#and lastly: i cannot believe that it's vega that has pulled me out of my grave. unbelievable

[risarchives]

love the vincent/vega parallels in the recent audio concerning talks of immortality. how vincent used his love as a promise of eternity (“—spend eternity by your side—”) to lovely and how vega used intrigue (“you want to know me? you want to know how time and circumstance could lead someone here, and how time and circumstance might lead them back? then come with me. we're demons. we're eternal. but infinity has a price, and not everyone is willing to pay it. i plan to craft eternity as something liveable. experience it with me.”) as a weapon of coercion to pull warden to his direction and manipulate them into joining him in whatever plans he’s got. i scream

[jbk405]

The 1994 Street Fighter gets a lot of shit -- and truthfully it deserves most of it -- but in my recent rewatches I’ve seen that it actually has some legitimately brilliant scenes.  I don’t mean in the vein of “so hammy it’s fun” like when people meme about Bison, I mean sequences of layered competence in the writing and staging and performances.

Take this lead-up to the fight between Ryu and Vega.

First, the soundtrack: This is “L'amour est un oiseau rebelle” (Commonly known as ‘the Habanera’) from the opera Carmen.  The opera features heavy themes about temptation and seduction, and the descent of once-noble people into villainy.  In the opera Don Jose is seduced by Carmen and abandons his fiance, family and career, only to later turn on her as well when she spurns him.  In the film Ken is tempted by the money and power of Sagat and the Shadaloo underworld.  Ken ultimately saves himself when Don Jose couldn’t, but only after seeing the truth of what Sagat is at the end of the film.  The opera also has a lot of bull fighting -- both metaphorical and literal -- which matches the cage fighting quite well.

There’s also the non-vocal interactions between Ken and Ryu.  Their spoken goodbye in the ring is generically okay (Not bad, but nothing special), but if you notice their farewell handshake never separates voluntarily.  They keep holding on to each other until physically pulled apart by Sagat and his henchmen.  They also maintain eye contact until -- again -- they are literally pulled apart.  Despite their bickering and arguments these two literally hold on to each other in the face of death, which emphasizes their bond and supports the later scenes in the film when Ken chooses to forgo his own escape when he sees Ryu in danger.

Vega’s introduction is also perfect.  As he enters the ring in his mask, described by Sagat as the greatest cage fighter since Iron Fist, the close-up before he removes his mask heavily implies that we are going to get a brutish, possibly disfigured figure underneath.  It’s a very easy (and cheap) way to indicate that somebody is evil, and it sets them apart from the Handsome Hero.  Instead, we get the gorgeous Jay Tavare underneath the mask, who not just isn’t ugly but even smiles and waves to the crowd.  It subverts audience expectations for the villainous mook and also builds on the recurring theme that Ryu and Ken aren’t different than the Shadaloo figures.  We can’t just look at one and tell who’s the good guy and who’s the bad guy by their appearance, so they will need to act like the good guys.

Then there’s the way the scene finally closes out: After all that build-up the fight never actually happens.  It’s all suddenly derailed when Colonel Guile bursts through the wall with the AN forces and arrests the lot of them, with none of them any particular target.  They’re all just so much small-fry scooped up in a net.  Both Guile and Chun-Li at separate times make the point to Ken & Ryu that what’s happening here is so much larger than money or their personal ambitions.  This is a war for life and freedom for thousands, perhaps millions of people, and they happen to be right in the middle of it but still think they can run their cons like always.  Their petty schemes don’t amount to anything in the face of this conflict.

Lastly is just the casting: I cannot praise Wes Studi enough.  I speak with absolutely no irony here, he is perfect as Sagat.  He has the calm malevolence of a ruthless underworld figure who maintains his rule through fear and blood, but who does it so well that he doesn’t actually need to do it that often.  He has just the right level of grit for me to believe that he started as cage fighter at the bottom of the barrel and worked his way up to the top of the layer cake.  No mob boss in a gangster film does it better.

