#but now it is accomplished

[blindmanbaldwin]

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“He [Safin] offers the possibility to Bond to stay alive, but being unable to near the people he loves which is ultimately a checkmate of cosmic proportions.”  - Academy-Award winning director Guillermo del Toro on the ending of “No Time to Die”

Appears my earlier post got a little bit of a reaction! Specifically, the bit in which “No Time to Die” cinematographer Linus Sandgren refers to Madeleine Swann as “the love of his life”. This provides a good opportunity to talk about on this platform what I think the logic is across the five-film CraigBond story and how Swann fits into this narrative.

“What are they burning?” “Secrets, wishes, letting go of the past. Getting rid of the old, in comes the new.“

When we’re introduced to the character in “Casino Royale”, we see James Bond commit the first two kills that make him a 00. This doesn’t have its origins in the novels, so I think that number of two bears particular note. You can’t just kill one person, you have to kill two. Every time you hurt someone you are hurting two people: the other person, and you.

Now, there’s a through-line across all five movies — it is impossible to live a life if your life is killing people. We don’t need to look any further than the opening stanza to Chris Cornell’s “You know My Name”, the opening song to “Casino Royale”:

If you take a life do you know what you'll give?  Odds are you won't like what it is

There are two people who exist: “James Bond” and “007″. One is a killer, one is not. Every time “007″ kills, it pushes “James Bond” further away from his humanity. I’m reminded of a line from “A Boy Like That” from “West Side Story” (A boy who kills cannot love/A boy who kills has no heart) that seems quite applicable to the character of James Bond, be it the literary or the film Bond. And the unfortunate curse of his profession is his licence to kill ends up being a double-edged sword. Or, as Dominic Greene says in “Quantum of Solace”:

The tragedy at the core of “Casino Royale” is this fundamental divide within the character — if he holds onto his power over death, then everything he loves is doomed to die. James Bond’s identity is murder and death. But he yearns, so desperately, for connection. He is the Dangerous Lover fully. When he meets Vesper, he immediately falls for her and is willing to give up his everything for her but it is of no use. Vesper betrays him out of her own past attachment — honeypotted into a romance used to blackmail her — and she kills herself to spare Bond’s life. Yet, in pure irony, by saving Bond’s physical life she killed his humanity. 

It is fitting in “Casino Royale” that the iconic line of the cinematic Bond (”Bond, James Bond”) doesn’t appear until right at the end of the film  when Bond shoots the man responsible for the decision Vesper made. We are linking his identity to this act, that the choice Vesper made to save him drove him into being who we (the audience) know him as — a killer. His heart is sealed off when he uses that nasty, five-letter word in reference to Vesper. 

If the ending of “Casino Royale” positions the character at his lowest — a totally heartless killer devoid of any humanity — then everything subsequent shows some kind of transformation out of that place. Drama is movement, after all. Stagnation is the enemy of functional storytelling. 

“Quantum of Solace” features Bond wandering through the desert and restoring water to a thirsty people. The symbolism of this plot-beat is fairly straightforward — despite all his best intentions, there is a capacity for this killer to give life instead of just taking life. That bargain he made at the beginning of “Casino Royale” is not permanent (powers over death in exchange for your humanity/soul). He can emerge out of the desert and find rebirth. Transform into something new, restore what was lost. 

The ending shot of “Quantum of Solace” — featuring Vesper’s jewel given to her by the honeypotter (is that word?) —  is such a powerful image. It’s as if Bond is separating himself from his feeling, from his humanity. Committing to the life of a killer.

I have a whole thing about the use of silhouette in “Skyfall” and how Silva exists as a shadow-self of Bond’s anger towards M (which, I think, projects onto the death of his biological mother as every mythic hero has two sets of parents). Silva and Sévérine are a perverted mirror of Bond’s metatextual legacy, with the ending of the film arguing that there is something salvageable within this character with such a misogynistic legacy:

M, the surrogate mother, dies and gives Bond this last word — “I did get one thing right.” The goal of every parent, one imagines, is to not completely fuck up their child. M did fuck up Tiago Rodriquez (birthing Silva) but did not do the same to Bond. James Bond had every opportunity to end up like Tiago Rodriquez (literally “dying” and ending up with a clean slate to do whatever he wants with), but he returned when he found out MI6 (M, his “mother”) was in danger and worked to protect her. Because he loves her — despite sealing his heart off all those years ago, he still does love. That’s what she got right, maintain that humanity within Bond that so many others in this profession lose when they exist within death. 

That man Bond shot at the end of “Casino Royale”, Mr. White, returns in “Spectre” — the key to Bond unraveling the mysterious organization that threatens global stability. Only this Mr. White is not the master assassin we last saw him as in “Quantum of Solace”, now he is frail and weak. Isolated. Mr. White abandoned the cause after the organization started targeting women and children, and now he waits for death to come for him as penance for what he has done in life. White recognizes how he and Bond are basically the same person — men who bring death upon the world, which ends up drawing distance between them and humanity at large. 

