It’s hard to say how much of this is a translation thing, because I did get the vibe that this translation was a lot smoother and better than the other cnovel translations I happen to have read. But god!! Her style is very densely allusive, and a challenge to follow at times, but so so beautiful. The story’s narration also shifts perspective a lot in the middle of chapters, which gives it this almost cinematic bird’s eye effect for me (except with internal-emotional states more than visuals). I can see it being the kind of thing that might bother people, but I love it – and I think that it ties in with the themes about the ephemerality and impermanence of life, and the way these little moments are all part of a much bigger sphere of existence.

I also like the way she does humour more than MXTX, honestly? I find the slapstick humour in MXTX’s works to be overdone and distracting from the other story and characterization work going on in her works. Whereas here, the humour landed more and also felt like it tied in more with the actual development of character and themes. Like, for instance, Liang Jiuxiao’s battle with the sable wherein he gets scratched every time and exhausts Beiyuan’s entire supply of antidote – it’s over the top, but also genuinely funny to me, AND I feel the comedic setup of Liang Jiuxiao constantly being an unwanted visitor contrasts very well with the entire heartbreaking scenario involving Beiyuan drugging him for Zhou Zishu, as well as his general progression from a Pure of Heart, Dumb of Ass archetype to being completely shattered by the evil and corruption in the world.

(The Sex and Kissing stuff is also, imo, more sensual and generally hotter to me than MXTX’s stuff – not trying to pick on her specifically, she’s just my only point of comparison for these novels.)

The main romance is ehhh… Mixed Feelings? I loved Wu Xi in all the parts he wasn’t playing the role of “love interest who expresses their love via violent jealousy”, but the parts where he WAS…. woof. Like, I don’t necessarily mind jealousy when it’s internal sensations, or when it’s a very intentionally fucked up dynamic, but I like it less so when it’s couple who’s riding off into the sunset and are the only foil to the general aura of melancholy and sadness in a story? Really hope that’s a one-off specific piece of characterization and not a general Thing for Priest…

I did actually like the gradual development of Beiyuan’s feelings, and the way there’s no Big Moment of Realization – or rather, there is a moment of realization, but it’s not super dramatic, it’s just sort of settling into something that’s been there awhile.

Another problem with their relationship for me though, I think, is how rushed the denouement of the book is, and how many important things are glossed over. Like, okay, they’re riding off into the sunset, but are they actually going to talk about the fact that Beiyuan seduced Wu Xi for Deception Purposes and then drugged him…? Taking advantage of Wu Xi’s very earnest and intense feelings in the process? Like, they stay in the capital for three months of negotiations before they leave, all while Wu Xi hides Beiyuan in his house – there must have been conversations and Relationship Negotiations? And yet we don’t See any of that, we’re just treated to them riding off in a carriage with some cheeky little line about how Beiyuan has the rest of his life to make things up to Wu Xi (presumably by having rough sex)… like ok.

The racism… there was a lot of it in the presentation of Nanjiang! I think the thing that stood out to me though was the line about Wu Xi’s having a kind of intuitive understanding of how people are (an intuition attributed to children, even!) despite not being cultured – it slots so perfectly into the kind of colonial propaganda that posits colonized people as having this innate, intuitive understanding of the world or connection with nature or what have you – but of course they’re not mature, they’re not cultured, they don’t have the capacity for rationality, that we do. To be fair, the line I’m thinking of is also applied to Liang Jiuxiao, but it is of a piece with how Nanjiang is characterized throughout the novel – like, oh, they’re so simple! When they like someone they just get married! It’s presented as a romantic ideal, but in a way that portrays Nanjiang as being Simple and Rustic and lacking the cultural complexity of the Great Qing. (Especially since we b a r e l y see the country or its people on the page.)

(Not to mention the way Wu Xi’s bodyguards from Nanjiang are portrayed as being confused and grossed out by him being in love with a man – contrasted with the commentary about how commonplace sex between men is in the Great Qing. Feels very like Nanjiang gets cast as less “enlightened”?)

I think those elements are also part of why the romance doesn’t fully stick its landing for me – because Wu Xi does take in and consider Great Qing cultural stuff, and incorporate it into his worldview alongside the influence of his home culture – and we don’t see Beiyuan doing something similar in return. He wants to leave for Nanjiang in part because he’s exhausted with capital politics and wants freedom, but why Nanjiang specifically? What does the country mean to him? How’s he actually going to fit in there? (This is another thing that also could have been filled in more with more actual writing about what goes down after that final battle.)

I honestly was deeply moved by Helian Yi. I shed literal tears for that man on multiple occasions. I do feel like I would have benefitted from more actual exploration of his past life-relationship with Beiyuan? Because as it was, I felt like that aspect of Beiyuan’s characterization was kind of informed rather than fleshed out – what did he see in Helian Yi in the first place? And I think the unrequited love would have been more poignant if we’d had more flashbacks to when it was requited.

Also, the possible-incest reveal?? What even was the point of that…? (I know people have posited that that’s why Helian Yi originally had Beiyuan killed, but with that final deleted-on-JJWXC extra I feel like it’s meant to be that he thought Beiyuan was responsible for Su Qingluan’s death. Another thing that should have been elaborated on, plot-wise…)

In general, the ending was very rushed. It gave me distinct “project due the next day” vibes.

ZHOU ZISHU!!!! – my main emotional engagement with this, tbh. I loved what was done with him, loved getting to see more of the atrocities he was behind (haha), loved the chilling “ends justify the means” ideological track he was on, loved how enmeshed he was in Hierarchy and political intrigue and how Carefully he handled himself around his social superiors… yeah.

I am also…. Also losing my mind over the entire Vibe between Zhou Zishu and Liang Jiuxiao. Misplaced devotion… broken pedestals… weird subtextual hard-to-define Feelings... selfishly wanting to hide the worst parts of yourself from someone…. Ahhhhh it’s good. Love those intricate complex homoerotic friendships. If there Exists any fic (whether platonic or less so) that anyone wants to rec… pls do 👀

I have to say, another problem I had with the ending was that I don’t think the tonal dissonance was well-balanced. Like, there’s a very melancholy atmosphere for pretty much everyone except the main couple, and I do understand that their getting away from the capital is the only thing that engenders that happiness (as a big theme of the book is that the politicking in the capital is exhausting and demoralizing – and to my understanding that is similar to the themes at work in Faraway Wanderers.) But I don’t feel as though those two streams were working in communication with each other in the final chapters – I would say that the cutesy scenes with the main couple just felt jarring in contrast to the sadness and regret that permeated the rest of the narrative. I think perhaps they were too saccharine, rather than emphasizing escape and looking forward to different possibilities? I’m not sure. (It also seems questionable to present Nanjiang as an Escape, given that Wu Xi is in charge now?? They’re still right in the thick of politics?) Anyway, this all is why I like the placement of that final extra at the end of the narrative, because it Is a turning back to melancholia that I like to see during nominal happy endings.

#qi ye talk #fandom natterings #book blogging

3 notes · View notes

religioused · 4 years ago

Text

When the Spirit is in Charge

by Gary Simpson

Acts 10:44-48 (CEV)

While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit took control of everyone who was listening. Some Jewish followers of the Lord had come with Peter, and they were surprised that the Holy Spirit had been given to Gentiles.

46 Now they were hearing Gentiles speaking unknown languages and praising God. Peter said, "These Gentiles have been given the Holy Spirit, just as we have! I am certain that no one would dare stop us from baptizing them." Peter ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and they asked him to stay on for a few days.

Reflection:

“While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit took control of everyone.” “The Holy Spirit took control.” Keep this line in mind. We will come back to the theme.

There is a lot going on today. This is Mother’s Day. We are combining Mother’s Day and Father’s Day into one day. We are celebrating family. This is also the second week of Asian History Month.

This is a day when we recognize and appreciate the many people who had parenting roles in our lives, including, but not limited to:

• Biological, foster, and adoptive parents.

• Parents of choice.

• Aunts, uncles, grandparents.

• Teachers.

• Neighbors, employers and supervisors.

As I prepare to light this candle, I encourage you to think of people who provided loving parenting and quasi-parenting roles in your life.

The second candle is for all members of our families.

The third candle is for the Asian people in our community and our lives.

We light these candles as a way of thanking God for the people who built into our lives, for families of origin and families of choice, and for Asians who pioneered Canada and who continue to pioneer Canada.

May is Asian History Month. During May, Canadians are encouraged to learn more about the achievements and contributions of Asian Canadians. A few groups we might not think of as Asian, include:

• Some Arabs, such Lebanese, and some Jewish people, and some Russians.

