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onskepa · 4 months

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We need a so'lek x human x neteyam

Idk if you can do with three characters (but i hope you do)

Nothing out of the blue (got it??)

They are like a couple, but the na'vis are showing love to their tawtute. What i meant is that so'lek and neteyam aren't romantic with each other (gay)

Or if you're not comfortable with this, the reader could be their favourite tawtute. Nothing romantic, just being affectionate :)

Hellooooooo darling~!

So for this one, it will be like platonic fluff. I hope you are ok with this! Enjoy~!

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Pxoeng

[it makes sense to me]

Friends who grew up since diapers will get very comfortable with each other as time passes. Would call each other silly nicknames, refer to the other as family, or practically become family. They are close, where one cannot function without the other. As their lives orbit around the other. Friends can come as two, or in three. A trio if you will.

A trio is different from a duo. With a trio, you can dominate and conquer anything. Three is a crowd? No, three is a party. A party with inside jokes, fun memories and a perfect balance. Truly an unbreakable bond.

Which leads us to three certain people. Neteyam, Pxoeng, and so’lek. They are peak example of ‘three is a party’. You have the bright bubbly personality, the mature mother, and the crackhead street dog. You guess who is who.

“Is it poisonous?” Neteyam asks a bit worriedly, in front of him, his silly little idiot. Pxoeng, a human who likes to test things with her life. And sanity. “I don't feel anything, it tastes kinda sweet” she replies after eating a thick gooey substance leaking from a tree. Licking her lips, she lets the taste settle down, staying still for anything.

“We can always go to mo’at if anything happens” neteyam offers. Pxoeng nods in agreement, with that settled they continue on their walk. “Or we could go now” a deeper voice followed behind them. Turning around they see an unpleasant so’lek. Arms crossed, frown deep, and clearly not happy with pxoeng’s little stunt. The human girl frowned, matching his.

“I won't die from it. I ate plenty of inedible things and I am alive. Live a little so’lek, "she says. Rolling his eyes he turns to neteyam, “if she pukes, it's on you”. Neteyam shrugs and doesn't mind at all. “Lets go, we still have ways to go” so’lek says, taking the lead of the walk path. Pxoeng and neteyam followed suit, one on each of the older na’vis side. “You sure seem a bit grumpy today, did someone take the last of your favorite?” neteyam asks so’lek. It doesn't take a word out of his mouth to respond but so’lek gave his answer with a grunt.

“I know! For lunch let's gather some of your favorite mushrooms to make your favorite stew, how does that sound?” Pxoeng suggests. Giving a moment of thought, so’lek nods. “Yes, that would be nice”.

The three continued on until they reached their destination. Their little piece of heaven, ‘Arch heart’ as pxoeng named it. It was a comfortable little cave, filled with paintings, food, hammocks and among other things, built to feel like a second home. Away from their main home.

Neteyam entered first and began to roll up some screens to let more light inside. Pxoeng grabbed a fruit and dumped herself onto her hammock and so’lek sits on the edge to enjoy the view of the outside.

For a while neither of the three said anything, just doing their little tasks here and there. Letting the silence be the comforting sounds to soothe them. It is their favorite part of the day. Just the three of them together in their solitude. No tasks, no chores, no one to take time off of their day. Just pure tranquility.

“Ok ok, how about…..we use some pali’s to pull the cart and maybe the ikrans can carry it on here. Aaaand whala! We can have nice comfy bean bags in here” Pxoeng explains her little idea after they had a nice hearty dinner in their cave.

Night arrived, so to be more comfy, so’lek still sitting on the edge but this time pxoeng and neteyam joined him. Pxoeng sat on his lap while she laid her head on neteyam’s lap. Doing as his mother taught him, neteyam calmly massages pxoeng’s head as so’lek squeezes her thighs from time to time.

“But aren't bean bags easy to tear? The ikrans would tear it apart with their claws” Neteyam says. His playfully boops his nose, “that is why I said to use a cart. So that the bean bags won't get damaged”.

“No bean bags, the hammocks are enough” So’lek interjected. The other two look over at him in slight confusion. “But you like the bean bags,” Neteyam says. So’lek looks at him then back at the sky. Slightly smirking, the boy playfully shoves the older’s shoulder only to receive an annoyed hiss. “No no, he is right. You are the first to body slam on a bean bag. Wouldn't it be nice to have some here and not sit near the edge like…an edgy anti hero” Pxoeng says.

So’lek sighs, not tired, not annoyed, just a sigh.

“Fine,

“YES!”

“But you and neteyam are carrying them all the way up here”

“What?!”

"But they are heavy...”

So’lek lets out a hearty laugh as he enjoys their expressions. Especially Pxoeng. Neteyam calms her down by stroking her hair. Pxoeng lays her head on neteyam’s head as she starts to play with so’leks fingers.

“Fine, we will carry them, but they are for us and none for you so’lek”

“Now hold on

Aaaaaaaand that is it for this one! Sorry if it was short, but its short and sweet! Until next time! See ya!

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Pxoeng = We, three, inclusive

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ecoamerica · 25 days

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illululusion · 7 months

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I have not been normal about nerdy prudes must die since it came out so it seems its time for me to write my analysis of 'the summoning'.

I will put a cut down here because holy shit i did not think i was this normal about them this is long. also spoilers for nerdy prudes must die!

Now the summoning is what I would consider the climax of the show.* The scene answers the big questions of the show. Not by just stating the answer like the mayor does, it shows us. it also shows us the oh so beloved oh moment of Steph knowing she loves Peter.

The scene also uses some form of chekov's gun multiple times.

We've been told that the school was built at what used to be a black altar. this scene shows what such a black altar allows someone to do. especially in combination with the book.

A literal chekov's gun, the gun Grace stole and then Steph got is heavily implied to be used. (finally)

As i've stated before the love situation. We knew Steph and Peter had something going for them but this only confirms it.

THE PHONE! Steph thinks her phone is the thing she cherishes most, which is not a big stretch, we've seen her be willing to suffer injury to protect her phone. (a lovely little detail)

they setup Grace using the book against dirty dudes.

I may be missing something whoops but yeah,

now the scène itself has a lovely buildup. First the three are in very low energy summoning the lords in black. The frightened energy is just seeping out of them, you know this is their last resort. Then the lords in black appear, from a pure darkness, with a high energy slightly discordant song (the piano and the guitar clash a slight bit). This stands in contrast with the slow piano music under the teens throughout the scene. Within this song the lords in black seem unsurprised by the situation, they seem elated even. They also clearly state they are not forces of good at most they can be considered gray ("us spawn of the Black and White") however the other pieces of lyrics are very much against that assumption.

Let's look at some of the dialogue a bit more closely why not? I wont be looking at all of the dialogue because thats a bit too insane even for me.

"Out of the depths of Hell and back" Us spawn of the Black and White" "Cover our souls with robes of black" "And take up the arms of night"

This seems to me even like they chose to be in the black, they are from hell they're from the night.

"Nibbleline wants his sacrifice And Wiggly wants his wrath We dance around the pentagram And take all our kingdoms back"

The previous shows intent: sacrifice, wrath, getting what they deserve.

"You summon us once you summon us twice, You gamble it on a roll of the dice"

Now this is what predicts Grace's dirty dudes must die. it also seems to imply that Steph's father among others used the book foolishly, the chance of victory seemed to outweigh the risks.

"The devil has won it can't be undone The book has all but closed on your life"

Shows that the lords know the teens are in no position to bargain. They know theyre above them.

Wiggly: Don't be so formal, Stephie. We're all paly-wals here. I mean, look at us. We even hold court in your own tongue and form. Go Nighthawks! (Lords in Black laughing) Pokey: Our true forms would melt your minds. WIggly: Don't frighten them, Pokey, you nasty boy.

This is what we'll see more in this scene wiggly is the medium between the will of the lords in black and the teens. An interesting detail. This also seems to be Wiggly trying to make the teens be less guarded. THeyre showing some sort of "goodwill", like "hey we could easily kill you but we're throwing you a rock let's see what can happen.". Additionally, this also shows them being more powerful than the teens again.

"The Lords in Black will help you yes You stupid silly girl Why help you with the Jagerman When we can help the world!"

Once again a show of power, why even ask for help they're already there just show them what you can give them. They have got all the time for anything, theyre more powerfull than just stopping that jagerman.

"Steph: What about a bargain? We'll give you whatever you want. Just get rid of Jagerman!"

A show that the teens have no other choice. THe fact they have heard the lords in black say theyre from hell doesn't matter anymore. They're at a low point.

"Whatever we want we want we want Whatever we want we get Whatever you want you want you want Forever in our debt"

no other way to say this other than: "you fucked up kids"

Wiggly: "Oh, you'll hardly miss it. We just want what you cherish most."

hmmm understatements are fun. I love these paradoxical statements.

Wiggly: One of you must give up the thing you treasure above all else. Pokey: Do it, or die!

Once again a lovely power statement, though that's not what I found interesting. The interesting part about this is that they only ask for ONE of them fo give up what they cherish most. They could ask for way more, they've made that clear. So why ask for only one thing?

