#but watching medea was my highlight

[bee--eater]

once again thinking about helen mccrorys medea

[derekscorner]

Fated Rantings: The Grandest of Orders Part 2

The Babylonia Front

For the first part I incoherently rambled about FGO and some Chaldean cast. There was no rhyme nor reason to it, I was trying to get my brain churning but more importantly they were things that I've wanted to say for a while.

I began this Fate journey with lore videos and FGO and for the near two years since I've slowly crawled through it as I watched other Fate series. I finished the initial Solomon arc about a month before I did the anime.

In other words I had lot to get out of my system and I didn't even touch on everything. FGO, the mobile game, is novel length in each singularity. There is too much to remember or squeeze into a blog post.

So I just got out of my system what still stands out to me...which was mostly Mash praise but enough of that! Let's talk about the actual anime~

The Age of Gods babyyyyy

I was actually very curious to watch this even though FGO's anime only covers singularities six, seven, and the finale against Goetia. Even then singularity six and Goetia are made into movies.

FGO's only real anime is the adaption of singularity seven the Babylonia Front. My curiosity for this story was only made stronger thanks to the mobile game itself.

It had unexpected highs and spectacle to it. Everything from seeing how Rin's personality can distort Ishtar into a jewel obsessed girl failure to seeing Gilgamesh while he was a live.

A demigod in the flesh, a Gilgamesh that was focused on being a king. Hell, we even got to see Merlin!

Merlin is usually locked in his tower but thanks to time paradox tom foolery he makes an appearance.

This era of Fate's world fascinates me because the gods still exist. Sadly, it's toward the end of their reign but the physical and metaphysical still interconnect.

This the era that the mages of the modern Fate world desperately cling to with their ways of secrecy and lineage. They can only hope to reach the root and obtain true magic, they can only hope to have magecraft as potent as Medea.

It is a truly fantastical setting and the kind I adore. It is probably the closest we'll ever get to seeing a truly magical place within Type-Moon.

The actual expanse that the age of gods covers is also quite long. The only thing I know of older than this age would be dragons. The pinnacle of evolution and mystery and beings that radiate magic just by breathing.

Type-Moons history is actually full of some crazy stuff. Dragons older than the gods who themselves had been shaping life since dinosaurs walked.

Machines from a dead universe whom the Atlanteans worshipped as gods and who eventually became the Olympian gods of Greece.

A white titan that slew gods left and right, the very being that set the age of gods towards its downfall. The same titan that killed Ares, took his sword, and uses it to this very day if summoned as a servant.

Things get wild and inconsistent with history. Either due to mage society hiding events or due to events seemingly having no evidence due to the age of gods ending which separates mankind from the reverse side of the world.

The metaphysical space where things like the Underworld, Heaven, or other such mythical places actually exist.

What about the Age of Man?

I gush over this because it not only shows the rich history in this world but it also really highlights how important Uruk is to the Age of Man and the planet's future.

Gilgamesh is a smug bastard but that confidence is not without merit. Even Romani, a man of the current day, is amazed by Gilgamesh's city planning and the sheer smooth machine that day to day life is in Uruk.

The anime, more so than the game imo, really highlights how important Uruk is to the future. Humans have existed for a long time, probably longer than science claims in the Fate world. However, mankind's age didn't begin till here.

Modern society traces it's origin to Uruk as Gilgamesh ran it in his final chapter of the Epic of Gilgamesh. When he became a wise king he founded a society so fundamental to human life that the entire human race ran with it.

They made alterations, societies fell, they improved upon it, they keep changing based on the environment. Nothing made by man is perfect, even Uruk, but it's fundamental.

It's the last singularity but it's the only one that Solomon himself tampered with because he knows the age of man starts here.

The anime will make you feel that through Mash, Ana, and Fujimaru. The mobile game had you do missions with the same purpose in mind but that doesn't do as well as seeing it in motion I think.

Watching Ana say she hates humans only to become attached to an old woman running a flower shop, seeing Leonidas train soldiers, Ushiwakamaru and Benki coming home after a long day battling beats, everyone gathering at Chaldea's own embassy like it's a home, Gilgamesh stopping to learn a new game being played children, etc.

It is a lot of small things that add up. You gain a true grasp of how people lived in this city. You could make a whole spin off of Uruk and it's day to day events and I would watch it.

I want to drive home how much I enjoyed those little scenes. It not only fulfilled my world building itch but these moments of humanity at it's purest made the various dialogues between inhuman characters more interesting.

Ana & Merlin

The most standout to me is the scene of Ana and Merlin discussing what it means to be an inhuman surrounded by humans. Merlin actually has a few good scenes of this topic but this one is the best for giving you insight into the minds of them.

Sure, you also have servants but many of them were human once. Ana, Merlin, and even Gilgamesh were not and so their views on humanity is by far more intriguing.

For Merlin, emotions are a lie. He feeds on human dreams to have and comprehend emotions. He openly admits he likes humanity as a whole but not individuals.

Ana, beings the goddess who becomes Medusa, has hatred for man and god but she also can't help but love them. She's even fearful of that love in a sense.

You have to keep in mind that Medusa is a very old myth. The one you know of about Poseidon raping her and Athena cursing her is actually the most recent one despite being a couple thousand years old. Both in Fate and our world her myth goes back further than this with no clear point of origin.

Ancient Greece did not have a solidified religion. The city states had a shared origin and a shared pantheon but the stories about said pantheon could vary based on the city and the age of that myth. Assuming it was even put to written record in the first place.

Ana in Fate is a nod to this. She was originally some long lost earth goddess before becoming what she was. Her hatred of the gods is solely the fault of Olympus but her hatred for man is from perceived abandonment.

Between Heaven's Feel and FGO I've come to have a soft spot for Medus as a whole. Conflicting feelings aside, she didn't deserve it and knowing that her curse caused her to eat her sisters and become a monster is just tragic.

I'd love for them to do a game or show with Medusa as your main servant one day.

Abandoned Gods

The contradictory nature mentioned above in regards to Ana is shared with all the gods we meet in the anime as well. Even the beasts of humanity have this conflicted feeling albeit the things they're conflicted on differ.

Tiamat in particular having the worst case of it by far. She's become a beast of humanity but she's original a primordial goddess. A dragon from which the primordial sea sprang.

She's trying to destroy humanity to keep it, she doesn't want her "children" (aka all life) to abandon her again. Knowing that and her true fate within this universe makes it arguably more tragic than the mythology of her murder via Marduk.

And to give you context of that I need to elaborate a bit on the planet.

The planet itself is a sentient being and in a rough sense humanity is it's progeny. The end goal of human evolution, as seen by Gilgamesh via his clairvoyance, is leaving the planet for the stars.

This growing separation from nature and man is the reason that the Counterforce even exists. As humans grow they become more at odds with the planet thus the Earth has two predominant forces.

"Gaia" who is the planet's will and "Alaya" the collective will of man. However, there was only originally "Gaia" and as the planet took shape so too did beings to shape it.

The oldest I know of is Ea. Yes THE Ea from Mesopotamian mythology. Ea shaped the world only for Tiamat and her husband to come after and seed life into the world he shaped.

So yes, when Gilgamesh boasts that his sword split the heaven's and earth he's being literal. Gil's sword of rupture is quite literally Ea's "sword" he used in those early days of creation.

What makes this a tragedy is that Tiamat, Ea, and Abzu predate death. They cannot kill Tiamat in the anime because she does not know the concept of death. She is truly immortal.

When Tiamat and Abzu's job was done they were chucked back into the void. Tiamat has been in Imaginary Number Space this entire time. No, I'm not explaining Imaginary Number Space. It's a concept bordering on zero. (complicated)

In this sense, once Tiamat was dethroned by Marduk she was just left to her own devices in the void all alone and I find that incredibly fucked up.

That gives her no right to just wipe out all life but that level of used and abused is wrong.

I legitimately felt bad for Tiamat here because I knew this expanded backstory. She wants to cling to humans in an unhealthy way since she's now a beast but at her core that is because her love as a mother is boundless. A facet of her that is true in IRL myths as well, in our myths she killed her husband for her children's sake.

I also found the anime did the final exchange with Tiamat much better because it boils down to a normal man and the mother of life. She asks him what she did wrong but he can't answer that.

Fujimaru can't answer that for her, all he can do is thank her for bringing life to the planet and say goodbye. It's so sad....

The planet wasn't even kind to her here. I mentioned Gaia and Alaya earlier, well the Throne of Heroes is originally something they use. Alaya is also known as "the Counterforce".

Summoning heroes as servants is a human ritual but the basis for it is what Alaya does when the mankind or the planet is in danger. One of those core dangers are the beasts of humanity.

The whole reason Hassan appeared is because the conditions for that were right. Hassan was sent to that era as a Grand Assassin to instill the concept of death into Tiamat. The planet itself was making sure that she truly died here.

Other Goddesses

Now I gush about Tiamat due to some bias but truthfully this abandonment issue is felt by several other gods as well. Quetzalcoatl does not seem to peeved yet she also pushes for people to do their best. "If you want to survive show it to me" in a sense.

Ishtar and Ereshkigal are heavily influenced by Rin Tohsaka's personality so it's hard for me to say how much of what they say is their true feelings. Given how Ishtar is said to behave in Fate/Strange Fake I'd wager her true feelings aren't represented.

Ereshkigal however I think is. She states that she thinks it's okay for people to blame what they don't know on the gods but she only says this because she knows that the age of gods is ending.

Soon man will seek answers for their issues and not gods for comfort or scapegoats. She'll be abandoned and she's yet to even truly enjoy their presence.

I'll admit, I felt a bit of pity and attachment for Ereshkigal as well. She just wants out of the cosmic basement and it's so sad that she can't. She did not choose to be there and as a goddess of death humans have nothing but fear of her.

She cages souls for centuries for a semblance of companionship.

Out of all the silly things the game did to make servants faun over Fujimaru it was only Ereshkigal's scenes that I believed due to this. She, very badly, pretends to be Ishtar to have talks with Fujimaru.

They're cute in the anime but I liked the games version of these moments more since the conversations were more frequent and longer. I could easily believe that she's grown attached to him.

Hell, I even found it funny when Ishtar was asking Mash things about the MC due to how obvious Ereshkigal is about her feelings.

And while many a Fate fan will gush over that due to some...questionable self insert delusions I found it cute for her but endearing. She's never had a human not cower in fear of her let alone one talk to her normally.

She so desperately wants a friend that I hope she escaped her cosmic basement once Kur disappeared to the reverse side of the world.

She so desperately wanted love that I fully feel that her feelings as a goddess against humans made sense. If the gods era truly ends she may be forever alone.

Let's rapid fire shall we?

This too has gotten quite long but I don't have it in me to make a part three so I'll gush about smaller things I enjoyed.

Such as Ishtar. I thought I'd have a bigger segment on her but she's basically just Rin that flies. My biggest impression was;

"The fact that Ishtar can be bought off with jewelry is by far the funniest thing Rin did to her personality."

And that still stands. I loved her character to be blunt, she was entertaining and she had some amazing scenes. The animation of her shooting Venus as a noble phantasm is gorgeous.

I also love how both Ishtar and Ereshkigal suffer from Rin's "girl failure" moments. But, again, that's due to Rin. Rin's mentality is...well it is what it is but what it is is such a perfect match for Ishtar they meld in a good way.

You could say the same about Ereshkigal, I know, but Ishtar isn't trapped in a cosmic dungeon for eternity. That backstory gave Ereshkigal ever the slightest bit more uniqueness to her character.

Also, fun fact, this Ishtar couldn't find her bull of heaven because the real Ishtar summoned it. So in a weird way Fate/Strange Fake had an affect on the FGO timeline.

Quetzalcoatl my throttle

She was an amusing character. I found nothing too stand out but nothing offensive. She did however have some of the best fight chorography in the anime and her noble phantasm was hands down the best one.

She drops kicks with the force of the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs. Just put that into perspective, she is kicking with the force of a meteor. A meteor that wiped out most of the life on earth.

And before anyone asks, Quetzalcoatl is a woman because the Mesoamerican gods in Fate's lore were parasites that took on hosts. They were deified over time and this female form is simply Quetzalcoatl's latest host.

No, I will not comment on the voice. The poor accent is a part of the charm and I will die on that hill!

Hassan the Goat!

Between the sixth and seventh singularities in both game and anime form I have come to respect the beast that is Hassan I. This man is to be feared.

He made a primordial goddess aware of death. He even beheaded Ozymandias before he was even aware Hassan was in the room.

I also like that we got to see a grand servant being summoned in the intended way.

Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and Kingu

I won't make too long a segment on Gilgamesh since I'd really like to do a post on him one day. I haven't yet simply because I haven't seen his depiction in the Extra timeline and I'd love to see Strange Fake.

He's a complex character and the later entries seem to lessen the bastard you'll see in Fate/Stay Night to a degree.

But I will say that I enjoyed seeing him alive and as the wise king of Uruk. I was also impressed by the sheer magical power he had to summon several servants in a means closer to how they're meant to be summoned.

None of the man-made ritual used by a grail war or Chaldea.

The dynamic between Gil and Kingu was interesting though. Fuel for that eventual Gilgamesh post in the future.

Technically, Enkidu doesn't appear in this story however that bond he has with Gilgamesh is so profound that it affects Kingu and it's interesting to see how Gilgamesh treats Kingu due to it.

It is also through Kingu that we see how the citizens of Uruk felt about Enkidu. It really paints this beautiful relationship that's hidden just off screen. Still, Kingu was never truly his own being at the end.

That also goes to show just how powerful Enkidu's own persona was. Enkidu may have seen themselves as just a weapon and disputed it when told otherwise by others but that fact alone proves it to be true.

Enkidu was far more than a tool otherwise their influence wouldn't have been so great. Sadly, Kingu could only be more than a tool when fighting against Tiamat.

Siduri deserved better

That dynamic also made me curious about Siduri. When I was playing Samurai Remnant Gil says her name once and between the game and this anime I got a real glimpse of a person truly close to Gilgamesh.

He may deny that and Merlin isn't wrong when he says Gilgamesh only sees value in what humans make but there are exceptions to every rule.

He didn't necessarily value her as highly as Enkidu but I do believe that on some level Gilgamesh valued her as a person.

Her fate as a lahamu was just heartbreaking. I didn't even realize it when playing the game....

Conclusions and other things

All in all I really enjoyed the anime and the games story. Probably far more than I could squeeze into either of the two posts I made. I'm sure I'll be kicking myself for forgetting to add something later.

(like the passive aggressive banter between merlin and romani)

Get mad that I didn't elaborate on something as much as I had intended.

(such as Ushi and Benki)

Still, I'll stop here. I can't write anything else, my brains fried.

I loved this story and I'm sad so much of the anime will lose impact when the mobile game eventually shuts down. Bye for now~

========================

For my other experiences with Fate go here: https://derekscorner.tumblr.com/tagged/fated-rantings

[curserp]

first of all, i just want to say i loved seeing all the thoughts and theories that were going on around all of this !!!  honestly, i think some of you guys gave me too much credit, because most of this is a lot simpler than the intricate stuff you came up with--- i wish i had thought of some of the things you all did !  but for now, finally, here’s  ( most of )  the clues i purposefully placed, as well as some general info, which i’ve tried to break up into sections for ease of reading.

SKELETONS / NUMBERS :

the skeletons are listed below with their id numbers  ( the tags are linked as well ) :

andromeda : #0237632.

arachne : #0272463.

cassandra : #0276372.

daedalus : #0323357.

helen : #0043536.

heracles : #0472537.

jason : #0052766.

medea : #0063332.

midas : #0064327.

narcissus : #0672787.

orion : #0067466.

pandora : #0726372.

paris : #0072747.

perseus : #0777387.

each of the id numbers were decided by entering the skeleton names onto the dial pad of a phone--- abc = 2, def = e, ghi = 4, jkl = 5, mno = 6, pqrs = 7, tuv = 8, wyz = 9.

phones in general were hinted at a few times.

in asks, as i tried to use the word ‘call’ repeatedly when asked about it, ‘key’ once, as well as the word ‘phony’ at one point. get it ? phone-y ?  that one was kind of a stretch, i know.

a phone prominently featured in a branch on the classification quiz.

the encoded text messages were, obviously, sent from a phone.

on an update before dropping stage 3, a strange voicemail was mentioned and you were encouraged to delete it from your phone.

the database speaks to you over the phone during curse finalization.

on the graphic for stage 3, a phone is the only object in the hallway.

some names did need to be shortened in order to fit all the same number of digits, so andromeda became adrmda, pandora became pandra, etc.

honestly, this code was weirder and more random than most of the other things, so i’d call it bonus points more than anything else. a lot of you puzzled out who was who without knowing what the numbers meant.

CURSE REGISTRATION / STAGE I   ( here ) :

i asked you all to send in these results to the curse database, and used those totals to decide the order in which the skeletons would be released ; midas ended up with the most results so they’re posted first, cassandra got the least so they’re last, etc.

results from all three stages will also factor in to some future plot drops, though i’ll keep those quiet for now.

TEXT POSTS :

these are pretty straightforward ; i chose text that i thought suits each skeleton as i’ve written them, and tagged them with their respective curse ids to tease the fact that there were ids at all.

FOLDERS PAGE   ( here ) :

this displays not only the skeletons’ classifications, but also their active danger levels ; one exclamation point for low, two for medium, three for high.

while the classifications were shown as only numbers 001-007 at that point, since the curse classification blog hadn’t dropped yet, in this ask a few posts previous i wrote the types as the first word of each corresponding number on the list.

CURSE CLASSIFICATION / STAGE II   ( here ) :

when you reach a result on the curse classifications, the clock at the top of the screen stops and displays a single time. that number corresponds to the number on the files image. when you get an error it shows only zeroes.

the classifications are :

chaos   ( pandora, paris )

death   ( arachne )

hero   ( heracles, jason, perseus )

infamy   ( cassandra, midas )

loss   ( daedalus, medea )

love   ( helen, narcissus, orion )

monster   ( andromeda )

yes, those are alphabetical. when i was making the folders page i just kinda said fuck it.

i took the hands off the clock on the image in the post, both because i wanted to draw attention to the clocks on the actual pages, and cause it looked sick.

if you get to page /c6, the clock stops and zeroes out. that’s because there’s no way to get anything but an error after that point.

i asked you all to send in these results to the curse database, too, and they were used as tiebreakers for the skeleton posting order. like, medea and pandora ended up with the same amount of results from registration, but there were more loss results than chaos from classification, so medea goes first.

TEXT MESSAGES   ( here, here, here, here, here, here, and here ) :

the encryption on the text messages is caesar cipher, where you shift the alphabet a certain number of letters over and substitute those letters for each other. for example, an alphabet with a shift of 1 would have a become b, b become c, and so on. the shift changes for each text message, depending on what the character’s curse classification is. so the text from narcissus  ( #0672787, classification of 6. love )  has a shift of 6.

the decoded texts are :

#0063332.  ( medea, shift 5 ) : you made your choice. now i am making mine.

#0672787.  ( narcissus, shift 6 ) : at least you’ll be hung in the stars. i’ll only be remembered like a cautionary tale.

#0072747.  ( paris, shift 1 ) : don’t blame me, please. i am not the villain.

#0272463.  ( arachne, shift 2 ) : did you make this for yourself, too ?

#0472537.  ( heracles, shift 3 ) : wasn’t my strength meant to earn me a better reward than this ?

#0237632.  ( andromeda, shift 7 ) : you cannot be a hero all the time. what if my monster wins ?

#0064327.  ( midas, shift 4 ) : i could have known better, at least. nothing this gold could come without consequence.

i also wanted to use this to kind of further their feeling of being watched ---which i hope i started to get across just in some answers to anons ---with the messages between skeletons be ‘intercepted’ by the database.

CURSE FINALIZATION / STAGE III   ( here ) :

before dropping this stage, a ‘data breach’ was mentioned twice in separate posts. this was to  ( hopefully )  encourage people to look for hidden information--- aka, the data that was breached.

there are five total hidden pages on this stage, and one secret extra message.

first is another intercepted message from one of the skeletons. the link is here.

on page /b2, click the word ‘key’ to get here.

the text message is from #0276372, aka cassandra, who is prophetic. cassandra is the only skeleton with anything set about their curse, and their prophecies will be a part of gameplay.

the url for this page is 0677437, and if you use the same keypad method as the numbers for the skeletons, that translates to ‘mssges.’

second is a chart monitoring active danger levels. the link is here.

on page /b3, the clock has stopped at 00:00:14, for the 14 skeletons. if you wait those 14 seconds, you will automatically be redirected.

the url for this page is 0003282, or ‘data.’

the third is a contact log between the database and a god. the link is here. 

on page /c2, a ‘source’ is mentioned. if you view the source code of the page, the first thing at the top is the url.

the clock on this page has stopped at 02:09:01, and the connection was lost at that same time ; if you substitute letters in for numbers, 291 spells ‘bia’, the goddess of violence, who the communication was with.

the url for this page is 0005647, or ‘logs.’

the fourth is an incident report from a monster attack. the link is here.

on page /c7, ‘time’ is mentioned repeatedly. click on the clock to get here.

the incident report is 8-1-18-16-25, which, with a substitution between numbers and letters, translates out to ‘harpy,’ the type of creature from the attack.

the url for this page is 0737678, or ‘report.’

the fifth is the list of id numbers and their skeletons. the link is here.

on this ask, i asked  ( yes, i sent this one to myself )  about the numbers, and responded ‘why haven’t you searched.’ put /numbers directly after the url of curse finalization to get here.

if you highlight above the ‘submitting’ text on the /finalize page, you can find a message : ‘you’re not safe here.’

the codes you all reached are going to remain kind of a mystery for now. there is a solution for it, if you’re really interested in puzzling it out, but i’m not going to list the answer here. they’ve helped me decide the first plot drop of the group. this is somewhat of a teaser for how the gameplay will go here ; the curse database will remain an active player, and you’ll often be helping choose events. you just might not always when you’re doing it, or how.

easter eggs / fun facts, i guess !

when you get an error in curse registration or classification, if you hover your mouse over the word ‘error,’ it shakes like a glitch. this serves no purpose and means nothing, it just took me a while to figure out how to code, so i wanted to point it out. just let me have this

i actually had a very different stage three planned when i dropped stage two, one incorporating the results from registration and classification more, but the classification results i got were totally different than what i’d expected. while the registration results were pretty varied, over half of the 40-something answers i got from your classifications were for ‘love,’ and i actually got only one ‘monster’ and zero ‘death’ results from you guys. which i suppose is fitting, since there’s only one skeleton of each !  but still, it threw things off a bit, and i had to pretty thoroughly rework stage three. besides, i ended up with like 100+ results from both stages, and i got kind of overwhelmed with my original idea. you all kept me on my toes !!

i sent two asks to myself : the one i needed to set up so i could list out the curse classifications, the one to drop a hint about the /numbers page. the rest all came from you guys !  and for that i am hugely grateful--- i had sort of escape plans the entire time if there wasn’t enough interest, where i’d be able to drop the main after stage one or two and skirt around the extras, but i’m so glad i got to follow through on this thing to the end. i wouldn’t have been able to do it without your engagement. every single time i get a little inbox notification i get excited.

i noticed some of you were getting a lot of error results, but that’s not on you !  there were 32 possible results on curse registration with 16 of those being errors, and 15 results on curse classification with 8 of those being errors. so don’t worry, you were more likely on those stages to get an error than a result.

some of you wondered if the general urls  ( /a1, /b2, etc. )  of the different pages on the registration, classification and finalization blogs meant something, and i’m sorry to say they don’t. originally i was going to customize them so they’d be harder to just sift through later, but there ended up being 130+ total pages between all three blogs--- and for my own sanity, and for the sake of easier organization when editing them, i just left them as they were with their letters and numbers.

someone asked me if this post was for cassandra since the quote involves cassandra in the source material agamemnon. whoops. it’s not, that post is actually just a nod to the fact that i don’t know how to read.

i think that’s just about everything !  there are all kinds of other small things as nods to skeletons, the plot, the database in general, future plot drops, all scattered throughout answers on the curse database--- and i’ll be here all day if i list them all. if you have any specific questions about anything i would love to answer them, so please feel free to shoot them my way !  i believe that’s the gist of it, though. thanks so much again for going along with me on all of this !!

