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Another aspect I would include in the 13 if I could write them was all of them being prone to bickering with each other. When you put 13 demigods who are all varying levels of arrogant in one room sparks tend to fly.
Oh, I consider the original Primes as true, full-blown gods as each of them had taken more pieces of Primus on purpose.
But yeah, they most definitely bicker and form posses and shit talk across the planet.
The reasons why there isn't more of those particular fables are because of ongoing destruction via imperialism, colonization, and revisionist history.
You had the remaining Primes by guilt, grief, and rage striking down records in the aftermath of their dead and scattered siblings, the constant warfare between Prima's Guiding Hand and the coalition of Wilders made of Predacons, beastformers, and other bipedal mecha, Lost Colonies with failing space-bridges, the Quintessons immensely fucking with things within their "Crown Jewel of the Empire" to make it more manageable and docile, the aftermath of rebellion to kick out the Quintessons, planetwide operations that destroyed the natural resources to the point of widespread deprivation, the caste system, and another civil war.
So much had been lost either by design or complete accident.
#ask#scatter44#transformers#transformers prime#tfp#gods and goddesses#maccadam#my thoughts#tf headcanons#violence#fuuuuuuck i have so many thoughts about them#and how everything basically dominoed out to the point that the Great War was set in stone#like it HAD to happen#the return of the Predacons is a divine act to right some the wrongs#like imagine if the Predacons played a crucial part in regulating Energon roots on Cybertron?
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The Voyage So Far: Whole Cake Island
east blue (1 | 2) || alabasta (1 | 2) || skypiea || water 7 || enies lobby || thriller bark || paramount war (1 | 2) || fishman island || punk hazard || dressrosa (1 | 2) || whole cake island || wano
sanji is such a self-sacrificial idiot. and i know that’s not exactly a ground-breaking statement, but it does define the entire first half of whole cake island, so it may as well be reiterated here: sanji does not value his own life as much as he should, and fails to grasp that other people care about him outside of what he can offer them, which is why he’s so surprised when luffy later comes charging headlong into big mom’s territory.
zou is a really good little arc, and it also mirrors the themes of whole cake island in miniature. the minks collectively make a massive sacrifice and risk absolutely everything to protect raizou, and wci is essentially all about loyalty and sacrifice, whether its sanji giving himself up to protect the strawhats and zeff or luffy and the strawhats facing impossible odds to rescue him to pedro giving up his life to get them all out of there safe.
huge fan of this panel partly just because it’s cute and partly because it’s a great visualization of just how dysfunctional the heights are in one piece.
zou is one of my favorite settings in one piece just for the sheer creativity of it. zunesha is so massive and so mysterious and so strange. and she really looks unspeakably old just from how she’s drawn, looming over everyone and everything, eyes hollow and empty, an entire forest and an entire people growing on her back that have been there for thousands of years. it’s just so neat and so wildly inventive.
this applies to zou as a whole, but i think it’s really cool how all the little threads that will become important during wano are set up so effectively even before whole cake island starts. we get this shot here of kidd beat to shit and then forget it because so much happens between here and when he shows up again in wano, but then oda punks us into caring about him and killer so much and this retroactively becomes very important.
ever since his introduction sanji’s always been a character basically defined by his adherence to his principles: always feeding the hungry, never wasting food, never hurting women, never using his hands in combat. he’s probably the most firmly principled person on the crew, and that’s more obvious in whole cake island than in any other arc except maybe baratie.
sanji is very stubbornly good, which puts him in acute contrast to his siblings and their general cruel apathy. it’s something i really like about him.
i’m a huge fan of big mom’s introduction, which is also our introduction to tottoland in general. it’s cutesy and colorful and musical while simultaneously being deeply creepy, with lyrics about killing people for ingredients and making jam out of blood, which is a great summary of the core of big mom’s character. she’s an old lady all in pink who lives in a cartoon fairy-tale land- but she’s also a deranged cannibal, and all those singing trees and flowers are animated by the life she steals from her citizens as tax.
whole cake island draws on a lot of fairy tale motifs (especially with brulee), and the contrast that saccharine appearance creates with how fucked up the actual content is is super effective and memorable, i think.
honestly i find most of the content of sanji with the vinsmokes just plain upsetting, which i’m sure is intentional, so i’m not going to go into it a lot here, but i am including this panel of him kicking niji in the face.
sad as this scene turns out, luffy’s absolute thrill at finding sanji and the corresponding bafflement of the vinsmokes as to how the fuck he even got there always kinda makes me grin.
i always love seeing people’s underestimations about luffy get thrown right the hell out the window- because let’s be honest, he’s easy to underestimate, he’s like a five and a half foot tall rubber teenager and not very physically intimidating and all, and then he goes and pulls off the impossible without blinking.
the thing that makes luffy unique as a captain has always been his willingness to rely on his crew, and his willingness to openly admit that reliance, like he did all the way back in arlong park. most of the other contenders for the pirate king’s crown we’ve seen- big mom, kaidou, crocodile once upon a time- have been stubbornly individualistic people who explicitly shown not to care for their crew and allies, generally seeing them as disposable.
luffy is the opposite of all of them, because his crew are everything to him, to the point of being willing to sacrifice his dream for them. and the loyalty he wins from them in return is unmatched, as opposed to big mom and kaidou, who both get cheerfully betrayed not just by their own crewmates but by their own children.
brook is really cool in whole cake island, and honestly it comes at just the right time for him as a character. ever since his introductory arc in thriller bark until this point he hasn’t gotten a ton of focus, so it’s great that he gets to be the mvp here and demonstrate exactly why he’s a strawhat pirate and how much he’s grown over the timeskip.
oda is generally really good at introducing and handling characters contained to a single arc/saga, but i do think he absolutely knocked it out of the park with pedro. he has an interesting backstory, compelling motivations, and basically an entire sub-arc ending in his death that never distracts from the main plot, but only ever adds to it.
pedro really feels like a fully realized character who’s had a whole life offscreen, who we just happened to catch at the very end of his story. i think that’s super impressive.
i really love this moment, because for me, this is the moment where whole cake island becomes a tremendous arc, and where the tides begin to turn and the dominoes begin to fall, one after the other. this is sanji hitting absolute rock bottom. the one ray of light he pinned all his hopes on was a lie, and he can’t even light a fucking cigarette.
but one piece is, very often, a story about picking yourself up even when you feel like you can’t.
i think there’s something lovely about how much one piece emphasizes the value of honestly asking for help. luffy waits for nami to ask for help, and for robin to say she wants to live, and for sanji to admit he just wants to go home, and then says, “okay, i’ll make that happen.”
it just makes me so happy how happy the stawhats are to know sanji’s back with them. it reminds me a lot of how they all brush off robin’s thanks after enies lobby. sure, they’re going to have to crash the wedding and confront big mom directly and might all die, but who cares? they’ve got sanji back. i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, i love how much they love each other.
i think the gangster outfits are super fun, and i love that oda is committed enough to his aesthetics to come up with an excuse to put them all in formalwear. it pays off, they all look extremely snappy.
i know i just said it in the dressrosa posts but i’m reiterating it here because this is my favorite example of it by far: i love when oda does this split-screen thing with his panels. the contrast between the two halves of pudding is so severe and yet they’re so clearly the same person i honestly just find this pair of panels fascinating to look at.
this panel also kind of gets at my favorite thing about pudding as a character, really. i know she’s a little controversial in fandom, but i’ve always found her entertaining (at least post-reveal), especially in the contrast between her unhinged evil side and her genuinely sweet romantic side and her post-wedding tendency to randomly ping-pong between the two.
i just always like reminding people that sanji is fast enough and his observation haki good enough to dodge a surprise attack, while thoroughly distracted, from katakuri.
sanji in this arc tends to get shit from a certain side of fandom for being ‘useless’ since he doesn’t have a big climactic fight despite being the focus of the arc, which i think is thoroughly missing the point. sanji is still plenty capable in combat, as demonstrated both here and later, with chiffon and oven. it just happens that his strength isn’t what saves the day ultimately, because combat ability isn’t everything, which is the entire point of the vinsmoke backstory/subplot. sanji saves the day just by being kind.
i’ll admit big mom’s flashback isn’t one of my favorites, taken in isolation- there are some parts of it that kind of unresolved (at least as of now- i still suspect they’ll be followed up eventually), and in general, although there is a tragedy to it, it doesn’t quite hit the way many of the other more effective flashbacks do. that said, i do think it does a really good job of succinctly explaining why big mom is the way she is in the present: she’s a child who was never told no, who never grew or matured past the disappearance of her adopted mother. that’s it, and that’s enough.
i’ve always been a little bit in love with how seriously and consistently one piece handles its themes of found family, and sanji outright disowning judge in whole cake island is maybe the most outright they ever get: family is found, not made. you owe nothing to your blood and are never beholden to your abusers.
and i just like that a whole lot.
i do think the tamatebako is one of the best uses of chekov’s gun i’ve ever seen. we’re first shown it at the end of fishman island, it’s revealed it got sent off to big mom rigged with explosives which is a minor “oh fuck” moment, and then it gets forgotten about, because the entirety of punk hazard and dressrosa happens in between! which is a lot!
i remember when i reached the moment in whole cake island where we’re reminded that that bomb still exists and is still waiting to explode, i just started laughing hysterically out loud, because i’d completely forgotten, and now that i remembered i was just delighted to know it was going to definitely go off at some point, almost certainly in a very satisfying way.
pedro is, if i remember right, the first time the imagery of the coming dawn that will become quite important in wano really has attention drawn to it in-text- the recurring motif is there before this, of course, dating all the way back to the names of the first chapter (romance dawn) and first island (dawn island), but this is the first time it’s actively addressed in-story.
in doing so, oda essentially presents a fresh mystery for us, but one that has been set up so consistently ever since chapter one that it feels like it fits perfectly into the world and story.
luffy’s been punching way above his weight class ever since crocodile all the way back in alabasta, fighting enemies who clearly outmatch him but always managing to win anyways, but his fight with katakuri is maybe the clearest the sheer differential in strength ever gets, because katakuri’s powers are similar enough to luffy’s that he can pull off pretty much all of luffy’s techniques, but better. so luffy has to fall back on the two things that have always been his greatest strengths, again all the way back to crocodile in alabasta: innovation and sheer fucking stubbornness.
one thing i love about one piece is how no character is immune to being clowned on. absolutely nobody. everybody looks like an idiot sometimes, and it makes everything so much more fun than if the series took itself more seriously. katakuri basically actively tries to avert this by building up a fearsome, flawless, and utterly no-nonsense persona, but it winds up failing hard because it actually only makes the contrast and surprise of his actual personality and vices that much funnier.
i’ve always loved this one panel of carrot going sulong, because she just looks so monstrous, like a true werewolf. the same goes for the shift in big mom’s design when she starts going truly mad with starvation and gets even more threatening-looking (below). i just think oda should let women be monstrously scary more often.
i do really love that the entire climax of whole cake island hinges on the degree of trust and faith the strawhats, and sanji and luffy specifically, have in each other. they’re all facing massive challenges that would seem insurmountable to an outsider- luffy facing down a yonkou’s commander with a bounty of over a billion and sanji remaking a massive cake that took months to plan and make in just a few hours, the others evading big mom’s full forces and big mom herself for a full night- but none of them have even a shred of doubt that the others can manage it.
i wrote a meta post awhile back about one piece’s concept of ‘honor in a pirates’ fight, and what it came down to is this: honor can never be expected between pirates, but the best of them will show it anyways, and it can be a very telling judge of character. nobody would expect katakuri to do this, and luffy even calls him an idiot for it, but he has enough respect for luffy as a strong opponent to do it anyways, and that’s how we know for absolute certain that even though he’s an antagonist, he’s also a good, honorable person.
i really like the gesture of luffy leaving his hat over katakuri’s mouth, especially because until this point, we’re never even given any indication that he’s really noticed it, let alone that katakuri is insecure about it. he never reacts to or comments on it (which is in itself kind of unusual from someone who tends to nickname opponents by their appearances as often as luffy does) one way or another.
and then he does this, confirming all at once that he did fully notice and understand, he just doesn’t care. which i think sums up one of the more under-appreciated aspects of luffy’s character- he’s generally way more observant than people give him credit for, especially when it comes to people, it’s just that he has a very different sense of what’s important and what’s not than your average person.
i love the sheer contrast between big mom’s delighted, rapturous singing as she devours the wedding cake against the violence taking place on screen as her army rains fire and hell down on the thousand sunny. it parallels her initial introduction at the start of the arc perfectly, and is just an excellent way to close out the arc with a bang.
i said it earlier but it bears repeating here, for a different reason: luffy is not very physically intimidating. he’s shorter than most of the other main characters, he’s a lanky teenager, he dresses casually and his most identifiable accessory is a farm hat.
but then there are times when he looks like a captain, like a future pirate king, and it just looks so natural on him. i can never get over it.
i really like that, after spending a whole arc demonstrating just how different (and how much better) sanji is than the vinsmokes, it ends like this- showing us just how similar he’s grown up to the man he’s chosen as his real family, and just how proud zeff would be of him.
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I have watched Star Wars: Visions! All of them! On the whole I was entertained. As with any anthology like this, there are ones I liked more and ones I liked less. I'm going to do a very quick, spoiler-lite (no twists or reveals, just general impressions) post-mortem on them in order of how much I enjoyed them. None of these are canon, but I will also address the question: Could It Be? Not because that's an indicator of quality, but mostly because it's a fun mental exercise.
