#very interesting to me also is the parallel to the last supper in the final scene

[bobafettuccini]

Seen a lot of folks making the connection between The Amazing Digital Circus and I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. I love that. I 100% agree. But that wasn't the first piece of lit I associated with it.

I immediately thought of No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre.

You may be familiar with this as the play that inspired the tv show The Good Place. Three dead people are put into a room together and discover:

1) They are fundamentally incompatible and being together is torture

and

2) They cannot leave

And thus realize that being together is hell and this is their enternal punishment.

I don't know if it's just me, but the characters in TADC don't actually seem to like each other. They may be used to each other by this point, even tolerant of each other, but they certainly don't get along. None of them are "friends" in the way we would traditionally describe it.

Zooble hates everyone and wants nothing to do with any of this. Jax is a smartass who intentionally creates chaos and is mean to others because he thinks it's funny. Kinger is very unstable and one step away from losing it. Gangle is so consumed with their own emotions that they won't acknowledge anyone else's. Ragatha is the nicest of them, but even she dismisses Pomni's fears and refuses to listen. Pomni is a coward who's desperate to get out and abandons the others at the first opportunity she gets. And Caine and Bubble are.. Caine and Bubble.

These personalities don't mesh well. We don't see any big moments of solidarity or friendship between them. I don't think they hate each other, but there's no love or fondness between them either.

Are they placed in there intentionally to torment each other to madness and abstraction? Idk. I just wanted to throw the parallel out there.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Parallels Between Rosita’s Death and Bethyl via @wdway

@wdway:

Here I go again, another long ramble. This one came about from reading comments of so many people who were angry at how peacefully Rosita died. 

Apparently a lot of people felt it was unrealistic on a show about dead people walking around for someone to die in peace. One person did have a very interesting thought. Could Eugene had given Rosita something just like he gave Sasha in s7 to easy her into her final journey? 

I found that idea to be very intriguing so I went back today to rewatch Rosita's death. IMHO Rosita had the most peaceful and beautiful death of the entire TWD series. I decided to not go straight to Rosita's death but to her last supper. And found myself as I often do falling into a rabbit hole.

Rosita's last supper reminded me of Beth and Daryl's. Gabriel the Sirius symbol in the same position as Beth the Christ figure. Rosita and Daryl the two apocalyptic warriors sitting to their left. 

We know that Rosita told Gabriel what is happening, that she is dying and we see that a very watchful and perceptive Judith understanding what must be happening. 

Soon after we see Carol and Maggie helping Rosita to bed. It seemed that Rosita had suddenly become weaker and a bit unsteady on her feet. It occurred to me that if knowing in fact that we were going to very quickly face a very painful death that would turn us into a monster how would we choose to die? I think for most people it would be to simply fall asleep.

I'm theorizing that Rosita was given an overdose of sleeping pills. Unless at some point the writers tell us outright we will never know for sure but the writers did give us a clue in e23 when Princess over the radio gave a code name of Aurora. Aurora or polar lights is a display of brilliant green lights in the northern night sky. Aurora is also the name of a fairy tale princess better known as Sleeping Beauty. 

After Carol and Maggie puts Rosita to bed they leave passing Daryl in the doorway. Again I am reminded of Daryl watching another beautiful young woman from a doorway.

Daryl watches ask Gabriel enters and kneels next to Rosita bed taking her hand in his and begins to pray. I can only imagine that Daryl is witnessing the funeral he wished he could have given Beth. A person who wished to give the dead the respect and honor of a funeral.

Gabriel rises and moves to the other side of the bed while Rosita stretches out her left hand to touch her beloved child, Coco.

The name Gabriel has a very special meaning in the Bible. Gabriel was an Archangel of God and messenger of his good news.

He gives us a prophecy here. We'll see you again someday.

Sirius Messenger Gabriel scoops up the sleeping cocoa and carries her out of the room as Eugene enters. All the while Daryl is watching from the doorway.

Something I realized as I watched Gabriel carrying little Coco dressed in pink and green was that Rosita is not the Sleeping Beauty, she is not Aurora. Cocoa is. Rosita will never awaken from her sleep but Coco will. 

We had just heard the Messenger Galadriel give the good news, we'll see you again someday. Aurora awoke from her deep sleep to find her true love. There is another Aurora. Another Sleeping Beauty and her name is Beth Greene.

Sleep in eternal peace Rosita.

@galadrieljones:

I’m crying at the club. That was beautiful. So sad, but beautiful

Your observations here intrigued me, too. Look at the composition of each shot. Beth is visually paralleled with the pink roses.

I remember those roses. They stood out so prominently ahead of Norman.

I also love your assessment of the angel Gabriel carrying Coco, and how this communicates a connection to Beth.

Also I haven’t talked at all about Rosita’s death. I think it affected me more than any of the other deaths, other than perhaps Lori’s. As a mother, it physically hurt me to watch Gabriel carry Coco away from Rosita. I couldn’t imagine having the strength to let go the way she did in the end. It was very hard to watch, and I’m still sad to think of it.

Lori’s death is the only other death that made me feel physically sick. The others have made me sad, especially Beth’s, which sort of angers me actually. But just Lori’s and Rosita’s have made me feel sick, just because of how much I empathize with them in those final moments, and it makes me think about how terrifying it would be to have to say goodbye to your child forever. Very good show.

It’s very crazy to me how far Rosita came. She started off as such a minor character that barely affected the narrative at all. It wasn’t until season 7 that she really started to come together, and then slowly she became such a pillar in the family. RIP Rosita.

@twdmusicboxmystery​:

Love this too! So beautiful! I couldn’t figure out why specifically they showed Daryl watching. I mean, other than the obvious of Rosita dying. But I think you came up with a very good explanation here. Really love it!

@wdway:

Thank you guys. I appreciate your kind words. When I went back to watch this afternoon I honestly was just thinking in terms of did they give Rosita something to help her die? It just snow balled from there. 

The true reason that I went all the way back to the dinner scene was that I wanted to listen to the Stevie Nicks song. Then when I was watching Rosita and Gabriel I just thought this looks like Alone. When they took Rosita to the beautiful Fairy Tail like bedroom I just thought what a beautiful scene her laying on the bed like a princess. It was Daryl dressed in black that was actually breaking my heart standing in that white doorway. 

I kept thinking that he had to be comparing this to Beth. I started to try to pull Snow White into it but I was starting to get tired even though I tried to go to bed and now I'm back up because I couldn't go to sleep ironically after writing about sleeping for the last few hours. 

I believe it was sleeping pills but Rosita was given because that's what she did, she finally just fell asleep. Can't we still consider that a poison? A take on a poisoned Apple something beautiful but deadly. Dyeing in your sleep isn't that everyone's wish. I thought how in the last year we had the story of the beloved Betty White who died in her sleep. What a beautiful peaceful way to go. Betty White/Snow White.

@galadrieljones, the flowers that are in the vase on the table in front of Daryl are not roses they're tulips. We do see pink roses in the shots with Eugene.

@galadrieljones:

Ah you’re right. They’re tulips! Still the resemblance with the pink stood out to me a lot.

@wdway:

I was thinking how tulips are such a spring flower. There were so many spring flowers in this episode. Spring a resurrection symbol of renewal and rebirth. I was thinking how it's a cliché but the famous phrase about Springtime in Paris. It's winter time though and they're supposed to be filming. I wonder if we'll see cherry blossoms anyway? We did see that one tree as Darrell was carrying Judith through the streets to the clinic there was a white potted pink blossomed tree I wonder if that was supposed to be cherry blossoms?

Isn't it strange how sometimes you put things together and you kind of understand why you're doing it but then later on it truly hits you why you group certain things together. Well this is one of those moments for me.

I think I subconsciously realized that what Beth was doing was reaching out for Daryl. In Daryl's shot he is laying on a white floor(white=Beth) with the black (black =Daryl) diamond representing Beth, he's reaching out for her.

In Rest In Peace Rosita is showing us that an extended arm symbolize reaching out for the most beloved thing in their life.

[ayzrules]

✶ 𝐇𝐗𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐒: 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 & 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒, 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 & 𝐃𝐀𝐌𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍   Long story short, I have been thinking about this for wayyyyy too long now and wanted to get some ~thoughts~ & analysis written down! This post is going to be...fairly long, lol. Apologies in advance :D

  Also, if you can’t see the last gif (the one for ‘holy’), click here. Tumblr keeps fucking up the image when i try to upload it :////

  This post is probably going to be about 2/3 yorknew & phantom troupe/kurapika focused, 1/3 chimera ants, maybe with some references to other arcs (including manga-only arcs) mixed in. so, ofc, tons of spoilers ahead! also, i realize that my blog theme is hard to read (and i’m p sure clicking ‘keep reading’ sends you to the og post itself), so i’m linking the post w/ full text copy/pasted in on my art backup side blog (which has a more legible font) here. 