[enabledarmy]

I'm kinda new to tumblr but since being here I've noticed a lot of love for British TV shows, especially BBC drama

The main ones I've seen mentioned are Sherlock, Merlin and Doctor Who and although those are great shows I wondered if there might be some others that non-natives (idk if that's the right phrase I'm tired) might not have heard about or had the opportunity to discover so here you go

List will be staggered because there's too much for one post so here's part 1

Dancing on the Edge (BBC, 2013)

I'd recommend for Merlin fans, because Angel Coulby and Anthony Head, and from what I remember Tom Hughes as Julian was quite Merlin-like or at least in a similar vein

It did have a crime/mystery element to it too so if you liked that about Sherlock give this a go

Anyway he was adorable

I watched it when it first came out because Angel Coulby and was disappointed with how much she is actually in it (forewarning- not much at all) but I enjoyed the story and the characters and the sets/costumes were great and now that I think about it I'm still kinda attatched to Julian what how did this happen it's been 7 years send help-

Chiwetel Ejiofor is very cool of course as Louis and his performance is generally great, as much as I love the more side characters like Julian, Carla and Stanley he really is what centres everything and makes it work I think

Also Carla bb you are amazing please stop doubting yourself ok someone hug her (and while you're at it give Wunmi Mosaku more roles why are you sleeping on her)

I remember the music being good too and there was one bit where they played in a bar (it's about Jazz btw) and it was really cool, can't remember why but will need to rewatch soon I think

I completely forgot Jenna Coleman was in this but I'm sure she was good so yeah there's that

Bonus: Matthew Goode (probably your new crush if you have a thing for British drama guys who look vaguely like Tom Hiddleston as quite a few people here seem to)

Atlantis (BBC, 2013)

Another 2013 drama but this one less of an intelligent serious historical drama vibe and more a magic, sword fighting and running around the woods in ineffective armour from weird CGI creatures vibe.

If that sounds like Merlin to you, well it did to us too when it first came out so everyone was kinda salty especially since it was the first 'big' drama to fill Merlin's primetime family spot which basically signalled it as a Merlin replacement trying to appeal to the same audience by doing a very similar thing but not as well

Like when the adverts came out people were like how dare you try to fill the Merlin-shaped hole in the schedule and also in my heart with this

Bring back Colin and Bradley you cowards

That said it wasn't a bad series at all, not amazing but mostly good, just not on the same level character and story wise as Merlin, in my opinion anyway

I mean I still watched every episode and was upset when it ended but c'mon it was just getting good

There are a couple of episodes I rewatch sort of regularly because they were pretty cool

If you liked Merlin I would recommend giving it a go, it has a kind of similar feel, magic, fun costumes and of course a lot of bromance. You don't have to think a lot when watching it (at least not until near the end I'm pretty sure) which can be nice when you just want to switch off and watch people run around in totally inappropriate sandals

Honestly it was good but I would have loved more focus on other characters, I didn't like Jason as much as I did Medusa or Medea (spinoff series please BBC they both deserved better)

Highlights:

Pythagoras. Just him. Doing Pythagoras stuff. Also won't spoil but his (slightly rushed) eventual romance was sweet and quite unusual at the time on a show like that (on BBC one at prime family viewing time) and I need to know more about that because we spent too much on Jason angst and not enough time on this small boi getting the love he deserves so if we could get some new fans in to do fanart or something that would be great I need closure

Ariadne's costumes, sass and eyebrows:

The force is strong with this one

I'm sure she was a great character but looking back I mainly remember her blue dresses and strong brows they just owned the scenes ok they should have been credited in the cast list

For real tho I hadn't seen Aiysha Hart in anything before but she was a strong lead

Amy Manson's Medea:

Seriously when she joined in season 2 things really kicked up a notch, hard to describe it but you'll see

I would watch a whole series about her

She's amazing

I only want good things for Medea

And Amy Manson

Medusa (played by Jemima Rooper) was also amazing and lovely and I found it quite a touching and different take on her story (to past me anyway). Again, I would have liked more focus and development on that instead of Jason's eughhh it's so hard to be a protagonist wait lemme punch a Minotaur in the face real quick but we can't have everything

Ok that was Pt.1

Will do a Pt.2 if anyone cares and also if I remember 😂

[iplacedajar]

2019

It seems impossible that I was offered a job eight months ago, that I moved in with Eddy four months ago, that the end of 2019 is already here. Post-college years continue to speed by at an alarming pace.

It was a good year, though, and I was especially grateful for all the unique opportunities I had to travel--to Switzerland and Italy, Saratoga Springs,  Provincetown. I went up to New York for the last weekend in June, and spent two magical autumn weekends in the woods--Vermont in October, New Hampshire in November.

I made friends with a sweet fluffy homebody, and I took still more steps toward building a satisfying, adult life for myself. I was in Houston last week, and felt more peace there than I’ve been able to find in a long time. I think part of it is that I finally feel secure and stable in my life in Boston--I finished school, found a permanent job that I love--and so I’m able to “visit”  without any underlying anxiety about my precarious position in life.

Books

It was a really good year for books--no pictures because many of them were library books but here’s the list of favorites:

Caroline by Sarah Miller

This is a retelling of Little House on the Prairie from the perspective of Laura’s Ma. The author was inspired to write it after realizing that, although Laura changes the timeline in her fictional retellings, Ma had actually been pregnant with Baby Carrie during their journey from Wisconsin to Kansas. It’s the kind of historical fiction I have always wanted, covering the unique hardships of pioneer life for women and including details like the oilcloth rags Caroline prepared to line her underwear after Carrie’s birth, and her swollen breasts bouncing painfully in the wagon after she leaves the top two hooks of her corset open.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

I’ve watched Hank’s videos for years, and I loved his debut novel about navigating unexpected fame and the responsibilities of having an audience through the perspective of a young woman in her 20s. Also, it’s really, really funny.

The Signature of All Things by Liz Gilbert

I . . . adored this book. And I’ve definitely recommended it the absolute most of any book I’ve read this year. It has the voice and the humor and the warmth and the wisdom I’d expect from Liz Gilbert, as well as an exhaustively researched and utterly immersive period setting (19th century Philadelphia). It truly feels epic in scope, and if I try to describe it for too long I sound like a lunatic but it’s about botany and about sexual longing and I think about it every single day.

City of Girls by Liz Gilbert

I was fortunate enough hear Liz talk about this book in person when she went on tour! See the above--this book is amazingly funny and wise and smart and just so fun to read. It’s about showgirls in New York in the 1940s. (On tour, Liz talked about interviewing a bunch of nonagenarian former showgirls for research and wondering beforehand, “Oh God, how am I going to get these grandmotherly old ladies to talk about sex?” and then wondering after, “Oh god, how am I going to get these ladies to talk about anything other than sex?”)

Circe by Madeline Miller

This book is so precious to me. Madeline Miller’s take on Circe is the best rendering of a divine/immortal character as narrator that I’ve ever read. And she does it in first-person. Also, if you ever have an opportunity to hear this author speak publicly, you should take it. She is so smart and well-read, and so steeped in this mythology, and strikes an amazing and refreshing balance between reverence and irreverence for the source material (when writing for the character of Medea, for example, she explained that she was having difficulty understanding her, “until I realized what a bozo Jason was”).

Dune by Frank Herbert

Haha. I read the first four books of this classic sci-fi series this year alongside Eddy. The weirdness chart for this series is an exponential curve and I found the fourth book so deeply weird as to be borderline unreadable, but all of them are special and the first one, in particular, sticks in your brain.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

I’ve been waiting for the author of The Night Circus to publish a new book for a long time, and this one was worth the wait. I love love love Erin Morgenstern’s eye for details and aesthetics, and the way she builds story around setting.

Television

I watched and enjoyed more TV shows in 2019 than any year in recent memory, but I think it's partly just the alignment of streaming service releases and my taste than any other factor. Eddy and I finished watching FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood at the beginning of this year. There was one weekend in May where all I did was watch Good Omens and bake a rhubarb cake (both very good). I binged all of Fleabag in two days and then I made Eddy watch it, and we're both completely captivated by it. July 5 was officially "Stranger Things Day", and Danielle, Eddy, and I woke up at 9 am, ate donuts, and watched the entire new season in one day (and then went to Veggie Galaxy for emotional recovery). The third season of The Crown dropped a few weeks ago and I spiraled even further into my Olivia Colman obsession, and Eddy and I finished the first season of The Good Place right before we left town for the holidays.

Movies

My movie-watching has declined significantly since I graduated and left behind my Film Boy pals, but I managed a short list of favorites: I adored BOOKSMART, and it immediately jumped to the special place in my heart where coming-of-age stories about smart young women live. I watched THE FAVORITE on a plane and it was fantastic. And then a few nights ago Danielle and I went to see the new Greta Gerwig-directed LITTLE WOMEN and predictably adored it, and it was basically the highlight of my trip home. But I didn't see much in theaters, and I don't feel like I missed out.

Games

Another surprise for me this year was how many games I played and enjoyed. I grew up playing video games and watching my siblings play, but when I moved to Boston for college all I had was a 3DS, and my consumption of games, with the noticeable exceptions of Stardew Valley and Pokémon Go, went into hibernation. That all changed this year, when Eddy bought me a Nintendo Switch for my birthday, and I spent January playing many blissful hours of Let’s Go Pikachu. Other favorites include:

OXENFREE - Branching storylines! Choose-your-own-adventure sans cutscenes so that it all feels totally immersive and high-stakes! And a creepy, existential, Arrival-esque mystery to boot.

THE FLAME IN THE FLOOD - All of my favorite books growing up were about kids who run away to live in the woods à la My Side of the Mountain, so this post-apocalypse survival adventure story featuring our hero, Scout, brewing dandelion tea to cure her snakebites, making snares out of saplings, and using cattail tubers to make braided cord was right in my wheelhouse.

UNTITLED GOOSE GAME - needs no introduction

In Conclusion

Happy new year, all--I hope 2020 brings us all joy and truth.

[lilquill]

i take it you read circe!! did you like it?

I did read Circe!! And my gosh, I’m in LOVE with everything about it!! The language is stunning, the portrayal of emotions is done incredibly well, the themes are complex, and I couldn’t put the book down! I spent several nights in a row reading until 2 A.M.! All in all it was a captivating, exquisite story.

There will be spoilers below the read more cut, just so all those who haven’t read it yet can go in with a fresh perspective if they wish!

The first thing that really hits you is the prose. It’s BEAUTIFUL! The tone of it is very much like a myth or fairy tale, ethereal and full of stunning descriptions and metaphors, which fits perfectly with the story it’s telling.

Circe’s own powers are strong in transformation, and the way that her narration uses incredible metaphors reflects that quite well: looking at something and seeing something else as it.

I loved the aesthetic of the book. The vivid imagery really sucks you in! Picturing a young girl in the dark halls of Helios, a young woman desperately wringing our herbs over the sleeping body of her beloved to make him a god, a weary yet defiant mother holding her baby and casting a spell to spite the Olympians, a woman walking into the sea to confront a massive god as old as the planet to ask for his tail and risking eternal torture, a daughter finally standing up to the sun god himself to demand her freedom as he almost scorched her….I could go on! The writing was so evocative, and I had chills at so many points!

I also loved the structure of the story itself, and its circular narrative that contrasted itself. How it starts with a cruel family where she felt out of place and alone, and how it ends with her having found her family, bound by love and compassion. How it starts with her trying to turn her beloved into a god so he can be with her with pharmaka, and how it ends with her using that same herb to become mortal so she can live with those she loves. How it starts with her turning Scylla into a monster, and how it ends with her killing Scylla so she no longer kills mortals. How it starts with Helios burning her as she stands firm that she has harnessed an herb’s powers, to how it ends with her standing her ground against that same burning father with her own magic from those herbs as a defense. I could go on and on, but I loved how Circe grew and how she inverted the beginnings of her narrative.

The way that Circe’s tale spanned so many different stories in Greek mythology was done incredibly well and highlighted her experiences with love and loss and pain and her perspective on the world around her.

I also deeply loved Miller’s portrayal of Greek mythology as it is commonly known. The stories of great battles and grand feats have the glamor stripped back to reveal their ugliness and callousness, all with a switch of perspective. From the perspective of a woman relegated to the sidelines in these epic stories, a woman who has been watching all this happen for millennia, these stories change.

I’ve talked about how the senseless violence in a lot of western stories, both older and now, bothers me (maybe not on my blog, but definitely to a lot of my friends). Therefore, I really loved how Circe was genuinely upset by these things and sought to fix them.

There was so much tension, and the stakes were incredibly high, but Circe does not succumb to the usual fantasy protagonist’s “war is evil but it is necessary and this whole series is about war and the conflict of war, the protagonist throws up on the battlefield and then becomes a great warrior and/or commander and then it’s all good” type deal. She was not tangled in a “war” or “battle” in the literal sense, other than the conflict between Olympians and Titans in which she became a pawn. This is what I mean about tension without unnecessary violence!! So many books are just the literary equivalent of a first-person shooter, and this is certainly the case with a lot of portrayals of Greek mythology as well, especially because of the heavy influence of ancient Greece on the West today. Circe’s story is mired in violence, but the moments with no violence at all are some of the most breathtakingly intense and dramatic.

