#i have greatly given up on being perfect but now i have to learn nuance in speech and action... what is right what is good what is enough..

[yatiso]

oh man i wish i knew how to help when ppl are feeling sad but the thing is when its myself thats upset i either ruminate and cry and go nonverbal and beat myself up until i make myself tired and want to get better or i ignore my feelings and stay busy

[ginevraweasley-potter]

It has been years since I have engaged in the Marauders fandom. I’m trying to get back more into the “classic” Marauder fanfics such as All The Young Dudes and The Life and Times but they all missed a certain element of “something” for me this go around. Anyways, I’ll try and read through them again to see if I’m being unfair. I do like their premises.

But none has captivated my imagination and interest as CH Darling’s series The Last Enemy (TLE). It’s currently ongoing but I admire the nuanced take on Lily, how she’s not portrayed as this wholly perfect character. She’s got flaws. She’s got ambition. She’s so well written that I am so in love with her. No one’s Lily Evans has captivated me as much as CH Darling’s Lily.

Additionally, the fact that CH Darling started the narrative on the 5th year, meant that the story didn’t shy away from the arrogant toe-rag James Potter and I believe that CH Darling brought justice to Severus Snape’s character. Genuinely, I hate Snape but the multiple perspectives of TLE story - which does include Snape - has provided me with a far better understanding of his character than any internet annotation or analysis has done.

The characterization and growth of both James Potter and Sirius Black was handled well and not unrealistically. They were described as brilliant students and chronic pranksters, which CH Darling highlights and integrates into this series (something that I find is greatly missed by a lot of the earlier fanfics that depicts them as pranksters solely and not academically inclined which I disagree with). I love it! James still holds his prejudices towards Snape and Sirius toes that line between what he has been taught and what he has learned.

Remus and Peter are also given their own spotlight. I love how CH Darling explored the ramifications of Sirius’s betrayal and that it’s not just an “I’m sorry” and it is all better. I suspect that, if the author continues this series until the inevitably tragic ending, they will utilize that event as an important inflection point. I do hope they go on to write till that point because I want my heart to be thoroughly crushed. Peter’s character exploration borders on uncomfortable and resigned pity because dramatic irony understands where his character will go on to be and so you try to read between the lines of his perspective, waiting for that inevitable shift of his character.

What I believe really sets this series apart is the way CH Darling portrays the geopolitical climate of the Wizarding World as Voldemort comes into power. It’s all too familiar with our current state. The author makes the story relatable beyond the romantic themes and intrapersonal relationship dynamics.

I do have my fair share of criticism but for now, I must recommend this series because (while a WIP) it is sure to become one of the Marauder “classics.”

You can follow the author @chdarling and @chdarling-tle

The Last Enemy: The Howling Nights by CH Darling (complete)

It’s 1975 and war is simmering beneath the surface of the Wizarding world...but at Hogwarts, it’s magic as usual as the fifth years prepare for their O.W.L.s amidst politics, pranks, and other poor choices.

Severus Snape wants to prove his worth.

Lily Evans wants a fresh start.

James Potter wants Lily Evans, though no one is more surprised by this than him.

Sirius Black wants to write himself a new story.

Remus Lupin wants to survive the next moon.

Peter Pettigrew just wants to keep up.

But as tensions bubble over, sides will be chosen, friendships destroyed, families parted, and paths forever altered.

The Last Enemy: Dark Marks by CH Darling (on going)

It’s 1976 and the events of the past term at Hogwarts have left their mark on all involved. But it’s a new school year now, with new teachers, new rules, and new regrets. Yet as the war clamoring outside the castle walls grows ever louder, the students inside will learn that some marks are impossible to wash away.

[hesina]

Hi so I’m not really sure how to ask this in a way that doesn’t sound pretty confrontational but I’m genuinely curious. What parts of the Mormon faith do you believe in? Or are you more of a cultural Mormon who’s pretty divorced from the belief system? I want to be clear that I’m not of the habit of challenging/questioning anybody’s religious beliefs, but I think Mormonism occupies a unique historical position that leaves it open to criticism for being pretty solidly grounded in—and irrevocably intertwined with—anti-indigenous racism, American exceptionalism, and historical revisionism. I find it hard to conceptualize a version of that faith that still falls under the Mormon label but somehow isn’t based on those principles.

This is a pretty loaded ask and I understand if you don’t want to/can’t answer (I also know you talk more about your faith on your sideblog but I don’t know what that blog is so I couldn’t go there for more understanding). I’m also aware that those criticisms can be applied to a lot of modern sects of Christianity, so know that I’m critical of those principles wherever they appear. I’m asking you because you’re someone that appears on my dash pretty frequently who I generally vibe with so I want to know more

Ok! So first of all my Mormon sideblog is @im-mormon-and-not-straight! Feel free to scroll through there whenever you feel like.

Second of all, yeah I totally agree that the institutional church kinda sucks in a lot of ways. Now I say that as someone who still participates greatly in the institutionalized church. (I go to church basically every Sunday, I watch general conference every 6th months, stuff like that) And as a gay ass Mormon, I have TONS of first hand experience with being at the brunt of shitty things that it has done.

The claim of anti-indigenous racism is so broad that I'm not quite sure what you are talking about.

If you're talking about violence done by pioneers then I totally agree that was fucked up, though from what I understand of church history (which COULD be wrong I don't have a perfect memory by any means) the leadership of the church at the time condemned that violence. Either way, totally agree that it was shitty! But in my mind those were actions done by shitty people who happened to be mormon, not something they did *because* they were mormon

If you are talking about the book of Mormon being based on indigenous Americans that one can get a lot more complicated. I've heard all sorts of ideas on the subject and honestly I haven't figured out what I agree with the most. Some people have said that the BoM is a work of inspired fiction and the events never happened, but it still has spiritual merit and is worth driving meaning of. I've heard other people say that claiming the BoM is fiction erases indigenous history (?) and we shouldn't be completely writing off any historical value. I find myself somewhere in the middle. I don't know whether or not the events in the BoM actually happened and honestly I don't particularly care. I can still learn from what's in it and I take the themes as they are.

I TOTALLY agree with the American exceptionalism point and it drives me bonkers. There's the tidbits of American religious freedom giving the restored gospel a place to flourish that I can jive with but when people go beyond that it makes me just. So frustrated. Everytime oaks gives a talk about how cool and nifty the constitution is I want to rip my eyes out. (Also every time oaks gives a talk ever. I have hated almost every single talk that man has given) it's like they forget that most of early church history everywhere that Mormons went in the us the other americans went "eyyo fuck religious freedom let's burn these people to the ground" (obviously more nuance there but like. The Mormon extermination act HAPPENED. IN the us. It's not like it's some holy institution.) And that's only about shit that affects "Mormons" specifically. (Though of course things like institutionalized racism affect mormons of color. It's just not targeted to every single mormon) American exceptionalism is just another thing that bugs me about the institutionalized church. Like God. Shut up. The USA is not inherently better or worse than any other country.

The historical revisionism thing is something I'm not as well versed on and I don't even know where to begin with what you mean by that. I do know a Mormon historian (as in a historian who works on Mormon history as well as being Mormon himself) and he is dedicated to cataloguing history as it is? Idk maybe I'm missing smth with this one.

Third of all, I consider myself Mormon in both the religious sense and the cultural sense. Being a queer Mormon is something very central to who I am as a person. However there was a point where I was VERY divorced from the church. I was only going because it was what I did and what was expected of me. And to be honest, I found my testimony through my queer identity.

Now, atleast for me, being a queer Mormon is predicated on the belief that the institutionalized church can, and is, wrong about many things. And this is something backed up by doctrine (that people don't talk about enough -_-) we believe in revelation!! That means we don't have all the answers!!! It frustrated me that people act as if the prophets are somehow unable to fuck up as if Joseph Smith himself didn't majorly fuck up while translating the BoM leading to loosing an entire book of the BoM.

Anyways that was a little bit of a tangent.

What I mean to say is that I am someone who calls out bullshit from the prophets and first presidency and I have made the gospel my own. It's hard to put this into words (I've tried several times already and none of them feel quite right) but the foundation of my testimony came from being able to see the good nuggets of the gospel. I wouldn't have a testimony in the gospel if I wasn't able to sort through the bullshit because if I didn't see the good then I would've moved on.

Basically I was well aware of the bad shit before finding the good shit if that makes any sense.

Like. the amount of times I've had a "don't be gay" lesson or had to listen to oaks give a talk that made me want to march up to slc and punch him in the face, or heard someone interpreted scripture in the worst regressive-ass take, it's helped me find a way to move in the opposite direction. Im a firm believer in the phrase "the gospel is true, but not always the church"

Anyways, leading off on to favorite verse!!

2 Nephi 2:25 "Adam fell that men might be; and men are that they might have joy"

[richincolor]

*As is usual with our discussions, there may be a few spoilers ahead, so beware.*

We all were incredibly excited to read Angeline Boulley's FIREKEEPER'S DAUGHTER when we first heard about it, so we decided to make it our second group discussion book for the year. Come join us!

As a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. Daunis dreams of studying medicine, but when her family is struck by tragedy, she puts her future on hold to care for her fragile mother.

The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team. Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, certain details don’t add up and she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into the heart of a criminal investigation.

Reluctantly, Daunis agrees to go undercover, but secretly pursues her own investigation, tracking down the criminals with her knowledge of chemistry and traditional medicine. But the deceptions—and deaths—keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home.

Now, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she'll go to protect her community, even if it tears apart the only world she’s ever known.

[Note: While we will not go into any great detail in this discussion, Firekeeper’s Daughter contains murder, suicide, kidnapping, sexual assault, addiction and drug use, racism, colorism, and death of parents/family members.

You can read an excerpt of the book here!]

Audrey: To get us started--let’s talk about this gorgeous cover! The cover art was created by Moses Lunham and designed by Rich Deas. The first thing I noticed when I got my copy of the book was that the two faces at the top had different skin tones. According to this interview, author Angeline Boulley says that “the different shades of the faces symbolizes Daunis claiming her biracial identity,” which is a major part of the book.

Jessica: The cover is so beautiful. It’s next to me on my desk right now and I can’t stop looking at it. Love how the cover ties into the themes of the book.

K. Imani: This cover is absolutely beautiful! I love the design of the faces looking like a butterfly as well as the bird and bear (I think) and the fire. There are so many subtle images in this cover that you can almost find something new each time. And the colors are so stunning. Like you Audrey, I noticed the faces had different skin tones which I found interesting and made me wonder what was going to happen in the book. Knowing the faces symbolize Daunis’s biracial identity now is powerful and really brings home the meaning of the book.

Crystal: I agree that the cover is gorgeous. In addition to the aspects of her physical appearance and physical identity, Daunis’ cultural identity is also displayed within the illustrations with bears representing her clan. In addition there are the birds like the one that guides her and the sun is in the background too which is from the story of the original Fire Keeper’s Daughter. The faces forming a butterfly is also just brilliant for a coming-of-age story. There’s so much to see. Each time I notice more.

Audrey: Daunis, our heroine, is on the older end of the YA protagonist spectrum at 18. She’s dealing with a lot of upheaval in her life, and things only get more complicated in short order. Something I really liked about Daunis was how often she thought about and evaluated what her responsibilities were--to her family, to her friends, to her community, and to herself. These sometimes complementary, sometimes competing, responsibilities strongly influenced her decisions.

Jessica: You mention the complementary and sometimes competing responsibilities -- that’s exactly it. I loved how her thought process was explored throughout the book in such a thorough and complex way. The way Daunis balances and reconciles the interests of her community with what the FBI wants from her and her quest for justice is laid out really clearly. Sometimes, narratives can tend toward simplistic, binary summations of the issues people, especially from marginalized communities, face -- but that’s just not the case, and Daunis really highlights that. To be honest, I was a little nervous at the introduction of law enforcement and the FBI, given the racism and oppression baked into these institutions, but the way Daunis navigates her interactions with them, plus the way other members of the community tell the truth about these institutions, really played out in such a nuanced way. (I really, really hope that the Netflix adaptation keeps these nuances and hard truths in the show, but I suspect that won’t be the case, unfortunately.)

K. Imani: I enjoyed that Daunis was 18 and on the cusp of adulthood. So many YA novels focus on the character’s high school life but a lot does happen and teens do grow and change a lot in that year after high school. Many have left home for college (that was me) or working full time and they are learning how to navigate a life that was not completely so structured. In addition to having to deal with changing friendships as people move away or just become busy. It’s a unique time and I loved that we got to spend time with Daunis as she was going through this change. She was learning how to become an adult in one of the most stressful ways possible, and sometimes I felt she was a little too idealistic, but I’m glad that she kept her truth throughout and was focused on helping her community in addition to helping the FBI. Her perspective helped keep the investigation grounded in what mattered which wouldn’t have happened if she wasn’t involved.

Crystal: Daunis balances a lot of responsibilities and really tries to follow what she’s learned from elders. She considers how her actions may affect all of her relatives within her family, clan, community, and beyond. Boulley embedded a lot of elder wisdom within Daunis’ inner dialogue such as thinking about the seventh generation when making decisions.

