#The Secret History of Magic: The True Story of the Deceptive Art

[starshinedragon]

SSO Rewritten- A Short Story: Jon Jarl - The Curse of Immortality

(A secret, truthful recounting of the story of the jarl’s downfall by his faithful chronicler)

Many think the downfall of the jarl was the siege of Jarlaheim. Some say it was when he chose the druids of this godsforsaken island instead of his old friend, Thrymson. Others think it was the moment he set foot on Jorvik guided by destiny. Time will tell, they say.

I say the fall of Jon Jarl was not a single event. It was his pride.

History is shaped and written by the victors. Which is a polite way of saying: lying. Leaders like him win their wars by mastering the art of deception. I, too, have written many lies about his conquers.

Leaders don’t like the truth. However, the truth does not care. It can be buried beneath a web of lies, mountains of deception, locked away in hidden, secret treasuries, but it will persist. Unlike Jon Jarl, the truth is eternal.

Maybe it is time I wrote something true about him.

The true downfall of the jarl, just like many other leaders’ was his pride.

He took on this cursed journey to the island of Jorvik, because he thought he could beat destiny. He conquered the island and ruled over its kingdoms because someone told him he couldn’t. He destroyed the runestones because he thought they were a challenge issued at him. He set something terrible in motion, the druids said. Maybe there is a dragon sleeping beneath the island.

He betrayed his lifelong friend, Thrymson, by choosing the druids over him, when he saw they had power. And when Thrymson was cursed with immortality, the jarl, in his pride called it a gift and he, too wanted it.

He sent Thrymson on a fool’s quest to find the secret of immortality for him. When he obviously could not find it, the jarl called him a traitor. The truth is, the real fool was the jarl for trusting a witch. This was the first and not the last time he made that mistake. He judged him guilty of witchcraft and had Thrymson executed thus creating his second greatest bane.

The first one was continuing his fool’s quest for immortality.

The end of his road led to a great forest in the northern part of the island, where one of the great trees of the island stood. We all knew better than to disturb the sacred trees of the witches and the druids, but the jarl was certain he would find what he was looking for here. A dream told him so I believe. In those days he saw many of those dark dreams leading him to more and more ruin.

At this point I have to point out another lie. The jarl’s famous words at our arrival to the were not “This land is now my land and I name it Jorvik and I shall defend it with my life as long as I live and with my soul after I am dead!”. He had me make this up after the events I am about to tell here. He did not say anything when we first landed on these shores, beside the sound one makes while their lunch unwelcomely comes back. This was also the sound many of us made after the ungodly storm we just got through. I believe his first words here were “Bloody island”.

In that sacred grove, he had his men fell the Great Guardian tree. He uncovered a strange artifact from the corpse of the ancient: a seed-like gemstone glowing with strange magic.

These were the last moments of his victory, as in that moment, with the setting of twilight, one of the witches appeared out of the darkness. The prideful jarl asked for immortality for one last time. The witch laughed.

“You trespass upon our hallowed grounds, destroy our runestones keeping the darkness at bay, fell our protector trees and you have the face to ask anything of us?”

“With the legacy I have created, I deserve it.”

“Oh, you will get what you deserve, prideful jarl. Do you want immortality? You shall be immortal. You shall never cease to exist. You and your stolen riches will forever remain in Jorvik, trapped by my curse. You shall never leave this place behind. Not until there is darkness during the day and light in the night. Not until the land ascends and stars fall again. Not until you learn humility and right the wrongs you committed against this place. Thus I have spoken and thus it shall be.”

With this the witch was gone and the jarl was immortal.

I called his a fool’s quest not because he could not get what he was after, but because of the price he was -obvious to anyone but him- going to pay.

It has been 10 years since the jarl’s death and, just like the witch said, he remains. Many have seen his ghostly form around his tomb, around his city, around the tree stump of his greatest achievement and greatest failure. We, his people, shall all fade, and leave the bloody island.

I know him enough to know he is already trying to find a way to break the curse. But he will never leave this place again. Until the land ascends the stars fall and he rights his wrongs, he and Thrymson will remain here in eternal damnation the jarl has created for the both of them.

But maybe he will succeed. He was -is- Jon Jarl after all.

Time will tell.

[mahdithemagician]

Secrets Were His Life

"SPELLBOUND THEY GATHERED, FAR AND NEAR TO SCAN, THE WEIRD POWERS OF THIS WONDROUS MAN."

William Ellsworth Robinson greeting World War I veterans at a 1915 benefit performance. This is the only film record of Chung Ling Soo that exists today.

TO SAY CHUNG LING SOO'S DEATH OVERSHADOWED HIS LIFE IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT AND ONE OF THE GREATEST TRAGEDIES IN MAGIC HISTORY.

THE STORY OF HIS DEATH IS NOTHING WHEN COMPARED TO THE STORY HIS LIFE.

Born William Ellsworth Robinson on April 2, 1861 in New York, he was known as Billy Robinson to his intimate acquaintances, as The Man of Mystery to his first audiences, then later as Achmed Ben Ali, Nana Sahib, Abdul Khan, and Hop Sing Soo before finally settling on his greatest role, Chung Ling Soo, The Marvelous Chinese Conjurer.

William Robinson was a contemporary of Herrmann, Kellar, Thurston, Maskelyne, Devant, and Houdini. He was highly esteemed in his field for his work onstage and behind the curtains. He was also one of the most secretive men who ever lived both, personally and professionally.

SECRETS WERE HIS LIFE. 

His untimely demise cast a fog of mystery which enveloped and obscured the life of one of the greatest magicians who ever lived.

WHAT WERE HIS SECRETS?

What took place between the beginning of his career, when he invited his audiences to enjoy "little experiments, which endeavor to prove that seeing is believing" to the end where he played the most prestigious theaters and was billed as:

A GIFT FROM THE GODS

TO

MORTALS ON EARTH

TO AMUSE AND MYSTIFY

Growing up in New York, the young William Ellsworth Robinson was able to watch the great magicians who performed at Barnum's or the New York Coliseum. He witnessed Robert Heller on Broadway as well as Signor Blitz when they brought their world class shows to town.

Robinson's passion for studying secrets began when he first read Modern Magic by Professor Hoffmann. This was one of the most important books ever published in magic as it published the true secrets of professional magicians. The book also gave many detailed designs of conjuring apparatus assuming that every reader was a skilled metal or wood worker. Unable to afford the expensive conjuring apparatus revealed in Modern Magic, the young Billy Robinson took a job in a brass foundry and learned the art of shaping and crafting metal. Young Robinson started to make his own props and when he showed his handiwork to Francis and Anthony Martinka, they gave him a job at their world famous magic manufacturing company and shop, the Palace of Magic.

It was in Martinka's workshop that William Robinson continued his education and developed his skills for years as he built props, apparatus, and illusions for local and travelling professional magicians. By his early twenties, Billy Robinson was an expert in magic.

As he progressed in his art he began spending more and more away from Martinka and America and more time onstage in Europe, seeing increasing success with his Achmed Ben Ali act, which used very novel principles in deception that had been honed to a fine art by Robinson after seeing it in use by Auzinger. The act attracted the attention of some of the biggest names in magic including Alexander Herrmann and Harry Kellar who saw Robinson's devices and expertise as the future of magic.

Over dinner Kellar offered William Robinson a part in his show. Herrmann was planning a tour featuring his two new illusions: Black Art and Le Cocon. These two illusions were ones that Robinson had stolen from Auzinger and that both Herrmann and Kellar wanted so badly. After delaying Robinson finally accepted Kellar's offer to come perform in the show and work backstage for the sum of $60 a week.

Robinson worked with Kellar for some time, learning as much as he could, before departing from his show and joining Kellar's rival, Herrmann's show. As that ran it's course, Kellar realized how much he needed Robinson to succeed and lured him back to the Kellar show with brand new illusions he needed Robinson to build. Kellar correctly calculated that Robinson would eventually get bored with Herrmann's show and want to work on something the world had never seen before.

ROBINSON WOULD GO ON TO WORK ON MANY PROJECTS, ALWAYS WITH AN EYE SEARCHING FOR PIECES OF MAGIC WHICH HE COULD EVENTUALLY USE IN HIS OWN SHOW.

HE WAS RUTHLESS IN HIS PURSUIT OF MAGIC.