Circe’s kindness and love, though often fierce and burning and messy, and her aching loneliness, are such a stark contrast to the gods––and even some of the mortals like Odysseus––who care nothing for lives or genuine emotion. She truly loves people, and in the end it is the way that her relationships always end as she outlives them that motivates her to give up being a god. I really enjoyed this aspect of the story! The way Miller portrays love and relationships is something I truly want to see more of.

And, speaking of kindness and love and relationships, I LOVED Miller’s portrayal of motherhood. I enjoyed that it was a subversion of the ideal of pristine, perfect, pure, gentle white housewives while still maintaining a deeply loving mother-son relationship. Many seminal feminist stories by cis white women demonize motherhood, framing it as a cage for women. Then this experience becomes universalized to all women. The problem is that, for instance, in the case of women of color, having children and a loving family is what is often denied to us. The world forces the kids of mothers of color to grow up faster and tears their families apart.

Circe is a mother in this story. She struggles with raising her child, but she loves her son fiercely and deeply, to the point where she risks eternal torment just to protect him. The gods want to take her child away, and she endures great pain and works incredibly hard to keep him. It is how the world treats mothers of color.

Look at the struggles Black women go through during pregnancy, with inadequate care at their hospitals and little research on the issues and conditions they go through, and high rates of maternal death. (I strongly encourage that you look at the ProPublica/NPR collaboration series Lost Mothers for more on this!) Look at how Latine families are being torn apart at the border, and mothers are losing their kids as those children are given to white families. Look at how the families of indigenous peoples are torn apart as kids are taken from their mothers and forced into assimilation programs. Look at the forced sterilization of mothers of color, and how eugenics treats the bodies of women of color.

Circe’s story, though written by a white woman, was deeply resonant with these things, which is something I adored about the book.

And, of course, here’s the commentary on womanhood, and how women have their agency stripped from them. Reading Circe’s story was cathartic at points. The story of a girl abused, silenced by fear, constantly put down, growing and honing her powers to the point where she can challenge those with immeasurable power. The experiences of various women woven into the story, from Perse to Pasiphae to Medea to the nymphs sent to Aiaia to Penelope. There’s so much to say tere, but Miller has already said it in her book.

I really really really deeply enjoyed this book!! Thank you for sending me this ask, anon, and I wish you well!! This reply was a lot longer than I expected, but there is truly so much to experience in this piece of literature and I’m definitely going to reread it soon!

Also, to everyone reading this, please feel free to send me your own takes on this book, and to @ me in your perspectives/reviews/etc.!! Much love to you all!!

[flightfoot]

Apollo’s Defense Mechanisms

Apollo uses quite a few defense mechanisms in TOA, and is implied to have been using them for millennia. Indeed, TOA seems to be systematically breaking these defense mechanisms, forcing him to reevalauate himself. Most of these I’ve alluded to in the past, especially in Apollo has always been the sort of person who fights for his friends - he’s just buried that part of himself for millennia and Apollo’s pretty terrible at reading people’s thoughts and emotions at first, but becomes an expert at it over the course of the books, once he starts dropping his facades, but I haven’t looked at them in-depth, or named them for the most part.

Repression

Basically, this defense mechanism states that a person unconsciously relegates a memory, thought, or emotion to the subconscious, because it would cause distress if recalled consciously. They, themselves are unaware they are doing this.

Since this is unconscious, this particular defense mechanism requires more speculating and assumptions than subsequent ones do. I believe that Apollo has been repressing some of thoughts and conclusions he’s forced to acknowledge in TOA, though it could also be due to some garden-variety denial. They can be hard to tell apart at times.

One of the major things I believe Apollo is repressing, is his knowledge of what a human life is worth. He KNOWS that mortals matter, since he cared about his mortal lovers, like Daphne and Hyacinthus, and his mortal children, like the (previously) mortal Asclepius. He’s seemed to continue to fool himself about how much mortals matter though. Pre-series and threw the beginning of The Hidden Oracle, he considered demigods to be fodder to throw at problems, like in The Hidden Oracle, when he’s told that The Oracle of Delphi isn’t working, and he proposes dispatching “ some of you talented fodder—I mean heroes—” (29).

There’s also that time at lunch, when he’s scouting out top-tier demigods.

I studied the campers, hoping to spot some potential servants…I mean new friends. Gods always like to keep a few strong veteran demigods handy to throw into battle, send on dangerous quests, or pick the lint off our togas. (64)

He’s unconcerned with demigods’ safety here, and doesn’t seem to consider their desires at all. You can see this is in action in Percy Jackson and The Singer of Apollo, when Apollo sends Percy and Grover on a quest, without seeming to care what they think of it at all. 

“we’re kind of off duty, Lord Apollo. It’s Grover’s birthday.”

“Happy birthday!” Apollo said. “I’m so glad you’re taking the day off. That means you two have time to help me with a small problem!”

Later in their conversation with Apollo, Apollo’s pretty upfront about what he thinks of heroes.

“Besides, this is what heroes are for.”

“Running the gods’ errands,” I muttered.

“Exactly.”

He also apparently wouldn’t care about demigods slaughtering each other in battle in the past, and would use it as entertainment.

When I was a god, I would have delighted to leave the mortal heroes to fend for themselves. I would have made popcorn and watched the bloodbath on Mount Olympus, or simply caught the highlight reel later. (TDP 283)

And yet, it doesn’t take much to break him out of this mindset. As soon as Meg goes missing, Apollo is distraught:

I retrieved Meg’s swords from the mud. Instantly, they changed into gold rings - so small, so easily lost, like a mortal life. I may have cried. I tried to break my ridiculous combat ukulele, but the celestial bronze instrument defied my attempts. Finally, I yanked off the A string, threaded it through Meg’s rings, and tied them around my neck.

“Meg, I will find you,” I muttered. (231)

He’s really thinking about mortal lives here, not just Meg’s specifically. Only a few hours later, when Nero’s attempting to burn down the forest and everyone in it, a bunch of dryads emerge from the trees and give their lives to stop the fire. Apollo makes a realization here, one that he makes so easily and fully, I think it’s been in the back of his head for most of his life, but he’s refused to acknowledge:

Then it occurred to me how many times I had asked for sacrifices, how many heroes I had sent to their deaths. Had they been any less noble and courageous than these dryads? Yet I had felt no remorse when I sent them off on deadly tasks. I had used them and discarded them, laid waste to their lives to build my own glory. I was no less of a monster than Nero. (168)

This thought was finally allowed into Apollo’s consciousness. He just couldn’t keep up the repression, not now, not after everything’s that’s happened. He embraces the knowledge, as discomforting as it is.

Denial

Apollo makes several realizations in The Hidden Oracle that he denies immediately afterwards. For instance, he’s in denial about Percy’s feelings about him. He can see how Percy feels, but he refuses to believe it.

If I didn’t know how much Percy Jackson adored me, I would have sworn he was about to punch me in my already broken nose. (26)

Apollo’s also quite upset about the thought that he might be treated as a mortal, with everything that comes with it:

Percy frowned. “Apollo, if you’re really mortal, like, one hundred percent mortal, can you even get in to Camp Half-Blood?”

The seven-layer dip began to churn in my stomach. “Please don’t say that. Of course I’ll get in. I have to.”

“But you could get hurt in battle now…” Percy mused. “Then again, maybe monsters would ignore you because you’re not important?”

“Stop!” My hands trembled. Being a mortal was traumatic enough. The thought of being barred from camp, of being unimportant…No. That simply could not be.

“I’m sure I’ve retained some powers,” I said. “I’m still gorgeous, for instance, if I could just get rid of this acne and lose some flab. I must have other abilities!” (40-41)

He continues some of this denial into The Dark Prophecy, though not to the same extent. He’s extremely irritated at Britomartis for sending him and Calypso to get her griffins, and giving only moderate praise in return:

“Apollo, I must admit you did moderately well retrieving my griffins.”

“Moderately well?” I bit back a few nasty comments. I wondered if demigods ever felt the need to restrain themselves when facing ungrateful gods like these. No. Surely not. I was special and different. And I deserved better treatment. (167)

He makes the realization that “this is how demigods feel”, but the thought is uncomfortable for him, so he denies it. Not very convincingly, though. And even in The Hidden Oracle, he realized how in denial he was, particularly when he saw it mirrored in Meg:

Her denial was so complete, so irrational, I realized there was no way I could argue with her. She reminded me painfully of myself when I fell to earth—how I had refused to accept my new reality. Without Meg’s help, I would’ve gotten myself killed. Now our roles were reversed. (304)

Denial may be one of his most common defense mechanisms, but even it fails eventually. By the end of The Dark Prophecy, he’s pretty much abandoned it. 

Cognitive Distortion

I’ve talked about Apollo’s cognitive distortions before, like the other defense mechanisms I’ve listed, but I didn’t use the correct terminology before. Cognitive distortions are a general term for a thought pattern that causes the person to view the world in a distorted, inaccurate manner.

Apollo’s major cognitive distortions tend to center around remembering himself to be more important and more well-loved than he really is, sometimes minimizing other’s roles in the process. He seems to be consciously trying to reinforce this thought pattern, considering his “standard motivational speech”:

I took a deep breath. Then I did my usual motivational speech in the mirror: “You are gorgeous and people love you!”

I went out to face the world. (31)

He uses this technique multiple times. He uses it again later on in The Hidden Oracle, as a way to stave off his anxiety:

 If I hadn’t let Python take over Delphi, if I’d paid more attention to the other ancient Oracles, if I hadn’t lost my divinity—

Stop it, Apollo, I scolded myself. You’re beautiful and everyone loves you.

But it was becoming increasingly difficult to believe that. My father, Zeus, did not love me. The demigods at Camp Half-Blood did not love me. Python and the Beast and his comrades at Triumvirate Holdings did not love me. It was almost enough to make me question my self-worth. (208)

He’s tied his self-worth to others’ perception of him, and then manipulated how he thinks others see him, in an effort to boost his sense of self worth. He attempts to use this in the Burning Maze as well, give him enough of a sense of self to stave off Medea’s attack. It doesn’t work.

“Every bit of my willpower bent instinctively to keeping myself in one piece. I was Apollo, wasn’t I? I… I was beautiful and people loved me. The world needed me!” (p. 372).

Him feeling like he NEEDS people to love and need him in order to justify his existence, to tell himself that he has worth, helps explain why he feels the need to be adored so much. It’s why he fools himself into thinking he has Percy’s adoration and respect. 

He also minimizes others contributions in favor of emphasizing his own, so that he comes off as better by comparison.

I couldn’t quite remember what Percy Jackson was talking about. During the war with Gaea, I had been focused mostly on my own fabulous exploits. But I suppose he and his friends had undergone a few minor hardships. (32)

Apollo didn’t really do much of anything during the War, except hide out on Delos and show up at the Parthenon. But he wants to tell himself that he did, because it makes him feel more important, more needed.

He apparently exaggerates quite a bit, actually. When he’s reading about himself in some of Will’s books, he notes that:

Normally this would have been a happy task. I am, after all, a fascinating subject. This time, however, I gained no satisfaction from my glorious exploits. They all seemed like exaggerations, lies, and…well, myths. (183)

We don’t get details about how these accounts are distorted, exactly, but we do know that Apollo has a history of doing so. Especially with Python. Python nearly killed him, but he told storytellers that killing him was super quick and easy... because that’s what he WANTED it to be. It’s not JUST about making himself sound better. Talking about how he struggled valiantly against his mighty foe would arguably have come across as a more impressive feat. But that’s not what he WANTED to have happened. He WANTS to have been able to have easily defeated Python. He doesn’t want to remember how close he came to being destroyed. Apollo’s distortions are his way of rearranging reality to be more to his liking, even if it means lying to himself.

Psychological Projection

Projection is basically taking your own unwanted thoughts and feelings and assigning them to another person. Apollo indulges in this one occasionally, though it’s rarer than the other defense mechanisms I’ve listed. 

When talking to Percy, he projects his own egotism onto him:

I wanted to get back to talking about my problems. I was impatient with Percy for turning the conversation to himself. Sadly, I have found this sort of self-centeredness common among demigods. (34)

It always disappointed me when mortals put themselves first and failed to see the big picture—the importance of putting me first—but I had to remind myself that this young man had helped me out on many previous occasions.  (35)

Projecting his feelings onto Percy helps him to avoid acknowledging his own feelings, his own egotism. It makes him feel like he is in the right, by pretending that the negative qualities in himself belong to another person.

He projects again later on in the book, when he meets up with Rhea, and is talking about the emperors:

“But how could we not know about this?” I demanded. “We are gods!”

Rhea’s laugh reminded me of a piglet with asthma. “Apollo, Grandson, beautiful child…Has being a god ever stopped someone from being stupid?”

