#Etienne Sole

[annother-ann]

I've been wanting to post some fanart about ATSWO, so here is Sharon, Etienne and my OC Annika

[speckle-the-crow]

im back into my ATSWO phase and I read somewhere that Etienne and / or Sharon can die and wtf?? I've been enjoying my route with Etienne so far (im almost at arc 6) and I will cry if he dies this route

[thetwstwildcard]

"Not all stories have a happy ending, but every ending is a new beginning"

Full Name: Leah Fiorello

Gender: Female

Age: 19 (technically 436)

Sexuality: Bisexual

Birthday: May 12th

Star Sign: Taurus

Height: 165 cm (Roughly 5'5)

Eye Color: Shades of blue, pink and purple

Hair Color: Silver

Homeland: Briar Valley

Dorm: Pomefiore

Year: 3rd

Club: Board Games

Best Subject: Ancient Incantations

Worst Subject: Ancient Curses

Favorite Food: Pastina

Likes: Exploring, freedom, horse riding, flower picking, learning about foreign kingdoms, the arts, watching knights train and her son

Dislikes: Her physical weakness, Etienne Inclementia, being brought back against her will, her ex husband, people who harm nature and having to hide her identity/relationships

Hobby: Flower picking

Personality: The dreamy former queen of the neighboring human kingdom in the Briar Valley. During her time she was killed by her husband via an iron sword while she protected fae. Formerly human, she was brought back to life as a pseudo-fae due to Etienne Inclementia who was obsessed with her during her life. Like her son, she is rather sleepy as she has only been awake/"alive" in her current state mere months before Yuu's arrival. Her appearance and name were lost to time in the 400 some years since her death and so outside of those who lived back then, her existence was erased (by her former husband). As she has been asleep all this time she is out of date with many things and still has an older style of speaking.

Unique Magic: Sovereign's Mend: Allows her to heal wounds and undo minor curses

Trivia:

Was married at age 17 and became pregnant at age 18, ultimately dying at 19

The last thing she told her chaperones (the three fairies) was to "Protect my dearest Caeso" (what she had named Silver)

Often butted heads with Baal

Stumbled into Lilia (literally) while hiding from the three fairies to pick flowers in the Briar Valley. Think the Princess Mononoke knife scene but with Leah saying "You're beautiful" since Lilia was the first fae she had ever saw (only ever heard of fae or read hateful lies)

Often sneaked out of her kingdom to help fae in the forest

Apologized to fae for her husband's and kingdom's doings (and used her UM to heal the wounds her people inflicted on fae)

Her current form was achieved by Etienne, though her faehood was brought about by draining all the blood from her restored body and replacing it with fae blood (aka Etienne's)

Etienne used Lilia's blood to awaken her (hid this "project" of his from Lilia for all this time). From this the first thing she did awake was cry as she saw Lilia's memories of raising Silver (something she never got to do).

She was happy to know that someone she trusted raised him but it was bittersweet as the sole light of her life at that time was her son and she did not get to raise him herself.

Is close to Silver but has never told him of their connection. In her eyes her son (aka Caeso) is gone, while for Silver he thought he was orphaned (with human Leah dying all those years ago)

A childless mother but will never reveal who she is to her son (Silver) so she keeps her maternal love for Silver hidden

Is still adjusting to fae abilities

Mourns Meleanor's death as she was a dear friend in her life. She did call Malleus by her name when she first saw him

[arcxnumvitae]

This one is Just Etienne. Kind of like Zhifeng, this is in a sort of hypothetical, ace-spec who he'd choose if presented with a fmk.

Somnio. He's pretty. And a demon with power over sleep/dreams? It's got the potential for, wait for it, somnoph-- *gets shot*

Amara. He's pretty and warm.

Kareena. She's pretty.

Ren. P retty.

Thanatos. It's Death. He's intrigued.

Val. We all know the allure of a gruff tsundere. Etienne is not immune.

Emil. Listen, Emil's got charisma out of the ears when he wants to. I could see him easily and accidentally making Etienne swoon.

Xiaodan. Just looking at Xiaodan in that context would have him blushing. Plus, dragon? Super duper bonus.

Huaxiu. He's almost too hesitant to choose Huaxiu because Huaxiu looks too pretty and otherworldly in an almost out of his league way.

Aur. Pretty. So pretty. Fae? And th-then the plants? Yeah. Aur is a romantic mfer so that'd really get Etienne's heart racing.

Ruaidhri. Pretty.

Eilidh. Pretty in a way that makes him nervous. She'd eat him alive.

Aodh. Again, tsundere.

Kasemchai. To go further into detail would necessitate a n.sfw tag.

Zaisan. Pretty.

Tara. Pretty.

Iomhar. I mean. It's Iomhar.

Taichiro. The second sole human on this list, good for him.

Kaisei. The horns and--

Mhoirbheinn. Just seeing Mhoirbheinn would put Etienne into such a tizzy.

Daileas. He looks like he could really take control of things, and, again. pretty fae.

[lboogie1906]

The McDonogh Three is a nickname for the three girls who desegregated McDonogh 19 Elementary School in New Orleans. Even though segregated schools had been illegal since the Brown v. Board of Education case, no states in the American Deep South had taken action to integrate their schools. Leona Tate, Gail Etienne, and Tessie Prevost had all attended the Black-only schools in their neighborhood, until November 14, 1960, when they arrived at McDonogh 19, a previously all-white school. The girls were escorted by US Federal Marshals wearing yellow armbands. They lived in the lower 9th Ward of New Orleans.

Ruby Bridges integrated a second New Orleans public school called William Frantz Elementary, which led to a collective nickname for the group: The New Orleans Four.

There was a series of political advancements that contributed to the integration of public schools in the US. In McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents, public schools in America were forbidden from discriminating against students because of their race. A.P. Tureaud, New Orleans Attorney, with help from Thurgood Marshall and Robert Carter from the Legal Defense and Educational Fund of the NAACP, acted on behalf of African Americans to end segregation in New Orleans’ schools.

Brown v. Board of Education, became the most impactful decision concerning the integration of public schools in America, and ironically happened in the birth year of the New Orleans Four. The syllabus from this case said: “Segregation of white and Negro children in the public schools of a State solely based on race, under state laws permitting or requiring such segregation, denies to Negro children the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment - even though the physical facilities and other “tangible” factors of white and Negro schools may be equal.” This case outlined that the doctrines that had been established in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) were unconstitutional.

In February 1956, Judge J. Skelly Wright issued an order for the Orleans Parish School Board to desegregate its schools. He ordered integration to start on the third Monday in November 1960. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[phantasmiafxndom]

What is the SADDEST thing that happens in innocents?

