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airyairyaucontraire · 1 year

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Watching The Mandalorian S3EIforget, "The Pirate"

Okay, 44 minutes of a show that's rapidly losing my allegiance, not for being offensive or brutal, just for being kind of dumb and palpably losing interest in its title character. Let's go then.

If this show was going to go with pirates while also being addicted to re-introducing characters from the CG TV shows, I really feel they could've graced our screens with Hondo Ohnaka. But I fundamentally don't want them to keep bringing in characters from the CG shows. The only exception I would make is Rex, because Temuera Morrison, but I would rather still have more Boba, because also Temuera Morrison.

They haven't even tried to re-member the dismembered IG-11 statue.

shiny ass-kissing droid

and now there are pirates

and I just feel like a man in Greef's position -

actually speaking of Greef's position, I love how before skyping the mossy pirate captain, he squares up and puts his hands on his hips like Henry VIII posing for Holbein

- okay, a man in Greef's position, formerly deeply involved with the bounty hunters' guild, ought to have a staff of mercenaries on site in readiness for shit like this. Instead he's as unprepared for the possibility of bad guys with a big ship showing up wanting to take his stuff as Boba was on Tatooine. Presenting these middle-aged guys who have been involved in the underbelly of the galaxy for their whole adult lives as so naïve about the security challenges of running one's own fiefdom during a somewhat lawless period of regime change is such a bizarre choice. Why is everyone in this show so dumb about stuff they should be totally used to? They're not Luke Skywalker coming from the middle of nowhere with starry eyes and feathered hair. Like they should be smarter than me at this type of thing, and I'm a typist from Auckland.

there's a PIRATE NATION taking over the Mid Rim? THAT I ACTUALLY AM SEMI-INTERESTED IN so I bet they won't show it.

Retreat to the lava flats - a large, open area without shelter or cover. Super.

exsqueeze me, Disney+ subtitler, but PSYCHEDELIC ROCK MUSIC PLAYING?

well, the krill farmers are still pumping out the blue juice, I see. And here's a nice Korean Canadian dad - you know what? I feel like Captain Teva is here to provide the Papa Smurf beard that Rex is not onscreen to give us.

Okay, so just as apparently Ragnar just hung out in a dinosaur's crop totally uninjured for 12 hours minimum while a search party stopped to rest overnight on their way to him, Mr Kim has time to travel to Coruscant and try to get a meeting with his superiors while Nevarro is under active pirate attack. He doesn't say "screw it, time is of the essence, I'll render aid and take the consequences." This show's idea of time in rescue situations is bizarre.

Who else feels like this fucking boring New Republic plotline was supposed to be part of the Rangers show that presumably Cara Dune would have headed up if the actress hadn't insisted on being a douchebag on Twitter? And now they're just trying to fold it into The Mandalorian. I resent it.

You know, when I heard the name Tuttle I had a brief feverish flowering of hope that a M*A*S*H tribute about the insanity of military bureaucracy might be in the works, but then it withered.

I know this guy from somewhere, somewhere relatively recent, but I am unable to place him. I am not interested enough to look him up.

I'm so irritated by the lazy cynicism of "If the Rebellion got into power they'd be useless." They're not the Democrats.

so now everyone's just wandering around in the blazing sunlight on hot black lava flats. Sorry Greef, your planet sucks.

And now... is this Jurassic Planet? yep, so I hope he doesn't get eaten by a serpent while he's here. Dude. Sir. You're standing so close to the bay that the mosasaurs like to pop out of. You've got your back to it. Please.

please help me

why does Paz address Teva as "Blue Boy"? He is dressed from neck to ankle in the most garish orange. Paz's own armour is predominantly blue. Is he fucking colour-blind?

Why does the Disney+ subtitler still head up Din's dialogue as "THE MANDALORIAN" when we've known for actual years that his name is Din Djarin?

they pride themselves on their secrecy... and their idiocy.

You know, this would never have happened if you'd stuck with your plan of repairing IG-11. He was no snitch.

Din calls him "Blue" too! HE IS DRESSED IN ORANGE

I CANNOT RECALL THE COLOUR BLUE EVER BEING SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE REBELLION OR NEW REPUBLIC

HE HAS SOME BLUE STENCILS ON HIS HELMET BUT HE DELIBERATELY TOOK THAT OFF AND LEFT IT IN HIS SHIP WHEN HE GOT OUT TO PARLEY SO DIN AND PAZ CAN'T SEE IT

anyway BK's doing her swaggery walk again and while we're at it WHO ELSE PROMINENTLY WEARS BLUE?

and now we're going to have a long, leisurely meeting to discuss because what is time? what is urgency?

"and our children can feel what it is to play in the sunlight" - which we already let them do because we take absolutely no safety precautions about living right next to a bay where dinosaurs regularly pop out of the water or swoop from the sky to devour our young

"Does anyone else wish to speak?" No, because we are all just elaborately dressed extras. We know our place.

I'm... skipping stuff.

So the pirates are boozing it up in the school, like they wanted to. I'm happy that someone got what they wanted.

I like that one warthog pirate!

Did a Salacious B. Crumb monkey just tip off the Mandos?

I know they want me to be excited for the big battle, I know they do... I'm just too grumpy. I have a glass of wine, though, so that's good. Recognisable salmon pink in colour, The Ned Pinot Gris 2022 showcases classic aromas of quince, pear drop and vibrant stonefruit. The palate is lush with juicy nectarine and Braeburn flavours supported by an underlying hint of spice that leads to an unctuous ripe finish. A versatile wine when it comes to food matching with its notable fruitiness and gentle acidity. Try pairing this silky wine with succulent chicken thighs added to a creamy, lemon fettuccine pasta sauce.

you know, I don't usually tolerate words like unctuous and succulent being thrust at me by a mere product description, but I'll allow it

So... there wasn't much point to the mossy pirate at all, was there? Unless he bailed out with a parachute, he blowed up.

yes, the Anzellans are very cute. Always a pleasure to see them.

