#insignificant characters that represent them so much and therefore they also feel the need to change said characters story

[juniorfor2]

I will never understand how this specific fandom, mostly on tumblr, managed to create an entire group of people who love non-characterized, essentially non-existent, super “pure” side characters in a way that points to an incredibly specific group of very, very white liberal people who think that they are super accepting by engaging in political correctness to such an extreme degree that they actually end up on the queerphobic, non-feminist, and racist side of refusing to accept anyone who breaks from the social norm and only accepting “pure” and insignificant characters that have to be self-inserted into in order to have even the slightest amount of importance.

[rkaln]

feel the need to talk a little bit about gaaleesbians

based on my dialogue about underwear lol (here rather the question was even in a rather feminine version of Lee), explain the logical reasons why I come to such a concept, bcse it's as if this discussion is not the first time it happens to me

upd. how annoying it is for me that the "small" tag is constantly moving away

in general, it always works for me when I think about fem!version of the character I try to represent the attitude towards the gender of the character himself, and usually proceed from a personality outside of gender (my agenderism is be like lol, I like to think about a personal sense of gender for the character's personality)

and if the original character feels comfortable in his gender, I'll use that for fem!versions.

so about gaara I generally think that Suna has a rather indifferent attitude towards gender frameworks. cultural peculiarities, so to speak. And the concept of beauty/sexuality/appearance there is also quite agender. (it's the same with orientation in general, too. I think it is the official moment of "family" and marriage that is important there, but this does not apply to sex in any way)

// there are many women in the army. no emphasis on character traits that could be said "this is not_insert gender_". Yashamaru looked very feminine. Sasori (Gaara too) are felt somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. Men's makeup can be seen as often as women's. In Suna does not wear long hair usually (I have already written about this hdcanon), so this visual moment does not play a role either. clothing basically also does not make any "gender" accents. //

so Gaara in general looks to me like a character who is indifferent to the gender framework, he does not deny his gender, has no conflicts with it, he just doesn't care

and this is normal for Suna. and if it works for the male version, then I just apply it exactly the same way to the female one.

therefore she doesn't care, she has no problems with a sense of femininity or its absence in something, and no one in Suna worries about it. (in general, I imagine that Lee - the only reason for Gaara to be involved in some kind of "how do you about such femme fatale stuff?") in part, this all played a role in the fact that I left her such hair, just because she could cut it off, as it would be more appropriate for the Suna's climate and the condition of the hair, but in general these are just things that are indifferent. you put them in a nest so they don't get in the way, but it's too insignificant to bother with combing or cutting.excluding the random cutting of tangles lol

so when one day, fingering the dry strands in her fingers and asking kankuro "do you think I'm attractive?" the question has nothing to do with femininity, because in suna, attractiveness does not have this aspect.

AND NOW ABOUT LEE, bcse she is usually the one who is touched upon in the dialogues but it's as if the previous text already gives an understanding of the reasons and what I'm leading to.

Lee doesn't look/feel like a person to me in any way who has at least some questions about his gender. rather, on the contrary, with all this crap of the power of youth, it is more likely that the understanding of masculinity is twisted too much in places, with all these dramatic representations of oneself as a knight on a white horse/rescuer/other things but at the same time, just the very feeling of "femininity" and "masculinity" is quite at odds with social stereotypes/expectations…so it seems that Lee will be deep in a sense of his "femininity", but it's simple…it may be STRANGE for others so fem!Lee looks definitely feminine, but on the contrary, some things are turned to some dubious lvl, reaching the lvl of "aggressive femininity" or strange manifestations for others. at the same time, the concept of "the power of youth" is still working, which is why it rather has a vibe "girl pwr", where in your head, in principle, you still adhere to the concept of a knight on a white horse, but with a stunning lipstick of questionable color.

( I admit, the examples from chibi-naruto played a pretty big role for me in this, for example

the attitude towards tenten, there was a part where Tenten was worried that they didn't treat her like a girl, where in the finale Lee tells her that they just don't think that she can't stand up for herself. it is very. an important point for me is thinking about what the characters think about the framework of gender.

that's where all this crossdressing shit goes. it looks like when you are so confident in your masculinity/femininity that you think that some social elements of another gender cannot change it and you have zero doubts or worries about this ) to the last^ - so, by the way, she's not worried about something like wearing a breast brace, body hair or something like that.

So yes, I think Lee, on the contrary, considers herself very feminine and, if she wants to emphasize it, it looks like twisted to a rather absurd lvl, but just her understanding of femininity and personal worldview also plays a role in what this is all… it is slightly at odds with the generally accepted concept.

this also affects the fact that she does not perceive her body as not feminine, despite the muscles, rather, on the contrary, she mentally brings this to her concept of femininity in PWR OF YOUTH

// speaking of the body, I will leave here the same hdcanons, why I consider the body a fem!gaara, depending on the timeline, from soft to chubby.

before the novel, I was thinking that Gaara doesn't like sweets and the like. The kankuro in my head has always been about chubby.

there is a part in the novel where, being in the desert, he tells that in the desert they drink tea with sugar every two hours.

so I changed my mind, and after that in my head, now all three of them have turned into sweet tooths and no one will change my mind

I just applied a sedentary lifestyle and sedentary sand technique to this, which increased even more after becoming a kazekage, so.

[baya-ni]

The Queer Appeal of Sk8

Recently @mulberrymelancholy reblogged a post of mine with a truly galaxy brain take about how Sk8 “is a show made for queer fans” and generally how sports anime often depicts love and relationships in a way that’s more accessible and relatable to ace/arospec people than other mainstream media does.

Just, *chef’s kiss* fucking brilliant. I urge you to read their post here (note I’m referring to the reblog not the actual post).

And basically, it got me thinking about this concept of Sk8 as a Queer Show, and the kinds of stories and dynamics that tend to attract queer audiences in droves, regardless of whether its queerness is made explicit or hell, whether that queerness was intended.

And that’s what I’ve been pondering: What are the cues, markers, or coding, in Sk8 that set off the community’s collective gaydar?

I obviously can’t speak for the community. So here’s what aspects of the show intrigued me and what, for me, marks Sk8 as a Queer Show beyond the subtextual queer romances: a punk/alternative aesthetic, Found Family, Shadow as a drag persona, and The Hands.

1.) The Punk Aesthetic

All three of the above screenshots are taken from Ep 1, and every single one of them depicts background characters. They’re nameless and ultimately unimportant characters, yet each of them designed so distinctly and so unique from one another, one could mistake each of them for the main character(s) of another story.

Of what little I know about Punk subculture, I do know this: that the ethos of Punk is heavily built around a celebration of individuality and non-conformity. Sk8 seems to have incorporated this ethos into the very fabric its worldbuilding, and the aesthetics and culture upon which it takes inspiration appeals specifically to a queer audience.

I don’t really need to explain why Punk has such deep ties with the queer community. For decades, queer people have found community and acceptance within punk spaces, and punk ideology is something that I think is just ingrained in the queer consciousness as both lived experience and a survival tactic.

Therefore, a show that adopts punk aesthetics is, by association, already paying homage to Queer culture, intentional or not.

Queer fans notice this- like recognizes like.

2.) Found Family

This also needs little explanation.

Too often, queer individuals cannot rely on their “born into” families for support and acceptance. Too often, we are abused, neglected, and abandoned by those who we were taught would “always be there for us.”

And so, a universal experience for queer people has been redefining the meaning of Family, having to build our families from scratch, finding brothers, sisters, mothers, and fathers in people with whom we have no blood relation, and forming communities tied together by shared lived experience rather than shared genetics.

And this idea of Found Family is also built into Sk8′s narrative.

Like, for example, the way that Reki promises MIYA that he and Langa will “never disappear from [his] sight,” filling the void that MIYA felt after his friends abandoned him.

And in the way that JOE becomes a paternal figure for Reki, teaching him ways to improve in skateboarding, and ensuring that Reki doesn’t self isolate when he’s feeling insecure.

And in the whole Ep 6 business with Hiromi acting as babysitter to the Gang.

Hell, even ADAM (derogatory) is associated with this trope. Abused as a child, he finds solace in an underground skateboarding community and culture he helped create- his own found family (or some powertrippy version of it anyway).

Again, queer fans see themselves depicted in the show, but this time in the way that the show gives importance to Found Family relationships between its characters.

3.) Shadow and Drag

This is one that’s more of an association that I personally made. But I was intrigued by the way that Hiromi adopts his SHADOW persona. He wears SHADOW like a mask, and adopts a personality seemingly so opposite to his day-to-day behavior.

Further, the theatricality and general “gender fuckery” of his SHADOW persona, to me, just seemed so similar to a the characteristics of a drag persona (I don’t know a whole lot about drag but enough that I’m drawing superficial similarities).

There’s also this aspect of a “double life” that he, and actually all the other adult characters of the show, have to adopt, which is a way of living that I’m sure a lot of queer viewers see themselves reflected in.

4.) The Hands

Ohhhh the Hands.

One of the things I noticed very early on is the way the show constantly draws our attention to Reki’s hands, which I thought was a little strange for an anime about skating. After all, skating doesn’t really involve the hands, or at least the show doesn’t really draw attention to hands within the context of skating.

I count 3 times so far between Eps 1-9 in which hands are the focus of the frame.

First, when Reki teaches Langa how to fist pump after Langa lands his first ollie, second, when Reki and Langa make their Promise, and finally, when Langa saves Reki from falling off his board.

And you know what they say, twice is a coincidence but thrice is a motif (no one else actually says this I think I’m the only one who says this lol).

I’m not really certain why hands seem to be such a shared fixation among queer people (at least among those I interact with). All I know is that gay people are just fucking obsessed with them.

I have a Theory as to why, and at this point I’d love for other people to chime in and “compare notes” if you will, but I think it basically has to do with repression. And in the same way that queer people have had to redefine the meaning of family, we’ve also had to redefine intimacy.

Being overtly physically affectionate with someone of the same sex, even if they’re your significant other, or often specifically BECAUSE they’re your significant other, can still be dangerous, even now despite the “progression” of society. Queer people know this, this vigilant surveillance of our environment and ourselves, always asking ourselves, “Am I safe enough to be myself?”

Already, Western culture is pretty touch-averse. That is, it’s considered taboo to touch someone unless they’re a family member or a romantic partner. And to touch a person of the same sex in any way that could be misconstrued as romantic (which is most things tbh) is a big no no.

There’s just A Lot to unpack there.

But basically I think that queer people, by necessity, have had to learn to romanticize mundane or unconventional ways of being physically intimate so that we can continue to be romantic with one another without “being caught” so to speak.

Kissing and hugging is too obvious. But a handshake that lingers for just a second too long is much more likely to go unnoticed, braiding someone’s hair can easily be explained away as just lending a helping hand, touching palms to “compare hand sizes” is just good fun.

But for queer people, these brief and seemingly insignificant touches hold greater meaning, because it’s all we are allowed, and all we allow ourselves, to exchange with others.

God, I’ve gone off and rambled again. What’s my point? Basically that the way the show draws attention to Reki’s hands, and specifically how they’re so often framed with Langa’s hands, is one of the major reasons why I clocked Sk8 as a Queer. It’s just something that resonated with me and my own experience of queerness, and I know that I’m not the only one who noticed either.

~

So in conclusion, uhhhh yeah Sk8 the Infinity is just a super gay show, and it’s not even because of the homo-romantic subtext (that at this point is really just Text).

Because what’s important to understand is that Queerness isn’t just about same-sex romance.

Queer Love isn’t just shared between wives/girlfriends, husbands/boyfriends, and all their in-betweens. Queer Love can be two best friends who come out together, queer siblings who rely and support one another, a gay teacher who helps guide one of their questioning students, a queer community pitching in to help a struggling member.

And that all ties with another important thing to consider, that what we refer to as the “queer experience” or “queer culture” isn’t universal. In fact, it wrongly lumps together the unique experiences and struggles of queer BIPOC all under one umbrella that’s primary White and middle class.

So I think what drives a lot of my frustration about labeling a show like Sk8 as Queerbait is this very issue of considering queerness and queer representation within such narrow standards, and mandating that a show must pass a certain threshold of explicit queerness to be considered good representation.

I get that someone might only feel represented by an indisputable canonization of a same-sex couple. That’s fine. But labeling Sk8 as Queerbait for that reason alone ignores the vast array of other queer experiences.

The aspects of Sk8 that resonate most deeply with my own experiences of queerness is in the way that Reki and Langa share intimacy through skating (intricate rituals heyo). For me, them officially getting together ultimately doesn’t matter- I’ll consider Sk8 a Queer show regardless.

Similarly, @mulberrymelancholy​ finds ace/arospec representation in that very absence of an on-screen kiss. A bisexual man might find representation in Reki, not because he enters a canon relationship, but in the depiction of Reki’s coming of age, growing up and navigating adolescent relationships. A non-binary person might feel represented through CHERRY’s androgyny.

That’s the thing, I don’t know how this show will resonate with other members of the queer community, and it’d be wrong to make a judgement on Sk8′s queer representation based on my experiences alone.

That being said, Straight people definitely don’t get to judge Sk8 as Queerbait. Y’all can watch and enjoy the show, we WANT you to enjoy these kinds of shows, and we want you to share these shows and contribute to the normalization and celebration of these kinds of narratives.

But understand that you don’t have a right to tell us whether or not Sk8 has good or bad queer representation.

And even members of the queer community are on thin ice. Your experience of queerness is not universal. Listen to the other members of your community, and respect that what you might find lacking in this show may be the exact representation that someone else needs.

[snkpolls]

SnK Chapter 135 Poll Results

This month’s poll closed with 2,264 entries. The poll results were compiled by momtaku, /u/_Puppet_, /u/berthototototo, u/staraves

RATE THE CHAPTER 1,980 responses

Volume 34 started off on a high note with “Battle of Heaven and Earth” being our 7th highest rated chapter with an average of 4.61.

Easily the best action based chapter post timeskip

Very action dominated chapter this time. Just pure adrenaline, not many answers. Not complaining though, great chapter!

Best chapter since 122, hype levels were great, pacing was great, just overall great really.

What I loved about this chapter is that this was the first time I REALLY felt the suspense, the kind of suspense where it looks our heroes can not win the fight and all hope is lost. It was a very similar feeling I experienced in the first chapters of Attack on Titan where the fight against Pure Titans always felt like the enemy had the upper hand and our heroes were fighting a losing battle that they could only fight to mitigate the losses as low as possible

A chapter will less talk more fight. It's been a while.

I loved this chapter immensely. For months, this was the first I could finally rate the highest.

We are near the end, oh god, this was a a hell of a journey from 2013 as a manga reader it is for me one of the best manga I have ever read

Everything about this was awesome from bucket girl Ymir to all the previous titan shifters to bird Falco. There was so much I had to wrap my head around, so I’m going to have to read this a couple more times.

So many mysteries I just don’t want it to be rushes uwu and for us to only be getting a chapter per MONTH can you throw us some bones PLEASE

I’m rethinking everything I thought I knew about the manga

We're hanging on a razor's edge between masterpiece and ruin. Whatever happens, please let it be well executed. . .

  WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS YOUR FAVORITE OVERALL MOMENT?

2,001 responses

This chapter was filled with lore, action and great individual character moments but seeing the fantastical forms of titans past brought into the fight was our favorite moment with 31.4% of the total. “Mikasa carrying the whole damn team” was second with 24.7%. The arrival of the flying titan (10.6%), the vision of Bertholt Hoover (10%) and Pieck rushing forward with the bombs (6.9%) round out the top five.

One of my all-time favourites probably, I absolutely loved all the character interactions as well as the amazing new titan designs.

Bert back! Bert back! Bert back!!! <333333

I really did like it, all those previous titans forms are interesting and see that the manga is very soon to end, I can't wait to know the end.

The chapter hasn't changed anything fundamentally but was exited to see OG Ymir

A demonstration of the despair and hopelessness of fighting Ymir

Bird!!! Falco!!! And!!! Ghost!!! Bertholdt!!! YES! YES! YES!

Really liked Jean and Reiners moments this chapter,

Bringing back old titans was really badass and intimidating.

Tentacle porn. That is all.

  WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE COMRADE-RELATED MOMENT? 1,969 responses

With a battle involving Alliance teamwork and some visits from old friends, this chapter had many moments between current and former comrades. The wholesome scene between Jean and Reiner packed with an Armored Titan joke garnered the majority of votes (50.2%), with others favoring Armin’s vision of Bertolt (15.9%), and Annie’s reunion at the end of the chapter (14.1%).

jean saving reiner really moved me i really love these characters and after seeing them fighting it was nice seeing one saving the other. i mean jean had a really good reason to hate reiner and he previously said that he would never forgive him but he did and it was nice

Loved that scene between Jean and Reiner. Jean came a long way since his selfish oppotunistic days: Not letting Reiner fall, even though he really hated him. Actually willing to die. Great character development.

I'm curious to see, what effect this might have on Reiner: I mean he was being called a member of the survey corps again and therefore he was kind of being ""forgiven"".

Jean-Reiner-Bromance!

Connie x Levi canon

Ngl, I felt a great satisfaction as ghost Bertolt looked down on Armin who was suffocating from that giant tongue lmao

at this point I think that the ackertalk is sadly never happening. A missed opportunity.

  WHO WAS THIS CHAPTER’S MVP? 1,973 responses

It’s Mikasa nation domination with 52.4% of the vote. There were a lot of great character moments but it’s hard to beat the one who stopped the manga ending prematurely! There was also appreciation for Ymir (12.8%) who brought in some interesting Titan designs and a great fight. 11.8% gave the nod to Falco for swooping in for the last minute save. 6.3% were hyped for Pieck’s no-nonsense charge, and 4.1% liked seeing Levi push himself in battle despite needing another couple of months in bed.

Levi has been severely injured for not even a week, yet he held his own and saved Connie AND Jean. I don't ever want to hear any whiny criticisms about this man ever again.

If Pieck dies we riot

Jean is best

Love Mikasa sm

MIKASA SUPREMACYYY GO BEST GIRL

Loved Reiner and Jean moment as well as Mikasa’s bad assery!

