#also i love the fun victory animations that they did for the 2016 one and i wanna see more

[sonknuxadow]

do you think the mario and sonic at the olympic games series will ever get another game.... i wanna see sage as a playable character i think it would be cute and silly

[michelemoutons]

and at last, the post that maybe three people maximum have been waiting for...

em's comfort retro rally videos: a masterlist!

in a much-needed return to this blog's roots, and as an antidote to all motorsport- and life-related chaos, i now present to you: the first edition of em's favorite retro rally videos!

general disclaimer/info: these videos mainly come from the group B era of the world rally championship (wrc), which generally speaking was in the '80s. i am only human, so expect a lot of bias toward my personal favorites...which will become very apparent as you read this list hehe. also i'm not even gonna pretend to be an expert on this or anything. a lot of these are literally just based on Vibes

table of contents

i. my top 5 rally coverage videos

mainly coverage for television, recorded on VHS and uploaded to YouTube by some truly incredible people

ii. honorable mentions

not rally coverage, but retro rally videos nevertheless

often documentaries, mini-doc features, interviews

for all videos, i have indicated the language (most are in english fyi); if any links fail or videos disappear, send me an ask or DM and i'll remove the culprit/find an alternative link.

and now, onward!

(TW for occasional flash photography in many of the night sequences of the videos, as well as a gif included in this post)

i. my top 5 rally coverage videos

in which my bias toward audi sport, mouton/pons, mikkola, toivonen, and vatanen are put on blast for all to see 🥴 i am not an expert in anything i am just very good at research and a whore for aud—[SNIPED]. for the sake of brevity, i narrowed my favorites down to 5. maybe another time i will share all the rest!

also, a general note about the commentary: sometimes, the commentary around michèle and fabrizia can get... weird. keep in mind, they were the most prominent female team partnership around that time, and the first to nearly clinch a wrc wdc, and to modern ears, the commentators really didn't know how to act around them. personally, it wasn't horrible for me, i just ignored the weirder bits, but i understand if others might find it off-putting. also for the sake of your sanity don't read the comments.

5. Rally of the 1000 Lakes, 1984 | finland

link: overall coverage (eng)

podium: vatanen/alén/toivonen (full final results)

comments: this was definitely a rally for most of audi sport's drivers to forget: bar stig blomqvist, who came quite close to the podium finishers with a 4:14:01 to henri toivonen's 4:12:57! both hannu mikkola and michèle mouton had to retire from the race, which may lead you to wonder: why does this rank among my favorites? well, it's always fun to watch group b rally cars sailing through the air against picturesque scenery, and this video also contains an intriguing (at least for me!) look at the scrutineering process, with drivers at their most casual.

owie :( they were fine though!

4. Lombard RAC Rally, 1981 | britain

link: overall coverage (eng)

podium: mikkola/vatanen/blomqvist (full final results)

comments: hannu winning by 11 whole minutes even after rolling his car in the middle of the forest is actual legend behavior! anyway this was michèle's first wrc outing in britain, and even though she and fabrizia had to retire, they still did quite well, consistently running high in the leaderboards after the first few stages. and that's considering the fact that michèle had a bad cold for much of the rally and had to ask fabrizia to drive the car to service park for her at one point bc she was so tired. which fabrizia did... with a pencil in her mouth. lot of big names in one video—also, jean todt makes an appearance as a co-driver!

shamelessly poached off of one of my text post edits

3. Marlboro Safari Rally, 1983 | kenya

link: overall coverage (eng)

podium: vatanen/mikkola/mouton (full final results)

comments: ok can i just say how stunning the video presentation is?? the opening sequence is just!!! the shots of the wildlife! the sprinting giraffes! wow! anyway the visual of drivers in deck chairs just tickles me for no reason, and michèle please tell me what you ask for at the hairdresser's and also where you got that orange blouse (this is obviously not just specific to this rally, she always eats and leaves no crumbs). this was michèle's first entry and only finish in kenya (and of course it was a podium mwah). it was also her last wrc entry in the A1 quattro, as she switched to the A2 for the rest of her program in the '83 season. also this is one of my favorite podium pictures ever.

lksdjffnnkd there's almost too much to unpack... fabrizia somehow surviving in high waist jeans in a hot car... michèle's do-it-yourself shorts... this podium picture was the subject of a very frantic video chat conversation between myself and a friend at 2am a few months ago

2. Rallye de Portugal, 1982 | portugal

links: short recap (eng) | overall coverage 1, stuck in the middle of two other rallies. timestamps in descrip. (eng) | overall coverage 2, very vibey with cool music (ita... also peep walter röhrl speaking italian)

podium: mouton/eklund/wittmann (full final results)

comments: GOD I LOVE THIS ONE SO MUCH AAAA! michèle's first podium of '82 being a win? this rally being the one where there's footage of her going shopping with fabrizia afterward? (more on that later) them winning by 13 whole minutes? and that's not even considering THEE most poetic victory ceremony of all time! in fact let me talk about that bc the racing and the win aside, that's why it's so high up on my list! literally poetic cinema! it's night, they're standing on top of the car and floodlit and surrounded by cheering crowds but they may as well be the only ones there in their own little world, laughing at each other and barely even having to look to each other when they're raising their hands—like god! shut up! we get it you're besties 😭

i_just_think_theyre_neat.png

and now... last but certainly never least...

1. Lombard RAC Rally, 1982 | britain

link: overall coverage (eng)

podium: mikkola/mouton/toivonen (full final results)

comments: firstly, if you were to ask me about my dream podium, this would be it. hands down, across all series of motorsport, my comfort podium would be hannu, michèle, and henri in any order. (there's such a cute picture of them from this rally on pinterest, standing in order on a staircase. henri is not looking at the camera because he is laughing at something michèle is saying and it's such a Vibe but i cannot find it wah). the battle for second between michèle and henri ran down to literally the last stage, and their times are separated by seconds, which is just wild to me. the context of this rally deserves another post, which i honestly don’t have the energy to make rn, but just take my word for it that it threatens to destroy me if i think about it too hard! anyway this is just such an awesome rally and i’ve watched this video so many times haha

i love this rally so much that i actually had a character in a story i was writing attend the ceremony captured in this picture as a small child and made it a formative moment in her life. no, there is nothing wrong with me.

ii. honorable mentions

(is it obvious who my faves are? yikes)

'Group B - Avec Michele Mouton' (eng) - taken from a longer feature presentation about group b, a segment specifically about michèle. a friend once described its vibes as ‘a synth wave edit of an 80s anime set in a cyberpunk world about racing’

'1983 Audi Sport National Rally with Michele Mouton' (eng) - in which michèle takes journalist sue baker as a co-driver for a spin in an A1 and a rally win. fun behind-the-scenes video

'Intervista a Fabrizia Pons, la Regina delle Note' 1, 2, 3 (ita) - very thorough interview which is mostly fabrizia telling all sorts of stories, including the very entertaining story of how she found out she was going to be michèle’s co-driver. also what a badass title

'2008 Otago International Classic Rally' (eng) - THE BESTIES REUNITE THE BESTIES REUNITE!!! michèle and fabrizia reunite for a rally that fabrizia convinced michèle to join, they suffer some problems but there are plenty of wholesome bestie moments to be had

'Michele Mouton hurls Group B Audi Quattro up Goodwood hill' (eng) - i mean, self explanatory. the sound of the chirping tires? asmr could never. very short watch if you want a quick pick-me-up

'1990 Louise Aitken-Walker feature' (eng) - a video featuring a female rally driver from scotland and her point-scoring run at the rallye monte -carlo. i am convinced that louise was john finnemore’s inspiration or at least an influence for the character of linda fairbairn. no my hat is not made of tin foil what are you talking about

hannu rocketing around michigan back in 2017 (eng)

hannu flying around goodwood in 2015 (eng)

sometimes i listen to fabrizia's recent onboards (yes, she's still at it!) and this one is one of my favorites, from 2016 (ita)

[johannestevans]

Weekly Update 22/03/2022

Good evening, good evening, good evening!

Firstly, I've changed my website over, and it should now be a good deal easier to navigate because it's my custom domain but it's Tumblr, which means my Directory of Work is finally available straight on there. Check it out at johannestevans.com, if you please! Onto some stuff I've enjoyed this week - firstly, I've been watching Chicago Med, which isn't particularly well-written as a show, but a lot of the characters are really good, and I'm enjoying it a lot.

Some recommendations:

Graduation, by @august-unhinged - Smut. 7k. A Disabled professor and his carer/general-purpose manservant have a day of graduations to handle, and the good professor needs something to keep him occupied.  I really enjoyed this! It's fun and nasty and sexy and plays so much with elements of disability and power dynamics within relationships, also the dynamic with service and employment. It's very hot, and it's the GOOD trans smut.

The End of Victorious by QuintonReviews - More of Quinton breaking down Victorious! It's an 8hr video and it's great. It's very funny, it's very complex and in-depth, and I totally recommend it.

Inside A Cult: Gender Criticals Part 2, by Caelan Conrad - Another analytical video, this one is Caelan Conrad breaking down gendercritical recruitment tactics and the ways in which the cult functions to support and enfranchise the abuse of transgender children on a broader scale, grooming parents into methods as to how to harm their children most effectively and most viciously. It's really good work into how these people think and the specific ways they work to do harm, and knowing how they do what they do can be super helpful in deradicalising them but also protecting the people that actually matter - trans people.

Master (2022, dir. Mariama Diallo) - This is hard-hitting horror from the POV of Black women, and it's so fucking well done - there's so many layers here of power dynamics in so many situations, the navigation of them whilst retaining safety without sacrificing identity, but also the constant, everpresent thrum of anti-Black racism on university campuses (and everywhere). It loses a little of its punch in the third act, I think overwhelming itself with too many disparate ideas, but despite that it's still so well done, and I'm definitely hype to see more of this director's work.

Belfast (2021, dir. Kenneth Brannagh) - I really loved this to pieces and enjoyed it a lot - it's an extremely sentimental film, and I've no doubts that part of the reason I enjoyed it so much was because of similarities to my own family in Belfast etc, but I still recommend it nonetheless! Ciarán Hinds and Judi Dench particularly put forward the most incredible performance, the one cishet couple I love and respect.

And Then There Were None (2015, dir. Craig Viveiros) - I watched this because I'm horny for Charles Dance this week, and boy did it fucking deliver. This is a great three-part adaptation of Christie's And Then There Were None, amazing cast, some phenomenal performances and a real constant sense of oppressive place. It's excellent, and I very much recommend it. As far as my boner for Mr Dance, I do also recommend Last Action Hero, it's a real trip.

Some other movies I enjoyed this week were Red Rocket (2021, dir. Sean Baker), Detachment (2011, dir. Tony Kaye), Hail, Caesar! (2016, dir. the Coen brothers), and Set It Up (2018, dir. Claire Scanlon).

One of the pieces linked below is a fanfic for The Arcane, the Netflix animated series that's part of the League of Legends universe - I have written fanfic for it and I obviously feel very strongly about some of the characters (most notably, Silco, Jinx, and Viktor), but I just want to note that quite unequivocally I do not recommend the show. It's got some painfully bad writing and some of the most embarrassing centrist politics that just makes it very difficult to watch, especially because so many of the characters are so loathsome - I recommend Silco, Jinx, and Viktor, as characters, but please don't take the fact that I wrote fanfic for them as me saying the show is worth watching for its own merits.

New Works Published

Fantasy/Crime Short: Lashton Sounds

Gellert Osgodby is beginning to settle into his position as Lucien Pike’s secretary, but nothing in Lashton ever stays the same for long.

8.5k, rated M. Gellert Osgodby doing his thing, as is Lucien Pike — also with appearances from Oidhche and Dai Laithe, Cosmo and Damien Pike, Margaretta Renn and Bran Sorrel, and Courageous King.

Read on Medium / / Read on Patreon

Erotic Short: Financial Security

A trans man tending bar is asked to go up and wait personally on a local mob boss.

3.8k, M/M between a cis man and a trans man, rated E. Fingering, size difference, vaginal play and a bit of anal play, kissing, huge power imbalance, age difference. Big dubious consent in this situation — the trans guy is always into it, but it’s a very dangerous situation with a lot of financial coercion and implied violence, lots of banter, very insecure positions, with implied stalking.

Read on Medium / / Read on Patreon

The Arcane Fanfic: Institution of Boundaries

15k, rated M. Silco & Jinx with one-sided, obsessive Silco/Jinx from Jinx's side. Jinx doesn't know for how long, exactly, she's had these... feelings for Silco. When she begins to mount her seduction, it doesn't occur to her that he simply might not reciprocate.

Gay Silco, Silco is trying desperately to be a good dad, Jinx has a lot of sexual feelings mixed with obsessive tendencies that she just can't get a handle on, and the two of them are navigating it as best they know how.

Read on Ao3

Disco Elysium Fanfic: Positions

Rated E, 400 words. Harry is very good for Kim.

Read on Ao3

Erotic Short: Neighbour's Charm

A man invites his neighbour around one morning and loses it.

Rated E, cis M/M, 3.7k. Big fat sexy neighbour, MC is a bit of a gymshark — rimming, some biting and bruising, age difference, lots of teasing and a bit of humour, coming too quickly, casual sex.

Read on Medium / / Read on Patreon

[nctvrnal]

hey y’all this is not a full character intro but a rundown to get some quick plotting going!! i’m vee and i use a lot of exclamation points i can’t help it but also i can and yet i can’t!!! find me on discord @ baby límon 🍋🐸#6632

first up there’s ivy!

 [ SOOYOUNG / JOY, SHE/THEY, GENDER APATHETIC ]  —  [ IVY MOON ]  is a child of  [ HECATE ]  with the power of  [ MYSTIOKINESIS ] .  they were born in  [ 1996 ]  and have been in nemean lion since  [ 2013 ] .  with the change, they  [ HAVE GRADUATED FROM ]  the  [ AMBASSADOR ]  role which makes sense since they’re usually  [ INTERACTING WITH FANS & BAKING ] .

 click here to go to her page!!

really any sort of connections work to her since she’s messy and annoying! hook up, ghost hunting buddy, animal crossing friends, coworkers, anything really!! just know that she will not shut up so someone who doesn’t like her works too please 

and then marcus!

