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greyias · 4 years ago

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Time to go Full Gravedrog

Hey guys. You know what we haven’t done in a while? That’s right! Put on our tinfoil hats, get tangled up in an entire spool of red string, and do a ridiculous deep dive on lore and make up wild insane theories about the upcoming story drop!

That’s right we’ve got some--

First up. If you haven’t watched it already, here’s the trailer for the 6.2 story drop, specifically for the storyline we’ll be doing our deep dive on, Echoes of Oblivion.

youtube

Are you pumped? I’M PUMPED. Let’s do this!

Okay, so there’s a lot to unpack here, and I’m going to state outright, that the chances of this being on the money like Gravedrog is... well. I’ve got no lottery numbers for you this time around. I can’t believe no one took me up on that offer. There’s always the possibility the storyline has absolutely nothing to do with any previously established lore, and they create something wholly new. And hey, if that’s the case, this is just free fanfic fodder for the masses.

But Charles did mention, I believe on the forums(?), that he’s seen one person guess what’s going on. The real question is... WHO GUESSED IT. HMM.

So I’ve been wanting to actually do a post on this a while, at least since Arcann’s voice actor accidentally made the slip up about Thexan being in this story drop. A large part of this theory/discovery goes to the lovely @confettininjabean, who found this piece of lore when we were getting tangled up in red string back in the Gravedrog days, pre-Nathema Conspiracy. Let’s just say, there was a... certain interaction on Twitter that had us thinking this had something to do with NC, and when it didn’t pan out we were like “Oh, weird, guess that wasn’t on the right track” and forgot about it.

Well, sort of. Because we were like, “that really seemed significant considering”, but hey, sometimes you hit upon a Gravedrog, sometimes you think Indo Zal is an evil mastermind playing 4D chess. In other words, when it comes to red string theories, you win some. You lose some.

Anyway. I forget why, but I went perusing on Wookieepedia a few months ago, looking back up this sort of obscure piece of lore for some reason. And something about it was.... FAMILIAR.

The article in question: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Thought_bomb

May I direct your attention, to this part:

Hey. Where have I heard that before?

Aw. Aw shit. Well I mean, that can’t be right though, right? Because it’s Satele and a bunch of Jedi/like-minded Force users that are being possessed right? And besides this is an an ancient Sith ritual thought to be created by...

Oh.

Oh wait.

But that’s a plague right? Not the same thing as a thought bomb. I mean it’s not like anyone in SWTOR has dealt with a Force plague--

Oh. huh. But you might say, “But Grey, that plague was invented by Terrak Morrhage, not Vitiate.” And you would be right! What I can’t seem to find confirmation of, thus far, is exactly when Terrak Morrhage lived, but by me and Jayde’s current reckoning, it seems like he may have been around possibly during the Great Hyperspace War, the end of which Vitiate used in his mad grab for immortality and power, manipulating what was probably a majority of the remaining Sith Lords into his brand spanking new ritual that he just needed a little help with.

Okay, and this is where we leave lore land, and enter into speculation land. I, um, just got sidetracked on Jedipedia (I’ll get to that), trying to find a codex entry regarding Vitiate I know I’ve read but I lost at some point. So, we’re going off memory here, but I’m fairly certain it’s stated in canon somewhere that prior to his ascension, Vitiate was obsessed with Sith alchemy and ancient Sith rituals. So if Morrhage pre-dated him, or was a peer, it’s possible Vitiate was able to learn about his plague, and adapt it to some of his other experiments.

Okay, back to the thought bomb for a moment. Full disclosure, I haven’t read the Darth Bane novels, so I’m going off of Wookiepeedia here instead of the source material (which is always a dicey affair), it says Bane adapted the thought bomb from notes on the ritual Vitiate performed. So, it’s possible the thought bomb is not a 100% Vitiate original, just a bastardization of it. But it’s interesting that the ritual itself gathers up and shreds the Force essence/soul of everyone in its path. Well, I mean, horrifying. But in this theory’s perspective, interesting in that when Vitiate used Zildrog as part of his ritual--where did all of the Force go exactly?

Because as you wander around Nathema, you hear the tortured whispers of every soul obliterated during that ritual.

This is talked about a little in the Revan novel, and it’s been a few years since I read it so I’m kind of going off memory again, but he basically created a void in the Force there. And remember... in the KOTET chapter we went to Nathema, he was actually visibly afraid a few times. Hmm... now why would that be? Was it Vaylin he was afraid of? Was it something else?

If memory serves, there wasn’t an actual explosion like as described with the thought bomb--because he wasn’t using the ritual as a weapon. He was using it to gather power, to shuffle off this mortal coil and live eternal as an annoying spirit who you just can’t quite squash out no matter how many mind mazes you build to keep him locked up. So, and again, this is speculation land, but all of that swirling Force and dead energy had to go somewhere right? I mean, Zildrog had his snack and went omnomnom, but where did the Force power go? And why was there a Void that constantly pulled at him and sapped away his power on Nathema?

Is it because the Force didn’t explode? Is it because he bound it up in his old disgusting decaying old man flesh? And the only reason he was alive because he basically made himself a little flesh horcrux that was destroyed at the exact moment we sent him off to the Void that he feared so much?

Hmm. Interesting.

Wait. Wait a second... I think there was something else he mentioned. Now, what was it?

