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jeremiekroubodagnini · 3 months

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INSIDE THE ARCHIVES: AN INTERVIEW WITH HERBIE MILLER

Out of my personal archives here is an interview I conducted with Herbie Miller – current Director/ Curator of the Jamaican Music Museum (JaMM) – on 27 November 2006. If my memory serves me well, I had been introduced to Herbie Miller a few days before by the late Professor Alston “Barry” Chevannes, sociologist and authority on Rastafari. When I met Herbie, he was completing his PhD in cultural studies at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, Jamaica. His doctoral research dealt with Jamaican ska trombonist Don Drummond. Some excerpts of this interview appear in my book, Vibrations jamaïcaines (French language), but it has never been fully published until now. So, fasten your seatbelt and let’s dive into this deep conversation dealing with various topics of interest such as Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Rastafari, Mortimo Planno, Jamaican politics, the unsolved assassination attempt on Bob Marley, the evolution of Jamaican music and the Rolling Stones among others.

Herbie Miller and me in his office at UWI, 27 November 2006. © JKD

JKD: Hi Herbie, nice to meet you!

Herbie Miller: Nice to meet you Jeremie.

First of all, can you just introduce yourself and tell me the position you hold here at UWI?

Well, I’m Herbie Miller. My position here is in the capacity of completing my own PhD in cultural studies. At present I’m a…God what they call it? There’s a word in some sort of Department, something I am, at this point I’m not even sure of what it is! (Laughs)

(Laughs). I heard that you used to be the manager of Peter Tosh. When exactly?

I managed Peter when he embarked in a sort of career from 1976 to about 1982-83.

Right. You know, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer were friends but had a different personality. Can you tell me the main characteristics of each person and how they differed from each other?

Well, of course, you can see in both Marley’s work and his personality that he was really a thinking musician. He brought a lot of militancy and spirituality to his music. At the same time, he was quite outgoing, he was also quite reclusive. It all depended on what the situation was. He was outgoing in the sense that he went to public events, especially soccer. He went to night clubs and stuff like that. He was private in the sense that, to a great extent, Bob was very withdrawn and shy, I could say. He was quite aware of his stature and who he was and as a result he understood that in many ways he had to secure that self. He couldn’t just go out there as the average citizen. So in that respect he understood his position, his place and guarded it to some extent. Peter, on the other hand, was totally outgoing in every way. Peter was the type of person who went to football games and sport events as Bob and Bunny would. But he was outgoing in that he was a man of the streets. He was not shy, he would talk to people. His personality is perceived as one that is quite extremely militant if not revolutionary. To some, he was angry, to others he was jovial, critical, sensitive, generous, humorous, funny as hell, quite a complex personality Peter was. Bunny is perhaps the more reclusive, remains the more reclusive as a matter of fact [Editor’s note: Bunny Wailer was still alive at the time of the interview in 2006]. As all the fans know, Bunny was the first to give up being a fulltime public figure. He recorded, he was a great soccer player, he has his own community of followers and community in which he’s very relaxed. He was at the same time guarded and it’s perhaps to the extent that he has survived. So, three different types of videos. Get together the main one great if not the greatest unity as a single voice.

Bob Marley and Peter Tosh at Capital Records, 24 October 1973. © Screenshot from a film directed by Lee Jaffe and Leon Russell

Did they turn to the Rastafari faith at the same time?

I think they all of them embarked on the tradition and self discovery at about the same time. Bunny might have been ahead of Bob and Peter in that respect but I’m not sure. The biographies are out there, the biographic videos are out there, the testaments are out there, I wasn’t that close to know but I do know that all three of them defended the Rastafari faith strongly.

And were the three of them followers of Planno or was Bob Marley the only one?

I think all three embarked on the tradition under Planno’s guidance. I think Bob stick with it and maintains his close relationship to Planno the longest.

Then the relationship between Planno and Marley broke up at some point. Do you know why?

I haven’t a clue. I don’t know about that, no!

Mortimer Planno in Lagos (Nigeria), July 1979. © Tam Fiofori

So how do you explain that Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh decided to quit the band after the second album?

Do I have to explain that? They have explained it over and over themselves. There are lots of interviews with Peter where he explains it. You know, Peter basically felt that the three of them were strong in the videos, correctly so. He also knew that as a group they were extremely strong but that the focus on the group had become the focus on Bob Marley. And Peter felt that he needed his own attention. In fact, Peter was the first of the three of them to record solo. He always recorded as Peter Tosh and he always recorded as a part of the Wailers. And it was not put any hard feeling that Peter decided to go on his own. Bunny, on the other hand, had philosophical reasons why he decided to quit. He just thought that he was up to the heavy tour and schedule and at some point felt uncomfortable with some of the places in which they had to perform.

Bunny Wailer backstage at the Zénith Paris, 21 April 2007. © JKD

Do you think that in the 70s, politicians tried in a way to co-opt the Rasta movement and reggae singers?

By the 70s, Rastafari was going through and had gone through a series of oppression on behalf of different governments. And so by the early 70s, with the wind of change blowing in the air, of course it was an advantage for politicians to give some sort of recognition to Rastas; perhaps just stopping short of making the grand promises. And certainly with the closeness to the musicians, and the music, and the people that the politicians had at that point, particularly the PNP, they saw they could really utilize musicians and securing votes. And certainly the musicians reacted to it positively; they participated in political band wagons around the country. That featured some of the best artists of the moment.

"to the vast amount of poor people and sufferers and roots people and Rasta people and African-Jamaican-Black people down there on the ground nothing supersedes the Wailers"

And what was Peter Tosh’s point of view on this situation? Was he cautious regarding the links between politics and artists?

I think the fact that they performed for a particular party reveals a particular mindset or way of thinking or direction in which they thought the politics should head. So by the mere fact that they participated, you know, cautious in the fact that we all are cautious around election time to the extent that we are involved with it or not involved with it, but everybody gets cautious at that time. And so I imagine that, yes, they were cautious, but at the same time they thought that change was necessary and that they could provide people with a direction if they identify with a particular party and what direction that party could head.

You know, Bob Marley was about to be killed at the time of the Smile Jamaica concert. Do you think that there are some links between the election and this assassination attempt?

Of course the world of the streets is of such. The official opinion is that the verdict is still out. You know, it’s one of those things that happened. It’s in the past. It might not be totally settled in terms of who did what? Who sent whom? And so on. I certainly am not private to that information if it is, if it has been declared.

In the late 70s some say that the Wailers were more popular in Europe than in Jamaica. Is it true and if so, do you know why?

It depends on which Jamaica you are talking about! The Wailers have always been popular among a certain group of Jamaicans.

Which group?

The people, people of the streets. They have always been popular whether or not they were played on the radio or they were performing live or even if they were recording at all. The Wailers was the people’s group above every other group. By none! The people who they became popular to later on are those who initially rejected them, who had no use for them, no use for them until the same people talk about them in Europe and abroad accepted them; and say look “This is great!” Then these other set a folks basically up the band wagon. But the Wailers were never unpopular, never unpopular. No, they might not have been in the charts at a given time as others were and among a certain middle-class or elite, but to the vast amount of poor people and sufferers and roots people and Rasta people and African-Jamaican-Black people down there on the ground nothing supersedes the Wailers, none, at any given time.

What’s your general opinion on the evolution of Jamaican music and the new generation of artists?

I think that good things are happening, lots of great things are happening. Jamaican music has never been more internationally popular, meaning to say bursting into the charts, making waves on big radio stations, popping up outside of just the narrow so-called reggae category in the Grammys and all over. Jamaica is attracting musicians of all sorts coming into mix and deal with the music on the new level. They have always come, from the days of ska they have been coming but today it might be commercially much more popular than it ever was. Qualitatively speaking, the tourist is out, ska was not but “boogooyaga” music to the same people who later on embraced the culture because they control the airwaves, they control the newspaper, they control the print, they control everything. And Jamaican culture to them was not reflected in Rasta people and local aesthetics. It was reflected in a Euro-centric foreign taste across the board: clothes, food, music, whatever. To the poors, that be that’s what counted. From ska to rocksteady we still had visitors coming to the island, Paul Simon, Herbie Mann, Aretha Franklin etc. Reggae: Barbra Streisand, Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton, Taj Mahal and this goes on. And today with a new breed of music makers and music appreciators, they have hip-hop and rap and dancehall reggae. And those are the people; that’s happening today. The same people ant the same set of folks in the same Jamaican society are calling everything else but artists. That put them down, they say “this the sing, talk, chat, slackness and so on”. I don’t know, I don’t even understand some of what them say, all I know is the beat to most of the song really grab you. And if the beat grabs you at some points you try to figure out if you’re dancing to youth calamity or you’re dancing to glory. You know, young guys such as yourself, I’m sure, can relate to what’s going on, especially if you bash down class and race and barriers such as those that prevent people from all heartily accepting change. Because this really is changing, nothing stands still! Rock time music turning to boogie-woogie music turning to big band music, turning to bebop music turning to hard bop, along the way are the way up to the 60s, Coltrane and Ernest Goodman, at every point of that change there were people critics and some musicians who say that is crap. Louis Armstrong called Dizzy Gillespie Chinese music. So we’ll never get rid of that! Some classic reggae artist from the 70s, I’m sure, are calling this music trash. We don’t know, I don’t know! I am waiting to see out. But I know there are lots of good things out there.

But it seems that artists from the 70s like Max Romeo or the Gladiators are more popular in Europe than in Jamaica today. Why according to you?

That’s not a strange thing, you know? In Europe, 1960 soul artists are still making headline gigs. At home, they stay at home and watch TV. Nobody cares about them at home in America. I remember when…what’s his name again? He was doing in New Orleans a song called “Get Out of My Life, Woman,” I think Dorsey was his last name.

Max Romeo at home (Linstead, Jamaica), 21 November 2006. © JKD

Lee Dorsey?

Yes, that’s it, Lee Dorsey. He was a mechanic in America but a headline in Europe. Lee Dorsey was his name, a headline in Europe but a mechanic in New Orleans, who cares? Blues singers were the same, they could make a big gig over in England, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf,all of them, but in America nobody really cares. It’s the same thing with the reggae thing. Nobody cares about Burning Spear performing down the year, Jimmy Cliff just performed for the first time in many years. Most of these great artists in spite of…you see here is the cutting edge place, this is where the new trends take place. They establish things with a firm whole, they are over in Japan, they are over in Africa, they are in Europe, in South America, the classic guy that’s where they are. Soon or later, Buju, Capleton, Bushman, Sizzla, those I think are some of the stronger ones today. Certainly, in my estimation, they will become classic performers and whatever will replace them, somebody will be asking “You think that this music is as good as dancehall music?” “How come dancehall artists are not performing in Jamaica any more but only in these other places?” And that what will happen like everything else! Things change but there are all just ska children.

I’d like to have your opinion on another topic. You know, lots of artists sing about Africa and the back-to-Africa movement, but it seems that actually just a few of them truly go to Africa.

I think the song of Africa that comes out of reggae artists and that comes out in reggae songs is a way to deal with the fact that we, in Jamaica, especially those of us influenced by Rastafari’s thinking and Marcus Garvey’s thinking, have always seen Africa as the original homeland. I don’t think it’s so much that any of them necessarily have to or perhaps even want to live in Africa. I think they live in Africa inside of their heads. Once you can come to grips with the idea that they are sons and daughters of Africa, I think the level of comfort is a relaxed one. The tension arises when they can’t figure out who they are. The fact is that they are Jamaicans. The world view of that particular Jamaica is that is in Africa, not necessarily living in Africa or having to live there. They sing about it, about the past, the history and when Burning Spear says “Do you remember the days of slavery,” Spear isn’t asking as if to say “he read about it or heard about it,” he asks that question in such a way as if to say “I remember because I was there” and when he asks he wants you and us to remember as if we were also there because the fact is that we were there. So this is a sort of cultural, historic memory, a sort of collective memory if you will that allows that sort of language to emerge. Not I was told about it or I learnt about it or I read about it but I remember it! When Third World say “96 degrees in the shade” it’s like they know what they are talking about. They didn’t learn that in school and so on. Hence the relationship to Africa and colonization is a mental thing, you’re decolonising your mind and set yourself free. Marley said in “Redemption Song” “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery/ None but ourselves can free our mind.” So those are profound philosophical reasonings to deal with that situation. And that’s why they sing so much about it. Whether or not they go to Africa to perform is based on the fact that if you get invited to go perform somewhere you go. But artists don’t pick up themselves and just say “I want to go perform in Europe….” And of course Africa isn’t set up like that. The rest of Europe is perhaps set up and you can just pick up the phone and book an agent and blah blah blah. Probably where in Europe some African companies say “Man come play in my town…”..there is no big organized music industry in Africa to deal with it the way we deal in Latin America and Europe and Japan. Everywhere else you take a chance as long as you go. You feel it and for better or for worst you deal with it.

So I’d like to conclude this interview with a few questions on Peter Tosh. First, when you toured with the Rolling Stones, did they get along together?

They got along great, you know, they really got along fine. They were a bunch of crazy guys the Stones and… We toured together, we worked together, Peter was signed to their label, we ate together, we did things together… You know, the Stones basically brought Peter internationally so we had to be close. And that just came about because they wanted to sign Peter when he was available for signing at the end of his contract with CBS Records, now Sony Music. And they expressed that opinion through a mutual friend that Sony had. We negotiated to do them and I made the deal.

When did you tour exactly?

It was in the late 70s I believe. It was the year Mystic Man came out. I think it was around 77-79.

So it was good times?

It was real good times. It was a time when you could see growth, you could see the things moving from point A onwards, growth was visible.

And the Stones came to Jamaica?

Oh Yes. In fact, I think Keith had a place here and he still comes here. He came just to chill out and hang out with Peter and stuff like that.

Keith Richards, Ocho Rios. © Lee Jaffe

Peter was as you said very radical and he also used to criticize the Establishment openly and stuff like that. Do you think that he might have been assassinated because of that?

Many theories fly around. I myself was not involved with Peter at the time that happened, unfortunately. It was an unfortunate incident. I don’t know what was happening with his new management people. What I do know is that there was some sort of stand off, he wasn’t recording, he wasn’t touring. They obviously wanted him to record and tour. I know that there was some sort of lawsuit that apparently he won. People demanded money at his house and…perhaps it was just a robbery. I’ve heard assassination theories, I’ve heard the government theories, I’ve heard the drugs theories that one I can without any doubt tell you Peter would not be involved with. Peter smoked weed, that’s it! Nothing else. He doesn’t sell it. He gives it away. He doesn’t trade in it and as far as I know, as long as I was with him, I have nothing to do with people who were involved that way. So all these arguments about Peter both somebody taking a rob from Peter, I don’t buy that.

My last question deals with his famous M16 guitar for sale on eBay [Editor’s note: in November 2006, Peter Tosh’s M16 rifle-shaped guitar had been posted on Internet auction site eBay before being called off]. May I have your point of view on that?

You can read my point of view, it came out, it was the second article about it in the Jamaica Observer. If you read this second piece which came out in the Jamaica Observer, some two weeks ago, you’ll see exactly how I feel about it.

You feel sad I suppose?

More than sad, I feel totally upset. When you’ll read it you’ll see exactly how I feel. Read it! (Laughs).

Thank you for your time Herbie.

You’re welcome Jeremie. You’re welcome.

Peter Tosh, 1976. © Lee Jaffe

Herbie Miller giving a lecture at the ACS Crossroads Conference, July 2008. © JKD

#bob marley and the wailers #peter tosh #bunny wailer #reggae #the rolling stones #keith richards

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mythicaldemigoddess-of-deltarune · 3 months

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The Winner Of The Adorkable Apple Goober King Poll Is…

[Note: If Ya Haven't Watched Cuphead Show, and the Full Season 1 of Hazbin Hotel as well as Steven Universe, watch them first before reading this that also says who won on the poll...cause I will be talking about some stuff that happens in the Cuphead Show and Hazbin Hotel. also will talk a bit about Cain and Abel as well, and Adam & Eve's Bad Parenting....if Other Earth Angels ain't gonna point that out that those two were kind of bad parents, even if they were a bit Gray-Parents....then it might as well be me. also some parts may also talk about some feelings and some emotional stuff, not just about me but also about some of the characters. also reading this post is Optional. but this post will be for Mature Audiences Only. also will have some censored language even if it isn't all that many...but this will still talk about who won in The Adorkable Apple Goober King Poll.]

first I will say how many votes there were, about 34 votes as the final results.

Devil from The Cuphead Show got about 8.8%

Devil from The Cuphead Game got around 5.9%, and while the "9" is

a bit higher he still didn't get as many votes as his show counterpart…so yeah, tough luck there "Grandpa"…maybe next time.

so yeah, The Devil from the Cuphead Show has higher votes than Devil from The Game.

and finally Charlie's Dad Lucifer Morningstar from Hazbin Hotel, got around 85.3% and ya know what that means.

Lucifer from Hazbin Hotel wins The "Which One Is The Number 1 Adorkable Apple Goober King Of Them All…?" poll.

I am surprised by the fact that Lucifer, Charlie's Dad...

got such a higher count of votes, I mean I know that I had talked about if I was able to vote, and well I think I did try to press one of the choices that happen to be Lucifer, but I'm not sure if it works that way, for all I know ya can't vote on your own poll.

but I am surprised that he won, he truly is The Number 1 Adorkable Apple Goober King...

him teasing Adam about how he seem to make Lilith and Eve a bit happier, though him admitting that he had intimate relations with Eve, does not help clear his innocence that has to do with Cain.

I mean still gonna have to Jerry Springer that in our universe.

Lucifer, you clueless adorkable apple goober, you are only giving fans more reason to suspect that you are the Bio-Dad of Cain from your universe.

also I still believe the Cain from our universe, isn't the only one at fault for what happen. because both brothers: Cain & Abel were at fault.

Abel was probably too vainglory to see that Cain was hurting and at any moment, any wrong word or even misinterpreted suggestion would send him over the edge.

Adam and Eve should of done better, if they had stop to think that Cain need some kind of kind words and emotional support, he wouldn't of sank deeper into a very dangerous emotional, spiritual and possibly physiological depression.

plus Cain was NOT the first to take a life, just because a animal that can't speak the same way as humans do can't testify against Abel for what he used them for, doesn't mean they aren't still alive.

yeah animals still play a part of the life cycle, some end up being used as food to feed families and some used for clothes, and some who we form a special emotional bond with that can end up becoming so deep if anything bad were to happen to them...

one could freeze the 5th Heaven and 5th Ring Of Hell if the fluffy-baby was taken away too soon...

which once again, when my second cat was going through a certain situation...I'm glad that I was listen to about having them be taken to the vet right away instead of just waiting, because if I wasn't listen to about the suggestion of taking them to the vet right away, it would probably end up me being a crying mess like I was with my first cat.

I mean when my first cat died, well was slowly dying...

I think I was getting over being sick, from throwing up and stuff....

this was before the whole Covid-19 thing...

I think if I remember right, it might of been around 2018 when my first cat died, but I will have to ask about it.

