#And totally the source of too much philosophizing

[dreamerinthemoonlight]

Good grief. I'm too tired to filter and too tired to write so instead I'll do (barely coherent) philosophy babble on Tumblr. (am sorry but but deep thoughts must exit brain)

I think it's interesting how much younger people--gen-z and a decent number of millennials--put emphasis on emotions and trauma and human connection.

We have an idealism and a pessimism and a desire for a better world and it's beautiful.

But I think it's overwhelming too. To be seeped in emotions all the time, faced with conflicting thoughts and feelings and always being aware of how you might differ from others--it's not easy.

And yet... That empathy and interconnectedness makes us who we are. Can we find balance? Can we seek harmony?

And because I am in the mood, have some poetry

A world of Emotion

A world of Thought

A world of Imput

Constant and Strong

In the dark night

And in the bright day

We seek each other

We seek ourselves

We seek those answers

Within and without

A world of Emotion

A world of Thought

A world of Imput

Constant and Strong

What will we find

When the clock has run down

In harmony will we rise,

Or will

At the inevitable sunset

We find not an answer at all?

#My poetry is probably kinda depressing #And totally the source of too much philosophizing #Oh and tiredness #But I am waaaay too tired to listen to the voice that says to filter #Like my eyes are bordering on closing themselves #And what do I do? #Overthink on main #bri rambles #sleepy philosophy #As usual lol #tw: existentialism

[spectra-bear]

To all the fma fans here who have been following me for a while now, I'd like to bring a few chapters to light in consideration to the recent tragic palestinian apartheid

FMA has made sure to speak out about these reoccuring events, and whoever hasn't noticed from reading yet needs a critical thinking class.

Let's start with chapter 90:

Chapter 90 of the series, although censored heavily in the anime (but we'll get to that later), played a HUGE role in establishing what kind of message arakawa was building up to deliver to her audience as a plot B (ishvalan genocide) sided with plot A (the search of the philosopher stones, eventually turned plot A (overthrowing the military), a message meant to awaken her readers to the truth, and one that serves as a warning

Does this not all ring familiarity?

One of the reasons arakawa wrote this story was to bring this side of history into light,

the oppression, the abuse of military power, the imbalanace in arms between two parties at "war", the perfect guise of "protecting the people from radicalized terrorists", and using it to justify the murder of countless lives, committing war crime after war crime, massacring the land and lathering it with the spilled blood of countless innocents and people fighting back for their freedom, for their home. Those that die have their lives tragically cut short, too soon.

A total extermination

And to those that remain alive,

Forcefully immigrated from their own homeland

Or exploited for their bodies, harvested for their organs, abused, tortured and humiliated

Not only that, but the emphasis on making the reason behind starting the war in the first place, being the first bullet shot at a young child by a soldier, and intentionally making it seem "trivial" for the ishvalans to retaliate because of that, and painting them as animalistic

Writing off roy mustang and maes hughes as heroes for doing whats best for their country, glorifying their relationship as war buddies, and believing theyre in the right for putting down the people of the holy land, when they couldve backed down from contributing to this one-sided war,

and when they do step back from the field, theyre labelled as cowards. When they inevitably realize the abnormality and inhumanity of their actions, that theyve been solely used as tools and weapons of destruction, that impact is softened with rewards, of medals and cheers of accomplishment from the population-wide brainwashed by lies spread by the people in power, and if theyre lucky, accomodations for the negative mental effects of being part of a war

(arakawa interview source)

What do I conclude from this?

That the author of your favorite manga does not support genocide and in fact, condemns those who partake in it

If it isnt obvious, She included these stories because they have happened before

She is telling these stories, while not 100% protrayed correctly, to fill the empty gaps in the western perspective that have been contaminated with propaganda and demonization of these indigenous people

The designs of ishvalans and cultural clothing are intentionally influenced by japanese ethnic groups, middle eastern and south asian cultures, and the military intentionally european/western looking as an example for their expansion and dominance in mind

And now we are watching all this happen in reality, again, witnessed live, in much worse conditions, throughout history

Where the heroes arent kids who can sway elements at their command with the flick of a hand, but the people who stand against it in mass, marching in the streets to break the suffocating silence, and spread the voices of those seeking help and demanding their freedom back

Does everyone realize how fucked up that is? That the lines drawn between fantasy and reality blur so much that they become indistinguishable from each other? That is true horror, when the monsters and tyrants in your stories no longer stay on ink and paper, but are on your screens broadcasting their crimes, beyond humanity

You must understand that if these stories are included for you, the reader, they are not written just for the plot, but to bring awareness to you, and avoid history from repeating itself, and work against committing the same irredeemable mistakes as before

(thanks to @borkthemork for the help in outlining this and proofreading)

#i am not using the pal3stine tag so i dont drown out any sources published on that tag #and while this story may need to be reworked in some aspects it has already done alot in bringing this message into light #analysis #fma #fullmetal alchemist #bear screams in cave #cw blood #this serves as a reminder to what the is the message nuanced in this manga #cw violence

[thedaythatwas]

TW: Hegel.

So, what’s up with Shuake and dialectics? Click below to watch this user (who is not a philosopher) give this (frankly too invested) analysis a shot!

Something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is the fact that most– but not all– of Joker’s confidant routes involve some sort of transaction. Joker does something for someone, Joker gets a favor in return. Joker’s identity revolves around what he can do for others. He’s got a different mask (haha game mechanic is narrative device etc.) for everyone in his life. 

Getting a little bit in my head about this led me to a (not-all-that-novel) realization: Akechi’s confidant route is largely non-transactional. Sure, he says that he wants to meet with you to talk about the Phantom Thieves, but that more or less directly translates to just wanting to hang out with you. The “favor” that you're doing for Akechi, if we follow the logic of some of the other confidant routes, is spending time with him. (Which is of course also about getting close to Joker for metaverse recon purposes… But I’d argue that amounts to more or less the same thing in the long run anyway). Really, that’s what your relationship with him is, up until you realize the heart he needs you to change is actually one of the big-bads of the game. And at that point… Well… 

Where am I going with this? I’ve also been thinking a lot about Hegel (I’ve seen some really fun posting about Akechi and Hegel on here this past week– thank you philosophy P5R tumblr!). Akechi’s paraphrasing of Hegel goes a little something like “advancement cannot occur without both thesis and antithesis.” Hilariously, this is how he frames his desire to talk to you more, his flirting is just like me forreal I understand him etc. etc. BUT! The interesting thing here is that the game is cueing you to view your relationship with Akechi through the lens of Hegel’s dialectics.

More on that to follow, but first, I want to plug the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s page on Hegel’s Dialectics here– If you haven’t used it before, SEP is a reliable, peer-reviewed source. It’s great. I use it like. All the time. It’s good for getting the gist of big ideas when you don’t have time to read full texts. (Also if I get any of this wrong please know that philosophy is not my field and I’m totally open to constructive criticism.)

Hegel’s dialectical process revolves around three key moments: the moment of understanding, the dialectical moment, and the speculative moment. These moments can also be referred to as thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. The moment of understanding, thesis, is the point at which an idea is seemingly stable. In the dialectical moment, antithesis, this idea “sublates” itself– the idea is challenged and destabilized because an inherent contradiction in the idea has been made apparent–importantly, part of the idea is preserved. The speculative moment, synthesis, negates the contradiction. A new idea takes form, containing elements of the original idea that was sublated (Marx’s theory of history, anyone?) 

This process continues on and on. Ideas naturally reveal their contradictions, are destabilized, and resolve their contradictions through the creation of a new idea, which is challenged again. This is because the dialectical moment does not come from outside an idea. Antithesis is not an external push against thesis, but rather, the moment when thesis is forced into instability because of its own tightly-bound restriction. 

So back to what I was saying. The game kicks off your relationship with Akechi with a nod to, uh, all of that. Could this be a throwaway comment? Of course! But it’s much more fun to work under the assumption that it isn’t. So bear with me. Akechi is framing himself and Joker as thesis and antithesis. What does that mean? Why do I think it has something to do with Akechi and Joker’s relationship being non-transactional?

Previously, I’ve thought that in the context of their relationship, Akechi represented thesis, and Joker antithesis. This isn’t exactly true (at least per the criteria above) but I do think I was on the right track. 

At the beginning of his story, we can think of Akechi’s worldview as thesis. The world is a stage, and he is a performer. His entire life is dedicated to destroying Shido. It’s a key narrative element of P5 that Akechi doesn’t have confidant relationships (as contrasted by Joker, who has many confidants and becomes stronger through building up those bonds). He views himself as deceiving literally everyone in his life for his goals– his “fans,” his father, the Phantom Thieves. He doesn’t trust, because to him, trust is failure. 

Still, he’s starving for approval, and not just from Shido. You can see the inherent conflict between his desires and beliefs in just about every interaction he has with Joker, particularly those where Akechi overshares about his past. He desperately wants someone to hear him. I don’t think his (primary) aim in that was to strategically win Joker’s trust by showing vulnerability– if that was all he was going for, I doubt Akechi would have been so honest. He omitted information, sure, but he gave Joker the honest-to-god broad strokes of his childhood.  

When Joker comes into his life, Akechi comes to realize that his stable worldview might be wrong. Watching Joker and the rest of the Phantom Thieves reveals the cracks in his own internal logic. Joker has friendships and he is stronger because of them. When Akechi sacrifices himself for the Phantom Thieves on Shido’s ship, we see his moment of synthesis. If Akechi really still internalized all of what he said in his “Teammates? Friends? To hell with that!” monologue, he wouldn’t trust Joker to change Shido’s heart in his stead. To be clear– he probably would have reached this point with or without Joker’s intervention. Joker just happens to push Akechi towards self-sublation a little bit faster.

In Royal, we see a new iteration of Akechi. He doesn’t really regret his actions, and he is still very distinctly Akechi, but we can see that his original perception of the world has made a shift. He is willing to team up with Joker. While he may not place a great deal of faith in all of the PTs, he certainly has real trust in the protagonist. He’s learned that he can be recognized (dare I say loved?) without being perfect, and accordingly, his driving desire for approval has been displaced by his desire to never be so completely under anyone else’s control again.

But ok— that’s kind of an old take. Perhaps a hotter one: I’d also like to propose that Akechi does the same for Joker. 

