#(it doesn't really agree with the fact that he did 3/4 movies a year for several years + had two tv shows + and his discography has its own

[dudeshusband]

clumsy dean strikes again

[nihoneshi]

Welcome to Aqua Rambles on about KFP

I just finished binging Kung Fu Panda 1-3 (not 4 yet) and man outside of a few secondhand embarrassment scenes, because there are a couple of them still for my brain, What I will say is this

god I do miss KFP fandom so so much but I also was REALLY young when I first found myself in that fandom, so like, It's only a matter of time before I found myself brainrotting the movies again and even shorter of time before I re-entered Fandom Space.

So let's get the obvious ones out of the way. God I love Tragedies and the whole prophecy that was laid out hundreds of years ago, I love how cohesive the Trilogy is (I think we all agree that KFP3 was the true end of the Series, since not even the VAs liked KFP4 and it was a glorified corporate cash grab, but don't worry, AUs exist (: )

Tai Lung and General Kai are definitely by far the two MAIN villains I vibe with the most given their situations (Tragedy Affliction & Bond Brother Give-Take disagreement) I do love Shen but my love for him is extremely nuanced on the fact he's a diabolical genocidal sociopath but he's also oddly fucking dramatic, theatrical and comedic of a villain DESPITE the 3 words I JUST called him.

But also the Wolf Boss.. God he's a bastard (affectionate) but EVERY TIME HE "INSULTS" PO HE JUST GOES OFF ON NON-THREATENING TERMS homie please stop being bisexual on the battlefield lmaO /pos.

The Will to write Tai Lung just like 13yo me wanted to has not changed outside of the fact that after a decade more of writing with extremely intricate and nuanced characters with complex tragedies and traumas, I feel like I could finally do justice with this Snow Leopard (especially with Redemption Arcs, because hee-ho I write Saren Arterius, you know. Mass Effect 1's big bad villain that is just as much as a tragedy as Tai Lung but unlike Tai Lung this idiot decided to try to get parasitical genocide machines to spare them and ended up getting indoctrinated against his will)

Now onto Main Cast. Just like kid me, Viper and Mantis were my two go-to idols for KFP1, my love for Crane's realism-centric attitude and Tigress' having second thoughts and a much more intricate wake-up call in KFP2 and on became so much more apparent, like, trust me I haven't watched any of the other animated content but you can tell like, these 6 have gotten so attached to one another (Monkey and Po, especially, literally best buds love that for them)

But the SHEER amount of times I have said this phrase "Viper, Please rephrase yourself" has been in the nearly every thing she has ever said she is so upfront and has misread the room every single damn time. and don't even GET ME Started on KFP2/3 Tigress, the sheer amount of character development she gets is insane

she goes from an asshole to deep down realizing that Po has fallen still due to mental turmoil SEVERAL times and isn't keeping Po down there with Ox and Croc because she doesn't want him getting in the way but BECAUSE She doesn't want him to get hurt like him freezing up both times has gotten him. And then further more watching Po teach everyone their own ways of Kung-Fu all the WHILE TIGRESS IS HOLDING ON TO A BABY PANDA THE WHOLE TIME, EVEN FIGHTING WITH THE KID. AND THEN SHE CARRIES THEM AROUND EVEN AT THE JADE PALACE AT THE END OF THE MOVIE.

And please I can't fucking believe it took Crane several MOVIES TO GET HIS FUCKING NECK FIXED AFTER WHAT TAI LUNG DID TO HIM, HOMIE HAD A CROOKED NECK FOR MONTHS. There were scenes in KFP2 and Early KFP3 where this man's neck was still partially FUCKED. Dude shrugs it off like it's nothing and then proceeds to heal his wing in merely a few damn days max.

The Theatrics, all of the animations, the voice work.. god damn I adore these three movies so so much. But there is one thing I was not expecting and honestly I should've seen it coming.

My eventual brainrot and emotional attachment to side characters and characters with very minimal screen time (I should've seen this with me Writing Volteer from The Legend of Spyro, Nihlus Kryik from Mass Effect 1, and many more)

Dude I LOVE Master Croc, I don't know why SPECIFICALLY him but like. I like how he looks so cocky wanted to kick Shen's shit in, even laughing to himself, how he's so so loyal to Ox after Rhino's (supposed death), like you KNOW these three were inseparable and it LOOKS like Rhino reunites with Master Ox and Master Croc at the end of KFP3 that's what I hope if it was even only for a couple of minutes following what was probably Rhino heading back to the Spirit Realm.

I really love Master Croc, it is not even funny he's such a character, a silly, perhaps.

but now my rambles go to something else, since it takes place in the era that it does.. and like.. my hoard of Dragon OCs and Dragon Characters (literally all the guys on this blog ARE dragons!~ ) Like.. what would be the general consensus of a Dragon popping up in universe? Since back then they're still hailed as deities (Like the Dragon Kings, and all the dragon deities in both Chinese and Japanese mythology)

I am so so curious. But maybe I should add more to my rambles later when I am not so tired but god I have ideas and WILL enact on them.

A tiny edit: I 100% support kaiway due to the context I now have from watching KFP3, homie you have spent all the time in the world holding up Oogway's Chi charm like you want him to see everything like, they def. had something going on pre-banishment

[katatonicimpression]

A Walk Through My Year in Media

This isn't necessarily things that came out this year, but rather things that I watched/read this year that I liked or compulsively consumed regardless of whether or not I liked them.

2023 in Films

Most of this post is going to be positivity; a sampling platter of things I've enjoyed this year. But also:

Salty Film Hot Takes:

The French Connection is uncomfortable to watch. I don't care about the racist, antisemitic, misogynist cop. He's objectively bad at his job make him go away.

None of the Next Generation era trek movies are good.

Guardians 4 would have been a better movie if Pratt wasn't in it. And I mean that in a "the script would be better structured" way.

Se7en is a really fun film and I'm not mad to have rewatched it recently but... it's undermined by 1) the writers not realising that John Doe's opinions are bog standard right wing talk radio shit, 2) the fact that they kind of agree with him and 3) they clearly, hilariously, don't know what lawyers do.

The Mummy (2017) is awful. I guess that's not controversial but still.

Robin Hood (2018) is also awful. Like, amazingly so. And, slightly warmer take, so is Prince of Thieves you guys.

I will not be answering questions on any of the above.

Positive Film Hot takes:

I went on a bit of an 80s dark fantasy kick this year. Out of films that I hadn't seen before, The Dark Crystal and The Last Unicorn really stood out. Especially the Dark Crystal. I ended up rewatching the show as well. Just so good. Bring it back. Justice for the gelflings.

I also watched a lot of Terry Gilliam this year - not all of his back catalogue but most of it. Obviously Jabberwocky is almost entirely bad, no one needs to be told, but overall yeah you get why he's beloved. The common vibe from his films is "wow there's so much to love here but it doesn't quite work". Brazil is an obvious standout - it's a classic for a reason. But I want to highlight The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Behind the scenes disaster and orientalist opening sequence aside, it really is spectatular. The sets, the details. It's so well crafted and just makes you wish they made films like this all the time. Damn you, Terry.

The 1938 Robin Hood film is the best Robin Hood film. Yes, congratulations, you noticed another theme in the shit I've watched this year. But yes, it's great, it's fun and well paced. It holds up staggeringly well. I also watched The Court Jester (1955 - with Danny Kaye and Angela Lansbury) - Also surprisingly great.

Finally, also feeling medieval, I watched Excalibur (1981). This is more "swords and sorcery" than "dark fantasy" (think: Conan the Barbarian vibes), but it's kinda great (most of the genre is not, lbr). It captures the logic of those stories, the vibes of the mythology very well, the mix of pagan and early christian beliefs, and the weird metaphysics that results. It's great. Way better than that dumb clive owen one. My lord that was bad.

2023 in Telly

Live Action Drama:

Succession

It's good. I don't think anyone needs me to tell them that. Still haven't finished it but enjoying it in a peaceful, fandom-free way.

Robin Hood (2006)

This was a terrible show, with an even worse third and final series. Did I rewatch the whole thing anyway? Yes I did. Should I have? No. (I love the first two so much though. Lily Allen's dad as the sheriff of Nottingham as tony blair? sign me up.)

Doctor Who

Am I a basic bitch who only came back to who because RTD did? Yes. But at least I'm not quite as basic as the ones who were only back for Tennant. The first one was good, if a little on the nose, the second was great, the third was good up until they get onto the stupid avengers platform for the showdown, from which point me and everyone in the room just got mad at it. The christmas special was fun though, excited for Gatwa and the new series.

Adult Animation:

Castlevania: Nocturne

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Genuinely so great. It's very clear that they're setting up a whole multi season arc with this first season, and the incompleteness that comes with that is probably its biggest flaw. But overall, fucking fabulous. The animation, fights, character design. Just a gorgeous show. Maybe not to everyone's taste; it's fantasy, but not escapist - its very much rooted in the historical injustices of the setting and has some heavy themes as a result. But if you liked the first Castlevania show, then you'll probably love this.

Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix

You might have noticed that there was a show out that featured "Rayman, but with drugs and cussing!" and, yes, this is that show. You might not have noticed that Rayman is only a small part of it, and it's actually about Dolph - a traumatised gay cyborg - and his no good, horrible, very bad breakup. Dolph is great.

Star Trek: Lower Decks

Do you like Star Trek? Do you like silly cartoons and workplace sitcoms? Then do I have the show for you. Real highlight of the year for me tbh. While the show is built on poking fun at trek canon, and can feel a little overly reliant on nostalgia sometimes, the latest season really pushed for more meaningful character moments in between the laughs. I like it. It's good.

Mononoke

This was the most mixed of mixed bags. Japanese horror with a really striking and confronting art style. At its best, it's got this visceral atmosphere that sucks you in and is genuinely fantastic. At its worst, it's got a whole storyline about "abortion ghosts", and features some art that comes across as racial caricature. Between this, and a few other things that felt uncomfortable in an unintentional way, I don't think I'd really recommend this, but it did stick with me, I'll give them that.

YA Animation:

The Dragon Prince

If you're into the whole YA fantasy adventure thing, this is an obvious rec. It's biggest flaw is how slow it's been to release, but if you're binging it for the first time, that's not a problem. It's heartfelt, it's pretty, it's clearly a kids show but is well crafted and has appeal beyond its core audience.

Star Trek: Prodigy

S1 actually originally aired like two years ago, but I only watched it this year after finding out that it was cancelled. But it was rescued! S1 is now on netflix, and s2 will air there next year. Genuinely a really fun contribution to the whole trek shebang, fitting into the universe well without ever feeling reliant on nostalgia.

