#his lack of wife & children is in fact an important thing thematically

[ratuszarsenal]

this evening we are pondering how and if there is any gay shit to be found between the inter-to-intratextual layers of beowulf

[animentality]

Just saw Wakanda Forever.

I liked it a lot! First marvel movie I've seen in phase 4 beyond the joyless, effortless dreck that was Thor 4.

And I actually really enjoyed it.

Let's talk about it.

So first:

Story: 8/10 

I enjoyed the story quite a bit. The pacing was much slower than any of the other frenetically ADHD Phase 4 Marvel stories, and I did enjoy the build up and tension. Not many quips and annoying one liners too. Just an emotionally deep, heavy melodrama with action thrown in here and there. The focus was on the characters and I really, really loved that. 

But holy fuck. It was too long. We hit the 2 hour mark and I was like oh my god...there’s still 40 minutes...and those 40 minutes could’ve been sharper, cleaner. It lagged at several parts when it didn’t need to. 

Martin Freeman and his wife were utterly pointless. Their scenes felt forced and strange and terribly uninteresting. 

I don’t mind the over drama being how the world’s governments treat Wakanda...that was narratively cool and thematically solid, I just think Martin Freeman lacked the importance he had in the first movie, and so his entire role could’ve been cut or reduced. 

He’s just exposition man, and the movie didn’t need the American government scenes. Not really. They didn’t have any impact on the main plot, really, anyway. 

The main threat was Namor, and that was all we really needed. 

So that’s the minus 2 deduction. 

Action: 8/10 

I loved the action of this movie because it felt meaningful, and character-focused, rather than just a CGI mess like say....Black Adam. There was real weight to the action, which is nice, since Thor 4 kind of destroyed my idea of Marvel as a decent action studio. 

I enjoyed Wakandan tech, Shuri’s more technology based approach to fighting, and Okoye domination, as always. Less action than Black Panther, but where it existed, it was poignant, fun, had purpose, and felt fairly solid. 

The only deduction comes from the fact that well. Some of the underwater action was meh. And I was a little underwhelmed by the climax. The fight on a Wakandan ship was...ehhh. 

Still, Shuri vs. Namor was pretty damn cool. 

Effects: 9/10 

Solid! Thor 4 looked fucking awful. I was so worried they’d be fucking lazy. 

But no. 

This movie was gorgeous. 

This movie had wonderful, real costumes with some amazing makeup, clothing designs, weapon designs, and integrated tech. 

Great CGI that felt seamless and not horribly and lazily edited. Some wonderful cinematography and shots of both Wakanda and Atlantis. Er... Talokan.

The tech looks cool. The CGI suits and moving pieces weren’t too distracting, not unless you deliberately slow things down to analyze them, which I suspect some people will. 

My only real complaint is that Talokan was so murky and dark that I had a hard time seeing the daily lives of Talokan’s people? We were supposed to see like, children and families and this ethereal underworld city that lives so different from us... 

But I could barely see shit. Plus, it didn’t look natural? Everyone had this weird stiffness to how they were swimming...I didn’t believe they naturally belonged there. Everyone moved too spasmodically. Like they were in a pool and the director was making them act like they’re ok when they’re actually about to run out of oxygen? 

They might’ve known that, cuz we didn’t linger on the city for too long. 

It wasn’t like super horrible, it was just awkward. So 1 point demerit. 

Wakanda looked fantastic. Even when under attack. 

So here’s the meat of this review: 

Characters 7/10:

Shuri 10/10: I loved the exploration of Shuri's grief and her arc of becoming the Black Panther. That was beautifully done, solid thematically, narratively suitable due to the unfortunate passing of Chadwick Boseman. It felt natural and respectful.

Shuri's relationship with Namor was thoughtful and deep and I liked how it was resolved. I'll admit I did want her to murder him for a brief moment just cuz I'm a gremlin like that, but it was nice for her to sit back and say well I'm a queen now. This isn't just between you and me. I don't want to bring our kingdoms against one another.

That was nice. It didn't feel as cheap as a marvel movie normally would do it, like, have Shuri make some dumb speech about how revenge is simply bad all the time.

It was more practical. A little less personal.

And it made sense for Shuri! She’s not this angry, passionate warrior. 

She’s a scientist. A voice of reason. 

Less mystical. Less honor bound, and more pragmatic and wise. 

I always liked how Shuri was the character that represented Wakanda’s tech too. 

Like Wakanda is this larger than life Afro-futuristic paradise where various African cultures from the real world are displayed...but also, it’s high tech. 

So how do you negotiate between the highly technical and fantastic elements, with the more realistic, more grounded historical roots?

Shuri is the answer.

You have the traditional T’Challa. And then you have his more youthful and irreverent sister, who’s a scientist and a genius, who’s not just up to date with technology, but far ahead most of the world.

It makes sense, and having Shuri have to explore how that will affect her rule as the Queen...I liked that a lot.

I liked that she fought Namor hand to hand...and lost horribly, until she used her ship and her other tech to weaken him.

It made sense for her. 

And again, the story of her grief and losing both her brother and mother...deciding that she would still reject revenge and embrace her new role as a leader...it was well done. 

I loved Shuri here. 

I hope her actress has given up on her anti vaxx weirdness from a while back! 

Now...

That being said...

Namor 5/10: Didn't really like him. He felt a little underdeveloped. He had this hatred of colonists like Killmonger, but he lacked the emotional connection and development that Killmonger had.

