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#martial arts formulas
wilsonwandmagician · 9 months
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I've just read this question on *that* other social media but I wasn't satisfied with the answers. Here we go.
What do you think is the best moment in sports history and why?
(I expect some good essays from you so... don't let me down people)
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projectbatman193 · 10 months
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This seems fun. Also explains why when I can keep my scheduled workouts in the week I still lose weight. Btw mr. calculator, not obese or that muscular, somewhere in between, closer to very muscular I hope! lol
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clowningaroundmars · 1 month
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morales twins hcs
i'm absolutely in love with the idea of miles42 and miles1610 being twins, i'm so glad most of the fandom has basically adopted 42 lmao
some of my own twins headcanons, just random stuff to add onto other ppls hcs ive seen:
☆ 42 loves his mamí absolutely but def acts the most like his dad, and haaaates when anyone points it out. it's the most obvious when 42 gets mad, he sounds EXACTLY like his father then lol
☆ in fact, the twins polar opposite personalities is probs bc 1610 takes after his mom's temperament more, while 42 is as stoic, stubborn and slightly dorky as his dad is
☆ whenever the boys made each other cry (by accident or otherwise) they did the typical little kid thing and tried immediately comforting the other. now that they're older 1610 handles his emotions better and is mature when talking about them, but 42 is the one who comforts 1610 more often
more below ↓
☆ as well as staying on top of his academics, 42 also plays basketball and trains in a couple martial arts studios after school. 1610 is taller than 42 bc of the spider bite but 42 has always been slightly bigger and more muscular than 1610 since he's the athlete. whenever the family attends 42's boxing matches, jeff gets an overwhelming sense of deja vu from back when he attended his own brother's matches before
☆ they both got thru school p okay, not many incidents of bullying mostly bc if anyone did try, 42 would put a stop to that nonsense immediately. 42 loves his bro with his whole heart and was glad to pick a fight with anyone who gave him any trouble at all. the whole neighborhood knew it too bc the only person allowed to bully 1610 is 42 himself!
☆ in fact, 42 doesn't win the lottery to enter visions in the first place, which saddened both brothers when they found out. so because they're at separate schools now, 42 makes sure his twin knows that if any fuckery is afoot at visions that he'd be more than happy to roll up and dogwalk any fool who tries it. 1610 laughs him off but knows his bro has got his back for sure
☆ 42 likes to pretend 1610 is the nerdy one, but they are both very big anime and manga nerds. every time they hit up any bookstore, they both make a beeline for the manga section and argue over who's gonna read the newest one first (they have to share cuz those books cost some moneeyyyy, man)
☆ 1610 and 42 love their uncle to pieces, OFC. they both pick up separate traits from him, even. 42 was inspired to start martial arts and boxing from watching videos on old digital cameras that aaron hung onto thru the years. they were of a much younger aaron back in his boxing days, when his family went to his matches and recorded them from the seats. 1610 was inspired to pick up graffiti and then even started doodling in notebooks bc of aaron
☆ 1610 is def the social butterfly and easily the most popular kid on the block by virtue of how friendly and outgoing he is. 42 is more introverted and keeps a small circle of friends, but everyone is cool with him nonetheless since they fuck with his twin bro
☆ since 42 stays at home the most (lol he a homebody) he picks up cooking much better than 1610 thanks to him staying in the kitchen to help his mom make dinner while they watch telenovelas together. 42 also knows how to dance bachata and salsa much better than 1610 too
☆ both twins love physics and math but 42 is more hardware-inclined. 1610 is about software, data, and formulas. 42 is good at taking things apart, putting things together, building and engineering. he kinda takes after his uncle aaron that way, and drove his parents nuts as a lil kid when he got his hands on radios, computers, clocks, etc
☆ 1610 loves softer brighter music like JID, steve lacy, smino, frank ocean, kid cudi, post malone, and nujabes. 42 is always bumping harder shit like pop smoke, waka flocka, zillakami, three 6 mafia, benny the butcher and some oldies like paul wall, wu tang clan, biggie smalls, MF DOOM and big KRIT. they tease each other's music tastes a lot since they're polar opposites in almost every way
☆ they actually have a shared playlist where they add new music they like (probs on some e-1610 spotify or soundcloud equivalent since everything is slightly skewed on e-1610 tbh). both of them check it periodically, and 42 is the more frequent contributor
☆ they both make art but 1610 is the artsier kid for sure. 42 doodles occasionally but he's not as enthusiastic about it as his twin is. they both go around the city tagging walls whenever they have any free time, though. 1610 loves colors, expressive styles and is good at coming up with cool ways to draw text. 42's lines, accuracy and technical skill can never be beat
☆ 1610 has superpowers, sure, but his fighting skills are trash! 42 was always the scrappy one, not 1610, so he shows his twin how to properly throw punches and other useful fighting knowledge. it def comes in handy in the future
☆ jeff loves his sons to death but he often finds himself butting heads the most with 42 since they're so similar, it kinda drives them both nuts. it def gets worse once aaron starts gossiping abt what jeff used to be like when they were kids, giving 42 plenty of ammo. they love each other but their relationship is just as complicated as it is between jeff and 1610, and 42 would be lying if he said he wasn't affected by the rift between his dad and uncle himself
☆ the minute the twins turn 16, 42 goes out and gets his drivers license on the first try (computer quiz AND road test aced) and rubs it in 1610's face almost constantly. 1610 likes to throw back that there's no parking space for another car on their block, so he can't even get his own car even if he wanted to anyways
☆ whenever the boys really fight, the whole city seems to know. they squabble a lot obvi, they're brothers. but the very few times they've given each other the silent treatment like for real, everyone in the family tries to get them to make up since it's unsettling to see two peas in a pod be so hostile with each other
☆ and since they've always been attached at the hip, 1610 being enrolled into visions felt. weird. everyone thought 1610 was gonna take it the hardest but surprisingly 42 had a harder time adjusting since he always saw his bro in the hallways at school, and was so used to him knowing the latest gossip of anybody in their grade. without 1610 around as often, 42 becomes even more withdrawn than usual
rio looks up from the pot suddenly, glancing at the time. dinner was almost ready and she… hadn't seen not hide nor tail of her son this evening. he returned home from school a couple hours earlier, choosing to skip going to his boxing class to shut himself in his room.
fine. teenagers can be moody sometimes and rio would rather keep her moody son at home where she can keep an eye on him, rather than worry about what he's getting up to on the streets.
strange thing is, though... rio hadn't heard a single noise come out of that room all night. 42 usually liked to have at least some music playing, maybe video game noises out of his nintendo... oh, what was it called again? whatever, that nintendo thing he played on sometimes.
rio placed the lid on the pot and lowered the flame a bit before making her way over to her twin sons' bedroom door, hesitating a bit when she noticed no light was filtering out from the bottom either. okay... that was weird, too. neither of her sons ever went to bed before dinner. ever.
the one time rio dared to try and send her sons to bed without dinner years ago-- as punishment for fighting right there in the kitchen that time-- both twins hollered so loud they got concerned knocks on their front door from various different neighbors. never again, rio remembered thinking that time.
now, the bedroom door stands oddly quiet and completely hollow without any signs of life behind it. rio knocked anyways, hoping against hope itself that 42 didn't go ahead and sneak out of the house without her knowledge. if he did sneak out, he's grounded for 3 months, rio thinks to herself mostly as reassurance. she nervously picks at a nail and strains to hear anything behind the wood.
she thinks she hears a groan and decides to try her luck by slowly opening the door. hopefully he's not in there... y'know, doing teenage boy things, either. dios mío.
rio swings the door open to...
...a completely pitch-black room, save for the sliver of streetlight filtering in past a crack in the window curtains and casting an eerie yellow glow on anything it could touch. it is cold, and also deathly quiet.
rio is shocked.
she walks over to the right side of the room where 42's bed is pushed up against the corner, next to the windows. on that bed lies a big lump, buried under several layers of blankets. the lump stirs.
rio crosses her arms. "mijo, mi amor. are you sleeping? …pero qué te pasa, papí?"¹
42 rolls onto his back and glares sleepily at his concerned mother standing at his bedside. it's dark in the room, but rio's face is illuminated by the living room lights pouring in from the open door. she's wearing a tilted smile, but coupled with the worry lines on her forehead, it isn't fooling anyone.
42 slowly closes his eyes, chin still under the covers, and lets out the most world-weary sigh rio has ever heard coming out of someone as young as him. if it weren't coming from her own son, she might have even laughed.
she immediately sits down, lifting the cover off of 42's chin to check his temperature all over his face. he tries to wriggle away.
"maaaaaa, stop..." he grumbles, trying to pull the covers up higher over his head. "'m not sick, mamí, forreal… chill."
rio leans on a hand. "¿si no 'ta enfermó pues qué es?² what's wrong?"
42 doesn't answer for a bit and rio exhales through her nose. " 'moré, what are you doing in this pitch-black room all by yourself? no light, no music, no nothing. what's wrong? you look like you're on a death bed!"
42 finally opens his eyes again, and blinks a few times as he says, "nothing, ma. seriously, i'm just... tired. that's all. i'm fine."
"you don't look 'fine' 42, you look like 2 seconds away from flatlining."
another sigh from the boy. rio rolls her eyes and places her hand on his forehead again, then strokes his cheek.