• Persians, Afghanis, Turks.

• Indians and Pakistanis.

There are so many Asian different countries of ancestry and so many different cultures, languages, and religions that we could spend years learning about our neighbors, friends, classmates, and colleagues.

Currently, I think we might be seeing more hate targeting Asian communities than we have seen at any other time since World War 2. The importance of learning about the history and contributions of Asians is very high. Some people are calling the Coronavirus the Chinese virus. Let’s compare hate crimes before and after the Coronavirus pandemic. A comparison of Vancouver hate crimes between January and September of 2019 and 2020 showed an 878% increase in hate crimes targeting Asians.(1) This is added to the ongoing problem of hate targeting many people of broadly Asian descent. About 18% of all Canadian hate crimes in 2017 targeted Jewish people. In 2017 17% of Canadian hate crimes targeted Muslims.(2) A total of 35% of all hate crimes were religious hate crimes. Because some Muslims and some Jewish people have Asian heritage, this means that some of the religious discrimination is targeting Asian people.

In contemporary society, it almost feels like there is no such thing as a freak accident – somebody always has to be at fault, so we seek to blame and to litigate. So some people are referring to the Coronavirus as the China virus. That might be a factor in the massive increase in hate directed toward Asians.

Because of the pandemic, we are afraid – afraid for our jobs and businesses, our freedom and convenience, our way of life. We are also afraid of getting sick. We may mask our fears with angry outbursts and hate. Some of the anger and fear targets Asian people. Fearing members of other groups, xenophobia, is nothing new. Some xenophobia was probably working behind the scenes in ancient Palestine.

Perhaps, Jewish people had reason to feel a little threatened by non-Jewish people. There is a history of conflict ranging over more than 4,400 years. An USA Today article indicates that Jerusalem was captured and recaptured at least 20 times. Conflict over Jerusalem seems to have started no later than 2,500 years before Christ and ended in 1967.(3) Over 575 years before Christ, Solomon's Temple was destroyed. Another Temple was built about 515 years before Christ.(4) Jewish protests against Antiochus IV resulted in a backlash against Jewish people. He marched on Jerusalem, ordered the killing of 80 thousand people and sold about the same number into slavery. He also desecrated the Temple.(5) By about 63 AD, the area of ancient Israel came under Roman rule.(6) Jewish people, once again, found themselves under the control of a foreign imperial power. Roman rule was not always ideal. Pontius Pilate was so brutal that in 37 CE, he was ordered to give an account to the emperor.(7) The roots of xenophobia were probably fed, watered, and nourished by oppression coming from Gentiles.

Earlier in Acts Chapter 10, Peter has a vision that shows Peter that God is a universalist God, an inclusive God for all people. Then we read part of Peter’s sermon and we see the Holy Spirit poured out upon the Gentile Believers. “I am truly convinced . . . that there is no favoritism with God, but that He is ready to receive any man in any nation who reverences Him and who does what is right.”(8) “The Holy Spirit took control.” As Peter is making the point that righteous people of all nations are accepted by God, the Spirit fills the Gentile followers of Jesus. This sermon could be the first sermon preached about Jesus.(9) There are a number of important elements in Peter’s sermon. I think two important parts of the sermon are the universal, worldwide nature of the Gospel, and the anointing of God being poured out upon Gentiles.

The dream helped Peter understand that the Kingdom of God is inclusive and universalist and that God breaks down the barriers of fear, prejudice, discrimination, and hate between groups of people. “The Holy Spirit took control.” The Spirit comes down on Jesus' Gentile followers. This manifestation of God was not expected by Jesus' Jewish followers and it was evidence that God accepted Gentile Believers completely. Seeing an unexpected move of God in the lives of others has the power transform our lives and to help us love people we used to fear or believe are either deficient or defective.

God’s love is impressive. From a Trinitarian perspective, God’s love is shown in the incarnation. “In Jesus, God entered the world and took on” human life. God loved and cared enough accept the “limitations of humanity.”(10) This is a love that let the world slander Christ, brand Christ a heretic, pursue Christ, and judge, crucify, and bury Christ.(11)

Vernon McGee’s Bible commentaries are interesting. He relates interesting illustrations. He tells a story about a small-town storekeeper. A family arrived and wanted to know what kind of a town it was. The wise storekeeper asked, “What kind of town did you come from?” The reply was that they came from an incredible town. People in their former town cared about each other. The storekeeper replied, “This is just the same kind of town.” The family decided that they just might make the town their new home. A little later, another visiting family arrived. They also wanted to know what kind of town it was. The storekeeper asked what their old town was like. The family indicated that the town was mean. The people did not care about anyone. The storekeeper replied, “This is just the same kind of town.” The second family decided to drive on.

A person who heard both stories asked what the storekeeper was doing, because he gave the two families very different responses. The storekeeper responded, “I've learned that any town will be the same kind of town that you left – because you will be the same kind of person.”(12)

When the Spirit of God is in control, we are a different people, a people filled with the Spirit of the risen Christ. Because we are different – Spirit filled, we notice that others are different too. When the Spirit is in control, love is present. The transforming love of the risen Christ is generally seen as a proof that we walk in the footsteps of Christ. John 13:35. “If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples.”(13)

I am going to conclude with one more story. This is about how God changes people by the proof of the Spirit of God moving in people's lives who we do not think God moves in.

Grant is a United Methodist pastor. He has over 304 thousand followers on TikTok. He is a dynamic, loving figure on TikTok. He did not start as a progressive pastor. He was a conservative Evangelical. He admits that he was one of the kind of Christians who would leave comments on social media telling progressive Christians that they were going to hell. Something changed.

He relates that while he was still conservative, he was welcomed into the church and became friends with a person who helped change his life. This person, on his first Sunday at the church, came up to him, hugged him and said, “I am the resident lesbian,” and she welcomed him, telling Grant how glad she was that he was at their church. Grant was at the church to be the youth director. He got to know her, her former husband, and the children. The love they shared as a family caught his attention.

He notes, “The first step to me changing my faith was seeing fruit in people that I previously thought were wrong.” He saw love in people he disagreed with and his theology started to change. He started to see complexity and nuance in the Bible. What I think was the key in his story of change is what he describes as “seeing the Spirit of God” in people he previously disagreed with and that made him realize that “God is love.”(14)

Notes

(1) Sherina Harris. "Reported Anti-Asian Hate Crimes up 878% in Vancouver: Police." 2020 October 30, 13 April 2021.<https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/anti-asian-hate-crimes-2020_ca_5f9c3403c5b61b5109e705a6>.

(2) "Facts and Figures: Discrimination and Hate Crimes Statistics." Government of Canada. 16 October 2020, 13 April 2021. <https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/federal-anti-racism-secretariat/facts-figures.html>.

(3) Oren Dorell. “Jerusalem has History of Many Conquests, Surrenders.” USA Today. 05 December 2017, 02 May 2021.

<https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/12/05/jerusalem-history-israel-capital/923651001/>.

(4) David Horton, ed. The Portable Seminary. 2nd ed. (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Bethany House, 2018), 239.

(5) Horton (2018), 240.

(6) Horton (2018), 241.

(7) Horton (2018), 242.

(8) William Barclay New Testament, Acts 10:34-35.

(9) William Barclay. The New Daily Study Bible: The Acts of the Apostles. Kindle ed. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003), e-book.

(10) William Barclay. The New Daily Study Bible: The Letters of John and Jude. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), e-book.

(11) William Barclay. The New Daily Study Bible: The Letters of John and Jude. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), e-book.

(12) J. Vernon McGee. Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee. Kindle ed. (Pasadena, California: Thru the Bible Radio, 1998), e-book.

(13) Contemporary English Version.

(14) “Story Time: Deconstruction.” @pastor_g TikTok. 04 May 2021, 04 May 2021. <https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeqSR5KB/>

#christian #church #sermon #bible #progressive christian #love #reflection #LGBT #LGBTQ

3 notes · View notes

d-criss-news · 5 years ago

Link

Darren Criss acts as playwright when he writes songs. He’s far more confident, and certainly more vulnerable, when he allows himself to play the part. In such a way, songwriting opens up a whole new world that pulses with untapped potential. So much of what he has accomplished in 15 years resides in his willingness to expose himself to what his imagination and intuition have in store. He steps into a playwright’s shoes with considerable ease (just look at his resume), and always one to put on plenty of bravado, especially during our Zoom face-to-face, it’s the natural order of things.

“As I get older and write more and more songs, I really recognize that I’ve always preferred to write for another context other than my own,” Criss tells American Songwriter. He speaks with a cool intensity, gesturing emphatically to accentuate a sentence, and when you let him go, he’s like the Energizer Bunny 一 “I can tell by just how quiet you already are that you’re fucked,” he jokes at the start of our video chat. But he remains just as engaged and focused when listening.