She had a point. Not about me personally, of course, but the stories I could tell you about the other Olympians… (243)

He doesn’t want to admit that he’s in that category of being stupid, but he’ll happily give the label to other gods, so he doesn’t have to deal with it himself.

Displacement

Basically, displacement is taking your feelings out on someone else, because taking them out on the cause of the feelings would be too dangerous. There’s only one notable example I can think of where Apollo uses this, but it’s an important one: when Apollo displaces his anger at his father for electrocuting him and for murdering Asclepius, onto the Master Bolt, and then onto those who made the Master Bolt, the Elder Cyclopes. Apollo himself addresses this one in The Burning Maze, since Meg is doing something similar with Nero and Caligula:

“My father, Zeus, killed  one of my favorite sons, Asclepius, for bringing people back from the dead without permission. Long story. The point is... I was furious with Zeus, but he was too powerful and scary for me to fight. He would’ve vaporized me. So I took out my revenge another way.

[...]

“Anyway,” I continued,” I couldn’t kill Zeus. So I found the guys who had made his lightning bolts, the Cyclopes. I killed them in revenge for Asclepius. As punishment, Zeus made me mortal.”

[...]

“I was projecting my anger onto someone else, someone safer.” (237-238)

Something I find interesting here: Apollo is perfectly aware of how and why he did this. But he went through with it anyway. Even knowing that the Cyclopes weren’t truly the ones he was angry at, he still killed them, because he still FELT like they were, and he needed to lash out at SOMEONE, even if it wasn’t their fault.

By the end of The Dark Prophecy, or the Burning Maze at the latest, all these defense mechanisms have broken down. Apollo has to let out some of his emotions in The Dark Prophecy, crying over a toilet as he relives murdering Commodus, and watching Trophonious cut Agamethus’ head off, because he refused to intervene. But Jo helps him through it, gives him acceptance and support, and gradually he calms down. Later, in the Cave of Trophonious, he nearly gives up and lets himself pass on to the other side of the Styx, but doesn’t because if he does, then Meg will too. And the same goes for Meg. She refuses to let herself die, because even though she feels like she deserves it, if she dies, then Apollo will pass on too. Both of them resist dying because the other person needs them. He starts relying on others, confiding in them, taking strength from their support, and being support in turn.

In the Burning Maze, Apollo feels very guilty and miserable whenever others die. He blames himself for not being able to save Money Maker, thinking that he could have saved her if he still had his godly power. When Jason dies, he blames himself for both Jason’s death, and Piper’s pain. He even blames himself for Crest’s death, for not being able to save him, for making yet another promise he couldn’t keep.

 But now, he deals with the pain differently. He accepts it, and channels it. In fact, he started doing this as early as The Hidden Oracle, when he took all the pain from his guilt, sorrow, and heartbreak, and channeled it outwards in order to subdue the myrmekes. In the Burning Maze, he channels his grief and pain over Jason’s death, into the strength to go on, and not let his sacrifice be in vain. He does the same with Crest’s death, moving forwards, accepting his feelings in full, but not letting them drag him down, but instead taking strength from them. As painful as they are, he refuses to shy away anymore. This is reflected in the last few lines of The Burning Maze:

I would defeat the emperors. I would free Delphi from Python’s grasp. I would not allow those who had sacrificed themselves to do so for nothing.

Perhaps this quest had ended on a suspended fourth chord. We still had much to do.

But from now on, I would be more than Lester. I would be more than an observer.

I would be Apollo.

I would remember. (418-419)

He will take all that pain, would remember all the pain, and everything he’s learned. And he will turn it into strength, carrying on the will of those who are already departed, so that hopefully more will not die. 

[imthemuthafuckingcricket]

I was tagged by the lovely @somewheremeantforme

10 Favorite female characters

What? Only 10? Alrighty then…Potential spoilers and rambles. Here we go.

1.Angrboða [Poetic Edda/Norse Mythos]- I don’t know if she counts as a character, but considering she is not a real person that is alive and breathing I’ll add her to the list. I have always found her fascinating and her lack of media presence just fuels me to do more research and gdi I should just write/draw her more, but I can never get her right. And dammit Angrboda deserves, nay demands perfection.  Anyways I feel as though Angrboða doesn’t get enough respect. Grief bringer? Mother of Monsters/Wolves? Hag of Ironwood? Chief?? Yea she’s badass and is worth more than her relationship to Loki(e)…I could go on…

2.Integra Hellsing [Hellsing] - I don’t know man she’s just cool. I wish I could be that cool.  

3.Princess Carolyn [Bojack Horseman]- Oh where to begin, this is one of the best female characters I have seen written. PC is at her core the stereotypical “I don’t need a man, I don’t need anybody all I need is my career. Oh no I’m almost 40yrs old and I’m lonely” character, but still the show gives her so much more beyond that. She is working hard to adopt, she genuinely cares about her friends/loved ones and will do anything to help them, when Diane wanted an abortion she was upset that Diane was willingly giving up what she could never have but still at the end of the day didn’t vilify Diane and talked to her (this whole episode btw was amazing and dealt rly well with abortion) I also enjoy Diane as a character and her flaws, most of the female characters are written really well, I’m getting sidetracked here but yea watch Bojack Horseman. Anyways, PC is a strong person (cat?), but we get to see her at her most vulnerable “It's…just…really hard to need people” and her struggles. PC can be pushy and one-sighted and yes her helping people is not completely selfless and in some way it benefits her. Besides wanting children, I never thought I would related to a pink cat wearing a fish dress so hard.

4.Lady Eboshi [Princess Mononoke]- In many ways she is the villain and the main antagonist (I say this bc there are multiple villains) of the movie but I find her interesting in that she is not wholly evil.  Though she is horrible to the environment and the animals/spirits living there she is a fair leader, who has helped the unwanted and worthless of society and gave them work and a home. Her people genuinely love and care for her. Which is another reason I love this movie because it hints at “Humanitarian vs. Environment” Lady Eboshi being the personification of this argument, also Lady Eboshi highlights how one person can do excellent work/relief in one area and be a completely shitty person in another area. Does her bad deeds cancel out all the good she has done? This is a favorite argument of mine, just in a general sense.

5. Evelyn O'Connell [The Mummy]- Come on I made a post specifically about how I wanted to be like Evie when I got older. Super brave and intelligent woman that could read Egyptian( I think she knew multiple other languages as well) studied/worked in Egypt,  got to go on a magical adventure in EGYPT. When I was a kid I was majorly into Ancient Egypt (I haven’t quite outgrown that). I also had a big thing for Lara Croft too and I think that goes hand-in-hand with Evie. But most importantly… “ I AM A LIBRARIAN!”

6. Haruka Tenou [Sailormoon]-  Baby gay [me] was gay way longer than she anticipated. Also...A E S T H E TI C

7. Medea [The Medea]- Countless essays have been written about Medea that would go way deeper into her complexity as a character than what I can do right now. Yea, she’s an interesting character that is by all means not a hero, but it also a victim herself. And one of the few stories from the classics that revolves around a woman, that isn’t two-dimensional.

8.Leslie Knope [Parks&Rec]- I’m going to say it, Leslie knope is the reason that P&R is far superior to the Office even though the writing team is practically the same and the humor at its base is also the same. Leslie Knope is not Michael Scott, Michael is pretty bad (tbf I haven’t finished the series, so we’ll see), But despite Leslie’s many flaws she’s still endearing, hardworking w/ high goals, loves her friends/job and her community. Again, I’m not saying she is perfect because she has such high standards/expectations that she expects everyone to meet her at these impossible heights, often ignores her friends’ advice/complaints even if it’s all with good intentions, can be mean and so forth. Ill admit it, she makes me want to work harder and the character Ron Swanson was great at balancing her out.

9. Rosa Diaz [B99]- Rosa is a cool character with a cooler jacket and I enjoy watching her, I don’t have a deeper reason than that.

10. Anthy Himemiya [Revolutionary Girl Utena]- Anthy is a character that has more questions than answers within the context of her own story. She has done many horrible things and should be held accountable, however, Anthy has been the victim of abuse for years and as a character we must take that in consideration. But where do we draw the line for guilt/personal responsibility? How much physical/emotional abuse can really mess a person up and drive them to these terrible acts? Also, I thought she had the most character growth in the series, which made the ending all the more powerful because of what she went through and the choices she had to make to get there. However, I would literally die for all the women in RGU so…

Bonus: Xena the Warrior Princess, Medusa

Mutuals/followers please feel free to do this and tag me in your post!

[stephicness]

Send My Love to the Dancefloor! – Final Fantasy XV Ballroom Dancers AU

What do you mean that I wasn’t requested to do a Ballroom Dancer AU? PSSH. Imma post it anyways because we could all use an obligatory Ballroom Dancer AU! C:

Noctis Lucis Caelum

ROUTINE INSPIRATIONS::

Inspiration One

Inspiration Two

Inspiration Three

Perhaps the most basic of the other dancers, he only ever really wants to dance the waltz.

It’s a simplistic dance, with easy movements, and the others tend to make fun of Noctis for not wanting to do a more challenging type dance.

But he’s ultimately very good at it, knowing what to do to apply a nice flare to it with his dance partner.

He’s stronger than he looks, able to twirl his partner and at some points, even lift them up enough to spin them as they glide across the dancefloor together. He became quite skilled enough to do this, to where he can move over platforms and steps with his partner, which few have the grace and strength to do.

He’ll often be counting his steps out of sheer nervous habit as he practices with his partner, but when he’s out on the dancefloor, his anxieties melt away. He’s quite the natural in movement, almost like he becomes a whole new personality when he’s out there competing.

He dances mostly to fulfill his father’s legacy as a ballroom dancer, refining some of Regis’s skills and becoming quite a popular face among dancers alike. Young, handsome, and graceful – things he aspires to be, even though he already is.

Sometimes, however, Noctis is seen incorporating some hints of ballet into his routines with his partners – something he was roped into learning after Ignis encouraged him to. It pays out, but he regrets Prompto ever taking a picture of him in a leotard.

If his dance partner is his lover, he’s not above placing little kisses on their face during the performance, though it should be apart of the routine after the one time his partner froze up and blanked out after the kiss. Their competitive score suffered severely, despite it being cute for the audience to see.

His routines with his partner are often focused around the themes of blissful love, childhood romances, and family. Very sentimental themes. But with the right chemistry with his dance partner, Noctis feels like these themes would be perfectly portrayed, especially since he can relate to them well.

Prompto Argentum

ROUTINE INSPIRATIONS::

Inspiration One

Inspiration Two

Inspiration Three

Honestly, this boy doesn’t know how to make-up his mind, but it’s good too since he’s got a natural knack at dancing. He’s done all sorts of styles of dance, including one phase where he dabbled in interpretive dance, but he doesn’t like bringing it up that often.

He’s always lithe on his feet, liking to dance in more fast-paced styles of dance – especially if his partner can keep up with him and his energetic choreography. So, dances like the Jive or Swing are the kinds of dances he favors the most.

He’s not as traditional as other ballroom dancers are, and instead, he takes a liking to incorporating modern music into his dances to surprise everyone. He one time choreographed the Charleston with Uptown Funk as his song, which was the highlight of his career, he thinks.

Perhaps not strong enough to do some intense lifts and the like, but his quick steps and speed allow the momentum of him and his partner to really impress the audiences. It helps when the choreography requires him to swing his partner around, and apply more of a ‘wow’ factor into his performances.

He’s not a big fan of the super flashy costumes, at least when he’s dressing in them. His partner though? Wear that short dress or tight outfit that shows off those toned legs! He’ll admire them for a good ten minutes every time he sees the costume fittings because he feels lucky to have someone so skilled and beautiful as a dance partner.

Despite Prompto being a ballroom dancer, he also really enjoys street-styled dances with Gladio, taking the time to learn what the newest trend is and seeing if he can apply it. He and Gladiolus sometimes just leave to go to the park with some music as they just go dance together, seeing what people like and hearing them challenge the boys to do some crazy breakdance.

Or better too – he finds a combination of music and dance and meshes it together with his lively dance skills – pondering once about whether he could make the Gangnam Style into a fun Jive dance. It didn’t work with the judges when he and his partner took it to competition, but the ballroom dance fans loved it.

He loves his partner to death, and probably flirts with them a lot – regardless of if they’re in a relationship together or not. Anyone who can keep up with Prompto’s antics is a keeper – especially when they end up flirting back and causing Prompto to blush like a dummy.

He likes to have his routines stay whimsical and fun, always incorporating comedy into it if he can in silly boy-meets-girl/other boy scenarios. There’s always a small story with Prompto’s routines, and he used it to try getting younger audiences into ballroom dancing just like how he did.