One of the darkest blemishes on his name was when he agreed to work with Zanzic on fleecing the public with fake séances using state of the art magic methods. One of their clients was a wealthy German businessman who wanted to spend an hour with the materialization of his wife's spirit, alone for an hour. Zanzic hired a prostitute and made the necessary arrangements to convince the client that he was being reunited with his dead wife. Unfortunately the German businessman died of a heart attack while in bed with who he believed was the spirit of his wife. When Zanzic and Robinson heard the prostitute screaming they burst into the room and tried to dress and sneak the dead body out, only to be caught by the German businessman's servant, who immediately called the police. The magicians explained the situation, bribed the police, and left town.

William Robinson would continue to acquire, develop, and shuttle secrets to and fro when the price was right. This was a man who knew magic as well as anyone and as his value grew so did his reputation for duplicity.

NO ONE REALLY TRUSTED HIM AND AT THE SAME TIME

THEY COULD NOT AFFORD TO NOT TRUST HIM.

[bigtickhk]

The Secret History of Magic: The True Story of the Deceptive Art by Peter Lamont and Jim Steinmeyer https://amzn.to/2LvGtbp

[deadorcaffeinated]

Sparks, Pt. 4

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Chapter Summary: You get ready to confront the God of Mischief. But are you ready for that?

A/N: Finally, a bit more Loki.

TW: Eating

After a year consisting mostly of isolation and non-consensual experimentation, it was strange, to say the least, to have people actually give a shit about your well-being.

Shortly after Fury called the meeting to a close, Nat took you to a sort of staff room, oddly normal for a ship like this. State of the art, but with all the basic workings of a regular office’s staff room.

“You must be starving,” she said, pulling some things out of an impressive reach-in refrigerator. “Sandwich? I make a mean ham and cheese.”

Your stomach suddenly let out a worrying growl, and you winced.

“Sounds fantastic, actually,” you realized you couldn’t remember the last time you’d eaten. The lab hadn’t exactly been feeding you five star meals.

A comfortable silence settled into the room while Natasha assembled the sandwich. The quiet sounds of her work lulled you into a sort of trance, as you stared at the wall, and definitely didn’t think about how an agent of a secret organization was preparing you lunch on a giant aircraft carrier thousands of feet in the air which was also occupied by two gods, a historic super soldier, and the most famous tech genius in the world.

No. You didn’t think about it at all.

She presented you with her finished product and a glass of water with a flourish, which also included a bag of chips and an apple. “It might be too much, so only eat as much as you want. It’s better to take it easy when your stomach isn’t used to meals like this.”

You nodded and gave her an expression which you hoped looked more grateful than grimace. Truth be told, you were holding back emotion as even this small kindness felt overwhelming after the past year.

But as you picked up the sandwich to take a bite, a heavy set of footsteps stopped at the door.

It was Thor, his large frame standing almost sheepishly in the doorway. “Apologies for interrupting. May I speak with you?”

To your surprise, the question was for you, and after a nod, Nat touched your wrist and said, “I’ll be right outside. You can have the room.”

After she exited, Thor approached your table with a sort of caution.

“Oh, sorry, uh, would you like to sit down?” You stuttered lamely, when noticing his hesitation.

He nodded and did so, dwarfing the chair and the table. You hadn’t really taken the time to notice before, how huge his arms and shoulders were. A single bicep was larger than the size of your own head.

“Don’t let me interrupt your meal. You need your strength,” Thor said, eyes flicking to the plate. “Especially if you’re going to be facing my brother.”

Ah. That.

“Is that…” You were still having a bit of trouble processing the identity of who you were talking to. “Is that what you wanted to speak with me about?”

“Loki’s always been deceptive. I just wanted to warn you not to listen to anything he says, especially not at face value. He will try to distract you, deceive you, and it will seem he knows more about you than he should.”

As he spoke, you noticed he kept eyeing the potato chip packet next to your plate. You pushed it towards him, and he gratefully accepted, popping the bag open and nervously munching on its contents.

You hummed in thought. “I understand. Maybe it would help to know what kinds of abilities he has? What sort of tricks he’s able to pull?”

Thor seemed to relax slightly, having something to occupy his mind and hands. He regaled you with a few anecdotes of how Loki had used his magic to trick him, some from their childhood, and some more recently.

You found yourself both more reassured and more nervous, afraid there might be something you would miss allowing Loki an out. Or a way to hurt you. But all of that aside, it was almost fun to converse with Thor like this… being nearly immortal led to having many interesting stories to tell, and the more he told the more animated he became. He even had you laughing at some points.

“Thank you,” he held up the empty chip bag. “I haven’t had these since my last visit to Earth. A favored Midgardian dish, if I recall.”

You smiled. “No problem. And thank you for warning me. I know it must be difficult to... fight with family like this.”

“Yes,” a sad half smile lifted one side of his lips, “I’m afraid that is something I am still coming to terms with.”

Before he rose from his seat, Thor clapped you on the shoulder. “You know, you remind me of my first Midgardian friends. I believe they would like you. One of them zapped me with a small device that even mimics your powers.”

With that strange but kind remark, Thor left the room.

….

Natasha said she had things she needed to attend to, but that you were welcome to walk around as you pleased, and to just be careful not to stumble into anything that looked even mildly secret or dangerous.

So you aimlessly wandered the giant airship, mostly in an attempt to walk off some nerves. You tried to memorize your paths, memorize the turns and rooms, but after a while you realized just how much you’d fucked up. It was a fruitless endeavor, and you eventually found yourself quite lost.

“Great,” you muttered to yourself.

You turned the way you came, but as you did so, something shifted in the corner of your eye. Whipping frantically towards the movement, you felt your body tense like an animal being hunted, and thoughts of the masked man from the labs flooded your mind.

No, he couldn’t be here. Your mind was playing tricks, your anxiety was getting the better of you.

“My, my,” a silvery voice said into your ear. “You are jumpy, aren’t you?”

Reeling back, you slammed into the opposite wall, nearly knocking yourself out with the force of it. You still didn’t see the source of the voice.

“What is the reason for this skittishness, I wonder?”

Loki.

He materialized in front of you, and you froze like a deer in the headlights. He rolled his eyes. “Calm yourself. This is not an escape attempt.”

You did not find that convincing.

“This is merely a projection. My real body is still in that cell… Here, see for yourself.” His right hand swept out to beckon to you, palm up.

Did he want you to… touch him? Your earlier conversation with Thor filtered through your head, and you knew it would be a bad idea. You did not move. Again, frustration showed on Loki’s creased brow.

“Fine, look.” Then, through a wall of solid steel, Loki passed his hand as if he were just a hologram.

“What do you want?” you asked abruptly.

He looked faintly surprised that you had spoken, but schooled his expression quickly. “I want to know more about you.”

“What?” It was your turn to be surprised (not that you’d stopped since he materialized from nowhere). “Why?”

“It’s not every day I meet a mortal who can withstand an Infinity Stone’s power,” he chuckled, as if that were clearly obvious.

Your blank stare must’ve clued him in to the fact that the significance of this ‘Infinity Stone’ was lost on you, because he only sighed.

“Rest assured, it’s not something a normal human should be able to do,” he said. “So… what is different about you?”

He stepped closer, and though you knew he couldn’t touch you, you recoiled further into the wall. His stare was piercing, and he clearly enjoyed that it made you squirm.

Finally you mustered up the courage to respond. “I’ve already told this story once today,” you said, sounding more like a petulant child than you meant to.

“Touchy subject?”

“It’s not particularly fun to talk about, no.”

He didn’t move any closer but didn’t relinquish you your space either. He just studied you as if he could discern your entire history from your visual being.

You wondered if you should just turn and walk away, or if he had some way of stopping you. Even more unexpected though, was the realization that you wanted to talk to him, that maybe this conversation could help you in your real life encounter that was to happen soon.

“Why did you approach me in the pub?” you asked, and though it wasn’t the answer he apparently wanted, he looked pleased that you were engaging him now. “I was curious.”

“And when you blasted me with the scepter?”

“I wanted to see what would happen.” He shrugged, as casual as if he were discussing the weather.

“And now that you have? What do you want?”

A beat of silence. Then, “What do you think?”

You thought, if he had had a plan before, your presence must have thrown quite the wrench and that if he were smart, he would be trying to figure out exactly how big and disastrous that wrench would be. “I think you didn’t expect me to be involved.”

He raised an eyebrow. “That is true.” Then a smirk began to form on his mouth and he squinted at you. “They’re planning something with you, aren’t they? Fury and his subordinates.”

Your widened eyes must have been all the answer he needed. How did he know?

