#the temptation i have to change my icon to her

[clownstillwritesfanfic]

Let’s talk about the foreshadowing of Klaus and Allison’s relationship in the tarot scene in Season 4 of The Umbrella Academy.

I’m not an expert, I don’t even own my own deck. But I went through a phase where I watched a lot of tarot readings and I do have some books on how to read tarot.

Klaus has the Rider-Waite deck which is the most popular tarot deck. Anyone that does tarot probably has their own copy. It’s just very iconic.

The first card Klaus pulls is The Lovers, which causes him to joke about not being laid.

This is actually excellent foreshadowing. At this point, he still hasn’t taken the marigold.

The Lovers is a very powerful card. It’s telling him he will face temptation of some sort soon or it can be about existing relationships. The relationship does not have to be romantic or sexual. This can be shown directly after he is given the marigold. Allison gives him the marigold to save his life because she loves him. But this ultimately strains their relationship due to his trust being broken.

This causes him to revert back to his old ways with drugs. The temptation is back. His first love. And the drugs cause him to end up being prostituted out and subsequently, getting laid.

The second card he pulls is The Tower. And his reaction is interesting because…this is NOT the kind of card you’d like to see.

The Tower doesn’t directly mean loss of self control on its own, but when paired with The Lovers, it can very much be interpreted that way.

The Tower is actually a scary card to pull sometimes. It represents danger, sudden change, and destruction, among other things. Now it’s not always bad. But it’s not a card you’d be happy to see in most readings.

Him being so nonchalant while pulling that card is kinda crazy to me. Especially when he’s so freaked out about safety. The Tower is basically a huge warning sign that shit is gonna get rough.

Tarot can be read in multiple ways, it’s personal to each person. But they way I’m reading this is that this is also foreshadowing the chaos and destruction the Cleanse will bring. He’s doing this while he’s in the van while the others look for Jennifer.

The Tower also can represent higher learning and liberation, something the Keepers believe the Cleanse will bring.

Now obviously Klaus isn’t doing a general reading, he’s doing a personal reading. So for him, The Tower mixed with The Lovers could be a form of loss of control, especially since he won’t be able to consent to having the marigold forced back in him by someone he trusts and loves. He lost control of that.

The third card he pulls is actually wrong.

This is not Death. This is the Ten of Swords.

Despite its name, Death is not actually representative of actual death. It actually means the end of something. What’s interesting about Death is that it can have different meanings depending on who you are. For example, a man pulling this card could represent the loss of a benefactor. Who’s Klaus’ benefactor? Allison. She lets him stay in her house rent free, eat her food, bubble wrap everything, because she loves him and wants him to stay sober.

However…he didn’t actually pull Death. My guess is they didn’t do their homework well enough and thought that because the card doesn’t have the name of it on it like The Lovers or The Tower did and they saw the picture of a man stabbed to death, they just assumed this was the Death card.

Despite that, the Ten of Swords plays perfectly into this. This card represents betrayal. Pulling this card signifies somebody will betray you very soon or you already have been.

And who betrays Klaus? Allison.

On their own these cards are damning. But together it tells a story. Someone Klaus loves will betray him and send him on a path of self destruction and this will forever ruin his relationship with them.

Allison betrays his trust and gives him the marigold to save his life due to love. This causes him to feel betrayed and that’s why he crashes out on her and everyone else and why he ends up going back to drugs and ends up being pimped out to pay back an old debt.

But wait…this also foreshadows something else that happens later in the season.

Who else gets stabbed in the back and betrayed by a lover? Who else has their whole life destroyed only hours before they end up being erased to save the world?

But he’s not the only one…

While season 4 may have been disappointing…the foreshadowing was clever.

[lilithlounge]

Hi, it’s possible to have different degrees in Lilith on different sites? Mine’s are different between 16 and 29, and I get confused, also my Lilith placement it’s in Gemini, conjunct my sun, mercury and rising. Squares and oppositions affect Lilith too? Thank you for answering 💖💖

Hii love!! The Lilith confusion... welcome to the club where we’ve all screamed at different astrology sites showing us different degrees and placements. I PROMISE you’re not alone in this cosmic glitch.

Why Are Your Lilith Degrees Different??

There’s actually more than one Lilith in astrology! For example:

Mean Lilith = the averaged orbit. Smoother, but not always as raw.

True Lilith = the actual, chaotic orbit. It’s wilder, fluctuates more, and can cause degree changes depending on which site/chart system you’re using.

That’s why one site says 16° Gemini, another says 29° Gemini, they’re probably calculating different versions of Lilith. Both are valid, but they hit slightly different energies. Mean is more stable; True is raw, real, and messy, like Lilith herself.

Now for the real plot twist, YOUR Lilith Conjunction Party 🥵 Lilith conjunct Sun, Mercury, and Rising in Gemini. You’re the chaotic flirt everyone wants to figure out but never can. You breathe mystery, and people think you’re just charming at first... until you utter something wild and change their entire worldview. You’re giving “I said what I said” energy with a side of “I know you’re obsessed.”

You own conversations, hypnotize with your voice or eyes, and your first impression (Rising) is unforgettable, equal parts trouble and temptation. Honestly... Iconic 🤌🏼.

Do Squares and Oppositions hit Lilith? OH YES.

Lilith loves drama. Squares, oppositions, all of it they make her spicier.

Squares = power struggles, tension, and learning to *own your Lilith power without exploding things or people.*

Oppositions = mirror vibes. You attract people who trigger your Lilith energy OR try to suppress it. Either way, growth, drama, and sensual chaos.

Soooo yes, different Lilith degrees = different calculations (mean vs true Lilith). You’ve got a Gemini Lilith power combo that makes you magnetic, unfiltered, and impossible to ignore, and YES hard aspects to Lilith hit hard. In the best, spiciest, and sometimes “what just happened?” way.

[wyllzel]

following the da2 questions: what are your face npcs and sidequests?

!!! :D omg well definitely feynriel and his whole questline!!! 👀 the hop into the fade was a lot of fun (seeing my companions' ~temptations~ was v interesting!) and i rly was scared that i might have to kill him ;_; but luckily he's chilling over in tevinter haha! that one girl who was obsessed w him bc he showed up in her dream was kind of an icon 😆

saemus was also a rly interesting npc!!! the arishok too - i thought we had a rapport going, was so sad when he fired on me 😭✋ but it was rly cool interacting w more qunari and comparing that w taash and their experiences in da4!! (+ i did gasp when the viscount's head rolled across the floor, i did NOT expect that 😭😟)

i was really into the quest w the murdered women!!! (freaky necromancer guy 💀) i was devastated by the conclusion 😭 but following the clues and chatting w npcs was a fun experience! i do love a good mystery :D !

and the deep roads end-of-act-1 quest was very fun!!! it rly felt like being back in da:o 🥹 and i love the indiana jones vibes haha :D

i think generally all the sidequests were pretty well-paced!! i had burnout in da:o 🥴 but i only skipped a couple sidequests in da2... which is my excuse to play it again haha >:) !!!

do you have fav npcs or quests?? :D have they changed at all w different playthroughs?? 👀

[synesindri]

lucifer gender symbolism essay part 4: women in white

masterpost

this is far and away THE reason i started thinking about fem!lucifer in the context of spn back when i first got into the show. 

women in white are SO ICONIC on supernatural. the first scene of the show features mary dying in a nightgown that is technically pale pink* but registers as white, and later in the same episode jess wears a mostly-white nurse costume and then dies in a pale periwinkle* nightgown that also reads as white. the pilot is all about constance welch, who is literally a type of ghost called a woman in white. in bloody mary, sam has a vision of jess standing on a street corner wearing a starkly white nightgown. lilith goes to her death to break the last seal in a white dress. it’s a whole thing. 

women dressed in white especially in early spn are almost always either about to be the victims of something horrible, or are dangerous and monstrous — and often they’re both, especially if they’re dressed in all white. 

our two main victims from this costuming-based character category are mary and jess. both of them represent brutal, devastating, life-changing, unfair loss. mary’s death is the reason the winchesters uprooted; it’s the reason john is like that; it’s the reason sam and dean grew up the way they did in this heavily trauma-based and trauma-inducing lifestyle. it feels random (even though we later learn it wasn’t); it was definitely shocking; it was cruel and unfair. jess died the same way, and her death at least played some part in sam going back to hunting; it didn’t feel as random because there was already precedent from mary, but it felt just as shocking and just as cruel and unfair. these women in life represented idealized domestic bliss and normalcy for their partners and families, and their deaths caused the end of the possibility for that kind of romanticized normal american lifestyle for the men close to them. in death, they become symbols behind which the men mourning them rally to seek revenge.

(there’s endless more things to be said about mary and jess’s death and their costuming etc but i gotta keep my eyes on the prize here of lucifer analysis. ok. carrying on)

now let’s do two of the main monsters in this category: constance welch was a victim of her husband’s infidelity before she became a killer, and as a ghost she kills unfaithful men, never able to get the revenge she wants for what was done to her and becoming a monster (partly) because of it. she can never have enough, she can never break the cycle, and, importantly, she “can never go home,” because she also killed her own innocent children, who want their revenge on her. again, lots to be said here about how sam and dean also can never go home etc, but i gotta keep it pushing. so: lilith. lilith was once a human woman whose essence was warped until she became a demon. we don’t know specifically how that happened, something to do with temptation, but in any case, the transition from human on earth to demon in hell is typically portrayed as undesirable, to say the least. beyond that, stories of the human fall are stories about not being able to go home: a human in a fallen state can’t live in their home of eden anymore, and has to rough it outside of the garden. presumably, that’s part of lilith’s story. the story of demons on supernatural is very similar: human beings who die and go to hell, and then are trapped there until they manage to get out (which is portrayed as being very difficult to accomplish in the earliest seasons of the show, especially for demons in the deepest parts of hell, like lilith). so the earliest humans fell and could never return to the garden, and humans who go to hell struggle to return home to earth. 

so that’s all a whole symbol system, right? if you’re a woman in white on supernatural, either something horrible happened to you, or something horrible is about to happen to you. you’re going to represent horrible loss whether you’re just a victim or both a victim and a monster. you’re going to get trapped in an unending trauma cycle, or you’re going to be the reason for someone else’s unending trauma cycle — probably both. 

and lucifer…

well!

lucifer’s first two appearances (after the nun) are as sarah, nick’s dead wife (another character who fits the victim subtype of women in white), and jess. both times, lucifer wears a white nightgown. 

and for good goddamn reason, because lucifer fits the archetype perfectly. 