You know, I had always assumed he was talking about Gravedrog being unleashed, since the whole reason he went to Zakuul was likely to find the Gravestone so he could pair it with Zildrog back on Nathema, and enact his galaxy-wide extinction event.

And maybe he was.

Or was he talking about his failsafe.

The one he knew would happen if someone destroyed his old, withered, icky body?

So... if the ritual/plague is some take on the thought bomb, and it infects any Force user like some prescient, who could have realized this is what 2020 held in store for us pandemic that spread rapidly and consumed everyone who touched it, until it made manifest what was once just thought...

Is the whole entire point of this to bring Valky back from the dead? Or is it just his last revenge? And what on earth would that last revenge be? Well... and just hear me out. Say there was this guy. Kind of an asshole. And he had this whole schtick about killing every single living thing in the galaxy and liked to consume whole planets in a single gulp just for funsies. Wouldn’t it be so funny if he, say, in the unlikely event he possessed some Outlander who happened to go “get out and get a job loser!” and booted him off to the beyond, and at the same time his old indentured servant and that chick he once possessed found his horcrux and destroyed that, wouldn’t it be a kick if that somehow kicked off a plague that consumed every single Force user in the entire galaxy until it had enough power and then exploded and completely wiped out all life in the galaxy, so that if the asshole who’s name totally isn’t Valkorion couldn’t live forever then neither could any. single. thing. in. the. galaxy.

I mean, that or it’s just a ploy to get him into one final boss fight.

But i dunno... I kind of just found the entire cast list of who’s in the Echoes of Oblivion storyline (warning, major spoilers and datamining on that link, and yes, that’s what distracted me on Jedipedia) and I’m kind of thinking. Having to keep the entire galaxy from being consumed by a sociopath’s final revenge kind of sounds like a pretty epic finale, don’t you?

And hey, if not. Free fanfic idea for anyone who wants it.

Oh yeah, also predicting the following:

We’re going on another mindscape adventure like in KOTET Chapter 9, but it’s Satele’s mind we’re in

It’s not actually Valkorion/Vitiate/Tenebrae, but a remnant/essence of him that’s made manifest by the ritual. Also he needs a combo nickname because I’m tired of having to pick one of three names. I shall call you Valkiatebrae. It’s a beautiful name. I know he’ll love it.

Vaylin and Thexan who we see in the trailer are probably also manifestations conjured by the quasi- Valkiatebrae

We’re going to Ossus? Or Ossus in Satele’s mind?

The Knight and crew missed a few of the death cult back in the storyline, and that’s who was either watching Tenebrae’s body, or who hijacked Satele’s ship OR they have some part in the ritual (perhaps the part to physically manifest Valkiatebrae). We see them in the trailer above.

Regardless if any single one of these predictions is right I’m going to die of feels

Because I think Satele and Theron may have a scene together????? OMG

I’m screaming again

I’ll stop now

I’m sorry Charles I hope I didn’t do it to you again I couldn’t help myself, but hey at least I kept it in this long

EDITED TO ADD: Okay guys, I’ve been looking more at Jedipedia. I think I can safely hazard a guess that a LOT of fans of different characters are going to be super happy with this update. Just saying.

#the return of spoilers grey #swtor spoilers #spoilers and speculation #swtor 6.2 spoilers #swtor 6.2 #honestly there's a lot more #but i've been thinking about this for so long #i know i've forgotten to include half of it #and i haven't had time to find all of my source #but here you go guys!#one last hurrah #and i even found a way to shoehorn gravedrog in there for you!

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doctormage · 4 years ago

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ok as promised here's my whole thedosian astrology spiral in one big post

underneath a read more bc i love you all

starting w my tags from the first post bc context:

#bc i saw a post that put the zodiac seasons (for thedas) roughly from the 20th of one month to the 20th of the next #like it is irl #but the zodiac seasons coincide w the actual seasons #the start of aries season is the vernal equinox #the start of cancer season is the summer solstice #the start of libra season is the autumnal equinox #the start of capricorn season is the winter solstice #and (to my knowledge??) the seasons in thedas start with their annum holidays or whatever #wintersend = beginning of spring #summerday = beginning of summer #all souls day = beginning of fall #satinalia = beginning of winter #(someone PLEASE correct me if im wrong on that) #well i know summerday and satinalia are right but #ANYWAY #using that logic the zodiac seasons would also start on those days #thedas-aries season would run from the 1st to the 30th of guardian #thedas-taurus would be 1-30 drakonis #thedas-gemini would be 1-30 cloudreach #so that thedas-cancer aka the start of summer aka summerday aka THE FIRST OF BLOOMINGTIDE #kSLFdfslkdFDKs #anyway. now i have to be Right about this#my previous hyperfixation and my current one.....coming together....to make me into a Massive Bitch<3

when would the zodiac signs' seasons take place in the thedosian calendar?

