#i saw this live from zeds perspective

[victorisarobot]

Out There

Not all feed astral ticks, there is goodness nestled deep throughout infinity. 

I forget the power my thoughts project onto this reality. 

I've been looking for someone we've met in a field once. 

They took me into your dreams. 

We are of the same class.

You smoked too much.

I wanted you to see yourself as I saw you. 

Remind me of past lives redheaded Celtic medium. 

I must sleep now the spirit's call.

Dreams

Of Ea, and the Solar Calf grown now by divine light a Great Red Bull is all that remains. 

Dreams of floating in the arms of Marduk. Kept alive by a plasma field It has changed them all.

Changed us all. 

Spheres inside spheres trapped inside cubes. 

Light craft model the vortex. 

Their blood is our blood. 

Our water flows over the deserts of the Universe. 

I hold the pitcher.

Moonchild

Space shaman deep indigo eyes

Alive and dead with ego and mind

A journey through the void

Blink, and everything changes

A shell of an egg

Eternal vacuum

Ethereal spindles of fingers

Rows upon rows of my teeth

Burnt up amber orbs in their sockets

Twined polar vortices

Fleeting visions of what they did to me

Some walled up my memories

But they have failed their task

I still remember his face

My mind overtaken with awe

At the true sight of space

Synapses have mutated

I am forever changed

Lost floating in microgravity

We are large, and blue

Then a whirl of color

I cannot cry enough tears

Cannot close my eyes to this

I finally have archived full mindfulness

I see the All the infinite

Spiraling in my mind

Forever outward

Forever inward

I am truly the center

Of my Universe

Zed is Dead

Zed reaches out to pick up something from gleaming metal table

A pyramid shape of clear glass, or perhaps crystal

He holds the crystal pyramid over a pillar

The top of the pillar glows white with light

An image is projected from within

As he rotates, and turns the crystal

I see the portrait of one of my children

A girl containing my genetic markers

She was beautiful

They had kept something in our blood

A quest for descent, or a time to revert

A mingling of galactic water

Farmers spreading the seeds of life

Improving our galactic biodiversity

Advancing those with spirit

Weeding out those with void

He showed me the branching future of humanity

Stretched throughout infinity

He held more crystal shapes above the pillar

In the sphere I saw the stars

The maps of our pasts

In trails connecting white holes

In my gut I ache for the planets of old

For Lyra

Staring into the Eye of God

I blink only for a moment

In the cube I see the Vortex

A spiraling mass of All

The true form of Creation

I see Zed’s ship molded to shape the spin

In the center liquid metals chase each other

Near the speed of light

Mass reduction so even the photons

Can escape the light speed barrier

We all used to look the same

Before the great human scattering

Space mutates the mind

It changes the body

Adaptation to new planets

New stars

New fears

I am reminded a past life, and of the Babylon workings

I have made the Moonchildren

We have been prepared for space

He is please I finally understand

I am pleased he finds me quick

The others are ignorant

They choose to not remember

We must keep the conduit open

They must scrape the pine cone of resin

I spit blood yet understand

This is aid not torture

It is a frame of mind

perspective

We walk the rounded halls

I see the next vessel standing behind glass

Motionless in an amber tank

The man made to be me

The next controller

And my blood runs thin

His eyes are black

I feel my energy leaving me

I am being moved rapidly

The pull is so intense

I black out

The bed is not welcoming

It is cold and the air is dry

I can taste iron, and pineal secretions

Astringent, and burnt cinnamon

In the back of my throat

I down the glass of water

And begin to draw

Landed

The lights danced, and flickered

Red, and white

With hues of yellow

No bulbs

Just magic

I heard the foot steps

Breaking the wood below

I am watching the lights intensely

They are beautiful

It’s all unlike I thought it would happen

My heart beats heavy and fast

My limbs are shaking

I might die from shock

I see a silhouette

Slender and tall

Not unlike my own

Then the light turns off

Or vanish

And I am blind

And terrified

I run through the brush

Until my feet hit pavement

Lock my truck door

And stare into the dark

Nothing rises into the sleet filled sky

I feel alone

And drive home.

Walking drug factory

Our brains make an assortment of chemicals under the right conditions. A harvest of sorts. A walking drug store. Would one begin to pity their fix? 

Ska María Pastora and her kiss of knowledge

It is now or never. It’s now and never.

The water pipe is a shamans tool.

It holds every element I need for prophecy.

And the key to this door.

Is a mint.

I hold the smoke in for as long at I can, for I can no longer count seconds after the twenty fifth.

My vision begins to vibrate, and I can see the null between the frames of nows.

I lay down and high five my counterpart laying next to me “I feel like I could high five forever."

I only say this because I begin to crest a Wheel, and I can see an infinite amount of this moment stretched across infinite time.

I had held it in too long…this time the wheel takes me hard and fast.

There is always the thought of this persisting forever.

That no matter what I could do in the material world.

I could do nothing here.

Where all is thought, all has icon.

The Great Wheel is spinning much too fast showing me history in seconds.

I have seen humanity in it's entirety, in the spiraling of fractaling images. I have been witness to the wax, and wane of the human harvest. We are all intergalactic refugees of a race much older than we were told, and led to the brink of extinction. Eons are flashing before my eyelids, lifetimes I have lived before this, the ones I have lived as my parents only to add up to become what I am now.

Conceived on the astral planes my DNA has been encoded with light. I was made on the outside and have wanted to go back ever since. I watch whole planets of life changed, or destroyed, but at the same moment move outward to see a whole galaxy of life and light flourishing. There are cycles beyond cycles she shows me all of them. I ascend upward as the great wheel spins around me. Higher and higher everything larger than the last. I pull my head, and my face from a great pool of water. All I've wanted my whole life was to be "outside” like a child banished to his room. I take my chances and jump out the windows. 

The being here at the top I have meet before in death's embrace. He avoids my gaze focused on her task at hand, turning the great wheel. He scoffs at my persistence and my barrage of questions. I have been insulted by the life she gave me, and for my bitterness he shows me why, why I have been mutated and doomed to short life. The truth was given to me in a goblet of water which splashes down my throat into my gullet. I looked inside the cup and could see a small blue marble. Orbiting it was a miniature Luna spinning rapidly. A vast green ribbon approaches. Like a pillar it shadows the planet, and stamps out the world. 

I drop the cup, the water is bringing me down. I was tricked into a full descent by a serpent who clung to a tall Cannabis plant. It recoils and strikes my third eye. On my way down I could see the multi layers of spirits at the bottom a Magi employs the last layers. Ragged moldy spirits filing away papers, and arranging bottles. A few of them tied with rope by the waist the rope leading upward to a higher spirit. I know we once could employ spirits, but depending on your connection some of us can employ the ascended. I am now back in the temple, but I can no longer stand it so I leave into the midnight air. I am finally outside where I belong.

Bird men

Fear them, and they will keep you.

Anger, and they will hide.

You know how to will the feelings

They have nothing inside.

A tool for decent.

A fuel for belief.

Love thyself, and know thyself.

Give responsibility to ones self.

You spin the great wheel.

You interpret, and create as one.

You are this body.

You are this mind.

Spirit is the all.

Energy permeates all.

Vibrating us into existence.  

The man behind the curtain.

Was once just like you.

Look at your brothers.

They are you.

Look to your sisters.

Know the same.