We just didn't see his personal story enough. It didn't feel justified enough, since we only saw a few scenes of his mother, and only one scene about the horrors of the surface.... 

Plus we've already seen that anyway. It was a copy paste of the idea that here's an oppressed people who wanna get back at the rest of the world. 

Not saying colonialism isn't bad or anything but in this particular narrative, you are just copy pasting a new anti genocide...genocidal maniac.

Plus his stupid wing feet had me rolling my eyes the entire time. He just didn't feel that intimidating. We didn't see much of his abilities in the water other than that he's very fast and he re powers through water.

Kind of not very memorable in terms of weapons either...man’s hot but he’s basically just a dude in a swim suit. 

His necklaces/collar were interesting and his later re design was fine, but....I don’t know. 

His aesthetic was fine, but his character narrative was weak to me. 

And like I said, I was just laughing at his dumb little wing feet. 

Yeah they give him the power of flight, so what? There are a lot of characters who can fly without looking silly. 

Also again, not enough underwater stuff to really make him pop out as a credible villain.

He might as well have just been a flying villain. 

I don’t mind the resolution they reached, though, so. 

Okoye 4/10: 

Listen. Okoye was very funny and I do love her. But she kind of...was just there for the first part, and then she got fired...and then Shuri just re-hired her again by the end part. Not nearly as complex as the first film. 

I liked that they touched on Angela Bassett being annoyed still over that whole, siding with Killmonger shit.

But her character didn’t grow or change or do a whole lot, even as a civilian... 

She didn’t even fix her mistake of letting Shuri get kidnapped. Nakia did that... 

And speaking of Nakia... 

Nakia 5/10: 

I really feel like they didn’t know what to do with Nakia...she did save Shuri and the Scientist Girl at one point, but she didn’t do much for the whole rest of the movie, besides Be There. 

I feel like they dropped the ball on this one.

And the ending credit scene, where she has T’Challa’s son...it’s sweet and all, but I can’t help but feel like it reduces her role to being a mom who’s off screen. 

We didn’t see enough of her involvement with the main plot. 

She was some emotional support for Shuri, but...she wasn’t impactful other than that. Kind of sad, I liked her a lot in the original, since she and T’Challa had these conflicting viewpoints about how Wakanda should be involved in the world... 

But here, well. Now that the world knows of Wakanda...she just has no purpose or role. 

She didn’t really have any good fight scenes either. Most of her work was ensemble. Mixed in with other randoms. 

They did my girl dirty....but damn, she was gorgeous this movie... 

M’Baku 11/10: 

No notes. He’s perfect. 

He’s hilarious, he’s emotional support. He and Shuri were so fucking cute.

No notes. 

Queen Ramonda 11/10: 

Angela Bassett carried this movie on her back. Truly phenomenal performance. 

Wonderful beginning and end to her glorious character. 

I am mad that they killed her, but...also, it was fitting enough, since Shuri becoming the next Queen AND the Black Panther was neat. 

But damn, I am a little mad. 

Ironheart 5/10: 

I didn’t hate this character, but...she was like...barely present. She was important initially, but then she just got under water shafted for a long time...then she came back to help Shuri do some background work....then she was in the final battle.

And that was kind of it. 

I didn’t care for her suit, and didn’t feel like her character had enough significance to Shuri or the main plot. 

She was a genius tech expert, but helping Shuri design the anti Namor ship was something any character could’ve done, that’s how background it felt. 

I didn’t think she had enough of a fleshed out backstory either. 

She didn’t have an arc, plus I wish she and Shuri had bonded more over their scientific genius. Their friendship came across to me like...I guess they like each other. 

We needed more of them finishing each other’s sentences or geeking out over their shared technical prowess. 

We only really got a scene in the beginning and the very end. 

not enough meat and potatoes. 

And that Ironman suit was dopey looking. 

So all in all...

8/10. 

Yeah. 

Solid, really good, way better than anything else in Phase 4.... 

Chadwick Boseman’s scenes had me tearing up or openly weeping.... 

A touching tribute to him, as well as the character. 

The runtime needed to be reduced, however, and the plot dragged in several places.

Plus, Namor could’ve been more interesting. Beefed up. 

Narratively, of course. His actor was pure beef. 

Overall, I really liked it, though. 

I’ve only seen 2 Marvel Phase 4 movies, and I’ll say.

Wakanda Forever deserved to be better than Thor 4, and it was. 

Rest in peace, Chadwick. 

You’re a legend. 

[reactingtosomething]

Kris Reacts to Game of Thrones: 701, “Dragonstone”

“Would That Be So Terrible?”

The Setup: I (Kris, aka @omeletsforpepper) am not the only one of us who keeps up with Game of Thrones, but I wanted to try my hand at solo reacting. This could change, but my plan is to pick out a theme (not necessarily “the” theme) of the week’s episode, and discuss in depth just one or two scenes/sequences that involve it. I’ll also include some extra thoughts at the end, in the vein of The AV Club’s “Stray Observations.”

SPOILERS for the season 7 premiere of Game of Thrones immediately after the jump.

