#I always appreciate the lesser known little lore bits in writing!

[thebusylilbee]

For decades, authors Margaret Atwood and her late partner Graeme Gibson were a power couple of Canadian literature. Despite his wide-ranging influence, Gibson struggled to sell publishers on an unusual book he envisioned—a massive scrapbook of art and writings about birds in history and culture. “He had the idea for The Bedside Book of Birds ten years before the book actually got published,” says Atwood, the award-winning speculative fiction novelist, as well as a birder, conservationist, and poet.

The Bedside Book of Birds, eventually released in 2005, was Gibson’s love letter to the deep relationships between humans and birds. In the compendium, birds provide hope, insight, and companionship but also portend sinister omens. Its contents span continents and centuries, from Aristotle and an Aztec eagle warrior to T.S. Eliot and Haruki Murakami. The book was a hit at the time, says Atwood, and now it's being reprinted by Penguin Random House to be released in stores on March 30.

Gibson never lost his delight in birds, she says, even up to his death in 2019 at age 85. Audubon spoke to Atwood, who wrote a new forward to the book, about the story of this unusual work and the couple’s shared birding life.

Audubon: How did this unique book come about?

Margaret Atwood: Graeme was a convert to birdwatching when he was probably about 36, and he became very keen on it. He palled up with some expert birders and was very interested in taking groups to Cuba, which I think has 25 endemics including the Bee Hummingbird—the smallest hummingbird in the world. We did [birding trips] for a number of years, and then we became connected with BirdLife International. During this time he was also collecting. He was collecting bird images, bird stories, people's experiences with birds, and bird mythology. He had the idea for putting it into a miscellany, which was a favorite Victorian kind of book. A miscellany can include anything—a quote, an image of a statue, a tidbit of a story, a piece of folklore, scientists' writings, a travel adventure, anything. It was a process of elimination of what would go in and what had to come out. The Bedside Book of Birds could have been about five times as big as it was.

Audubon: Yes, there’s a lot in this rich book, covering the many ways that humans interact with birds. What are some of those themes?

Atwood: They cover the range. Not all experiences that people have had with birds have been positive, and not all of them have been positive for birds. In one place in the book, it's remarked that humanity gave the wings of birds to the angels but the claws to the devils. We have had things like Alfred Hitchcock's movie The Birds. Some people are afraid of birds, let's not discount that. And some birds had been seen as an element of doom. How many crows are supposed to be bad? I think it's three. And ravens have been associated with battlefields. In some cultures, they're called 'wolf birds' because they follow wolves and want some of whatever it is the wolf is going to kill—and they're smart enough to know that. Because they can’t open a carcass they will actually help wolves and humans hunt. Overhead, they can see over hills, and they will do that dip thing in their wings, like ‘this way, yoohoo, this way.’

Audubon: In the new forward you've written with this reissue, you mention that you and Graeme dressed up as the Norse god Odin’s pair of ravens for a costume party. I love that.

Atwood: Graeme picked Thought, and I picked Memory. He didn’t have a good memory, whereas I did.

Audubon: Some of the excerpts in the book are not entirely surprising—the Bible, Darwin, Greek mythology—but others are much lesser known. I was interested to see the mix of words and art that show how both Western and non-Western cultures relate to birds. How did he do research?

Atwood: We did a lot of traveling in those years. And some of the places were very big on bird imagery. Indeed, there was often folklore and mythology back through the years, and that's one of the things I'm also interested in. Of course, when we were traveling and when we were doing bird things, we would ask people wherever we were: ‘Got any good bird stories?’

Audubon: In the book, Graeme discusses the idea that birdwatchers can sometimes get lost in the act of checking a bird off their list, or even symbolically possessing a bird, as in the use of the birding phrase, “what birds did you get?’

Atwood: Yes, though it’s better than shooting them which is how people used to collect birds.

Audubon: How did you two approach birding then?

Atwood: We did do a trip list for places that we were going, especially if we were with a group of people. But we didn't do a life list. He was always more interested in watching the birds’ behavior than in checking it off the list. But we understand the collecting thing, too—it’s like stamp collecting in a way. It’s a different kind of pleasure.

Audubon: Have you been doing more birdwatching in this last pandemic year?

Atwood: I’ve been doing a lot of walking, but not specifically with that in view. When you’re birding, I think it’s better to be with other people who are doing the same thing. But I hope to be able to be with some like-minded people, possibly in May. We threw together a Pelee Island Bird Observatory and Pelee Island Heritage Center Springsong event online last year, and we're doing the same this year. It will be May 8.