Mikasa was amazing this chapter

Pieck, the only one to make a move against Eren directly while the rest are too much up in their feelings. Best girl moment right there <3

Mikasa was so badass!! Love to see it

Mikasa was the BOMB in this chapter, loved that winged panel of hers.

My God I loved it, Mikasa was so badass, especially in that speech scene with her wings, Falco is best boy, I loved the interactions and everyone saving each other

  THE CHAPTER IS TITLED “BATTLE OF HEAVEN AND EARTH”, WHAT DOES THIS REFER TO? 1,942 responses

The most popular interpretation of the title “Battle of Heaven and Earth” seems to be designating Ymir as the Heaven, and the Alliance as the Earth (42.6%), with the reverse of that being the second most popular (27.8%). In third came the idea that it relates to Ymir using the titans of deceased Eldians (20.9%).

A battle that people might die in (Heaven) or survive (Earth)

A battle which has consequences for both Heaven (Paths) and Earth (The World)

The alliance fighting in the heavens while the colossal titans destroy the earth.

It is a reference to Ragnarok.

multiple viable interpretations. the ascended vs descended, the heavenly winged mikasa vs the now devil of all earth ymir, the winged titan against the earthly titans.

Probably a weird take, but it reminds me 131. Eren being in the Heaven as his coping mechanism and Ymir being on the ground (earth)

I’m not sure but it’s in reference to the 4th chapter titled First Battle. Just like last chapter referenced the 5th chapter.

Heaven: Paradis. Earth: beyond the sea.

all of the above- YOU GET SYMBOLIC METAPHORS, AND YOU GET SYMBOLIC METAPHORS

because the battles are in the sky while on earth the colosus step down on earth

***ohhh heaven is a place on earth***

  WE’D PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT YMIR WAS UNJUSTIFIABLY FRAMED BY HER PEERS. DOES LEARNING THAT SHE FREED THE PIGS AFFECT HOW YOU VIEW HER? 1,952 responses

Ymir apparently freeing the pigs was an unexpected opening for the chapter. For 34.4%  this action meant that Ymir has always been #TeamFreedom. A sizable 18.8% think this relatively minor reveal makes her way more suspicious. Closely following that, 18% think it means nothing at all. It’s just a cool detail that resolved a mystery.

It's trying to say that since Ymir freed the pigs, she created this whole mess which I heavily dislike since it goes against what her character was in 122

When back in 122 everyone was foaming about tHe FuCkInG pIgS, I was rolling my eyes so hard, because to me the pigs were insignificant: it does not matter who set them free, they might have just run away on their own, what matters is that Ymir is the one they blame, which started the whole story. NOW, huh, the pigs might be important, or at least it really might have been Ymir who let them go, set them free. She couldn't get free herself, so she granted freedom to the poor animals.

I always just assumed Ymir set the pigs free, I didn't realize it was something people saw as ambiguous until now…

I wasn't expecting any of that sh*t, and now I'm certain that Ymir is the real baddie here

Peppa Pig is free

  WHAT IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN YMIR FREEING THE PIGS AND LOOKING DOWN AT THE ALLIANCE? 1,835 responses

The chapter opens with Ymir after freeing the pigs from the pen, but what does this mean? It’s close, but the most popular option is that Ymir is recalling that the last time she prioritised the idea of freedom the suffering was not worth it (29.9%), followed by the assertion there’s no deeper meaning (22.3%). A close third place of votes believe the connection is that Ymir has given up acts of selflessness as she doubles down on the rumbling (21.8%) and an even closer fourth place see it as her looking down on the Alliance as if they were the caged animals (21.4%).

Did she free the pigs out of compassion, or to spite her master? Is the rumbling everything to put the pigs back in the pen, or to get revenge on those who scorned Eldians?

How it started versus where it's ended up. All this torment and death because of something so minuscule because of human cruelty towards each other.

It seems like a parallel between Ymir freeing the pigs and Ymir freeing the past titans.

It shows she's an actor with agency and motivations, whether in her slave-like state or her god-like position

It was her first act of free will, and her routing the scouts it technically her third, so in a way they are parallel actions.

She looks at humans like pigs

She wants freedom, and the only way to obtain it is to kill the alliance

She's still in a cage, represented by the bones of Eren

She has been stewing in everything she has gone through for 2000 years and that might've turned her hateful.

it is possible that after looking at humanity for hundreds of years that she believes that it is not human's nature to be compassionate like her, but to fight each other until no one remains, and she has decided to speed up to what she feels is the inevitable conclusion so that her ghost can be gone for good.

  WHY IS YMIR THE ONE ACTIVELY FIGHTING BACK AGAINST THE ALLIANCE? 1,919 responses

Armin notes that Ymir seems to be the one in control of the titans, why is this?  The large majority at 54.5% believe her to be working side by side with Eren.  About ¼, at 24.8% think she’s stepping in for Eren while she’s unconscious, while the minority at 20.7% think she’s overpowered Eren and is the real big bad of the story.

If she really wants the whole humanity to perish, then it means she lost all hope in humanity and is like an empty shell who has never experienced any drop of love. I feel that Ymir doesn't really care about protecting or helping Eren. She just wants to see an empty world - without humans.

The chapter was really well drawn. Also I see lots of new possibilities to happen, as Eren being a slave, Ymir perhaps becoming the final villain. it also makes to recall back to chapter 1 when I see Eren crying in front of Mikasa after some sort of "dream". This makes me think that Eren will eventually come to regret his actions but it's gonna be too late. thus he receives this dream but he is never able to see it through. Quite a sad fate. Although that's just a speculation on my part.

Armin questioning Ymir's role has me hoping for an Armin talk no jutsu with Ymir.

Eren and Ymir are unbeatable

Ymir/Eren are the only ones who can build titans right now. They baited Falco and Annie to return to get all of the 9 shifters near the founder again and they are planning something.

It warmed my heart seeing Ymir protecting her otosan as a thank you for bringing her with him on Take Your Daughters to Work Day 🥺

  WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO ARMIN BEING FRENCHED BY A TITAN? 1,957 responses

In one of the weirdest moments in recent memory, Armin gets french kissed by a titan of the past.  42% of fans think it makes sense, as it was the only way to stop him from biting himself to transform.  36.1% feel bad for Armin as he’s gotten molested and now this, he just can’t catch a break.  14.2% are scared to ask if this constitutes fanservice, and 7.8% are too grossed out to think about it any longer.

When I wanted a non-Annie pairing for Armin, I wasn't expecting this. Stop harrassing my poor boy.

the chapter has already spawned Armin tentacle hentai and that makes it the best chapter in the whole manga

Armin capture thing was a little weird but makes sense IMO.

I know Armin being captured in that way has a narrative purpose, but that was disturbing in the end and i hate people will/ and are joking about it.

It didn't cross my mind that the frenching was to prevent Armin from transforming until I saw the vote option. Thank you.

  WILL THE CANNONS AT FORT SALTA DO BETTER OR WORSE THAN THE BLIMPS? 1,920 responses

Fort Salta’s own forces don’t seem very effective as of yet, with the blimps almost completely failing, and now they turn to three cannons.  Not a single respondent thinks they’ll do anything (Not that we gave them the option), though more think they’ll do nothing in red.

Them cannons, it will be effective.

They’ll get hit by the fort’s cannons but they probably won’t be very effective

  KARINA SAW THE ARMORED TITAN GET CHOMPED IN FRONT OF HER VERY EYES. HOW WILL THIS AFFECT HER? 1,924 responses

Even though the Plot-Armored Titan escaped death yet again, all Karina saw was her son’s flesh mecha being chomped from afar. 37.3% are finding it hard to care about Karina’s struggle, but of the ones who did have an answer, 31.2% think the purpose of the death fake-out is so she can better appreciate when Reiner is alive and well later. Just under a fifth at 19.3% think she’ll do something rash while thinking her son is dead, unsurprisingly more than the 12.2% who think Karina would do something nice for once.

fuck karina

reiner always manages to escape death

  JEAN POINTS OUT THAT THE SPAWNING TITANS ARE NOT MINDLESS. WHAT IS THEIR TRUE NATURE? 1,933 responses

It was a close one, but a plurality of respondents (38.1%) thought that the shifters brought forth by Ymir were the real deal, their souls controlled in death. Or their spirits? Their essences? Their… PATHS GHOSTS? Slightly fewer respondents (36.8%) think they’re just empty clones, Ymir simply not bothering with creating new forms since that would probably take a fuckton more years. 23.7% are somewhere between the two other options – maybe these shifters aren’t really present, but some of their will remains.

The fact that Armin saw Bertolt tells me that a part of the titan's "souls" still exist within them and they're being forced to do Ymir's bidding

The founding titan powers give her complete control over sentient shifters, and the attack titan powers (utilized by the founding titan) lets Ymir reach back in time and utilize the shifter's "essence" (maybe they all had a weird dream they don't remember), and obviously the warhammer titan is what allows them to take form. Beast titan go brrrrr

I have a small theory about souls of past shifters being imprisoned in some paths area or insubconscious mind of current titan shifters.

I’m conflicted between the two first answers but I hope there empty clones

At first, I thought it would be like Zeke's titans in Ragako (the anime showed their weird coordinated dance). But looking at Bertholdt, it seems they're not acting on free will but are still a bit conscious.

If you chomp one, do you get its power?

They are empty vessel's resurrected the only reason Armin saw Bertolt was becuase armin was the holder of the collosal titan! In my opinion of course

They are ghost/ spirits of the past shifter, which have a limited consciousness like zombies

They are moving according to the old users skills, like a saved “data”

They are the ones who volunteered to be in the walls when the Eldians escaped to Paradis. They sympathise with Eren and are fighting for him.

They are the real shifters working with Ymir

We see Bert crying right before we see his titan try to eat Reiner —— maybe he’s being forces by Ymir.

The souls of the previous titan holders can see what is happening though paths but they don't have control over it

Ymir created them via the shifters' own memories respectively. The Beetholdt panel might show hesitation of wanting to grab Reiner for example and emphasizes on the theme of Slavery. How to achieve freedom you must steal freedom (Erwn said he stole the world's freedom to achieve his own) or enslave/oppress someone or a group.

Ymir created them while eren is using them

souls being completely controlled but can be revoked original consciousness back,cringe naruto shit.

Through PATHS all is possible

  ISAYAMA WENT ALL OUT WITH TITAN DESIGNS. WHICH ANCIENT TITANS DID YOU MOST ENJOY SEEING? 1,926 responses

The most popular design in Isayama’s titan showcase by a decent margin was the “Faceless Titan” (45.8%), with “The Thing Titan” coming in second (34.4%). In third was the “Minotaur Titan” (32.4%) and narrowly in fourth, the “Mummified Titan” (31.3%). Interestingly, 2/4 of the top designs appear to be previous Warhammer Titans, which is fitting with it being one of the most popular titan designs. Well, except for the one we saw in Ymir’s backstory that had hair. We all agreed that thing was atrocious.

I loved the previous titan shifters.

croco titan best boi

There's a lot of titans missing, so I'll say here that I love the dinosaur titan, the bearded titan and the ghost-like titan as well.

that 'wolverine' titan is actually a deer. It kind of blends in with Reiner's armor but you can see the antlers if you look closely.

always wanted to see ancient titan designs since learning about the inheritance and such, so this is a dream come true for a fanartist

Previously, it was left to our imagination what all these past Titan Shifters looked like, but thanks to this chapter (through the power of PATHS!), we got to see many of them for ourselves. A nice treat from Isayama, but also a mind-blowing one, especially with how they intervened in the fight.

Seeing all these past Titan Shifters appear like that was so interesting to me that it  made me analyze each one and try to identify which was an old Jaw Titan, an old Beast Titan, an old Cart Titan, an old Warhammer Titan, and so on, so this chapter also felt like a fun guessing game in that regard!

Adding animals to the mix just feels like a try hard to make them scary. If he wanted them to have some real crazy powers it could've been done better imo, having these many animals just thrown around didn't make sense to me, we already got the beast titan and that bird titan. It's enough animals for me, especially since initially what made titans so scary in the first place was how identical they are to humans, only differing in their mounstrous size.

I never liked the idea of animal titans, it just feels so weird and out of place with no explanation for why or how they are animal-like. That being said, some of the other titan designs were pretty rad.

Show us Kruger's titan though

  WHICH RETURNING TITAN DID YOU MOST ENJOY SEEING? 1,925 responses

In a chapter filled with new titans of the past we also saw some classic designs. By far the most hype-inducing one among fans was the Colossal Titan at 66.6%, followed by the War Hammer at 19.6%, Porco’s Jaw at 12.2%, and Marcel’s Jaw at 1.5%.

I loved how the one, true and only OG Colossal Titan of Bertholdt descended upon them like a fucking God

since there was no ""Other"" option in the ""favourite moment"" question, I'll say it here: Marcel's titan was my favourite moment.

Last chapter I was wondering if there'll be "another Beast Titan clone". We end up getting the entire museum lmao

The Colossal Titan, the God of the SnK world, appeared as the judge (while aldo not being himself, ironically) seriously, it was amazing

The Colossal Titan's entrance was like sweet karma, after how the SC murdered Bertold brutally and never cared one bit, they still couldn't get rid of him. SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKERS kekekek

  THERE’S BEEN SOME DEBATE BUT IT SEEMS FRECKLED YMIR WASN’T THERE. IS THIS SIGNIFICANT? 1,900 responses

Ah, the innocent days of our freckled goddess… she may have turned out to be a regular girl, but where was she when our other old friends were running around? There were a couple of Titans who looked a bit like her, but none with both her little gremlin body and her distinctive nose and teeth. Does it matter? 63.8% of you don’t think there’s anything to it. Maybe she’ll be in the next chapter, or maybe Yams forgot her… maybe she’s chilling with Grisha and Kruger. 36.2% think there could be something more to her absence so far.

i hope freckled ymir came back  ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ

I think it's highkey sus that we didn't see freckled Ymir's titan and that really gives me hope that Historia really will have an important part in the finale since it feels like Yams is saving freckled Ymir for a Historia moment

about freckles... i think her titan was the one that was gonna try and eat reiner/jean. dark hair, thin arms, small facial features.

I feel like her foreground omission isn't a big deal, since we're already two Jaws in, both of whom have more impactful connections to those present.

I want freckled Ymir back

ymir freckles did make an appearance, wasn’t she the titan attacking reiner as he was holding onto jean that mikasa slashed?

I believe Freckeld Ymir's Jaw Titan is shown when Bertholdt's Colossal Titan attempts to eat Reiner. It's very small though so it's hardly noticeable and I can't even confirm that it was indeed her Titan but it seemed like it.

YOU GAVE ME HOPE ABOUT FRECKLED YMIR DAMN YOU and thank you

  SINCE ALL THE TITAN OTHER SHIFTERS SUMMONED THIS CHAPTER WERE DECEASED, DOES THIS MEAN ZEKE IS DEAD? 1,953 responses

Ymir summoned titans of the past according to Pieck, does that mean Zeke is of the past now too?  The fandom is overall undecided on this one, as about half don’t know, at 48.5%.  32.7% are confident Zeke is still around, and 18.8% take this as confirmation of his death.

Zeke may not be dead, because the beast titan summoned last chapter could be Xavier's beast titan too. Because in one earlier Marley arc chapter, someone mentioned that "The beast titan is the same as ever". Meaning, Xavier's beast titan was also monke.

IF Zeke is alive, it means that Pieck is once again somehow "faking" her defeat and goes for the detonator but then she somehow runs into Zeke. They have a lot of history and too much stuff unresolved between them and because of eren/armin and zeke/pieck dynamics is that those 2 stayed on the founding titan..

I think Zeke and Bertolt are both stuck in paths, unable to properly die. I hope Zeke is just shackled making titans like we saw him in 120. That would be poetic, for the one who hates his Eldian blood so much to be forced to enact the one thing that made him hate himself (the existence of titans).

I just realized that in the last chapter I thought Zeke was there but it was the shot of the Marleyan general saying ""I am sorry""... I was writing about how Zeke cannot be dead, what are you all talking about, he is right there, then went and checked 134. Now I'm just sitting here with no answers at all. Zeke could be anywhere, alive or dead, no clue...

  CHEKHOV’S EXPLOSIVES CONTINUE, AND THIS CHAPTER PIECK ENSURED THEY WERE RIGHT NEXT TO EREN. WHO WILL DETONATE THEM? WILL THEY BE EFFECTIVE? 1,121 responses

We asked what you think would come of the explosives that have been built up for eight chapters now, and collated your responses. First, who will detonate them?

Pieck: 182

Mikasa: 140

Armin: 134

Reiner: 99

Gabi: 81

Levi: 71

Connie: 38

Jean: 29

Annie: 23

Falco: 14

Eren: 6

Ymir: 2

Zeke/Onyankopon/Bertholdt: 1

There were also 7 mentions of the cannons that the Marleyans got ready to use this chapter actually coming in handy, and setting off the explosives. It’s also noteworthy that Pieck is thought of more than any other character to be likely to sacrifice her life to get it done. Additionally, many people who put forth Armin detonating them suggested this occurs through his titan transformation igniting them, not just him using the detonator.

In terms of success, 255 said that the explosives would either do nothing or overall be ineffective, with the most commonly given reason being that Eren is not in the nape. 250 said that the explosives will be helpful one way or another, including 7 who said they would end Eren’s life (Most of these involved Mikasa as the detonator). 9 people specified that they hope the bombs don’t do anything, 25 said nobody will detonate them at all, and 2 said it will be effective but will make things worse.

They will play an important role in the Climax, one way or another

warhammer can just throw the explosive after it deals with pieck

His neck is covered with more bones and the blimps didn't hurt them, but the explosives are as close as possible, so I think maybe they could work.

100% those explosives will be used in one way or an other, but i have a feeling that eren is not even there ;)

Annie will likely be able to get close to Pieck, as her titan is very agile and will activate the explosives that will be able to get Eren out of her giant's head

Could be anyone. The way they're set up, they must have some effect.

