#(due to some things don't work on screen like it does in novels!!)

[threelivesthreeworlds]

@smileymimiwhat submitted: I cannot wait until lotus step is completed!! I feel like the longer Tang Qi released the volumes, the better the future production of the drama adaptation will be.

Nowadays there’s been some lovely dramas that have come out lately based on popular novels like Love.Like.The.Galaxy and Love.between.Fairy.and.Devil.

Really hope that if Lotus Step and Bodhi Fate are made into shows that they follow the novel. TMOPB confused the hell out of me and made me hate Fengjiu.

Also , 100% believe that the last volume of Lotus step is spoiling everything and definitely has something to do with why Shaowan and Xie Ming are resurrected.

Donghua and Fengjiu’s recent extra novel kinda hints it that Zuti uses time travel so can’t wait for that! What are your thoughts guys? Love your insights 🥹❤️

We can’t wait for the novel’s finish! But, oh boy. Well, here’s the thing, it depends on who gets the copyrights and right now the subsidy that owns Lotus Step’s copyrights right now are apparently one that are not very good / their parent company isn’t, when it comes to rights and adaptions. : ( So, hopefully a better group owns it by the time production comes around!

We will say, Admin Ro has read Fairy.And.Devil - and the adaption’s success really comes from the fact that the people behind it had a lot of creative liberality as the novel is pretty typical to 2010s cheesy and wild Xianxia, which if just straight adapted from the source wouldn’t get as much attention as it has (such as I don’t think anyone even recognizes there’s a donghua with mostly novel plot). It wouldn’t have done as well without more than 75% of the plot being added by those behind the scenes and the actors working their butts off!

So, really when it comes to adaptions of that nature, it’s different than what we’re hoping for Lotus Step because it’s so source heavy where at least Love.Between.Fairy.and.Devil had so much wiggle room to do what they want. Where what you’re looking for is the same company / person to own Lotus Step and Bodhi Fate’s copyrights or at least people who are willing to connect their adaptions.

Also when it comes to adaptions, we will say Lotus Step the novel itself is “more mature” by China standards in some of its nature (sexuality (both in terms of physicality, and more lgbt characters / them being more obvious / “explicitly” stated), and some of the other things it touches on, specifically) than the last two adaptions, so it’s possible it’d get a little censored depending on what’s going on in those years in the industry rules.

Also to address the TMoPB - it really was because there was a copyright issue that was sadly unavoidable! Two different groups owned Peach Blossom’s script and Pillowbook’s - and because of that, they couldn’t overlap and the thing is those two novels’ plots overlap/they needed to have a second lead female and male love interest set. Also, we mustn’t forget - Feng Jiu is only about fifteen years old in the TMoPB timeline, and it obviously showed in the drama because of its lack of Ye Qingti plot, that made her grow up. So, it kind of threw her whole arc off a lot.

AH - yes, correct! Zuti does use time-travel because it’s one of the aspects of her abilities (Zuti may be a science queen XD) and TQ and her assistant have already said that comes into play when timeline 2.0 comes into play, meaning she’s probably the one who throws us into that timeline. Which is basically what the timeline is for TMoPB, Pillowbook, the Extra, is set in. As for how Shao Wan and Xie Ming will come back, we have no clues yet, but we’re excited to see if it will come up in the last volume of Lotus Step!

[things-about-cars-in-posts]

what do you like about cars?

I think you knew, upon asking this, that I could only ever have answered with either an ironic one-liner or a dozen-part novel. And unfortunately, this is already the second line, so novel it is. So then, without any further ado than the literal half year that’s gone by since this was asked, let's go.

1. Engineering matters

At the end of last year (aka when I started writing this, yikes) my dear old iPhone 6S moved on to a new home because it simply wasn't keeping up with me anymore. (And again, I was using an iPhone 6S in 2023. If I say a phone is too slow, it's too slow.) I had plenty of criteria for the replacement: a smallish screen not overboard on resolution, ideally a physical media control button and/or vibration toggle, repairability, a FUCKING AUX JACK... Something like the Sony Xperia 10, whose only real issue is marketing so trash you've only just now learned Sony never stopped making phones.

And yet...

This fancy wallpapers-sporting foldable is a Motorola RAZR 5G, a phone whose too-big screen already broke (though at the edge due to adhesive issues) and those who dared try warn repairing it will be as hard as phone repairs get. Why the fuck did I buy this? Well, because it has something more important than the aux jack, proper sizing, and good cameras: it made me go “That’s so cool!”, and when’s the last time a phone made you say that? It's the cusp of a new technology, and whether it becomes the future of phones, a future of phones, or just a weird footnote, it is an island of interesting in a sea of boring. And sadly, even this island is rapidly sinking. The drive for new form factors has already boiled down to the same two phones and their evolution is sinking into the usual millimetric proportion tweaking, camera rearranging, touchscreen expanding, case material switching, fingerprint sensor moving, and spec improvements not even manufacturers can come up with use cases for. I mean, seriously, how does the iPhone 15 differ from a software-updated iPhone X (which is apparently not pronounced "x", so I guess the iPhone Twitter)? Nothing is new. Nothing is tackled differently. The user experience does not differ. And why should it, when iPhone users will get a new one out of habit anyway and many are so tech illiterate moving a button could hospitalize them? Five generation newer and 150% faster are numbers you basically have to trust, because they don't make a difference that matters.

But in cars? 150% faster will matter alright. Even just looking at it. Cars are a visceral experience to even witness, let alone ride in or drive, and the frantic engineering pursuits for performance and overall capability actually have impactful real world implications beyond "some pockets will bulge 1mm less". And their engineering involves so many fields that there’s always a breakthrough going on somewhere - which leads to another reason their engineering is so interesting: there’s simply so much of it that anyone interested in engineering will find something for them, no matter their level or sector of expertise! Interested in mechanics? Well, obviously you’ll have a field day! Aerodynamics? Don't even get me started! Electronics? You're getting more goods by the year! It spread from engine management to safety assists to infotainment to ergonomic adjustments to even suspension and aerodynamics! Sound design? Even just working on the way engines sound is a profession of its own, let alone making these barrels of metal and glass propelling themselves at triple digit speeds through hundreds of explosions a second things you can comfortably have a conversation in - and that's not even mentioning horns and chimes! Hi-Fi? We’ve spent most of a century trying to get concert hall sound from a tiny tin can where everyone sits off-center and everything bumps and shakes around and you have maybe room for two components* a third the normal size and speakers can only be in a handful of places you wouldn’t want them which may well be the next room over**!

And this is just engineering.

*Like everything in the car world, there are exceptions to that

**For those unfamiliar, subwoofers, the speakers dedicated to, indeed, sub-bass, due to their frequent humongousness are often installed in the trunk.

[janice-christ]

Some Answers To Your Questions (Transcribed by Janice's Daughter Naomi)

Hi all,

This is Janice's daughter Naomi again. We've been getting a lot of questions from some curious new followers (43 now, wow!) and thought we'd just compile them all here in one post. My mother tends to veer off topic when she gets going so I'm here to transcribe the important bits and leave out the rest.

Once again, I do need to mention up top that my father, Janice's Husband, is still missing. Last seen wearing a tweed suit in Atlanta, Georgia six months ago, black toupee, 5'3", ~230lbs, walks with a slight limp, favoring his left side. His full name is Matthew Mark Luke John Christ.

Please, PLEASE reach out if you have any information whatsoever on his whereabouts. As stated in a previous reply from Mom, there are no known photographs of him as he is staunchly against photography as an industry and concept.

Q&A

Q: Can you tell us more about your alien abduction?

A: Absolutely. It was 1997 - October 14th. Matthew Mark Luke John and I were in a brief period of separation and I was home alone with 5 year old Naomi. I'd just put her to bed, around 7 o'clock, and walked outside to have a cigarette (Camel blues - and while we're on the subject, why don't they allow smoking indoors anymore? We used to be able to light up an honest to god Pall Mall in the middle of Catholic Mass back in the 70s) [note from Naomi: this rant went on for 13 solid minutes before I got her back on track].

Anyway, I walked out to stand on the front porch and as I clicked my lighter I was suddenly transported, as if I'd been sucked into the damn Bic! The next thing I know, I'm getting strapped up and suspended from the ceiling, belly down, fanny out. I look down at the hands of my captors and discover they are not hands, but claws.

Long, grey claws.

Unable to make a sound or see anything but the floor several feet below me, I lay suspended in this alien contraption, panicking. The creature restraining me then began what I understood to be an alien roll-call ritual, confirming with his peers that three other humans in the room with me were also prepped for what was about to happen - surgery.