YOU EXPECT ME TO PICK JUST ONE????

There's no way I can choose a single saddest moment, so you get a tentative top five. >A> No particular order, and there's definitely plenty more that could make the list.

1. Etienne's death. Aside from how gruesome and horrific it is on a surface level, this scene is DEEPLY painful because it shows just how thoroughly Etienne was broken down by the world. When you compare his state in the final chapter versus his first appearance, the difference is almost what hurts the most.

2. Christie's love confession. This one is a notorious favorite of mine. It's both incredibly well-written and so very tragic. It couldn't have presented Christie's character better, but the sheer emotional anguish in the scene is painful to watch.

3. Henri's death. Everything about this one is awful. With the context of what happened to Henri beforehand, his eventual fate is just wayyyy too cruel. ;w;

4. Etienne saying goodbye to his mom. This is an early moment, and yet, with the rest of the series in context, what it predicts is soul-crushing. The moment itself is tender, but once you know what happens afterward, it's every bit as tragic as later events.

5. Nicolas in the final chapter. While the last bit of the manga does offer some comfort after the tragedy-fest that preceded it, the way in which that comfort is presented HURTS. Years later, Nicolas is the sole survivor of the Crusade, and blaming himself for all of it.

[b3y0ndm3asur3]

for the FT ask game: 3, 6, 9, 10 and 16? :D

3. What is your favourite episode and why?

this is hard but i think ep 6! first off, i love tim entering his activist era and i’m just obsessed with his look here. but i love the complicated dynamics between hawk and jackson, tim and jackson, hawk and lucy, and tim and lucy. i really loved tim and jackson’s scenes, especially with the knowledge that tim saw baby jackson in the hospital. also, the scene where jackson shows up at the cabin and excitedly announces he dropped acid makes me holler every time. shoutout to etienne kellici for that line delivery. it’s perfection.

6. What is your favourite parallel/reference in the show?

as much as i love “promise you won’t write” “i won’t” in the last episode, i adore hawk saying he loves jackson “beyond measure” in ep 6. (another reason why it’s my fav ig.)

9. What is your favourite headcanon(s)?

i desperately want to believe that tim and hawk kept up some sort of correspondence before tim dies. i also need jerome to survive and he, marcus, and frankie live together as a happy found family forever and ever.

10. If the show had one more episode, what would it be about?

i’d want an episode focused solely on marcus and frankie. i’ve spoken about this before, but their relationship feels a lot less underdeveloped than tim and hawk’s. idk what era i’d want this episode to focus on tho… maybe the 60s (again with ep 6!) because i want to know a lot of details that are kind of glossed over. is marcus still writing for jet magazine? how did frankie decide to go into social work? etc etc.

16. If you could give the show an alternative ending, what would happen in your version?

i don’t say this often, but i genuinely think the show ended on a perfect note. hawk at the quilt, finally admitting to his daughter that he loved tim… heartbreaking obviously, but brilliant. there are some characters who i’d like to have been mentioned at some point like leonard and lucy (just for closure), but ultimately i think the ending is perfect.

[dustedmagazine]

Dust Volume Nine, Number 10

Older, but not a bit wiser, the Hives return

Fall comes with its smell of maple in the leaves, its intimations of mortality and, this year, its share of unsettling events—war in the middle east, AI in everything and the murder of our beloved Bandcamp by capitalist privateers.  (We are not equating these things by any means.)  Like always, we turn to music, the annihilating blare of metal, the agile interplay of improvisation, the well-shaped contours of pop, depending on our individual tastes.  We hope you’ll find something to ease your own personal burden in all this as well.  Contributors include Bryon Hayes, Bill Meyer, Andrew Forell, Tim Clarke, Jonathan Shaw, Ian Mathers, Alex Johnson, Jennifer Kelly and Ray Garraty. 

Due to technical issues we're posting this in two parts, so don't miss the second one.

Ad Hoc — Corpse (Shame File Music / Albert’s Basement)

Ad Hoc was a Melbourne-based improvising unit, an experimental outfit that should have higher prominence. It only took 40-plus years, but Shame File Music and Albert’s Basement are finally spearheading a reissue initiative. Last year saw the arrival of the trio’s sole release, the hypnotic Distance cassette. It disappeared the moment it became available. Corpse documents an unconventional live performance from the group. They prepared their instruments (guitars, an EMS Synthi AKS synth and tape loops) for performance prior to the arrival of the audience and then shut off their amps. When all were seated, the trio turned on the amplifiers and unfurled an aleatoric blast of sound. The resulting music is far removed from the ambient tone clusters of Distance. The first piece shimmers in a way that calls to mind Matthew Bower’s Sunroof project, while the latter piece bathes in guitar noise so thick that it may have influenced The Dead C’s The Operation of the Sonne EP. Ad Hoc have today’s noisemakers beat: Corpse presents itself with a freshness that belies its 1980 provenance.

Bryon Hayes

Axolotl — Abrasive (Souffle Continu)

The French trio Axolotl existed for a few years in the early 1980s, and it reflects the aesthetic concerns of its time. Guitarist Marc Dufourd’s playing betrays some acquaintance with the work of Derek Bailey and Henry Kaiser, and the fibrous tones and agile exchanges between reeds players Jacques Oger and Etienne Brunet recall Evan Parker. All three double on electronics, hand percussion and utterances. These accessories, in combination with the concentration of the album’s 12 tracks, give the music a truculent attitude and just-the-facts brevity that brings to mind punk and post-punk. This may be free improvisation, but it is improvised from a point of view, and it’s that informed attitude that makes the album worth visiting nearly 40 years after its original release.

Bill Meyer

Will Butler + Sister Squares — Self-Titled (Merge)

Will Butler joins with Sister Squares — multi-instrumentalists Jenny (Butler’s wife) and Julie Shore, Sara Dobbs and drummer/producer Miles Francis — for their debut album. Bouncy, heartland rock garlanded with that 1980s Fairlight and Linn drum sound mixes with touches of art rock as Butler emotes wholehearted. The influence of the 20 years Butler spent with Arcade Fire is inescapable, but it feels like the quintet have also been listening to Billy MacKenzie (“Long Grass”) and Russell Mael (“Arrow of Time”) as well as Springsteen, Mellencamp and company. “Hee Loop” sounds like a mash of Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel. The themes and emotions can be big in that Arcade Fire way that’s equal parts exhilarating and exhausting, but the album works best when the band dial down the melodramatic flourishes as on “Car Crash” and “The Window,” where Butler is right in your ear, tired, disillusioned, real. This is a record I wanted to like both more and less. For every heartfelt moment and interesting musical choice, there’s a cringe-inducing gestural overreach that makes you wince. A bit like his former band but with enough promise to persevere with.