did lucifer once represent an ideal? absolutely: lucifer was the most beautiful of the host, god’s favorite, THE angel. 

does lucifer’s loss represent a loss of perfection and purity? yep, lucifer was proof angels could make choices they weren’t supposed to, even/especially the best of them.

did the loss of lucifer cause a huge upheaval for his family that sucks a lot and changes the course of their lives for the worse? big time: god left; gabriel ran away; heaven seems to have at least somewhat restructured in the fallout; everyone set their sights on the apocalypse after which the problems will end and they can finally rest. 

do those who lost lucifer miss lucifer/what was lost when lucifer fell (even if that’s complicated)? seems like it. uriel definitely does; michael seems to have missed lucifer, even while being angry at and blaming him; and raphael at least misses how everything was before it fell apart. 

was what happened to lucifer violent and awful? pretty unquestionably. regardless of how much you think he deserved it, what ended up happening to lucifer — being cast down, imprisoned in isolation in the depths of hell for millennia, total loss of reputation, and a death sentence — is point-blank brutal. 

can lucifer ever go home? nope.

does anyone want revenge for what happened to lucifer? well, lucifer does, at the very least

can lucifer escape the cycle of trauma? nope: he perpetuates it by doing the apocalypse among other things, leaning into the devil role, doing more of what got him that title in the first place, and even when he tries to escape it by offering to drop everything to walk off the chessboard with michael in swan song he gets shot down. 

that’s a signature supernatural woman in white, babey. 

so, ok. woman in white, though. men show up wearing white sometimes on spn. a man wearing a white shirt is less of a tell that something is going to happen to him or because of him than it is for women, but it’s still part of the visual shorthand. men also wear all white sometimes, especially in psychiatric contexts (notably sam as a patient in season 7 in the context of hallucifer, as well as sam in houses of the holy while he’s playing a nurse). but these instances are uniforms that the wearers have little choice about wearing, and they are not especially gendered: female patients also wear all white (e.g. marin in ‘the born-again identity). to my knowledge, there are no roles in supernatural specifically for men in white; men wearing white do so in contexts where women also would and do wear white.

the one** exception to this is lucifer in ‘the end;’ how much endverse is zachariah’s creation vs what literally happened in that version of 2014 is debatable, but either way, sam!lucifer was one of our few examples of a ~man in all white in spn. and like…this reads to me as costuming wanting to do a woman in white thing, but not wanting to put jared padalecki in a white dress. lucifer already appeared as sarah and jess in all white nightgowns; lucifer fits the woman in white archetype; there’s no Thing like that for men, so they put sam!lucifer in an all-white suit that draws a stark visual parallel to the women in all white we’ve seen lucifer as before, and there you go. still a woman in white archetype, just wearing a man costume at the time.

**i know asmodeus did a white suit too but that's way outside of the range of kripke-era symbolism i’m mainly talking about, and it seems like probably a direct reference to lucifer’s endverse look. i’m also probably not the right person to do an analysis of asmodeus even if i wanted to include a discussion of his suit. so.

to sum up, lucifer is a genderless non-human entity, but (s)he’s also a Woman In White™, even when appearing as a man. lucifer is, i would go so far to say, the epitome of the Woman In White, the maxed out, most op version of everything the show did with that symbolism. so. lucifer is fitting into a feminine archetype real well, there.

*i’m not trying to ignore that neither mary nor jess actually died in white. as far as i can tell, most of the fandom remembers mary’s nightgown as white, and i’ve had conversations about whether jess’s nightgown is actually white and it’s just a lighting thing, so they’re both Women In White (TM) even though they’re not actually that (and jess is explicitly turned into one in sam’s memory and in lucifer’s appearance as jess wearing the same nightgown as in ‘bloody mary,’ since that nightgown is actually definitely white).

it’s a great choice, i think, to have them fill this symbolic role while actually having been maybe more complicated than that; having their memory simplified and ~purified so they can serve the perfect fridged domestic woman role — regardless of their actual personalities in life or how well that symbolism actually applies to them (and it really doesn’t fit at least mary that well, given her hunter background that we learn about later!) i bring this up because of lucifer’s endverse white suit, which, you know, is an all white look, but also has that off-white shirt. so, like, something something, attempts to fit into a specific archetype, but there are inevitably going to be slight imperfections because no living thing can be JUST a symbol. 

(a lot of people have written extensively about women in white in supernatural, including me. i have focused largely on lucifer, because of course i have. some additional posts here, here, here, and here.)

part 3: the dead nun part 5: white women masterpost

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Not a Zucest shipper (more into Maiko) but that scene where Azula isn't wearing makeup and she and Zuko are in her bedroom and she's all touchy-feely towards him was honestly more sexual and intimate than the Zvtara cave scene. Honestly I would argue that Azula is a lot more on his mind than Katara, who only comes to mind when she's convenient for tracking down Aang. Heck, I would even argue Zuko has more chemistry and investment with Aang than he does with Katara.

Maiko might not be my OTP but it is still a personal favorite because MY GOD, these two are clingy with each other and it's so fucking cute.

Zuko and Aang's friendship is legitimately one of the best parts of the show, and, ironically enough, their dynamic is the closest the show ever got to the fanon zutara idea of "this hero can tell the bad guy has a heart and wants to offer him the chance of being a better person", only without the romance part - but it could have totally made for a perfectly reasonable endgame if just a few details had been changed.

Plus everything about them meeting the dragons was absolutely iconic, from "I don't care what people said, you're pretty smart", to Zuko suggesting they think about their place in the universe, to AANG ASKING ZUKO TO DANCE WITH HIM, to Zuko looking Aang straight (hehehe) in the face and going "You are source of my fire by the way. No homo."

I just love it whenever these two are on-screen together.

As for the bedroom scene between Zuko and Azula in the awakening... oh boy, did my mind go straight to the gutter the first time I saw it (and every time after that too).

Grey Delisle, iconic voice actor, former stripper, and former narrator of trailers for porno movies, really took a look at this scene of her character's older brother coming to her bedroom in the middle of the night and thought "Wouldn't it be really funny if I added some incest vibes here?" (not that the animation itself made it all that difficult).

And yeah, Azula was definitively in Zuko's mind ALL THE TIME. Like, this boy was trapped in a cave during a snow storm, Aang's soul had literally left his body and, for some fucking reason, he just... starts venting about the sister he has not seen in years. Like, I KNOW they are just setting up Azula as the villain of the second season, but that came out of nowhere!

And him imagining her as the blue dragon that represents temptation and is whispering in his ear stuff like "Just give into it" and asking when he will be going to his bedroom, even after he said he doesn't feel like sleeping... buddy. Buddy. What the hell is this?

Also I can't find that video anymore, but there was some panel Bryke was at in which they were "suggesting" many ships to the audience - and one just happened to be Azula and The Blue Spirit. If someone has a link to it, please send it to me because the audience's outraged reaction was the funniest fucking thing.

In case any of you want to see Grey being chaotic as fuck, and making Dante all embarrassed (and flirting with him) I recommend you check out these videos because they are HILARIOUS!

[tonydaddingham]

re: your hard truth meta, you're absolutely iconic for that. i feel like a lot of the season seemed to foreshadow that they're on two entirely different planes as far as what it means to care for someone, especially when a LOT of the flashback scenes we were shown seemed to included him constantly rejecting aziraphale's attempts at authentic communication: in the 1800s one, he straight up yells at aziraphale to be the one to say something that would keep that girl from ending her life, when aziraphale was already trying to do that on his own (never mind that aziraphale already miracled the vial empty & could have done the same with the glass). post-job, he laughs at aziraphale's assumption that he'll be cast out for lying when aziraphale is Visibly distraught about it. and then with maggie and nina, as they said in the final episode, az & crowley were doing what they'd always done with each other: throwing darts at the wall until something seems to stick. so then when crowley's finally put in a position to open an honest dialogue about their relationship and where he wants it to go, and is visibly anxious about it, aziraphale brushes it aside in favor of sharing his Good News, because that's what he's learned their relationship to vulnerability is. imo, crowley has had the time he needs to understand that heavenly/hellish interference isn't even necessary ("every time i think of something strategically cruel, they do it themselves and Worse"), and he expects aziraphale to reach the same level after like. One year of silence from heaven, because he figures that if he could do it on his own with no support system or anybody in his corner, so should aziraphale. meanwhile, aziraphale spent his ENTIRE existence with one purpose, being repeatedly manipulated into quashing his doubts and not raising questions, and then when he finally did the Right Thing for himself (stopping the apocalypse), heaven stopped talking to him entirely. of COURSE he would want to go back. he was cut off and lonely and couldn't go to crowley about it because he knew from experience that he would be brushed off. and of COURSE crowley wouldn't understand that, and like with maggie and nina was just trying to make Something happen However he could, regardless of how ethical it was, and would lash out in the most anti-heaven way he could think of: a temptation. like, my guy had a WEALTH of logical arguments about why heaven wasn't the place where real change could happen based on their lives together and the fact that aziraphale was about to be ERASED FROM EXISTENCE AND THE MEMORY OF EXISTENCE BY THE ARCHANGELS before the metatron showed up, but all he was thinking about was his trauma and he reacted to the shadow of a rejection that was centuries old. in trying to express their love for each other they just ended up treating each other like An Angel and A Demon again and it fuuucking kills me.

god i hope this makes sense, i am very tired. tl;dr i loved that meta

@rollforjackass, bestie, fucking *CHEF'S KISS* ✨💓 yes this is perfect part 2 to my meta and im so grateful you paid attention to the other parts where they fail each other time and time again and just sweep it under the rug... yes you get me!!!✨

aziraphale is as culpable as crowley, but i genuinely think he's trying... crowley feels like he's so wrapped up in his own pain and hurt (again, valid) that he can't see wood for the trees, and certainly not aziraphale's perspective 💀

[synergysilhouette]

"Starlight" (from "Stargazer")

(SPOILERS AHEAD!! I didn't finish these songs in chronological order, so I warned you. If you have any questions about the context, message me privately so I don't have more spoilers in the comments. The least spoiler-y way of setting the context for this would be explaining that our star is falling for our protagonist, who I've named Talia, but he's--or they're--concerned that she only likes him for the power he can give her.)