Suddenly, everything went very dark and I was transported to what seemed to be some sort of void. Then, a small light - the size of a pin prick - appeared right in front of me, and expanded until it was a large screen. For the next 3 hours and 15 minutes, the screen played James Cameron's "Titanic", which I found quite novel as the movie wasn't due to release on Earth until December. I had a good deal of fun spoiling the film for a few of my least favorite friends.

Directly following the start of the credits, I awoke in my bed, morning light streaming through the windows. From that day on, anything I orally consume leaves a strong taste of sulfur in my mouth. I now get my nutrients through a DIY feeding tube. Everything else in my body was left normal, though.

Q: You don't seem too worried about your missing husband, but your daughter Naomi does. Why is this?

A: I don't know - you'll have to ask Naomi why she cares so goddamned much. [note from Naomi: he's my dad.]

Q: Your bit isn't funny

A: Is this some type of slang?

Q: Why do you hate your 4 year old grandson so much? Do you hate kids?

A: I love kids. This one, however, is rotten liver. [note from Naomi: We're working on this relationship - Zachary is a good kid and Nana just doesn't like sticky hands on her tchotchkes]

[Additional note from Janice: He's rotten liver, full stop.]

Q: If you could find the other victims from the night of your abduction, what would you ask them?

A: Oh, too many questions to name one by one. But to start I'd ask if they also watched Titanic or if they got a different film like Boogie Nights or Good Will Hunting.

Q: You say you're single and looking - what kind of partner are you looking for?

A: One who believes me.

---

Maybe we'll do another one of these if we get some more questions in bulk - Zachary and I are currently in the process of moving in with Mom to help her out until Dad comes back so things are a little chaotic here, as you can imagine. Until then, please spread the word about my father if you can.

-Naomi

and janice xx

[nasubeenwithcat]

notes2(dbc) notes1

Hello!!! It's been a month since my last post! I've put my notes together again and I'll post them here.

warning spoiler:Phantom of the Opera(by Gaston Leroux)/(by McMullan Kate), movie(by Arthur Lubin) contents:blood,swearing,yandere discotrain,mental illness,mind control,death,serious bullying

🎬Near Dead Bird Cinema is Dead Bird Studio. Both of these buildings are under the control of the mafia. The basements of these two buildings are connected and can be accessed through the mirror in the dressing room in the studio and the mirror in the basement of the cinema.

🎬Hat Kid is a detective. The girls live together. Don't expect her to be as good at deducing things as Holmes, but she is good at fighting anyway.

🎬Bow Kid's main job is as a writer. She sometimes translates and writes novels. She helps Hattie with her work. Anyway, the connections she has made for her work will help Hattie.

🎬They are still children who sleep with their dolls at night and love adventure.

🎬If they have hobbies other than mysteries, it would be traveling and shopping. When they get a commission, they rent a house near the crime scene. (Of course they have a spaceship.) They enjoy sightseeing while they work. Bird crimes are rare, so this time they will be excited with the new scenery.

🎬Hattie rented a house in Bird Town and soon found a large teddybird workshop. Bowtie also found an old book district and a cute stationery store. The Bird City has a thriving trade and tourist industry. If they don't get any new clients after the case is solved, they will continue to live in the city for a while.

🎬The owners do not believe in the existence of Phantom. They believe they are a prank by the former owners.

🎬Mustache girl was a well-known film critic. The increasingly intense harassment from Phantom was definitely tiring her out.

🎬The request was to find out the identity of Phantom.

🎬After the request is completed,Mustache girl will ask the detectives force out Phantom or kill him. But,if it's not an investigative job, it's up to them whether they accept the request or not. 'Cause of It is very dangerous.

🎬If the girls do take the request, it will be a very long job. In fact, I think the girls, having found their respective favorite stores in the bird city, would take the request unless they had a very good reason to do so.

🎬The receptionist is a boxkeeper. He follows the orders of Phantom. He has high self-esteem and lashes out when insulted. He dotes on his only daughter.

🎬 Grooves rarely goes home. If he does, it is only to pick up his belongings and he never sleeps in his bed at home. He considers his home to be completely unsafe.

🎬That was due to the trauma of when he was rookie. His mailbox was always full of many fan letters and bug eggs.

🎬His home in the moon was sold off. And it appears that two cats have purchased the land.

🎬He always worked overtime at the studio so that he would not have to go home. The basement of the cinema must have been very appealing to him. Who wouldn't love to have a cozy and loving home right next to their work place?

🎬Christine hates the basement. Grooves, however, is the opposite: as soon as he finishes work, he returns to the basement through a secret passageway of mirrors. That is where he really belongs.

🎬Basement has basic features as well as a screen room for watching movies and some secret rooms. (There are other rooms as well, but we haven't decided on the details yet.)

🎬The Phantom's study is one of the secret rooms. But it is better not to enter. Several diaries on the desk and many notes on the wall will terrify anyone who sees them.

🎬Phantom does not like to have people talk about him. The boxkeeper should know this, but he is so honest and simple that he often inadvertently speaks about Phantom.

🎬Phantom got a job as a freak circus director after suffering burns to his face.

🎬Just as expected,He is a great director. When he started helping direct a circus, it became a household name. He then moved from one circus to another, making various circuses famous.

🎬He stole many skills from the circus performers. That's why he is so good at magic.

🎬After getting the timepiece Phantom discovered the power of the hourglass and studied it thoroughly. It is not over yet.

🎬The relationship between Phantom and Grooves is like a spotlight and a star, so to speak. They are each other's spotlight and star.

🎬There is a slight discrepancy between Phantom's and Grooves' thought patterns; Phantom finally noticed it in the 1024th timeline and decided to match his thought patterns with Grooves'. This is because people like people who are similar to each other.

🎬I had studied just a little bit about the love psychology, but I still don't understand it well. Anyway, if Phantom applies them, he will never deny Grooves and will always try to phrase them positively. He has rewound time thousands of times, so he knows all about Grooves, but he dares not openly admit it. He will produce his weak side so that Grooves can feel superior to the Phantom.

🎬Why is Phantom so obsessed with one bird? He has moved from job to job: conductor, filmmaker, director, architect. Now that he is a monster, all he wants is to make movies again. ...... But to make a movie, he needs more birds. Phantom decided to find a director who would help him. A bird who is not attached to awards, who is dreamer and competent. And he found Grooves.

🎬In the beginning, Phantom only wanted Grooves to make his own films. For that, Phantom might have forced him to do some very harsh work. But at some point, Phantom began to take an interest in his collaborator. That was the very first romance.

🎬Would the same kind of romance still be going on today? I don't think so. Romances that have been repeated too many times have become messy, twisted and distorted.

note3

[ac-liveblogs]

Penacony 2.1

Penacony is endlessly frustrating. The main takeaway I have is that parts of Penacony's world-building and character design are exceptionally well thought-out, but the main quest utterly fails to make use of any of it in an interesting or engaging way.

I'm reminded of Fontaine in that, like with the 'Ace Attorney' style trials, HYV is once again trying to ape a narrative style that they don't know how to write. In this case, it's... a lot of things.

Penacony makes a lot of allusions through its chapter titles, especially in 2.1. 2.0's final chapter is called "Whodunit" and ends with two impossible murders and at least 3 suspects. 2.1's chapter titles are a grab bag - there's detective novels, movies, music, a psychological gothic horror, a psychological thriller, philosophy, film noir, a children's book and references to depression-era America and the disillusionment experienced by the masses following WW1 (the Lost Generation), with a few other literary shoutouts scattered throughout the mission.

While I think these concepts were woven together rather effectively in concept and Penacony sounds like a really fun and fascinating place that I'd like to explore in a game made by someone else, I also think that the main quest we did get utterly fails to make use of them in any compelling or competent way either due to technical limitations or an unfamiliarity with what they're referencing.

There are no hard rules for writing any kind of story, but there are genre conventions for a reason - as a detective story, be it as a Whodunit (which this isn't) or a Howdunit (that's closer to the truth), I think Penacony failed to make the mystery here engaging in the slightest.

The Whodunit disintegrates when all three of your suspects say they ain't dunit and the player doesn't investigate any of them in any capacity whatsoever, and the Howdunit doesn't work when the player doesn't get to go to the scenes of any crime to try and find clues. The main way the mysteries are progressed is by rotating through one of four POVs and going to find the right person to talk to, who will then dump a bunch of exposition on you - rinse/repeat.

This information is sometimes repeated over routes, too, which feels especially tedious - the amount of time you spend in conversations feels pretty disproportionate to how much you learn and or see of the world. It's also really not helped by how verbose and repetitive HYVs dialogue style is.

Unlike the previous patch there's no real attempt at horror (unless you count the documents Acheron finds or Aventurine's backstory, which I don't), and I don't really consider Aventurine's long-winded gem gambit particularly interesting or compelling given how poorly defined the Cornerstones even are in both ability and significance.

