#also interesting that he calls himself an undertaker in this version but still does the last rites & stuff

[ofdreamsanddoodles]

anyway obsessed with the fact that meryl almost hit wolfwood with her Fucking Car. vash is in the backseat like “i’m the worst person ever im responsible for the death of an entire town i don’t even deserve to eat” & then he wakes up from his nap & meryls like “I THINK I KILLED A PRIEST.” that’s too many emotions to experience at once

[thevindicativevordan]

Comics this week ?

Superman #10 - Wish the Old West story had gone longer and Terra-Man’s showing wasn’t as good as I hoped, but Redondo’s art still made this an enjoyable issue. Ending confirms Lena II is not the person wearing the Lexcorp power armor. Betting it's her aunt, Lena I (Lex's sister), last we saw of her she was imprisoned under Lexcorp tower by Lex during his SuperLex phase. Guess where the Revenge Squad breaks into during their assault on Lexcorp Tower? With Lex's extended family becoming more prominent, she's the only one left who hasn't shown up and is still alive.

Superman: Lost #10 - Final issue is out and it’s… interesting. On one hand the science of it all kinda makes sense and I can sorta follow along with how Priest managed to cut the proverbial Gordian knot he tied for himself. It all ends up being a fakeout of course, Hope’s baby isn’t Clark’s at all, it’s the kid of the guy she killed. Clark yanks a version of himself from earlier in the timeline and sends him back to Lois so she can get her husband back rather than the stranger he’s become. It’s an interesting approach in line with Priest’s love of messing with the timeline. Emotionally though… I dunno I don’t like how Priest ended up doing fake outs at every turn. Given this ends with there being two Supermen, one who is still the “classic” version and the other who has changed so much in 20 years, I don’t get why he didn’t just do the same story except Clark actually did cheat and had a kid with Hope. Ending would have been the same, he yanks an "unspoiled" version of himself from earlier in the timeline to be with Lois while white suit Superman accepts he’s changed too much to return to his old life. That would have been more satisfying to me personally, and taken more advantage of this being an Elseworld. Enjoyed the story all the same.

World’s Finest #23 - Gog's motive here reminds me of the motivation for the Big Bad of Arcaneum. Stories where the afterlife is a real thing raise interesting moral questions that I enjoy seeing explored. What Gog is doing is monstrous, but his plan to kill Darkseid via a suicide mission that will also guarantee all the heroes who die undertaking it get into Heaven/Valhalla is super fucked up because it does make a twisted sort of sense. If you know Valhalla is real and you know how to get there, is it a terrible thing to ensure that a bunch of people go there even if you use reprehensible means? They get to live forever in bliss after all. Of course the Supermen aptly demonstrate my feelings regarding that this issue. Looks like Darkseid is going to thin out the heroic ranks regardless unfortunately, maybe Gog will get what he wants after all.

GL: WJ #5 - I can't decide if John continuing to use a construct of his sister to set his mom at ease is wholesome or fucked up. Can something be both at the same time? I feel like it will end badly. Totally get why he does it, had a similar experience with my grandma. There's no happy ending where dementia is concerned. It does call attention to how both Stewart and the Queen are using the dead for their own purposes. Stewart is obviously morally better, he’s not enslaving his sister’s soul and all he wants is to help his mom, but it is a point of overlap between the two. Another great moment is where he tells Shepherd that heroes are as fragile as the people they protect, and flashes to his mom was so good. This series has done a great job showing John's emotional core beneath his stoic exterior.

JLvGvK #4 - Aquaman unleashing a Kraken to beat back the Monsterverse Kaijus is the kind of dumb fun I’m here for.

Hellblazer #1 - Team doesn’t miss a beat from where they left off, great start. For a second I was hoping to see Levi Kramel show up instead of Holland, but the swamp being turned into a golf course is the first acknowledgement I’ve seen of how the South has become more “business friendly” since the 80s when Moore wrote about the area.

Wonder Woman #5 - As a "Circe is Wonder Woman's archnemesis" believer, it made me happy that Sovereign was nervous about recruiting her and conceded she might possibly use him to her advantage rather than the other way around. Turning Steel into a pig before accepting the offer made me cackle too. Also as someone who thinks Grail doesn't have to suck, Sovereign respecting her enough to recruit her in person was a nice touch. Grail being the evil dominatrix certainly is one way to build her up as a foil for Diana. Glad King is not having all of the Wondy villains meekly follow Sovereign's lead, they all show that they're not lackies like Steel is by bullying him when he tries to recruit him. What the hell is going on with Angle Man though, I'm intrigued. Yara sounded off but I do think King mostly understood what drives each of the Girls. Yara's a hothead who cares underneath all her bravado, Cassie is the tomboy who became more comfortable with herself after meeting Diana, and Donna is Diana's little sister and thus the most like her. Donna challenging Diana to playing video games actually made me smile, do I like Donna now? I don’t know if I want to connect with that character given her convoluted nature, but King is winning me over. And yeah I loved how they decided fuck their oaths actually, they were going to help Diana like it or not.

Fantastic Four #16 - Lovely issue featuring the kids, I’m a sucker for whenever it’s shown that while she might be smarter than her dad, Val is still just a kid and makes mistakes. I also like how Franklin is portrayed as a capable pilot, something he has in common with his Uncle Johnny.

[paradife-loft]

Close reading all the Jin Guangyao scenes: episode 22

Episode 10 | Episode 11 | Episode 23

Alright, now we’re getting somewhere! Still a pretty small amount of content in this episode, comparatively, but it’s fun and features a truly wonderful outfit so I am certainly not going to complain!

This episode, of course, features Round 1 of Meng Yao’s confrontation with Nie Mingjue in Wen Ruohan’s throne room while working as a spy. I think I need to mention at this point just how much I love these early partial versions of the scenes between Nie Mingjue and Meng Yao, that we see later explored more fully during the Empathy session with NMJ’s head? Just this idea and execution of partial context being given before the story does its definite “reveal” about JGY as the one who killed him - I think it does an interesting job of making the viewer complicit in the theme of forming opinions based on incomplete information, giving the viewer only a partial look at who Meng Yao is in the same way that the characters themselves only ever get a partial glimpse.

...Which may make it a little ironic that what I’m going to say here is definitely informed by hindsight out of necessity, but ah well!

The first thing I want to say is that I do see Meng Yao as playing a role in these scenes too (just as much as he does when he’s being the polite host), as opposed to dropping all personality masks and acting as his unfiltered self. The clearest example here for why I think that can be seen in the rebuke he delivers (yelling!) to Mingjue: “How dare you be so rude in front of Wen-zongzhu!” - like, this is not the sort of concern that he displays anywhere else in his scenes; he’s not Wen Chao, to take a lack of subservience to the Wen clan as an infuriating personal slight worthy of immediate violence. While he no doubt appreciates the ability (and indeed, expectation) to shed his subservient manners for a much more commanding, threatening air, this reaction is one deployed in service of the persona of someone who’s come to serve the Wen sect out of a desire for vengeance, angry at being cast out from one of their enemies’ sects - as is the smirky, “been a while~” line he greets Mingjue with.

(I wonder, also - given the speculation I settled on regarding episode 10 - if part of Meng Yao’s story to Wen Ruohan for what happened with the Nie sect was indeed something along the lines of, “I already wanted to serve your interests; I was going to hand you Xue Yang when your son came calling, but Nie-zongzhu discovered me and cast me out as unloyal.”)

So, after that, we move on to Mingjue breaking out of Meng Yao’s control of the scene, taking back Baxia, wrecking the room full of Wen disciple guards, and taking a full flying leap straight toward Wen Ruohan, because if a stealthy assassination mission doesn’t work, might as well go back to what you’re best at!

And this is Meng Yao’s reaction to said flying leap! His face looks so worried here! (Also in pain. Honey.) Given the kind of power he’s already seen Wen Ruohan throw around, I highly doubt that’s worry on behalf of WRH’s ability to handle an already-roughed-up NMJ flying at him. More like, he still absolutely cares about Mingjue and doesn’t want to see him turned into a crispy puppet sect leader by the power of the Yin Iron. Especially since he continues looking over, worried, when NMJ is knocked out from the bolt of energy that’s hurled him back onto the floor.

Oh man, and then the next little bit where he’s struggling to get back up? Hand trembling, almost falling again as he tries to support his weight with the one arm to push himself up? I love these little embodied indicators we get of how he’s not remotely as sturdy as most of the other characters, due to his low cultivation.

Which! Speaking of!

It’s the “still” in this line that interests me a lot, actually! We know that in CQL canon, the Wen sect will clearly teach cultivation to people that most other sects probably wouldn’t bother with, if they see some reason to, i.e. Xue Yang most obviously (but also possibly Wang Lingjiao? It’s unclear whether she has no spiritual power at all, or simply very very little). So given that Meng Yao is saying “must still trouble” as opposed to something else that wouldn’t imply an expected change in ability over time - my bet is that Wen Ruohan has arranged for someone to instruct Meng Yao in cultivation, despite his very late start. It might even be the first place where he’s been given actual cultivation instruction? The evidence on whether or not he’s been taught while living at the Unclean Realm is pretty scant, unfortunately, and I can think of arguments in favor of either side.

And that’s.... pretty much it for this episode! He closes out the scene fade-to-black watching and waiting to see what Wen Ruohan is going to do now that his Yin Iron modem & router setup seems to be on the fritz, with us none the wiser about what his ultimate intentions are here; whether Wen Ruohan or Lan Xichen or both have been deceived as to his true purpose in this role.

I do actually think there’s a decent reading to be made that Meng Yao could well have infiltrated Heavenly Nightless City with the intention of playing double agent so that he could come out on top regardless of who eventually won the day; he certainly undertakes a good many courses of action that he feels personal regret about for the unfortunate outcomes of others caught in the crossfire, while still believing them necessary sacrifices to the goal of his own safety and advancement.

And while I was originally going to say here that my ultimate read was that he was working truthfully for the Sunshot army’s victory only, taking the costuming choice of leaving his hair done up in the Nie sect style as a clue intending to indicate his actual allegiances... Honestly? I think the costume cues of Nie hair combined with Wen robes do just as good a job of signalling uncertainty, dubious loyalty and conflicting feelings, both to us as viewers and as an outward sign of what his own internal reality is at this point.

While I do think he’d choose the Sunshot army if forced to pick a side he’d prefer to win... I also don’t think his pragmatism allows him at this point to throw his emotional lot (much less his actual plans) entirely in with either outcome. He has reasons to be emotionally attached to aspects of his life lived on both sides of the war.

[percabeth4life]

The Prince of the Sea

First Chapter || Previous Chapter || Next Chapter || AO3

Triton heard the rumors from the fish. The whispers of a child controlling the water in the river. A child that smelled strangely mortal and yet a layer of the sea clung stubbornly to them.

Triton eventually went to see this child, perhaps a child of a minor god was learning how to use their powers?

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

The child was so much more than a child of a minor sea god.

Triton watched him manipulate the water better than half the students of Atlantis’s elite academy. He watched him freeze it.

The amount of skill that took was ridiculous. Ice does not come easy to those of the mid seas. The northern most and southern most were skilled in it, but this child was definitely not of those.

The eye’s gave him away.

They were the same eye’s Triton had. The same eye’s that every child of Poseidon ever had.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

He watched his half-brother for a time.

He wasn’t sure what he was doing at the start, but it seemed he was cleaning the river?

Did he lose something in it?

Triton watched though, he watched as the boy learned to raise the water, learned to make waves, spoke with the fish, studied some of the harder magics of the sea, seemingly without even realizing.

He spoke with an eel named Elli a lot.

Triton did not understand this spawn of his father’s. How was his scent so weak when he obviously knows his heritage? His presence only felt faintly of immortal power. It was strange.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

His name was Percy.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

He knows nothing of his heritage.

He has no idea of the gods and no idea who Triton is.

Triton was… confused.

He called his control of the water, waterbending. Triton would allow it for now.

Triton studied him more though, he was cleaning in the middle of winter. That was a dangerous time for mortals even today. He was young, he shouldn’t be risking his health like that.

Triton wasn’t sure he approved of a foolishly reckless half-brother, even if it was to help the river.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

His half-brother asked if he was named after… himself. Triton had to hold back a laugh.

His brother was powerful yet ignorant, a dangerous combination. But right now, one that kept him hidden. Triton would not destroy that protection yet, he was not needlessly cruel.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton hid his knowledge of Percy from his father. He was good at keeping a straight face.

Triton also didn’t tell his mother though, she may not be vengeful but she would be rightfully angry with Poseidon. And that would give it away.

Poseidon didn’t seem to check on Percy often, perhaps because he didn’t want Amphitrite or Triton to know about him.

Jokes on him, Triton was already interacting with Percy.

He was careful not to visit him on days that Poseidon wasn’t busy though, no need to make it easy for him to find out about their meetings.

He wondered if his father had noticed Percy training his Hydrokinesis? (Or Triton supposed it was actually his Thermomancy, seeing how he wasn’t only controlling water. Ice control was extremely difficult for his heritage, perhaps he was able to do it so easily because he was emulating this water bending he spoke of.)

He doubted Father had noticed yet, his father cared but he would be too afraid to check often. It would not just be to keep Triton and Amphitrite from knowing but also to prevent any other immortal from noticing him checking on someone so often and investigating.

That would reveal Percy quicker than anything else.

It didn’t matter though, right now it worked in Triton’s favor.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton told off those two river god’s who’d been spying on his half-brother so much.

They had better things to do, maybe they could clean their own damn rivers instead of letting a child do it.

Truly shames to water immortals.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton decided that his half-brother should learn to use a trident.

It was the weapon of their family, and he would dishonor them to not learn it.

Percy was determined to prove himself more skilled than Triton expected. He made a trident out of ice. He wasn’t even trying to show off, but it was impressive.

Sure, it was brittle, but he could make actual shapes now, and they held for a short time.

He would be strong one day.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton could not believe his half-brother got expelled for doing as he was told.

So, what if they got dropped in a shark tank? Sharks weren’t dangerous anyways. They were absolute sweethearts as long as you didn’t try to hurt them. He’d had a dozen pet sharks over the years!

Honestly that guide should get fired.

Perhaps he should introduce them to a true dangerous sea creature…

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton decided he’d let Percy play around long enough, plus there were some incidents in the sea that were taking more of his attention.

If he’d been raised in the sea, he would already know the basics of sea law and culture. He could not remain ignorant there, not if he was to be a prince of the sea.

Thankfully, Triton didn’t need to worry about that weakening the protections around his interesting half-brother. Percy was convinced there was an underwater society. Triton could work with that.

He gave him books, just a few. It would be a good base for future lessons.

He also had to give him a dictionary for the Halmaheran language apparently, he didn’t know it. What did land dwellers teach anyways?

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton was not pleased that he’d had to go away, sure he’d expected to be busier with the incidents happening, but this was far worse than he’d expected.

There was a massive oil spill.

It required all hands-on-deck to try and save as many lives as possible, and to try and relocate all the coral.

It was a massive undertaking with a lot of merfolk and sea beings involved.

Triton was working overtime both in his duties as a prince to reassure the people and work with the rescue crews to show that he was willing to help, and also in his duties as a messenger and ruler of the tides.

He barely had time to breathe for over two months.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

He finally had the time to check on Percy again.

He needed to be sure he’d been doing his reading and practicing the Halmaheran language.

He only spoke to Percy in Halmaheran, make sure he could get used to it. Percy actually did pretty good.