Audrey: One of the things that I really appreciated about Firekeeper’s Daughter was the depth of the setting and the characters in it. While Boulley says that Daunis’s tribe is fictionalized in the author note, it’s clear how much care and thought Boulley put into creating Daunis’s community. It’s filled with people who have complex histories (both within and between Native and non-Native groups), with differing opinions and prejudices and goals.

Jessica: This really highlights how important it is to have stories where cultures and communities aren’t portrayed as a monolith. It’s not just the right thing to do, it makes for a better and more accurate story. I read Firekeeper’s Daughter and watched the TV show Rutherford Falls back to back, which really drove home the power of depicting a community with nuance. (Also, sidebar: Highly recommend checking out Rutherford Falls, which does this really well.)

K. Imani: One of my favorite aspects of Firekeeper’s Daughter were the elders in Daunis’s tribe and how we got to hear many of their individual stories which showed the complexity of real life. I loved that Daunis listened to her elders, really took in their stories and learned from them. Her interactions with the elders greatly contributed to her growing sense of self and her desire to help her community. And this is where this novel being truly #ownvoices shines because of Boulley’s connection to her community that she took great care in making sure Daunis’s tribe felt real and authentic as well as culturally accurate. It was not full of stereotypes but filled with real people who had real lives and real stories. I was drawn into Daunis’s community and really cared about the people that made Daunis who she is and becomes.

Crystal: Like Jessica says, there is a lot of nuance here. When you have a wide variety of characters who are not simply good or bad, the story has more power and is definitely more believable. The people in our everyday lives are also complex and have a story if only we take the time to listen. This is what Daunis excels at with elders and others around her. She is paying attention and trying to connect with people. There is a lot of love throughout the book of many different types. The love is beautiful and yet also has some ugliness too in the betrayals. It’s not picture perfect and that makes it so much more real.

Audrey: Boulley tackles a lot of difficult topics in Firekeeper’s Daughter, especially ones that can hit hard on a community level. Much of the plot focuses on drug use and addiction, of course, but violence against Native women also has a significant impact on what happens in the book and affects multiple characters, including Daunis.

Crystal: Daunis and the other women are examples of the many, many, women who have been harmed in the past and the present. That’s not the whole story though. As Daunis is learning, there are many ways of being brave. Throughout the story, we see many women being strong and brave though at initial glance their actions may not seem to be either of those things. There is bravery in speaking out, but sometimes bravery requires something else. These women have done what they needed to do to survive or help their loved ones survive.

Audrey: Firekeeper’s Daughter has a complicated ending, and it left me thinking about two things. The first was how proud I was of Daunis and her character growth. There were a couple of times where she came across as very Not Like Other Girls (particularly with the hockey players’ girlfriends), but that changed over the course of the book. The second was grief at how many people and institutions failed Daunis and her community, both within and without. Just as one example, even though Daunis is a confidential informant for the FBI, the FBI doesn’t come out of this story as a Good Guy.

K. Imani: I was torn by the ending too. I so wanted justice for Daunis and Lily and for others who were murdered, but on the other hand life doesn’t always have a happy ending and I recognize that Boulley gave us that horribly realistic ending because the fight for missing and murdered Indigenous women continues and the fight for justice for Indigenous peoples. It was a heartbreaking reminder of a very real issue. On the other hand, I was so proud of Daunis as well. She was able to achieve her goals of helping out the FBI while staying true to herself and her community. She grew so much as a character and really found her place in her world.

Crystal: The ending gave me much to think about too. Daunis grew a lot as she worked through this complicated puzzle in her community. She learned much about herself and some of the assumptions folks have about others. I also really, really wanted justice, but unfortunately, would be unlikely in real life with our current justice system. I also found Jamie’s growth to be interesting. He is truly struggling with his own identity as an adopted child with Cherokee roots, but no Cherokee teachings or culture to turn to. I don’t know if a sequel or companion book is planned, but I would be interested in seeing more of their journeys whether their paths cross again or not.

Jessica: Audrey, thanks so much for leading this discussion! Now I have a question for you all -- what YA books by/about BIPOC are you reading right now?

For AAPI month, I’m rereading Turtle Under Ice by Juleah del Rosario. After that, I’m planning on reading The Ones We're Meant to Find by Joan He, Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth, and Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart! Yes, my TBR pile is excellent. :P

Audrey: Next up on my list are The Theft of Sunlight by Intisar Khanani, Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur, and Simone Breaks All the Rules by Debbie Rigaud. I feel like that’s a pretty good mix of genres and authors right there!

K. Imani: Since I’m needing some inspiration for my vampire manuscript, I’m re-reading and new reading some vampire novels. Currently I am reading Fledgling by Octavia Butler then up next is Renee Ahdieh’s series The Beautiful and the sequel The Damned.

Crystal: I just re-read Saints & Misfits and then dove into the sequel Misfit in Love. S.K. Ali is an author that I really enjoy and I am loving it so far. Next up is American Betiya by Anuradha D. Rajurkar along with Love & Other Natural Disasters by Misa Sugiura. I also think my TBR is pretty stellar.

If you've had the chance to read FIREKEEPER'S DAUGHTER, please join in the discussion below! We'd love to hear what you think.

[therappundit]

Top 10 Rappers of 2020

The finish line of this long, surreal year is finally upon us...which means that it’s time for me to throw down the gauntlet in the ‘Best of 2020’ frivolous list race!  🙌

*Just to be clear*: this is a list of MCs who I believe turned in the best overall performances in 2020. ***This is NOT a list of the my top 10 favorite MCs***, or even who I believe to be the best MCs in the world at the moment...these are simply dope artists that put forth the strongest, most consistently interesting and important (to the genre) high-quality work in the perilous year that was 2020. 

If you think your favorite MC was slighted....well, Michael Jordan is the greatest to ever play the game of basketball but even he didn’t win MVP every year, right? I encourage you to write your own list - it’s a cool way to dap artists that are too often overlooked by industry websites, and share the music you enjoy with others that may not have given the record a spin otherwise.

Even if 2020 didn’t bring you the “instant classic” you had been hoping for, I think it’s hard to deny that this year really had impressive depth when it came to showcasing some of the most diverse music that the genre has to offer.  I can’t speak for music in general - sadly I’m just The Rap Pundit, not The Music Pundit - but I can say that it has been an impossible task to keep a playlist less than 500 songs deep at a time, because for every truly great release in 2020 there seemed to be 30 very good releases. 👌

So how did I come about these 10 MCs (and Honorable Mentions)? Before you get huffy about who I snubbed (and that is pointed directly at my jury of older head peers that consider themselves tastemakers, but also haven’t opened their minds up to any new takes on rap styles since the year 2000)...here are the five chief pieces of criteria that I put into finalizing my list:

- quality (whatever lane you’re in, how often did you ‘own it’?)

- quantity (at least 10 very good-to-great songs released, and 3-4 verses that stand out as a ‘must-hear’ for any rap music fan)

- consistency (not just 4-5 great features and a few forgettable solo tracks, will I want to keep at least 7 or 8 of your own new songs released in 2020 in my rotation for 2021?)

- impact (are you so vital to the type of rap music you make that if you stopped rapping tomorrow, there’s no one else in the game that could fill that void?)

- “it” factor (are you carried by a co-sign or an elite production team, or did you bring a style/talent to the table that could carry a record in and of itself?)

Got it? Then here we go...

1. Conway the Machine

I hope 2020 was the type of year that Conway the Machine had been hoping for since he first began his journey with rap music. After years of scraping and hustling towards music industry recognition (and not just cult figure status), at year’s end we see Griselda’s top Lieutenant holding down a rare balancing act: champion of underground hip-hop, and most requested feature by any mainstream rap star looking to add some tough-talking muscle to their album.

While much of Conway’s content has always been driven by surviving an attempt on his life in 2012, much like 50 Cent, Conway’s way with words and perspective manage to elevate the quality of his material to a higher tier than most. And where - at least in his heyday - 50 Cent benefited from an indestructible super-villain persona, Conway’s success can be greatly attributed to a larger-than-life heart.  With every braggadocious act of gunplay, there are moments of gratefulness to still being alive to share success with his brethren, as well as a painful longing to be with close allies that are no longer with him (at least not in the physical form).

Above all else, in 2020 Conway the Machine did what he has always done throughout his career: delivered well written, passionate bars about coming up in an impossibly challenging environment and coping with loss...only now his craftsmanship and understanding of how to channel all of those feelings into a more polished final product have yielded the most well-rounded solo project of his career in From King to a God. Progress is a slow process, but the long and winding road has finally taken Conway a step closer to that G.O.A.T. status he will hopefully continue to reach for...

Best Evidence: FKTG, and a countless number of scene-stealing verses alongside rap acts ranging from deep underground to household names

2. Freddie Gibbs

I don't use the word "sauce" all too often (this may actually be the first time), but if there was any MC guaranteed to bring sauce to any rap record right now, it's Freddie Gibbs. 

Forever existing somewhere between gritty gangsta and syrupy old soul, the flavor that Freddie brings to every verse is malleable enough to work on virtually any type of record, which was certainly proven in 2020. Anyone foresee a Gibbs & Alchemist Grammy nomination heading into 2020? It’s a testament to how high quality work, through consistent reliability and dues paid, can elevate a project from underground niche following to critical acclaim. While his work with Alchemist may not reach the lofty levels of his heralded collaborations with Madlib, Alfredo represents the best that “quarantine music” can offer...two talented friends saying one day, “hey we should finally drop a full tape together, why not?” - and then BOOM, it happens.

Too many fail to remember that Gibbs already has a long accomplished body of work behind him...so the fact that he may just be entering his prime now, is scary.

Best Evidence: Alfredo, Machinedrum’s “Kane Train”

3. Boldy James

Comeback MC of the year, and no it is not close (but big shout-out to Grafh, another dope MC who had an amazing year).

I'm old enough to remember when folks like Roc Marciano and Ka were seen as sleepy, monotone rappers with little hope of reaching permanent rap icon status (flash-forward to today, and they are widely consider geniuses). For some, the quieter, less hook-dependent approach to making rap songs, was....well, not great rap music. They were wrong then and they’re wrong now, but similar to how the coolest, smartest cat in the room is rarely the loudest, it can take some time and patience before everyone learns what’s what. Time is what is required to appreciate Detroit’s Boldy James, a veteran that has been through it - both in terms of the ups and downs of the music business, as well as the streets through which he draws his stories and inspiration.

Boldy makes it seem all too easy, rapping his verses with the cool, casual tone of telling old stories to a close friend over drinks. Dropping multiple projects (with one still to come) in one year can often lead to over-saturation. Even the most dedicated fans/stans can begin to feel less enthusiastic about new releases when they have already received a healthy portion of more of the same...but most rap fans are not necessarily Boldy James fans. Boldy fans (much like Roc Marciano and Ka fans) are already aware that knowing what type of material to expect from your favorite MC can be a blessing if that MC takes pride in the execution of the final product, rather than the noise leading up to it. 

The beauty of his collaboration with The Alchemist (big year for that guy, huh?), The Price of Tea in China, is that it celebrates the more subtle nuances of boom-bap, proving that great MC and producer chemistry can trump the “shock & awe” of more uptempo rap music. The shock in Boldy James’ lyrics sits within the detailed descriptions of the cold world he grew up in...so monotone or not, how can any music could be more gripping than that?

Best Evidence: TPOTIC, Manger On McNichols, a long list of consistently perfect feature verses

4. 42 Dugg

I would say this is more of a longterm investment rather than the celebration of a rapper already within rap’s inner circle, but 42 Dugg didn’t just steal the show on every feature this year, he also displayed maturity in his ability to craft well-rounded, high quality rap singles. I’m talking joints that work just as well on the street tape level as they would at the radio level. That is especially rare to see from a rapper that is still relatively new to national conversations. 

So much more than just a co-sign of Lil Baby and Yo Gotti, the Detroit eastsider has already proven that he can craft a full solo album with the swagger of a far more seasoned MC. 42 Dugg combines a Boosie-esque, "oh you think you’re better than me??” chip on his shoulder with the unpredictable bombast of Lil Wayne. What he may lack in punchlines he makes up for in musicianship, his voice bringing one of the most nimble touches to trap music that I have heard in a long time. 42 Dugg music is hard and soulful, with the natural hunger of a rapper that knows me might be one smash away from superstardom. By this time next year, I’m betting he will be. 

Best Evidence: Young & Turnt 2 (Deluxe), features on high profile records like Lil Baby’s “Grace” and “We Paid”, and a growing stream of attention grabbing solo loosies

5. Rome Streetz

In 2020 it was almost impossible to be an underground MC with a great project unless you landed a Rome Streetz verse. 

Rome has been bubbling for a while now, but in 2020 he unleashed an onslaught on the game. At times he seemed like the hardest working MC in underground circles, busting his ass to not only make as many appearances as possible, but also to own any song he guested on. He raps like every verse might be “the one” that gets him a huge contract, and that’s a level of hunger and consistency that will likely land him more than one huge contract someday. In spite of that laundry list of strong features, the young Brooklyn MC still managed to release multiple dope solo projects, all flashing a rap style that feels at once a throwback and the fresh voice NYC rap needs. 