With a laugh, “They have so much at their disposal, weapons of mass destruction, all of Stark’s technology, and they defer to the prowess of a child they’ve only just met?” Loki leaned in so close the green of eyes felt overwhelming. “They must be truly desperate.”

A familiar voice, Tony’s, called your name from around the corner, echoing off the metal walls of the hallway. But Loki didn’t move. His eyes remained on you, so sharp and curious, you felt like an animal on a dissection tray.

“Until next we meet, then.”

And with that, he vanished.

“Sparks,” Tony came around to your stretch of hallway. “Thought that was your voice. You lost? Talking to yourself? You know, cabin fever usually takes a lot longer than a few hours to set in.”

Still a little too stunned to speak, you gulped and nodded.

Tony’s eyes narrowed with concern. “You good? Looking a little green around the gills, Pikachu.”

“Yeah… yeah, I’m alright.” Your voice returned to you. “And.. Pikachu? Really?”

Tony wasn’t entirely convinced but seemed to let it go. He shrugged. “I like to change it up-- and are you, or are you not, electrically charged at all times?”

You sighed, rolling your eyes. He clapped you on the shoulder.

“Come on,” he turned, waving you to follow him. “Want you to see what we cooked up for ya.”

————

The conducting table was ready. Only a few moments before you stepped into Loki’s cage, the first time you would be in the same physical space as him since he basically almost murdered you.

Cool. All cool. You were definitely not feeling a panic attack setting in. You were definitely breathing at a normal rate and not feeling your lungs seize up in your chest.

“We’ll be right here, if anything goes wrong,” Steve said, laying a hand gently on the back of your shoulder.

“Aye,” Thor said. “I’ll be standing with you.”

There was a stone in your throat as you looked at Loki through the thick glass. He seemed to feel your gaze, and slowly turned to look, grinning when he saw you watching.

Loki’s hands were shackled, sitting on the table in front of two conducting handles, which were mirrored on the other side. The idea was that you both grip them, and you would be able to dig through his mind… theoretically.

“I don’t know if this is going to work,” you said. You felt sweat under your arms, and your face getting hot with anxiety.

Fury eyed you. “Just do what you can.”

The door to his cell whooshed open, and flanking you on either side as you entered were Cap and Thor. Loki regarded them with that same smirk as they entered, soon followed by Fury and Natasha. Tony and Dr. Banner remained on the other side of the glass.

“Is this the best you can do?” He said, his eyes flaring at you. “Insulting, really.”

Fury ignored him, directing you to the empty chair at the other end of the table.

“On my go,” he said, and stood to the right of the table. He pinned Loki with a stare.

Loki shot back a challenging look before his gaze settled on you and his hands moved to grip the handles. “On your go.” And at that moment, in full purview of that slanting grin, you understood why he was called the God of Mischief.

Fury nodded at you.

Now or never.

And, sparing a passing thought to the entropy that was your life and the risks of what you were about to do, you grabbed the handles.

Tags: @purplekitten30 @scorpionchild81 @mjaudrey @srhxpci @the-maroon-panda @lirinstaalem

[faraway-wanderer]

BOOKS BY ASIAN AUTHORS MASTERLIST #stopasianhate

In light of recent events and the growing anti- Asian hate in the US and UK over the course of the pandemic I wanted to put together a masterlist of books by Asian authors. Obviously, it’s not extensive and there are HUNDREDS out there, but supporting art by Asian creators is a way of showing support; read their stories, educate ourselves. It goes without saying that we should all be putting effort into reading stories of POC and by POC because even through fiction we’re learning about different cultures, countries and heritages. So here’s some books to start with by Asian authors!

Here is a link also for resources to educate and petitions to sign (especially if you don’t read haha). It’s important that we educate ourselves and uplift Asian voices right now. Your anti-racism has to include every minority that faces it.

https://anti-asianviolenceresources.carrd.co/

for UK peeps, this is a good read: We may not hear about the anti Asian racism happening here, but it is definitely happening. https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/culture/culture-news/a35692226/its-time-we-stopped-downplaying-the-uks-anti-asian-racism/

 THE BOOKS:

·         War Cross- Marie Lu ( the worldbuilding in this is IMMENSE.)

For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. 

·         Star Daughter- Shveta Thakrar

A beautiful story about a girl who is half human and half star, and she must go to the celestial court to try to save her father after he has fallen ill. And before she knows it, she is taking part in a magical competition that she must win!

·         These Violent Delights- Chloe Gong (I told my little sister to read this book yesterday bc she has a thing for a Leo as Romeo- so if you want deadly good looking Romeos, badass Juliet’s and to learn about 1920s Shanghai- this is for you.)

The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery. A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. A Romeo and Juliet retelling.

·         The Poppy War- R.F Kuang (My fave fantasy series just fyi- it’s soul crushing in the best way. Rebecca Kuang is a god of an author).

A brilliantly imaginative talent makes her exciting debut with this epic historical military fantasy, inspired by the bloody history of China’s twentieth century and filled with treachery and magic, in the tradition of Ken Liu’s Grace of Kings and N.K. Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy.

·         Loveboat Taipei-  Abigail Hing Wen  (Really heartwarming and insightful!)

When eighteen-year-old Ever Wong’s parents send her from Ohio to Taiwan to study Mandarin for the summer, she finds herself thrust among the very over-achieving kids her parents have always wanted her to be, including Rick Woo, the Yale-bound prodigy profiled in the Chinese newspapers since they were nine—and her parents’ yardstick for her never-measuring-up life.

·         Sorcerer to the Crown- Zen Cho (if anyone is looking for another Howl’s Moving Castle, look no further than this book)

At his wit’s end, Zacharias Wythe, freed slave, eminently proficient magician, and Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers—one of the most respected organizations throughout all of Britain—ventures to the border of Fairyland to discover why England’s magical stocks are drying up.

·         Emergency Contact- Mary H.K. Choi (very wholesome and fun rom-com!)

For Penny Lee high school was a total nonevent. When she heads to college in Austin, Texas, to learn how to become a writer, it’s seventy-nine miles and a zillion light years away from everything she can’t wait to leave behind.

 ·         Jade City- Fonda Lee (I am reading this currently and can I just say- I think everyone who loves fantasy and blood feuds in a story should read this.)

JADE CITY is a gripping Godfather-esque saga of intergenerational blood feuds, vicious politics, magic, and kungfu. The Kaul family is one of two crime syndicates that control the island of Kekon. It's the only place in the world that produces rare magical jade, which grants those with the right training and heritage superhuman abilities.

 ·         A Pho Love Story- Loan Le

When Dimple Met Rishi meets Ugly Delicious in this funny, smart romantic comedy, in which two Vietnamese-American teens fall in love and must navigate their newfound relationship amid their families’ age-old feud about their competing, neighbouring restaurants.

·         Rebelwing- Andrea Tang

Business is booming for Prudence Wu. A black-market-media smuggler and scholarship student at the prestigious New Columbia Preparatory Academy, Pru is lucky to live in the Barricade Coalition where she is free to study, read, watch, and listen to whatever she wants.

·         Wings of the Locust- Joel Donato Ching Jacob

Tuan escapes his mundane and mediocre existence when he is apprenticed to Muhen, a charming barangay wiseman. But, as he delves deeper into the craft of a mambabarang and its applications in espionage, sabotage and assassination, the young apprentice is overcome by conflicting emotions that cause him to question his new life.

 ·         The Travelling Cat Chronicles- Hiro Arikawa

Sometimes you have to leave behind everything you know to find the place you truly belong...

Nana the cat is on a road trip. He is not sure where he's going or why, but it means that he gets to sit in the front seat of a silver van with his beloved owner, Satoru. 

 ·         Super Fake Love Song- David Yoon

From the bestselling author of Frankly in Love comes a contemporary YA rom-com where a case of mistaken identity kicks off a string of (fake) events that just may lead to (real) love.

  ·         Parachutes- Kelly Yang

Speak enters the world of Gossip Girl in this modern immigrant story from New York Times bestselling author Kelly Yang about two girls navigating wealth, power, friendship, and trauma.

·         The Grace of Kings- Ken Liu ( One of the Time 100 Best Fantasy Books Of All Time!)

Two men rebel together against tyranny—and then become rivals—in this first sweeping book of an epic fantasy series from Ken Liu, recipient of Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards.

·         Wicked Fox- Kat Cho

A fresh and addictive fantasy-romance set in modern-day Seoul.

