#it's the goddamn simulacra again.

[sunasbabie]

I WANNA PULL NILOU SO BAD CAUSE SHES SO PRETTY BUT I FEEL LIEK I WON’T USE HER ESP IN ABYSS HXJSJD

[ancientbygone]

simulacra 3 [take me back to eden]

[sundowning]

Sleep's mimic forms of the vessels during the time period of TMBTE, because i can't be normal and start a series from the beginning and not the end.

more info + design breakdowns under the cut:

[obligatory "when talking about the vessels, i'm talking about characters" disclaimer]

background info on the whole idea:

Sleep as a being is shapeless in my mind; more of a concept than a creature. it can manifest as sort of an absence of light in any shape to others, usually to appeal to feeling/emotion. the only "rule" for that is that whatever Sleep tries to appear as cannot look more or less innocent/powerful than Sleep actually is, which usually manifests in two things: the size being different from the thing/person it's imitating, scaled according to power, and/or added features, usually in some way threatening or regal.

one of Sleep's more consistent forms it takes throughout interacting with Vessel is mimicking him, partially to create an illusion of the two being more similar than they actually are and partially because Sleep used to exist as Vessel's shadow when they'd just met. the visual itself has changed through time (you can see what it was like during Sundowning in my Higher artwork), and during TMBTE that visual is pretty much the titular song's character with the most minor tweaks (which is why i didn't draw it separately).

all that made me think about the idea of Sleep mimicking the other vessels just to fuck with Vessel further (to be clear, i am a strong believer that Sleep only interacts with Vessel in any way). so now here are the designs of those mimics during the events of TMBTE, utilizing the album's song characters much like the Vessel mimic. because again, i have to start a series from the end, i guess.

"ii"/ii mimic (song character used: AYROK)

the main idea driving the design of "ii" is the real ii's goal to keep Vessel more or less safe by being by his side in worshipping Sleep, which is the reason he'd decided to become the second vessel in the first place. the choice of AYROK as the character to use in this design is obvious. one of the ideas that stem from that is ii's duty/desire to keep his face hidden for Vessel's sake; only his hands are visible & detailed because that's the only part of him Vessel remembers before either of them became vessels of Sleep and the only part ii has really shown after that. another is ii's timidity in telling Vessel to go against Sleep's will because he fears that no matter how bad it may be, it'll be much worse if Vessel doesn't follow it. that part comes through in the pose - shyly holding his hands together as if they're tied.

"iii"/iii mimic (song character used: Aqua Regia)

the song character inspo being Aqua Regia is mostly because of the calmer nature of the song and the dynamic duo it makes with Vore, less so the themes of the lyrics. also its visual design. iii mimic's design themes are iii's adoration/borderline obsession with Vessel (wearing Vessel's jewelry and having elements of his robe in his shirt + his own face/mask slowly melting off) and his enagement with worship as an act/aesthetic rather than something more serious (the overabundance of jewelry and accessories; the extra arms; the body language; the cuffs around his arms and legs being decorative and not actually restricting). also the rings on his fingers make a checkered pattern.

"iv"/iv mimic (song character used: Vore)

the use of Vore for "iv" is obvious too. song wouldn't be the same without his real life self. the design really just aims to combine iv with the Vore character, but there are two big things here. the simplest one is anger issues, which is why he's So Goddamn Spiky and why his jacket looks like scarred skin rather than painted & customized. the anger mostly shows up in the body language: most of the time "iv" just stares unblinkingly with pure palpable ire in the two glowing dots for eyes, and when he does move it's very stiff and snappy and barely controlled. the other thing is that, simply speaking, the real iv got into this whole mess without knowing the full extent of it and now he's in too deep and kinda losing himself. in the design it's expressed through the human features gradually turning into bug-like, such as the hoodie fading into a segmented millipede-like body and the fucked up mantis hands, and the gold of the original iv's mask melting over the face with the horns being part of it. the spikes protrude from him in a way that makes it difficult to distinguish between jacket decorations and actual parts of his body, but the spines are definitely from his body & allow me to live the dream of iv with a mohawk LMAO

anyway have fun with these go nuts i'll make similar sheets & posts for Sundowning and TPWBYT eventually

[pb-dot]

Film Friday: Bohemian Rhapsody

This week I want to try something a bit different. So far I've mostly written about movies I really like. Hidden gems, movies that are, if not 10/10s are for the most part good and clever and made by people who really care about making a good flick. Today, I'm going to talk about a movie that I don't like. I'm actually going so far as to say the movie pisses me off. I'm going to try to be fair and explain my reasoning because there are some interesting points as to why this thing sucks, and I don't want them to drown in the bile. So, let's talk about Bohemian Rhapsody.

For the uninitiated, Bohemian Rhapsody is the story of Freddy Mercury, lead vocalist in the British classic rock leviathan Queen. Born in Zanzibar and later immigrating to the UK, Mercury's truly stunning baritone tonal range and operatic songwriting sensibilities paired with his flamboyant and powerful stage presence made him and Queen an unstoppable force in the music scene up until his tragic death from AIDS in 1991.

Now, if you're thinking this is the kind of life story that the typical musician biopic yearns for if you could write a bit less of a bummer ending somehow, you'd be right. The screenwriter has solved this by climaxing the movie at the triumphant note of Queen's legendary Live Aid 1985 performance, where Freddy, by now aware of his HIV diagnosis, reunites with the band to pitch one for the angels and sing his heart out for a good cause.

