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hamliet · 4 years ago

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Chemical Weddings in RWBY

So once upon a time Hamliet said she’d write a meta about ships in RWBY, and then arrived months later without Starbucks.

The central tenet of alchemy is solve et coagula: dissolve, and then coagulate. The process (RWBY appears to be following Ripley’s 12 Gates) repeats, rinses, and repeats again and again throughout the steps, “each time at a more refined level.” The point of a chemical wedding is to reconcile opposites, which is something I touched on in my pseudo-quick meta here. Lyndy Abraham, the author of A Dictionary of Alchemical Imagery, describes the chemical wedding as:

a crucial operation in the creation of the philosopher’s stone. The alchemists were ultimately concerned with the union of substances, the reconciliation of opposites.

Basically, it unites opposites (fire and water, air and earth, sun and moon, passive and active, etc., etc., etc.) and then the opposites start to take on each other’s qualities, creating the “Rebis,” or a person both male and female.

The first chemical wedding is usually somewhat violent, primitive even, whereas the second one signifies the creation of the stone. However, characters can have more than two weddings, and chemical weddings do not inherently have to be romantic--Sam and Frodo aren’t, for example--but most often are, because it’s the most obvious way to show a union between separate people (the old adage “two become one” in marriage, for example).

If we look at George Ripley’s 12 Gates, chemical weddings tend to be focused on in the fourth stage of conjunction (which I wrote about here) and in the ninth, fermentation (which is probably going to be in volume 10--maybe a little in volume 9, but traveling between worlds seems to be a hallmark of sublimation in fiction so I’m guessing we’re stuck there for the time being). But in a lengthy series spanning eight years and counting, there is going to be overlap.

So let’s talk about chemical wedding imagery historically. It tends to involve dissolution (via water or fire--keep in mind metal was associated with fire in olden days, so stabbing with metal was considered liquid fire, or so it was believed to be by alchemists) and then coagulation (healing/coming together).

Four of the five ships--two of whom are definitely happening, one of which I think is happening and one of which I think has a good chance--reference historical alchemical artwork and symbolism in key moments. (RWBY does reference alchemical artwork; see here and here.) So let’s dive in and examine potential chemical wedding allusions in RWBY:

Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie (Renora)

Let’s start with the most obvious couple: Ren and Nora. Their first chemical wedding occurs when they are children. In alchemical art, birds are often used to show the volatility/primitiveness of a first chemical wedding:

The raven is replicated in the Nevermore which forms a similarly threatening pose over Ren and Nora when he unlocks his semblance to protect her, thus honoring his father and mother’s legacies.

You can even see earth (trees), water (river), fire, and air (the bird flying) in the scene as it pans out. After this, Ren and Nora become “Ren and Nora,” as Nora herself says in Volume 8. They’re inseparable, because they’re on their way to becoming one. However, unification doesn’t mean that they’re literally the same person; in stories like these, it’s more like they become better versions of themselves through growing towards each other and adopting each other’s traits (like Nora’s courage for Ren, and Ren’s caution for Nora).

Their second, elevated chemical wedding is in the same place as their first, when in Volume 4 they return to the village and defeat the monster they were too young to defeat last time. This time, Nora is the one who protects Ren by telling him he could not sacrifice his life by pulling Ren back, in a reversal of his running to her in their first moment years ago.

Like the first, there’s water involved--Ren and Nora hide next to a river, watching as the Knuckelvee advances on them. I talked previously how I thought this looked like a possible allusion to this alchemical image (look at the moon symbol on the head of the aggressor):

The moon symbol actually shows up quite a bit in this scene, first when Nora and Ren discover the Nuckelvee is still alive in the cave:

And then in the moment when they defeat it:

While I am certain this is a chemical wedding, I’m not certain why the moon symbol is so prominent in this, though I do think it is possibly in reference to this image and how Nora and Ren are united now:

Yang Xiao Long/Blake Belladonna (Bumbleby)

Firstly, the alchemy image is somewhat of a creepy image, right? In this, Mercurius has united the two principles by beheading them (amputation is a Thing in alchemy), leaving them to putrefy and then coagulate.

Like the Nuckelvee for Nora and Ren, Blake and Yang have a somewhat antagonistic Mercurius who unites them: Adam Taurus. He doesn’t cut off their heads, but he does seriously injure Blake and cuts off Yang’s arm in a scene that is romantically charged (you have Blake’s possessive ex telling her he’ll target someone she loves and specifically chooses Yang).

While I have my issues with how Bumbleby is written, it’s hard to interpret that as anything other than him seeing Yang as a rival for Blake’s affection.

Their second chemical wedding also involves Adam. There’s no one direct image that seems to have inspired it, but it does take place in a place full of waterfalls (fountains and flowing water in general, like the ones in Nora and Ren’s village, are common elements of chemical weddings’ settings) and by the ocean (the “mercurial sea” is where the elements dissolve to make the Philosopher’s Stone, so it’s also a common hallmark for chemical weddings).

(To briefly address this: this is where my complaints about the writing pile in, because you can also make a damn strong case that Blake and Sun fighting on the ship to Menagerie is a chemical wedding, which it is, but I think it’s clear at this point that Bumbleby is endgame. Either both were written for a reason, like if they weren’t sure if they could do Bumbleby, or a narrative reason, in which case Black Sun should have been dealt with rather than hand-waved away, or they were just teasing, but baiting fans is never, ever good writing; it’s cheap. All that to say that while I think there’s a compelling case they were interested in pursuing Bumbleby from the start, Black Sun shippers have a right to feel tricked and not all criticism thereof is based in homophobia or a lack of narrative understanding, or even in a dislike of the ship.)

At the beginning of this scene, Adam makes it clear that this is a redo of their previous chemical wedding by reminding them of it:

Blake stabs Adam with a silver weapon; Yang with red. We have earth, air (clouds), water, and weapons as a stand-in for fire.

It’s still somewhat of a violent wedding, which makes me wonder if Bumbleby will have a third (and Renora as well). But it also parallels Renora in this: returning to a pivotal scene where they were traumatized, but this time being able to overcome it because they’ve become more like each other. Blake is in many ways Yang’s trauma stretching far beyond Beacon (Blake runs away, as does Raven, Yang’s mother who abandoned her), and likewise Yang for Blake (she’s hotheaded and holds grudges, like Adam). But Blake and Yang have been working on becoming better versions of themselves.

At the end of this scene, they even exchange quasi-wedding vows (since Blake’s promise is to not abandon Yang):

And the artists drive home the point by drawing Blake’s hair far bushier than normal (more like Yang’s), and Yang’s far tamer than normal (like Blake’s).

Jaune Arc/Weiss Schnee (White Knight)

Weiss and Jaune have had one chemical wedding thus far (possibly two but not sure) and I didn’t ship them at all until I saw this scene. Like Bumbleby and Renora, they have an antagonistic Mercurius: Cinder.

(This one I’ll be arguing a little bit about why I think it’s set up for romance as well.)

In this scene, Cinder directly compares Weiss to Pyrrha in regards to how Jaune feels about them (and we know Jaune and Pyrrha were romantic--you can also argue Cinder was an antagonistic Mercurius uniting Pyrrha and Jaune).

When Weiss screams, Cinder gets an idea and slides her gaze from Weiss to Jaune.

And then reenacts this:

As I also mentioned previously, Jaune then plays the role of the Prince to Weiss’s Snow White (which is an alchemical fairy tale). Like when Ren unlocks his aura to protect Nora, Jaune unlocks his to save Weiss. Weiss looks as if she is in a glass coffin that gets more and more golden, symbolic of refinement.

It’s also probably an allusion to this image of a chemical wedding presided over by Saturn (Mercury in this scene, since he’s there) and Death (Ruby and Qrow, who are also present in the scene with Jaune and Weiss). (For more on this image, see here.)

Weiss and Jaune also have some oppositional imagery and arcs: Weiss starts Beacon with a deep family legacy and an inherited semblance, she chooses to go to Beacon on her own and is the favored child (at first). Jaune too has a family legacy of warriors, but instead of feeling empowered because of this, he is insecure and literally cheats his way into the school. He doesn’t have a semblance until season 5. After this incident, Weiss and Jaune spend some time recreationally together (seeing a movie in vol 7); Jaune becomes more confident as a leader, and Weiss continues her arc in becoming more sympathetic to those from less privileged backgrounds.

Arguably, what happened at the end of volume 8 could be seen as having some symbolism of a chemical wedding for Weiss and Jaune too, but I don’t think it actually is one since they weren’t focused on as characters enough (if this was intended to be the start of one, we’ll get something next season, I’d imagine). The only reason I’m mentioning it is because it does function as an inverse of the previous one, which is the case for Renora and Bumbleby’s first and second weddings too. Cinder again almost kills Weiss (she falls in the exact same position as in vol 5), but Jaune saves Weiss when he screams after killing Penny. Instead of saving Weiss by healing, he kills. There’s also some distinctive red and white imagery.

And then Winter arrives with a six-pointed star and birds before telling them to run together:

But again, I wouldn’t really call this one; it just has some imagery of one and fits a pattern, so I’m including it as a potential lead-in to an actual one in the void or later.

Ruby Rose/Oscar Pine (Rosegarden)

Like with Weiss/Jaune, I’ll be arguing a little bit about why I think this one is likely to end up romantic, too (for example, Cinder most recently in volume 8 used Oscar to taunt Ruby in a callback to using Pyrrha and Weiss to taunt Jaune).

Also: oh look, finally a wedding that isn’t violent. They just... meet. Which is also normal for a chemical wedding but less dramatic.

Behold, the bird uniting the solar king and lunar queen:

(Fun fact: unless CRWBY came up with ship names which I highly, highly doubt, this is pure coincidence, but it’s a funny one: the art series this image is taken from is called Rosarium Philosophorum--which literally means “rose garden philosophy.”)

Let’s look at the scene where Ruby and Oscar meet for the first time. What makes this a chemical wedding is in part how obvious their markings are and the overall imagery is in the scene.

They are united by Qrow (who in addition to being named after a bird can literally transform into a bird):

Oscar asks about Ruby specifically (yes, I know because Qrow’s her uncle, but the writing is telling us to focus on his relationship with her):

And immediately notes/is in awe that she has silver eyes (i.e. the moon):

Qrow seems to realize he’s done something momentous in a way that almost doesn’t entirely work within the frame of the narrative (but he is drunk, so).

The scenery of this room is also telling. The table is literally an Emerald Table, the legendary foundation of alchemy itself.

Once they sit and talk, behind Oscar are the elements of earth and water, which he represents, and also the moon, which while traditionally associated with earth and water, he does not (at least not as strongly as he’s associated with the sun/gold):

Similarly, behind Ruby we have the elements of fire and air (like, if you zoom in, they actually drew air), which she is marked as, and the sun, which again, she’s not as strongly associated with as she is with the moon:

In Splendor Solis, which CRWBY has referenced before, the Solar King does eventually end up grounded in the moon, and likewise the Lunar Queen in the sun:

Oscar and Ruby also do have oppositional arcs and roles: Ruby starts the series in the very first episode by being invited to Beacon two years early because of her leaping into action to stop Torchwick. She’s scolded for her recklessness, but immediately picked out as special because of her silver eyes. In contrast, Oscar is reluctant to leave his farm once Ozpin inhabits him; he refuses at first, and then once he does leave, is nervous and timid.

Anyways I wouldn’t be surprised if Qrow arrives in Vacuo with RWBYJ in tow and this time reunites Ruby with Oscar in an inverse. We’ll see.

I do want to say that I also see potential for Emerald Sustrai/Mercury Black, in that they often act as one and share a theme song, but I haven’t seen any actual visual references to a chemical wedding for them... yet.

#rwby meta #rwby theory #rwby volume eight #rwby vol 8 #rwby volume 8 #rwby volume 9 #weiss schnee #jaune arc #ruby rose #blake belladonna #yang xiao long #lie ren #nora valkyrie #oscar pine #alchemy #rosegarden #bumbleby #renora #white knight

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btscreatorscorner · 4 years ago

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Project Summary: Travel with a few members of the team here at BCC as they sit around a bonfire and reminisce on the days of summer. We will tell you interesting stories about tales that may be a little exaggerated about the members of a group of 7 guys that we have come to love.

Links to stories and edits will be added as they are posted!! We will reblog the stories and edits as well~ We hope you enjoy!

Seeing each other was honestly a dream. It felt surreal to be able to meet up and camp with so many people from an online network, and they were smiling and laughing as they talked in person (some for the first time ever). The lulling sounds of the ocean waves became a white noise to everyone as they set up their tents and gathered firewood. They were having so much fun talking together that time had passed quickly, evening fast approaching and the sun sinking into the horizon creating a sea of colors in the sky. The sight was truly breathtaking.

Simi’s and Lillia’s eyes locked onto the waving group down the beach. “Welcome everyone,” Alexis smiled as she returned to the campsite after scoping out the beach.

“Hey Alexis! How’s the beach look? Any shark teeth?” Lillia asked, returning to chopping onions in preparation for dinner.

"You say that like she'd know. Are we forgetting that she's the ‘blind’ one?" Simi replied, snickering at Alexis's squint.

From the small crowd gathering on the beach came a range of different accents. Some were easily pinpointed and others a little more difficult to locate. Lillia continued guiding everyone down to the beach, within the group was a small and rather tired Jester with a large bag. Situated at the bottom of her bag was some sort of rolled up bedding.

“Excuse me, sorry I’m late, airport customs tried to steal my Vegemite” Jester called, eyes gazing straight past Simi’s shoulder. With no hesitation she dropped her luggage in the sand, kicked off her shoes and sprinted towards the ocean.

Halting mere inches from the water, she teetered, waving her hands and trying not to topple into the surf from her abrupt stop.

“Almost jumped in with my phone and your American paper dollarydoos” she shouted, racing back to the group.

Jester proceeded to empty out her pockets, dumping twenty and fifty dollar notes and her phone into her shoes and running full pelt back to the water. With a warrior cry, she dove into the ocean causing quite the splash before the water stilled ominously.

There was no sign of her — had she disappeared? An alarming amount of time went by and the group shuffled nervously before she breached with all the elegance of a blue whale gasping and flopping onto her side.

A few of the others joined Jester whooping as they splashed into the water, others set to tasks they thought were a little more pressing, like designating tents.

With what little sun they had left, they had managed to hold a few fun activities and lots of conversations.

As the sun finally set the sweet cotton candy colors in the sky darkened and from its depths emerged twinkling lights, the mood changed along with it. Food was tossed on the grill, the inferno causing the aroma to fill the beach. Everyone’s mouth was watering, excited to finally dig in.

Simi was trying to organize gluten-free buns on one side and regular on the other. “The veggie burgers have finished. I cooked them on their own so it’s all good. I’m about to cook the meat patties — last call for meat-free grilling” Lillia called to the group with a bright smile, expertly flipping the spatula in her hand and getting back to work when there were no complaints.

The large group slowly began making themselves plates of food and once everyone was situated, the group was silent for a brief moment before Alexis decided to strike up some conversation.

“...I think that would be a great idea, don’t you guys think?”

The sounds of wood crackling could be heard in the background. Sepha watched as the smoke turned into the black of the burning wood and then to the fire-y orange and undertones of red. It had only turned out that way when she watched as one of the women drizzled more fluid over the fire.

Looking to her left, she saw a welcoming smile and couldn’t help but feel guilty for not hearing the rest of what had been said.

“Sorry?” Sepha asked, watching as the rest of the group surrounding the fire laughed at her in confusion.

“What kind of scary stories are you into? You know… typical gory types or mystery, maybe romance—” Lillia repeated emphasizing the last genre.

“Murder mysteries are the most interesting…” At this, Amunet smiled at Sepha’s response and she couldn’t help but return it.

“I like romance! You know the ones where people just go camping to see the stars, and the moonlight and it just smells like chocolate and marshmallows.” All eyes followed the light voice which sounded across the fire, belonging to none other than Kyub. Gabi couldn’t help but share a hopeless shrug with Sepha, who poked at the fire with her long stick.

The fire gave a loud crackle, “Sounds nice...but with this kind of night when there’s no moon and just the sound of nature around you — it kind of makes you want to tell scary stories for the fun of it.” Alexis seemed to agree to Sepha’s last sentiment and continued roasting the marshmallow.

“You’re right, though. Just darkness and nature, makes me think of murder.” Bubbles started up again which only earned a dry chuckle from across the circle.

Mae spoke up for the first time, saying “morbid, but sure, what the hell” as she fidgeted with her own stick, apparently inventing something the campers could only assume was a s’more kebab. She seemed to struggle immensely considering the graham crackers didn’t have any holes in them for her stick. But they all watched, intrigued, as Mae continued stacking: cracker, marshmallow, chocolate, cracker, marshmallow, chocolate, cracker—

“What are you doing?” This time, the voice came from just outside the circle, Amunet was returning from her tent wearing a thick navy blue pullover sweater. She was looking at Mae’s invention with an arch to her brow but otherwise unphased.

“What does it look like?” retorted Mae, gently waving the kebab around for everyone to see which earned a couple of laughs from everyone as a graham cracker broke off. Mae’s resulting cursing drew even more laughs.

Lillia began to clap, “A’ight! Let’s start with some stories eh?” She looked around, giving everyone her signature friendly smile before settling on Sepha. “I think you should start some things off Seph, with you know, all that murder mystery enthusiasm you have.”

“Huh?” She was caught off guard, looking to see everyone anticipating eyes had fallen upon her and when she looked around the waiting company, she could see Kyub giving a soft encouraging smile. The nervous laugh bubbled out of Sepha's lips before she could stop it, and with a scuff of her feet against the sandy ground she was ready.

“I-um—you guys ever hear that phrase,” The cautionary pause gave Sepha time to think it over, “You ain’t Jiving man?” There was a quick shake of Bubbles’ head to her far left.

“I have no idea what that means.” Jester hummed stabbing at least twelve marshmallows with a long skewer-like-stick. Another culinary mad genius.

“It’s from the 70s, all that slang shit. Supposed to mean: ‘Is that the truth?’ Or at least the equivalent to it.” That earned hums all around as Sepha licked her lips, wondering how to start off her story. Mae and Jester smiled encouragingly as Sepha shook her head to focus herself before diving in.

“Well, that phrase kind of relates to this story...at least kind of...maybe...I don’t know,” Sepha watched as Mae grabbed at the remains of a broken graham cracker, her frustration obvious enough in the way she picked at the pieces but it only earned her a cheeky smile from Bubbles who was right next to her. “I’m sure you guys heard of the case of Ted Bundy right? You know, infamous serial killer.”

“He was fucking insane and not even handsome. I don’t even know what girls saw in him during that time.” As she spoke, Jester’s face twisted like she had bitten into a lemon and all Sepha could do was nod in agreement. She watched the fire again, poking at it and watching the ash burn up to the surface.

“Well...I’m gonna tell a survivor story. Her name was Carol DaRonch, one of Bundy’s survivors and—”

“We should call her Katie! For, you know, copyright reasons.” This time the voice belonged to Bubbles; it was soft but managed to grab everyone’s attention in time before they could all fully dive into the story. At her suggestion, Sepha nodded and chuckled, poking at the fire once more, sending an array of sparkle-like embers into the night sky. She quickly moved the toe of her boot just enough to not get any of the burnt ash on it.

Sepha nodded vigorously again and continued.

“Yeah...yeah let’s call her Katie…” she licked her lips once more and looked up to see the dark depths of the night sky there wasn’t a cloud in sight. When the group stared at the fire they could almost hear the sound of Marvin Gaye. The campers could feel the heat wash over them, in a way that reflected the heat of Florida.

“It was a college party...in the summer of 1974….”

“Okay, well that was dark. Interesting, but dark. I like it.” Mae had shifted from her seat on a log onto the dirt beneath, slumping with her back against the bark lethargically. Others nodded in agreement.

“Shall we lighten the mood with a happier story?” Bubbles asked, lifting her hands to warm them above the lively fire. It was quiet for a second before Mae spoke up again.

“I have one.” She changed her posture to sit slightly straighter when all eyes were on her. “It’s about a couple that got turned into fairies while camping in the woods one summer night.”

“Is that a drug reference?” Lillia raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“No.” Mae frowned.

“Knowing you, ‘turning into fairies’ could mean anything.” Lillia shrugged, earning chuckles from the group. The fire crackled just as Mae sent a sharp glare at the woman, but her lips betrayed her as they began to curl upwards at the teasing.

“My story has nothing to do with drugs— but it does involve magic.” This caught the attention of the crowd. “Did you know that fairies occupy many wooded areas around the world? Yeah, they tend to hide from humans, but in desperate times they can use their powers to recruit our help, just as they did last summer.

“It happened somewhere in the Rocky Mountains in August of last year…”

Those scattered around the fire were left captivated by the fantastical tail Mae had spun. They had even paused from their s’more-making escapades, each slowly contemplating the idea of fairies. Some eyed the surrounding area outside the camp, others picked up where they left off preparing more marshmallows for their delicious dessert endeavors. In amongst the slowly roasting marshmallows was one completely engorged in flames.

“Uh, Jester your marshmallow is on fire?”

“Yup, that’s how I like them” She grinned brightly with green eyes sparkling full of mischief as she blew out the fireball that had encased the blackened crispy confectionary that once resembled a marshmallow. She shoved it into her mouth and shouted “My turn!”

“I have a good one.” Jester’s sharp grin seemed to be hiding something. “Hold onto your hats, this one is from my trip to Greece. You must always be careful when you travel to another country because anything can happen.

“It started in Mykonos...”

“And that’s what happens when you meet strangers in another country. I should have learned from the first two times I went overseas” Jester shrugged “Wild stuff, though”

“Actually no” Gabi interjected, pointing her finger in a pause gesture while she collected her thoughts.

