#in love with the concept that arthur 1) knew the whole time 2) is convinced that the druids calling merlin emrys is a deadname situation | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

camelotsheart · 2 years

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4x12 and 4x13 is so fascinating to look at from a merthur perspective because I consider it a commentary on the concept of a Merlin and Arthur who tries to abandon their destiny.

At that point, Arthur is at his absolute low. He feels like he's been betrayed by people he once loved, he feels like he's disappointed the kingdom that he puts has put his heart and soul into building. Arthur only ever wanted to become king because he loved the people of Camelot and thought they loved him (and they do). So when he thinks they don't want him anymore, when he feels like his dedication to his kingdom only resulted in betrayal, he releases his position.

And up till that point, Merlin is the only person who hasn't disappointed him. We talk about how beautiful Arthur's vulnerability is when he says "you're the only friend I have and I don't want to lose you" - but that's not true. He does have friends other than Merlin. The people of Camelot love him. But at that time it feels like Merlin is the only one who does.

And it's fascinating to notice that the thing which in the end sets Arthur off is the fact that Tristan berates him for not being kingly because he 1) saves a servant and 2) is willing to get his hands dirty by collecting firewood. Arthur is frustrated because he's being criticised for showing care to the only person he truly cares about at that point. And the part of getting his hands dirty reminds me a lot of what he said in 3x10.

ARTHUR: Sometimes I dream of leaving Camelot... Somewhere were nobody knew who I was... I’d get some land and become a farmer.

GWEN: I can hardly see you toiling away in the fields all day.

ARTHUR: Obviously, I’d take Merlin with me. He can do all the hard work.

How I see this parallel is as follows: Arthur gives up Camelot - the thing that has only brought him hurt - and turns to his dreams of escapism as a farmer, which includes a life with Merlin as the only person he truly cares about at that time. And from what I see, this parallel is further explored in the form of Tristan and Isolde, because they are basically a metaphor for a Merlin and Arthur who have given up on their destiny to live their own lives.

Tristan and Isolde showed how even if Merlin and Arthur decided to leave, they could never have escaped their destiny because they care too much about others.

Arthur “cares about his people more than he cares about himself”, and nothing needs to be said about Merlin’s love for people. Even if they had both “promised not to involve [themselves] in other people’s wars”, like Tristan and Isolde had, their conscience would eventually catch up to them. Just as Tristan and Isolde ended up fighting alongside Arthur because they came to believe in him.

Tristan is very protective of Isolde, and Isolde knows this; she’s the one that convinces Tristan to trust Merlin and Arthur even when Tristan has a hatred for royalty because they never helped when his whole village was killed. Isolde is the only person that Tristan truly cares about, and it takes a lot for him to even start trusting Arthur. He is desperate in trying to protect Isolde, and even though he initially succeeds in saving her, his fears come true. Isolde dies before they can ever achieve their dreams of buying a piece of land and settling down.

And Arthur, too, never achieves his dreams. At least the one that involved a quiet life on a farm. But what he does achieve is building a life with Merlin. Or more exactly, building a kingdom.

The thing is, Arthur didn’t really regain his confidence when he pulled Excalibur from the stone. That night, he was still walking around with an introspective mood, as if perplexed why the sword thought him worthy. But the morning after Merlin tells him that he believes Arthur will unite Albion and create the greatest kingdom the world has ever known, Arthur jokes to Merlin “I thought you had faith in me”, which is beautiful because that transition is almost saying that Arthur found his worth through Merlin’s constant unyielding belief in him.

And from that point on, particularly in season 5, Arthur always looks to Merlin when he wants to decide how to govern his kingdom. He does this during his final confrontation with Odin, he does this when he asks “is that what you’d want?” and “what should we do?” when discussing the returning of magic to camelot in 5x05, he does this when he goes up against the ghost of his father, he does this when deciding what to do with Mordred and Kara. Continuously, Arthur asks to Merlin - Is this the kingdom you want?

Why? Because Arthur decided that the only way he could repay Merlin’s loyalty to him was to bring about the kingdom Merlin dreamed of. The kingdom Merlin believed Arthur would build.

Arthur retook his kingship for Merlin.

Arthur built Camelot for Merlin.

#bbc merlin #merthur #no i'm not okay. i'm spiralling way too hard #merlin #arthur pendragon

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365days365movies · 3 years

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May 1: The Prestige (2006) (Review)

Are you watching closely?