"is it 1610? hmm?" rio asks 42. she asks so unbelievably gently, as if by only mentioning his brother's name she would shatter something in the room. a mirror or something.
42's heart clenches at the love and care his mother is showing around this particular topic. it was true, and he couldn't even deny it. having 1610 in the house less and less every week, not seeing him in the hallways at their local high school, receiving sparser and shorter replies to his texts... it was all building up in his chest and the dam was pretty close to bursting. especially now as his mom was lovingly stroking his cheek as she checked in with him. how embarassing. rio wouldn't see him cry, not right now. he closed his eyes and willed the tears away, for her sake.
miraculously, 42's voice didn't crack or waver when he said, "yeah. yeah, i miss 'im."
rio crooned something saccharine in spanish and placed a kiss on her son's forehead. she saw right through his cold tough guy act, as expected. with how much of a mama's boy 42 was, it would've been impossible not to. they spent way too much time together for her to miss how he dragged his feet getting ready for school in the mornings, how he's been skipping martial arts and basketball practice more often lately, and how unenthusiastic he's been in general.
rio chuckles as she lays her cheek on 42's forehead for a second before sitting back up. "ay, bendito. 42, you know your brother is just down a few blocks from here. why don't you go visit him soon?"
42 shuffles under the covers. he's unsure if he should even admit this, but he proceeds anyways. "uhm. he's not answering my texts lately, so." he feels strangely guilty about this, like he just snitched on his twin somehow even though he has no reason to suspect that at all.
rio sighs and looks off into the distance, bracing herself for what she's about to say. she looks back down. "yeah. i know. he doesn't answer mine, either. i was hoping he was talking to you, but... well. "
something in 42 stirs a bit. "i bet he thinks he's in some fancy private school, around rich kids, now he's too good for us," it's a weak attempt at a joke, but rio smiles down at him anyways.
"don't worry. the second he gets home this weekend, he's on house arrest. okay? he's gonna be chained to you the whoooole time. and i'm keepin' watch."
it's not much, but 42 still takes that little bit of hope and holds it gently in his mind.
"the second he walks through that door, i'm tackling him. i don't care." 42 smiles at the thought.
rio laughs, kisses his forehead again and stands up. "dinner is almost ready, by the way." she gives him a look. "you better eat with me tonight, because your brother is at school and your dad is doing overtime tonight. okay? okay."
42 sighs deeply to wake himself up a bit more as he sits up and scratches at his durag. "yeah, yeah. 'm comin', ma!"
¹ "but what is going on with you, papí?" (papí being a common term of affection for a boy in spanish, it doesn't always mean "dad" lol)
² "if you're not sick, then what is it?"
☆ until they get "too old" for halloween, the morales twins ALWAYS wear matching costumes. every year. every single year, no matter what. what they usually end up wearing changes every year and they aaaaaalways argue over it, of course. notable costumes so far: batman and superman (age 13), two ninja turtles (age 9) (im thinking mikey and donatello bc of personality but lbr rio most likely forbade either of them to be leonardo bc the twins would deadass get into a fist fight over it), tom and jerry (age 2), mario and luigi (age 7), woody and buzz (age 5), peter pan and captain hook (age 10), and-- rio's favorite-- thing 1 and thing 2 (age 4)
☆ 42 was surprisingly always very popular with the girls at school. in middle school, 1610 was the geeky one with braces and acne. 42 got off relatively easy in that regard and as a result was labeled "a heartbreaker" from the jump, which annoyed him. he has no interest in dating whatsoever and swore to never get into a relationship before graduating high school. he's got his mom and brother to take care of and he's going places after high school, damnit! 1610 on the other hand is a huge romantic and has a crush on a new person almost every year of school, easily
☆ the literal second 1610 set foot in the house after his spider bite, 42 was all over him asking a million questions since they both have that supernatural twintuition, and 42 sussed him out immediately. 1610 obviously had to come clean and tell his brother he was spiderman just like he told ganke, otherwise he was never gonna be able to change into his spider suit at home (plus they share a room, so. there's that)
1610 didn't even get to close their bedroom door all the way before his twin leaped up from his own bed and stalked over.
"óye, bro. what's up? what happened at visions?" 42 circled his brother, squinty-eyed in the exact same way their mom is when she's suspicious. 1610 dropped his bag next to his bed and plopped down on his sheets, trying to put some distance between them.
"uhhhh what're you talkin' about?" he tries casually, and immediately regrets it.
"uhhhhh what're you talkin' about?" 42 mocks. "don't play dumb with me. you KNOW what i'm talkin' about, stupid. first, you answer, like, none of my texts ever. then dad comes home sayin' you never let him talk face-to-face when he visited you a couple days ago. mamí has been texting and calling you nonstop, no answer either. you are a brand new person now, huh? qué te pasa, yo?"
1610 hunched his shoulders as he got up and slumped over to his desk. he was quietly weighing his options, nervously rearranging papers and sketches on the wooden table, wondering how he was going to break it to his brother that he was--
"lemme guess. you have superpowers now," 42 says easily. he crosses his arms triumphantly when big round amber eyes suddenly turn up to his face.
1610 searches his face for any hint of a joke. no... no way. did his brother just...?
"you're playin' with me. no way. how did you--?"
42's eyes widen. "wait, are you being deadass right now?" he threw his head back and crowed with laughter. "that was just a guess!"
1610 leaped forward and pushed his hand onto 42's mouth, shutting him up. "heeyyy hey hey hey hey shhhhh, man. damn, could you possibly be any louder? look," he took his twin by the shoulders and gave him a slight shake, lowering his voice to a near whisper. "mom and dad can never know anything about this. okay? anything. not a word, you understand?"
42 pushes his brother off. "ok-ay man, cool it. i promise. we can shake on it, even."
wordlessly, they did their super secret handshake they came up with and perfected in the 4th grade in lieu of hooking their pinkies together. it was the morales shake, a move that binds them to secrecy and keeping promises til death. this was serious business. 1610 relaxes a bit once they're done.
"... okay. and i mean it, pencil braids. if you even breathe a word about this, or even think about--!"
"if you don't just tell me already, goddamn."
with a meaningful look thrown at his brother's way, 1610 raises an arm silently. 42 looks back expectantly.
1610 shoots a web up. he jumps up, using the web as a bungee rope to help him flip and land feet-first onto the ceiling. once his sneakers touch their ceiling, he stands up... upside-down. he stares at his brother and his brother stares back, mouth agape.
"niiiiiiice," 42 leans back and grins up at his twin brother, spiderman.
☆ 1610 is glad he has someone besides ganke to talk to about spiderman stuff, though. his brother listens way more attentively than his roommate anyways, and even tries to help sometimes esp when 1610 needs a quick distraction so he can switch from spiderman back into his regular clothes before the parents notice
☆ 42 is surprisingly cool abt his twin bro being spiderman, actually. even when they're texting 42 is careful not to imply 1610 is spiderman, and often calls stuff in to the police station if 1610 webs anyone up and lets him know. he also gets very good at bandaging up wounds quickly
☆ 42 is a hardass on the outside and contains his emotions much better than his twin, but he's kinda different around his family, since he loves them a lot. he jokes around a lot with them, esp around 1610. they also love pranking their parents, and are p creative at coming up with ways to make everyone laugh
☆ i personally picture 42's personality being sort of like huey's from the boondocks, especially around other adults. he becomes withdrawn and speaks very clearly and directly, and is very shy around strangers. some ppl mistake that as him having an attitude problem but his friends and family know better. only difference between huey and 42 is that 42 isn't nearly as woke lmfao
☆ meanwhile, 1610 becomes a motormouth around strangers and is quick to hug and kiss random family members at family reunions. as a lil kid, he'd always be the one up at the counter ordering for the both of them and chatting with the cashiers, or bus drivers, or whoever. as he gets older and used to the spiderman thing, he chats and jokes with randoms a lil less. he has to save the good material for when the mask is on
☆ 42 is a better writer than he is an artist, actually. he has notebooks filled with poetry and lyrics he scribbles down on post-it notes just to stick them in there for safekeeping. he's also been working on a sci-fi story since he was in 6th grade in absolute secrecy; he doesn't want a single soul to see it. he'd be mortified if anyone saw the nerdy shit he comes up with
☆ even tho 1610 has never fought anyone or been scrappy with anyone else, he's very good at wrestling and dodging punches thanks to his brother.