I didn't include the two other treks that aired this year because s3 of Picard sucked balls (still not over it) and Strange New Worlds has stopped appealing to me... but that's a whole thing for the other blog. But the animated series are great! Also Disco. I still like Discovery.

Skull Island

This was better than it had any right to be. One season of a surprisingly funny King Kong show, also on Netflix.

Reality:

Rupaul's Drag Race UK Season 5

DRUK is good again, hooray. The dark times are over... for now.

Married at First Sight UK

Do not watch this. It will consume your entire life. Your brain will melt away as you watch someone fake cheat on their fake husband with someone else's fake husband just days into their fake marriage.

Taskmaster

It's good. It's been good. It continues to be good.

2023 in Gaming

Lol no. Can you imagine?

I did play the sims a lot. I had my guy cheat on his husband who then died.

2023 in Books

Fun fact: I only finished one of the books I intended to read this year. That's embarrassing. Anyway, it was "From Here to Eternity" by Caitlin Doughty (yes, the Ask a Mortician lady). It's great.

2023 in Comic Books

Orlando

This has really been Steve Orlando's year for me. I was thinking about what series I would include on a highlight list, and his Scarlet Witch was the only obvious answer for me. Sara Pichelli's art in that series is gorgeous - I love the way she draws Wanda. The writing is solid, compelling, tells a complete story. If I were to recommend any one series from this year, it would be this.

His Astonishing Iceman was also up there for me, and I will also repeat that the Mutant First Strike one shot he wrote was genuinely great. Kudos, Steve.

Gillen

Kieron Gillen's Immortal X-Men is easily one of the best to come out of the Krakoa era, and this year was no exception. I didn't really care about the Sins of Sinister event, and I care even less about the Fall of X event, so it really means something that I'm still including this series here despite it being dominated by these events. The issue with Piotr's narration has been my favourite, I think. But overall, still strong. I really hope he gets to continue writing these characters (especially Exodus and Sinister) in the future.

Other Positivity

Ewing's Black Panther series is really solid, Avengers (2023) has been pretty good. Dark X-Men was probably my actual favourite of the Fall of X titles.

Negativity

Lol I already said I didn't like the x-events. I also hated cold war. Such a waste of an opportunity. Speaking of, a lot of my comics-based salt and frustration this year has been about Sam. The way that he gets written out of things, ignored, then he turns up and his written badly and goes straight back to being ignored again. Then Marvel turns to the camera and is like "why would audiences do this?".

Put the fucking effort in and more people would show up for him. It's not that hard.

There's my overall annoyance with Duggan, which is a freebie, but one highlight of that has to be the bizarre direction they went with Kamala. No one wanted this, no one needed it, and certainly nobody needed the weird gleeful "killing" of this character just to launch a pointless plot beat that feels both offensive (see: Emma lecturing Kamala about not understanding real oppression) and is inexplicably happening during a whole massive event that feels like it should be about other characters.

The end...?

I don't want to keep listing things that annoyed me this year, because it'll just get repetative. If you follow me (which, if you don't, why are you reading this?), then you'll see me complaining about random crap all the time anyway.

Have a good NYE everyone!

[czytling]

I really really want to read time travel! Top Gun AUs, but there aren't that many. Also, there is only like 5 TopGunMissionImpossible Xovers like really? Those two actually go mostly decently together. So like, I can't write to save my life and finishing projects is not in my vocabulary either, says my wip from 2017 that has had 4 more parts in my head that never got written for years, but here's an idea from time travel! TopGun - Mission Impossible x-over. Ignores MI: Fallout, because I haven't seen it

Backstory first:

after finishing top gun in 1986, and the Fallon mission, Maverick is instructor at TopGun for 2 months. Iceman remains in combat

The tensions are high and combat is getting dangerous, so Maverick requests to be moved to Iceman's unit (I can't leave my wingman, in sickness and in health, until death does us apart ... what do you mean that phrase does not mean what i think it means?)

The Wingmen are one if not the most successful team in Navy, doing the impossible ops all the time, with crazy stunts and ice-cold efficiency,

So when IMF needs aerial support for a mission, they ask for the best, and that is Maverick and Iceman (this is in late 80s, probably around 1988-90)

The mission goes really well, so the next time IMF needs aerial support, they request the same team, and again, and again

Especially Maverick, known for his mavericky unortodox ways and impossible crazy stunts, builds a great rapport with the IMF team

Soon, if they need a solo aerial, support, it will be Mav. Ice gets more and more promotions and leadership responsibilities and the wingmen's paths start to diverge

There is this mission in like 1990 or 1991 that requires a pilot that can also do some ground work. Maverick gets some basic training in ground work and espionage and runs the mission. For safety reasons, he asks to be known as Ethan Hunt - no need to risk Bradley and Carole if he doesn't have to

The mission goes really well. So well in fact, that Mav is offered full training, so he can be a reserve agent for such missions. Mav had fun on the ground, so he agrees

And so the legend of Ethan Hunt starts

(Don't mistake me. Maverick is still part of Navy, he just gets loaned to IMF from time to time... at first. He still flies jets, and missions for Navy, and does the missions for IMF from time to time; then more for IMF and less for Navy, then again more for Navy, it varies depending on the year, okay?)

(There are also some years when he does nearly exclusively Navy work, think in the years long gaps between the movies)

(Meanwhile Iceman becomes Admiral. Since he already knows about IMF, as he DID fly those first couple missions for them, he is one of IMFs contact points in Navy. And later also Mav's handler in the Navy)

('Where has Maverick disappeared to this time, he was supposed to serve on USS Truman and he is clearly AWOL?' Asks one of the other admirals. 'Oh, on a mission somewhere, sorry, I can't tell you more, classified, you understand' claims Ice; meanwhile Ethan Hunt is saving the world for the nth time. This is also where Iceman's guardian angel reputation for covering for Maverick at Navy again and again comes from)

And so it last for years, through loss of the team in 1996 (MI:1), the romance and marriage with Julia, Ice's cancer, and so on. There might be some IceMav there too. There aren't that many changes from the Canon, not until the second TopGun, and not even during that one (it just worked out better that way, though the Intel for the operation WAS supplied by IMF)

I had this wild headcanon that Julia, after MI:3, changes her name to Sarah for her safety and goes to the US. There she meets Admiral Kazansky, and rest, as the say, is history. Though the surprise when one day Ethan, Maverick, comes through the door of the Kazansky household as if he lives there is, wow, awkward. I mean, IceMav, EthanJulia marriage, TomSarah marriage, its just too much. Fortunately, OT3 exist and all of those people are used to keeping relationships on the down low

Wow, this got so long already, and I barely got to the time travel itself. So the rest will be in a followup post, so that I don't lose the part I already wrote

[libretitamortal]

I’d love to hear more of your Tony/Maria thoughts. For me I liked their meeting better in 21 and though I miss the light heartedness of their relationship, it was interesting seeing Maria point out a lot of societal issues to Tony. It’s a difficult couple to write Imo

Omgomg i finnally have the chance to go off

They sure are difficult to write i mean with what happened in the fight, with bernardo and riff and chino and then tony going to maria like nothing happened and begging (but not really) for her forgivness bc a womans love clears all mens sins.... i cant be that mad tho there's just something very special about them, for me at least, but some of it did made me mad in 2021 and i'll tell you why.

Well, i'll begin the the good bc i do agree with you nonny, i really loved how active Maria was in this ver, it felt like a different character than 1961 in some ways, it's as if she had more screentime too and i smiled every time she spoke bc she was speaking in spanish and in facts. How she spoke her mind to her brother and sis-in-law and then to tony to tell him how pointless and ridiculous a fight between both sides is bc one side is in clear disadvantage against the other... and bc she just doesn't want anyone to get hurt!!!!!! And what bothers me about the train scene is that tony was always trying to get the conversation to focus on him and his side, and yk what i get it! Riff is his bestie but why is he constantly bringing him up to get Maria to stop talking about stopping the fight.

another thing is that Maria also talked about her future plans, going to college, and doing something with her life (which wasn't something she brought up in 1961) and it just never gets adressed ever again(?) It could have been useful to support their plan to run away together but it just wasn't used because of reasons.

And then we have tony *takes a deep breath* i have a problem with 2021 tony and i'm tired of pretending i'm not. I'm gonna ignore the fact that he was played by *@&#*$&#*$# and go straight to the way he was writeen. It was fine until that scene in the mini market *cries in latina* and then he said he wanted to find a puerto riqueña girl just like doc because???? I dont even remember but thats enough for me to remember, it felt like he just wanted someone like that bc he envisioned the "perfect couple" and thats what it looked like (and tbh i feel as if he didn't change that mindset much but anyway). And the way he cuts maria off when she's talking about something important, more important that whatever relationship he has with his ex gang, is just weird.

There was something else about tony but right now i dont remember ;-;

Now....what i really have a problem with is the way THAT scene on the bedroom was handled. I know it's like the most controversial part of the show bc why would Maria sleep with the guy who killed her beloved brother. But at least 1961 tony explained why he did it, he said he had no choice bc her brother had killed his bestie (still questionable but yeah) and 2021 tony explained....nothing he didnt say a damn thing to try to get maria to calm down a little, he just stayed there waiting for maría to get over her completely understandable breakdown and he was ready to go before making sure she was ok i'm- *flips a table*

I guess there are other things that people smarter than me could point out but this is just what came to my mind first.

Even as i say all this, i really love wss 2021, every musical number is larger than life and the way so many things changed form 1961 and worked better than 1961 makes me so happy. This was actually the only movie i was excited for during the last 3-4 years i think. But 1961 is also close to my heart bc there's something about that ver that is really dreamy (the meeting scene for example) while 2021 went for a more realistic aproach. I love both of them. But i'm a sucker fo the "and the world disapeared leaving only them" trope in romance.

I could go on and on about what i liked about wss 2021 but this is already a long post 😭.

But yeah i think my biggest problem with this ver. is tony and maria's relationship. Everything else was chef's kiss.

[sofipitch]

Im really sad that besides the lack of implicit romance. The 1994 version got a lot of loustat and the family dynamic better. Like Lestat still tripping all over his family issues, but I see him trying with Claudia and Louis. And I can imagine, despite Pitt’s lackluster performance (that did sell at least Louis’s depression and detachment) that maybe with reflection there was once something softer there. I don’t know how the show could recover from this. The grey power and morality is so thrown

So I think you meant "explicit" and not "implicit"? That through me for a loop because I was like "you want to go back to queerbait...?"

No but I agree, the IDEAL IWTV in my head is Jacob Anderson as Louis and Tom Cruise as Lestat. TC's Lestat seems genuinely more nuanced in his cruelty and genuinely loves his family BOTH Louis and Claudia.