 ·         Descendant of the Crane- Joan He

In this shimmering Chinese-inspired fantasy, debut author Joan He introduces a determined and vulnerable young heroine struggling to do right in a world brimming with deception.

 ·         Pachinko- Min Jin Lee

Richly told and profoundly moving, Pachinko is a story of love, sacrifice, ambition, and loyalty. From bustling street markets to the halls of Japan's finest universities to the pachinko parlors of the criminal underworld, Lee's complex and passionate characters--strong, stubborn women, devoted sisters and sons, fathers shaken by moral crisis--survive and thrive against the indifferent arc of history.

·         America is in the Heart- Carlos Bulosan

First published in 1946, this autobiography of the well known Filipino poet describes his boyhood in the Philippines, his voyage to America, and his years of hardship and despair as an itinerant laborer following the harvest trail in the rural West.

 ·         Days of Distraction- Alexandra Chang

A wry, tender portrait of a young woman — finally free to decide her own path, but unsure if she knows herself well enough to choose wisely—from a captivating new literary voice.

·         The Astonishing Colour of After Emily X.R Pan

Alternating between real and magic, past and present, friendship and romance, hope and despair, The Astonishing Color of After is a novel about finding oneself through family history, art, grief, and love. 

·         The Gilded Wolves- Roshani Chokshi

It's 1889. The city is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. Here, no one keeps tabs on dark truths better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. When the elite, ever-powerful Order of Babel coerces him to help them on a mission, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.

·         When Dimple met Rishi- Sandhya Menon

Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways.

·         On Earth we’re briefly Gorgeous- Ocean Vuong

Poet Ocean Vuong's debut novel is a shattering portrait of a family, a first love, and the redemptive power of storytelling.

·         Fierce Fairytales- Nikita Gill

Complete with beautifully hand-drawn illustrations by Gill herself, Fierce Fairytales is an empowering collection of poems and stories for a new generation.

 BOOKS BEING RELEASED LATER THIS YEAR TO PREORDER:

·         Counting down with you- Tashie Bhuiyan- 4th May

A reserved Bangladeshi teenager has twenty-eight days to make the biggest decision of her life after agreeing to fake date her school’s resident bad boy.

How do you make one month last a lifetime?

·         Gearbreakers- Zoe Hana Mikuta- June 29th

Two girls on opposite sides of a war discover they're fighting for a common purpose--and falling for each other--in Zoe Hana Mikuta's high-octane debut Gearbreakers, perfect for fans of Pacific Rim, Pierce Brown's Red Rising Saga, and Marie Lu's Legend series

·         XOXO- Axie Oh- 13th July

When a relationship means throwing Jenny’s life off the path she’s spent years mapping out, she’ll have to decide once and for all just how much she’s willing to risk for love.

·         She who became the sun- Shelley Parker-Chan- 20th July

Mulan meets The Song of Achilles in Shelley Parker-Chan's She Who Became the Sun, a bold, queer, and lyrical reimagining of the rise of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty from an amazing new voice in literary fantasy.

·         Jade Fire Gold- June C.L Tan- October 12th

Two girls on opposite sides of a war discover they're fighting for a common purpose--and falling for each other--in Zoe Hana Mikuta's high-octane debut Gearbreakers, perfect for fans of Pacific Rim, Pierce Brown's Red Rising Saga, and Marie Lu's Legend series

  Keep sharing, signing petitions and donating where you can. The more people who are actively anti-racist, the better. And if your anti-racism doesn’t include the Asian community then go and educate yourself! BLM wasn’t a trend and neither is this. We have to stand up against white supremacy, and racism and stereotypes and we have to support the communities that need our support. Part of that can include cultivating your reading so you’re reading more diversely and challenging any stereotypes western society may have given you.

 Feel free to reblog and add any more recommendations and resources of course!

[jadelotusflower]

July 2021 Roundup

Discussed this month: The Once and Future King, The Good People, The Secret of Kells/Wolfwalkers/Song of the Sea (aka "Irish Folklore" Trilogy), The Matrix Trilogy, the John Wick Trilogy, Space Jam: A New Legacy

Reading

The Once and Future King (T.H. White) - I've actually read this before, but it was a long time ago and I remembered very little of it so it seemed time for a revisit. Written between 1936 and 1942, this is a surprisingly meta retelling of Arthur and Camelot, very obviously and heavily influenced by WWII, with much academic pondering on the concept of humanity and war and ongoing conflict against Might=Right - looking to the past to try and understand the present. Some familiarity with the legends is assumed, White occasionally making reference to Malory, and there is a strange anachronistic feel - Merlin lives time backwards and talks of Hitler and other 20th Century references, White frequently refers to Old England and the way things were "back then", but also calls Arthur's country Gramarye, the narrative taking place an a kind of alternate history/mythology where Uther was the Norman conqueror of 1066, and yet reference is also made to the Plantagenet kings.

Comprising five volumes (the first four published separately at the time, and the final posthumously), it struck me on this read how each of the first four are structured around the childhood of a major player -Arthur (The Sword in the Stone), Gawain and his brothers (The Witch in the Wood), Lancelot (The Ill-Made Knight), and Mordred (The Candle in the Wind), and how their upbringing played a part in the inevitable tragedy of Camelot. In the final volume, The Book of Merlyn, it comes full circle as Arthur on the eve of his death is taken to revisit the animals of his childhood for much philosophising (at one point Merlyn argues at length with a badger about Karl Marx and communism.)

The Sword in the Stone is the most engaging, with young Arthur (known as "the Wart") and his tutelage under Merlin, being turned into various animals like an ant, a goose, and a hawk to learn about each of their societies (political allegories), and meeting with Robin Wood (Hood) and Maid Marian to battle Morgan le Fay, and the climactic pulling of the sword from the stone. This was of course the source material for the Disney film, although missing the wizards duel with Madam Mim (appearing in the original publication, but removed for the revised version).

The Ill-Made Knight is the longest volume and was honestly a slog to get through, because honestly Lancelot is pretty dull/terrible, and the Lancelot/Guenever love affair less than compelling. Ultimately it's Lancelot's hubris that dooms them - he is warned that Mordred intends to catch him out in Guenever's room, but he goes anyway, and doesn't leave when he tells her to, because he is stupid.

It’s no surprise that the female characters are given the short shrift, but there’s an uncomfortable vein of misogyny running through the book. To wit:

Elaine had done the ungraceful thing as usual. Guenever, in similar circumstances, would have been sure to grow pale and interesting - but Elaine had only grown plump.

And then later:

Guenever had overdressed for the occasion. She had put on makeup which she did not need, and put it on badly. She was forty-two.

Morgause (the eponymous witch in the wood/queen of air and darkness) is a negligent mother whose sole motivation is revenge, Elaine rapes Lancelot by deception, Guenever is hypocritical and shrill (but achieves a sliver of nuance in Candle), Nimueh is a nonentity, and Morgan le Fey is a monstrous fairy. If only White had turned his academic pondering inward and in order to examine the role of women in his worldview other than as damsels or instigators.

But Arthur also gets the short shrift - after all the focus in his childhood, he becomes almost a peripheral figure in the rest of the story until the very end, and we're not actually given much to show why he is the once and future king, other than that he tries to institute a slightly less brutal system.

Ultimately, White is more interested in philosophy than character, and so Camelot's inevitable tragedy feels more clinical than visceral.

The Good People (Hannah Kent) - If the Irish Folklore Trilogy (discussed below) is the beauty and wonder of Irish myths and legends interacting with the human world, this book is the cold danger of superstition and the devastating affect of folklore used as an explanation for life's ills. Set in 1820's rural Ireland, Nora is widowed and left with the care of her young disabled grandson Michael, believed to be a changeling. The local wise woman Nance, who feels the touch of "the good people" sets about to drive out the fairy from the child, believing that the "real" Michael will return, much to the growing dread of Mary, the teenage girl Nora has hired to care for him.

Here fairies are seen as a malevolent force, "sweeping" away women and children, causing bad harvests, and bringing death to the village - to be respected and feared. And then there's Nance, bartering traditional cures for ailments and troubles - some work, some do not, and some pose great danger. On the other hand, this is a remote village where a doctor must be fetched from Killarney, and only one priest who is less than charitable. Neither provide any help or support to Nora.