As mentioned above, Joker’s identity for most of the game is defined by what he can do for the people around him. While a large part of this has to do with the fact that he is a playable character, this is a game, and a game needs to have things for you to do– it wouldn’t be very fun otherwise– it also seems pretty clear that this is part of his characterization. Joker is selfless to a fault. Like Akechi, he is a wildcard who can take on multiple personas. Unlike Akechi, instead of having a handful of personas directly linked to the core of his character development, Joker has as many personas as you want him to. He literally has a mask for every situation. You can equip a persona of the correct arcana to level up your relationships faster– a game mechanic, but also, an interesting meta statement about how Joker bonds with his confidants.

In Royal, however, Joker has the option to do something for himself. His greatest wish isn’t for someone else's happiness– it’s to have Akechi back, for selfish reasons, I would argue. Joker can sacrifice reality to keep him in his life, and depending on the actions you choose to take, sometimes, he does.

Loving Akechi teaches Joker to be selfish. This is especially poignant when you think of how adamantly opposed Akechi is to staying in Maruki's reality. Giving up the true reality to keep Akechi is a wholly selfish act on Joker's part, nothing altruistic about it. And if he doesn't make that choice? Well, don't forget about how Joker spent his wish.

He would have learned how to do this without Akechi– one tends to realize that neverending self-sacrifice is unsustainable sooner rather than later. Again, Akechi just pushes Joker towards effecting that self-sublation a little faster.

By spending time with Joker, Akechi learns that there are people he can truly trust. By spending time with Akechi, Joker learns how to put himself first. Their confidant relationship from this perspective is not only transactional, it’s actually one of the most transactional relationships in the game. Joker actively impacts how Akechi sees himself and the world around him, and vice versa. Their relationship is profoundly transformative for the both of them. To paraphrase Akechi, advancement cannot occur without both thesis and antithesis.

But also, we can forget dialectics for a second. Even without a fun analytical lens, Akechi’s confidant route centers two misunderstood people who find understanding in each other. That’s enough for me!

#persona 5 royal #p5r spoilers #shuake #goro akechi #akiren #time allocation decisions were made today

[tanadrin]

( My position on Longevity research) I believe animal based research in this field is entirely unjustified, like with communicable diseases , “ no one dies of an infection or childbirth ( especially children) ” is a coherent theoretically achievable goal, with positive downstream effects ( lower fertility rates, fewer future meat-eaters, ) , but people can’t achieve immortality, A human life will always be a minute point of the universe, Immortality is a white whales gigantic maw, How many lives will you sacrifice trying to satiate its endless stomach. How much commodification and torture of your fellow beasts until your satisfied?

"can we engineer solutions to the individual biological effects of natural aging" is an empirical question that has nothing to do with philosophical-aesthetic considerations like "what is the relative measure of a human life in the grand sweep of the universe." i think one reason a lot of transhumanists get really annoyed by these conversations is that they think they're having a conversation about where incremential improvements in medical technology are leading, and how nice it would be to make diseases like cancer and dementia a thing of the past, and to stave off things like age-related cognitive decline or sensory impairment, and then the person they're talking to will suddenly go off on a tangent on, like, the sources of essential meaning for human existence.

and it's disingenuous as hell! or it feels that way--because ultimately what you have to confront is that sooner or later, if you take an out-and-out anti-immortality position (contingent on the answer to the empirical question of "can we indefinitely stave off most of the effects of aging" being "yes") that grandma has to die pissing and shitting herself and not knowing what year it is or who her grandkids are because A Human Life is a Minute Point in the Universe, and nobody actually thinks that's a reasonable proposition.

like, we've made real gains in cancer treatment in the last few decades; cancer is an age-related illness; should we stop researching cancer treatments because A Human Life is a Minute Point in the Universe? dementia is virtually exclusively a disease of age; should we stop researching treatments for dementia because A Human Life is a Minute Point in the Universe? at a certain point you have to own up to your principles and say which lines of medical research you oppose because A Human Life is a Minute Point in the Universe, and it's more important that we all be incredibly aware of that at all times than your kids getting to have meaningful memories and connections with your parents or w/e.

Like jesus, what even is that last bit of nonsense? Barrings some really unexpected turn of events in the biomedical sciences, it seems likely to me that one day--not soon, mind you, but one day--human lifespans might start regularly surpassing the hard ~100 year limit that they have right now, even if we don't aim at "immortality" as such as a goal. Medical science is good, it's getting better, and lots of smart people are highly interested in questions like "how can we improve people's lives and reduce their suffering?" So when do you say "no more"? When do you start going around to old folks' homes and executing people whom you personally deem have lived too long?

It just seems like a really weird ethical stance that nobody who argues for has really thought through. And when all you can do is spin airy-fairy philosophical reasons to justify that stance, when you are inventing reasons that a thing is bad, like imagining some kind of abstract machine into which monkeys are dumped in one end and additional average life expectancy years come out the other, I can't help but think you don't actually have a coherent idea about why the things you oppose are bad.

The ethics of the use of live animals in medical research is a totally valid conversation to have, but it's a different conversation. Its answer does not impinges on the empirical question of whether functional immortality will ever be possible, or desirable. If you want to have that conversation, go ahead, but please let's not have it in my ask box.

[teecupangel]

IDEA

Disclaimer: Fantasy Life (a 3ds game) is relatively unknown and I doubt that you know it. If you do, tell me please I have put 164 hours into this game and have no friends who know it. If you don’t, just ignore this ask, the story and game are complicated and don’t waste your time trying to figure it out for a tumblr ask. Backup question: what’s your favorite dinosaur?

Now, Fantasy Life idea:

Desmond AND Altair, Ezio, and Ratonhnhaké:ton all wake up in Fantasy Life in the place of the pov main character.

I think Altaïr would go for an Alchemist life before pivoting to do all the crafting ones. Get level 15 dagger skill so fast tho.

Ratonhnhaké:ton i think would initially go for Hunter life but mayyyybe the Wizard life would draw him in. He’d also be the most well rounded in terms of weapons even if he thinks it’s bullshit he can’t use a high level sword and shield.

Ezio im honestly not sure about. He might go for Paladin for the weapon style but I could honestly see him wanting to be a gatherer life instead. Or maybe a crafter.

Next to Ezio, Desmond would still probably switch the most. I have zero clue what he’d choose first he’d probably choose something out of panic at first and end up an Angler or smth lol.

During the story: Ezio tries and fails repeatedly to woo Yuelia, you can’t change my mind. Desmond finds it hilarious that he died due to problems with the Sun and now he’s having problems with the Moon. Altaïr is somehow the one keeping them all on track but also is the highest leveled in any and all of the skills he’s focusing on. Somehow, some way, impossibly, Altair makes a philosophers stone before they even make it to Al Maajik. Ezio is thrilled when he sees the Azure Rose and Rose Shield and uses them even if he has access to better weaponry. Ratonhnhaké:ton gets a dog from all three regions. Desmond immediately realizes they need the home in the Shopping District to hold all their stuff. Desmond unlocks the majority of the Bliss. Desmond at some point becomes a Cook. At least for a little bit.

I’ve got more but I think that’s enough.

I did not know about this but, considering it’s a Level 5 game, I am not surprised. Level 5 games tend to go under the radar with word of mouth being their best source of publicity (unless you get a super hit like Ni no Kuni).

It does remind me of Rune Factory a bit though. I would have tried it but the 3DS shop is already down. Oh, there’s going to be a new game for the Switch though, apparently, so we’ll see XD

I think you’re spot on with their life choices, especially Altaïr. He looks like the type of person who would craft lots of bombs and chuck them all to the enemies with his team wondering if this is Altaïr’s way of destressing and if they should be worried? Altaïr would probably try out Blacksmith too considering he did reworked the Hidden Blade and created the Hidden Gun. Did he recreate them in this world as well? Yeah, probably. It’s Altaïr.

No notes for Ratonhnhaké:ton, could totally see him going for Hunter first before branching out to check the other lives just to get a feel if any of them would be interesting in his eyes.

Ezio would go for Paladin at the start until he realized that he didn’t have to focus on fighting anymore. Sure there was the whole ‘the world is in trouble’ plot going on but he’s not alone in this and they have allies they can rely on. Ezio would change to something more chill like a Woodcutter, Angler or Tailor. He’s trying out the more chill lives to see which one he would enjoy and he’s happy that being a Farmer isn’t an option because he believes farming would just remind him of how much he misses his family.

Desmond would pick Mercenary first because Ezio had already picked Paladin and Ratonhnhaké:ton picked Hunter so he thought he’d pick the last remaining combat class. He doesn’t know magic so he didn’t pick Wizard. Also, he expected Altaïr to pick Wizard and Altaïr picking Alchemist is what made Desmond slowly start to realize the same as Ezio, that he doesn’t have to pick a ‘combat’ life. Sure, the first time he started to cook was when Altaïr invented protein bars (wtf) and Desmond needed to put his foot down because he is not going to eat protein bars for the rest of his life (Ezio was still in his Paladin phase). The reason why Ezio didn’t pick Cook is because Desmond eventually settled on a Cook life because he enjoyed cooking. There’s a kind of control in it that he didn’t have before and, also, this way, he can be sure his ancestors actually eat (especially Altaïr who tend to forget he needs to eat when he’s in a middle of experimenting).

I feel like in the end of this entire thing, Altaïr would have managed to recreate an Apple of Eden (which he just throws at Desmond because Desmond is a cook. Desmond is offended and wanted to hit Altaïr with his frying pan) and the Armor of Altaïr (which he gives to both Ratonhnhaké:ton and Ezio).

(Feel free to add more. I read TvTropes for this one hahahaha)

(I think it would be Archaeopteryx mainly because they’re supposedly around the size of a magpie and looks like the midway point of a dinosaur and bird looks like.)

#ngl i was thinking of atelier games alchemy when i was writing alchemist altaïr #and that made me think of altaïr as the main character of #an atelier game #atelier altaïr and the apple of eden #lollol #oh shit #i remembered i had a plot for an atelier desmond XD #assassin's creed #desmond miles #altaïr ibn la'ahad #ezio auditore #ratonhnhaké:ton #connor kenway #ask and answer #teecup writes/has a plot #fic idea: assassin's creed #fic idea: fantasy life #fantasy life

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 35 part two

(Masterpost) (Pinboard) (whole thing on AO3) 

Warning! Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Perfect Date, Continued

Lan Wangji begins his day pondering an ancient philosophical question: If your crush happens to sleep over on your first date, whether in your bed or just crashing on the couch, and he doesn’t leave in the morning, are you still on your first date? Or is it your second date? He would ask Lan Xichen but the one time he asked Lan Xichen “is there a Lan rule book for dating,” Lan Xichen said “there are no set rules in this world” and wandered off to go fuck his ex’s ex. 