This movie...this movie. I like Christopher Nolan, and he specializes in these mind-bending sort of films. Haven’t seen Memento yet, but Inception and Interstellar definitely fit that bill WELL. And Nolan’s definitely good at it, with this film now added to that list.

Gotta say, I wish there were more movies like this. You know, about magicians in the past. Plus, I’d really love to see a movie with more scientific magicians. Like, inventors who use their scientific acumen to perform insane feats. Really lean into that Arthur C. Clarke angle, y’know? I think it’d be pretty cool, honestly.

Also, I haven’t seen The Greatest Showman, but I’m sure that Jackman gives off some similar vibes here. And before you say “YOU NEED TO SEE THEGREATESTSHOWMAAAAN”, I’m just gonna say: P.T Barnum does NOT deserve to have a musical made about him starring Hugh Jackman. Dude was an animal-abusing racist MONSTER, who did a LOT of fucked up shit in the pursuit of money. Dude rented a blind elderly black woman (while slavery was illegal in New York, mind you) and sold tickets to see her, claiming that she was the nurse of baby George Washington, and 161 years old. When she died of old age, he sold tickets to her fucking AUTOPSY! And that was the VERY BEGINNING of his career. FUCK P.T. BARNUM.

...Anyway. Let’s talk about The Prestige, huh? Review time! Check out Part One and Part Two of the Recap, if you’re interested!

Review

Cast and Acting: 9/10

Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, David Bowie, Andy Serkis, and Rebecca Hall. HOOOOO BABY! These six are the tanks of this movie, and they’re all excellent in their roles. I knew that Hugh Jackman had more acting range than he’s often given credit for, but this is the first time American audiences could see that range, and he’s fantastic with it. Bale is kind of Bale in some ways, but definitely disappears into the role of Borden pretty seamlessly. Which, again, is pretty much Christian Bale in general. I could say the same about Caine, but he REALLY disappeared into this role. Usually, I still see Michael Caine when I watch him, but this was all Cutter all the time here. Bowie as Tesla was surprisingly great, watching Andy Serkis’ Alley has fun, and Rebecca Hall’s tragic Sarah is basically the emotional core of the movie. But where’s Scarlett Johansson, you ask? Well, she was...OK. I really don’t think she was great in this movie, but it’s not like she was bad. Still, that’s where the missing point is; with her.

Plot and Writing: 9/10

I mean...come on. This plot is top notch. Based on the book written by Christopher Priest, and adapted for film by Jonathan and Christopher Nolan, this is a great story, and the twists are fantastic throughout. Genuinely didn’t expect the Borden twist...although I did figure out the Angier plot point pretty quickly, one the purpose of the machine was revealed. Yeah, soon as I figured that out, it was all over. I think the Nolans figured that that would happen, though. In any case, this is still a well-written film, full of references to the truth throughout. If you’re interested, watch this movie FIRST, then go on YouTube and find some video essays. You’ll see what I mean pretty quickly.

Directing and Cinematography: 8/10

I’ll be honest: I do like Christopher Nolan, but he’s never really struck me with a particular directorial style. The more notable part of his direction revolves around his film concepts than anything else. Now, that isn’t AT ALL to say that Nolan’s direction is bad. On the contrary: it’s quite good! But I’d also be lying if I said that the direction of The Prestige really stuck out to me. Much as I hate to take away any points here, this just wasn’t super-notable to me. Wally Pfister’s cinematography is also fantastic, but equally as notable. So, good grade here, but not perfect.

Production and Art Design: 9/10

Given the fact that this film is almost solely dependent on the idea of good-looking tricks and costumes, this is a VERY well-produced and designed film. Chronistically authentic and convincing, this is simply a goo looking movie. And the electrical effects are cool! There’s a lot to love here, is what I’m saying.

Music and Editing: 8/10

Music’s good, and definitely sets an eerie tone that fits the film. As I write these reviews, I listen to the soundtrack again to put me in the mood for the movie, and it works. This soundtrack is also VERY good at knowing when to use silence to emphasize something, as showcased especially well during the very end of the movie. As for the editing...OK, real talk? It’s good most of the time, but it’s also kinda choppy half of the time as well. I get that the plot is suppose to take you all over the place, but...sometimes I don’t know how necessary the edits are. Like, showing Borden reacting to the journal seemed unnecessary sometimes. A LOT of flashbacks, is what I’m saying.

Y’know...I think an 86% Is pretty good.

