#ALSO big thanks to the Sanctum and lovely people there for giving me their opinions on colors | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

aelaer · 3 years

Note

Hi friend! You seem vast in your knowledge of Stephen and willing to share so please enlighten me as I don’t read the comics but I do watch the mcu movies, and do love Stephen.

I know he’s erratic and impulsive and reckless sometimes but didnt we already complete this arc in his first movie? Especially since we’ve watched him deal with the consequences of his actions for the entirety of the film and end of the movie Stephen was a different Stephen from the beginning of the movie.

IW Stephen seemed like a more mature version of the man we’ve met at the end of his first movie, a linear progression of the character, more responsible.

The spider man trailer is just a few minutes so I’ll further reserve judgment till I see the film, but he seems.. silly almost? I’m aware he has his funny moments but I’m just nervous they’re gonna make him the joke instead of having him make the jokes.

Do you notice anything weird about how the adults act in these newer marvel projects.? (I’m thinking of loki specifically) they all have a silly undertone to them? I cant put my finger on it but it’s definitely new and ..off

Is this a constant characterization for Stephen in the comics? Is this what he’s like all the time?

Regardless, thank you for your time if you see this xx

Oh yeah, Stephen's my favorite subject at the moment so I'm happy to give my thoughts!

Note that my answers apply to MCU!Stephen and what we've seen in the four films he's been in.

In my experience of just living, there are personality quirks that can be tempered out and made better, but not entirely eliminated, even if it's undesirable. In my opinion, Stephen's need to push himself and prove that he can Do A Thing is a trait that won't ever go away--especially as that trait has helped him more than hindered him. Examples would include the more mundane such as getting through a combined MD/PhD program and inventing surgical procedures at what is still a really young age for a neurosurgeon. We don't have a canonical age for Stephen, but Benedict was 40 when Doctor Strange was filmed and released; even if he's canonically in his mid-40s, that's still very young for him to be at his caliber after the necessary years of med school and residency in the United States. He's young and nowhere near the end of his career when he gets in the car crash. So with that information in mind, we know that he's very ambitious and throws himself into doing difficult work with gusto. That doesn't even go into everything he did as a sorcerer.

Why get into all of this? Because while we, the viewer who has seen the multiverse open at... some point (possibly, in a rewritten timeline, it's always been open now with what happened in Loki!), we have seen just how nuts it gets. We have seen the consequences. Stephen's smart, but I don't think it's a matter of strictly recklessness and more a combination of ignorance on this specific subject (erasing memories across the world or slightly rewriting time-- we don't know how he's doing it, but a memory spell makes more sense to me), hubris (of course), and the real desire to help Peter out. The latter two traits combined in intelligent people have proven bad in both fiction and reality.

The reason I don't think it's pure impulsiveness is because in the trailer, we see Stephen doing some meditation type thing in the underground area before the spell. He's also always doing research and as he tells Peter he'll help him, he clearly knows of a spell already and has some working knowledge of how it works. The conversation with Wong wouldn't have happened otherwise. But I personally get the vibe off him that he'd not do it without being very confident that he can do it -- and his history in the films has shown 0 failures in any of his spells once he's past novice-level, so in that aspect, his confidence makes sense. If he *should* do the spell due to the risks of failure, and lack of practicing precaution in the face of his confidence, is where his flaws lie, IMO. And in that sense people could say he was reckless for deciding to perform a complicated, dangerous spell, but that follows his M.O. completely -- he performed a very complicated, dangerous spell consistently with the Time Stone again and again, from how the sorcerers spoke about the Infinity Stone (and he casually just... throws himself into a time loop, then to look through time. He takes calculated risks, but they are very much risks).

One last thought on this statement - the biggest, biggest lesson that Stephen learned in his first film was that it was not about him. There was more to the world than his glory and his brilliance and even his happiness. He started doing things for the greater good rather than himself. And he started doing things for others -- fighting for the Sanctum in his own film, and protecting the Earth. Serving something greater than himself. But that doesn't make him suddenly humble, and it doesn't suddenly take away his strange (hah) sense of humor.

IW Stephen seemed like a more mature version of the man we’ve met at the end of his first movie, a linear progression of the character, more responsible.

He was more serious in that film. So was Tony. They still had some quips and arguments, but they were very serious. And it makes sense as to why -- it was the end of the world. So the mood of the setting would change anyone's demeanour. But he had very little chance to unwind in that film, considering that he was trying to protect one of six items that would destroy the universe, and also got freaking tortured in the middle of the film with little time to recover. But nearly every Avenger was super serious in that film, and for good reason.

It's a completely different setting from what is now Stephen's life which, from what little we've seen in the trailer, is weird enough that he got a magical snowstorm in the Sanctum. It's safe enough that Wong's off on vacation. It's been nearly a year since he returned from the dead. He's either figured out how to move on in the last year or, as some prefer, has gotten good enough to put on a facade and bury the trauma so far down that he's putting on a normal act - but that's up to debate until MoM. And we have no idea if old traumas are going to be brought up there or if it's just the new things.

I think the point is that it's possible to be both a responsible person and also to make colossal mistakes due to either emotional connections or hubris (or both - we don't know which way the film will go, if they'll explain it at all). They're not mutually exclusive. He can be protecting reality fantastically, while also believing that he's skilled enough to pull off the ability to pull off a dangerous spell which he did in his own film and in IW. He's guided the timeline down a specific path in IW/Endgame, after all - what's a little identity item compared to the fate of the universe, after all? Removing the Spider-Man/Peter association is, in comparison, child's play I imagine to a man like Stephen.

He was definitely silly in his own film. He was constantly trying to get Wong to laugh and there was a banter between Stephen and Christine after he gets stabbed. He's always been a bit awkward and a bit jokey--I think Thor showed that combination of humorous snark and good research rather well, though he was flippant in a way that didn't get to show his kinder side that is better established in his film. And now we get to see that sympathy in his agreement to help Peter (at least, in my opinion).

Because he was doing an amazing awesome spell not once, not twice, but *three* times in the trailer alone, I am not worried about Stephen just being a joke. He seems just as powerful as he was in IW and Endgame. The rest of the world is just getting reminded that he's definitely a bit of a socially awkward duck at times (or, if you prefer, Putting On a "I'm Fine" Front And It's Coming Across As Weird). So him being a big joke is not something I am personally worried about.

Situational humor has been a staple of Marvel films since Iron Man. I watched the films casually before 2016 when I fell head deep into Stephen Strange (or well, 2018/9 is more accurate as that's when I *really* went nuts), and my viewings before that time and after that time was a lot more analytical. And it's very easy to see where the silliness started, all the way back when Tony crashed into his own car and Dum-E sprayed him with a fire extinguisher. Thor was the butt of the joke in the "fish out of water" scene in a good, good chunk of the film. Even Captain America had some situational humor. And remember that Guardians of the Galaxy was back in 2014, which was halfway through the MCU's time thus far. The stars of these films are almost always the butt of some joke a couple times and do things that could be viewed as childish.

I don't know your age at all, but if you were born after 1990, what might be happening, rather, is that they are not getting sillier, but that you may be getting older. I was an adult (legally, at least) in 2008, but the way I view the adults of the films throughout the early 2010s as compared to now is night and day. It's just come with my own life experience, and wider understanding to media tropes. The jump is even more significant if you were younger in Iron Man/Avengers days and are an adult now. If you're an older adult than me, then I'd argue it's the matter of life experience adding to your overall knowledge of media plus, potentially, rose-tinted glasses giving you a better vision of the older movies while forgetting that the older movies had plenty of their own flaws (and silliness). Could be a lot of things- it's too individual to really say why your perspective has changed. But I don't think the MCU's largely changed their comedy formula since 2012/2013.

Is this a constant characterization for Stephen in the comics? Is this what he’s like all the time?