Andrew Forell

Claire Deak — Sotto Voce (Lost Tribe Sound)

Melbourne-based composer Claire Deak’s last release on Lost Tribe Sound was 2020’s The Old Capital, a fantastic collaboration with Tony Dupé. In my Dusted review I said, “There’s so much wonderful stuff going on across these seven songs that it’s a delight to revisit.” As its title suggests, Deak’s solo debut, Sotto Voce, very much sits at the opposite end of the musical spectrum. This is subtle, minimal music that softly arises out of silence and speaks an elusive language. The background to the album’s creation is Deak’s exploration of the work of two women composers from the early baroque era, Francesca Caccini (1587–c.1645) and Barbara Strozzi (1619–1677). The dominant musical elements are strings, harp and voice, with other instruments coloring the edges of these understated, starkly beautiful compositions. Across the album’s 42 minutes the music feels, at times, to be battling the entropy of erasure, struggling to be heard amid the cacophony of these overstimulated times. For that reason alone, it’s necessary to invest your attention and listen closely. The experience is eerie and transportive.

Tim Clarke

Mike Donovan — Meets the Mighty Flashlight (Drag City)

On a musical Venn diagram showing the intersecting circles of garage rock, lo-fi, and psych, Mike Donovan has set up his sandbox. With Sic Alps he veered more noisy and lo-fi; with Peacers he favored a straight-ahead garage-rock sound. On this new record with Mike Fellows, AKA The Mighty Flashlight, Donovan steers in the direction of shambolic psychedelic-pop in the vein of the Olivia Tremor Control. (To anyone who knows and loves OTC, this is obviously a very good thing.) The splashy drums and percussion tracks feel like a gestural afterthought rather than a rhythmic backbone the songs are built around, and Donovan and Fellows steer these songs into some choppy, unexpected waters. Opener “Planet Metley” is the clearest and most successful distillation of their aesthetic, offering up a staggering range of ideas in under four minutes, stopping and starting erratically, the bass roving all over the fretboard. At the other end of the spectrum, “Laurel Lotus Dub” is the kind of experiment that sounds like it was more fun to create that it is to listen back to. Between these two extremes there’s the junkshop boogie of “A Capital Pitch,” which features the hilarious line, “Hanging out on the ramparts with some dickheads in black,” the concise drum-machine and organ instrumental “Amalgam Wagon,” and the plaintive, country-flavored “Whistledown.” Wherever Donovan roams it’s usually worth following, and Meets the Mighty Flashlight is a winning collaboration that fizzes with fun.

Tim Clarke

Everything Falls Apart — Everything Falls Apart (Totalism)

“Somn” means sleep, or more poetically death. It’s the title of six of the seven tracks from Everything Falls Apart, the self-titled album from the duo of Belgian bassist Otto Lindholm (born Cyrille de Haes) and English producer Ross Tones. Those titles (numbered six to 11) and the coda “Wonderfully Desolate” tell you only part of the story of the music the pair produce. Their conversation focuses on the nuance of the Lindholm’s double bass which Tones swathes in electronic effects, stretching notes and motifs into near drones in timbres that rise from the murk like lugubrious sentinels. This is seriously heavy music but the dynamism of the duo’s understanding and interplay distinguishes Everything Falls Apart. Whilst many of the pieces focus on stasis and decay, “Somn 9” is a desert storm with clicking percussion, almost didgeridoo like growls from the bass and screeching electronic noise. On “Somn 11”, deep bowed notes support Lindholm’s move through the registers as if shaking from fitful dreams into the morning light. “Wonderfully Desolate” is comparatively unadorned, a string quartet playing against the end times, shimmers of light through the cracks.

Andrew Forell

False Fed — Let Them Eat Fake (Neurot Recordings)

Is it accurate to call a band including members of legendary underground acts Amebix (Stig Miller), Nausea (Roy Mayorga) and Broken Bones (Jeff Janiak) a “supergroup”? It might help to note that Janiak has sung for Discharge since 2014, and Mayorga has done a couple stints as drummer for Ministry. All names to conjure with (though a few of us first encountered Mayorga as a teenager back in the 1980s Lehigh Valley hardcore scene, when he drummed for Youthquake; West Catty Playground Building forever, man). In any case, the players have pooled their talents to create this death-rocking, sorta goth, sorta post-punk record, and it’s a lot of grim, grimy fun. Most of the music is mid-tempo, grand and romantic in its gestures, but shot through with a crusty growl in the guitars and production tone. The best songs speed things up a bit; both “The Tyrant Dies” and “The Big Sleep” have compelling momentum, complementing the stakes of songs’ ideas. It's Armagideon Time, people. Here’s your soundtrack, from dudes that know.

Jonathan Shaw

Hauschka— Philanthropy (City Slang)

German composer Volker Bertelmann’s 15th album of prepared piano pieces under the name Hauschka is noticeably warmer than some of his previous works. Joined by Samuli Kosminen on percussion and electronics and cellist Laura Wiek, Hauschka continues his exploration of the rhythmic and timbral possibilities of his instrument. At times almost jaunty, there are echoes of Bertelmann’s previous experiments with melancholic atmospherics but the general tone here is welcoming and optimistic. Kosminen adds subtle effects which frame rather than obscure the piano. There’s a touch of Satie in Hauschka’s playful iconoclastic approach to the piano and his deceptively simple melodies, especially on “Loved Ones” where Wiek’s plangent cello lines sustain and decay over an allusive harmony that speaks both of innocence and experience. At the other end of the spectrum, the closing piece “Noise” builds abstract ambience from repeated piano notes, smears of cello and a quiet wash of effects as if the players are enveloped in a thick damp fog. A lovely album for both fans and newcomers.

Andrew Forell

The Hives — The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons (Disques Hives)

There are usually going to be some questions when a band comes back with a new record after over a decade, maybe especially so with an act like Swedish garage/punk flamboyants the Hives; can they match the energy of their youth? Are they still willing and able to give us the old thrills? Or have they (and this is usually asked with a small, tasteful shudder of disgust) matured? It doesn’t take very long into first single/first track “Bogus Operandi” for the concerned listener to have reason for a sigh of relief. Anyone who used to (or still does?) blast “Main Offender” or “Hate to Say I Told You So” or “Walk Idiot Walk” should feel the galvanizing charge of a true, Frankensteinian resurrection once the riff hits. And across these not-quite-32 minutes (the brevity is also a promising sign) Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist and the boys kick up exactly the kind of racket you’d want from them, with tracks like “Trapdoor Solution” and “The Bomb” savoring the kind of gleefully dumb fun they’ve always provided (with a nice sideline in some of Almqvist’s deliberately, over-the-top awful narrators on “Two Kinds of Trouble” and “What Did I Ever Do to You?”). They even continue to throw out small, satisfying variations on the classic Hives sound like the brassy swagger of “Stick Up” and the surprisingly heartfelt thrash of “Smoke & Mirrors”. They may have killed off their “sixth member,” but the Hives are otherwise in rude health.

