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animemocha · 1 year ago

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Anime's Greatest Chad: The Epic of Gilgamesh (Fate)

Gilgamesh is known as mankind's first hero.

But his story isn’t limited to just the Fate series. In fact, it’s shaped our modern lives more than you could ever imagine.

If you’re here for a historically accurate depiction of the man who tried to conquer death, don’t leave. I’ve worked really hard to make this as accurate as possible.

And if you’re here for the story of the real anime Gigachad, and how he goes from an arrogant dictator to a benevolent king.

Then grab a drink and some snacks, because this, is the tale of the Hero of Heroes.

Roots of the King

Before we jump into the Epic of Gilgamesh, it’s worth taking a second to understand the roots of this iconic character and his influence on human culture and literature.

Mesopotamia was a region in 3100 BC, now covered by Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. It had its fair share of events, from the reigns of Sumerians and Akkadians to being eventually conquered by Alexander the Great in 332 BC.

But nestled within this timeline is a certain story that’s so profound, so raw, it's been echoing for millennia.

Now I know what you’re thinking.

"I'm here for anime, not a history lesson."

But the thing is, all evidence points to Gilgamesh actually existing 5000 years ago. And his legend is recorded in mankind’s oldest poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh.

The epic is thought to have been orally transmitted for generations before it was finally written down on clay tablets in the cuneiform script, which was one of the earliest systems of writing.

To put into context how old that is, it makes him almost 3000 years older than Jesus.

But I wouldn’t take EVERYTHING that follows as being literal. Just know that some of the stuff is actually reported to have happened.

The Hero of Heroes

Gilgamesh is known as the King of all Heroes because every single myth that followed, every story, every legend from every culture and every religion in every country, it all borrows inspiration from mankind’s first hero.

The strongest examples of this are in the Biblical tale of Noah and the Greek myth of Hercules. And his story greatly influences modern literature too, like The Lord of the Rings and A Game of Thrones.

The story of the Epic of Gilgamesh was discovered on 12 clay tablets found among the ruins of the ancient library of Ashurbanipal, the last great king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

These tablets, inscribed with cuneiform script, are dated to around the 7th century BC but are believed to preserve much older stories that were likely first told orally and later written down.

These ancient tablets provide the most comprehensive version of the epic, but parts of the tale also appear on other scattered fragments found at different ancient sites across the Middle East.

There are actually two versions of Gilgamesh in the Fate series and they’re technically different people.

Well, they’re not, but they kind of are.

Archer Gilgamesh

We’re in the year 2800 B.C., the Age of the Gods, where divine beings and humans walked the Earth together.

Some Gods were just, while others treated their subjects as slaves.

One day, a greater god called Sefar invaded the Earth, killing many of the Gods.

She was eventually defeated, but the damage was already done, and the rule the gods had over the humans had severely weakened.

In order to preserve their rule, the gods needed a keystone, a Wedge of Heaven that connected the rising humans to the fading gods.

That keystone was Gilgamesh.

Born from the Goddess Ninsun and the Human King Lugalbanda, Gilgamesh was two-thirds God, and one-third human, and ruled over humanity with the mission to observe and adjudicate.

The Fortress City

The city Gilgamesh ruled over was called Uruk, situated in present-day Iraq.

Yet, Uruk was far from ordinary.

It stood as a testament to human achievement, its towering walls not just architectural marvels but also echoes of the ambitions of its people.

Conceived under the watchful eye of Gilgamesh, these walls became more than mere defensive structures; they symbolised humanity's victory over nature. This audacious statement reflected Gilgamesh's own beliefs: that he stood above nature itself.

As evidence of its profound legacy, archaeologists pinpoint Uruk as one of humanity's earliest urban epicentres, with roots as deep as 4000 BCE. Its intricate temples, ziggurats, and canal systems all serve as relics of its storied past.

The Tyrannical King

This transcendence over nature, and the very walls that proclaimed it, became the lens through which Gilgamesh viewed himself.

To him, the limitations of divinity and humanity were but mere lines in the sand.

He believed that while no human could rival the gods, the gods themselves could never experience the complexities of human existence.

And since Gilgamesh was both human and God, he perceived himself not just above his subjects, but even the deities that breathed life into him.

His self-awareness was, in many ways, his crowning achievement.

Gilgamesh grew to become a cruel, arrogant, and oppressive tyrant who subjugated his people to forced labour and sexual abuse.

And just to be clear, I’m downplaying that a lot because even I don’t want to talk about some of the disgusting things he is historically reported to have done.

And it makes me wonder how he ever became a Heroic Spirit in the first place.

The Man Made of Clay

Naturally, the gods didn’t want this, but they couldn’t exactly do anything about it because, well, Gilgamesh just wouldn’t submit to them.

So instead, the King of God’s Anu, and the Goddess of Creation Aruru, created a monster out of clay called Enkidu, to punish the arrogant king.

But there was a problem.

You see, Enkidu didn’t have a soul, and so couldn’t make rational decisions.

So the gods sent a divine harlot to sleep with him. (And I’m not even joking.)

After this, Enkidu takes human form, and his final appearance is very similar to the girl he slept with. And that’s why he has such a feminine form.

(It’s definitely not because having more hot girls leads to more sales)

Noble Phantasm's

Before we dive into what happened between Gilgamesh and Enkidu, let’s talk about Gilgamesh’s powers, or more specifically, Archer Gilgamesh’s powers.

In Fate, heroic spirits have Noble Phantasms, which are special weapons or abilities that embody the legend of that hero. For example, King Arthur’s Noble Phantasm, or rather, Artoria’s Noble Phantasm (Again, because more hot girls = more sales), is Excalibur, the sword of promised victory.

Gilgamesh has a lot of Noble Phantasms, and I mean, A LOT. It would take me a decade to cover them all, but I’ll talk about a few.

Sha Naqba Imuru:

The first is his ability Sha Naqba Imuru, or Clairvoyance, which lets him see into the future and see the truth of anything he looks at.

So in a fight, he knows exactly who his opponent is, what their abilities are, and how best to defeat them. Or if he’s playing chess, then he knows the correct move every time.

This ability is pretty OP but the thing is, Gilgamesh barely uses it.

Why?

Because he’s an arrogant prick.

He believes himself to be so powerful, that he doesn’t even need it most of the time.

And uhm… he’s kinda right...

Especially when you learn about his next Noble Phantasm.

The Gate of Babylon:

During his time as ruler of Uruk, Gilgamesh amassed every single weapon on Earth and stored them all in his treasury.

And I genuinely mean, every single weapon.

And the Gate of Babylon allows him to choose whichever weapon he wants, whenever he wants, wherever he wants.

But that’s not how Gilgamesh uses it...

Every single weapon is fired out at a speed of Mach 10, and he has so many, that he could go his entire life firing them away without having to use a single one twice.

What makes this ability even more OP, is that these weapons aren’t just ordinary weapons. Every single one of them is a Noble Phantasm in itself. Artoria’s Excalibur, Lancer’s Gae Bolg, Hercules’ Nine Lives, Gilgamesh has all of these weapons in his treasury.

But how is that possible if these heroes came AFTER Gilgamesh?

Well. That’s because they’re prototypes.

I mentioned earlier that almost every legend told today is in some way inspired by the Epic of Gilgamesh. And in the same way, every weapon used today has a design that is somehow based on those in his treasury.

He owns every weapon that existed and owns every weapon that is yet to exist.

And don’t get me wrong.

While they’re technically prototypes, it is said that if you compare the original weapon to Gilgamesh’s prototype, the original will look like a fake, that’s how well-made the prototype is.

Not only that, but in a fight, the prototype will beat the original every time.

Now that doesn’t mean that if Gilgamesh were to use Excalibur and fight Artoria in a 1 on 1 swordfight that he would win.

He’d probably lose.

And that’s because he’s a jack of all trades but master of none.

Gilgamesh is a brilliant swordsman. But these other heroic spirits have spent their entire lives mastering a single weapon, and thus can use them to their full potential, which Gilgamesh cannot.

That being said. Gilgamesh DOES have one weapon that only he can use, one so powerful that it defies reality itself. Buuuuut I’ll talk about that later.

The Great Battle

Enkidu eventually confronts Gilgamesh outside of the Temple of Uruk, stating that he needed to be punished for disobeying the gods.

But Gilgamesh isn’t one to let anyone talk down on him.

So he engages Enkidu in a battle that lasts days on end.

And this was pretty new to Gil. It was the first time he ever came across someone equal in strength to him, which forced him to use his Gate of Babylon.

Gilgamesh was furious that someone had caused him to waste his weapons, he was humiliated.

But eventually, he stopped caring, and he even started to enjoy himself after finally finding someone worthy to be in his presence.

This battle lasted so long and was so fearsome that Gil exhausted every single weapon in his treasury, but by this point, Enkidu was severely weakened and Gilgamesh had won.

But instead of finishing him off, Gilgamesh extended a hand to him.

He saw Enkidu as an equal, and Enkidu ended up becoming Gil’s first friend, his only friend.

Friendship

One day, Gilgamesh set his sights upon defeating the Beast of the God’s, Humbaba.

But the thing is, the God’s hadn’t told him to do this, and he wasn’t doing it for the sake of his people either, because, well… he didn’t care about them.

Gilgamesh simply saw Humbaba as something that needed to be removed from the Earth in order to see out his mission.

Gilgamesh had always disobeyed the God’s so that he could be far removed from them, and he wanted his people to hate him so that he could be far removed from them, because that was the only way he could be truly neutral, because that was the mission for which he was born.

In this sense, you could argue that the reason that Gilgamesh was such an abhorrent dictator, was because he didn’t want to get close to his subjects, so that he could remain impartial.

(I don’t know how much truth there is to that and it could simply be a result of the story being altered as it was passed from generation to generation.)

Either way, seeing Gilgamesh’s resolve, Enkidu pledges his loyalty to him, and the two go on numerous adventures together, which ends with Gilgamesh becoming the wealthiest and most powerful king on Earth.

He amassed so much power that even the gods had no choice but to acknowledge it. One Goddess in particular, Ishtar, the Goddess of Fertility, asked Gilgamesh to marry her.

The King's Loss

Marrying a Goddess was actually one of Gilgamesh’s duties as it would see the continued reign of the gods over the humans, but Gilgamesh said no.

Enraged, Ishtar went to her father Anu, and asked him to unleash the Divine Beast Gugalanna on Uruk.

This divine beast devastated the lands for 7 years before Gilgamesh and Enkidu were finally able to defeat it. But this came at a price.

Ishtar asked the gods to sentence Gilgamesh and Enkidu to their deaths. While the Gods agreed, they couldn’t do anything to Gil, but they could to Enkidu, because he was their direct creation.

Enkidu’s clay body weakened and weakened until it would eventually return to the very Earth from which it had come.

Gilgamesh stayed by his friend's side until the very end.

While this event is not shown directly shown in the anime, it is mentioned in the original Sumerian poem from three thousand years ago, translated as follows:

“It saddens me. It saddens me, Gil. Who would understand you after I die? Who else would march by your side? My friend… when I think you will live on all alone henceforth, I can’t help but shed tears. But don’t be saddened. For I am but another of your treasures.” - Enkidu

It’s honestly a rather heartbreaking end to their friendship.

One would have thought that the arrogant and prideful King of Heroes would have had a rather stoic response. But history says otherwise:

"You do have worth. You alone have this worth. I hereby declare: In all this world, only one shall be my friend. Thus---not for all eternity shall his worth ever change." - Gilgamesh

And with this, Enkidu returned to the Earth, leaving nothing behind but Gilgamesh's thunderous cry.

And for those of you who have watched Fate Zero, you’ll know that Gilgamesh kept this promise, even thousands and thousands of years later.

The Herb

After Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh realised something.

As he was one-third human, he too would one day die.

If this were to happen, he would not be able to fulfil his dream of watching over humanity until the end of time, and it also meant he would not be able to carry out his purpose as the Wedge of Heaven.

And thus, for the first time in his existence, the king of heroes felt fear.

And this brings us to the core of the ancient Sumerian poem.

Gilgamesh, wanting to beat death, set out on a journey to find the only treasure that he didn’t have in his vault—the Herb of Immortality.

What does this herb do?

Well, it’s in the name so figure it out for yourselves.

Gilgamesh wandered the Earth for several decades in search of this herb, and eventually, stumbles upon a wise sage in the underworld that guides him in the right direction.

Sure enough, Gil finds the herb and is absolutely euphoric, because he has just beaten death, and all that’s left for him to do, is return to Uruk, and see over his people until the end of time.

Before beginning his journey back home, Gil decides to wash off in a nearby spring, where he first places the herb on the ground. However, as fate would have it, a serpent stumbles upon the bathing Gilgamesh, and after seeing the herb, it eats it.

And a little fun fact. It’s thought that the Sumerians and many of the cultures that followed, believed that snakes have the ability to shed their skin because this serpent ate the herb of immortality, giving snakes the ability to be reborn.

Much like the biblical tale of Adam, Eve, and the serpent, this story serves as a stark reminder of life's impermanence and the inevitable reality of death.