You know why I have a problem with this effort to do a whole thing about Bo-Katan and reuniting Mandalore and everything? It's the problem of trying to link up with the sequels, which were made before The Mandalorian was a consideration and gave absolutely no hint that the Mandalorians were a consideration either. Did they just "retake Mandalore" and then become totally isolationist, neither fighting the First Order nor supporting the Resistance? Did they get wiped out for keeps? Where were they when shit went down? You don't have to engage with that if you're prepared to just tell a small story of one dude and his kid, and a personal saga of family and faith, friendship and love, but once you commit to doing a big political historical story, you've gotta and it seems doomed to be unsatisfactory.

anyway if people are just whipping their helmets off now I reckon Din should pop back to Tatooine and show Cobb his smile

#The Mandalorian #the mandalorian spoilers #the mandalorian s3 #spoilers #mando critical

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carewyncromwell · 2 years

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“Riff raff -- street rat -- I don’t buy that! If only they’d look closer... Would they see a poor boy? No, siree... They’d find out there’s so much more to me...”

~“One Jump Ahead (reprise)” from Aladdin

x~x~x~x

Despite being very happy in Slytherin, Carewyn didn’t make any friends in her own house in her first two years at school, aside from her best friend, Rowan Khanna. In her own dormroom, she had to rest her head beside Liz Tuttle (who seemed amiable enough, but was painfully shy), Ismelda Murk (a rather sadistic sort who turned Carewyn right off), and Merula Snyde (Carewyn’s school enemy likely for the rest of eternity). As for the boys, most of them seemed like total idiots, prone to drinking faulty potions just to prove they could -- and the biggest idiot of them all seemed to be the one called Barnaby Lee.

Barnaby Lee was a tall, brawny sort with russet-colored hair, a square jawline, and ears that popped out from his head a bit like a troll’s. A troll was honestly the best comparison point Carewyn could make for him upon first meeting -- when Merula introduced him and Ismelda Murk as her new “friends” at the beginning of their third year, the first thing he said to Carewyn was that if she messed with Merula, he’d vanish all the bones in her body. Carewyn, perfectly unintimidated despite his muscles and superior height, couldn’t help but sass him.

“If you stay friends with Merula, I won’t have to do anything to you. I reckon that’ll bring you more than enough misery.”

Yet Barnaby seemed to completely miss her point.

“Not when Merula, Ismelda, and I find the Cursed Vaults!” he said conversationally, as if Carewyn hadn’t just insulted him. “What’s inside those Vaults is going to make me stronger -- Merula said so. And if doing what Merula says is the only way I can get to them, I’ll do what I have to.”

Carewyn crossed her arms, cocking an eyebrow coolly. “Merula told you you’d only get to the Cursed Vaults by following her orders?”

No one could possibly be that stupid. And yet Barnaby, it seemed, was. When Carewyn actually had the audacity to ask if Merula could just be lying to take advantage of him, the way she did with everyone, Barnaby looked so taken aback and confused that he strode away, his face scrunched up in a tight frown.

“Don’t try to make me think, Cromwell.”

Carewyn put Barnaby Lee out of her mind after that discussion, at least until she met Tulip Karasu. Carewyn ended up helping Tulip ward off Barnaby and Ismelda with a Jumbo Dumgbomb so that Carewyn could get Merula’s key to Jacob’s room, and after Carewyn and Tulip successfully warded off the boggart that had taken over the abandoned room, the two set about looking through Jacob’s old notes for clues. After some investigation, including doing some reconnaissance in the Library with Bill, Carewyn came to the conclusion that the next Vault had to be inside the Restricted Section of the Library -- and that the broken wand and scribble-ridden book that had been left behind in the Ice Vault had to have been left there to help them open it! Tulip was thrilled -- and, as it turned out, she had an idea of dealing with another problem: namely, Merula trying to stop them from entering the Vault.

“Remember Barnaby Lee?” Tulip asked.

Carewyn frowned. “Merula’s own personal troll guard? Of course.”

Tulip smirked. “Barnaby might not be that smart, but he is strong. Maybe the toughest wizard in our year. On top of that, he’s someone Merula’s confided in -- he’ll know her really well, and he’ll know what her plans are.”

As much as he can know anything, I suppose, Carewyn thought dryly.

Carewyn considered this. Barnaby certainly seemed pretty stupid...but at the same time, he didn’t seem half as malevolent as either Ismelda or Merula were. For as comfortable as he was about violence, he’d responded so...well, innocently, upon being confronted with the thought that Merula could be lying to him -- almost as if he himself was so dim that lying wasn’t something he would ever think of doing himself.

He seems really dumb, Carewyn thought to herself, but maybe that’s the problem. Maybe he’s just so dumb that he never even considered doing anything other than what Merula told him to do...

Carewyn’s light blue eyes drifted off to the wall thoughtfully.

“Hm, well...as much as Barnaby’s kind of brought this on himself, for following along with Merula’s whims, just to try to make himself stronger,” she said at last, “it does seem pretty rotten, that Merula’s able to take advantage of him, just because she can.”

She nodded determinedly. “Okay. I’ll try to talk him around.”

He wouldn’t be able to help Merula stop us, if he agrees to help us instead, after all.

Tulip gave Carewyn an encouraging nod. “You can do it, Carewyn Cromwell. Just do what you did with me, the other day.”

Carewyn blinked. “What, you mean, be a decent human being?”

Tulip gave a short laugh. “Well, sure! You got me to open up, didn’t you? Still don’t fully know how you managed it...but you made me feel heard. Like you cared.”

