#morgan reviews

[samwisethewitch]

Book Review: Freya: Meeting the Norse Goddess of Magic by Morgan Daimler

I just finished a reread of this book and realized I've never talked about it on this blog, even though it ties into a lot of my content.

I've talked about my relationship with Freyja here before. She is the deity I have worked with most consistently in my personal practice, and she's been a strong presence in my life since I was a child. Even before I was interested in witchcraft or paganism, I was drawn to stories and images of Freyja.

Unfortunately, quality books about Freyja are hard to find in English. A lot of the wonderful work being done by Scandinavian scholars and heathens is only available in their native languages. A lot of English-language resources are either very academic and prohibitively expensive, or they are books about goddess worship more generally that only mention Freyja on a few pages. Freyja, Lady, Vanadis: An Introduction to the Goddess by Patricia M. Lafayllve is a pretty good beginner's resource, but it's only available in paperback, which can be a barrier for some readers.

All of this is to say, I was very excited when Morgan Daimler put out this book. I've talked about how much I love Daimler's work before on this blog -- I think they do really great research AND do a really good job of making all that information accessible for a beginner. I have several of Daimler's books on Norse and Irish deities, and all of them are resources I reference often in my practice.

This book follows a similar formula to Daimler's other books on deities, like Odin or the Morrigan. Daimler presents Freyja's mythology, folklore, associations, and relationships. There is also an entire chapter dedicated to Freyja's connection to seiðr, which explains what seiðr is and why it is important in a very straightforward way. There is also an entire chapter dedicated to connecting with Freyja as a modern worshiper.

I like that Daimler includes a section at the end of each chapter about their own experiences with Freyja. I also like that they talk about the importance of actually experiencing the gods and trusting our experiences. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that anything that doesn't match up with primary sources is wrong, and I like that Daimler takes time to shoot down that idea.

I also really like that Daimler does not tell you how to interpret the lore. Daimler presents a story, explains the different ways it could be interpreted, and leaves readers to make their own conclusions. This is a style of teaching I try to use in my own work, and I love seeing it done well here.

If you know next to nothing about Freyja, I think this book is an excellent place to start. Everything you need to make that initial connection is here.

Even as someone who has worked with Freyja for years and done lots of my own research, I found a few things I didn't know here. This book also gave me a new perspective on certain aspects of Freyja's lore. This is why it's always great to compare notes with other people.

If you're interested in connecting with Freyja or just learning more about her, I highly, highly recommend this book!

[spooksalotnoel]

The geek squad, and why MBAV had so much potential

For most of you this show hasn't been in your mind since you were 10-12. But for the ones who have rewatched this show recently, you will totally understand. I couldn't count on my fingers how many times I've seen this show. When I first watched this show I didn't even know there was a movie. Typically coming into shows like this, without context of the movie the show doesn't make sense. In this case, I watched the show 5 times before noticing the movie, yes, the added information of the movie really ties into the show, but it's still watchable without it. My Babysitter's a Vampire had so much potential it actually makes me sad. As far as rewatching it recently, that final episode is brutal without closure. I don't think I'd be able to watch a reboot if that was even a possibility. The original cast has such great chemistry and on top of that there's just the 2000's flare to it.

It sucks to see one of my favorite shows growing up lose everything. The fandom is also so extremely small due to its cancellation. But here's everything this show did right.

Casting, I think every actor incapsulates their characters greatly! They play their roles as 14–15-year-olds great and I think they display the awkward teen-age phase well. Every character is pretty likeable.

Soundtrack, the music directors/music compositors on this show put a lot of detail into their work. And mostly all of the songs were made exactly for this show.

Setting/environment, having the setting the way it is makes the show have such an amazing environment!

Overall, it's a bummer to see a show like this taken for granted. And it's also been taken off of Netflix, so I am especially hurt. I really hope there are still people who enjoy this show!

[thepopculturearchivist]

THE NEW YORKER, August 19, 1939.

And the review by Russell Maloney:

[embracedbythesea]

I finally finish this game after a lot of years and I can say that RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 is a story of survival in the midst of a wilderness that is giving way to urbanization, a glimpse of a future that is now crushing the past, a majestic and melancholic experience with a dense and articulate plot that masterfully blends into the changes in American society and away from the romantic and adventurous images of the Old West.