By losing the herb, Gilgamesh confronts the bitter truth: immortality remains beyond human grasp.

After realising what happened, you’d think Gilgamesh would be upset, or that he would be outraged, but, he wasn’t.

He realised that death was unavoidable and that by dying, he wasn’t abandoning his duty, he was completing it, because it was the most human thing he could do.

He realised that you didn’t die because you were human, but you were human because you died.

And with his Sha Naqba Imuru, Gilgamesh was able to see into the future, and what he saw was exactly what he loved about the humans in the first place.

He saw the continued growth of the human race, the way their knowledge developed, and the way they used their resources to reach for the stars and beyond.

With this new outlook, Gilgamesh returned to Uruk as a changed man.

Caster Gilgamesh

While Archer Gilgamesh was an arrogant tyrant that did disgusting things, Caster Gilgamesh was kind, generous, and benevolent.

He loved his people so much that he actually gave away all the swords in his treasury.

You see, these two versions of Gilgamesh are still the same person. It’s just that Archer Gilgamesh is the version of Gilgamesh we see before Enkidu’s death, and Caster Gilgamesh is the one we see after the death of his friend.

And yes, technically, Caster Gilgamesh is weaker than Archer Gilgamesh, and the biggest reason for that is the fact that he gave away so many of his weapons, weakening his Gate of Babylon.

But Caster Gilgamesh also had a noble phantasm that Archer Gilgamesh didn’t, Melammu Dingir, or King’s Signal Cannon.

If you’ve ever seen the movie Three Hundred, it’s a lot like that. But except for arrows, he’s firing every weapon he has at his disposal.

As I mentioned, Caster Gilgamesh was much more generous than Archer Gilgamesh, and he gave away his treasures for them to be used in cannons, should the city of Uruk need protection.

As such, this Noble Phantasm is classed as an Anti-Army ability, firing every weapon mankind had in one go.

But if you think that’s powerful, there’s one more noble phantasm I haven’t yet mentioned. But this one didn’t belong to Caster Gilgamesh, it belonged to Archer Gilgamesh.

The Sword of Rupture

Imagine a weapon so mighty that it not only holds power beyond comprehension but also taps into the very essence of our universe's creation.

Enter Ea, the sword of rupture.

But is it even correct to call it a sword?

Ea is the pinnacle of Noble Phantasms and is the strongest weapon in Gilgamesh’s treasury and it is unique to only him.

You might think it kind of looks like a sword, but it actually isn’t. It was designed before the concept of a “sword” even existed and so, it’s in its own class.

To even summon Ea, Gilgamesh first has to unlock the depths of his treasury with a key that only he possesses, and after that, we see the mere act of obtaining Ea disrupts reality itself.

Designed intricately, each section of Ea represents the Heaven’s, the Earth, and the Underworld, with the sections rotating in opposite directions, echoing the universe’s vast expanse.

Gilgamesh claims that the sword "knows the truth" of the world where it once existed, and by using its power, it is able to bestow its knowledge upon others.

The weapon holds memories of a time even before the planet existed, a time when life, as we understand it, couldn't have survived. The memory of our universe's raw, primordial form, a chaotic blend of scorching heat and biting cold, of molten lava and dense gas, long before life as we know it began.

This primordial memory is embedded deep within our very DNA, a distant echo from eons past, now faded from our tales and consciousness.

Yet, to those who gaze upon the sword, this deep-seated, almost forgotten knowledge comes rushing back.

To Gilgamesh, Ea is more than just a weapon.

It’s an entity.

He treats it like a person. He talks to it, respects it, and unleashes its might only against those he deems truly worthy.

This isn't just any weapon; it's a creation from even before our planet's dawn, crafted by an unknown God and was once used to split the Heavens and Earth.

It is classed as an anti-universe noble phantasm with power unlike any other and its ability is called “Enuma Elish”, and to use the ability, Gilgamesh first recites an incantation, which is as follows:

“I will tell you of the beginning. Heaven and Earth split, nothingness congratulated creation, my Sword of Rupture cleaved the world!"

"Mortar of the stars, heaven's hell is the eve of creation's celebration. Now you shall die and be silent..."

This is actually another Babylonian tale from thousands of years ago titled “The Story of Creation”, buuuuuuuut I'll cover that another time.

I know that I’ve been describing Ea as a “weapon”, but it isn’t that at all. In fact, that barely scratches the surface of its true nature.

It's not an exaggeration when I say that Enuma Elish has the power to tear the universe apart. Yet, even such an unparalleled force had its moment of surprise.

(There is one recorded instance of it being stopped, something which shocked even Gilgamesh, but that’s a story for another time...)

Gilgamesh is only seen using this ability on two occasions, once against Rider and another against Tiamat, a primordial deity that almost destroyed the world and was so powerful, that even Gilgamesh couldn’t defeat her. Or rather, Caster Gilgamesh couldn’t. Because like I said before, Archer Gilgamesh is on an entirely different level.

Reunion

We see Gilgamesh use Ea’s full strength against Enkidu, not in their first battle, but rather, when they met again thousands of years later in Fate Strange/Fake.

Here, the world itself is sucked into the void created by the sword, and it begins tearing apart. But Enkidu has his own version of Enuma Elish and thus was able to hold the World together.

The battle is described as follows by those that observed it:

"I felt as if the World was born seven times, and destroyed seven times." - The Sacred Prostitute.

This meeting here is honestly, beautiful. And I know that’s a weird way to describe what is essentially a war to the death between mages, but that’s all I can say about it.

We know how much Gilgamesh values Ea. He is disgusted by the thought of someone unworthy even laying their eyes on it. And it’s so rare that we ever see him even using it.

But when he realises that his opponent is his first and only friend, he pulls out Ea with zero hesitation. [Say it with slight laughter]

In fact, this is the happiest we ever see Gilgamesh. He spends the entire battle laughing his heart out, and we see Enkidu, with a hand to his ears, admiring the sound of his friend's laughter as if it were a song.

It’s a tragedy that Gilgamesh will never be able to see Enkidu again. But that’s life. As sad as it is to admit, we all have people we care about that will be gone from our lives forever.

It’s no wonder that Gilgamesh’s greatest treasure wasn’t any of his riches, any of his weapons, the holy grail, or even Ea.

It was his friendship with Enkidu.

And with that, I’ve covered a fraction of The Epic of Gilgamesh. It took a lot of work and there’s a lot I couldn’t talk cover. I’ll probably make another post dedicated to Ea and another on Enkidu, but I’ll warn you, be prepared to cry.

psst... if you liked this essay, check out the full video essay on my youtube channel!

And I don't normally add this, but if I can be a teenie bit selfish on this one occasion:

Please check out the video (if you'd so graciously lend me a few minutes of your time) because it's by far the hardest I've ever worked on a video and I wholly believe the end result is really good. You can always leave a dislike and tell me how to improve if you don't like it lol

- love ya

youtube

#anime and manga #anime #gilgamesh #the epic of gilgamesh #fate series #fate grand order #fate stay night #fate strange fake #enkidu #Youtube

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mooodyblue · 2 years ago

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elvis tag game by @headfullofpresley 💗

this is gonna be so loong i apologize in advance 😭😭 i have a lot of thoughts and opinions

tagging: @lllsaslll @elvisfatass @prayerstopresley @kiankiwi-blog and whoever wants to do this 😅

questions under the cut bc i rly listed a good chunk of his discography lol

When was the first time you heard of Elvis?

i'm sure my parents have played something of his growing up, i was more into mj than anything else. i wish i could remember like....the first real time i was ever really introduced to him. he's been referenced in so many of my interests that im sure there was i time i was like 10 and being like "oh that's an elvis reference" lol

what's your favorite era?

70s!!!! big daddy era as y'all call it 😅

favorite song(s) from the 50s?

trying to get to you, i'm counting on you, love me, don't be cruel, lawdy miss clawdy, as long as i have you, trouble, crawfish, i want you i need you i love you, one sided love affair, loving you, young and beautiful ...... i should probably stop before i list them all

favorite song(s) from the 60s

fever, such a night, im coming home, pocketful of rainbows, edge of reality, almost in love, can't help falling in love, the walls have ears, do not disturb, cotton candy land, it's now or never, rubberneckin', summer kisses winter tears, crying in the chapel, suspicious minds....literally everything on from elvis in memphis. god i want to list more but i need to STOP!!

favorite song(s) from the 70s

runaway, polk salad annie, you've lost that loving feeling, moody blue(duh), rags to riches, funny how time slips away, american trilogy!!!!!!!!!, hurt, make the world go away, the wonder of you

all time favorite songs that you can't skip?

suspicious minds, an american trilogy, pocketful of rainbows, i'm coming home, rubberneckin', honestly there's so many. i feel bad if i skip sometimes LOL

least favorite song?

im so sorry but tutti frutti💔

favorite gospel song(s)?

i still need to dive more into his gospel music, but i really love crying in the chapel and you never walk alone.

favorite country song(s)?

funny how time slips away, kentucky rain, always on my mind, make the world go away

favorite non english song?

wooden heart <3

a song(s) that make you feel nostalgic?

can't help falling in love 💗

a song(s) that makes you cry?

unchained melody!!!!! lord i can barely listen to it 😭

a song(s) that make you wanna dance?

rubberneckin', im coming home, got a lot o' livin to do, polk salad annie, suspicious minds

favorite song elvis as covered?

any day now and yesterday

what's a modern song you wish you could hear elvis cover?

i think he'd eat up two ghosts or ever since new york by harry styles tbh.

do you prefer vinyl or cd?

vinyl!!! i actually don't own a single elvis cd, just vinyls(cassettes too!)

favorite album?

self titled and from elvis in memphis <3

favorite movie soundtrack?

king creole for SURE

favorite live performance?

the laughing version of are you lonesome tonight 😅 also welcome to my world from aloha from hawaii !!!

a live performance you wish you were present at?

aloha from hawaii 100% but also literally any of his vegas shows in '69 because that entire live album had me laughing my ass off LMAO

favorite jumpsuits?

THIS ONE.

favorite movie(s)?

king creole, loving you, live a little love a little, follow that dream and girl happy(mostly because elvis in a dress)

least favorite movie(s)?

stay away joe, kissin' cousins, and double trouble.

favorite costar?

michele carey <3 i luv bernice

favorite documentary?

that's the way it is

favorite interview?

i didn't even have to THINK about this one. i know this is a press conference but idk. same thing? anyway, june 9th 1972 new york hilton elvis i want you so bad !!!!!! it's iconic and i just love how he is with everyone 😭

favorite car?

idk after i first watched elvis (2022) i wanted a pink cadillac so LOL

do you collect merch? if so, what's the one thing you hold most dear to your heart?

i do!! i have his vinyls mostly. but my tcb necklace is my lucky charm at this point, i just wish i had gotten it in silver instead of gold 😅

do you think you'll be a fan of elvis for the rest of your life?

absolutely. ive had a lot of interests and have lost interest in a lot of things but this is so much more different. he truly is everything to me and i've never felt so connected with someone in my whole life. i really do adore him.

#tag games #this was fun tho it's crazy how much i know compared to months ago

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wizardsgirl25 · 2 years ago

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Loving the fact that my new job at a old-school farm and tractor supply store, where 90% of the clientele are old people, has 100% more LGBTQA+ positive and inclusiveness than my last job at a modernized fast food place.

I am loving the fact that of the nine people I generally work with, three are bi, two are lesbians, two others are polygamists, and I am the line Asexual but I don't have to explain what that is.

I am loving the fact that we are comfortable and feel safe enough to discuss gender-affirmation surgeries with one of my coworkers who is saving up for top-surgery rn, an no one feels the need to shh us or make everything "hypothetical" or about "this person I knew one time" or vague to the point of confusion.

Yesterday, a very buff older guy in a cowboy hat joked with his teenager about being glad he didn't have to try and figure out what dresses or skirts or makeup to get them for their birthday anymore, bc they were now a boy and were ECSTATIC to get books, jeans, and a cowboy hat of their own that wasn't pink or purple. Buff "Uncle Jake" then asked them if they were gonna go to that "one parade, y'know, the rainbow one?" As they were walking away.

Bless these country and farm-raised folk who have apparently embraced the "not my horse, not my problem" attitude that I adore. Bless this new job. And bless "Uncle Jake" and his amazing dad-style jokes. I hope that teenager with you goes on to do amazing things and you'll continue to just be like "aw hell yeah more good fuckin food", you country styled icon you.