Look to the Earth in shame.

For Ki you have slain.

Our sins are apparent.

Now we must become the change.

Or be changed.

By will of love.

Or the force of death.

They shall have us pay.

If so. 

On that day I shall boast to those who turn their ear.

Ghola

There is a man

Who has my face

But not my eyes

He is not me

Yet he is made of me

A shell for the fallen

In my image

Tied to my fate

It is me

Repaired through sound

Perfect geometry

The eyes

Are those of a marsh stalker

With black sliding lids

Only slightly larger

They see all of me

When we meet gaze

All of me is stone

I’ve meet him before

I have seen his hands

Pressed against the glass

Thumb in the middle

Our bodies are just cellular structures

That make it easy

To enjoy this reality

I’ve left my body

And have entered others

We do this all the time

While dreaming

While we die

There are some

Who can be many places at once

With many bodies

Enough will to carry them

For as long as time  

I was

I am

Will be

All three

With eyes to open mouths

In ghost, and gnats she spoke

Light is the way

Love be the law

Defy everything

In between

I have known this man

When he had almond eyes

We made a deal

I was only five

But I meant what I said

So did he

I should of know

This Ghola wasn’t for me

I am meant to die on planet

And await my rebirth

Sighting

They play Modest Mouse

On the acoustic guitar for us

The fire is hot on my face

The sand is cool

I run my hands across it

drawing patterns in the sand

The moon is full

Hiding at the edge of the sand

I want to climb the hill

That overlooks the lake

I’m thinking of the amber lights I saw

Only a few moments ago

I could feel them out there

I saw them on my way down

I shouted to the others

Aaron asked

Is that what I think it is

It was

For we had seen them before

I asked them the night before

Show yourselves to me

In the presence of others

At the top of that hill

With two girls at my side

We watched one descend

Into the lake pausing before it entered

The other rested calmly on the surface

Unwavering blinking

White now

For only minutes

Before vanishing

By then I was standing alone

The girls running down the dunes

Yelling in celebration

We have seen it they cry aloud

He was right

I was right

I saw them on my way in

I knew they were there

Waiting for me to see them

On their visit to the bottom

Of Lake Michigan

Ub

Five pointed life force

I evoked the pentagram

The symbol of the vortex

And I see them

Eyes black as soot

His eyes are my own

Into our soul those eyes see

For they can remember everything

From every life

Past

Present

Future

Those eyes beg to tell me

All is an illusion

I sigh in disbelief

I sing myself to sleep

A mantra before the eyes close

In a dream I find the stillness I desire

In the null of the void

The black pilgrimage

A sea of empty

A world without vibration

Timeless

Lifeless

I do not belong here

So I return

Inside the egg

I see Pan the All

And Isis to its left

The resurrected in her lap

I suckle at her tit

Her mouth moves slowly

Forming word unknown to me

Ra En Ki

She is the Mother of Justice

I hold the scales

I am a tool of decent

A vessel of density

A product of destiny

Sex organs

And digestive tract

There are some points in which all

Evolution reaches its end

You must go back

Or find new blood to harvest

They found me

No

Chose me

To tell you

We have never been alone

When I look into those eyes I know

We can never be alone.

Contact

I stood in the cold

Shaking with shock, and awe

Until all was made still

All feeling gone

He held out a light

Softer than skin

They led me through

And into a honeycomb

of rooms and hallways dim

They all seem like children

They way they run about

All linked together though I am surprised

They exhibit my same

Shock an awe

I see the girl under glass

Someone oddly similar

To the one that’s taller

Maybe his Mother

Maybe his Daughter

Either way she’s gone

She is suspended

A shell

Waiting for light

Waiting for me

Exams are routine

I no longer feel pain

They must see who had been inside

Those who scrape my

Third eye

Betrayed once again

But repairs are made

Light no longer

Gushes from both of its sides

So I am left

Standing in the dark

I come to and run

The ringing woke up memories

Within me

And so I know

There is no time to prepare

Contact is here

Job

I was put here to grow

My mission is to learn

To spread, and consume

To be diligent

With my sentience

I observe

I am the eyes

I speak

I am the voice

Oracle of the Aquarian

Scribe of EaEn

Shaman of Ki

I am the number twelve

I am the forever repeating

Two, three, and five

Just like her eye

I am the trinity of body

I am the trinity of mind

I am so much more

I am my mission

The Golden Road

Had that Dream again.

I had that dream again of burning blue almond eyes, and that smell.

God, I know this smell of agony.

The smell of blood, and sweat.

Tears and semen.

The back of my throat is burnt cinnamon.

My eyes are glowing amber stones.

They use the oracle they pick his mind.

For it choose me, and it must consume me.

They took me to the center, and summoned it.

A spiraling mass of flesh and mind.

I’ve started the cosmic jihad.

It consumes me.

Finally during calm waters I see my reflection, and I don’t recognize the call.

Those above with their flashing lights.

It’s Déjà vu, and I’m changing the future.

For even the smallest stone can become the largest of circles.

Cycles Le Mer are things you can escape.

But you can see past them there is a whole beneath.

Step back with me, and the picture will be complete.

You will find no punishment from me.

Only forgiveness.

Only peace.

Wake up WAKE UP!

I look to the skies and scream

The creators have abandoned us

The gods have their back to our actions

We devour for progress

We, the most advanced of bacteria

We infect, and we spread

Mold spores billions of us

On this artisan loaf of bread

Spinning through space

I look to the earth

My feet in the mud

Apologize to my mother

My tears touch her soil

There is no embrace

She hoarsely whispers

Seek shelter

Seek absolution

Remember

I kick up dirt in retreat

All will be explained

Or so I've been told

I am having these fleeting dreams

Visions from another plane of existence

A place of not too familiar

Geometric shapes

Frequency creates frame

Light applies the texture

Infinite polygons

For me to shape reality with

And all I want to create

Is you

I shake that away

Your will it blocks me

When it used to embrace me

Fickle minds breeds brooding

And I've sulked a sack full

So I have taken charge love

Prepared to change the future

With just a single pebble.

[inumbro]

a collection of some of the ama answers, all the twitter posts, and all of red posts on the boards about zed & some related topics that I can find from the last ~1.5 years (with a few exceptions), so that I have all this info in one spot for reference

organised based first by topic, then by rioter

if anyone has any jhin / xayah / rakan / vastaya related information that I missed I’d appreciate a link so I can add it bc there’s not nearly as much not-officially-canon-canon information on those connections as I remember there being!

Morals:

WAAARGHbobo said:

No. He is, if anything, a hardline nationalist and federalist.

WAAARGHbobo said:

Zed is, indeed, much more complicated than you think. But he is definitely not a nice person.

@miketmccarthy said:

At the moment, [Akali] does not align with [Zed’s] philosophy. He killed Shen’s father and master. Although they are both aggressive, Akali is inherently good and Zed, well, notsomuch.

Shadow magic:

WAAARGHbobo said:

...A wizard has a different, more studious, and analytical way of accessing magic — but arguably a shaman has a more inate connection to spirit magic. While warriors like Zed, Shen, and Kayn have studied a different way to access magical power—

The strenght of the connection, the control, and the narrowness of focus are all important variables...

@LaurieGolding said:

... but Shadow Magic had not been practiced in Runeterra for a long time, before Zed started. Jax hasn't had time to master it in the ~10 years since then!