Despite the smirk on her face, her black eyes glinted with something a bit more sincere.

“Just be everything you are that Merula isn’t. Let Barnaby see that you’re the better choice.”

With this advice in hand, Carewyn went to go talk to Barnaby in the Great Hall. His response to her sincerest, kindest attempt to coax him onto her side, however, was not what she had expected.

And so that was how Carewyn Cromwell ended up on the Training Grounds with Barnaby Lee, dueling for nearly an entire hour until Barnaby was finally beaten down enough to accept defeat.

Once Carewyn had reversed his Full Body-Bind, she immediately took hold of Barnaby’s arm and extended it out toward her.

“Uh...what are you doing?” asked Barnaby, confused.

Carewyn shushed him. “Hold still. Ferula.”

She set about bandaging the cuts she’d inflicted on his arm -- then she set about trying to fix Barnaby’s sleeve, which had gotten ripped and burned by the same attack.

“Reparo. Scourgify.”

A couple of delicate sparks of light puffed out of Carewyn’s wand and sealed up around Barnaby’s arm. Barnaby blinked in surprise at his magically repaired, but still blood-stained sleeve.

“I’m sorry -- I don’t know any Charms strong enough to get rid of those stains yet,” Carewyn apologized lowly, “but at least it’s a little better than it was...”

Barnaby blinked again at Carewyn, looking that bit more confused than ever. Without paying him any mind, the tiny redhead set about bandaging and cleaning up his other arm and shoulder. By the time she was finished bandaging it, Barnaby finally seemed to have collected his thoughts.

“...Hm,” he said at last. “I always thought you had to be mean to hurt somebody that badly...”

Carewyn frowned deeply even as she finished cleaning Barnaby’s other sleeve.

“It’s not nice to hurt people,” she said very firmly. “But you said I had to beat you in order to get you to help me...so I did what I had to.”

Barnaby considered this. “So you did something you didn’t want to do, just to get what you wanted...”

His face then burst into an oddly bright grin. “...Merula was wrong! You do act like a Slytherin."

Carewyn raised her eyebrows coolly. “Merula’s wrong about a lot of things.”

Once she’d finished what she was doing, she tucked her wand back in her robes, looking up at the taller Slytherin critically.

“So, Barnaby? Are you going to keep your word and help me instead of Merula?”

Barnaby rolled his sleeves back up where they’d been before, that brighter smile still blazing on his face. “As long as we can celebrate our partnership with a Butterbeer.”

Carewyn raised an eyebrow at this, but ultimately decided there was no harm in it and shrugged. She’d honestly prefer a conversation over fighting, anyhow.

“All right.”

~*~

Once Carewyn had shed her full robes, she met Barnaby in Hogsmeade, right outside the Three Broomsticks. When she arrived, the blood on his sleeves had been cleaned up.

“Madam Rosmerta saw the fresh bloodstains on my sleeves and asked if I’d been in a fight,” Barnaby said brightly. “I told her I was! I had to reassure her that the blood was mine, though -- she’d looked really worried, when she heard I was fighting you...”

Rosmerta did indeed look a bit relieved to see Carewyn, when she brought them each a pint of butterbeer.

“On the house,” she said.

Carewyn immediately tried to protest, but Rosmerta merely smiled and gave her a light tap to the nose.

“No ‘buts,’ young lady,” she said, her smile becoming a bit wryer. “Consider this a bit of encouragement for both of you to settle your differences with words and not wands.”

As she bustled off, Barnaby smiled.

“That was awful nice of her,” he said conversationally as he picked up his glass. “I always like a Butterbeer after dueling -- they say it heals bruises and broken bones.”

Carewyn squinted at him in bewilderment. “Who said that?”

Barnaby’s eyes drifted up toward the ceiling thoughtfully. “...I can’t remember. I’m sure someone probably said it...”

He brushed this thought away as he took a long gulp of Butterbeer.

“Anyway...thanks for such a great duel!” he said. “I can see how you beat Merula twice...just a shame I didn’t get to see them myself...”

“They really weren’t that exciting,” Carewyn dismissed politely as she too took a sip from her mug.

She paused. Then, despite herself, she couldn’t help but ask, “How did you even get involved with Merula anyway?”

Barnaby shrugged as he took a sip of Butterbeer. “We have a lot in common, with her parents and mine both being...you know.”

Carewyn frowned. A murky memory returned to her mind -- Rowan in their first year, telling her a terrible secret about Merula’s parents...

She stiffened. “Your parents were Death Eaters?”

Barnaby lowered his mug with a small frown.

“Why are you so surprised?” he asked as he wiped the white foam from his upper lip. “Everyone knows Slytherins have the most interesting childhoods. I reckon you probably have some Dark wizards in your family too, right?”

Carewyn crossed her arms uncomfortably. “Not really.”

Unless you count my mum’s father being a total creep.

“So does that mean that you agree with Merula?” she asked, her voice low with displeasure. “That Muggles are inferior, and Muggle-borns like Ben shouldn’t be allowed to go to Hogwarts?”

Barnaby looked thoughtful. “Well, I’ve never met a real Muggle before, so I don’t know about that...but Ben Copper seems okay. Kind of wimpy sometimes, but he’s nice. He helped me with my Charms homework once last year, when I was having trouble,” he added with a smile. “I was misreading the directions in the book, so he offered to read them aloud for me and then showed me how to do the wand movement right. He’s really good at Charms!”

Carewyn couldn’t help but smile a bit at the sincere praise of her friend.

“He is,” she agreed.

Knowing Barnaby didn’t seem to harbor any prejudice toward Muggles and Muggle-borns either made her relax that bit more. She took another sip of Butterbeer before pressing on.