Ian Mathers

Islet — Soft Fascination (Fire)

The Welsh psych-electronic oddballs in Islet are on their fourth full-length now but show no signs of settling down. Soft Fascination is a bonkers mash up of dance pop, art song, hip hop, noise and folk. “Euphoria” floats a feather-light daze, a la Avey Tare, then punctures it the rat-at-tat of snare, the rifle shot rap repartee of Emma Daman Thomas. Gossamer textures of synth weave in and around the main action, snapping tight at intervals, like sails catching a hard wind. The whole thing is butterfly ephemeral with strong wires holding it up, a combination of daydream and architecture. “River Body,” if anything, tips even crazier, with its infectious sing-song, skip-rope vocals, its tootling toy keyboards, its blasts of noise and friction. And what can you make of “Sherry” which bucks and heaves and shouts out “Ay, ay, ay, ay,” like a lost Matias Aguayar cut? “Ay, ay, ay, ay,” indeed.

Jennifer Kelly

Jute Gyte — Unus Mundus Patet (Self-released)

Unus Mundus Patet is not the most dissonant or challenging record Adam Kalmbach has released during his 20-plus-year run under the Jute Gyte moniker. But neither is this black metal for the kvlt trve believers or for the hipster-adjacent sets, be they transcendental or ecstatic or blackgazy. The songs twist and turn in on themselves, always clear in their expressions of complex musical ideas, and also — somehow, someway — listenable and enjoyable. Avant-garde? Sure thing, and likely a much more authentic iteration of that phrase’s meaning than the music many other metal bands churn out under cover of high-minded beard stroking. See the by-turns undulating and fragmenting “Killing a Sword” or the trudging, vertiginous and then utterly thrilling “Philoctetes.” Jute Gyte doesn’t make music for the background, but if you can give these songs your full attention, you’ll be rewarded. Turn it up and open the portal into somewhere much weirder and more marvelous.

Jonathan Shaw

Danny Kamins / Chris Alford / Charles Pagano — The Secret Stop (Musical Eschatology)

Free improvisation may be a little sparser on the ground in the southern USA than it is in Chicago or New York, but The Secret Stop affirms the vigor of those who participate. Guitarist Chris Alford and drummer Charles Pagano play in New Orleans, and Danny Kamins is a saxophonist from Texas; this encounter took place in the Crescent City. As even players in places like the aforementioned northern cities or London will affirm, travel comes with this territory. Their interactions display a capacity to sustain balance when the energy is high and to back off when doing so will transform the music’s tension. Kamins intersperses long, coarse tones with emphatic pops, and Alford evidences a fluent stutter that suggests he’s spent a lot of time studying James “Blood” Ulmer’s sound grammar. Pagano’s cymbal sizzle and mutating not-quite-patterns provide both forward momentum and a framework within which the action occurs.

Bill Meyer

MIKE \ Wiki \ The Alchemist — Faith Is a Rock (ALC)

The long awaited collaboration between The Alchemist and MIKE took a sudden turn when they took on board another New York rapper Wiki who steals the show here. Both Wiki and MIKE were outcasts recording music in the vein of Earl Sweatshirt, even though MIKE was always a better version of Earl with only possibly a tenth of his fame. Knowing no rest, The Alchemist (that is his fourth collab this year) takes both MCs way out of their comfort zone, refusing to pander to the needs. MIKE and Wiki have to deal with The Alchemist’s fast and thick layered production, and it works for all of them. “Mayors A Cop” is a standout here, and Faith Is a Rock is one strong contender for the tape of the year.

Ray Garraty

Camila Nebbia — Una Ofrenda A La Ausencía (Relative Pitch)

The title translates as An Offering To Absence, which of course raises the question, what’s missing? Camila Nebbia is a multidisciplinary artist who grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, but has seems to have spent a fair chunk of time moving around Europe in recent years, and is currently based in Berlin. She has a sizable discography, but this correspondent has not heard most of it, so let’s just focus on the album at hand. Its 16 tracks present three facets of her work — acoustic tenor saxophone, electronically adjusted saxophone and poetry — with the first method best represented. The unaccompanied saxophone performances reveal her mastery of both weight-bearing muscularity and adroit tap-dancing on the far side of the fences that confine conventional tonality. But when she layers long tones and feedback, Nebbia becomes a one-woman orchestra transmitting heavy Penderecki vibes. The one poem included, “Dejo que me lieve” (“I let it lie”), is recited in Spanish, and no translation is offered; perhaps home is what’s not there, so she needs to manifest it creatively?

Bill Meyer

[Continued in Part 2, because Tumblr decided we only get 10 audio links.]

[poeedamerons]

It's not just that the book was better; there are movies and series that have successfully brought the book to life. Personally, I'm not a fan of the 'the book is better than the movie/series' argument because it's fundamentally flawed. The book will ALWAYS be better. It has the advantage of being the source material and allows for an in-depth exploration of characters, places, and situations, unlike a movie/series, which is restricted by screen time and budget. While this limitation poses challenges, it doesn't render the task impossible.

Adapting a complex book is no easy feat. While it may not be possible to capture all the intricate prose and rich details on screen, there are ways to work around it. Creating a coherent timeline, incorporating relevant flashbacks, building tension, mystery, and emotional impact are all possible. However, when you end up changing nearly everything from the original, the result is a feeble attempt at adaptation.

In my opinion and that of many others, "The Book Thief" was a satisfactory adaptation. Did they have to make significant cuts? Yes. However, they managed to preserve the essence of the story, its impactful characters, and crucial events. Some may disagree and consider the adaptation unsatisfactory, and that's understandable. Yet, I have yet to come across a single good review of the adaptation of "All the Light We Cannot See.

The book is undeniably brilliant, and there's no argument there, but this adaptation was more of a complete overhaul, incorporating some elements from the book. They completely mishandled the timeline, flashbacks and character backgrounds.