Though it isn’t actually one of the scenes I want to spotlight this week — largely because I’m sure it’s the one most discussed already across the internet — the bloody cold open gives us a pretty clear thematic statement: this is an episode about debt, and desert. (As in, the condition of deserving something, spelled like the geographical feature, but pronounced like the thing that comes at the end of a meal.) After killing almost everyone who was still eligible to be punished for the Red Wedding, almost everyone’s favorite Stark turns to the late Walder Frey’s newest wife to deliver not only a certain weather announcement, but also probably everyone’s second favorite Stark line: “The North remembers.”

That the North remembers is critical to both Jon and Sansa in the surprisingly nuanced scene that ends with the loyalty oaths of Alys Karstark and Ned Umber. For Jon, Northern and more specifically Stark memory is tied up in the very sense of tradition that kept him a lesser member of his family in the eyes of the late Catelyn, tradition into which he always wanted to be accepted. In spite of everything he’s learned, and all the compromises he’s made, Jon Snow (or should we be calling him Jon Stark now?) still holds as tightly as he can to the ideals and customs of his father. In this case, that means not taking away the ancestral homes of families who fought against him, under the Bolton banner. The Karstark and Umber heirs, both children, will inherit their fathers’ titles. As Sansa points out, although the specific Karstark and Umber men who fought for Ramsay Bolton are indeed already dead, the rest of the North will not receive the message that betraying the Starks will be punished. And more importantly, they will not receive the message that loyalty to the Starks in difficult times will be rewarded.

This is where the “surprisingly” part comes in. Though it’s often been a fiercely intelligent show, and always one that reveled in moral grayness, Game of Thrones isn’t really something I’d describe as subtle, or as being particularly adept with philosophical uncertainty. It has always claimed to be a show concerned with subtlety and ambiguity, but in practice that ambiguity often just meant subjecting characters (partially or completely naked women, disproportionately) to heavy-handed awfulness. Something like Joffrey’s sadistic torture-murder of Ros isn’t a marker of cleverness or depth, it’s Dark and Edgy for the sake of Dark and Edgy. Also, this is just one of those shows that typically doesn’t do subtext in its dialogue. It just has much better-sounding dialogue than your typical network procedural. And that’s not nothing!

A more interesting reason for the show’s incomplete success in delivering on true moral ambiguity is perhaps that it hasn’t often pitted its traditionally heroic characters against each other, especially post-“Blackwater.” But now that the two characters who’ve perhaps suffered most (not that it’s a contest) find themselves at odds, the show’s creative team clearly understands that doing both those characters justice means using a different kind of suspense from the sort that drove episodes like, say, “The Mountain and the Viper.”

We’ll have to wait to see the consequences of Jon’s very public refusal to take Sansa’s very public advice — advice with which most of the Stark bannermen seemed to heartily agree — not only in the military and political spheres, but in Jon and Sansa’s relationship. But I was glad to see that, perhaps owing to Lyanna Mormont’s influence, the men in the room weren’t dismissive of Sansa’s counsel, and were indeed on her side. I was also glad that even when Jon pushed ahead with his own agenda, we weren’t subjected to a repetition of the “everyone sure is angry at Jon” beats we saw so often at Castle Black. Maybe like the men of the Night’s Watch, they’re all tired of arguing with each other.

Or maybe it was that though Sansa very clearly won the logical argument in this scene, Jon kind of got to win the emotional one. Is it really any wonder he’s so opposed to taking away anyone’s ancestral home? It’s not only that he just took back Winterfell. It’s also that Winterfell was, before all of this, never intended to be his ancestral home. He was born a Snow (cough cough, yeah, I know, but the show didn’t go there this week so neither will I), not a Stark. The reclamation of Winterfell doesn’t necessarily mean more to Jon than it does to Sansa, but it does mean something different.

This layer, important as it is for us, probably didn’t occur to the Stark bannermen. For them, the emotional force of Jon’s case is much more concrete once Jon calls forward Alys Karstark and Ned Umber, the former of whom looks no older than Arya was in the show’s very first episode, and the latter of whom may well be younger than Bran was. Look, on the level of strategy, Sansa is right. Sansa is right! Jon is clinging to an ideal for the sake of the ideal, at least as much as because he thinks it’ll help him win. But even as we acknowledge that he’s making a bad decision, we can also acknowledge that there’s something laudable in it. Despite their agreement with Sansa, the bannermen get solemn when those kids  — those kids, who indeed do not deserve to be punished for the sins of their fathers — approach their king and bend the knee, and cheer when those kids say the words they have to say. And when Alys Karstark cracks a smile out of what’s surely a heady combination of relief, gratitude, and newfound purpose, we can’t help but be moved.

Unless we’re Sansa, tragically world-weary and out of fucks to give. Thank the old gods and the new for her bluntness in calling out the dearly departed Ned and Robb for “stupid mistakes.” And for her quiet but firm response — “Would that be so terrible?” — when Jon asks if being smarter than them means taking her advice. And for Jon’s wisdom in not pushing her away (yet, at least).

Something else to keep in mind about Jon and Sansa: Despite their heartfelt reunion and the shared trial of taking back Winterfell, we should remember that they held no special fondness for each other way back before their lives and the world went to hell. I can’t help wondering if that lack of pre-existing closeness will quietly become a complication now that Jon and Sansa both finally find themselves with the tiniest bit of breathing room.

Of course, Danaerys Targaryen gets the prize for longest-awaited homecoming. (Here’s a cool little Vanity Fair piece about the production design of Dragonstone.) I don’t want to go on much longer here, and I guess there isn’t that much to say, other than that the choice to make this scene almost-wordless was a good one, and that Team Targaryen’s tailor wins. 

