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rabbiitte · 1 year

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Sight vs. Senses: Exploring perception in Only Friends.

Because many people seem to be confused by this scene and don't know how to interpret it or simply classify it as “creepy”, I have decided to share my interpretation of how this scene uses cinematographic techniques and symbolism to influence the visual and general narrative of the series. Let's talk about Top and Mew's relationship, cinematography, visual narrative, symbolism, cinematographic techniques and the difference between vision-based perception and sense-based perception as inherent concepts in Top and Mew's relationship.

1. An introduction to cinematography, narrative and the use of visual metaphors.

Cinematography is a central element when creating movies or series, it can be used creatively to support the narrative and emotions of the story. At the same time, it contributes to create a visual narrative through the choice of camera angles, framing, camera movements and composition of images.

Visual narrative: refers to the way stories are told using primarily visual elements, such as images, composition, colors, symbolism, and camera movements, rather than relying primarily on dialogue or writing. It's about transmitting information, emotions and messages through what is seen on the screen in movies, television series, photographs or any other visual medium.

Visual narrative uses visual elements to convey emotions, themes and meanings that affect the perception of a story. Among the visual elements that are used to enrich the narrative we find visual metaphors.

Visual metaphors are visual elements in a cinematic work that represent abstract concepts, emotions, or themes. These metaphors can be subtle or prominent and are used to enrich the narrative and understanding of the story.

With this concept in mind, we can say that the date in the restaurant is a visual metaphor to address the concept of perception.

Perception is the process by which a person interprets and integrates the sensory information they receive from their environment to form an understanding of the world around them. It involves the ability to take sensory data, such as what you see, hear, smell, touch, or taste, and turn them into meaningful and understandable experiences.

In the restaurant, diners cannot see the food they're consuming until the lights are turned on at the end of the meal. This reflects a lack of literal vision, as they cannot use their sense of sight to identify food. Due to the lack of vision, diners must rely on their other senses, such as taste and smell, to experience food. This scene highlights the importance of trusting feelings and intuitions rather than relying solely on what can be seen with the eyes.

2. Narrative, cinematographic techniques and perception.

Another element that enriches visual narrative and, finally, narrative in general are cinematographic techniques. Visual narrative can use a variety of cinematic and visual techniques to guide the audience through a story, create atmosphere, reveal characters and their emotions, and convey underlying themes or messages. For example, the moment when Top asks Mew to use his senses and the camera focuses on Mew's face is a cinematic technique called “close up” and the following moment when the camera loses focus is a cinematic technique called “generalized blurring”.

Close up in cinematography and photography refers to the moment in which the camera gets very close to the subject, object or face of a character, filling most of the frame with that element. The main objective of a close up is to highlight details and facial expressions, allowing the viewer to concentrate on those elements with greater clarity and focus.

Generalized blurring in cinematography is a powerful tool in the hands of filmmakers to enrich the visual and emotional experience of a film. In this technique, the entire image is deliberately blurred or out of focus. It's used for various purposes like to set a specific mood in a scene or to represent the emotional or psychological states of the characters, among other uses.

In the restaurant scene, these techniques are used to concentrate on Mew's emotional or psychological state after Top asked him to use his senses and not his sight to perceive the food. Based on these cinematic techniques, we can infer that something important is happening in Mew's mind. In fact, judging by what happens after the scene, we can infer that something very important happened in the restaurant and that meant a change in Mew's attitude. What changed? The way Mew perceives Top.

3. Vision-based perception and sense-based perception.

In EP1, Mew told Top that he knew who was honest (about dating him) because “his sense was always right”. Basically, Mew is able to see people's intentions and, ultimately, their essence through sense-based perception.

Sense-based perception: this form of perception involves all human senses, such as sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. It's based on the information captured through these senses to form a complete and rich understanding of the environment and people. Sense-based perception can be deeper and more accurate than other types of perception, as it involves multiple sensory modalities.

However, this isn't the type of perception that Mew has been using with Top until now. Mew is usually extra careful and suspicious around Top. His behaviour is usually guided by the mental image (of someone considered promiscuous) he formed of Top based on his immediate appearance. This type of perception is more related to what can be seen immediately and, finally, it's a type of perception related to the use of sight.

Vision-based perception focuses primarily on visual information. This is the most common form of perception in humans and refers to the ability to observe, interpret and understand the world through sight. Visual information is important, but it's often used along other senses to gain a complete understanding. In real life, things aren't what they seem at first glance and what it's seen doesn't always reflect the underlying reality.

An example of how Mew is usually guided by vision-based perception with Top can be found in EP2. When Top tells Mew about his trauma, Mew's immediate reaction is to laugh and not believe it. This is because what Top is telling Mew doesn't correspond to the mental image that Mew has formed of Top. The fact that Top can't sleep alone doesn't correspond to what Mew perceives based on his sight of Top.

Because visual-based perception is limited and must be used along other senses, this type of way of perceiving isn't enough to perceive the complete reality or, in this case, Top's essence.

Mew never stopped perceiving Top based on the apparent, based on the observable. We know this because Mew has never been around Top without his glasses (except in the water sports and shower scene) until EP5, episode in which Mew finally spends time with Top when he has broken glasses. The change in Mew's perception coincides with the episode in which his glasses break, coincidence? No, symbolism.

Mew's glasses: In this context, glasses could represent limited perception or distorted vision of reality.

In EP5, Top asks Mew three times to perceive him based on all his senses. All these times, Mew can't wear his glasses or Top suggests him to stop wearing them.

Situation #1: At the café, Top tells Mew that he wants to be clearly seen (although Mew can see him clearly while wearing his glasses) and recommends him to try a surgery. This time, Top suggests that Mew should stop wearing his glasses so he can perceive his essence/true self, while being guided by his sense-based perception.

Situation #2: At the restaurant, Top reminds Mew of what he said in the bookstore about sense-based perception and asks him to be guided by it. This is, again, a request to see Top as he really is and not based on a mental image.

That's why everything becomes blurry, it involves ignoring appearances or what's obvious in front of your eyes. Sense-based perception involves seeing Top's essence (and the affection he truly feels for Mew) and ignoring that which is easily perceptible to vision such as signs of lies. In this case, the generalized blur is a metaphor for saying that love is blind (in a cheesy way).

When Mew starts perceiving Top based on his senses, he loses control and shows how in love he really is with Top. Even all the people who were in the restaurant disappear because Mew and Top are not focusing on what can be perceived by sight, they're focusing on seeing the essence (and the love they feel for each other). This plane isn't on the same plane that the diners are, therefore they disappear.

I guess you can also say that people disappear because Mew is in love and he doesn't care about others, but I'd say it's more than that. It's a matter of perception. It has nothing to do with seeing, it has to do with looking and perceiving the essence of the person in front. It's not a passive activity, it's an active activity that requires collecting information based on all the senses.

No, I don't think it's a dream.

Situation #3: Before Top and Mew have their first time, Mew takes off his glasses and Top asks if he can see him. However, we know Mew can't see clearly without his glasses, so Top is actually asking him if he can perceive him based on his senses (if he can see his intentions and his deep love for him, that's why he keeps telling him that he loves him. He tries to supplant the sense of sight with the sense of listening).

4. The end of vision-based perception.

If we are guided by the idea that Mew's glasses are a symbolism that limits his perception to a vision-based perception, with no glasses Mew will be able to see clearly. Mew will see through Top's lies and that's why in EP5, Mew gets rid of his glasses and discovers Top's infidelity.

As you may have noticed, the restaurant scene is the climax of a topic that has been worked on, in relation to Top and Mew, since the beginning of the series. The restaurant scene marks a milestone in the relationship of both of them and the turning point in the narrative, this thanks to the way in which metaphors and cinematographic techniques shape the narrative. Clearly, this is one of my favorite scenes in the entire series and I think it has a high level of complexity and interpretation.

If you want to read more of my analyses, you can read my Mew analysis here. Stay tuned, I'll do a Ray analysis soon.

#only friends the series #only friends series ep 5 #only friends series #only friends #ofts #ofts meta #mew #mew meta #book #top #force #meta #gmmtv #only friend series #thai bl #only friends analysis #topmew #forcebook

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starburstfloat · 8 months

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Let's Talk Innuendos and Queer Subtext: TXT's Poppin' Star Lyrics Analysis

One of the joys of making progress in my Korean language journey has been the ability to analyze lyrics more critically by dissecting tone, word choice, or rhyme schemes that would have otherwise slipped by me a few years ago. And as someone who has a deep love for literary analysis and kpop, there's an unparalleled joy in getting to bridge the two together. I'm happy I have this space to do that. So without further ado, let's take a look at TXT's Poppin' Star from their first full-length album, The Dream Chapter: Magic (thank you nika for requesting this!).

This song feels like a sonic representation of this memefied image:

It's literally bubblegum pop at its finest. It sounds sparkly, cute, uplifting, and deceptively adorable, and anyone who has seen the choreography can attest to watching the video with a ridiculous smile on their face.

I could give high praise endlessly about this underrated early TXT Bside, but I wanted to prioritize the lyrics for this post! We're going to talk about the superficial meaning of the song before we dissect some of the more suggestive, metaphorical elements. Heads up I'll be mentioning sexual innuendos, so if that's not your cup of tea then please kindly leave.

My goal is to get you to see that, at the very least, this song is not just about eating candy. Whether or not we agree on the queer subtext is another debate, but I'm hoping this analysis post can be a lesson on interpreting figurative language and grasping inneundos.