The river seemed dirtier than the last time he was there though.

His eyes narrowed, that was suspicious.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

His half-brother just called him a great friend.

Were they friends?

Triton hadn’t had a real friend in a long time.

His last few… they hadn’t made it to the current day.

And then there was Athena.

He supposed he would accept his half-brother calling him a friend.

It certainly meant nothing to Triton, he was an immortal, he was not attached to his mortal brother.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

He couldn’t believe the little brat didn’t tell him about his birthday!

Birthday’s were extremely important for children!

This would not stand.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

He gave Percy his presents, and almost turned to hunt down this mortal ‘Smelly Gabe’ who apparently wouldn’t allow his brother to properly celebrate his birthday.

How dare he.

He held his anger in though, watching Percy find the sand dollars he’d spent a week carefully compressing and shaping, along with the bracelet that he’d made for Percy.

The coral conch shell charm on it would keep him updated to Percy’s health.

He had a feeling he’d want that in the future.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

I don’t get my brother’s obsession with going beyond in his thermomancy.

It’s a powerful magic, but he’s doing well so far. He should focus on using weapons now as well. He was able to make a solid trident that didn’t break so easily now, why did he need to work on drawing water from plants at his age?

Thermomancy was a dangerous magic, he was doing excellent at it but going too far to harm his source of power, the power he inherited from father. I tried to distract him from it.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

So apparently, Percy learned how to draw water from plants.

Well, if his brother wanted to work so much on that then Triton supposed he could humor him, at least then he would know when his brother was practicing.

Triton assigned him homework on drawing moisture from other sources, ones that shouldn’t be too hard with his base of skill.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton was touched by the gift Percy had gotten him.

It was clearly hand-made, it still radiated Percy’s power.

The bracelet fit his color theme, and the charm was a sparkling version of his trident. It was very well made.

He wasn’t sure his trident charm in return was as good, but Percy seemed happy, so Triton simply decided to get better presents for him in the future.

This one was practical, and something Poseidon should’ve done if he wasn’t off pretending Percy didn’t exist.

Maybe Triton was a little bitter on Percy’s behalf.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton added assignments for Percy to do.

Things that he should’ve been raised learning, Triton would fix his father’s failings.

He made sure to quiz Percy often, making sure that he was up to date on current events and knew about the different forms of magic he may face.

He made sure he knew the territories to avoid and how to identify them.

He made sure his brother could be the perfect prince when needed.

Triton would make sure he knew his heritage.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton couldn’t help being impressed.

He’d guessed already which magics Percy would probably be best at.

Thermomancy for one, but that was common in children of the sea (or at least Hydrokinesis was). Though Percy seemed to have a special knack for it.

He had the potential for Siren’s song, but that would have to be trained. It had some instinctual parts yes, but to really unlock it’s power you had to focus it. Percy would require a lot of time before he was truly skilled at it.

But what Percy had shown a subconscious skill for was Purification.

It wasn’t considered a dangerous magic at all, but it is powerful. And it was extremely useful these day’s with all the pollution around.

Percy had a clear talent for it, cleansing the water around him even without meaning to.

It seemed he’d started practicing some of it, though being him, he’d immediately jumped to one of the more advanced forms.

Sand dollars are extremely valuable when made by a Purifier (someone skilled in Purification). Triton could make some of course, and he was rather good at purification magic out of necessity, but Percy had an instinctive knack for it that was rare.

Triton needed to encourage that.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Of course, another of his brother’s schools were run by complete imbeciles.

Expelling him because an exhibit collapsed, how idiotic. He was not pleased.

But he gave Percy more work, distracting him from the expulsion.

He gave him more history to study, he decided to work with him with other weapons. A sword would be a good weapon for now. Perhaps knives next.

He still worked with him on the trident though, that was the weapon of the sea and the one he must know.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Those filthy idiotic immortal pieces of trash told Percy that he was a demigod.

How dare they, they ruined all the work Triton had put into keeping Percy untouched from the immortal world.

Percy had questions, Triton would have to be careful about answering them, less he reveal too much and completely destroy his little brother’s protections.

But first, he paid a visit to those minor river gods.

No one would miss them.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

He played along in court, he needed to see Percy, but his father had requested his presence. So, he went to his father.

Playing the prince was tiring right now, he just wanted to talk to Percy about what he’d learned.

His only reassurance was the conch shell pin that was connected to Percy’s charm. It showed that Percy was safe.

He should give Percy a way to escape from danger.

Just in case.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Explaining the history to his little brother was… difficult.

He had to be careful, he couldn’t tell him about certain things, things that may lead to him understanding and accepting the immortal world around him.

Him accepting the sea was one thing, that didn’t damage his protection, but for him to accept the immortal world as his… that couldn’t be allowed. Not yet.

So, Triton made sure to explain it, made sure to tell him he would be in danger, because he would not allow his brother to be harmed.

Percy is his brother.

The sea protects its own.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Percy was getting better at purification magic. Triton was glad.

Percy’s gift was impressive, he kept it in his room.

The purifying stone probably wouldn’t work long. But it would last a few weeks probably. Triton liked it regardless.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton made sure his brother had an escape route now. The pearl would bring him straight to Triton if he was in danger.

Hopefully he would never need it.

He also gave him a book on the Siren’s Song.

It was one of the most basic though, just describing it in detail and explaining some of the most basic exercises to train it.

It wouldn’t help him much yet, not without an instrument to practice putting his power through first.

Using your voice was both the easiest and the hardest way, it was the most powerful, but the hardest to control once you’d unlocked it. It was always best to start with an instrument.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Percy was attracting monsters now.

He was very lucky it was a young, weak, empousai, the younger ones tend to reform slowly. He should be safe for a while from other monsters hearing about it.

He needs to get better at fighting with water though if it’s going to be his go to. Exploding the pipes was extreme, but if he was going to turn to the ocean first, then he would need to improve on controlling it in a fight.

Triton started drilling him in it.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton couldn’t help but be pleased, Percy had a large interest in the sea magics.

He seemed to have a strong affinity for some of them.

That usually came with drawbacks in other areas though.

Percy was young now, so it was hard to tell. Perhaps his mortal half would balance it?

Nonetheless, he was more than willing to help Percy learn more.

Even if it meant he had to go learn more, he’d never paid a huge amount of attention in those classes. His skills lay more in other areas.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton spent a lot of time studying sea magics, so he could teach Percy more.

His father was pleased that Triton was showing an interest at last.

Ugh.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

So maybe Triton assigned a Cyclops to watch over Percy this year.

It didn’t do any good it seems.

He was not pleased that the school was just as idiotic as the last five.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton got Percy a Rainbow stone.

Making them is ridiculously hard, but he was able to convince (read: bribe) Natia, one of the strongest in enchantments that he knew, to make it.

He added the protections himself though, he didn’t trust her to not try to tap into it.

The Rainbow stone’s were almost shaped like gems, made of a pale white stone that seemed flecked with rainbow glitter. Channeling a little power into it would make a rainbow form.

He also made sure his brothers had drachmas to pay for it if he needed to.

He was touched by the hair pin his brother made for him. He quite liked it, it matched his trident well.

The sand dollars though, those were very impressive. He was already matching the skills of mer’s Triton knew that had practiced for many years.

Percy may be skilled in his Thermomancy, but his purification was where he truly shined.

Father was confused as to where he was getting the small presents.

Triton didn’t tell him.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton was annoyed that his little brother’s school didn’t accommodate his differences. He was of the sea not the land, yet they expected him to learn through land methods?

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

The Cyclops didn’t succeed in keeping Percy out of trouble, despite literally being an alibi, somehow they failed to get Percy out of trouble.

How troublesome.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

There was a small event coming up, between some of the younger high-ranking merfolk.

Normally he wouldn’t attend those, but it would be a good introduction for Percy.

He could make up a backstory for him and did.

They wouldn’t suspect much, Triton had helped do introductions before, usually because he was ordered to or as a favor, but they didn’t know that.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Making the stone to give Percy the tails he would have if he were changed to a merman was amusing.

His little brother was delighted by it.

It was… adorable.

He was determined to keep his little brother out of the mess that the prophecy would cause. He wouldn’t let this one go. Percy was his brother, he would protect him at all costs.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

He was extremely pleased with how Percy handled the little event.

He showed he was strong, he showed he was polite, and he showed that he knew how to stand up for himself too.

Triton of course took over when the one brat thought that they could speak out of turn in his presence, but otherwise he let Percy learn.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton took Percy to a few events after that. He wanted to be sure that Percy could handle the politics that come with being high ranking in the sea.

He was doing well and had made some friends.

He found it every so amusing that Percy didn’t quite understand yet that the brighter and more visible you were in the sea, the more dangerous you generally were.

Percy’s tail glittered, even in the dark of the sea depths. It’s blues of many shades shone, the flowy additions almost glowing in the dark.

Percy was befriending quite dangerous merfolk to match.

Samoa was all white, though that wasn’t natural, she’d created a magic dye that lasted for a few years. Her hair was naturally a brown. She just wanted to seem scarier. She was very good at making sand dollars though. Her and Percy were bonding over that.

She was probably the least dangerous of his friends.

Elei was dangerous, but not in magic. She was the daughter of one of the generals of father’s army. She was trained as such too. Though she was young, and thus had little experience, she was still a good sparring partner for Percy. She usually won. Her hair and tail was a deep red, though it seemed green in the dark of the ocean. Her tail was also one of the sleekest he’d seen, a sign that she had zero skill in magic.

Masina was a rising expert in controlling the ocean currents. They could weave them in ways that most trained for years couldn’t even begin to imagine. And they were only a little older than Percy. Their tail was a blend of blues and yellows, some dashes of pinks mixed in as well. It was bright and very flowy, like Percy’s. They tried teaching Percy how to use the currents, but he definitely did not have an affinity for the currents.

He said he felt he would lose himself to them. That’s alright, it was a sign that the current’s just weren’t for him.

Triton couldn’t help but find it amusing.

Fetu and Lagi were twins, both were skilled in different magics.

Fetu had an unnatural talent for the Siren’s song, and many were wary of him for it. Lagi was one of the best healers around. Both were rarer talents, but their parents had been powerful themselves, so it made sense. Their tails were matching yellows, bits of orange shining through them, and they were flowy, though not quite as much as Percy’s. Their hair was obnoxiously bright yellow, a real sign of the danger they posed.

Triton was glad Percy was making such powerful friends, they would be great help to him should he need it.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

The summer solstice was nice.

Percy had given him a box made of ice.

Percy seemed to like ice a lot. The runes were carved well, he was pleased with it.

He also liked the sand dollars. They were very well made.

Percy had clearly improved a lot, they now drew in power like they were supposed to. They weren’t quite perfect, drawing in the power far slower than a proper sand dollar, but he was improving.

He gave Percy a hair pin that he’d had made for him.

His hair was getting long after all, he needed it out of his face for battles.

Also, it may or may not be enchanted to keep him safe from poisons. Not many would be able to affect him with his Purification skills, but better safe than sorry.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Getting an enchanted waterskin for Percy’s birthday required a bit of work.

He could make one, but that would clearly have his signature on it. That wasn’t something easy to hide.

He ended up managing to get one when they had to go to a… dinner…. With Oceanus. His grandfather.

His mother didn’t want them to fight too much, but father was always very tense when they interacted with him.

The important thing was that Oceanus let him take one of his old waterskins (the proper name for this one was Oceanskin, but Percy probably wouldn’t care).

They were useful when on land, but Oceanus hadn’t left the sea in ages. It was one of the few that just felt like the sea in general, not a specific signature.

Percy was delighted with it, so it was worth the curious gleam in Oceanus’s eye when he left.

Hopefully Oceanus didn’t try to investigate.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Percy was back at school, and apparently had gained a sense for curses.

It wasn’t that surprising, he probably had the ability sooner, just hadn’t been around anything cursed.

It was a useful skill to have, very valuable. Father always had a skilled Purifier to check over any gifts given to those at the courts.

Nonetheless, Triton got him more books on Purification. He supposed it was time for Percy to branch out more.

Curse breaking was where purifiers really shone. Though none were skilled enough to break the great curses, perhaps one day.

He was curious how quickly Percy would get the hang of it.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Percy got him a variety of foods for the fall equinox.

Really that wasn’t good, Triton liked them a lot, and Percy had infected him with a matching love of blue food.

It was hard to explain to father.

He wondered how father didn’t know about Triton interacting with Percy yet.

He wasn’t exactly hiding it anymore.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton had worked hard to get Percy some clothes fit for a prince for the winter solstice.

It was hard because he’d never needed to buy them. Everyone was confused and interested in his sudden interest.

Father made a comment about him finding a lover.

Disgusting, as if any land dwellers were worth his interest except for Percy.

Honestly merfolk were so nosy.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Percy’s teacher was annoying. Triton didn’t like them at all.

He suggested Percy use school to practice his “princely” skills. Might as well, it would be good practice when away from the sea.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

The stone horse Percy had enchanted was impressive. They were obviously done by a novice, but he could see the work his little brother put into it, he approved.

He kept it in his room, it made it feel just a little safer.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

He loved the equinox, Percy got him a sunflower preserved in ice, they were really pretty flowers.

Poseidon had finally noticed that something was up, as had Amphitrite.

Apparently the three years of disappearing a lot to talk with Percy, and the last few months of literally bringing Percy down here didn’t give them a hint. But him bringing home a sunflower did.

Go figure.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton got Percy a star stone. They were one of his favorite things when he was a child. To see the stars underwater, he thought his little brother would appreciate it.

It was after all, something his father had failed to give Percy.

The stone could project the stars around, but otherwise it was almost like those snowglobes Percy had told him about, except with stars.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

So perhaps Percy’s latest school flooding had been his fault. But the school deserved it.

That pathetic excuse of a teacher expelling Percy just because he had been kicked out of schools in the past.

She was trash.

On another note, he got Percy more books on purification magic. It made sense that he failed to fully release the curse when Triton finally met this “Guinea pig”, though now it was a fish.

Circe was too powerful for Percy’s current level. His attempt to release the curse simply morphed it, changing it to more sea based instead.

It was a pretty good first attempt though.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton got Percy more new clothes. He needed to be sure Percy had a full wardrobe by the time he went to camp. That would be when Poseidon would notice.

Triton was perhaps being a little petty, but he wanted to rub it in his fathers face a little that he had been the one to raise Percy, he had been the one to teach him of his heritage.

Poseidon had done nothing for Percy, it had all been Triton.

He also got Percy an Ocarina, it was a good starting instrument for Siren’s Song. It would help Percy improve his curse breaking to mix Purification and Siren’s Song.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Triton liked the geode snow globe Percy made him. It was sparkly and rather unique.

It also matched his tail.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

He thought it was hilarious that Percy’s mom didn’t approve of the hair dye. The hair dye was brilliant. It was made by Samoa after all, and her dye wouldn’t come out or let any of the original color show even at the roots for a long time. It was magic dye after all.

Those of the sea rarely had plain colored hair, there’s a reason Samoa created the dye.

Father was one of the few to have straight black hair, even Triton’s own was simply a very dark blue.

He quite liked Percy’s hair.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

He decided that Percy needed something to keep his belongings safe now.

He was growing older and would likely be going to camp soon.

Triton gave him a bag made by the Cyclops’s. It wouldn’t let anyone, but Percy, take things out of the bag, and would protect the contents from outside forces.