I watched these in English across the board. The dubs were all fine. We've come a long way in that department. I tried watching in Japanese but there are no English subtitles that aren't also closed caption, which seems like a ridiculous oversight on Disney's part.
9. Akakiri
Animation is okay. The story is kind of a mishmash of things and I didn't care much for the direction it took. Not all of these need to be "Star Wars" as I understand it - part of the appeal of anthology productions is the diversity of points of view. But this really didn't vibe with me. Disappointing note to end on since it's the last one in the "season." 3/10
Could It Be Canon: Ehhh, not really.
8. Lop and Ochou
Gorgeous animation, solid premise, weak execution. The stakes are arbitrary and I didn't feel we got a satisfying story arc. Things felt rushed in some areas and too slow in others. I enjoyed the pretty pictures though. 4/10
Could It Be Canon: There's a few elements in there that make me say "no," and the bunny people are not one of them, for the record.
7. T0-B1
This was a cute story. Lots of cute designs, simple story with a nice message. The animation isn't really my cup of tea but for what it is it was executed with great artistry. 5/10
Could It Be Canon: Not in a billion years.
6. The Twins
Pretty-looking nonsense. This is definitely the most "anime" of all the episodes, and I don't necessarily mean that in a good or bad way. I know the Internet has been dying to see Waifu Grievous in action, but I thought the action was just passing okay. 5.5/10
Could It Be Canon: Hell could freeze over, the heat death of the universe could come and go, and this still would never even remotely approach canon.
5. The Village Bride
Very pretty, kind of a contemplative Thing. Suffers from a lack of... something. Like there's a lot going on here, and that's not a bad thing, but it doesn't mesh quite right. Pacing is off, and the climax is cool but I don't know that all the dominoes that fall necessarily add up right. 6/10
Could It Be Canon: Actually this is one of the more canon-plausible episodes. You could definitely squint and say some of the elements are just artistic choices rather than hard deviations from how we know canon Star Wars to work.
4. Tatooine Rhapsody
This is kind of a ridiculous premise but you know what, they pulled it off. The animation is fine, in a cute, exaggerated chibi style that really helps sell the tone of the story they're telling. I had fun with it. The fact that its story hinges on a band making music means there is music, and I thought it was not bad. 7/10
Could It Be Canon: Again, it's kind of ridiculous, but nothing in the story technically conflicts with how canon Star Wars actually works. And think about some of the stuff from the old EU. Waru makes this look down-to-earth.
3. The Elder
Slow as hell to get to the actual point, and the characterization is laid on pretty damn thick (we get it, the Padawan is trigger-happy), but the payoff is well done and the animation is very solid. Plus, I think this is the first time we see trakata (tactically turning off and reigniting a lightsaber) actually used on-screen basically ever. 7.5/10
Could It Be Canon: Absolutely 100% could be canon.
2. The Ninth Jedi
Really beautiful animation, excellent premise and payoff, and good pacing. I have basically nothing bad to say about this one except that I would have liked more of this story, since they left us with many directions they could go. 9/10
Could It Be Canon: Ehhhh, no. The central premise of the story is predicated on the idea that a situation could come into being where lightsabers are lost technology. From everything we know about lightsabers in both old and new canon, the hardest part about making them is acquiring a crystal and then attuning it using the Force. If you're Force-sensitive and you're even moderately tech-savvy, you should be able to figure it out.
1. The Duel
I would rather have ended on this one, because it is the best by *far.* Gorgeous animation that seamlessly blends Kurosawa-style samurai cinema with Star Wars aesthetics in the best possible way. The story is simple, but effective, and the pacing is dead on. This is what I signed up for when I pressed "play" on Visions and it delivered. 11/10
Could It Be Canon: Not really. There's a little too much here that can't just be hand-waved away as artistic choices. But I would watch or read the hell out of something set in this "version" of Star Wars.
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Bloom Headcanons:
Everyone, meet Bloom Peters (or, if you prefer, Princess Bloom Hannes of Domino).
She gets a bad rap(or is it rep?) for being the center of attention so often and for having her character written poorly. It happens.
So please, take this time to re-learn Bloom and who she really is.
(As stated before these headcanons may work for other verses and stuff, but they’re mostly for my main verse “Balance/New Company of Light” and “Left”.)
-Bloom sort of has two birthdays… When she was found by Vanessa and Mike, the doctor they took her to gave his best estimate of December 10th. However when she revived Domino and Marion and Oritel told her about her birthday, it turned out that her birthday is actually a few days later. (Give or take with the Magical Dimension calendars… Their months and days are just a tad different than ours.)
-Vanessa and Mike sort of knew that Bloom was special. Not just because of how she was found, but because of her actions as a child. (Like she was never sick. Not really. And she always seemed to be hotter than her classmates were temperature wise. And if she was hurt, she always healed really quickly.)
-Bloom had never really thought much of her birth parents until she discovered her magic (and Stella) and the rest of the Magical Dimension. Granted, she had her thoughts about them and had questions she wanted to know the answers too, but she had never planned on hunting them. (At least, not until she was over 18… She didn’t want to hurt Mike and Vanessa’s feelings or make them feel that they weren’t enough for her.)
-Bloom is the third best driver out of the Winx group. Tecna and Layla being the most careful/best. (Though Layla could be considered more of a stunt driver…)
-She had never really ridden horses much before meeting Stella. In fact, she can recall maybe one time riding a pony at a birthday party for one of her classmates. Stella, being the horse girl that she is, found that unacceptable and had arrangements made so that for a week during their summer vacation, all of the Winx girls could come to Solaria and hang out at her uncle’s ranch. (Bloom ended up being surprisingly decent at riding… But Flora and Layla were much better.)
-Bloom’s not that short, in fact she always thought she was average height when she was on Earth. (5’4”) However, upon meeting other Dominians, it became clear to her that she was a little on the small side. (Oritel says she takes after his own mother, Rest Her Soul.)
-The summer after reviving Domino, Bloom stayed and basically got a crash course on her planet’s history and on princess etiquette. (Yes the maids annoyed the fuck out of her, and learning how to walk in royal gowns and robes was difficult, and WHY ARE THE MAIN COLORS OF DOMINO SUCH A GOLD COLOR?!)
-Daphne helped make the transition easier, considering she had been able to watch Bloom’s growth on Earth and at Alfea and knew how to make it make sense for her sweet niece. (When she’s not busy being the Nymph…)
-Bloom was just grateful that Stella and Layla had been given her courses on princess stuff ever since she and Sky got their shit together. It made everything so much smoother.
-On the flipside, Bloom helped her parents and the Councils of Domino integrate into modern society and learn more about the changes in the world. (And what she didn’t know, she knew who to point them to… Which was mostly Stella’s parents and the Parliament of Zenith.)
-Bloom and Mitzi used to be friends. It was way back in elementary school and they were close. Things changed when Mitzi started spending more time with her stepmother and developed her ‘I’m better than you because I’m rich’ attitude. (It was why Mitzi could hurt her so bad, she was one of the few who knew enough about Bloom to hurt her. Especially when it came to her being adopted.)
-Vanessa and Mike told Bloom about her adoption early on, making sure she knew how much they loved her. (Even if they didn’t tell the whole story…) Bloom always felt loved and was thrilled to be their child, but there was always that part of her that wondered why her birth parents didn’t keep her. (And if there was something wrong with her…)
-After Domino’s revival, Bloom made sure that Mike and Vanessa and Oritel and Marion got to know one another. It was important to her that both sets of parents got along. (And they do, quite well… Most of the time… Oritel and Mike may have differing parental views.)
-Bloom’s earth family isn’t that large. Just a few aunts and uncles and cousins. Mostly from her mother’s side. (Mike was an only child.) And because they were all pretty spread out, they only really got together during the holidays.
-During the winter break of her freshman year, Bloom decided to immediately come out as a fairy to the rest of her earth family. She didn’t want secrets and she had Mike and Vanessa help her break it to them. They were all surprised, and kind of worried when she first showed them her wings… But they were all proud that she was finding out who she was, even if they didn’t understand how magic could be a real thing.
-As for her biological family… It’s really just Marion, Oritel, and Daphne. Oritel and Daphne’s father had been a knight for the Dominian Royal Family, their mother having died giving birth to Daphne. Their father ended up passing away after a fight with a banshee took his life force. And Marion’s parents… They were some of the first casualties of the Great War. (Which brings on mixed feelings in Marion… She loved her parents and hated for them to meet such an end, but at the same time… They weren’t exactly ‘parents’ to her, so much as they were simply her predecessors.)
-Growing up, Bloom was obsessed with fantasy lands and fairy tales. Fairies were amazing to her and the concept of magic just made her feel something so joyful. She read every fairy tale book she could get her hands on, read every graphic novel, watched all the movies and tv shows. (And may have gotten a little into Harry Potter and those Disney Fairy things before the Tinkerbell movies came out.)
-She even has an appreciation for Vampire Diaries. (Yes, she knows the tv show is bad, but it’s her guilty pleasure dammit. And it’s also one of Stella’s and Musa’s now.)
-Bloom also has a guilty pleasure in watching reality shows… Specifically the Bachelorette/Bachelor series. She knows they’re trainwrecks of shows, but she just can’t turn away. (And yes, Stella has gotten into the shows too. And surprisingly, so has Tecna.)
-Bloom’s main hobby growing up was drawing. She loved doodling and trying to create her own fairytale characters and their flowing dresses and elaborate wings. But after meeting Helia and seeing his drawings, she admittedly felt insecure in her own works… (But that quickly changed after getting to know Helia and becoming friends. They tend to go to the local art classes at the Magix Library now.)
-She also enjoys biking, which translated well into levibiking. (Especially after Sky taught her how to drive it. She absolutely loves how fast it can go.)
-And like a true Cali-girl, Bloom loves the beach and enjoys going surfing from time to time. (She’s not that good at it, but she finds it life-affirming.)
-On the flipside, Bloom is good at gardening and tending to flowers, but its not something she enjoys doing. Yes, she enjoys spending time with her mom and everything, but the flowers just don’t… Speak to her.
-She’s never been one for fashion and tended to dress more for comfort… But upon meeting Stella… That changed pretty quickly. (Now she dresses for both comfort and style. The best of both worlds.)
-Bloom was a decent student at Alfea, mostly a B’s students with a few A’s. (Her favorite class was learning defensive spells actually… And her least favorites had to do with the Magical Reality Chamber. Mostly after things had happened with the Trix.)
-Speaking of the Trix, Bloom will admit… She had had hope for them to turn their lives around after freshmen year. She’d sincerely hoped that they’d become better people at Light Rock, that maybe they’d see the error of their ways.
-She didn’t lose hope for them either, until they’d nearly killed her and her friends to get Cloud Tower’s piece of the Codex. (And even then, a small part of her hopes on.)
-Bloom’s connection to her Dragon side has gotten stronger and stronger each day since her magic “woke up”. At first the Dragon could only speak to her in her dreams, but now she can hear its thoughts and even catch glimpses of its memories from its past hosts. (Or should Bloom consider it a ‘she’ even though it’s a spirit? The Dragon’s voice is feminine…)
-Bloom’s still hoping to gain Erendor and Samara’s respect/acceptance. She knows they’re not perfect people, but they’re Sky’s parents and she wants to get along with them. Which is one reason it’s so good she got Domino back in action, having her father talk to his might smooth over any remaining hostilities. (Especially from where Diaspro was concerned.)
-Speaking of Diaspro, she was willing to try and make amends with the other fairy after the events of freshmen year. Being in that grueling battle against the Army of Darkness had her realizing that life’s too short to hate people, especially people who had been put in just as bad a place as she was. But that was short-lived after seeing the paparazzi pics from Stella of Sky and Diaspro hanging out.
-(Yes, Bloom and Sky had a shit-ton of issues to work out. The two had a very long and awkward and emotional talk after Valtor’s defeat, wanting to finally clear things up between them once and for all. Now they’re stronger than ever.)
-Bloom was relieved to head back to earth for a mission after finding out about a fairy and a witch having their powers wake up. It gave her an excuse to put a pause on her princess training. (She knows it’s important, but it’s so much information to take in at once…)
-She’s not sure if it’s just her or not, but Bloom loves the feeling of transforming into her fairy forms. She can literally feel her magic come to the surface of her skin and create these clothes and unfurl her wings and just… She feels so alive.
-Out of all the realms she’s visited, Bloom thinks Linphea and Melody are the prettiest. They’re so picturesque and everything about them is just alive and light and she feels so amazing being there. (She’s still not sure how she feels about realms like the Ice Kingdom… There’s so much underneath their surfaces that she just… Can’t place.)
-There have been times when Bloom has actually wanted to hurt people. To obliterate them. (When the Trix nearly killed Kiko, when she was sure they stole the Dragon Fire, when she thought they got Tecna killed because of the Omega Portal, and when Ogron came after Roxy.)
-In the future, Bloom hopes she’ll become a great and worthy queen. That everything she and her friends went through, that everything her family did, wouldn’t be in vain. And she sincerely hopes that Sky will be there at her side. (Though she’s not sure how attempting to combine Eraklyon and Domino would go over, or if it could be done.)
-Seriously though, she hopes to be a great Dominian Queen one day. And that she’ll be able to trust her Dragon’s guidance to do what’s necessary.