“Muggles aren’t inferior, for the record,” she said very firmly.

Barnaby tilted his head to the side. “They’re not?”

“No,” said Carewyn. “My mum ran away from home to live in the Muggle World. She raised Jacob and me the Muggle way too. Muggles aren’t perfect, sure, but wizards aren’t either...and they’ve done a lot of amazing things too, things even wizards haven’t done.”

“Like what?” Barnaby said curiously.

“Well, they’ve been to the moon, for one.”

Barnaby’s eyes lit up. “Really? Did they meet the man who lives there?”

Carewyn gave a bewildered double-blink. “What man?”

“The Man in the Moon!” Barnaby said cheerfully. “I’ve heard people talking about him before. I reckon he’s got to be some wizard who got stuck up there a long time ago -- were the Muggles able to bring him back to Earth with them?”

Carewyn was so stunned she couldn’t stop herself from bursting into giggles.

“Oh -- no,” she choked out through her laughter. “No, the Man in the Moon -- that’s just an old children’s story, Barnaby! When Muggles first took pictures of the moon, they thought they saw a face carved into its surface...so people used to tell stories about a Man in the Moon!”

Instead of being discouraged by this, though, Barnaby’s eyes were brighter than ever. “I’ve done that before! I once saw a face in my shepherd’s pie, when I was a kid -- my dad smacked the back of my head with one of his shoes for crying while I was eating it.”

Carewyn’s mouth dropped open.

“He did what?” she gasped.

“Well, I was crying really hard,” Barnaby said self-deprecatingly. “But it was so tasty that I kept eating it, which kind of made me feel worse...”

Carewyn ignored this.

“You weren’t hurt, were you?” she demanded concernedly. “When he hit you?”

“Huh? Oh, no -- not that badly,” Barnaby reassured her. “Dad got me light, that time.”

He looked startled when this only served to make Carewyn more upset.

“It’s okay,” he said quickly. “Dad just wanted to make sure I was strong, that’s all. Grandmum always reminds me of that too -- that only the strong survive and all. She’s not so strong physically, but she’s really good with curses, like Mum and Dad were.”

“Was she a Death Eater too?” asked Carewyn grimly.

“No -- Grandmum’s not a Dark witch, she really only collects stuff. That’s why I stay with her and Antioch now, over the holidays.”

“Antioch?”

“Grandmum’s crup,” Barnaby explained. He grinned as he added in a slightly lower voice, “I call him ‘Annie’ for short, though Grandmum hates it.”

Carewyn quickly stifled a smile behind her hand. Barnaby suddenly looked incredibly self-conscious and looked down into his Butterbeer.

“...Huh. I don’t think I’ve ever talked this much about myself to anybody before...” He looked up at Carewyn hesitantly. “...This isn’t weird for you, is it?”

“Of course not!” Carewyn said at once.

“Hm,” said Barnaby. He looked thoughtful. “Well, it is a little weird to me...”

Carewyn’s face became very serious.

“Barnaby...if there’s something you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to,” she said firmly. “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”

Barnaby considered this. Then, looking slightly surer of himself, he said, “Does your mother scold you a lot, Carewyn?”

Carewyn frowned. “No.”

“Hmm...” Barnaby looked thoughtful. “What about your dad? Does he call you names? Do they collect Dark artifacts?”

“No,” said Carewyn, very confused. “My dad’s a Muggle.”

Barnaby looked sheepish.

“Sorry,” he said. “I was trying to figure out if we have anything in common too -- like Merula and I do. You said you don’t have any Dark wizards in your family, though, and I know you’re not an only child like me, since you have your brother...”

His sincerity again surprised Carewyn.

It was so strange -- Barnaby had seemed so brutish and stupid, at first glance. Carewyn had followed Rowan’s example early on and seen him as akin to a troll, just stupidly following around after Merula and wrecking things left and right. And yet now, upon being shown basic human decency, he was opening up like a flower hungry for a bit of water and sunshine.

A prickle of pity flicked at the inside of Carewyn’s heart. She looked down into her own Butterbeer thoughtfully.

“...Well, what about interests?” she suggested. “You like to duel, right? Is Defense Against the Dark Arts your favorite subject?”

Barnaby rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. “Not really -- I almost got frozen trying to bust our last professor out of the cursed ice last year. And the professor this year’s almost never around...”

Carewyn sighed tiredly. That was true -- the current Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had been paranoid about getting “taken out” by the curse affecting her predecessors and so had been largely replaced by about a dozen substitutes over the course of the term. No one knew whether her barely being around would protect her from the curse or not.

“What is your favorite subject, then?” asked Carewyn. “Herbology? Potions?”

Most Slytherins got some favoritism from Snape, after all.

Barnaby shook his head. “Mm, not really...I prefer Care of Magical Creatures.”

Carewyn’s eyes widened a bit. “Really?”

Barnaby looked rather self-conscious again.

“Well, it’s just -- all the tough creatures, you know,” he said forcefully. “The dragons, and the manticores, and things...”

Carewyn could pretty easily tell he was putting on airs, though. She smiled.

“I love Care of Magical Creatures,” she said earnestly.

Barnaby looked encouraged. “You do?”

“Yeah! Remember when Professor Kettleburn showed off that bonfire full of salamanders? I thought they were so beautiful, the way their eyes glowed.”

Barnaby’s eyes lit up as brightly as the salamanders’ eyes had. “Me too! I so wanted to hold one, even if Kettleburn said that they’d burn your hands, if you weren’t wearing the proper equipment...but they were just so cute!”

Carewyn’s face burst out into a huge, bright smile. Almost immediately Barnaby seemed to lose his nerve and he flushed.

“I mean -- um...”