☆ 42 is the more fashion-inclined twin, even tho they're both sneakerheads. 42 just pays more attention to accessories, the fit of his clothing, how to pair the right shoes with the right jacket. 1610 throws on anything comfortable and calls it a day, and it gets even worse after he becomes spiderman. 42 clowns his brother SO HARD after he finds him wearing yellow sweatpants with an oversized red adidas hoodie and a green puffer jacket once (it was when 1610 came home from fighting a shapeshifting lizard that tried to take over cypress hills. the sweatpants were on backwards)
☆ 1610's sense of humor is geeky and he always tries too hard with his quips and jokes. he usually gets "secondhand embarrassment" chuckles from ppl. 42's style of comedy is a mix of dry humor and unintentionally being funny. this dude will say something clever with the straightest face ever and have the ENTIRE room in stitches without even meaning to
☆ just to nail home how different they are, even tho they share a room, you can tell EXACTLY which half of their room begins and ends. 1610's half is cluttered, vibrant, covered in posters and action figures, collages and trinkets on every available surface. 42's is as clean as a hospital room, and he ALWAYS makes his bed every morning. 42 has a poster or 2 hung up but he's not much for decorating in general. he's more into alphabetizing his bookshelf and looking for more efficient storage to put under his bed
☆ when jeff looks at his sons, he sees aaron and himself and sometimes it scares him. when the boys were around 12 (the Evil Year) he made SURE to sign them up for camp trips that summer and keep them close together as much as possible. he hates to see his boys drift apart at all and is the 1st one to call it out if he sees it. he just doesn't want his boys to end up like he and his brother did…
☆ … and then other times? it genuinely makes him feel a combination of irritation and also fondness bc sometimes 1610 and 42 really really remind him of aaron and himself, esp when they were young. ESPECIALLY when they argue. in every playful slap on the shoulder, every arbitrary competition started out of nowhere, every sleepy brother slowly sliding onto the other's shoulder during nighttime car rides, he sees it. he sees them, and then he sees his past. and with every little difference between the boys slowly cracking open like a chasm with each passing day, sometimes he thinks he can even see his future.
☆ 42 is cool or whatever but i also hc he's kinda… weird sometimes. it gets worse when his twin bro goes off to visions, he keeps staring at walls while sitting in dark rooms and eating at weird hours of the day. rio caught him fast asleep practically hanging off the window sill one night, and another time jeff found him having an entire conversation with a brick wall once while on patrol. 42 refuses to answer any questions
☆ after 1610 gets into visions, becomes spiderman, tells his parents abt his plans to go to princeton, etc... 42 eventually starts feeling a type of way (a jealous way…) their parents also seem to pay attention to 1610 more whenever he's home just to add insult to injury. he knows he's not supposed to, but he often finds himself thinking about the prowler gloves and schematics aaron left behind. he managed to grab them and hide them in a gym bag one day while helping his parents clear out aaron's apartment. the tech currently lives under his bed…
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WIP: Sun Wukong's Powers and Skills
I'm currently working on a comprehensive list of Sun Wukong's magic powers. Here is just a taste from chapters two to four.
Bold black = magic power Bold red = acquired non-magic skill Bold green = claimed magic power that is never actually demonstrated Bold orange = inborn talent?
Ch. 2
Early education #1: human skills - “[H]e began to learn from his [senior immortal] schoolmates the arts of language and etiquette” (與眾師兄學言語禮貌) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 116). - Note: We all know that Monkey failed his etiquette classes.
Early education #2: religious skills - “He discussed with them the scriptures and the doctrines; he practiced calligraphy and burned incense” (講經論道、習字焚香; i.e. ritual procedure) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 116).
Wukong’s knowledge of scripture and philosophy pops up a few times in the novel. For example, he subsequently becomes enraptured by Subodhi's lecture on the Dao and Chan (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 116).
Early education #3: gardening skills - “In more leisurely moments he would be … hoeing the garden, planting flowers or pruning trees” (閑時即...鋤園、養花修樹) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 116).
Immorality (1st category) [1] - This is achieved via oral formulas (口訣) and breathing exercises (自己調息) at prescribed times (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 120-121). - The stipulated Chinese hours are before zi (12:00-14:00) and after wu (12:00-02:00) (i.e. noon to midnight) (子前午後). However, historical real world practice is reversed: after zi and before wu (i.e. midnight to noon).
Adeptness (i.e. quick learning) - “But this Monkey King was someone who, knowing one thing, could understand a hundred!” (這猴王也是他一竅通時百竅通) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 122).
First learns the “Multitude of Terrestrial Killers” (地煞數; a.k.a. “72 changes,” 七十二般變化) - This requires oral formulas (口訣, a.k.a. “oral spells,” 咒語) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 122). - This sometimes requires a magic hand sign and a shake of the body (see below).
First attempt at “Cloud-Soaring” (騰雲) - Subodhi mockingly calls this “Cloud-Climbing” (爬雲) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 122).
First learns the “cloud somersault” (觔斗雲) - This requires a magic sign, an oral spell, a fist clinch, and a body shake (捻著訣,念動真言,攢緊了拳,將身一抖). It takes him 108,000 li (里) in a single leap (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 123). - 108,000 li = 33,554 mi or 54,000 km [2]
Multitude of Terrestrial Killers (i.e. 72 changes) - This requires a magic sign (捻著訣) and an oral spell (咒語). He transforms into a pine tree (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 124).
Cloud somersault - He flies from the Western Continent to Flower-Fruit Mountain (i.e. from one side of the world to the other) “in less than an hour” (消一個時辰) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 125).
First use of the “body beyond body” (身外身法; a.k.a. “magic of body division,” 分身法) (i.e. hair clones) - This requires chewing and a “change!” (變) command. Small clone monkeys are used to overwhelm and beat up a monster who is three zhang (三丈) (31.29 ft / 9.53 m) tall (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 128). [3] A passage explains: - “For you see, when someone acquires the body of an immortal, he can project his spirit, change his form, and perform all kinds of wonders [出神變化無方]. Since the Monkey King had become accomplished in the Way, every one of the eighty-four thousand hairs on his body could change into whatever shape or substance he desired” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 128). - 原來人得仙體,出神變化無方。不知這猴王自從了道之後,身上有八萬四千毛羽,根根能變,應物隨心。
Cloud somersault - He flies 30 or 50 monkeys and property (pots, bowls, utensils, etc.) home from captivity to Flower-Fruit Mountain (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 129).
Ch. 3
Martial arts (武藝) - He “teach[es his monkeys] how to sharpen bamboos for making spears, file wood for making swords, arrange flags and banners, go on patrol, advance or retreat, and pitch camp” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 131-132). - 教小猴砍竹為標,削木為刀,治旗幡,打哨子,一進一退,安營下寨  …
Cloud Somersault - He flies east from Flower-Fruit Mountain over “200 li of water in no time” (霎時間過了二百里水面) to the Eastern Continent (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 131).
Blows a mighty wind (陣風) - This requires a magic sign (捻起訣來), an oral spell (咒語), and taking a deep breath (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 131-132). A poem states that it puts the world into chaos: - Thick clouds in vast formation moved o'er the world; Black fog and dusky vapor darkened the Earth; Waves churned in seas and rivers, afrighting fishes and crabs; Boughs broke in mountain forests, wolves and tigers taking flight. Traders and merchants were gone from stores and shops. No single man was seen at sundry marts and malls. The king retreated to his chamber from the royal court. Officials, martial and civil, returned to their homes. This wind toppled Buddha's throne of a thousand years And shook to its foundations the Five-Phoenix Tower (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 132). - 炮雲起處蕩乾坤,黑霧陰霾大地昏。 江海波翻魚蟹怕,山林樹折虎狼奔。 諸般買賣無商旅,各樣生涯不見人。 殿上君王歸內院,階前文武轉衙門。 千秋寶座都吹倒,五鳳高樓幌動根。
Body beyond body (i.e. hair clones) - This requires chewing and a “change!” (變) command. The small clone monkeys carry an armory’s worth of weapons (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 132).
Magic of displacement (攝法) - This is a spell that carries the weapon-laden monkeys on wind (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 132).
Monkey claims to have a number of supernatural powers: - “I have the ability of seventy-two transformations. The cloud somersault has unlimited power. I am familiar with the magic of body concealment (身遯身, a.k.a. 隱身法) and the magic of displacement. I can find my way to Heaven or I can enter the Earth. I can walk past the sun and the moon without casting a shadow, and I can penetrate stone and metal without hindrance. Water cannot drown me, nor fire burn me” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 133). - 我自聞道之後,有七十二般地煞變化之功,觔斗雲有莫大的神通;善能隱身遯身,起法攝法。上天有路,入地有門;步日月���影,入金石無礙;水不能溺,火不能焚。
Magic of water restriction (閉水法) - He travels to the Dragon Kingdom (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 133).
Super strength - He effortlessly toys with a 3,600 catty (斤) (4,682.61 lbs / 2,124 kg) battle fork and a 7,200 catty (9,365.23 lbs / 4,248 kg) halberd (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 134). [4] 
Super strength - He lifts the 13,500 catty (斤) (17,559.81 lbs / 7,965 kg) iron pillar in the dragon treasury (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 135).
Opens a waterway (開水道) - He uses the magic of water restriction to return to Flower-Fruit Mountain (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 137).
First use of the “Magic Method of Modeling Heaven on Earth” (法天像地的神通), a 10,000 zhang (萬丈) (104,300 ft / 31,800 m) tall giant form - This requires bending over and screaming “grow!” [長!]. This form has: - “[A] head like the Tai Mountain and a chest like a rugged peak, eyes like lightning and a mouth like a blood bowl, and teeth like swords and halberds” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 138).  - 頭如泰山,腰如峻嶺,眼如閃電,口似血盆,牙如劍戟
Immorality (2nd category) - This is achieved by inking out his name from the ledgers of hell [生死簿子] (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 141).
Ch. 4
Cloud somersault - It is much faster than those of ordinary immortals (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 145).
Travel to heaven - Refer back to ch. 3-#6A (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 145).
