#probably why the seven samurai episode was so good

[teacup-of-creativity]

Reconnecting to my Inspiration

Lately something I’ve been trying to do as I delve deeper into these revisions for my novel is reconnect with the things that inspired me at first. 

Listen, I started this novel seven years ago, back in 2016, so as I’m sure you can imagine there’s a lot about my original vision that I’ve forgotten over the years. Between the simple passage of time, and the continuous voice in my head telling my that my story wasn’t “professional” enough, or “real literature”, the course of the book shifted considerably. I tried to change it so much to fit these lofty ideas of what a book by me should be, that I forgot what it was that I WANTED to write.  

And what I want to write is GOOD, but SILLY! Silly at least to the great thinkers of this world who sit in their ivory towers and declare that “The red curtains in that short story must have symbolized something!” (I’m sure you know the kind.) But when I remembered FINALLY or maybe, more like realized for the first time, that I wasn’t writing for them, I was writing for myself and the people who enjoy what I do, a massive weight was lifted from my shoulders and a freedom and excitement to rediscover my story began to set in. But after so long, I was a little lost. I couldn’t remember all the things which had given me my catalyzing thoughts back in high school, or worse, I couldn’t remember the thoughts!

So!

I recently started going back through all the media I could recall influenced or inspired Project Seer (that’s what we’re calling it for now), and dipping my toes back into the world and mind of 16 year old Rachel. 

A brief list of said materials I have recently rewatched (or something similar) for this very purpose is as follows:

Yona of the Dawn

The Last Kingdom,

Any lecture on feudalism I can get my hands on,

Miraculous Ladybug (just the new movie for now, we’ll see if I still have the stomach for the show later I suppose),

I JUST started rewatching Kuro Mukuro, which! Let me tell you-- is not at all something I thought I would need to help me write my medieval fantasy novel. It’s a modern mecha anime! With... Aliens?! It’s a little unclear! But the point is, it wasn’t until I actually clicked on that first episode and let it play for a minute that I remembered:

This is the show with a samurai from the sengokujidai as a main character! Feudalism is baked into the essence of the show, as this samurai character lives by his codes and morals, protecting the girl he perceives to be his princess. Another thing! A blue haired girl a little clueless to the absolute danger she has found herself mixed up in, having to constantly be guarded by a boy honoring an oath! Sound familiar?? (Probably not because I haven’t really talked about that aspect of my book yet, but I promise you, it’s in there!) How about inexplicable attraction and helping someone even if you don’t have a good reason why? A strong pining slow burn? Okay, I think you get the picture. 

Basically, all that to say-- There is so much to be gained by remembering where your ideas have come from, and by remembering to engage with the things that breed creativity in your soul. For me, the things that do that don’t always come from the most likely of places, clearly, as detailed above. But I’m learning all over not to judge a book by its cover. You never know where inspiration will strike, or what one random line from a book will spark a thought in your head that will fix an entire plot hole! (Thanks, Destroyer by Meg Smitherman!) And finding those things that will continuously inspire you, that lead you in the directions or vibes you want to go is so so SO important. 

Don’t lose sight of who you are. Don’t lose sight of what you love. Otherwise you may end up doing a deep dive and reliving your teenage years, (watching a show with a MASSIVE cliff hanger ending but no season three!) like me. 

But in all seriousness, this last almost year of my publishing journey has been so inundated with self reflection and discovery, it has been painful. But this is part of it that is actually helping me feel alive again, like myself again. And I’m really, really, REALLY, enjoying it.  

It’s making writing fun again.

#blog posts by me #WUHU FOR INSPIRATION AND ACTUALLY HAVING FUN AGAIN #writing #project seer #my writing journey #gosh dang tiktok messing with how I do tags #inpsiration #akatsuki no yona #kuro mukuro #miraculous ladybug #the last kingdom #history #GUYS ITS BEEN SO NICE TO JUST GET INTO RESEARCH AGAIN #that's gonna be a diffrent post i can tell #rambling? #rambling

[purplerose244]

My thoughts on Seabound!!! 🌊🌊🌊 (1/4)

SPOILERS ALERT!!!

Finally Nya's season! Our queen, our water goddess, our amazing girl gets what she deserves! 😍😍😍

What I know about the season beforehand is that Nya's powers apparently are getting problematic for some reasons? Which is a pretty common topic in other shows but it's a first in Ninjago, usually the elemental powers don't have focus and I LOVE that we now get to see stuff like that 💕💕💕

I know there should be Wojira involved, trusting The Island to deliver that little foreshadowing at the end of the episode 🤷‍♀️ Also Maya is back... MAYA IS FINALLY BACK AFTER SEVEN SEASONS YES!!! 😭😭😭

I have nothing else to say, I have no idea what this will bring, hopefully something as good as Master of the Mountain! 🖤

Alright, here we go!

GENERAL THOUGHTS

Warning reader, I might be fangirling to an extreme because I love mah girl Nya and I've been wanting Kai and Nya's parents to be back ever since Hands of Time ended. So yeah... screaming alert 😅

At this point I don't doubt that the intro is great, we reached such a level of animation and we got The Fold 😍😍 Love the marine vibe and how it's similar to The Island, because it's a great intro 👌

NOW I like the writing! Maybe they rushed the dialogue's quality for The Island to get here? It's just fun and in character, maybe it's just me but I'm enjoying it a lot for now

How many episodes are in this? Wiki says ten, then I checked again and it's sixteen like with Master of Mountain... eh, it looks good so far so it's fine whatever happens 🤷‍♀️

A BIG SPLASH

Oohhh, new villain! One that uses... flames... huh, does she know there's literally a master of fire in the ninja team? Eh whatever she looks cute, give it up for Miss Demeanor!! 👏👏

Wait... OMG IS THAT ERIN MATTHEWS??? WE GOT MACY!! ❤❤❤

Whoa, we're finding out where did the order of the vengestone from season 13 come from?? YAS! CONTINUITY!

Yep, there it is, Nya lost control... her attacks look so cool 😍

Lol that kid trying to be a nindroid and Zane being offended 😂😂 Sorry hun, you're that popular

Aaahhh, thank you Ninjago! You gave me back Nya the perfectionist 😂 I was worried her reaction to her powers wasn't going to be in character but it looks fair so far. Brings me back to Possession, my favorite season 💙💙💙

WE GOT BACK THE FACT THAT SHE CAN MAKE IT RAIN!!! YAS!!! I might be easy to please but I love these details 🤩

🤯🤯🤯 Okay they are definitely going somewhere this time and I LOVE IT, because wow. WOW. Are we actually addressing the forever questioned fact that wind and water weren't elements that Chen needed at the Tournament? Are we giving a reason for them to exist outside the main set of elements and the elemental masters?? Duuuude, season 15 don't let me stop you, keep going 😍

Mm, so water and wind are connected to Wojira (now I see the connection with the special). Are we setting the ground for a new master of wind? 😏😏 It's risky going for a Morro replacement but it's a super intriguing idea! Oooor Edgy Boy TM might come back? WHO KNOWS I'M CURIOUS ANYWAY 🤩

Love how it is universal knowledge that Nya is super indipendent 👌

YES YES FINALLY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MAYA!!! 😍😍😍 Is it too much hoping into a Ray cameo as well?? Pleaaaase? Also addressing Krux after so many seasons, this feels exciting!! 😊

This is what I'm talking about, training, fighting scenes, show me everything that water goddess can do! 🌊🌊🌊

Aaahhh, Nya flexing her mightiness through anger, just to remind us that she is the descendant of a water master as much as of a fire master 😅

YES YES YES YES IT'S HAPPENING FINALLY AFTER SEVEN SEASON THE FIRE WATER PARENTS ARE FINALLY BACK!!! 🔥🌊🔥🌊🔥🌊 I'M SO HAPPY I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR SO LONG!!! 😭

RAY IS THERE TOO HECK YES!!!! 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍 I shouldn't get this excited at only the first episode... WHO CARES RAY IS BAAAAACK!!! ❤❤❤

Omg Maya is definitely different from what I expected, turns out Kai's enthusiasm came from her 😂

Oh look at my flame babe 😍

He's so happy his parents are here, he's a total family man ❤❤❤

Nya is maaaaad... 😅

THERE SHE IS

WELCOME BACK JILLIAN I MISSED YOU 💚💚💚 Would it be too much having a "Your voice sounds familiar" moment with Maya and Lloyd? 😂

I'm so stoked for this! I want all the interactions I've missed for all of this time, asap!! HECK yes!! 😍😍😍😍

Oh, are we looking over the Miss Demeanor, vengestone situation? Mm... for now at least... WHO CARES FIRE WATER PARENTS!! 🔥🌊🔥🌊🔥🌊

THE CALL OF THE DEEP

Imma just slow clap for The Fold because this is another amazing intro, one of those things in this show that stays awesome no matter what happens 👍👍

So Maya gave Nya her discipline and perfectionism, but not the passion behind it 😂 I like this, it's not your conventional master of water, although I'd say it's different from the impression she gave me back in HoT. Maybe this is how she is when she's not trapped for fifty years? 😅😅

Is it too much asking for Kai and Ray bonding while the water women get the work done? 😅😅

Is this the sequel of Green Eggs and Ham?

Green Pancakes and Ham? 😂

Oh it's seaweed nevermind... at breakfast? I'm all for sushi rolls but this is a little 😅 Although since Maya missed their childhood she probably never cooked meals for them... how did I get myself sad 😢

Whoa, Maya is a strict teacher! I got flashbacks from my first and only dance lesson, teachers nitpicking every single pose, uuurrrggg I feel ya waterlily 😡

Again, not a fan of Misako, but coming from her the whole speech about wanting to be there for her child makes a lot of sense

Yes. YES.

YEEEEESSSS KAI AND RAY FAMILY BONDING THIS IS EVERYTHING I'VE EVER WANTED I'M GETTING ALL OF MY WISHES GRANTED FOR THIS ONE ❤🔥❤🔥❤🔥❤🔥❤🔥❤

AND MY FLAME BABE IS SO GLAD HE GOT HIS PARENTS!!! 😭😭😭

Lol with Kai's new hair they look even more related 🤣

Ray also sounds so happy he gets to have his moment with his son 😢 I feel so blessed in this moment 👍

Also this scene makes a lot of sense. Nya grew up to be indipendent, one that succeed in most of stuff without problems, she built her life without any help and doesn't look for it. Kai grew up more insecure, he got some walls up but loves to take care of others and be taken care of. With a childhood lost he looks forward to a bit of softness ❤❤

Did Maya make real bacon for that sandwich? Do I smell some favoritism? 😅 Or maybe she really wants Nya to get onto the water mind setting idk 🤷‍♀️

Little tiny complain, why isn't Jay doing the fixing? Did he give up mechanics completely? It feels like we haven't seen him do tech stuff in so long, I miss techy boy in action 😞

And no, having to check on the bathroom doesn't count 😅

Aww robot date 💜🤍💜🤍

AAAHH ROBOT DISASTER 😱😱😱 ZANE DANG IT YOU WERE DOING SO GOOD NOT TRYING TO DIE IN THE LAST TWO SEASONS!!

Oh that was weird, weird magic purple wave thingie?

I DID NOT ASK FOR A SEASON WITH A BEST GIRL AT THE EXPENCE OF ANOTHER BEST GIRL PIX DON'T YOU DARE DO THIS TO ME 😱😱😱😱😱

"Well this is troubling." I love this samurai so freaking much 💜💜💜

GUYS THIS IS ONLY THE SECOND EPISODE, I'M A LITTLE SCARED NOW 😢

Okay Nya admitting that something's wrong looking so apologetic, girl you don't need to do that you already own my heart 😭

Alright, I'm guessing this is Wojira's power or something, and they will have to go down below and find out why... just throwing this in, maybe Maya did something? Because she wanted to finally be with her family and needed an excuse? JUST A THEORY WITH NO BASE I REALLY HOPE I'M WRONG!!!

Okay, two episodes and I'm BEYOND engaged, let's keep it up! 😍

UNSINKABLE

Getting an idea how this episode might end already 😂😂

Look, I love best girl Pixal, but I'm kinda sad that she seems to be the only one tinkering at this point. Like, I saw Nya fix little stuff, while Jay dropped engineering altogether, I miss my engineers team 😭

Aww, the guys didn't want to crush Pixal's dream of an unsinkable boat 💜 But honestly yeah, I agree with Cole, this might end badly 😅😅

Thank goodness

I was worried they forgot about Jaya ❤💙❤💙 Jay is such a cutie omg

Nya: Mm, going on a potentially dangerous mission with unstable powers in the heart of my element or... mom's tofu pancakes... *yeets herself over the ship*

I'm making too many screenshots of the Smith family... WHO CARES THEY ARE BACK AND THEY ALL LOOK SO GOOD!!! 😍😍😍😍

Aww Ray wants to play with his son and his friends so CUTE ❤❤❤ Still can't believe they play Prime Empire after everything that went down 😂😂

Whoa whoa whoa, Kai and Cole are sitting this one out? That's actually interesting, I'm pretty sure I saw Cole's scuba suit in the sets though so I didn't expect it... lol it's actually kinda fair that the two that used to be afraid of water aren't going 😂😂

Bet Kai is happy to stay behind because he gets to spend time with his dad 😭

Also studying the fire elementals?? Uhm, yes please?? TELL ME EVERYTHING ABOUT MY FLAME BABE!!! 😍😍😍😍

I'm sure this one scene...

... made so many lavashippers happy ❤🖤❤🖤 Cole you got Ray's blessing

Ninja team acting cool while Jay is being Jay, it's how it always goes, it's the entire show's description and I absolutely love it 😂 That wink though 💙

PIRATE ZANE IS BACK 😂😂😂 Haven't seen him since Possession, and this time he's not even malfunctioning 👌 Pixal is so done with his dorky boyfriend 😝

Of course Jay already has a ghost butler theory going on 😂

OF COURSE IT'S MAYA 😂😂

To be honest muffins would sold me too 😅 Not sure if she will make them out of tofu again though...

It's actually really interesting that we still haven't met the actual enemies, it does build up excitment! Very curious about these squid guys 👍

Well what do you know, the Unsinkable sank. Who would have thought?

... yeah same, sorry Pix 😅

FIVE THOUSANDS FATHOMS DOWN

Aaaahhh, Nya fixing stuff! That's more like it!! 😍😍

Oww, that one speech, I've been waiting for so long for that! Maya just wants to catch up with her daughter and it's not her fault she was separated from her children, but Nya did everything on her own with Kai. Only fair she isn't seeking for her help right now... still sad 😢

Pff, with this ninja team there's not a moment of privacy 😂😂

Maya cleaning his future son-in-law's laundry what the HECK 😂😂😂 To be fair Jay has a bit of a history of having to change underwears during sea travels 😝

Zane was attached to a battery? When?... are you talking about that one scene in Prime Empire? Cause that's not really a flashback I wanna ha- whoops never mind got the flashback 😱

Maya looks more calm now, I think she's trying to act more reasonable and she's got good points 👍 I know people were a little weirded out by how more cheerful she looks in comparison to Hands of Time, but I think she gets the most serious and rational when time needs. That's actually fascinating of her 🤔

CALLING OUT AN ATTEMPTED MURDER

THIS GIRL IS TOO GORGEOUS MY HEART CAN'T TAKE IT 🤩🤩🤩 Like my gosh that smirk, what the heck Pix 💜💜💜

Okay but Jay looking at Nya until the doors are completely closed?? CAN YOU FEEL MY JAYA HEART BEATING?? ❤💙❤💙

Whoa green gas I thought this was Nya's season 😂

MAYA WHY ARE YOU SAYING THIS STUFF YOU'RE SCARING ME 😱😱😱 I SWEAR LEGO IF YOU BROUGHT BACK WATER MOM JUST TO KILL HER OFF I'M GONNA SUE YOU 😭😭😭

I really REALLY like the atmosphere of the entrante of the temple! Super sealike and ancient! 🌊🌊🌊

Maya: off we go, into the spooky old temple! (Why does it feel like something Kai would say? 😂)

Oh gee, someone sleeping in the deep, who could that be? Coff Wojira coff

Whoa the jellyfishes look pretty lifelike!