Either way, Lan Wangji is pretty sure it’s important to show an in interest in your date’s hobbies. Wei Wuxian’s favorite hobby is desecrating burial places, so Lan Wangji takes him back to the Nie tomb to see what sort of fun they can have there. 

This time their stroll through the woods isn’t spoiled by any irritating dogs or nephews. 

Dig

When they arrive, they find Nie Huaisang directing a team of dudes to close up the wall where they previously rescued Jin Ling. 

It’s good that these guys aren’t using any mortar, since Lan Wangji wants to fuck up this wall with his sword. 

He strikes the wall and it collapses towards him, not away, because he’s been watching Three-Body and has decided physics isn’t real. 

(More after the cut!)

Inside the wall are these three objects, put there by a props crew that has decided anatomy isn’t real. Nie Huaisang isn’t too happy about the digging, and Wei Wuxian puts an arm around him in a friendly manner to console him.  

Lan Wangji notices this and immediately summons Wei Wuxian to his side, handing him Bichen and telling him to dig, in a totally hot unnecessary display of possessive dominance. 

Velociraptor mode unlocked

Wei Wuxian’s not complaining, mind you.  

Wise Production Decisions

While Wei Wuxian examines these ostensibly human skeletons to determine how their bones are able to stay assembled without any connective tissue, let’s take a moment to contemplate one of the major changes between Mo Dao Zu Shi, the book, and Chen Qing Ling, the show. 

In the novel, donghua, and manga, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian road-trip together not in pursuit of a sword spirit, but to collect chunks of Nie Mingjue’s dismembered corpse. Eventually it’s all put together again for the big showdown in the temple. 

I read an interview a while back--sorry, can’t source it at the moment--where the producer of CQL said that the reason for the change wasn’t because of censorship or the difficulty of painting swirly stuff to hide NMJ’s junk, it was because they tried various ways to do the body-part thing and “we couldn’t find a way to make it beautiful.” Considering these skeletons, and the demon hand from episode one, and the animatronic dog, let’s all thank our lucky stars that the Department of Questionable Practical Effects was not tasked with creating a walking-dead Nie Mingjue. 

Sabermetrics

Having sufficiently fondled the skeletons, Wei Wuxian wants to move on to fondling the Nie sabers, and so he asks Nie Huaisang to let them open all the sarcophagi. Nie Huaisang wants to say no, but Lan Wangji, who is in charge of this date, bows at him until he has to say yes. 

Lan Wangji’s status and reputation are so strong that Nie Huaisang can’t make a saving throw against this request, even though he’s a clan leader and Lan Wangji isn’t.

This is why it’s extra-romantic that Lan Wangji later risks his reputation in front of everybody for Wei Wuxian’s sake. 

After opening all of the coffins up they determine that there is one saber missing. Gosh, which saber might that be? It doesn’t come to Nie Huaisang or Wei Wuxian’s mind, but Lan Wangji intones “Baxia,” and Wei Wuxian helpfully reminds us that Baxia was Nie Mingjue’s sword.  

Lan Wangji might not be a people person, but he remembers every sword he’s ever met, much in the way I imagine Wang Yibo remembers every dog he’s ever met.

Qi Deviation

Nie Huaisang tells them about Nie Mingjue’s literally explosive qi deviation, in which he bled from his face and from several squibs stuck to his chest, followed by more exploding squibs that just produced smoke without any extra bleeding.  

To explain a bit, in the most lay of layperson’s terms, your qi is the energy in your body, which circulates through your meridians and, through cultivation and/or traditional medicine practices, can be directed and improved. Qi that is out of balance is bad, and can cause illness and squib explosions.

Or possibly he’s just gassy

As Nie Huaisang tells it, this just up and happened, but he actually knows why and how it happened, and who did it.

Second Date

After that cheery little outing, Lan Wangji figures that by now they’re definitely on their second date, so he takes Wei Wuxian into town for dinner.

As they enter downtown Qinghe, Wei Wuxian briefly touches his arm, causing Lan Wangji to immediately clock that he’s hiding an injury/curse.  

So busted. 

Wei Wuxian attempts to distract Lan Wangji  from his questions by making provocative curse-measuring gestures, and then offering to strip so Lan Wangji can check him it out. 

This is where Wei Wuxian discovers that he can’t beat Lan Wangji at gay chicken any more. 

Next, Wei Wuxian does this adorable walking-backwards thing, which is impractical but lets him look at Lan Wangji while he’s talking. He is just as smitten as Lan Wangji is, although he’s clearly got no idea what to do about it. 

They talk over some of the details of their detective work, and then Wei Wuxian tries, once again, to get Lan Wangji to tell him how he recognized him. Once again, he’s unsuccessful, as Lan Wangji tells him it’s “getting late” and heads to an inn, despite the clear daylight all over the place.

Memory Care

He’s chosen a place for dinner that they went to together, way back when they were young, because he’s heard that going to familiar places is is a good way to help your loved one who is struggling with memory impairment. 

They ignore their food in favor of pounding liquor (WWX) and tea (LWJ), while they openly eavesdrop on the conversation at the next table. 

The conversation at the next table is all about the exact thing that happened the last time they were at this inn, which leads to Lan Wangji filling Wei Wuxian in on the (apparent) fates of Xue Yang, Song Lan, and Xiao Xingchen. 

By the time he remembers that trauma-dumping is best saved for a third or fourth date, he’s already telling Wei Wuxian about how the last survivor of the Chang Clan was found dead of lingchi, and that the cuts were made by Xiao Xingchen’s sword.

Realizing he’s made a tactical error in eviscerating Wei Wuxian’s happy memory of his sect uncle, Lan Wangji has to find a way to rescue this date from the cliff it’s heading over kind of like the cliff Wei Wuxian previously headed over. So he grabs Wei Wuxian’s drink and knocks it back all in one go. 

This delights Wei Wuxian, so the evening is back on track. 

#wangxian #the untamed #the untamed gifs #restless rewatch the untamed #ep35 #canary3d-original

[altargarden]

hello! we hope this is ok to ask, it's totally fine if you don't answer- but we've recently become interested in satanism and demon work, but we know exactly nothing about it or where to start. we did some basic research with academic sources like wikipedia but have no idea where to go from there. we're hesitant to just dive in on our own because we know there are a lot of bad sources and groups to avoid but don't actually know what those things are.

anyways, we trust your opinion and recommendations so we wanted to ask if you had any suggestions on how to go about researching and learning about theistic satanism for an absolute beginner! recommended books or articles, groups to avoid, red flags, anything like that would be very appreciated 💚 thank you so much!

okay so, this may be a controversial opinion but in my opinion (KEY WORD OPINION) you actually shouldn't only stick to unproblematic and valid uwu authors, because i'll be honest (in terms of satanism and demonolatry), there ARE no pure and good authors out there. every author out there, especially if you're reading a text from a long time ago, is going to have something you disagree with. you need to practice some form of critical engagement, additionally, because engaging with a text critically and understanding why it is wrong is way more important than just shutting out the information altogether. you will not learn anything if you pretend that problematic texts do not exist. i'm not saying this to be harsh, but there is a reason we research a variety of texts and perspectives in high school english class. you need to continue that kind of method when researching anything.

now that is covered, i'll tell you what i have read personally. taking the above into consideration, there are no authors here that don't have something deeply wrong about their texts. i did read their works, and i came to my own conclusions on whether i'm going to dub them an authority on satanism, and i suggest you do the same. satanism is about knowledge and drawing your own, unique conclusions. just make sure what you do adopt doesn't throw any groups of people under the bus, because we're not here to read books and thoughtlessly believe whatever the book says, especially when the book can have misinformation, or offensive content. this is very common in satanism; as much as people love to treat it like it's revolutionary and all-accepting, it can be just as, or even more, discriminatory or outright hateful as christianity, especially in the texts.

the most easy-to-find material:

ars goetia > pretty basic info, but very handy and simple to read

the infernal gospel > probably my favourite book on this list

the complete book of demonolatry > i don't agree with the author, but i got this one in my early days before i knew anything about said author. it's got some useful information, but there's a lot of misinfo

book of the fallen > useful rituals if i remember correctly, i sold this book so i can't recheck

at satan's altar > also an interesting book

the goetia devils > has a lot of what i assume is upg... seems to conflict with what i've seen from other practitioners

the goetic hymns > second favourite book

the satanic philosopher > i found this one hard to read personally

esoterica > youtube channel with amazing information on demonolatry and its history, i suggest getting into this before doing anything else.

all of these websites.

and lastly, i also got like 50+ older texts i got as a bundle off etsy that i can't remember the names of. i wish i could give them to you, but i genuinely have lost every single text i got in the bundle due to me changing computers. i suggest looking on etsy for similar bundles on satanism and demonolatry if you want to get into the historical meat of things.

that being said, my actual last thing i want to say is not to get too entrenched into the theory. the texts are handy, sure! but the one thing i have found the most useful is by engaging with the community. most of my wealth of knowledge did NOT come from texts or media, it came from those around me talking about their experiences. if you want to learn, and i mean REALLY learn about demons and satan, get into the community hardcore and you will learn something new every day. talk to people, make friends, don't do this alone.

edit: okay one more thing. this does go against what i was saying to some degree but i do have a limit to that logic. avoid joy of satan. they're n/eonazis and come on this website regularly. avoid them, avoid them, avoid them.

#bun talks #theistic satanism #demonolatry #satanism #i wanted to write more but i'm admittedly on a time crunch :(

[gemsofgreece]

Because unfortunately the internet doesn't have any lists of famous couples in Greek history aside of course... Greek mythology.. i know of Pericles- Aspasia/ Theodora- Justinian but i am very sure there are many more.

Can you make a list of famous couples in Greek history starting from ancient times until 20th century?

I am not perfectly sure how to approach this though. Are we talking about couples both members of which contributed to history? Or just a famous couple we know existed? Also, is this only about history or does it include famous couples culture-wise? Do they both have to necessarily be Greeks by descent? There are many questions I have but I will give it a try.

Periclés & Aspasia (5th century BC)

Aspasia was the sister-in-law of Alcibiades who brought her too with him in Athens from her hometown Miletus in Asia Minor. Aspasia worked as a high-class courtesan, a hetaera. She is perceived in two different ways by Ancient Greeks: either as a vulgar promiscuous woman or as a philosopher and an intellectual. Maybe the truth was somewhere in between. She had a son with Pericles, the most prominent politician of Classical Athens. It is suggested that Perciles heard her council and took her opinions regarding politics into account.