✶ 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇   I’m sure absolutely nobody is surprised with me starting here - there is just. SO. MUCH. DEATH. in hxh. & right from the start, one thing I noticed that togashi really emphasized was the #4 and its connection to death. in japanese, chinese, and im p sure some other asian cultures the number 4 is pronounced like the word for death so it’s associated with death in general, and boy oh boy does the ‘deadly number 4′ thing show up E V E R Y W H E R E. we get to the hunter exam, and hisoka is applicant #44. kurapika is #404. i didn’t notice it at first, but this was so intentional holy shit. togashi is NOT SUBTLE.

  So pika & hisoka are, right off the bat, associated with death. okay. and then there are even more clues to drive the point home: hisoka is member #4 in the phantom troupe, kurapika’s birthday is april 4th (aka 4/4). 100% not a coincidence (!!). with hisoka, it’s pretty obvious why togashi’s throwing all this death 444444 stuff around - dude is a psycho murder pedo clown, literally gets off on killing people (and there’s also the fact that judas sits 4th from the left in the last supper painting, and he’s sort of the judas equivalent for the phantom troupe). with kurapika, though, it’s a bit more subtle and woven deeper into his characterization, which i LOVE. togashi puts the mans in blue & gold & white (traditionally ‘pure’ or ‘heavenly’ colors), makes him so fucking kind & so good-hearted.....when he’s not relentlessly pursuing his revenge, ofc. more on this in the next section, but pika = death. togashi has made that v v v clear.

  Backtracking a bit to hisoka, though, I also just wanted to point out the 4 is death symbolism in the fortunes too (GOD i love the fortunes): in one translation, he’s the false fourth moon, and in the og japanese (i think), he’s the false hare (4th in the lunar zodiac or w/e it’s called. i don’t know the japanese cultural influences here, but in the chinese legend that established the zodiac animals, they race across the heavenly river & the top 12 animals got zodiac slots. the hare finished 4th, so it’s #4 in the cycle). 

  And just as a final note, Tserriednich is the fourth prince of the kakin empire, and also another dude who has a hard-on for murder & other gory shit. again: togashi is not subtle with this, lmfao

✶ 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐘, 𝐔𝐍𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐘   As probably everyone who’s gotten to yorknew knows, togashi is so 0 fucks given when he wants to be. I mean there’s the whole thing where he just. took New York and decided, Yorknew. LMFAO, but also, he made the main antag of that arc be named chrollo lucilfer, sit around in a ruined church, have a reversed cross coat, pale & dark-haired/dark-eyed, generally dressed in dark colors, very terrible murder guy. liiiike......chrollo x devil symbolism game is 1000/10 at this point lmaooo

  And i know absolutely nothing about christianity in general, but pt/kurapika & yorknew arc is just so full of christian imagery/symbolism! one thing that i L O O O O O O V E though is how togashi really blurs the traditional christian-coded good/evil, holy/damned boundaries.

  Back to kurapika: he wears gold and blue, his coloring is very stereotypically ‘angelic’, he’s precious and good and kind. his chains are all about ~judgment~ and ~healing~ - some of the chains are also in literal cross shapes, aren’t they? And the chain dagger in his own heart...the imagery is very startlingly similar to the immaculate heart of mary, where the swords stabbing thru the heart apparently represent seven sorrows. IDK much about this stuff other than the visual similarities; literally had to google ‘daggers through heart christianity?’ to even get the name of that thing LOL. anyway, at first, it seems like togashi establishes him as the ‘angel’, the ‘good’, the ‘holy’ in the angel/devil, good/evil, holy/damned dichotomy between him and chrollo.

  But that’s not the end of the story. his entire storyline is driven by a huuuuuuuge giant desire for vengeance, first of all, and then there’s the scarlet eyes, which canonically are seen as demonic/cursed/what have you (according to one of the movies or smth? where they show pika as a 10 y/o?), and then we also have red eyes in modern culture being associated w pretty much the same thing (vampires, anyone?). the fight scene with uvo has everything in b&w besides the blood on his face & his red eyes & the moon (<<< more fortune foreshadowing & symbolism, i love to see it), and there are tonssss of scenes where he has to suppress his rage. so all of that is obviously not very angelic of him i would say LOL. in fact, what i find super interesting is that the scarlet/red eyes (which are ‘demonic’) is actually the driving factor behind his super powerful nen abilities; this ties in so well with the fortunes & death associations imo! the fortunes call him the ‘death-bringer’ in one translation, or ‘half-angel, half-death’, so that’s one side of pika = red eyes = death, but there’s also the fact that emperor time is literally draining his life force. so pika = death for both himself and others namely the pt, question mark?

  Now for chrollo: togashi’s devil symbolism is EXTREMELY overt with him, but i love the subtler jesus references too. the church thing, obviously, and the st. peters cross which is cuz st peter respected jesus too much & didn’t think he was worthy to die in the same way as him (or something like that, i am the most atheist person in the world & hxh is literally my entire christian education pls) but is also used as an anti-christianity symbol these days. bandit’s secret looks like a bible, lbr, and mans has a cross tattoo.

  Other things beyond visuals - 12 spiders, 12 apostles; hisoka’s betrayal, where member #4 can be thought to correspond to judas sitting 4th from left at last supper. and this miiiiight be a bit of a stretch, but i think the meteor city being the place of origin may also play into the blurred line between angel/devil and holy/damned here; meteors are defined as space rocks that are in earth’s atmosphere, becoming incandescent in the process. meteorites are for the kinds that actually reach the ground. and idk, lucifer was cast out of heaven / sky too right? so i think there might be some subtle fallen angel imagery/symbolism playing into the pt as well

✶ 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 (𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒)   Last section yay! i don’t have as much to say about this, besides when i was making chimera ant arc edits & realized that there might have been some subtle gon/meruem parallels???

  So obviously, everyone knows that line killua says to gon - “you are light” - and then i was just remembering that meruem’s name means.... “light that illuminates all” (!!!!). maybe it’s a coincidence, but knowing togashi, i’m leaning towards nahhhh. there HAS TO be some kinda meaning there (!!).

  Going back to the events of the chimera ant arc....ooh boy. let’s see: gon is optimistic & hopeful even in the face of kite potentially being dead, killua says he’s light, they find kite & dude is fucked up, gon is pissed. gets all angry & ~dark~, especially during the palace invasion when he’s staring pitou down as she fixes up komugi. then the actual fight against pitou: more darkness, more anger, but through it all there’s still light, namely his jajanken being very orange & fiery lookin.....and that final sequence, where he puts all his possible nen he’d ever have into his ~final form~ or wahtever & turns into a male version of true form!bisky but dressed in a crop top & short-shorts (i am SCARRED, btw. s c a r r e d !). there’s just huuuge flashes of light as that’s going on, and it reminded me of supernovas or dying stars when i was thinking about it, where the star is like, collapsing under its own weight? & burning thru its own fuel, until there’s nothing left except a dwarf or black hole or what have you. one final, extremely deadly burst of light & energy before death.

  On the meruem side of things: born into a dark cave, exhibits a traditionally evil/cruel/wicked/whatever personality/traits so that has ppl associating him with darkness. then he gets to know komugi, starts to appreciate other aspects of humanity, seems like he could have actually turned into a decent person who doesn’t want to eat everyone - so that’s a ‘path to light’, maybe? - and then the extermination team yeets themselves into the palace, netero takes him out to bumfuck nowhere, they fight. netero’s fighting is just ALL light, from his giant ass golden 100-type guanyin bodhisattva to the poor man’s rose. again, there’s the sense of finality to it all, in a similar vein to dying stars: netero comes in determined to kill meruem no matter what, and we all know netero doesn’t flake. then we see netero get destroyed after the zero hand, and he triggers the rose, and everything is burning & on fire before the flames are put out and all turns dark again.

  But wait!!! pouf & youpi revive meruem and all he does is play gungi with komugi, even with the poison of the rose. he eventually dies, and the gungi pieces in that final shot of them together (i am BAWLING just thinking about it holy shit) has one that’s all white, one that’s a black ring and white inside. i assume all white is for komugi, who has never done ANYTHING wrong in her LIFE, so i like to think that the 2nd one is for meruem - born “into darkness”, literally & figuratively, but he turns something like ‘good’ by the end. it’s interesting how togashi has sort of gone for a bit of a subversion here: the hero going from light to darkness, and the main antag from darkness to light.