For instance, in the series, they introduce Uncle Etienne as a functional, Hugh Laurie-like character. However, just two (?) episodes later, they quickly unveil his traumatic experiences during World War 1 in a fleeting moment (I dont even remember if they mention the devastating loss of his brother). The fast-paced narrative hardly allows for the emotional impact that the book meticulously builds over time.

Contrastingly, in the book, we encounter Uncle Etienne as a deeply troubled and eccentric man who chooses to seclude himself from society for decades due to the severe post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from his experiences in World War I. At first, readers might dislike his grumpy demeanor and distant relationship with Marie Laure, who relies on him as her sole family, especially given the uncertainty surrounding her father's fate. However, as the book unfolds, the profound reasons behind Uncle Etienne's behavior are unveiled, prompting a heart-rending realization that induces regret for any initial negative sentiment.

His reluctance to engage with the events of World War II is completely understandable, given that he is still grappling with the haunting memories of the previous war. His eventual decision to confront the Nazis (whom he despises) and assist the resistance by broadcasting crucial information represents a significant turning point in his character development in the book, and ONLY happens because Marie Laure gives him the courage to do so.

While it's understandable that the show couldn't depict this in detail, they could have easily tried. This aspect of the story could have been effectively conveyed and would have undoubtedly evoked strong emotional reactions. It had the potential to move viewers to tears. However, the series lacked the necessary emotional depth and character growth, ultimately robbing Uncle Etienne of the depth and richness of his life story.

Furthermore, the way the book leaves subtle clues for us to piece together the revelation that Uncle Etienne and his brother were the ones narrating the science broadcasts that Werner and Jutta grew up listening to is truly exquisite. This element could have been gradually unveiled to the audience, allowing us to savor the process of connecting the dots. However, I don’t even remember how this goes on the series as this was more a tale of Werner and his adventures in Saint Malo than anything else.

If you're watching the show and finding it difficult to understand why there are so many criticisms, it might be because they boldly labeled it as an adaptation, even though it hardly resembles one. It doesn't feel like an adaptation at all.

To you, Uncle Etienne might come across as a super cool character, whereas to us, he was portrayed as an utterly melancholic, and reclusive individual. He lived as if he were already dead.

If you're enjoying the show without having read the book, that's perfectly fine. How would you even notice the differences if you had no prior exposure to the story and characters? It's virtually impossible. However, once you do, you'll comprehend why it took Doerr ten years to write and why it was awarded the Pulitzer.

[soupandsorcery]

Whumptober Day 4: "Are you in there?"

It's quiet in their camp, a rare peaceful night. The air is still thick with the ever present oppressive gloom of the shadow curse, and even the flickering light of their fire can't do much to dispel it. No one wants to venture too far outside the warm glow of orange and gold, even with the blessings of a pixie and Selune both keeping away the worst of the curse.

Etienne is the sole exception this night. Instead of gathering with his friends around the fire, he sits apart, perched on a rock, overlooking the worst of the ravaged land beneath him. Dimly, he's aware of Karlach's booming laugh, Gale's gentle cadence, Lae'zel scolding Scratch for making off with the last of her dinner. Usually, the bustle that comes with being a part of something--being a part of this--is enough to chase away the confusing ache of emptiness inside Etienne, but tonight is different.

Tonight it's not even close to enough.

Maybe it's the shadow curse, getting its hooks in him, making the dread that sits like a knot beneath his breastbone even more apparent than it usually is. Or maybe it's everything else. Everything finally catching up to him.

He feels cold, but he doesn't move to go back to the fire. Instead, he runs his fingers along the polished wood of his violin, tracing now familiar whorls in the grain. On instinct, he plucks out a melody, and even though the pizzicato gives it a jaunty sound, there's no denying the tune is decidedly sad.

"Well, isn't this positively maudlin?"

Etienne turns, watching Astarion as he picks his way gracefully up the rock to sit down next to him.

"My apologies," Etienne murmurs back. "I tried to keep the moping over here where it wouldn't disturb anyone. There's just a lot on my mind."

Astarion studies his face, clever crimson eyes not missing anything. And Etienne doesn't try to hide. What would be the point?

"Like what?" Astarion finally asks, when he's looked his fill.

"Oh, you know. The fact that I'm sick with worrying that I might kill the only people I can remember ever caring about me in the middle of the night. Nothing major." It's an attempt at levity, one that falls flat with each wooden syllable Etienne forces out.

"Ah, that. I figured that was what you were over here stewing about. Which is why I came over."

"Brave of you."

Astarion rolls his eyes. "I came over to tell you to give it a rest. Fretting about it won't make it any better. We're all keeping our eyes on you, and you're just going to have to trust us."

Trust. It's a curious thing. Etienne can't remember trusting anyone before this. Considering they can't remember anything before this at all. Their first go at it was Lae'zel, on the Nautiloid, and it's worked out for the better so far.

But still.

"Would you trust others to guide you through something like this?" he asks, glancing side long at his companion. "And protect themselves at the same time?"

"That's neither here nor there because this isn't about me."

"Convenient, that."

Fangs flash in the gloom as Astarion gives a toothy smile. "Isn't it just? But enough about your worrisome little problem. Tell me something else." His eyes drop to the violin in Etienne's lap, the fingers that slide restlessly over the strings. "Tell me about music."

Something leaps in Etienne's chest, and for once, it feels light. It feels almost...joyful. He knows there's something there. Something about playing an instrument or humming a tune that seems to center him, but he doesn't know where it came from. He can't remember.

He says as much to Astarion, keeping his voice low, like this is a secret shared between them. "When I woke up in that pod on the nautiloid, this violin was all I had with me, other than the clothes on my back. I don't remember ever learning songs, or learning to play, but I can. It feels natural. It feels right."

"You are rather good at it. And I don't say that lightly. Most bards I've come across are hacks looking to charm you out of your coin purse or your pants at best and completely tone deaf at worst. But you have a way with music."

It's high praise from Astarion, and it's sincere, which might be the most surprising thing. Even now, when there are no secrets between them, no more need for the game of seduction and protection that they started with, it's still easier to fall into over the top flirting and banter that began this...whatever it is.

Can it be a relationship when one party might slip up and murder the other in the middle of the night?

Etienne closes his eyes and drags in a deep breath. He tries to clear his head, but he hears the grating tones of his thrice damned butler in his mind, remembers the way his fingers had itched to close around Astarion's throat. The way he'd longed to paint that pretty pale skin and perfect white hair all red red red.

"Etienne." Cool fingers touch his face, and his eyes snap open. Astarion is very close now--close enough to kiss, close enough to kill. "Are you in there?"