Socrátes & Xanthippe (5th-4th century BC)

Not exactly a role model of a pairing but a famous one nonetheless. For one, the most famous Greek philosopher, Socrates, must have been a LOT older and his marriage to Xanthippe might have not even be his only one. On the other hand, many sources seem to agree that Xanthippe was a notoriously temperamental person and she would mistreat Socrates, who viewed this as an opportunity to practice the values of patience and forbearance.

Crates & Hipparcheía (4th century BC)

Crates of Thebes was a cynical philosopher, whom Hipparcheia of Maroneia met and fell madly in love with. She insisted that (the unattractive) Crates would be the only one she would be having, leading her wealthy parents to despair. The parents asked Crates to talk her out of it himself and Crates complied! He removed his clothes and showed himself to Hipparcheia, telling her: "That's all you'll be getting in a life with me". He did not phase Hipparcheia one bit and eventually the parents ceded and allowed Crates to marry her. They are notorious for a little too much PDA (they were having sex publicly) which scandalised Ancient Greeks a great deal. Their relationship was one of mutual love and respect and living on equal terms together. Hipparcheia not only embraced but started practicing philosophy and totally immersed herself in the respective lifestyle of cynicism as well.

[???] Cleopatra & Antonius (1st century BC)

I don't know if they count since Antonius AKA Mark Antony was not Greek, however Cleopatra was a member of the Macedonian Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt and their story essentially sealed the Greek future. Mark Antony was a Roman general who opposed to Julius Caesar´s assassins and allied with the latter´s relative Octavian. Later, however, their relationship was strained leading to a form of civil war in the Roman Empire. The reason was that Mark Antony had a long affair with the Queen of Egypt Cleopatra, even had three kids with her, and now favoured promoting Caesarion (Cleopatra´s son from her past affair with Caesar) to the Roman throne instead of Octavian. Mark Antony was defeated by Octavian in the Battle of Actium in Greek territory and then again in the Battle of Alexandria. Knowing there was no hope for them at this point, Cleopatra and Antonius committed suicide together and this generally is viewed as the "official" end of any form of Hellenistic hegemony in the now completely Roman empire.

[???] Justinian & Theodora (5th - 6th century AD)

The question marks are because Theodora was of Greek descent but Justinian was not. Justinian was one of the most successful emperors of the East Roman / Byzantine Empire, making it reach its widest borders, including "reconquests" of the fast dissolving Western Roman Empire. He also achieved or rather imposed the peace in the internal affairs of the empire, sometimes with the use of a lot of violence. It is believed that he was very influenced by his wife Empress Theodora, who was hardened by her very humble origins (she was likely a prostitute). Theodora was extremely strong-minded and contributed a lot to the strong image built around her husband. Furthermore, she contributed to the making of laws for the improvement of the position of women in the society. Most sources agree Justinian was crazy for her, while it is uncertain whether Theodora was loyal to him.

Surviving mosaics of Justinian and Theodora in a Byzantine Church in Italy.

Kassianí and Theóphilos (9th century AD)

These two have become a romance in legends more than they might have actually been in their real life. Still, their affair or lack thereof, technically, has a significant enough impact on Greek and Greek Orthodox culture so they should be mentioned. The Byzantine Emperor Theophilos invited all the prettiest maidens of the empire to his court in order to pick a wife. Amongst them, Kassiani was the one who stood out both in looks and intellect. The emperor stood before her and offered her a golden apple, token of his affection and proposal. It is totally unclear what was happening in Theophilos' brain at the moment but of all things he could say to impress her, he chose to tell her something very sexist. Kassiani ended him on the spot with her response and did not take the apple. The emperor, humiliated in front of all his court, gave the apple to Theodora (another one!), another fine lady standing next to Kassiani. For all we know, this could be the end of it. But Kassiani's choice to never marry and isolate herself in a monastery instead has created legends and speculations that it was due to her heartbreak. In any case, Kassiani proceeded to become the most (or only) significant female psalm composer and poetess in the history of the empire and her psalms and hymns are used in the Service of the Orthodox Church during the Holy Week of Easter. Meanwhile, Theophilos fell ill early in his life and died young. It is said / speculated that when he felt death was near, Theophilos visited Kassiani in her monastery to see her one last time. Kassiani saw his carriage approach and hid herself in a closet to avoid the temptation. Theophilos entered her cell and saw nothing but the psalm she was composing at the time on a table. He read it and added the last line himself. He understood she was hiding from him, respected this and left. Kassiani got out, read the hymn and kept Theophilos' addition. Since then, the last verse of this hymn is attributed to Theophilos. For more about Kassiani and what exactly were the notorious exchanges they had that separated them as well as how the content of this hymn is essentially what led to these speculations, read this older post I had made.

Mantó Mavroyénus & Demétrios Ypsilantis (19th century)

A romance that flourished amidst the years of the Greek Independence War. Demetrios led many of the battles against the Ottoman army, however he is a little overshadowed by the more tragic story of his brother, Alexander Ypsilantis, who was the overall leader of the Friendly Society (the secret organisation which plotted and spread the fervor for the Greek Revolution). Meanwhile, Manto was the daughter of a wealthy aristocratic Greek expat in Italy, who was also a member of the Friendly Society. When the war broke out, Manto first tried to raise awareness about the Greek cause in France. Soon, she departed for Mykonos island, the place of her descent, with a large part of her fortune. She bought ships and created her own fleet, sending them and her men to many battles in the islands. She later participated in several battles in mainland Greece as well. There she met Demetrios and they got engaged. She became renowned in all of Europe at the time for her beauty and activity. The couple was in love and they were adored by the Greeks, who really liked that union of brave noble Greek role models. A prominent and very corrupted politician, Ioannis Koletis, did not share the sentiment. Fearing that the couple was gaining too much power and influence over the public, that could eventually turn political, he started a relentless defamation of Manto to her fiancé. He spread his lies so that Manto's reputation was ruined. Ashamed, Demetrios broke up with her. Manto returned to her home island heartbroken and penniless as she had given all her fortune for causes of the war. After the official indepedence of the Greek state, the enlightened governor Ioannis Kapodistrias restored her reputation and gave her the honorary title of Lieutenant general. Around the same time, Demetrios passed away young as he had always frail health.

Penelópe Delta & Ion Dragumis (19th - 20th century)

A famous love story rather than a couple. Ion Dragumis was a prominent young politician and the biggest adversary of the famous Greek politician Eleftherios Venizelos. He was very sophisticated, seductive and a smooth womanizer. He drew the attention of the slightly older author Penelope Delta, who at the time was already a mother of three. Delta fell so madly in love that she had the guts to reveal the truth to her husband and ask for a divorce. Her husband refused, trying to protect both his and her reputation. However, Delta's passion for Dragumis was so fierce that neither the husband nor her father could fight it. They eventually gave her an ultimatum that she had to choose either her children or leave the children to the father and go away with Dragumis. Delta chose to stay with her children but her desire was such that she attempted suicide multiple times. Meanwhile, Dragumis went on with his life and started an open affair with the famous actress Marika Kotopuli, without any intent to marry, which was very scandalous for the time. When Delta heard of this affair she started dressing in black, as if in grief, and kept doing it until the end of her days. At some point, there was an attempt at an assasination of Venizelos in Paris. Fanatic supporters of his in Athens, believing mistakenly that his big adversary Dragumis was behind it, trapped him and shot him in the middle of a street. Delta dedicated some of her later activity to sort out and copy a lot of Dragumis' drafts full of thoughts and ideas, that his brother had entrusted with her. Apart from this, Delta kept writing novels that made her the most prominent female writer of her time in Greece. She had reached her sixties when, in 1941, the Nazi Germans invaded Athens. On that day, she finally committed suicide by drinking poison. For more details, read this older post about Ion Dragumis' love life.

Kostas Karyotakis & Maria Polyduri (20th century)

Two young people, brought apart by their very different personalities and brought together by the fact that they both happened to be poets. The young couple fell madly in love. Karyotakis was a very timid and bashful man, full of insecurities and suicidal thoughts. On the other hand, Polyduri was a raging emancipated extrovert, which caused judgement at the time. Although they were very much in love and dreamed to elope together, Karyotakis was afraid of the bold lifestyle of Polyduri and the judgement it caused. When the girl even took the initiative to propose to him, the young man was so taken aback and panicked that he lied to her that it was no use, because he suffered from syphilis and therefore they should not consumate the marriage. Polyduri did not believe him but she was very heartbroken by his rejection. She departed for Paris where she continued her bohemian lifestyle, maybe taking it too far, until they found her unconscious in a narrow alley. She was diagnosed with tuberculosis and was taken to the sanatorium in Athens. As she was fighting for her life, she learnt that in her absence her past lover had finally committed suicide. His suicide note is very famous, as he describes how he initially tried to kill himself by drowning in the sea but failed because he was a skilled swimmer. He resorted to a pistol. The tragic news had very adverse effects on Polyduri's fragile health. A friend of hers, maybe taking pity on her, handed her injections of morphine, with which she ended her life as well. She has left a suicidal poem, which confirms that grief was the reason she took her life.

Maria Callas & Aristotle Onassis (20th century)

A very dark couple but the lovers were two of the most internationally well known Greeks of the century. Maria Callas was a Greek American who distinguished herself for being the most famous soprano in the history of Opera. She was born in the USA to Greek parents but soon they were divorced and little Maria followed her mother and sister in Greece where she received her operatic training. Later, she spent most of her time in Italy and France for her career where she enjoyed huge success and glory. She became a symbol of music and finesse. Despite all this, Callas was a tortured soul because she constantly felt unloved and exploited, both by her family and her Italian husband at the time. She suffered from great insecurities and was often deeply melancholic. Meanwhile, Aristotle Onassis was a Greek from Smyrna (now Izmir, Turkey) whose family experienced the atrocities of the Great Fire of Smyrna (in Greek known as Asia Minor Catastrophe). He emigrated to the Americas and started building a colossal business and fortune. He became one of the globally most well known tycoons by accumulating the largest privately owned shipping fleet. His power was immense. He was insanely ambitious and wanted to taste and own all the finest things in the world. He was impressed by Callas and courted her, although he was still married to his first wife. Callas succumbed and broke up with her husband. It was certainly a status affair, however Callas saw something in him, maybe his intelligence, his ambition, that made her fall in love with him deeply. She was pushing for marriage, as she ultimately dreamt to have kids and a conventional love life but Onassis was giving her the hot and cold treatment. One day, Maria Callas famously turned on the TV in her apartment, only to see in the news that Onassis had married the widow of American president John Kennedy. I can only imagine the impact learning such a thing from the news had for the sensitive psyche of Callas. Onassis went mad with the sense of status it gave him to marry the wife of the American president. However, he never loved Jackie and they barely even interacted in their marriage. Onassis would often pay visits to Callas which did no good to her but she found it very hard to resist him even though he made her sadder and sadder still. Despite all his cleverness and strategies, Onassis became miserable with tragedies that struck his family, so much that there is a talk of the "Onassis curse", generally insinuating that he was paying for his wrongdoings. Onassis could not suffer the untimely death of his son and his health deteriorated fast. Callas visited him in his deathbed and there were sources claiming he expressed his regret to her. Callas too had a very fragile health for many years. His death is believed to have contributed to her own premature death from a heart attack two years later.