First use of “three-headed and six-armed” (三頭六臂) war form - This requires a “change!” (變) command (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 155).
Staff multiplication - This is done millions of times over (以一化千千化萬) to face Nezha’s own countless weapons (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 156). - The multitude of armaments are said to “clash like horned-dragons flying in the air” (cf. Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 156).
Body beyond body (i.e. hair clones) - This requires a “change!” (變) command. Monkey creates an autonomous decoy to distract Nezha while he slips behind him to land a staff blow (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 156).
Immortality (3rd category) - This is achieved via heavenly imperial wine (御酒, a.k.a. “Immortal wine,” 仙酒 and “juices of jade,” 玉液瓊漿) (Wu & Yu, vol. 1, p. 159, 165, and 167). 
I'm currently on chapter 16, so it will take me a while to finish, especially since I'm simultaneously gathering info for several other articles, including mirrored essays for Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing.
Once I've gone through all 100 chapters, I will put each instance of a particular power into its own category (transformation, super strength, hair clones/tools, etc.) and then analyze everything as a whole. The Google Doc containing the list of powers will be attached to the analysis.
This project was partly inspired by a previous effort made by @the-monkey-ruler.
I'm open to feedback.
Notes:
1)  In place of using “layer” or “level,” I’m choosing to designate his various immortalities as “categories.” This is because a new layer of divine longevity or durability would surely be added for each immortal peach, elixir pill, or cup/jug of heavenly wine consumed. Hence, eating multiple peaches would be one category, eating multiple elixir pills would be one category, and so on and so forth.
2) It’s important to note that 108,000 li is a metaphor for instant enlightenment (see section III here). Therefore, power-scalers should not use any instance of this as a feat. 
3) One zhang (丈) comprises ten chi (尺, a.k.a. "Chinese feet"), and during the Ming Dynasty, one chi was roughly 12.3 in or 31.8 cm. This makes one zhang 10.43 ft or 3.18 m (Jiang, 2005, p. xxxi).  
4) During the Ming, one catty (jin, 斤) was 590 grams (Elvin, 2004, p. 491 n. 133).
Source:
Elvin, M. (2004). The Retreat of the Elephants: An Environmental History of China. New Haven (Conn.): Yale University Press.
Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The Journey to the West (Vols. 1-4) (Rev. ed.). Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.
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cerastes · 2 months
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any expectations/predictions about the DLC you might like to share, Mr Dreamo?
(This is about the Elden Ring DLC)
My expectations are very high, because FromSoft has always done their very best on DLCs to their games, due to a strong internal culture of taking in criticisms of their base games and trying to rectify them while elevating their base, solid formula. It's why they tend to take a while with DLC: They don't immediately go into DLC development as soon as their base game ends, at least not in full (they likely do conceptual groundwork and all the sundry parts you don't really need a lot of feedback for, like world assets and such), they always take their sweet time cranking out those bad boys, and it always feels like they address the weaknesses of their base games in their DLC.
So to hear that this is the biggest expansion they've ever produced as a company is not surprising at all: Elden Ring is, by far, their biggest game. And not only that, they managed to make an open world game that actually feels full. Miyazaki mentioned in an interview that the DLC map will be as big, if not bigger, than Limgrave, and Limgrave in terms of size alone is like a fourth of the base game, so That's Pretty Impressive (though... Is he counting the Weeping Peninsula in there? WP is part of Limgrave so I assume he is but there was no specificity). There's also apparently 8 new equipment categories, which is kind of insane to me? Likely they'll have 1-3 weapons each obviously but making 8 new equipment types is also pretty ambitious. We saw Dueling Shields, and we've heard rumors of odachi as well (Walmart Mortal Blade real?), and I will be cautious in my enthusiasm and assume it won't be 8 new weapon types specifically (probably some kooky meme items there like the double door shields or some gimmick torch with attacks from DS3, wouldn't be Fromsoft without clown nose equipment) but new weapon types outright is in fact a perfect way to revitalize a game further. All I want is for the new weapons to be relatively easily accessed for new characters instead of necessarily an endgame or NG+ deal unless you're willing to kill endgame bosses with a very low level character so we can do full NG runs with these new toys (see: Moonlight Greatsword runs or Rakuyo runs in Bloodborne. Have fun REALLY learning Ludwig and Maria on no-hit formats! Hope you brought plenty Fire and Bolt Paper, respectively!)
And my biggest hope, perhaps even cope, is that the triple flying kicks we saw in the trailer are Martial Arts weapons and not just an Ash of War. If the Bone Fist from DS2 finally returns in spirit, you will catch me dropkicking player and god alike until the end of time.
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absolutebl · 10 months
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This week in BL - I am all over the place, But Laws of Attraction is Phenomenal af
July 2023 Wk 2
Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.
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Ongoing Series - Thai
Laws of Attraction (Thai Sat iQIYI) 1 of 8 - Icky picked it up but it’s not airing for me until Sundays so I held this post specifically to watch and talk about this show. Stars the pair from To Sir With Love with the same production team. IT’S SO GOOD Y’ALL. A morally corrupted trickster lawyer with a tragic past, sad eyes, and a beautiful smile that he uses like a weapon. Meets paladin martial arts instructor from other side of the tracks (who is out, at least to his baby sister). Corrupt police. Spoiled rich kid evil. Ambitious politician. Tragic death. Terrible subs.* This show is very like Manner of Death but so far it is a much better/tighter story. It’s NOT BL but it is fucking phenomenal. And you shoudl watch it. Not wait to binge it. WATCH IT. On a global scale this might be the best thing currently airing featuring gay romantic leads. Its really fucking good. It’s Lawless Lawyer but more complex character motivation and gay af. Fuck yes please and thank you. FINALLY. Triggers for violence, beatings, death & torture depicted on screen. Like MoD they are not holding back.  (* A lot of the familial names they are using are not gendered in Thai but translated as such, like “nephew”. This one is gonna go down a lot easier if you know some Thai.)
Step By Step (Tues WeTV & Gaga) ep 12fin - 2 years pass and no one’s hairstyle changes? Srs. Them meeting again = hella AWKWARD. Both still pining & hurt. NO SINGING. The reconciliation scene was great. I enjoyed that on the “do over relationship” they went with phi/pom (instead of the super formal khuns). So cute and so much more relaxed. Also lots of neck kisses! Charming final ep. It’s only flaw being they dropped the side couple, but I wasn’t really into them anyway. Ultimately? This is what Boss & Babe should have been and could we please have Up lead out another BL? I miss him and he only gets prettier. Full review below.
La Pluie (Sat iQIYI) ep 12fin - I adore the tiny little baby GL thread that we almost got. And I wish we had had more of it throughout the show. The side couple turned out to be good too. Emotional crying kisses are my favorite. Sunshine netted himself an earnest serious romantic boy, we likey. As for the main couple? Well... Tai’s search story arc was dull and dragging in a final ep and it felt bloated and slow as a result. It was a good confession reunion with Tai figuring all of his shit out, not surprising but fine. Kind of a a weak final ep. Full review below. 
Hidden Agenda (Thai Sun GMMTV YouTube) ep 1 of 12 - JoonDunk are back and we have all seen this a million times before, but Thailand never executed a successful formula it didn’t want to repeat a million times over, drunk bathroom and everything. Welcome (back) to Thai BL (and back and back and back). Basically they just added glasses, a new 1-shared-brain-cell friendship group, and different uni departments. Ah GMMTV, forever trying to recreate the magic of 2gether. But also I’m enjoying it. I’m a simple person. (Hi Jamie! Still in college since 2018 I see.) Anyone else notice that Chinese phrase that they did not translate for us? Mmm hum. Cute. Still... NO SINGING. 
Low Frequency (Sat iQIYI) ep 2 of 8 - Thames is in coma and getting slagged off on the socials. It’s moving a bit slowly but the premise is interesting despite the poor quality of the execution. 
Dinosaur Love (Sun iQIYI) ep 3 of 8 eps - Major trigger for self harm depicted on screen in part 2/4. I skipped it. Then there is assault and verbal abuse. I told you Ultimate Troop is NOT to be trusted. 
Be Mine Super Star (Mon Viki) ep 2 of 12 - Look, I don’t really mind this show but I also don’t like second hand embarrassment and I sense a metric butt ton incoming.
Be My Favorite (Fri YouTube) ep 8 of 12 - I was not best pleased with this episode. Ya’ll round the tumblr-sphere seem to be enjoying it but I have officially hit the wall on Kawi. There is not enough booze for me to cope with his shizz. I may be alone in this. But gotta say how I feel... Unlike him. Trash watch here.
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Ongoing Series - Not Thai
Tokyo in April is... AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 5 of 8 - Poor Ren, he feels compelled to take on the burden of protecting everyone from sexual assault because he blames himself. And he can’t even talk to his boyfriend about it. Oh fuck me the pair of shoes at the door. And neck kisses? TOO MUCH. Argh. Japan. Why must you hurt so good? 
Stay By My Side (Taiwan Fri Gaga) 3 of 10 eps - It’s a very cute show. All the tropes and archetypes with no fuss or attempts to be clever, just executing them (sometimes over and over again). Even hiccoughs as a result of flirting! I haven’t seen that one in ages. The show feels old fashioned as a result. Nostalgic. I’m good with that. 