Feeling some compassion for how uncertain he looked, Carewyn cut his stammers off gently.

“They were really cute,” she said, and her bright grin broadened further as Barnaby’s ears reddened. “I was so jealous that Liz Tuttle managed to get one to crawl up her arm.”

The light returned in full to Barnaby’s eyes, more excited than ever. “Me too! And that Charlie Weasley got one to roll over for him too -- I reckon the salamander must’ve liked him comparing her to a Chinese Fireball...”

Carewyn beamed. “Charlie’s brilliant, when it comes to dragons. I reckon that’s why everyone on the Quidditch pitch compares him to a Peruvian Vipertooth.”

“Oh, right -- because they’re the smallest and the fastest!” Barnaby laughed. “That’s smart! I don’t really know much about Quidditch...my parents were never really that interested in it.”

“What did you and your parents like to do together?” Carewyn asked as gently as she could. “Like, for fun.”

Barnaby considered this. “Mm, well...they didn’t do much of anything special with me, really, besides have meals and teach me lessons. They dropped me off at Granmum’s a lot of the time, when I was really little.”

He paused.

“...My dad did introduce me to You-Know-Who, once,” he admitted at last, very lowly.

Carewyn’s eyes grew very, very wide.

“You actually met him?” she whispered.

Barnaby lowered his gaze down to the table between them.

“I saw him, anyhow,” he said quietly. “My dad met with him at our house when I was little. I’d poked my head in to find out who was in, and that’s when my dad told him who I was.”

Carewyn tried to imagine a tiny Barnaby, eclipsed in the shadow of such a foreboding, monstrous man. It was a chilling thought.

“...You must’ve been so scared,” she said, her voice soft and weak in its horror.

The memory of her You-Know-Who boggart, and the fear his heartless scarlet eyes had instilled in her, rushed over Carewyn like a cold wave.

Barnaby shook his head. “Mm, at first, yeah. But my dad admired him. And looking at him closely...well, he looked kind of funny, to be honest. Super pale with these bony, old-man fingers -- no hair, no nose -- it made me think he must have a hard time enjoying any good food, if he can’t smell anything.”

Carewyn was so startled by Barnaby’s utter lack of fear that she gave a very short, strangled laugh. Then she went very quiet again, recalling again just how serious this whole thing was.

“He was the most powerful Dark wizard in the world, Barnaby,” she said very solemnly. “He killed so many people -- terrorized so many more...all with no remorse, and beyond reason...”

“I know,” said Barnaby. “But like I said, my dad admired him. And my dad always said that if I could become powerful like You-Know-Who, then I could do anything. I could do whatever I wanted, because no one would question my strength or try to stop me.”

Barnaby rested his muscular arms down on the table, his bottle green eyes once again falling down to his mug of Butterbeer.

“...Now that my dad’s in Azkaban...I’m just trying to keep doing that, like he said. Try to get stronger, so that I can do what I want to do.”

Carewyn stared at Barnaby, taking in the oddly pensive, melancholy look in his face. There was suddenly such a weight to his shoulders, like he was wearing some really heavy cloak someone else gave him that was way too big for him and didn’t suit him at all. It reminded Carewyn of her mother Lane, when she told her stories of her miserable life at the Cromwell estate...of needing to bury who she was and what she liked, just to fulfill her terrible parents’ expectations of her...

This is the boy I called Merula’s “troll guard?”

The thought made Carewyn feel sick. All this time she’d merely seen Barnaby Lee as too stupid to go against what Merula told him, but...truly, it seemed how Merula treated him was how he’d always been treated -- by his parents, by his grandmother. Like you had to be cruel in order to make people respect you, like strength and power were all that matter...like his feelings didn’t matter...

He wasn’t stupid at all, Carewyn realized. He just didn’t know that he was being treated so unfairly -- that he deserved better than how the people in his life had always treated him...that that “better” way even existed...

“Carewyn?”

Carewyn blinked, her eyes refocusing on Barnaby after having zoned out. The Slytherin boy’s square face had twisted up in a hesitant, confused expression.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Carewyn looked away at once, suddenly incredibly uncomfortable.

“I’m fine,” she said at once. “...Why?”

She asked this because Barnaby didn’t look fully convinced.

“It’s just...your face looked so sad, just then,” he said uneasily. “Like you saw something awful...something no one else can see.”

Her heart had been slowly softening to Barnaby for a while now, but it was these words, and the sight of Barnaby looking up at her with such genuine concern, that finally made it fold. Her blue eyes blazed with a kind of decisive, compassionate fire as she looked down at her own reflection in the glass in front of her.

“...Maybe I did.”

She paused. When she spoke again, her voice was both firmer and warmer than before.

“...I don’t know if your dad would agree with me, Barnaby...but I think you’re very strong.”

Barnaby blinked. “You do?”

Carewyn nodded. “Mm-hm. And not just because you’ve got big muscles, or you know a lot of spells. I think you’re strong because you’re loyal, and honorable, and honest too. I think you’re strong because...even if your parents are Death Eaters, you don’t look down on Ben for his heritage...and even if your dad always told you to act tough, you still think salamanders are cute.”

She beamed at him.

“I think you’re strong because you’re you...and that’s all there is to it. I think that’s pretty brilliant.”

Barnaby stared at Carewyn, looking both bewildered and a bit overwhelmed. Then, flushing with embarrassment, he grinned self-consciously.

“...You really are a very nice person, Carewyn,” he said, his bottle green eyes bright with validation. “I don’t get why Merula doesn’t like you at all.”

Carewyn gave a light huff. “Well, I don’t like her very much either. Or how she treats you.”

I didn’t like Merula taking advantage of Barnaby before, but to know all she’s really been doing is treating Barnaby the way his rotten family’s always treated him...