Yeah, yeah, I know, it's a weird title for a Disney film, but it sounded beautiful and I think it captured the idea I was going for. And before ANYONE asks: I know "Anastasia" (the movie whose picture I'm using) isn't Disney; it's 20th Century Fox. However, I think for this musical sequence, it'd be GORGEOUS to have Anselm (my Star) use his magic to subconsciously summon magical royal couples during his song. They'd have original designs, but their color schemes would hark back to iconic Disney couples, but some of them with alterations, ie hero-villain couples (Gaston and Belle, for example), or a human couple with fox masquerade masks, inspired by Disney's anthropomorphic take on "Robin Hood." This also serves as inspiration for a part of the plot that comes after. I imagined this as a nice little pop/alt-pop song, with a mini mood-board for it below the lyrics. I never really decided if I wanted something slow to match the bittersweet tone, or something sad that makes you wanna get on the dancefloor.

Color guide:

Purple-Star

Blue-illusions/images

(Note: I haven't decided if there are certain moments where Star and the illusions sing together. I love strong harmonies like that.)

(Verse 1)

Ready, steady,

When do I say "go"?

Who do I give control?

Who sees into my soul?

Every, body,

Always has a wish?

Who put you up to this?

Should I regret that kiss?

(Prechorus)

(BUT!)

I can't fix the storm from inside

I'm lost in the eye

Soon I'll return to the sky.

(WAIT.)

When the sun's sure to rise

I change my disguise

To the shape that you liiii...

(Chorus)

Starlight, illuminate my night

Help me understand

Why I can't ignore this despite

All my reservations

Ignore the temptation

How can I love someone

When I'm supposed to be no one?

Starlight, tell me something tonight

Heart and mind in conflict,

Is this wrong? Is this right?

Is she on a mission

To make my own decisions?

Is she really different?

Or do my powers pique her interest?

(Verse 2)

Keep it simple.

Don't make me prolong your pain

Hearts broken in twain

Please don't ask it of me again!

I'm so sorry.

I won't give your heart's desire

Even if it stokes your ire

Granting it is fuel upon a fire!

(Prechorus)

(BUT!)

If I ignored my senses for you,

What would that lead to?

Do you care? I do.

(WAIT)

Can we ever reach a deal?

I'll miss the way it feels

To have a relationship so real!

(Chorus)

Starlight, illuminate my night

Help me understand

Why I can't ignore this despite

All my reservations

Ignore the temptation

How can I love someone

When I'm supposed to be no one?

Starlight, tell me something tonight

Heart and mind in conflict,

Is this wrong? Is this right?

Is she on a mission

To make my own decisions?

Is she really different?

Or do my powers pique her interest?

(Bridge)

You kissed me.

Do I kiss you back?

You used me?

How much do you lack?

I would give a lot

For this connection

The truth hurts too much

I want the deception.

But for all my reasons,

I can't be selfish

I'd break my own heart

To protect that wish.

(Chorus)

Starlight, illuminate my night

Help me understand

Why I can't ignore this despite

All my reservations

Ignore the temptation

How can I love someone

When I'm supposed to be no one?

Starlight, tell me something tonight

What if this wish isn't that harmful?

Is that why it shines bright?

Can I close this distance

With all of my persistence?

I would hate myself,

But at least I'd have somebody else.

Hope you enjoyed it! I'm really torn about this song, since it kinda showcases a big issue I'm having with writing the relationship between our star and our protagonist. I'm working so the relationship doesn't feel too strong, too one-sided and more romantic and cute. Maybe I'll fix this later!

[belovedtylerr]

Stu Macher x Reader 'Playboy💔'

So, since im a sucker for angsty fluff ig?? I decided to write smth.)

Warnings: just basic angst?

February. Love was in the air and the aroma was all over you're school! Lucky you! Well, maybe not. You had liked one of you're 'friends' Stu. Though it seemed he already had his eyes glued to someone else. You couldn't help but feel a slight bit of jealousy when he gaze went onto his new girl for the week. He changes girls like he changes socks. Its quite pathetic in you're eyes. And what you would give just for him to be with you, even for a sick and twisted bet or dare made by Billy. You didn't have high hopes for February, the 'month of love' according to most. Only thing you could think about is just getting through the month without embarrassing yourself.

You were currently sitting with the group, as stu came along, surprisingly late. "Man, sorry im late you guys. What'd I miss?" he had that iconic smile as always, before taking a seat next to you. "You're fine. We know you have girls dragging you down." Randy teased, though you didn't find it very funny. You continue eating F/F, (favorite food) Stu looks at Randy with a smirk. "I bet you're wishin' that was Sid holden ya down." Randy laughed awkwardly before putting a hand behind his neck. Sidney just looked over, before brushing it off. Stu wrapped an arm around you're waist, pulling you into a sideways hug. You smiled shyly before looking up at him. "Im havin' another party at my place- i figured that I should invite you, its a gentleman thing after all." a devilish smile came to his lips, before laughing. You're gut was telling you this was a bad idea, but you couldn't resist the temptation. "Ill come. Thanks, Stu." you smile once again. "Its a date!" he hugs you tightly before winking. "Cya later girlie." and with that, hes off. Tatum looked over. "There goes another broken one." she rolled her eyes before frowning. "What are you implying.?" you raised a brow. "You'll see, Y/N."

-------------------------------------

Later that night, you arrived at Stus house. Flashing lights, beer bottles, popcorn and snacks. You walked in, wearing O/F/C (outfit of choice) as Stu greets you. "Ayy Y/N! Bout time ya showed up." He swung his arm around you, giving a light peck on the head. "How about we get you somethin to drink. You look great." All you could hear was faint music and yells and laughter in the background. You decided to go with him, as if you had a choice. He walks you over and hands you a beer before grinning as wide as possible. "You know.. I was just thinkin.. Lately you've been on my mind and I dunno how to you know.." He looks away from you, as you felt yourself heating up. As you smile, feeling yourself swoon over him. He winked at you before smiling sheepishly. Oh the way you hated how he could be so charming. "I was thinking we could go on a date sometime, maybe that ice cream shop around town?" He said, a grin still plastered on his face. You blushed once again."yeah, that sounds nice." He makes finger guns at you."its a date!!" He starts to walk toward the living room, leaving you in the kitchen with a beer in you're hand. Randy came soon after."I wouldn't trust him, Y/N." You glance up/down/ at him."Who, Stu? No way he would be mean, everybody likes him he can't be that bad." He frowned."Thats the point. Everyone likes him, I wouldn't be surprised if you found him with another girl." You refused to believe him, though a part of you wanted to.

[iviarellereads]

Nona the Ninth, Day One, Chapter 1

(Curious what I'm doing here? Read this post! For detail on The Locked Tomb coverage and the index, read this one! Like what you see? Send me a Ko-Fi.)

(Locked Tomb icon)(1) In which we meet Nona.

Day One comes with a set of teasers.

REGARDING NONA—HOT SAUCE IS WATCHFUL—THE CITY HAS A BAD DAY—NONA GETS A BEDTIME STORY—FIVE DAYS UNTIL THE TOMB OPENS.(2)

Nona closes her eyes and recounts her dream to Cam. Someone with a painted face, who might be, no, is definitely a "her", is above her in "the safe water".(3) Nona knows that Cam's notes often include boring things like what face she makes when she says certain things.

Then, she forgets the rest of the dream, so Cam ends the session and clicks the button on the recorder. Nona launches into action, changing clothes for the day. She's proud she can get changed herself: she once got very upset and claustrophobic when her nightshirt got stuck over her head before she could handle dressing herself.

She had only ever had two tantrums in her life, but it would be humiliating to have a third.

When she's done, Cam praises her quickness, and Nona dives into her daily stretches. She pretends her leg muscles are extra tight, trying to get Cam to help with a certain stretch, but Cam doesn't fall for it. She calls Nona's bluff and says maybe she can't go to school, at which Nona insists she's done, she's up. Cam tells her to go see if Pyrrha(4) needs help with breakfast. Nona wonders, hopefully, if it's gone cold already.(5) Cam says Pyrrha should do Nona's hair, as well, since Cam's going to "talk".(6) Nona asks Cam to write down that she sends her love to Palamedes.

This Camilla Hect did unblushingly, though Nona had to take it on trust. When she squatted down on her haunches, following the strokes the pencil made, she could not make out a single word. She could not even make out a letter, not of any alphabet she'd ever been shown, which interested everyone but herself.(7)

Still, she trusts Cam fully. When the pencil stops, she tells Cam she loves her and asks if they know who she is yet. Cam says she's someone late for breakfast.

Still, Cam smiles a rare smile, and Nona can feel that it's going to be a good day.

Nona goes out into the kitchen. A baby is being loud a few apartments over, and the neighbours below and above are dangerous to piss off in different ways, so Nona walks on tiptoes. Pyrrha is preparing a pan with spray oil, and wearing a string vest(8) and pyjama pants but no shirt. Nona asks if the mix in the bowl is pikelet mix,(9) but Pyrrha says it's just eggs. Nona wants something cold instead, but cold eggs aren't the same, and Pyrrha insists the eggs aren't optional.

Pyrrha asks after Nona's dreams, and Nona says they're same as always, but she wishes she could dream of something else. She asks if Pyrrha dreams, and Pyrrha describes a nightmare about not wearing any pants while giving a speech.

During a pause in Nona's gurgles of mirth, she added solemnly, "It was no fun, my child. I knew I'd be okay so long as I was hiding behind the podium, but I didn't know what I'd do once I had to sit down again. Die, I guess."(10)

When Nona's mirth calms, she asks if Pyrrha was being serious. Pyrrha says yes, but put a mark on the chart for an ass joke anyway. She guides Nona's hand with directions until she's in the right section of the chart. Nona counts(11) seven this month, and chides that Pal will think Pyrrha is skewing the data on purpose. Pyrrha says she "could never help giving the girls what they wanted".

Pyrrha finishes cooking the eggs, fills Nona's bowl, and tells her to eat while Pyrrha braids her hair. Nona asks for one big braid, with two little braids coming off it, so it won't come loose. Also, to avoid the temptation of chewing on the ends of "plain plaits".(12) Pyrrha comments about wanting to get into the cigarette drawer, but Nona says they're bad for her and she loves her.(13)

Nona eats her eggs while Pyrrha styles her long, fine, black hair.(14) Eventually, Pal comes out, in Cam's body. Nona can tell them apart from their physicality, posture, movement, but the easiest way is the eyes: Pal's are brownish grey, while Cam's are fully grey.(15) Pal and Pyrrha banter about meat prices, and then go into the other room to talk while Nona is advised to finish eating her eggs. She eats three mouthfuls then goes to sit next to the door to eavesdrop.