so bc the zodiac signs are based on constellations and all the lore etc that accompanies them i'm not even gonna touch that (YET.....yet...) but since spring, summer, autumn, and winter start on the first days of guardian, bloomingtide, august, and firstfall, respectively, so would those particular seasons of the zodiac

thedas-equivalent-of-aries season would just be 1-30 guardian, bc irl the beginning of aries season coincides with the beginning of spring and continues until the sun moves into taurus; all the cardinal signs (aries, cancer, libra, capricorn) begin on the first of the season like that, so we can assume that �� IF there are 12 zodiac signs in thedas – the sun is in each sign for approximately a month. so that in 3 months the next cardinal sign can coincide w the beginning of that season

imo it makes sense that (if we're assuming thedas also has 12 signs and that their sun spends roughly equal time in all of them) four of them would coincide w the beginning of the seasons. so like yeah thedas is fake and for all we know they have 10 zodiac signs and they all start on wildly different days, but then everything is just shooting in the dark and where's the fun in that. obviously the changing of the seasons is important to them bc their holidays center around them, therefore i don't think it's wildly out of the blue to think that whatever star sign system they have going on would similarly coincide w the changing seasons

again i'm not currently bothering with picking constellations/symbols/stories/traits/etc for each sign so i'll just say first, second, third etc. point being the seasons of the zodiac would actually be like they are below, rather than how they are irl (aka the 20th-ish of each month to the 20th-ish of the next; it's like that irl bc our calendar is stupid and the beginning of the seasons randomly happens 2/3 of the way thru the month):

first sign = begins spring, 1-30 guardian

second sign ≈ 1-30 drakonis

third sign ≈ 1-30 cloudreach

fourth sign = begins summer, 1-30 bloomingtide

fifth sign ≈ 1-30 justinian

sixth sign ≈ 1-30 solace

seventh sign = begins autumn, 1-30 august

eighth sign ≈ 1-30 kingsway

ninth sign ≈ 1-30 harvestmere

tenth sign = begins winter, 1-30 firstfall

eleventh sign ≈ 1-30 haring

twelfth sign ≈ 1-30 wintermarch

okay so we have cardinal signs, what about fixed and mutable signs?

the cardinal signs are CALLED the cardinal signs bc they begin the seasons; they're the ~get up and goers~ of the zodiac, motivated, leaders, trail blazers, energetic, etc. they litchrally bring in the changes of the season so that makes sense right

so IF we are to continue w that logic — and here's where i'm getting (even more) conjecture-y, but i feel p confident that since 4 of the 5 major holidays in thedas are based on the changing seasons aka thats important — then the traits of the thedas-equivalent of those signs would also have similarities to the irl cardinal signs (namely the traits listed above)

but there are also FIXED signs and MUTABLE signs: so called bc fixed signs are firmly planted in the middle of each season (taurus in spring, leo in summer, scorpio in autumn, aquarius in winter) and bc mutable signs precede the major change from one season to the next (gemini from spring to summer, virgo from summer to autumn, sagittarius from autumn to winter, pisces from winter-to-spring)

and again bc these are based on the seasons, it also makes sense to me that, generally speaking, the signs in the middle and at the end of the seasons would also be distinct in some way. and probably have similarities to irl fixed and mutable signs, tho i'm not as obstinate about that as i am abt the cardinal signs. but anyway MOVING ON

[the one section with the fan-made sky map ended up being relatively useless even tho the sky map was in fact very cool]

general disclaimer that at this point i’m literally just. straight up guessing lmao

also since we only have so many constellations we see in-game, and since they each come with a codex giving us at least a little background info (aka CRUMBS), any suggestions of which constellations are part of the zodiac are based on those specifically. obviously in real life theres a bazillion constellations that aren’t part of the zodiac, but we do not have the luxury of knowing every constellation in thedas so i am going with what we got

the thedosian constellation map (the canon one) is different than the fan-made sky map, but because i highly doubt anyone at bioware could’ve predicted someone would be As Insane As I Am Being Right Now about it, i don’t think they probably put a lot of thought into making it lmao. the fan made sky map DID have thought put into it tho, and it actually features the constellations we see in-game, so i’m going w that one ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

AND. i’m gonna look at the names of the months (both the fancy ancient tevinter names and the ~low/common~ names) in comparison w the constellations we have at our disposal bc why the fuck wouldn’t they be related in some way. this has no basis in any deeper logic than “maybe the fact that the ‘common’ name for this month is drakonis has somethinng to do with the constellation draconis idfk” but like. it’s literally the same name but with one letter (that makes the same sound) changed. i don’t think i’m asking too much here lmao

signs that start the seasons

wintersend is canonically associated with the old god urthemiel; the codex entry for the constellation bellitanus states it (is believed that it) was originally associated with urthemiel. using the same reasoning as with satinalis/satinalia, i’m gonna assume that bellitanus-as-a-zodiac-season would start with wintersend and last through the whole of guardian

summerday was once called andoralis, dedicated to the old god andoral; the codex entry for the constellation servani states it is thought to be representative of andoral, but where the wiki says andoral is the god of unity, the codex says andoral was the god of slaves. (doesn’t clarify if andoral is like, a figure to which the enslaved would turn to in their plight, as like a savior? or whether andoral is...just associated with slaves in some way.) i have no idea what the fuck to do w that except assume bioware is back on their bullshit! i’m gonna come back to this later

all soul’s day was once funalis, dedicated to dumat, old god of silence; the codex entry for the constellation silentir (which literally means ‘silence’ lmao) is usually said to represent dumat. so by this logic we might say the zodiac season for silentir begins with all soul’s day and ends with the last day of august

the constellation satinalis is canonically associated with satinalia, so it makes sense to me that if satinalis is part of the zodiac, its season would start with satinalia / last through the month in which the holiday takes place. aka firstfall

with these in mind, we have (tentatively) 3 of our 4 cardinal signs aka the signs that begin the seasons: bellitanus for spring, silentir for autumn, and satinalis for winter

looking at the fan-made sky map, these aren’t super evenly spaced apart (but then again neither are irl constellations perfectly proportioned so whatever!) HOWEVER. they do still, at least vaguely 😭, follow a clockwise pattern in the correct order of guardian/spring → summerday/bloomingtide → all soul’s day/august → satinalia/firstfall. it’s about the small victories ok *inquisitor ameridan voice* take moments of happiness where you find them or whatever

what about the other 8 signs???

great question!!! haha!!!