(HSR unfortunately didn't really make good use of Topaz to establish that back in Belobog.)

Despite this entire story supposedly being a thrilling web of people with different motivations, it doesn't really play out that way either. Aventurine is supposed to be manipulating you, but you barely engage with him and you always broadly know what his plans are (especially if you're familiar with his motifs), and no-one else really... does much. There's theoretically off-screen politics with The Family, but Sunday and Gallagher are the only real reps there - the other three branches may as well not exist, and Sam just fucks right off. It feels like the complexity is being saved for later or there's just a lot less going on here than the game wants you to think there is.

A lot of Penacony's remaining world-building - mostly things that tie into the allusions to the Lost Generation, the disillusionment and abuse of Penacony's underclass etc. is mostly conveyed to you by either Acheron or Gallagher - you don't get to see it and it doesn't factor into the mystery outside of (probably) Gallagher's exposition. It will probably factor in next patch in some capacity but... come on. We're 2/3 done.

What the allusions in Penacony do accomplish are either loosely tying to the contents of a chapter or near explicitly outlining what's going to happen; A Cat Amongst the Pigeons, Double Indemnity or When the Sacred Ginmill Closes being the former, The Tell-Tale Heart and The Statue of the Happy Prince being the latter.

I would find this a lot cuter if the mystery hadn't already been spoonfed to me, figured out the murderer and Aventurine's exact trajectory by the time I got to play as Acheron. As it is...

To clarify, I really don't consider 90% of the clues being info-dumped to you 'engaging with a mystery' in a videogame. I'd like to walk around and investigate myself - even in books, detectives tend to visit the scene of the crime and I don't see why I should have to take someone else's word on what a place is like or how sad the people there are in an interactive medium where I should be able to go to those places and talk to those people myself.

Especially not in a trippy dreamworld where you can enter people's thoughts, mess with their emotions, see into their dreams, interact with invisible cartoon characters and have a weird cult that's sort of vaguely able to make you part of... a collective consciousness? I think? In a vague and nebulous way?

The dungeons were just the road to get to a location! What is this! I don't think I've ever played a mystery game so unwilling to let you solve a damn mystery!

I hated sitting around and listening to the characters tell me things I'd rather go find myself - I can take some of that, but not all of that, eapecially when barely anything else is happening in the meantime. It's a shame, too - the deaths outlined in the documents Acheron found sound like fun horror elements I'd like to see.

But thats just it. I'd rather have gone to try and find the traitor than have him reveal himself in the last minute. I'd rather confront Aventurine in some freaky Emoscape or nightmare caused by the Harmony rather than just get flashbacked everything really, really slowly. I'd have rathered done a lot of other things this game could've chosen to do, but didn't despite the possibility being very real.

Unfortunately, as usual, I get the sense that HYV took the easy way out again and that the story and gameplay weren't really made with each other in mind - and as such, I don't think this patch did very well with either.

Anyway, the secret main character. Aventurine. In concept he's really good and I think his motifs and literary allusions chain together really cohesively, but he was let down by the main quest again. I didn't find him very compelling. He didn't do much given how much screentime he had and way too much was revealed about him without me ever feeling like that time was spent productively.

I would've happily cut some of his segments to keep some mystery about him and had more Express exploration - I don't think he or Acheron needed to be playable, honestly. That time would've been better spent having them interact with the protagonist.

I feel if I'd been better able to connect to Aventurine as a character and was wondering what on earth he was planning then identifying his tragic motifs might have resonated with me more. Unfortunately despite the patch really wanting me to buy Aventurine as a sad, tragic meow meow who is secretly a paranoid nervous wreck, scared at all times and relying on his own luck, the way it chose to convey those personality traits to me was by having a dream-version of Aventurine show up and explain that to me.

Instead of like. Actually showing any of those traits at all. In a strssful situation. Like the one he was in. How'd we spend so much time with him and not get any of that? Seriously???

You can't put a character in front of me and say 'look he's sad. be sad for him.' You have to make me like him first. And I ended 2.0 on "oh, maybe I could like him. If they do more of this with him next patch".

I swear it's not that hard to make me like a character! You just have to do something interesting with them!! I'm not that bad!! I'm not really a heartless shrew! I can feel emotion, I swear, HYV is just really bad at pulling it out of me because they are terrible at writing characters feeling genuine and compelling, I feel like that's not too much to ask!

Can you show and not tell like, one thing? Is it that hard?! You couldn't even avoid having Sunday and Ratio explain Aventurine's really simple gem gambit to death!

I could've liked him. I really could've. And don't even get me started on Acheron and Black Swans stupid trailers.

So, yeah, I guess my final takeaway is that Penacony could've been really really fun and good and cool and I love the concepts here. I just wish literally any other company had written it.

Do you think next time they have Nasu over to visit, they can get him to punch up their scripts?

Other Notes

I was very disappointed that the game focused more on Aventurine's time on his homeworld than his relationship with the IPC, given what a major factor the IPC is going to be next patch and... that he just died for them.

It also kind of sucked that Acheron didn't have much to do beyond her cool showing at the end, and the Trailblazer's grand contribution was chatting to a DILF at a bar then doing a truly obnoxious boss fight.

Aventurine's sad tragic backstory also reminded me a lot of Scaramouche's quest in Genshin, which I hated. Guy calmly reacts to his horrific backstory, which is being shown to him, and doesn't actually concretely affect him, the characters around him or the story in any way is not fun, and it feels like a really cheap attempt to make the audience feel sad. This isn't to say that Aventurine's backstory didnt affect him; its that it coming back up in the final dungeon to haunt him didn't.

Aventurine's motifs are really cool and flow into each other nicely in concept but it really does suck that the danse macabre connection with the Trailblazer seriously fizzled out the way it did.

Sam fucking off and coming back to reveal his true identity the way he did was lazy and sucked. Have him run around being mysterious more, jeez.

The Bloodhound statues around the place were a cool touch and I liked them.

Black Swan's segments all sucked and were tedious. Should've cut 'em and let us investigate Acheron given, you know, she's a confirmed murderer and we really dismissed her as a threat super easily given that fact! What the hell was that! Why did we just take everyone's word on them not being the killer, what kind of murder mystery is this! If you didnt want to deal with any of that why even pretend this was a Whodunit!

How do you copy a genre designed to let you investigate characters to learn what their deal is. And just. Not do that. Hello? Hello???

I'd like to go to Clockie's Dreamville. That sounds fun. I want to go.

Can I have Penacony, actually? I'd have a lot of fun writing this place. It's so cool. It is my exact jam. Holy shit someone at HYV went hard coming up with the concept for this place, it's so good. Some of the side quests here are super cool too. God damn the main quest sucks though.

Aventurine is fun to play with. His boss battle fuckin sucked though.

i miss dan heng :(

[the-monkey-ruler]

it'd be so cool to see if lego monkey kid has any influence on future works in particular macaque with his shadow powers and association with the moon. picking and choosing what you like in different versions of the same character reminds me of transformers it's a lot of fun

Lego Monkie Kid has been shown to give the Six-Eared Macaque a lot more screen time than other adaptations which does add to how other adaptions would also like to add to the character.

I personally believe that Lego Monkie Kid is a lot inspired by Monkey King 2009 when it comes to powers! Or it is a close coincidence for doppelgangers to have more 'darker' themes and thus 'darker' powers.

These are some movies that were made after Lego Monkie Kid that have Wukong confront the Six-Eared Macaque and while they are fantastic takes on the character I haven't seen anything like shadow powers or Moon motifs. As such being Wukong already being made of Sun and Moon and in most cases, the two do not know each other.

I think that Lego Monkie Kid is more of an outlier of how much lore they are putting into the Six Eared Macaque because that the Lego universe is a Reimnging and they seem set on giving the Six Eared Macaque a redemption arc when more movies/shows are Retellings. And while each retelling can give more insight into how Wukong relationship changes and his own grasp on his self-identity slips from his grasp from someone that could so easily slip into his role as a person we only get a few chances when they actually know each other in the past.

2020 The Real vs the Fake Monkey King 真假美猴王之大圣无双

2021 Six Eared Macaque 六耳猕猴

2021 Monkey King: True and False Monkey King 齐天大圣之真假美猴王

2022 The King of Confusion: The Four Monkeys of Havoc / The Rise of the Great Sage, the King of Chaos 混世之王：混世四猴 / 混世之王之大圣崛起

I haven't gone over each of these movies in detail as only 2 of them have been released (the animated ones have been put on hold due to COVID) these are other interpretations of the character, giving them more nuisance than just being Wukong's inner self that he must face and overcome.