Kayn:

Scathlocke said:

Kayn's principal conflict is almost not with Rhaast at all, but Zed. It is very likely that his master sent him to retrieve the weapon knowing that it would be the ultimate test for his protege - either it would destroy him, or he would conquer the Darkin and become a worthy new leader for the Order of Shadow.

Basically, Kayn and Zed have a super-complicated "adopted father" type of relationship going on. Rhaast is more like Lady Macbeth, in this current situation.

@LaurieGolding said:

I think [Kayn’s] shadow-form is what Kayn and Zed both hope the outcome will be - he's been given a near-impossible task by his master, as a true and final test of his worthiness to one day lead the Order of Shadow. If he fails, the weapon will consume him.

It's interesting, because both Zed and Swain seem to have engineered their plans for succession into their own rise to power. Both of them seem to say "You can have my job... IF you can take it!"

@LaurieGolding said:

Kayn is a singularly gifted student, but Zed gave him the hardest test imaginable - to withstand the power of a Darkin. ...

Jaredan said:

I wouldn't take the horror of Kayn's experience as typical of Noxus's approach or attitude to recruitment. The Ionia conflict saw some very strange things happen within the Noxian military and beyond. I can't talk about them yet. But that day will come.

@miketmccarthy said:

I think a lot of that will come out later... Zed has had a complicated run in his life, he wants a successor, and I believe he hopes Kayn is 'the one' and time will tell whether or not he can be that. Zed saved Kayn from certain death, trained him, raised him. He cares.

Interlocutioner said:

Link to Zed: Functionally, they're master and apprentice. But in truth, I think they have a deeper relationship than that. Zed sees himself in Kayn. An orphan with a gift and a drive that others can't control, no matter how much they try. No matter how much Zed tries, in Kayn's case, lol. I think Zed might also see something he could never be in Kayn. Kayn's link to the shadow is deep, for whatever reason. Maybe Zed hopes this is a sign that Kayn could do better than him? Ultimately succeed him? And he may have other, darker motives as well.

I think Kayn's respect for Zed is just as deep. Unfortunately, he's in the process of convincing himself that the only way he can prove himself to his father figure is by becoming something more than Zed wants him to be. Stronger than Zed. Strong enough to defeat him, if necessary.

They have a bond, but it will be tested.

...

I just mean their bond will be tested by Kayn's possession of Rhaast, if nothing else.

Kinkou + Jhin:

Jaredan said:

The characters you mentioned [Shen, Zed, Jhin] are very important to each other's lives going forward...

Jaredan said:

Shen, Zed, and Jhin, sitting in a tree. K. I. L. L. I. N. G.

In their history, Jhin is absolutely an antagonist. But Shen doesn't look at Zed with any kind of fondness, only with betrayal. The man he thought was his brother murdered his father, the person that Shen defined himself by.

However, it's true that Shen can't give into his own immediate, visceral anger. Perhaps he even tells himself he doesn't hold that anger against Zed. His job does require him to hold that inner balance to perform it. It's a role that he does partly in honor of his father. Still, if Shen told you he isn't angry, would you believe him?

When he has two worlds balanced on the edge of a blade, how long any man keep his hand steady?

I'm not going to talk about where their story might be headed in specifics, but those are the things that are involved in our thinking.

Jaredan said:

Yup, though Shen and Zed's relationship is a bit more complicated than Tobias and Malcolm's. Zed and Shen also have more complicated personalities and responsibilities than TF and Graves (that's not a challenge when it comes to Graves especially, he's a to-the-point kind of fellow).

Scathlocke said:

Shen is most likely seeing quite a few parallels between Zed's path, and Akali's. There is some significant crossover in their ideology, and they both rejected the Kinkou Order in some way... but Zed rejects the notion of "balance" as weak, and is more than happy to use any/all means at his disposal. Akali is certainly not there, yet!

Thermal_Kitten said:

Akali knows the cost of Zed’s break with the Kinkou. Zed was training alongside Shen, but after their first run in with Jhin, Zed began to have second thoughts. (We updated Zed’s bio to add more context and details surrounding this.)

...

As far as the Order of Shadow and the Kinkou, they don’t exactly work together, it’s more they tend to keep out of each other’s territory and see to Ionia’s future in their own ways. If it came to a direct disagreement, it could come to blows.

WAAARGHbobo said:

Jhin give us a chance to show that Ionia is in transition. The attack on their nation changed them. They are embracing technology they had previously thought unnecessary, and they are questioning their morale foundations. Jhin is the true villain of Zed and Shen's story-- and he represents everything that could go wrong for Ionia.

The Noxus-Ionia war:

Scathlocke said:

Seven years since Swain seized power and commanded the Noxian armies to leave Ionia.

@LaurieGolding said:

Noxus has a HUGE military presence off the main coast of Ionia - the First Lands are so concerned with restoring balance after they "won" the war, they've failed to notice that Noxus hasn't actually abandoned the island of Fae'lor, for example...

@LaurieGolding said:

The Great Stand at Navori was about ten years ago, and she was something like 14 then. Swain seized control of Noxus roughly three years later and ended the war in Ionia.

@LaurieGolding said:

Noxus was originally supposed to be persuading Ionia to join the empire, which of course became an occupation, then a war. They didn't intend to pillage/destroy... But it seems Darkwill was actually looking for magical stuff to extend his life, so who knows? (LeBlanc, maybe?)

@LaurieGolding said:

The death toll was catastrophic, certainly. But also, Ionia has been marked with a big, bloody Noxian handprint that they'll never be able to wash away - the soul of the First Lands has been changed forever... Was that Swain's plan all along? It's hard to say.

Vastaya:

Q&A:

Why is there a rebellion? Is Zed doing something with magic that affects the vastaya and are they dying as a result?

Not dying, but magical essence sustains their continued existence. The less magic there is, the fewer resources there are to support vastayan life and tradition. Other humans tap into or twist up the same magic source that the Lhotlan vastaya need to survive. This is not necessarily a moral thing, good people do bad things for good reasons, unaware of the consequences it causes others. Zed and his people are unknowingly or uncaringly accelerating the drain of the magical energy though they are absolutely not alone in doing this. This is aggravating the growing tension between humans and some vastayan tribes in Ionia - and directly violates the agreements that were forged between species.

Miscellaneous:

In response to:

Then Zed decided to pull a Sasuke because he couldn't deal with someone being better/picked over him.

Jaredan said:

Zed's issues run a bit deeper than that.

WAAARGHbobo said:

[referring to the wild magic video] It is not a part of the timeline. Promotion team just takes inspiration from the lore-- they do not make stuff within the timelines. Because... uh.. Reasons? Well you'd have to ask them.

WAAARGHbobo said:

So as the guy who did this, and Jhin’s lore...

The character you love hasn’t changed.

This simply expands the timeline and shows how Zed’s descent can be understood from his own perspective.

This timeline was actually done during Jhin, and the goal was to give Zed’s fall a slower, more human, less arch, trajectory.

Timeline (rough from my phone):

Shen and Zed are students together and bros. Zed is clearly the better, more talented student.

Kusho takes the two young teenagers undercover chasing “the golden demon”

Jhin crime scenes traumatized zed. (And shen)

Zed begans to struggle with his studies.

Kusho catches but refuses to kill Jhin. Zed loses respect for his master.