Brad Pitt as Louis fails not only because he gave like absolutely nothing in most scenes but bc a lot of the complexity surrounding Louis is taken away. Paul's death is more interesting than a rando dead wife and child. BP is a slave owner but that is just like never addressed as "hey this guy is not a good person". JA's Louis running the brothel you see more of that, not only in the confession scene but the fact that POST confession scene that guy keeps running his brothel despite KNOWING that it is wrong. Also in ep 3 when he is facing racist laws preventing his business, there is the idea that he could shut down the Azalea and make some other business. He even says he owns grocery stores and such. Yes it would be loss but maybe he could build a bar, a music club, or even a theater and potentially still employ all the same women. He has a chance to rebrand, yet he digs his heels in, on one hand because of the racism behind what is stopping him, but also the money, based on their convo when Louis makes the "colored only" sign. That is a good an complicated Louis, I can chew on the complexity of that guy for hours. And to me is more accurate to book Louis's grey morality by having him acknowledge his business yet coming up with false ways it's "not that bad" like how in the book Louis is very hands off with his plantation, so he doesn't treat his slaves poorly himself BUT these are ppl potentially being treated badly by the foreman.

JA's Louis also has more signs that is desire to "not kill humans" is false, it takes him years to come to this point and in ep 6 when Lestat asks him to Louis acquieses. In the book it's more complicated, he thinks he is doing it out of morality but modern interviewee Louis admits its simply because Louis wanted to savor working his way up the scala natura of blood. BP's Louis gives 0 reason for his reluctance OR his change from not drinking human blood to doing so. The only scene in the movie where BP's Louis is interesting in this regard is the prostitute scene, where it would have been kinder to kill her quickly than drag it out like Lestat was doing. But why he changed after making Claudia is unclear. In the book it at least gives the explanation that the night with the prostitue's death and Claudia convinced Louis to give up. But in the movie Louis just seems boring due to his pigeonholing of "the moral one" compared to Lestat. JA's Louis is clearly more complex than just "sympathetic good guy" (talking about eps 1-4 I think the mistake of eps 5-6 in regards to Louis is that by making him the victim he is now once again more 2D and anything "bad" he does later can still be scene as a result of his abuse) and there is of course how JA can actually act in comparison to BP. Brad Pitt sure is coasting on that white mediocrity when you compare him to Jacob Anderson.

So yeah best version: 1994 movie family dynamics, explicit queerness,Tom Cruise Lestat, Jacob Anderson Louis. I can't put Kirsten and Bailey (two bad bitches) against each other tho that's unfair

[david-talks-sw]

Doylist outlook on the Anakin & Council scenes during "The Phantom Menace"

About 4 years ago, I'm talking to an older friend of mine who grew up with the Original Trilogy.

He tells me that one of the disappointments of the Prequels, for him, is that the Jedi Knights had been built as these "Knights of the Round Table" and, instead, what his generation got was "monks who'll pick on a 9-year-old for being afraid".

Which makes sense in a story about their corruption and downfall, but he'd have preferred to root for them, see them in their heyday.

And, like, I agreed.

I didn't necessarily feel they were picking on him when I watched the scene as a child, my takeaway from that scene was the "fear leads to anger" part. But when I was thinking back on it as an adult, what my friend said seemed to track, and it was in-line with the "Jedi are corrupt" prism through which a lot of people see the Prequels, 2018-me included.

But nowadays - having read a whole bunch of George Lucas quotes and rewatched the scene - I don't think that it's meant to be perceived that way.

I've briefly touched on this last year, but if we look at this scene from a Doylian perspective, rather than a Watsonian one, it's clear to me that the point of this scene is three-fold.

1) Moving the story along, making sure Anakin is present in the third act.

"This was a little tricky, when writing the script, in that I didn’t want Anakin to become a Jedi yet, cuz I’m saving that for the end of the movie. But at the same time I still had to have him tag along. (laughs) And I was able to use, really, the device of the fact that Anakin had been put in Qui-Gon’s care and that he had promised his mother that he would take care of him as a way of allowing him to take the boy along with him on this trek… to the next third of the movie. But one of the difficulties of writing a script with lots and lots of characters is rationalize why everybody’s along." - The Phantom Menace, Director’s Commentary, 1999

This one's pretty simple to follow.

We need Anakin in the third act so he can blow up the big ship at the end. So the Council doesn't take Anakin in, but let's Qui-Gon keep him as a ward until a more definitive decision can be made.

2) Foreshadowing Anakin's inevitable downfall.

"We have the little testing scene which is really designed to allow him to be accepted as a Jedi, eventually. Because he has the powers… but as Yoda points out, there’s a lot of fear in him, and anger. That’s why they actually deny him the chance to become a Jedi. But it’s also - when they relent later on - it’s the thing that ultimately begins to describe some of his downfall". - The Phantom Menace, Commentary Track #2, 1999

Also straightforward. Anakin will become Vader, so let's hint at this.

The Jedi are clairvoyant wizards, they see all the red flags but must also admit that his future is clouded. In doubt, they'd rather err on the side of caution and not train him.

As George explained in Cut Magazine, in 1999, both the Council's prediction and Qui-Gon's decision are ultimately correct and wrong; Darth Vader does plunge the galaxy in darkness, but he will also bring back balance to the Force.

3) Illustrating the Jedi's principles by injecting his own values into their teachings.

"Ideas don't come into a story that easily. A lot of the time the characters have to say what you mean, and to do that the characters usually have to have differing opinions about the idea so they can discuss it." - (collected in The Star Wars Archives: 1999-2005), 1996

This is where things get tricky. What did George mean?

Well, there's plenty of quotes where he says Jedi can feel emotions, namely love... what does he say about fear, specifically?

Okay, so that sounds a helluva lot like what Yoda says. Or rather, Yoda sounds a helluva lot like George.

If we go by the idea that the Jedi are, "dunking on Anakin and chastising him for being afraid because they've lost their way and now repress their emotions"... then it's inconsistent with what George Lucas was saying in the above quotes, because he clearly agrees with Yoda and uses the character as a vector to get his own ideas across.

It'd also wouldn't track with what we see in The Gathering, during The Clone Wars, in which we see that to gain their kyber crystal, a Jedi must overcome their weaknesses - including facing their fears.

So either George wanted us to think the Jedi Council collectively decided, on that specific day, to say "to hell with everything we stand for: fuck this kid in particular, just because"... or that's not how we're meant to read the scene.

I'd say the only reading that is consistent with everything George said is the following:

Anakin is afraid, he misses his mom. Which is normal.

The Jedi sense this and ask him how he feels, hoping he'll have the sense of admitting to this feeling (first step towards solving a problem is acknowledging there is one).

Anakin refuses to admit he's afraid, even after they explain that they know he is. He doesn't see what him being afraid has to do with anything.

Yoda explains the dangers of unchecked fear. If you don’t address or overcome it, it'll eventually lead to suffering and the Dark Side.

So Anakin being afraid isn’t the issue in itself, it’s that he won’t even acknowledge that that fear is there. Which, again, is completely normal, but a Jedi is supposed to be above that... and Anakin's age makes it so that he'll have a hard time learning this.

Hence why they initially decide he won't be trained.

So Lucas was clearly going for a classic Yoda moment, like "do or do not" in Empire Strikes Back… but to most people, the way the scene is written makes the Council seems cold, unfeeling, and dunking on a 9-year-old and makes Qui-Gon look like the reasonable one.

Could George have conveyed his intent more clearly?

Now, another writer might have decided to illustrate this philosophical lesson about unchecked fear differently, in a way that makes the Jedi seem kinder, less detached and more relatable. Lucas will be the first to admit that he’s not that writer.

"I'd be the first person to say I can't write dialogue. My dialogue is very utilitarian and is designed to move things forward. I'm not Shakespeare. It's not designed to be poetic. It's not designed to have a clever turn of phrase. [...] Dialogue isn't my strength. I use it as a device. I don't particularly like dialogue which is part of the problem." - EMPIRE, 1999

He writes dialog that takes you from point A to point B. The bottom line is Anakin's got too much fear and that he's too old? He'll stick to that bottom line.

It also doesn't help that, well, we're only shown Anakin as a sweet child, without being shown the traits that make the Council go "hmmm maybe not".

Like, the more explicit way would be to show the Council having a vision of death and destruction and Anakin standing in the middle of it... but you wouldn't even need to go that far.

Originally the scene went on for just a tad longer, with the Council prodding Anakin more and the latter screaming "I'M NOT AFRAID!" in anger.

Thus proving Yoda's point, that there's some unchecked fear and anger in him which - due to his age - will be difficult for him to master.

This was cut from the final movie, but was kept in printed editions of the script and the novelizations.

Interestingly, there was also this other deleted scene, where Anakin gets in a fight with a young Greedo, after the latter accused him of cheating at the Boonta Eve race.

According to this commentary, the scene was cut (to Rick McCallum's dismay) because George felt that - while it showed Anakin had a temper - it didn't really establish his character one way or the other, in the scope of The Phantom Menace.

And therein lies the issue, right?

George isn't building a cinematic universe, he's not making a TV series: he's making 3 movies, each about 2 hours long.

There's a short amount of time and a looot of stuff he'd like to say about how a good kid becomes a bad man and how a democracy becomes a dictatorship, and all the other subplots regarding symbiosis etc... that's a lot of things for a movie.

So when he's structuring how the Prequels explore the first theme, it's done as such:

First movie: Show Anakin was a sweet kid, hint at his fear.

Second movie: Show Anakin's other flaws, his love for Padmé & Shmi's death, which will eventually increase his fear and mark the first step toward his fall to the Dark Side.

Third movie: Anakin's fear of losing Padmé causes his fall.

And that's it. Nothing happens outside these movies.

A project with a larger scope (or one that only focused on Anakin's rise and fall) might've explored how Anakin felt growing up in the Temple alongside other already-trained Jedi, his trauma from his days as a slave, his anger issues, whether he ever asked the Jedi to go back and rescue his Mom, more details on his friendship with Obi-Wan, how Palpatine manipulated him from day one...

In that project, you'd put those deleted scenes and lines back in.

But this ain't that project. This is the space equivalent of a fairy tale.

So, to Lucas, none of the above factor into the story about Anakin's downfall, by virtue of not being in the movies.

Which makes it unrealistic to a majority of viewers. But George (indie experimental filmmaker with a vision) had a very specific thesis he was going for:

So at some point we're left with two choices.

1. "Death of the Author"

If George's thesis wasn't conveyed clearly enough, or executed well enough and what you saw killed your suspension of disbelief, or if you plainly disagree with George's view on fear... then obviously, go to town with heacanons, go with the "Jedi are dunking on Anakin 'cause they lost their way" interpretation.