Oh the comics are a mess of characterizations. It's very difficult to find full consistency across writers, and some writers did him much better than others. At the moment, Jason Aaron's 2015 run is viewed as very good by a large amount of fans, while Waid's 2018 run is viewed with mixed reviews. It's largely a matter of preference as you'll see traits that are just so uncharacteristic in an arc and then it never happens again. He takes on secret identities, he kills billions to save trillions (along with the other Avengers!), he sells his soul, he's in a steady relationship for 30 years, then he's sleeping with a new woman every arc he co-stars in-- it's just so dependent on the writer over the decades. What Marvel thinks will sell. Right now Marvel thinks his death is gonna sell issues, so yeah :P You pick and choose with the comics and build a personality from there.

Thank you for the thoughtful ask. I hope this wasn't too much of a drag to read through; I get rambly on my favorite subjects. Or anything, really.

#stephen strange #doctor strange #spiderman no way home #spoilers #meta #mcu #i did a long ramble #i love stephen #i hope this was somewhat enlightening nonny #anonymous #ask #answered #long post

49 notes · View notes

aurorawest · 3 years

Text

Fic Writer Interview Game

Thanks for the tag @bereft-of-frogs!

tagging: @franniebanana and @thegirlwholied

name: Emily

fandoms: Right now, just MCU. Over my many years in fandom, other big ones have been Darkwing Duck, Harry Potter, Wreck It Ralph, Lost, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Atlantis, and Lord of the Rings. Back in the 90s, pre fanfiction.net, I wrote a lot of Newsies, Mulan, and Prince of Egypt fic, haha. I’ve dabbled in other fandoms over the years, too.

two-shots: I guess They Change Their Sky, Not Their Soul, Who Rush Across the Sea/Pulvis et Umbra Sumus is kind of a two-shot, because they’re both Statesman fics that take place within the same universe. I would also maybe consider Sleight of Hand/even if we come upon a language we both know kind of two-shot-esque, because even though they’re the first two fics in my long series, they’re the Sanctum Phase.

most popular multi-chapter fic: The Real Asgardians of the Galaxy

actual worst part of writing: When you hate what you’re actually writing.

how you choose your titles: Totally randomly. Sometimes there’s a phrase in the fic that lends itself really well to a title. Sometimes it’s a line from a poem, sometimes from a song.

do you outline?: Not really. I make some notes to myself as I go, and in Scrivener I’ll break out where I think my chapters are going to be and give them some kind of descriptive name.

ideas you probably won’t get around to, but wouldn’t it be nice?: Writing about anyone besides Loki or Stephen, lol. I get ideas for other fics sometimes, and I have good intentions, but somehow, I just...keep writing about the two of them.

spicy tangential opinion: Disclaimer, people can write what they want, yadda yadda yadda, etc etc, all interpretations are valid, but actually? If you twist a character beyond all recognition, you’re not writing good fanfiction.

callouts @ me: You’re too verbose, you dwell too long on emotions at the expense of pacing, you use ‘for a moment’ too much, and not to mention don’t everyone’s foreheads get tired from all the eyebrow quirking/raising/arching and the brow furrowing? And for the love of good stop using gerunds and passive voice when an active verb will do.

best writing traits: I’ve always thought I write dialogue well. It’s definitely my favorite thing to write. People tell me my characterization is really good, which is always a hugely gratifying thing to hear because I work really hard on it. I think I’m pretty good at worldbuilding?

#writing

10 notes · View notes

stillness-in-green · 3 years

Note

If it's any consolation, I'm sure that the Advisors and the rest of the MLA (Re-Destro, Trumpet, Geten) will show back up sooner than the final arc, just because we're going into Year 2 and the students would find great 1 on 1 or team opponents with the Advisors. Re-Destro and Geten are heavy hitters (and Geten could be tied to Dabi, Shoto and all that somehow) and they were locked up with Mr. Compress and Machia, but who do you want to see first from the Advisors?

Thanks, anon; I certainly do hope we'll get to see more of them. Admittedly, my main concern is that I so liked what was going on with the Paranormal Liberation Front that even if we do see all of the MLA types again, if it's only in the context of speedbump battles for the students, that's still going to be a letdown. Better than nothing, to be sure, but I really do want them to join back up with the League, even a League that's confused and out of sorts under All For One's hand. I love RD's big spiritual-awakening-flavored crush on Shigaraki, the cross-organization tensions and relationships, just as much as I love the depth the MLA brings to the world outside of just what's going on with the heroes.

I'm fairly frustrated with how the MLA fared during and after the raid, largely because it's awfully hard not to conclude that, if what we have right now is all the erstwhile-MLA are ever going to come to, Shigaraki would have been significantly better off if he'd just killed them all and shacked up with Ujiko for four months. And that would be such a waste! The end of My Villain Academia was such an enormous triumph for Shigaraki! I want his victory to amount to something more than what we've seen, something that shows that both his strength and his mercy will pay off for him in the long-term, will be a concrete benefit to him rather than, with the benefit of hindsight, the reason everything went so wrong.

Particularly with Re-Destro, since Horikoshi saw fit to have Dark Shadow all but one-shot the man, and Edgeshot defeat him off-panel, it's really not going to mean much to me for him to have a big fight with students unconnected to anything else. The drama's rather gone out of it at this point. That's particularly the case since, if he's no longer connected to Shigaraki's plot, it's that much easier for him to just be off-paneled and forgotten about. But, if Rikiya gets looped back in with the League, if his gratitude and admiration of Shigaraki mean he still has a role to play in Shigaraki's arc, that makes it much easier to get invested in any fights that role will lead him to. Ditto the MLA more broadly; it's categorically ridiculous to present that organization with the kinds of numbers, breadth of influence and legitimate grievances they have, only to try to sweep them back under the rug exactly like Shigaraki accuses heroes of doing with everyone they can't save.

To say the least, I'm pretty invested. But I appreciate your consolations and am trying to hold out hope that we'll get some good stuff with them yet!

My anxieties aside, and to hit the other portion of your ask--who would I like to see first among the Advisors?--hit the jump:

(All nicknames and shorthand are taken from this post.)

Well, it'd be nice if they could all get at least as much to do as the Eight Bullets back during the Hassaikai arc, seeing as they got a similar splash page spread introducing all their faces. There are considerably more than eight of them, of course, but even if they never get more attention than e.g. Galvanize or the hose-faced guy who iced Midnight did, at least then we'd have some idea of their power sets and at least one angle on their personality.

Assuming we aren’t going to get full breakdowns on every single one of them, there are still four things I'd really like to see happen with the MLA/the Advisors: the student fights we're expecting, the jailbreaks we're being told about, the reunion with the League I'm praying for, and for literally anyone in the in-world media to try and get their side of the story.

Student Fights: Seeing the guy who killed Midnight again is as sure a bet as any of these get. Momo is an important enough character, with enough sustained arc, that she will have to get something else to do before the series is over. Taking command of a group battle against real opponents--ones with more responsiveness and agency than Gigantomachia--would be in-line with what she's been moving towards so far. I would, however, love it if that fight would be more challenging than a straightforward battle of tactics.

I headcanon Hose Face and Scarecrow as, respectively, an ex-con and a dude with physical disabilities--both people who have ample reason to want to change the series' status quo irt human rights abuses in prison and overly restrictive quirk use laws. I'm not expecting the canon to validate me on what amount to wild guesses, of course, but I want those Advisors in particular to have motivations more nuanced than, "They're quirk supremacists; who cares why they're willing to put their lives on the line over this?"

A feel-good revenge match in which a bunch of teenagers lay the smack down on characters whose humanity the audience is asked neither to know nor care about would be lazy, and counterproductive to the series' current thematic concerns. Give Momo her victory, by all means, but don't give it to her easy. A confrontation like this would be a good way for the less central Class A students to begin wrestling with the question of who, exactly, heroes "save" and what it is that people need to be saved from, exactly the way Deku and Uraraka and Shouto are now wrestling with these questions.