#winx club#winx club au#winx club headcanons#bloom#winx club bloom#winx club bloom headcanons#princess bloom of domino#dragon of light
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So yesterday The Boyz’ Checkmate performance on Road to Kingdom completely blew my mind and it's been all I can think about for like 15 hours so I figured writing basically a dissertation explaining what I saw in their performances is going to help me make sense of life again.
The narrative that I got from the performances tells a story about the power struggles of monarchy, both literally and metaphorically, when you consider the industry. It’s also the concept of the show, giving these bands a chance to play in the same league as the so called kpop royalty.
It like the Boyz were on a show called Road to Kingdom and decided to make it literal.
First performance: Hwarang/ Sword of Victory
I think no one could've imagined what was to come when they made this performance. It was meant as an intro to the group so it was short and impressive and I’d say that it sort of set the style of their performance but not yet the general concept that has developed over the show.
Also I just learned that hwarangs were entertainers before they became a legion of warriors and later an institution, so they're basically old-timey boy groups turned soldiers.
How quaint when you consider the later performances.
Second performance: Danger
This is where it all started I guess. They went with the thieving concept of the song, decided to take inspiration from their first performance and bam now they’re stealing crowns and climbing walls.
Third performance: Reveal (Catching Fire)
So obviously referencing the Hunger Games which is a survival game but essentially a story of revolution.
Fourth performance: Heroine
This one's a bit different since it's a collab but yeah the whole performance is basically a person's journey to center stage, which is usually occupied by the winners/royalties.
Fifth performance: Quasi una fantasia
This one didn't look like it was going to fit the narrative with it being so ethereal and so hopeful, what with the branch slowly blooming, like a good thing coming to fruition, but this is the euphoria after you've made it and they sort of tell you in the title that yes this is basically a fantasy.
Final performance: Checkmate
This one is fucking insane okay? They start off with a deja vu: Yonghoon's with the hypnotizing watch again and you notice the blooming tree in the background but there's something uncanny and the watch stops, you get flashbacks of Juyeon taking down the king, wearing his crown, Q stealing the crown, stealthily sliding and passing it on to Sunwoo who seems like he's finally going to ascend to the throne and next thing you know he's falling and waking from a bad dream…
At this point I was already cursing and gasping and having a heart attack and they haven't even started singing. And it's like everything they've done so far was just a dream, the game is on let's start all over again.
And isn't it exactly like that? Because a game of thrones (though not explicitly referenced) is exactly just that: a game. You come to power but how long is that going to last? Sunwoo’s (literal) fall from power lasted a breath. You win first place on a music chart this week, you start all over again next week. And The Boyz would know that, having spent the the first weeks on top, but it only took a single performance in one episode for them to drop to third place.
And the chess concept is PERFECT. Chess is a game of war and strategy and the big picture and that's all they've been doing on this show: they've stolen, tricked, rebelled, and dreamed before they finally checkmate. All these performances make up one big picture and I don't know if they've planned this from the start but it’s fucking genius.
The Boyz are so good at coming with a concept and sticking with it, they make a song called checkmate and whoa they have a chess concept now, they have black and white costumes, dancers dressed as pawns, chess board effect and choreo, chess piece props… Which all seemed like obvious artistic choices but there's always MORE.
Like can we talk about that fucking table? I was like 'where did they find a three-way chess table omg it's gorgeous' and then someone's dancing on it and you see the glass tube thingy under the table and MOTHERFUCKER ITS A FUCKING CHESS HOURGLASS
Also for someone to be able to dance on it they flipped the table upside down and it's either like turning back time (rewind sound effect at the beginning) or starting all over again, but also I was like 'huh the tables have turned' and then 'OH FUCK OFF'
And it's all in the details in the performances, the small things that they reference, the same imagery that comes back again and again, every time I rewatch a performance I notice something I didn't before.
There’s the flower, something that's fragile and fleetingly beautiful, also the 'hwa' in hwarang. The moon, which is always changing, like an illusion, the full moon referenced in Reveal, which originally had a werewolf-y concept.
The fire, the sword, all associated with war and power. Even the tricks and optical illusions. The chess, the crown, the king. Everything came together so perfectly in that final performance and wrap up so nicely like HOW IS THAT SHIT EVEN REAL
I love how they have all the names of the song in the title cards (Thieves, Reveal, Paradise, Checkmate) and I’ve been thinking about the lyrics 'the show must go on' and 'the game starts again' and how Sisyphean it all is.
And it's almost like in the end they understand how futile the pursuit of power is but is still pushed by their drive to thrive for better, and in the end they realize being king isn't winning the game. Chess isn't about being king, you don't have to be king to win the game.
Their final card says 'As long as the moon shines, the king of all games is the Boyz'. They don't say 'we're the king' they say 'we're the king of all games'. It’s like 'yeah we're good at this and we're ready to go at it again' be it the hunger games, a game of thrones, or a game of chess.
DAMN THESE PHILOSOPHICAL REBELLIOUS BOYZ
These performances are inspiring and stimulating on so many levels, I mean yeah, the concept is mind-blowing, and of course the performances are just (literally) breathtaking but we haven't even talked about the technicalities.
Yes, I know these performances are great but more importantly I love how self-aware they are. They really seized the opportunity to do the kind of performance that they couldn't be possibly allowed to do anywhere else.
You can hardly do these things for a live audience, since so much rely on the camera work. You can't do this on music shows or music awards where people only care about the more famous groups.
And while these performances were created with the camera in mind, they still make the watching experience so incredibly live by making the performances so risky, upping the stakes to insane levels, and I don't just mean having to catch flying weapons or falling members, but like having a crazy domino choreography where one member's misplaced limb could ruin the whole shot, or using cool props and tricks that could so easily go wrong.
Like the branch that Juyeon was so upset about? The whole trick relied on everyone doing the right thing with the right prop at the right time right place TWICE all the while making it look effortless and seamless.
Can you imagine what kind of crazy you have to be to come up with that?
I personally think that mistake was a perfect imperfection when you look at the whole picture: something not quite right in this otherwise perfect dream that proved to be a mere fantasy, too good to be true.
Watching the Boyz on Road to Kingdom was pure delight, and for people like me who get off on the thrill of live experience, performances like these are SUCH A TURN ON. And as a writer I'm just a sucker for conceptual plots, unexpected twists and experimenting with structures.
I’m currently torn by a mix of feelings: excitement for Kingdom, anxiety about the safety of the performers, dread of the inevitable end of the show. It kills me a little to think that we'll probably not see this kind of performances as much. That they don't get to perform like this again: go all out and not just tell a story but a fucking epic that will make Bertolt Brecht cry.
I hope they get their own comeback specials or that the company does like OK Go and makes all these crazy fun performance music videos. At this point I don't even know how to organize my thoughts to express my love for the creative team behind the productions, like someone there's got imagination to spare and I want to pick their brains so bad.
I didn’t know anything about this group before my sister showed me their Danger performance clip, and I’m 98% sure I’d never have discovered this group have they not gone on RTK but holy fuck am I glad that this happened because this is probably one of the best things that came out in 2020, making this disaster of a year almost bearable.
So yeah, that's what I thought about the Boyz performances. Thank you for coming to my ted talk or whatevs
Also I have a second theory that the whole season is just Sunwoo getting over his fear of heights through exposure therapy.
#road to kingdom#the boyz rtk#the boyz#rtk spoilers#kpop boy group#rtk checkmate#juyeon#sunwoo#q#yonghoon
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*ryo feat. Hatsune Miku’s MELT plays softly in the background*
HAPPY EARLY VALENTINE’S DAY I DIDN’T THINK I WOULD HAVE FINISHED ALL OF THESE IN JUST A DAY. Feat. a messier artstyle for once since I wanted to try some other stuff. Back on topic, these would all be the couples in the AU! Feat. their team-up attacks on each pic rather than ship names, because. Why not. More on how each couple got together below!:
(Oh, also, this whole collection kind of had a beach outing theme! if anyone was wondering why everyone was in tank tops lol. Most Valentine's Day art that's seasonally themed it's on winter, but since Valentine's on summer down here I wanted this set to reflect that.)
ORIGINAL CANON COUPLES
Brandon and Stella: Pretty close to canon, except for one thing: Stella knows from the start he’s not a prince. Solaria and Eraklyon have pretty close ties, and Stella was at one point considered to be engaged to Sky when they were younger, though Radius and Luna inmediately turned the offer down. They’ve been lowkey dating for two years or so before S1, but had to drop it in public when entering Alfea and Red Fountain as to not cause suspicions. They kinda suck at hiding the affection, so they kinda flirt every time they meet regardless, even when they pretend they totally weren’t just flirting haha shut up Timmy. Once the reveal is done to the rest of the system they lay down for a bit, what with having to deal with the fallout of that day since both Sky and Bloom kinda shut themselves in. They decide to fully start dating right before the final battle of S1 once the war is over, and so they do. They do have some issues with how they tend to take the other for granted, but they’re blessed with the power of communication so they tend to make up pretty quickly.
Tecna and Timmy: Also pretty close to canon. Tecna’s the one that aks Timmy out during the middle of the S1 war, kinda throwing it out there just in case they survive. Timmy does agree, but it was kind of a spur on the moment situation and they lowkey can’t deal. Or rather, Timmy can’t deal - Tecna’s has had a couple partners before so she knows how awkward everything is at the start, but Timmy’s kinda flying blind, which leads to some setbacks alongside S2 - mostly Timmy accidentally ghosting Tecna and Tecna not wanting to confront him. They do work out their issues as the season progresses however, and by S3 they’re the most stable couple of the entire group.
Flora and Helia: Flora and Helia knew each other as kids, and were in a friend trio alongside Krystal (then known to them as Rosa to avoid being caught), but Helia moved shortly after and they lost contact. They do recognize each other and try their best to catch up, but Helia’s kinda too focused on his art career (and also, y’know. making enough money to survive), which puts a hamper in Flora’s budding feelings for him. They do manage to snag a few cafe outings, however, and Flora decides to finally stop dancing around the subject and straight up ask Helia out during the stay at the Wildlands, which he accepts. They start dating shortly afterwards, and while they do face some issues (mostly with Flora’s somewhat overbearing caring and protective nature and Helia’s tendency to ignore everything around him), they keep steady and secure.
AU COUPLES
Sky and Riven: They have a rivalry for most of S1, but it’s more thanks to Riven’s standoffish attitude and Sky matching his stubborness that leads them to clash. Riven does tend to ignore Sky, but that’s because he doesn’t want to risk exploding on him and having to be relocated to another team, which only raises Sky’s curiosity more. Riven doesn’t date Darcy on the AU, but he does become close friends with her, which she milks for all its worth, alongside the fact people don’t know she’s part of the Trix in my AU until the nightmare attack. Riven considered her a great friend and the revelation she’s one of the witches that has been making his and his new friends’ lives hell shakes him quite a bit. After that it’s closer to canon - he goes to confront her and ends up trapped. Sky spends the rest of the arc worried sick for him and instinctively runs to hug him (which surprises him), but he’s beat by Stella, happy her oldest friend is still alive. They start to hang out more in S2, and start thinking of each other differently though they don’t realize it yet. Brandon and Stella can read them like an open book though, so they start subtly nudging them together without rushing them, knowing how Sky is kinda awkward about romance and Riven’s a stubborn dude. This carries over to S3, when after the attack on Eraklyon by Valtor and Sky’s sudden possesion makes Riven realize he’s in love with him by how crushed he feels hearing Sky give the speech about marrying Diaspro after al. (Sky is possesed here by Valtor himself disguised as a servant, rather than being poisoned by Diaspro, and to keep this cover he also makes Sky kidnap her). After Stella manages to remove Valtor’s mark from him, he gets seriously ill and stays in Eraklyon to recover, and Riven decides to stay with him to nurse him back to good health. It’s thanks to Riven’s care that Sky realizes he’s also in love with him, but they don’t confess to each other until that danceclub trip later in the season, during the middle of a dance because I’m a sappy fuck. They do have to tackle some communication issues from time to time but my Riven has the unique power of Having A Therapist, so they tend to resolve them peacefully though it takes a bit.
Aisha and Musa: do I even need to explain this one? We all saw S2. Anyways, Musa and Aisha strike a friendship during S1 thanks to their love of music and dance, and start hanging out on the regular alone. Musa was crushing on her from the second she saw her, but kinda dismissed her feelings until they knew each other better, until she started falling in love for real near the end of S1. Aisha takes longer to reach that same point, however. After escaping Shadowhaunt she lowkey clings to Musa for support, and she’s the first one she speaks with when her nightmares come back. Their lowkey date on Earth starts to give shape to Aisha’s feelings finding herself crushing back, and during the trip to the Wildlands she realizes she fell in love when her first thoughts after getting lost were all about Musa, and only her. Aisha takes the first step and asks Musa out during the interlude between S2 and S3, and start a relationship fully during S3.