Audubon: With the pandemic, this reissue is being published in a very different moment than it was originally. Do you think the book will hit differently now?  

Atwood: Well everything is hitting in a different way. I think we've seen a big uptick in people's appreciation for natural space. Natural spaces have been places that people could go into—and that weren't their cellar—where they could have some breathing space.

Audubon: In The Bedside Book of Birds, I was particularly moved by one piece, "Birds of the Western Front," from a writer named Saki, who died in World War I. He was writing about how the lives of birds went on amid all the death and destruction of the war. It reminded me a little bit of this year—how I think people have taken some solace in the lives of birds despite all the death and destruction now.

Atwood: Yes—not only are birds beautiful and cheerful, but they're ongoing. Like in the famous World War I poem In Flanders Field, one of the things that people who were in the trenches noticed was that the meadowlarks were still doing their thing despite all of the carnage that was going on around them.

[randofandomtrash]

THE Conversation

Small SPN/GO Crossover - Not characters, just the idea that “hunters” and lower-level demons also exist in this universe. ReaderxAziraphale

A/N: I usually only write drabbles and bits of fic that never see the light of day, but I figured why not go ahead and post it!

Aziraphale and reader (and once Crowley pops in) put all their cards on the table, so to speak.

“Well it’s complicated.” Aziraphale sighed, nervously toying with the buttons on his overcoat. “What isn’t?” You replied with a shrug, “If you don’t want to talk about it, we don’t have to.” He was visibly uncomfortable, despite having been the one to initiate the conversation that he was now desperately trying to get out of. Presently you were both sitting in the back room of his bookshop. The sign on the front door long-since turned over to ‘closed’, and two empty tea cups sat on nearby surfaces. “I want to. No, that’s a lie, I don’t want to talk about it. But I feel it necessary. It wouldn’t be right to withhold it from you.” He continued to fetter and you figured best to just let him get it out of his system. Though you were starting to worry at what could have him so distraught. You’d been coming to the book “shop” regularly (almost daily) for about a year, though you’d never seen anyone actually purchase anything. Nor had you purchased anything yourself. It acted as more of a museum or library, really. Aziraphale had quickly won you over, and had even introduced you to his friend Crowley. Though you wouldn’t admit it out loud, you’d developed quite a crush on Aziraphale. You couldn’t help but be infatuated with him - he was like warm tea on a cold day, and the first flowers of spring. He was warm and loving, and made you feel comfortable and content in a way you’d never known before. As for right-now, it looked like he may have finally managed the courage to say what he’d wanted to tell you. Aziraphale took a deep breath. “Y/N, my dear, what I’ve been trying to say is that, well... It’s just that I’m an -“ “Angel? You here?” Crowley’s voice rang out, growing louder as he approached, “Light was on so I thought you might- oh hullo! Am I interrupting?” Aziraphale looked utterly defeated. His shoulders slumped and he dared a glance in your direction. “I’m an angel. And Crowley is a demon.” “OH my Satan. You’re having THE conversation. Terrible timing on my part.” Crowley drawled as he draped himself over an empty chair, materializing a bowl of popcorn to much on while he observed. You couldn’t help the laugh that escaped. They were both so dramatic. The two ethereal beings eyed you, anxiously awaiting your response or reaction. “I know, silly.” You said, smiling warmly at Aziraphale in an attempt to calm his nerves. “I recognized the Enochian in your ledger. And you keep dropping feathers.” While you were talking you dug your fingers between the cushion of your chair, grasping for a moment until you produced a pristine white feather tipped in gold. “And as for Crowley, I could sense it but his eyes gave it away, obviously.” Both Crowley and Aziraphale stuttered and tried to grasp what you’d just said. “How in hell-“ “Well I’ll be damned-“ “How could you even-“ “Open my wings ONE time and they get everywhere-“ Not knowing what else to do in that moment, the angel snapped his fingers, producing a silver tray with three cups of tea. You reached over to select a cup, holding it delicately in your hands. He cleared his throat and attempted to regain some composure. “H-how long have you known? And how do you even know what Enochian is? And -“ You held up a hand to halt the barrage of questions. “You’ve revealed your secrets, now it’s time I reveal mine. Get comfortable, it’s kind of a long story.” Sipping your tea, you looked to both angel and demon, and began your tale. “My father was a hunter, and I don’t mean lumberjacks or turkey shoots. He hunted bad things. Supernatural bad things. That line of work you pick up a few tricks along the way. I know a couple of sigils for warding and protection, few spells and incantations, and by proxy a bit of Enochian. In the early 1900’s, I was 22 or 23, and I was stupid. My father was wounded badly trying to clear out a vampire nest. Doctors said he wasn’t going to make it. Out of desperation, I summoned a demon named Alastair. Sold my soul for the ability to heal my father and make sure he’d be safe. I got two years with a demon’s powers to heal him, and then I’d be hauled off via Hell Hound. When my dad found out he was livid. He made a deal with Alastair behind my back - my father’s soul then instead of mine in 2 years. Alastair got the props for taking out a big shot hunter, and I got my debt erased, lost my father, but somehow I got to keep my powers. I always just assumed Alastair took some semblance of pity on me. I didn’t want to hunt - I’d had too many friends and family die and I’m really not the type for it. I was always better at the lore and research part. So I did that for other hunters for a while. Moved around a bit, went to school for a little while, took odd jobs when I got bored. And then eventually around the 70’s settled down in London, and here we are.” You stopped to sip at your tea and let them absorb your tale. Crowley was the first to speak up. “Sooo you - Y/N - have demon powers?” Nodding, you snapped your fingers. Instead of the day clothes you’d been wearing, you were now clad in leggings and a cozy gray sweater. Another snap of your fingers and the gramophone near the front of the shop started playing a record of Vivaldi. You knew Aziraphale enjoyed Vivaldi and thought he might appreciate the gesture. One last snap and in a blink you were no longer sitting in the chair you had previously occupied, but were now seated next to Aziraphale. He jumped and let out a quiet “oh!” in surprise. “Oh, and I can do the eye thing. No wings though. But I think only lesser demons do the eye thing to freak out humans.” “I hate to ask, but what is the eye thing?” Aziraphale inquired cautiously. The expressions on their faces were near unreadable, and especially for Aziraphale that was a surprise. He always wore his emotions on his sleeve, so you were concerned that this was going to push him over the edge. You gently reached out and placed your hand on his knee. “I don’t want to freak you out. I know this is a lot.” He placed a soft, well-manicured hand over yours. “I’m all right, dear. Just a little taken aback is all. Here I was expecting to make some grand reveal but it’s you who is full of surprises tonight.” He gave a little smile that made you melt. “Okay, here goes.” You blinked and looked back up at the angel. Your eyes now completely black. No iris, no whites. Just black. He stiffened, but didn’t pull away. Another blink and your eyes were back to normal. “Well that’s a relief”, huffed Crowley, “now you two can get on with it and save us all a lot of trouble.” He gestured broadly toward you and Aziraphale, throwing a piece of popcorn in the air and attempting to catch it in his mouth. You and Aziraphale both looked at each other, brows furrowed, and then at Crowley. “Just what is that supposed to mean?!” Aziraphale asked, scandalized by the demon’s implication. “Ohhhh, I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Or if you don’t, she will,” Crowley sent a wink your way. “Now that’s settled, I’m off. Ciao!” In a blink, Crowley was gone.   “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I just didn’t want to ruin things.” You said softly, looking up at the angel through your eyelashes. “No need for apologies, I felt the same way.” He placed a careful hand on your check, and you leaned in to his touch. “Now that everything’s on the table, so to speak, would you like to have dinner with me sometime?” He asked, somehow still nervous that you might say no. “I would love that.”