"I don't know. I don't know why you're doing this," Etienne says, more than a little desperately. "I don't know why you won't... You told me once that if I transformed you'd kill me. We had a whole conversation about all the ways you could do it. How is this any different?"

"It is different," Astarion returns firmly. "Turning into a mindflayer would snuff you out. You would just be another one of them, another part of their disgusting little collective. It would mean you were lost completely and better off dead. I would expect you to do the same for me if I started to turn, or if Cazador managed to take control of me again. But I haven't lost you to this. And I don't mean to."

The knot of dread grows, a sickening cancer spreading unchecked, just like the Urges, threatening to drag Etienne under and drown him and everyone else in a sea of blood. "How do you know?" he whispers.

"Because you're still making music. And as long as you are, I know you aren't lost yet."

Such a simple thing to say, but it means everything.

Whatever Etienne was before, whatever the Urges are trying to make him into--he still has this. His violin, his songs. Songs he doesn't know how he knows, but feel engraved in his heart all the same.

When he takes his next breath, it's easier, doesn't feel like shards of glass in his lungs. Astarion is still touching him, sliding fingers into his hair, grazing the roots of Etienne's horns.

"If you keep this up, I'm going to start thinking you like me," Etienne murmurs, a smile finally gracing the bow of his lips.

Astarion laughs. "Not to worry, I'll be back to mocking you as is proper soon enough. I can't have you getting an ego and thinking you deserve preferential treatment or anything." Those elegant fingers scratch lightly at Etienne's scalp, and he sighs, letting himself fully relax for the first time in what feels like days.

"Thank you," he says, so softly it's almost inaudible. This doesn't come easily for either of them, this open honestly, these soft feelings, but it feels important.

It feels like Etienne might beat this, if only he remembers that he's not alone.

[velvetineblue]

What do you think the fandom for your character would be like? Are they a fan favorite, a love to hate villain, derided for whatever reason, or something else? | What would be the ‘incorrect but wildly popular’ interpretation of your character in fandom? | What do you imagine the most popular ship(s) for your character would be? | Are there ship wars? Are they a popular character to ship, or the kind of character that gets shuffled off and away from shipping for whatever reason?

What do you think the fandom for your character would be like ?

as the founder ( and sole member ? ajkshjj ) of the Taiyang Tseng fandom, I think I speak for all of us when I say: they would make a lot of memes of him. and clown on him a lot. but occasionally, you'd get a tiktok fancam-edit stitching together all of his 'hot' moments with a loud, bass boosted song in the background :nod nod: THAT IS MY DREAMMM...

What do you imagine the most popular ship(s) for your character would be ? Are there ship wars? Are they a popular character to ship, or the kind of character that gets shuffled off and away from shipping for whatever reason?

something m x m, probably. out of his base-game 'canonical' relationships, i.e. with my other OC's who are in the same universe as him . . . hMMmmMmMm. probably with his bandmate Sly, because they're ride-or-die besties, and Sly is kind of a hunky, sexi guy, hehe. when my other OC Tierney comes into the story later, though, people would ship them together SO hard; I already know it. I think that would be the most popular of his ships. Tierney is the guitarist, secondary vocalist, & a co-lead songwriter in another band, and he is part of Mazu's supernatural crew, like Tai. they're allies, but they do bicker a lot. Tierney is tall and gorgeous and broody... and he has a girlfriend ( the bassist in his band ) that he's completely devoted and monogamous to, but would that stop people from ravenously shipping Tai & Tierney? no... no it would not ajsjaj; fandom does as fandom wants. I could also see people misinterpreting the very brotherly bond Taiyang has with Etienne as something else. T^T because he is very protective of her and adores her... it is just a strictly platonic & familial love. but again: fanon will fanon asjajj. okay, but out of rp partners ? I'm going to exclude any of his actual ships, because... for spice. but mainly because fandom usually prefers the non-canon ships, lbh. T ^ T LOL. but the fandom would better be as obsessed with Taiqunn in crime verse as I am, pls!! hypothetical fandom, PLS doN'T SLEEP ON OUR TOXIC CRIME BBIES even though they're canon and het; give them some good fanworks pls, ajsajja. ok but so... @mystiika tai & jamie !! they are long-time best friends who do everything together, and they just get each other. can totally 100% see why people would ship it and I support them: even though Tai & Jamie only see each other as friends. I mean, Jamie is basically his platonic life partner anyway, lbr asjajja THEY'RE NOT WRONG... && @pararennial OKAY TELL ME IF I'M WRONG— but I BET that there would be a fairly active section of people who shipped Tai&Roxy, even though Roxy/Maciu is the GOATed ship. the way they make such a smooth partnership & vibe together... I don't doubt that some people would see to smoosh them together into a romantic dynamic. I can also imagine love triangle fanfics where they make Tai be in unrequited love with Roxy AJSJAJ I'm sorry but all my years observing fandoms tell me that would so happen asjajja

& finally . . . I'm going to be delulu and say that the fandom has cultivated an enlightened attitude and there will not be ship wars : ) only multi-shippers or mature single-shippers who don't attack other ships/characters... thank u for supporting my delusions. laskjka

[books-in-a-storm]

Snowflake Book Review’s

Title: Gator Bait MC #3 Cute But Psycho

Author: Lani Lynn Vale

Pages:241

Snowflake Rating:❄❄❄❄(4/5)

Synopsis: Etienne LaFayette hits the ground running the moment he breathes free air after being paroled from a maximum-security prison in Texas. He claws his life back from his brother-in-law who’d taken over his business during the years he’d spent as an inmate at Huntsville Penitentiary. Though it is hard, he puts his life back together in Accident, Florida. There, he hires new employees, joins a motorcycle club, and becomes wildly successful overnight. Seems like the perfect life, right? Wrong. Because one of his first clients is a beautiful, curly-haired woman that reels him in from the moment he first lays eyes on her. Only, before he can work his charm, she forms an opinion of him based solely on the person that he chose to work at his side, day in and day out. That opinion? Utter disgust. Matilda Deveraux has been dealt blow after blow her entire life. First with the death of her mom. Then living with a stepfamily that despises her. Her entire life she’s been known as different. The “weird girl that creeps everyone out.” It’s not her fault that she’s different, yet everyone, including Etienne’s assistant, treats her like she’s a menace to society. Like she would be better off in a loony bin than gracing the streets of Accident, Florida. After years of abuse from everyone around her, the last thing she needs is to be around a man that would have that horrible woman around him twenty-four seven. As a result, she forms an opinion—something that people do to her all the time—and treats him accordingly. Only, it turns out that Etienne isn’t who she thought he was. He’s much, much worse. But only in the best of ways.