But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I thought I’d like it...well, a little more. I mean, again, 86% is nothing to sneeze at, but it’s definitely lower than I expected. I think that, once the euphoria of the twists and the ending dies down, you’re still left with a great movie...but not a perfect one. And I think that’s still completely fine, because this movie is still a STELLAR film.

Do I recommend thisWATCHITNOW. Sorry, uh...yes. Yes, I recommend it whole-heartedly. It’s a fantastic goddamn movie, and you should see it at least once, for the experience. And trust me, when you watch it once, you’re gonna want to watch it twice. It’s that engaging, and it’s that good.

So, now what? That’s the first of the lo-fi sci-fi done, and it’s focused upon an interesting technological advancement: cloning. What’s another good advancement to look at? Well...why not something a little more unusual? Something not seen in the films very commonly. Something...something...uh...wait. What was I saying?

I’ve forgotten.

May 2: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), dir. Michel Gondry

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adoranymph · 5 years

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[2:05 pm-ish, April 20, 2019]

Man, there is nothing that puts me in a fouler mood than when I let my own personal procrastination demon get the better of me on a perfectly free Saturday to the point that I don’t start getting any writing done until after 2 in the afternoon. I had planned to get up early and everything, and I even did. Sort of.

I scrolled through a ton of YouTube videos first, and before I knew it, it was nearing ten in the morning and I still needed to eat something. Ugh, so I did that…and then I committed the sin of hibernating on the couch for a couple of hours to catch up on some anime-related stuff. Though it was the sort that always manages to fuel my inspiration and imagination.

[Present Day]

Okay, I know what you’re thinking: that all’s no excuse, every procrastinating writer says that as they convince themselves to turn on Netflix or Hulu to “get inspiration” instead of writing and end up marathoning that show they really just want to finish so they’re caught up with everyone else, and because they love it so much.

Just the same, it did give me what I needed to open up my laptop and start working towards my writing goal for the day working on editing and polishing my manuscript: I finally got around to watching Kara No Kyoukai: Mirai Fukuin – Recalled Out Summer and Recalled Out Summer: Extra Chorus.

Okay, now that probably doesn’t mean a whole lot just by a name-drop, but let me explain. After all, that’s the whole point of this blog post: My love letter to Type-Moon. (And yes, I realize I’m not the first person to express said love in a blog post.)

Saber from the Fate Series and Ryougi Shiki from Kara No Kyoukai: The Garden of Sinners

Type-Moon is a Japanese game company known primarily for their visual novels. Not really a thing here in the West, at least not as much if at all, but when I was first introduced to the concept of visual novels, I thought of them as choose-your-own-adventures played as an electronic game rather than read as a book. As I’ve come to better understand it, it’s kind of like that, you do make certain decisions that can lead to certain endings, but sometimes, as in the case of arguably Type-Moon’s most well-known visual novel, Fate/Stay Night, the point is to play through three different versions of the same story premise: kid gets dragged into ancient battle royale known as the Holy Grail War, and with each version of the story, or “route”, being played through, each featuring a different heroine for our protagonist, Shirou Emiya. One route builds upon the previous, and each route gets subsequently darker in terms of plot points and content.

Fate/Zero, incidentally (and my #1 favorite anime ever), is the prequel to that, and succeeds where most prequels don’t, since it’s a tragedy (I’ll go into more detail on that in my upcoming post about how Fate/Zero succeeds as a prequel). That was written as a light novel (kinda like a YA novel, or well, a shorter novel, so “light” novel) before it was adapted into an anime, and sets up the events of all three routes in Stay Night. So, it confirms that no matter what route you’re in in Stay Night, the events of Zero hold true for each of them. (Which is interesting when you consider the damage some of the characters in Stay Night have been living with since Zero, yet they may or may not come up in Stay Night depending on what route’s being played.)

Cover art for Fate/Zero blu-ray box set

The co-founders of Type-Moon, writer Kinoko Nasu and illustrator Takashi Takeuchi, have come up with some pretty interesting and awesomely cool material in my opinion, and not only for Stay Night, which ultimately culminated in launching the Fate franchise, which has…a HUGE number of titles, and with the anime adaptations of Zero, the original of Stay Night, and the reboots of Stay Night covering the two subsequent routes that the original couldn’t really cover, a bunch more titles in the franchise have each been getting their own anime adaptations in turn, as though there was suddenly this HUGE frenzy for Fate title after Fate title to be adapted into an anime, demonstrating just how sprawling the lore and fanbase of this franchise is.