✨I Am Once Again About To Start Guessing Wildly✨

because even tho the “cardinal signs” go clockwise and in order, there’s still an uneven amount of constellations BETWEEN them. there should be 2 between each but, for example, silentir and satinalis only have tenebrium between them. and there are fucking....TEN constellations between satinalis and bellitanus so we’re going to have to get even more creative somehow<3 lmao these are all taken from the codex entries for the constellations (the names are links!)

TOTH: tevinter old god of fire, thats p much it. the codex does say sometimes toth is depicted as a “flaming orb” which maybe i truly have succumbed to the brain worms but i hear ‘orb’ and ‘god’ and ‘flame’ (aka light/energy/etc or perhaps idk a fucking explosion) and yall already know where my dumb ass is going w that 🥴

since the rules are made up and the points dont matter, i have decided Fuck Bioware, toth is going with summerday now. i dont give a rats ass about andoral since apparently they dont care to tell us what he was actually god of, so welcome toth you are now in charge of the beginning of summer bc i said so

TENEBRIUM: associated with lusacan, tevinter old god of darkess/night. also obvious associations with falon’din, elven god of death, whose sacred animal is an owl

pea brain analysis: its dark in winter lol; slightly larger, maybe lima-bean-sized brain analysis: the beginning of a new year (aka first day aka first of wintermarch) could hypothetically be associated w the past ‘dying.’ and also the holiday was originally an annual check to make sure everyone was alive, so i don’t see why gods of death can’t be associated w making sure all your loved ones weren’t taken by said god of death lol

ELUVIA: commonly called “sacrifice,” it’s (apparently) based on an orlesian tale in which a woman is saved from a “””lustful mage””” (i love bioware i love this frachise) by being placed in the sky and becoming a constellation. before this inspiring tale that is definitely not anti mage propaganda, eluvia may have represented razikale, tevinter old god of mystery. the imagery of this constellation is a seated woman with a cloud right above her - literally like her head is in the clouds (also bc it sounds like ‘eluvian’ i’m like 👀)

i’m inclined to pair this one up with cloudreach both bc the ancient tevinter name is “eluviesta” and bc the woman in the story is literally. in the clouds. simple enough

PERAQUIALUS: it’s a boat! but apparently a “primitive vessel” sailed by ancient peoples like the neromenians. according to the codex the translation is usually ‘across the sea’ rather than ‘boat’ but that doesnt rly help me lol

sorry my beloved. before me stand 10 beautiful constellations but i only have 9 pictures in my hands. you are not thedas’s next top zodiac sign

DRACONIS: obviously its a dragon lol

i think the drakonis (the month) / draconis (this constellation) correlation is. pretty evident lmao and since we have all but thrown credible hypothesizing out the window, why NOT?? why not make drakonis the season of draconis!!! 🤡

FERVENIAL: an oak; some believe it could be representative of andruil, elven goddess of the hunt, as the vir tanadhal (“way of the three trees”) is her whole thing

sigh idk *spins wheel* leaves start changing color in mid-late autumn so *spins wheel again* fervenial can go with harvestmere which is thedas-october it’s fine

JUDEX: a big ol sword, sometimes called the “sword of mercy,” referring to pre-andrastian concepts of justice in ancient tevinter

speaking of pulling ideas right out of my ass, if this constellation is associated w justice it makes sense to me that its season would be in the month of justinian. bc again why the fuck not!

EQUINOR: the stallion / a horse, sometimes depicted as a seated griffon. some speculate the original imagery was a halla, linking the constellation to the elven god ghilan’nain aka “mother of the halla”

i am really grasping at straws here HAHA but the word haring (as a gerund/present participle of the verb ‘hare’) can mean to run or go with great speed. horses go fast, ghilan’nain is invoked when elves want to travel quickly, blah blah blah. whatever

SOLIUM: the sun; one interpretation is that it indicates an ancient fascination with ALL objects in the sky (aka both the sun and moon[s]), another interpretation associates it with the elven god elgar’nan, aka “eldest of the sun”

alright i know the name ‘solas’ means pride in elvhen and the word ‘solace’ means like comfort/consolation, neither of which have jack shit to do with the sun, so i shouldn’t assume solis is associated with solium exclusively bc they start with ‘sol’ and sol means sun in...a lot of irl languages lol HOWEVER. i have an even worse reasoning we can fall back on which is that it’s in summer and it’s...fucking sunny??? LMAO im so sorry

FENRIR: the white wolf 👁👄👁 scholars apparently dont know wtf to do w this one; obviously there is a case to be made about its association with fen’harel

i have talked myself in circles on this one but whenever i try to type it out it makes Zero Fucking Sense lmao so. i may come back and edit this but for now just know it’s going with kingsway and i want yall to know i do have some stupid nebulous reasoning for that in my silly little brain but communicating it is simply not in the cards for me today god bless 🙏

alright so what bullshit have you proposed at the end of all this EXTREMELY shaky guesswork, queen?