#new job #lgbtq #lgbtq community #trans lives matter #lgbtlove #country #cowboys #country life #farm life #support #not my horse not my problem

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queenofnothingkingoftheworld · 2 years ago

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disclaimer: i'm no expert, more of a perfume hobbyist, nor am i much of a history buff but i did a bit of digging and found some interesting info :) also this may not be very articulate bc i had dinner (and several drinks) with family between researching and actually writing this down

basically i found that colognes that were available around or before that time period (and were specifically marketed as "Russian" fragrances, whether or not they originated there) tended to be mostly musky and warm with powdery middle and top notes, especially as compared to lighter and fresher italian and french perfumes of the time which would be more citrusy and aquatic. which makes sense as you would want something a little heavier and warmer/cozier for a colder climate, as in russia.

for the fragrance your character would most likely be wearing:

base notes (the longest lasting notes that the fragrance dries down to) would be musky (possibly leaning animalic, as most musky perfumes of the time were literally made with musk from the glands of different animals. they can sometimes be quite strong but other times can be very subtle, almost skinlike/like clean sweat) and ambery (such as ambergris which is a waxy substance found in whale vomit (yum) and has a sort of saltiness/sweetness, or an amber accord which can be resinous and almost pine-y or more vanilla or can even lean more leathery)

middle/top notes would be powdery (quite a dry smell, somewhat floral/dusty or even slightly woody, often from iris/violet or even sandalwood) adds a depth to lighter perfumes, but if it's overdone it can feel suffocating. when it's done right i think powdery notes are quite soft and dry and comforting. to me powdery fragrances often smell like opening a closet or wardrobe full of old clothes that hasn't been opened in awhile

also i was correct, oscar wilde did wear hammam bouquet from penhaligon's, which was created in the 1870s and is actually still available! i think it's possibly the kind of thing i can imagine you character might be wearing. i haven't personally smelled it but it sounds like it would smell very old-world, old-money, kind of a blend of masculine and feminine aspects, very unique and charismatic on the right person but could be overpowering on the wrong person. obviously you wouldn't have to use this scent specifically, but i think it's the right idea? i'll link the fragrantica page for it which has really useful info breaking down how it smells and the reviews from people are usually quite descriptive (and even a bit controversial as it could be a bit of a challenging fragrance especially for modern tastes)

in short, i would probably describe these kinds of perfumes/colognes as warm, comforting, a bit heady, floral and yet masculine, can command the attention of the entire room when worn by the right person.

idk if you were really asking for an infodump but um yeah

Fragrantica page for Hammam Bouquet, which has a breakdown of the notes and lots of interesting reviews that could help give a good idea of how to describe these types of perfumes.

Wikipedia page about Rallet, one of the main manufacturers and suppliers of perfumes and other cosmetics to the royal courts of Russia and Persia in that time period. (Fun fact one of their perfumers also helped create the iconic Chanel No. 5)

History of Russian perfumery. I think you need an account to read the full article but it should be free to read

Guerlain i believe also was one of the official perfumers to the russian courts at that time although i don't have a specific source for that. but they are one of the oldest fragrance houses still currently operating and they made fragrances for royalty of multiple countries throughout history

wait can you be more specific? perfumes are something of a hobby for me maybe i can be helpful

Oh how wonderful! So, I have a character who wears cologne, but I'm not sure what kind of cologne he would wear. He's very over-the-top; if you know Russian history, he's a bit reminiscent of Sergei Diaghilev (or Oscar Wilde, if that's more helpful). I've scoured the Penhaligon's website but I am at a loss when it comes to all the different scents. Thank you for offering to help!!

#sorry this is kind of a lot #but yeah i've been meaning to learn more about fragrance history anyway #for the most part i've been more interested in my own personal fragrance #but lately i've been daydreaming about actually getting into perfumery for real #learning the history of it and the actual making of it #maybe even one day creating my own little indie perfumery #anyway. yeah

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tanoraqui · 4 years ago

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Hi! I see you posting all this stuff about the Queen's Thief series and it really looks like my type of literature, but I can't keep up with all the names and locations. Would it be okay to ask for a non-spoilery rundown of who, what, and where?

Hell yeah [at a delay]. So, most of the series takes place on the Attolian Peninsula, which comprises of 3 countries: Sounis, Eddis, and Attolia. There are also a scattering of small islands generally associated with the peninsula. Eddis is a narrow country in the mountains between Sounis and Attolia and only has, like, 1 small port; Sounis and Attolia both have substantial coastlines. All are monarchies. The basic geopolitical plot of the books is these three countries making peace with one another so that together they can hold off hte encroaching Mede Empire.

It’s very low fantasy. Rifles and cannons exist, but they’re not that good yet; complex clockwork exists; steam engines do not. The Attolian Peninsua are heavily Ancient Greece-inspired, and the Mede are Persian-ish. Most importantly, there’s an entire made-up Greek-flavored mythology, as well as a Gilgamesh remix, stories of which are scattered through the books. Not only is this very neat, but the mythological figures often mirror the characters and are often vital to the plot. In fact, one of my favorite things about the series is how the whole thing feels very much like a myth in its own right, which some modern-day-in-that-world author has delved into and expanded on with fleshed-out characters and complex politics.

But you wanted a cast list. Most significant characters, in (probably) order of introduction, spoiler-free:

Eugenides, aka Gen, the central character of the series - though only the protagonist for the first couple books. Book and a half, really (the second is shared). Gen is a young progessional thief who is very good at calculating and carrying out complex and implausibly possible plans, and not always good at considering in advance consequences like “I will spend 6 months in jail” “I will have to move countries and take up a job I will hate”, “people might unironically admire and respect me, even though I don’t think I deserve it.” A wildly endearing manipulative asshole. Iconic quote: “I CAN DO ANYTHING I WANT!”

the Magus (never named), a chief advisor to the King of Sounis. Canny old soldier-turned-scholar/politician who is the first person to hold a braincell re: “we need to unite or die.” Iconic quote: “I meant convince your queen to sue for peace, not burn our navy in its own harbor!”

Sophos, later Sounis*, the Nicest Young Man to ever be a Nice Young Man. Sweet muffin. Canonical bunny. Also canonical mankiller. Iconic line: “Not on the first vote.”

Attolia* Irene, Queen of Attolia. Her people love her and fear her; her barons, for the most part, just fear her; she kicks and screams (non-literally) and throws inkpots (literally), but she does relearn how to both be loved and give love in return. Iconic line [narration]: And she believed him.

Eddis* Helen, Queen of Eddis. There’s a mild running joke over the course of the series of mentioning that there’s nothing to do during Eddisian winters but [X], the 3 things mentioned are weapons training, threadcraft, and seducing one another’s spouses. The only one Eddis is suggested to be good at is weapons, but she’s the beloved and (almost entirely) undisputed queen of her country anyway. Iconic quote: “War, then.”

Nahuseresh, Medean ambassador, a mansplainer but competent as sneakily taking over someone else’s country while pretending to help them. More or less. Does not get an iconic line bc fuck him.

Kamet, later called Kamet Kingnamer, Nahuseresh’s slave and personal secretary. Nearsighted, translates poetry for fun, does NOT want to go on a multi-month (b)romance-building roadtrip. Does not have much choice in the matter, because he wants to be free and, more importantly, to survive. Iconic line [narration]: I noticed that a man on the dock with a duffel on one shoulder was very like Costis in poise and gait. The man turned onto the gangplank to board the ship, and my heart lifted, though I tried to squash what I thought was a ridiculous hope.**

Costis Ormentides, a lieutenant in the Attolian palace guard. Not remotely prepared for the political snakepit he’s thrown into through very little fault of his own, oh god this poor man, he just wants to serve his queen and have a little spare money to go out for wine with friends. Why are people trying to kill him. Why is he third wheeling his monarchs making out in the courtyard. Why is he being passive-aggressively forced to learn a foreign language. Iconic line action: *punches the king in the face*

Pheris Mostrus Erondites, second grandson of Baron Erondites of Attolia; historian and narrator of the last book in the series. Severely physically disabled, purposefully overlooked for all his life until particularly bitchy politics had him sent to the Attolian royal court (purposely on his part and on everyone else’s), very observant and twice as clever. Writes humanity beautifully. Iconic line [narration]: If I cannot record exactly what words were spoken at every moment, I can say with confidence what those words might have been, and in some cases what they must as been, as I saw what resulted from them being spoken, and can we not derive the words when we know the consequences of their utterance? *proceeds to write a historical account/novel more full of small moments of personhood and love both dramatic and casual than almost the rest of the series combined*

Relius, Attolian Master of the Archives (spymaster), trusted first within reason and then beyond it. Has many, many lovers.***

Teleus, Attolian Captain of the Palace Guard, A bit staid, but loyal, reliable, and entirely excellent at his job. Has only one lover.***

the Eddisian Minister of War, unnamed until the very end, fights with his youngest son a great deal in multiple senses of the word.

* It’s possible that some of your confusion may stem from people taking the names of their countries as titles upon ascending to the thrones. ** Yes I chose this quote bc it’s sweet but also bc it’s SUCH a nearsighted mood. *** Direct quotes from the character list at the end of the last book.

#queen's thief #random anon asks #queen's thief series #Anonymous

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heartbellamy · 4 years ago

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TAKE BACK THE 100 — DAY NINE fandom appreciation 💕

there’s simply too many amazingly talented and awesome people so this is going under the cut! look below to see all the cool, creative people we have around! i recommend leaving them a little support for all their hard work!

WRITERS

@stealing-jasons-job, personal rec: finding reasons not to leave, already gushed about this one before but i honestly just love everything about it so just go read & enjoy! (also first fic i read after the episode that shall not be named and it honestly healed my bruised heart)

@she-who-the-river-could-not-hold, personal rec: in the gravity of you, bc i just think about this one and its world a lot

@hiddenpolkadots, personal rec: your eyes outshine the town, they do & as moonlight through the pines, bc i’ve read both several times and will continue to do so

@bookwormforalways, personal rec: don’t talk to strangers, bc i’m a sucker for cuteness

@kindclaws, personal rec: only poetry could even begin, bc it’s got all your modern fluff needs, good mom clarke, meddling kid, bartender bellamy, bellamy in a laurel crown?? i mean come on, what more could you want?

@carrieeve, personal rec: hello, beautiful, the perfect mix of romance and humor and wholesome family content, can you tell i have a type yet? anyway i loved it

@marauders-groupie, personal rec: a long and happy life, more small town country vibes because why not?

ARTISTS & EDITORS

@blakecholls‘s gifsets, all of them, every single one

@clarkegriffinblake‘s many bellarke gifsets (check out the current top bellarke scenes series!)

@underbellamy‘s many beautiful and creative au edits

@bellamysgriffin’s consistently beautiful gifsets (a ‘they were written as romantic’ quote gifset? iconic)

@izloveshorses's absolutely stunning works of art

@lizzybizzyo‘s work, because that red thread of fate series was so outstandingly beautiful and stays with me to this day

@allysketches‘s incorrect bellarke quotes art lives in my mind rent free, legendary

@poppykru‘s art that makes me feel soft and warm on the inside

@silvernyxa‘s art, literally adore their art so much!!! lifted me up during that last season that’s for sure!

apologies for this being a little bellarke-centric, (but i mean, come on, look at my user, what did you expect?) but i want to thank every single person who has contributed to making wonderful things for this fandom, from the art to the fic to the metas to the wild crack posts, it was a wild ride but it was the talent and passion and creativity of this fandom that has made the ride worthwhile. i can’t wait to see what else you all have in store in the future. (p.s. if any of y’all ever want a little cheerleader to hype you up for your future projects just say the word, i’m your girl!) 💚

#takebackthe100 #bellarke fic rec #the 100 fic rec #thre 100 #the 100 fandom #the100edit #fandom

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theparanormalperiodical · 5 years ago

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The Real Story Behind The Slender Man: EVERYTHING You Need To Know

It started in May 2014.

Three teenage girls were enjoying a Wisconsin summer evening when they decided to go for a walk in their local forest.

Only two of them would return.

The third would be stabbed 19 times by her friends.

She survived, pulling herself out of the forest and to safety. Her classmates were promptly arrested, and confessed their crime, later going on to plead insanity.

Yet despite the shocking nature of this crime, a stabbing doesn’t necessarily make worldwide news. But it wasn’t the circumstance of the attack that hit the headlines. It was the motive.

They claimed they did it to appease the Slender Man.

And they were not the only ones that committed such a crime in his name.

To a majority of the population, these claims can be written off as the ‘insanity’ stamped on the official court documents. But the thing is, these atrocities aren’t the only times Slender Man has been sighted outside of his pixelated world.

In fact, Slender Man made his name many years before we began our search for the 8 pages.

Does he really only exist within the World Wide Web?

What Is The Slender Man?

Our story starts 5 years before Wisconsin hit the headlines.

In 2009, comedy website Something Awful launched a paranormal images competition. Users of the website were to mock up supernatural-inspired or horror-themed pictures, and leave them to be judged by the internet.

Eric Knudsen’s entry forged together the mystery of an urban legend and the dark reality of pedophilia.

Knudsen used pictures of children playing in playgrounds, or hanging out in friendship groups, or any other innocent gathering of youngsters, and photo-shopped a figure among them. This figure was an 8 foot tall, thin man, with a faceless, pale profile draped in a formal suit.

Emerging from his back was a set of dark, twisting tentacles.

He called him the Slender Man.

It was only when 4chan users picked up on these pictures that his urban legend infamy was set in stone.

Both the forum site and Creepypasta.com moulded his backstory, infusing the simple tales of kidnapped children with the concept of proxies - that is, children which were used to do his bidding. And it’s this premise that would alter the landscape of teenage crime - and suicides - in America.

From here the urban legend extended its tentacles, haunting the darker corners of the internet. But it was his debut in video games that drew him out into the mainstream.