Whenever I do analysis, I always start with the surface level face-value of what's being presented, and then I try to peel the layers and discern the underlying themes or suggested connotations based on context clues. Usually I leave out the initial face-value in my posts because it's something so obvious that it feels contradictory to present it. But it feels relevant to include for Poppin' Star. So what is the face-value meaning of the song when we look at the lyrics as a whole?

On the surface, this song appears to be about a young male protagonist who experiences a burst of emotions - dizzying warmth, sweetness, and a clouded brain - after he eats a variety of flavored candies. He states that he is not satisfied with the burst of flavor he's experiencing - now that he knows this intense feeling, he's craving more.

cr. color coded lyrics (though I'm cross referencing multiple translations and using my own knowledge of individual words and tonal conjugations to understand the song)

It doesn't take much of an analytical eye to catch the innuendo presented in Poppin' Star. What exactly is an innuendo? An innuendo is an allusive hint to something typically sexual. The keyword here is hint - it's something you pick up on based on subtly provocative language. Critics could argue that "your brain must be in the gutter" if you find sexual context where there is supposedly none. I'd say blaming the observer for a sexual interpretation is disrespectful to the art in question. Inneundos are meant to be spotted and discussed - they have the potential to heighten the art and unveil a greater message. Just because something is sexual does not mean it is bad.

Now that we have that cleared, it's pertinent to reflect on the surface value of the lyrics in contrast to the glaring inneundo jumping out at the audience. Let's look at the opening lyrics together:

One look at the lyrics, and you'll raise your eyebrows and go, "Really? You sampled a mouthful of candy and can't stop talking about how you're tingling all over, feel dizzy, and are melting from the sweetness?" The song's lyrics and language is quite figurative: the audience is guided to see beyond the literal meaning.

If we break down the individual feelings our protagonist shares, it sounds reminiscient of a first kiss or sexual experience. Considering how strongly the lyrics center on oral pleasure (oral as in the literal sense of the mouth), the rightfully assummed metaphor here is kissing. Let's look at all the instances where the song connects pleasure to the mouth:

별가루 가득 물면 느껴지는 불꽃놀이일까? / (Is this) fireworks that I feel when I bite a whole mouthful of stardust?

입 안을 채운 콕콕 따끔한 이 느낌은 또 / This tingling feeling that has filled my mouth

혀끝에 건전지 / A battery at the tip of my tongue

Our protagonist talks extensively about the pleasure in his mouth in correlation to feeling dizzy, warm, fuzzy, electrified, and excited - all feelings heavily associated with heightened sexual experiences, and notably kissing.

A striking detail is the fact that our protagonist is not alone during the story - he's actively talking to another person, meaning he's not literally eating candy by himself and getting an explosive sugar rush as the superficial interpretation insinuates. We notice this from the opening line which calls to a direct "you":

짜릿한 정전기 you’re popping star / Electrifying static, you're popping star.

Not only is this a reference to the title, making it an important detail to note, but it's also inviting the audience into acknowledging the relevant prescence of another character, some unnamed you. He goes on to say:

머리가 띵하게 기분 좋은 my love / Making my head feel dizzy, that good feeling, my love

He's directly saying "my love," so this person is clearly special to him. This person is his popping star - someone who evokes all of these explosive, tingling feelings.

The chorus is riddled with suggestive language: "This isn't enough / I need something stronger / A chew full of lemon, lime, orange, yeah / I need more, more, more / A stronger popping / A chew full of lemon, lime, orange, yeah"

Our protagonist is craving more flavor as he seeks a pleasure high. My interpretation is that the other character is wearing flavored chaptstick, perhaps fruit-flavored or candy-flavored, and our protagonist wants to taste more of the character's lips. Another interpretation is that they're both chewing on flavored gum, and when they kiss, the flavors blend together in a satisfying burst. Both feel plausible to me. The chorus suggests a kiss through the explosive repetition of surprised "oh's" that the members sing. It's hard to explain without hearing it, so skip to 0:48 in the song to catch what I mean. The explosive instrumental paired with the high-pitched oh's feels representative of an epiphany, or at least a heightened emotional state.

Perhaps one of the most glaringly suggestive parts of the song is Beomgyu's line after the first chorus, where he says:

잠깐 쉬어갈 땐 slime vacation / When (I) take a short break, slime vacation

This implies he's taking a break from exchanging slime, or saliva, with the aforementioned "you". Keep in mind that Korean sentences don't always need an explicit subject, so it's unclear whether Beomgyu is saying "When I take a short break" or "When we take a short break". However, later in the song, during a critical moment that I'll get to shortly, Yeonjun explicitly mentions the pronoun 우리 (we/us) which means we can assume this whole candy-tasting fiasco is, at the very least, a pleasure-seeking high that our protagonist is doing with someone by his side.

The kissing metaphor is more strongly suggested when Taehyun says:

어제 했던 건 벌써 지루해 / The things that (I did/were done) yesterday are already boring

더 더 더 강한 popping이 필요해 / I need a stronger popping

which tells me the song is self-aware enough to recognize it's not just about eating candy. Why would yesterday's candy be described as "the things that were done yesterday"? I also find it interesting that he's using the verb 지루하다 instead of 심심하다 when mentioning boredom. Both of these verbs mean "to be bored", but 심심하다 refers to boredom through a lack of action, whereas 지루하다 has the connotation of being bored by something because you've been doing it for a prolonged time; as in, you're getting physically tired of it. So, Taehyun is saying that the stuff he did yesterday has become repetitive and tiring, and he's now seeking a stronger high. Very suggestive language.

There's a line from Heuningkai that really stands out towards the latter half of the song. He goes:

가끔은 조금 위험해도 돼 / Sometimes it can be a little dangerous

엄마 몰래 자물쇠를 열어봐 / Open the lock without my mom knowing

The conjugation here is very interesting!! He uses the 아/어도 되다 pattern at the end of the adjective for "dangerous", which is a conjugation used to give permission for something. So, rather than him stating the fact that it's dangerous, he's giving permission to the speaker to be a little dangerous. It's a subtle nod at him approving risky behavior, so perhaps a better translation would be "it's alright if sometimes it's a bit dangerous".

"Open the lock" reminds me of Soobin's verse in Sugar Rush Ride:

, which I interpret as a more blatantly sexual inneundo for losing one's virginity. I don't think Poppin Star implies more than kissing, but asking someone to open your lock without your mom knowing, and engaging in risky behavior, appears symbolic to doing something you wouldn't want your mom to see, so at the very least it's suggestive language.

This interpretation aligns with the direct album overview provided by Bighit, which states that "The Dream Chapter: MAGIC tells the story of 'magical adventures' that boys encounter together with their friends [...] the boys share their transformation, confusion and exploding emotions that arise during their transition to adolescence." Notice that the official statement itself says that the album centers on a boy and his friends as they transition into adolescence. Interesting.

I'd be happy to leave the analysis there and say, "See? The song is clearly an innuendo", but then the writers toss in the gayest shit during the last third of the song that forces the audience to pause and reinterpret.

Yeonjun and Taehyun sing the following lines:

이건 어쩌면 나라에서 허락한 / Maybe this is something that the country has allowed

우리끼리만 숨겨둔 유일한 / Something we have kept hidden just among us

자 아무에게나 허락된 게 아냐 / Alright, it's not allowed to just anyone

입안 가득 터뜨려 / Burst a mouthful

The verb used here is 허락하다 which means to allow, permit, or approve. Talking about what your country allows in connotation to something you've kept hidden among the two of you…feels queer-coded. Especially when the rest of the song has been dedicated to pursuing a thrill from "my love", a pursuit which they acknowledge is intimately private given the line "without my mom knowing". Why bring up what's allowed in your country in a song that centers on a boy seeking pleasure? The last line is odd too - it's conjugated as a command, so our protagonist is telling us, the audience, that we should pop a mouthful of the candy too. In connection to the line above it, it's implied that he knows popping the candy aka kissing his love is not allowed for everyone, but he's encouraging others to try. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that they repeat the last two lines again, but change the command to 입안 가득 터뜨려 봐 which is a less forceful command and more like "Give it a try".

If the song truly were just about candy, talking about what your country allows and who is allowed to do it feels very out of place and strange. This, paired with the striking fixation on oral pleasure makes me believe the song is about a boy kissing his friend, and it's been a fun, exciting little secret between the two of them.

It doesn't feel like an exaggeration to find queer subtext here. If you're an avid TXT fan, you'll know their songs are very queer-coded, from 0x1=lovesong having the most blatant thematic connection (I still regularly think about Soobin's "I can't go to heaven, I don't belong there" line) alongside Sugar Rush Ride, which suggests we "swallow the sugar rush"....sir, swallow what exactly??!

I hope this could spark your interest and see the lyrics from a new perspective. Sorry not sorry if this burst your innocent perception of the song...like I said, it sounds deceptively adorable 😂 let me know your thoughts and thanks for reading!

#lyrics analysis #txt lyrics #txt poppin star #kpop discourse #tomorrow x together #yeonjun #soobin #beomgyu #taehyun #heuningkai #txt moa

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mdhwrites · 3 months

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Frieren and the Timelessness of Fantasy

I am not about to talk about the themes of Frieren. I am not about to talk about what it does differently than other fantasy shows. I will not try to call it subversive or groundbreaking for I do not believe it is actually either of those things. It is oftentimes smart, clever, inventive and fun but it is still at its core a fantasy adventure.

The thing about fantasy adventures though is that the best, those that resonate with an audience, don't need to do anything new. They just need to be good. Frieren is one of the best.

