#zenlike

[blujaynoodles]

one of the options on this poll is 'coping orgy,' lmao

[psalacanthea]

I was smart to get high before starting this project. 2 hours in and on my third mistake, and I'm still feeling fine and unstressed.

honestly putting together furniture is the best activity for movie-watching

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

Ive been thinking about my witch's road au idea of Lena travelling the road with the other covenless witches. Some of the new thoughts include Lena being so new to the craft and culture that she doesn't understand that a ton of witches believe the road is real, she just thought it was witchy tune. Another thought is that she and Jen kind of bond as business women in their ways, and just kind of being generally the same age.

And then I was thinking about Lena's trial. Like, technically she's there as the green witch (don't ask me why Rio would still be there also, she just would be), but her trial is about her family-- or perceived lack thereof. She's presented specters of her family, both adopted (the Luthors) and found (the superfriends), but neither truly satisfies her desire for true family, do they? Her need for belonging, for heritage, for a link to her mother.

And through the trial Lena comes into her own as a true witch, as she comes to the realization that her magic not only ties her to her mother, but to every witch in their family prior, and to all the covens they belonged to. She is bonded with them whether she knows it or not, whether she can see them or not-- they are there, guiding her hands and shaping her spells. They are many become one, and she is the one.

I also imagine that after she succeeds at her trial, she's full of power and confidence. Her new understanding seems to transcend her into something greater than she was before, a witch not only in her own right but with the power of those who had come before, who linger still.

So when the Salem Seven catch up with them at the end of Lena's trial, Lena is perfectly at ease when she tells the others to go and leave her behind.

"What? No!" Jen declares. "No, we do this together."

"My contribution to the road is done," Lena says, zenlike. She smiles. "The rest is up to you."

"The seven will kill you, Lena! No one witch can stand against them!"

"Then it's good I'm not facing them alone," Lena returns blithely. "Go."

Jen ultimately obeys, leaving Lena to face their pursuers alone. But as Lena says: she is not alone. With the group's path at her back, Lena squares up against the animalistic witches calmly.

"Do you even remember why you're chasing Agatha?" Lena asks them.

"Vengeance...." one hisses.

"For deaths you don't remember, if you ever saw it happen at all. Do you remember why Agatha killed them?"

The Seven twitch and scritch, unable to remain still. They study her, as predators would watch their prey. Lena meets their gazes calmly.

"Abandon your revenge," she prods, "and resume your lives. Or what little remains of them."

"Neverrrrr!" comes the answering rattle.

As one, the Salem Seven lash out with their magic, intending to catch Lena unawares. But as she'd spoken Lena had woven a shield of spectral roots and vines around her, seething and intertwining like living thing. It shields her from every attack at every angle, giving her power time to build.

Her magic gathers between her palms, pouring not only from herself, but from the others. From her mother, standing at her right shoulder, and her grandmother at her left. From their covens and the covens before them, stretching back through time until she pulls from the very earth itself.

Its radiance shines so brightly that the Seven barely have time to quail beneath it before it incinerates them entirely, their own magics far insufficient to protect them from the onslaught. After they flake away into dust, Lena holds onto the power for a moment longer, and turns to meet her mother's gaze.

"Thank you," she says to the spirit. "I love you."

Her mother's shade nods once, its smile warm with pride, before fading away with the rest of the magic that bleeds back into the earth.

Letting her hands drop to her sides, Lena studies the empty room around her, then turns towards the path she'd been protecting. A path that is now a solid wall, no door in sight.

"Great," Lena grumbles. "Now how the hell do I get out of here?"

[termagax]

i dont get pretentious about a lot of status symbols on tumblr because like we're all on tumblr but the one thing i will say is that ive never remade or changed urls or anything like that to escape drama. i literally just ride the wave i always outlast the other guy. my strong zenlike spirit. nothing can shake me. a man could attack me in the streets over my bad opinions on the discourse du jour and rest assured id be on here two minutes later blogging about the smell of a fictional characters asshole

[mybigboots]

Sensing so much calm, zenlike joy under those gloves...

