#ultimately not much from June (it was very gloomy)

[sprightlyspirit]

June 2023 🌹👟🍫

[crowborn666]

Demon Slayer OC: Kubo Taiki

Name Meaings:

Last Name: Kubo

- meaning: long time ago; protect

First Name: Taiki

- meaning: big, great; brightness

Voice Claims:

Japanese: Kōki Uchiyama - Razor (Genshin Impact)

English: ???

Basic Info:

Male (AMAB)(He/Him pronouns)

Light Hashira, uses Light Breathing

Comes from a long line of slayers, yet is the first to become a Hashira and develop Light Breathing

Often teased for being so dark and gloomy despite being the Light Hashira

Trained under Shinjuro and alongside Kyojuro

His crow has a splotch of white on her right wing. His crow’s name is Mayumi (truth and beauty).

Age & Birthday:

19 (June 5th)

Appearance:

Around 5’8, muscular yet lean

Gray eyes, with white flecks in them

Long hair, usually tied up into a bun/ponytail. Coal black in color with a white hue near the roots

Wears an ashy grey haori overtop a normal Hashira uniform. The haori has a light flecked motif, like light through the leaves of a tree. After Kyojuro’s passing, a flame symbol was added to the left shoulder.

(Only art I have at the moment, more art and any fanart(with credits!) will be added later at the bottom!)

Personality:

Intimidating as FUCK (He both trained and grew up under Shinjuro after all!)

Very loyal to those he’s close to, or those he feels he needs to protect.

Loud when angry.

Has drank his respect women juice, Kyojuro would haunt his ass if he didn’t.

Has a sarcastic sense of humor that comes completely out of nowhere.

Backstory:

Father was a worthless bastard (much like Shinjuro in his later years) often hurt Taiki

Mother was a ray of sunshine

Father refused to train Taiki

Taiki’s father can be described as cruel, abusive, and demeaning. His mother, however, was the complete opposite. Taiki comes from a long line of Demon Slayers, almost as long as the Rengoku family. Yet, while the Rengoku’s often become Hashira, the Kubo family have never reached that point.

Taiki’s father often belittled the boy, spitting out how he was worthless, and could never compare to a Rengoku.

In tears, Taiki was led by his mother to the Rengoku Residence. If Kubo’s couldn’t become Hashira on their own, perhaps it was time the two families offer tips and training to one another.

Taiki’s mother brought him straight to Shinjuro Rengoku, explaining the deeds of his father and the lack of training Taiki had received.

Shinjuro accepted the plea, and Kyojuro and Taiki were attached to the hip ever since.

Taiki was utterly torn apart when news of Kyojuro’s passing arrived. He spent three days crying and mourning, and then the next four training relentlessly, feeling as he was not strong enough. If Kyojuro was defeated, what good was he at that moment?

He barely ate or slept in that timeframe, eventually leading him to become sick from overexertion.

Taiki tried to learn Flame Breathing, but with the threats of being burned by his father, Shinjuro and him ultimately needed to find a different breathing style for him. He took inspiration from the sun’s light, seeing the reflection in his blade gave him the idea for Light Breathing.

Close Family:

Father

Male

Kubo Akimitsu (bright light)

Retired Slayer (lost leg forced him to retire early)

Bitter and abusive

Mother

Female

Kubo Megumi (favor, love, affection)

Civilian, Seamstress

Loving and thoughtful of others

Uncle (Akimitsu’s younger brother)

Male

Kubo Yasu (peaceful)

Civilian, Cook

Has weak lungs and a weak body structure, therefore could not become a slayer like his older brother.

Happy-go-lucky and hard working

Aunt

Female

Kubo Sayuri (small lily)

Civilian, Dancer

Cheerful, yet can be scary at times

Cousin

Female

Kubo Honoka (harmony, flower)

Civilian, Musician

Bright and a bit clumsy, often called Taiki’s opposite.

Family’s Appearances

Akimitsu has short, completely black hair, and sharp, deep grey eyes. A permanent scowl is on his face. Has various scratch-like scars on his arms, one on his left cheek, and is missing his right leg from the middle calf down.

Megumi has long, black hair with a pink tint, which is usually tied into one singular braid. Her eyes are bright blue and warm. She usually sports a soft smile.

Yasu has medium-length, black hair with a white ombré affect, which was passed down by his and Akimitsu’s father. His face holds early wrinkles from how much he smiles. His grey eyes are much softer in emotion and color than Akimitsu’s. His hands hold light scarring, from burns to small cuts, all from his work as a cook.

Sayuri is rather short, as is her black-brown hair. Her eyes are a brilliant emerald green. She is usually quite relaxed in the face, looking at peace when she dances.

Honoka is short like her mother, but much more energetic. Her hair is a lot like Taiki’s, except it’s a bit more brown than black, but the white roots remain. It’s often described as almost wild looking, the large locks usually held together with a bright, yellow colored ribbon.

Extras/Fun Facts:

Spends free time training or cooking

Adores cute things, will deny it with every fiber of his being. Kyojuro is the only one allowed to tease him about it.

The hot springs are a home away from home, if you can’t find him, chances are he’s in a hot spring somewhere.

Can handle the spiciest food imaginable.

On the topic of food, Taiki often can’t find it in him to eat very much. A small plate of food is enough for him.

When he has nothing to do, or extra hands are needed, he often helps Shinobu and the other healers with their work.

Relationships:

Close: Kyojuro

Friends: Shinobu, Mitsuri, and Giyuu

Acquaintances: Muichiro, Gyomei, and Obanai

Go Away (Respectfully): Sanemi and Tengen (he finds them too loud and rather stressful, but respects their prowess)

Theme(s):

The Old Witch Sleeps and the Good Man Grace - The Amazing Devil

Light Breathing and Its 6 Forms:

Light Breathing relies on quick and precise movement, subtle shifts of the blade to reflect light and blind opponents.

1st Form: Light Step

The user rushes forward, so quickly it seems as if they’ve teleported. Good for closing distance.

2nd Form: Brilliant Blade

A simple, yet swift cut in any direction. A blast of light begins the swing, stunning the opponent and giving room for an opening. A trail of light follows the swing of this attack.

3rd Form: Light of Flames

The user swings their sword multiple times in swift motions, so quick that it looks like the dance of a candle flame. It ends in a swift forward thrust. Often used to disorient foes enough to create an opening for the thrust, and then a killing blow.

4th Form: Refraction

With subtle shifts of the blade and quick footwork, the user can seemingly make 1-3 copies of themself. Useful for diverting attention and distracting the opponent.

5th Form: Reflection

The user swings their sword in quick succession, creating a barrier of light in front of them to block and/or reflect incoming attacks.

6th Form: Illuminate

The user catches a source of light on their blade, and then quickly creates several slashes in the air. The light then grows to the point it lights up the area. Useful for lighting up surroundings and blinding opponents.

[loosealcina]

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK’S RUSALKA AT LA SCALA, JUNE 13, 2023

It’s been known for ages—I mean, since way before the pharaoh who built the Great Pyramid of Giza was even born—that essentially any stream/body of water will make an effective door between this world and the other one(s). (I believe I read it in Alan Moore’s Voice of the Fire maybe?). I’d say this iteration of Antonín Dvořák’s Rusalka—created by Emma Dante, back at La Scala with a new production some fourteen years after her dazzling season-opening Carmen—was specifically designed to focus on one of these doors. It was as though somebody had set up a camera trap in the darkest, most secluded place you can imagine, in front of a pond in the middle of a nameless forest, so we could see what’s going on—especially after dusk has fallen. Only, the wildlife we get to observe is much stranger than expected. It wouldn’t be easy to keep a record of everything: sorcerers, enchanted bipeds and quadrupeds, the accidental explorer, minor deities… But first and foremost, we get to observe a water nymph named Rusalka. Her home would lie behind that eerie door: deep down at the bottom of an obscure, aqueous kingdom. In fact, she’s the daughter of the water goblin himself, the venerable Vodník; but she refuses altogether to accept the life she seems to be in for. Hence she’s but a struggling, melancholic, somewhat injured creature. She’s in love with a human prince (their thing is already [kind of] on when the curtain goes up); yet that circumstance alone activates a lethal curse nobody will be able to lift or escape. (Besides, the presence of two conspicuous villainesses—Ježibaba [a witch], and the Foreign Princess—won’t help in the slightest). Now that a sweeping synopsis is done, I’ll proceed to state that this Rusalka experience as a whole was—I’m using a technical term here—genuinely rad. Emma Dante went with extreme, awe-inspiring simplicity. (Rusalka and the Prince’s final scene—their deathly kiss, their naked words, their endless, motionless embrace—would be an excellent example of that). She also went with lowbrow art (namely Ray Caesar, Nicoletta Ceccoli, and the like). To me, this retelling—whose sets/costumes/lights were conceived by Carmine Maringola/Vanessa Sannino/Cristian Zucaro—was all but explicitly located in that peculiar universe.

Other than paying homage to a handful of talented artists, that choice ended up filling every inch of the stage with a pensive, direful contrast between (A) an archetypal version of childhood and (B) a sizable package of unspeakable perils (both internal and external) that childhood is bound to face. (Not without a penchant for that creepy/spooky/gory touch here and there). The orchestra conducted by Tomáš Hanus appeared reluctant to stray from a narrow area between forte and mezzo forte. This lack of variety was probably the lone part of the night I’m likely to grumble about, but there were a number of delightful exceptions; while the great ball at the castle (Act II) came with its own array of musical tricks and spells (whose actual magic was effortlessly transformed by Sandro Maria Campagna’s choreography into a gloomy dream within a dream), Rusalka’s Act I Song to the Moon—only magnificent—made me think that if, say, Clara Schumann, Emily Brontë, and Leonard Cohen somehow teamed up to pen a Song to the Moon together, the result would be drifting through the night in a very similar way. As for the cast. Out of the many assets of this brilliant operatic ride, one of my favorites was this: each and every character, either bigger or smaller (plus airborne, submerged, terrestrial, etc.) managed to come off as a complex, occasionally enigmatic, ultimately interesting individual. All the actors/singers did a spectacular job, but my listening heart was positively conquered by Olga Bezsmertna’s take on the role of Rusalka. I’m sure you remember the unceasing clash (A) vs. (B) I’ve mentioned a short while ago; now I promise, that very clash was entirely encompassed—ignited, boosted, boosted again, and eventually wiped out—by her voice. I’d call it a shape-shifting act. Her timbre mostly gravitated toward the gentle, unripe quality you’d associate with utter innocence and vulnerability and then, all of a sudden, an explosive rise capped with a shadowy, threatening high note would turn her persona into a fearsome nonhuman tragédienne (still in love [and hurting as well], but fearsome nevertheless). In case you’re interested in matching up the atmosphere of this fairy tale with a nice read, you can do what I’m currently doing and spend some time in the company of Sally Gardner and David Roberts’s Tinder (2013).

[ginkgomoon]

Shaw's Birth Chart- An Astrological Study

Late second birthday gift to Shaw. I haven't done any heavy analyses/studies in a while but I felt happy that I also completed some good solid Shaw content! Please enjoy. *Cries because it's finally done and before June is over.*

What is Astrology?

Astrology is the study of stars- the placements and movements of different celestial bodies to correlate what’s happening on Earth. It comes from the early Latin word astrologia.

There’s a rule that we live by-

As above so below

This means whatever happens within our solar system will ultimately affect us here on Earth. For example, the moon governs our emotions, and since our body is approximately 70% water, why wouldn’t the moon affect us too? But it’s not just us, it's the moon’s gravitational pull on the oceans, in the same sense, it’s also the moodiness you may feel during full moons!

There’s many aspects to Astrology, and that would normally be too much for a single post so I’ll be elaborating on the major contributions to one’s birth chart. This will include the planets and the signs.

There’s the inner planets, consisting of the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Mars and Venus, moving quickly within the chart. Then there’s the outer planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus and Pluto, the slower moving planets. And of course, the different signs of the zodiac with different personalities. They follow the order beginning with Aries, then Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and finally Pisces.