Not really a spoiler but my personal favorite is 真假美猴王之大圣无双 is because they actually changed the Six-Eared Macaque's memories!! So that even the real doppelganger doesn't know that he is the fake! Leading to even the real Wukong to question his own sanity!! Such a wonderful movie!!

I hope that the rise in popularity of this certain character leads to more interesting takes in media, and even leads to having more self-reflection of Sun Wukong as a character as well, facing his inner destructive thoughts, personified into a person or rather meeting someone that reminds him of his worst qualities!! However, I don't think things like powers or symbolism are going to transition over as those early fit the narrative of a completely different movie, rather perhaps leading to more productions of how else the character can be interpreted.

Similar to Sun Wukong and he is such a transformative character often seen as self-portraits of artists/writers, there can be many interpretations of each character in the novel. Just depends on finding the appeal of the character and acting on that.

[astridspeckles]

Random thoughts and ramblings about the amazing film Nimona! Warning this is a huge tangent and does talk about spoilers for the movie and a bit of spoilers about the graphic novel (that I haven't read since my copy hasn't arrived yet) also I've tried to write this post like 3 times but it keeps breaking so oof.

Kudos to the creator ND Stevenson who I swear is a massive source of creativinies that I would absorb like a sponge if I had the energy to because everything they're apart of is something I feel like I'd adore if if I took the plunge. Also he identifies as enby transmasc (which, I am too, and I didn't realize how huge of a blow it was to realize that people like me exist). I really ought to look into She-ra and their other works at some point. Anyway, anyway, anyway - this is about Nimona!

I love that this obviously queer movie decided to be release during the later stage of June aka "Pride Month" because I feel like it gives people the chance to watch it with fresh eyes during July, which is Disabled Pride Month (I'm Australian so it isn't really a thing here as far as im aware sadly) which Ballister is such a fantastic and amazing character who is gay and disabled.

He is never portrayed as weak or lesser for his disability, I imagine for people that it'll actually be easy to forget that he is disabled as an amputee with how capable he's written. I feel like it might just go over peoples heads at some point because you never get to see stuff written so well unless if its poking you with it every few episodes or its extremely obvious at a glance. But with Ballister it 'just is who he is' and it moves on to focus on its plot like it has from the beginning.

And its never used as a plot set back or change the storybeat or anything of that sort of matter. Which is amazing. However it isn't just ignored either! He has a moment of weakness when he sees Ambroius again. He hesitates, he withdraws from reach out to him while looking at his arm (Oh, Nemesis!). It is still fresh and new and he's trying to handle it (you're doing great sweetie).

I'm not physically disabled (I do have a weak knee however) but a mentally disabled and experience fatigue constantly and I'm sure I'd have chronic pains if I didn't have a high pain tolerance. So while this sort of character isn't someone I can directly relate to it is someone I can connect with (Although I don't believe you need to be the same as something in order to connect/relate to it).

However I am at home a lot and I don't get exposed much to other people and that includes a lot of people with other cultures, beliefs, body types and disabilities. So being able to see people different than me on the screen is always awesome, and being able to connect with them is too. Which the Queen, Nimona and Ballister is fantastic for everyone and hopefully the Director will give the other sort of audience of this movie a time to think back and work through things.

But I haven't seen many disabled people in media, because I don't really have the energy to engage with much content for long. So I have a limited selection of characters who seem like fantastic representation - because while yes Toph from Avatar the Last Airbender is fantastic she has literal superpowers compared to the every day person so I love and praise how she's handled because everything she does is fantastic-

Seeing Ballister's strong and dedicated personality which still has that life to it made me instantly feel for him along side Hiccup from How to Train your Dragon (And before you ask - no, AstridSpeckles is not due to HTTYD, its inspired from Zelda actually!) And I just love how it was all written and displayed. In HTTYD it was to connect Toothless and Hiccup together in a beautiful narrative. Here they used his arm to make a beautiful narrative too - he uses it, constantly.

He fixes his arm with just one hand which is insane because its also his non dominant hand which wow thats amazing. And he doesn't shy away from using his arm for anything, he still touches people with it, still wields things with as much confidence as ever to do so. He reaches out to Nimona with it too in that scene. Also Ambroius reaches out to hold his hand in that scene too! So tenderly and without hesitation! Which if it was another case with other characters I reckon I'd be a little upset but you see how much they love eachother and how gentle and tactile and soft they are so it is just so beautiful to see here...

Also I don't really know where else to put this but since im on a tangent about Ballister ima just say it here. He is such a fantastic knight! He knew the moment his sword was handed to him that it was off. He knew it didnt feel right, the weight was wrong? Or it just felt off? He knows his sword. He knows his morals. He knows what he has to do to make things right. He never betrayed himself ever!

Also the eye sparkles change. At the start their diamonds, but Ballister's turns into squares as he gets more exposed to different views where Ambroius turns into a triangle as his views are being pulled (the director whispering in his hear, his own heart, and his love for Ballister).

Also he too is a fantastic knight! His life falling apart? Never lashes out. Never hurts those around him (Okay, cutting off an arm isn't a love language.) So yes that is a case where he did hurt someone but that is addressed in its own ways.

But he never hurts or lashes out at the people he's protecting. He could easily just take it out on them, stop caring, fall into a pit of despair at his own problems. But you actively see him dealing with this own issues and then instantly being a knight the next scene and he doesn't falter or fall.

He is also so strong and I love that he had these moments, would of liked some more though but he isn't a main character like Nimona and Ballister so I understand why he didn't.

Also back to Ballister for a moment because the moment he heard Nimona's not really handling the things she's carrying, that she was able to tell him about her most vulnerable, scary and intrusive thoughts after knowing him for so little, that his thoughts in an instant was to get her the hell out of there and go with her.

He would try to work things out with Ambroius I believe, but he saw the hurt of Nimona who he hasn't known that long over the love of his life and said this is my priority. That would be so hard for anyone to do, for example a parent knowing their child is queer and the other parent not accepting them - there are cases where the parents stay together because its too hard for them not too, and lose the kid or kick the kid out.

The fact Ballister in a heartbeat acted accordingly to keep this new precious person in his life to abandon (like they did to him) without hesitation is absolutely insane and I love it so much. Also that it wasn't a move out of malice or defiance. It could of easily of been written differently that they need to protect her and they have to leave right now. But no. He took action (he always takes actions!) and while he lingered on Ambroius, it wasnt hesitation. It wasn't to hurt Ambroius either. He put Nimona being at risk first.

So I've actually been aware of Nimona for a few years now. I've heard about its ups and downs and its eventually cancel to its amazing revival! But I was watching it as a passive observer, never interacting with it because I know I hyper-fixate, I didn't want too get invested and attached and because off the rollercoaster of it not coming to the big screen while being in the fandom at that time (im sorry you are all so much stronger than I am haha!)

However, it is alive and amazing! And I'm finally here in the fandom - I've finally watched it - I've finally decided to order the graphic novel like I planned to back during its first movie announcement so I can quote "Enjoy the movie and then read the book since the books are always better", so I can love both as much as I can, yknow?

From what I've discovered reading online here and there so far (and its likely that this is wrong so take this with a grain of salt since I haven't gotten my graphic novel yet) that apparently that the movie is leaps and bounds improved compared to the graphic novel (Note: Not better, improved.)

Improved origin stories, improved personalities, improved characterizations. So much of the voice actors provide life and inspiration to these characters bringing them to a level that the graphic novels didn't have the resource to do.

I also love how people also aren't going crazy (negatively) about the change of races to the characters - im so used to seeing discourse about this sort of thing but its so accepted here that it is so refreshing to see.

The graphic novel has a larger and looser timeline and I believe a darker story and not as much as a happy ending compared to the movie. I can't wait to read the graphic novel though it looks very interesting!

But the ending of the movie implies such a happier ending for everyone, since apparently I've seen that in the graphic novel Nimona visits Ballister while being shapeshifted as a nurse while he is in hospital and he caught on too late after she says goodbye and he never sees her again and is constantly reminded of her when she sees people with her hair colour and that is so bittersweet!

The fact we get her coming to him at the end with him going HOLY SHIT is because it is saying here that it doesn't end with that note. They are together still. And I really hope something more comes out after this because I need to see a bit more to know what is happening there.

I had written a lot more here but my post keeps breaking and doing ctrl+z is making me lose entire paragraphs and gifs I put in as text breakers so I'm gonna leave this here or maybe do another post when I end up reading the graphic novel, who knows. But yes. I love Nimona :D

[inkonfreshnewpaper]

Tag Game! (Two for Two in a week! Saved for later so I'd have something different to write about) (Saved it for so long I've got a ton to write about)

Tagged by @bacchanalium

3) Last song: Love Me Like You Used To - Lord Huron. It hits in that good melancholy country mood for me.