HERE HE COMES

WELCOME BACK GILES!!! ONCE AGAIN ON A LEGO SHOW I MISSED YOU SO MUCH YOU AND YOUR GODLIKE VOICE!!! 😍😍😍😍 Gosh he's a villain but he's got Clay's voice, how can I even try to hate him?? 😅

Alright, knocking down my water girls, that is pretty hateful material... BUT CLAAAYYY 💙💙💙

So they need the two amulets to wake up Wojira? Isn't one on the island? Fire dad and son coming to the rescue? WHO KNOWS BUT I'M ENJOYING THIS A LOT SO FAR KEEP GOING SEABOUND 😍😍😍

#ninjago #ninjago season 15 #ninjago spoilers #ninjago seabound #ninjago nya #nya smith #ninjago kai #kai smith #ninjago jay #jay walker #ninjago cole #cole brookstone #ninjago zane #zane julien #ninjago pixal #pixal borg #ninjago maya #maya smith #ninjago ray #ray smith #spoilers #wojira #ninjago misako

[ryukyuan-sunflower]

Mugen: The Embodiment of Shintoism’s Redemptive Delinquent, Susanoo-no-Mikoto

Before I get into this Samurai Champloo analysis, I first want to make this clear that this is all interpretations I have made. There’s no actual direct information about the Shinto stuff (that I’ve seen), but I found a lot of parallels. There’s also a lot of variations in Shinto myth! So you may find some different but similar details.

To begin, one would at first think Mugen would be a representation of Amaterasu, Kami of the Sun, because of his association with red, fire, the sun, and the rooster in his title image. (Rooster’s represent the dawn and they were used to lure out Amaterasu from a cave). And in contrast, Jin would be associated with Susanoo, God of the Ocean and Storms, because of his association with water, and the aquatic fish in his title image. However, based on everything I am about to list, it is the exact opposite. Mugen and Jin are supposed to be like Yin and Yang, their elements canceling each other out. However, the two do possess traits of one another. For Mugen, it’s Jin’s samurai honor and morality. For Jin, he has Mugen’s stubbornness to not follow those he considers unworthy.

Mugen and Susanoo’s Personalities

Susanoo in his earliest myths, is seen in an extremely negative light. He is violent, rude, wild, arrogant, and loathed by the other Kami for his impulsive actions. In particular, his older sibling Amaterasu despises him. She by comparison, is benevolent and calm. He is the embodiment of chaos in stark contrast to his sister who represents “the balance of the universe”. Susanoo’s appearance is also supposed to be disheveled.

Susanoo, along with his two siblings, were born after his father Izanagi cleansed his face, after visiting the polluted underworld known as Yomi.

But...while Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi were born from Izanagi’s eyes, Susanoo was born from Izanagi’s nose last. The Kami believe that Susanoo had already absorbed some of the impurities of the underworld, and was tainted at birth.

This idea of being “lesser” fits very much in how Mugen is treated by society. The Ryukyuan people were heavily subjugated and experienced severe discrimination by the Japanese.

Ocean And Storms Symbolism

Susanoo is most notably the Kami of the Ocean, Storms (particularly rainfall) and Harvest (also because of rainfall). Later though, he ends up becoming the Kami associated with Love and Marriage. This will be explained further later.

Mugen has a heavy affiliation with the ocean, because of his previous occupation as a pirate and being born and raised in the penal colony island known as Taramashima which is near Miyakoshima in the Ryukyus. It’s the circular island on the bottom left, below.

We know Mugen is from here because the black figures that try to send him to the afterlife are known as Paantu. Paantu are deities from a Miyako Island festival that cast out evil spirits by throwing sacred mud on houses and people. In addition, Taramashima was used as a penal colony for Ryukyuan criminals during this time period, and is affiliated with Miyakoshima since it is so close by.

Also, in one of his most defining moments, he swims and emerges from the ocean in episode 25 to save Fuu.

More interestingly, Mugen is definitely associated with storms and typhoons (heavy tropic storm).

The Ryukyuan Islands have a long association with typhoons, because they were so common there throughout history, causing much damage and famine. In World War II, the Battle of Okinawa, known as the bloodiest Pacific battle, was called “The Typhoon of Steel”. In 1972, Okinawa made the flower of the coral tree or the “deigo”, their prefectural flower. 

These flowers can be seen in episode 14, during Mugen’s flashback.

What is interesting...is deigo flowers are a symbol of disaster or catastrophe, namely typhoons. There is an Okinawan belief that the more deigo flowers bloom, the more typhoons there will be. In this episode, which is all about Mugen’s past, we are given double symbolism of the ocean and storms, when he nearly drowns during a severe rainstorm.

In addition, while Mugen’s sword is never named in the anime or manga, his blade is called “Typhoon Swell” in the Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked PS2 video game.

Fall From Grace and Rivalry with Amaterasu

Because of Susanoo’s bad attitude, chaotic personality, and destructive nature, Izanagi, chief of the Gods deemed Susanoo unworthy to live in the Heavens. So he was banished.

Accepting his fate, Susanoo decided to visit his sister Amaterasu before his departure, who had long been his rival that he fought with often.This is largely because Amaterasu as Izanagi’s first child, had divine right to rule, while Susanoo was the youngest and was believed to have impurities. Their rivalry is a symbolism of sunshine versus rain. Both are needed for the harvest, but too much of either causes famine. 

This sounds a lot like Mugen and Jin, who cancel each other out.

When Susanoo went to see Amaterasu, the lands shook, and Amaterasu grew suspicious he was causing trouble, so she met him dressed in men’s clothing and in armor. To prove he had good intentions in saying farewell, Susanoo challenged her to a contest of who could create the most gods, in order to prove his sincerity.

Amaterasu took his sword, and broke it, forming three male kami. Susano took her necklace and broke it, forming 5 female kami from the magatama beads. There’s some variations to who exactly won. One says that Susano raged happily since he made more. Another says Amaterasu used trickery, and told him that the 5 female goddesses belonged to her, since they were made from her necklace and the 3 male gods were his since they came from his broken sword. This then infuriated him.

This is similar to how Mugen and Jin broke each other’s swords in episode 26, and neither really won.

Either way, Susanoo went wild, either from rage or pride and committed several heinous deeds, namely destroying Amaterasu’s rice fields and defecating in her palace. He also flayed and killed a holy horse and threw it at Amaterasu’s holy loom, which killed one of her servants.

The holy horse seems to be important to me.

Mugen’s last antagonist of the series are the three Satsuma brothers. In particular, Umanousuke is his biggest enemy who had kidnapped Fuu, tied her to a cross, and brutally tortured Mugen after he gave up his sword to free her. I am no expert, but from what I can gather, “nousuke” in a name, means second in command beneath a lord. And “Uma” means “horse”.

After his belligerent acts, Susanoo was then thrown from the Heavens to inhabit the earthly plane, which is considered to be Japan. Similarly, after Mugen’s pirating in Satsuma, that negatively impacted Umanousuke and his brothers, Mugen finally made it to Japan.

Susanoo and Mugen’s Redemption: Saving a Woman

Despite having been seen as a wild and evil God, there is one story that redeems him, showing him as heroic, and also allows him to reconcile with his sibling.

After Susanoo was cast out of the Heavens, he walked the lands of Japan. This is similar to Mugen being shunned by society for his astigmatism of his prison tattoos, as well as being an illegal alien in Japan, since he hails from the Ryukyuan Kingdom, which at this time period, is in a very complicated relationship between China and Japan.

It is while Susanoo is in the land of man, that he for the first time, is shown actually caring for another person: a young girl.

In his travels, he meets a sorrowful, elderly man and woman who are weeping over their daughter. Susanoo curiously asks why they are crying. 

They tell him that they have lost seven of their daughters to a sea serpent named Yamata-no-Orochi (8 forked serpent) who has devoured them year after year. Now, it is time for the sea serpent to devour their last and youngest daughter: Kushinadahime.

In an uncharacteristic act of sympathy, Susanoo offers to help them. He tells the old couple to give him their daughter so he can protect her. 

Upon entering the teahouse of episode 1, which was owned by an elderly couple...Mugen meets Fuu for the first time and saves her.

Susanoo transforms Kushinadahime into a small comb and hides her in his hair so that the serpent can not find her. Then, he goes off to kill the giant snake. He gets the serpent drunk off of very strong sake, and slays it.

From the serpent’s tail, Susanoo acquires the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi (the sword of gathering clouds). This sword has come to represent virtue.

After saving the girl, Susanoo asks her father for the girl’s hand in marriage. And then, after this, it would seem his new wife had tamed his tumultuous heart. She becomes venerated as the Kami of Rice and bears his 5 children. Many temples and festivals honor them together to this very day!

It is after this point, that Susanoo is no longer seen merely as the violent, antagonistic god of storms. He also becomes venerated as the God of Love and Marriage because of his heroism and love for the girl he saved.

A violent, belligerent sinful killer who falls from grace...who is redeemed by protecting a woman and becoming a hero...

You probably see where I’m going with this. Mugen and Fuu are heavily implied to have a subtle romance in the series. But if you’re confused by this and need sufficient evidence, please let me know and I’ll provide my many posts that explain it in detail. I will merely bring up one scene here, in order to tie Mugen’s connection with Susanoo, who has become the God of Love.

In episode 21, Sara tells Mugen “Powerful hatred and rage swirl within you. I cannot tell if it is sadness. It is as if you have never once been loved.”

When Mugen falls to the ground, and Sara readies her blade to kill him, Fuu jumps across his body to shield him from Sara, and begs her not to kill him. In this moment, Sara gasps, and spares Mugen’s life. In this moment, she realizes she was wrong. There is one person who does love him, enough to put her own life at risk.

This is very similar to Susanoo. Up until the point of saving Kushinadahime, he was hated by all the Gods, including his own family. But when he saved her life, she married him, implying her appreciation and love for him.

“In Search of New Lands, I Build a New House”

Immediately after marrying Kushidahime, the lovers travel around Izumi before they can find a suitable place to live. Upon arriving in Suga, Susanoo happily states "Coming to this place, my heart is refreshed.” and then built a lovely palace for him and his wife. Upon its completion, Susanoo composed a song.

The many-fenced palace of IDUMO:

“Of the many clouds rising— To dwell there with my spouse Do I build a many-fenced palace

Ah, that many-fenced palace!”

In Episode 14, during Mugen’s flashbacks, a folk song called “Obokeuri Eeumi” plays. Because it is possibly Ryukyuan (or from Kyushu) , and also deals heavily with poverty, and being unable to sustain one’s family, it is safe to say the perspective could be Mugen’s. It is especially important that the very last image he sees when the last lyric of the song plays is Fuu’s face. This last lyric is about the narrator’s lover.

Obokeuri Eeumi (Obtain Our Bearings):

In search of new lands, I build a new house I thatch the house with reed stalks, gathered neatly in bundles. I thatch the house with reed stalks, gathered neatly in bundles. At the stone wall, let us celebrate the golden house, that was built by a hundred carpenters. At the stone wall, let us celebrate the golden house, that was built by a hundred carpenters. Let us celebrate the golden house, that was built by a hundred carpenters.  August is fast approaching, and yet I have nothing to wear I want to dress up, so brother, will you lend me just one sleeve? I wish to dress my children and loved ones… in the one kimono that I own. As for me, I will wear vines… that I plucked deep in the mountains. The light of the harvest moon shines down, illuminating the world with its divine light. When my lover sneaks in to visit me, I wish that the clouds would hide that light just a little.

Both songs are about building a house to live in with one’s loved ones, with a mention of encroaching clouds. Because Susanoo composed his song, and Obokeuri Eeumi specifically plays for Mugen’s near death experience, these songs are reflections of their characters.

Making Amends With the Rival

At some point, before or after building his home, he visits Amaterasu, his long time rival, and offers his sister the sword he acquired from killing the snake, so that the two may finally reconcile. This sword makes up the three Imperial Regalia, along with the Yata no Kagami mirror and the jewel Yasakani no Magatama.  After this moment, Amaterasu and Susanoo are no longer bitter enemies, and finally accept one another as siblings.

On the same journey of redemption that Mugen took, in which he saved Fuu time and time again, by the end, Mugen was able to reconcile with his longtime rival, Jin.

More Minor Amaterasu and Jin Symbolisms

It is from Amaterasu that all Japanese emperors claim descent. For that reason, she is the embodiment of the Japanese people. I think this is very similar to Jin, who is a representation of the ideal Japanese samurai with all of its virtues.

When Amaterasu fled from the heavens because of Susanoo’s many insults, the world became a dark and stormy place, because there was no longer any sun. Amaterasu did not want to leave the cave as she grieved for the servant Susanoo had killed. Though it might be reaching, I saw this very comparable to episode 11 of Samurai Champloo, where the trio were stranded in Hamamatsu with perpetual rain. Here, Jin states “I hope that the rain will never stop. Then, I can stay here forever.” when in reference to staying with Shino.

Amaterasu was also insulted by her husband Tsukuyomi for killing her friend, the Kami of Food, and thus never saw him again. This is a representation of the Day and Night cycle, since Tsukuyomi is the Kami of the Moon. I found this similar to Jin having to part from Shino for three years because of her stay at the Divorce Temple. In addition to that, he met with her at night when he purchased her at the brothel. But when the morning came, she told him it was “time for the fairytale to come to an end.” 

When Jin parts ways with Shino, the bridge they met on is shown one last time. Except this time, there is no more rain. There is only sunlight. 

This is a representation that he must continue on his own journey for the samurai who smells of SUNflowers, for it is his duty, just as Amaterasu reluctantly left her cave at the behest of the other Gods...because it was her responsibility to have the sun rise in the sky again.

In conclusion

Mugen and Susanoo were both hated and considered evil. Both were outcasts. But their chivalrous actions in saving a young girl they cared about redeemed them.

Mugen and Susanoo both had a rival that was their polar opposite, but in the end, the two were able to reconcile and value one another.

(And I found another excuse to ship Fuugen.) 

#samurai champloo #mugen samurai champloo #fuugen #anime #susanoo #jin samurai champloo #fuu samurai champloo #shinichiro watanabe

[vaguely-concerned]

the mandalorian ep 6 reactions!

spoilers ahoy!

- the PALPABLE TERROR when mando realizes they’re going to use his ship and he’s not getting out of it :’) this poor poor man. the whole episode did such a good job with that ever-present tension born of the adult fear that very very bad people are in a position to hurt his kid. there’s something about sensing his love for the baby through the fear and stress that rises from it that’s so satisfying even if it’s nerve-racking haha 

- me, on the record as having called the razor crest interior depressing and sparse, listening to these assholes talking shit about it: “hey uh actually. have you considered. Fuck You this is my dad’s house and it’s perfect???!?!”

(the fact that it’s so old and janky that neither the empire nor the new republic know what to do with it tho fdsfkdslahf hilarious I love this ship)  

- the way he quietly stood vigil over the cot and just like. clearly stopped breathing for a long while there when they found the baby anyway... poetic goddamn cinema  

- some PEAK comedy acting from whoever was in the mando suit when that devil dude wrecked the big patrol droids. “I uh. well. ah. hm” fsdfhsadlkf just look at his body language next to all the others, he’s like five times more expressive than anyone else even though he’s still pretty low key as a person. so good

- listen how far into a romantic entanglement they ever made it seems to be deliberately left up to interpretation, but xi’an’s bitter-ass mocking “This is the way” is, to me, the hallmark of a gal who didn’t get to second base and probably didn’t even touch the first unless you count giving a beskar-flavoured peck on the cheek lol. AS IF she’s seen his face, at most his glove slid up a bit once and she saw a sliver of bare wrist. I think mando’s initial strong reaction is a fakeout for the audience and he’s actually internally going ‘...aw fuck’ because he screwed over her brother. 