Shaw's Placements

Sun ☉ The Sun represents our character, personal identity and ego. Your star sign is also known as your Sun sign. It is the “you”. The “Self”. It shows your creative force, confidence, focus and our will to live. It’s the driving force of our charts in many ways, like how it is centred in our solar system. It’s the part of us that is the “adult”, censoring the “inner child”, and overall provides information on our vitality, and what we came to do.

Shaw's Sun is in Gemini ♊︎ The air sign of Gemini is famous for their self-expression and communication. Geminis are witty, clever and flexible people. They can easily gain social contacts just as they can easily adapt in various situations and communicate through intellectual conversations. Geminis love to collect and share all sorts of information and are rather seen to be “geniuses”.

Although, they can be easily bored if they’re not getting enough mental stimulation. Geminis with their abilities to detach themselves make them excellent observers, but this can make them very difficult to be close to and be intimate with. People note them to be confusing and hard to understand, but this is because their mind is always active and switching from one topic to another (as they are represented by “the Twins”). Geminis enjoy seeing the “lighter” side of life, making them more fun and pleasing to be around. It’s guaranteed that there is never a dull moment when you’re with a Gemini!

Shaw holds a good representation as a Gemini. He always has a witty remark to say to MC, has a way with words, is shown by how he reacts to “fight or flight” situations, and stresses the usage of his favourite word, “bored”. Shaw, by having this placement of the Sun in Gemini also gives much strength to his Mercury (the planet of communication) which is also in Gemini (more on this later).

Shaw: “What do people usually do during dates?”

MC: “Uh, it’s usually eating, shopping and watching movies.”

Shaw: “That’s too boring, isn’t it? Since it’s a date with you, I’d like to get your feedback. What would you like to do?”

MC: “Nothing else.”

Shaw: “Then, what do you want to do?”

He thought for a couple of seconds and raised his eyebrows slowly, with a hint of glimmer of dark light in his eyes.

“You'll agree to anything that I do…?” -One Day Date

MC: “Why did you suddenly take an interest in reading?”

Shaw: “For the final exam.”

Despite his concentration, he flipped the pages with incredible speed- it seemed as if he didn't like what he read. -Summer Night Birthday Date

Shaw values all forms of communication and self-expression, whether it would be through music, writing, and teaching others about ancient relics. Additionally, it appears that he enjoys a range of hobbies, such as playing the bass, skateboarding and spray-painting, due to his interest in the wide variety of passions he developed. MC notices this on one of her earliest dates with him.

MC: “Hey, you seem to have a wide range of hobbies.” -One Day Date

Moon ☾ The Moon in our charts shows what your home is like, your upbringing, the relationship between your mother, the unconscious, your instincts and what you need. It tells us a lot about a person’s emotions, how they deal with it and how they express it to others.

Shaw's Moon is in Capricorn ♑︎ Productivity, work, and feeling useful and respected are the basic need for Lunar Caps. They like to keep their emotions in check, as they want to maintain being the cool-headed, practical and steady person of any group and in any project. Moon in Capricorn suggests that they have clear boundaries and realistic kinds of goals, looking for reassurance and security in what they do. They value and respect tradition and all things tangible and real. Moon Caps look forward to working towards their distant future goals, planning one step at a time. When feeling moody, their emotions will emphasise the pressure they had already put on themselves. Additionally, this is why letting their guard down to be comforted and to be reminded that they are not alone is very beneficial. Capricorns are unwilling to stand down, especially when it comes to emotionally “letting go”, hiding their sensitivity under a sarcastic manner. Wherever Capricorn is found in the chart, there is a desire for control, structure, and organisation. Emotions are well dealt with and handled in an efficient and practical manner.

There is a certain mysteriousness and sadness behind Shaw that can be subtly detected and yet to further explore deeply. This might have come from past trauma, possibly related to family relations. He has realistic expectations and justifications for his emotions, and when it comes to his goals, he will utilise these to help him slowly achieve them. Shaw is slowly letting his guard around MC, and gradually allowing him to love.

MC: “How can you draw so well?” I murmured quietly, envying his skills which require much talent.

Shaw: “Is it good? In a few months, it will fade into obscure and worthless trash."

He glanced at the wall with an undisguised contempt, as if it was not his own work that he was judging.

“It’s a failure.” He shook a spray can and started spraying it on the wall.

MC: “Wait! Why are you doing this?”

Shaw did not avert his eyes, and stood with his arms folded, refusing to give in.

Shaw: “But it's flawed now.” -One-Day Date

After a few seconds of silence, he frowned and put everything in his arms back on the table except for a can of coke. “Don’t act like you know me so well.” -Exciting Moments Date

Perhaps it was because I didn't believe that Shaw would appear so calm or so still, or because I wanted to explore why he looked so focused, I also looked at him in silence.

Shaw: “You really like to immerse yourself in your past.”

MC: “Find strength through the memories, then grow and become stronger.” I suddenly recalled a line from a TV series, and read it out.

A flicker of doubt flashed through his eyes, and eventually condensed into a dismissive look.

Shaw: “Who told you that we can only become stronger with memories?”

MC: “Why are you so dismissive?”

Speaking of which, what made Shaw so strong if it’s not finding strength from his “memory” or “past”?

Shaw: Why are you telling me this? Reminiscing every day means you’re getting old.”

-

Rain started to shower from the gloomy sky. I looked up, and found that the dark clouds were only above this small area of filming location. It was actually very sunny over at the antique market.

Fortunately, the rain was not heavy, and was even getting lighter as he predicted. He pulled at his hair, shaking off the scattering beads of rain. Such serenity did not match my impression of him, yet it was unexpectedly harmonious and natural.

MC: “Are you the rain god? Why does it always rain when I'm out with you?”

Shaw: “It’s because I can control the weather.”

At this point, the rain, which had stopped just a short while, suddenly fell again, but more densely. The smirk on his face was not gone yet. The rain seemed to be getting heavier. I felt more saddened as he spoke, yet Shaw just laughed. -Seeking Date

As a Capricorn Moon, his value and respect for tradition, and in all things tangible is very much obvious, and is highlighted with his display of knowledge about historic relics in Loveland’s museum shown in various dates, being the only student in the Department of Archeology of in Loveland University, as well in this scene from Season 2 that I couldn’t bear to leave out.

Mercury ☿ Mercury is the communication planet. When you write, speak, absorb information and how rational we are, you’re using your Mercury. It refines our Sun sign and helps define how we take in and give out information. It also talks about short distance travelling, governing your thirst for knowledge, your wit and negotiating skills. If someone is an excellent talker, it’s thanks to their Mercury placements.

Shaw's Mercury in Gemini ♊︎ Since Mercury is already ruled by Gemini, which makes it a favourable placement for quick-witted communication. Gemini Mercury placements may come across as being scattered and restless, but this is because of their different interests, seemingly knowing a little bit about everything. They easily gain knowledge where all sorts of facts and figures are up their alley, however generally have too many interests to deeply delve all into one. They can thrive in a stimulating environment as they are fast adapters who effortlessly learn and multitask at lightning speed.

This overlaps with Shaw’s Gemini Sun Placement. He may confuse MC sometimes with his personality and wit, but it’s nice to see MC adapt to it as well, because they have a lot to learn and grow from each other. He encourages MC to live life more boldly, while she teaches him to take things slower and be more aware of how his emotions and thoughts should work in harmony under special circumstances.

“He has no problem with the noise from rehearsals, and yet he can't stop criticising me for being noisy. He gets easily bored by things and yet he never gets tired on aimless strolls. Moreover, he always disagrees with me…” -Exciting Moment Date

MC: “Are you doing something illegal?”

Shaw: “What do you think?” Shaw looked at me playfully, and I could not help taking a step back vigilantly.

MC: “I'm a good law-abiding citizen and I won't be your accomplice!”

Shaw: “That's not up to you.”

-

MC: “Oh no! What should we do, what if we get caught!”

Shaw: “Nothing. Having a date at the police station should be a good experience.” -One-Day Date

Additionally, those reoccurring moments when he says that he had changed his mind also stems from the “twinning” aspect of Gemini in his thought process.

Shaw: “Give the cake and forks to me.”

MC: “Didn’t you say you didn’t want it?”

Shaw: “I changed my mind.” -Exciting Moments Date

Venus ♀︎ The planet Venus is ultimately the planet of love, beauty, wealth, our material things and what we do with all that sort of jazz. It’s the pleasures, our sentiments, what we do for leisure and what we value. Grace, charm, creativity, and entertainment are ruled by Venus. We can use this planet to see how we approach relationships of the heart, investigate our ability to attract and the attraction to others (or things).

Shaw's Venus is in Cancer ♋︎ These kinds of people are quite sensitive and insecure when it comes to love, with egos perhaps said to be a little bit undeveloped but have so much love, comfort, security, and care to offer. These aspects are emphasised for Cancers, who pay more attention to your feelings rather than said words. All they want is a safe, solid and secure relationship. They can be moody when it comes to love, though they are not afraid of emotional confrontations and to put their emotions on display when feeling it’s safe.

But once they are hurt, they will have a hard time forgiving. Pleasing them will involve a lot of sentimentality, as recognising their influences and attachments are from the family and home. When fearful of being rejected, they can resort to some frustrating tactics to find out how loved they are. Venus Cancers will want to be cared for, and in return their partner will be rewarded with a loving, dependable and patient lover.

Shaw puts up a front with his teasing and seemingly lack of interest to attend events with MC, though we can tell that he’s a very thoughtful and intuitive lover. Once he has allowed himself to internally address his feelings, he will use straightforward methods in how he communicates it to MC, again, strengthened by his Gemini placements. Additionally, Cancers will cling onto something or someone that is of value to them, because it evokes memories and emotions. In the same sense, if there is someone that Shaw has his eye on, he will inch closer to them, and will be unwilling to give them up once he has them.

I tried to reach out and pull him down while watching out for him, but he just took me by surprise and grabbed my hand instead. I quickly pressed down my skirt with the other hand. Probably realising something, his amber eyes widened slightly, then let go of me, with a low “tsk”. -Seeking Date

Shaw: “Why can’t you let that go?”

MC: Because I'm sick of you treating me like this. One time, you waited for me to get to the Live House to tell me that there was a change in venue, and there was also this one time when you- achoo!”

I pulled my jacket tighter around myself. Suddenly there was a rustle above my head and I found myself covered in a warm coat. Shaw stood up without a word as if he didn't hear me. Clad in a white shirt, he looked at once familiar and strange from behind.

Then I noticed his hand in the pocket. I was expecting him to conjure something for me like he did last time with the Dragonfly Eye. Before I could react, Shaw suddenly grabbed me by hand. With no gloves on, he tightly wrapped his slender fingers around my palm. I felt an unexpectedly soft and warm sensation.

MC: “Let go of me!”

Shaw: “No, I don’t want to.”

-

Shaw: “You've been asking questions about me all day. Do you really want to get to know me? Bring your ear closer. I can tell you all about myself.”

-Exciting Moments Date

His hand flew past my face and landed on the back of my head. With a slight jerk, he pulled me toward him. Our foreheads were then pressed together, and I felt the warmth of his forehead resting on mine, my breath on my skin, his unintentional touch, and his body pressed against mine. -Summer Night Birthday Date

“Do you like me? Yes or no?” -Unanswered Phone Call

Mars ♂︎ Mars is the go-getter planet. Full of fire and passion, nothing would be done without it. It can give insights on how we can chase our goals and what our desires and our plans of attack are. Aggressive behaviour, lust and anger fall under this planet.

Shaw's Mars is in Libra ♎︎ Mars Libras often reflect about the things they do before they act, needing to weigh out all the decisions first. They also can get easily caught up in defending themselves and others, as well as charming others to win others’ favour if needed. They wish to not be disturbed in their life or how they “operate”, going about with the desire to balance everything, with almost having a seemingly passive-aggressive approach to situations. Mars Libras know when to compromise and manage conflict, as well as predicting problems and discord well in advance. Libras will question themselves on how they can make the playing field more fair, intervening when necessary and when things aren’t. Shaw demonstrates this during his bus stop intervention when he first meets MC, on his dates with her, as well as his confrontation with Gavin.