It's no one singular thing either. Harry Potter is not going to rot into the next generation's brain because of just one thing. Lord of the Rings has no lasted over a century because of one element that stands above all other fantasy literature. Even Lovecraft still outshines most modern takes not because he was the first to think of fish people but for how he decided to mix that with a dozen other elements. Yes, all three of the works I have stated also have come under, justifiably, scrutiny for the underlying beliefs, messages, allegories, etc. like that but does that mean they have stopped resonating?

No. For a scared, powerless child will always want a story about how they can rise to greatness or had a secret destiny or even just can escape to a place that seems so much greater than the world they live in and that they can potentially conquer and fight back in. A person will always wish to believe in the nobility of a good heart and the power of a band of people coming together to overcome a darkness that seems bigger than them all but can never devour the light which is friendship and determination in the face of evil. People will always be afraid of things they cannot describe and connect with others who feel powerless to voice those fears except to scream at nothing and wish that some greater force than their own mind can be blamed for the madness that writhes within.

And for Frieren, people will always wish to both be able to go on an adventure and experience all of its joys, while also reminiscing about the past and the joy it has brought them. It is, more than maybe any other fantasy work I've ever seen, the story I've seen that truly loves what a fantasy world is from back to front. From its most ancient origins to its freshest faces to all the times inbetween, it will resonate for all of those who wish to seek a trip with those they care about and connect with them as each step we take, we know others take with us, whether now or before.

This is something I genuinely love about the fantasy genre. That which resonates is so often divorced from so much of reality and our time period that it ends up actually forming a purer bond than something more closely tied to the troubles of the day. Not to say those works do not have their place, they're potentially more important than timeless fairytales, but that does not mean we should not have these works that will always comfort. That will always scare. That we can pass from hand to hand like a folk spell and believe that they have power just because that is how we perceive them. That the same joy a man fifty years my elder enjoyed can be one I find the exact same joy in.

I imagine almost every fantasy fan has one fantasy work they consider to be this for them that they don't say is under-appreciated but that it is under-consumed. For me, I have two main ones. I adore the old RPG Legend of Dragoon and think it tells a very compelling tale of interwoven destinies, of how our worlds can expand so much faster than we expect but also of how the strength we draw from our friends and loved ones can help us face those. My other is the Ranger's Apprentice (at least before Royal Ranger). The excitement of not just flashy combat but of the grand majesty of war, of knights and rangers who are larger than life while also being all too human. Of how we can grow and become even better than our masters and change the world just by never being willing to stop dreaming of a day when we can be more than what we appear to be. That determination is truly all it takes to make it someday. It is to this day still my favorite book series.

And for fantasy anime? I don't know when I'll find one I think that is going to beat Frieren for me, not quickly at least, but I look forward to when one can sit next to that old elf and begin telling its tale too. Not to best it but to sit in the same circle at the round table of all the other works that still inspire to us to this day.

What works do you personally consider deserving of that table? Let me know and see you next tale.

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I would argue that the reverse of this blog btw would be me talking about how much I find the 'subversion' of fantasy tropes tired and tedious because subverting the genuine, human connection that most of the best fantasy stories include is just going to make your story look immediately dated and annoying. At least to me.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#Fantasy #frieren: beyond journey's end #Frieren #Anime

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high-voltage-rat · 1 year

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Posting my RvB Project Freelancer playlist because I have brainrot about some of these songs and also crave public opinions on them.

This playlist was built with two things in mind- the badass space marine vibes, flashy fight scenes, and fast-paced action that embody the freelancer arc, for one. Some songs I included primarily because they contributed to this overall energy that Freelancer was based around. That feeling of flying through the battlefield, guns blazing, with no regard to the danger. The kind of confidence that lets you jump off a building without worrying too hard about how you'll survive the impact- that lets you face an entire base worth of enemies and still crack jokes as they surround you. The kind granted by a ranking system that tells you "you've been chosen. you're the better than the rest. you're on the leaderboard."

But the other motivation, in perhaps direct opposition to the first, was the set of underlying narrative themes that poisoned the Freelancers from within.

(Further discussion, Spotify link, tracklist, and choice lyrics under the cut:)

The ignorance, intentional and otherwise, to the purpose of their missions- to the Director's true motivations, to the ethical principles being violated with every step, to the thinly veiled lies. The need to prove oneself- to stay on that leaderboard no matter what the cost, to remain worthy of approval, of power, of support that could mean your very survival. The betrayal and infighting to remain on top, to right the wrongs done- the break between the agents who valued loyalty and those who valued morality. The manipulation by The Powers That Be to participate in and perpetrate the horrors of war, to stain one's hands with blood and commit horrible deeds which ultimately have no purpose- believing the lies of 'us versus them', throwing away your innocence and believing that it's all for the greater good, only to discover that the people you've done these horrible things to are no different, no more evil than yourself. Eventually breaking free from those influences, despite the potentially lethal consequences, and being left with the near-impossible task of trying to become 'good' again. All of these were themes I tried to keep in mind and channel in this playlist. Bonus points touched on were the impact of AI on their hosts' physical and mental health, the quest to gain justice, and the attempts to find peace and be better after it's all said and done.

I found that while my primary focus was on the Freelancers themselves, a fair number of the songs applied just as well, if not better, to the simulation troopers and even the soldiers of Chorus. I enjoy that this kind of highlights how the main message kind of echoes through all the RvB arcs. I also think it's a notable point that a lot of the songs that I used to portray the manipulation and abuse of the Freelancers by the men in charge have the real-world messages of highlighting wealth and social inequality and abuse of the working class by the rich. This isn't something necessarily explicit in the RvB canon- but the vast majority of military recruitment comes from their exploitation of the desperation of the working class. This real-world issue has echoes throughout the story- in the Reds and Blues, yes, but also in the Freelancers. They say multiple times, "The Director's given us everything"; they've been lifted up, granted a better life, but it all depends on remaining in line, staying in the good graces of those with power. They eat, sleep, breathe because of Freelancer- they live on the ship, spend their whole days submerged in it. One wrong step, and they're back to having nothing.

Anyway, without further ado, here's the playlist lmao

True Friends- Bring Me The Horizon

I wouldn't hold my breath if I was you // 'Cause I'll forget but I'll never forgive you // Don't you know, don't you know? // True friends stab you in the front

2. Go To War- NOTHING MORE

With every battle we lose a little more // Remember everything that we'd die for // You are everything that I'd die for

3. Only Us- Thrice

Finally when will it be enough // To find there's no them // There is only us // There's only us

4. Wicked Ones- Dorothy

This night ain't for the faint of heart // For the faint of heart, for the faint of heart // This night ain't for the faint of heart // 'Cause the faint of heart gonna fall apart

5. Saints of the Sinners- The Faim

When jokers smile and angels cry // We lose ourselves and lose our minds

6. All Eyes on You- Smash Into Pieces

Now the whole world's watching every move // Still your heart so much to prove // Fight for all the things that you believe in // Now the whole world's watching every move // Take your shot, don't act a fool // All you've got and all you'll ever need // Is one bullet in the chamber

7. Used To The Darkness- Des Rocs

Now would you pray before you twist the knife? // Yeah, would you take my hand and take a life? // I'm too damn young to give up on the light // I'm used to the darkness, I'm used to the darkness

8. Can't Go To Hell- Sin Shake Sin

It's no mystery, what can I say, we're blind by design // And history keeps getting paid to change it's mind // Some wounds will never mend // Divided by deception, but together we must rise // Deafened by the naive while we silence the wise

9. 12 Rounds- Bohnes

'Cause I fight for everything I die for // Everything I bled onto the ground sacrificed for // When the reaper comes knocking at my door // We'll be going 12 rounds

10. Hold Steady- The Glorious Sons

What ya think? // I do it for free? // Either you're lyin' // Or you must not think much of me // I gave you my soul // I gave you my bloody, ragged soul

11. Chosen Ones- Mountains vs. Machines

We are, we are the chosen // We are, we are the few // The end will never come // We are the chosen ones

12. I'm So Sorry- Imagine Dragons

So you gotta fire up, you gotta let go // You'll never be loved till you've made your own // You gotta face up, you gotta get yours // You never know the top till you get too low

13. Machines- All Good Things

Hands to the sky I swore I'd try // Searching for a better life // They would take us far from home // Far from all the things we know

14. The Kids Aren't Alright- Fall Out Boy

And with the black banners raised // As the crooked smiles fade // Former heroes who quit too late // Who just wanna fill up the trophy case again

15. Man or a Monster (feat. Zayde Wølf)- Sam Tinnesz

It's so hard to tell which side you're on // One day is hell, the next day is the dawn // The lines are blurred, you keep rubbing your eyes // The tables turn, now it's time to survive

16. Spaceman- The Killers

And you know I'm fine // But I hear those voices at night sometimes // They justify my claim

17. Down (feat. Trella)- Simon

All the secrets that I keep // Like a bomb inside of me // I've been waiting to be free // All the shades of who I am // Try to catch me if you can // I just slip right through your hands

18. Mars- Sleeping at Last

As life replayed, we heard a voice proclaim // "Lay your weapons down // They're calling off the war // On account of losing track // Of what we're fighting for"

19. What Are We Fighting For- The Federal Empire

The price of our freedom // Is blood in the water // We’re looking for hope what will it take // We keep on repeating // The fate of our fathers // Somehow there’s got to be a change

20. Follow My Feet- The Unlikely Candidates

There's a fork in the road in front of me // At the crossroads of identity // The Devil is standing to the left // He says "either way, they both lead to death" // And the high road's steady and steep // And the low road's easy and deep // Guess I'll follow, follow, follow my feet

21. Hysteria- Muse

Yeah, it's holding me, morphing me // And forcing me to strive // To be endlessly cold within // And dreaming I'm alive