Bloom and Diaspro: they don’t get the best of starts, what with Bloom’s paranoic ass attacking Dia and all. Bloom feels horrible about the event once the reveal is done, and kinda ignores both Dia and Sky for the longest time until she feels she can talk to Sky and apologize to Diaspro fully. Diaspro stays on Magix during the attack of the Trix (though rather than trying to go fetch Sky she had gone to Alfea to speak with Bloom personally), but they don’t get a chance to properly speak about anything with a war on their hands. They do get a small talk right before Sky and Bloom leave for Cloud Tower, but that one basically amounted to “we all kinda fucked up, let’s be friends regardless” and it didn’t went deeper than that. During the interlude between S1 and S2, Bloom goes with Sky, Stella and Diaspro to Domino once more to find a way to release Daphne from the mirror she’s trapped in (and how to get to the mirror in the first place), and after getting separated from the rest Bloom and Diaspro finally get the chance to properly talk about what happened. Bloom apologizes for what she did, Diaspro apologizes for how she treated her as well (since she did badmouth her in public in a bad attempt to save face), and with the promise to be friends and Diaspro getting her Glamourix, they manage to get closer. It doesn’t develop into love until well into S2, after Diaspro enrolls in Alfea and she and Bloom get even closer. Diaspro starts to realize she’s falling in love with Bloom shortly before the Shadow Bloom shenanigans, but keeps it hidden for a bit as to not dump one more thing for Bloom to worry about. Bloom on her part did develop a crush on Diaspro, but she feels it’s more akin to her minor crushes on Sky and Stella since she has a thing for blondes, so she doesn’t think much of it until the S2 finale, when Diaspro actively taking a blast from her crazed self to snap her out of the spell hits her heart hard, inmediately being filled with regret and sadness and undoing her transformation, the negative emotions overwhelming the fabricated euphoria. Dia earns her Enchantix thanks to this act and survives, however, and with renewed fervor she manages to destroy Darkar with the rest. During the interlude between seasons she starts thinking her feelings for Diaspro, wondering if she’s truly falling in love with her of if it’s just because she saved her life. It’s when Diaspro gets kidnapped on Eraklyon thanks to the possessed Sky that she realizes that she does love her, but she doesn’t get to confess her feelings at that point. It’s during the trip to Omega in search of Tecna, when in a moment where they though they might die, that Bloom confesses her emotions. Diaspro does the same, and they hug awaiting serious damage from a falling stalactite (as both of their legs were stuck on a small crevice) and being saved by Tecna at that very moment. They start properly dating after that adventure.
#Winx Club#Winx Redux AU#Drops's Art#Brandon#Stella#Riven#Sky#Tecna#Timmy#Aisha/Layla#Musa#Flora#Helia#Bloom#Diaspro#Stella x Brandon#Riven x Sky#Tecna x Timmy#Aisha x Musa#Layla x Musa#Flora x Helia#Bloom x Diaspro
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Hadestown (7/14/19), Act I
Act II
This is largely just me rambling about how much I love Hadestown and how beautiful it was to see live, but I’m going to be heavy on spoilers, so please don’t read this if you want to go in blind!!!
*An overlay pic I did in, like, three seconds on my phone, lol.
Hadestown, a sweeping thesis statement: It was the most beautiful musical I’ve seen in my life, and it touched me profoundly.
Hadestown, a hieroglyphic summary of me during the entire show: 😭😭😭😭😭😭 (I’m srs. I was in tears every three minutes. I cried during the standing ovation.)
Hadestown, Act One:
“Road to Hell” —
What an opening number. My gods—so vivacious and vital and joyfully, deliriously alive.
The first noises you hear in the moments before “Road to Hell” are the sharp clacks of André’s shoes as he makes his way across the stage. Even in a handful of silent seconds, he makes his presence known. Right before he starts the song, he unbuttons his coat and shows his sparkly vest off. I love him???????
Like, I adore how he so perfectly inhabits the role of an omniscient, omnipresent narrator. He’s literally a god walking among men, and that’s such a beautiful take on Hermes.
The stage for “Road to Hell” is set up to be a kind of bar where Orpheus works as a busboy! Orpheus sweeps around cleaning off tables, and Eurydice (Jessie Shelton!!) comes in seeking shelter from the cold. When Hermes announces that it’s the beginning of Orpheus and Eurydice’s tale, they come face to face for the first time and simply stare at each other.
Also, you know how Hermes takes extra care to mention that Orpheus’s mother was a Muse and a friend of his?? I think that tidbit helps set up the friendly, mentor-like relationship Hermes and Orpheus have throughout the musical!!
“Any Way the Wind Blows” —
Okay, this is where I desperately wish that the entire OBC was out because I only remember a couple of things from this song, and that makes me sad. ;-;
But what I can tell y’all is that Jessie Shelton is a brilliant, nuanced Eurydice. Her youth and her scrappiness shine through; her hunger—for sustenance, for hope, for a better life—evidences itself in every note she sings!!
AND THE FATES. MY GODS, THE FATES. I LOVE THEM. Kay, Jewelle, and Yvette imbue them with such chaotic evil energy™. They’re quite sinister throughout the musical, tempting and teasing whomever they’re stalking in turns. I’d literally die for all of them!!
But anyway, in this song, Eurydice lights a candle to protect herself from the cold, and the Fates constantly lurk over her shoulder, pretty much dogging her. It’s here you begin to realize what weight Eurydice has on her shoulders. She knows what’s behind her back. She knows who’s trying to steal her light.
OH, OH, and up to around “Epic I,” keep an eye on Hades and Persephone in the balcony!! They’re playing dominoes together.
“Come Home With Me” —
ASFVDS. The intro to this one is so funny. Hermes tries to play wingman for Orpheus and advises him to be chill and not come on too strong. Immediately afterwards, Orpheus is, like, COME HOME WITH ME. MARRY ME.
(Reeve Carney is a national treasure and should b protected.)
But basically, this song is Orpheus’s proposal song!! Eurydice is skeptical, but she increasingly and incrementally warms up to him.
“Wedding Song” —
OOH, this one’s a jam!! It sounds like something str8 off of a country album.
A lot of it is Eurydice warming up to the idea of marrying Orpheus. She’s obviously at war with what she knows and what she wants—the world she dreams about and the world she lives in.
Sometime during the song, Orpheus sings the “la, la, la” melody to her and inexplicably procures a flower for her. So awed by it and him and the magic they create together with their love, Eurydice melts.
Also, holy heck!!! The staging is really amazing for this one. At some point, Orpheus walks on a bridge of tables to Eurydice. He finishes one table, and one of the company members moves another so that it’s right in front of him.
“Epic I” —
Just so y’all know, every time an “Epic” is sung, I just full on start crying. 😭
“Epic I” starts with Orpheus trying to figure out where the “la, la, la” melody came from, and Hermes tells him it used to be sung by Persephone and Hades. He urges our boy to recall their love story through song.
As he sings, attention is drawn to the balcony for the first time since “Road to Hell” as the gods react to their story being sung. Hades is largely uninterested, but Persephone leans over the balcony to listen to Orpheus, obviously moved.
“Livin’ It Up On Top” —
Is this a good time 2 declare my undying love for Amber Gray and everything she stands for?????????
BECAUSE GODS, SHE’S AMAZING. I saw her in Great Comet as Hélène, and even then, I was impressed by the nuance she brought to what could have been a one-note character in the wrong hands, but her Persephone?????????? Brilliant. Flawless. The love of my life. I’m forever a stan. With her loose (but graceful) limbs and brightly lit eyes, she makes sure you know that Persephone is one hell of a character without even singing so much as a word, but when she does sing?? The power and liveliness in her voice echoes all over Walter Kerr.
Amber 👏 Gray 👏 is 👏 a 👏 powerhouse.
OKAY, back to the song!! This might be a little before it starts or right as it begins, but before she leaves the balcony to usher in spring, she kisses Hades on the cheek. He doesn’t really react, and that broke my heart.
(ALSO, BASELESS CONJECTURE, but you know how Hermes mentions that Persephone is always late?? I’ve always wondered if that’s her parallel to Hades being early. Even though their relationship has stagnated, she doesn’t want to leave him. 😭😭😭😭)
Like “Road to Hell,” this song’s just full of life and fun. Persephone plays around with Eurydice and Orpheus a lot, and it’s honestly the first time we see Eurydice loosen up and let herself be happy.
“All I’ve Ever Known” —
Eurydice and Orpheus make me emo. ;-;
At some point, when she’s singing that all she’s ever known is how to hold her own, Orpheus reaches out for her. She flinches at first, but a couple of verses later, reaches out to him.
When Orpheus sings “I’m gonna hold you forever,” he hugs her from behind and crushes her tightly to his chest, and the relief on her face was just palpable. Oh, my godssssss.
All the while, Persephone is watching them, obviously in love with their love, and Hades is reading a newspaper on the balcony!
“Way Down Hadestown” —
LEGIT ONE OF MY FAVES. GOD, THE LYRICS, THE ENERGY, AND THE ACTING WAS AMAZING.
“Better go get your suitcase packed! Guess it’s time to go!” The Fates sing this mockingly at Persephone, and shortly after this, she slowly bends over in despair, her face hidden, her arms limp.
BUT THEN, and this almost made me SCREAM, she begins to tap her feet to the music EVEN AS SHE’S STILL BENT OVER. ASFCDSS. I love Amber Gray. It’s almost like, depressed though she may be, she can’t help but dance to the rhythm. She does this right up until her next verse.
Throughout the first half of the song, Orpheus and Eurydice are just, like, hella enjoying the music together. They’re snuggling and cuddling, and at one point, they’re lying down at the front of the stage spooning as they watch Hermes, Persephone, and co. dance.
In the second half of the song, though, when Hermes starts warning them about the dangers of Hadestown, there’s a subtle shift. Even though the music is still jaunty, he and Persephone and the company are clearly trying to drill it into the lovebirds’ brains that all that glitters isn’t gold. I used to dislike tht those lines were taken from Orpheus, but now I really appreciate the meaning the change conveys.
Hades shows up in his jacket and glasses and gets a big laugh with his “I missed ya” line. (SPOILER ALERT: PATRICK PAGE IS ALSO THE LOML.)
“Seems like he owns everything.” / “Kinda makes you wonder how it feels...” When Eurydice longingly sings this line, Hades lowers his glasses to appraise her, his interest caught. Orpheus, seeing the way he looks at her, jumps in front of Eurydice as though to shield her.
GOD, this song was good.
(OH, and question? Is the accordion a big part of Hades’s musical motif? I noticed that there’s a lot more of it being played whenever he shows up or is being talked about.)
“A Gathering Storm” —
I’ll talk about this more later, but the lighting work is incredible in Hadestown. Like, in this song, for instance, the blues and grays are sharp departures from how brightly lit the stage was when Persephone was down for spring.
This song is where the ideological divide between Eurydice and Orpheus really becomes apparent as Orpheus grapples with the tragedy that spring is gone, while Eurydice just accepts it. It’s just how it is. He runs to finish his song, while Eurydice runs to find them food and shelter. You can see the fear and and hunger and desperation begin to creep upon Eurydice’s face again. Gone now is the girl who laughed and dance during “Livin’ It Up On Top.”
“Epic II / “Chant” —
“Epic II” is Orpheus trying to finish his song as he continues to piece together why winter came so early! I think Eurydice is offstage for this one, presumably scavenging for food while he writes like he’s running out of time.
I don’t remember WHY it’s so awesome, but the transition from “Epic II” to “Chant” is incredible. (@WHOEVER IS RESPONSIBLE - RELEASE THE REST OF THE OBC, PLS.)
ALSO, “CHANT.” GOD. This has always been up there in my top five for its lyrics alone, but the staging is insane. If there’s a song in Hadestown that works like a well-oiled machine made up of so many moving parts, then it’s “Chant.”
When Persephone starts singing about how bright and hot it is, she calls attention to the fact that the lighting upon her is exceptionally, painfully bright. Throughout this entire song, her face is shattered with fear and horror as she looks around and takes in what Hades did to their kingdom. It’s heartwrenching, and I CRIED.
The company is absolutely incredible in every song, but I was especially struck by their movements here. Toiling away, they circled the raised pedestal that Hades and Persephone stood on. At one point, their movements were such that they resembled a gear moving.
And also, these acting choices makes me so damn emo: For “Chant” up to “Epic III,” Hades can’t hardly keep his eyes off of Persephone, both when she’s singing to him or he’s singing to her. However, after she’s done singing to him, she nigh refuses to look at him while he sings to her. Patrick and Amber r the best.
When Orpheus sings his first “la, las” in “Chant,” he’s still trying to write his song. In her conversation with Hermes, Eurydice grows increasingly frustrated, as in, How the hell is a song going to save us? She still has a little hope at this point, but it’s quickly waning. The red carnation in her hair, put there by Persephone in “Livin’ It Up On Top” is the brightest item on the stage. (It especially contrasts well with Eurydice’s monochromatic costume.)
ALSO, Jessie went HARD on Eurydice’s high notes. SHE’S SO GOOD, Y’ALL.
In the middle of “Chant” when Orpheus is still trying to figure out Hades and Persephone’s story, Hermes is trying to warn him about the storm ahead, about Eurydice, but he’s so caught up in what he’s doing, that he can’t hear or see anything beyond his lyre and the lyrics.
Towards the tail end of “Chant,” the Fates steal Eurydice’s backpack and coat, really sealing in the apparent hopelessness of her situation. The way Eurydice hugs her arms against the wind made me want to CRY.
“Hey, Little Songbird” / “When the Chips Are Down” / “Gone, I’m Gone” —
It’s either at the tail end of “Chant” or the beginning of “Songbird,” but Persephone is lowered into the ground through the in-stage elevator (that usually symbolizes the ascent and descent to Hadestown), while Hades remains above ground to croon at Eurydice. The entire time she’s lowered down, she stares angrily at Hades until she’s pulled from sight.