HERE YOU GO I GUESS

Bellitanus: begins spring, 1-30 Guardian

Draconis: 1-30 Drakonis

Eluvia: 1-30 Cloudreach

Toth: begins summer, 1-30 Bloomingtide

Judex: 1-30 Justinian

Solium: 1-30 Solace

Silentir: begins autumn, 1-30 August

Fenrir: 1-30 Kingsway

Fervenial: 1-30 Harvestmere

Satinalis: begins winter, 1-30 Firstfall

Equinor: 1-30 Haring

Tenebrium: 1-30 Wintermarch

next time i have a death wish i will come back and speculate what kind of traits would be associated w these signs (based on the ~lore~ surrounding the constellations, their tentative places as cardinal/fixed/mutable, etc) but i just wasted precious hours of my life on this and i cant look at it anymore!!!

also want to reiterate that, regarding the post i saw earlier that i disagreed with, my refutation of that argument ended like 2 reblogs many sections ago lol. the only thing i feel confident defending is that the different seasons of the zodiac would – based on the actual changing 4 seasons – start on the first of each month and end on the last day of each month, as opposed to the way it is in real life western astrology

all this other bullshit is just for fun (??? i guess????) and based ALMOST entirely on my own assumptions. informed by actual shit from the games ofc but mainly me just

EDIT: would like to add that i don't have world of thedas or any other supplementary shit; all i have at my disposal is the 3 games, their DLCs, and the wiki lol. so if there's anything here that WOT (or smth else) contradicts please lmk! and also sorry for any typos lmao

hope yall enjoyed witnessing this fully unhinged moment w me bye<3

#da #astro #thedas astrology #i'll delete all the other ones later

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myentertainmentthoughts · 5 years ago

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Evangelion: I’m so conflicted...

Cool mech show!

Much ass-kicking!

Very sick!

And then...WTF?????

I’ve been keeping Neon Genesis Evangelion on my ever-growing, never-ending anime backlog for YEARS. I’m aware of the legacy and impact it has had on anime fans and culture, and how highly regarded it is. I’ve been told that it has deeper meaning and deeper themes than the typical anime - which sounds right up my alley. A chance to explore unique and strong thematic content using anime (arguably the one media form that is most plagued by stereotypes and tropes). What isn’t there to love about that? So with all of that in mind, I was quite excited to catch up and finally get on board. Yet, I was SO not prepared.

I don’t think any one CAN be, when going through it. Because Evangelion’s world building is rife with insane layers. Layers that are not apparent at all with just watching the content. I feel that creating something that is so hard to understand is inevitably divisive in its very nature.

What is the complication here? What is this anime about? Well... to loosely recap: Evangelion circles around a pseudo post-apocalyptic world in which these monstrous creatures named Angels come down to earth to cause mass chaos and destruction ALA Godzilla.

And this agency, Nerv has created these giant mecha robots named Evas to combat them. They get teenagers to pilot them and kick the shit out of the Angels.

There’s a shadowy higher agency behind Nerv named Seele that are super mysterious. And shadowy. And mysterious. And shadowy.

It’s (generally) standard fare for a giant robot anime in premise. The format is even episodic in the same way that other robot genre animes are. In every episode, a different Angel comes down. The Evas have to find a new creative way to deal with the challenge of each specific one. Cutesy moments happen between the main characters that build their relationships with one another. Vague political maneuvering seems to be happening in the background with Nerv and Seele at all times. It all reads...until BAM!

MASS CONFUSION.

It’s largely within the last 2 episodes that this all hits, but Evangelion transforms and flips from a standard robot anime show into...”art”? But in a Duchamp’s “Fountain”-it’s-not-a-toilet-it’s-really-art-because-real-art-is-just-perception-and-I-tricked-you-all-into-loving-a-signed-toilet way. So in my not so humble opinion - not the GOOD kind of art.

When I finished watching the series, I thought I understood it. (Despite the cluster fuck of its 2 part finale) But after reviewing the content with online sources, and with friends who are fans of the series - even some of the most MAJOR plot points and storytelling had gone right over my head. Fans have explained to me that they watched the series young and at the time, many of Evangelion’s themes were lost on them. But what the hell was my excuse? I’m a damn adult. I just watched 26 full episodes of content. This shit got me SO damn lost - am I just...dumb?

Well. Turns out that I’m not dumb. Or at least not always dumb. Evangelion has actually gained quite a bit of noteriety for this effect that it has on people. I can now say that I’m caught up since I’ve seen the original series, End of Evangelion, and Rebuild 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0. I fully get its larger overarching concepts and mythos. What is Adam? What is Lillith? What is the Human Instrumentality Project? All of what will sound like gibberish to the non-fan, I now understand. I get the religious references and the general messages that the property revolves around. And surprisingly - I like it all. I like the concepts a lot. It’s really HOW Evangelion gets there that is kind of......bullshit. There’s so much homework to do in order to get there. I had to have my friends sit me down and explain me through it. I watched YouTube videos that recap the series and its timelines. I’ve had to delve into all the character wiki bios. At what point is your story effective as a story anymore when you have to do so much extracurricular work in order for it to communicate?

And I’m not going to lie. Evangelion is kind of a chore - not a joy. Granted, much of the original anime series is entertaining, kick-ass, and thought provoking throughout. But even having to suffer the 46 minute finale and the 1 hour, 30 min run time of the follow up movie End of Evangelion (which is honestly - the worst thing ever) felt like an inescapable time loop that refused to die.