As far as other fights go, I'd also love to see Brand and The Question pop up again. They're probably the two I'm most curious about purely in terms of what their quirks are. Why does The Question wear a mask, and what's he like that he wound up in Mr. Compress's chain of command? And with Brand, what kind of quirk does he have that's powerful enough to land him a ranked position in the Guerilla Warfare Regiment but indirect enough that he fights with a sword?

Prison Breaks: I wouldn't expect this to be particularly involved, probably more of an aside than anything, but I want the Bindi Ladies to spring Hole Punch Face, thus getting us an angle on what's going on with that particular trio. Aviator Teeth can come too because I want at least some hints about what his deal is.

I'd also love to watch Horikoshi even attempt to retroactively justify some of the logistics of the single-day capture and subsequent detention of 17,000 super-powered, combat-trained people.* I mean, I don't think there are any feasible explanations for that, but I'd be curious to see what he'd come up with, especially if every possible answer just makes Hero Society look worse! We have only ever seen Tartarus as an example of the prison conditions in this country; I'd love to hear more, and an MLA-focused jailbreak would be a great way to show it.

PLF Reunion: Of course, my number one thing to see with a reunion is Re-Destro being just as dismayed as Spinner is over Tomura's possession. I crave more serious attention being paid to Rikiya's profound awe over Shigaraki's freedom, and would love to see his reaction to Shigaraki apparently losing that freedom.

Aside from the obvious, though, if the PLF does start piecing itself back together, I expect to see Sanctum again, given the attention he's gotten so far, and the fact that he's now the highest-ranked member of the Tactics Regiment. It'd be great to get some explanation for how he can possibly be "the longest-serving member of the Liberation Army," given that the Army was generations old already when Re-Destro was just a child. (If we do get that information, I imagine my own explanation will be jossed hugely, so I would also be happy to take time with Sanctum that doesn't explain the discrepancy but also doesn't invalidate my headcanon.)

In the context of the regiments reforming, I'd also like to see Nimble and Aster, both because this manga needs more women, and because I'd like to see more of how Spinner and Toga interact with the people they were nominally commanding.

Media Attention: Trumpet's my number one hope here--the lack of any look into the state of the government in HeroAca Japan has been a total let-down since his introduction**, but I was particularly annoyed that the last time we saw him he was smiling (albeit in a fairly haggard way), giving me hope that we might next see him doing his part to portray all of this in a light that would sway public opinion. And then literally one chapter later, we get prison guards talking about how the Hearts & Minds Party, a perfectly legitimized political party with representation on the national level, has been perfunctorily dissolved less than twelve hours from when the raid started. How is there even an argument that the system heroes were upholding desperately needs to change?

I'm very tired of the media in BNHA only ever showing up to beg for/demand that heroes tell them what’s going on, particularly those damn press conferences. Journalists do investigative work! Newspapers employ reporters to actively seek out news! Reporters in free countries don't just sit around waiting for the government or heads of major industries to graciously hand them press releases! For heaven's sake, Trumpet was the head of a major political party. People should be foaming at the mouth trying to get a statement from him!

Especially with public trust in heroes breaking down, there should absolutely be intrepid reporters out there looking to get to the bottom of any of the layered conspiracies the public's just been hit with and told to just write-off as a bump in the road on the return to normalcy.

Anyway, Trumpet's the obvious choice, but if I could be sure the manga would validate my headcanons about Nimble and Scarecrow's disabilities, I'd be happy to put them in this position, too. Trucker Toad would be another good candidate, if there's any basis to my idea that he is or used to be a transport driver who's seen a lot of the country outside the areas e.g. the Top Ten Heroes are patrolling. He's obviously a good candidate for getting back to that idea of anti-heteromorph bias, too. But really, I'd take anyone who can give a cogent explanation of the MLA's position on self-determination and the various ways Hero Society has exacerbated quirk-based discrimination.

Anyway, that's about where my thoughts are on where I hope the MLA people are and what we might see of them. Thanks for the ask!

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

*Or as many as 100,000 more than that, depending on how through the statement, "Their bases around the country were also attacked, and their supporters rounded up," was meant to be. An influx of 116K people, incidentally, would triple Japan's current carceral population.

**Why! Why would you introduce a politician and then never even glance at your setting's political situation??

#boku no hero academia #my hero academia #bnha spoilers #meta liberation army #paranormal liberation front #stillness-answers

14 notes · View notes

travllingbunny · 5 years

Text

The 100 6x12 Adjustment Protocol

Unpopular opinion: I really liked this episode. Especially the first time I watched it (yes, I watch every episode the second time, usually a day later): it is the kind intense, plot-driven, high-tension episode that keeps you on the edge of your seat, exactly as you would expect from the penultimate episode of the season. My favorite episodes this season mostly focused on characters dealing with their demons and their feelings, but this is the part of the season when the plot has to kick into high gear, going into the finale. And this is not a bad thing at all, although it seems that reviewers mostly think it is, while the Twitter fandom is telling me that this episode was actually terrible, for… reasons. Most of which make no sense or are pretty irrelevant.

Although you wouldn’t know that if you just read what most frequent topics of discussion and comments about this episode are, it was the crucial episode plot-wise as the truth about the Primes was revealed to everyone in Sanctum, but thanks to Russell and co. constantly proving they are even more evil than we could have guessed, Sanctum was thrown into chaos, with violence erupting between believers (i.e. the brainwashed) and non-believers; and it also featured the death a main character who had been on the show and a part of since the start. I’m not sure about how I feel about that death and Abby’s arc as a whole. But in this episode, it was done very well – though it may have been predictable (and was kind of spoiled in the episode promo), and the strongest scene of the episode was Clarke learning about her mother’s death, not long after she had revealed to her that she was alive. (And with this, Clarke, Bellamy and Octavia are the only season 1 characters who were billed as mains and who are still alive - since Murphy and Raven were not billed as main characters in season 1).

Eliza Taylor really carried this episode, and a lot of the tension was about watching Clarke under over and worrying if she would be discovered. Not only is Eliza a great actress, playing Clarke, Josephine, Josephine pretending to be Clarke, and Clarke pretending to be Josephine - but Clarke herself turned out to be an amazing actress and plaed Josephine so well she managed to fool Russell – which her life and many others depended on - while, at the same time, going through emotional turmoil and having to hide it.

I’m not sure about how I feel about Abby’s death in the context of her entire arc. It’s safe to say that it’s certainly not among the most satisfying character arcs on the show. She started off as an idealist fighting against the Ark establishment and one of the few people on the Ark in season 1 who were doing the right thing, but over the following seasons, her role got a bit lost between acting as the supporting character to Clarke (from giving Clarke moral support, to being controlled by ALIE to create drama for Clarke) and being a part of the Kabby relationship – which, to be fair, was one of the best developed (or very few really developed) romances on the show. But between the two of them, Kane was the one who got the better character development and arc by himself. Abby was the Chancellor for a while, but then gave up that role in season 3, to be fought over by Kane and Pike. She also got other important relationship as a surrogate parent figure to Raven, and, to an extent, Murphy. But in terms of her arc, rather than her impact on others, she only finally got development in late season 4. Mind you, it was negative character development – which is a perfectly valid narrative choice, but one that fandoms usually don’t forgive characters. Because of the things she was forced to do, she lost not just her moral certainty but her faith in herself and, for a while, her will to live, and then her self-loathing turned into a drug addiction that she struggled throughout season 5. In season 6, she tried to recover, but instead developed a new addiction of sorts – her obsession with saving Kane, largely driven by her guilt over the things she did the previous 6 years and for kind of betraying the man she loves and indirectly causing his death, again (something that haunted her since Jake’s death) – which, in turn, led her to making some terrible choices and crossing moral lines. While I thought Kane’s death was perfectly fitting for his character, and that point, it would have been more interesting if the show had tried to have Abby survive and had to really recover and move on, rather than kill her off just a couple of episodes after killing off the ship she was a part of. One may even wonder if she was seen as useless for the show except as a part of the ship. Or, since her remaining main role in the show was as a mother to Clarke and surrogate mother to Raven, so she got killed off for their development/angst/possible bonding in future episodes. Which does make sense as Clarke is the show’s protagonist, and it was easy to guess that the older-Ark-generation characters (Abby, Kane, Jaha) would die once Clarke, Bellamy and Octavia are all adults and mature enough to not need mentors or ‘adult’ mirrors of themselves. Still, it would have been great if the show had given more attention and sympathetic moments to Abby herself in more than just this one episode, especially since the fandom has become determined to hate her – partially because it was convenient to blame her for other character’s actions, partially because fans are judgmental of any middle-aged mother character – especially if she is the mother of the protagonist – who isn’t focused on her children 100% of the time, even if said children are mature adults. But let’s forget about the fandom. It’s not necessary to have characters who suffer from addiction. PTSD or depression recover – Jasper’s arc was about someone who never recovered, but his death was the logical outcome of his arc and felt inevitable. Abby’s death isn’t really about her arc, it’s about Russell deciding to kill and bodysnatch her. Unlike Jaha and Kane, she didn’t get to go out on her own terms.