“Don’t hesitate if you have already thought it through.”

-

MC: “What’s the matter?”

Shaw shrugged, lifted the corner of his lip, and looked at me, saying this firmly word by word.

Shaw: “Don’t forget that this is our punishment. Be a good loser.” -One-Day Date

“What are you laughing at? Stop it.” he reached out his hand, trying to mess up my hair. I quickly dodged backward and started laughing harder.

“Hey.”

A stunned look flashed Shaw’s eyes. Before he finished his sentence, I slipped and fell heavily backwards. He looked at me before a hint of schadenfreude appeared in his eyes. Then he said in a raised tone, “that's what you get for laughing too hard.”

He then sat down with me. I turned to him in confusion.

MC: “Why did you sit down when you’re supposed to help me up?”

Shaw: “Because I wanted to.” -Exciting Moments Date

Brutal gales whipped up gravel and rocked trees. A bolt of lightning split the sly, illuminating the two people locked in a standoff.

Gavin’s face was completely devoid of its former calm, and in its place was wrath. The man opposite Gavin squinted his eyes ever so slightly. He went wild with laughter, and an arrogant expression swept back over his face.

Shaw: “Well, we’re finally starting to get serious. It’s about time.”

Gavin: “I warned you! She’s off-limits.”

Shaw: “Are you threatening me?”

Gavin: “You aren’t worthy.”

The man lifted his eyebrow and slowed his speech purposefully.

Shaw: “Anyway, my objective has been reached. I don’t mind toying with you. But I don't know how long this girl you’re obsessed with has long to live...”

The two fought with increasing ferocity. The man was slowly losing ground. Then, the sky roared, and a white flame connected heaven and earth. The man was gone without a trace. -Chapter 11-24

Jupiter ♃ Jupiter is the largest planet, a gas giant, known to expand as the “benefactor” of our solar system. Everything it touches is basically blessed. It’s the good luck, confidence, joy, freedom and adventure that it gives to one’s being that it’s so well known for. Jupiter is where you seize your opportunities, take a leap of faith and count your blessings.

Shaw’s Jupiter is in Aquarius ♒︎ Shaw attracts the most good fortune when he’s tolerant and fair, cooperative and inventive, being different from society’s norms and standards. He values technology, people and personal freedom the most, desiring to display his unique skills and talents. He is open to new methods and eccentric ways to progress. We see this as he’s willing to share his knowledge with others, shown in the CN Creative Date and Summer Solstice Date, and when Shaw offers a hand to help MC by making her alias “Mary Sue” to help her successfully break into STF in later chapters. He also shows her the electricity firework he makes with his Evol, which fascinates MC enough for her to reach out and touch it.

I looked at Shaw's on the other side of the wall. The flaunting design was imposing, as if it was about to jump out at me the next second. Then I looked at my grinning rabbit, which seemed to be the clumsy work of a child.

-

In the gold and purple pattern, “SHAW” could be faintly recognised while a grinning rabbit stood at the top of the world. They actually seemed… quite in harmony? -One-Day Date

MC: “Is that the same MP4 player you had on the bus?”

Shaw: “Yes, someone gifted it to me a long time ago.” Emboldened by his straightforwardness, I couldn't help but move slower. -Exciting Moments Date

Floating on his palm was a sizzling firework giving off dazzling sparks. I was stunned by the sight. I couldn’t believe that Evol could do that. I reached out to touch it, but Shaw stopped me.

“Are you out of your mind? It’s charged with electricity.” -Summer Night Birthday Date

Saturn ♄ Saturn is the planet of karma, restrictions, life lessons, hard facts and the challenges in life. It governs structure, our fears, work and self-discipline. Saturn is cold and calculating, however once the challenges and lessons Saturn have been mastered, great wisdom with great rewards can be obtained.

Shaw's Saturn is in Aries ♈︎ Aries Saturns are highly resourceful coming up with fresh ideas for our goals. They don’t like showing weakness and need to be careful when limiting themselves due to fear of failure or making a poor decision. They’re very self- reliant because they rarely ask for help. They need to be shown that not “being first” is okay.

It’s proven that Shaw has a competitive side to him, seen in the CN Summer Solstice Date and his Rumours and Secrets, where Shaw refuses to give up and ends up doing dolphin flips on his skateboard in a match against a senior and wins after his first loss. In Accompanying Date, he acknowledges his embarrassing moments when he got caught skipping class, then reflects on them. We also see this as he flees his battle with Gavin when he almost loses.

Shaw: "I just remember winning. Don’t people at ten years old want to get swept away, win against everyone, and leave them far behind?" -CN Summer Solstice Date

Shaw: "The fence of the school was disagreed with by the elementary students. Back then, my skills weren’t refined yet. I got discovered by a teacher when I fell from it." While reminiscing, Shaw pouts unhappily. -CN Accompanying Date

The two fought with increasing ferocity. The man was slowly losing ground. Then, the sky roared, and a white flame connected heaven and earth. The man was gone without a trace. -Chapter 11-24

Uranus ♅ Wherever Uranus is in the chart, it’s where we want to break free, where we want to do things our own way, when you don’t care what everyone else is doing or thinking about. It’s where we express our ideals on freedom, innovation and experience great epiphanies. We strive for independence with the influence of the Uranus character. As a result, we learn to rebel, break traditions and authority. It shakes things up from our past and into the modern future. It is often associated with unpredictability, chaos and anarchy.

Shaw's Uranus is in Aquarius ♒︎ These people are interested in innovating, changing and updating traditions related to technology, community and individuality. They see freedom through or in these areas, and are ready to rebel if needed. Aquarius Uranus people are open to new ideas and free thought.

Shaw is no stranger to the concept of rebellion. He sneaks into places he shouldn’t be in, spray-paints graffiti, and helps MC access top-secret information in STF. His comments on history further outlines the unique outlook that he challenges with traditional views.

I looked around nervously, remembering that last time, we were chased by city police for street graffiti.

Shaw: “Don’t you want to come? Hurry up.”

MC: “Do you just do anything you like? Do you abide by no rules?” -One-Day Date

Shaw: “What do you think history is?” Student: Those historical relics you told us about just then!”

- Student: “If everything is history, how does one learn it?” Shaw: “There’s no need for an intention. It’s everywhere.” -CN Summer Solstice Date

Neptune ♆ Neptune is the inspirational planet of dreams, inspirations, soulmates, enlightenment and sacrifice. It’s all about connection with the universe and the world around you, however can have the polar effect of deception and illusion, along with disappearances of sorts. It can also govern your music tastes and influence on how you can inspire others.

Shaw’s Neptune is in Capricorn ♑︎ With this placement, his idealistic world will be based around realism, morality, and responsibility. He has to believe in the ground foundations of realisability of his dreams- enough so that it usually has a realistic thread about them. General optimism and faith will be lacking if he’s not doing something that he is passionate about and finds inspiration in. However, he has the capacity to change his practical dreams into reality the most. His influences and contributions come from his connection with Dark/MC, again with Mars in Libra, and is seen as a guide and spectator, though less passive than a Time Observer. It’s also clear that Shaw cares a lot for his music and his band. He even recognises a plagiarised song in one of his Rumours and Secrets.

“Playing with the band is just a hobby, so Shaw rarely creates something from scratch. He must have hidden things he wanted to say in his music, but never mentioned it to anyone.” -Summer Night birthday Date

Shaw: "No wonder these people didn’t realise it, they copied an unpopular song from the 80s. You should also improve your musical literacy so you wouldn’t be confused by these things." -CN Glacier Navigation Rumours and Secrets

My phone started buzzing in my outer coat pocket. I took it out and saw an unfamiliar number. A few moments of hesitation, I answered it. An unfamiliar voice came from the other end.

“Long time, no see. I’m sure you’re trying to guess who I am right now.” There was something in his voice that gave me a sense of déjà vu.

MC: “May I ask, what this is about?”

“I can’t just call you for no reason? Everyone has already forgotten you. You are officially someone who shouldn’t exist in this world.

MC: “Impossible! Just who are you, anyway?”

“Go see for yourself. For instance, at the place where it all started.” -Chapter 19-1

Outside the floor to ceiling window, a tall man with light purple hair was looking at me in the eye, an unmistakable smile on his lips. Who is this person? He waved at me and strove in the diner.

“Oh, here you are.” He greeted me with such familiarity, a few loose strands of hair fell over his forehead, softening his sharp eyes. His actions were swift and sure, giving me no time to interrupt. His face seemed so familiar but I can’t remember where I’ve seen it before.

MC: “Who are you?”

Hearing this, the young man’s brow raised, and the look of amusement flashed over his eyes.

“You don’t remember? You bumped my skateboard.”

MC: “Oh! We met on the bus. But how is it that you remember me?”

He didn’t answer me straight away. He just observed my expression with great interest, seemingly enjoying watching my reaction.

“I’m the one who called you. It’s me. The dream world has no effect on me.”

Pluto ♇ Pluto is the Lord of the Underworld, and is not to be messed around with. It’s responsible for great destructible transformations and corresponds to the life, death and rebirth cycle. It’s the detoxing planet, for you to awaken and be reborn. It shows us where we can change the world, alongside right where we can go into the abyss of the cunning and controlling energies of Pluto. Its powers can be ever so subtle, however it can have the forces to trash you with the realisations of what you need to let go in order to transform. Think of it as the “healing crisis” moments that you can thank Pluto for.

Shaw's Pluto is in Sagittarius ♐︎ They take beliefs and philosophy of life very seriously, more than most. They believe deeply in personal freedom and expression, questioning ideologies in place. They often watch for a tendency to move from one project to another, perhaps due to inhuman expectations. They are motivated and driven by the vision of a better world, therefore their faith in humanity is strong.

Shaw helps MC multiple times when she is in need, additionally supporting her beliefs and vision to save the world and everyone in it, like when she first entered the Winter World and helped her rescue the kidnapped children against her battle with Leto in the Chapter 34. He even gives her his necklace- the Dragonfly Eye in the end of Season 1 and wishes her well once they meet again.

Shaw: “Oh yeah, the other you is really funny. Today, she saved someone on the street. Did you use to do stuff like that too?”

Dark MC: “I’m not like her. I don’t do meaningless things like that. Stick to the plan.”

Shaw: “Oh? I’d thought you’d like this scene. What are you planning to do, anyway?”

Dark MC: “Why of course, I’m going to accept my place as QUEEN.” -Behind the Curtain Chapter 5

MC: “Shaw, what are you doing here? Where’s Leto?”

Another thunder flashes, Shaw’s face was reflected clearly and I saw him lift his eyebrow slightly.

Shaw: “You are so slow. Did you bring the notebook? Keep it and give it to me later.”

MC: “You haven’t answered why you are here.”

Shaw: “And I thought you were starting to get smarter. None of us can stay out of it now. If I don’t intervene, this world is finished.”

I would love to see more about Shaw’s background character and his upbringing as to why he had appeared a bit defensive in some dates. Poor Shaw :( Hopefully this study allowed you all to gain a deeper understanding of Shaw and his character, and to why he’s important in the main storyline and other events alike.

[emeraldtawny]

Dazai Osamu Character Analysis: How Human Is He?

Before I get into this, allow me to preface this with a disclaimer: I AM NO EXPERT IN ANY OF THE TOPICS I AM ABOUT TO DELVE INTO, THIS IS JUST WHAT I INTERPRET PERSONALLY. This is just a fan of the character rambling about him and his real-life counterpart for the sake of sharing the thoughts rattling around inside my brain. However, I will link all sources that I used at the end of this so you may wish to investigate further if what you read piques your interest.

Okay, so… Dazai Osamu. This man is as much of an enigma as he was in real life (which… makes sense). Whether Cybird did this on purpose for a gradual build-up to his route or because he just wasn’t as popular a character, who knows? (I like to believe the former just for hope’s sake gbsdukgdx). Because we know very little about him in-game, the majority of what I will be mentioning will relate back to IRL Dazai. If you know little or nothing of Dazai Osamu, please proceed with caution if discussions of substance abuse, depression and suicide upset or trigger you. Consider this your disclaimer. Now then, let’s dive in.