I know I had two depressions before those events, which thanks to finding some song I wrote that expressed how I felt when that second depression first started, I think it was around 2016.

which is still a bit too close from that first one that happen around 2015 that was caused by some stuff happening at home.

not being able to get proper privacy and personal space, had pretty much sucked...I mean I was trying to work on fan fics and I think some drawings too, but they just kept fragging barging into that room like they owned the place.

and yeah, even when I showed a displeased look on my face, my so called much older cousin has to be a freaking jerk and get on to me for making a certain look, while in that said room that he and others so rudely came in there without my permission and invade my personal space....and after he got on to me for the look I was making, I had to go to the bathroom to cry and let it all out.

I mean seriously, I wanted to be left alone for my personal space so I can work on my fan fics and maybe at times some drawings.

it didn't help that they kept coming in that room all the time, where they could just stay in the living room.

why the frag couldn't just stop doing that, and let me have some personal space, I hated it, I really REALLY hated the fact they couldn't just stop that and let me have that space to be alone when I needed it.

I mean when I feel ready to, I can talk to others and be a bit social.

but what they were doing was disrespectful to my space, and anyone who had their space not respected when they needed it, would probably understand.

and it didn't help some other stuff was going on as well, which ended up having us move to the house we currently live in now.

I lost a lot of weight during that first depression I had during 2015, I wouldn't eat much of anything, and well I think I still tried to do the same stuff I did before, but I still felt not good.

I think I can relate to Charlie's Dad a bit, since he clearly had a depression, and for all we know, he might still feel it sometimes.

like having days when he feels really down...

and I suspect he may have had a second depression as well.

his first depression happening after those in Heaven had banished him to the place that would be known as Hell...

the second depression may have happen when Lilith left him.

I think Charlie may have misinterpret her Dad, and Lilith may have lied to her as well....at least our Lilith has a excuse as to why she became the way she is....because of Adam and Three Angels who were so Toxic-Masculine and insensitive, they couldn't give her some freaking space to heal both emotionally and spiritually.

but what do you except from a bunch of Toxic-Masculine, Insensitive Angel-Boy Jerks....and even if one of them turned out to be a Girl, she would still be full of Toxic-Masculine as well and would still be a insensitive jerk.

we should still be lucky the Toxic-Feminine isn't as high as it's Masculine Counterpart....but it doesn't mean that both are still a problem, it's just the Toxic-Masculine one is a higher problem because without the proper fixing of it, it had become dangerous.

and yeah, I guess I may have a beef with those Three Angels who were so grossly insensitive and couldn't get it through their Toxic-Masculine selves, that trying to threaten Lilith like that, was only going to cause more damage and harm more than good.

I can't be the only one who has realized this, I mean I know I'm a Defective Earth Angel, well "Defective Earth Angel Princess" but there has to be Other Earth Angels, some who might be guys and not just gals....who have open their eyes to the truth about how messed up that is.

but those who haven't viewed messed up that is, and might still think that Adam and those Three Angels were doing a "good thing" by hurting Lilith pass a breaking point.

I can't really force them to change their minds, they will need to see the truth of their own accord.

and yeah, besides King David being a terrible Dad to Tamar, even if it does turn out he had his moments when he was a good parent.

which him being both a bad and good parent, would put him in the Gray-Parenting, and there can be different levels of it...

but he isn't the only one who ended up making poor choices.

Noah did as well, who basically scapegoated his own Grandson for something his own son did.

I get some might not fully understand how mess up that is, and yeah I get that both Noah and King David are my and some others own Ancestor-Grandpa...

but it doesn't mean they are fully perfect, and even if some parents and grandparents who aren't perfect but it's okay if they aren't...

but there can be a line that can be crossed, and Grandpa Noah and Grandpa King David have crossed those lines.

placing a curse on your own grandson, which takes the blame that the son who is the father of the grandson, and placing it fully on the grandson.

or the fact that just because ya have a favorite son, and you don't want to punish him....don't mean you just leave it alone.

I mean seriously, at least Lucifer from Hazbin Hotel ended up going to where the fight was happening at the hotel and saved his daughter.

even if the situations are different, plus if Lucifer did turn out to be Cain from that universe's own Bio-Dad.

the whole Lucifer Vs Adam would kind of be like a Peepaw Fight.

if some who are also a descendant of Cain as well, you would get the humor in that, as well as the whole whoever is Cain's Bio-Dad is....

we would still have to Jerry Springer that whole Who Cain's Bio-Father Is.

anyway, I think Charlie may misunderstanding her Dad, about how he only calls when he wants her do something and the whole not really wanting to be a part of her life very much.

I mean it's good that their bond had got better and Charlie was able to learn a bit more from her Dad during that song they sang together.

but Charlie would have to learn, that when ya been hurt, like badly emotionally hurt. sometimes you need to be alone, even if you end up doing stuff that you enjoy that still brings you a bit of happiness.

it doesn't mean the hurt isn't still there.

and if my theory is right, that Lucifer did end up having a second depression that may have to do with his divorce with Lilith.

would possibly end up hurting way more than what Sera and the Other Angels did to him.

plus ya can't expect those who have been hurt to just pick themself up right away or be as happy as they once were.

even if they can try to act that way to hide the bad feelings, that may turn up every once in a while.

I'm pretty sure I'm a type of Introvert, there could be different forms of being a Introvert. like how your okay with going outside and having fun at times but at some point, some stuff causes you not want to go out very much...maybe some would understand that.

plus those who are not introverts can't just make a introvert go out against their will, even if it is to a party, if someone who introvert wants to do it, it should be their choice, and not because someone either it be a friend or family or for some a co-worker made them.

and I think it could be possible maybe, Charlie's Dad is a bit of a Introvert, but I'm not 100% sure.

if he is, he likely became that way over time...

even those who weren't introverts before, may become that way at some point for different reasons I think.

we wont know how badly Lucifer ended up hurting because of what Sera and the Others in Heaven in the Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss Universe did to him, as well as Lilith did as well.

Lilith from Hazbin Hotel, likely sees herself better than any man, but that could be true in some cases when ya can be better than some toxic-man and toxic-woman.

but Lilith from that universe, could be a two-faced b*tch.

the book that Charlie reads in Episode 1, may have half-truths and half-lies in it.

the parts with Lucifer, her Dad. is one of the truths.

I think it could be possible that both Lilith and Eve are my Ancestresses, and for all we know there is more to the story that happen during those times.

and I'm still going to view that the reason why Peepaw Adam from our Universe was so full of himself, and being partly the caused of Lilith from our Universe not being able to heal properly and not getting the space she needed.

may have to do with the annunaki gene.

it is possible there was a True First Adam and Eve, it just wasn't the ones we thought.

the True Adam & Eve, could be known as The True Patriarch and Matriarch of Humanity.

which would mean they would be The Ancestors of Adam, Lilith and Eve.

The Homo-Erectus came BEFORE Homo-Sapiens, so Adam, Lilith and Eve were Homo-Sapiens that would be possibly the first of the generations of the hybrids that had to do with The Annunaki & Homo-Erectus Genes being mixed together.

I can still believe Heavenly Father/God and Earthly Mother/Goddess had played a part in us being here, it is just I also believe that it could be possible that there were other humans besides Adam, Eve and Lilith.

and as weird as it might be, I believe the books that is like "Stones Of The Goddess: Crystals for the Divine Feminine" by Nicholas Pearson.

and the books by Timothy Wyllie and one of the books is called "Confessions Of A Rebel Angel: The Wisdom Of The Watchers And The Destiny Of Planet Earth" may play a part of a very big puzzle.

that it could be possible that those books by Nicholas Pearson and Timothy Wyllie hold truth in them and play a part to a even larger puzzle.

but it is a puzzle that not everyone will willing accept, and even if they did end up willing to believe and accept it, they will have to do so by their choice and free will.

(if ya want to skips some of these parts, keep a eye out for the bold words...ya know just in case some might want to skip some...)

and yeah it can suck when some Toxic-Religious people cross a line with their whole self-righteous bull slag.

even though I did get better from that whole incident that happen before with that Toxic-Religious jerk, who not only had a problem with me believing in a Goddess now, but may have also had a problem with me being Nonbinary, which once again during my still figuring out about it, I thought I was Gyno-Agender.

but I think I was still figuring it out and it could be possibly my going through a type of Chrysalis stage plays a part of that discovery.

so I'm a Earth Angel Princess who is a Nonbinary-Gal who's pronouns are She/Her & They/Them, or in other words She/They.

but anyway, even if I did get better from what Toxic-Religious Jerk did, when they couldn't stop throwing those misused words at me, thinking they were "saving me", what they did was not okay and caused some form of Toxic-Religious Trauma.

and I know I wont ever truly be fully okay with what happen.

and no matter how much I cried and showed signs I was really upset with them crossing a line like that, I think that no matter what I said or tried to get them to listen, they would still misuse the whole "may the lord have mercy on you." or "may god have mercy on you."

I know it was one of the two, I just can't fully remember which.

it wasn't okay for them to do that, and even if I am bringing up the words they were saying, I'm trying to do so to point out them repeating it in such a way just because I believe in The Earthly Mother now, and my Nonbinary....

doesn't give that person the right to misused those words and make me or others feel really bad to the point of crying and feeling really terrible.

and if some think "oh, it is making you feel terrible because ya know it's working and they were helping." that if full of bull slag.

I'm sorry, but it's the truth. it is NOT okay for anyone to do that.

I can only hope that I don't run into that Toxic-Religious Jerk again.

because no matter if some people are Religious or Not, at least some of them would never cross that line like that person did.

and even if ya might get better in time after that kind of incident, it doesn't mean the scars aren't still there and can open up at times.

sure it might not make you cry like it did before, and you might not cry at all when thinking about it. but it doesn't mean your still not okay with what happen and you might feel bitter about how it went.

it was that incident, might be a reason why I am even more not a big fan of Toxic-Religious people when they cross a line.

plus I can still believe that there can still be good Religious people, and even good people who aren't religious at all.

plus how a person is good or bad, well bad in a very super bad way...

at times how they are will have nothing to do with them being religious, plus just because some are Toxic-Religious doesn't mean the Religion itself will be at fault, but it is possible who runs different sectors of it from different branches could bring shame by corrupting one of the branches.

like if a church was run by someone who was corrupted, and brainwashed people who go to it.

plus with how some Toxic-Satanist are, they probably think no one who ends up being reborn at some point, will have a major beef with them. but they would be so wrong, cause there will be beef and bitter resentment to them when memories even if it's just bits and pieces end up being recalled by the ones they have done harm upon.

I want to try to believe that not all Satanist would cross a line, and would never taint the soul of a innocent like what those Toxic-Cultist did to Alessa from The First Silent Hill Movie that is based off of The Silent Hill Video Game Series.

and it could be rare for Toxic-Satanist to do harm on those they don't know is a Earth Angel....and for all we know, Alessa was a type of Earth Angel, though the Toxic-Cult that hurt her weren't Toxic-Satanists.

Toxic-Satanists are but just one of those who are part of The Toxic-Religious people who cross lines they shouldn't and end up causing trauma.

and yeah, it wouldn't just be Toxic-Satanist that would taint the soul of a innocent....other people who are Toxic-Religious will end up doing that too, and they would do harm to the one they had caused damage to, and I guess how bad it is, it could very well carry on to the hurt soul's next life.

there can be different levels of it, that aren't as bad or not as dangerous as the higher levels of Toxic-Religious.

but it doesn't mean the less hazard types, aren't still hurtful and bad.

and both the Toxic-Masculine and Toxic-Feminine can make some do bad choices, like how in some point in that Moxie Movie the girl who was fighting for girls, ended up falling into the Toxic-Feminine ways.

but she only was brought out of it, thanks to a girl who really needed her help and she was able to be brought back to the good side of the Feminine energy.

even if some Feminist don't get it, I don't think I can make them understand or listen to reason.

for all we know, Lilith who is Charlie's Mom from Hazbin Hotel...

could represent The Toxic-Feminine side, while Adam from the same show, represents The Toxic-Masculine side.

as weird as it might be, I think if Adam did come back as a Sinner and wasn't just gone, I can't help but think he might end up becoming a little redeemed, like he could be full of himself and think he is The Gift to Womankind.

but it could be possible in that mix, his heart could change a bit.

he will still be a insensitive full of himself jerk, but at the same time maybe one with a heart this time.

I mean fan theories are only at rare times right, and boy do some fans end up getting really REALLY happy when their fan theories end up being canon.

Deltarune Chapter 2's future events were technically predicted by accident by fans.

one of them being about Kris eating the whole pie, like using the knife they took out in Chapter 1 and when Chapter 2 fully came out, it turned out they used it for the pie.

but I still think they may have sneaked out first, went to the library, broke into the computer room in the said library and open a Dark Fountain first, before they went home and ate all the pie.

the other fan predication that were possibly by accident, but was used in a Deltarune AU Comic.

would also have to do with the Darkners becoming Items when they enter The Light World, that turns out to be canon.

if you read "Paper Trail" by LynxGriffin.

anyway, it could be possible that the Ralsei we see in Chapter 2, isn't the same one that Kris and Susie befriends in Chapter 1.

for one thing, the Ralsei in Chapter 1 is a bit shorter and has smaller feet.

and for all we know, when Susie and Kris were busy dealing with Lancer's Dad, the Other-Ralsei switched places with The True-Ralsei.

and once Kris and Susie were back home, The Other-Ralsei had locked the door that leads to the Other Dark World that is Lancer's Home.

I think Lancer might be a Quadruplet, and the Pictures of Him in his room, that we see at first in the Card Kingdom's Dark World.

is really him and his brothers, and even if Susie hadn't notice, it is possible the Lancers switched with each other when bonding with Susie. and the first Lancer she formed a deep bond with, is possibly still trapped in the Card Kingdom with the Ralsei who still wears his original outfit unlike the one who appears in Chapter 2.

it is possible that even if the Dark Worlds that are closed, are just not open and can't get to anymore, it doesn't mean they aren't still active.

and if Kris wanted to, they could very well open them back up.

but they would have to find the key that unlocks both the dark and light world's doors to the unused classroom, because that door in the unused classroom, was possibly locked by The Other-Ralsei to keep Kris and Susie from finding out that they are not the one they had befriended in Chapter 1.

I could call the Other-Ralsei by "Alisre" half of the name is pronounced like "Alice" and the other half is like "ray" I think.

well the name Alice isn't just a Girls name, plus we could view the name Alisre as being gender neutral/unisex name much like the name Alice.

anyway I wish I had came on sooner to talk about who won on that weird poll I did, but I guess it's okay if I took my time.

I will have to in some point, check my Messages but I just don't feel ready yet but I might do so at some point.

I'm sure there are others who would check some messages when they are ready, even after their internet connection going back to normal after acting up form some days, that may have happen some month or so ago.

I think it happen before February...?

but anyway, I'm still surprised I think by Lucifer becoming The Poll Winner, but also kind of glad as well.

like picture if Devil from one of the Cuphead AUs found out he lost in the poll.

Cuphead and Mugman would be fighting, well arguing about which one of them should tell Devil about it. XD

like picture Casino Cups versions of the brothers hearing about the poll and learning their boss lost, like technically both versions of him.

well I guess it could be seen as The Eveningstar Princess being both Weird with her first poll, but also trolling Cuphead and Mugman's Boss from the different Fanon Timelines of The Cuphead Universe.

I have no regrets making that poll, I'm glad I let my weirdness out when making that. XD

once again my giving myself the whole nickname "Eveningstar Princess" besides being a Earth Angel, who is technically a descendant of some Royals, and besides being a descendant of Seth & Cain...

it mainly has to do the weird stuff that happen when my Mom was going to have me, because of the whole fact she NEVER got Morning Sickness with me, she only got Evening Sickness when she was going to have me.

and that is one of my Weird Earth Angel Eveningstar Princess Origins.

and if it is true that some percent of us do have Nephilim Genetics, it would explain why when I was a newborn, I came out looking as big as 2 week old....yeah I was told that I looked like a 2 week old and I was a pretty big newborn.

plus it is possible that Lucifer from Hazbin Hotel, didn't make 100% same mistakes as the one from our universe.

to which the one from our universe, I still want to give the cold hands to face punishment to, for playing a part of the whole balance between The Masculine and Feminine Energies not being fixed properly, and the Toxic-Masculine left unchecked during those times, and yeah Toxic-Feminine is still bad, but it isn't as high or as dangerous as it's Masculine counterpart.

I think that even if I can still believe in Jesus, but if he makes some bad choices in some form of twisted form of justice, then I will not view it as being okay, and it just ends up proving to me it is some humans that make up humanity and some parts of omnimanity, that can do some pretty messed up stuff...

plus if some info is right, and the whole Samael being involved.

if ya puppeteer humans into doing some messed up things, like messing with something that can cause a global pandemic, that is only going to place the humans involved in messing with it so recklessly only half to blame.

and I am NOT putting up with humanity being scapegoat for that.

which as strange as it might be, I had decided to try to pray for Jesus, so whatever dark and toxic-masculine influence that might have him, will be fixed and healed...

I guess some stuff I read before that has to do with some messed up stuff Jesus might do, had made me suspect him, because of too much of a coincidences.

and if I am right, that if he does some choices that does more harm than good, despite still having a good heart, then the reason why he would make those type of harmful choices if he is truly involved.

it might have to do with the Toxic-Masculine energy.

what I can try to do, is try to pray for him, even if some might think it is pointless and super weird, and wonder why I would want to try to pray for him that has to do with that stuff.

but I have my reasons, I mean yeah if he is a descendant of King David as well, even if I'm from the side of King Solomon and not being able to take that throne is a blessing in disguise for me.

but yeah, he would still be family, even if distant, and there is one family I don't much consider family much anymore after they did something really REALLY bad....of course I'm talking about my older cousin who besides hurting my feelings to the point where I had to hide in the bathroom to cry, he has done some stuff that is far worse than that to someone else...

I'm still gonna hope I'm not Jesus's descendant, and we are only distant cousins...but anyway, not everyone has to agree about my feelings about the whole possibility the reason why he could be involved and make some pretty bad choices, could be because he is under the influence of some Toxic-Masculine energy and he needs to be healed from it.

I'm not going to make others believe it, just share my belief and thoughts about it.

anyway if when I'm able to, I could make another poll that involves Adorkable Apple Goober Lucifer from Hazbin Hotel.

and I guess if we think about it, Devil from The Cuphead Show did perhaps get second place. XD

Devil from Cuphead Game, came in last.

and the Winner of the poll who became The Number 1 Adorkable Apple Goober King, is Lucifer aka Princess Charlie's Dad. :)

oh yeah, before I forget...

some of the episodes of Cuphead Show, made me think that the Devil from that universe could of been The Steven who was messing with time travel, while the new timeline version of Steven Quartz Universe would become Sans of Undertale.

Devil from the Cuphead Show, had his items put in bubbles and he ended up fusing with Santa....he be Half-Gem...O_O

I just remembered I wanted to talk about that weird fan headcanon, I mean I had posted this before editing that part in, but the reason why I had to hurry was because of food...which I'm still eating.

Devil from Cuphead Show, can't hide the truth...he is a Steven. XD

get him to sing along with the Cookie Cat song and there might be some proof, if he knows the full song and shows sign of Gem Powers, then he is possibly The Original Timeline Steven.