When it comes down to it, I like the fact of Dany’s arrival to Dragonstone a lot, and I’m still pretty fond of her as a character, and of basically everyone in her entourage. (Varys is one of my very favorite supporting characters on this show.)

But throughout this whole sequence, I also couldn’t shake a meta-criticism, I guess, that the columnist Ross Douthat has made of the show and at least a theoretical subsection of its fans (emphasis mine):

“Game of Thrones” is still working within the framework of its essentially romantic genre — critiquing it and complicating it, yes, but also giving us a set of heroes and heroines to root for whose destinies are set by bloodlines and prophecies, and who are likely in the end to save their world from darkness and chaos no less than Aragorn or Shea Ohmsford or Rand al’Thor.

Put another way: On “The Sopranos,” there is no right way to be a mafioso. But on “Game of Thrones” there is a right way to be a lord or king and knight, and there are characters who model the virtues of each office, who prove that chivalry and wise lordship need not be a myth. Sometimes they do so in unexpected ways — the lady knight who has more chivalry than the men who jeer at her, the dwarf who rules more justly than the family members who look down on him. But this sort of reversal is typical of the genre, which always has its hobbits and stable boys and shieldmaidens ready to surprise the proud and prejudiced. And it coexists throughout the story with an emphasis on the importance of legitimacy and noblesse oblige and dynastic continuity, which is often strikingly uncynical given the dark-and-gritty atmosphere. […] In the end, whatever their politics in this world, both the show’s bad fans and its good fans are rooting a queen or for a king.

I am not, in general, a Douthat fan, mostly because of his hand-wringing in opposition to abortion and other “culture war” matters. But I think he’s a pretty solid pop culture writer, and very often the sort who’s helpful to read precisely because he doesn’t think the same things I think. And in this case, I’m even inclined to agree at least a little.

It’s pretty hard to deny that Game of Thrones has Bad Fans. Most of those Bad Fans are the kind who tweet endless harassment at culture writers who've criticized, say, the show’s use of sexual assault and its racial politics. But I would also love to see more critical and fan engagement with the idea that our designated protagonists are all protagonists-by-blood.

(One of the reasons for my arguable lack of generosity toward my fellow viewers here is that I remain convinced that Steve Rogers’ position in Captain America: Civil War is baldly anti-democratic, and that #TeamCap loyalists generally fail to reckon with this.)

Yes, Jon and Dany and Tyrion have all learned a lot that in theory makes them worthy of leadership. But does any of that actually mean that Dany (let’s just focus on her, for word count’s sake) deserves to be Queen of Westeros? More so than Cersei, sure. But should we really assume that the war has to end with one of our heroes on the Iron Throne? And is Dany actually entitled to any throne at all? Not really, if we’re honest. There’s no great moral case for her to have left Essos, where she could have still done a lot of good (setting aside, too, the White Savior thing). She left Essos because she felt entitled to a throne her family had abused for generations, in a land she barely remembers, full of people about whom she knows next to nothing. She wants to prove that she can be a better monarch than those who’ve gone before her. Tyrion wants to see her be a better monarch. Varys wants the country to stop bleeding. That all matters. But none of it is the main reason Dany started out on this path before meeting either of her newest advisors.

I’m not saying that Game of Thrones, or A Song of Ice and Fire, needs to end like the first year of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s run on Black Panther, with Wakanda finally beginning the process of writing up a constitution to distribute power away from its monarch. And I definitely doubt that it’ll go that way.

But also, um, why couldn’t it? Why shouldn’t it?

Would that be so terrible?

I Don’t Want to Just Call This Section “Stray Observations” but I Don’t Have a Different Name for It Yet Either and Sure I’ll Take Suggestions

Anyone else want to see Brienne spar with Tormund?

I have, for all practical intents and purposes, no real idea who Ed Sheeran is, so I actually really liked that scene of Arya with the Lannister soldiers. Another Surprisingly Nuanced moment. (If you feel the same way I do about the Surprisingly Nuanced thing, definitely read Matt Zoller Seitz on GoT’s grappling with its own legacy).

People not only cross oceans very quickly in this show, but build ships very quickly.

Heh.

When I read A Game of Thrones forever ago, I pictured Thoros of Myr as kind of a Shaolin monk type. I don’t know if that’s what GRRM pictured, but I still wish it was the case. I mean I like this Thoros just fine. But, you know. Asian representation. Just would’ve been cool.

I’ll try to be back here next week! In the meantime, you can follow us on Twitter if you’d like a convenient feed of other, better, culture writers.

[wrenchwitch-blog]

Session 0 - Mostly a Lecture

A session 0 is the first time all the players get together, but do not actually play the game.  This serves as a chance to establish schedules, set house rules, establish boundaries, work on characters, and just generally get a sense on if a group of players will gel before we get too terribly committed.

There are a lot of reasons I love adventure paths, but it does mean that there is a lot of baggage and expectation.  There is a line that needs to be carefully walked between allowing players to create characters freely, but also that will not be relevant or a terrible thematic fit.  One of the things that Paizo has published along with their APs are a Player’s Guide.  They offer some setting insights and suggestions for characters that will work well with what is to come.