(I guess you could say that her injecting herself with Nightblood led to it, but Russell could have had her injected with Nigthblood anyway. Or you could say that he did it because he was convinced that she would look for revenge for her daughter’s death, so it was her love for her daughter that doomed her in a way.)

Still, this episode itself covered her death as well as it was possible to do – even if the fact that Abby got to save the life of a child – her granddaughter-by-adoption, find out that her daughter is alive (after having her heart broken in the previous episode, where she was made to believe Clarke was definitely dead), reconcile with and apologize to the two of the closest people to her, Raven and Jackson, and get closure – was a pretty big hint her days were numbered. Her death scene was good, with flashbacks of her happy days with Jake, with Kane, and many memories of Clarke, but the strongest scenes were those of other people reacting to her death, especially Clarke.

Raven has been a side character this season, but she has gotten some subtle character development lately, such as admitting that was way too judgmental with Abby. While she and Clarke didn’t get to talk things through, Raven has been, in a way, redeeming herself and making up to Clarke by making all the efforts to save her daughter and being focused on that more than anything else, just as Clarke is redeeming herself by trying to do the right and moral thing and save as many people as possible.

I’ve been really liking Gabriel more and more, especially in this episode, when he risked everything to stop more innocent people being killed by the Primes. However, what was his plan, exactly? Distract people and then – what – convince Russell to stop being evil? He is a bit like Kane – a guy who did bad things, had a moral awakening, and is now trying to be perfectly moral, but he is more pacifist than Kane was. And he comes off too naïve and sometimes ineffectual: he doesn’t want to kill anyone and allow any lives to be lost, and he can’t even make himself kill Russell – but if he had killed Russell, taken out and smashed his mind drive, he could have prevented many more deaths.

Speaking of mind drives, it was smart of Clarke to find the instruments and take out Ryker’s chip and keep it to later blackmail Priya with. I just wonder why more people don’t do the same. Surely everyone should be aware that killing Primes is irrelevant, if you don’t destroy the mind drives? They don’t even have to kill the Primes, for that matter, just take out those drives, smash the damn things, and you’ve stopped bodysnatching.

So many comments on this episode were about Clarke and Echo’s hug during her reunion with her, Miller and Gaia. Yes, Clarke and Echo are not particularly close – this season, they were on amicable terms, and Echo was one of the people who wasn’t verbally attacking Clarke, but they barely had any interaction and didn’t have any one-on-one talks since that dramatic conversation in 5x12. So, a hug just like the one Clarke had with Miller was maybe a bit odd/surprising But it was also weird when Clarke called Murphy her friend when she found him Polis in 3x07 – even though they had only had terrible interactions up to that point, or when she called Roan her friend or was on great terms with him a couple of days after he almost started a war with Arkadia and threatened Bellamy’s and Kane’s lives to blackmail her into political concessions. Maybe Clarke and Echo were trying to show the “we’re comrades in arms” solidarity, or are trying to be friends because of Bellamy, or Clarke is just happy to see any of the Earthkru and is glad when they hug her as friends, or a combination of all of that. In any case, I almost feel bad for even discussing this, because it’s been so overblown– the fandom seems to talk more about Echo hugging people than about Abby’s death or the chaos in Sanctum

.Another hug that, however, wasn’t surprising at all., was between Bellamy and Echo, but even that turned out to be an issue, because, apparently, a lot of people were shocked and disappointed by the fact that Bellamy cares about Echo and worries about her life, or that Bellamy and Echo were happy to see each other after not knowing if the other was alive. I’m not sure what exactly anyone was expecting? That Bellamy would say “Who are you? I don’t know you, woman!” or act like he doesn’t give a damn? Echo is one of the people he spent 6 years with, has been at least friends for 3 years, and has been dating for a while, so he would have come off as a real asshole if he didn’t care if she were dead or alive. Of course he felt a lot of guilt over leaving her and his other people, because he was focused on saving Clarke. Especially after Josephine called him out on caring for Clarke more than for the rest of them. He already showed guilt over leaving them in 6x11, so it’s mind-boggling that this is what some say is “inconsistent character behavior from episode to episode”. Also, apparently, when Bellamy and Clarke have the most intense hugs with heart eyes and romantic music, it’s just platonic or “baiting”, but Bellamy and Echo’s hug that was no more intense than that between Clarke and Echo, and that looked similar to how Bellamy hugs his sister (even with the same pat on the back!) is a sign that Bellarke is dead and Becho is endgame (?!) ¯¯\_(ヅ)_/¯Even though, again, like so many Becho scenes, it had Clarke in the frame, focused on Clarke and her sad face more than on Echo and Bellamy, and included Clarke interrupting their hug, twice, once asking Bellamy “What took you so long?” Followed by Bellamy looking at Clarke, while Octavia was watching the situation and glancing at all of them. (I see what you’re doing, show. We’ve been there before - except Bellamy and Echo were kissing back then, not just hugginh, and this is the first time Bellamy saw Clarke watching them.)

Is it too soon for the Blake siblings to already be on such good terms that Bellamy is even gently joking with Octavia? I’m not sure, but Bellamy has shown a great capacity for forgiveness, and he has now seen enough evidence that Octavia has genuinely changed, which is all he needed.

Bellamy, again, got to be the one to give another speech to the masses, helping kindle the flames of the revolution in Sanctum – though it wouldn’t have worked without Priya telling everyone the truth. (Good thinking on Clarke’s part to take Ryker’s chip, and good suggestion on Echo’s part to suggest using it to blackmail Priya.)

It’s amazing that the Primes were obviously evil from at least 6x04, but we still keep learning just how horrible they are. Russell is an amazing villain because he is so infuriating – a megalomaniac and a hypocrite who genuinely seems to think he is godlike and has the right to murder and exploit others. And then there’s the way he uses language to normalize terrible things, with terms like “adjustment protocol” (translation: make your own people go wild and kill each other, hoping that the religious fanatics will kill the doubters). He is even funny (unintentionally, on his part) with the way he talks, and in this episode he had gems like “I am disappointed in you, Priya. I am disappointed in all of you” and “ A mind drive is a terrible thing to waste”.

I was wondering before if Russell’s actions would turn a lot of the Sanctum residents against the Primes – and they did, but many of them are way too brainwashed, and his solution was to drop the toxin and cause chaos, while the Primes go to the ship to get away until Sanctum is safe for them again. But why are they so sure it will be and that it’s the Prime loyalists who will defeat kill all the rebels, rather than the other way round? If it’s based on previous experience – that was about fanatics vs people who had doubts, but the rebels who hate the Primes are (at least) just as angry as those who worship the Primes.