- this episode really cemented my feeling that the no-taking-off-the-helmet thing is a metaphor for vulnerability (and specifically in relation to cultural and personal trauma). when mayfield is like ‘let’s see your eyes’ it’s so invasive and awful ugh 

- I love how willing this show is to joyfully roll around in tropes. this is the seven samurai/magnificent seven one! this is the jailbreak/heist one! (ooh I hope we get a pure heist one at some point) here’s a mexican standoff played straight! there’s a purity to it that makes me very happy and reminds me a lot of clone wars. tropes can be so fun when you take them seriously! 

- I feel bad about it but zero the droid and mando’s sincere distress at him piloting his ship... both endlessly entertaining to me

- I get the sense that mando really hasn’t changed that much, ran and xi’an are mostly projecting onto him and he’s staying deliberately blank to let them do it. the ruthless stuff he does has a pattern even before he finds baby yoda: it’s like in the first episode with the guy he bisects with a door (as you do when you’re him) -- he’s trying to deal with him non-lethally right up until the dude shoots at him first. as we’ve repeatedly seen he gives you one chance and if you misuse that chance you’re toast. even qin knows that ‘aren’t you a man of honour?’ is the best shot at getting out of it alive when even the promise of more money doesn’t do anything. (and yes, qin, he is, which is why you and ran are dead lol) anyway I love one (1) buckethead dad with a penchant for karmic justice 

I am willing to believe he was even more emotionally dead inside when he was younger and did some messed up shit because of it, though. he seems to me more likely to be dangerous out of numbness/indifference and going along with bad people than active malice. (not that this absolves him. set boundaries, mando! work on your self worth baby get better friends!! or at least more friends who don’t actively try to murder you the bar is so low here)

- mando stalking people like a horror movie monster and still leaving them alive but smack dab in the middle of some Poetic Justice (while implying he’s avenging the dead New Republic guard in the process) was Good For Me on several levels 

- obligatory ‘mando please rethink the flame thrower’ point (to be fair to him he’s probably been using it for intimidation/crowd control ala the shootout in ep 3 and it’s quite effective for that, it just isn’t working out for him in hand-to-hand scenarios lol)

- the parallels between mando’s little (surprise not!)murder rampage and baby yoda playing hide and seek with that droid... MORE goshdang poetic cinema!!!! like father like son I am crying 

- I’ve seen some people be discontented that these last few eps don’t drive the plot forward and maybe they don’t in the traditional sense but I’m not sure I agree -- I think they’re making you feel the precariousness of mando’s situation by showing the nitty gritty of the increasingly desperate measures he has to take to keep them afloat & alive, and that he doesn’t really have any enduring close relationships outside of baby yoda; he’s alone and has no one to turn to practically or emotionally. they’re doing a lot of characterization groundwork and the whole thing has been set up as more of a slice of life, down to earth and day to day story from the beginning. for me personally that’s really enjoyable but of course that’s a personal taste sort of thing! I get the feeling that they’re building things up slowly and that the Big Plot tm will unfold (hopefully) over several seasons. well I mean definitely at least two seasons haha

#the mandalorian #star wars #meta #the mandalorian spoilers #I had a lot of thoughts apparently haha

[doopcafe]

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Seasons 1--6), Final Analysis

Well, I made it through. 

Let’s be absolutely clear: The Clone Wars (TCW) is not good television. For the most part, it’s not even watchable television. The show suffers from serious fundamental issues in nearly every aspect of storytelling. Characters are underdeveloped and inconsistent; the dialogue is expository and contradictory; the tone is disjoint and jarring; and most episodes serve no greater purpose than to be a twenty-minute vessel to house lightsaber fights. 

So I want to put this part of the show to rest before I move on to Star Wars: Rebels (and before returning to watch season 7). 

With two exceptions, the show poorly handles twists and reveals. In the earlier seasons, reveals were spoiled mostly due to telegraphing: Captain Sleaze in Cloak of Darkness, Senator Clovis in Senate Spy, and Yolo (?) in Senate Murders come to mind, but there were others. In later seasons, telegraphing was supplanted by “small universe syndrome” as the primary cause of spoiled reveals. In The Academy, a cloaked figure was seen doing shady, back-alley deals, but his identity could only have been the Prime Minister. During the “Ahsoka framed” series, Barriss was obviously the traitor, simply because her character suddenly reappeared after four seasons and there were no other candidates. 

Probably the most successfully executed reveal was that of Krell, as his assholeness was at least initially masked as military rigidity. But even so, it was so over-the-top that when the reveal finally came to light, it felt more like an overdue disclosure than a dramatic twist. It didn’t help that, by that point in the show, the format of “asshole = upcoming reveal” had been firmly entrenched into the show’s DNA. 

I would argue that the most effective plot twist of the entire show was when the dancer/singer girl shot and killed Ziro the Hutt in Hunt for Ziro. Although irrelevant to the greater story, it was an actual twist because it was strongly implied the opposite would happen (i.e., Ziro would betray the girl). If there is to be a second place, that award would go to Ahsoka’s decision to leave the Jedi Order at the conclusion of The Wrong Jedi. But this leads me into my next point...

Who was the main character of The Clone Wars? If we go by the logic that whoever had the most screen time was the main character, then Anakin probably wins over Ahsoka. But if we go by the logic that the most developed character was the “main character,” then this is a show about Ahsoka. Ahsoka---more than any other character---grows in a noticeable way (from impatient, violent child to impatient, slightly less violent teenager). In contrast, Anakin in Rising Malevolence is the same character as Anakin in Voices (only a little more violent and angry for some reason). 

It’s unfortunate that her major character moments were never capitalized on. Intentionally sacrificing herself for the greater good in Weapons Factory apparently led to no lasting repercussions on her character. Her impatience and disobedience led to the deaths of thousands in Storm over Ryloth, but was similarly forgotten immediately afterwards. Even Ahsoka’s major character moment at the end of The Wrong Jedi resulted in her walking away from the show, never to address the implications of that decisions (although I suppose that’s the subject of Season 7). 

On a different note, the show was riddled by a shameful amount of “references” and fan service, for reasons exclusively external to the story. These “nods” ranged from the obvious “Obi-wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope” (or whatever Senator Jimmy Smits says in Cat and Mouse) to the innocuous design of a droid or background device. 

These “references” are objectively problematic for at least a few reasons. (1) They contribute to the sense that the universe is a really, really small place. Is the Mos Eisley cantina really the only place in the Outer Rim where shady deals go down? Is carbon freezing really the only way to store a person in stasis for transport? How long do Rodians live for anyways? Greedo’s gotta be what, like 80 when Han shoots him in A New Hope? It’s ironic that ultimately, this incomprehensibly large, diverse galaxy actually feels much smaller after watching this series because we keep going to the same twelve places...

(2) “Fan service” is tricky to get right because different people have different memories and impressions of the source material. In result, copying material will oftentimes comes across as a blatant misunderstanding of the original content. For example, to me, Vader put Solo into carbon freeze because it’s what Lando had lying around. It’s not a galactically established method of transporting people. Obi-Wan trained Luke with those laser balls aboard the Falcon because Han had them lying around and Obi-Wan needed to improvise a training exercise to kill time. 

(3) "References” and “nods” usually are just a band-aid for a lack of creativity. Some of the better episodes in the initial seasons were just direct rehashes of famous movies. Seven Samurai, Godzilla, Stray Dog, The Most Dangerous Game, King Kong... I mean, it’d be pretty impressive to mess-up stories like these, but it’s concerning that there were just so many episodes made from other people’s stories. 

These “references” even seep into the most innocuous of scenes. When Prequel!Wan lands on Mandalore to attempt a rescue of Satine from Darth Maul, one of the Mandalorians takes aim at him, only to have their blaster pushed down by their companion who’s shaking their head. This is a direct reference o the Tusken Raiders on Tatooine when Luke went after R2 in the desert. Even if this scene served an important plot purpose (it didn’t), there’s undoubtedly a multitude of ways to communicate the same thing. Instead, a small reference to the OT is interjected into the show, deimmersing the audience from the events shown. Unfortunately, this is just one (very small) example of hundreds over the whole show. 

Let me say something positive. The episodes that worked best (especially early in the show's run) were ones that focused on mortal people, usually the clones. Innocents of Ryloth was one of the first watchable episodes, simply because we didn't have to sit through twenty minutes of unlikable, unrelatable “Jedi” and instead followed around a pair of troopers helping a little girl using their limited abilities. Likewise, Pursuit of Peace was way more enjoyable than it probably should have been, simply because the story was understandable, the consequences clear, and the drama real. Plan of Dissent (when the clones actively rebel against Krell) was also noteworthy for similar reasons: clones we liked must subdue a “Jedi” we’ve learned to hate. 

This isn’t to say that episodes focused on the major characters were inherently unenjoyable, it’s just that none of these characters had any room to grow (with the exception of Ahsoka). Dooku, Grievous, Anakin, Prequel!Wan... They were the same characters as portrayed in Episode II and III. As presented, there was nowhere for these characters to go. Dooku was literally identical at the beginning of the series as he was at the end, and the same can be said about the others. 

But these are false constraints the writers imposed upon themselves. Grievous was not in Episode II and was introduced in Episode III. TCW could have started him however they wanted and then illustrated his change into the character he later becomes. Who was he? What was his motivation? Why did he hate Jedi so much? The show was handed a completely clean slate to deliver a character from scratch, but instead we were immediately shown “Episode III General Grievous” with zero introduction because fans were expected to already know who he was. 

This is partly why the backstory episode to Grievous was so compelling, at least in premise: viewing his home was personal to his story and it represented a chance to learn a bit more about the character and where he came from. Of course, it was mostly mishandled by a reliance on meaningless action, but the high ratings of that particular episode suggest there was room for quality television here, it just was never capitalized on.

Instead, we have completely static caricatures, especially for minor characters from the movies. Admiral Tarkin, Admiral Ackbar, Greedo (among others) were written out of cardboard and their roles in the plot could have just as easily been played by anyone else (there was nothing unique about their roles that required them to be these characters). 

This is a shame because a lot could have been done with the established premise to really focus on Anakin, his motivations, and his relationship to his Padawan. I would have been okay with a lot of backtracking if it meant I could begin to grasp his “fall” to the Dark Side. Instead, I’m honestly more confused than ever about his motivation.

One argument is that Anakin joins the Dark Side because he like, “loves” Padme (or whatever). However, what we’re shown in this show---consistently, clearly---is that Padme and Anakin have a toxic, dysfunctional relationship. He is uncomfortably jealous and rarely trusts her. They argue nearly every time they’re together. Their “love” (or whatever) must remain secret, equating their relationship to something “wrong” or even “illegal” that must be kept secret, even on the verge of death. In a later episode, Anakin orders Padme to listen to him because he’s the “man” and, as his wife, she doesn’t have a say in the matter. This is clearly a broken relationship and the best result is the one that actually happens: They stop seeing each other. Anakin wants to save this woman from a vision? Why? 

This brings up a second point, which is that Anakin can’t stand the pain of losing someone. His desire to protect those close to him may be Anakin’s only redeeming trait. He has a single selfless scene (in the entire show) during the opening of Jedi Crash where he sacrifices himself to delay an explosion and save his companions. I want to stress that any other scene where Anakin saves or helps someone isn’t done because he’s a good person, it’s done because he’s a broken person. It’s done because he, personally, would struggle with the emotional toll of knowing he allowed someone close to him to be hurt or die. In other words, he’s doing nice things for selfish reasons. 

As far as I’m concerned, Anakin has always been Darth Vader. He is given choices between being a Jedi and allowing a lot of people to die, and he enjoys choosing the second. In Ghosts of Mortis, we’re shown that the threshold between “Anakin” and “Darth Vader” is disconcertingly low, requiring only a few choice words and less than a minute to convert him. In short, what I’ve learned from TCW regarding Anakin Skywalker is that he was an unlikable dick, and his “turn” to the Dark Side was just a long-overdue reveal. 

While the later seasons worked towards the events in Episode III in a way that at least made a bit of sense, earlier seasons were focused on adult-themed wacky hijinks. In a way, the show almost would have worked better as a kid’s show, but this was clearly meant for adults: politics, war, slavery, and lots and lots of horrific violence. In comparison, the silly adventures of Star Wars: Resistance worked well because the show didn’t take itself too seriously. It was very clearly, from the start, a lighthearted show about kids going on fun adventures. In contrast, TCW suffered because its themes were adult in nature, but was portrayed as a Saturday morning cartoon show. The humor was misplaced, the tone disjointed from actual events, and the violence excessive. 

Let me say a few words on the “Jedi.” Initially I labeled them as overpowered (OP), because in earlier episodes they seemed invincible and dissolved tension in every scene. Later, we see a slew of them get cut down as plot fodder, even against widely different situations. We see Luminara and others push through hoards of droids only to see “Jedi” Master Yoda-like dude get taken down by a dog. We watch as Fisto *heh* powers through entire battalions and the cone-head guy counting coup against an army, only to watch as pink girl gets shot in the face by a single clone who stands in front of her for several seconds before pulling the trigger. 

It’s nearly impossible to feel tension in these scenes because the metrics for judging the true strength of a “Jedi” keep shifting as a function of the plot requirements. Anakin suddenly forgets how to use the Force when the plot needs his help to fake some drama. Prequel!Wan pointlessly fist fights with a slaver cat for an hour until the plot needs him to get back up again and OP everyone in the room. Even their ships are only as strong or weak as the plot needs them to be. Plo Koon’s fleet is devastated in seconds in order to portray the Malevolence as being a threat; Anakin’s fleet powers through a larger force three times its size because Anakin’s like, really mad about something. 

Secondly, the “Jedi,” in general, were unlikable assholes. They were consistently portrayed as violent and ignorant and I struggled to understand them as real people. Frequently, we witnessed them torture victims, default to a lightsaber to solve problems, and enjoy death to the point of counting coup against sentient life forms defending their homes. Anakin threatened civilians with his lightsaber. Ahsoka was annoyed when she’s asked not to murder a defenseless creature in Jedi Crash. Prequel!Wan and Anakin team up to hurtle enormous rocks into a beaten monster in Dooku Captured. A trio of Jedi Masters mentally gang bang a shackled Cad Bane. They supported state terrorism when it suited their needs, but agreed to abandon their friends for political reasons. 

I mean, these are not good people...

This is a shame, because my impression of true Jedi comes from Luke, Yoda, and Obi-Wan in the OT, as well as the expanded universe novels that take place afterwards. It always seemed to me that being a Jedi was about conquering oneself, one’s fears, and learning to use the Force to selflessly help others and let go of all worldly attachments. You know, like the Buddhists they were originally inspired by. I always had the impression that the Force was extremely powerful and that Yoda was only showing Luke a portion of what was possible. That the Emperor was only using Force lighting to toy with Luke. That Vader only Force choked his officers because it was visually intimidating and kept them in line. 

Instead, we’re treated to some garbage about how a “Jedi” is nothing greater than an actuator to swing around a lightsaber. When Luke enters Jabba’s palace in Jedi to rescue his friends, it’s not with lightsaber swinging, cutting shit up, flipping around like an acrobatic monkey. Imagine Anakin and Ahsoka in the same scene. They’d blaze through the palace corridors before Force choking Jabba as the Darth Vader theme plays. Forget the rancor, these are demigods. They have lightsabers. Have you seen them? They go “woosh woosh.” 

In short, there was little to look up to in terms of a “hero” character. I can see how children can look up to Luke as a role model, someone they want to emulate or play with as a toy, but looking up to Anakin? Ahsoka? Hey kids, wanna learn to become a psychopath? First, you use your power to abuse those who are weaker than you. Then you need to get really really angry and uncontrollably choke someone, preferably your sister or one of your cousins. 

And so, for a Saturday morning cartoon show, it is very unclear who we’re supposed to care about. I liked when Ahsoka went against Anakin because I hated his character so much. I liked everything with Hondo, a pirate. I liked Ventress a little, because she was actively seeking to kill the main characters. I liked some of the clones, but I don’t know which ones because they all looked the same. I cared about Darth Maul because I’m honestly a little worried about him, especially after the loss of his brother. I kinda liked General Grievous just because he hates the “Jedi” and was therefore relatable (even though the reasoning was never explained). And... that’s it. 