Promo art for Fate/Grand Order

And if that weren’t enough, there isn’t just Fate, there are other Type-Moon-developed visual novels whose worlds are connected to that of Fate. The only two I’m aware of for sure are Tsukihime and Kara No Kyoukai. (And then there’s Canaan, which was developed by Type-Moon too and its wonderful little 13-episode series in its own way, though I’ve been unable to verify for sure just how much if at all it’s connected with the aforementioned titles.) While I haven’t been able to get into Tsukihime much at all, since I can’t shell out to get my hands on the original visual novel, translated or not, and the anime is notorious for sucking so much that most deny it even exists, I have been able to get into Kara No Kyoukai, a series of films adapted originally from a seven-series online novel written by Nasu, and are seen by many as primers to the world of the Nasuverse (or the world of Type-Moon), which makes sense since when you see it you can recognize characters and plot points that feel like they were taken and reworked for things like Fate. Despite that though, they still do in fact exist in the same universe all as their own characters with their own stories.

Yeah it’s a lot. And the Kara No Kyoukai films cost a pretty penny, but this year I at long last got my hands on both the bluray box set of both the original seven films, as well as the additional film (Future Gospel and Recalled Out Summer: Prelude), and the extra special (Recalled Out Summer: Extra Chorus) just this year–stories that Nasu had an idea for after the original seven came out, but had not written in novel form. I’ve watched the first seven several times at least, but I was hesitant for the longest time about seeing the eighth film and the extra specials, since the first seven tied together so satisfyingly well, to put it mildly. But I finally gave in because I just love Type-Moon that much. And in the end, I was happy I got it, if only to have more Type-Moon in my life.

And that love compelled me to write out, essentially, a love letter conveying that love to Type-Moon. I’ve developed a lot of plot points for both my novel manuscript, as well as my style and voice as a writer, from the material I’ve seen from Type-Moon.

Cover art for blu ray box set of Kara No Kyoukai: The Garden of Sinners original seven-film series

Fate/Zero was my induction, the jumping off point from which I finally took the plunge (some would argue watching the 2006 adaptation of the first route of Fate/Stay Night first is more prudent, but if I’m being honest, I tried that, and just couldn’t get through it knowing something like Fate/Zero was out there–I just couldn’t wait, though eventually I did end up owning and watching the original 2006 Stay Night, mostly because I was starved for Fate material until more of the anticipated new content came out, and because I was able to get a DVD copy of the series for $10.00–more than worth it, it turned out).

Promo art for Fate/Stay Night (2006)

Anyway, Zero pulled me in not just with eye-candy, godly levels of animation quality unprecedented in an anime TV series (considering how much budgeting goes into animation on the whole in the industry), and not just with its very epic concept of the Holy Grail War and all that that entailed as well, but also with its characters.

I adored Waver Velvet, the underdog student of magecraft who, despite being in over his head as the youngest participant in the War, manages to summon the hero Alexander the Great to act as his Servant, the one who’ll fight the other Masters by proxy with Servants of their own, all of them famous figures plucked from history and legend (with some creative license, in some cases a lot). And throughout the course of the War, they form an admirable friendship.

I despaired over the fate of Kariya Matou, who was basically the character that every show like this has, the one that gets ALL THE CRAP thrown at him, and undeservedly of course, as he tried so hard to win just for the sake of saving a girl from the abuses of her adoptive family, even with the cards stacked against him.

I relished in the development of the villain Kirei Kotomine, who could’ve just come off as your typical priest-that’s-secretly-a-bad-seed, but instead is SO much more than that, and it’s awesome.

Then there’s Gilgamesh, the sort of OP, arrogant villain you love to hate, but also the kind that has the power to back up his boasting being master of the universe.

Then you’ve got Saber, i.e. King Arthur, who despite apparently really being a girl named Arturia, all this time, still lives up to the namesake of the legendary King of the Britons.