#mature audiences only #not for kids #poll winner #devil cuphead #lucifer morningstar #lucifer hazbin hotel #adorkable #goober #talking about feelings #my thoughts #march 2024

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shihalyfie · 3 years

Text

The differences between Takato and Haru

(This meta was requested by @digitalgate02, who also assisted me with a large portion of it. Thank you for your help!)

Takato and Haru often beg a lot of comparisons because of the fact they go so against the usual “brash hero” archetype common to not only Digimon but also shounen franchises in general, being significantly more mild-mannered (on a language level, they’re also the only Digimon protagonists to date who use the more polite boku first-person pronoun instead of the more assertive ore). Haru himself even points out in Appmon’s very first episode that this kind of personality would normally be more suited towards a side character than a protagonist!

Because of that, Haru is often considered to be a spiritual rehashing of Takato, and many have tried to make close parallels between the two, but while the desire to make comparison is naturally understandable, the truth is that beyond surface temperament, the two characters actually have very little in common. In fact, both Tamers and Appmon take rather different approaches to their definitions of a “conventional hero”, and that results in both Takato and Haru having very different roles in the plot.

In many cases, the role of a protagonist in a narrative has a deep relationship with what kind of narrative it is in the first place, and especially what kinds of themes it wants to present. For instance, in the case of 02, you could argue that the story is more “about” Ken than it is about Daisuke, since both major arcs in the story are about his fall and reformation, but when you consider the major themes present in 02′s narrative about purpose in life and pragmatism, Daisuke’s way of life and overall attitude are vital elements in relation to them, and it’s why he ends up being the “protagonist” (or, more accurately, the character at the forefront of the story) despite Ken’s heavier connection to it.

Tamers and Appmon have a number of similarities in storytelling, mainly that they’re both “hard sci-fi” stories in comparison to other entries that have stronger fantasy elements, and do have a certain amount of crossover in terms of dealing with AI-related topics. However, the actual “nature” of each work ultimately turns out to be different, and thus impacts how each of their protagonists is presented.

I heavily dislike calling Tamers a “deconstruction” of the monster collecting genre or of Digimon Adventure, mainly because of how much that term has been exploited to stereotype works in a genre as being things they’re not, or less nuanced than they actually are (as one Twitter user aptly put it: “a deconstruction is when I like something in a genre I disrespect”). I absolutely do not care for the idea of claiming that Adventure or 02 were somehow less nuanced or “deep” than Tamers just because they were more idealistic or more subtle about it, because they sure as hell had a lot of deeper things hidden between the lines if you bother to look out for them, and I also don’t like the implication that Tamers exists to criticize Adventure for supposedly being too naive. It is true, however, that Tamers re-examines a lot of Adventure (and 02)’s concepts in a different context; while Tamers isn’t as strong of a theme narrative, and it’s much more difficult to say there's an overarching message that encompass most or all of the series as much, it does indulge in a lot of thought experiments and smaller subplots that wouldn’t be possible in Adventure, and Takato thus has an important position in facilitating those kinds of thought experiments. The overall franchise metaphors of “growing” (evolving) alongside your Digimon (or, at least, something different from you) and the symbolism associated with it are still more than present, so the Tamers way of showcasing it is in mainly presenting the question of how that kind of goal would even be achievable in the first place when things aren’t as clear-cut.

In particular, Takato serves to address how someone who doesn’t fulfill the typical protagonist mold would cope with situations that somewhat resemble those in Adventure, what would happen when a Digimon partner is fundamentally different from oneself, and how one would still be able to grow alongside such an existence. Thus, his own character arc is more relevant to his own personal growth in accordance with interacting with Guilmon and what he gets out of his journey. This is especially because one thing particularly unique to Tamers is how it portrays Digimon as significantly more feral and different in mentality to humans, which means that he had a much higher personal hurdle to begin with, and thus his personal story and what he gets out of it becomes of significantly more importance.

Appmon, on the other hand, very much is an overarching theme narrative and isn’t exactly subtle about it, with one of its biggest questions being about what’s important in a world that’s getting increasingly controlled and regulated by modern technology that’s getting more and more intelligent. Haru is thus the embodiment of Appmon’s answer to that question: “to choose to be kind” -- and the less-than-subtle invocation of the word “protagonist” ends up having a very different meaning invoked in its final episode.

At the very least, on top of both being rather unconventional protagonists, both Tamers and Appmon do start with Takato and Haru both expressing a desire to be more like one who could go on some kind of adventure (Takato’s version isn’t as verbal, but his way of enthusiastically putting on goggles as proof that he’s a Tamer in Tamers episode 2 carries heavy implications of wanting to emulate the heroes he saw on TV).

However, this is where we get our first difference: Takato proudly claims his newfound status as the series protagonist, whereas Haru is unsure and self-conscious about it -- Haru himself is the one who initially considers himself not cut out for the role despite Yuujin personally believing he does and Gatchmon trying to urge him into it. And, in fact, this is actually the difference that kicks off where their paths entirely diverge.

Takato is often said to be unconventional for a protagonist, but when you really think about it, it’s not like Taichi or Daisuke were exactly models of typical protagonist tropes; while you could call them “hot-blooded”, in the end, Taichi’s standout traits have more to do with natural charisma and sometimes even being too chill, and Daisuke, for all he seems assertive, is actually extremely deferential. So why is Takato still such a standout in comparison?

Well, when you look at the detailed profiles of all twelve of the main Adventure and 02 cast, you might notice something: all of them are naturally selfless people who put others before themselves without a second thought. On the other hand, when you look at Takato, you might realize that this is very much not the case, especially during the early parts of the series. As much as Takato is a “soft” person, he’s not necessarily very “kind” or “nice”, especially during the early parts of the series; he can get possessive or clingy, petty, or even a little arrogant (Tamers episode 11 basically has him go on a mini-power trip based on his card combo having worked so well in the prior episode, which ends up becoming part of his isolation from Hirokazu and Kenta in the following one). Moreover, Takato loses his emotional composure and becomes a crying mess as early as Tamers episode 2, and while it’s not like other characters in Adventure and 02 hadn’t been prone to emotional outbursts, combine it with the above facts and you get the take-home that Takato isn’t “soft” out of an active choice to be so as much as he’s just really, really lacking in emotional mettle to begin with.

To be fair to him, Takato has to deal with quite a bit more stress during the early parts of Tamers than Haru has to during the equivalent parts; having to deal with a Digimon partner that’s outright feral at times and doesn’t have a fully intelligent understanding of how to communicate is a pretty rough thing to start off with. That said, Takato is fairly cowardly even in situations that don’t necessarily have to do with this, it’s just that this makes it worse -- but it means a lot that Takato himself is willing to put in that much effort in bonding with Guilmon despite being initially intimidated by what he’d just created, and that perhaps is what’s the beginnings of how he continues to develop that strength of heart for the rest of the series (and also extends to how he’s the one who connects with Grani).

This is in contrast to how Haru is described by Yuujin at the end of Appmon episode 1, in which Yuujin states that Haru is already cut out to be a protagonist because he’s a kind person -- in other words, Takato is someone who is not cut out to be a protagonist of any kind of adventure at the start of Tamers, even though he thinks he now gets the luxury of being one due to the circumstances he’s thrust into, whereas Haru is already someone with the potential to be one even at the start of the series, but initially lacks the self-confidence to consider himself able to be so. Thus, Takato’s character arc involves having to actually grow into someone worthy of the position, whereas Haru’s involves coming to terms with the aspects of himself he already has but doesn’t quite understand yet.

One very important thing to reiterate is that “unconventional” does not necessarily mean “better” by default, and, on the flip side, just because Takato isn’t as virtuous of a person at the beginning doesn’t mean he’s a worse character (after all, these kinds of things are what makes one interesting). Rather, it’s more important to consider why these characters are this way based on the context of the narratives they’re in.

In the case of the Adventure/02 kids, getting twelve naturally kind kids wasn’t exactly accident, nor was Haru and the other Appli Drivers also being that way; said kids have a bit of selection bias in that they were deliberately chosen by various entities (”the one who wishes for stability” and the Agents, the Holy Beasts, or Minerva) knowing that a massive world- or humanity-threatening crisis was on the horizon and quite understandably picking kids who had the greatest potential for the kindness that shouldering the world’s burdens would take (in Adventure and 02 this manifested in having the kids resonate with Crests and Digimentals that represented virtues, and in Appmon this involved Minerva actively testing them). After all, it’s only natural that anyone with the chance to recruit people to help with a monumental task would ideally go out of their way to pick people who seem best suited for the job, whether it’s something as grand as fantasy chosen hero picking or something as simple as job recruitment. But at the beginning of Tamers, none of the involved parties were really aware of any kind of grand, looming threats on the horizon, and whatever the DigiGnomes were thinking (or not thinking) when giving Takato his D-Ark is arcane to us all, and so Takato ended up becoming a Tamer by functional accident, resulting him starting off very poorly equipped for the job and having to learn how to do it on the fly.

This also means that the “motives” Takato and Haru have for taking action at the beginning of the series are accordingly different. Because any concept of “stakes” was not immediately apparent at the start of Tamers, Takato’s motivations for being a Tamer are more self-centered and selfish than Haru’s are for being an Appli Driver at the start of their respective series.

Takato’s motives at the beginning of Tamers really just revolve around “I want to be able to play with Guilmon more and not lose him,” and there’s no indication at said beginning that he’s really prepared for or even understands the part about having to protect others from harm. That doesn’t mean that Takato’s a selfish person to the extent of not caring about others at all -- in fact, by the time of Tamers episode 15, he demonstrates an understanding that they’re not playing a “game” anymore when things get difficult (and even puts his foot down in front of the other kids for it, a huge improvement from his rather cowardly outlook at the beginning of the series), so the issue largely had to do with the fact that the early parts of Tamers didn’t immediately make such high stakes clear, and Takato himself was thus in a situation of not worrying about others because that necessity wasn’t there yet. But even in the same episode, Takato still has a clear motive of wanting to show off his cool Digimon partner to the others and bask in his “status” as a Tamer, and it’s still a huge contrast to Haru who was initially too humble to accept his role as part of such a larger narrative until his desire to “protect everyone” won out. It’s a big deal that Haru understood the stakes that would be involved in the fight against Leviathan from day one, and actively chose to opt in because of his selflessness.

Another major reason for this difference is that Haru has a certain character trait explicitly ascribed to him that isn’t with Takato: Haru enjoys reading books and is actually rather book-smart and intellectual. On a certain technicality, Takato being characterized as not particularly skilled in that department actually brings him a little closer to the conventional shounen protagonist archetype than it does a “bookish” character like Haru, because such a character is often considered too nerdy for the protagonist position -- but in Haru’s case, the fact he’s actively thoughtful and ruminates on things means that he spends a lot of time thinking about “what’s the right thing to do” in a given situation.

For all it’s worth, I really hope that the above won’t be taken as an implication that Takato is a fundamentally bad person for having more selfish immediate priorities than Haru or the Adventure/02 kids do; having to carry the weight of such a large thing is a huge thing to ask of someone, especially when we’re talking about someone who kind of got thrown into this whole mess and has been spending the entirety of this series trying to figure it all out without a lot of reliable sources of help. On top of that, it should also be noted that Takato is ten; if there’s anything that can be said to be not entirely true-to-life with the Adventure and 02 cast personalities, it’s that a lot of the emotional awareness and levelheadedness they exhibit usually come from people much older than 8-12 (it’s one of the “acceptable breaks from reality” employed in kids’ shows that kid protagonists are often a tad bit more mature than actual kids would be at that age, otherwise a lot of said kids’ show plots wouldn’t function), and real ten-year-olds in Takato’s situation would often have more difficulty knowing what to do with such great burdens at this age. It’s actually fairly significant that Haru is 13 and from a group composed mainly of middle schoolers, in contrast to the older series having elementary school kids (the youngest Appli Driver, Astra, is actually the same age as a classic Digimon series protagonist), and thus it’s probably not surprising that they’re more willing and able to deal with such huge issues much earlier on.

Thus, although Takato’s character arc does involve him slowly growing into the role of becoming less shallow and selfish, and becoming more truly assertive while he’s at it, this fundamental difference in their natures ends up continuing to have a major influence by the time of the later parts of the series. The difference can be most starkly illustrated in Tamers episode 35 versus Appmon episode 41 -- in which Takato, upon seeing Beelzebumon kill Leomon, is utterly consumed by his emotions and decides that the best course of action to take would be killing Beelzebumon in revenge, even though this won’t bring Leomon back or accomplish anything productive (and, indeed, it does make things worse in the form of driving his own partner over the edge and traumatizing Juri further). (Adventure had already warned that prioritizing “revenge” over “protecting others” is foolhardy and tends to cause a lot of really nasty problems.)

In contrast, one thing you might notice about Haru is that he never “denies anyone’s feelings”, even when confronting someone like Knight. You could argue that Haru wasn’t necessarily dealing with direct trauma in front of him, but recall that Knight had caused tons of grief and misery for many (something Haru takes serious offense at) and had, along with Charismon, gotten very close to permakilling all of the Buddy Appmon at one point back in Appmon episode 37 -- so it’s not like Haru doesn’t have reason to have grudge against Knight, even if the severity isn’t as immediate. Note that Haru doesn’t “both-sides” this issue; he still insists on making his own case, it’s just that he still doesn’t have it in him to not acknowledge that Knight has a good reason for making the case he does given his background, consider his words to an extent, and fight against the idea of having Knight be killed for no good reason. Haru has a very strong belief in “thinking with one’s heart” and “respecting feelings” that he'd exhibited through the entire series (for example, very prominently in Appmon episode 12 with Rei), and because of that he has a ton of emotional control over himself even taking some very harsh things. It’s clear that Haru does have very deep understanding of what he’s dealing with -- and chooses to be idealistic and kind anyway.

(In addition, because Haru is so naturally inclined to be selfless, the one time he really does hit an emotional low in Appmon episode 49, it’s not anger or lashing out at anyone, but rather sadness and despair. Haru just really does not have the fundamental capacity to be aggressive.)

As said before, Takato’s character arc is very much a personal story of how he grew into the role of a Tamer, via learning to fight for what’s important and have a strong heart for it. As a result, his motives for fighting end up still having a much more personal streak to it than anything -- at the time of Tamers episode 49, technically speaking, the Wild Bunch was still being counted on to work on the D-Reaper problem, and his own family was urging him to stay home for now, but what tipped him over the edge was not some desire to protect people as a whole but rather the fact that Juri was calling for him. It’s not to say that such a thing is selfish -- he’s clearly doing it for her sake, not anything to do with his own -- but nevertheless his involvement was directly related to something that hit a little more personally moreso than it was for the sake of the wider picture.

As said before, this is fitting for someone whose story is really more of a personal character arc before anything else; the significance is more in line with the sheer amount of emotional growth Takato had to go through in order to get to this point at all, and how someone normally so divorced from the concept of heroism could come to do something so meaningful, especially thanks to his interactions with Guilmon and growing alongside him. There’s absolutely no doubt that Takato wouldn’t have been able to do this kind of thing at the beginning of the series, so it’s a huge accomplishment that shouldn’t be watered down. It also makes him a very good foil to the D-Reaper, an emotionless program that’s still fixated on rehashing the same destructive purpose it was originally created for years ago and has long lost its purpose, and while Takato isn’t technically the sole factor in putting it to rest (at most, the most valuable asset as part of the Wild Bunch’s plan), the contrast is quite apparent.

On the flip side, Appmon episode 54 not only involves the exact opposite -- in which Haru sacrifices something closely personal to him for the sake of everything else -- but also ties it very closely to its own series themes, which are assertively laid down in all of their glory during this finale. The reason Haru had been “chosen” by Minerva to begin with, and the reason he himself had been given an opt-in “choice” at the beginning of the series and again in Appmon episode 38, and so many other characters had been given “choices”, is that this story is about choices -- because Leviathan (and Knight, and any kind of “AI should manage everything” argument that this series fights hard against) believes that humans shouldn’t be allowed them, and that everything ought to fall in accordance with a “rational” system. Haru, on the other hand, believes in the human heart that can do unexpected things, and his constant choices to do things out of kindness despite understanding what they entail.

Over the course of the series, Haru hadn’t always been putting himself in a spotlight situation -- in fact, many episodes had involved him saying “we’ll support you!” and generally uplifting others before he’d ever tried to take charge. But in the end, the reason he ends up as the “protagonist” who makes the final choice for everyone’s sake is because he’s the one who understands that gravity of “making a choice with one’s feelings” that’s so vital to changing Leviathan’s mind -- plus, the fact he’d been so supportive and kind to everyone means that everyone else shows up for him when he needs it most. Note that when Astra and Eri are upset at Yuujin in Appmon episodes 48 and 51, it’s not so much out of the overall betrayal as much as the fact he specifically betrayed and hurt Haru, because that’s how much they’ve come to care for him in return.

Hence, why Appmon latently ends on a frame of redefining the concept of “protagonist” -- certainly, on a meta level, Haru became the “protagonist” of the narrative that is Appmon, but what it actually means in terms of what Haru became is that everyone, including the members of the audience watching this series, is “the protagonist of their own life”, meaning that being a “protagonist” is defined merely by said act of “making choices” and defining what your own path will be. And especially in a world where singularity is going to become more and more of a real possibility -- as the show indirectly reminds us, AI surpassing human intellect is something that’s been predicted and warned about in this very world we, the viewers, live in -- understanding this is going to become even more important.

Incidentally, in the end, as much as it might be tempting to try and draw parallels with Takato because both of them are in the franchise-mandated position of “protagonist”, removing that requirement actually brings up a character that might make a much closer parallel -- “making choices that are out of kindness” easily directly invokes a certain other character from 02 who had “kindness” as a huge part of his character arc, doesn’t it...?

Really, if you think about it, Haru has a lot in common with Ken, who’s also thoughtful, intellectual, very in touch with his own feelings, assertive, resilient, strong in heart, and kind out of choice even when he doesn’t have to be -- you could basically say Haru is what Ken would be like if he hadn’t gone through such a massive formative event of trauma early in his life, or, alternatively, Ken if he had a bit more of Daisuke’s more outwardly bright, friendly, and supportive traits. It may not be a comparison you’d be easily tempted to make because, as stated above, as much as Ken had a deep connection with 02′s plot, he’s not portrayed as the protagonist of his own narrative...and, hence, Haru is unusual in that the exact archetype that was formerly placed in the role of the series deuteragonist has now been recast in the role of the protagonist itself. But then again, from Haru’s perspective, it’s not like Ken wasn’t technically the driving force of his own story, right?

(I’m not just drawing this comparison because I usually blog for 02. I promise.)

#digimon #digimon tamers #appmon #matsuda takato #shinkai haru #takato matsuda #haru shinkai #shihameta

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witch333s · 3 years

Text

Demonic Hauntings and my Personal Experience with Getting "Too Close"

Before I start, I just want to again state that these are my personal beliefs and experiences. I am not saying my word is fact, I am not here to argue opinions with people. I am here to discuss opinions. I also have never experienced possession before, but this is just the first topic I am going to discuss. The second topic of "getting too close" per my title, are things I experienced. Again, personal and opinion.