And Priya got to experience that when Delilah’s mother killed her to avenge her daughter, after getting a confirmation that Delilah was really dead. It was funny that Priya was still hoping to use Delilah’s name to get them to help her, just as she was lying to Jordan a few episodes ago that Delilah was ‘with her’ and happy. I just hope that someone took out and smashed her drive – and Ryker’s drive that she had in her hands, so we wouldn’t have any more resurrections.

The royal guards were the most brainwashed of them all. They heard Russell more or less admit in his conversation with Echo that bodysnatching was murder, knew he was going to do it as a punishment to someone who almost assassinated him, but they kept believing in the crap about being one with the gods? And three of them got the “honor” to be hosts to the Primes: Jade became Jasmine (after having failed to protect Rose, who was meant to be the host for Jasmine), Gavin’s widow became the host for Miranda, and another guard, a bald white dude, became Caleb. I can’t say I’m sorry for them – they were really “Too Dumb to Live”.

It was fun to see Murphy and Emori dressed and made up in the Prime fashion (which looks a lot like the fashion of the Capitol from The Hunger Games) and pretending to be two of the Primes who whose mind drives were wiped by Simone – Daniel and Kaylee Lee. And there was a rare comedic moment when they realized they were playing brother and sister. Russell is a massive troll – he could have given them the identities of the parents, Faye and Victor Lee – it’s not like it would have made any difference.

Clarke is really an amazing actress, to be able to fool even Josephine’s parents into believing she is Josephine, even when she had to hide her feelings about seeing Madi in pain and danger, and when she learned that her mother was dead. That scene was the strongest in 6x12 – even while we knew what would happen, Clarke finding out by seeing Simone in Abby’s body was really painful. That was too much for Clarke, who couldn’t hide her tears. Good thing that Gabriel was there to help by giving her a cover – and she did a great job playing a scene as a lovers’ quarrel and pretending that her pain was about Josephine’s disappointment with the “traitor” Gabriel. (And channeling a real experience from her own life – as actors often do.)

I’ve seen comments that Murphy’s actions in this episode were confusing, but it all seemed pretty clear to me. He told Emori and later Raven that he was doing what was good for their friends, too. He thought they were helping them all survive - which was definitely the case as they would have been burned if he hadn't come up with the idea about bone marrow. Then in 6x11 Russell threatened Emori to get him to bring "Josephine", even though Murphy was obviously already disgusted by the Primes at that point, seeing his reaction to when one of the guards touched him. I don't know if he's still really interested in immortality, but since 6x10, the issue was "immorality or mortality", the latter meaning – death in the immediate future, since that the Primes were going to kill Emori, and probably him and everyone else. But he expected them to keep everyone alive if they play along. When they killed Abby, it was obviously too much for him, since he said it to "Josephine"'s face, with disgust: "All she did was help, and you killed her". That and knowing that Bellamy, Octavia, Echo and Miller are somewhere in Sanctum needing help, made him decide to stay and help his friends.

I loved the Clarke/Memori scene. I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with Clarke telling Murphy that she’s proud of him, and it doesn’t mean that he does not get held responsible for his actions. He was held responsible in 6x10, to the point that his friends and himself assumed he would be the one chosen to die, and Abby slapped him and told him he would be. Clarke – who may not even know the worst of his actions (that he almost helped Josephine kill Clarke, and that he helped her manipulate Abby) – did not trust Murphy and didn’t tell him she was alive, but was watching to see whether he makes the right choice, and praised him when he did the way a mentor praises a student who fulfills their positive potential.

Quite a scene for Indra and co. at the ship – “Abby” and Clarke in royal robes and some blond guy in similar robes, pointing guns as Gaia, Madi and Raven. I don’t think the Primes have much of a chance, with “Josephine” being Clarke and the fact that the ship has 400 people who, if woken up, would absolutely wreck everyone in Sanctum, let alone a few pampered Primes. But it’s an interesting image: the Lightbournes always seemed like the evil version of the Griffins, especially with the casting choices for Josephine and both the original and the current Russell, so it is weirdly fitting that Josephine bodysnatched Clarke for a while, and now Simone bodysnatched Abby.

Rating: 8.5/10

#the 100 #the 100 6x12 #adjustment protocol #the 100 season 6 #clarke griffin #abby griffin #raven reyes #gabriel santiago #russell lightbourne #the primes #john murphy #bellamy blake #octavia blake

63 notes · View notes

rivertalesien · 4 years

Note

Hi River. After reading your response to Kattaloop's post (which I thought was awful and instead of just writing her own justification for wanting Lexa back she chose to attack you smh), do you think they could bring her back? You had that Battlestar idea and I think that's plausible, but will they? I don't want to hope for anything but I want to you know?

Thank you really. I’ve had a lot of passive-aggressive anons and the like directed at me over the whole Lexa coming back issue and all I’ve ever done is give an opinion on it. If people want to campaign for her to return, that’s their biz, would never tell anyone not to. But that time it was just too naked and manipulative and enough was enough. I’m nobody’s whipping post and I give a lot of thought to this and do my best not to be harmful. It’s just as easy to ignore me. My word is hardly the last on anything.

But do I really think they’d do it.

It’s funny, I think a lot of us have seen the script for the season 3 finale where, in Rothenberg’s words, Lexa is like this embodiment of all the Commanders (though she’s the only one we’ve ever met), like a superhero rocking it out of nowhere to save Clarke. It’s a Big Hero Moment, the sort of thing that if Rothenberg wasn’t a queerbaiting ass, he might have worked harder to keep a secret. Like, having Lexa jump out after she was killed off? That’s a Big Deal.

And he knew it would be. Hell yeah it’s Lexa! is I think what he wrote in the script.

So he has a concept of what will please an audience. Lexa returning in the season 3 finale was supposed to be an audience pleaser. It was written to be one.

And then he decided Lexa was alive after all, stuck in the Flame and I’ve gone on before about her lack of agency. A living character who is never seen, never heard from. I hate it.

And now her code might have been blipped out of existence or is running loose on the Eligius.

Now, why keep her alive? Why keep using her as just a constant reminder of pain for Clarke? Why bring her up or make the teasing haunt of her memory the biggest subtextual draw of season 6? Why setup so many opportunities for an appearance (Clarke’s dreams, Madi’s dreams, the anomaly), but not do it? I’ve argued it’s another level of queerbait and by keeping Lexa invisible with an unresolved existence, the cruelty seems to be the point.

But that isn’t a message for the audience at large. That’s something for the Clexa fandom. There are people who watch this show (can you believe) who know nothing of fandom discourse (lucky scamps) and probably have no particular emotional investment if Lexa ever appears again. If another Hero Moment were to be written in, giving Lexa another heroic sacrificial goodbye, who is that for? It would make sense, if they cared about resolving her character’s arc and her relationship to Clarke, who also needs resolving. She’s had sexual partners but no love (outside of Madi) since Lexa’s death. Or, rather, Lexa’s consciousness being uploaded to the Flame.

There can’t be a new body for Lexa, the show has already given us reasons why it won’t happen and the anomaly is still an unknown factor (what does it do?). Theorize all you want, but they haven’t given enough information (probably because they hadn’t come up with it till writing season 7).

So, just for some plausibility, and since the show likes to repeat itself, if they did resolve the Lexa storyline and if they did manage to wrangle an appearance from Alycia Debnam-Carey (who, for all we know, is still in Australia, but...*shrug*), I can only picture it via a hologram visit with Clarke. Like Alie projecting herself in Becca’s mansion, it would be a “surprise” moment as the show wants us to believe that the Commanders are now dead with the Flame destroyed (they’re not, of course, as Carl the Asshole is known to be inside the Eligius ship mainframe).