Rome is clearly from the same school as many of the New York City greats, because he has the capacity to deliver dark, potent bars with the sharp intellect of a Harvard lecture (think AZ before “Sugar Hill”). While he sounds most at home when he’s rhyming over instrumentals that run more coldblooded than a horror flick, it’s easy to picture him popping up in more places in 2021...if that’s even possible.

Best Evidence: Noise Kandy 4, Kontraband, The Residue, and at least 50 incredible features with a who’s-who of the underground’s finest

6. Stove God Cook$

No one saw this coming....well, maybe Roc Marciano, Lord Jamar, Busta Rhymes and a few more NYC heads in the know - but I guarantee you, no one else saw the Stove God coming!

Bar for bar, no MC owned more rewind-worthy rap quotables in 2020 than Stove God Cook$. Dropping a solo debut with VERY little fanfare and zero features (apart from the steady, reliable guidance of Roc Marciano - low key one of hip-hop’s most reliable producers), a slow bubbling word of mouth campaign on social media eventually got Stove God verses exposed to more and more high profile ears. Such a grass roots campaign is rarely seen...I mean, a rap album slowly becoming a critical darling simply off the strength of more and more random folks discovering the music and Tweeting about it, as opposed to the buzz being calculated before the product??? It feels almost too good to be true these days, as early reviews of Reasonable Drought typically lead with something along the lines of, “hey, have you heard of this album? I have no idea who this is, but it is 🔥🔥🔥”

It has often been said that Roc Marciano has a lot of ��sons” in the game, implying that Roc Marci gave birth to a style that a whole generation of underground MCs run with today. So it’s ironic (or perhaps highly appropriate?) that the next level of progression for Roc might be to have a protege, a young Jedi to carry on the tradition on Roc’s own terms, and become the next new star to be embraced by the old heads. But Stove God isn’t a clone of Roc, or anyone else, he’s simply one of the most exciting artists to hit the NYC underground in a generation. Everything from his word choice, to his fresh references and sense of humor, to his delivery and the way he structures his verses, feels like a collection of “firsts”, there’s simply no one sounding like him. And if his work in 2020 is any indication, he will continue to be in a league of his own for years to come.

Best Evidence: Reasonable Drought, spotlight snatching features alongside Roc Marciano and Griselda’s finest

7. Lil Baby

Once viewed by some as just another “Lil”, Lil Baby had been rollin’ coming into 2020, but by the end of 2020 it’s clear that he has arrived at the forefront of rap music’s most reliable hitmakers right now. 

A must-have feature on any rap album reaching for max exposure, Lil Baby’s dexterous flow, charisma, and pen that is significantly sharper than early reports indicated, made him one of the few shining stars in 2020 to consistently deliver good rap music to what in any other year would have been considered smash hits in any club.

What makes Lil Baby’s music standout is that he could easily be a “cookie cutter” MC, phoning in verse after verse just to get another check, but instead he continues to bring it - trying to squeeze in an extra catchy lyric, maybe flow in a way that breaks up a verse to make it stand out from the pack a little more - and even when he is featured over cookie cutter beats that sound like every other trap inspired beats that came before it, Baby seems eager to prove something. I think that’s what I like about him - he’s on a short list of mainstream-bred Young Thug disciples that seem to really want to put the work in to becoming one of the greats. 

Best Evidence: I mean...did any rap star have more songs in circulation this year? Dude was everywhere, but “The Bigger Picture” got his name officially into the lyricist conversation (even though personally I don’t even think it’s one of his more impressive records - at least not stylistically)

8. Westside Gunn

No one denies that the Griselda Records team had a banner year, yet somehow the vocal leader of the group managed to drop a handful of dope projects without receiving credit for being a great MC in his own right. Great artist, great album curator, great business man - sure, but great MC?? That credit is rarely given to the FLYGOD. He might not even understand how natural he is as a solo MC, waxing unpredictable flows and half-bars that stick in your mind in place of catchy hooks or predictable song structure. He might call himself an artist first, but I still call him one of the most prolific rappers today (regardless of whether he retires after the ball drops).

I can’t believe I have to tell rap fans this in the year 2020...but......you all know that message and punchlines are just part of the art of rapping, right...and not the only thing that defines who is a dope MC and who isn’t?? Play any solo cut from Westside Gunn and filter out the “doot-doot-doots” and stream of conscious hooks and what you are left with is one of the most distinctive voices in rap music, attempting off-kilter flows and phrases over some of the most impressive production in rap music today, and to me that sounds like my kind of rap music. What the Buffalo floor general lacks in diversity of subject matter he makes up for with a relentless imagination.

That’s why it’s not all that surprising to me that Westside Gunn enjoyed more mainstream attention in 2020 than he ever has before. All he needed was a window of exposure and he certainly capitalized on it, pitching his sound and his vision in all the right places, without compromising his style or vacating his lane. So strictly as a MC, I would consider him the Young Thug of the east coast underground scene, and if 2020 does turn out to be his final year of recording solo projects, I am thankful that he already has a long list of quality projects with high replay value to revisit again and again. But don’t wait - give this man his flowers now.

Best Evidence: “Euro Step”, “Rebirth”, “327″, “Shawn vs. Flair”, “Michael Irvin”, and YES he even had a more than worthy verse on “$500 Ounces” alongside Freddie Gibbs and Roc Marciano

9. Benny the Butcher

Who else is more reliable to deliver a dope feature verse than Benny?

By now you must be muttering at least a few things about me, so let me just make two points: YES, I am a big fan of Griselda records, but NO I do not consider that an unreasonable bias because even on paper according to a large variety of sources, it’s clear that Conway, Boldy James, Westside Gunn and Benny are true specialists when it comes to the quality of the work they distribute. Its not a fluke or a trend, they’re just that good at what they do...I have been saying this for almost 5 years now, but in 2020 the rest of you sleepy heads finally just stopped hitting snooze.

Benny the Butcher already possesses the writing capacity, attention to detail, and skills of observation/personal reflection to put himself within special company as one of the nicest pens in the business today. But in 2020, he dialed things up even higher...or perhaps word of mouth just finally caught up with the rest of his peers? The tribute to the classic Roc-A-Fella era that was his Burden of Proof project with Hit-Boy helped expose Benny to a much larger audience, and it has been beautiful to see so many more folks quoting and sharing his lyrics on Twitter, because I recall when he had about the same amount of Followers that I do, because it wasn’t all that long ago (I just hope they go back to experience all of his prior work - I’m still partial to his incredible verses on “Shower Shoe Lords” and “Pissy Work”)! 

In my not so humble opinion, I do think some of the more dramatic pomp and circumstance on the BOP album was more suited to a Rick Ross or Meek Mill than Benny, so I’m actually more excited to hear what Benny has in store for 2021. He truly sounds at his best over more minimalistic production that lets his lyrics fill the spotlight...but still, tracks like “Timeless” and “Legend” do remind me of some of my favorite moments from old JAY-Z albums...blasphemous, maybe, but true.

A shot to the leg last month seems to have done nothing to slow his momentum, so if you didn’t board the bandwagon by now, you are inexcusably late.

Best Evidence: Burden of Proof, mercilessly slaughtering every verse on every Griselda projects, and a ton of show-stealing features

10. Drakeo the Ruler

What a journey it's been for the L.A. rising star. 

Flexing a penchant for placing local slang into his music and delivering dark verses with a clear sense of humor, it's easy to see the appeal of Drakeo's style. If Thank You For Using GTL was an inspiring attempt to do anything possible to keep his buzz going (in that case, recording his verses over a prison phone), the quick release of We Know The Truth shortly after he regained his freedom seems to have given him a 50 Cent-esque teflon aura at the moment. 

But this is about more than just Drakeo himself, it’s about what he represented before incarceration, and what he represents now. As one of the more visible forces in a new generation of west coast hip-hop, Drakeo was a few key features away from exploding onto the national scene. Now after surviving his ordeal, likely with a great deal more to write about, his ceiling has only been raised - and along with his growth potential, so rises the potential for the current rap scene out in L.A. right now. Mark my words: by this time next year Drakeo’s flow will be one of the most flagrantly jacked flows in rap music coast to coast.

A sincere welcome home from the rap world, Drakeo the Ruler. Hopefully the worst is now behind you. 🙏

Best Evidence: We Know The Truth, Free Drakeo, Thank You For Using GTL

*Honorable Mentions*:

Che Noir, Ka, Ransom, Billy Woods, Royce Da 5′9″, Jay Electronica, Fly Anakin, Curren$y, Lil Uzi Vert, Roc Marciano, Skyzoo, Black Thought, Tee Grizzley, Your Old Droog, Flee Lord, Lil Wayne

[ladyherenya]

My favourite thing this year has been the Korean drama Crash Landing on You (2019-20).

It has something of a ridiculous title (I’ve ended up calling it Crash Landing or sometimes just Crash). But, to be fair, North and South was already taken.

“I can go to Africa and even Antarctica but not here. It’s a shame that you live here.” “It’s a shame that you live there.” -- episode three

To my great amusement, every month or so, Netflix has sent me an email that’s said: “Don’t forget to finish Crash Landing on You” or “Remember this? Watch it again: Crash Landing on You” or “Rewatch your favourite moments - Watch it again: Crash Landing on You…”

And I’m like: NETFLIX! Seriously, WHAT do you THINK I’M DOING?

I have now watched Crash Landing on You five times.

There are several reasons for this:

I successfully dragged other family members down this particular rabbit hole, and in a pandemic season, when things have been unpredictable (or cancelled), rewatching Crash Landing has been an appealing and comfortably-familiar distraction, as well as the source of many, many long, analytical fandom-y conversations, which has been fun.

I needed to watch it more than once to straighten out all the pieces of the story in my head. With 16 episodes, each over an hour long, it’s one of the longest stories I’ve ever watched. I’ve seen other TV series with more episodes, but nearly all have been much more episodic, rather than telling one continuous story.  

I kept noticing details that I’d previously missed because I’d been focused on the subtitles or that I hadn’t properly understood some cultural nuance. And some things are ambiguous in translation -- in a good way, a fodder-for-discussion way.

I have ALWAYS rewatched (or reread) my favourite stories. And Crash Landing fits right in with those. Someone in my family described it as: “Like Lord of the Rings on steroids!” However, I think it actually has far more in common -- visually and thematically, and also in terms of my willingness to discuss the characters as if they were real people -- with my favourite historical dramas.

In terms of story, Crash Landing is easy enough to summarise: A South Korean businesswoman is paragliding when a freak storm blows her across the border; she’s discovered by a North Korean captain, who hides her and helps her get home.

But I’m going to need more words to explain why I fell in love with it.

It is fascinating and, first time round, tense and unpredictable. It’s funny and very meta -- very aware of the tropes it’s playing with and of parallels and contrasts within the story. It’s visually and aesthetically pleasing, and the soundtrack grew on me.

There are a number of coincidences and a few ridiculous fight scenes, but the emotions are intensely real and so are the consequences. It has camaraderie and found-family and thoughtfully-complicated family relationships. There are characters I love, and characters who surprised me, and so much time given to character development!  It’s romantic. There’s a fake engagement (a favourite trope of mine) and while I’m not a fan of love triangles, I liked how this quadrangle-tangle is handled. And the obstacles to the romance are satisfyingly realistic; characters have sensible reasons for the choices they make.

I love how the story uses flashbacks, particularly the post-credit scenes.

The final episode isn’t perfect, but given that a perfectly happy ending would, realistically,  require the reunification of north and south, I thought it came very close.

Let me elaborate.

Cut for sheer verbosity, rather than spoilers. (I’m not allowing myself to list spoiler-ish examples or dive into analysing my favourite scenes, because then I wouldn’t just be here all night, I’d be here all week).

⬦ Fascinating, tense, unpredictable: I knew almost nothing about life in North Korea, so that was fascinating and made the story harder to predict, as I couldn’t anticipate what options the characters had or what obstacles might arise. And that isn’t the only reason I found it tense -- at different times, different characters are greatly at risk if discovered; there are occasions when characters are in danger of physical violence or are injured; and they have a couple of dilemmas to which there are just not easy solutions (See also: Obstacles for romance).

While I’m on the subject of the setting, although I cannot judge how accurate this portrayal of the north was, it’s portrayal of people as people was incredibly convincing. It’s a society where people have differences in personality and in circumstances. There are orphans begging in the market, people who can afford to stay in fancy hotels -- and a lot of people somewhere in between. In the military village, people have varying attitudes, tastes in clothes, privileges, standards of living, etc. Their lifestyle differs from that in Pyongyang, and also in other parts of the country. Amongst the military, some men are compassionate, some are corrupt and some are not obviously one or the other.

Moreover, it’s clear that corruption and villainy isn’t just in the north. In the south, as in the north, we see a range of humanity -- selfishness, good friends, complicated families, happy marriages, criminal behaviour, and so on.

