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yumeka36 · 5 years

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Frozen 2 review

I’ve seen Frozen 2 twice now and feel like I’m ready to review it (somewhat) objectively. Obviously there will be spoilers so read at your own risk.

I’ve looked at a number of reviews of the movie both from fans and general critics/moviegoers, and it made me realize exactly what kind of movie this is: pretty much all of the criticism I’ve seen has to do with the plot being unfocused and rushed at times, with points made about the convolution of the mythology elements. On the other hand, the praise I’ve seen has to do with the growth of the characters, how appealing Anna and Elsa’s development is, and the overall message of accepting change, righting past wrongs, and being who you’re meant to be. It’s almost like the critics who didn’t like the movie and the fans who did had completely different expectations for what they wanted to see, with the former expecting some intricate fantasy plot that all clicks together and is fully fleshed out, while the latter is expecting to see their favorite characters face new adventures while growing their relationships and personal identities. And this latter interpretation is the defining point of Frozen’s appeal, even more so in the sequel: the franchise is all about the story arcs of Anna and Elsa and how their bond as sisters helps them grow stronger together as well as individually. In Frozen 2, it’s the characters that are driving the plot instead of the plot driving the characters. And because of this, the movie would rather spend more time focusing on character songs and interactions (not just Anna and Elsa but Olaf and Kristoff too) than exposition and fleshing out of story elements. It would rather spend time showing Kristoff singing about his pining for Anna’s love, give Olaf scenes showing how his new-found knowledge has made him view the world, and give Elsa a follow-up to “Let It Go” in “Show Yourself,” than to spend time explaining, say, the Northuldra culture, how the spirits can make decisions like giving Elsa powers, or exactly how the magic of Ahtohallan works. Yes, this does make some story points lacking and hurried, but I feel that the filmmaking team relies on the fact that we’re so in love with these characters that not understanding every detail in the lore and plot won’t ruin our enjoyment. And, from the acclaim the movie’s getting, I’d say they’re right.

Frozen has always been about quality character story arcs as opposed to quality world-building, but the reason this is more prominent in Frozen 2 is because the first movie had a smaller scale story with minimal lore to focus on, so the character arcs stood out more. Because the sequel brings in more world-building elements, it’s easy for someone who’s not invested in the characters to focus on and judge the movie based on the fine details of the plot. Of course it would be nice if we could have both: intricate, solid world-building as well as character development, but that would probably make the movie too long – it could work for an ongoing series but not for a time-restricted Disney movie that only has a degree of creative liberties and still has to adhere to certain story flows and formulas. So then the questions are, did I feel enough was explained in Frozen 2 to make sense of the story even if a handful of things were lacking? Did the quality of the characters and their developments and relationships make up for a plot that was a bit messy and unfocused? I’d say the answer to these questions is yes.

With that in mind, as a fan judging the movie based more on how the characters are handled rather than the plot, and considering the hype the movie had to live up to and the insane number of directions they could have gone with the story, I think the final product turned out to be very good. The few things I had issue with are as follows:

-as I discussed in most of this post, I admit that the movie is a bit rushed at times, with certain scenes and plot points that needed more focus being glossed over. An extra 5-10 minute runtime would have benefited it immensely: a few more scenes of Agnarr and Iduna in Ahtohallan, more discussion in the finale of Anna becoming queen and what Elsa’s role as the fifth spirit is…even just another 30 seconds for each of these would have made a big difference. But at the same time I feel enough is explained to satisfy a general audience and the main appeal of the movie – the character arcs and relationships – is very well done.

-Kristoff’s failed proposal in the wagon felt way too forced. Anna was just way too quick to misunderstand him, making it feel very unrealistic and it only made their relationship look regressing rather than progressing. The other attempt in the forest was a bit forced too but not as bad as this one. These scenes definitely could have benefited from another rewrite. But thankfully they’re short.

-the new characters like Matthias and Honeymaren contributed virtually nothing to the plot: they could have been replaced with just nameless Northuldra and Arendelle soldiers and nothing would have changed in the story. I think the only reason these characters were made is because there’s some rule that Disney sequels have to have new characters and can’t just rely on the strength of the old ones, so these guys were created even if the movie didn’t necessitate them. Even the four spirits were more plot devices than actual characters. As cute as Bruni is, as soon as I saw him I was like “yeah, he’s just there to sell toys, not gonna contribute anything to the narrative flow” and I was right. This again goes back to what I was saying before about how Frozen 2 chooses to focus more on its (star) characters than world-building through new characters. So in a way, having these new characters isn’t a flaw and it actually shows just how good the original Frozen characters are: they still have so much depth and personality that hasn’t been explored that they can carry this new story on their own without the help of new characters.

But other than a few missing and rushed plot pieces and a little poor writing in Kristoff’s scenes, I thought the movie delivered very well. The love Anna has for Elsa is so amazingly conveyed in this movie that you don’t even need to see the first movie to understand it. All of their interactions and conversations felt so genuine. Olaf was very funny even if all of his jokes didn’t hit their mark. Most of the songs were great and really felt like they were written to move the characters and story forward and not just to be earworms kids will always want to sing. “The Next Right Thing” is one of the darkest moments I’ve seen in any Disney movie, but also one of the most emotionally moving and I have to give kudos to the creative team for keeping it in. “Show Yourself” is the true successor to “Let It Go” (why do they keep pushing “Into the Unknown”?) and is such a beautifully sung and beautifully animated sequence. Speaking of the movie’s animation, it’s gorgeous and it’s so amazing how far the technology has come since the first Frozen. There’s so much detail and nuances in the characters’ expressions and actions that only multiple viewings can pick up on.

Of course, I can’t complete this review unless I discuss the elephant in the room – the ending. Anyone who’s been around the fandom the past couple months knows how bent out of shape everyone got once a vague description of the ending leaked online. Now that I’ve seen it for myself and know all the context, I’m okay with the message: Because Iduna did the right thing and saved Agnarr despite him being her enemy, the spirits gifted their child with powers that could be used to correct the past wrong, should she choose to. And because Anna did the right thing by choosing to destroy her kingdom to save the forest, the spirits freed Elsa who, in turn, was able to save Arendelle. Elsa fully embraced herself and is able to live as she wants, but still able to see her family when she wants. It’s not that she didn’t like being queen of Arendelle and living with Anna and the others, but now that she knows exactly what she is – the fifth spirit – she wants to explore that, but is still able to have a life with her family too. Likewise, Anna has found a purpose she never had before. Even though it’s a major change, she’s happy because she knows Elsa is happy and they can still see each other whenever they want. But as I said, exactly what Elsa does as the fifth spirit should have been explained more (hoping it does in future installments). For what we got though, it was a happy ending, but I won’t say it’s satisfying until we get some more information in future books, filmmaker interviews, and, hopefully, future animated shorts and sequels.

I’m still trying to get over the shock, not just of the fact that a movie I’ve been speculating and daydreaming about for six years is finally here and known, but also the fact that it ended up being very different from what I ever imagined in my theories and headcanons. But now that I’ve watched it twice, I understand the direction the filmmakers went and can appreciate the message they wanted to convey even if the execution was a bit messy. I’m hoping I’m high on Frozen 2 for a while because once it wears off and, assuming, there’s no announcement of new Frozen content by then, I’ll have to figure out what to do with my life! This movie is all about coming to grips with change and I’ll definitely be doing that in reality depending on what the future holds for the Frozen franchise. But as of now, I’m still willing to follow Anna and Elsa into the unknown.

Art credited to @pacota22ma on Twitter

*Crossposted from my main blog, Yume Dimension*

#frozen #frozen 2 #frozen 2 spoilers

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yukipri · 5 years

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Stolen from @cravencur !

1. Slowburn or Love at First Sight

I unfortunately don’t trust Love at First Sight at ALL, slow burn and platonic love to gradual romantic love plz <3

2. Fake Dating or Secretly Dating

I’mma go with Fake, bc the assumption is that they don’t mean to be in a romantic relationship at all, but slowly develop the feels after getting to know each other, which is basically the answer above. I’m sure there are contexts where I could enjoy Secretly Dating, but I tend to be wary of secrecy/hiding things from others in their lives ^ ^;

3. Enemies to Lovers or Best Friends to Lovers

Honestly love both, but I guess in the case of Enemies to Lovers, I see Friend being a necessary middle step in between? Hence Best Friend. Friendship to me is a MUST in ships I enjoy!

4. “Oh no, there’s Only One Bed,” or Long Distance Correspondence

YEP haha! Long Distance angst can be nice too but ehhhhhh

5. Hurt/Comfort or Amnesia

I love it. And if I like amnesia sometimes, it’s bc of the former, SO

6. Fantasy AU or Modern AU

In cases of non-modern fandoms (like OP), i do like me a good modern AU too, but there’s so much fun in fantasy! Fancy outfits, world building where I get to choose my rules, you name it ;D

7. Mutual Pining or Domestic Bliss

Honestly both. I like when the latter is a result of the former, and as a creator, sometimes I just want to draw the latter but only under the premise that they went through the former if that makes sense?

8. Smut or Fluff

At least when I create, tho only I’ll go for both and yes, best when combined ^ ^

9. Canon-Compliant/Missing Scenes or Fix-It

Canon-compliant is great, but wanting to imagine a different route from canon is a huge motivator for me as a creator

10. Alternate Universe or Future Fic

Gonna go with Future for this one bc I LOVE imagining how the charas grow based on what we know of them in canon, and my endgames always need a future HC. BUT I also like throwing in AU elements, and AUs are awesome by themselves too!

11. One Shot or Multichapter

I wish to learn to make more satisfying one shots instead of massive continuous stories I have no hope of finishing >.<;

12. Kid Fic or Roadtrip Fic

Ngl I love my OC love babies LMAO

13. Reincarnation or Character Death

A bit tricky, because usually I like reincarnation stories IF the characters died a miserable tragic death in canon and it’s like a second chance. BUT that’s not the only ways I “enjoy” character death, because I like ghost/coming back to life stories too? So I guess it’s not so much character death that I enjoy, but I like the angst and potential for hurt/comfort and character growth that comes from it, even if in my own stories I always add a way for them to overcome that ^ ^; Hey, it’s fiction, I’m allowed to indulge myself!

14. Arranged Marriage or Accidental Marriage

Mmm I can see either of them appealing (esp if it’s in a fake dating-esque, let’s slowly develop feels type setting), but neither are tropes that immediately jump out at me!

15. High School Romance or Middle-Aged Romance

I guess I prefer Middle-Aged bc in the case of slow built, it gives them more time together, and it’s easier to imagine a future afterwards? Or maybe I’m just getting old ^ ^;

16. Time Travel or Isolated Together

Time Travel can be awesome esp for fix-its, but as a trope in general, yessss isolated together haha!

17. Neighbors or Roommates

Rooooommatesss!!!! The appeal of neighbors is that they’re like, slightly more far away roommates anyway ^ ^;

18. Sci Fi AU or Magic AU

Magic! Much broader application I feel, modern/historical/fantasy settings all possible! I tend to like magical aesthetic better too, tho i do love me some star wars haha

19. Bodyswap or Genderbend

Especially from a visual art perspective, I just find designing genderbend costumes to be really fun! And it gives me a chance to draw more feminine bodies when most of my fav charas tend to be male ^ ^;

20. Angst or Crack

Both, tho I feel like I tend to create more crack ^ ^; My angst needs hurt/comfort and eventual happy ending and that’s more effort than just something silly lol

21. Apocalyptic or Mundane

Honestly if there’s a good apocalyptic story I’m all for it, and I love Mad Max aesthetic so defs not saying no! But mundane and enjoying the simple things is lovely <3

Not tagging anyone in particular, but just as I did, please feel free to steal if you’re at all inclined! ^ ^

#meme #ask meme #tho it isn't really lol #YukiPri rambles #trope preferences

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alixofagnia · 5 years

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OpheThorn II: A Slightly Less Rambling Analysis

The Missing of Clairdelune is a superb second installment in The Mirror Visitor quartet. We get more of what we loved about the first book, more pieces to the larger existential puzzle, yet it smartly stops short of resolving too much so that we stay invested for the third episode. Christelle Dabos allows herself slightly more exposition. But the novel really succeeds by continuing to follow the less-is-more mantra and the showing vs. telling style.

As you may or may not recall, after I finished A Winter’s Promise, I spent an embarrassing amount of time copy/pasting excerpts from this book into Google Translate with the result that I really did spoil a lot of the OpheThorn parts for myself—which I don’t exactly regret. But, essentially, it left me with a bit less to say. I had a good response to my first OpheThorn analysis (it’s here and thank you for all the kind words), so I did think that I’d like to put something out about Clairdelune as well, I just wasn’t sure what. After some consideration (and a re-read), I do have some more thoughts about OpheThorn.

So, here we go.

[Spoilers included this time]

[All fanart images credited to @patricialyfoung]

Intro

Since Clairdelune begins right where Promise concluded, Ophelia is still pissed at Thorn, while Thorn is still pining for Ophelia albeit in his uniquely aloof way. The only real thing that’s made me scratch my head with them is the severity of Ophelia’s anger/resentment over Thorn having withheld his true ambitions from her and her finding out about them from someone else. I just think it’s a little bit of a weak conflict for them given how pragmatic they are. I get that it’s the culmination of a frustrating situation. But I still think it’s weak.

So, once again the two begin on shaky ground, a space they occupy for the bulk of the novel. They are, at least, together a bit more than before and there’s all sorts of lovely tension, mostly caused by Thorn’s inelegant method of wooing compounded by Ophelia’s stubborn refusal to give him an inch. Thorn’s growing feelings for Ophelia were subtly hinted at in Promise and they become more apparent here, particularly when juxtaposed against Ophelia’s stubborn denial of hers for him.

And I just adore the cover art! Don’t you?

Thorn and Autism Spectrum Disorder

This is what I want to discuss. I may be alone in this, but it seems like Thorn could be coded as having autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It occurred to me while I was reading Promise and this time around, I feel comfortable in taking that perspective on Thorn. I like the notion of applying an ASD reading to his character because it explains a few descriptive quirks and makes him more than a “weirdo” or “freak”, which is reductive labeling. When considering his interactions with other characters and their reactions to him, this reading lends an added layer to his actions and overall development.

But let me make something clear.