[ AVAN JOGIA, HE/HIM, CISMAN ]  —  [ MARCUS JOHNSON ]  is a child of  [ HADES ]  with the power of  [ UMBRAKINESIS & SHADOW TRAVEL ] .  they were born in  [ 1995 ]  and have been in nemean lion since  [ 2007 ] .  with the change, they  [ ARE TRAINING IN ]  the  [ STANDARD ]  role which makes sense since they’re usually  [ STUDYING & TAKING CARE OF THEIR BABY ] .

HE’S A DAD!!! his daughter is two and his wife died in a recent monster attack ):

so he’s back at nemean for protection and some training

he got adopted by the johnson fam when he was 14 so he’s siblings with astrid, miri, pax, and juniper!

he needs friends pls uwu

listen about trevor he’s so funny please

[ SEOKJIN KIM, HE/HIM, CIS MAN ]  —  [ TREVOR AHN ]  is a child of  [ APOLLO ]  with the power of  [ HEALING ] .  they were born in  [ 1993 ]  and have been in nemean lion since  [ 2011 ] .  with the change, they  [ HAVE GRADUATED FROM ]  the  [ MEDICAL ]  role which makes sense since they’re usually [ RUNNING THE INFIRMARY & TEACHING ] .

sooo before nl went public trevor would travel around and perform “medical miracles” and heal people. he’d only charge rich ppl tho the rest he would do for free

he had some fame and did tv appearances and really milked the whole miracle thing

he would even be like the pOwER Of GOd hEaLS YoU bc he’s a dick

anyway he’s actually smart and studious but hates being serious it feels awk

now that it's out that he's a demigod ya boi doesn't want public blacklash so he's pretending he just find out too and he's like :O who would've thought, huh

he runs the infirmary so if your chara works there or is studying that track they should know each other!!

also he’s dating miri <3

now on to drew!

[ TAEHYUNG KIM, HE/THEY, NON-BINARY ]  —  [ DREW SUH ]  is a child of  [ NIKE ]  with the power of  [ ENHANCED SKILLS & CERTAIN VICTORY ] .  they were born in  [ 1995 ]  and have been in nemean lion since  [ 2010 ] .  with the change, they  [ HAVE GRADUATED FROM ]  the  [ HERO ]  role which makes sense since they’re usually  [TRAINING & STUDYING ] .

 tbh i think at some point all my charas had a crush on drew he’s just minds his own business and vibes

he’s been training hard since arriving to nl so he’s super advanced in combat and overall skills

nl’s perfect poster demigod and tbh idk how he feels about it

has completed many missions so drew sped through the hero track and was one of the first ones to graduate

will do 1 on 1 training if he has time!! drew loves to help out those new to the demigod stuff and give out advance for combat and wielding weapons!

joonho is also vibes but also chaos

[ SEHUN OH, HE/HIM, GENDER APATHETIC ]  —  [ JOONHO KWON]  is a child of  [ TYCHE ]  with the power of  [ META PROBABILITY MANIPULATION ] .  they were born in  [ 1996 ]  and have been in nemean lion since [ 2016 ] .  with the change, they  [ ARE TRAINING IN ] the [ AMBASSADOR ]  role which makes sense since they’re usually  [ VIBIN’ ]

u kno when ppl are like teehee i’m not just a pretty face

well joonho IS just a pretty face and wouldn’t have it any other way

anyway with his power he riggs stuff and will enter contest/giveaways for funsies

if you’re his friend and ask him to win something for you he’ll do it no hesitation!

oof, daphne. this one is a little longer than the rest

[ DAVIKA HOORNE , SHE/HER, DEMIGIRL ]  —  [ DAPHNE SAENGMAI ]  is a grandchild of  [ HECATE & ATHENA ]  with the power of  [ MAGIC ] .  they were born in  [ 1993 ]  and have been in nemean lion since  [ 2004-2015 & 2020 ] .  with the change, they  [ HAVE GRADUATED FROM ]  the  [ BUSINESS ]  role which makes sense since they’re usually  [ IN HER OFFICE & BOSSING PEOPLE AROUND ]

she’s a grandchild of hecate & athena. 

one thing u gotta kno about daphne is that she just doesn’t care!!!!! alright well she does care a little but mostly doesn’t! everything reflects back on her so she has to pretend she does. 

so back in the day her mom lou had a half sister (also hecate) and she died but her ghost/spirit whatever stayed roaming the earth and lou kind of trapped her bc she was p vengeful n angry! then daphne as born and named after her aunt and then lou agreed to let ghost daphne stay in babie daphne’s body if she dedicated herself into protecting lou’s daughter and ya so alive daphne has a ghost named daphne living inside of her and she has random knowledge and memories that aren’t hers and if you hear daph talking to herself she probably actually isn’t lmaooo 

also her magic is stronger than it’s supposed to be bc of it. 

anyway ok so daphne got the call from her mom that it was time for her to take the ceo position at nl and let me tell u!!!! she cried for like 10 min on the phone and then her mom was like r u done being dramatic and she was like ya but also i want an ice rink (she did figure skating growing up and wanted to persue a career but :/) and i’ll go quietly and her mom was like ok deal. she’s been gone the past 5 years so if your chara has been here longer feel free to assume they know each other p well or hmu!! either way everyone should know daph even if it’s a new acquaintance bc she’s in charge and she’s good w names and faces.  i can’t explain her daphne is j daphne have fun teehee

ANYWAY that’s it really i will plot anything with anyone uwu

[edengarden]

HEYO BBY 😎 im finally here! U can do a regular matchup or any that u feel more comfortable with!

So starting with basics: im 5'4; Gryffindor; sun Leo rising Gemini and moon Aries; my mtbi type is INFP-T; my love language is Quality Time;

I think my three main qualities are: I'm patient and understanding, I'm very loyal and I can see good things in everyone!

My three flaws are: I'm SOOO insecure, I'm too clingy and I'm too perfectionist

My hobbies are writing, reading, listen to music and drawn! I watch animes too, my music taste is very big, I like Ariana Grande, Beyonce, Imagine Dragons, David Bowie (thanks to u my darling), Frank Ocean, JUNNA, LiSa, Tyler The Creator, Leah Kate, etc. But my fav song is Achilles Come Down – Gang of Youths.

I think the trait i hate the most in people is that type of ppl who think ur achievements arent big just because they dont look big, and the ones who only know how to see the flaws in smthing!

Facts about me: i luv cats (my fav is Maine Coon), i luv potato, i hate onions, my favorite food is fried chicken, one of my dreams is to travel the world, i love history and arts, i hate math, i think that bonds of friendship can be stronger than family bonds, I love to read about what other people love, I get so hyped when someone asks me about my fav character or song or idk anything i love, I strongly believe that violence isn't the answer for anything, I love indie games, I have a bunch of teddy bears in my room, my favorite aesthetic is dark academia, i LOVE short hair, I have a hoodie that I use everywhere bcuz its from my favorite RPG, talking about it I love RPG

I think thats it bub! If u have a question u can sent me!

FIRST: sksksks you’re a gryffindor I can’t believe we have a slytherin-gryffindor friendship going on that’s iconic

Second: lmaoo Atsumu was out the window as soon as you started describing yourself bby we been knew

Third: IM A DARK ACADEMIA BITCH TOO ALSKDJDHJSJA

Fourth: I,,, I tried so freaking hard,, to find someone else,, bc I wanted to be impartial and tRUST ME I WAS FUCKING IMPARTIAL ON MY BULLSHIT but it’s just too good,, forgive mother for I have sinned—

I MATCH YOU UP WITH NISHINOYA

Now listen up you fucker, it’s YOUR FAULT for making your description so compatible with him!! (But honestly you sound just as compatible for Hinata and Inuoka, you just attract those rays of sunshine istg)

First of all; you’re patient?? It’s the number one requirement to be Noya’s s/o?? Also seeing the good in everyone!! I think it also means that you have a really optimistic side that could help Noya a LOT. Boy tends to get swept away by emotions please remind him of the positive stuff from time to time.

Also perfectionism?? With Noya, it’s gone. You KNOW he’s bound to screw something up, but does he care? Unless it’s Volleyball, not really dude. And i think that’s good for you! Sometimes, your best isn’t as high as other times and that’s okay! I think Noya really grasps that concept so any victory, no matter the size, is a victory for him and he hella hopes it’s a victory for you too! Clingy?? What does that mean?? Boy has no idea, he just knows the two of you are joined at the hip. You, Tanaka and him are the best and worst trio to ever walk this earth. God forbid you all went to Karasuno together istg-

And pfft travelling the world?? That’s done and done with Noya, we both know that. Y’all come back hella broke, but even that can’t destroy Nishinoya’s mood because he did all of that with you and got so many good memories!! He swore that he’d never, ever delete any of the pictures, even if they’re blurry or just things he thought were funny at 2 AM.

Overall, I seriously think the two of you are the kind of couple that can get passed anything because 1) you compliment each other so well yet have a lot of similarities and 2) you just?? Enjoy life?? Like you’re supposed to?? And that’s amazing.

Nishinoya could be the poorest man on earth, but if you’re by his side, then he’ll think he’s the luckiest on earth.

Songs!!

- It’s a Hard Life, Queen

- Chilly Down, David Bowie (when I say this is your theme song... THIS IS YOUR THEME SONG. This shit is the We Wreck Shit And We’re Gonna Take Off Your Head For Fun vibe, they’re the fuckin fire gang and so are you. Add Tanaka if you want, this shit is yours and Nishinoya’s VIBE.)

- Hey Ya!, Outkast (again, Wrecking Shit Vibe, but this song just puts Noya in a good mood dude)

- Station to Station, David Bowie (I don’t know why, but “thIs IsnT The SidE EfFecTs Of ThE CoCaINE” playing while you do something hella risky and stupid while Noya cheers you on is a wholeass mood)

[fortunatelyunadulteratedmagazine]

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Civilization 6 Gathering Storm Gold Cheat Engine

Before you attach Cheat Engine to a process, please make sure that you are not violating the EULA/TOS of the specific game/application. If you experience any difficulty in the game «Sid Meier’s Civilization 6» (2020) or just want to have fun, this cheat is created specially for you! Press alt+tab in-game to access cheat engine.

Civilization 6 Cheats: More Science = Higher Progress Science performs one of the most important functions in all Civilization games - it develops (unlocks) your technologies. As a result - you get units and new abilities for your citizens. Code: Select all Game Title: Civilization VI - Gathering Storm Game Version: 1.0.6.9 (521158) Game Sponsor: Fennix102 + daipm (XP1 and XP2) Process Name: CivilizationVI.exe Relevant Info: 64bits/TBS/New Engine Script Version: 3.10-AOB CE Version: 7.0 Release date: 24-Oct-2020 Author: Recifense History: 22-Oct-2016: Preliminary Release 1 (7 features) 24-Oct-2016: Preliminary. Firstly you need a freeware called Cheat Engine which you can download from here cheat engine. Domination is the usual military-style way to win but it costs a lot of money. Add text damnit, the steam browser is bugged With the vast realm of Civilization 6, its no surprise you’re looking for some cheats to help you on your way.

scripts dont seem to work anymore. Many improvements and features to make your gaming better Resources: Diplomatic Favor Firstly you need a freeware called Cheat Engine which you can download from here cheat engine 1. Added an AVX2 version of CE, which will speed up all those floating point operations CE does so much... Symbolhandler can now have the following types in front of pointers : (BYTE), (WORD), (DWORD), (QWORD), (CHAR), (SHORT), (INT), (INT64) to typecast the pointer to a value of that type, Structure dissect can detect vc++ and object pascal classnames now, Dissect code now also detects references to strings, Sorting the addresslist now sorts faster and more properly with regards to groups (depends on the level your current selection is), Rightclick the addresslist header to bring up a menu which allows you to disable sorting, The chosen floating point rounding type is now saved in the registry, You can now use (addresslist description) as an address, DBVM doesn't activate the TSC hook by default. 4. Select the Civilization 6 process. Und mit Pokémon (...) mehr, Dieser Charakter in Watch Dogs: Legion war so nicht beabsichtigt.In Watch Dogs: Legion sollen alle Charakter (...) mehr, Cheats und Trainer für ein leichtes Spiel, Einsteiger-Guide: Tipps und Tricks für einen erfolgreichen Start, Das Aufbaustrategiespiel - jetzt auch für Konsole, Anno 1800 | Kartennummer anzeigen und beste Karten, Anno 1800 | Baupläne für effiziente Produktionsketten. Multiply 20 by 256 which is 5120 and type in the values 4700 and 5500 - click on 'Next Scan' like 2 times. Age of Empires 3 Definitive Edition Trainer v100.12.3552.0, Subnautica: Below Zero Trainer (Oct-2020 37024), NumPad 3: Fast Build Buildings and Wonders.

if (UserWidth <= 1024) Selected Unit: Unit Can Level Up Therefore you multiply 10 by 256 which is 2.560 and search for a value between 2.000 and 3.000 (just switch 'Scan type' to 'Value between' to be able to enter two values) just to make sure to hit it. 3. Resources: Gold Select the Civilization 6 process. added ansicode character support for textRect, added loadFromStream and saveToStream to the RasterImage class, added readAnsiString and writeAnsiString to the Stream class, Better document the mode field of createFileStream, Added the DrawItemEvent general GUI property to Lua's callback system, Added the MenuDrawItemEvent general GUI property to Lua's callback system, Added the ContextPopupEvent general GUI property to Lua's callback system, Created a new Diagram class group which can allow you to create graphs and diagrams, Memoryrecord.DropDownValue and DropDownDescription work now (still RO), Stackview can now show by reference , previously it did nothing, the 'resume thread' in the threadlist now resumes threads instead of freezing them, fixed an error popping up when editing registers with no debugger attached, getNameFromAddress will not show userdefined symbols when symbols are disabled, Waiting till all symbols have been loaded has been removed, Launching structure compare from dissect data now only needs 1 address, though it's recommended to have at least 2 each, Code completion in lua engine is now more smoother, You can now compare traces generated by the tracer, Threadlist window now has a copy to clipboard, Structure compare now digs deeper into pointers, Pointerscan import/export now works with newer types as well, Added rudimentary sort to the structure compare window (based on levelwidth only), Referenced strings now also shows if it's unicode, Formdesigner now has a context menu to add undocumented controls, added getWriteLog (Let's you get the writelog and activate it), HexadecimalView: added the OnCharacterRender and OnValueRender events.