But Mr. White has one thing keeping him alive:

Madeleine Swann is among the more fascinating characters in any popular, brand-name movie I’ve come across. The basic conceit of her character is “What if Death had a daughter, and she was the force of Life?”. She is a doctor who worked with international organizations that travel around the world healing people. This is, obviously, the equal opposite of Bond’s “licence to kill”. How could something so healing come from a man of total destruction? Mr. White is a particularly nasty guy, yet out from him emerged her. What a beautiful, hopeful message — the spark of life will always emerge no matter how bleak its circumstances are in existence.

“Spectre” shapes like a fairy tale: this dark knight (Bond) travels to the Pale King (Mr. White) thanks to a magical ring (the Spectre Ring), and the dying King tasks him to go save the Princess (Madeleine Swann) from the wizard who killed him. But the only way the knight can save the Princess is if he throws down his sword — because what really hurts her is killing. Or, as Swann says:

From the moment they meet, there is something different about Dr. Swann. She doesn’t just know Bond’s world — she *is* Bond’s world. She came from the same World of Death that he navigates in, yet emerged out of that a being of Life. A Doctor, the opposite of a Killer. Madeleine Swann serves as the total antithesis to the cruel belief Bond resigned himself to at the end of “Casino Royale” — life can emerge out of the underworld. 

Going back to “Skyfall” for a moment, all of the stag imagery associated with Bond’s family in the film seems important — the stags antlers regrow each year. Out of the death of winter comes the rebirth of spring. New life from death

And there’s a line Silva tells Bond in his monologue where he talks about the psychological transformation MI6 makes agents go under through a parable of his childhood:

The default nature, “Skyfall” proposes, isn’t hurting but helping. We aren’t programmed to kill from birth, someone has to teach us to do that. Silva believes this is irreversible, but as we see through Bond’s journey in the film one can change their nature again back to a helper. Back to healing. Nothing is set in stone. The daughter of an assassin can become a force for life.

As the world’s biggest fan of “Spectre”, I’ll admit I was a bit concerned when I saw Daniel Craig was returning for one last Bond film and that Léa Seydoux was also coming back with him. I loved the ending of “Spectre” — the hero rejects the power of death (think the magical ending of “Return of the Jedi”) and embraces the love of life/life of love. He finds rebirth in this heart. His journey was complete! What more was there to tell?

Ha. Haha. Hahaha...

The trick about “No Time to Die”, dramatically, is it as much the story of Madeleine Swann is the story of James Bond. But more than anything, it is a meta-analysis of James Bond.  

In “No Time to Die”, we return to Vesper’s grave (a beat taken from the novel “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”, to the silly people I’ve seen on the MI6 forums or Reddit argue that the literary character wouldn’t do this).Vesper represents all of the death associated with Bond, and Swann tasks him to go to her grave to “let go”. They cannot have a future together if he cannot let go of his past. His past of killing will deny them a future. For Swann harbors a secret...

When Del Toro refers to the ending of “No Time to Die” as a cosmic checkmate, this is what he means — the base cosmological forces of life and death are in Bond’s hands, and he gets to choose which will emerge victorious. All of these films have featured him journeying to regain the humanity he lost in “Casino Royale”, the soul he loses every time he pulls the trigger of his Walther PPK. But the choice of him isn’t to throw down the weapon, the choice is for him to make the same choice M made in “Skyfall” or Vesper made in “Casino Royale” — die for love. 

Madeleine Swann, as someone born of this same dark world of death, is the only one equipped to handle the psychological weight of James Bond — because they have this same pain. The first pre-title sequence of “No Time to Die”, where we see Madeleine’s mother (or Mr. White’s lover) die like the archetypal “Bond Girl” dies, grounds this in such a harrowing way. Both have seen their lives dramatically altered by betrayal of those who they loved, and because of this is betrayal it reduced the possibility of them finding restoration. 

Broken in the same way. Fitting together perfectly because of it. Isn’t that love? She is life coming from death, and he is death coming from life. Equal opposites that form a perfect circle.

The inescapable irony of human existence is our attachments power us to exist but they also give us so much distress. A melted heart (good) and a broken heart (bad) are both destructive. Or, as Léa Seydoux (Madeleine Swann) described it in the marketing for “No Time to Die” — love is the promise of suffering. The love potion is the poison. That which save, kills. That which kills, saves. At the end of “No Time to Die”, Bond could walk away and live with the knowledge that he would one day kill Madeleine Swann. His touch would one day kill her. But instead, he chooses death. He becomes a mortal man through love. He gives up everything for her. He dies *into* the relationship. As Deborah Lutz writes in “The Dangerous Lover” (40):

“The poignancy of love in romance comes from the sense that, once the full presence of love arrives, the characters will be gone; they will die in their narrative; there will be nothing left to say. Love becomes a fantasy of dying, a liebestod”.