Could be Jean or Connie and maybe the rumbling will be paused or the Eren's skeleton will collapse as the story continues..

Connie and he will die doing so, doing few damage but someone will be like "hey he gave us a weakness we can exploit"

if they are effective, mikasa but if they arent it will be connie or jean

Doesn’t matter who detonates them it won’t be effective

Eren better pull a Reiner and transfer his consciousness. Isayama introduced that shit on purpose. Peick probably playing dead and will try to detonate to no avail.

Gabi is going to detonate them and save Pieck too. The explosion might help in the fight, but I doubt Eren is in the neck, my bet its Zeke who is in there.

Eren, once all the shifters are dead he will detonate it killing himself and ensuring all titans are reborn in Historias baby, truly freeing ymir and ending the curse of the titans.

Fort Salta Cannons will detonate them. They wont be effective because Eren is hiding in Paradis with the Warhammer Titan power (or he can transfer his consciousness to the rest of his spine in case he really is there).

Levi will detonate them to kill Zeke who is actually the one in the nape

Levi will give up on his dream of killing Zeke and die sacrificing himself to detonate it

Pieck will sacrifice herself to detonate the fuse and when she does she will fall to her doom. She will be content in knowing that it will work. She lits it up and falls at the same time. When shes falling she feels a great sense of acceptance, but all of a sudden Falco swoops in to save her with everyone on his back. As they watch it blow up the body keeps moving for eren was not there to begin with.

I think Ymir will use them against the alliance

Oyankopon drops a flying knee into the plunger in an act of self-sacrifice.

titanfolk: Kaboom?

Isayama: Yes titanfolk, kaboom.

  WHY IS ARMIN HAVING THE VISION OF BERTOLT? 1,928 responses

In one of the more confusing panels of this crazy chapter, we see Bertolt standing over Armin.  39.6% believe it to be a fragment of Berthold brought back through the Colossal Ymir summoned, 25.5% think Bertoto has awareness in an afterlife, 25.1% think Armin is having a memory from his predecessor Burrito, and 7.3% think Ymir is just messing with Armin.

Grabbing Armin allowed Ymir to access Bertolt's titan, similar to how they have Zeke captive for his Beast titan

It's some kind of twist that's coming related to the whole predecessor memory stuff.

Some kind of PTSD vision brought on by being put in a Titans mouth

Since this was an ongoing issue how Armin didn't seem to have access to Berth's memories, he'll probably will see some of them soon. And especially the one, where Eren says to Levi that Armin will save humanity, not him. That will give him the last push to do whatever.

The scene with Bertholdt was a direct recall of when Armin woke up after eating him, and seeing him crying in the form of the Colossal Titan's skull and saying "it hurts" in chapter 85. My poor boy :( He was probably suffering from eternal torment in an afterlife/paths related place. Shifters' Hell would be a good word, as Ymir Fritz kinda had the same experience being enslaved for eternity

Him seeing Bertolt for the second time makes me think these two are going to switch places at some point. That being said it's not the end-end for Armin, and Eren is definitely reserving him a seat in whatever path underground there is.

I thought Armin was feeling the despair/hopelessness that Bertolt did while the warriors were undercover in Paradis. The paralyzing dread of the task before him, even though he is the "strongest titan"

Bertolt's individual "soul" still exists as a singular entity, that lives within Paths. Armin as his inheritor has a soul-link to him, can see him, recall his memories and even feel some of his feelings. However his presence here will serve for Armin to make some kind of realisation that will help conclude the battle.

  YOUR THOUGHTS ON MIKASA IN THIS CHAPTER? 1,942 responses

We knew Mikasa would likely be chapter MVP but we wanted to give her an extra shoutout for a great chapter. Only 9.1% percent refused to play along. A majority of nearly 60% agreed with all our gushing about her performance, selecting all of the above. Of the individual entries, “Bless those ackergenes” (10.2%), “They were goners without her” (8.8%) and “She was unbelievable” (7.9%) were top selections.

Isayama in November said mikasa character is coming and this chapter felt like the start of it and hoo was this Mikasa's chapter. We have known that Mikasa is one of three main MCs, and isayama had been foreshadowing Mikasa's role in the finale so much. I'm excited to read the final 3 chapters.

goat mikasaaaa

HEAD EMPTY JUST MIKASA SUPREMACy

I LOVE MIKASA

Loving all the Mikasa scenes. It’s about damn time,

Mikasa going "Fuck it. Fight me. All of you, I don't care if you're shifter clones, I'll kick your ass." was a great bit of dark humour and a really well done character beat. If she has to go down she'll go down fighting with pride.

  THIS CHAPTER MIKASA FOUGHT TO THE END AFTER LEVI DELEGATED THE ATTACKING ROLE TO HER, A REVERSAL FROM FEMALE TITAN ARC. IS MIKASA HUMANITY'S NEW STRONGEST SOLDIER? 1,940 responses

Levi has always been humanity’s strongest soldier, but this chapter had Mikasa being the only one fighting till the end. This being temporary due to Levi’s worn down body is the consensus, with 49.3% affirming its brief nature while 34.3% venture that Mikasa will one day take on this mantle permanently.13.8% believe she has surpassed even what a healed Levi would be capable of, and 2.7% do not think she’s surpassed him in any way.

I’m glad to see a lot more female empowerment with Mikasa being a major hit in this chapter. I got very worried with the amount of saving Levi had to go through and avoiding near deaths at some points.

Let the Humanity’s Strongest go down like a badass he’s always been, stop making him this pitiful please

LEVI NEEDS IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION HE MIGHT BE HAVING INTERNAL BLEEDING FROM THAT EXPLOSION AND HIS LEG BEING BITTEN MAKES IT EVEN WORSE FUCK

I BELIEVE IN LEVI'S SUPREMACY

Mikasa Ackerman supremacy

that wings really said mikasa is the most freest person now

I’d love it if isayama would stop crippling Levi. I know its to get him out of the fight but cmon

  NOW THAT WE SEE IT IN ACTION, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF FALCO’S BIRD TITAN? 1,944 responses

Most fans are behind this controversial development at this point, with 46.8% loving it, and 29.3% not loving it but feeling that it fits in the chapter. 17.4% have changed their mind from negative to positive after seeing it in this chapter, and 6.5% will always hate this.

Falco's titan is amazing. He saved everyone and it's his second transformation, he is goat.

I liked Falco saving the day :) It doesn't matter to me how he learnt to fly and control his titan so fast. Maybe Zeke helped him via sending visions? Or maybe Falco is talented? I don't know and I think we have more important thing to read about

Falco Being able to fly a few hours after Hange's death makes this chapter less good.

The Flying Titan is questionable but everything else are great

the design of Bird Titan is kinda cringe

Porco must be very proud of his son 

  KIYOMI AND YELENA ARE NOT ON THE FLYING TITAN, ALONG WITH THE AZUMABITO ENGINEERS. ANY PREDICTIONS? 1,911 responses

After Kiyomi forebodingly accepted the risk of the ship sinking that also contained Yelena and the Azumabito engineers two chapters ago, she has not been seen since despite Falco now arriving. The majority of you (70.2%) believe they’re fine, with the ship surviving Falco’s transformation, while just under a quarter (23.2%) believing both drowned on the sinking ship, and a slim minority (6.6%) believe they are with our main crew on the Flying Titan.

Yelena better be okay

I wonder where is yelena

I just want to learn how the rest of the Azumabito family are doing after Falco transformed into the Titan.

  ISAYAMA’S DONE IT AGAIN! WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE THROWBACK THIS CHAPTER? 1,936 responses

Isayama loves himself some throwbacks and this chapter was no exception.  Mikasa giving a speech reminiscent of her Trost speech was the most popular option at 32.9%, with Armin dreaming of Bertolt crying similar to his dream of the Colossal Titan was a close second at 28.2%.  Rounding out the top three was Falco taking a bird form in parallel with the Fort Slava scene we just saw in the anime.

It was like going back to Trost arc amazing wise... It was really a good one full of quotes from previous memorable moments of the series, while reading it i thought "wow, it really is ending

I think it significantly has to do with his memory of the colossal crying after RtS so perhaps it's a near death state experience of his predecessor for Armin

I'm also interested to see what Armin is going to do next. He seems to think back to Erwin whenever he gets himself into a pickle. I'm excited to see how he will use his titan in this battle.

Based on the parallels with Trost the only bomb that's blowing Eren out of his titan is Armin's Colossal Titan.

  DO YOU AGREE WITH ANY OF THESE CRITICISMS ABOUT THE CHAPTER? 1,428 responses

No chapter is free from criticism, so we scoured discord, twitter and reddit looking for the most common complaints. The lack of character deaths seemed to be on many minds. “There was too much plot armor” and “Eren and OG Ymir are too OP” were the two options that got over 30%. Grumblings about the flying titan (26.1%) and Mikasa with a winged background (23.9%)  were also common selections. I think what’s most telling is that ⅓ of respondents skipped this question entirely indicating that they had no major complaints at all

Everything was going 10/10 until the flying titan came and saved everyone. Another chapter with 0 deaths this late in the story.

I really love that mikasa with wings so much. It means for me she's the hope of humanity.she's ackerman so ymir can't control her... she will have a big roll at the end!

Being able to recreate old Titans is too OP

not too sold on the whole spawning in Titans and a flying bird that just recently got their power swooping in to save everyone

I'm completely sold on the idea of past shifters being summoned. Some people may say it's quite an asspull, but honestly, I've had a little problem with this series, which is that the Coordinate has been teased as the power of God itself but we've never seen that in action, so I'm satisfied. I'm not a big fan of the flying titan (teasing things is not the same as justifiying things) and the lack of character deaths made me think Hanji could have died this chapter, which would've been more meaningful honestly. Still, I'm very happy to say Isayama has surprised me once again.

WAYYYYYYYYYY TOO MUCH PLOT ARMOR

I know people are getting stomped on right now, but was expecting at least someone to die.

I don't mind the flying titan, but I would've liked just another hint that the beast titan can be any animal. The very first one in Ymir's flashback was an ape, could've been a dinosaur or something!

You never wanted to accept that this series was a shounen manga aimed at little boys, did you?

  DOES THIS CHAPTER ADD EVIDENCE TO THE THEORY THAT HANGE’S VISION WAS REAL? 1,929 responses

On the poll team, our first step in preparing results is looking for spam. We identify that primarily by looking at timestamps and bursts of entries that choose to answer only a single question in rapid succession. Typically we see this behavior on shippy questions and those involving Gabi, so it’s been puzzling that in the last year the only questions to get significant spam are those involving Hange’s vision. Clearly someone, or maybe a few someones, are very afraid of ghosts.

With the spam entries removed, the Yes’s outweighed the No’s by 54-46 percent on the question of whether or not this chapter added evidence to the theory that Hange’s vision was real.

The ghosts of Eldians past are definitely going to feature in the endgame I think. The shifters are the most important but Hange's vision makes it clear that they're all "alive" in Paths somehow. Let freckled Ymir talk to Historia once more!!

I hate conscious development

I bet Hanji is screaming in the afterlife, wanting to be on top of Falco's titan

  HAS THE FOCUS ON BIRDS IN THE ANIME OP/ED ADDED EVIDENCE THAT THE BIRDS IN PREVIOUS CHAPTERS ARE SIGNIFICANT? 1,913 responses

Bird theory (/birds being significant in some large way) has been gaining traction recently in the manga already, and then the anime made a whole ED theme about them and had them in focus in the OP as well.  In one of the most one sided poll results in recent memory, almost 90% of the fandom feels this is evidence of birds being significant, while 10.7% say no.

birb

birb

Birb

Birb

Birb

Birb

Birb

bird

Bird

Bird

bird

birds

  DESCRIBE THE CHAPTER IN ONE WORD 1,330 responses

This month’s top 5 chosen words bear a resemblance to last month’s, specifically with 1-3 being in last month’s and 1 & 3 being in the last two months. “Chaos” is one more on the original side for this chapter.

Amazing [96]

Epic [50]

Awesome [48]

Chaos/Good/Great [27]

Cool [26]

And in a shocking turn of events, this question is being used to concoct recipes again? Well, it’s a bit of a stretch, but it doesn’t sound half bad.

Nuts

Lasagna

Goat

Cheesy

Chicken

Bertholdt

Chomp

Juicy

Exquisite

  ISAYAMA RECENTLY ESTIMATED THERE IS 1-2% LEFT OF THE STORY. WHAT CHAPTER DO YOU THINK THE MANGA WILL END AT? 1,941 responses

I don’t know why Isayama does it, but he keeps assuring us the end is near. But we’ve guessed the end is near since… oh, RTS? Then Marley? Then when the Rumbling started? Remember when chapter 130 was the max? Don’t worry, the ride will end someday. 35.5% think chapter 139 will be the last, giving the final volume five chapters. 33% are sticking with 138, the classic four chapter volume. 28.7% think we’re strapped in for a little longer at 140+ chapters. 2.5% think we’re wrapping up in just two chapters. And 6 respondents think the next chapter is the last! Gonna guess you’re either hoping for Falco to crash into a tree or you’re just tired of this ride. (Sorry, the ride never ends.)

I'm worried about the pacing. While I was glad to have a glimpse of Bert (and Erwin) again, his appearance is long overdue. Along with a whole bag of other characters who need resolutions. I don't know how Isayama will delegate worthwhile endings to this huge cast and themes in 3-4 chapters.

Each chapter makes me feel there's 3 chapters left (and there has passed more than 3 chapters since I thought that for the first time xd)

Another amazing chapter. I see the story ending at Chapter 139. Three more chapters of action, deaths and twists, and one more epilogue chapter.

There's apparently not much of the series left but this chapter still doesn't feel like we're that near the end :/

I was expecting a lot of people to die this time around, but I guess that'll happen later considering we seem to have one more volume left after this one. That actually raises my hopes a bit on the ending not being as rushed as we were afraid it would be. And the return of the anime on top of that? Man, I'm not ready to say goodbye. :(

I'm worried if Isayama will be able to end every character arc. I mean, we're left with 1 or 2% of manga and there is this quite a lot of things to end. I just hope ending won't be rushed.

...it just added a lot of questions like Yams has to give us 5 chapters for the last volume at this point lol.

dunno how this ends with everyone being satisfied. Estimating that 3 chapters are left we need a conclusion to Reiner, Mikasa and the promised Eren and Armin confrontation. While there's mysteries like Zeke's whereabouts, what's going on w Historia, why can ymir manifest herself in the real world, what did eren mean by saying "you haven't gotten to the part where I eat our old man", Bertholdt shard of him getting spared by Dina and Mikasa's see you later scene. Not to mention an epilogue where if alliance wins we get to see how the world treats the eldians now. Im already losing faith that minor characters might be just cannon fodder and I find myself saying "Its Isayama. one chapter where it feels nothing happened doesn't meant we're getting a rushed ending" too often these days.

  WHAT ARE YOU MOST HOPING TO SEE NEXT CHAPTER? 1,960 responses

It feels like there’s a lot to accomplish with so few chapters remaining. While Eren’s POV is still top on our wishlist (29%), “I don’t care just resolve a mystery, any of them” was the number two (19%). The third most common response was for Armin to come up with a plan (14%). Historia, Zeke and the more specific options all scored in single digits.

We need answers. NOW.

I liked this chapter but I’m getting tired of the mystery. We’ve been lead on for too long and there’s too many loose ends that need to be tied up already.

can we get eren’s pov now

Yes ! More Bertholdt please !!! I missed my big sweaty boy !

Where’s Freckled Ymir!!????!?!???!! Is Pieck okay!?!?!!!?!!

When will Levi die lol

Where armin

What happened to Armin!?? And does peick survive?

WHERE IS MONKE?!

Where the hell is eren?

I hope I can see Eren again

i hope isayama let levi kill zeke before he died , i want him to reunite with erwin and proudly tell him that he accomplish the mission

I just hope that Pieck and Armin are okay :((

i just want armin to be okay

I just want Eren/Mikasa, not all this shit(((

I just want to see Bertolt in the next chapter too

Wonder what is going on inside Ymir's head. Would also love to see Paradis' reaction to the ongoing massacre (if I didn't miss it somehow)

  WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 1,811 responses

While Reddit has historically stayed consistent, it’s been incredible to see the rise of Twitter and the fall of Tumblr as a dominant fandom platform. A year ago only 8% selected Twitter as their primary place for Attack on Titan discussion now that number is nearing 50%.  Last month it became the most selected platform, surpassing Reddit, and this month proves it was no fluke.

wish i had irl friends who read the manga oof

    ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE CHAPTER? 526 responses

🧐

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Hentai

10/10 again !!! Isayama knows what he’s doing and I trust him with the ending❤️

2/10

GOOD chapter, definitely some eclipse vibes lol, Armin seemed to have realized Ymir is the one with the power and that they'll have to deal with her sooner or later to stop the rumbling. Next step is realizing Eren is 100% ready to kill him if he needs to. Maybe they'll stop trying to kill poor Zook for no reason now at least.

I loved seeing the alliance get there asses clapped

I hope Eren Yeager doesn’t love anyone from “Attack on Titan”.

But it's weird, I thought best Ymir was in the chapter too? She owes us so much, even more if SnK's afterlife is canon (Hange couldn't have known of Keith's death otherwise). And technically, Zeke could be dead like the others. First I was so bored by his constant plot armor but now...

The titan designs were got tier. Isayama came in clutch with these designs

There are still a lot of mysteries unsolved about the Titans and Eren's whereabouts is unknown. Would love to know more about the Ackerman blood too.

This poll is biased for not including statements against Mikasa and the Alliance.

If ymir creates the bodies of titan shifters, why did she give falco a bird form if she wants to stop them? Not saying it's a plot hole yet, but I hope there's a reason for it.

The title reminds me of the chinese saying of “天人交戰” which literally translates as battle between the heaven and human but means ones inner struggle. Maybe it is referring to eren’s inner struggle of wanting freedom and having to kill everything standing between him and freedom. Idk.