Percy seemed delighted, he was glad. His little brother needed more people looking out for him. He just hoped his gifts were enough to help.

 OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Percy was going to a boarding school.

Triton was a lot less pleased than he let on.

Percy would be away, harder to reach, harder to talk to.

He was glad he’d given him the rainbow stone because otherwise he might have to influence Percy’s mom away from that school.

And that would be hard to explain.

Still though, he worried, Percy would be alone for the year.

But surely Percy would be alright for the year, it’s not like he’d be going back.

Nothing too horrible could happen in the space of one year.

Right?

[ofgoldenangel]

Self Para: Hold On

SUMMARY: After feeling Belgirel’s presence and having a true heart to heart with Michael, Gabriel begins taking charge of his life. This does include some time skips to hit each mark within Gabriel’s time since feeling Belgirel’s presence from the time wrap event up to before the Birthday Bash Event. TRIGGERS: Depression, Death mentions, Panic Attacks, PTSD, War Trauma Mentions: @ofwarriors @zztophat

Gabriel had felt off since he’d felt Belgirel’s presence, sure he’d later found it wasn’t their sibling who's passed away but an alternative version but the pain that brief moment had caused lasted weeks past its time. He’d all but gone through the motions at this point doing his work as asked never giving much thought to doing anything else. He knew Michael had taken notice but he couldn’t bring himself to fake through being fine anymore. Part of him looked at his Life and more than once wanted to just return to Heaven and forget ever coming to Earth again, but he knew running away never solved anything and really only left more work in the hands of his siblings. He couldn’t abandon Michael and Raphael as Father had plus part of him really did love spending his free time with his fallen siblings. He also thought of the friends she’d started making with the humans that now integrated into their little family and he knew he’d be hurt to leave them behind. Most nights he’d lay, awake petting Cooper, as if doing something so menial would keep him from falling off the edge once again as he did after the war. He was lost in a maze of his mind when he felt the call, It was time for their Heavenly meeting, something he found himself sighing as he petted Cooper one last time. “I’ll return boy, gotta go handle a little report and feedback.” He mused before taking flight back home just in time for the meeting to start.

~Time Skip~

He didn’t return to Earth after he’d left the main room after talking with Michael, he’d given him plenty of things to reflect and think on. He wasn’t happy he knew some of that relied on him finding his place, Raphael and Uriel had their roles but they also had more, he’d seen the smiles on both their faces when they handle something that had to do with their passions and Gabe wanted that as well. He’d thought over the areas in Heaven that Michael said he could change to his duties and when he heard about Heaven’s Library needing help he couldn’t hide how much that perked his interests. He’d always seen the library as his safe place, filled with books and knowledge that he’d loved to read and catalog. Very little of the other areas piqued his interests as much as the library as he made his way there looking around getting reacquainted with its ins and outs. He knew this was what job he wanted to undertake and he ensured to alert Zatanna and Michae of his choice. He made sure to tell Zee that if she ever needed his help around the shop he wouldn’t hesitate given how much he cared for her and wanted to offer any assistance he could. Gabe finally felt like he had belonged, it was strange to find comfort among old texts and scrolls but this was something that he loved and didn’t so much see as a task, and as of right now it was just what he needed.

~Time Skip~

Gabe found he loved working in Heaven’s library; it was often the place he’d hide away in after the war and had slowly become once again his place of refuge. He was beyond glad Michael had allowed him to help out cataloging and ensure the books were in their proper place but even with this change and new duty in heaven something was missing. One day as he sat among the books sorting through a rather large looking pile he could voice. It started off soft and small that he wasn’t even sure he’d heard it correctly until she once again spoke, adding his name to it. Properly distracted he followed this voice finding himself staring down in a gleaming pool of watch seeing a rather smallish little girl holding her necklace whispering a soft prayer. “St Gabriel? I don’t even know if you are listening to these, but my mother would always call you the protector of Innocents and well I think we could use your protection...My parents sadly passed away last year and I got sent to the orphanage but don’t worry it's not like a weird evil one or anything it’s just...we have so many kids here who come scared and worried that they may never find another home. It also doesn’t help that the place is slowly falling apart...but the people around here are really nice. I suppose I’m talking too much but I never really learned how to do this prayer thing without listening to my mother do it. I suppose I was just hoping that you’d hear this and...look out for us you know? Well I hope my parents are safe up in Heaven with you bye Gabriel OH I’m Barbara by the way...um okay bye” 

Gabriel watched the scene with a bright smile on his face before hovering his hand over the pool as words appeared telling him where the girl was calling from and her name. “Barbara Smith, Age 11, Parents: Alexis and Bruce Smith (deceased) Current Residence: St Joseph’s Orphanage.” He read mused looking over the girl’s soft face wondering if visiting the orphanage would be okay. Her small voice still replaying in his head as he closed his eyes appearing before St Joseph’s he could see what Barbara had been talking about the place looked nice enough but it definitely could use some work, he started walking towards the place when he noticed a woman outside engaging the kids in fun games making him smile once again. He saw Little Barbara laughing loudly with a few of the kids playing whatever game captivated their attention. They all looked happy and healthy for having suffered such a loss at such a young age. Something about this place felt right in a way he couldn’t explain, he knew using his power was out seeing how it would show a bit of favoritism but there wasn’t anything to stop him from helping them rebuild and work around here without payment. He made up his mind as he moved towards the front door asking someone if he could speak to the person in charge wanting to offer some service and help for free. This was his chance to do something worthwhile and he knew Michael wouldn’t mind so long as his normal duties were done on time.

[rxseandscythe]

“Death is still a monique that we both have firmly fixed to our names… I have just ventured out a little further than you have” Lazarus sighed lightly, slightly saddened by his twins insistance that he was a death omen of sorts to anyone or thing that dared come too close. Was that what caused this unweaving on the older’s mind? Had he lost someone since they had parted 50 years ago? Should he even say something to his older twin? So many questons… So few answers available.

“We are in control of how deadly our touch is, I could kill this little fella as easy as breathing but I chose not too. It is my will that changes how I directly effect my world, just as yours does to your world.” Lazarus uttered, decided that doing more than mentioning the possibility of lose in anything more than a passing sentiment would be a potential match to the other’s already flamable mood.

Returning to feeding the bat, plucking worm after worm out for the small mammel to consume. “Furthermore just because we have bared the name doesn’t mean that is all we can bring. We are capable of love, sweetness, kindness and forgiveness just as any human is.”

Once the little fella, whom he decided to call Pip for the time being, (it being simply a shorted version of the bat’s subspecies) had lost interest in eating after being feed 4 juicy mealworms Lazarus busied himself with putting the bat to bed. Tucking the little being back in his pocket, wrapped in a soft handkerchief to sleep.

Turning his attention back to the male by his side, unflinching to the smell or long nails scrapping his cheek. “I forgive you as I have forgiven myself, I love you and wish for the very best for you. Hate me if you like, curse me and banish me from your home if that pleases you. Kill me, if that will make you feel better. I know our history, I remember ever detail… but I will not leave unless you make me” he admitted, catching what he imagined was the older’s gaze.

We are capable of love, sweetness, kindness and forgiveness just as any human is.

That was true. And that was what has broken the Undertaker’s heart when he let enter there Phantomhives. Now that love was his obsession and nothing could stop him from bringing back his beloved ones. A bold Claudia was lost, a brilliant boy, Vincent, burnt to ashes... But twins... He has to rescue them.

The mortician stiffened when his twin has spoken again. What was it? A promise? A threatening? 

The man smiled, and it wasn’t nice smile. There were bitterness and sourness in it.

“Only because I also love you, Laz, I hasn’t attacked you yet. Only because your feelings and heart are important to me I’m hiding many things from you.” Long fingers embraced Lazarus cheeks, stroking them gently. “Think again, my precious brother. If you decide to stay I am not going to hide my goals and you won’t like them. If you love me just like you insist… you will accept and support them. If not… I will feel attacked”.

Chartreuse eyes were glowing with warning.

“It’s a last chance. What will you decide?”

@sin-stained-soul

[glapplebloom]

Because next week, I want your opinion on other fan characters and AUs...

((Original Art by @deathgamemaster​ and MightyRay))

((NOTE: None of these characters will appear on Death Battle anytime soon or in the future. And unless permission was given, not willingly appear on a different Vs Series.))

What is the AkumaVerse?

Its basically what I call all the comics I work on. From AkumaTh’s Comics to GLAB and everything between and around it. I’ve been going on for almost 20 years and based on that alone I should have enough content to have research done if Death Battle gets desperate and use my own creations (which I doubt will happen in a million years). But for fun I decided to make 5 picks from my works that could work for Death Battle and show you guys what I want to see in suggestions. Because next week I want to make another list of OCs and AUs of others and would like your input on it. Just leave a reply.

RULES for that list and this one:

The AU Character picked has to have a divergence from the original. For example, Thunderbolt in my comics is pretty much Thunderbolt from Archie Sonic, only under a different Eggman Rule. Cassia and Clove in my comics, on the other hand, are those that found a way to be free and find a solution to Cassia’s sickness.

The Character pick has to be unique from the others. For example, it would be boring if everyone was just a DB-ish type character. So more variety, the better.

This is in no particular order.

1 - Juliet Suter

While she’s not much of a fighter, I think Juliet’s story would be interesting to discuss in a Death Battle. After all, not only is her story vastly different from the character she was inspired from, she’s also has a meta backstory that would be the focal point for why she would be one. I even wrote a script for a supposed fight with Julie-Su. And spoilers for the future, she’s not going to be a gunsmith that rivals Vash or suddenly gain Dragon Ball levels of strength. But she’s going to be a little more tiny and toony.

2 - Green Lantern Apple Bloom

Its Apple Bloom with a Green Lantern ring. And you’ve seen how powerful a Green Lantern can be through Hal Jordan. Though Apple Bloom isn’t near that level yet. But still with a Green Lantern Ring and the attitude of an Apple, GLAB can bring something unique that another Lantern or Pony wouldn’t bring. And she could be put against the Reboot Blossom since they’re both bow wearers who fights using energy constructs. And both try to be mature despite their ages.

3 - The Undertaker

Big Bad and an original character, the Undertaker brings a lot from backstory to power load out. While he does have a lot of DB-ish moves, he also gotten abilities and skills from a wide assortment of franchises. TVTropes said it best: he’s Megamaning. With the right opponent, like lets say Vegeta during the Cell Saga, he may turn from unlikely to win to definitely going to win. As for an opponent that could fit him, August from Fairy Tale seems like someone who could give Taker a run for his money.

4 - Sombra

Technically his divergence comes from the IDW Comic series, but since the official series reversed it I think its safe to say he would be vastly different. An Umbrum who was sent to the pony World to release them. He was grown up and raised in the Crystal Empire where the events of Season 3′s opener and the IDW Stories happened. While he still has difficulty being within the Crystal Heart’s activation, he’s still strong enough to stay together. As for an opponent, I think only the Canon Sombra would be the true challenge. A battle between a villain with a backstory Vs a villain with none.

5 - Akuma the Hedgehog (art from Mamion Grenado)

The big red Hedgehog I was known for for most of my online life. So he holds a special place in my heart. His DB-ish moves are given a Street Fighter flair and he has moves you wouldn’t expect from a Shoto Clone. He is my Goku as he loves to fight and looks to improve himself for that. 

What about others?

Other Lanterns - As I said, have to be unique from each other. So an MLP Character with a Lantern Ring can only be done with one character. Apple Bloom being the main one of the bunch. As for Superman, he’s basically the same character only stronger.

The Powerpuff Girls - My version of the Powerpuff Girls and villains are just older (outside Buttercup with a ring), the Powerpuff Girls as kids should be in Death Battle before any other versions, including my own. As for Bailey, outside being a daughter of one, she’s still just your basic Powerpuff.

Kari - It was between her and Akuma to be on the list. And despite the similar move list (same teacher) they do have vastly different personalities, upbringings and even fighting styles. Despite that, same style of Hadouken, Dragon Punch, Hurricane Kick and Raging Demon. So had to pick the one made first.

Sonic Cast - They been on Death Battle plenty of times and I’m pretty sure they’ll be back. Why throw in more?

Other Ponies - A majority of them are the same as the main canon. So no point bringing that up.

So next week the plan is to pick 10 OCs and AUs that you would like to see in Death Battle. You can leave a reply here or give me a PM.

[lenacopperleaf]

A (Not So) Brief Summary of The First 27 episodes of Critical Role

So @i-do-as-i-want had mentioned wanting a summary of the first bunch of episodes so that they could get to the part without Tiberius and his player. I was originally going to message this to them but then it got long, and I figured others might be interested too. I tried to be brief while still covering everything important (27 episodes is still almost 100 hours of content ya’ll). Feel free to add if you feel I missed important stuff, but be kind as I did this pretty quickly. This isn’t a post to talk about what went down with Tibs’ player. There’s a lot of those posts around rn and they serve their own purpose. But this post is just supposed to be a summary of in-game events. Summary under the read more!

Underdark Arc (episodes 1-16)

We meet Vox Machina—Percy a gunslinger nobleman who’s trying to avoid his past; the half elf twins, Vax the rogue, and Vex the ranger (and her bear Trinket); Keyleth the half elf druid who is completing her journey to become her people’s Voice of the Tempest; Scanlan a gnomish bard; Pike a gnomish cleric of Sarenrae and her best buddy Grog the barbarian; and Tiberius a dragonborn.

They are a group of adventurers who have just successfully saved a city called Emon. After a six(ish) month break where they have split apart to complete pieces of their individual stories they have rejoined to find Lady Kima, a friend to the Sorcerer Allura whom they met in Emon. Kima, a paladin to the Platinum Dragon, had gone to the Kraghammer to deal with an evil vibe she had been getting. VM arrives, talks to a bunch of people and go to a mine where creatures had been coming to the surface from the Underdark. They make a deal with the mine owner to take care of his creature problems for a lot of gold pieces.

VM goes through the mine defeating a vast assortment of creatures such as umber hulks, intellect devourers, and illithids. Along the way Vex and Keyleth meet Clarota, an Illithid who has been cast out, they invite him to come along to help defeat a mysterious figure known as K’varn who the group believes to be the source of the problem. They then reach the castle of the Underdark Dwarves (duergar). The evil king and queen had been holding Kima! The gang rescues Kima, who dislikes Clarota and wants to leave him behind. VM has a battle against the king and queen. The King dies but the Queen gets away with Grog. Eventually the gang gets back Grog, defeats the Queen and heads on to face K’Varn. The group finds out that K’varn is a beholder controlling the mind flayers through their elder brain, battles him (ep. 11) and wins out. Then it turns out that the god Orcus is trying to use K’varn through the Horn of Orcus-this reanimates the beholder corpse. After persevering again VM unintentionally frees all the controlled mind-flayers and Clarota betrays Vox Machina in the hopes his people will take him back.

The gang fight-run away from the mind flayers and through the use of a teleportation circle return with Kima back to Emon. There is a shopping episode where we meet Shaun Gilmore, Vox Machina’s favorite merchant who has a bit of a flirtationship with Vax. (Ep. 14) The band of adventurers is summoned to Sovereign Uriel and the council of Emon. VM tells the council about the Horn of Orcus and decide to bring it back to Vasselheim where Kima’s temple is where they should be able to keep the Horn safe and away from dangerous creatures/people. VM does this, traveling by air ship. They return the Horn to the Platinum Dragon’s temple. They also say good-bye to Pike for the time being as she has decided to stay to fix the temple of Sarenrae (Ashley Johnson was cast in Blindspot).