Demonic entities can physically and spiritually break a person down in order to get closer to them and eventually inside of them. Demonic entities have no physical form, but can be seen in passing as shadows, mists or can be noticed also by their smell. Signs of a Demonic entity beginning to break a person down would be bruising, changes in eating habits, distancing from others, distraction, anger. Yes, these are common symptoms of probably many other physical or emotional issues people go through daily, which is one of the many reasons Demonic haunting and / or possession is very hard to pin point as authentic.

Signs of a Demonic entity actually in possession of a person could include but are not limited to speaking in a different or even unknown language, violence, abnormal strength, voice changes, abnormal body movements, extremely increased intelligence. Unfortunately, since these symptoms are much more noticeable than the previous ones, this is usually when the possession is actually acknowledged. But even still, it is extremely hard to know for certain if possessions are authentic, and also with not everyone believing in this, sometimes they never get the chance to find out.

Who do Demons target and why? In my opinion, there's no true reason why. Demons are the epitome of evil, and hell has hierarchies in which where I believe things get reasoned "who and why". Demons can be territorial and reside at certain locations for eternity, whether it be a house, an apartment complex, a stretch of land even. They also can target "broken spirits". Trigger warn. I do not mean to say here that those who struggle with these next few things are any less strong than the next, but to an entity that thrives on darkness, they can be targeted. Those struggling with depression, suicidal thoughts or actions, and / or addiction. A Demonic entity can feed on it and use it to their advantage. They can also target places that have a dark history, like murders and / or suicides, also places that housed bad or criminal conditions. Signs that a Demonic entity are inhabiting a stretch of land, house or building would be but not limited to rotten smells, deep growling, a change in your demeanor upon entering; especially irrational anger.

Now, with me saying "getting too close" before. Before I started my studies in demonology, I lost a friend. We were young, early 20s. I had never experienced loss like that before, so I was incredibly angry, confused and turned to alcohol to cope. I was with another friend, and we were talking about our fallen friend. We were in his basement, and kept hearing knocking noises on the floor above. We were under the influence and decided to entertain it. We tried to communicate, thinking it was our friend. His printer turned on on its own, (computer still off) and began printing an image. We sat silently and watched. It printed out a figure, very heavy in ink, with the words "Can you see Me?" I remember immediately being scared that the "Me" was capitalized. We continued hearing the noises, and another picture started printing. It was the same image, just even more heavy in ink, still in the form of a figure, with the words "Can you see Me?" He made me take the pictures out of his house and had me leave. We never spoke of it again, and I do still have those prints.

Honestly, that was probably the beginning of my studies and interest. Because without knowing, I knew that that wasn't our friend coming through. Years go by, and I become very knowledgeable in this topic, and am very passionate about it, with still holding the respectable amount of fear. I was at a bad point in my life, and continuously threw myself quickly into unhealthy relationships with men. I was drinking a lot still. My body was very unhealthy. I began seeing this man, and upon seeing him for the first time, the first thing I noticed was that he had the Seal of Beelzebub tattooed on his hand. I should have known that it wasn't a good sign, but at the time, found it interesting. He later on ended up telling me things about himself and his connection to Beelzebub. Since we both had interest in the occult and demonology, we both got too deep and too close. We tried performing conjurings, being under the influence most of the time our quick relationship lasted. And I started having nightmares of Beelzebub, and I mean wake up screaming kind of nightmares. I started seeing figures standing behind me when I would walk past a mirror or a window.

That was when I left this blog and didn't return until now. I was scared I was being "broken down". Something was getting very close to me.

This is my point in "getting too close". I am speaking to over 13,000 of you and I want to truly say that the occult and demonology are extremely interesting and honestly so much fun to learn about. But, you need to be aware of yourself and who you keep close to you. This stuff, whether you are religious or not, no matter what you believe in, if you allow "access" by making yourself vulnerable to this, it will use that opportunity.

National Suicide Help Line: 800-273-8255

SAMHSA’s National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357)

#the occult #occult #occultism #demonology #demonology blog #demonologist #haunting #hauntings #possession

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deniigi · 3 years

Text

Blame @petrichordiam for this.

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Title: centerstage

Summary: An academic goes to a conference and is jazzed to see a jedi speak there. He unknowingly sits next to this jedi’s Support Squad.

The jedi Support Squad is like 85% clones, and 15% Jedi Generals.

No one mentions that the jedi speaking has never done this before and is petrified out of his blessed little mind.

*Anakin is like 19-20ish here.

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Sion Jissard has spent the last ten years of his life in the dredges of archives, digging through documents and testing fibers found between the flimsy, papery pages of old texts—scrounging for clues to recreate the conditions of the great conference halls and small, tucked away offices in which some of the most powerful people in the galaxy once gathered to whisper and shout over the fate of whole planets.

He has a hypothesis that the conditions in those rooms affected the decisions made in them. His hypothesis is strong enough that it has endured several rounds of peer-review and escaped those vulture-like clutches mostly unscathed in published form—both in journal and, his chest swells to recall, in book formats.

His book has sold several hundred copies and been cited in a plethora of upcoming article submissions.

The last eight years of tension in his marriage has eased in light of this. The salary from the professorship obtained in light of the book certainly hasn’t hurt it either.

His two doctorates are set on the wall of his office and when he receives word that a conference on ‘Intergalactic Unionism and Peace Negotiation’ is to be held in two months time, he opens up the speakers list and raises his head to gaze upon those two solid frames.

There will be jedi speakers at the conference. Several, actually. The whole thing is to be held on Coruscant, in the small visitors’ wing of the Jedi temple itself.

Sion Jissard pinches the fabric of his suit and then lightly slaps at his cheek to make sure that he is not dreaming.

He has only recently begun studying the jedi order’s material world and the role that world plays in their intergalactic peace-making practices. Prior to this, he considered the subject too on-the-nose. Jedi studies are rampant. Everyone wants a piece of that pie—the allure of it being that the jedi themselves, scholars in their own rights, refuse to partake in examinations of their culture.

They are notoriously obstinate. Their grandmasters refuse to let outsiders into their archives. Their masters shut down any and all attempts to obtain interviews or transcripts or documents with empty expressions or gentle, pitying smiles. Their knights blink with confusion at personal and personal-adjacent questions, and the little ones, the apprentices, are shielded behind all of these people as though the elbow-padded questioners are threatening their precious little lives.

In short, the jedi are happy to listen but loathe to teach. If you are not one of their soldiers or one of their fellows, they will lie to your face and tell you that it is their religion to do so.

And yet here they are, offering up a scholar’s wetdream and even allowing a handful of their own to present on their areas of expertise.

Sion Jissard will pass up this opportunity only upon pain of death.

He applies for the conference as a participant, not a speaker, and is delighted to receive confirmation of his place within mere minutes.

He puts the date on his calendar and starts looking into transit to Coruscant for the event in two months time.

Sion arrives on Coruscant, at the foot of the Jedi Temple itself, and stares up at it for so long that he begins to feel sick to the gills.

He fumbles for his confirmation at the little table set up in the interior courtyard behind a side-entrance door. He is distracted by the fact that the woman he is standing in front of is a Jedi. She is helped by two small children and holds a baby who is dead-set on unraveling the knots that decorate her thick waist band. Even the baby is dressed in double-collared cream-colored robes.

Sion has so many questions he wants to ask.

The jedi asks him for his name. She has a collection of name badges before her, but none of them are his. He gives his name and the master turns to the little girl sat at her right elbow with a brush in hand and instructs her to write it out.

The jedi child—not an apprentice, her robes are cream still, there are no additional earth-colors layered on top of it—writes Sion’s name in beautiful script on a little card and hands the card to the master, who puts it in a holder with a pin on it and places it into Sion’s hand.

She instructs him to go through the side door and enjoy some refreshments before the event begins. The baby in her lap looks up at her abruptly and bonks his sweet little head against her chin.

Sion forgets himself.

“How old?” he asks automatically, gesturing to the baby.

The master looks down into her lap.

“He is eight months and 75% lung,” she says affectionately.

“Ah. Mine was like that, too,” Sion says. “He grew out of it. He’s only 40% lung now.”

The master smiles.

Sion removes himself from her table before he embarrasses himself further.

There are enough people inside the front room of the jedi’s visitor’s wing to nearly fill it to capacity. The volume, though everyone is whispering, is great enough to be heard from outside the door. The room itself is earth-colored with a high ceiling. Its walls all contain niches with rounded borders. Columns with deep-cut creases in them arch high to the skylights.

It is all beautifully geometric, stoic, and clean. And even though the walls and floor are built from materials of warm tones, the skylights overhead and the surrounding addtion of books and holorecords set into the walls lend it a cooling quality.

What should have been imposing architectural feels more like holy space. The room is one that reverberates with reminders to respect all around you.

Sion’s fingers yearn to document this, but there is a sign right by the room’s entrance that asks politely for no recordings or holographs to be taken.

“Professor Jissard,” a familiar voice says.

Sion feels his whole body droop. He turns to see Teo Detras stood before him in his obnoxious, roaring red robes.

“I’m pleased that you too were able to secure an invitation, sir,” Teo says as though he has not attempted to place Sion on the metaphysical chopping block for each of his premises since the time they began their academic programs.

Sion opens his mouth to point out that this is also his area of study and that Teo has no monopoly on the field of Jedi architecture when a quiet passes over the room. Sion watches the heads around him lift and searches for the source of the sudden shudder of silence.

He finds it in a tall master with dark skin standing at the very front of the space. The man has tucked his hands neatly into the mouths of his sleeves.

He is Jedi Master and General Mace Windu. Sion has read and reread his essays, not caring so much for what he is talking about but how he is talking about it. His metaphors and examples should have been insight into the common experiences of those living in the Jedi temple.

Sion has found, however, that Jedi Master Mace Windu does not especially care for eloquence or metaphor. He cares only to methodically destroy the argument (if it could be called that) published by a jedi named Qui-Gon Jinn many years ago. Though Master Jinn has not published for several decades now, Master Windu’s writings remain agitated by his interpretations of the jedi’s Spiritual energy, the Force.

Just gazing upon the man now, Sion would not think him capable of agitation.

Master Windu welcomes the academics to the temple and says that he regrets not having more time to speak with each of the attendees as individuals, but there is a war on and his clone troopers require his services. He encourages people to refrain from any recordings of the temple due to its sacred nature, and he asks that attendees be mindful of the jedi Initiates (the white-robed children) who are confused and intrigued by all of the non-jedi people inhabiting their usual playroom.

He cautions everyone that if anyone slips on a toy, he warned them, and the temple is not liable for their medical bills.

This is a joke.

People are unsure of whether or not to laugh. Some laugh awkwardly far too late. Master Windu gives no sign on his face that he appreciates or disapproves of this.

Instead, he steps from his space of honor and leaves in his place a young man with feathery blonde hair and a highly expressive countenance, who drops his armload of documents on the floor obnoxiously and flings himself down to snatch up only the conference program, as if this was the most efficient way of finding it.

People know to laugh this time.

The young man begins announcing panel topics and rooms and give his strong opinions on each of them.

More people laugh. It feels less like a sin.

“And that’s all, my dears and darlings,” the young man says, “Mind your step into the conference rooms, our predecessors derived joy from an unexpected drop.”

Sion has only one panel that he will kill at minimum three bodies to sit in on. It is the one on peace strategy and resource management. He is not here for the peace strategy or the resource management parts of the talk; his burning interest yearns instead in listening to how and if people talk about their space and things. He wants to write down the language they use. He wants to learn about the physicality of peace.

He thinks ‘The Physicality of Peace’ would make a very compelling title for another book.

So he slips through the arched doors of conference room 3 and finds himself in a tiered lecture theatre. There is a small balcony with rows of pew-like benches that hangs over a lower seating area. He takes a seat at the edge of the front pew and sets his datapad on his lap for note-taking. At the front of the room there is a long bench—not a quite table, but definitely a tall bench, and behind it, there is an enormous screen for displaying images and information. Someone has very kindly thought to place a jug of water and some cups at the center of the bench by a microphone.

Sion gets the impression from its awkward, dead-center placement that it is an addition that the jedi themselves usually forego.

He wonders what that means. He only wonders for about 15 seconds before a hand touches his shoulder and he jerks in alarm.

“My apologies, sir. We were just wondering if the space next to you is available?” says the smooth-faced, copper-haired man standing above him.

He is wearing white armor on top of his layered robes. The arms and legs that emerge from his long off-white tunic are dark in color, but his boots are hard and white and come up and over his kneecaps.

Sion is speechless.

This is General and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi.

General and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi has touched Sion’s shoulder and apologized to him.

He doesn’t have words. He can only make fish-mouthed motions and then point and nod.

General Kenobi accepts this with grace and stands up straight. He waves behind him to call his companions over to join him on the balcony’s edge.

They arrive as a pack.

Instead of coming around and staggering past Sion’s knees at the edge of the bench, General Kenobi climbs over its back and settles in. He then twists back over the row and holds his hands out; a Clone Trooper in full armor hands to him a strange bundle of woolen, brown robe. It produces legs and arms and then bright blue and white lekku once Kenobi has situated it next to him.

“Fooled ‘em,” the little Togruta that emerges from the cloth says brightly.

“Shh,” Kenobi says. “Cody, you next.”

“No, I want Rex to sit with me.”

“Ahsoka, shhh.”

“Rex.”

“Child, this is how people like me get banned from meetings; you’re not even supposed to see—”

“REX.”

“HUSH. Okay, okay. Rex. Pst. Cody, get Rex. Cody, oh for the love of—Wolffe, yes—no. Wolffe, look at me. Get Cody to get Rex.”

Sion cannot believe what he is seeing. General Kenobi appears to be sneaking half of his command into the balcony area. There are more than a few clone troopers there are at least twenty. They are somehow visibly excited despite their matching helmets. The General is able to tell them apart easily. He leans over the back of the bench again and crooks his finger at one of the troopers who leans forward. He tells them to throw something at their commander.

The Clone takes off his glove, stands, and nail a clone standing in the aisle in the head with it. The slap of contact makes this clone cease speaking in serious low tones with a clone decorated with blue edging in front of him. The first clone draws himself up perfectly straight and turns around with a fury that even Sion can feel the heat of.

His armor is painted yellow in places.

He holds the glove in his hand like a threat. The clone who threw it winces and points wordlessly to General Kenobi, then sits down in a hurry. Kenobi smiles wide and white. He has freckles on his face that do not appear on any of the images of him that appear on the news.

He’s also shorter than Sion himself, even sitting.

“Sir,” the white and yellow clone says stiffly.

“Rex,” Kenobi says through that threat of a smile. “Get over here.”

The Togruta child twists around excitedly as the clone in white and blue exits the conversation with the one in white and yellow and surveys the rows of his fellows piled into the space behind the General and the child. He has to squeeze past the line of knees and then climb over the bench to sit down next to the child, who immediately cuddles up to him.

“Hey, that’s my seat,” a new voice whispers.

Sion looks back to see General Quinlan Vos with his arms crossed over his chest, recognizable in any setting. Behind him is General Koon. General Kenobi slaps a hand to his forehead and grumbles, then shoos the blue edged clone and the child a few seats down.

The generals clamber just as awkwardly as the blue clone through the sea of knees of the troopers and then over the back of the bench.

Somehow, Sion has won the jackpot. He is now surrounded by jedi culture, literally.

“All of you, back,” Kenobi snaps down the bench when everyone is just starting to get comfortable. “Cody. Commander, come here.”

The clone trooper with the yellow edging does not want to play this game. He shifts his weight back onto his other heel as Kenobi pats the newly vacated space next to him. General Vos croons in a teasing tone something about Kenobi being especially fond of this clone.

Kenobi lurches out across the empty seat to punch him in the gut and then returns peacefully to patting the space over the sound of Vos’s moaning.

The Clone Commander has no choice. His general is giving him a directive. He gives in to the inevitable and makes his way through the knees and—much more neatly than the others—steps over the back of the bench to its seat and then into sitting. Kenobi beams at him, practically purring.

Sion needs desperately to take notes, but the subjects of said notes are right there and rudeness is intolerable in retaining his vantage point.

He fights the urge to vibrate in space as the lights begin to dim overhead and the panel chairman comes out to introduce the topic and speakers. It is only about a minute or so when a hand lands firmly on Kenobi’s right shoulder—the one by Sion’s arm. Sion jumps, but Kenobi resolutely stares directly down at the speaker.

“Obi-Wan,” Master Mace Windu’s low, low voice says right into the space between Kenobi and Sion’s ears, “Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

Kenobi begins to melt but catches himself.

“You didn’t for a while,” he said.

“Get her out of here.”

“She has a right to see her Master.”

“What part of these orders are challenging for you?”

Kenobi still does not turn around to see Master Windu, but his eyebrows sink and his brow becomes more pronounced.

“No padawans,” Master Windu says. “Ahsoka. Out.”

The togruta, still bedecked in that heavy cloak, turns to stare owlishly at Master Windu while the person at the front of the room moves on to introducing the next speaker.

“But I’m not a padawan,” the child says. “I’m obnoxious. Master Kenobi said so.”

Kenobi holds his face in a hand.

“You can be both. Come,” Master Windu says, holding out a hand.

“But I’m a cloak,” Ahsoka tries instead.

Kenobi crumples further. Master Windu’s hand finds his shoulder again. Sion can feel its heat.

“If not her, then you,” he says.

“After,” Kenobi says.

“I’ll be waiting, Obi-Wan.”

Master Windu vanishes from behind them. Sion shudders. Kenobi turns to the side and hisses at Ahsoka,

“Now look what you’ve done.”

“You’re my co-conspirator,” Ahsoka hisses back. “My—my—Rex, what’s the word?”

Clone Commander Rex does not want to give her the word. Ahsoka tugs at him.

“Rex,” she insists.

“Enabler,” Commander Rex says with bitter regret coating his words.

Ahsoka beams over the laps of the other Generals at Kenobi. He glares back through a squint. He starts to say something, but General Vos tells him to shut up in a sharp tone.

Sion looks back to the front of the room and finds that a young man with dark hair has come out to the center of the front table-bench to speak.

He is a jedi. His robes, however, are dark in color. Blacks and browns with knee-high boots.

He’s very young. Very, very young.

And nervous.

Very, very nervous.

Even from the balcony seats, Sion can see his hands shaking. He is holding a stack of white paper. It is trembling like a branch on a windy day.

“Go, go, Master, go, go,” chants little Ahsoka.

Sion finds himself abruptly appalled by the realization that the child on center stage is the master of the child a few seats over from him.

General Koon gently shushes Ahsoka. Commander Rex helpfully wraps a gloved hand over the bottom half of her face to keep her distracted.

Sion looks from them to the young man and finds that he’s already knocked over the jug of water on the bench and looks about ready to sob about it. He gathers himself, though, and brings the microphone closer to him.

He is General Anakin Skywalker, Sion now understands. He is the first speaker and he’s never in his life presented a paper at a professional conference before.

His voice shakes as he reads out the title of the article that he published (and that Sion has read) on battlefield surrender. After the second paragraph, Sion brings a hand to his lip to help him contain the emotions that come with the understanding that this boy is about to read his article, word for word, in front of a room full of academics.