4) Last film: Portrait of a Girl on Fire. I'm so behind on essential queer films, so I finally got around to watching it. Honestly, surprised at the lack of music in movie. It's saved for a moment at the end that absolutely hit. Bit slow, but in a good way. Seven Samurai. It's Seven Samurai. It's a good movie. I don't have much to say other than, movie good. Wasn't expecting Mifune's character to be as feral as he was, or how affecting the movie was. The Thing. It's The Thing, I wanna be you. The first time I saw it was Halloween 2020 during my horror movie marathon. This time I watched it in my university's movie theatre with a nearly full audience. People gasped during Child's "Then we're wrong" line delivery and laughed a bunch throughout. Seeing it on the big screen was incredible. 10/10. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2022). This was a weird one. Gonna have to actually post my thoughts on it because I'm still chewing on it. It focuses entirely on Utterson, but the adaption decides to put him through a negative character arc. Does it work? Stay tuned.

5) Currently reading: The Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (finished it but at what cost). It wasn't very good. I got YA vibes from the character descriptions in the how they focus exclusively on eye and hair colour. Pacing was all over the place. Would spend way too long in one scene, way too short in another. The characters felt way too modern in a supposed fantasy world, mostly due to the dialogue. (Protag's best friend called her and her love interest 'slow burn' and I had to put the book down for a minute after that). The magic system felt like an excuse to get the main couple together and nothing else. That's my biggest critique of the novel. Everything just feels paper thin in this world. Things are set up, but resolved so quickly it doesn't feel satisfying. The school is set up as super dangerous and everyone is trying to kill each other 24/7, and the protag makes a best friend first day and they stay best friends. And further confirmation that no one knows how to write enemies-to-lovers, just 'didn't like you at the start'. Love interest says he loved her since he first saw her. WEAK. Why'd I read it? A bookstore clerk recommended it, I was on the library wait list for months. I needed to dissect this book thoroughly to justify me reading it. I'm also reading The Butterfly Collector by Tea Cooper. It's an okay mystery set in 1920s Australia. Garden of Earth Bodies by Sally Oliver. I'm compelled. It's horror-lite about grief, but the twist hasn't happened yet, so who's to say if it's good yet. Definitely reads as a debut novel - very dramatic prose, feels like it's trying too hard to grab my attention. It's meh so far, but I want to see where it goes.

6) Currently watching: Currently Delicious in Dungeon as it comes out. Studio Trigger is doing such a good job with the adaptation. I'm also watching Revue Starlight, which was way better than I was expecting. Episode 8 launched Hikari to all time favourite characters for me. Haven't finished it yet.

7) Currently consuming: Some tea.

8) Currently craving: Nice and full from dinner with Delicious in Dungeon. No better way to spend a Thursday night.

Tagging: @thefollow-spot, @whoawhataconcept, @fate-motif, @ishmaels, @flubz, @scootbloop, @dying-suffering-french-stalkers, @kafkastan, @sacrerouges, @violasmirabiles, @owlmylove

[linhmiu201]

Press F to pay respect to our Vanderwood, he never ceases to amuse us. :) He's basically promoted as Seven's nanny now. Give him some spotlight please Cheritz. 🙏🙏

Finally, I read the Judge End. It's sad how the RFA basically torn apart (I did agree that there should be a name change but throwing away the name and breaking apart ain't the same thing... *insert sad V emoji*) And it's absurb how harsh you would need to act in order to unlock it. At least now I totally understand why it only took a few 'soft' choices to lead you to the other ending, and why Cheritz seems to push us into getting Forgive End. They feel the need to sink us with lessons about forgiveness and keep saying that's the right thing to do because of Korean culture, I suppose. Be warned, this is just my own speculation.

When I was in junior high school, a certain Korean TV series was aired at noon. It was unfortunate that I had to go to school every afternoon so I didn't get to watch all of it, but that series left such a big impression on me. Its name is Phantom, an SBS series about hacking and cyber crimes. I remember this detail the most: a girl was cyber bullied to the point that she committed suicide. At that time it was so unfamiliar to me that I remember it even now. If you guys read Chinese web novels then you'd know that the netizens there don't really care if news posted online is truthful or not. If it is said that this celebrity or that idol had an addiction, committed adultery,... then they'll just assume it's true, and swarm said celebrity's Weibo with hate speech. And do you know about a case where an actor in Japan was revealed to have a girlfriend, his fans felt so angry and 'betrayed' that they pressured a production he was starring in to cancel his role? In the end, he got removed from his role for real. Does this feel familiar? That's right, it's Zen's route in a nutshell right there, where Jaehee was so worried about MC and Zen dating, because she knew fans would turn hostile to Zen once they found out he had a girlfriend "who weren't themselves". I don't know what's it like in other countries, but here, in Asian countries, many of the netizens are just so... uncultured, if I dare say. It's not only these 3 countries, but probably all over the world, cases of cyber bullying are still happening. How convenient it is for people to just hide behind the screen and spit cruelty at others or play god. They curse and sneer at prople who they think that were in the wrong, while maintaining a high sense of moral for themselves.

With VAE, you can see such behaviors reflected in the 'wrong' choices, for example:

Rika: My thoughts are evil. No, it's all because of my head. This head of mine can think of nothing but dark things.

Rika: I wish this head of mine would stop working... So that I won't do anything. So that I can't do anything.

The players then have to choose from 2 options, including:

Maybe you've been too obsessed with saving others that you forgot how to save yourself.

Or:

You know, that'd be the way you can be the least of help for others.

To reach the Judge End, we need to choose the second choice (alongside a series of fixed choices before that of course). Honestly, that choice is way too cruel for me, we're basically telling her to shut down her brain and stop functioning here (which she did, she fell into a coma), but in order to reach Judge, I can't help but choosing it, since I knew even 1 'wrong' choice could possibly lead to Forgive and that sweet free talk would remain unlocked forevah. If judgement goes too far, it's no longer judgement but pure cruelty... is what I think Cheritz is trying to tell us here. They're telling us to be more understanding even only a little bit, and don't take malicious pleasure in judging other people, even if they are wrong, because you never know whether a life would be lost due to such malice. For me, sometimes it's hard to tell whether I was pleased to see Rika brought to jail since I felt bad for those she hurted, or because of pure pleasure in playing justice defender where you get to curse the bad person all you want. If it's the latter, then it's bad - said Cheritz, probably.

Oopsie, I nearly forgot I took this picture. The wording is harsh, but I laughed for that savage line of Jumin. xD This is the Judge End where RFA members were utterly disgusted by Rika and shooed her away from their lives. It was all fun and games I honestly think their reaction was understandable given how badly hurted they were when suddenly we were introduced to a "Rika's Circus"... How could something be both hilarious and cruel at the same time?? Seven being the narrator, Jaehee's and Yoosung's exaggeration, Zen talking in monotone, especially Jumin's high-pitched voice and Vanderwood's "why the hell am I here again?" confusion, they were so hilarious I couldn't stop chuckling. ......Sorry that I laughed, what's the password for Wi-Fi in hell?

Entertaining as it is, the "Rika's Circus" thing is still something Cheritz made to guilt trip us. It wasn't real, it was only a dream MC had, but after laughing, we started to feel guilty. Brilliant, I must admit.

Anyway, although I did feel bad for her since V's route actually I still consider what she did is wrong, and no excuse for her actions. You and I, we can understand her, like her, but should never justify her crimes by blaming her past and mental illness. Likewise, V haters could hate him all they/you want, he kinda sorta deserves it with what he did wrong, but don't point fingers at him for the crimes Rika did. Oh yeah, now that I think about it, Saeran is a combination of both V and Rika, don't you think? He was a mentally unstable innocent like V who was exploited and suffered by Rika's hands, then became an abuser himself like Rika. Remember who locked and chained? MC in her room, starved her, verbally abused and kinda sexually harassed her? And then guess who had to sneak in to give MC food to eat hm?

My point is, these 3 characters are flawed as hell and they did so many annoying wrongdoings, but instead of purely hating them, how about trying to understand them? - was probably what Cheritz wanted to convey. Not my words since I have love-hate relationship with them where sometimes I hate them and sometimes I don't. And I still can't like Rika one bit if you ask me, never was, never will.

If you guys read this till the end and agreed with me, then you'd probably love this underrated masterpiece too. It's a parody that whichever fandom you go, you'd still see people using it... the ultimate scene we don't understand but can still enjoy... xD

[fzzr]

Monogatari Read-Along Re-Watch — Nadeko Snake

Previously.