In 2012, the first video game first entered our downloads folder.

The free game followed a simple principle: you wander through dark woods in the dead of the night armed with a torch and surrounded by pixelation only an early Buffy demon could muster up, and you look for 8 ‘pages’.

These pages are poorly pencilled drawings that have been left by children taken by the Slender Man - but the terror only starts here. Throughout your search you are followed by the entity titling the game.

Slender Man: The Arrival hit the shelves only two years later and followed the same concept as the original. But this time we are joined by some sense of a plot, and a few other characters, too.

Nevertheless, the undying premise remains: he follows kids, and then he takes ‘em for himself.

Why?

This remains unknown.

But it’s this premise which fuelled the urban legend haunting the teenagers, fitting the real life cases that have scarred America.

This was confirmed in his film debut in 2018: Slender Man preyed upon the wave of crime inspired by the creepy pasta, merging the reality of the recent stabbings with the video games that put him on the map.

But this premise has scored a stab wound on our society before, fitting historic folklore far too accurately.

Crime In The Name Of The Slender Man

Wisconsin was not the only American state to witness a shocking crime inspired by this indie horror icon. In fact, a variety of other attacks pinned on the Slender Man followed a similar pattern:

One 14 year old burnt their house down, a tragedy linked to their history of reading creepypastas exploring the legend, whilst another young teen stabbed her own mother in order to please the Slender Man.

But it doesn’t stop there.

Alongside the spike in violent crime was a sharp rise in teenage suicides at the Pine Ridge Native American Reservation.

The suicide rate among the Native American population in America is already far more prevalent than any other ethnic group, but the sudden spike of 9 suicides of those aged between 12 to 24 sparked concern. And when the motives were drawn back to the Slender Man, these concerns only grew further.

The authorities even made mention to this urban legend in their official investigation, determining that the Slender Man was considered by the teenagers in the community to be a suicide spirit, a dark entity within Native American folklore. But to them, the Slender Man went by a slightly different name.

They called him the Tall Man spirit.

“He’s appearing to these kids and telling them to kill themselves.” - a local minister who supported youths in the community

Suicide spirits follow a similar line of thought to Catholic views of demons or evil spirits: they are negative spirits that feed off our energy. This entity in particular, however, spends its free time targeting and possessing individuals that are undergoing a spiritual crisis.

Alcoholics, addicts, the depressed - they are all worthy contenders for being the personal buffets of suicide spirits.

With a cluster of Facebook videos alluding to local folklore combined with viscous cyber-bullying encouraging the victims take their own lives, the notion of the Tall Man gathered strength, tying together the folklore of the suicide spirit and the urban legend of the Slender Man.

But this wasn’t the only time the Tall Man has been sighted in Native American communities.

In 1890, the Wounded Knee Massacre occurred.

20,000 Latoka Native Americans were left for dead by US troops. To this day it is considered one of the most atrocious acts committed against the Native American population.

And it was here that the Big Man was first seen.

Many claimed an entity taking the form of a tall man sporting a top hat would wander the reservation after the massacre, and made the younger generation take their own lives.

Whilst negative spirits donning the top hat are common outside of Native American folklore, the similarities between the Big Man and the Tall Man create an uncomfortable link between the tragedies scarring the past and present Native American population.

But this community’s folklore isn’t the only place the Slender Man has been referenced outside of the video game.

Nearly every other culture has their very own Tall Man.

Could the Slender Man have existed before the original video game even entered beta testing?

The Slender Man In Historic Folklore

When I began researching the entity’s existence - aside from being overwhelmed by the array of tragic stories - I encountered many dead ends.

One of these dead ends sticks out.

Out of all of the rumours circulating following the Wisconsin stabbings was that Slender Man originated from Romanian folklore, and was based on some similar entity possibly bearing his size, demeanour, and pastime of abducting and/or traumatising children.

This was proven to be untrue.

But upon realising the Slender Man didn’t first make his name in Romania, I discovered he had made his name in a lot of other countries.

Like a lot.

Like way too many.

From motive to dress sense, the Slender Man’s first sighting starts a couple millennia before his internet debut.

Fear Dubh from Irish folklore is the most popular contender for being the OG Slender Man, his name literally translating to ‘Black Man’. It is claimed that this entity would scare children snooping round the woods, and his title confirms his attire matches his more modern formal suit.

Germany’s Eriking too bears a resemblance to the Slender Man’s irish counterpart - with a focus on both his height and dark clothing, this internet icon might have travelled further than we think. This mythical beast prides himself on dwelling in the woods and kidnapping children, confirming he has potential for the official historic Slender Man.

However: the plot thickens when we consider another German entity known only as the Tall Man.

With the same name as the Native American suicide spirit, and the guiding principle of kidnapping kids who wander the woods, the potential for an international entity once again emerges from the darkness.

Historic legends from the American South also contain a similarity that should have you sleeping with the light on: a treelike man who kidnaps children was often spotted throughout history.

Regardless, it’s easy to decode these vague mythical creatures as warnings to their children of the dangers of wandering near uncharted territory alone and at night.

But it’s the details of the Slender Man that click together when we trace the folklore back to the oldest recorded sighting of the urban legend.

And this takes us to 9000 BC.

Both Eypgtian hieroglyphics and Aztec paintings often portray the same distinct tall, thin, menacing figure, but it’s Brazilian cave paintings that house the oldest attributes.

In these paintings you can clearly see a tall man lead a child by the hand, his unnaturally large limbs dominating the scene.

Yet aside from the Slender Man’s basic features - that of his height and incessant stalking of children - his facelessness (#new-word) is a feature we have yet to discuss. Fortunately, many cultures have already discussed it. And the greatest conversation takes place in Japan.

Japanese faceless ghosts have haunted the small island for centuries. The Noppera-bo prides itself on frightening humans, often taking the face of someone the victim knows before their features dissipate into nothingness.

All you can see is a blank, smooth, flat layer of skin, a sight only witnessed when the Slender Man finally catches up with you in his video game debut.

Whether you believe in the Slender Man or not, there is no doubt that the concept harnessed by Eric Knudsen did not begin in 2009.

We might not know when the Slender Man began hunting children, and we might not know why he does, but there is one thing for certain:

He has not finished just yet.

If you liked this post, chances are you’ll like my other posts, too! You will have to come out from beyond your quilt, though.

Make sure you hit follow if you want to see more stuff like this - and, you know, less traumatising posts about the paranormal every week.

Don’t forget to join my ghost hunt, too, where I post a new real ghost story everyday!

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totallypathet · 5 years ago

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Episode Seven

We all know that Drag Race is rigged but this week was rigga morris girl.

I am so tired of the treatment Jan, Crystal, Jaida, Jackie and Widow are getting. Honestly everyone else this season is just being eschewed for Gigi and Sh****. And I'm not mad at Gigi, because she is working really hard and she is doing well! But the producers so clearly are just picking those two as the top 2 of the season and are doing everything to create that narrative. Which is stupid, because they didn't really need to! We've seen Gigi absolutely dominate, they don't need to hand her wins she doesn't deserve. It just cheapens the great work she has actually done.

Anyway, onto to the breakdown...

1. Brita

Woohoo!!

I have literally nothing else to say bc honestly I am so sick of Brita, and she should have gone back in episode 3. So glad her name won't be on this list next week!

2. Crystal Methyd

Crystal Methyd was in the top!! I am so so so proud of Crystal this week! She really did kill the Madonna challenge, I thought she did such a good job of being hippie dippie, her singing the reverb was absolutely hilarious, and her dancing was really great!

Also her runway look was great, as always! It was a great Michelle reference, it wasn't just a tits-out Jersey girl look, and it was still really Crystal!

Great week for Crystal, I would have put her second place.

3. Gigi Goode

I don't even really want to talk about Gigi this week. I feel so conflicted because I really like her as a queen, and I respect her as a performer, but I'm just so disappointed that she won this week. Was it a good Madonna performance? Yeah. Was it a good runway? Sure. Was it overall a winning performance? Absolutely not.

4. Heidi N Closet

I don't think Heidi necessarily deserved to be in the bottom this week. I thought her performance was great - even if she didn't necessarily "embody" Madonna. She rocked the choreography, her singing actually wasn't that bad, and I thought she looked good! She was a little bit monotone, but she was giving me that very modern "I'm too cool to expend any effort" Madonna that we got at Eurovision.

I also liked her Michelle Visage runway! I got the reference as soon as she turned the corner, and I liked the massive bun! It was Michelle Vigase on steroids, I loved it.

I mean I don't think she should have been in the top, but i don't think she should have lipsynced.

5. Jackie Cox

Jackie probably should have been lip syncing this week. I adore Jackie, but this challenge was not for her. Shes not a natural singer or dancer, but I was hoping she would pull out some comedy (like Crystal), or really embody Madonna (like Jaida). And she didn't really do either. She tried, she really did, but it just wasn't it, bless her.

And I actually hated her Michelle Visage look. It looked like she was doing a second rate version of Violet Chachki's Michelle Visage look in the Hollywood Stories episode. And that Michelle Visage look wasn't even that good either.

I don't know why I hated it so much, I think it just felt lazy. Like lots of other girls went for obscure references, or really iconic look, Jacki just went for what I assume an out of the box party city Michelle Visage costume would be.

6. Jaida Essence Hall

Jaida was safe?? I could not believe it! She 100% should have been in the top with Jan and Crystal. She really served me that sexy Madonna look and vibe! Her Madonna look was on point, her performance was perfect, and her runway was incredible!

I was so so so proud of Jaida this week, and she deserved much more than safe.

7. Jan Sport

Jan Sport has been Robbed this entire season.

First of all, she should have been top 2 in the Fosse challenge. She sang her heart out, and she wore an incredible runway look. Second, she should have been top 3 in the Ball Challenge. I'm still thinking about her Basketball Wives look. Thirdly, she was the clear winner this week, by a country fucking mile, and she still didn't get it.

I am so mad about the treatment of Jan Sport this season. She deserves so much better and I cannot understand why production even brought her onto the show if all they were going to do was sleep on her and treat her like this.

She killed every part of the Madonna challenge; the look, her singing, the performance, it was all magical! And then her Michelle Look! She really served me Michelle! She had the look, the attitude, the meme, but it was turned up to 10 and that is what Jan Sport does.

She's so much better that the way they're treating her.

8. Widow Von Du

Widow did a great job this week!

Unfortunately, I do think she should have been safe, because she wasn't quite as good as Jan, Crystal or Jaida; but if they'd had a top 4 she would have been it! I really felt the Music-era Madonna energy in her performance, she also completely sold me the look. And her singing wasn't terrible! I've heard way worse.

Also her Michelle look I loved! I didn't get the reference straight away, but it was a bit of an older one. It was perfect on her though, she really knows her body and her style. The only thing I do wish is that the hair had been bigger. I'm not a huge fan of those dead straight laid flat wigs. I am kind of getting on board with the ugly shoes though! It's sort of becoming Window's thing, and I actually kind of love it.

The thing I'm really devastated over now is that one of the 7 remaining amazing queens is going to go home! I can't imagine any of them leaving because they're all so talented and I love them all so much!

#rpdr #rpdr12 #brita #crystal methyd #gigi goode #heidi n closet #jaida essence hall #jackie cox #jan #jan sport #widow von du #drag race #drag race season 12 #season 12

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stardustwink · 5 years ago

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I wanted to talk about swsh bc I’m almost done with post game and I needed to write down my thoughts somewhere so. Here we are. Story spoilers ahead btw. Also a lot of gushing abt the rivals bc they’re my children now

I have. So many feelings about this game. tbh the story could have been so much better (and there was potential for something great. But I think it’s mostly bc I disliked how they built Rose’s character as the main villain, more about that later) but the characters... they’re really good.