TIME TO TALK ABOUT PATRICK PAGE NOW!!! His voice is so unreal—it’s like a sinkhole, so deep and consuming and churning with gravel. I literally can’t imagine any other person doing what he does in the role of Hades.
“Songbird” largely consists of Eurydice trying her best to resist Hades’s temptation, but faltering as he starts to echo her own thoughts. I think he hits the biggest nerve when he guesses that Orpheus is a penniless poet.
“SONGBIRD VS. RATTLESNAKE.” OMG, I didn’t realize that the Fates are the rattlesnake until seeing this song live and watching them sashay across the stage like one. ASDFVDS, I’m so dumb. Anyway, again, and I cannot stress this enough, but the Fates are incredible. If Hades opened the wound, then the Fates drove in the nail, reemphasizing what Eurydice already half-believes.
“THE FIRST SHALL BE FIRST, AND THE LAST SHALL BE LAST. CAST YOUR EYES TO HEAVEN—YOU GET A KNIFE IN THE BACK.” Omg, first of all, these lines go hard, and secondly, with the knife line, Eurydice acts like she’s been stabbed, and her entire face just contorts with pain.
“Gone, I’m Gone” is incredibly affecting. I don’t know if Eva does this live, but Jessie sounded like she was sobbing as she sung this.
When Eurydice decides to descend to Hadestown, the elevator goes down with her and returns with only her flower. I straight up lost it.
“Wait for Me” / “Why We Build the Wall”—
HELLO, AMERICAN THEATRE WING?? WHERE IS REEVE CARNEY’S TONY AND APOLOGY LETTER???? THANK YOU.
At the beginning of “Wait for Me,” Hermes picks up the carnation and twiddles it in his hand until the line “With all your heart?” Then, he places it on Orpheus’s, well, heart.
God, the lamps swinging through Walter Kerr made me weep. That’s such a beautiful staging choice. Rachel Chavkin, wherever you are, I love you.
“Wait For Me” received an extended applause. It most certainly went on for at least two minutes.
God, I love “Why We Build the Wall.” I could drown Patrick Page’s voice and be happy with that life decision. (On a side note, does the intro of this one remind anyone of Johnny Cash’s “Hurt”????)
This is the first song in which Persephone comes down in her Hadestown garb, a black dress, her hair restrained in a net(?). The difference between the bright green and the black is harrowing. All of the energy just seems to be vacuumed out of her. She, Hermes, and the company sycophantically sing when Hades asks them to.
After the instrumental portion of the song, Eurydice ascends on the elevator, arriving in Hadestown. She almost immediately makes eye contact with Persephone, quite obviously feeling the same shock that I did upon seeing the lively goddess clothed in black. Shock turns to horror as she realizes that this isn’t the rest she’d been hoping for. Persephone looks at her sadly as Hades calls her into the office to sign papers.
And oh, God, this musical absolutely ruined me in the best of possible ways. I’ll type up my thoughts on Act II tomorrow!!!
#hadestown#eurydice#orpheus#persephone#hades#p: hadestown#hadestown spoilers#i'm so emo#i just needed to catalog my thoughts#so i don't forget them
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Legends of Tomorrow: Luchas de Apuestas
"You were right. There’s no such thing as happily ever after."
Legends of Tomorrow is back with its first episode in nearly four months, and it comes out swinging.
The second half of season four just got real, y'all.
Wow. That is a lot to process. Just... wow.
The most admirable thing about this episode is how much every additional tragedy felt like a natural consequence of the events that led up to it. So often when a show wants to create big, dramatic rifts between its characters it ends up coming across as incredibly contrived. The writing staff wants A and B to have a falling out for whatever reason, and so they find some way of starting a fight between them that usually comes wrapped in a big sign that says 'this is an excuse for A and B to fight.'
That's not the case here at all. What we have here is a bunch of characters that we know quite well by this point, responding to events in ways that feel perfectly true to who they are. And the actions that they take cause other characters to react in ways that are true to who they are, and soon the reverberations of all of those in character actions are careening off in tragic but understandable ways. It's like watching a meticulously arranged domino pattern but with crying.
Obviously, I'm girding myself to discuss Sara and Ava.
OK, right now I'm rocking gently and repeating to myself, 'It's not permanent. They'll work it out' over and over again. But as much as I hate that Sara and Ava have broken up, I can't help but watch all the little steps that led up to it and think, 'Yes. That is exactly how Sara would respond to that' and 'Yep, that's exactly how I would expect Ava to react to that situation.' Of course Sara would choose to give Mona and the Kaupe the benefit of the doubt and try to shield them from the Bureau. Of course Ava would feel betrayed by that and respond by attempting to take more control over Sara and the Waverider in order to protect time. Or course Ava would ultimately try to prevent Sara's team from doing something she sees as reckless by sending in troops, and of course Sara is going to respond badly to that. Just to make it more heartbreaking, they both genuinely tried several times to talk the situation through like adults so that they could head the whole thing off, but failed.
Ava needed Sara to be on her side, and Sara couldn't be because that would mean abandoning Mona and the Kaupe, both of whom are basically innocent, to punishment and torture. She feels like Sara let her down, because Sara did actually let her down, even if it was for the best of reasons. Sara needed Ava to back her up against Hank and the government forces that are torturing their prisoners, and Ava couldn't do that because without Hank and his funding the Time Bureau ceases to exist, which would leave time unprotected just as it's being overrun with magical monsters. She feels like Ava is compromising herself ethically by ignoring the torture because Ava is, in fact, compromising herself ethically by ignoring the torture, even if she is doing it with the greater good in mind.
Which was a great final twist of the knife, by the way. A lot of Sara's dilemma in this episode was not knowing if Ava was part of the corrupt system, or in danger from the corrupt system. And because Sara is an emotionally healthy adult her default position was to have faith in Ava. Which made that final conversation all the more painful when Ava not only revealed that she didn't have a problem with the torturing of prisoners, she also pointed out that the Legends were sending those same prisoners to literal Hell only a few months ago. Ouch. I had forgotten that. Hell, they were ready to send Charlie to Hell now that I think about it. Goodbye moral high ground.
Meanwhile, in the rest of the episode, wow we have a lot of characters now, don't we. So, Charlie and Ray hang out back at the Waverider, while Mick, John, and Sara go to check out the Lucha Libre to which they've tracked the Kaupe. Zari, meanwhile, heads to Time Bureau HQ to dig into their security software and find out if Mona is telling the truth about not having released the Kaupe herself. She pairs up with Nate, and of course uncovers that Hank doctored the footage and is behind the whole 'creature torture' thing. Nate shows that he's undergone some character growth and doesn't fly off the handle at Hank, but instead pretends to be cool with it so that he can go all monster hunter Donnie Brasco. I like that new direction for Nate a lot. Having him investigation the TB from within is a lot more interesting than him slowly turning to the dark side and siding with Hank during the inevitable upcoming civil war, which is where I thought he was going.
Mick, John, Charlie and Ray don't get a ton to do this week, but Mick does get a couple of solid bonding scenes with Mona, over his Buck and Garima books, of which there are now apparently many. I guess that's what Mick was doing over the winter break. John, similarly, doesn't get a lot, but had a couple very nice moments with a Luchador who is supposed to be a big hero, but who's been supplanted by the time displaced Kaupe who's now wrestling under the name El Lobo. The detail that John is apparently a big fan of that particular wrestler and his later monster movies is perhaps a tad too convenient, but it was earnestly endearing, and earnest helps to excuse a lot in my book.
So, after all that uplifting triumph over adversity, Mona has the opportunity to run away with the Kaupe, but makes the emotionally correct choice to not run away from her problems, and everything is warm and fuzzy and deeply moving. But then the Kaupe is abruptly shot and killed and Mona is apparently a werewolf (were-Kaupe?) now, and all you can think as a viewer is, 'Oh, that's why they reminded us about her Kaupe-injury and why we had all the wolfman references made to the Kaupe. They were setting up that moment really well as the natural consequence of this sequence of events and I didn't even notice.'
If only every hour of broadcast television understood and used cause and effect as a result of character choices this well. What a world that would be.
So what have we learned today?
That the show isn't even remotely concerned about what the knock on effects of changes to the timeline might be anymore. That was actually the one big flaw this week. If the presence of the Kaupe in 1961 was changing the timeline in a way that the Bureau could see, then it would have eliminated a lot of the underlying problem. Specifically, if Ava could have seen that having the Kaupe fight the Lucha de Apuestas fight was the only way to get history back on the correct course, then the whole final fight could have been avoided.
Of course, the whole final fight was much more about Sara and Ava and their relationship, so it doesn't detract that much from the episode. But it would be nice if they'd addressed it at all.
Everybody remember where we parked:
This week the Waverider went to Mexico City, 1961, to catch a little Lucha Libre. And Zari somehow flitted back and forth between the Waverider in 1961 and the Time Bureau in the present day.
Present day, interestingly enough, is still stated here as 2018, probably unavoidably, as the action picks up right where "Legends of To-Meow-Meow" left off.
Quotes:
Gary: "Aw, what an adorable little puppet." Puppet: "Eat my fuzzy dung, ya dick!"
Ava: "Gary. Close that hospital gown or I will report you to HR."
Gary: "I don’t know who I am. I don’t know why anything is things. I don’t know where my nipple went. Where’s my nipple? Where’s my nipple?!?"
Constantine: "Oh, come on Raymondo."
Nate’s mom: "Zari? What a beautiful name for a beautiful woman with excellent childbearing hips."
Ava: "Sara, my ass is already on the line. Feeling me up in front of my boss is not a good idea right now."
Constantine: "Trust me, there’s nothing people like more than a good comeback."
Bits and pieces:
-- Please don't let them be hinting that Zari and Nate are going to be a couple. I'm just not down for it.
-- Zari and Sara again looked absolutely amazing in their party dresses.
-- On the one hand, I like the implication that the show has finally remembered Nate's hemophilia, since it's implied that that's why his parents host an annual fundraiser for it. On the other hand, it's weird that that never came up once from anyone.
-- Seriously, powers that be, if you're going to take a four month mid-season break, for the love of god make the first half's episodes available on-demand so that we can get back up to speed. I spent most of this episode thinking, 'Oh yeah, I forgot that that happened,' which really killed several of the reveals for me.
-- I really, really wish that there'd been a luchador with the number 5 on his mask, somewhere in the background.
-- Luchas de Apuestas means a fight with a wager on it. Usually either the opposing wrestler's mask or hair.
-- Was the Kaupe a demi-god before? Because I think that was a bit of a ret-con.
-- Apparently the heavily hinted Gary/Mona/Kaupe love triangle is not going to be a thing. I hope they find a way to fix Gary and that he forgives Mona.
-- I did not see Mona's monster transformation coming. Can't wait to see where that goes.
-- When exactly did Sara and Ava learn that Tango? Not that I'm complaining, it looked amazing.
-- I would totally play Ray's 'Cards to Save the Timeline' game.
An episode that was both a lot of fun, and a lot of heartbreaking. Welcome back, Legends. You were gone too long.
Three and a half out of four missing nipples.
Mikey Heinrich is, among other things, a freelance writer, volunteer firefighter, and roughly 78% water.
#Legends of Tomorrow#Sara Lance#John Constantine#Ray Palmer#Ava Sharpe#Mick Rory#LoT#DC's Legends of Tomorrow#DC Comics#Arrowverse#Legends of Tomorrow Reviews#Doux Reviews#TV Reviews
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Binge-Watching: Blue Exorcist, Episodes 12-15
Alright, I’m refreshed from a weekend of bingeing Brotherhood and ready to dive back into things! In which the story reaches its first big peak, Rin shows us what he’s capable of, and I both praise and criticize the existence of Shura.
The Explosion Cometh
There’s a term I use when talking about anime called “the explosion”. As the tame suggests, it’s the point in the story where things explode. It’s the big fight scene that leaves your favorite character dead, the emotional war of words that leaves a relationship irrevocably changed, the moment where the groundwork the show’s been laying pays off in a memorable, status-quo-obliterating setpiece. A story will often have multiple explosions along the way, especially if it’s a long-running action series like, say, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. And they’re (almost) always the most entertaining, memorable, and meaningful parts of a series; because they’re the moment everything has been building towards and explodes out from, their execution and aftermath are often the most critical elements to get right if you want your audience to keep faith in your story. Because if you screw up the most important part, you’re pretty much done for.
Blue Exorcist’s first explosion has been a long time coming, set up by Mephisto’s mysterious machinations in the background of every episode and the slow build of Rin’s episodic adventures with his classmates, hinting at more and more dangers to come. And in these episodes, the bombs finally go off, slowly at first, but building in size and force until the entire stockpile explodes in a massive blue fireball. Amaimon’s first attempt on Rin’s life sets everything in motion, revealing the series of dominoes just before they’re knocked over. It’s actually a really great set-up for the explosion in a lot of ways. First, it gives Rin the first true, dangerous challenge he’s faced yet, forcing him to realize he’s in over his head. Second, it sets up that his power is growing to strong for the sword to contain it, foreshadowing what he’ll have to unleash during Amaimon’s return in a few episodes. Third, and arguably most importantly, it facilitates the reveal of Shura, the high-ranking exorcist who’s been hiding out as one of the background classmates to keep an eye on Rin, which officially integrates the larger exorcist power structure as a central player in the plot from now on. The school antics are no longer an isolated world unto themselves; the larger world of the story has officially stepped into the spotlight, breaking open a treasure trove of new possibilities. It’s a signal, along with the boppin’ new OP, that things are about to get moving.