This book isn’t about ASD, so I’m not suggesting that Dabos intended to write Thorn as having ASD or is trying to make a statement in any way on the disorder, and I’m cautious about how I use this idea to understand the character. This is purely my own speculation/take on the character.

I also want to be clear that I don’t have any personal experience with the disorder. I’ve met people with autism and ASD and they were all very different from each other and had very different needs. So, I’m largely making connections with textbook examples of ASD and they’re maybe a little bit broad because as I said it isn’t explicitly made clear that Thorn has ASD. I may very likely err in my understanding of this disorder. If that’s the case, I apologize in advance and please do correct me or give me your own opinion on this idea.

Here’s an overview from the webpage of the national institute of mental health:

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that affects communication and behavior. Although autism can be diagnosed at any age, it is said to be a “developmental disorder” because symptoms generally appear in the first two years of life. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), a guide created by the American Psychiatric Association used to diagnose mental disorders, people with ASD have:

Difficulty with communication and interaction with other people

Restricted interests and repetitive behaviors

Symptoms that hurt the person’s ability to function properly in school, work, and other areas of life

Autism is known as a “spectrum” disorder because there is wide variation in the type and severity of symptoms people experience. Although ASD can be a lifelong disorder, treatments and services can improve a person’s symptoms and ability to function.

It’s been shown repeatedly that it’s very difficult for Thorn to be an inviting and easy-going person, even with people he cares about. Thorn struggles with communication, is emotionally suppressed, is both uncaring and at times completely unaware of how he presents himself socially, and obsessively consults his pocket watch, particularly when he’s at a loss for words or bored, or otherwise ready to get the hell out of any situation that causes him anxiety. He’s highly intelligent, fixated on order and organization, and has a history (as we know from Promise and learn more about in Clairdelune) of meeting intense emotion with impulsive violence.

Here’s a list (also from the NIMH website) of common symptoms:

Making little or inconsistent eye contact

Tending not to look at or listen to people

Rarely sharing enjoyment of objects or activities by pointing or showing things to others

Failing to, or being slow to, respond to someone calling their name or to other verbal attempts to gain attention

Having difficulties with the back and forth of conversation

Often talking at length about a favorite subject without noticing that others are not interested or without giving others a chance to respond

Having facial expressions, movements, and gestures that do not match what is being said

Having an unusual tone of voice that may sound sing-song or flat and robot-like

Having trouble understanding another person’s point of view or being unable to predict or understand other people’s actions

Repeating certain behaviors or having unusual behaviors. For example, repeating words or phrases, a behavior called echolalia

Having a lasting intense interest in certain topics, such as numbers, details, or facts

Having overly focused interests, such as with moving objects or parts of objects

Getting upset by slight changes in a routine

Being more or less sensitive than other people to sensory input, such as light, noise, clothing, or temperature

People with ASD may also experience sleep problems and irritability. Although people with ASD experience many challenges, they may also have many strengths including:

Being able to learn things in detail and remember information for long periods of time

Being strong visual and auditory learners

Excelling in math, science, music, or art

One can’t help but notice that we can check several of these points off for Thorn. Not all, certainly, but I’m sure you can call to mind some of your own examples of him exhibiting many of these behaviors repeatedly.

Where Does Ophelia Fit In?

Thorn has always treated his relationship with Ophelia in a very business-like manner, almost like a negotiation, which makes sense within the context of an arranged marriage. At the novel’s start, Thorn wishes to make amends, but Ophelia makes it very clear that she will not forgive him for his lies and neglect. His response to her is rather clinical.

“We simply can’t allow ourselves to be enemies,” cut in Thorn. “You’re making my life difficult with your resentment; it’s imperative that we become reconciled. […] Meet me at the Treasury, insult me, slap me, smash a plate over my head if you feel like it, and then let’s never speak of it again. Name your day. This Thursday would suit me.” [65]

I suppose this is a rather annoying response, especially if one is really just looking for a simple and genuine apology. But if we read Thorn as having ASD, then this feels a little different. He’s simplifying a conflict that he maybe doesn’t quite understand; he’s been given a different perspective on his actions and it’s perhaps beyond his capability to comprehend. To compensate, he turns this into a matter of business, which is something he can understand quite well, even going so far as to try and pencil Ophelia into his calendar. But he’s woefully unaware of the frustrating effect his language and tone have on her. Of course, what’s key here is what he isn’t saying: that she’s making his life difficult because he loves her; he wants to be on good terms, but doesn’t know how to fix this. Note that he again suggests violence as a means to deal with her emotion.

When they do meet up, Thorn says,

“I have many enemies. I no longer want to count you among them, so tell me what I must do. That is why you came here, isn’t it? You have a deal to offer me, I’m listening to you.” [152]

He’s desperate. It’s also worth noting that he’s fairly vulnerable in this chapter; he exhibits jealousy and some hurt—Ophelia missed their original appointment because she was with Archibald and forgot about him.

Modest as always, Ophelia asks only for a job, money to pay Fox, her new assistant, and to see the real outdoors again. She lastly requests that he always be honest with her, especially in matters that directly concern her. In exchange, she will teach him how to Read objects after the ceremony of the Gift and he will teach her how to use the claws that he’ll pass to her. She also reiterates, for good measure, that this will be their only conjugal duty. He grants the first three readily enough, but the fourth one trips him up. He does agree to it, but it’s obvious that it will cost him in more ways than one.

While I imagine that he’s receptive on some level to sexual intimacy with Ophelia, I think he’s more afraid of intimacy in general. Sharing things and being honest with a partner means opening oneself up to vulnerability, to weakness. The undertaking he’s set for himself—a mission he’s already devoted 15 years of his life to—doesn’t allow for that kind of intimacy; rather, it requires utmost resiliency, secrecy, and focus. Furthermore, if he were to be seen forming loving attachments (with Berenilde, Ophelia, or anyone else), then that could be turned against him over the course of fulfilling his risky endeavor. It’s that very fear, in fact, which has made him exclude his aunt (and attempt to exclude Ophelia) entirely from his investigation. His pursuit of a noble title and legitimacy is a front, an easy excuse he thought up to satisfy Berenilde’s and the court’s curiosity about why he suddenly wanted to get married and Read Farouk’s Book.

Like Thorn, it scares Ophelia to feel herself falling in love. Perhaps the womanly pride she carries with her makes it difficult for her to open up. After all, love and marriage were never apparently high on her list of things to accomplish either. Ophelia and Thorn are separately dealing with the same conundrum, which is that to love means to fear, and that’s messy. It could get in the way of a life that is humble (Ophelia) and a life that is ambitious (Thorn). Simply put, neither one had accounted for even the possibility of love in their marriage.

Perhaps because Ophelia is a Reader, I think that deep down she likes the enigma and challenge that is Thorn. Yes, he’s frustrating, but she never truly loses interest in him. Indeed, if anything, she becomes increasingly intrigued and is entirely won over when she at last learns all about what he’s doing. Ophelia is very likely the first person to make Thorn both confront and attempt to correct his inadequacy in areas of intimacy. As I touched on in my previous analysis, Ophelia calling Thorn out on his behavior and habits is surely a novelty for him.

“I believe neither in luck nor in destiny,” he declared. “I trust only the science of probabilities. I have studied mathematical statistics, combinatorial analysis, mass function, and random variables, and they have never held any surprises for me. You don’t seem fully to grasp the destabilizing effect that someone like you can have on someone like me.” [377]

Ohhhhkay.

It turns out, she’s a bit of an enigma and definitely a challenge to him in kind. This is Thorn’s way of trying to tell Ophelia that he loves her.

Thorn and Ophelia seek control and wield it differently. Thorn can be arrogant and overconfident with it, and he wants to be its sole retainer. Ophelia also wants to retain it but as it pertains to her decisions for herself, and she rebels against it when she feels like that’s being taken away from her. It’s important to them that they are in control of their own actions and destinies. But what neither one of them understands is that those we end up loving is often (or maybe always) outside of our control. Love has no explanation, and doesn’t require one. You can’t predict it. You can’t dictate it. You can’t calculate it or quantify it.

Ophelia seriously turns Thorn’s life, and everything he thought he could predict or control about it, upside down. Initially unwittingly, then actively, she encourages him to develop.

ASD Made Sexy

As inelegant as he is, Thorn does have his own way of being shocking:

“You wanted me to be honest with you. You will thus learn that you are not just a pair of hands for me. And I don’t give a damn whether people find me suspect, as long as I am not so in your eyes. You will return this to me when I have kept all my promises,” he grumbled, holding his watch out to Ophelia without noticing her stunned expression. “And if you still doubt me in the future, just read it.” [156].

You guys, this is kind of romantic, right? He’s so direct and it really flusters Ophelia, who is steadfastly resisting the decidedly non-business-like turn their relationship has taken. Skip to novel’s end, however, and she has totally changed her tune about Thorn. Right before they believe they will be parted forever, Thorn finally gives a straightforward confirmation of his feelings.

“Don’t go falling down any more stairs, avoid sharp objects, and above all, above all, keep away from disreputable people, alright? […] Oh, and by the way, I love you.” [486]

Swoon.

The fact of the matter is this: despite his unconventional looks and mannerisms, Thorn hits a certain level of sexy. Which begs the question: Can ASD be sexy? Sure, one could say that his sex appeal comes naturally with his role as the male lead, which is directly connected to his chemistry with the female lead. But I think there’s actually an important distinction to be made; it’s not whether ASD itself is sexy, it’s whether a character with ASD is sexy and I think that’s important because you don’t want ASD to be treated as a gimmick in fiction. It matters how that kind of character is presented.

Thorn’s ASD traits make him eccentric at best and a “freak” at worst, by Ophelia’s own description. Some of Thorn’s less offensive eccentricities are portrayed in an endearing light: his brusqueness with silly persons (i.e. Archibald, Baron Melchior) and their silly behavior; wearing his heavy uniform in a tropical illusion when there’s no evident dress policy for officials; preoccupied with tending to the order of his office over the tending of his wounds; launching a dangerous existential investigation all because of an illegal and unjust disruption in odds and probabilities, an utter crime in Thorn’s eyes.

But it’s also important to look at how other characters view him. Those at the Pole may look down on him, but there is no doubt that he commands a considerable level of their respect. He’s at the center of Citaceleste’s political and economical arenas, and has some judicial power as well. In short, he’s the one that everyone seemingly runs to in a crisis. Ophelia begrudgingly admires his self-control, coolness under pressure, and appreciates that he is not corrupt, like the other officials and aristocrats. Naturally, Berenilde regards him the highest. She, more than any other, gives us a glimpse of the true Thorn, putting forward the image of a protector, provider, and all-around genius.

So, the answer is yes. Thorn is sexy.

Ophelia and Asexuality

OK, I realize I’m going off on a tangent here, but since asexuality is a common reading of Ophelia that I see in reviews, I wanted to address that as well.

There are many instances of Ophelia fulfilling, for lack of a better way to put it, the butterfly trope:

Perhaps it was due to the nervousness Thorn brought out in her, or the lace veil obscuring her vision, or the scarf coiled around her foot, or her pathological clumsiness, but the fact is, Ophelia tripped on the final step of the stairs. [28]

Hearing Thorn reawakened such nervousness in Ophelia that she seriously considered hanging up on him. [63]

She did, however, have to admit that Berenilde had got it right: it was indeed out of cowardice, more even than anger, that she’d spent recent weeks avoiding him. [100]

Somewhat embarrassed, Ophelia wondered whether he felt as nervous in her company as she felt in his. [160]

Ophelia felt her blood throbbing against her eardrums, but couldn’t have said whether it was due to sudden relief or, on the contrary, heightened tension. [323]

Ophelia gets butterflies whenever her love interest is near. It’s important to note that she’s not afraid for her safety when she’s with him, although there is one incident, where she thinks he’s going to strike her, which is quickly dispelled by his sincere assurance that he’d never harm her. He gives her butterflies often by doing totally mundane things such as standing in front of her or looking at her, and that bothers her. But why?

Like Thorn, she’s convinced herself that intimacy and love aren’t for her. Some reviewers have praised Ophelia for being a representation of asexuality and, while I think there’s a strong case for her being somewhere on the asexual spectrum, I stop short at positing that she’s totally uninterested in sex or doesn’t experience sexual attraction. She’s noted, on several occasions, both in Clairdelune and Promise, Archibald’s handsomeness. In this novel, she also notes Fox’s.

With his gold braiding and red mane, he was as dazzling as Thorn was dark. Ophelia sensed herself coloring just looking at him. [165]

So, she does experience sexual attraction and, furthermore, she physically reacts to Fox’s appearance (though never to Archibald’s), which suggests that she’s not wholly disinterested in sex. In Promise, she commented that “no man had ever quickened her pulse” and lamented about whether she’d ever feel that way about someone, and I think this is probably the point at which most readers took away that she might be asexual.

But, like...

Thorn is the only man who produces intense and consistent physical reactions in her.

Also, if you look at the [323] quote above, he did in fact get her pulse up. Just saying.

Rather than label her as purely asexual or even being on the spectrum, we could instead speculate that, as a Reader, she’s experienced to some degree love in all its forms through countless objects and perhaps she can’t help having this reaction to love and intimacy. I’m not trying to be cynical or pessimistic, but love can be treacherous and people are driven to do all kinds of terrible things for it or because of it. As wonderful as love is despite that, it seems likely that Ophelia has simply decided it’s not something she wants to navigate. Or she just hadn’t met someone yet who was worth all that trouble.

I’ll Close With This:

“You’re free,” whispered Ophelia. “Free to go, free to stay. I won’t make you leave one cage for another one, although, as you’ve seen, I really don’t live in great security. I decided your fate without taking time to think, or to speak to you. I was selfish…and I still am. […] I still am because, deep down, I would like you to choose to remain by my side. I know that apologizing can no longer change anything, but anyway: forgive me.” [135]

Ophelia says this to Fox after rescuing him from the dungeons of Clairdelune and taking him on as an assistant. Now, when I read this, I couldn’t help but think that it’s precisely the apology Ophelia wants to hear from Thorn. Yet, here she is, guilty of doing to someone the very thing she holds against him. Isn’t it funny how hypocrisy and love are such good friends? As we know, articulation and eloquence are not Thorn’s strengths and some of Ophelia’s aversion to him is based around her inability to accept this part of him.