At no point did I ever “look forward” to the next episode. I painfully died a little on the inside hitting the “watch next” button every single time.

This “review” is already way too long, so let me summarize by applying my five-star rating system (developed for movies) to each episode. In review:

5. Amazing, classic, culturally important. Something everyone should watch.  4. Great; very well done, no significant flaws. 3: Entertaining with only minor gripes/criticisms.  2: “Watchable,” but suffers from flaws and has some poor parts.  1. Uncomfortably bad; suffers from serious flaws. 0. Painfully bad, would actively fight against being forced to watch a second time. 

The 3-star episodes were: 

Hostage Crisis

Lightsaber Lost 

Pursuit of Peace

Carnage of Krell

The Wrong Jedi 

Hostage Crisis was the introduction of Cad Bane, Lightsaber Lost was the remake of Stray Dog (and the only episode to include a real Jedi), Pursuit of Peace was the random Padme/politics episode that was strangely well-executed, Carnage of Krell was the reveal of Krell as a bad guy and his clones working to apprehend him, and The Wrong Jedi was Ahsoka leaving the Jedi Order (and the only episode to include a true character moment). 

Also, I scaled the IMDB ratings of each episode to my ratings and then detected outliers in their overlap. In other words, I wanted to answer the question, “which episodes did I rate the most differently from others?” 

Turns out, I rated every single episode lower except for seven. Those seven were: 

Mercy Mission (+1.853) - R2 and 3PO discover an underground world with ents. This one is universally panned by “fans,” but was a competently handled episode apart from the disappointing resolution. 

Pursuit of Peace (+1.382) - Padme struggles to win support for a Senate bill. Another competently handled episode that focuses on Padme and politics and is ranked low by “fans.”

Lightsaber Lost (+0.6471) 

Weapons Factory (+0.4118) - An average episode with a dramatic scene of sacrifice by Ahsoka and her “friend” Barriss. 

Shadow Warrior (+0.3824) - Grievous is captured during some dramatic moments on Naboo. 

Hostage Crisis (+0.3529)

Front Runners (+0.0882) - One of the rebels episodes, I don’t remember which. 

In conclusion, Star Wars: Rebels is next and I am somehow still alive.

#pie211-tcw #tcw #clone wars #the clone wars #star wars

[zabbaninja]

Updated Ranking- 2020 Anime Year In Review

Punch Line- Completely unexpected, possibly the greatest anime of all time. The animation is good and the music is great, but the characters and story is what made me really love this show. It’s also very misleading holy crap they work hard to cover up the real meat of the show. 

HaNaYaMaTa- A gorgeous anime with a bunch of great music and dancing.

Promare- 2d CGI hybrid with an amazing soundtrack and inspiring characters. (Still not as good as Kill la Kill though.)

The Helpful Fox Senko-San- Really really cute, probably the most feel-good anime ever made. 

Laid Back-Camp- Absolutely incredible.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba- Way exceeded my expectations.

No Game No Life Zero- No comment, it’s better if you go in with nothing.

Spirited Away- What did you expect?

Parasyte- Outstanding visuals and the best transformation of a character I have ever seen in any anime.

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K- The best comedy anime I saw this year, the animation is a little stiff, but the characters make up for it.

Komi Can’t Communicate (Manga)- A very good read that I don’t think would work well as an anime imo. 

No Game No Life- The greatest fictional world I have ever seen in anything ever. I couldn't imagine half the things the anime does.

Squid-Girl- Made me like squids.

Lupin III: The First- SEE! CGI IS COOL!

Hi Score Girl (Season 2)- Season one was pretty good, but a little underwhelming. Season 2 on the other hand is completely insane and is one of the best anime you can watch on Netflix right now holy crap.

BNA- Trigger has done it again, though some aspects hold it down for me. 

Gargantia on the verdurous planet- Amazing Sci-Fi anime, Ledo is hot.

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid- Really recommend this one.

Blue Exorcist (Kyoto Saga)- What a grand return!

Kohana Kitan- A beautiful anime with a whole lot of charm.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind- This… Is Requiem.

Dragon Quest: Your Story- Best video game movie, fight me.

Star vs. The Forces of Evil- Really good, had a lot of unexpected moments.

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K: Reawakened- Not as good as original, though still pretty solid.

Steven Universe- Really good.

Steven Universe The Movie- Also really good.

HERO- What an outstanding film. The closest we will get to anime fighting in live-action.

House of Flying Daggers- Why isn't it house of “The” flying daggers? What the heck?

The Last Samurai- I didn't know that it was Tom Cruise until the very end.

In This Corner of the World- Really really incredible movie, highly recommended, will probably make you cry and feel sad though, so watch at your one risk.

Eromanga Sensei- Really really fun anime.

Gourmet Girl Graffiti- If you like food and cute girls, this is the anime for you. (Update after watching again, this was way better than I remember. I would probably put it much higher now) 

Nichijou: My Ordinary Life- This anime is a sight to behold.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 3.5: Battle in Egypt- There was only one reason you lost.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable- My name is Yoshikage Kira. I'm 33 years old. 

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress: The Battle of Unato- Way better than I was expecting, really solid. 

Sword Art Online Alicization: War of Underworld- Some of the best animation you can watch right now, with some stupid garbage mixed in.

Lupin The 3rd, Part 5- Pretty good, though not outstanding.

Avatar: The Last Airbender- I’m sorry, It’s just not really for me.

Anima Yell!- Very cute, though some other anime do this style a lot better.

Sword Art Online Alicization- This is literally the textbook example of Awful Taste but Great Execution.

Recovery of an MMO Junkie- It’s good, but it doesn't really feel that unique or memorable compared to other slice of life anime. (That opening though… Now that is incredible.)

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki Kun- WHERE IS THE PLOT? WHY DOES IT END THE SAME WAY IT BEGAN? NOTHING HAPPENED!!

Sonic the Hedgehog- “Gotta go fast.”

Nezha- Really good, I liked the story a lot.

LEGO Ninjago- The spiritual successor to the original series, while nowhere near as good, is something I can say is 90% better than everything else on Cartoon Network right now.

Pop Team Epic- Was not really for me.

Scissor Seven (Season 2)- I liked this a lot, I cannot wait to see what happens in season 3.

Infinity Train- Good, though not as outstanding as something like Gravity Falls (Which this show is compared to a lot).

Modest Heroes- First part is okay, Second part is alright, Third part is a must watch.

NinoKuni- The most predictable movie I have ever watched. 

Oblivion- The song was really good.

Scissor Seven (Season 1)- A mixed bag, full of boring episodes and some that truly amazed me. 

Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja- Good for what it is.

WATATEN!: an Angel Flew Down to Me- Ehh… Really pretty animation- too bad nothing happens.

BAKI- WHY WOULD YOU JUST SWITCH TO CGI IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIGHT SCENE?

Fireworks- Most boring anime I watched this year, a complete waste of time.

Devilman Crybaby- The worst anime I have ever seen in my life, pissed me off and made me never want to watch anime again. I am glad other people like it though, I wish I could too… But I just can’t.

#anime

[beneaththetangles]

The Samurai Steps Out on Faith…

“Would you consider joining our team?”

I have to admit, when I saw those words appear on my screen a few months ago, I was beyond stunned. Me? You want ME to join up with Beneath the Tangles?!

Me? A guy who updates his own blog once a year AT BEST?!

Me? A guy who wrote a scathing series of articles about a VERY controversial subject resulting in some PRODIGIOUSLY cutting reviews and commentary leaving me mentally MIA for a whole month?!

ME? A guy who has been known to turn into an Angry Black Man on a wide variety of subjects including politics?!

You seriously want me, a mid-thirty’s black man from Louisiana who just so happens to have spent the last 25 years of his life consuming and loving anime to come write for Beneath the Tangles?

Knowing all this, you want me?

“Well…alright then. You got me. I probably can’t give you much, but you’ll get the best of what I got.”

And with that…here I am.

Hi. I’m Joshua. You can call me Josh. Or Cajun Samurai. Whichever you prefer. Heck, I’m not picky. I’ve been called so many things in the course of my life. Heck, the last few MONTHS I’ve been called some REAL colorful things. Heck, once when I was engaged in a heated political debate (as I tend to do), I was once called a lizard. I wore that name with pride for a while. Lizards are cool. Steve Irwin, God rest his soul, taught me that. In any case, for simplicity sake, I’m Josh. I’m sure most of you got to know me really well in my introduction on Twitter when I spammed your timelines with anime likes and dislikes. If you think THAT was a lot of info, you should see what I post on my own Twitter account. I’m the self-crowned prince of reaction pictures and live-tweeting.

As I mentioned above, I’m a Louisiana native. And before you ask, no, I don’t live in New Orleans. Honestly, I don’t really go to New Orleans that often unless it’s for my yearly trek to MechaCon…and even then, after next year, MechaCon will be going bye-bye, so my trips to NOLA will probably be even more infrequent. Unless I can score some Saints tickets. Cam Jordan, if you’re reading this, I know you’re an anime fan. Hook a brother up.

Once upon a time, I once had a pretty okay blog called The Cajun Samurai. It was just a place where I could get some reviews done and write up some small articles. At the time I started it, I was working a desk job that allowed me plenty of free time to write until my heart was content. But then, things happened, and I got laid off from my cushy job of seven years, and I had to go back out into the real world and do some real work. From a major airline to a major shipping company, to a local automotive parts company to a major lab testing company, I’ve been blessed to see so many different things and have so many different experiences, but sadly, my time to work on my blog was truncated severely and my poor blog was dang near neglected.

I did, however, find time in late January to write up a series of posts about a…particular hot topic that shook the anime community in 2019. I won’t get into it here, but suffice it to say, it was a MAJOR project for me, and a couple of my more…heated posts…caught some REAL undesired attention…which put me in a mental place that I did NOT want to be in. I found myself second guessing a lot of what I did, and I spent the entirety of February wondering if I was actually right in what I wrote. Did I go too far? Did I take it to a level that it didn’t need to go to? Did I compromise my own spiritual beliefs? All this went through my head and it was just so overwhelming. Suffice it to say, when I look back at February 2020, it won’t be the best of times. However, here we are in August, and, in the words of Elton John, “I’m still standing.” However, I can honestly say I didn’t get through it alone, not by a long shot.

Faith was something that I leaned on every step of the way. If it wasn’t but for the love and sweet mercy of the Lord, I would’ve driven myself completely insane. There was SO MUCH prayer going on during that time, and sometimes it was a struggle to get by on an hourly basis, to say nothing of a daily basis. In fact, I fully believe it was God working through TWWK that provided so much support to me both spiritually and emotionally; I can’t even put it into words how much I relied on his support and strength and just knowing that someone else out there was pulling for me, praying for me…it’s a beautiful feeling. I know I’ve probably driven him crazy with my many messages during that time, especially since he has his own family and life, but honestly, I doubt I would’ve been able to get through this without him and some of my other friends online. Also, knowing that the Beneath the Tangles crew were praying for me touched my heart so much. I owe them so much.

Then, one day, TWWK asked me that infamous question about coming over to write and do some Twitter posts. At first, I admit I was hesitant; I was almost ready to turn him down because of all the issues that I went through over my blog posts. I would never…EVER want to expose anyone to drama that involves myself and another person or group of people, and I felt that the target on my back, however faded and off center, would be a target on anyone I was affiliated with. But then I remembered a bit of scripture that pretty much smacked me across the face like Mrs. Kamiya slapped Tai across the face in that one episode of Digimon:

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. – Joshua 1:9

“Be not afraid”. “Be NOT afraid”.

Those words rung in my head loud as a bell. And it was for ME specifically. For this particular bit of scripture to be found in the book of JOSHUA…the book I am named after that tells the story of a man who had nothing but his faith to step out on…it was like a spiritual “Hey, Listen!” Sometimes, you have to step out on the strength of your faith and see where it leads you. It’s one thing to say that you believe in God and you trust in God, but at some point in your lives, be it making a small decision like joining a Christian anime blog, or a large decision like getting married or starting that new business, you have to take that leap OF faith ON your faith.

Many times I’ve found myself on that cliff about to take that leap of faith and many times I thought “Dang it, is this the right thing to do? Did I do everything right? Maybe I should rethink this…” but then I say “You know what, God? You brought me to this point. You said You would not put more on me than I can bear.  You picked me up each time I fell. You know the outcome of this. What do I have to be afraid of? I trust YOU. Lets do this.”

And so…here I am. For as long as you’ll have me, I humbly offer my services to you, dear reader. It is my hope and prayer that God blesses me with the writing acumen that will entertain you, challenge your thinking, and maybe make your day just a little bit better.

With that out the way, borrowing an idea from TWWK, I offer up my (CURRENT) top 30 anime of all time as a way to introduce myself anime-wise. Keep in mind, this list is always changing. In fact, up to the time of posting, this list has probably gone through about 20 changes. Why? Because just like the autumnal wind, my tastes and interests in anime ebb and flow. Today’s hotness will probably be tomorrow’s “meh”-ness. But as it stands right now, this is it. Yes, there’s some old stuff, yes there’s some new stuff…there may even be a few titles that will surprise you. Hopefully this list, and any subsequent posts, will give you some kind of idea of what kind of anime I like, and by extension, maybe what kind of person I am.

30. Yamada-Kun and the Seven Witches 29. Hitorijime My Hero 28. Silver Spoon 27. Bunny Drop (Usagi Drop) – PLEASE DON’T READ THE MANGA. PLEASE… 26. Lucky Star 25. Daily Lives of High School Boys 24. Hunter X Hunter 23. Sarazanmai 22. Nichijou 21. My Love Story 20. Azumanga Daioh 19. Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit 18. Persona 4: The Animation 17. Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad 16. Kodocha 15. Nerima Daikon Brothers 14. Digimon Tamers 13. FLCL (Original) 12. Neon Genesis Evangelion 11. Ghost Stories (English Dub) 10. Aria: The Animation 9. Nagi no Asukara 8. Assassination Classroom 7. Toradora! 6. Mysterious Girlfriend X 5. Planetes 4. Aria: The Origination 3. Aria: The Natural 2. Cowboy Bebop 1. Digimon Adventure (1999)

Admittedly, I’m not a HUGE fan of countdown lists because I always feel I’m forgetting something and I’m never FULLY satisfied with my choices, but I think this is a pretty comprehensive list! Of course, I’ll probably lay awake in bed tonight scrolling through Crunchyroll and think “OH CRAP! I FORGOT XYZ SHOW!!” and then kick myself for not including it, but hey, for the time being, this list is pretty much THE list. Just know that, quite literally, this list was updated and picked over all the way up to the day it was published!

And I think I’ve taken enough of your time! Funny how this post went from just being an introduction to a testimony to an anime countdown, huh? As a southerner, we tend to digress quite often. I ask that you please put up with my many digressions as I start this new God-given path I set out on with my new friends. Ya’ll have a good one and, as we say down here in Louisiana: Laissez le bon temps rouler! (let the good times roll!)

#Anime #Christianity #Articles #Author: The Cajun Samurai

[whirlybirdwhat]

Hello, what are your favorite anime? Do you have a top 10'

I would have a top ten if I watched more anime than I did so instead I’ll just named the one that I watch? Its mostly main stream ones, so you’ve probably heard most of them but I’ll explain a bit. The first six are all on American Netflix which is where I watched them (or coming to Netflix soon, in One Piece’s case,) for easy watching! 

So. Personal ones that I like/love!

1. One Piece. Duh. It caters to me and me personally in literally every way so its my favorite above all other favorites!! Gonna assume you know me via my op stuff so i won’t explain what it’s about beyond PIRATESSS!! I think ive made seperate posts but if anyone wants to ask me why i love op i have an essay in my brain ready to go lol

2. Fullmetal Alchemist! Another popular one but It was my second anime that I ever watched and OH i love it so much! Essentially two brothers atttempt to regain their bodies after treading on God’s territory and hhave to learn to deal with the military, life lessons, and immortal beings ;) I recommend for this one watching both FMA 2003 and FMA: Brotherhood, because FMA expands on a lot more on characterization (especially with Lust!! And Nina!!) while Brotherhood is far better in terms of plot. I personally love both, and the themes it has are really good!