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Civilization VI: Gathering Storm Cheats

Enable Console

Start by head to the following file location:

C:Users[USER NAME]DocumentsMy GamesSid Meier’s Civilization VI

Now, make a backup of the AppOptions.txt file. Open that file and scroll down to the [Debug] section of the file. Look for a line containing the following text:

EnableDebugMenu 0

Change the 0 in that text so that it reads 1, and start playing the game like usual. Then press ~ (TILDE, THE KEY ABOVE TAB) to access the debug console.

Easy Deity Win (Exploit)

You can win the game on Deity difficulty and score some easy achievements by taking the following steps:

Choose your civilization.

Create a custom game with only “Score Victory” checked, and change the turn limit to 1.

Load the game and choose the Found City option.

End your turn as soon as the option becomes available.

You win the match, just like that, and you will unlock numerous achievements. This works on any difficulty setting.

Reveal the Entire Map

Use a text editor to edit the “Config.ini” file in your Steam Apps folder or the “DocumentsMy GamesSid Meier’s Civilization 6” directory.

Civ 6 Gold Cheat Engine 6.4

Find the “DebugPanel = 0” line and change it to “DebugPanel = 1”

Save and close the “Config.ini” file.

While playing the game, press ~ to display the debug panel.

Select “Reveal All” to reveal the entire map.

There are also other debug options you can enable.

Now you can easily access Debug Console in Civilization VI in-game. In order to activate it you just need to PRESS TILDE “~”. It will open a Debug Window, from there select “Reveal All” option.

Trading Glitch

When trading with the AI, you can use two major glitchs:

1- Give any strategic or luxury resources and as much gold per turn as possible, then click the option whatwill you give me for this?, the AI will break and will offer insane amounts of goldand gold per turn just for the resource.

Civ 6 Gold Cheat Engines

2- Ask for whatever you want from the AI (cities included) and start putting gold (not gold per turn, only normal gold) untilthey accept the deal, then reduce until you’re as close as possible to the required amount, Ex: 25890 Gold of 26000 required, and click on the option make this trade equitable, this will break the AI and will ask an amount of gold per turn proportional to how close you were to the real price. (I bought 5 cities for 3 gold per turn and a jeans in emperor difficulty). This glitch can also be used in multiplayer matches that include AI, but will surely get patched soon.

Early Domination

If you want to enjoy Civilization 6’s battle systems, it’ll be best to pick up the Aztecs, Scythia, or the Spartan Greece. Aztecs allow your own territories to have more tile improvements as their Eagle Warriors convert slain units into Builder units. Meanwhile, Scythia’s units have bonuses against targeting wounded enemy units. Lastly, the Spartan Greece units generate Culture per enemy unit killed. Waging war in the earlier eras yields fewer Warmonger penalties, so feel free tosiege other Civilizations or City States if you need something from them. If you manage to take every Capital or wipe out every leader in the match, your Civilization will attain the laborious and difficult Domination Victory.

Civ 6 Gold Cheat Engine 6.4

Camera keys

With Civilization VI now out in the wild, one of the biggest gripes is the camera control not being mapped to WASD. The good news is that camera keys can be changedwith some simple file editing. To change the camera control keys do the following: ..SteamsteamappscommonSid Meier’s Civilization ViBaseAssetsUI

Open the “WorldInput.lua” file in a text editor such as Notepad or Notepad++ Find the DefaultKeyDownHandler section Find the line if( uiKey Keys.VK_UP ) and then make the changes as follows if( uiKey Keys.VK_UP or uiKey Keys.W) if( uiKey Keys.VK_RIGHT or uiKey Keys.A) if( uiKey Keys.VK_DOWN or uiKey Keys.S) if( uiKey Keys.VK_LEFT or uiKey Keys.D)

Next you need to add the same entries above to the DefaultKeyUpHandler section. Note that you will also need to rebind the default Attack and Great Works default keys to something else so your new camera keys do not conflict.

Civ 6 Gold Cheat Engine Rebuild

Rename Cities

1) Go to the Civilization VI installation folder – C:Program FilesSteamsteamappscommonSid Meier’s Civilization VI.

2) Go to Base > Assets > Text > install language – ..SteamsteamappscommonSid Meier’s Civilization VIBaseAssetsTexten_US.

3) Then open the file named “CityNames_Text.xml” with any text editor, then search for the city/civilization that you want to rename. Change the name there and save. Once you are all done reload the game and you will find your city name changed.

Disable Unit Auto Cycle

Go to ..UsersDocumentsMy GamesSid Meier’s Civilization VI

Then open “UserOptions.txt”

After that go to “line 60” then change “AutoUnitCycle 1” to “AutoUnitCycle 0”

Save the file “UserOptions.txt”

Once you are all done then save (Ctrl + S)

Civ 5 Cheat Engine Gold

Now you are all set to enjoy the Civilization VI game without Unit Auto Cycle.

Civ 6 Cheat Engine Gold Address

It’s end. I hope “Civilization VI: Gathering Storm Cheats, Cheat Codes” helps you. Feel free to contribute the topic. If you have also comments or suggestions, comment us.

Civilization 6 Gathering Storm Gold Cheat Engine

More of this sort of thing:

[sj4iy]

Anime: My Favorite Anime OP/ED Songs From the 10s

And here’s the last section to this long list of posts. This one is going to be a little different, simply because this was the decade in which I had a family to take care of. I didn’t watch very many anime at all until a few years ago. Because of the lack of time, I tended to watch only what I was really interested in. Same with the music. Again, I will pick a single song (op or ed) from a series, and there’s no order at all to this list. You might notice that some of these same series appear on my blog regularly. Enjoy!

1. Noragami “Goya no Machiawase” (午夜の待ち合わせ) by Hello Sleepwalkers (2014)

Obviously this is series I feature monthly on this site...I love this series. And I’m probably one of the few people who prefer the first opening to the second. But still, this is a great OP and a great series.

2. Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? “Hey World” by Yuka Iguchi (2016)

One of the newer series that I’ve watched, I was surprised by this anime being as good as it is. I also really liked the opening song.

3. Children of the Whales “Sono Mirai e” (その未来へ) by Ririko (2017)

This anime is very hard to watch in some places because of how sad it can get, but a great story all around. And this song perfectly encapsulates that feeling.

4. Seraph of the End “X.U.” by Hiroyuki Sawano/Gemie (2015)

Another series that is regularly seen on this blog. I actually read the manga before I watched the anime...but the opening song is so great that I have to put it on this list. 

5. Yona of the Dawn “Akatsuki no Yona” (暁のヨナ) by Kunihiko Ryo (2015)

Yet another series on this blog. This anime has an amazing orchestrated opening song without lyrics that gives it a very historical feel.

6. Blue Exorcist “Core Pride” by UVERworld (2011)

This was one of the first series I watched after a long layoff from anime...and even though the ending was not well done, the first opening song was.

7. Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga “Kono te de” (コノ手デ) by Rin Akatsuki (2017)

The anime that fixed the first series by retconning the ending out of existence. Also one of the few ending songs that, imo, is much better than the opening song.

8. Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor “Blow Out” by Konomi Suzuki (2017)

This is another series that I have recently picked up on this blog, and as much as this anime really took me by surprise, so did the opening song for it. Fun, exciting, but somehow still a little dark. Fits the series perfectly.

9. Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans “Orphans no Namida” (オーファンズの涙) by MISIA (2016)

This was one of the most depressing series I’ve seen (other than Made in Abyss). But I love the slow R&B ending sung by Misia, one of my favorite Japanese singers. 

10. Rin-ne “Ouka Ranman” (桜花爛漫) by Keytalk (2015)

Considering how much I loved Ranma and Inuyasha, it was only natural to love this series, as well. In some ways, I like it more than the other two. And I love the quirky, fun opening song as well. It fits this almost Bleach-like parody to a tee.

11. Bungou Stray Dogs “Setsuna no Ai” (せつなの愛) by GRANRODEO (2019)

Another favorite series of mine, Bungou Stray Dogs has many great songs to pick from, but I have to say that the third opening song is my absolute favorite. 

12. Fruits Basket (2019) “Again” by Beverly (2019)

And here we see Fruits Basket back on this list, with yet another opening theme that I love. I can’t wait to see more of this series, but it’s hard to argue with how perfect this first song is.

13. My Hero Academia “The Day” by Porno Graffitti (2017)

MHA isn’t my favorite series, but I do love Porno Graffitti (as evidenced by the earlier favorite of “Melissa”). This song is just as good.

14. Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory “Yes” by Tamaru Yamada (2018)

Another favorite series spanning two decades, I was more than excited for this season...especially since I had translated these light novels so long ago. And I couldn’t help but love the ending song of this series so much that I translated it on this very blog. Dark and harsh, the lyrics fit the desperate tone of this season very well.

15. Attack on Titan “Feuerroter Pfeil und Bogen” ( 紅蓮の弓矢) by Linked Horizon (2013)

I haven’t seen but 3 episodes of this series...but it’s hard to not know this amazing opening song. Bombastic and memorable, it has a place on my list.

-----

So, that’s the end of my lists. I’m sure some readers will disagree, have other favorites or like series that I don’t. And that’s perfectly fine. I wanted to make this list so that people who wanted to know would be able to see my favorites. It’s also interesting to me to see how my own taste in anime has evolved and changed since I was younger. Anyway, thanks for reading!

Previous:

My Favorite Anime OP/ED Songs From the 90s

My Favorite Anime OP/ED Songs From the 00s

[borisbubbles]

Eurovision  2010s: 25 - 20

25. Francesca Michelin - “No degree of separation” Italy 2016

Man, we’re deep into the endgame and at this point every elimination starts to mentally hurt. 

“Nessun grado di separazione” is a fantastic song. it is a moody, melodic, genuinely touching showcase of palpable social anxiety, brightened up by frivolous jiggles and Animal Crossing-inspired staging. 😍 Its lyrics tackle the subject of “falling in love” with disarming accuracy and poetic justice. When you fall in love with somebody, it really is a question of resistance, of trying to stay level-headed and rational, of trying to not speak from the mind, not the heart, and then flare of emotion lights up from the inside, carving a path in your chest, until

THERE IS NO DEGREE OF SEPARATION

THERE IS NO DEGREE OF HESITATION

THERE IS NO DEGREE OF SPACE BETWEEN US

WE ARE STARS ALIGNED TOGETHER

DANCING THROUGH THE SKY, WE ARE SHININ’

Hands down my favourite language shift ever. Each time Francesca delivers it, time stands still, as you take in the expanse of the universe, the beauty of love and the profoundness of life. 

Naturalmente, Francesca is also a fantastic performer for me. It really pains me that she was less good in the Grand Final, because her SF performance was genuinely worthy of a top five spot on this ranking. Yet, at the same time, Francesca is clearly upset at herself that she was worse and god my overthinking, underachieving perfectionist-with-a-crippingly-fear-of-not-being-good-enough self can RELATE SO HARD to that. 😭

*YOU* ARE PRECIOUS, Francesca. Grazie.

Easily the best entry Italy have ever brought at Eurovision...

________________________________________________________________

24. Mahmood - “Soldi” Italy 2019

...until “Soldi”. Alessandro is mah MOOD

What a delight “Soldi” was. Shame on me though. Between, all the madness of Hatari’s assholery, Serhat’s qualification, ZalaGasper’s interview gold, Bilal’s revamp, Michela & Miki’s staging miracles, Sergey’s struggles to keep his homosexuality under wraps, Duncan’s staging disaster, Jurij’s bedroom eyes and 2019: A Kate Oddyssey, I had completely forgotten about Mahmood.

Which made the rediscovery of “Soldi” all the greater. 😍 THIS 👏 SONG 👏 FUCKING 👏 SLAPS. 👏 even the B-material things such as the snappy camerawork, the arabic middle-eight and rhyming “Ramadan” with “Jackie Chan” are mindblowingly awesome. 

It hard to pick a favourite aspect though. The backdrop, the beat, the dancing, Mahmood’s vocals and miming all come together in a song that is supereffective in getting the pain across while also simultaneously remaining fun, addictive and highly energetic. Mahmood completely DISMANTLES bad parenting while also clowning the xenophobic pieces of shit that tried to bully him off Eurovision. It’s that combination of genuine emotional pulling, righteous ownage and let’s face it, a fucking amazing song that makes coming back to Mahmood for another listen the easiest decision ever. *CLAP*CLAP*, motherfuckers. 👏

________________________________________________________________

23. Lea Sirk - “Hvala, ne!” Slovenia 2018

[2018 Review here] (shared with ZiBBZ)

HVALA SLAY SLAY

Best moment of 2018: Lea Sirk becomes the best shock qualifier of ALL TIMES. Honestly, a trash fairy with a trap song that she wrote in under two hours has NO BUSINESS being this good, but it is. 😍

 Remember the Israeli’s that cheered for Hatari? “Hvale, ne!” is the jury equivalent to that. It’s a song that righteously calls out the FAKENESS of the music industry <3 THAT WAS ALSO LIKED BY THE JURIES <333332456 😍😍😍

Besides this “Hvala, ne!” is a wild ride taking us to lands of cotton candy braids and trashbag couture with an impeccable, show-stopping choreography, an earworm of a beat and just general kick ass energy. Lea operates on a near-inhuman level of pure CONTENT. Every second she delivers something of value, be it choreography or a snarky note or a hilarious facial expression “Hvala ne!” is riddled with little nuggets like that, which are hard to list in text, so here are a  couple of gifs:

and yes, of course, the “break”. 😍

Being able to pull that off not ONCE, but TWICE and STILL making it look fresh and novel <3 “Hvala, ne!” is effortlessly sleek, unapolegetically non-conformist, shamelessly gimmicky and 100% pure awesomeness. Slovenia may be a tiny country geographically but they burst with raw TALENT. Obrigado sim! 

ps: Slovenia reportedly hating Lea now because she was trashtalking ZalaGasper’s victory over RAIVEN <3  lmfao Lea <3 ANGELS <3

________________________________________________________________

22. Who See - “Igranka” Montenegro 2013

💃 Vodim te na IGRANKU 💃 💃 Na na na na  IGRANKU 💃 💃 Ku ku ku ku IGRANKU 💃 💃 Vodim te na IGRANKU 💃

I should not get ahead of myself, but jesus fuck, what a TRIP. 