So, to cover the good things first. The Live Aid recreation is some truly impressive stuff, best viewed on the biggest screen you can. The soundtrack is, of course, Banger City, although it's mostly the crowd-pleasing hits. Not a lot of Innuendo, Barcelona, or Brighton Rock on the soundtrack if you feel me, but I suppose there is something to be said for the mass appeal. I also like Rami Malek in the lead role. He plays Freddy with a vulnerability that feels very genuine, and although he doesn't quite reach the peaks of Stage God Grandure that ol' Freddy operated on, he does sell the simulacra reasonably well.

Now, onto the less good parts. Now when I say Freddy's story fits the musician biopic, that isn't necessarily strictly a compliment. The by now well-worn ruts of "Rise To Stardom but Oh No Being Famous Kinda Sucks And Is Bad For You Actually but You Get Together With The Band Again and Rock Out Because That Is The Most Important Thing" is the kind of thing even a causal watcher of the subgenre can dictate in their sleep. Being a bit formulaic isn't strictly wrong of course, but it does feel a bit disrespectful when applied to the life of an actual real person.

Of course, I say that, but for being a film about Freddy Mercury, Bohemian Rhapsody doesn't actually feel like that as much as it feels like a movie about the band members of Queen's perception of the guy. Now I say this in part because Freddy's interactions with the LGBTQ community (more on this later) feel a bit told from an outside perspective, as the filmmakers have chosen to tell this slice of the story as the poor lad's downward spiral. Freddy's in a bad place and he goes to gay clubs and truck stops and whatnot. Like, considering what ended up killing the man I can see where that came from, but it also feels like a flattening. Freddy didn't hang out in gay bars to die from aids, one assumes, and the fact that Freddy's soon-to-be shitbag ex looms in the background of several scenes dressed and lit like a villain on Star Trek does not help.

The reason why I say this really is "Freddy as understood by Queen" is because of what I have to assume is historical revisionism going on. Our protagonist does bicker with his bandmates, and he's late for rehearsal, and it does come up of course, but the rest of the band is just so goddamn reasonable. Yeah, he's a flake and he's out there partying all night with those scary gays (not that there's anything wrong with that) but y'know, he's Freddy, he's a bit of a tosser but he's a good lad. Nobody loses their temper with him, nobody says an ill word about this obviously spiraling man, and if anyone does bring anything up it is in the gentlest, most understanding tones you've ever heard. While that isn't bad in itself, it does feel highly suspicious, especially when you take into account that bar Freddy, all of Queen's original lineup is still alive and was, in fact, involved in producing the movie. Honestly, if they had owned this perspective a bit and made Freddy this Jesus Christ in Spartacus-esque figure, too large to be contained on film alone, that would be neat, but no, it's a tell-all story told by people who at the best have a fraction of the story.

This isn't the film's biggest sin in my eyes though, no, it isn't even the atrocious editing although yes it does break several core tenets of good editing for no discernable reason. No, the most atrocious thing this movie does in my opinion comes down to one particular scene in Act 2. Here, Freddy has a heart-to-heart with his long-time friend and, in the actual man's own words, "common-law wife," Mary Austin. In a moment of melancholy Freddy confesses to Mary that he is Bisexual, to which she responds "Freddie, you're gay" and in essence cuts the conversation and the relationship right there. Now this isn't outrageous in itself, people have assumed that bisexual men are just gays in disguise up until very recently. What is somewhat unforgivable though is that this statement, and Mary's followup on it is literally the last words on Mercury's sexuality.

Now, the exact thats and whiches of Mercury's sexuality are a bit murky to my understanding, so this could be an attempt at hedging their bets in that regard. That said it is just incredibly disrespectful to let someone else than the character in question have the last word on anyone's sexuality, fictional or not.

Now I can see what the filmmakers were going for here. "You're lying to yourself and me when you say that you love me (in a way that we both find meaningful)" can be a place where a relationship ends, and it's an appropriately grim one for the start of a downward spiral. That said, it's hard not to read this as "This FAIRY thinks he can trick us into thinking he's BISEXUAL but he's LYING because he's GAY and then he gets SAD and has DANGEROUS GAY SEX about it."

It's a whole mess of a scene, and even without all the other issues, it soured the entire experience for me. This wasn't the story of a musical genius with a complicated relationship with his own sexuality and the degree to which he was public with that sexuality in a time when that kind of openness was sought with destructive intent. This is the story of a musical genius whose understanding friends and bandmates love and support despite being a silly little gay. This is celebrating the works of a man despite the inner life he led that fueled those works, not because of it. I wouldn't call this movie explicitly hateful exactly, but it's so thoroughly saturated with what esteemed philosopher and playwright Abigail Thorn calls "yer da'-thinking" that it'd honestly be better if it just called Freddy a slur and got it over with.

To pull back from that frothingly rage-filled abyss for a second, it is perhaps too much to expect even a biopic to even-handedly handle its subject matter. After all, when making a movie about someone dead, all you have is whatever they left behind and the perspectives of the people who survived them. Adapting anything also requires some changes made, if nothing else because setting a start and an end to a story changes the story even as it creates it. That said, this isn't an excuse to remix historical events to your liking. Live Aid 1985 did not struggle until Queen turned the tide, it was a highly successful event in which a very famous band did one of the best rock performances of all time, to name one example.

So in short: I don't like Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) very much. The song is still a banger though.