3. One Punch Man! I really only watched one season of this, but the premise is what if someone could defeat anyone with just one punch? Its a satire on fighting in other anime’s and focuses on other character’s fights, slice of life shit, rising complications, and other things. Its fun, and I absolutely love genos.

4. Dragon Pilot! I’ve only watched two episodes of this so far but its a pretty cute show about how a woman in the Japanese Rookie Guard becomes friends with and thhen pilots a Dragon which acts like a jet, and is very fun!

5. Fairy Tail! Baby’s first anime and it still has a place in my heart. In a world of wizard guilds, a celestial wizard finds her way into the legendary Fairy Tail Guild and things get wild from there.  I can’t really say anything about how good the series is in terms of worldbuilding or characterization or what not but it does have a lot of feel good moments that had me cheering, and the fanservice moments were easy enough to skip through! 

6. Seven Deadly Sins! This one is pretty fun not the best anime i’ll say I’ve ever watched but the fights were fun and I loved the reveals it had! Premise is that the former criminal knights of the kingdom are being regatherd by a Princess to save the kingdom. Uh. Some of the characters (elizabeth) are very annoying but the rest are pretty fun and everybody is just. very powerful and i love it. worst down side is that there are a lot of pervy jokes which i hate :///

Fuck what else do i watch. Shit.

Um. I have also watched Magi: Sinbad (sinbad from the story fights through mystic dungeons) Yuuri On Ice (gay figure skating ?) , and My Hero Academia (hero school but make it traumatic and with poor world building)? Basically all the ones I have easy access too.

My to-watch list is, however:

1. Gintama - samurai and fun shit with a lot of one piece references lmao

2.  Castlevania - Vampires?? Thats all i know for this one sorry i want to find out more lmao

3. Lupin the Third - Crime! with fun hijinks! Apperantly!

4. Carole and Tuesday - muscians but in the future and supposedly really sweet. 

5. Cowboy bepop - bounty hunters in space

6. Mob Psycho 100 - kid withh pyshic powers find person to help him withh them?

7. Soul Eater - Reaper in training and her weapon which can turn into a person hunt down souls.

And things people Have recommended too me that I probs won’t watch for a while/never watch in general but you mighht find interesting!

1. The Promised Neverland

2. Demon Slayer

3. Sword Art Online (??? my friend really likes this one and i have yet to understand what it is about)

4. Jojo’s bizarre

5. Golden Kamui?Kamuy? 

yeah. 

Hope that helps anon! my anime list isn’t very big, sorry, I have a short attention span for things im not 100% hooked on so I often drop shit half way through and I prefer reading, so I haven’t really looked for a lot of anime

fuck i do need to watch more shit lmao one piece just took over my life

#hope that helps! #whirlywhat #recs #fuck i do need to start watching gintama i told myself i would and i havent. shit #whirlyanswers #Anonymous

[yetanotherbuffyblog]

CASTER FIGHT! CASTER FIGHT!

And I finished Season Six! WHOOOO!

Giles fights Willow, and actually manages to contain her despite both acknowledging that he’s nowhere near as powerful as her. This doesn’t last too long though; Anya breaks her out when Willow mind controls her to do it, and in her rematch with Giles she kicks him six ways to Sunday. Buffy escapes to go save the remains of the Trio when Willow sends a giant flaming ball to go kill them; and she does, after which Jonathan and Andrew completely disappear from the Plot.

And then Buffy and Dawn fall into a hole where they talk and then fight monsters for the rest of the episode. 

But Willow absorbs the magic from Giles, and somehow this absorbs… pain from the world, or something? And then Willow decides there’s too much pain in the world, so she’s going to destroy it. So she pulls up a Satanic temple (what???) from the ground and starts shooting magic laser at it. Then Xander arrives, because he ran here when he realized that Willow wanted to destroy the world, and despite Willow being all omnicidal, he talks her down without fighting by reminding her that even though Tara died, there are people who love her and care about her no matter what.

The episode closes out with someone singing the prayer of St. Francis?

Oh and after completing all these trials, Spike gets his soul back! What!

Notes!

-I said last time that I didn’t think that Giles was really that powerful, from what we’ve seen? That’s confirmed here, where he mentions that he’s been in contact with a coven in England, and they were the ones who gave him some magic to use, and it’s implied they teleported him over when he heard what was going on. The witches apparently sensed Willow going axe crazy?

-Why… why is there a Satanic temple that’s just… there, and why is that the thing that Willow uses to almost destroy the world? Can she do that? Does she really have the juice to destroy the world? Would no one else stop her? One would think that all the demons that love causing havoc in the world, they’d take issue with it.

-According to TV Tropes, the original plan was for Buffy and Dawn to fight a DRAGON, but they had to cut that for budget issues. How the fudge a dragon would appear I have no idea.

-I feel as if every time guns come up, there’s this tendency to be like, “Nah, man, those aren’t cool/are useless!” But really? Would a headshot from a sniper have killed Willow? I feel like if things get desperate, that’s a thing they could have tried. Goes against the theme of the episode/arc, but just sayin.’

-I was very weirded out by the use of the prayer of St. Francis at the end. Like, I get that compassion is a part of the story and all, but that specific prayer has a specific Christian context and using it as a feel-good way to end the episode feels a bit like cheapening it. Maybe I’m just very emotionally attached to it, because I have a little plaque with the prayer that used to sit on my bedside.

-When Buffy tells Giles about everything going wrong, he bursts out laughing. I thought it was meant to mean that he didn’t believe her, especially about sleeping with Spike, but she joins him, and it goes on for a while. Apparently that was something Anthony Head improvised that they kept in.

-Spike… has a soul. That’ll be an interesting development.

-Willow, at the very least, should have a very complex character arc in the next season. If not, then I will be severely disappointed.

-Is Giles going to stay? [shrugs] I dunno.

-I don’t have an issue with Willow turning evil, or even being the Big Bad, I guess, but I do feel like, in a way, it didn’t feel earned? At least, how it was done. Because going from trying to get revenge to trying to destroy the world is a HUGE leap, and she’s evil for three episodes. I would have liked Evil!Willow to have gone on longer.

-I did like how Xander talked her down. That was a good scene. Good stuff.

-TV Tropes insists that Xander saving the world is symbolic because he’s a carpenter, and the world is saved by a carpenter, so… Jesus? And look, MAYBE that was intentional, but I’m going to ignore that possibility because I hate the idea of someone saying Xander = Jesus.

-Dawn finds out that Spike tried to rape Buffy and is… not thrilled that she wasn’t told. Which I get, but at the same time, look, things were happening very quickly and they didn’t exactly have time to sit down and have this conversation.

-And Buffy feels good about the world again! That’s great. I suppose the threat of it being destroyed will do that to you.

-I will probably take a while to get to the next season. I am almost finished with season two of The Expanse and the first season of Locke & Key, and now that Samurai Jack is streaming for free I’ve been catching up on that as fast as I can (about two episodes a day; I just finished the first season). So it might be a while after Lent that I make updates on Season Seven!

#BtVS #6x22 #Buffy Summers #Willow Rosenberg #Tara Maclay #Xander Harris #Spike #Rupert Giles #Anya #Dawn Summers

[vedj-f-bekuesu]

I need to actually stick to what I say for once.

I was going to do S2 on Monday, but then I got the realisation that after watching NS12, I was already running out of things to do. So, I did it tonight, and it’s...certainly an eclectic collection of thoughts. Hmph.

-The biggest point I have, and one I think really damages the season, is the pacing. You can tell the writers were aware that Ninjago was going to be cancelled (indeed, it was actually cancelled for a year) so they jammed two seasons’ story into one season. As a result, the last...say, five episodes are pretty strong since it seems the story beats were fairly set in stone (heh), but it takes over half the season to get there and before that you have some pretty meh writing. I know they didn’t exactly have full control over that, so bear in mind I am aware of this and assume I’m giving some leeway for it where appropriate, although I will still criticise it. -Lloyd Montgomery "For Fucks Sake Stop Grounding Me" Garmadon is the best character in this season. However, the fact we spent just seven episodes with young green Ninja Lloyd is a waste of an idea in hindsight.  -Skales remains an MVP before he’s written out of the story.  -I see now that S2 Garmadon is the basis for Movie Garmadon because he was great, and it was especially hilarious watching him bounce off his boring pilot self. -Wu is still the worst character. I’m sorry, he was bad enough when he was being too harsh on four teens, Lloyd is one kid and Wu is already like “I’m shoving the weight of the world on your shoulders”. Fuck you Wu. -The non-elemental parents do no get enough due credit. Ed, Edna and Lou are all great in their own way, and Doctor Julien is a badass considering he’s on death’s door.  -And yes, this does mean I like S2 Misako overall. She’s a victim of the rushed pacing though; her motive for leaving Lloyd at Darkley’s could have been way more smooth if she just had five seconds longer to speak, like “I left him to go and research the prophecy...and make sure the dark forces would not attack him”. You could answer at least three potential hangups with those few extra words. Otherwise, the idea of old regrets is one with potential, and it’s handled pretty well here. I am aware it gets fucked up later, but what else is new. -The bizarro ninja are about as good as early Archie Evil Sonic. Which means they’re terrible. Hopefully they don’t show up again.  -Wow, Captain Soto is an early one! I’m glad his contribution to the season actually had serious ramifications. -I like the way the first part of the season built up the new civilian cast, even if most were unnamed. Started to really give life outside the ninja, something season 1 was short of. Also Dareth wasn’t that great at first, but the mini-arc he had warmed me up to him.  -Nya...existed. Outside of being turned evil and using Samurai X once this was not her season. Kai used Samurai X more than her, even! -I don’t know how to vocalise my thoughts on the main four, their treatment was erratic. For the first eight episodes they were honestly pretty weak, basically being shoved into the mentor role and not being given much material beyond that. Jay managed to just about counter that with his obnoxious personality (actually acting as a positive rather than a negative). Zane doesn’t counter it, but because he’s generally like that anyway he adapts well to it. Kai and Cole suffer for it. I know I didn’t like them in S1 due to being abrasive and not my thing at all, but now they’re basically the other extreme; revolving around their mentor role, taking out a lot of the personality. All of this is probably because of said rushed pace so they had to get them as mentors lickety split. Then five episodes from the end the story’s like “Whoops, we left the personality nodes off, let’s just switch them back on” and suddenly all four of them were improved. Zane had his own arc to go through, Jay was electric, and Cole was apparently just unleashing the energy not used in the first half (How did we go from him being so stoic to doing the Moonwalk over Stone Soldiers???). Even Kai got moments back, and it finally genuinely felt like he’d become protective of Lloyd without it being forced in by the plot needs.  -Jaya has a bit of a stumble in S2 thanks to Double Trouble (thanks for nothing, Bizarro Ninja), but overall it’s still cute.  -Whoever said that the Stone Army isn’t treated with any comedic elements is a filthy liar. Even the Overlord got sassy at one point.  -The plot ends up being an overt Star Wars homage and I am okay with this. -I should have mentioned this with the first season but I hope the once-an-episode slow-down bits stop soon. The choreography of the fighting has improved though!

So overall? I honestly have pretty mixed feelings towards this season. In terms of quality it’s more consistent than S1, but at the same I feel it’s brought down more, mainly because of that omnipresent pacing issue. The last five episodes suffer less from it, but that is far too late to be kicking in. Not that the first part is bad, but you can tell they’re skimming content to get to the good stuff. That being said, said good stuff is good. 

I want to add a little extra though, because the way it ends only makes me more conscious of how the next few seasons take the story. The story here does feel like an ending point, and that was fine for the time. But hindsight has shown that this was not the case, and there’s definitely some corners that have been written into. So with that, I can at least understand why the Hagemans and Andreason might have thought at the time that creating new drama for all the main characters (that weren’t Lloyd because he needed a rest) was the best way to try and give themselves an out. But man, there are going to be moments where I am gonna legit fume (there’s a moment in S2 that makes the upcoming love triangle so much worse, and I think the bit I’m dreading the most now is actually Kai’s green Ninja drama in S4). 

Also poor Lloyd get schtick for hogging the limelight, when it seems in most instances it’s been circumstances that did that. S2 was trying to rush its story so it had to focus on Lloyd to tell it, and S8 was probably LEGO’s way of continuing the film inertia, and it just happened to be an arc that needed three seasons to resolve due to the way it was structured. For once, S11 is the most guilty since that one didn’t need to be Lloyd. 

Okay, so next up whenever I decide to do it are Rebooted and Tournament of Elements...oh joy...at least all the seasons are shorter this time.

#ninjago #VEDJ-F talks #vedj-f reviews #NS2 #Prime Empire is still my gold standard mind #The so-called Golden Era is more of a Bronze-Silver era to me

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

the larger courier six verse, media influences

tagged by @sybil-writes ty

the bibliography for this thing is extensive. my taste is wide and omnivorous. i try to drop what i was thinking about when i wrote a particular bit into the author’s notes, and i think i’ve credited all the direct references, but I consume a lot of dystopia and post-apoc media and harder scifi/fantasy with rules, and i don’t keep an accurate running list of shit I like, so i’m certainly not going to get everything in one post. this is mostly me looking at the very limited number of books i have with me and frantically looking at wiki lists like “yes read that liked that stole that”. if i link everything i will die. if you have trouble finding a specific thing lmk tho. this feels real goddamn pretentious like Ah Yes Look At The Media I Have Consumed but here goes 

music: one of these days I will drop links to the network of playlists I have for these kids, but they’re all of Spotify and not super accessible. Danger Days, a post-apoc desert graffiti/neon/cars album by My Chemical Romance. the soft, nonsense love songs off Pretty. Odd by P!ATD. the poppy but sad neon bullshit of Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die also a P!ATD production. Wasteland, Baby! by Hozier, specifically Talk and Dinner & Diatribes. Halsey’s cover of I Walk The Line, Rihanna’s Desperado. Everything by Orville Peck but mostly Roses Are Falling and Take You Back (The Iron Hoof Cattle Call). Instrumental stuff: the opening to Silverado, the Billy the Kid musical, bits of Lawrence of Arabia. It’s Been A Long, Long Time. Fitz & The Tantrums’ Get Away. Mother Mother’s album O My Heart. Gorillaz’ Plastic Beach. 

filme: 

the Dollars trilogy ofc

the sheer bullshit nonsense of Wild Wild West and Blazing Saddles and Turbokid. 

a lot of the interaction between many characters in a tight space from Stagecoach. my dad really loves John Wayne, so I am constantly thinking about Monument Valley even though that’s nowhere near the Mojave. honestly whenever i’m thinking about how to describe landscapes I’m thinking about The Searchers, even though I have a lot of problems with that film. 

the colorful nonsense future of The Fifth Element. 

the gritty self-surgery and prospecting of Prospect (2018). 