He thinks now that he has been too harsh with his students.

General Skywalker is not a strong public speaker. Clearly, his expertise is in action. He stammers. He loses his place in his reading and accidentally rereads three whole sentences. Only twice does he look up from his paper, and each time it is not at the audience but at Obi-Wan Kenobi, sat next to Sion, serious as a plague.

Kenobi nods sagely.

General Skywalker is General Kenobi’s apprentice. Was General Kenobi’s apprentice. However, it is clear to all who are present today that General Skywalker is still General Kenobi’s apprentice. Desperate, the poor thing is, for Kenobi’s reassurance.

His confidence in reading grows under his former (current?) master’s approving eye until he turns a page and—horror of horrors—drops the stack of paper.

Sion’s whole body tenses in sympathy and second-hand embarrassment. Skywalker flings himself down and messily collects the papers. He hurriedly reorders them, all while stuttering ‘ums’ and ‘uhs.’

Yet, when Sion chances a peek down the line of Generals next to him, he finds that not a single one has winced. No one has laughed. Even the clone troopers all around them are as silent and steady as the night itself.

It seems like they are all listening intently to their young General on center stage. The only giveaway that sympathy is being had by any is the tiny gesture Clone Commander Rex is making with his hand. He is moving it almost imperceptibly in a circle, as if to say ‘come on, come on.’

Sion looks back to young Skywalker and waits patiently as he finds his place and carries on reading again, this time faster. This time he does not look up for his master’s eye.

He wants only for the torture to end.

He gets to the end of his paper without dropping it or repeating himself and is flushed red. He does not ask for questions. He merely says quietly into the microphone, “Thank you.”

The panel chair waits a beat before walking over to Skywalker and asking the crowd for questions on his behalf. Skywalker becomes even more luminous. Sion cannot decide whether asking a question would be more or less stressful for this poor boy.

No one asks a question.

The panel chair then starts to ask for applause for Skywalker, but before he can even finish the sentence the whole balcony breaks into uproar.

General Kenobi hoots and whistles piercingly in Sion’s ear. General Vos claps and shouts what sounds like ‘You FUCKING did it, kid. You FUCKING did it. Hip-hip—”

“HUZZAH,” the Clone Troopers behind General Vos finish for him in perfect unity.

“Hip-hip—”

“HUZZAH.”

More applause and congratulations erupts after this.

General Skywalker slams his paper into his face and bursts into tears at the front of the room.

He bolts for a doorway that Sion hadn’t even noticed was right next to the bench. General Kenobi whacks at his Clone Commander’s shoulder, and Commander Cody wraps hands around his waist and hoists him up so that he’s standing on the guardrail at the edge of the balcony. He leaps from there to the lower level then goes jogging out the same doorway his former apprentice ran through.

After another moment or two, Commander Cody stands up and snaps at the whole collection of troopers in their language. Everyone shuts up and sits back down. Commander Rex gestures for Ahsoka to put up her hood and takes from General Vos a small datapad which he gives to the child—presumably for her to occupy herself with for the next hour and a half of papers. She takes it and immediately becomes absorbed in its lightly-glowing screen.

The balcony is once again on its best behavior.

Sion doesn’t bother with listening to any of the other papers. He feels no shame at all in beginning to furiously take notes on his last twenty-five minutes with the jedi.

Upon leaving the conference room nearly two hours later, he finds himself swept up in the clone troopers’ swift and orderly exit from the space. They line up outside the hall in lines by regiment and they wait for their commanders and generals to arrive before marching back towards the visitors’ wing’s exit.

After two or three minutes, only two lines remain.

Clone Commander Rex and Clone Commander Cody stand perfectly at attention beside their lines of men. Clone Commander Rex has his jedi’s apprentice thrown over his shoulder; he has balanced her on one arm while she sleeps.

It’s very sweet. She obviously trusts the Clone Commander very much.

“Gentlemen.”

The clones snap to even tighter attention as General Mace Windu appears, walking briskly their way.

“You’re dismissed,” he says to them. “Commanders, you will remain. Obi-Wan and Anakin will join us shortly.”

“Sir,” both commanders say simultaneously.

There is a pause, and Sion sees that all of these people are now looking at him.

“Can we help you, sir?” General Windu asks.

Yes. And Sion will pay any amount of money to just know this one thing. This teeny, tiny detail.

“Sir?”

“Is that normal for you?” he blurts out.

The Clone Commanders stare. The general stares. The apprentice coughs lightly in her sleep.

“I regret to say that it is not only normal, but expected of these general and units,” General Windu says. “Please vacate this area.”

Right.

“Thank you,” Sion says.

He stiff-legs it back to the crowd of other academics and hunts down a liquid to soothe his parched throat.

The new book’s title will not be ‘The Physicality of Peace.’ It will be ‘All is Fair in Love and War: The Jedi Order and Ideologies of Family, Part I.’

--------------- Yeah, so anyways, Myth and I decided that Anakin is bad at public speaking and nothing anyone says can take this from me now, I’m invincible. (If you want this on Ao3 let me know).

#anakin skywalker #obi-wan kenobi #the clone wars #clones #guys sometimes anakin is allowed to be cute #but only like every so often I don't want him getting uppity #and thinking I actually like him or something like that #ahsoka and rex's relationship is everything to me #fic #ficlet

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ibijau · 3 years

Text

Futures past pt19 / on AO3

As music lessons resume, Lan Xichen has a suggestion for Nie Huaisang

Nie Huaisang cheerfully knocked on the door, ready for his first music lesson of the year, only to be met by a decidedly grumpy Lan Xichen. The other boy tried to smile at him, tried to make conversation as usual and to ask how much he’d practiced that week, but Nie Huaisang wasn’t fooled.

“So, what’s wrong?” he asked as he set up his guqin, a little proud to show off again that he had his own instrument now. “You look so dejected that I could mistake you for your brother.”

“Let’s not talk about Wangji right now,” Lan Xichen replied, his expression turning sour.

Now he looked like his uncle, though Nie Huaisang was too polite to say as much. It was really strange to see him so upset, and a little worrying as well, but Lan Xichen did not give him the chance to ask any questions.

“I’ve been thinking a lot while you were gone,” Lan Xichen announced with a fake smile that wasn’t fooling anyone, “and I think your level is good enough to start teaching you something a little more advanced. Shufu has given me permission to give you an introduction to some techniques we use for musical cultivation, if that interests you.”

Nie Huaisang gasped at the news.

“Really? You mean, real musical cultivation?” he asked excitedly. “The real deal? Like… like battle songs? Healing songs? You think I’m good enough?”

His earlier bad mood quickly melting away, Lan Xichen smiled warmly and came to sit next to Nie Huaisang.

“I think you’re very skilled, yes,” he said, making Nie Huaisang flush at the praise, “though it’ll be a while until you can use musical techniques in a Night Hunt. But since we have this entire year before us, I thought you could try to learn Inquiry.”

“Really?”

To confirm it, Lan Xichen merely handed Nie Huaisang a musical score, one he appeared to have copied himself. Nie Huaisang took it with trembling hands, awed to be trusted in that manner.

“The song itself is not particularly complex,” Lan Xichen explained as Nie Huaisang looked over the score, “and it can be learned and used even by someone of ordinary cultivation level. The real difficulty, and what is going to take us a while, is the Qin language needed to understand the answers given by spirits.”

His eyes still on the sheet of music, Nie Huaisang just nodded. Then, realising what he’d just heard, he looked up and stared at Lan Xichen with wide, shocked eyes.

“Isn’t that a secret Lan technique?”

“I'm not sure about 'secret' but it is an exclusive technique,” Lan Xichen confirmed, his expression turning more serious. “That’s why I had to ask for shufu’s permission before I could offer to teach you. I won’t hide that he was reluctant,” he added with a strained smile. “But I told him that I fully trust you to respect our secrets.”

Hands clenched on the music sheet, Nie Huaisang hurriedly nodded again. He couldn’t think of a bigger honour done to him. He’d never have dared to ask to be taught any Lan secret techniques, but since it was offered he would do his best to be worthy of it, and to show proper respect and gratitude.

“I also told him that having a goal of your own seemed to help you in your studies last year,” Lan Xichen added, “and that this might help you do better in your exams by giving you better motivation.”

However pleased he was that Lan Xichen would trust him, and with something that important, the reminder of his failure to do well in class made Nie Huaisang grimace, and instantly reduced his enthusiasm. “Does it mean the music lessons will be dependent on the grades I get in regular classes?”

“It’s possible that shufu came to that conclusion,” Lan Xichen replied with a mischievous smile. “But I never actually said that, and your grades are of no concern to me. I just like teaching you”

“Xichen-gege, you’re so crafty!” Nie Huaisang laughed. “Who knew you were capable of that! You’re the best, you know? I like when you teach me, too. I’ll try to be as good a student as you are a teacher!”

“I’m pleased you’d think so well of me,” Lan Xichen said, his cheeks turning a little pink. “Now, let’s get to work. I think for today, we’re just going to focus on the song itself. Then next week, if you are comfortable enough playing it, I can show you how to infuse it with your spiritual energy to have the right effect, and we can start learning Qin language.”

It sounded like a great plan, and one Nie Huaisang wholeheartedly agreed to.

Just as Lan Xichen promised, the song itself was not particularly challenging, and short enough that Nie Huaisang had good hopes of quickly learning it by heart if he just put his mind to it. He’d try to be careful not to practice it around the other Nie disciples, since it was a Lan technique, but he’d still work hard on it, and… maybe that might turn Night Hunts into something interesting at last. It should certainly make Nie Mingjue happy if his brother finally became interested in those, even if he had to use another sect’s method for it.

It opened a world of possibilities, and Nie Huaisang promised himself to practice hard to make this happen, so both his brother and Lan Xichen would be proud of him. Or at least, as hard as he was capable, especially with all that he had to do that year.

That would come later. The lesson having reached its conclusion for the day, Lan Xichen served tea for both of them, and offered some candies to celebrate the start of a new year of learning. By then, Lan Xichen’s mood appeared to have improved a great deal, and Nie Huaisang decided it would be fine to start the first phase of his great plan.

"So, Xichen-gege, what do you think of this year's students?" Nie Huaisang asked innocently while grabbing some candies.

Lan Xichen's expression turned sour for a brief moment, before he got himself back under control and smiled again.

"They are an interesting lot, certainly," he said without enthusiasm. "Are you making friends this time?"

After taking a quick sip of tea, Nie Huaisang nodded, grinning.

"Gege, you won't believe it, but even last year I made a friend!” he announced. “Apparently, Zixun thinks I'm really cool and told his cousin about me!"

It was still really funny to him, and judging by his surprised expression, Lan Xichen hadn’t expected that either.

"Then Jin Zixun has better tastes than I expected,” Lan Xichen said with some hesitation, “and I must reconsider my opinion of him."

"Well, me too! But I am making friends this year too, and they're nicer about it than Zixun was. Have you met Wei Wuxian yet?"

Stopping short of drinking some tea, Lan Xichen's smile wavered. He froze for a second, and put down his glass again.

"I have,” Lan Xichen said in a tone of voice that made it plain the encounter had brought him little joy. “Jiang Cheng… I mean, Jiang gongzi came to greet me on his second day here, and Wei gongzi was with him. I suppose he was polite enough with me."

Nie Huaisang laughed at seeing him struggle to find something nice to say.

"But he upset your uncle and you don't like that."

That was all the encouragement Lan Xichen needed to allow his expression to turn into anger, which Nie Huaisang found very funny.

"He was extremely rude to shufu,” Lan Xichen complained. “It’s very unfortunate that he should show so little respect to a teacher. He's also determined to pester poor Wangji, who isn't used to being treated like that!” He paused, taking a deep breath to compose himself, but didn’t manage to put on a smile again. “Huaisang, since you're his friend, do you think you might tell him to leave Wangji alone?"

All of Nie Huaisang’s amusement quickly dissipated at that demand and he frowned.

"Well that's a problem! You really dislike him that much?"

Lan Xichen fell silent for a moment. Nie Huaisang found it more worrying than if he’d answered right away. A little anger at a misbehaving student was one thing, but he’d talked enough with Lan Xichen to recognise those moments when he was trying hard to be fair to someone he didn’t particularly like. He used to make the same face when talking about Su She, back before he started warming up to him.

"He doesn't seem like a bad person,” Lan Xichen said at last, “and he hasn't done anything to me, so I cannot dislike him. I am just worried for Wangji, who isn’t very good at dealing with people."

"That's really inconvenient,” Nie Huaisang sighed. “Xichen-gege, I was really hoping you'd help me help them to become friends! It would have been a lot of fun, the two of us scheming together…” he sighed again. “Oh, well. I'll see if I can get Jiang-xiong or Su-xiong instead. I don’t want to involve you in something you’d find upsetting."

"I think the fact you’d want such a thing is already upsetting me a little,” Lan Xichen replied. “Is it even possible for them to be friends? They are… very different."

Nie Huaisang gave that a moment of consideration before shrugging.

"I guess. But we're pretty different too, and we didn't start off so well either, and look at us now! If it worked for us, it can work for them! I’m sure they can become good friends like us!"

A spot or pink appeared on Lan Xichen's cheeks, but his expression remained conflicted.

"I think it's different. Their first meeting was a fight."

Nie Huaisang could only laugh.

"And I ran away from you when you tried to chat!” he pointed out, grabbing another candy which he pushed toward Lan Xichen. “Anyway, wouldn't it be good for Wangji to have friends? He's too serious. It's not healthy for a boy his age to be so serious. As his elders, we need to make sure he doesn't get lonely."

"you're barely a year older than him," Lan Xichen remarked, fighting a smile as he took the candy. "I'm not sure you have much claim as an elder."

One hand on his heart, Nie Huaisang faked an offended expression which made Lan Xichen chuckle.

"I am an elder!” he protested theatrically. “I am wiser in the way of the world, so it is my duty to guide these children. Wei Wuxian too!” he added, a touch more seriously. “I think he was impressed by Wangji, you know. Jiang-xiong says that it's unheard of for him to find someone he can't beat.” He paused, and considered that. “Jiang-xiong also says he kind of hopes that Wei-xiong gets his ass kicked very hard, so it teaches him humility. And Meng-xiong didn't say anything, but he did nod."

Lan Xichen grinned.

"I do get the sensation that people tend to be as irritated by him as they are endeared. And I suppose… Wangji too was impressed by Wei gongzi's skill. Mostly he said it was quite upsetting that such talent should belong to a person with such poor manners."

Nie Huaisang smiled at that most encouraging news.

"There! If Wangji is complimenting him, then they need to be friends!" he exclaimed, making Lan Xichen laugh hard enough that he felt the need to hide it behind his sleeve.

"That's hardly a compliment."

"Coming from Wangji, it is."

That got another laugh out of Lan Xichen, which he quickly got under control and attempted to replace by a more severe expression. It might have worked, if his eyes had not been shining with barely repressed mirth.

"Wangji is not nearly as bad as you seem to think,” Lan Xichen said. “He's just very shy, and being distant is the way he deals with it. Not everyone can be as bold and determined to collect friends as you are, Huaisang."

"I'm not sure how to take that."

"Coming from any other Lan, it might be an insult,” Lan Xichen admitted. “Coming from me, and to you, it's probably a compliment."

Nie Huaisang grinned, delighted to be teased like that. How had he ever thought that Lan Xichen was boring? Maybe his future self was right about him not being too bright. But then again, wasn't it easy to make that sort of judgement in hindsight? Lan Xichen was fun now, but it had taken time for his smiles to gain real warmth when they were together. It had been time well invested though, and realising that made him hopeful that this business between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian might turn out fine. Maybe they too would get to have that sort of comfortable relationship someday.

More comfortable, even, since they were to fall in love someday. It was going to be so funny to see how Lan Wangji acted when he was in love.

After this, the two boys fell silent for a moment as they finished their tea. It was getting a little late, and Nie Huaisang knew that he would soon have to leave. It made him almost wish that Lan Qiren had already given them homework, so he’d have an excuse to stay a little longer by whining that he always worked better when he was with Lan Xichen. Or else, he might have offered to help copy some scroll or other for Lan Xichen’s great secret project. Anything at all so he wouldn’t have to go. After almost a whole winter apart, he just wanted to be in his friend’s company a little more, just a tiny bit more, even if he knew they were sure to have time together again the week after.

Then, just as Nie Huaisang was trying to accept that he couldn’t find a good excuse to stay, Lan Xichen spoke again.

"If we do help Wangji and Wei-gongzi become friends,” he said, “and that's still an 'if' on my part, the main issue will be to make them understand they both want to be friends. Wangji seems to think Wei-gongzi only exists to torment him, and despairs to see again his more positive qualities."

Excited both for the excuse to chat a little more and by the fact that Lan Xichen was falling to his side, Nie Huaisang nodded.

"Wei-xiong is convinced Wangji is giving him the cold shoulder in spite of his efforts to become friends,” he replied. “He’s not used to people not fawning over him, I fear. Xichen-gege, we're gonna have to work hard!"

"It would take effort,” Lan Xichen agreed. “I can see you're very excited about this little project, but don't let it get in the way of your studies."

Nie Huaisang dismissed that worry with a hand gesture.

"Don't worry! I'll practice the guqin every day no matter what!"

That answer made Lan Xichen laugh.

"I meant your actual studies, Huaisang,” he corrected, trying to sound scolding but too obviously amused to be scary at all. “The lectures? With my uncle? You do remember that's why you're here in the first place?"

Blushing a little at his blunder, Nie Huaisang shrugged.

"Oh, that. I'll deal with that,” he said with more confidence than he felt. “At worst, I'll just come again a third year. Wouldn't that be fun? We'd get even more time together!"

"I'm not sure shufu would be thrilled,” Lan Xichen pointed out. “But I would certainly be happy to have you around as long as you want. And… of course, you'd get more time with Su She as well. Apparently you've even told your brother about him?"

If he hadn’t been in such good humour upon hearing that Lan Xichen enjoyed his company that much, Nie Huaisang might have noticed that the other boy’s expression became a little more pained when he mentioned Su She. But he was in too good a mood to be observant.

"Of course. It fell through last year because I didn't plan it enough in advance and my grades were bad,” he explained, “but this year, I absolutely want to invite Su-xiong home with me when I go back, even if I don't pass! I think we'll have a lot of fun, and da-ge can't ground me if I have a guest to entertain!"

Lan Xichen's smile turned strained again, nearly as much as when Nie Huaisang first arrived to see him.

"How cunning of you. I'm sure you'll have great fun. I could try to steal your brother for a Night Hunt, so you and Su She can have some peace."

It was a very generous offer, and Nie Huaisang gave it all the consideration it deserved.

"No, I think if you make it all the way to Qinghe, I'll want to keep you around too,” he announced. “Xichen-gege, even though you've come a few times, we weren’t friends back then so I've never really shown you my birds, right? And we could go painting all three of us… wait, Su-xiong isn't that fond of painting!” he remembered, hitting his forehead. “So it won’t do. Then… let's dump him with da-ge for a bit, so they can get all excited together about fighting and cultivation, and I'll steal you away! Oh there's this gorgeous little spot from where you can see the mountains at a wonderful angle… I've always wanted to show it to someone, and I think you're really someone who would know how to appreciate it. Will you go there with me next time you visit us, Xichen-gege?"