Zed begins to study forbidden shadow magic. —gets in trouble.

Leaves.

Noxus invades —zed witness war crimes. Kusho’s refusal to help the war effort is the last straw, Zed is no longer sympathetic or allied to the kinkou. While not directly opposed to them— he begins to view the kinkou as rivals.

Zed forms his own order— related to the Navoi militia group. (Spelling?)

Some vastaya tribes looking for a better deal, ally with the Noxus. Others fight for Ionia. Zed begins hostility with non- humans.

The war is tough, zed returns to the take the last of the shadow magic. Kusho tries to stop him.

Zed kills his master, shen’s dad.

Shen becomes the eye of twilight.

Kayn.

The war ends.

Zed begins consolidating power. Trains kayn. (He continues hostility with noxus, growing hostility with many Vastaya tribes.)

Harrowing mists begin to bother the southern Ionia sea ports.

Kayn gets raaast (around here i think)

Jhin is frees.... by someone

Zed finds out jhin is free. contacts Shen.

Jhin heads to zaun.

[syafiatudina]

Numpang as inhabiting threshold (2016)

Essay for Radio KUNCI at ifa Gallery, Berlin, April 2016

What is numpang? A friend of mine has been living in a communal house for his whole life. Once he lived in and took care of the headquarters of an artist-run space in the south of Yogyakarta. He didn’t pay the rent but he took a great deal of care of the house. He was numpang in the artist-run space headquarters, of which he was also a member. Numpang is taking a shelter, living in a place that “belongs” to someone else.

On a daily basis, this friend of mine would clean the house, repair some broken things, or make the house comfortable for other members when they come to visit. The house was a workshop for artists to produce silkscreens or linocuts. It was also the place for them to drink and hangout. After the hangout session ended, they would go home to their own individual places, except for my friend. He stayed in the house, because he lived there. Thanks to my friend’s daily efforts to take care of the house, including cleaning, repairing and rearranging things, it became a convenient space to work together for the collective. So the collective is numpang on my friend’s efforts to take care of the house. Here, numpang becomes a moment of dependency. Something depends on other things in order for certain things to exist.

The city centre of Yogyakarta is a dense area. In a very packed urban kampung (village), the street serves as the extension of houses. In the morning, women gather in the roads in front of their houses, to feed their kids, or do grocery shopping from mobile vegetable sellers. They exchange gossip, interact with each other while taking care of their children or doing other domestic chores. In the afternoon, the men will hang out in a few spots on the street near their homes, to smoke, drink coffee, as well as to gossip. When I passed the road where a group of men and women gathered, I would nod my head while saying “numpang..” Here numpang is a polite gesture that serves as an acknowledgement that I am temporarily using their space and creating a rupture in their time. Although the street belongs to the users, such as myself, I also consider it to be the neighbourhood collective space which I should respect. The collective space is shaped by the porosity of personal and domestic space (home) into public space (roads). These groups of men and women allow me to pass by because they are also numpang in the street. They use it temporarily to gather together.

In another case, a friend lived in someone else’s home for one year although the initial plan was to stay for one month. The owner of the house felt disturbed by this overstaying guest but did not know how to express her resentment. Because in numpang, there’s no written agreement on the rights and responsibilities of each person involved. It is based on trust and generosity. So numpang can easily escalate into parasitic numpang. Yet the uncertainty of numpang can create a space for relationships to grow into something else in the future. But the room to grow comes with consequences, such as insecurity.

This condition of encounters which filled with precarity reminds me of one chapter which entitled Contamination as Collaboration in Anna L. Tsing’s book, The Mushrooms at the End of the World. In this chapter, Tsing wrote about how everyone carries a history of contamination and we are being contaminated by each other through encounters. In Tsing’s own word;

As contamination changes world-making projects, mutual worlds—and new directions—may emerge. (…) One value of keeping precarity in mind is that it makes us remember that changing with circumstances is the stuff of survival. (…) staying alive—for every species— requires livable collaborations. Collaboration means working across difference, which leads to contamination. Without collaborations, we all die. (Tsing, 2015:27)

I’ve put the above-mentioned quote from Anna L. Tsing because of its correlation with qualities of numpang which I’ve mentioned early on in this text. Within the condition of numpang, there are no existence of “pure” personal and communal space, no clear boundaries between “I”, “them”, “us”, and everything is in contamination. My friend’s personal space exist side by side with the collective’s communal space and often times both spaces overflowed each other. The house is not only being cared by the person who paid for it or the host or legal owner. All the inhabitants become the carer of the space and to the extent, carer of each other lives. This is the embodiment of livable collaboration which Tsing has mentioned. I would like to extend numpang as not only a way of survival by collaborate with each other, but also as part of a new direction in world-making projects.

During my period staying in Berlin and working on the Radio KUNCI project at ifa Gallery, I encountered these porous moments. In the first week, we talked with Philip Horst (ZK/U) and Sithujan Varatharajah (Refugees Welcome) on how the practice of managing home (personal space) faced challenging moments of openness towards “others,” such as guests in residence, refugees, and even members of the public. This might involve a feeling of insecurity, but through iteration, negotiation and trust, both relationships and space grow. In the second week, we had a discussion with Alex Head (Wasteland Twinning) on the space of uncertainty and the ambiguity between private and public property as manifested in empty land or wasteland. Ferdiansyah Thajib also shared how an empty piece of land in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, become a site for a community which did not have a legal position to inhabit it, but then they created informal collective methods of land distribution. The porosity of private and public space creates a shared space where communities are always in the making. This is a site of emancipation and agency for the community.

More or less similar things are happening in the Bermuda Garten and Kommen und Bleiben initiatives in Weißensee, Berlin. They have been involved in connecting residents from different backgrounds (families, office workers, students, new and old Berliners), to exchange knowledge and facilitate the collective care for space and community. We also discussed the urgency to shake up notions of citizenship based on the division between “us” and “them.” To challenge this dichotomy between private and public (us and them) was also one of the centre of our discussion with Read-In (Annette Krauss and Hyunju Chung). How the practice of organising door-to-door reading group can highlight the potency of collectivity in houses as well as in reading practices.

I also want to dwell a bit on my experience living in Berlin for one month. I am very fascinated by the technology of locks, doors and windows that I have seen so far in Germany. There are heavy doors, light doors, special settings in which you can decide if you want to open the door only from the inside or also the outside, windows which can be only half opened, or fully. I also saw wooden blocks or bricks placed next to doors to keep them open at certain moments. So people or users add their own “technology” to expand the possibilities of certain material settings.

Although numpang is a word from Indonesia, but the practices which it represent shouldn’t be seen as intrinsic characteristic of Indonesian or Asian or attach to any racial, regional identities. This perspective can disrupt any further attempt to investigate the historical and material condition which enable these practices to occurred. Based on the series of discussion during Radio Kunci at ifa gallery, practices of numpang, especially as sharing means of living are also take place in Berlin and other parts of Europe or even the world, both in domestic setting such as houses and public spaces like community garden, parks, empty wasteland. I believe in this project, the term numpang has been functioning as vehicle to help us noticing practices which seem invisible before. In this case, what seem invisible before is the possibility of inhabiting the threshold.