SO much Trigun and Cowboy Bebop, for space western flavor and the same sort of analog-cassette-future. u kno how everything in Star Wars looks like it’s been there forever? the absolute opposite of a slick Apple future? that. 

god I wish Firefly was...good

Akira, bc every time I think about motorcycles the Akira motorcycle slide gif plays in my head. 

speaking of which probably a decent chunk of Adventure Time, esp the Super Porp episode. 

a smidge of how a platonic trio works from Samurai Champloo. 

anything with a big sprawling market and a chase scene, even though the only things I can think of are Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and the first Indiana Jones. oh Skyfall also

the set dressing from Tank Girl

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. look I just really like airships and retrofuturisum but art deco

honestly a lot of Ghibli- the aviation fantasy of Porco Rosso, the gardens from Castle In The Sky, a lot of Sophie Hatter energy from Howl’s Moving Castle, the underground bits in Nausicca, the otherworldly sea from Ponyo (except the Fallout sea is probably much emptier). the lovely homey-ness and gadgetry of Sherlock Hound. 

almost certainly some Metropolis for how I think about cities

thinking a lot about The Incredibles and earlier James Bond movies recently for that sort of sleek but still small physical gadget spycraft 60s bullshit

the team and found family dynamics in Leverage

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. the more recent film which I have stolen ENTIRELY too much of the Angel + Blondie + Six dynamic from 

mad max: all of them, to some extent, but a lot of Fury Road. I have a theory about how the Dollars films take place in reverse order, bc of how they feel next to the Mad Max films. The first Mad Max film is about a specific person in a specific place and time doing really specific things. it feels like a movie made off the info of someone who was there. GBU also feels like that- it’s really place-specific in a way? The second Mad Max film is a little hazier, and focuses on mostly people trying to accomplish a goal. For A Few Dollars More also feels a little hazier, like it’s a little more metaphorical/a morality tale and it’s being told by someone heavily embellishing secondhand events. the third Mad Max movie is just over the top nonsense. feral children living in the wreckage of an old plane escaping in a working plane? sure. why the fuck not. For A Fistful Of Dollars also feels like this. of COURSE this big bad gunslinger drifts into town and escapes in a coffin and invents the bulletproof vest. why the fuck not. 

books: i like shit that goes beyond the wander/scrounge/defend trio of verbs. 

the trying to wrap your life around a huge unknowable event from Roadside Picnic, 

too much Le Guin and Butler to really fit here, 

god if anything i write ever has a tenth of the flavor of Kill Six Billion Demons i’ll be happy, 

the postwar feel of Vonnegut and Heller,

Margaret Atwood’s biopunk Oryx and Crake trilogy 

the incredibly sad decaying biopunk/mutation/last days novelette The Drowned World by JG Ballard. 

the space-opera political machinations from the Ancillary trilogy by Ann Leckie. 

World War Z’s accounts of survivors has always felt like reading terminal entries from Fallout games. 

Philip Reeve’s Fever Crumb trilogy, for its interpretation of high-tech artifacts and archaeological reinterpretation of those artifacts. 

Tales of the Bounty Hunters. Tales from Jabba’s Palace. 

A Canticle for Leibowitz of COURSE. 

the original three books in the METRO (2033, 2034, 2035) trilogy, for their tight dense locations and resource management and life-threatening travel/exploration. 

the Family Trade comic by Jordan & Ryan, for setting and intrigue and a very unorthodox power source  

Elizabeth Bear’s short story And The Deep Blue Sea, about a different kind of courier. 

how Gibson’s The Sprawl trilogy (a trilogy i have MANY opinions about, not all of them positive) does worldbuilding when it implies a vast sprawling richly imagined world with casual in-universe references that you can extrapolate a lot from.  

The Gernsback Continuum, for making me think about stranded architectural bits that survived

a little bit of the Empress’ energy from Cavendish’s The Blazing World. 

the short story The Rational Ship by Caro Clarke, about a ship that runs on orgasms, from the EXTREMELY out of print Memories and Visions: Women’s Fantasy and Science Fiction edited by Susanna J. Sturgis. i’ve scanned it in as a pdf and will send it to anyone who asks. the stories in this volume are WILDLY varying in quality and terf-yness. i would not buy this book on purpose. 

i think each separate Vault storyline is a tiny separate Lost World story, so just pick your favorite and insert it here. 

Westerfeld’s Leviathan trilogy was FORMATIVE for baby me. biopunk! big trans energy! SKY WHALES 

fucking hate  Paolo Bacigalupi for what he does to his female characters but Ship Breaker was good from what I remember of it

there are three very oblique Sherlock Holmes references in “blow a kiss, fire a gun” for my own amusement. 

Fallout scifi seems to be very Verne and Wells and Burroughs derived? a lot of very pulpy  “pseudojournalistic realism to tell an adventure story with little basis in reality.” or “hey look at this COMPLETE NOVEL i found in a bottle by the sea OR locked in my weird great-uncle’s things, i shall retell it to you here” 

idk i think The Road and the Hunger Games have so profoundly shaped the state of the genre, there’s probably at least a little bit of both these things in here even if I didn’t particularly like either of them. There’s also a lot of super bleak post-war stuff I read but am not necessarily incorporating, like Nevill Shute’s On The Beach. probably some Dune in here too if i’m being totally honest. why have a desert if there’s not going to be a giant worm, Fallout: New Vegas???

jesus i gotta read more lady authors. there are probably way more that i’m not remembering bc almost all the books i own are in a storage unit seven hours away that i haven’t touched in three years. there are probably way more comics also. 

OH not a book but the decaying-rich-people-paradise of Bioshock. pity how they never made a third game 

#ain't that a kick in the head #ty!!! #this was really interesting to think about #i'm not sure i answered it Right bc there's probably a way i could answer this more directly and draw closer parallels to shit #but here we are in an imperfect week with my imperfect brain

[edharrisdaily]

Ed Harris Has No Idea What’s Happening on Westworld Either

Ed Harris has enough iconic characters in his 40-year career to make other actors jealous — and that was before he added Westworld’s Man in Black to his repertoire. We’ve learned more about Harris’s character, the ultimate player of the game, in season two of HBO’s epic drama as he has progressed deeper into the park amid a robot uprising. In Sunday’s episode “Vanishing Point,” Westworld reveals the most traumatic moment of William’s life — the suicide of his wife, Juliet (Sela Ward) — and pushes him to the absolute edge of cruelty and sanity: After shooting his own daughter, Emily (Katja Herbers), he’s last seen slicing open his arm to see if he’s actually human. Ahead of the episode, Vulture spoke with Harris about “Vanishing Point,” why he’d never want to direct an episode of Westworld, what he thinks of the show’s fandom, and why he loves Atlanta.

Westworld is a famously secretive show. How much of William’s arc do you know in advance? And how does that affect the way you play the character?

The first season was different than the second season. The first season was full of surprises as to what was revealed to almost all of us every episode. We found out things in like episode five, six, and seven and were like, “Wow, that’s news.” The second year, I knew the path that my character was on and where I was headed.

How is this project different from others you’ve worked on?

I’ve never really done this kind of episodic series, so that’s different unto itself. And the length of the season is pretty long. The first year was ridiculous. We stopped and started again — six, seven, eight months. You work two, three days a week max, some weeks you don’t work at all. And this particular show is so complicated. There’s so much being shot. The end of the second year, they had three or four crews working on different episodes. I’m glad I’m not the person trying to keep track of it all.

When even the writers aren’t sure of the backstory, how does that change your approach?

Even when they are sure, they don’t tell you. [Laughs.] I would say, “Hey, look, I just did 125 performances of a play in London. I knew what was going to happen every night. And I was still very present and fresh. You can let me know whatever you want to.” What I didn’t know, I didn’t know. I was going episode by episode, particularly scenes, characters, who I was working with, and what was going on. I didn’t really fret about what I didn’t know because I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

More in the moment.

Very much so. For me, anyway. I took it a script at a time, scene at a time, line at a time. Be present and real and tell the truth.

What’s the most challenging part of this role?

In terms of where it’s going, I guess the difficult thing is just gauging that and trying to understand it. For instance, the episode Lisa [Joy] directed, episode four, she was great to work with because she knew more about [William’s] intent than I did. She was very helpful, in terms of “this is what’s going on inside of him now and this is where it will lead.” When you play a character, you try to get as deep in there as possible. When certain things are revealed to you, it’s very helpful.

How much of the buzz around the show do you pay attention to? The fandom is pretty vocal.

Absolutely none. My wife, who’s a news junkie, will say, “Ed, they’re writing about blah blah blah,” and I’ll say great. I’m very happy it’s a successful show and I love working with the directors and the cast, but I don’t really pay attention to all of the guesswork and what people are trying to figure out.

Is this true across your career? Do you read your reviews?

I really don’t. I remember things that were said to me when I was 28 doing theater in L.A. that I don’t need to have in my head, you know what I mean? If you’re doing a play today in New York, you can’t help but find out if it was positive or negative.

Did you discuss the character at all with Jimmi Simpson? Compare notes?

A little bit. We have a good relationship. I said, “Anything I can help you with, let me know.” He would email me some questions every once in a while, but I didn’t even know there was a younger me until I saw a guy walking around the trailers and said, “Who’s he?” “That’s you.” “Oh. Really? Thanks for telling me.” I think Jimmi does a great job establishing the whole history of this guy.

What did Sela Ward and Katja Herbers bring to “Vanishing Point” that made the episode different?

It’s nice to be out of the Man in Black suit and just be William, the family man, however poor he is at it. Sela was brand-new to the whole situation, so you just try to make somebody like that as comfortable as possible. Work with them. Have them welcome. Get rid of whatever nerves they have. Katja is great. She’s not afraid to ask me things, acting questions. I love talking about it. If she has something that’s bugging her or is stuck in something, we can discuss it.

The episode is about obsession, especially the kind that can blind us from what really matters. Have you ever been obsessed?

I was definitely obsessed with Pollock in the ‘90s, but it was a good obsession. I wasn’t blinded by anything. Let’s see. I like to get into things. I like to do things well. I can get pretty easily obsessed with something I care about, but not necessarily blindly.

Do you have any character or story input on Westworld?

Hmm, we probably had some discussions. Never any major points of disagreements. I did say in one public forum, “I don’t want to be in a samurai suit and I don’t want to be naked.” There are two things I suggested.

How do you pick parts at this point in your career? What’s important to you?

What’s important to me at the moment, which I will know in the next few days, is if I can get financing for this film I want to direct in August or September. It’s a Montana novel called The Ploughman — Robert Duvall, Garrett Hedlund, my wife Amy [Madigan], my daughter [Lily Dolores Harris]. I wrote the screenplay and I’ve been fighting to get the money I need. If I don’t, we won’t be able to make it for a while.

Why is that so important?

Well, I’ve only directed two movies and I haven’t directed in ten years. I really love doing it, and this is a novel that I think could make a really cool movie. I adapted it a couple years and I’ve been trying to do it for the last three years. I really, really, really want to do it.

It sounds like a big, challenging project. When you’ve accomplished so much, are you still looking for things that challenge you?

Yeah, definitely. I just did this play in New York, Good for Otto, the new David Rabe play with my wife Amy. And it was definitely a challenge. A 14-character play. Every night, you’re out there and you’re trying to make it work. I still really enjoy what I do. The acting part of it is more fulfilling in theater than in film work, in a certain way. One of the things I love about directing is you’re constantly focused. You’re constantly occupied. For instance, in Westworld, I’m on set two days a week, and then I may not work for two weeks. I may not know I’m not working for two weeks because they don’t know yet. You’re on set for 12 hours and on camera for ten minutes. It gets a little bit old after a while. You try to keep a good attitude.

Would you consider directing an episode of Westworld?

Jon [Nolan] and Lisa mentioned it to me a while back, but I don’t think I’d be a good director for Westworld because I have a hard time understanding it. [Laughs.] I’m as confused as anybody else watching this thing. I don’t always know what’s going on.

Do you watch your past work? If The Rock is on cable, do you watch it?

If I’m flipping and I happen to see it, I might watch it for a little while. Just for fun. I won’t hunt it out to see something that I did.

What’s your airport question? What do people recognize you for and what do they ask you when they do?

It’s a wide variety. Sometimes people come up and say something like, “Milk Money is my favorite movie.” “All right, I’m glad you enjoyed it.” [Laughs.] A lot of guys go “The Rock! The Rock!” Or I’ll hear, “I really liked you in The Hours.” “Pollock is my favorite movie.” Now Westworld. More people have probably seen that than all the films I’ve ever made. It’s a little bit strange, but it’s alright. You get used to it. I kind of skulk around. I don’t ask to be recognized. I’m always wearing a hat and glasses. I don’t mind if people are polite about it.

You’ve been acting for 40 years. How do you think film and television have changed?

You’ve got, what, 500 scripted shows? I was talking to Amy the other day, and we get all these Emmy screeners in the mail, how could anybody possibly watch all of this stuff? They should have categories. Emmys for HBO. Emmys for network. Emmys for Hulu. That’s the main thing that’s changed — the amount of stuff being put out there is amazing. And in film, it’s all tentpole business. You go to a ten-movie theater and eight of ‘em cost $200 million to make. It’s very different.

So, how do you find what’s good through all the clutter?

There are a lot of good things. I was watching Atlanta last night and I just think the originality of that show is beautiful. You never know what’s gonna happen week to week. It’s so quirky and fun. It’s cool. That’s one of the good things. There are a lot of really good things written, produced, and directed that would never be done in film.

Do you think TV is at a more creative point in its history than film?

You know, there are so many independent films being made that you don’t even know about, I can’t really say. I think there’s a lot of wonderful, creative work being done. I go out the Sundance Film Lab every June if I’m not working. They’re very creative. They’re wonderful.

What’s next? Hopefully the Montana film, right?

If it doesn’t happen, I don’t know what I’ll do. I’ll keep working outside in my yard.

Is that what you like to do?

Yeah, I got some acreage. That’s what I like. Be outside. Close my mind.

#ed harris #westworld #misc. #interview #vulture #2018 #q

[hannah-deserved-better]

My fandoms and my favorite characters and ships

I’m going to talk about all my fandoms and my top one or two characters from each fandom, and my top OTP from each one, if I have any. I’m going in order from when they entered my life. 

Star Trek: The Next Generation

I watched TNG when it first aired in 1987. It was my first fandom and my most time honored fandom. I literally grew up watching it as a child, until it ended in about 1994, when I was about 10. I didn’t know about ships or OTPs or anything back then (no internet cuz you know... it was the 80′s and I was a child). But I did have my favorites: 

Favorite Characters

Captain Picard: Seriously Picard is awesome. He was my first role model. He always had an important lesson to teach and he always did the right thing. I had tons of different Captain Picard action figures.

Dr. Crusher:  She was probably my very first girl crush. I seriously loved Dr. Crusher. I thought she was tough and smart. In the 80s, when women were beginning to be able to go to college and stuff, she was especially important because she was the Chief Medical officer. She had an important role on the ship.

OTP: It shouldn’t come as a surprise that my OTP for TNG is Picard and Crusher. I wanted them to get together so bad!! My favorite episode was “attached” an episode in season seven where the two of them were stranded on a deserted planet and could hear each other’s thoughts. They learned about their intimate dreams and their feelings for each other.

Star Trek Deep Space Nine: 

Deep Space Nine is near and dear to me because it was MY show. I watched it as a young teenager. It was there for me when I was dealing with some dark times in my life, and dealing with the challenges of being a teenager. it was the first fandom that I wrote fan fiction for. Of course, there was no internet then either, so it was just on notebooks and those notebooks have been lost in time. But even now, Deep Space Nine is my default when I can’t decide what to watch. Its my comfort zone, it’s where I feel safe. It was also one of the first times I felt moved by a show ending. I mourned TNG but I was too young. DS9 left just a void and there was no netflix to take comfort in, so no reruns.

Kira Nerys

I loved Kira so much! She was so bad ass. I seriously wanted to be her back in the day. She had a quick temper and she could be stubborn but she had a very tough past. She was a terrorist. She fought for her people’s freedom and she cared deeply for her planet. She dealt with some serious trauma and PTSD because she had been fighting as a resistance fighter since she was a child. It’s all she knew. Living in caves, starving, surviving. She taught me how to be resourceful, my favorite quote is when she said if you need a hammer, use a wrench. 

Constable Odo

Odo was the sheriff in town. He cared about justice and getting at the truth and he tended to be very hardline about it. He took his work very seriously. I loved his banter with Quark. Odo was the observer, he was on no one’s side but he didn’t hesitate to give his opinion and he wasn’t a fan of authority. He did things his way.

OTP: Kira and Odo! I shipped them so hardback in the day! I knew they had something from the very beginning. In season one I shipped them. I was waiting through the whole show to see them be canon, only to be crushed when Odo left in the series finale! That kiss on the promenade was probably the best thing that ever happened to me!

Star Trek Voyager

I admit I didn’t get into Voyager right away. I was mourning for DS9 and couldn’t handle any more Star Trek spin-offs at the time. So I didn’t get into it until it had already been syndicated. But when I did, it definitely hit me hard. I was going through my early community college years, making friends, I met my husband around this time. I moved away from my parents. There were a lot of changes in my life so VOY came into my life at an important time.