So anyway, are Who See dressed like austronauts to signal that “Igranka” isn’t of this fucking planet, or? “Igranka” a fun party song, in which Who See tramp about dressed like Armstrong and Lightyear, flanked by 2013′s ubiquitous dubstep. Good? Sure.🤔 Funny? Certainly. 😁 However, nothing superexciting so far.

Until... 

Who See go from a weird heteronormative rap effort that is lowkey fun to an utterly unhinged acid trip the SECOND Nina Zizic is lifted onto the stage by a dumbwaiter and then proceeds to collect every scalp in the gaylaxy. Remember how I said 2013 had EPIC female entrances? This is a top five entrance probably in the history of live performances. SLAIN, DECEASED, EVAPORATED every single time. 

Europe’s cyborg seraph.

and I mean, you’d think this one-time gimmick would get stale over time, but “Ingranka” actually gets better with every listen. I’m at the point where I can NO LONGER resist the ululating siren call to don a visor and a pair of pvc wings, and make overdramatic shouty entrances everywhere just like Nina the few times I choose to leave my mother’s basement. VODIM TE NA IGRANKU. 

________________________________________________________________

21. Cleo - “My Slowianie”  Poland 2014

CLEO... Donatan?

Is this Donatan shade for not being there? GOOD! We at BorisBubbles (so basically, I) believe in gender equality and since the wymyn do all of the work here, I’ve decided to not credit him. 🤭

Anyway, let’s just JUMP right in because dammit “My Slowianie” is such a RIDE. It’s entire objective appears to be... to convince everyone that ~Slavic Women~ are better, at everything than non-slavic women and, well, being slavic myself this message speaks to me. Not to mention that Cleo teaches us this paramount interculteral lesson in the most hilariously blunt fashion ever. 

SPECIAL THINGS WE HAVE IN OUR GENES

MAKES US PROUD OF OUR NATURAL SHAPES

CREAM AND BUTTER TASTE SO GOOD

WE PREPARED FOR YOU DELICIOUS FOOD

OUR BEAUTY’S FAMOUS ALL OVER THE WORLD

YOU GOTTA SEE FOR YOURSELF AND THEN YOU WILL KNOW 😉

and dammit Cleo doesn’t underdeliver, doesn’t she? Three minutes of loud in your face SUPERIORITY. 😍 One could argue that “My slowianie” is SOCIALLY REPRESSING WOMEN, like many terfs did but like... get over you -- Sophie Ellis-Bextor, BorisBubbles. I don’t think any of us have the right to tell (other) women what they can or can’t do because of their breasts and oestrogen. These ladies agreed to do this song/act and are completely facetious while doing it. It’s a spoof. Laugh. or don’t laugh, I don’t care, really. Be a humourless non-slavic frump if you must. As far as I am concerned, “My slowianie” is a thing of CHARMING BEAUTY :shakes what his momma gave him:/ :claps his hands to this music:

and in this update we say goodbye to Italy, Montenegro and Poland. Read my thoughts on them below:

ITALY

Italy before their return is one of the biggest snoozefests in Eurovision and now look at that chart. They were near impeccable in this decade and hopefully can win a third time soon (honestly the fact that they came so close to winning four times in this decade and still didn’t is one of the biggest mysteries of 2010s Eurovision imo.)

MONTENEGRO

Montenegro are the Georgia of the Balkans: they often go for experimental shit, just cuz they can. Unfortunately, their shit often is just that: shit. 

POLAND

Poland at Eurovision is a big ball of meh, mostly because they can’t, at all, select songs or entrants that sound good. Cleo and Michal are forever though, so it’s not completely without merit. 

[letsblogwithlandy-blog]

The Chinatown Experience

Whether you’re looking for a new place to visit for the sights, the food, the history, or the cultural exposure, Chicago’s very own Chinatown might be the place for you. Who would have thought that one of the most authentic, if not THE most authentic Chinatown in America was just a train ride away from where I live? As a resident of Back of the Yards, I have always made it a mission to explore my city and find new places to hang out at. I’ve been to Chinatown a number of times already prior to it being part of an assignment; however, this time, my eyes were widened to things I never even considered before.

My classmate Maria and I arrived at Chinatown via red line “L” train. This is the most optimal choice of transportation, in our opinion. Even if you have a car, you would be required to either find parking (which is somewhat likely if you are a fast and responsible driver) or pay for hourly parking. Get yourself a Ventra card. And if you’re a student, just use your university U-Pass. You’ll thank us later.

Upon exiting the Chinatown red line stop, we came across the Nine Dragon Wall, located on W. 22nd Street/Cermak Rd. The beautiful contrast of the dragons and the sunlight gave the wall an aesthetic that stumped us. I had never noticed this wall before. While we were in awe, we did wonder one thing: why are the dragons in an assortment of color?

(picture of wall here)

The dragons appeared to be in gold, blue, and red, and the reason for this is because of color significance according to Chinese culture. English teacher and Beijing instructor Campbell Alizzi describes the colors in detail, signaling that there is more than meets the eye. The Nine Dragon Wall had hints of red, blue, and gold. Red is a color of good fortune, blue is the color of immortality, and gold is the color for victory and prestige (Alizzi, 2019). Maria and I realized that these dragons are meant to set a strong first impression and presence to visitors. These dragons and this gate signify the strength, honor, and glory that is Chinese culture and welcome visitors with what is equivalent to a firm handshake.

(picture of gate)

Not far from the gate was the enormous, hard to miss Chinatown Gate, located on S. Wentworth and 22nd Street/Cermak Rd. The Chinatown Gate represents the official entrance to Chinatown. Architect Peter Fung developed this gate in 1975, making it a hallmark of Chinatown. Going beyond this gate is where all the fun begins.

In Chinatown, you gotta have a good eye for detail if you want to get the most out of the area. One such place where this skill was necessary was the Pui Tak Center on 2216 South Wentworth Avenue. The exterior of the building showed resilient attention to detail, especially when it came to the brick Chinese symbols which also come in a variety of colors.

(picture of census sign)

The building, along with the Chinatown Gate, has a dominant presence in Chinatown not just architecturally but also socially. According to the Pui Tak Center website, construction of the actual building itself went from 1926 to 1928, but the establishment of the building as the Pui Tak Center was on December 1st of 1993 (“Pui Tak Center: Our History and Mission”).

(picture of entrance to center)

Programs that Pui Tak offers involve English as  a second language (ESL) classes and Food Sanitation Certification. Immigrant youth programs are also offered though the center, as their goal is to assist youth to transition into school and overall life a lot easier. One of the aspects of this center that stuck most to me was their programs for immigrants. The staff identify that immigrants of any place are at times unfamiliar with the way lifestyle is in Chicago. This city is fast paced and at times overwhelming, especially for newcomers. The center holds workshops that prepare immigrant families for everything from doing taxes to setting up immunization appointments. As the building hoisted a banner for the 2020 United States Census, the words “Everyone Counts” coincidentally stuck out the most. This center embodies that.

Our next stop was the Chinese American Museum of Chicago on 238 W. 23rd street. They have a ring-the-doorbell-for-entrance policy, so you mustn’t be shy to ring the bell! Otherwise, no experience. Right off the bat, the greeter who let us in was so enthusiastic! It’s as if she already knew what we were doing there. She allowed us to take photos of the interesting exhibits they had available for visitors.

(picture of museum outside)

Maria and I later asked the greeter if we could have access to viewing the 16 minute video on the history of Chinatown, to which she ecstatically said yes and led us to the second floor for viewing. The video had about 5-6 parts (cannot recall) that were each dedicated to a portion of what made up Chinatown and its rich cultural preservation. My favorite part of the video had to be the part about natural medicine and herbalism.

(picture of medicine)

I’ve always been a fanatic of tea and have been fascinated by alternative medicine, and to see that as part of a video for people visiting the museum is excellent. My appreciation for alternative medicine increased after finishing this video. There were moments we were startled though…like when the spotlight was on the robes.

(picture of robes)

I legit jumped in my seat because I felt they were gonna pop out. It was realistic and an experience to remember indeed.

 Answer this, reader: have you ever been to an area, claim to know what that area is all about, but then you realize you actually don’t? Yeah, that was me our next stop, Chinatown Square. Located on 2100 S Archer Avenue, this is where most of Chinatown’s buzz comes from. The highlight of this walk was visiting the zodiac stone figures in the middle of Chinatown Square. I was born in 1997, so I was looking for the ox. However, here it’s titled Bull instead of Ox, so maybe it has something to do with traditional Chinese zodiac.

(picture of me with ox)

This area also has a plethora of restaurants and souvenir shops for visitors to explore and experience! Maria and I entered a shop and just observed the knickknacks that were available for purchase.

(pictures of inside store)

NOTE: always ask the store clerk if it is okay to take pictures; that’s just out of respect for the person.

The New Chinatown Library, located 2100 S. Wentworth Avenue (just across the street of Chinatown Square) was a library like none I have seen. This library was composed of two floors, wherein the first floor seemed like more of an organization-meeting oriented area and the second floor was where your typical library quirks (books, bookshelves, desks) were.

(picture of first floor library)

There was a large conference room on the first floor; conveniently, we saw that there was a meeting taking place there..possibly a neighborhood organization. We got a chance to see a room like that in usage.

The second floor of the library, unlike any other library I’ve been to, had a large mural that stretched a long distance.

(picture of mural)

I’ve never seen such a sight, especially in a library.  It reminded me of the artwork by Takashi Murakami. The cosmic and chaotic color combination, along with the surreal, cartoonish animation added a contemporary spice to the library. Very nice addition.

Another interesting discovery we made while in Chinatown was a market right next to the library. The Park To Shop Supermarket was a marketplace that is unlike the ones in my neighborhood.

(picture of market outside)

Upon entry, the space was pretty limited. The marketplace was very tight. I had a duffel bag that day, so you can imagine how scared I was to bump into stuff. I noticed that there were a lot of elderly people there too. It warmed my heart to have been greeted by the people there.

(picture of inside market)

Another difference this marketplace had that mine do not is the display of produce outside of the shop. My stores don’t do this, not sure why, but here they had fruits and bagged goods prepared for people to grab and pay for upon entry. That’s a lot of trust on part of the owners.

All-in-all, Chinatown earned its title of authenticity through the extensive work of its locals and the love for wanting to keep things as culturally in-tact as possible. According to a Chicago Tribune article, in 2013, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning was launched to preserve the identity of Chinatown by improving upon public education, elderly care programs, transportation infrastructure, and creating more public parks (Eltagouri, 2016). It’s moves like these that help further the preservation of not just the culture, but the experience that fellow Chinese and Chicagoans can have.

If you haven’t already visited Chinatown, we highly recommend it. Just like many of the other great sights and places in Chicago, they might just be a train ride away.

Work Cited

Alizzi, Campbell. “Learn Chinese: Chinese Colors and Meanings.” Chinese Language School. Taiwan, China. 27 February 2019.

Eltagouri, Marwa. “Here’s why Chicago’s Chinatown is booming, even as others across the U.S. fade.” Chicago Tribune. Chicago, IL. 13 May 2016.

Pui Tak Center. “Our Mission and Out Goal.” www.puitak.org. 13 February 2020.

[eurosong]

Undo my ESC ‘19 (semi-final two)

Good morning, folks, and welcome to part two of Undo my ESC, the feature where I look at the year’s songs and make a change – as small as altering a minor detail like a lyric or a small staging decision, or as big as going for a completely different national final song! Again, it’s just my opinion and is often delivered in jest. Generally speaking, there are fewer things that need drastic changing in this semi-final, but there are always exceptions...

Armenia: When I first heard this song, I was a bit non-plussed. Cut to a few days later, and there was a constant stream of “walking out, aooooo” in my head. I fear that it’s a song that takes a while to win people over – and that it doesn’t help matters that it’s difficult to completely understand what Srbuk is singing. I’d be tempted to shift the verses into Armenian.

Ireland: I was underwhelmed initially by this effort, but it ended up charming me with its low-key nostalgia. It seems like Björkman has done his level best to kill of Ireland’s chances, and RTÉ have done the rest with the garish, Liechtenstein comics meet 50s Americana staging. I’d change this to something a bit more low-key and elegant.

Moldova: As if to detox from 2 years of crazy staging and outlandish songs, Moldova have sent something incredibly dull and beige, which now they’re trying to cover up by using a decade-old Ukrainian gimmick. There were better songs in their national final, particularly “Sub pămint,” a rocky-folky effort with a lot more to hold my interest than “Stay.”

Switzerland: The Swiss were another country to abandon their national final – no real surprise after the years of mediocre entries it produced. I’d take Stones, Apollo and even Last of our kind over the cringeworthy, self-satisfied Justin Timberlake meets Despacito meets Fuego infernal blend that was “She got me.” I’m going to have a laugh with this one and have it so that Switzerland accept “Sister”, which would have been a passable Swiss entry, instead of rejecting it and having it end up in Germany where it screwed a perfectly good national final.

Latvia: Latvia, like its northern neighbour, Estonia, have gone from having one of the most promising and avant-garde national finals to one that has lost its shine, albeit not só much as Eesti Laul did. Credit where credit is due, they picked by far the best of a lacklustre bunch for me – a lovely, understated, saudadic effort. I wouldn’t change much about it at all.

Romania: Whilst it seemed that almost everybody and their mongoose wanted either the creepy poperatics of Laura “No to marriage equality” Bretan or fueclone #382 from Bella Santiago, by far the song that intrigued me the most was “On a Sunday.” I’m glad this delectable and dark tune won and couldn’t be happier for Ester, who was such a lovely person when we met. What I would change, if I could, would be the bizarre voting system that led to her victory – I’d have had her win by a clear margin in the public vote so as not to be the unfair recipient of hate for the way her song was elected winner. I’d also ensure the oddities on stage with her, pretending to play instruments, were relegated far out of view!

Denmark: Speaking of unpopular opinions, I also didn’t think much of “League of light”, a song so dull that the fact that it incorporated Greenlandic still didn’t quit its beigeness. I found the nicest song of the night to have been “Love is forever”, though I would replace the song’s English lyrics with Danish ones, teach Leonora how not to stare into the viewer’s soul and cause an existential crisis, and trim some of the tweeest excesses away such as the sashaying on the top of that massive chair.