A lot of people have been trying to make sense why we're learning about Ymir freeing the pigs here of all places, but rather than it being evidence that she's some evil mastermind I think it's a representation of how devastating this cycle of hatred has been. In that first scene we see Ymir as a kind and empathetic girl who decides that though she can't free herself, she can still help these simple animals who she saw earlier also wanted to escape. But in the present, after suffering greatly for her kindness and being forced into servitude that lasted for countless years and even into death, we see Ymir not just as willing to commit a brutal omnicide on the rest of the world but as someone who is seemingly enslaving others in the pursuit of that goal - in many ways, she might be repeating the same crimes that were done to her by King Fritz.

After seeing the first episode of the new anime season and how well Mappa delivered on that, I cannot *wait* to see the crazy battle action of this chapter animated.

Armin, as expected, ended up a failure yet again. This is what Bertholdt, Erwin and Hange died for -_-

GIVE 👏 ARMIN 👏 A 👏GODDAMN 👏 BREAK

Armin is beginning to understand this always was about Ymir. After seeing her twice.

I really wish Armin could do something besides being tortured with doubt and getting captured.  

BERT IS BACK BERT IS BACK BERT IS BACK BERT IS BACK BERT IS BACK BERT IS BACK BERT IS BACK BERT IS BACK BERT IS BACK BERT IS BACK BERT IS BACK BERT IS BACK

can levi die already let this old man reunite with his homies in shingeki no heaven. at this point death is like the only peace and/or freedom anyone can get in this series which is kind of a shitty message

I'm a fan of how fucking OP Eren and Ancestor Ymir, which is honestly how it should be. I never expected The Alliance to stand a chance, and they all got fucking wrecked. I'm completely surprised nobody died, I feel like that'll be changed next chapter, though; unfortunately. My main question is: What the fuck do The Alliance plan to do next without Armin and Pieck? Also, seeing the past shifters was fucking amazing and I didn't expect that shit.

Decent chapter. I gave it a 3/5, because it was a purely action, set-up chapter with not so great action scenes, at least compared to other great fight scenes in the series. Still, we got quite a few nice panels and interesting powers, so i will be looking foreard to the payoff.

eren better be in the next chapter idc 🙄‼️

Eren is trying to kill his friends, Ymir is not controling him, he is FREE. Accept it already.

FALCO WILL EAT EREN LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I need this tension between mikasa and Eren resolved in the following chapters....these two are the only characters regarding whom I'm totally not sure what tf will end up happening to them.

Hange would've loved to see all the different types of titans from bygone times. I wish they were still alive, I miss them.

I can't believe that best boy Bertholdt Hoover, the one true God of Destruction, is back, and as usual, the first thing Isayama does is make him cry. Absolutely incredible. This is all I'll think of this month.

I think the Ymir revelation was huge but other than that it was an anxiety-inducing rollercoaster of will they, won't they (die). Nothing much happened. I feel antsy

I think there is a possibility that eren and ymir brought back the shifters because they agree (mostly) with the rumbling and bert is crying because he knows what he has to do to ensure it

I wonder if Ymir regrets setting those pigs free. It was the act that set her life into further misery. I think it's beautiful but tragic how Eren really gave her back the will to fight.

I'm blown away

I'm honestly shocked at how incredible this story has become. Much like Bertholt I feel like I'm fine with whatever happens, because this whole journey and the world are incredibly cruel. And that does not make it bad by any means, it makes it more meaningful.

I'm not a huge fan of the fight scenes so I'd just like to see a satisfying climax and conclusion to the fight soon. Looking forward to Levi killing Zeke and all the reunions.

I'm really optimistic about Bertholdt possibly coming back, oh gods I hope he comes back.

I'm scared because this chapter didn't progress a lot of the story and we only have 3 or maybe 4 chapters left.

Isayama really got to flex his ability to design terrifying monstrous titans again.

It was an interesting chapter. It really works well if you think about it. Regular humans who are humanity's last hope, the strongest soldiers left are against two literal gods. Of course it will not be easy at all, Ymir summoning all those titans and everyone nearly dying multiple times is proof that you cannot defeat such gods that easily. Very excited for the next chapter to see how everything else plays out.

Maybe Anni can use her female titan powers and attract all of the former titan shifters - so that Mikasa detonates the Bombs.

Mikasa deserves a fuckn BREAK. like God she saw her family get butchered TWICE, first by humans, then by titans and now fckn Eren took away the one family she was desperately trying to protect. If anyone should've gone crazy like Eren it's mikasa. She does seem to be at her wit's end and ready to go above and beyond after saving everyone in this chapter and seeing the harm Ymir/Eren is causing. But since she's always done what she believed in, no matter what she does, I just want Mikasa's character to get some sort of happiness by the end of it. Is that too much to ask :/

Nobody said “The Eagles are coming” bad chapter 0/10. I’m kidding. But in all seriousness I really just want to see the ending already. I’m going to imagine it ends with the remnants of humanity rebuilding and promising to never be turbo-racist ever again while a tired Historia looks on with her baby saying “You are free” or something.

PIECK DONT DIE I LOVE YOU!!!!!

PIECK GREATNESS NEXT EPISODE

Reibert pandering for this chapter. It was a tad too fast but I love the focus on Reiner reacting to the CT attacking him. reiner could ALMOST die of the gayest way possible had Jean not butted in.

Screamed when Annie came on

Sets up for a super exciting finale

spare eren POV crumbs? dunno what this man been thinking since chapter 86

stanning bertholdt hoover isn't just a hobby, it's a lifestyle, a reason to breathe, he's also an art, the first gift you open on xmas, a hug from a loved one, he is everything I have ever wanted, and everything I needed.

hOLY FUCKING SH—

I cant see when or how it'll end

I did NOT expect Armin to get tongue porn'd. It's hilarious to imagine Annie seeing that HAHAHAHAHA

I really miss eren so much...AoT without him...it's long time we didn't see him pls isayama):

I rlly don’t see Ymir the same way and I hope it won’t affect the way I see Eren

I still miss Hange :(

I think Bertholdt was crying because his Titan was forced to attack and eat Reiner, against his own will

I think Connie will be the one to help Levi take down Zeke. Levi will live!!!

I thought it was very good. Not peak AOT but great! There was to many saves before death , reminded me of bleach. Seeing the old Titans was really cool and the action was great also.

I want armin and annie flashback in next chapter

i want EMA meet again):

I want Mikasa to choke Eren with the scarf

I want monke boi back :(

I want more Eren

I want more!!!!!!!

I wanted see Historia

I was really excited to hear we were getting more bertholdt

I was vey hyped because of this chapter and it delivered. During all the chapter i was like "someone's gonna die someone's gonna die" and when Berthold's titan appears and eats reiner's titan I screamed, but that son of a bitch is inmortal hahah.

idc idc come back to save pieck and armin please

It gives the idea of how powerful that titan god is, i think it lives up to Rod's description of titam god and how powerful it felt during Ymir's backstory (her form)

It got really hype when all the past shifters came over but Pieck’s bomb failing could be seen a mile away. Over amazing with some nice moments.

it is really, life and death situation. still, looking forward to this especially the ending. how will aot end? surely, it will be a legacy. a great masterpiece made by isayama-sensei.

it maintains a nice pace

It sucks. Manga went downhill since chap 105. The shit needs to end.

It was a classic high tension action chapter which I loved

IT WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯

It was amazing and full of a lot of lore!

It was amazing! I'd say this could be one of the best chapters written! So much action went on to the point where I hope MAPPA has a decent sized budget to animate it all. I'm really eager to see what the next chapter has in store. The main thing I'm looking forward to that wasn't listed here is basically what will happen to Levi. Is he going to survive through all this, or is he going to succumb to his wounds? Is he going to pair up with Zeke to take down Eren? Or is he going to stay on the "sidelines" untill the war is over?

It was fun, but somewhat inconsequential aside from Falco

It was good, i just need some answeres. Ymirs ability was so sudden.

It was great to finally see previous titan shifter forms, especially the beast titans.

It was just overall so epic

It was really great in terms of action but disappointing as well since there was too much plot armour - I was expecting at least one death.

it was really nice before the episode, it's all getting so intense and i didn't expect ymir to go in with a bang like this

It was really nice, all the symbolism, along with Mikasa with the wings was amazing.

it was super crazy

It'll probably be more enjoyable in the anime (if MAPPA even tackles this). Straight battles have never been this manga's strong suit.

Jean, dare to die and I won't love you anymore >:'(

Its up to ho wmany chapters we have left, if we have like 10 it was a very good one, if we have smt like 3 ( that i dont think so ) it was waste of time

Levi is almost certainly dead/dying

Levi might be a ‘slave’ to being a hero but he’s a victim of his own popularity which is preventing Isayama from killing him off. We know he’s not gonna fulfill his promise to Erwin because Levi never gets what he really wants, surprise surprise. But if he keeps getting injured and left out of action he’ll live the rest of his life with nothing but regrets.

levi please don't die

LEVI PLEASE SURVIVE :(

levi u ok buddy

Levi's leg is not daijobu,,, is he even alive

Lol who TF cares about Bert? He killed hundreds of thousands of innocent Eldians alongside Reiner and Annie. I still say he deserved what he got and is not worthy of any kind of sympathy, no matter how many angsty teardrops Isayama draws on his stupid face.

looking forward to seeing it animated.

Lots of weirdness, but still great

man the titan battles were great, seeing all the previous titans fight was pretty awesome seeing the hopelessness form the alliance really showed the reality of it all, now they lost 2 additional titans leaving Eren with 6 and the alliance down to 3

MAPPA gon be hurting

not enough lesbians

Not for the chapter but, All the openings and endings(lyrics and images) of the series have some details of the things we are experiencing with the latest chapters

That being said that Annie scene was pretty cringe. I expected that, but it was so cliché it's ridiculous.

ONLY BERT & PIECK HAVE RIGHTS

overall good! it was alot to process but im on board and excited for the next one

Pls end it Mikasa, you can do it.

Plz yams don't give me hope like this

Professor X vs. Magneto soon

really crazy. You have to admit that Isayama doesn't stop when it comes to creativity.

Really curious about Bertolt apparition

Pretty good. As much as I want the Alliance to win in the end, their utter defeat this chapter felt more realistic, than if they managed to actually do anything.

Really liked Jean and Reiners moments this chapter, overall a good chapter that flew by. Hope quickly turned into desperation but Falcons teams arrival means they got one more chance. Armin capture thing was a little weird but more or less makes sense.

Since the rumbling started, this series has became more dull and predictable. Loads of plot armor, stupid teosts only for shock value and weird pacing are major problems in this arc. Too bad, because the post timeskip portion of this manga up until  the rumbling was one of the best pieces of media I had seen. But now I am only expecting the boring  cliche shonen ending.

Still hate Annie being back, she can still go.

Still think Mikasa is gonna be the one to either kill Eren or bring him back to his senses somehow

The afterlife thing still hasn't answered and I wanna know how's the corps doing T_T

The Alliance got dumpsterd yet no one died. They'll probably die in all in one chapter.

the art, as usual, was really good

There are still some mysteries to solve and things to do (like EMA final convo, which I don't think will last just 2 or 3 pages) in so little time, I'm kinda worried to be honest.

This chapter is full of plot twists, I didn't even expect the storyline to turn out like this.

This chapter is painfull and more action at the same time and i hope there are still chances that there old happy days will be back

This chapter was actually exciting! And thank goodness Bertolt is finally back!!!!! So many people assumed he was finished and forgotten, but a small group of us knew Isayama wouldn't leave us hanging without his closure. I'm looking forward to learning why we're seeing him now and whatever's going to happen to Armin

This chapter was breathtaking and hard to continue due to the speculations that someone was going to die. I feel like the next few chapters is where things start to get serious if not already. I found it very enjoyable yet nervous at some moments.

This was so crazy and hopeless like it's peak apocalypse even more than rumbling. It's a nightmare I love Isayama

Too many last-seconds saves kinda ruins the tension.

umm it would've been better

Ummm this chapter had too much suspense

uuuuuuuhhh nothing else i guess

Very PogChamp

We are going to get the best manga ending ever.

Nobody is free yet...

MAN WTF IS HAPPENING I READ TBE MANGA BHT HAVENT REREAD IT AND I FORGOT WVERYTHING MAN WTF

[francesbeau]

The Moon Signs of Bojack Horseman Characters

Just my opinion, I am not aware of the canon moon signs if there are any. :)

Mr Peanutbutter - Leo Moon in the 7th House: Although it may seem stereotypical to give the character who loves attention a Leo placement, I do actually think this makes sense. A key component of the Leo moon is that they love to entertain others and have an easy flow of charisma. Both things are applicable to Mr peanutbutter and we can see this most prominently through the various types of events he puts on within his house ie. a reality TV show, election campaign etc, etc. Another, more negative aspect of the Leo moon is their childish nature that can be transmuted into arrogance. We constantly see Mr. PB engage in very childish acts, such as buying Diane a belle themed library, and his childish nature can be argued to be one of the main facets of his personality that he tries to eradicate towards the series denouement. As the Moon represents relationships with the parents, specifically the mother, this childishness can be reflected in the parents outlook on life. Whilst there is no indication Mr Peanutbutter sees his parents as childish as the audience we can deduct that they most definitely are, partly from being dogs and also their inability to teach him about ‘important’ matters, such as death, preferring to say that a dead relative has gone to a ranch and is having a relaxing time. Because Leo is represented by the lion another key factor of Leo moons is there obsession with pride, we see this multiple times throughout his trajectory but more importantly we see him take pride in his friends accomplishments, Todd’s various creations, Bojack’s role, Diane’s intellect - this love of other people transpires to his Leo moon being in the 7th house. So, the 7th house is ruled by Libra and because of this people with the moon in this house can place a lot of emphasis on romantic relationships, finding love to be the sole benefactor to their emotional upkeep. He definitely does have his emotional security come from his romances, shown very clearly through his inability to remain single - the childlike nature of the Leo moon comes into shine when in these relationships too as he often only pursues women who are a lot younger than him. Many argue that this is due to a darker desire for unfair power dynamics but I see it as hum just trying to find a woman who shares his youthful ideals, someone like pickles. 

Bojack - Scorpio Moon in the 10th house: Again, it may seem redundant to give the cynical character with a bad childhood a Scorpio moon but I do actually think it matches up well. The Scorpio moons relationship with the mother is known to be turbulent, with the mother often not providing the child wit the correct emotional nurturing. But another aspect of the mother is that she can be seen to be highly secretive, this is definitely true for Beatrice, she is secretive about her affection for Bojack, secretive about Henrietta and secretive about her own family life, never actually recounting any of these tales to Bojack until she gets dementia. Scorpio moons are often praised for their keen sense of ambition, and as we follow Bojack through his later years we often forget that he was a highly ambitious man, writing to secretariat, doing comedy clubs, constantly trying to find jobs. As for the negative aspects, these moon signs can be moody, vengeful and judgmental. Throughout Bojack’s character arc we see him desperately try to expel these traits in himself, failing miserably thus causing a drug/alcohol relapse. This is because these traits are innate to him, through his fixed moon sign. Another thing to mention is that the Scorpio moon is ruled by Mars, the planet of aggression, this helps us to understand why Bojack is so overly agitated of his own emotions and even sometimes the emotional needs of other people, such as Gina. Something else which is quintessentially Scorpio moon is that they are secretive about their feelings, and whilst this is partly true for Bojack we watch within the first two seasons how he uses his negative emotions to create a best selling book, this is because of the moon in the 10th house. The 10th house’s main focal point is career and it is because of this that Bojack has a harsh aspect within his chart - the innate desire to keep his emotions unspoken and the desire to be successful and use his emotions to advance his career. And from this we see that Bojacks desire for recognition (probably stemming from the lack of nurturing as a child) out-weighs his Scorpio influence, this leads me to believe that the moon in his chart has some positive aspect relating to his midheaven, Chiron or north node. 

Princess Carolyn - Capricorn Moon in the 2nd house: I honestly believe Princess Carolyn fulfils every trait of the Capricorn moon, she is essentially the archetype of an ‘emotionless, hardworking’ woman who secretly has a lot of emotions she keeps secret. Practical, sensible, rational and ambitious are all traits of the Capricorn moon that align perfectly to her approach to life. The most Capricorn moon emotion she exhibited was when she looked into the mirror and said ‘serves you right for having feelings’, when I watched this, as a Capricorn moon, I instantly thought that she must have a Saturn ruled moon as she way she represses emotions and sees them as weakness is so quintessentially Saturn. A positive trait of this moon sign is that they can have a strong sense of worth and because of this can set clear boundaries with others - this is something she masters as the show progresses and it was truly great to watch. However, a boundary she always fuses is her emotional attachment to work. The Capricorn moon gets a lot of self satisfaction out of their achievements so it is no surprised Princess Carolyn struggles to create a healthy distinction between these two important life aspects. The episode, ‘Ruthie’ was a perfect example of the Capricorn moon in its fall - with her looking at the prospect of a child as more of a project than a really fun, exiting moment, this highlighting her inability to separate the work from the home life. Much like the Scorpio moon, this moon placements often has a tough time with the mother figure in their life. This is true within Carolyn's life. The Capricorn moon often has a mother who is either too strict, too domineering, too harsh. Or a mother who is too neglectful - particularly emotionally. The interesting thing about Carolyn’s mother is that she is both, she was constantly emotionally unavailable towards her daughter and often neglected all of her children's needs, forcing Carolyn to have to look after her siblings. On the other hand, when Carolyn falls pregnant at 18 her mother switches to the overly harsh parenting approach, conducting Carolyn's life to stay at home and be a mother. This relationship with the mother links closely to the moon being in the second house. The second house is ruled by Taurus and therefore equates to wealth, however when the moon is in the second it can represent a negative attachment to money and material possessions. We see through the fact she grew up in a ‘poor’ household and through her attachment to her necklace which she believes was really expensive, which, of course turned out to be really insignificant and cheap. However, the energy between the Capricorn moon in the second house gives one a fantastic work ethic towards making money - something which is obvious through Carolyn's personality. Having a Capricorn moon makes sense in her relation to Bojack’s Scorpio moon, she sympathizes with his rough childhood whilst also being able to maintain a strong outward show of being the ‘good agent’.