[chaoshaven]

Chaotic Card 15- Maxxor

Here he is, the leader of the Overworld tribe, Maxxor! this art done by Khary Randolph, Etienne St.Laurent, Maxxor inherited the role from his father, who we haven’t seen in the show. Hopefully retired, but considering Maxxor is a punch first and ask questions later, they probably died in a war. His advisors are the hero Intress, muge Najarin, and the Danian ambassador Raznus. Possibly others too, but these are the confirmed ones in the tv show card lore.

Stat Spread:

Courage: 90-110

Power:55-75

Wisdom: 70-90

Speed: 40-60

Energy: 55-65

Mugic Counters: 2

Elements:

Fire

Air

Earth

Water

Ability:

Maxxor is able to use his Mugic Counter to heal himself or an ally, just like Donmar. This is very useful, but similar to what I talked about in Laarina’s post, you need to make a decision; Make a team with 8 Mugic Counters, to use this ability? Or pick 2 cards to not use, or ignore this ability? It’s something to consider.

Playstyle:

Maxxor is good, in any deck, Wisdom with Bodal, or a courage based one with Frafdo. You might even have all three front liners in an Earth based deck, with him, Crawsectus, and Maglax. Maybe you even put him in the middle for the support as a healer or to cast Mugic. He is good in many decks...but not great. He has no ability that gives him a damage buff, but a Battlegear could fix that. He’s a jack of all trades, but master of none, and as the series went on, we got better healers who can increase the maximum energy of a creature instead of just healing damage., and better offensive Creatures with high Disciplines and damage buffs like Crawsectus. If you have him, and are playing any of the first 3 sets, he can fill in any space in just about any deck. I’d recommend him over Donmar due to the higher stats, but there is also other Creatures I’d reccomend over Maxxor.

Biography:

Okay, so there’s a lot to go over here! We learn more as the tv show goes on, but Maxxor is the Leader of the Overworld, and willingly goes on one man missions for recon or to re route enemy armies. Preferring to settle things with his fists than his words, he needs his advisors to help him see reason. In the TV show, also called Chaotic, MajorTom is the protagonist of the show, and in his friend group, the one who mainly uses Overworlders. He idolizes Maxxor, and does everything he can to help the Overworld tribe. 

Chaotic only lasted 2.5 seasons, due to a lawsuit that 4Kidz created. They claimed that, they weren’t making enough money for the work they made in creating the tv show. That TC Digital Games, the card producing side owned by Bryan Gannon, (also it was a subsidiary/child company of 4Kidz) was getting too much of a profit. Notably because it was about money, all the cards in production had to be stopped. A lot of store even took cards off the shelves. The online tcg website was down and the show pulled from air. All of this was done because it was about money, so they needed to stop all incoming profit streams before discussing how the profit was split up. Also interestingly, this lawsuit came after 4Kidz lost a lawsuit against Konami, for breaking contract and making dubs in languages other than English.

With Chaotic, 4Kidz did not lose their case; instead, they went bankrupt and bought out, twice. for 10 years. Because of this, the case was closed, with all rights going towards TC Digital and Bryan Gannon, now the sole owner of Chaotic. Most of the episodes (one is gone, and another is only half there) is on a youtube channel called Chaotic and I implore you to watch it.

The show focuses on Tom Majors, getting a code that his friend Kaz tells him to connect to his Chaotic account. It will let you play Chaotic, “for real.” Eventually he does so and finds a VR world called Chaotic, where you can challenge people to drome matches. 7 dromes, which act as simulation rooms; because when your Creature fights the enemy’s, you become those Creatures and duke it out to decide the victory.

On top of all of this, you’re able to travel from the online world to Perim, the land where all the creatures actually live. You can scan Creatures with a Scanner, what is essentially an advanced phone circa 2008, or Battlegear, Mugic, Locations, to then use in future drome matches.

[thlachesis]

i determine the length of string that beholds your fate, otherwise perhaps you would think me but a snake slipping beneath the undergrowth. she wears only white, the colour of french mourning, and remains a part of the serpent queen's holy maids of honour.

written by velvet for @bloodydayshq

name: héléne d'halluin (known formally as de limeuil after being adopted by her mother's third husband, giles de la tour) age/dob: thirty / 10th july 1527 status/rank: lady in waiting to catherine de medici country of origin: france place of birth: chateau de maignelay-montigny, hauts-de-france, kingdom of france birth order: fourth (three half-siblings from her mother's first marriage, a natural brother who died young, alongside many other step-siblings not counted for) mother & father: admiral antoine d'halluin ✟ & louise de crévcoeur ✟ (stepfather: giles de la tour) siblings: francois l'aine (1520-1556) ✟ francois gouffier the younger , francois gouffier bishop of beziers ✟ (1525-1548)(by her mother's first marriage), and step-siblings from her mother's next marriage sexuality: bisexual / biromantic horoscope: cancer virtues: resourceful, ambitious, proud vices: materialistic, snob, superstitious martial status: widowed from baron d'alluye, florimond robertet ✟ issue: etienne roberdet d'alluye ✟ alliance(s): the french, the catholics, the anti-reformation adversaries: the boleyns, the tudors, england, protestants epithet: the lachesis (one third of the morai who spin, measure and cut the string of life in greek mythology, or a group of vipers)

very loosely inspired by jeanne d'halluin and her family

1500 her father antoine d'halluin is born part of a prospering family in the hauts-de-france region of france, he is a second son of a second son and has little prospects 1501 her mother, louise de crévecoeur is born at chateau de crevecoeur and into a family spanning with distant royal blood as a sole heiress of their fortunes 1517 louise marries the ambitious admiral guillaume gouffier de bonnivet, an admiral and becomes the lord of chateau de crévecoeur after the master dies the same year 1518 louise gives birth to her first son, francois l'aine 1519 the birth of francois gouffier the younger, antoine d'halluin is made an admiral and works beneath admiral de bonnivet, where the two men grow close 1520 the birth of francois gouffier the third, the journey to the cloth of gold to meet with england passes through chateau de crevecoeur where the king and his entourage stayed for several days 1525 admiral de bonnivet dies at sea whilst at war in italy, antoine promises to take care of his widow and three sons 1526 it is announced that admiral antoine d'halluin and louise de crévecoeur are married in a blessed ceremony