There’s still some hackneyed dialogue in there, and some weird pseudo-mugging for the camera, and the crowd seems way too excited for Ryu before he’s even started flashing his moves, but at the end of it all this is a really well done scene that establishes, builds upon, and foreshadows a lot of themes throughout the movie.

[awakandangoddess]

Vacation in Vegas Aftermath (Part 4)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Imagine (17)

Warnings: this will contain two men in a relationship, I try I try, and there might be cussing not that you all will care

Enjoy!

The day after Erik and T'Challa's engagement and a night of passion, everyone packed their things, checked out of the hotel, and boarded their ship to head back to Wakanda and share the news.

When they touched down, everyone was greeted by Ramonda and Shuri at the palace. Hugs were exchanged between T'Challa, Erik, Okoye, Ramonda, and Shuri as the rest of Dora Milaje loaded the luggage into T'Challa and Erik's room.

"How was your vacation?" Ramonda asks.

"It was great, mother," replies T'Challa as he wraps his arm around Erik's waist. "I had an excellent time. What about you?" he asks Erik.

"Yeah, I had a great time, Auntie," says Erik. "Aye T'Challa you think we should tell them now?"

"Tell us what?" asks Shuri.

"I think we should wait until dinner," T'Challa says smirking.

"No, no. You already started it, now finish. What do you have to tell us?" Ramonda questions.

T'Challa and Erik both stare at each other with love before they share their announcement.

"Well mother, sister, while we were in Vegas, I decided I want to spend the rest of my life with Erik. So I proposed..." T'Challa trails off cueing Erik to finish.

"And now we're getting married." Ramonda gasps as a smile appears on Shuri's face.

"Oh congratulations, you two," Ramonda cheers hugging the two again. She reaches for Erik's hand to see the ring, admiring how beautiful it is. "This ring is exquisite."

"I agree," Erik says.

"I can't believe my brother's getting married," states Shuri.

"Yes, Shuri," says T'Challa. "Aren't you happy for us?"

"Why wouldn't I be happy for my brother?Especially since you're not marrying an idiot."

Erik and T'Challa snicker while Ramonda doesn't look too pleased by the comment.

"Shuri," she scowls.

"Sorry, mother."

"It's cool, Auntie. As long as I'm still cool with Shuri I'm good," Erik comments as he pulls Shuri close to him.

The day goes on as T'Challa and Erik get settled back in. T'Challa won't officially return to business until tomorrow, thanks to the convincing of Erik. As of now the couple are sitting on the couch, watching a movie before dinner time arrives.

"Babe?" calls Erik.

"Yes, Erik?"

"I'm like what Shuri said earlier, I can't believe we're really getting married."

"Well really she said she can't believe I'm getting married," T'Challa starts causing the couple to chuckle. "but you can't?"

"I mean like I told you before, I never thought I see myself here. I almost killed you and you could've killed me but instead you, Auntie, Shuri, and every one who lives here have accepted like I didn't do shit and-" T'Challa cuts Erik off from his babbling by kissing him on the lips.

They separate after a few seconds and it's T'Challa's time to speak. "I told you, Erik, I love you very much. There's no one else in my heart that can replace you. I don't care anymore about what we've been through. I wouldn't have asked you to be my husband if I wasn't sure. Are you sure ready for this, Erik?"

Erik grins. "I love you, T'Challa. I wouldn't have said yes if I wasn't." T'Challa smiles as he kisses Erik on his temple before they return to watch the movie, with Erik feeling a lot better about taking their relationship to the next level.

Almost a year after that night, their wedding day was finally here.

In Wakandan tradition, the royal wedding is not held at the palace. Instead, it is held at any church of the king's choosing. Because of this T'Challa chose the church where his father T'Chaka and Ramonda were married at long ago.

Similar to Western customs, the groom cannot see their spouse before the wedding, otherwise Bast will not bless the matrimony.

Since the theme colors are always chosen by the couple, Erik and T'Challa have decided to go with white and gold.

Lastly, as far as dress, Erik has to be dressed in all white and wear a white and gold kente cloth over his head to signify he is T'Challa's consort, while T'Challa wears a gold and white kurti with matching pants.