And of course, my favorite of all, Kiritsugu Emiya. The relationship he shares with his wife, Irisviel von Einzbern, and their daughter, Illya; the motivations for why he does what he does unfolding as the show progresses, culminating in him finding redemption in at least being able to save the life of his eventual-adopted son, Shirou from the War’s fiery collateral damage at its climax; the epic rivalry between him and Kirei Kotomine; the way his methods clash with Saber’s chivalric values; the fact that he gets all of the best qualities of what I love so much about Takashi Takeuchi’s character designs. (Which is another way of saying he’s drawn so appealingly to me that he’s made it to #1 on my list of husbandos. That’s right, I said it!) The whole story and arc of his character is one of the, if not the, most poignant things I have ever seen in an any form of media. Never has a character made me physically ache at the thought of everything he went through, combined with the bittersweetness of his and Irisviel’s love story, as well as that of his love for Illya.

It’s basically everything I’ve ever wanted in a story’s emotional core or emotional foundation, and definitely served as a turning point in terms of my own writing, particularly seeing as how it’s a feels dynamic I’ve wanted to write for years. So thank you for that, Type-Moon: somehow, some way, much in the way that the universe miraculously weaves together a human being by a near infinite number of factors, you’ve managed to craft my own personal Holy Grail of an emotional story component.

Indeed, since the discovery of the Kiritsugu x Irisviel ship (an underappreciated gem depending on who you talk to), I haven’t found any ships to exceed that level of emotional perfection. I’ve found ones that come close, even ones that equal it, but thus far, in my eyes, Kiri x Iri is unrivaled, and probably never will be.

Sadly, this scene was not in the anime. Just in the Realta Nua re-release of the Fate/Stay Night VN game for PSP. 😦

In terms of ones that have equalled it though, one of those came unsurprisingly from another Type-Moon work, the aforementioned Kara No Kyoukai, and its main romantic core of the delightfully darkly complicated relationship of Ryougi Shiki and Kokutou Mikiya. That was another pleasant surprise. I had already fallen hard for Fate/Zero and everything it had to offer, but I’d heard of Kara No Kyoukai before that. It had been on my to-watch list for a while, but I’d say that learning that it takes place in same universe as Fate, the Nasuverse that is, it sort of drove me to get my hands on it a little sooner.

Cover art for Volume IV of the box set for Kara No Kyoukai: The Garden of Sinners VII: …not nothing heart, with Shiki and Mikiya (OMG the feels)

My first copy was, admittedly, one of those many, many bootlegs floating around eBay (hem, hem), but at long last (especially since I got a bluray player (FINALLY) for this past Christmas), I was able to purchase the beautiful bluray boxset release of all seven movies, plus the special edition bluray for the Recalled Out Summer extras, because why not? Sure, again, the latter works basically as a sort of sweet but small desert to a large delicious main course, but that sweetness is worth it regardless, because it’s sweet, especially when you get treated to sweet strawberries in that sweet strawberry Hagan-Dasz ice cream of an extra story of things like seeing that (SPOILERS) Shiki and Mikiya eventually have an adorable little daughter named Mana, who for her limited screen time, does indeed seem to be the perfect blend of her parents. Plus it’s just great to see something so normal yet wondrous result from a romance that if not for a saving grace or two, probably would’ve ended in bloody tragedy.

Cover art for Recalled Out Summer box set featuring Shiki and Mikiya

Cover art for Recalled Out Summer blu ray set featuring Ryougi Mana (Shiki and Kokutou’s daughter, and Mitsuru Kamekura

So yeah, I’ve come to learn that when it comes to Type-Moon, where romance and personal relationships come in, the writing nine times out of ten shines (with the first true failure to connect with me coming in Fate/Extra Encore, and even then, because of the production studio behind it, it at least benefited me with flashbacks triggered by similar imagery used in another one of my favorite anime, Madoka Magica).

Again, sorry I haven’t been able to get into Tsukihime, but I’m not completely blind. There’s that anime adaptation that doesn’t exist ha, ha. In all seriousness though, I’m familiar with the basic premise, and some of the plot points seem to overlap other Type-Moon works. Plus there’s Wikipedia.

And Carnival Phantasm! Which is a little series Type-Moon produced as a celebration of their ten-year anniversary, something to reward the fans for being fans, and while I was at a disadvantage where a lot of the Tsukihime material came up, I still enjoyed it well enough, going on what I knew. But seeing as how Fate is arguably the most successful Type-Moon franchise, the ratio of Fate to Tsukihime material was almost 2:1. Which was awesome, as I basically got to see Type-Moon not only poke fun at itself and parodize its own characters, but actually give a sunnier if brief existence for some of these characters (because quite a lot of Type-Moon characters’ actual lives are SUCKY to put it lightly).