They mention that someone gave them a year, and they're not giving "her" up early.(16) Then they move away from the door, so Nona can hear even less. Eventually they come back closer to the door, and discuss tactics. Why are the BOE running when they're in the best position they've ever had? Pyrrha doesn't know, despite sleeping with the enemy, and she won't tell Pal and Cam her suspicions in case they're interrogated.

There appear to be some barracks with some House personnel barricaded, and there's some discussion as to how to rescue them. Even the locals are split on how to handle it: some of Pyrrha's command are eager to kill the Houses, some would welcome them if they'd just clean up the gangs running wild on the streets. The divisions in the BOE are stronger than their common cause.(17) Pyrrha's ready to steal a ship and get the three-and-a-half of them off-planet and to anywhere else in the universe at any time.

A timer goes off, and Pal has to swap back out again. They discuss whether Nona should go to school or not, but Pal wants her calm. Nona tries to eat the last lumps of egg in her bowl, when Cam asks how long she was listening. Nona admits, nearly the whole time.

Cam eats the rest of her breakfast while Nona drops a cleaning tablet in the dishes and Pyrrha shaves. They dress for outside, with hats and masks, though Nona doesn't think they really need hats or masks. Still, the need to blend in outweighs the practicality of needing or not needing the protection.

Pyrrha runs them through this week's scatter and all-clear words, and what to do in an emergency. Both Cam and Nona defy what Pyrrha wants to hear on the latter, but she sighs and they get on with it anyway.

=====

(1) What could that mean, in this context? This is just meeting Nona and getting introduced to her life. Why is the Locked Tomb here? One fair guess is that it's used as a generic icon since this is the Locked Tomb series, since we know Nona isn't of the Ninth House. There may be other guesses to be made. (2) Awfully ominous for the first pages of a book. (3) Obvious allusions to memories between Gideon and Harrow. (4) Well well! We have located one person whose situation was in some jeopardy at the end of HtN. Only, how did Pyrrha get here? And where is "here" exactly? (5) Definitely something unusual about this young lady. (6) Presumably to Pal, via those notes and tape recorder. (7) My my. Why would someone not be able to read even when taught? (8) Elsewhere might call this a tanktop. (9) Australian and New Zealander name for pancake. (10) Guess I'll Just Die meme. The one with the old guy shrugging. (11) She can count, just not read. Fascinating. (12) This bit still makes absolutely no sense to me. A plait is another word for a braid. It's possible that Muir is distinguishing between an English/plain braid as a plait and a French braid as a braid, but even French braids get ends tied off that are temptingly chewable. You can pin a braid to a head whether it starts off French, Dutch, or English. (13) The tagline that "Nona loves everyone" or "Nona loves you" really isn't kidding, huh? She's so warm and open. (14) Black hair. Well, that rules out Nona being in Gideon's body. This must be Harrow's, then. The veiled allusions to how quickly Nona's hair grows throw back to Ianthe messing with the follicles during the lobotomy process. Only, how did Harrow's body get to the BOE with Pyrrha after the Mithraeum went down… and why isn't Gideon still in it? (Sure, she died, but we know how much that's worth in this series.) (15) Now that's a bit of a swap, isn't it? In Gideon, Palamedes is distinctly described with pure grey eyes, and Cam with brown in the mix. Typo/editing oversight, or intentional clue that something has happened to them in the process of sharing the body the way they do? (16) Presumably, Nona. (17) I can't fit it in without going into far more detail than I think this section really needs right now, so: Ctesiphon Wing is mentioned. Ctesiphon was an ancient city, not too far from modern Baghdad, that served as the seat of power for two empires. So, lots of the BOE wings have ancient powerful city names.

[otakween]

One Pound Gospel - Episode 1

Omg, this was so fun! I actually found it more enjoyable than both the manga and the OVA (so far anyways). They just packed so much into one episode and the editing style was so fast paced that it felt really exciting. The music and acting was also really great and there was way more background detail to take in. The experience of watching the fighting was improved too because it was more "real" (more sweat and blood) and easier to follow. It's only episode one, so let me dial my praises back a bit until I watch the whole show lol...

Notes:

My stamina for hour long shows sucks lol. I've spent most of my life watching 20 minute anime which has damaged my attention span. At one point I thought I was almost done and I was only 38 minutes in 😭 That's not saying anything about the show, this is just a me problem.

I'm very new to dramas. In fact, I don't think I've ever watched an entire drama before (unless you count that weird 009-1 live action I watched). I got nothing against them, I just have too much other stuff taking up my time.

Lots of bad hair in this lol. I also noticed Kosaku was doing the "t-shirt over a long sleeve shirt" thing. Vintage 2008.

Boxing is so unappealing to me irl. It's one of those sports I might watch once just to say I did and then never again. That being said, I think the boxing/training scenes were done very well in this.

They replaced Kosaku's male coach with a female one! I actually really like this change. The manga was a total sausage fest and this new character seems to have a really fun dynamic with the rest of the cast. I liked her "badass tomboy" backstory haha

The random embellishments they added (some minor characters) were good. The manga's plot was probably way too basic for an hour long show and the additions they're making make Kosaku/Angela's world feel more fleshed out.

Food glorious food! I loved all of the food shots. Some looked yummier than others...(I've never tried oden but the oden they showed looked very...grey/beige).

Comedy was on point, I chuckled a couple of times (already more than I can say for the manga!) The actors have good timing.

I was low key impressed with the special effects. The scene with the basketballs flying towards Kosaku and the scene where Kosaku and Angela meet and things go all magical were standouts.

Kosaku gets so desperate for water that he tries to drink rain water...how does this work again? How do boxers-in-training not drop dead if they can't drink water? Can they drink other liquids (although most liquids have water in them)?

That katsu beef bowl looked simultaneously disgusting and amazing.

Just like the OVA, they switched up the plot to be more dramatic. We see Angela/Kosaku's meet cute again and it's slightly different from the OVA. It seems like Kosaku's Christianity is less prominent? (So far anyways). Like I'm pretty sure he wore a cross in the manga.

Didn't expect to see a title screen halfway through the episode. Is that common with dramas?

They switched things up at the convent. Mother Abbess is the nice, easy going one now and "Sister Millie" is the strict one. Love the casting for all of the nuns. They look iconic.

The scene with the kids trying to feed Kosaku was so tense lol. I don't think anyone could have blamed him for giving in to temptation in that scene! (The kids were really cute. And such talented chefs!)

Sister Angela suddenly caring VERY MUCH about Kosaku's career felt strange, but it felt strange in the manga too so...good adaptation?

That was funny that the coach also had a similar "meet cute" with Angela as Kosaku 😂 I want to see the crack ship fanfic

I feel like they aged up Onimaru. It was cool seeing an older character. His story was really touching, way more here than in the manga, in fact lol. They took away the pregnancy plot line which had horribly sexist dialogue and replaced it with Onimaru wanting to impress his (elementary aged) son. It was actually hard watching him lose one last time 😭

Wtf was Onimaru wearing in his intro scene? I think it was supposed to be a kind of kooky outfit, but no one acknowledged it so I was like "???"

[custommikes]

Today is my 4 year anniversary,... Yes, I'm very proud of myself today!

My hope is that my story might inspire someone else, to turn his/her journey around to a more positive outcome,...

* Woke up around 3 am, in a puddle of mostly dried blood, with my hair and face glued to the icy cold tile floor,... With a large gash in my head and my pants tangled around my legs/knees, realizing I could not feel either of them,.. After a not so proud of myself,.. 3 day "self pity bender,..."

* I realized somberly, as I went in and out of consciousness,...

That this bender really could "be it",... I humbly surrendered to whatever outcome, was decided for me, as everything went clod and black, yet again,...

* Hours later, when the sun warmed my battered and badly hung over body,... I managed to get the pants off my legs and slowly peeled my face and hair off the bloody tiles,...

* I laid stretched out finally, for what seemed like forever, waiting for my legs to fill with what was left of my blood volume, and get any feeling and function back,... I had some quality thinking time as the only one left, to account for last nights events was in attendance,.. Yes me, myself and I,..

* After realizing I've reached rock bottom by myself, I thought, who is the person that have turned things around, himself, that is very involved in my kar kulture, whom would provide the outmost accountability,?...

A person/ friend/ mentor/ successful and respected industry icon, whom I never would want to disappoint by not staying on track,..

* I texted Darryl Hollenbeck with a highlight of my last 24 hr journey and asked him for advice/ support. Less than 3 minutes later he responded. Ever so grateful my valued friend!

* With Darryl's support, I stopped cold, on the spot and have never slipped a single time. Hell yeah Im proud of my accomplishment.

* This is my journey and yours may be different but, what I have learned in the last 4 years of temptation is,... Until you own your own BS and stop telling yourself you can manage it, you will never stop.

* The only one that can make you change is you, for you.

* Having a friend like Darryl makes it easier to make your own positive change. However owning my own BS is the foundation of change. Darryl selflessly stepped up and supported me, when I decided to OWN MY OWN BS and change.

* Honor those who support you, by not succumbing to the temptation,.. No it is not easy, but it does get easier to choose my positive clean and sober journey, everyday,... every time,.. For me.

Thank you Darryl! Truly grateful you answered!

K. Mikael Wallin

Ps. Please realize that if you dont "own your own shit" and abuse them with drunk calls for self pity,... You are not honoring them and you will ultimately push them away too,.. That's on you,... Ds.

#sober#chooseyou#youcandoit

[sunkissedliterarylightofchrist]

HA HA HA YES

There are definitely irks I have with the show, some major (shaking my fist at the TV) some minor (eh, I would've done it like __) and I could critique quite a bit of it (mostly the writing sadly) and would be happy to do so, but this post is just a list of everything I like about the show.

First to set the stage, we have what I personally define as the Spirit of Tolkein: selflessness in the face of Evil, how virtue will overcome evil, the will to battle temptation, an emphasis on humility, wisdom and knowledge, the simple life, and strong relationships. All depicted through the beauty and wonder of the writing and the setting. (If you have a different definition.... ah, well, that's a different conversation. This is the conclusion I've come to.) Let me run through them and show how this show nails all of these. (also this is mostly spoiler free. I think. I'll try. Being vague does not come easily to me😅)

Selflessness in the face of Evil

Being selfless in the face of Evil is really important, and can be split two ways I think. A) Being selfless can be a smack back at evil in general, even if it isn't exactly an 'evil thing' you're taking action against B) Having to choose between Good and Evil and by choosing Good, is being Selfless, because often doing the Evil, selfish thing would be a lot easier and more beneficial towards you.