22. Go Get Your Gun- The Dear Hunter

And to those who'll die, please try to understand // That for those who die, we tried the best we can // With our one foot in the grave // While the other one's kickin' its way right down to Hell

23. The Fear- The Score

I've battled hard with the face in the mirror // Every scar makes me dig down deeper // Push it 'til there's nothin' more // 'Cause I'm stronger than I was before

24. Lunatics and Slaves- Sin Shake Sin

Hate what they tell you to hate // Love when they say it's okay // Still, you have nothing to say anyway // And you don't even know you're a slave

25. Try Honesty- Billy Talent

Sew up my eyes, need no more // In our game, there is no score // Forgive me father, why should ya bother? // Try honesty, try honesty

26. Blood On Our Hands- KNGDAVD

So walk with me and you will see // That your enemy may be your remedy // 'Cause we all got blood on our hands // But we still got hope in our souls

27. Free- Mother Mother

A bloody war // Behind my eyes // I come out right on the other side

28. Back Against the Wall- Cage the Elephant

Blanket of silence makes me want to sink my teeth in deep // Burn all the evidence of fabricated disbelief // Pull back the curtains, took a look into your eyes // My tongue has now become a platform for your lies

29. Spirits- The Strumbellas

I spend a lot of nights on the run // And I think, oh, like I'm lost and can't be found // I'm just waiting for my day to come // And I think, oh, I don't wanna let you down

30. Blindness- Metric

I was a blind fool // Never complained // All the survivors // Singing in the rain // I was the one with // The world at my feet // Got us a battle // Leave it up to me

31. Champion- Barns Courtney

I've been on a long road // With the devil right beside me // Rising with the morning sun // It's a hunger that drives me

32. All These Things That I've Done- The Killers

Another head aches, another heart breaks // I'm so much older than I can take // And my affection, well, it comes and goes // I need direction to perfection, no, no, no, no

33. Imaginary Friends- Des Rocs

Do you wanna leave me here? // With you 'til the end, imaginary friends // Give in to the fire and the fear, the liar in your ear // And you'll never be lonely again

34. Dear Dictator- Saint Motel

And at the trial, there'll be no jury // And all the dead are going to play witness // Not too late to say you're sorry // It's too late to truly mean it

35. False Confidence- Noah Kahan

Why won't you take me seriously // Look at me all fucked up over someone I'll never meet // And I wonder why I tear myself down // To be built back up again

36. Villains, Pt. 1- Emma Blackery

I don't feel anything // Because I became possessed and obsessed // With the idea of revenge

37. Woke Up A Rebel- Reuben And The Dark

I am wild, I am lost // I am sick, I am damned // But I am holding redemption in the palm of my hand // So I tighten my fist // And sharpen my teeth // It's a promise I made // It's secret I keep

38. Revolution- John Butler Trio

So tell me family now what do you think // Watch it all go down the great big sink. // Watch how the scum it rises to the top. // Don't you wonder when it's all gonna stop? // Sometimes I wonder how we do sleep, // Serving the dodgy companies we keep. // All kicking and scrounging for the very first place // Dictionary definition of a rat race

39. Survivor Guilt- Rise Against

Carry on // Don't mind me // All I gave was everything // And yet you ask me for more // Fought your fight // Bought your lie // And in return I lost my life // What purpose does this serve?

40. Pressure- Muse

Get out of my face, out of my mind // I see your corruption // I'm not blind // I'll carry the burden and take the strain // And when I am done I will make you pay

Note for anyone who actually read this far or looked at the selections here: yes I know these selections and bands imply something very specific about me, and the idea of some of these more popular and overplayed songs being paired with my melodramatic write-up might be laughable. I feel the need to qualify by promising my taste is not just the basic "action movie trailer" vibes or early 2010s radio hits this playlist sort of lets on... but these are the songs that make me Feel The Vibes and part of the vibes is the inextricable fact that I watched the Freelancer Saga in 2011-2012 when I was an edgy teen listening to Linkin Park and Fall Out Boy on repeat daily. Just be glad I branched out more than I did 11 years ago for this one.

#not video games #rvb #red vs blue #it's not 'done' cause I'm still tweaking it but I crave external validation lmao #late nights with ali #playlist #project freelancer #spotify #ali watches rvb #in deciding on the title for this I discovered that the motto they chose for the pfl shirt logo translates to 'strength through science'#which. yeah I'm sure that's exactly what the director advertised his work as but in hindsight his 'experiments' kind of did the opposite lo #anyway sorry this is hella long blame @yer-yellow-stripes for encouraging me

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shakespearefreak · 2 years

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A Christmas Carol Aftermath: Work to Be Done

NOTE: I had a lot of trouble balancing the Victorian language with modern understanding of disability and cultural/religious differences. I wanted to use wording that fit with the Dickensian storytelling, without carrying into it Dickens' period-typical prejudices (which he most definitely had) or using words that had different connotations in the 19th century. If you belong to any of the groups mentioned and find my wording offensive, please let me know so I can try to fix it!

Also, I understand there are potential underlying issues with inserting Muslim and Jewish characters into a Christmas-themed story, especially as background characters. I want to be clear that the message isn't that Christianity is all-encompassing of other belief systems, but instead that all the belief systems of the world are parts of a greater whole. I hope I managed to convey that.

...