Tie The Not (Pinoy YouTube) ep 6 of 8 - Sad boys still sad now drunk. (Noooooo shoes on bed! Argh.) Finally kisses! Also good ones for a large portion of this ep. Plus hair pulling. And verse rep! And after sex convo. Then side dishes have a whole proper gay ax covo about top/bottom. Everyone say thank you Philippines! get down with your queer selves! 
Stupid Genius (Vietnam Fri YouTube) ep 6fin - I believe this was the final episode. It was cute. This is a standard sort of semi-crappy VBL high school drama. Enjoyable in its floppy friendliness, weirdly like a queer after school special promoting education. Dead fish kisses but fine for what it is. 7/10 
Minato's Laundromat Season 2 AKA Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2 (Japan Thu Gaga) 2 of 12 eps - Activate cohabitation trope. They okay bfs. Minato not as frustrating this week, but still frustrating for me and Shin. Next week = cute outfits and dumb miscommunication yay!
Vian the series (Vietnam YouTube ) ep 11 of 12 - again it didn’t show up on my dash in time for this. I’ll pop it into next week. 
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It’s airing but ...
House of Stars (Thai Mon iQIYI) 12 eps - I bounced at ep 3. Will binge if told it is worth it at end.
Stay (Pinoy YouTube) 7 eps - It’s mostly English & set in LA (shudder) so I’m not bothering.
Stay With Me ... NO I WILL NOT! And you can’t make me.
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Ended This Week
Step By Step Series Review  
This was Thailand’s answer to The New Employee, and everything I loved about that show I loved about this one. This was an office romance between stern boss and sweet subordinate that felt more authentic to an office environment than previous Thai BLs of this ilk. And that authenticity added tension to the narrative and character development (how novel). Now that might be because it has western source material, or it might be because it is actually kind of old-fashioned (it’s been years since I worked as an office grunt). I also really enjoyed the brothers’ relationship, and kinda wished they hadn’t attempted (and failed) to give said brother his own side BL. That one flaw made it a 9/10 for me. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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La Pluie Series Review
This BL takes to task the fated mates trope and what it means to have love chained intimately to predestination. It’s about how faith in destiny before choice diminishes the authenticity of emotion, relationships, and connection. This is a high concept to examine through the lens of a BL. By activating + examining the soulmates trope this show is challenging a foundation of romance: the idea that there is one person meant to be your one romantic partner all your life. This means that we, as viewers, spend much of the show worried about it having a happy ending, and that’s the source of both its brilliance and tension: would the narrative have the strength to truly challenge its own romantic core? But, ultimately, all this elevated complexity was executed in a somewhat shaky manner with the narrative derailing into some serious pacing issues and characters manipulated by miscommunication. However, with good chemistry and decent acting all around, plus some excellent high heat and representation of consent and a few other rare tropes, this one has to (like it’s sibling show My Ride) earn a 9/10. I enjoyed it even as it made me think, so despite its flaws: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Next Week Looks Like This:
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Starting:  
7/19 Wedding Plan (Thai Wed YouTube & iQIYI)  - It's Mame and she's coming for our GL. She's such a misogynist IMAGINE what we will get with a GL side dish? It's going to be absolute carnage. To crane your neck as you drive by the car wreck or not? That is the question. Me? I'm wallowing in the guts. Trying to decide to trash watch or not... 
7/20 Jun & Jun (Korea Thu Viki) - From 2022 I CAN’T FUCKING WAIT! So excited for this one. 
2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)
THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS
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FYI roselle juice is made from hibiscus (a flower) so technically neither a tea nor a juice. (Hidden Agenda)
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Tie the Not = all the verse rep this ep. I love this for them. 
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The giggling was SO DAMN CUTE (Step by Step, na?) 
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We all guessed it but it was still fun. (Stupid Genius) Also miracles of miracles, two actors who actually look like they could be brothers play brothers. 
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First time I’ve seen faen translated as significant other. (Laws of Attraction)
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THE PAIN! (Tokyo) 
(Last week.)
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cantsayidont · 4 months
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August 1984. This won't change anyone's feelings about cult movie perennial THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI: ACROSS THE EIGHTH DIMENSION one way or the other, but if you're wondering what the hell the deal is supposed to be with Buckaroo Banzai and his team, the answer is, "It's an obvious pastiche of the pulp hero Doc Savage."
Launched in 1933, Doc Savage was one of the leading adventure heroes of the pulp magazines. Doc (whose full name was Clark Savage Jr.) was scientifically trained from childhood to the peak of human perfection, singularly adept in everything from mechanical engineering to medicine to martial arts. He had a secret headquarters called the Fortress of Solitude and a whole array of specially designed vehicles and equipment, but he was also a public figure, with offices in the Empire State Building. Doc had a team of eccentric, highly specialized aides — Monk Mayfair, Ham Brooks, Renny Renwick, Long Tom Roberts, and Johnny Littlejohn — who each had a particular skill and a couple of distinctive personality traits (for instance, Monk was a skilled industrial chemist, but also an "ape-like" brute with a ferocious temper). They were sometimes aided by Doc's cousin, Pat Savage, who was almost as capable as Doc, although he tried to keep her out of the fray because she was (gasp) a girl.
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This was a fairly common pattern for pulp heroes. For instance, the pulp version of the Shadow (who was distinctly different from the radio incarnation) relied on a whole network of agents, some appearing only once or twice, some recurring across many of his published adventures. From a narrative standpoint, the agents and assistants had two principal purposes: The first was to offset the rather overpowered heroes — pulp heroes didn't necessarily have superhuman powers, but even those who didn't tended to be preternaturally skilled at nearly everything, so it was convenient to limit their direct involvement in an adventure to crucial moments, and let the assistants (who could be much more fallible) do much of the legwork. The second object was to beef up the characterization. Doc Savage was morally irreproachable as well as absurdly multi-talented, so there wasn't a lot to be done with him character-wise, while maintaining the mystique of a character like the Shadow required him to remain a fairly closed book.
Although the pulp heroes were a huge influence on early comic book superheroes like Superman and Batman, some of these conventions didn't translate well to other media: In a 13-page comic book story or half-hour radio episode, having too many characters was cumbersome (and expensive, where it meant hiring extra actors), and comic book readers normally expected to follow their four-color heroes quite closely, even before the breathless internal monologue became a genre staple. So, Superman inherited Doc Savage's Fortress of Solitude, but not his "Fabulous Five" assistants, while heroes like Batman and Captain America generally stuck with a single sidekick rather than a team of aides. Even the late Doc Savage pulp adventures (which ended in 1949) de-emphasized the assistants to keep the focus more on Doc himself. Ultimately, the pulp heroes didn't really have the right narrative center of gravity for visual media, which is why they've become relatively obscure, despite repeated revival attempts. The 1975 Doc Savage movie with Ron Ely, for instance, was a notorious commercial flop, and elements like Doc's childishly bickering assistants seemed odd and dated, even taking into account the film's nostalgia-bait '30s period setting.
What BUCKAROO BANZAI tried to do was to bring that old pulp hero formula into the modern era with a big infusion of '80s style and humor. Like Doc Savage, Buckaroo is a wildly gifted polymath (in the opening scenes, he rushes from performing brain surgery to test-driving his Jet Car through a mountain), so famous and important a personage that he puts the president of the United States on hold, and he surrounds himself with an array of brilliant, eccentric aides with silly nicknames who play in his rock band when they're not fighting crime or doing advanced scientific experiments.
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Alas, judging by the poor box office returns, general audiences were no more amenable to the '80s version of this formula than they had been to DOC SAVAGE: MAN OF BRONZE nine years earlier, even with the 1984 film's extraordinary cast and memorably witty dialogue. Granted, even many of the movie's most diehard fans are baffled by the convoluted plot — a crucial expository scene where the leader of the Black Lectroids (Rosalind Cash) explains much of what's going on is nigh-incomprehensible without subtitles or closed captioning — but beyond that, THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI is essentially an extended riff on a particular slice of pop culture that had long since dropped out of the public consciousness, which is both part of its charm and also its commercial undoing, at least as mainstream entertainment.
(Also, if you're wondering, yes, the TOM STRONG series by Alan Moore and Chris Sprouse is also an obvious Doc Savage pastiche, although at least some of its plot and character concepts were probably retoolings of unused ideas from Moore's earlier Maximum Press/Awesome Comics SUPREME series, which was an extended pastiche of the pre-Crisis Superman.)
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vintagegeekculture · 2 years
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Happy Birthday to Angela Mao!
Of all the people who ever called themselves “the female Bruce Lee,” Angela Mao was the only one who ever seemed worthy of that stupendously grandiose title. After all, even though she played Bruce Lee’s sister in Enter the Dragon, people forget, she was a leading lady in martial arts films before and after that role; that role didn’t make her, it was just a coronation. In fact, her stardom predates Bruce Lee’s. In fact, calling her the female Bruce Lee might be underselling her, as her films actually outperformed Bruce Lee’s in 1972 and 1973.