I’ve read an article or two suggesting that the least realistic aspect is Ri Jeong Hyeok being such a sympathetic and honourable officer. I think it’s interesting that he clearly isn’t a typical captain -- he wanted a different career, he’s spent time studying overseas (in a democratic country), and, perhaps most importantly, his father’s position gives him protection from pressures many others face. He has the privilege of being able to afford to act with integrity, and of encouraging such behaviour in the men he leads.

⬦ Humour and meta: I’ve included these two together, because so much of the story’s self-awareness and intertextuality is humorous. I am very amused by so many things -- the village women’s interactions, Se-ri’s wit and banter, Jeong Hyeok’s facial expressions, the duckling's reactions, the way Ju Meok keeps comparing things to South Korean dramas:

Ju Meok: “I haven’t seen any drama characters that don’t fall in love in that situation. That’s how they all fall in love.”

(Because my knowledge of Korean drama is limited, there are a few cameos and references which I suspect would be amusing if one was in the know. The exception is the taxi driver singing, who was funny even without recognising the actor.)

I love the commentary that comes from all the moments when other characters witness the unfolding romance. Others’ reactions are often memorably hilarious -- some of my favouritest scenes fall into this category. (The customs officer! Jeong Hyeok’s dad!) They introduce humour and self-awareness into these moments, allowing the story to acknowledge “Yeah, we know these two are being ridiculous/sappy/emotional”. These moments reveal people’s attitudes towards displays of affection, particularly in the north, and their different attitudes towards Se-ri and Jeong Hyeok’s relationship.  

And as their relationship changes, Se-ri and Jeong Hyeok’s awareness of being watched and commented upon changes, too.

Which leads me to…

⬦ Contrasts and parallels: So many scenes which echo/parallel earlier scenes. Most obviously, this allows the story to compare and contrast the north and south, but it also shows changes in time, differences between characters, and differences in relationships too. Sometimes all at once!

 It means some plot developments weren’t totally unexpected -- it was Oh, of COURSE, we’re going to now see that character in this situation! or OBVIOUSLY we now have to see what this is like in the south!

But I thought it was really effective storytelling and I so much enjoyed spotting and analysing these moments.

⬦ Yoon Se-ri and Ri Jeong Hyeok: These two are the heart of the story and there are so many things I love about them. Like how, even though Se-ri is dependent upon Jeong Hyeok to hide and help her -- even though they’re initially hesitant about a romantic relationship -- they quickly become very protective of each other. Often to the point of willingly risking their own safety. Often to the point of exasperating the other. It’s great.

 That’s not the only thing they discover they have in common. They share some interests. They’re both highly intelligent, driven, successful leaders (he’s a captain, she’s a CEO) who are very private, lonely people carrying around grief about their family and their past. Neither of them likes to reveal their emotions -- he tries to conceal his by suppressing his facial expressions and avoiding answering questions, while Se-ri hides behind play-acting.  

I like watching Se-ri trying to get to know Jeong Hyeok. She isn’t deterred by his silences (unlike someone else) and she keeps the conversation going even when he doesn’t respond. She watches him closely, and says or does things to provoke a reaction. Poke, poke, poke.

And the time they spend together is really revealing. They share meals, they share a house. They see how the other responds under pressure, but also in various social and domestic situations. They see each other in a range of moods: calm, happy, grumpy, scared, tired, upset, unwell. Crash Landing takes advantage of spending sixteen episodes with these characters. Going through so many different experiences together, they learn a lot about each other -- about each other’s values, tastes and temperament -- and this means the audience gets a deeper, more nuanced understanding of who they are, too.  

Se-ri and Jeong Hyeok are also well-matched in how they show they appreciate each other -- she delights in giving presents, and he is quick to notice things Se-ri might need or like.

And it’s very satisfying when they open up, or when they cry in front of each other, because you know that they don’t do this lightly or easily.

⬦ Obstacles for romance, love triangle quadrangle-tangle: I appreciate that the obstacles in this story are not contrived or fueled by needless misunderstandings.  Se-ri and Jeong Hyeok have really solid, sensible reasons to be hesitant to first recognise, then admit to, and then act upon, a romantic attraction. Even once they realise that getting Se-ri home is going to take longer than they’d hoped and she’s pretending to be Jeong Hyeok’s fiancée, romance between them is still a road that leads nowhere. She isn’t safe staying in the north and he would endanger his family if he defected to the south, and they both accept that. And they’re reticent about sharing vulnerable feelings, and Jeong Hyeok is actually engaged to someone else.

But once they really open up to each other, the narrative conflict revolves around their circumstances, rather than doubts or misunderstandings they have about each other. Because the situations they face are dangerous and difficult, with no obvious or straightforward path to a happy ending, there’s quite enough tension to drive the story forward. They still have a couple of misunderstandings, but I like how they handle those, and I like that they don’t have more of them.

As for the love triangle, it doesn’t have the angst of someone torn between, or even attracted to, two people. Jeong Hyeok’s engagement has been arranged. Having feelings for someone else doesn’t change the foundation of that engagement, nor the pressure to please his family. He doesn’t love or know his fiancée -- not well enough to risk revealing Se-ri’s true identity to her. He’s honest with Se-ri and he makes an effort with Dan.  

(I have a theory that, if he had been in love before, he might be quicker to recognise how some of his behaviour towards Se-ri fosters intimacy and sends her messages he doesn’t intend, but this is all new for him.)

He tries not to mislead or hurt Dan, but she’s hurt nonetheless, and I like that Crash Landing doesn’t gloss over that. It explores why she’s hurt, why she’s so reluctant to let him go and why their relationship never really worked. (Neither of them are good at communicating with each other, and I think she takes some of the things he does for her for granted, rather than recognising them as overtures and as opportunities to get to know him better.)

Dan is not just a romantic rival, nor a narrative complication, but a person whose concerns and desire are taken seriously, and who is given space to grow.

Which leads me to...

⬦ Surprising characters, thoughtfully-complicated family relationships: As mentioned, Crash Landing takes advantage of the amount of character development 16 episodes allows, and not just for its lead couple. I was surprised by how much my opinion of certain characters changed, as I came to understand them better.

The character I was most surprised by was Gu Seung-jun.

Each time I’ve watched this, I’ve liked Dan more. I have a lot of sympathy for her now. I also like her mother, even though she’s embarrassingly over the top, because she cares fiercely about her daughter and about advocating for her.

Se-ri’s dysfunctional family are more nuanced than I expected, too. In particular, I love the attention the story gives to Se-ri’s relationship with her step-mother. I was expecting Se-ri’s father to play a larger role, perhaps because he’s nominally the one with the power and influence, and at first Se-ri’s mother seems so passive. But it was really interesting to understand where she’s coming from, why her relationship with Se-ri is broken and sad. The steps the two of them take towards rebuilding their relationship are believable.

(On a related thought, I appreciate a lot of the choices this makes in addressing these women’s mental health struggles. One or two moments arguably could have been handled better, but on the whole it’s realistically optimistic, with enough detail so that we understand the seriousness -- the impact it’s had on these women’s lives.)

⬦ Camaraderie, found family and the ducklings: Se-ri doesn’t spend as much time with the village women as she does with Jeong Hyeok and his soldiers, and when she does, she’s play-acting, in order to keep her identity a secret. But I like how they nevertheless support her, and how meeting her sparks change their dynamic with each other. They grow closer and become much better at supporting each other. It’s really heartwarming.

We gave many of the characters codenames, so we could discuss them when we were still learning their names. (I was surprised by how long it took me to learn some of the characters’ names.  Because so many were unfamiliar to me, they were harder to remember; I wasn’t always sure, from just reading the subtitles, how all of them were pronounced, and sometimes it was hard to separate the sound of the names from surrounding sentences, especially when, due to honorifics and titles and so on, subtitles don’t always match exactly what is being said.) Jeong Hyeok’s men are “the ducklings”, inspired by something I saw on Tumblr: Gwang Beom is “Handsome Duckling”, Ju Meok is “Drama Duckling” and Chi Su is just the sergeant.) I love how they function as a found-family, especially in contrast to Se-ri’s real family. They’re funny, loyal and caring, and in spite of their different personalities, work well together as a team. I enjoyed seeing the different relationships they have with each other, with Jeong Hyeok and Se-ri, and how some of those relationships change. And they’re so protective they are of Eun Dong!

Man Bok has an interesting arc -- I could have mentioned him under Surprising characters. I really like how he fits into this story, how he’s connected to the mystery Jeong Hyeok is investigating, how he becomes involved with the rest of the characters and has these moments when he plays a significant role. Or gets to be funny. I like the contrast and parallels too -- he’s in a different place in his life to the ducklings, and he gets opportunities to revisit past choices he regrets.

And I’m trying not to write essays about all the characters, and it’s ahhh, I have too many thoughts and feelings about them all!

⬦ Satisfyingly realistic: I like how -- one or two ridiculous fight scenes and an unrealistic paragliding scene aside -- things which happen have believable consequences. Particularly emotionally. We see men cry! A lot! And it always feels like a genuine expression of emotion, not gratuitous or overwrought. (Well, okay, there’s a very minor character who’s a bit over the top but he’s very minor.)

When one of the characters is gravely ill, she looks it, I found it oddly satisfying that she doesn’t have to be pretty all the time.

And I wasn’t sure if this belonged here or under “Visual details” but I love the attention given to Se-ri’s clothes. She cares a lot about fashion and in the north her clothing choices indicate that she cares a lot about her appearance, while making do with a limited wardrobe and still dressing for warmth.  (I’m happy to handwave that she seems to have more clothes than would realistically fit in those shopping bags.) I appreciated the practical streak, and, as winter wore on here, became envious of one of her outfits.

I don’t personally like the style of Se-ri chooses for work, but it’s different it is from what she wore in the north and from what she wears at home -- her power-dressing is like a uniform or a statement of persona she projects in her working life, and not necessarily a reflection of her personal tastes.

⬦ Visual details: I love so many of the visuals. Gorgeous scenery, interesting settings and clever framing for significant scenes. The sky, a place without borders, often becomes a focus and there’s a thematically-relevant flight motif -- paragliders, birds and kites.

I did not start noticing the   product placement until a rewatch, when I stopped to think about how often they went to Subway. The first time, it just seemed like a commentary on south-versus-north, and then I was just baffled-yet-amused by it all. (That sort of thing does not make me want to eat fried chicken...)

⬦ Soundtrack: The first time round, I liked the instrumental score and the presence of piano music actually in the story. As I kept rewatching, the rest of the soundtrack slowly but steadily grew on me, and I found myself liking the songs more and more.  

Now I not only recognise them by name, I can recall most of them well enough to hum them and know which scenes they’re associated with. Which is a lot harder when the lyrics are in a language I don’t speak and so I can’t use them as a prompt for memory.

⬦ Flashbacks: Instead of “previously-on” segments, Crash Landing employs lots of flashbacks whenever it wants to remind the audience of something.

Sometimes, instead of just repeating part of an earlier scene, it takes the opportunity to show the same moment from different angles or from a different character’s perspective,  or to juxtapose it with a different scene or to introduce new information. This was really effective. And when flashbacks were a simple repeat, I was usually happy to revisit important moments in the story (and sometimes, having a different person translating the subtitles meant there was a slightly different perspective on the dialogue).

Then there are the post-credit flashbacks, quite a few of which take places years earlier. I love how they’re puzzle pieces about the characters’ pasts and the connections between them.

⬦ The end:  The first time round, after watching the penultimate episode I was so engrossed in the story and so invested in the characters that I had trouble sleeping and I went around the next day with this tight, anxious feeling, unable to get the story out of my head.

The final episode is an emotional rollercoaster. SO. MANY. FEELINGS. There’s one particular scene which packs a powerful punch -- it’s exceptionally emotional and beautifully filmed. I love it, but I’m  glad we get the aftermath too.

It isn’t a perfect ending, but as I said, I don’t think there was a perfect ending was possible, not one that was both realistic and satisfying. But this comes very close. In the very final scenes, not everything is resolved or explained, and I like how that ambiguity is open to interpretation -- I like that there are some gaps for the viewer to fill in for oneself, however one prefers to imagine the characters’ lives going forward.

I know I could easily write another four thousand words about this story -- there are aspects I haven’t really discussed but this seems like a good place to stop. For now. I really like this story. I expect I’ll watch it all again soon.

[victorineb]

This is my contribution to the amazing Radiance anthology, produced by @lovecrimebooks​. I want to thank everybody involved for the amazing opportunity and the beautiful book that emerged, and to give an especial shout out to @allionne​ and @lovecrimecat​ for their vision, determination and commitment in leading the whole project.

I’d also like to say thank you to my betas @hotmolasses​ and @desperatelyseekingcannibals​ for their invaluable help and patience. And to @hotsauce418​ @slashyrogue​ and @tcbook​ for putting up with all my whining while writing this. I love you all more than words could say.

The title and epigraph are taken from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Also on AO3.

A Feasting Presence Full of Light

Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon.

-- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, scene ii

One.