“Nope” Kyub’s eyes were wide; she blinked, once, twice in disbelief. Before she shook her head as if trying to rattle the thoughts back into place.

“That’s famously not what happens when you meet strangers in another country” Gabi continued her thought with a small sound of concern.

“Yeah, I’m with them — that is most definitely not what happens.” Sepha laughed as Jester looked up confused. “Most people don’t go home with strangers, though, so I guess you could be right.”

“I mean yeah, that one was my bad I guess” Jester laughed.

“Who’s next?” Amunet asked excitedly, wishing to listen to more of the nightly stories.

Kyub looked a little nervous but after taking a deep breath she was determined to unleash her summer tale by way of pictures on her phone. “Mine isn’t exactly a story, I have some photos that I took over the summer that I think really tell a story. It was in a cemetery” her voice was sweet and gentle.

“We would love to see!” Alexis smiled reassuring the young girl. Everyone seemed intrigued by the idea of the photos and how they would tell the story.

“It’s up to interpretation...”

“That is amazing, how did that even happen?”

“You know the saying, ‘a picture is worth one thousand words’ and you have two” Jester grinned “like he is keeping the flowers a secret or like the flowers are something he loves and cherishes but keeps hidden.” Other voices chimed in:

“It feels so sad.”

“It feels so jarring that the colour is stripped away.”

“I like to think the first image is kinda, like, wistful or reminiscing and then when he looks down it is the reality.”

The entire camp seemed hit with raw emotion. There was a collective look of disbelief and someone sighed “That is so well done.”

Everyone had finished their stories and games for the evening and numbers started dwindling as the late hour took the sleepy camp goer’s. They all were settling for the evening, tents and sleeping bags rustling in the background alongside the occasional giggle, whisper and yawn.

Rolling out the khaki green bedroll, was Jester looking small in the contrasting light from the fire and shadow from the night.

“Jester, where are you sleeping, do you wanna share a tent?” Gabi asked, deciding to offer a shelter.

“Nah, I got my swag, I’m gonna lay by the fire and watch the sky.” She laid back and squinted up at the stars. “You should visit my little corner of the world where the stars look like milk.”

Credits: Thank you @youarejesting for working on this masterlist and @kyub for doing the amazing banner! And thank you to all of our writers, editors and betas who worked hard on this project: @youarejesting , @kyub, @dead-starlight, @bubblebunnylia, @sweetnspicy93, @bussy-posts, @jiminniethemarshmallow, @moccahobi, @yourmoonchild1023, @jung-hoseok-s-airplane, and @hesperantha for betaing the masterlist!!!

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yupuffin · 6 years ago

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Why You Probably Think Nezumi’s Hair Looks Silly

(and why it’s probably not as bad as you think it is)

In the past I’ve written a few anime analysis posts with varying degrees of seriousness. My last post along these lines was not the most lighthearted read, but fortunately, this time around, I spontaneously got an idea for a less serious topic to write about. I managed to keep up with the anime JUNI TAISEN: ZODIAC WAR right on the tail end of its release, which I believe was crucial to my ultimate enjoyment of this series. What I did not manage to do was predict that Nezumi would end up my favorite character (although I’m certainly not complaining, given, for one, how much inspiration his narrative has given me for analytical posts such as this one).

Like most other viewers, I comfortably got to know Nezumi over the course of the story, but when the episode that focuses on his backstory rolled around, I was not sufficiently prepared for the most dramatic reveal of all!!: his true... hairstyle?

As usual, an obligatory warning for spoilers under the cut.

Let’s face it, the assumption that, under all of that armor, Nezumi is just a plain grey-haired anime boy is completely reasonable based on what we see of him i the first eleven episodes. Sure, we see that the armor on his head is shaped rather oddly, but -- I don’t know about you, but I merely assumed that its sole function was to provide a visual pun in reference to his zodiac animal and ability: the protruding portions are shaped like rodent ears, and match nicely with what I would guess is an ear cover shaped like a computer mouse (haha -- because of Hundred Click, and because he’s a rat). Alas, how very wrong I was, because it turns out, that part is actually --

...A HAIR PROTECTOR?

Okay, back up for a minute. What’s the deal with this?

As it is without the fwooshes (as I affectionately call the longer, flowing, reminiscent-of-rodent-ears portion of Nezumi’s hairstyle), short, solid-colored hair is a pretty typical style for any generic anime character, and based on what we can see when Nezumi is wearing his very stylish armor, we don’t really have any reason to think to ourselves, “Oh yeah, I bet his hair totally fwooshes out under those rat ears,” because we’ve never really seen it before -- or, if we have, characters with simple, short hair like you’d see on a normal person are much, MUCH more common. So, since that’s the basis of information we have to refer to, that’s what we conclude, and we never really give it a second thought until finally, in the very last episode, we see Nezumi in his civilian garb, and his hair, is in fact, very much not normal.

(Granted, there are slight visual indications of the presence of the fwooshes even when Nezumi is wearing his armor, or even the hooded sweatshirt he dons in the ending animation, but since we don’t have the expectation that there’s any ornamentation there to begin with, they are very easy to miss. That’s how the human brain works -- we tend not to notice things that we don’t expect to be there. This is effectively supported by one of my favorite studies of all time, which involves an animal whose close relative also participates in the Juni Taisen.)

Because Nezumi’s hairstyle is highly unusual and blatantly contradicts our expectations, it’s a big surprise when it’s finally revealed. From what I can tell based on the posts that were floating around on Tumblr, as well as other platforms, on the same day that the final episode of JUNI TAISEN was released, the overall response was one of shock. I recall reading the consensus that Nezumi’s hairstyle was thought of as “silly” (heck, I even said out loud to myself as I was watching the episode, in spite of how emotionally attached I was starting to get to him, “that looks stupid!”) and I distinctly remember reading a post that simply told Nezumi to “get a new haircut.” Again, given our previous assumptions and conclusions, this reaction is understandable. For eleven episodes prior, we got used to seeing Nezumi in cool-looking warrior armor, which, despite his meek disposition, makes him look strong and capable in battle on the outside. Hence, the flowing, delicate, arguably more feminine silhouette given by his everyday appearance is incredibly incongruous.

As anyone who has seen KADO: The Right Answer (another of my favorite anime to analyze, so shameless plug here) can certainly argue, properly executed surprises evoke a strong emotional response from the audience, and the artists behind JUNI TAISEN definitely did not design Nezumi thinking that the audience wouldn’t be at least a little bit surprised when they grew intimately familiar with an armor-clad Warrior of the Rat who was then revealed to be a normal schoolboy with strangely fwooshy hair in his everyday life. Hence, the pronounced and highly specific emotional reaction the audience experiences upon this reveal was evoked intentionally. However, the function of this response changes depending on your particular experience of the series.

The anime JUNI TAISEN: ZODIAC WAR is based on a one-shot manga released in January 2015 titled “The One Wish That Must Be Granted, and the Ninety-Nine That Can Be Done Without,” which, as you can probably guess from the shared name, encompasses what is essentially the exact same story retold in the twelfth episode of the JUNI TAISEN anime; hence, JUNI TAISEN functions as a sequel to the original manga, despite taking place beforehand from a chronological standpoint. As a result, the original manga is all about Nezumi; the readers have no previous experience to refer to when first diving in -- not even any background on the function of JUNI TAISEN in its dystopian society, or who any of the other characters are. In this case, Nezumi’s hairstyle does not exactly function as a surprise due to this lack of background. Instead, the added visual interest of Nezumi’s hair fwooshes make him less plain and more interesting to the reader. With normal hair, he would just be another main character anime schoolboy, and, because of his lack of other redeeming or heroic qualities (which makes him such an intriguing character in the narrative of a battle royale), there would not be much about him to make him memorable to the reader. (What he does have going for him is that his plainness and his general ambivalence towards the high school experience makes him particularly relatable to anyone who has also gone through that sort of thing.) Perhaps, in the case of the original manga, Nezumi’s hair was indeed simply an attention-grabbing visual quirk added mostly as a shoutout to his signature animal, the rat.

On the other hand, the JUNI TAISEN anime seems to be written under the assumption that the viewer is not already familiar with the original one-shot manga, hence the surprised reaction to Nezumi’s hairstyle reveal. This response adds some emotional interest and investment to an episode that would otherwise start out in a rather mundane fashion, and probably have the viewer thinking not much other than “Okay, here we go with yet another character introduction. I wonder what he’s going to wish for? Maybe, instead of watching, I’ll space out for the duration of the episode wondering what I would wish for.” This would be in stark contrast to the backstories of some of the other warriors, which tickled our emotions by making us feel for them to varying degrees. However, by instantly giving the audience a new, unexpected cue for a pronounced emotional response, Nezumi’s character design makes the viewers more emotionally vulnerable in preparation for the figurative roller coaster that is the twelfth episode. One of the major factors in my falling in love with Nezumi was the poignant expertise and effectiveness with which the narrative of “The One Wish That Must Be Granted, and the Ninety-Nine That Can Be Done Without” was composed to evoke very particular and measured emotional responses in the audience. We feel our pulses quicken as Nezumi frantically deliberates about which of his ninety-nine wishes would be the best one; our hearts sink when we witness Nezumi cry for the first time, begging that his one desire is to forget his experience of 139-plus horrifically violent deaths; and finally, we feel catharsis when Nezumi shows us his first smile, as though there was nothing more he ever wanted in the world.

Now, if the viewer was spacing out throughout this whole episode, none of this would have anywhere near as much of an emotional impact. Hence, as silly as it might look, the “surprise” factor behind Nezumi’s unusual hairstyle is actually critical for ensuring not only that the viewer is paying attention, but also that their emotions are activated and prepared to be fully invested in the story -- a necessity to experience full satisfaction at its deceptively meaningful conclusion.

And once you’ve recovered from that shock, maybe you’ll be like me and start to think that Nezumi’s hair actually looks kind of pretty.

That’s all I have for today on that subject! I hope you enjoyed reading this much more lighthearted analysis post. If you find this type of writing particularly interesting, feel free to take a look at some of my other anime analysis posts you may like. A few of them are linked in various places throughout this post, but here they all are in chronological order for your convenience:

Why I Love Nezumi (and the ending to JUNI TAISEN in general)

The Meaning of Meaninglessness in JUNI TAISEN: ZODIAC WAR and KADO: The Right Answer

Deus Ex Machina in KADO: The Right Answer, part 1

Deus Ex Machina in KADO: The Right Answer, part 2: Yaha-kui zaShunina as the Tragic Hero

*slaps roof of KADO* this bad boy can fit so much meaningful dialogue in it

JUNI TAISEN: ZODIAC WAR: Remember to Die

You can also find all of these by browsing through the “anime analysis” tag on my blog.

Additionally, my ask box is always open if you have any questions, want me to clarify something, have an idea about anything else you want me to write about, or if you just want to give me an excuse to gush about Nezumi for a little while!

#juni taisen #juuni taisen #juni taisen zodiac war #anime analysis #i don't think anybody reads these but i hope someone finds them and enjoys them as much as i enjoy writing them someday #because i'm going to keep writing these probably forever #no matter what i write about these always come out to about 1750 words each #the function of a tragic hero? 1750 words. nezumi's hair? 1750 words #i guess that's just the rhythm that works naturally for me

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littlemisssquiggles · 6 years ago

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RWBY Musings #48: The possible mystical connection between the Faunus and the existence of magic in Remnant. Were the Faunus formerly animals that were made human by magic?

@bloomfireprincess asked “I love your musings! Especially the possible origins of the silver eyed warriors! But how do you think the Faunus fit into it?

Maybe they were the first beings created by the elder brother, and he created the silver eyed after to protect his creation and the world? What if that's the deep seeded resentment, that they were first but pushed to the background by the humans?”

Squiggles Answers:

@bloomfireprincess Hey Bloom. Though my original intent was to wait until my original files were salvaged, as of this week, I’m still awaiting a positive update on the state of my old system. So given my recent streak of RWBY Remarks, I figured it’d be more favourable to just resume working on my musing posts even if it meant starting from scratch.

I know I said I had started your answers before in a previous file but I think the theories I shared in this new post exceeded my previous points. So I think you might like them.So here I am, at long last with my response to your questions. So without keeping you waiting any longer, let’s dive right into it:

Silver Lining

“How do I think the Faunus fit into the origins of the Silver Eyed Warriors? Were the Faunus the first beings created by the Elder Brother? Were Silver Eyes created to protect the Faunus as the first creations of the God of Light?”

These are some great questions Bloom. While I do like your idea about the Faunus possibly being one of the first forms of life created by the God of Light, however I personally don’t think this is the case. Not to discourage you or debunk your theory by the way.

As I said, it’s a great hunch. I just have my own idea of how the Faunus fit into the history of Remnant and sadly, my concept involves the Faunus’ origin coming a little later into the world.

Similar to the First People of Remnant, I also don’t believe that the Silver Eyed Warriors shared any ties to the Faunus either. Just as I described in my original post on the Silver Eyes, my main guess is still that they were an ancient race of beings that existed in a time before the current Remnant, in a previous world that was the God of Light’s first attempt at a planet filled with life that was soon thwarted by the God of Darkness and his monstrous Grimm.

I still think the Moon of Remnant is a relic of that original world that was partially destroyed after the Brother Gods first opposed one another and pitted their strongest creations: the Creatures of Grimm and the Silver Eyed Warriors against each other in a War that hurt the planet.

Or…perhaps the Moon was formerly the home world to the original Silver Eyed Warriors that the God of Light had intended to make into Remnant or another New World with the Silver Eyes as its first people. However all of that amounted to nothing because the God of Darkness sent forth his monsters to destroy everything. Either way I strongly believe there is a deeper connection between the Moon of Remnant and the Silver Eyed Warriors.

This makes me wonder something now. I wonder if the Creatures of Grimm weren’t the God of Darkness’ most dangerous creations but his second. When I think of the character of Salem and consider the uniqueness of the type of creature she is, it makes me wonder if Salem might’ve been part of another ancient race from the same era as the Silver Eyes.

In RWBY Musing #39, I shared a theory about Salem previously being a human woman who was part of the First People of Remnant. I theorized that in her past life, Salem was Ales (or Elsa as some of you preferred) and she was the partner and lover of Ozpin.

The Eve to his Adam as I speculated that in his very first lifetime, Oz was the First Man of Remnant under an original name of his own that I dubbed Emmanuel. In a similar fashion to Eve in the Bible, Salem was manipulated by a Grimm that resulted in her being banished by the Gods after trying to steal the Relics. Later on, Salem becomes fully possessed by said Grimm, turning her into the Wicked Witch and proclaimed Mother of the Grimm that we know her to be. That was one theory I shared for Salem’s beginning. Now I have another assumption.

I’ve brought up Grimm-like human hybrids before, correct? What if…before Remnant, before even the Creatures of Grimm, there were others like Salem. For lack of a better term, I’m going to refer to these beings as the Grimmoire (cause why not).

What if…in the forgotten past that Salem once quoted back in V1, in the first incarnation of the World that became the Moon, the Brother Gods feuded over the fate of this old world and sent their strongest creations to war: The Silver Eyed Warriors and the Grimmoire.

It could help justify how Salem is able to communicate and control the Grimm. Her being part of an original race born from the same dark powers as the Grimm---the very first one of their kind---then it would make as much sense for her to lead them as it would if Salem was just a superior type of Grimm possessing a human body. It could also explain how Salem can ‘create’ the Grimm.

What if…Salem was even the Queen of the Grimmoire---the First and only surviving member of her race with powers beyond that of any of her kind. Powers that made her just as great as a god. A goddess as Tyrian once put it.

It could also explain Salem’s interest in Ruby. Ruby is a Silver Eyed Warrior and as far as I know, the only one in existence in Remnant. If Salem is a Grimmoire (granted that my theory is canon) and the Grimmoire are like the Grimm then the Silver Eyes are their main weakness. Salem’s weakness. It’d make sense for Salem to want to see how her ‘old nemesis’ held up in the current Remnant especially if she’s following up from the previous one she encountered, referring to Summer Rose.

Pulling from RWBY Musing #46, I believe Ozpin sent Summer Rose on her last mission which got her killed. That mission was to defeat Salem once and for all. But Summer failed and died because she wasn’t strong enough as a Silver Eyed Warrior. Now that burden and responsibility has fallen to Ruby who has the chance to become a fully-realized Silver Eyes with the power to put an end to Salem.

Buuuuut…I’m getting off track here.

Returning to the Faunus---it’s as I said, I don’t see a connection between the Silver Eyes and the Faunus. If it were anyone else, like the Brother Gods or Ozpin or even Salem, then yes, most definitely. But not the Faunus. I believe the Faunus have their own origin that is completely separate from the Silver Eyes.

That being said I do like your idea of other Silver Eyes being reborn into the current Remnant to be the protectors of mankind. It ties in with a little follow-up hunch I have about the God of Light creating a couple of Silver Eyes to defend the First People of Remnant and their first kingdom. Perhaps it were even the Silver Eyes who inspired and helped shape Remnant’s first legion of huntsmen.

However I’m not sure how that will fit since in the main series, apart from Ozpin, no one else seems to know about the Silver Eyes. As for the Faunus, I’m starting to think they might’ve come later in Remnant’s history. At least a little ways after Mankind had already started colonizing Remnant.

Man and Faunus

A lot of the history surrounding the Faunus and their resentment towards man was actually already explained in World of Remnant. The Faunus are basically indigenous people of Remnant. According to the episode on the Faunus; they were first discovered by early man at some point in Remnant’s history.

But because of Man misinterpreting them as a threat due to their animalistic traits, the Faunus; who were once a free race left to roam Remnant as their home, they were instead driven into a life of danger and ridicule at the hands of the very man who mistook their kind for monsters.

These are some quotes on the History and Biology of the Faunus and their connexion to Mankind taken from RWBY V5 C4.5 (World of Remnant: Faunus):

“…As far as everyone’s aware, Faunus have been around as long as mankind; if not a little longer. History gets a little fuzzy past a certain point. But we do know that their kind and ours are completely compatible from a biological standpoint…”

“…Scientists are still scratching their heads when it comes to a lot about the Faunus. But science isn’t the problem; it’s how we all get along, or in this case, how we don’t…”

“…Early man was scared to death of the Faunus and honestly, it’s not too hard to sympathize with that. Seeing something that looks like you and acts like you walk out of the forest and reveal a pair of fangs can be a…little upsetting…

Like most things Man doesn’t understand, all sorts of rumors and stories surround the Faunus. People avoided them like the plague, pushing them out of settlements and sometimes even hunting them down.

Man began to outnumber the Faunus and the Faunus began to consider Man as nothing more than a hostile species.

These clashes between species were unavoidable as land that was safe from the Grimm was in constant short supply. But it was the Grimm that finally brought Humans and Faunus together for the first time. A village in Sanus fell under attack and the reason anyone survived was because the Humans and Faunus united against their common enemy. It was a step in the right direction but it didn’t fix everything.

Once humanity learnt that they weren’t so different from the Faunus, they still used those differences as an excuse to exploit and alienate them. The trade men of the Faunus differed around the world and things wouldn’t improve much for them until the Great War.

Vale and Vacuo against Mantle and Mistral. A war unlike anything anyone had ever seen. And when it was over, the world was desperate to find compromises to ensure they never see the likes of it again.

The Faunus were awarded equal rights as citizens of Remnant. And as an apology, they were given an entire continent of their own to do with as they pleased. There were some who saw this as fair and just. But many saw it for what it really was---a slap in the face from a nation of sore losers. And so Menagerie was born.

There’s still Faunus all over the world. Though the fair equality they were promised varies from place to place, but Menagerie will always be their safe haven. Here’s the thing though, you can only push and prod people so much before they reach a tipping point. And when you pack those people together, it just makes it all the easier for them to get organized and get even…”

This info actually ties into what Blake explained to Sun when they first arrived in Menagerie back in V4.

“…We asked to be equal, to be treated just like everyone else. Instead we were given an island and told to make do. So we did the best we could. We came together and we made a home where any Faunus could feel welcome. But this island, this town, will always be a reminder that we're still not equal. That we're still second class citizens…"

To once live in an free open world only to have mankind basically just give you one patch of land when the entire world used to be fair game to be shared by both man and Faunus---when you look at it from that standpoint, as a viewer I don’t blame the Faunus for being displeased.

I mean, speaking as someone of African descent from a nation that was once colonialized under the British before we gained our own independence, I could imagine being very displeased if suddenly all the black people or perhaps all the people of colour in the world were forced into one single area on the map and told to make do with the landscape. All the while still being treated as outcasts by the population if they dared tried to make a life in another area. That sort of life wouldn’t be the most ideal.

But that’s only one aspect of the Faunus’s history. The only thing that wasn’t answered about the Faunus was where they came from. You would think that the easy answer would be that Man and Faunus were cut from the same cloth as both creations of the Brother Gods, right? But what’s odd to me is that there was no clarification of that during Qrow’s rendition of the Tale of the Brother Gods story.

The Tale of the Brother Gods, as told by Qrow Branwen in V4, C8:

"…Not many people are super religious these days. This world's been around for a long time, long enough that people have created dozens of gods. But if you believe Ozpin, two of them are actually real. They were brothers.

The older sibling, the God of Light, found joy in creating forces of life. Meanwhile, the younger brother, the God of Darkness, spent his time creating forces of destruction.

As you can imagine, they both had pretty different ideas about how things should go. The older one would spend his days creating water, plants, wildlife. And at night, his brother would wake to see all the things that the elder had made and become disgusted. To counteract his brother's creations, the God of Darkness brought drought, fire, famine, all that he could do to rid Remnant of life. But life always returned.