[petitepistol]

CHAIN OF SWEETNESS

5 THINGS YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER.

this is hard because i have to separate elena from how she exists in canon from the elena i have built up for myself in my mind, so in the interest of brevity im choosing to focus on the canon aspects that deeply drew me to her to begin with and continue to feed my fascination and frustration with her to this day

ONE elena is a minor character. like, take her out of the story of the game and nobody would bat an eye. the writers dont really know what they are doing with her at any given moment, so she is this half formed mess of anachronistic traits. that can be really interesting and really challenging to try and flesh out, especially when you factor in how disconnected she is from even the characters closest to her and what those interpersonal dynamics must be like. even among the turks she is an outlier, new to the team and hellbent on diligently doing her job despite not having the same ghosts as the rest of them. before crisis tries to touch on that with her sister, but that just muddies the waters further providing conflicting motivations that they never really address. because, as stated initially, she is a minor character. and that means the exposition is something i have to do, not canon.

TWO despite being a minor character, from a mechanics standpoint she serves a purpose. her first appearance is there to give you an important lead on the big bad, her narrative purpose in the wutai subquest means you get both a party member and a forge fragile armistice with the turks. during the icicle portion if you get knocked out by her, she drops you off in gast’s house, which might mean the devs were using her to guide less skilled players into viewing missable but important lore. this extends to the compilation, where she is utilized off screen for the jenova head in a box debacle, and in before crisis to pad out the plot a little longer by getting kidnapped. from a game design perspective her existence is validated not by good writing but by being a deus ex machina and i have learned to love that as much as i hate it.