Sure, it's not what George Lucas was going for, but as my friend who I mentioned at the start said to me more recently: "Who cares? Either the Jedi are intentionally meant to be seen as arrogant, emotionless a-holes, or the Prequels are bad movies."

Which I disagree with, but hey :D

2. Seeing the scene the way it was originally intended.

This is the one I'm going with. If you still like George's thesis and see it clearly when you watch the Prequels, then great.

In that moment, Qui-Gon - while ultimately correct about Anakin being the Chosen One - is being rash and trying to force Anakin in a mold the Council and Obi-Wan know he'll struggle to fit in. In that moment, they're in the right, he's in the wrong, and Anakin is caught in the middle. And that's pretty much it.

In the end, the most important part of that whole scene is the message "fear leads to anger, hate and suffering". And these are movies for kids. And as a kid... I got the message.

So the scene did its job with high scores, as far as I'm concerned.

[lilmissbacon]

Elsa vs Jack Frost Death Battle

Because there are so many people who think Elsa would beat Jack, even though I made a longass analysis debunking that. I will be using the Marvel Power Grid for this determination.

There is also a YouTuber "Sans Logic" who has already done this battle AND with marvel power grid but there were a few things I didn't agree with him on so I'm doing it myself.

So let's see who will win

1) Intelligence

Elsa

This is something that Sans Logic did get kinda right. Being able to create an ice castle in the spur of the moment while singing on a mountain is impressive and being able to get so intricate into detail is beautiful. But I wouldn't put it in the genius category.

Genius is like being an inventor/scientist which is something Elsa is never going to be. Her smarts are just on the more artistic side, if anything.

If she was genius, then in Frozen 2, she would've thought of something other than just running into the Dark Sea like she does.

For this she gets a ranking of 4 out of 7: gifted.

Jack

Yes, Jack may just be a genius since he's been around for 300 years. BUT we cannot assume for the sake of others thinking otherwise. Since we have to go by what we absolutely know, let's look at it like this; Jack was able to plan and execute said plan to defeat Pitch using fun within seconds.

After he realizes his center in fun, he immediately comes up with a plan to gather Jamie's friends and that having fun with them will bring Pitch's defeat. That's a really smart analogy in such a quick amount of time.

For this and the fact that he's been around for 300 years (he'd at least be a little wise) I'm also giving Jack a 4.

2) Strength

This does not include their magic, it's purely physical.

Elsa

She's been locked in her room for 13 years. Yes, she may have had the past 3 years to exercise her muscle by Frozen 2, but it is actually very hard for the female body to change much after puberty.

She'd barely be able to lift her own body weight. But since she was shown to be able to do so during her fight with the Nok, she gets a 2: normal.

Jack

Jack isn't much different. We don't see his physical strength come into use other than when he's steering North's sleigh at Tooth's Palace and even then, that's more him directing the reindeer rather than actually pulling them.

Also just from his physique alone, he's very thin and seems to have almost no muscle.

For the sole fact that the reindeer were able to feel his tug for how big they are, he also gets a 2.

3) Speed

Flying and running count

Elsa

Elsa is slow. Let's be real, she's just a pretty runner.

When she's going through Ahtohallan, running on the ocean and even when she's almost crushed by a chandelier, she's not that fast.

I can run faster than that, and I'm fat. People I know – us average people – can run faster than that. Even on ice because I live in a very icy state.

She's slower than average so she gets a 1 🤷 I'm sorry.

Jack

There was another video that Sans Logic made about him coming to the conclusion of how fast Jack is.

Basically, he breaks the sound barrier.

Jack manages to fly from Russia to Pennsylvania, America in 11 seconds. And no, there wasn't a time skip because the people who worked on this movie was not only DreamWorks but the people who made How to Train Your Dragon, respectfully. These creators would never have skipped out on making a beautiful flying scene. The scene showcases just how fast Jack actually is.

So just like Sans Logic, I'm giving Jack a 5.5 because he's much faster than the speed of sound but he's not breaking the speed of light either.

4) Durability

Elsa

She knocks herself out...

In the first Frozen, when she fights the guards and the chandelier is falling, she slips on air and knocks herself out.

I'm giving Elsa a 2 out of charity on the fact that she doesn't manage to do the same during her fight with Nok in the sequel.

And no, her immunity to the cold doesn't count because this category is about physical damage.

Jack

Jack however HAA!!!

During the final battle, he manages to fall from over 100 feet onto a roof, then a dumpster and then finally on concrete.

WITHOUT A SINGLE BRUISE!

And even then in Antarctica, he takes the full blast of Pitch's attack and blacks out for only about 10 seconds at most and that was mostly from the pain of his staff being broken.

This man is AT THE LEAST a 5: bullet proof, if not a 6: superhuman. Which would make sense, since he's a spirit.

So Jack gets a 5 because we don't know the extent of his durability.

5) Energy Projection

Basically how far their powers can travel. I've mentioned this before in my analysis of their power sets but I'll clarify again.

Elsa

She freezes all of Arendelle. Of course we know this, it's the plot of the first movie. But that's not because of how powerful her magic is.

As we see here;

At the end of the first Frozen, Elsa creates a storm that covers the castle + fjord. At this point she's not even trying to hold in her powers, she's just trying to get away. Meaning this is as far her magic can project from where she stands.

The only reason she managed to freeze the entire country is because she dragged the storm with her when she ran to the mountains.

Like smearing paint on paper, she smeared winter across the land.

And it does stand to reason because the ONLY times we see it physically snowing is when Elsa is within this vicinity. The only time we ever see it snow around Anna, Kristoff or Arendelle itself, is when Elsa is or just was within vicinity. Other than that, everything is just already snowed over, there isn't even a breeze.

And if anything, it actually makes sense that this is how far she can project her powers. If you look at Ahtohallan, aka; the source of her magic, you can tell that it is the same size of the storm that she makes. So it would make sense that her powers would be able to cover the same amount of area that the place her powers derive from, does.

So Elsa gets a 5 here; long range and duration.

Jack

He IS winter.

Elsa froze a single country simply because she happened to run across it, Jack freezes multiple countries on a daily basis. It's literally his job as the spirit of winter.

Not to mention there have been winters much harsher then the one Elsa made. Winters that he caused.

We literally don't even know the extent of his power because he himself didn't realize just how powerful he can be until Sandy's death.

In that very scene you can see that the explosion he makes (e.i. how much ice he makes) is almost as big as the entire town below them.

I'm giving him a 6 only because 7 is virtually unlimited command over all types of energy. And I don't know about you but I don't see Jack being able to control electricity or energy itself.

I mean, it's not like he can create light-

Oh wait-

6) Fighting

Physical hand-to-hand combat

Elsa

Have we ever seen her physically hit anyone? No. Have we ever seen her fight in general without using her powers? No.

Elsa doesn't know how to throw hands.

I guarantee you if she tried to punch someone, she'd accidentally break her thumb because she put it over her knuckles instead of under.

In Frozen 2, Elsa states, "Anna, no. I have my powers to protect me, you don't."

If she thinks Anna (who she knows can fight) can't protect herself without magic, it really says a lot about how she feels about herself with her own abilities.

Even in Ralph Breaks the Internet when Vanelope glitches into the princess room and when the princesses take charge, Elsa OPENS her hands.

When you're scared, your response is either fight or flight and when you're fight, your involuntary instinct is to close your hands so you have fists at the ready. If Elsa could fight, that's what she would've done. But no, she opens them.

Elsa is a 1 she is poor at it.

Jack

For Jack, it has been confirmed in his official character bio that he knows parkour and kendo.

Kendo is a form of martial arts that means "way of the sword." He uses a mix of kendo and parkour to make his own unique fighting style that helps him evade his opponent.

So he knows how to "basic fight" let alone "professional fight."

Jack is a 5: master of a single form of combat.

Overall score

Elsa = 15 / Jack = 27.5

Jack wins hands down. Elsa doesn't stand a sliver of a chance.

Not only by this power scale but he also has the additional ability to fly in order to get around her AND he is also immune to the frozen heart.

He is the spirit of winter, he's colder than anything on earth.

In fact, there's a deleted scene from Rise of the Guardians where Jack fights Pitch on a satellite in space.

Jack can survive the colds of SPACE! He's not even human. He's basically ice himself and you really think her ice is going to even slow him down?

🎉The Winner🎉

Other than all of that, this was fun.

Once again, I am using Marvel's Power Grid for these scale ratings, if you ever want to use it for yourself.

And you know what, if anyone who reads this wants to make any recommendations (if I know the characters you suggest), I'll make a little Death Battle analogy for them too.

I think it'd be fun. It'll be fun to see what you guys suggest.

[akinari-kashihara]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Thanks....

I feel I should be requesting legal counsel for this

Please see under cut

My Wife, My Husband, The Love of My Life

Zelik Lindemann from Mother Keeper

People of the jury, I am a simple man. Eight years ago, I met Zelik. And I have loved him since that day. What more could be asked of a man - a blorbo, if you will - than to be 165cm tall, and able to punch a wall down in a single blow? What more could be asked, than loyalty across decades? To be beaten, scarred, to lose an arm, and to go back because people need him. To be beloved by all who've worked with him. And when he makes a promise, even if he wasn't the one that broke it, he will fulfil the punishment he agreed to.

And to put me in the awful situation of being unable to write fics because I share a name with the man I ship him with. And because Mother Keeper gave me everything I could ever want.

2. 祝え！

The Greatest and Kindest Maou; Tokiwa Sougo from Kamen Rider Zi-O

Sougo is just a little serotonin machine. I see him and I am filled with joy. I love him. He's everything. He wants to be king, one that is good and kind, despite being destined for evil. In his heart, he's a bastard. A master of getting people to do what he wants. He shows no hesitation in having Woz serve him, perfectly willing to call him on a whim. He'll command armies of destruction without wincing. But he's so sweet and loves his friends so much. But he'll never give up his dream for them. They simply need to learn why his dream is so great.

Until it's Heure. No dream is worth losing Heure.

3. The Light In The Darkness, The Midnight Sun

Shun Kageyama from Kamen Rider Kabuto

I wrote a whole essay on my feelings about Kageyama's plot and how he is in fact a fantastic leader. I will stan endlessly.

But also he's so small and Uchiyama Masato is just so cute (he's still cute he makes me 🥺)

4. 虎ーちゃん！！ こっちこっち！！！

Satoru Tojo from Kamen Rider Ryuki

Like, Ryuki is already a masterpiece but I think about Tojo specifically so much. He's just a fucked up little guy! Sensei look at me! Sensei are you proud of me? Sensei, I can be the hero you want. Sensei, if a hero is one who sacrifices what they love and grows stronger for the greater good, I can do that. You were the most important person in my life, Sensei, so that's why I have to lose you.