So one night, the younger brother went and made something. Something that share his innate desire to destroy anything and everything.

The Creatures of Grimm. You guessed it.

The older brother had finally had enough. Knowing that their feud couldn't last like this forever, he proposed that they make one final creation. Together. Something that they could both be proud of. Their masterpiece. Younger brother agreed. This last great creation would be given the power to both create and destroy. It would be given the gift of knowledge, so that it could learn about itself and the world around it. And most importantly, it would be given the power to choose, to have free will to take everything it had learned and decide which path to follow: The Path of Light or the Path of Darkness. And that is how humanity came to be…"

At the end of the Brother Gods story, Qrow mentions that they made ‘humanity’ together. Sure you could make the argument that when Qrow said ‘humanity’ he was referring to both Man and the Faunus, right?

However to make sure, I checked back V4 C8 at the exact point when Qrow brought up the Brother Gods creating Humanity. In the final shot when he was describing the Brother’s collaborated creation, we get one image with a group of silhouettes to represent humanity being born in Remnant.

However…I don’t recognize any Faunus in this shot. How strange that all of these shapes appear human and not one of them represents the Faunus species. Either the Faunus were omitted from this depiction because a CRWBY production artist forget to add some Faunus to the shot and no one noticed till after the episode was made (which I doubt) or…it was done intentionally to show that when the Brothers made humanity, they only made Mankind. Not the Faunus.

This is, however, slightly contradicted a bit by what Qrow said on the Faunus in World of Remnant: Faunus.

Then again…the wording ‘as far as everyone’s aware’ gives me the impression that this is more a common assumption in Remnant as opposed to an actual fact. As far as any Remnant historian is concerned, the Faunus were around for as long as man. Simple deduction but there aren’t any further provided evidence to support this. As a matter of fact, the show even goes out of its way to explain it that way--- as if no one is truly clear on the exact origins of the Faunus either. That’s a cool touch.

Additionally, the Faunus being around as long as mankind; if not a little longer doesn’t necessarily mean that the Faunus came before or even around the same time Mankind was born. If anything, I think it more hints that the Faunus might have longer lifespans that allow them to outlive the average human.

Who knows? Perhaps there are ancient Faunus in the modern Remnant who have lived for decades and can probably shed light on history surrounding their own kind not known to others and the audience. While there isn’t much more canonical evidence from the series to support this assumption, there isn’t anything to denounce it either. So for now, it remains a possibility.

The impression I get here is that there is no clear origin of where exactly the Faunus came from. As I said, the practical conclusion would’ve been to assume that all Faunus were a created by the Brother Gods.

However, the weird part is that each time RWBY delves into the Faunus; it’s presented in a manner that makes me assume otherwise. Heck, the very first line that Qrow says in World of Remnant Faunus is:

“…Y’know most of us spend a lot of time talking about Mankind versus Grimm, but technically, there is a third party in the mix. The Faunus…”

My point is that there’s some other underlining mystery surrounding where the Faunus came from. A little extra thing we have yet to learn about them. I mean I guess it could be a ruse set up by the CRWBY Writers to subvert the audience from the actual clear truth that the Faunus are being treated as inferior to Man despite sharing the same origins. When you look at it that way, it makes sense especially in the context of the narrative the series has already created for the Faunus.

Still… I wish to divert from that and toss in another potential consideration that could also be an outcome.

What if…the Brother Gods only created mankind and it was another entity that made the Faunus and brought them into Remnant?

An interesting ideology, yes? I’m probably reading too much into this but it’s just a feeling I have based on all the info I’ve gathered on the Faunus so far from the canon series.

But now pegs the question: If the Brother Gods didn’t create the Faunus then who did and with what?

Here's what I think.

Where Have All the Animals Gone?

I’m not saying that animals don’t exist in Remnant. However what I do find a little peculiar is that we haven’t seen much animals in RWBY.

I mean we’ve seen one or two animals establishing that they do exist in the World of Remnant. It’s just that…I find it weird, not to mention ironic, that we see more of the Faunus and the Creatures of Grimm than actual legit real animals. I find this funny since both species have been called out for their animalistic similarities.

“…Each Faunus has a single animalistic trait; some more apparent than others…” ---World of Remnant: Faunus

“… Many ancient cultures believed the Creatures of Grimm to be animals possessed by evil spirits or perhaps the spirits of tortured animals themselves. However, further study---as well as the discovery of newer, more horrific forms of Grimm---does not support this hypothesis. With new creatures discovered every day, scientists perpetually find themselves with more questions than answers…”---World of Remnant: Grimm

I can actually count the real animals I’ve spotted in RWBY thus far on my fingers alone. There is RWBY’s number one indestructible Grimm-bashing power Corgi, Zwei, who everyone knows. There was that one bird (I think it was a crow) that Ruby accidentally knocked down back in V1 after Ozpin launched all the students off the cliff into the Emerald Forest. There was the horse that Fall Maiden Amber was seen riding in V3.

And lastly, there were the numerous flocks of birds that we’ve spotted throughout volumes and character shorts between the first trilogy and the Mistral Arc. I mean at least there are birds, right?

After that…that’s it. I can’t recall seeing anymore. Correct me if I’m wrong if you’ve spotted others. Like I said, we know animals do exist in Remnant since the characters have food and products that come from animals like milk and meat. So at least we know there are animals raised as livestock for food. But why haven’t we seen more? You get what I’m saying, right?

For the love of Oum, Oscar Pine is a character who literally grew up on a farm and still we don’t so much as see a single cow or chicken or sheep roaming said farm. Seriously, where are all the animals?

Either the budget required for the CRWBY to model, rig and animate animals into RWBY is so high that it’s cumbersome to dare try or…there is an actual narrative world-building reason why we don’t see a lot more real animals roaming Remnant.

The smart alec answer might be ‘Squiggles, we don’t see any real animals in RWBY because real animals aren’t important to the story of RWBY. Doi!’ to which, I say, you’re probably 100% right in that regards and I’m most likely just overthinking things as usual.

However…this squiggle meister is curious about something. Let’s say… there is a connection between the Faunus and the animals of Remnant.

What if…and this is a big if…the Faunus---the First Faunus originated from animals given human likeness by someone who possessed the power to do so. What I’m trying to say is that I think the Faunus were created using magic.

Think about it. What’s the closest thing in the universe of RWBY to the power of the Brother Gods? The answer is magic.

As demonstrated by Professor Ozpin, if magic has the potential to grant humans the ability to turn into animals like in the case of the Branwen Twins. Then who’s to say the reverse isn’t possible where magic can turn animals into what we know as the Faunus?

This is why I don’t think there’s a connection between the Silver Eyed Warriors and the Faunus. I think the Silver Eyes predate even the Faunus. If I had to make a list of beings in Remnant based on who I believe were created first, it would go:

The Creatures of Grimm (by the God of Darkness), the Silver Eyed Warriors (by the God of Light again to firstly combat the Grimm in the God’s Feud), Mankind (by both Brother Gods working together) and then the Faunus.

This is only my assumption but I think the Faunus came into the picture after Mankind had already started populating the world. My only thing is that I’m not sure what Remnant was like in the ancient days after the world was made and the First People of Remnant walked the earth starting to create civilization.

If magic does exist in the RWBY-verse then, just like the Silver Eyed Warriors, was magic or the use of the mystical arts another thing that was been lost and forgotten to time?

I mean Qrow did imply once that Remnant had been around for a very long time. So who knows what kind of eras existed in the world before arriving at the modern time that we recognize.

Perhaps there was a period in Remnant’s history where magic was a prominent thing so it was more recognized by the general public as opposed to the current story where the very prospect of magic sounds so farfetched, even the main characters are in disbelief of its existence.

“ ...Legends; stories scattered through time, mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains; forgetting so easily that we are remnants, by products of a forgotten past...” --- RWBY VI CI

Perhaps magic was more known during the time of the First People of Remnant, a time when the Brother Gods made their presence more known to the world as I described in RWBY Musing #39.

Or…perhaps magic was just something that only a handful of people knew existed and could only vouch for it after encountering the one being in the Remnant we know possesses magic.

Or…perhaps the skill for one to use magic derives from years of training one’s Aura to the point that they become more than just a mere mortal and awaken newer kinds of powers.

“…Unlocking your Semblance isn’t the end. It can still grow and evolve. Providing you’re willing to put in the work, who knows what could happen…” --- Ozpin (RWBY V5: C4)

“…With enough training and focus, a user's Aura can turn them into something much more than just a man...”---World of Remnant: Aura

I’m not quite sure what the case with that will be. All I’m here to state is that maybe there is indeed a magical connection to the Faunus.

What does Remnant, the Grimm and Mankind all have in common? They were all created by powerful supernatural beings who possessed magic or the power of a god or however you chose to refer it. The same could be said for the Faunus.

I just don’t think it was the magic of the gods that spawned the Faunus but more so another character known for possessing the closest equivalent to such a ‘god-like’ power.

God of the Faunus

Now for the real meat of this post. Once upon a time, I read a RWBY Theory from back in the early days of V1 and V3 where a fan theorized that Ozpin created the Faunus. Though interesting, at the time I didn’t know what to make of that theory because I guess there wasn’t much canonical evidence to support it. Now seasons later, I’m beginning to wonder if that original theorist might’ve been on to something.

It’s not to say that the Faunus, the First Faunus, were originally lab experiments that escaped into the wilds of Remnant. That wouldn’t really make sense since according to the World of Remnant episode on the Faunus; they existed long before the current Remnant where technology is booming.

So the theory that makes sense, at least for now, is the one about Faunus being animals transformed into the Faunus via magic.

And who do we know in the RWBY series has the power to turn animals into humans? Ozpin. Here me out with this one. As I said, it was already established in the series canon that Ozpin has dabbled in using his power to ‘create special beings’ in his past lives.

I wouldn’t exactly call the Maidens a race of powerful beings but they are close enough. The Maidens were technically normal women who were granted immense power beyond anything norm in Remnant and they were created singlehandedly by Ozpin.

And let’s not forget, that Ozpin also granted the Branwen Twins the ability to shapeshift into birds. And he made that possible for the Branwens with just a sliver of his magic all in his past life.

So…if Oz’s magic can turn humans into animals, what’s to say his magic can’t do the opposite? I’m starting to slowly believe that Oz might’ve unintentionally created the Faunus using his magic. I don’t have much more evidence from the canon series to support this but, it’s starting to make sense given what we know of Ozpin, his abilities and the unknown origins of the Faunus provided by the series.

When I say Oz unintentionally made the Faunus, I mean it could have been a scenario that occurred after he was reincarnated for the first time and realized he had powers. Now I’d imagine that in his second or third lifetimes, Ozpin originally did not have as much grasp on his magical skill so he probably had moments where he suffered a couple ‘boo-boos’ with using magic or legit moments where his magic did things that he never anticipated would happen.

I mean, I’m sure when Ozpin first created the Maidens he didn’t anticipate that the power would ‘evolve’ the way it did so that the original Four Maidens could each have successors that would carry on their legacy of power and continue to aid Oz in the protection of the Relics. After all, I’m sure it must’ve surprised Oz the first time he learnt that the Maiden Magic could be passed onto another.

For my fellow FNDM fam who watch Nomad of Nowhere. Spoilers for the first season but remember how the Papa magician that created the Nomad didn’t expect it to possess magic of its own.

Imagine if… there was a similar scenario with Ozpin where, in his past life, he probably encountered some poor animals that had been preyed upon and injured by the Grimm.

In his attempt to help those animals, Ozpin used his magic in hopes that his power might heal the creatures. However what he did not anticipate was for his power to turn the animals into human-like beings still retaining their animalistic features. And that’s how the First Faunus were born.

It’s be interesting, not to mention kinda funny if, Ozpin used his magic on some animals and didn’t realize that he had made the Faunus until a few lifetimes later when word of the existence of the Faunus became rampant throughout Remnant.

You think that a person like Ozpin who’s lived many lifetimes would have also played some part in shaping Remnant’s history, especially for the Faunus, right?

Imagine if…Remember that memorable point in Remnant history when Mankind and Faunus came together for the first time to fight the Grimm in that village in Sanus? Perhaps in one of his previous lives, Ozpin was somehow responsible for instigating that?

What if…Ozpin was somehow responsible for planting the seeds that also lead to the Faunus receiving equal rights following the first Great War too?

I mean a common theory among RWBY theorists is the belief that Oz was formerly the King of Vale who helped end the Great War. So who knows how much Oz has played a part in shaping Remnant’s history for both mankind and the Faunus.

You never know. I wouldn’t put it past him if he did since he is the only known human in Remnant who has that kind of power and influence.

If Ozpin’s predecessors were responsible for creating the Maidens and essentially founding the Four Huntsmen Academies that house the Relics while also appointing his most trusted to be the Headmasters. For real, what else has Ozpin done to shape the world? But I’m getting ahead of myself here.

Back on the Faunus, I honestly would not be surprised if later we learnt that not only was Ozpin formerly responsible for creating the Faunus but also shaping every event that led to ‘his creations’ finding their place in the world. That sounds like something Oz would do, right?

With this in mind, this brings up a curious question I have about the Faunus. Religion isn’t something that’s normally discussed or depicted in RWBY. I mean, Qrow just mentions the possibility of it in V4 like an afterthought.

That being said, I wonder if there are indeed those ‘super religious’ cultures in Remnant comprised of people who spend their days praying to said ‘created gods’. If some of them are the Faunus then who do the Faunus view as their god?

I ask this question because I have this concept where somewhere in Faunus culture; there is an interpretation of who the Faunus believe as their god--- the mystical entity they believed created their species. This depiction is one that Ozpin recognizes as one of his past lives. Meaning that the Faunus believed him to be their God; only reimagined as a Faunus. It’d be an interesting twist if the more religious Faunus believed that there God was probably a Faunus like them---A Faunus God of some sort; but in actuality they were made by an immortal wizard who is closer to human than Faunus.

I like this idea because it would tie into my hunch about Ozpin unknowingly creating the Faunus in one of his past lives with his magic. Not to mention that I also quite like the satire of the Faunus viewing Ozpin as a god when in actuality, the old wizard is nothing more than just an angel that fell from grace when he was cursed by the true Gods of Remnant for failing to stop the personification of the devil and their demons in the RWBY-verse.

‘…Born an angel, heaven-sent. Falls from grace are never elegant…’

When you put it like that, it sounds quite compelling. But for now, it’s only another hunch in a pool of hunches.

So in conclusion…

I am sooo sorry that it took me this me to answer you, Bloom. I know you told me that you don’t mind waiting but still, mucho apologies fam. Nonetheless, I hope this answered your question. Thanks for sending them to me by the way. I always appreciate hearing feedback from fellow RWBY fam regarding my posts so it was awesome to receive yours. It definitely helped me to concoct theories surrounding the Faunus that I never considered.

Honestly, it’d be really interesting if there was a side to Ozpin that harbours some inkling of a, not so much a grudge, but more so a feeling of longing to return to his former glory where he was someone in tune with the Gods. Or at least die and actually get to rest in peace this time instead of returning to complicate another successor’s livelihood. You don’t get a line like ‘born an angel, heaven sent’ for a character if it didn’t garner some symbolism for something important involving said character that involved real gods, y’know what I’m saying.

I truly like the thought of Ozpin, in a subconscious attempt to feel worthy or like the former angel he once was, using his magical powers to perform miracles he believed would aid mankind. Y’know…give his own gifts to mankind like the Brother Gods did before him.

I mean, he did create the Maidens and the Branwen Twins; in spite of fact that the Maidens became targets for the forces of evil to prey upon their magic including one of the Branwens who additionally became someone who is against him.

At least there’s the Faunus. Ozpin could’ve potentially given the people of Remnant the gift of the Faunus and look what good they did for man---y’know what, never mind.

I’d even go so far as to bring up the idea of Oz potentially creating the Silver Eyed Warriors too. I mean that’s another theory I’ve observed circulating the fandom. However as you know, I’m more in favour of my earlier hunch about the Silver Eyes being an early creation of the God of Light to combat the first onset of Grimm set by the God of Darkness or…perhaps another ancient race that resembles Salem. That’s my view on it.

I know they’re all just theories but I really like those ideas above anything else. Definitely more so than Ozpin creating the Silver Eyed Warriors. I mean it’s a terrific theory especially if anyone can sell the idea really well. But to me, not every magical concoction that suddenly appears in Remnant has to connect back to Ozpin.

I am inclined, however, to the belief of Ozpin sharing a close special bond to a former Silver Eyed Warrior in his first life.

I’m not talking about Oz being a Silver Eyed Warrior himself. But more like, perhaps one of the first people Ozpin ever truly loved or cared deeply for was in fact a Silver Eyed Warrior and his past with them is what also sparked his whole endless debacle with Salem. I really, really like this idea. Might talk about this some more in a future musing or remark or something. But for now, these are just my views.

Anyways, I hope you liked this musing. Let me know what you think Bloom and to all my other readers, I hope this musing was enjoyable and gave you something to muse about with RWBY.

More Squiggles’ RWBY Content

~LittleMissSquiggles (2018)

#rwby #rwby theories #professor ozpin #rwby faunus #blake belladonna #rwby musings

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allgoodmarks · 6 years ago

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ALL IN

The energy inside of the Sears Centre on September 1, 2018 was unlike anything I have ever experienced. The excitement was palpable. The halls echoed with anxious chatter and the occasional bellow of "SCU!". The merchandise table line stretched halfway around the arena. The door opened at 3:00ct and most everyone was bouncing in their seats by 4. We were ready to witness history that night.

When the lights dimmed, the crowd ignited. We were on our feet, we were screaming, cheering, chanting "All In, All In, All In!". Our expectations were high. They never fell an inch, and yet, they were surpassed magnificently.

Zero Hour

The audience was thrilled to see Cody and the Young Bucks at the start of the show. The three of them only had a spare 90 seconds, but they used the time to greet their fans, make some jokes, and give out free merchandise. A surprise appearance by Road Warrior Animal on his motorcycle hyped the crowd even more.

SoCal Uncensored vs. The Briscoes

The crowd was ready. No, we were more than ready. The enthusiastic chants of "SCU!" rocked the building as Scorpio Sky stood out in his red, white, and blue spangled robe and hat, and Frankie Kazarian showed his enthusiasm in black and gold Rocky trunks. The Briscoes stalked to the ring amongst a chorus of low boos. The audience was fantastic. They had their own part to play in this show, and they performed marvelously. They might have sold additional PPV subscriptions just by their enthusiasm. SCU and the Briscoes matched the crowd's energy with a great opening performance that was hard-hitting and entertaining.

Winners: SCU

Over Budget Battle Royal

This event featured a spectacular array of talent from diverse backgrounds and experiences. We were treated to a variety of great storylines all throughout the match. From Cheeseburger to Tommy Dreamer to Ethan Page to Jimmy Jacobs to Billy and Austin Gunn, there really was something for everyone in this match. Jordynne Grace stood out among the competitors, not only as the only female participant, but for a stellar performance. Her strength and skill were on full display, and the crowd erupted when we saw her face off against the Swolverine, Brian Cage. The crowd quickly got behind Marko Stunt and cheered him on against his much larger competition. Bully Ray was great playing the spoiler for so many participants and the climax between him and Chicago's favorite, Colt Cabana, was intense. The end of the match succeeded in being both expected and unexpected, as we all knew Flip Gordon would be a part of the show in some form or another. Still, his reveal brought the crowd to its feet with a deafening roar of celebration.

Winner: Flip Gordon

All In

MJF vs. Matt Cross

All In's first official match began with great heel action from MJF and clear audience support for Matt Cross. I had never had the privilege of seeing Cross perform live before, and everyone assured me I would be in for a spectacle. They were right! Cross is an athletic marvel. Watching him and MJF play off of one another was truly a delight.

Winner: Matt Cross

Christopher Daniels vs. Stephen Amell

Jerry Lynn entered the arena to cheers and a chant of "Jer-ry! Jer-ry!" This was a highly anticipated match with a great deal of uncertainty over how Stephen Amell would perform in only his third pro-wrestling match ever. He quieted his critics immediately with an impressive display of new skills. The audience responded with awe and respect for Amell's performance, but they were also solidly behind the veteran, Daniels. The longer the match stretched, the more tired Amell seemed to become, but he executed a wonderful Coast to Coast to an explosive cheer. To the audience's shock, Amell flew through the air and through a table at ringside. Of course, Jerry Lynn interfered in the match, much to the crowd's delight. Even with a loss, Stephen Amell impressed the audience with a great showing of potential.

Winner: Christopher Daniels

Tessa Blanchard vs. Chelsea Green vs. Madison Rayne vs. Britt Baker

A highly anticipated women's match that did not fail to impress. These four powerful and skilled women gave a performance that excelled on all fronts. Every woman had a solid fan base present. Green quickly became the crowd's favorite, having fun with a unique character. Blanchard dominated with her incredible strength, Rayne impressed with her athleticism, and Baker shone bright with great skill and passion. There was no slow or dull moment in this match. The audience cheered, clapped, and chanted throughout the duration, completely enthralled with these women's incredible performances. The first "This is awesome!" of the night rang throughout the building. The end came swiftly and unexpected, but the audience was ecstatic. A match that many people consider the show stealer ended in a wonderful show of respect between these incredibly skilled athletes.

Winner: Tessa Blanchard

Cody vs. Nick Aldis for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship

A great, historic match that began with the traditional walk to the ring surrounded by mentors and friends. Cody was accompanied by his family, Tommy Dreamer, Diamond Dallas Page, and even his dog, Pharaoh. As usual, Brandi Rhodes stood out with a gorgeous outfit, this one made of sheer fabric and sparkling like diamonds. The chant of "Cody! Cody! Cody!" pierced my ears and shook the arena. Nick Aldis surprised much of the audience with his entourage including Jeff Jarrett, Samuel Shaw, and Shawn Daivari. The crowd trembled with excitement. Even Earl Hebner as the referee was at a loss for words. Everyone was on their feet even before the match began. This promised to be a show-stealer and it did not disappoint.