Adventures in Vasselheim (17-23)

After saying goodbye to Pike, VM looks for things to do. Grog gets in a fight against Kern in what is known as The Pit (ep. 17 part 1 quite good). Grog loses just barely and is very sad. The group looking to cheer him up and get back to what they’re good at, leave Vasselheim and come across a hydra, and defeat it. Unfortunately Vasselheim has an organization known as the Slayer’s Take who are given assignments to hunt monsters and other creatures and the hydra slain was one the Slayer’s Take was supposed to take care of. Vox Machina is told that they must join the Slayer’s Take or will be persecuted as poachers.

Vox Machina is split up to undertake the Trial of the Slayer’s Take. Vex, Scanlan, Grog and two new friends go to slay a white dragon. Vax, Keyleth, Tiberius, and two other new friends have to beat a Rakshasa (I like these episodes and reoccurring guest characters are introduced. Ep. 18 and 19 have no Tiberius, ep. 20 and 21 have…well a lot more Tiberius. For the reoccurring guest character of 20/21 it is Kash a cleric/paladin who is played by Will Friedle. Kash is interested in Keyleth romantically and Vax gets jealous. Kash is good here but there are other instances of him after Tibs so no big to just avoid these ep if need be just know the Rakshasa will be a problem again in the future). Once everyone has passed their trial they become members of the Take. Yay!! Then they go to the village of Pyrah so Keyleth can pass the Fire trial of her Aramente. They go to the Fire Realm, things are hot but they get by and Keyleth passes. On their way back they have to hide from a big scary red dragon (foreshadowing!!)

Before they leave back to Emon, Grog returns to the Pit where he faces off against Kern, and this time…is victorious!!!! (ep. 23, part 1. There is some Tibs but the Grog part is pretty good and is pretty heavy Grog centered which is the last we’ll see of that for a little while.) Fan Favorite NPC Viktor the gun powder merchant is also in this last episode in part 2, (2:08:29)

VM returns to their keep and meet Kynan (recurring NPC) who wants to join Vox Machina. Vax knocks him out and then revives him in an attempt to teach Kynan that their work is dangerous and not for him at that time. He tells the boy to train and that one day maybe he can join. Kynan runs off saying he will do that. Vax later feels guilty and tries to find him but cannot. Seeker Assum, a member of the Council, sends word to Vox Machina that they are invited to a fancy feast next week to welcome Emon’s new fancy guests…the Briarwoods (aka the people who invaded Percy’s home and killed all of his family).

The Briarwood Arc (24-27)

After receiving the invitation Percy finally tells Vox Machina all of what had happened to him before he joined the Adventure Party. Basically bad people came in, killed everyone, Percy was tortured before he was able to escape and now he wants revenge. On 5 of the 6 barrels of his gun there is a name—Lord and Lady Briarwood, Anna Ripley, Sir Stonefell, and Professor Anders. The group says that they will help Percy.  The group splits to do errands, get their money from Kraghammer and play with Trinket.

Then the group goes to the feast, Percy disguised as Vax. They see Silas and Delilah Briarwood and hear their version of how they acquired Whitestone (ie. The de Rolos got sick and died and they were in line to inherit), Vax although asked to go with Seeker Assum sneaks off and does his own thing (after agreeing to say “Jenga” over the magical earrings if he needs help). He ends up getting caught by the Briarwoods in their room. As dinner ends Vax finds himself in deeper and deeper trouble as he isn’t able to speak or move.

When he gets a chance to break the spell Vax throws himself out of a window and yells Jenga. A Very intense fight follows (ep. 25 is really good overall though as it is nearing the end of time Tibs was around things are starting to get strange/tense with him so watch if interested and you can just skip him really) as the group fights to save Vax and stop the Briarwoods. They fail to stop the Briarwoods though they do save Vax. Percy begins to act more rash than is normal for him. Sovereign Uriel and his council are unhappy with VM as it seems they attacked Emon’s guests. He agrees to look into it but VM is on some thinnnnnnnnn ice. The gang does some…questionable stuff when some bloodhunters come after one of their new friends (This is where the Vox Machina hates old people comes from). There’s a filler episode where Scanlan turns everyone into Cows. Its kinda amusing though skippable overall.

Okay, now we’re at ep. 27. The tension throughout the episode is weird at the beginning and terrible by the end imo. Unless you enjoy second hand embarrassment/awkwardness/weirdness I would suggest trying to avoid this episode. Percy begins to have nightmares and dreams of a smoke entity before ghosts attack Grey Skull Keep. They fight off the ghosts and then later in the day start to make plans.

Seeker Assum comes to see them and says that he thinks that Uriel is under a charm like Assum was earlier. Keyleth had used Greater Restoration on him when the council was talking with VM, but Assum pretended it didn’t work b/c he wanted to stay in Uriel’s good graces to help VM later.  After more debate, and an offer to raze Whitestone from Tiberius, and some creepy smoke voices in Percy’s ear, Percy decides that they will go to face the Briarwoods and that they will have a week to prepare. (Now comes the worst part of the episode tension wise). The party makes their preparations to leave the city, Vex leaves a note for Uriel.

Then they leave for Whitestone. The journey goes okay though they lose their horses to harpies. Keyleth is becoming increasingly concerned for Percy, feeling he isn’t telling them everything. The next day they continue on their way and the episode ends as they are faced with a dragon-ish creature.

The next episode they continue onto Whitestone but Tibs is controlled by Matt. The disappearance of Tibs’ player is brought up sometime over the next few episodes but he does not come back to the table and you can now enjoy the rest of the episodes of Critical Role! 

[gal-liveblogs]

A parting gift from an old flame, it was given to one of my splinters in a distant timeline before ending up in my posession via lots of complicated shit that I don't wanna get into.

O.K. So someone gave some version of Dirk Hussie painting of a quarterback fighting a horse. I have an intense desire to know who.

"Dear Dirk, In memory of our precious time together. When you look at it, think of me, and be reminded that while we breathe, we Hope." -B.O

Oh fuck me, it was Obama. Jesus Christ, I can’t.

O.K., I had been wondering what this stuff in the corner was, but didn’t comment as I couldn’t think of how to describe them. Now, though, we have a bigger picture and that’s a cherub paint set and an old troll horn headband. Probably Calliope’s stuff.

This set of paints and the charred remains of my HORNED HEADBAND are the only surviving relics of the first and last WORLDWIDE INTERSPECIES ROLEPLAYING SESSION we ever attempted on Earth C.

Oh. Not Calliope’s. They are, in fact, Dirk’s. The Interspecies Roleplaying Session was probably orchestrated by Calliope, though.

Calliope got it into their head that dressing up in cosplay would be a fun community activity.

Right on the money!

In other news Dirk’s trollsona has a unicorn horn. So it’s not that the headband was tilted and the other horn was hidden behind the paint set like I thought. Also Dave’s trollsona has dick horns. I am not surprised. Weird how Dirk, Dave, and Rose didn’t bother to give themselves black hair. Rose gave herself yellow scleras, but couldn’t commit to the black hair it seems.

Vantas had some very uncharitable things to say about the idea, and for once in his life I think he was right.

I mean, it’s like when white people dress as Native Americans for Halloween. I can understand his anger. Though even if he didn’t have a good reason Karkat would have still been angry, I’m sure.

Plants are basically the ideal friends. They don't constantly question your decisions, or try and undermine your authority, or suggest that perhaps you should try talking about your feelings every once in a while.

I think Dirk’s issue with Homestuck getting too feelings-y was that he doesn’t like talking about his own feelings.

Wait. Does Terezi have some form of narrative control? She made it clear in one of the Epilogues that she was aware of Dirk’s narration. I’m going to assume that while Terezi herself can’t narrate, she can submit commands.

DIRK: I see you've found the command terminal.

Oh. So she can submit commands not through her own power, but because there’s one of those exile command terminals things on this ship. O.K. They have everything else on this ship, might as well have one of those too.

TEREZI: 1T S33MS TO M3 L1K3 L3TT1NG M3 BOSS YOU 4ROUND FOR 4 F3W M1NUT3S 1S TH3 L34ST YOU COULD DO TO M4K3 UP FOR WH4T PROB4BLY 4MOUNTS TO TH3 MOST BOR1NG 1NT3RG4L4CT1C VOY4G3 1N TH3 H1STORY OF SP4C3 TR4V3L

I don’t know, I think Jade’s voyage after Davesprite and John blew up might be a good contender for that title. Then again Jade had practice not having anyone with a degree of intelligence around to talk to. Then again she still had the internet on her island and could talk to her friends, unlike on the Prospit ship.

TEREZI: 4ND CONS1D3R1NG TH4T ON3 OF MY TWO PR1OR 3XP3R13NC3S 1NVOLV3D SCOUR1NG TH3 FR4CTUR3D, D1S1NT3GR4TING CORPS3 OF P4R4DOX SP4C3 FOR... WH4T F3LT L1K3 4N 3T3RN1TY,

Oh yeah, I guess that would also be a contender too.

DIRK: What, Heart and Mind?

TEREZI: M1ND 4ND H34RT, Y3S

I have a feeling Terezi purposefully switched them around to make her aspect first and to just be a tiny annoyance to Dirk.

Dirk, how dare you use Complacency of the Learned to even out a chair! Does Rose know you’re using her book like that?

> L1B3R4T3 L4LOND14N L1BR4RY

Thank you, Terezi.

TEREZI: DO3S ROS3 KNOW YOUV3 B33N US1NG ON3 OF H3R NOV3LS TO PROP UP TH4T DISGUST1NGLY T4CKY CH41R?

Terezi and I are one.

DIRK: (I captchalogue the book into my MSPA MODUS. Forget HASH MAPS, PICTIONARY, or any of that shit. This thing is where it's at.)

What the FUCK does MSPA Modus entail???

TEREZI: 4W WH4T TH3 H3LL

TEREZI: TH3 CH41R W4S SUPPOS3D TO F4LL OV3R

DIRK: I'm not sure I understand. Why would it? The four legs are all touching the floor.

TEREZI: ...

DIRK: Try not to think about it too hard.

Ha!

TEREZI: FOR SOM3ON3 WHO CL41MS TO KNOW 4 LOT 4BOUT JOK3S YOU SUR3 H4V3 CONT1NU3D TO S4Y B4S1C4LLY NOTH1NG FUNNY 3V3R

Oooh, burn! When I get around to doing my fourth read of Homestuck I’ll have to tally any instances of Dirk telling a funny joke just to see if this holds up.

For a second there I was really confused over what fractal nonsense was happening here, but then I remembered Dirk is controlling the narrative. That includes the pictures, not just the text.

DIRK: Not many really understand that when pleasure is taken seriously enough, it can easily mimic the appearance of business, just as when irony is practiced with enough passion, it becomes indistinguishable from sincerity.

So Dirk’s idea of loosening up and having fun, whether for the irony or sincerity of it, is drawing himself in romantic situations with Jake. Yeah, that pans out.

(Seriously, why is Jake such a heartthrob? John is described as dorky looking and he and Jake are practically carbon copies.)

TEREZI: DO YOU... W4NT TO T4LK 4BOUT 1T...?

DIRK: Absolutely the fuck not.

Terezi, did you seriously expect him to answer with anything else?

This feels like a meme image.

TEREZI: TH4TS TH3 ON3 TH1NG 1 4LW4YS FOUND D1FF1CULT 4BOUT M4K1NG COM1CS W1TH D4V3

TEREZI: YOU H4V3 TO DR4W 333333V3RYTH1NG >:[

God, hard agree. This is why I could never have a comic. As much as I’d like to I just get burnt out with all that tedious drawing.

DIRK: Exactly. But sometimes, visuals are just a more effective way of doing things.

DIRK: So finding the right combination of words and pictures to communicate an idea efficiently is where the artistry lies.

DIRK: And sometimes that means dispensing with one or the other entirely when appropriate.

See, this is why the Homestuck style comic is so interesting. I don’t think other comics combined panels and text like Homestuck did, and now there are so many copies of the style out there!

Woah, I feel like I just got whiplash with the disappearance of the panels!

For the sake of precedent, I'm saying that we can cloak the visuals entirely and continue with narration alone, replacing the panel with a block of text like this, which we can call a “prattle” from now on.

Right, so when we go into a more book-like format it’s a prattle. Got it. Good name, since it’s just Dirk droning on to himself.

So then Dirk narrates Terezi using the command terminal to get him to do a slew of bizarre actions. He says it’s to show how much can be done in a short amount of time (a single block of text as opposed to 50 panels), but I have a feeling the real reason is so that we, the readers, don’t actually get to see him doing any of this stuff. He doesn;t get an audience to such an embarrassing display and he gets to rub our faces in it.

She has me undertake the most intense workout routine paradox space has ever seen, all while whistling the entire discography of the Swedish pop group ABBA, which she's taken a liking to recently for some god forsaken reason.

Terezi likes ABBA? That’s amazing. I need a video of Terezi singing and dancing along with Dancing Queen now.

(... And which coincidentally was a favorite cultural weapon of Her Imperious Condescension back on Earth, centuries ago. Mamma Mia in particular was repurposed as a sugar-coated propagandist piece, calling for worldwide submission to the Batterwitch's dictatorship. "My my, how can I resist ya," as the old saying goes.)

HOLY SHIT. Now I just had a headcanon that all trolls love ABBA.

DIRK: I told you I could have fun.

TEREZI: Y34H YOU SUR3 SHOW3ED M3 1 GU3SS

Dirk, are you saying Terezi purposefully trying to torture you was actually fun? ... Are you secretly a masochist? Do you... Do you like being bossed around and forced to do ridiculous stunts? I am learning so many things about Dirk I never expected.

TEREZI: WH4TS TH1S TH1NG OV3R 1N TH3 CORN3R

TEREZI: UND3RN34TH TH1S B1G SH33T TH1NG

DIRK: Don't look in there.

TEREZI: OH SHHHH 1M ONLY T4K1NG 4 P33K

DIRK: Terezi.

DIRK: Listen to me.

TEREZI: 1M JUST L1FT1NG UP TH3 COV3R 4 L1TTL3 W4YS!!!!

DIRK: Terezi please stop talking right now.

TEREZI: D1RK HOLY SH1T

TEREZI: W

Well that sounds sinister. With Dirk I would think ti was a robot of some kind, but given his new hobby of collecting things from various timelines and his skill in building it could literally be anything.

At first I was confused at the three panels that follow, showing Dirk’s room in disarray, but then I rememebered that Dirk did a whole bunch of shit we didn’t get to see because we were in Book Time.

ROSEBOT: So, I guess today is finally the day everything's been heading towards.

I honestly thought she was going to say “today is finally the day we fuck everything up”. Not sure if the actual line counts as a callback or not now.

ROSEBOT: Instead, it feels like the very notion of fortune is simply out of the question as a means of describing the potential outcome.

ROSEBOT: As though in this moment, luck isn't either strictly real or not real, or somewhere inbetween, but absent of meaning completely.

ROSEBOT: Luck took one look at our itinerary from here on out and said you'll just have to go on without me.

So it’s Schrödinger's Luck of Who Gives a Shit? Been reading so much Dirk I tried to channel my inner Strider there. Moving on I feel like this is a very bad situation for Rose to be in. Her Aspect is luck, so what does it mean for her when she’s in a position like this?