SPOILERS It's an upsetting read dealing with dark subject matter - grief trauma, child abuse and accidental infanticide, a kind of slow burn horror. If it takes a village to to raise a child, it also takes one to kill a child, as mounting fear and superstition moves through the population like a contagion, heightening Nora's desperation for the "return" of her grandson, and Nance's to prove her knowledge. It's an impeccably researched novel (based in part on a true event) but very unsettling - poor Michael is never really given humanity, and I feel this book would be hugely triggering in its depiction of disability and neurodivergence.

Watching

The Secret of Kells/Song of the Sea/Wolfwalkers (dir. Tom Moore) - I've been meaning to watch these films for absolutely ages, and I finally got to them this month. I’m pleased to say that the many people who recommended them to me were absolutely correct, because they appear to have been made to specifically cater to my interests. Some mild spoilers ahead.

I watched these in internal chronological order as suggested by @ravenya003, starting with The Secret of Kells, set in 9th Century Ireland where the young monk Brendan helps illuminate the to-be famous manuscript and befriends a forest sprite Aisling, under the threat of a Viking raid. Next was Wolfwalkers, jumping forward to 1650 Kilkenny where the English girl Robyn, daughter of a hunter, is drawn into the world of the forest and Mebh, who turns into a wolf when she sleeps. And finally we go all the way to 1980's in Song of the Sea for the story of Ben, who must help his younger sister Saoirse (a selkie) find her voice and bring back the faeries who have been turned to stone by the owl witch Macha.

Although the stories are completely separate, they've been described as Moore's "Irish Folklore" trilogy, and it’s easy to read a through line from Kells to Wolfwalkers in particular - both deal with fae of the forest, and Aisling appears as a white wolf at the end of the film (having lost her ability to appear in human form). I like to think that Aisling is in some way the progenitor of the wolfwalkers - after all, Kells and Kilkenny are less than 200 kms apart.

Song of the Sea is distant from the other two in both time and subject matter, dealing with selkies, creatures of the water. In many ways, Kells and Wolfwalkers feels like a duology, with Song more its own thing. On the other hand, an argument could be made for common fae spirit/s in different forms across all three films - Aisling is a white sprite, Robyn takes the form of a white/grey wolf, and Saoirse a white seal.

The strength of these films other than the folklore is the visual style - I really love 2D animation, and while I appreciate the beauty of cg animation, I often find in the latter’s focus on hyper-realism the artistry can be left by the wayside. These films not just aesthetically beautiful, but the art is used to tell the story - from the sharp angles that represent the darker or harmful elements (Crom, Vikings, the Town), to the circles and rings that represent safety and harmony (the Abbey, the forest, Mebh and her mother/the wolves healing circle, the holy well). The exception is probably the home of Macha, the owl witch, where circles are also prominent and represent magic, and this is often the case in folklore (fairy rings, fairy forts, etc).

Kells is the most stylised, resembling tapestries or pages and triptychs from medieval manuscripts, playing with perspective. I actually saw pages from the real Book of Kells years ago in Dublin, and remember them being very beautiful. We only get glimpses of the Book and the stunning Chi Rho page at the very end of the film, but the style of art is present throughout the film and particularly in the forest where Brendan finds inspiration for his illumination, and on the flipside his encounter in the dark with Crom Cruach, represented as a chalk-drawn primordial serpent.

This style is also present in Wolfwalkers, particularly stark in the way the birds-eye grid of the town often looms over Robyn in the background and in her work at the castle. The depiction of the forest has more of a storybook quality however, as does Song, where almost every frame resembles a painting, particularly the sequences of Saoirse's selkie trip through the sea and Ben's fall through the holy well.

Rav points out in her review that there is the ebbing away of myth and magic in each successive film, contrasted with the rise of Christianity/modernity. But there's circles and rings again, because while the ultimate power of the faerie world is fading away, the interaction between our human protagonists and faerie actually increases with each film. In Kells, we have only Aisling and Crom, in Wolkwalkers, we have Mebh and her mother whose ranks grow to include Robyn and her father, and finally in Song we have Saoirse, Bronagh, Macha, the Na Daoine Sídhe, and the Great Seanachaí.

Watching in the order I did, it does give the impression of the mythological world opening up to the viewer, gaining a deeper understanding and exposure as time progressed. On the other hand, that is also because the human world is gradually encroaching on the world of Faerie, from isolated settlements like the Abbey of Kells, to growing town of Kilkenny and the logging of the surrounding forest, to a modern Ireland of motorways and power lines, and industrialised Dublin where the remaining fairies have moved underground. It makes the climax of Song, with the fairies restored but returning to the land of Tír na nÓg, rather bittersweet.

I also credit the strength of the voice acting - the adult roles are minor but with greats including the dulcet tones of Brendan Gleeson and Sean Bean, and the ethereal Maria Doyle Kennedy (who I wish had gotten to do more). But the child roles are all performed so well, particularly Honor Kneafsey as Robyn, whose growing desperation and distress is just heartbreakingly palpable.

The Matrix Trilogy (dir. The Wachowskis) - I usually don't post rewatches in the Roundup, but I really, really love these movies. I will never forget seeing The Matrix at the cinema as a young teen, knowing nothing other than the tease of the enigmatic trailers, and just being completely blown away by it, and then becoming completely obsessed a few years later in the leadup to Reloaded.

It wasn’t my first fandom, but it was probably the first time I took fandom seriously. I was very invested in Neo/Trinity in particular as well as all the mythological/literary references that fed directly into my interests. I haven’t however gone back and read the fic I wrote, for fear that it is very, very cringe. I know where is is though, so maybe one day before the ff.net is purged.

This is Keanu Reeves at his most handsome, and while he doesn't have the greatest range (as many actors don't, although they don't get as much grief for it), when he's in the zone there's no one else who could do it better. He just has a Presence, you know? A vibe, and it compels me.

This is particularly present in Neo, a character whose conflict is almost entirely internal, burdened by the weight of his responsibility and destiny, both before and after he learns it is a false prophesy. He’s not your typical quippy macho action hero, but much like my other fave Luke Skywalker, is a character who is ultimately driven by love and self-sacrifice. I definitely have a Type of male hero I adore, and Neo fits right in there.

I also really love the sequels, flaws and all, because you know what, the Wachowskis had Ideas and they weren't going to deliver Matrix 2: Electric Boogaloo. Each film goes in an unexpected direction, and not in a subverted expectations ha ha silly rabbits way, but one that does have an internal logic and pulls together a cohesive trilogy as a whole, and how often does that happen these days?

The sequels are so…earnest, with none of the cynical cool detachment perhaps some would have preferred - at its core a trilogy exploring philosophy and the nature of prophesy vs choice, determinism vs free will, and the power of love. Maybe it can be hokey, and some of the dialogue a bit overwritten, but I don't care, there's so much I still enjoy even having seen the trilogy many times over the years.

Not to mention the great female characters - while I'm not sure any of the three strictly passes the Bechdel Test, we have Trinity and Niobe in particular who I love with all my heart. It does kind of annoy me that the Trinity Syndrome is so named, because it only applies in the most reductive reading possible, and Trinity expresses agency (and badassery) every step of the way, saving Neo just as much as he saves her. I mean..."dodge this"/"in five minutes I'll tear that whole goddamn building down"/"believe it"? Niobe piloting the Hammer through the mechanical line in Revolutions? Iconic. There are criticisms that can be made, sure, but the trilogy ultimately loves, respects, and appreciates its female characters (and important to note that the avatars of The System, the Architect and the Agents, are all white men).

Then we have the Oracle, who ultimately holds the most power and is the victor of the human/machine war. There's so much going on with the Oracle I could talk about it all day. It's that fate vs free will question again (“if you already know, how can I make a choice?”), but with the wrinkle of manipulation (“would you still have broken it if I hadn’t said anything?”). Choice is the foundation the Matrix is built on, the unconscious choice for humans to accept the system or reject it - the Architect can't control that, he can only manage it, and the Oracle can't force Neo onto the path she has set out for him, only predict the choices he will make based on her study of the human psyche ("did you always know?"/"No...but I believed"). But she plays with the concept of fate in a complicated web of prophesies for outcome she wants and trusting the nature of Morpheus, Trinity, and Neo to bring it about.

And then there's the visual storytelling - there is so much meaning in almost every frame and line of dialogue. The mirroring and ring cycles not only in the constant presence of reflective surfaces and central metaphor of the Matrix as a simulacrum, but the androgyny of Neo and Trinity, bringing each other back from the dead in successive films (and ultimately both ultimately dying in the third), Neo and Morpheus’ first and last meetings, Smith who is ultimately Neo’s dark mirror, the Oracle/the Architect, just to name a few. I just…really really love these movies? Maybe I’ll do a full post rewatch sometime.