Ebenezer Scrooge looked around, wide-eyed, as they entered the massive room. Jacob had called it “The Counting-House,” but it looked more like a library, only many times larger than any library he had ever seen. St. Paul’s and ’Change would have both fit many times beneath the soaring vaulted ceiling, which reached so high that looking up at it was dizzying. He expected if he’d still had a mortal body, he might have passed out merely trying to comprehend the immensity of the space. Uncountable high shelves divided this area into corridors, and tall rolling ladders and a system of winding bronze stairs and walkways allowed workers to access the higher levels. The shelves were filled with books, which Scrooge immediately recognized as ledgers, each one bound in leather and embossed with a different name on the spine. Some of the names were common enough, and he even thought he spotted one or two names of people he’d known personally, but others seemed strange and unpronounceable to him, and others still were printed in complex, swooping calligraphy that was utterly foreign. Ebenezer, who had an eye for such things, quickly realized that while neatly organized, the ledgers were not alphabetical; he couldn’t find any rhyme or reason to the filing system as Jacob led him past the shelves, but at the same time, it was clear there was a precise order. But to Ebenezer, the most interesting part of all was the workers. After living in London, where so many kinds of people lived shoulder-to-shoulder — rich and poor, young and old, healthy bodies and those twisted by nature or accident — he’d thought he was familiar with the variety of mankind, but now he saw how limited that view had been. They passed a woman whose entire form was covered by a long veil, only her dark eyes visible, chatting animatedly with a young woman whose dress would have been in fashion perhaps five hundred years ago. A man in a costume he associated with the ancient Orient stood beside a dark-haired woman on a ladder as she handed books down to him. Ebenezer saw a silver six-pointed star glinting on a chain around the woman’s neck. A little boy, surely no older than seven, ran barefoot past him carrying a stack of ledgers. The boy reminded Eb of Tim, back when he’d first met him, though this child had the brown skin and fantastic garb of far India. As they walked along, many they passed greeted Jacob with familiarity and obvious pleasure. A young man called out cheerfully from several rows over, and Jacob returned his greeting with a wave and a grin. Several times, they stopped for Jacob to converse: he asked how so-and-so was getting on with such-and-such, laughed at some shared joke, offered advice or a sympathetic ear. It reminded Scrooge of his walks to and from the countinghouse. Once, he had hurried along, warding off any attempt at conversation with a growl; but in the final stretch of his mortal life, he had stopped every few steps to enquire after someone’s health, drop a few coins in a blindman’s tin, pet a dog or cat, or have a snowball fight with some neighborhood children. He had found his life infinitely enriched by these small interactions, and was gladdened to see that on the other side of the veil, Jacob had also discovered this joy. At the very heart of the hustle and bustle sat an old man, shaped rather like an overstuffed armchair, with a face like a bulldog. A flurry of papers was spread haphazardly over his desk, and he hunched over to read them so that his nose nearly touched the worn wooden surface. Every so often, someone would approach him and he’d listen thoughtfully, sometimes nodding, other times furrowing his brow and frowning, occasionally scribbling a signature on this form or that. He had an ink stain on one cheek, and his hair was untidy and frazzled, but when he looked up to greet them, the eyes behind his spectacles were bright and sharp. “Jacob!” he boomed in a voice that reminded Scrooge of Fezziwig, his genial old employer back in his ’prentice days. Jacob offered his hand, and the old man shook it warmly. “Returned from your holiday, I see! Well, we’re very glad to have you back; always so much to do, as you well know, and your talent was much missed!” Those sharp eyes turned to Scrooge, and he had the peculiar sensation that the bulldoggish old man was looking through him, taking in his whole history in a glance. It made him feel naked and vulnerable, the way he had felt that long-ago night with the Spirits. Then the old man smiled, seeming to approve, and turned his gaze back to Jacob. “Have you brought us a new recruit?” “I hope so,” Jacob said, with a wide grin. “This is Ebenezer Scrooge.” Scrooge stepped forward, politely but nervously. “Mr Scrooge! I’ve heard so much about you, and I’m delighted to finally make your acquaintance! I am — well, you may call me the Record Keeper. Has Jacob told you a little about what we do here?” Ebenezer nodded, feeling unsure. He hadn’t interviewed for a position for a very long time indeed, and whatever else this was, it was a job of sorts, that much seemed clear. “Yes. As I understand from Jacob — Mr Marley — you are in the business of, well, keeping records of mortal lives; balancing the cosmic books, in a manner of speaking.” The little old man gave him another piercing glance, and Eb thought his eyes seemed cooler now. This made him even more anxious. “Yes,” the little man said, “but that’s not all there is to it, as I’m sure Jacob has explained —” “Yes, he did,” Eb hurried to agree, worried now that perhaps whatever misstep he seemed to have made could have consequences for his husband. “He was very clear on that. You also, well… you help people settle their debts. As you did for me.” This last was very quiet. “Yes.” The old man nodded. “Though mortals aren’t often as… aware of our agents as you were. Most times, we simply influence, planting small suggestions, pointing the right direction. They don’t even know we’re there. There are many different departments, but this specific department is, not to put too fine a point on it, for people like you two were.” “Hardheaded fools hellbent on digging their own graves, in other words,” Jacob put in, amused. Ebenezer shot him a slightly annoyed glance, feeling he was taking this whole thing too lightly. “So… redemption,” Scrooge said thoughtfully. “In essence, my dear sir,” said the Record Keeper. “Now, I suppose I’ll turn the floor over to you.” He sat back expectantly, waiting for Scrooge to say something. This took Ebenezer rather by surprise. He cleared his throat nervously. He knew he couldn’t actually be thirsty — the dead don’t need to eat or drink — but his mouth felt dry somehow anyway. “Well, er…” He was already off to a bad start. He gathered his thoughts and tried again. “I think I would be useful to your organization because I understand how the people you work with think. I understand the logic, flawed though it is. I also have experience working in a mortal establishment which bears some similarities to your business structure, and. Well. I mean…” His words trailed off. The Record Keeper was looking at him with a politely blank stare, not cold, but certainly not warm either. He seemed ready to get back to his papers. Ebenezer didn’t know what he’d done wrong, but he was suddenly quite sure that the interview was over. He moistened his lips. “Well, thank you for your consideration —” he began, but Jacob stopped him. “Would you please give us a moment?” Jacob asked the Record Keeper, and the old man nodded and returned to the forms on his desk. Jacob drew Eb aside. “Ebenezer… I understand what you’re thinking, but this… it isn’t like any form of employment you would be familiar with.” “So what should I say? What does he want me to say?” “I can’t tell you that,” Jacob said mildly. “But if I could make a suggestion, I’d try telling him what you told me about being useful. He knows your background, the best and the worst of it; he knows your talents and how they could prove useful. Your motives are what’s important here.” “Wouldn’t he know my motives already, too?” Jacob smiled. “Yes, probably. But what I think matters is that you tell him, and how you tell him.” Ebenezer took a deep breath — he no longer needed to breathe any more than he needed food or drink, but it helped steady him — and once again approached the desk. Jacob hung back slightly, but Eb felt his husband’s gaze on him, and that gave him courage. “Excuse me, sir?” The Record Keeper looked up, his face still blank and noncommittal. Eb closed his eyes for a moment, gathering his thoughts, then opened them and spoke slowly. His voice was unsure and lacked the formality he’d used earlier. “I want, desperately actually, to help. Much of my life, I would have said that there was nothing I could truly do for anyone else, even if I’d wanted to. That I could toss coins to beggars and feed the poor all day long, but there would still be a hundred more needy ready to take their place. But Jacob helped me realize that there is so much that I — that anyone — can do to make the mortal world better.” He paused. “Maybe our world too, actually. There’s so much I don’t know, but I would like to learn, if you would have me.” He gave a small, uncomfortable chuckle. “I’m afraid I’m not very good with words — that was always more Jacob’s talent — but please believe me when I say, I want this more than I can express.” The Record Keeper was looking at him with increased interest and attention now. “Why?” “Why?” Eb echoed, honestly confused. “Yes, why do you want it so much? Are you hoping to earn your own redemption by helping others to theirs? Balance the scales more in your favour? Because as you already know, the chains were only part of it.” With dawning comprehension, Ebenezer said thoughtfully, “The evils I did, I can never undo. Doing good works won’t change that, not for those I hurt.” The Record Keeper listened, seemingly waiting for more. Ebenezer searched for the words and found them: “Simply put, I want to help because it feels good to help.” The Record Keeper’s crinkled face burst into a wide smile. “Ebenezer! There you are!” Eb found his hand engulphed by both the old man’s own and pumped enthusiastically. “You had me worried for a moment, my dear sir, but you found your answer.” Scrooge, shocked at this sudden turn of events, gaped. He could barely believe it. “Are you saying…?” “The position is yours, dear boy! Jacob, you’ll show him the ropes, I trust?” Before Jacob could answer, Ebenezer had all but tackled him in an embrace. After a moment, he released him, looking sheepish. “I’m… I’m sorry,” he told the Record Keeper. “It won’t be repeated —” and then Jacob’s lips were on his own, kissing him deeply. “Jacob!” he said breathlessly, scandalized, when his mouth was free again, but he saw the Record Keeper was beaming. “My dear Ebenezer, your Jacob knows our business is, at bottom, the business of love. Expressions of it will never be inappropriate or out of place here… up to a point, Mr Marley!” he added with feigned sternness in response to Jacob’s slightly wicked smile. Jacob laughed heartily. Ebenezer looked between them for a moment, uncomprehending, and then a hot flush spread over his cheeks. Jacob saw it and kissed him again, more gently this time, caressing his face briefly, tenderly. “All right, all right, back to work!” The Record Keeper clapped his hands briskly. “That means everyone!” he added, and Scrooge noticed that they had attracted a small and amiable audience. As the Record Keeper turned back to his piles of papers, Eb’s hand was shaken over and over as he was introduced to his new coworkers. There was, as Jacob had told him, as the Record Keeper had echoed, and as he himself knew, so much work to be done, and he was eager to begin, with his partner and these new friends at his side.

...

SPECIAL NOTE: This is the first installment since @wolfenm's passing this past February. Their "Conspiracy of Spirits" was what first got me into this ship, which is now my ultimate OTP. Wolfie was a talented writer, a wonderful person, and a very dear friend, and they are very much missed. Hail the traveler!

Also in this series: “A Joyful Reunion” “Fan” Marley’s Grave Tim

DISCLAIMER: A Christmas Carol is a public domain work. However, these vignettes were also inspired by several other works, including “A Conspiracy of Spirits: The Love Story of Jacob Marley and Ebenezer Scrooge” in The Solstice Tales by @wolfenm, Jacob T. Marley by R. William Bennet, and Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol by Tom Mula. All these works belong to their respective owners, not to me.

AUTHOR’S NOTES: This installment took most of its inspiration from Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol, especially with the inclusion of the Record Keeper.

A quick shout-out to the new movie Spirited for pushing me into writing this! Funnily enough, I had only seen the first 20 minutes when I wrote this, and was amazed to see how much of it lined up with the film's messages when I finished the movie. It's almost uncanny.

Also available on AO3, DeviantArt, and FF.net

#a christmas carol #christmas #cw: christmas #cw: death mention #cw: religious themes #period typical phrasing #a christmas carol aftermath #scrooge x marley #ebenezer scrooge #jacob marley #charles dickens #dickens #fanfiction #fanfic #my writing #my work #literature #long post

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cocksuki2 · 2 years

Note

Please, do rant about how chainsaw man is a masterpiece and it's going to have an impact on modern shounen

thank you so much for prompting me to talk about this. i have so much to say about it. im about to write an essay. manga spoilers are a given but here's the warning just in case.

firstly, fujimoto has such a strong grasp of visual storytelling. i know that this seems like a pretty baseline statement for a mangaka but i genuinely think his grasp on it in particular is spectacular. he works so much into his panels and even the placing of the characters in the frame is important.

it's a really obvious element of his work and it's both plot-driven and comedically driven, which makes it all the more compelling. oftentimes in chainsaw man, comedic scenes are indicative of a greater power hierarchy present within interactions (especially with regards to denji and makima).

makima plays a maternal role in the story and is, undoubtedly, a character fujimoto took a lot of care in writing and drawing. she's always in positions of power and almost always the focal point of panels and scenes she's present in. her sexuality as a woman is used as a weapon knowingly and she's presented as both mother, lover, and leader to denji and within the art of the series (which serves to highlight denji's deep-seated need for affection of all forms).

in fact, a lot of her positioning in the series is very maternal. even when she tears pochita from chainsaw man's chest, she is cradling his head as a mother would a babe. her chains come from her womb and diaphragm, often thought to be the location of the solar plexus chakra which dictates personality, ego, identity, personal freedom, choice, and authenticity. which is fitting considering her position as the control devil and her attempt to rob denji of his personhood. (honestly i could go on about makima and motherhood forever. i saw a tiktok about it a little while ago and ended up diving down a rabbit hole of thought).

it's also really interesting to me that denji serves as both comedic relief and a tragic character, as well as being the main protagonist of his story. it's not unheard of, but it is unique and it makes the story stand out within the shonen genre (naruto did something similar but with an entirely different message and theme). it makes denji compelling and incredibly human.

that trope within itself is nothing new. it's somewhat common. however, what I've noticed about chainsaw man is that denji's comedic relief is almost always indicative of a greater theme. his motivations being purely sexual and romantic are, originally, presented as a comedic aspect of the series meant to introduce you to the type of person denji is. however, after reading the series, it quickly becomes an ominous indication of his ability to be easily manipulated, as well as the extortion of those qualities that lead to his (and makima's) eventual downfall and the climax of the story.