Sweden: Another year, another edition of Melodifestivalen where the all-powerful juries have a real fear of anyone without the Y chromosone representing Sweden. “Too late for love”, at least, breaks the chain of self-satisfied boys singing empty pop songs. Instead, we have a barely soulful soul song sung by a more mature man. I would have gone for “Torn” or “Not with me” any day, though.

Austria: Austria’s labyrinthine internal selection came up with a little-known electro artist and I didn’t have the highest expectations, but I was intrigued. It ended up being an unexpected highlight, a true pearl of emotion and exquisite vocals. I don’t know what PÆNDA’s staging will be, but at the minute, I wouldn’t change anything except for her pronunciation of you as “Hugh/hue”!

Croatia: Oh, Croatia. Returning to a national final after Serbia and Montenegro did last year, and having enjoyed Beovizija and Montevizija respectively, I had hopes. Maybe not high hopes, but medium hopes. It was a collection of dated songs, bizarre songs, and then the eventual winner was both bizarre and dated: a screaming angel shrieking out a maudlin ballad that would have been dated even in the early 90s. I don’t have much of a horse in this race – I think my personal favourite was “Tebi pripadam”, which was harmless but pleasant, but I might go for the colourful “Brutalero” as the most likely to make an impact in Tel Aviv.

Malta: Malta bringing something interesting to ESC is one of the Four Horsemen of the Europocalypse, but before the other three come, I’m living for it. I worry how well a young balladeer with static performances will adapt to the sass and sizzle of Chameleon, but for the moment, I wouldn’t change anything other than remove the letters that overshadow the wild and colourful MV.

Lithuania: Lithuania’s NF is another for which life is too short to follow, especially since it takes the best part of 3 months to come up with – well, songs like this. One wonders how something can be both weird and dull, but this is, in turns. As pretty much the majority of folk rewriting this, I guess I would opt for “Light on” instead, though I’d be tempted by the quirky fun of “Mažulė.”

Russia: I can’t begrudge Sergej’s return to try to win after he found himself losing at the juries’ hand in 2016. I won’t even join those criticising him for not bringing another “banger” and instead returning with something a bit more solemn and musically complex. It’s not in my favourites but there’s not much I’d change, other than make the tune a little less repetitive.

Albania: Albania had another good Festival i Këngës – one of my favourite NFs in keeping an orchestra and maintaining national language throughout. My pick of all the songs to win was Ktheju tokës, and I wouldn’t change a thing about this powerful cri de cœur, except, perhaps, change it so that the second verse had different lyrics and was not just a repeat of the initial verse.

Norway: One of the absolute scandals of the season for me. In the red corner, we had one of the best composers to have represented Norway in the past 20 years with a sweeping, moving, classical tune, “En livredd mann”. In the blooo corner, we had a “what if Aqua moved to the woods, discovered they had animal spirits, thought they could joik and created this forgotten b-side in 1998?” Somehow, the latter won, but I feel the former really ought to have.

Netherlands: Though I cannot understand the fuss about this compared to other downtempo songs that I see being forgotten at best, slated at worst, it’s a decent track. I’d change the video so that it didn’t hinge so dramatically on gratuitous nudity, so that we could see who’s praising this for the music and who’s just in for a good looking lad’s bare arse.

Macedonia: It’s a nice, sincere effort from Macedonia – it feels a bit of a step back from me from the experimentation in the past two entries, but at the same time, I think it has a better chance of doing well than them. Not sure what I would change, other than the video. It’s very melodramatic and reminds me of an even more extra version of Bebe’s “Ella”; no small achievement given how extra that is.

Azerbaijan: I’m no great fan of AZ at this contest, but for the second time in 3 years (let’s try to forget the disaster that was “Delete my heart”), they’ve brought a decent song with some local character. My change would be to forget about the overproduced official music track and go instead for the delightfully understated unplugged performance, where Çingiz’ voice and the poignancy of the text come to the fore.

And the automatic qualifiers of this semi:

Germany: Because of my mischievious change for Switzerland, Germany would be free of the non-sisters perversely called Sisters and would have dodged the hole that they keep falling into – including unexperienced wild card artists in the national final that folk vote for out of sympathy, landing them in or near the bottom for several years, except last year, the one time they didn’t. There were plenty of good songs in the German national final, making the choice of S!!$Ŧ4ZZZ! even more perverse. I really enjoyed “The day I loved you most”, but, despite a somewhat dodgy live, I’d have to give the nod instead to the atmospheric, brooding “Surprise.”

Italy: This song and its artist are utter perfection to me. I wouldn’t change a single second. Unfortunately, Eurovision’s rather arbitrary 3 minute rule means that I would have to excise several seconds from the original. Mahmood’s actual solution seems to have been getting rid of the repetition of “[sai già] come va, come va, come va”, which for me sounds odd and wrecks the flow. I’d instead probably remove the “non ho tempo per chiarire, perché solo ora so cosa sei” line. It’d still be a change I wouldn’t ideally make, but I feel it’d be a bit less abrupt.

UK: The UK came onto the scene this year with a massive fanfare about a new format where YOU DECIDE in song duels which version of a song was better. Except, as it transpired, You the Punter didn’t decide – a dubiously qualified trio of “““experts””” did instead. The whole element of intrigue of the new format – finding out which version of a song is best – was taken away from the viewer and in doing so, all they got to decide between was 3 songs, 1 version of each. In the process, they eliminated the best version of “Bigger than us” – opting for the bombastic, X factor winner version by Michael Rice instead of the low-key but likeable country version by Holly Tandy. I’d have picked that instead. I’d have also not gone for that stupid format and instead tried to find at least 6 decent songs instead of 2 versions of 3 mediocre ones.

BONUS ROUND!

Ukraine: When I was doing SF1, I forgot that another country should have entered that semi who were under my imaginary purview. I’m talking Ukraine, of course, whose broadcasters instigated the scandal of the year by humiliating its artists with political questions on live TV, and then basically forced the winner to nót represent Ukraine by giving her a scandalous contact that didn’t offer any help with the financial burden of going to Israel and putting on a show, would shackle her to patently unreasonable terms, forbade her from speaking out of turn or improvising on stage, and threatened her with massive fines for the slightest unauthorised change.  Part of me really wants to say that I’d deal with the mess by ensuring that Tayanna (who should have won in 2018 with Lelja) wouldn’t withdraw, thus leading to the inclusion of Maruv at the last minute who ended up winning. But no – a bigger wrong must be righted and, even though her bizarre burlesque is not to my taste, I would have undone poor Maruv’s poor treatment and let her go to ESC with “Siren song” like the majority of voters wanted.

[fibula-rasa]

September 2018 in Review

You should all be proud of me this month, as I actually watched MORE than one movie made in this decade. There was little rhyme or reason to the films I watched this month. I was pretty scattered honestly and my viewing habits show it. I keep a full diary on letterboxd and IMDB.

A major highlight of September was TCM’s month-long series hosted by the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) The Black Experience on Film. I only caught a few of the films but went out of my way to watch the introductory conversations. TCM’s Trailblazing Women series with Illeana Douglas was a favorite feature of mine and I’d love to see even more hosted series for marginalized groups in film history. It might be too much to suggest Disability on Film… But I’ve been considering doing a blogging series on that myself!

The reviews below the jump are essentially transcriptions of the notes I took right after watching the films. They’re presented in the order in which I watched them.

Brigsby Bear (2017)

23 January 2017 | 97 min. | Color

When Brigsby Bear came out there were a number of people, in real life and online, who gushed about it non-stop. I was pretty wary to see it. In the past, often when people around my age pick out a new darling film or TV series, I’ve been burned. Sometimes it’s something cynically violent in a way that’s disturbing to overlook. Sometimes it’s something with too much ironic detachment for my taste. Or it’s something straight-up ableist, sexist, or bigoted. (How are we still traumatizing all “Strong Female Characters” in the 2010s. Come on.)

BUT, Brigsby Bear was really good!? I honestly wasn’t expecting such a heartfelt and humanist film. A modern comedy movie that has faith in the good of all people? Amazing. I hope that the success of this film can be the beginning of a new chapter of millennial comedy so we can wholly move on from calling cynical intellectualized bigotry humor.

I got emotional as the friendship between Spencer and James developed. Maybe because I’m a clinically strange person myself. I don’t always have the energy in social situations to keep my neurotypical mask on and when I show my actually autistic self to people it doesn’t usually go all that well. That’s why it’s a special, joyful moment to find acceptance. Brigsby captures this so well. That feeling where people suddenly like you for your weirdness, rather than getting aggressive over it, is like a psychological hug. Kyle Mooney’s portrayal of James in those moments of acceptance is very true to life.

It’s refreshing to have the tension of a comedy film built around a feeling that misunderstandings might make everything fall to pieces. And then the tension releases because everyone is trying so hard to be their best self and things get sorted. I’m used to this dynamic in quite a few old romantic comedy films, but it’s a strategy not employed all that often today. If this is where millennial art is headed I’m ready to take out the trash marketed to us in the last decade.

At first I was worried that this was going to be another early 1980s throwback nostalgia piece without the spirit of media it was referencing (yes, I’m already fatigued by this). That thought was dispelled quickly.

The casting is great. The use of Mark Hamill is particularly ingenious.

Where to watch: it’s currently on demand through Starz.

Perfect Blue (1997)

28 February 1998 | 81min. | Color

Perfect Blue is a must-see for giallo fans, I think. It was very cool to see a Japanese filmmaker create a giallo-inspired psycho-detective thriller and specifically to see Satoshi Kon’s take given his skill in weaving tales about identity.

Perfect Blue is a harsh criticism of Idol culture (and, more broadly, fan culture).

This film requires a huge content warning for sexual violence and assault. If I hadn’t been watching Perfect Blue in a theater, I absolutely would have had to pause the film and take breaks a few times. Which is why, if you haven’t seen any other Kon films, it might be best to start elsewhere–even though Perfect Blue was his first feature. My first exposure to Kon was a few years back with Millennium Actress (2001) and then Paprika (2006). Both are great for newcomers to Kon. Paprika is usually the easy to find. Tokyo Godfathers (2003) is also worth watching, but pretty far afield from Perfect Blue.

Now I’m not suggesting that Perfect Blue isn’t good. It’s great. It’s simply that it’s such an intense and potentially triggering film that it might put some people off Kon’s other work. That may well have happened to me if this had been the first Kon film I saw rather than my last of his filmography.

As with Kon’s other films, the animation is fantastic and imaginative. I don’t want to give too much away about the story, so feel free to ask if you need more specific content warnings.

Where to watch: This one’s not so easy to get your hands on. Your local library or video store might be the best place to look. But, GKids does have some theatrical screenings upcoming.

New Orleans (1947)

18 April 1947 | 90min. | B&W

I watched this film on TCM as part of the aforementioned Black Experience on Film series with AAFCA.

As it was a month-long series in September, I probably should have mentioned it sooner, but the whole series was fantastic. The critics offered useful context for all of the films. Given that the films elicit mixed responses and have complicated roles in cultural and social history, it was very cool to see people debate and disagree on the films. It was valuable to witness even the disagreements that weren’t all that complicated and more about personal taste than politics. With New Orleans for example, one of the hosts liked the film and the other disliked it, though both held an appreciation for it. More civil disagreement about films, please and thanks.

I liked New Orleans and am disappointed that I hadn’t even heard about it before. Although, I do agree with critic/host Jamaal Finkley that it’s a disappointment that New Orleans doesn’t provide any insight into the personal trials of the Black characters.

It’s always a treat to see Arturo de Cordova, but that goes double when it’s an American film where his role isn’t informed by Latin/Mexican stereotypes. This is actually one the more refreshing aspects of the film. The Black characters lack interiority and their struggles are left out of the film, but Louis Armstrong’s and Billie Holiday’s characters are average people and don’t hew to stereotypes. It’s not exactly a victory for representation, but it’s still an improvement.

That said, the music is great and I wish there were more of it. It’s well established in the film that New Orleans’ problems largely come from badly-behaved white people, which I appreciate. (Is that too real?) Arturo de Cordova is great as the romantic lead of the film. I only wish Dorothy Patrick had the charisma to seem like a better match for him.

New Orleans is definitely worth checking out if the progress of Black representation in film is of interest to you or if you have a special interest in jazz or New Orleans.

Where to watch: It looks like Kino’s DVD release might be out of print, so libraries & video stores might be your best bet. OR, you can wait until TCM plays it again.

The Boy (2016)

22 January 2016 | 97min. | Color

Sooooo depending on how long you’ve been following the blog, you may or may not know that I love horror movies and ghost stories and whenever those things meet. When I first saw the trailers for The Boy ahead of its theatrical release, it did pique my interest. However, that’s mostly because they made me laugh. I am not someone who’s creeped out by dolls though. If you are, I suspect this film actually might be scary to you.

The Boy has a solid premise. At first it reminded me of the story “Baby Doll” by Larry LeClair from the radio show Nightfall. (”Baby Doll” is a better story, FYI, and creepier.) Unfortunately, the execution of The Boy’s story was disappointing. The film drags when it shouldn’t and the flow of the lead character warming to the doll felt stilted. The Boy’s big reveal ended up feeling a bit cheap as a consequence.

That said, I had fun watching it. I got some good laughs from Brahms’ ghostly antics and the middle part of the film is chock full of them.

The house from the film is so beautiful. I can’t believe it’s in Vancouver. Or that it’s a location for Little Women (1994)? I somehow didn’t recognize it.

Whether The Boy is worth a watch is debatable. If you like Haunted Doll stories, the execution and ending might be unsatisfying for you. Maybe if you like the odd modern horror film that can’t embrace its own camp, The Boy would be perfect for you?

Where to watch: It’s currently streaming on Netflix.

Street Scene (1931)

5 September 1931 | 80min. | B&W

This movie was a good old kick in the pants.

Street Scene an adaptation of a Pulitzer-Prize-winning stage play by Elmer Rice. It depicts the problems of New York City tenement residents and their relationships with one another. Though this is a pre-code film, I still imagine there would have been notable changes for censors. That said, the film is still very… mature. Additionally, I’ve seen suggestions that the film we know today is a re-edit of the film for post-code re-release. Hoo boy, what that source material must have been then.

One challenge a lot of filmmakers have when adapting stage plays to film is avoiding static staging–as if someone simply recorded the play. Street Scene doesn’t fear this and I think it works out. Almost all of the film takes place on the stoop of the tenement. The building facade is a truly impressive setup for filming. The camera work livens up the visuals with tracking shots and unexpected angles not commonly seen in early-sound films. (Unsurprisingly, Gregg Toland worked on the film!)