I have taken this notion a bit further.  On top of the regular session 0 stuff, I get way into the weeds on setting.  In this case, the city of Korvosa.  I told my players that exactly why can be whatever you would want, but every player character needs to care about this city.  But how can you create a character that cares about a place you don’t know anything about?

So I started to discuss the city; the people, places, culture.  An orderly lot, deeply colored by the military outpost that predated the city proper.  Primarily a human city, three ethnic groups make up most of the populous.

Most in charge are the Chelaxians.  They are the descendants of colonists from hundreds of miles to the south.  They came to this land as part of their campaigns to take the world back from the giants and dragons that run over the north.  They saw themselves as benevolently raising the region up.  Things have changed in the few hundred years since the city’s founding.  Largely seen as invaders and abusers, taking advantage and looking down at everyone else.

Second are the native Varisians.  Traditionally Varisians are nomads, travelling in their carriages the paths their fore bearers tread for thousands of years.  Lovers of music and dancing, they value their freedoms above almost all else.  But the travelling life is hard on many.  For whatever reasons, some Varisians set down their roots.  Seen by the Chelaxians as liars and thieves, the Varisians are not seen as equals, even if their family’s have been Korvosan for generations.  The real fact of the matter is, more than half of the human population is of mixed Chellish and Varisian heritage.  The more obvious one’s Varisian heritage, the more scrutiny and dirty looks they are likely to get from authorities.

While far less numerous than the previous groups, extremely important are the Shoanti.  The Shoanti were the natives to the lands Korvosa now stands on.  A huge, ancient ziggurat from pre-history is their holy site.  A deeply traditional people, nature and family are paramount to the Shoanti.  The local Shoanti fought bloody wars with Chellish invaders from the moment boots struck the ground until they no longer had the numbers to meaningfully attack walls of mortar and stone.  While the Chellaxian people look Varisians with suspicion, the Shoanti are looked upon with scorn.

While ‘civilized’ non-humans are present and welcome, they are not especially numerous, not enough to pull culture in a big way.  The exception are the dwarves.  The closest city to Korvosa is the dwarven sky citadel of Janderhoff.  A bustling mining and forging town, the dwarves are often called upon as a third party to broker disputes between the three main human factions.

Korvosan law is strict, and the guard numerous.  Those that are caught breaking the law are dealt with severely.  Jail time tends to be 15-25% longer than most places.  Aside from the norms of thievery and violence, guilds are illegal in Korvosa.  Labor cannot organize, moguls can only hold one of any given type of business.  The system is not set up with economic mobility in mind.  The tension between those that have and those that do not may be coming to a head.

The church of Abadar, god of cities and commerce, is the largest and brightest shining cathedral in Korvosa.  They are instrumental in infrastructure and taxes, working closely with the government  The remaining churches will be listed in order of influence.

Asmodeus, archdevil of tyranny, pride, and contracts

Sarenrae, goddess of the sun, healing, and redemption

Pharasma, goddess of death, birth, and fate

Shelyn, goddess of art, beauty, and love

The Pantheon of the Many is the only church rivaling the Bank of Abadar.  A nondenominational building holding shrines for 17 of the 20 major deities of Golarion.  Those excluded are the god of destruction and entropy, the god of strength and battle, and the goddess of monsters and corruption.

Three armed forces secure the city streets and the country side surrounding Korvosa.  Most numerous are the Korvosan Guard, an organization leading all the way back to the founding of the city.  The guard are a mix of police force and standing army for the city.  Most of the time, they are patrolling around keeping order, but they can be marshaled to fight the cities enemies when war is declared.

The Sable Company take to the skies on their trained hippogriffs.  A mercenary company, their sole contract for hundreds of years has been with the city of Korvosa.  Their charge, to keep monsters away from the city.  As such, they do not really have jurisdiction within the walls of Korvosa.

The Hellknight Order of the Nail are the shocktroops for when the Korvosan Guard is not enough.  Hell bent on enforcing order and willing to go to extreme measure to that end.  The Order of the Nail marches through the streets with their fullplate and halberds seeking to quell chaos.  The Hellknights are far less numerous and have a weaker connection with the Korvosan government, but are often utilized like modern swat teams.

The ruler of Korvosa is King Eodred Arabasti II.  A lecherous old man, he has spent his several decades keeping out of the lives of most Korvosans.  He has kept taxes low and has not rocked the boat with too many amendments to the city charter, the majority of complaints about him are related to him either not doing enough, or the ever rotating harem he keeps.  Eodred has been making strides to do some good and leave some legacy as his age advances.  He has vastly expanded the number and quality of the city’s orphanages, and has solely bankrolled the construction of the Pantheon of the Many.  While neither loved nor hated by most, news of his health suffering has not been taken well by the city.

Korvosan’s relative ambivalence to Eodred absolutely does not extend to his wife, Queen Ileosa Arabasti.  Born to a high noble family, she was expected to marry someone more rich and influential than Eodred.  She instead traveled out to the far reaches to peruse a ‘royal’ in a backwater city of no meaningful import to the Chellish court.  Barely of age to marry, she is seen as a strumpet, that she ensorcesselled Eodred with her voice.  She is also seen as an outsider and invader, someone trying to take advantage of the lack of clear heir to the Crimson Throne.  In spite of how much she is loathed, she has not really done much of anything in the year and a half she has been married to King Eodred other than being a patron to the arts.