[regrettablewritings]

Preference: What Strange Being Are They? II

Characters: Victor Stone, Harley Quinn, Erik the Phantom, Nevada Ramirez, **Surprise Character**

Victor Stone - Simulacrum

The proper term, as he saw it, was simulacrum: An image or representation of someone or something. That was the more proper term. But in Victor’s mind, ordealed and pulled every which way but up, it meant something just as contorted as his form had become: An imitation of something else that may or may not have ever even existed. A collection of broken pieces, cobbled together to look like something familiar, all the while lacking in its qualities enough to make it abundantly clear that no, this was no longer what someone knew. Or maybe they never knew him to begin with.

In layman’s terms, Frankenstein’s monster.

Then again, he supposed the term “cyborg” was not entirely incorrect. There were, after all, traces of his organic self still present, albeit restricted to the face. But there was almost a sense of struggle in that title to him. A sense of denial. Simulacrum might have hurt, but at least, to him, it was honest.

But Silas Stone preferred to call him his son. And Victor called that ignorantly optimistic. After all: What sort of father drags his son back from the cusp of a peaceful passing, utilizing otherworldly means to reassemble him nerve by metallic nerve until he no longer resembled the boy he remembered himself being? A father too driven, Victor decided. One whose own dreams and memories had become a simulacra in and of themselves: They became so distorted, that they no longer resembled reason or reality.

And as far as Victor was concerned, he’d paid the price.

He kept to himself, reserving night time as the only time he could wander the streets of Gotham to himself — but just barely. There was only so much hiding a flimsy hoodie from his time at Gotham U could provide. But still: Technically speaking, he was safe. Monstrous, perhaps, but safe. Safe from wandering eyes, safe from judgement over what he’d lost and since become, safe from . . . Well, life. He was perfectly content living a simulation of life, in fact.

But what he wasn’t prepared or safe from was that fateful night he met you, unafraid and completely real. Well, if anything, you were real curious . . .

Harley Quinn - Succubus

Nobody talks about what happens when you starve a succubus. Mainly because the belief is that the only way to starve a succubus is to deny her, ahem, intimacy. And while this certainly wasn’t an untruth in most cases, the case that was Harley Quinn was a rather . . . unconventional one. Well, as unconventional as anything concerning a succubus could be.

For one, she had adapted her needs to better suit her environment. She had to: If she relied solely on just physical intimacy alone, she would have died long, long ago. After all, The One That Shan’t Be Named seemed to make it a point of starving her of all the resources she could possibly siphon energy from. Eventually, it came to a point where she simply had to learn how to consume energy from other means: Attention; the glances of lustful men and women; affections. Little, teeny, tiny sources that paled in comparison to the full-course meal she might’ve gotten before. But it was better than starving, and she needed to get by in this world however she could.

Not only because she quite liked some bits and pieces of this side of the veil, but also because in the end, she simply wasn’t as powerful as she once was. She still carried some of her paranormal traits with her (minor dream-walking, enhanced agility, etc), but it definitely wasn’t enough to drag her back to whence she came. Not that she wanted to.

She’d become rather fond of the den of sin that was Gotham City. And, to her own surprise, she had become rather fond of you, the poor newbie that foolishly agreed to her Craigslist ad for a new roommate. But then again, she was far more than old enough to know better; why be shocked? After all, you were so, so warm when compared to every other person she’d endured in such close proximity in the past. Much sweeter, much more . . . Deliciously innocent . . .

Erik the Phantom - Fossegrim

Fossegrims are, at least when compared to most other water spirits, rather on the benevolent side. They weren’t like sirens, using their musical gifts to lure people in to a watery grave -- at least, not normally. It was that they much preferred to enchant without malicious intent, plucking at their harp strings or sliding bows across their fiddles to produce ensorcelling sounds of the wind in the forest, the chorus of rushing water resonating in every note. It was just simply not in their nature to be especially malevolent.

At their worst, they were very particular: Even at their most agreeable, there was always a caveat of sorts.

If a fossegrim were to agree to live with a human partner, for example, he needed to have free and regular contact with a water source, lest he grow dire. And if a fossegrim were to offer his tutelage for the fiddle to someone, they would need to participate in a very particular ritual that included stolen mutton, a white he-goat, and a lot of Thursdays.

(And even if one were to succeed at this, they would be faced with a most . . . unorthodox means of being “trained”. Once again, nothing done in malice, but surely there had to be a cleaner way.)

Erik personally did not stick as strictly to these circumstances as others of his kind might -- really, he saw little point in it. After all: Who would come wandering in a watery cavern, and searching for a fossegrim’s teachings, no less! No, he had grown used to his solitude, if bitterly so. He told himself that he was more than happy to live out his naturally long life, secluded, playing beautiful pieces that would remain suffocated beneath whatever structure had gone up above his cove. He almost dared to think it a pity . . . Until one day, a visitor arrived.

And you came bearing a gift: Not a he-goat, nor stolen mutton. You hadn’t come bearing meat of any kind at all! All you carried with you as you clumsily paddled your small boat was a ring: An heirloom, old and dingy, but precious nonetheless. It was all you could offer him that equated to your desire to learn by his hand.

It perplexed the fossegrim. But it also filled him with something . . . warm. Bright, even. Pride. After all, who was he to disappoint such a humble, obedient student. . .?

Nevada Ramirez - Vampire

Vampires: Creatures of fear and woe. They lurked in the shadows, the particulars of their lore transforming about as much as they themselves could. Feeding off the fears of the common folk, draining their energy while all the while enticing their prey closer and closer still.

The transformation fit Nevada like a glove.

And, like a fashionable, leather glove befitting as his aesthetic, he wore it all with style. And perhaps a bit too much glee. Vampires, as it turned out, weren’t just day-dwelling bloodsuckers after all: The great thing about living in a city so varied as New York was that it allowed for evolution and strange mixes to occur. Nevada lucked out: He’d been vampirically sired by a strain that could eat human food, go out in daylight, weren’t effected by crucifixes, and didn’t require an invitation to enter a goddamn building.