He wants to be a hero so bad. But he wants to be a hero because he wants Sensei to be proud of him. Really, he wants sensei to give up his wife and family so he can have sensei's attention.

And he's such a poignant part of Ryuki's idea of people achieving their dreams, not through magic or miracles, but because they did something.

5. My Best Girl

Sweet-P from Caligula

I adore Sweet-P so much. She puts up with so much as being not only one of the oldest among the musicians but having to babysit Shadow Knife, Stork and Shonen Doll. Like what did she do to deserve that? She put up with so much in reality and now she's expected to play babysitter when she just wants to have tea parties with her friends!

I know people don't like Overdose, specifically related to her, but I actually really enjoyed her story. There's a lot she doesn't like about herself and her appearance. You get the feeling of someone who truly does feel they've left living their life for themself too late. And she has to work to overcome disliking herself, instead of trying to change herself. While Caligula is messy in things like its depiction of weight, Sweet-P ultimately puts focus on it not mattering. Her friends know they're fat but they're happy. They're more upset that the real world won't accommodate them or share in their happiness. Sweet-P can start to accept she doesn't have to give up one happiness to achieve another. She can transition and still eat what she loves. She just needs to do what makes her happy, not what she feels she has to do. It puts a real interest in what a character wants versus what a character needs. Sweet-P wants to be a cute (petite) girl. She needs to do what makes her happiest, even if it doesn't achieve what she wants.

6. My absolute disaster

Ike-P (Koike Tomoya) from Caligula

I can't go off as strong about the writing of Ike-P but I love him so much. He's a disaster. He's having his quarter-life crisis. He's been put in a group of weirdos because he doesn't want to go back to working his dead-end retail job when he wanted to be an idol. Unlike Sweet-P, he gets thrown in the deep end with people who are like yea let's blow stuff up and he's desperately going "wow is that a shark wow" to move on.

He's in so deep over his head.

But also his entire relationship with Izuru-

7. Devour Your Enemies

Heat from Digital Devil Saga

He's hot, next question.

Also eats people so like-

8. Twinkle Twinkle

Zett from ToQger

ToQger, like Ryuki, is a masterpiece on purpose, and Zett is such a key part of that. He wants to be good. He loves the world, he loves everything he sees. He wants to be happy and a part of everything.

But he's trapped in a situation where he can't be happy, and he can't get free. He has to be the emperor of darkness. Everyone around him benefits from his misery so they will keep him miserable.

And he loved Right from the second he saw him. When he can't go to Right...

He'll bring Right to him.

And yet he doesn't want either of them to be miserable. He just wants out.

8. Another Big Cat and Sensei

Tatsuya Sudou and Akinari Kashihara from Persona 2 (Do NOT separate them)

I don't know what it is with big cats and their teachers but...

Obviously, my URL namesake and I feel bad that they're this low down the list. They're the root of my problem, after all. They're where it all began.

So much of their backstory is just hidden away in P2 (and let me tell you I adore P2 for how much missable content there is) but oh how I think about them. Akinari didn't do the right thing. But he wasn't evil. He did what he thought was right, and did his best. Tatsuya latched onto him and saw someone to lean on. Someone who cared for him when no one else would. Who didn't see him as a bother, but as someone amazing and special and he wasn't a monster - for just a little while. And Tatsuya would carry that on, seeing Akinari in Jun.

And Akinari's own life falls apart because he's trapped in a marriage he was never fully on board for but society pushed him into. Despite it, he loves his son and will do anything for him. AND I STAND BY AKINARI JUST WASN'T THE KIND OF MAN TO DIE HOW HE DID. I WILL NEVER ACCEPT THAT.

Also, I'm always thinking about how Sudou is so separated from Akinari-Nyarlathotep in the masked circle. Like he doesn't cling to that Akinari how he did the real one. I always feel like he knew and accepted no one would believe him on it.

9. You thought I cheated on the last one? Watch this

The Whole Main 6 of UuultraC

I saw Isshiki and went wild but then was like oh is he my favourite tho but then I couldn't decide who so it's all of them I love them all so much.

I have a primer for UuultraC luckily

10. Blorbo of the Week

Luo Binghe from Scum Villain Self-Saving System

My partner is very loving as I tell them for the 15th time today about LBH and SVSSS and my blorbo thought pollution. I have been talking about him non-stop since SVSSS Vol 3 was originally meant to release but then it didn't so I just didn't shut up cause the brain worms were so strong. What am I meant to do???

I think LBH should be an honorary kitty cat for how much he loves his Shizun. He deserves to join the kitty cat club. He's just a big boy that cries a lot and is so desperate for love and attention. He needs headpats and to be housewifed. It's his preferred state of being but people aren't willing to accommodate that!! The world is too cruel to him!! And I want him to be so big and imposing to then hit people with his being a needy housewife

[lady-of-disdain]

Taking the more recent actions of jk out of the picture for a second her series still has:

1. Fatphobia, so much fatphobia

2. Lycanthropy being likened to aids with a specific werewolf going only after children.

3. Goblins being equated to Jewish people and even including the Star of David on the main bank floor in the movie.

4. An abusive teacher that joined the magic n#zis who spent almost 2 decades bullying literal children including ones who were already in abusive homes.

5. Expects us to have sympathy for said teacher because he wanted to bang the protagonists mom as if that erases abuse.

6. A magically enslaved race who wants to be slaves and only one person thinks it’s wrong.

7. A magical snake who’s enslaved by the bad guy and revealed to be an Asian woman.

8. Cho Chang being two Korean last names but the character is supposed to be Chinese.

9. Rita skeeter being described with features stereotypical to that of a trans woman.

10. The way she bastardized Native American sacred animals and beliefs in the new movie series.

11. Only one character is explicitly black in the book. His last name is shackle bolt.

12. Confirming dumbledoor as gay years after the series ended. Refusing to let him be portrayed as gay in the new series but still saying him and grindlewald have “hot sex”

So yeah… I know I’m missing things but the series really doesn’t hold up well after 20+ years especially coupled with the author being a terf.

I take a while to get to asks sometimes because my work week can be so hectic, so for anyone who thinks this ask seems very out of the blue since I don't really reblog any HP content, it was sent shortly after an incident where a Yashahime/Rurouni Kenshin/Harry Potter fan showed up on one of Billy's posts about hny and rk proclaiming that they support rk and just because they support rk doesn't mean that they support the creator's views. It was especially ironic because they tagged JK Rowling as well in their reblog with that statement, and it turned out they were a terf, which means they very much DO support the fictional media AS WELL AS the creator's views.

All that said as far as my response Nonny, I do agree. There was a lot of stuff that Rowling said or did even before she was an out and proud terf that made me question her sanity.

I grew up on HP just like a lot of us did, and there is no denying it made a large impact on who I am as an adult today that can never be changed. I still describe myself as a Hufflepuff, I still have the books I bought way back in high school sitting on my book shelf, and somewhere in boxes in my closet I'm sure I've still got my wand and my homemade Hufflepuff scarf.

But DESPITE the fact that her stories did have such an affect on me, I refuse to allow her to have any more part in my life, and I refuse to put any more money or attention into her current works.

I suppose this is on part a secondary response to that terf who showed up in the above linked post (if I hadn't already blocked their nasty ass), because they kept trying to claim that you can still enjoy a piece of media even if the creator is pretty terrible, and honestly?

If you are viewing the media on a paid subscription site, you are supporting the creator. If you are buying official merch, you are supporting the creator. And honestly, if you are going out of your way to tell other people that it's fine to do the above two things in order to "support the fandom community" you are inadvertently supporting the creator because you are fostering an environment in your fandom where the people partaking it it think it's fine to put their money into it.

I don't really partake in anything HP these days except maybe occasionally reading fanfiction. But fanfiction is all about continuing or changing media past what the original gave us anyways, so honestly I find that it doesn't typically count. (If I had a dollar for every time I read the words "I never played Undertale" when reading UT fanfiction comments.)

But if I DID want to see the new Fantastic Beasts movie coming out (lolno) then I would pirate that shit faster then Jack Sparrow could steal a ship right out from under it's captain nose.

AND I would make sure to proudly admit that fact any time I talked about it, AND I would help other people also pirate it. Because it's not enough to quietly enjoy your free media while hyping up the media in the fandom.

There is a YouTuber I've stumbled across once or twice that makes a great argument for Piracy of anime in light of how streaming services work, and in an effort to try to make them better. But I feel like this is also a great way to openly oppose the support of creators like Watsuki. "Oh you're gonna remake Rurouni Kenshin? Fuck you we're all pirating it just to spite him."

One of the arguments that people have made against his supporting of piracy is "what about the animators?" Well his audience has been supporting the animators via the Animator Dormitory Project for the past 3 years. Their entire stance being instead of paying for that streaming service, pirate what you want to watch and instead put that money towards the cogs in the system to keep them afloat until the industry gets the message.

Anyways this response has gotten way longer then I intended so I'm going to leave it off here with a hilarious response video from above YouTuber to the corporate bootlickers that were crying "waaah piracy is wrooooong!"

[heizuha-queen]

Hello! It's that girl who doesn't know when to stop coming up with more headcannons at 2am in the morning again.

Another idea sparked in my head.

You know how it's common for K-pop idols to have solo activities such as joining a variety show?

Have you heard of Busted! ?

Not sure if you've heard about this variety program. It airs on Netflix and currently have three seasons. The cast members consists of various celebrities ranging from comedians to actors to idols. Exo Sehun and Gugudan Sejeong are actually members of that show as well. (Btw, Sehun even low-key dressed up as KID once. It was a masterpiece. Period)

The show is a mystery/detective game program. The cast have to solve puzzles and search for clues to complete the missions given. The best part of the program is that the production team doesn't make the cast solve stupid, kid puzzle games.

They have to solve actual, scary, cases. Murders. Robbery. Conspiracy stuff.

So....

What if... Kazuha joins a program like this as a cast member?

I believe she would actually be perfect to join the show for several reasons:

1. Her intelligence

We've seen that she is actually very smart. Her deduction skills may not be as sharp as Heiji's, but we were shown in canon how Kazuha is actually very intelligent, even able to decipher the dying message of the victim in the Heiji Vs Kazuha episode. (If you remember, even Kogoro & Ran weren't able to solve it)

Not just that, remember how in the 7th Movie, Kazuha was able to come up with a really smart way to save Heiji from getting killed by that masked man by just using her sock and rocks?

If she were to join the cast, she'll be a valuable asset that could help them solve the missions much more quickly due to her wits.