A surge of hatred toward Merula pulsed through Carewyn, even as she put down her now empty Butterbeer glass and gave Barnaby a more reassuring look.

“Come on,” she said as she got up from her seat. “Let’s head on back to the castle -- it’s getting late.”

“Do you want me to help you with the Vaults now?” asked Barnaby.

Carewyn was reminded of the exchange she’d had with Tulip, where the Ravenclaw had acted as though she’d fully expected her only to care about the Cursed Vaults, like Merula did.

“No,” said Carewyn. “I just don’t want us to get in trouble for breaking curfew.”

Barnaby looked sheepish again. “Oh yeah -- right...”

He got up from his chair too and started to follow Carewyn out of the Three Broomsticks.

“We’ll have plenty of time to deal with the Vaults later, after I’ve hashed out a plan with Bill,” she said reassuringly. “I know Tulip will want to help too, so we’ll have to figure out what time works best for all of us.”

Barnaby’s eyes drifted up toward the cloudy sky as they headed out the front door. “Hm, yeah...reckon Bill Weasley’s schedule’s probably a bit different than ours...and he’s taking his OWLs this year, right?”

Carewyn nodded. “Right. I don’t want to stress him out too much, around his exams...they’re so important, when it comes to his future as a Cursebreaker.”

“I don’t know if I’d want to be a Cursebreaker, myself,” Barnaby said thoughtfully. "But it is pretty cool that Bill’s so sure of himself -- what he wants to do. And he’s really strong too -- I’ve seen him at the Dueling Club, and he almost always wins.”

He grinned.

“Maybe now that you and I are working together, I could ask Bill to fight me next!” he said brightly.

Carewyn stifled a smile behind her hand. “Maybe you should phrase it as wanting to duel him, rather than fight him.”

She paused. Then her smile spread a bit more.

“I just figured out something we have in common,” she said. “We both think of other people’s feelings before our own.”

Barnaby blinked. Then his face brightened noticeably.

“...Yeah! Yeah, I guess that’s true!”

His emerald eyes squinted, just to make enough room for his broad smile.

“Say, Carewyn?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to stop by the Magical Creature Preserve on the way to Kettleburn’s class tomorrow? I found a Knarl in his burrow the other day, and he’s really friendly...I think Hagrid must’ve found him before me, for him to be so good around humans...”

The suggestion made Carewyn’s own smile and eyes brighten that bit more.

“Yeah,” she said. “I’d like that.”

And that was how Carewyn Cromwell and Barnaby Lee became such unlikely, but good friends seemingly overnight.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #my writing #barnaby lee #carewyn cromwell #tulip karasu #madam rosmerta #merula snyde #ismelda murk #liz tuttle #charlie weasley #lane cromwell #charles cromwell #rubeus hagrid #fanfiction #aesthetic

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popstarryeyed · 10 months

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11, 17, 64, 96!! happy spotify wrapped season <3

and a happy spotify wrapped to you my friend!!!!! <3

11. good 4 u - molly tuttle & golden highway

surprised this is so high! i think i started listening to it a bit when guts released bc olivia was on my mind and it's legit a great cover

17. death by a thousand cuts - taylor swift

i have a playlist of taylor swift songs i listen to while driving (which is probably the reason she's my top artist) and this is obviously on there. it's so fun to actually be driving through traffic lights when she sings "i ask the traffic lights if it'll be all right"

64. born to - jesca hoop

i've been having a jesca hoop Moment these past few months ever since i discovered that a lot of her songs had no lyrics or badly formatted lyrics on musixmatch. like i knew a few of her songs but then on my lyrics cleanup quest i ended up listening to the entirety of her first 3 albums (hunting my dress, kismet, the house that jack built) and she's so fucking good! she deserves to be one of the iconic weird girl musicians like florence and the machine or kate bush. if i'd discovered her earlier in the year this song would've been top 5 for sure

(if you wanna check her out i have a playlist of some of my favorite songs here, minus the slower songs. same idea as the taylor swift driving playlist, where it's all my favorite songs that are energetic)

96. no way - adrianna hicks (from the musical SIX)

my sister and i saw SIX this year (touring production) and it was so fun! a pop musical about the wives of henry viii is so tailor-made for me it's insane. it'd be the most me musical ever if there wasn't a folk musical about greek mythology (which we also saw this year).

#nina's musical log #ask #spotify wrapped

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dancefloors · 2 years

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how we feeling on the grammy nominations

woke up this morning, did a quick skim of the list, laughed heartily and went right back to sleep. all in all its just. classic feeble grammys but the weight lost from the big name withdrawals (dawn fm, silk sonic, etc) is incredibly noticeable this year. no amount of parading around pop powerhouses like Adele/Harry/Bey or clinging to the same old Beck/H.E.R nominations gives this little paper ship the illusion of an anchor. esp with some of the genuinely despicable individuals they've chosen to spotlight.

anywayyyy some glimpses of light through it all:

bad bunny acknowledgement! first Spanish album in AOTY ever!

turnstile, jasmine sullivan, kaytranada, rufus du sol, and steve lacy appearances 🫶

BEST NEW ARTIST HELLO latto, omar apollo, molly tuttle

women making up a great % alt noms (helloooo yeah yeah yeahs, florence, big thief, bjork, wet leg!)

viola davis egot????

BTS nom for a song/video in Korean

SUCCESSION SOUNDTRACK BEST SCORE

jack antonoff getting recognised for his finest work : minions the rise of gru

#the rap/rock/pop duo categories are belly laugh inducing

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chucklingpecan · 1 year

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Five songs

I was tagged by @m-b-lynch to list 5 often played songs. These favorites just popped up on shuffle:

Fish & Whistle - John Prine White Rabbit - Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway Bird on the Wire - Leonard Cohen Sunday Morning - Elizabeth Cook (Velvet Underground cover) I Wanna Be Your Dog - Stooges

I tag everyone.