"We don't give a shit about your phone"

This is the one moment I feel like the lords in black loose their composure. My hypothesis? they don't like people lying to themselves when something is very clear.

"The Lords in Black the Lords in Black call us"

The chorus sing the lords in black call us, WHO ARE THE CHORUS I NEED TO KNOW.

"Out of the depths of hell and back Us spawn of the black and white Cover our souls with robes of black And take up the arms of night You summon us once you summon us twice You gamble it on a roll of the dice La la la la la la la la la la The devil has won it can't be undone The book has all but closed on your life"

JUSt one thing: A lovely circular closure to the scene.

OKAY thats the dialogue wooooo (theres more to be said about it probably but also I just My brain want to get to the next part.)

Okay Okay okay okay now for the fun part!

The lovely staging and costume and its so wonderfull.

So in the above image we can see the lords in black as well as the teens. As i've stated before the lords in black like to make a show in power and the dynamics are very much powerless vs. allpowerfull.

Now what the positioning on the stage does is show this contrast as well. The lords in black are all over the stage standing, moving, dancing. High energy high standing. This while the teens are sitting on the floor, all together, they're as small as they can be in this setting. This shows how little power they have at this point.

The lighting as well as the costumes adds a lot as well:

See the teens here? no special lighting aside from the effects of the lords. This is in incredible contrast with the lords. colourful and bright. This is similarly the case with their costumes, the teens all have quite plain clothes, nothing special for a costume definitely, we do have the more unique clothing to define each character** but that falls away once you look at the lords:

Wiggly: bright green light (so much fun green isnt used in stage lighting often i am in love), Green clothing, a suit with glossy pants a crown and of course the wiggly doll in the back.

Nibbly: SO PINk, but also fleshy pink somehow. the lighting isnt as obvious but it is still pink. here the sparkes return. The giant lolly. just the giant lolly.

Blinky: Interesting choice to have the face as obscured as it is. once again i cant say the lighting is very obvious but it is there. The purple orange colour contrast makes them stand out. when in comparison to the others his costume isnt as showy.

Tinky: HOLY SHIT THE EYESHADOW. which isnt visible because.... yes the lighting! yellow lighting! the outfit isn't as sparkly but because it is the brightest outfit of them all I doubt that would have been neccesary. It keeps the balance. I am also Biassed I love this getup.

Pokey: once again: LIGHTING! blue! but also, Pokey I feel is the least obvious lord in black in the scene, the positioning on the side of the stage across from Tinky the yellow and blue contrast how fun. especially as Wiggly (green) is in the middle. just so good.

I just wanted to add some more because look at how wiggly is so much higher in this scene, he needs to look down on the teens, but doesn't do that often, not even bothered to look at them wow. Also quick note wiggly seems the most bothered by the summoning, wonder why.

And whenever all of the lords are singing with their discordant choreography, the lighting goes all disco and far brighter. A great detail to show they're individuals but are similar. see how the light is not green here? yeah that happens whenever all of the lords are speaking.

All in all I think Nerdy prudes must die is now in my top three favourite starkid shows. and I will be using the lords in black as inspiration in the play I'm in currently as well because this is exactly the type of thing we were looking for. and also I am not going to be able to think about anything but this show for ages.

I highly encourage anyone to give their opinions or whatever they noticed because I need it I would love to hear them. GO NIGHTHAWKS!

1* Now this comes at a relatively late time in the (already very long) show. At the 2 hour point we've been following our dear cast for around 4/5ths of the show. Now keep in mind this is doesn't matter much, but I think it's interesting that they chose to have the climax at this point. The play being as long as it is means they had to have been very confident in their ability to keep the viewers attention and especially with the slow buildup.

2** OH MY GOODNESS I JUST REALISED HOW WELL STEPH AND PETER's PALLETTES WORK TOGETHER. like theyre both earth tones. the green and brown fit together so well, and then you also have the patterns, different but still similar enough to not clash.

#nerdy prudes must die #npmd spoilers #npmd #starkid #team starkid #lords in black #hatchetverse #nerdy prudes spoilers #nerdy prudes must die spoilers #starkid npmd #ANyways hoped people enjoyed this haha :)

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stxrrynxghts · 5 months

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History of the Matsya Kingdom

Idk if y'all are interested or not, But I am compiling the facts I found out about Matsya or not, but I am still doing this post, haha-

So basically there was this King of Chedi called Uparichara Vasu. He was a friend of Indra's, and he was so special for Indra that he was gifted a flying chariot.

Uparichara was married to this lady named Girika, with whom he had many sons, as was normal.

Now comes the creepy part. One day he was roaming around, thought of his wife and well, ejaculated out of a sudden. He scooped his semen as he felt that "it was wrong to waste the semen in a fertile time".

So he scooped it into a leaf (ew) and gave it to a bird, to give it to his wife. IDK what she was supposed to do with it, but yeah-

so the bird dropped the leaf into the water, and this fish, who was actually an Apsara cursed to be a fish, swallowed it.

Now some fishermen caught it, and they opened her stomach to see two living human babies inside. They took the kids to the King, who took the boy, and gave the girl to the chief fisherman.

This girl grows up to become Satyavati. And the boy? He is named Matsya, and is later on given a part of Chedi, where he forms his own kingdom, named after him, aka Matsya.

Now, Uparichara is Chandravanshi King, who is descended from both Yadu and Puru, like most Kings of that time.

Historically, Matsya was one of the 16 Mahajanapadas. Geographically, it is to the south of Kurujangala and Shurasena Kingdom, hence, in present day Rajasthan. Some parts might have been part of MP and UP.

Pali Literature shows Matsya Kings as descendants of the Shurasena Kingdom.

The Matsya King featured in the Mahabharata is Virat, and it is in this kingdom, that the incognito year of the story takes place. Virat has many brothers and relatives as per the story.

He is married to Sudeshna, who is referred as Kaikeyi, so she is probably from Kekaya. Her brother is Kichaka, who is one of the most powerful dudes of the time. He is the commander-in-chief of Matsya.

Virat has four children, as per the Mahabharata, three sons Shweta, Shankha and Uttar, and one daughter Uttara. The order of these children is not specified, though.

Uttar is a very important character during the Virat War, when he and Arjun go and face the Kaurava army. Dude very naturally chickens out, but doesn't take Arjuna's credit at all.

As a token of credit, Virat requests Arjun to marry his daughter, which he (thankfully) refuses. Arjun instead sets up his student with his son, and the marriage takes place.

This marriage is described in very detail, with an assortment of gifts exchanged on both sides, and such a long list of gifts. Matsya is definitely rolling in gold.

Haha, how funny, how many sites call Virat an idiot and incompetent king, when he is called just so many times. FYI, despite so many allies, the Panchala and Matsya forces form the major part of the Pandava army.

Virat is a very crucial person in the war as well, seeing how he is one of the only Maharathis from their side, apart from Drupada, Arjuna and Abhimanyu.

Uttar dies on the 1st day of the war, after a fight with Shalya. He has defeated Shalya, but instead waits to taunt him, and Shalya kills him in the meanwhile.

Angered at his brother's death, Shweta goes berserk, attacking whoever comes in his way. Bhishma kills him with the Brahmastra, and unlike his would-be nephew, Shweta does NOT survive. The Pandava army "mourn" the loss of their "hero".

Shankha dies on the fifth day, at Drona's hands, then Virat follows him in the same manner on the 15th day. The rest of the Matsyas are either killed by Drona on the 14th and 15th days, or by Ashwatthama on the night of the 18th day.

Uttara is the only surviving Matsya kid left, and her son Parikshit and his descendants, the only ones carrying the blood of the Matsyas.

BTW, by this logic, aren't Uttara and Abhimanyu cousins? Like, very distantly yes, being Chandravanshis with Puru and Yadu's blood but see-

Uparichara Vasu-> Satyavati-> Vichitraveerya->Pandu->Arjun->Abhimanyu and

Uparichara Vasu-> Matsya->Son->Son->Virat->Uttara unless Virat isn't of Arjun's generation, but Pandu's? He is mentioned as aged so much, and he and Drupada are always mentioned together-

It is possible that Virat was closer to Karna in age than the Pandavas, and Uttara can still marry Abhimanyu, as she is the youngest kid (until one of her brothers is younger than her?)

BTW, they ain't direct cousins, even by the logic I specified above, since all the human blood in Arjuna is from Kunti, not Pandu. So Abhimanyu is what....1/4 god, 3/4 Yadava(?) technically?

#mahabharat #mahabharata #uttara #hindu mythology #analysis #kingdoms of mahabharata #matsya kingdom

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southeastasianists · 3 months

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Quite possibly, one of the most charming—yet frustrating—aspects of history is its unsolved mysteries. The same can be said of linguistics, and only occasionally do they cross over to solve a problem, as in the case of the Rosetta Stone and Egyptian hieroglyphics. Enter the curious so-called Singapore Stone.

Believed to date back to the 13th century or as early as the 10th, the stone was once part of a large slab of inscribed sandstone standing at the mouth of the Singapore River. Then, in 1843, the British blew it up to widen a passageway and build military quarters.