2. Her physical prowess

Okay, to be honest, it's not necessary for the cast members to be proficient in martial arts. However, her aikido would definitely be a huge bonus. Imagine a scene where the cast members were all scared and being chased by something (like a villain, criminal,etc) As everyone is running away to not get caught and lose or something, Kazuha just stands there like a badass and back flip the villain like... Wouldn't that be totally awesome?

The production crew may or may not advise Kazuha to not repeat that so the staff members won't turn down their job as future villain roles.

(Also, ever since the back flip incident, the internet may or may not vote her as the most badass K-pop idol to live)

3. Her popularity

Since I think everyone on your blog agrees that Kazuha will be extremely popular, imagine the viewers she would attract to watch the program. It wouldn't be just the Korean audience. Her international fans would watch. Her Japanese audience would watch. Her group's fan would watch.

Of course, most importantly, Heizuha fans would loyally watch every episode as they pray that Heiji would miraculously guest on one of the episodes since they're thirsty for any Heizuha interaction.

(Even a cameo phone call would be enough tbh)

4. Her experience

I strongly believe that no matter how hard Kazuha's agency tried to avoid scandal by hiding the fact that Kazuha has been to a lot of cases and crime scenes (because of Heiji), the internet still discovers it. Hence, the producer of the show believe that she would perfect since she has experience and know how to ACTUALLY act when trying to do detective work. Her attitude would make the (fake) murder case looks real and legit, hence bringing more quality to the show.

5. Her relationship with people who are in the field

I think that, over time, people would discover that Kazuha is a daughter of a very notable and respectable police officer. Due to that, in a way, I think people would trust Kazuha's instinct more on the show, and indirectly, she would unconsciously lead the cast members to solve the mystery without being explicitly bossy nor pushy.

I would also LOVE to imagine that in those EXTREMELY RARE instances where a mission becomes extremely hard, for instance, they've spent longer time than necessary on a clue, the production crew gives them a chance to call someone and ask for help. (Tbh the production crew could just straight up tell them the answer, but where's the entertainment value in that?) Most of the time people would ask Kazuha to call for help since she has connections to a bunch of smart people who could solve the clue in just a few minutes. ( ie; her dad, Heiji).But of course, (for the sake of entertainment lol), the cast prefer if she calls Heiji for help. (Hence, why Heiji makes some cameos on the show through phone calls)

Let's be real, the production crew and cast members are (low-key) hardcore Heizuha shippers.

6. Her personality

She may be hot-headed at times, but that just adds charm to her personality you know? It also sometimes help the cast stay in check to help out with the investigation. At the end of the day, her determination to complete a mission yet adorableness in her interactions are really what makes people love her so much. Her frankness and straightforwardness also helps her forge genuine friendships with the rest of the cast members and production crew. From the show, people could see more than a properly-trained K-pop idol on stage. Rather, a smart individual who is also a human. People get to see her as herself, not just a celebrity.

Of course, I don't think she'll immediately join the program as a rookie K-pop idol. Maybe 5/6 years after her debut, where members of her group are all exploring their own individual solo career?

Although on another note, can you imagine how Heiji would react when she's on the show.

I bet Heiji watches every episode of the show but never admits it. He would also get frustrated when everyone on the show takes too long to find a hint, but have this huge proud smile on his face whenever Kazuha solves it.

Of course, Heiji would tease Kazuha for every small thing she did on the show when they facetime or call each other in private. Just because~

I also imagine Kazuha having to change Heiji's name on her phone to something neutral that doesn't indicate that they're dating. Ever since joining the show, she also has to change the lock screen of her phone since she could be asked to call Heiji for help without any warning. (Better safe than sorry)

I guess that's all for this random shot of headcannons. I hope you enjoy them!

Ps; By the way, if I do end up writing Heizuha fanfics (WE DESPERATELY NEED MORE!!), I'll let you know 😊

Umm PLEASE NEVER LEARN TO STOP BECAUSE I LOVE READING YOUR HEADCANONS!

I really love the idea of Heiji appearing in phone calls and I can imagine him watching every episode. It’s a routine that no one can break for him😂😂

[there-will-be-juice]

MADAGASCAR THEORIES 2 - THE MULTIVERSE THEORY

The Madagascar franchise is totally messed up, if it come to consistency and timelines (AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!). I was thinking about it a lot, and now, I feel ready to finally write about my point of view - the one I mentioned a few times earlier - that the Madagascar movies and All Hail King Julien which seem connected to each other, in fact are in different universes...

We all know that multiverse is exists in the franchise (from AHKJ The Wrath of Morticius Khan episode), and because of this I like to think that this is the ONE from all of my theories, which is actually TRUE...and I have evidences to prove it based on the differences between the two universes.

But before I start to analyze these, I have to point out that I don't drag The Penguins of Madagascar show into this, since the creators said the series is "not specifically before or after the movie, I just wanted them all back at the zoo. I think of it as taking place in a parallel universe". And I totally agree with this statement.

1, The character-development

The people in the fandom tend to complain the most about the different character developments, and yeah, this is really bother me, too. I KNOW that the AHKJ King Julien would never leave his kingdom, just think about Exiled and the Kingdom, You Ain't No Lady song. Also, AHKJ Maurice would never smile on the death of Julien as he did in the Madagascar 3 movie. We can make a really long list about how the personalities differs, but I don't want to spend too much time on that, because everybody already know this.

2, How Alex arrived to Madagascar

This part is contains two sections

- What Alex said when he landed on the island

- The background music

When Alex arrived to Madagascar in the movie, he inmediately started to look for Marty, Melman and Gloria, and he did this until the three other animals arrived, too. Meanwhile, in AHKJ he was confused about where he is...and we don't know what happened after this.

The other difference between the movie and the AHKJ scenes is the background music. In AHKJ, I Like to Move it Move it clearly can be heard (just watch the scene again), while in the movie it isn't. Alex only heard it the next day, and it was singed by King Julien, not by boombox, like in AHKJ.

3, King Julien and the zoosters

In AHKJ, Julien mentioned "foreign" animals, like lion, zebra, giraffe ( I think he learned about them from some book or newspaper he found in the Cove of Wonders), and he sleeps with a hippo plushy! So in the Madagascar Movie, why he didn't know about these type of animals, but thought that they are some sort of aliens/freaks from the future?

4, The lemurs

This is also a two section part contains:

- The number of lemurs in the kingdom

- The civilization of lemurs

In the Madagascar movie there are much more lemurs than in AHKJ. Also, there are different type of lemurs like red ruffed lemurs, and the movie has a lot of ring-tailed lemurs, too, while in AHKJ we only see King Julien, his uncle, the old kings and Magic Steve, so this is some kind of royal thing (Magic Steve could be a royalty, too, but this is a different theory).

Furthermore, the lemurs in AHKJ seem mostly civilized and cultured (there is even an episode where they are MORE cultured - The Book), while in Madagascar 1, they are totally wild-like which scared even Alex. In the second movie Alex also mentioned that he showed the kingdom what's a toilet, while in AHKJ, they already have them.

5, The foosa attack

In AHKJ,  in The End is Near episode it is shown that foosas and lemurs is in peace now, thanks to Mary Ann, while in the movie the foosas attacked again...and I don't think something bad happened to Mary Ann, she is clever and strong, and the other foosas seem to afraid of her.

6, Julianuary

I mentioned this earlier, but I write this down again: King Julien claimed that Julianuary is his birthday in Merry Madagascar, while in AHKJ, he never mentioned this celebration of him, however, Maurice said that they celebrate Frankmas in the Blackboard Jungle episode. These two holidays seem to take place at the same time of the year (at Christmas), but Frankmas clearly doesn't exists in the Madagascar Movie universe.

7, Human fingers

I mentioned in my first theory back then that humans have four fingers in AHKJ (except for Amelia's hand, which has five)

while in the movies, they have five.

+ What about the Penguins of Madagascar movie?

The movie clearly takes place in the movie-universe, but there is also a timeline-mistake: King Julien in the ending credits scene wears his old crown and not the pink one (which he gave up for Sonia in Mada 3). This is a reference for the TPoM show where he wears that crown, and also can be explained that Alex probably gave his crown back (remember he gave it to Alex in the first movie?).

For me, the movies, AHKJ and TPoM are truly take place in different universes, and these were my evidences for that. But in the end, everyone can view it in different ways...

[gothamsglam]

Live reacting to Wonder Woman (2017)

Well first of all, I'm very gay, so Diana is GORGEOUS, love her outfit in the beginning

When the Wayne Interprises van showed up in the beginning my dad goes, "SHIELD???" (no buddy, wrong universe)

I screamed when I saw Baby!Diana

Diana go nyoom

OH SHE YEETED

OH SHE'S CAUGHT, that's epic!!!! love that scene

My aunt asked why Diana doesn't have more scars

My mom asked if they have hairstylists on the island

Ok so Greek gods, cool

When Steve showed up my mom thought he was captain america for like 4 minutes

So everyone agrees Diana's never seen a guy before right? Soooooo she's definitely some form of LGBTQ+, I hc Bi bc let's be real steve is a snack

When Diana was talking on the boat (about marriage and pleasure) it transitioned into a tide ad and I lost it

My Uncle: "She's called Wonder Woman because I wonder what she's doing" (he's already seen it, so he's just quipping the whole time)

"!!! A BABY!!" MOOD

HECK YEAH CLOTHING SCENE

I love Miss Candy, she's the best

Ah yes Badass!women, all I wanna see (Diana using the lasso makes me so excited, more fighting please)

IS THAT REMUS LUPIN???

ah yes sexism

I feel like there's alot of underlying -isms in this movie, hmmm

I'm such a sucker for people who know many languages, hhhhhh

"IM A SPY THATS WHAT I DO" AKSNJDKDKDMKSKS STEVE. Ok but him pulling out ths lasso made me lose it too

is steve a himbo???

hhhhh languages

Steve baby you need friends

DIANA THREW A MAN ACROSS THE ROOM THIS IS A BLESSED TIMELINE

Ah Remus is back again hell yeah (Sir Patrick or whatever)

I love Miss. Candy, she's the best

Ok so Diana in a coat is so HHHHHHH

Diana completely enamored with ice cream is both pure and a mood

The worst way to mature is to watch something you know you can't stop

HECK YEAH FIGHTING

Isn't her hair gonna hinder her?

OH DANG THAT'S ICONIC

Ok but can't they shoot her legs tho? Them thighs are unprotected

Diana really said YEET

"wait we never got a training scene with the lasso, how does she know how to use one?" "It's an innate trait"

Man I like Sameer alot, also he's a mood

Oh I forgot about the whole Ares thing honestly

"Sir, I'm losing you-Sir" AJJDJDJDKS HE'S SO FUNNY PLEASE

DANCING AWWWWWWWW

AWW DIANA'S SO CUTE WHEN SHE SEES SNOW AKSNDKSK (mood tho, I live in the south I don't see snow either)

I love how we could remove the kissing scene and like the movie would still make sense, I feel like a romance wasn't really needed, but Steve is cute and so is Diana so I say it's fine.