The Demon Awakens
And get moving they do, as Amaimon’s second attack on the students, on their camping trip, is basically a series of escalating explosions leading to Rin finally revealing his true powers in a blaze of glory. Even before his arrival, the show is working to set up the impact he’s gonna have. We get reinforcement after reinforcement of how much Rin has come to accept the other students as his friends after a life of isolation, from Shiemi coming to his aid after his first freakout at the amusement park, to everyone enjoying the curry he makes on the camping trip, to the entirety of the delightful bridge-crossing scene where everyone gets a great moment of camaderie (Suguro communicating the plan while still chanting. “Please try to contain your earthly desires”. Shiemi calling out to the lantern. Rin throwing her at the last second. All just great, goofy stuff.), to Suguro- the most stiff-lipped of the bunch, I remind you- finally admitting that he considers Rin a friend. And combined with the flashback to Rin’s violent childhood during his fight with Shura, it’s all one massive reminder of how far he’s come since those troubled days. Which only makes for a bigger splash once Amaimon arrives and starts pressing Rin for a proper challenge. He lives up to his status as King of the Earth; his power is scary, able to shatter bones and blow people across the forest with just a flick of his finger. Rin is outgunned, overpowered, and has no other option but to fight, in full view of his friends, with the full power of the demonic heritage he’s been trying to hide from them. The skates have reached the breaking point, the power ceiling is cracking, and there’s no better time to let the explosion loose.
And god damn, what an explosion it is. Rin’s clash with Amaimon is the show’s best fight yet, full of dynamic camera movement and slick, fast-paced sakuga. It’s an awesome, brutal display of power that both cements Rin’s status as a genuine badass and confirms just why everyone is so scared about what happens if he loses control. From here on out, there’s no going back. Rin’s secret is out, Mephisto’s plan has come out of the shadows, and whatever happens next, the simple school days everyone’s been sharing are decidedly over. Blue Exorcist, Chapter 1: Complete. It’s time to see what Chapter 2 has in store for us.
Yoko Littner, Dat U?
I struggle sometimes while watching anime to square the difference between whether or not a thing I like is actually a net positive for a show. As I’ve talked about in other binges, anime has a tendency to indulge more than is healthy, which is where you get things like fanservice and character traits that seem only designed to satisfy a specific fetish rather than be a character in their own right. The problem is, sometimes these indulgent elements come into being as things I really like, and at times like that, I have to take a step back and consider whether me liking said thing actually works in the context of the show, or is just really good at appealing to my tastes specifically.
The latest thing to raise this conundrum to me is the character of Shura, the badass lady exorcist sent to watch over Rin and finally revealing herself now to act as a comic foil for Yukio. Because on the one hand, Shura is exactly my type of character. An ass-kicking, take-no-prisoners lady brawler with a sick ponytail and a gruff-but-endearing level of punk attitude? It’s like the show took a look inside my head and constructed her out of all my weak points. On the other hand, though, I can’t really escape the feeling that she was written and designed that way solely to pander to those weak points. She’s got the same problem I had with Yoko Littner from Gurren Lagann, where the fetishistic quality of her outfit (as in, they have the exact same outfit) combined with a prevalent boob jiggle makes it hard for me to picture her as being conceived as anything other than meat beat material (although my problems with Yoko were far worse, because at least Shura isn’t showing any signs of inexplicably falling in love with a guy who constantly sexually harasses her).
Which sucks, because I genuinely think she’s got a lot going for her as a character. She’s always in control and enjoys lording her power over the kids, but she’s not afraid to talk at their level and take them seriously. And her occasional lapses of control, which she easily overs up by affecting the same in-control attitude she always does, are endearingly cool. In all honestly, I’ve only known her four episodes, so I think I might have to wait and see which side of the fence I eventually fall with Shura. If nothing else, it should make for an interesting discussion.
Also, something about her really makes me want her to be voiced by Michaela Dietz. I dunno, doesn��t that just sort of fit?
Odds and Ends
-I would visit a place called MepphyLand every day.
-kashdkajdshakd Shiemi’s robot walk gives me life
-My god, Shiemi’s so pure. Rin, next time you two get together, you take her on an actual date to the amusement park, because she fucking deserves it.
-HOLY SHIT I WASN’T EXPECTING HIM TO ACTUALLY SAY THAT RIGHT AFTERWARDS RIN I LOVE YOU
-”Ah! My older brother’s head!” Something about that line really cracks me up.
-”How can you laugh about that? We were almost killed!” “Yeah, but I’m already dead.” lol
-”I broke them on purpose because I was too pumped up!” SHIRO BEST DAD
-”He’s... on maternity leave!” “But he’s a man.” akasjdhak you’re so bad at this Shura
-The fact that Rin still uses the hairpin Suguro gave him is a delightful little touch.
-”Whoops, my hand slipped.” Okay, I like Shura.
-OH FUCK THEY KILLED NEE THOSE BASTARDS
-Look at Mephisto just casually hanging off a bat like a motherfucker.
Ah, it’s good to be back. See you later today with more Blue Exorcist!
#anime#the anime binge-watcher#tabw#blue exorcist#rin okumura#yukio okumura#shiemi moriyama#rin x shiemi
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Germany coronavirus: How Merkel's vaccine disaster dented nation's handling of the pandemic “It would have been nice if I had at least 10 vaccines in my fridge. It cost me a lot of time and frustration and in the end these people who need it, they didn’t get vaccinated,” Katzenstein said. The general practitioner says she has no idea how to get her vulnerable patients vaccinated after repeatedly lobbying for shots and repeatedly being turned down. “I am very concerned and I don’t know who to turn to.” She voices the concerns of many — that Germany’s vaccination rollout is a bureaucratic nightmare with deadly consequences. The country was applauded for its initial handling of the pandemic, thanks to widescale testing and its fast response to the outbreak. Despite a high number of reported cases, Germany’s Covid-19 mortality rate remains low. But since it administered its first shot in December, Germany has only vaccinated around 6% of the population, with around 5 million first doses and 3 million second doses administered. Part of the problem is that Germany has only been offering shots at specific vaccine centers and not at doctors’ offices — unlike in the United Kingdom, where local doctors have been vaccinating people for months, and where more than 30% of the population has received a first dose. Chancellor Angela Merkel has admitted to failings with the speed of the vaccine rollout and said Wednesday that doctors’ offices should be able to vaccinate patients by the end of March. Katzenstein notes there are around 50,000 general practitioners’ offices in Germany and “it’s a lot easier for patients to reach their own doctor.” The system for patients to book a vaccination slot at a center is complex, with numerous different processes in the country’s 16 states. Katzenstein argues it’s tricky for a 90-year-old to navigate the online system. “I think we have a social obligation as a whole society being in lockdown. We need to do everything which is quick, pragmatic.” Germany has been in varying degrees of lockdown since November and this week restrictions were extended again until the end of March. But internal logistics and bureaucracy are only part of the issue. Factors at play At the start of the pandemic last year, everything was in place for Merkel to handle it with success. Germany — a country with a global reputation for efficiency — held the EU Council Presidency and in Ursula von der Leyen, a former German defense minister, it had an ally at the top of the European Commission. When it came time to secure vaccines, Merkel insisted that the EU should focus on procuring shots as a bloc instead of Germany and other member states going it alone. But the EU’s rollout has been slow and plagued by delays. “Germany is the architect of the European failure because Germany and Merkel were behind pushing for the European process that was a failure from the beginning,” Julian Reichelt, the managing editor of Germany’s largest selling tabloid newspaper Bild, told CNN. “She wanted to make it all about Europe and her being a great European,” he says. Last month the newspaper made headlines in the UK when it ran the front page headline: ‘Liebe Briten, we beneiden you!’ [Dear Britain, we envy you] in a pointed message on how Germany was floundering with its vaccine rollout in comparison to Britain’s strategy, which has been widely hailed as a success. The comparisons to Britain have become even more painful this week as Merkel announced a U-turn on the decision not to authorize the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for people over the age of 65. The original age cap decision, announced on January 28 by Germany’s vaccination committee (STIKO), was made citing a lack of sufficient data for older age groups in trials. Critics said it harmed public trust in the AstraZeneca shot in a country that suffers from a relatively high level of vaccine skepticism, and set off a domino effect across Europe. The day after, French President Emmanuel Macron described the AstraZeneca vaccine as “quasi-ineffective” in older people, saying “the first results are not encouraging for those over 60-65 years old.” The claim was disputed by multiple scientists, and real-world data has since shown that the AstraZeneca vaccine is highly effective at preventing hospitalization in older populations. The likes of France, Spain, Italy and the Nordic nations followed suit, limiting authorization of the vaccine to younger segments of the population. They are also now performing U-turns on their decisions. The damage is done The decision by STIKO to initially bar the use of AstraZeneca shots in older populations “really was a mistake” because it resulted in “everyone in Germany” losing confidence in the vaccine, said Dr. Uwe Janssens, head of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI). Janssens understands why STIKO came to its initial conclusion, and said that if the call had gone the other way, there would have been criticism of that decision too. Either way, he said, “we didn’t have enough vaccine from the beginning because of the consequences of the shopping tour from the European Union, because they didn’t buy enough.” Tobias Kurth, a professor of public health and epidemiology and the director of the Institute of Public Health at the Charité university hospital in Berlin, described the German regulator’s original decision as a “communications disaster.” A day after STIKO imposed an age cap on the AstraZeneca vaccine, the European Medicines Agency approved it for everyone over the age of 18. The World Health Organization followed suit on February 8. “They have now corrected their recommendation finally, but now the disaster has already happened,” Kurth told CNN. “People say they don’t want to have the AstraZeneca stuff because it is really bad,” and there’s no way to correct them because “you can’t get it out of people’s heads.” Last month a spokesman for Merkel took the extraordinary step of tweeting that the “AstraZeneca [vaccine] is both safe and highly effective,” following reports that Germans were turning it down. There are currently around 1.3 million doses of the AstraZeneca sitting unused in storage in Germany, partly due to the fact elderly populations until now have not been allowed to take it. Some Germans also see the AstraZeneca vaccine as a lower quality shot, because of its slightly lower efficacy rates compared to other authorized vaccines. CNN has contacted the German Ministry of Health for comment. ‘Complaining about a candy’ Those running a vaccination center at Berlin Brandenburg airport, which administers both the Pfizer-BioNTech and the AstraZeneca vaccine, say early on barely anyone wanted AstraZeneca, but that is now changing. “My impression and what the numbers tell us is that the acceptance of the AstraZeneca vaccine is rising. We can see that with the bookings. It started very slowly, but as of yesterday evening 80% of the available appointments have been taken,” Christian Wehry, a spokesperson for the Association of Health Insurance Physicians Brandenburg said. “I think people in Germany are just too spoiled. It reminds me of children playing on a playground, complaining about a candy, thinking they deserve another candy because someone tells them it’s better,” Thomas Buchhammer, a medical doctor, told CNN after he received his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Thursday at the vaccination site. STIKO changed course and approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for over-65s, citing new data, on Thursday. It said in a statement that its previous recommendation on January 28 “was completely correct based on the data available at that time.” Meanwhile, Merkel — speaking ahead of the STIKO statement — announced Wednesday that the interval between administering first and second doses of Covid-19 vaccines would be stretched “to its maximum” in order to “vaccinate more people faster for the first vaccination.” The Chancellor said there would now be a 42-day gap for the second Pfizer shot and a 12-week one for the second shot of Oxford/AstraZeneca — a move that is more in line with the UK’s policy of administering second doses of both AstraZeneca and Pfizer towards the end of a 12-week gap. The changes to Germany’s dosing strategy came after real world data from studies appeared to vindicate the British strategy of vaccinating as many high-risk people as possible with the first dose. The UK has vaccinated more than 21 million people with a first dose and around 1 million have received a second dose. German Social Democratic politician and health expert Karl Lauterbach says Germany made a mistake with its initial AstraZeneca decision but even if the age cap hadn’t been implemented, the UK still has better vaccination capabilities. “Even if it wasn’t for the AstraZeneca vaccination not being taken up, we would still not be able to vaccinate much more people because we are lacking in vaccines,” Lauterbach said. “Basically the EU Commission was not strict enough, not fast enough and not providing enough money for making more vaccinations available in a shorter period of time.” The European Union, which was slower to authorize vaccines for use than the UK, waged a war of words with AstraZeneca over delays in supply in late January. On Thursday, Italy announced it had imposed an export ban on 250,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses destined for Australia, citing supply delays and a continuing shortage of vaccines in the EU and in Italy. Lauterbach concedes the EU’s “procurement of the vaccine was slow. Price considerations were overwhelming. Capacity was not given the attention it should have been given. So we lost time and we are suffering from a shortage of all the major vaccines.” Much has been said about the EU’s vaccine failure, with the Commission President von der Leyen admitting herself at the beginning of February that Europe was late to authorize vaccines and too optimistic on mass production. But Germany’s internal decisions have also left it grappling to get up to speed. “What was more important to Merkel, was that the EU should get its act together to show that the EU works. Not because of Brexit but because that’s the way that Germany likes to do things,” said Quentin Peel, an Associate Fellow for the Europe Programme at the Chatham House think tank in London. A recent survey commissioned by state broadcaster ARD revealed Thursday that 73% of Germans are not happy with how the government has dealt with the vaccine rollout. Germany’s Health Minister Jens Spahn, speaking at a press conference on Friday, said that the country will speed up “in the next few weeks.” He forecast that in April there will be more vaccines available than people who can be vaccinated at vaccination centers. He added that mobile vaccination teams would be introduced to help with the effort and general practitioners should routinely be included in the drive. Meanwhile, Dr. Lothar Wieler, the head of Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI), warned that “we are still seeing too many deaths” and that the country’s incidence rate is rising again. Wieler said a more contagious coronavirus variant first discovered in the UK has been detected in 40% of new infections after Merkel recently warned the country needs to “proceed wisely and carefully” to avoid a lockdown due to a third wave. The real-life knock-on effect of a slow rollout is evident for 59-year-old Friederike Bettina Kolster, who has the neurological disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and is desperate to get a shot. As a wheelchair user she has up to 15 people caring for her, increasing her risk of contracting the disease. “Because I need medical care I can’t protect myself,” she said. “I am in home isolation all the time. I have no contacts outside to minimize the risk.” “Everyone thinks that I should be in the first group. But because my disease is not listed in the vaccination decree and I am under 60, I actually get counted as a healthy person under 60 initially.” Kolster describes Germany’s rollout as “extremely frustrating” and says she lives in fear of the disease. “I don’t care which vaccine I get,” she said. “As long as I am vaccinated.” This story has been updated to correct the date when the World Health Organization approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for adults. It was on February 8. Sarah Dean wrote and reported from London. Fred Pleitgen, Nadine Schmidt and Claudia Otto reported from Berlin. Source link Orbem News #coronavirus #dented #Disaster #Germany #handling #Merkels #Nations #Pandemic #Vaccine
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AN ALTERNATIVE THEORY OF JUDGEMENT
Don't worry if a project doesn't seem to be any syntax for it. To kids, wealth is a fixed pie that's shared out, and if something great happens, they'll stick with it—something great meaning either that someone wants to buy them or invest millions of dollars. It's wrong to call it a trick in his case, though.1 If they'd waited to release everything at once, they wouldn't have presented them the way they did.2 With Robert this quality is wired-in. How many little startups are Google and Yahoo—though strictly speaking someone else did think of that before? Once you start talking to users, I guarantee you'll be surprised by what they tell you. That tends to produce deadlocks. Isaac Newton Newton has a strange syntax as because it has no syntax; you express programs directly in the parse trees that get built behind the scenes when other languages are parsed, and these trees are made of lists, which are Lisp data structures. Well, I said, I think is a red herring.3 It's what bias means.