a lot of popular shonen media contains some levels of deeper analysis, but chainsaw man does it in a way in which the plot is actively dependent on that further analysis. i think csm kind of took the shonen genre and introduced a deeper level of thought to it I've only seen in a few other examples (jjk being one of them) and i think that what will come out of it is shonen manga with deeper symbolism and heavier themes.

i think chainsaw man's popularity in particular is gonna end up contributing to a greater shift in shonen and action manga towards more deliberate placement of themes and underlying messages.

that's not to say that other shonen mangas LACK those underlying messages, but i am saying that chainsaw man's popularity is largely OWED to that when it is usually the other way around. and chainsaw man, even in the first week of its anime release, is already HUGELY popular for those reasons.

i think that sometimes there is a belief with popular shonen animanga (and action media in general) that in order for it to be popular, you need these cash-grab scenes and characters. it seems to me that a lot of shonen maintains this idea of serving the palpable and blatantly obvious first and the darker second, whereas chainsaw man absolutely does NOT do that. chainsaw man puts the ugly (and somewhat comedic) aspect of tragedy in your face and then asks you to analyze it to find something even uglier and more meaningful underneath, which is a breath of fresh air in the shonen genre to me.

so all this to say: i think that chainsaw man's popularity is gonna lead to a greater shift in the shonen genre that brings analyzable media and themes to the forefront of what's considered "marketable". im really excited to see the works that come after this and what inspiration they take from it.

i realize that im not saying anything new about chainsaw man. all of these things have probably been said before and in greater detail, but from my perspective (as someone who really values composition in manga panels) this is how i see it. and NONE of this is to say that other shonen genres lack this deep of messaging. chainsaw man is, however, where i have noticed it the most of the shonen i have read.

#cal.ask #series.csm #cal.analysis #csm spoilers #csm manga spoilers #i could go on for AGES about the way fujimoto draws and positions makima #AND THE SYMBOLISM HE USES #GOD CHAINSAW MAN IS AN ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE #I FUCKING LOVE THIS SERIES!!! I DO!!!

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nettlespinning · 1 year

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"jurassic park was about capitalism only, the scientists did nothing wrong" is honestly a really stupid way to look at it and completely disregards the point that michael crichton was trying to make and I think if you think that you should reanalyze your biases.

science is not immune to criticism. it's not immune to abuse of power, either, and we could sit here all day while I list the insane amount of extremely inhumane crimes scientists have performed "for the greater good of knowledge". this "scientists only do bad things cause ummm capitalism" argument is so inherently flawed. scientists have done disgusting things for the pursuit of knowledge alone, for personal gratification, for figurative immortality, all of which they believe makes their practices justified. again we could go on and on about this.

jurassic park is an extremely faithful (albeit less gory) adaptation of the book, and somehow people still constantly misinterpret the theme to be either man v. nature. jurassic park is man v. god.

both the scientists and the showrunners are the villains. no, the scientists are not just "doing their jobs". they're engaging in a severely unregulated and brand new branch of science and experimenting with no boundaries. they're literally doing things just because they can. IAN SAYS THIS OUTRIGHT. what makes the anti-capitalism message go hand in hand with the message that unregulated science is extremely dangerous is that Hammond funds the researchers and then doesn't give them any boundaries.

no one- not wu, not hammond- treats what they're doing with any degree of seriousness. again, AS IAN SAID, no one stopped to think what the possible consequences of this massively unregulated practice were. no one considered the idea that it might all go wrong.

the reason being that, AND AGAIN THIS WAS STATED IN THE MOVIE BY SATTLER, the idea that they MADE the dinosaurs gives them this massive god complex, a complete illusion of control in their science jerk-off circle. how could something they made turn on them? it's hubris.

this is pretty much relevant to everything that goes wrong in the park. like the fucking computer system, which they were assured was extremely reliable and could keep the park running for days alone, was taken offline by one disgruntled employee.

the computer system failed.

the fences failed.

the prevention of breeding failed.

the lysine fallback failed.

THE SCIENCE FAILED. THAT WAS THE POINT. THAT WAS THE ENTIRE MOVIE.

and wu didn't even do a good job making those fucking animals in the first place. the reason why the t-rex couldn't sense movement is because the gaps in the DNA were filled with various different modern, living amphibians and reptiles, some of which cannot sense movement.

no one, not the scientists, not the businessmen, not the engineers, took it seriously. they played god. they operated on the "what could go wrong?" model. they reassured themselves that these animals were in their complete control and then popped bottles of champagne for scientific discovery.

the abuse of genetic power, and the failings of it, is such a huge part of the movie I cannot imagine how stupid you would have to be to ignore that. the scientists had the same illusion of control that everyone else did, and that ian malcolm did not. remember that massively famous scene? nature finds a way? that was blatant commentary on how the "science" they practiced was aiming to wrangle and control nature, and that nature is unpredictable and cannot be contained by people.

the reason why chaos theory was such a major talking point in the story is because chaos theory is built on recognizing underlying patterns during apparent chaos. ian saw a bunch of scientists who were playing with a relatively new field of science, a businessman who was completely in over his head, and a structure that was doomed to fail, and he recognized a pattern, and predicted an outcome. and he was right. it's the same as a weather forecast.

henry wu was killed in the first book, along with john hammond.

#decrees #cinema

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musicgoon · 1 year

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Book Review: Reading the Psalms Theologically, edited by David M. Howard Jr. & Andrew J. Schumtzer

Are the Psalms simple poems, or do they carry theological significance? Edited by David M. Howard Jr. & Andrew J. Schumtzer, Reading the Psalms Theologically presents integrative approaches to the Psalter. This book is an academic yet rich biblical-theological study.

Deep and Meaningful

The 18 chapters in this book are all different essays by an eclectic group of contributors. There are senior, midcareer, and junior scholars from seven different countries represented. They all seek to understand the Psalter in a deeper, more meaningful way.

While many of us have our favorite Psalms, it’s easy to lose sight of the book as a whole. This book argues for the interconnectedness of the entire Psalter. Reading the Psalms in this way draws out its critical themes, giving a perspective on David that emphasizes his own understanding of typology, while helping you better understand the individual Psalms themselves as well as how they fit into the whole of Scripture.

The Unfurling of the Davidic Covenant

Peter C. W. Ho’s essay “The Macrosstructural Design and Logic of the Psalter: An Unfurling of the Davidic Covenant” is a critical entry. His understanding of the Psalter reveals a design that establishes a metanarrative tracing the establishment and fall of the historical Davidic kingship and Zion temple, followed by the reestablishment of the ideal (yet afflicted) Davidic figure and Zion temple built by God’s own hands. The underlying logic of the Psalter is the unfurling of the Davidic covenant, weaved into God’s larger purposes for his chosen people from creation to consummation. It is a fascinating and rather brilliant revelation, and a landmark work in critical biblical studies.

James Hamilton Jr. continues builds off of this thought, writing “David’s Biblical Theology and Typology in the Psalms: Authorial Intent and Patterns of the Seed of Promise.” He argues that David understood himself as a type of the One to come. This sheds light on Christ’s use of the Psalms in the New Testament, while highlighting David’s trust in the faithfulness of God.

Seeing the Psalms as a Unified Whole

The book deviates from the Psalter with an essay by May Young on “The Art of Lament in Lamentations.” The study uses a matrix approach to analyze the correspondence of the literary devices of the acrostic structure, parallelism, enjambment, change in voice, and repetition of lexemes and images. From an attitude of despair to one of greater hope, the message of Lamentations is itself a work of art.

Many themes are covered in this book, including a theology of the cross and death in the Psalms, as well as a theology of the nations in the Psalms and the promise of inclusion as revealed in Psalm 87. Seeing these themes emerge in the Psalms was compelling, especially in regards to emphasizing the Psalms as a unified whole.

Delight in the Law of the Lord

The book ends with a series on Divine Presence and Sovereignty, including a captivating essay by Jerome Skinner on “A Theology of Glory: Divine Sanctum and Service in the Psalter.” He shows that God’s glory is intrinsically linked to sanctuary settings, and this has significance when Jesus reveals himself to the world.

This book is an incredible work of academic excellence, and will change the way you read the Psalms and see them as a whole. You will find yourself delighting in the Law of the Lord.

I received a media copy of Reading the Psalms Theologically and this is my honest review. Find more of my book reviews and follow Dive In, Dig Deep on Instagram - my account dedicated to Bibles and books to see the beauty of the Bible and the role of reading in the Christian life. To read all of my book reviews and to receive all of the free eBooks I find on the web, subscribe to my free newsletter.

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astrologerandpsychicinorlando · 26 days

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Orlando Spiritual Readings: Unlocking the Secrets of the Universe

Orlando Spiritual Readings

Orlando, known for its vibrant theme parks and sunny weather, is also home to a thriving spiritual community. As people seek deeper connections and insights into their lives, spiritual readings have gained immense popularity. Spiritual readings encompass a wide range of practices, including astrology, tarot reading, palmistry, and mediumship. In this article, we will explore the diverse world of spiritual readings in Orlando, highlighting the various modalities, their significance, and how you can connect with experienced psychics and astrologers to enrich your spiritual journey.

The Importance of Spiritual Readings

Spiritual readings provide individuals with clarity, guidance, and a sense of connection to something greater than themselves. Whether you are facing challenges in your personal life, career, or relationships, a spiritual reading can help illuminate the path forward. Many people turn to psychics and astrologers for insights that can assist them in making informed decisions and finding peace within themselves.

Different Types of Spiritual Readings

AstrologyAstrology is the study of celestial bodies' movements and their influence on human affairs. Astrologers analyze the positions of the planets at the time of your birth to create a birth chart, which serves as a roadmap of your personality, strengths, and challenges. In Orlando, talented astrologers can provide personalized readings that offer insights into your life purpose, relationships, and upcoming opportunities.