The plotting of “No Time to Die” involves nanobots that kills on contact. Basically, it is literalizing that metaphor from “Quantum of Solace” — a literal Midas touch of death. What’s the only way for Bond to get out of this situation when he is poisoned with something that can kill the only person he loves? Let go. The only way he can have a future is if he lets go.

This is the magic of “No Time to Die”, and by extension the character of Madeleine Swann — cinema’s most famous killer has been transformed through her love into a life creator. The bleeding gun barrel has turned into one of light. The iconic line of the character has turned into something else entirely. Not the calling card of a killer it was in “Casino Royale”, but one of a life-giver.

Because much as this being of life-energy could come from Mr. White, so to could something beautiful come from Bond. His eyes (eyes=soul) could pass on into something new. New life could grow from his old death. Out of love we find redemption and rebirth. No wonder the last face we see in the CraigBond films isn’t his own, but his daughter’s. A smiling girl. With his blue eyes staring back at us...

“I got one thing right.” This is why Madeleine Swann is the love of his life. Because she *is* his life. She is the proof he can change his nature and finish his journey to find his ocean-eyed soul once again. All the cosmologic power of the divine in his hand, and James Bond lets it all go to save her. Which, by extension, saves himself.  No longer a murder. Now a man. The only thing he ever wanted to be. 

[gascreates]

^^ infectious

[turtleblogatlast]

I love Raph and haven’t said that enough so to be more specific I love that Raph is a soft boy who loves bear plushies, a gross boy who eats an assortment of things that are definitely better left alone, a smart boy who is more than capable of taking down villains through planning and fortitude alike, a strong boy who is dedicated to training his muscles and fighting prowess, a teenage boy who loves his brothers but is more than happy to tease and roughhouse with them, an angry boy who sometimes lets his anger take a hold of him to cover the fear, a gentle boy who is generous with hugs and affirmations to those he loves, a capable boy who takes on more than should ever be expected of a teenager, a good boy who just wants to be a hero and slowly comes to realize the cost of that duty, a good boy who has no reservations about putting himself in the way of harm coming to his family, a good boy who’s a great brother and son and person and deserves only the best the world has to offer.

[hinamie]

itfs scribble

[liecanthrope]

wait because seriously being an adult therian fucking rips, especially when you start being independent.

dog with a blog? nah. dog with a JOB. i come into work with my tail and my theta delta necklace and the building implodes from my sheer swag. weirdo teenagers love me. also having your own paycheck means you can get whatever gear/treats you want (once bills are paid, of course - bet youve never heard a dog say that!)

living in your own apartment? well the pet limit is 2 but if i include myself im going over the limit. whoops! good thing i love lying to landlords (fuck landlords). living alone (no roomie) is even better bc theres no one to judge you for your animal habits. i can make a huge den in the living room and who is going to stop me?

i even have my own health insurance. bro. imagine being a dog with medicaid. im climbing the walls and howling and barking. i love being a dog filling out government paperwork.

having your own vehicle? THIS DOG CAN DRIVE! if i feel like going to the lake i can just go to the lake! nobody is stopping me! midnight ride with the windows down to howl at the moon? yes please!!

you can literally just go wherever bro. i moved 11 hours from my hometown to the mountains to feel more at home. i lived in the great plains and now i can just go out for a hike in the rockies and howl at the sky.

being an adult therian slaps so fucking hard i cant wait for the youth to grow up and experience the joy of freedom. yes being an adult is incredibly stressful but if youve been stifled living with family, you get a real chance to develop who you truly are. adult therians i love you im rubbing against your neck and mixing our scents. mwah.

[capriciouswriter207]

The Terrors Beneath Deepfrost Citadel: a dnd-campaign

Get ready for “The Terrors Beneath Deepfrost Citadel”: a Decked Out 2-inspired Dungeons and Dragons campaign.

Many years ago, an adventurer by the name of Thaddeus Holsten opened the Black Mines and built Deepfrost Citadel - names familiar to any who aspire to be adventurers themselves. After tragedy struck, the mines were blocked off, the Citadel stood empty, and Thaddeus Holsten himself vanished.

Year after year, adventurers arrive in the former mining town of Hermilthan, sitting at the foot of the icy mountain where Deepfrost Citadel and the Black Mines are located. To find the treasures buried in the mines or hidden within the Citadel’s walls, or to discover the fate of Thaddeus Holsten. But anyone who enters the Citadel to start their search, disappears without a trace and none walk out alive.

Do you have what it takes to brave this dungeon? Or will it eat you alive?