This is praised in the show again and again and again. Many characters have a choice presented to them: do x, the easy and good-looking thing, for their own self-interest, or do y, the harder and scarier and sacrifical thing that might hurt them but help others. And often as a smack in the face of evil. This kid is offered a change at practically unlimited power that is from an evil source, and allured by it, starts to stray down that path, realizes the consequences of his own actions, and pulls back, confesses the wrong that he did to save others. That's just one vague example, there are a dozen.

And characters who are presented with this choice and choose to be selfish, then as a byproduct or purposefully choose evil as a result, are, or will be in future seasons, punished. The one guy that encouraged this kid to choose evil and egged him on until the kid made the right desicion? He dies later.

How Virtue will overcome Evil

Virtue! One of Tolkien's biggest talking points ever! And how by being virtuous, it directly overcomes Evil, even if it seems like a small thing. Choosing peace (or righteous war, depending on the circumstance, that can be virtuous too), truth, compassion, mercy, loyalty, kindness, love, etc etc, and often when the other person doesn't deserve it, is so highly stressed. And all of these virtues and more are wielded against characters/circumstances that represent evil, and the virtue of those choices and moments overcomes the evil.

There are twenty million examples of this in the show. Big and small. You'll see it, the utter goodness is very apparent.

The Will to Battle Temptation

Frodo and the Ring is one of the most iconic depictions of battling temptation of all time, point-blank period. The show carries this on too. The temptation for this one character to succumb to wrath and rage and having to beat it back with a stick (and mostly having other characters help pull her out of it) is a very big theme in the first season especially, and it continues in other ways as well. Season Two absolutely nails this with a character getting carried away by their hubris and want to create something great, but then at the end overcomes this temptation and wins the fight, even though they technically lose. It's so well done.

Humility

*screeches* I cannot emphasize enough how much they nail humility. Every good character has it in one way or another, and every evil character is prideful. Very clear morals and message. And one character starts out pretty prideful but then as the show continues is becoming more and more humble, and I predict by Season 3 they'll have had their full character arc and settle into their 'true self' if that makes sense.

Wisdom and Knowledge

Ah yes. The seeking and having of wisdom and knowledge is highly praised and sought after. Do not even have to explain this, it's Tolkien we're talking about here lol. One of my favorite moments is when Elrond risks his and Gil-Galad's life to prevent the Library of Celebrimbor from being destroyed. The preservation of knowledge is so cruical. Because knowledge and wisdom point back to the source of knowledge and wisdom.

The Simple Life

One of the really good things about The Hobbit and Trilogy is how the Hobbit's lifestyle (while some parts of Hobbit society are teased, or their complacency is sometimes frowned upon), is that the idea of a simple, hardworking life, is greatly loved. Doing hard physical labor by growing your own food, having close relationships with your kin, and celebrating every part of life and enjoying the gifts you have are all commented on and esteemed by other characters in other societies.

This theme isn't as central to the show's plot, but it'd definitely there. Especially with the dwarves. Even though it's a grand, Second Age show and story, with a lot of BIG stuff, they do weave some of these moments in and its very sweet.

Strong Relationships

THIS. THIS RIGHT HERE. PERFECTLY DONE IN THE SHOW. BEST WRITTEN-PARTS. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TOLKIEN DOES EVER.

We've got sibling-like best friend relationships, a found father-son relationship, strong parent-child relationships, healthy romantic (married!!!) relationships, 'normal' best friendships, relationships full of loyalty, honor, respect, hard choices, trust, love, tenderness, I could go on and on and on. This is the strongest writing of the show. The characters all have incredible chemistry with each other, and the actors play off of each other so well, I have just died with happiness so many times getting to watch all of these character interactions and relationships come to life. I need to make more posts gushing about my favorite ones.

I am so thankful that the show is doing this, because it seems to me in mainstream media today that broken relationships are the normal and its really disheartening to see such brokeness to be celebrated. But getting to see all of these strong, amazing relationships so well written and so well played out is just... the best.

And best part? All of these strong relationships point back to Christ. Which I'm sure some, or maybe all of that, is unintentional. I'm 95% sure that the actor for Elendil, Lloyd Owens is Christian/Catholic (I can explain why later), but besides that, I don't know if anyone working on the show is Christian. But that's the thing about incredible storytelling, isn't it? Good things naturally point back to the source of good, Jesus, whether its intentional or not. And every good relationship in the show points back to Him. And in a masterful way.

All depicted through the Beauty and Wonder of the Writing and the Setting

This is the absolute best part of the show, hands down. The sets, music, costumes, setting, and just overall beauty of the show are unparalled. They are even better than the OG trilogy. I mean, look at these! (ignore the bad quality on some of these please lol)

Settings (GORGEOUS)

Costumes:

And I cannot even begin to describe to you the beauty of the music. Bear McCreary has 10000% lived up to Howard Shore's legacy and every single track in the show is fire. He's used so many cool and rare instruments and is an excellent composer! Every soundtrack theme for each place and character brings them to life so much and its amazing. And the songs that do have vocals, whether choir 'ahs' or actual words, have gorgeous singing! (Fun Fact: he also composed they Percy Jackson show soundtrack!!! The theme for the Underworld, specifically the desert scene, uses the same instrument, a duduk I believe, and it sounds so similar and so cool! [I actually realized that he was the one who did it by watching the PJ show, recognizing his composing style from RoP, then frantically Googling it to then be thrilled I was right lol])

Beauty in Tolkien is so important. This guy's descriptions of places and people are some of my favorite writing ever and the style I eagerly took inspiration from as a baby writer when I first started out. And the Peter Jackson trilogy did a really good job at capturing the physical beauty of Middle Earth! Each time I watch those movies I am filled with nostalgia and a longing for it. (*cough* human heart longing for Eden *cough*)

Rings of Power has absolutely bumped it up. Having a lot more money helps lol. They've hired incredibly gifted people to work super hard on all of this. The sets, music, costumes, items, the intricate detail of every single thing is utterly beautiful and incredible to see. Almost everything in this show is practical, they've used CGI a shockingly small amount and it shows. It is utterly gorgeous. I have just been blown away with every watch and rewatch.

Beauty points back to God. And this show points back to True Beauty in every way.

Finally, here are a few extra bits that I really like about the show that don't quite fit neatly into the categories above.

Acting and Characters

The acting! Superb! Every one of these actors deserves an award. They are I N C R E D I B L E. I need to make an entire post talking about how each of these characters is acted to perfection. The face acting some of these people have??? It's amazing! The way they carry their characters differently after different events! So so so good. I am just blown away, they all need awards.

Now. I am going to say something very controversal that many people who I've told this opinon to Do Not Like. I think it is absolutely stupid that people are discrediting the show because of its 'forced ethnic representation'. Sorry.

Yeah, in Tolkien's work, there isn't much of anything said about black elves or dwarves or Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Numenoreans and Southlanders. But that doesn't mean they aren't there. And having a diverse cast doesn't automatically make the show bad. It does the total opposite I think. Every one of these actors deserves to be here and is incredibly capable. And it is true that we do need good representation in media- and we've got to do it well.

Amazon has done this incredibly tastefully. Some movie companies (*hem hem hem* DISNEY I'M GLARING AT YOU) have just black-washed characters, called it representation, and have moved on with their day having checked all the boxes. Sometimes I think changing a character's ethnicity when doing a remake can be good, if it is done well. There has been a couple cases Disney switched things up and I thought it was good. But for the most part, its forced representation and poorly done. And nobody likes that.

But that is NOT what Rings of Power is doing. The thing about how Amazon is doing it that I utterly respect is all of their diverse and incredible characters are their own original guys. And it adds a LOT of depth to the show, and it is GOOD REPRESENTATION. If they had made Galadriel, Elrond, Celebrimbor, or another canonical white character that is white because it adds to their character and is central to the plot had been made black, I've probably would've been pretty upset. Because part of what defines Galadriel is her physical appearance. If that had changed that it would've changed her character.

But they haven't. And that's my point. They are doing the diverse representation in the way that I think all adaptation people should do it! With their original characters in a way that adds to the story and with incredible actors. Not to mention that the acting from those characters is some of the best in the show. Rings of Power is quite literally what I think should be the gold standard of representation in media, specifically adaptations.

Anyway. That's what I think. I'll die on this hill. Moving on.

Practical Stuff and Cinematography

Like I've already said, almost all of their sets were actually built and actually acted in. There are very few scenes that a green screen was used on. And it shows! Everything looks so real and so fluid beacsue it IS so real and so fluid. I love it. Sets? Real. Stunts? Real. Lighting? Real. Everything is real! To my knowledge, the only things they've used much CGI on is the monsters! And even then, they have practical frames as the bulk, and the CGI is to just smooth things over.

The practical effects in this show are some of the most amazing things ever. LOOK AT THE ORCS.

THEY USED REAL PROSTHETICS AND IT LOOKS AMAZING!!!

LOOK AT THE STUNTS THAT THEY'VE DONE!!

(Sadly I can't find many good stunt RoP gifs but just trust me on this. I have gasped so many times over what hard work these guys have done for fight scenes.)

And the way that they've used cinematography and lighting and camera angles is just... masterful. I'll have to give so many specific examples later. It's some of the best filmaking I've ever seen, they've used the budget ~wonderfully~ You get sucked into the moment and it's amazing.

Appreciating the Story

Now I'm gonna be slightly blunt. I think a lot of people hate the show because they're, for lack of a better term 'purists'. Which isn't a bad thing! Having these people in every fandom is super important! Keeps its foundation solid. I'm one of these people in many cases.

But when looking at a work where the literal purpose is to deviate from some of what Tolkein wrote, and then get angry when it isn't a word-for-word recreation is silly. In Amazon's contract with the Tolkien Estate, it was a key condition that they could NOT reproduce anything from the Silmarillion except on a case-by-case basis that had to be approved by the Estate first. They bought the rights to the Fellowship, Two Towers, Return of the King, Hobbit, and Appendices. And they agreed with the Estate to make a Second Age show. This means that they have limited material to work with. They are REQUIRED to deviate from Tolkien's original story about those early tales in many cases. So a lot of people are angry that they didn't do x, but they literally are not allowed to. They have to take creative licence with many of these storylines. And the way that so many people are ripping every single little detail about the show to threads just makes me so upset. You are getting hung-up over the tiniest things! JUST ENJOY THE STORY. If you nit-pick the death out of everything of course its gonna die. You are holding RoP to an impossible standard.