The catches, unfortunately, were as followed: Food no longer tasted as vibrant; he could go about his day but with powers limited so drastically that he may as well have been another lowly-ass mortal; bullets were still a big no-no (unless he was the one shooting ‘em); and whether he liked it or not, he still required blood to properly get by. And as disappointed by the food situation as he was, he considered that of the blood a proportionate gain: Blood, Nevada found out, was far more varied when spiced with hormones.

His club made for a perfect den, a place where prey of all sorts could walk in, gyrate themselves into a frenzy, then come crawling over to him (the most minimum of efforts on the part of his pheromones) and offer to him their bodies without even knowing the true nature of what he wanted of them. And for a while, it worked like a charm.

Until Nevada realized he’d never quite had a taste of you, yet. You, with your wide and innocent eyes, cheeks burning whenever you saw him staring at you from the VIP section.

Sure, excitement from arousal was tasty. But the undead gang leader couldn’t help but wonder what the taste of excitement from nervousness tasted like . . .

Lucifer Morningstar - Human

They are without particularly long lives. They are born helpless and remain so much longer than most creatures on Earth do. And yet, it is amazing and strange how much humans can pack into their lives.

Take, for example, one Lucifer Morningstar: He’d changed his name from [Redacted] to better suit the image he wanted, which was that of a walking spectacle. And if his name weren’t enough, everything else he did surely was: The wealth he accrued through mysterious means; the successful nightclub on the LA strip that he owned; an immortal bed life; and a tapestry of connections he’d made by pulling favors. All topped with a devilishly handsome face to boot!

If Lucifer ever had a goal, it was to live it up and/or go to Hell in a hand basket trying.

Which was probably why he wasn’t one to shy away from hosting a little large get-together at Lux for Halloween. And by get-together, Lucifer clarified on social media: They would, in fact, be holding a seance and summoning. After all, what sexier way to embrace the taboo of darkness than to play around with the veil as though it were part of a dress-up game? It was too good an opportunity to miss out on, as any good attention-whore businessperson would tell you.

Unfortunately, for as lucky as Lucifer tended to be, he still bore upon his shoulders multiple flaws. Human flaws. Such as the flaw of not exactly doing research and providing a thorough vetting process when it came to hiring the “performer” who would be commencing the seance and summoning.

This was LA, after all: He probably could just pluck any rando off the street and get a good show out of it. He wasn’t even sure where he pulled this rando from (chances were, he was buzzed and/or high while doing so), but he couldn’t argue with the results of a crowd bewildered by the surprisingly realistic smoke effects and lights flickering. Though he had to admit: They could’ve put you in better demonic makeup for when the lights settled and you stood there, having suddenly “appeared” in the previously-drawn pentagram.

Still, you were cute enough: He supposed if he played his cards right, flirted with you in the usual Lucifer way, then perhaps his Halloween night might be filled with many tricks and treats yet! So he found himself perplexed when you continued to act confused and thrown off, even after the “performer” had finished their routine and left.

Wait, weren’t you supposed to be with them? How did you even get in here? Why do you keep asking how you got here, or if you got stuck in another person’s Hell, or -- . . . Oh. Oh, shit.

As a human, Lucifer was intent on filling his life to the brim with as much story and experiences as possible. But sometimes, there are just some things humans -- even ones like Lucifer -- shouldn’t dabble with . . .

[fragmented-ghost]

Thoughts (aka ranting) about rvb0 as of episode 4

Strap in motherfuckers cause I got LOTS of opinions and most of them are not nice!

In case you were wondering this comes from a fan who came in between seasons 16&17

What the fuck is UP with the dialogue this season!? Why is the delivery so weird? It's like, simulacra 2 levels bad, and yes I KNOW that's specific but I don't care.

I know this is supposed to be a test run to see how much they can do with the animation but the fights scenes are very visually overwhelming

So much of Carolina's dialogue sounds like "generic mentor" lines

Scratch that Carolina overall has weird unfitting dialogue

Wash has only spoken in 1 episode (which is a rant in of its own) but he has the same problem, actually, he's worse

SPEAKING OF WASH, let him catch a break writers! Let him be a badass again! You even fixed the fuck brain damage

BRING👏 BACK👏 BAMF👏 AGENT👏 WASHINGTON👏

I'm aware of how bad it was that they just handwaved away the brain damage especially due to how important it was to earlier seasons, but to be perfectly honest, I don't really care that much.

It's the nicest thing the writers have done for Wash since the fuckin CHORUS TRILOGY so at least they let him have this

And unless that device was made to extract information from people's brains, I'm not buying that Agent Goddamn WASHINGTON would succumb to a knockoff sonic screwdriver

Out of shatter squad, Axel's probably the only one I like, except for maybe Raymond

His story's the most compelling out of the new cast, and his dialogue is probably the most natural

Raymond's funny

I really don't like East and One, they're annoying, that's all I'm gonna say

Tiny is absolutely amazing, I love her, and I will not be accepting criticism about her at this time

Honestly the overall vibe of the season is very off

It feels like this season's supposed to feel "epic"? It feels weird

Like, last season the cast fought literal gods, and it still felt less "epic" than this

Did the writers just want to make a marvel movie? Because the writing this season feels like a Marvel movie + Oscar bait video game writing

"You won't be able to beat them with only Will and a peppy additude" Carolina you can NOT say that after working with the reds and blues

YOU CANNOT JUST REFER TO SOMEONE AS A SHADOW RVB WRITERS!! NOT AFTER WHAT YOU DID WITH TEX

[roxannepolice]

Help me, Carl-Gus Jungobi, you’re my only hope

[prolonged deliberation on Goethe’s Faust effing up his task of achieving symbolic individuation equated with redemption by inserting himself for Paris with Helen I would love to know what CG would have to say about self insert fanfiction] 

This is probably the deeper reason why Faust’s final rejuvenation takes place only in the post-mortal state, i.e., is projected into the future. [Psychology and Alchemy]

Taste that. Rejuvenation in the post-mortal state

Projected into the future

Hi, this here is Anakin’s son, daughter and future father of his grandson in one shot while Anakin appears as a force ghost.