Lieutenant-Colonel James Low, who had previously objected to the explosion, salvaged three fragments of the boulder and sent them to Kolkata for analysis. In 1918, one of the fragments was returned to the Raffles Museum, now known as the National Museum of Singapore. The status of the other two is uncertain, whether lost or still in India.

The stone's inscription has yet to be deciphered. Over the years it has been speculated to be Hindu, Tamil, and Pali, while more recent theories suggest that it is written in Kawi script and contains some Sanskrit words, hinting at the island's past as part of the Majapahit Empire.

Today, the Singapore Stone is designated as one of the eleven national treasures of Singapore. Folklore often associates it with Badang, the legendary Malay strongman whose incredible feats include hurling a massive stone from the nearby Fort Canning to the mouth of the Singapore River.

#Southeast Asia #Singapore #Singapore Stone #History #Archaeology

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cassandra-has-moonlit-eyes · 6 months

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Notes on the Il Sistina Cats production

I was able to see the Il Sistina Production on three seperate days: 19.10.2023 20:30, 20.10.2023 20:30 and 21.10.2023 16:00. These are my notes on this production.

I will use headlines so you can skip parts you don't want to read.

I'm a lazy ass bitch so I will use the English names and not the Italian ones.

First day I had the full cast.

Second day Grizabella was covered by another actress who played Grizabella a little bit different. Unfortunetly I didn't catch her name when they anounced it.

Third day Quaxo was missing so his lines went to Alonzo.

Stage/Setting:

The Il Sistina production doesn't take place in London but in Rome. This is mostly shown by the setting but is also referenced in the lyrics (I do not speak Italian, but I understand some words). There is for example a street sign on stage which says: "Largo di Torre Argentina" which is a place in Rome and the LED wall in the background shows the Colosseum most of the time. There is also a Roman water fountain on the right side which even dispenses (fake?) water. The is also a street sign with "Via della Gatta" (Street of Cats)

Characters/Cast:

They have a lot of chorus characters: Quaxo is a seperate character from Mistoffelees, they have Jemima AND Syllabub, Electra, Etcetera, George and Bill Bailey who is also named Carbuckety.

This season Bustopher Jones and Skimbleshanks are palyed by the same actor, he plays Bustopher Jones during the first act and Skimble during the second.

Gus is a seperate character with a very strong chorus identity which also takes part in the ball and in the Macavity fight.

The Macavity chorus identity is called Admetus.

Songs and characters:

Jellicle Cats:

Munkustrap is the first character on stage. His make up and wig are the only ones I do not like, but the actor, Sergio Giagomelli, is very good. He does a lot of dancing too. Second on stage is Demeter but she is later scared away by chorus Gus who wants to sit on her spot.

The number is very energetic and I really love the choreography. It "quotes" some of the Lynne Choreo but also the new Broadway one.

The Naming of Cats:

During this song they have the poem on the wall in the background which I found very distracting. They also changed some of the names. One name was Marc Aurel which was fun. The cats move when their names are mentioned. Bombalurina is very dramatic. Her collar sparkles a lot.

White Cat Solo:

Victoria dances next to the fountain. It was very beautiful. At the end Munkustrap joins her and lifts her up.

Invitation to the Jellicle Ball:

After Victoria's solo the lines usually given to Misto are given to the Quaxo character. On the day Quaxo was missing it was given to Alonzo. Still Misto isn't a mute characters, he has some lines later in the play.

The Old Gumbie Cat:

Il Sistina plays that bit where Misto thinks Munkustrap wants to sing and where he is quite disapointed when he doesn't. He needs som comfort by Tanto and Cori afterward. Meanwhile Tugger is still on stage which I've never seen before. Now it's his chance to be annoyed by her. The Gumbie Trio is absolutly amazing, all three of them are even more prominent during the musical. Gus wants to play with Demeters tail but she just smiles at him and goes away to dance with Jelly and Bomba.

Jennyanydots wears a ball of wool. There is tap dancing and rope jumping, mice and cockroaches, but the cockroaches are just knee socks. The number is very fun and energetic.

The Rum Tum Tugger:

First of all I absolutly adore the Tugger design. He is not black but gold, has amazing Make up with a heart and golden glitter eyeshadow. He doesn't have his mane but a big belt and during his number he also wears a white leather jacket. Gus more or less introduces him by showing the audience a poster which advertises one of his shows. First the Gumbie Trio, two younger kittens, Mistoffelees and Mungojerrie dance while Tugger sings. One after another the other Cats return. First Mistoffelees and Mungojerrie try to hold the other girls back (Cassandra and Tanto included) but no chance. They storm the stage.

The line usually sung by Misto, Alonzo or Munkustrap is given to Quaxo again (The terrible bore one). On the day Quaxo was missing it was given to Alonzo again.

The Gumbie Trio also plays a very prominent role in this song. Bombalurina has a great interest in Tugger, Jellylorum is very entertained and enjoys the show and the flirting, Demeter is not that amused by Tugger and his flirting but Vibes with the other Cats and joins the choreo. Sometimes she looked very shocked at him, it was really fun. The acting by Viviana Salvo (Demeter) and Natalia Scarpolini (Jellylorum) is absolutly great during this number, same for Giorgia Cino (Bombalurina).

Giorgia Adamo who plays Tugger does a really great job with his voice and acting. I flirted a lot with the audience. Really cool, really flirty Tugger.

Interesting staging choices were made too: At the end the fangirls do not stay on stage. They place themselves between orchestra pit and audience and look up to the stage where Tugger is performing, so they themselves become part of the audience. Jemima is fangirl number one and screams for Tugger until he shushes her.

Grizabella: The Glamour Cat

All in all the auditorium (Zuschauerraum) is playing a big part in the staging choices. At the end of number Tugger goes down one of the corridors and starts to hiss because he sees Grizabella. He turns around and goes back on stage. Grizabella is following him. First part of her song she sings next to the orchestra pit, then she wants to enter the stage. Munkustrap doesn't want that to happen so he blocks her path. He doesn't want her on stage, as part of the Jellicle Ball or even the play on a meta level. They stare each other down and Grizabella wins the fight. Munkustrap steps back and she can enter the stage.

Tugger attacks her coat and Electra hisses her while Jeima wants to touch her, but not on Munkustraps watch. Demeter and Bombalurina sing the rest of the song, then Grizabella leaves on the other side of the stage again.

I would say in this production Munkustrap and Tugger are her biggest foes. They do not want her around, while Old Deuteronomy and Jemima are her biggest allies.

Bustopher Jones

There is a stone foot on the right side of the stage. This is where Bustopher Jones lives. There is a hole in the foot and he pops out of there on multiple occasions. I didn't understand much of the lyrics but this Bustopher Jones loves Sushi. Jenny is very happy to sing about him, Bombalurina not so much.

Similar to the Broadway Revival this number works with a lot of food shaped props. It's very wholesome and fun.

Bustopher Jones is very involved in the first act, sadly he wasn't in the second act because then the actor plays Skimbleshanks.

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer

After Bustopher Jones the Macavity scare happens and interesting enough Macavity really makes an appearance. He wears a coat and a hat. There are lights on underneath his brim (Krempe?), so you can see his face. He has a very evil laughter.

Rosella Lubrina (Rumpleteazer) and Simone Raggozino (Mungojerrie) are both absolutly amazing. Simone does a lot of acrobatics, not just during his number but also during other numbers. The number is very fun with its own choreography and some propbs, like a newspaper article which is about them, a fifty Euro bill and a bucket with holes. The ending of the number is more dynamic but they also do a short version of the cartwheel.

Also Bustopher Jones makes another appearance. He wars a cooks head so I think he sang the line conected to the cook in the lyrics.

The other cats do not seem to dislike them but celebrate them which makes a lot of sense. They do some sort of Polonaise to celerbrate them.

Old Deuteronomy

Mistoffelees announces Old Deuteronomy and then Munkustrap and Tugger sing the song together while Old Deuteronomy goes around in the auditorium, mostly on the first floor.

I think Fabritio Corucci who plays Old Deuteronomy is an Opera singer because sounds very operatic.

The Jellicle Ball

The ball starts and I absolutly loved the choreography. Very fun. One thing I noted during the whole show is that there is a lot emphasis on individuality during the dance numbers. They are synchron but do not move exactly the same, the dancers bring their own style and interpretations to the movements which fits cats very well. Also there are dance groups but these groups are not strict. Cats leave their groups to join the dancing of other groups. Absolutly greatly thought through.

At the beginning of the Ball the make a formation where Cassandra is front center. There is a part during the choreography where Demeter dances alone while the two other groups dance around her. The choreographer knows which characters are important!

The first part of the Bomba section is danced by Bomba, Demeter, Jennyanydots and two other Cats. It's very acrobartic with jumps, splits and floor work, the second part of the Bomba sections are pairs, but other Cats: Tanto and Cori, Mungo and Rump, Misto and Etcetera(?), Munk and Victoria ... They do a dance with lifts. All in all there are more lifts than in the Lynne choreo, more like the Broadway choreo.