The acting is fantastic and, as someone who has spent the lion’s share of her life in cultural melting pots, the atmosphere the actors create is very authentic. Frankly, after living in Brooklyn for five years (four years ago), some neighborhoods still feel like this–only the voices are Puerto Rican and West Indian instead of European. It’s fascinating to see those veins of permanence in a city that’s changed as much as New York has.

The story primarily focuses on one family. The matriarch (Estelle Taylor) is bored with her unhappy marriage and takes up with the man who collects payment for milk delivery. The eldest child, Rose (Silvia Sydney), is pursued by seemingly every young, eligible man on the block and her not-so-young and not-so-eligible boss. The only one Rose shares feelings for is her downstairs neighbor, an unemployed student, Sam (William Collier, Jr.), who also happens to be Jewish. There is plenty of external resistance to their relationship for anti-semitic and/or financial reasons. Rose’s misgivings are a little more complicated. She feels trapped by the neighborhood and is wary to tie herself down to her current status at so young an age, regardless of how she feels about Sam. In the end, Rose’s mother’s fate cements her own. You can’t help but feel for both of them.

In case you haven’t already gathered this, the film calls for a content warning for anti-semitism and the use of anti-semitic slurs. [Note for clarification: the film is not anti-semitic, a few of the characters are.]

Street Scene takes social issues head on and is a pre-code through and through. It’s absolutely a top recommendation if you like pre-codes. It’s also worth watching if you’re into New York City history or have an interest in film adaptations of stage plays.

Where to watch: This one is pretty easy to see, but I haven’t sussed out the distribution rights or home video releases.

I also watched the film Sanatorium pod Klepsydrą / The Hourglass Sanatorium (1973). That left me with too many feelings to put in an amalgam post. Once I sort through how personal I want to get in discussing the film publicly, you can be sure it’ll get its own post up here.

Last Month’s Review

[des-shinta]

I thank you for being able to answer my questions and I also hope I have not bothered you much with them. I also have a question on your opinion on Link monsters and other cards like them with their impact in the trading card game. Are they merely a way for Konami to make a profit, a feature to balance the meta of special summoned Extra Deck Monster from being spammed onto the field, or a combination of both?

Profit.  plain-as-day it’s just that.The biggest problem the metagame has had since Zexal started is Swarm strategies...though that technically started with Konami being idiots with blackwings, blackwings are really what started this.But As time went on Konami made more and more archetypes which revolved around swarm tactics or let you swarm the field; either you used one that did it, or you died.  Likewise, Zexal damaged the game by making their entire 3-year format revolve around XYZ monsters, and did everything they could to retire other tactics that didn’t rely on chase cards.People hated it.  Zexal saw a massive player drop because of it.  And yet Konami was riled that for three-straight years, one of the best decks people ran...was Doppel Synchron Quaser (using dopple warrior and Yusei’s synchron tuner monsters to summon up shooting quaser dragon)

The annoyances of that time could be best exemplified by the dragon rulers, an entire Archetype that was so devastating thanks to XYZ’s that they ultimately had every member of it put on the banlist at differing points in the format simply to get them the hell out of the game. 

How ARC-V was done was in essence an apology, pendulum monsters and the legacy support allowing nearly everything they’d neglected the last three years to come back and rebalance the game.   Which it did well, everything became playable again. Fusions and synchro’s at times were more playable than XYZ’s had become, as XYZ’s everyone agrees were cheap with regards to their summoning tactics.From the outside It looked like it made the swarming problem worse (not helped by them banning heavy storm which would shut down pendulum scales), but it was shown over time that if you overextended in pendulum summoning and they blasted you with mirror forces or anti-summon cards, you were just as likely to screw yourself.  Thus, swarming strategies became Fair in that era in that everyone had the option for it, but weren’t a necessity as other special summon tactics came into play, and were balanced out by things like Blue-eyes spirit dragon that would punish you for the mass-swarm.And it’s not like pendulums were one’s only option,  the re balancing of the mechanics of older cards helped for search and playability for so many other things.  Red-eyes, Dark magicians, Heroes, Archfiends, Cyber angels--hell, making a bunch of previously anime-only archetypes REAL cards finally like most of the DOMA/Legend Dragon cards that people had long wanted to play, alongside expanding small series like magnet warriors, Black luster soldier, and buster blader into full fleshed-out archetypes helped to build goodwill towards all that.I love citing ‘the Blue-eyes archetype won the 2016 world championship’ thing for the superiority of the Pendulum Format and Arc-V legacy support.Arc-V has the love it has from the player base, because it encouraged an environment for both new and old players to play what they wanted, not just chase the same things that guaranteed victory.then Vrains and Link format happened.  It basically made it so you *NEEDED* to use Link monsters to use most of what people loved.  Wanted to use Shooting Quasar dragon?  Out of luck otherwise.  wanted to use a pendulum strategy, or summon the franchise’s newest boss monster Z-Arc?  Yeah...no chance in hell unless you used ONE and only one archetype which already had a hard time getting z-arc out beforehand.  want to use anything that required you have mulitple extra-deck monsters out simultaneously for their mutually-beneficial effects (and there are SEVERAL that were made useless at that), and you really can’t, as now it requires SO MANY more things than it used to that it basically shoeboxed entire archetypes which used to be extremly impressive...all for cards that stat- and ability- wise are pathetic, but get played because people want their extra-deck summons back.I can’t even count the number of cards they made worthless with that, entire decks and archetypes started hitting the dumpster as you couldn’t use them.  hell, Konami is STILL releasing cards that you can’t actually play anymore due to the format change that would’ve had at least some respect and people wanting to play them for fun before...but now they groan at seeing.It basically repeated the sin Zexal committed in forcing people to play the new card type, and they’ve been very slow with the rollout of anything that reverses the damage done so that anything that’s of a half-way decent quality ends up a massive, $50-100 chase card int eh after-market.but the only way to actually play them, and then get to all of the things you ACTUALLY want to do?  Is not only to play swarm strategies, but play EVEN MORE ELABORATE swarm strategies than you did before to even get the board ready for it.  meaning if they were trying to rebalance the game...they ENTIRELY FAILED.  as while pendulums made swarming easier, it didn’t MANDATE it to do crap, you just had the option.Hell, Konami even promoted swarm strategies to get people in japan who weren’t playing them and kept using decks that weren’t heavily harmed or got around it with simple modification (red dragon archfiends in example as they only really have one boss monster synchro monster to helm the entire deck at a time which you trade out for stronger ones).  There was a magazine article on how Scapegoat and grinder golem made link summoning so easy you could extra-link out an opponent so their own extra deck is useless.I have been extra-linked so many times that I honestly don’t even want to SEE link monsters again.  hell, the entire extra-link thing shows how little konami cared about reigning-in mass extra-deck summoning, as it’s use is worse than the previous mass-extra-deck summoning.  When Link monsters start getting their 4000-point beatsticks, the swarm strategies for them will all be there to instantly supply it, you won’t have the tactical difficulty to figure out the right build and right way of thinking about your cards to go for the big ones like you had to before like with the Shooting Quasar strategies.  it’s just mass-summon, link up, mass-summon again, then link up again for a higher link rating.

it’s so bad, most people now run or will chase mass-destruction strategies simply so they don’t get overrun first turn. but it IS NOT FUN to either not be able to do anything, or have to use the same damn crap as everyone else in order to do SOMETHING.  That, or rely on anything that doesn't require link monsters to begin with.  Monarchs are devastating now, and Gladiator beasts, the scourge of late-GX/Early 5D’s players, regained most of their lost power and are back to annoy people to death.I honestly think that’s why a lot of players latched onto the Trickstar archetype  beyond Aoi/Skye Zaizen being adorable (and frustratingly, anger-inductively being crapped on by the writers.  she’d make a better protagonist than Yusaku right now and yet they just keep being awful to her), as The Trickstars?  They’re annoying to deal with in the way their effects are designed to nibble you to death (by Cats), but they Are FAIR in that they use the burn damage game mechanic in a way no-one’s seen played...well, ever, and you Feel REALLY Smart in finding a way to outplay and win against someone using them, as it requires careful planning to get around their damage cantrips.  Being able to win by being a smart strategist in how you built your deck and a smart tactician with how you used your Deck?  That’s the entire POINT of tabletop gaming that makes it FUN!  And they’re NOT an archetype that revolves around swarming or the Link nonsense, either.

[aion-rsa]

Could Sucker Punch Become the Next Justice League Snyder Cut?

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Sucker Punch, Zack Snyder’s sexified 2011 action-fantasy mashup, hit shortly after the director had come off his ambitious (although reliably divisive) movie adaptation of Alan Moore’s groundbreaking Watchmen comic title. With the director having notably made waves behind the camera for 2004’s Dawn of the Dead and 2006’s 300, Snyder’s perceived genre gravitas—and imagery of scantily-clad girls with swords and guns—was a clear selling point. While the film flopped, a recent reveal has, curiously, ignited fervor for a Sucker Punch Snyder Cut.

Snyder’s attention at the moment clearly centers on the premiere of Netflix film Army of the Dead, which stands as his first all-new feature since 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, not counting his recently released HBO Max redux of 2017’s Justice League, the original of which saw him replaced by Joss Whedon. However, Snyder provided an intriguing update on the now-decade-old dormant topic of Sucker Punch in a recent video interview with Vanity Fair in which he breaks down notable entries on his film CV. It seems that, similar to Justice League, Snyder shot enough footage from the 2011 film to justify a lengthy re-release—at least, if anyone’s actually interested.

“[Sucker Punch] was the first time where I really faced, like, a true radical restructuring of the film for it to be more commercial,” says Snyder. “And there is a director’s cut of that movie that has yet to be released. I’ll say that out loud.” Snyder’s surprise disclosure of a Sucker Punch director’s cut could make momentous waves across the vocal fandom that managed the monumental feat of hash-tagging the heretofore-untenable, $70 million-boosted release of the Justice League Snyder Cut into actual existence; an act that has to be seen as a clear-cut victory, regardless of where a movie fan may fall on the proverbial Snyder spectrum. However, unlike the reworked DC megamovie, the obstacles standing in the way of a prospective redux of the 2011 film are more numerous and formidable.

Warner Bros. Pictures

The prospective redux’s most immediate impediment is Snyder’s massive, recently-revealed post-DC Extended Universe fallout with studio Warner Bros., which had been behind his signature films, including Sucker Punch, which—even during better times of his partnership with the studio—was not exactly a high point. Moreover, the subset of an already-niche audience who might actually want more of the film already have it, since an extended cut already exists. Released on Blu-ray, that version adds 18 minutes to the originally 110-minute movie that also alters the PG-13 rating of the theatrical release to an R.

Sucker Punch, which Snyder co-wrote with Steve Shibuya, takes place in the 1960s, centered on the ordeal of a young girl named Babydoll (Emily Browning), who is framed by an abusive stepfather for the murder (he actually committed) of her sister, and is institutionalized in a Vermont insane asylum. Unable to directly deal with horror of her dilemma, Babydoll constructs an elaborate action-teeming fantasy world through which to interpret her daily dealing. Her fantasies, which reimagines the facility as a high-end brothel, take shape through stylistically anachronistic action mishmashes of Steampunk, World War I and quasi-anime giant-robot imagery. However, the fantasy starts to bear real-world consequences once an elaborate escape plan is concocted along with fellow inmates Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), Rocket (Jena Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens) and Amber (Jamie Chung), all of whom appear in the sequences.

Read more

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Army of the Dead Review: Zack Snyder’s Most Fun Film to Date

By Nick Harley

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Will an “Aggressively Anti-Snyder” Warner Stop the SnyderVerse?

By Joseph Baxter

Unfortunately, the splattered nature of Snyder’s cinematic canvas, along with the film’s perceived sexually-exploitative imagery, opened Sucker Punch to substantial criticism, which certainly contributed to the film’s downfall. However, one whole decade removed from the film’s failure, Snyder not only remains a believer, but even makes an argument for its unrecognized social poignancy. “The movie to me is—you know, people don’t acknowledge it—but it’s a protest movie in a lot of ways. It’s a movie about genre,” explains Snyder. “I was asked at the time, ‘Why did you dress the girls like that?,’ and I always go, ‘I didn’t dress them like that, you did.’ I always saw it as an indictment, in some ways, of popular culture. I think, at the time, I was criticized for it being the opposite, like some sort of sexist rant, but it was fun to make and I still love it to this day.”

While Snyder may see Sucker Punch as a misunderstood agitprop piece (albeit one with leggy girls in lingerie swinging swords at monsters), most moviegoers—I daresay many of whom are actual fans of Snyder’s darkness-driven visions—still see the film as a forgettable curiosity. Moreover, there also happens to be a lack of bottom-line motivation, seeing as the film bombed spectacularly at the box office upon its March 24, 2011 premiere, having ultimately grossed a paltry $89.8 million worldwide against an $82 million budget, which had to have left Warner Bros. in the red after expenses. Moreover, Justice League remains an unlikely exception in the director’s cut craze, since the hashtag campaign that propelled it hinged on curiosity over what Snyder’s version would yield in contrast to Whedon’s. There’s no such curiosity with Sucker Punch, which was the full fruit of Snyder’s vision, and is hardly a beloved cult classic ripe for re-cuts like, say, Blade Runner.  

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Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead, however, has arrived unimpeded on Netflix, and can be watched right now in all its Viva Las Vegas zombie-wrecking glory.

The post Could Sucker Punch Become the Next Justice League Snyder Cut? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[rebelsofshield]

From Spark to Flame: Predicting the End of Star Wars Rebels

In just a day the fourth and final season of Star Wars Rebels will be upon us. What began as a spark of rebellion has grown into an odyssey following the journeys of a diverse ensemble of heroes and villains spanning years, battles, generations, and a galaxy. It’s hard to believe that in less than a year’s time this series will conclude and close the book on a unique chapter of the franchise’s history and likely pave the way for the next iteration of this universe on the small screen. What should we expect in the series’ final season? In many ways, this final installment is a mystery, but because I love speculating and critiquing I’m diving in any ways. The following is my long, and I stress long, breakdown of my thoughts, opinions, and predictions going in. Who lives? Who dies? Who shacks up? Who cameos? How gratuitous will the wolves be? All here. Well kinda.

