Festival of Life

by Josephine Wall

Christmas already, huh? It hasn't felt like Christmas for years... so for me, I guess today is more about Yule and celebrating spirit/life. 

I remembered more parts to my dream than usual, but I don't know enough detail to make any sense of them. I did, however, have a bit of a revelation regarding a friendship both in-life and in my dream, just like my Pisces horoscope suggested. I still, however, am not sure what my course of action should be; I suppose I'll consult Leon later for a bit of advice.

Today's draw is for the Festival of Life, which puts an emphasis on how to connect directly to spirit. The card that I drew was Four of Water - Bridget, who is primarily associated with all forms of healing, but also the elements, it seems. The light bursting through the trees... I find this also very applicable, because it's true: I still require healing in a few areas; I also have been connecting more and more with nature because I'm finding myself detaching more from my shell with every week that passes. The light filtering through the trees is a powerful image, too. It's kind of like saying, "You're almost there..." 

Yesterday was a chill day. We went out in the rain and cold to retrieve our sushi/sashimi platter, then our ham for today, and came home to eat, make some food, and play games. Mom and brother enjoyed their gifts, and I now have enough sugar to last me half a year (lol). 

BB's coming over to eat and chill with us for most of the day. I'm really hoping she's not bringing any gifts, because I have nothing for her in return (she never did tell me), and then I would feel obligated to whip something up for her. Freaking commercial holidays, I swear.

Okay. I have to blab about Merlin now, so for those who aren't interested, or for those who don't want spoilers, ignore the rest of this post.

I guess I'll first say: it was a lot better than I had anticipated. Now, I'm actually very unfamiliar with the Arthurian legends. This is actually why I never bothered to give Merlin a try in the past - because the Arthurian legends were never something I had read or been interested in before. So I had no idea that Arthur is supposed to die in the original legend (but I was enlightened by all the people who were commenting on the videos). 

I was misty-eyed - not going to lie. I didn't know whether I wanted happy or sad/realistic, but now that I've watched it a second time, I'm kind of glad it went the way it did. 

BUT - what the hell was with that ending? Is that supposed to be the foreshadowing for some kind of sequel (like the alleged film trilogy)? I mean, I guess it was interesting to see that Merlin still stuck around Avalon hundreds of years later, but that was... peculiar. If that's the basis for the trilogy they've been talking about, then I'm a little hesitant, unless this supposed trilogy is based on the rise of Arthur. 

Now... the episode itself was, like I said above, a lot better than I expected in terms of content. I was wondering how the battle would play out, but Jesus - talk about erratic. I didn't mind so much because I was entirely immersed in the Merthur bromance (oh my holy Shiva), but now that I watched it a second time and had the chance to see exactly how the episode proceeds, I'm a little disappointed. It really did seem like it was thrown together. Morgana's death was pretty anticlimactic, and that whole Gwaine/Percival adventure seemed like a cheap way to kill my favorite knight off. 

I am glad, though, that they went the bromance route. I wasn't expecting 75% of the episode to consist of the journey to save Arthur's life, but I'm quite content with that, because it was bloody moving as hell. I adore the boys' performance in this one. They did really well not only with the bromance, but with Arthur's reaction to the magic, too. That seemed like a fairy realistic reaction considering everything the two have been through. I'm very pleased that the writers gave us the chance to see Arthur witness all Merlin's been doing for him over the years. It was so sweet.

So yeah. I'm not as disappointed as most other fans are, but as far as the actual writing goes, it could've been a lot better. I think they were mainly focused on feeding the rabid fangirls wanting Merthur action (I was totally expecting them to kiss after Arthur said, "Hold me." JESUS), in which case I can't complain, because that's the main reason I watch this show. 

I'm a little sad that it's all over, but I'm just grateful I was able to see the fifth series as it aired in the UK. If it wasn't for those few YT users, I would've had to wait 2-3 months (maybe even longer) for it to be uploaded on Netflix streaming. 