The wedding starts in less than an hour. Erik is looking in the mirror as one of the servants wrap the kente on his head.

"You look wonderful, Prince Erik," says the servant, Zoya, once she finishes wrapping the kente.

"Thank you." There's a knock on the door. Zoya walks over and opens it to reveal Ramonda.

"Queen Mother," she announces and bows.

"Hello there. I would like to speak with Prince Erik in private please."

"Of course." She moves to the side to let Ramonda in. "I will give you both your alone time." Zoya leaves out the room closing the door behind her.

Ramonda walks over to her nephew/soon-to-be son-in-law and takes a seat on the couch placed next to the vanity Erik was sitting in front of.

"Hey Auntie," greets Erik as he hugs her.

"Hello Erik," she responds before they pull away. "You look wonderful."

"Thank you. So do you." She says a thank you as well before she starts explaining to Erik why she visited him.

"I wanted to tell you this, N'Jadaka, even though we started off on the wrong foot, I'm glad to have you in our family. As my nephew and now my son-in-law. You and T'Challa make a great couple and Bast willing your marriage lasts a long time."

"You really mean that, Auntie?" Erik asks.

"Yes. I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you if I didn't." They both chuckle and Ramonda continues with her words. "I will tell you marriage is difficult, and you and T'Challa will have some bumps in the road. But you two put your faith in Bast to work it out, and everything will be okay."

The tears Erik were trying to hold back are released, letting them fall freely only for him to quickly wipe them away.

"Aw, I didn't mean to make you cry," Ramonda says as she gets up to comfort Erik.

"Nah, it's okay. I guess I just needed to hear that."

"It's going to be okay, Erik. You have a good thing with T'Challa and so does he with you. I see you two love each other very much so make the best of this."

Erik nods his head in agreement. "Thank you, Auntie."

"You're welcome. I guess I will be on my way out. Do you need Zoya to redo your make up?" Erik responded with a yes as Ramonda left out the room, but not before reaching out to Zoya to do Erik’s face again. 

After retouches and calming themselves down, Erik was ready to walk down the aisle and T’Challa was ready to see his future husband. 

T’Challa was already standing at the alter while Erik was behind the gold curtains ready to walk. Everyone of importance is in attendance of the royal wedding, of course including Ramonda and Shuri who are seated in the front row. 

“Are you ready to walk now Prince Erik?” another one of the servants, Ode, asks him. Erik gives his approval as the music starts playing and he hears the audience singing in Xhosa. He makes out the lyrics. He translates the song saying that everyone is happy the king has found his love and they’re happy to see the bride, or in this case the other groom. 

The curtains are opened for Erik and he begins to walk in slowly. His bare feet touch the white cloth lined with gold that’s laid down the aisle. The first thing he notices is T’Challa smiling at him and how handsome he looks in his white and gold.

Next, he notices while everyone is singing there are dancers on both sides of the room in rhythm with the music. Erik also looks down to see everyone throwing white rose petals at his feet, also part of tradition. Despite Erik’s heavy knowledge of Wakanda and its history, he didn’t think once to look into the traditions of marriage in Wakanda. And he’s glad he didn’t because it was all a big surprise to him and he liked it. 

He reaches the altar and with the help of T’Challa, he grabs Erik's hand to help him up the three steps and soon has him by his side. 

“You look beautiful, N’Jadaka,” T’Challa whispers in his ear.

“Thank you. You look classy yourself,” he whispers back. 

The music stops, the singing is silenced, and the dancers are now at a standstill. The crowd is cued to sit down so that the wedding may officially start. 

The shaman starts with his words of wisdom for the couple and the audience before he hands off the wedding to Erik and T’Challa to exchange their vows.

“You first, King T’Challa.” The pair look each other in they eyes. T’Challa clears his throat before starting.

“I, T’Challa, love you, N’Jadaka, very much. I want to tell you that every single day and every moment we are together. If I could say it to you a thousand times in one setting I would. I vow to you to be the best husband I can be, to you be the best king I can be. I promise to cherish you, honor you every single moment we have, and continue to love you for who you are. You are my one and only love, Erik, and for better or for worse, I vow to make you feel like that every day of our lives.” 