Eventually, Thorn does make, more or less, the same apology.

“I should never have involved you in my affairs. I knew it would be dangerous. I convinced myself that I had the situation under control, and that mistake almost cost you your life. […] There is one thing that I have tried to tell you several times. I’m no good at these formalities, so let’s get on with it and speak no more of it. […] Please forgive me.” [444-45]

Strangely, she barely acknowledges this; she’s too busy having an epiphany.

At that second, she finally knew with absolute certainty where her place was. It wasn’t in the Pole, it wasn’t on Anima. It was precisely where she was now. At Thorn’s side. [445]

Well, perhaps this isn’t so strange since the novel starts off posing the question to this answer.

Deep down, Ophelia wondered where exactly her first home might be. Since she’d arrived at the Pole, she’d already visited Berenilde’s manor, the Clairdelune embassy, and her fiancés Treasury, and she hadn’t felt at home in any of them. [24]

The theme of home and belonging permeates this novel in a more central way than its predecessor. Ophelia is repeatedly confronted by it, but it’s also echoed in Farouk’s obsession with the Reading of his Book and finding out where he comes from and what happened in his past. When her family arrives from Anima, she sees the Pole and Thorn through their eyes. She ends up defending both from their disapproving remarks and in doing so, she realizes that she has ceased thinking of Anima as her home.

Life in the Pole was like that: wherever one went, whatever one did, danger was part of daily life. And yet, Ophelia reflected, she didn’t hate it that much, that life. [280]

Thorn’s apology seals the deal: she understands now that she was mistaken. Home is not a place. People, those who love you and who you love in return, give a home meaning. Belonging, likewise, is only made possible by the people who accept you and give you a place among them. It’s been hard-won, but she’s found both in the Pole, in Thorn and Berenilde. Her lack of a direct response to Thorn’s words suggests that she’s already forgiven him, that it matters less to her that he struggles with communication, that she’s finally accepted him for who he is and, better still, found him lovable despite that.

If we read Thorn as having ASD, then this intense dynamic between them is a positive treatment of mental/social disorders in fiction, which is really the only point I had to make with this entire thing.

Where Does Ophelia End?

I asked this question in my last analysis. Based off of the fact that, when we left her in Promise, she was experiencing some serious discomfort in body and soul directly connected to Thorn, I predicted/semi-already-knew that she would evolve toward him.

At one point, Ophelia loses the ability to pass through mirrors. We understand that it’s because she’s been lying to herself; after all, her great-uncle made it very clear that mirror-traveling is impossible under such a circumstance. It’s ironic because, by her own admission, she’s a “bad actress” [161] and, according to her mother, “was never any good at lying” [157].

She’s just so stubborn, isn’t she? It’s gratifying then to read when Ophelia overcomes it. Thorn makes a public announcement, cancelling his marriage, refusing to Read Farouk’s Book, and handing in his resignation as Treasurer. He does this to protect Ophelia and her family from imminent danger but at risk to his own welfare and position. He’s basically committing suicide, which very nearly turns literal at novel’s end. Ophelia can only think to go to him by the quickest means possible.

She looked straight at her determined face, beyond its scratches and bruises, finally ready to face that truth that she hadn’t wanted to see. It wasn’t Thorn who needed her. It was she who needed Thorn. Ophelia plunged, body and soul, into the mirror. [416]

I don’t think I need to spell that out.

Thorn and His Watch

To go on a little bit of a tangent, I also wanted to touch on the watch.

I believe it was mentioned in Promise that the watch had been a gift from Berenilde, which is so precious. Berenilde is the only true parental figure Thorn has known. She used her status and wealth to protect and care for him, and seems to understand him as only a mother--one with a child the rest of the world refuses to accept--can. I thought her reaction to Thorn’s suicidal announcement was especially devastating.

She had begun to shake so hard that Agatha rushed to take the baby from her arms. Bent double in her chair, as though punched in the stomach, Berenilde looked imploringly at Ophelia. “I beg you. Don’t abandon my boy.” [412]

Keep in mind that Berenilde has outlived her three biological children, none of whom survived past childhood. Thorn is such a lonely figure that it’s easy to forget he comes from somewhere. But Berenilde’s reminder to us is clear: he’s not the child of his Dragon father nor of his Chronicler mother. Thorn is her child, and she’s terrified of losing him like the others.

While there can be no doubt of her sentiment toward Thorn, it’s entirely likely that Berenilde foisted much of her maternal grief, trauma, and longing onto him without his express permission; he never seems to regard her with any particular filial warmth. Then again, he once attacked Archibald in defense of Berenilde’s honor, after he seduced her away from Farouk, and Ophelia later notes that he “suspended an investigation and jumped into an airship” to be near to Berenilde when she went into labor with her daughter [373]. Thorn is clearly defined rather more by his actions than his words. But the point is Berenilde is the one who gave Thorn his sense of belonging, and I just adore that.

Metaphorically speaking, the watch represents Thorn’s heart, which was given to him by his mother figure and which he gives to Ophelia as a token of his love and trustworthiness. Indeed, it’s even called a “mechanical heart” [156]. Ophelia has Read one of Thorn’s possessions before (dice) and was overwhelmed by the fury and breadth of his emotions. If she were to Read his watch, she’d probably die. Every time he digs it out of his pocket to look at it, to hold it, to fiddle with it, he’s engraving some emotional signature or trace onto it. Ophelia ultimately decides not to Read it.

“Before you go, I would like to return this to you. You need it more than me, and, in any case, I won’t read it. I’ve chosen to trust you—you, not your watch.” [285]

Her words have a profound effect on Thorn, rendering him totally speechless and maybe more confused than ever. At any rate, he misreads the situation and catches Ophelia off guard with an awkward kiss. It’s kind of a heartbreaking scene, because Ophelia simply reacts (by slapping him) and is genuinely baffled that he took her words for encouragement. I don’t necessarily take this to be evidence of her asexuality. I don’t discredit it by any means, but it just feels more like she was taken by surprise.

The thing is, for perhaps the first time ever in his life, he actively desired for someone to know his true heart and to trust in his sincerity, which is why he gave the watch to her in the first place. In his defense, this was quite a pretty and irresistible thing for Ophelia to tell him and I don’t think she’s as put off as she wants to be.

With ears burning and glasses crimson, Ophelia stared at the faded letters on the old wooden panel—“STAFF ONLY”—as if Thorn might, at any moment, retrace his steps, take back his kiss, and leave his fob watch with her, as she’d suggested in the first place. [286]

It’s funny. She wants to erase the uncomfortable physical side of the incident, but she also wants to retain his metaphorical heart. I mean, yes, it’s broken because of some careless action on her part and she asked for it back so her great-uncle could try to fix it. But still. It’s hard to ignore the metaphor there as well: if the heart watch has changed from beating to broken and she wants to hold onto the broken heart watch to try to mend it…

Well, good Lord, it’s just so obvious, isn’t it?

End

Well, that’s about it. As I said, I really only had the one main thought and then a bunch of smaller ones.

I just learned—and am seriously devastated—that The Memory of Babel won’t be released in the U.S. until May 2020. I’m hoping this is a tentative date and that it will be available sooner.

In the meantime, if someone could upload a PDF that I could then spend days plugging in to Google Translate (again), that’d be super greeeeaaaat…

For part III, head here.

#ophethorn #La Passe-Miroir #les disparus de clairdelune #the mirror visitor #the missing of clairdelune #christelle dabos #long book report

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heartbeatan · 5 years

Text

Partition (Chapter 2)

Return to Table of Contents.

Return to Yoongi Fanfictions.

Return to Masterlist.

Chapter 2

A few hours ago you were hanging out in a voguish club that had been rented out for an exclusive launch party. The room was filled with big industry names, peers, and the occasional celebrity who decided to join. Attentive wait staff zipped smoothly through the crowd carrying trays of drinks and appetizers.

Two of your colleagues had also attended, but for the most part, you were wandering through the party alone. Your little talk show production didn’t tend to warrant a lot of mainstream attention, but it had done well enough that most guests knew who you were even though tonight was the first time you were formally meeting. The event had been a great opportunity to network, but the alcohol had begun to take over the atmosphere and no one wanted to talk shop anymore. Although you were a bit of an outsider, you were confident that you could make friends, however, you weren’t quite sure you wanted to expel the energy. The week had been long and busy, so a big part of you just wanted to go home and relax and not wake up with a hangover the next day.

You were standing on the second level, surveying the room below and sipping a glass of wine when a woman's voice startled you.

“He’s here!” your colleague and friend, suddenly appeared.

“Who’s here?”

“Don’t be coy, you know who I’m talking about.” You didn’t - but you figured it out as soon as you saw him step through the doors and onto the landing. The site of him gave you butterflies. You watched him warmly greet several people before he headed off in the direction of the booths. Min Yoongi.

On TV he was always charismatic and handsome, but now that you were able to see him in the flesh you couldn’t help but notice how attractive he truly was - not just in terms of raw looks… he had a certain aura that was quite sexy.

“Do you mean him?” you asked, nodding in his direction.

“Yes, of course. Who else would I be talking about?” she rolled her eyes. You could have argued with her about how there were many people in this room you would have been interested to meet, but you decide not too as you knew precisely why she was excited about him.

The rumor mill had been buzzing with the news. Apparently, he was a fan of your show and, in particular, of you. He allegedly had been asking around about how the two of you could meet. You assumed it had just been another inaccurate, out of context, ridiculous rumor, but, some of your staff had run with the idea either as a joke or in genuine hope that a wild romance between the two of you would occur which they could gossip about. Regardless, it was titillating to think that there was an off chance he was secretly (or not so secretly) pining over you.

You watched him confidently cross the room as he continued to greet others along the way. He made it to one of the V.I.P. areas which was filled with media personalities in expensive suits. After making pleasantries, he turned and began to scan the faces in the room before him.

“He’s looking for someone,” she gave you a nudge. It was your turn to roll your eyes. She was right though - he did seem to be looking for someone or something. Eventually he looked up to check out the second level. His gaze crossed the upper floor until his eyes arrived on you. You quickly glanced somewhere else, hoping he didn’t notice that you were watching him, but you could see in your periphery that he hadn’t moved. In fact, you were sure he was still looking right at you. After a moment you glanced back and your eyes locked with his. He dipped his hands into his pockets and gave you a casual, crooked grin. It was a mischievous expression - as if you two had a secret. You weren’t sure if it was the result of him also hearing the rumors and finding them amusing, or if it was because the rumors were true. The uncertainty made you a little uncomfortable so you turned your back to face your friend and took a comforting gulp of your drink.

“He’s looking right at you,” she exclaimed. “I knew it was true.”

“You don’t know that for sure. Stop staring, he’s going to think I’m asking you to spy on him for me.”

“I am spying on him for you - just not at your request. Oh, he’s going somewhere…” You fought the urge to turn around and watch him. “What are you going to do?”

“Nothing. Why would I do anything?”

“Give me a break. Tell me you haven’t thought about it?”

“Nope.” You took another sip. It was a lie. You did have a crush on him - although, you had never actually met, so at best you could call it a celebrity crush. He was endearing. He acted, he was a music artist, a radio DJ, he did a lot of charity work, a lot of community work, he was an art collector, he played basketball, he was an adventurist - hell, his list of hobbies and interests seemed to change more sporadically than yours did, which you didn’t think was even possible. Personality wise, as best you could tell anyway, he was charming, polite, open-minded and he seemed genuine. Intelligent, but, obscurely so - a bit of a weirdo, but in a good way.

Before the rumors, you didn’t really think about him, but whenever he was appearing on TV or in a magazine interview you were sure to tune in. Once you had heard the rumors, however, he was on your mind even when he wasn’t on your TV screen. You spent a many evenings doing the ménage à moi while fantasizing about him. You had imagined a sultry, sexy first encounter if you ever crossed paths. Perhaps a coat room, or a tucked away corner of a studio. Your fantasies always placed the two of you somewhere risky and elicit - he struck you as that type of lover.

Regardless, that was all fun in your head - this was reality.

The evening rolled on and you spent it conversing with various partygoers and getting buzzed on a few more drinks. By 10 o’clock you had managed to meet almost everyone of importance, but your desire to leave the party early had for some reason subsided - there was still one more person somewhere in the club you were pretending not to look for.

Nature finally called, so you made your way towards the restrooms. As you crossed the floor, you felt a pair of eyes watching you. You looked up in their direction and, for the second time that night, you locked eyes with the sexy man you had only ever seen on TV and met in your fantasies. Unlike you had earlier, he didn’t dart his eyes away when you caught him staring. He held your gaze. His face was very handsome and inviting and there was something about the way he looked at you that made your insides tingle slightly. For a moment, you got lost in the exchange but were knocked out of your trance when you bumped shoulders with another guest passing by.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” you said before you ducked into the restroom. You felt your face flush with a bit of embarrassment.

When you exited one of the stalls, you we’re greeted by your friend again who was freshening up in the mirror.

“So, how is your night going?” she was trying to imply something. “Have you spoken to him yet?”

“No, I haven’t seen him at all.” She paused and smiled at you through the reflection in the mirror. She picked up on the fact that you had actually been thinking about him. “Well… he’s definitely seen you. He’s been watching you all night.” She handed you her tube of concealer, prompting you to clean yourself up.

Her revelation gave you a rush of excitement and you turned your head to look directly at her. “How do you know that?Have you been watching him this whole time?”

“Yes,” she was unapologetic. “Please, go flirt with him. Let me live vicariously through you! I need this.”

You laughed. “Why don’t you just go flirt with him without me as your buffer?” You returned the tube and shuffled through your bag for your on-the-go products.

“I would, but he doesn’t know who I am and it’s you he wants.”

“We’ve been here for hours. If he was really interested, he would have approached me by now. Your theory is bunk.”

“Mmmm, I don’t know. The night is still young. Let’s get back out there and find out.” You rolled your eyes as you finished up and repacked your purse.

You gossiped about the nights hot topics as you exited the rest room. Who was too drunk, who was too candid, who was flirting - all the juicy events that happen when the alcohol really flows. Upon re-entering the main room, you heard a voice call out in your direction.

“Hi.” You looked up and saw a man leaning against the railing looking at you. You stopped in your tracks when you realized it was him. Your friend forced a cough as a cheeky acknowledgement of your conversation from moments ago.