Even though it was the studio that would later discover Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee (as well as the place where Sammo Hung first directed and produced a film), Golden Harvest’s first movie (made with money laundered from the Chinese Mafia by noted gangster associate Raymond Chow) was The Angry River in 1970 a full two years before Bruce. It was built as a star vehicle around Angela Mao, who they correctly figured would be the next Cheng Pei Pei. In fact, Angry River seems to be the odd movie out in Angela Mao’s filmography, in that she gets a love story, is asked to cry on camera (Angela Mao is notoriously made of stone). It’s seldom seen today, maybe because it’s a Cheng Pei Pei movie that just happens to star Angela Mao. It took her next two films to discover her real identity and screen persona. 
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Her two biggest movies were two similar ones released and made closely together in time, a one-two punch: Hapkido, and When Taekwondo Strikes, both 1930s period pieces set in Occupied Korea, Hong Kong/South Korea co-productions (back when very little entertainment was made in South Korea), both of which essentially have the exact same plot: the main character who is a Chinese girl and martial artist caught up in the resistance to the hated Japanese occupiers of Korea, and their gi-wearing karate school enforcers, who are actually spies running operations for the occupation. 
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These movies set the basic formula for Angela’s Mao’s films: she was a lady tiger who was fed up and wasn’t going to take it anymore, an all-Chinese girl who represented the presumed Chinese audience, and who got in exotic and beautiful Asian locations. In The Tournament, Angela Mao went to Thailand to challenge the Thai Kickboxers at their own game (the first Thai Boxing themed movie of course, is Cheng Cheh’s Duel of the Fists, which predates it by mere months). In The Himalayan, she was caught among the intrigues of the Himalayan tribes, which is easily her most beautiful movie with the most stunning locations, actually filmed in Tibet and Nepal. Blood Oath, another from her Golden Period, was essentially a remake of Lady Snowblood, and she kills people with scorpions. Finally, Lady Whirlwind gave her her nickname, much like how Madonna is known as the Material Girl. I can’t recommend that one, as it’s one of a few movies she splits top billing.
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Angela Mao was who she was because her friends loved her. Yes, of course, she was good friends with Bruce Lee (stories disagree on how “close” and “friendly” they were, if you get my meaning), but it is just amazing to see, in the backgrounds of her movies, stuntmen turned action movie stars like Sammo Hung, Lam Ching-Ying (Mr. Vampire himself) and yes, even Jackie Chan. Blink and you miss him, arguably the most famous human being in Asia, and there he is, a nobody knockaround stuntman right behind Angela Mao, the star. 
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Angela Mao very seldom got a love story or boy-friend in her movies. really. She seemed so ferocious, all glares, that it was like the tiger spirit inside of her scared off any love. Either way, nearly all martial arts actresses can be ranked on a continuum of “vulnerability” to “ferociousness,” with some, like Kara Hui, leaning toward vulnerability, Queen Boxer Judy Lee somewhere in the middle, and Angela Mao at the far, ferocious end.  No surprise, there: Angela Mao had a glare that could stop a charging rhino, one that her children said meant “they were in trouble.”
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I’m delighted to say that Angela Mao is alive and well. But that was not clear until very recently. You see, at the height of her fame, Angela Mao vanished mysteriously. No one knows what happened to her...until 2016, when the New York Times, researching the fate of the lost Queen of the Kung Fu Movie, reported she was alive and well and running a Chinese restaurant in Queens, hiding in plain sight. 
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iampowerhungry · 10 months
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48HC.
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So, this is me being completely honest, I already did the challenge but I'm going to revise it again. Why, you may ask, I did leg day too much and could barely walk for two days, in other words, I overworked myself and I needed some time for inner - silence, and healing. Anyways, this is the challenge created by the amazing @zen-shu, love your persistence.
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Desired Appearance ( Toned body, goddamn I want Chun - Li's leg powers, pictures down below. ) Look like a combination of Seo Nari ( Do not look her up, if you're a minor, I only know her from Pinterest. I repeat, do not look her up.) + Kang Sujin + Succabuz + DF.
Inhumane / Supernatural Beauty ability ( The biggest Glo - Up ).
Becoming the personification of 'The Art of Seduction'.
Desired weight.
Martial Arts Expert / Master / Peak Human Reflexes
Grades Revision ( Being highly respected as the top student )
Enhanced soft skills ability, charisma, leadership, and empathy.
Being the Mysterious It Girl + Beauty & Brains
Trophies, Medallions, more gold medals. Specifically Olympics.
SP ( Upcoming success story coming up that's for sure, and love - dovey love story behind that ).
Being able to manifest anything instantly through perfect sc (self-concept), literally, I already have perfect sc.
All my other notes app desires lmao.
Photographic Memory.
Heal my Keratosis Pilaris ( Clear Perfect Skin)
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Look, I'm just saying I'm not a lazy person before I say that my routine consists of indefinite timings, I'm just efficient in my ways of LITE and Staying In The Wish Fulfilled which has worked for me well all this time. I do things when necessary, and take what I have for granted because I always get more whenever I want, that's the case for materialistic things, not people. Know better. Be grateful, but never settle for less. These are my daily habits.
LITE ( Living In The End, 4D is reality 3D conforms as a reflection, yada". )
Subliminals - I have so many playlists and I listen to them daily, at this point it's just for fun even though I already have everything.
Mental Diet - I love mental diets, I really do. Shoutout to solar subs for introducing me to that concept, many - many years ago, I think.
ROE * Affirmations (Duh).
The routine is literally just what, wake up affirm, visualize, go on my day LITE, that's it.
Okay fine, I'll add some affirmations journaling or scripting there.
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Regardless Of Everything, I always get my desires before 48 hours.
Regardless Of Everything, I am a master manifestor.
Regardless OF Everything, I already have all my desired things
Etc etc, ROE * the goals = the formula to everything.
Don't worry beloveds, I'll keep you all updated.
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baki-tiene-un-simp · 10 months
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Hey, it's me again, do you remember that ask that i made that was about mumon and musashi with an pregnant S/O.Could you do a part 2 but it' musashi and mumon like having qualiry time and playing and taking care of the kid and like making them learn how to walk and things like that with like until they are 10 or something, and also, could you please make the child be a little girl,I think it would be funny having them play with their little girl and play like tag your it and princesses and casttles.
:)
A kiss on the cheek
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Situation: New parents / Padres primerizos.
Characters: Mumon Katsuragi and Musashi Miyamoto.
Mumon Katsuragi.
Mumon is an especially sweet new father, he didn't plan on having a baby at first, but he is adjusting to fatherhood so well that it seems like a dream come true for him.
Everything the baby does about him is cause for celebration, do they stare at him for a few seconds before smiling? His heart stops for a second, does his baby sneeze on him? It's the cutest thing he's ever heard, is his baby holding his finger with them little hand? He will never move from there.
He is telling his S/O everything he does with the baby, even though he only got out of bed to fix them a bottle of formula.
I think he would get excited about the baby clothes, like everything is so cute and small that he just needs to show off how adorable he thinks everything is.
Mumon responds to his son's/daughter's cry almost automatically, regardless of the time or how long he has slept. You just imagine the following:
In the first few days after the baby was born, you have been able to fall asleep for four uninterrupted hours and is enjoying your sleep.
It is after midnight, the white sound of crickets and the breeze that sways the branches in the air is interrupted by a high-pitched childish cry, you are barely coming out of your dream when the opposite side of your bed rises as you lose weight on it. You turn around and Mumon is finishing putting on his shoes to go looking for his baby, he doesn't seem like he just got up or that he's tired. He turns to you and even in the dark you can see his understanding smile…
"I'll take care of it, go back to sleep, honey"
You watch him disappear behind the door of your shared bedroom, and in less than no time the crying stops, the pressure in your chest disappears when you realize that there is someone by your side supporting you without you asking for it out loud.
Is incredible.
Mumon seems to be one of the parents who treasures all his baby things and puts them in albums/boxes along with all the photos they take of them; strands of hair, their ultrasound, the first shoes they ever wore, their first baby pacifier, etc.
He also keeps all the drawings and puts them on the refrigerator for display.
There is not much difference in whether he has a boy or a girl, this man loves them equally. He doesn't even have preferences, he will want his son or daughter just the way they want to be.
Regardless of whether his baby is a boy or a girl, Mumon will do whatever they want, whether it's taken them to play in the park, dress up with them and play games, or teach them some martial arts moves.
His S/O doesn't have to worry about the latter, Mumon wouldn't teach his children anything dangerous, he just concentrates on breathing exercises and some stretching or flexibility and balance practices.
He's a great dad, actually.
Musashi Miyamoto.
He is a very strange new parent, he is always watching over his son/daughter throughout the night, he stands by the crib for a good part of the night and no one will be able to get him to move. He's just there, making sure the little thing is breathing and nothing can hurt them.
It's weird, but his approach is very cute. Protect your baby at all costs.
He can be picky about everything that is meant to come in contact with the baby, anything that could end up in the baby's mouth is a big no, for some reason he is convinced that those chew toys are going to poison the baby if he let them use.
He insists on being with the baby all the time, as if the baby is not with the S/O they MUST be with him. And he doesn't really do anything, he just watches the little being while they sleep peacefully.
The latter may be something that the S/O regrets a little, it is good that he is with his son or daughter and that he witnesses everything, the problem is that if the S/O is not presented as well, they will miss something.
Extending the idea, we know that Musashi does not get used to the current times, he does not want to, so he is not paying attention to inventions or modernities, do you still not know where I am going with this? Let me continue my train of thought.