T’Challa wipes a few tears from his and Erik’s faces. Even Shuri and Ramonda are wiping tears from their eyes before it’s time for Erik’s vows. 

“Your turn, Prince Erik,” announces the shaman. 

“I, N’Jadaka, do love you too, T’Challa. From where we started until now you have made me a better person, and I hope to continue to be that way for you. I vow to support you during our reign, be by your side if you need me, and always be one person you can count on. I vow to you to be the best husband I can be, and be the best king I can be. I vow to love you, make you laugh when I get the chance, and continue to be faithful to you through thick and thin.” 

At this point, a few audience members are in full blown tears, and even the shaman has a tear running down his face before wiping it away. Erik and T’Challa smile, both knowing that they mean the words they both spoke to each other.

The shaman gathers himself and now it was time for the moment of truth. 

“Do you King T’Challa Udaku take Prince N’Jadaka Erik Stevens to be your lawfully wedded husband?” 

“I do,” he says and slips the ring onto Erik’s finger. 

“Do you, Prince N'Jadaka Erik Stevens, take King T’Challa Udaku to be your lawfully wedded husband?” 

“I do,” he responds as he does the same to T’Challa. 

“By the spirit of Bast and the country of Wakanda, I now pronounce you Mr. and Mr. Udaku, King T’Challa and now King N’Jadaka. T’Challa, you may now kiss your husband.” T’Challa grabs Erik by his waist and leans in to connect their lips while Erik places his hands on T'Challa's cheeks. The sounds of cheering, applause, and the feeling of excitement can be heard and felt throughout the room as the kiss still continues.

“Hey! Save the rest for the honeymoon!” yells out Shuri as Ramonda turns to pinch her while the rest of the rooms laughs.

T’Challa and Erik pull away, grand smiles still on their faces. 

“I love you,” T’Challa tells him. 

“I love you, too.” 

“The reception will be held in the building next door,” announces the shaman. “As soon as the royal couple exit, everyone may start making their way out.” On cue, the music starts up again, the dancers are dancing, the singing happens, and as another part of tradition, T’Challa grabs Erik’s hand and they both dance their way down the aisle. 

Once they exit the room, the newly wedded couple begin to head straight to their dressing rooms to change, but not before a quick conversation. 

“I can’t believe you’re really my husband,” Erik comments. 

“And I can believe you are not only my husband, but a king as well,” responds T’Challa as he takes Erik’s left hand and kisses it.

“True, but really, I’m your king, babe.” 

Erik and T’Challa share one last kiss before heading to their dressing rooms to prepare for an evening of eating, drinking, partying, and having fun to celebrate the start of a new life together.

Credits/Notes:

Gifs are not mine (credit to those people who made them). Pictures are not mine (credit to the photographers), and they are just an idea of what the ceremony and the reception look like.

Erik did not have a full face of make up, only a little water proof foundation did the trick. 😉

I hope y’all like the wedding vows because I made them up. 😀

I actually did some research on how some traditional African weddings are conducted. You all probably know that different countries and regions in Africa have diverse ways of traditional weddings, and as a result, I got some ideas from the Shona people in Zimbabwe and an article I read about a Nigerian royal wedding. Also there is use of some traditional Western customs.

I hope y'all enjoyed it!!!

[gettriggeredmedia]

Identity Politics and surrounding issues

Everyone knows about Identity politics. Some activists scream about colonisers, radical feminists cause a clicking ovation at slam poetry, gender-fluids cause controversy over the apparent 78 genders (or 112, or 63 - whoever you get your info from) and the overall takeover from the left when it comes to issues such as personal feelings and how someone identifies.

So let’s break it down.

Identity politics is essentially how someone can change their political beliefs and their whole identities based upon their identity (e.g. race, religion, social class, wealth, sexuality, etc.). The idea in itself might seem appealing to many, as it seems to with the left, but recently, Identity politics has gotten out of control.