Novel

The bulk of this story is actually spent with Suruga, continuing the pattern of each story starting by checking in with the focus of the previous one. The main thing that we learn from how Koyomi and Suruga interact is that he now fundamentally trusts her. Koyomi doesn't just trust her with his life (which is not much, to him) but with someone else's. We also get to see that Suruga's moments of seriousness in Suruga Monkey were not aberrations. She will banter and troll at the slightest opportunity, but when something serious is going on she is ready.

This isn't wasted time with respect to the story, as the banter is part of what lets Nadeko open up and ask for help. As for her, Nadeko doesn't even have her first line until more than halfway through. Once we do meet her, we find there's another reason Suruga has to carry the conversation. Nadeko is too... let's call her "quiet"... to participate in the quick exchanges of the series. Koyomi assumes that she's like that due to the pain and shame of her possession by the Jagirinawa. We can infer that there's a bit more to it than that, when she talks about how special Koyomi and her time with the Araragi family were to her. In the end though, it's left ambiguous.

Something I've never understood (and still don't) is why Koyomi thinks that recognizing Nadeko on the stairs would have changed the results. At that time she would have had no reason to share what was happening to her or what she was doing, and he would have had trouble re-contacting her afterward regardless. They didn't lose a huge amount of time between seeing her on the stairs and catching her at the shrine again later. The critical mistake happened when she showed them the binding marks, and that would have happened the same either way.

Little detail: Koyomi gives the date, but his reflection that not having spoken with Mayoi recently upsets him a bit is what gives us a sense of what that amount of time passing feels like emotionally and lets us check in on his relationship with her without distracting from the threads relevant to this story.

Anime

This arc features the first really large cut in the anime. Much of the opening conversation with Suruga is skipped in favor of getting to the shrine and main plot of the arc sooner. Some of it gets moved to the walk up the mountain, but it's still a big cut in the amount of banter. This was probably necessary to fit the arc into just two episodes. It's just a bit shorter than Suruga Monkey in print, but that was three episodes. Filling out the same amount of screen time might have caused it to drag.

Once again the audio does a lot of work here. For Suruga, her voice makes it quite clear where she stands on the silly-to-serious spectrum at any moment. Nadeko gets to express subtleties in her thoughts in a way that we can pick up on even if Koyomi cannot. Music is great as always. There are a few scenes where it really caries the tone by putting on one of the spookier or more tense tracks.

As for what's on screen... hooboy. Mayoi Snail is the first part that raises the power level on Monogatari (extended panty shot and non-con contact on an 11-year-old) but Nadeko Snake is what makes this a don't-watch-with-an-open-door-behind-you show. The novel doesn't spend much time describing the situation with Nadeko in just bloomers on the bed, but the anime follows a very unfortunate gaze, including adding some action details that are original to the anime. It is defanged somewhat by the humor surrounding it, but that's still something that's entirely reasonable to bounce off. The snake going down Nadeko's throat is depicted in the anime very much how the novel described it, but it's still a moment you don't want to screenshot and share. That part was actually not animated when originally aired, which I always assumed was because it was going to be a problem to put on television, so that's what they chose not to finish when they fell behind schedule.

Conclusion

Of all the arcs in Bakemonogatari, this is arguably the one that casts the longest shadow. The shrine is one of the most important locations in the series, and events from this arc will have direct consequences through to the very end of the series. Nadeko herself has a lot more going on than we see in this arc, but I'll hold off on a Nadeko post until the Second Season wrap-up.

This is the first arc where the necessities of their respective media made significant differences between the novel and the anime. Split decision on whether it's an improvement or not. The pacing of the anime is genuinely better, but I missed a lot of the humor and relationship development that was embedded in the banter of the novel. The blocking of the scene in the bookstore with Hanekawa was more clear in the anime, and the environment of the shrine provided great visual storytelling. The real oof is the power level check inherent in how the events are depicted, but there's no way around it. That's just Monogatari.

[sl33py-g4m3r]

personal about gaming and accessibility~~

changed my computer's location to a spot where I can hopefully sit and play games instead of standing at my computer~~

only problem now is that I HAVE to use magnification and screen zoom features to be able to see text on screen. I'm even using it to type this, lol~~

shouldn't be ashamed or worried about using accessibility aids cause I've been legally blind my entire life~~ and I'm still worried about using them. but as mom says; "what people think of you using stuff that helps says more about them than it does you".

that begs the question~~ does slime rancher work with narration if I need the text read to me? I'm assuming that using screen magnification/zoom will absolutely mess up game play tbh...

so I figure it's either try to see what narration does or get as close to the screen as possible~~

what steam games work with narration/zoom and don't mess up game play? or what games can you alter the size of text so it can be read?

I think (and could be incorrect actually) that older RPGs had pretty big text, some older games too, but sometimes the font was kind of hard to read.

It's probably just me feeling this way; but it saddens me that so many good looking games have quite small text that isn't readable to me. so I can't read it, I can't play it.

this didn't stop me playing pokemon black/white in Japanese tho, lol

but yeah, probably just a me thing, but I feel that lack of accesibility and visibility features in games is pushing me out of a hobby I once loved dearly as a child.

it could be that I'm not looking in the right places or finding the right games for that sort of thing. or finding work arounds to my problem...

so! if anyone who reads this needs to use an aid to help with things that non disabled people can do, don't worry or feel bad about it. cause ya do that and ya don't want to use tools that actually help you. I'm still there and trying to get it through my own head honestly~~~

Oh~~! can you change visual novel text boxes to make them darker? the transparency sometimes makes it really hard to read....

and to anyone who reads the beginning and is like "get/buy a desk" I live in an apartment and don't have room for one~~ making due with the stuff I have~~

am I limiting myself based on my disability? or is this a genuine problem with gaming and accessibility now?

[denimbex1986]

'On a recent winter day in New York when the sun was shining, Andrew Scott rushed into a coffee shop between recording sessions for an upcoming series.

"I'm scheduled tighter than a teenage pop star," he said, beaming.

The interview had been postponed once, and the location was switched at the last minute to save Scott some time in traffic. But he sat down fully engaged and eager to start talking. Immediately, though, a passerby tapped on the storefront glass and asked for a photo. Scott, without a grumble, sprinted out to oblige, even though the gesture seemed more like a command ("You're under arrest," joked Scott) than a polite request.

Scott, the 47-year-old Irish actor, is in demand like never before. That's partly due to accrued good will. A regular presence on stage in the West End, Scott is known to many as the "Hot Priest" of "Fleabag" or the cunning Moriarty of "Sherlock." Soon, he'll play Tom Ripley in the Netflix series "Ripley," adapted from the Patricia Highsmith novel.

But the real reason Scott's time is short right now is Andrew Haigh's new film, "All of Us Strangers." In it, Scott plays a screenwriter working on a script about his childhood. The film is gently poised in a metaphysical realm; when Adam (Scott) returns to his childhood home, he finds his parents (Claire Foy, Jamie Bell) as they were before they died many years earlier.

At the same time, the movie, loosely adapted from Taichi Yamada's 1987 book "Strangers," balances a budding romance with a neighbor ( Paul Mescal ), a relationship that unfolds with profound reverberations of family, intimacy and queer life. In a dreamy, longing ghost story, Scott is its aching, shimmering soul.

"The challenge of it was to try to go to that place but not gild the lily too much," Scott says. "As an actor, I have to be in touch with that playful side of myself and that part of you that's childish. I was actually quite struck by how vulnerable I looked in the film."

Scott's acutely tender performance has made him a contender for the Academy Awards. He was named best actor by the National Society of Film Critics. At the Golden Globes on Sunday (Scott wore a white tux and t-shirt), he was nominated for best actor in a drama.

Scott has long admired actors like Anthony Hopkins, Judi Dench and Meryl Streep – performers with a sense of humor who, he says, "are able to understand what you feel and what you present." Scott, too, is often funny on screen (see Lena Dunham's medieval romp "Catherine Called Birdy" ). And even in quiet moments, he seems to be buzzing inside at some discreet frequency. Something is always going on under the surface.

He's been acting since he was young; drama classes were initially a way to get over shyness. Scott's first film role came at age 17. He has often spoken about seeking to maintain a childlike perspective in acting. In that way, "All of Us Strangers" is particularly fitting. On Adam's trips home, he sort of morphs back into the child he was. In one scene, he wears his old pajamas and crawls into bed with his parents.

"So many of the things that are required of you as an actor are a sense of humor and some ability to be able to put yourself in a situation. Because it's all down to imagination," says Scott. "For me, that's the thing you need to keep. That's the thing – because I started out when I was young – I don't want to move too far away from. Like when kids go, 'OK, you be this and I'll be this.' That ability doesn't leave us. What does leave us is a lack of self-consciousness. Our job is to hold on to that."