In his mind’s eye, Hannibal has often seen Will as a pillar of light, surrounded by the flames of his fever or a glowing aura of righteous violence. His imagination has painted Will in the soft flicker of candle flame and shafts of afternoon light, slanted and speckled with motes of dust. Yet the first time he notices the sparkle in Will’s eyes after their fall together, he believes it merely the return of health to his body after so many long months of healing. Not merely physical well-being but, perhaps for the first time in his life, something approaching psychological balance too. Will seems – and Hannibal spends much of his time scrutinising the younger man in order to confirm this – content, and so it follows that his smile is blindingly bright, his skin glowing with life.

Perhaps it is selfish blindness on Hannibal’s part. He has rarely desired anything so greatly as he does Will’s acceptance of himself and a life with Hannibal. And so he takes delight in what should be warning signs, allowing himself to believe that he is seeing Will the way he has always wanted to, gleaming with life and vitality, like the edge of a blade perfectly honed to fatal sharpness.

Still, there are limits to what he can ignore, even for Will’s sake.

They are walking back to the apartment Hannibal has acquired for them, Will having finally been persuaded that it is safe for them to be out in public. The streetlights are few and far between in this tucked away little lane, such that their sodium glow does not carry far enough to cover Will’s own subtle light. 

Hannibal hangs back to observe this strange phenomenon, watching as the faint halo surrounding Will causes the air around him to shimmer, as if a heat haze has gathered around him in the midst of frost-bound Geneva.

“Aren’t you coming? I’m freezing out here, Hannibal, this coat you got for me has no practical value, you know.” Will stomps his feet and adds, “And these boots are useless. I don’t care how much they cost, they’re letting in so much water I might as well be barefoot.”

Hannibal barely listens, entranced to find that when Will lifts his feet it gives the effect of two small spotlights blinking on and off. Apparently whatever is causing the strange effect is strong enough to make it through a thick layer of Italian leather, as well as Will’s socks.

“Hannibal?”

It is as if Will has begun to manufacture his own bioluminescence, like the fireflies Mischa was so fond of. As if he has become his own living tribute, a rebirth of the beautiful death he gave Chiyoh’s prisoner, the gift he left for Hannibal.

“Hannibal?” Will is close now, taking the last few steps towards Hannibal, concern in his tone at the other man’s enraptured gaze.

“Do you see?” Hannibal asks, and Will visibly balks at the question. His reaction finally pulls Hannibal from his reverie and he reaches a hand out as if to soothe him, though he does not touch, in the end. They don’t touch anymore. “What happened just then, Will?”

Will runs a hand over his face and then gives Hannibal one of his tight, fleeting smiles. “Christ, you just… he used to say that to me. Hobbs. When he was in my head, he would ask that, over and over. See? Do you see?” Will sounds haunted, though it has been years since Hobbs’ residence in his mind.

The explanation catches Hannibal’s attention and worry suddenly pricks at him. Will has given no sign that he has noticed the glow emanating from him, and Hannibal is suddenly aware that this is perhaps because there is no glow at all. Perhaps he has finally succumbed to the madness that so many have accused him of, that he was indeed convicted of, though more as a means of preserving a fascinating specimen than a result of actual evidence. This is, and Hannibal sees no reason in lying to himself about it, more worrying than the idea that something strange but as yet seemingly innocuous is happening to Will. Hannibal is confident in his ability to treat, or at least manage, any physical ailment either one of them may suffer from. But for his mind to be compromised holds the threat of losing not just himself but Will too, of being separated into two planes of consciousness where neither can reach the other.

“Hannibal?” Will calls his name a third time and peers into his face. He sees worry there but clearly mistakes its origins for concern for his own state of mind. “It’s ok, Hannibal. You didn’t intend to remind me. Forget about it.” Unusual for him to misread, but understandable. Hannibal allows it to slide, murmuring his acquiescence. Will looks at him strangely for a moment but then turns towards home, Hannibal’s very own beacon in the dark. He follows; where else would he go?

Two.

Hannibal cannot discern Will’s personal luminescence from the early morning light that floods their kitchen, the silvery moonlight that surrounds him burnished gold by the rising sun. In these moments, Hannibal can almost forget this strange occurrence for which he can find no explanation or cure. He can allow himself to simply enjoy the beauty of Will’s sleep-softened face, the way he sags into his chair at the counter and wraps his hands around the cup of coffee Hannibal pushes towards him. The way he smiles with easy gratitude and murmurs, “Mornin’” with a trace of a past life in his accent.

But then Hannibal’s eyes adjust and Will’s silvery edges reassert themselves, along with the anxiety that has become Hannibal’s constant companion. He has pored over learned texts and speculative articles, research from every relevant field he can think of, in an attempt to find some explanation for this phenomenon, with no success. Nothing can explain what is happening to Will and therefore Hannibal must consider the possibility that in fact nothing is happening to him at all.

He has entertained thoughts of keeping silent on the subject. It would not be the first time he has let Will burn without informing him and it is impossible to ignore how beautiful Will is like this. He could observe in silence, as he did once before, cataloguing the quirks and nuances of Will’s new condition: the way laughter seems to cause the air to sparkle around him, or a warm meal sets the light around him pulsating in gentle waves.

Or the way it dims whenever Hannibal stands close to him.

It is this, above anything else, that pushes Hannibal to finally bring it up to Will. There is an ache in his chest when it happens, a flare of rejection when the light dies in Will’s eyes at his touch. He feels… possessive, as if this light is something that will rob Will from him and that will not do after Hannibal has put so much effort into claiming him from everything and everyone else. So he asks. And Will, as ever, gives the least predictable response.

“So you see it too, huh?”

Hannibal takes a breath. And then another. Will looks at him, unruffled, and takes another bite of the eggs Hannibal had persuaded him to accept for breakfast, rather than black coffee and muttered threats to return to bed. Eventually, when it becomes clear that Will has achieved the rare feat of causing Hannibal to lose his words, he takes pity on him.

“Thought I was maybe hallucinating again.”

Another breath and then, “As did I,” Hannibal admits, slow and cautious.

Will glances up at him and Hannibal sees the light around him flare, as if Will is putting up defences. His tone is wry when he speaks, though, spiked only with the smallest remnant of bitterness.

“Not pleasant, is it? Thinking you can’t trust your own eyes, the integrity of your thoughts.”

Hannibal only shakes his head in response. If he is capable of looking shamefaced, he suspects he is now.

“How long were you going to wait before bringing it up?” Will seeks out his eyes and Hannibal lets him see, reluctant to ever deny Will the opportunity. “You… thought about not saying anything. You think it’s beautiful, this thing. You thought it was beautiful the last time I was lit up too, you wanted to watch what happened. What’s the matter this time? Your favourite toy not so much fun anymore? Not enjoying the game, Hannibal?” He smirks, and perhaps it is meant to be cruel, but it shows only amusement at Hannibal’s predictability, like he is a dog yet to be broken of a bad habit.

Hannibal can’t find the words, pinned under that gleaming blue gaze, and so he simply comes to stand next to Will and lets him watch as the light around him dims. Then, telegraphing his movements, Hannibal raises his hand and moves it to hover above Will’s arm. This will be the first time they have touched since Will healed enough to no longer need medical care and Hannibal doesn’t want to spook him. He lets his hand just graze against Will’s skin at first, and Will is less skittish than he used to be, it seems, because he doesn’t flinch at all, just watches as the silvery glow darkens to a faint outline.

“Huh. Hadn’t noticed that before. Wonder what it means.” Will quirks a brow at Hannibal and smirks. “Are you my cure, doctor?”

“Perhaps I am the darkness that extinguishes your light.”

Will brings up a hand to cup Hannibal’s cheek, a perfect echo of the way Hannibal had touched him so many times before. Was it so many? Those instances are replicated so often in the chambers of his mind palace he can’t be sure anymore.

“I got here on my own, eventually,” Will says, his smirk softening into something fond, “but I do appreciate your company. Have you been worrying about this, Hannibal?”

Hannibal ducks his head, realising a second too late that they have reversed roles, Will a steady and confident foil to his own sudden avoidance. “Merely observing the effect of different stimuli on your condition, Will.”

Will snorts, but his face does not take on that snarling edge that so often accompanies his humour. “Once a doctor, always a doctor, huh?”

“You don’t seem perturbed by this development. It would behove us that someone takes your health seriously.” It’s petty and unfair, and Hannibal knows it. Regret takes hold of him instantly but like so many of his rash actions when it comes to Will, there is no way to finesse his way out of it.

Will’s face shutters, and he leans away from Hannibal, shaking off his arm in the process. The glowing field reasserts itself around him and Will looks down at it with one of those grimacing smiles that mean he is truly angry. “Well look at that, maybe my body is trying to tell me something after all. I do feel a hell of a lot lighter when I’m nowhere near you.”

Will pushes himself up from his chair and spins on his heel, marching out of the kitchen and up to his room. Hannibal hears the door slam and winces. That was not well done of him. He is not used to anyone pressing on his nerves and Will plays them so expertly, the effect is breathtaking, a white hot shock to the centre of Hannibal’s being. It causes him to lash out ungracefully and so undo any progress he has made with Will. Love is a strange and delicate thing, and while Hannibal can cut with a scalpel so finely that the incision is barely visible, with this he is crude and ungainly. He does not enjoy it.

Hannibal will make it up to Will, somehow. He cannot procure a dog just yet, which would likely be the easiest means by which to buy Will’s favour, but there will be other ways. He will give Will space for a few hours and then approach him gently, offering apologies and concessions. Likely Will won’t accept them, but perhaps the effort will be appreciated nonetheless. Eventually he will come round. What other choice does he have? In the meantime, Hannibal has got what he wanted from the exchange, confirmation that he has not lost his grip on his mind, that whatever is happening to Will is real, and tangible.

Folie a deux. A whisper brushes his mind, Bedelia’s voice, a tinge of disdain colouring the professional detachment of her tone. Like a drop of ink in water, it blackens the whole until it is all he can hear, but he cares little about it. If he is to go mad, at least he can share it with Will; he will be content to lose himself so long as Will is lost with him. And in the meantime, he had indeed once watched Will burn from the inside with endlessly beautiful results. He can only hope that this light will match it in beauty and not in pain. Will’s pain is no longer so compelling to him as it once was.

Part Three.

[courteternal-rp]

→ general details

name ; december fairchild

age ; appears 30 || actual 80

gender & sexuality ; genderfluid, demisexual

race ; made

do they hold a position or title? ; n/a

loyalty ; to herself, to the humans, to the other made.

face claim ; phoebe tonkin

→ in depth

→ aesthetics

a forgotten schoolbook. fire and water make smoke. no one made me, i made me. an apple rots in the corner. empty wine bottles clatter to the ground. staccato melodies played at the piano. long sleeves, high necklines, sharp edges. iron clashes with silver. eyes that burn with ice. the shards of a broken mirror tossed piece by piece from a balcony. a mother with no child. hair that is pinned back from her face. a living ghost. nightmares are memories. wildflowers tied with a ribbon. stray cats are kindred spirits. anger inside and out. bath water soothes all wounds.

→ headcanons

iron bracelet ; humans believe that iron repels the fae. when she was still a human, her sisters each bought her an ornate iron bracelet. she wears one on each wrist to this day, despite being a fae herself. while she obviously knows that the bracelets have no effect, it is a keepsake from her former life, and it sends a message of her reluctance to becoming a fae to all others. 

piano ; December has always held a deep love of music. her father would sing her to sleep as a babe and later taught her all the lullabies so that she could sing them to her brothers and sisters. however, her musical abilities are at their height when she is behind the keyboard of a piano. she has not had one of her own to play since she was Made, but it has not lessened her love of the art. 

bath ; in recent years, December had learned to value her solitude more than anything else. whenever others are near here, she either bursts into a fit of rage or sinks into a depression. it is simply easier to be alone. the best place for her to be alone is in a nice long bath. it had become a ritual of hers that December greatly values.

→ powers

December is still fairly new to her powers, all things considered. While it’s been suspected by the High Lords for a long time that she possesses a bit of each of their powers, December has never confirmed this fact to them. They only know for certain her ability to control fire and water, as she will often use the combination to create a smoke screen by which to escape conversation. There had been very little desire from her to delve too deep into her powers in the past fifty years. She has experimented in private, but does no training by any means. December knows well that she is no warrior, nor does she have any intention to be. With the High Lords’ powers being confined, hers had become more unpredictable than ever. There had always been an imbalance to her abilities. For example, water, ice, and fire come more naturally and have more range than the gifts of any other court. They are the easiest and most frequently accessed. December has realized that her powers are intrinsically linked to her emotional state. Now that everything was out of balance, any slip of her temper can lead to catastrophic results. In order of strength from each court, she possesses the ability of; ice, fire, water, air, healing, light, and darkness.