Ignis Scientia

ROUTINE INSPIRATIONS::

Inspiration One

Inspiration Two

Inspiration Three

Perhaps the most experienced out of the younger ballroom dancers, he shows his skill when he performs. He’s precise in his steps, has this demeanor that ultimately captivates you. His presences on the dancefloor is one that many competitive dancers acknowledge and fear because he’s a force to be reckoned with in competition.

He’s a rather traditional guy when he dances, enjoying dancing in styles that require elegance and grace, almost systematic even. If he can come up with a map of how the dance is laid out, he probably will do it. Or at the very least, drill the dance until both he and his partner can dance in their sleep.

It might seem a bit boring to hear that Ignis dances things like the Viennese Waltz or the Foxtrot, but when people watch him and his partner perform, there’s a sense of sensuality to their dances. Yet at the same time, he’s modest and romantic.

Despite his very straight-forward and very precise performances, it’s the emotion that lingers underneath them that really blows fans away and captivates his dance partner. Ignis wouldn’t chose a partner that he didn’t have chemistry with -- regardless of how good they are. So the performance chemistry that he and his partner becomes a strength in their performances.

He mainly enjoys dancing various types of waltzes, however he was once an exceptionally talented dancer of the Tango. He sometimes goes back to his roots, though he tries his best to remain modest. Why he stopped dancing the Tango is a mystery everyone ponders on, because he used to be one of the fiercest Tango dance competitors out there. A time forgotten, it seems.

His routines with his partner are often set with musicals and opera, much to the dismay of people that want Ignis to show that he has some fun (AKA Noctis and the bros). But Ignis, nevertheless, continues to keep to his genre of music to dance to because there’s a lot more to his music choice than just the fact that it’s an old classic.

Because with his music choice, Ignis enjoys telling the stories that the operas tell. Most of them are tragedies, but they all share a common theme of romance and passion. Even if they sometimes have a tragic end. It requires research nevertheless, and he does enjoy researching things when he gets the chance to.

The choreography he does often reflects the passion and romance he may feel with his dance partner, should the two be lovers. Of course, not all the tragedy, but the idea of the desire and emotions behind it is what he really loves showing to others as they dance. Some dances get dark and intense though, so audiences often are concerned if he and his partner are fighting with one another. No. The story just requires Medea to kill the kids, that’s all.

Probably wouldn’t put it past him to know one dance that doesn’t take place in the ballroom. That dance is pole-dancing. It really shows when he knows how to lift his partner up with ease. But even if he gets bagged on for knowing it, working that pole really does have its benefits.

Gladiolus Amicitia

ROUTINE INSPIRATIONS::

Inspiration One

Inspiration Two

Inspiration Three

He didn’t really start out as a fan of ballroom dancing, mostly just being there for Noctis as support (and a babysitter – especially after the drunkard incident), but that was mostly because when he saw the others dance, their dances were all boring. No flare to it.

It wasn’t until he got to see the legendary Cor Leonis take the stage that he got fired up. Seeing the intense and fast steps, the way Cor and his partner lit up the dancefloor with such flare and sexiness – that was what inspired Gladiolus to try it out for himself.

So, he eventually began to emphasize dances with fast steps and high-energy, taking it to the extreme even more-so than Prompto. Because for Gladiolus, he likes the Latin American style of dances like the Cha-Cha and Samba. More playful and flashier, which he digs.

He really likes the idea of having a dance partner that’s wild and fun, which ultimately inspires Gladiolus to meet the same standards and energy as his partner. With how flirty and partner-oriented their routines and choreography is, Gladiolus makes it his goal to have a compatibility with his partner that would make even Ignis and his ‘emotional dancing’ weep.

After all, with how sensual and passionate his routines and choreography are, he must have that chemistry, otherwise the romance wouldn’t exist, he feels. Gotta make the fanservice for the ballroom dance fans possible, after all. Enough to make the judges feel a bit hot and bothered too as they watch Gladiolus and his partner dance together.

Despite him liking these super wild and fast-paced dances, he eventually begins to learn and adore being able to dance the very intense and bold styles like the Tango. It’s a whole different atmosphere than the cute and flirty things, with it being almost like sex and war on the dancefloor.

His favorite routine is probably a tango that he and his partner did that ultimately gave the comment from one of the judges: ‘I didn’t know if to look away because you guys were getting it on or keep watching and indulge in some voyeurism.’ Creepy kinda, but the thrill of drawing people in like that is why he loves dancing so much.

He likes it when his partner dresses up in super flashy and sexy outfits, but he himself doesn’t really do much on his attire. He’ll, of course, either have most (if not all) of his shirt undone and/or have his shirt off for a good majority of the performances. Something to make the fans swoon. And sometimes distract from the fact that Gladiolus missed a step. Oops.

His music selection would probably equate to something like hip hop or R&B, things that are contemporary but sexy at the same time. It throws back to the times when he first started dancing as a B-Boy with Prompto, which he gladly takes inspiration from and throws some old moves into his routines. Classy and fun. A good combination.

[leighlim]

Ethan Hawke doing a romantic comedy!? You don’t have to ask me again if I’d like to see at least 10 minutes of it.

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(Hopefully by this point you’ve finished all 97 minutes of 'Juliet, Naked’ , the kind of person who isn’t bothered by spoilers, or are just deciding if you still want to keep watching.)

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And Chris O'Dowd is in it too!!!???

(I know it’s odd that I would pick a highlight that didn’t have to do with the triangle of Duncan, Annie, and Tucker...yet...it stood out as one of the funniest bits.)

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HIGHLIGHT:

INT. HALLWAY - DAY

GINA hurries to catch DUNCAN walking out.

GINA Hi, sorry. Excuse me.

Duncan stops and turns.

GINA I just wanted to ask you a couple of questions about that whole Greek tragedy paradigm thing.

DUNCAN Oh, you know...

He glances at his watch.

DUNCAN ...my office hours are actually on a Monday.

GINA Oh, right. Yes. Sorry. Um, I'm...I'm not actually a student.

She takes another step towards him and lowers her voice.

GINA I, um...I just started teaching. So I've been sitting in on different classes trying to see how the professionals do it.

DUNCAN Oh.

He chuckles. That would be definetely a good 'in'.

DUNCAN Well, welcome.

He extends his hand and takes a step to close the distance between them.

GINA Thank you.

She shakes his hand.

GINA Gina.

DUNCAN Duncan.

GINA Hi. So that Greek tragedy thing...?

DUNCAN Right. Yeah, um...

She glances at the other students exiting the classroom.

DUNCAN I guess my point was that all these characters: they're already bound to their fate.

GINA nods mechanically.

DUNCAN Like Antigone...

GINA Wow.

DUNCAN ...or Medea.

GINA So I have to read 'Antigone' to understand 'The Wire'?

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My verdict of the film: 7/10

Link to the timestamp commentary: TBA

[tompatel95]

Daenerys, First of her Name.

It’s been a few months since that ending to Game of Thrones. Various thought pieces have been written, reviews analysing the show’s myriad parts and critiquing its execution. As with many fans, I felt a lot of emotions during the finale, none of them good. I’ve waited all this time to write this, to allow myself to simmer down. But, to be honest, I’m still raging – how could they do Daenerys dirty like that? Firstly, I acknowledge my status as a Dany stan. She has to be one of my all-time favourite characters and I resonate with her intensely – I felt actual grief at her death. Before anyone reading this begins to roll their eyes and mutter “overreaction,” Daenerys has helped me through the years. By identifying with her and her journey, I was able to get through bullying and mental health struggles. If anything, her travails provided a welcome respite from my struggles, privileged as they may be. However, I don’t believe I’m being biased here. So, let’s break it down. Much has been made by the cast that women are just as capable of being evil as men and Daenerys’ storyline proves that. Fair point, but this has been established since season 1 with Cersei. Cersei Lannister has been labelled as one of the greatest villains of all time, a nuanced combination of an overprivileged, entitled individual who still is underestimated on account of her gender. Indeed, Lena Headley’s portrayal has revealed that she is one of the most talented actresses of her generation. However, let’s delve into this myth of the ‘better sex.’ Women have been associated with evil since the very beginning. Circe, Medea, Lady Macbeth, the White Witch – the concept of evil women is embedded into our storytelling culture. Furthermore, these damsels-in-distress are painted as the exception – most women are unpleasant besides these princesses. Even within medieval Europe, the Virgin Mary was depicted as an impossible ideal rather than being exemplary of her gender. 

The most recent female villain who rocked our perceptions has to be Amy Dunne from Gone Girl. I feel Amy is what the writers were aiming for with Dany’s storyline, falling awfully short. What made Gone Girl so revolutionary isn’t Amy’s sociopathic nature, it’s that she got away with it. Amy outmanoeuvred her husband, the press, the police, all these smart, intelligent people. She used her white privilege as a weapon and got everything she desired – attention, wealth, a devoted husband, a child. There’s no karma, no repercussions; she wins. Saying that Dany’s storyline proves women can be evil just doesn’t hold up – especially given the kingdom goes to a man. Secondly, let’s tackle this idea or foreshadowing. It’s an important point to make – foreshadowing does not equal plot development. People have been muttering about the Mad Queen for years, yet a lot of this is hypocritical. Before she burns Kings Landing, Dany hasn’t done anything more atrocious than anybody else. Much has been made about her reaction/treatment of her brother and the slave masters. To those people I say, are we watching the same show? Viserys is abusive, violent and just as vicious as Joffrey. He had been tormenting Dany for her whole life – she stuck by him because where else would she go. However, once she marries Khal Drogo, once she begins to create her own family and comes into her own, why would she put up with his tirades? Why would she mourn him – this is the man would allow Khal Drogo’s entire khalasar and their horse rape her to get the Iron Throne, the man who threatened her unborn child. To those who now point to the crucifixion of the slave masters, well, they’re slave masters. I’m sorry, but I find this point so infuriating because they’re slave masters! You wouldn’t mourn jihadists dying, nor Nazis, yet somehow slave masters are legitimate individuals who deserve respect. Wow. And those who point out that Dany even killed those masters who were working towards abolition – the smallness of this plot point highlights how relevant the writers thought it was. Even accounting for that, it highlights Dany as rash, not mad. The Tarlys. Where to start with the Tarlys? I guess with one of the first scenes of season 1, where Ned Stark executes a member of the Night’s Watch, whose begging for his life. Or let’s go to Jon’s execution of Janos Slynt, who also begs for his life. Both these men ignore their victims’ pleas and kills them anyway, yet they’re still heralded as honourable men. Tyrion, Sansa, Arya, Theon; all have committed acts far worse than Dany’s execution of the Tarlys, yet Dany’s the bad guy. Both Randyll and Dickon Tarly go willingly to their deaths – all they had to do is bend the knee. Let’s not forget the xenophobic spiel Randyll spews before he dies as well. 

Speaking of racism, Dany is the sole character who actually doesn’t care about it. She is a white saviour, but that’s one of the tropes George RR Martin deconstructs. Ned’s death means the good guys don’t allows win, Robb’s death destroys the revenge narrative and Dany’s conquests highlights how, despite good intentions and the might of your army, if you don’t know the people you’re going to rule, you’ll struggle. Call me an apologist if you’d like, but Dany’s views on race and birth is refreshingly progressive. This is not echoed with the other characters. The northerners react with hostility towards Missandei and Grey Worm, and Sansa later says that Dany and her followers aren’t from the North – implying they shouldn’t be as loyal to them. Are we meant to care at all about what happens to the North now? How am I, a POC, meant to feel about this? I want any answer because all I can see the show trying to make me care about racists. Even Jon and Tyrion display classism – Jon dislikes his sworn brothers at the beginning and Tyrion mocks an attempt at a democracy. Daenerys promotes a former slave to leader of her armies. She comforts dying slaves as they hang, crucified and in her attacks on the slave cities, orders her armies not to harm any women or child. She removes rape from the Dothraki and Ironborn cultures and is devoted to equality. She would’ve revolutionised Westeros, bringing it under a centralised government and, due to her dragons, dealt with local warlords quickly and effectively. Indeed, an interesting angle would have been, yes, Dany’s a tyrant, but her rule was necessary for Westeros’ progression. Russia wouldn’t be the power it is today without Peter the Great, and he dragged Russia into modernity on the backs and bones of serfs. Whilst his actions are deplorable, it is undeniable that Russia wouldn’t be the superpower it is without him. So, even if the writers wanted to go down the Mad Queen route, this would’ve been a far more innovative angle rather than Dany throwing a temper tantrum. To conclude, I’m still angry. Dany’s treatment has ruined the show for me, especially given her treatment by fellow characters and the writers. She had no family but made something of herself whilst remaining true to herself. Long may she reign!