History of Dazai Osamu

Born in 1909 into a wealthy family as Tsushima Shūji, that didn’t ease his early life from burdens. His father was a politician and often spent long periods away from home. His mother was often sick so he was mostly cared for by his aunt and the family’s servants. His father died of lung cancer when Dazai was 13, but he seemed mostly unhindered by the death of his father and continued through schooling before being accepted into the literature department of Hirosaki University in 1927.

Things started taking a more outward effect on Dazai around this time, the linchpin likely being the death of his idol - author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa - who committed suicide. He started losing interest in his studies, investing more time into alcohol and prostitutes. He also experimented in Marxism, even joining the Japanese Communist Party. His first suicide attempt was in 1929 - right before his school exams - by an attempted sleeping pill overdose. This wasn’t enough to kill him so he subsequently survived. He graduated from Hirosaki the following year, then moved to Tokyo University in 1930. There, he met a prostitute that he ran away with, prompting him to be disowned by his family. 

His second attempt at suicide came that year - an attempted double suicide with a young woman he barely knew. They threw themselves into the ocean. Sadly, she died, and Dazai was rescued by a passing fishing boat. He was suspected in the woman’s death, but his family’s influence saved him. He then married the prostitute he ran away with.

It was after this that Dazai began networking with established writers and started publishing his own works, his pseudonym of Dazai Osamu being established with his short story ‘Ressha’ in 1933. In 1935, he attempted suicide for the third time by hanging, failing once again. That same year, he suffered from appendicitis and was admitted to hospital where he developed an addiction to a morphine-based painkiller. He was admitted to a mental institution in 1936 and was forced off of his drug addiction. When he was getting treated, his wife had an affair with his best friend. With their marriage deteriorating, both Dazai and his wife attempted a double suicide - Dazai’s fourth attempt. They both consumed sleeping pills in an attempted overdose. Both survived and Dazai divorced his wife after this.

The 1930s and 1940s were Dazai’s golden years literature-wise. He wrote many novels and short stories. When World War II rolled around, he escaped being drafted due to tuberculosis. He continued writing through the war period and met and then married his second wife in 1941. They had three children together.

The last years of Dazai’s life produced his most infamous works - ‘The Setting Sun’ and ‘No Longer Human’ - in 1947 and 1948 respectively. Around this time, Dazai met a woman who he left his wife and children for to take as a mistress. On June 13, 1948, Dazai and his mistress committed suicide by drowning in the Tamagawa Reservoir in Tokyo. In a cruelly ironic twist, their corpses were discovered on what would have been Dazai’s 39th birthday - his fifth attempt was the one that succeeded. An unfinished novelette eerily titled ‘Goodbye’ was left behind, many believing this as his last will.

Dazai’s works became a cult classic after his death, his undertones of nihilism in a postwar society greatly appealing to the masses. ‘No Longer Human’ became his most famous piece, eventually being translated into many languages and is among the most popular books in Japanese literature. He inspired different movies and anime (and otome) with the story of his life and the works he crafted from his experiences.

(All info in this section is derived from Source 1)

No Longer Human’s Effect

When you think Dazai Osamu, it’s not uncommon to immediately think of his novel ‘No Longer Human’. Whether you’ve read the book or not, worry not, as I will not be discussing any plots in the book; I will instead address the overarching themes and (the lack of) conclusion and message the novel leaves you with.

Many consider ‘No Longer Human’ - and many other of Dazai’s works - as semi-autobiographical, as he took many of his story’s ideas from his own personal experiences. This is illustrated through the way in which he wrote his stories; focusing on first-person perspectives to an excruciatingly analytical degree. This was and still is known as the “I-Genre” in Japan and became a staple for Dazai, the viewpoints and mindsets he wrote his characters in portrayed very vividly in a way that made you question how much of it is the character, and how much of what he wrote was the author’s own words and feelings to the world.

‘No Longer Human’ is not a happy story. It follows the story of a man through childhood, university and finally adulthood - the story written in three parts as notebooks to show his progression of age. Without spoiling the contents of the novel in case you wish to read it for yourself, the story focuses on an overarching question: is being a human the solution, or the problem in and of itself? Throughout the novel, it’s clear of how questioning the main character is of this, almost to the point of obsession and compulsion. However, his language always shows how unconvinced he is; a “mundane and dream-like writing, incessantly miming the words “I think … ,” “I am … ,” “I could … ,” “I should … .” Dazai’s characters are never quite convinced.” (Source 2).

The character Dazai portrays is relentless in his self-examination, which leads to his estrangement - not just from those around him, but to the very species he is meant to be a part of. Estrangement is common throughout the story and “It is this fundamentally unhuman feeling that, paradoxically, reveals to Dazai’s characters exactly how human they are.” (Source 2). The inner monologues and conversations can be unsettling if you find yourself relating, alien if you don’t, but ultimately leave you walking away from it questioning even an inkling of what you thought was innate and normal. 

‘No Longer Human’ is not a story designed to tie up all of the loose ends it produces. Dazai leaves it up to you - the reader - to interpret for yourself. The character is infuriatingly, yet ultimately in character, indecisive in how he wishes to perceive the world; “To be a nonentity strangely indifferent to all the accoutrements of human life and society, and yet strangely drawn to the unhuman world of sky, rain, sand, sea, this is where Dazai’s novel ultimately leads, and it’s at this point that it has to end.” (Source 2).

Depression and Nihilism

I mentioned earlier that Dazai was admitted to a mental institution. From the sources I found, I couldn’t find anything concrete about why he was admitted aside from battling his drug addiction. However, mental illness was prevalent in Dazai’s life and it’s widely believed depression was a large part of this. Few recounts of people who talked with Dazai recalled his dark, wry tone in his writings, yet found his humour witty and oftentimes exaggerated (hmmmm…). Since I found nothing credible for this discussion beyond this, I’m going to step away from psychology and instead have a look at philosophy, specifically Dazai’s philosophy on life.

Again, this is just assumptions. However, I find this more comfortable theorising about over sensitive topics like depression and mental health (plus, I find this incredibly interesting, personally). You could argue that Dazai believes in sophistry - the use of clever but false arguments, especially with the intention of deceiving - but I’m inclined to disagree simply because of how deep Dazai digs himself into his own deception; if he himself believes what he tells others, I think it’s a more deep-rooted philosophy than false arguments. I mentioned nihilism earlier and this is what I ultimately believe is the philosophy in how Dazai saw the world. What type of nihilism is the question.

Most people think nihilism and assume the whole “God is dead, I feel nothing” hypothetical; I know I used to always assume so. But, of course, it’s not as cut and dry as that (nothing is simple…). There are different types of nihilism, but I will only talk about the one I think applies to Dazai. Throughout his stories, despite the gloomy atmosphere, there’s usually a(n attempted) glimmer of hope - a snag in the character’s mindset that draws them back into their repeating thoughts of what they should and should not perceive and believe in. Because of this, cosmic nihilism (also called cosmic pessimism) can be eliminated - Dazai’s characters don’t renounce everything they feel and take meaning in as illusions to make existing easier, they’re slightly more lenient in believing what they perceive.

I offer the type of nihilism I believe Dazai’s mindset for writing - and subsequently his actual mindset - falls into: existential nihilism.

Existential nihilism operates on the premise that there is no inherent meaning or purpose; “existence itself–all action, suffering, and feeling–is ultimately senseless and empty.” (Source 3). While not denouncing beliefs like faith and love like cosmic nihilism, existential nihilism relies on values being created and sustained lest they risk falling into the mindset that there is no hope, the world is truly empty and there’s no point in existing in a world that doesn’t even try to give you a reason to hold on. Existential nihilists don’t believe that happiness doesn’t exist; they simply believe that “miseries vastly outnumber pleasures, happiness is impossible” (Source 3) and, therefore, are constantly at odds with themselves over striving for this impossible happiness or simply leaving it behind to find something else to root themselves to reality. Many of Dazai’s character’s internal conversations echo this philosophy; they either despair over being who they are, or they despair because they can’t be who they think they are. In a specific example, they feel estranged and uneasy about how they think - being what they deem “not human” - or they feel trapped and alone in believing that they can’t be who they think they are, so they’re forced to play a character - a facade - for their entire life so as not to be discovered.

Search up ‘Dazai Osamu quotes’ on Google and you’ll find a plethora to read that seem to portray this very idea. Constantly battling within himself over what he should believe, what he should feel and, ultimately, never voicing his pain to the world itself. These two screenshots from the game seem to mirror this sentiment. 

Soo… what does this mean for Ikemen Vampire Dazai?

… Who knows? I don’t work for Cybird so I couldn’t possibly tell you sorry :3. The PV for his route had heavy implications of atonement and death being the only true salvation, so I’m intrigued on what angle they’re going to tackle that from, since Dazai’s reasoning for being revived was “well, death wasn’t what I thought it would be lol”. (Unless it’s a red herring… who knows with this eccentric man gbdukgdfx).

So… yeah. I just wanted to ramble and with his route dropping in Japan before April is done, I thought it was a good time to just ramble into the Tumblr void. Please feel free to broach further conversations about this, correct me if I slipped up anywhere or to just say you’re excited for his route (because I know I am huehuehue). 

Sources can be found here (Source 1 | Source 2 | Source 3)

[psychi-artist]