Finally, the titular curse.  No Korvosan monarch has died of natural causes, nor have they managed to have a child while ruling.  Eodred had the good fortune of being born before, his mother took power, but he has not had any children himself.  Prior to his marriage, there was no heir apparent.  This is almost certainly the biggest reason Ileosa is seen as an opportunist.

If the Curse of the Crimson Throne is a true curse, or an unfortunate coincidence, perhaps we will find out together.

That wraps up most of my session 0 discussion.  In practice, it was a back and forth, people would kick in questions or direct for additional detail.  While not the best example of showing in place of telling, I hoped this would set the stage for what would probably be hundreds of hours of game play to come.  I promise that these are going to get shorter from here on out.

[bulwark616]

Upside Down Kingdom

Sermon Series Map

SERIES THEME:

This sermon series is about how following Jesus, mimicking His life, obeying His commands, being conformed to His image, and living out the principles He teaches, … is SOOO counter intuitive to our world’s culture, mores, and norms it really looks like Jesus’ ideas are totally UPSIDE DOWN! However, it only appears that way to us because we have been living in this Upside Down fallen world for so long that the principles of righteousness in God’s Kingdom (which are in fact “right-side-up”) confuse us. In this sermon series we will explore several of those Kingdom Principles that appear so Upside Down from our fallen perspective and we will see how following Jesus in these Kingdom Principles will help us to live right-side-up!

SERIES IMAGERY:

The Imagery: The graphics/imagery for this series is a reference to the popular Netflix Original TV Series: “Stranger Things” in which the regular lives/world of several families in the 1980’s were being invaded by a parallel world of darkness/rot/monsters/etc… In that show they called this other world the “Upside-Down.” The cultural reference is only meant to capitalize on the relevance of that show; it bears no impact on the theology of the series!

The Music: Worship Songs that highlight how God’s ways are different/other/greater than our ways etc… would be very thematically appropriate. For example:

“Greater” ~ Mercy Me

“Different” ~ Micah Tyler

“Center” ~ Charlie Hal

“Better is One Day” ~ Matt Redman

“Reckless Love” ~ Cory Asbury

“It is Well” ~ Todd Fields

“The Stand” ~ Hillsong United

etc…

  WEEKLY SERMON DETAILS:

Please recognize that this map includes FIVE sermon prompts! However it would work just as well as a shorter series if your preaching team would simply chose the appropriate prompts that speak most directly to the needs of  your church!

[1] Upside Down Kingdom: Humility vs. Pride

Critical Concept: In our upside-down fallen world, pride, arrogance, and self-promotion are lauded as virtues. However in God’s Kingdom HUMILITY is recognizing our proper position before our infinite loving GOD and considering other’s Greater than ourselves!

God says when you are humble, you are free from pride and arrogance. You know that in your flesh you are inadequate, yet you also know who you are in Christ.

Godly humility is being comfortable with who you are in the Lord and therefore putting others first.

The picture of humility in the Bible is one of a strong person who loves others, not someone who is a wimp.

Humility also is recognizing that you need God’s help, knowing you can’t truly succeed in your own strength.

Scripture:

Ephesians 4:2 “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”

Proverbs 11:2 “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”

Romans 12:16 “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.”

James 4:10 “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

And many more…

  [2] Upside Down Kingdom: Dependence vs. Independence

Critical Concept: In our upside-down fallen world it is considered weak or shameful to depend on anyone or anything but yourself. However in God’s Kingdom we recognize that we have been made to fully depend on God our Heavenly Father!

Depending on God is basic to the Christian life.

God’s children should share that quality of depending on their loving Heavenly Father for everything they need.

The moment I tell myself, “I can handle this one myself, it’s small and it will be easy,” I run the risk of moving forward in the flesh rather than by dependence on the Holy Spirit!

“Jehovah-Jireh” is the KJV’s translation of YHWH-Yireh and means “The LORD Will Provide” (Genesis 22:14). It is the name memorialized by Abraham when God provided the ram to be sacrificed in place of Isaac.

As leaders who want to reach our generation for Christ, we need to lead in a way that allows others to see our faith as we FOLLOW GOD in total dependence on Him.

Scripture:

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Isaiah 40:29 “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”

Romans 12:4-5 “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

Matthew 6:25-34

And Many More …

  [3] Upside Down Kingdom: Others vs. Self

Critical Concept: In our upside-down fallen world the standard practice is to “lookout for number one.” However in God’s Kingdom we sacrificially love others in the same way we love ourselves!

Even simple acts of kindness are effective ways of loving others like Jesus.

The most loving thing we can do for others is love God more than we love them. For if we love God most, we will love others best.

There is so much pain and loneliness in the world, you can be pretty sure the person next to on the bus or the checker at the grocery store could use a kind word, a smile, or a helping hand. Get off your cell phone and talk to them. Get to know them. Ask them how their day is going… and mean it.

Scripture:

Romans 12:9-16 “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another.”

John 15:12-13 “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

1 John 4:7[-11] “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.”

Matthew 22:37-39 “Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

  [4] Upside Down Kingdom: Purity vs. Pleasure

Critical Concept: In our upside-down fallen world the reckless pursuit of personal pleasure, satisfaction of our own appetites, and being guided by our feelings are considered irresistible forces of nature that should just be embraced. However in God’s Kingdom we are empowered to live lives of purity as we pursue an ever stronger relationship with Jesus Christ the source of purity!