✶ 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍   AahhhhHHHHHhhh so if you read all the way down here through my LONG rambles, tysm! i would LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear what other people think about all this, and i’ve FOR SURE missed tons and tons of stuff - chimera ants is just. SO MUCH. and i don’t know it as well as yorknew eeek.

  I’m not sure if i’m really ~knowledgeable~ in any other areas relating to hxh, so this might be the only one of these that i do, but i definitely think about some of this - esp all the religious symbolism & #4 stuff - a ton! so in the meantime, if it’s of any interest, i’m just going to shamelessly plug my hxh x religious beliefs/superstitions edit series :D lots of love to all!!!

[invisibleinorange]

A Different Ending |  6/?

Chapters: 6/? Fandom: Bridgerton Rating: M Warnings:  Only be forewarned that this is an AU from the Adrift saga but Colin actually died in this one, so if he’s mentioned he’s actually gone. Relationships: Benedict Bridgerton/Penelope Featherington, Colin Bridgerton/Penelope Featherington (past feelings),  Eloise Bridgerton/Penelope Featherington(besties),  Bridgerton Family Dynamics,  Daphne Bridgerton/Simon Hastings Characters:  Penelope Featherington, Eloise Bridgerton, Benedict Bridgerton, Daphne Bridgerton, Anthony Bridgerton Additional Tags:  Bridgerton, Penadict (do we have a ship name yet?)

Summary:  There were some requests for an alternate/Parallel word to "Bridgerton's Adrift" where Benedict and Penelope actually did get married. So this is the result of that peer pressure.

It had been a touch mortifying for the entire family to be aware of his private marriage life but at least they weren’t questioning that Penelope was happy anymore. He felt semi-smug in the fact that he’d actually been able to draw that side of Penelope out. He was thankful that in the heat of the moment his brother had been the least of his thoughts.  Based on the fact it had been his name of her lips, he was pretty sure that he hadn’t been on hers either.

It hadn’t just been a satisfactory or okay experience for him either. It had been good; So good in fact that he nearly scandalized his mother by apologizing off shortly after the biscuits were returned, saying that they were tired from their travels and needed to depart so that they could rest. Benedict had very little intent of letting her rest.

While he did take the time to show her the modest space they’d spend the next few months of their marriage while they awaited their forever home to be built, he wasted little time excusing her to their bedroom and stealing her away from the bloody gowns that she’d been tormenting him in for weeks. He spent every single second of the night making up for the fact he’d deflowered her in his mother’s kitchen by exploring every single inch of her flesh multiple times over.

He was somewhere between a nap and worshipping her creamy thighs when the knocking began.  He was bleary eyed, gaze seeing the first hints of sunlight coming in through the curtains.

“Ben,” she murmured.

“They should know better,” he muttered, pressing a delicate kiss there. He sounded half-asleep and gruff. He could very well kill whoever thought this was an appropriate time to call.  “They’ll go away.”

They didn’t go away though and the pounding seemed to get louder, more incessant. He was pretty sure that he heard screaming –

“That’s Anthony,” Penelope said sitting up, concern displayed across her flushed features. “Something’s wrong.”

Benedict hated the fact that she was probably right. Anthony certainly knew better than to come bother him.  He’d teased him after all about married life certainly making him for fun.  He pushed himself up, stumbling a bit to tug on some trousers. He was still tugging a shirt over his head as he opened the door.

Anthony’s hand nearly met his fist.  Once glance at his older brother and he knew something was very wrong and he tried to not let his mind go to worst case scenarios. Something was wrong with Daphne and the baby or maybe it was their mother.  They had a strange scared experience with death and he just knew from the countenance on his face that someone was.

“They found him,” Anthony said sounding shell-shocked.

Benedict nearly the previous last night’s supper at those words, instantly knowing what that meant for his family and for him.  He had to put a hand on the door to keep himself up right.

“Found who?” a voice said from behind him.

Anthony and Benedict exchanged glances before their gaze moved back to Penelope who was wrapped in a robe. This was men’s talk. It wasn’t something that either particularly wanted to drag her into.  Benedict also knew that he couldn’t lie and yet he felt mute.

“Colin,” Anthony said after a long moment, the word shaky.   He’d been presumed dead for months.  Whatever was there probably didn’t resemble Colin at all.  They had gone through all the processes. They’d mourned, they’d gone through the necessary funeral rights and they’d assumed whatever was left of him remain at the bottom of the sea.  They’d been wrong.

Her mouth opened slightly but she didn’t speak at that. The way she curled her arms around herself, stepped away from them made all those fears that had kept Benedict from acting on his growing feelings come racing up to the forefront and there was little he could do about it.

“They need me to identify the – him,” Anthony said trying to keep it together. It was pretty clear that the news hadn’t just arrived. When it had arrived in the night, Benedict couldn’t be sure but he was fairly sure that this unnerved Anthony was what he’d managed to come up with after being armed with several drinks.  He desperately wanted one himself at this point.

It was clear why he was there now. Anthony didn’t have to verbalize it for Benedict to know. He couldn’t go and do that alone.  They’d been through too much when they’d lost their father.  This was a trauma too far for the eldest Bridgerton. Benedict wasn’t sure he could handle this either but there wasn’t much choice in it.

“We’ll go then,” he told him simply.

He silently left Anthony standing there, long enough to find his boots and a jacket.  He quietly gave Penelope a kiss to the top of her head, almost afraid of what the state of his marriage would be when he returned.

In an instant, he was at Anthony’s side and off they went to handle the task no one was interested in.

--

The body had been kept boxed away at the harbor.  They’d been warned that it would be shocking to their systems but they’d been unprepared. Benedict was certain the smell of death was never going to leave his nostrils. Decomposition had already started in on what flesh hadn’t been eaten by sea creatures. Anthony openly retched at the sight and he wasn’t far behind him.

The task was done though. It looked nothing like Colin.  It was mostly skeletal at this point but there was some skin that had been protected by the cold water and the winter months.  They had found a birthmark in some it and that was the thing that they pointed out, to see if it was familiar.  It had been. There was no question who had they had.

Colin, or what remained of him, would be sent to the family tomb without much adieu since everything that could be done had been done.  All this meant was that he could finally be at rest.  Somehow, it didn’t feel like rest though.  It all seemed unfair.

Anthony was in no state to be alone after identifying their brother so they went to the club and shared a few drinks like they always had when they were all bachelors together. Before there had been ABC there had been AB.  Anthony had always been the one who kept it together, lead without fear but Benedict had seen just how vulnerable his brother was.

“When I die, keep it simple,” Anthony told him over. The words were a bit slurred but Benedict knew he meant it.  Anthony had spent the greater part of an hour going over his plans and requests for a day that Benedict prayed to never experience much less soon to occur. Benedict let him.

“We’re planning on going to Aubrey Hall soon,” he had added.  “Mother wants to make sure that I close the deal on a marriage.  I always thought that you and Colin would provide potential heirs to everything so I wouldn’t have to.  Eloise said things weren’t going well – you and Penelope seem to be doing fine though. I worried though-”

Benedict was pretty sure he needed to cut Anthony off now.

“I thought that Eloise said that there was a potential match,” he said choosing to redirect the conversation away from his marriage and his potential to produce a Bridgerton heir all together.  

“Edwina Sheffield,” he announced with none of the enthusiasm that should be anticipated at the prospect of a marriage match.

Benedict half-expected him to go into detail on her finer assets and why she was going to be a great bride but he didn’t.  It wasn’t someone he was familiar with since he’d been away and missed the start of the season.  He could only assume he’d meet his brother’s future bride soon enough.

“You do know that you’re allowed to be happy right?”  Benedict asked after a long moment.  Perhaps, it was something that he should have been willing to hear himself.

Anthony didn’t exactly respond to that.   The brooding only intensified.

It was going to be a long night.

--

Benedict could barely walk straight by the time he departed his brother who said he could find his own way home.  He had a sneaking suspicion he was going to find his way to one of this many flings.  He was so tired he was nearly delirious.

It was dark when he let himself in.  He moved toward his bedroom, prepared to check on his wife before slipping to try and get the stench of death, sex and booze off him.   The sound of Penelope sobbing startled him. The sight of her curled on her side of the bed, clutching her pillow hit him hard.

He kicked off his shoes before climbing in, arms curling around her from behind in hope that he might ease distress. She hadn’t apparently heard him come in through since she froze.