Lan Xichen tried to smile, his face a little pinker than usual.

"Wouldn't you rather take Su She, if you like it so much?"

Nie Huaisang considered that, too, before shaking his head.

"There are other places I can show him. That one, I really want to show you."

Looking definitely quite pink now, Lan Xichen smiled.

"Then I will gladly accompany you. If you like it so much, it must be very beautiful indeed, and I can’t wait to see it."

"Xichen-gege is too kind,” Nie Huaisang replied, delighted by that new plan. “Really too kind. And in his great kindness, will he help me give Wangji a friend?"

"You’re just as stubborn as your brother,” Lan Xichen accused, his good mood fully returned. “We'll see. I need to see a little more of this Wei Wuxian before I decide. But if I find him to be a good person, and if I am given reasons to think he’ll be good for Wangji, then yes, I will help."

It wasn't unfair to worry about that, especially when Lan Xichen didn't have a messenger from the future to tell him that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were pretty much soulmates. Indeed, without that information, Nie Huaisang would never have guessed that Lan Wangji's cold anger might have hidden any other sort of tender feelings. That was why Nie Huaisang really needed Lan Xichen's help, he was the only person in the world who could understand his brother.

Since he needed Lan Xichen's assistance so badly, Nie Huaisang wondered if he should maybe not ask Wei Wuxian to help him cheat in the next test. But he had already done his part of the deal in that regards, so it would be very upsetting to have copied all those boring texts for nothing. Besides, it would probably be fine.

There was no way they'd be caught, right?

#xisang #nie huaisang #lan xichen #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #jau writes #double time travel

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lvlyhao · 3 years

Text

『127′s ideal type』

headcanons, NCT 127

A/N: je suis back~ in these headcanons i talk about the type of person i imagine each member with, along with some of the traits i think they wouldn’t be too fond of. i did NOT include physical traits (ex: “would like a short/tall/blonde s/o”) because i really don’t know them??? lmao also that kind of thing could be a bit damaging to someone’s self esteem, and i want yall to know ur perfect & beautiful so

mark and hyuck will be included in dream’s version of this, and sicheng will be in wayv’s :)

today’s gif theme is just random gifs i like bc idc, there’s no aesthetic

as always, this is gender-neutral

IF YOU LIKE MY WORK PLEASE REBLOG IT AS WELL AS LIKING IT T^T

𝓖𝓮𝓷𝓻𝓮𝓼: fluff (♡) and if you squint really hard angst (❆) bc of some REALLY small things that for me are not actual angst but oh well

𝓦𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼: i think none?? if you read this and find something you think should be here let me know please!!!

word count: 1.5K

pairing: nct 127 members x reader (includes taeil, taeyong, johnny, yuta, doyoung, jaehyun, jungwoo)

disclaimer: the characters in the story below do not reflect real people or present real facts. this is purely fictional, and you may not copy, change, translate or repost my work in any way. all rights reserved © cherry-hyejin 2021.

*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:

Taeil

I see Taeil getting with someone who’s not only mature (personality-wise, actual age doesn’t matter) but also very determined and decisive. He’d like a person that doesn’t change their mind about things too often, learns well from their mistakes and is just all-around balanced. Other traits that I think he’d look for: politeness, a MUST; grounded; good at giving advice. Pretty much a twin-flame of his.

I think he’d find it cute if they think in a detail-oriented way and appreciate the small things in life. A positive, grateful mentality would be SO attractive to him, I swear.

One of his deal breakers would most likely be excessive jealousy and possessiveness. He trusts you and your love for him, and I think he’d feel distraught if you were constantly questioning the relationships he has with other people (friends, co-workers, fans, etc.)

Last important thing: needs a person that can take a hit. He’s probably looking for someone he can spend the rest of his days with, so a quitter just isn’t good for that. There will be difficult moments in the future and he needs to know they won’t give up on him and on the life he chose.

Taeyong

I think Taeyong would like a calm person that knows how to take control of the relationship. He probably feels tired sometimes from leading a group of 23 people, so I can imagine he’d be thrilled if he was able to not worry at all when he’s around his partner. He trusts they’re capable of dealing with any problems that may arise and keep their feet on the ground. Bonus points if they have a good relationship with themselves.

By that I mean: you know how people say you can’t truly love others until you love yourself? Yeah, that. He’s a person like any other, and there are times when he struggles with self-love, but he needs someone that doesn’t hate themselves, or he’ll simply go crazy. With his career come so many rumours and moments that tear at his confidence… he just doesn’t need a person that has to be convinced every single day that they’re worthy of the good things in life.

I’d say, in general, all he asks for is someone that can watch out for themselves. He’d take care of them too, but he’d like it SO much if just for once in his life he’s the one being cared for. Would just melt on the spot if you have that caring, almost parental instinct in you. Gods, yes. That’s all I can say.

Johnny

I can see him being with a very bright, smart person. He’d like someone that comes from a different background so he could learn more about their life—whether that means the country they were born in or their field of work. I think he would appreciate a very laid back person that doesn’t get stressed too often and won’t make fun of him for his bad jokes. Also, doesn’t like people that try to play him. Honesty above all.

He’d like it if they are super curious and creative, too. Picking up new hobbies and interests is something he’d be up to anytime, and it doesn’t matter what it is either. He’d give anything a try—from knitting to marine biology, no questions asked.

Something he’d dislike is if the person is too materialistic. It’s not like he’s a completely spiritual being and lives with 0 detachments to objects but he’s a firm believer in what Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said: what is essential is invisible to the eye. And, you know, what you truly find essential is up to you; it can mean family, friends, love, hope, all of that… he just wants you to love life itself as much as he does.

Yuta

He’d probably like one of the two drastic variants: a very gentle, sweet person or someone who’s on his level of flirtatiousness and boldness. Wouldn’t mind any, but he needs a strong personality, either way, you know? No blandness here.

Something very attractive to him is being involved in social issues and caring for the world around you. Very sexc, yes, and also likes people that make others smile.

Something that would make him quite literally give up on someone is the excessive fear of change, or just the will to remain in their comfort zone at all costs. He earns for a person that wants to live life to its fullest. If not they’re not ride-or-die to that level, then he hopes they at least accompany and support him in all of the things he wants to do.

One thing that is very tied to that is his dislike for know-it-alls. He lives in such a diverse scenario that it’s just dumb for him to think someone would ever be capable of knowing every piece of information on everything that’s out there. He’s fine with people making mistakes, but if they can’t admit to that or admit they don’t know something he just gets pissed off. So, yeah, he’d avoid stuck-ups.

Doyoung

He’d like someone very loyal and fair, who treats people with respect but calls them out if they ever have to. I think he’d prefer a person that is naturally a deep thinker and wouldn’t lose their mind over small disagreements.

Much like Johnny, he likes that intellectual side of yours, and when I say that I don’t mean like “ah, he’d want to date a math genius” or something. No, no. I’m referring to all types of intellectuality and intelligence. The thing for him is simply using your brain and being proud of it. He would just dislike a person that kind of lives life on autopilot, you know?

He’d like it if they’re interested or professionally involved with music somehow and would consider their opinions in his career. He wouldn’t mind if their taste is hugely different from his, though. It’s alright if pop music is not your favourite or if you have no idea who EXO is (lol). All he wants is to see the world through your eyes too, in all aspects of life including this one.

Will also love you forever if you side with him when he’s being teased by the others, because, c’mon, it’s always 22 people against poor, defenceless Doyoung. Please don’t join them, he’s begging you—

Jaehyun

This is very, very clear to me but he needs to be with an independent person. He’s quite sentimental and he has his more romantic moments, sure, but he wants someone that can give him the space he needs when he needs it. A person that’s constantly begging him for attention would be way more of a burden than anything else.

Also, he’s 100% alright with someone that has a very explicit and loud love language (like saying “I love you” 300 times a day) but he’s not like that, and he needs them to see that. Jaehyun could NOT be with a person that doesn’t appreciate the love he shows in the little things, like making coffee in the morning, and if they ever question the way he feels… yeah, not good. He’d feel misunderstood and that’s a big no-no.

He’d find it cute if they’re bubbly or just very youthful but is also capable of falling for an old soul that shares his interests in things like classical music and vinyls. I don’t think he’d ever get with someone that's kind of a tech addict, though, idk why but that’s quite clear to me. Always being on your phone or caring too much about social media would probably make him feel like you’re not grateful for the things you have around you, in real life. So, yeah, not attractive, bestie.

Jungwoo

Jungwoo is a very, very, very sweet person and he needs someone who’s also like that. He wouldn’t care if that’s there for everyone to see, in the sense that they’re not shy about it, or if it’s a part of them that only a couple of close people know. As long as it’s there, he’s happy.

Aside from that, I think he’s fully capable of falling in love with quite literally anyone. He can see the beauty in all types of people, from all places, backgrounds, races, and just—anyone. He’s just so full of love for people, ah I can’t even. He’s too good for this world.

Some things that could, however, push him away from getting to know someone: a negative way of thinking, being too traditionalistic, and too much scepticism. He’s fine with people that like to honour the past and their roots but like, you’ve gotta keep up with the world you live in and accept that things change. I think that’s very tied to how much he likes defying masculine standards, too.

The scepticism thing is quite simple: he can handle teasing just fine but if they’re constantly making fun of him for wearing his heart on his sleeve or being a bit goofy, he’d feel kind of betrayed.

---

final notes: this is the 3rd nct work i’m posting here and i’m already writing more, so i think it’s time i set up a masterlist, a fic rec blog and a tag list. if you want to be tagged in my future fics, let me know (dm, comments, anything) :)

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serpentstole · 3 years

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Luciferian Challenge: Day 1

Who is Lucifer (or your Luciferian figure) and who are they to you? Feel free to include multiple answers if you have multiple figures.

This one is going to be a long answer, so I’m putting it under a cut for the sake of my followers. My thoughts on both halves of the question are below!

I do not feel equipped to say who Lucifer is. Much like the mantle of Satan, I think it’s a name or title that can be applied to a number of figures, whether they be spirit, deity, or demon; the Lucifer I know and build a relationship with might not even be the same entity that others approached, and given how illusive any concrete information on figures who have gone by that name can be, I think that’s fair.

There’s Lucifer, the Roman personification of the Morningstar, which has led some dubiously informed people to claim that Lucifer is a Roman god. There’s Lucifer as demon emperor in the Grand Grimoire, among others. There’s the Lucifer we associate with the rebellion of Paradise Lost, or the Serpent in Eden. There’s whatever’s going on with Gnostic Luciferians. Lucifer and Sophia being the material vs spiritual aspects of the same being is one take I’ve seen (unless I’m badly misremembering Jeremy Christner’s writing) though I believe for others he simply replaces Jesus or other figures as the gnostic saviour striving for mankind’s freedom through enlightenment.

I cannot begin to say if these are aspects of the same entity or completely separate beings, nor do I think it’s my place to try and make those claims. I think some of them are also going to be influenced somewhat by the attitudes or preconceptions of the individual... not so much Lucifer’s nature itself, but how they view it.

There are also theories that link Lucifer to the ancient Canaanite god Attar, who was also Attar to the Aramaic and Ugarit people, Athtar in South Arabia, Astar to to the Aksum, Ashtar to the Moab, and if those names are starting to sound familiar it’s because he was is seen as the same general deity as the goddes Istar to the Mesopotamians (and Astarte by proxy when Hellenized), in the same way that the sun god Shamash is related to the goddess Shams.

As you can probably tell, that is a subject that interests me greatly, and I’ve collected a number of papers and mythologies to study in relation to it. Even then I refrain from saying that my Lucifer and the god Attar are synonymous. We will likely never know how deep the connection goes, and while there are all manner of wonderful coincidences and similarities between the mythology surrounding Attar and our later perception of Lucifer, I don’t imagine there will come a day where I’ll be able to treat these theories as definitive, proven fact.

And of course, there’s the fact that Lucifer doesn’t actually appear in the bible, as I’ve previously explained, which can complicate things. Some people do speculate that the language used in Isaiah was inspired by the story of Attar trying and failing to claim the throne of Baal after his demise, and it would be incredibly interesting to me if a passage about a Babylonian king that was misinterpreted as being about Lucifer the fallen angel was inspired by a god who suffered a similar failure brought about by his pride. However, as I previously mentioned, we may never know for certain.

To say who Lucifer is to me is still evolving, and may always be. Due to all the aforementioned reasons and variations, I think his nature can be hard to pin down, and may be intentionally elusive. I sometimes see him as very mercurial for that reason.

The traits I associate with him are probably very similar to those that others do: a pursuit of knowledge and rejection of dogma, striving to better oneself and one’s situation, an adversarial and rebellious nature, and an emphasis on freedom (sometimes through enlightenment, sometimes more literal). In my experience, even those who take an atheistic approach to Luciferianism still use Lucifer as an archetype or symbol of these shared ideals.

Like many, the Satan of Paradise Lost is a major influence for me despite my tendency to affectionately dub it Biblical Fanfiction, and everything that’s come after can also resonate with my understanding and appreciation of him. His possible connection to Attar is one that’s interested me for some time and something I want to develop further, if only for the sake of my own Unverified Personal Gnosis. I wish to do more reading on Istar for similar reasons. I consider the Serpent in Eden to be an extension or emissary of Lucifer, rather than them being one in the same, though I have no text to point to for this beyond my own tastes and interpretations.

Given my interest in Orphism, I’m also very interested to see if my research into Phanes will influence my view of Lucifer, as I have always felt that Lucifer has a strong feminine aspect, and Phanes is an epicene deity with a name that means to shine and an association with snakes. I am deeply allergic to the tendency to say “the god in this pantheon is secretly just this other god” since I find it reductive, and it usually doesn’t pay attention to the concept of syncretism or how these cultures might have shared and spread ideas. However, the similarities between the more traditionally Luciferian side of my beliefs and the Orphic tinged Greek side of my religious practices have a good deal of thematic overlap.

And finally, to quote Jack Spicer’s fantastic poem for the umpteenth time on this blog…Imagine Lucifer. An angel without angelness. A poem that has revised itself out of sound, imagine, rhyme, concordance. Absent all of God spoke of, present everything a poem is. The law I say, the Law Is? What is Lucifer. An emperor with no clothes, no skin, no flesh, no heart.

An emperor!

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(This was already long enough without mentioning Azazel and Eve, so I’ve linked to recent posts explaining their roles in my practice if you click on their names. They’ll probably get more of a mention in future prompts where it’s appropriate.)

#luciferianism #theistic luciferianism #witchblr #30 Day Luciferian Challenge #30dayluciferianchallenge #occultblr #illumine

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sdv-mostly-shane · 3 years

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Stardew Valley Headcannons : Perfect Valentines Date

(2/2) NSFW

Bachelorettes

Abigail : An adventure date. She hates planned dates, preferring to fly by the seat of her pants, but she’s willing to make an exception for valentines, and boy will she put everything she has into it. So are you really gonna be surprised when she bursts through the bedroom door, map in hand, saying that she hid your valentines gift in the deepest part of this cave, and you have to go on an expedition to find it? She’d have scoped the cave out previously, and of course there would be a *few* monsters to slay, but what she’s really after is the deep crystal pool at the bottom to go diving for gems (your gift, take your pick), and the mannnny dark, secluded hideaways that are perfect for some nefarious deeds ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Emily : A peaceful date. Emily loves the spirituality and sexuality of Valentines, so she plans to expose it all on this day (in more ways than one). Don’t expect to get any morning farm work done that day, because she’s waking your butt up before dawn so that you can take a hike up the mountain to see the sunrise together. She’d lay out her yoga mats for some meditation, but not before she’d ask her partner to strip down with her (“ you’ll absorb the suns rays better this way! “ she tried to convince you). Mediation turns to yoga, yoga turns to twister, you get the idea. Finish off the morning with some hot tea, soaking in the vibrations of this beautiful meditative experience, getting lost for hours at the raw, primordial beauty of untouched nature and the human body.

Haley : A jetset date. Would absolutely require her partner to plan the date, because she is a princess and lovely and she d e s e r v e s it, okay? Quality time and thoughtful gifts are her love language, so a getaway weekend to somewhere new is everything. Tropical beach? Yoba, she loves the ocean. Historic city? Shit, you better bring extra batteries for her camera. Cottage-core folk town? Just put some flowers in her hair and she is r e a d y. Get ready for some explicit PDA - foreign edition. Just be sure to fill her beautiful mind up with some flattery and professions of love and reassurance, and she will be down for anything you two can fantasize.

Leah : A unique date. Leah and her farmer are all about that ‘mutually independent and equally yoked’ life, so Valentines is just another date that they split the planning - Leah takes the afternoon, and the farmer takes the evening. Because these two are date night conissuers, they pull ideas from out of the box. They’ve done the picnics, the moonlit walks, the naked painting (that one was a blast), so somethin *different* that only you two would find fun is what’s in store. Does searching through a dusty shop full of antiques in search of treasures sound romantic? It sure does when Leah is right up in your business behind every turn, telling enchanting stories of the items past lives, imagining the adventures and secrets that they hold, her whispers sending chills through the buzzing air. Once the afternoon began to cool and the sun starts to set, you’d treat her to something where she can get dressed up, relax, and a bit tipsy (honestly what else is the point of Valentines)- how about wine tour hopping? Combining the best of nature, food, and drink, Leah is just all too happy to experience everything all at once-no more settling in life, she wants it all. So be prepared to give your all to her.

Maru : An anti valentines date. Maru is pretty happy to just coexist with her partner most days, and doesn’t need a reason or a day to celebrate their friendship and love. She’d of course play along if the farmer were to plan something that they wanted to do, but if it were up to her, she would just want to spend time with her farmer doing something enriching- that new modernist music museum across town, that botany specialty store in The Valley you found last month picking out a new house plant, or that alternative expressionist ballet performance debuting- anything, as long as it’s the week before or free valentines. You won’t catch her dead in those crowds, no way, no how.... buuuut if you wanted to do SOMEthing on the 14th, she wouldn’t mind it if you gave her something small and meaningful (she’d totally be one of those people to want a star gifted to her), but only if you’re at home, and if you’re cuddled under the blankets with her and vibing to her favorite record with her. She also wouldn’t mind if you were to wake her up in the middle of the night because he HAD to go look at the telescope RIGHT NOW for reasons that may or may not include the fact that she absolutely is glowing under the moonlight.

Penny : An “I never do this kinda thing” date. The town knows Penny as a sweet, shy, modest little mouse, so when Valentines rolls up she decides to surprise her partner and finally find the courage to put on something just a little too deep cut, way too short, and oh so scandalous for the first time. When the farmer walks in the house, they are shocked to say the least (it takes everything in them to not fall to their knees, weak). When Penny, embrazened, says “take me dancing”, the farmer is all too happy to abandoned their former plans of a simple dinner and movie. Out to a brand new city, where anonymity is the star, Penny is free to let her hair down and go a little wild. If her Valentines could be described in two word phrases : Hot breath. Glistening sweat. Carefree abandon. Head turning.