The story of the match began early. Cody was the fan-favorite, the sentimental pick for the win. Aldis was the cold and calculated champion, ready to play spoiler to this fairy tale. The audience was shocked to see Hebner throw up the "X" to indicate injury to Cody early in the match. Everyone rose to their feet again, a concerned hush falling over the entire arena. When DDP ran to the ring, shortly followed by Daivari, the crowd perked up again, relieved that it was all part of the storyline. The sight of his own blood seemed to rejuvenate Cody and the match continued at a fast, exciting pace. Brandi took a huge bump when Aldis landed an elbow right in her back while she covered her husband with her own body. The match had several false finishes, but the pin came suddenly, and the audience leapt to its feet, as it had done so many times in this match.

The celebration began immediately, Cody and Brandi overcome with emotion, their fans shouting and screaming in elation. It was an amazing moment, seeing Cody hold the NWA Championship in the middle of the ring. Emotions ran high, tears flowed. It was a great moment for everyone, for Cody and his family and the fans watching around the world.

Winner: Cody, New NWW Worlds Heavyweight Champion

Joey Janela vs. Hangman Page in a Chicago Street Fight

No one envied Janela and Page with their task of following the incredible moment before them. Their match would have to be imaginative, exciting, and over the top. How would they, too, exceed expectations?

Penelope Ford, in a cute black and flower top, accompanied Janela that night. It did not take long for the Chicago Street Fight to explode to the outside of the ring, where Page introduced the first of many weapons in the match. The audience, still high from the previous combat, took a moment to settle in for this one, but the threat of violence from steel chairs, tables, ladders, and a literal cracker barrel from Cracker Barrel brought them back to their feet. Ford involved herself as well, displaying her incredible athleticism with Matrix-like dodge moves and a Stunner to Page. The audience erupted to see her dive off the top rope and hit him with a Cross-Body. The crowd responded with a "This is awesome!" chant. Excitement built as Janela set up two tables in the entranceway and Page Powerbombed him through them to chants of "Joey-killer". The crowd's anticipation grew with the introduction of two plastic garbage bags, one containing Page's cowboy boots. The sight of them threw Page into a panic and he Super-Kicked Ford. Page set up the climax of the match, revealing the phone he used to kill Joey Ryan, and then nearly killed Joey Janela with a Rite of Passage from the top of the ladder through a table.

Winner: Adam Page

But they weren't finished. The lights dimmed. The TV screen horrified the audience with a shot of Joey Ryan's corpse. And then he rose.

Adam Page stood, shocked, in the ring, as a parade of penises walked somberly to the stage. The audience watched in awe, some responding with a chant of "Holy dicks!". And then, in an eruption of color and cheers, Joey Ryan came. The audience responded gleefully at Adam Page's shocked expression as the man he thought was dead sauntered to the ring and then attacked him. Page's prone body was cradled and carried out in the soft arms of the phalluses, all while the audience chanted "Rest in penis". RIP.

Flip Gordon vs. Jay Lethal for the ROH World Championship

The audience was thrilled to welcome back Black Machismo, decked out in "Macho Man" Randy Savage's red and yellow gear. Lanny Poffo accompanied him, while Brandi Rhodes, changed from her earlier outfit to a army-esque body suit, stood by Flip Gordon. This match promised everything: nostalgia from Poffo, prestige from Jay Lethal as the ROH Champion, comedy from Black Machismo's antics, and a taste of the future of pro-wrestling from the young Flip Gordon. Chants for both Flip and Black Machismo rang through the arena, but much of the crowd was behind the underdog, Gordon. They had already seen one new champion crowned and they were hoping to see another. Poffo invoked the spirit of his brother by sending Lethal up to the top rope to deliver 3 Hail to the Kings. Gordon played along by "hulking up" and hitting his opponent with a Big Boot. The audience loved every moment of the story being told in the ring, believing that Gordon could upset the champion, but in the end, Lethal was victorious.

Winner: Jay Lethal, still ROH World Champion

The wonderful embrace of respect between Lethal and Gordon was interrupted by Bully Ray, who ran to the ring to attack them both. He even took Lanny Poffo down, further raising the ire of the crowd. Finally, Bully was stopped by Colt Cabana, who, with Lethal and Gordon, sent him through a table with a Shield-like Power Bomb, even accompanied by an "ooo-rah!" from the audience.

Penta El Zero vs. Kenny Omega

One of the most anticipated matches of the night did not disappoint. It was brutal and powerful, bringing the audience to its feet many times. A "holy shit" chant began even before the match. This was one of those rare encounters where many people didn't much care who won. They were here to see the performances of the athletes in the ring. If this match lasted the rest of the night, not many people would have complained. Penta brought his hard-hitting, impactful style to the quick and limber Omega. One of the loudest pops of the night came from Penta's package Power Bomb on the ring apron. People had to look away from the replay. The agility of both men were on full display, with flawless and graceful counters throughout the match keeping the audience on the edge of their seats. The false finishes kept the intense tempo of the match and the hearts of the audience leaping in their chests. This was no one's least-favorite match of the night.

Winner: Kenny Omega

Another complete blackout indicated that the emotional ride was not yet complete. When the lights came back up, Kenny Omega was attacked by Penta, now with a Fozzy tattoo on his left arm. The audience jumped to their feet again, knowing that the masked man before them was actually Chris Jericho. He pulled off his Penta mask and gave Omega an ominous threat- that he would see him on the Jericho Cruise. The shocked audience was ecstatic, most having no idea that Y2J was even in the building. The entire arena was left buzzing.

Marty Scurll vs. Kazuchika Okada

Part of the double/triple main event, this match was anticipated excitedly for months. Could Scurll stand with the heavyweights, especially against the agile powerhouse Okada, the longest-reigning NWGP Champion of all time? The buzz around this match palpitated for weeks and when the time finally came... the crowd was absolutely exhausted. We were 4 hours into the most emotionally draining (in a good way!) show we had attended in a long time, with no intermission, no "low card" match to sneak out of for a moment. The crowd had stayed in their seats from the first bell because we couldn't bear to miss a moment. So when Scurll and Okada sauntered down the ramp, it was to an audience that was struggling to focus, despite the excitement.

Even though the chants may have been slightly subdued than previously in the night, they were forceful. The 11,000+ people in the building were split, half chanting for Scurll, half for Okada, some, like me, chanting for both. And the performers gave everything they had. Their effort rallied the crowd's attention back to the ring. It didn't matter how tired they were, the incredible action was too good to miss. Scurll moved with intelligence. He used mind games and fake-outs to lure Okada off guard. Meanwhile, the Rainmaker plowed forward with his strength and took advantage of his size and weight. Every false finish brought the crowd to its feet again. They wondered if Scurll would somehow manage to defeat his much larger opponent and prove he belongs with the heavyweights. Unfortunately for him, Okada's power was too much to overcome. Despite the Villain's loss, the crowd applauded and cheered for him in a well-deserved show of respect.

Winner: Kazuchika Okada

Rey Fenix, Bandido, and Rey Mysterio vs. Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi

All In's main event delivered a great deal in a small amount of time. We knew it would be a brief affair, seeing how quickly Marty Scurll and Kazuchika Okada cleared the ring after their match. This promised to be one of the fastest-paced, high-flying matches of the night. People couldn't blink for fear of missing a single moment. The anticipated match-up between Mysterio and Ibushi drew a chant of "Holy shit" even before they began. This spectacle did not disappoint. The match broke down only after a few minutes and the athletes' pure agility and skill were on full display. They executed so many innovative maneuvers that I couldn't even begin to describe them all, except for "amazing". How we wished the match could have gone on much longer.

Winner: Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi

The Pay Per View feed cut off in mid-sentence, but the show in the Sears Centre went on. The Young Bucks and Ibushi remained in the ring and called down their friends and family. Cody, Brandi, and Kenny Omega joined them, along with Papa and Mama Buck, Mrs. Matt, and the Buck children. The ring was full of beaming, ecstatic people. They stood before the 11,000+ people in the arena and showed great humility, thanking the audience for their support and contribution. Whenever one performer thanked another, that person in turn thanked everyone else. Emotions were the highest they had been all night. The crowd was assured that none of their favorite wrestlers were going anywhere, and they responded with a resounding chant of "All In 2! All In 2!"

No one can argue the success of All In. 11,263 people were in attendance that night, and many more watched the spectacle on TV. This was an experience unlike any other in recent memory. All In was a show produced by wrestlers who deeply love professional wrestling and who sincerely wanted to give their fans a new product to enjoy. Words cannot express how much the wrestling fans around the world appreciate their efforts. From the moment the idea was born, we watched for updates with bated breath, leaping on the chance to secure tickets to witness history. All In was everything we had hoped for and more. As a wrestling fan, the future is looking bright.

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theliterateape · 3 years ago

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A Brief Poem About a Writer Who Doesn't Write

By David Himmel

The truth is that my confidence and desire to get up each morning to be a decent person and succeed is directly related to how often I publish a piece of writing. Bylines are my inspiration. Here on this blog, in a magazine. Churning out a screenplay, teleplay, or stage play manuscript that could be, at least, read by a table of actors. A book. These are the things that connect me to the performative identity I’ve clung to and has clung to me for the past twenty some odd years. When I don’t write, I feel weak. As Superman might if he spent too much time in Chicago’s winters where the yellow sun is rarely seen. I’m not Superman, of course. I’m not even Hunter Thompson or Sylvia Plath or David Foster Wallace. When I don’t write, I barely feel like David Himmel—a writer.

They say—they being creative writing professors, esteemed novelists, and hacks with wordy Instagram posts alike—that writers write. Not necessarily for any specific goal, but because writers have to write. And I agree. Like I just said, if I’m not writing, I’m not my best self. But I disagree that writers who write but don’t publish routinely, even on indie blogs such as this one, are the same kind of writers as those who have bylines and back catalogues and books for sale on Amazon or at the local book shop. Writers who get their shit out there—not all of it, but enough of it—are the real writers. True warriors of the pen and keys.

I’m no longer active on social media, but one of my greatest annoyances when I was engaged with that uncomfortably scratchy part of the human experience was seeing writers post about writing with a carefully constructed photo of their writing space. A cup of tea, a brand new Moleskin notebook, freshly sharpened pencils and uncapped pens ready to dive in and do the work against a background of color-coordinated books. It’s all so perfect. A yellow legal pad with AirPods bookending the space in your head that is so deep in thought. “Here I go! I’m ready to write a story!” the post would say with far more words and way too much effort. Look, if you want everyone to know you’re writing, stop playing art director and write. We’ll know you wrote something when we see it in our feed or on the bookshelf at that local shop that sells cute enamel pins of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Edgar Allan Poe.

In the time it took to stage that photograph, you could have banged out five hundred words. That’s not a writer. That’s a Golden Globe award-winning performance in hackery.

Unless being a hack is part of your warm up process. Maybe…

The point is this: Less talk, more writing.

And now, four hundred and fifty-four words later, I present to you this sort little poem. I hope you find it as inspiring as I was by publishing it.

✶

The One Hit Wonder Writer

He wasn’t a good writer But he played the part well. His suicide note was his most elaborate prose to date And was the only thing he ever published.

#Writing #Writing Inspiration #Writing is my therapy #Writers who commit suicide #Patton Oswalt #Patton Oswalt defends Dave Chappelle #Dave Chappelle

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thecostumeplot · 3 years ago

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Episode 16: The Fall with Kelly Cercone

Please consult these Instagram slideshows for accompanying images: The Fall Part 1 The Fall Part 2

Sarah Timm & Jojo Siu Welcome to the costume plot.

Jojo Siu I'm Jojo Siu

Sarah Timm and I'm Sarah Timm. We're professional designers with a passion for costume design and the performing arts. Our podcast does contain spoilers. Accompanying slideshows for each movie are linked in the episode description.

Jojo Siu We hope you'll join us every other week as we delve into the wonderful world of costume design in The Costume Plot. [music]

Jojo Siu Hello, and welcome to the Costume Plot again.

Sarah Timm Welcome back. What an exciting episode. Let's dive right in. We have a very exciting guest with us today. She's a friend of mine from FIDM but you may know her from "Avengers Endgame", ever heard of it? Thor Ragnarok. American Horror Story. These are just some of her credits. She's a brilliant costume maker and many other things. You may know her from her Instagram "Anachronism in Action:, or as the winner of the "Her Universe fashion show". It's Kelly Cercone!

Jojo Siu Welcome, Kelly.

Kelly Cercone Happy to be here.

Sarah Timm Thank you so much for joining us. We are stoked to talk to you. What movie have you brought us and our listeners today?

Kelly Cercone I am super excited to be talking about "the Fall", which is probably my favorite movie of all time. And when you guys mentioned it during the "Mirror, Mirror" episode I was...I just got really excited and I messaged you pretty much a day later.

Sarah Timm And I was really excited because you are...I just want to say you're a great get for a podcast guest about a podcast about costuming because

Jojo Siu Absolutely!

Sarah Timm You're legit and amazing. But also I was saying this you off mic but everything that I know about the fall for the most part I know because of Kelly's posts and her cosplay of it. And I've just been an admirer of the costumes from afar, so I'm excited to deep dive into them today.

Jojo Siu Absolutely. I'm so glad we're covering this in a different way. Even if we don't cover another episode normally.

Kelly Cercone This movie has so many costumes in it. It would...it....There's a lot of ground to cover.

Jojo Siu Absolutely. Perfect for one episode.

Sarah Timm Totally. Yeah, we can really take our time. This is exciting.

Jojo Siu All right. So I already gave you power to share. So whenever you are ready, Kelly.

Kelly Cercone All right. Okay, so...should I...I'll just start by talking about the movie. A little bit?

Sarah Timm Yeah, tell us whatever you feel like we need to know before we get into the clothes.

Kelly Cercone "The Fall: was directed by Tarsem Singh and costume designed by Eiko Ishioka, which...this was the second movie that they collaborated on. The first being "The Cell" and then "The Fall", "The Immortals" and last "Mirror, Mirror" for which Eiko won her Oscar. The movie was loosely based off of a 1981 film called "Yo, Ho, Ho" which was a Bulgarian language film. It was released in 2006 at the Toronto Film Festival and theatrically released in 2008. And it had pretty mixed reviews when it came out. I guess a lot of people went to go watch it thinking it would be like a comedy and then were very surprised when it was not.

Sarah Timm Was it marketed more as a comedy? Because sometimes that's all in the marketing, you know?

Kelly Cercone I mean, I think people just thought it was gonna be like, oh, a fantasy adventure, you know, they weren't expecting it to be as sad as it is. The movie was largely funded by Tarsem himself. Because a lot of people were very confused when he tried to explain that he wanted to make a movie that was partially written by a four-year-old. And one of the things that he wanted to do, because he did "The Cell" because there was so much CGI in it, he really wanted to try and do the opposite of that. So all of the locations in the film, they're actually on location. And they filmed in 20 different countries over the course of four years. And he said of working with Eiko, "we heard Eiko was really difficult to get, but we fell down on our knees. It turned out to not be so hard. She worked on every one of my films." Oh, and "I had enough of that in my first film. As much as I enjoyed it. I decided in this one, the art direction was going to be in the landscape and in the costume design and nothing else." And I feel like you really see that in "The Cell" because it really is the setting...the places that he found. And then the costumes. There's not a lot of other bells and whistles until it comes to the storytelling. And this movie really is a love letter to storytelling. Because it wasn't very popular when it came out. It was very hard to research. I couldn't actually find any quotes from Eiko herself about the movie, which was really disappointing.

Sarah Timm We've had a few of those sometimes there's just no information to be had, you know?

Kelly Cercone Yeah.

Jojo Siu I actually feel like I kind of had that with "Mirror, mirror" too. She just...there's not a lot she says about her work, because I think she sort of lets it speak for itself.

Kelly Cercone Yeah. Oh, I did find one quote. This was right before she did "Mirror, mirror". She talked about how she wanted to try doing something computer generated, like "Toy Story", but in real life.

Sarah Timm Whoa!

Jojo Siu That would have been so cool.

Kelly Cercone Yeah. And she she said that she was actually disappointed that she got so famous for doing costume design, because she...I mean, she was a production designer and she had a really long award winning career as a graphic and advertising artists. So when she got really famous for costumes, that's the only thing people wanted to hire her for.

Sarah Timm Wow, I didn't know that.

Jojo Siu It makes a lot of sense. Like where that artistic vision comes from. Because of the graphic design background. Yeah, I can see a lot of that translation. That's so cool, though.

Kelly Cercone Because this movie is kind of hard to explain. I'm just going to read a plot synopsis. Because I feel like if we go costume to costume,

Sarah Timm It's gonna be bonkers.

Kelly Cercone You'll miss a lot because a lot about this movie is...it's like playing with archetypes, like storytelling archetypes. So a lot of the characters are those archetypes but they're also...it's kind of like the Wizard of Oz where it's double cast. So you'll see the real life person, that character in the story that's being told, shows up as. So, in 1915 Los Angeles, heartbroken stunt man Roy Walker is hospitalized and possibly paralyzed after taking a jump in his first film. He meets Alexandria, a young Romanian born patient in the hospital, who is recovering from a broken arm and begins to tell her a story about her namesake, Alexander the Great. Alexandria is told she has to leave, but Roy promises to tell her an epic tale if she returns the next day. The next morning, as Roy spins his tale of fantasy, Alexandria's imagine brings his characters to life. Roy's tale is about five heroes, a silent Indian warrior, and ex-slave, an Italian explosive expert, Charles Darwin, a pet monkey named Wallace and a massive swashbuckling bandit. An evil ruler named Governor Odious has committed an offense against each of the five who will seek revenge. The heroes are later joined by a sixth hero--a mystic. It quickly becomes apparent however, Roy has an ulterior motive for telling the story. He wants to gain Alexandria's trust, so hecan get her to steal medicine for him that he can use to commit suicide. I feel like this entire movie needs to have a trigger warning for suicide.

Sarah Timm Yes.

Jojo Siu Absolutely

Kelly Cercone It is riddled throughout the movie, from Roy's depression and suicide ideation, when he actually attempts to commit suicide. And some of the other characters also commit sort of suicide in different scenarios later on towards the end. And there's also child abuse, child manipulation and child death. There are parts of this movie that are really intense and they kind of sneak up on you. So for anyone who wants to skip the, the more emotional part of it, I would stop at the one hour and two minute mark or when Roy asks Alexandria if she likes chocolate.

Jojo Siu It's a good marker.

Sarah Timm Yeah

Kelly Cercone Yeah. Well, I looked it up because I...the movie. It's so pretty and fun. And then it just takes a hard turn, and if you're not expecting it, it can be a lot. Okay, so getting to the actual costumes now.

Sarah Timm Whoo.

Kelly Cercone This is Alexandria. And she spends the whole movie in this cast, which is really cute because she's always walking around carrying this box that has all of her special things in it. And a lot of the items in it show up in different ways throughout the movie. I know you guys like a good sweater. And she has a really cute sweater.

Sarah Timm We do!

Jojo Siu She knows

Kelly Cercone like it has this nice little detailing down the side and it's so cute. And I think it's supposed to be winter in Los Angeles, like they're definitely in LA, but I think it's supposed to be winter because otherwise, you would be way too warm to wear a sweater.

Sarah Timm Like a breezy 65. You know?

Kelly Cercone Yeah, exactly. And she spends most of the movie in various sort of dressing gowns, and they usually have a little bit of lace around the collar and sometimes some pin tucking. And they're just...they're super cute.

Sarah Timm She's adorable.

Kelly Cercone She IS adorable.

Jojo Siu I love how she's wearing this sweater around her cast.

Kelly Cercone Well, it wouldn't fit! It wouldn't fit otherwise.

Sarah Timm Right.

Jojo Siu Right. So cute.

Kelly Cercone And here's Roy. And you pretty much only see him in this shirt. And then later on another sweater. He basically in the real world, he wears the same outfit the whole time. And you never see him from the waist down, which I think was to sort of help sell that he was paralyzed. And I guess when they were filming, they didn't tell her that he could walk. She actually thought that he was paralyzed.

Sarah Timm Oh my gosh.

Kelly Cercone They they went really above and beyond to try and get a very authentic response from her. I guess, even though she didn't necessarily have lines, Lee Pace, who plays Roy, would say his dialogue and then she would respond...like improv respond. And then he would play along with her. So a lot of the dialogue in the movie she made up on the spot. And she didn't speak English. So a lot of her...you're actually watching her learn and speak English over the course of the film.

Sarah Timm Wow, that's amazing!

Jojo Siu I had heard that.

Kelly Cercone Yeah. And you can I mean, you can tell to like cuz you can, when she's speaking, you can kind of see that she's trying to figure out how to phrase a question.

Sarah Timm Mm hmm.

Kelly Cercone Um, but yeah, his shirt...I did notice, compared to some of the other characters that you see later on, that are wearing more modern shirts. He's actually wearing a slightly, what feels to me like a sort of Pioneer-y shirt. And I wondered if that was a nod to the fact that he's a stuntman and westerns. And maybe this is more what he's comfortable wearing. Because he's usually wearing something like this in a film.

Sarah Timm Interesting.

Kelly Cercone And all of the textiles in the hospital are very worn in, you know. They've probably been washed a million times, it looks very soft. And here is the two of them in bed. As they they spend pretty much the whole time storytelling in various snuggly positions, talking back and forth to each other.