“I’m here,” he told her quietly, prepared to stroke her hair and hold her as long as was necessary to help her be okay again.  He was surprised when it only made her cry all the harder.

It took everything within him to not cry right along with her after the day that he’d had but he knew someone had to keep it together.

“I thought you weren’t going to come back,” she said after a long moment as if he deserved an explanation for it.

He couldn’t help but laugh when she said it. He’d thought she was crying about Colin being found or maybe because she regretted consummating their marriage.  The fact that she thought for a second that he was going to leave and not come back hurt him though.

“I’m sorry,” he said once he caught himself. She was in distress after all and laughing wasn’t the right way to go.  “I’m not leaving you though not as long as it’s within my power.”

“I didn’t mean to react the way I did this morning,” she said as if to offer some explanation. “I saw the look on your face and then it was getting late and I – I didn’t think you were coming back.”

Benedict pressed a kiss into her hair.

“I was worried about you,” he told her. He’d promised to always be honest and he supposed he owed her to be as much.  “I wasn’t sure what today would mean for us.  Not just what Anthony and I had to do but … everything that came before it.  It didn’t change the way I feel about you.”

She turned around slightly at that.  Her eyes were red-rimmed but he was grateful to see that she wasn’t actually still sobbing.

“It didn’t change how I feel about you either,” she told him softly.  There was a pause and a sniff that followed and she made a face.

“Such harsh criticism,” he said with a laugh, pecking at her lips before releasing her and climbing back to his feet. “I’ll be back after my hygiene is back up to your high standards.”

[clairen45]

Visions of Hell...

This second part to my Visions of Paradise Essay was unfortunately a LONG time coming. I hope it will not disappoint.

HELL IS A PLACE ON EARTH... sorry, on a galaxy far far away

So let’s go to Hell in Star Wars and see where it takes us. You can, at first, think of the obvious depictions of Hell, and, oftentimes, Star Wars plays by the rules by delivering your graphic vision of Hell: ie, in the collective mind, and as represented for centuries, as a place, filled with fire, brimstone, lava, suffering, dismembering, torture, with an emphasis on black and red colors. In paintings, this is how it translates:

So, with this visual in mind, this is what you immediately relate to Hell, as a space, in Star Wars:

In the PT, Geonosis (ep 2) and Mustafar (ep 3). You have the fire, the dismemberment (assembly line, C3P0; Anakin loses an arm; Anakin loses both arms and legs and gets burned to a crisp), the psychological and physical suffering, the heavy coded color palette... Visually, Mustafar has been  conspicuously designed to look like an archetypal Inferno. It is, after all,  supposed to be the lowest point of the saga, the Fall, echoing Dante’s first part of his journey.

In the OT, with Bespin  (ep 5) and Jabba’s Palace (ep 6), the visual imagery is more subtle, with some surprising twists and subversions.

Bespin is very interesting because it starts visually as a celestial place, normally coded as Heaven. But this is the place of treachery, and entrapment, which is already suggested by the color coding of the place as the MF lands on Cloud City:

It is a place of betrayal for Han and Leia, sold by Lando to the Empire; where C3P0 is, once again, in the same installment as Trilogy 1, dismembered; where Han is tortured and frozen in carbonite; where Luke is cornered by Vader, loses a hand, and gets the big reveal; a place of psychological and physical pain. Note that there are very few table/dinner scenes in the saga, so this one becomes the Star Wars equivalent of the Last Supper with Lando as Judas, and Han turning into a sacrificial victim.

Jabba’s Palace, is, in my mind, the most interesting Hellish place of the saga. Visually, it does not look like the glorious operatic Hellfest of Mustafar, but it is  actually a quite exhaustive take on sin and Hell as depicted by Dante. First, you have, quite as in the poem, two characters (C3PO and R2D2/ Dante and Virgil) entering a dark place to journey into the world of sins and punishment, and who are reminded, at the beginning to “abandon all hope”. This is C3P0 realizing that their master has “offered” them to Jabba as a gift. And what a wonderful and brilliant embodiment of the 7 deadly sins Jabba is!

Sloth and Gluttony

Pride

Greed

Lust

Anger

And envy, since when he sees Leia with Han he “covets” her.

Jabba’s Palace is quite the Pleasure Palace of all sins, between the boozing, singing, dancing, lusting, and killing people for entertainment. You can add to that the torture that he inflicts to the droids (again, dismemberment), the Rancor that is the equivalent of Cerberus as a Dog from Hell (his tamer’s reaction to its death is like that to the loss of a beloved pet), and the pit of the Sarlacc, which promises “ a new definition of pain and suffering as you are slowly digested over a thousand years”, so exactly like the promise of Hell to the sinners who are tortured forever... Jabba, and his palatial Hell, are very interesting because, for once, they are unrelated to the Empire and the schemes of the Emperor. This reminds us as the audience that Evil can take many forms and can often be found quite close to home, which sounds even truer in Luke’s case since Jabba’s Palace is on Tatooine, his home planet, and incidentally, that of Anakin/Vader’s as well. Jabba’s Palace was a bold interpretation of Hell. It is also very telling that all the characters (including Lando, in a rehabilitative process) are living the experience of Hell in Jabba’s Palace collectively, all facing the trials and overcoming them together. So it was not a one on one archetypal duel, the hero facing the villain.

In the ST, there is still of course ep 9 to reckon with, but in the meantime, we get mostly the Jakku opening scene, Starkiller base (ep 7) and the Supremacy and Crait (ep.8)...

We seem, at first glance, to return to a more litteral interpretation of Hell, more in the line of the PT than the OT, with flames, fire, smoke, the red and black color palette. But Hell, here, takes a "carry-on” form. It is less associated with a place than with a moment. Moments of Hell are created on different places, and are usually associated with the presence of Kylo. Hell is a place created by the characters. Like a bat out of Hell (his very distinctively shaped shuttle), Kylo brings Hell along with him, meaning that we have moved from a scenery, a background, to a more psychological interpretation of Hell. The inner turmoil that is tearing Kylo’s apart, his own inner Inferno, is released out on different places: the Jedi Temple, Jakku, Takodana, Starkiller, Crait...

The only place that exists as Hell in itself is possibly the throne Room on the Supremacy, and again, as mentioned before, this is movable Hell, since it is built on a ship...   

Another character who seems closely associated with Hell and its representations is Finn, which puts him again in close relationship with Kylo (check the links between the two characters here). The experience of Hell on Jakku in the opening scene is lived through the eyes of Finn. On the Supremacy, in parallel with Kylo and Rey’s hellish experience in the throne room, Finn is here again also facing the Inferno, which takes a very litteral form as Phasma is sent to a fiery chasm (and “hopefully” this time around her death).

There is thus an interesting progression in the saga. From Hell as something very  operatic that reflects the characters’ inner turmoils in the PT, but also exists visually on its own ;  Hell as a place of trial for the characters, sort of to test their mettle in the OT; Hell as a place that comes from deep inside the characters’ pain and conflict in the ST and can appear at virtually any place.

There is also a recurring theme about Hell and what it brings to the characters in terms of love and romance in specifically each 2nd installment of the trilogies. In every trilogy, the characters find love or admit love at the gates of Hell: Anakin and Padmé on Geonosis as they are about to be sentenced to death; Han and Leia on Bespin before Han is frozen in carbonite; in the throne room scene through the duel and Kylo’s botched proposal, and on Crait when Rose admits her love to Finn. Love at the gates of Hell has quite an Orphean, poetic quality, admittedly... Twice, as for Orpheus, it is about love found and lost: for Han and Leia, and for Kylo and Rey... It can also echo the idea that, as Dante put it, “the path to Paradise begins in Hell”.  Love has to be found in Hell of all places in order to lead the way to Paradise.

Not always in obvious places... “Hoth” as Hell

Hoth is a peculiar case. I do believe that it can qualify as a possible Hellish place... for one particular reason... In Dante’s Inferno, the very bottom of Hell, the place where Satan resides, is not a fiery pit, but rather a lake of Ice.