[anhed-nia]

The Not Blogtober Chronicles

As I have testified elsewhere, writing for the content mill is frequently hard and frustrating, but it's also sort of interesting. Committing to a full cycle of research and writing every single day has a kind of tough, zenlike, "chop wood, carry water" quality to it that I'm beginning to enjoy. And while there is a lot about it I can't control--like I don't love almost anything about the format or the pervasive concessions I have to make to SEO--I try to look at it as an opportunity to tell people something I really think they should hear. I (rudely) assume that the average CBR reader is really only interested in "10 Times Batman and the Joker Totally Should Have Frenched", but the editors let me have this job, so now people will have to hear what I think is interesting until they take it away from me! Like way more people should have seen BORDER, and talked about it. Amazing movie, should not be obscure. If you're not watching and loving BORDER then you have bad taste, and not the good kind!

And then I got to talk about the Adams family, this couple and their daughters who make these totally independent, totally self-created movies that are extremely surprising in their quality and cleverness considering what I just said, and I think everyone should know about them. But also I think there's a lot of danger in the "outsider artist" label, so while I know that the way they operate outside any system is a VERY interesting fact, I didn't want to risk being condescending about it. Happily, the new movie that just landed on Shudder presented lot of opportunity to talk about what is actually in one of these movies, rather than just leaving it at "Isn't it weird and quirky that people make movies all by themselves?" Plus it had this cosmetic connection to ROMULUS, so I can hijack the SEO thing to force more people to find out about the Adamses.

I was really excited to write this and also to tell the Adamses about it, and I got to have a super rewarding conversation with Toby Poser, the wife/mom of the family who stars in the film (which she co-directed and co-wrote as usual). She loved that I said "Toby Poser and her husband" where people normally say "John Adams and his wife" which I wasn't even thinking about. I just think she's really cool and compelling, and it was great to find out how honored she was by my thing.

Sometimes my opportunistic SEO strategy isn't as interesting. Like I was kind of scrounging for topics that both CBR and I would enjoy, and I had to ask myself like, do people really not know this yet?

By which I guess I mean, most of the people who would actually care about David Cronenberg's grudge against Dan O'Bannon have probably already heard about it from a more interesting and focused source than CBR. But I needed to make my quota...and also once I dug into it, I started to find a point of view and things to say that were not included in all the other content mill articles on this exact subject. If you're really following your own curiosity, something boring can become fun when you least expect it.

My weekly scramble for topics to pitch is inevitably influenced by a certain amount of word association and I'm always slightly worried they'll ask me to vary it up a little more and then I won't have enough ideas at a time. Fortunately this has not happened, and I got to chase my old Cronenberg thing with a new Cronenberg thing. And this is probably something nobody has said yet--in part because Caitlin Cronenberg's movie is being unfairly ignored. And fuck that! It's really good, people should see it! So this was my big opportunity to force people to think about a movie they might otherwise miss, but that they also might like if they actually give it a try. I'm gonna @ her about it later, even though it probably won't turn her into my new friend like Toby Poser. But maybe. MAYBE...

[galaxybee]

THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO ON YOUR PHONE INSTEAD OF DOOMSCROLLING

1. Go binge a webcomic! If you don't like WebToon or Tapas or any of those apps there are still a good handful of self-hosted webcomics that are still pretty mobile friendly. Ive been trying to catch up on Aurora and Castoff myself, but there's so many more out there if you look.

2. Read about your favorite video game. I don't care if you already know everything about it, you can go on their fan wikia and do a walkaround just for fun.

3. Go play a game on your phone. if you need a recommendation, Stardew Valley is pretty cheap on mobile and works well on most devices, and most of Papa's Gamerias are repetitive in a way that makes it easy to fall into a zenlike flow after only a few days ingame. A significant number of html5-based games can run pretty well on mobile browsers too based on your own setup. There's also dozens of coloring and puzzle apps if you want something that's a little easier to pick up and put down. Honestly, even freeware slop can be enjoyable in a pinch.

4. Fanfiction.net and AO3 both have pretty good mobile layouts if there's a fic on there that youve been meaning to get to, and now's a good time as any

5. You can always just. Call or text a friend or a loved one and start a conversation. This is something you can do at any time too, but it's good to remember your connections anyways.