The atmospheres, the sounds, the noises, the causal events and all the technical details contribute to a deeper immersion in the setting created for this video game behemoth; a title that is "not for everyone" precisely because of its narrative and the rhythmic nature of the game itself, which cannot be experienced in bite-size. The beauty of the game lies in the fact that you can spend hours and hours enjoying the atmosphere of the West, going hunting, stopping somewhere to rest and seeing the interactions of the game itself, as you can encounter everything from the eagle swooping down on the river where you are fishing and stealing a fish, to the bear attacking a boar while you are hunting, or simply deer fighting each other, as if it were all so realistic that it would leave you stunned. You can't play this game and expect to finish it quickly, skip side quests, challenges, random interactions, or simply ride through the vast grasslands that are still standing, it's a game to be savored slowly and without rushing, enjoying every interaction between the protagonists and characters that populate the vast world of Red Dead Redemption.

It's a story of self-discovery, a total immersion in that West that is still trying to survive everything, fighting against moral but above all physical degradation; it was an attempt to make up for one's mistakes, to be a "good person" for those last moments, putting everything on the line and coming to the conclusion that what we thought was right, what always moved us, was actually a beautiful lie wrapped in a golden dream.

You arrive at the end of the game completely drained, with that feeling of abandonment and the desire to start all over again, to live this experience as if it were the first time, but knowing that it will not be, because the impact of the game will be too great, a real punch in the stomach that leaves you with a bitter taste in your mouth and just a hint of a sweet aftertaste, knowing that whatever choices we make in the course of a new adventure, we will come to the same conclusion.

And in the end, we will be there, in the shadow of what was once our trusty steed, watching the sun set over the prairies engulfed by civilization.

[meeks-just-wants-to-scroll]

🩸♥️THEY HAVE ARRIVED!♥️🩸

Immense thanks to @og-doeiika for making and sending me these charms and stickers!!! Ahhh I couldn’t be happier, I had a blast jingling them and figuring out ways to display them in my room. ❤️♥️❤️♥️

The Malt doodle made me smile so big.

I highly recommend buying the charm and or stickers!

Etsy Link to Stickers

Etsy Link to Charms

[lgbgchipmunk]

So my goal this year was to read books I wouldn’t normally read. I always struggle to pick my next read so I decided to create the #CriminalMindsReadingChallenge. It’s a list of every book, play, poem and graphic novel mentioned, referenced or shown through out the seasons (not including opening and closing quotes).

I have digitalised the list if anyone wants it.

Seasons 1-9 are on my instragram now. I just ask you reference me if you share or post on your bookstagram :)

[festeringmoons]

overall I think it’s fine to not like Marcella(you cannot be expected to like every fictional character ever, and she obviously is nowhere near a perfect person; far from it) but if you hate her because she took up space in a book the author has stated is specifically about women reclaiming power and you wanted to see more of your homoerotic serial killer boys then you should reevaluate your fucking biases <3

[sbbarnes]

Hockey Romances. Why?

So I was taken out of work a couple weeks ago due to ~pregnancy stuff~ (mostly just stress, the baby and I are fine) which has left me with a lot of spare time on my hands. And as one does, I have been filling my time reading lgbtq+ romance novels. Because I can.

In this time, I have fallen headfirst into the hockey romance novel subgenre, and I ask myself, as I have done every time I see these books advertised, why? I am not a sports fan. One time, my husband was watching football (European), and a team in red kits was playing against yellow kits, and I started laughing because "it looks like ketchup is playing against mustard". His expression was great, but he hasn't taken me seriously since.

So why is hockey of all things such a draw for the mlm romance subgenre? Especially given the NHL's apparent fear of rainbow tape? Why do I now know what the word "celly" refers to and what an "enforcer" is? Why why why?

Here are my answers:

Extremely organic way to set up some of the most classic romance tropes. Forced proximity? Being on the same team takes care of that. There was only one bed? Shared hotel rooms during away games. Enemies to lovers? Rival teams.

Lots of potential for drama given that players lead very transient lives in terms of the constant possibility of trades. In mlm love stories, even more so given that the NHL is so blatantly homophobic.

Perfect level of fame. Fame and wealth as a draw for a love interest are kind of staples of the genre, and NHL players are famous, sure, but not all of them, and they aren't as famous as football stars (either kind of football). They are still filthy rich, which makes great wish fulfillment. You can have the sexy penthouse and the anonymity.

I would go on to talk about how different roles on the team lend themselves to different tropes (goalie = tightly controlled dude who needs someone to help him cut loose; enforcer = misunderstood fighter with a heart of gold; coach for all your forbidden love/sleeping with the boss desires) but that would very quickly reveal my utter lack of hockey knowledge, so let's not. Instead, here's a quick reclist.