Sarah Timm I did notice when I was watching it last night, I was like, wow, her. She's such a good actress. And you know, like children are not always really good actors. So I was definitely impressed by her. And it makes sense why it feels so natural is because it was it was because right being really natural. That's so

Kelly Cercone yeah. And the curtain that was around his bed, I guess sometimes they would cut holes in the curtain and film through the hole. So that it was just like sort of the two of them interacting. One thing that's worth noting, when you're watching the story unfold in this movie, Roy is the narrator. Like you're always hearing him speaking but what you're actually seeing is from Alexandria, his imagination. So there ends up being some kind of like funny visual dialogue jokes, because they're clearly thinking of different things.

Jojo Siu That's okay. So that was really fun part of the movie that I remember, I think they did that really well.

Kelly Cercone Oh, this is maybe more for later, but because stunt men are really important in this film. I wanted to show you guys this photo of the stunt men.

Sarah Timm Yes!

Kelly Cercone ...who played all of the main characters.

Sarah Timm Shout out, stuntmen.

Jojo Siu That's so great. That's awesome.

Kelly Cercone All right. First up is the bandit. Now this...three different characters wear this costume over the course of the film. The first person we see wearing it is Alexandria's father, and this is when Roy has decided to make him this character in her story. And he starts talking about him being one of the two brothers that bandit brothers. Later, Roy takes over that role when it becomes clear that Alexandria either doesn't understand what he's trying to do or doesn't want her father in the story. So Roy takes on the role of the bandit. And then finally towards the end of the movie, Alexandria inserts herself into the narrative and she becomes the bandits' daughter. She literally shows up and it's like "It's me! Your long lost daughter!"

Kelly Cercone And that's the two of them here.

Sarah Timm Oh my gosh.

Jojo Siu It's so cute.

Kelly Cercone It's...It's so cute.

Jojo Siu I very distinctly remember when I watched this movie, when she comes out with her little red mask, I was just like, "Yay!"

Sarah Timm Everything is cuter when you make it small.

Kelly Cercone And she's so cute. Like, I think she does.. she tips her little mask up, like "See! See!" This costume...First they start off by saying that he's Spanish, and later the bandit is switched to being French. So there's some sort of mishmashing of elements happening in his costume. But notable is the overly wide suede chaps. And I think that's kind of a nod to him, you know, as the bandit is riding a horse and stealing stuff. But they're very over the top.

Sarah Timm Right.

Kelly Cercone There's a lot of very subtle texture in his robe. It's a silk habotai. And the mask that they all wear is like a raw silk. And his belt has a lot of tooling on it. And the braid is also...I mean it has a very decorative pattern when you zoom in on it. And for how decorative his costume is...I mean, it's silk...you don't think of a bandit wearing a silk outfit riding a horse, but it's still very functional. You see him fighting and swashbuckling in this costume throughout the whole movie and it moves really beautifully.

Sarah Timm Yeah. Silk can really be...I think people associate silk with being really fragile and it's you know,

Kelly Cercone It's super strong!

Sarah Timm ....People associate charmeuse and chiffon and floaty and light, but it is really strong. It can be a real workhorse fabric.

Jojo Siu Definitely.

Kelly Cercone Next up is the slave Otta Benga. And the name that they gave him, I feel is a very intentional choice. This is something that Roy probably would have been aware of and why he chose this name because he's based off...er not based off of, but Otta Benga is the real last name of a real life enslaved man who was put on display in the Bronx Zoo in 1906. So Roy probably would have heard about this in the news and maybe that's why he chose the name. I also feel that he was an intentional choice because the real life Otta Benga died by suicide. So I think the director, you know, wanted to pay homage to him and also just thought that it tied in with the themes of the movie. Otta Benga, he broke out of his chains when Governor Odious killed his brother. So his headdress: I actually found some photos from the craftsperson who made the headdress, Adam Howarth, and he said that the beaded headdress was made from iron, iron pyrite or fool's gold. And the horns are resin. I tried to see if they were from any specific animal. And the closest I could find was a Scimitar Oryx.

Sarah Timm Mm.

Jojo Siu Mmm! It's a beautiful shape. And pattern.

Kelly Cercone The beading is also on the belts of his costume, along with some fur and some more suede. This is his real life counterpart. He is an ice delivery man to the hospital. And he teases Alexandria, because she comes and tries to eat some of the ice. And I noticed that he's wearing a hat. His hat is gray in both worlds. And he's wearing a little shawl here, which sort of comes back later. So I'm just pointing it out. But I like that they have these shots of him with a cart in both versions of the story.

Sarah Timm Right.

Jojo Siu Mmhmm. A lot of parallels.

Sarah Timm I had a whole watching that last night with the ice delivery. I had a whole like mental journey. I went on thinking about ice deliveries and how it used to be something that was like part of people's everyday lives and how wild that is.

Kelly Cercone Yeah.

Jojo Siu That and milk delivery.

Kelly Cercone Yeah!

Sarah Timm There is a man who came and brought you the ice.

Sarah Timm Anyway. Blew my mind a little bit.

Kelly Cercone Next up is Luigi. And he is very stylish and tailored compared to everyone else. He has this long mustard cloak with little red lining that's visible periodically. And the back of the coat has this really beautiful raised embroidery applique and I love the neckline and the collar and the cuffs of his coat. It's these like circular pieces that have a lot of movement, like when he's, you know, pointing his gun or running around.

Sarah Timm I've never seen that sort of cuff before and it looks so cool.

Kelly Cercone Yeah, I, I was trying to like find if there was any historical reference for it. And the closest I could come up to is in the 17th century, like sometimes you saw those kind of overlay circular shapes on shoe pieces.

Jojo Siu Mmm, mmhmm. Yeah.

Kelly Cercone I mean, it could not be that and....

Sarah Timm Right. The closest.

Kelly Cercone Spoilers, but in his death scene, he opens up his coat, and it has pockets!

Sarah Timm All the pockets!

Kelly Cercone Pockets full of dynamite. And I also don't...he has, what you think is a shirt is actually an asymmetrical vest that's open on one side?

Sarah Timm Look at that.

Kelly Cercone That's his shoulder and it goes down to his stomach.

Jojo Siu I was just thinking that. It's almost like a halter top.

Kelly Cercone It's just really unexpected. It's like the most...the most buttoned up covered character, when he's like, "Surprise!"

Jojo Siu Yeah.

Sarah Timm Secretly sexy inside.

Kelly Cercone And this is his real life counterpart, which is a friend of Roy's on a fellow stunt man, who has a prosthetic leg that shows up in various symbolic forms throughout the movie. Oh, yeah, I also like this one, because it shows that his real life counterpart is also more tailored than some of the other characters we see.

Jojo Siu Yeah.

Kelly Cercone He's also wearing a nice suit and nice shoes.

Sarah Timm Tied together like the fantasy and real world versions.

Jojo Siu Yeah.

Kelly Cercone Next we have the Indian. And he's a really good example of how Roy and Alexandria are interpreting the story differently, because it's clear from the phrasing that Roy uses that he's referring to a Native American. But Alexandria is picturing her friend from the orange groves, who is an Indian immigrant from India. So it becomes a bit of a joke.

Sarah Timm Right.

Kelly Cercone And his costume is beautiful. The outer shell is an emerald green organza that there's a lot of pleating in the skirt, and in the stylized turban, and it's worn over an underlayer that's sort of a rust, maybe cotton or linen. And at one point he rips...he pulls out a piece or rips off a piece to make into a blindfold, because after the death of his squaw, he made a vow never to look upon another woman. And the reason that his wife died was because of Governor Odious, which is why he wants to kill her.

Sarah Timm Right.

Kelly Cercone It's actually really really sad. He...Governor Odious...furthering the theme of suicide throughout the movie, Governor Odious kidnapped his wife. And when she wouldn't, I guess, love him, he put her in a maze that has no escape, except to jump off of a tower and kill yourself.

Sarah Timm Ugh. That's so dark.

Kelly Cercone Yeah.

Jojo Siu Trigger warning number like 20 at this point.

Kelly Cercone Yeah, basically.

Sarah Timm I love that sheer green over the rust. That's...gorge.

Jojo Siu Yeah

Kelly Cercone Yeah.

Jojo Siu That's one of my favorite color greens too. That emerald color. Ugh, It's so gorgeous.

Sarah Timm Love.

Kelly Cercone Yeah. And I mean, I have to think it was intentional, but his beard. I love his beard. It always looks sort of styled. They got it to go in the different directions. And when he takes off his turban later in the movie, he has this gorgeous long hair that you're just not really expecting to have been tucked up in there.

Sarah Timm I love that.

Kelly Cercone And next we have the naturalist, Charles Darwin.

Sarah Timm This coat.

Kelly Cercone Yeah. Again, Adam Howard was one of the craftspeople who worked on it and he said that the coat...the reference for the coat was a highly magnified photo of a butterfly's wing, and that the shape was made with foam. And that the fur was hand colored.

Jojo Siu Oh my gosh!

Sarah Timm Wait, so underneath there is foam. Oh, that's amazing.

Kelly Cercone Yeah, to get it to have that structure and shape and to hold away from his body.

Jojo Siu Mm hmm.

Sarah Timm Wow.

Jojo Siu Even the arms.

Sarah Timm Yeah are the sleeves foam too?

Kelly Cercone Maybe I it didn't specify.

Jojo Siu There might be some in there.

Sarah Timm Yeah, it looks like it.

Jojo Siu Just the way it's kind of holding up.

Sarah Timm Yeah. That's so cool.

Jojo Siu Mmhmm.

Kelly Cercone And here's Wallace who spends most of the film being carried around in a little bag. Under the coat. He is wearing a white shirt and pants, which his real life counterpart is a hospital orderly, and he's pretty much wearing the same outfit. Like this is what Alexandria sees him wearing on a daily basis. And to remind the audience that he's British, I guess they put him in a bowler hat and jacket. Which makes...it makes a very nice look with the the coat. I'm not mocking it. It's just funny.

Jojo Siu Yeah.

Sarah Timm It looks a little bit clockwork orange-y too.

Kelly Cercone I was thinking that, but I don't think that was what they wanted. Because Darwin is so not edgy.

Sarah Timm Yeah.

Jojo Siu Definitely not.

Sarah Timm I guess it's just the white outfit with the black bowler.

Kelly Cercone Yeah, yeah.

Sarah Timm That automatically calls it to mind, you know?

Kelly Cercone Yeah, no, the second he takes the coat off. You're like, Huh.

Jojo Siu Throwback.

Sarah Timm I've never seen Clockwork Orange by the way. I don't think I need to.

Jojo Siu It was a pretty disturbing movie. I watched it once. And I was like, mmmm...I don't need to see that again.

Kelly Cercone Yeah, it is. I mean, it is really pretty. The production design on that movie is so good.

Sarah Timm Yeah.

Jojo Siu Mm hmm. Yeah. Beautifully done, but hard to watch.

Kelly Cercone Yeah, for sure. Um, so next is the mystic. And he's sort of a combination of two characters. The other orange faker that Alexandria is a friend with and then Otto, who is an old man who is in the hospital. And he sort of...he comforts her at various points in the movie when she's afraid. And he makes jokes about having magic teeth and how to make monsters go away by saying oogly googly. So she sort of combines these two characters into, you know, a magic man who can kind of do a little bit of everything. And they meet him when he literally comes out of a tree. I forget if it's hit by lightning, or just spontaneously bursts into flame. But he crawls out of it and his hair are part of the tree and sort of scrambles out like roots. And he's slowly become sort of more human looking throughout the movie. Since they're all trying to find Governor Odious. He...I mean, he eats Darwin's map, which is poisonous. So then he goes to his friends and they do a ritual to make the directions to Governor Odious show up on his skin. So his skin becomes the map.

Sarah Timm Cool.

Kelly Cercone And the ritual that they do is based off of a real life chant called the Kecak. And it's a Balinese Hindu dance that is part of Ramayana and is traditionally performed in temples. The checkered robes that they're wearing is actually part of the rituals. So I like that they included that in the movie, even though they're using this ritual in a very non-traditional way.

Sarah Timm That's nice, like a little...

Jojo Siu That's so fascinating.

Sarah Timm Yeah, like a little nod to the real life thing. That's cool.

Jojo Siu I'm trying to remember now, because my family went and saw an original Balinese temple dance, but I assume it was not the same thing because they weren't wearing exactly this, but a lot of the movements now are making me try and remember if they did anything similar when I watched it, but it's so fascinating, though.

Kelly Cercone Yeah. Well, I mean, from what I read, it's part of a specific story, that it's part of telling the story. So I mean, maybe they don't perform it outside of telling that story.

Jojo Siu Right, right.

Kelly Cercone So Governor Odious' soldiers are based off of....At one point in the movie Alexandria sees a man doing x-rays, and it really, really scares her so the soldiers become the nightmare version of the 1920s X-ray outfit, which is a leather apron with a metal breastplate and helmet. And they take that and they sort of...really dehumanize it by blacking out the face and the eyes. And they take away their hands, they take away features that make them recognizable as humans.

Sarah Timm Right.

Kelly Cercone And they sort of move in a pack in the movie. Like they have very stylish movements and all of the noises they make are hyenas.

Sarah Timm *gasp.

Kelly Cercone So they're like, cackling.

Jojo Siu So creepy.

Sarah Timm Wow. That's...that's extremely creepy. I feel like I should explain to the listeners that I tapped out at the 40 minute mark of this movie, but I definitely intend to go back. I've had a long week. And I was like, I can't pay attention this tonight. It deserves my attention.

Jojo Siu Save it for another day.

Sarah Timm So some of these are a surprise to me and some are not.

Jojo Siu Yeah, I can only imagine as a four-year-old.

Kelly Cercone They're...I mean, they're definitely...they're not in a ton of scenes. But they're...I mean, they're just so beautiful. In a creepy way.

Sarah Timm Oh, yeah.

Jojo Siu Creepy to a four year old, but really beautiful for us.

Sarah Timm The helmet almost...it looks almost like, I don't know, a kitchen appliance or something. But like a very evil one.

Jojo Siu And almost like it's formed to the head

Kelly Cercone Like a coffee grinder or a pepper grinder. Or a blender.

Jojo Siu Like a deformed one, that's gotten kind of crushed in.

Sarah Timm I just went to IKEA today. Maybe I just have home furnishings on my brain. The gloves are very creepy.

Jojo Siu Yeah, it's like they have spoons for hands.

Sarah Timm That's how I draw my hands because I can't draw. So I just draw like a little diamond.

Jojo Siu A little spoon or spade.

Sarah Timm It's just kind of like this.

Jojo Siu Very creepy.

Kelly Cercone So next up is Governor Odious. So part of what is feeding into Roy's depression is...the movie that he was in, he was dating the lead actress in the film. And she breaks up with him and starts dating the lead actor in the film, who is Sinclair. So Sinclair takes on the role of Governor Odious in the story, because Roy really hates him and Alexandria picks up on that. So in real life, he's wearing a striped suit jacket, which is very warm and kind of soft looking. and stylish white pants, and then the story counterpart of him. He's wearing also a stripe coat, but it's very shiny and slick and colorful. And it's just a little over the top. And I don't know if they...he ends up dying in a pool. And I don't know if that was meant to be a "Great Gatsby" reference or not. But it is the 19-...he's very 1920s.

Sarah Timm I feel like 1920s man dying in a pool is...you can't help but think of "Great Gatsby".

Kelly Cercone Yeah.

Jojo Siu Very true.

Sarah Timm I like that fabric.

Sarah Timm Smart fabric.

Kelly Cercone Yeah. And his vest...

Jojo Siu It's a really nice color.

Kelly Cercone I don't know, it's very hard to see but it does....this vest also has stripes.

Kelly Cercone Hmm. Love it.

Jojo Siu Beautiful. It's got a nice play of textures.

Kelly Cercone So after they have the map, they...they're trying to find Governor Odious. And they come upon this big wagon and they think he's inside, but they open it up and surprise. It's actually Evelyn. And Evelyn is a very complicated character, because she embodies a lot of the heartbreak and mixed feelings that Roy is having about his girlfriend and she's played by nurse Evelyn or sister Evelyn, who is a nun who works in the hospital. So she has...you first see her in her cute little nun outfit, nurse outfit, which is very starched and clean. And you only see Roy's ex-girlfriend for a second and she's wearing a very simple linen sort of driving suit. When I think of pictures of Edwardian ladies wearing driving suits with the big hats, but she has hair that is a little more 1930s.

Kelly Cercone Mmhmm

Jojo Siu Mmhmm.

Kelly Cercone When she appears in the story as Princess Evelyn, she's wearing this...

Jojo Siu Ugh. My favorite.

Kelly Cercone Beautiful gown.

Sarah Timm There it is.

Jojo Siu So beautiful.

Kelly Cercone This costume is very Chinese inspired, from the reference pictures that I looked up. I am going to guess that it was inspired by the Ming Dynasty specifically. And then it has very stylized Lotus embroidery down the front and these bands that...they're sort of... when you look closely, they're not completely attached. They're kind of floating on the surface of this sleeve to make this...just her sleeves very structured and a focal point. And she has this very elaborate hat with a veil of fans that then open.

Sarah Timm Oh, that's so cool.

Kelly Cercone And surprise! She has pants underneath, I think.

Sarah Timm Beautiful and functional.

Kelly Cercone Oh no wait that's just her sleeves. I'm wrong. Oh well this...this scene is funny, because I...Oh wait, you didn't get that far!

Sarah Timm I'm sorry.

Kelly Cercone She's like....Roy's telling this story, right? And he can tell that Alexandria has to go pee. But Evelyn is acting out that she has to go to the bathroom as she's talking to him. And it's so funny.

Sarah Timm Okay, yeah. That's hilarious.

Jojo Siu You must watch the second half of this movie soon Sarah.

Sarah Timm At 11 when I was turning it off. I was like 'Kelly's gonna beat me up'.

Kelly Cercone Well, now you'll just have a greater appreciation when you watch it.

Jojo Siu It's true.

Sarah Timm Exactly. Yes.

Jojo Siu You'll catch all the little trips.

Kelly Cercone So next, Alexandria has decided that she wants romance in the movie, or in the stories, so she sort of pushes Roy to make this a romantic love interest. And we see Evelyn in this very, very over the top sort of fairy princess. And there's a corseted bodice, so I'm like, maybe it's a little bodice ripper, although she's probably way too young to know what that is. I mean, this just screams romantic heroine. And she has a line about how feeling like, "I was like a bird in a cage". And then there's music playing and Alexandria is singing her lines. And then she literally has birds. So the story is like...because you find out she was betrothed to Governor Odious. And she's like, "Oh, I've been rescued now by this bandit, and he loves me!" So, you know, this is their great moment here.

Sarah Timm Classic romance novel sort of story.

Kelly Cercone And her locket that she's wearing is the same locket that Roy gave his girlfriend in real life. So a lot of his...he's having a lot of feels in this scene. And he's taking them out on her, even though, I mean, it's really his feelings about his ex-girlfriend.

Sarah Timm Right.

Kelly Cercone I tracked down the patternmaker--the woman who originally made this costume--her name is Jane Law, and she has some pictures on her website and surprise! The costume apparently originally had sleeves.

Sarah Timm I was gonna say...

Jojo Siu Yeah.

Sarah Timm What're those?

Kelly Cercone They're never in the movie. So I think they must have just decided they didn't want to use them for whatever reason. And I found another picture of the same costume in a museum. And there, it only had one sleeve.

Jojo Siu Only one sleeve. Interesting.

Sarah Timm That's odd.

Jojo Siu It's like seeing all the different options of what you could and couldn't do with this.

Kelly Cercone But I mean, I love this costume. It's my favorite costume. And I mean, I just love like when you zoom in on the bodice, there's all of this texture from this lace that was clearly hand-painted and just very lovingly applied everywhere.

Sarah Timm This is the one you've made.

Kelly Cercone Yeah. Or the one I cosplayed. I didn't make this one. But I made a cosplay of it. Yeah, 'cause...right.

Sarah Timm Right, right, right, right. Yes.

Kelly Cercone Yeah. I pretty much watched this movie and then instantly lost my mind.

Jojo Siu It makes sense.

Sarah Timm We all have those moments.

Jojo Siu Especially with how beautiful these costumes are.

Kelly Cercone Oh, I forgot to show you earlier. But when...on the anniversary of Eiko's birthday, the year after she passed away. Google did a Google Doodle of her and the costumes they did were from "The Fall". So these were the three little Google doodles that they did, so it's Evelyn's Lotus dress, Luigis coat, and then, her wedding dress, which I will show you in a minute.

Sarah Timm That's so cool.

Jojo Siu So exciting!

Sarah Timm What a nice little tribute.

Jojo Siu Yeah.

Kelly Cercone So yeah, after...

Sarah Timm Somebody at Google has taste.

Kelly Cercone After their little love fest, they decide to get married. And I love that each of the characters...they get slightly more dressed up. So Otta Benga puts on a orange, iridescent orange robe. The Indian puts on a little jewel brooch on his turban and The Mystic puts on gold face paint.

Sarah Timm Just a little gussied up.

Kelly Cercone It's very simple, but they really made an effort for their friend and this scene is very surreal because at this point, Roy has taken what he thinks is a whole bottle of morphine. So he's kind of tripping out and is spinning, and then they're surrounded by Sufi's...like Sufi dancers who are doing a meditative dance, and it's very surreal and beautiful.

Sarah Timm I love the big skirts.

Jojo Siu And can you just explain to us what the Sufi dancers are for our audience members who do not know what that is

Sarah Timm I don't know what that is. I was nodding my head like I knew, but I don't.

Jojo Siu Sorry to put you on the spot, 'cause I realized I was like "oh I don't think I know what that is."

Kelly Cercone I knew I wouldn't remember everything, so I tried to take notes.