Haigh, the British filmmaker of "45 Years" and "Weekend," began thinking of Scott for the role early on. They met and talked through the script for a few hours.

"He's a similar generation to me. He's a tiny bit younger than me, but he's from the same generation," says Haigh. "He understands that experience."

Scott came out publicly in 2013, but his natural inclination is to be private. "I feel like I've given so much of myself in the film, you think you don't want to give it all away," he says. He describes "All of Us Strangers" – which Haigh shot partly in his childhood home – as personal, but not autobiographical in its depiction of the alienation that can linger after coming out.

"Mercifully, I feel very comfortable for the most part. But it stays with you that pain, and it actually makes you more compassionate, I think. Because we shot in Andrew's childhood home, that sort of threw down the gauntlet in relation to how much of his own personality he was giving," says Scott. "I wanted it to be sort of unadorned, unarmored and raw. That's why I think there's such tenderness in the film."

Scott has sometimes recoiled from how sexuality is talked about the media and in Hollywood. He recently said the phrase "openly gay" should be done away with. As of late December, Scott hadn't yet watched "All of Us Strangers" with his parents, though he planned to.

"The best way to express it is to say I'll be very sensitive to how they watch it and how they feel about it, and how it makes me feel them watching it," Scott says.

The tenderness in the film is also owed in part to Scott's chemistry with Mescal. On-screen chemistry is an amorphous quality that the film industry has long tried to turn into a science with camera tests and marketing that flirts with real-life romance.

But for Scott, it's something different. He and Phoebe Waller-Bridge had chemistry, overwhelmingly, in "Fleabag," but that didn't have anything to do with sexual attraction. Pinpointing that quality is something Scott pondered during Simon Stephens and Sam Yates' recent staging of Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" at the National Theater. Scott played all eight roles, meaning he essentially had to have chemistry with himself.

"Chemistry isn't just about sexual chemistry. It's something to do with listening, and I think it's something to do with playfulness," Scott says. "Your ability to listen to someone and take note of what someone is doing is chemistry. You have to wait and see what the other actor is doing."

A few moments later, Scott will have to rush out just as quickly as he arrived. But before that, he leaned back, naturally lit by the winter sun, and pondered whether "All of Us Strangers," in the nakedness of his performance, had taken him somewhere he hadn't before been as an actor.

"Yeah, I think so," said Scott. "Or else to return to something that perhaps I've been before."'

[erinpilolla]

How to Foster Creativity in Yourself

October 13, 2023

Erin Pilolla

The blank white screen, blinking cursor, and impending due dates stare back at me as if my computer was a mirror illuminating my stressed and anxious reflection. Often times my projects don't begin until after a great amount of mental prodding, encouragement, and enforcement, internally reassuring myself things will seem easier once I start them, usually proving myself correct.

You see, having chronic anxiety does not make it easy to express any idea, let alone one that could be experimental, personal, or show vulnerability. It can be easy to convince yourself that any direction you go could be considered wrong and will leave you feeling embarrassed, until you’ve stopped thinking about ideas for the project and started imagining your downfall.

That’s why I try very hard to remind myself an idea is just the start of something, ideas can be changed, revised, adjusted, and built on. Every great thing which has happened or been thought of has started out with just one simple idea, so it never hurts to put something down on the page and go from there. I like to imagine my creative process like a snowball rolling down a hill, requiring great force and moving slowly at first until it starts to move and gain traction, picking up more snow as it goes until it can’t be stopped.

In Twyla Tharp’s novel, "The Creative Habit", she discusses how her creative routines have helped shape her decades-long dance and choreography career which have taken her all across the world. Chapter 6, “scratching,” does a wonderful job of illustrating how full of inspiration the world around us is. You really can find a way to turn almost any interaction, object, or moment into artistic fuel. On page 98 she states, “Without the little ideas, there are no big ideas,” and this encouraged me to keep giving time and space to all the small ideas in my head, on the off chance they become something even more insightful than I first imagined.

Over time I have found certain situations inspire me when I am facing a blockage of creativity. Something about late nights, city lights, long drives, and new situations (people, places, experiences) always fill me with a sense of urgency, like there’s ideas all around me that I could grab onto and expand upon, ideas that could carry me away to other thoughts like bouquets of balloons in the sky.

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the novel "Eat, Pray, Love", reflected on some of her fears and other peoples’ fears that were being projected onto her of that novel being the greatest success of her writing career. She went on to explain how creativity can be seen as something you can tap into rather than what you are, and used the phrase “having a genius,” meaning that you can experience random, beautiful moments of creativity at any time in your life, describing the moment an idea strikes and how fleeting it can be.

In the career field I am in, marketing and communications, one might wonder how important it really is to harness creativity within myself and the teams that I lead. To someone wondering about that, I would argue that any career field can improve from forming habits that can help you find creative, innovative solutions to everyday problems.

One of the most important ideas discussed by "The Creative Habit", which Twyla Thorp preaches throughout each chapter, is that anybody can benefit from going on a journey to reignite their flame for discovery. Through hard work and by building new routines, it is possible for anybody to start to feel that passion again, or for the very first time.

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Sources:

Tharp, T. (2003). The Creative Habit. Simon and Schuster.

Elizabeth Gilbert. (2009). Your Elusive Creative Genius (Speech Recording). TED Conferences.

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stay clear of THC (htc in marijuana). Additionally, if you intend on taking huge doses, an isolate might permit you to perform therefore without bothering with an increased danger of negative effects coming from THC - thc a isolate. Along with numerous excellent CBD products out there certainly, just how performed our team tighten down our choices? These assortments were created based upon criteria our team assume are actually really good signs of security, top quality, and also openness - cannabis isolates. Below are some factors to think about when buying the best one for you: Choosing the sort of CBD product you are actually

gon na buy is actually the exciting part! There's a major vast globe of CBD and loads of alternatives to select from, consisting of gummies, capsules, oils, creams, creams, and a lot more. If you prefer full-body impacts, an ingestible item like an oil, gummy, or even pill may be the way to go. These are actually sweet given that they are actually pre-dosed (cbd oil thc). They are actually a good choice if you don't prefer to eat a pill - what is delta 9.

All you need to have to do is eat it and you're carried out. Just keep in mind that it takes a little bit of while for these to start considering that you require to digest the gummy. These are actually likewise pre-dosed as well as easy to take. If there are a considerable amount of issues, it is actually finest to steer crystal clear! Consider where the CBD is happening from. Selecting U.S (cannabis thc).-grown hemp is actually a great concept, due to farming guidelines in the United States. Take into consideration, too, the sort of hemp made use of to help make the product. Look for products that are used the flower, not the stalk or even stalk, of the hemp plant. No screening is actually a major dealbreaker. Just how do you recognize if a product's been actually assessed? Try to find an up-to-date COA (it shouldn't be actually more

than a year aged), and check that the product is actually checked for pollutants and has what the provider mentions it should (what is a thc). When it comes to isolates, that implies absolutely no THC. Yum! Apply straight to the impacted place.(PSA: Do not consume CBD ointments or even creams! )Take with water as driven. When it pertains to making use of CBD, your best option is to begin little. Start along with a low dose as well as gradually work your technique around utilizing even more as needed. For isolate items specifically, attempt beginning along with 25 milligrams and progressively enhancing coming from there - can you make thc in a lab. Yes, CBD is generally looked at to become safe. Some researches have actually even found it to become helpful in addressing certain health and wellness conditions, like epilepsy.

Much more study still needs to be carried out on CBD, its perks, its own security, as well as any kind of feasible communications with other medications or medications. It is actually also essential to consider that CBD items aren't FDA-approved, suggesting their safety and performance may not be guaranteed. tetrahydrocannabinol,. But on call study does advise that full-spectrum products are better for pain comfort than CBD isolate products. What that means for mental health disorders our experts're not definitely certain, yet this

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start to possess unplanned consequences, especially for kids, the writers said. Quite couple of producers of CBD products that have trace quantities of THC want to even point out that on the tag."These data accurately demonstrate that along with the absence of straightforward and also precise label information specifying a specific quantity of delta 9-THC in the item through volume, customers have no choice however to suspect the existence of delta 9-THC in hemp-derived CBD items,"the analysts kept in mind." Consumers are actually taking hemp-derived CBD items without recognizing the risks of accidental consumption of delta 9-THC. Whatever GMP compliance techniques brands have established is actually a totally willful carry on their component, and FDA is certainly not evaluating the facilities where these products are helped make." This report remains to illustrate the critical necessity for FDA to control hemp-derived products including CBD.