(There are potential spoilers below. Nothing not readily available to the public, but if you want to go in entirely clean, maybe stay out.)

Part I: What We Know

Something that Rebels shares with its parent series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, is that it in many ways functions as a prequel to a large chunk of the franchise. While there are certainly climactic events and character arcs that are unique to the series, Rebels takes place in a period of the Star Wars timeline that is bookended by existing media. This has become even more apparent with the release of Rogue One in 2016. As a result, going into season four there are a few concrete facts that can help shape our expectations of how Rebels’ final season may play out.

Hera and Chopper Live

We know that the Ghost crew’s pilot, captain, and resident maternal figure, Hera Syndulla and her cantankerous droid, Chopper, are the only two members of The Ghost crew that are confirmed to survive the events of the series. Hera receives a literal shoutout line in Rogue One and Chopper has a now famous cameo in the background of the Yavin Base. This is not to say that the other members of The Ghost crew may perish, more on that later, but as of The Battle of Scarif, only two members are known for sure to be active members of the rebel alliance. We also can safely assume that at the very least Ezra Bridger and Kanan Jarrus are no longer active Force-users in the Alliance. The dialogue between Mon Mothma and Bail Organa regarding Obi-Wan strongly indicates that there are no Jedi present in the rebellion at the time of the film. Now, there are many ways that Dave Filoni and crew could cheat this, but I would bet against having Ezra and Kanan swinging lightsabers by Hera’s side by the time this season ends.

The Battle of Lothal will most likely be a loss for the Alliance

Rogue One also reaffirms a statement in the opening crawl of the original 1977 Star Wars by stressing that the Battle of Scarif and the theft of the Death Star plans is the first major military victory for the Rebel Alliance in their war against the Galactic Empire. By this logic, it is unlikely that by the time the series closes its narrative Lothal remains under the sway of the Empire. Now, it seems unlikely that the series will end in a complete downer with our heroes failing in their mission, it is possible that Lothal proves a more symbolic victory, but more on that later.

Thrawn’s TIE Defender Plan is a Failure

One of the plot threads we see shown in the final trailer for the fourth season is the internal conflict between the development of Grand Admriral Thrawn’s TIE Defender fighters and Director Orson Krennic’s Death Star. Tarkin begins to suspect that Thrawn’s pet project may not be in the Empire’s best interest moving forward given its expensive cost and lack of proven success. What is presented to us is a scenario where the TIE Defender likely has a short lived life-span with a premature death. While Star Wars has retroactively inserted vehicles, technology, and lore into the Original Trilogy period since the Prequel Trilogy, it seems confirmed here that Tharwn’s attempt to update the Imperial fighter squadron machine is fruitless.

Part II: What We’ve Been Told/Shown

In the months following the end of Star Wars Rebels season three, we have gained quite a few kernels of information from both the cast and crew of the series. Before I jump into full on speculation, I wanted to take a moment to show and extrapolate on other information we’ve gained for the series.

The season will be shorter and more serialized

One of the major complaints leveled at the second and third season of Star Wars Rebels is the focus on anthologized storytelling at times lead to episodes that seemingly did not tie back into the overarching plot or felt like diversions. Season four, intentionally or not, will somewhat address this issue. It runs shorter than the second and third season, clocking in at 16 22 minute segments, several of which form two part 44 minute episodes. Also, according to Dave, the first several episodes wrap up disparate plot threads before converging on one long story that feed into a narrative that covers the thrust of the last chunk of the season. Conventional wisdom seems to hint that we will spend much of this season on Lothal as the liberation of the planet becomes a priority for the rebellion and our cast.

Mandalore is in Civil War

Ever since Ursa Wren slayed Imperial Viceroy Gar Saxon to protect her daughter, Mandalore has broken apart with the various houses and clans vying for control of the planet with the Empire backing the remnants of Saxon’s house. This conflict takes center stage in the season premiere “Heroes of Mandalore,” which was partially screened at Celebration Orlando and then in its entirety at FanExpo. (I saw the first half myself and it’s pretty great. No spoilers, but it left me with a pretty huge cliffhanger that I’ve been anticipating the conclusion to since April.)

Rebels seems to be pulling out all the stops in putting this conflict to screen. Not only do we get a wide variety of Mandalorian characters and factions, numerous characters from this series’ past as well as The Clone Wars are due for an appearance. After teasing her return to Star Wars animation last year, Katee Sackhoff of Battlestar Galactica fame is due for a reprise of her character Bo-Katan and appears to be wielding the legendary Darksaber (perhaps Sabine hands it over to the rightful ruler of the planet?). In addition to the return of Sabine’s mother and brother, the Rebels Season Three Blu-Ray also reveals that Sabine’s father will be making his debut in the premiere. Having seen part of the episode I can confirm that he plays into Sabine’s character in a fun fashion, it’s very apparent about how his and Ursa’s personalities mixed to create their daughter. Shots of Mandalorian soldiers being turned to dust also seem to hint that the terrible weapon developed by Sabine will be deployed by the Empire.

That being said it seems unlikely that the Mandalorian conflict will spill over into the greater galactic conflict with the Empire. While Sabine and some of her close allies may take part in the battle on Lothal (Sabine can be glimpsed in the final shots of the second trailer with the rest of the Ghost Crew), the lack of Mandalorian presence in Rogue One seems to make this an unlikely possibility.

The Clones Are Back

After sitting out season three, Dave Filoni and Pablo Hidalgo confirmed that clones Wolffe and Gregor would be seen on screen once again before the end of the series at Celebration Orlando earlier this year. Similarly, Dave cryptically dropped concept of Captain Rex wearing camouflage armor seemingly hinting at the popular fan theory that an older extra in Return of the Jedi may be the famous clone veteran.

Saw Gerrera and the Partisans

We also have been informed that Forest Whitaker will be reprising his role as Saw Gerrera in the early portions of the season. In addition to confirmation that his alien partner, Edrio Two Tubes (or maybe it’s Benthic. I honestly didn’t even know there were two of them. Did you know that?), will be joining him. The final trailer and Filoni have both hinted that this season widens the gap between Gerrera and the rest of the Alliance and may explain why he is no longer a part of the larger rebellion by the time Rogue One rolls around. He also seems set to butt heads with some key characters in the ensemble. Ezra in particular seems drawn in by Saw’s no nonsense results oriented strategy. Ezra has often been marked equally by both his compassion and his desire to see the Empire and Sith defeated. It seems likely that he will be used as a vantage point for the viewer allowing them to see both the allure and danger of a more dangerous and fanatical battle against The Empire.

Space Married

One of the most widely popular and to many the most consistently playfully frustrating aspects of the Rebels ensemble has been the frequently hinted at but never explicitly shown relationship between Hera Syndulla and Kanan Jarrus. According to clips shown at Fan Expo and the first and second trailer for this season, fans may finally get their wish and see the symbolic mother and father of The Ghost crew commit to some form of romantic relationship. Whether this has a happy ending is a whole other thing, but for a few happy moments we are more than likely to see this couple finally, maybe, kiss…or something. At least an emotional forehead touch.

Rukh

Thrawn’s Noghri bodyguard from Timothy Zahn’s classic trilogy of novels is set to make his first canon appearance this season voiced by the legendary Warwick Davis. While his role appears to have been reshuffled to be more of a special agent/assassin in Thrawn’s employ rather than the almost enslaved bodyguard in his Legends appearance, it is unclear just how much Rukh borrows from his original role. Most importantly, is he the one to place once again place the killing blow on The Empire’s blue skinned Admiral? I’m inclined to think not.

Space Wolves

Dave Filoni loves wolves. Like, he really really likes wolves. What would the final season be without a whole lot of giant magical space wolves? The Loth-Wolves so far have remained a mystery, but their importance and almost mystical presence have been stressed throughout season four’s marketing campaign. While we can rest easy knowing that Ahsoka isn’t pulling a Sirius Black and transforming into a wolf like some fan’s speculated, Filoni has stressed that the large white predators are a Bendu-like creature that border the light and the dark. What connection do they really have to the planet of Lothal and the series as a whole? Who knows, but it will be nice to finally get a sense of how they fit into the planet’s culture.

Ahsoka Lives !(?!)

Oh yeah, Ahsoka is back. How? Why? Where? Who knows, but Dave Filoni has confirmed that we will see Ashley Eckstein’s fan favorite former-Jedi at least one more time before the series ends.

Part III: Rampant Speculation

So what does this all mean? Where are we going? Who is that? Where am I? Before I start jumping into the general end game for the series, let’s get a few more pieces of speculation out of the way. Let’s talk characters. Let’s talk deaths. Let’s talk why Nick keeps using repetition to spice up this segment of his article.

Kallus and the Rebellion

While Alexsandr Kallus (yes, that’s officially his first name now) has been a rebel operative for about a full season now, this season marks the first time that the former Imperial operative is an active participant in the Alliance. Sporting a snazzy new outfit and set to make a change in the galaxy, Kallus is sure to be one of the more intriguing aspects of this season going into its start. I highly doubt that Kallus’s assimilation into the rebellion will make for a clean transition. In particular, Kallus seems primed to be a key source of antagonism with Saw Gerrera. As we learned in “The Honorable Ones,” Saw’s partisans were responsible for the deaths of Kallus’s men on Onderon. Similarly, Saw’s own fanaticism makes it seem likely that he won’t be keen on having a former Imperial Intelligence officer enter the Alliance. The two seem primed for a confrontation and Dave Filoni and the creative team would be smart to capitalize off this. The idea of having David Oyelowo and Forest Whitaker face off is too great an opportunity to pass up.  

Thrawn will survive

Grand Admiral Thrawn’s survival is one of the most hotly debated aspects of the series. The iconic Legends turned canon Chiss admiral has been a fan favorite on and off screen. While he more or less came out on top at the conclusion of season three, Thrawn’s fate is a bit more ambiguous this season. Like many iconic Rebels characters, he does not play a role in the original trilogy and for a character of his stature and in-universe importance, it seems unlikely that he is still an active participant in the Imperial war machine at the time the series concludes. We may have actually been given our first clue to the fate of Thrawn at New York Comic Con last weekend. Timothy Zahn, the original creator of the blue skinned villain, announced that he would be writing a sequel to his canon novel, Thrawn, tentatively titled Alliances, which would feature the character teaming up with Darth Vader himself. While this inherently may not seem like a dead giveaway that Thrawn makes it out of the series alive, the original Thrawn novel concluded just before the character’s introduction in the season three premiere episode “Steps into Shadow.” While it is possible that the sequel novel may function as a pseudo-prequel or even a mid-quel, this seems to indicate that Thrawn’s narrative continues past what is seen on screen. Similarly, the final novel in Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath trilogy appears to hint that Thrawn spent much of his later career stationed in the Unknown Regions, although the language is vague and inconclusive.

Expect Lots of Cameos

With the Ghost Crew now firmly a part of the larger rebellion, it seems inevitable that we will be seeing at the very least cameo appearances from numerous famous characters. Bail Organa, Jan Dodonna, and Mon Mothma all seem like givens for speaking roles, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see various others as well. With the continued attempts to establish creative synergy between Rebels and Rogue One, I think it is highly likely that characters such as Admiral Raddus will appear, especially given that Stephen Stanton is already a regularly employed member of the Rebels voice cast. I also wouldn’t be surprised if we got a few more notable cameos such as Cassian Andor or K-2SO. Having two Fulcrum agents such as Cassian and Kallus interact seems like another relationship that would be key to exploit. I also would be very surprised if we finished the series out without seeing Leia or Darth Vader again. Both characters made a splash in their first appearances in the series’ second season and it seems like both characters still have something to contribute to the narrative, Leia in particular.

Only one Ghost Crew member will die

While Hera and Chopper are proved to make it out of the series, Rebels will not pull a Rogue One and end with the death of the majority of its cast. We may not know what fates may befall Ezra, Sabine, Kanan, and Zeb but a massacre seems off the table. For a simple and almost logistical reason, Rebels is a series that is at its heart tonally optimistic and targeted at a mature but younger audience. It isn’t afraid to kill characters, good or evil, this is true, but Rebels is a series that is most concerned with exploring family and the importance of standing up for a larger cause in difficult times. I do not see Dave Filoni, Lucasfilm, and especially Disney XD, sanctioning an ending for the series that reinforces such a bleak understanding of sacrifice and familial bonds. It may be a good ending, but it’s hardly the best and certainly not the route that Rebels will take. That being said, it seems just as unlikely if the entirety of the Rebels cast is to survive. Heroic sacrifice and the cost of war are a theme of Star Wars and Dave Filoni at times has been all too aware of this. I am willing to go on the record and say only one member of the Ghost Crew will perish and there are two likely candidates.

Sabine seems least likely out of the four non-confirmed survivors of the series to perish. Her fate at this point is almost more connected to the Mandalorian struggle than to the rebellion itself. While it may be a poignant end for her story to have her sacrifice her life to bring liberty to her people and reunite her family, it feels out of place and, again, overly bleak for the series to take this route for her character. Besides, with the media blitz that Sabine has received since her involvement in the Forces of Destiny toyline and animated shorts, I doubt we’ve seen the last of our graffiti inspired Mandalorian warrior.

Ezra is this series’ biggest question mark. Rebels is at the end of the day about him and his journey from street rat to Jedi apprentice to freedom fighter. Does the story end in his death? I’m inclined to think not. Why? Well, again, on a practical level, I cannot recall a single television series aimed at a preteen to teen age demographic that ended with the death of its child protagonist, even if, yes, Ezra is pushing the age boundaries for that term at this point. Rebels has to keep in mind both its adult and child viewers and killing off the hero in the hero’s journey may not be the move that best placates both audiences. That being said, in terms of canon, Ezra does create a problem. He is simply too prominent and powerful a figure to be left around in the universe by the time we reach the events of Rogue One and A New Hope. Well, where is Ezra then? I’m getting to that, I promise.