[doamarierose-honoka]

SUMMARY

▪️Sega Genesis delivered vibrant graphics and memorable games, including the action-packed Revenge of Shinobi in 1989.

▪️Featuring ninjas, cyborgs, and demons, Shinobi showcased the Genesis power with challenging gameplay and iconic characters.

▪️ Unauthorized appearances of Spider-Man, Batman, Rambo, Terminator, and Godzilla added unexpected fun to Shinobi , with revisions later made.

When it came to bringing hard-hitting arcade action to players' homes in the 80s, few consoles delivered the way the Sega Genesis did. With 16 bits of power displaying vibrant graphics, bass-boosted music courtesy of the Yamaha YM2612 sound chip, and an impressive library of games, the Genesis was a gaming force to be reckoned with. Not only did the Genesis deliver tons of licensed games straight into players' hands, but it also brought many of Sega’s own arcade hits home, too. From Golden Axe to Streets of Rage, Sonic the Hedgehog to Altered Beast, the Sega Genesis was simply stacked with blockbuster hits.

Chief among these series was Shinobi, a series of action platformers that helped define the Genesis as an action game powerhouse. Ninjas, cyborgs, demons, and more exploded off screens, demanding zenlike skills to master and survive. So, when players got hold of 1989’s The Revenge of Shinobi, a direct sequel to the original 1987 arcade title, it seemed like a dream come true when they discovered that Marvel’s Spider-Man and DC’s Batman were included in the game, as well. The problem with that, however, was that they (among other licensed characters) weren’t supposed to be in the game at all and were, in fact, very much unauthorized in their appearances.

Sega's Shinobi Is Classic Arcade Ninja Action From Beginning To End

Every Game in the Shinobi Series:

Title: Shinobi

Platform: Arcade

Year Release: 1983

Title: The Revenge of Shinobi

Platform: Genesis

Year Release: 1989

Title: Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi

Platform: Arcade/Genesis

Year Release: 1989

Title: The Cyber Shinobi

Platform: Master System

Year Release: 1990

Title: The G. G. Shinobi

Platform: Game Gear

Year Release: 1991

Title: The G. G. Shinobi II: The Silent Fury

Platform: Game Gear

Year Release: 1992

Title: Shinobi III: Return of the Master Ninja

Platform: Genesis

Year Release: 1993

Title: Shinobi Legions

Platform: Sega Saturn

Year Release: 1995

Title: Shinobi

Platform: PS2

Year Release: 2002

Title: Nightshade

Platform: PS2

Year Release: 2003

Title: Shinobi 3D

Platform: 3DS

Year Release: 2011

Sega’s Shinobi is one of the company’s longest-running and most beloved series of all time. Debuting in 1987, the very first Shinobi game was an arcade-only adventure that put players in the shoes of Joe Musashi, a ninja dedicated to defeating the evil Zeed organization. Blending precision platforming with plenty of action, Shinobi was a tremendously challenging but incredibly popular hit. Two years later, Shinobi received two different sequels, 1989’s Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi and The Revenge of Shinobi. While Shadow Dancer starred an enigmatic unnamed ninja and his faithful canine companion, The Revenge of Shinobi served as a direct sequel to the original arcade game.

Joe Mushashi took up his blade once again to battle the evil Zeed organization, now known as Neo Zeed. To make matters worse, Neo Zeed kidnapped Joe’s bride, Naoko. Fueled by the lethal combination of duty and vengeance, Joe embarked on a truly harrowing quest to save the world and his bride. The Revenge of Shinobi is often considered to be one of the best action titles on the Genesis and for good reason.

Armed with kunai and devastatingly powerful Ninjutsu spells, Joe battled his way through multiple cities across the world, military bases, and Neo Zeed’s mazelike base. With stellar graphics and gameplay, plus an unforgettable soundtrack thanks to the legendary Yuzo Koshiro, The Revenge of Shinobi still stands as a Genesis classic. With such a stacked legacy to its name and an immense pedigree behind it, it only becomes even stranger to see the likes of Spider-Man and Batman randomly appear in the game.