→ personality

responsible ; as the oldest child in a family that had many children and rungs to climb, responsibility was given to December at a very young age. there was never any hesitation to rise to what was expected of her. December often makes herself obligated to care for herself and others.

abrasive ; December has always been very honest. there is little that she is scared to admit. however, the years have sharpened that instinct into something much more caustic. her words are now harsh with little concern for other people’s feelings. 

capable ; in the pursuit of a good marriage match, December worked hard to perfect many different abilities. she can sew, play piano, read, write, do arithmetic, bake, and a host of other things. if there is anything she can’t do and wants to, December will take the time to learn it. 

cold ; what was once a strong maternal instinct has frozen with the experiences of her reality. December loved her family which did not hesitate to turn her away. she could not save her favorite person in the world. now, she is resigned to a life that she has no interest in. anyone could become cold under those circumstances and December is no exception. there is no one left she means to impress. 

determined ; nothing is impossible. in the face of a man above her station threatening her engagement, December did not quake nor back down. when an entire town whispered about her, she did not balk. December died, but it didn’t stick. she was Made and it only heightened her determination. once her mind is set, there is no deterring her.

mistrusting ; you have to be a special sort of person to earn December’s trust. there are a few people that have been given the slightest bit of trust over the years, but she is understandably very cautious as to who she allows into her life.

→ biography

The Fairchilds lived in a town not too far from where The Wall stood. It was a rather large town due to the fact that many merchants of the area lived in manors there. Archibald Fairchild worked as a tutor to the children of said wealthy merchants while his wife Helena ran the one room schoolhouse in town. The couple was well-off. They had their own home and did not need to rely on the charity of others. However, they were not so rich as to frequently rub elbows with the merchants. 

December was their first born child, but certainly not the last. While it took four more years before they had the rest of their children, she was followed by the birth of two sisters and then the birth of two brothers, no two of them born more than two years apart. Most of their childhood was spent with December functioning as a constant watchful eye and sitter. She would take daily care of her siblings while her parents went to work. Responsibility had always been heaped onto her shoulders, but it was never something that December shied away from. She was happy to help with her siblings. She loved each one of them with her entire heart. However, her needs and wants were often pushed to the side in order to do so. December let them be. Her formal schooling was even held off until the youngest of them began attending school as well. 

By that point, the Fairchilds were looking into potential marriage matches for December. They were not a well-to-do family, but they had very high connections. It was certain that with enough effort, December could go on to marry much higher than her station. If she did, then her siblings would go on to be well taken care of by her husband. It wasn’t an idea that she had ever been comfortable with, but so long as it was what was best for her family, December would consent to any marriage that her parents agreed was best for her. Thus when she wasn’t child-rearing the little brothers and sisters, December spent her time studying and attempting to master the nuance of social propriety. It became well-known in her town that December was growing into an ideal lady.

However, any moment that she was left to her own devices, December would steal away for a moment of quiet to practice piano as it was her favorite past time. Her youngest brother, and secretly her favorite sibling, would come to listen and sing songs that he made up to any melody she would set to key. Even now, they are her most fond memories. 

It did not take very long for a man to become interested in her hand. As expected, her good reputation and the connections her father had made as a tutor worked in her favor. She was twenty-five when the son of a traveling merchant proposed to her. December did not love him, of course, but he was not a cruel man. At least, he had never seemed to be one. Their wedding was set to take place in early spring. When the snow began to melt away, a rumor spread throughout the town that her fiance had been seen rolling in the hay with a married woman. When December confronted the man about this, he did not deny it. In fact, he attempted to persuade her to marry him in spite of it and pay her to allow the behavior to continue. December was repulsed and called off the wedding immediately. 

The gentleman was affronted by her actions and embarrassed by his own. He swiftly spread to any other man of his caliber that he’d called off the wedding because of December’s infidelity instead of the opposite. The ears followed the man who could bankroll his rumor. Like called to like. The wealthy all believed his obvious attempts to save face. Thus the reputation that she’d built up for years dissipated. No other man in town would dare marry her now. At least no man who lived at the standard that the Fairchilds wanted for their daughter. While it gave her some sense of freedom, December did feel guilty for disappointing her parents and ruining the hopes they had for her younger siblings. 

The Fairchilds did not want for the necessities, but neither were they well off enough to allow their children to live off their generosity forever. Since December’s marriage fell through and it did not appear she would have another offer in the near future, it became necessary for December to take on a profession of her own. She knew nothing else but education and watching children. The obvious decision was for her to become a governess for a particularly wealthy family. 

No one in town so close to The Wall ever trusted the fae. Too many had come through and tormented them throughout the years. Iron was a common staple amongst the people, as was anything made of ash wood for those who could afford it. December, while never being much of a fighter, was gifted a dagger made of ash wood by her employer should she ever need it to protect their children. The Children of the Blessed were commonly spouting their beliefs in the town square. No one was foolish enough to listen to them. However, these Children of the Blessed were very forceful. On more than one occasion, December would wind up at home with silver bells clung to her dress or satchel. They were always immediately tossed away in frustration. When December caught them clinging bells to her charges, she lost her temper. She shouted precisely what she thought of the cult to their faces in a scene that nearly everyone in town witnessed. 

The next morning her youngest brother was missing. Some in town claimed to have spotted fae around the Fairchild home. Others swore that it was the Children of the Blessed that December had spurned. Either way, it lead her to one place. Without hesitation, she took a horse from the stables and made her way to the nearest marked hole in the wall. The hole was meant to be guarded day and night by a private force, but when December arrived they had been executed. The sight made her head swoon. She emptied the entire contents of her stomach before she stepped through into a world more vibrant than she could have ever imagined. 

December was shocked to see an entire host of people on the other side. Seven men with their backs to her, an assortment of women all dressed in a similar fashion, The Children of the Blessed were scattered about the clearing, and facing her was her precious brother. The entire scene was tense. Seven of the men, whom she would later learn were the High Lords of Prythian, faced against the boy who held something heavy looking and wrapped in leather in front of him. December could tell immediately that something wasn’t right. Her brother’s eyes seemed distant and clouded and scared. The High Lords demanded whatever he had back. Her brother refused. Two of the High Priestesses stepped up behind the two men nearest her- they smelled like a crackling fire and a cold winter morning. The Priestesses held in their hands ashwood weapons nearly identical to the one December had been carrying for years. December didn’t know what would happen next. The scent of metal permeated the air. Without letting her mind think through what she was doing, her body was in action. She drew her own dagger. December called out for the High Lord to watch out and left her own ash wood embedded in one woman’s arm and she pushed her down the other on the way to placing herself squarely between the High Lords and her brother. It was pointless and she was too slow to do anything as a wave of power killed both Fairchild siblings. Their mortal bodies stood no chance.

It would have been easy to leave the plain mortal who had stood against the High Lords dead on the ground where she lay. However, those who’d been saved by her pointed out that she did not know the situation and had selflessly saved both their lives and tried to save the boy. She had been completely innocent and did not deserve to die by their hands. Not to mention, it would have strained the relationship with the humans even more if anyone heard of it. The two High Lords December saved began the process to bring her back to life. They each gave a portion of their remaining power to resurrect the woman that had saved them. Life for life. The rest of the High Lords were either pressured or guilted into following suit.

December was Made and furious for it. She felt no gratitude for being brought back to life in this manner, especially when no one bothered to save the brother that she had fought so fiercely for. She wanted nothing to do with these Fae, nor the war they warned her was coming. December fled. The Wall felt like an illness now, but she still managed to find her way through. She needed to tell her family of what had happened. Besides, she belonged with her family. It was all that she had ever known. When she arrived back in her hometown, December was rejected. The townsfolk blamed her for the recent wave of Fae attacks in the villages. Her family blamed her for the disappearance of her brother. No one wanted a fae walking so intimately amongst them. December was ushered out of town and back to the Lords she’d abandoned. 

Desperate now, December accepted the offered lodging beneath the fae’s sacred mountain. There was nowhere else for her to go. She never once entertained the notion of pledging herself to any court despite many of the High Lords offering her a position, most adamantly Winter and Autumn. There was no desire in her heart to involve herself in fae affairs. 

Throughout the years, December tried several times to return to her family. Slowly, she watched them age while she remained the same. She watched her parents pass away, her younger siblings grow and marry and have children of their own, and soon they too began to pass. Each loss was another heartbreak. Each heartbreak changed her. When her last living siblings took their last breath, December no longer recognized the person she’d become. Her anger and sorrow at her situation knew no consolation. There was nothing left for her in this world, but she’d been given an immortal life. Sure, she would watch over the nieces and nephews that she’d been given, but as a fae, she held no real place in their lives. When the other Made began to appear Under the Mountain, December found new purpose in protecting them. With war on the horizon, she is beginning to consider her place in it all now.

[recentanimenews]

How Sir Nighteye's Shinichiro Miki Helps You Appreciate Anime Voice Acting

Hey all, and welcome back to Why It Works! The fourth season of My Hero Academia has been a slow burner so far, as the villains prepare for their next moves while Midoriya works to join Sir Nighteye’s hero agency. But even if the on-screen action might be a little slow in coming, I’ve still found myself frequently captivated by Sir Nighteye’s spider-like movements and sneering attitude. In the manga, Sir Nighteye was already a fine enough character; in anime, I realize he was always meant to be voiced, and in particular meant to be voiced by Shinichiro Miki. With his usual gravily relish and smug delivery, Shinichiro Miki is absolutely killing it as Sir Nighteye, as he has done for so many characters before.

Japanese voice actors are often underappreciated by foreign fans, and for understandable reasons: when you can’t actually understand the words someone is saying, it’s far more difficult to tell whether their performance is impressive or not. On top of that, the way different languages and cultures convey certain emotional stresses is also different, meaning what comes across as “overacting” in one sphere might seem perfectly natural in another. In spite of this, great acting is still great acting - and once you develop an ear for it, the nuance and expressiveness of the great anime voice actors is yet another thing to love about anime. Shinichiro Miki was one of the first actors who taught me that, and today I’d like to celebrate some of the many roles within his very impressive career!

Shinichiro Miki has starred in a vast variety of productions (he was even Batman at one point!), but for me, his voice will always be tied in some way to Nisemonogatari’s Kaiki Deishuu. A conman through and through, Kaiki enters the Monogatari narrative by deceiving and poisoning the protagonist’s younger sister, during the course of selling fake charms to middle schoolers. Kaiki remains a seedy and untrustworthy presence all through his time in Monogatari, and Miki’s lethargic, rasping voice is the perfect fit to capture all of his greater and lesser qualities.

As with Sir Nighteye, Kaiki’s character affects a sense of control so complete it often feels like he’s actually bored; both of them come across like they could crush you like a bug, but see no reason to do so. It’s not just their narrative power that creates that sensation - it’s Miki’s voice, naturally predisposed to arrogance, but capable of great vulnerability as well. In spite of entering the narrative via the poisoning of middle schoolers, Kaiki actually becomes a reliable and sympathetic presence within Monogatari, eventually adopting the role of something like a fatigued yet indulgent uncle to the main cast. Capable of both withering inhumanity and also urging his niece to eat lots of meat in order to grow strong, Shinichiro Miki embodies Kaiki, making a contradiction of a character into a flesh-and-blood human being.

Shinichiro Miki doesn’t just play antagonistic schemers, though. Well, he at least plays different types of schemers, as demonstrated during his tenure on Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood as Roy Mustang. Roy Mustang demonstrates a different side of Miki, as he depicts a confident, seasoned soldier with ambitions of changing the whole world. The gravelly tone that gives Kaiki and Nighteye an inherent sense of fatigue or superiority is through Mustang converted into something more like a sensual smolder, while his cracking high notes, often used to naturally mock the assumptions of his enemies, are here more often aimed at himself.

To put it bluntly, Roy Mustang is hot, and hot in ways that naturally benefit from Miki’s unique strengths as an actor. Though it can also come across as frail and reedy, Mustang demonstrates that Miki’s voice is capable of commanding authority, as well as a kind of rakish, self-effacing confidence. The rasping layers of Miki’s voice echo the wartime experiences Mustang cannot put behind him, while making him the perfect begrudging mentor for the young Elrics. Mustang is a great character under any circumstances, but Shinichiro Miki elevates him into an electrifying on-screen presence.

Finally, while Shinichiro Miki is clearly very comfortable playing commanding, overbearing presences, he’s also equally comfortable conveying great frailty and vulnerability. Though he only appears well into the show’s first season, Miki’s performance as March comes in like a lion’s Kai Shimada is one of the highlights of that brilliant drama. Initially offering a sanctuary to March’s unhappy protagonist Rei, where he can practice playing shogi against kind and accommodating peers, Shimada ultimately ends up serving as challenger to the greatest living shogi player.

  Shimada’s age, anxieties, and poor health mean he actually ends up switching roles with Rei, and being protected by his much younger friend as he fights to make his provincial hometown proud. Shinichiro Miki’s wavering tone brings both Shimada’s strength and his fragility to life, offering one of the most dynamic and sympathetic portrayals of a middle-aged character in recent anime.

  No matter the role he is given, Shinichiro Miki is one of those actors whose presence makes every production greater, infusing at least one character with dynamic emotional range, human frailty, and a flat-out sonorous voice. But Miki is not alone in his talents; there are a tremendous number of staggeringly talented anime voice actors, and learning to appreciate the nuances of their performances has greatly enhanced my enjoyment of anime as a whole. I hope you’ve enjoyed this exploration of just a few Shinichiro Miki highlights, and please let me know your own favorite Miki performances or voice actors in the comments!