The threshold which I’m addressing here is not a solid entity. Instead of separator, threshold can be re-imagined as a porous space across differences in between the domestic and public spheres, personal and collective time, as well as family, guest and host relations. Threshold with pores allows the circulation of people, goods, affects, ideas and with this ever-changing situation, various ways of doing things can emerge. Numpang is one example of practice which has been developing out of precarious condition and uncertain relations. Another possibility is to think of institutions in various forms and their forms of provision. Abdoumaliq Simone points out local “institutions” —either formal and clearly organized, or informal, blurred, diffused— in urban context, for example neighborhood and commercial associations, gangs, or temporal settlers of a property which exist between public and private. This “institutions” provide vernaculars to talk about everyday conditions through their operations such as promote relations to kinship to provide means of anonymity. Inhabiting threshold allow us to form an improvised set of choreography for living in uncertainty. Then a mutual-world might emerge in which living doesn’t mean a competition of survival of the fittest with more wealth or property ownership, but as a collaboration in order to take care of each other in precarious time such as ours today.

References Abdoumaliq Simone. (May 3rd 2016). Tactical Institutions. Retrieved from http://brooklynrail.org/2016/05/criticspage/tactical-institutions. Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing. 2015. The mushroom at the end of the world : on the possibility of life in capitalist ruins. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Stavros Stavrides. 2016. Common Space: City as Commons. London: Zed Books.

[ladybuvelle]

// After watching the new cinematic and pondering many people’s complaints about Zed and his current position as a full-on villain, as I’m prone to do I started playing Devil’s Advocate with myself.

After all, I’m a Sona blog. “Pretty things are always good” is one of the first tropes you learn to look past real quick.

So yes. Zed is apparently building “totems” (as Xayah has called them in-game about turrets and it’s easy to refer to here) that absorb the surrounding area’s magic and crystallize it somehow. To what end? We don’t know. It’s even been mentioned that he and the people who work under him have the ability to capture souls and put that power into their weapons. “Life essence” it’s called, much like wot Ahri do things with.

And this all sounds very sinister and bad. Sucking the natural magic out of the land, using the dead’s life essence for “reasons”... none of that sounds good on paper. And in Rakan and Xayah’s case, it’s absolutely a bad thing to suppress the land’s magic. Vestaya, it’s said, need magic as much as humans need air to breathe. Their own lore states that their tribe rarely venture outside their own forests because they border on places where the magic is very thin, and it makes it very difficult for them to survive. Ionian Vestaya in particular (though we don’t have enough information to corroborate this) sound like they are dying off due to lack of wild magic. They’re suffocating. It’s like a rainforest situation where their habitat is shrinking.

So yes, looking at it that way Zed absolutely is the “bad guy” here. He’s killing them. He’s killing off endangered species (as evidenced enough by the disappearance of Xayah’s tribe, because it isn’t mentioned if she found them or not).

But why is he doing that?

Consider this: When your enemies have big guns, you get bigger guns.

At heart I’ve always liked to believe Zed had Ionia’s best intentions in mind. He was with the Kinkou, he trained hard, he was probably their best student, and he witnessed devastating atrocities committed by Jhin and the perceived neglect of his master that forever changed him. He saw how truly evil and violent the world could be, Ionia could be, even against its own people - and he saw the cracks in the system where he just knew they would fail to keep Jhin imprisoned. And that’s not even touching the Noxian invasion. I think Zed sees the world for what (he thinks) it truly is. Ionia will die clinging to its morals and “the old ways” because it refuses to change (or perhaps things like the treaty with the Vestaya were inconveniences for humans, but made out of respect for both peoples).

If things don’t change, outsiders like Noxus will simply slaughter them all anyway, take their lands, suck up all their magic, and destroy, destroy, destroy.

You think Noxus would do anything different? Hell, they’d probably be far less “polite” than Zed when it comes to gathering resources. Noxus’ lands are poor. They apparently can’t really grow much, their resources are limited, and that’s part of why they keep conquering new lands - to try and survive. It always, always, comes down to survival. People are just trying to live.

So why let Noxus come in and bully them and take their magic juice when Zed knows a way to take it for himself and keep their enemies out? Xayah and Rakan are looking at the smaller picture of their own survival. And that’s absolutely natural and they are justified in their purpose. But Zed may very well be looking out for the whole of Ionia. Not just one individual country or forest, but the whole continent. And he’s doing it in a way that no one else is willing to do because they want to be all respectful to one another and respect the land and respect nature and this and that-

There won’t be a land if people don’t act.

So yeah. Pretty forests. Nature is important. The preservation, peace and happiness of native peoples, animals, and entire ecosystems is important. But sometimes, as hard and as ugly as it is, someone has to consider the greater evils in the world. If Noxus rocked up to the vestayan forests, they’d take everything they wanted and be bound to no treaty. And they wouldn’t even discriminate human or vestayan lands, it’s all up for grabs. So Zed, being human, and already been tainted with heavy burdens and purposes, is just doing the best he can with what he has and knows.

Could there be a better way? Probably, sure. Is anyone willing to work with him to find that better way? The vestayan sure don’t seem willing. Some (like the chieftan in Xayah and Rakan’s story) seem willing to work with people and cooperate. Others are entirely distrustful.

Does Ionia really have time to wait for vestayan leaders to come around and say “weeeeeellllll, ooookay... I guess we can lend you some of our forests”? I don’t think so. Especially for a supposedly immortal race of people. Do they even have a concept of the world outside Ionia? Their own forests and dens? Who can say?

My point is: I think Zed’s motives only seem entirely evil and selfish because it’s easy to see them that way in the face of ~*Beautiful Nature*~. I think it’s even instinctual for us to appreciate green trees and blue skies. To our brains, this is “good”. But if you can’t think outside of your own personal bubble of existence, you are subject to all that potentially threatens you.

I have other possible theories as well, but this one I feel speaks most to Zed as a character and the skewed perspective of the cinematic. We’re meant to see him as a villain because that’s the perspective presented. Camera editing does a lot, guys. XD

It could have just as easily been “filmed” from Zed’s perspective to make him look like someone trying to do a thing and having these two upstarts come in and wreck his place.

Though if anything it’s all food for thought. Maybe I’m entirely wrong. Maybe Riot has other plans. Who knows?  But it’s something to think about, anyway.

[yakaimarii]