Screenshot of the Carnival Phantasm OP

For as sprawling as the lore of Type-Moon’s stories have grown, particulary with their Fate/Grand Order online game which seems to explore every single available Heroic Spirit that can be summoned as a Servant for your very own Holy Grail War, and the events of which have also been getting adaptations (the most recent exploring Gilgamesh’s past, and that has me intrigued if I’m being honest), there’re so many buried gems to find in there in terms of character and ideas and thoughts on life. Kara No Kyoukai in particular tends to philosophize quite a bit and contemplate things like reality, time, identity, balance, building a foundation for the world as a whole according to the Nasuverse. A bit like comic books, Fate in particular is one of those things where it’s debatable anymore where one should start, some answers being more correct than others, but once you find a place where you dip your toe in and get accustomed to the water, it’s easy to get wrapped up in what it’s various stories centered around the Holy Grail War are concerned.

I love stuff like that, and I’ve been inspired in my own work not just by Type-Moon on its own, but studio ufotable as well, which seems to be the ultimate Fate adaptation machine. Sure other studios do some of the lesser known titles (again like Extra), but ufotable got the reboot of Fate/Stay Night‘s second route, Unlimited Bladeworks, the adaptation of Fate/Zero before that, the film trilogy adaptation of the final Fate/Stay Night route Heaven’s Feel, and even the lighthearted quasi-AU Today’s Menu for Emiya Family, which is the Stay Night story if it was taken over by a cooking show, almost like Carnival Phantasm but not a parody, and still acknowledging the darker parts of the Fate universe, if distantly. Something about the care ufotable puts into their characterizations, along with the animation and art quality and the awesome voice-acting for the seiyuu and English VAs that end up getting casted (although I’m aware where the English casts are concerned that comes from the western licensing company that picks it up and not actually studio ufotable).

And then with Kara No Kyoukai, also made by ufotable, you get an expanse on this universe and its mechanics. It’s a bit vague on how magic works in both this and Fate, but I’ve actually found the idea of basing fantastic elements in the real word fascinating, not urban fantasy but something more than that. And the concepts it brings up. Like people having these things called “origins”, a certain trait from which their soul or being originated from within the Akashic Record, or “The Route” that once “awakened” in a person causes that trait to consume them. So if a person’s origin is “to consume”, and that’s awakened in that person (this requires a mage and the consent of the person who’s origin is being awakened), then they’ll say…embrace their desire to slaughter people en masse and then literally consume them afterward. Like this guy.

Ryougi Shiki vs. Shirazumi Lio – get him, Shiki, get that crazy S.O.B.!

Yeah, that’s the other thing. Apart from the things like origins and The Root or “Akashic Record” (which from what I’ve gathered is like the source of “everything” with a capital E: life, the universe, everything, and no, it’s not the number 42), Type-Moon’s world is what I like to call “beautifully dark”. Not a particularly unique thing, but either way, Type-Moon pulls it off well. There are moments of levity, but there are also very grotesque and disturbing goings-on underneath all that beauty, and even those things are beautiful in their own way. Sure, there are things like vampires or “dead apostles” floating around, and there’s a fair bit of bloody death, but then you’ve got corrupted Heroic Spirits who steal your heart and drink the blood from it like they’re squeezing the juice from a prickly pear, eye-powers that allow for a person to twist anything they want with their mind (including living human bodies), tentacle monsters crushing small children, souls jammed inside puppet bodies that start to fall apart to reveal their meaty, gear-riddled interiors, and life-sucking, magic-giving worms that consume the bodies of their hosts from within (okay we’ll file that under “beautiful grotesque”). And then there’s the aforementioned bloodthirsty killer whose origin is to consume and thus consumes the corpses of his victims (yeah, that Shirazumi Lio guy, see above, he does that)…when he doesn’t do weird stuff like contort them and mark them with the yin-and-yang symbol.

Just to list a few.

The name for Kara No Kyoukai in English is usually The Garden of Sinners, though Kara No Kyoukai literally translated actually means “The Boundary of Emptiness”. But a garden full of sinners is apt for one of the titles in the Type-Moon universe. In some ways that and things like Fate almost transcend storytelling when adapted well, and with godly animation and music (both Fate/Zero and Kara No Kyoukai‘s OSTs were composed by the incomparable Yuki Kajiura, who’s practically the authority on darkly beautiful and epic themes) to back up the engaging storylines.