From the 100 Wiki:

In The Blood of Sanctum, Raven manages to hack into the AI using Becca's notebook and discovers a kill code that Sheidheda has implanted that is not in the notebook. Raven can remove Sheidheda but the kill code will then destroy the Flame. Raven later chooses to save Madi and the Flame is deleted. However, Sheidheda manages to upload himself to an unknown location to survive. The Flame is then surgically removed by Eric Jackson and is left dead with its tentacles extended. It is unknown if only Sheidheda survived or if the other Commanders were transferred as well.

Well, there’s plausible deniability: if they couldn’t get ADC back for a cameo or such, then Lexa is just dead. Or they could still imply her existence and maybe give her a moment where her code wipes out his code in some invisible battle that sounds pretty laughable (and therefore possible on this show).

Leaving Lexa unresolved or just blipped out is shitty and cruel, so it’s possible, and yet giving her one last Hero Moment or reunion with Clarke would be a Crowd Pleaser in General so that’s possible...but her being a physical presence who interacts with Clarke and gets a happy ending with her? After treating her like this horrible living trauma Clarke can’t deal with? After diminishing Clarke as a person and a leader? Is it likely? Is it likely they’re listening to the heartfelt pleas of fans who want some kind of positive resolution?

I think hope is a dangerous thing sometimes and Rothenberg and co have been ignoring Lexa/Clexa fans for a long time now. They are what they are.

But I’ll say it again. This show isn’t the last word on Lexa or Clexa. I’m grateful to all the fan fic writers and artists who have defied it all and given them a wonderful post-show afterlife. The show couldn’t come close.

#questions #lexa #t100 #clexa

3 notes · View notes

saversaver · 5 years

Note

Your opinion on - the 100 season 6 😊

Anon, I am sorry it took me this long to answer. I just knew I wanted to answer this properly and that it would take me a while to do so. Although, technically, I could answer your ask with a single emoji:

🤯

Seriously, this season has been crazy and I have loved every minute of it. But, I am going to break it up a little to help me. (sorry if you were expecting a short answer- I’m not very good at those lol) Everything will be under the cut :)

The new world and Sanctum storyline

I love it! What better way to really show you are starting a whole new book than to take your characters and place them on a whole new planet moon? It helped bring originality to the show because there isn’t just grounders and people from space. Now there is a whole new colony of people with their own, albeit strange, customs who can bring a new angle to the show. And a shows us a colony where they don’t make radios out of left over parts but live like people would if everything wasn’t destroyed. It also means that we can meet new characters because they limited it so much by ending the world at the end of season 5. Also, the fact that this showed me that dogs didn’t get wiped out makes me so much happier.

The ‘Enemy’

My favourite thing this season is that you can’t really tell who the enemy is at the beginning. It really, for me, helps to highlight the fact that earthkru (or whatever they are being called now) are not the ‘good guys’ they are just people trying to survive and live. When the season first starts we think it is the Primes who are the enemy but then they make a truce and suddenly it is Gabriel’s children who are the enemy before we find out that they aren’t so bad and the Primes are the enemy because they are body snatchers who ‘killed’ Clarke. The bouncing between everyone really makes you pay attention and keeps you hooked because you don’t want to miss a thing.

Body Snatching

Amazing. I mean it really isn’t. It is actually quite horrible but the storyline is amazing. The fact that we saw the main character die (I stand by my point that she did die- she just saved her consciousness). I thought it was extremely sad even if I knew she would survive (as Bellamy says: she is a fighter. Nothing could kill her that easily). And then we met Josephine who is a character who I’m sure I would love (albeit begrudgingly) if she was in her own body. She had good one-liners and was just very sassy and self-confident. The only thing she couldn’t do well was pretend to be Clarke. I also felt very bad for her when we saw how different she used to be. I saw a post somewhere that showed how the fact that there was someone so heartless in Clarke’s body really highlighted this difference between Clarke’s actions and the actions of someone who really doesn’t care about others. So, I won’t get into it any more that I already had. This post is already soooo long and I have lots left to say.

Madi and the chip

Let this storyline die. She is a child not a commander. That is all I have to say.

Bellarke

I’m a Bellarke blog, I’m going to talk about Bellarke- sue me. Bellarke this season could warm even the coldest, deadest hearts. They have been so so pure and kind to one another. Except for the time when Bellamy was literally in an eclipse-induced psychosis, they have not argued or fallen out. Not even once. This is, I might be wrong here, the first season that has ever happened. So yeah, they are definitely getting their bond back that they had before s5 and are even making it stronger. Leading into official canon status if I say so myself.

The Blakes

yes. yes. yes. yes. yes.

The way this has been dealt with is so realistic and so heartbreaking. I loved or at least loved to hate every moment of it. For the first couple episodes I was just praying that Bellamy would forgive Octavia even if I realistically knew he wouldn’t. And then we saw them separated at Bellamy’s hand I was a big ball of tears but ultimately it needed to be done. Bellamy couldn’t forgive Octavia while she was still hateful towards herself. She needed to remember who she is and what her purpose was before becoming the Red Queen above all else. And one she did, and she knew what she needed to do, they bonded- just a bit in 6x11 and then a bit more in 6x12 and slowly they are becoming the iconic-ness that is the Blakes again. And my heart could not be happier.

The Anomaly

I LOVE IT. The anomaly is the show’s way of expanding it’s boundaries while keeping it realistic to the type of show it is. Sure, it is a sci-fi (kind of) but it doesn’t have magic. So the anomaly being this thing that can’t be explained properly gives the intrigue an unexplainable magical object would give without the magic actually being there (At least I hope so- as I said it can’t be explained and I am only a teenager with a laptop so I don’t know).

Overall

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE. This season has been incredible and I enjoyed it so much that I even made my blog because of all the content we were getting.

Again, sorry this is so long. I am very good at going off on tangents but thank you for the ask 💜 This was actually quite fun to write.

#katie answered stuff #thank you for the ask 💜#anon 💕#The 100 #The 100 season 6 #Sanctum #The Primes #The Children of Gabriel #josephine ada lightbourne #Madi #The Chip #Bellarke #Bellamy Blake #Clarke Griffin #Octavia Blake #The Blakes #The Anomaly #my opinion #Katie's ramblings

19 notes · View notes

ebenpink · 5 years

Photo

I Was Determined To Learn What True Human Health Meant https://ift.tt/31blle8

It’s Monday, everyone! And that means another Primal Blueprint Real Life Story from a Mark’s Daily Apple reader. If you have your own success story and would like to share it with me and the Mark’s Daily Apple community please contact me here. I’ll continue to publish these each Monday as long as they keep coming in. Thank you for reading!

Yup, success stories are back! And I’m looking for more. Follow-ups, mid-progress reflections—every story at every stage has the potential to inspire folks out there who are getting started or contemplating a new beginning. Contact me here to share your story. You never know who you’ll impact by doing it. Enjoy, everyone!

I was born, raised, and continue to live in the rural interior of Catalina Island. My roots run deep here as a fourth generation islander. While the island is just 22 miles off the coast of the concrete jungle known as L.A or what I call “The Mainland,” this place feels as if it were a world away. It’s the land time couldn’t command.

Being that this little island is the only place I’ve ever called home, it wasn’t until I was older that I realized just how unique my childhood was compared to most in today’s world.

I am constantly asked by visitors to the island if I ever get “island fever” or have the urge to get over to “the real world.” Honestly though, in my opinion, this place is as real as it gets. I know there are millions of beautiful places around the world, many in which I hope to one day visit, possibly even live. But wherever I go, I do know, that I will be eternally thankful for getting to grow up here on my island home and that I have this place to thank for making me who I am today.