Also there is no Victoria x Plato dance. The cats dance in a group while Jemima has kind of a solo next to them. She feels Grizabella's presence. Than the cats lay down. Old Deutoronomy who sits left wants to invite Griz on stage, but Munkustrap is again not happy and so she leaves again, scared away and the ball continuous without her.

The second half of the ball is very energetic and so much fun. There are lot of acrobatics, even Bomba, Jelly and Jenny do some, as far as I remember. Like everybody has to do some. And Gus also does a lot of dancing during the ball which I'm not used to. Absolute great choreo and great energy.

At the end Grizabella returns on stage and the cats hiss at her. Interesting enough Admetus is really, really aggressiv towards her which could be the directors take on the riveraly which Macavity has to the other Jellicle Choice contenders in the 2019 movie. Admetus is really very hissy and aggressiv, he nearly attacks Grizabella but Munkustrap steps between them and hinders him. Admetus is still hissing but leaving the stage (Simone Nocerino played this part so well, he was legit scary, more scary than as Macavity). Cassandra hinders Victoria to touch her. Munkustrap hinders Jemima. Jemima is the last one to leave, Grizabella reaches out to her, but she goes away. Only Old Deut stay back on the side of the stage.

This scene was very interesting. It was like: Munkustrap doesn't want the cats to touch her and to be close to her but he also doesn't want her to get hurt by them so he protects her from Admetus.

Memory Part I

Grizabella is alone on the stage, Old Deut is still near by. She starts her sad dance and sings her song. Malika Ayane is an absolutly amazing singer, voice vice one of the best Grizabellas I've seen live. Old Deuteronomy wants to touch her, to welcome her back. At the end of her song it starts to rain. Curtain.

Intermission

Towards the end of the intermission the courtain gets lifted and people are alowed to take a picture with Old Deut. More and more Cats enter the stage and play with a tennis ball.

Moments of Happyness

I really loved Old Deuts voice, loved that it was very Opera. Jemima is great too, beautiful voice. Her design reminds me a little mit of the E-Girl trend. She is very cute. Also at the end Jellylorum hugs her before she starts singing about Gus.

Gus the Theatre Cat

Interesting choices were made again: A red curtain appears on the left side of the stage. There is also a door on the right side. For the first part of the song Gus ist not on stage. While Jellylorum is singing his shadows are projected on the curtain and the door. Only when he starts singing he steps on stage, but he doesn't sit down. One time he nearly falls but Rumpleteazer catches him. Also Munogjerrie does a salto when he calls on him (maybe it was the kittens these day part).

They also updated the lyrics. He sang something about Tiktok, Facebook and Likes and one day a woman in the audience was shouting "bravo" to that.

This Gus doesn't seem as frail and old as other Guses. He hardly even hesitates to start the Rumpus Cat number.

Rumpus Cat

The number is mostly sung by Gus and Munkustrap. It's musically quite similar to how the international tour does it, but I think different dog breeds are mentioned. What I also really liked was that the dogs are not seperated by gender. Both genders played both dog breeds. Bomba and Demeter do the wau wau part which usually goes to Rump and Mungo. Bomba, Demeter and Tugger were great dogs. I loved the choreo where all three of them were stomping and they were all so great. Etcetera was also a dog but she was a little bit more scared.

Gus comes out in a costume that reminds more of a pirate which was a fun wink at older productions. He also had a sword and he killed some of the dogs, I think Bomba died first. She did a great job at dying.

They do not play a reprise of Gus the theatre Cat. Gus just leaves and the Skimble number starts.

Skimbleshanks

At the beginning of the number the cats act in the front of the stage. Cassandra is crying (I do not know why) and Misto gives her a handkerchief so she can try her tears. It was quite funny and Gaia Soprano is an amazing Cass all in all, very beautiful, very good dancer, very dramatic, very expressive and also fun. Less proud than your usual Cass I would say.

Skimble appears wearing his uniform und sings his part. The LED wall shows a map of Italy and the route of the train. It goes through Italy, I think south. They also use long glowsticks to build a train. It seemded modernized.

Similar to the 2019 movie the stage production uses tap dancing (even the same step and later a second different step) and the other Cats sit on the ground and drum. It really sounds like a train and at the end Mistoffelees makes a really realistic choo choo noice.

The tap dancing was very simple but very effective and the audience loved the number.

Macavity

At the end of the number Macavity appears again. There is also a Macavity decoy to show his ability to teleport. The Cats attack him with Mungojerrie leading the way. But Macavity drives them away. He doesn't kidnap Old Deuteronomy yet. Old Deut stays on stage while Demeter begins the song. Macavity is also on stage, moves around in the background and listens to Demeter and Bombalurina, who mostly ignore him.

I really liked the arragement and the choreography of the number. Slightly sexy but also acrobatic and I really did love Bomba and Demeter so much. They are both great actors and dancers, active and central in every single number. Demeters make up is so fucking beautiful and it really just shows that you can do so much more than slap red lipstick on a female character to make her attractive.

There was more jumping at the end of the number. The backgournd dancers later are: Cass, Tanto, Electra, Etcetera Syllabub AND Jellylorum. They enter the stage from different sides and join the dance one after another. Loved the number so so much!

Macavity fight!

The cats come back and attack Macavity. Jenny is the first one to attack. Tugger tries to protect Old Deut but Macavity seems to be winning, so Rumpleteazer attacks Macavity from behind and saves Tugger. Mungojerrie attacks him again too but has to flee. At the end Macavity wins and disapears with Old Deut. He has a very evil laughter.

The fight has also some dance elements. At one time Macavity lifts Victoria, at another time he is lifted by two toms to attack Munkustrap. But all in all it is less brutal than in other productions I've seen.

Also, this production doesn't play the romance between Munk and Deme (or between Victoria and Admetus), as far as I saw, they are just cats, they are just vibing.

Mr. Mistoffelees

The cats do not seem very traumatized but they still want to get Old Deut back. Tugger starts the Mistoffelees song and Misto enters the stage quite at the beginning. He dances a lot and does A LOT of Magic tricks. Similar to Budapest this production descided to do more tricks and less dancing. Cassandra is his magical assistant and even does one trick by herself (cards out of the top hat). One time she is also in a floating box.

Pierpaolo Scida is a very happy, very fun Mistoffelees. He also does a good amount of dancing during the number. I think he was more happy and confident than the 2019 Mistoffelees but the production still took one idea from the movie here. Mistoffelees tries to bring Old Deut back two times, but fails two times. Macavity is seen up on the right side, laughing and holding Old Deut hostage. It seemed a little bit like a magical fight. Whose magic is stronger? Mistoffelees or Macavitys?

After failing two times Mistoffelees is very sad and he crouches on the right side of the stage, hiding his face. Tugger sits next to him, starts to sing again to encourage him to try one last time. He takes his hands and both rise up. Misto tries again and this time old Deut is back.

The Cats celebrate with a very fun choreo, Misto does some turns like in the Lynne choreo and a magic trick (turning a handkachief into a staff) and the number ends.

Memory

Grizabella is back and sings her song. I really liked both Grizabellas. This Grizabella is very strong. She didn't fall down, still Jemima sang her part.

Old Deuteronomy does announce her as Jellicle Choice, Victoria is the first one to touch her, Munkustrap second (so he doesn't hate her no more). The other Cats greet her and she goes to the heavy side layer.

The Ad-Dressing of Cats

Old Deut sings the number and the shows end. They dance a little bit on stage and go into the auditorium. End of the play.

End Notes

I really liked this production especially the make up, costumes and choreography. And I loved loved loved Demeter, Bombalurina, Jellylorum and Cassandra. Tugger, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer were absolutly great too.

The whole play seems more fun and less sad and dramatic than in replica productions. The fight was not very brutal and nobody got seriously hurt. Less romance, less violence, less sexy, less nearly dying but very entertaining and with a positive vibe to it. Neither Grizabella nor Gus seemed really like their end was near.

These cats just enjoy each others company and they love celerbrating together, which was very clear during the jellicle ball in a part where they kind of twisted with each other.

This production was really worth the trip!

#cats the musical #gatti #text

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mahayanapilgrim · 20 days

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Teaching of all the Buddhas

The word 'Buddha' means the "Awakened One" or the

"Enlightened One," but in Buddhist teachings it generally refers to Lord Gautama Buddha who lived in India during the 6th and 5th centuries BC. Gautama Buddha is described as a Samma Sambuddha, one of three types of Buddhas according to Buddhism, the other two types being Pacceka or Private Buddha and Savaka or Disciple Buddha. Sammä Sambuddha means the 'Perfectly Enlightened One', sammã = perfectly; sam = by himself

without a teacher; buddha = Enlightened or Awakened

One, by realisation of the four Noble Truths. Following one's own full enlightenment, a Sammä Sambuddha, through compassion for other beings, is able to teach and guide others to attain enlightenment and escape from the cycle of birth and death (samsãra). Gautama Buddha was not in fact the first Sammã Sambuddha to appear in the world, as according to Buddhist literature, an innumerable number of Buddhas may have appeared in the past. In some schools of Buddhism, at least twenty eight Buddhas have been named including Gautama Buddha. It is also believed that another Buddha by the name of Maithriya will come into being at some point in the future.