Rachel Reid's Game Changers series. It's a classic in the genre for a reason and it has everything. Forbidden love? Got that, maybe the definitive example. Redemption arc? Got that. Misunderstood bruiser with a heart of gold? Got that. Age difference? Got that. Also really excellent sex scenes, not gonna lie, and satisfying endings throughout - sometimes a happy end will come a little suddenly for me, but these books really delivered, and the nice thing about how romance series are structured is that you get a little peek at what comes after for the couples in the other books.

2. Him, Us and Epic by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy. This one surprised me, I don't generally go for first person POVs, but I did enjoy this! Coming-of-age story turned coming out story featuring a budding hockey star and his best friend. Lots of fun.

3. Scoring Chances series by Avon Gale. This series is fun in that it doesn't focus on the NHL, it actually focuses on the minor leagues in the southeast of the US, a place almost no one associates with ice hockey. As such, there's a chance to tell different stories about professional athletes who aren't super rich and famous, which I appreciate a lot. TBH the first pairing wasn't entirely my cup of tea, but I'm glad I kept going because I especially enjoyed the later books, which tackle tough topics (including eating disorders, abuse etc., so content warning for that). These are still romance novels though, so rest assured that there's a light at the end of the tunnel. What I especially appreciate is that these books don't have relationship drama, in that the main couples communicate and work together instead of a third act break-up-make-up!

4. Hockey Ever After series by Ashlyn Kane and Morgan James. These are just great. Lots of fun to read, lots of cameos from character in later books, just excellent mood all around. Also features my favorite ever trope (secret relationship, sorry, anyone who knows me knows I am a sucker for it I just can't help myself) heavily, which is a win in my book. I especially enjoyed book two, "Scoring Position". Is that because Nico is German and I loved him? Is that because Ryan is my new blorbo? We may never know.

Happy reading and please give me recommendations for more books like these, I'm lowkey obsessed.

[perducci-arts]

01/27/2024 - Morgan Yu

Prey (2017) is a phenomenal game in my eyes. It has a great set of tools at your disposal that it allows various creative solutions to problems. From using recycler charges to overcome an enemy, turning into a small object to fit into a small gap to simply using the simple ol’ firepower of a shotgun. The game really gets you to connect things together and try out unconventional methods.

Aside from that, its story is likewise in the same quality as its gameplay. The standout for me was the crew quarters’ story which had a lot of stories about the various crew aboard Talos I and one of the sweetest relationships I have encountered.

Overall, this game is perducci-approved!

[theaddictedwatcher]

Hello everyone!

The series I will introduce to you today is an American science fiction series categorized as cyberpunk. Created by Laeta Kalogridis (Avatar, Shutter Island, Alita: Battle Angel) and based on the novel of the same name written by Richard K. Morgan which was written in 2002, the first season of the series was commissioned by Netflix in 2016 and was released on the streaming platform in 2018. I'm going to tell you about the Altered Carbon series.

As always, let's start with a short synopsis: In a future where humans can transfer their minds from one body to another, Takeshi Kovacs -a rebel- is brought back to life 250 years after his death to solve the vicious murder of the richest man in the world -Laurens Bancroft- in exchange for his freedom. He must find allies, pay attention to every detail, and remember what he was taught as a diplomatic corps to succeed. And a short technical presentation : - Created by Laeta Kalogridis. Based upon Richard K. Morgan's Altered Carbon trilogy. - Music by Jeff Russo. - Main cast: Joel Kinnaman, Renée Elise Goldsberry, James Purefoy, Kristin Lehman, Martha Higareda, Dichen Lachman, Chris Conner, Ato Essandoh, Trieu Tran, Anthony Mackie, Lela Loren, Simone Missick, Dina Shihabi, Torben Liebrecht.

THE PRODUCTION

As I said in the introduction, Netflix ordered the series in January 2016, fifteen years after Laeta Kalogridis - the series's creator- optioned the rights for a film adaptation of Richard K. Morgan's 2002 novel Altered Carbon. According to her, the complex nature of the novel and the fact that the subject matter is rated R made it difficult to sell the project to a production company. But that was before Netflix launched the project as a series! In fact, the series was one of the many dramas commissioned in a short space of time by the streaming platform, which had committed to spending $5 billion on original content and agreed to make it a project for a mature audience over the age of 16.