Aftermath: Art in the Wake of World War One

Aftermath: Art in the Wake of World War I Tate Britain Until 23rd September 2018 Currently on at the Tate Britain is Aftermath: Art in the Wake of World War One. Marking the 100 year anniversary since the end of the First World War 'Aftermath' explores the impact that this infamously great war had on British, German and French art; exploring not only the physical but the psychological scars that this time left on Europe and its artists. World War I (often abbreviated to WWI), also known as the First World War, was a global war that originated in Europe and lasted from 28th July 1914 to 11th November 1918. It was described as the 'War to End All Wars', with more than 70 million military personnel mobilised in one of the largest wars in history. Over 9 million combatants and 7 million civilians died as a result of the war; it was one of the deadliest and gruelling conflicts in history, and precipitated major political changes. One of the triggers for the war was the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in June 1914. As a result international alliances formed over previous decades became entangled and involved in the conflict. Within weeks the major powers were at war, and soon it spread across the entire world. After the war art was used in many ways, from the building of public memorials to documenting its destructive impact both socially and on the land itself. This heartbreakingly fascinating and moving exhibition shows how artists reacted to the memories and life the war created. William Orpen's 1918 'Zonnebeke' shows a dark and gloomy scene, displaying dead bodies strewn about the place, almost like dolls tossed aside by children done playing with them. Orpen drew on his own experiences elsewhere to express the horrors and destruction of war. The scene is truly horrific, almost causing viewers to feel slight guilt as they can't help but admire the beauty in the piece that contains such awful images. The horrors of the painting are even more unimaginable when viewers are reminded that it is not a scene taken from one's imagination, but rather one that was, sadly, a very real daily view for so many people. However, amongst all the darkness and dismay, Orpen has painted a small crack in the dark black clouds, where a blue sky peeps though, offering just a glimmer of light and a symbol of hope amongst all the death and destruction. One of the most inspiring artists featured is British artist Paul Nash. Immediately after the war Nash painted 'Wire' in 1918. Showing hoards of dead trees and nature, Nash documented the sad reality that was not only human life but all life was taken as a result of the war. Every inch of the painting shows destruction of the worst kind, from charred, blackened trees with barbed wire wrapped around them symbolising mutilated bodies, to the soil that once held life, now burned, blitzed and devoid of any living thing. Nash grew up in Buckinghamshire, where he developed a love for the land. Nash found much inspiration in landscapes with elements of ancient history and the artworks he produced during WWI are some of the most iconic images of the conflict. Shortly after the start of the war Nash reluctantly enlisted as a private for home service. Nash's duties, which included guarding the Tower of London, allowed him time to continue drawing and painting. In December 1914 he married Margaret Odeh, an Oxford educated campaigner for Women's Suffrage. He then began officer training in 1916 and in 1917 was sent to the Western Front as a second lieutenant. Based at St. Eloi on the Ypres Salient Nash has a reltivley quiet time. The desruction to the land was tremendous, however Nash was overjoyed when he saw that with the arrival of Spring the landscape was starting to recover from the damage inflicted on it. In May 1917 Nash fell into a trench and broke a rib and was sent back home to London. A few days later the majority of his former unit were killed in an assault. Nash considered himself incredibly luckily to have evaded death and adopted a new outlook on life. In November 1917 Nash returned to Ypres Salient as a uniformed observer, at this point however the war in this location was three months old and Nash often found himself under shellfire. Nash was horrified to discover the that the landscape he returned to was very different to the one he had last seen in Spring. The ditches and small canals had been all but destroyed by the constant shellfire, months of incessant rain had led to flooding and miles of deep mud. Nash was outrages at this desecration of nature, believing the landscape no longer capable of supporting life or recovering. This realisation led Nash into becoming angry and disillusioned with the war. Nash's anger, although painful, was a brilliant creative stimulus which led him to produce dozens of paintings a day, working with an angered frenzy that caused him to begin taking great risks to create his art which took him to the front line trenches. Nash's 'Landscape at Iden', painted sometime after the war finished in 1929, shows a surrealist farm yard setting. A huge pile of logs to one side represents the piles of dead soldiers from the war, while the snake coiling around the fence symbolises the rod intertwined with serpents that was held by Mercury as he accompanied the dead to the underworld in classical mythology. Many paintings show the graveyards that were created almost as monuments to the dead soldiers. They show the identical graves all in rows, stretching far and wide into the hundreds of thousands. These mass graves show the mathematical perspective of the carnage and body counts that the war bought. Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson's painfully ironically named 'Paths of Glory' shows an unflinching depiction of soldiers whose bodies have been left to rot in waste land. The title is taken from the 1750 poem by Thomas Gray, 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard', “...the paths of glory lead but to the grave”. This exhibition serves as a painful reminder to viewers that death didn't just happen on the front lines of war, but that it was taken home to the citizens and other that had witnessed the horrors of war and could not escape them. Such is the case with Wilhelm Lehmbruck who sculpted 'The Fallen Man' in 1915-16. The statue shows a man on all four, begging, pleading, distraught, devoid of anything but hopelessness. Lehmbruck could not recover from the horrors he had seen and experienced at war and ultimately he committed suicide. One thing each war artist had in common was the ability to show their revulsion of the war. Artists from all countries, some opposing, all showed the horrors as they truly were, there was no propaganda from any sides from any self respecting artists. Many artists also showed the dehumanising of soldiers, as they were all in the uniforms stood in rows waiting for death; each soldier just a number in the grand scheme of things, instead of a son; a father; a husband; a brother, just wanting to go home to the lives and their families. Conrad Felixmüller's 'Solidet in the Madhouse I & II' are representations of the psychological effects the war had on people. The use of sharp edges, distorted forms, and twisted, confined bodies represent the feelings anxiety and pain are a result of Felixmüller's time spent in a psychiatric hospital after he refused to join the German army after being drafted. He spent four weeks in the hospital and during this time he developed this distinctive fragmented style of art. Many people during this time took to religion, including artist Winifred Knights, whose 'The Deluge' shows citizens fleeing form a great flood in reference to the Old Testament flood. It shows people with sheer terror in their faces, as the flood is used as a metaphor for conflict and bombing. The painting exudes a dramatic sense of panic. Pablo Picasso also used religious references in his works after the war. 'Family by the Seaside' includes Christian imagery of the pietà, the dead Christ moourned over by the Virgin Mary. His painting shows a mother and child lamenting over a dead fathers body, displaying the melancholy that remained even after the war. Dorothy Brett's 1916 'War Widows' shows a group of women all dressed in black, surrounding a central woman who is pregnant. This painting is a result of the enormous death toll that affected the women of the war. Although not directly in the heart of the battles the women and children were deeply affected, suffering constant worries, pain and loss. This painting gives viewers the opportunity to reflect on the social bonds of bereaved women and how the war negatively impacted the next generation. Tucked away in corner of this exhibition is an area of colour and hope showing paintings of golden fields, and vibrant green countrysides that remain beautiful and untouched by war. These thriving areas, full of colour and bountiful life, offer a quite life away from the cities. Showing the hope and wonders to come after the war. They show the peace that so many longed for. The painted images of twisted, mangled bodies that lay in the blackened, hellish landscapes of senseless destruction do not do justice to what was experienced during the war. As viewers to these tremendous pieces of art we can not even begin to comprehend or imagine how life was during this time. These artists have given us these small, heartbreaking glimpses of life during the war, creating pieces of art that though horrifying and disturbing are beautiful in a twisted way.

[murroyilodel]

The Art of the Hunchback of Notre Dame: Quasimodo (link) | Esmeralda (link) | Frollo (link) | Phoebus (link) | Clopin (link)

A Twisted Soul

From a design standpoint, the filmmakers conceived Frollo as spindly, elongated, and severely angular, qualities which serve as apt visual metaphors for his authoritarianism and austerity. His design also nicely compliments the vertical composition of Paris architecture and environment stressed in the background paintings and layout designs supervised respectively by Beauty and the Beast contributors Lisa Keene and Ed Ghertner. Despite Frollo’s apparent self-denial and piety, his costume is deliberately the single most finely detailed and materially sensuous of any in the film, subtly suggesting the character’s inherent arrogance, narcissism, hypocrisy, and corruption.

Full write-up behind Read-More

This was the face of a man, austere, calm and saturnine,” Victor Hugo wrote of Claude Frollo, the darkly motivated, conflicted archdeacon of the church whom Hugo renders with great psychological precision and intensity. Hugo describes Frollo, a man who cannot reconcile the animal and angelic forces within himself, as “a somber and awe-inspiring personage who made the choirboys and inferior priests tremble as he walked … his arms crossed and his head bowed so low that no part of his face was visible except his bald, broad forehead.” On the surface, Quasimodo’s revered and feared guardian is rigorously pious, unflinchingly righteous. Underneath, however, he is pitiless, cruelly manipulative, consumed by desire. Hugo writes: “What was that inner fire which sometimes flashed in his eyes, making them seem like two holes in the wall of a furnace?”

The novel introduces Frollo watching Esmeralda making her living dancing with her tambourine: “He followed the nimble young [Roma] girl’s every movement and as she danced and capers to the pleasure of the crowd his reverie seemed to grow more and more gloomy. …” Although Esmeralda is utterly innocent of Frollo’s dark designs on her, Frollo firmly believes that, by destroying the [Roma] and Esmeralda, he can purify Paris and himself. Others, however, recognize the terrible and destructive conflict in his nature. As Hugo describes the reaction of a Paris citizen watching Frollo and Quasimodo pass by together: “’There they go --- one’s soul is as twisted as the other’s body.’”

Hugo wrote Notre-Dame de Paris during a personal crisis of faith. Even in re-creating a time of growing disaffection with the church, he jolted readers by portraying in Frollo a purportedly hold man who psychologically terrorizes Quasimodo and wilfully prosecutes [Roma] while being consumed by desire for the [Roma] Esmeralda.

The Disney moviemakers chose to make Frollo a feared and powerful judge rather than a cleric as Hugo did. He is introduced in the film preparing to toss the infant Quasimodo in a well after causing the death of Quasimodo’s [Roma] mother, when he is opposed by the Archdeacon of Notre Dame. It is the confrontation on the steps of the cathedral between these two antithetical characters which sets the events of the story in motion and establishes the relationships among Quasimodo, Frollo and the cathedral. Dave Burgess, who animated the Archdeacon, sees that character as “representative of the positive aspects of the church, with the strength to stand up to Frollo and stop him from the evil he is about to commit,” With the voice of veteran character actor David Ogden Stiers, “the Archdeacon has the power and the position to tell Frollo that his soul could be damned forever if he killed this child,” according to head of cleanup Vera Lanpher, “Both Frollo’s chance for redemption and the entire throughline of the film are established in the moment the bond is created between him and Quasimodo.”

Alongside his racism, and inability to love, Frollo’s passion for Esmeralda remains, much as it does in the book, a powerful motivation for his despicable actions. Hugo writes: “The thought of her haunted him incessantly, tortured him, gnawed at his brain and twisted his entrails. … Toward sundown he examined himself once again and found that he was nearly mad.” Don Hahn asserts that the character was one of the most challenging and intriguing to translate to the screen: “The book is rife with psychosexual tension and Frollo is a large source of that tension. He wants to abolish the [Roma] from Paris, yet falls in love with one of them in spite of his hatred and revulsion. The very thing he wants to do away with is what haunts and destroys him.” Concurs head of story and supervising animator Will Finn, “When he responds to Esmeralda and finds her beautiful and attractive and all the things that he naturally would, the feeling is so unnatural for him that it becomes something tortured and twisted and something he is afraid of. He’s a very tragically warped character who is almost entirely ashamed of any human quality he might possess, so he projects this persona of a holy figure to repel his own humanity.”

From a design standpoint, the filmmakers conceived Frollo as spindly, elongated, and severely angular, qualities which serve as apt visual metaphors for his authoritarianism and austerity. His design also nicely compliments the vertical composition of Paris architecture and environment stressed in the background paintings and layout designs supervised respectively by Beauty and the Beast contributors Lisa Keene and Ed Ghertner. Despite Frollo’s apparent self-denial and piety, his costume is deliberately the single most finely detailed and materially sensuous of any in the film, subtly suggesting the character’s inherent arrogance, narcissism, hypocrisy, and corruption.

While Quasimodo inspired strong empathy from the moviemaking team, Frollo commanded a fascinated antipathy. Kirk Wise comments that, unlike earlier villains in Disney animated features, “Frollo is not about one thing, like wanting power, revenge, or gold. He’s multilayered, truly sinister, divisive.” Codirector Gary Trousdale sees him as “the ultimate abusive parent.” For supervising animator Kathy Zielinski, Frollo is “mean, elegantly sinister, fascinating to watch, and he this hold on you. I got so involved with him emotionally that I found myself thinking what it would be like to be him. I found I had to listen to upbeat music just to try to get him out of my system.” June Fujimoto, cleanup key for Frollo, views him as “a true villain, sick and twisted inside, with a design as complicated as his inner character.” The voice of Frollo, British actor Tony Jay, who also voiced the asylum keeper in Beauty and the Beast, characterizes the Minister of Justice as a tragic figure: “Frollo is guided by the zealous belief that he has right on his side and, of course, a person whose zeal becomes fanatical is almost always doomed.” Gary Trousdale concurs: “Frollo represents unexamined, self-justifying evil incarnate.”

hond disney tag here

[borntogo7]

Unknown desolation...

There is ‘somewhat’ forbidden land nestled between The Shetland Islands and Iceland, amongst the unremorseful Atlantic Oceans known as The Faroe Islands.  When asking many people of there knowledge of this ‘specimen-of-a-nation’ people begin to wonder wether there is justified exsistence for this little known nation. I find it rather ironic, as it’s not like a nation such as South Ossetia (south of Georgia) or Nagorno-Karabakh (enclave within Western Azerbaijan)... where their very existence is being testified by the ‘entire’ political world as being deemed unrecognisable, and looked at as a nationalistic outcast by many, and that there rights and views on there independence should be fully-ignored.

It’s rather strange and unquestionable. This is of course, as it is constituent-little-brother to the Kingdom of Denmark (same as Greenland) and there identity is very much governed by this socialistically efficient nation. Which I feel is rather saddening  as The Faroe Islands has huge oil deposits in amongst the bigger-boys-of-the-market (Scotland and Norway) and should be at least looked at as Shell is one of it’s buyers. As well as there wealth of oil. They also boast a rather booming social equality. Where it is very uncommon to find someone is underlined as being the working-class that everyone tends to be the world over. Instead rather, they are very much middle class... where there is a purified comfortability amongst the population of 50.000 living there.

Life on the island, is hard and always has been since the first vikings arrived from Norway and Iceland some 600 or so years ago. Meaning that (at first) getting the basics such as food and water, would have to be shipped in from there Scandinavian counterparts, as well as Scotland and even England and have carried on doing so but more in a commercialised and Westernised sense (shops and fishing). Until this point, fishing was the Island’s only form profitable trade it can offer, to which it made eating fish it’s only stable diet amid it’s people.