This is another reason why many people didn't like the first season so much, but love the second a lot more. Because in Season 1, they had to set the chessboard and make a lot of stuff up and change quite a bit so they could actually have room to move. Then in Season 2, we have a lot more canon stuff that we see in stuff like the appendices, which they did SO WELL. With the writing of the show, you do have to hold a lot of the canon stuff loosely because you have to. But once you let go and sit back and enjoy this new story, it is utterly fantastic, and lines up with the Spirit of Tolkien at almost every turn, which I've already shared.

Huzzah. This is why I love Rings of Power. I've probably missed a thing or two but that's pretty much all of it. Please watch it. *bows*

It annoys me to no end with so many people saying that Rings of Power isn’t ‘in the spirit of Tolkien’ when they haven’t even watched it.

Seriously? There are things I do not like about the show and wish they had done differently, but almost all of it is utterly amazing. Every person who’s worked on that project has poured so much time and effort into it, and for an incredible result.

And by the way, when you say ‘spirit of Tolkien’ what do you even mean? How are you defining that? Because that show absolutely screams Tolkien by my measurement, not to mention his literal family is working on the project personally, and it 100% measures up to Peter Jackson’s work.

And you haven’t even watched it. Just watch it and try it. You watch enough bad media already just to criticize it, why not this? You’re gonna like it more than you think.

[tayarthur]

Important Images Over Summer Break 23'

“Hollywood’s Finest” by Christina House This image was taken by Christina House of the Los Angeles Times. I don’t believe this image was taken this year, but it was published along with a final piece that was. The project ended up earning House the Pulitzer for feature photography. The story of this image centers around a young adult named Makenzie who is homeless and living on the streets of Los Angeles. At such a young age, she found herself pregnant and forced to battle addiction, navigate governmental systems for basic services, the dangers of living on the street and learning to become a mother all on her own. I think this project and this image was especially both powerful and important because it reflects the state of so many Angelenos and beyond. Housing and the unattainability of it for so many hardworking folks is one of the major leading causes of homelessness. For young people, stagnant wages, student loans, and the temptation of drugs and alcohol pose real threats to our prosperity in society. This image grabs people because it shows the innocence of youth tangled with the harshness of real challenges that frequently are a hairline away from disaster. This image also focuses on motherhood in such a tender and loving way. This quality of the image is why I think it makes such an impact on the viewer. I think this image speaks to my generation as frustration grows around the lack of financial opportunity and social services that would make the “American Dream” possible. It may be the case that we will not be able to attain better lives than our parents. Lahaina Fires by Max Whittaker This news image by Max Whittaker, for the New York Times, is a more recent addition to what some may call “Iconic” images of our lifetime. Whittaker, among other photojournalists, have been covering the devastation of the fires in Hawaii. This particular image shows part of the Maui coastline with an overview of the sheer wreck the fire created of the town of Lahaina. One small structure remains, almost by a miracle. The impact of this image visually takes your breath away as it chronicles just another chapter of climate change and the battle over safe, sustainable power for an ever growing population and warming planet. The heinous nature of the fire might be flanked by the reality that on an island there are limited resources for shelter and safety resources such as fire departments etc… that could aid in curbing damages. Furthermore, as an island community, the prospect of rebuilding becomes further out of reach with extensive environmental damage, shark-like corporations that are lying in wait to gobble up locally owned real-estate and inflated costs for new materials. This image also shows the stark contrast between a once green, beautiful flourishing island community and parallel  histories of erasure of past indigenous culture and island life. I think it’s important to look at these images and recognize the true danger of a warming planet and let it force us to take action. Because, the consequences in my mind would seem to mirror Whittaker’s photo. 

[sunshineandviolets]

"just take my hand and follow my lead, darlin'."

[destinysbounty]

zane and nya for character opinion bingo

ZANE

Oh god blorbo supreme. The original blorbo. This nindroid can fit so much trauma in him. I could rant about him for a million years. Im like this close to giving into temptation and making a 20-minute compilation of all my favorite Zane moments (listen, the party pooper scene lives in my head rent-free at all times). Oh god he needs so much therapy, and no, locking your trauma in a digital puzzle box does not count as therapy.

Some people characterize him as some emotionless and boring lawful good. Some people characterize him as an uwu wholesome softboi. But in my opinion, the most correct interpretation is Dorky Suburban Dad.

Think about it. He wore a button-up and khakis to the beach. He dresses up in a full scuba skin-suit whenever they have a party in their own damn hot tub. He once wore a sweater vest with snowflakes on it. On their lil desert road trip he entertained himself by reading about regional trivia, and delighted in sharing this trivia with his friends. He loves playing board games, especially chess. He likes to make ice puns. He loves cooking. He's the closest thing they have to a responsible adult. When he became the team leader in season 5 he kept everyone pumped with all those silly little sayings like "one team one dream!" He apparently loves detective fiction. He thinks that walking like a pirate with a peg-leg will get people to respect him. He loves astronomy and, according to Lloyd, "knows the solar system better than anyone". Whenever someone is upset he's always there providing a comforting smile and a pat on the shoulder. He spent 5 minutes debating the morality of making an ice ramp for a slug. He doesn't understand pop culture. Zane is a dorky suburban dad and you can't change my mind.

He's also a fashion icon. For example, when he died, the ninja all became a total fashion disaster in his absence. We all saw it. None of them matched. Like did you see Kai's horrendous lil fight club costume? Jay's atrocious tv host suit? And Cole just straight up wasn't even wearing a shirt anymore. And even when they came back together, their ninja suits still didn't match! And sure, it was meant to symbolize how disjointed they'd become in the wake of his loss, but STILL. The fact that their CLOTHES of all things were out of wack indicates to me that he's the only one on the team with any fashion sense.

And let's not forget the moment from Seabound where he decided to wear the breathing mask despite not needing oxygen because "I like how it completes my attire". And his Snake Jaguar costume!!! And his titty-out look in The Island! And not to mention how the Detective Zane outfit is a LOOK. He rocks the hell out of that trenchcoat.

This is all to say, Lego needs to release the forbidden bikini Zane content or I'm gonna break in and find it myself.

NYA

Ohoho, the fandom does Nya SOOO dirty. Especially since she's not as outwardly affectionate as Jay, so a lot of people interpret this as her being more callous and unloving towards him. She A) has a metric ton of childhood baggage, and B) expresses her affection in different ways! Jay might say 'I love you' with words more often, but she shows how much she cares through acts of service and quality time and whatnot.

Also. Hot take but Nya has some of the most compelling character arcs and subplots in this entire goddamn show. Teaming up with Dareth to spy on Chen? Overcoming her gifted child syndrome in season 5? The X Cave fight in season 7????? Struggling to keep the resistance alive even when all her friends were dead, doing everything in her power to keep Lloyd from losing hope even though they were the only ones left???????????? The entirety of Seabound??????????

The show definitely blunders often in terms of the whole sexism/performative feminism thing, for sure. Looking at you, Skybound. But she also has a LOT of character arcs where her being the Girl^TM isn't even at all relevant. Season 5. Season 7. Season 9. Season 10. Season 11. Season 15.

Anyway Nya is amazing and she deserves better from the fandom, and I will die on this hill. Nya didn't singlehandedly destroy hell itself just to be reduced to some shallow Designated Love Interest.

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Anonymous asked: I enjoyed reading your posts about Napoleon’s death and it’s quite timely given its the 200th anniversary of his death this year in May. I was wondering, because you know a lot about military history (your served right? That’s cool to fly combat helicopters) and you live in France but aren’t French, what your take was on Napoleon and how do the French view him? Do they hail him as a hero or do they like others see him like a Hitler or a Stalin? Do you see him as a hero or a villain of history?

5 May 1821 was a memorable date because Napoleon, one of the most iconic figures in world history, died while in bitter exile on a remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean. Napoleon Bonaparte, as you know rose from obscure soldier to a kind of new Caesar, and yet he remains a uniquely controversial figure to this day especially in France. You raise interesting questions about Napoleon and his legacy. If I may reframe your questions in another way. Should we think of him as a flawed but essentially heroic visionary who changed Europe for the better? Or was he simply a military dictator, whose cult of personality and lust for power set a template for the likes of Hitler? 

However one chooses to answer this question can we just - to get this out of the way - simply and definitively say that Napoleon was not Hitler. Not even close. No offence intended to you but this is just dumb ahistorical thinking and it’s a lazy lie. This comparison was made by some in the horrid aftermath of the Second World War but only held little currency for only a short time thereafter. Obviously that view didn’t exist before Hitler in the 19th Century and these days I don’t know any serious historian who takes that comparison seriously.

I confess I don’t have a definitive answer if he was a hero or a villain one way or the other because Napoleon has really left a very complicated legacy. It really depends on where you’re coming from.

As a staunch Brit I do take pride in Britain’s victorious war against Napoleonic France - and in a good natured way rubbing it in the noses of French friends at every opportunity I get because it’s in our cultural DNA and it’s bloody good fun (why else would we make Waterloo train station the London terminus of the Eurostar international rail service from its opening in 1994? Or why hang a huge gilded portrait of the Duke of Wellington as the first thing that greets any visitor to the residence of the British ambassador at the British Embassy?). On a personal level I take special pride in knowing my family ancestors did their bit on the battlefield to fight against Napoleon during those tumultuous times. However, as an ex-combat veteran who studied Napoleonic warfare with fan girl enthusiasm, I have huge respect for Napoleon as a brilliant military commander. And to makes things more weird, as a Francophile resident of who loves living and working in France (and my partner is French) I have a grudging but growing regard for Napoleon’s political and cultural legacy, especially when I consider the current dross of political mediocrity on both the political left and the right. So for me it’s a complicated issue how I feel about Napoleon, the man, the soldier, and the political leader.

If it’s not so straightforward for me to answer the for/against Napoleon question then it It’s especially true for the French, who even after 200 years, still have fiercely divided opinions about Napoleon and his legacy - but intriguingly, not always in clear cut ways.

I only have to think about my French neighbours in my apartment building to see how divisive Napoleon the man and his legacy is. Over the past year or so of the Covid lockdown we’ve all gotten to know each other better and we help each other. Over the Covid year we’ve gathered in the inner courtyard for a buffet and just lifted each other spirits up.

One of my neighbours, a crusty old ex-general in the army who has an enviable collection of military history books that I steal, liberate, borrow, often discuss military figures in history like Napoleon over our regular games of chess and a glass of wine. He is from very old aristocracy of the ancien regime and whose family suffered at the hands of ‘madame guillotine’ during the French Revolution. They lost everything. He has mixed emotions about Napoleon himself as an old fashioned monarchist. As a military man he naturally admires the man and the military genius but he despises the secularisation that the French Revolution ushered in as well as the rise of the haute bourgeois as middle managers and bureaucrats by the displacement of the aristocracy.