Todd Chavez - Moon in cancer, 11th House: Because the moon is in its ruling planet in Cancer we see that those with this placement are highly sentimental and open to empathy. This is reflected in his character as he repeatedly empathizes wit the plights of the character around him, always trying to maneuver himself into helping others. This deeply sensitive placement has the negative trait associated with all cancer placements and that is that it is passive aggressive. So whilst Todd is not a massive aggressive character we see the moments of confrontation surrounding him to be subdued and therefore passive aggressive. This placement craves emotional; support and intimacy from the Moher, intimacy that they may not be allowed - we can see this reflected in his kidney dilemma towards the end of the series. As for the moon being in the 11th House, this house can often represent a lack of understanding and a feeling of otherness. Despite Todd's positive moon sign, no one really understands how he feels, ever. His dad doesn't understand his lack of ambitious, Bojack not understanding his need for comfort and all characters not really understanding his asexuality. This placement bodes well between him and Bojack as they both have water moons allowing them to have an unspoken bond, emotionally with one another. Todd never pushing Bojack's Scorpio moon to indulge in emotional conversations. This moon also acts nicely with Carolyn’s earth moon, explaining why Todd took on the role of Ruthies babysitter. 

Ralph Stilton - Moon in Virgo, 5th house: A common trait of any Virgo placement but especially the moon is nervousness. This is definitely apparent in Ralph’s character. The Virgo moon is also known to be critical, both to themselves and to the outside world. Ralphs middle class lifestyle granted him the ability to judge and we can also infer that, through his timid nature, he is self-critical. The Virgo moon’s relationship with the mother can be characterized as fairly unpleasant. With many of these mothers being critical of their children and desiring their children to be perfect. This is definitely shown in Ralphs family who dislike Princess Carolyn from the beginning, his mother is overly critical of his partners here. The moon is comfortable in the 5th house and because of this, this placement gives a person who cares about others feelings and has others interests at heart - this helps to evaluate why he is such a ‘pushover’ to Carolyn's needs. In terms of compatibility, the reason in which he and Carolyn worked well together is down to the fact they are both earth moons and therefore have a lot of the same goals, expressions of emotions and similar experiences. 

Sarah Lynn - Moon in Taurus, 1st House: The moon  in Taurus can be described as the most indulgent Taurus placement die to the vulnerability of the moon, this is actually a really good placement for emotions, making the subject process emotions quite well and be, generally quite empathetic. This is shown in Sarah Lynn’s dying speech to Bojack, where she is openly emotionally and has a magnificent ability in articulating the raw emotions and experiences of her life. She also caters to the emotional needs of others, an example being where she offered to get really high with Bojack when he came to her upset. However, this coping mechanism is de not great and we can relate this to the indulgence of the Taurus moon. This moon loves the finer things - seen through her extravagant house but this moon also loves to over indulge - seen in her addictions. This moon craves emotional security and security in general, maybe explaining her attachment to toxic figures in life. The Taurus moon’s mother may be seen as materialistic by the child. This is seen in Sarah's mum who forced her child into acting too young just so she could be rich. This moon can be argued to be placed in the fist house for multiple reasons. People with significant first house placements can be seen to be idealistic and youthful, this corresponds to the fact that even as she approaches middle age she remains very childlike. The first house also responds to appearances and approaches to life, something which is integral to Sarah Lynn's character and also to her emotional satisfaction, with, in the end, her realizing that it all means very little. In terms of compatibility, her Taurus moon compliments Bojack's Scorpio as both fixed signs are on an axis to one another, explaining their draw to each other, whether that be platonically or romantic.

Diane - Moon in Gemini, 12th House - Being ruled by mercury, Gemini moons are often very mercurial in nature, this definitely applies to Diane who ultimately makes this nature the basis of her entire career, from working at Buzzfeed to writing a book. Gemini Moons have a proclivity to other think every action they do, often thinking that they are making the wrong option. This is such a fatal flaw of Diane's character, from romantic relationships to Jobs she is always shrouded by worry and thinking that how she acts will be perceived in ways she does not want. This is especially poignant in her speech in one of the last episodes of the final scenes surrounding trauma and how it influences her writing. Gemini moons, as a byproduct of the planet mercury, have a natural proclivity to judge others, this cynical nature is definitely a key aspect of Diane's personality, being heightened when she argues with other characters, such as Bojack who, after his Oscar, she judges vehemently. The Gemini moon tends to have a lighthearted relationship with the mother, someone they perceive to be smart and caring, this of course does not transmute with Diane's family and for t his reason I believe that Diane’s moon is square the sun - giving a general variety of tension to any relationship - also signifying a bad familial bond. The 12th house, amongst other things can be seen as the self-enemy. The aspect of yourself that you seem to ruin. And it does seem that Diane's emotional outbursts repeatedly ruin or altercate different situations and relationships she is in. Specifically in the character arc of her trying to write a book. She acts as her own worst enemy, repeatedly self-sabotaging by other thinking about her own ability to even write a book. In terms of Moon signs we see Diane having a massive lack of compatibility with all the aforementioned characters, this just pertain to how it seemed she felt throughout the show, constantly misunderstood by the people around her. 

[basicsofislam]

ISLAM 101: Muslim Culture and Character: Reflections (Tafakkur): Servanthood to God

Soil and Rose

Question: In his work, Gulistan, Sheikh Sadi states: “Be soil, so that you grow roses; nothing other than soil can grow roses.” What meanings does this aphorism suggest pertaining to our understanding of servanthood to God?

Answer: If we first look at the literal meaning of this aphorism, we can say the following:

Roses only grow in soil. As it is not possible for a rose to grow from granite, marble or iron, it also cannot grow from silver, gold, emerald or ruby even though these materials are held by people as so precious.

Actually, the fact people are buried in the soil when they die, suggests the same meaning. The body of a deceased person is not cast aside; rather it is buried in the ground so that it grows otherworldly roses in the beyond. You can attribute it to the truth about the last coccyx bone[1] or some other interpretation. Human beings contain such an essence that God Almighty resurrects them through it. However, one who has let himself decay spiritually in this world, will not be able to grow as a rose in the realm of Paradise.

The Pinnacle of Servanthood: Prostration

Soil represents both modesty and humility. Although it is trampled underfoot, with God’s permission and grace it serves as a source of life for people and other beings. Therefore, if a person is like the soil, as long as he remains modest and sees himself as nothing despite any position he is elevated to, as long as he remains a humble servant to God, he will always rise and bear fruit. However, a person who assumes greatness and tries to fly in the air will fall headfirst one day.

In this respect, a person must be humble in accordance with the favors and blessings that God has bestowed upon him. You can visualize this truth by thinking about the essential movements in Prayer. For example, a person who makes the opening takbir, “Allahu Akbar,” sees his position before God as insufficient and humbly bows before Him in a form of reverence. Afterwards, the person virtually says: “My God I am so thankful to You, for You have given me the opportunity to worship You thus, how great You are! How exalted You are! Given that You are the only One who is great, what falls to me is insignificance. However, I cannot express this while standing on my feet. Here I lower myself before You as much as possible.” With these feelings, the person prostrates before his Lord. Then he says: “O God, Thanks are for You my Lord, for Your blessing me with the opportunity to worship You thus. How great You are! How exalted You are!” Then he sits back beseechingly. As if the person has caught a glimpse of Him, he finds the first prostration insufficient and prostrates himself again.

Remember the following saying of the Pride of Humanity, peace and blessings be upon him: “The closest that a servant of God is to his Lord is while he is prostrating,” Thus he stated that there is no state in which a person can be closer to God other than prostration. This meaning is expressed in a poem as:

Head and feet both on the ground, the Prayer rug kisses the forehead.

For closeness to God, here is the road.

The Disaster of Laying Claim to Achievements

So how close a person will be to God is determined in accordance with the degree of his modesty and humility. Actually, this is the general attitude of a genuine believer when confronted with the showers of blessings bestowed by God. Such a believer becomes more and more humbled before the infinite blessings of the Beneficent Lord, he places his head on the ground and declares his nothingness before the Infinite.

In this respect, those who have dedicated themselves to serving their religion, country and people must never lay claim to achievements, no matter how high a position they are promoted to. They must always retain humility and not entertain any expectations other than God’s good pleasure. They must not attach their hearts to any worldly or otherworldly returns. People devoted to serving humanity on the path of truth must not cherish any ideas such as, “Let me settle this worldly affair of mine; let me have a house where I can live comfortably; let my child achieve this advantageous position…” In addition, they must not associate the services that they carry out with entering Paradise or being saved from Hell, as they must expect these as unmerited favors from Divine grace, providence and protection.

Those who fill their pockets and form money pools whilst claiming they are serving the nation, are obviously lying as their actions show. They seek to gain worldly positions and have expectations such as popularity, applause, appreciation and becoming the center of attention for the services they carry out. These denote hypocrisy, egotism and daring to be so insolent as to bargain with God. Those who lay claim to success and achievements, which are but Divine favors, who ascribe these to their own cleverness, intellect, perspicacity and sagacity and thus boast like pharaohs, may have this opportunity today. However, tomorrow they will lose in utter failure what they have in their hands today. Just as they insolently stick their noses in the air today, tomorrow they will eat humble pie with their noses rubbing in the dust. This is the Divine Custom, which has never changed.

Be Manure, So That You Fertilize Roses!

It is out of the question for a real believer to take advantage of certain accomplishments for personal gain, or to grow insolent and boastful with the lightheadedness of victory. In the face of favors bestowed by the Divine, a real believer acts with considerations such as, “I wonder whether I can propagate a suitable environment to encourage new roses to flourish by returning to the soil with my roses, flowers, leaves and roots?”

When the famous literary master, Necip Fazil, referred to himself, he would say: “And take me as some manure.” I never forget this statement of his. Despite being aware of his greatness, cherishing such ideas is very important in indicating his modesty, effacement and humility. This is how a believer should see himself. Even if a believer becomes a rose garden and flourishes so vigorously that nightingales flock all around and start singing for him, he must still have the awareness to fall back to the soil in modesty as rose petals for the sake of making new roses grow. It is our duty, in the face of the bountiful showers of blessings bestowed by God, to further deepen our effacement, modesty and humility. When others talk about us with appreciation, we should be able to say, “How strange, what did we do wrong that these people are singing our praises, which to us is like swearing!”

From the perspective of causality, if we are to ascribe the services carried out to a cause other than God Almighty, they should be ascribed to the concord and unity between believers. One should remember that God Almighty accepts concord and unity as an expectant look directed toward Him, and He responds positively to those who turn to Him. Concord and unity are the most important means of Divine guidance and assistance.

Consider the meaning of the verse: “He has attuned their (the believers’) hearts. If you had spent all that is on the earth, you could not have attuned their hearts, but God has attuned them. Surely He is All-Glorious with irresistible might, All-Wise” (al-Anfal 8:63). As it is also pointed out here, what really matters is God’s help, protection and guarding. As long as we commit to Him, He will favor us bounteously, turning our one into thousands. He expresses His greatness by letting a drop carry out a task, which would normally require an entire sea. Similarly, He may employ an atom instead of a sun, or an ant instead of a rhinoceros; because one of God’s ways of expressing His greatness is through realizing great tasks by using very little things.

When the Pride of Humanity passed on from this world, his Companions numbered no more than 34,000. However, they were able to successfully deal with the Byzantines and Sassanids, the superpowers of the time. They then gained an important position among the world powers and put the balance of power in a new order. Moreover, they overcame eleven cases of collective apostasy, each of which was some three-four times greater than the PKK terrorism in the east of Turkey today. During his short caliphate of less than two and a half years, the blessed Abu Bakr suppressed all of these insurrections and maintained law and order. Certain persons who see themselves as great state leaders and talk about mechanized units but cannot even prevent a problem like the PKK should be ashamed of themselves.

Become So Merged with the Soil That Even Your Grave Will Be Unknown

God is sufficient, the rest is empty desire. We do not need applause, appreciation or flattery. We must serve God with the utmost humility and modesty, become fixed on gaining His good pleasure and then be buried in soil again in order to serve as a seed for a new rose. Let alone seeking appreciation in our lifetime, we should not even have such a desire and expectation as, “Let a huge crowd attend my funeral.” You should even regard the conventional statements during your funeral ceremony about your being a good person as idle talk and never forget that what really matters is maintaining a sound relationship with God Almighty.

We should always keep a low profile and pass to the eternal realm thus. If possible, we should even wish our grave to remain anonymous like the great guide Bediüzzaman did. Remember that he said, “Let nobody know where my grave is, except for a few students of mine.” For God’s sake, what an admirable conception of Divine unity, what a wondrous relationship with God it is! Since he passed from this world, none but a few people know the whereabouts of his grave. He internalized the principle of extraordinary modesty, effacement and humility as a philosophy of life and led his life with an utterly low profile.

If we have to have some expectations for the services we carry out let them be that the spirit of the noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is revived and pervades the four corners of the earth. However, even in this respect we should not insist that we personally see the results, but leave the issue to the decree of Divine Will. It is not correct to prioritize anything other that what He wills. We want and wish, but cannot know what He wills. Some souls with a propensity to be like coal will never embrace right guidance and become like a diamond, even if we wish it. Though we are resolute and persistent, so that God Almighty and His Messenger will set a throne in hearts, we leave the result to God alone and welcome His judgment and decree.

[tawakkull]

ISLAM 101: Muslim Culture and Character: Reflections (Tafakkur): Part 6

SERVANTHOOD TO GOD

Soil and Rose

Question: In his work, Gulistan, Sheikh Sadi states: “Be soil, so that you grow roses; nothing other than the soil can grow roses.” What meanings does this aphorism suggest pertaining to our understanding of servanthood to God?

Answer: If we first look at the literal meaning of this aphorism, we can say the following:

Roses only grow in soil. As it is not possible for a rose to grow from granite, marble or iron, it also cannot grow from silver, gold, emerald or ruby even though these materials are held by people as so precious.

Actually, the fact people are buried in the soil when they die, suggests the same meaning. The body of a deceased person is not cast aside; rather it is buried in the ground so that it grows otherworldly roses in the beyond. You can attribute it to the truth about the last coccyx bone or some other interpretation. Human beings contain such an essence that God Almighty resurrects them through it. However, one who has let himself decay spiritually in this world, will not be able to grow as a rose in the realm of Paradise.

The Pinnacle of Servanthood: Prostration

Soil represents both modesty and humility. Although it is trampled underfoot, with God’s permission and grace it serves as a source of life for people and other beings. Therefore, if a person is like the soil, as long as he remains modest and sees himself as nothing despite any position he is elevated to, as long as he remains a humble servant to God, he will always rise and bear fruit. However, a person who assumes greatness and tries to fly in the air will fall headfirst one day.

In this respect, a person must be humble in accordance with the favors and blessings that God has bestowed upon him. You can visualize this truth by thinking about the essential movements in Prayer. For example, a person who makes the opening takbir, “Allahu Akbar,” sees his position before God as insufficient and humbly bows before Him in a form of reverence. Afterward, the person virtually says: “My God I am so thankful to You, for You have given me the opportunity to worship You thus, how great You are! How exalted You are! Given that You are the only One who is great, what falls to me is insignificance. However, I cannot express this while standing on my feet. Here I lower myself before You as much as possible.” With these feelings, the person prostrates before his Lord. Then he says: “O God, Thanks are for You my Lord, for Your blessing me with the opportunity to worship You thus. How great You are! How exalted You are!” Then he sits back beseechingly. As if the person has caught a glimpse of Him, he finds the first prostration insufficient and prostrates himself again.

Remember the following saying of the Pride of Humanity, (peace and blessings be upon him): “The closest that a servant of God is to his Lord is while he is prostrating,” Thus he stated that there is no state in which a person can be closer to God other than prostration. This meaning is expressed in a poem as:

Head and feet both on the ground, the Prayer rug kisses the forehead.

For closeness to God, here is the road.

The Disaster of Laying Claim to Achievements

So how close a person will be to God is determined in accordance with the degree of his modesty and humility. Actually, this is the general attitude of a genuine believer when confronted with the showers of blessings bestowed by God. Such a believer becomes more and more humbled before the infinite blessings of the Beneficent Lord, he places his head on the ground and declares his nothingness before the Infinite.

In this respect, those who have dedicated themselves to serving their religion, country, and people must never lay claim to achievements, no matter how high a position they are promoted to. They must always retain humility and not entertain any expectations other than God’s good pleasure. They must not attach their hearts to any worldly or otherworldly returns. People devoted to serving humanity on the path of truth must not cherish any ideas such as, “Let me settle the this-worldly affair of mine; let me have a house where I can live comfortably; let my child achieve this advantageous position…” In addition, they must not associate the services that they carry out with entering Paradise or being saved from Hell, as they must expect these as unmerited favors from Divine grace, providence, and protection.

Those who fill their pockets and form money pools whilst claiming they are serving the nation are obviously lying as their actions show. They seek to gain worldly positions and have expectations such as popularity, applause, appreciation and becoming the center of attention for the services they carry out. These denote hypocrisy, egotism and daring to be so insolent as to bargain with God. Those who lay claim to success and achievements, which are but Divine favors, who ascribe these to their own cleverness, intellect, perspicacity, and sagacity and thus boast like pharaohs, may have this opportunity today. However, tomorrow they will lose in utter failure what they have in their hands today. Just as they insolently stick their noses in the air today, tomorrow they will eat humble pie with their noses rubbing in the dust. This is the Divine Custom, which has never changed.

Be Manure, So That You Fertilize Roses!

It is out of the question for a real believer to take advantage of certain accomplishments for personal gain, or to grow insolent and boastful with the lightheadedness of victory. In the face of favors bestowed by the Divine, a real believer acts with considerations such as, “I wonder whether I can propagate a suitable environment to encourage new roses to flourish by returning to the soil with my roses, flowers, leaves, and roots?”