Black people and those that sympathise are screaming about white men colonising the U.S. in the eighteenth century, that’s over two hundred years ago, and talking about the murders of their ancestors by the ancestors of the white men and women they walk around college with today. This idea promotes the victim mentality, where someone walks around thinking the world’s out to get them everyday and that everything’s against them. It’s simply false.

Many current white Americans today are actually descendant of people who immigrated into the country after the civil war, which statistically speaking, means that their ancestors most likely did not murder the ancestors of black Americans today.

Talking about the victim mentality, walking around screaming at white ‘colonisers’ (Which I'm pretty sure only became a term used by the progressive left after Black Panther was released), is, in itself, inherently racist. But we don’t mention that, do we? Right? I mean...you can’t be racist to white people, am I right?

Wrong.

You can be racist to white people. Being racist has nothing to do with one’s social class, past history of their race and so on. Being racist, however, has everything to do with judging another by their skin colour. 

Oxford Dictionary describes it as this:

“Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior.”

Where in that does it mention that you cannot be racist to white people because they’re the oppressors? No-where. It doesn’t say anything, and you want to know why? That’s because ‘reverse racism’ doesn’t exist. It’s just called racism.

Why do conversations about racism, oppression and slavery always have to do with black, African people and white, European people? The Middle East practically ran slave trading for a while, and it’s still happening. Irishmen were enslaved for a time. Do you see them getting mentioned? Nope.

“But what does that have to do with America?”

Nothing, you’re right, but it does show that slaves in America weren’t the only ones out there, and while American slavery has been abolished, Middle Eastern slavery in certain areas has not.

Now let’s look at feminism.

Feminism is currently the core belief that men and women are not equal in developed countries. I’m here to say that’s false. Men and women have the exact same rights as each other and complaining about the so-called ‘pay gap’ is nothing in comparison to what women have to go through in, once again, middle eastern countries and parts of Africa.

Look at this video for example:

While it’s not a conservative video, it does illustrate that these two people, a white man and a black woman, both of whom work the same job, but at different companies, are not only equal in pay, but the black woman is paid much more than the white man.

While this isn’t true for many places, a number of factors do influence how much someone is paid, such as; family leave (Whether it be maternity or otherwise), whether the employee decides to go part time or full time, whether the employee takes more time for the family, holidays and so on. It’s the same for both men and women. I guarantee that a man who works from home or works part time to spend more time with his kids is going to be paid much less than a woman with no kids and a focussed career.

Comparing the salary from the same or similar jobs but from different companies is not a way to get reliable statistics.

Feminists parading around in vagina hats to protest Trump in the 2016 women’s march is just kinda sick, really. Not even going to give a factual statement here, It’s sick. I don’t want to look at vagina hats and whatever other shit that they parade around in.

Moving aside from the side of the debate, let’s look at Muslims, feminist movements relating to Muslims, LGBTQ+ issues relating to Muslims, terrorism and other religious issues relating to Muslims.

Before we even get into it, I have nothing against peaceful Muslims. Freedom of Religion is a right.

Feminist Muslims. Oh how you’ve gotten everything wrong. Just today, Iranian women are pulling off their hijab’s in a protest for rights.

from: https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Iranian-Women-Tear-Off-Their-Veils-in-National-Push-for-Rights-20180425-0040.html

from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5656091/Support-grows-Iranian-woman-viciously-beaten-morality-police.html

There was also the story a few months back about the woman doing the same thing. Then there’s white, American, atheist women (Called sympathisers or allies), who put on hijab’s for feminism.

What’s screwed up here?...hmmm

LGBTQ+ Issues. There are many. The Muslim religion is, in itself, greatly against homosexuality of any sort. Gay men and Lesbian women in the Middle East have been brutally murdered, and it’s not even stopped at the borders of the Middle East. I’m sure everyone heard of the rehabilitation camps in Chechnya. Well, guess what? Chechnya’s actually a Muslim majority. The main religion is Sunni Islam.

While the may have nothing to do with it, it’s still quite a coincidence.