CAMERA, THE CAMERA, Musashi doesn't KNOW HOW TO USE A CAMERA. Therefore, he is not going to record or take photos of the baby, because he does not KNOW HOW.
Sorry, I got upset.
If the S/O is not with the baby, but Musashi is, when they take their first steps or says their first word, there will be no photos or videos to treasure from that moment.
This headcanon was extensive.
He is not only fussy with chewing toys, but with food, drinks, clothes or something for the baby. Only organic food, nothing canned, it gives them distrust. Only cotton clothing, nothing synthetic. You understand.
He doesn't get excited when the baby says the first words or when they walk for the first time, he believes that it is normal things that are meant to happen, but he smiles every time.
If he has a boy, he will want to instruct him so that he learns how to handle the sword, he needs to start quite young so that he can be a great teacher. The S/O soul comes out of the body every time Musashi wants his 5-year-old son to hold a katana.
He can be a tough teacher, but he will always say when he is proud of his son.
If he has a girl, he wants to prevent her from learning how to handle the sword in order to be a fighter, he sees his daughter as a flower that should not get into fights (macho/archaic thinking that is anchored to your ankle due to the time with the one who lived).
He will be strict about what his daughter can and cannot do, yet he is soft and loving, dubbing her "my little flower" as he showers her with gentle attentions.
The contrast between a son and a daughter is that he believes that his son should be strong and his daughter should be protected. He is in the hands of the S/O to do everything possible so that this trend is not very marked, he can listen to them more than anyone else.
Versión en español.
Mumon Katsuragi.
Mumon es un padre primerizo especialmente dulce, al principio no tenía planeado tener un bebé, pero se está acoplando a la paternidad tan bien que parece que es un sueño cumplido para él.
Todo lo que hace su bebé es motivo de celebración, ¿lo miro fijamente durante unos segundos antes de sonreír? Su corazón se detiene por un segundo, ¿su bebé estornudo? Es lo más lindo que ha escuchado, ¿su bebé está sosteniendo su dedo con su manita? No va a moverse de ahí jamás.
Está contándole a su S/O todo lo que hace con el bebé, aunque solo se haya levantado de la cama para prepararle un biberón de fórmula.
Creo que se emocionaría con la ropa de bebé, como si todo es tan lindo y pequeño que simplemente necesita exteriorizar lo adorable que cree que es todo.
Mumon responde al llanto de su hijo/hija casi automáticamente, sin importar la hora o cuanto tiempo ha dormido. Tan solo imagina lo siguiente:
En los primeros días, después del nacimiento del bebé, han podido conciliar el sueño durante cuatro horas ininterrumpidas y están disfrutando de su sueño.
Es pasada de la media noche, el sonido blanco de grillos y la brisa que mece las ramas de los aires es interrumpido por un grito infantil agudo, apenas estás saliendo de tu sueño cuando el lado contrario de tu cama se levanta al perder el peso sobre ella. Volteas y Mumon está terminando de calzarse para salir en busca de su hijo, no parece que acaba de levantarse ni que está cansado. Él se voltea hacia ti y aun en la oscuridad puedes ver su sonrisa comprensiva…
“Yo me encargo, vuelve a dormir, cariño”
Lo observas desaparecer tras la puerta de su dormitorio compartido y en menos de nada el llanto se detiene, la presión en tu pecho desaparece al percatarte de que hay alguien a tu lado apoyándote sin que lo pidas en voz alta.
Es increíble.
Mumon parece ser de los padres que atesoran todas las cosas de sus bebés y las ponen en álbumes/cajas junto a todas las fotos que le toman; mechones de cabello, sus ecografías, los primeros zapatos que uso, su primer chupón para bebé, etc.
También conserva todos los dibujos y los pone en el refrigerador para exhibirlos.
No hay una diferencia muy marcada en si tiene un niño o una niña, este hombre los ama por igual. Ni siquiera tiene preferencias, querrá a su hijo o hija tal y como quieran ser.
Independientemente de si su bebé es niño o niña, Mumon hará lo que ellos quieran, ya sea llevarlos a jugar al parque, disfrazarse con ellos y jugar o enseñarles algunos movimientos de artes marciales.
Su S/O no tiene que preocuparse por lo último, Mumon no le enseñaría nada peligroso a sus hijos, solo se concentra en ejercicios de respiración y algo de estiramiento o prácticas para la flexibilidad y equilibrio.
Él es un gran padre, en realidad.
Musashi Miyamoto.
Es un padre primerizo muy extraño, está siempre en vigilia de su hijo/hija durante toda la noche, permanece de pie junto a la cuna durante una buena parte de la noche y nadie logrará hacer que se mueva. Solo está ahí, procurando que la pequeña cosita esté respirando y que nada pueda lastimarle.
Es raro, pero su enfoque es muy tierno. Proteger a su bebé a toda costa.
Puede ser quisquilloso con todo lo que está destinado a entrar en contacto con el bebé, cualquier cosa que pueda terminar en la boca del bebé es un gran no, por alguna razón está convencido de que esos juguetes para morder van a envenenar al bebé si él deja que los use.
Insiste en estar con el bebé todo el tiempo, como si el bebé no está con su S/O DEBE estar con él. Y realmente no hace nada, solo observa al pequeño ser mientras duerme tranquilamente.
Esto último puede ser algo que el S/O lamente un poco, es bueno que esté con su hijo o hija y que sea testigo de cada cosa, el problema está en que si el S/O no está presente también, se perderá de algo.
Extendiendo la idea, sabemos que Musashi no se acostumbra a los tiempos actuales, no quiere hacerlo, por lo cual no está prestando atención a inventos ni modernidades, ¿todavía no saben a donde voy con esto? Permítanme continuar mi hilo de pensamiento.
CÁMARA, LA CÁMARA, Musashi no SABE USAR UNA CÁMARA. Por lo cual, él no va a grabar ni tomar fotos del bebé, porque no sABE COMO.
Perdón, me alteré.
Si el S/O no está junto al bebé, pero Musashi sí, cuando de sus primeros pasos o diga su primera palabra, no habrá fotos ni videos que atesorar de ese momento.
Este headcanon fue extenso.
No solo es quisquilloso con los juguetes para morder, sino con la comida, bebidas, ropa o cualquier cosa que sea para el bebé. Solo comida orgánica, nada enlatado, le da desconfianza. Solo ropa de algodón, nada sintético. Ya entienden más o menos.
No se emociona cuando el bebé dice sus primeras palabras ni cuando camina por primera vez, cree que son cosas normales que están destinadas a pasar, pero sonríe cada vez.
Si tiene un niño, querrá instruirlo para que aprenda a manejar la espada, necesita empezar bastante joven para que pueda ser un gran maestro. Al S/O se le sale el alma del cuerpo cada que Musashi quiere que su hijo de apenas 5 años sostenga una catana.
Puede ser un maestro duro, pero siempre dirá cuando este orgulloso de su hijo.
Si tiene una niña, querrá evitar que aprenda a manejar la espada con el fin de ser luchadora, ve a su hija como una flor que no debe meterse en las peleas (pensamiento machista/arcaico que viene anclado a su tobillo debido a la época en la que vivió).
Será estricto sobre lo que su hija puede o no puede hacer, sin embargo, es suave y cariñoso al apodarla como “mi adorada flor” mientras la colma de atenciones suaves.
El contraste entre un hijo y una hija es que cree que su hijo debe ser fuerte y su hija debe ser protegida. Está en manos de su S/O hacer lo posible para que esta tendencia no sea muy marcada, él puede escucharle más que a cualquier otro.
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they-bite · 11 months
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not to say i should be doling out writing advice, but i realized something about myself just now, which is that recently i’ve had success sticking to something i’m gonna call the TMNT formula.
basically, if you’re indecisive like me and you have a habit of putting your characters through confusing rehauls, give yourself a maximum of four things for your character to identify with. that’s where the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles come in — teenage, mutant, ninja and turtle make a blissfully wacky list of identifiers that adhere surprisingly well to each other thanks to the lore behind the premise (they live in the sewers, they were found & raised by a martial arts master, etc.) You can have less identifiers, but having four adds depth, and having five+ can overblow things.
For a few home examples, my DC OC Sam is a redeemed singing biker mermaid. (She’s also a superhero, but I don’t count that because that’s not unique in the setting.) Or my horror OC Kennedy is a telekinetic undead came-back-wrong janitor. My Star Wars OC Lasher is a renegade dual-wielding Light-sided clone.
YMMV obviously, but. Idk man it’s worked for me. Tell me what you’d call your OC if they were the TMNT title or something.
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Chris Bradford Backstory-Top Dog
It’s a bummer we never got Chris’ backstory. We saw Xever’s and a lot of the other Foot’s but sadly nothing on him. I always wondered who he used to be before becoming the famous Martial Arts star to loyal ninja warrior mutant for the Foot and Shredder. What if he wasn’t always the Top Dog?
What if the episode about Chris wanting his humanity back was expanded, along with Xever and when presented with a chance to become human again like getting a certain ingredient or formula where only one can use it to turn back to human, they fight over who should get the chance.
Xever-It’s all your fault we’re freaks to begin with! You’re the reason I’m stuck in all this! Chris-I’m sorry, was I the one who made you steal from Master Shredder and got you thrown into prison to be bailed out into working for the Foot!? Cause I’m pretty sure you stuck yourself in that corner! Not me!