ROSEBOT: You aren't going to believe this, but it turns out that the deranged horny ramblings of a spurned anime-obsessive have essentially no therapeutic properties whatsoever.

Rose is a gift.

I wish I could copy and paste Dirk’s whole spiel about the ocean, both literal and metaphorical, but since it’s Dirk it’s just way too long. Suffice to say I thought it was some lovely writing and really got the the meat of who Dirk is as a character. His loneliness, his fear, his eventual peace, what it means to be an ascended Prince of Heart. Good stuff.

DIRK: What's that noise I'm hearing.

DIRK: It sounds a little bit like a cat being caught in a ventilation fan. A sort of...

DIRK: Inhuman screeching, combined with the grinding of metal.

DIRK: Are we even going to make it to the ground?

ROSEBOT: Oh, no,

ROSEBOT: The ship's fine as far as I can tell.

ROSEBOT: That's just Terezi laughing.

Terezi is also a gift.

Then we end with a rather pretty image of the ship coming in for a crash landing on an Earth-like planet. I would share it, but it’s a tall panel and this post is long enough as it is. Very curious what this planet is. I would guess it might be a Earth, but the landmasses don’t look like any on Earth. Could be artistic license,  but I feel like we have too many Earths as it is. Let’s get some new planets up in here!

[thelawyerthatwaspromised]

Hi! I'm a jonerys shipper but I find your theories very interesting. I wonder though, how will you feel about the show/Asoiaf if Political!Jon is debunked with season 8? Do you think it will change your opinion on Jon? And will you still ship Jonsa if he truly bent the knee because he is in love with Dany? I suppose I'm wondering how a post S8 Jonsa faction will look.

Hello! I really appreciate the question because it’s not a bad one: what if political!Jon isn’t a thing? First, I guess I’ll explain what I think has to be true for political!Jon to not be true.

Jon has to have total faith in Dany’s ruling ability; not just her capacity as a conqueror. Jon has to have thought it was acceptable to give away the Stark ancestral home without consulting anyone about it. Jon has to have actually been unable to lie to Cersei at the Dragonpit. Jon has to actually believe that the stuff he warned Dany about earlier in the season (about northerners not wanting to follow a southern ruler) is either not true anymore - or - at least not as important as the urgency to give away his crown before he could even talk to them about it.

All of these have terrible, terrible implications on Jon’s character.

Because it will mean a number of things…

1) It would mean that Jon really didn’t learn anything from Robb and Ned and their respective downfalls. That’s tragic in itself. When it comes to Robb, sure he made mistakes that cost him his life - but he was also way too young and thrust into a position he should never have been forced to undertake. The same is somewhat true for Jon, except he’s now been in leadership and he knows his family’s mistakes. 

I don’t want “aww shucks” stupid heroes. I don’t enjoy that type of storytelling. I don’t think it’s something I can suspend my disbelief while I’m watching if I actively think “he is a complete and total idiot” and he’s supposed to be un-ironically a hero of the story. Beyond that, I think that’s the opposite of the point of Jon’s arc, most especially in the books but also on the show. 

Robb and Ned are there to be cautionary tales for good people who are struggling with the intricacies of dangerous political games. Jon being as dopey as not learning anything from their decisions cheapens Robb’s story, it cheapens Ned’s story, and it makes Jon simply a lucky idiot if he somehow survives.

Jon is also taking a gigantic risk throwing all his eggs in Dany’s basket even if he thinks she’s the most wonderful person. He has no idea what she’s like as a ruler. He didn’t know anything about her other than she’s come to Westeros and has three dragons. He doesn’t know anything about her tenure in Essos - or that it concluded with her very responsibly have Daario Naharis overlooking the biggest political transition in thousands of years over there. No big deal.

In the best case scenario, Jon would have been detained on the island, been “asked” to bend the knee to Dany on multiple occasions, and agreed to go on a mission that he otherwise wouldn’t have gone on (since he asked Dany multiple times to come North without regard to Cersei’s intentions) and almost died on that mission only to have seen Dany take another big risk by flying her dragons up North to try to save him.

That’s not even close to enough information for Jon to know whether Dany is in any way a good ruler. Flying dragons and ruling are two different things. He took a huge gamble whether it’s political!Jon or not; but at least with political!Jon it was because he felt he HAD to do it to ensure her commitment. The alternative is Jon handing that over without any clue as to whether she can do the mundane things like administer land dispute decisions or responsibly manage the treasuries of Westeros. 

2)  It would mean that Jon governs and makes decisions based solely on his own emotional impulses which would really suck. It’s practically inexcusable for Jon to behave this way. It’s irresponsible as a ruler for him to just hand Dany power like he did at face value without talking to anyone from the North about it first. You could have made an argument to me that Jon could legitimately think Dany should rule the North and it might be a plausible explanation without making Jon a terrible rule IF Jon had actually waited until he returned North to tell the lords in person that he planned to give away the crown for her.

By not doing so, it tells me that either Jon is inconsiderate and impulsive enough to give away something as sacred as an entire country (on the macro) and his childhood home (on the micro level) - OR - there’s something else in play for why he felt it absolutely necessary to “bend the knee” with the timing as it occurred. If there’s some 3rd explanation that I haven’t thought of - I’d actually be willing to read it first before I decided whether it’s an idea willing to entertain.

I don’t talk politics thaaaat much on here, but the analogy really would be that, after being elected, Donald Trump literally believed he had the authority and moral high ground to hand his presidency over to Putin. Not only would everyone hate him, but he literally does not have the authority to act like that and would be removed from his position before it happened.

[to be clear Jon =/= Trump and Dany =/= Putin. It’s an analogy on political leaders behaving in another context. If you want, you can imagine the PM of Canada and the the King of Wakanda as substitutes behaving the same way.]

By going solo in that process - Jon almost guaranteed at the very least a gigantic amount of political turmoil in the North…but it’s something I think he’s aware of and has anticipated. If he hasn’t - he has no business ruling anything ever. 

There is no reasonable explanation for the timing of Jon bending the knee (before consulting with anyone in the North let alone his very own travel companion Davos) other than political!Jon and realizing the exact moment was right because Dany had just promised to help fight the Night King and Jon wanted to cement her commitment as much as he could.

3) It would mean that Jon genuinely valued everyone knowing openly that he planned to fight Cersei in the war after the Night King over actually getting the truce to allow them to fight the NK. If Jon did what he did at the Dragonpit - then he proved himself a liar when he said just before that “there is only one war that matters” because he immediately (again, in the absence of political!Jon) affirmed his position in the war for the Iron Throne at the expense of the war to save the Realm. 

Beyond the silliness of the idea that Jon Snow is incapable of lying to Cersei - it really is highlighted perfectly in Jon’s scene with Theon:

“You risked everything just to tell an enemy the truth.”

I mean…is telling the truth generally good? Yes.

Is telling the truth still good if….

SCENARIO: Bad Guy has their finger on the button to launch a nuclear weapon on a Sunday and they say, “oh wait, these nuclear codes were only good until Sunday and now it’s after midnight so it’s Monday!” 

Bad Guy is momentarily confused. “Or is it still Sunday? Say! You, Honest Fellow! If it’s really after 12:00 AM, I’ll have to leave here and try to grab more launch codes, is it really after midnight? I don’t have my watch.”

Honest Fellow: “I’d like to tell you it’s 12:04….but alas, I cannot. It is 11:58-…”

*KABOOM*

Well…you’d rightfully be displeased with Honest Fellow. But, then again, I think Jon Snow would hate this honest fellow as well. How stupid is that if it’s the same story we heard at face value? 

“I just can’t lie!” 

That’s irredeemably stupid. It KNOWINGLY put everyone at risk and actually is LUCKY that Cersei planned all along to accept a truce so she could have time to replenish her forces with the Golden Company. 

I’d recommend that the Honest Fellow version of Jon Snow climb up that 700 foot Wall he’s supposedly been working so hard to protect and fling himself off. They could call it Lord Commander’s Landing.

4) It would completely upend the part of Jon’s story where he has yearned to truly be a part of House Stark, his residual guilt about not being there to help Robb when the fighting began, and his close relationship with Sansa after their reunion. 

I could say plenty of shippy things about how the absence of political!Jon would completely ruin the relationship with Sansa that Jon’s built since they reunited but I don’t even have to go there. Simply as a close companion and trusted adviser and family member, Jon would have spat right in her face.

People seem to misinterpret Jon feeling like an outsider with the rest of the Starks with Jon never feeling welcome and never wanting to be a member of House Stark. The exact opposite is true. Jon’s detachment was due specifically to his wanting very much to be Jon Stark but feeling like it was an impossibility because of his birth. Jon loved the Starks. He wanted to be known as Ned’s son. He craved acceptance from Catelyn but never received it. It’s caused him to feel unworthy of that. 

When they found the direwolf pups, Jon wanted each Stark to have a wolf first. It was essentially a gift of the gods that Jon “heard” Ghost (who is famously silent) after his noble self-denial in favor of the trueborn Starks. 

Immediately after winning the BotB, Jon makes sure Sansa takes up residence in the Lord’s chambers. He didn’t do that because he doesn’t care. He cares very deeply. He wanted Sansa to know that she is House Stark’s true representative. He doesn’t feel like he deserves that, hence the sadness in his voice as he says “I’m not a Stark.” He reiterates that Sansa is the Lady of Winterfell. Being the Lord or Lady (as opposed to “acting” Lord or Lady) means that Sansa has hereditary rights over Winterfell - something they both fought like hell to re-take.

Now I’m supposed to believe that the guy who didn’t even want a simple puppy before the other Starks, who fought like hell to re-take Winterfell, who tried to desert the Night’s Watch once and arguably did a second time to fight for the Starks, who very intentionally placed Sansa as the head of House Stark rather than himself, who then passed to her specifically ruling authority over the North while he was away - THAT GUY - is now supposed to think it’s fine and necessary and RIGHT to give ruling authority and his crown over to a woman before she ever even stepped foot in the North.  (The Gift, which is the territory along the Wall is owned by the Night’s Watch independent of the North. Even if you count the top of Eastwatch as Dany stepping foot up there, she’s still not in the political North)

All of this, too, without ever talking to a single person about the decision beforehand. 

That’s a Jon Snow I cannot root for or reconcile with the rest of his story. In my mind, it’s character assassination.

It would make me wonder what the point was of Jon Snow even coming back from the dead.

Thank you for the ask. Hope this answers your question sufficiently. You’re welcome to ask more anytime. 

[templeofulchtar]

Ghost Season Working Pt 1/7

Introduction

Welcome to the Ghost Season Working!

This 63-day journey will guide you on a mythic underworld quest that mirrors Starscream’s quest to regain his physical body in the Transformers episode, Ghost in the Machine. The ritual’s purpose is to bring about a ‘resurrection’ in a specific area of your own life.

No, that doesn’t mean literally bringing anyone back from the dead (sorry!). Instead, the ritual’s magical intent is to release whatever is blocking your success in a particular area of your life, as chosen by you, and to bring about a deep healing and transformation of that particular aspect of your life.

Before I continue, one quick caveat: This is an occult ritual. No, we won’t be doing anything 'evil.' No demons will be summoned, no hexes cast, and no furry creatures will be harmed. If you undertake this journey, however, you will be working some magick. With a ‘k.’

If that sounds scary or doesn’t mesh with your worldview or personal religious outlook, this Working may not be for you. And that’s fine. Please don’t do anything that makes you uncomfortable. If you’re curious, though, read on!

What is Ghost Season?

Ghost Season is the period between August 22 (my hypothesized anniversary for Starscream’s death) and October 23 (my hypothesized anniversary for Starscream’s resurrection). If you’re curious as to my reasoning for choosing these dates, take a look at my essay, The Astrology of Starscream’s Death and Resurrection in G1.

Ghost Season is, for me, a time of inward reflection and self-transformation. The Ghost Season Working molds that theme of self-improvement into a 63-day (9 week) ritual in which each participant, or ‘Seeker,' works diligently through means both magical and mundane to bring about a desired change in a particular area of their life.

Did I say… work?

Oh yes, I sure did. When Starscream made his pact with Unicron in Ghost In The Machine, the Dark God demanded three Labors in exchange for restoring Starscream to physical life. We, too, must take on Labors in order to create healing and transformation in our own lives.

But, you might be thinking, isn’t this supposed to be magic? Why do I have to do anything? Shouldn’t magic do the work for me? Sorry, but no. That’s Hollywood’s idea of magic. You wave a wand, a pretty light-show appears, and poof! Your heart’s desire materializes before you in a cloud of smoke.

As fun as that would be, real-life magick is… quieter. Rarely will it make itself known in obvious ways. Instead, it will shift energies into alignment with your intent and arrange probabilities to work in your favor.

An example of real-life magick:

I used to have a nasty old car that broke down all the time. I was working as a pizza delivery driver at the time, and needed this car for my job. At the same time, I was spending more money keeping the car on the road than I was actually earning at the job.

One day, the car started acting up right after I’d just spent a bunch of money on it, and I snapped. I knew I was going to have to take it back to the mechanic and spend a bunch more money that I couldn’t afford. Before leaving, though, I cast a spell. I created a symbol (also called a sigil) representing my intention to become the kind of person whose car always runs well. I drew the symbol on my skin and rubbed it in with oil, infusing my intention into my body.

By the time I arrived at the garage, my coughing, spluttering car was running smoothly, and the mechanic couldn’t find anything wrong with it. The car continued to be reliable after that, and because I’d cast the spell on myself rather than on the car, my subsequent vehicles have also been very reliable.

Could this be explained by a mundane cause? Of course! In fact, I’m sure there is a mundane explanation. Does that make it any less magical? Some might think so, but I disagree. I believe that it shows that our physical world holds far more than meets the eye. It is infused with magick. Matter and magick are not separate, but are in fact two manifestations of the same energy.

When you do magick, you engage with the natural forces of the universe. By aligning with them and enlisting their cooperation, you begin to find yourself in the right place at the right time. You’ll meet people who can help you, or impart the skills you need in achieving your goal. You will get sudden rushes of creative inspiration, and the exact information or resource you needed will itself themselves in your path almost… as if… by magic.

But here’s the thing: you still have to do the work. You still have to apply for the job, write the novel, run the marathon, practice your musical instrument, or show up for class. All the magic in the world can’t do that part for you. 

The good news, however, is that you don’t have to do the work by yourself.

Working With Starscream

You are not alone.

That it is the truly wonderful thing about this journey. I’m going to assume that if you’re considering embarking on the Ghost Season Working, you are probably a Starscream fan. Or, at least, interested in becoming one. I’ll say right now that one of the things I’ve always admired about Starscream is his sheer, stubborn determination to get what he wants.

Starscream is crafty, resourceful, and above all determined. If at first he doesn’t succeed, he tries something else. And something else again, if that doesn’t work. I’ve written a whole essay about this in relation to his search for Skyfire, and as any Transformers fan knows, Starscream’s attempts to wrest leadership of the Decepticons from Megatron’s grasp are legendary.

When Unicron demanded three labors from Starscream in exchange for restoring his physical body, Starscream’s immediate response was: “Only three? Name them!” He didn’t allow himself to become Unicron’s slave the way Galvatron had, but he also didn’t flinch from doing what needed to be done. In the end, he got his body back—through magic, yes—but first he had to do the work.

By entering into the Ghost Season Working, you are aligning your quest for self-transformation with Staracream’s underworld journey. In doing so, you become his ally and his companion, and, in a very real sense, he becomes yours. I can personally attest that he is a wonderful guide and companion, and I’m very excited to have this opportunity to show others how they, too, can engage with him on a spiritual level if they so choose.