Marvel's Spider-Man And DC's Batman Make Prominent, But Completely Unofficial Appearances

Despite being two of the most famous superheroes of all time, Spider-Man and Batman do not occur as heroes in The Revenge of Shinobi. Instead, the two heroes are actually enemies that Joe Musashi must battle. Specifically, Spider-Man and Batman can be found as the bosses for the sixth level, Chinatown. The battle begins with Spider-Man crawling across the ceiling, shooting webs at Joe. When enough damage is dealt to Spider-Man, he transforms into Batman, who proceeds to fly around and swoop at Joe.

On one hand, it’s an incredibly cool moment to randomly discover the two superheroes in the very last place anyone would expect to see them. On the other hand, it’s a moment that raises the massive question of why the two heroes made their random appearance in a Shinobi game of all places. The answer, very simply, was a lack of communication.

The director of The Revenge of Shinobi, Noriyoshi Ohba, designed the Genesis game to be the ultimate showcase of the console’s hardware capabilities. During development, he sketched a number of enemies he wanted to incorporate into the game. When he handed them to the game’s character designer, Ohba thought his sketches would be modified enough that his obvious depictions of Spider-Man and Batman would be altered. Unfortunately, they weren’t, and the two famous superheroes found themselves thrust into the world of Shinobi. The inclusion of these characters wasn’t intended to be a brazen act of copyright infringement or laziness, but simply due to a little miscommunication between developers. Ultimately, their presence made an already fantastic game even more memorable.

As If Spider-Man And Batman Weren't Enough, Rambo, The Terminator, And Even Godzilla Make Cameo's As Well

Now, as if seeing Spider-Man and Batman in the game wasn’t cool enough, fans were treated to three more completely random licensed characters in The Revenge of Shinobi. The first of these surprise characters can be found in the third level, The Military Base. As Joe battles his way through waves of fierce armed resistance, he encounters an enemy that looks remarkably similar to a popular 80s action hero. With dark military pants, a black tank top, and an iconic red bandanna, Joe found himself face-to-face with Sylvester Stallone’s classic character, John Rambo.

The next character players must battle against is the boss of the fourth level, Detroit. A sinister humanoid robot attacks Joe, a robot that looks incredibly similar to Arnold Schwarzenegger's terrifying future assassin, the Terminator. As 1984's The Terminator and 1985’s Rambo: First Blood Part 2 were cultural phenomenons upon their release, it's easy to see why Ohba would quickly sketch characters that so closely resembled the action stars. But it's the final cameo that is the most obvious and one that is impossible to miss. The seventh and penultimate level in the game, New York, places Joe atop multiple boats.

After battling his way into the Neo Zeed container ship, Joe comes face to face with none other than the mighty kaiju himself, Godzilla. There is absolutely no way any player can miss the reference as to who and what Godzilla is in the game. As the end-stage boss, Godzilla attacks with his iconic breath (though it's flames and not his usual radioactive breath). Why and how Neo Zeed managed to capture and sneak Godzilla onto a container ship will always remain a mystery, but it definitely serves as one of the most memorable moments in the entire game.

The Revenge Of Shinobi's Licensed Cameos Could Never Happen Today But Are Still Really Cool And Memorable Accidents

As none of the special cameo characters were ever meant to actually be in The Revenge of Shinobi, four more versions of the game were released to rectify the accidental inclusions. In 1989, Software Revision 1.00 was released that altered enemy colors and specifically explained that Spider-Man and Batman were actually an enemy known as “Metamorpher.” Software Revision 1.01, also in 1989, officially includes Spider-Man in the game, though Batman becomes a generic winged demon monster with Rambo losing his hair, as well. 1990’s Software Revision 1.02 added a new copyright screen to include the license for Spider-Man. 1990’s Software Revision 1.03 changes Godzilla into a giant skeletal robot dinosaur.

2009 and 2012’s Software Revision 1.04 removed the license for Spider-Man and instead dressed him in a pink palette swap. This final revision also alters Joe’s face on the title screen to no longer resemble the actor Sonny Chiba from his role in the TV show Shadow Warriors. Nowadays, it would be impossible for such accidental character inclusions to ever happen in a video game. The legal fallout alone is a deterrent of the highest order to ensure that these kinds of mistakes don’t happen. And if they do happen, a single patch is all that’s needed to rectify the issue instantly and permanently.