As a kid I was able to grow up slow. I spent my days immersed in some of the best that nature has to offer. Whether I was out hiking the endless trails, running barefoot through the mountains in my backyard or playing in the surf at a beach on the backside of the island, I learned to love, respect, and honor the land and sea around me. Another question I am often asked is “Don’t you get bored living here; there is no mall or movie theater, not much to do.” To which I can honestly reply, “Nope, never!” And in fact it’s quite the opposite. Even when I was young, an all day hike was never out of the ordinary. My brother, sister, and I would spend hours outdoors, letting our imaginations run wild, and only return home to the sound of our mother calling us in as the sun sunk below the horizon. We would come running, usually a bit battered and bruised from the day’s adventures. We would greet our mother with a bouquet of wildflowers in one hand, and often an injured animal in the other, because we were determined to nurse back to health. My mother had an incredible green thumb and grew most all of our produce. Every meal was a home cooked meal and every night we would sit down to dinner around the table our father made and give thanks to the land for the food that it gave us. That also often meant some fresh yellowtail or local venison!

I was young when I came to understand that all things in the world are connected, that the great outdoors was also a great teacher, and that there was beauty and a lesson to be found in everything. The way the fullness of the moon pulls the tides in the ocean.

The way the location of the sunrise and sunset coordinated with the seasons. How the birds danced and feasted on the water before a storm. How animals fasted when they didn’t feel well. I learned to trust my instincts when crossing paths with a herd of buffalo or a coiled snake. I learned to feel the energy of the land.

These childhood adventures and exploration of the land and oceans around me evolved into the lifestyle I live today. This land is my playground, my gym, my sanctum. It has sparked, lit, and has been the fire behind many of my endeavors including my success as an adventure athlete, my love for being active outdoors, appreciation for the ocean, my pursuit of growing my own organic garden, sustainable living, giving back to the community, and learning something new every day. It has taught me that what’s simple is true and that you can live large even with very little, because it’s the little things in life that matter the most. I now teach sustainability, marine biology, and ecology for the USC Wrigley Marine Science and Ecology Center here on the island. I am a holistic health coach and personal trainer on the side. And I still have my everyday adventures as an sponsored athlete.

I found your blog about 8 years back when I was recovering from a serious bought of overtraining and adrenal fatigue due to running 80-100 mile weeks while training to paddle the channel between the island and the mainland (which I’ve done 7 times since), and working in a restaurant 10 hours a day. My body started to shut down (rightfully so), and I was determined to learn everything I could about the human body, holistic nutrition, what fitness really is, and what true human health actually meant. At the time I was also obsessed with reading books on anthropology and studying the indigenous peoples and tribes of far away places. Their ways of life, so interconnected to nature, made me feel like my own craving for being one with nature, wasn’t so abnormal. And of course, like most things about modern societal norms, I just couldn’t trust mainstream advice on nutrition and training.

So, down the unconventional rabbit hole I went and along the way I became a total primal/paleo/real food/lifestyle nerd. I tossed conventional wisdom out the door (I was always a skeptic) and realized that the life I had been living on the island was actually pretty darn “primal” and that I just needed to modify a few things. I always ate what I thought was healthy as I was an natural athlete from a young age and new the foods I ate made me feel great or not so great. That meant lots of homegrown veggies, wild fruits, local fish, venison, and meats. But I did grow up also eating pasta and a few processed foods like Kashi cereal, which I soon ditched. And the fats I was told were bad for me back in middle school health class, I became a big fan of because I discovered that I could perform better on the trail and in the water with them on board. The more I read your blog, the more the stars aligned…it all made so much sense!!!

I no longer run 80 mile weeks, but I still love a good trail run every now and then. If I’m going for long distance, I usually hike in my minimalist shoes instead. I average about 6-8 miles a day just in walking around the island doing daily tasks. I lift heavy things, climb trees, free dive, spearfish, SUP, prone paddle, mountain bike, play pick-up softball in the dirt lot with friends, gather with my people around campfires, follow circadian rhythm (it’s easy out here on the island), and absolutely am loving life! I recently circumnavigated the island on my paddle board with two friends and it was such a fun adventure! We even made it to SurfLine! We used the paddle as a vehicle to talk about plastic in our oceans.

I am all about living life to the fullest and really exploring our human potential, asking constantly “What does it mean to thrive?” and “What does it mean to be human?”. Thanks to the inspiration I receive from the MDA, paleo community, and our ancestors, I feel as though I am able to do just that, and now I share it with others. I coach and put on retreats and events all based around this lifestyle in addition to my work for USC.

I studied nutrition for a long time and I soon realized, it all came down to nature. I studied movement and fitness, and it again, it all came back to nature. Now I teach and study about the environment/ecology/sustainability, and what we can do to make the world a better place, and again it comes back to nature. It’s really very simple. It’s all interconnected and so are we. A part of nature, not separate from it. And we and our planet all have the ability to be healthy, happy, and thriving. So thank you Mark for all that you do! You have always been a bright light guiding the way and I have really looked up to you for years. I lived off the island for a few months in 2016 and worked at Sunlife at Point Dume. It was pretty funny how none of the celebrities caused me to feel star stuck but whenever you or Ben Greenfield would come in, my heart would skip a beat ; ) You are a legend and the legacy you are leaving is a much needed one. Thank you, thank you, thank you! If you ever want to host a PB retreat on Catalina, I’m your girl ; )

All the best from Catalina,

Natalie Adventure Athlete and Health Coach Optimized Health, Wellness, and Fitness https://ift.tt/2LCXGgi

Have a story to share? Email me here. Thanks, everybody, and have a great week.

The post I Was Determined To Learn What True Human Health Meant appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

from Mark's Daily Apple https://ift.tt/2HWQHOl via IFTTT https://ift.tt/2JF13VL

#IFTTT #Blogger

0 notes

tekromantic · 7 years

Text

A glimpse of him: Result

(@flag-and-drag, @theyordleweaver, @flippin-courier, @arcane-storm, @assistant-of-evil, @kyvoofzaun and @the-void-fish)

//Thank you all for participating! I hope the ending is worth the wait!

Once the last of the party had said their piece the Darkin stared at them quietly. His face was as plain as it could, until he suddenly smiled. He rose his hand in the air, channeling a tekromantic spell. It seemed like they had failed....but, instead of taking their lifeforces, seven nearby Tekromancers fell to the ground, their life energies stolen from them. Taking the shape of an orb, he held them in his hand, observing it carefully.

“Their lifeforces were invaluable and several millennia old, I hope it was worth the change of heart I just had.” He barked, sneering at the group. “You all have very valid points, so perhaps it was worth their sacrifices.”

The Darkin stepped closer towards the group with a lick across the front of his teeth again before speaking once more, green orb still hovering in his hand.

“Jarvan, your argument to keep Tynen alive was the weakest, which was surprising. I did not have the desire to control only one nation at a time: I wanted them all at once. An attack on all fronts at the same time, no one would be able to help each other.” He grinned.

“You know, Tynen isn’t the paragon of justice you believe him to be. It seems he neglected to inform you that he was a Noxian soldier for the majority of the war before he joined Demacia. He slaughtered many of your nations men, even eating some of them. He even murdered helpless civilians, but that’s all in the past, right? You should probably ask him about it later.”

The Darkin chuckled and brought his attention to Kyvo, Kenith, Mimi, Flippz and Kiyn. His smile only got bigger from there.

“The rest of you all made very similar points; eliminating Tynen would derail the little balance this land has because he is a part of a lot of people’s lives. That I can agree with.”

“Ah, his three lovers.” He set his sights on the first three women. “How you can share him is beyond my comprehension. If I were any of you I’d take hold of him and never let go.” He stated, before looking over to Kyvo.

“Miss Kyvo, your plea moved me; that on its own is a difficult feat especially for someone as cold as you. Right now I would find it difficult to take him away from you, if other reasons had not changed my mind already. It shows that you actually are capable of emotion and that you do care for him.” From there, his smile broadened yet again. “I also find it intriguing how your ears are your most sensitive area. Is it because they were not affected by your surgeries? Maybe I can ask you about it later.” For now, his gaze shifted over to Mimi, skipping over Kenith on purpose.