Anakin’s redemption did not take place, it is taking place through his offspring – his future – and I’m afraid Ben is very much a part of it.

I’d argue that the main reason why the frequent belief that Anakin’s redemption needs a counterbalance in form of Ben’s ultimate fall is based on the fact that the redemption story most influential in western culture – that of humanity through death and resurrection of Jesus Christ – does have an unredeemed counterbalance – Judas (and a disclaimer: I do not refer to The Second Testament for any sort of religious agenda, I treat it as an influential cultural text it is – and a manifestation of collective unconscious, that’s why I can compare it to ancient mythologies). But that assumption is based on a false belief that Anakin’s redemption was complete rather than projected into the future. Redemption of humanity through Christ is complete as Christ’s resurrection is in soul and body.

Let’s take a look at two other mythical resurrections/redemptions – though I’ll allow myself to omit most of the context (I’m still sticking to the western world, because I believe it’s the most influential for most of SW audience but also because, confessedly, I cannot claim proficiency in other myths, if someone can share some themes, please do). An example of future resurrection balanced by damnation is Baldur vs. this handsome fella

For causing Baldur’s death Loki is condemned to lie under venomous snake’s fangs until Ragnarok and it’s only thanks to Sigyn, definitely the most underappreciated character of any mythology, that we don’t have permanent earthquakes. Now, this isn’t a damnation of the same kind as Judas’s, since Loki’s actual fate is the same as all other gods’ – to be destroyed during the Ragnarok you have to give it to the Nordic people, coming up with a mythology and ending it with everyone killing each other. BUT Baldur’s resurrection also isn’t as complete as Christ’s as it will only happen in the renewed world after Ragnarok, right now he’s sitting underground with Cate Blanchett. So, maybe Osiris vs. Seth? I would argue that’s the best parallel to Star Wars – Osiris is resurrected but stays forever in the underworld, but Seth also doesn’t suffer any eternal damnation. He’s an ambiguous deity in the fact that despite being an “antagonist” to Horus, after their fight is over he supports pharaohs’ rule and helps Ra keep away the monster of chaos (a hundred StarKillers anyone?). Granted, he becomes infertile in the process (attractiveness of force deprivation theme?) but that’s for trying to kill Osiris’ son, would make little sense if he was Osiris’ only offspring (btw, I’d argue that’s exactly why old EU gave Han and Leia two children, a good one and a bad one).

One could argue of course that Anakin’s redemption through the future can be done on the ideal level only – he saved Luke and Luke has now passed on the jedi tradition onto Rey. Yeah, that sounds attractive. But it wasn’t a jedi knight Anakin saved, wasn’t it? When fried by Palps Luke didn’t call upon Anakin’s jedi code only yelled Father, please. What’s more Anakin had two children. Luke has a sister Anakin asked him to tell he was right about him. And I believe Luke told this to Leia. But did she accept that? Confessedly, she had every reason not to. Oh, she could detach Anakin Skywalker from the sith lord who mind probed her and held her in place to watch the destruction of her home planet, but to accept Luke was right about Darth Vader? 

In a way, Leia did the most epic Nooooo in Skywalker story.

Meme should continue through a meme and only can through a gene, but gene needs to continue through a gene, something the Skywalker twins did not accept and thus ended up with galaxy and their family again in turmoil. Luke – for it was Luke who’s the original Vader fanboy of this saga albeit unknowingly, not Kylo – badly wanted to continue the jedi meme (in its simulacric form, btw) through his nephew, the mighty Skywalker blood, which could be, can still be, but never had to be. Leia, on the other hand, thought she can have a child of Anakin’s meme and not Vader’s gene, which simply can’t be as it’s based on a lie.

So what, Anakin can get a redemption and other characters not because, what, he had children? Well, yeah. That’s a redemption through love at its symbolic best.

To cut a long story short, Ben Solo doesn’t have a husk of legacy to upkeep (that’s what he thinks, you know!), he has grandfather’s redemption to make real.

 Master Skywalker or how I learned to nourish meme and love a gene

Battle of Crait is one of the most epic moments in Star Wars and I’ll fight anyone who’ll tell me otherwise. It is the most Luke Skywalker thing that could have happened, as it is Luke doing for himself what he has previously done for his father, if only temporarily – reattaching the meaning to the simulacrum, thus resurrecting the symbol. And symbols have great power, as they give us inspiration, hope and strength when we fall down. Luminous creatures we are, not that crude matter and to erase the symbols or identify them with simulacra is to make everything material only.