Jojo Siu Totally fine.

Kelly Cercone It is a meditative practice for a certain branch of Islam. So that, I guess it's a ritual.

Jojo Siu Very cool. Thank you, I'm sure we would have one person out there asking that.

Kelly Cercone In this movie, it's probably very stylized and not how it is in real life. I would assume...

Jojo Siu Right

Kelly Cercone ...because I feel like I have seen videos of Sufi dancers before and it does not look like this, and one thought that I had about the colors of their outfits, which I will come back to, after we talk about her wedding dress, but I think that this color choice of the white over the blue was intentional. So, This is Evelyn's wedding dress. And as you can see, it is just...

Sarah Timm That's so beautiful,

Kelly Cercone It has sleeves similar to her Lotus dress but they're much more structured, they're almost padded, or I think they are padded or quilted with rolls. The fabric is a very 3-D jacquard, and maybe even trapunto like here on the sleeves, you can see there are these raised portions. And it has sleeves like her Lotus dress but it's much more fitted and even has like a bustle in the back. These pleats fan out over something, doing support here and I see maybe an outline of a hoop. And yeah and I mean her headdress is just amazing...

Jojo Siu Just phenomenal.

Kelly Cercone This film has a lot of use of veils and masks, as I'm sure you've seen, which I can only assume is symbolic of hiding one's true feelings and emotions and motivations, and so there's a lot of duplicitousness in this movie.

Sarah Timm Yeah, the padded rolls remind me sort of, of kimonos. We had to make one for M. Butterfly that you would have to you know, like roll a whole thing of batting, you know, every hem is like this padded rolls.

Kelly Cercone I mean, you can kind of see, it does look like it is also padded at the hem. You can see kind of a little tulle down there.

Sarah Timm Yep, It's a cool effect.

Jojo Siu I think a lot of the kimonos have that layered sleeve look too, so it's kind of...it's very reminiscent of that.

Kelly Cercone I'm sure, I mean, I'm sure even if she wasn't thinking of that, it was in her design aesthetic, obviously.

Jojo Siu Yeah.

Kelly Cercone So, going back to the Sufi's for a second. When I was also looking through her scenes, it kind of made me think of like a bed comforter, which then led me down this thought train of like, "Oh well, maybe the white over the blue is supposed to be symbolic of the weight of his relationship, and heartbreak is smothering him, like a too-big blanket. It might be a stretch, but I was like, "hmmm, it's just late night" .

Jojo Siu While you're in bed. It makes sense. I can see that connection there.

Sarah Timm Even if it's not something that was intended by the filmmakers, it's fun to sort of find those little, maybe symbolic things that you can read into as a viewer,

Kelly Cercone Yeah, I mean, this movie has so many things in it that you can take symbolism from and I'm sure there's even more, 'cause I'm watching this as a Western person, and the director is Indian, and I'm sure there's a lot of cultural references in here, that I'm not picking up on.

Jojo Siu Right.

Kelly Cercone And a lot of people that actually pointed that out is that there's so much interplay of different points of view, like from Roy and Alexandria and then....When you're talking about this movie being about a love letter of storytelling, it's sort of also the collaborative process of storytelling because the story changes so much throughout the course of the movie based off of the different points of view.

Jojo Siu I think that's a very non-western trope as well, of storytelling because we talk about passing stories down through generations. And I think that also carries through this movie, very very well, not just from his perspective but also from Eiko's perspective too, I think, 'cause having all those different layers, there's so much symbolism and kind of religious mysticism, that's a very big part of Eastern culture and Eastern sensibilities that I think definitely shows up. So I think that's a great point. So beautiful.

Kelly Cercone I mean, this is kind ofthe last big costume. There are a few minor things after this but, I mean really after this, it's kind of like a cartoon where a lot of the characters stay in the same costume the whole time.

Sarah Timm I like it.

Jojo Siu I think this touches on so much of what's in there though. This gives us a really good smattering of all the characters and how we see each of them in the real life, and also the fantasy element in that parallel is really fun. And what a great challenge for a costume designer to be able to kind of come up with two very distinct, but "they need to tie together" looks.

Sarah Timm Yeah.

Kelly Cercone And I guess...oh yeah! I just thought of this right now: she's wearing a very structured white hat, and when she's a nun, she's also wearing a very structured white hat. There's just so many parallels. I love it.

Jojo Siu Yeah, Eiko really thinks of everything, like in all of her movies, that's all I've ever seen.

Kelly Cercone I mean this movie... this movie had a $30 million budget! That's nothing...like it's insane that they made this movie was so little money. I know $30 million sounds like a lot and it's not for a giant movie.

Sarah Timm Not for a movie with this...

Jojo Siu Especially with all those locations too! It's insane.

Sarah Timm Well, it's like we were talking about earlier the triangle of cheap, fast and good. They picked cheap and good, and it took them four years.

Kelly Cercone Yeah.

Jojo Siu Yep. It took them a very long time, but it was worth it.

Sarah Timm The correct decision.

Jojo Siu Yeah. Very, very true. Well thank you so much, Kelly this was so much fun. It was nice to kind of revisit the costumes, especially since I hadn't seen it in so long and I was like, "oh yeah that's what happens in this movie!" But yes, it was fun to see all of them again, and all the characters again and kind of be reminded of what happened.

Kelly Cercone I was so happy to have a chance to really dig in and research this movie because I learned even more about it and it just made me love it more, so to hear about all of the behind-the-scenes work that went into it, like what I actually managed to find, made me just love it even more.

Sarah Timm Right.

Jojo Siu Yeah.

Sarah Timm That's half the fun of making this podcast is the research part. I know that I have had such a good time, especially if it's one of my favorite movies, you know, finding out all these tidbits that I didn't know before, and it just deepens your appreciation for it and especially not even just as a film but it makes you appreciate the craftspeople who put their work into it and made it what it is.

Jojo Siu For sure.

Kelly Cercone Because they shot in so many different countries, they hired...a lot of times, it was a local crew, so when I was looking at the costume crew, it would be like "Seamstress: India, Seamstress, Italy". It's really...they pulled from a huge talent pool to make it happen.

Jojo Siu That's awesome. Yeah, that's great. I feel like that adds so much more of that authenticity to the process to knowing that you're not just getting one team working on everything and not saying that they can't make it beautiful, but you're getting a little bit from every country, and seeing some of that sense based on that seamstress or that team or whatever is going to whoever is going to be around.

Kelly Cercone One of the themes of the movie is collaboration and different points of view. You're actually getting input from all of these different people from all these different countries.

Sarah Timm Yes.

Jojo Siu Yeah.

Sarah Timm Yes, completely.Well, great job.

Jojo Siu I know. Yay for all the prepwork!

Sarah Timm Expertly done.

Kelly Cercone Thank you.

Jojo Siu It was.

Sarah Timm So do you want to tell our listeners a little bit about...maybewhat you do in, you know the entertainment industry? What do you do?

Kelly Cercone Yeah so, I am a member of the Motion Picture Costumers, local 705, and I am a table person, which is really the equivalent of a firsthand for people who are in theater and know what that means. But on a daily basis, I will assist the cutter/fitter or pattern maker with easily whatever they need help with, whether that'sfinishing patterns or cutting out fabric, stitching, sort of like organizing prioritizing projects, I mean, I'm essentially an assistant to the cutter/fitter.

Sarah Timm Right.

Jojo Siu Very cool.

Sarah Timm That's kind of what I do in theater, so it's funny that we sort of are parallel, but in different industries. So what have been some of your favorite projects? You could say some of your favorite films you've worked on or even favorite pieces that you're really proud of having a hand in.

Kelly Cercone There's so many. I mean I was like, over the moon when I got to work on the Mandalorian, because I'm a huge Star Wars fan, and

Sarah Timm Yeah!

Kelly Cercone I was...when I found out that they were me filming it in Los Angeles, I was snooping hardcore to try and get any information, so that I could get on that show and then I was working on Avatar, and we were walking around the studio and I looked over and I saw a poster with Boba Fett's face on it and it was like, "They're filming it here?" Literally it was two stages over.

Sarah Timm Oh my god, "I'm just gonna walk in and pretend like I already worked there."

Jojo Siu Just show up and sit down and start working.

Sarah Timm I've been here the whole time I'm sewing this thing, what are you talking about?

Jojo Siu What do you mean you don't know who I am?

Sarah Timm That's rad.

Kelly Cercone Yeah,

Jojo Siu That is pretty awesome.

Kelly Cercone That was very...

Jojo Siu Very cool.

Kelly Cercone All the Marvel films I've worked on have been really great. Yeah, and there was one pilot that I worked on that we got to make so many amazing costumes and the pilot never came out. I just get sad every time I think about it, but I mean that just happens

Sarah Timm It does.

Jojo Siu Yeah.

Kelly Cercone I don't even know what the ratio is, of pilots that get canned versus into shows, but I mean it happens.

Sarah Timm What was it called?

Kelly Cercone It's called "Hieroglyph", and it was gonna be the Egyptian version of Game of Thrones.

Jojo Siu Fascinating!

Sarah Timm I would watch that.

Jojo Siu That makes me sad that it never went anywhere!

Kelly Cercone The trailer used to be up on Hulu. I don't know if it still is, but it was for a while, which surprises me. Why would you put up the trailer, if you're never going to make the show? But, okay. I mean I'm still happy to see it

Sarah Timm True. Those are for advertising things.

Jojo Siu It's true. So sad.

Sarah Timm I assume that the costumes you made for them are hopefully...hopefully they'll be used for something else lovely right.

Kelly Cercone Yeah, I mean, I don't know. I don't know where they ended up. They could be in a rental house somewhere.

Sarah Timm Yeah.

Kelly Cercone They don't tell me these things.

Jojo Siu They just disappear. You never see them again.

Sarah Timm So what brought you to costuming? Do you have a specific experience in your life? Or did you always know that it was something you wanted to do?

Kelly Cercone I always knew that it was something I wanted to do, or I knew I wanted to do something, sewing related. I remember my mom telling me when I was like six or seven.We were in the car going somewhere and she turns to me and she's like...or...I turned to her and apparently I claimed that I was going to become of corset maker one day, and she was like, "okay, honey, that's...that's great".

Sarah Timm That's hilarious.

Kelly Cercone I mean I did! I become a corset maker! But yeah, I mean I think...it didn't really...it stupidly didn't really occur to me until I was in high school and saw the Lord of the Rings movies, I was like, "Oh right! This is like a JOB, job." And then I was like, "I'm gonna do that". I had a brief stint in high school, where I was like, "Oh!" or...No, I would say in junior high, where I was like "Oh! Maybe I'll become a marine biologist" and then it was like, "No I want to make costumes".

Sarah Timm I feel like...

Jojo Siu I think I had that in ninth grade too, like, "I'm gonna be a doctor".

Sarah Timm I know a lot of people who are like, "Oh yeah, I had a marine biologist phase". Everybody has a phase like that when they remember they're like "The ocean is rad. I'm gonna be a marine biologist".

Kelly Cercone Well, I mean it's like...I grew up watching National Geographic. Glorious.

Jojo Siu So fascinating. The ocean IS fascinating. There's so much in there.It's magical.

Kelly Cercone I actually met a marine biologist, and she's like, "I had literally the opposite experience. I was in school and I thought I was gonna become a fashion designer and then I became a marine biologist.

Sarah Timm Oh my god.

Jojo Siu How funny. When do you ever hear that?

Sarah Timm Did you have a Freaky Friday at some point?

Jojo Siu And just never switch back.

Sarah Timm Wow.

Jojo Siu That's so funny. So how, if you don't mind me asking, how did you kind of first get into, you know, costuming for movies? I know you said you went to FIDM with Sarah, but what was your kind of first transition between?

Kelly Cercone While I was still in school, I interned for a local stylist Mildred of Mother of London, and a lot of...she had a clothing line, but she would also do custom pieces for a lot of musicians, and then that sort of rolled into making costumes for small independent movies. And once I graduated, I mean not immediately, but...'cause you have to get 30 days to join the union, and it took me a while to get 30 days. But I was working at an all local costume house, off and on, and kind of just...I think my first...actually "hieroglyph" was the first big pilot that I worked on. And it was through people that I had met at FIDM through Paul, our teacher, and he put me in touch with Christie, who is the costume designer on "heiroglyph".

Sarah Timm It really is all about who you know.

Jojo Siu Yeah.

Sarah Timm All of my jobs pretty much have stemmed from my first internship that I took after college, you know it's because I met that person through that, and I met them through that and it's, you know, people I've met, just through one single job.

Jojo Siu It's true. Very, very true. Very cool. Well thank you so much for telling us all about that Kelly, it's been really fascinating to hear about all the perspectives of how people get into our industry. Because I think that's also, like...We are hitting people that are obviously in our industry, but we're also hitting a lot of people who totally have no idea what we do so it's cool to be able to hear both perspectives.

Kelly Cercone Yeah, and it's very opaque from the outside. I get a lot of people messaging me asking for advice and, you know I explain it as best I can but it's really not a clear process, or even just to explain to people. They're like, "do I need a master's degree?" and I'm like, "No, you just need to be able to do the job."

Sarah Timm Yeah.

Jojo Siu Right.

Kelly Cercone And that's the opposite that most industries, you know, tell students.

Sarah Timm Right.

Jojo Siu Yeah.

Sarah Timm Right.

Kelly Cercone I mean, not that education is bad, I think education is amazing but it can feel very backwards sometimes.

Jojo Siu Yeah, very true.

Sarah Timm I feel left out a lot as a costume as a theater costume designer specifically that I don't have a master's, because so many working costume designers do, and I'm always just like, I have the same skill set, you know, it's just an extra thing that I didn't do. So it's interesting, what industries that matters, and then what industries it doesn't.

Jojo Siu Well, and...to be honest, where you're working Sarah, I don't really think it does matter that much. If someone DOES have an MFA, there's sometimes where I'm just kind of...I don't...It was like an extra thing. It's certainly not something that's getting me more work.

Sarah Timm Right.

Jojo Siu I mean, I shouldn't say that it's gotten me some, but it hasn't gotten me all of my jobs.

Kelly Cercone Yeah.

Jojo Siu For sure.

Kelly Cercone It's probably more...I mean, more networking.

Jojo Siu Yeah, absolutely.

Kelly Cercone Showing people that you can work hard and, you know...do the work.

Jojo Siu Yeah, totally. I think it also is about how well you work with other people right. We keep talking about collaboration and that's such a huge part of our industry too. It's not just about getting the job done. It's also about getting along with the people you're working with. so that they'll want to hire you. No one wants to work with someone who's horrible to work with, regardless of how good your skill is. Unless you know...unless you're really that far above and beyond. But most of the time., if you have a reputation for being that horrible on every job, you kind of start, you start filtering out a little bit.

Sarah Timm Yeah I think if you're established you can be a jerk to people and still get jobs, but if you're not yet, then you're not gonna get hired back.

Kelly Cercone If you've won an oscar, you can be a jerk.

Sarah Timm I should tell that to some of the jerks that I've worked with. Be like, "Excuse me, you didn't win an Oscar? Then you don't need to yell at me. Thanks so much.

Jojo Siu Yeah, totally agree. Well, thank you so much, Kelly. I hope you had fun.

Sarah Timm Yay!

Kelly Cercone I'm was just like, oh god I love this movie so much. I was like, I hope I'm not giving way too much information, and that this makes sense. Because there's so much in this movie to love.

Sarah Timm It's very dense.

Jojo Siu Yes.

Kelly Cercone But worth really diving into the nitty gritty of. I think.

Jojo Siu That's the fun of these podcasts too though. It's where you really do get to kind of dive in deep and take the time to talk about it. I feel like when we have an hour to talk about two movies, it always feels really rushed, but it's nice to be able to take our time through one and really go in.

Kelly Cercone I'm really are impressed with how much ground you guys manage to cover in one episode with two things. I'm always like, "How are they being so succinct, and descriptive?"

Jojo Siu Thank you for saying that because we certainly don't feel that.

Kelly Cercone No it was great. It's great.

Sarah Timm That's the best feedback we've ever gotten. I'm so thrilled to hear that. I'm leaving this in the episode.

Jojo Siu Especially when half the time we're like "Sarah I feel like I've talked too much. Did I cover everything? I don't feel like anybody knows what we're talking about."

Sarah Timm It's funny because a lot of the times, we'll alternate. The one episode JoJo will talk for 40 minutes and I'll talk for 20, and then we'll switch the next episode. So it's like...we kind of just fill in the spaces as needed.

Jojo Siu Very true.

Sarah Timm But yeah. Thank you for joining us to nerd out about costumes, It's the best.

Kelly Cercone Thank you for having me.

Sarah Timm You're so welcome. Can you tell our listeners where to find you on the internet, if they feel inclined? They're probably...I think, based on discussions there's only one place, but tell them where that is.

Kelly Cercone Yeah, I am sort of taking a break from social media. So really the only thing I have right now is Instagram, which I periodically update. But a lot of my prior work and tutorials and whatnot are still on there for people to look at and I respond to questions, almost all the time, as long as they're not creepy.

Sarah Timm We'll link you in the episode description, so that people can go right to you in the profile.

Jojo Siu Yeah.

Sarah Timm Awesome.

Jojo Siu Cool. Well thanks again, this was really successful. Great job Kelly!

Kelly Cercone Thank you

Sarah Timm All right, so that's it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. We hope you enjoyed it.

Jojo Siu Yeah, and join us next time.

Sarah Timm Yeah we have some good movies coming up.

Jojo Siu Yeah.

Sarah Timm I'm excited about it!

Jojo Siu I'm excited!

Sarah Timm Alright, that's it.

Jojo Siu Thanks everyone. We'll catch you on the next one. Bye!

Sarah Timm Bye!

Jojo Siu Thank you for listening to the Costume plot. You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram @thecostumeplot. If you have a question, comment or movie suggestion, you can email us at [email protected].

Sarah Timm Our theme music is by Jesse Timm, and our artwork is by Jojo Siu. Please rate and review us wherever you listen to your podcasts.

#anachronisminaction #thefall #thecostumeplot #costumepodcast #jojosiucostumes #breathecue #moviecostumes

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dayo488 · 4 years ago

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fic writer asks

Tagged by @burninghoneyatdusk and @bookwormforalways ❤

Name(s)?

dayo488 (tumblr, ao3, and twitter - though I don’t use twitter for fandom stuff much, since it’s also connected to my IRL friends too)

Fandom(s)?

I’ve only posted the100 fic so far, but I’ve got a QotS one-shot (like 1500 words) in my folder that I haven’t posted yet.

Where you post? AO3

Most popular multi-chapter (by kudos)?

Stay Here Tonight E-F-L, slow burn, angst, mutual pining Clarke goes with her best friend Wells to a wedding of one of his fellow firefighters, Raven. Come to find out when they get there, that the groom is none other than Clarke's boyfriend of a year, Finn. Stuck with having to blow up Raven's wedding day, Clarke has to deal with the guilt of being the other woman, even if she didn't know, and figuring out how to move on.Surprisingly, the worst day of her life, just might lead to more happiness, family, belonging, and love than she's ever known as she makes friends with some unexpected people. But she has a hard time with one person in particular in her new circle. Bellamy happens to be more stubborn, hardheaded, and protective than anyone she's ever come up against, but she might also see a different, kinder side of him that she never thought he would have.

- It was actually my very first fic and I really didn’t expect people to like it as much as they did. I wrote a lot when I was younger, but drifted away from it until I started this idea. It wouldn’t leave me alone and kept developing in my brain so I wrote it down. And now it’s got almost 900 kudos which is completely mind-blowing to me. But it helped me rediscover my love for writing, so I’m eternally grateful for whatever burst of bravery made me post it. Plus, I made some pretty awesome friends by doing so! And it was nominated in the Bellarke Fic Writer Awards, which is incredible!

Favourite story you’ve written so far?

Moved By You

E-F-L, mutual pining, slow burn, angst, canon universe, kidnapping, hurt/comfort, found family

When Clarke finds out that the Ark cannot sustain oxygen past a year, she, along with 3 other experts in their fields, join the prisoners on a mission to Earth, to find out whether it's survivable in the even they can't fix the oxygen systems. However, one of the other adults with her on the mission betrays her and trades her to a Grounder village. Clarke must figure out where she belongs and who she is as she struggles with what her life looks like now. She finds that she enjoys the people of her village, but still feels torn between the people who want nothing to do with her anymore, and the people who she finds she wants to be with, including the village's leader, who is annoying and pushes all her buttons, but also has a depth to him that she hadn't expected.

- Even though SHT holds a special place in my heart, MBY is my favorite. It stretched me in ways that was exhausting, but SO rewarding. I had to research Trig language and survival techniques and fight sequences and other things that I don’t have knowledge in. But it was SO fun and getting to write the found family portion of it was my absolute fave. There’s a few things I’d redo if I could, but I’m really proud overall of how it turned out.

Fic you were nervous to post?

There’s always a measure of anxiety every time I hit that Post button on all my fics, but actually, my Aladdin four-parter (I Can Show You the World) was probably the one I was most nervous about posting, just because I’d never really done a re-imagining fic before. I had to blend the OC characters and the100 characters and it was a little nerve-wracking. It definitely wasn’t near one of my more popular stories, but that’s okay - it wasn’t really meant to be taken very seriously anyway. I had the idea and wanted to see if I could do it - it was more of writing exercise really. Especially since I didn’t want it to be a musical, but wanted to incorporate the songs anyway. But yeah, I was still really nervous.

How do you choose your titles?

Song lyrics, totally. I have a playlist for each of my fics in my spotify and there’s usually one that I pick specifically that kind of just reminds me of the whole vibe of the fic and I usually pick a favorite line from that.

Do you outline?