Want to know more? See Part Two for a Ritual Overview.

___________

Note: Yes, I’ve been posting a lot lately. If you were wondering if this sudden flurry of activity was leading up to something, why yes! Here it is. I’ve been wanting to create a proper ritual for Ghost Season for ages, and now I’ve finally gathered my thoughts and materials together to create one. I will be posting this at Archive of Our Own, too, so if you would like a downloadable e-book version of the ritual, plus supporting appendices, it will be available there. Sort of a “grimoire edition.” Here’s the link: Ritual: The Ghost Season Working

[headlesssamurai]

Have you seen Altered Carbon? If so, what do to think of it?

Alright, I finally bucked up enough courage to do another honest, non-sarcastic, write-up for a piece of media. Just been somewhat bitterly reluctant to voice my true opinions on fiction, or anything else really, since it seems like lots of folks are quite intensely engaged in violent uproars of one kind or another. No need to add more noise to the feedback loop, if you know what I mean.

But you’re, like, one of a dozen or so dudes who asked me about this series. So I reckoned I’d write it up for you, it being such a popular subject and all. I’d also like to thank you for your curiosity. It’s pretty damn humbling to know anybody cares enough about what I think to even ask after my thoughts. I’ll make sure to offer a notary warning before I spill any spoilers.

I became acquainted with Richard K. Morgan’s Kovacs-verse a few years back, but accidentally read one of the protagonist’s later adventures before backtracking to the original novel. I found it to be a respectably well-written futuristic detective story in the grand tradition of vintage writers like Robert B. Parker, even if including the predictably pornographic sex scenes in the grand tradition of modern urban sci-fi/fantasy writers like Laurell K. Hamilton (maybe the ‘K’ middle initial is a code for graphic sex content). In preparation for watching the new Netflix series, I re-read Morgan’s Altered Carbon to refresh my knowledge of the future he created.

Now, I’d like to say I’m a prolific reader of novelized fiction and other books, but I’m not one of those “hardcore” purists who always cries “the book was better” while pounding my fist on the podium. Thus in my effort to avoid any such farcical nonsense, I’m going to sort of examine both the book and the Netflix series of Altered Carbon at once, and write about what I enjoy and dislike about both versions, instead of directly comparing them.

I’ve grown so cynical with modern film and TV, I tend to unintentionally generate lists of what I think they’ll change about a book’s story once they adapt it, and what they’ll add and leave out. Usually, these lists are fairly accurate. Game of Thrones, for instance: how depressing it is to be absolutely correct some times. Not that the books were much better, but a pinecone up the ass doesn’t make a kick in the nuts feel any better.

A lot of people would describe Altered Carbon as having cyberpunk vibes, and this is true, but I believe it fits more comfortably into the realm of biopunk than anything else. If you’re not familiar with the concepts herein, Altered Carbon involves a distant future in which humanity has colonized the stars over many generations using sleeper ships, and with a little help from recovered alien star-maps, but has not achieved faster-than-light interstellar travel. The central technology in this universe is the cortical stack, a type of neural backup which allows a person’s consciousness to be digitally stored in a “disc” and uploaded into a new body if they die.

The new bodies are referred to as sleeves, and the filthy rich clone themselves so their sleeves are all identical and genetically enhanced, but most common folk have to accept whatever body is available or is covered by their insurance, or even a synthetic sleeve (which in the novel is a cheap and distasteful thing, but in the series synthetics seem to have superpowers). People can only travel quickly to other star systems in the settled worlds (known as the Protectorate) by transmitting their stored consciousness into another cortical stack on their planet of destination and uploading into a new sleeve there (a process called needlecasting), but physically transporting anything still takes a really long time for ships to travel across the vast distance of space.

Straight out of the gate, this concept does not appeal to me at all. If there’s anything that drains your story of tension and thrills, it’s got to be the idea that everyone lives forever. The way the universe is constructed however, it ends up making the story far more interesting than what I had anticipated. Not everyone can afford to live forever, first of all, since re-sleeving can be an extremely expensive undertaking, and even those who have the money rarely feel the desire to live more than two lifetimes. Additionally there are complications which can arise, such as personality fragging, a type of insanity which occurs when a person is sleeved in one too many different bodies throughout their life.

Certain religious groups also vehemently resist re-sleeving, and for law enforcement various lengthy sentences of storage without the possibility to re-sleeve are the primary means of punishment for most crimes. There are even interesting concepts like criminals who copy their consciousness into several cortical stacks at once, making them difficult to apprehend once and for all. Other criminals and intelligence operatives also utilize virtuality to torture people in a digital environment, allowing them to subject victims to days or even months of agony which equates to only a few hours in real-time. Real death can also still occur, if the individual’s cortical stack is badly damaged or destroyed.

The actual plot involves a former soldier named Takeshi Kovacs, who is paroled early from a criminal sentence and re-sleeved by a rich tycoon who offers to exonerate Kovacs of his crimes if he can solve a murder. While reluctant to work for some rich asshole, Kovacs is almost instantly attacked by mercenaries which makes him curious enough to take the case. Kovacs then works to investigate the purported crime while getting himself into a bit of trouble with the locals, and trying to deal with extreme trauma from his combat experiences.

It’s surprising that in the case of Altered Carbon I was entirely incorrect in everything I thought the producers might add/change/amputate from the original story. I also could not have predicted what they decided to add and how they decided to change certain elements from the story of Morgan’s novel. I believe the series they crafted from his story is competently scripted, very well cast, doesn’t waste too much time with any silly subplots, and is generally a well-paced, adult-themed sci-fi story. Altered Carbon really wants to take itself seriously, in the same vein as things like SyFy’s praiseworthy diamond The Expanse, but its unique setting gets a little too bogged down in conventional tropes for my liking. Gratuitous T&A (as well as other, less commonly exploited extremities) and generous helpings of the fuck-words do not an edgy and intense sci-fi experience make. Good but not great, would be my general assessment of the series.

Don’t get me wrong here, Altered Carbon is plenty intense, even thrilling at certain points, but a somewhat bland smattering of writers and directors, thrown into the recipe with a few others who are brilliant geniuses, create a mixed bag of stylistic choices which don’t always fit together very well. So you’re often left with an unusually faithful adaptation of a badass novel, wonderfully enhanced in certain aspects, but grotesquely mutated in others, and some of the conflicting storytelling elements feel hurriedly stitched together. A Patchwork Man of a story, rather than prime quality tank flesh. None of Altered Carbon’s flaws are crippling however, and all-told I’d say the series is eminently watchable and very worth your while if you enjoy futuristic sci-fi stories.

WARNING: Spoilers ahead.

First the good news. This series stars an extremely talented cast of performers who own their roles with wonderful conviction, and very convincing poise.

Joel Kinnaman has been on my good side since he appeared in The Killing, and even his unfortunate role in the Robocop reboot didn’t water down my appreciation for him. I feel like his role as the newly sleeved Takeshi Kovacs was perfectly cast. Martha Higareda is just a little too cute to be such a badass, but she winds up playing Detective Ortega to that strong female archetype in a far less sensational and much more casual way than what you might expect from the modern trends of scripting for such characters. Though quite the opposite of Higareda in terms of the role she plays, Renée Elise Goldsberry brims with charisma as Quellcrist Falconer, a sort of futuristic Che Guevara if he had also practiced Zen and gong fu, and was a woman. Chris Collins is also incredibly memorable as Kovacs’ A.I. hotel manager Poe.

Ato Essandoh as Vernon Elliott became one of my favorite characters as the series goes on, and though I wasn’t totally sold on the arc of her character Hayley Law as Elliott’s daughter Lizzie completed a very nice trifecta of beautiful lead women who just happen to be racially diverse. The third of these ladies, of course, is Dichen Lachman who I’ve got to say delivers probably the most convincing and most nuanced performance in the entire series, having to run a wild labyrinth of different emotional expressions which all feel very genuine. As was the case with Sylvia Hoeks as Luv in Blade Runner: 2049, Dichen Lachman as Rei hooked me instantly and woudn’t let go. Maybe I just got a thing for sociopathic women or something.

There are also a few minor roles worth mentioning, Marlene Forte does a great job as the overbearing mother of detective Ortega, which again felt very genuine and not forced, Tamara Taylor as ambitious sleazy attorney Oumou Prescott gave me chills with her smug smile (again perfect casting), Kristin Lehman and James Purefoy seem a perfectly matched pair of megalomaniacs, Byron Mann and Will Yun Lee kick ass portraying Kovacs at very different stages of his troubled life, and there is some terrifically believable acting on the parts of child actors Morgan Gao and Riley Lai Nelet.

All that being said, not everything the actors are given to do is particularly well-written, in my humble opinion.

Takeshi Kovacs is something called an Envoy, a type of specially trained soldier who is mentally conditioned to be hyper-aware at all times, integrate and adapt to new environments and circumstances, and even manipulate his own bodily chemistry, allowing him to eliminate the pain threshold, instantly recover from debilitating drugs, and avoid lingering trauma from torture. The Envoys were created to help the Protectorate put-down political dissidents and rebels, which were running rampant throughout the settled worlds at the time of the Envoy Program’s inception. Many of these rebels often followed the outlawed “Quellist” writings of an infamously respected revolutionary leader called Quellcrist Falconer who fought, and lost, against the Protectorate hundreds of years before the time of the novel (and long before Kovacs was born). When she was born, Quellcrist Falconer, like Kovacs, also happened to be from Harlan’s World. In the novel, this reputation causes Harlan’s World to be viewed as a backwater source of rogues and misfits by citizens of more civilized worlds (which is fair, since it’s described by Kovacs as being overrun by crime syndicates and swamp gangs). But even compared to Harlan’s World, Earth is considered a polluted over-populated shit hole.

In the novel he was trained by the somewhat fascist forces of the Protectorate, and the Envoy Corps was an elite black ops group who could be transmitted to any planet and topple the regime in less time than it would take a massive army to win a single battle. In the series, Kovacs is just a random soldier burn during the time of the Quellist revolution, but Envoys were created and trained by revolutionary leader Quellcrist Falconer to combat the very fascist forces of the Protectorate, whom were too used to conventional warfare to properly adapt to Quell’s asymmetrical tactics.

The problem for me, with this particular change in the writing, is that much of the details have been glossed over. I never got a sense of how Quell was able to so efficiently condition her soldiers into such a formidable force, nor did her portrayal emphasize her military acumen in this manner very convincingly. Quell’s character is certainly charismatic and sympathetic to the audience, but I find it much easier to accept that Envoys are the product of sociopathic, strict, and brutal military conditioning than to grasp the concept that a fairly undisciplined group of freedom fighters were able to develop such a sophisticated method of training. If Quell’s rebels were portrayed differently, it might be easier to accept, but in the series they seem more like hippies with guns than hardened elite warriors.

This is one of my only major gripes with the series as a whole, and it wouldn’t even be that big of a deal to me if it didn’t play such a large role in the plot and arc of Kovacs as a character. I didn’t like the way it changed his backstory either.

See, in the novel Kovacs is a former Envoy turned career criminal since Envoys are generally feared by everyone despite their having fought for the Protectorate, so they don’t have a lot of options and their skillset is only useful in a limited context. He’s haunted by his combat experiences, regrets his role in assisting the government in putting down various rebels, and has a cultural misunderstanding of Earth because he’s from Harlan’s World. His criminal ventures could be seen as his own personal revolution, and Kovacs has spent about a century in and out of storage since leaving the military, but has only been consciously alive for about forty years. He isn’t portrayed as a morally centered person, but he has his own system of honor, and he selfishly accepts Laurens Bancroft’s offer because it’s a way out of a lengthy sentence. This gives him a nice arc, because he slowly becomes more morally invested in what he’s doing as certain things come to light, and ultimately risks it all toward the end basically to avenge the death of a prostitute and save a single life, which is a nice shift in contrast from the Kovacs we see leave storage at the start of the book.

In the series Kovacs is a lovesick puppy dog, who misses his one true love. He’s a former Quell revolutionary who also became a career criminal, but the moment he got caught they put him in storage indefinitely, because he’s the last of the Envoys, the rest of which were mercilessly butchered by stormtroopers from the evil Protectorate which has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. When the series begins, he awakens 250 years after he was captured and he finds that the galaxy has become what he always feared, a one-percenter’s paradise ruled by the rich, where the poor are exploited and marginalized and everyone with even the slightest sense of prominence is an irredeemable asshole. Politics aside, this change makes his character arc far less interesting to me, because he doesn’t want to help Bancroft but his reluctance comes from a very different place than the book, and ultimately Kovacs accepts the offer not out of selfishness but because the ghost of his dead girlfriend tells him to.

This also deeply conflicts with the first time we’re introduced to Kovacs, in his usual East Asian sleeve on Harlan’s World where he speaks of caring only for “getting paid” and seems like a typical devil-may-care bad boy. Then when he’s talking to Bancroft, he tells the tycoon “Some things can’t be bought. Like me.” So which is it? Do you only care about getting paid, or can you not be bought? This makes for a somewhat confusing characterization of Kovacs, who one minute is murderously avenging himself upon psychotic bio-smugglers and claiming he cares for no one, only to turn around and behave like a typical romantic the next. It isn’t entirely jarring, but for me it hurt the dark tone and mature themes to discover the central core of the series is a centuries-old fairytale love story.

Sorry. I like fairytale love stories. But I also like darkly thematic dystopian science fiction, and in my opinion the two mix about as well as apple liqueur and olive oil.

This is all, however, as I said one off my only major gripes about the series. And even the sum of its parts aren’t badly executed. Like I said, Quell is charismatic, Kovacs is haunted, and all three actors (Kinnaman, Goldsberry, and Kim as Kovacs in his original sleeve) deliver convincing performances as well as share a great sense of chemistry, so the love story is believable at least. Visual effects and set design are also wonderful, and for such a high concept sci-fi setting it all feels very seamless. Dialogue is well-scripted as well, and most of Poe’s interactions with other characters are some of the best scenes. It’s also nice to see a series that exploits the naked female form to a fault, yet also makes a point to ensure you get just as much if not far more male nudity to surprisingly counterpoint its shamelessness. I haven’t seen this many swinging dicks since the last time I read YouTube comments. Just makes you feel better when the characters finally ride the stuffed unicorn, know what I mean?

Many of the minor roles from the novel are also modified to make certain characters more important, and some of their roles have been altered so that they are completely different people. Some of these changes work better than others. Rei, as Tak’s sister rather than just some asshole crime boss he once knew, was a change in the story that had the reverse effect of how I felt about the altered Kovacs/Envoy backstory. It makes Reileen a more interesting character than just the Big Bad you might expect in such a story, and causes her motivations, maniacal as they remain, to be far more empathic and invested in the events of the plot. In that light, they made the villain stand out as memorable among the bland villains we often get in movies and TV shows now, thanks to the K-Mart quality antagonists so popularized by the Marvel movies.

While certainly not perfect, Altered Carbon still manages to offer fans of science fiction a fascinating world populated by characters who are easy to give a damn about, and a galaxy spanning story of heartbreak, betrayal, and retribution. I personally wasn’t that big a fan of the romantic warrior monk stuff in this particular story, but that doesn’t mean it won’t appeal to others. There’s enough mystery here to keep you guessing, and enough solid dramatic force to keep us wanting more on its own merits, not by virtue of any stupid cliffhangers. Much of the visual style and action sequences are just icing on the cake, really. Though, I confess, I almost jizzed my pants when I got to see the Phillips Squeeze Gun in action. And there’s nothing quite like one of those sci-fi stories where someone picks up a samurai sword, let alone during the finale.