But there’s an extremely important thing – Luke could only rescue the Resistance and symbolically inspire new fighters, bring back the inspiring legend, because he reattached this legend to the man who failed his nephew – and that by admitting this failure, not denying it, as he tried to just a day earlier. To all out there who believe Luke was right to consider killing Ben, that the darkness he saw in him was a decided plan – why would he lie about it, to himself much more so than Rey? If he knew that what he considered was right and faltered by the softness of his heart, why not just come clean about it? But he knows that what he did was wrong and therefore, just for a moment, believes the only way for him to go back to rescuing the galaxy is to base it on a lie and hope for the best. Only Rey has already learned that what he told her wasn’t the truth and confronts him about it – notice that Luke is aggressively sending her away even though he wanted to go with her a moment earlier, precisely because he realises he’ll have to come clean. Now, Rey has no problem reconciling what he’s done with what she believes him to be, unlike both Luke and Ben – because they believed in a simulacrum and she believes in a symbol. Failures happen. But when she stretches Luke’s ls to him again – and remember right now she’s decided to go to Kylo, so I’d say what she’s actually doing isn’t asking him will you rejoin the fight? only will you go and confront him about what happened? it’s his legacy she’s stretching out to him in that moment! – he still can’t do this. In his eyes, he now gave up on the legend completely, it’s time to let the old things die, so he’ll go and burn the jedi tree along with the texts. But because his anger directed at the jedi simulacra is simply overclinging to them gone sour he can’t bring himself to even burn the tree. And it’s a nice tree isn’t it? So Yoda has to effing call a thunder from the afterlife to do that for him – but don’t forget, the books aren’t there already! It’s highly symbolic that Luke never bothered to read the texts, as exhibited by the most realistic padawan moment in the saga as he channels a student who was too lazy to do his homework for six years of having nothing else to do, he was sorta expecting them to have magic powers of their own?

But, in the end, he understands that his legend isn’t something inherently wrong but also that it doesn’t have to be infallible. His failure towards Ben and the way he apologised for that failure are his legend and legacy – just as the legend of Anakin’s fall and redemption he let start all those years ago. But again, Anakin’s redemption isn’t complete – and neither will be Luke’s (he dies in that moment after all) if his apology will have no influence on Ben.

Allow me to draw a timeline of Star Wars message:

after ot they become an inspiring story of hope and redemption

after prequels they become an overly selfconscious myth of redemption as the fall has been tailored exactly for the payment

right now they are a simulacrum of redemption as it became clear Anakin’s redemption was half-assed

It can be argued that the message can be carried on despite being false at a core. And does that sound like Rey growing to be a healthy good person basing on her denial of the truth about her parents? Yes, I think it should. There are characters like Galen, Bodhi or, again, according to some idiots, Finn – but they’re all incomplete too. Finn... really, his story isn’t a redemption, he’s not an evil man in need of paying for his sins, he’s a goddamn hero whose moral sense wasn’t killed by years of indoctrination and I want to punch anyone who thinks this beautiful jewel needs to get redeemed for anything. But Galen’s and Bodhi’s “redemptions” aren’t complete either – they both die, in Galen’s case so does his daughter, their redemptions are purely ideal in helping destroy the Empire. And complete redemption is in life, in soul and body. To say those other diamonds of souls needed redemption is a result of lie around Anakin, thinking his redemption was complete.

And that’s why I think there’s epic – though far from permanent – fall in store for Rey. But also that the sand castle of lies Snoke built around Ben can’t last.

The message of hope and redemption Star Wars are associated with doesn’t have to be carried by a Skywalker. But only a Skywalker can give them the message of hope and redemption, make it true. Meaning needs to be reattached to the simulacrum, gene to a meme, light to dark, ideal to matter and I could b*tch for hours about how they’ve been associated to male and female for thousands of years and their unison by marriage.

 A rose is a Rose is a Tico – some reflections on symbolism in postmodern era

Sequels are also a great occasion to reflect on use of symbolism in modern epic (pop)art. Symbols have become so widespread, so conventionalised, that – again – it seems the right thing to do is throw away symbolic language as a dead husk or leave them be only as empty conventions. Now, there are some things which are conventional enough to be purely conventional and throwing them away gives them more value than they’re worth – think French revolutionists trying to do away with a seven day week or ask yourselves how many people you know still worship thunder on Thursdays watching Thor doesn’t count. But those are pure conventions of everyday life and epic storytelling should appeal to deeper levels of our psyche. There’s a danger in overreliance on symbols – for example, violence in the originals was symbolical to the point of seeming banal – but they’re still a useful way of expressing that which in conceptual terms would be too difficult or plain impossible. Nowadays there are loads of symbol dictionaries so it’s easy to think of them as something to be decoded – but symbols aren’t to be decoded only to be interpreted, depending on their context. “A bird” can’t mean a lion but it can mean swallow, sparrow, pigeon, eagle, vulture, etc. alike. TBH, that’s why I’d say reylos seem like we’re “reaching” – we’re interpreting, debating with the text, asking it questions rather than decoding separate elements I don’t want to be indiscriminate of course there are non-reylos who do interpret and many reylos just see two hotties to be together, but  the latter aren’t accused of reaching. Intrepreting means asking a question of the meaning, not thinking the meaning is obvious. I don’t want to make another huge elaboration, so I’ll just take some examples of use of symbolism in Star Wars and how they should and shouldn’t be treated, as well as two simulacric husks which still need to be dug beyond.