First bc they gave us Hop and his insecurities as the rival that always loses even though it’s his dream to be champion too - something I’ve always wanted to see in a rival ever since Blue left me hanging (though I understand, as he was the very first rival and we couldn’t have a full plot heavy pkmn game back then), and that I felt was touched upon in Cheren but not really worked with? Anyway. I’m glad they took the time to add his insecurities and his need to keep up w/ Leon to his character and how he grows past it later, it made me actually feel bad for having to take his dream away from him at the end (though!!!! I’m really glad he’s training to be a professor now, bc it really does fit him better! Making his own path and all that) A very good character imo, definitely going into my fav list. The fact that he takes his Wooloo off the team when he’s conflicted abt his fighting style and puts him back in after making up his mind still makes me a bit emotional if I’m going to be honest :’’)

And then there’s Bede. God he’s!!!!! Such a good character!!!!!! How I missed having a rude rival like that! I loved the way his story was handled (though I did wish he’d appear a bit more...but that’s just bc I like him way too much;;), from starting out as a stuck up jerk to getting tricked and then finding a place to belong after Opal took him in. I have so many thoughts abt him. About how he speaks so politely even though he’s a stuck up brat, about how he wears a watch that is way too big for him bc it was a present from Rose (and how much it fits his character as someone trying desperately to fit into a role he’s been given by a man who didn’t even care to get his wrist size right), how after he turns into the fairy gym leader the watch is nowhere to be seen bc, as Opal says, he doesn’t have to follow anyone’s whims anymore and- at the very end! How he hijacks the competition to battle you bc his disqualification was unfair and he deserved to stand there! The way he looks so much happier and smiles as he accepts defeat! I love this kid so much. also bc his entire color scheme and pkmn choices are my complete aesthetic, the fairy fam is literally A+ (also god will we ever know what happened to his parents??? What’s “ran into some trouble”?? Did they die, or did they abandon him bc of money issues??? @/gamefreak I NEED ANSWERS)

Marnie was adorable too, her slight accent is a very charming addition to her character and the slight foreshadowing of her ties to the last gym were great! Also she’s so cute. I wanna become a team Yell member after seeing her smile. She’s a dark type specialist man!!!!! That’s so cool!!! Why are the rivals so cool!!!! And her relationship with Piers is so cute too, they’re great siblings. I loved that when Piers asked her to become the next gym leader she was like “thanks brother, but I refuse. Im gonna be champion! :)” . Her cheering made the end fights so much better. I just wish we had some more interactions between the three rivals bc hop and bede’s fight was great but I wish marnie interacted more with them ):

Sonia and Leon were also very good. Watching Sonia find herself in her research and become a proper professor during my travels was SO SATISFYING YALL HAVE NO IDEA. Her interactions with Leon were so great too, and I’m very happy that she’s good friends with Nessa! Leon is a dork and I also love him, and I kinda enjoy that they both took the role of investigators and let the kids continue w/ the gym challenge by themselves (finally some responsible adults not leaving all the problems for 10-13 yr olds to solve am I right!). Also, LEON PLEASE TELL YOUR BROTHER YOURE PROUD OF HIM HE REALLY NEEDS TO HEAR IT!!!!

but I’ve praised swsh long enough so let’s talk about Rose. I felt like he was an attempt by nintendo at first to try and portray a corrupt businessman but they ended up not following through w/ it and the end result was....that. Don’t get me wrong; there are some points abt him that I enjoy, like the terrible fact that he basically ‘adopted’ a kid to use for his own benefit and couldn’t even remember his name properly, and that he wears dorky clothes off work. But they tried making his motives sympathetic and they didn’t make any sense??? What’s up with “being worried about the future of Galar” when he LITERALLY ALMOST CAUSED THE APOCALYPSE?? Being worried about not having enough energy for the country to survive after like 10000 years ain’t a good motivation for putting everyone in danger, chief.

And here’s what they could have done: show just how corrupted by his own mentality and power Rose was; show him charismatic on the outside but completely apathetic to the people and justifying his actions by wanting Eternatus’ energy to keep modernizing Galar at the expense of some casualties bc hey! As long as the country will live on and keep progressing, what’s the problem with some lives being lost along the way if its for the greater good? Show him as the evil rich businessman he was meant to be! One that can’t understand that giving a pokemon and a golden watch to an orphan and “saving” him doesn’t give Rose the right to use him and discard him like a tool, one that tries to manipulate the Champion to do what he wants bc he’s given him the fights he wants and promised his family would be safe; just give me a character I can properly hate without feeling disappointed! You’ve done it with Ghetsis and Lusamine, you can do it with Rose too! Commit to your evil rich apathetic businessman plans, nintendo!

I felt both Oleana and the weird hair twins were better antagonists in this front. I even thought like SHE was the true villain and was using Rose’s apparent naïveté as a well intentioned but stupid rich guy and her position as his secretary to get what she wanted at the beginning; alas, that’s not what happened unfortunately ): but she had a proper motivation and enough foreshadowing for me to suspect her and still think she’s cool (her backstory is great for example. I was so surprised when she used a Garbodoor after all those cool lady pokemon!) the twins are both stupid looking and Swordward and Shieldbert are TERRIBLE names, but I feel like they’d be more iconic as main villains too.

I think that’s all for now, ive written way too much already djdflgjf if anyone managed to read all of this then thanks for reading my rambles

#blue talks #pokemon swsh #swsh spoilers #like HUGE story spoilers dont read #spoilers abt the rivals too. i love them #if i had to pick a favorite id say bede but hop and marnie are so good too

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narkinafive · 5 years ago

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essay update~!

inching ever closer to the right word and page count!! mobile users, i apologize if the read more function doesn’t work bc this one is a doozy

as always, PLEASE don’t hesitate to read and critique, bc i need that sweet sweet criticism babey

Few franchises can match the breadth of Star Wars, and fewer still can claim to be as iconic. Not only have the characters, dialogues, settings, and aesthetics been directly referenced and lovingly parodied across all genres, so too has John Williams’ music. Yet Williams’ music is perhaps most referenced, riffed on, and remixed within the franchise itself; it is difficult to find a piece of Star Wars media which does not contain any number of Williams’ leitmotifs, such as the bombastic “Main Title” fanfare, the sweeping majesty of the Force theme, or the foreboding, villainous “Imperial March.” Within the many, many Star Wars related properties that require the use of music, composers for the franchise’s “lower tier” [properties], i.e. any property outside of the nine-film “Skywalker Saga,” are presented with a difficult challenge: how does one emulate and reference Williams’ original, titanic score, keeping a coherent sonic aesthetic, without copying him directly, and allowing space for the composer’s own musical language?

By the 1950s and 60s, the practice of using Romantic music to accompany films was dying out; music by composers such as Max Steiner, Erich Korngold, or Leonard Bernstein was slowly being replaced by popular music of the era, or, as was the case with many science fiction films, electro-acoustic music. For example, Bernard Hermann in The Day the Earth Stood Still (dir. Robert Wise, 1951) used electronic instruments for the bulk of his orchestra, along with innovative techniques in overdubbing and tape-reversal. Five years later, Bebe Barron, alongside husband Louis Barron, would write one of the first entirely electronic scores for Forbidden Planet (dir. Fred Wilcox, 1956). Outside the realm of science fiction, films such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s (dir. Blake Edwards, 1961) or The Graduate (dir. Mike Nichols, 1967) used popular music partly for aesthetic purposes, and partly to exploit the songs’ commercial success outside of the films. Lucas himself elected for the use of a completely pop soundtrack for his film American Graffiti (dir. Lucas, 1973). Stanley Kubrick’s decision to use classical music for 2001: A Space Odyssey (dir. Kubrick, 1960) was unique in film at the time; his use of 19th and 20th century music even more so.

“Traditionally, music for the sci-fi genre would use a language inspired by twentieth-century musical modernism-atonalism, twelve-tone technique, aleatoric music, and so forth-or would use electronic instruments, timbres, or even musique concrete to provide the musical equivalent of futuristic or hyper technological worlds… Stanley Kubrick in [2001: A Space Odyssey] chose to combine images of deep space and unseen worlds with a compilation of repertoire orchestral pieces--after having rudely rejected Alex North’s original score [commissioned specifically for the film]. The selection spanned from classic pieces like Richard Strauss’ Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Also sprach Zarathustra, op. 30, 1896) and Johann Strauss Jr.’s The Blue Danube (An der schonen blauen Donau, op. 314, 1866) to contemporary art music like Gyorgy Ligeti’s Lux Aeterna (1966), Atmospheres (1961), Requiem (1963-65), and Adventures (1962)... Yet Kubrick’s choice was also the consequence of a lack of trust in film composers. ‘However good our best film composers may be, they are not a Beethoven, a Mozart or a Brhams. Why use music which is less good when there is such a multitude of great orchestral music from the past and from our own time?’ Lucas rejected the modernist and electronic options and chose Kubrick’s approach. He wrote the script while listening to the late romantic symphony repertoire…”

Jonathan Rinzler recalls Lucas’ choice of a more traditional, Romantic sonic language as being entirely deliberate, in order to help ease the audience into the extremely unfamiliar fictional world with the use of familiar music. “[Lucas] didn’t want, for example, electronic music, he didn’t want futuristic cliché, outer space noises. He felt that since the picture was so highly different in all of its physical orientations – with the different creatures, places unseen, sights unseen, and noises unheard – that the music should be on fairly familiar emotional ground.”

The larger Star Wars chronology can be broken into three general eras: the Original Trilogy era (OT), which focuses on the time represented by the films A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and Rogue One, the Sequel Trilogy era (ST), which is comprised of the films The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker, as well as the TV series Star Wars: Resistance, and the Prequel Trilogy era (PT), as represented by the films The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, and Solo, as well as the TV series The Clone Wars. Of these properties, Williams has obviously scored the lion’s share of the films; Rogue One’s soundtrack was composed by Michael Giacchino, Resistance by Michael Tavera, Solo by John Powell, and The Clone Wars by Kevin Kiner. Kiner’s other work for Star Wars was the score of another TV series, Star Wars Rebels. Rebels occupies an interesting place within the greater Star Wars chronology, qualifying as a prequel due to taking place before the events of A New Hope, yet both aesthetically and narratively more aligned with the OT, rather than the PT. Though Rebels is nominally a prequel, Kiner’s musical language sets it firmly within the OT era, with frequent sonic callbacks to Williams’ score, with each aesthetic connection serving not only to link the viewer to the OT era, but also, through its absences and deviations, highlight the narrative differences between Rebels and the original films. This is particularly exemplified in the parallels and contrasts between the heroes of Rebels and the OT, Ezra Bridger, and Luke Skywalker.

From the outset, several contrasts and parallels can be drawn between Ezra Bridger and Luke Skywalker: both are orphans from provincial areas of the galaxy, both are accidentally caught up in insurrectionist rebel activity against the Empire, and both discover that they can wield the powers of the Force. They are even roughly the same age, born within days of each other. Contrasts do abound, however. Ezra receives several years of Jedi training from a former Jedi, while Luke receives very little; Ezra is actively involved with the Rebellion from the beginning, while Luke steps in at the last second to secure one of the Alliance’s largest victories; Ezra’s primary motif is connected to the twin moons of his home planet of Lothal - this, in contrast to the famous scene of Luke Skywalker gazing into the twin sunset of his planet of Tatooine; and so on. Even their character designs are oppositional; Luke is quite white, blond-haired and blue-eyed, a country farmer from a family of farmers, kind but naive, whereas Ezra is coded as Jewish or Middle Eastern (his parents’ names are Ephraim and Mira, a name likely derived from Myra, Miriam, or Maryam--this, coupled with his physical features, points to a certain ethnic origin. Mira, in flashbacks, even wears a headscarf, and is one of the few human women in the larger Star Wars universe to do so), with dark hair and darker skin, a homeless city orphan who is more than well-acquainted with the Empire’s atrocities. When it comes to their roles in the Rebellion, though, both Luke and Ezra initially start their adventures with the promise of Jedi training, and find themselves drawn in to the major political and martial action of the Galactic Civil War.

Set five years before the events of A New Hope, the backdrop of Rebels depicts the formal declaration of the Galactic Alliance, the establishment of the famous rebel base on the planet of Yavin IV, and numerous references to the secret construction of the Death Star, alongside several integral character cameos, including Lando Calrissian, Princess Leia, and Obi-wan Kenobi, while the main thrust of the story centers on the crew of the Ghost, an early rebel cell, and the journey of its newest crew member, Ezra Bridger. Described by Dave Filoni, Executive Producer and creator of Rebels, as a con artist, and Taylor Gray, the character’s actor, as “very street smart, he’s a pickpocket, he’s a little thief,” Ezra happens upon the crew of the Ghost as they commit a minor act of terrorism against the Galactic Empire, stealing several crates of supplies. Rather than pick a side in the conflict, Ezra elects to steal a crate of the same supplies for himself, outrunning the comedically incompetent Imperial police force, and dodging the members of the Ghost crew as they try to get the supplies back, until Ezra is forced to seek refuge on the Ghost to escape the marginally more competent TIE figher pilots. After helping the crew in distributing the supplies - namely, food - to a nearby refugee camp, Ezra is convinced by the Ghost’s pilot and leader, Hera Syndulla, to assist in a rescue mission. Despite his initial capture and subsequent escape from Imperial custody, Ezra chooses to see the rescue mission through to the end, and witnesses the Ghost’s second-in-command, Kanan Jarrus, wield a lightsaber, revealing himself as a survivor of the presumed-extinct and quasi-legendary Jedi Order. Recognizing that Ezra has the same gift as him, Kanan offers to train him to wield the Force in order to continue fighting against the Empire, dispelling any notion that the Jedi are gone with a triumphant declaration, “Not all of us.” Ezra agrees, and thus begins their partnership which will last for the next four years, as Kanan, who never technically made it past the rank of apprentice, passes on his fragmented training, and they both become more and more deeply entwined with the Rebellion.