“Hi,” you responded somewhat dumbfounded. The corner of his mouth turned up slightly, amused by your bewilderment.

“Hi! I’m a big fan!” your friend shook his hand and gave him a bright smile.

“Oh, thank-you,” he returned with a warm greeting.

“You know who this is, of course.” She gestured towards you. “We were both really looking forward to meeting you tonight.” He looked back at you at you as she says this.

Bitch.

“Really?” he asked, almost rhetorically. “Well, I’m a big fan of yours.” He reached out to shake your hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” You clasped his outstretched hand. His grip was polite but you could feel the strength he had in his hands, and you noticed how beautiful and masculine his long fingers were. For a moment you thought about what they could do to you. That thought combined with the sensation of this first touch sent a jolt of electricity up your arm. You shook off the thought and looked up to meet his gaze, but that didn’t help. He had a glint in his eye that made you feel… something. Like he desired you… as if he wanted to take you right then and there in front of all those people - and that you might have let him if he tried.

He turned to your friend. “Do you mind if I steal her away for a bit?”

“Oh no, not at all!” she replied, all to enthusiastically. “In fact, keep her. Make sure she has a good time. She has nothing to do after this… or tomorrow, by the way.”

Fired.

You watched her skip off back into the crowd as she bid you a good night. You turned back towards him and he nodded in the direction of the bar. He placed his hand onto your lower back to guide you there. Another pulse crossed over your flesh under the heat of his palm. You winced slightly, annoyed that you were so easily turned on by this stranger.

You reached the bar and took a seat next to each other. He turned his chair so he could face you. Trying to be cool but not too inviting, you turned yours somewhat to face him.

“I heard you were going to be here tonight,” he said. “I was hoping it was true. It’s about time we met.”

“Oh yeah? Why is that?” You wanted to kick yourself for that response. Firstly, you were too flirtatious, and secondly, you weren’t sure what kind of response you’d get or how you’d handle it.

“Because I want to take you home with me.” You choked when he said this.

I guess they weren’t simply rumours after all.

“You’re so forward. What makes you think I want to go home with you?” you smirked. Again, your inner flirt was making an appearance. Something about his proximity to you made her come out uninvited.

Keep your panties on, girl. You drew your lips between your teeth at the thought of your panties in relation to him. He’d probably pull them off of you with his teeth.

“Nothing. I don’t know if you want to.” He brushed his thumb across your lower lip, acknowledging your grip on it. You quickly released it. “But what I know of you, you’re an honesty-is-the-best-policy kind of person.”

“You don’t know me… at all.” You cocked your eyebrow.

“No. But, I want to get to know you.”

“Really? Because it seems as if you just want to sleep with me.”

He smiled. “Sleep with you feels like an understatement of the things I want to do to you.” Your nether region tingled.

Damn it, why is what he’s doing working?

He continued in a more serious, but still flirtatious, tone. “But I do want to get to know you. I’ll wait. Whatever you need, I’ll do. I’ll take you out. We can have dinner, drinks, go to the movies… If you don’t come home with me tonight, my interest in you won’t end.” He ran one of his fingers around the rim of his glass. You watched it softly circle around and around again. A simple action, but somehow it felt sexual and arousing. “I just don’t want to waste any time.”

Oh, please. Give me a break. You rolled your eyes no way believing he was sincere. He wants sex. Plain and simple. This is insta-lust, not insta-love. Regardless, when you looked back at him the hunger in his gaze was clear, and it made you not really care if it was just a big line to get you between the sheets. The last rendezvous you had with a man was over a year ago. Since then, you’ve been rendezvousing with battery powered objects. You were needy to feel the weight of someone on you and the heat of their skin brushing up against yours… or really just anything solid against you - the lamppost outside your apartment complex was looking pretty good to you at this point. At least he was a solid object that you had chemistry with.

“You don’t believe me?” he asked.

“No.” you responded. “But I’m still intrigued.”

His smile stretched a bit further. “Good.” He pulled his phone out of his breast pocket and gestured for yours. You handed it to him and he entered in his number and called himself so he would have yours. When he was done, he handed it back.

“There.” he said. “So, what will it be? Should I call you tomorrow or should I call my driver?”

You stared at each other for a moment while you considered his proposition. You wanted to go home with him. He was alluring, confident, a little dangerous - whatever it was about him that was seducing you, you wanted to give in. You weren’t sure if he was genuine when he said he’d wait for you and take you out on a proper date. Even if he did, you may not end up liking each other by the end of it, and maybe wouldn’t get the opportunity to have the great sex you had imagined you would have together. This was the sexy first encounter you had imagined - how often does one get to live theirs? You took another sip of your drink and licked the liquor off your lips before turning to give him your answer.

Fuck it, you thought. “Call your driver.”

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charmingpplincardigans · 5 years

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If le petit prince Crowley is your fourth favorite thing about Good Omens fandom, I implore you to share the first three! (Also, what fictional character do you have the same energy as: I can't figure it out because I associate people too strongly with their favs! DO YOU have Crowley energy? Is that what the kids these days call "vibes"? But if I got creative I could absolutely justify saying you have Crowley energy anyway so moot point!)

Oh god. I don’t know if I have Crowley energy. I certainly have ‘asking-too-many-questions, wanting-to-sleep-for-literal-years, past-me-constantly-inconveniencing-future-me’ energy, but I don’t know if I can claim that certain je ne sais Crowleyness of him. He really is relatable for a demon though, right? Like, I too just want to drink wine with my friends and have my plants be verdant and be left alone by my boss to FUCKING PINE. The cute girl I like that I rudely turned down because of my rude brain posted an internal profile to the department the other day and I was just sitting at my desk going ‘OH NO, SHE’S STILL CUTE AND GREAT, FFFFFFF.’ I’ve done this to myself, but then so did those dummies.

Anyway! KL’s Top Three-ish Favorite Things About Good Omens Fandom 2K19!

3. How it just fucking, rose from the depths!! I was mostly a lurker in Good Omens fandom back in the late 00s. I wrote some (VERY BAD, DON’T FIND IT) fic and I roleplayed Crowley in a multi-fandom game where he got to terrorize Cesare Borgia a bit, but I didn’t really feel like I was a part of it. Probably because I was in Too Many Fandoms at the time. But now this has happened and I’m just. SO. ECSTATIC. There’s so much new art and fic and headcanons and discussion-and and and-for this book turned tv show that I absolutely love to pieces and have for YEARS. There’s so much art in particular that I queued that Le petit prince post a month and a half ago and when I saw your ask I had to stop and go ‘WAIT, WHAT WERE THE OTHER THREE THINGS??’ My queue is groaning. My drafts folder is burgeoning. MY PLANTS ARE WATERED AND MY ANGEL IS FED.

And mainly, mainly my favorite thing about all of this is that I haven’t seen a single person try to make a distinction between book fans and tv fans or “real” fans and “new” fans. We’re all just in here crying about these idiots (and I certainly mean Crowley and Aziraphale, but also everyone else HEY ANATHEMA, HEY I LOOOOOOVE YOOOOOU) together and it’s beautiful and I’m so happy.

2.5 The David Tennantssance. Look. I’m just. If you need me I’ll be huddled in my blankets re-watching that whole four seasons of Doctor Who again and also everything else he’s ever been in. Just yesterday Audible informed me they had a voice play of Carmilla with him in it and I cackled to myself in my bed for close to a minute. Like yes, lesbians, vampires, and David Tennant, the true trifecta of common interests.

2. ALL OF TIME AND SOME OF SPACE. Don’t get me wrong, there was always fanwork for Good Omens that utilized historical moments (for all the characters I believe, because why not). Especially that much detested fourteenth century. But now I feel like that cold open gave us carte blanche to just go ape shit by breathing a little more context into those moments. Never have I been so pleased to see so many people utilizing their hyper specific knowledge/education/interests/upbringing when it comes to depicting these characters because it all works! It’s all on the table! Pick a time period! Pick an occupation! Pick a favorite dessert or type of flower! Pick a PLACE IN THE SKY BECAUSE CROWLEY HELPED BUILD THAT NEBULA. God, I am never going to get over that stupid, single line. I am here for Crowley among the stars, especially outside of time and space. TV!Crowley hits so many of my buttons and I AM ABSOLUTELY LIVING.

1.5 ALL OF ART HISTORY IS AN OPEN BOOK. God you guys, I am just, never getting over fandom’s decision to redo EVERY PIECE OF ART with Crowley and/or Aziraphale in it. It’s AMAZING AND BRILLIANT THANK YOU ALL. I’M JUST SO HAPPY. And I’m still trying to think of a reason to ask fandom to redo John White Alexander’s Isabella and the Pot of Basil with Crowley because I am IN LOVE with the lighting in the fucking painting and of course I want to put Crowley in it.

1. Gender? I don’t even know her! WHAT DID I JUST SAY ABOUT MY BUTTONS? Because like, what even is gender? Fuck if I know. I once asked a salesperson at Kiehl’s that after they apologized for trying to sell me on a men’s moisturizer and they did NOT have an answer either! (Probably they thought they did not get paid enough to deal with that, but I don’t care what side of the store the moisturizer is from, my man, just moisturize me! *spritz spritz*) I’m just out here living in the world being both fine with and affronted by the way strangers read me day in and day out like. It depends, but also WHY DO THEY HAVE TO?

So I love every fucking discussion post about Crowley’s gender presentation in the show and outside of it. And I imagine much of that was the work of the costume department with notes from GNeil et al, but it works because, honestly, why would non-euclidean beings give a toss? They have to blend in, so they do, but for all they’ve come to love us they’re not us. Which leaves them free to do whatever, which fandom has fucking run with. My heart grows another size every time I see art or fic of both Crowley and Aziraphale (especially Aziraphale, hedonist extraordinaire) depicted in a way that embraces that, however the artist or writer chooses to depict it.

And outside of the aesthetics of it, at the risk of being Serious here for a sec, I love the way that lets other fans explore and express themselves. Here are these characters that canonically love humanity but sit outside of it, so why shouldn’t they navigate those spaces of gender and sexuality to the fullest? For research or business or pleasure or whatever? (I mean, also, more angels-are-monsters interplanar weirdness in your sex scenes 2k20, but that’s a separate issue.)

And I think they as characters should be allowed to do that in the works we create with them because I feel like it’s a very human thing to want to explore and for some people fandom is the safest place to do that. I’ve always been a big proponent of fandom as catharsis, or even as expression of joy that can’t be shared with the outside world for whatever reason. Which is why I go so fucking feral for Michael Sheen telling off jerks on the internet who think fandom is loving this thing The Wrong Way. Mostly, the wrong way to love something is to assume your way is the right and true way when [rant about the nature of art and ownership and belonging redacted]. Kindly fuck all the way off indeed.

Anyway, I want people to feel safe to find themselves. Honestly, this is a selfish desire, because I’m in my 30s and I also just want to be safe to keep finding myself for however much time I have left. And I think this is a canon and a fandom sort of uniquely positioned to allow for all of it. So we should continue to celebrate that.

#z-bot #errrrr...this is a lot #sorry not sorry #i just have a lot of feelings about #good omens #and also gender and art and the way all those things interact #also i apologize to the dude from kiehl's for being so insufferable #because i've worked retail and i'm sure he's had customers who complained about that #but in my defense it's fucking weird that anyone cares what side of the store their moisturizer is from

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greensconnor · 5 years

Note

TRR or ILB for the mc thing? (or both LOL)

i WILL do both but seriously ty all so much for these asks i had a rough day and this has calmed me down significantly shskshs

trr/trh mc: maya abernathy

how tall are they?

maya is really tall! she’s 5′11″ which is about an inch shorter than i imagine her husband to be but he’s a king so what does he have to worry about?

how do they tend to dress?

maya has always had a very classy style, even before she was queen of cordonia. she loves bright colours and floral patterns, and really adores light and breezy things. she does miss the functionality of jeans now that she’s a royal, but she makes do with some very classy pantsuits even though pixelberry are cowards and won’t give them to me.

do they like how they look?

yes! maya’s grandma always made sure that she got her self-worth from her actions and the way she treated people as opposed to how she looks, and maya is really proud of herself and doesn’t really care all that much about what other people think of her!

are they an only child or do they have any siblings?

maya’s an only child! i hate to think that her parents or family just don’t care enough to come to her wedding, so my headcanon for her is that her parents died in a car crash when she was young, and so she was cared for by her only surviving relative, her grandmother, until her death in maya’s first year of college. since she doesn’t have any living family that’s why no one was there like seriously what the fuck pixelberry

are they a morning person or night owl?

morning person! maya’s friends always joked that she had the soul of an 80 year old woman but she really does go to bed pretty early all the time and she likes to wake up to the sun! she loves sunshine and she loves hearing birds singing in the morning, which is her favourite part about being at duchy valtoria!

are they a cat person or a dog person?

maya’s a dog person! she likes cats, and she loved the last cat her grandmother had very much, but she’s always liked dogs a lot more by sheer virtue of being an outdoorsy kid who loves to be playing and getting muddy in the back yard, which was much easier to do with a dog than a cat.

got any favourite foods?

LOVES rogan josh and barbecue. anything spicy or smokey your home girl got it covered, but her favourite dessert is cheesecake!

how about favourite drinks?

maya loves traditional lemonade! she had a lemon tree in her back garden growing up, and her grandma taught her how to make lemonade from the fresh lemons. she also grew up drinking tea with her gran, but she isn’t really one for caffeine in general and much prefers hot chocolate since she has a sweet tooth.

what are their favourite movies/tv shows?

maya LOVES period dramas. laps that shit up. stans the jennifer ehle and colin firth pride and prejudice adaptation, could rewatch anna karenina time and time again and actually really liked the great gatsby movie, plus she tends to like shakespeare movies with kenneth branagh, or recordings of stage productions from the globe theatre which she has yet to visit, but as queen of cordonia she wants to see her favourite play (othello) put on there!

do they have any hidden talents?

maya is a really good singer! it’s only been busted out at karaoke, but she’s also an excellent mathematician and can do really complex equations in her head, which scares... pretty much all of her friends.

do they believe in love at first sight?

maya is a romantic at heart, and her grandma used to tell her stories about how she and her husband fell in love at first sight, so she’d like to believe it was true! it’s part of the reason that she decided to go to cordonia in the first place, because of the connection she felt with the then-prince.

who is their love interest?