THREE she occupies a space where you can throw just about a billion tropes at her and it can work. people don’t usually realize this, but for such bit player you can do a lot with her. also if you wanna write snappy dialogue you can let this girl just say fucking anything. nothing is off limits coming out of her mouth, because there is so little to go off of and what data there is can be interpreted so broadly. that also means you can write her as downright sociopathic or as an unlikely altruist, leaning towards either of the extremes or staying dead center in the middle of the road. the only limitations are that of the perceptional biases of the writer.

FOUR that she is the highest level of the turks in game will never not make me ridiculously happy. i love that this so called clumsy rookie is the most difficult to take out in a fight with the rarest gear. if you wanna hear more about aspect that go here.

FIVE hnnnnng pretty girl who can kick my ass please step on me unga bunga

5 10 PEOPLE ON HERE YOU LOVE, AND WHY.

there are so many wonderful people i want to give accolades too that i often find it hard to do these kind of daisy chains, and even now im cheating by doubling the number. that still isnt enough, so to those who arent on this list i have to say i love you too but the powers that be and my own shyness turned off the mic before the speech ended

ONE forever amused by how both @makeupandmateria and @madamdirectcr are not only incredible to me as a player, but elena as a character. we are in love with this surprising supportive mean ladies coterie. swiftie plays an elegantly dubious scarlet to the hilt and manages to bring out the best in everyone. lottie brings an uncanny sensitivity to scarlet that makes you think while being so sweet and engaging outside of play.

TWO speaking of girls muses supporting other girl muses @heavenlyfighter and @cultivatxr are a dynamic duo and im lucky enough to be in talks with both of them. jessica plays a lovely tifa who has such a melancholy imbued to her strength while not only tolerating my flakiness but being so understanding, while phoe has had a perfect grasp on aerith for what feels like an epoch always letting that same vibrancy spill out into reality.

THREE so @animus-inspire and @urbdev-assistant are two peas of positivity in a pod and i adore them for it. one them plays an understated hero who has the capacity to do great good even when aligned with evil and the other has taken the adage about there being a great woman behind every great man and elevated an npc into a brilliant character. both are fantastic.

FOUR shout out to @missionheartcd and @rude-at-your-service for being not only the best coworkers elena could ever had but being consistently delightful out of character. not only do i want to play more with their characters, i also appreciate their support.

FIVE thank you to @warofthebeasts​ and @inanisvitae​ for putting up with my inexplicable affection for sephiroth. kevin is so patient with my persistent poking and prodding and you could not find a more passionate advocate for either character development or friendship than maria.

5  SONGS EITHER YOU OR YOUR MUSE REGARD AS A ‘GUILTY PLEASURE’ THAT ALWAYS MAKES YOU SMILE.

these are mostly mine but may or may not apply to elena from some twisted meta perspective also this was hard because i have no guilty pleasures my tastes is flawless (this definitely applies to elena as well unless we are talking about her taste in men which is terrible lmao sorry im just bullying tseng he is actually pretty cool)

ONE you cannot have this type of lists without ABBA represented and while this is almost a lesser known track of theirs, i have liked it since i heard it in childhood playing through the records my mom owned. the lyrical content is very shinra-core and while i dont think elena ever dated a middle aged fat cat for money as a teen im certain she considered it

TWO as a kid i didnt like the indomitable miss spears because i bought into regressive attitudes towards female sexuality while not recognizing she was being exploited by the industry, but i have grown. elena agrees with the sentiment of “you better work, bitch”

THREE im not ashamed of my love of god queen shiina ringo but at the time i first saw this video i was not prepared for the gratuitous badass lady nurse on sexy female patient malpractice action it featured and that was what made it a guilty pleasure

FOUR everybody loves george michael and that includes me. this piece from his wham! era is almost too peppy, but i am an absolutely a sucker for imagining brutal fight scenes with anachronistically cheerful songs playing over the carnage

FIVE rounding things off is an obligatory recent weeb jam. well half of this combo is american but you know what i mean. i love the combination of classic funk and whispery vocals echoing into an unrepentant cry of “fuck you motherfucker.” coupled with the blonde in the video intercut with the OL being joyfully liberated by her train ride? elena vibes

Tagged: @madamdirectcr @animus-inspire Tagging: you!