I am however reserving judgement on the Matrix 4 - already there are a few things making me uneasy. Lana is the sole director for this one (Lilly is not involved), and Laurence Fishburne apparently wasn't even asked back, even though Morpheus actually survives the trilogy (as opposed to Neo and Trinity). But I’m interested, and don’t want to go in with any expectations, but rather ready to be surprised again like I was when I watched the first film (and hope I can stay away from spoilers).

John Wick Trilogy (dir. Chad Stahelski) - It was a trilogy kind of month! This genre is generally not my thing, as I don’t have a high tolerance for graphic violence and pure action bores me after a while, but I was in a Keanu kind of mood and I'm always hearing people go on about John Wick so I wanted to know what (if anything) I was missing. While still a bit too violent for my tastes, if nothing else I could appreciate the dance-like fight choreography, even if the worldbuulding is absolutely ridiculous - I mean, literally thousands of assassins across the world chilling in sanctuary hotels, supported by a vast network of weapon suppliers, tailors, surgeons, spy networks, etc? It’s silly, but hey, I was happy to go along with it.

What I do appreciate about Keanu Reeves, and this seems to be a common thread, is that even when in action hero mode (Matrix, Point Break, John Wick, and to a lesser extent Speed), he consistently plays a man who is completely in love with his partner/wife - like, completely, unapologetically devoted to them, and I think that is a big part of the appeal - it's that Keanu energy that is often the antithesis of toxic masculinity, even when in roles that would ordinarily rely on those tropes.

Wick is in many ways the spiritual successor to Neo - insular, taciturn, and even as he's dispatching death with clinical precision. Much like Neo, Wick is a character who is somehow Soft (tm) despite all the violence. I once listened to a podcast where they amusingly discussed the Reeves oeuvre as simulations of Neo still trapped in the Matrix, and it’s very easy to make the case here and imagine John Wick as Neo plugged back in after Revolutions, mourning Trinity and set on mission after mission to keep his mind active (and it would certainly explain why the guy hasn’t dropped dead after being stabbed, beaten up, strangled, hit by a car, shot, and falling off a building). It’s a fun little theory.

Stahelski was Reeves' stunt double and a stunt coordinator on The Matrix and there's plenty of homages in the visual style and reuniting Reeves with costars Laurence Fishburne and Randall Duk Kim (who played the Keymaker).

I did also find it amusing that Wick is also often referred to as babayaga (equated in the film to the bogeyman). Well, Wick is in many ways a witch who lives in the woods, just wanting to be left alone with his dog, and there is a supernatural energy to the character, so...I guess?

Space Jam: A New Legacy (dir. Malcolm D Lee) - I took my niece to see this at the cinema and it was…pretty much what you would expect. I thought it was fine for what it was, even if a bit slow in parts (it takes a looong time for the looneys to show up) and I wonder if they have the same cultural pull they had in the nineties (the age of Tweety Bird supremacy). But the kids seemed into it (my niece liked porky pig) and that's what counts I guess.

This time, the toon battle royale takes place on the WB servers, where evil A.I. Don Cheadle (having the time of his life chewing the cg scenery) wants to capture Lebron James for...reasons, idk. James and Bugs have to find the rest of the looneys scattered across the server-verse, a chance for WB to desperately remind people that they too, have media properties and a multiverse including DC comics world, Harry Potter world, Matrix world, Mad Max world, Casablanca world etc. Some of it feels very dated - there is I kid you not an Austin Powers reference, although it did make me smile that Trinity was on James’ list of most wanted players (skill: agility).

Unfortunately, nothing it really done with this multiverse concept except “hey, remember this movie? Now with looneys” six times, and the crowd for the game populated by WB denizens including the Iron Giant, Pennywise, the monkeys from the Wizard of Oz, Scooby Doo and the gang, etc. But still, it's fun, and hardly the tarnishing of a legacy or whatever nonsense is driving youtube clicks these days.

Writing

The Lady of the Lake - 2335 words.

Against the Dying of the Light - 2927 words, Chapter 13 posted.

Total: 5272 this month, 38,488 this year.

[itsbenedict]

Two-Faced Jewel: Session 1-A

I've been playing tabletop games for TOO LONG without actually playing any D&D, and the time for that to change is now.

Zero and @eternalfarnham are Looseleaf and Saelhen du Fishercrown, a mothfolk animist and a half-elf conwoman whose travels take them to Blacksky University, where the discovery of an unknown magical artifact sets them on the path to discovering the secrets of a shattered world.

Oyashio, 親潮市, is known as the Crossroad City. It sits on the closest point between the two major continents of the world, alongside the swift currents of the fierce river-ocean that separates the two. People from all over the Jewel come here to find their fortunes.

Looseleaf is a new arrival to Blacksky University, the institution of higher learning that terrorizes the city with its warball hooligans and dangerous magical experiments. She's left her reclusive village to learn more about the cultures and peoples of the world, and has enrolled in the School of Natural Arts to pursue her dream.

The Lady Noeru de la Surplus is the down-on-her-luck scion of an elven noble family, here to complete her rite of succession and restore the good name of her clan.

Saelhen du Fishercrown is a half-elf disgrace who fled the stifling elven capital of Kanzentokai to escape its byzantine social order- and strike it rich by pretending to be the down-on-her-luck scion of an elven noble family and conning a bunch of elfaboo suckers out of their hard-earned gold. She's out to get rich and prove that elves can be assholes too, dammit!

*

Looseleaf leaves her room to discover- not her roommate, but a large half-orc woman rummaging through her oven.

She asks where Looseleaf keeps the swords.

It becomes clear that Bud Chestplate, here, is a friend of Oyobi Yamatake, Looseleaf's roommate, and Oyobi sent her to pick up some swords from the dorm. They make some small talk while searching, but Looseleaf fails her Investigation roll and can't find the swords for her. She leaves Bud to her business, since she needs to catch her meeting with the Dean.

Benedict I. (GM): So... you get to the Dean's office. It's a pretty large room- not because the Dean is particularly showoffy, but because Dean Mogher is a loxodon, and his office sort of needs to be big. Them elephant people, y'know. You've been asked to meet for an "academic consultation", and aren't sure what to expect.

Seems like Looseleaf needs to do some sort of independent study- and the Dean has something lined up for her, if she's interested. It's an artifact they recently got their hands on thanks to a rich donor, who wanted to learn more about it. It's super magic, so he had to pull some strings to keep it out of the hands of the School of Arcane Arts.

Looseleaf is excited about this!

Looseleaf: Looseleaf vibrates, shaking her wings kind of in the way that a dog might shake their body to remove dirt. This is moth body language for 'FUCK YES I AM SO READY FOR THIS I WAS BORN FOR THIS'.

Meanwhile... Saelhen has arrived in town. She's set herself up with a room in the city, made some public appearances to sell the story, and...

Saelhen has a plan. She'll pretend that this object is rightfully hers, as part of an arcane elven ritual to succeed the headship of her family- and hopefully badger the school into letting her get her hands on it.

She enters the school grounds via the student village, and meets a half-orc woman carrying a bunch of swords around for some reason- who she asks for directions. Bud obliges, despite being preoccupied.

Saelhen du Fishercrown: "Ah, I'm sorry! I didn't realize you were occupied by all those weapons." She bows at the prescribed angle for a small favor asked from a foreigner. "Your words are as 出鱈目外人向け. Thank you." Benedict I. (GM):出鱈目 is like, nonsense, bullshit, 外人 is gaijin, 向け is a suffix that means "for" bullshit for foreigners i love it

(Elven is Japanese here, for reasons.)

Saelhen follows the directions to the School of Arcane arts, and asks the receptionist- a tired-looking goblin girl named Two-Brains- where the Dean's office is.

Two-Brains directs her to the Moon Annex, a wing of the building identifiable by the river of moon symbols flowing along the floor. She reaches what is clearly the Dean's office, and hears a conversation within, that she opts to sneakily listen in on.

Benedict I. (GM): That'll do- you hear a whispered argument, fairly clearly. "...is he blackmailing you? Bribing you? This is clearly our department!" The voice is old and slightly screechy. A younger but still mature voice replies. "Please don't attack my character, Variable. Is my reasoning really that hard to understand?" "Yes," the older voice says. "It's the most magically powerful artifact that's ever come into our possession! How is this not of immediate concern to our department?" "You're failing to consider Coast's concerns, and those of our continuing research," the younger voice says. "Yes, this object is powerful- but learning its magic will scarcely tell us where it comes from. If we could find its source, we could find many more specimens of its kind for study."