Another retired widowed neighbour I am close to, and with whom I cook with often and discuss art, is an active arts patron and ex-art gallery owner from a very wealthy family that came from the new Napoleonic aristocracy - ie the aristocracy of the Napoleonic era that Napoleon put in place - but she is dismissive of such titles and baubles. She’s a staunch Republican but is happy to concede she is grateful for Napoleon in bringing order out of chaos. She recognises her own ambivalence when she says she dislikes him for reintroducing slavery in the French colonies but also praises him for firmly supporting Paris’s famed Comédie-Française of which she was a past patron.

Another French neighbour, a senior civil servant in the Elysée, is quite dismissive of Napoleon as a war monger but is grudgingly grateful for civil institutions and schools that Napoleon established and which remain in place today.

My other neighbours - whether they be French families or foreign expats like myself - have similarly divisive and complicated attitudes towards Napoleon.

In 2010 an opinion poll in France asked who was the most important man in French history. Napoleon came second, behind General Charles de Gaulle, who led France from exile during the German occupation in World War II and served as a postwar president.

The split in French opinion is closely mirrored in political circles. The divide is generally down political party lines. On the left, there's the 'black legend' of Bonaparte as an ogre. On the right, there is the 'golden legend' of a strong leader who created durable institutions.

Jacques-Olivier Boudon, a history professor at Paris-Sorbonne University and president of the Napoléon Institute, once explained at a talk I attended that French public opinion has always remained deeply divided over Napoleon, with, on the one hand, those who admire the great man, the conqueror, the military leader and, on the other, those who see him as a bloodthirsty tyrant, the gravedigger of the revolution. Politicians in France, Boudon observed, rarely refer to Napoleon for fear of being accused of authoritarian temptations, or not being good Republicans.

On the left-wing of French politics, former prime minister Lionel Jospin penned a controversial best selling book entitled “the Napoleonic Evil” in which he accused the emperor of “perverting the ideas of the Revolution” and imposing “a form of extreme domination”, “despotism” and “a police state” on the French people. He wrote Napoleon was "an obvious failure" - bad for France and the rest of Europe. When he was booted out into final exile, France was isolated, beaten, occupied, dominated, hated and smaller than before. What's more, Napoleon smothered the forces of emancipation awakened by the French and American revolutions and enabled the survival and restoration of monarchies. Some of the legacies with which Napoleon is credited, including the Civil Code, the comprehensive legal system replacing a hodgepodge of feudal laws, were proposed during the revolution, Jospin argued, though he acknowledges that Napoleon actually delivered them, but up to a point, "He guaranteed some principles of the revolution and, at the same time, changed its course, finished it and betrayed it," For instance, Napoleon reintroduced slavery in French colonies, revived a system that allowed the rich to dodge conscription in the military and did nothing to advance gender equality.

At the other end of the spectrum have been former right-wing prime minister Dominique de Villepin, an aristocrat who was once fancied as a future President, a passionate collector of Napoleonic memorabilia, and author of several works on the subject. As a Napoleonic enthusiast he tells a different story. Napoleon was a saviour of France. If there had been no Napoleon, the Republic would not have survived. Advocates like de Villepin point to Napoleon’s undoubted achievements: the Civil Code, the Council of State, the Bank of France, the National Audit office, a centralised and coherent administrative system, lycées, universities, centres of advanced learning known as école normale, chambers of commerce, the metric system, and an honours system based on merit (which France has to this day). He restored the Catholic faith as the state faith but allowed for the freedom of religion for other faiths including Protestantism and Judaism. These were ambitions unachieved during the chaos of the revolution. As it is, these Napoleonic institutions continue to function and underpin French society. Indeed, many were copied in countries conquered by Napoleon, such as Italy, Germany and Poland, and laid the foundations for the modern state.

Back in 2014, French politicians and institutions in particular were nervous in marking the 200th anniversary of Napoleon's exile. My neighbours and other French friends remember that the commemorations centred around the Chateau de Fontainebleau, the traditional home of the kings of France and was the scene where Napoleon said farewell to the Old Guard in the "White Horse Courtyard" (la cour du Cheval Blanc) at the Palace of Fontainebleau. (The courtyard has since been renamed the "Courtyard of Goodbyes".) By all accounts the occasion was very moving. The 1814 Treaty of Fontainebleau stripped Napoleon of his powers (but not his title as Emperor of the French) and sent him into exile on Elba. The cost of the Fontainebleau "farewell" and scores of related events over those three weekends was shouldered not by the central government in Paris but by the local château, a historic monument and UNESCO World Heritage site, and the town of Fontainebleau.

While the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution that toppled the monarchy and delivered thousands to death by guillotine was officially celebrated in 1989, Napoleonic anniversaries are neither officially marked nor celebrated. For example, over a decade ago, the president and prime minister - at the time, Jacques Chirac and Dominque de Villepin - boycotted a ceremony marking the 200th anniversary of the battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon's greatest military victory. Both men were known admirers of Napoleon and yet political calculation and optics (as media spin doctors say) stopped them from fully honouring Napoleon’s crowning military glory.

Optics is everything. The division of opinion in France is perhaps best reflected in the fact that, in a city not shy of naming squares and streets after historical figures, there is not a single “Boulevard Napoleon” or “Place Napoleon” in Paris. On the streets of Paris, there are just two statues of Napoleon. One stands beneath the clock tower at Les Invalides (a military hospital), the other atop a column in the Place Vendôme. Napoleon's red marble tomb, in a crypt under the Invalides dome, is magnificent, perhaps because his remains were interred there during France's Second Empire, when his nephew, Napoleon III, was on the throne.

There are no squares, nor places, nor boulevards named for Napoleon but as far as I know there is one narrow street, the rue Bonaparte, running from the Luxembourg Gardens to the River Seine in the old Latin Quarter. And, that, too, is thanks to Napoleon III. For many, and I include myself, it’s a poor return by the city to the man who commissioned some of its most famous monuments, including the Arc de Triomphe and the Pont des Arts over the River Seine.

It's almost as if Napoleon Bonaparte is not part of the national story.

How Napoleon fits into that national story is something historians, French and non-French, have been grappling with ever since Napoleon died. The plain fact is Napoleon divides historians, what precisely he represents is deeply ambiguous and his political character is the subject of heated controversy. It’s hard for historians to sift through archival documents to make informed judgements and still struggle to separate the man from the myth.

One proof of this myth is in his immortality. After Hitler’s death, there was mostly an embarrassed silence; after Stalin’s, little but denunciation. But when Napoleon died on St Helena in 1821, much of Europe and the Americas could not help thinking of itself as a post-Napoleonic generation. His presence haunts the pages of Stendhal and Alfred de Vigny. In a striking and prescient phrase, Chateaubriand prophesied the “despotism of his memory”, a despotism of the fantastical that in many ways made Romanticism possible and that continues to this day.

The raw material for the future Napoleon myth was provided by one of his St Helena confidants, the Comte de las Cases, whose account of conversations with the great man came out shortly after his death and ran in repeated editions throughout the century. De las Cases somehow metamorphosed the erstwhile dictator into a herald of liberty, the emperor into a slayer of dynasties rather than the founder of his own. To the “great man” school of history Napoleon was grist to their mill, and his meteoric rise redefined the meaning of heroism in the modern world.

The Marxists, for all their dislike of great men, grappled endlessly with the meaning of the 18th Brumaire; indeed one of France’s most eminent Marxist historians, George Lefebvre, wrote what arguably remains the finest of all biographies of him.

It was on this already vast Napoleon literature, a rich terrain for the scholar of ideas, that the great Dutch historian Pieter Geyl was lecturing in 1940 when he was arrested and sent to Buchenwald. There he composed what became one of the classics of historiography, a seminal book entitled Napoleon: For and Against, which charted how generations of intellectuals had happily served up one Napoleon after another. Like those poor souls who crowded the lunatic asylums of mid-19th century France convinced that they were Napoleon, generations of historians and novelists simply could not get him out of their head.

The debate runs on today no less intensely than in the past. Post-Second World War Marxists would argue that he was not, in fact, revolutionary at all. Eric Hobsbawm, a notable British Marxist historian, argued that ‘Most-perhaps all- of his ideas were anticipated by the Revolution’ and that Napoleon’s sole legacy was to twist the ideals of the French Revolution, and make them ‘more conservative, hierarchical and authoritarian’.

This contrasts deeply with the view William Doyle holds of Napoleon. Doyle described Bonaparte as ‘the Revolution incarnate’ and saw Bonaparte’s humbling of Europe’s other powers, the ‘Ancien Regimes’, as a necessary precondition for the birth of the modern world. Whatever one thinks of Napoleon’s character, his sharp intellect is difficult to deny. Even Paul Schroeder, one of Napoleon’s most scathing critics, who condemned his conduct of foreign policy as a ‘criminal enterprise’ never denied Napoleon’s intellect. Schroder concluded that Bonaparte ‘had an extraordinary capacity for planning, decision making, memory, work, mastery of detail and leadership’.  The question of whether Napoleon used his genius for the betterment or the detriment of the world, is the heart of the debate which surrounds him.

France's foremost Napoleonic scholar, Jean Tulard, put forward the thesis that Bonaparte was the architect of modern France. "And I would say also pâtissier [a cake and pastry maker] because of the administrative millefeuille that we inherited." Oddly enough, in North America the multilayered mille-feuille cake is called ‘a napoleon.’ Tulard’s works are essential reading of how French historians have come to tackle the question of Napoleon’s legacy. He takes the view that if Napoleon had not crushed a Royalist rebellion and seized power in 1799, the French monarchy and feudalism would have returned, Tulard has written. "Like Cincinnatus in ancient Rome, Napoleon wanted a dictatorship of public salvation. He gets all the power, and, when the project is finished, he returns to his plough." In the event, the old order was never restored in France. When Louis XVIII became emperor in 1814, he served as a constitutional monarch.

In England, until recently the views on Napoleon have traditionally less charitable and more cynical. Professor Christopher Clark, the notable Cambridge University European historian, has written. "Napoleon was not a French patriot - he was first a Corsican and later an imperial figure, a journey in which he bypassed any deep affiliation with the French nation," Clark believed Napoleon’s relationship with the French Revolution is deeply ambivalent.