,,,, hajime which is a renamed prince liam i know i’m sorry we don’t deserve rights that’s true but you don’t understand. the association with the name ‘liam’ is my gay cousin who came out after both me and his older brother came out, left to sweden and now lives in berlin djing gay leather clubs, doing drag and posting on his Very Public Facebook Page asking for recommendations for the best gay bdsm clubs in berlin so i really can’t unmarry that image and i had to change his name i just had to i couldn’t do it. anyway maya and hajime are very happy together

what are they afraid of?

maya isn’t afraid of water or the ocean, but she is afraid of sharks and jellyfish. she prefers to swim in fresh water or pools, but there was a period where she was terrified of crocodiles and alligators as well despite not living anywhere near crocodiles or alligators.

what are their guilty pleasures?

carrie underwood singalongs and those 80′s aerobics videos.... maxwell bought her a pair of legwarmers for her birthday because of it and she cherishes them

what was their dream job as a kid? is it still their dream?

maya wanted to be a vet when she was little, but when she got older she realized she was too squeamish for it ahskshs. it’s not really her dream anymore, but she’s happy with where she is in life!

have they ever broken a bone?

no, she was a very careful child!

have they ever been in trouble with the law?

not really no! she’s been involved in a few marches/protests that met skirmishes with law enforcement, but she’s never been arrested or charged with anything, except for like. the trouble in cordonia i guess.

+ three other random facts about them!

it is my greatest heacanon that maya used the money she inherited from her grandma to get through college with a degree in communications, and before she was waitress-ing she’d been working pretty long-term for a business in PR but her boss was paying her unfair wages and refused to negotiate so she just quit and was looking for another job, so having justin/anton assigned as her PR ‘team’ was a grievous insult to her ahskshs. another fact is before the royal heir i already decided that maya and hajime have three kids: hollis (after maya’s dad), charlainne “charlie” (after her mum) and oliver, in that order, and the third fact is that her favourite colour is green!

ilb mc: leon vance

how tall are they?

leon is 6′5″ which makes him the tallest of the ilb gang, even taller than parker who is still so in awe that someone managed to be bigger than him

how do they tend to dress?

leon is a frat boy jock with the countenance of a golden retriever. he has an extensive snapback collection, but for the most part his outfit is pretty easy just jeans, t-shirts, sneakers, lots of hoodies, some shorts and those big low-cut singlets etc etc

do they like how they look?

yeah lmao... the one downside is that sometimes people think he’s straight which he’s not about but like. self-confidence is sexy and i don’t fear god so none of my ocs do too. if someone talks shit about him leon will just beat them up ahskshsjsls

are they an only child or do they have any siblings?

leon has elliot ofc, and i hc that his dad re-married and has two young daughters with his second wife, but leon doesn’t know them because he and his dad have virtually no relationship at all.

are they a morning person or night owl?

night owl! leon thinks the stillness of the night is really calming and he’s pretty energetic, but he’s also an early riser. he prefers nights but he also doesn’t sleep in very often since he likes to go for a run before the sun comes up while it’s still nice and cool, plus he usually gets to watch the sun rise on the way back!

are they a cat person or a dog person?

dog.... big, big fluffy dogs. it’s not really surprising when he’s basically just three golden retrievers and one kinda angry chihuahua in a human-shaped trenchcoat but tom gets a lot of no-context pictures of dogs all hours of the night.

got any favourite foods?

leon loves cajun wedges. he thinks there’s an art to making them and he’ll stand by that, but he’s also a bit of a pizza snob and he splurges on wood-fired pizza for him and elliot on uber eats nights whenever he can, although he can’t really do that in pine springs.

how about favourite drinks?

leon vance is the MASTER of keg stands and he’s learned to love shitty bears, but he tends to like dark lagers the best, and besides that he’s a big fan of peach drinks from the chinese grocer down the road from his apartment near campus.

what are their favourite movies/tv shows?

leon loooooves animated movies and elliot is a bit old for him to use as an excuse to go see them, but his favourites are mulan, brave and the quest for camelot which is pretty obscure but garrett was his first love... in terms of tv shows he really likes comedies and watches a lot of comedy specials on netflix too but he’ll also watch pretty much anything with steven yeun in it because he has.... a crush

do they have any hidden talents?

not many people get it initially but leon can actually draw really well! most people think he’s just kind of a meatheaded jock, but his degree is in software engineering and he wants to get into making video games, which is something he decided to do because he loved playing games so much with elliot and he wanted to make something for his brother! he cleans up on rhythm games, and he also plays the piano and the guitar and can sing! he’s very talented!

do they believe in love at first sight?

not really? he wants to believe in romantic things like that, and he definitely believes in attraction at first sight, but he’s a little cynical about the idea of being able to love somebody just from a glance.

who is their love interest?

tom! he & tom are really happy together and one of their favourite things to do is make pancakes on sunday mornings for elliot, and then tom will read his book while sitting on leon’s back while he does pushups. domestic co-existence ahskshs.

what are they afraid of?

leon has always been too bold for his own good, but he’s really not a fan of thunder or lightning and he gets really freaked out during storms.

what are their guilty pleasures?

loves playing roblox with the lads, also he was a gay kid growing up in the 2000′s, a bitch read homestuck and warrior cats and given the opportunity he WILL conduct full-scale discourses about it. yes this is me projecting. no i do not have the decency to be ashamed about it anyway stan vriska

what was their dream job as a kid? is it still their dream?

initially, leon wanted to be an astronaut, but only so he could meet aliens. as he grew up he realized he didn’t really want to get involved in that field, especially since with his sports career he kind of looked like he had a set path anyway.

have they ever broken a bone?

he’s broken his nose a couple of times and his toe twice, but other than that he’s been very careful because he kind of needs his bones in order to like... do sport.... which is what his scholarship is for.

have they ever been in trouble with the law?

his frat has had noise control turn up a couple of times and once he got picked up for speeding home with medication for elliot’s cough because he was worried but other than that he’s squeaky clean aside from antagonizing chief kelly in pine springs ahsklshsjsh

+ three other random facts about them!

he’s quarterback on his university’s team and looking at prospects of an nfl draft, but he’s also a competitive swimmer and has competed in the junior olympics where he has a silver and a gold medal individually and a gold team medal. second fact is that he’d most like to travel to australia because he likes the accents, and the third is that his favourite animals are bears so he felt personally attacked by the bear lake monster attacking him and his friends

ask me about my choices mcs!

#sol.txt #answered #ilb #it lives beneath #the royal romance #trr #mc: maya abernathy #mc: leon vance #ty for the ask!#long post #maxunwell

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docholligay · 6 years

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Comments for “Perfection, Oil on Linen, Date Unknown”

everybodyknows-everybodydies

oh my gosh oh my GOSH this is LOVELY I'M EMOTIONAL WOW

I’m so glad!!!

everybodyknows-everybodydies

THE EXTENDED METAPHOR OF MICHIRU AS A PIECE OF ART UNDER GLASS IS SO GOOD I LOVE THAT

Thank you! I was really On My Shit for this one, I have always loved Michiru as a museum piece.

everybodyknows-everybodydies

"things lose their value when you touch them, when you use them" U G H YESSSS LISTEN MY IMMEDIATE THOUGHT WAS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MONETARY VALUE AND PERSONAL VALUE AND CONTINUING ON WAS LIKE YOU REACHED INTO MY BRAIN AND GRABBED THAT THOUGHT TO CARRY IT THROUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my god mouse, this is MY GARBAGE. Like, not just with Michiru, but in LIFE, I have no concept of keeping something in its box, under glass,because then why have it? For some imagined money you may never see?

everybodyknows-everybodydies

also the description of the city lights as "the Milky Way of mankind" is absolutely gorgeous I'm going to be thinking about that line all NIGHT

Thank you!!! I was rather pleased with that line myself

everybodyknows-everybodydies

Haruka sleeping curled up small even though she is a LANKY NOODLE AND TAKES UP SPACE = SUPERB CHARACTER DETAIL 10/10 I WANT TO HUG HER DANG IT

THANK YOU I LOVE THE IDEA CONSTANTLY AND ALL THE TIME

everybodyknows-everybodydies

AND THE BIT ABOUT THE MASTERS PAINTING OVER THEIR OWN WORKS I don't know if you had a specific one in mind when you were writing this but all I could think was the Artemisia Gentileschi painting (the name ESCAPES ME sorry) where she covered her brutally visceral depiction of a woman with a more male-approved and less disturbing version and AGAIN, MICHIRU AS A PAINTING OW OW OW

I think you’re thinking of Kathleen Gilje! https://kathleengilje.com/artwork/321721_Susanna_and_the_Elders_Restored_X_Ray.html The underpainting is actually fictional, that’s Gilje’s “thing”as an artist. BUT YES I LOVE THE IDEA. I didn’t have a specific one in mind, it was something I’d just been tossing around in my head, that you paointed amasterpeice over whatever it was you did first, and that whatever came first was lesser, what might have been.

everybodyknows-everybodydies

"her footsteps soft as church whispers" FORESHADOWING I DO EMBRACE THEE (AND that line is absolutely beautiful oh my word)

Thank you!!

everybodyknows-everybodydies

Michiru's quiet conviction that Haruka is beautiful and that's the word she KNOWS is right makes my chest hurt I LOVE

Listen I have FEELINGS about butch women and how one is not ‘supposed’ to think of them as beautiful or give them flowers or what have you but They!!! are not men!!!! And I’ve known many who like either of those things but feel like they aren’t ‘supposed’ to and ANYWAY YES HARUKA TENOH IS BEAUTIFUL.

everybodyknows-everybodydies

aND HAND-TOUCHING FULL OF EMOTIONS AND PINING I AM THE MOST BLESSED

I HOPE YOU WOULD!!!

everybodyknows-everybodydies

ANYWAY TLDR I'M ALSO FULL OF EMOTIONS ALL OF THEM GOOD THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS

I am SO happy!!

keyofjetwolf

(thought a quick reminder on the epilogue for this, if you didn't do it yet, because my brain is too delighted with the thought)

I TOTALLY FORGOT THANK YOU

keyofjetwolf

"Michiru had been a primed canvas from birth" The opening line is instantly amazing, I THINK I'M IN FOR A TREAT

THANK

keyofjetwolf

"she laid a sheet of plexiglass over what Michiru Kaioh might have been" --This whole extended metaphor is *kisses fingertips*, and this line especially got me.

Thank you so much!

keyofjetwolf

"She would stubbornly survive against all enemies and against all allies" --yessss, ugh, what a perfect line for Michiru, I'm furious.

THANK YOU, so much of what I think of for Michiru is her ability to make herself into an island,where she doesn’t even really care for the people who are ON HER DAMN SIDE, but it’s so hard for her to see that, all she sees is the rope (which is valid)

keyofjetwolf

"Michiru wandered out of the living room with its barren and spare decor" --I don't know why I'm so tickled at you noting how there's fuck all in their apartment/penthouse/whatever, BUT I REALLY AM

ahahaha MICHIRU HANG A PICTURE

keyofjetwolf

"She often pretended to her own sort of Sight, quickly adding to Michiru’s visions that she had seen the same, that the wind had told her one thing or another" --I feel so oddly catered to in this. Haruka and her "oh yeah the wind said the same thing to me, totally" and Michiru knowing it's utter bullshit, I'M DELIGHTED As much too by contrast of Haruka wanting the visions, jealous of them, and Michiru wishing they could just fuck off and she could be left alone.

I know you and I have a pretty similar idea about Haruka’s actual psychic ability, which is basically “zero.” But yeah, the idea that she thinks this is something intrinsic to being a senshi and not realizing it ‘s just Michiru’s “thing” and so trying to cover with “oh yeah I totally also heard that” is so central to me, because Haruka is trying so hard to be the senshi she thinks she needs to be, what’s she’s SUPPOSED to be

keyofjetwolf

"her footsteps soft as church whispers" --you drop brilliant shit like this so casually sometimes and I want to punch you in the fucking face, it's so good, I'm screaming

Thank you so much!

keyofjetwolf

"not the prince that came to rescue this sleeping beauty but the witch who had enchanted her." --We already talked about this line, I know, but it's somehow even better in the full context of the work and if it weren't so cold and windy outside, I WOULD come punch you in the fucking face.

THANK YOU I LIKED IT TOO

keyofjetwolf

It's all just so, so good. You did an amazing job capturing Michiru's bitterness and longing, in a way that's uniquely Michiru, cynically resigned to the whole affair. Yet then there are these little bursts of hope, and it makes it all that much sweeter. You always do fantastic with Haruka and Michiru, of course, but I think you may have outdone yourself a little here.

Thank you so much I tried very hard!!

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creativemorningsvancouver · 3 years

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Join us for next months speaker as we’re thrilled to invite Chris Corrigan to our virtual stage.

Chris Corrigan is a principal partner of Harvest Moon Consultants, specializing in participatory process, international facilitation, and strategic thinking in support of organizations and communities tackling complex challenges.

Corrigan’s formal bio includes info about decades of experience working with governments, not for profits, indigenous communities, and social enterprises, creative dialogue-based tools and processes informed by complexity theory to help leaders and teams make decisions in uncertain contexts.

But mostly Chris Corrigan is just a person who would like to share a pesto recipe with you:

Take a bunch of basil, destem it, place it into a mortar with a few pinches of coarse salt and a couple of peeled garlic cloves and begin grinding it into a paste.

When the leaves are all broken down, add some pine nuts and gently pour in a really good olive oil until the paste has the consistency you’re looking for.

Add a pinch of chilli flakes for a subtle feeling of heat.

That’s the secret. Purists will object, but I’m telling you, give it a try.

How do you define creativity and apply it in your life and career?

Making things I guess. It’s certainly what I have done from a very small age, made drawings, and songs and poems and games and all kinds of things. These days I make conversations and community and I try to make a difference by doing things that have never been done before. It is all creative.

Where do you find your best creative inspiration or energy?

In a few places: the early morning, or being with others. I am an improviser at heart and so I work with offers all around me and when I am creating with others I feel like I’m always at my best.

What’s one piece of creative advice or a tip you wish you’d known as a young person?