Laeta Kalogridis co-wrote the script and was executive producer in addition to her role as creator of the project. Richard K. Morgan, the author of the novel, acted as a consultant during the production of the series. The first season - consisting of 10 episodes - was released in 2018 and the second season - consisting of 8 episodes - will be released in 2020.

In 2018, Netflix also announced an animated film derived from the series to ‘expand the universe’ by adding new elements to the story's mythology.

Titled Altered Carbon: Resleeved and released in March 2020, a month after the release of season 2, the feature film uses character designs by manga artist Yasuo Ōtagaki (Moonlight Mile). It is written by Dai Satō (Ghost in the Shell, Cowboy Bebop) and Tsukasa Kondo, directed by Takeru Nakajima (Sword Art Online) and Yoshiyuki Okada, and produced by Anima Studio. It also features an original soundtrack by Keigo Hoashi (Square Enix's Nier franchise) and Kinuyiki Takahashi.

Following the release of the second season and the animated film, Netflix decided in April 2020 not to renew the series. Unlike the cancellation of other series, the decision to cancel Altered Carbon was not linked to the COVID pandemic but stemmed from the lack of return on viewings to the production costs. In fact, the series is the most expensive Netflix production to date and, although production costs have not been disclosed, Joel Kinnaman - who plays Takeshi Kovacs, the series' lead character - said they had “a bigger budget than the first three seasons of Game of Thrones”.

Enough introductions, it's time to get to the heart of the matter! To be perfectly honest, I didn't enjoy watching this series, but I'll come back to that later. I didn't manage to watch it in full and haven't seen the film, although I'll give it a chance one day. In my observations and remarks, there could be questions that remain with me and which may have been answered in the episodes I couldn't bring myself to watch.

THE UNIVERSE

But let's start by giving you more information about the universe into which the series plunges us. The first season takes place in 2384, in a futuristic city called Bay City. In this future, a person's memory and consciousness can be stored on a disc - called a stack - implanted in the back of their neck. The shell can be human or synthetic. In the event of physical death, these storage discs can be transferred to a new envelope. However, if a person's disk is destroyed, then their death is final. While theoretically, this means that anyone can claim immortality, in practice only the richest people - the Meths - have the means to do so through the use of clones and remote back-ups of their consciousness. But these are very expensive and so reserved for a certain financially comfortable elite.

In this reality, Takeshi Kovacs - played by Byron Mann (Skyscraper, The Big Short) in flashbacks - is a political agent with mercenary skills. He is the only surviving soldier of the Envoys, a rebel group defeated during an uprising against the New World Order.

In the first season, which takes place 250 years after the destruction of the Envoys, Kovacs' stack is pulled from the prison where Kovacs was sentenced by Meth Laurens Bancroft. Played by James Purefoy (Solomon Kane, Churchill, Rome), the 300-year-old Bancroft is one of the richest men in the established worlds. Bancroft offers Kovacs a new shell - played by Joel Kinnaman (RoboCop, Suicide Squad) - and the chance to solve a murder and get a new lease on life.

The second season of Altered Carbon begins 30 years after the conclusion of season 1 and finds Takeshi Kovacs - played by Anthony Mackie (Captain America: Civil War, Black Mirror, Notorious) - the sole surviving soldier of an elite group of interstellar warriors, continuing his age-old quest to find his lost love, Quellcrist Falconer - played by Renée Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton, The Good Wife, Masters of Sex). The season picks up some of the characters from Broken Angels - the second book in the series - but has a plot closer to that of the third book in the series, Woken Furies.

THE POST-CYBERPUNK GENRE

The term post-cyberpunk was first used around 1991 to describe Neal Stephenson's science fiction novel Snow Crash.

In 1998, in an article entitled Notes for a post-cyberpunk manifesto, the writer and critic Lawrence Person identified the emergence of a post-cyberpunk current. Cyberpunk was popular in the late 1970s and 1980s (Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, William Gibson's Neuromancer). Lawrence Person defines post-cyberpunk as ‘bringing in characters and settings different from cyberpunk, and, above all, making fundamentally different assumptions about the future. Far from being lonely outsiders, post-cyberpunk characters are often an integral part of society. They evolve in a future that is not necessarily anti-utopian (in fact, they are often bathed in an optimism that ranges from caution to exuberance), but their daily lives remain marked by rapid technological renewal and ubiquitous computerized infrastructure.’ (Notes for a post-cyberpunk manifesto, 1998).