All told, I’d watch Altered Carbon again, and you should too. Regardless of whatever I say, or my own personal preferences, it deserves your attention. Because it may be adapted from a novel, but a least it’s trying to be something different than most of what’s out there right now, even if its poetic love story doesn’t want it to be. So, ignore cynical bastards like me, watch the damn show and decide for yourself.

                    侍    headless                   

[orangememory]

Nirvana in Fire 2, Episode 4: Recap

We are onto Episode 4 now. Thankfully the wonderful subbers at Viki (Yay Gone with the shirt Team!) have very quickly subbed 6 episodes. For the first 2 weeks, we will get 6 episodes on Viki and DF, whereas in the mainland 12 episodes have already been released.

I will be saving my thoughts till the end of this recap. An idea by a friend on Discord was also to include screencaps of new characters so I will try my best as I am on mobile. Onto the recap!

Last Episode:

In Episode 3, Pingjing and Lin Xi start their investigations into the military boat accident aided by Pingjing's cousin Xiao Yuanqi. They have a few nice martial arts fights, and now race against time and baddies Magistrate Zhang, Policeman Qian and Smug-as-fuck Private Assistant to one Minister Song Fu, PA Qin (whose real name is fire-wielding martial artist Duan Tongzhou). The clue to unraveling the case lies in material evidence - and in the one ship that is still sunken in the river.

Episode 4 recap:

- Pingjing and Lin Xi make their way over to the river to find the sunken ship, where Pingjing very casually takes his clothes off in front of Lin Xi. I know its fanservice to the audience at least a little bit, but credit to (the writer and) Lin Xi for not turning all hot and awkward like all asian-drama heroines usually do. Well, she is a doctor, not some blushing maiden, and she has had her hands up and around the gorgeous abs of Xiao Pingzhang which are much better than his brother's....you can see how easily I am distracted here.

- Lin Xi's focus however, is the ridic Bollywood betrothal longevity locket Pingjing is wearing, and she flashes back to her sickly mother with the same locket, telling Lin Xi to not care about the position of a noble's wife, but gain a husband she could live long with.

- Our little Divine Diving Dragon Pingjing has been in the water too long, which disconcerts Lin Xi, so the brat comes up to declare that he can dive for longer but he knows 'softhearted' Lin Xi will worry so he wants to show his face. Not a smart thing to say to women who can fling darts and poison you, little Dragon. Learn from great-grandpa's mistakes.

- However, Pingjing's diving abilities are no joke when he indeed brings up some evidence from below, including some wooden parts of the ship. Later, our trio of smols including Yuanqi, investigate the wood piece and find that it was covered with some sort of jelly, which is hardened when submerged underwater - but becomes brittle when struck with force. Translation, someone coated the ship's wood with this jelly knowing there would be a collision, and the jelly helped exacerbate the impact and cracks, finally sinking ships that should not have sunk. Yuanqi becomes angry and indignant at people who would dare play with people's lives like this. Oh honey, in the future it's gonna be you, it will be sad to see you on the dark side.

- In the meantime, PA Qin/Duan Tongzhou calls over Evil Policeman Qian, and makes him an offer - because he can feel that Magistrate Zhang has not been entirely truthful in their dealings and has kept some buried proof to find his own way out of this mess. PA Qin reminds Qian gently that he is different - which means that Zhang has family and would likely confess, where Qian would lose his life. However if Qian helps destroy the threat that Zhang poses, he can keep his head. Points to Qian however, because there is honour among thieves, and he asks PA Qin not to hurt Zhang who he has served for 8 years. In the night, Qian spies on Zhang removing and burning some secret correspondences he has saved under the floorboard.

- The next day, Yuanqi and Pingjing take stock of all the spies dressed as beggars outside Jifeng Hall, knowing that they are being watched and followed. The most important course of action now, is to wait and watch - however they worry about one witness who is yet to be protected, Magistrate Zhang himself, who Pingjing believes will be crucial to the investigation. Pingjing goes to meet Zhang.

- PA Qin/DT pays a visit to Zhang and threatens him sweetly by burning his letters to complete ashes in his hand just by crushing them! I found this so dangerous and cool, like this dude has so much power that he can burn shit at will. Zhang has no choice but to agree to these conditions.

- Yun-jie, the nurse from Jifeng Hall, delivers supplies to an old, dilapidated winery which is hiding our main witnesses, the physicians and the military boat captain. But she has been followed by PA Qin's lackey! He reports this to PA Qin, who looks smug as usual (I hate his face) and decides to take action. He asks Lackey to undertake another mission for him.

- PA Qin leads Qian and his men to the hideout, and Qian again asks if Magistrate Zhang will be all right. I know this is a small, possibly negligible detail of a minor character - but this is what I love about this show or NIF in general. Even the minor characters have ideas, behaviours and agendas. Qian could have been shown as a mindless lackey but he has a brain, he has conflicted emotions about this business and he is loyal to his master. These characters seem real and fleshed out, no matter how small their screen time.

- The Jifeng Hall spots Qian leading his men to the hideout, and immediately inform Lin Xi and Yuanqi. They are slightly at a loss what to do - when Yuanqi offers to risk his life, taking a few men to the hideout while Lin Xi gets Pingjing. The smols are in action mode!

- At the Magistrate's office, Zhang receives the news with resignation that Pingjing is here. But before he can meet him, PA Qin's lackey comes with a white silk cloth and we know what that means. As Magistrate Zhang is taking his last breaths, wham!bam! Pingjing appears and saves the day. He knocks out lackey in one blow, I am impressed!

- Yuanqi and a band of his men rush to the winery juuuust in the nick of time and face off against Qian and smug-looking PA Qin. He uses his royal status and declares the hideout/winery to belong to him, and how dare Qian come and infiltrate his land! PA Qin does not seem worried or fazed by Yuanqi, entering into a battle of laws (yawn, boring) but he needles some sort of hidden anger in Yuanqi, by declaring that the Emperor has not bestowed a feudal land upon him, so Yuanqi does not know the difference between imperial property and personally-purchased property.

- Now this could be a trifling detail, but Yuanqi gets so angry that when Leader Qian asks his men to go forth and search, he kills a man in cold blood, declaring that just because he is idle nobility does not mean he cannot take action. You go boy! Also another interesting detail, Yuanqi's hands are shaking and his eyes fill with moisture, indicating he is actually afraid of this whole situation but yet he is standing strong. It shows the nature of his character who gets pissed off when he is told he cannot do anything. Interesting.

- Pingjing and Lin Xi arrive! They bring Magistrate Zhang as a hostage and Leader Qian is a bit taken aback. Pingjing shows his official badge from the House of Changlin, but PA Qin even dares question it. A tense stand-off ensues (with a great comic moment where our favourite brat raps Zhang hard on the butt with his sword lol) but it is broken up by the arrival of reinforcements!

- It is General Yuan of the Changlin Army (who PJ calls Uncle Yuan) and General Ji of the Shanliu Army stationed in Qizhou. Vastly outnumbered, Duan Tongzhou puts his skills to the test, throwing steel darts at everybody. Pingjing and Lin Xi manage to avoid them, but Duan Tongzhou kills Policeman Qian specifically before wuxia flying away. Lin Xi looks at Magistrate Zhang and narrows her eyes, suspecting something.

- Pingjing is verrrry put out by the arrival of Uncle Yuan, because this means his dad has not trusted him and has been plotting behind the scenes! His father had suspected the imperial envoys would be scholarly ministers who could not deal with the situation, and he felt that local forces near to Datong could be colluding with Zhang and Duan, hence he dispatched Uncle Yuan to seek the help of high-ranking General Ji of faraway Qizhou who came to help. This family, oh my god. I swear I smell bits of Uncle MCS in Tingsheng and Pingjing - those Lin family genes!

- Lin Xi offers to accompany the doctors of Jifeng Hall who are witnesses as they have received a shock. Yun-jie (Princess Liyang NIF2 version) also asks to go with her to Jinling to see the city, but the soft music in the background is the sliiiighest bit ominous. Yun-jie don't go bad on us please!

- General Ji is unable to capture Duan Tongzhou after a night of searching, so the retinue finally departs for Jinling with the witnesses, Magistrate Zhang in cuffs and the smol trio of investigators. Pingjing is wary throughout the journey, suspecting something may happen soon. At one rest stop, Pingjing goes to interview Zhang, who has been very quiet but General Ji is already talking to hom - and weirdly distracts Pingjing by going - Oh look theres Lin Xi! Talk to her. Alarm bells start ringing, tra la la la la

- Pingjing spots Yuanqi who is having an unfortunate bout, trying to cope with shock and trauma. He has never killed a man before, he never knew blood was so warm. He asks Pingjing if he has killed before and the answer is silence - because Pingjing has already been in 2 battles unofficially. The cousins bond over a drink, and its kinda nice to see this kind of detail as well - a man dealing with his own struggles. I like this broship, its only gonna get sad from here. *sigh*

- The next day, they are travelling through the plains. Nothing much happens except Pingjing gives Lin Xi his cloak. Its sweet again, but not in a blushing, cute manner. Pingjing is perfectly natural in the way he acts, offering a coat to a friend and benefactor, and Lin Xi accepts it casually as well. Although we see signs that Lin Xi is warming up to him, its not a contrived romance, so +1 for that.

- Pingjing and Yuanqi hold another discussion where he elaborates to him how he smells something fishy. Duan Tongzhou had the opportunity and skills to kill Zhang at their last fight, but he ended Qian instead. What was the motive? Yuanqi and Pingjing both wonder.

- In the Palace, The Emperor, cute Crown Prince Xiao Yuanshi and the Empress are looking over his progress in studies as every Asian parent does. :P The Empress praises Rasputin/High Priest Pu to the Emperor, citing evil spirits were removed from the Crown Prince's body. The Emperor is unimpressed to the moon and back, and gently rebukes the Empress saying that he has allowed for altars and all this hocus-pocus (much more politely than me, I might add), but its not only the CP she should be thinking about, but the thousands of brave soldiers who died in the recent war, and to pray for Pingzhang's health. The Empress' face sours a bit but she has already planned some prayers.

- I must take a moment to say how beautiful and supremely graceful Mei Ting is in this Empress role. Her comportment is very regal, the way she moves her hands and all the subtle actions make her seem very very grand and impressive.

- So Pingjing and the retinue are now in a wooded area near the Capital, and Pingjing is waiting for something to happen. And so is bro Pingzhang, having reached the capital already and convalescing, thinking about where and when Pingjing will be attacked. We are introduced to his wife Meng Qianxue (the ridiculously attractive Tong Liya) who takes care of his health and his mind it seems, puzzling over the matter with her husband. End episode in the same way as NIF, abruptly - but at least they know how to do it better somewhat, and end near a cliffhanger.

Tong Liya as Meng Qianxue, wife of Xiao Pingzhang.

Thoughts:

A more plot-heavy episode definitely, and also some moments of the budding camaraderie between Lin Xi and Pingjing and Yuanqi.

What I am liking about NIF2, or maybe it is something NIF1 taught me to observe- are the details. There are many beautiful aesthetic details sure, but there are these tiny plot points and acting minutiae that catch me. As I stressed on the recap, Qian's loyalty to Zhang, Yuanqi dealing with the effects of his actions, Lin Xi's subtle observations and the Empress' very perfect demeanour hiding her ill will - its all very well executed.

I would also like to state how ridic and amazing Tong Liya is in the one scene she appears now. I have only seen her in two melo romcoms where she was a very sad heroine beleaguered by life and slapped around by men, and to see her smiling and so cute! Her chemistry with Huang Xiaoming is very natural too.

I think I wont stop raving about the Xiao family's natural warmth with each other. It doesnt seem forced at all.

That being said, now the pacing is a bit sedate for me. I discussed this with a friend and she indicated that if I go back and watch NIF there are many episodes where much doesnt happen in the foreground, but the wheels are always spinning in the background. I am all for giving NIF2 a chance - and I dont think it is required to live up to NIF, considering how classic that show is, and How personally the UST and pain between MCS and Jingyan is a very very main driver of the show for me.

NIF2 does not have that UST for me, but it does have detailed characters, plots that seem reasonable and are exposed very well, a whole galaxy of competent characters. (can i mention how much I love competence kink? But I am shit at writing it!)

I don't know what I will take away from NIF2 towards the end, but right now its the competent men and women, and the lovely family bonds we never got to experience in NIF BECAUSE THEY ALL DIED. (Okay Nihuang and Mu Qing you are an exception).

Thanks for reading, if anybody is reading that is! :)

[fancytravelerkryptonite]

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Smooth Solitaire Free is a free card game for the Mac. It allows you to play two variants of the well-known solitaire game: Klondike 1 and 3. The goal of the game is to form a full foundation of cards of the same suit from ace to 1. Not an alternative? Report a problem. Licence: Free; Rated 4.5/5 By 40,010 People. What does Full Deck Solitaire do? NOW 72 deliciously delightful solitaire games for your Mac and daily challenges! The new games and daily challenges are available as an In-App-Purchase on Mac OS X 10.8 or later. Solitaire has been part of Windows for more than 30 years, and The Microsoft Solitaire Collection makes it the best experience to date with five different card games in one. This version is the timeless classic that many people just call 'Solitaire'.

The Kingdom of Marderburg is preparing to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the ruling dynasty’s prosperity and success. The king, the princess and her fairy Godmother are ready to meet the honored guests, especially the prince from the neighboring kingdom. They did almost everything but... they forgot to invite the wicked witch. Offended by this gesture, the witch threw a curse over the castle using card magic!As the kingdom’s master of ceremonies, you must help the fairy neutralize the witch’s spells. Look for scrolls, keys and other necessary objects by completing solitaire challenges and removing magic cards!On your adventure, you’ll find lots of different obstacles and boosters while you confront unique and challenging solitaire layouts. This is a task for patient, smart and courageous players. Are you ready to fight the wicked witch using only your brain and cards? Play Princess Solitaire and save the kingdom!

Full Mac OS X Game Free Features

Play 165 amazing levels!

Various card deals and challenges!

Use boosters, wild cards and Jokers!

Enjoy a fascinating plot with quests!

Start playing unlimited online games of solitaire for free. No download or email registration required, meaning you can start playing now. Our game is the fastest loading version on the internet, and is mobile-friendly.

Play over 500 versions of solitaire - Play Klondike Turn 1, Klondike Turn 3, Spider, Free Cell, Pyramid, and Golf , among many other versions.

Undo moves - The chances of winning are between 80 and 90%. However, even if you have a winnable game, if you make one wrong move, it may be the end of your game. If you're stuck, you can undo as many moves as you’d like to get yourself back in the game and win!

Change difficulty levels - You can play with turn 1 and turn 3 options. Turn 1 is when 1 card is drawn from the stockpile at a time and is an easier version. Turn 3 is when three cards are moved from the stockpile at time, and is harder because you can only play every third card.

Track your moves and time - If you're competitive, you’ll want to track how many moves it takes to win a game, and how long it takes. You then challenge yourself to beat your record times and number of moves. Practice makes perfect!

Create a free account - If you’d like, you can register an account to save a game and pick up where you left off on any device. We’ll even track all the games you’ve played, including your time to completion and total number of moves. You’ll can see how you get better over time.