Captain Janeway

Of course, I love her! She’s the captain! She’s smart, she’s tough, and she doesn’t take crap from anyone. She was another huge role model in my life. She was a scientist and a leader. Her crew mattered the most to her and it was through her that I learned about sacrifice and bravery. 

Commander Chakotay

I liked Chakotay. I liked his spiritual side. I happen to be part Native American so that’s something I related to him with. He was a strong sensitive type. The warrior. 

OTP: Janeway and Chakotay of course! I wanted them to get together so bad! It kills me when they had so many close chances that never happened. I mean it was so clear that they loved each other and that Chakotay/Seven thing at the end was a total slap in the face to us Janeway/Chakotay fans! I still hate the writers for that! it totally ruined the series finale for me.  

X-files: So begins the era of stuff that husband introduced me to, starting with X-files. I had never watched it back when it was on because I only had eyes for Star Trek, but my husband, who was my boyfriend at the time, introduced me to pretty much every fandom from here on out. X-files was his show, its what he grew up on. 

Scully: I’m a total Scully girl. I love her! She’s a scientist and she wears a gun. Total badass! And I love that even though her scientific mind, she was also spiritual which, as a pagan, I can relate. She knows that she is in a male-dominated occupation but she doesn’t let it bother her and isn't afraid to give people a piece of her mind.

Mulder

You can’t have Scully without Mulder! I love how dedicated to the cause he was. And my husband and I have this on going joke that whenever you see a top secret secured area you have to wonder if Mulder has broken into it yet. Cuz he always manages to get to places where he isn’t exactly supposed to be. 

OTP: Mulder and Scully of course! Mulder may be a goof ball but he has said some of the most romantic, amazing things. “You were my constant” that whole speech right there was amazing.

Lord of the Rings

My husband introduced me to Lord of the Rings. I never read the books until I met him and even then, I’ve only read the Fellowship, but I loved the movies. They are my ultimate sick day splurge. I plan a LOTR/hobbit marathon when I get sick. 

Aragorn: I think we are seeing a pattern. I like the leader types. The warriors. Which is why I love Aragorn! Also, I’ve always had a thing for guys with long hair so there’s that. But yeah, Aragorn is the sensitive, courageous warrior but he also has this self-doubt. He worries that he won't live up to what everyone knows he must become. 

Faramir

The younger brother to Boromir. I hate how Faramir’s father treated him and I think it’s sad how he still looked up to him and to his brother. He was brave but he had a kind heart and he deserved better than Denethor.

OTP: To be honest, I didn’t really ship anyone from Lord of the Rings. 

Rurouni Kenshin

I’ve never really been into anime but this is the one exception. And of course, my husband introduced me. He’s been a fan of the anime and the manga. I like this anime for it’s historical content. I am a history major and I love fandoms that make the setting a big part of the show. Like the setting itself is a character too, and this was certainly true in Kenshin. Meiji Japan was a character in the show in many ways. I really loved how it tied history into everything, describing Japan’s beginning of imperialism and its rise that would eventually put it on the world stage.

Kenshin

Kenshin is my favorite character! The wandering Samurai who just wants to protect people. He’s the warrior type just like all my other favorites. 

OTP: I didn’t really ship anyone, although I did have a soft spot for Kenshin/Kauru and Sanosuke/Megumi.

The Legends of Drizzt

My favorite book series of all time! I got so obsessed with the Drow through reading these books. My favorites were the first books about Drizzt and his homeland. This is also the first fandom my friend and I got really into and started RPGs with. WE had done RPGs with Voyager and X-files crossovers but this was probably the longes RPG series we did.

Drizzt Do’Urdon: Drizzt and Kenshin have a lot of similarities. Drizzt is another warrior type. He was abused by his female-dominated society until he finally had the courage to do what few drow ever did- leave. He faced hatred and discrimination on the surface because everyone feared the Drow.

OTP: I didn’t really ship anyone. I liked Drizzt/Cattie-brie and I thought it would have been nice if he got to reconcile with Ellifain and maybe they could have been together, but that’s all.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

I wouldn’t say I am a hardcore Buffy fangirl, but I love the show. My sisters were really obsessed with it back in the day and they both know every single episode by heart. My husband is a huge fan so he finally got me to watch it. 

Willow Rosenburg

Willow’s my favorite! She’s nerdy, geeky, and witchy. She’s been Buffy’s number one and she’s no side kick, she can handle her own. I was a nerd in school, and still am so I get her.

OTP: I liked Buffy and Angel and Willow and Tara. I also thought maybe Xander and Spike would have been cool, or maybe Xander and Andrew.

The Hobbit

I loved the Hobbit movies despite the criticism. They were my first attempt at publishing fiction online. I have a bunch of my old Hobbit fics on Fan Fiction.net still. I also have saved some of my all time favorite Hobbit fics. I love the brotherly love between Fili and Kili and fan fic writers did such a good job of capturing it!

Fili

I am on the ‘justice for Fili’ team for sure. I seriously feel like Fili deserved way more than what he got in the movies. The third movie irritated me because Fili hardly got a part. It’s like he wasn’t even there. Fili was Thorin’s heir and I just think fan fiction does a way better job of giving him the love he deserved. 

Kili

I loved Kili. He’s the younger brother so he feels he has to prove to Thorin- his hero- that he can do what needs to get done. I think it hurt him to be left behind.

OTP: No OTPS here, I don’t really ship anyone. I wasn’t a fan of the Kili/Tauriel thing at all. When I write Hobbit fics, I have these OCs I have been using for years that I ship with Fili and Kili but that’s all.

Supernatural

Last but not least! Supernatural is my last fandom. I’ve been a part of it for about three or four years. It’s my most current, the one I’m into the most at the moment. After it ends, that will be it! No more fandoms for me, all my fandoms will be things of the past. But my husband introduced me to it. He and I both have an interest in theology so that’s why we got into it, for all the angel and religious aspect. I like the mystic stuff, and I like how angels and demons are these different species with their own rules and such. That is the thing I’ve always loved about science fiction and fantasy- I love learning about non human cultures. I like learning how their society is. 

Hannah

Hannah is my current crush these days. I love her. I pretty much think she is a goddess. I have so many reasons. I love that she is a soldier and she’s tough, I love that she has flaws but that she’s brave. Her inner conflict was the best part of her character, how she struggled with her sense of law and justice and with her emotions. She seemed to struggle a lot with trying to process the things she felt. I can honestly say that she is the closest I’ve ever seen to a female person with autism in any of my fandoms. That’s why I love her so much, I relate to her on such a personal level, being autistic myself. She inspires my writing and my art so much. She’s probably my favorite character out of all my fandoms right now. I’ve never related to a character more than I do to her. She is the character I love to play the most because she feels comfortable to me. 

Castiel

When it comes to team free will, I am a Cas-girl all the way! Who doesn’t love that adorable little angel? I feel like Castiel’s whole time on the show has been so sad. He rebelled for his friends and ever since then, it’s been one disaster after another with him and even now when season 15 is about to come out, I don’t think he’s ever found true happiness, and that hurts. He misses being an angel and it hurts that they don’t accept him for who he is. I’ve tried to touch upon Castiel’s emotional health a lot in my writing because I don’t think the show does a good job of addressing it. He has done so much for the Winchesters but I don’t think he’s happy with how his life is now, especially after the end of the last season. 

OTP: Castiel and Hannah! My ultimate hardcore forever OTP. I truly believe Castiel loved Hannah and its clear that she loved him. She is one of the few people in Castiel’s life who seemed to truly, honestly want to address his needs. She literally begged him multiple times to take care of himself, and in true Winchester fashion, was willing to let Metatron out and this sacrifice the world, just to save Cas. She’s one of the few angels who cared about Castiel, even knowing what he’s done, none of that bothered her. In the beginning when they first met, when all the other angels wanted to kill him, she didn’t care what he had done and only left when she thought he had betrayed them and was quick to come back to him when she found out the truth. I love Castiel and Hannah, pretty much all my fics focus on them. 

NOTE: Before you start getting all upset about the fact that all my OTP ships are m/f, I want to point some things out to you. First off, I am bi. Second of all, m/f doesn’t always equal straight and m/m or f/f doesn’t always equal gay. STOP IT WITH THE BI ERASURE!!! I have plenty of other ships but these are my top ships and yes I mostly ship m/f. Just because they all just happen to be my favorites. Maybe because all the above characters tend to have certain characteristics and certain traits and it's their personalities that I ship not their gender. Also, I have huge crushes on the above female AND male characters so again, it’s probably why I ship them. Also, I am demisexual so sex doesn’t really play a huge role in who I ship. A lot of these characters also have similarities to me and my husband, so I tend to ship what I see in real life. I actually ship plenty of other ships other than what’s listed, yes most are still m/f, but some are f/f and some are poly. I don’t ship a lot of m/m because, well, I just don’t. I haven’t found any m/m ships that I really ship. I am all about chemistry first and if I don’t feel it I don’t feel it. Since sex doesn’t play a factor in my ships much, I need them to connect mentally and emotionally much more than physically. I also value equality in relationships. I am not into the whole ‘opposites attract’ thing. Characters have to be compatible. 

And one other thing. Chemistry is in the eye of the beholder. What one person sees as chemistry someone else might not agree and that’s okay. It’s okay to disagree it's not okay to be a hater.

#ships #supernatural #star trek #castiel/hannah #fandom

[mumbal33]

The Warrior Within

Dark, brooding, and burly, one-time badass Ronon Dex has come a long way since he first jumped through the Stargate. Now a trusted member of the Stargate: Atlantis team, Jason Momoa reveals that there’s more to Ronon than just his muscles…

By Byran Cairns, Stargate SG-1/Stargate Atlantis Magazine

Big guy. Big muscles. Big gun. Big attitude. There’s no denying these qualities immediately impressed Stargate: Atlantis viewers about Ronon Dex, a Satedan soldier from the Pegasus Galaxy who was implanted with a tracking device so the life draining Wraith could hunt him down. After easily getting the drop on Lt Col John Sheppard and Teyla Emmagan in the episode Runner, Ronan agreed to help them capture the infected Lt Ford if Dr. Beckett removed the alien mechanism under his skin. Realizing his potential as an ally against the Wraith, Sheppard later invited him to join his team and although they’ve slowly gained his trust and have been a positive influence on him, it has still been a difficult transition.

“To a certain extent, it has,” notes Momoa in his deep, gruff voice. “Ultimately, Ronon is still kind of a loner but has taken direction from Sheppard as long as he thinks it is right. That is the great part about him though. He’s military so he’ll still react and have that instinct within him but at the same time, he’ll still listen to commands.”

Since his inauguration, Ronon has been a key participant on multiple missions and the outings have given him the opportunity to connect with his team mates and adjust to his surroundings.

“Sheppard is Ronon’s commander but to me, he and Teyla are the only ones I can trust,” offers Momoa. “I go to Teyla for everything because Sheppard isn’t big on the emotional things. If I had a problem, I would go to Teyla because we’re both aliens. She’s like my sister. Shep is like my best friend through the whole thing. Weir is just my boss, I don’t know too much about her but at the same time, I respect her. Rodney is the brains and I’m the brawn and it will always be like that between us. I can kick his ass but he’ll outwit me. Beckett saved my life numerous times and in these episodes, you’ll see he’s probably saved me more than anybody. He is someone I trust and Beckett is like a good buddy now.”

The second season concluded with Ronon and McKay captured and cocooned onboard a hive ship awaiting either rescue of imminent doom. Among the Atlantis squad, those two are arguable the most polar opposite as McKay can be annoying and Ronon takes no crap. The unlikely pairing is a guilty pleasure and the new season sees them sharing even more screen time together while engaging in their trademark witty banter and scathing remarks.

“The upcoming Tao of Rodney is really good because there’s stuff where McKay is getting a lot of power and thinks he can beat Ronon,” reveals Momoa. “I’m like ‘Oh yeah? Want to take me on?’ And he’s like ‘Um no.’ It is still very much him eating all the time and me making fat jokes about him, McKay saying I’m not smart enough or I am his big friend with few syllables. He’s been calling me Caveman too and I call him fat ass. He’ll poke jokes at me or I will poke them at him but there’s a mutual respect. When it comes down to it, he’s saved my life and I’ve saved his. I am the Pitt Bull on the show and I can tear anyone apart. If McKay and me are bickering, I would chop somebody’s head off to save him.”

As the muscles on the series, Ronon’s special talent to intimidate, threaten, and kick some serious Wraith butt makes him better suited as a fighter rather than a peacemaker. Unfortunately, such roles can sometimes be limiting to an actor by not providing enough depth and development.

“Well, that is the character and the way he is,” defends Momoa. “You can’t expect him to get real emotional. That’s hard to write for. That is why in Sateda, there is a lot I don’t say but am suffering through. [Robert] Cooper and a lot of the crew guys were coming up and going ‘Wow! That was amazing!’ I don’t necessarily have to say anthing, but that doesn’t mean I’m not acting. As long as there are good things to chew on and you don’t have to ramble off all this mumbo jumbo like McKay. I would never want to say all theat sci fi garbage or Beckett with his doctor terms. I speak through my actions and the way I hold myself. I’m not the way Ronon is in real life so it is still fun to play but it is an an ensemble cast and they write for everyone.”

Luckily, Stargate: Atlantis has no intention of pigeonholing anyone and the talented writing staff has been shattering any preconceived notions by sprinkling juicy nuggets throughout season three for Ronon. The humorous Irresistible was such a case. With Atlantis somehow enthralled by a man named Lucius Lavin, Momoa was thrilled to see his tough guy alterego crack a smile.

“That was great, man,” he enthuses. “The night before, I was talking with my fiance, was a little intoxicated, and she’s making me laugh. I would go ‘Hhon! Hhon! Hhon!’ and it sounds like a motor. I couldn’t stop laughing. It was one of those giggles and the next day, I had to shoot this scene where I’m laughing and we’ve never heard Ronon laugh at all. I thought it would be great to be this big dumb animal and be, ‘‘Hhon! Hhon! Hhon!’. He just has this big, funny, annoying laugh. Irresistible was fun because I got to laugh and be goofy.”

Momoa also appreciated the series shifting from the Wraith-heavy adventures to something more light hearted.

“That is what is great about the show; we don’t take ourselves too seriously,” he admits. “The most serious character on the show is me. In that respect, Joe Flanigan plays the lead so great. He’s this unsung hero. I love the way everyone acts on the show and that it has that comedy element to it.”

However it was the recent Ronon-centric Sateda which truly excited Momoa. Once again, Ronon encounters the Wraith, returns to his home world, exposes his tragic past and vulnerable side while dealing with a dangerous present day threat.

“I had to do so much in Runner and this year, Sateda just blows it all away,” exclaims Momoa. “They finally gave me something to act with. Being an actor, I want dialogue. My guy doesn’t say much, but when he does… Sateda was an amazing episode and worth everything. We shot it as the third episode, it aired as the fourth, and it was like ‘Oh man! Now there’s not going to be anything! The rest of the season is going to suck!’ but it has been really good!”

According to Momoa, Sateda was probably the series’ most ambitious and time consuming production to date.

“Sateda was unreal,” he acknowledges. “I usually do four or five days per episode and if it is every day, it is with the whole group and I have little lines here and there. Sateda was a 12-day shoot when we normally shoot in seven. It was the biggest budget I think we’ve ever had and the most stunts and explosions. We’ve never had that many locations. I was exhausted. We basically shot a full-on movie in 12 days on a movie schedule.”

The experience was further heightened when Executive Producer Robert Copper stepped in to direct the episode.

“Robert was fantastic to work with,” praises Momoa. “I hadn’t talked to much with him before that. He’s a very quiet guy and I never go up to the office unless there is a serious problem. I came with my ideas and when I first met him, they were having a little meeting so I went in and gave him the hugest hug. I had to prove to him that I could act. He was there every scene, if I needed the set to be quiet, he would make sure they were. He gave me my time. Not to float his boat but he is definitely one of the top directors I’ve worked with on the show, let alone my career.”