Despite being aware of his greatness, cherishing such ideas is very important in indicating his modesty, effacement, and humility. This is how a believer should see himself. Even if a believer becomes a rose garden and flourishes so vigorously that nightingales flock all around and start singing for him, he must still have the awareness to fall back to the soil in modesty as rose petals for the sake of making new roses grow. It is our duty, in the face of the bountiful showers of blessings bestowed by God, to further deepen our effacement, modesty, and humility. When others talk about us with appreciation, we should be able to say, “How strange, what did we do wrong that these people are singing our praises, which to us is like swearing!”

From the perspective of causality, if we are to ascribe the services carried out to a cause other than God Almighty, they should be ascribed to the concord and unity between believers. One should remember that God Almighty accepts concord and unity as an expectant look directed toward Him, and He responds positively to those who turn to Him. Concord and unity are the most important means of Divine guidance and assistance.

Consider the meaning of the verse: “He has attuned their (the believers’) hearts. If you had spent all that is on the earth, you could not have attuned their hearts, but God has attuned them. Surely He is All-Glorious with irresistible might, All-Wise” (al-Anfal 8:63). As it is also pointed out here, what really matters is God’s help, protection and guarding. As long as we commit to Him, He will favor us bounteously, turning our one into thousands. He expresses His greatness by letting a drop carry out a task, which would normally require an entire sea.

Similarly, He may employ an atom instead of a sun, or an ant instead of a rhinoceros; because one of God’s ways of expressing His greatness is through realizing great tasks by using very little things.

Become So Merged with the Soil That Even Your Grave Will Be Unknown

God is sufficient, the rest is empty desire. We do not need applause, appreciation or flattery. We must serve God with the utmost humility and modesty, become fixed on gaining His good pleasure and then be buried in the soil again in order to serve as a seed for a new rose. Let alone seeking appreciation in our lifetime, we should not even have such a desire and expectation as, “Let a huge crowd attend my funeral.” You should even regard the conventional statements during your funeral ceremony about your being a good person as idle talk and never forget that what really matters is maintaining a sound relationship with God Almighty.

We should always keep a low profile and pass to the eternal realm thus. If possible, we should even wish our grave to remain anonymous like the great guide Bediüzzaman did. Remember that he said, “Let nobody know where my grave is, except for a few students of mine.” For God’s sake, what an admirable conception of Divine unity, what a wondrous relationship with God it is! Since he passed from this world, none but a few people know the whereabouts of his grave. He internalized the principle of extraordinary modesty, effacement, and humility as a philosophy of life and led his life with an utterly low profile.

If we have to have some expectations for the services we carry out to let them be that the spirit of the noble Prophet, (peace and blessings be upon him), is revived and pervades the four corners of the earth. However, even in this respect, we should not insist that we personally see the results, but leave the issue to the decree of Divine Will. It is not correct to prioritize anything other than what He wills. We want and wish but cannot know what He wills. Some souls with a propensity to be like coal will never embrace right guidance and become like a diamond, even if we wish it. Though we are resolute and persistent, so that God Almighty and His Messenger will set a throne in hearts, we leave the result to God alone and welcome His judgment and decree.

[schraubd]

The Cruelty is the Point: SCOTUS Edition

In my roundup the other day, I included the case of an Muslim death row inmate in Alabama who had received a stay of execution by the 11th Circuit because the state was refusing to let his Imam be with him during his execution (the state would have allowed a Christian chaplain, who was a prison employee, in the room). I noted that Alabama appealing the stay -- but I almost didn't bother, since in my head I figured there was no chance the Supreme Court would get involved. Why would they? The stay was at most a minor inconvenience, the Establishment Clause problem seemed obvious and extreme, and there was no pressing issue here that demanded high court intervention to stop the case from proceeding at its own pace. Shows what I know. In a 5-4 decision (over a brutal Kagan dissent), the Supreme Court vacated the stay and allowed the execution to proceed. The inmate had filed his challenge too late -- not that it was actually barred, mind you, the Court just decided of its own discretion that the inmate was dilatory and that therefore it wouldn't allow the 11th Circuit to hear the case (never mind that, based on the record available, it seems that the inmate filed his case in a perfectly timely fashion). I have to confess, this rattled me -- more than I would have anticipated -- and I'm clearly not the only one. There are times when courts issue rulings I disagree with, and there are times that courts -- even the Supreme Court, with near-infinite discretion over its own docket -- are effectively compelled to step in and issue a decision in fraught circumstances where some people are going to be displeased with the outcome. But this wasn't one of those cases. There was no need for the Court to step in here; indeed, it was a shockingly aggressive intervention in a case where the balance of equities seemed to run decisively in favor of the inmate. In this context, the Court's decision -- and the meager faux-technical rationale behind (that doesn't even seem to stand on its own weight) -- feels worse than wrong. It feels petty. It feels mean-spirited, and it feels cruel. And while there are many times where I disagree with this Court on important issues, it is rare that I've felt that they were cruel. But that's what this decision was. I don't have a philosophical objection to the death penalty (though I have a welter of objections to how it is administered in practice). But I've always felt very strongly that it is important to treat even condemned inmates with respect and dignity -- that capital punishment does not license dehumanization. We're already locking them in a cage and then killing them, visiting further indignities upon them seems gratuitous. So whenever I see rabble-rousers start targeting "last meals", or a prisoner's few hours of "recreation time" because they're prisoners, they're the worst of the worst, I blanch. Such minor nods towards the continued humanity of the condemned are deeply rooted in our nation's history and tradition; they are part of what separates a justice system from unchannelled and unconstrained vengeance. It should be needless to say that allowing a man facing execution whatever comfort and support he might get from a pastor of his faith is also part of that tradition -- it is cruel, obviously and needlessly -- to deny him even that much. Indeed, the obviousness of this point is why Alabama has a (Christian)  chaplain on staff and available to begin with. So to deny that small comfort to an inmate because of his Muslim faith represents such a striking departure from tradition and practice that it is hard not to see it as motivated by religious animus -- that Muslims don't deserve whatever comfort and pastoral care they might receive from their false clerics. Particularly in the wake of the Muslim ban decision, one could forgive those who now seriously wonder if the basic human equality of the Muslim community is acknowledged at the highest court in our land. This decision is not a "great" decision. It sets no sweeping precedent, it's (nominal) basis on the alleged "delay" in filing means it doesn't even constrain future cases brought under similar facts. But in a way, its insignificance makes it worse rather than better. This was not a great case. It was a petty case. And the Court's pettiness in interceding is, in its way, far more indicting of its character than many far more jurisprudentially consequential rulings. via The Debate Link http://bit.ly/2Dnxe66

[louise27ann]

Fake Love MV: A Theory

So this is in the perspective that the boys represent parts of Jin.

Let’s begin with this image and take note of it: The Smeraldo flower is in the lamp. And it is an established fact in the bangtan-army galaxy that Smeraldo flowers mean “The truth that can’t be told”. So let’s assume this means, Jin is still trying to hide from his past. Conceal his unhappiness. Therefore, refusing to acknowledge the truth.

*sidenote: Smeraldo was encoded as “Seokjin’s flower”. Meaning Seokjin’s truth that can’t be told.

And then we saw Jin in the room, closing the curtains. And on the other side, in the dark was JK. Let’s say JK is the ‘him’, the real him who is lost. So he locked him in the dark. A symbolism of him shutting down his real self.

Then this scene. And lyrics. From one person, 6 personas came out. “I could pretend”, maybe those are the masks/characters/personalities he invented to pretend he’s happy and that’s he’s doing fine.

The next scenes, the lyrics were pretty important. It’s like he’s slowly realizing that even if he tries to hide and escape from the past. It’s still there. Because tbh, in reality, unsolved conflicts in the past, will bite back later if not sooner. As they say, before you need to learn to love yourself first before you can love others. So in that context just “love” in a romantic way(assuming this is connected to the Highlight Reel), is not enough to fix you, as a person.

And then there’s this scene, shattered windows. The ones Jin decided to shut. He tried to protect the Smeraldo (his truth that cant be told). But he was not able to. Because the time has come, he can no longer run from his past. From himself.

His consciousness is slowly asking, searching for his real identity. “Who are you?”

In this one, Hobi is surrounded by carnival/themepark stuff. And we all know from the Highlight Reel that it was about his bitter childhood memory where his mom left him. That memory was locked away but been wanting to break free! So it’s not that it’s gone, it’s not that Jin was able to escape. He just chose to lock away everything. Because it’s easier.

And there’s Tae with so much photoframes(memories) flashing before him. He kept walking back and forth. But can’t go out too.

Jimin’s scene defined the feeling of emptiness. Because he believed he’s insignificant? A nobody? Like he has nothing? I think even in the highlight reel. He’s idolizing Hobi, secretly liking the girl bc he thinks he has nothing to offer and that there are a lot more people who are much better than him.

T/N: Yoongi and Jimin are locked out in their respective rooms too. And they were doing nothing. JUST WAITING.  

Then there these flashes of JK observing as if he just discovered them, Jimin and Yoongi. I defined JK earlier as the locked out Jin. So I think this one means he’s slowly acknowledging the truth he’s been hiding.

And then THIS SCENE. The Smeraldo (Seokjin’s truth) is no longer in the lamp after the glasses were shuttered. So basically, quite literally, the truth is out. And if you can see, Jin’s facing towards the door. He was about to run out.

Right after the scene of Jin running out of the door, JK was scene was right after. He was running away from the crumbling building/house. I’m making a guess that it’s not only the floor but basically the whole house. See Yoongi’s and Jimin’s explanation later. The house is just a representation of the cage where Jin locked out his real self.

He can finally see his reflection. And he was reaching out for it.

As I said earlier, it’s the whole house (cage) that is crumbling down. The photo frames started flashing on and off rapidly. The fire reached Yoongi, the water broke into Jimin’s empty room.  Notice Yoongi’s expression tho, he smirked. As if he knew it would happen and was just waiting for it. Jimin wasn't fazed as well. I think it represents, that deep inside, Jin has always known, this day when he needs to face the truth will come. Sooner or later.

*Flashback to the Highlight Reel, in Jin’s narration, he said: “Looking back, I had known all along that underneath the glittering world before my eyes, lay my deception.” 

Also a thought for you to ponder on: Do you think the girl Jin who’s suppose to meet was ‘purposely’ hit by a car? Was it to remind Jin of Jungkook’s existence? 

okay back to the Fake Love MV.

Now the thing here is, when you try to suppress or lockout something for a very long time, it will crash down on you the moment it breaks free. Hence, the pool of snickers, the surge of fire and water.

So finally, it comes down to it, where he acknowledged that it was not “IM FINE” but rather it is “SAVE ME” because he is not okay. He is not happy. He is not fine. But that’s okay, because the first step to moving on, is accepting that there’s something wrong instead of denying it.

So JK, Jin’s locked out self, was led to this room, where Tae was in Singularity MV. Idw to theorize too early but let’s say that guy in hoodie is Tae or whoever. But it is a possibility, because Tae’s symbolism has always been giving in to evil? So maybe he’s prepared to face the worst version of himself? And accept him with all his flaws and everything.

T/N: Highlight Reel, Jin’s Narration: “Even if this were a DREAM, this is where I choose to be,” 

dream = the world with the girls(?)

Finally, this pose. JK was initially holding on to Jin’s hand but let it go. It can mean other things but I’m interpreting it as Jin’s real self emerging from all his persona, and beginning to know who he really is. Yeah.

The remaining puzzle to me is, the 7 wooden stand hanger. Hmmmmm.

[theisaacnewton101]

Midterm Essay #1: “I’m posting it online because I feel like it, GOD”

Prodigal Summer is an interesting novel written by Barbara Kingsolver that examines the relationship between man and nature in a rural farming community. This story follows three drastically different characters with their own unique relationship to the environment. These three develop their understanding of the environment and learn ways that they take better care of it. This essay will focus on Garnett Walker, a stubborn old man who feuds with his ecocentric neighbor. In this novel, Garnett’s character is meant to represent the standard anthropocentric worldview.

Anthropocentrism is the idea that the world is man-centered. In terms of the environment, it means that man is top dog, ergo the environment should submit to man’s whim. This is seen everywhere in modern culture, with deforestation and pollution running rampant. Capitalism takes center stage in Western culture; nature and the environment are just tools now used to make money. Killing the planet doesn’t matter as long as money is being made, but how did we get to this worldview?

Anthropocentrism has been deeply rooted in society since the advent of Christianity. Prior to Christianity, many religions incorporated animism: the idea that nature and wildlife have spirit. This principle created a greater respect for the environment, as man would have to appease nature before taking the materials they needed for building or survival. Man would not take to excess in fear of angering the spirits, so they only took what they needed; it was sustainable, and man could coexist with nature pleasantly. Christianity, on the other hand, had no concept of animism. The Christian God created the planet for man; man was made in his own image, paralleling man to the creator, giving him an inherent superiority over nature. “Man shares, in great measure, God’s transcendence of nature. Christianity, in absolute contrast to ancient paganism and Asia’s religions, not only established a dualism of man and nature but also insisted that it is God’s will that man exploit nature for his proper ends” (White Jr., 407). The Christian God told man that he created the world for him; go forth and name the animals, eat the fruit, use the materials given to you for whatever you like. In effect, the environment was created for man, and he is free to exploit it. This ideology placed man at the top of the food chain and removed the spirituality from the environment, which effectually removed the inhibition to exploit the environment. Christianity spread over the world like wildfire during the colonial era and set its ideals deep within society. Even as man moved away from religion, the ideology still remained ingrained into society.

Another anthropocentric idea ingrained in Western culture is that nature is feminine in concept and is therefore subservient and passive. The dualism between masculinity and femininity places men in the active role and females in the passive role. This makes men the dominant within the dualism, which also places man over nature. Within the gendered depictions of nature, there exist two sides: “a kindly beneficent female who provided for the needs of mankind in an ordered, planned universe” and “wild and uncontrollable nature that could render violence, storms, droughts, and general chaos” (Merchant, 10). Obviously, the latter half of nature was an issue; man was dominant, so something more powerful and violent than man would need to be subdued to retain the hierarchy. In order for man and nature to coexist, nature must submit to man. Grasslands were turned into fields, forests were chopped down to make room for development, and deep wounds were carved into the planet to mine for minerals. This new perception was necessary for society to grow, for as long as man is perceived as dominant and the earth is perceived as passive, there’s no moral issue with exploiting the planet. In the need to subdue the planet, man has made many a tool to make it more convenient to forcefully suppress the planet. From plows and machinery to pesticides and chemicals, man has made it easier to keep the wild in line. Areas of wild that still exist today are marketed as tourist attractions, surrounded by high fences and civilization.

So how does this relate to Prodigal Summer? Well, as Garnett is meant to represent the standard anthropocentric worldview, these ideas are deeply ingrained within him. As we begin Garnett’s story, we find that he is a sad old man who misses his wife. Still following the male and female dualism, he believes that she was his “anchor,” holding him to his house. However, the main conflict in his story arc comes from his neighbor, Nannie Rawley. Nannie is an active old woman who will voice her opinions and advocate for the preservation of nature. She believes that wildlife should be able to run its course without human interference, as she believes interference will make things worse. These ideas are drastically different to the ideas Garnett has about women. She is active, as opposed to passive, and she vouches against the domination of nature. The first conflict between these two is illustrated within the book, immediately pitting them against each other with their conflicting ideals. Garnett notices a sign on his property, “his roadside, two hundred feet over his property line,” proclaiming his field “to be a ‘NO SPRAY ZONE.’ As if all a person had to do to rule the world was concoct a fool set of opinions and paint them on a three by three square of plywood” (Kingsolver, 84). This passage sets Nannie up as an obstacle to Garnett; she plays the active role by placing a sign onto his property in order to protect her orchard from pesticides. This example shows a woman defying gender roles, and Garnett struggles to accept these ideas.

Religion also plays an important part in Garnett’s character. Garnett sees Nannie as a godless old woman because she acts differently than how he expects a Christian woman to behave. Even in the Bible, the woman is portrayed as passive; Eve was created from Adam. This creates a precedence that man is again superior to women. After seeing Nannie in a store talking about setting free endangered lizards, Garnett wrote a letter to Nannie:

Or are we to think of ourselves as keepers and guardians of the earth, as God instructed us to do in Genesis 1:27–30, “So God created man in his own image, … and God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it! … Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree-yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth’”–such as salamanders, Miss Rawley—“‘wherein there is life, I have given every green earth for meat’; and so it was so.” If the Holy Bible is to be believed, we must view God’s creatures as gifts to his favored children and use them for our own purposes, even if this occasionally causes this one or that one to go extinct after a while (Kingsolver, 186).

Within this letter, Garnett shows that he doesn’t much understand the environment, for he only knows of his anthropocentric worldview where God made him king. When an animal goes extinct (or reaches the brink of extinction), there are very large effects that make their way up the food chain. It’s like the butterfly effect, something small and insignificant could have devastating effects that we don’t foresee. The extinction of a salamander could cause an overabundance of insects or plant life that would normally be eaten by the salamander. Alternatively, the birds and turtles that preyed on this salamander could struggle to find food and begin to die off. Garnett doesn’t think about these things, though, because he carries his Christian ideology with him, wherein it proclaims that destroying the environment is fine for it is yours. Nannie is able to expertly refute this, also by using the Bible. She states that gluttony is a sin, and “thou shalt not kill,” arguing that the Bible does not vouch for dominance over the environment, but to coexist with it, and to not harvest to excess. She also argues that God made plant life with the animals in mind as well, interpreting the passage Garnett outlined as creating food for them, too. Again, as the woman shows him a different worldview that refutes his own, he goes into a tizzy and begins writing back an angry letter.