[junker-town]

Couldn’t Be Me: So you’ve been humiliated

Coping with public humiliation can be hard. Fortunately, I’m here to help

Welcome to Couldn’t Be Me, a weekly advice column where I solicit your personal dilemmas and help out as best as I can. Have something I can help you with? Find me @_Zeets.

While watching TV last weekend, I saw one of the greatest athletes of our generation get publicly humiliated. It was a reminder how unexpected such events can be and how they can happen to anyone. A few years ago, I wrote about my worst public humiliation, in which the person who would eventually become my best friend dunked on me. While wearing sandals. An incident like this can have an outsized and lifelong effect on the person who goes through it. It can haunt people forever, and change how they look at themselves. But there are ways to recover, and in this week’s column, I hope to explore them.

@FutureMovieKing24: Hi, Zito. I live and work in Los Angeles, and a few days ago, me and some of my coworkers (I wouldn’t really call them friends) lost a basketball game against a really bad team when we were visiting New York City. We should have beaten them easily, but it hasn’t been the best year for us. The fourth quarter especially was bad for me. I missed 11 shots, and after we blew an 11-point lead with almost four minutes remaining, I had a chance to win the game but my potentially game-winning shot was blocked by some irrelevant dude, who then pointed and laughed at me. How do I deal with the fact that the ending of my career is closer than I’m comfortable with, and with the fact that I was embarrassed by a guy whose career highlight will be that he blocked me?

CBM: Well, if the block took place in a small arena or a private event, my advice would be to confiscate the tapes and silence everyone who witnessed the embarrassment. But that’s the act of a tyrant, not a good king. In this case, what you should remember is that history will not remember the man who blocked you. His accomplishments will be buried under the sands of time. By the next year, this event will be forgotten, and he will go back to being a nobody (I assume that you’re great and the only reason that this other individual is reveling in your humiliation is because he now feels accomplished). To even waste your thoughts on him is a denigration of what you have achieved. He lives in New York, he’s probably unhappy with himself anyway.

Grant: Hi Zito. [When] I was a freshman in high school, I was in a one act play. We were performing for my English class, and some of the prettiest girls in my class were front and center. Long story short, I had to crawl around on stage shirtless a lot. My pants fell down, leaving me in compression shorts while I frantically tried to hold the costume pants up as I crawled. It did not go well ... I’ve thought about that at least once a week ever since, and that was 10 years ago.

[The play was] Medea. Our director took a weird direction with it, made it very animalistic. I was Aegeus, and I was only in it because I was in debate and she taught both and suggested/forced me into doing this play when the original actor dropped out or something.

CBM: I had to re-read Medea, both the Seneca and Euripedes versions, because I was so confused about which part had Aegeus crawling on the ground, shirtless, a lot. I didn’t find those scenes.

Regardless, it’s impressive that you managed to turn a tragedy about a woman who murders a bunch of people — including her own children — into a comedy about a king who can’t keep his pants up. If this had happened when he was alive, you might have managed to convince the comic poets of Euripedes’ time to appreciate him.

To be honest, if I was in the audience when I was in high school, I would have probably laughed at you. Not the quiet laughter of someone who finds the event funny but still wants to respect the play and your feelings, but a Nelson Muntz, standing up and pointing, loud HA-HA! The type of laughter that make you never wear want to wear pants again. You would have had to spend the next years of your life wearing onesies in order to cope with the pain. Children are cruel.

But we’re adults here. So, on a serious note, the late Swedish director Ingmar Bergman once talked about how humiliation, or its shadow, is ever-present during childhood:

“One of the strongest feelings I remember from my childhood is, precisely, of being humiliated; of being knocked about by words, acts, or situations. Isn’t it a fact that children are always feeling deeply humiliated in their relations with grown-ups and each other? I have a feeling children spend a good deal of their time humiliating one another. Our whole education is just one long humiliation, and it was even more so when I was a child. One of the wounds I’ve found hardest to bear in my adult life has been the fear of humiliation, and the sense of being humiliated. Every time I read a review, for instance — whether laudatory or not — this feeling awakes. To humiliate and be humiliated, I think, is a crucial element in our whole social structure.”

Humiliation is a staple in Bergman’s films. His characters are always being humiliated, usually up until the conclusion of the films when they have to reflect upon the lowly people that they have become. They must then decide whether to destroy themselves completely, out of disgust for who they are, or accept that shame and humiliation do not define them, wash the pain away, and begin to live as a new person.

Indulging in shame can be dangerous. A negative public event can trigger a person to close themselves off from the world. To truly experience all of life’s wonders, and to see what your true capabilities are, you need to be vulnerable, to put yourself out there, and accept the real prospect of failure and public humiliation. A person can miss out on so much by protecting themselves from the laughter of others.

It’s important to remind yourself, even now, ten years after the Medea incident, that it does not matter. The event and its effects are only real if you define yourself by it. You give it its power. Those people that you fell in front of, those pretty girls, no longer exist as they were back then. It’s only you who is keeping them alive. The people they have become don’t even remember what happened, because even though it was an important moment for you, they don’t have the same psychic attachment. They have their own humiliations, and humiliation is asymmetrical.

There are a few ways to deal with the memory of public humiliation. You can wallow in it, which is self-destructive and a waste of life. You can be like Medea, who avenged her humiliation by destroying everything around her (my lawyers have asked me not to recommend this route). Or you can be like the titular character of The Emperor’s New Clothes, who was fooled into thinking that he was wearing a wonderful outfit when he was actually naked. Fear led the people around him to join in on the lie, until, during a procession, a small child shouted the truth:

“And one person whispered to another what the child had said, ‘He hasn’t anything on. A child says he hasn’t anything on.’

‘But he hasn’t got anything on!’ the whole town cried out at last.

The Emperor shivered, for he suspected they were right. But he thought, ‘This procession has got to go on.’ So he walked more proudly than ever, as his noblemen held high the train that wasn’t there at all.”

The procession, this life, must go on. You might as well walk proudly.

[steffancockrell]

The BEST of the Year Races, Running and Recipes!

Hello! How are you? I tried to get a lil off the grid over the holidays so I didn't check in with Sasha Medea or read blogs or respond to text messages (sorry Mom). But I'm BACK! And I want to feel like I'm back with running too so I'm thinking about my goals for this year. I have a few races on the calendar so far and need to figure out GOAL RACES next. But before we talk about new year, new goals… Let's run down the BEST parts of last year.

Here's a round up of my favorite runs, races and recipes from last year. This is my favorite food or recipes, running highlights and life updates that I want to share and discuss.

(Note: I wrote the post with everything and realized it's super long. So this is just the best running updates – the food and fun and life updates are coming next)

RUNNING

I don't really keep track of my mileage, but I do wear a running GPS watch and that tracks it for me. So I looked up my mileage for the whole year and was surprised that I ran so much. I feel like I had a really 'off' year. I think when I first went through my separation and eventual divorce I was running and walking a lot. It was aimless and a lot of junk miles, but I just would go out and do some sorta run 6 days of the week.

But this year I transitioned to a different step in the grieving process and just felt unmotivated, unorganized and uninspired. A lot of un-words! So I felt like I ran a lot less. I only did 1 marathon! That's SHOCKING to me. Ever since I ran my 1st marathon I've run several each year! One year I ran 9 marathons!

Right before the Revel Big Bear Marathon I realized I hadn't run a full in over a year – since the Boston Marathon!!

And that mind F**ked me big time. It made me unsure of my running abilities and fitness. And more importantly, it made me question… Who am I? What am I even doing?

That's not me trying to be dramatic –  the timing of my separation and some of the things I was told at that time… tied in directly with running. So I just focused on getting through the Boston Marathon without having a public breakdown. After that I didn't have any running or racing goals because I felt like what I was working towards was unimportant and irrelevant. I stopped working towards a PR in the marathon and potential BQ. It felt sad and pointless. I felt sad and pointless? Both??

I didn't realize that I kind of fell off the wagon with running until right before Revel Big Bear. I think I was probably stuck in some combination of grief and anxiety for a big chunk of time. Looking back now – I really haven't been myself for a long time.

Luckily, I kept running because I love it. It's fun and a good way to get some good endorphins, think, cry, listen to podcasts, stay in shape…

So yeah, this year I didn't accomplish any major running goals. But I survived, didn't take up any super self-destructive habits, didn't lose faith, tried to become a better person and got through several challenges – they just happened to be adult stuff not running stuff.

Moving on –  instead of focusing on what I didn't do – let's talk about what I did…

I did run several half marathons, 1 full marathon and a lot of miles! (Randomly, my best half marathon isn't recorded on the Garmin Connect calendar? There's no mileage recorded at all for that weekend so I actually ran more than the record shows! Boom.)

  Miles I ran last year: 2,536*

Calories I burned: 272,234

Calories I ate: +8,986,246,544

*Note: At least 1 race isn't recorded in this total but there may be more. I'm not concerned enough about it to try and go back and check to see other days where I know I ran but the calendar doesn't show it. This is a good estimate and if anything I've run more and not less so I don't feel like I'm cheating myself on this.

Focus on what YOU did not what you failed to do. Then, focus on what you want to do next.

Stay positive. Give yourself credit for every tiny victory.

Repeat.

  Overall I'm just super grateful for so many things. That's what I want to focus on as I look back on last year's running.

I'm grateful for…

The miles I ran.

You! Thank you for following along. I really like you.

My body. I didn't get injured this year!

Brooks Running Shoes. I put so many miles on them!

My family and friend. I'm able to do this because they've always supported me.

My education. If not my ability to create RunEatRepeat.com and RER on social media – I wouldn't be able to do this.

Runners on Instagram and Facebook – the running community is awesome! Runners are the best.

California. The weather and all the races make it a lot easier than it would be other places.

This time. I'm glad I live in a time and place where it's safe, normal, accepted, etc to be a runner.

I'm just super grateful for running and Run Eat Repeat and all the opportunities I have because of it. I'm very blessed.

  Let's move on to the highlights and recaps!!

I put together a list of my favorite running themed posts from last year. There are some race recaps, tips and training plan posts below. Let me know if you have any questions. I'm here to help.

Best Runs, Races and Running posts of the Year:

Half Marathon Training Plan for new or returning runners – check out this newbie half marathon training plan for your first 13.1 miler.

Surf City Half Marathon recap with Steve – my best race of the year! I pushed myself and ran fast and had fun running with Coach Steve.

PCRF Half Marathon Irvine, CA – Local half marathon that raises money for the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation 

OC Half Marathon race recap – I don't even remember this one! That's why I have this blog – to be my memory.

My favorite running shorts – probably one of the most asked questions about running and running gear I always get!

The one marathon I ran this year – Revel Big Bear Marathon Recap. Thank God for SkinnyRunner and you for sticking with me as I tried to get back on the wagon.

Half Marathon Training Plan – 10 weeks long training plan for a half marathon race.

Las Vegas Half Marathon Race Recap – The race known as 'Strip at Night' is a blast!

What I are before the Las Vegas Half Marathon – it's a race with a late start so it can be hard to time up fuel.

Lexus Lace Up Race Series – Riverside Half Marathon recap and challenge. Love this race series! This was the grand finale!!

And now for my Running Goals for This Year…

1. Run 1 dress rehearsal marathon, 1 fun marathon (I'm doing one out of the country!!) and 1 goal marathon.

2. Figure out a long term running plan to stay in half marathon shape and also spend time on strength and cross-training.

3. … I'm not sure?? Those might be fine for me, but I'm open to finding another goal.

What are your goals?

Oh, and because I love 'em… here are some funny New Year's Resolutions memes I found like looking for inspiration on my goal setting.

    Question: What was your BEST Running accomplishment or moment of last year?

Me: I think running over 2500 miles last year is the thing I'm most proud of! And also I'm glad I ran a marathon last year and it was really great to be able to run with SR again!!

If you're not sure about your running goals – check out the How to Plan Your Race Calendar post for some tips on planning!

The post The BEST of the Year Races, Running and Recipes! appeared first on Run Eat Repeat.

[cftprologue]

NT: Connections

By Caitlin Plimmer

When I was 17, I stumbled across NT Connections completely by accident. I had been looking to book tickets for Helen McCrory's Medea, and found a NT Connections Playwright Platform with all the writers that year. Having always wanted to be a writer, I was completely hooked, and dragged my mum along to the Platform along with two of the Connections plays. I was blown away by the standard of the plays and the young acting, watching people who were just like me get up and perform on a nationally recognised stage. The writers were engaging and inspiring, and the plays were questioning and inspiring, Pronoun by Evan Placey being one of my favourite plays to date. Since then, I have always taken an active interest in NT Connections, and have followed each year with great interest.