King Constantine II of Greece & Queen Anne-Marie of Greece (20th - 21st century)

Because the majority of Greeks have no positive views about the constitutional monarchy, this may seem like an odd choice, however the truth is that before the graceless fall and exile of the king, the young royal couple was adored by the Greek public because it was viewed as the quintessential romantic image of a royal fairytale. He was young and super handsome, she was super beautiful and graceful, he was the Greek king, she was the Danish princess. Their marriage may have been one of the most grande events that took place in Athens in the 20th century. The media were delirious, one magazine declaring how "we" had the most beautiful royal couple in the world and, you know, as bold a statement as it may seem, it was perhaps not far from the truth. The image of the king was forever ruined after his catastrophic choices to tolerate the Greek dictatorship and then organize a childish coup against it. The fallen royal family lived in exile for the following decades - and we can accept that they sincerely resented this - until the ex-king was allowed back in Greece in the 00s. Regardless of anything else, the two of them were a rare example of marital success and mutual devotion in the royal circles. Despite all the drama and resentment against Constantine and the institution of monarchy, the Greeks retain respect for former Queen Anne Marie, who remained graceful all this time, viewed as a perfect role model of a wife and respectable royal. Constantine passed away a year ago.

They were literally Disney.

Aliki Vouyouklaki & Dimitris Papamichaél (20th century)

I thought of ending this with a celebrity couple, certainly the most famous Greek celebrity couple. Much like it happens in such cases, the image was so very bright but the truth was darker. Despite all the toxicity, it is generally believed Vouyouklaki and Papamichael were each other's love of their life. Vouyouklaki and Papamichael were the most promising and charismatic actors of their generation. They were in the same theatrical school and developed a love-hate relationship with constant bickering. When they rose to stardom, they simply tranferred this energy to the movies they starred in together, which led to great success and immense adoration from the Greek public. Aliki Vouyouklaki retains the title of the "national star". When the two got married, their fans were losing their minds. The marital life was not peaceful as their youthful bickering had now transformed into the much darker career competition. Papamichael was a very conservative man and he was poisoned of feelings of injustice and envy when Vouyouklaki attracted more attention and acknowledgement than he did, because he thought of himself a better actor than she was. Now, that was generally true, Papamichael was a great actor with a big range for comedy and drama. Vouyouklaki has posthumously been accused of bad acting, however this is not entirely fair. She was indeed bad in drama but she was exceptional in comedy. A problem that could negatively affect her performances was that she refused to spoil her looks for a role, no matter how essential it was for the plot. Anyway, the marriage was often violent and neither of the two ceded to the other, as Vouyouklaki was extremely sharp and refused to sacrifice anything from her image, her career and her decency. Eventually, they broke up in a bad way as well. Both went on with their lives but Papamichael found it harder to cope without her. In later years, they reached a sort of mutual understanding and formed a platonic friendship of sorts. Aliki Vouyouklaki was prematurely diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In her deathbed, Papamichael would visit her and lament, and implore her to rise and go away together. After her death, which shocked and deeply grievened all of Greece, Papamichael would regularly visit her grave for the rest of his life.

And one from when they were far less glamourous but finally healthily loving / respectful to each other, with their son, because I want to end this on a good note.

Is this an early Valentine post? lol idk it takes some serious left turns

#greece #europe #history #greek history #ancient greek history #byzantine greek history #modern greek history #culture #famous people #greeks #greek people #greek culture #anon #ask #long post #long text #tw long #cw violence #cw abuse

[kendrixtermina]

Distinguishing 5 vs 9

(This started out as a reply but then I realized that it should be its own post/ could be helpful to more ppl than just the recipient or my usual blog readers)

It’s worth noting that a 9-fixed 5 can absolutely present as somewhat “soft”, shy and/or conflict avoidant, and that 9s can absolutely come off very philosophical & intellectual, especially if they’re, like, Ne aux. Also, as both are in the withdrawn triad there would genuinely be shared behavior patterns. 

That said, for this one there’s 3 good litmust test questions:

a) “What do you do when you’re talked at unexpectedly or suddenly asked if you can do an errand for someone”.

The more randomly the better cause that way one is more likely to just respond on automatic.

Basically, (& this has been confirmed to me by numerous accounts) the 9 is much more likely to humor the rando for a while or get sidetracked from whatever they were meaning to do, even if they may be annoyed or kick themselves for it afterward. “WTF did I agree to this? I thought I was chill with this but actually it does bother me/ piss me off... ” are common types of experiences. Priority sorting is not a strenght or at least takes deliberate effort.

A 5 generally would kneejerk default to either excusing themselves immediately (”ivegottogodosomething”) or limiting the scope of the interaction once minimum politeness has been served. They’d tend to have their priorities immediately present (”If I say yes to this now then I might not be able to do what I wanted to do this afternoon...  ugh theres never enough time...”) - they would be far less likely to agree to something they don’t wanna do & if they did, it would be the result of a considered deliberate decision. (often of the form of ”lets meet my quota for now so they’ll shut up about it & let me be”)

b) “Are you a forgiving person?”

This isn’t always conclusive but often if you ask this the person will say something that clinches it one way or another.

9s can and do disappear on ppl sometimes but generally letting go on old attachments can be a struggle & they’d rather get along if the option exists &  might be the sort of ppl who’d prefer to at least forgive inwardly for their own peace of mind, & will at least generally give ppl the benefit of the doubt, second chances etc.

5s may actually tend toward keeping grudges.  You only see that mentioned in a few sources because it doesn’t fit the general stereotype. (that, and because, unless pushed, they’d simply avoid whoever slighted or angered them, so maybe only their spouse or their bestie knows that they loathe that guy from work.)

- not every individual does, because it doesn’t seem worth the drama or, they’re trying to be objective about it etc. but even then there still tends to be a “once you’re out, you’re out” policy - not generally the sorts to stay friends with their exes.

c) When someone’s trying to type themselves: “What degree of inner running commentary do you have? How much do you “interpret” your experience moment to moment?”

Specifically in a random every day situation like walking down a street, not a setting where everyone would get their thinky gears spinning, like trying to solve a task oriented problem.

None too long ago I came by this excellent writeup on “how to write a 9 as a 1st person POV character” (by a 9 writer)

Especially this bit here:

I wouldn't use metaphors/similes if I were writing myself as a close POV. If I'm watching a sunset or enjoying a flower or something, I'm not cataloging, comparing, capturing, or evaluating it, I'm just experiencing its existence as itself. For something pleasant, my thoughts might momentarily narrow to the equivalent of a long, satisfied sigh.

That’s honestly a little hard for me to imagine.

For contrast, this here is a 5 - and you can tell from the last paragraph that they are probably 9-fixed.  (The person didn’t know their type yet, so this is an almost completely untainted account) As you see, it’s almost the total opposite.

Which is super fascinating when you think about cause those 2 types can be among the most similar as far as outward behavior goes, especially if you grab yourself 2 specimens of the same mbti, yet at the same time the inner experience is night and day. 

What’s especially striking is how the experience of being struck by beauty leads this person to a lowering of activity rather than an increase of it. (I’m guessing this may be common for all the head types & gut types respectively. Some 3s, 2s or 4s please describe their experience of The Pretty for me so I can complete the set)

Earlier today I was sent a picture that made me go  “Wow this is so beautiful actually” though it was, like, a half eaten apple sent to me for the humor of eating it differently than expected.

But because it had been eaten from the top, & the core had this five-rayed structure, almost like a star, that isn’t visible when you cut it like normal, mostly cutting into the core from the sides.

I realized that it is from the structure of the flower - apple blossoms have 5 petals and of course the inner structure of the flower, the stamens, the ovary etc. also has that star-like symmetry and the fruit grows out of the inner parts of the flower. So there was an echo of a long-faded flower in that apple.

I suppose a star shape is pretty in and of itself, but much of me response came from superimposed layers of interpretation, not cause a half eaten apple is so appealing on a sensory level.

#enneagram #enneagram 9 #9w1 #9w8 #5w6 #5w4 #enneagram 5

[nostalgebraist]

it bothers me a little bit that people consistently mistake Frank for being a person, despite how often and how clearly you explain that this isn't the case. I guess that LaMDA makes more sense in the context of Frank, though, sad as it is; my most immediate reason for disbelieving claims about LaMDA's sentience was that the chat logs, even after editing, weren't half as interesting as Frank, but the fact is, there are people who can be convinced by LaMDA, & Frank is many times more convincing.

A few points...

First, there are different kinds of "mistaking Frank for being a person."

The most common one is the one where people say something like "haha, this almost got me! I thought a person wrote this post until I checked the bio." This seems innocuous -- like, out of context, plenty of individual Frank posts really are indistinguishable from regular tumblr posts. (Regular tumblr posts are often really weird.)

I assume you're talking instead about the thing where people say Frank "might be sentient," or similar.

I wouldn't be too hard on people for this. Consider:

People often seem to be at least half joking when they say this stuff.

Lots of people follow Frank without following me. (More people follow Frank in total than follow me.) I don't think people can (or should) be expected to read my posts about the bot before reacting to it.

I don't think most people have a clear idea in their head what it would mean for a machine to be "sentient." (I don't either.) So I don't think these people are making some precise, but wrong, philosophical claim; I think they're just talking in a vague, casual, bantering manner.

It's a standard sci-fi trope for characters to talk about an AI "gaining sentience." Even in sci-fi, it's often not totally clear what this is supposed to mean, and usually just seems to connote "self-aware in some vague sense" and/or "advanced, intelligent, capable." People are much more likely to have picked up the term from this source than from serious philosophical attempts to define it.

So I think these people are really just saying some version of "wow, this bot is impressive," in the terms they've picked up from sci-fi.

It's probable that they've been misled by sci-fi to think that "advanced, intelligent AI" naturally goes together with "AI that is self-aware in some vague sense." So when they see Frank improving over time as I develop, they (wrongly) infer that Frank must also be gaining some kind of self-awareness property.