  --------------

  Nick Creamer has been writing about cartoons for too many years now, and is always ready to cry about Madoka. You can find more of his work at his blog Wrong Every Time, or follow him on Twitter.

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[zanytimetravelenthusiast-blog]

UnHustled Review Should I Get It

UnHustled Review - Are you looking for even more knowledge concerning UnHustled? Please go through my sincere evaluation concerning it prior to selecting, to examine the weak points as well as staminas of it. Can it deserve your effort and time as well as money?

Presenting UnHustled

5 Keys to Starting Your Own Digital Advertising And Marketing Agency (Component 4)

Taxes, liability, and the power of "having a guy for that"

A couple various other essential aspects to recognizing the business model are responsibility and also tax obligations.

If you do decide that constructing an agency is what you want to do, create an LLC or SCorp. This will certainly approve you individual legal security if something goes awfully incorrect (lawsuits). It additionally permits you a multitude of UnHustled benefits. I would suggest obtaining an LLC or SCorp established as soon as possible as it likewise legitimizes your company in both the eyes of the client as well as Uncle Sam.

Oh, as well as get a tax person.

If you are exceptionally savvy with taxes then by all means do them yourself. Nonetheless for the usual person, there are so many nuances to running your very own business that it makes sense to push this duty onto a professional (like your customers are performing with you!). You can conserve a lot of money by having a specialist file your taxes on a quarterly basis, helping you in the process with write-offs.

# 4: Define Your Specific niche

When you're beginning it's simple to be attracted by the possibility of dealing with any type of organisation.

The idea of needing to refuse anybody can create anyone a reasonable quantity of cognitive harshness when their income gets on the line. With that being said, there are hundreds of electronic advertising firms as well as experts out there. Several of them specialize, yet a number of them don't.

Unless referrals are moving like the salmon of Capistrano, you are mosting likely to require to stick out as well as develop a special selling suggestion when coming close to brand-new leads.

Other than the included worth of being specialized within an industry or customer kind, there are numerous benefits to focusing your solutions towards a plainly defined particular niche. Right here are a few of the most notable:

It makes onboarding easier

When you handle anyone as a customer there are a lot of variables that you require to become aware of before choosing whether it's a great decision to do business with them or not. When your ideal consumer is clearly specified, this process becomes streamlined since you understand what kinds of questions and also information you require to obtain from them. You additionally have viewpoint on just how these organisations run internally along with just how much you would certainly bill them typically.

It strengthens your skillset greatly

If you have actually become skilled in UnHustled digital marketing (paid specifically) you can basically run advertisements for most services. Nonetheless, you require to learn the target market and also how to develop effective messaging. This can take a great deal of time when the business is strange or abstract to what you are utilized to working with, which undoubtedly triggers issues early on if things aren't going so well.

If your optimal client is already defined, you are going to build a variety of experience dealing with that type of client. This develops the muscle mass memory and also intuition essential to know what choices to make as well as when to make them. You can work more successfully because you've seen the troubles prior to and also you know how to manage them. It also makes you proficient at acknowledging clients you don't intend to associate with.

It provides you a competitive advantage

As I have actually pointed out in the past, there are so many individuals out there slingin' ads as well as takin' names.

The web has actually permitted the hackiest of hacks to experience success. Because of the truth that there are numerous low-quality companies available, it supplies the client with even more comfort when your service caters to those that are just like them. Being the "insert specific niche right here" Firm offers you the social evidence and competence to with confidence talk with the requirements of these individuals their companies. It provides you an included layer of depend on and relatability that is so commonly lost in this sector.

It appears everyone is talking about agencies, right?

Below's the reality, most of these so-called experts don't even use the techniques they are touting and have never ever ran an agency in their lives.

However, there is ONE model that no-one speaks about that can be the foundation of a highly-successful electronic firm.

Best of all you don't require:

You Do Not Required any type of Pricey Ads

You Don't Required A Web Site

You Don't Also Need an Item

Now, the factor no-one speak about this version is that it's so reliable as well as no-one intends to share this key ... Previously.

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[lavalampelfchild]

I Just Lost Cole...

So in my quest to experience a new worldstate I've never used for a DAI playthrough using an entirely throwaway Inquisitor, I accidentally created a character I like. Her name is Ceda, she’s an elf, and she almost always chooses the more serious/almost-aggressive options. To me she has thus far come across as practical, blunt, and emotionally disinterested in making friends. She takes her job seriously and keeps her feelings to herself. And she doesn’t agree with people just to get their approval. So, in an honest playthrough thus far, Iron Bull is the only one who’s really approved of her attitude and actions. With that in mind, I wasn’t exactly expecting her to make a lot of friends.

But I just lost Cole (after playing Champions of the Just and allying with the templars) and it blindsided me. I mean, Ceda’s cold in conversation, not very diplomatic, and she doesn’t care to beat around the bush, but I wasn’t playing her to be cruel.  And yet…

I know that Cole greatly disapproves of allying with the templars, so that started us off on some rocky footing, and, as per her usual tendency, Ceda didn’t welcome him to Skyhold with open arms or positive approval dialogue choices because that’s just not how she does things. So I suspect they never really moved past that initial disapproval from Champions of the Just.

Add to that my decision in Here Lies the Abyss, which was to allow the Wardens to remain and serve the Inquisition because that’s what I genuinely prefer to do, and I decided that Ceda would feel it practical to keep experts on slaying darkspawn around in case a large group of darkspawn (like in western Orlais) needed to be dealt with. She may also have been a bit arrogant in assuming that she and the Inquisition would be able to handle the Wardens should Corypheus get a hold over them again.

Of the decision to let the Wardens remain in Orlais and join the Inquisition, Cole greatly disapproved again.  

So there we have it: two doses of “greatly disapproves” and nothing much else.  Ceda has not concerned herself with choosing diplomatic dialogue options, nor has she done much to go out of her way and talk to people about anything other than the Inquisition.  Beyond “how are your people doing”, “what do you make of the people you work with”, and “is there anything I should know” she hasn’t been big on the chatting.  

I think that those two huge disapproval moments, plus the lack of Ceda talking to Cole and choosing options in dialogue that would earn even slight approval to soften his disposition toward her, ultimately led to Cole’s leaving the Inquisition.  At the end of the day, I didn’t have Ceda talk to him enough or help out NPCs in the Hinterlands enough to earn back even a bit of that lost approval. In hindsight it makes sense.

In the moment, though, I was shocked as hell because I legitimately didn’t think I was that close to the low disapproval scene for Cole.

And then the shock passed and I found myself frustrated and annoyed.  Because, in my attempt to roleplay a character as accurately to what she was becoming over the course of the playthrough as possible, the game interpreted a socially cold and distant personality as morally unfeeling.  And that’s just not true of Ceda.  The way I’ve been envisioning and trying to play her, she believes that focusing on the Breach instead of every individual sob story they come across is the best strategy for restoring some semblance of peace to Thedas. But apparently, the game decided that she instead didn’t like helping people. So, in one sense, I have this feeling of being cheated by a game with limited and linear programming that is designed a certain way, and which favors certain paths over others. (I’m reminded of the Paragon v. Renegade paths in Mass Effect)  This is not the first time BioWare has done this, (nor will it be the last, I suspect) and it annoys me now as much as it did before.

But on the other hand, a surprisingly fantastic character moment just emerged from this, and there seems to be an interesting opportunity for growth and development here.  For both Cole and Ceda.  On Cole’s part, from a narrative perspective, he greatly misinterpreted Ceda’s character in this moment because she has not thus far projected any of the warmth that he normally tries to when helping people; she hasn’t given herself or her efforts to compassion toward individuals as Cole would have preferred, and instead directed her focus and actions to more of a “larger picture” plan by making calls that she knew not many people would like, but that she felt were best for all involved.  

Like allying with the templars to avoid fostering resentment and division amongst Inquisition members and the templars who would technically have been prisoners had she not given them equal status.  Or allowing the Wardens to remain and aid the Inquisition because their talents were useful, and if they wanted to see that as an opportunity to atone, then so be it. She knows what it is to fudge up and want to fix things.  

To Cole (and many others) this was opportunistic, ruthlessly pragmatic, and led him to believe that Ceda was willing to brush their crimes under the rug because she thought their usefulness outweighed the pain they’d caused others.  And that made Ceda, in his eyes, the Wrong Person to be Working With.

To Ceda, those decisions were the best ways for her to help people in the long run. They allowed the Inquisition to bolster its forces, and allowed her to keep close and constant watch over other organizations that messed up and helped cause the whole mess in the first place. If accused of being ruthlessly pragmatic, she would agree and ask how that’s bad. If accused of not wanting to help people and brushing crimes under the rug, she would stiffen up and demand to know how before preparing a rebuttal.

Because despite Cole’s accusations, and despite their different approaches to the same thing - helping Thedas - Ceda was and is trying, and Cole isn’t entirely correct in his claim that she doesn’t like to help people.  She doesn’t go about it the best way all the time, and she certainly could work more on compromising, but her intentions are similar to his. I haven’t decided much of her backstory (honestly I hadn’t intended to because her initial purpose was to allow me to try out a different worldstate for her playthrough) so I don’t know as much about her motivations and beliefs as I do for my other OCs, but I know that she has morals and holds to them proudly.  I know that she wants to stop the Breach and doesn’t particularly care for the power that comes with leading the Inquisition, though she knows that she can and should make use of it. I also know that she’s no saint and that she is capable of stubbornness, arrogance, and - yes - ruthless pragmatism. But it’s the complex relationship between all these things that I would rather focus on instead of failing to meet the game’s black and white standards of morality.

For Cole, this could be a moment of coming face to face with the complexity and nuanced nature of mortals. Part of what frustrated me about Cole’s accusation of Ceda was that it came from a character who can literally see into the minds of others, and if that’s the case, then he should be able to see into Ceda’s mind and know that she, at the very least, isn’t a coldhearted monster who’s willing to let all the innocent people die and all the crimes go unpunished to achieve her own goals.  This is a limitation of the game and programming, I understand, but I like to imagine that narratively, Cole does more thinking about the odd contradictions he sees in Ceda’s mind and actions, and that it leads him to a more nuanced view of her as an individual, and of the mortal mind/nature in general.

For Ceda’s part, this could be a moment of development because it forces her to confront and acknowledge how people see her and interpret her actions.  In Cole’s case, it was negatively, and she lost a valued member of the Inquisition because of it.  It wasn’t enough of a wake-up call to have her begging him to stay (I played the scene in-character for her, and she basically allowed him to go without putting up a fight because it’s not her place to force people to stay when they don’t want to; plus she doesn’t want someone there when they’re unwilling anyway) but I headcanon it as being enough to impress upon her the potential consequences of miscommunication and a lack of transparency on her part when it comes to her own goals for the Inquisition and her principles regarding the decisions she has to make.

I also think that it could get her to start thinking more about her own place in the Inquisition and what it would take to actually open herself more to dissenting opinions and learn to compromise a bit. Especially if it remains a part of her narrative canon that Cole made her forget and she’s not entirely sure where these thoughts are coming from, only that there’s some vaguely distressed and perplexed part of her mind that won’t let up about it.

Ultimately, I think I’m going to roll with this loss for the rest of the playthrough, and see what happens. It might be that Ceda will feel compelled to act a bit more diplomatically and with more concern for how others respond to her actions in the future, I don’t know.  But regardless I’m too attached to the potential story that could go along with this unexpected development to go back and meta-game it away.

Besides, I liked how the scene concluded with Cullen basically coming out to say, “You okay, boss?” as Ceda had some trouble maintaining composure after Cole made her forget.  I thought it was sweet of Cullen, and also the timing was perfect because Ceda had just finished berating him for not telling her about his decision to stop using lyrium (because she saw that as potentially compromising the Inquisition’s forces if the withdrawal got too bad), and declaring that she didn’t care what decision he made so long as he did his job.  I headcanon that she also declared that Cullen would be deferring to her judgment as well as Cassandra’s because she doesn’t trust Cassandra to remain unbiased when assessing Cullen’s condition.  So, basically, this was a nice little turnabout moment that I enjoyed. Kill her with kindness, Cullen! (Say that ten times fast.)

[jimbroadstreet-blog]

English Language

A Treatise on the English Language                                                    Jim Broadstreet, sr.

 A beautiful hodge-podge conglomeration.  A gift of many gods and squires. A collection of words and sounds from greatly disparate sources.

 It is one of those situations where the extant is more mysterious than fiction could ever be. Had a group of linguists set out to formulate a new verbal tool of communication and produced what is now known as English its members would have had to have been given high marks for ingenuity but very low ones for discipline. But of course that it not what happened.

 As is the case with all phenomena this one has been in the process of undisciplined evolution since before Geoffrey Chaucer. The process continues unabated today.