Without a governing platform guaranteeing CBD products are actually viewed as risk-free, correctly assessed and also tagged, as well as well prepared utilizing Great Manufacturing Practices, consumers stay at threat of eating unidentified amounts of THC or other likely harmful active ingredients,"Miller mentioned. "While FDA delays action, declaring the firm resides in a'stalemate position,'Our lawmakers has the chance to take concerns right into its hands through passing regulations to establish a regulative pathway for CBD as a nutritional supplement or even meals as well as refreshment additive. delta9. The outcomes might aid potential research right into potential healing activities for various other motor neurone diseases. Jo Patterson, chief executive officer of Bod stated:"We are thrilled by this new study and also the finding of the method of action of CBD in Parkinson's ailment. This analysis additionally supports Bod pharmaceutical marijuana medications

in their healing ability (white thc powder)."In Australia, it is approximated that about 212, 000 people cope with Parkinson's ailment. The social profile of CBD has skyrocketed in the last few years, along with consumers utilizing it to alleviate all type of afflictions and disorders - what is the purest form of thc. It could be consumed in an assortment of means, varying coming from straightforward oral intake to topical usage as well as even vaping. There are actually two primary kinds of CBD on the market place. There are a lot of crucial variations between the 2, which we will definitely take a look at within this write-up.

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Several of one of the most common techniques include administering it sublingually, topically, or taking it in pills. thc compound. Vaping cbd is actually pertained to through numerous to be actually one of the most bio-available technique to administer, and because of this, this has actually brought about a boost in the need for CBD isolate. This kind of CBD is various coming from full-spectrum CBD extraction during that it simply includes CBD and also none of the various other cannabinoids, terpenes, or healthy fatty acids that often lead coming from the whole-plant removal method. Numerous CBD isolate customers are under the opinion that by eating simply the CBD cannabinoid and no terpenes or any type of various other "needless"elements of the vegetation, they are obtaining a much more strong or even efficient dose of CBD - isolated weed. When vaping a CBD remove, which as stated previously, is actually looked at to be actually the most efficient and quick-acting technique of offering CBD, isolate consumers might experience that they are taking one of the most effective route to CBD consumption

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The Ducal Ring in the Movie 'Dune'

I finally watched Dune since it was officially released last year. I have to say it is amazing! In order to really appreciate the intricate detail in the story and production, I watched it a few times. Half of the story from the 1965 science fiction novel of the same name, which is about a complicated civilization in the year 10,191, is told in the fantastic movie, which simultaneously debuted in theaters and on HBO Max.

There are lots of discussions about the movie online. Instead of plot and character analysis, I'm going to talk about a tinny item---the ducal ring in the movie.

What Does the Ring Look Like?

The ring bears a falcon perched on the Atreides coat of arms. The line "Here I am, here I remain" in the Atreides people's language, which resembles the lyrical manner of Arabic, is one of many features engraved on the sides of the object. It has the kind of subtle intricacy that occasionally appears in movie props. The words of the inscription are not mentioned in the film, but Duke Leto Atreides says them during a pivotal scene.

The Duke of Atreides uses his Ducal ring to formally close the transaction for Arrakis. He carefully inserts it into the gold wax. It resembles a crown in some ways figuratively. The Ducal ring-wearer holds positions of authority and power.

Who Made the Ring?

The ring was fashioned by Heidi Nahser Fink and is featured in close-ups throughout the movie due to the symbolic significance it has.

Heidi, a professional bench jeweler, began moonlighting in the movies in 1997 when she made Orion's Belt for Men in Black, the galaxy pendant worn by a cat. Being a member of the James Banks team, Heidi essentially works a day job. For more than a decade, she and Adam Shulman have collaborated on the adored jewelry line. The creative partners "meet cute," as they say in Hollywood, on the Alice in Wonderland set in 2010.

Heidi has created jewelry for roughly 15 motion pictures over the years. Douglas Harlocker, a prop master, is responsible for many. Doug calls when seeking items with a creative, handmade appearance, according to Heidi.

How Was the Ring Created?

The creation of the Ducal ring started when the prop master was looking into design trends. He requested that I give him a photo of something I had produced in the past, Heidi recalls. "After that, he requested that I give them to him. I'm not sure if they inspired any ideas for the ring or if they were merely crucial in getting things started.

When Heidi obtained a stunning CAD (computer-aided design) for the jewel from the set designer, the next phase got under way.

The rings were lovingly made by Heidi over a period of several months. For the manufacture, five backup rings had to be made. Heidi claims, "I don't work from wax at all. "Instead, I carve into the metal, which allowed for a layer-by-layer process. I had to really sit down with the idea and consider how to approach it and construct it out of flat sheets of metal.

Heidi carved every feather in layers of copper and silver, giving the falcon a sense of importance and height. The method produced a sculptural, intricate artwork. On a television or, much better, the IMAX screen the film was designed to be seen on, you can plainly notice the quality.

The words "Here I am, here I remain" were meticulously pierced by Heidi. She also fashioned the bezels for the side emeralds by hand. To ensure that each of the five iterations of the Ducal ring had a same size and color, she employed emeralds that were created in a lab. The silver was blackened to a velvety tone as part of Heidi's finishing procedure.

Oscar Isaac kept one of the Ducal rings as a keepsake from the experience after the movie was finished.

YWsunnyjewelry offers a variety of rings, from gorgeous engagement rings to adjustable ones that will suit every member of the family, if you adore what the movie present and want a distinctive tailored ring.

[prokopetz]

I could use some advice. I don't usually love metroidvanias, but I really loved Hollow Knight. With silksong not coming anytime soon, I've been trying to find other games that scratch the same itch, and I ended up giving Sundered a try. I really like the atmosphere and eldritch abomination vibe going on in that game's world, and I really really like the way you can exert some agency within that story by how you choose to upgrade your abilities, but I don't care for the random level generation, the random encounters, and the generally increased emphasis on combat at the expense of exploration, puzzle solving, and platforming. Like, don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the difficult bosses in Hollow Knight, but Sundered feels like it's just filling up my screen with bad guys as an artificial timesink/progress gate. Can you think of any metroidvanias that have a spooky, kinda ruined atmosphere with interesting map design that encourages exploration over combat, and also allows some player agency in its story (the last one would be nice but isn't necessary)? That feels like a tall order, so I'd really appreciate any help you can offer. Thanks!

Astalon: Tears of the Earth is a great fit for most of those criteria. It has a fun multi-protagonist setup that lets you switch among up to five characters (three of which start out unlocked) at camps around the map, and that map is very densely interconnected, with portals and elevators and secret passages all over the place, giving you quite a bit of leeway to try novel routes. Fair warning, though: it shares Sundered's semi-roguelite conceit whereby you go back to the starting room every time you die. This isn't as onerous as it could be, since the aforementioned map density lets you get just about anywhere very quickly, but it does mean that you really need to pay close attention to where all those shortcuts and secret passages are. Has two significantly different endings, though which one you get is based on achieving certain exploration goals rather than player choices.

Axiom Verge isn't a bad choice either, assuming you're open to sci-fi spooky rather than Gothic spooky. The bosses can be real bastards, though most of them are eminently – and, according to the developer, deliberately – cheesable if you've got the right weapons, and the mobility upgrades are really fun. It's not quite so nonlinear as Hollow Knight or Astalon due to having a stronger narrative focus, though. There's not much possibility of influencing how the story goes, in part because the whole thing is a massive setup for the currently Epic Games Store exclusive sequel.

Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is an interesting edge case. The puzzles and platforming are fantastic, but the combat has a weird difficulty curve whereby the game’s earliest areas are some of the hardest because you don’t have many tools to work with yet. That results in a steep early-game learning curve for the combat portions that turns away a lot of novice players. It’s otherwise middle-of-the-road in terms of nonlinearity; the player has little ability to influence the narrative, but there’s also not much explicit narrative to speak of, so that side of things is kind of a wash. On the plus side, the game’s morph ball equivalent involves transforming into a housecat.

Timespinner is an unapologetic Symphony of the Night clone, which may be a plus or a minus depending on your particular tastes. Full disclosure, I found the time-travel mechanics disappointingly underutilised, but other than that, it's quite solid, and it's one of the very few metroidvanias that manages to thread the needle of having a strong narrative without curtailing non-linear exploration. It's also the strongest entry on this list in terms of having agency over the story, with three very different endings to pursue.

(Also, since somebody in the notes is definitely going to stop reading at "spooky ruined atmosphere" and immediately suggest Blasphemous, be advised that while it does have an interesting, highly explorable map design, it's pretty much the poster child of de-emphasising platforming and puzzle-solving in favour of difficult combat. All of the challenging platforming and puzzle solving is cordoned off into optional side areas, most of which are part of a quest chain that forms an inexplicable semi-canon crossover with Bloodstained. Like Astalon, above, its multiple endings are progress-gated rather than tied to story choices.)