I love this property! I’m pretty sure I also really hate it. And sometimes, I look back and still feel confused, even though I did everything in my power to grasp it all. All of these things are true. I’m just so conflicted...

But I think it’s exactly this polarizing effect that makes Evangelion one of the most interesting properties that I’ve come across. And I fully understand why it’s the quintessential anime for anime lovers. It pushes the storytelling in a way that I feel only anime fans would ever put up with. I would not encourage it as an anime entry point for any sane person. But I do feel that there is some merit in the emotional reaction it prompts from its viewers. Whether that’s “I love Evangelion so much!” or “I hate this stupid pretentious bullshit show so much!” - at least it can say it is wholly unique, and it provokes a strong reaction. Either way.

So........... What’s the take away? Do I recommend it? I guess. I strongly recommend it. To some people? To not watch it? Or to watch it? What’s the question again? What is life? What is existence? What is the human condition? What matters anymore? What is this review? (There’s Evangelion in a nutshell - LOL) PS) The Evangelion Rebuild Series is a totally different story in that it’s incredible throughout. Now please stick the landing...because if you don’t, I’m not sure that I have the willpower to do weird, incoherent endings. FOR THE THIRD GOD DAMN TIME.

#evangelion #neon genesis evangelion #rebuild of evangelion #evangelion rebuild #anime review #review #movie review #shinji ikari #asuka langley soryu #rei ayanami

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trendingnewsb · 7 years ago

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6 Famous People Who Hilariously Trolled Their Own Fans

Some celebrities see fame as tremendous burden and distraction from their craft, whereas others treat it as a golden opportunity to screw with thousands of strangers for no logical reason save “shits and giggles.” We’re talking about such famous rascals as …

Chris Pratt Trolls His Fans With Bad Jennifer Lawrence Photos

Hollywood certainly made a weird choice when it needed a hot new action star and decided to pick that zaftig fellow from Parks And Rec. During the press tour for the 2016 science fiction thriller Passengers, which starred Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence, fans got overly enthusiastic about the pairing and started “shipping” them. (For those who aren’t up to speed on the internet lingo, that means they want the two to hook up and mash their bits together and make babies.) Followers of Pratt’s Instagram account started demanding that he take more photos of himself hanging out with Lawrence so that they could satisfy their vicarious need to imagine these two millionaires spending time with each other.

And so Pratt proceeded to do what the fans were demanding:

Chris Pratt/Instagram

Over the next few days, Pratt went on to post a number of Instagram selfies featuring himself and Lawrence together. Technically.

Chris Pratt/Instagram

You can’t argue that he didn’t give the fans exactly what they’d asked for. Still, a bunch of them didn’t seem to appreciate the photos, leaving comments like “Why isn’t she ever full in the pic” or “Why you cut Jennifer out?” Some people are simply impossible to please.

Nirvana Would Fuck Up Their Live Shows In Delightfully Stupid Ways

Nirvana are much better-known for their catchy grunge tunes than for Kurt Cobain’s primal screaming, but it’s not like he was intentionally trying to ruin the songs. Unless he was playing live, that is. Here’s a compilation of clips of Cobain mumbling into the microphone, or putting on a fake stupid accent, or sometimes replacing his lyrics with caveman grunts:

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It’s more or less the Charlie Brown teacher voice.

Read more: http://ift.tt/2y8O590

from Viral News HQ http://ift.tt/2zTMaKb via Viral News HQ

#IFTTT #Viral News HQ

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ellenartpaige · 8 years ago

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On Monday 23rd- Friday 27th of January 2017 I enjoyed my time exploring Berlin the capital and largest city of Germany. I have never been to Germany before or been on educational trip abroad before so this was an exciting new experience to absorb.

The General Aesthetic:

My impression of Berlin was that the architecture of the buildings were grand, impressive and a spectacle to look at and enter. What I really like about the architecture aspect was that although consisting of strong and very large yet infrastructures, everywhere felt like it had a very open feel with breathability to it. Everything looked really well cared for and respected. Although it was also a very decorated place with splashes of spray paint splattered in gatherings sometimes in more unrefined parts like alley ways or on the side of a flat building surface next to a demolition or construction site but if there was graffiti there it was usually an impressive work that strikes as picture worthy and beautiful with a lot of colour to it.

In general Berlin was a superbly pleasant place that wasn’t very busy or hectic as one would presume of a city but I’m guessing this is all because of how spread out this very large city is which made the trip so easy and peaceful. On the weather experience I found it was easily baerable although warm clothing, gloves and scarf was however essential.

The Museums:

What I loved most about my journey was the fine quality of the variety of highly impressive museums and galleries that they had to offer. Berlin should really take pride in its vast range of galleries that made the journey so worth the time and the money.

The Finance:

Germany wasn’t too expensive either it was pretty similar in comparison to my own country however I did hear that the pints could be pricier but luckily that isn’t something I like to drink. What was really great was being able to obtain a museum pass that was only €12 with a STUDENT CARD (I must remember to bring to all my journeys). The Museum pass gained me entry to a delightful range of top museums in Berlin which made the exploration run really smoothly and worked out much cheaper than paying admission each time in every museum.

The Accommodation:

The Hostel I stayed at was called the Generator it was a pleasant Hostels with comfort, facilities and services all to a great and pleasing standard! .