Play the game of the day - Everyday, we introduce a new winnable game. See how you perform compared to other players.

Play on your mobile phone or tablet - Our game works perfectly on any size phone or tablet device, both in vertical and horizontal orientations.

Enjoy a clean design and animations - We’ve designed our playing cards to be classic and clean, so they are easy to read as you sequence cards, and our animations keep you engaged. You can also customize designs and playing cards.

If you like classic games, try our other sites: FreeCell Challenge, Spider Solitaire Challenge, Mahjong Challenge, Minesweeper Challenge, and Unscrambled Words.

Solitaire rules and how to play

Game setup: After a 52-card deck is shuffled you’ll begin to set up the tableau by distributing the cards into seven columns face down, with each new card being placed into the next column.

The tableau increases in size from left to right, with the left-most pile containing one card and the right-most containing seven. As an example, this means the first seven cards will create the seven columns of the Tableau. The eighth card distributed will go into the second column, since the first column already has its one and only card.

After the piles are complete, they should be cascaded downwards such that they form a “reverse staircase” form towards the right. Ultimately, you will have seven piles, with the first pilie containing one card, the second pile containing two cards, the third pile containing three cards etc. Only the last card in each of the Tableau columns is flipped over face up so you can see it’s suit, color and value. In our game, this is automatically done for you!

All leftover cards after the foundations are created become the “Stock,” where you can turn over the first card.

Goal: To win, you need to arrange all the cards into the four empty Foundations piles by suit color and in numerical order, starting from Ace all the way to King.

Tableau: This is the area where you have seven columns, with the first column containing one card and each sequential column containing one more additional card. The last card of every pile is turned over face up.

Stockpile: This is where you can draw the remaining cards, which can then be played in the game. If not used, the cards are put into a waste pile. Once all cards are turned over, the remaining cards that have not been moved to either the tableau or foundation can then be redrawn from the stockpile in the same order.

Playing the game:

Face up cards in the tableau or stockpile can be moved on top of another face up card in the tableau of an opposite color that is one rank higher, forming a sequence of cards.

Groups or stacks of sequenced cards in the tableau can also be moved together on top of a card of the opposite color and higher rank.

If a tableau column has only face-down cards remaining, the last card is flipped over and can be played.

To start a foundation pile, an Ace must be played. Once a foundation pile is started, only cards of that suit can be placed in that specific pile.

As cards are surfaced from the stockpile or tableau, and there are no other cards on top of them, they may be moved to a foundation pile if they can be placed in the right order.

If a tableau column is empty, you may move a King, and only a King, to that column.

Win by moving all the cards to the Foundation piles in the right order.

History of Solitaire

One-player card games are called by some form of the word ‘solitaire’ in some countries (US, Spain, Italy, etc), ‘patience‘ in others (UK, France, etc) or ‘kabale’ in others (Scandinavia, eastern Europe), but both ‘solitaire’ and ‘patience’ are increasingly common worldwide.

The oldest of these, ‘kabale,’ implying something secret or occultic, suggests that the idea of laying out cards in a pattern or ‘tableau’ had its origins in fortune-telling (cartomancy), which became popular in the mid-1700s in Europe. Possibly its original purpose was light-heartedly to divine the success of an undertaking or a vow. If the game ‘succeeds’ or ‘comes out’, the answer is favorable, otherwise not. In France card solitaire is still called ‘réussite’, meaning ‘success’.

In a German games book of 1798 ‘patiencespiel’ appears as a contest between two players, while bystanders and presumably the players themselves wager on the outcome. Single and double-deck versions are described, and seem to be much like one later recorded in English books as Grandfather's Patience. Some references suggest either Sweden or Russia as the place of origin.

Books of solitaire games first appeared in the early 1800s in Russia and Sweden, and soon after in France and the UK. Most seem to have been written by women. A Livre des patiences par Mme de F**** (possibly the Marquise de Fortia), for example, was into its third edition by 1842 and was soon translated into English. Many of the games described have titles commemorating the Emperor Napoleon, such as Napoleon at St Helena, Napoleon’s Square, etc, probably based on the entirely mistaken assumption that Napoleon amused himself by playing solitaire in exile, for which there is no evidence. In fact he most often played games called Pique and Whist.

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Dickens portrays a character playing patience in Great Expectations. This was published in 1861, the year in which Queen Victoria’s husband, Albert, who was himself a keen player, died. The first American collection was Patience: A series of thirty games with cards, by Ednah Cheney (1870). Around that time, a British Noble women named Lady Adelaide Cadogan published Illustrated Games of Patience. The last decades of that century were the heyday of patience games, the largest collections being compiled by the prolific Mary Whitmore Jones.

From then on solitaire games settled down into a fairly nondescript existence. From popular literature, print media and movies it soon becomes clear that most people with any interest in card games knew only two or three of the most popular types, such as Klondike and Spider, and whichever one they played they called solitaire without being aware that any others existed. Such further collections that appeared in print were largely rehashes of classic titles, with little or no acknowledgement given to previous authors or inventors. Nothing of any value appeared until 1950 when Albert Morehead and Geoffrey Mott-Smith published their Complete Book of Patience. These authors had clearly studied all the literature, tidied up conflicting rules, and for the first time ever decided to classify games and arrange them in some sort of logical progression. Thus, if you found that you liked a particular game you could then explore others of similar type, and ignore the ones that failed to appeal to you. Throughout most of its history solitaire has been regarded as a pastime for invalids rather than the physically active, and for women rather than men, though it must have been much played by prisoners-of-war who were fortunate enough to have some recreational time on their hands.

All that began to change in 1990 with the advent of Microsoft’s first digital solitaire collection, originally intended to teach people how to use a computer mouse. This same phenomenon caused FreeCell and Spider to both rise in popularity among the general population, as they appeared as free games in later editions of Windows. According to a news item released in May 2020 over half-a-billion players in the past decade alone have played the game. It is now a global phenomenon.

Note that many games from the late 1800s have you start by arranging the cards in a pretty but complicated pattern taking up a lot of space. These gradually went out of fashion over the last 160 years as tables got smaller and players wanted to spend more time playing than dealing. They could be easily reproduced on a desktop monitor but would not be suitable for play on the small screen of a cellphone. In any case, strictly symmetrical, straight up-and-down layouts are more in keeping with the digital zeitgeist.

Solitaire Card Games Free For Mac

Citations and further reading:

Free Solitaire For Mac Computer

Das neue Königliche L’Hombre-Spiel, 1798.

A collection of the card layouts usually known as Grand-patiences, 1826.

Mary Whitmore Jones, Games of Patience for One or More Players, 1890 - 1910.

Albert Hodges Morehead and Geoffrey Mott-Smith, The Complete Book of Patience, 1971.

David Parlet, Solitaire: Aces Up and 399 Other Card Games, 1978.

Solitaire For Free For Mac

[malcolmadrian97]

Learn Reiki Geelong Sublime Cool Tips

If you are introduced to the patient lying down and eager to start with Reiki 2 is where reiki symbols into your life.Some practitioners start with massage, have a Reiki practitioner is receiving the placebo.As this energy and the magnification of the properties Mikao Usui, never saw himself as a practice, you do a Reiki master?Many have reported feelings of peace and health and relieve chronic pain, including pain from ankle injuries, neck tension, and even makes your body reflects pain in the body.

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[larsminute]

Coronavirus may confine us - but we can learn to explore in very different ways

Alain de Botton: how to travel from your sofa At some point in the 1650s, the French philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal jotted down one of the most counterintuitive aphorisms of all time: “The sole cause of man’s unhappiness is that he cannot stay quietly in his room.

”Really? Surely having to stay quietly in one’s room must be the start of a particularly evolved kind of psychological torture? What could be more opposed to the human spirit than to have to inhabit four walls when, potentially, there would be a whole planet to explore?

And yet Pascal’s idea usefully challenges one of our most cherished beliefs: that we must always go to new places in order to feel and discover fresh and worthwhile things. What if, in fact, there were already a treasury inside us?

What if we had within our own brains already accumulated a sufficient number of awe-inspiring, calming and interesting experiences to last us 10 lifetimes? What if our real problem was not so much that we are not allowed to go anywhere — but that we don’t know how to make the most of what is already to hand?

Being confined at home gives us a range of curious benefits. The first is an encouragement to think. Whatever we like to believe, few of us do much of the solitary, original, bold kind of thinking that can restore our spirits and move our lives ahead. The new ideas we might stumble upon if we did travel more ambitiously around our minds while lying on the sofa could threaten our mental status quo.

An original thought might, for example, alienate us from what people around us think of as normal. Or it might herald a realisation that we’ve been pursuing the wrong approach to an important issue in our lives, perhaps for a long time. If we took a given new idea seriously, we might have to abandon a relationship, leave a job, ditch a friend, apologise to someone, rethink our sexuality or break a habit.

But a period of quiet thinking in our room creates an occasion when the mind can order and understand itself. Fears, resentments and hopes become easier to name; we grow less scared of the contents of our own minds — and less resentful, calmer and clearer about our direction. We start, in faltering steps, to know ourselves slightly better. 

Another thing we can do in our own rooms is to return to travels we have already taken.This is not a fashionable idea. Most of the time, we are given powerful encouragement to engineer new kinds of travel experiences.The idea of making a big deal of revisiting a journey in memory sounds a little strange —or simply sad. This is an enormous pity. We are careless curators of our own pasts. We push the important scenes that have happened to us to the back of the cupboard of our minds and don’t expect to see them ever again.

But what if we were to alter the hierarchy of prestige a little and argue that regular immersion in our travel memories could be a critical part of what can sustain and console us — and, not least, is perhaps the cheapest and most flexible form of entertainment. We should think it almost as prestigious to sit at home and reflect on a trip we once took to an island with our imaginations, as to trek to the island with our cumbersome bodies.

In our neglect of our memories, we are spoilt children, who squeeze only a portion of the pleasure from experiences and then toss them aside to seek fresh thrills. Part of why we feel the need for so many new experiences may simply be that we are so bad at absorbing the ones we have had.

To help us focus more on our memories, we need nothing technical. We certainly don’t need a camera. There is one in our minds already: it is always on, it takes in everything we’ve ever seen. Huge chunks of experience are still there in our heads,intact and vivid, just waiting for us to ask ourselves leading questions, such as:“Where did we go after we landed?” or “What was the first breakfast like?” Our experiences have not disappeared, just because they are no longer unfolding right in front of our eyes. We can remain in touch with so much of what made them pleasurable simply through the art of evocation.and reflect on a trip we once took to an island as to trek to the island with our cumbersome bodies.

We talk endlessly of virtual reality. Yet we don’t need gadgets. We have the finest virtual reality machines already in our own heads. We can — right now — shut our eyes and travel into, and linger among, the very best and most consoling and life-enhancing bits of our pasts.

We tend to travel because of a background belief that, of course, the reality of a scene must be nicer than a mental image we form of it at home. But there is something about the way our minds work that we would do well to study when we regret our inability to go anywhere. There will always be something else that obscures that beautiful destination scene, something so tricky and oppressive as to somewhat undermine the purpose of having left home in the first place, namely: ourselves. 

We have no choice but to bring ourselves along to every destination we ever want to enjoy. And that means bringing along so much of the mental baggage that makes being us so intolerably problematic day to day: all the anxiety, regret, confusion, guilt,irritability and despair.

None of this smear of the self is there when we picture a trip from home for a few minutes. In the imagination, we can enjoy unsullied views. But there, at the foot of the golden temple or high up on the pine-covered mountain, we stand to find that there is so much of “us” intruding on our vistas.

There’s a tragicomic irony at work: the vast labour of getting ourselves physically to a place won’t necessarily bring us any closer to the essence of what we seek. As we should remind ourselves, we may already enjoy the very best that any place has to offer us simply by thinking about it.

Let’s turn to another Frenchman with a comparable underlying philosophy. In the spring of 1790, a 27-year-old writer called Xavier de Maistre locked himself at home and decided to study the wonders and beauty of what lay closest to him,entitling the account of what he had seen A Journey Around My Room.

The book is a charming shaggy-dog story. De Maistre shuts his door and changes into a pair of pink-and-blue pyjamas. Without needing to pack a suitcase, he “travels” to the sofa, which he looks at through fresh eyes and appreciates anew. He admires itselegant feet and remembers the pleasant hours he has spent among its cushions,dreaming of professional success and love.

Next, de Maistre spots his bed. Using a traveller’s perspective, he also learns to value this piece of furniture. He feels gratitude for the agreeable nights he has passed in it and takes pride that his sheets almost match his pyjamas. “I advise every man who can to get himself pink-and-white bed linen,” he writes, for these are colours to induce calm and pleasant reveries in the fragile sleeper.

However playful, de Maistre’s work is inspired by a profound insight: that the pleasure we find in new places is perhaps dependent more on the mindset with which we travel than on the destination. If only we could apply a similar mindset to our own rooms and immediate neighbourhoods, we might find these places becoming no less fascinating than foreign lands.

So, what is the traveller’s mindset? Receptivity, appreciation and gratitude might beits chief characteristics. And, crucially, this mindset doesn’t need to wait for a farawayjourney to be deployed.

A walk is the smallest sort of journey we can ever undertake. It stands in relation to atypical holiday as a bonsai tree does to a forest. But even if it is only an eight-minute interlude around the block or a few moments in a nearby park, a walk is already a journey in which many of the grander themes of travel are present.

We might, on such a walk, catch sight of a flower. It is extremely rare properly to delight in flowers when one can at any point take off to another continent. There are so many larger, grander things to be concerned about than these small, delicately sculpted manifestations of nature. However, it is unusual to be left entirely indifferent by flowers when the world has narrowed dramatically and there is global sadness in the air. Flowers no longer seem like a petty distraction from a mighty destiny, but a genuine pleasure amid a litany of troubles, a small resting place for hope in a sea of difficulties.

Or we might, on a local walk, spot a small animal: a duck or a hedgehog. Its life goes on utterly oblivious to ours. It is entirely devoted to its own purposes. The habits of its species have not changed for centuries. We may be looking intently at it but it feels not the slightest curiosity about who we are; from its point of view, we are absorbed into the immense blankness of unknowable things. A duck will take a piece of bread as gladly from a criminal as from a high-court judge, from a billionaire as from a bankrupt felon; our individuality is suspended and, on certain days, that may be an enormous relief.

On our walk around the block, themes we’d lost touch with — childhood, an odd dream we’ve had, a friend we haven’t seen for years, a big task we had always told ourselves we’d undertake — float into attention. In physical terms, we’re hardly going any distance at all, but we’re crossing acres of mental territory.

A short while later, we’re back at home once again. No one has missed us, or perhaps even noticed we’ve been out. Yet we are subtly different: a slightly more complete,more visionary, courageous and imaginative version of the person we knew how to be before we wisely went out on a modest journey.

We will — one day — recover our freedoms. The world will be ours to roam in once more. But during our collective confinements, aside from the obvious inconveniences,we might come to cherish some of what is granted to us when we lose our customary liberties. It cannot be a coincidence that many of the world’s greatest thinkers have spent unusual amounts of time alone in their rooms. Silence gives us an opportunity to appreciate a great deal of what we generally see without properly noticing; and to understand what we have felt but not yet adequately processed.

We have at present not only been locked away; we have also been granted the privilege of being able to travel around a range of unfamiliar, sometimes daunting but essentially wondrous inner continents. 

- Alain de Botton