Sort of? I have a VERY messy bullet point list for each of my fics of storylines and plot points I want to include, character arcs, character traits, background info, ideas, scenes, even dialogue. But it’s not in any sort of organization lol. I should probably work on that.

Complete works? 3 posted. 2 one-shots not posted

In-progress works? 1 posted. 3 not posted.

Coming soon/not yet started?

I seriously cannot decide which fic to post next since my inspiration and excitement over the 3 multi-chaps I’ve currently got going shifts every day. Here’s the breakdown so far -

- Treasure Hunt AU, tentative title that I don’t want to say just yet since it may change. This is the one I’m leaning towards posting next. Basically, Bellamy is a treasure hunter/authenticator, with Raven as his partner in crime, and Clarke runs the Palace, an art gallery/school that her father opened when he was alive. Bellarke used to be married - a few years before the fic started they met while Bellamy was on a hunt and needed information from Clarke and she joined them and they fell in love. Then they ended up splitting up and hadn’t spoken in years until Bellamy finds a lead on a BIG find that sends him back in Clarke’s orbit. Very angsty, lots of mutual pining, lots of danger, lots of craziness. (That’s a terrible summary - I’ll clean it up before I post it lol)

- We Were Built to Last - Fantasy AU (this started as a Wonder Woman AU, but morphed into something no longer resembling that at all lol). In this one, Clarke grew up a princess on the Island - a place where the women are trained as warriors because when they turn 21, their “gift” (basically a super power) reveals itself, except Clarke, who is apparently the first woman to not have a gift manifest. The men don’t receive gifts either, but no one knows exactly why (and it’d be a huge spoiler to reveal the reason here 😉). Bellarke grew up best friends and when she’s young and wants to start her training, but her mother forbids it, Bellamy helps her learn anyway, with the help of his mother who is the Head Warrior. Anyway, Clarke discovers that her father didn’t die like everyone thought years ago and instead was kidnapped by Queen Nia, an escapee and outcast of the Island for using her gift for death and destruction. Clarke, Bellamy, Octavia, Raven, and Murphy go on a quest to rescue him. It’s a VERY complicated plot with a LOT of world-building so I’m not sure I’m ready to get this one out yet, even though I’m like 5 chapters in.

- Between the Raindrops - Apocalyptic AU loosely based on the show the Rain, though the plot of the fic is VERY different than the actual show. One day, the rain starts falling and whoever it touches, dies. Bellamy and his sister are the children of a brilliant scientist (Aurora) for the company Eligius, who has access to a bunker that they end up staying in for 6 years. When they finally emerge, they are confronted with a world they no longer recognize. And also a traveling group of survivors - whose leader Bellamy doesn’t understand or like (spoiler - it’s Clarke, and they fall in love 😂). I’m actually the farthest in this one - 6 chapters finished, but I’m kind of at a block with it right now.

Prompts?

I’ve got one that I haven’t started, still trying to get the ones above finished first before I dive into any others right now. Real life has been crazy the last few months and it’s all I can do to get I Don’t Want to Dream About You finished first!

Wow that ended up being lengthier than I expected! But it’s very fun to get it all typed out - especially the WIPs I’m super excited about! Thanks for the tags, friends! I love reading your works and being a part of this fandom ❤

I never know who to tag in these, especially since most of you that I would usually tag have already done it (I’m so behind!). You are all an inspiration to me, and I wish all nothing but happiness and inspiration for you in 2021!

#fic writer asks #super long #excited to see what the new year brings #fandom friends #wips

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thedirtygotconfessions · 7 years ago

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No title cause I suck at titles. “Thoros fireplace smut” should tell you ‘nuff.

Thoros of Myr x reader (as always I keep neutral grounds regarding insert’s background etc, reader is a follower of the Lord of Light)

Smut, NSFW gif. Lots of flaming sword involved… and not the steel kind.

Mmmm, I suck at picking titles. That’s k. I don’t know if nosy-as-fuck Hound is a warning.

For whatever reason there aren’t many milkmaids swooning after Thoros, but you will probably see quite a bit of him here, he makes me hot… This one is for all my impudent vixens lusting after the red priest

It was a good year for your homestead. Another family joined in, making it a little over a dozen, the crops were plentiful… You started out small, by rebuilding whatever the old man managed to ruin with his drinking before you offered to care for him in exchange for a place to stay. But with your wits and golden hands the place began to prosper again, and within a few years it formed a small community. Settled south-east of the Twins, the homestead often welcomed travelers and merchants. If it grew any bigger it could even become a village.

Another quiet evening and you hanged around the tavern, where you yourself resided out of comfort, refilling pitchers and keeping the fire in the pit lit… winter has come, and the walls were dead-cold at nights. You kept a chaise longue in front of the fireplace, and all people knew it was your spot… when everyone left to their beds, you’d wrap yourself in furs and lay there, watching the fire. As you’d drift in and out of sleep, the Lord of Light would tell you stories through the flames. You were blessed… Room was filled with lively conversations, locals and wanderers tired from the day’s work alike. The fire danced against the bricks, creating a warm, sunkissed hue. All was calm…

…until you heard familiar singing in the distance. The Brotherhood visited rarely, but they did. The homestead was way too off the charts and main roads for Lannister raids, or anyone for that matter, and so they’d sometimes come by for a short refuge. They became your close friends over the years, but there was more to it than that… however, it was an old story, well kept between yourselves.

You opened the door to the tavern, looking out for the exhausted men. You held the doors for them as they entered from the chill outside. They were missing some… and had an additional new guest with them. Leaving questions for later, you welcomed Beric with a friendly hug, continuing through the men until your eyes met with Thoros’. He smiled at you with that calm look he always had and wrapped his arms tightly around you. You were dear to him, and vice versa. Your cheek sank into his shoulder, as you whispered a “Hello”, and he gave you a small peck on the cheek as you parted.

“There is someone you should meet.” Thoros cocked his head towards the massive, scarred man next to him, whose eyes were on the two of you with alert throughout the ordeal. “This is Sandor Clegane, the Hound, you have probably heard of him…”

“Some yes, but it doesn’t matter what I heard… It’s nice to meet you, welcome”, you reached your hand towards him, trying to be polite and not make a deal out of his terrifying posture… afterall, if he was tagging along with Beric and Thoros, there had to be a good reason. The Hound shook your hand with hesitation and mild confusion, as it was rare that someone would just welcome him and be so polite about it. Trying to pay it no mind, you set the men a table and continued on with your tasks… friends or not, others at the inn also needed to be catered to.

“What is going on here?” Sandor growled under his breath looking first at you and then Thoros. The red priest didn’t answer, simply looking back at the Hound and taking a gulp out of his cup. Irritated at the lack of answer, Clegane kept on pushing, “You’re looking at her like a hungry fox that just spotted a chicken, what’s that all about?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know…?” Thoros decided to mess with him a little bit to kill the boredom, much to Beric’s entertainment.

“There is only one reason a woman would look at a bald cunt like you that way, and that’s either because you fucked her once and good, or because you owe her something and hope to fuck your way out of it.”

“None of those, imagine…” Thoros stopped the teasing, quickly bored of Clegane’s haste. It was way deeper than that. He took another deep dive into his cup, bringing his attention to the firepit.

“She saved his life some while ago. They have a bond, leave them be.” Beric butted in, trying to ease it down. Clegane was much dismayed by such vague explanation, but caught on that perhaps it was not something to be dug into. But as the evening dragged out, and he saw Thoros discretely run his hands across your back and shoulders on a few occasions, he couldn’t help but to wonder further.

“Just tell me what the fuck you did to her, or she did to you.”

Thoros sighted, again ignoring him. Beric looked at him, searching for approval which he recieved after some seconds. Why keep it from him… if he is to believe in the Lord of Light, all the proof the better.

“The first time we came across this place was a couple of years ago. Thoros caught a few serious wounds in a botched raid Robert sent us on just a little while before Ned Stark became the Hand, and this was the closest we could find. And it was the Lord’s will-”

“With that shit again? If you’re going to tell me some story about magic and big-teated faries you can stop now…”

“Then I will not. He lead us here. She has the Light in her. She knew we were coming before we even stepped into this inn, (Y/N) was already waiting.”

And that’s exactly how it was. That night you had woken up to the flames furiously flaying the bricks of the pit, clearly reading traveling men and a wounded warrior at your doors. It didn’t take long for them to arrive, with Thoros mortally pierced by steel.

Beric continued quietly, having the Hound’s growing attention, “Not a lot of people know of this, but some women who follow the Fire Lord have a gift. Hadn’t they beared children yet and given life, they may chose to give that life to someone else and in result never be fertile again… Those which are aware of their ability count their moons carefully and know well to whom give the gift. The life that would be created from the seed meeting in one’s womb is instead devoured by the Lord to keep the man alive. Hadn’t she saved Thoros that night, he would not have revived me at the Hand’s Tourney. We didn’t truly believe that it was (Y/N)’s gift that kept him in this world, but after the Lord brought me back we have no more doubts.”

“… so you did fuck her good afterall.” the Hound concluded, expectantly looking at Thoros. The cleric was already a little tipsy from trying to drown out the boredom, and didn’t much feel like indulging Sandor’s interrogation further.

“No. I remember hardly any of it, and nothing came of that. She is simply a dear friend…”

“I think your cock would argue with the defintion of a ‘friend’ here, the ‘dear’ no doubt, but whatever you say…” the Hound finally let go, his attention going back to the food on the table.

And so it went. Thoros cared for you deeply and was grateful in every possible way for what you have given him. He knew that it was the Lord that prompted you to give up your ability to ever bear children for his sake… and if not for Thoros’ life, so much would have happened differently. Beric would have perished, too, at the hands of the Mountain, the Red Witch would have never seen him brought back… so much more. Afterwards, all you two ever did was try to live your lives and follow the Lord’s ways. But Thoros lied when he said he didn’t remember any of it; he remembered enough to know that there was more to it, and more to you. He spent several days after that in bed, recovering, with you tending to him, and you two grew close, but kept a safe distance. Yet sometimes, if the drink had gotten to his head a little, he’d like to come and wrap his arms around you, steal a kiss on the cheek somewhere when nobody watched, run his hand through your hair at a passing, and tangle his fingers with yours under the table. Yet when night would come he’d disappear off into the chambers without a notice. You were fine with it, because you were uneasy at the thought that he’s away so much. Even if something happened between the two of you, few days later he would surely make himself comfortable at the Peach or some other cathouse disguised as a tavern… He was a drunken, impudent, lusty man, with a smile that calmed everything inside you, a touch that had you melting, and a voice that made you burn in the most secretive places. Hadn’t you been so focused on begging to Lord to let you keep him that night, the love you made to him would have been the most generous and feversome experience of your life. But it was fine. You had done your duty, and had more towards the people of the homestead.

As the locals slowly departed to their homes, and the room emptied but to the Brotherhood and a few merchants on the road, your work was coming to an end. You were wiping the laquered pine of the bar from remenants of wine and what-not when you felt a hand gently make it’s way onto your hip and a strong chest making contact with your back. You became alerted, but quickly calmed when the other hand moved the hair out of the way of your neck and you felt a familiar pair of lips on your skin. You didn’t protest, you weren’t shocked… Whoever was in the room knew already that there was some chemistry there, and you cared not for the others as they’d leave in a day or two. Furthermore, it seems that Thoros was being very discreet about his proceedings, as nobody even seemed to have paid attention to what you were up to. There were plenty of other girls around the room, and that provided enough coverage. But you couldn’t help and wonder why he’d become so affectionate, why now…? You touched the hand on your hip and brought yourself around. Thoros, not being able to keep his balance at top notch pressed you lightly against the bar, his other hand now on your waist. You looked at him with a smile, amused by how playfully he approached you.

“And what do you think you’re doing? Out to steal my heart and break it into pieces?” you teased him, hoping he was just missing you and wanted a warm chest to lay on. You were afraid of letting your feelings go.

“Just because I cannot keep my balance doesn’t mean my mind is out… Just warning you in case you’d get some idea into your pretty head that I am planning to get myself some good time and leave a crying maiden behind…” he rumbled.

“Crying? My, my, you have a high mighty idea of yourself… If you’re looking for a bedwarmer you’re in the wrong spot, my love! All you will get from me is a good amount of wine and a song, don’t get your hopes up.” you whispered. His gaze turned away from your face and towards the floor. He seemed a little lost in thought, but chuckled, pulled away from you and bent his arm with an expectant look.

“Walk with me. I need to sober up and speak with you.” he said, more clearly now. You hooked onto his arm and you two left the inn.

The conversations danced between his travels and the boredom you sometimes experienced despite the work overload. You knew that he had something on his mind, and it was mainly because he wouldn’t look at you, where as normally the warrior’s eyes were focused on yours. He was dodging it like fire, ironically. But not wanting to pressure him, you wanted to wait until he found himself a comfortable time. You walked without even checking where you were headed, until you came by a bridge over a small stream.

“We should head back, there is too many bugs further down by the stream, and we’re getting too far away from the homestead…” you noted. He took a few more steps forward, turning himself to face you, still avoiding your look. It took some more seconds of silence until he finally looked up, taking your hands into his and giving them a kiss. He smiled at you and finally spoke up.

“I was a fool to wait until now. I have been thinking about you over and over since that night, and I don’t think it’s just lust. Perhaps my approach towards you wasn’t the most clear and surely wrong to have been drunken, but I didn’t want to startle you or make you think I only search for pleasure with you. Being around you (Y/N), it feels right, and at the closest chance I get I will stay by you more often… if you will allow and wish for it.”

You didn’t have to think of an answer. With Thoros everything felt natural for you, the most free and comfortable as one could be. Eventhough you were not seeing eachother all that often, he was your companion. You had a mutual understanding, a wordless bond, and it was not the one created by the Fire. Everything about him, his honesty, his lack of denial, his acceptance of the filth that this world was… you adored all of him, and no matter how much you kept it away from yourself all this time, now it bursted out inside your heart.

“But why have you waited so long… I did not know what to make of it…”

“I will be away for a while. We’re heading down North, something important is happening and we need to take care of it… I couldn’t leave without making sure you know I feel for you deeply and want you to await me…”

Hadn’t it been obvious he sobered up, you’d consider his words twice, but it was clear Thoros was dead serious. He continued fidgiting with your hands.

“I will wait. But you better come back to me, you had me waiting too long already.” you declared stricly, at which he again smiled and kissed your hands.

“I swear it, my love”.

You hoped for a kiss, but nothing came of it as you made your way back; that’s how the two of you were… a little shy, gentle, and calm. The night had just arrived and there was plenty of time for all the to unload the mad longing you compressed for all this time.

As you entered the inn, it was not even half-full of people present when you left. Beric was still conversing with the only survivor of the alcoholic rampage on the table, last two girls still entertaining and keeping the remaining guests in good care. You decided to call it a night for yourself, and headed up the stairs with Thoros, down the corridor to your chamber. You hadn’t set the fire that evening, and so it was freezing. Thankfully, you didn’t have to struggle with the fireplace much as Thoros had his handy pyromaniac tools on him, quickly dealing with the deadly temperature in the chamber. You lay out furs down on the floor, next to the fire and sat yourself down comfortably. You liked your wine in the evenings, and so you sipped on the sweet liquid as Thoros told you more of his recent doings… you loved his calm voice, the light husk from alcohol on his words. You listened with interest about what happened to Anguy and the rest, about undead creatures lurking beyond the wall, about how lost the Hound is within himself… Soon enough the words turned to delicate kisses as he placed his palm on your cheek and leaned in for you. The first one was soft and caring, and as the next ones became more brave, his tongue ever so discretely skimmed on your bottom lip, you began to melt… You were becoming impatient, but knew you’d regret a rushed and rough time… this was meant to count, and nothing would get in the way of making every move unforgettable. All this time you denied yourself the lust you felt for him, the longing for his calm attention, your heart begging you to lay in his arms on a chilly evening. And this was it. Every nip he took on your lips send bolts all over your body. Soon, he had you pressed against his chest, nothing but fabrics of clothing seperating you. His tired, worked arms wrapped tight around your waist, your hips were on the floor and hands on his neck, brushing into his beard here and there… Thoros held you tight into him as his attention pulled away from your lips and travelled down to the neck, slowly distancing every kiss until you felt him on your collarbone… the attention and care he was putting into worshipping your skin started to get you wet. You worked your hands down his chest to get rid of the shirt; you wanted to get to his body. Realizing you wanted more, he complied and removed his shirt, but expected something in exchange. He looked at you for approval as he lay you down on your back and placed himself next to you, trailing his rough fingers up the bottom part of your dress. A hazy glare from you made it obvious you were more than ready to have your night with him. Understanding this, he sank his lips into your skin again, as your hands began to explore his bare shoulders and chest, not forgetting the hand lacing up your leg. Thoros managed to get rid of your undergarments quite easily, but surprised you when he then went for the rest of your dress…

“I hope it’s not too cold in here for you…” he double-checked with you as the strings of your dress became loose. You had no objections, and eventhough you shivered a little when the cold air hit against your skin, it wasn’t going to be long now until he’ll have you hot and sweating surely. Even if you were taking it slow and gentle, Thoros knew what he was doing to your body. The dress quickly departed your space, and you now lay completely bare on nothing but warm furs, your breasts becoming perky from the chill. Your arched a little as he began brushing his fingers through the middle of your chest, down to your stomach and further down into your hips… You’d have thought that this would make you a little embarassed, but you felt completely at ease looking at Thoros as he explored your body with his touch. He looked you in the eyes with longing and satisfaction as you gasped when his palm wrapped around your intimates… the warmth of his hand against your cold parts gave you comfort you never felt before, but also prompted a longing for him to enter you. He put a little pressure on you before his fingers started to get more complicated, running between the delicate folds, thumbing on your clit occasionally to bring you into a haze but just enough… Thoros started to feel you becoming wet, and decided it’s time to take it further as you began to tighten your fingers into his skin, overwhelmed with the need for him to fill you. He lowered himself to your chest and began to lay kisses all over your bridge and chest as his fingers began working your entrance. After a few strokes you felt a strong, steady prodding inside you… out of control for the moment, you threw your head back and pushed your hips against his hand.

That’s how your first night with him should have been. And he wanted to make it up to you by giving you all the pleasures he knew how to give. Realizing you were ready for more he added another digit into you, now slowly pulling both in and out, searing for a spot that would drive you over the edge. He watched your reactions with curiosity and pleasure as you suddenly began to grind your hips onto his hand… he found it… deep inside you, with his whole fingers in you, there was the place. Keeping them in the spot, Thoros pushed his free arm under your back, right behind your hips and pulled them closer to his own body, making it easier to put pressure on your inside. You gasped again and grabbed the hand that had you going mad, but Thoros was presistent, keeping it right where it was. Once you were where he wanted you, he began to work his fingers on the inside, without pulling them out. At first he was slow and gentle, not wanting to hurt you, but you quickly made it obvious you were perfectly comfortable with it… until you suddenly felt his mouth around your clit.

You didn’t want to come like this. You wanted him in you, your bodies joined, his mouth on yours. Your grasp on his wrist became almost painful for him as you panted out,

“Not… not like this… take me…”

He looked up at your, your face flushed and breasts shimmering in the firelight… he realized fast in fact he himself got out of control with trying to please you. He, too, wanted to taste you. He pulled away and started to remove his pants, eyes on you the whole time. But you had another plan. You sat up, as in waiting for him to finish undressing, but the moment he was done you pushed him onto his back and climbed on top of him.

You didn’t need to work your mouth on him, as your moans and the feeling around his fingers were enough to make him rock hard. He didn’t resist you, because you both recalled the night you gave him life. It was just like that, you on top of him, your hips clashing against his… with the exception of neither one of you being able to really enjoy it back then. It was no blessing. It was a cruel will of the Fire Lord. But this time it was your choice, yet you wanted to relive that moment. It has been in both of your fantasies for that night to have been a real lovemaking. Here was a chance to fix it all.

He wanted to take you by the hips, but became paralyzed half-way there as you slid your warmth onto his cock. His palms opened wider as you were going lower and lower on him, his face full of relief. You focused on him, wanting to see every feeling he had. When he was finally in you, you both wanted to take a moment to just be. There, as you were, joined. You stayed still as he gotten used to the tight feeling around him. You had your hands on his stomach, and as he finally came around he placed his above his head, willing to let you take full control. You smiled at eachother as you began to slide back and forth on his long, thick member. You loved how his eyebrows furrowed when you gave it a harder thrust, quiet moans escaping you both… the walls were thin, afterall. You picked up the pace as you felt yourself become more and more aroused, definitely getting closer to coming…

It didn’t take long for Thoros to lose himself and take control of your hips, his own beginning to hit against your movement. Your moans and panting became faster, the grasps and slams more and more harsh until you were both hungrily breaking into one another. He pulled you down until your chest was touching his, tangled his arms around your waist, making you unable to move anymore, and he started to move in and out of you. The angle made you edge as his thrusts became harder and harder, eventually getting the perfect rhythm… The moment he kissed your lips you came, and you came mad, shivering against his body, fingers dug into his shoulders, a long, tender moan finally escaping you… Your juices dripping down his cock as he continued to fuck you, it didn’t take long until he followed you, your reaction to the pleasure driving him to his own orgasm.

You both panted as he lay you on your side, letting you face the fire to keep you warm. Thoros pressed himself against your back, kissing the behind of your neck as you watched the flames silently hit the walls of the fireplace. After you have calmed down, wrapped in furs and laced with more drinks you conversed and caressed eachother well into the dusk…

#thoros #game of thrones smut #thoros of myr imagine #thoros of myr #thoros of myr x reader #thoros x reader #brotherhood without banners #got imagine #got smut #thoros of myr smut

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dachi-chan25 · 7 years ago

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Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 6 Recap Pt. 1

Oh boy… I need to vent again, I’m sorry, but thanks to everyone reading this, it’s a cathartic experience if anything.