It seems like Dean Variable Velocity of Arcane Arts (an elderly owl aarakocra in a wheelchair) really wanted to get her hands on the magic item, but Dean Coast Mogher of Natural Arts got this person to decide in his favor, instead.

Saelhen eventually opts to knock, and sees in the room with the Dean... an elf. Very tall, adorned in jewels, and wearing a very very large hoop dress that goes all the way down to the floor. This would be a problem for Saelhen, because actual elven nobility would see right through her disguise- but luckily, this woman- the provost of the university- is a drow, and not exactly welcome in the circles of elven high society.

The provost takes her leave, and Saelhen spins her sob story for Dean Velocity:

Saelhen du Fishercrown: "Madam Dean, I am sure that any matter requiring your attention might very well overrule my own. If your affairs require that you delay our discussion of the provenance of your college's recent acquisition, then my honor demands that I comply." Benedict I. (GM): "The provenance of our recent acquisiton?" "Wait- are you here about that thing?" "The bracer?" Saelhen du Fishercrown: "Ah, yes." Saelhen ducks her head a bit sheepishly. "I can come back." "Perhaps I have misunderstood what time I was meant to arrive." Benedict I. (GM): "No, no, come in! Come in, I'm sure we can address your concerns." "What time you were- you mentioned an appointment, who told you there was an appointment?" "Never mind, no, it's- please, come in." Saelhen du Fishercrown: "I spoke with a Madam Two-Brains? But information may have been lost in the shuffle -- I gather it was a busy day." Saelhen sits. Benedict I. (GM): "...The student receptionist? Why would- no, never mind. What's this about the bracer?" Saelhen du Fishercrown: Whoops. "I have neglected to introduce myself, and for that I apologize. I am the Lady Noeru de la Surplus, sixth of her name." Saelhen lowers her head. "Your... bracer is an item of some significance to my family." Benedict I. (GM): Her eyes light up. "Is that so?" "What significance, would you say?"

After a little more bullshitting and some great Deception rolls, she has the dean completely sold on her story. It helps that she quite badly wanted to believe it- since if it were true, her rival wouldn't have legitimate claim to it. Dean Velocity offers to help recover the item, if Lady Noeru would agree to let her study it briefly.

Meanwhile, below the School of Arcane Arts, Looseleaf is shown a special hands-free containment device for the magical item.

Benedict I. (GM): Inside the glass case hovers what looks like a stone bracer. It's inset with thirteen large sapphires, at seemingly random locations, little rhyme or reason. There's one region of the bracer that doesn't have sapphires- a flat, circular raised bit with a symbol engraved on it. It's not one you're familiar with, but matches the pattern of the emblems of the gods. Looseleaf: Is it a divine symbol? Yeeeep. Benedict I. (GM): A circle, with horizontal lines across it, growing denser towards the wearer.

Looseleaf makes some investigation and history checks to find out more about it. She observes that the sapphires are connected to one another, and that its craftsmanship doesn't match anything she's ever seen or read about. She's still taking a look at it when Saelhen and Dean Velocity show up.

Dean Velocity badgers Dean Mogher into hearing Saelhen out, and she continues to knock her deception checks out of the park. He doesn't want to give it up without a fight, but he believes her intentions are true. He proposes a compromise: Looseleaf will represent both schools (as she's taking courses in both and is undecided on a major) and accompany Saelhen on her supposed succession rite, asking lots of questions and writing a report that they might be able to publish.

This compromise is more or less amenable to all, and Saelhen is allowed to touch the bracer.

It immediately jumps onto her arm and sticks there, and projects a holographic wayfinding arrow out of one of the sapphires. The bracer begins pulling her arm in that direction. She can't get it off- and can't just run. She's forced to keep up the charade, and let Looseleaf try some magic on it.

Looseleaf is a homebrew class Zero found called the Animist, a caster themed around the idea that all things have "spirits". One of the things it can do is called Soul Glean, which basically lets you... read the mind of an inanimate object.

Lesser Soul Glean: You may peer into the things the soul of an object has witnessed. Make an int (arcana) check to determine the amount of information gleaned from the object. The more recent or emotionally volatile the event, the easier it is to glean information from, while the more distance the harder it is. Senses of emotions, vague intentions, and the sight of auras of can generally be gleaned from this reading.

And what she gets from that is...

Looseleaf:“It’s lost,” Looseleaf says. “It has a purpose and has been unable to fulfill that purpose for a very long time. It’s not epistemologically correct to assign emotions to items through divinations, I think, but if this thing had an emotion I imagine it would be sad.” ”Most importantly, it does not feel fulfilled. It is not behaving the way that objects reunited with their lost owners would be have.” “Given this, I hope you will forgive me for my indiscretion in this next act.” Looseleaf... shifts her arm, the arm touching the bracer, sliding off it and onto the elvish lady’s arm, and Lesser Soul Reads her.

Now Soul Read is for living things, and only sort of gets you mood and general intentions- for now. Saelhen, though, won't be having any of that- she passes her dex save to pull away before Looseleaf can read her. (This, of course, only makes Looseleaf more suspicious.)

Tumblr has new post restrictions that force me to keep these posts short, so here's:

[Part B]

[trademarknickersoncharm]

Austin’s spoiler free  ND Rankings from best to worst (with reasons why)

PLS NOTE: There is only one game I actually HATE. Every other game there is something I like about it except my last spot. Keep that in mind.

1) Ghost of Thornton Hall. This game is an absolute masterpiece. It is the best game HeR has made since CUR. It is also the best game I think HeR has put out in recent years. These are characters that you actually FEEL for. Not one of them are unlikeable. The closest you get is Clara, who you wind up feeling for in the end. An absolute work of art (it is also the first game I pre-ordered because from the very beginning I was invested.)

2) Labyrinth Of Lies- Hear me out. I absolutely adore this game. It has Greece, Theatre, and Xenia Doukas. Three things I cannot live without. While I absolutely agree that the whole idea of a rotating set system underground is impossible, this game was a dream come true for theatre kids everywhere. I will never not play this game without listening to Mamma Mia. It’s probably my biggest unpopular opinion of this fandom.

3) Last Train To Blue Moon Canyon- This game breaks my literal heart. Camille and Jake Hurly has always been up there in my eyes with Frances and Dirk from SHA. I have always loved the environment of this game. (This is probably due to the fact that Murder On The Orient Express is one of my favorite books) and this is one game that I always go to when I’m feeling nostalgic. It is also the first time you see the Hardy Boys so that’s a sign.

4) Sea Of Darkness- This is the game that I think has the best graphics HeR has offered. We have a lesbian character which was highly requested as well as a cute dog. The aurora borealis is never not STUNNING to look at and it one of the best games that actually feels like Nancy is “there”. The mystery is also one that I think can be misleading. I always assumed it was Ghost Ship TM but boy was I wrong. Elisabet also has my whole heart.

5) The Final Scene- OH MY GOD THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE SASS FILLED GAME AND I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE FOR IT. I constantly say “I propose you back off!” at every opportune moment. It is the best dialogue Nancy has ever had. Again, it is a Stan for theatre kids everywhere. I have also always thought magic was the coolest thing even though I can't perform it. Solid dialogue and very easy puzzles, which is always a relief.

6) Curse Of Blackmoor Manor- This is not in my top 3 as it is going to be for almost everyone else due to the fact that I think it is a very difficult game. I first played it when I was 12, and it was the only game I could not beat up until that shit show SAW which we will discuss later. Now that I've grown older and wiser, I have really grown to appreciate it more and it is a CLASSIC when looking into this game series. I appreciate the nostalgia value it has and the soundtrack and the characters. Ethel Bossiny FTW. This game also has the best soundtrack of the series.

7) Treasure In The Royal Tower- Another one that will be in everyone else’s top 3 but is not for me, but is still solid. I ADORE this game’s setting and character development- but for me, I never really felt pulled in to the mystery. My time was spent fan grilling over Hotchkiss that the person who broke into the library was on my back burner. HOWEVER, it is still very nostalgic and iconic it is in my top 10.

8) The Phantom Of Venice- Simply put, this game is why I want to go to Italy. I was ALMOST THERE but corona. I absolutely adore the way this game transports you. They included everything they could, even real photos of Venice, which I appreciated as someone who wants to go.