“Your case is amusing to me, little mage. You love the enemy so much you are willing to come to this wretched place just to save him? The one man who can ruin everything for you and your pitiful master.” Saliva dripped from his chin which prompted a momentary wipe before resuming his monologue. “Regardless, you make a very good point. Just don’t think I have not thought of that before. Most of the beings and places you've mentioned I can deal with myself, but others...I’d rather not provoke.” From there, he raised a finger in hesitation as he was turning to speak to Kenith.

“Mimi, I always wondered how someone so small could handle Tynen so well. Is your master like that as well? Hmm, I’ll have to consult them sometime about the matter.” He seemed nervous now that he was looking straight into their magic-flooded eyes, though his tone was quite serious. Even lacking any smirk at all. “Guardian, when you first approached Tynen in the Freljord, I never expected your relationship to evolve past that. Your interference alone would likely be enough to impede my plan, but since you love him, I know your wrath would not stop there if he died.” He almost appeared sad for a moment, before resuming his previous smiles. “As for the kin you have slain, it was probably for the best that you killed them. My brutish brothers threaten the balance of this world and I personally do not take pleasure in killing my own; I have done it in the past, leaves a bad taste in my mouth.“ Lastly, he chuckled, before turning away from her. “I’m going to miss seeing you laid bare by him though, it is an amazing display of dominance.”

With that he moved away from the three, scanning across the group at the others he had not talked to yet. He moves over to Kiyn and Flippz, giving them a big toothy smile.

“You two seem the most out of place here, don’t you think? Both of you have nothing impressive to bring to the table, yet I called you here. Your connection to Tynen is that strong, whether you like it or not. It will get you in even more trouble some day.” From there, he focused on Flippz.

“I do not care for what scientists have made, for I already know it. Since Tynen has access to the University of Science and Progress, I have memorized every schematic he has seen. I have also seen things he has not, Courier. Do not think that I am an idiot.” He sneered some more, his eye looking angrily down on her. “I have come to dislike you, courier. Not from personal experience, but because I could feel how much hatred he has for your ancestor. I would recommend disowning your heritage if you actually want a life with him, but if it was up to me I would abandon that thought altogether.” He thought for a moment before addressing Kiyn. He could see the places where their tears ran down their cheeks, which derived a slight pang of pity for them.

“The weaver; your personal reasons for keeping him around were touching. I did experience it all, I lived it through him. My eye can see the amount of distress you are feeling because of this, but I’m surprised that you are not afraid of him now that you know who he is. Perhaps you are one of the few who does not believe the government’s lies? That would be interesting if that were the case.” Turning to Void his expression shifted to an extensive smile.

“Now you, you are an interesting one. Your suggestion was what finally convinced me to change my mind.” He picked up the corrupted Atlantean by the sides and held them eye level with him. “The guardian mentioned something about the void before you stated your opinion. I agree it does need to be contained, why do you think this Sanctum was created in Icathia in the first place? Surely not for the view.” He bent his head forward and pressed his eye on Void’s middle one, glowing bright blue during the ten seconds of contact, humming as he then straitened out and stared at them once more. “You are a servant of The Void, yet you want me to slow down their advance? Even as I scanned your mind I could not find your motive for this suggestion, which troubles me. None the less, it is a good alternative to my original plan, and it lets Tynen survive.” He sets them down, patting them on the head. “Good job.”

Void would not have the opportunity to respond, though, their mind very loud at the moment.

Now that he had addressed the final party member, Tekaraan turned his attention back to Tynen, who was still curled up in a ball on the ground. With his other hand he transferred some of his own lifeforce back into the Yordle, allowing Tynen's limbs to return to their previous metallic state.

“There, some limbs of your own. No hand-me-downs from me anymore.”

Tynen gasped in pain as his limbs reformed. They were a bit different in design than before and even the eye was shaped different. He could feel his power growing, though he wasn’t sure if he should be glad or scared of that observation. Regardless, all he wanted to do was lay down and rest.

“Now, for the start of the new plan.” The Darkin walked over to the center of the room where a large obelisk rose from the floor nigh up to the ceiling. Infusing it with the orb of lifeforce he held, it activated, sending a pulse through the Sanctum and four beams in different directions. “It has begun. Soon portals from the four lesser sanctums will open and more Tekromancers will join me here. We will set up a position to hold back the void.” He raised his hand, as if trying to wave to the others. “Take him with you when you leave, I’m not sure he’s fit to walk for a while.”

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

RESULT: SUCCESS!

You can make a reply to this post as a final word to the Darkin if you want to.

Tynen will be depressed for a while after this, try cheering him up if you want.

#[a glimpse of him]#[event end]#[thank you for participating!]

9 notes · View notes

jesseneufeld · 5 years

Text

I Was Determined To Learn What True Human Health Meant

Being that this little island is the only place I’ve ever called home, it wasn’t until I was older that I realized just how unique my childhood was compared to most in today’s world.

All the best from Catalina,

Natalie Adventure Athlete and Health Coach Optimized Health, Wellness, and Fitness https://ift.tt/2LCXGgi

Have a story to share? Email me here. Thanks, everybody, and have a great week.

(function($) { $("#df99BeE").load("https://www.marksdailyapple.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=dfads_ajax_load_ads&groups=674&limit=1&orderby=random&order=ASC&container_id=&container_html=none&container_class=&ad_html=div&ad_class=&callback_function=&return_javascript=0&_block_id=df99BeE" ); })( jQuery );

window.onload=function(){ga('send', { hitType: 'event', eventCategory: 'Ad Impression', eventAction: '74506' });}

The post I Was Determined To Learn What True Human Health Meant appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

I Was Determined To Learn What True Human Health Meant published first on https://drugaddictionsrehab.tumblr.com/

0 notes

lauramalchowblog · 5 years

Text

I Was Determined To Learn What True Human Health Meant

Being that this little island is the only place I’ve ever called home, it wasn’t until I was older that I realized just how unique my childhood was compared to most in today’s world.

All the best from Catalina,

Natalie Adventure Athlete and Health Coach Optimized Health, Wellness, and Fitness https://ift.tt/2LCXGgi

Have a story to share? Email me here. Thanks, everybody, and have a great week.

(function($) { $("#dfNUgXt").load("https://www.marksdailyapple.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=dfads_ajax_load_ads&groups=674&limit=1&orderby=random&order=ASC&container_id=&container_html=none&container_class=&ad_html=div&ad_class=&callback_function=&return_javascript=0&_block_id=dfNUgXt" ); })( jQuery );

window.onload=function(){ga('send', { hitType: 'event', eventCategory: 'Ad Impression', eventAction: '84166' });}

The post I Was Determined To Learn What True Human Health Meant appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

I Was Determined To Learn What True Human Health Meant published first on https://venabeahan.tumblr.com

0 notes

jesseneufeld · 5 years

Text

I Was Determined To Learn What True Human Health Meant

Being that this little island is the only place I’ve ever called home, it wasn’t until I was older that I realized just how unique my childhood was compared to most in today’s world.

All the best from Catalina,

Natalie Adventure Athlete and Health Coach Optimized Health, Wellness, and Fitness https://ift.tt/2LCXGgi

Have a story to share? Email me here. Thanks, everybody, and have a great week.

(function($) { $("#dfCy78i").load("https://www.marksdailyapple.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=dfads_ajax_load_ads&groups=674&limit=1&orderby=random&order=ASC&container_id=&container_html=none&container_class=&ad_html=div&ad_class=&callback_function=&return_javascript=0&_block_id=dfCy78i" ); })( jQuery );

window.onload=function(){ga('send', { hitType: 'event', eventCategory: 'Ad Impression', eventAction: '72277' });}

The post I Was Determined To Learn What True Human Health Meant appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

I Was Determined To Learn What True Human Health Meant published first on https://drugaddictionsrehab.tumblr.com/

0 notes