This ironically changed during the second World War in 1941 when Germany invaded Denmark and Norway in 1940 and then planned to invade the The Faroe Islands themselves... as the Germans saw it as a great post to anchor Naval Ships there when in the possibility of being attacked by either Denmark or Norway wanting to reclaim there territory. But funnily enough this did not happen as Denmark had a distant allegiance with Great Britain. Which forced Great Britain to occupy the Faroe Islands, which ultimately left some Scottish soldiers being stationed there from April to late June of that year. In case there was any possible invasion made from Germany deriving from Sweden (planned to invade Sweden).

During there time of deployment, many of the Islanders living on The Faroe Islands felt a mixture of relief and somewhat apprehension knowing that there were being protected, but felt rather surprised knowing that someone gave them enough attention, worthy of being protected from the German Forces. With this element of defence, came a sense of gratitude made from both parties, many of the Islanders welcomed the soldiers with open homes, and various food, with the same contribution made from the soldiers, with them giving many of the children (on the Island) chocolate and various sweets.

This level of gratitude soon extended when some of the young women on the island began having ‘small and long-term’ relationships with the soldiers. Much so that, some of the soldiers even got married to some of the Islanders. Where they also had children with them. After the occupation of The Faroe Islands, which ended in June Ninteen-Forty-One, many of the soldiers returned home to there respected regiments, but there were some that stayed long after the war; until there deaths in the 80′s, 90′s and 00′s (I’m guessing). Long after the war, the Faroe Islands has very much been publicised as a nation with bustling gloomy fields, with unorthoxeod mountains with jagged cliff edges and snow scattered on the top like white-powder being sprinkled on top of some chocolate cake, that also have a large army of congressional people most joyfully welcoming than the ‘Canadians’ themselves (I know that must be a statement).

As well as this minored influx of tourists visiting The Islands, this small nation has now been part of FIFA for 39 years now. When they first set-up there National Football Team. Even know have always been seen as ‘minnows’ amongst the International Pyramid, and most lose their games with poor results. They have (in fact) recored some brilliants draws and victories such as:- (2-1 win over Estonia in 2011 and then winning 1-0 over Greece in 2014 and then 2-1 over them again in 2015). Which saw the climb from the bottoms half of the Fifa World Rankings, to the top 100 in the world (90) which is rather amazing giving their weak sporting infrastructure throughout the nation. 

After these historic wins against both Estonia and Greece (respectably) The National Team have enjoyed a flurry of successive results against Latvia, Andorra, Lithuania and have even drawn against Hungary (0-0) which have made other International nations somewhat fear them when playing against them. One giving the friendly-hostility from they’re home sport, and the unexpected playing-style adopted from this up and coming Footballing Nation. 

The sporting genes aside, this nation is more than just a occupation and a sporting specimen. This nation’s hospitality and culture, is rather eccentric and unorthodox visible to the naked eye. I say this, as because The Faroe Islands is so far-away from any mainstream-mainstream that when in winter the locals use grass on their roofs to keep their house insulated during the harshest of winter months. This tradition has been used ever since the Norwegian and Icelandic settlers first came here around 600-700 years ago. Giving that cutting the grass on the roofs was proven statistically difficult, the people there have goats on the roofs to keep the grass maintained throughout the year... this may seem odd by many, but it is a very effective use of maintenance within their homes. 

Another form of The Faroese culture is  Róðrarfelagið Knørrur. Which is the local boat club in Tórshavn, (capital of The Faroe Islands). The club was formed in 1985 and has traditionally raced against other boat clubs throughout the Faroe Islands, the Islands also hold annual whaling where many of the Islanders will go out onto the Atlantic Ocean to kill as many whales as they can; to which the will use the flubber as food. They have done this since 1292 when this law was brought down from there Nordic brother of Norway. 

[placetobenation]

The Rescuers

Release Date: June 22nd, 1977

Inspiration: “The Rescuers and Miss Bianca” by Margery Sharp

Budget: $7.5 million

Domestic Gross: $71.2 million

Worldwide Gross: $169 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%

IMDB Score: 6.9/10

Storyline (per IMDB): When a bottle containing a plea for help from a little girl named Penny makes its way to the Rescue Aid Society, a mouse organization in the basement of the United Nations building dedicated to the rescue and well-being of anyone in need, it is up to the brave mouse Miss Bianca and her chosen partner, the shy janitor Bernard, to rescue the girl. Searching for clues at Penny’s home at Morningside Orphanage in New York City, the two mice discover that the girl has been kidnapped by the evil pawn shop owner Madame Medusa and her companion Mr. Snoops. On the back of Orville the albatross, Miss Bianca and Bernard travel to the terrifyingly gloomy Devil’s Bayou where they learn the shocking truth: the innocent young girl is being forced down into a dangerous, dark underground pirate’s cave where she must find the Devil’s Eye, the world’s largest diamond and Madame Medusa’s greatest obsession.

Pre-Watching Thoughts: We now come to the last Disney film of the 1970s and the second film released in 1977 as we have the first instance of two films being released in one calendar year. If you ask some people, they will say that this film is still one of the most underrated films in Disney’s history and is one that doesn’t get talked about enough as being one of the best films ever. I’ll be honest, I might have seen this film only once as I was more of a fan of the sequel which we will get to down the road, but hopefully this film will prove those people correct that this is one of the best films ever that doesn’t get the credit it deserves.

Voice Cast: As I mentioned in the last film, we were getting to a point where the number of returning stars for these films is starting to dwindle as a new crop of talent were starting to emerge and fill the gaps. Now unlike the previous film which was mostly made up of returning stars and only a few newcomers, this one has a lot of newcomers while also having a few returning voices. For the returning voices, we have the return of Eva Gabor as she voices Miss Bianca in a pretty memorable role and this is the role I think she is better remembered for as opposed to Duchess, and then we have Pat Buttram making his return as he voices Luke the muskrat. We then have James MacDonald return as he voices Evinrude in what would be his last film role as well as his last film in general while working at Disney, and then we have George Lindsay who voices Deadeye the rabbit in what would be one of his last roles. Finally, we have John Fielder who voices Deacon Owl as he continues to become a familiar voice for the Disney films, and as mentioned the list of returning voices is definitely getting smaller with each passing film. Now moving onto our debuting actors, at the top of the list is comedy legend Bob Newhart as he voices Bernard in a memorable role, and then we have Geraldine Paige who voices Madame Medusa in what would end up being her lone animated film and she makes the most of it. Next, we have child actress Michelle Stacy who voices Penny in her first major role and quite possible her most memorable role, and then we have Joe Flynn who voices Mr. Snoops in what ends up being his final film role as he sadly passed away prior to the film’s release and the film was dedicated to him. We then have Jim Jordan who voices Orville in what was his first film role after retiring 40 years ago and it would also be his final film role overall, and then we have John McIntire who voices Rufus the cat in one of two animated films he would appear in for his whole career. We then have Jeanette Nolan who voices Ellie Mae the muskrat in what was one of her first animated film appearances, and then we have Bernard Fox who voices the Chairman of the Rescue Aid Society in his first animated film appearance as well. Finally to quickly finish things off, we have Larry Clemmons who voices Gramps the turtle, Dub Taylor as Digger the mole, and Bill McMillian as a TV announcer to fill out the remainder of the film. It is going to be interesting as we head into the next decade how many of these new actors return and how much longer the returning ones stick around and continue to contribute to these films.

Hero/Prince: For the third time in the last few films, we have a pair of heroes to talk about here and that is of course the pair of Bernard and Miss Bianca. Bianca is an agent for the Rescue Aid Society and is chosen to go on this mission though she needs a partner and to everyone’s surprise, she chooses Bernard who is working as a janitor. They are sent to investigate the kidnapping of an orphan where they discover the orphan is being used to find a valuable diamond, and with the cooperation of other animals they manage to save the orphan and retrieve the diamond which leads Bernard to being declared an agent and he becomes official partners with Bianca. The pair are about as opposite as you can get as Bernard is overly cautious and very superstitious while Bianca is fearless and is willing to dive head first into this mission, but there is a chemistry between them as Bianca is very fond of Bernard hence why she chose him to join her. Despite being mice, they are able to use their resources along with the help of their fellow animals to thwart the villains and save the day, and they are perhaps the most underappreciated heroes in the Disney canon and could potentially rank high in the list.

Princess: N/A

Villain: We once again have a film with multiple villains as it will be interesting to see going forward if this is a common theme or if we end up going back to one main villain and some henchmen. But we do have a pair that dominates the majority of the film and the brains of the outfit is Madame Medusa, a pawnshop owner who obsesses with finding the world’s largest diamond called the Devil’s Eye. She enlists her partner Mr. Snoops into kidnapping an orphan and they take her to the Devil’s Bayou where the diamond is rumored to be, and when they find it Medusa betrays Snoops and looks to keep the diamond for herself only for Bernard, Bianca, and the other animals to foil them. Medusa is about as basic a villain as you could get as she wants the diamond to potentially sell and make a lot of money off of it, and she even goes as far as to betray her partner so she can reap the benefits. Snoops is an example of just going along for the ride until he realizes that he is being screwed over, and he is more guilty by association as opposed to being a real villain. I should also call out Medusa’s pet alligators Nero and Brutus who serve as her weapons until the end when even they turn on her and try to eat her in the end. While greed is definitely a strong motivator to do bad things, it can also cloud one’s judgment which it does to Medusa and her ultimate demise, and honestly she will not rank high as a villain when comparing her to the other ones.

Other Characters: Much like the last couple of films that have come out especially in this decade, the majority of the other characters in this film are animals and they dominate the majority of the film aside from a few humans. Aside from Medusa and Snoops, we have one other main human in the film and that is Penny, the orphan who is kidnapped by Medusa and forced to find the Devil’s Eye diamond though she is saved by Bernard and Bianca before being adopted by a family. We then have Orville the albatross who helps bring Bernard and Bianca to New Orleans and then leaves despite being sucked through Medusa’s airboat, and then we have the various animals living in the bayou led by Evinrude the dragonfly who all despise Medusa with a passion and they help Bernard and Bianca save Penny and the diamond. Finally, we have the members of the Rescue Aid Society who we see at the beginning and the end of the film as they support Bianca in her decision to go as well as her choice of Bernard as her partner. This was a clear example of aside from a few of these other characters, a lot of the focus is on the main characters and these other characters are simply there to help move the plot along and fill out the scenes.

Songs: Going into this project, there were a few films that I wasn’t sure if they had any songs in them or not, and this was one of them as I didn’t think there were be songs in it but to my surprise there were a few. Amazingly, all of the songs aside from one are simply done in the background to serve really as transitional songs as opposed to songs that are recognizable to the film. The one song that is sung by characters in the film is the theme song for the Rescue Aid Society, which was simply a chant sung by its members to outline their call to duty. As for the other songs in the film, the one thing they have in common is that they are all sung by singer Shelby Flint, and the first one is the song played during the opening credits called “The Journey” which doesn’t feature much singing and is rather an orchestral piece. The next song is “Tomorrow is Another Day” which is sung while Bernard and Bianca are flying to New Orleans with Orville, and it is a fine piece that showcases Flint’s ability as a musician. The final song is “Somebody’s Waiting for You” which is sung in essence to Penny to let her know that better days are ahead of her, and it is a fine ballad sung by Flint and serves as a solid anchor song for the film. While these are not songs that will rank highly amongst the more recognizable songs from the Disney canon, they are still fine songs and are perfect for the film.