The following are the main differences between post-cyberpunk and cyberpunk:

Like its predecessor, post-cyberpunk describes a realistic near-future rather than distant futures set in space. The focus is on the social effects of technology deployed on Earth rather than on space travel.

Cyberpunk typically deals with addicted loners in a dystopia, whereas post-cyberpunk tends to deal with people who are more involved in society, from the middle classes of the population, and there are very detailed descriptions of the characters' environment.

The post-cyberpunk individual tends to be warm and funny, attempting seduction through optimism after years of seduction through dread with the cyberpunk individual, who is colder and more sinister.

In cyberpunk, the alienating effects of new technology are highlighted, whereas in post-cyberpunk, technology is society. Post-cyberpunk therefore allows more technocratic themes and themes relating to the downside of technology to be included than cyberpunk.

Post-cyberpunk also offers a more realistic description of computers, consisting, for example, of the replacement of traditional virtual reality by a network of voice, image, sound or holography based on the Internet, or the abandonment of metallic implants in favor of body modifications using biotechnologies (particularly nanotechnologies).

Post-cyberpunk undoubtedly emerged in part because science fiction writers and the general population were beginning to use computers, the Internet, and PDAs without suffering the massive digital divide predicted in the 1970s and 1980s. The underlying idea was therefore to humanize the construction of cyberpunk universes and bring them closer to the life that the world's population could envisage in the future with the new technologies that were flourishing. The nightmarish visions engendered by the genre, including and especially in the popular imagination, covered what such a future could contain that was desirable. This is not to say that technological paradise is just around the corner, but that it is possible to be healthy and sane in a hyper-technological universe.

Emblematic works of the genre such as Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell, and the video games Deus Ex and Deus Ex: Invisible War by Ion Storm, Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided by Eidos Montreal have all played a large part in democratizing the genre among a wider audience.

DIFFERENCES FROM THE NOVEL

As I haven't read the books, I'm giving you the information as I found it during my research into the series. I think I'll try to read the novels one day because, like the animated film, I'm very interested in the theme. As someone afraid of the direction our society is taking, of its relationship with technology, and in particular of its untimely and irrational use of artificial intelligence, I'm always interested in the warnings that artists try to convey through their work, whatever the medium. And I like to think that just because I didn't like an adaptation - it can happen - doesn't mean that the original material isn't worth discovering.

The first season is based on the novel Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan, published in 2002. This is the first volume of a trilogy recounting the adventures of Takeshi Kovacs, a post-cyberpunk techno-thriller series set on the West Coast of the United States at the end of the twenty-fifth century. Although the adaptation retains most of the main plot points of the first volume, the series introduces several major changes to its characters and organizations:

In the novel, the Envoys are elite soldiers of the Earth-based United Nations Protectorate, the complete opposite of the rebel freedom fighters portrayed in the series, who hail from Harlan's World where Takeshi Kovacs was born.

In the book, Takeshi Kovacs was imprisoned for his independent work after leaving the Envoys, whereas in the series, Kovacs is a captured rebel.

Reileen Kawahara's character in the novel was merely Kovacs' ruthless underworld boss and had no blood relationship with him, unlike their brother/sister relationship in the series where she is played by Dichen Lachman.

The Envoy who trained Kovacs in the book was Virginia Vidaura, whereas in the series she is only a minor character. The role of her trainer and her story are carried over to the character of Quellcrist Falconer, who in the third book is the messiah-like historical figure.

Falconer's rebellion did not take place during Kovacs' training, as in the series, but long before Kovacs was born in the books.

In Richard K. Morgan's novel, the Hendrix Hotel is a crucial character. It's not just a Jimi Hendrix-themed building, but also an artificial intelligence in the guise of Jimi Hendrix that has a strange bond with its only guest, Takeshi Kovacs. With Hendrix's estate refusing to license his image for the TV series due to its violence, series's creator Laeta Kalogridis chose the likeness of Edgar Allan Poe - played by Chris Conner - and a Victorian hotel for the replacement AI in Poe's image and said it would juxtapose well with the futuristic look of Bay City.

In the books, Kristin Ortega - played by Martha Higareda- is a much less important character. The main female character in the series, the dedicated detective doesn't have a devastating fight with the Ghostwalker, nor does she get a new super-powered arm. Her subplot with her family and religion isn't explored in the book and she isn't captured and tortured by Rei - although she is tortured all the same. Also, in the book her partner is called Rodrigo, not Aboud, and he doesn't date her mother.

And these are just some of the changes that were made when the novels were adapted for Netflix.