Luke’s introduction to the Rebel Alliance appears to be as coincidental as the above, though one can argue that it was ordained by the Force, or some kind of similar higher power. When his uncle and adoptive father Owen purchases a pair of droids for the farm, Luke discovers a secret message hidden within one of them: Princess Leia’s plea to a mysterious Obi-wan Kenobi for aid. Luke’s first instinct is to help her, seeking out the reclusive loner Ben Kenobi for more information--with the added gratification of disobeying his uncle, who is currently keeping him tied to the family farm, and will not let him leave the planet. When the Empire, inevitably, comes looking for its stolen property--stolen Imperial secrets hidden within one of the droids--Luke is too late to warn his aunt and uncle, and finds his homestead burned to the ground. Grief stricken and alone, Luke begs Obi-wan to take him with him to Alderaan, in order to learn how to be a Jedi like his mysterious father. After hiring smuggler Han Solo to take them to Alderaan, they instead find the Death Star, and Luke convinces Han to mount a daring, ill-planned rescue of the Princess. While they do rescue Leia, they lose Obi-wan as he stalls the Imperials, buying them time to escape. Thoughts of becoming a Jedi are pushed to the background as Luke volunteers to be a part of the attack on the Death Star, despite Han’s insistence that he should take his cut of their reward money and run. Up against an implausible and unbelievable behemoth of a killing machine, a massive weapon capable of genocide on an unimaginable scale, it is Luke and his superhuman abilities which allow him to fire the shot which destroys the Death Star and everybody on it, immediately cementing him as not only a hero, but the hero, from both a Doylist and a Watsonian perspective.

These parallels are further underscored by their respective musical motifs. Consider Luke’s theme, the “Main Title” fanfare. In the words of Williams himself, from the liner notes of the original 1977 LP release:

When I thought of a theme for Luke and his adventures, I composed a melody that reflected the brassy, bold, masculine, and noble qualities I saw in the character. When the theme is played softly, I tended towards a softer brass sound. But I used fanfarish horns for the more heraldic passages. This theme, in particular, brings out the full glow of the glorious brass section of the London Symphony Orchestra.

Comprised primarily of perfect intervals, the theme begins with an ascending fifth, an opening salvo so famous that music students everywhere, yours truly included, use it to identify perfect fifths in other contexts. As Lucas notes, the principal instrumentation is in the brass section, immediately conferring an old-world heroic air to Luke. “[The Main Title theme] conveys the heroism at the heart of the saga with the economy of its opening fifth (reaching upward), descending triplet (gathering strength for another try), and triumphant lift to an octave above the opening note (attainment of the goal).” Peter Nickalls compares this to the “perfect rising fifth” of “Siegfried’s Horn Call” from Wagner’s Ring Cycle as emblematic of many heroic melodies.

[insert sheet music here, recap]

As a theme, it is punchy, energetic, intrinsically tied up in the “Rebel Fanfare,” and generally underscores moments of onscreen heroism and stylistically valiant acts.

By contrast, while Ezra’s theme is also played by the horns, they are muted, thinner, ringing out more softly over shimmering, sustained strings. [insert sheet music here, recap] Ezra’s theme mostly serves to underscore the character’s moments of emotional reflection, rather than his superhuman action, which is usually accompanied by the “Force” theme, the “Rebel Fanfare,” or the Ghost’s musical motif.

Luke’s theme in its first non-diegetic appearance, that is, its first appearance outside of the main titles, is a little different than one would expect; the melody is still a solo, but played in the horns, implicitly sonically identifying Luke as the protagonist, according to Nickalls, and with a much tamer underlying harmonization. Instead of an alternating pattern of quarter notes and triplets, underscoring the martial aspect of the narrative to come, the “Wars” part of the saga, the harmonic rhythm here is much simpler, with gentle, almost sweet chord bursts on the second and fourth beats. Steven Galipeau, in his analysis of Luke Skywalker as a modern myth, writes of this narrative moment, “We meet [Luke] as a discouraged, frustrated young man stuck on his uncle’s farm, dreaming of going to the galaxy space academy with many of his friends. As he goes with his uncle to meet the Jawa sand trawler and the droids they bring, his aunt calls out his name: ‘Luke! Luke!’ The music and sequence immediately set him apart.” Simple, full of youthful energy, this moment is an aural demonstration of Luke at the beginning of his journey. He is not yet the hero of the Rebellion, nor the famed last of the Jedi; he is simply Luke, whose primary goal at this moment in the narrative is to leave his little hometown, by any means possible. Furthermore, beyond being the first narrative iteration of the title fanfare, it is the first recognizable melody in quite some time. While the audience is treated to several recognizable motifs in the opening sequence, such as Princess Leia’s theme, the Rebel Fanfare, and the original theme for Darth Vader and the Empire (the Imperial March would not be introduced until the next film in the sequence, Empire Strikes Back), the music of the sequence of the droids wandering across the desert is highly reminiscent of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring; Lucas even used Stravinsky as a temporary score during the editing process. Famous for inciting a riot in the streets of Paris at its premiere, the Rite of Spring, and by extension, Williams’ scoring of this scene, is strange and almost frightening, meandering and unmoored--perfect for representing the precarious journey of the droids, but difficult to recognize as a melody in the traditional sense. The return to standard melodic form also functions as an auditory notice, as it were, to the audience, politely calling attention to the arrival of the protagonist.

The first iteration of Ezra’s theme plays as he assists the crew of the Ghost handing out food supplies to a group of poverty-stricken refugees who live in a small cluster of ramshackle tents, named “Tarkintown” in universe, a clear reference to the Hoovervilles of the Great Depression. One refugee thanks Ezra directly for his efforts, putting a hand on his shoulder, but walks off before Ezra can weakly admit that he actually had no part in this, apart from physically walking the crate from the ship to the town. Deeply affected by this refugee’s actions, he retreats out of the village, and watches the Ghost crew and the villagers from afar. The day’s events have overturned his entire world view, and he is taking time to process them all; rather than abscond with the supplies stolen from Imperials, the crew of the Ghost chooses to give most of them away, an action which is clearly baffling to him (though, as the audience sees, a crate of weapons will be sold by the crew to a shady businessman for income), particularly as Ezra’s first instinct had been to sell them himself, to any number of the black market dealers with which he has become familiar growing up. At this moment, Ezra is struggling with a great many mysteries, chiefly the question of why the crew had even offered him refuge on their ship. Surely, if they were like any other thief or smuggler, they would have left him behind to be killed by the TIE Fighter pilot, either as a punishment for stealing the crates in the first place, or simply to get him out of the way. (Later, he will be even more shocked that they turn around to rescue him from an Imperial Star Destroyer, one of the Empire’s largest and most heavily guarded space vessels, despite having accidentally left him behind earlier in their haste to escape.) “Who are you people?” he will ask later, befuddled by their seemingly conflicting acts as they alternately help and, to his mind, hinder him. “I mean, you’re not thieves, exactly.” Now, however, this emotional confusion, coupled with a handy tug from the Force, compels him to sneak aboard the Ghost and snoop, where he stumbles on Kanan’s lightsaber and holocron, a treasure trove of Jedi information that only Jedi can open, which he promptly steals.

Similarly to the film example above, this moment cements Ezra’s place as the protagonist of the series. It arrives more than fifteen minutes into the episode, the bulk of which had been taken up by reworkings of Williams’ motifs; the Imperial March, the TIE Fighter theme, and the Rebel Fanfare are quite prominent, while Kiner’s most incorporated theme is his theme for the Ghost crew, which chiefly plays as its old members size up its eventual new one. Nestled in a flurry of exciting musical moments that recall the thrilling spaceflight chases of the OT, the slowness and pensiveness of Ezra’s theme, in contrast to the previous fifteen minutes of music, also brings the audience’s attention to the forefront. The musical change signals a similar change in mood, content, and focus, from heroic action to emotional reflection. Indeed, this is the first truly character driven moment of the series, and the first moment of an onscreen character struggle, as Ezra tries to reconcile the altruism he has just seen with the cynicism he has known for his entire life.

[better setup] During their grand escape from the Death Star, Luke and Leia, separated from Han and Obi-wan and on the run from a pack of Stormtroopers, nearly run off the edge of a platform into a bottomless pit. With a sequence lifted right from the screen of a mid-century swashbuckling pirate film, Luke throws a rope across and swings him and Leia to the safety of the other ledge of the hallway, before proceeding with the rest of their escape. The accompanying motif is appropriately heroic,

Ezra was born on “Empire Day,” the day that the Clone Wars were ended and the Galactic Empire was declared by Palpatine, formerly Senator, then Chancellor, and now Emperor. (It was that same day that the Emperor launched his assault on the Jedi Order, wiping nearly all of them out in one overwhelming blow. Incidentally, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa were born two days later.) For Ezra, Empire Day comes with its own baggage--this day is also the anniversary of his parents’ arrest for treason, which left him homeless and alone. This Empire Day, however, Ezra is not alone, but instead has joined up with a rebel cell determined to cause some mayhem and headaches for the Imperial occupiers. With Imperials distracted by preparations for a local parade, and their search for a particular Imperial data-worker named Tseebo, Ezra and the rebels happily ruin the parade, and, while hiding in the abandoned apartment which used to be Ezra’s childhood home, discover Tseebo already there. Tseebo was, by Ezra’s admission, a friend of his parents, though Ezra himself wants nothing to do with Tseebo now, who “went to work for the Empire, after they took my parents away.” In the years since, Tseebo has allowed himself to be implanted with cybernetic enhancements by the Empire in order to increase his productivity, before downloading several caches of Imperial secrets, and attempting to flee. With all of the information in his head, Tseebo is little more than catatonic, able to walk and spout random information, but not truly understanding what is going on around him--until some turbulence aboard the Ghost appears to knock him back into consciousness. Seeing and recognizing Ezra, and perhaps knowing that he has a limited amount of time, Tseebo frantically tries to tell Ezra that he knows what happened to his parents, who he had presumed to be dead all this time. Sadly, Tseebo cannot remain lucid for very long, and Ezra must go and help draw the pursuing Imperials off of their tail, in order to get Tseebo to Hera’s rebel operative, the mysterious Fulcrum. Ezra will not discover the true fate of his parents for some time; at this point, however, he claims it is merely a moot point, telling crewmate Sabine, “I've been on my own since I was seven, okay? If I'd let myself believe my folks were alive, if I let myself believe they'd come back and save me, I'd never have learned how to survive.”

The arrest of his parents was clearly a traumatic event for Ezra, one he, truthfully, hasn’t processed until the events of this episode. Part of a Jedi’s training is learning to deal with one’s emotions in a healthy manner; Ezra, who refused to believe the possibility that his parents were alive, finds himself blocked, unable to tap into or use the Force beyond small bursts of instinctual panic, until he tearfully admits his fear that they may still be out there, and have been for all these years, to Kanan. Open to the Force, in battle with the Imperials, Ezra demonstrates the beginnings of his remarkable skill in connection, particularly with animals and other creatures, until, backed into a corner, he uses the Dark Side in order to summon a monster. With the Imperials beaten back, and Tseebo safely in the hands of the rebels, Sabine finds Ezra ruminating over the days’ events in one of the ship’s turrets, events which have shifted the galaxy on its axis, upping the stakes and changing the characters’ views of each other permanently. Sabine, who had previously treated Ezra as something of an irritating stranger with a misplaced crush, finds a kindred spirit in him as someone who has had their family torn apart by the Empire. For his belated birthday present, she gives him a data-disc which she had picked up while hiding in his childhood home; on it, amidst all the other corrupted data, is an old family photo of his. Too grateful for words, Ezra barely even notices her leave, his attention fixed on the image, as the camera exits the ship, zooming away as the Ghost heads off towards parts unknown, and his musical motif resounding in a full, stately, horn chorus. [insert sheet music]

In a pair of episodes chock full of this motif, [insert count here], this iteration in particular stands out from the rest. Firstly, it is clear that this final iteration is meant to be louder than the others, at least a mezzo-forte rather than a mezzo-piano; secondly, all the voices are working together in a moment of greater homophony, instead of a single voice over an aesthetic accompaniment; and thirdly, the top, melodic line arcs upwards, rather than downwards. These changes, in part, reflect Ezra’s newfound awareness of his own feelings regarding the disappearance of his parents. Rather than shame, which causes him to hide and suppress his emotions as he has done his entire life, he admits his fear and overcomes it, and he lets his joy and happiness at seeing the photo come out fully, rather than trying to save face in front of his peers and continue to keep playing the part of carefree, scrappy, ne’er-do-weller. It is a turning point in several ways, both narratively and musically; from this moment on, Ezra will begin making leaps and bounds in his Jedi education, going on to construct his own lightsaber in the next episode, a ritual which, in universe, historically marks the transition to a proper apprenticeship. Concurrently, instances of Ezra’s theme decrease dramatically.

[Luke example - death star run?]

[fix this part lmao] Sadly, Ezra’s quest to find his parents ends in tragedy. When a Force-inspired dream pushes him [find his parents again?], Kanan and Hera reveal that they have been trying to do the same for months. Ezra’s parents, according to Tseebo, were arrested and taken to an Imperial prison--one of thousands--somewhere in the galaxy, though soon after, news comes from the Rebel leadership of a prison break; guided by the Force, Ezra is certain that the prison break was orchestrated by his parents. Brimming with excitement and pursuing this new lead with a mildly alarming doggedness, Ezra returns to Lothal to find Ryder Azadi, the former governor of the planet, and friend of his parents. Azadi, a Rebel sympathizer, allowed the Bridgers to make their anti-Imperial broadcasts, and was subsequently arrested and imprisoned with them. Ezra, again, perhaps guided by the Force, seems to know what has happened before it is even said; though Mira and Ephraim did orchestrate the prison break, they perished in the attempt. His mourning spills into the next episode, where he and Kanan have to devise a way to get new supplies to the Rebellion without alerting the Empire to their covert benefactor’s identity--who is none other than Leia Organa, in a cameo appearance. Leia finds Ezra quietly crying over the photo of his parents that Sabine had saved for him. His musical motif this time is in the strings, not the horns, and loops repeatedly.