 The author of these words is in love with American English! With all of its lack of coherent discipline there do exist some stringent rules the mastering of which requires a great amount of rote-learning and discerning listening. (If something spoken doesn’t sound right it probably isn’t.) Few people, authors, statesmen, poets or scribes, and certainly including me, ever attain perfection. Those few who come close finally lose the struggle to the perfection itself. Let me offer an example pertaining to both rules and sound:

 The great orator Winston Churchill received a letter from some well-meaning student of word-formulation mildly berating him for having, in a speech to Parliament, ended a sentence with a preposition. Churchill’s response was a priceless bit of wit. “Yes Madam” he wrote, “That is the sort of thing up with which I cannot put.” Another bit from this great mind was, when shown a picture of a grandchild, said “now that’s a baby.”

 While doing my best to use my language as properly as possible I find myself being much too judgmental about how well others use it. Too picky, I say, because evolution occasionally dictates a bit of bastardization. (And I would submit that bastardizing the English language is a feat in itself.) The most egregious example coming to mind is the necessity (or is it, really?) of bowing to sexist political correctness making singular “he” or “her” into the plural “they”.  I love womankind dearly but it seems to me that a blanket statement could be issued from somewhere on high that we strugglers do not mean to be offensive but we believe that the protection of our language is even more important than the possible slight slight to femininity … the double word usage purposeful even though spell-check underlines one with a red stripe.

 On the rare occasion when I am asked to speak to a group I do declare that belief. It doesn’t seem to have lost me female friends.

 Now I will reverse course almost completely. For all rules and regulations we might impose on ourselves there must be exceptions. Following are a few examples of our difficult language being used, to the best of the user’s abilities; to purvey meaningful sets of thought. One is crudely chiseled into a sandstone cemetery marker. It rests in an old Ozark country church plot. The stone is shaped to sort of depict a person, with shoulders and head. At the left, top side are the letters “sac”. Opposite and separated by the curve of the “head” are the letters “red”. Below is inscribed an approximate accounting of a happening depicted on that tablet. “On june 14 in 1917 At 16 yeres and 3 munths Daniel took the gun frum the rake the trigger got cot on a nale and she fired and this prevalent seen happened.” Imagine the grief and sorrow and the desire to find help in properly spelling that word, for Daniel’s sake … prevalent.

 A gentleman I knew, realizing that his death was not so very far off, wrote an abbreviated book of memories for his offspring. He also realized that his life had been more difficult than most, thus interesting to his offspring, growing up dirt poor in a small town and surviving the hardships of the Great Depression and the battlefields in France while coping with a case of influenza in the 1918/19 epidemic. Worst of all, however, was his accidental shooting and killing of his son while in the woods hunting. Though far from “correct” his use of English was somehow eloquent and certainly profound.

 And then there are much lighter jewels. Al Capp, though a master wordsmith, used words and phrases of his own making them exactly fit the characters in his comic strip Lil Abner. My favorite is the proclamation of the irrecusable Mamy Yocum, when she was driven to her utmost limit … “Yo has went too fer!” And there was the senator from Dogpatch, one Jack S Phogbound … “There’s no Jack S like our Jack S.”

 Some “miss-uses” of the language are, of course, intentional. Read The Jabberwok. My grandfather loved words so much that he often made up his own. For the condition of diarrhea, for instance, he used his words “the random scrauntch.” He would severely berate all dogs with words such as useless and ugly in the most pleasant tones one can imagine. The animals heard the sing-song of his strong baritone voice and believed they were being honored for being in the old man’s presence.

 On occasion a malfunctioning bit of English will pop up which simply must be ridiculed. A good example is a sign nailed to a tree south of Branson, Missouri. “Jesus is comming.”

 Money speaks loudly. Its usage, however, sometimes has unintended consequences. Following the end of the Second World War the United States emerged as the undisputed financial powerhouse of the world. What that meant, among a multitude of other things, was the U.S. bought and used more of the world’s resources than any other nation. U.S. citizens traveled more than anyone else. The U.S. developed larger and more sophisticated passenger airplanes and led the way to jet propulsion. When lumber was harvested almost anywhere in the world it was done using feet/inches measurements and sold in board footage. Plywood was manufactured in Asia and Africa in fractions of inches. AND, air traffic control towers, all around the globe, even in nations where the U.S. was a cold-war adversary, used English for international flights. The United States of America is an arrogant nation! But much of that is changing. Let’s see what happens.

 Any work of poetry or prose worth its salt is quickly translated into American English because America is where more people buy books. The author, along with my first wife, Lydia, spent a year, plus, in Finland. We earned enough money to get by “teaching” conversation Americanized English. Most of our “students” were executives in Finish industries such as paper mills. I also went to the home of the commanding general of what remained of the Finish Air Force. (Finland had been decimated by the Soviet Union during World War II and not allowed to rearm to any significant degree until the final “war reparations” payment was made in 1957.) These people were intent on learning conversational English. Money talks and the U.S. was where the money was.

 Now, in 2017, the educated youth of Finland use Americanized English as their conversation communications, most without a hint of accent. They shun the highly disciplined Finnish and embrace a tongue that requires considerable figuring-out. The watching of American T.V. and movies are seldom dubbed into Finnish and the captions are not paid much attention. This mass export of our entertainment is another huge reason for Americanized English spreading so far and wide.

 Are there societal ramifications involved in our language being so irrational and difficult to master? I had not thought about that before yesterday when a learned friend of mine, Jerry Norris, casually mentioned … in exactly what context I don’t remember … that  

Modern Hebrew has relatively few words. Hebrew and Arabic are the two official languages of Israel. There are, I assume, even fewer words in some of the primitive languages in such places as Borneo, equatorial Africa and some Amazonian forests.

 Does this range of language scope impact society and how does it affect United States foreign policy? I will offer these few thoughts on the subject.

 Even taking into consideration the popular spelling bees where young folks demonstrate almost unbelievable powers of memory, it is unlikely that any individual has ever known the meaning of every word in use in American English. Given that, it is very likely that even someone with the vocabulary of the editorialist Kathleen Parker will occasionally come into contact with a word previously unknown to her. So some go off to schools of higher learning and, at least hopefully, become more erudite in that regard. Then, returning to society at large, they are judged to be “better spoken” or, if some caution is not used, they might be judged by their past friends as “talking down” or having become ivory tower idiots “without a lick of common sense.”

 (One way to see the difference in “sizes” of languages is to compare the bulk of their lexicons, dictionaries and, especially, thesauri.)

 This phenomenon of there being too many words, from too diverse origins and, therefore, too many nuances, surely impacts politics. The term “blue collar” is bantered around. And then there are references to the “hinterland”, the “fly over area” and the “rural states.” Now the pollsters and pundits openly divide us as being college educated, or not. It is not difficult to witness that the more educated a population-at-large is the more interest there is in a society larger than its immediate surrounds. (That enlightenment, I believe, can be attained either by formal schooling or simply by the dominate attitude prevalent in the “blue” regions.) NOW – can a higher quality vernacular derived from a higher level of education be equated with more caring for one’s fellow man – or what is generally referred to as “progressivism” or “liberalism”? I firmly believe that, yes, it can, but the broaching of that hypothesis is not generally well accepted. I believe that the best expenditure of money, by any nation or society, has to be on educating the populace. It is well established that liberal-arts, science, professional and trade educations result in higher rates of employment, less crime/incarceration and overall better environments.

 There are, today, two men in the positions of being at least titular national, and to some degree world, leaders ... Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Donald Trump of the United States. The Israeli need not rely on his language of few words. The American totally lacks the ability to command his language of many words, only a smattering of which he has committed to memory. Netanyahu, educated in the U.S. (and other parts of the world) speaks, fluently and eloquently (though sometimes not very sensibly), in several languages. Trump, who does not have time to read books, seems to have a severely limited vocabulary made up of about fifty percent adjectives and superlatives which he is able, at least in his own mind, to enhance by simple reiteration. From his main source of enlightenment, Fox News, he can attain, by ear, all the facts concerning world events, past, present and to-come. His minions are said to bring him everything praiseworthy from the more stellar printed news outlets such as Breitbart News and Sunday tabloids.

 The editorialist George Will is by no means a flaming liberal but Donald Trump is simply too much for him to ignore. In a recent  piece Will used these words to begin: “It is urgent for Americans to think and speak clearly about Donald Trump’s inability to do either. This seems to be not a mere disinclination but a disability. It is not merely the result of intellectual sloth but of an untrained mind bereft of information and married to stratospheric self-confidence.”  Isn’t that great? While I’m at it I will include more of this Will article, not so much to emphasize Trump’s atrocious use of English, but to demonstrate just how limited this man’ storehouse of knowledge apparently is. Trump actually stated these two unbelievable miscarriages of history: “Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody who’s done an amazing job and is getting recognized more and more, I notice.” Will wrote of this insane group of words … “Because Trump is syntactically challenged, it was possible and tempting to see this not as a historical howler about a man who died 122 years ago, but as just another of Trump’s fender benders, this one involving verb tenses.” The other one was Trump saying that Andrew Jackson was “angry about the Civil War” though that conflict did not begin until 16 years after Jackson’s death.

 But perhaps we should try to be more tolerant of this strange man with his affliction of solipsism. He was, after all, able to become one of the world’s leading authorities on the history of China/Korean Peninsula relations in a ten-minute conversation with the present leader of China, President Xi. If Trump’s “university” was still in operation, he could, I suppose, teach at least a six credit-hour course on the subject to those who are considerably slower learners. And then, too, this brilliant man would be able to fabricate any missing pieces from the ten-minute lesson and believe them to be absolute, not alternate or fake, facts. This ability is a product of Solipsism.

 Oh please! Enough of that and back to the English language:

 (But here is another aside that I believe warrants mentioning. I just re-read the preceding words and found many “errors” according to this computer. Some of them I corrected. To some of them I said to-hell-with-it. It is my conviction that if “spell check” can be allowed to so sanitize the language that no creativity can seep in we will have lost too much.)

 German is a harsh language; so much so that the users do not need to add swear words to enhance it. French, on the other hand, is so soft that it seems to me more a noise than a language. (It’s not a wonder that those two peoples have had a few differences in the past!)

 The Queen’s English, Australian English, Jamaican English and American English, and other Englishes, are so different in inflections, emphases, and even spelling, that it is said that as close friends as England and America have been since about 1812 the only thing separating the two nations is a common language.

 Let’s look at a few rules that have, somehow, come to be accepted for use in the English language … keeping in mind, of course, that “rules exist to be broken.” Some are not rules at all. Huh?

 Take, for instance, the comma … please. Now in the 89th year of my life I have given up hope on the subject of commas. Some of my dearest friends are emeritus professors and retired teachers. The sage, and my friend, Marge Bramer, will probably take time from her extremely busy life to read this --- if for no other reason than to be polite. She could red line all sorts of transgressions on the language and as highly as I regard her intellect and learning I will probably simply fall back on excuses like that it’s an age thing. But, seriously, it seems to me that the comma is best used sparingly to make the sentence sound right. Lately I have taken up the use of …’s as a substitute for the comma or colon or about anything else I think works at the time. Nobody seems to question it, even my spell check. Am I somewhat disappointed? Maybe

There are more exact rules such as that it’s i before e except after c … but don’t rely on that too much. And the rule that a preposition must not be used to end a sentence with. How did that sound to you? The damned spell check threw green ink, or some kind of compound?, at it. And see? How can a ? be used like that in the middle of a sentence?

 It has long been a puzzlement to me that our words stolen from French can end in “in”, like the composer Chopin’s name, but be pronounced as though it is “an.” But our words that are actually French, with silent letters (what the hell are they there for, anyway?) must be recognized as being French or our pronunciation will seem, to the linguistic snob to be gauche. I would still rather ride a train into a de pot than a depo because it’s simply more honest. But some people who use languages other than English would rather fight than give them up, or let them become too adulterated. Remember the salty old uncle of the bride in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding? In his defense of his ancient and beloved language, stated that “all words have their origins in Greek.” Some wise-ass young woman asked if that included Kimono.

 A few years ago there was a fleeting movement to attempt to “clean up” America’s slang with its abundance of “four letter words” and swearing. “Only people with limited intellect and knowledge of the language resort to the use of offensive words”- they said. At the time it seemed incumbent on me to allow as how that seemed to be pissin’well true, goddamit. But modern music, especially rap, has mooted that cause anyway.

 My wife get’s exasperated when I argue with her because, she says, I can debate with her beyond her ability to sensibly retort. I have attempted to argue without playing word games or using the language to my advantage. It doesn’t work.

 There is a difference in playing with words and playing on words. As I have stated before, I do love the English language. I also love debate and I also love, sometimes, to respond to cute little bits of pseudo psychology. One such bit, as I deem it, is considering the breakup of someone’s romance – “Is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?” Using that “deep” philosophical question, and in light of the facts that humans practice animal husbandry, and we are descended from both gatherers and hunters, I often offer vegetarian acquaintances a play of words with the “love” question: “Is it better to have lived and been eaten than never to have lived at all?”

 In days ahead I might decide to add more to these words as examples of fine, humorous or powerful writings come my way.

 Until then I will leave you with this: What a beautiful bird the frog are / When he stand he sit almost / And when he sit he sit on what he ain’t got / almost.