Not exactly a big talker, Ronon’s right hook or his weapon shoved in your face speaks louder than words. Thankfully, outside of Stargate: Atlantis, Momoa kept in great shape on Baywatch Hawaii and North Shore. Neither series were as physical taxing as playing Ronon yet the gung ho actor immediately embraced that warrior spirit.

“When I was doing Baywatch Hawaii, my cousin was a big toe in surfing and now he’s a full-on stunt coordinator so I’ve done a lot of water stuff that has been pretty heavy in big waves,” says Momoa. “That was the only thing I knew. I had never really been in any fights and my manager is Japanese so I wanted to work with a stick. I basically did that for a bit and watched movies before I got the role. I watched tons of samurai and action movies, studying people’s body movements which is what actors do. I was finding my own way, incorporating them into the role, and listening to Bam Bam who is just a talented artist and can come up with a fight like that [snaps fingers]. We work well together because he’s not, ‘No, do it this way!’ He takes into account what you made for your character and how your body moves.”

For Momoa, that included laying off a previous injury which flared up early.

“I have bad knees, so grappling and going low are very hard for me,” he notes. “Runner just got me because we didn’t have the lighter guns so it was five-plus pounds and it was hammering on my right knee. At the end of the day, you soak in the bath, have some wine, pop some Advil, and you’ll be fine. But we established Ronon isn’t really a kicker and more of a head butt, punch kind of guy. The studio likes it and it is working well. Sateda did rip me apart because I had armor on too.”

Before the SG-1 spin-off geared up, most of the actors reportedly signed a five-year contract. Yet when asked whether he could imagine himself in the series for the long haul, Momoa momentarily pauses.

“Tough call. I don’t know if I would want to play Ronon for five years. Playing a character for four years is a little much for me so I’d like to move on. Ultimately, I’d like to be in movies. It’s kind of up in the air. This was a fantastic role and I’ve never played anything like it but not to expand or try other things would be selling myself short.”

Naturally, Momoa isn’t necessarily vying for those adrenaline charged parts.

“Originally, I did not want to be an action star,” he confirms. “I felt it was a trap I’d get into and it would come easy for me. I’m a pretty coordinated cat. I don’t want to be an action star because I don’t want to limit myself to anything.”

In the meantime, Momoa couldn’t be happier on Stargate: Atlantis. However, with only a handful of episodes to finish, he isn’t prepared to speculate on where Ronon is heading. Yet after adding his two cents on his imposing, dreadlocked character last year, the 27-year-old is hoping to fulfill a growing ambition on the series.

“I’d really like to do a story and have a credit for that,” says Momoa. “If I stay on the show longer, I’d love to do a director’s attachment where you sit down and go through the whole thing with him in post-production. I’d eventually love to be behind the camera, going through the dailies, editing, and enhancing what has been shot. I’d love to do that. Hopefully that may be possible next season.”

#jason momoa aquaman #jasonmomoa #ronon dex #aquaman #stargate atlantis

[brunhiddensmusings]

You mentioned “the seven deadly sins of anime.” Can you elaborate? Because if I’m honest I think when anime is good it’s very good, but when it’s bad it’s more manipulative and cheap than a bad soap opera. And 80% of it is bad...

the ‘seven deadly sins of anime’ are a colloquialism about the most infamous guilty pleasures in the pool of weaboo trash, some of which have a ton wrong with them and others arent actually -bad- persay but are still something you will be embarrassed for having a phase back in the day. the phrase was used for years but now ‘seven deadly sins of anime’ will bring up either the anime ‘seven deadly sins’ or the homonculus based on the seven deadly sins of FMA instead of the rouges gallery of regretultimately theyre the ones giving a bad name to anime, that any person who hears you say you like anime assumes its either schoolgirl upskirt or theseim not trying to start a fight or tell anyone their waifu is problematic because i know that many people have a soft spot in their heart for them, but they include - naruto, the absurdly long adventures of a ‘ninja’ who is bright orange and shouts loudly at all times. ninja here have decided to go with wizardry instead of stealth and primarily focus on insufferable character personalities, obliviousness, and very long arcs. also a ninja pug and copious ammounts of self refferencial material- bleach, an interesting blend of edgy tryhard, a love letter to misheard samurai culture, enormous filler arcs, and all characters are thin tropes- one piece, having the interesting defence of being the least actively bad of the list yet also having the most heavy reliance on being made up almost entirely of filler and tropes, it just knows how to use filler and tropes better. but something about one piece face design will haunt my nightmares- inuyasha, many of the most hated and infamous tropes of anime come from and are even named after this marvel. this is the OG with things animes do that the fans hate but tolerate and halfheartedly defend because theyre too invested to walk away. its a bit like a train wreck crossed with a daytime drama, in multiple senses of how that can be interpreted- attack on titan. yep, nazis, very thinly veiled nazis on top of even without that level of problem its also trying far too hard to be disturbing depressing gore that makes deathnote look heerful. the fans of it seem to only try and remember two minute chunks of it at a time, like the girl who ate a potato- sword art online, the new kid to the legion of anime sins and probably the one open for the most legitimate argument. in order to properly explain what the plentiful problems are here i would have to draw a graph and then watch enough of this anime to want to beat someone with an author i respected- DBZ, i could teach a class on how this show is a wonderful example of how not to write content of any kind, be it series, movie, or book. it just does so many things wrong that its fascinating to grab a shovel and organize how many trash fires there are and why exactly these things shot the show in the foot, repeatedly. however the original dragonball has very few of these problems which makes it more fascinating that these were intentionally added later and then kept in for the next 5,000 episodes and 20 spinoff movies. please stop me from going further on this one before i start writing another lesson plan outlinekeep in mind there are far, FAR worse anime out there, its just that these are the ones that were huge and embarrassing

[brenli]

[28]

Tagged by: @goddamnitkastle​ (YAYAYAY ANOTHER ONE!)

1. how tall are you? 5′3″

2. what color and style is your hair? Dark brown. A couple of stray silver strands. When the light hits it right you can see natural auburn-y red highlights/tones in it, especially near the ends. I wear it long, down to my lower back, usually parted in the middle (sometimes on the left) and with bangs. Usually blunt-cut across my brows, but I'm not as good about trimming them as I ought to be so they usually end up growing out long enough that I need to brush them off to the right.

3. what color are your eyes? Brown

4. do you wear glasses? My cat-eye specs are basically part of my identity at this point.

5. do you wear braces? Nope

6. what is your fashion style? I have contempt for this question that likes of which you cannot believe. XD I guess in the most general sense it's rock-chic. Rock/metal girl elements mixed with glamorous or feminine elements/silhouettes. But this is MASSIVELY boiling down my massive wardrobe and I've certainly had moments of departure from the rock-chic umbrella depending on how I'm feeling. I dislike strictly adhering to specific style labels; I find it stifling.

7. full name? Brenda Lee Larson. My maiden name is cooler to be honest; I only changed it because I was more interested in sharing a surname with the Honey and I know I can still use my maiden name for other things.

8. when were you born? July 24, 1987

9. where are you from and where do you live now? Technically born in Coupeville on Whidbey Island, WA, USA and spent the first 4 years of my life bouncing around different naval stations because my family was about that Navy Life, but the majority of my formative years Spokane, WA, USA so my assumption is that would be more accurately where I'm "from." (Hawaii is where my heart wants to say I'm from though as that's where my earliest memories take place~) After some years spent CA (first in the Bay and then in LA), I'm currently living just south of Seattle, WA. So. Basically I've been wiggling around the West Coast my whole life, including going so far west I ditched the mainland for a spell.

10. what school do you go to? I WORK at a school currently, Cornish. Freelancing as a house manager for 3 of their 4 venues. The 4th one never seems to put on any events that require one of us from the house management roster, otherwise I'd work gigs at that one, too. XD

11. what kind of student are you? Some of you who make these questionnaires clearly cannot think beyond life-after-schooling and it shows. XD I was an above-average student for the vast majority of my years in schooling but I started falling off a little toward the end, largely because I was very keenly aware of what areas of study pertained to me and my interests/goals, and I had no patience for areas of study that did not. I left before it got too bad.

12. do you like school? I liked the parts of school that spoke to me~

13. what are your favorite school subjects? Literature/English was always the major go-to throughout all of my years of schooling. I was in Choir up until highschool; this was when Theatre became available to me and I wasn't able to participate in both, so I parted ways with Choir and focused on Theatre all the way up through my last years of schooling. Other subjects of interest, in highschool: Photography, Psychology, Forensic Science, World History. In college: Creative Writing, Journalism, Japanese.

14. favorite TV shows? The major ones have been racy period dramas The Tudors and The Borgias. I grew up on Star Trek TOS and as such it has a very dear place in my heart despite it not being a racy period drama. XD I also am quite invested in the Netflix MCU with Daredevil and The Punisher being my two favorite shows (Frank is my everything!). More currently I've been expanding my Sanada-san filmography-binge thanks in large part to @anagraves​; I recently finished the 1993 Koukou Kyoushi and am through episode 10 of Konna Koi no Hanashi. What I've been learning from this - Hiroyuki Sanada knows how to break hearts whether he's being soft and vulnerable to cold and cruel and anything in between, but that's exactly why I love him.

INB4 "you post Snow White everything so why isn't OUAT on here" I do enjoy OUAT a lot, but I don't know if I would consider it a favorite show overall. I'm more fond of the earlier seasons than the later seasons and it's that ambivalent feeling I have for the later seasons that make the show not a favorite - but still very good overall.

It's also at this point that I should probably explain what my blog description does not - my blog started running a Snow White-themed queue LARGELY as part of an inspiration-drive for a Snow White AU project that I haven't actually touched in a long time. I REALLY should do something about that; I just keep getting pulled in other directions and now it's years on and here I am with what's basically a Snow White queueblog. XD If I can ever get my dumb head in gear and FINISH what I've started, that would honestly result in the queue being mass-posted and then probably altered to suit whatever the next project would be. That's always been the intention, anyway.

15. favorite movies? While I'm still feeling the chilly gaze of my Snow White queue, my favorite Snow White movie thus far is Mirror Mirror. I think it's massively underrated and that makes me sad.

As far as Disney is concerned, while I have a HUGE amount of respect for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, my favorite film growing up was Beauty and the Beast (and my Rococo-loving ass does adore the live action remake). Surprise??? XD More recently, Moana is the film of my heart; it's the closest Disney has gotten to making a Princess culturally-relevant to me as a half-Filipina so my tropical islander ass is just utterly enamoured with Moana. ((Listen Disney if you ever decide to make a super fun colorful precolonial Philippine film THE PERFECT PRINCESS EXISTS FOR THAT, I submit for your consideration - Urduja!)

Because of my rather open-door childhood with regard to media, my earliest favorite movies are actually Nightmare on Elm Street and Nightmare on Elm Street: Dream Warriors. Freddy is my Nightmare King Murder Boyfriend and I'm prepared to face judgement for that. XD

Fondness for Star Trek TOS has resulted in an affection for the AOS movies~

But a movie that speaks to me very much is What Dreams May Come.

Currently I've gotten re-ensnared into The Last Samurai, in correlation with the most recent AU project. Because I am hopeless, Grumpy Samurai is Best Samurai, and I've been spending time manically fretting and pretending that because Ujio drops before the gatling guns are brought out, maybe he SOMEHOW managed to survive in SOME way and he can have tons of cool battle scars. Right? ... RIGHT???

16. favorite books? If manga counts then it's Angel Sanctuary. Hands down. No contest. It's easily woven itself into my life in the form of fanfic that is/was well-received within the fandom, and a weirdly HUGE list of AUs that somehow burst out of nowhere. (Currently all of it, AU work included, can be read via my FF.Net account under brenli. I have a placeholder page on AO3 that's currently empty but may end up holding all my content there as well, in time. If I can ever make the time.)

I was and am really into Sue Harrison's Ivory Carver series, particularly My Sister the Moon.

It was part of my middle school/junior high reading curriculum but I honestly DID really like The Diving Bell by Todd Strasser. Even if the cover art of Culca coming up out of the ocean looked A LOT like me and resulted in my class calling me Culca for the entirety of our unit on that book. It's fine. Culca is a badass queen of pearls and seawater so I'm happy to be associated with her~!

Every now and then I remember a book that clearly really resonated with my as a child if I still remember it, but the problem is that I don't remember the title or the author, or even any of the characters' names. It was about a Roma girl who lived in the American south - I wanna say Tennesee? - who was discovered for her talent playing guitar and singing country music. The book essentially details her struggle between her traditional roots as a Roma person, including the arrangement for her to be married young, and her interest in pursuing music as a career but feeling alienated by an industry and a society at large that is wealthier than her and has a different culture from her own. The book ends with her running away but it isn't made clear what her ultimate fate is. To this DAY it bothers me that I don't remember the title or the author because I honestly go through periods where I want to reread it. And yes, this was the kind of stuff I was reading as a child. XD I also read My Sister the Moon for the first time when I was like. 11 years old. If you're familiar with the content of that book then you're aware that certain scenes are really not 11-year-old friendly, but. If I can watch gratuitous 80's slasher horror at age 4 then I can read about a young woman surviving sexual abuse at age 11.

17. favorite pastime? Writing at this rate, honestly. Which probably speaks more to my inner tortured artist than anything else. XD

18. do you have any regrets? I feel like everybody has at least one regret and anyone who says otherwise is either very very young, or lying. XD It's not about whether you have regrets, it's about not letting them hold you in the past.

19. dream job? Telling stories, in any and every way attainable to me.

20. would you like to get married someday? I already am~

21. would you like to have kids someday? Absolutely not. I don't feel like my life is conducive to childrearing, and INB4 "you're never truly ready" and "you make it work" the key factor here is I'm not WILLING to become ready and I'm not WILLING to make it work. That's how I know my life is not conducive to childrearing. XD (I'm at that age where tons of people are asking me this and feeding me words meant to encourage me to consider and it's honestly EXHAUSTING by this point. I can't wait for when I'm menopausal maybe people will finally shut up about it because I'll be past my prime~)

23. do you like shopping? I mean, yes, but I usually avoid it because I'm aware of how impulsive I am.

24. what countries have you visited? I'm tempted to say that Hawaii should count because it's so far away from the mainland. XD But honestly I've never been outside of US territory. It's in the plans to try for Japan during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. I'm not sure if we'll make that goal but if not, I figure it won't hurt to continue saving up anyway and making a Tokyo trip post-Olympics. Prices will be cheaper post-Olympics, anyway, so~

25. what’s the scariest nightmare you’ve ever had? At the risk of raising weird red flags I've gone through periods where I'll have reoccurring nightmares about being actively pursued by someone who very obviously intends to do harm. It happens often enough that the Honey wonders if I'm mentally suppressing something. XD I did have a standalone dream though, where me and the Honey were asleep in bed and then I become aware that someone's broken into the house and is approaching our bed. I'm walking through every possible option in my head with my eyes shut; if the Honey and I both lunged at the attacker we could possibly overpower them just because it would be two against one. But I know that I can't possibly wake up the Honey and make him aware of the situation without the attacker immediately acting and resulting in at least one of us being injured or killed. I realize that I have no choice but to try and take the attacker by surprise by myself and hope that is enough. I make peace with that. I can feel the attacker leaning over me. I suddenly lunge at them in full primal adrenaline-filled rage.

I wake up.

26. do you have any enemies? I guess that I have a few, yes, but honestly at this point I've gotten probably a little too used to being vilified. Barring physical assault or turning the animosity on innocent third parties in my life, I am prepared to weather the metaphorical lashes.

27. do you have an s/o? I have my Honey~

28. do you believe in miracles? I believe in miracles that aren't the overt surface-level wish-fulfillment-from-above which I think most people expect a miracle to be. I think that sometimes luck plays out via a slim-to-none chance and that can be a miracle. I think that sometimes a person works very hard at something or for something and when they achieve it, that can be a miracle. I think that the butterfly effect is a double-edged sword, but sometimes that little flutter of a butterfly's wings is a miracle.

Tagging: @yacky-jackie​ @halorecoil​ @anagraves​ @benevolentqueenofstars​ @lesbomancy​ @candybunnieholic​ @lemonedscream​ @tinathefish​

#questionaire