To finally end the arc between these two, Garnett and Nannie have a discussion. A tree falls onto Garnett’s property, so he goes over to her property to talk to her about it. However, Nannie has something she’d like to talk about as well: Garnett is spraying weed killer himself. She finally explains why she thinks weed killer is counterproductive by way of the Volterra Principle. “Predator bugs don’t reproduce so fast, as a rule. But see, that works out right in nature because one predator eats a world of pest bugs in its life. The plant eaters have to go faster just to hold their ground. They’re in balance with each other” (Kingsolver, 275). By spraying his land, both insect populations are reset to zero, which gives the pest bugs the upper hand as they reproduce faster. Garnett believes this to be true, and from there, their relationship improves to where it is at the end of the book. Nannie is able to make Garnett see the error in his ways, which is to say that it is possible to overturn our anthropocentric thinking. By a woman showing a man that he was wrong, it shifts the power balance within the dualism back to equal, which in turn places the earth back on equal footing with man.

In conclusion, Garnett Walker is a grumpy old man who was able to change his thinking with the help of his pushy neighbor. Garnett was set to represent the anthropocentric view that man holds as a whole; the advent of Christianity and the inherent male to female dualism ingrained in society holds man over the earth, free to exploit it for his own gain. When Nannie was able to convince him to change his thinking, it symbolized challenging the anthropocentric thinking of society, which would in turn help save the world.

Kingsolver, B. (2000). Prodigal Summer. London: Faber and Faber.

Merchant, C. (2008). Nature as Female. In The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology, and the Scientific Revolution (p. 10). San Francisco, CA: HarperOne.

White, L., Jr. (2008). Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis. In American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau (p. 407). Toronto, ON: Penguin Random House Canada.

[notperfectbutitsmine]

Wonder Woman (2017)

Tony Stark v. Bruce Wayne. Thor v. Superman. DC and Marvel are constantly being compared against one another and, in terms of films, audiences tend to gravitate towards one over the other. I am definitely guilty of opting for Marvel every time and keeping my expectations low when it comes to the latest DC release. And, to be honest, the likes of “Suicide Squad” and “Batman v. Superman” have done little to change that.

I recently decided to give “Wonder Woman” a go and, although it’s not perfect, it’s a vast improvement on its predecessors. My outlook on the franchise may be about to become more positive.

When their hidden island paradise comes into contact with the chaos raging in the human world, a tribe of Amazon warrior women are faced with a dilemma – should the secret they’ve been trying to keep hidden for centuries now be revealed? Princess Diana (Gal Gadot), convinced that by defeating the Greek God Ares she will end WWI and restore peace, leaves the island for the first time with an American spy (Chris Pine). Fighting alongside the men, she discovers the truth about her powers and the nature of humanity.

“Wonder Woman” presents a positive female role model in a genre dominated by male leads. She’s smart, confident, a strong leader and, most importantly, her actions aren’t determined solely by the men around her. Whilst Steve Trevor arguably makes her follow him on his mission, she chooses to do what she thinks is right and diverge from him many times. Although references are made to the suffragette movement, these are very brief and in some way insignificant. So, the message of female empowerment rests almost entirely on Diana and her impressions of the opposite sex. Initially demonised by the Amazons, men are considered the source of all the world’s problems and only useful for procreation, which plays on that initial reaction many have when asked what feminism is about. Through the relationships formed with Steve and his friends, Diana’s perceptions are altered and therefore the film’s approach to a strong female lead is too. It begins to reinforce that equality and cooperation between the sexes matters more than preconceived notions of which is superior.  Overall, DC portrays this female superhero in a generally positive way, yet how she is received differs amongst audience members. And it’s easy to see where each side is coming from. The film does make strides towards empowering women but, at the same time, some of Hollywood’s old habits are hard to break… 

The film has other good qualities, from its casting to the production value, but again only to a certain extent. As origin stories go, “Wonder Woman” feels relatively unique. The film starts in such a way that, until you reach the final scenes, it doesn’t seem like your typical superhero blockbuster. However, the film maybe falls into the usual trap of relying on big budget action to draw in audiences. It was almost as if the people behind the film felt that it needed to conform to everything that had come before. That’s not to say that the production value is not to be appreciated. There are some great sequences that are well-choreographed and have plenty of CGI to grab your attention. One iconic moment is when Diana ventures into No Man’s Land. The costume reveal and theme playing combined with the reality of the setting isn’t just about the visuals, but it’s certainly impressive to watch.

Casting in films like this is incredibly important. The comics already have a substantial following and everyone will have their own thoughts on what a character should be like. It’s a challenge any adaptation faces. For me, the casting was one of the highlights. Gal Gadot excelled as Diana/Wonder Woman and Chris Pine complimented her performance rather than taking anything away. There are also a few British actors who make an appearance and some were more pleasing than others. Ewen Bremner (“Trainspotting”) was a great addition to represent the impact of war on men at the time. His reluctance to shoot and need to find calm and comfort through music was indicative of those who returned home suffering from “shell shock” or PTSD. It didn’t just assume that everyone would walk away from events perfectly fine. Another familiar face worth mentioning is David Thewlis (a.k.a. Professor Lupin), a great actor who was perhaps let down a bit by the character he was portraying.

Indeed, something that the film really lacked was a credible antagonist. From the outset, we know that Diana is determined to stop Ares, the God of War, and Steve’s main aim is to prevent the German army from releasing a poisonous gas that could change the outcome of the First World War. So, audiences are initially secure in terms of knowing who the antagonists are. The film alternates between our heroes and the enemies, General Ludendorff and Doctor Manu, establishing them as the two sides of the war. Ares remains an unknown entity mentioned every so often to remind us that he exists or suggest that he doesn’t. The grand reveal of Ares’ identity was very anti-climactic and the established “baddies” were reduced to an afterthought. It didn’t really make much sense. Two possibilities are given – that Ludendorff is Ares or the war is the result of humanity, not a God – and these are both thrown aside. The idea that Thewlis’ character is really a God in disguise isn’t really eluded to at all as he has very little interaction with the protagonists. Honestly, I was a little disappointed. A good villain needs to be developed or at least mean something to the heroes in order to have an impact. Otherwise they might as well have chosen anyone. The time taken to present the doctor and her poisons as an important part of the story seemed almost redundant. Efforts could have instead been redirected to make the reveal more feasible. I mean, funding the first few days of the mission and then basically disappearing for the rest of the film isn’t nearly enough.

While we’re still waiting for a female-led Marvel film (e.g. Black Widow), DC has managed to somewhat successfully introduce Wonder Woman to audiences. The film as a whole is good, a few flaws can be found here and there but it’s still enjoyable. Marvel remains my favourite of the two universes, although now I feel more willing to watch “Justice League” and future DC films with an open mind. Hopefully this means that DC can only improve and not take a step backwards.

Jess x

[bouzinga]

Koozarch interviews Manuel Bouzas: Un buen suceso

KZ: What prompted the project?

MB: This graduation project was developed at the Technical University of Madrid (UPM). Under the title of ‘Monumental Madrid’, the students were asked for a theoretical reflection about the role that monumentality plays in architecture and the city today. The project begins with the discovery of a set of stones which are the ruins of the Buen Suceso Church. A building with an unfortunate and very curious past: it was demolished and rebuilt at least three times in different locations of Madrid. Its history dates back to the 15th century, with the construction of the first version of the church in the city center. Six centuries later, its ruins ended up lost and forgotten in El Pardo forest, the biggest green area of Madrid region. My project tries to offer a worthy final to this mysterious story.

KZ: What questions does the project raise and which does it address?

MB: The project consists of a personal reflection about monumentality, understanding and modifying the function of ornament in an architecture project. On the one hand, there is a purpose of carrying out a project based on universal values: balance, gravity and geometry. Drawing a type of architecture that does not necessarily belong to an specific place or time. On the other hand, there is also a big challenge to be accomplished, which consists on designing an empty space with no external conditions: no program, no areas, no function, no furniture, no streets and no plot. However, in my opinion, the most fundamental issue of this work is to understand a graduation project as a narrative itself, which does not solve a problem but tells a story. It constitutes a compilation of some personal obsessions collected during my student years.

KZ: You talk about the temple as the most exciting architecture spaces in history, could you expand on this notion further?

MB: Almost until the 20th century, before the Modern Movement, the history of Architecture can be narrated through the temples and their styles: Romanesque, Renaissance, Baroque, Gothic, etc. The reason why temples have become special architectures is because they do not belong to the human scale. In fact, their scale represents the relationship between human being and God. This is something that aroused great interest in the most important architects in history, from classics such as Palladio, Borromini, Brunelleschi or Sinan, to contemporary ones like Gaudí, Le Corbusier, Niemeyer, Siza or Tadao Ando. Of course, ours is not the century of religions and cathedrals, so the project results in an unnecessary, impertinent and inopportune work. Definetely, a provocative piece.

KZ: How do you define exciting in terms of feeling and sense one would experience within your space?

MB: In my opinion, there is a sequence of 3 important experiences in the project. The first one is about the approach to the temple, which is hidden on the top of a hill. It seems to be some kind of refuge, a place with a difficult access, but which is well worth visiting. A long path along the skirt of the mountain takes you into a reticular forest, a hypostyle anteroom. Through the mist and the sunlight filtered by the trees, you can see the basement of the project. There begins a second experience, the access to the temple takes place from below. A rough, heavy and powerful concrete basement which is also a crypt, leads us through patios and ponds to the stairs, that allow us to ascend to the upper space. The last experience consists of a diaphanous space where light encloses this weightless, empty and magical atmosphere. Actually, it is all about the horizontal plane in architecture, which divides the project in two opposite realities.

KZ: What is for you the contemporary relevance of the temple?

MB: I think there is no contemporary relevance in the Temple. It is actually a trap, an excuse. Alfred Hitchcock used to employ a narrative technique called ‘MacGuffin’, something which is necessary for the plot and the motivation of the characters but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself. This is precisely the role of the temple in this project. So, more than innovation, I think that there is respect for the classic typological elements, which are studied when designing the temple: cruciform ground plan, central and lateral naves, domes, vaults, altar, etc. However, there is innovation in terms of structure: while Gothic churches were looking for the slenderness and the verticality of the space through compression force lines, this space is defined by tension force lines, where the buttresses no longer push but pull.

KZ: How do you approach the very notions of preservation and conservation?

MB: I think that the way to deal with this historical material is from a perspective of irony and lack of prejudice. The ruin is clearly the protagonist of the project, therefore it is the element that deserves more attention. During the first months of work, the project was approached from an archaeological and historicist perspective. Everything changes when I decide to design the temple considering the ruins as ‘weight pieces’ instead of ornamental ones. That is, when I understand all these ruins as an active, not passive, material. They are a key element within the structure of the project: the counterweight and its balance.

KZ: How did you research and documentation of the ruins? What tools did you use?

MB: I realised the ruins existed because of a picture published by a group of people that were riding their mountain bikes around El Pardo forest. After contacting them, they provided me with geographical coordinates of the site. I moved there and began to take pictures of the stones one by one, until I found two of them which seemed to be special. The first one had a name carved on it (Villajos), while the other one had a date (1868). After a quick research, I found out that Agustin Ortiz de Villajos built the 2nd version of the Buen Suceso Church in 1868. When it was demolished in 1975, its ruins were hidden and forgotten in that place. Analyzing all the material I could gather, I began a volumetric recomposition of the stones using 3D modeling. Once the volume of the pieces (m3) and the density of the granite (kg/m3) was obtained, we could quantify their weight (kg). The result of the analysis concluded that there were 190 tons of stone, enough material to start working.

KZ: From research to 'design' what tools were pivotal in the development and articulation of the project?

MB: In the first steps of the project, photogrammetry and 3D modeling tools were crucial to analyze the ruins rigorously. If I hadn’t pay them so much attention at first, they would probably have lost importance later. In the next stage, model tests allowed me to analyze the balance between the structure and the counterweight, as well as the materiality and shape of the basement. Finally, it was necessary to cross the previous abstract research with one more variable, the geometry. Nine geometric elements give form to a project that, until that moment, lacked it.

KZ: What informed the various images through which you choose to reveal the speculation?

MB: A very specific type of drawing is chosen to show what is the most interesting thing for me: geometry. Nine drawings represent nine elements, which represent the nine geometries that resolve the project: the hexagon, the spiral, the angle, the helix, the sphere, the catenary, the parable, the wave and the fractal. These geometries were enunciated by Jorge Wagensberg in the book ‘The rebellion of forms’ in 2004. Wagensberg tries to explain why living beings, that inhabit nature, adopt the forms that they have. So, the aim of these drawings is to focus the attention on those elements that I want to give value to, in order to explain the raison d’être of each of these geometries. Drawing is a communication and expression tool, and in this case, it serves to explain other spatial qualities, going further than conventional plans.

KZ: What is for you the power of the image within paper architecture?

MB: The chilean architect Smiljan Radic says ‘The image always represents a moment of conviction’. I think that the image in this project presents a statement of intent, a kind of provocation. Utopia is fiction, and therefore it needs to be represented to become desirable. It is the only way we have, as architects, to validate our hypotheses, to verify if we are right.

KZ: What is for you the architects most important tool?

MB: Intuition and lack of prejudice. The first one, is an unjustifiable process that allows us to notice new directions during the development of a project. The second one, is the impulse that encourages us to take them.

See the full interview here: https://www.koozarch.com/interviews/un-buen-suceso/

[thorsenfrantzen64-blog]

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[victoriaallenmedia]

The first thing to note is that this is a production I am not hugely proud to have been a part of. It was one of the more challenging pieces we have had to create due to in-experience. We encountered many challenges along the way including general lack of resource and feedback, software issues, lack of equipment and unfortunately one of our members being in a nasty accident.

Overall both me and Tasha felt disappointed with our finished piece however we believe that we did it to the best of our ability with the little knowledge we had been passed to us. Our piece didn’t stick to the storyboard and script very well and although they are both a guideline it leads our piece to contain many unneeded shots, making it much longer than it could have been, whilst adding little to the narrative. Just making the audience bored therefore uninterested.

Another thing is that our piece does not fully meet the brief. In the sense that there is speech however it is not actually heard. Although our characters do exchange speech, the reason it cannot be heard is due to location. The location we filmed in was a big open barn and the camera was unable to pick up sound very well leaving it echoed, muffled and undeterminable. We tried changing the positioning of the cameras and moved the tables around however this did not solve our issue. We also experimented with the sound levels on premier pro after having to google how to do so. However, it was unfixable. Due to this we agreed that it was best just to not have the speech heard as our deadline was rapidly approaching and we are still relatively clueless on the soft wear. This added to the mystery of the piece and the content of the bag it leaves the audience wanting to know more.

Positives

Within the piece there are many things that I do like and believe went well. The majority of those parts were the bits that we planned out in great detail and were included in the storyboard and script, something I believe we should learn to stick to more religiously in future. To prevent anything like this happening again.

The first part I like is the establishing shot of the briefcase in the centre of the screen within a spotlight. However, I believe the thought and idea behind it was much better than the overall production. I like the fact that from the first shot it tells the audience the main focus of the piece without any narrative. Having it spot lit makes it incredibly striking. I also like the person within the shot remaining anonymous, adding to the mystery. Even when the camera pans and tilts up to reveal the whole of the character the identity is still not revealed due to both lighting and camera angles, we made sure of this as we wanted to maintain his identity. The doorway flooded with light acts as a kind of spotlight for the character showing their importance in that very moment in time. Having character and briefcase being the only things visible in shot means the audience knows what’s important to the story, no distractions.

I also like the following shot. As it is blurry this is good as it keeps the identity of the character unknown and adds to the mysterious feel. Why can we not see him? Due to the focus of the piece (the travel of the briefcase) we believed it was important to get tracking shots as its following them on there journey. As your moving with them it feels more intimate, you are not just a bystander looking in. allowing the audience to feel more involved and connected to the piece.

Another part I really like is the bridge cross. Due to cuts and showing multiple angles (straight angle and low angle) it allows it to flow and maintain pace. Although we show him walking across the entire bridge it does not feel like that. Having still and moving shots intertwined allows it to keep the flow, as its not just same old same old. The perfectionist side came out in both of us on this leading to us counting the fence posts to ensure that with each cut he would begin in the same position that he finished in the previous shot. I believe that little details like that can make all the difference to a piece.

However, my favourite part of the entire piece is the montage of our character walking across the screen, proving to be a very rewarding part for us within a very uninspiring piece. We had a very simple yet effective way of making sure each clip fitted together perfectly, and that was cellotape. We simply placed a piece of cellotape on the screen aligning it with our character’s torso allowing to align our next shot perfectly with the previous one. Resulting in a smooth effortless walk across the screen rather than jumpy transitions. We even used different angles to add that other dimension to it. We also managed to get the cuts on the beat witch took a while but we believe it really adds to the piece and draws more attention to the parts within that went well. I believe it was worth the vast amount of time and effort.

We wanted to give mixed signals about the first character as at the start you are lead to believe that he is very important. However later on you realise that this is not the case. To do this we used 2 clips each with there own meaning, each totally contradicting the other. The first of which is the high angle shot on the staircase this shows the character’s insignificance, that he is just a pawn in a much bigger game. It also shows his need for more, that he believes he’s climbing the ladder, striving for better, that one day he will be ‘top dog’. This idea is contrasted with the artistic low angle shot containing a striking blue sky. This represents his large ego and inflated opinion of himself, he believes he’s above everyone else.

The next part that I like is the introduction of our next character. We didn’t want to just show a clip of him walking, as it may be confusing to viewers. So we decided to use an extreme close up of a watch cutting to a long shot of him. Its like a show reveal. We decided to use a close up of a watch to show the wealth and status of the people involved. We wanted our clips to match up so we cut them part way through the sleeve being lowered. We matched them up well making it look quite impressive. You now know that he is an important character in it.

Although the next part was not how we planned it I believe it works very well. The changeover is one of the most important parts. However, there is a continuity issue. As they approach each other to do the Passover you can clearly see the bench is empty. However, when it cuts to the other angle showing the briefcase being passed over you can clearly see a man sitting on the beach. This was incredibly frustrating and is one of the major downsides of filming in public.

The match on action was within our brief so we believed it important to do. And I think we did It very well. It includes a close up pan following the briefcase towards the door, mid shot of him reaching towards the door, extreme close up of the hand pushing the handle. It then cuts to a shot of him walking through the door from inside. Then another shot from outside as the door closes on the beat. Then again to a very similar shot as the pan from outside, highlighting the briefcase. Maintaining its importance. These shots are him entering the meeting place. We decided to keep it simple to add to the illegitimate feel of the trade. Deciding on a makeshift table and chairs and making them quite significant within the meeting.