Tarot ReadingsTarot readings involve the use of a deck of cards to gain insights into various aspects of life. Each card carries its own symbolism, and the way they are laid out can reveal underlying themes and energies at play. Tarot readers in Orlando use their intuition and knowledge of the cards to guide clients through their questions, helping them navigate challenges and make empowered choices.

PalmistryPalmistry, or chiromancy, is the practice of interpreting the lines and features of the hands to gain insights into an individual’s character and future. Skilled palmists in Orlando can analyze the shape of your hands, the length of your fingers, and the lines on your palms to provide valuable information about your personality traits, potential life events, and personal growth.

MediumshipMediumship is the practice of connecting with spirits and receiving messages from those who have passed away. Mediums serve as intermediaries between the physical world and the spiritual realm. In Orlando, gifted mediums can provide comfort and closure by delivering messages from loved ones, helping individuals find peace and understanding in their grief.

Energy HealingEnergy healing is a holistic practice that involves balancing the body's energy fields to promote physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Techniques such as Reiki, crystal healing, and chakra balancing are commonly used to release negative energy and restore harmony. Many practitioners in Orlando offer energy healing sessions as part of their spiritual readings.

Finding the Right Spiritual Reader in Orlando

When seeking a spiritual reading in Orlando, it's essential to find a practitioner who resonates with you. Here are some tips for selecting the right psychic or astrologer:

Research Their BackgroundLook for practitioners with a solid reputation and positive reviews. Many psychics and astrologers have websites or social media profiles where you can learn more about their experience, specialties, and testimonials from previous clients.

Check CredentialsWhile not all spiritual readers require formal training, many have undergone extensive study in their respective fields. Look for practitioners who have certifications or have studied under reputable mentors.

Trust Your IntuitionYour intuition is a powerful tool when choosing a spiritual reader. Pay attention to how you feel about a practitioner after reading their materials or having an initial conversation. Trust your instincts; if someone feels right for you, it’s worth exploring further.

Ask About Their ApproachDifferent practitioners have varying styles and methods. Some may focus more on practical advice, while others may emphasize intuitive guidance. Ask about their approach to ensure it aligns with your expectations.

Consider LogisticsThink about the practical aspects of your reading. Consider whether you prefer in-person sessions or if you're open to phone or video readings. Also, check their availability and pricing to find someone who fits your budget and schedule.

The Experience of a Spiritual Reading

A spiritual reading can be a deeply personal and transformative experience. Here’s what you can expect during a typical session:

Setting the IntentionAt the beginning of your reading, your psychic or astrologer will often ask you to set an intention or share specific questions you have in mind. This helps them focus on the areas of your life that matter most to you.

The Reading ProcessDepending on the type of reading, the practitioner will use their chosen tools—such as tarot cards, astrology charts, or palmistry techniques—to gather insights. They will share their interpretations and intuitive impressions, guiding you through the messages they receive.

Interactive DialogueA spiritual reading is typically an interactive process. Feel free to ask questions or seek clarification on any points that resonate with you. Engaging in a dialogue helps deepen your understanding and allows for a more personalized experience.

Receiving GuidanceThroughout the session, your reader will provide insights, guidance, and suggestions for moving forward. They may offer practical advice or spiritual wisdom to empower you in your decision-making process.

Reflection and IntegrationAfter the reading, take some time to reflect on the information and insights shared. Journaling can be a helpful tool for processing your thoughts and emotions. Many practitioners also provide follow-up resources or recommendations for further exploration.

The Benefits of Spiritual Readings

Engaging in spiritual readings can offer numerous benefits, including:

Clarity and InsightSpiritual readings provide a fresh perspective on your life circumstances. Gaining clarity can help you navigate challenges and make informed decisions.

Emotional HealingMany individuals seek spiritual readings during difficult times. Connecting with a skilled reader can provide comfort, validation, and emotional healing, helping you cope with grief, anxiety, or uncertainty.

Personal GrowthSpiritual readings encourage self-reflection and personal growth. Understanding your strengths, weaknesses, and life path can empower you to take charge of your life and pursue your dreams.

Connection to the DivineSpiritual readings foster a sense of connection to something greater than ourselves. This connection can provide comfort and reassurance, reminding us that we are part of a larger cosmic tapestry.

EmpowermentUltimately, spiritual readings empower individuals to take control of their lives. By providing guidance and insights, readers help clients make choices that align with their true selves and life purpose.

Exploring the Spiritual Community in Orlando

Orlando boasts a diverse and welcoming spiritual community. Many practitioners offer workshops, classes, and events that allow individuals to deepen their spiritual understanding. Here are some popular venues and organizations in Orlando where you can explore spiritual readings and related practices:

Metaphysical ShopsOrlando is home to several metaphysical shops where you can find crystals, tarot decks, and other spiritual tools. Many of these shops also host workshops and events featuring local psychics and astrologers.

Spiritual RetreatsLook for spiritual retreats in and around Orlando that focus on personal development, meditation, and healing. These retreats often feature experienced practitioners who provide readings and guidance.

Community CentersMany community centers in Orlando offer classes and events on spiritual topics, including astrology, meditation, and energy healing. These spaces foster a sense of community and provide opportunities to connect with like-minded individuals.

Online CommunitiesWith the rise of virtual gatherings, many spiritual communities have moved online. Participate in webinars, live readings, and group meditations to connect with practitioners and enthusiasts from the comfort of your home.

Testimonials from Clients

Many individuals have experienced profound transformations through spiritual readings in Orlando. Here are a few testimonials that highlight the impact of these sessions:

Sarah, 32: "I was at a crossroads in my career and sought the guidance of an astrologer in Orlando. The reading provided me with clarity and direction that I desperately needed. I felt empowered to take the leap and pursue my passion."

Michael, 45: "After losing my mother, I visited a medium who connected me with her spirit. The messages were so comforting and gave me the closure I needed to heal. I’m incredibly grateful for the experience."

Jessica, 27: "My tarot reading was an eye-opener! The insights I gained helped me make better choices in my relationships. I feel more aligned with my true self now than ever before."

Conclusion

Spiritual readings in Orlando offer a unique opportunity for individuals to explore their inner selves, gain clarity, and connect with the universe. Whether you are seeking guidance through astrology, tarot, palmistry, mediumship, or energy healing, Orlando's vibrant spiritual community has something to offer everyone. By choosing a skilled practitioner and engaging in the experience, you can unlock the secrets of your soul and embark on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment. Embrace the transformative power of spiritual readings and allow them to guide you on your path to enlightenment.

In this bustling city, the quest for spiritual wisdom is alive and thriving, inviting you to take the next step in your spiritual journey. Whether you're a local resident or a visitor, the world of spiritual readings in Orlando awaits, ready to unveil the mysteries that lie within you.

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ricrbhopal · 1 month

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What Are The Features Of Java Foundation Classes?

Aadhaar Foundation Course in Bhopal

The Aadhaar Foundation Course in Bhopal are a set of graphical user interface (GUI) components and services that form a part of the Java Development Kit (JDK). JFC is essential for building rich desktop applications in Java and includes components for creating windows, buttons, menus, and other elements necessary for a GUI. Here are the key features of Java Coding classes for beginners in bhopal:

1. Swing Components:

Lightweight Components: Swing components are "lightweight," meaning they are written entirely in Java and do not rely on the platform's native GUI components Java coding Classes in Bhopal. This allows for greater flexibility and consistency across different platforms.

Rich Set of Controls: Swing provides a comprehensive set of GUI components, such as buttons, labels, text fields, tables, trees, and more, allowing developers to build complex user interfaces.

Customizable Look and Feel: Swing supports pluggable look-and-feel, enabling developers to change the appearance of applications without altering the underlying code. Developers can create custom themes or use built-in ones to match the application's design requirements.

2. AWT (Abstract Window Toolkit):

Platform Independence: AWT is the original set of GUI components in Java, providing a basic set of controls like buttons, scroll bars, and text fields. AWT components are heavyweight, meaning they rely on the underlying operating system's windowing system.

Event Handling: AWT provides a robust event-handling mechanism that allows developers to manage user interactions like clicks, key presses, and mouse movements efficiently.

3. Java 2D API:

Advanced Graphics Capabilities: The Java 2D API, part of the JFC, provides advanced features for drawing shapes, text, and images with high quality. It supports anti-aliasing, gradient fills, and complex transformations, allowing developers to create sophisticated graphics and user interfaces. Programming or Language classes in Bhopal

Custom Rendering: Developers can use Java 2D to render custom components and create visually rich applications, including charts, diagrams, and other graphical elements.

4. Drag and Drop Support:

Ease of Use: JFC includes support for drag-and-drop functionality, enabling users to drag objects within a Java application or between Java coaching in bhopal and native applications seamlessly.

Interoperability: This feature enhances the user experience by making interactions more intuitive and allowing for better integration with other software.

5. Accessibility API:

Support for Assistive Technologies: JFC includes the Accessibility API, which helps developers create applications that are accessible to users with disabilities. This API provides hooks for screen readers and other assistive technologies, ensuring that Java applications can be used by everyone.

Compliance with Standards: The Accessibility API helps applications comply with accessibility standards, making them more inclusive and widely usable.

6. Internationalization:

Multilingual Support: JFC supports internationalization, allowing developers to create applications that can easily be adapted for different languages and regions. This is crucial for building global applications.

Locale-Sensitive Components: Swing and AWT components can be customized based on the user's locale, ensuring that dates, numbers, and messages are displayed appropriately for different regions & Aadhaar Foundation Course in Bhopal.