Xever-My life was already hard as it was but you practically go out of your way to make it worse and enjoy doing so! For crying out loud I lost my own legs!
Chris-Hey you got new ones! And they can crush stuff way better and you love crushing things! Usually other people’s legs! Xever-Ugh, I don’t even know why I’m trying to get you to understand my situation, you’d never understand what having it hard is like at all!
Chris-Excuse me?
Xever-Oh don’t act dumb, you don’t need to for that! People like you have had everything handed to them their whole lives! You didn’t have to work to get where you are, from being some pretty rich boy to some rich martial arts movie star and now to Shredder’s lap dog! You’ve made it very clear that all you’ll ever see me as is just some lowly bottom-feeder so can’t you at least let me be human-
Chris-SHUT UP! YOU DONT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME!
Xever stunned by his reaction.
Chris-You seriously think that I just didn’t have to earn my place into the Foot, to once have earned HIS respect!? You think just a bunch of money and fame got me into here!? In fact it’s the other way around. It’s because of the Foot, I ever became somebody that mattered…flashback
Way back, I grew up as a foster kid, going from new home to home but always end up being returned back. I felt like some weak little runt in the pound, a total underdog. The kind where all the bigger kids would pick on, the kind where teachers thought I was too stupid to be taught anything and as I got older it got worse. Pretty soon, nobody wanted me. The only thing that brought me some comfort where all those cool Martial Art films and shows. The heroes looked so cool fighting all those bad guys and getting through any kind of obstacle and everyone else thought so too. I wanted to be just like that! To be the seen the way everyone else saw them, to be respected, to be adored…to be loved. And I thought it would only ever be just some silly dream until…I met him. Xever-Shredder?
Chris- At that time, he was looking for new potential recruits and I got lucky enough for him to check for fosters like me who were starting to get too old for most to consider fostering. He was the first person who ever looked at me and not just pass by me like everyone else would, like he saw something in me that no one, including me could see at the time, I felt…hopeful. So when he asked if I was open to become one of his new students, I took the offer and never looked back. I did everything I could to show Shredder he wouldn’t regret giving me a shot! I endured everything he put me through, sometimes I wonder how I even survived but I did! And I used what he taught me to finally show the rest of the world what Chris Bradford could do and become the same kind of hero I watched on tv, some other little kid like me could look up to! I was finally the top dog!
Xever-Wow. Guess you really did earn your place at the top.
Chris-I did, but now? I’m a giant hideous mutant dog man, I’m constantly beaten by teenage turtle mutants and worst of all Shredder’s pretty much lost all care for me and it’s only a matter of time Karai kicks me to the curb to be just a nobody again! And to top it all off, I’m forced to work with some guy, 10 years younger than me who got where I had to go through so much more to be, by attempting to steal from my Master! Being Chris Bradford’s all I really have left at this point and I know that windows closing soon enough, in show business! YOU know how to survive on your own without needing conditional love. I don’t!…I can’t💔
Xever-…
What do u think? I’d love to know💖
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metamatar · 8 months
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If you're looking for an actual 'shonen with women', you could try Teppu. It has all the formulaic aspects of a martial-arts shonen series, except there's a twist---the main character is the 'arrogant exceptionally talented rival' stock shonen character, while her rival is the 'fiery but bumbling good-natured underdog' that would normally be the protagonist. It's short (~30ch.) but worth a shot IMO.
I LOVE SPORTS MANGA TY <3
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laserdiscnvhs · 2 months
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Double Impact remains amongst the seminal works of action films that can be credited to the sterling prowess of Jean-Claude Van Damme. Inarguably, the film is a tour-de-force that sets a high bar for an extensive sequence of action-packed content. It successfully integrates critical elements such as choreographed combat and an orchestrated narrative to invariably result in a visual feast for action enthusiasts.
The visiting card for Van Damme’s marquee talent has always been his unparalleled martial arts skills. The film, Double Impact, is no exception to this, providing an outlet for Van Damme to truly showcase his articulate control over martial arts sequences. His performance as the twin brothers, Chad and Alex Wagner, is a remarkable specimen of his capacity to deliver comprehensively. These two character roles illustrate the wide range an actor can play within the confines of a single movie, demonstrating impressive versatility.
Chad is portrayed as a light-hearted, jovial character, while Alex, his twin brother, has a darker, sterner aura about him. Van Damme manages to give each twin a distinct personality, proving his acting mettle beyond just his physical exploits. His brilliant execution of the two disparate roles significantly enhances the film's plot and makes it a gripping journey from the start to finish.
The narrative, presented in Double Impact, is marked by an intriguing set of plot developments. Built on the classic story of revenge, it takes an interesting turn as it uses the most vintage formula of the 'long-lost twin' trope. However, the trope is employed innovatively, not allowing the narrative to be hampered by any possible accusations of cliché or triteness.
As the twins accidentally stumble upon each other and subsequently, discover their shared past, the narrative escalates into a thrilling tale of action and adventure. The clever weaving of familial relationships into the tale, ties extremely well with the mechanics of action sequences. It enables the audience to invest more deeply into the violent pursuits unfolding on the screen.
As remarkable as Van Damme's performance, the film equally capitalises on its keen vision for choreography and cinematography. The fight sequences are crafted to perfection, with a striking balance of finesse and raw power, making each moment a fascinating spectacle. The iconic scene where the two twins take on the mafia is intensely breathtaking and stands as a testament to the choreographer’s prowess.
The film’s landscape is as dynamic as its characters, marching to the exciting rhythm of an international chase. From Los Angeles to inventively replicated streets of Hong Kong, the film offers a vibrant canvas for its action-filled spectacle. This constant change of scene injects a fresh breath of vitality into every shot, keeping the viewers hooked at every turn.
The director, Sheldon Lettich, who co-wrote the film with Van Damme, plays a pivotal role in realising the visions conceived. His mastery over staging action scenes and his acute style of direction brings to life the vital elements of an action film. The narrative and the action are seamlessly blended through his proficient sense of storytelling.
On the flip side, critics could argue some scenes are over-extended and some dialogues saturated with cinematic clichés. However, even these elements contribute towards knitting the film into its chosen genre, providing an authentic action movie experience to the viewers.
Double Impact delivers on the promise of an engaging, thrilling experience, driven by the compelling storyline, unique characterisation, and superbly choreographed action sequences. These combined with Van Damme's incredible performance as the twins, Chad and Alex, make the movie a turning point in the action film genre.
Jean-Claude Van Damme, with Double Impact, has indubitably etched his standing in the timeline of action films. The movie does not merely entertain but also impresses its audience with the craft involved in making such high-octane action films. It showcases an amalgamation of bold storytelling, powerful acting, meticulous choreography and an engrossing narrative setup. This combination of skilled execution and an action-packed storyboard ensures that Double Impact leaves an imprint in the minds of the audience, even long after its credits roll.
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jarotopal · 9 months
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I’m going to yell into the void about Mutant Mayhem for a moment.. spoilers ahead but I will tag appropriately.
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First off I loved the movie, it had the general TMNT formula but also took its own liberties and made the story fresh and not just a rehash of the previous series and movies.
- I thought it was interesting that they went the always a rat Splinter route. Except changing it up to him learning martial arts along side his sons to protect them from the human world that was so cruel to them initially. And later having those people helping them defeat the true bad guy and save New York.
- Cynthia Utrom… yeah I think that’s more than a clever *wink. wink. nudge* reference to the Utrom species from the various series. I think when the series drops they’ll reveal she’s actually an Utrom.. just speculation. Also Utroms in the past have been nice and helpful to the turtles (except Krang) so it’s interesting to see her wanting to harm the turtles.. unless we’re going in the she’s the new 1987 Krang route.
- I got war flashbacks to 2012 Donnie when Leo saw April for the first time. Like nope not dealing with that again thanks.
- Thankfully April said ‘this is just a friend thing’ and I hope we leave it at that.
- I love that we have turtles voiced by actual teenagers and they act like cringy 15 year olds.
- I love the big mutant family dynamic at the end, it’s interesting to see Bebop and Rocksteady on good side.
- SHREDDER TEASE!!!
- The subtle ROTTMNT references with Donnie’s purple hoodie and Mikey being a fan of a certain celebrity chef (from Flavortown).
- It was fun and I enjoyed the movie immensely
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racefortheironthrone · 3 months
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The Bond move set in a fictional Central American country has more ninjas than the Bond actually set in Japan. Has American pop culture obsession in the late 1980s for any and all things ninja ever been explained?
I mean, samurai movies and Hong Kong martial arts movies had already become cult classics and low-budget commercial successes by the early 1970s, so the ninja fad was following a well-trodden path by the time that it hit big in the 1980s.
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I would argue that the explosion of ninja-sploitation films in the 1980s were very much part of America's complex mix of fascination with and fear of Japan at the heyday of its economic golden years. Hence why a lot of ninja-sploitation movies featured an (often unmemorable) white protagonist and a Japanese antagonist who usually became a lot more famous because they were usually better martial artists.
Although some of the more interesting ones inverted the formula by having a female protagonist (such as in Ninja III: the Domination) or a racially mixed group of protagonists, as in the camp classic Miami Connection.
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