I don't know how long I'll keep rewatching. This is usually how my obsessions go; I'll get really into a show or film and keep rewatching it over and over for weeks at a time until I've finally grown tired of it. It's been a month since I began watching Merlin, and I haven't tired of it yet, so... who knows? Maybe something else will come along. Actually, I still have to keep up with Once Upon a Time, but I think I'll wait until the 2nd season is released on Netflix streaming. 

Thanks for another enjoyable show, BBC. You guys always do so much better than us, even if your endings are disorganized. 

Now I think I'll go work on Winterspell stuff before everyone wakes up... because I probably won't be able to until tomorrow.   

Luminous

"Dream Eater" - by Helen Rusovich

Whew. Just spent the last 12 hours playing my new Luminous character. But just a short while ago, the game began to crash (it's the busiest time for the servers), so I took that as a sign that I needed a break. And I really do - my eyes are a little sore. Haha. 

It's no coincidence that the Luminous job was released now of all times. It just so happens to align with my Crucible plot development, as well as my interest in light versus dark (been exploring the dark lately). Although it's a cliche storyline, I do like what they're emphasizing... the whole "light and dark are two sides of the same coin" thing. Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with the character and his skills. I'm glad they let us use a mix of light and dark magic instead of having to pick one over the other (although I wouldn't mind being all-dark... heh). 

I'm kind of glad that I'm not obsessing over this character, though. That's what happened the last time a really good character came out. In fact, it was exactly a year ago; I spent almost the entirety of my winter break leveling my demon slayer well into the 100s. But this time, I don't feel as driven to spend hours upon hours trying to get all those flashy skills.

Which is well and good, because I keep having to remember that I have gift art to create soon. This is the one thing I can't stand about the winter holidays - gift exchanges. I don't like how we need commercial holidays to encourage us to give to others. We should be giving all year long. I don't like the pressure of having to buy or make something for friends and family just because a holiday says I should be doing it. That's why I wasn't too happy when my closest friend called me up the other day and asked me what I wanted for Christmas - because I knew that meant I would have to spend money and/or energy returning the favor... and all because of this commercial holiday.

And because I have to save my money, the only thing I can give is art, which I suppose is a nice gift because it's more personal and meaningful. But that means a lot of energy spent for me. I'm not saying my friends/family are unworthy of my energy - I'm saying that I don't like how this season has coerced us into thinking it's something mandatory. 

I was even thinking today about how I regret offering to draw my brother's new car as his gift. He couldn't come up with something else for me to draw, so I just told him I'd draw his car. If he hadn't already gotten me a gift, I would've just dropped the idea, because I'm not a fan of drawing cars. 

I'm kind of hoping that we don't have any other family over because that would mean I'd have to draw for them, too. It's gotten to the point where they expect it from me. Not a very pleasant feeling. 

Fortunately, I think I only have to draw for 3 people: my brother, my best friend, and someone on deviantART (secret santa event). I don't know what I'm drawing for my best friend yet; she described something quite peculiar over the phone that I have to admit I'm not too enthusiastic about, but I told her to write it down for me, and she hasn't yet. So I don't know. I didn't exactly tell her what I wanted, either. Maybe it'll slip by unnoticed... then again, I'm seeing her next weekend. Hm.

Crapcakes. I hope that doesn't make me sound like a grinch or something. I'm not against gift-giving. I just don't like how we've all been manipulated into feeling obligated to give on one specific day of the year. The feelings behind Christmas gift-giving are so... artificial. 

Speaking of gifts, though - I'm expecting my BoS deck tomorrow. Oh, wait - never mind. It'll probably be here Friday, because it's in New Jersey right now. Hmm. I'm probably going to do another round of card readings to practice with it and my Archeon deck - astrological and annual ones. I finished making a reference sheet today, and I have to say... it seems a lot easier to read with tarot. Haha. I'm curious to see how well I work with them.

I've been thinking about some things, but I'll save them for another post. For now, I think I'm going to finish this episode of Merlin, and then indulge in season 7 of How I Met Your Mother, which was recently released on Netflix. Oh yeah.

Evaah