He soaks in the world, taking astute notes about behavior and emotional traits he can later use in song. His storytelling, though, arrives already in character, fully formed portraits he can then relay to the world. It’s not that he can’t be vulnerable, like such greats as Randy Newman, Tom Waits, and Rufus Wainwright, who have all embroidered their work with deeply personal observations, it just doesn’t feel as comfortable. “I’ve always really admired the great songwriters of the world who are extremely introspective and can put their heart and soul on the chopping block,” he muses. “That’s a vulnerability that I think is so majestic. I’ve never had access to it. I’m not mad about it. It’s just good to know what your deal is.”

Criss’ strengths lie in his ability to braid his own experiences, as charmed as they might be, into wild, goofy fantasies. In the case of his new series “Royalties,” now streaming on Quibi, he walks a fine line between pointed commentary on the music industry, from menial songwriting sessions to constantly chasing down the next smash, and oddball comedy that is unequivocally fun. Plotted with long-standing friends and collaborators Matt and Nick Lang, co-founders of Team StarKid, created during their University of Michigan days (circa 2009), the show’s conceptual nucleus dates back more than a decade.

If “Royalties” (starring Criss and Kether Donohue) feels familiar, that’s because it is. The 10-episode show ─ boasting a smorgasbord of delightful guest stars, including Mark Hammill, Georgia King, Julianna Hough, Sabrina Carpenter, and Lil Rel Howery ─ captures the very essence of a little known web series called “Little White Lie.” Mid-summer 2009, Team StarKid uploaded the shoddy, low budget production onto YouTube, and its scrappy tale of amateur musicians seeking fame and fortune quickly found its audience, coming on the heels of “A Very Potter Musical,” co-written with and starring Criss. Little did the trio know, those initial endeavors laid the groundwork for a lifetime of creative genius.

“It’s a full circle moment,” says Criss, 33, zooming from his Los Angeles home, which he shares with his wife Mia. He’s fresh-faced and zestful in talking about the new project. 11 years separate the two series, but their connective thematic tissues remain striking. “Royalties” is far more polished, the obvious natural progression in so much time, and where “Little White Lie” soaked in soapy melodrama, the former analyzes the ins and outs of the music world through more thoughtful writing, better defined (and performed) characters, and hookier original tunes.

“Royalties” follows Sara (Donohue) and Pierce (Criss), two struggling songwriters in Los Angeles, through various career exploits and pursuits. The pilot, titled “Just That Good,” features an outlandish performance from Rufus Wainwright as a major player in dance-pop music, kickstarting the absurdity of Criss’ perfectly-heightened reality. As our two main characters stumble their way between songwriting sessions, finally uncovering hit single potential while eating a hot dog, Criss offers a glimpse into the oft-unappreciated art of songwriting.

In his own songwriting career ─ from 2010’s self-released Human EP and a deal with Columbia Records (with whom a project never materialized) to 2017’s Homework EP and Computer Games’ debut, Lost Boys Life, (a collaboration with his brother Chuck) ─ he’s learned a thing or two about the process. Something about sitting in a room with someone you’ve never met before always rang a little funny to him.

“You meet a stranger, and you have to be creative, vulnerable, and open. It’s speed-dating, essentially. It’s a different episode every time you pull it off or not. All the big songwriters will tell you all these crazy war stories. Everyone has a wacky story from songwriting,” he says. “I slowly realized I may ─ I can’t flatter myself, there are tons of creative people who are songwriters ─ have prerequisites to just put the two together [TV and music]. I’ve worked enough in television as an actor and creator. I can connect the dots. I had dual citizenship where I felt like it was really time for me to go forth with this show.”

But a packed professional life pushed the idea to the backburner.

Between six seasons of “Glee” (playing Blaine Anderson, a Warbler and lover to Chris Colfer’s Kurt Hummel), starring in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” on Broadway, and creating Elsie Fest, a one-day outdoor festival celebrating songs of the stage and screen, he never had the time. “I was lucky enough to be busy,” he says. “As Team StarKid’s star was continuing to rise with me being separate from it, I was trying to think of a way to get involved again with songwriting.”

At one point, “Glee” had officially wrapped and his Broadway run was finished. It appeared “Royalties” may finally get its day in the sun. “I went to Chicago for a work pilgrimage with the Langs. We had a few days, and we put all our ideas on the map: every musical, feature film, show, graphic novel, and animated series we’ve ever thought of,” he says. “A lot of them were from the Langs; they were just things I was interested in as a producer or actor. We looked at all of them and made a top three.”

“Royalties” obviously made the cut.

Fast forward several years, Gail Berman’s SideCar, a production company under FOX Entertainment, was looking to produce a music show. Those early conversations, beginning at an otherwise random LA party, showed great promise in airlifting the concept from novel idea to discernible reality. Things quickly stalled, however, as they often do in Hollywood, but Criss had at least spoken his dreams into the universe.

“I finally had an outlet to put it into gear. It wasn’t until two to three years after that that things really locked in. We eventually made shorts and made a pilot presentation. We showed it to people, and it wasn’t until Quibi started making their presence known that making something seemed really appealing,” he says. “As a creator, they’re very creator-centric. They’re not a studio. They’re a platform. They are licensing IP much like when a label licenses an indie band’s album after the fact.”

Quibi has drawn severe ire over the last few months, perhaps because there is a “Wild Westness” to it, Criss says. “I think that makes some people nervous. Being my first foray into something of this kind, Quibi felt like a natural partner for us. If this had been a network or cable show, we would’ve molded it to be whatever it was.”

Format-wise, “Royalties” works best as bite-sized vignettes, charming hijinks through the boardroom and beyond, and serves as a direct response to a sea of music shows, from “Nashville” and “Empire” to “Smash.” “Those shows were bigger, more melodramatic looks at the inside base of our world. I’ve always been a goofball, and I just wanted to take the piss out of it,” he says. “This show isn’t about songwriting. It’s about songwriters… but a very wacky look at them.”

“30 Rock,” a scripted comedy loosely based around “Saturday Night Live,” in which the focus predominantly resides around the characters, rather than the business itself, was also on his mind. “It’s about the interconnectivity of the people and characters. As much of the insider knowledge that I wanted to put into our show, at the end of the day, you just want to make a fun, funny show that’s relatable to people who know nothing about songwriting and who shouldn’t have to know anything.”

Throughout 10 episodes, Criss culls the “musicality, fun, and humor” of Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger and Max Martin, two of his biggest songwriting heroes, and covers as many genres as possible, from K-Pop to rap-caviar and classic country. While zip-lining between formats, the songs fully rely on a sturdy storytelling foundation ─ only then can Criss drape the music around the characters and their respective trajectories. “I wanted to do something where I could use all the muscles I like to flex at once, instead of compartmentalizing them,” he says. “I really love writing songs for a narrative, not necessarily for myself. I thrive a little more when I have parameters, characters, and a story to tell.”

Bonnie McKee, one of today’s greatest pop architects, takes centerstage, too, with an episode called “Kick Your Shoes Off,” in which she plays a bizarro version of herself. “She has her own story, and I’ve always been fascinated by it,” says Criss, who took her out to lunch one day to tell her about it. Initially, the singer-songwriter, known for penning hits for Katy Perry, Taio Cruz, and Britney Spears, would anchor the entire show, but it soon became apparent she would simply star in her own gloriously zany episode.

In one of the show’s standout scenes, Pierce and Sara sit in on a label meeting with McKee’s character and are tasked with writing a future hit. But they quickly learn how many cooks are in the kitchen at any given moment. Everyone from senior level executives to publicists and contracted consultants have an opinion about the artist’s music. One individual urges her to experiment, while another begs not to alienate her loyal fanbase, and then a third advises her to chronicle the entire history of music itself ─ all within three minutes or so. It’s absurd, and that’s the point. “Everyone’s been in that meeting, whether you’re in marketing or any creative discussion that has to be made on a corporate level by committee. It’s the inevitable, comedic contradictions and dissociations from not only rationality but feasibility.”

Criss also draws upon his own major label days, having signed with Sony/Columbia right off the set of “Glee,” as well as second-hand accounts from close friends. “There are so many artists, particularly young artists, who famously get chewed up and spat out by the label system,” he says. “There’s a lot of sour tastes in a lot of people’s mouths from being ‘mistreated’ by a label. I have a lot of friends who’ve had very unfortunate experiences.”