But here, I think Frank provides useful education! People can see the bot impressing them, and doing new things over time. And they can also notice, over time, that there are some really fundamental limits that don't just go away with increased capabilities, like they do in bad sci-fi.

My hope is that going through this process with a neat, but not-state-of-the-art, chatbot can "inoculate" people against reacting the way Blake Lemoine did to a more capable (but similarly limited) chatbot like LaMDA.

And to be fully clear -- this is probably the most important point -- I have not seen anyone react to Frank in a way that was near as wrong-headed as the way Blake Lemoine reacted to LaMDA.

Blake Lemoine wasn't just making a tumblr post saying "ha ha, what if the bot is sentient." He really was (attempting to) make a philosophical claim, and he went straight to the press with it -- without, as far as I can tell, thinking as hard about LaMDA's potential limitations as most Frank users do about Frank's.

(Blake Lemoine is a super weird guy in general, as will become clear if you look into his background. I think the LaMDA sentience story is best read as a story about a particular weird and very abnormally gullible guy, who isn't representative of how most people will react to these systems.)

#ai tag #nostalgebraist autoresponder meta

[senlinyu]

hi I’m planning on majoring in Classical English Literature/Classical Liberal Arts (a combined program) while being on the Pre-Med track in university in 3 months. I was very excited when I found out from your past asks that you majored in Classical Liberal Arts too! I was just wondering how you liked the program and (if it’s not too much of an invasion to your privacy) what your current occupation is? Or are you a stay at home mom? Cuz I can see you being a total badass and lecturing people about the deep intricacies of moral philosophy but I can also see you being a total badass of SAHM that has the most niche and cool hobbies (like writing). I really enjoy your works, thank you so much for sharing it with us!

Personally, I never ended up having a job that was specifically relevant having studied Classical Liberal Arts (except maybe now that I'm supposedly supposed to be becoming a writer), although I do stand by the position that a Classical Liberal Arts education is inherently valuable because the idea of it is to teach people how to learn, how to examine a variety of ideas and consider them, how to gather information from original sources and integrate all the different fields into a cohesive understanding of the world. Learning how to entertain the thoughts and ideas of people you disagree with, how to learn on your own, and build a solid basis for your own reasoning is, in my opinion, one of the most valuable skillsets a person can have no matter where they go professionally.

However, there are issues with it, studying the Classical Liberal Arts in my experience, was an entirely western based curriculum, which imho is a mark against some of the very ideals CLA espouse of studying different perspectives and having an integrated understanding of the world when all those perspectives are from white men raised on Greek Philosophy and there's little to no legitimately distinct philosophical lines of thought like say, Confucianism. However, despite that, I appreciate a lot of the CLA foundation because I feel like it equipped me to independently study those things on my own.

[ihatetheinternetandeveryoneonit]

Enid's Relationships in Team Dragonborn

Sofia: Reluctant bestie Sofia is drawn to Enid's mystery and clearly repressed nature. She is the most able to take Enid's general abrasiveness in stride. Enid regards Sofia as her "devil on the shoulder" but finds herself going along with Sofia's antics. Enid cuts through Sofia's "dumb" facade and is ironically less condescending than the others by being blunt. To an outsider, it would appear that they're constantly insulting each other, but that's just their friendship--poking fun and challenging each other.

Lucien: Cringe past-self Enid is much more intolerant of Lucien, for how much of herself she sees in him. Before she left the college, she was also a self-proclaimed intellectual who valued little of the mundane world. Experience squeezed the arrogance out of her and replaced it with cynicism and self-loathing. She is very impatient with his optimism and "well actually"s. Lucien respects Enid a great deal for her unmatched skills in alteration, a too-oft ignored school of magic in his mind, and for her insights into the nature of magic, which are profound if not a tad overgeneralized at times. But he is hurt by her lack of approval towards him, and her decision to isolate rather than share her skills.

Kaidan: Unobtainable, and she'd like to keep it that way Enid tries her upmost to keep things strictly business with Kaidan. Even though everyone EXCEPT Kaidan can see she gets flustered around him. Kaidan, meanwhile, interprets this as her being cold/rude to him, which he does his best to ignore. Add to that, Enid is not at all impressed by Kaidan's attempts at humor or trying to sound smarter than he is. In truth, though, she deeply respects Kaidan's quiet and practical nature, and considers him the smartest person on the team (by virtue of not being completely reckless). However, his staunch nord upbringing and the prejudices and stubbornness that comes with it are a bit off-putting after her previous relationship with a nord. Particularly, Kaidan's prejudice against magic/magic-users. Magic has always been her source of security and safety, and she takes great umbrage with being scorned for that.

Czitrin: Grumpy sisters-in-arms They are both loners and misunderstood, and they respect that about each other. Enid, however, tries to look out for Czitrin whenever Czitrin is being reckless, and cares the least about Czitrin's open disregard for others. As Czitrin is the boss and almost everyone else is a meathead or otherwise total idiot, Enid is Czitrin's trusted second-in-command to get things planned out.

Inigo: Work acquaintance with cool stories Inigo's far more tight with Sofia and Lucien, but tolerates Enid just fine most of the time, unless she says something that has him really rolling his eyes. He likes hanging out with Rufus and teaching him archery, which Enid greatly appreciates. Every now and then they can discuss things on a philosophical/spiritual level that the others just don't share an interest in.

Rufus: Estranged demigod son 11 years old, he feels betrayed after Enid disappeared when he was a newborn. Up until they reunited, he only knew her as the mysterious "witch" that his father and the people in Windhelm always called her. Even after she found and rescued him from a hagraven, Rufus feels a deep fear that Enid will abandon him again, and often talks back and misbehaves. Their relationship is further strained when they discover that he is the last dragonborn, and his father consequently rediscovers an interest in him. Half nord, half breton, Rufus has been taught to be ashamed of his breton side, and won't use magic except to set things on fire. He insists on possessing nordic cold-resistance that he doesn't have, being taller and stronger than he is, and wanting to die in battle to have a place in Sovengarde.

Teldryn Sero: Barely There Practical and cautious and mostly in agreement with Enid's decisions, albeit a bit impatient. Got himself fired almost immediately by butting heads with Czitrin before leaving the story, which he declared the best day of his life. Enid desperately misses the sanity Teldryn brought to the team.

Edit: almost forgot--

Caryalind: New Guy (don't trust him)

He's a flirt. Enid doesn't like or trust flirts. Nobody knows yet what he really thinks of her.

#enidposting #skyrim oc #inigo the brave #lucien flavius #kaidan 2 #kaidan skyrim #sofia skyrim #teldryn sero #czitrinposting

[flock-of-cassowaries]

I’m having a deep think right now about the overlaps and the differences between the appeal of fascism, and that of libertarianism.

On one level, this is because I am writing a Sucession fanfic, and trying to get into Roman’s head.

But on another level only reason I’m even writing Succession fanfiction is that I identify with Roman, and that is in large part because he is a queer person who is philosophically in the thrall of his terrifying conservative father, whose love he desperately craves.

And once upon a time, that used to be me. And I feel deep and abiding shame about that.

(Not the sexy kind of shame. The devastating kind.)

But as I delve into philosophical discussions of fascism and conservatism (and honestly, I have not yet delved the deeply), I’m starting to realize that maybe I have less in common with Roman, and more with Connor (if we leave out his weird S3 white-nationalism dog whistles about the evils of onanism).

I’m basing a lot of this on the first chapter – which is all I have read so far - of “The Reactionary Mind” by Corey Robin; which I came upon via the source list for the linked YouTube video.

[link to “Endnote 2: White Fascism” by Innuendo Studios, on YouTube.]

Robin (if I’m understanding him correctly) posits that the end goal of conservatism is fundamentally Fishstick fascistic, and that the real animus driving political conservative movements is always the desire of the privileged to remain above those the existing social order oppresses.

I have certainly voted for, and carried water for, conservatives (a fact of which I am, again, deeply ashamed), but I don’t think that was ever the real appeal for me.

I’m not saying I didn’t internalize beliefs that were (I now realize) racist, classist, ableist, and elitist; but I don’t think that was ever the main draw, so much as a side effect of reading the goddamn National Post every fucking day

But for me, I think the main appeal of conservatism was the illusory promise of total self-sufficiency, and of being impossible to further hurt. It was the libertarian lie, bound up in the same nihilistic appeal as the Nine Inch Nails song whose hook is “Nothing can stop me now, cause I don’t care anymore.” (‘Piggy’ is the song.)

In this respect, I think I had more in common with Connor; I was also the discarded child who grew up to think of themself as “a flower that grows on rocks and feeds on the insect that land inside of it.”

Honestly, that soliloquy (from S4E2) could’ve been me at thirteen.

I felt rejected and shunned by the world, but I was also rapidly becoming aware that I could use my looks and intelligence as currency (just a Connor uses his literal currency as currency).

It was only when I was 21, and ended a long relationship, and found myself with no one to turn to, and no idea who I was, that my father swooped in to be my new best friend; and that’s when I became more Roman-like in my fawning attempts to appeal to him.

But I think Roman truly believes that his father is better than him, whereas a much more significant part of me always knew my own dad was a false prophet.

I think the world reaffirmed this belief in Roman, because his father has been so successful, and I think his father, concerned with legacy, has been much more active in fostering this mythology than my own father was.

(My dad would tend to just willfully ignore that l existed for several years at a stretch, if I was acting too cringe [i.e. not stereotypically conservative-lady feminine enough] for his conservative sensibilities; something I am assuming that Shiv could probably relate to.

The scene where Logan tells her he wants her back in the fold was very similar to what my father did with me when I was 21, and I glowed just the same way she did.)

But yeah, I think an internalized belief on Roman’s part that his father truly is better than him, and a desire to “be as good” as his father in order to redeem himself and overcome this inadequacy in his person, really feeds into Roman’s affinity for fascism / conservatism.

And I think that belief structure is with him in that bathroom with Mencken, unacknowledged and subconscious, and even more insidious than his conscious priorities of wanting to win points with Logan, and maaaaaybe wanting to be pushed to his knees and have a fascist phallus (a fascllus? I’m going to hell) thrust upon him.

Anyway, if anyone ever reads this, feel free to suggest some books / essays / videos to my reading list.

So far, in addition to the above-mentioned Cory Robbins tome, I am planning to actually finish “The Ur-Fascist” by Umberto Ecco, and to at least dip into “The Dialectic of Enlightenment” by Horkheimer and Adorno, and “The Authoritarian Personality” by Adorno.