THEMES

Let's move on to the themes addressed in this dystopian work. Many of the themes addressed by the series - such as the human-machine interface, the alliance between technology and our society, cyberspace and objective reality, hyper-urbanisation and artificial intelligence - are recurring themes in cyberpunk and post-cyberpunk works.

Because of the technological implications, the subject also raises moral questions. Is murder always immoral if it is consensual and the victim can be reimplanted in a new body in the space of a few minutes? The police themselves issue permits for spectacular fights to the death, organized in the homes of the rich, with husbands and wives teaming up to fight to the death for entertainment (the winner receiving a new, improved body).

However, another major implication was raised during the first season of Altered Carbon, which Laeta Kalogridis herself underlines: the separation of soul and body and the question of gender identity. If you could choose your own body, would you choose the one you were born with? This is a critical question for transgender people or those whose gender is fluid, and, for the show's creator, the subject was only touched on in this first season. However, she told TheWrap in 2019 that she would like to explore this dimension in more detail :

“The idea that this kind of technology creates interesting intersections between your idea of your physical self and your idea of your inner or spiritual self, or your idea of being fluid in some way, certainly the idea of reassigning your gender, becomes a whole lot easier if you don’t actually have to do it surgically. At the very least it becomes different. You are still in a body you weren’t born in. And I think exploring the idea of being able to recreate the physical self in another different way, I mean we’ve barely scratched the surface of that. And LGBTQ, and so many issues, and the ways in which we feel comfortable or uncomfortable in our physical bodies, are things that I think the show is very right to explore but has not yet been able to do. Certainly first season. We touched on it a little bit — but not much. I mean if we did get a second season — which we don’t know yet — but if we were to get a second season, I would definitely say that was one thing we frankly didn’t have time to touch on and wasn’t dealt with in the book at all. We went a little further than the book did, but honestly, it was just about time.”

What's interesting to me about these themes is that the creators - Richard K. Morgan and Laeta Kalogridis - are both aware that technological developments of all kinds are changing the structure of the world, just as cars, air travel, the Internet, and cell phones have done, and that they're not trying to wrap a soft pink cloud around the dangers that could await us in a few decades.

COSTUMES

There's one aspect that surprised me, it's the costume work in the series. Having read that the production had created approximately 2,000 costumes for the series, including 500 unique, made-to-measure pieces, I was expecting to get a real kick out of this. And although the work of Ann Foley (Marvel's Agents of SHIELD) for season 1, Cynthia Ann Summers (The Last of Us) for season 2 and their teams is visible, I was expecting more grandiose costumes, especially for the Bancrofts who are one of the wealthiest families on Earth at the time of the story. The artistic direction chosen was to make simple, realistic costumes to illustrate the fashion of the future, while adding a color palette and specific details, notably for the Meths.

However, I really like the idea of subtle costume changes for characters who use the same body envelope to differentiate them, as with Miriam Bancroft and her daughter Naomi - both played by Kristin Lehman. Upon this subject, the actress declared that she was very interested in the challenge this ambivalence would require and that it was quite different from her usual roles.

SHOOTING LOCATIONS

The series was mainly filmed at Skydance Studios in Vancouver, Canada, where they stayed for eight months to shoot the first season. Most of Altered Carbon's scenes were created on green screen and in CGI to accentuate the futuristic effect of the universe.

Lead actor Joel Kinnaman told Canadian publication K5 News about the shoot:

"We had a set three soccer pitches deep. Around 400 or 500 extras were bustling around us, it was a real living city, with noodle stores, construction workers and police officers… You could just breathe in the universe without having to imagine anything."

Some of the sets were filmed in real locations, such as Laurens Bancroft's gardens pictured above which were filmed in the Rose Garden at the University of British Columbia, or the hall of the Marine Building, which served as the Bancroft family home.

The former Canada Post building was used as the setting for the Wei Clinic, where Kovacs was tortured. The scenes with the Envoys were filmed on the Sea to Sky Gondola suspension bridge in Squamish.

Other filming locations in Vancouver included the Convention Centre West Building, the VanDusen Botanical Gardens Visitor Centre, the UBC Museum of Anthropology and the Qube.

MUSIC

Finally, I'd like to mention the work done by Jeff Russo (Umbrella Academy) and his team on the series' soundtrack, which is, to me, the only real positive point of this adaptation. What I particularly liked about their proposal is that they managed to combine very modern tracks like techno or hard rock (e.g. Karate by BABYMETAL) with much older pieces like jazz masterpieces by Django Reinhardt or even classical music (Anton Dvorak or Mozart). Mingling this alliance with the original creations composed by Jeff Russo for the series allows this soundtrack to create the unique atmosphere of each scene, making it easier for viewers to identify the characters and the stakes involved.