“I was really lucky. I didn’t have that. I have nothing but wonderful things to say,” he quickly adds.“It wasn’t a full-on drop or anything. I was acting, and I was spreading myself really thin. It’s a record label’s job to make product, and I was doing it piecemeal here and there. I would shoot a season [of ‘Glee’] and then do a play. I was doing too many things. I didn’t have it in me at the time to do music. I had written a few songs I thought were… fine.”

Both Criss and the label came to the same conclusion: perhaps this professional relationship just wasn’t a good fit. They parted ways, and he harbors no ill-will. In fact, he remains close friends with many folks from that time. So, it seems, a show like “Royalties” satisfies his deep hunger to make music and write songs ─ and do it totally on his own terms.

“I still say I want to put out music, and fans have been very vocal about that. I feel very fortunate they’re still interested at all,” he says. “That passion for making music really does come out in stuff like [this show].”

“Royalties” is Darren Criss at his most playful, daring, and offbeat. It’s the culmination of everything he has tirelessly worked toward over the last decade and a half. Under pressure with a limited filming schedule, he hits on all cylinders with a soundtrack, released on Republic Records, that sticks in the brain like all good pop music should do. And it would not have been the same had he, alongside Matt and Nick Lang, not formed Team StarKid 11 years ago.

Truth be told, it all began with a “Little White Lie.”

#darren criss #american songwriter #royalties press #press #royalties #june 2020

68 notes · View notes

coldalbion · 5 years ago

Text

Thoughts on mythic morality

(Disclaimer/CN: This post discusses such things as depictions of rape, theft, murder, kinslaying and incest. None of what of what I write here should be taken as approval of, or apologia in relation to these acts.) “You look at trees and called them ‘trees,’ and probably you do not think twice about the word. You call a star a ‘star,’ and think nothing more of it. But you must remember that these words, ‘tree,’ 'star,’ were (in their original forms) names given to these objects by people with very different views from yours. To you, a tree is simply a vegetable organism, and a star simply a ball of inanimate matter moving along a mathematical course. But the first men to talk of 'trees’ and 'stars’ saw things very differently. To them, the world was alive with mythological beings. They saw the stars as living silver, bursting into flame in answer to the eternal music. They saw the sky as a jeweled tent, and the earth as the womb whence all living things have come. To them, the whole of creation was 'myth-woven and elf patterned’.” — J.R.R. Tolkien

The above quote is a charming one, isn’t it? Tolkien’s invocation of another way of seeing, of existing, beguiles us with its sense of possibility. It is, like much of myth and story, fundamentally conservative - not in the political sense, but in the conservational sense. As an attempt to preserve, or at least, keep possibilities open in the mind of the reader, it’s pretty good. Of course, the wrinkle is - or some may say - that this took place in the distant past. Nobody, they might say, sees the world like this - or if they do, then their perception is deluded - because we are past that. We see the world representationally now, striving towards accuracy. Anything else is just superstition, is it not?

The mistake these stereotypical straw men make - within the context that I have breathed life into them for - is to suggest that a linear path between “then-now”, and “past-future”. Actually, they make several mistakes, not least because of their unexamined bias. I’ll not elucidate them all here, but suffice to say that our vegetative friends have not considered, amongst other things, the role of the cultural, historical, and philosophical structures which influence how we perceive and know things. In philosophy, such consideration of knowledge and how, why, what, and where we know things is called epistemology. The thing with philosophy is that it covers many things: morality, ethics, metaphysics, linguistics, epistemology, sociology etc. We have words for all these things, and they are often their own disciplines. Philosophy - literally descending from “philia” + “sophia”, meaning affection or love for wisdom - can cover a kind of work in them all them all, precisely because understanding and using what is learnt in these many and varied arenas, and dong so well? Understanding the implications? Knowing that we know nothing for certain and that things are seldom as they first? This is wise, these things are wise, and so: wisdom is the useful, sound, and valuable deployment of knowledge and living life itself well.

Our straw men, conjured into existence by the magic of speech and words - shapings of breath digitized and transmitted across the planet to you, dear reader? They are brought forth into a world where the majority of its unexamined structures descend from the cultural shapings of men with pale skins. Dig further back, and deeper, and you will find that those men re-ordered, restructured and built upon the knowings and experiences of people who were not white or male. The structures of how we perceive, how we know what we know - even how we are taught to think, and express and feel? These did not come from nowhere - unfiltered and whole from the mind of one omnipotent, omniscient, Creator. Rather, many powers and potencies, principalities and agencies act all together. The flows of power, influence, propaganda, social and economic capital; the emotional and cultural response to events and experiences. All of these are contoured and shaped by the many. That many of the pale-skinned men shaped much of our world today is an accident of birth which is then compounded by economic and social factors based on climate, trade routes, geography, resources etc. This acquisition is then compounded and backward rationalized - the accidental conflux of factors becomes a self-justification for ideas of false superiority, which drives behaviours which weight things in the favour of that group. Make no mistake reader - there are still many worlds, even today. Bounded spaces, their boundaries staked out by those with the influence and ability to enforce them. That this is being written by a pale skinned man from North Western Europe is no coincidence. Nor is the fact that many will be able to read this, though my tongue is not what they speak natively - their first words carried a history different to mine. For various reason those people learnt my language which sneaks up behind others and mugs them in dark alleys, or engages in savagely lucrative trade deals. History literally is an accounting what has gone before, thus recounted by those later to be reckoned as accurate sources and authority. It is not all violence, theft and brutality. It is cultural exchange, trade, sharing, incorporation and diffusion also. All these things flow between in flux - this is influence. Influence is often codified and commodified under the rubric of power in an attempt to wield it more universally - which inevitably divorces it from its original context and forces a more acquisitive mindset amongst those who seek it, rather than seeking out points of influential confluence and integrating oneself within that. The orality of history, and cultural transmission, is not something often thought of today. With the advent of writing, information and knowledge conservation shifts to the texts themselves as authority - the metaphor of something being “there in black and white” refers to newspapers, but the sense of it descends from textual authority. Perhaps not so coincidentally, the historic belief structure of those pale people is rooted in a distortion of a heresy of a Middle-Eastern monotheism, which in itself seems been an offshoot of various Middle-Eastern polytheisms. That Judaism has a central authoritative text, leavened with thousands of years of oral and written commentaries and arguments should be noted. That this text was itself an edited version which scholars believe contains multiple texts, and was added to and redacted from, in response to socio-political and religious reasons over time, is also of note. That that text was selectively edited and canonized, before being translated in various languages in response to socio-political and religious reasons over time, is worth further note. That this collage of ancient material is elevated to holy scripture and used as basis for moral authority for the majority of the pale people for over a thousand years, and used as justification for imperalism, rape, murder, theft, oppression, oppression on grounds of sexuality, gender - and was a fundamental source of, and during, the social construction of the concept of race - would be shocking, were it not for the desire for that which is referred to as ‘power’ and ‘authority’. The singularity of authority and power presupposes scarcity. This is to say that fixed, codified protocols of behaviour, perception, and emotional affect allow definition and navigation in an unpredictable kosmos. By structuring experience, we make sense and it is by sense that we structure the world in a feedback loop. In a society based on orality, it is the stories that are told which preserve, iterate upon, and transmit knowledge and culture. In this, it’s worth quoting Marshall McLuhan: “The medium is the message.” What this means is that how a message is transmitted influences the message content and context. Similarly, it is how and by whom-as-medium it is transmitted which influences the message. Oral societies are often conservative in nature - there are ways things are done, and for reasons. Thus, to deviate from that is dangerous, precisely because things are done that way for a reason which benefits certain people. Whether those certain people are an elite or a society as whole varies according to societal structures. Those who deviate are dangerous for several reasons - they are unpredictable, which in many societies at one time meant that they are or were a potential threat. They are non-conformist, which implies they may not honour the social contract which is supposed important in keeping everyone safe and keeping the world-order-as-society knows it running.