Whilst purity is lost in sin it can be found again in Christ Jesus!

God gave man and woman the joy and pleasure of sexual relations within the bounds of marriage, and the Bible is clear about the importance of maintaining sexual purity within the boundaries of that union between man and wife.

“Purity is not an accomplishment, it is a relationship with the One who is pure.” ~ PURE HOPE Ministries

Scripture:

Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Psalm 119:9 “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.”

1 Corinthians 6:18 “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.”

Hebrews 13:4 “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

And Many More…

  [5] Upside Down Kingdom: Investing in Eternity vs. Now

Critical Concept: In our upside-down fallen world everything is broken, decaying, and temporal. Therefore, many people live only for the here and now. However in God’s Kingdom we know that God intends for us to live on with Him for eternity, and that eternity starts NOW for those of us in Christ!

The Bible teaches that those who are true children of God enter our Father’s presence and eventually spend eternity in the New Heaven and New Earth. But those who refuse to believe and follow Jesus Christ will spend eternity in the lake of fire.

How you live your todays will impact yours/others’ tomorrows and maybe even their eternities!

Choosing to FOLLOW Jesus according to His Kingdom principles (instead of the upside down principles of this fallen world) is a great way to ensure your life will have Eternal impact!

Scripture:

1 John 5:11 “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”

John 3:16 “”For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

1 Corinthians 15:5 “O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?”

Matthew 6:19-2o ““Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures heaven, where moths & vermin do not destroy, & where thieves do not break in and steal.”

Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

  Graphics Package

Upside Down Kingdom (Title Slide)

Upside Down Kingdom (Point Slide)

Upside Down Kingdom (Scripture Slide 1)

Upside Down Kingdom (Scripture Slide 2)

Upside Down Kingdom (Facebook Banner)

The Video Bumper:

  “Upside Down Kingdom” – Sermon Series Map Upside Down Kingdom Sermon Series Map SERIES THEME: This sermon series is about how following Jesus, mimicking His life, obeying His commands, being conformed to His image, and living out the principles He teaches, … is SOOO counter intuitive to our world’s culture, mores, and norms it really looks like Jesus’ ideas are totally…

[legalist217]

Grisha Trilogy: in defense of That Ending

My hottest take: the end of Ruin and Rising, while shocking in the moment, is fully consistent with the themes of the book and the Grisha Trilogy as a whole. Further, to feel as though Leigh Bardugo did not tell the story she meant to tell from the outset (for whatever reason, be it executive meddling or chickening out at the last minute) is doing her narrative a disservice at minimum and might at most be missing the point of the series.

This is the part where my good sis @alskaichou and I disagree to disagree and I accept that. Also this essay thing is by and large directed at Tara, and is just being written out longform for efficiency’s sake. So if you disagree with it, it’s not personal. (Unless you’re Tara. And even then, it’s not personal; I just… disagree… with you...) I’d also like it known that I’m only consulting the text, my own notes, and my own thoughts for this analysis... so if these end up being common Hot Takes, welp. 

Also, mass spoilers directly ahead.

To make sure there’s zero ambiguity in what I mean, I’m saying that both the part where Alina gets depowered and the part where Malina is endgame feel like they were intended right from the start, and to argue that the author intended otherwise may be missing a thematic point.

Okay, so, where do I get off with this flaming hot take? There are two keys, in my opinion: Alina’s narration, and the character of Ilya Morozova.

When I was recapping these books, I spent a lot of time bemoaning Alina’s lack of ambition. Here’s this girl with all this OPPORTUNITY, and yet she keeps going for the lowest-hanging fruits of dangerous power, and that’s when she’s even bothering. But… here’s the thing. I’ve been reflecting ever since reading the ending on what Alina was actually saying in her narration. And I realized something: I am pretty sure Alina wasn’t looking for power, or even opportunity.

The problem for Alina is that for most of the series, she’s faced with two extremes. She can smother her Grisha gift and be extremely weak even for an otkazat’sya, or she can accept her Sun Summoner status… which comes with a ton of prestige, prominence, and responsibilities she never asked to have. For her, the options are being a saltwife or being a queen. And Alina just wants to be normal. Just wants to be physically unhampered and able to pursue the life an otkazat’sya may have.

I realize that’s disappointing. It does tend to go against not only what we want from our protagonists (which is in fantasy often “start ordinary but end up extraordinary”), but even more specifically it goes against what we want from a YA protagonist, particularly a female one. We want role models. We want strong female protagonists. We want them to make the right choices. But therein may have lain a trap we set for ourselves.

When I was reading the first book, I fully expected Mal to be killed off within the first fifty pages. I then fully expected him to become the Gale to Alina’s Katniss--the childhood friend who isn’t extraordinary like the protagonist and just can’t keep up with the life she’s destined to lead. The books do lean into this, with the pair of them breaking up over the course of Siege and Storm due to him being unable to understand the person she’s become and resenting that she’s no longer the girl he grew up with, and by the middle of Ruin and Rising, both of them seem committed to a permanent separation so that Alina can be the best Alina she can be and Mal won’t hold her back. 

But... here’s the thing: the reason Mal wouldn’t be a good match for Alina is, by and large, rooted in societal factors which insist that otkazat’sya will never bother to understand Grisha, so trying to build a life together is foolish. I mean, set aside all the prestige that Alina gets for being this unique Sun Summoner, and even then, there’s this artificial divide which the Darkling smugly predicted would occur between them. But if that hadn’t been there, would Mal have been deeply in love with her and likely an unambiguously suited match?