The Dilemma of the Trip:

There was one thing that didn’t go so well. The compulsory and one and only mask museum called the Ethnologisches Museum (also known as the Ethnological Museum) was shut down for a relocation!!! In all honesty I was gutted, but I and everyone else laughed it off easily. Although this museum offering the most relevance to my mask Field project the other handful of museums that me and my hostel group resorted to seeking out was fantastic and thoroughly compensated for this error.

How I Researched on my trip:

I took many photos on my fast moving and active journey through Berlin’s wonders and it will be these treasured images and my memory that I can look too to influence more mask designs that I wish to create for my 3D project.

The Research in Pictures and Drawings:

These are the first few pictures. (Plane picture from the Monday travelling and the rest from the activities on the following Tuesday).

This is the Ethnological Museum that was unfortunately shut for a relocation during my visit.

An interesting theatre that I often passed.

Me excited on the plane to Germany!

After realising the problem with the shutdown Ethnological Museum. My first visit was a trip to the Berlin Wall to witness the fun graffiti art that adorned it:

I loved all the colours that flowed to one another and the fact that it was a very long strip of wall that had art piece after art piece going all the way along it, it made the long walk a fun and interesting one. I really felt the voices in these illustrations too as a direct call out to the eyes and mind of the public being in such a great location of a very long and popular path route it really pulls the eyes to its attention.

Next stop was the Bode-Museum where I captured these images of the artworks I enjoyed shown below:

The art here really had a continuous flow with each other as a collection. It was rather a graceful and gentle rhythm found in the art here as if the art wants us to listen to a soft voice or message.

On Wednesday the 25th of January I went to the Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin (also known as the Museum of Design in Berlin). I was not allowed to take pictures here but I didn’t realise till after I took a few shots and was then swiftly approached by a member of staff to give me the message. I instead went on to absorb the artwork through a deep study of reading and examining the artwork from differing angles. I also spent some time drawing the artwork too.

The Bauhaus was a fun exhibition because I could sense a quirky vibe that can be seen to grow in unusual and surprising ways from the artwork here. I felt like this collection had a more fast paced and spontaneous rhythm that bounced off and too one another like ZAP ZAP. I feel like this museum reminded me of what it feels like to get a thrilling flow of ideas coming in all at once.

After the Bauhaus that day me and my group who were a mixture of creatives from different practices in the art school a part from a few who I already knew from my illustration course took a trip to visit one of Germany’s landmarks. The landmark I visited was the Brandenburg gate which according to my research is a monument and symbol of the tumultuous history of Europe and Germany but also of European unity and peace.

I really enjoyed making new friends who I can continue to work alongside with my ongoing Field project and gaining additional variety to my artistic contacts who I can gain a lot of ideas and insights to further expand on my creative knowledge and practice.

On Thursday the 26th of January I set out with my newly acquainted friends Lucy and Lauren who are both from Fine Art who I didn’t know before going on this trip, to a TATE MODERN gallery showing leading artist in contemporary art, Artist Bhupen Khakhar’s artwork.

I liked this piece because of the use of transparency, interesting collage and layering.

This is a piece I liked because of the colour contrast that tells me straight away that Khakhar has a mindful of negativity in his sleep here.

I love the vibrant colour pallete that makes the image deceptively happy at first impression.

I was really enjoying the layering and wash work of his painting technique with this piece.

I really like that quote “You Can’t Please All”.

What struck me at first with Khakhar’s paintings in the exhibition was the incredible use of vibrant colours in his works that really caught my attention at first glance and drew me in. But once I inspected the work with a closer examination a more disturbing and unsettling aura became more louder the more I looked at it and noticeable in every one of the paintings present in the gallery.

From the paintings alone it became clear to me and the gang that this artist was a homosexual in a time and place where there was no acceptance or place for this behaviour within the society. The paintings became saddening and also slightly maddening that some would say became slightly more insane or uncomfortable with a look at the next painting across the wall. But what I only could receive from Khakhar’s personal life exposed this way was that there was a pained discomfort about himself in a community and world that could not accept him for who he truly was.

Also in his paintings it showed an also sad insight into a time in Bhupen Khakhar’s personal life when he became severely ill with cancer to which he painted himself covered in disease seen spread in painful rashes all over the body. Both in the room of the exhibition shows and internal pain and an external/physical pain with both just as sore as each other. I can see how this work really relates to my topic of Men’s Mental Health in my subject and how it also can be useful to my mask making to which I intend to carry this topic into.

I also snapped some shots whilst travelling to the exhibitions that day, some of the glorious buildings and some of the beautiful views.

Next up we decided to walk to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and to take a look at the “place of information” and attached underground centre that holds the names of approximately 3 million Jewish Holocaust Victims.