Teaching of the Buddha encompasses all aspects of the Buddha's teaching that was delivered by Gautama Buddha during His ministry of 45 years. Initially, all of the Buddha's teachings were categorised into nine parts or angas based upon their form and style known as the nine-fold dispensation of the Buddha (navanga buddha sasana or navanga satthusasana). This was before the Pali Canon (tipitaka) came into existence. The nine-fold dispensation of the Buddha consisted of: Discourses (sutta) in prose, mixed prose and verse (geyya), elaboration of brief teachings (veyyakarana), verses (gatha), inspired utterances (udana) mostly in verse, sayings of the Buddha (itivuttaka) in mixed prose and verse, birth stories (jataka) of the Buddha's previous lives as a bodhisatta, extraordinary things or miracles (abbhutadhamma) and questions and answers (vedalla).

#buddha #buddhist #buddhism #dharma #sangha #mahayana #zen #milarepa #tibetan buddhism #thich nhat hanh

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typingtess · 2 months

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NCIS: Los Angeles Season 14 Rewatch: “Of Value”

The basics: The team works to save a married team of architects with DoD contracts who were kidnapped in front of their children and nanny

Written by: Kyle Harimoto wrote "Omni", "Merry Evasion", "Chernoff, K", "Command and Control" as episode 150, "Granger, O.", "Ghost Gun", "Kulinda", "767", "Se Murio El Payaso", "Assets"/"Liabilities", "Venganza", "Superhuman", "One of Us", "Let Fate Decide" (season 11 premiere), "Decoy", "Answers" , "Watch Over Me", "Cash Flow", "Fukushu", "Bonafides" and “Come Together” (season 13 finale). He co-wrote "Three Hearts", "Leipei", "Humbug", both ends of the "Matryoshka" two-parter, "Smokescreen" part two, "Searching", "A Fait Acompli" and "A Tale of Two Igors" (season 12 finale).

Directed by: Diana C. Valentine who directed "Lokhay", "Fallout", Three Hearts", "The 3rd Choir", "Forest for the Trees", "Beacon", "Unspoken", "Seoul Man", "Crazy Train", "Under Pressure”, "Better Angels" and “The Circle”. This is Valentine’s first episode with the series since season 11.

Guest stars of note: Bar Paly as Anastasia "Anna" Kolcheck and Duncan Campbell as NCIS Special Agent Castor are both back from “Come Together”. Gregory D. Gadson as Army Colonel Jackson Ladd, Sigrid Owen as Mila Curren, Regina Ting Chen as Navy Commander Cheng, Melanie Hawkins as Linsey Sandhagen, Lawrence J. Hughes as Emmett Sandhagen, Elester Lantham as Jerry, Dominic Zamprogna as Paul Figueiredo, Kaya Jackson as Sophia Sandhagen, Devin Looc as Ty Sandhagen, Matthew Law as Josh McCall, Alain Mora as Chito Aldana, Torshawn Roland as Jay and Glen Steele as Man.

Our heroes: Are oddly paired up in this episode.

What important things did we learn about: Callen: Wanted to be an architect when he was a kid. Sam: Taking Raymond to a specialist in Orange County. Kensi: Parent teacher meeting attendee. Deeks: Getting in required time at the range. Fatima: Likes the Lakers, especially Lakers games with her dad. Rountree: Running Ops like a boss. Kilbride: Searching for a friend.

What not so important things did we learn about: Callen: Misses Sam while teamed with Deeks. Sam: Absent. Kensi: Not a big sister to Fatima, certainly not a favorite aunt. Deeks: Writing essays and not doing calculus. Fatima: Using the entirely wrong skincare products according to her mom. Rountree: Arguing with Kilbride about college football. Kilbride: Arguing with Rountree about college football.

Where in the world is Henrietta Lange? Not a mention.

Who's down with OTP: Kensi and Deeks spent almost no time together in this hour. The chatted about Rosa to start the episode and grabbed a bite with Callen and Fatima to end the hour. Callen and Anna had a nice coffee run to start the day and some wine in the garden at the end.

Who's down with BrOTP: Forget the bros, Kensi and Fatima were sisters doing it for themselves. They had a lovely chat in the Kensi’s Audi, worked hand in glove to save the day.

Fashion review: Callen wore a blue/green/white plaid button down shirt. A white with thin black stripes henley for Kensi. A grey long-sleeve tee for Deeks. Fatima is wearing a white turtleneck under a royal blue sweatshirt. A denim jacket with a pink tee-shirt for Rountree. A blue three piece-suit with a white dress shirt and red tie for the Admiral.

Music: Lots. This is season one level of music usage. “Collect Your Things and Run” by Hot Water Music opens the episode in the teaser. “L’enfant roi” by Noir Desir plays as Kensi and Fatima are taking out the bad guys. “Blue on Black” by Kenny Wayne Shepherd is playing at the bar where Col. Ladd is drinking. “Good Things Come with Time” plays while Callen and Anna are having a moment at the end of the episode.

Any notable cut scene: Not today.

Quote: Col. Ladd: “When I was a junior officer, I was a door kicker. First one through every time. Every time. Then I moved to Intel, where I protected and led some of the toughest, most well-trained men on the planet. And you know what happened on Sunday? I'm walking into the store. Old lady runs ahead of me opens the door, looks at me with those eyes. Like I was less than. I was a damn super hero, Hollace. And now I got some old lady's pity.”

Anything else: A young guy is skateboarding down a street with a friend recording him. As they wrap out this shot, a delivery robot, Yum Inside, tries to pass them. They think about stealing the food inside when an older neighbor tells them to not to steal. Things get tense until a van comes barreling down the street. It runs over Yum Inside (RIP) with food and beverages going everywhere. A woman runs to the older man and the skateboard crew yelling “stop that van!”

Callen and Anna are walking home from a great coffee shop near their new home. She has a job interview with the Surfrider Foundation, an environmental group. Callen is bit surprised Anna is leaving law enforcement but remembers she made up a story about working in an area destroyed by fires when she was looking for Katya. They pass an older man gardening. Callen has a Pembrook flashback.

Updating Deeks by phone, Kensi is leaving a meeting with Rosa’s teachers, who are impressed with how well she is doing considering the turmoil she been through over the last six months. The teachers did notice that Deeks helped write one of her essays and that Rosa could use a math tutor. Deeks thinks they should be the people Rosa turns to when she has problems. Kensi agrees. She’s ordering a calculus text book and Deeks can start tutoring her immediately. For the sake of the economy, Deeks thinks they should hire a tutor.

Callen arrives to a nearly empty office. Fatima is there with news that Sam is taking his father to see a specialist in Orange County. She also mentions that Kilbride and Rountree are fighting over college football but she quickly tuned that out. Callen is surprised – Fatima said she was a sports fan. No, she’s a Lakers fan and a Lakers fan when she can go to a game with her dad. Callen asks about Fatima’s mother, who is doing well. So well, in fact, that she can focus her attention on all the things Fatima is doing wrong with her life. Starting with skincare. Callen finds this all interested so he’s joining them for the next family brunch. Rountree texts Fatima – he's in Ops and they have a case.

The case is the kidnapping of Linsey and Emmett Sandhagen from their Westwood home. The kidnapping was witnessed by their nanny, Mila Curren. The Sandhagens have two children – a boy and a girl - and are architects. Callen asks why NCIS is involved. Rountree explains that the Sandhagens specialize in designing secure facilities and are civilian DOD contractors working close with the Seabees. Callen details Kensi and Fatima to Port Hueneme to talk to the Seabees while he and Deeks will interview Mila Curren.

With Agent Castor, the Sandhagen children are playing a game in the interview room. Juice boxes for everyone. Curren is being interviewed in the boatshed’s main room. She was getting the kids ready for school when she heard Emmet yell. Three men with ski-masks were in the kitchen as she started down the stairs. Seeing the men, she ran back upstairs and put the kids in a secure safe room.

Deeks asks if the men went after the kids – they did not. Curren is confused since the house has a lot of pricy items, expensive pieces of art. The only thing the kidnappers wanted was the Sandhagens. Asked about any stress points in their lives, Curren is stunned – the Sandhagens are the nicest people. Everyone loves them. They took her on a family vacation with the kids to Hawaii. There were no money issues. Curren is upset for the children and Deeks looks worried too.

In Ops, the Admiral arrives, asking if Kensi and Fatima are at Port Hueneme yet. They are about 20-minutes out. He asks Rountree for information about a Col. Jackson Ladd. Rountree finds some info but it likely isn’t current. The address had Col. Ladd’s name removed from the utilities a while back. Rountree asks about Ladd. The Admiral calls Ladd the finest the man to ever serve in the Army in every conflict going back 25-years. In his last deployment, Ladd lost both legs in a door breech explosion. Ladd is struggling to figure out where he belongs in the world after being the best of the best and losing it all in an instant.