WARNINGS: SPOILERS; Not a D@€ny fan, but if you follow me you already know that and if you don’t no problem that’s why I always warn you about it; Jonsa shipper and still growing strong ( I always loved the Tyrell OK???)

Before diving into the recap:

1.- The toughts, tinfoily wishy washy stuff, analysis, random stuff that I write are my own only, and in no form or way am I trying to convince you that I am right and every body else is wrong, I have been wrong about fandom stuff a LOT, and really it’s just fun for me to do this, anyway I am open to debate if you want just be respectful. Feel free to correct me if you notice I have some facts I present wrong, I will never get mad about it and will even thank you for your insight.

2.- The analysis/opinions I express of certain ships/characters are just my opinion as an audience, if you like the ship/characters good! That’s what makes the fandom experience such a diverse thing, and I have nothing against you. Keep on loving the thing you love!

3.- The Salt Throne and I are one entity of pure undiluted Salt and bitterness,if you don’t wish to subject yourself to reading my salty fangirl rants I completely understand.

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1.- We start on that table-map, helI feel I condemned myself saying I didn’t wanted no more close-ups of the thing, anyway so it’s just a pretty shot to get to where the story (plot? What plot?) really pick’s up: Eastwatch by the sea.

We are with the suicide squad on this show’s dumbest mission, but then again this season a lot of dumb things happened so I am resigned. Yeah so Jon and Tormund are talking about how dumb this mission is (got is breaking the fourth wall now???) while Gendry is freezing, Tormund is happy to be back North of the Wall cuz the air in the south is shit, Jon is like bih you never went south but really is agreeing actually Jon seems much more himself now that he is in the North again. Tormund and Jon tease Gendry about making do with him cuz there are no ladies here (ahaha joking about experiencing homosexual sex but no homo bro it’s just because we have no ladies amirite? Am I watching got or the big b4ng th€or¥?) and you know what else they don’t have?? Horses, and food, and those pesky dragonglass weapons, and a raven to send for help should anything happen… But no ladies are the priority. (*sigh* this show is so painfully obviously written by man) Gendry apparently believes them and goes away, Tormund comments he isn’t very bright, he needn’t be says Jon cuz they need the brawn and not the brains right? No this stupid ass mission could have seriously used some brains.

Anyway this next convo of conversations was very intresting to hear, not because they add anything to the plot (if such a thing exists anymore in this show) but I think they are important in understanding the theme they have in common and the relevance I think they have in the final scenes of the episode.

First we have a Tormund/Jon convo, our funny redhead asks about the Dragon Queen, and I expected they would use this chance to make some crude remark about her beauty or her body (dude not a second ago they were joking about bedding Gendry!!) but no, the conversation never goes in the direction that could further the idea of Jon’s attraction to D, Jon trusts Tormund and it would be normal for bros to discuss this stuff (remember how Jon giggled about Tormund mentioning Brienne last episode), instead a very weary and frustrated Jon states she (D) wouldn’t help unless he bends the knee, Tormund says that won’t happen cuz Jon spent so much time with the Wildings to be a kneeler again, but then he moves on to talk about Mance Ryder (dude this Jon/Mance parallels are hitting me in the face like a cold fish, I know D&D I noticed! You haven’t been subtle about this!!! You used the same FUCKING dialogue) and how the dude could have saved a lot of lives if he just had let go of his pride and knelt (so Tormund is our Jon in this parallel ain’t he?) it just made me laugh that Tormund, a wildling cuz they are still Free Folk and rule themselves even if they have an alliance with the KitN, is the one to suggests kneeling, but then I realized how big of a fucken deal that is, Mance could have saved those lives yes (and that’s mere speculation honestly cuz Stannis and his army could have also died at Hardhome #just saying) but he decided keeping his people’s will was more important, Jon respected that to the point he defyied Stannis (they needed his help and dude had just saved them) openly by killing Mance, and now Tormund who is kind of the new Free Folk king/leader is saying it would have been OK if he knelt to save everyone’s lives in front of Jon whom is in a very similar situation.

Then we get a Jorah/Jon convo, again perfect oportunity to show them as D’s love interests and rivals, or for Jorah to wax poetic about Khaliiisi and Jon being jealous or some shit. Some serious talk, if we had time in this compact season for Jon to threaten (or pardon) every man who ever crossed paths with Sansa, why Gendry or the Hound haven’t mentioned Arya at all, if logic states that she is someone this people have in common and should talk about? (like Theon asking about Sansa, or Tyrion) Why Jorah doesn’t talk about D if Jon is her new love interest and it would be a nice and neat contrast between the two of them? Instead they disscus another people they have in common, ex-Lord Commander Jeor Mormont and Ned Stark, oh yes they talk about their dads, Jon says how wonderful was Jorah’s dad and how awful was his death, while Jorah said it must have been heartbreaking for his dad whose entire life was the NW and Jon talks about Ned “the goodest most honorable man ever” dying like a traitor for his honor and pride (like I sense a pattern, can you tell? Gods D&D are too subtle guys) and goes as far as to say he is glad his dad didn’t kill Jorah (you know making him pay for his crime in a just honorable way). Honestly what was the point of this conversation if not that survival is most important than honor? The writers (through Jon) are celebrating that Jorah survived even if he has done sketchy awful things (among them he conspired to have D and her baby killed so he would be allowed to go back to Westeros).

Right we get an intresting end to this convo, Jon offers Jorah Longclaw (why would he give him the sword if he is gonna need it right now in the stupid ass Wight hunt? Why didn’t he gave it to Lady Lyanna Mormont, she has presumably begun training cuz she said to Lord Glover she wasn’t gonna sit by the fire while the man defended the North??? Why would he give it to someone if Jeor gave it to him cuz he didn’t wanted Jorah to have it???) but the point of the conversation it’s not the sword, because Jorah rejects it, it’s about planting the possibility of children in Jon’s future. people have been screaming Targ baby to the heavens and back, and if that is what you chose to belive alright, but I think not, if that was the case wouldn’t it be appropiate to have the Targ theme or the J/D song in the background and transition to DS where D talks about children with Tyrion like she does in a future scene? I would have believed it then. But instead we have the Stark theme and the scene transitioning to Arya and SANSA, call me delusional if you want but for me this is another check in the ‘targcest is building up tarbowl’ column.

Summarizing this we get the very bright neón message of Honor=Death. Which I’ll bring back later.

2.- Y'all remember those good times when the WF storyline was the only thing getting me through all the bullshit I was being fed by D&D? Well they’re over. As I said in point 1 we get a transition of Arya and Sansa looking down at the courtyard while Arya talks about how Ned watched the boys training and tries to diminish Sansa’s connection to her family by stating she was surely too busy sewing to know that (have fun freezing your limbs off darling!!! Sewing and Knitting and all those “delicate female” activities you sniff at are the reason you have clothes miss, really I can’t with this where is the Arya that thought woman to be of equal importance than man?) Sansa is having none of that and says she remembers, we get a cute memory of Arya practicing archery in secret and Ned approving (we get again nods to the patriarchy is wrong! But this is sloppy as fuck if D&D make Arya feel superior to non-warrior inclined girls, like that is also misogynistic) Sansa is smiling fondly (she at this point is more of a feminist icon than any other girl in this show, make no mistake she is not upset or resentful of warrior girls, she approved with a smile when Lyanna said girls on Bear Island were going to be trained too, and she smiles at the memory Arya is sharing with her of defying the rules and practicing archery cuz that made her happy) but then things take a turn for worse when Arya said that Ned is dead cuz Sansa helped the Lannisters. I never asked for this bullshit!!! Not even Ned blamed Sansa for anything, even if Sansa hadn’t alerted her Cersei was gonna kill Robert to protect herself and her children, Ned died for Joffrey’s cruelty (he wasn’t even supposed to die, he was to be sent to the Wall) and yes Sansa had a role to play in the chain of events that led to that, but Sansa had no way of knowing that, she only tried to save her family! The smile gets wiped from my girl’s face she is completely at loss. Arya takes out the letter and starts reading it out, even when Sansa asks her to stop cuz she already knows what does the letter say (wow I can’t belive D&D keep on triggering Sansa through her siblings, FUCKING disgusting) Arya is being unnecessary cruel, blaming Sansa for being powerless to stop their father’s death when she herself was equally powerless, like????? D&D are pushing this Starkbowl bs cuz this is got and nothing can be nice for 2 sec. But really this shit has no basis, you have Wight Hunt Team people who have literally killed each other or tried to working together and joking and then have two sisters who went through hell and back fighting cuz one of them thinks the other survived KL by being a princess in a tower??? Like how is this logical? Even if this is a cleverly crafted Arya plot (I think there is some logic to this) to kill LF is not fair for Sansa, god can’t she have good things on her life? D&D took away the safety of her home by marrying her off to Ramsey and have him rape her in her HOME, and now they make her family treat her one like a stranger and the other like shit???? I’m not asking for Arya to thank Sansa on her knees like she suggested (if anything Sansa was super brave standing her ground and defending her possition and everything she did to retake their home) I don’t want everyone to worship her as they do certain someone all I am asking for is respect and safety for someone who deserves it! Really and Arya suggesting Lyanna Mormont would go for Sansa’s throat why yes she is a child, one that has lost a lot with all this fucking wars but still a child that lacks the knowledge of the true game of thrones and what it takes to survive it, like you Arya (doesn’t she remembers she was cupbearer to Tywin who literally was responsible for the murder of her brother and mother? This is actually what leads me to think this is a ploy cuz Arya is not a hypocrite as far as we’ve seen) still this was painful to watch if you love the Starks.

Anyway leaving my frustration with this cheap drama aside, did anyone notice the parallels between the Arya and Sansa confrontation and the Jon/Tormund and Jon/Jorah conversations? The Wight Hunt Team was talking about great honorable man whose honor and moral code brought their downfall and in the Sansa and Arya, the youngest sister was blaming the eldest for having no honor and surviving (she goes as far as to say she would have rather died than betray her family) while Sansa defends what she did and shows how far she has come from paying the game.

Again this thing is not subtle at all.

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This is too long so Part 2 is coming!

#Game of Thrones #jonsa #season 7 #7x06 recap #part 1 #dachi rambles #anti daenerys #anti jonerys #just to be safe

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ask-de-writer · 7 years ago

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FROM DARKNESS TO DAWN (Part 1 of 3), an MLP Fan Fiction of the TRUE HISTORY OF EQUESTRIA

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to MLP Fan Fiction

Return to FROM DARKNESS TO DAWN

FROM DARKNESS TO DAWN

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

7096 words

Writing begun 02/11/14

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Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights. They may reblog the story. They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions. I will allow those who do commission art works to charge for their images.

All sorts of Fan activity is actively encouraged!

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Prologue: This tale takes place about 3000 years in the past of the modern MLP canon. During this time, Celestia and Luna are still fillies, though close to grown physically. The events here recorded are the foundation of the modern Hearthwarming Eve stories and pageants which were written by the winners of these events.

For those who have wondered how a Changeling-like creature like Heather Bloom O'Red Hoof could have been welcomed into the modern court of Celestia and Luna in Canterlot, it will be seen that it was the joyful reunion of fillyhood playmates.

For more background information please read:

De Writer and the Orb of the Ages: The first tale in the history of De Writer

De Writer's Tale (a narrative poem)

The Coming of Tam O'Canter and Heather Bloom O'Red Hoof to Ponyville

Hearthwarming Eve / Starvation's Night

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PART 2 is HERE Part 3 is HERE

Darkness Falls:

Celestia watched the smoke still rising from the charred ruins between the peaks of Red Hoof's Hill. She wept for the loss of friends and a wise ruler. Jarl Natchin of Red Hoof was buried in the embers of the Great Hall, trapped by a fallen beam and killed in the fire. At least, she knew that his Jarla and Jarlene had successfully led the survivors to the relative safety of the Everfree Forest. She wondered how badly the Heartkeeper, Jarla Peach Tree was injured in trying to save her Lord and husband from the fire set by the invaders.

Luna, wings trailing, tips to the ashes, pawed lightly at the remains of De Writer's School, where she and her sister had spent their young lives. She too wept. She was afraid that her foster father, De Writer might be there, as the Jarl was still in Red Hoof. Neither of them had seen him since he had roused them suddenly in the middle of the night and hastened them to the borders of the Everfree Forest and warned them not to return until full light. He had covered them with branches of pine trees for concealment and disappeared, literally.

A quiet voice behind them, on the edge of breaking into tears, said, “Come, my daughters. We must be gone from here and soon. I am sorry that I could not be with you through last night's horrors.

“I had to do all that was in my power to save as many as I could from the invasion. I am still getting used to the idea that the Orb of the Ages allows me to be any place at all on the instant that I desire it. Even so, I can only be in one place at a time. I wish greatly that I could have done more.”

Celestia looked at her shocked and trembling foster father, ready to collapse in tears, and asked hollowly, “I know about Red Hoof, father. We disobeyed you.

“I killed some of the invaders to allow Red Hoof's survivors to escape into the Everfree. The Great Hall was already ablaze.

“We found the survivors and helped to gather them together. Jarl Natchin is dead. Jarla Peach Tree is severely burned. She may have given all of her many years to try saving him. Jarlene Heather Bloom has the leading of the Red Hoof survivors.

“What of Bright Mane and Perchron? Do you know how they have fared?”

De Writer's legs folded under him as he collapsed to the browned grass that surrounded the charred remains of his school of writing. In tears and shuddering, he struggled to say, “I found them too late to save either of their Jarls or their families. I did gather and guide their survivors into the Everfree. They are on paths that will lead them to the Red Hoof refugees.”

Luna looked to the smoke arising from the destroyed town of Evanescence, not far away. She shuddered as she remembered flying over the burning village last night. In spite of her best efforts, there were so few that she had been able to save from flame and invader. She could only guess what her foster father was going through. He had been down in the thick of the battles.

She laid herself down next to her foster father, the only parent that she had ever known, and covered him with a wing. She could feel the shaking of his sobs though the feathers of her pinion.

Between the shock driven tears and shuddering she could hear his grief stricken words, “This is my fault! I could have at least warned the Jarls better. I trusted their judgment. I was wrong! So wrong!”

Luna looked an entreaty at her larger sister. “Father said that we need to be gone from here. He can guide us but he is in no sort of shape to even walk. Please help me to carry him.”

Celestia nodded her agreement. Her powerful but pale many hued magic enfolded both her foster father and her sister, lifting them both easily. “Keep father comforted, Luna. I will carry you both.

“Where shall we go, father? I can fly us all for a great distance before I tire.”

Her usually assured and dependable foster father, De Writer, looked about as if confused. Finally he said, “We need to go to the Great Southern Bay. We will have a few days that we can rest there along the shore. Then, when we are well rested, we can make for the Sunrise Isles.

“The invaders have no liking for the sea. I have looked at their plans and heard their councils. We will be safe in the Isles while you two continue to grow and gain both the strength and learn the limits of your magics.

“There is more to know but this will do for now. I am so tired. So heartsick. I wonder if I will ever be able to do anymore than weep.”

Luna, a few tears of her own falling into his mane, tightened her wing over her dear foster father and replied, “You must, Father. We are depending on you. We need your wisdom.”

Almost unnoticed, the soft delicate seeming many hued magic of Celestia lifted them both skyward. The only real sign that they were flying were the powerful thumping beats of her widespread wings driving them through the sky. She wisely took them by a devious route, low to the ground, where they would be hard to see and follow. Celestia remembered all too well the pegasus warriors that had spearheaded the last night's deadly attacks.

As she swerved with powerful wing strokes to dive into the cool concealment of a cloud, she asked, “Father, we are being pursued. I cannot see them well yet, but pegasi are after us. What shall we do?”

De Writer paused in his grief, the thought of risk to his precious foster daughters causing him to put all personal thoughts and fears aside. After a moment's reflection, he replied, “Far more important than what we do is what we do NOT do. We must defend ourselves as stoutly as necessary. We must NOT seek vengeance at all.

“That will lead to expanding conflict. Right now, we need to keep all thoughts of vengeance for a later time. Seek the means of defense that will do the least real harm.

“I am sorry that I do not know what it may be.”

Luna began to smile in a strange way. Speaking to her sister she said, “Can you tell how close the pursuers are now?”

An arrow flashing past through the foggy cloud answered her.

As Celestia was starting a dive, Luna called out, “No! Get us UP. They are in the range of my magic! I need to see them. Get above them if you can!”

Celestia's wings snapped out and tight to bring them around and up. Power strokes slammed the air as they burst up through the cloud, passing between the armed pegasi. Arrows and spears flew toward them.

Blue magic flared. Weapons passed wildly about them. Some did find targets . . . in their attackers. Those winged ponies fell fluttering earthward. Luna suddenly grinned savagely.

Midnight magic flared, encompassing the entire wing of pegasi. They fell away screaming and fluttering toward the safety of earth and trees below.

Celestia gave her sister a respectful look. “What in Our Mother's Name did you do to them, Luna?”

De Writer, still under the wing of his daughter, started to laugh in a broken way, but laughing for the first time since the enemy began the attack last night. Blue magic stroked both of his precious fillies on the mane.

“She gave them a waking nightmare! The falling dream! You both did this so perfectly.

“Now, Celestia, get us safely away from here. Luna, can you do that again?”

Both Celestia and De Writer were surprised at Luna's tears. “As often as we need it, Father. Nightmares, awake or asleep, hurt to send. They are two way things. To gage the force of it, I must feel what the receivers are feeling.

“To protect you or Celestia, I will do whatever I need to do.”

Celestia's wings carried them forward in silence as she realized what her sister had just endured to save them. De Writer's broken laughter stopped. Blue magic gently and comfortingly enfolded Luna.

Celestia found a wide ledge on the side of a tall mountain. It had a spring, trees to hide them and grass to eat. They took refuge under the trees as soon as they had a drink.

Celestia let Luna cover their father with her wing, as she had been doing all day. She knelt beside them both with De Writer between them and covered Luna with her large white wing. She said softly, “Sleep safely, dear sister. Father, I will keep the watch. You rest too. I will get us to the shore of the Great Southern Bay tomorrow.”

Luna looked up at her larger sibling and said brokenly, “I never used a dream as a weapon before. I have always tried to make good dreams. I am so sorry.”

Her father, De Writer, speaking from under her wing, said, “We have all three of us seen and done things that no pony should have to endure. Celestia too, though she was too late to save Jarl Natchin had to do battle with the invaders to get Red Hoof's refugees away safe.”

Celestia bowed her head, her pale rainbow of mane drifting with the breeze as she told her sister, “I had to kill six of the invaders to allow Jarlene Heather Bloom and her household to escape at all. Even with the blocked door bucked open, the invaders were laying in wait with spears and bows to slaughter our friends.

“I was afraid that I would have to kill more, but they broke and fled.” Her white head drooped to the moss of the forest as she added, “That is why I will take the watch. I am afraid to sleep. I am sure that I will dream it again and again. There is the blood of ponies on my heart and soul.”

Luna returned Celestia bleak stare and moved her wing to cover Celestia's. “Then rest, Sister. Sleep. I have already dreamed the nightmares. I will guard your sleep. You will be safe in your slumber because I will be there for you.”

Celestia snuggled closer to her father. Under Luna's compelling gaze, she dropped swiftly to sleep.

Quietly, De Writer said, “That was well done, my dear. Well indeed. I have to work now to ensure our safety.” The clear pale green Orb of the Ages sat before him on a small log that made a part of their hiding place. It was neatly balanced on its three short but intricately worked legs.

Luna looked at it in fascination. She had never before seen it up close. “What are you going to do, Father? Don't you need your rest?”

“No, my dear one, not now. You and Celestia carried me and comforted me all this long day. I have had a chance to rest and reflect on my failures. I have also realized an important truth, I think.”

“What is that, Father? I could use some wisdom right now.”

De Writer managed a weak smile. “It is this. The past is dead unless we give it life. We can do two things with the past. We can remember it as a source of hurt for our failures and club ourselves with it to our ruin. The other way is to reflect on the events and use them as a guide to learn how to better do what is needed when the time comes.”

Luna gave her father a long and reflective look. Her features smoothed from the distress of moments earlier. “The past is Dead. We give it life as pain or as lessons to better ourselves and those about us.”

She thought deeply for several minutes. Then with a half smile, said, “That is so simple, yet not at all easy. I have noticed that many of our writing lessons had similar thoughts as their basis. Still, it makes a solid goal, whether we succeed or not.

“If it helps, Father, it does help.” Luna actually managed a smile at her word play.

De Writer saw her smile and managed one of his own. Then he muttered under his breath, “The Future is Forbidden.” The Orb began to glow of its own light. Luna was transfixed by the glow. “Celestia and I saw that from under your sleeping stall door. So this is what it was. We wondered.”

Scenes began to appear and vanish with blinding speed. Every once in a while, a scene would freeze in place for a few moments. Once, she thought that her father beside her disappeared but if he did, he was back so swiftly that she was not sure if it really happened.

Then she saw and felt her father's reaction. His shuddering attempt to hold back tears. She recognized the same sort of shock that he had shown this morning. She instantly wrapped him in her midnight magic and let a quick but peaceful dream soothe him. She wished that somepony could do the same for her.

As if he was reading her mind, De Writer enfolded her in his blue magic and held her while she laid her head across his shoulder and let her cry.

When she was done, she asked, “Who got killed this time?”

//////// TO BE CONTINUED /////////

#FROM DARKNESS TO DAWN #Part 1 of 3 #MLP Fan Fiction #Alternate History #AU #written by De Writer

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