[translationandbetrayals]

A 1000 years wandering: Lost Odyssey

- minus SPOILER alert-

I've always been a gamer, which added to the fact that i’ve liked anime since my earliest childhood, i think it turns me into a total “otaku”, i.e, someone who’s kinda obsessed with anime/manga, videogames and the popular culture around them. That being said, my life as a gamer not only got limited to western media, but rather was also greatly augmented and influenced by japanese productions on the matter. Considering this aspect, i became especially fond to role playing games made in Japan (JRPG), being introduced to them by the long time famous “Final Fantasy” franchise, which captivated me with its visuals, settings, soundtrack, stories and gameplay mechanics (basically i liked everything haha). Hence, i began trying out other titles within the genre, such as “Kingdom Hearts”, “Monster Hunter” and “Resonance of Fate”, to name a few examples, delivering each of them its own appealing experience. However, it wasn't until around the middle of  2011 that i played a video game that, without underestimating the others, marked me significantly, which is the 2007 release “Lost Odyssey”.   

It is a very little known game, both because it comes from a small company “Mistwalker”, and since it was released on one video game platform only (Xbox 360). Mistwalker was founded by the Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, who previously departed from “Square Enix” (which currently owns the franchise) for personal reasons. Therefore, Mistwalker began its operations in 2004 with the finantial backing of “Microsoft Studios”, announcing in 2005 the production of two video games with Xbox 360 exclusivity, one of them being the one i’m writing about. Although it comes from an indie and rather small company, i feel that's what made the game so special, cause of the fact of not being triple AAA (video games created by big companies with a lot of resources and high budgets) maybe allowed the developers to truly focus on certain elements that had been left out in recent RPGs, like the character's complexity and the narrative’s depthness. 

Lost Odyssey takes place in a world of Magic-Industrial Revolution, where the two most powerful nations, Uhra and Gotzha, are in a constant silent conflict of controlling the magical resources and technology for their own benefit. In this setting, we take control of an immortal, who have lived for a thousand years, by the name of Kaim. The story begins with Kaim fighting in the war between Uhra and the lesser country Khent, where a meteor falls from the sky and wipes out the entirely battlefield. Due to his “state of life”, our protagonist comes out as one of the few survivors of this calamity and ends up paired with Seth and Jansen, on the quest of investigating Grand Staff; a magical “Ark” engine built by Uhra attributed to be responsible of the catastrophe, at the behest of the council of Uhra. Throughout their journey, they meet new characters, some of them eventually joining the party, as also different events that make a turn on the plot.  

Gameplay-wise Lost Odyssey uses a turn-based battle system, an aspect that instantly catched my attention as it revisits a main feature of classical RPGs, which nowadays don’t  have a lot of productions that incorporate it, my guess, because developers don’t think is appealing to the western audiences anymore. On the other hand, the game set us in a land full of towns, cities and dungeons to explore, with diverse side quests and mini quests to complete, that also deliver us plenty of the lore. At the same time, we are presented with a group of  characters, each of them specializing in a determined area and enabling us to control up to five in battle, something that i appreciate very much cause i love when RPGs let us play with a full party that we can customize and assign different jobs or roles for everyone (the Hack & Slash genre and/or games that allow one playable character only, bore me a little bit).  

In terms of the narrative, i believe is where it excels the most. Lost Odyssey tells a story filled with touching moments and likeable characters, without being cheesy, something that’s common among JRPGs. The approach of what it means to be immortal and never being able to die, is matched with the struggles that carries, such as watching everyone you know and care about slowly disappearing. Also, is important to add that Kaim and the other immortals suffer from amnesia, not remembering anything about their one thousand lifespan, a fact that leads us to explore an existence with a faded self, as also to discover the reasons behind those reminiscences vanishment. Furthermore, there’s a great optional portion of the game that consists on recollecting Kaim’s memories in the shape of meticulously thought written shorts stories, which are surprisingly endearing. The above is enhanced by the soundtrack, which was composed by no other than Nobuo Uematsu itself, who produced the music for the entire Final Fantasy entries until the tenth installment, and is aaagh so gorgeous and heartwarming, definitively increasing the emotional immersion of the game. 

I think the only thing i can remember not fancying is the main villain, who i found a little flat and much less intriguing than others, even the battles against him -SPOILER- particularly the final battle, were kind of disappointing. Aside from that, it’s an overall outstanding JRPG with a good deal of classic elements for more traditionalist players -and for those who don’t as well-. I invite you to play it someday, or at least watch the walkthroughs available on Youtube assuming that’s quite possible that you don’t own an Xbox 360 or  Xbox One, the former via its backwards compatibility feature.

-s4chxx-