♡ part 1 ↓ ♡

#these lovely ladies are just so dynamic and unique #it was a process to try and really vibe with them and what they would personally like #we love strongly developed female characters #they deserve everything and more #stardew valley #sdv headcanons #sdv valentines #sdv abigail #sdv emily #sdv haley #sdv leah #sdv maru #sdv penny

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lunarfly · 3 years

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Hermione as Harry's Light (by Evaluna)

Hello! This is an essay written many years ago, before the release of HBP&DH. It doesn't belong to me so credits to the original writers(Evaluna, Turambar & Mad-I Moody)! It was written on the CoS forum, I'm not sure if it's still saved there but I have a word document with all of the essays. Anyways, this essay has no ship/character bashing. Again, this essay isn't written by me, but it's one of my favorites. Enjoy!

Quote by Mad-I Moody:

"1."Ron's mum's lit a fire in there [Harry's bedroom] and she's sent up sandwiches." -Hermione couldn't know that if she had immediately dashed up to Harry.

2. "Ron and Ginny say that you've been hiding from everyone since you got back from St. Mungo's." - She's obviously talked to them about this at some point between their arrival back from the hospital and her arrival at 12GP.

3. "The others have told me what you overheard last night on the Extendable Ears."

-Does this indicate that she's had time to talk to the other members of the Weasley clan? Sources point to yes!

Now, isn't it sensible to assume that, in the instances wherein Hermione talked to the Weasley family, she was, at least, thoughtful enough to ask about Mr. Weasley?

Saying Hermione came only to be with Harry cannot be true therefore, because:

1. She doesn't go to see him the MOMENT she comes through the door

2. She gets Harry right out of the sulking room and takes him into a room with Ron and Ginny, with whom she has quite obviously been talking.

3. There is no indication that she wants to be alone with Harry"

Mad-I: Disagree. Not just from a textual analysis standpoint; there we have each our own interpretation. My strongest disagreement comes from what I see as a critical ‘septology’ issue [overarching theme of all 7 books]: Harry overcoming his own internal darkness [despair, hopelessness, isolation] before able to wage and win [or overcome] the external darkness [Voldy, evil, fear, hatred and division]. See below post. IMO the Hermione as Lifeline or Light for Harry scene is representative of what Harry must confront and for what he must stand and fight:

--darkness and the battle of good over evil,

--despair [depression] and the battle of love over [here, self-] hatred,

--isolation and limitation [e.g., Harry imposes on himself a prison for his mind], and the battle of love as emanation over barriers, constraints, and perceptions

It begins with himself. And IMO it doesn’t end. But anyway, it progresses from there to encompass the world. On his own, this scene shows that Harry is vulnerable in that he needs a source of love [for himself] to sustain him; only then can Harry be a source of love [for the world] in his [upcoming and perhaps ongoing] battle with darkness. Harry needs love in this regard perhaps more than anyone else in the world, and yet he’s had very little of it, with Sirius mostly kept apart from Harry. Except for Hermione, who has always been there for Harry? With Hermione’s return, once more for Harry there is connection and hope, and the belief in unlimited horizons and potential - some would call it faith -- when with Hermione. For ship and for series, IMO, I believe that Harry’s ability to acknowledge his need for love [for me, this means for Hermione] is the first step on his path to the light.

What the scene does imply is that Hermione’s conversation with Ron and Ginny and the others’ [may include Fred and George as well] was extremely brief and in the majority focused firmly on Harry. So brief in span that the snow had not yet melted even after climbing the stairs and so focused on Harry and his situation that Hermione had the grasp on all the main details already when she first pounded on the door. This is a young woman on a *mission*. A mission to save Harry. Hermione reaches Harry and saves him from himself, from his dark side, from his own personal hell. I personally think this is one of the most critical scenes in the book for Harry and his battle for good over evil, probably the most important one. The battle is within as well as without, and Hermione is the bringer of light to balance his darkness, to bring balance to his soul AK and Earendil:[thanks for SF ref!] a soul is a universe in and of itself <kabbalah, so one could say Hermione is bringing balance to the universe, in this sense]. Some may say it is not romantic..er…well…to each. But it can certainly be argued that the light and dark imagery, in bringing light from darkness, in the balance they provide one another, in the give and take [in interactions, in providing insight [in this scene=hers/giving love to him through her actions when she comes] or providing courage [in this scene=his/accepting her love through his actions when he follows] between them are the yin and yang that represent in both religious and esoteric texts the love on many levels required for spiritual completion of the marriage of two [bodies and souls] as one, separate but together [again, see the smoky caduceus-like vision that Dumbledore views after Harry’s vision prior to their arrival at number 12, which is followed shortly thereafter by the arrival of Hermione.

With this, one can make a case for striking symbolic romantic and platonic love imagery simultaneously, as well, in terms of a soulmate love that is “complete” on an esoteric level, a bonding of body and soul, the material and spiritual. I see no inherent contradiction, probably because I’m not an ancient Greek philosopher named Aristotle. [‘What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies’. --Aristotle] The difference being that we in our day can allow for this kind of soulmate love

between a man and a woman, as well, and that we can allow love to exist on many different levels between a man and a woman, not just Eros or what the Greeks narrowly defined as romantic love. The esoteric concepts of a true bonding of souls between a man and woman did of course contain all of these forms of love, sealed with emotional, physical, and contractual public commitments intended to represent the bonding of two souls as one before God and heaven. IMO how can this scene not be important for Harry, particularly as we all know that love is critical to overcoming all that Voldy is and represents? And whatever type you feel exists them between them, IMO there is deep love. So in fact I think this can be argued strongly as a H/Hr scene. For those who disagree, nonetheless it’s all-good since a deep soul love exists regardless if it is ‘very’ platonic. This is, after all, just a hair’s breadth from ‘total consciousness’.

One more point I mentioned before that I want to bring up in context of reinforcing Hermione’s critical position as Harry’s Light, Lifeline, or Savior. Arguably, since Hermione is key to bringing Harry back from the edge [regardless of what comes later], IMO the larger symbolism is that Hermione is “the one” who will always save Harry from his greatest enemy - himself, his dark side. After that, and only after that, can Harry save the world. She will help him choose light [represented by…Hermione] over darkness [his own despair and hopelessness, his feelings of being unclean and unworthy]. Even I can see some traditional religious symbolism here, but there’s much esoteric symbolism as well. Nonetheless, Ron’s gift of…what, frankincense and myth? Is that why the perfume smelled unusual?... Ron’s gift only seemed to highlight his deeper, intuitive understanding [at some level] of Hermione’s fundamental importance to Harry. Yin and Yang. Inexorably intertwined - just thought I’d throw that in here as well! And for what purpose would Ron is shown as gifting her with such symbolic honor if not to perhaps choose to give his life for hers, thereby saving Harry’s light and thus saving them all. Particularly, if Ron betrays or obstructs Harry and Hermione [this may happen if Ron is rejected by Hermione or “loses” her to Harry, per 6th step scene, falling away from the path to Hermione's door], then Ron may sacrifice himself [from betrayal guilt] to save Harry and/or Hermione [same scene, where Ron falls at Harry's feet] thus restoring his character and his legacy in addition to doing his critical bit to save Hermione &/or Harry [=the world].

(Turambar) I agree that the Christmas scene is one of the most significant in the book.

Just on what you said about the light/dark: it's interesting that JKR accentuates the extremities in various ways to bring out that contrast.

She uses biblical language - appropriate considering the timing - such as "unclean" and "possession" to describe Harry's self-disgust. His feelings of being unfit to be in the company of others brings another biblical image of the leper.

He completely isolates himself for a period rather than just behaves in a moody/angry fashion in company. He's "starving", cold.

Hermione is not mentioned at all from the time of the dream to her knocking on his door - an obvious device to enhance the surprise and impact of her arrival.

There's the imagery of evil (snake) and love (hippogriff) and as I've said before that suspicious dream occurs just when Harry is at his lowest ebb.

I agree with what FP said: the sequence shows the limitations of his relationship with the Weasleys and Sirius and conversely the growing significance to him of Hermione.

Both times he's considered running away when in a depressed state - here and before the First Task - the option has been to run to the barren, loveless Dursleys. To the house that's not a home and the family that isn't a family (to him). Both times he's got through the bad patch with a bit of help from Hermione.

#harry potter #harmione #harmony #harry and hermione #harry potter ships #hermione granger #hp ships #harry x hermione #harry/hermione #hermione and harry #hermione x harry #hermione/harry #harry potter series #harry potter books #hp #hhr #harry potter essay #harmione essay

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whentheynameyoujoy · 4 years

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So the ATLA Movie Is... Good, Actually?

Just kidding, of course it’s not, it’s so bad it sucked the paint off my walls. But after ten years of people pointing out its glaring flaws, why would anyone bother talking about this garbage heap if not to go the other direction? So here’s a very brief and very superficial list of things the movie does get kinda... not atrociously wrong.

And they won’t be fake hipster pokes, like “It’s fun to laugh at”, “The Rifftrax for this is OK”, or “Kudos to the actress for managing to say we believe in our beliefs as much as they believe in theirs with a straight face”.

(though now that I mentioned it, it is fun to laugh at, the Rifftrax for this is OK, and massive props indeed.)

Rasta Iroh

Yes, I know it’s not exactly the aesthetic of the real Iroh or that it makes no cultural sense for him to sport this do when no one else in the racebended Indian “OMFG what were you thinking Shyamalan” Nation does but goddamn, long-haired dudes are my one mortal weakness and I will ogle the hell out of him.

Jesus is that a man bun I see that’s it mum I’ve been deaded

Yue’s hair

No.

Now we’re talking. Yue’s hair turned white when the Moon spirit gave her life, so it makes sense for it to go black again when she sacrifices herself to revive the koi fish. It’s a neat detail I find myself expecting whenever I rewatch the scene in the show. Yes, I realize it’d be a pointless hassle to animate since she, unlike in the movie, immediately goes on to become the Moon herself but still. I like.

The Blue Spirit’s mop

Zuko, hun, what’s with the dance-off?

First of all, I want to imagine that Zuko the Theatre Nerd was about to leave his ship with just the mask like in the show but then stuck his head into the cleaning cupboard and went, “Yeah, more coverage might be good, even though it do seem mighty fried to shit”.

Which makes me giggle. I like to giggle.

And secondly, the hair’s movement is what makes the static mess of the Blue Spirit’s solo fight scene appear at least bit more dynamic because God knows the cinematography isn’t doing it.

Any particular reason why it’s at the edge of the action, shot all boring-like?

Now, I get why circular shots would be reserved for Aang while he’s in the practice area and then used once the two join forces. What I don’t get is why Aang’s part of the action scene has a defined visual style while Zuko’s delegated to a few stationary wide shots from afar as though he’s a tertiary goon, meaning that when the time comes to combine the respective pieces of cinema language and visually convey collaboration, there’s not really much to combine.

But as long as Zuko is stuck in this static mess, it’s that awesome disaster on his head flopping about that draws the eye, helping me understand that something even is going on over there.

It also prevents me from paying much attention to how the extras are mostly just staying put and a lot of the hits don’t land, so that’s good.

The music slaps

James Newton Howard is too good for this.

youtube

Pls ignore that the word “gods” is used in the ATLA universe

I can’t be the only one who constantly uses this piece to daydream about writing specific fanfic scenes instead of, you know, actually sitting down and writing them. It’s just so good at communicating a sense of sorrow while speaking of rebirth that I find myself getting misty-eyed whenever I listen to it. Unfailingly, the soundtrack as a whole manages to break through the mile-thick crust of horrible acting, confusing writing, and uninspired cinematography and make me feel things. And considering how everything on screen is working against it, that’s no small feat.

Imagine what a powerful experience it would be if the score was used in service of an actual movie.

Dev Patel

No wonder since he’s the only one in the film occupying that crucial intersection between “is a good actor” and “was given something to work with”. It also doesn’t hurt that he breaks with the trend of actors starring in martial arts flicks despite never having done any martial art.

And all EIP-jokes about “stiff and humorless” aside, he’s a pretty decent Zuko considering how abridged this version of the character is. A while ago, I remember hearing a reviewer say that with his comedic chops, Patel should have been cast as Sokka. And on one hand, yes, god, absolutely, I need to see that asap. But on the other? He captures all layers of Book 1!Zuko, the desperate obsession, rage, and self-loathing, and at the same time gives you a peek at the soft momma’s boy dork that’s buried underneath. For Christ sakes, he exudes intensity and ambivalence even when acting against an emotionless hunk of wood that’s giving him nothing in return.

Oh, and I guess there’s a tree in the frame.

Ba dum tss

What can I say, the guy’s good.

Showing vs telling

OK, so this movie is all tell and no show, except for one single moment. And it’s the exact moment where the original goes in the other direction in terms of how information is conveyed.

See, I never liked this. The revelation is preceded by Iroh giving advice to Zuko who scolds him for nagging. Iroh then apologizes, moves in to say the line above, and is interrupted by Zuko who seems rather uncomfortable with Iroh laying his feelings out like this. And once they’re out, Zuko verbally confirms that he knew already and Iroh didn’t need to bother.

All this extraneous information and pussyfooting ends up weakening what should be a profound scene that reveals to us, the viewers, how deep the relationship between these two in fact runs.

Compare to the movie where Dadroh acts like a parent by fussing and worrying, with Sonion needing a single look to tell him and us that he understands what it’s all really about.

It’s genuinely efficient and just good.

No Cataang

Fine, a bit mean-girl bitchy from me since I only start minding the ship in Book 3. And probably unintentional on the part of the creators since there are moments where I think they’re trying to set the romance up? There’s a, well, an attempt to recreate the famous introductory shot of fateful meaningful destiny of meaningness, there’s some slight note of saving each other’s bacon going on, I’m pretty sure they’re the only ones in the film who smile, and oh, right, Katara’s shoved into her post-canon useless role where she doesn’t ever do anything, and is all about Aang right from the get go.

Yes, I will blame the “executive producers” because a) I’m incredibly petty, and b) it’s perfectly in line with their vision of the character so why the hell not.

Hilariously, none of it reads on screen because the actors are just... yeah. These poor kids are struggling so much with delivering their own lines and portraying their own characters they don’t seem to have any strength left to create something between them. To be fair, the bare-bones shot-reverse shot style of their scenes doesn’t exactly lend itself to the idea they occupy the same universe, let alone are friends or each other’s crushes.

And I enjoy this immensely because it allows me to forget the depressing horror show Katara’s life turns into post ATLA.

Yes Zutara

I need to delve into this because it’s fucking hilarious. So in a movie which fails to establish the original’s central romance so spectacularly that if Aang got lost in a crowd I don’t believe Katara would notice, SomEOnE thought it’d be a good idea to add an utterly unnecessary non-canon moment where Zuko for some reason feels the need to pause his character-defining hunt for the Avatar which otherwise has him ignore everything and snap at everyone, and explain his central conflict to an unconscious peasant he doesn’t know, complete with gently pushing the hair from the pretty girl’s the soulmate’s the Water Tribe Ambassador’s the Fire Lady’s the love of his life’s her face away, AFTER his uncle nagged him twice to find a girl and settle down.

I just wanted to make sure we’re all on the same page and this is what we really saw.

Celibate Avatars

I have no idea why the decision was made, if TPTB thought expecting viewers to understand the story through the lens of Buddhism would be too much, or if the “executive producers” already worked their retconny magic. What I do know, however, is that there’s a big shift in worldbuilding and Aang’s struggle with his role as the Avatar stops being a personal conflict defined by a) his grief for Air Nomads, b) his notion of being robbed of the loved ones in his life, and c) the selfish attachment to Katara he confuses with true love. Instead, what he has a difficulty to accept is apparently a general notion of who Avatars are supposed to be, i.e. a fantasy version of Catholic monks, no family and worldly relations, period.

I guess either someone understood the original’s portrayal of de/attachment as “hermit no freaky”, or thought the audience would so why not go there outright.

Now, do I like this on its own? No, God no, it makes the world infinitely poorer and changes the story from an exploration of ideas which aren’t all that ingrained in the West, to a cliché tropester about a Catholic priest going Protestant so that he could be with a girl.

At least I assume that’s where they were going to take this eventually.

I mean, I think the direction was “look conflicted, this isn’t the final stage of your journey”?

But consider this—the show went there, it built on the concepts of Eastern philosophy and touched upon the ideas of spiritual awakening, only to swerve in the end and strongly imply they’re bullshit and Aang should have never wasted his time with them.

So honestly, I much prefer scanty worldbuilding to an insulting retcon by a damn rock.

Multiracial Air Nomads

Probably the most substantial “no hint of irony” point on this list and a genuinely good addition to the universe’s worldbuilding.

See, the notion of the elemental nations being perfectly separate and never mingling before Sozin has always been sketchy but it’s especially ridiculous in the case of airbenders. It never made sense to me for all airbenders to be Air Nomads and for all Air Nomads to be monks and for all monks to be chilling at the temples all the time to facilitate a quick everyone-dies genocide should an imperialistic warlord ever decide to commit one.

Because committing everyone to a single way of life at a handful of places kinda goes against the central philosophy behind airbending. Like the freedom and nomadism part.

Instead, there should be more variety to the airbending culture, with some staying at the temples as monks, hermits, and teachers while others live as nomads, travelling the world and creating more airbenders, with the resulting children in turn being influenced by the non-airbending cultures they grew up in.

And thus, not only should airbenders not be modeled after a single culture to create a one-size-fits-all lifestyle, but they should have the most diverse and dynamic culture out of the four nations.

And it’d be precisely this diversity which would pave way for an eventual reveal that some of them survived, that their complete extermination is impossible.

Because they’re everywhere.

You know.

Like air.

#atla #atla movie #zutara #anti bryke #dev patel #the last airbender #anti-kataang

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astrology-india · 3 years

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Dating a Scorpio Man - Vital Things a Woman Must Know

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Dating a Scorpio Man - Vital Things a Woman Must Know

Are you thinking about dating a Scorpio man? If so, chances are you are probably trying to figure this fella out.

His deep, dark, and mysterious ways are likely to intrigue you. This bad boy type of the zodiac is a natural head-turner. But I am sure you cannot stop wondering,

“Is there more to this guy than meets the eye?”

Best Match for Dating a Scorpio Man

At the surface level, the Scorpio male seems like a good fit for all zodiac signs that have been attracted to him, or, at least that is what they convince themselves.

But it is below the surface, in the deep waters of this emotion-based sign, that make or break a relationship with this man.

A guy born under the zodiac sign of Scorpio can be a deep and complex water character. Getting to know him will likely puzzle you.

He is much less of a head-scratcher than his fellow water’s- female Cancer and Pisces who tend to form close emotional bonds with the Scorpio man, and through them, they remain loyal.

Of course, the Scorpio male is a good match for other Scorpios as well.

The secret of dating any man, but especially one born in the sign of the Scorpion, is that you bring out his deep-rooted obsession of being a hero to the woman he loves.

I don’t mean a hero as a knight in shining armor on a white horse rescuing a damsel in distress.

But a woman allows her guy to feel his love by doing things that will create harmony in the relationship.