#5 songs #5 songs game

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redsamuraiii · 9 months

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For those who read widely and take an interest in Asia — likely readers of this article — chances are they will have picked up a book put out by Tuttle Publishing at one time or another.

History of Tuttle Publishing

While the Tuttle family business can be traced back to 1832, making it one of the oldest American publishers still in operation, according to the company, the Japan presence was established in 1948 when Charles Tuttle, noticed a gap in the market.

Initially arriving in Japan to work in the newspaper industry as part of the American Occupation, Tuttle later began importing American books for U.S. troops stationed in the country, and ferrying Japanese books back to the United States for interested readers.

He later opened what was reportedly Tokyo's first English-language bookstore, before publishing thousands of Asia-focused books himself. Before his death, Tuttle was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure by Emperor Showa for his work.

Tuttle Publishing and Japan

Tuttle’s longtime presence in the market means it has an extensive back catalog that is now in high demand, fueled by the current boom in interest in Japanese culture. As interest in Japanese authors has grown, so has demand for Tuttle's early print editions.

“Because they’re hard to get hold of ... they can go for silly prices sometimes, because people collect them or tourists want Japanese literature,” he said. Tourists in particular go straight for them, as they’re hungry for Japanese stories to take home as souvenirs.

Prints vs Digital and AI

Despite people long decrying the death of print or the end of books, the publishing industry is growing stronger. During the pandemic in 2020, Tuttle saw a surge in book sales, and while this has subsided somewhat, “book sales are now higher than before the pandemic.”

Personally, although reading digitally on tablets is much more convenient and save space on bookshelf, the feeling of holding something physical, the smell of books and the sense of detachment from the world in going offline is something that readers love.

Below are 10 books that I have read from Tuttle Publishing that I would recommend those who are interested in Japanese culture.

A Brief History of Japan

The perfect book to understand Japan's history as it sums up everything concisely, not too brief and not too detailed.

A History of Japan in Manga

If you're not into reading books full of texts and more of a visual reader, then this one is for you as it's explained with manga.

The Heikei Story

The defining moment in history where the warrior class Samurai began to rise to its prominence to overthrow the Imperials.

Hiroshige's Japan

Join a French artist as he explores the old Tokaido Road that once connected Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto as he shares his illustrations.

Japan Journeys

A collection of woodblock printing art which journals the travelers experience in Edo Period moving from one prefecture to the other.

My Travels in Japan

A cute travel diary which accounts her travel experience in modern Japan which consists of illustrations of places she visited.

Japan in 100 Words

Everything you need to know about Japan, from its culture, tradition, philosophy, food and pop culture, categorised into 100 sections.

Samurai Castles

History and design of the architecture of the iconic castles, which shows the uniqueness of each castle with photos and drawings.

Manga Yokai Stories

The short stories of Yokai and how they came to be, which are meant to demonstrate the humanity and tragedy of life.

Lady Murasaki's Tale of Genji

A story written by a Heian woman who envisions her version of an ideal man and depicts the life in the Imperial court of her time.

#tuttle publishing #japanese books #japan #book recommendations #japanese culture #japanese history #japan times #manga #japan travel #japanese art

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wub-fur-radio · 2 years

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The Other Other Side of This Life

Would you like to know a secret, just between you and Wub-Fur Internet Radio? Well, in case it’s not obvious, when we start making a mix we don't know what we’re doing at least half the time and pretty much never know where we’re going till we get there, but then, there we are (hope this 10 cent internet radio life we’ve been leading ain’t gonna be the death of anyone). So, another mix for you all. Fifteen modern neo-psychedelic folk/rock/pop/whatevs tunes for whatever side of life you’ve been leading, featuring The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Snake & Jet's Amazing Bullit Band, Doug Tuttle, Carlton Melton, The Death Valley Girls, Los Acidos, and nine more cool bands who are always bumming around.

Apologies to the late Fred Neil, composer of the immortal, much-covered folk song “The Other Side of This Life,” from which, of course, the title of this mix is derived (and whose image. borrowed from the cover of his classic 1965 LP Bleecker & MacDougal, has been photoshopped into our cover art).

▶︎ Listen on Mixcloud | Apple Music | YouTube (or scroll down to use an embedded player below)

Running Time: 1 hour, 7 seconds

Tracklist

Planetary Dawn (3:52) — Snake & Jet's Amazing Bullit Band | Copenhagen, Denmark | 2019

Earth Chant (3:39) — Sons of Zöku | Adelaide, Australia

Do Rainbows Have Ends (3:22) — The Brian Jonestown Massacre | Berlin, Germany

Moon Boots (3:26) — Pseudo Mind Hive | Melbourne, Australia | 2022

For Tomorrow (3:35) — Doug Tuttle | Somerville, MA

Kodama (4:25) — Black Market Karma | London, UK | 2022

Route Thirteen (6:01) — Carlton Melton | San Francisco, CA

Mezmerized (1:49) — Dignan Porch | UK

Enchilada (2:22) — Yellow Pills | Chicago, IL

End of the World (3:32) — Sunfruits | Melbourne, Australia

Watch the Sky (3:09) — Death Valley Girls | Los Angeles, CA

Luftslott (7:55) — Maha Sohona | Umeå, Sweden | 2021

Ascensor (7:08) — Los Acidos | Argentina

One Last Summer (2:34) — Hollow Hand | Brighton, UK

Waiting for the Sunset (2:44) — Jake Borgemenke | Cincinnati, OH | 2022

Outro [Excerpt from ‘The Other Side of This Life’ by Fred Neil] (0:34) | “The Village” | 1965 ¹

All tracks released in 2023 except where otherwise indicated.