To be perfectly honest, when I was writing this article, I was listening to the series' soundtrack which, even outside the series, is very catchy and captivating. Even though I wasn't really hooked on the series, it allowed me to immerse myself in this universe and draw some personal reflections from it. For me, it's one of the greatest proofs of a successful composer's work: managing to draw someone into a specific universe using a few pieces of music alone.

CONCLUSION

And we are done with the Altered Carbon series. If you've made it this far, thank you for reading and staying!

I'm a pretty tenacious person and don't like to give up on series along the way - even when I don't like them - so I have to admit I'm disappointed to have to add this series to the short list of abandoned series where it joins The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad (amongst others). Someday I hope that the animated film Altered Carbon: Resleeved will find favor in my eyes and redeem the adaptation of this universe, which at the moment still looks fun and interesting to explore.

Until that day comes, I'll leave you to it. Despite this setback for me, I can only advise you to follow Laeta Kalogridis' work and read this fine interview with her on the Refinery29 website, in which she talks, among other things, about her approach to nudity as a feminist weapon.

For those of you who have seen the series or read the novels, I'm curious to know your opinion, especially if it differs from mine. So feel free to leave a little comment below the article or send me a message, on the blog or on Instagram at @theaddictedwatcherreviews.

Have a great week, happy viewings, and I'll see you next time!

Eli.

[zahrabookz]

BABY OF MINE : A TONY STARK AND MORGAN STARK FANFIC

What if the Tony Stark survived the snap and was able to live with his family after ? What if Morgan has grown up to be a beautiful teenager ? And life is good for the Stark Family ? Until a horrible car accident ruins it all leaving Morgan the only survivor of the crash. Tony was unable to make it to the crash in time to save Pepper. Now with Pepper gone, Tony has fallen into terribly grief that could split his relationship with Morgan.

TW : Verbal Abuse, Depression,

CHAPTER 1 : LAST EMBRACE

The sound of screeching tires filled the air, as the car's wheels spun against the grey pavement, desperately trying to find traction. Black tire marks left behind. The driver's foot slammed down on the brake pedal, causing the vehicle to uncontrollably lunge forward then careen to the side A brief glance at the rear window, despair creeping in as one car slams into the left side and an oncoming truck smashing into the drivers side. Glass breaking at impact. A mother and child trying to comprehend whats happening. With a powerful force, they were jerked upwards by the impact and violently slammed back down into their seats by the seat belts that held them in place. The air bag deploying out sending debris to fly in front of them with a sudden burst . No time to blink. No time to call for help. The world seemed to spin and slow down, time itself seeming to stretch and bend around them. A broken seat belt torn at the top, flapped back and forth in the rushing wind. Morgan turned her  head toward the drivers seat, noticing her mother's arms reaching for her,desperately straining against the restraints. The car, now out of control, was flung off the road, crashing into a tree. Everything went black. Two heartbeats that were beating, faded into silence, leaving only one beating heart behind.

Morgan's eyes slowly fluttered open, groggy and disoriented from the impact.  Her head facing the ground as she he could feel a strange weight pressing down on her body. Morgan's vision blurry at first but slowly becoming clear as senses came back to her. A battered mug her mom had in the cup holder lay spilled on the floor near her feet, soaking into the carpet mats and slightly on her converses. The dashboard, floor, and seat were covered in shattered glass. "What a mess", she thought to herself, her eyes fixated on the coffee spilling out on the floor. Morgan slowly lifted her head, wincing as a sharp pain shot through her neck, yet the pain was overshadowed by the concern of her mother's well being. Morgan looked to her right noticing the deployed airbag, the smashed driver's side window, and the blood. Blood ? Was it her mom's ? Was it her own ? In a flash she suddenly remembered her mother reaching for her as if going in for a protective hug. When Morgan looked slightly down.....there she was.....her mother slumped over against her with her arms slightly in circled around Morgan. No, no, no, she has to be okay right ? She's just not moving thats all. Maybe she got knocked out.  Morgan's body went limp with despair. She summoned a flicker of strength and managed to unfasten her seat belt. However, pinned beneath her mother's weight, she was unable to move anymore. She was trapped. The uncertainty of her mother's condition and the possibility of help arriving weighed heavy on her mind. As long as she held on to her mother  maybe this nightmare will end.