According to my brochure the memorial also known as the Holocaust Memorial is designed by architect Peter Eisenman which comprises 2,711 concrete stelae and was built from 2003 to 2005. To be honest I didn’t understand the concrete blocks and didn’t feel as though they gave off any sense of being a memorial whatsoever. It was far too unclear and vague that I could only see what it actually was which was just concrete blocks. I can understand the controversy that has so heavily come about from my research. See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_to_the_Murdered_Jews_of_Europe#Public_reception_and_criticisms

It wasn’t until I had experienced the information centre below that I was certain of a most horrible time in the world’s history of the Holocaust. But still I could not link the architecture of the monument with the holocaust which was just so separated completely as being too irrelevant. The place of information underground centre was a very overwhelmingly terrible reminder that made me imagine and feel the fear of the victims and witnesses of the Holocaust. There was some rooms that I could not be in for too long as it was too much death to hear as they played out story after story of a victim one by one on an endless tape and in another there was a room where I read every note that was handwritten onto toilet papers, torn pages from a book or anything the jews could get their hands on explaining their fears, experiences and thoughts that brought me closer than ever to the victims as I recited the exact words they had processed as they wrote it down on that material. I hated so much what has happened to so many people we as a group all felt pretty awful by the end of it, hurt and teary eyed. We only hope that something like this will never happen again.

To make the most of our last full day out in Berlin we ended the day with an adventure back to the museum island area which is towards our final stop at the hostel for the night. The Museum Island is made up of 5 spectacularly large museums (shown below).

1 is the Altes Museum (Old Museum) – A collection of classical Antiquities/Eqyptian Museum. 2 is the Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery) – A collection of 19th century painting and sculpture. 3 is the Neues (New Museum) – An Eqyptian Museum for Pre and Early History. 4 is the Pergamon Museum – A collection of Classical Antiquities/ Museum of Ancient Near East/ Museum of Islamic Art. Finally 5 is the Bode Museum that I went to on the Tuesday (Sculpture Collection/Museum of Byzantine Art/ Works from the Gemaldegalerie/Numismatic Collection.

The island was beautiful and we wanted a cheer up after the sadness we felt for the experience we had at the Jew memorial site so we went on in to the Alte National Galerie.

The Alte National Galerie

This was what I enjoyed inside this fantastic Museum:

I really enjoyed this museum because it had a lovely large variety of artwork that would take me to a new experience with every brilliant piece that pulled me from one room to another. I particularly fell in love with the stunning paintings of dream like places that took me away to the new and wonderfully constructed places of outstanding beauty and I also was captivated by the paintings that had a lot of action and people involved in physical labour it made it ever more interesting with a moment so full of movement yet frozen magically in time. Like a picture taken unknowingly to the people hard at work I feel like I had travelled back in time and I was spectating from within the room or space to which they were all so concentrating working in. I just loved becoming a part of the work especially when there were paintings so huge and positioned so it almost fit the entire height of the room making it close to the ground level to which I was standing on, I could almost step into the works.

The final choice of museum that day was a visit to the Neues Museum also known as the Egyptian Museum. From word of mouth this place was apparently fantastic, my friends who had already seen said they loved it.

Here is the pictures of the artefacts that I enjoyed in the Egyptian Museum:

This Egyptian Museum experience was great I loved how much symbolism there is and I wish I could translate the encryptions or have the translations to hand so that I could work them out so I could get a little closer to this alien culture. There was a lot of modified faces and also animal heads or features used on the artefacts that I could easily pick elements from for my mask designing if I wish too. I liked entering a new world of artefacts to walk amongst it made my world feel so different and their world feel so unusual.

On the Friday we had time to explore a little more of the city and its public graffiti art in its nooks and crannies.

My Drawings:

These are observational drawings of artefacts I enjoyed at the museums and some mask ideas that came about during my time in Berlin.

Observational study from within a museum in Berlin.

Observational studies from within a museum in Berlin.

Mask ideas completed in the Generator Hostel I was staying in and some coffee shops in Berlin.

Mask idea completed in the Generator Hostel I was staying in and some coffee shops in Berlin.

Mask ideas completed in the Generator Hostel I was staying in and some coffee shops in Berlin.

For some of my mask designs I have been looking at masks that reflect happiness, pride and wisdom as I thought about the positive feelings of enjoying life and myself as a contrast to the more pained work that reveal a loss of this sight of the world that I have returned to seeing again. I can connect to both of these contrary ideas with my own experience and path that I can recall. So therefore I feel it is my duty with this time on this project that I am combining with my subject topic of men’s mental health to show both experiences and to hopefully take a mind to another direction to grow in oneself through a desire for a wonderful and rewarding change.

It was all worth research hunting and absorbing the ideas of even more creative minds first hand in a new environment and culture it really was a beautiful and enjoyable place and I felt very welcome by the friendly faced German people there. I definitely feel like I have learned a lot from going outside of my home to witness the art of further afield it has expanded my knowledge of the creativity present in the world. I want to even go further out of my comfort zone and go beyond the UK if I can for next time simply because I’ve learnt how exciting it is to get out there and find the art. It’s an adventure that has a lot of purpose to my position as an illustrator and the results really pay off and provide a lot of insight about the culture and fascinating perspective and extraordinary experiences that differ or relate to my own.

Berlin Trip – What a wonderful time! On Monday 23rd- Friday 27th of January 2017 I enjoyed my time exploring Berlin the capital and largest city of Germany.

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trendingnewsb · 7 years ago

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6 Famous People Who Hilariously Trolled Their Own Fans

Chris Pratt Trolls His Fans With Bad Jennifer Lawrence Photos

And so Pratt proceeded to do what the fans were demanding:

Chris Pratt/Instagram

Over the next few days, Pratt went on to post a number of Instagram selfies featuring himself and Lawrence together. Technically.

Chris Pratt/Instagram

Nirvana Would Fuck Up Their Live Shows In Delightfully Stupid Ways

youtube

It’s more or less the Charlie Brown teacher voice.