#succession #succession fanfic #succession fanfiction #roman roy #connor roy #roman roy character analysis #connor roy character analysis #succession themes #politics in succession #libertarianism in succession #fascism in succession #libertarianism vs fascism #the reactionary mind #corey robin #overthinking succession #long rambling essay #jeryd mencken #logan roy #Youtube

[yurtletheturtlehenderson]

i just wanna talk to someone abt this because i trust u and ppl on tumblr actually freak me out and scare me so…hear me out. im not at all opposed to byler and im not homophobic bc i dont particularly ship it as much as others. yes i do ship it some amount, but the only thing that worries me is homophobes. being a queer person in a homophobic family is reallt hard and u have to learn to grow with a fear of them hating u. im just afraid of how ppl will take it if byler is canon. again i am not against the ship. that being said i am a girl who simps over will byers and i adore the y/n x will dynamic they have. just wanted to tell someone bc a lot of ppl on this sight would call me homophobic and stuff over this

Aw honey... of course it's okay. And I'm sorry things have been like this. I totally get it. What's not okay is a fandom getting so protective over their ships they make people of afraid of not shipping something enough. (Long but necessary rant ahead. Sorry, but its worth it)

I'm gonna lose a lot of people here, and likely cause they don't want to read to the end to hear all I have to say, but here goes: I don't particularly ship Byler either. When most people hear this statement they immediately equate it with the statement "I don't think Will is gay and neither is Mike" (I feel like this is true for most queer ships, or just shipping culture in general?).... this could not be more wrong. For one, nobody ever immediately knows why someone ships something (and a lot of times, the person themselves don't understand/realize why they subconsciously pick to a specific pairing and cling to it so tightly) and while it's completely understandable to have become defensive, say, because you feel as though your own identity is under attack, it's so easy—natural even—for people to snap into survival mode and try to defend themselves. But as we've seen, this can, in the right circumstances, also feed the pre-existing cycle of offense and defense that is far too long and philosophical a discussion to dive into here and now.

No, for now I wanna just reiterate that just because someone admits to not being particularly hyper-enthused by a specific ship—yes, like Byler—doesn't mean they automatically hate it. I don't particularly campaign for Mileven either! I've been persuaded by both in the past, but I've never found myself at point where I'm making fan accounts surrounding the ship, pumping out content 24/7, and I certainly haven't felt compelled to bash anyone who ships the other. But ya know what? I will say, and I bet im not alone here, the more I encounter Mileven content/space OR Byler content/space, the more I'm driven away. Why? The fucking shipping wars.

Byler and Mileven shippers, hard-core super-shippers specifically speaking, are some of the most toxic fans I've ever encountered. Is it every one? No!! But most. Most. The most extreme ive heard/seen is horrific. I'm talking death threats, suicide baiting, doxing, constant harassment and just overall borderline cyberterrorism. It's fucking unacceptable. And the underlying theme here and why there's so much fear spreading throughout fandom spaces. Why someone felt the need to limit contact and come to someone they claimed to trust to anonymously admit they aren't frothing at the mouth for one of these aforementioned ships. (Thank u btw for feeling u could trust me) This is not okay!!! People have to see how wrong this is!!! Right?? Right?!

I have no idea how much people will respect all this considering the source: a 21 year old reader insert writer who dedicates most of her time to writing teenagers into the plot of stranger things with Will Byers as their love interest (yes, specifically fem presenting/ she/her pronoun users). So no, I wouldn't blame anyone for hearing me say the words "I'm not a big byler shipper" and assume it has anything to do with that. But I'd hope that anyone who knows me, or is at least willing to hear me out, will understand that I have stated many times (and likely will again cause im a ✨️repetitive bitch✨️) that when I was a teenager, I was going through the absolute worst years of my life. Like, it warmed me up the for 2020s, that's how bad it was for me. And the only thing that got me through (likely without falling into what I believe would have become some incredibly dangerous habits) was falling into a world I could completely disappear into and forget my own shitty world existed.

I found this series called The Maze Runner, fell absolutely in love with the books and the world and bought every copy I could get my hands on. And when that wasn't enough, I looked for every blogspace I could get my hands on. Enter tumblr. Not even five minutes into my new account and searching the maze runner tag do I find a short little story called an "x reader". I literally cried. I was so fucking alone cause, and I'll tell yall, in the span of 15 months, I put down my dog of 11 years, lost my great-grandmother, then my grandpa, then my great grandfather, and then my grandmother. I had reason to believe I would suddenly lose my best friend to depression, and then to top it off my parents got divorced. Granted things have definitely gotten brighter, but little 14 year old me was no where near a healthy state of mind, or body and stumbling across something that not only let me disappear from my collapsing world, but surrounded me in love and encouragement, no matter how corny or silly, by the characters I had fallen in love with was an indescribable experience. This. This is precisely why i write. If theres even a chance i can provide that for you, and God, in the 2020s of all time to be a teenager, than i want to. I want to pay it forward.

That being said, I'd also hope one would understand while things were on the mend, I wasn't fully recovered by the time stranger things came out and i decided to write for it. The grief and trauma was one thing but, another thing you guys might know about me if you've been following me for a while is in the past, I've struggled severely—and still do a great deal—with compulsory heterosexuality. And honestly, a little internalized homophobia I think. It's stuff I work on daily, and it's stuff, I'd be willing to bet, a lot more people deal with than you'd expect. It's for this reason, that I suspect hilariously enough, me a deeply closeted lesbian while planning an x (at the time fem!)reader rewrite for younger kids to escape into, was faced with the choice of a love interest and subconsciously chose one of the only semi-canonically gay male characters available. Yes, essentially, in my own comphet riddled brain, I subconsciously gave both the (fem)reader and Will Byers my own comphet.

But guess what? Characters evolve as the story evolves and that rings true for COSMIC. I wish I had stories back then that casually explored sexuality outside the confines of cisgender heterosexuality in a safe, fun, encouraging way. I also wish I had stories that led you down one story with one character only and suck you in only to change and evolve if needed to say, an opposite sex or nonbinary character as the new love interest and being able to do so cause the love interest was never THE PLOT in the first place. It certainly would have helped speed things along I think, and even if I wasn't its healthy to try things out/consider before saying, ya know I think this still feels right, I'm good! And that's okay!

I deeply deeply appreciate anyone who read this far. I completely understand how much i tend to blather and granted i didnt plan on going into the specifics of my childhood trauma but i felt it necessary info as to why on earth im preaching gay Will while i currently have a Will x fem!reader on my page (Again, dont worry. Im not about to disrespect/erase anything likely to come in s4, nor have is this is a sudden thing in COSMIC) and seemingly shitting on ships. Again, it's the over intense shippers, not the ships themselves and overall lack of byler content that failed to get my attention.

In conclusion, yes, I don't particularly ship Byler much like you dear nonnie, but anyone who automatically thinks that statement makes us homophobic really needs to take a step back and perhaps consider taking a break from public fandom space. If you as a byler OR mileven shipper feel confronted at every corner to a point you're jumping down others throats, you need to take a break from the internet. Draw your ship, write some fanfic if you still want to engage in fandom activities offline but take a break from the internet and prowling for any throat to jump down.

Blech. Rant over. I kinda accidentally combined it with the pre season 4 premiere disclaimer for Cosmic and how and why I have a will x reader with a fem reader copy and how that's going to be affected by s4 so that's prob why it's so long but I don't regret it. The point is, this is and always will be a safe space for fandom enjoyment and just hanging out and the last thing I want here is someone to be feel afraid or threatened in any way. I love you all so much and wish nothing but amazing things for you all. And thank you again, dear nonnie, for trusting me. It means a lot.

💕💕💕 - Yurtle

#yurtle answers #yurtle rambles #i need to start calling it yurtle monologues #yurtle monologues #lovely anon #byler #mileven #sick of shipping wars

[filmsfromreel]

Wizarding World Universe Ranked Worst to Best

You can listen to our discussion this list on our podcast, available here.

With the release of Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore we thought it would be a good idea to revisit all the films that have come from the Wizarding World Universe. All the way back to 2001 from the franchise's start with Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone to the prequel films we’ve seen in the past few years, the franchise has made billions worldwide and become one of the most beloved franchises of all time. But, with a total of 11 films to its name, just how good are the individual instalments?

11. Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)

Elements of the second Fantastic Beasts film worked but overall it was a static and oddly paced film that struggled to find its personality. Whatever the first film had done to create a slicker, more adventurous look into the wizarding world felt low on the agenda as Crimes of Grindelwald struggled to find wonder, instead opting for choppy sequences and lengthy scenes of dialogue that aim to shock and allure but merely bore.

One aspect that the Fantastic Beast films have achieved is the interesting exploration of different wizarding eco-systems across the globe, more specifically the fantastical elements of a magical Paris are the highlight of this particular film - it’s just unfortunate that the exploration becomes bogged down by everything else around it. While David Yates could probably recreate the tone of the universe in his sleep by now, Crimes of Grindelwald suffers more from its dodgy pacing and lacklustre story which often leave the final product devoid of anything magical.

10. Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them (2016)

Like with most successful franchises Warner Bros. maintained a ‘never say never’ attitude towards the Wizarding World which meant an obvious rehash was inevitable. There was no doubt that something new was going to come after the behemoth franchise made such a stamp on popular culture and it was a nice surprise to see a film that maybe didn’t blow people away, but gave enough entertainment to merit its existence. 

The film comfortably paddles in the shallow end without ever really taking a dive into something deeper, the world it is building expands on a world that people know and love and much like the title suggests, explores the interesting creatures in the hopes of finding commerciality. With it mostly being set in New York, the Americanisation of such a British product was jarring but as stated earlier, it was just exploring something new while never daring to go too far. It was a well balanced welcome back into the world, albeit a safe one. 

9. Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)

The newest film to the franchise, Secrets of Dumbledore is by no means perfect. What it does do however, is understand where to grow and how to maintain consistent levels of entertainment. It expands the world into a more political landscape while never sacrificing the ingredients that make the world so entertaining. Arguably its biggest faults are its complete demotion of what seemed like an important story, as well as being unable to find the small moments of literal magic that made Harry Potter so great to watch as a younger viewer. 

Sometimes the film feels like it’s rushing through its story despite a runtime of 2 hours 20 minutes, but the reason it’s able to sit above its predecessors is its ability to interject a lot of scenes of fun in and around its more political backdrop. To add to that a new and improved Grindelwald in Mads Mikkelsen, what you have is a film that broadens its world without over stretching, while never forgetting to have a little fun.