[cozy-compendium]

“Freya” by Morgan Daimler (A Full Review) ✨✨✨

Rating: 5/5 stars.

-I like how Morgan Daimler separates her own experiences into their own paragraphs after stating the general unbiased and scholarly information.

-She does reference lots of sources, mostly scholars, but also the Eddas, Sagas, and physical historic evidence.

-Man does she love including Rudolf Simek’s hot takes on things. I had to look him up. But yeah. Keep that in mind. If you hate Simek you’ll probably get annoyed by all the siting of his works. I’m neutral cause I haven’t found problems so far with his opinions so it didn’t bother me.

-Love how Morgan Daimler gets into the details of theories like the Frigg = Freya theory (which I personally don’t subscribe to) and the Gullveig = Freya theory (which I actually do believe).

-You can tell Daimler put a ton of time making sure to carefully research, and also was in tune with the opinions of modern heathenry circles.

-It’s a short read, so great for my ADHD. And also it makes sense it’s short because the information that’s credible on Freya isn’t very much. So she didn’t waste pages trying to reach a word count. Concise! Very well written. Only one typo, and it’s easy to understand what Daimler meant by the context of the rest of the sentence!

-I give it 5/5 for all these reasons, but also as a devotee of Freya, it made me happy to see someone not portraying her through Wiccan tinted lenses.

[spooksalotnoel]

Mbav pairings within the fandom

requested by @ilovebennyweir

I want to start by saying these are just hc!

First off, remember that CANNONICLLY these are 14–16-year-olds. Anything within my hc I put into a more modern time. I don't know as far as aging up character's so all of these will also be within my moral thinking. I'll be providing some type of explanation with all of these. And for fun I'll be ranking them too!

5. Sarah and Ethan

Okay I know that in the show they do like each other but just a reminder Sarah was 17 and Ethan was 14, they started dating end of season 2 leaving Ethan 15. Guys I am not sure, even when I was younger, I never really liked this ship regardless of it cannon-ness. When it all came down to it, this just felt extremely forced.

4. Rory and Erica

again 14 to 17 age difference! And not to mention they look like they could be related. I think this one is more on Rory's part since he's a huge flirt. Other than that, I don't have much to say.

3. Benny and Erica

(Couldn't find a gif of them together.) Again, very similar to what I Say'd about Rory and Ethan.

2. Rory and Benny

Actually, one of my mutuals put me on to this pairing! In season one episode two, after rewatching it I noticed that Benny was really into the idea of Rory liking him. As for Rory, he is canonically pan. My mutual and someone else on here had said that this was Benny's one time he could be comfortable with his identity. They were pretty much late 90's babies, going into high school in early 2000's so it isn't surprising. I can write more about this if anyone is interested, just keeping it short for now.

1. Ethan and Benny

Now this is definitely a fan favorite and my favorite. Honestly there's a lot of reasons why this would work why it wouldn't work but again, it's something I can write a longer post about.

Honorable mentions: Rory and Ethan, Benny, Rory and Ethan, Sarah and Erica

(Now just want to add that Rornny and Rorthan are pretty much at the same rank)

Again, if anyone would want me to elaborate anything just let me know!

[robotsandramblings]

watched Tales of the Empire today. in summary... ehhh, good, but not great, imo. SPOILERS BELOW

Barriss' part was good, Morgan Elsbeth's was underwhelming, which disappointed me bc i was really looking forward to it. i really like her as a character and i think her story could be interesting, but i feel like star wars doesn't really know... what they're doing with her?? how to flesh her out?? what her overall motivations are / how to explain them?? idk i just feel like, here we got an additional 45-ish minutes to explore her character, and they did nothing with it, except the really cool fight scenes.

(also, i really loved seeing more of the Fourth Sister, but i hated her sudden change of heart in the end. #unpopularopinion lol)

(really enjoyed seeing Rukh in this animation style though!!)

(but i'm so used to Grand Inquisitor and Thrawn in the Rebels style, it's weird seeing them in this style, even though they're quite similar lol. THOROUGHLY enjoyed hearing Jason Isaacs and Lars Mikkelsen voices again, though!!!)

[thebloodbrothers-archive]

The Blood Brothers - Trees - Dallas, TX

January 6, 2003 photos - Danae

[balimode]

I'm not arguing with a man that hot. Whatever you say, handsome.

(Okay but for real this reminds me of Pedro Pascal's Valentino look last year. Fun!)