Charlie is babie, no I don't make the rules

Diana is so not gonna "stay put" right?

I've concluded Steve is a golden retriever, in fact all Steve's are golden retrievers

I wish I could go to a gala, I wanna wear a velvet dress

Steve man wtf, this is some weird small talk

OH YEAH A SWORD IN THE BACK OF A DRESS YESSSSS

NOOOOOO WAS THAT THE TOWN???? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

So we accidentally fast forwarded and turns out there looks like there is an Ares! Who knew?

Ahajehjshsjs we got a Wonder Woman 1984 ad while watching Wonder Woman!

Oh Diana baby no

Ok but the way this conversation was so realistically portrayed??? Iconic of them

DIANA GRAB THE FRICKEN SWORD BEFORE I HAVE ANEURYSM PLEASE ITS A SWORD OF THE GODS WHY WOULD YOU LEAVE IT ON THE ROOF

HAHAHAHA I KNEW LUPIN WAS EVIL, (didn't think he was Ares tho, thought he was just a spy)

I TOLD YOU

oh she went up and got it, ok fine

Ok I thought she was Ares' kid but no, just Zeus

Classic manipulation, "jOiN mE"

HE LEFT HER THE WATCH AHHHHHHH MY HEART

The way I literally do not know what Ares is saying

NOOOOOOOO STEVE

I literally cannot see what is happening

NOT THE FLASHBACK WITH STEVE IMMA CRY

Unfortunately, I would have probably killed that nazi lady, rip to diana but I'm different

Did-Did she T-pose

Man that's the second time a Steve died in a plane via self sacrifice (Steve 2: Electric Boogalo)

Ok but if Steve died why did I see him in Pavi's gifs for the 2nd movie? Riddle me this DC

Aw she still has the watch

My dad: "Wonder Woman can use G-mail???"

Overall, lovely movie, very fun! I do feel bad about those who watched it like 3 years ago bc Steve died but I've seen him cast in the second movie??? Idk what's that's about but if so, that's one hell of a cliffhanger. I will say tho, I cannot think too long about this movie or less I will lose my mind, and I can't tell if that's in a good or bad way.

Can't wait to watch WW84!!!

[allsystemsarenotgo]

A friend and I were talking one day, and she shared this with me.

She was much like me, raised with a quarter between the knees, terrified of the things we were taught to avoid and trying to live reasonably noble lives. She wasn't allowed Birth Control for religious reasons (pro-life) as well as to prevent enablism. Her family was much more religious than mile, though I still went to church during my Sophomore, Junior, and Senior years of high school.

She married a guy 10 years older than herself, who was a long-time routine customer of her family's business. They married right after she graduated high school, long before she applied to higher education.

She is a nurse now. She has 3 kids, works long hours at a hospital, and her husband is a successful farmer as he always has been. She struggled at times, but she made it through.

She knows life would have been easier without the first child, but she was innocent and naiive and I think she realizes that she jumped in the deep end of the pool before learning how to swim.

I did the same thing.

All through high school I pledged to abstinence until marriage. I hated everything to do with sex. The topic, the drama, the action, the result. I wanted nothing to do with it.

But I also never dated through grade school at all. I never had a girlfriend. Plenty of crushes (M.S. above being one of them), but just as many denials. Because I didn't drink, smoke, do drugs, have FFA animals, or play athletics, I also wasn't a member of any social group. I was always the kid in the corner of the cafeteria scarfing food down in 5 minutes and sleeping the other 20, or asking to go to a teacher's classroom, where it was serene and quiet.

My freshman year of college, I even wrote an essay on abstinents for English class. That really didn't go over well in regards to having to read it out loud. There might as well have been fruit flying at me.

My dorm was set up such that we had 3 private bedrooms that shared a living space and bathroom. One of the roommates always had girls over, and he never tried to be quiet (or if he did, he failed...badly).

So those two things were my indoctrination to college life. Getting judged and leered at for writing an abstinence essay, and having to listen to a roommate multiple times a week.

Towards the very end of my freshman year, a girl from high school messaged me. We started talking, and she admitted that she had always had a crush on me and was too shy to ever say anything.

Error #1: For no good reason whatsoever, I agreed to formulate a relationship with this female

So when I moved home from the dorms, I hung out with the lass a few times, but my parents were moving out of the country and closer to my school, so I could live at home. That meant that this would now be a 1.5-hour-each-way medium-distance relationship.

So every 4th or 6th weekend during the remainder of that summer and into the fall semester, I would drive up and spend a day with her. Sometimes, I would drive her out of the country and into the city to give her a glimpse of escape (it was very impoverished where we grew up).

Error #2: Doing whatever made her happy

I really enjoyed the time that we spent together. She got me a purity necklace for Christmas that year. She said she understood that my preference meant something to me.

But then, something changed. She would start dropping enuindos and jokes and send me photos that I didn't ask for.

Error #3: Not standing up for myself

She said that I meant something to her, and asked me if she meant something to me. At the time, I did not comprehend that as a trap...but I wanted to make her happy, so I said "yes".

The next thing I know, she is booking a hotel for us for Valentine's day. Wherein, I learned a thing or two or five or ten that I really wasn't interested in learning in the first place.

-Provides Clorox to help scrub the thoughts from your mind-

After that, she wanted me to come see her more and more often. But I was tied up with school and life.

Mind you, we usually had a phone call every night, or at least every other night. Same time, right before bed. Sometimes we would fall asleep on the phone with eachother.

Error #4: Accepting anything as fact

Well one night, I called her, and she answered...but it was noisy in the background, like she was driving. But she never talked while driving, and wouldn't answer the phone with family in the car.

She said she was in a friend's car and they were going to the beach for the night, which was completely reasonable for the time of year and her group of friends. She cut the conversation short saying they had arrive, so we bid our greeting. But she didn't hang up, and something told me that I shouldn't either. So I didn't.

"Who was that?"

"Don't mind him. He was just calling to check on me. He's controlling like that."

"He sounds like a jerk"

"Enough about him. He won't do this."

-Provides more clorox-

And that's how I found out that her primal needs were more important than our "relationship".

Unfortunately, shortly after I broke up with her, I was sent a photo of her quite visibly pregnant. Fortunately, the timetable did not add up to Valentine's day (aside of the fact that it was physically/biologically 95% impossible).

That summer, I started a job at the student newspaper. Right off the bat, one of the graphic artists and I got along very well. We spent way too much time at work talking to eachother and goofing off, instead of working. Enough so that our boss took notice and things got tense for a bit with him. We still cranked out work no problem, but we were both too young to understand workplace policy and procedure when it comes to "dating but not dating", which is basically exactly what we were doing. We spent alot of time together. I would go to her dorm after class and we would watch movies and just goof off or do whatever. We enjoyed time together.

Error #1: So cliché. So, so cliché.

So Valentine's day rolls around, and she asks 'the question'.

So something in biology: There is a term called "Once an animal has the taste of blood, they will always hunt for it." Unfortunately, humans can sometimes be considered a sub-species of the animal kingdom.

Like the dumbass that I am, I accept to the terms and conditions.

And at the end of the night, she asks: "So are we officially dating now?"

"I...I guess?", I answered nervously.

Errors #2 to #457: Not escaping

And just like that, I was suckered into nearly 2.5 years of having a FWB while having to, very creatively at times, mask it as a legitimate relationship.

We enjoyed the time we spent together.

We enjoyed going places together.

My mum liked her, her parents liked me. (Dad was skeptical at best and thought I could do better)

The small issue: I struggled to communicate at times. I didn't know how to find my voice, so there were times that I would have to text her how I felt. Sometimes I would hide in a corner just so I could cry. (I later learned of my autism, and it all made sense and I learned how to resolve this)

The big issue: I was completely burned out on intimacy. After almost 2.5 years of emulating laboratory rabbits, I was done. My usefulness had expired.

The biggest issue: We were both suffering academically. We had no common interests at all anymore, and we had put eachother ahead of our own academics so much that we were both risking academic expulsion.

So we mutually agreed to break up.

She dropped out of university (and never went back or finished her schooling), and I changed majors twice before getting my Bachelor of Science.

My first relationship lasted from June 2009 to April 2010.

My second "relationship" lasted from February 2011 until May 2012 (Although we started spending time together in significant amounts starting August 2010)

I have not had a girlfriend since May 2012.

I had one friend in my senior year of college, who gave me some non-physical affection while also keeping me firmly locked in the friendzone. But quality time, by itself, only goes so far.

I have not had any physical affection since May 2012.

I have not spent quality time with a female since May 2013.

For most of that time, from May 2013 to August 2019, I really didn't mind it at all. I have been so tied up in working, hobbies, and life in general, that I completely ignored women.

But as my birthday loomed near in October 2019, it donned on me....I was on a crash course to being eternally lonely.

So I have tried online dating. I have gone on a few first dates, but no second dates.

Sometimes, I want to give up. The fight just doesn't seem worth the reward.

And honestly?

Sometimes I feel exactly like my friend's remarks at the top of this post. Sometimes I wish I would have been a little more rebellious, a little more care-free, a little more out-there.

But at the same time, ...

Sometimes I wish that neither relationship would have ever happened.

That I would have never learned the true definition of intimacy.

That I would have never done whatever it took to make the other person happy.

That I wouldn't have been such an easy push-over.

That I would have stuck to my initial pledge in life

That I would have spoke up more and defended myself.

All I am now, is damaged product.

I don't truly know how to love.

I don't truly know how to feel.

I don't truly know how to be myself.

I don't truly know how to be intimate.

I am human, I am male, so of course I have my moments. But I don't want that to be the reason for a relationship. I want it to be the least-important factor, or not a factor at all.

I want a relationship founded on trust, honesty, fortitude, common interests, personality, maybe even a little faith.

Not intimacy.

I just want to not be invisible, or to only have one attribute visible.

I want to be seen for all the other attributes.

I am not A-sexual. I still feel emotions and feelings. I just don't want to let them out of the locked box which contains them. Not without lots of context and preparedness.