Recall Tolkien’s charm? His elder possibility is a world-order or worldview (weltanschauung) which sees the numinosity in all things. It thus sees flux and agency and multiplicity. In the case of polytheism and animism, the multiplicity of agents and powers suggests a multitude of agents all acting on one another and interpenetrating - rather like ripples or interference patterns. Gods and “Big spirits” ( terminology that is pretty much synonymous in the mind of this author for the purposes of discussion) can be said to have mythic “mass”. A large stone dropped into a pond will make bigger ripples and cancel or interfere with smaller ripples generated by smaller pebbles. When considering gods as establishers of world-order - or even creating worlds, it’s instructive to consider that in many mythologies, this is accomplished by the overthrow of a previous order or set of structures, and their reconfiguration. Which is usually, to judge my many world mythologies, a polite way to suggest murder and butchery; fundamentally catastrophic in all the linguistic and etymological senses of the word.. Once bloodily established, it is usually the actions and processes of the gods which keep the kosmos running. This accreted behaviour forms mores. Myth is thus a recounting of these behaviours and deviations therefrom, not simply as dry recounting but as felt experience which stimulates emotional and psychological affect which joins all participants (human and otherwise) into a shared epistemological framework. In any society, the element of performance is key in any media - not just what the media ism but how it does it, as mentioned above. In an oral society where knowledge is shared through speech, whether by poetry or storytelling, the performance of the teller is key, as is the setting and context of the delivery. Many myths depict rape, murder, theft, trade, sharing, incorporation and diffusion. In this, they are as much like other forms of media as anything else. Likewise, it of course is the choice of those personally affected by such things not to engage with such things if they feel it would be detrimental to them. Yet, in dealing with myth, particularly if one views it not as synonymous with falsehood, but in fact expressive of some world-reality which forms the root of of our perceptions and experience, we often have questions of morality. To say that myths containing rape, incest, murder, theft etc “offer a window onto a different time” or to suggest that the actions of a mythological figure are literally representationally true and thus that figure should be hated and despised is to present only a fairly shallow reading in the view of the author. Let us take the Norse god Odin - he who, according the texts we have, committed near- genocide against giant-kind; slaughtering his own kindred the god (along with his brothers) butcher the primeval giant Ymir and use his body to make the worlds. The brothers then create humans by breathing life into two logs/trees found by the sea shore - far better then men of straw, no? He steals the Mead of Inspiration (itself brewed from the blood of a murdered god) after seducing and tricking its giant-maiden guardian, but not before killing nine thralls in order to get close to her father - bearing the name Bolverk (evil-doer). He uses magic to impregnate Rindr after she turns him down repeatedly, making it so that Valli, the agent of vengeance for the death of Balfr, is a product of rape - regardless that he is in the shape of/dressed of a woman at the time. He attempts to have his way with Billing’s daughter, but is discovered and chased away by a pack of angry men. He sets up heroes to die in the midst of battle, abandoning them at the precise moment they need his aid. He is, in short, a major bastard. Did the Norse enjoy stories of rape? Was it a particular genre that pleased them? We have the images of Vikings as raping and pillaging, after all? Certainly, there are texts that suggest they had a different view of sexuality and violence than we do today. But is perhaps our take on Odin in the myths we have had passed down to us heavily biased? Of course. For one, it appears the idea of Odin as chief god in Iceland was due to the preponderance of preserved texts. Archaeology suggests Thor was more popular with the population-at-large than the weird and terrible bastard wizard Stabby McOne-Eye the murder hobo. But Odin is the Master of Inspiration - and both kings and poets were buoyed by his patronage. That this is passed down, collected and written down by a Christian after Christianization of Iceland, and then translated to English, some eight or nine centuries later?

This influences the medium and message. Further, amongst certain neopagans and heathen polytheists, there is a tendency to look at the preserved texts in a similar way to the Bible. This is a product of the mutations of that North West European brand of heresy we mentioned, contextualized in sectarian manner (Protestantism has a lot to answer for). Even if the myths are treated not as literal, we have been culturally contoured to look at myths which describe religious and numinous experience as exemplary. That’s to say, things that serve as examples or moral models, illustrations of general rules. In a sense, that’s akin to looking to police procedurals or popular movies, or 24hr news channels for a sense of morality today. Such things do contain troubling assumptions today - valourisation of violence if it “gets the job done” in movies, or news stories inciting rage for political or social gain as example. Yet their key raison d’etre is experiential affect. Information and mores may be passed on and inculcated unconsciously, yes. But to view their content as explicitly and directly representational without bias? This is surely dangerous. Furthermore, our attitudes to sexuality and violence, both as distinct groupings and how they interplay in all forms of media are worthy of critique - exactly what is acceptable and why? What is the historical and social context for this? So if myth is not to be read as moral exemplar, what then? In this we must engage beyond a surface reading, if we so choose. As method of epistemic transmission and framing, myth is is not exemplary, but does aid in modelling. It is the response to myth that aids modelling not the myth itself. To say Odin is a rapist, a murderer, and thief is important - not because he is, or is not these things, but what that means to the audience participating in the myth, both historically and currently in context. This is why his self-naming as Bolverk is so important, within the context of the myths. Performer and audience and mythic figure all acknowledge this behaviour as unacceptable to humans. Throughout the myth cycle, the “morally dubious” stories illustrate deviance from acceptability is only viable longterm if one is influential, and this motif exists across cultures. There are always consequences for such behaviour, whether it be the dooming of the world, or more subtle responses. Yet they serve a doubly illustrative function in the case of Odin, and other such figures (often Trickster or magical figures) wherein their behaviour and character is ambiguous precisely because of that nature - existing asocially, breaking rules and remaking them, surviving and prospering in impossible ways, in often hostile environments. This renders such figures “unsafe” “criminal” or “unnatural”, perhaps even queer in relation to wider society. For such figures, it is the transmission of this quality via the myth which the narrative preserves, even when preserved and iterated upon by time. In this context, to state again, solely literal representational readings of myth are mistaken. This is not to say it is all symbolic, but rather that metaphor transmits information - an Iroquois story says their people learnt to tap maple syrup from squirrels. An Iroquois boy saw a red squirrel cutting into tree bark with its teeth and later returning to lick the sap; the young Iroquois followed the squirrel’s lead and tried the same technique by cutting into the tree bark with a knife, thus discovering the sweet sap. Long derided as mere “myth” or “folklore” it took until the 1990s for a scientist named Bernd Heinrich to observe and record it, publishing in a scientific journal - thus ‘legitimizing’ pre-existing indigenous knowledge.

That such knowledge only became ‘acceptable’ or ‘real’ when performed outside of its original form tells us much about the biases of so-called ‘Western Culture’ as regards myth and folklore. Yet, this example proves the utility of such transmissions, existing over the centuries. That Iceland’s corpus of myth (even in those tales that remained to be written down) may contain metaphorically encode experience which can be re-experienced through felt-sense is made all the more likely, given the preservation of highly localized folklore and histories. Questions of legitimacy or lack are defined by flows of influence and power - inextricably linked to agency and consequence. Myth is therefore conceivable as a manifestation of currents of social influence and should never be held as a fixed thing, whether or not one has positive or negative emotional response to its figures

45 notes · View notes

randomuniverses · 6 years ago

Text

RWBY Volume 6 Crew Commentary Notes!

I just got the Volume 6 Blu Ray and I'm going to be watching the crew's commentary! Kerry was talking with a few others as well as Miles after chapter 1. I wrote what I found interesting or important:

Chapter 1:

They took out the blood at the White Fang Headquarters but had to add it back in later

The train station was the first new set of the season

They used Houdini for crowd shots this season

Showing what's in the bag RWBY got for Yang is planned for next season

On each boba cup lid (from the food in the background of the train station scene) has the RWBY chibi characters

Originally they planned Ilia to wear a kimono. Also a hint to seeing her again!

Kerry's mom wants him (Neptune) to be in the show more

The whole train set is a circle track

The Grimm manticore design was from an artist from the RWBY subreddit! Kerry saw it and he loved it and he contacted her to hire her.

There was an inside joke for the audio team where Dee dies it sounds like the track says "Oh Dee..."

Dee and Dudley barely graduated from their academy

There was originally going to be a closer shot of Salem in the OP but they wanted to keep the mystery about who she was

Chapter 2:

They put in some lines from the house (what Nora says) that were a response to the criticism from Volume 5 about them staying there too long

Nora was originally going to tell Blake everything she needed to know with some whiteboards on the train, but they decided to just show the house where things are explained

The footsteps in the snow were made using nulls in After Effects. They explain the process which is pretty interesting.