1527 birth of héléne at chateau de maignelay-montigny, 1531 birth of charles, who dies months later 1532 her father dies at sea leaving louise a widow once more, with her sons now under the care of distant family members, she plans to find another husband to settle her security alongside her young daughter 1538 louise marries the widowed giles de la tour viscount of turenne, she falls pregnant but there are complications and within six months of the same year she dies, giles however adopts héléne as his own 1540 sent to french court to wait upon the queen 1546 is made a part of the queen's "flying squadron", her older half-brother francois the third is made a bishop of beziers before relinquishing the title to the pope 1547 her older half-brother francois gouffier the younger is made a general of the french army taking part in the forthcoming wars 1548 the bishop brother is sent to the english court to act as an ambassador before he succumbs to illness and is buried on english soil 1549 falls pregnant with the king's illegitimate child, and so is put into a convent before returning to court without the child 1550 francois de montmorency falls in love and promises to marry her, but she rejects him 1552 is married to baron d'alluye, flormind robertet 1553 gives birth to her son, étienne roberdet d'alluye 1554 her son dies in bed, her husband dies not long after 1555 returns to french court, rejuvenated 1556 her half-brother, the general, is killed at the siege of volpiano in piedmont 1557 follows catherine de medici to the english court, and acts as her loyal spy, her general brother survives a defeat by the hands of the spanish in de saint-quentin

BIO. incoming

[donnacorless]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Etienne Aigner Priscilla Black Leather Pumps EUC.

[duxiaomin-blog]

The Dynamic Aesthetics in Cross-Cultural Dialogue: Interpreting the Formation and Significance of the Chinoiserie Style from the Perspective of Relational Aesthetics

Relational Aesthetics, a significant concept introduced by French curator and art theorist Nicolas Bourriaud in the 1990s, focuses on how art generates meaning through social interactions and the construction of interpersonal relationships, rather than relying solely on the physical artwork itself or the artist’s personal expression. Analyzing the Chinoiserie style from the perspective of Relational Aesthetics allows for a deeper exploration of how this artistic style generates meaning through cultural interaction and the construction of human connections, establishing a new aesthetic relationship between Eastern and Western cultures. This analysis not only emphasizes the material characteristics of Chinoiserie as an art style but also highlights the complex processes of social interaction and cultural exchange behind it.

The Product of Cultural Interaction

Chinoiserie, as a style that blends Eastern and Western elements, perfectly embodies the concept of “art as a social field of interaction” within Relational Aesthetics. This style is not merely a simple imitation of Chinese cultural elements by European artists but gradually took shape through cultural interactions between Europe and China. Through this interaction, Chinoiserie became a cross-cultural aesthetic space, reflecting the European imagination, understanding, and misconceptions of Eastern culture at the time.

In this process, Chinoiserie is not a static artwork but a dynamic result of the continuous interaction between European society and Chinese culture. This style is essentially a product of social relationships, reflecting the social, political, and economic dynamics of Europeans as they encountered, understood, and reinterpreted Chinese culture.

For example, this gold box in the V&A Museum, designed by Michel-Etienne Filassier and made in Paris between 1745–47, features Chinoiserie patterns crafted from shell, mother-of-pearl, and ivory inlays. The design emphasizes the dynamic movement of curves in Chinoiserie, and although the motifs depict Chinese figures, the choice of materials reflects what was popular in the European market at the time. Since the Baroque era, European society has frequently used gilded decorations, not only to highlight the luxurious nature of the objects but also to protect them from physical damage.

The Complexity of Cross-Cultural Relationships

The formation and spread of the Chinoiserie style reflect the complex cross-cultural relationship between Europe and China. From the perspective of Relational Aesthetics, this cross-cultural relationship is not a one-way cultural transplant or simple imitation but a dynamic cultural interaction filled with tension and contradictions. Europe’s imagination and misunderstandings of Chinese culture not only serve as the driving force behind the Chinoiserie style but also form an integral part of its aesthetic significance.

This cultural interaction not only influenced European art styles but also, to some extent, altered Europeans’ perceptions of Eastern culture. Therefore, Chinoiserie is not merely a visual art phenomenon; it also embodies the power dynamics and cultural flows within the relationship between East and West, which lies at the core of what Relational Aesthetics seeks to explore.

ChuCui Palace Dews on the Vines Brooch

Take, for example, the jewelry pioneer of modern Chinoiserie style, ChuCui Palace. Their brooch “Dews on the Vines” combines calla lilies and lilies — two flowers representing the West and East, respectively. The piece cleverly juxtaposes these two flowers to convey the classic East-West blend and cross-cultural characteristics of Chinoiserie. The natural curves derived from Eastern aesthetics are expressed through Western inlay techniques, highlighting the appreciation of Eastern aesthetics, nature, and the free expression of emotions.

In this piece, ChuCui Palace combines traditional Chinese gongbi painting with Western inlay techniques, using varying shades of green and yellow to create the shading effect typical of gongbi art. From the juxtaposition of Eastern and Western floral elements to the harmonious integration of themes and Chinese gongbi painting, alongside the skilled Western inlay techniques blended with Eastern aesthetics, this piece becomes a vivid expression of lyrical and elegant cross-cultural jewelry, enriched by the meticulous detail of traditional Chinese art.

Diverse Audience Participation

From the perspective of Relational Aesthetics, Chinoiserie is not only the creation of artists but also a process in which audiences and consumers participate in cultural construction. In the 18th century, European nobility and the middle class engaged in this cross-cultural exchange by purchasing and displaying Chinoiserie-style artworks. Their choices in home decor and fashion design were, in essence, expressions of recognition and engagement with cross-cultural relationships.

In this interaction, the audience was not a passive receiver but an active participant in the construction of the Chinoiserie style through the consumption and display of these artworks. This participation endowed Chinoiserie with richer social significance, making it an important element in the cultural relationships of European society at the time.

This sculpture group “Touch” at the V&A Museum is part of a series representing the “Five Senses.” These pieces were likely designed to be displayed on wall brackets or mantelpieces and were made by the Derby Porcelain Factory around 1752–55. On closer inspection, one can see that while the figures’ clothing and hats are styled in a Chinese manner, their facial features are distinctly European. This reflects the influence of European perspectives on the final presentation of Chinoiserie artworks and crafts, shaped by the audience’s and consumers’ passive or active “participation.”

The development of the Chinoiserie style in Europe was not merely an artistic phenomenon but also a product of cross-cultural exchange and social interaction. By blending Eastern and Western aesthetic elements, Chinoiserie became a complex medium reflecting Europe’s understanding and misunderstanding of Eastern culture. It embodied the shifting power dynamics of the time and showcased the diverse participation of European audiences in cultural consumption. The uniqueness of this style lies not only in its visual fusion but also in its evolution as a dynamic art form shaped by social relationships. Ultimately, Chinoiserie transcended mere decorative significance, becoming a significant symbol and historical witness of cross-cultural dialogue.