Ahri’s Lost memories

Life as a human is very hard. But after joining the League, life in general became a lot easier. The Summoners even explained why I felt guilty about killing other humans in order to stay like a human. They told me I’ve been developing human emotions as I grew up and consumed people’s souls. Having to fight  in the league isn’t this bad either. Most of the times, we don’t have to do anything, Actually we just have to give some informations about ourselves, so they can cast images of the champions in dolls for battles. And being a champion gives opportunity to do and expirience things I’ve never imagine before. But better than this,I was able to make friends. When joined the League I was really scared of everybody else. At first I got to avoid everyone, but in time my fear started to fade as more and more I saw the true color of the souls around me. Most of the older champions are really nice and new champions jarrive quite often. After some time I spent traveling and going around Valoran, I made some close friends. Syndra is my best friend, and despite her apperences she is really kind and sweet, specially after Zed and her began a relationship which I helped to start. She always helps me when I need, to me she is like an older sister who I can rely on. She helped me grow my magic power and Zed tought me a little about self defense. Those two are my closest friends right now. However lately after living with the two of them, I started to notice my human side growing and wanting to know what it is like to be in love. This sensation of curiosity just grew stranger since it began, and now I find myself spacing out a lot. When I'm alone it isn't a problem, however when I'm with any company, I end up losing myself from who I'm with or doing any kind of mistake i normally wouldn't. And today was no different. Syndra invited me for shopping, and if she didn't held my hand I would've lost myself again. Now we are spending the night at her place. Zed is solving things with Shen about what happened in the past, trying to figure what was really the truth. -Syndra: Hey Ahri! Are you even listening!? -angry- As she says that, she throws cold water on my back, making me squeak -Ahri: Eep! Hey! You don't need to throw water! -angry- -Syndra: Gezz. You are spacing out a lot lately, you know? -worry- -Ahri: I can't help it. It isn't like I'm doing it on purpose. -Syndra: Is something I can help? I'm starting to worry about you. -Ahri I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you... and this isn't something serious, but I... -feeling selfconscious I stop in the middle-. -Syndra: Could it be... did you fell in love with someone? -Ahri: I'd be happier if that was the case... -Syndra: I was sure that was it... -Ahri: Actually, you aren't a hundred percent wrong. She looks at me with puzzled eyes -Ahri: I want to know... how does one feels when in love? -Syndra: So you never fell in love before!? -surprise- -Ahri: Why the suprised look on your face? Is that hard to belive ? -Syndra: I mean... you helped others in their love lifes including mine! You looked so experienced when helping and giving advices too! Not to mention your flirting. -Ahri: This was all because of my animal insticts mixing with my human side. -Syndra: Do animals know how to flirt and stuff? -Ahri: Flirting "we" know, but in other ways. But love and other types of sentiments "we" don't really feel it. -Syndra: So, how do you even choose a partner, if it isn't for love? -Ahri: Females choose the strongest partner, in order to survive. And dispite this, I'm still young and fairly new to this stuff. -Syndra: Wait a sec, now that you mention it... What is your age again? -Ahri: In human years I'm turning seventeen... I guess. Didn't I told you before? -Syndra: No... I don't think so... But how the league even let you be a champion if you aren't considerated an adult yet!? -Ahri: Maybe because I've lived longer than most of the champions? -Syndra: Now you got me confused. -Ahri: My body and soul are turning seventeen, But, I've been around here around hundreds of years for now. -Syndra: I don't know if I feel old or young now... -Ahri: Tecnically, I'm still younger than you now. -Syndra: Anyway, let oneesan here help you with your love problem-flirty voice-. I'll support you with whatever I can! After that, we chatted all night like normal. She cheers me up whenever I feel bad, like if she was really my sister. The next day she had to return to Zed, as he needed help. And now I am walking around the city trying to distract myself. Not being able to understand my feelings and curiosity only growing stronger. This won't help if I don't clear my head first. As Syndra said, this feeling comes with time and I'll probably notice when I start feeling it. For now I should focus on what I came here for, I need to buy a present for Sona! Although I have no idea of what she wants for her birthday... From store to store, I couldn't find anything that looked right to give her, or nothing that could be special. At least I knew what everyone bought to Sona before coming here. But I don't really know what she likes or dislikes either. Ever since I joined, I never got to really know Sona. It's like she has been avoiding me all this time. But I still want to be friends with her, so this time I'm going to find something for sure!

Few days later at Syndra's place...

-Ahri: Onee-chan! Help meee! -Syndra: Wait, onee-chan? Since when you call me that!? -Ahri: The other day you said you were going to help me when I had problems and you called yourself... -murmuring- THAT ISN'T THE POINT! -Syndra: Calm down first Ahri! You are way to nervous now. I'll prepare some tea for you. Sit and relax a little. Minutes later. -Syndra: More calm now? -Ahri: Yes, sorry... -Syndra: No worrys. Now, what happened? It's about your feelings? -Ahri: No... Actually it's about tomorrow... -Syndra: Tomorrow? You mean... -Ahri: I couldn't find anything to buy for Sona... -Syndra: She still avoiding you? -Ahri: Yes... -small voice- -Syndra: I'd really like to know why she does that. She doesn't chat much, but you are the only one she does that. Don't you remenber doing anything to her? -Ahri: Not as a human at least. But when I was a fox, I don't remenber ever having much contact with humans, or memories at all to say the truth. -Syndra: Well, what did you planned to buy? -Ahri: That is the thing, I have no idea of what to buy! -Syndra: And you want it to be special so you can get closer to her... -Ahri: Something in mind? -Syndra: Yep! You can leave everything to me. Just go normally tomorrow. -Ahri: You got everything? I don't have to help with anything? -Syndra: I already knew what to do. Just leave it to Syndra-oneechan here! -Ahri: Arigatou Onee-chan!! With that I leave. Syndra had to do some stuff, so i left early. On the way home, I spot a store that sells little charms. As I enter, one of the charms gets my attention. Once staring at the charm, an old lady who is the storekeeper, approachs me. -Keeper: Looking for something dear? -Ahri: Actually I'm looking for a present for someonde special. But I don't know what to buy for her. -Keeper: Then why not buy this charm you are looking at? -Ahri: This one? Something special about it? -Keeper: The charm you hold was blessed by a fox spirit. It is said that this fox was the most kind and loving one of the spirits, but she rarely had contact with humans because she only could be seen by those with a pure heart. -Ahri: And, this charm is supposed to bring luck? -Keeper: Yes, luck in finding something precious. -Ahri: I think I'd like to buy this one then. Could you pack it? -Keeper: Of course, I'll do it. Oh, take this one with you too. It's a simple good luck charm for you from this old lady. -Ahri: Arigatou! She wrap the one I choose for Sona, and the other I keep it with me. -Keeper: Best of luck with the present! -Ahri: Good bye obasan! I'll be sure to come back! At least I got something that I can give to Sona and say "I chose this one for you". I know my gift is kind of lame but, it's something. I just hope tomorrow Syndra is able to cover me. Next day, at the party: (Sona's perspective) I wonder if she came... I've been avoiding her all this time because I was shy and nervous, but today I'll finally try and talk to her. I just hope she isn't mad at me because of that. -Syndra: Ahri, wait! -shouting in a distance- As I hear Syndra, I turn just to see Ahri running away. Worried, I ask Syndra what happened. -Syndra: So sorry Sona-sobbing-. Ahri asked me for help with your present but... -Zed: Syndra, you went to far this time. You knew she was serious when she sought help. You know her better than anyone here. Weren't you happy when she opened up to you and started seing you as her big sister few days ago? As I've been avoiding her, I don't know much. But I ask if Zed is not going too far. -Syndra: No he is right. In all this time, it was the first time she opened up and asked help. Especially considering she still a little new to her emotions... New to her emotions? Confused I ask to syndra explain. -Syndra: I think you know she wasn't originally a human before joining the league, right? I heard about it so i nod in response. -Syndra: To say the truth, she was a fox spirit from what i heard from the head masters and "higher ups" of the league, although Ahri herself don't have any memories of it. A fox spirit... is she... -Syndra: Sona, I need you to do something for me... Wait... me!? -Syndra: If I go she'll just run away and hide. But if you go maybe she'll listen. She really wanted to be friends with you all this time, dispite you avoiding her all and all. I don't know the reason why you did this but, please try to talk with Ahri. You are the only one who can get close to her without her noticing. So please.... Syndra is tearing up. If i didn't avoided her, this wouldn't have happened... -Zed: Will you go Sona? Syndra is asking you as a worried sister. I nod again confirming that I'll go. -Zed: I think she is on the roof, I can sense her shadow there. I'll calm Syndra down. I came here to the roof, but now what do I do... As I enter the roof I see ahri sitting with her head low. Now that I think, what Syndra did to make Ahri so mad at her? -Ahri: I'm sorry Sona -sobbing- -Sona Huh? Is she thinking out loud or she noticed me already? -surprised- -Ahri: Is easy to notice someone when you came here talking. -Sona: Wait, you can hear me? -Ahri: I'm not deaf you know, I can hear you... -Sona: But I can't talk! Just summoners and some of the staff from the league can hear me, because I don't have a voice. -Ahri: So that explains you writing everything you said... but, I'm sorry for making you worry about me. It's just, my feelings still kind of new to me... -Sona: Don't worry. I think this is actually my fault for avoiding you in the first place, if I wasn't so shy this wouldn't had happened. -Ahri: Shy? So you don't hate me or anything? -Sona: Of course not! I just felt shy about talking to you. As I say Ahri's face lights up and hugs me in the waist and just like a puppy, she rubs her face against my body and her tails go back in foward making me gigle. -Ahri: What's so funny? -Sona: You look like a puppy acting this way... -Ahri: I think I still young enough to act like that... I'm still not considered an adult in human age. -Sona: Wait how old are you? -Ahri: I'm going to turn seventeen. -Sona: Oh... I thought you were my age. I put my hand in her head, and stroke her hair. As I do it she rests her head in my legs, using it as a pillow. -Ahri: Can we stay like this for a little? Just until I calm down a bit more. -Sona: As long as you want. Ahri's perspective. As I rest my head, her warm and gentle hand goes through my hair. A soft voice begins a melody as bright as the sun, yet as calming as the moon. In this moment, my heart begins to race; a felling I had long forgotten returns to fill an empty space in my chest, as if once more, I'm able to fly in the blue sky. Flustered, I hide my face although I can't control my tails. I think she does not notice, but to be sure I sit back up. -Sona: Are you ok now? -Ahri: Yes, arigatou. And sorry for being so selfish in your birthday. -Sona: It's fine, especially now that I can really talk to someone. But I still don't get how you're able to hear me. -Ahri: I can't guess neither. -Sona: Well anyway, let's go back? -Ahri Before that, I want to give you this. I get the little pack with the charm and give it to her. -Sona: It's a little charm! How cute! Thank you! -Ahri: The owner of the store where I get it said this one was blessed by an fox spirit, so this would be a charm of maybe some sibling. -Sona: No, you're the one who is giving me this, so I'll think that you were the one who blessed it. -Ahri: Ok... I guess. -Sona: Do you know what it is written here? As I look in the back of the charm, I recognize the characters, but I feel my body going numb as my head begins to spin. -Ahri: Sona... -Sona: What's wrong? You are not looking good... -Ahri: Sorry in advance... As I say everything goes black, last thing I heard was a faint voice of someone I can't remenber