Oscar struggling was done in mocap

Lil Miss Malachite is an allusion for Little Miss Muffett (duh) and turns out she is the mother of the Malachite Twins

The Malachite Twins went to live in Vale and be bad guys

Jinn's hair is separated/split more than a normal character's. Same with Summer Rose

Chapter 3:

Salem's story one of the first things ever written for RWBY

They really wanted a character's story to revolve around 'happily ever after' then a few steps after that, so Salem was the perfect character for that

Originally the Lost Fable was chapter 3 and 4, but they combined them into one

The whole episode was mocapped in a single weekend

The crew has a Ruby body pillow prototype that's used during mocap

The Gods are inspired from the Gods of Greek Mythology

They want to show more natural wildlife in RWBY, but due to budget constraints it's hard

The video game Brutal Legend inspired the scene where Salem throws herself into the pool of Grimm

Originally the Gods were closer to human size but were scaled up

The story structure for the episode took inspiration from Harry Potter and Game of Thrones

Originally there was going to be more dialogue from the main cast, but they decided against it

They were originally had Salem look like her current form (well coloring wise), but decided to remove the red veins she has so she looked less spooky

The toy dog one of the children has is a Wizard of Oz reference

Jinn was meant to be an objective outside observer but also a storyteller

The children for one of Oz's reincarnations have silver eyes (confirmed)

Chapter 4:

They were excited to explore Qrow's alcoholism past it just being a joke

Hazel is the most compassionate of the villains

Salem knows how to manipulate people and has different methods for motivations for each of her lieutenants

For example she doesn't have to say that many mean things for Tyrian to take it to heart because he is so loyal

She also knows just how fearful Emerald is of her

Chapter 5:

Neo has begun to evolve her semblance, as shown in the fight

Neo wasn't originally planned to be in this Volume, but was decided when they thought of what they could do better to make Cinder's storyline better and for when Cinder gets to Atlas they thought her having a partner was cool

Brunswick Farm was another idea they had since the very beginning

The Apathy fit so well in this volume because the characters are at a low point

Blake doesn't always get the nuances of relationships and makes a misstep (when Yang and Blake talked and she told Yang she would protect her)

Chapter 6:

The Apathy came from an image of a horrifying scarecrow and they came up with the idea of a grimm that wasn't physically formidable. As well as a planet from the movie Serenity where everyone fell to sleep and died, and a short story about depression and not wanting to do anything

The Apathy work through proximity but if they see you their effect gets even worse. But you can get it jolted out of the apathy for a little while if you are startled

The artist that made the Apathy was the same one that made the Manticore

Maria is colorblind, which was evident in the episode when we learn she couldn't tell Ruby's eye color immediately

Seeing the burning Apathy, Qrow realizes that he almost let everyone get killed and now starts to hate himself (his depression changes)

Chapter 7:

Them having a restriction for how long fights could be (because fights are expensive) led to Miles thinking of a fight that had to last 60 seconds (and Tock)

Maria's weapon and use of dust was inspired from the God of War reboot as well as Marvel's Thor

Maria was originally from Volume 5 but they had to take her out because it was hard to balance out all the storylines

Originally Maria was going to have a cat, and Qrow was supposed to find her in his search for Hunstman

The Arc siblings are all a color of the rainbow, with one set of twins. Saphron is orange.

The toy Adrien is playing with is foreshadowing to the plane and the Leviathan

Chapter 8:

Only Cordovin's guards are so goofy (compared to the rest of Atlas guards), and Cordo is considered a nuisance. This was a job they thought she could do well without bothering anyone

Kerry wanted an old lady fight in the show, so he got one

The Old Lady in the Show was something Monty thought of. The boot is the foot of a giant mech. And the giant mech was originally going to be at the end of V2

Butterflies are normally not out in the winter but this is Remnant ;)

Chapter 9:

Miles likes to think of Tyrian as one of the most insightful villains. He is really good at observing people and knows how to take them apart mentally and physically

This is where they said this is the first time we see Mercury and Emerald being vulnerable to each other (I didn’t include this earlier, sorry!)

They say they’ll never confirm who the Red Haired Woman is, but they said use your brains lol

Looking up at Pyrrha and seeing the airship fly by made Jaune think of the idea to steal one

Chapter 10:

Adrian's crying is not a semblance, that's just comedy

They pitched Jaune's voice down when he says "Roger" so he can sound more serious

Originally there was going to be another episode (episode 14t) where we would see Atlas and Mantle. But they didn't want to end on that because it would require a ton of new assets because of the buildings and the people wearing different clothes

The next season will start with a bang

The Iron Giant was a reference for the mech

Chapter 11:

The mech fight was the most effects-heavy of the fights this season

Blake has always had the scar on her body since the new outfit, but it has been hard to see until her jacket comes off

Yang hitting Adam with her bike was thought of early on in the scripting process

Chapter 12:

A lot of talk about how the animations were made and such

This season had a core fight team that animated all the fights

The way Adam dies is apparently similar to how something in Nier: Automata plays out. Kerry has only played an hour of the game so he did not know that was a thing

But Nier: Automata was actually referenced for the mech fight (the mechanics of how the fight would work) since a robot was involved in the first boss fight.

Shots from the Adam and Yang fight were similar to those from Naurto, but that was also a coincidence

They called the Leviathan Levi in the script because it was easier to type

Chapter 13:

They considered Adrian being a very young baby, but later changed him to be a toddler

Gurren Laggan was another reference used for this part (haven't seen that anime but it was referenced when the mech drills the Leviathan)

They really wanted to make sure we could hear liquid in Qrow's flask

Salem is no longer willing to confine herself to a room, and is going to start being more active by creating her army of minions

#rwby #rwby v6 #directors commentary #crew commentary #ruby rose #yang #blake #weiss #oscar #qrow #maria

1K notes · View notes

jeanjauthor · 5 years ago

Link

I want people to read the creator’s message below today’s webcomic, and then I want folks (who have the spoons to spare for it) to read the commentary below, and especially Mr. Morris’ replies to many of those comments. These dialogues between creators and viewers are very important when it comes to messages like this, ones which could be misconstrued when encountered without context.

For my part, I deeply appreciate that he posted his remark. He is a good guy, he does try to “mix it up” to diffuse & disperse bigotry moments (not perfectly, but nobody is ever going to be perfect)...but that isn’t the point. And it isn’t a point of “performative” apologizing. It’s not a performance; he genuinely feels bad about the timing of all of this and the potential for someone who hasn’t read the (massive) backlog of stories in the archives to see only surface images.

Regardless of what longtime or even shortime fans know about the story, regardless of utter newbs coming to the webcomic to view it...that statement needs to be there.

As I posted to Anonymous earlier regarding whether or not to include racial slurs in historical settings...to ignore that it happened, to ignore what it looks & sounds & feels like, is to try to deny the pains of the past, present, and future.

By pinning that particular message to this particular comic, Rick Morris is assuring people for generations to come that he knows the differences between fiction, reality, longterm plotlines and surface appearances. He knows, he acknowledges, he pledges to keep working toward being a better storyteller & artist...and that’s an important message for everyone to receive. Not just to inspire others, not just to apologize and explain context, but to renew his own pledges to himself & his readers that he’ll keep working on being better.

Storytellers don’t always tell comfortable stories. Sometimes we tell ones that are meant to hurt, in order to evoke emotions that can create not just sympathy but empathy for the suffering of others...and sometimes that backfires. Sometimes we tell ones that hurt in additional ways, in very unexpected and unfortunate and/or badly timed ways, increasing the pain for some.

Intention is an important part of storytelling, because most stories have a lesson to teach to our audiences. (Not all need to have one, but most have something for others to learn.) Intention also includes trying to be aware of unintended outcomes.

One of those lessons occurred today in a storyline that has been building to this climactic moment for literally the last four-plus years. No one could’ve predicted how real world events played out. At the same time, it would be wrong to stop telling this story to “wait for a better time.” There won’t be a better time for it.

Changing systemic racism will still take years and decades more to come, even if this is a manual-transmission-clutch moment, where we could wind up going faster in our forward progress, or find ourselves dropped into reverse, with a possibly broken transmission. (Hopefully not, but not holding my breath. I got better things to do with my energy.) So there literally won’t be a better time for this story.

Instead, we need to acknowledge that these visualizations do exist without proper context, and that even with context it can still cause some folks to feel hurt. Mr. Morris understands if new folks won’t want to start reading the rest of the story because of this one scene (and the following pages involving the rest of this scene). That’s part of the message that needs to be told.

That’s part of the pain that needs to be acknowledged. It is not intentional, it isn’t the best timing, but it is acknowledged...and all he asks is that folks consider giving the whole story a try.

I’ve been following his webcomic for a very long time, and I can personally say his characters are vastly diverse, and that he does tackle bigotry head-on in multiple ways with multiple races, genders, social classes, and more. Is it completely problem-free? Nope! But like reality, the characters do learn & change & grow, the creator does, too...and many of his characters have some absolutely outstanding character growth.

You don’t have to give YAFGC a try, but I do hope you’ll read the message & the comment interactions if you’re a writer (or an artist)...because these interactions are a good set of dialogues about this subject, how to handle it, how to agree or disagree, and how to be polite when the latter happens.