Plot: Going through the catalog of these films, there are a few that legit surprised me that they were actually based on a novel or some sort of short story because I had no idea that there was a children’s novel called “The Rescuers”. I’m also probably going to assume that most of the general public that saw this film did not know it was based off a novel either, especially since the plot had nothing to do with the actual novel. The plot sees a group of mice called the Rescue Aid Society that serve in the shadow of the United Nations, and when they receive a call of a kidnapped girl that needs saving Bianca volunteers to go and chooses the janitor Bernard as her partner much to everyone’s shock. Arriving in New Orleans with their new friend Orville, they learn from the various animals that the girl named Penny is being used by Medusa and Snoops to find the Devil’s Eye diamond. The two mice help Penny retrieve the diamond and Medusa tries to escape with the diamond herself, but with the assistance of the other animals Bernard and Bianca save Penny and recover the diamond as Medusa is left to fend for herself. In the end, the diamond is delivered to the Smithsonian Institute and Penny is adopted by a family, and Bernard is welcomed into the Rescue Aid Society as they receive another call to aid. The plot of the film is pretty solid for this film and it is always fun seeing a group of animals outwit a human regardless if the human is smart or not, and it works well for this film and it also does open the door for a potential sequel which we have yet to receive to this point.

Random Watching Thoughts: We finally get our first film without opening credits, but as soon as I say that here they come; That bottle went through quite the journey to get to New York; I wonder if all these delegates in the UN actually knew that mice were traveling with them; For being the janitor, the delegates seem to like Bernard in that respond to him when he says “hello” to them; It’s a wonder why Euripides Mouse hasn’t appeared in history books for his contributions to society; Considering that they are there for an emergency, they still have the time to sing their theme song; Bernard must’ve been working there for so long if he knows the theme song as well; Only mice would use a comb as a ladder; I don’t know what math Bernard is using because there are way more than 13 steps on that “ladder”; The only way that note could be so worn out is if water got into the bottle, but that cork seemed pretty secure on there; You can tell that Bernard clearly has some sort of affection for Bianca if he didn’t want her to go, but she also sees something in him if she was willing to choose him to help her; Bianca must be pretty popular in the Society if all those men were wanting to be her partner; That is quite a trek to the orphanage and if they could save time by going through the zoo, why not take it?; If that lion is in a cage, why is Bernard so scared when he knows the lion can’t chase him?; Bianca just assumes that Bernard did something to make the lion mad and determines that being woken up at this time at night made him grumpy; Was Penny gone that long that they were willing to put a “hold until further notice” sticker on it?; It’s not often that a cat is wearing glasses; Bernard did make a good point that Penny would’ve taken her stuff with her if she was adopted; One of the rare films where a human can understand an animal talking as Penny has a detailed conversation with Rufus; Is it just me or does Penny’s teddy bear have a striking resemblance to Winnie-the-Pooh?; A fun fact is when Rufus tells Penny the story about the bluebird, the bluebird that we see flying by is from “Alice in Wonderland”; I wonder what happened to Penny to cause her to lose her front teeth like that; Not many cats probably like ginger; The police must not be doing a good job in trying to find Penny if they gave up weeks ago; Penny must know enough not to get into the car with Medusa; That is quite the pawn shop that Medusa owns; Why would Medusa keep Penny’s book in her office?; It’s not often that you hear someone call their pawn shop a boutique; I thought maybe that the Devil’s Bayou was based on a real place, but it turns out it’s not; Medusa is clearly in a rush that she’s not even bothering to pack her suitcase correctly; Fun fact, the original villain for the film was supposed to be Cruella De Vil and if you look closely at Medusa’s car, it is designed the same way as Cruella’s; Medusa didn’t do a good job in securing everything if her suitcase went flying out of her car that easily; At least Bianca was honest in saying that a lady has to pack a lot of things; So this must be set prior to the invention of the airplane since the airport is a standard building and they use helicopters; For all the people that come and go at that airport, you would think someone would notice Orville’s place and question why a bird would have his own air service; Poor Bernard and his premonitions about the number 13; Orville made fly beautifully, but he needs some work on his landing especially if he considers that one of his better one; It would be Bernard’s luck that the steps leading onto Orville would be 13; Bianca is willing to sacrifice herself and not buckle up tightly because she doesn’t want to get her dress wrinkled; Orville really needs to work on his conditioning if he gets real winded just by running to takeoff; So of course the fun fact about this film that everyone remembers is that on some of the early video tapes of this film, if you pause it at a certain frame when the three are flying through the city you can see a photo of a topless woman in one of the windows of the buildings; A roller scoater?; Not only does Bianca not buckle up tightly, but she runs red lights too; That flight from New York to New Orleans was quite the trek, they are lucky that Medusa didn’t find the diamond prior to them making it; Medusa must’ve trained those gators real well that they just are trained to find Penny and not attack her; Medusa must be a fan of Greek mythology if she named the gators Nero and Brutus; Considering how rickety that airboat is, it’s no surprise that Medusa has constant trouble starting it up; That is a crap load of fireworks that they have in that boat, where were they able to get that many?; Again, of all the luck for them to be flying right as they are setting off those fireworks; Is it just me or do the fireworks look like they are live-action shots?; Whatever Luke is brewing, he needs to adjust the formula if he is constantly burping up fire; That was a dick move by Orville just moving away and letting Bernard and Bianca fall into the puddle, why couldn’t he just catch them?; Great, Luke just made Bernard an alcoholic; Orville couldn’t wait to get out of there and was in such a rush that he ended up being sucked into Medusa’s airboat; A typical boat in the bayou is a leaf being pushed by a dragonfly; They went so fast in that they managed to pull ahead of the gators and they got brushed aside by them when they swam by; It is a bit sad that they treat Evinrude just like a simple motor; It was a bit of a cool moment that Snoops used the fireworks to spell out “Got Girl”; Just like Snoops to pass the buck onto the gators; That is quite the stash of jewels that they were able to find, but of course Medusa only cares about the one diamond that matters; Medusa saying she has a way with children is the biggest oxymoron I’ve ever heard; How strong is Bianca’s perfume that the gators were able to smell it so strongly?; That organ is so out of tune it’s not even funny; You wouldn’t think that gators would be versed in working an organ and knowing which key blows the air out of which pipe; I always find it funny when a woman sees a mouse, they jump onto a chair and pull their dress or skirt up; Where did Medusa pull that gun out from?; The gun runs out of ammo and she assumes that it jammed or it malfunctioned; Considering the flak they got for the topless woman photo showing up which they should’ve, I’m surprised more people didn’t freak out about a little girl basically being shown half naked for a brief time; I’m not going to lie, Medusa is pretty ugly and I’m surprised the mirror didn’t break; Is it just me or do those two deer look exactly like Bambi and his mother?; I don’t think it’s safe for Penny to be walking on those boards barefooted as she could get a splinter; She actually has a nightcap for her teddy bear; At this point, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Penny can understand Bernard and Bianca when we saw her conversing with a cat earlier; There aren’t many boats that I remember that ever had an elevator in them unless they were cruise ships, and that ship was a very old ship and didn’t seem to merit an elevator; Penny did a pretty spot on impression of Medusa despite having only known her for a few days; Poor Evinrude had to fly right into that flock of bats and cost him precious time to get to the rest of the animals; As much as I don’t like spiders, I do feel bad for that one having his web destroyed by Evinrude and the bats; I wonder if the Devil’s Bayou is located at the Gulf of Mexico since they can only have Penny go in at low tide without the risk of drowning; Penny knew that pirates used that cave because the skeleton happened to have a pirate’s hat, clothes, and a sword; Considering how many jewels they already had thanks to Penny, the fact there are even more down there is astonishing and it makes you wonder why they didn’t just demand her to grab all that as well as the Devil’s Eye; Bernard tries so hard to be brave but at times just can’t bring himself to do it unless he has to help Bianca; I wonder how that big diamond managed to be squeezed into that skull; Much like the fireworks, that diamond looks like a live-action diamond; Does Medusa know that if Penny doesn’t make it out, then she won’t be able to get the diamond?; That must’ve been a tense scene in the theaters when Penny, Bernard, and Bianca went down in that whirlpool and could’ve drowned; Typical heel move for Medusa to cut Snoops out of his promised cut; Another tense scene as Evinrude knows the bats are waiting for him and his home is just mere feet away; Evinrude just escaped with his life from those bats and everyone crowds around him like he didn’t just fly for his life, but then Luke’s brew is just the thing to bring him a new burst of energy; That is the biggest rag-tag group of animals brought together to help Bianca and Bernard; Of all the places that Medusa would put the diamond, she had to use Penny’s teddy bear; They were lucky that Brutus and Nero just barely fit into that elevator or their plan would’ve been shot; Another pretty risky scene having Medusa shooting a shotgun at a child; Not only is Luke’s brew basically alcohol and an energy drink, now it apparently works as gasoline for this airboat; You could tell that Brutus and Nero finally had enough when Medusa used them as jet skis and was whipping them; I don’t want to sound negative because Penny deserved to get a loving family, but it is a bit coincidental that this story comes out about her finding this diamond and then she gets adopted; If Penny wasn’t a child, her telling the reporter that mice talked to her and helped her would make believe think that she was absolutely insane; How did Evinrude manage to make that long trip from New Orleans all the way to New York?; Of course they had to show the calendar and reveal it was Friday the 13th; Every time he goes flying, Bernard is going to comment that they should’ve taken the train.

Overall Thoughts: Overall, I thought that this film was a great film and I firmly believe to this day that it still does not get the credit that it deserves and is still one of the most underrated films in the Disney canon. This period of time leading into the mid-80s is widely considered one of the weakest stretches in history and I feel this film gets lumped in with the rest of those films, and I feel that is grossly unfair because this is a really good film that stands out even though it doesn’t quite compare to the classics that came before it. We come to the end of the 1970s and it has been a pretty interesting decade to say the least, and we head into the 1980s where little did anyone know that there was some turbulence going on behind the scenes and it would affect them for at least a little bit. As for this specific film, it is a great film and deserves to be recognized as one of the best films in the Disney canon and earn its proper rating while no longer being considered underrated.

Final Grade: 8.5/10

[universeinform-blog]

What’s next for Apple Music and Beats live events much more

New Post has been published on https://universeinform.com/2017/03/25/whats-next-for-apple-music-and-beats-live-events-much-more/

What’s next for Apple Music and Beats live events much more

Now at 20 million paid subscribers, what’s next for Apple Track and Beats 1? Whilst predominant updates for the service may not be anticipated until iOS eleven with a possible unveiling at Apple’s WWDC event in June, Apple has some things deliberate before that and we’ve some hints approximately what to expect inside the destiny.

Apple’s first original content starting with Tv shows will release on Apple Track subsequent month, a spread for Beats 1 is in the works, and tweaks to the Apple Music app to higher highlight video content material are incoming. Head below for our study what’s subsequent for Apple Music and Beats authentic content

Apple has already given us a flavor of what’s to return for Apple Song with a sneak peek at the unique content it has deliberate for the provider. It has but to make the deals it needs to launch a video streaming provider, and that means for now its authentic content material method is specializing in Apple Track. It will all start next month while its first unique content material debuts for Apple Tune subscribers.

Apple already announced and launched trailers for its first two original Tv display collection, Carpool Karaoke and Planet of the Apps, and they deliver us some clues at what’s coming…

At some stage in an interview ultimate month unveiling details about the new Planet of the Apps display, the manufacturer talked about plans for a standalone app of types for the display that would allow for interactive content material for fanatics to go beyond the weekly linear episodes (inside the video beneath).

Meaning that Apple Tune’s original content could also stay in apps outside of Apple Song, and probably have capabilities beyond simply watching the show whether in the Apple Music app or some other place. Complete details have been in reality being kept for a respectable release, however, it feels like Apple has more up its sleeve than simply handing over a weekly episode in video format.

Steps of Service Executed By Apple Service Centers

Apple is one well-known emblem for devices like computer systems and mobiles. Whenever the brand new variety of Apple products is out, humans go bonkers over it. This is due to the truth that Apple has usually offered a new and revolutionary enjoy to its customers. No question most of the clients don’t even require a number of convincing to buy Apple products. Now not just this! Apple is likewise well-known for it’s after sale services introduced by using real Apple provider centers. Those carrier facilities have a professional and trained team of specialists who Now not simply fix Apple product issues but also teach the client on a way to use the device efficaciously.

The Apple provides middle has fashioned a powerful approach of schooling its employees to talk with the customers and deliver them green answers. It is referred to as “The Apple Five Steps of provider” and every employee at the Apple care is given right schooling with reference to those 5 steps.