This module contains: 

An original thrilling tale of terror that leans closely and expands on official lore

Adventure for characters levels 3 through 7

Five distinct and dynamic levels to explore 

Up to 18 different maps

Awesome magic items, based on the original dungeon’s artifacts

Unique Hermit-inspired NPCs and creatures

All in a fancy PDF and a less fancy but no less functional google doc!

For all your Decked Out 2 dungeons and dragons needs, all these resources are freely available following this link.

The Dungeon is ready for its next victim…

(This module is inspired by and based on Decked Out 2, a game made by TangoTek during Hermitcraft season 9).

[arkodianart]

The first embroidery pieces for the Tiffany Aching books on my Discworld jacket:

-a chalk horse (the Uffington Horse)

-a stylised frying pan with the quote "Make all things yours!"

[dollypopup]

The way some of y'all talk about Luke Newton is just. . .I need this fandom to check itself with a swiftness, because the very thinly veiled ableism is ENOUGH. Like it is WILD to see, in the year of our lord 2024, people either actively infantalizing or talking down this grown man.

Calling Luke Newton stupid for behaviors that are just him displaying his Neurodivergence? Ableism. Saying it because it takes him longer to answer a question is ableism. Saying it because he said something 'incorrectly' or not as eloquently on the fly as his neurotypical costars? Ableism.

Saying he's boring because he's quiet or he doesn't talk as much (because he often needs more processing time and/or has anxiety to surmount) is ableism. Knitpicking his social media and how he doesn't interact as much with a fandom that has actively been cruel to him is ableism.

Assuming Luke is out here like some helpless little lamb clinging to Nicola because 'oh, she's his comfort person!' instead of recognizing that they both lean on and like each other? Is ableism. Saying he has a one sided infatuation with her BECAUSE he needs her as said comfort person is ableism. Essentially being all 'awwww, poor wee baby, he has anxiety so thankfully his neurotypical costar is there to pick up the slack!' is. ableism. You cannot in one breath say that Nicola's love language is touch but also that Luke is the only one ever reaching to hold her hand because he needs her to ground him. That's ableism.

They both like each other. They have a very close relationship and they both clearly admire the other and like to be around one another. To frame it as him being some inept toddler and her as his more capable caretaker and 'thank God he has her to give him the save' is ableism! That's ableism, babes!! And in many cases people don't recognize that's what they're taking part in, but that's what it is.

He is a grown man and a hell of an actor. Yes, he's quieter than some of his costars. Yes, he contemplates what he says in his mind before he says it, and it takes him some time to do so. Yes, he doesn't behave the way his neurotypical peers do. He doesn't have to. He won't- because he has a neurodivergent brain. And he shouldn't have to behave as a neurotypical person or an 'acceptable' neurodivergent person to have respect from people who claim to be his fans.

He's been outspoken and unapologetic about being a neurodivergent actor with ADHD and dyslexia and how that can contribute to difficulties in the current media machine. He has discussed his coping mechanisms. He has specifically done so because he knows how difficult it can be to be a neurodivergent person in the limelight, and he uses that spotlight to show other neurodivergent actors they can be successful, too. And people saw this openly neurodivergent man and said some mad out of pocket nonsense about him.

As the tour comes to a close, I just really need people to look back on their beliefs and viewpoints during it and do some reflection, because I am side-eying a LOT of takes that have gone largely uncontested.

[wasyago]

two builds from creative as well

interior practice + a funky house that is also a functional survival base ( admittedly tho made out of very late-game materials )

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 316

De-aged Danny but! He’s been de-aged because a time-traveller didn’t want to kill a kid, like that’s a whole ass teenager, but they also didn’t want the whole Dan timeline to happen. And well, they see that the kid’s parents… Yeah those are some mad scientists. 

Therefor! The solution: de-age the kid and take them somewhere else, where someone can raise them right! It’s perfect! The only issue, something they didn’t know about? Danny is a halfa, which means he has medical issues, ones which now that he’s much, much younger and more fragile? Are very much causing problems. Major ones. 

[tagerrkix]

back with my astarion bullshit again

[honestlyeddie-im-bi]

All of these complaints about Tommy are rising from the fact that fandom has gotten too clean. Like who cares if they’re not gonna last?

Like… 15-20 years ago all you needed most of the times to ship two characters was just a glance between them in the background while they were out of focus.

Now we have a whole ass, hot as fuck, perfectly sweet and soft kiss between two very lovely men and we aren’t supposed to like them? Give me a break

[redhotarsenic]

THE STORM IS ABOUT TO RAGE!!

(for the lovely @nowfallc)

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

*KICKS DOOR DOWN* GUESS WHO'S TWENTY YEARS OLD NOW?

THIS BITCH!

[wuffen]

[beaulesbian]

And what's with the third sword?