Let’s talk about religious issues relating to Muslims and other religions. Many believe Muslims to be older than Christianity and Protestants. This is false. Muhammed, the founder of the religion, actually wanted to be a Catholic priest but was kicked out for being too militant. From then on, he created the Muslim religion in retaliation to the Catholics.

In truth, Christianity, Judaism and other religions like those, predate Muslims by around 600 or so years.

Next on the list is Terrorism.

Yes, many terrorists are Muslim, no, that doesn't mean that all Muslims are terrorists. There are white, domestic terrorists, like the Las Vegas shooter and several school shooters, but those responsible for some of the U.S’s biggest disasters in the past have been Muslim terrorists.

Al Queda was responsible for 911.

Osama Bin Laden was a big name in Terrorism.

Just recently, the YouTube shooter, a Muslim woman.

Boston Marathon Bombings

Those are just some of the few since 2001. Thousands of people have died, and there have been many more from Muslim terrorists in other countries. Now, none of this doesn’t excuse what the white terrorists have done (Because white privilege isn’t real), what it does do, however, is prove that there is a part of Islam, not all of it, a part of it, that is wrong, that has caused several mentally unstable Muslim men to go out, bomb people and fly planes into buildings.

Now, how about when Muslims immigrate to first world countries from Syria, Iran, Sudan and all of those ares. If you ask them to name which law they thought was better, many would say Sharia Law. In developed countries such as the U.S, U.K, Australia and so on, immigrants should be expected to follow the laws of that country, not the laws of the country they left behind. That should be fact. 

Religion actually has nothing to do with that. The Laws in Canada are different to the laws in Australia. Canadians moving to Australia should be expected to follow Australian Law, just as Australians moving to Canada should be expected to follow Canadian law. While the concept is the same, the stakes are higher when the immigrant is from a third world country.

I’ve known people who immigrated from Africa. They’re fine with the laws.

Lastly, let’s move onto the sexuality, gender and sex debate. You know, the one where the LGBTQ+ activists claim that there are infinite genders or some crap.

I can break this down into a few easy ways to understand it.

Sex and gender are not different from one another. Both have a basis in biology. Your sex is what genitals you have, a penis = male, a vagina = female. This is how it has been since sex and gender were first termed.

It goes deeper than genitals, though, it goes into your genes, cells, chromosomes, muscle composition, body fat distribution and so on. It’s common knowledge that males have an XY chromosome makeup, while female have an XX chromosome makeup. The deciding factor of what sex you are, actually depends on the father. When it comes to muscle composition, male’s have genetically stronger muscles, their composition is stronger than that of a female’s.

Female’s generally have softer muscle composition, as genetically, a woman isn’t made for doing hard work like a man is, a woman is genetically made to be a caretaker. That’s not to say that every woman is the same, just the opposite actually, but this is just the general genetic profiles of men and women.

A woman’s fat distribution is different to that of a man’s. A woman will have more fat around her hips, thighs, breasts and arms, while a man will generally have more fat around the stomach (See: Beer belly) and just the upper body in general.

Men and Women have different skeletal structures. A woman has a wider pelvis than a man, this is so she is ready to have children, smaller shoulders, smaller head and a smaller skeletal structure in general to a man’s. While a man will have a thinner pelvis, broader shoulders, larger rib cage and is generally taller. The height difference is quite apparent in many real world situations. (Every male I know my age or older, is much taller than me) There are anomalies to this everywhere, the odd female taller than all the males she knows, or the short male who feels like a dwarf in comparison.

This get’s me to hormones. Male and female brains will send out different hormones to their bodies. This is mostly evident in oestrogen and testosterone. Oestrogen is a woman’s hormone, generally a boost will be given through puberty which stimulates breast growth and the menstrual cycle, which in turn enables the female to have children. Males, during puberty, get a boost of testosterone, causing facial hair, voice breaking, genital growth and so on.

There is obviously a distinct scientific difference between male’s and females, and this is what gender and sex have been founded in. Both relate to the scientific properties of the sex.

Frankly, I don’t understand half of what goes on in the side of the world.

Well, thanks for sticking around (If you made it this far, sorry for the long post)

~GTM