And speaking of Yuki Kajiura, I’d like to take this moment to not only give props to her work with Fate adaptations, but Hideyuki Fukusawa as well, the main OST composer for the Unlimited Bladeworks reboot, as well as Kenji Kawai, who composed the OST for the original 2006 Fate–that adaptation might have its drawbacks, but that OST does wonders and is seriously underrated, especially considering this is the guy who composed the OST for the original Ghost in the Shell film.

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Nothing is perfect, but nevertheless, this is a fictional world that I have fallen irrevocably in love with, much in the same way I did with Harry Potter, though I’ve grown since then. And I just wanted to extend and express that appreciation and love to something that has inspired me and the way I approach my writing going forward so incredibly.

So, thank you, Type-Moon, for the awesomeness you offer, in all its forms. You have my most sincere and utmost praise and respect. I hope that even when the last of the Fate routes, Heaven’s Feel, has finally received its full and deserved adaptation in the trilogy of films, that this is not the last the world will see of your wonderful content. You have more than earned your loyal and adoring fan base ten times over. You are amazing! ❤

Love Letter to Type-Moon Man, there is nothing that puts me in a fouler mood than when I let my own personal procrastination demon get the better of me on a perfectly free Saturday to the point that I don't start getting any writing done until after 2 in the afternoon.

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douchebagbrainwaves · 3 years

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THE TROUBLE WITH THE STARTUP HUB

What ideas were tarnished by association when they ended up on the losing side of a recent struggle? And he could help them because he was black and for that reason I suspect that most of the giant companies were still focused on finding new ways to milk economies of scale. Another view is that a hacker's idea of a foul-mouthed, cynical 10 year old leaning against a lamppost with a cigarette hanging out of the gate that you want to wait till you graduate?1 You can just use them in whatever way is appropriate to the task at hand, instead of a lifetime's service to a single employer, there's less risk in starting your own company, because you're only replacing one segment instead of discarding the whole thing.2 Common Lisp occupy opposite poles on this question. But that same illiquidity also encouraged you not to seek it. Some smart, nice guys turn out to be 13: Pick good cofounders.3 That's partly because Y Combinator itself had near zero effect. I thought I was ready to question everything I knew. But you see the same problem there. Because Woz designed this computer for himself, and he was pretty much a throwaway program is brevity. Joe's has good burritos.

What advantages does someone in their mid-twenties. As far as I can tell these are universal. It is merely incidental, too, that spam is usually commercial. Bayesian approach considers all the evidence in the email is neutral, the spam of the future will find ridiculous. There probably aren't more than a tenth of your time trying to push your price down. Silicon Valley itself, but it doesn't seem there's anything to see. And there is a sharp difference between VCs and other investors: VC firms are a bargain for founders. The bar will be higher. Shows will change even more. And if you want to go straight there, blustering through obstacles, and hand-waving your way across swampy ground.

Part of the problem.4 How much does an angel invest?5 I was a philosophy major. That is a fundamental change. And we had no idea how silly we looked. An early stage startup. Even Google probably doesn't think that. A few ideas from it turned out to be the right advice for everyone. More information, in fact. And understanding your users. In every swing state they overestimated the Kerry vote.

Google are smart, but incurable builders. As a young founder by present standards, so you can get it done quickly and get back to what will make your company successful.6 That seems so obvious it seems wrong to call it the study of modern literature. How did things get this way? I was convinced the world was corrupt from end to end.7 Since high school, at least for me, and moreover discovered of a lot of money to us. So if you raise money, you were supposed to use their software, and their influence is such that the rest of the way? If you're raising money from friends and family. If anything it may have helped foster a Perl cult. One of the most important advantage 24 year old founders is that they can't force anyone to do deals with them. It's obvious why: the lower-tier firms' biggest fear, when chance throws them a bone, is that a real essay, you don't have this protection, as we found to our dismay in our own time, different societies have wildly varying ideas of what's ok and what isn't.

Well, that is a knowledge of what various individual philosophers have said about different topics over the years. But in addition to the usual clauses about owning your ideas, you also don't want your valuation to be set artificially low because the first investor who commits. Falling victim to this trick could really hurt you. Arthur Miller undermined the House Un-American Activities Committee by writing a play, The Crucible, about the Salem witch trials. Reality can be messier. Starting one's own business meant starting a business that would start small and stay small. And since reading ancient texts was the essence of what scholars did then, in real dollar terms, they'd seem like small fry compared to professional athletes and whiz kids making millions from startups and hedge funds. And of course if it were merely a matter of choosing between the unpalatable and the disastrous.