[christianmarkchristian]

LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID “I have answers. I’m not at all confused.” -I told my friend Austin.   I cant say that I “know it all” or that “I am 100% “right.” But I have incredible peace during this pandemic; a peace like I’ve never felt before. And its not just a feeling. It’s a peace and a confidence based on a lifetime of research, study, meditation and prayer. You see, for years I was a struggling artist/writer. I lived here in L.A., like so many artists and writers, paycheck to check. I rarely enjoyed discretionary income. For decades, I pleaded with God for a high paying, steady job. A few came...and went. Then the crash came...and went.    So here I sit. But today I am incredibly wealthy. Not Bill Gates wealthy. But not dollars wealthy, (yet) but knowledge wealthy. You see, during the lean times when I didn’t even have the money to travel, go to movies, or even McDonalds, I was forced to stay at home instead. (welcome to my world) What did I do? I was cramming my brain, indulging my voracious appetite for reading, study and research. It was like I spent thirty or forty years prepping for an exam (and an experience) I had no idea was coming. I was a writer; I thought, “I need to know all these things so my movie scripts will be authentic.” Yes, there is some truth in that but not the “whole truth.” The truth is, the “exam” I’ve been cramming for, without knowing it, for decades, was this (Cornonavirus) exam. There is widespread confusion, panic and anxiety like few of us have ever seen. Everyone I know is experiencing some kind of surprise or fear; caught off guard and even in shock. Over and over, we all hear “what the heck’s going on?” Well, I’ve been preparing, without knowing it, for the late winter and spring of 2020, most of my adult life. My mind is now a living, GOOGLE-like repository of facts, information and experience. I’ve read at least 1,000 hard cover, serious, academic books about topics that all relate directly or indirectly to the “pandemic:” -Medicine (my step dad was a doctor) -Religion/prophecy (starting with my step dad introducing me to Hal Lindsey’s books, when I was in High School) -Art, sociology, culture, politics, history, psychology, as well as many other related subjects. I also suffered with a severe respiratory illness (asthma) since I was six years old, even hospitalized several times although today I feel pretty good. So, I know well the struggles that thousands are going through, with the virus. I suffered greatly, 2-3 days fighting for my life in hospital beds in Fairfield California and Wiesbaden, Germany. I was on IV fluids, emergency meds, an oxygen tent and “The Bird” ventilator. Later, as a teen in Biloxi, MS., I had to wake my pediatrician step Dad up at 2am, many times, asking for an injection of epinephrine “in oil.” So, to get to the point: What’s going on? What’s this pandemic really all about? First of all, let me say this: Only God really knows. One can only guess. But one can make an educated guess and that’s what I’m doing. And I have yet to speak to anyone or be made aware of anyone who has more exposure to the unique puzzle pieces of information that all interact in harmony to produce what I believe are the answers to this mystery. The puzzle piece subjects are: Pharmaceuticals, vaccines, medicine, healing, (my step Dad was a doctor) culture, media,   (I live in Hollywood) the news media (I starred in an MSNBC documentary and worked for a PR firm contacting news media every day. Two of my best friends currently star in a TLC reality show) prophecy, (I am a follower of a prophetic Judaeo-Christian tradition and church) history, science, politics, psychology, physics, spirituality and economics. If you don’t have experience and a solid knowledge of ALL of these, you are not in possession of the pieces of the puzzle and cant see the big picture. I’m not boasting. I’m sure there are thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, even millions of individuals smarter than I am. Its not about how “smart” we are, it’s about having every one of these puzzle pieces and perceiving how they fit, fitting them together. SO HERE IT IS The questions are perhaps as important as the answers: 1. Is this man made or nature? 2. Who or what is responsible? 3. Why is this happening? 4. What changes can I expect in my life now? 5. What does the future hold? MAN MADE NOR NATURE? It’s hard to say. There are probably people who know the answer to this but I am not one. Everyone agrees that it came from China. The facts support the idea that the Chinese communist party suppressed the information for far too long. And of course, that they are indirectly responsible for thousands of deaths. If it was nature, many say it was a combination of bat and an anteater like scaly creature that the Chinese eat. For me, this is one puzzle piece clue. The bible forbids the eating of these exotic wild animals and most humans find the practice repulsive. The Kosher laws (I eat pork and shellfish by the way) have proven over and over again to be instrumental in preventing deaths. For example, during the black plague, gentiles left dead bodies in stagnant water, against kosher laws...and that spread the disease. The microscope had not been invented yet and so no one was aware of the existence of bacteria and of the need for sanitation. THIS IS A CLUE. The bible has wisdom, from a non-science view that often supports science, or science often supports it. And HERE ARE ANSWERS. Where did Covid begin? Let’s start “InThe Beginning.” The Garden of Eden. Millions of us own and love our iPhones. The symbol of APPLE corp. comes from one of the most well known stories in all history: The story of Adam, Eve and the serpent. Again, here are clues to the answers of what is going on. The serpent, of course, represents Satan. It doesn't really matter whether the serpent was, or is, a snake or a red man with horns and a pitchfork and forked tail. Arguing that point or doubting because of that point, is to miss the point.  The point is not about the physical appearance of Satan or even if he was, or is, a physical being or a spiritual being or a myth. The point is that there is GOOD and EVIL in the world. To deny this at this point in time, is to be considered a bit out of touch with, reality. And consider that the unseen world is the source of all seen things. This is indisputable: before there could be a chair, the thought had to exist. Before there could be a table, the idea had to exist. Nothing happens without it first being thought; at least nothing we value. So, what happened with the apple? The Apple, the fruit of “The Tree of the knowledge of good and evil” represents knowledge and power and technology. The bible says that if they ate of this fruit, they “could be like God.” Over and over in history, we see that those with the superior knowledge and technology usually, almost every time, win. You’ve heard the saying “don’t bring knife to a gunfight.” When that happens, those with the knife usually die and are left in the dust bin of history. Wisdom and knowledge, victory over death,victory over those individuals or groups or animals or a natural force that threatens  to destroy us, this is basically what the bible is about. You might think the bible is about “rules” and “morals” and there is some truth to that one could argue that what the bible is really about is a manual on HOW TO LIVE AND NOT DIE. NOW, more than ever, we need a manual like this. -to be continued

[videogame1up]

Kingdom Hearts 3. A beautifuly disappointing game. (Mostly Spoiler free review)

I would be lying if I were to say I'm the world's biggest Kingdom Hearts fan. I don't know every plot detail, I haven't played every single game (I have tried playing chain of memories. I can't do it) but this is a series that means a lot to me. When I was a little kid with older siblings I shared a lot, including games. Kingdom Hearts was the first game that was my game. No one else In the house played it except me. And to this day remains the only game I've played multiple times. It's fun, and I have so much love for it. I remember seeing a magazine talking about kh 2. And thinking it looked so cool. But by then we sold the ps2, and I didn't get to play it until I was In high school. And I loved it, it was everything a good sequel should be. Add onto and improve what you did over the first game. Kingdom Hearts 3 began to be the butt of the joke online. People saying It would never come out.

I remember seeing that 2013 trailer. And seeing Sora picking the Keyblade up. This moment to me became the most exciting moment of any trailer of recent memory. I Knew it was kh 3. And so the wait began. You could argue there was no way it could live up to the hype, and maybe that's true. But you can't be blinded for your love of a series, I love kingdom Hearts, but 3 dropped the ball. As a joke I had my 4 year old nephew fight xehanort. He won. Didn't die once. And used the winnie the pooh Keyblade. I'm not asking for dark souls level difficulty. But the difficulty in this game felt like a slap in the face. The fact Xehanort was the easiest final boss fight felt like such a let down. Not once did i fight a boss and lose forcing me to learn their moves and figure out the best way forward to beat them. Kh 1 and 2 had tough memorable bosses. Granted this is a personal thing but I gotta get it out. The lack of Disney boss fights annoyed me. why not fight Randal? Why not Zurg in Toy Story? Instead we got generic heartless boss fights. But when we did get to fight a Disney baddie like Davey Jones it didn't feel rewarding. There was no buildup between Sora and Davey their fight just sort of happens.

I also thought there was a problem with the world's this time around. Frozen was the absolute worst in this game. The whole world was either just ice or snow. There wasn't a screen that felt really unique. The story was also really bad. It just retold the frozen story, which is fine, but Sora wasn't involved. Tangled also retold that movies story but Sora Donald and Goofy were apart of it. It felt like you were apart of that story. Frozen the story happened around you. You run into Elsa once and help Anna put Olaf together. Granted they give you an ice monster to join your party which is cool. But I actually think it would have been great If the prince joins your party under the guise of helping Elsa and Anna. The way you could have been involved in the story a bit more. And since the movie builds him up as a good guy it was a shock when he wasn't. They could have worked with that in this game. Toy Story was also a prime example of a world done wrong To me the toy Story world almost didn't feel like toy Story. You get Andy room to explore which is fine. But then you get this generic mall to explore? Why not pizza planet or Al's Toy Barn? It felt like Toy Story (similar to Frozen) was shoe horned in due to their popularity. The worlds were all big. But they felt empty and souless to me. Big Hero 6 is beautiful but running up a buding in a square doesnt feel like exploring. Pirates world on paper sounds great. But ship battles were boring and the handful of islands you could explore werent interesting. I can forgive most of them. But they did my boy Winnie dirty

I love pooh bear. As a kid I watched him a lot. So visiting him in kh 1 and 2 made me feel like a kid. And I always look forward to visiting him in future playthroughs. It was a fun relaxing world that I usually did before heading to the final world. But this time around its a total of 3 mini games (that are all the same) characters are missing (eyor) and I just didn't enjoy my time with pooh bear. It felt like it was thrown in last minute. the pacing for this game was another major problem. Beat a world. 30 mins of exposition. Rinse and repeat. It felt like there was nothing to do between world's. Kh 1 and 2 had the coliseum. Kh 2 had the events of radiant gardens to break up the Disney world's stories. Kh 3 didn't really have that. The story chugged forward with little interest of how it was told. Interesting concepts are brought up. Like Riku teaming up with Micky to save Aqua. Kairi and Axel training to become Keyblade masters. Nothing was done with this. You played as Riku once towards the start. That would been a great way to break things up. Play a couple of world's as sora. Progress the story on Riku's side by playing as him. Play a world and progress the story a bit more with at least more Kairi and axel cutscenes. For such a large game being In development for so long it almost doesn't feel complete to me. I love this series. And I wanted to love this game. And in a way, I do. It's still Kingdom Hearts. It still has that magic that attracts people to these games. But I guess I expect a lot more from this game. I expected a lot of side content and bosses to keep me busy. I expected a good challenge. I expected to feel a sense of completion when I set the controller down after I beat it. You could say this is just an angry fan expecting too much, but it's not. This game has real fundamental flaws. Long wait or not, this game was a disappointment

WOW OK! I just went after Kingdom Hearts 3 on Tumblr. I'm going to get murdered. I would love to hear what you have to say. Agree? Great! Hate my guts? 100% get it. If you'll excuse me I'm going back to kh 1 where I'll feel safe on Destiny islands