The first depictions of the Devil were not that of a red demon, but rather a blue angel, which for some time associated the devil with cold and ice, as depicted in this 6th century mosaic from a basilica in Ravenna (Italy):

So, taking a page from the history of the devil, ESB starts on a planet that is barely a haven (pun intended) for the Rebels. The middle chapter of the OT is really the “Hellish” chapter, from the opening on Hoth all the way to the Bespin finale. And I particularly appreciate the way they designed places that are supposed to symbolize Dante’s Inferno without once playing on the usual clichés: the “Hoth” (the word always struck me as odd) planet of Ice, and the celestial Bespin. Like Satan is trapped in ice in Dante’s poem, the Rebels are effectively trapped, paralyzed on their icy planet (and I am not hinting that the Rebels are evil, but rather that they fnd themselves caught up in a form of Hell). And they also end in a trap on Bespin, with Han this time literally frozen. Vader, the representation of evil here, is thus not sending Han (and possibly Luke) to a fiery pit of lava, but to a place that freezes them. Back on Hoth, this is a place where the rebels are hardly sheltered and live under constant threats of death due to the terrible climatic conditions or hostile hungry creatures. Note that when Han goes to get Luke, this is what he says:

This is rare enough as an occurence to be highlighted. To my knowledge (feel free to pitch in), there are only two other instances where Hell is mentioned in the saga: by Uncle Owen in ep 3 ( “Well, if he doesn't have those condensers on the south ridge fixed by midday, there'll be hell to pay” ), and in episode 7, when Finn utters the infamous:

Finally Hoth can work as Hell notably because of the wampa figure, which rightly features among the potential satanic or hellish creatures in the very long list of bizarre Star Wars creatures.

Minions of the Devil, Evil Eye, and Satanic Creatures

Just like Hell as a space, some creatures are right in your face Satanic, or meant to embody evil. In the OT, ep 1, this is Darth Maul’s sole raison d’être.

In this interview with Bill Moyers, this is what Lucas has to say about him:

BILL MOYERS: When I saw him, I thought of Satan and Lucifer in “Paradise Lost.” I thought of the devil in “Dante’s Inferno.” I mean, you’ve really — have brought from — it seems to me — from way down in our unconsciousness this image of — of — of evil, of the other.

GEORGE LUCAS: Well, yeah. We were trying to find somebody who could compete with Darth Vader, who’s one of the most, you know, famous evil characters now. And so we went back into representations of evil. Not only, the Christian, but also Hindu and Greek mythology and other religious icons and, obviously, then designed our own — our own character out of that. (...) A lot of — a lot of evil characters have horns. It’s very interesting. I mean, you’re trying to build a icon of evil, and you sort of wonder why the same images evoke the same emotions.

Ok, so basically, as avowed here, they just wanted a very visual embodiment of evil, something that could rival Vader in ep 4. Except that, as iconic and mesmerizing his look was, he didn’t say much, didn’t do much except jump about (indeed beautifully), and we know nothing about him, his motives, his purpose. Looking evil does not make for a great villain. And we knew this was not the big bad guy, just a henchman...So, not Satan, but a minion of the devil. And there are plenty of other aliens that dress the part just as well. Take for instance that cute as Hell guy from episode 4, found in Mos Eisley cantina:

He sure looks the part, complete with horns. He is just a cameo, though, to add to the list of nightmarish creatures from the cantina. To Luke and to the audence they were meant to be scary, shady, and strange. Were they truly evil? Obi-Wan had warned Luke: “You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy”. So, I guess, yes? But this is also where they found Han and Chewbacca, and despite shooting Greedo first, Han turned out to be “nice men”. So maybe Satan horny guy would have been chummy on second thought?

Another interesting creature with horns is that one:

This is not a minion of the Devil, he could almost past as a furry fuzzy yeti. But the wampa, from planet Hoth can work as a hellish creature. It’s got the horns, it captures Luke, and threatens to eat him. Interestingly each first installment of the saga presents a scene where the heroes have to face creatures that seem to come straight from Hell and threaten to devour/eat the heroes: the aquatic monsters from the core of Naboo (note that Anakin IS NOT there), the creature from the trash compactor that attacks Luke, and the Rathtars that run loose on Han’s vessel and almost get to Finn... A reminder that Hell can take many different forms. And, if you think about classical representations of Hell, the Devil is often seen as devouring his victims:

Of course, you can also interpret these creatures, devouring exclusively men, as a representation of the threatening female mother/genitalia (vagina dentata) or you can think about the belly of the whale in Jonah’s story and take it as a rebirth... Talk about rebirth to Bobba Fett or those Kanjiklub dudes...

Other specimens that threaten to devour the heroes, and could be viewed as possible Hellish creatures:

The nexu and the acklay in AOTC

The space slug in ESB

The Rancor  and Sarlaac in ROTJ

Not to mention the most dangerous of them all:

Yup, without the help of powerful magic (or snacks), this carnivorous savage furball will hunt you down and feast on your flesh!!! Need any proof besides Han tied up to get BBQed? They even did a Forces of Destiny episode where Leia was saving the lives of innocent stormtroopers about to become dinner:

Joke aside (for you Ewok lovers), meeting wild animals (possibly in a forest, I see you, damned Ewoks!) is also part of Dante’s journey to Hell. At the very beginning of the poem, before starting his descent, Dante is attacked by three wild animals: a leopard, a she-wolf, and a lion. With just a bit of a stretch, you can find this idea in the arena of Geonosis with the three alien beasts set upon Padmé, Obi-Wan, and Anakin.

The first two trilogies seem to play with the devouring beast trick more consistently than the ST which just offered the rathtar. Devouring beasts were conspicuously absent from TLJ. Even though there was the shadow of a threat through the gigantic sea creature that roamed the seas around Ahch-To, the animal remained distant. On the contrary, animals were feasted upon: the porg, the fish, the milk from the Thala siren, which was a strong departure from the usual trope. It will be interesting to see what episode IX offers in that scope, but if the devouring beast remains absent, I think it will go along the line that I already suggested about Hell. The devouring creature is no longer an OUTSIDE/OUTER threat to the heroes. Rather, the devouring creature, the one that can consume you inside and out, is WITHIN yourself, in your heart and soul. Moreover, the devouring beast in TLJ was also the role taken by Snoke on a symbolic level, as an echo to Palpatine who preys and feeds on people’s suffering and weaknesses.

I would like to come back to the Dianoga from episode 4 though, because, on the screen, it does not appear as a toothy fearsome creature, but as an eye. The concept of the “evil eye”, that is to say the idea that a mere glance could curse you and bring you harm, can be found in many cultures throughout the world. It is probably a corollary of the idea of the omnipotent everseeing eye of God. The evil eye is not necessarily associated with the Devil himself, it usually comes from a person who is envious. Nevertheless, in The Lord of the Rings, Sauron, who is Evil incarnate, is materialized as an Eye, red, fiery, reptilian shaped. Equivalent “evil eyes” can be found in Star Wars. It can take the form of just one eye, as with the Dianoga, the gatekeeper’s device in Jabba’s Palace, and more interestingly, Starkiller base, which, with its cannon, looks, especially on the posters, like a one-eyed monster and brings new massive meaning to the notion of “if looks could kill”...But it can also be materialized in the evil Sith eyes of Maul, Anakin, or Palpatine. But note that Anakin’s evil eyes come and go, and that not all the villainous characters get the evil eye treatment: it never shows up in Count Dooku, Snoke doesn’t have them, and Kylo never has them either...

Who’s boss? Satan, Lucifer, and their Legions

As we have seen, there are many possible Hellish creatures in Star Wars, but, like Sauron’s ring, is there one to rule and bind them all? There is an important divide to mark here, a dual personality in Evil, that echoes the very way the figures of Lucifer or Satan have been evolving and developed. Most people now tend to fuse the two, but they can be viewed as two rather different entities. As this article sums up:

1.Lucifer is the highly favored angel created by God whereas Satan is his name when he was thrown away from heaven. 2.Lucifer is an angel of God whereas Satan is the name of the devil. 3.Lucifer is not the exact opposite of God whereas Satan is a name that pertains more to opposition. 4.Lucifer has a physical form whereas Satan does not have any.