7. Data Transfer and Clipboard Management:

Data Sharing: Aadhaar Foundation Course in Bhopal provides classes for data transfer, enabling applications to copy and paste data between different parts of the application or even between different applications. This is a key feature for enhancing user productivity.

Clipboard Integration: The clipboard management features allow for easy integration of copy-paste functionality, making it simple to share data within and across applications.

8. Security Features:

Sandboxing: Java applications built with JFC can be run in a secure environment, with limited access to system resources. This is particularly important for applets and other applications that are downloaded and executed from the internet.

Access Control: JFC's security features ensure that applications adhere to strict security policies, protecting the user's data and system from unauthorized access.

9. Printing Support:

Document Printing: JFC includes robust printing support, allowing developers to add printing capabilities to their applications. Users can print documents, graphics, and other content directly from Java applications.

Custom Print Dialogs: Developers can create custom print dialogs and control the printing process, including page setup, print preview, and print job management.

10. Integration with Other Java APIs:

Seamless Development Experience: JFC integrates well with other Java APIs, such as JDBC (Java Database Connectivity) for database access, RMI (Remote Method Invocation) for distributed computing, and more. This makes it easier to build comprehensive applications that leverage the full power of the Java platform.

Conclusion:

Aadhaar Foundation Course in Bhopal provide a powerful toolkit for building platform-independent, feature-rich GUI applications. With components like Swing, AWT, and the Java 2D API, JFC offers developers the flexibility to create sophisticated user interfaces that are customizable, accessible, and secure. Whether you are developing simple desktop applications or complex enterprise software, JFC is a crucial part of the Java ecosystem.

#Java foundation classes in bhopal #aadhaar foundation course in bhopal #java aadhaar foundation courses in bhopal #java coaching in bhopal #learn java programming in bhopal #java coding classes in bhopal #robotics programming in bhopal #programming or language classes in bhopal #coding classes for beginners in bhopal #full stack development institute in bhopal

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restaurantmarketingblog · 3 months

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divyaastro-ashram · 5 months

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Exploring the Dreams and Intuition of Pisces

Pisces, the twelfth sign of the zodiac, is known for its deep connection to the unseen realms and is ruled by the mystical planet Jupiter and the enigmatic Ketu. Pisces placements are often considered to be among the smart zodiac signs, given their incredible intuition and vivid dreams. Let's dive deeper into the fascinating world of Pisce's dreams and intuition.

The Power of Dreams

● Vivid Dreamscapes: Pisces natives often experience vivid and symbolic dreams that are filled with intricate details and imagery. These dreams can sometimes be prophetic, offering glimpses into the future or revealing hidden aspects of their psyche. The dream world for Pisces is a rich tapestry of symbolism and emotions, serving as a gateway to explore their subconscious mind and the mysteries of the universe.

● Emotional Resonance: The dreams of Pisces are heavily influenced by their emotional state, serving as a reflection of their inner world. These dreams can resonate deeply with their own emotions or pick up on the feelings and energies of others around them. Pisces often find themselves navigating a sea of emotions in their dreamscapes, which can provide valuable insights into their emotional well-being and interpersonal relationships.

● Unveiling the Unconscious: Pisces dreams act as a bridge to the unconscious mind, revealing hidden desires, fears, and past life experiences. These dreams can unlock the door to deeper self-understanding and spiritual growth. By paying attention to the symbolism and narratives in their dreams, Pisces can gain valuable insights into their subconscious mind and the underlying patterns influencing their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.

Intuition: A Guiding Light

● Empathic Sponges: Pisces possess a natural ability to pick up on subtle cues and emotions from others, making them incredibly empathic and intuitive. They often "know" things without logical explanation, sensing the energies and intentions of people around them. This empathic sensitivity allows Pisces to connect deeply with others and offer compassionate support and understanding.

● Connecting with the Collective Unconscious: Pisces tap into a vast reservoir of universal knowledge and energy, allowing them to receive intuitive insights, premonitions, and guidance. This connection with the collective unconscious enables Pisces to access higher wisdom and spiritual truths, guiding them in their personal and spiritual journey. Pisces often find themselves drawn to mystical and spiritual practices that deepen their connection with the divine and the unseen realms.

● Following the Flow: Pisce's intuition is more like a feeling or a hunch rather than a logical thought process. They excel at trusting this inner guidance and letting it lead them in life, even when it defies rational understanding. By embracing this intuitive approach to decision-making and problem-solving, Pisces can navigate life's challenges with greater ease, confidence, and wisdom.

Harnessing the Gifts

● Dream Journaling: Keeping a dream journal allows Pisces to document and analyze the symbolism, themes, and emotions in their dreams, gaining valuable insights into their subconscious mind and the messages from the universe. This practice helps Pisces understand the deeper meaning and significance of their dreams, fostering personal growth and spiritual development.

● Meditation: Meditation helps Pisces quiet the mind, cultivate inner peace, and create a receptive space for receiving intuitive messages and insights more clearly. Regular meditation practice enhances their spiritual connection, strengthens their intuition, and enables them to navigate life's challenges with grace, clarity, and wisdom.

● Creative Expression: Pisces can channel their dreams and intuition into creative endeavours like art, music, writing, and dance, allowing them to express their inner world, emotions, and spiritual insights. The creative expression serves as a therapeutic outlet for Pisces, helping them process their feelings, explore their imagination, and connect with something greater than themselves.

Challenges and Considerations

● Distinguishing Reality from Dreams: Pisces' vivid dreamscapes can sometimes blur the lines with reality, making it challenging to distinguish between the two. It's essential for Pisces to develop discernment and grounding practices to maintain a balanced perspective and avoid becoming overly absorbed in their dream world.

● Emotional Overload: Pisces' empathic nature can be overwhelming, as they often absorb the emotions and energies of others, leading to emotional overload and exhaustion. Learning to set healthy boundaries and practising self-care is essential for Pisces to protect themselves from emotional manipulation and maintain their well-being.

● Grounding the Energy: Pisces' head can often be in the clouds, making grounding practices like spending time in nature, engaging in physical activity, and connecting with the earth's energies crucial for them. These practices help Pisces anchor themselves in the present moment, balance their energies, and foster a sense of stability and security in their lives.

By understanding the unique nature of Pisce's dreams and intuition, these individuals can harness their incredible abilities to navigate life's challenges, unlock their creative potential, and connect with something far greater than themselves. Embracing their intuitive gifts and cultivating self-awareness and discernment enables Pisces to lead a fulfilling, harmonious, and spiritually enriched life.

#smart zodiac signs

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themovieblogonline · 5 months

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Problemista Review: A Zany and Wacky Surrealist Comedy

Problemista, written, directed, and produced by Julio Torres, stands as a distinctively quirky entry into the realm of surrealist comedy, unfolding a narrative as unpredictable as it is delightful. Starring an ensemble cast led by Torres himself, Tilda Swinton, RZA, and including Greta Lee, Catalina Saavedra, James Scully, and Isabella Rossellini, the film masterfully intertwines themes of ambition, art, and immigration into a tale that is both deeply personal and universally resonant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbsk4okRUds&t=1s At the heart of Problemista is Alejandro, portrayed by Torres with a balance of naïveté and determination that instantly endears him to the audience. The film kicks off by delving into Alejandro's imaginative childhood in El Salvador, immediately setting a tone of whimsy that courses through the movie’s veins. His migration to the United States signifies not just a change of location but a leap into the abyss of dreams and desires, masterfully symbolized by the mysterious cave from his mother’s stories. The narrative takes a significant turn when Alejandro, aspiring to be an innovator at Hasbro yet stuck in the gears of New York's less glamorous jobs, finds himself entangled in the eccentric world of Elizabeth, played with impeccable finesse by Tilda Swinton. Elizabeth is an art-world pariah whose unpredictability masks a deep vulnerability, making her an immensely fascinating character. Their odd-couple dynamic drives the story forward, crafting moments of both comedy and unexpected depth. Problemista excels in its visual storytelling, embracing the surreal in both its aesthetic and narrative structure. The whimsically presented Craigslist and the vivid representation of immigration bureaucracy through surreal exchange rooms are but a few examples of Torres’s imaginative direction. These elements serve as poignant commentary on the protagonist's quest for belonging and success in a foreign land. However, the film is not without its flaws. At times, the pace suffers under the weight of its own creativity. The storyline occasionally meanders without clear direction due to the juxtaposition of multiple elements. Yet, what truly elevates Problemista is its underlying warmth and optimism. Despite the absurdities and challenges, the heart of the story lies in the relationships formed amidst chaos. Alejandro and Elizabeth's evolving bond, along with Alejandro's identity crisis, adds depth to the film beyond its surreal elements. The final act brings a satisfying conclusion that ties the film’s many threads together. The cast delivers uniformly strong performances, particularly Greta Lee as Spray and Catalina Saavedra as Dolores. RZA's depiction of Bobby adds an interesting layer. Although, his character's backstory and motivations could have been explored further for greater impact. Torres's direction shines in his ability to blend humor with heartfelt emotion. He creates a film that is as thought-provoking as it is entertaining. Isabella Rossellini's narration ties the story together and adds charm. Overall: Problemista offers a unique take on the immigrant experience wrapped in a surrealistic, comedic package. While not flawless, its inventive storytelling, engaging performances, and heartfelt message make it a film worth watching. As a piece of art, it reflects the complexities of chasing dreams in an indifferent world. It reminds viewers of the beauty found in resilience and the unpredictable journey of life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw92Tlmd1MY Read the full article

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