Even though multiple reworked versions of the game were subsequently released, there are still physical copies of The Revenge of Shinobi that have the original unaltered characters. The Shinobi series is still alive today with a brand-new entry announced by Sega in the works. Fans shouldn’t hold their breath at the possibility of seeing Joe Musashi fight Godzilla or Batman again, but it’s amazing that one of Sega’s OG arcade franchises is still going strong. For Sega fans who have never played Shinobi before, tracking down a copy of Revenge of Shinobi is a must (even if Spider-Man and Batman might not be in it.)

[tozettastone]

One of the fascinating things about the characters in JJBA (in this part and so far at least) is that when it comes to the in-group, most of them really exhibit a shocking degree of tolerance for their conspecifics... except in Bruno's gang, where I guess he has just personally accepted the burden of committing to the art of tolerance every single day of his life instead?

What this is telling me is that:

There's a minimum repository of Tolerance For Your Own Stupid Guys' Bullshit that every gang needs to have in order to successfully do (dis)organised crime in the JJBA setting, and

The minimum is quite a big repository of tolerance, but it doesn't have to be shared perfectly equally among members of the in-group, and

If your underlings don't possess enough tolerance, you will have to develop a zenlike equanimity and make up the difference. Yes, even if you are, as a character, not very bright.

[roboticchibitan]

Scrolling through a mutual's manic 3 am fandom I'm not in posting spree only now there's poll tournaments so it's like twenty polls in a row and then if they're really invested there's meta about it. And I'm one of those cockroaches that has been here since 2012 so I've just zenlike fully accepted the twenty poll tournament posting sprees are a thing now. I'm not even complaining about it here I genuinely think it's funny like a yeah the crab website has once again become vaguely unusuable in a new way but that's the nature of the ecosystem and the price you pay for getting to get 200 strangers to anonymously agree with you that sand dollars look edible (much to my gf's horror that was so funny). It's the balance. The ecosystem would fail without all the load bearing inconveniences.

Genuinely not complaining here this is how it should be go on your posting sprees this is the spam and keysmash website. Cringe is dead. Have fun instead.

[exdivine]

the three days preceding a near-death experience, it felt like i was in a liminal space. i was in this ultimate zenlike state where the only thing i could focus on was the pain. i think that's my brain's way of processing the trauma because i don't really remember anything from going to the health clinic to when i woke up from surgery. maybe it was the morphine. i was so focused on the pain it felt like my body took my consciousness and every other part of me to stay alive. i remember a brief state of clarity before the appendectomy where i felt impending doom and i accepted my mortality.

when i had an abortion i was in a similarly hyperfocused state, except i wasn’t actively dying. but i did transcend to a mindset of ultimate concentration on the present. i don’t think it’s being mindful of pain that elevates, but rather the bodily experience of extreme pain, when it hurts so much you can’t be aware. maybe ultimate focus can only be achieved when the body lurches and reels.

[subsequentibis]

immediately rocketing into a murderous bloodfury at perceived purposeful incompetence at work, sending multiple expletive-filled paragraphs to the groupchat, then settling into a zenlike peace and getting to work fixing it

[tinyreviews]

"Most problems are caused by living in our heads, not communicating, then becoming resentful."

While this quote is about communication, I also think it's a cautionary tale about believing what we think.

Sometimes we have to parent that little person in our head. "Oh that's an interesting thought. It may not be true though."

Acknowledge the thought and let it pass. Zenlike.

[gideonthefirst]

experiencing a zenlike peace brought about by knowing that regardless of what frank iero says about my chemical romance it doesn't matter because stars is forever

[bocceclub]

my boss described herself as "zenlike in [her] disgust" with our godawful webdev consultant's ongoing shenanigans today and I've decided I'm stealing that. I'm like a still pool brimming with resentment. a leaf drifting on a gently spiteful breeze.

[bestofzustin]

zenliks:

zayn malik appreciation week: day 2» Favorite Trait(s)»Eyes & Nose