Allow’s undergo the explanation of each step.

Step 1

The technique with a personalized, heat welcome. The first effect is the last effect, so employees ought to make certain to greet every patron in a friendly manner. This covers your commitment to customer service and paperwork a first rate influence at the client. The first few seconds of the interplay shape the purchaser’s perception approximately the revel in so that you ought to make certain to make the one’s seconds rely upon.

Step 2

Probe with politeness to apprehend all the customer’s wishes. each worker has to first ask a few closed and open-ended inquiries to higher recognize the customer’s needs. With greater questions a worker asks the customer the higher he will be capable of in shape the customer with the proper product. In order a worker, you should ask the patron about his finances, the purpose of purchasing a selected product and additionally ask if the purchaser is buying the Apple product for The first time. This may, in reality, assist the worker to recognize the needs of the customer in a better manner and therefore will be capable of manual efficaciously.

Step 3 

Gift the answer for the patron to take home nowadays. Apple professionals are not centered on selling a specific product alternatively their consciousness is on enhancing their consumer’s experience. Which means if a patron would not want to shop for a product these days, then the employee ought to provide him with a solution in preference to asking him to shop for the product now. As an employee, you may really ask the patron to save online or show him how can he buy the product later and additionally tell him about non-public pickup. at the Apple store, the worker’s purpose is to convey the consumer returned to the store.

Festivals Around The World For The Music Junkie In You

Tune is said to be the drugs of the soul. In fact, research display that the kind of Tune you concentrate to on an each day basis has the energy to affect your daily moods and even your standard persona. However, irrespective of what type of Tune you pay attention to, the truth still remains that everybody are Music lovers to the very middle. And a true fan of Track learns to understand all of it, the good the terrible and the unpleasant. Now any other component that we all love to do is travel. So what takes place in case you combine these? You get yourself the suitable excursion vacation spot (To make this even greater perfect, try searching into the first-class Common Flyer Applications). So without further ado, here is a list of places that host the world’s biggest Tune fairs.

 The next day Land, Belgium:

Probably the biggest and most festive musical event within the entire world, this occasion is held annually at Belgium in which millions accumulate to participate in a 4 to 5-day rampage. This is literally wherein all the party is going down. People from all over the global participate in this occasion, wherein famous Tune icons along with David Guetta, Martin Garrix and last year’s rising stars- The Chainsmokers. The basic subject matter of this festival is electronic Tune and after you’re part of it, you get to rock to the maximum radical beats round city.

Coachella, United states of America:

This pageant happens within the Empire Polo Membership of the riverside county of Indio, California. The wasteland warmness, the middle of the night perspectives and the first-rate Track will literally make you need to bop your heart out. The first-rate component about this pageant is that it isn’t restricted to one type of Tune genres however in truth it’s miles mixture of performances from leading stars of indie, rock, pop and electronic Tune. So no matter what kind of Track you want, you’ll usually locate something that suits your taste. This festival is actually an appropriate mixture of the antique and the brand new because it featured performances from People like Madonna and AC/DC on one hand and Calvin Harris on the other.

How To Hire Live Entertainment For Your Wedding

When you begin looking for the exceptional stay leisure for your wedding, you may want some specific facts to start your seek. Let me assist you with some questions and tips to help you make the recollections a good way to be most thrilling later.

Remember the photographs!

Absolute confidence about it, the enjoyment choices you make to your wedding can make the day extraordinary, or gloomy. You need the high-quality bands and track selections feasible to your wedding. But are you able to manage to pay for what you simply, definitely, like?

What’s Your Style?

Do you want us of tunes? Antique traditional? How approximately Huge Band Era? Locate the base mood or vibe you want to have at your wedding, and strike up a listen to tunes that build up that vibration. The Seashore Boys are not the handiest ones cooking up those surf-facet tunes. A super cover band will knock them out of the water, fill your level with wonderful sound, and hold your visitors rockin’ till the wee hours of the morning. What is your wedding Fashion?

Ultimately the live wedding ceremony amusement you choose may set the tone for your whole wedding. Keep in mind the splendid memories you may be making While you rent the exceptional stay cowl band.

Range Can Boost Your Day.

The first-class cover bands can play a little of numerous forms of tune and will have an extensive selection of songs and patterns to satisfy your demands and wishes. Don’t forget for a second the choice to rent Large brass for the older technology, and some heavy rockers or tough united states for the ones staying at the birthday celebration after the wedding cake is reduced?

Ask your occasion planner if the equal band can play specific forms of a track. most could be happy to fulfill your demands.

Price range Topics.

We might all want to think it isn’t approximately the money, However money Topics. While you have a restricted Finances for your wedding ceremony, you probable don’t want to spend the complete wad at the song. However, tune truly Matters too. Whether you have deep pockets or a limited Budget, you’ll be able to discover a splendid band. There are many alternatives to choose from, and cowl bands often run lots less expensive than hiring the actual component. A look-alike for Taylor Swift may not fool a complete-on Taylor fan, But she’ll make the audience smile, and admire her music. Find someone within your Price range who fulfills the dreams of your guests.

The first-class band for your wedding ceremony might be the one that fills your coronary heart with rhythm and tune and maintains the reminiscences flowing.

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China's assets speculators make a risky wager in Hefei

In 2016, Hefei, a manufacturing hub of about eight million human beings in China’s east, was one of the world’s hottest property markets and a high goal for rate curbs designed to knock speculative warmness out the world.

Analysts say restrictions added the final year and subsequent rhetoric from policymakers must have despatched a completely clean signal to buyers that authorities could tighten further in Hefei and someplace else. As a substitute, speculators in Anhui’s provincial capital are having a bet just the alternative – that the authorities will ease curbs to assist growth. traders like Zhou Xiangsheng say they’re in no rush to sell their holdings. “Charges have best long gone up inside the beyond… The authorities will not permit the market accurate as long as the property remains the pillar of financial increase,” stated Zhou, a businessman who owns a couple of houses in Hefei. Analysts say such views, primarily based on observations of beyond cycles, are a prime miscalculation of government cause and that destiny curbs might be harsher than preceding measures, horrific news for surprisingly-leveraged buyers. Nowhere else in China are speculative forces greater apparent than they’re in Hefei. closing yr, new home Fees rose forty-eight.four percentage, the fastest rise in the international, in line with a record with the aid of China’s Hurun Studies Institute and real estate employer International Residence Client. With home Fees hitting facts, policymakers had been rolling out restrictions. Sales and charge growth in Hefei – considered one of 16 cities slammed with the aid of curbs for the reason that October – have slowed, hitting speculators who had made up extra than 80 percent of its marketplace at the peak of final yr’s buying frenzy. But buyers appear much less easily apprehensive than they have been in the beyond: a recent poll through neighborhood property commentator Zhang Xian showed best 21 percentage of the entire 5,036 human beings surveyed believed Hefei Prices might fall this 12 months. China’s “seesaw” method over past 3 principal cycles of property tightening – capping price boom when a growth will become too regarding and liberating the brake fast to save you a market crumble – has cemented the bullish mentality of investors in search of to gain big profits over a brief time period. “I’d purchase every other one if I could,” stated Duan, a Hefei neighborhood who simply offered a House inside the metropolis and who best gave his family name. Elly Chen, a Hong-Kong based belongings analyst at Nomura, notes in past cycles, the government most effective commenced to loosen up curbs as soon as Costs started out falling. “The authorities is absolutely inclined to let Prices fall,” stated Chen. belongings consultancy Centaline’s Research arm said upward marketplace momentum within the hottest cities, including Hefei, is but to be contained, based totally on its Sales figures for January and February. “If it persists, the authorities might be forced to tighten credit score,” Centaline said in a Reuters poll conducted in overdue February.

belongings TAX Analysts say the alerts from political leaders are unambiguous. In uncharacteristically pointed feedback made in December, Beijing’s new mayor, Cai Qi, said that Costs within the Chinese capital will not upward thrust this year But stopped brief of outlining any new curbs. And Chinese language President Xi Jinping ultimate week singled out property market balance as one of the key policy regions to consciousness on this yr. China’s historic sample of tightening and easing measures has been designed to avoid extended corrections including those visible in Japan within the Nineteen Nineties. But closing yr’s furious price boom inside the state – the quickest on the grounds that 2011 – and speculators’ resilience to curbs underscored the urgency to put in force alternative measures. Organizing a protracted-time period mechanism is Xi’s precedence in 2017 as he appears to promote the healthy development of the assets market, primarily based on the perception that “houses are for living in, not for speculating”, even though details had been thin. China has for years mulled a property tax, which can deter hypothesis in actual estate, even though little development has been made because of resistance from local governments who rely closely on land Sales for sales. In 2012, China becomes close to increasing a assets tax trial from two to 10 towns, says Joyce Man, professor of economics and public coverage at Indiana College, who worked with government officials to have a look at the implementation of the tax and prepare for the rollout. While the procedure of introducing a belongings tax could be politically challenging – and arguably greater difficult now than it turned into inside the past – analysts say the case for any such policy is developing. “China changed into very close to shifting ahead on assets tax reform, But they have lost momentum and the political will till very currently,” Man said.

Commodity Bulls Snared by China Stimulus Snafu

As Furnish’s Interest Charge Observer has been acknowledged to say, “We wrote it. Did you study it?”

My slender wish is that the Chinese virtually and absolutely recognize what they are doing, due to the fact, in fueling investor optimism with such aptitude, they may be playing a high-stakes sport. My fear is they drop the ball, someway, and the result shows up as a violent for “excessive beta” property… rising market equities, power, commodities and so forth.

What happens next is far from clean. The large [commodity] stockpiles ought to continue to grow at a wide-ranging tempo – after all, Beijing has masses of greenbacks to work through – and the dragon’s records factors could keep to impress, or at least not frighten.

But with that stated, a stumble from the dragon… And the shock of a pointy, swift deflationary contraction right away following… Does not feel like a much-fetched situation at this point. It might simply have income capability as a surprise event, given how ways the belief seems to be from Mr. market’s thoughts.

– Taipan Every day, June 12, 2009, “The Fate of This Rally May Relaxation in China’s Fingers”

On Monday, the violent aa003e33992aa1e42449a037e2560bf2 arrived. You may say the week started off with a bloodbath… A “decoupling” massacre that took many traders via complete surprise. (But none who are readers of Taipan Every day we are hoping.)

The brutal promote-off was extra or much less led by means of emerging markets and hard property. It became as if the sector Financial institution had rung a bell. Suddenly the race changed into on to promote whatever and everything with any form of connection to the grand “decoupling” topic.

Talking of the sector Bank, they are those to whom the financial media assigned blame. It became an awfully gloomy International Financial institution forecast, the wires cautioned, that brought about the carnage on an in any other case light information day.

But as Bespoke Funding Institution astutely asked, since when have traders ever paid interest to the arena Bank?

The want to match up buying and selling action with a selected news object of the instant shows an amusing failing of the monetary press. Many reporters method the marketplace like a television sitcom… as if each day were its very own episode, and not using a continuity or chronological buildup of activities.

China Weighs Heavy

In truth, the marketplace have been inching ever closer in the direction of a promote-off for a while. Quantity turned into regularly shrinking in place of rising – a sign that the bull move became jogging out of steam. Public corporations have been popping out of the woodwork to problem report amounts of stock. Unconventional measures of sentiment, just like the bull-bear ratio of cash flowing into Rydex price range, showed worrisome degrees of optimism. Sick winds had been blowing on more than one fronts, as we noted in those pages.

And, perhaps most importantly, the magic pixie dirt sprinkled by way of China had in the end all started to wear off.

The bulls fortuitously embraced the China story and ran with it as rapid and a ways as they may, taking oil and copper and the like to 8-month highs.

However, because it seems, a whole lot of China’s stockpiling pressure seems to had been natural speculation. And not even reputable speculation sanctioned and deliberate out via the mandarins in Beijing… However alternatively a fast and unfastened misallocation of finances.

As part of China’s financial stimulus plan, Chinese banks have been ordered to lend huge sums to steelmakers, iron ore importers and other business games. A large portion of those finances become plowed directly into big commodity rate bets.

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