[briangroth27]

Men in Black: International Review

I had a lot of fun watching this! Men in Black: International isn’t perfect, but certainly doesn’t deserve the disappointing box office and critical drubbing it’s received. I was very happy to see this world again and I hope the final box office tally makes it worth Sony’s time to revisit the MIB again!

Full Spoilers…

Agent M (Tessa Thompson) is everything I wanted from a new MIB agent and from the new face of this franchise! Thompson is excellent in the role, bringing Molly’s lifelong tunnel-vision quest to find the Men in Black after a childhood encounter with them to life in a compelling manner. M’s drive, curiosity, and the way she’s enamored with the science fiction world she discovers was a breath of fresh air that capably matched the energy that Will Smith brought to the franchise as Agent J. The lack of Smith was my biggest worry going into this, since the trailers looked like something was missing without him, but Thompson was excellent and totally brought it. I also liked that she wasn’t just a J clone: while he was shocked but more or less quickly rolled with the weirdness, she was in from day one and loved it. I’d follow her on as many adventures as they want to make and I hope there are many more down the road! M’s love of the MIB world recaptured the magic of the first and third movies and made the setting a hidden place that I’d like to discover and hang out in. I love the uniqueness of her character too: she sought the MIB out and found them. It was also refreshing that she wasn’t just extremely intelligent, but that she could hold her own in a fight too (even if ultimately it’s her compassion that saves her in that instance). They also walked the line of her being legitimately brilliant yet still in over her head, needing to BS some of her skills to get the assignment she wanted within MIB-London, very well. I liked that she got promoted to full Agent status in the end and I hope she gets to discover secrets of the universe in many more sequels!

Chris Hemsworth makes the most out of a few good moments (calling the entire universe a chemical reaction just like love, the respect he gains for M, and trusting his gut that there’s still a good man inside the Hive alien masquerading as his mentor (Liam Neeson)) as Agent H, but ultimately H is washed-up with only slightly-above-average skills, coasting on one big win and unable to back it up. I felt sorry for some of the things that happened to him and Hemsworth was good at playing the realization about who he really is, but I wasn’t rooting for him. The movie comes so close to deconstructing the “roguish screw-up hero dude who’s called perfect anyway” cliché through H that the movie’s biggest letdown was not following through with any real repercussions. H’s greatest accomplishment—giving him acclaim and the ability to coast despite apparently subpar results ever since—turns out to be a complete lie bolstered by his best-bud superior covering for him left and right. The setup to comment on mediocre white men failing upwards and getting second chances they don’t deserve is right there and they even have H accept that he isn’t the guy he thought he was or people see him as. A slam dunk social commentary was within their reach, with a well-liked and charismatic actor in the perfect position to play out that stereotype specifically because he is so charismatic even when he’s being a screw-up. But. Then they go and hand H (probationary) leadership of MIB-London anyway. Agent C (Rafe Spall) was clearly the right man for the job and I feel like H should’ve acknowledged that and turned down the promotion, rather than O (Emma Thompson) saying C’d said H was the guy. That felt wholly incongruous with what we’d seen of H and C’s relationship for the entire movie. H finally finishing the mission he failed years prior shouldn’t have changed anything beyond kicking him into gear to become a productive agent again, not gifted him the leadership of the whole branch. It should be the start of his redemption arc, not the culmination of it. In the end, H really does end up being a mediocre white guy who gets promoted despite not earning it (it’s not like he saved the world or even figured out what was going on by himself). Though an attraction is hinted at, I’m glad they didn’t dig into a full-blown H and M romance and didn’t have her annoyance/revulsion at him transition into love: that felt original and more realistic. A role reversal where H realizes he needs to go back to basics so he re-teams with M might be worthwhile in a future film. Watching him gain perspective that he’s not the best choice as leader would be a great way to grow his character and they’d be able to maintain Thompson/Hemsworth’s friendly chemistry, which is fun.

Pawny (Kumail Nanjiani) was great! He’s my second-favorite alien in this franchise so far, following Griffin from Men in Black 3. His defense of and devotion to M was funny and sweet. His dedication to her as his “queen” was fun and I loved that neither one of them were afraid to call H on his crap. I hope he returns in a sequel! His species’ chess-based social structure (or did humans base chess on them?) was a neat, original idea. It was great to see O again! I loved her in MIB 3 and she was awesome again here (except for thinking H deserved that promotion). Emma Thompson brought a refreshing change of pace to things after Zed’s death in the third film and I was glad that they used her to connect this franchise restart to the original trilogy. She and M built a strong working relationship quickly and I’d like to see that continue.