¹ The outro appears only in the canonical Mixcloud version of this mix and is not included on Apple Music.

🟣 🔵 🟢 🟡 🟠 🔴 🟣 🔵 🟢 🟡 🟠 🔴 🟣 🔵 🟢 🟡 🟠 🔴 🟣

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If you’re not seeing any embedded players it’s probably because you’re reading this on Tumblr, in which case you can click here to open this post directly on the Wub-Blog.

#psychedelic rock #psychedelic folk #psychedelic pop #neo-psychedelia #indie rock #music mixes

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jonfarreporter · 1 year

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How Does Barbie and an ancient Mesopotamian Goddess have a connection with “the demonic?”

“Barbie” the 2023 movie written & directed by Greta Gerwig had its matinee debut in Sonoma this weekend.

And, for all the anticipation the reason why this reporter saw it was because of the harsh criticism the movie received by a religious conservative.

And this particular religious conservative wasn’t Christian-ministry evangelist Ivan Tuttle, claiming that the film is full of “demonic influences.”

This particular critic is an American Messianic Jewish rabbi and author, Jonathan Cahn. He holds the opinion as expressed on his YouTube channel, that “Barbie” the movie represents a “turning away from marriage and motherhood.”

Somehow the rabbi sees the Barbie character as an embodiment of the ancient Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar. And, he says that Ishtar was the patron goddess of promiscuity and prostitution.

Looking at various sources more closely, Ishtar is a fertility goddess and her mythology is complex. Taking things a bit further, Cahn sees a link between the ancient goddess and Barbie. How he sees this to that extent is baffling.

Because as he alleges, the initial prototype of the Barbie who debuted in 1959 was patterned after a German doll called “Lilli.”

As a fictional character Lilli appeared regularly in a tabloid comic strip. The character of “Lilli” was supposedly a prostitute.

Cahn says Barbie was fashioned after “Lilli.” And because “Lilli” was in prostitution in the comic strip, somehow this is linked with Barbie and then with an ancient fertility goddess.

Forgive me Rabbi Cahn! But I don’t see where and how these dots connected.

Yet despite what Cahn believes is a somewhat dubious origin, the real inspiration behind Barbie was Ruth Handler. She simply wanted to make a doll for her daughter, Barbara.

As historians have noted, children have always had toys, dolls. In America, before Barbie, most dolls for girls were baby dolls. And, Handler noticed that her daughter utilized paper dolls, creating stories and roles for each.

Mentioning this to her husband Elliot and then business associate Harold “Matt” Matson, an idea emerged.

They converted their furniture manufacturing business into a toy making company. Combining the names Elliot with Matt, the corporation Mattel was founded.

Of course, it helped immensely that the furniture they had once made was a combination of plastics of Lucite and plexiglas.

Handler saw the impact a more lifelike and grown up doll-figure would make as it provided a tangible three-dimensional experience. And, it would help give expression to an imagination that could think and dream of many possibilities.

In Barbie a girl could imagine going places, doing things and most of all, envisioning herself being in the world.

Rhea Perlman from the TV series “Cheers” portrays Handler and explains this eloquently in the movie.

Yet Cahn must have missed this as he focuses mostly on the opening scene in the movie as girls smash their baby dolls in favor of having a coveted “Barbie Doll.”

For it’s entertaining quality and affirmation of women, “Barbie” the movie is “uneven” as movie-reviews like the Roger Ebert website have noted.

From a philosophical perspective, this reporter agrees, the movie is “frustratingly uneven.” But that’s because there’s so much to take in.

So many “existential concepts” and “ identity crisis” dilemmas, that it’s hard to follow a clear path of a story-plot.

Culturally, Barbie as “an icon” represents many things. And, just about all of that, both the negative and the positive is expressed in the movie.

Yet amid all the eye-popping color of scene changes and special effects, along with the existential crisis themes, again it’s important to remember that Barbie was made over 60 years ago.

Barbie was initially made simply as a doll for one woman’s daughter. The rest of it over the years, it seems to be is what people project upon this doll.

For Handler, Barbie was there to help her daughter and girls like her back in 1959. She wanted them to use their imagination to see themselves in whatever role or scenario they wished to be in.

Yes, the figure of Barbie is idealized but so are many works and depictions of humans in art form. The world back in 1959 when Barbie was born was much different, more conventional than what is today in the 21st Century.

Our world today in 2023 is very complicated, diverse and some of that is explained or expressed in this fantasy “meets reality,” movie.

I think the rabbi and other fundamentalist religious leaders need to do a bit more research and try to listen to the actual dialog/script of the movie.

To go so far as to allude that this box office hit is “demonic” is way off base. It’s interesting to point out that Cahn is a NY Times best-selling author. His 2011 fiction book “The Harbinger” spent over 100 weeks on the bestseller list. One might question whether Cahn’s criticism of the movie is an effort to sell more of his books as “The Harbinger” is one of seven in a series he has written.

Rabbi Cahn is upset with the “feminist” aspect to the movie, obviously. And, yes! The character of the Ken doll is an “accessory” or prop for Barbie and her adventures.

But so what! How Cahn can compare Ken & Barbie to ancient Mesopotamian deities seems ludicrous and out of place.

The action figure G.I. Joe was created by the toy company Hasbro in 1964 five years after the debut of Barbie. In essence Barbie, Ken, G.I. Joe and others like them are action-figures. To imply or see them as anything other than that is well, childish.

“Barbie” continues at the Sebastiani Theater in Sonoma until August 24 with both afternoon and evening showings. For more information visit the Sebastiani Theater website.

#sonoma #sebastiani theatre #barbie #rabbi Jonathan Cahn #feminism

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