Did he stabilise the revolutionary state or shut it down mercilessly? Clark believes Napoleon seems to have done both. Napoleon rejected democracy, he suffocated the representative dimension of politics, and he created a culture of courtly display. A month before crowning himself emperor, Napoleon sought approval for establishing an empire from the French in a plebiscite; 3,572,329 voted in favour, 2,567 against. If that landslide resembles an election in North Korea, well, this was no secret ballot. Each ‘yes’ or ‘no’ was recorded, along with the name and address of the voter. Evidently, an overwhelming majority knew which side their baguette was buttered on.

His extravagant coronation in Notre Dame in December 1804 cost 8.5 million francs (€6.5 million or $8.5 million in today's money). He made his brothers, sisters and stepchildren kings, queens, princes and princesses and created a Napoleonic aristocracy numbering 3,500. By any measure, it was a bizarre progression for someone often described as ‘a child of the Revolution.’ By crowning himself emperor, the genuine European kings who surrounded him were not convinced. Always a warrior first, he tried to represent himself as a Caesar, and he wears a Roman toga on the bas-reliefs in his tomb. His coronation crown, a laurel wreath made of gold, sent the same message. His icon, the eagle, was also borrowed from Rome. But Caesar's legitimacy depended on military victories. Ultimately, Napoleon suffered too many defeats.

These days Napoleon the man and his times remain very much in fashion and we are living through something of a new golden age of Napoleonic literature. Those historians who over the past decade or so have had fun denouncing him as the first totalitarian dictator seem to have it all wrong: no angel, to be sure, he ended up doing far more at far less cost than any modern despot. In his widely praised 2014 biography, Napoleon the Great, Andrew Roberts writes: “The ideas that underpin our modern world - meritocracy, equality before the law, property rights, religious toleration, modern secular education, sound finances, and so on - were championed, consolidated, codified and geographically extended by Napoleon. To them he added a rational and efficient local administration, an end to rural banditry, the encouragement of science and the arts, the abolition of feudalism and the greatest codification of laws since the fall of the Roman empire.”

Roberts partly bases his historical judgement on newly released historical documents about Napoleon that were only available in the past decade and has proved to be a boon for all Napoleonic scholars. Newly released 33,000 letters Napoleon wrote that still survive are now used extensively to illustrate the astonishing capacity that Napoleon had for compartmentalising his mind - he laid down the rules for a girls’ boarding school on the eve of the battle of Borodino, for example, and the regulations for Paris’s Comédie-Française while camped in the Kremlin. They also show Napoleon’s extraordinary capacity for micromanaging his empire: he would write to the prefect of Genoa telling him not to allow his mistress into his box at the theatre, and to a corporal of the 13th Line regiment warning him not to drink so much.

For me to have my own perspective on Napoleon is tough. The problem is that nothing with Napoleon is simple, and almost every aspect of his personality is a maddening paradox. He was a military genius who led disastrous campaigns. He was a liberal progressive who reinstated slavery in the French colonies. And take the French Revolution, which came just before Napoleon’s rise to power, his relationship with the French Revolution is deeply ambivalent. Did he stabilise it or shut it down? I agree with those British and French historians who now believe Napoleon seems to have done both.

On the one hand, Napoleon did bring order to a nation that had been drenched in blood in the years after the Revolution. The French people had endured the crackdown known as the 'Reign of Terror', which saw so many marched to the guillotine, as well as political instability, corruption, riots and general violence. Napoleon’s iron will managed to calm the chaos. But he also rubbished some of the core principles of the Revolution. A nation which had boldly brought down the monarchy had to watch as Napoleon crowned himself Emperor, with more power and pageantry than Louis XVI ever had. He also installed his relatives as royals across Europe, creating a new aristocracy. In the words of French politician and author Lionel Jospin, 'He guaranteed some principles of the Revolution and at the same time, changed its course, finished it and betrayed it.'

He also had a feared henchman in the form of Joseph Fouché, who ran a secret police network which instilled dread in the population. Napoleon’s spies were everywhere, stifling political opposition. Dozens of newspapers were suppressed or shut down. Books had to be submitted for approval to the Commission of Revision, which sounds like something straight out of George Orwell. Some would argue Hitler and Stalin followed this playbook perfectly. But here come the contradictions. Napoleon also championed education for all, founding a network of schools. He championed the rights of the Jews. In the territories conquered by Napoleon, laws which kept Jews cooped up in ghettos were abolished. 'I will never accept any proposals that will obligate the Jewish people to leave France,' he once said, 'because to me the Jews are the same as any other citizen in our country.'

He also, crucially, developed the Napoleonic Code, a set of laws which replaced the messy, outdated feudal laws that had been used before. The Napoleonic Code clearly laid out civil laws and due processes, establishing a society based on merit and hard work, rather than privilege. It was rolled out far beyond France, and indisputably helped to modernise Europe. While it certainly had its flaws – women were ignored by its reforms, and were essentially regarded as the property of men – the Napoleonic Code is often brandished as the key evidence for Napoleon’s progressive credentials. In the words of historian Andrew Roberts, author of Napoleon the Great, 'the ideas that underpin our modern world… were championed by Napoleon'.

What about Napoleon’s battlefield exploits? If anything earns comparisons with Hitler, it’s Bonaparte’s apparent appetite for conquest. His forces tore down republics across Europe, and plundered works of art, much like the Nazis would later do. A rampant imperialist, Napoleon gleefully grabbed some of the greatest masterpieces of the Renaissance, and allegedly boasted, 'the whole of Rome is in Paris.'

Napoleon has long enjoyed a stellar reputation as a field commander – his capacities as a military strategist, his ability to read a battle, the painstaking detail with which he made sure that he cold muster a larger force than his adversary or took maximum advantage of the lie of the land – these are stuff of the military legend that has built up around him. It is not without its critics, of course, especially among those who have worked intensively on the later imperial campaigns, in the Peninsula, in Russia, or in the final days of the Empire at Waterloo.

Doubts about his judgment, and allegations of rashness, have been raised in the context of some of his victories, too, most notably, perhaps, at Marengo. But overall his reputation remains largely intact, and his military campaigns have been taught in the curricula of military academies from Saint-Cyr to Sandhurst, alongside such great tacticians as Alexander the Great and Hannibal.

Historians may query his own immodest opinion that his presence on the battlefield was worth an extra forty thousand men to his cause, but it is clear that when he was not present (as he was not for most of the campaign in Spain) the French were wont to struggle. Napoleon understood the value of speed and surprise, but also of structures and loyalties. He reformed the army by introducing the corps system, and he understood military aspirations, rewarding his men with medals and honours; all of which helped ensure that he commanded exceptional levels of personal loyalty from his troops.

Yet, I do find it hard to side with the more staunch defenders of Napoleon who say his reputation as a war monger is to some extent due to British propaganda at the time. They will point out that the Napoleonic Wars, far from being Napoleon’s fault, were just a continuation of previous conflicts that arose thanks to the French Revolution. Napoleon, according to this analysis, inherited a messy situation, and his only real crime was to be very good at defeating enemies on the battlefield. I think that is really pushing things too far. I mean deciding to invade Spain and then Russia were his decisions to invade and conquer.

He was, by any measure, a genius of war. Even his nemesis the Duke of Wellington, when asked who the greatest general of his time was, replied: 'In this age, in past ages, in any age, Napoleon.'

I will qualify all this and agree that Napoleon’s Russian campaign has been rightly held up as a fatal folly which killed so many of his men, but this blunder – epic as it was – should not be compared to Hitler’s wars of evil aggression. Most historians will agree that comparing the two men is horribly flattering to Hitler - a man fuelled by visceral, genocidal hate - and demeaning to Napoleon, who was a product of Enlightenment thinking and left a legacy that in many ways improved Europe.

Napoleon was, of course, no libertarian, and no pluralist. He would tolerate no opposition to his rule, and though it was politicians and civilians who imposed his reforms, the army was never far behind. But comparisons with twentieth-century dictators are well wide of the mark. While he insisted on obedience from those he administered, his ideology was based not on division or hatred, but on administrative efficiency and submission to the law. And the state he believed in remained stubbornly secular.

In Catholic southern Europe, of course, that was not an approach with which it was easy to acquiesce; and disorder, insurgency and partisan attacks can all be counted among the results. But these were principles on which the Emperor would not and could not give ground. If he had beliefs they were not religious or spiritual beliefs, but the secular creed of a man who never forgot that he owed both his military career and his meteoric political rise to the French Revolution, and who never quite abandoned, amidst the monarchical symbolism and the court pomp of the Empire, the republican dreams of his youth. When he claimed, somewhat ambiguously, after the coup of 18 Brumaire that `the Revolution was over’, he almost certainly meant that the principles of 1789 had at last been consummated, and that the continuous cycle of violence of the 1790s could therefore come to an end.

When the Empire was declared in 1804, the wording, again, might seem curious, the French being informed that the `Republic would henceforth be ruled by an Emperor’. Napoleon might be a dictator, but a part at least of him remained a son of the Enlightenment.

The arguments over Napoleon’s status will continue - and that in itself is a testament to the power of one of the most complex figures ever to straddle the world’s stage.

Will the fascination with Napoleon continue for another 200 years?

In France, at least, enthusiasm looks set to diminish. Napoleon and his exploits are scarcely mentioned in French schools anymore. Stéphane Guégan, curator of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, which, among other First Empire artworks, houses a plaster model of Napoleon dressed as a Roman emperor astride a horse, has described France's fascination with him as ‘a national illness.’ He believes that the people who met him were fascinated by his charm. And today, even the most hostile to Napoleon also face this charm. So there is a difficulty to apprehend the duality of this character. As he wrote, “He was born from the revolution, he extended and finished it, and after 1804 he turns into a despot, a dictator.”

In France, Guégan aptly observes, there is a kind of nostalgia, not for dictatorship but for strong leaders. "Our age is suffering a lack of imagination and political utopia,"

Here I think Guégan is onto something. Napoleon’s stock has always risen or fallen according to the vicissitudes of world events and fortunes of France itself.

In the past, history was the study of great men and women. Today the focus of teaching is on trends, issues and movements. France in 1800 is no longer about Louis XVI and Napoleon Bonaparte. It's about the industrial revolution. Man does not make history. History makes men. Or does it? The study of history makes a mug out of those with such simple ideological driven conceits.

For two hundred years on, the French still cannot agree on whether Napoleon was a hero or a villain as he has swung like a pendulum according to the gravitational pull of historical events and forces.

The question I keep asking of myself and also to French friends with whom I discuss such things is what kind of Napoleon does our generation need?

Thanks for your question.