Driving to Port Hueneme, Fatima asks Kensi about “the whole parenting thing” – easier or harder than they thought it would be. Kensi says it isn’t easier or harder, just different. She was so worried about how Rosa would be emotionally after settling in with them but things are going really well.

Kensi asks about Fatima about Akhil. Fatima thinks they are solidly in the friend zone. Fatima isn’t sure what she wants. The last time she was dating, she was acting, partying, going out all night every night. After the accident, she changed everything about herself. Literally, everything except her family. Kensi thinks it is a good thing. Fatima agrees but New Fatima doesn’t know how to do relationships the way Old Fatima did. Kensi likes the New Fatima and is honored to consider her a friend. Fatima is happy since she admires Kensi. Kensi stops Fatima and tells her not to compare her to an older sister. Fatima wouldn’t, she thinks of Kensi more like a favorite aunt. That didn’t go well.

Exiting interrogation, Castor tells Callen and Deeks how much he likes the Sandhagen children. Callen thinks for their safety, Castor should take the kids and Curren to Seal Beach and have them guarded at the base. On the plasma, Rountree has the Sandhagens’s financials. No credit card debt, large savings and retirement accounts. There is a vacation home in Hawaii. Deeks thinks he and Kensi are just like the Sandhagens except for the vacation home, saving and retirement accounts and oh yeah, money.

Signing off with the boatshed, Rountree turns to a returning Admiral with questions about Ladd. Rountree hasn’t found any credit card or ATM activity in days. The Admiral wants LAPD to do a welfare check at Ladd’s home.

Finally at Port Hueneme, Kensi and Fatima meet with a Commander Cheng. Cheng supervises the work done by the Seabees. The Sandhagens were well-regarded by both the Seabees and the Navy staff. Kensi asks about what the Sandhagens did for the Navy. As soon as Kensi asks a question, Cheng stops and asks about the Sandhagen children. She is relieved to hear they are safe.

The Sandhagens are civilian contractors currently working with on three of the Navy’s top projects. Fatima explains that the SECNav has been in contact with Kilbride. The three projects all have enhanced security since the kidnapping. The three locations include a weapon depot at Camp Pendleton and an underground drone control base in the Mojave. The third location was the Sandhagens’s “masterpiece”. Kensi and Fatima were not briefed on that project and could only speak in person with Cheng about it.

The third location is a multiservice missile deterrence command and control center built directly into a mountain in a classified location. Cheng can’t share the location with Kensi or Fatima. The command center is responsible for over 300 missiles on US soil. If a hostile foreign government or terrorist get control of that location, they could “take out most of our domestic military operations with the ballistic missiles,” according to Cheng.

Back on the plasma, Rountree found a partner in the Sandhagens business. Paul Figueiredo has some money but it all pales in comparison to the Sandhagens fortune. And he has a ton of credit card debt. They are all equal partners in the firm. Deeks wonders if the Sandhagens are funneling company profits right into their accounts. Callen thinks they could be selling classified info to the highest bidder.

Paul Figueiredo is in the boatshed’s main room – Castor picked him up. He’s sick about what happened to the Sandhagens and will do whatever is needed to help. But first he asks about Ty and Sophia – the Sandhagen children. He’s also asking if Mila is with the kids. He’s relieved to hear they are all in a security location.

Callen asks about the business. Figueiredo owns a third, Linsey owns a third and Emmet owns a third. Looking at the Sandhagens’s financials and Figueiredo’s, Callen points out the difference. Figueiredo is a bit surprised he was being investigated but he has nothing to hide. He explains that while he is a partner in the military contracting business, the Sandhagens have a civilian business and he’s not a part of that.

It is Deeks’s turn to be surprised since there is no record of that business in any of the Sandhagens’s financials. That was intentional, according to Figueiredo. The business is held by a series of trusts so make sure nothing could be traced back to the family. The civilian jobs were safe rooms in houses and businesses, “bug out” cabins in the mountains. Wealthy people are willing to pay for safety.

Figueiredo was offered an equal share in that business but he wasn’t interested. Unlike the Sandhagens, he doesn’t live to work. Working allows him to camp, hunt, surf, do jujitsu – things he wants to do. Callen asks if he has any remorse about not joining with the Sandhagens when he saw the money coming in. He doesn’t because the Sandhagens worked 24/7/365 to get the business launched. And it was a huge accomplishment. While Figueiredo does not know who the Sandhagens’s private sector clients were, he knew all business was done from their home office.

Driving back from Port Hueneme, Kensi tells the Admiral they are about 40-minutes out. The Admiral is going to send Kensi and Fatima a list of the Sandhagens’s private clients. This makes more sense – anything the kidnappers could get from private clients would be a lot easier to sell than military items. The SECNav is still protecting the military projects.

Deeks is blown away by the Sandhagen home. Being an architect pays. Callen mentions wanting to be an architect as a kid. Deeks thought he’d like it too without the math and engineering. Near the door is a group of fun family photos of the Sandhagens – family events, skiing, bike riding, just living their happy lives. Deeks is horrified they were taken from their own home. Callen asks about Rosa. Deeks is in awe – Rosa fit in a like a champ though he’s pretty sure she’s really sick of him asking if there is anything she wants to talk about. “Well, I think we all are at this point,” Callen snarks.

Deeks asks about the engagement. Callen tells him that Anna is looking at life in Los Angeles without a career in law enforcement. Deeks is sorry that Anna wants out of law enforcement but understands better than anyone the downside of a “two badge family.” Deeks starts talking about future Callen-Anna kids but Callen is happy to have found the Sandhagen office.

With Rountree, Callen and Deeks get a list of the Sandhagen clients. The Admiral is now back in Ops. There are a lot of banks, stores and high net-worth individuals on the client list. Kensi-Fatima and Callen-Deeks are going to check clients near their locations, the FBI HRT will also help.

Rountree breaks the news to Kilbride that LAPD found nothing but some empty whiskey bottles and a lot of empty beer cans in Col. Ladd’s home. The Admiral is waiting for another bit of bad news but the empty bottles and cans were Rountree’s sad story. The Admiral is outraged. Long before meditation and mindfulness unleashed by Rountree’s generation, “many, many generations before you achieved the exact same result using a combination of whiskey and beer.” The Admiral storms out.

Kensi and Fatima checked out an armored truck depot and a fancy watch store. Next on their list is a Santa Monica bank, a place called Even Mavrik and a high-end cigar and wine place. Kensi wants to go back to Even Mavrik, which in Hebrew mean “brilliant stone.” They are diamond brokers.

As Callen and Deeks leave and Sandhagen home, Rountree calls. The client list was last downloaded a month ago. Callen thinks it could be for quarterly taxes but the Sandhagens were working on a project in Port Hueneme. Commander Cheng verified they were with her. Mila the Nanny becomes a suspect.

Castor brings Curren to the interrogation room. She notices it is a lot more cramp than the outside area where she was questioned earlier. Deeks want to clarify that Curren was working for the Sandhagens since she graduated from Harvey Mudd, one of the country’s top colleges for engineering. Curren explained that it took her a little longer to finish college because she didn’t have rich parents but she graduated with a computer science degree.

Deeks mentions the $230,000 in student loan debt. And while the Sandhagens pay well, with rent, cellphone bills, Wi-Fi costs and food, that doesn’t leave much for monthly student loan payments. But even with all money going out, Curren hasn’t missed a loan payment. She tries to explain that she’s worked hard but Deeks cuts her off. He knows it is hard to come up with spare cash like that every single month to buy a money order from the local 7-Eleven to pay for the monthly loan. Curren asks if that is a problem. It isn’t, Callen tells her, as long as she has records for the incoming cash. She sells clothes to Buffalo Exchange and they pay in cash. It’s not a problem for Deeks, he’ll just get the records from Buffalo Exchange.

Nervous, Curren explains that her parents were so excited when she got into Harvey Mudd. They just didn’t understand how much debt she’d wind up incurring by getting her degree. She actually makes more money as a nanny than she would working and using her degree. With a sick mother, Curren has to live in Los Angeles but it is impossible with the debt she has. Playing bad cop, Deeks wants to know who gave her the money. Good cop Callen knows that Curren doesn’t want to see the Sandhagens hurt and wants the kids to see their parents again.

Curren explains she met a man in a restaurant. He was so nice. She now owes him so much money there is no way to pay her back. The man wanted to rob a place the Sandhagens designed. She never thought they’d be kidnapped, she never thought anyone would get hurt. The man’s name is Josh McCall – Deeks is on the phone with Rountree trying to track McCall down.

Kensi and Fatima come up to the building – a very locked-up building - housing Even Mavrik. One of the vents has been removed. Kensi and Fatima go in.

Josh McCall, according to Rountree, has been in and out of the system his entire life. DUI, assault, grand theft auto to name a few of his crimes. LAPD RHD believes he is working with Chito Aldana, who runs a high-end heist crew. They robbed an art gallery in Beverly Hills recently. Callen and Deeks are going to check out McCall’s home.