Pay more attention to what you have just done. Try to remember the feelings of sweetness and despair instead of just moving on to the next thing. There are so many experiences I’ve forgotten about because they seemed so fleeting at the time, and now I wish I could remember who was there with me and what we actually did.

Who (living or dead) would you most enjoy hearing speak at CreativeMornings?

Have you ever had any children speak? Would you dare turn the mic over to a 12 year old child? A twelve year old girl ready to kick ass and take names would be an amazing thing to see.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

Quit a full time government job with a baby at home to become a consultant.

What did you learn from your most memorable creative failure?

Usually no one gets hurt.What are you reading these days? Shifu, You’ll Do Anything for a Laugh by Mo Yan, What The Mystics Know by Richard Rohr, Trickster Drift, Eden Robinson

What fact about you would surprise people?

I am a practicing contemplative Christian.

How does your life and career compare to what you envisioned for your future when you were a sixth grader?

At no point did I ever play on the blue line for the Toronto Maple Leafs, so nothing has really worked out. I also didn’t start a band with Brian May and Freddy Mercury.

How would you describe what you do in a single sentence to a stranger?

I help people work together to figure out what to do when they are stuck so that we can make the world a more just place.

What’s the most recent thing you learned (big or small)?

How to move between an Eb melodic minor and an Bb major scale in the same position so as to find some compact soloing lines on A Child is Born.

If you could open a door and go anywhere where would that be?

Right now, it would probably be to the Grey Bruce Highlands in southern Ontario to visit my family.

What keeps you awake at night?

Barred owls on the hunt beneath a full moon and a Pineapple Express lashing the front of my house.

What myths about creativity would you like to set straight?

There are no myths about creativity. It’s all true. Even the myths. Especially the myths.

Who has been the biggest influence on your life? What lessons did that person teach you?

My partner Caitlin. She continually teaches me how to not lose my shit and succumb to anxiety and fear. And every day she reminds me that I am loved.

What are you proudest of in your life?

My two kids, who are young adults now and making their way in a weird world. They love each other and my heart bursts through my chest every time I think about them.

If you could do anything now, what would you do?

End patriarchy, capitalism, and settler-colonialism and watch SOOOO many of my friends fulfill their potential and make the world a better place.

Where was the last place you travelled?

Last air travel was in February 2020 and was a three point tour to Ontario, Columbus Ohio, and Minneapolis, to teach the Art of Hosting and complexity skills to doctors in Ohio and social change activists in the Twin Cities. And to drink whisky with my dad for his birthday.

What music are you listening to these days?*

Lots of jazz standards played on guitar and especially diving into the work of Reg Schwager.

What was the best surprise you’ve experienced so far in life?

Realizing in an instant that I am unconditionally loved.

Where is your favourite place to escape?

There are a few places on Bowen Island, where I live, that are absolutely precious to me.

What was the best advice you were ever given?

If you talk to people about what they know about, they will always tell you the truth. I heard that from Utah Phillips at the Vancouver Folk Festival in 1997 and it fundamentally changed my facilitation practice.

What books made a difference in your life and why?

Not just books? There are many creative artifacts that have been influential in my life. The Tao te Ching was super influential. A painting by Carl Beam called “Columbus Chronicles”, John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme,” Irish whistle player Mary Bergin’s album “Feadóga Stain,” the midfield prowess of Glenn Hoddle, Nathanial Mackey’s Bedouhin Hornbook. The Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision Making by Sam Kaner. News of the World by Queen. Between the Breaks by Stan Rogers. Leadership and the New Science by Meg Wheatley. The Rez Sisters by Thomson Highway. The Sacrifice by Andrei Tarkovsky. Tsawalk by Umeek. The tifo and creative support of the Vancouver Southsiders and the Swanguardians. Listening for the Heartbeat of God by J. Phillip Newell, Anam Cara by John O'Donohue, Loving What Is by Byron Katie, the leadership artistry of Khelsilem. Each of these, among many others, have ushered my over various thresholds in my life. They are all creative works, some are creative re-imaginings of spirituality, process work, and ways of living.

What practises, rituals, or habits contribute to your creative work?

It’s a combination of the openness and rest that is offered by my meditation practice and the rigour of playing scales on the guitar or forcing myself to write despite my mind’s resistance to being “productive” when I’m feeling dry.

When you get stuck creatively, what is the first thing you do to get unstuck?

Go for a walk.

If you had fifteen extra minutes each day, what would you do with them?

Lie on my back, close my eyes and listen to three pieces of very good music.

What has been one of your biggest Aha! moments in life?

The first time I witnessed a meeting held in Open Space, with 400 people in a room in Whistler in 1995. It completely transformed my facilitation and leadership practice, knowing that a group of people can self-organize action around issues that they care about. I’ve never looked back.

What object would you put in a time capsule that best represents who you are today?

My music library.

What is the one movie or book every creative must see/read?

You should read a book or seek out the traditional teachings of your place, of where you live, of the traditional territory you inhabit. Those aren’t always written down, but I feel that it is so important to know your place because if you create things that run counter to the place you are living you can perpetuate patterns of harm. Understand who you are, where you are and why you are there.

🎵 This month’s live musical guest is jazz & R&B guitarist, bandleader, and teacher (Teun Schut)[https://www.teunschut.ca].🎶

Originally from Holland, Schut has been playing guitar for five decades, studying and playing jazz, blues, and rock in bands and ensembles. Having toured around the world, Tuen settled in Bowen Island, where he continues to teach, play, and perform.

You don’t want to miss this! Register now.

#cmvan #creative #creativemornings #vancouver #yvr #community #home

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samdukewieland · 4 years

Text

Stuck Inside Media Diary Week 7

I realized that I didn’t include my watching of the Parks And Rec special thing that was on. By no means was it perfect, though I imagine that it was the best case scenario for something like that (in terms of being an original story, as opposed to a table/script read that the Community cast put together that’s coming out...ur, at some point). Is it necessary as a piece of media? It raised a lot of money for Feeding America and did its best in trying to shine some optimism in really unsettling times. Kinda nice.

Sunday, May 3

Filmworker, Zierra 2017 [as of now this is available on Netflix]

Interesting take on a documentary about, but not about Stanley Kubrick. It would be unusual for any Kubrick dude to not know or have some kind of inkling that he was a complicated figure (an asshole), especially when it came to making movies, so the point of the movie isn’t really to inform that aspect of of it (though it probably confirmed suspicions, should you have any). It’s more a case example of how toxic relationships like these work and how dangerous it is to deify people, especially your own heroes. Of course, should any of us be given the opportunity to work or be near someone we look up to, how’re do we know what our breaking point is for them before we reach it (unfortunately for Leon Vitali, it wasn’t until Kubrick passed away that he could see just how far deep he was). This is also a pretty good example of how companies and corporations will treat you like garbage just to advance their credibility and how sometimes it feels like a documentary’ll show you that but not really do anything change that (as far as I know).

Mad Men, [season 4 premier] “Public Relations”, “Christmas Comes But Once A Year”, “The Good News”, “The Rejected”

So I definitely haven’t watched Season 4 as a more grown person than I was back in high school when this first aired. So I’ve known Don’s life is a nightmare, but never really processed why or thought about why; I was not the most keen observer (probably because I was thinking about not turning in homework). Now with all that said, jeeeeeeez Don’s life is a super depressing nightmare oooof. Now Season 4 feels like it needs some more runway to catch up with itself and its momentum it revved up to at the end of season 3, so the first couple of weeks feel a little wobbly (though wobbly Mad Men is leagues better than some other dramas at their best). However, the Don and Lane friendship does gets established in this slew of episodes, two men who couldn’t be more different, but can’t help but be bonded by a miserable moment in time.

Three Busy Debras, “Barbra”

Holy shit this episode is so genius. So many shades of Stangers With Candy in this one.

Rick And Morty, “Never Ricking Morty”

Believe me, I don’t want you to know that I watched this either.

The Last Dance, Parts 5 & 6

These were probably my favorite parts of the doc so far, probably because its the most enjoyable stuff you can watch (hold for destroying any chance Charles Barkley had at winning a championship). Jordan as a brand, both figuratively and literally-the concept of celebrity through a Michael Jordan lens; I could lap that up for hours. It makes me mad that there’s only two hours left (now), because there’s clearly so much more that could be covered, but will leave unturned (more on this next week).

Monty Python: Almost The Truth (Lawyers Cut), “The Not-So-Interesting Beginnings”

Good example of the subjects not getting in the way of the subject matter. Probably the thing that leaves to be desired is seeing the remaining members (this was made in 2009, so Chapman was the only deceased member at the time) together and interacting with one another. You get a little bit of Michael Palin and Terry Jones together, but not in an interviewed capacity, which faintly scratches that itch. If I had to guess, I’d say that they all don’t love being together without Palin there as a buffer, just based on what I know about Monty Python. Lotta strong and brilliantly smart personalities with no real acknowledgement on who’s the best, because they all think they’re the best (maybe not Palin or Jones). Also, this is a surprisingly self-aware interview with Idle, which really shattered any preconceived notions I have for him-might have to do some self-evaluation.

Monday, May 4

Escape From New York, Carpenter 1981 [as of now this is available on Prime]

I’ve definitely lied to people about having seen all of Escape From New York before. Why? Because it made me appear better than I actually was. It and Die Hard With A Vengeance (another great New York movie, though for the record, I’ve still never seen all of it) seemed to be two movies that I kept catching just enough glimpses of throughout the years without having actually seeing all of it. For instance, I had no idea that Harry Dean Stanton was in Escape From New York, which instantly elevates movies for guys like me from being “pretty good li’l B movie” to “this is actually advanced and high art” (this isn’t always the case on the HDS matrix, but it is consistent, see Repo Man).

Mad Men, “The Chrysanthemum And The Sword”, “Waldorf Stories”

Real fool me once with your racism shame on you you, Roger Sterling. Fool me twice, shame on me (re: “The Chrysanthemum And The Sword”). “Waldorf Stories” is really the first episode put in gear this season, maybe it’s because we’re getting Ken Cosgrove back (hell yeh) or maybe it just feels that way because “The Suitcase” is next and I know it; it’s an incredible build-up, what with hindsight and all that.

Tuesday, May 5

Mel Brooks: Unwrapped, Yentob 2018 [as of now this is available on HBO]

Listen, this isn’t very good. I think some of it has to do with Brooks, who kind of gets in the way of it all, which is a very hard thing to admit. It’s got some moments, when it actually tells you something about Mel Brooks, but for the most part its just a British guy not taking command of his own documentary and subject and that’s just like barely interesting. Mel Brooks is still a king, though.

Mad Men, “The Suitcase”

This is regarded as the best episode of Mad Men and one of the best episodes of television in the 2010s. I don’t know how it stands up by itself, like I don’t know if it resonates well with someone who’s never watched Mad Men outside of the vacuum. Usually going into one of these episodes that almost transcends its own show I tend to be weary, be it brand new (like when I watched “Pine Barrens” for the first time when I watched The Sopranos) or on a re-watch like this. I trick myself into thinking “well I bet its not that good” because you’re told to the contrarian take is the most interesting take, but I didn’t with this one. I remember the first time I watched it and I don’t think I’ve gone back and watched it in years, so I had forgotten almost all of the context around the episode, except for the argument. This episode is really special, hands down. Don’t love the ghost, but pobody’s nerfect. This podcast talks about it way better than I ever could, listen to that instead of reading this (I just want yer clicks, suckers!)

Wednesday, May 6

Heartburn, Nichols 1986 [as of now this is available on Prime]

I say this as someone who doesn’t travel in Mike Nichols circles (though this is the fourth movie of his that I’ve watched during all this, so maybe I do and I just don’t know it), but why isn’t this trotted out more as one of his best movies? My Nora Ephron bias might be showing a lot here, someone I didn’t really appreciate until I watched Everything Is Copy about a year ago (it’s an HBO doc-meaning it’s available on that platform if you want nice documentary to watch sometime), but this movie’s great! And it has two of the most famous movie stars to ever live as the two lead roles and Jeff Daniels as a bit player. And yet its legacy only feels relevant to those who seek out Mike Nichols or Nora Ephron movies, which feels odd, considering one half of that creative team is best known for The Graduate and the other for When Harry Met Sally (or Sleepless In Seattle or You’ve Got Mail).

Thursday, May 7

Kingdom Of Heaven (Director’s Cut), Scott 2005

I’ll be honest, I wanted to watch Return Of The King, but that just wasn’t an option. This movie’s technically good, like more Ridley Scott movies are than they aren’t, but really lacks any kind of new message besides “Religion’s pretty fucked up how it made people do that, huh?” Which to a lot of people is super appealing, but when you make a movie that only exists because of Lord Of The Rings’ success, you’d hope for something more (though isn’t this always the case with these kinds of movies?) Like make the movie about David Thewlis or Jeremy Irons. Obviously the battle/fight sequences are really cool to watch and look at, and that’s not an at all terrible critique to give it either. It’s fine that there’s dumb-guy Lord Of The Rings (which is semi-controversial considering a lot of the book nerds already consider Lord Of The Rings [movie] is dumb-guy Lord Of The Rings).

Mad Men, “The Summer Man”

Ah yes, the Don journals and goes swimming episode. It’s good considering it has to follow up “The Suitcase.” I can’t think of any from this particular episode, but (and I think it checks out, cultural timeline wise too) this is the season where it almost feels like the writers/directors figures out that their show was ripe for meme-dom and .gifs-sometimes when that happens it goes real south for the sake of quality, but luckily not Mad Men.

Friday, May 8

Jiro Dreams Of Sushi, Gelb 2011 [as of now this is available on Netflix]

I bet David Fincher loves this movie. I’m not a huge sushi lover (it’s fine, but way too expensive) so I guess I’ve figured that’d be a huge barrier for me to jump over to enjoy this doc. This thing’s got a weird, but great energy to it, where it feels like four twenty-minute segments sewn together; right when you think “well this should’ve just been a quick package on Frontline” it adds another wrinkle. Would probably be constructed more differently now, considering how food docs/series’ work now, but its strengths lie in its simplicity.

Top Chef, Season 17 episode 8

Great Restaurant Wars this season. Very compelling stuff and almost athletic. Andy Greenwald said it best.