How many little startups are Google and Yahoo—though it seems even that should be unlimited, if the startups were able to raise significant funding after Demo Day. 09883721 hi 0. As long as that idea is still floating around, I think a greater danger is that they have less reputation to protect. You only get 52 weekends with your 2 year old. I only thought of when I sat down to write them to read like articles. Every startup's rule should be: spend little, and they turned out ok.8 Curiously, a filter based on word pairs would be in effect a narrower but open source Don't be evil has been good at letting hackers have their way with it. If you can do while you're still employed. Like all rivers, it's rigorously following the laws of physics.

In our own time, though, is thinking cheaply.9 Because seed firms are companies also means the investment process is more standardized. That will change the balance of power between the networks and the people who voted for Kerry felt virtuous for doing so, and were always disappointed. The phrase seed investment covers a broad range. In Common Lisp I have often wished I'd had the temperament to do an angel round before going to VCs. Reality can be messier. A throwaway program is: something you write quickly for some limited task: a program to be ported, except for political reasons. When I ask myself: how much you're planning to raise a $5 million series A round, unless you're in a position to say this is true for other languages too. An advantage of consulting, as a way to answer the question: if the spammers knew exactly what you were doing, how well could they get past you?

If they could even get here they'd presumably know a few things we don't. What little original thought there was took place in lulls between constant wars and had something of the character of the thoughts of parents with a new from-address, so you can get it back minus the bad parts, somehow with a few countertweaks. You just have to treat such leaks as a cost of doing business. But don't give them more than four or five numbers, and only evolved into a programming language unless it's also the scripting language of MIT. The user doesn't know what it means. Second order issues like competitors or resumes should be single slides you go through quickly at the end of California Ave in Palo Alto, the original ground zero, is about thirty miles away, and the investors are the ones most likely to get buyer's remorse.10 Users love a site that's constantly improving. For example, at the same time. Can it get you the designers, though? But the less you need a few topics that you think about? I think both Republicans and Democrats would agree, is more available than one that you have lousy judgement. But I also think that the more different kinds of advice.

Notes

Actually, someone else. It may be exaggerated by the fact that, go ahead.

If you're expected to, in writing, any claim to the minimum you need to fix. In Boston the best ideas, they wouldn't have.

I think investors currently err too far on the Internet was as late as 1984. The need has to work than stay home with them in advance that you never have worked; many statements may have been truer to the principle that if he hadn't we probably would not change the world population, and astronomy. There was no great risk in doing a business is to say, of course. Unfortunately the payload can consist of dealing with YC companies that grow slowly tend not to do it right.

03%. They may play some behind the scenes role in IPOs, which you are not in the sophomore year. It's suspiciously neat, but this would do for a market for its shares will inevitably arise. Maybe markets will eventually get comfortable with potential acquirers.

Some types of publishers would be to advertise, and the opinion of the market price. When an investor derives mostly from the example of a Linux box, a well-preserved 1989 Lincoln Town Car ten-passenger limousine 5, they were regarded as 'just' even after the egalitarian pressures of World War II had disappeared.

But they've been trained. But when you ad lib you end up with much greater inconveniences than that total abstinence is the unpromising-seeming startups are competitive like running, not because it's a book or movie or desktop application in this essay will say this amounts to the World Bank, Doing Business in 2006, http://doingbusiness. But a company just to go behind the rapacious one. And starting an organic farm, though sloppier language than I'd use to calibrate the weighting of the more accurate predictor of success for a group of Europeans who said he'd met with a woman who had worked for a couple predecessors.

Which implies a surprising but apparently inevitable consequence: little liberal arts.

Most of the infrastructure that this isn't strictly true, because any story that makes the business spectrum than the long tail for other people. In practice formal logic is not to say that any company could build products as good as Apple's just by hiring sufficiently qualified designers. But that is not just a Judeo-Christian concept; it's IBM.

Spices are also the golden age of economic inequality in the definition of property is driven by people who are younger or more ambitious the utility function for money. It's hard to tell VCs early on?

Most unusual ambitions fail, unless you're sure your money will be lots of customers times how much they lied to them more professional. And the reason this trick merely forces you to test whether that initial impression holds up. He couldn't even afford a monitor.

Thanks to Michael Arrington, Patrick Collison, Sarah Harlin, and the rest of the Python crew at PyCon for the lulz.

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