Kensi and Fatima are checking out the insides of Even Mavrik. While they are looking around, Aldana is checking in with McCall. He wants to know what is taking so long. The diamond dealers locked themselves inside in their diamond vault. Since the Sandhagens built them, they can probably get into the vaults. Kensi and Fatima worry that once the Sandhagens get into the vault, they’ve outlived their usefulness. Kensi tries to call the office but there is no service. Without their cellphones or ability to use their guns (too much noise), Kensi and Fatima have to rescue the Sandhagens on their own.

Callen, Deeks and the tactical team go into McCall’s home. It’s empty. Deeks keeps talking and Callen misses Sam. Deeks finds some lottery tickets and is bothered that Callen misses Sam. He sends a photo of the tickets to Rountree.

The Admiral and Rountree are concerned that Kensi and Fatima are offline. Rountree goes back to when they last had cell service and found that McCall and Aldana have a scrambler. He has no idea where they are.

A guard is walking through Ever Mavrik when Fatima stun guns him. As she and Kensi hide his body, a co-criminal calls for the guard. Kensi puts him in choke hold. She drags him to the room with the guard. Taping both of the bad guys’ mouths closed, the women lock the men into a janitor’s closet.

Outside the vault, Kensi tells Fatima she sees the Sandhagens working on the vault. McCall starts yelling that Red and Bobby are gone. Kensi and Fatima hide while McCall and Aldana talk. Aldana thinks Red and Bobby ran but McCall has Red’s guard hat. It fell off during the struggle with Fatima. Aldana believes the facility has more real guards on duty. Aldana wants the guards found now. “You won’t leave this building alive.”

Rountree traced the lottery tickets to a gas station outside of Ever Mavrik. Callen and Deeks are on their way. Deeks asks if Kensi and Fatima are on their way. Rountree mentions they are missing and Deeks is not pleased. “Find them.”

As the Sandhagens manually drill through the vault, Aldana is getting impatient. When Emmett tells Aldana it will take as long as it takes, that gets Emmett a gun pointed at his chin. Fatima wants to go in but Kensi stops her – Aldana needs the Sandhagens. McCall returns with an extra goon. Extra goon is going to stay with the Sandhagens, Aldana and McCall are going to search the building. Kensi is going to distract Aldana and McCall while Fatima works to rescue to the Sandhagens.

Kensi breaks some glass on the first floor so Aldana and McCall are on the move.

Deeks tells Rountree he and Callen are five minutes out. When he asks about Kensi, Rountree doesn’t haven an answer.

Aldana finds a door ajar. Opening the door, he finds Red and Bobby. Kensi finds a pipe and whacks Aldana in the head. He joins Red and Bobby in the unexpected nap room.

While the Sandhagens are working, the goon hears some noise from a printer room. He find a copy machine making hundreds of copies of a smiley face. Fatima comes up from behind him and starts beating him with her baton. Several kicks to the head later, the goon is out cold on the ground.

On the first floor, McCall gets several shots off at Kensi. The two have a good old fashion fight. He tosses her around, she does the same. She gets him into a sleeper hold and the Rock would be proud as how quickly he went down.

Fatima gets the diamond brokers out of the vault. The Sandhagens are assured their children are safe. They are incredibly grateful.

LAPD is taking the bad guys away. The Sandhagens are facetiming with their kids, who are happy Agent Castor got them ice cream. LAPD is bringing them home.

The team recap the case. Fatima is thirsty. Deeks knows about a Cuban place nearby. Kensi is hungry and Callen is paying.

At a bar, Col. Ladd is drinking alone. The Admiral joins him, wondering why Ladd “no-showed” a job interview. Ladd is grateful for what the Admiral and “the guys” are trying to do for him but he’d rather “do a deep dive with a weight belt and no tank” than do phone sales in a cubicle. The Admiral admits the job wasn’t the best match for Ladd. Ladd explains that he was a door kicker as a junior officer – the first one in every time he was sent out on a mission. When he moved to Intel, he led the toughest, best trained soldiers in the world. On Sunday, he was going to the supermarket and an old lady ran to help him at the front door. He felt that she saw him as “less than”.

The Admiral agrees that Ladd was never meant for the private sector. Ladd was a soldier, always was, always will be. Getting him a job with people who don’t understand that was a mistake. And if Ladd puts his drink down, the Admiral will get him a job fit for a soldier. Ladd doesn’t want charity. This isn’t charity. Kilbride won’t be holding the door open for Ladd. The Admiral leaves. Ladd stands up with the help of a cane.

Callen and Anna are hanging out in their garden, sipping wine. Anna got the job but didn’t take it. She would be in the office all day and it wasn’t what she was trained for. Instead, she looking at a company that specializes in finding kidnapped children. She isn’t sure that what she wants either. Anna turns the conversation to Callen. She knows he thought he saw Pembrook earlier that day. He says he did. She understands that he needs to track Pembrook down. “But,” Callen says. So much had to go right for the two of them to wind up together, maybe they should just enjoy the good.

What head canon can be formed from here: The Kensi-Fatima scene during the ride up to Port Hueneme was terrific. The program did a great job over the year with the Kensi-Nell friendship and there, they were planting the seeds for a Kensi-Fatima friendship.

The Admiral’s whiskey and beer rant looked like it had Caleb Castille laughing just a bit.

Col. Ladd was a character this program needed years ago. In seasons one and two, Daniel Hugh Kelly popped up as an unnamed military person who knew things. The program needed that type of character. Kilbride was that character for a while until Nell decided running off with Eric was more fun than running the team.

Finally, this episode had a Covid season feel. Everyone was siloed with another team member and basically worked that that member only. Yes, Callen had a chat with Fatima but that was in a perfectly empty office. There was a short scene with most of the team (save Kensi) in Ops and the meet-up at the end. Not a bad episode but I like the team when they work together.

Episode number: Season 14, episode two. This is 304 overall.

#NCIS: Los Angeles Rewatch #NCIS: Los Angeles #NCIS: LA #NCIS Los Angeles #ncis la #Youtube

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yoga-onion · 2 years

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The Quest for Buddhism (98)

Buddhist cosmology

Loka - the world, plane or realm of existence in Buddhism

Loka is a concept in Indian religions, that means plane or realm of existence, which, together with Lokottara, divides the world into two parts. Loka means a world of change and a lost world that cannot escape destruction.

The term 'loka' refers to all beings in the world who are tainted by worldly desires and other vices, whereas the term 'lokottara’ refers to those who transcend such desires and vices.

There is a cosmological view in Buddhism called Trailokya (3 realms). In early Buddhism, based upon the Pali Canon and related Agamas, there are three distinct realms: First the Kama Loka, or the world of sensuality, in which humans, animals, and some devas reside, the second is Rupadhatu Loka, or the world of material existence, in which certain beings mastering specific meditative attainments reside, and the third is Arupadhatu Loka, or the immaterial, formless world, in which formless spirits reside. Arahants, who have attained the highest goal of Nirvana have unbound themselves from individual existence in any form, in any realm, and cannot be found here, there, or in between, i.e., they are found in no loka whatsoever. The early suttas also contain information regarding another important domain known as the supramundane realm, (Skt. lokottara, lit.“beyond the world”), which is described as being experienced by awakened noble beings.

仏教の探求 (98)

仏教の宇宙論

ロカ (世間: せけん) 〜仏教における世界、面、存在の領域

ロカ (世間: せけん) とは、インドの宗教における概念で、存在の平面または領域を意味する。ロコッターラ (出世間: しゅっせけん) とあわせてこの世を二分して見る言葉である。移り変り、破壊を免れない迷いの世界という意味である。

煩悩などのけがれに汚染された、この世界の全ての存在をロカ (世間: せけん)というのに対し、ロコッターラ (出世間: しゅっせけん)とは、それを超越しているものを指す。

仏教には、三界 (さんがい、梵: :ﾄﾗｲﾛｶ) と呼ばれる宇宙観がある。パーリ仏典と関連する阿含経 (あごんきょう、梵・巴: アーガマ)に基づく初期仏教では、3つの異なる領域が存在する。まず、欲界 (梵: ｶｰﾏﾛｶ) があり、人間、動物、一部のデーヴァが存在する。第二は色界 (梵: ﾙｰﾊﾟﾛｶ)、つまり物質的存在の世界であり、そこには特定の瞑想的達成をマスターした特定の存在が存在する。第三は無色界 (梵: ｱﾙｰﾊﾟﾛｶ)、つまり非物質の無形世界であり、そこには無形の霊体が存在する。最高の目標である涅槃に到達した阿羅漢は、いかなる形、いかなる領域においても個人の存在から解き放たれ、ここにも、そこにも、その中間にも存在しない、つまり、いかなるロカにも存在しないのである。初期の仏典には、覚醒した高貴な生き物が経験するものとして記述されている超俗的領域（（ロコッターラ: 出世間、「世界を超えた」の意）として知られるもう一つの重要な領域に関する情報も含まれている。