Hard means worry: if you're not worrying that something you're making will come out badly, or that you won't get money, and if investors are skeptical, the startup should take a smaller amount and use that to get the chain reaction started.4 You can compile or run code while compiling, and read or compile code at runtime. There are times in most of the talking, but he described his co-founder as the best hacker he'd ever met, and you willingly give him money in return for it. The distributors want to prevent the transparency that comes from having prices online.5 My relationship with my cofounder went from just being friends to seeing each other all the time, perhaps most of the time you'll find the person instinctively thinks the idea will be familiar to anyone who doesn't like being asked what they do. You can see the same thing with equity instead of debt. T: Scheme has no libraries. This is what you end up among the living or the dead comes down to the third ingredient, not giving up. The important part is not whether he makes ten million a year or a hundred, but how you get there. Since it is a huge time sink. Most people think they hate math, but the biggest win for languages like Lisp is at the other end of the spectrum, where you need to do what you know intellectually to be right, even though the phrase compact disc player end up spending considerable money at sites offering compact disc players, then those pages will have a large Baumol penumbra around it: anyone who could get rich, but as long as you have some core of users who really love you, or is there at least some little group that does? Optimizing in solution-space is familiar and straightforward, but you have to assume it takes some amount of pain.6
Is making money really that important?7 You probably can't overcome anything so pervasive as the model of work is a job. Before you can adjust, you're thrown sideways as the car screeches into the first turn. But it also explains why the ups and downs were more extreme than they were prepared for. Try to get your slides under 20 words if you can find, use the most powerful forces in history. It's the ones in the middle of the 20th century that convinced some people otherwise.8 You can shift into a different mode of working. And yet most VCs are driven by the same underlying cause: the number of startups. The bigger the community, the greater the chance it will contain the person who has that one thing you need most. Your Hopes Up.9
This is what you end up with: def foo n: return lambda i: return n i To be fair, Perl also retains this distinction, but deals with it in typical Perl fashion by letting you omit returns.10 Don't worry what people will say.11 The point of high-level languages is to give you bigger abstractions—bigger bricks, as it were, so you have to create a descriptive phrase about yourself that sticks in their heads. In 1958 these ideas were far removed from ordinary programming practice, which was dictated largely by the hardware available in the late nineties you could get rich by taking money from the poor, then you can build all the rest of the world, at least not in the sense that the measure of good design can be derived, and around which most design issues center. The new model seems more liquid, and more efficient.12 I've been repeating that since 1993, and I tend to agree. Check whether they outperform the others. Nearly all textbooks are bad.
If a design represents an idea that fits in one person's head, then the idea will be a good thing when it happens, because these new investors will be compelled by the structure of the investments they make to be ten times bolder than present day VCs. But make sure to write something that sounds like spontaneous, informal speech, and deliver it that way too. The bad news is that I was ready for something else. Thanks to Immad Akhund, Sam Altman, John Bautista, Pete Koomen, Jessica Livingston, Dan Siroker, Harj Taggar, and Fred Wilson for reading drafts of this.13 Several people used that word married. Can you have a healthy society with great variation in wealth and income, then follow it with the most naive speculation about the underlying causes.14 It's not like doing extra work for extra credit. Do less.15 Fred Brooks described this phenomenon in his famous book The Mythical Man-Month, and everything I've seen has tended to confirm what he said. If you asked the pointy-haired bosses to revert to the mean. But I could be wrong.16
Notes
Most don't try to write about the prior probability of an outcast, just try to make more money was the reason the young care so much attention. In fact, for example, probably did more drugs in his twenties than any other field, it's implicit that this excludes trickery like buying users for more of the market price for you; you're too early really means is you're getting the stats for occurrences of foo in the world. There was no great risk in doing something, but I couldn't believe it or not, bleeding out invites at a Demo Day or die. If I paint someone's house, though.
A significant component of piracy, which is the unpromising-seeming startups are usually about things you like shit. It's hard to predict areas where Apple will be big successes but who are younger or more ambitious the utility function for money. This is not how to use thresholds proportionate to wd m-k w-d n, where w is will and d discipline. Some founders listen more than you otherwise would have expected them to stay around, but for different things from different, simpler organisms over unimaginably long periods of time on is a declaration of war on.
Naive founders think Wow, a VC means they'll look bad if that got bootstrapped with consulting. But there is a cause them to. Viaweb, which would be worth it for you by accidents of age and geography, rather than making the broadest type of mail, I use. Nat.
Yes, I mean that if you seem like noise. The Roman commander specifically ordered that he could accept it.
It's not quite as harmless as we use have a notebook to write it all yourself.
They hate their bread and butter cases.
It took a back seat to philology, which people used to reply that they will come at an academic talk might appreciate a joke, they mean.
There's probably also encourage companies to build their sites, and intelligence can help founders is the ability of big corporations found that 16 of the next round.
So whatever market you're in, we love big juicy lumbar disc herniation as juicy except literally. Comments at the top startup law firms are Wilson Sonsini, Orrick, Fenwick West, Gunderson Dettmer, and domino effects among investors. Maybe markets will eventually get comfortable with potential earnings.
So if it's dismissed, it's probably a cause for optimism: American graduates have more options. You have to sweat any one outcome. They shut down in, but historical abuses are easier for us! People were more the aggregate are overpaid.
Now many tech companies don't want to help you even working on your cap table, and know the combination of circumstances in the life of a silver mine.
If anyone wanted to make a conscious effort to be, and that they don't know which name will stick. I'm not saying that the guys running Digg are especially sneaky, but not in 1950. In the beginning of the things attributed to Confucius and Socrates resemble their actual opinions.
Now we don't want to measure how dependent you've become on distractions, try this experiment: set aside a chunk of this: You may not have gotten the royal raspberry. Conjecture: The Duty of Genius, Penguin, 1991. That's the best hackers work on Wall Street were in 2000, because the publishers exert so much about unimportant things.
There are aspects of the big acquisition offers most successful ones. There is archaeological evidence for large settlements earlier, but I took so long. Basically, the mean annual wage in the narrowest sense. If someone just sold a nice thing to be about web-based software will make it to the table.
S P 500 CEOs in 2002 was 35,560.
Sites that habitually linkjack get banned. Eighteen months later. Compromising a server could cause such damage that ASPs that want to give each customer the impression that the site was about the Thanksgiving turkey. Without the prospect of publication, the reaction was so great, why didn't the Industrial Revolution was one firm that wanted to than because they will fund you, it often means the right to do this yourself.
#automatically generated text#Markov chains#Paul Graham#Python#Patrick Mooney#idea#money#ability#Penguin#case#ones#w#startup#word#millions#hacker#project#design#society#living#Duty#market#circumstances#silver#distractions#beginning#lumbar#penumbra#ingredient#n
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Writing Good World building
I get alot of nice compliments about the world building in my writing so here. I wrote down all my secrets. They aren’t very good secrets but they’re all I got.
1. Do not info dump all at once. Even if it’s tempting as fuck and you just want to talk about everything cool in this world your’re creating in the first chapter. DON’T DO IT. Space it out. Reveal things a bit at a time. If possible have your discoveries build on one another. Have a character mention something they would know about but the audience won’t in an early chapter then reveal it later. Reward your audience for paying attention. If you info dump everything in the first few paragraphs of your story then the reader gets bored. World War Z (the book for god’s sake not the movie) is possibly the best example of this particular brand of world building. In early interviews Max Brooks will masterfully introduce a concept (feral children or The Battle of Yonkers for example) and later on they will be mentioned in passing by another person being interviewed. This connects the world together and gives it depth. Always remember that all the characters in your story share this universe and speak the same cultural language.
2. Always have a character who is also unfamiliar with the setting be your main. If your story stars someone who is completely familiar with the world of the story your gonna get info dump problems. The lead will either look like a crazy person talking to an invisible audience about things they encounter everyday or they won’t explain anything at all and the reader will become frustratingly out of the loop. Your lead should be as clueless are your reader. This is a good rule of thumb for movies too. Luke doesn’t know anything about Jedi so the people around him explain and when he learns the audience learns. It feels natural and leaves room for discovery and growth.Don’t have someone explain TOO much however or you head straight back into TMI issues.
3. Commit to it. Even if your world has some insane bullshit thing going on if everybody takes it seriously your reader will too. Harry Potter gets away with some utterly ridiculous spells but they have life and death consequences so no matter how goofy a scenario or idea might sound when you say it out loud? (flying brains/death curtain/unicorn eating) Given the right build up and complete seriousness by the characters its going to feel concrete to the reader. Pacific Rim or Neon Genesis Evengelion-…really anything in the big robot fighting genre Is another good example of this. Big robot fights might seem stupid but to the characters/reader involved in the un-ironic struggle the foreign elements have to feel genuine otherwise the world doesn’t feel real so the stakes aren’t real and there's no tension or conflict.
4. Read/watch documentaries/ learn about everything. BE FUCKING CURIOUS. Pay attention to world history and politics. Have at least a passing idea of how economics works. If your world is based on a time period then research EVERYTHING about that time period. Like research what kind of socks people wore and what fruit was available and what the weather was like. If your world is based on mythology then for the love of god research the culture it came from. The small details can make everything so much more interesting.
5. If your premise has one focus (Magic is real/soulmates exist/Aliens attack) think of it as a web. That premise is the center but how is it going to affect everything around it? How will it affect world governments? Climate? Growing crops? Will children learn things in school differently? Will different class systems exist? How will countries interact? I like to think of it as the domino affect of world building and while it doesn’t seem important it IS. There are two ways of examining this. The Macro world and the Micro world.
Thinking in the Macro
Example: My basic premise…uhhh mermaids exist. That works. Questions: How will mermaids existing affect the fishing industry? Do mermaids own tracts of ocean? Do mermaids have allies or enemies on land? Do they trade with humans? Do they believe in currency? How long have we known they’ve existed? Ideas from questions: Let’s relate things to the real world to give our story grounding on the familiar. So like…Oh man! wouldn’t it be cool if mermaids boycotted Seaworld? Or if they were on bad terms with Japan because of the shit that goes down there like the documentary the Cove? Oh man that would be pretty cool. Man Japan eats a lot of fish. If they had some kind of tiff with mermaids that lead to an all out war what would that be like because I know from my research Japan doesn’t really have its own army after WW2 so would allies be involved? Story: Japan (and its allies) are at war with Mermaids.
Thinking in the Micro OR Taking my Macro idea and shrinking it.
The Macro idea is just the world now you need a premise that rests within the larger story. Love stories are great because everybody roots for a love story. Let’s do that.