[Ezra’s journey from start to finish recap] Initially, Ezra joins the Rebellion not because it is the right thing to do, but because it is convenient to him at the time; the Ghost functions as a roof over his head, its crew members as a new set of parents and siblings, and its missions as a source of food and income, along with the added bonus of learning how to use an incredibly powerful, specialized weapon, despite the target it paints on his back. Filoni himself states [need src] that Ezra decides to join the Ghost not only to learn how to use a lightsaber, but because he is in need of a family, having lost his own parents at the age of seven, when they were arrested for their underground, anti-establishment radio broadcasts. Ezra’s larger journey over the course of Rebels is re-learning how to think beyond himself, regaining his trust and faith in others after having it completely shattered at a very young age, and following through with what he needs to do for the greater good of this fight against tyranny to which he has dedicated himself, not just the good of his family and friends--but, as one would expect, at the very beginning of his story, he is far more selfish than selfless. It is more than halfway into the first season before Ezra begins to truly understand and act on the Jedi lessons Kanan has attempted to teach him, beyond lifting rocks with his mind, as he finally admits and begins to face his fears while in the middle of a vision quest (presided over by the disembodied voice of Master Yoda). Over the course of the series, Ezra has frequent, deep brushes with the “Dark Side” of the Force, becoming more and more inclined to fight, hurt, or even kill in the name of pragmatism, earning victories for the Rebel Alliance through dubious and increasingly terroristic means, before the desolation of his homeworld and the loss of his mentor wrench him firmly back on the heroic path.

This is not to say that Kiner never chooses to use Ezra’s theme in a heroic context. Most notably, in the series finale, his theme plays triumphantly over his great sacrifice, as Ezra summons enormous, semi-legendary whale creatures called the Purrgil, to destroy the Imperial blockade over Lothal, and spirit away the remaining ships beyond the edge of the known galaxy, with both Thrawn, the series’ chief antagonist, and Ezra still on board. From an in-universe, narrative perspective, Ezra, of course, would have to sacrifice himself in some manner in order to explain his absence in the events of the original trilogy; Yoda on his deathbed tells Luke, “When gone am I, the last of the Jedi you will be,” leaving, unfortunately, no room for any other Jedi left in the galaxy, lest the entire narrative of the OT fall apart. It was inevitable that both Kanan and Ezra would have to vanish, though while Kanan died, Ezra merely disappeared, with Filoni confirming that both he and Thrawn are alive, somewhere off the edge of the map. It’s a fitting moment, then, for his theme to return in full force here; a far cry from his introduction as a scrappy street rat, Ezra has fully come into his own as a Jedi in his own right, and understands the role that he plays, both in-universe as it pertains to the fate of the Rebel Alliance, and in a meta-sense, as both precursor and herald to Luke Skywalker. Happily and willingly, he chooses to sacrifice himself in order to save his planet, and the hundreds of civilians who live on it, and the victorious music confirms this. Four years earlier, he stubbornly declared that he would never risk his life in this manner for people he didn’t know: “You know, this whole [rescue] mission thing is nuts. I'm not against sticking it to the Empire, but there's no way I'd stick my neck out this far. Who does that?” Hera, in reply, simply declares, “We do.” His journey with the crew of the Ghost, his apprenticeship with Kanan, and his role in the Rebel Alliance has transformed him, and his music, from shy, unsure, and sorrowful to confident, powerful, and determined, though the core of his music, and by extension, his character, remains the same; this heroism was within him all along.

In the latter half of 2019, several new Star Wars properties are set to launch, including the video game Jedi: Fallen Order, the seventh season of the revived Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated show, and, of course, the ninth and final film in the so-called “Skywalker Saga,” Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Each of the listed properties’ accompanying trailers, with music scored by Gordy Haab, Stephen Barton, and BLAKUS, composers for the video game Star Wars: Battlefront II, Kiner, and Williams, respectively, have one unexpected thing in common: the “Main Fanfare” theme is nowhere to be found. In the trailer for Jedi: Fallen Order, Haab’s score is much more reminiscent of Alan Silvestri’s Marvel’s Avengers in its melody and harmony than anything else. Though there are two instances of Williams’ themes in the trailer score, they are both short and incomplete; we hear a somber and foreboding four notes of “The Imperial March” as the protagonist gazes anxiously at his broken weapon, and we hear just the beginnings of the Force theme as the title of the game is revealed, though the theme is reharmonized in order to blend with what will doubtless become the protagonist’s own leitmotif. Similarly, in the trailer for The Rise of Skywalker, Williams chooses to only incorporate one of his themes, “Princess Leia’s Theme,” with splendid, yearning sixth intervals over long, drawn out horn and percussion crashes, partially as an homage to the late Carrie Fisher, and partially due to Leia Organa’s rumored key role in the film itself. For The Clone Wars season seven trailer, Kiner does not use any of Williams’ original score; instead, the trailer begins with the theme he created for the breakout character of the show, Ahsoka Tano, before moving into entirely his own new material.

Though the so-called “Skywalker Saga” is ending, Disney has planned nearly another decade’s worth of Star Wars content in the form of spin-off titles, television series, games, books, comics - any and every medium imaginable, and there are currently no signs that production is slowing down. Perhaps it is inevitable, then, that all traces of Luke Skywalker, visual, narrative, and musical, are disappearing from the greater Star Wars landscape as the universe continues to expand and include new protagonists and stories. Die-hard fans will of course decry this as an attack on a precious childhood memory, as they do for any piece of Star Wars media released after 1998. [Kiner demonstrates it’s possible to have the best of both worlds]

#essay tag #i'm........ extremely proud of a lot of this #there's some lines in here that are lit if i do say so myself #anyway pls give me critiques ;; thank u

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chrysaliseuro2019 · 5 years ago

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May the Gods be With You

Thursday 27/6 and we are off to Gatwick to fly to Athens. Despite a bit of a rush getting to Victoria we managed to leave Pimlico at just after 11.00, catch the express train to Gatwick at 11.30 with about 90 seconds to spare (as Liz says, similar to my daily work habit whereby if I'm not running for the tram I consider myself early) and be at Gatwick at 12.00pm. Not bad going. An uneventful, though very crowded and over 1 hour late EzyJet flight to Athens followed, and given a 9.15pm arrival, we had arranged to be picked up from the airport. This was the best value thing as our driver had perfect English and was a font of knowledge on both Athens and the Peloppenese. He also discussed islands though thoroughly approved of the two we have booked to visit - Folegandros and Milos which was reassuring. He mentioned that he tries to encourage people to go to some of the lesser known ones. He actually suggested we pulled our phones out and took notes of his suggestions which we duly did. Great to have a welcoming and friendly intro to a country as opposed to some of the surly or disinterested and monosyllabic cabbies you can get. We always muse after the occasional bad experience (like the guy who terrified us with his driving and then short changed us in Istanbul or the guy in Valletta who spent the journey screaming down the phone at someone) as to why there is not some better intro to many countries. Still, luckily these are generally exceptions though the good guys like this one and a chap in Kraków stick out. Most fall into the disinterested segment. Guess country publicist and tour guide is not what they are paid to do. Anyway I digress. We reached our quite central hotel the Evripides in about an hour, checked in and headed out for something to eat. It was now 10.30pm and we weren't sure what would be open. The hotel receptionist and driver had made a couple of recommendations and we headed for one. Within a 6/7 minute walk we were in a busy square with cafes, bars and general hubbub. We found a restaurant complete with bouzouki player and ordered drinks and dinner. Liz the chicken Gyros and me calamari. Liz's was the winner with copious quantities and quite tasty we could have just shared that. Lesson learned immediately on quantities. It was very pleasant sitting there and we had a little wander round post dinner, spotted a possible candidate for dinner the next night and headed home. Tomorrow an early start to beat the crowds and heat to the Acropolis and Parthenon. We were up at 6.40 am after about 6 hours sleep, had breakfast at the hotel and headed off on foot for what was supposedly a 15-20 minute walk mostly uphill. It's not hard to see the Acropolis/Parthenon as it overlooks the city and we had a clear view of it from our hotel dining room and our balcony. However, though given directions we soon got a bit lost and the view of our objective was obscured by the buildings once in the backstreets. Also google maps seemed to be sending us in circles. 45 minutes later we arrived a bit flustered. We had a little bit of luck with the queue as I happened to be in what I thought was a short enquiry queue but turned out you could buy tickets there so we probably made up our lost time. It was certainly warm, around the 30 mark, and it was still only 9.00 am. We made our way up the hill towards the Parthenon which is really the centrepiece of the Acropolis which is the name for the whole area on which the Parthenon and other related ancient buildings are situated. The entry gates are magnificent and the Parthenon is vast and grand and quite moving to look at. Completed in 438 BC and dedicated to the Goddess Athena as is most of the Acropolis site it is the largest Doric temple ever completed in Greece. We wandered around taking it all in. Of course now we could visualise what the building might have looked like with the frieze, which is now partly in the British Museum, in place. Not that the originals, even if back in Greece, will ever go back up there. You would have to go the Acropolis Museum to see them, together with the ones that the Greeks retained. It's interesting though that the Greeks seem prepared to augment a little to replicate how things might have looked (see next para) so you wonder if they might contemplate sticking replicas up. Another large and well restored building on the site is the Erechtheion temple. At one end is an olive tree said to have been created by Athena. The Greeks took a cutting during WW11 to protect it from the Germans and the current tree was planted from that cutting in 1952. Also part of the temple includes 6 larger than life columns of maidens known as the Caryatids. The ones on site are plaster cast replicas with the originals in the Acropolis museum which we were heading to next. That is they are all in that museum apart from 1 column which our old mate Lord Elgin carted off to the British Museum. They'd like that back too. Visiting this site is another of those quite spiritual things. The history, the magnificence of the architecture, the significance to the Greek people and the ancient world, it's positioning - with a 360 degree view of the city, also visible from all corners of the city including at night when it is lit up. It gives you the sense that it is one of those reassuring icons - as long as it's there everything will be alright. A lot of tourists but not too bad and by the time we left the site perhaps just over an hour and a half after entry the numbers entering were noticeably increasing so we felt pretty good about our decision to make the effort get up and arrive early. It was now sweltering, around mid thirties and not too much shade. We made our way down towards the Acropolis Museum. This was going to be interesting as we would see those parts of the frieze which remained in Greece as well as a myriad of other artefacts. The museum is very modern and again we were pleased that arriving there around 11.00 meant that we zoomed in with no queuing. As we saw later as people finish their tour of the Acropolis they headed for the museum and there was a lengthy queue when we left around 2.00ish. The frieze is well set out on the top floor and you can walk around it gazing at the tablets at eye level. There are gaps of course including for the tablets in London. Also on view are the 5 columns of the maidens from the Erechtheion. Just too many things to mention throughout the museum - statues of animals mythical and real, Gods, Goddesses, men, women, gold coins, pots, jugs etc. Many, very exquisite. We broke for a pleasant lunch sitting outside under shade in the restaurant with a view up to the Parthenon towering above us. Pretty good. Post lunch one final look through for things we missed and then we started to head back to the hotel. The route back was much easier as we followed the throng and it was through the centre of town with shops, cafes, flea market all in full swing. It was lively. Arriving back around 3.00pm we settled back for some down time and some blog writing. Later, after drinks at a very pleasant cafe restaurant with a bit of people watching thrown in we headed back to our busy square of the previous night to have dinner. The place that we had identified the night before whilst quite characterful in terms of being in a small cut de sac off the main drag had a pretty basic menu of the pizza and chips variety with a few Greek dishes thrown in. So we went to the place recommended by the hotel clerk the previous night. This night it had a few more people in, the bouzouki and guitar were being played and singing was good. Liz had the stuffed peppers and me lamb and both were excellent as was the ambience. A good choice we had a very laid back and pleasant evening. The next day it was time to leave and we needed to pick up our car from Piraeus. We liked the Evripides Hotel, nothing flash but did the job, reasonably priced, staff friendly and breakfast quite adequate. Also very close to the action it's about a 300/400 metre walk down some quite run down streets to get to it. To be honest the run down streets seemed like classic Athens with a lot of cracked paving, some derelict buildings and closed shops amid active ones. That might not appeal to everyone especially at night but as we left, a tour group of 20 sooomethings had checked in so it was seeing a fair bit of business and the slightly run down location (though the hotel itself was classic 3 star and fine) didn't bother us. We'd happily stay there again.