Lucifer’s name comes from “the carrier of light”, an essential idea in the scope of Star Wars, and in this respect, Lucifer’s embodiments can be found in Anakin and Kylo. Anakin, like Lucifer, is a creature that comes straight from the highest power (God/the Force), and is the chosen one, the favorite, the most beautiful of all the angels. In his casting of actors for young Anakin, George Lucas picked a blond blue-eyed boy with cherubic potential (who incidentally is the only one of the saga talking about angels), and a hot up-and-coming young actor. Anakin is designed to be attractive. Like Lucifer, his tragic flaw is also his pride and hubris, and his desire to play God, which shows right at the beginning when he boasts himself of being the best pilot (he has never won or been in a podrace before) and the fact that he has designed, on his own, a sentient character (C3P0). Anakin rebels to the Jedi Council the same way Lucifer rebels to God: like angels he can’t marry or father children, he is not allowed the rank of master and must keep on bowing down to others while being better than them (Lucifer and the mortals). Anakin is clearly portrayed as a fallen angel, who, like Lucifer is punished and sent to the visual fiery Hell of Mustafar, and encased forever in his own personal Hell, the loss of the woman he loved, and probably endless physical suffering in the persona and armor of Darth  Vader. But does Lucifer become Satan? Even though Vader was a striking embodiment of evil and a mesmerizing villain, he was immediately presented in ANH as a henchman and not the main boss. Even Leia was not afraid to tell it as it was:

And he appeared very subservient in front of the Emperor, which disqualifies him, in my view, as Evil incarnate. Vader is NOT the boss. This is the greatest irony about Vader: as a little boy, enslaved, he dreamed of living a free life, and he ended up bound up forever to his master, as well as to the apparatus that maintains him alive. You can call that survival, but this is truly a pathetic life. Though Milton chose the name Satan for his poem, his character is actually closer to Lucifer, the Fallen Angel, a tragic figure with undeniable seductive appeal through his intelligence, his infectious and passionate speeches, his sadness and torment, which make him, arguably, the perfect “anti-hero”,a romantic figure. Milton’s Satan claimed that it was “better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven”. Maybe that was Anakin’s idea, but he never got to reign, even though the thought apparently stuck with him all these years, from his initial offer to Padmé to his offer to Luke to “rule the galaxy” together.

Enters Kylo, who presents striking similarities with Grandpa Vader. Like him, as a child he gets to struggle with a tremendous burden: Anakin is set out as the “chosen one”, Kylo as “the legacy child”, both with “raw, untamed power” that is unknown to any other Force sensitive, which makes them the beloved of the Force. Like Anakin, Kylo’s character is designed to be seductive, wavy hair and shirtless scene included. Like Anakin, he is a fallen angel, and his patricide aligns him with Lucifer’s attempt at defeating God (aka the Father). Kylo is not immune to pride or hubris either, but just like Anakin, he also finds himself ironically in a subservient position. Seductive in their youth, they both don the costume of evil and its outer signs (black, fiery red saber, satanic crossguard for Kylo, dehumanized mask), but the main difference is that evil has consumed physically Anakin. Vader is the ONLY persona he has left to survive, whereas Kylo merely plays the part. He is still very much human, and very much Ben Solo, as Snoke keeps reminding him.

Both men have been manipulated since childhood by an older man/humanoid who has twisted their minds and hearts and finally gets them to contract a Faustian pact that -as all pacts with the Devil- never delivers. In both cases they do not become more powerful than they were before, and the price must be paid with the blood of their families/loved ones.

If we look at the distinction between Lucifer and Satan, Vader and Kylo can appear as the physical manifestation of Evil, ie Lucifer, the fallen angel, whereas Palpatine and Snoke, who incidentally most of the time appear under a holo form, are more like Satan, the ghost of Evil who needs to borrow/possess other physical forms to engineer his evil deeds. As French poet Charles Baudelaire penned in the 19th century (and quoted from in Th Usual Suspects): “ the loveliest trick of the Devil is to persuade you that he does not exist”. So both Snoke and Palpatine rely on holo forms, traveling, remaining away, hiding in the shadows or under a cloak. Even though the audience (who is familiar with the OT) know from PM that Palpatine is the elusive Darth Sidious, the Jedi Council is unable to identify him through 3 full length movies (!!!!). Like the Devil, he is the one whose very existence is constantly doubted, hiding behind different forms such as the Federation ViceRoys, Darth Maul, Count Dooku, General Grievous, finally Anakin/Vader, a form of demonic possession if ou will. Even Padmé and JarJar become hosts to Palpatine’s infectious powers, as they innocently do his bidding and become his puppets in the Senate. In the OT, the Emperor was conspicuously absent in ANH, and appears for the first time solely as a hologram in ESB. Disincarnated, the Emperor is the best embodiment of the spirit of Evil, nowhere to be found, and thus potentially everywhere, in his henchmen, but above all in the very satanic notion of his “legions”, aka the stormtroopers. Indeed, in Mark 5:1-20, Jesus exorcizes a man possessed by a demon and when asking the demon his name gets this all-too famous answer: “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many”. Whereas the Emperor and Snoke in TFA remain hidden, the galaxy -and the screen- is filled with their legions, droid army, army of clones, stormtroopers, disposable, replacable...

And indeed, when the Empire collapses, the First Order rises right away, evil ready to take another form, moving effortlessly from Palpatine to Snoke... When the figures of Palpatine and Snoke are revaled though, it is with all the usual Satanic codes and paraphernalia. In the PT, Palpatine gets the creepy treatment, with the maniacal laughter, the hooded robes, the evil eyes, the blue devil with horns at his side, the red room, AND the very not subtle art flair in the background that looks like a depiction of Hell:

In the OT, he gets the red guards by his side, and the spider web motif of the Death Star in the background.

As for Snoke, he gets Satanic garrishness through red and gold, in the throne room scene.

Yet, both these satanic figures get defeated eventually, and, according to some critiques, rather quite easily. So what’s the point? Well, the point is how and by whom they get defeated in the first place! Every time it is by the Lucifer figure, ie Anakin and Kylo, the ones that were seduced and corrupted, highlighting once again the dual nature of evil, and meaning that evil is not something that is supposed to be found OUTSIDE of our nature, but WITHIN. Every time, the fight with Evil is first and foremost a fight with ourselves, our very nature. So it comes down to each and everyone to defeat the source of evil, no hero can come and do it for us. It is very important and revealing that neither Rey nor Luke were the ones actively killing Snoke/the Emperor. The “villains” have to become the agents of their own redemption. Even if this redemption is made possible through the love they feel for the heroes ready to die for their rescue.

It is even better that Snoke died earlier in the story of the ST than many had expected before. Because it forces us to question the nature of evil. It is easier and more comforting to lay the blame and point fingers at the very obvious figure of evil, the Satanic paraphernalia, the scarecrow, the snoke and mirrors if you will, as in The Wizard of Evil. As the obvious villains, Palpatine and Snoke serve a function: they are the gold villainous standard to which we are asked to compare our resident other villains, Vader and Kylo. And, of course, the very fact that Snoke and Palpatine are indubitably irredeemable means that, logically, the other two are indubitably redeemable.

The position that Kylo finds himself in at the end of IX is a first, though. Vader did not survive his master, but again, he was too far gone for us to imagine him with a full redemption arc. He could die, but he could not be reborn. With Kylo, the potential is still very much in the open. What Kylo finds himself facing after defeating his inner demon (aka Snoke) is actually what remains after the fall of the scarecrow : the mundanity of evil (as Hanna Arendt called it). I would not necessarily call Hux mundane, but, just like the officers from the Death Star in ANH, they are not supposed to be the big “in your face” Fairy Talish villain. They are the legions, the brainwashed masses, the military honchos, the war profiteers, the obedient soldiers... Once the curtain is pulled (or burned down in the throne room scene), this is the harsh reality of evil that remains: the Huxes, the Tarkins... Yet, even there, hope remains. In introducing the character of Finn, the ST shows that, from within the very masses that represent the legions of evil, change can also come. The ST gives to the mundanity of evil a potential redemption. I was actually stunned when reading the Junior novelization of TFA by the importance given in chapter 1 to Finn as FN-2187 and his interactions with his comrades, who are given nicknames, voices, and an identity. We know that a scene was deleted in TLJ with more of these interactions. I wonder if episode IX is not going to be more straightforward about that and show how Finn was not, as Phasma called it, a mere “bug in the system”, but a foresign of deep structural changes...Fighting Hell and Evil is not just the stuff for mythical heroes facing dragons and monsters, it is, even in Star Wars, an individual quest (Anakin, Kylo), and something even a stormtrooper, or a nobody, can fight and possibly win.

If we go back to Dante’s Divine Comedy as a literary influence, we must remember that the progression is that of a descent followed by an ascension: first into the deepest pit of Hell, then up through Purgatory, to finally ascend into Heaven. Obviously, the purpose is supposed to be uplifting. It celebrates Redemption through the power of Love, and  Faith in God. As much as a physical journey, it is also, of course, a spiritual journey. Something that resonates deeply in the star Wars saga. If each trilogy contains elements here and there, places of Paradise, places of Purgatory, and places of Hell, in order to make sense with the different mythical and religious themes embedded so far, the saga as a whole needs to follow the same path. So the PT is about the trip to Hell (Anakin’s fall), the OT can work as Purgatory as it is very much about expiation, cleansing, and purifying, and yes, normally, the ST is supposed to be about a spiritual ascension, and the redeeming power of love. In Dante’s final vision, women (through the Virgin Mary and Beatrice) and their compassion play an important part. It seems like women are taking a bigger part in the ST. And the last lines of Dante’s poem are really noteworthy in the scope of the saga as a whole :

But by now my desire and will were turned,            

Like a balanced wheel rotated evenly,          

By the Love that moves the sun and the other stars.        