This year, I was invited by Chichester Festival Theatre to experience the first read through of Chichester Festival Youth Theatre's choice of play for this year's Connections festival, #YOLO. The play centres around Jack, a 17-year-old with a bright future, who has his life turned upside down when a revelation about his health may stop him from going to university. It is a sad yet uplifting play, highlighting the importance of friendship and coming together in times of hardship. The play is both funny and poignant in equal amounts, and I can't wait to see it put on its feet by the young cast.

The Theatre itself will be holding the Festival from 21st to the 26th March, with performances from theatre groups from around the area. It is a public event, so try and go if you can! These performances are a wonderful opportunity to see the changing face of today's theatre, and the issues close to today's youth portrayed on stage. 

[nofomoartworld]

Hyperallergic: ArtRx NYC

Yara Travieso, La Medea (photo by Maria Baranova)

 Coil

When: Tuesday, January 3–Sunday, January 22 (prices vary) Where: Various

PS122’s 12-year-old annual festival is a conglomeration of performance types — virtual reality, dance, theater, “interdisciplinary”  — bringing together productions from different parts of the world. Coil has a focus on technology this year, and in that vein, one of the most intriguing-sounding pieces is Yara Travieso’s take on Medea, “a musical re-imagining of Euripides’ violent tragedy into a dance-theater performance and feature film á la Latin-disco-pop variety show.” I’ve also got my eye on Britt Hatzius’s Blind Cinema, in which, instead of seeing a film, you sit blindfolded while a child watches and describes it to you.

 Under the Radar

Tania El Khoury, Gardens Speak (image via publictheater.org)

When: Wednesday, January 4–Sunday, January 15 (prices vary) Where: Various locations

A mainstay festival that’s been running for 13 years now, the Public’s Under the Radar is also the most firmly planted in the world of traditional theater. That doesn’t mean that much in NYC, though, and standout shows this year include Tania El Khoury’s immersive graveyard where you can listen to the oral histories of 10 dead individuals and Philippe Quesne’s play in which a band of metalheads decides to build an amusement park in a forest.

 American Realness

When: Thursday, January 5–Thursday, January 12 (prices vary) Where: Abrons Arts Center (466 Grand Street, Lower East Side, Manhattan) and Gibney Dance (280 Broadway, Tribeca, Manhattan)

American Realness was once the upstart of the January festival set, but now that it’s in its eighth edition, it’s hardly a newbie. Still, the flavor here is a definitely more experimental than at the previous three, which means you’re just as likely to encounter a life-changer as a let-down. This year I’m particularly excited about Trajal Harrell’s mashup of postmodern dance and voguing and Paul Lazar’s choreographed recitation of John Cage’s one-minute stories. And do not miss a special conversation titled “Native American Realness,” which will bring together Rosy Simas, Christopher K. Morgan, and Sara Nash to discuss the state of Native American performance work today.

David Lang and Mark Dion, Anatomy Theater (image via bricartsmedia.org)

 Prototype

When: Thursday, January 5–Sunday, January 15 Where: Here Arts Center (145 Sixth Avenue, Soho, Manhattan)

Considering the recently concluded L’Amour de Loin was the first opera written by a woman to be staged by the Met in over a century, having a festival that pushes the boundaries of the form in New York City is essential. Prototype festival is now in its fifth season, following experimental highlights like last year’s Angel’s Bone — composed by Du Yun to include a choir, video, and immersive set considering human trafficking through fallen angels — and 2015’s Toxic Psalms — which responded to the oppression of women and was performed by the powerful Carmina Slovenica vocal theater company. Promising productions this year include Anatomy Theater, composed by David Lang with scenic design by artist Mark Dion, and inspired by 17th- and 18th-century medical texts; Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves, about a wife’s harrowing sacrifice; Matt Marks’s Mata Hari, on the conviction of the alleged World War I femme fatale; and M. Lamar and Hunter Hunt-Hendrix’s Funeral Doom Spiritual, which sings out for a timely ruin to white supremacy. —AM

Louise Bourgeois, “Untitled” (detail, 1998–2014), suite of 8 Holograms, each about 11 x 14 in (photo by Matthew Schreiber, © The Easton Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, NY)

 Louise Bourgeois’s Holograms

When: Opens Thursday, January 5, 6–8pm Where: Cheim & Read (547 West 25th Street, Chelsea, New York)

It’s been five years since the New Museum’s small show on artists’ holograms, and the hoped-for resurgence of holographic aesthetics has yet to come about, but Cheim & Read is doing its part with this exhibition of eight works created by the late, great Louise Bourgeois in collaboration with the New York–based holographic art studio C-Project in 1998. The glowing red works take up Bourgeois’s trademark iconography of out-of-scale domestic objects, glimpses into strange, intimate scenes, and other unsettling, enigmatic images. In summary: Louise Bourgeois with lasers — be there! —BS

 A 14.5-Hour Moving-Image Journey

When: Friday, January 6–Sunday, January 8 Where: Light Industry (155 Freeman Street, Greenpoint, Brooklyn)

I’ll admit to knowing next to nothing about Peter Watkins, but as a sucker for very-long-running films and performances, I was interested in the 870-minute The Journey as soon as I heard about it. And the more I read the description, the more fascinated I became:

The Journey is Watkins’s most ambitious experiment with form: at once a documentary, a dystopian science fiction film, a handbook for media analysis, and an organizational structure linking activist groups throughout the world. From 1983 to 1986, he undertook a transcontinental project to map the corrosive anticipation of impending nuclear catastrophe. … The result is a fourteen-hour cartography of capitalism, historical memory, and fear that weaves together an analysis of the global arms race, recollections of survivors of the bombings in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Hamburg, and community preenactments of possible disaster scenarios.

If only it didn’t also sound so timely.

Yvonne Rainer and Adam Pendleton (image courtesy Performa)

 A Video Portrait of Yvonne Rainer

When: Monday, January 9, 7pm (free with online reservation) Where: Anthology Film Archives (32 Second Avenue, East Village, Manhattan)

Commissioned by Performa, Just back from Los Angeles: A Portrait of Yvonne Rainer is artist Adam Pendleton’s third in a series of video portraits, all of which are part of his Black Dada project. I saw one of the others, his portrait of Lorraine O’Grady, in Radical Presence at the Studio Museum in 2014; fragmented, dreamlike, and lyrical, it has stuck with me ever since.

*   *   *

With contributions by Allison Meier and Benjamin Sutton

The post ArtRx NYC appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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[steffancockrell]

The BEST of the Year Races, Running and Recipes!

Hello! How are you? I tried to get a lil off the grid over the holidays so I didn't check in with Sasha Medea or read blogs or respond to text messages (sorry Mom). But I'm BACK! And I want to feel like I'm back with running too so I'm thinking about my goals for this year. I have a few races on the calendar so far and need to figure out GOAL RACES next. But before we talk about new year, new goals… Let's run down the BEST parts of last year.

Here's a round up of my favorite runs, races and recipes from last year. This is my favorite food or recipes, running highlights and life updates that I want to share and discuss.

(Note: I wrote the post with everything and realized it's super long. So this is just the best running updates – the food and fun and life updates are coming next)

RUNNING

I don't really keep track of my mileage, but I do wear a running GPS watch and that tracks it for me. So I looked up my mileage for the whole year and was surprised that I ran so much. I feel like I had a really 'off' year. I think when I first went through my separation and eventual divorce I was running and walking a lot. It was aimless and a lot of junk miles, but I just would go out and do some sorta run 6 days of the week.

But this year I transitioned to a different step in the grieving process and just felt unmotivated, unorganized and uninspired. A lot of un-words! So I felt like I ran a lot less. I only did 1 marathon! That's SHOCKING to me. Ever since I ran my 1st marathon I've run several each year! One year I ran 9 marathons!

Right before the Revel Big Bear Marathon I realized I hadn't run a full in over a year – since the Boston Marathon!!

And that mind F**ked me big time. It made me unsure of my running abilities and fitness. And more importantly, it made me question… Who am I? What am I even doing?

That's not me trying to be dramatic –  the timing of my separation and some of the things I was told at that time… tied in directly with running. So I just focused on getting through the Boston Marathon without having a public breakdown. After that I didn't have any running or racing goals because I felt like what I was working towards was unimportant and irrelevant. I stopped working towards a PR in the marathon and potential BQ. It felt sad and pointless. I felt sad and pointless? Both??

I didn't realize that I kind of fell off the wagon with running until right before Revel Big Bear. I think I was probably stuck in some combination of grief and anxiety for a big chunk of time. Looking back now – I really haven't been myself for a long time.

Luckily, I kept running because I love it. It's fun and a good way to get some good endorphins, think, cry, listen to podcasts, stay in shape…

So yeah, this year I didn't accomplish any major running goals. But I survived, didn't take up any super self-destructive habits, didn't lose faith, tried to become a better person and got through several challenges – they just happened to be adult stuff not running stuff.

Moving on –  instead of focusing on what I didn't do – let's talk about what I did…

I did run several half marathons, 1 full marathon and a lot of miles! (Randomly, my best half marathon isn't recorded on the Garmin Connect calendar? There's no mileage recorded at all for that weekend so I actually ran more than the record shows! Boom.)

  Miles I ran last year: 2,536*

Calories I burned: 272,234

Calories I ate: +8,986,246,544

*Note: At least 1 race isn't recorded in this total but there may be more. I'm not concerned enough about it to try and go back and check to see other days where I know I ran but the calendar doesn't show it. This is a good estimate and if anything I've run more and not less so I don't feel like I'm cheating myself on this.

Focus on what YOU did not what you failed to do. Then, focus on what you want to do next.

Stay positive. Give yourself credit for every tiny victory.

Repeat.

  Overall I'm just super grateful for so many things. That's what I want to focus on as I look back on last year's running.

I'm grateful for…

The miles I ran.

You! Thank you for following along. I really like you.

My body. I didn't get injured this year!

Brooks Running Shoes. I put so many miles on them!

My family and friend. I'm able to do this because they've always supported me.

My education. If not my ability to create RunEatRepeat.com and RER on social media – I wouldn't be able to do this.

Runners on Instagram and Facebook – the running community is awesome! Runners are the best.

California. The weather and all the races make it a lot easier than it would be other places.

This time. I'm glad I live in a time and place where it's safe, normal, accepted, etc to be a runner.

I'm just super grateful for running and Run Eat Repeat and all the opportunities I have because of it. I'm very blessed.

  Let's move on to the highlights and recaps!!

I put together a list of my favorite running themed posts from last year. There are some race recaps, tips and training plan posts below. Let me know if you have any questions. I'm here to help.

Best Runs, Races and Running posts of the Year:

Half Marathon Training Plan for new or returning runners – check out this newbie half marathon training plan for your first 13.1 miler.

Surf City Half Marathon recap with Steve – my best race of the year! I pushed myself and ran fast and had fun running with Coach Steve.

PCRF Half Marathon Irvine, CA – Local half marathon that raises money for the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation 

OC Half Marathon race recap – I don't even remember this one! That's why I have this blog – to be my memory.

My favorite running shorts – probably one of the most asked questions about running and running gear I always get!

The one marathon I ran this year – Revel Big Bear Marathon Recap. Thank God for SkinnyRunner and you for sticking with me as I tried to get back on the wagon.

Half Marathon Training Plan – 10 weeks long training plan for a half marathon race.

Las Vegas Half Marathon Race Recap – The race known as 'Strip at Night' is a blast!

What I are before the Las Vegas Half Marathon – it's a race with a late start so it can be hard to time up fuel.

Lexus Lace Up Race Series – Riverside Half Marathon recap and challenge. Love this race series! This was the grand finale!!

And now for my Running Goals for This Year…

1. Run 1 dress rehearsal marathon, 1 fun marathon (I'm doing one out of the country!!) and 1 goal marathon.

2. Figure out a long term running plan to stay in half marathon shape and also spend time on strength and cross-training.

3. … I'm not sure?? Those might be fine for me, but I'm open to finding another goal.

What are your goals?

Oh, and because I love 'em… here are some funny New Year's Resolutions memes I found like looking for inspiration on my goal setting.

    Question: What was your BEST Running accomplishment or moment of last year?

Me: I think running over 2500 miles last year is the thing I'm most proud of! And also I'm glad I ran a marathon last year and it was really great to be able to run with SR again!!

If you're not sure about your running goals – check out the How to Plan Your Race Calendar post for some tips on planning!

The post The BEST of the Year Races, Running and Recipes! appeared first on Run Eat Repeat.