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coalessscence · 6 years ago

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The Big Mun Questionnaire Thingamajig— answer these questions then tag 20 blogs you’d like to know better!

tagged by: @patiencetaught !! thank u sm my babe! tagging: UHHH ok imma try my best here, @zerotoherc, @gentlegently, @dvstv, @infcrtunii, @gvtshct, @skepticspooked, @skepticreal, @kradljivac, @bruadcr, @prctextlve, @amourfugitif, @keepgcing, @17escapes, @scaredvicious, @surrepo-iuvenisdomina, @withhclding, @femmeveined, @dyingthing, @thriceflamed, @axisii I THINK THATS 2O OF U and uhhhh whoever else wants to ???

nicknames: none that i know of?

zodiac: libra

height: 5′ 2

time: 9:24 a.m.

favourite band / artist: it’s hard for me to have just One (1) fave but if forced to arbitrarily make a choice i will say currently working fave is a toss up between panic! at the disco and marina & the diamonds, all time fave regardless of the fact that they are not together anymore is triumph, and/or rik emmet as a solo artist after triumph broke up, even though he’s now getting ready to retire

song stuck in my head: literally was humming “fuck up” by shane dawson all last night and this morning. i am currently listening to twtltrtd (its a panic album that has a long ass name dw abt it lol) so technically its not in my head rn but im sure it will be later.

last movie i saw: in my psych class we had to watch that movie with all the emotions in the girl’s head that the “do you ever wonder what is going on inside someone’s head” meme is from what is it called akdhffhg UPDATE: after much meme googling the last movie i saw is called inside out

last thing i googled: literally the entire text of the what is going on inside their head meme to find the name of that movie lol but before that, it was ‘sniper elite 3 siwa oasis’ bc i was looking smth up for my dad who was stuck on a level in a video game lol

other blogs: i no longer have any other rp blogs, just this one!

do i get asks: sometimes i do get memes and sometimes i even get those kindness campaign or similar messages which is hella rad and y’all are a buncha babes ok ily

why did i choose this username: uuuuh so basically i had like, a LOT of single muse blogs and brought them all together to this multi. so the word coalesce was relevant bc to coalesce means “to come together, to form one mass or a whole”. coalescence is like, the verb?? version of that word ??? idk how grammar works but basically thats the other tense of coalesce and it looked pretty so i chose it. then i just added S’s until the url wasn’t taken and here we are lol

following: 709 i need 2 stop

average amount of sleep: like, 5-6????

what i’m wearing: normally i make an effort to display Style and Fashion (tm) but atm i’m in pajamas lol rip i guess

dream job: i rly want to be an entertainer ???? like idk. i wanna have a youtube channel. i wanna get to work on tv somehow, i wanna be on a radio show or podcast, i wanna write a book, i wanna put out an album and tour on it, i wanna be a model. i wanna build my own career based on doing a lot of different kinds of things that are fun for me to do and even more fun for other people to consume as content/media, but find the common thread in all of those things being my brand??? which sounds literally crazy i know but idk. with the internet doing what the internet has done for everyone i think its more possible now than ever so who knows. but i’m going to school for computer science so idk if that will EVER happen lol

dream trip: i honestly don’t know.... there are places i wanna go, like japan, but idk. i RLY wanna do that thing where you go from one end of the US to the other on the amtrak train with a good friend ??? and just see my own country and stop off in stations in little towns and see what people’s lives there are like ??? i just think that would be really neat. i’d make a video series about it.

favourite food: nearest food. nearest food is favorite food.

play any instruments: kind of sort of guitar/ukulele/piano also does singing count as an instrument? but at the same time god help me i probably sound terrible at all of them in reality so dont bet on it

eye colour: brown

hair colour: just as brown

languages you speak: english, know some very basic basic spanish and i barely know like five words and 2 of the 3 alphabets in japanese (one day when i have time to do things and can spend less time being Stressed & Depressed (tm) i would like to be halfway fluent in spanish, japanese, korean, and hawaiian. if the resources become available to do so i would love to learn pottawatomie as well, which is the native language of the tribes where i am from, which is a big part of the culture there still (tho there are dwindling native speakers of the language itself and not a lot of resources atm, altho conservation efforts are being made).

most iconic song: im gonna be honest with you, the first thought i had upon reading this was all star, and i cant say im fully committed but im not gonna sit here for twenty minutes analyzing this answer so ????? its all star fight me

random fact: i need to wash my heckin makeup brushes more often bc damn im a Mess

describe yourself as aesthetic things: a pastel pink shirt that reads ‘empty inside’ in fanciful cursive. bright 80s colorblocking covering the void in your soul. white and gold christmas decor that’s still up mid january. a bed that used to be made but was rumpled by sitting on it. getting a hand cramp from taking notes with a glitter gel pen. a collection of handcreams in various airy scents. a heaviness in your bones that you can’t escape from. the fallout from rainbows of makeup smeared onto a desk. paint chipping off where your wrists touch a laptop from overuse. an adorable hair ribbon paired with a leather jacket. the tragedy of emotion. self deprecation that edges into mirth. being self aware of an unhealthy nature. kawaii smeared by the remains of an emo phase that never happened and invaded by the jewel toned velours of modern day culture.

#that aesthetic tag section is way too dramatic lol but listen...... i Tried Hard #and i think its accurate #ANYWAYS #THANK U FOR TAGGING ME MY BABE SORRY IT TOOK ME 10 YEARS TO DO IT #⌲ t a g s #⌲ m u n t h i n g s #⌲ m u n s p e a k #⌲ o o c #⌲ i don't wanna feel Q U E U E anymore

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ignissa · 7 years ago

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So I wanted to get your take on something that's been stuck in my head recently about SU. I've seen a good number of people using the PD's zoo as material for pink being a bad person, but the more I think of the time depictions the more I think this is wrong. I keep thinking of it as a snapshot of how the humans were. Like it was their natural environment but without threats. I think this has interesting ramifications on the timeline, specifically in regards to Pearls hunter gatherer remark

Pt2. People I think humans could have grown to be co-dpendent on Gems before the war. Like that was the start of civilization for them. It could explain how we have this sliding scale of culture being referenced and how gems were shown to have left some icons in the culture behind.

If you don’t mind, I think I’ll use this ask as an opportunity to also talk a bit more about what the Zoo actually is.

I should start by saying that I do think the Zoo is perfectly consistent with what we know about Pink. She was clearly fascinated by unusual and novel things (just look at how she interacted with Garnet and how it’s implied she interacted with humans), even though she didn’t understand them. Empathy is based in understanding and respect, but Pink clearly lacked the emotional maturity required for both things - she was never a “bad person” but she was definitely immature and motivated by selfish desires. Regardless, her motivations don’t change how good or bad the zoo actually was.

(On a related note, do you know who does apparently have the emotional maturity to understand and empathise with humans?)

So, exactly how “bad” was the Zoo?

When we talk about the issue of “human zoos” it’s worth acknowledging that they were, in the not-so-distant past, a real thing:

This is Ota Benga, a Mbuti man who was put on display in St. Louis (1904) and at the Bronx Zoo Monkey House (1906). He committed suicide due to depression at the age of 32 when it became clear that he would never return to his native Congo.

Apparently, humans don’t take well to captivity, but once you understand their needs, they’re easy to control. - Holly Blue

During her reign on Earth, Pink Diamond stole humans from their families as trophies of her conquest.- Garnet

Oh no. It was very serious. When I still served… Homeworld, I saw it myself. A private menagerie deep in space. Humans in captivity. We were never able to rescue them. We had no way to get to them after the war.- Pearl

It’s fairly heavily implied that, at the Zoo’s conception, the humans housed there were not having a good time, to say the least. Holly Blue’s words imply that there was a time when they didn’t understand the needs of the humans, and as a result the humans were difficult to control. This, however, clearly happened before she arrived, suggesting that it was under Pink’s guidance that conditions in the human zoo improved. That’s not too surprising either, given the fact that the “solution” that was decided on looks suspiciously like the way Pink/Rose herself would infantilise humans. This suggests, to me at least, that the purpose of the zoo evolved as Pink spent more time on Earth.

What was a little vanity project very quickly became a serious undertaking, likely as Pink realised the true implications of colonisation and saw the effect captivity was having on the humans in her care. It would have only taken a few generations for humans to lose their emotional and sentimental ties to home, and humans are exceptionally good at adapting to new environments. Towards the end of her time as a Diamond, Pink probably justified the Zoo as a way of keeping some of humanity safe from the horrors of colonisation and war. I definitely get the feeling that she saw humans as somewhat interchangeable, especially given that Gems seem to view gem types in a similar way. Add to that Pink/Rose’s lack of respect towards humans in general, and it’s not too surprising that she never thought to return the humans to Earth (even after starting the rebellion for the sake of Earth - we know she was living a double life for quite some time at least) until it was far too late. That’s not to say she didn’t regret it.

Garnet describes the humans as “trophies of conquest”, which is very similar to the plight of people like Ota Benga. I’d bet that these original humans suffered with similar bouts of depression and self-destructive (and from a gem perspective unexplainable) behaviour. The comparitive docility of their modern-day counterparts can be explained away as a result of nurture and a lack of selective pressures - the lack of competition (including sexual competition) and absence of risk would naturally remove any evolutionary advantage from things like predispositions towards aggression and violence. Selective breeding via the “choosening” is another explanation.

It could be argued that Garnet wasn’t privy to all of the details of the Zoo, but Pearl certainly was and her own word choice paints a similar image. The word menagerie has some very specific connotations:

The aristocratic menageries are distinguished from the later zoological gardens since they were founded and owned by aristocrats whose intentions were not primarily of scientific and educational interest. These aristocrats wanted to illustrate their power and wealth, because exotic animals, alive and active, were less common, more difficult to acquire, and more expensive to maintain.

The focus on the exotic can even be seen in the humans that were chosen to live in the Zoo:

We see a whole range of skin, hair and eye colours here, as well as variation in height and build. There is a clear suggestion here that humans weren’t just randomly grabbed from a single community, but were specifically selected to be as diverse and exotic as possible (I mean 6000 years ago the genes for blue eyes, pale skin and light hair were fairly new and rare - they would have really needed to go out of their way to find one of every colour, so to speak). Garnet calls the Zoo “insidious”, meaning “proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with very harmful effects". This implies that the humans were gathered over a fairly long period of time, perhaps even continuing after the beginning of the rebellion.

Was humanity dependent on Gem technology?

The most likely answer is no. We have nothing that suggests this was the case. Beyond the Zoo, gems had no reason to interact with humans at all; going by Aquamarine’s reactions gems don’t seem to have any problem considering humans sentient, they simply don’t value sentience to the same extent we do. I think, with the exception of the rebellion, it’s fairly unlikely that gems ever co-operated with humans in any way. Gem technology wouldn’t have ever been particularly valuable to humanity; their materials are useless unless you can learn to replicate them, the only technology that could have helped humans survive would have been light-years away at the Zoo, and even exploring gem-related locations would have been dangerous. Most gem locations are inaccesible to humans and non-gems don’t seem to be able to operate warp pads.

The only gem tech we’ve even seen humans use are the Replicator Wand (used by Onion) and the Warp Whistle (used by Greg). Now you could certainly make the argument that the Warp Whistle was designed for non-gem use and is therefore evidence of co-operation between gems and humans, except we already know that humans were involved in the rebellion so it doesn’t necessarily tell us anything about the situation between humans and Homeworld gems.

We see examples of gem-related iconography in human culture, so I think if there was any part of human culture that was effected by the presence of gems it would be folklore and mythology. Even then, the only concrete hint we get is in the money (which is extra interesting now we know that it likely depicts Steven’s gemstone), which could be handwaved as a reference to Rose Quartz and whatever involvement she had with the country’s history.

The state of Human Civilisation

All things considered, 6000 years ago really wasn’t that long ago. Humans had already reached more-or-less the same distribution as modern day (with the exception of a few islands) and plenty of early civilisations had moved beyond the hunter-gatherer lifestyle and on to agriculture and organised society.

The official guide places the start of the gem war 5,500 years ago, so the time period we’re looking at is around 3500 BC. The state of human society at the time depends pretty heavily on where you look in the world. For example Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) had already been fairly advanced for about half a century at that point; they had basic writing, mathematics, civil law, knowledge of various sciences (astronomy, hydrology), boats, pottery, the wheel… They were also just entering into the bronze age. The native American inhabitants of the Delmarva Peninsula (presumably the closest real-world equivalent to the area around Beach City), as well as the Koreans, on the other hand, did not generally practice agriculture, didn’t yet create pottery, had no written language (and would continue to not write for several thousand years after that), and lived as hunter-gatherers and nomads.

Indeed, it is a possibility that the gem presence on Earth either accelerated or set back human development, but there are simpler explanations. It’s likely that the hunter-gatherers Pearl refers to are the aforementioned native American and Korean tribes. In any case hunter-gatherers exist to this day in small pockets. Besides, we don’t actually know when Gems first arrived on Earth (and it can be assumed that Pearl was among the first) - Gemkind could have easily had run-ins with humans at much earlier dates, via scouts for example. Things like writing, mathematics, law, science, etc. were developed independently by many different civilisations, so even if one group was set back by dependency, others simply would have eclipsed them in technological development.

#su #su analysis #ask ignissa #justicemode

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