We could argue that the PT is very much about desire (Anakin), and the OT very much about will (Luke). And, in a way, the ST is very much about what happens when will and desire have to co-exist and balance each other out. Rey and Kylo are undeniably a mix of both. And, it is my personal belief, like so many other fellow bloggers, that the point of the saga is to be, like the final line of Dante’s poem, about balance. And I am quite partial about this idea that love will move the sun and the stars... like the Force. Moreover, when reading the quotation from The Journal of the Whills in the novelization of TFA,  something really struck me:  the “refined Jedi sight”. In Dante’s final vision, an emphasis is definitely put on eyesight, and the way eyes become “crystal clear”. Between Rogue One and TLJ, crystals seem to take more and more importance in the conclusion of the saga...

Remember, the path to Paradise is through Hell, and, guys, ascension is on the way . Buckle up!

[cchmissions]

Israel Day Nine: Tuesday 1/08/19

Waking up Tuesday morning was difficult, for many reasons; knowing we wouldn’t be returning to the hotel; the stress of packing, unpacking, and repacking your suitcase hoping to get everything to fit once again; trying to mentally prepare ourselves for our 36 hour day and all the travels that the day held; and most grim, knowing our time in Israel was running out. Yet we made the best of our situation and left the hotel with high hopes of what our last day might have in store for us. Our hotel was located in the Northeastern part of Israel and our airport, the final destination of the day, was located near the middle of the country on the western side along the coast of the Mediterranean.

Because we did have such a long day of driving, our tour guide planned a stop along the way at Caesarea. In 22 BC, King Herod had a dream that he wanted to build the largest port on the Mediterranean. Twelve years later, his dream came true. Caesarea, named after Augustus Caesar, used to be a very powerful city because of it’s location along the shore and the numerous entertainment options it provided. Before modern-day cruises became popular, ships would only sail shore-to-shore and dock every night so the fisherman or passengers could sleep on land. Caesarea offered its’ inhabitants and guests with plenty of leisure activities: chariot racing, gladiator games, and live theater at the large amphitheater that would have held 6,000 people. Unfortunately, a lot of this materialistic city was destroyed by conquest or overtaken by the waves of the Mediterranean. The amphitheater though is still functioning and used weekly for concerts. Most sites we stopped at had a gift shop, Caesarea being no exception. This shop was special though in that it had Bamba, our new favorite Israeli snack. More than half the group bought a bag to eat on the trip home.

Our next stop was Tel Aviv, or the New York of Israel. It is Israel’s second largest city and most populous city, oddly enough it is also one of the newest cities in Israel. Founded in 1909, Tel Aviv became a place where Jewish refugees would flood throughout the 20th century. Today it is a major tourist attraction, known for its’ nightlife, shopping, and fashion industry. It was very fitting that we spent the majority of our time in Tel Aviv at the Caramel Market, the largest market in Tel Aviv. Two city streets, parallel to each other, were full of vendors selling handmade crafts, produce, off-brand clothing, spices, sweets, electronics, wall décor, and so much more. The narrow streets were packed with other market goers all trying to get a look at the goods being offered; it really did feel like New York.

While at Caesarea, our guide Efrat received an exciting phone call saying that we would be able to tour Independence Hall, the building where Israel declared it was a nation, while in Tel Aviv. The Hall was supposed to be closed for visitors for the next few years, so our visit was truly an unexpected treat. Beginning as a house, then an art museum, and now a historical site the Independence Hall has had about as many changes as Israel has. During our tour, we sat where guests sat in 1948 during the meeting that would eventually declare Israel a nation. There is nothing particularly special about the house, which makes it a rather odd place to have such an important meeting. But because Israel was still not at peace, the founders needed somewhere safe where they could meet. The then art museum seemed like the perfect disguise, and the shelter walls and high windows of the basement didn’t hurt either.

After being educated about the creation of Israel as a nation, we got on the bus and took a short ride to Joffa/Joppa. This ancient port has many biblical stories attached to it: Solomon transported cedars here to build the First Temple (2 Chronicles 2:5-6), Jonah the prophet fled from God (Jonah 1:3), and where Peter brought Tabitha back to life and stayed with Simon the Tanner (Acts 9:36-43). Our first stop was an outlook of the shoreline and St. Peter’s church, built to commemorate the visit and miracles of Peter while in Joffa. Efrat shared that most churches face east, in Israel however, because sunlight and Jesus will eventually come from the east. St. Peter’s church is no exception, but because it faces east towards the Mediterranean Sea, it is meant to represent that the church is open to all people even those across the sea—even Gentiles. We then walked to the believed site of Simon the Tanner’s home, and Lance retold the story of Peter healing Tabitha Dorcus. Back on the bus it was time to go to the Closing Dinner.

The entire trip, Passages had provided five-star accommodations, but the Closing Dinner was the most luxurious of all. The conference hall where we ate was two stories tall, with one wall being glass windows from the ceiling to the floor. Before being served, our group along with Efrat and Michael, our body guard, met in a separate lounge to hold a debrief of the trip. Everyone shared their favorite part of the trip and something they learned/want to take back with them. It was interesting hearing the 38 different perspectives of the trip, and how some people’s highlights were others deleted scenes. It was very bittersweet, sitting all together one last time, knowing we wouldn’t ever be able to recreate this trip.

Since my return, many people have asked me “Would you want to go back?”. And the easy answer is yes, yes I would. But honestly, I feel that it would be a disservice if I went back outside of Passages. Having started only three years ago, it was amazing how developed, professional, and pristine Passages and the entire trip was. They provided us with so much extra information, viewpoints, and insights that made the trip all the more meaningful. The immense amount of detail and effort that is poured into our schedule really showcases Passages desire for the students to learn and be more than just mindless tourists. I also couldn’t imagine coming back and not having Efrat as my personal guide. Her knowledge of the bible, land, Jewish culture, and Israeli history was absolutely inspiring. She said that she started giving tours after college just trying to make some money before something better came along, 29 years later she has mastered the art of tour-giving and could probably do it in her sleep. I would say without any doubts, that every single person on our bus was positively affected by her presence and inspired to learn more about our own faith because of her.

For our last supper, pun 100% intended, we were served our choice of veal, chicken, or fish. A significant amount of sides and pita was also consumed. While dessert was being served, we acknowledged each of the 8 buses, the faculty, tour guides, and body guards that were represented in the room. Once we were done eating, we had to rush to the airport to have enough time to make it through customs before our flight departed. Many hugs were given to Efrat and Michael, before we finally had to go our separate ways. Both of our flights went smoothly without any issues. The one thing on most people’s minds after landing was when they could get fast food. It seemed that a week without a hamburger or pizza was more difficult than expected. Honestly though, does anything say America more than a McDonalds?

The partially destroyed amphitheater in Caesarea Phillippi, and view of Mediterranean

The view of the amphitheater from the stage; it used to be 3 stories tall

Remains of Caesarea Phillippi, most washed away by the sea

The bus with all of our Bamba 

Carmel Market in Tel Aviv 

The original photo of Ben Gurion, the leader of Israel during both World Wars, in Independence Hall

Staircase down to the port 

Jaffa port 

Luxurious location of our last meal in Israel 

The last meal in Israel (chicken served at the fancy dinner) 

First meal post-Israel (please laugh at the comparison between this and the last meal in Israel) 

[captainswanoncerlife]

OUAT 6X21-6X22 Thoughts

As two episodes whose goals were to function as both a season and a series finale, it did a pretty good job. I loved the majority of it. However, it wasn’t without faults.