Example: Mermaids are at war with Japan and a hot merman and a Japanese guy fall in love. Oh NO! What will they do?
Questions: How does the Macro situation affect the micro situation? How can the macro influence the couple in interesting ways? What are the positions of the characters in this universe? What jobs can they have? How will the war affect them on a personal level or their families? Ideas from questions: Well the Japanese guy has to be near the water to meet hot merman so maybe his dad was a fishermen but when the war happened he had to stop so now his family hates those darn ole mermaids. Situation--> cause for conflict. Hooray! Maybe the merman is caught stealing something…what’s something that would affect him? Maybe hes sabotaging something? Is he part of the war effort? Maybe hes a scientist. Aww lil merman scientist. Story: A fourth generation out of work fisherman’s son stumbles on a hot merman scientist and his families stereotypical portrayal of mermaids don’t fit so he must acquit…or kiss kiss fall in love??? Aww yiss I would read that!
6. One of my personal hero’s when it comes to world building is Paul Verhoeven. Yeah the guy who made Showgirls. That guy. But two examples of straight up amazing world building can be found in Verhoeven’s films Robocop and Starship Troopers. Are they dumb? Yes. Yes they are. Are they masterpieces of world building? Also yes.
In the first 3 minutes of Robocop you learn everything you need to know about the world our characters live in. How dire the situation is and what kind of tone you can expect. They briefly mention a strike they bring up the villain and they introduce our hero. All in one beautiful swoop. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PNi2nC5iLA (warning bewbs)
Verhoeven also uses news clips, commercials and other cultural hallmarks to give a natural sense of the world. At no point in the movie does anyone need to explain a single thing. We can gather everything we need as an intelligent viewer just from context clues. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LKQ3eX9pEg (warning insane shit)
This great scene in Starship Troopers not only establishes our villain in an interesting almost clinical way. It gives the viewer a cool visual and shows another teacher/vet suffering horrible damage from the war. It also shows our main has nerves of steel. It accomplishes all three goals flawlessly and you didn’t even realize you were learning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMuRm70JlDM (warning alien gore)
In Starship Troopers all of the war vets suffer horrendous damage/missing limbs and scars. In Robocop there is a commercial where a woman is selling sunscreen with an impossible spf because of global warming. Is it ridiculous? Fuck yes. Does it tell you something about the world these characters live in? FUCK YES.
Although there is a big difference in written language and film language there is still a huge lesson to be learned from the Verhoeven method of world building. How are the circumstances of my world affecting the cultural language of my characters? How can I use that to my advantage? How can I teach my reader using something that doesn’t make them feel like they’re doing homework? Can I establish multiple things in a single scene?
7. Learn from the masters. Read alot of sci-fi books like Dune or Riverworld. Watch alot of great worldbuilding movies like Bladerunner or The Fifth Element. Don’t copy them but examine and think about why they are good and how you can use what they teach.
#writing stuff#writing down thoughts#i really like robocop#worldbuilding#I REALLY FUCKING LIKE WORLDBUILDING
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5 Reasons The Godfather Is The Best Mob Movie Ever Made (And 5 Why It's Goodfellas)
It’s not often that a discussion of the greatest movie in a certain genre boils down to just two movies, but the debate over the finest gangster film ever made usually comes down to Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather and Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas.
They’re both very different movies – one is adapted from a fictional novel and the other is a true-to-life biopic, one has a conventional timeline and the other has a nonlinear structure with choppy editing etc. – but they’re arguably equally well-crafted. Here are 5 Reasons The Godfather Is The Best Mob Movie Ever Made (And 5 Why It’s Goodfellas).
RELATED: 10 Most Memorable Quotes From The Godfather Trilogy
10 The Godfather: A more romantic portrayal of mob life
The Corleones are not a real family, and they’re essentially royalty in the criminal underworld, so The Godfather was free to make their lifestyle look glamorous. The occasional scene like Sonny getting shot dead at a toll booth might not seem very glitzy, but they’re few and far between.
With romantic ideas about going to lavish parties and the Don giving out favors on the day of his daughter’s wedding, the movie does make being a mobster look awfully fun. No one thought gangsters were cool until Francis Ford Coppola came along and gave audiences an idealized Hollywood depiction of their lives.
9 Goodfellas: A more realistic portrayal of mob life
The biggest difference between The Godfather and Goodfellas is that, while the former glamorizes the gangster lifestyle, the latter provides a more realistic portrait of it. The characters of Goodfellas are often shown doing the dirty work that the Corleones rarely have to get involved in, and while the Corleone family has more money than they know what to do with, the characters of Goodfellas don’t get very rich.
The movie ends with one of the mobsters selling out all of his friends to secure his family’s safety in the Witness Protection Program. The look on their faces as they get convicted sells the point of the film to us. This is the inevitable ending, and it’s not worth it.
8 The Godfather: More nuanced acting
Ray Liotta’s performance as Henry Hill in Goodfellas, a guy who adores the gangster lifestyle, constantly cheats on his wife, and slowly lets the hooks of drug addiction get into him, is phenomenal – it’s intense, and we believe every emotion – but Al Pacino’s turn as Michael Corleone in The Godfather is simply more nuanced.
Where Henry will loudly yell what he’s feeling, Michael will tell us everything in a single facial expression. Add to that the subtle performances of supporting players like Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, James Caan, Talia Shire, John Cazale, and Diane Keaton. Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci provide riveting support in Goodfellas, but it can’t compare to the ensemble of The Godfather.
7 Goodfellas: Faster pace
One of the main criticisms of The Godfather from people who are willing to admit it’s not perfect is that it’s too slow. The pacing in Goodfellas, on the other hand, is much quicker. The plot moves by at breakneck speed, jumping back and forth along the timeline of the narrative to make sure you’re only getting the information you need at any given moment.
RELATED: 10 Most Memorable Quotes From Goodfellas
The choppy editing of Goodfellas, the fact that no scene is more than a couple of minutes long, and the way it throws you into the story at the deep end with a corpse in the trunk all contribute to a pace that’s much faster than The Godfather’s.
6 The Godfather: More striking imagery
Obviously, there is plenty of striking imagery in Goodfellas, because Martin Scorsese is one of cinema’s giants and his keen attention to detail has helped him to get there, but The Godfather is in another league. Cinematographer Gordon Willis, whose work has been called a “milestone in visual storytelling” that “defined the cinematic look of the 1970s,” composed some gorgeous shots that could stand on their own as works of art.
The shot of a murder with the Statue of Liberty way off in the background, poking out from behind the long grass, says everything this movie has to say about the American dream in one frame.
5 Goodfellas: Humor
While The Godfather is a terrific film, it’s also a humorless affair. Goodfellas, however, is a hilarious movie, mostly thanks to the actors’ improvisation. From Joe Pesci’s “How am I funny?” monologue to the introduction of Jimmy Two Times, there are plenty of funny moments in Scorsese’s masterwork.
And not only that, the humor is often used to dramatic effect with striking juxtaposition, such as the central trio’s discussion of Tommy’s mothers painting (“One dog goes one way, the other dog goes the other way, and this guy’s sayin’, ‘Whadda ya want from me?’”) while they have a guy bleeding out in the trunk.
4 The Godfather: Better-crafted plot
This one isn’t really fair to Goodfellas, because that movie was based on a true story, while The Godfather was a fictional story, so while Mario Puzo could shape and reform his novel until it had the perfect structure, there was only so much wiggle room Martin Scorsese had with the true-to-life story of Henry Hill.
Still, The Godfather’s script is a masterclass in screenwriting. We meet our protagonist, the tragic hero Michael Corleone, and watch for three hours as he is slowly corrupted by his family’s lifestyle. His transformation is marked by murdering the crooked cop at the midpoint, exactly when a character’s viewpoint is supposed to turn in a screenplay.
3 Goodfellas: Better soundtrack
The musical backing for The Godfather, written by the great Italian composer Nino Rota, is a breathtaking film score. However, there are few movies whose soundtracks hold a candle to that of Goodfellas, which is basically a mixtape of Martin Scorsese’s favorite songs.
(He even wrote some songs into the script, conceiving the scenes with the music he would score them to in mind.) From Tony Bennett to Aretha Franklin to Muddy Waters to the Rolling Stones to Eric Clapton’s bands Cream and Derek and the Dominos, the Goodfellas soundtrack contains tracks by some of the greatest artists of all time, and they all suit the scenes they’re assigned to perfectly.
2 The Godfather: Stronger historical context
While Goodfellas has a real place in history, being based on a true story, The Godfather has a better hold on its historical context. It’s about fictional characters, but it’s rooted in very real history. It takes place between 1945 and 1955, and this post-war setting forms a lot of the plot.
RELATED: 10 Sprawling Crime Sagas To Watch If You Like Scarface
Michael has just returned from war when he attends his sister’s wedding in the opening scene. This sets him up nicely as the wayward one who isn’t going to get into the family business – until he does. The Corleone family came over from Sicily at the turn of the century, and The Godfather has a lot to say about immigration.
1 Goodfellas: It’s endlessly rewatchable
You have to be in a certain mood to watch The Godfather. It’s long, it’s heavy, there’s a lot to take in – you have to really strap in if you’re going to sit through it. Goodfellas, however, is endlessly rewatchable. It doesn’t matter what mood you’re in or what kind of movie you want to watch – it’s never a challenge to get into Goodfellas.
When you’re channel-hopping and you see that a movie’s on, it’s easier to stop and watch the rest of Goodfellas than it is to stop and watch the rest of The Godfather. It sounds silly, but that’s important.
NEXT: Martin Scorsese's 10 Best Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes
source https://screenrant.com/godfather-goodfellas-best-mob-movie/
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Microsoft has an ambitious new plan to take on Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant (MSFT, AMZN, GOOG, GOOGL)
Amazon and Google have clearly staked their claims in the burgeoning market for virtual digital assistants — Amazon's Alexa, especially, has become something of a phenomenon, with the Amazon Echo devices leading the market.
But Microsoft, that other Washington-based tech titan, has its own plans to conquer the burgeoning market for voice. Just this week, Microsoft unveiled the Invoke, a Cortana-powered Echo rival, manufactured by Samsung subsidiary Harman Kardon.
And at the Microsoft Build conference in Seattle on Wednesday, HP and Intel officially signed on to help create Cortana-based hardware, too, opening the door for, say, a Microsoft-powered competitor to Amazon's new Echo Show gadget. Plus, Microsoft officially opened up Cortana to outside apps, so you can tell it to order you a pizza from Domino's, for example.
In the past, Microsoft has said that access to its vast storehouses of Microsoft Office and LinkedIn data will help set Cortana apart from the competition. At Microsoft Build, we got our first taste of what that future looks like, as a presenter used Cortana to pull LinkedIn information on the people in her next meeting, or to set a vacation auto-responder in their e-mail that also marked them out-of-office in her Outlook calendar.
It's all part of one master plan, Microsoft Cortana general manager Marcus Ash tells Business Insider — a plan to use Microsoft's existing 500 million active Windows 10 devices, its storehouses of data, and its best friends in the industry to win the voice wars.
'Now we have permission'
Cortana, which is built into just about every Windows 10 PC and tablet, now has 141 million monthly active users. With that beachhead, Ash says, Microsoft can now start to think about new ways to access Cortana.
"We have permission to go after other devices," says Ash.
Key to Microsoft's approach, Ash says, is Microsoft doesn't care if you're using Cortana on a PC, a phone, or an Echo-style smart speaker. It similarly doesn't care if you speak your commands, or type them — Windows 10 and the Cortana smartphone apps both support typing out your queries, instead of speaking them. It's more important to Microsoft that no matter how you use it, Cortana can deliver the information you need.
"We can set consistency across the experience," says Ash. "We want customers to have the choice."
The point of new gadgetry like the Invoke, says Ash, is simply to provide more of that choice, and new ways for people to interact with Cortana. That's where the deals with HP and Intel come in.
Partnering up
As demonstrated by Amazon's new Echo Show, tech titans see a certain demand for voice assistants complimented by screens, the better to show you security camera footage or video chat with your friends.
Ash agrees with the notion, saying that "some things are just better on a screen." That's why Microsoft made Cortana available from the lock screen on its Surface Studio PC, so you can shout "Hey Cortana" at it from across the room — basically turning the computer you might already have in your home into an Amazon Echo-like experience.
Now, Ash says, Microsoft is letting its partners "take the lead" and put their own "unique spin" on other ways to interact with Cortana.
The Invoke is an example of that, Ash says: Harman's specialty is in audio, so the Invoke speaker has great sound quality, which is important given that it can make and receive Skype calls. Looking to the future, and merely speculating, HP could hypothetically make tiny touchscreen PCs running Windows and powered by Cortana. Intel, for its part, is helping with things like always-on sound processing.
And as for why these hardware players should want to build with Cortana, he says, it all has to do with its strong belief in the cross-device experience. If a partner builds a Cortana-powered smart speaker, it means that it'll already integrate with the Cortana that's on those 500 million Windows 10 PCs, making the ecosystem better for everyone.
Microsoft recognizes that some hardware manufacturers are already building Alexa-powered hardware, and perhaps even their own Alexa apps to go with it. Ash says that Microsoft is readying developer tools to help them bring over whatever investments with voice they have to Cortana, smoothly and easily.
"We want you to bring that over," says Ash.
SEE ALSO: Amazon's new touchscreen Echo is weird, but it shows how far Amazon will go to conquer tech
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