If you want to understand one of the main components of successfully dating a Scorpio man, I suggest you listen to relationship expert James Bauer who explains His Secret Obsession here.

Scorpio Man Dating Habits

So, the two of you decided to go out? You are probably imagining that the Scorpio is going to pick you up and take you out on his motorcycle and then share his heart with you.

Well, he may do the first, but definitely not the latter!!!

He is adventurous though, and quite the passionate guy. So, if it is exciting, the Scorpio wants to go there, and since he likes to feel as though he is leading, this is where he will take you.

A date with this man can be anything from a night out on the town dancing, to a restaurant he is really into, a concert, an art show- the list goes on.

Scorpio Man Dating Traits

Few could ever turn down the gaze of a Scorpio man. The intensity of it will make your jaw drop and pull you right in.

But after he says “hello” and you chat it up a bit with the charming fellow, where do you guys go from there?

If it is on a date, then there are a few things you need to know.

Scorpio is a water sign. But let us forget everything you know about them, like with the go with the flow Pisces or friendly and helpful Cancer, for instance. This guy is completely different.

Water signs are ruled by their emotion and Scorpio is ruled by Mars, the planet of energy, action, and desire.

With the Scorpio, you have an intense, burning, and passionate type of water. For many romantics, you are probably saying “say no more” right now.

The man is also a doer. He is going to get the job done one way or another. This can be accredited not only to Mars but to his sign being fixed also.

Due to this aspect, he is more grounded than the other water signs, but he is also less adaptable and fluid- less willing to budge.

But he is loyal. If he lets you into his deep-running well that is his inner-world, it means the man is committed.

And if he lets you into his bedroom for some fun, then you can rest assured that he is mad about you.

And “mad” is the correct word because the Scorpio can be a many-layered individual.

Scorpio Man Characteristics

His characteristics are deep, dark, and mysterious for a reason.

Nobody is deep, dark, and mysterious only to be a ball of sunshine and have all of their “stuff” together after you get to know them (unless they are faking the funk).

For the Scorpio guy, it is not a show or a “cool guy” act that he puts on at all.

The Scorpio man is this way because he is truly and deeply emotional to his core, and sometimes these emotions can be dark and troublesome.

He can appear mysterious because he is as complex as his feelings are. The Scorpio man is really just trying to figure them all out on the inside, even if he looks stoic to the outside world.

This is why he does best with other water signs. Because not only can they relate, they also do not mind messy emotions and the dark places of others.

This may be something that more grounded, light and cheery signs will have a hard time dealing with in the long run.

Sex with a Scorpio Man

The Scorpio man’s whole vibe is sexy. In fact. The Scorpio is the most sexual in the zodiac.

Due to this, the male sometimes gets a bad wrap for sleeping around, but contrary to popular belief, the Scorpio does not approach sex lightly.

Sex with a Scorpio is usually intense, passionate, physical, and emotional.

Those that have experienced it have said that it is nothing short of mind-blowing.

It is a spiritual experience where two souls become one. But let us be clear, this guy is not going to show this side of himself to just anyone.

The Scorpio male understands probably more than anyone that sex is a spiritual experience shared with a person you are emotionally connected to and physically invested in.

He has an active mind and an even more active imagination, so a woman whispering in his ear during lovemaking will drive his erotic senses to boiling point.

Sexual relationship expert Felicity Keith explains this powerful technique The Language of Desire here.

Dating a Scorpio Man Long Distance

The best thing about dating a Scorpio long distance is that you can be pretty sure he will stay loyal.

He is one of the signs that can make any phone conversation or facetime session seem interesting, because not only is he deep emotionally, but he is psychologically this way as well.

If you two are not discussing your feelings, he will be asking you about your day and actually listening.

That, or he will be going on about something he is passionate about, which there is always something.

Scorpio represents “things hidden”, and his ability to turn over rocks and penetrate the core of just about any topic rarely makes for boring convos.

Long-distance dating inevitably throws up problems in communication. Phone calls and emails are no substitute for human touch and personal connection.

Drifting apart can easily occur if you have no system in place that reinforces the emotional bonds.

A program that has helped 100s of women to connect with a man’s subconscious mind, has been developed by relationship expert Amy North.

It is called Text Chemistry and has been successful in sowing the seeds of desire in a man’s mind, and even re-uniting couples after a breakup.

If you want your guy to focus his attention on you, then listen to this short video in which Amy explains the words that will have him dreaming of you.

Final Thoughts

If you are looking to give it a go with the Scorpio guy just be sure you like intensity and emotions, and sometimes, emotional ups and downs that can take some sorting out.

The romantic journey with Scorpio is for the long haul. This is one of the most – if not the most — dedicated signs of the zodiac.

If you are not bothered getting dark every once in a while, then the Scorpio man relationship will be exciting, intense, passionate, romantic, and if handled correctly will last for the long haul.

#Dating #Scorpio man

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yogaadvise · 3 years

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Practicing Yoga Terms

Sanskirt, the ancient Hindu language, can be tough to recognize. The language has words that are commonly listened to in yoga exercise course or listened to in anything regarding yoga, so it assists to have a concept of some of their meanings.

In Sanskrit words resemble living beings, depending upon context, condition and also atmosphere their mood differs and also indicating differs. Amit Ray, Walking the Course of Compassion

In a yoga exercise class, it is nearly unavoidable that there are going to be some terms that are symbolic, Sanskrit, and probably tough to articulate that might leave you wanting that you had a yoga exercise thesaurus with you. Don't fret! Most of us start someplace. Right here is a listing of 50 terms that typically are heard in a yoga course that could sound like gibberish if you are brand-new to the course or cue something that has a much deeper definition. The majority of these have far more deepness and information to them than what is specified right here. So for deeper understanding, further reading and translations is useful. Sanskirt writing typically has a number of various translations. However for the benefit of the read, this is a quick overview.

Yoga in the Body

Bandha Mula Bandha Muladhara Bandha Jalandhara Bandha Chakra Muladhara Svadhisthana Manipura Anahata Vishudha Ajna Sahasrara Nadi Prana Ujjayi

Yoga Philosophy

Sutras Bhagavad Gita

The Limbs of Yoga

Yama Ahimsa Satya Asteya Brachmacharya Aparigraha Niyama Saucha Santosha Tapas Svhadhyaya Ishvara Pranidhana Asana Pranayama Pratyahara Dharana Dhyana Samadhi

Yoga Methods

Vinyasa Kundalini Yin Bhakti Ashtanga Hatha Tantra Kirtan Ayurveda

Practicing Yoga Terms

Mantra Mudra Drishti OM Shanti Namaste

Yoga in the Body

These are Sanskrit terms in the yoga exercise custom that are techniques, skills, as well as energetics that are vital in practicing yoga. They can improve the physique, your technique, self-exploration, development, as well as understanding.

Bandha - The term for Body Locks that are engagements within the body for the integrity of a yoga exercise practice. Mula Bandha - The Root Lock of the 3 bandhas. It is a tightening and interaction of the perineum, the sex organs. Uddiyana Bandha - The involvement of the core by the action of contracting the marine right into the rib cage. Jalandhara Bandha - The Throat Lock. Done by tucking the chin in a little in the direction of the chest. Chakra - Energy centers straightened in the body that are energetically and physiologically powerful. There are 7 major chakras within the body and also they connect among each various other, throughout the mind and body. There is an 8th chakra that is rarely mentioned, the "mood," the energetic field that borders each being. Muladhara - The Root Chakra. Situated at the base of the spine and also holds the power of your methods of survival, safety, grounding, and self approval. The color associated is Red and also has the element of the Earth. Svadhisthana - The Sacral Chakra. Found at the sacrum and holds energy of creative thinking, sensuality, relationships with others, and also the relationship with the self. The shade is orange as well as has the element of water. Manipura - The Solar Plexus Chakra. It is situated at the naval facility as well as holds the energy of confidence, recognition, strength, spontaneity, as well as core being. The shade with this chakra is yellow and also the aspect is fire. Anahata - The Heart Chakra. Located at heart facility, this holds the energy of empathy, love, compassion, the equilibrium in between heaven and also planet, purity, mercy, as well as taking care of others. The shade linked is eco-friendly and the element is air. Vishudha - The Throat Chakra. Situated at the facility of the throat as well as the energy below is of communication, truthfulness, hearing the truth, talking the fact, and estimate of your real self. The shade associated is blue-green and the element of Ether. Ajna - The Pineal Eye Chakra. Located in between the brows at the facility of the forehead, the energy held right here is the seed of intuition, recognizing, and also understanding. The color connected with the pineal eye is indigo blue. Sahasrara - The Crown Chakra. Found at the crown of the head, this chakra has the energy of transcendence, link to the highest possible self, as well as the partnership to the unidentified. The shade with the Crown Chakra is violet purple. Nadi - Link and also energy lines throughout the whole body. In yogic texts, it is said there are over 72,000 Nadis in the body. The two major are the Ida Nadi and the Pingala Nadi. Prana - Equates to "Life Force" as well as also refers to the breath. Ujjayi - A breathing method that is commonly cued throughout yoga courses. Inhales as well as breathes out are matched in length, through your nose, as well as audible to hear.

Yoga Philosophy

These are two ancient messages that are at the root of the approach of yoga.

Sutras - old mentors of Patanjali of exactly how to live a yogic way of living, practice, meditate, and also methods of taking the path to the highest self. Bhagavad Gita - An ancient Hindu message that informs the tale of Krishna leading Arjuna on the spiritual journey as well as expedition of the self, and also the means of linking to the highest possible self through yoga.

The Limbs of Yoga

There are eight limbs of yoga exercise. Generally shown, you need to take the course beginning at the first limb as well as proceeding on for your trip via yoga each day.

Yama - From the trainings tape-recorded in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. The Yamas are the universal, moral, and also moral guidelines of practicing yoga. Ahimsa - Non-violence. This converts to practicing non-violence towards ourselves as well as in the direction of the world around us. Satya - Reliability. Implying to live our truth, speak honestly, and also technique honesty. Asteya - Non-stealing. The technique of not swiping from yourself as well as from the world around you in any way that can be. Brahmacharya - Moderation of the senses. Often converted as abstinence however extra so implies to mindfully utilize your energy in the right way. Aparigraha - Non-greed. Translates to non-attachment definition to practice not taking extra than what you really need. Niyama - guidelines of communicating with self. The niyamas are personality building practices. Saucha - Cleanliness/purity. Pureness of the being and also tidiness maintained in the globe around you. Santosha - Satisfaction. Exercising satisfaction, being all right as well as glad with your own life in each moment. Tapas - Discipline. Can translate as heat. It means exercising self-control to expand stronger. Svadhyaya - Self-study. Exercising self-exploration and also study totally through reflection as well as recognition. Ishvara Pranidhana - Give up to the self. Welcoming and giving up completely to all consciousness as well as your greatest being. Asana - The 3rd limb. Essentially suggests, "to rest." This is the strength and versatility from the yoga positions of exercising yoga. Pranayama - The fourth limb. Breath work or control of the life-force. Any breathing technique and also control of the breath is pranayama. Pratyahara - The fifth limb. Withdrawal of the detects, drawing in of the detects for deep link past mindlessness. Dharana - The sixth arm or leg. Having one pointed focus and concentration. Dhyana - The 7th limb. Having an emphasis that you can keep in meditation. Samadhi - The eighth limb. Coming to be completely soaked up into your highest possible self.

Yoga Methods

These are different styles of a yoga method. Each have their very own function and method of exercising, yet they all have the origins of yoga exercise's core worths. A person can exercise one or as many styles that fits their own journey.

Vinyasa - there are a pair of various definitions behind the term vinyasa and exactly how it is used in a class. It equates to activity paired with breath, so when you most likely to a "Vinyasa course" it is a circulation class that connects breath with movement. When you remain in a class as well as the instructor says "take a Vinyasa" that implies to take a flow of your finding, generally a Higher Pet dog to Downward Dealing With Dog. Kundalini - A kind of primitive energy coiled at the base of the spinal column, Shakti, that is within each being. Kundalini yoga is a collection of countless kriyas, which are intentional movements or techniques, shown by Yogi Bhajan to awaken one's inner kundalini. Yin - The women power of a technique that is slower and also calmer. In yin yoga exercise, poses are held for a number of breaths, a minimum of a pair minutes, to get involved in releasing the deep tissue as well as fascia of the body. Bhakti - Love and also devotion. Bhakti yoga courses typically consist of chanting or vocal singing as a means of devotion. Ashtanga - Establish sequences of 3 different seires of vinyasa yoga developed and also made popular by Sri K. Patthabi Jois. This technique is indicated to be tough, rise toughness and also versatility, as well as cleaning of the body and mind. Hatha - The collection of both masculine and also womanly power (Ha= sun as well as tha= moon). Hatha yoga exercise is implied to help find equilibrium through the body, mind, and also spirit as well as produce room for spiritual growth. Tantra - Meaning "woven with each other," tantra is the yoga exercise of union. It is not about tantric sex that is promoted, yet instead union with various other beings by any means and also within yourself. Kirtan - Spiritual community gathering of yogic singing, shouting, and meditation. Ayurveda - An old of living that comes from the exact same Hindu roots that yoga exercise stemmed. It incorporates nourishment, medication, as well as one-of-a-kind types (called doshas) developed to aid a private comprehend their very own tendencies and needs.

Practicing Yoga Terms

These are a few of the common terms you might listen to that accompany a yoga exercise practice. They are various strategies as well as purposeful components of a practice.

Practicing Yoga Terms

Mantra - Word or expression that is repeated to strengthen the method mentally and also emotionally. Mudra - A positioning or plan of the hands or fingers. Mudra equates to "secure." Each mudra has its own meaning as well as they are utilized to facilitate a particular circulation of power and evoke various things. Anjali Mudra, hands with each other in mind facility, and also ¬ ¬ ¬ Gyana Mudra, the forefinger as well as thumb touching, are typical mudras. Drishti - A fixed gaze point. Maintaining an established look factor assists to maintain balance. OM - the universal audio and vibration of all living things. It is the start as well as the end as well as is used to get in touch with the globe around us. Shanti - Converts to "tranquility." Typically shouted at the beginning or end of a practice to ignite tranquility within the world as well as ourselves. Namaste - translates to "the light within me honors and values the light within you." Chanted at the end of a technique to recognize the light within on your own and others.

#asana #Hatha Yoga #kundalini yoga #meditation #pranayama #restorative yoga #spiritual #spiritual growth #spiritual journey #vinyasa yoga #yin yoga #yoga #yoga poses #yoga positions #yoga sutras #yoga works

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congregamus · 2 years

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Judge Not, etc.

The things I like to talk about are hard to talk about, so I spend a lot of time doing a bad job of talking about them. Add to that the fact that I'd often rather write than talk, and there's a double problem of having an archive of how often I've been wrong in my speculations.

Anybody who has read more than 150 words published here knows that I have a less conventional worldview that does not translate well to orthodox theology, let alone small talk. Reducing it to "talking points" is particularly disastrous, because without nuance my several hypostheses, taken together, sound either psychotic or — at best, perhaps — like a spiritualization of boundary issues.*

The shortest, most accessible version of my worldview is that I have a tendency to side with Western Mysticism. This position, stated most succinctly, is that not only does All proceed from the One, but the One is in All, and All are embedded within the One. Diversity is an optical illusion that Unity enjoys in the field of time to entertain Oneself.

The source of my transcendental language and symbology is the Christian tradition. The person of Christ-Wisdom reveals the subject-object illusion as a phenomenon arising out of a fundamental lack of love — so to say, a judgement against What Is by insisting upon the unreal substitution of What Should Be.†

My prompt for this post was an experience a few moments ago wherein I “downloaded” a lot of information on the aphorism: Judge not lest ye be judged.

There is so much there, and, try as I might, it's too much to unpack verbally.‡

The statement itself is an obvious rune, requiring deep contemplation to perceive in its fullness. Contrariwise, it is as simple as taking the direction. Stop judging people if you don't want to be judged.

Practically speaking, this is just another "shape" of the Golden Rule, and anyone could take the template — Don't x (negative) if you don't want x (negative) — and apply it broadly with great success.

Anyone could. Will I?

In an act of meta-judgement, I accuse myself of elitism. In doing so, I have tightened what was already a loop, the subject-object illusion, into a noose! (This is easy to do when a person keeps twisting a thing on itself.) The knotty question of what is Me and what is (k)Not-Me is one that will take a lifetime to disentangle.§

I am in the midst of just such a disentanglement, and it feels like Hell.

In the esoteric tradition, the unspeakable Name of God has 10 spheres of concentration. One of them, called "Severity" (Gevurah), is something like Judgement in the way humans perceive. Opposite, the sphere called "Mercy" (Chesed) balances the Divine Being's equilibrium.

In public teachings, these correspond to the "places" commonly thought of as Heaven and Hell. Chesed is sky blue with mercy and the Presence, just as Gevurah is as red as a soldier's fresh-dipped spear and the fire that burns away impurities (Mal 3:2), endlessly dividing one thing from another.

By which I mean to say that the process of discernment (judgement) is painful, and it is precisely in my preferring that it not be so that I generate spontaneously a personal hellscape.

To wit, while it is my expressed desire to allow the flow of my experience rather than to try to control it, that is not my actual practice or perceived reality. This wish, too, is a judgement: an unreal substitution of what “should be” for what is, an unsustainable mental world, but one from which I may not yet emigrate. Such an insisting, while seemingly towards progress, is actually a reiteration of opting-against. Stasis. In so doing, I transform and recycle existing torment. More hell. More knot. Different look or feeling only.

The answer one receives ad nauseam from the sages is of no help at all, naturally. Over and over they say, Just because it's impossible doesn't mean that you can't do it.**

How may I conjure so to recapitulate my outward-projection of judgement in the direction of the internal, but only in the effort of negating both, not to visit upon myself the same judgement I export!

How then to tune the body's vitality to sense the interconnection between the immediately personal and the other, currently only accessible to me by metaphor? How, again, to transform through poetic device rather than by destructive realization? O muse, sing in me. Spin a new song, and when I have heard it, let me open my throat and shake the air!

________________________

Footnotes

*Which may be the case, or at least it may be the case that my "boundary issues" may have been the metaphor whereby I was able to access the material?

†The perceptive reader will understand that this is what is meant when we say that the Crucifixion was the means by which Christ (relationship, mediation) conquered Satan (self-importance, refusal). The Luciferian Urge is that which judges as insufficient. The refusal to judge from the cross equalizes this.

‡However, in the interest of trying to condense back into a different functional aphorism, it would not be wrong to say that "Judge not lest ye be judged" is another way of saying, "Do not resist reality lest ye never encounter it."

§ The final answer to this intellectual work ("All of it! There is no knot!") is (k)not a satisfying answer as the statement belies one's sensory experience of diversity; likewise the apparent answer ("None of it. I am a singular Me-object.") will not suffice for similar reasons. Experience yields innumerable interconnected me-objects whose subjectivities are hidden from us. Both of these responses are untenable, and much contemporary schizoid and self-destructive behavior results from their remaining unreconciled in the popular consciousness.

**This is the backwards teaching of the Phoenix, expressing the impossibility, and necessity, of self-transcendence.

#minutiae #text #tarot #justice

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