Personally, I am deeply pleased to see he didn’t shrug off his responsibility to post that note, and isn’t shrugging it off...like a number of the commenters imply he could’ve done instead, via their absolution-style comments. Instead, he’s doing the work that is necessary, even if it’s seen by some as extra, unnecessary work. That’s something all of us need to step up and do, for this kind of topic. Acknowledge the inadvertent visualizations, and apologize for them.

...

Speaking of which...in The Song, I created the character of Duke Finneg, Councilor of Conflict Resolution for the Empire of Katan. The continent of the Empire of Katan is longer than it is wide, stretching from the Sun’s Belt (equator) in the north toward the Ice Sea in the south (separating Katan from the southern polar landmass, smaller than Antarctica and just as uninhabited).

When I populated the landmass that was Katan, I knew that there would be dark-skinned folk in the northern regions close to the Equator, and pale-skinned folks in the southern regions close to the south pole, because that’s literally why we have skin color variations. Those that live in the middle lattitudes have a mix of skin hues, some paler, some darker, and plenty of people have traveled all over and settled in different areas than those their ancestors were born & raised in, even if the majority of everyone really don’t move very far. (If you look at the real world, this is basically how reality works, too.)

This logical pattern is repeated all over the world of the DestinyVerse. In areas with thick rainforests like Natallia, which are tropical to subtropical, the people are tanned but paler in melanin coloration than Sundara, which is a desert environment with few trees for shade (again like the real world we live in). There are slaves in some countries & cultures, and there are anti-slavery laws in others. There are good people, and there are bad people, and there are indifferent or self-focused people who just are either apathetic or oblivious to what’s going on around them...exactly like the real world. But it is not our world

So when I designed the appearance of Duke Finneg, a Katani mage of important political power who was destined (plotwise) to have a high-strung temper and an increasingly unhinged world-view because of self-delusional closed-minded thinking...I was tempted to make him white, to be honest. But since he’s from Katan, he could’ve been from any point on that continent.

The Corvis brothers are mid-lattitude with a variety of transcontinental intermarriages in previous generations, but in general are lightly tanned, almond-eyed, and have hair from light blond to jet black, because that’s how genetic inheritances work in their particular bloodline (and I needed a way to easily tell brothers apart description-wise...but I honestly have seen some families with blond, brunette, & redheaded members). (That, and it’s a non-Earth world, so, I could make shh up like that.)

(If you honestly want to know what the Corvid brothers look like, they’re a blend of East/Southeast Asian & European, with more in the way of Asian features and that wider range of European haircolors, same as most Katani from the mid-latitudes...though some on the east coast mid latitudes look more Latinx than Asian, like the folks from the western side tend to look.)

So when it came to the main protagonist for the fourth book in the series...I decided to roll a dice for his origination point, low for somewhere in the south (pale & blond), high for up near the equator (dark & brunette). I wrote down the general characteristics for each of the numbers/regions that might come up (I don’t have the paper anymore, alas, it got lost in one of my household moves)...and I rolled. (With real D&D style dice, because I’m a frikkin nerrrrd, duh.) The dice rolled high, aka his family is from a region up by the equator region where there isn’t much shade and dark skin tones are needed to ward off skin cancer...so I wrote him to be dark-skinned, etc. It was literally a random dice roll.

There are other characters in The Song and in other books of the DestinyVerse, showing various skintones & social backgrounds. Some are high-ranked, some are low-ranked. There are skin hues and hair colors in a wide range of hues. There are cultures with social equality, and cultures that are extremely bigoted (yes, Mandare, I’m talking about YOU)...but they’re not Earth cultures, and they don’t necessarily have real-world problems.

But I can see how they can be seen that way if you just pick up the book, rifle through it, see that Duke Finneg is an increasingly unstable hardass with a hate-on for the people on Nightfall Isle (spoiler alert, if a bit late)...and read that he’s got dark skin and brown eyes, etc, and perhaps feel hurt that he’s a Black Man being typecast as the Bad Guy from reading just one scene, with nothing of any further context than just that.

So I apologize for that. I was trying to write a story set within the context of its own universe, with its own distinct and different cultures, and viewed that particular character--the same with everyone else in the book--while writing the story from that viewpoint. Literally, I rolled up the physical characteristics for most of the Katani characters on that “this is where they’re from” sheet, which is why the harbormaster and his husband in the later books look the way they do, why the various other Councilors look the way they do, etc, etc.

But that doesn’t negate the fact that one of my villain characters is an increasingly unstable darkskinned male, and for anyone who has been hurt or offended by that description for my antagonist/villain character, I apologize. It was not my intent to perpetuate a false, harmful stereotype from our own world. It was just a random description roll for a stereotype that (in my mind, at least) has nothing to do with race--and nothing to do with genuine mental health issues--and everything to do with closed-minded attitudes toward “inferiors” and clinging to those mental dogmas rather than releasing them and admitting one has gotten an opinion/viewpoint of others deeply wrong.

I’m working on being better, as a writer. And to be fair, when you look at the whole context of all my writings, I’m doing a better job when it comes to ensuring diversity for protagonists and antagonists than the majority of published authors (most of whom are white). I’m particularly pleased with my IaVerse, where the main & secondary & other important Human characters come from a wide variety of backgrounds, the chief villains aren’t relatable to anything stereotypically Human, and positions of authority & power are not only achievable, but also removable and/or punishable if one steps too far out of line when it comes to acceptable/forgivable behavior.

The one thing I will always try to do is to try to tell a better story. People may still get hurt, but my stories will have context, and lessons, and the message that respect, tolerance, and compassion for nearly everyone is very important.

(I will, however, uphold the paradox of tolerance by asserting the lesson of refusing to tolerate the intolerant in order to preserve the existence of tolerance, and I will always encourage the metaphorical/allegorical punching of Nazi types. Or actual punching in stories, particularly the milSF ones...but then that is a genuine official trope of the military fiction genre.)

1 note · View note

elenajohansenreads · 5 years ago

Photo

Books I Read in 2020

#4 - Autonomous, by Annalee Newitz

Mount TBR: 4/150

Ultimate PopSugar Reading Challenge: A book with a robot, cyborg, or AI character

The Reading Frenzy: Read a book with a title that starts with “A”

Rating: 1/5 stars

DNF at 60%. I know I didn't have much more to go, page-count-wise, but I just couldn't deal with it anymore. This book is a mess and I don't think any of its messages are clear. On the level of societal commentary, tackling health care issues via patent law and piracy makes it appear to some extent anti-capitalist, but it's really just anti-monopolist, because mostly everyone is still out to make money. We live in a society, and all that. As an American I'm used to medical dystopias revolving around insurance, rather than drug prices/availability, though this future doesn't seem to have medical insurance at all, so I guess Big Pharma is the only enemy in that regard. It's interesting from that perspective, but this story does little to establish the state of the world beyond its level of science and technology. There's vague reference to "the Collapse" which apparently altered the world to the point of complete political and social restructuring--people can be indentured or slaved and that's normal, citizenship is a commodity, the maps would look incredibly different if any were included, I'm sure--but it's all "this is how the world is now" without much "this is how it got that way." On the level of interpersonal relationships, how does this literally get everything wrong, from my perspective, about positive representation? The bisexual main character is shown throughout her life to fall into bed with anyone at the drop of a hat. The nonbinary character is a robot. The man in love with the robot is homophobic to the point where he doesn't "have sex" with the robot until "she" reveals she's discovered her human brain came from a woman, and changes her pronouns to match, not because "she" cares either way but because it will make him feel more comfortable with "her." All of these things are harmful tropes or stereotypes. And what's more, even if the (cough) "romances" in this story weren't harmful or degrading, they take up so much space on the page that there's no tension in the chase between the pirate and her pursuers. At all. The pace is plodding. She has a chapter where there's a lot of science talk, maybe a flashback about her past, maybe there's some implied off-screen sex with the dude she rescued at the beginning who is waaaaay younger than her and she's basically keeping around as a sex toy even though she wants to get rid of him for practical life purposes. (I'm not even going to stop to unpack all that, because it's also gross and I don't want to.) Then we switch POVs to the nonbinary robot, who is some ways is actually rather charming in his/her attempts (I'm using both pronouns because both are used in the story at one point or another) to learn and process human behavior. I would have been much happier if the entire book were just Paladin figuring him/herself out in the world of humans, even though I know that's not a very original story concept; Paladin is by far the most interesting character of this cast. But his/her chapters focus so much on that (and his/her exploration of and research into what robot-human sexual relationships would be like, and eventually are, when "she" and Eliasz finally sleep together, which was a bizarre scene that made no physical sense) that the chasing of the bad guy is a subplot at best when it actually should be the main story line linking these characters together. Also, am I supposed to feel sympathetic to Jack? She's a drug pirate, fighting Big Pharma to bring cheap and necessary drugs to the masses who can't otherwise afford them. That's Robin-Hood-esque, in a sci-fi kind of way, but her mistake in distributing an addictive drug that's getting people killed doesn't hold up well in that light. The drug wasn't medically necessary to anyone--it's a stimulant to make doing your job more pleasant--and she wasn't exactly handling it responsibly, reverse-engineering something that wasn't yet fully tested or available for public distribution. If she's so altruistic, shouldn't she have been making useful things like insulin or anti-cancer meds or basically anything else? It's lampshaded in the story as not-stupid by saying "well people on [this drug] are more likely to get hired or keep their jobs because they enjoy working, so people without it are at a disadvantage." Except...it's not in large-scale distribution yet, so has anyone actually lost their jobs at that point because they don't have access to the drug? Jack comes across as a pretty cold, unfeeling person who, past and present, uses sex to manipulate people, justifies her not-life-saving drug-running by saying she's sticking it to Big Pharma, then screws up royally and gets people killed. Her attempts to "fix" that, even at 60% where I gave up out of annoyance, don't amount to much at all, which is another reason there's no tension in this story. She's not on the verge of some drastic breakthrough to create a drug to counteract the bad one, only pursuit is hot on her heels. Pursuit is too busy falling into bed with each other and drowning in homophobic angst to bother doing their jobs properly. Even if I only had a little over a hundred more pages to find out how this story turns out, I could not make myself go on any farther. It's a mess and I just don't need to know how it ends.