That leaves our two likely death candidates being Garazeb Orrelios and Kanan Jarrus. Zeb is the character I’ve spoken the least about in this write up and frankly there is a reason for this. While he began the series as one of the show’s more compelling and entertaining characters, season three proved just how stagnant a character the Ghost Crew’s Lasat had become. In two strong episodes in Rebels’ second season, Zeb’s character arcs had effectively resolved themselves. Zeb had not only found out that he was not the last surviving member of the Lasats, in fact there is a whole planet of them, but had also reconciled with his longtime nemesis, Agent Kallus. With Kallus now a willing member of the rebellion, this relationship also seems to have reached its natural conclusion. While there is certainly opportunity to develop this dynamic further, it almost feels as if Zeb’s purpose is to function as an extension of Kallus’s character rather than his own. Unfortunately, this makes Zeb the most dispensable and cleanest death for the Rebels team to pull off. Zeb has been with the viewer long enough for his passing to have an emotional impact both in and out of the series, while at the same time avoiding any long term damage to the series dynamics if he were to be taken off the table. Perhaps he sacrifices himself to save the Ghost Crew or Kallus? Or maybe him and Kallus go out together in a blaze of glory? It could go either way.

And then there’s Kanan. This is the hard one, because Freddie Prinze Jr.’s blind Jedi Knight and resident Ghost father figure has been not only one of the strongest characters in Rebels’ ensemble but also one of its most beloved. There is a genuine affection for Kanan. I’m sure a very large portion of the fanbase would love to see him and Hera happily settle down together and raise some Twi-Lek/Human hybrid babies (I mean we know that can happen thanks to The Clone Wars), but, man, things just don’t look good for him. Like Ezra, Kanan’s continued participation in the Alliance creates a massive problem for the larger lore of Star Wars. A practicing Jedi Knight being a participant in the Alliance would surely be noticed and would have come up in conversation, especially considering the addition of Luke Skywalker to their ranks following the Battle of Yavin. Kanan has to be removed from the playing field somehow. While it is possible he could join Ezra on my big series end theory, it is just as likely if not plausible that he becomes one with the Force. This would undoubtedly be the most emotional route the crew could take and it is a very likely possibility.

Part IV: The Ending

So how does Rebels end? How does this saga conclude in a manner that resolves its various plot points but also moves us towards an emotionally satisfying conclusion that capitalizes off the series’ themes? In all honesty, I’m taking a stab in the dark, but it’s one that I am confident in.

Lothal is the key. Not only is it central to the conflict at the series’ conclusion and is it the home at which Rebels began, but there is something about the planet that is special. Hinted at way back in “The Siege of Lothal” by Minister Tua, there is a secret reason for The Empire’s interest in Lothal as a planet. While this has become lost in the dozens of climactic events that have occurred in the seasons since, the secret for the Empire’s presence on the grassy planet has never been answered.

We know for a fact that this cannot be related to the strip mining of Lothal’s resources as Tua confirms that this isn’t the case. Similarly, Thrawn’s use of the planet as a staging ground for the development of the TIE Defender didn’t come to fruition until after he had been relocated to the planet at the start of the third season. Whatever secret lies buried beneath Lothal has been there for quite sometime and has barely if ever been touched upon.

So what is it? We do know that Lothal is a planet filled with hidden Force secrets. From the lost Jedi Temple seen in the first season to the Lothwolfs, Lothal has a rich secret Force culture. We know from the novels and comics that Emperor Palpatine has been stockpiling Force and Sith artifacts to use in outlook stations to observe some strange threat in the Unknown Regions, which is maybe probably Snoke or something . My theory is that there is some secret Force artifact, temple, or object/place of similar significance that The Empire is actively in search of located on Lothal. Dave Filoni has stressed repeatedly that this season will be delving into a great deal of stranger imagery that is not unlike some work they’ve done in The Clone Wars in the past. While he keeps it vague, it is not hard to call to mind images of the Mortis Trilogy or Yoda’s strange walkabout to learn the secrets of the afterlife.

I believe that while much of the Battle for Lothal will remain a military campaign, Ezra and likely Kanan’s story will take a swerve into the search and discovery of what this Force secret may be, and the Lothwolves are likely the first step to finding this. While we do not know enough regarding this secret to truly learn much about it as of yet, my guess is that this artifact sends Ezra to or leads him into the unknown regions and he is forced to abandon the rest of rebellion to follow his quest. Ezra leaves the rebellion war effort to focus on a task that is possibly even more important and even dangerous.

While I believe that this will occur towards the end of the series, my thinking is that perhaps the Force grants Ezra a brief glimpse into the future. He is able to see key events in the rebellion and will learn that the future, while always in motion, will lead to freedom. I suspect that this is where Rebels will show the fates of most of our cast in how they tie into the original trilogy, such as showing Captain Rex fighting on the moon of Endor. It will be vague and likely not mean much out of context to Ezra, but fans will be able to discern where and what is occurring.

With Ezra out of the picture, we end the series with him a new environment and seemingly unknown. We know for a fact that only a scant few voice actors and production supervisors have worked on the final scene of the series and that it has been top secret. I believe we end the series with a conversation between Ahsoka and Ezra. Dave has hinted for a while that we will see Ahsoka Tano again, but the nature of her reappearance has always been vague. We do know that Ahsoka disappeared into the depths of Malachor following her duel with Darth Vader. The promotional TOPS cards (shown above) released in 2016 seem to hint at this as well, even showing Lothwolves. It seems her fate lead her onto the same path that Ezra now finds himself. It ends with both eras of Star Wars animation joining forces to find a common future.

Well, that’s how I see it anyways. I may be completely wrong, but I feel confident that the end will be something at least slightly similar to this.

We will know soon enough. What are your opinions? Where and how do you think Star Wars Rebels will conclude? I would love to hear your thoughts and critiques and predictions.

[goddessmuacheat-blog]

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[bishreview]

Top 20 Films of the Year

I think it’s about time I did something about films so here’s my list for the top 20 movies. This year has seen a rise in quality superhero films, some strong horror flicks, but I’ve felt genres like comedies and science fiction have really dropped. This list will include films that were released to Australian audiences in 2017 but will miss the Oscar nominated ones at the start of the year because they were classified as 2016 still. Enjoy.

20. Spider Man: Homecoming

Superhero films really did well this year, with Spider Man’s first lead film in the MCU a pleasure to watch from start to finish. Focusing on the high school aspect rather than the superhero aspect (like all previous movies of the hero have done), Holland brings the role to new levels of excitement, humour and reliability, making this maybe the best film incarnation of the hero.

19. Split

Split is a different sort of film. It’s a super-villain film, disguised as a psychological thriller, disguised as a horror. James McAvoy’s role as the character Kevin, a person who has multiple personalities, is incredible as he switches between different personalities, with their own characteristics, with ease.  M. Night Shyamalan looks like he’s making a comeback, and it’s exciting to watch.

18. Raw

Have you ever watched a film so gross but so engaging that you can’t look away even though you’re disgusted by what you’re watching? Because that’s Raw. Julia Ducournau’s unique film about cannibalism is incredibly unique and brilliant, whilst also being one of the hardest to watch films I’ve ever seen. Big warning to those with weak stomachs.

17. Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi

The Last Jedi will probably go down as the most decisive Star Wars film ever. Disney have made it clear that they are avoiding canon in their trilogy, turning away from the comics and focusing on the films. With The Last Jedi they took it further, taking risks throughout the whole movie. In doing so, they made the most unique Star Wars film yet, and maybe the strongest since the original trilogy, focusing on the balance of the force instead of the usual ‘good vs. evil’.

16. John Wick: Chapter Two

John Wick is such a brilliantly written character. Although the second instalment in the hit-man, revenge franchise looks more into his past and the organisation he was a part of, we still know little about the ‘Boogeyman’. Keeanu Reeves is brilliant as the titular character and Derek Kolstad has again written another amazing story, creating one of the most interesting and unique cinematic universes.

15. A Ghost Story

There are some movies which capture your imagination and place you in a story that you can escape in. A Ghost Story is a different story. It’s heartbreaking but makes you feel warm. Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara are brilliant as the two leads, holding a chemistry which is hard to create so naturally. Although it’s slow at times, there is a certain beauty throughout the movie, drawing you into the love story even at it’s slowest moments

14. Logan Lucky

Logan Lucky is a really fun film. With a great cast including Adam Driver, Channing Tatum, Riley Keough, and Daniel Craig, the heist film is an entertaining watch. Although heist films sometimes feel cliched, Logan Lucky utilises the American car racing competition NASCAR as its setting, allowing the film to explore a different range of characters, making it one of the most intriguing heist movies in years.

13. Wonder Woman

The DCEU is getting really hard to watch. Justic League, released late this year, was more of the same average flicks which has plagued the franchise since Man of Steel. Before that though was Wonder Woman, the cinematic universe’s saving grace. Gal Gadot is incredible as the iconic superhero, carrying the movie all the way through with her engaging performance. Mid-way through the year I stated this film was the saving grace of the franchise, and that could never be more true now.

12. The Big Sick

Rom-com’s have never really been my thing. I often feel their stories have been done over and over again and that the genre doesn’t try to be do anything different. The Big Sick though is a story which hasn’t even been attempted by the industry yet, a movie about religious and cultural traditions and progressing forward with them. Kumail Nanjiani explores his real life story in such a tongue in cheek way that you can’t help but love the story and the characters.

11. The Lost City of Z

I was remembering this film the other day (I’ve only watched it twice) and the feelings I got from it still gives me the chills. The exploration of the jungle in James Gray’s film about real life explorer Percy Fawcett is gorgeous. It’s a slow burning movie that depicts Fawcett’s addiction to the Amazon rainforest in such a mesmerising way that you often forget that he’s searching for gold, rather just wanting to live in the Amazon. Charlie Hunman is brilliant as the lead and it’s a movie that will stick in your mind for a long time.

10. Thor: Ragnarok

2017 was a great year for the MCU, and Thor: Ragnarok was the shining light. Although the previous Thor films have been some of the more weaker entries in the franchise, Ragnarok was able to give the titular character his best story yet, combining the comic with the Planet Hulk storyline. With incredible performances by Chris Hemsworth, Cate Blanchett, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Tessa Thompson and Jeff Goldblum, NZ director Taika Waititi created the best and most fun Thor that has ever hit the big screen.

9. The Beguilded

The Beguilded was a strange watch. Based on the 1971 novel of the same name, the film explores lust, forbidden love, obsession, fear and hate in a stable manner, balancing these themes effortlessly. Sofia Coppola has deservedly won awards for this film and will hopefully be nominated for a few more after being snubbed at the Golden Globes.

8. Silence

If I were to pick a film that I have seen this year that still disturbs me it would be Silence. Set in 17th century Japan, during the Tokugawa shogunate, Silence follows two Christian priests (Adam Driver and Andrew Garfield) trying to track down their mentor (Liam Neeson) whilst continuing to spread their outlawed religion. The movie is very graphic and doesn’t hold back on the Crucifixion techniques that were implemented during this period. Garfield also delivers the performance of his career, pulling you in emotionally to his character’s experience. 

7. War On The Planet of the Apes

It was always going to be hard to complete the Apes trilogy, as the first two films of the franchise were both amazing. War though is best of the three. An incredibly emotional experience as we watch Caesar and his fellow apes fight for survival against humans. Andy Serkis is again incredible as Caesar, continuing to prove that he’s the best actor in a motion capture suit.

6. Logan

Superhero movies were truly a shining light in 2017. The fourth comic book movie on this list (and the highest), Logan (based on Old Man Logan comic) is an incredible experience. Allowing the movie to have a restricted rating was a risk but it paid of as it allowed the character to be at his brutal best. Hugh Jackman will always be Wolverine and Logan was a perfect way to send off nearly two decades of the character on the big screen.

5. A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls (can also be called How to Tear Someone’s Heart Out) is the saddest film of the year. It hits you deep in the feels, ensuring the audience cries their eyes out by the end of the film. Lewis MacDougall is incredible as the lead, and the supporting cast are brilliant, especially Liam Neeson as the voice of The Monster. The film blends a heartbreaking story about cancer with a beautiful fantasy world, utilising water-colour animations to bring the audience into the imaginary world. 

4. T2: Trainspotting

T2 has been a long time coming. A sequel to the incredible original (Trainspotting) has been rumoured for a while, and Danny Boyle has finally delivered two decades on. Bringing back the beloved Scottish gang, led by Ewan McGregor, T2 doesn’t hold back on themes of getting old, reminiscing on youth, and trying to make up for the mistakes of youth. With all four of the characters being on a path which joins them back together, fans of the original will feel blessed with this sequel, whilst new fans will straight away connect with their stories. 

3. The Disaster Artist

The Disaster Artist is a perfect homage to the greatest film of all time, The Room. Delving into the creation of the aforementioned masterpiece, The Disaster Artist is about more than having a laugh at the people who were involved in making it. Instead it allows a sympathetic view on the desire to be an actor, to create film as an art form. Both Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero are respectfully portrayed by the Franco brothers, allowing a look into the hardships they faced during the making of The Room. It’s a fantastic story, both hilarious and relatable, and could be the Franco brothers best performances.

2. Dunkirk

I’ve always felt like Christopher Nolan has an obsession with outdoing himself every movie. After the epic (albeit flawed epic) which was Interstellar, it looked like he was going to stick on the sci-fi route which had dominated so many of his previous films. Instead he made Dunkirk a history piece about the Allies biggest failure in World War II, the loss of France. The film is tiring to watch, moving slowly and feeling like it’s in a constant route, as every small victory is followed by the plan going wrong. Fionn Whitehead is terrific in his debut mainstream role, and Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy and Harry Styles also bring in strong performances, suggesting that Dunkirk may be Nolan’s best work.

1. Get Out

I watched Get Out again last night and it still hits me the same way as it did the first time I watched it. Jordan Peele’s directorial debut is incredible. The comedian jumps into a genre unfamiliar to him, in a horror/thriller, and he delivers. Get Out is a unsettling film, raising issues of racism (and anti-racism) without making it overbearing. Daniel Kaluuya is incredible as the lead and will hopefully get rewarded during award season, and the supporting cast of the film (notably Lakeith Stanfield and Betty Gabriel) help create a chilling atmosphere throughout the whole film. The twist ending also may be one of the most impactful non-events in film history, with the expectation of what is going to happen making more of a statement than what actually happens (it will make more sense once you see it). Get Out is an incredible film, close to the best for this decade so far, and my number one film for 2017.

That’s my film list. It came out later than I wanted it to but I’ve just been hammered with work at the moment. I’ve completed the Top 50 Singles of 2017 list and that will be released tomorrow so stay tuned for that. Thanks for the support and hopefully you’ve enjoyed this list.