The very last shot at the end is a low angle shot, where the camera is situated within the bag. The bag is opened and the character’s reactions are revealed however the contents of it is never revealed to the viewers. They have been waiting to find out what’s in it and never do leaving them wanting to know more. It makes the characters appear powerful again making you wander what’s in the briefcase. How good is It?

Negatives

Being hardly able to watch this piece through it was very easy to think of things that I dislike and would change, everything from costume, mise en scene, shot types and everything in-between.

The first thing that we found out is that teenage boys are a nightmare to work with, from not wearing the correct costume, to refusing to do parts at all it became incredibly frustrating. Also one member did not own a suit however until the day before did not realise this. So throughout they are borrowing their dads. We wanted to portray our characters as dodgy but well off ‘business’ men so having an ill fitting suit did not help us portray this. We did not realise how difficult filming in public would be, that people would constantly walk into shot, and that you have to get permission to film in specific places leading to us having to completely rethink some things.

The first shot of the entire piece lasts 20 seconds… something we cannot regret enough. Its beyond uncomfortable and boring losing the captivation of the audience from the get go. The panning within it is incredibly poor, being very shaky but not only that it reveals many mistakes within the mise en scene including a notice board taking the focus away.in future we must pay more attention to dressing the set and not compromise any detail. What we could have done is just have the spotlight turn on and the character’s feet walk in and out of shot cutting before the pan. This would make it much shorter, to the point whilst still getting the main point across and hiding the identity of the character. Being even more mysterious than before.

The tracking shot following this is unfocused. this could be designed to maintain anonymity and mystery however in reality this was not the case. In fact, it was an error in editing. The original clip was long and was only out of focus for a small amount of time at the beginning. In the mist of things, we accidently used the wrong part of the footage. In future we will make sure we pay more attention to the quality of our footage and what it is there to represent.

Another prime example of great mistakes that we made is the staircase. This shot adds nothing to the narrative due to this it was unneeded. However, we wanted it in as it contains graffiti adding to the ‘badass’ undercover feel we were going for. As it was such a long clip and he remains in shot the whole time we didn’t want an abrupt cut as he was halfway up. We should have compromised and kept cutting back to the clip throughout the piece, however, obviously not in the right frame of mind we decided to speed up the clip. This is obvious and incredibly cringy, and despite the speeding up it is still incredibly long. If I were to refilm this shot, I would cut out the busy road in the background to create a dodgy backstreet feel to it.

The phone call that the ‘boss’ receives is in very poor taste and we do regret putting it in as it takes away the serious nature of the piece and creates comedic value which Is not what we were going for. Despite this I am happy with the filming as it was a close up of the phone so you could see who was calling, then it cuts to an over the shoulder shot of the boss talking on the phone. Keeping his identity unknown.

When introducing our new character, the idea was great, close up of watch then long shot of him walking away however we in the moment made an incredibly bad decision completely ruining a potentially great looking part. Instead of cutting down the clip to just a couple of seconds (enough to see the character disappear round the corner) we decided to speed it up. This looks absolutely horrendous. In future I will never change the speed of clips significantly as it just looks awful. Another prime example of us tweaking the speed of the clips is the final 2 these we slowed down to create tension. What’s in the bag? However, I don’t believe it works as that’s what people are wandering the entire piece, instead it drags and makes it look as though were trying to make it funny. Which we aren’t. I believe these were both incredibly poor decisions that will not be made again.

The meeting is not great as it does not actually fit the brief, I was very upset when we decided to place music over the whole piece as I spent hours lining up all the speech throughout the clips. However due to the poor quality of the sound we decided we were best off without. In future I would like to have a mike on the characters to pick up speech and other sounds within the set. However, this cannot happen as our school don’t have these meaning there inaccessible, we have to make best do with what equipment that we have.

Sound

We decided to run with rock style music as we being that it portrays the traditional ‘badass’ attitude that we were creating throughout. It implicitly portrays the genre and allows people to have a vague idea of what to expect before it even happens.

[basicsofislam]

ISLAM 101: Muslim Culture and Character: Reflections (Tafakkur): Part 6

SERVANTHOOD TO GOD

Soil and Rose

Question: In his work, Gulistan, Sheikh Sadi states: “Be soil, so that you grow roses; nothing other than the soil can grow roses.” What meanings does this aphorism suggest pertaining to our understanding of servanthood to God?

Answer: If we first look at the literal meaning of this aphorism, we can say the following:

Roses only grow in soil. As it is not possible for a rose to grow from granite, marble or iron, it also cannot grow from silver, gold, emerald or ruby even though these materials are held by people as so precious.

Actually, the fact people are buried in the soil when they die, suggests the same meaning. The body of a deceased person is not cast aside; rather it is buried in the ground so that it grows otherworldly roses in the beyond. You can attribute it to the truth about the last coccyx bone or some other interpretation. Human beings contain such an essence that God Almighty resurrects them through it. However, one who has let himself decay spiritually in this world, will not be able to grow as a rose in the realm of Paradise.

The Pinnacle of Servanthood: Prostration

Soil represents both modesty and humility. Although it is trampled underfoot, with God’s permission and grace it serves as a source of life for people and other beings. Therefore, if a person is like the soil, as long as he remains modest and sees himself as nothing despite any position he is elevated to, as long as he remains a humble servant to God, he will always rise and bear fruit. However, a person who assumes greatness and tries to fly in the air will fall headfirst one day.

In this respect, a person must be humble in accordance with the favors and blessings that God has bestowed upon him. You can visualize this truth by thinking about the essential movements in Prayer. For example, a person who makes the opening takbir, “Allahu Akbar,” sees his position before God as insufficient and humbly bows before Him in a form of reverence. Afterward, the person virtually says: “My God I am so thankful to You, for You have given me the opportunity to worship You thus, how great You are! How exalted You are! Given that You are the only One who is great, what falls to me is insignificance. However, I cannot express this while standing on my feet. Here I lower myself before You as much as possible.” With these feelings, the person prostrates before his Lord. Then he says: “O God, Thanks are for You my Lord, for Your blessing me with the opportunity to worship You thus. How great You are! How exalted You are!” Then he sits back beseechingly. As if the person has caught a glimpse of Him, he finds the first prostration insufficient and prostrates himself again.

Remember the following saying of the Pride of Humanity, (peace and blessings be upon him): “The closest that a servant of God is to his Lord is while he is prostrating,” Thus he stated that there is no state in which a person can be closer to God other than prostration. This meaning is expressed in a poem as:

Head and feet both on the ground, the Prayer rug kisses the forehead.

For closeness to God, here is the road.

The Disaster of Laying Claim to Achievements

So how close a person will be to God is determined in accordance with the degree of his modesty and humility. Actually, this is the general attitude of a genuine believer when confronted with the showers of blessings bestowed by God. Such a believer becomes more and more humbled before the infinite blessings of the Beneficent Lord, he places his head on the ground and declares his nothingness before the Infinite.

In this respect, those who have dedicated themselves to serving their religion, country, and people must never lay claim to achievements, no matter how high a position they are promoted to. They must always retain humility and not entertain any expectations other than God’s good pleasure. They must not attach their hearts to any worldly or otherworldly returns. People devoted to serving humanity on the path of truth must not cherish any ideas such as, “Let me settle the this-worldly affair of mine; let me have a house where I can live comfortably; let my child achieve this advantageous position…” In addition, they must not associate the services that they carry out with entering Paradise or being saved from Hell, as they must expect these as unmerited favors from Divine grace, providence, and protection.

Those who fill their pockets and form money pools whilst claiming they are serving the nation are obviously lying as their actions show. They seek to gain worldly positions and have expectations such as popularity, applause, appreciation and becoming the center of attention for the services they carry out. These denote hypocrisy, egotism and daring to be so insolent as to bargain with God. Those who lay claim to success and achievements, which are but Divine favors, who ascribe these to their own cleverness, intellect, perspicacity, and sagacity and thus boast like pharaohs, may have this opportunity today. However, tomorrow they will lose in utter failure what they have in their hands today. Just as they insolently stick their noses in the air today, tomorrow they will eat humble pie with their noses rubbing in the dust. This is the Divine Custom, which has never changed.

Be Manure, So That You Fertilize Roses!

It is out of the question for a real believer to take advantage of certain accomplishments for personal gain, or to grow insolent and boastful with the lightheadedness of victory. In the face of favors bestowed by the Divine, a real believer acts with considerations such as, “I wonder whether I can propagate a suitable environment to encourage new roses to flourish by returning to the soil with my roses, flowers, leaves, and roots?”

Despite being aware of his greatness, cherishing such ideas is very important in indicating his modesty, effacement, and humility. This is how a believer should see himself. Even if a believer becomes a rose garden and flourishes so vigorously that nightingales flock all around and start singing for him, he must still have the awareness to fall back to the soil in modesty as rose petals for the sake of making new roses grow. It is our duty, in the face of the bountiful showers of blessings bestowed by God, to further deepen our effacement, modesty, and humility. When others talk about us with appreciation, we should be able to say, “How strange, what did we do wrong that these people are singing our praises, which to us is like swearing!”

From the perspective of causality, if we are to ascribe the services carried out to a cause other than God Almighty, they should be ascribed to the concord and unity between believers. One should remember that God Almighty accepts concord and unity as an expectant look directed toward Him, and He responds positively to those who turn to Him. Concord and unity are the most important means of Divine guidance and assistance.

Consider the meaning of the verse: “He has attuned their (the believers’) hearts. If you had spent all that is on the earth, you could not have attuned their hearts, but God has attuned them. Surely He is All-Glorious with irresistible might, All-Wise” (al-Anfal 8:63). As it is also pointed out here, what really matters is God’s help, protection and guarding. As long as we commit to Him, He will favor us bounteously, turning our one into thousands. He expresses His greatness by letting a drop carry out a task, which would normally require an entire sea. 

Similarly, He may employ an atom instead of a sun, or an ant instead of a rhinoceros; because one of God’s ways of expressing His greatness is through realizing great tasks by using very little things.

Become So Merged with the Soil That Even Your Grave Will Be Unknown

God is sufficient, the rest is empty desire. We do not need applause, appreciation or flattery. We must serve God with the utmost humility and modesty, become fixed on gaining His good pleasure and then be buried in the soil again in order to serve as a seed for a new rose. Let alone seeking appreciation in our lifetime, we should not even have such a desire and expectation as, “Let a huge crowd attend my funeral.” You should even regard the conventional statements during your funeral ceremony about your being a good person as idle talk and never forget that what really matters is maintaining a sound relationship with God Almighty.

We should always keep a low profile and pass to the eternal realm thus. If possible, we should even wish our grave to remain anonymous like the great guide Bediüzzaman did. Remember that he said, “Let nobody know where my grave is, except for a few students of mine.” For God’s sake, what an admirable conception of Divine unity, what a wondrous relationship with God it is! Since he passed from this world, none but a few people know the whereabouts of his grave. He internalized the principle of extraordinary modesty, effacement, and humility as a philosophy of life and led his life with an utterly low profile.

If we have to have some expectations for the services we carry out to let them be that the spirit of the noble Prophet, (peace and blessings be upon him), is revived and pervades the four corners of the earth. However, even in this respect, we should not insist that we personally see the results, but leave the issue to the decree of Divine Will. It is not correct to prioritize anything other than what He wills. We want and wish but cannot know what He wills. Some souls with a propensity to be like coal will never embrace right guidance and become like a diamond, even if we wish it. Though we are resolute and persistent, so that God Almighty and His Messenger will set a throne in hearts, we leave the result to God alone and welcome His judgment and decree.

[vileart]

Replay Dramaturgy: Nicola Wren @ Edfringe 2017

Replay

Pleasance Courtyard (Bunker One), 60 Pleasance, Edinburgh, EH8 9TJ

Wednesday 2nd – Monday 28th August 2017 (not 15th), 14:15

When a fiercely independent, workaholic police officer finds herself on the street where her brother once lived, she is propelled back to her vibrant childhood and forced to confront his tragic suicide. Flooded with memories of the times they spent together, she remembers the wonderment with which she used to see the world. Replay is an intimate, moving and

ultimately uplifting new monologue, written by Nicola Wren (501 Things I Do In My Bedroom) and brought to you by Edinburgh Fringe favourites DugOut Theatre (Swansong, The Sunset Five, Fade, Inheritance Blues). What was the inspiration for the performance? I am really interested in idolisation – whether that be in a religious context, celebrity worship or hero-worship of a loved one. I wanted to write a play that captured, in some way, what happens when you discover that something, or someone, you have believed in your whole life isn’t what you thought at all.  Does that person or thing that brought you so much joy and happiness in the past have to be totally eradicated from your life, or is there a way of accepting and embracing the good things that came from it and moving forward? I wanted to write an intimate and personal story about a woman who lost her adored older brother to suicide when she was very young, and how that impacted the decisions she made moving forward with her life. We meet her at the point of her major inner battle where she has to decide whether to continue to ignore her past, or embrace it and allow the memory of him to live with her, even though the relationship, as it was, is gone forever. Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas? Absolutely.  You have to properly hear an opinion in order to disagree or agree with it. Performance is a powerful way of showing multifaceted sides to any argument that it’s audience may not have considered before. Also, the shared experience of watching someone bear their soul on stage can allow the audience to drop their own barriers and be open and honest about their thoughts and feelings afterwards. How did you become interested in making performance? I was always be performing as a child, making up characters and doing little ‘bits’, largely for laughs and attention, but it while I was at drama school seeing other people making work (Engineer Theatre Collective were 2 years ahead of me) that I thought I might like to do it in longer form.  I realised how stories and performance could help people to get more in touch with themselves, so I set out with the objective of making work that could make everyone in the audience feel better about the things they are embarrassed about. That being said, I also just really enjoy doing it, so it’s not entirely selfless thing! Is there any particular approach to the making of the show? Because I knew I wanted to write a very personal and intimate story, I chose to work very closely from the start with director George Chilcott who knows me very well and who I was able to be open with. We had a lot of discussion about personal loss and the aftermath of it, whether that be loss of a loved one, a break up or simply finding that your parents are seriously flawed people.  We then talked to other people about these experiences.  I thought a lot about different types of loss and was particularly interested in how we react when someone really wants to leave. I looked into how mega fans reacted to Robin Williams’ tragic suicide and wondered how that would change their perceptions of him. I had also received a poorly written business card from a rather suspect ‘spiritual healer’ who promised to heal anything including “return of a loved one” and this fascinated me. I wanted to create and story and a character that felt totally real, but include a more spiritual element. George set me the challenge of writing a first draft culminating all the things we’d discussed and what came out was a story about a cynical policewoman who had lost a brother to suicide met a spiritual healer and started to have conversations with her dead brother.  This draft was a mess, but there were a few moments in it that we clung to and then went into more exploration of this role of a police officer and what that might tell us about this woman’s personality and life experience. Police officers are supposed to represent safety and stability, but I was interested in what was going on behind the uniform. I started redrafting the play and watched a lot of Met Police documentaries to see how women of the police force conducted themselves, I was joyfully surprised to find that the female experience was generally very positive and that the there is a lot of pride from everyone within the police. I took that work into rehearsals and George and I worked with improvisation around the text and did a lot of physical exploration of the character which then fed into the script.  Music and sound is a big feature of this play and so we worked from the start with the main song, to which the character is very attached, and Max Perryment gave us some brilliant sounds to help capture the dream like, nostalgic sequences in the play. Jen McGinley came on board to design set and costume, making very simple and powerful choices that allow the audience to just focus on the story. Lastly, Tom Kitney created a beautiful lighting design. We previewed the play over six nights in London before bringing it to the Edinburgh Fringe where it will, no doubt, continue to develop. Does the show fit with your usual productions? This is only my 2nd show and, like the first, it is a monologue. The story is very different and the character is a much bigger stretch for me, but at its heart it is just a very personal story told in an intimate setting. This is the first time that I have worked with DugOut Theatre, who are known mostly for doing devised, comedy plays with music. This play is a slightly new direction for them in terms of form, but the heart of the play and the use of light humour is in keeping with their previous shows. They always make ultimately uplifting work, and this play is no exception to that. What do you hope that the audience will experience? I hope that they will feel like they’ve spent an hour with a real person going through real things and that they will have gone through various emotions of the character and leave feeling uplifted. What strategies did you consider towards shaping the audience experience? For me, the most important thing with a monologue is just being sure to really speak to the audience and connect with them, rather than just perform at them or over their heads, so I’m always working on that. It makes an audience feel fundamental to the character’s journey, which, of course, they are. This is the story of a woman revisiting her childhood, coming to terms with the significant pain of her past and finally realising that she needs to embrace the memory of her brother in order to move on with her life. Heart, honesty and humour are at the core of this moving play in which Wren explores what it is to grow up, accept loss, be vulnerable and celebrate the past, however painful. Beautifully directed by DugOut Theatre’s George Chilcott and heightened by Max Perryment’s intricate sound design, alongside Linbury Prize winner Jen McGinley’s set design and lighting design by Tom Kitney, Replay is the kind of play that will stay with you for a long time. Wren comments, I’m fascinated by the lengths people go to in order to hide pain and vulnerability, especially when they feel it’s embarrassing, ‘silly’ or insignificant in comparison to what’s going on in the rest of the world. I wanted to create a character who has, subconsciously, made life choices that allow her to avoid thinking about her feelings. As a police officer she is able to remain calm in a crisis but buried deep behind her façade is a wide-eyed little girl who desperately misses her older brother. She needs to come to terms with her past in order to move onto her future. Director George Chilcott comments, Replay is a play about loss and coming to terms with loss. It touchingly speaks to anyone who has experienced loss – be that a death in the family or a break up. Watching 501 Things I do In My Bedroom (Nicola's last play), I was drawn to the honesty and humour in Nicola's writing – she writes from the heart and, therefore, has the ability to profoundly move her audience.

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