8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

It may seem a little transparent to have all eight Harry Potter films in the final eight spots, but the truth is that the newest films struggle to match the originals in a lot of aspects. One is character, the source materials are able to ignite a connection to the characters on screen before the film has even come out and it’s hard to match something that has that advantage. While the characters of the film were well established and beloved in Order of the Phoenix, it’s the tone that makes it the weakest out of the Potter saga. 

When the franchise started it felt much more kid friendly, but as the stars got older and the stories demanded more maturity the films had to adjust. The third and fourth instalments are great examples of slow change, moulding to a new style each time but with Order of the Phoenix it felt too dark and gloomy to really capture any kind of magic or humour. That’s not to say it wasn’t an enjoyable film that honours its source material, as well as adding some great actors to it’s cast, but as the franchise slowly ascended to a darker tone and mood Order of the Phoenix felt a little too much. 

7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)

In the latter stages of the franchise when tone was fully established and it was all about story, the studio opted for the Part 1 and 2 split of the final book. While that allowed the final film to flourish, what happened to Part 1 was it became an overly stretched film fighting to justify its 2 hour 20 minute runtime. It was honest to the scenes that fans awaited and ended at a tear jerking part of the story, but long stretches in between felt endless and less than exciting. 

This film was always a precursor to the finale, with its intentions much more about establishing anticipation, as well as grabbing the money along the way, rather than being about creating a well balanced film. When the scenes of action do arise they are filled with popcorn entertainment of the highest order, but it is a shame it can’t find the same engagement in its connecting scenes, as well as giving us one of the most uncomfortable dance scenes you’ll see between Harry and Hermoine.   

6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

The sixth instalment to the franchise felt like one of the better films to come from the Potter series. It was entertaining, tonally consistent and managed to balance its humour and maturity well. Harry Potter has always been a family friendly franchise and Yates understood that Half-Blood Prince needed to feel lighter, while never allowing the more mature and character defining moments to suffer.

It sits pretty in the middle of the list because, although it’s a good Potter film, it’s not a great one. It doesn’t stick with you as much as the very best do and it does fall victim to some very stale dialogue that even the very best of British acting can’t salvage. However, Half-Blood Prince felt like it captured a tone that would be the benchmark going forward for the franchise. 

5. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001)

The film that ignited the worldwide cinematic phenomenon, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was a joyous experience for younger ages that was able to capture the wonder of the wizarding world in a very warm way. This is partly because of Chris Columbus' direction, someone who’s experience directing child-driven stories was well established, who visualised the book with a wonderful insight which allowed the film to imprint on popular culture with instant impact. 

The first film is by no means perfect, with its three main stars still finding their feet as performers and the franchise still in its infancy, but it still opened up the Harry Potter world to those who hadn’t already experienced it from the books. If you go back now and watch the first film in the franchise you may not find the giddy immaturity or lighter approach as entertaining, but it will more than likely grasp at your nostalgia as you fondly remember where you were when you first experienced the charming world.

4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

Stakes were high when Chamber of Secrets was released, it demanded a similarly lighter tone because of its characters' ages but also demanded a rougher exterior as its story and fantasy became bolder. This one is often regarded as a personal favourite for many people because of the time it was released, but also because it felt like the film in which everyone became sold on Harry Potter as a cinematic icon and not just a literary one. 

The performances from its younger actors felt more seasoned and the grizzlier plot points served as the foundations in which the rest of the franchise would follow, add to that a cast of adult actors all having copious amounts of fun with their roles and what you have is a sequel that surpasses its predecessor comfortably. The franchise was always going to be a goldmine, but Chamber of Secrets proved that the Harry Potter story stretched further than the title of a ‘kids film’. 

3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2004)

Arguably the instalment with the most popcorn entertainment, Goblet of Fire boasted a step away from the usual school life we had seen from the franchise and gave us a new branch of the world with the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Dragons, underwater creatures and a mystical maze were all a part of a film that felt more fun and also broadened in scale.

It was also the first time we got a taste of our main characters feeling the angst and romance of their youth, with Harry getting his first taste of attraction as well as Hermoine and Ron offsetting their awkward relationship. Like a lot of the Potter films, the runtime is a little bloated, but the reason this film is high on the list is its ability to further story and character while never lacking in blockbuster entertainment.  

2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

You can have the smoothest take off of your life but the most crucial part of any franchise, or saga, is sticking the landing. With the split of the final story across two films the last one was able to really shine with epic proportions. Fans eagerly awaited to see the Battle of Hogwarts chapter be brought to life and the film delivered by making nearly the entire runtime dedicated to magical warfare. 

Like all the Potter films the final one isn’t without its hiccups but it manages to find pockets of heroism, humour and sadness amongst the chaos in order to give the multitude of characters their own sense of closure. Very often franchises feel scattered and incomplete but Deathly Hallows: Part 2 allowed Harry Potter to feel well-rounded, bringing the episodic films to one complete halt and giving the franchise some finality.

1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2003)

The third instalment to the franchise excelled on multiple levels, as the cast were growing up and becoming adults the style and story had to feel akin to the people we were watching without ever losing the charm that the first two films had. What Prisoner of Azkaban had though was the classy touch of Alfonso Cuarón. A director that nervously approached the project, not being familiar with blockbuster filmmaking before this, and executed a film with a sense of personality that would also please the millions of fans waiting for it. 

In a list of Cuarón films ranked this wouldn’t sit too highly, but as a Potter film it surpasses all others in entertainment and precision. Its sense of humour felt maturer and its time hopping climax felt light, not getting bogged down in logic but instead rejoicing in the fun that can be had with such a plot. There is a reason that the worldwide phenomenon has captured so many hearts across the globe, and Prisoner of Azkaban feels like the poster child for everything that is great about the Harry Potter franchise. 

#harry potter #wizarding world #film list #movie list #ranked list #movies #film #letterboxd #film review #movie review #review #filmsfromreel

[prince-toffee]

Sasha and Marcy

Pt. 1

Darcy stood on the balcony overlooking the landscape of Amphibia. The Core believed that all they saw belonged to them, was rightfully theirs. The hivemind was an ancient entity, The Core lived for thousands of years, trapped physically in a basement for a thousand years. It knew how to wait. Waiting was its game. But recently, previously The Core, now Darcy, had gotten far more impatient. Something went wrong during the transference progress. Something had changed. Whatever they were, they were The Core no more. For thousands of years they were a collection of Amphibia’s greatest minds; scientists, philosophers, engineers, technicians, literary scholars, theorists, and royalty. All with two goals; survive, and carry on. To encase Amphibia’s totality; it’s culture, it’s way of life, in amber. To keep Amphibia on track, and never let it change shape into something inferior.

…But now, in stead of a multitude of voices coming together as one, there was now one voice coming apart as two. The Core underestimated the human girl known as Marcy Wu. Somehow the hierarchy in their mind had changed. They speculated that it was due to the girl being in contact with the stone, the cosmic residue perhaps somehow in conjunction with The Core’s uploading technology created a new lifeform. That, of course, being: Darcy. A singular voice. Both The Core and Marcy Wu, and yet neither at the same time. A strange duality played out in their mind, the love of adventure and a myriad of silly quirks set alongside a desire to control and annihilate. It coalesced into quite an interesting person.

“My lord.” Darcy knew that booming voice. That idiot Andrias was back. Darcy rolled their many eyes as they became tired just off of Andrias’ presence.

“What do you want, Andrias?” They asked annoyed.

“Simply to see how you have been doing, my liege. You mentioned the transfer had left you confused.” The giant salamander remarked, “Also, I baked cupcakes. So, how are you feeling?”

“…New.”

“Ooooookay.” Andrias awkwardly answered not quite sure what to make of it.

“I’m guessing the cupcake tray is an offering.”

“Hmm?” A bead of sweat rolled down Andrias’ temple.

“An apology. For failing once again to eradicate those infernal rebels.” Darcy had not yet turned to face the king.

“Heh, f- failed? No, no, no, the bots are still out in the field searching.” Andrias laughed it off.

Now Darcy turned to face him, “I have eyes everywhere, boy. I see all. I know several of our scouting detachments have been ambushed and destroyed, and that you have been trying to sweep it under the rug.”

“Whaaaaat?”

“This Resistance is too much for you to handle, apparently.” Darcy remarked with gritted teeth.

“No, my lo-“

“Silence yourself! You have failed on almost all fronts! So many loose ends, so little time. Your cloakbot has failed to eradicate Blue of The Heart! You have failed to apprehend and execute that traitor Grime, and Pink of Strength! You can’t even control your own servant staff! The housekeeper Olivia and that worm-brained General attempted a coup on you and to take my body- I mean my vessel away! Not to mention the transfer you oversaw has altered me! I hear no voice expect for my own, I am me, I am one. It is so… strange.”

“My lord, I assure you all is under control; My sources tell me that Anne Boonchuy has been incapable of rallying any sort of Earth defences, she can barely control her powers, they leave them drained and exhausted. And she has no way of returning here. Sasha Waybright is powerless, her numbers are microscopic compared to the daily output of frobots we produce; the ground under her feet is shrinking. As for the coup; Lady Olivia and General Yunan are imprisoned and are awaiting swift public execution, and the newt military forces which aided them will be disposed of, they are useless to us now that we have the robot factories online. And while you inhabit the body of Marcy Wu the prophecy will not come to pass. We have them at Flip-Mate.” Andrias assured Darcy. “…Speaking of which… is… is Marcy in there?”

“Yes. There is her and then there is me. I have caged her in a fantasy far in the back of my mind…” Darcy stopped for a moment, and began to ponder on something. An idea had just leapt into their head. They fell silent. They ran all the different possibilities through simulations in their head.

“And… is my father there?”

“…Huh? Oh, I don’t- I don’t k- No. He and the others are gone. They are me now. I am Darcy.”

“…I… see.”

“…You know what Andrias? You might be onto something. This body may be a blessing in disguise. It provides us with certain advantages that I have not considered before. This Marcy might be of use to us.”

“How so, your excellency?”

“The problem is: We can’t find Pink, she’s small, hidden. We can’t just barge in and annihilate her. So, if we can’t come to her, let her come to us. We have something she wants after all.” Darcy chuckled to herself, excited by the scheme they put into motion, “Say, ‘Drias, you haven’t executed Olivia and Yoohoo yet, have you?”

“No, sir.”

“Excellent. Let them escape, make it look convincing.”

“Yes, my lord.” The king turned to leave the monitor room.

“Andrias.”

“Yes?”

“Leave the cupcake tray on your way out.”

To Be Continued.

#amphibia #darcy wu #king andrias #marcy wu #sasha waybright