#booklr #adult booklr #book review #autonomous #annalee newitz #my reading challenges #mount tbr 2020 #popsugar 2020 #the reading frenzy

1 note · View note

womenofcolor15 · 5 years ago

Text

NOPE! Tekashi 6ix9ine Will Not Be Home For Christmas, Sentenced To Two Years Behind Bars & Five Years Probation

Tekashi 6ix9ine isn’t getting out of jail anytime soon. A judge just sentenced him to two years in prison and five years of probation. Deets inside…

Tekashi 6ix9ine (real name Daniel Hernandez) thought he would be released from prison before Christmas, but NOPE! The “FEFE” rapper will not be home for the holidays, despite reports claiming he would be released soon.

You'll recall, he was arrested and indicted on six federal charges. He was taken into federal custody after being charged with racketeering and firearms charges back in December 2018. ATF agents reportedly picked up the rapper in NYC along with his recently fired manager, Treway Shottie, and two other men.

OK - #6ix9ine sentencing about to begin in @SDNYLIVE Courtroom 318 before Judge Engelmayer. As Inner City Press reported last night, there are victim impact letters, & 1 speaker today https://t.co/zKzsVASZTd Inner City Press will live tweet the sentencing - thread pic.twitter.com/rU58i4sv96

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2019

According to Inner City Press reporter Matthew Russell Lee, Judge Paul Engelmayer sentenced the NYC rapper to two years in prison and five years probation. He already served 13 months of the sentence, which means he’ll be out by late 2020. Once he’s out, he’ll be supervised for five years, he’ll have to complete 300 hours of community service and he’ll have to pay a $35,000 fine.

Judge Engelmayer: Mr Hernandez, please rise. It is the judgment of the court you are to serve a term of 24 months in prison, with five years of supervised release.

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2019

#Breaking: Judge Engelmayer: Mr Hernandez, please rise. It is the judgment of the court you are to serve a term of 24 months in prison, with five years of supervised release. Inner City Press live tweet thread here https://t.co/KOiwZw8idT

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2019

Judge Engelmayer: I impose 300 hours of community service when you get out, and a fine of $35,000. Mr Hernandez, the worst part is over. There is a great deal to be admired about you. You're learned a hard lesson here. I wish you very very well. We are adjourned.

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2019

Hernandez has already been taken out of the courtroom by U.S. Marshals. For those asking, seems it will be the announced 24 months minus the 13 months already served: so, eleven months, into late 2020. Heading out to #Periscope; story soon https://t.co/zKzsVASZTd

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2019

According to transcripts provided by Inner City Press, Judge Engelmayer told Tekashi:

"Mr. Hernandez, I've given it a lot of close thought, including your cooperation. The following are my thoughts, & this is going to take a little while. You are in custody for 13 months. I agree you deserve a great deal of credit for cooperation. However, I cannot agree with your counsel that time served it appropriate. In my judgment, your conduct is too violent and selfish to make 13 months reasonable. You will not be going free today." He added, "For the better part of a year, you were part of a violent gang. So that there is no misunderstanding, here is a specific account of those act. First came Trippy Redd... You decided to shoot at a member of Trippy Redd's entourage. Jordan fired into the sprinter van, in the Times Square area. It is a matter of sheer luck that an innocent person or people was not wounded or killed."

According to TMZ, Tekashi received 1 point for his 2018 conviction for using a minor in a sexual performance (in a music video), and 2 more points for his involvement in the Nine Trey Bloods while on probation. Those 3 points put him in category 2 and the worst category is a 6.

The site reports:

Tekashi was originally facing a minimum of 47 years in prison before agreeing to assist prosecutors by ratting out his former gang members. As we reported, he pled guilty to 9 counts when he entered his plea back on January 23.

He copped to multiple counts of racketeering, conspiracy, firearms offenses and narcotics trafficking. According to federal docs ... Tekashi was involved with dealing heroin, fentanyl, ecstasy, amphetamines and weed.

The feds said the conspiracy included multiple acts of murder, robbery and extortion. Prosecutors also referred to a video TMZ first posted of Tekashi offering a $30k bounty for someone to shoot Chief Keef's cousin.

Here's more of what the judge told Tekahi in court:

Judge Engelmayer: For the better part of a year, you were part of a violent gang. So that there is no misunderstanding, here is a specific account of those act. First came Trippy Redd... You decided to shoot at a member of Trippy Redd's entourage

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2019

Judge Engelmayer: Jordan fired into the sprinter van, in the Times Square area. It is a matter of sheer luck that an innocent person or people was not wounded or killed.

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2019

Judge Engelmayer: Jordan fired into the sprinter van, in the Times Square area. It is a matter of sheer luck that an innocent person or people was not wounded or killed.

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2019

Judge Engelmayer: You used Nine Trey as a potent means of getting even with your rivals. You claim you "foolishly commingled with members of the gang" - but it's more than that. The attacks would not have happened without you.

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2019

Judge Engelmayer: Shotti said he carried an assault rifle to protect you from the beefs you started. He was recorded by Jorge Rivera saying this. You didn't shoot, but you are responsible. And so, I reject the portrait of you as a passive participant.

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2019

Judge Engelmayer: You told the US Probation Department you were brainwashed by the gang. That might be partially true. But the relationship was symbiotic. They got something out of it. But so did you [Engelmayer slows the words down: So. Did. You.]

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2019

Judge Engelmayer: Your first crime, use of a child in a sexual performance, you said the same thing, that older acquaintances were having sexual intercourse with the underaged girl. That excuse may have worked once, but it doesn't work twice

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2019

Judge Engelmayer: But for your cooperation, you would get a very long sentence. When you began to cooperate in November 2018, some incidents the government didn't know about. But it knew about a lot. The April 3 robbery. The two April 18 shooting.

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2019

Judge Engelmayer: I have no doubt that the process of cooperation has for you been cathartic. For all these reasons you deserve a very substantial reduction, & you will receive you. I followed some of the commentary during the trial, I took much of it in good fun

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2019

Judge Engelmayer: I do not expect you to be tempted to commit violence again. If you do, I am the judge in your case. And your economic self interest. You have struck a lucrative deal. The situation is unusual. You are very fortunate. You will land on your feet.

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2019

The judge also addressed Tekahi's cooperation and how it helped with his sentence:

Judge Engelmayer: Mr Hernandez, if you expected to be released today, you will be disappointed. But you were wise to cooperate. Your cooperation will result in years more liberty.

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2019

View this post on Instagram

#6ix9ine sentences to another year behind bars

A post shared by LawyerforWorkers.com (@lawyerforworkers) on Dec 18, 2019 at 9:49am PST

View this post on Instagram

#6ix9ine more details on sentencing

A post shared by LawyerforWorkers.com (@lawyerforworkers) on Dec 18, 2019 at 10:09am PST

Welp. It looks like Tekashi testfying against his former homies paid off for him. Do you think his sentence matches the crimes? Sound off in the comments!

Photo: Getty

[Read More ...] source http://theybf.com/2019/12/18/nope-tekashi-6ix9ine-will-not-be-released-today-despite-reports-saying-he-would

1 note · View note