Names and pseudonyms – a name is always symbolic of identity, though it should be remembered that they aren’t given like eye colour, they belong to the order of meme that becomes one with our identity as we grow. I think it’s pretty clear that Han has been literally baptised by the Empire and more importantly, never had a problem with that. He accepted this surname as it was an abstraction of what he was – alone, he didn’t have to throw it away because of being given by the bad guys I also think it’s not insignificant the imperial official is actually a pretty human character but that’s another matter. What I want to focus upon though, are the characters with two names, one for their selves and one for their shadows: Sheev Palpatine – Sidious, Dooku – Tyrranus, Anakin Skywalker – Vader, Ben Solo – Kylo Ren. I don’t want to delve into their ethymologies, but rather into their use. The difference between the two latter and two former lies in difficulty of switching between the two personas. Vader gets angered when Luke calls him Anakin, Kylo does react when he’s called Ben but doesn’t refer to himself this way – according to the novelization, in the throne room, while offering Rey the galaxy, he reasserts that it’s no longer his name. Now, one’s willing to view this as a manipulative play on his side, they think I should keep those names apart but I’m actually one and okay with it, but, just like with everything else in the throne room, he’s lying to himself not less than Rey, like a good setient simulacrum should. His manipulation is essentially innocent because he believes what he’s saying – compare it to Snoke who knew perfectly well Ben’s family loved him – and when he offers himself to Rey he offers her Kylo Ren, the simulacrum believing itself to be reality, just as he doesn’t say he’ll rescue the Resistance if she stays with him. What would be terrifying is if he wanted to be referred to as Ben, because that would mean his identity is as malleable as he’d like it to be. Such is the case with Dooku, who barely refers to himself as Tyrranus and why the hell should he, he’s a politician first sith lord second and more importantly, Sheev. Palpatine has no problems jumping between Palpatine, Sidious, Emperor and of course he’s all time favourite, The Senate.

Masks – I already explained how I think the bridge scene should actually be interpreted, but I bring it back as an excellent case of decoding vs. interpretation. Removal of the mask is decoded as revelation of the true persona and this is exactly what Kylo Ben thinks he’s doing. And yes, he reveals his true persona – only this persona is one feeling remorse for what he’s done.

Another good decoding vs. interpretation scene is Crait showdown – Kylo Ben is fighting a ghost, a shadow. Decoding is that it’s an expression of how ungrounded his anger is. But neither he nor anyone other than Leia and Rey (and possibly Chewie and porgs?) know Luke to be a shadow and that shadow has very real effect, this time positive in saving the Resistance. I would say Luke letting Leia know that he’s a projection is a symbolic explanation to his sister of what happened to her son. Of course, Leia still doesn’t know that Luke considered killing Ben, but now she knows he wouldn’t have actually done it – and I would argue before the scene is over, Ben himself gets a glimpse of this fact.

There’s also Anakin’s parthenogenesis to be reconsidered. To see that as a simulacrum of divine bloodline is the simplest thing to do – as well as one raising the most resentment, especially among those who think parthenogenesis is culturally exclusive to Jesus. But that’s avoiding the question of what actually took place. An embodied hierophany isn’t an origin of a special hero only an act of divinity’s direct intervention in linear historical time – thus, Anakin stops being the chosen one, one to bring balance to the force, but neither is it a concept to be rejected as some esoteric bs, but rather his birth sets in motion a series of events leading to that balance.

And lastly, decoding Snoke as an abuser isn’t equivalent with interpreting a twenty year long abuse, something which cannot be shaken off by killing the abuser. In this way I could argue Kylo Ben at the end of TLJ could turn out to be symbolic for oversimplified attitude towards stormtrooper rebellion – free them before they’ll want freedom and you’ll end up with them rebuilding the cage they’re used to.

A general rule I would apply is that non humanoids (moons, suns, planets, porgs) are rather reliable symbols. Characters may be trying to deceive each other and themselves but I don’t think creators are trying to deceive the audience. So if a kyber crystal cracks, either because of how difficult it was to make it bleed or because two characters who should be in tune are far from it – there’s a good chance things are not the way they should be. Again, symbolic language isn’t bad in itself.

Evil eyes – one of the arguments most frequently raised for bendemption is that Kylo has never had evil sith eyes. Now, you could say, neither had Dooku and he died but that’s another thing showing Kylo’s death would be a rehash, not his redemption. Another argument could be that Disney simply felt that effect was cheesy and decided to never use it again. But what should be done is to ask ourselves what do those evil yellow eyes actually mean. The way eyes look is symbolic of the way eyes see. Siths have venomous yellow eyes because they see the world through their hatred and lust for power, not because EVIL. Snoke has empty black eyes in TFA because he can see no depth in the world, sees only emptiness, and cold blue in TLJ as everything is coldly subjugatable to him. It has also been pointed out that the closest we got to sith yellow in the sequels is Hux during the destruction of Hosian system.

And I agree, it was a conscious move. As was this. 

But lightsaber refelected in Kylo’s eyes is red, associated with anger – and anger is but a path to the dark side, not dark side itself. So, do I expect Armitage to get actual sith yellow eyes? No, not really, because it was a bit cheesy what matters is the visual effect, so it could be another light reflection. It could also be argued that force sensitives do perceive the world in a slightly different manner than others, there is a difference in their very souls which finds manifestations in their bodies. What could happen and make me totally flip if the trailers greeted us with evil yellow eyes... by Rey.

One of the husks I think Star Wars still has to shed and why I can see dark!Rey happening is that femininity has become overidentified with good. The only more or less fleshed out female villain in the main story so far is Phasma and she sure has room for improvement. Alternative, and that’s another thing which would make me flip, is epix giving us Rae Sloane, an evil matriarch, an anti-Leia, if you like. Preferably, both. And I want to underline I write that as a feminist, I’m just tired of watching infallible or driven to villainy by men female characters, I’m a woman and I effed up in life, Padme’s patience gave me more complexes than Barbie’s waist ever could.