Mad Men, “The Beautiful Girls”, “Hands And Knees”, “Chinese Wall”

“Beautiful Girls” is another entry into the best Mad Men episodes (though like “The Suitcase” I don’t think it would necessarily resonate out of context). Iconic closing shot and a great Sally Draper episode, who I’ve feared I might’ve been overrating for the last couple of years. Nah, Sally Draper is underrated even. Big spiral moves for Don as well in here, though hopefully he can course correct after tasting Sally’s rum-cooked French Toast (it won’t!)

Saturday, May 9

Basic Instinct, Verhoeven 1992

I can’t imagine what it must feel like to be completely neutral about this movie; your life must be so care-free, so calming, so unconcerned with trying to figure out how exactly to start calling your close friends either “cowboy” or “hoss” as if you’ve been doing it your whole life. Also, listen, I get it about that one shot and it being the thing people kept talking about and the thing most associated with this movie, but nothing and no one prepared me for seeing Gus in a cowboy hat in that bar/club before the Nick/Roxie chase. That and all the ice-pick stabbings. And the opening crime scene. And a whole lot of other stuff that takes place in this movie.

Mad Men, “Blowing Smoke”, “Tomorrowland” [season 4 finale], “A Little Kiss Part 1 & 2″ [season 5 premier]

The letter! Disneyland! Marriage again! A lot of things happen in these four episodes that are the end and beginning of seasons. But when I realized that I was going to get “Zou Bisou Bisou” in this block of episodes, it was game over. I’ve had it stuck in my head every day for a prolonged amount of time since Saturday and the only thing that makes it not terrible is knowing how pissed off Don was that it happened to him. Don’t marry a 25-year-old. Season 4′s a weird one for Betty as the show tried to navigate how to keep her involved with the show even though she and Don aren’t married anymore and it’s not....great. Probably because they keep making her “true” emotional foil children (specifically Glen and to a greater level Sally, but the tribulations that come between a mother and almost teenage daughter shouldn’t be the same as a mother and some weird kid down the block who just happens to be the son of the show’s creator).

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laughingpinecone · 5 years

Text

Chocobox 2020 letter!

I am laughingpineapple on AO3

It’s a long list of character combos so the specific requests aren’t overly detailed, please draw at will from my general likes and general fandom likes in addition or as an alternative to any of those!

All requests are art or fic - for art, the stuff I like is the kind that depicts the characters doing something. I’ll always be happier with a very simple drawing of two characters walking together or sharing a cup of coffee than with an ambitious composition that looks like an Avengers poster. I also enjoy seeing them wear different clothes, getting a feel of what their fashion sense is like beyond their canon outfit(s).

Likes: worldbuilding, slice of life (especially if the event the fic focuses on is made up but canon-specific), missing moments, 5+1 and similar formats, bonding and emotional support/intimacy, physical intimacy, lingering touches, loyalty, casefic, surrealism, magical realism, established relationships, future fic, hurt/comfort or just comfort from the ample canon hurt, throwing characters into non-canon environments, banter, functional relationships between dysfunctional individuals, unexplained mysteries, bittersweet moods, journal/epistolary fic, dreams and memories and identities, canon-adjacent tropey plots, outsider POV, UST, resolved UST, exploration of secondary bits of canon, leaning on the uniqueness of the canon setting/mood, found families, characters reuniting after a long and/or harrowing time, friends-to-lovers, road trips, maps, mutual pining, cuddling, wintry moods, the feeling of flannel and other fabrics, ridiculous concepts played straight, sensory details, sickfic, places being haunted, people being haunted, the mystery of the woods, small hopes in bleak worlds, electricity, places that don’t quite add up, mismatched memories, caves and deep places, distant city lights at night, emphasis on non-human traits of non-human characters (gen-wise, but also a hearty yes xeno for applicable ships)

Cool with: any tense, any pov, any rating, plotty, not plotty, IF, nerdy canon references, unrequested characters popping up

DNW: non-canonical rape, non-canonical children, focus on children, unrequested ships (background established canon couples are okay, mentions of parents are okay), canon retellings, consent issues

Ghost Trick

I am very interested in various characters finding about the erased timeline, but not getting their memories back, and having to live with being told about what they did but never remembering it. Exploring the ghost lore is great. All what-ifs welcome (what if they managed an acceptable happy ending but didn’t reset the timeline, what if a different party went back to the past and kept their memories, what if Alma’s ghost stuck around…) Also open to AUs here, especially for generic fantasy or sci-fi settings or the Final Fantasy ones I prompted last Yuletide .

For the non-canon sides of Jowd/Alma/Cabanela, please no infidelity? I’d be good with either setting the fic during the game timeline or some what-if thereof when the other spouse is dead or unavailable, or simply keeping them offscreen and not mentioning them (eg Alma/Cabanela beach day, Jowd/Cabanela precinct shenanigans)

For Jowd in general, I do love my big boy and enjoy milking that size difference for all it’s worth. In gen contexts too, it’s neat. him big.

Alma/Jowd & Cabanela: Sleepover time! In whose house and why? What’s a Best Friend (tm) thing to do?

Alma & Cabanela: what’s a moment just for them, how are they aligned? How are they both changed by the tale of the other timeline?

Alma/Cabanela: ghost Alma joins up with Cabanela! ...and doesn’t remember the details of her murder or it’s gonna be a very short investigation, but anyway. Bittersweet ghost romance?

Alma/Cabanela/Jowd: please give me a completely smitten Cabs who spent so long pining and can’t believe it’s happening for real (even if it’s been happening for like, two months already?)

Alma/Jowd: how’d Jowd’s strength come in useful that one time?

Alma & Sissel: plot twist, she saves him. Did he misplace his body? Miscalculate some core jump?

Cabanela & Bailey: unexpected dance partners? Cabanela is harsh toward his subordinates but maybe not so much outside work?

Cabanela & Memry: extremely unconventional mentor & pupil let loose on the town like two horrible geese

Cabanela & Missile: what will get these two exhausted?

Cabanela & Jowd: all the devotion, please! Maybe coming from Jowd as well for a change

Cabanela & Pigeon Man: new timeline friendship? PM is a magnificent Cabanela wrangler, I think, reining in the whitecoat excesses...

Cabanela & Sissel: out-noiring each other, Sissel having the time of his life following Cabanela in an investigation

Cabanela/Jowd: hurried confessions outside the prison? Jowd figuring out he reciprocates right then and there or later on? How much later? What’s his favorite thing about Cabanela and vice versa?

Jowd & Emma: I don’t want to undercut her idealism and sound moral principles in doing what she did simply to take a stand against the death penalty, but did they know each other maybe? Or does Jowd reach out afterwards, curious about this woman? ...do they collab?

Jowd & Pigeon Man: I wanna see how they get along... a tiny snippet of a case? What Are Pigeons If Not Small Chickens After All?

Jowd & Yomiel & Sissel: Sissel has two dads. That’s just how it is.

Jowd & Yomiel: Postcanon bonding with total human disaster Yomiel leaning on Jowd like a cat and Jowd being also a human disaster but like more dad-shaped?

Kamila & Pigeon Man: (overriding the “focus on children” DNW) adopted uncle doubles as science mentor!

Kentucky Route Zero

(Should Act V come out between the end of nominations and reveals, I’ll be playing it immediately and I’ll probably add a few thoughts and prompts here for kicks, at the end of this section, after a spoiler warning. Obviously feel free to stick to canon up to Un Pueblo De Nada regardless.)

I’m all for exploration of any of the game’s themes and for including any staples from adjacent genres - wanna go full-on American Gothic? Dip into surrealism? Take a leaf from Twin Peaks with tulpa / split narratives to explore the characters’ issues? I generally love AUs so if you want to sidestep the inconvenience of an incomplete canon that way, be my guest! Or of course there’s Xanadu at the height of its glory, an infinite what-ifs generator. Were the requested characters part of it, what were their digital counterparts up to? A Xanadu narrative would be great! I’d also love to hear about any new spot along the Zero or the Echo river, or an expansion of some place that’s only mentioned by Will in HATATE or only gets a few paragraphs of text. Lula getting ideas for a new installation, or an article talking about her work? Donald listening to Static between stations somehow (Donald being constantly high as a kite as per this)? Joseph who went back to the surface finds himself near an entrance to the Zero somewhere? A collection of Weaver-isms? Sad surreal bureaucracy? Feel free to bring in anyone else from any part of canon.

Cate & Will: a small, chill adventure on a new island? Extensive mushroom lore?

Joseph Wheattree/Lula Chamberlain/Donald: the disaster concave love polygon in all its glorious doom... does even Xanadu contain a single hope for them? I’m fascinated by alternative developments in which they all stayed underground and explored further, sprinkled with subterranean symbolism at will

Junebug & Lula Chamberlain: something something art! Something something we live in a society, too. Idk I’m intrigued by their strong personalities and how they might clash, Junebug’s abrasiveness and Lula’s resigned bitterness

Weaver Márquez & Donald: she was down there! They are both very bizarre individuals! How’d that go!

Will & Donald: ...conversely, as far as we know Will was not down there but Will knows everyone. So how’d they get to know each other? What’s the Bureau of Secret Tourism’s take on the Hall of the Mountain King?

Pyre

The burning found family feelings, the revolutionary passion, the tension between topside social constraints and the kind of freedom allowed by the Downside! I love all the themes, the solemnity, the heart of this game. I adore everyone in that Blackwagon+Dalbert+Celeste, so if you want to add a Nightwing or two to any prompt, please do! I also love all the Scribes and find Erisa a compelling tragic figure, while out of the other triumvirates, I’m “love to hate them” for Manley, Brighton, Udmildhe and Deluge and would not like to see them featured in sympathetic roles. My main interest usually lies in post-canon exploration when applicable, but I’m also into various adventures during canon. Pick a location or a place outside the map and see what happens? As for the ending variables, I’d ask for a peaceful revolution and Oralech alive, but no preferences on who’s up or down, pick whatever works best for any given plot bunny.

Big Bertrude & Volfred Sandalwood: “people who were close in the Commonwealth find each other in the Downside” is always a gr8 thing to explore and I’d love it for them! Epistolary friendship if they end up separated?

Big Bertrude/Pamitha Theyn: sneaky, reserved kindred spirits. Their shared ending is great and I’d love to see it expanded. Bertrude’s attitude being thorny in a way that’s just what Pam needs to allow herself to open up... also: snake kisses.

Celeste | The Gate Guardian & Oralech: he let him through when the and they waited for the Nightwings... did they exchange a few words there? Or do they meet again somehow, in the Union or among the stars?

Celeste | The Gate Guardian & Sandra the Unseeing & Tariq | The Lone Minstrel: the three people who were there when the Scribes walked the earth and who have opposite opinions on the matter. I’d like to see their views clash, either when they were young or during game events

Molten Milithe & The Vagabond Girl: I imagine ae (I called her Tae but no strong feelings on this front) might have different relationships with the different Scribes, so what’s the one with the Wild Witch? What was she going through at a time when she felt her close?

Oralech & Big Bertrude: Bertrude’s protectiveness toward Volfred could be fun to explore here, both in the old Nightwings’ time and postcanon. Volfred aside, they’re a baby revolutionary and a grizzled agitator, which sounds like fun!

Oralech & Pamitha Theyn: idk I just want to throw Oralech at various Nightwings and see if he can make some friends. He and Pam look complicated enough to stand each other.

Oralech/Volfred Sandalwood: I am mainly interested in postcanon reunion, or postcanon established relationship. Getting to know each other again. Oralech figuring out that Volfred’s puffing up in formal meetings because he’s super nervous about all these responsibilities. Seeing what their dream looks like

Oralech/Volfred Sandalwood/Tariq | The Lone Minstrel: Volfred has two hands, and sometimes miracles happen twice? How do they balance each other, what’s the Oralech/Tariq side like and what’s Volfred’s perspective on it? Is Tariq a constant part of their lives or does he fade in and out?

Pamitha Theyn & Ti'zo: flying buddies! He’s a simple soul and she is very much not, but he’s also ancient and has seen heartbreak like hers over and over...

Rukey Greentail & Volfred Sandalwood: on pragmatism. I feel like these two could come to a mutual understanding in their own way.

Oralech & Sir Gilman: is there any way that this won’t end in a demonstration on how to perform a nautical knot with a wyrm?

Tariq & Ti'zo: the great gossiping duo. All the juciest skreeches. There are also a few occasions when Tariq says something about the imps while he blatantly means himself, and I’d like to know what Ti’zo thinks of this projection.

Tariq | The Lone Minstrel & Big Bertrude: he knows how to handle her, and she should know how to appreciate a slightly eldritch creation (?) of the Scribes...

Volfred Sandalwood & Hedwyn: in Oralech’s own words to Hedwyn, Volfred probably picked Hedwyn as an Oralech replacement. Does this change Hedwyn’s opinions on Volfred and the plan? Was it a conscious choice on Volfred’s part? Or how do they get along in general?

Volfred Sandalwood/Tariq | The Lone Minstrel: “both think the other is the bee’s knees and possibly out of their league” is catnip to me. I’d say it’s understandable from Volfred while Tariq is just super smitten (and struggling with his own sense of identity and desires, sure. but also smitten). So I think it’d be fun for Volfred to be somewhat out of his depth for once and try to be close to/console Tariq for whatever reason?

The Last Remnant

I’m very interested in post-game exploration, and getting a clearer feeling of any of the cities and assorted places that populate this fascinating world. I like the whole party with their characterization based on battle quotes, red bubble dialogues, and even their unique stat (‘authority’ is a natural fit for David but ‘romance’ tells me something new about Sibal!) Character interaction. Bit of worldbuilding. What’s another festival they celebrate? Do they erect something else instead of the Valeria Heart? Any fun discoveries down in Siebenbur? Where the hell IS Veyriel, anyway, do they go look for it and if so what do they find out? End of an age. Old bonds.

David Nassau & Torgal & Allan: catfight with mediator. Torgal has two h... Torgal has four hands actually and I’m very interested in his very positive relationship with David and his disastrous one with Allan. It’d be fun if these two aspects of his life came together, like a platonic V

Emmy Honeywell & Pagus: Emmy just ended up short a parental figure and the oldest and chillest of the four generals is right there?