According to the books? Yep. Mal has never had eyes for any girl that isn’t Alina, and that’s something that started even when they were still living at the orphanage, which he suppressed because, well hey, that’s his best friend, he can’t be like that towards her. And when Alina asks him the question I had, which was whether their bond had been falsely forged by the amplifier inside him, the two of them end up having a very sweet conversation about all the human reasons why they love each other regardless of that magnetic draw. 

Does Mal have some growing up to do? Oh, hell yes. But so does Alina. And like it or not (and I know where you are on this, mate), I think they’re a couple who have the foundation and moreover the willingness to grow together. To weather those shitty arguments and those periods of maturation. Because they both care deeply for one another, and they share common interests and goals in the endgame, which lend them a common purpose beyond twu wuv.

I haven’t forgotten all those other aspects of Alina and this ending which I brushed off--not just her powers, but her prestige. How can I so quickly go from “wtf is this ending” to “nah you know what I’m happy for them”?

Enter Ilya Morozova. Him and his obsessive, ultimate love of “ordinary” people, the characters that we readers on a meta level are somewhat trained to disregard and to hope our protagonist ascends well past. I agree with what Alina posits on (of all pages) pg 394; Morozova probably did expect the amplifiers to be united by a Grisha older than memories of memory. And that would be because it would mean they could rest at long last. 

More of this is coming into focus as I sit here and write. Of course Ilya Morozova never finished what he started. He wanted to. Baghra knew him well enough to get that right. But she didn’t understand his love of otkazat’sya, be it his wife or his daughter, even if she pays lip service to believing he felt it for them. She doesn’t understand that feeling her father had because she never felt anything of the sort for them, and why would she after all the persecution, after seeing her father and sister thrown into the sea? 

Baghra understood that he wanted to finish his project. What she failed to realize was that it was not about creating the amplifiers. It was about uniting them. And how could this man do that to his daughter, or her child, or her grandchild? How long before he took his life rather than contemplate this non-choice, I wonder?

Morozova wanted a world where he and his wife would understand each other, where his family would not be cast out by the village. Hence the amplifiers. Hence their ultimate effect. Baghra’s Grisha gift, if you think about it, almost feels like a Newton’s Third Law situation: the darkness brought into being to counteract the newly created light. Balance, as the Darkling would constantly harp on about. But balance is a regular diurnal cycle. Neither Fold nor weird merzost angels (which never happened, boo). I wonder whether any Sun Summoners will have Darkling children. Balance.

I’m veering off my intended track here: by uniting the amplifiers, Alina at once loses her gift and grants Sun Summoning to what’s described as being all the otkazat’sya in range. I don’t think that ended up eliminating the concept of otkazat’sya, unfortunately, but it does two things:

it levels the playing field and likely kicks open the door to Grisha becoming citizens (because how are otkazat’sya supposed to argue that they’re abominations or whatever when the gift can just randomly get flung onto you well past the standard age? actually don’t answer that im sure humans can find a way)

it sets Alina free

I feel like that second one is going to cause Objections, but refer to earlier when I mentioned she was trapped between the two extremes. Saltwife or queen. And while she’s spent three books psyching up to ascending some form of throne or another, she still... really doesn’t want it. And that? Matters. 

To throw down a kind of low blow here, I’m linking a post you enthusiastically reblogged about a young person who, when told they can be anything they want to be, confidently replies they want to be a secretary. Not a CEO, not a scientist, not a lawyer, not a doctor. A secretary.

Alina visibly misses several things over the course of this series. Occasionally it’s cartography. Often, it’s Mal. But mostly, and despite all the trauma that she endured there, she misses her childhood home at Keramzin. I didn’t realize until the ending just how many of her thoughts stray back to the Duke’s house, to lessons from Ana Kuya, to the grounds and the rooms. It may not have been particularly happy, but Alina’s childhood was important to her. And the fact that it wasn’t happy shapes her motivation as she looks to the future, once there’s a future to be had. 

Of course it isn’t something she ever considers in the series, but then again, when would she have had the opportunity to imagine taking over the orphanage? She was the weakest link in the regiment, then training to be the Most Important Grisha, then preparing for all-out war with the Most Dangerous Grisha, then preparing to be a Queen while maintaining appearances as a Saint. She wasn’t really allowed to have her own idea of her future at any point (that I can recall--my brain is still very fuzzy on book one), and the few times that she’s fleeing all these responsibilities, it’s to do nothing more specific than live with Mal, because to survive is all she dare dream of doing. 

Other people want her to be a queen. Including us readers, because it would be a satisfying end to her arc. But, at the end of it all, I think she really doesn’t want to be a queen. And if it weren’t for how the power is so intimately tied to her life force that not using it makes her sickly, I get the sense she would give up the Grisha gift as well. Of course she misses it once it’s gone, because using Grisha power feels good and encourages further use. It’s self-fulfilling. But it was something that kept her separated from her favorite person (because like it or not Mal sure is that for her), and that made her unhappy. 

Sure, we want stories that encourage girls to do what’s best for them and not just to settle for whatever gross man just because. But I think enough happens with Alina where settling down with Mal isn’t, in her case, “settling.” Girl had options. She also knew what made her happy. In the end? No accounting for taste.