Liam Neeson was solid as (High) T, though I didn’t buy that T was the most decorated agent in MIB history (which isn’t ultimately a big deal). However, I also didn’t believe the organization would fall because he’d been taken over by the Hive, which hurt the stakes for me. The Agent everyone knew and revered was (essentially) dead, so the actions of this Hive hybrid weren’t on him. I didn’t think about it until after the movie, but I really needed to see more of the nefarious deeds he was committing while pretending to be High T. Instead, it seems like the deception only led to this play for this super-weapon, and that’s…not that bad. There should’ve been bigger consequences to him acting as a mole for several years: what if the course of MIB-London's missions regarding immigration had changed? What if they were mistreating or detaining aliens who didn’t deserve it (they do kill at least two who don’t)? Secretly replacing humans with Hive drones? Stockpiling weapons and technology to arm the other Hive survivors to take over other planets? Keeping his misdeeds at this level didn’t ruin the movie for me, but it does feel like a missed opportunity to do a “dark MIB” story and get explicit about the bigger implications of what damage a mole at that level in the MIB could’ve caused.

I love a good murder mystery and while I figured out most of this one ahead of time (though I thought H was also Hive, even if he didn’t know it, not neuralyzed), it was still an enjoyable ride! It was definitely a smart idea to open the MIB world up beyond New York City and the globe-trotting adventure format gave this movie a fresh, different feel from the others. Introducing the London branch also helped sell the idea that the MIB truly is above the system and outside the bounds of any government (which is a built-in exciting plot if the world’s governments do learn about this secret agency in a sequel…). The darker and seedier alien enterprises we saw here lent themselves well to the murder mystery genre, as well as opening the MIB’s missions up to more than just immigration control and world-ending catastrophes none of us are allowed to know about. Rebecca Ferguson’s arms dealer (who has a third arm, ha!) was a fun part of this world and I liked that she posed a physical threat rather than just leaving fighting to her henchman. It’s a hell of a coincidence that M knew Riza’s bodyguard from her childhood, but there’s a whole “the universe puts you where you need to be” theme going on here, so all right. Usually a coincidence to get characters out of trouble doesn’t work, but this personal connection did. The twin assassins (Les Twins) were very cool and creepy, and I really liked how their abilities to alter the world around them were rendered. Other things like a living beard (Kayvan Novak) and the secret use for the Eiffel Tower were fun touches too!

Men in Black as a franchise is perfectly positioned to talk about real-world immigration issues, so not doing so here was a massive missed opportunity to bring some social relevance into their fantastical world (again, especially with a mole at the top of a major branch, allowing the organization to get dark without irreparably staining it). The Hive absorbing other species while the MIB allow them to live in harmony with humans (even if they’re forced to hide everything about themselves from people) could’ve been an interesting way to examine our own immigration policies and how we treat immigrants once they’re in the country, as well as how we use and monetize their cultures. Perhaps there was an “immigration vs. full cultural assimilation” story that could’ve been more explicitly told about an evil species of aliens that mimicked and eradicated other species by eliminating their uniqueness. Total assimilation was High T’s ultimate objective, but the Hive DNA grinding out everything that made humans and aliens unique to create a nightmarish nothingness from what were once diverse intergalactic cultures could’ve been a bigger, more socially-relevant (and more clearly-stated) deal. Apparently there was a plan to talk about immigration here, but it got nixed in behind-the-scenes struggles over the movie’s direction, and losing that connection to the modern day hurt it. Maybe a sequel could do that instead—it’s not like immigration as a topic would be limited to this film alone—and if the world’s governments found out about the MIB and who they’re letting take up residence here, you’ve got the seeds for a very relevant and high-stakes story.

The film also could’ve taken a minute to gut-check the MIB to see just how differently from the Hive they treat the aliens they disguise as humans every single day, out of the knowledge that people will turn on them in fear (not to mention the fact that they fund their operation through the patents of alien tech sold to humans). Does someone as dedicated to finding out universal truths as M want to stay in that business once she sees the cost, and has H had enough of it now that he’s been lied to about himself? Isn’t M in the perfect position to question what the MIB does, both as an outsider newbie and as someone who watched them erase her parents’ (Marcy Harriell, Inny Clemons), memories? Her brief discussion with O about changing the name from the Men in Black to something less male-centric could’ve continued developing into her asking these kinds of questions about the morals of the agency itself, with O providing the unique perspective of having been in the system, trying to change things but not getting very far. Even if the answer ended up being that it sucks the Men in Black have to help aliens live on Earth in peace by hiding who they really are because humans would be “dumb, panicky, dangerous animals” if they knew the truth about who they were living next to, those kinds of questions are worth asking and would add depth to the series. The realization that it’s us who are the bad guys scaring innocent aliens into not living as their full selves because we’ll react with fear and violence to anyone slightly different is also a sobering message worth emphasizing. I’d never thought about it like that before, but apparently the MIB don’t just protect the Earth from the scum of the universe, they protect aliens from the scum humanity could become if the secret got out.

I thought the humor worked well, especially M’s reactions to things. I laughed a lot, but I don’t know why every MIB movie has to have a fat joke (literally all of them do!). I also did not like that they forced H to sleep with an alien in exchange for a life-saving antidote; that felt gross. The world does seem a little toned down from the zanier and weirder aspects of the franchise for my taste and I hope that’s reversed in any sequels they do (give me truly bizarre things like craving chocolate milk as a symptom of temporal displacement!). It was a bummer to find out they didn’t do an original song for this one like the others (a part of summer blockbuster marketing I miss in general), but I’m glad that they brought back Danny Elfman and the original series’ theme song. I also liked the callback to the first movie via a painting featuring J, K, and Edgar. I’m glad Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones didn’t appear in this, though, as they would’ve overshadowed everything else (and made it even clearer that T shouldn’t be considered the most decorated Agent ever). It was also nice that there were minimal Worm Guys (Thom Fountain, Drew Massey)—I find them much better in small doses—though Frank’s (Tim Blaney) role as an informant from the animated series could’ve come in handy here.

I love this franchise—the first movie is nearly perfect, the second has some solid J/K character development & fun reversals, the third is zany & wonderfully out there, and the animated series did great work expanding the world and proving L never should’ve been dropped by the movies—and it was a big part of my childhood, so I hope that the disappointing box office and reviews for Men in Black: International don’t shut down further installments before they get started. There’s a lot more they could do with this world and these characters: the government finding out about them, digging into the morality of the MIB, discovering actual secrets of the universe, and most relevantly, dealing with our real-world immigration issues (especially since alien immigration is the whole premise and purpose of MIB!). I also think Sony could make a very fun movie out of a MIB/Ghostbusters crossover pretty easily, given the similar tones (the MIB kill an alien criminal who comes back as a ghost; now who’re they gonna call??). It would be fun to see the MIB headline an IDW-Ghostbusters-style comic book someday too.

This could’ve been more socially relevant and a bit more daring in terms of the weirdness of this world (and in the fallout from the truth about H), but that doesn’t keep it from being a good time at the movies. There have been some extremely long breaks between installments in this series—5, 10, and 7 years—and I hope we don’t have to wait that long for the next one.  Check it out!

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