Pagus/Maddox/Sibal: give me all the Qsiti worldbuilding, Siebenbur worldbuilding, Remnant daydreaming, shared backstory, old men reunions after the ending…

Twin Peaks

Case fic but they don’t find out jack shit, someone disappears, David Bowie was there, it’s complicated. Fragmented, shifted, mirrored identities. New Lodge spaces. The risks of staring into the void for too long. Gentle illusions. Transcendence. The moon. Static buzzing. Any title from the s3 ethereal whooshing compilation used as a prompt, actually. Twin Peaks is all about the mystery to me, the awe of mystery and unknowability and the human drive to look beyond and the risks of getting a peek, and about shared consciousness and trauma taking physical form in an uncaring world. Go wild with the ethereal whooshing! But I also love the human warmth at the heart of it all, and sometimes it’s enough to anchor these characters and let them have a nice day. A fic entirely focused on some instance of coziness against the cold chaotic background of canon would be great too.

Canon-specific DNWs: any singular Dreamer being the ‘source’ of canon, BOB (let alone Judy) being forever defeated in the finale, Judy being an active malevolent presence in the characters’ lives, clear explanations for canonical ambiguities, ‘Odessaverse’ being the reality layer, the Fireman’s House by the Sea being the White Lodge, anything that 4 hours Twin Perfect video says is the explanation of Twin Peaks

Albert Rosenfield & Constance Talbot: city mouse and country mouse? What’s their long-distance friendship like and what’s an occasion for them to meet? What’s her position in the symbolic spread of blue rose and blue rose-adjacent disasters/hopes for the future?

Audrey Horne & Diane Evans: Weird postcanon encounters? Can Diane lend a hand when Coop most certainly could not? They are hardened in different ways; we know Audrey has a precious dreaminess underneath that mess, what about Diane?

Chet Desmond & Albert Rosenfield: punchy&pacifist sounds like a recipe for disaster but their directness makes me think that they’d get along great?

Chet Desmond/Sam Stanley: reunion fic! Chet’s been AWOL for years, Sam has fallen through the cracks, how do they find each other again and why do they choose to remain off the grid? I would also like to read about them in the present day-ish, handwaving the return and reunion. Maybe they made a new life for themselves. If Sutherland were to play Sam again, Sam would be… notably more buff. What caused that change, was it traveling with Chet, what kind of person is he now? Could they be in Buenos Aires, investigating on their own whatever that shrinking box was?

Constance Talbot/Diane Evans: when the show was airing we used to joke that the various plots converging on Buckhorn were actually a race to woo the absolute jewel that is Constance. Cynthia got there first but Diane knows how to flirt! We have a whole week and a whole town...

Cynthia Knox/Tamara "Tammy" Preston: the FBI and USAF supernatural branches meet again after Douglas Milford’s times... what’s their attitude toward it (who’s the Mulder and who’s the Scully......), in what ways does their respective task force’s past inform their views, is there more hope for a new generation who saw the trauma of the past without living it firsthand? LET TAMMY KISS ALL THE GIRLS BUT THIS ONE IN PARTICULAR

Dale Cooper/Albert Rosenfield: fiery early days? Dream meetings that Albert will inevitably write off as a product of his aching subconscious? Post-finale where Albert has made his peace with Coop not being part of this world and not even deigning to greet him, except one day Coop is back - with apologies? Post-post-finale where they’re peacefully living out their days as best as they can?

Dale Cooper/Harry Truman: Harry seeing his Coop again… somewhere, somehow. Maybe he perceives him in the woods, maybe Coop isn’t all human now. Monster cuddles very welcome. Could be canon divergence but could very well be post-s3. Harry getting closure for waiting all that time in front of Glastonbury and never giving up on Coop… they can live in the woods together…

Albert Rosenfield/Harry Truman: did they tragically fall into each other’s arms in the wake of Coop’s disappearance? Did they realize they’re so good for each other, but neither of them was willing to give up their life? And/or was the wound of Coop’s disappearance too fresh for them to try to heal? Do they keep in touch throughout the years? Does Albert resign on the spot with a resounding fuck it after the s3 finale and rush to see Harry? Does he stay this time?

Dale Cooper/Albert Rosenfield/Harry Truman: basically the sum of the three sides of this triad… give them peace, given them nice things, give them so much love… Coop finding his place in the world and making up for lost time… give time to these old wounds…

Diane Evans & Albert Rosenfield: any ol’ night drinking together, or ending up in some liminal place much to Albert’s chagrin (and Diane’s as well...?)? I just love their bond and want to see more of it. At any point during their shared history and even after the finale!

Donna Hayward & Audrey Horne: the half sisters meeting again please? And finding a new balance between them, different from what it would’ve been when they were young when they never got a chance to discover it...

Gordon Cole/Phillip Jeffries: does Gordon eventually manage to throw himself into the void (that’s one way of considering a retirement plan!) and reach Phillip? What’s left inside that teapot alembic, or is he the smoke? How did Gordon even get word from Phil - in his pt17 infodump, he seems perfectly aware of the other’s status - what kind of contact have they kept? I love all the fanon I’ve seen for them, if you want to lean into it.

Harry Truman & Chet Desmond: I don’t know how, I just know that it needs to happen to see how they’d bounce off each other. Chet got the short straw with Cable and Deer Meadow in general; Harry just likes them fancy agents...

Lucy Moran & Albert Rosenfield: this. This is the ultimate recipe for disaster. How can it turn out less-than-horrible for everyone involved? Especially with young Albert?

Tamara "Tammy" Preston & Albert Rosenfield: wlw mlm solidarity? He used to be the one pulling all-nighters finding needles in haystacks, now it’s her job; is technology helping? Does she eventually get the full weight of what tulpa Diane and shooting tulpa Diane meant to him? What’s the latest Gordon gossip? What do they do for fun?

Tamara "Tammy" Preston & Dale Cooper: she roasted him for two dossiers in a row and looked characteristically unimpressed in pt17; conversely, the narrative may or may not have positioned her as ‘the new Cooper’. Idk I just want them to meet somehow and feel the passing of the torch...

Tamara "Tammy" Preston & Margaret "The Log Lady" Lanterman: the lady said in TFD she would’ve liked to meet Margaret and I operate on a strict “give Tammy what she wants” policy, details schmetails. There are places in this world and others where the passing of time is at best a vague suggestion, so.

Wally Brando & Harry Truman: Wally visiting his godfather, whom he deeply respects! Frank wasn’t quite on board with Wally’s whole thing but what does Harry think of it?

Wally Brando & Laura Palmer & Dale Cooper: I have a soft spot for Dale and Laura traveling through strange spaces, lost, slowly healing. On this background, imagine, if you will: Wally speeding by on his bike. I need this meeting…

#letter

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gunnerpalace · 7 years

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Seeing both sides of the arguments, i think that is plausible that IH was endgame since the beginning, but we would always end in 2 scenarios. IH was planned since the beginning but poorly executed, for the detriment of boths characthers, or it wasn't and still count as detriment. I'm saying this as somebody that prefer IR because IH, legit does nothing for me. By the way, that anon, was being rude, your preferences are yours and nobody should tell you otherwise.

I’m seriously tired of the words “endgame” being thrown around in relation to Bleach. Bleach wasn’t planned. There were so many things that were raised and then dropped without leading anywhere, that were simply forgotten, or that were outright retconned out of existence. Kubo had, at best, a rough outline, and at worst, was largely making shit up as he went.

Examples:

Soul pills were originally introduced as having been designed to force spirits out of already-dead bodies. This means revenants are a serious problem Shinigami had to deal with. Really weird that we never saw any, huh? Forgotten.

The Quincy were retconned from being one particular tribe of many different kinds of magic users, who were spread all over the world, to some weird anti-Shinigami who somehow commune with the divine (whatever their “God” might’ve been). Kisuke, of all people, would’ve known what they really were and had no great reason to lie—he wasn’t trying to mislead Rukia, he legitimately didn’t know at that time, because neither did Kubo.

Akon originally speculated that the maker of Rukia’s gigai would’ve been thrown out of Soul Society because it was simply too good and accurate—we know from the fact that Kisuke was trying to make Rukia into a human that it was basically a complete human body. In other words, Kisuke had come up with something that could turn the dead into the living and produce more life. This was summarily forgotten because Kisuke was no longer (likely) the villain and just a shady guy, and much later the Visored story was introduced to explain why he was banished.

Literally everything to do with the Four Great Noble Houses and their artifacts or roles was dropped and forgotten, after the appearance of the various Shihouin artifacts during the Soul Society arc. We never even got the names of the other two houses. In TYBW, Yuushirou showed up with an enormous bag of stuff to help Yoruichi, only for it all to be forgotten again.

Kubo literally completely forgot about the Visored and Yoruichi during the LSS arc.

The entire Soul King plot had zero resolution. All of its plot hooks were discarded.

“I leave it up to you, Kurosaki and Kuchiki.”

And on, and on, and on. Certain things (like “Shirosaki” actually being Zangetsu, and “Zangetsu” being something else) were clearly planned from the start. Other things clearly weren’t, and IH is one of those things. You know how I know? Because it was completely unsubstantiated.

Some IH is going to pop up and go “B—B—But Orihime confessed!” Yeah, to an unconscious Ichigo, and big fucking deal? The thing about relationships is they involve relations. There was, what? Orihime trying to hang out with Ichigo and getting turned down? Eating bread with Uryuu and Chad in his room?

There were no civil tender moments (i.e., outside of combat). There were no martial tender moments (i.e., in combat). There were no dates. There was no confession from Ichigo. There was no hug. There was no kiss. There were no longing looks. There were no deep conversations looking at the moon. There was never any indication, in any fashion, that Ichigo reciprocated her feelings. They never hung out outside of the context of supernatural bullshit. They literally did not have a relationship. (“Hurr durr, IR didn’t have a lot of that either!” some mouthbreather will interject, and let me state that I’m not substantiating IR here, I’m deconstructing IH.)

You know how I know? IH will go out of their way to prattle on about how much Orihime deserved Ichigo’s affection, because they have nothing to point to to show that he felt that way, and they know it. It’s always only ever about her, never about him.

So explain to me how something that is literally never established, and never shown, is plausibly an “endgame.”

While you think about that, I want to share with you my favorite bad novel summary. It’s a book called “Out of the Dark” by David Weber. I haven’t read it, but the description alone makes the case for it being bad.

Have you read the plot outline? Good. Notice how it’s a book about an alien invasion until suddenly vampires pop up out of nowhere and save humanity in a convenient deus ex machina to cash in on Twilight? Would you call that “endgame?” It was how the book ended! But it doesn’t really follow from the premise, does it? It’s just kind of a thing that happens to wrap things up.

Since I keep making Twilight allusions: imagine if Breaking Dawn - Part 2 ended with Blade appearing, killing everyone but Bella Swan, and then having an OT3 with her and Selene. That would certainly be an ending! You could write that! It is a thing you could do! If that was how it had actually ended, would you call that “endgame?” No, you wouldn’t, because it was never established or built toward. It would’ve just happened.

Just like IH.

A bunch of one-sided bullshit from one party with no reciprocation isn’t establishing a relationship. It’s establishing a character, i.e., Orihime. Ichigo doesn’t even come into it. If Jack jerks off to Charlize Theron, or Jane touches herself to Chris Pine, would you say that Jack and Jane are in a relationship with Charlize and Chris? No, because that would be stupid. That’s not how relationships work. They require back and forth interaction.

Which is exactly what IH never had in any kind of romantic or even intimate fashion.

So if you show me hours and hours of Jack and Jane daydreaming about Charlize and Chris, and getting their autographs, and eventually hanging out with them now and again as acquaintances, and then you suddenly skip to ten years later and they’re married and have kids and are lovey-dovey, yeah, that’s a story, I guess? If you expect me to believe it was always “endgame” I’m going to laugh in your face.

IH was some bullshit that Kubo did off-screen and shoved in our faces to blow his franchise up. The general fandom knows it. IR knows it. And IH knows it too, which is why today, a year later, they still give a fuck about convincing us how “right” they were, and how “wrong” we are: because they have absolutely nothing, and it eats them up inside, like acid in their hearts and souls. It’s why they can’t make anything worth a damn, be it art or fic, because there’s nothing to make. They can’t even connect dots; there are no dots, they gotta make it up wholesale. Because. Ichigo. Never. Cared. About. Orihime.

It wasn’t “endgame.” It was an asspull. And that’s all there is to it.

Until somebody finds me some panels that demonstrate Ichigo gives two-shits about Orihime because he’s looking at her the way he did at Rukia in chapter 151, or 423, or 459, or innumerable other examples, I do not give a single fuck about what Orihime thinks, feels, says, or does.

Those panels don’t exist, so this topic is over. Case dismissed. Don’t bring this non-recyclable trash to my courtroom again.

#Asks

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thesnhuup · 6 years

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Pop Picks – October 15, 2018

What I’m listening to:

We had the opportunity to see our favorite band, The National, live in Dallas two weeks ago. Just after watching Mistaken for Strangers, the documentary sort of about the band. So we’ve spent a lot of time going back into their earlier work, listening to songs we don’t know well, and reaffirming that their musicality, smarts, and sound are both original and astoundingly good. They did not disappoint in concert and it is a good thing their tour ended, as we might just spend all of our time and money following them around. Matt Berninger is a genius and his lead vocals kill me (and because they are in my range, I can actually sing along!). Their arrangements are profoundly good and go right to whatever brain/heart wiring that pulls one in and doesn’t let them go.

What I’m reading:

Who is Richard Powers and why have I only discovered him now, with his 12th book? Overstory is profoundly good, a book that is essential and powerful and makes me look at my everyday world in new ways. In short, a dizzying example of how powerful can be narrative in the hands of a master storyteller. I hesitate to say it’s the best environmental novel I’ve ever read (it is), because that would put this book in a category. It is surely about the natural world, but it is as much about we humans. It’s monumental and elegiac and wondrous at all once. Cancel your day’s schedule and read it now. Then plant a tree. A lot of them.

What I’m watching:

Bo Burnham wrote and directed Eighth Grade and Elsie Fisher is nothing less than amazing as its star (what’s with these new child actors; see Florida Project). It’s funny and painful and touching. It’s also the single best film treatment that I have seen of what it means to grow up in a social media shaped world. It’s a reminder that growing up is hard. Maybe harder now in a world of relentless, layered digital pressure to curate perfect lives that are far removed from the natural messy worlds and selves we actually inhabit. It’s a well-deserved 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and I wonder who dinged it for the missing 2%.