6x21: I honestly thought new guy and new girl were brand new characters and wondered how they had the book, the reveal at the end of 6x22 made this scene make a whole lot more sense. The Final Battle was not what I was expecting it to be. I did like how it was Emma’s belief vs The Realms of Story since that goes back to the fact that the show is centered around belief and hope. One thing that bothered me about this episode was how long Emma didn’t remember/believe. I loved Killian’s determination to get back to Emma and how he went straight to their beanstalk to retrieve a magic bean. David followed him and we got Beanstalk Adventure Part 2 Featuring Captain Charming. I loved how Killian referred to Emma as his wife and how he described his and Emma’s story. This was one of my favorite parts of this episode. I loved how Killian was the one to get the bean and the dragon chase. Another one of my favorite parts of this episode was the rooftop scene with Henry. I loved that Emma remembered her wedding and that she said, “I married Captain Hook?” Yes, Emma, you did. I didn’t like that Emma wanted to leave Storybrooke, though. I liked Regina’s and The EQ’s banter.  Fiona pushing Henry down the stairs was interesting. When Emma was burning the book, I thought that her looking at the picture of her husband would jog her memory, but I guess not. The burning of the book catalyzed the dark clouds of destruction to roll in, which was a nice touch. 6x22 under the cut

 6x22: When Killian fell of the beanstalk, I got really scared. I knew he was going to be okay based on spoilers, but still. I liked how Snow found Killian and he said “Hello there mummy.” I really wished Killian had gone to Emma. I was surprised that Emma’s apartment was exactly as she left it. I didn’t mind that Henry’s homemade storybook was what made her believe. I loved the Snowing parallel to the first scene in the series. I wasn’t surprised at Rumple being awake under the curse or that he didn’t want to help Henry.  Henry’s take on the Black Fairy monologue to the magic mirror was annoying (was his arm magically healed?). When the EQ stayed behind to hold off the magic, I couldn’t tell if it was her or Regina, their costumes were to similar. I loved how Emma wanted to be the Savior before she remembered anything. Cursed Belle ran away from Rumple apparently. Henry’s scribbles held the key to winning the final battle. I liked how high the stakes were if Emma lost the final battle. I thought Fiona’s destruction was very underwhelming, but I wasn’t surprised Rumple did her in. The reunion in Main Street was also a bit underwhelming.  I was expecting a CS kiss, but we didn’t get one. They were holding onto each other for basically the entire time after they were reunited, though. I really enjoyed Emma’s fight with Gideon and her “I am the Savior” monologue. The visual of Emma’s magic bursting out of her is probably one of my favorite visuals of the entire series.  I was disappointed that Henry TLKed Emma instead of Killian. The time being 8:15 PM was a nice parallel. I liked that Gideon was de-aged, but I hated that Belle took Rumple back. I loved the happy ending/beginning montage (minus the RB stuff) and the book closing on the OUAT reenactment of The Last Supper would have been the perfect way to end the series. But it’s not the end and we learn that new guy is Adult Henry (not surprising) and that his daughter is named Lucy. And that something bad happened and his family needs him. If you take away the scenes of Adult Henry and Lucy, this episode would have functioned perfectly as a series finale, but since those scenes exist, I am considering this a half-series/half-season finale and will definitely be watching Season 7.

[silverhands-etcetera]

Highway Star.

We woke up late & hurried to vacate the soccer field, before the mayor or the Guardia Civil came looking for us. I dropped the keys in the mailbox on the way out, and we walked for the third time to the bar, for a breakfast and a look at the map.

It’s a steady descent out of this high village, for the first little bit you follow along the road, but soon you’re back on trails and paths- most of it running a close parallel to the highway, the defunct railroad tracks, or both.

The walk is only 20 kilometers, so the missteps aren’t so dear as they are when you’re walking closer to 40. Losing a half-hour today would not be any great tragedy. The scenery was not the dramatic vistas of yesterday -mostly it was scrabbly grasses, guard rails, and the little head and legs peeking out above & below the giant backpack which assured me that Blanka was still in front of me.

On the Via de La Plata, I was either alone, or in a group whose language of choice hovered around Spanish, but down here on the Camino Mozarebe, my Spanish is not as good as Blanka’s, and her English is a damn sight better than my Spanish. Also, I don’t know two words of Hungarian. So by default, the official language of Equipo Contrario seems to be English, which allows me a little better expression, but gives me none of the practice I need in speaking Castilian.

There are moments when we can’t reach each other on a word of English, and find ourselves triangulating on our meaning with a piece of Spanish, but mostly we are bridging the gap, walking the same path starting from very different times & places.

When we’re at a fork in the road, I always look at the angle of the last arrow, and assume it was placed for visibility from the incoming path -while Blanka goes on gut feeling and extrapolation from a reversal of the written description of the stage. We’re both right about 50% of the time.

We cut across some brambles at one point, only to find the path we took great pains to reach intersect again with the road we just left, and the backwards arrows again reappeared. There are more brushes with civilization on this stage than on the way to Villaharta. At about the halfway point, there’s even a tiny village, where you can say hello to a couple of friendly mules, and get yourself a celebratory, half-way-there bottella of Cruzcampo, to lighten the second half of your trip. (I’m sure the endorsement checks will be coming in shortly) We did both things, and returned to the trail, finding it short for trail, and long for highway. I didn’t think too much when i saw the first army truck go by, but soon there was another, and two more, and then we were right on top of an army base.

“Todo Por La Patria” has a nice ring to it, as a slogan, but has an ominous tone in any language when you consider it literally. It’s been a long time since Spain has tried to take over the world, so as a collection of armaments, it was not anything that inspired great fear, only the unease and dread of the singular capabilities of each piece, and the legislation that dictated the need.

I haven’t been reading the news. It was a harsh reminder that outside of the Camino, things are still pretty sketchy, I’m in a bubble.

Cerro Muriano isn’t a proper town, apparently. It’s a population that is serviced by the greater government of the provincia de Córdoba. The northern half looks a lot like housing for the military base. Indeed, the break between the base and the town is hard to notice when you walk past it, you’ll just find yourself on streets with row houses all the same, and no pedestrians to speak of.

Villaharta was an authentic village, where everybody knows each other, because they are from there. And you get your information by asking people in the streets. We had to consult uncle google for some low-down in Cerro Muriano.

We’ve had longer days, but once in town, we were in no mood to run from one side to the other looking for the best lodging. There was a bar/hotel on the main road, but I thought it best to ask elsewhere, as they would certainly be looking out for their best interests, and would likely not be a fountain of information on other options.

The internet™ told us a story about a Dutch couple who ran a hostel in town, and also about something called a provincial hostel (perhaps because it’s not a proper city?). Upon finding this hostel, we were sure we’d found a paradise, an oasis -with shady green lawns & a swimming pool, & a locked gate & nobody answering the bell. I laid on the bricks & Blanka did the dirty work of checking the doors of all the buildings in the compound until the truth of the matter -that this is not a traditional hostel, but a facility for groups & retreats. They could not help us, except to tell us where sat the hostel of the mythical Dutch couple, which we found -abandoned & chained.

There was no remedy but to go & speak with the bar/hotel up on the main road. My feet were through with walking, and they were telling me this. The man at the bar said that he could let us have a room, but with a discouraging tone, and even a slight wince at the price he would have to charge. He told us that the Dutch couple had left town, but that next week, a new hostel would be opening up in the town -as if that had any bearing on our situation tonight.- Finally he recommended that we seek out the priest, who would possibly let us sleep on the floor at the church.

He really could not be bothered with us, and my immediate need was a chair and a beer, and to drop my backpack, so we went down the street to Casa Bruno. Chilling out on the terazza with the dirtiest dog in Spain, we pondered our position.

Blanka is the hardcore pilgrim of the team, while I’m the guy who reaches a point where the concept of chasing down the unknown whereabouts of an unknown priest in order to plead our case & await his verdict on whether we deserve a roof tonight is just a bridge too far. Especially since the cost of a hotel over here is often half the cost of my bar tab back in the states.

Back at the bar, the man behind the counter grimaced again when we told him we needed a room. He asked us if we’d looked for the priest. I said no. He actually didn’t want to go through the trouble of booking the room, and I began to understand him as we went to his computer to engage some sort of paperwork to do so. He started by sifting through a Hotmail inbox, looking for a procedure or something to allow him to book the room through an online service. His exasperation and resignation was exactly the same as my own whenever I find myself faced with a website update or purchase of any sort that requires setting up an account & a password.

Ultimately, he gave up on the computer & asked me for cash, at 2€ less than his original quote. We were safely housed.

–

After a shower, you’ll probably feel like going out on the town, but with no town to go out on, we found our supper downstairs. Some people are reasonable and eat salad, but I will eat Salmorejo every time it is an option. If you like the idea of a giant tube of meat, breaded & deep-fried, or just want a good chuckle, I can recommend the Flamenquin, which we also both partook of.

However, only one of us fell to food poisoning that night, and that’s the guy who didn’t touch the salad. Blanka had the look of a well-practiced rock star, lying on the cool tile floor. And with the power of youthful resilience, was professing to be back to 90% perfect first thing next morning.

Only one more road til we hit the city. 16 kilometers. Cake.

[madelinemurphy680-blog]

Stand-up Paddle Boarding As A Great method To Work Out

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