#loka #trailokya #3 reams #lokottara #pali canon #agama #buddhism #buddhist cosmology #the supramundane realm #beyond the world #philosophy #nature #art #sky #thousand-armed avalokiteshvara

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straightbaittournament · 8 months

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MAY THE BEST BAIT WIN! propaganda under the cut:

grace blackthorn and christopher lightwood:

Okay so basically in Shadowhunters there was this family tree, and on it it stated that Christopher and Grace got married and had a kid. And in the book series they were just good friends. Cassandra Clare (the author) has said it’s inaccurate. But like cmon you said they were going to get married 😭😭

kwan and win:

This is a Thai teen drama that focuses on many teens going through hardships and it's very dramatic and very fun I love it so much THESE TWO. They circled around each other for two whole seasons and the tension was there!! He was a bad boy, she was a good girl, every time they spoke there was something in the air. They were both arguably the leads of an ensemble cast and it really felt like they were being set up to get together but then it just... never happens. This show has been out for 10 years and I'm still mad about it. THE WASTED POTENTIAL OF IT ALL

neo, mew, and shin:

Before the show aired there was all this speculation over who Neo (a boy) was going to choose, Mew (a girl) or Shin (a boy). A lot of people suspected that Neo and Mew would get together and even though the trailers seemed to imply that there was something between Neo and Shin, that it wouldn't end well for them. Turns out the show went a completely different direction and ended up with polyamory with all three dating each other. This song from the show released before the show came out and there's a lot of comments from people before the show came out trying to figure out who's going to end up together (with some people saying that they hope it'll be poly but are sure that it probably won't be) https://youtu.be/5w-nDbr2fxY And here's the famous kiss scene (there's no subs in this clip but the general vibe is that they're telling Shin (the shorter guy) that even the two of them have feelings for each other, they care about him too) https://youtu.be/Gr4fTrXqL8k https://64.media.tumblr.com/80a1b4441645c65825f221a42d2e88ed/36e07bb804d7de75-59/s540x810/bd1bb49d299d904c8ffe9a26b970caf9567eaae3.pnj

fitzroy angursell and pali avramapul:

I’m pretty sure even the author thought they were straight and endgame when she started writing them. Although initially Pali is portrayed as the love of Fitzroy’s life so that you think you’re going to have to put up with this straight relationship, she’s later canonically confirmed aroace with a lot of subtext around two other women, while it becomes clear in later books that Fitzroy has a growing interest in another man. Tfw you are sure they’re going to kiss by the end of the book and then it turns out that previous marriage proposals were plausibly about friendship in the first place

naoko takahashi and shouta oohara:

this “show” is a 2 episode hentai so I can understand if this doesn’t get in the brackets lol (I would not recommend watching this hentai for the sex scenes, I just remember reading about Oohara getting cucked for a girl and thinking that I had to see this) So, it starts off with Takahashi being in love with Oohara and they do have ghost sex in the first part of the episode 1 but what happens is that even though they have the opportunity to be together as ghosts, Takahashi pretty much IMMEDIATELY forgets about Oohara because she becomes completely infatuated with this ghost girl named Sakurako to the point where even when Oohara turns into a tiny penis in episode 2 but Takahashi doesn’t give a fuck

the joker and harley quinn:

They were a thing. She left his toxic ass for a cool plant lady. Good for her.

good luck! now go vote!

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safespacesx · 2 years

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even sunshine has shadows

even sunshine has a shadows

genshin men x insekaid reader

summary: somehow guys were exploring the chasm it accidently targets you and then the guys see what your past is like. even tho you seemed fine on the outside you are a wreck waiting to happen, with all the trauma you suffered from you react out of mind,

warning: has self harm and emotional abuse.

you woke up and walked down the stairs of the mansion as you were half awake , the first to see you is childe as he smiles at you. "morning princess~!" he chirps at you, then as you walked to the kitchen as the others were speaking among themselves. you then sat beside Zhongli, as he sips his tea. He then smiles at you, and rubbed your head. Good morning dearest [Y/n], how'd you sleep?" he says gently as he smiles. You then hum and look at him." it was pretty good! any pplans today?" you ask. he shakes his head. After a while

Aether suggests to go explore the chasm, since you never went. you perk up and smile excitedly and look at them. Dilluc then shakes his not wanting to go and sighs, "sorry, Y/n im busy this time." he sates and as you pout and look at the rest who also say they are busy. The ones who did agree with you were xaio, dainsleif and zhongli, Aether.

you nodded as he and the others were talking about how risky the chasm is dangerous and you hummed in agreement with Xiao. But you looked at you nails a bit anxious and sighs before helping Thoma with the dishes and get ready. After awhile you got finished getting ready, wearing a band shirt and skinny jeans and some black boots. you waited for the rest to get ready, after twenty minutes aether and Zhongli came back from getting ready, you three waited for Xaio and Dainsleif to finish up before leaving. You bid goodbye to the rest of the 17 men before leaving to the chasm and headed out the abode and towards the chasm. while heading to the chasm you and Xiao talked about the simplest thing, the weather.

after a few hours you guys arrived at the chasm, you look around and tilt your head. The others and paimon look at you worried and you smile at them to assure them you are okay so far and you put your hands in your jeans and sighs "this place is huge!" you say to yourself and follow Xiao and the others so you don't get lost and you all get to the center of the chasm and rest for a bit. you sit and look at dainslief worried cause he seemed to be in deep thought, so you tap his left shoulder and ask if he is okay. "You okay dain? you seem lost in your own little world there.." you say softly. He then looked at you kindly and nods as he pats your head. "yes Y/N I'm fine, thank you though." You get up and walk around with Xiao and aether and the rest and find the deepest parts of the chasm, and some way you have lost the four men and found a space that seemed to be calling you. They deeper you went the more you felt the sense of dread and anxitey, something youre more than familar with. You look around on edge and try calling for the boys but it was no use and you start to shake more and more.

There was one area that seemed to show you all the memories of being abused by your mother. you started to have a bad anxiety attack as the flash backs started to happen.

"you know youll never graduate,Y/N." said your mother to you, as that happened the men have found you and xaio has froze up and saw the scene unfold and he stared in horror and sadness at the scene as the others, another scene palyed. "why are you not helping me with anything!!" your mother shouted at you and you started to get that look that you do when something tries to trigger that trauma response, in reality the men saw that look mixed with the tears they never wanted to see. then another one has shown itself and its the one of her never showing intrested in the things you wanted to share and then another of her never touching you like a normal parent would treat thier child. you wished you could disappear as you kept crying. xaio wanted to hold and comfort you as he saw what you saw, in all honestly you felt like a zombie watching this unfold. then the more violent ones showed, where she almost hits you and insults you. all the gas lighting became too much and you wanted out as much they wanted to help they couldnt, they couldnt find the way to consult you and make you feel better. you closed your eyes tightly and mumbled to yourself. Dainslief saw the horror in your eyes, and wanted to take you out there, the same with zhongli and aether. you were terrified for your life as you then said something that made things more or less easier. "you never loved me like anyone else did, you used me as a crutch for years! Ever since i was ten this has started! Even if i am useless i am never stupid, mother." you growled at her taken her back as things and the mirage was over, you panted and looked at them and smiled sadly. Feeling the weight of your trauma take you. "Y/N! youre alive!!" aether says reivled.

you all head back, feeling drained, zhongli carried you on his back so you can rest. The rest walked in silnce trying to put together what they witnessed and all the truama you went through. aether glanced at zhongli before speaking to the group. "what are we going to tell the others?" he asked softly. dainslief looks at them and sighs softly."let them explain what we saw, and what they went through aether.." he shakes his head at the unconsious form on zhonglis back. "they, know what they went through and knew if they had to speak for themselves to make them to feel sane, however they are drained from reliving all that."

Once you entered the mansion, thoma gasps at the sight of the sleeping Y/N infront of them. The first one to see how torn they were was childe. "what happened to them?!" He asked panickedly. Xaio looks at the harbinager and shakes his head shushing the gingered headed male. Zhongli put them to rest and lets out an sigh" let them rest and they will explain what happened with the chasm.." They waited for you to wake up, till they saw you walk down the stairs. "hey Y/N, why dont you explain what we saw in the chasm." dainsleif spoke gently, not wanting to hurt you. Yet you understood and nodded softly. "Well what do you guys exactly want to know about my past and my mom?" you spoke calmly, and stared at them numbly. " What exactly happened with your mother, love? kazuha spoke softly. You looked at the floor tearing up a bit before sighing softly and scratched your arms." I was the youngest of me and my sister, she never shown much emotion other than rage and we guessed she was bipolar at the time cause of the mood swings constantly.." you looked at the seventeen men blankly. " You see i was daingnosed with anixety, and a few other things. She said i never gradute and held me as an emotional crutch, for as long i can remember." you laughed bitterly. " When my sister moved out she was left with me to take care of her, no one else helped me with her. " They looked shocked and worried at the same time. " i was 21 guys and i had to bare it alone. The abuse started at age 10." Ayoto sighs and hugs you, to comfort you. The rest looked at you softly knowing how strong you are to have to deal with that alone.

#genshin impact #inazuma

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