And another husk to be shed is... democracy. That sounds bad, I know, so let me elaborate. Democracy has become an empty word, on Earth and in GFFA alike. It became an equivalent of good rule, interpretable to preference. You know what is a “Democratic People’s Republic”? North Korea. And if you tell me there has never been a good emperor, I call bs on your knowledge of history whereas if you stammer sth about SW being a metaphor to be abstracted from history then at best I ask you sweetly then what’s wrong with a good Renperor and at worst sue for calling me a nazi apologist over that abstract metaphor. Now, I’m not saying a point should be made that authoritarian rule is anything good – rather, seeing Renperor’s labour’s lost should make us reflect why democracy is the best regime anyone ever came up with though still the worst there is. Rise of sympathies towards authoritarianism (usually going by the name of “enlightened despotism”) is another phenomenon visible around the globe and not always among uneducated people in want of agency only those who see how mishandled democracy can go astray. Again, there have been good emperors, so alternative sounds better than trying to fix the fallible regime. To show such people how their symbols get vanquished by good democrats will only fuel their resentment as they will feel misunderstood (that’s not what they meant by their enlightened despotism) – remember, they’re the romantic rebels fighting globalist empire. To show them how such regime fails at establishing a lasting welfare could actually make them think.

Well, that sure was an experience. I have many thanks to those who have actually gone through all of my ramblings, congratulations on your patience. Hopefully, they provided you with some insight into postmodern popculture and how it doesn’t have to be husk running away from itself only can be actually a living organism

[shipwreckkarpathos]

POST. Fest. New music. New members. Kickstarter stuff. And a book?

Hey everyone. I don’t use this blog a WHOLE lot but any time we have big stuff happening or you haven’t really heard from us for a while I find that it’s the best way to let people in on what’s going on with us. Let’s start with the most exciting part.

We have been asked to play the first ever POST. Festival in our hometown of Indianapolis this coming October. It is going to be the original line-up’s “annual last show”. We are all stoked out of our goddamn minds to be playing such an incredible event with so many friends and amazing bands. $40 gets you into both days and from what I understand there are a limited number of passes so get on it now. You can get passes at  www.thepostfestival.com

Next up, something we already announced a couple of weeks ago but just as a reminder. This is happening in the not to terribly distant future.

“Deviations” is an album full of Shipwreck Songs that have been remixed by some of our best friends and favorite bands. The bands mentioned in this video are just the beginning of the list. As more and more finished remixes come into us it’s getting harder and harder not to share it with the world RIGHT NOW. It’s been so cool to see everyone involved take something we made and turn it into something completely new. Each band has definitely put their own flavor on it and it’s safe to say that, so far, no two remixes have even kind of the same vibe. It’s super fun.

NEXT!

So it’s been a while since we put out any music that was ACTUALLY new. Our bad dudes. Getting restarted after a move across the country has proven more difficult than I originally planned. That said there is new material in the works. We are very slowly working on the second album, and in the mean time I’m in the process of recording something a little different from typical Shipwreck stuff. It’s going to be a more ambient release, not really songs but more just atmospheres. I’m taking a big step out of my comfort zone on this one, but so far it’s sounding pretty rad and hopefully you’ll feel the same. It is (tentatively) titled “The Simulacra Transmissions” and the plan as of now is to release it as a tape. We shall see.

AND THEN.

So this next part has been an ongoing idea of sorts. If you’ve been following us for a while then you know that our first album “Bring Down The Sky” is a concept album and we’ve played with some different ideas to get that story out other than just the music itself. If you haven’t been following us that long, or if you only got a digital copy of the album then you probably never realized this. Our bad dudes. The original plan was to have an animated film accompany the album, but we couldn’t come even close to raising the funds for that. We toyed with the idea of a graphic novel and some other ideas that were ultimately very bad ideas. But now we’ve started work on something else. We are actually writing a book. A novel. Probably more of a novella. (Whatever nerds.) Work has started and while it’s moving slowly, again, it’s turning into something pretty cool. “Bring Down The Sky” is actually the first chapter of what we are calling “The Pilot Trilogy”, the next two albums being chapter 2 and 3 of course, and if this goes well the plan is to write a book for each one. I won’t reveal too much of the story right now, I’ll just say robots, big flying machines, SCIENCE, and of course, Virgil. What format said books will be released in is another thing altogether. We may do it as a pdf download, we may just start a new blog and do chapters in a series of posts, or we may look into physical publishing if we can find a way to make it cheap for people to buy. (Side note: that tape that I mentioned above is actually, i guess call it chapter 1.5 of the overall story).

Okay we’re almost done just a couple more things. 

So we’ve gone through a LOT of line up changes over the years. Finding the right people and getting schedules to match up, and blah blah blah is hard. The new line up isn’t complete yet but we do have a new addition.

This big beautiful jerk is Michael Arzac and he our newest guitarist. Get stoked about him because he is really really really good, and a hell of a nice guy. Also, BUTT.

And finally.

It has come to my attention that some people STILL haven’t gotten their kickstarter rewards. I have notes about what has been sent out in multiple places and apparently they don’t match up. Not 100% what happened but I’m sure it’s definitely my fault. My bad dudes. For real, it’s been too long and it’s inexcusable and I’m legitimately really really really really sorry if you haven’t received your stuff yet. If you haven’t, PLEASE, send us an email at shipwreckkarpathos@gmail.com and let me know and I’ll get it out to you.

Okay so that’s all. All of the news. Life is good, music is rad, things are happening. Thanks for reading, let’s hug.