9) Alibi in Ashes- You have to understand how important it is that we finally got a game in River Heights. It was always on the TOP of my list in terms of places I wanted Nancy to go. It did not disappoint. The fact that everyone turned on Nancy so quickly always sends chills down my spine.

10) Legend Of The Crystal Skull- ALRIGHT so another unpopular opinion. This was the FIRST game I every played AND BEAT and so it will always be in my top 10. This is the game that truly got me invested in the series. If it wasn't this, it would not be this high, but it is my number 10 for that reason. Other things I like: Henry, Renee, the setting and music.

11) Warnings At Waverly Academy- WAC’s setting is so amazing. I don’t really know how to explain it, but I have always been intrigued about boarding school mysteries (@ house of Anubis )and this is a solid one. It contains probably one of the best plot twists of the series that blew my mind the first time I played it, and Mel Corbalis is god’s gift to humanity.

12) The Silent Spy- A real tearjerker if there ever was one. This games takes a storyline that has been changed many times (Nancy’s mom) and turns it into something so extremely badass you really wish she wasn't actually dead. Zoe Wolfe is the absolute reason I exist. You also play a cookies mini game which is just about as addicting as crack.

13) Secret Of The Old Clock- Okay, so I feel like this game gets a lot of hate because everyone talks about how weird the time travel is, but this has always been a game I liked. I think personally, that it is the easiest game in the series (if you exclude the dress, which I have never had a problem with) and it is based on the absolute most classic ND story of all. I also highly enjoy this period of time, even though the characters in this game aren't great. Emily Crandall is probably the best one, and even she yells at Nancy.

14) Secret Of Shadow Ranch- Okay. So I’m going to get anon h8 for this. But SHA is... not the best in my opinion. I have talked about this before, but SHA is very tedious in terms of chores and I just do not like that. I wouldn't necessarily mind the chores if they weren't repetitive, but it is the same chores over and over again. With that said, I LOVE the music, the Humber storyline, and the setting, so it is #14

15) Message In A Haunted Mansion- This is probably the only game I have ever pissed my pants over. CUR and GTH didn’t even do that. I think it is bc MHM is one of the first games I played. The hauntings in this game are so AMAZING and when you find out their explanation it totally changes things.

16) The Deadly Device- I love when ND does a Murder Mystery right. This is the time it was done right. The culprit came out of absolutely no where and I loved it. It is ranked this low for me b/c I think some of the puzzles are tedious and hard. Ryan Kilpatrick is an amazing human being and so is Ellie thx.

17) Tomb Of The Lost Queen- Another game which I think gets a lot of undeserved hate. Mummies are badass, especially when the mummy sighting is real and unexplained. Dylan Carter is probably the biggest example of stud you will ever see, and Jamila El-Dine is a bad b****. I am ranking it this high for Jamila alone. 

18) Danger On Deception Island- I absolutely adore this game’s music. But I hate Holt Scotto with all the fire within me. He is why this game is not in my top 10. I love everything about this game except Holt F****** Scotto. I want to put it in my top 10. I do. But Holt Scotto sucks.

19) The Haunted Carousel- This was a game which I vividly remember being bullied in daycare over. I took it to daycare one day and we kept getting our eyeballs poked out by the lathe. Daycare memories suck. Also it is the first game by which we get a literal sexual strut by the culprit at the end, which I have never liked. Pluses of the game? An amusement park. Miles.

20) Ransom Of The Seven Ships- SAY IT OUT LOUD. RAN. IS. NOT. THE. WORST. GAME. The puzzles, although always thrown at your face, are actually sort of fun. I would rank it higher but there is way too few characters in a way that makes the culprit very obvious, but it also isn't at the same time. 

21) The Captive Curse- This is a game by which I thought had so much potential but I think the monster looks very dumb? It’s like? The inbred cousin of Frankenstien’s monster? However, I LOVE THE SONG “girls”from this game and have a huge love for Lukas, so it isn't bottom 10

22) Stay Tuned For Danger- This game is one that would be so much higher up for me, If you didn’t have to look at EVERYTHING to complete it. If you miss ONE LETTER in a magazine, you cannot beat this game. I get stuck on it every time  I play it, but the mystery is amazing and who doesn’t love a good old NYC game.

23) The White Wolf Of Icicle Creek- To begin my bottom 10, ICE. I LOVE ICE as a concept. But, Fox and Geese holds me back from a replay. I absolutely love the idea of a lodge that people are in danger at. The snow atmosphere is amazing and so is Isis. But, Fox and Geese is an abomination.

24) Ghost Dogs Of Moon Lake- I really, really want to like this game because I am a dog lover. However, the insect challenge is such a CHORE to do. I cannot stand to do it. It is so difficult to do in my humble opinion, it requires such a retrace of step that makes it insufferable. Pros? cute doges.

25) The Haunting Of Castle Malloy- YOU ARE LITERALLY THIS LOW BC OF THE END PUZZLE AND YOU KNOW IT. However, not the worst for me because I love Ireland and this game has some of the best music in the series. It is on my top 5 for soundtracks. I love everything about this game except THE END. Fiona is so misunderstood.

26) Secret of The Scarlet Hand- I really like this game, I do, but I am very not interested in the constant phone calls you do in this game. You are on the phone for about 75% of this game and I really didn’t like that about it. LOVE the history behind it though.

27) SCK/SCK2- I really do not like SCK as a concept. School murders are a topic which really turns me off. Not to mention, there is barely a difference between these games but a single character and a puzzle. 

28) Danger By Design- Paris? Yes. Fashion? Heck yeah. But I never have really enjoyed DAN because the mystery can literally be solved by pulling a Phantom of The Opera and dropkicking the mask off. I also HATE the cookie puzzle. The edges never curl upwards for me.

29) Creature Of Kapu Cave- Ugh. Shells and fishing make this game untouchable for me. I LOVE HAWAII CONCEPT and supernatural volcanoes and phenomena. But I cannot stand the big island buck system or the man himself. Sorry, big island homies. Also be proud of me because it took me this long to bring up STUPID FRASS

30) Midnight In Salem- I was so excited for this game. We all were. I really enjoy MID’s mystery and as a concept. But, the new format is not good and neither is the constant talking and only being able to complete the game in one order. I was so excited for nothing (which is my own fault)

31) Shadow At The Waters Edge- GOD. The massive nonogram and sudoko have NO place in this game. I refuse to play it because of these 2 puzzles. However, I do love the scares in it. They are top notch scares. I have beat this game in it’s entirety maybe once?

32) Trail Of The Twister- Internship simulator forever. Chores galore, what a bore. Uncompelling mystery and hateful characters. The only thing I liked was the country music, a sentence you don’t hear often.

33) The Shattered Medallion- I literally played the beta of this game and it was ions better than the actual released product. That’s reason enough.

[apparitionism]

Hark 3

The new year has hit me pretty hard, work-wise, so I apologize to @kla1991​ and everyone else (including @bering-and-wells-exchange​ ) for my lack of timely continuation. This is the third part of my attempt at a holiday story, which began its cacophony in part 1 and continued, similarly unharmoniously, in part 2. There’ll be a fourth-part denouement, delayed mostly because it concludes in a conversation that I want to make sing in a way that it’s not quite doing yet. Patience may or may not actually be a virtue, but it’s much appreciated all the same.

Hark 3

Myka took a similarly dark view of Pete’s next idea: “If mistletoe’s a no-go,” he said, “on account of this being one of these, how about we chuck an artifact that makes them sing? I’ll aim for Myka’s head, then Steve can rebound and hit H.G. Gotta be some karaoke something-or-other that’d do that, right?”

“That wouldn’t fix anything,” Leena said, like she knew it for a fact. Myka wanted to ask her not “what else do you know,” but rather “do you know everything,” the answer to which was probably “yes, if you mean everything that’s relevant to this excruciating exercise.” Comforting, in its way. Also inconvenient, because it implied that part of the “everything” she knew was that Myka and Helena would have to sing. Of their own volition.

Claudia said, “Even though I didn’t know there was a these—proving that nobody tells me anything, and I promise someday that’s coming back to bite all of you—and even though Pete doesn’t want me on his artifact-ball team—”

“Steve’s taller,” Pete said.

“And that’s coming back to bite you too. Someday. But for now, I’m gonna be the magical elf who fixes it. H.G., what’s the lesson of A Charlie Brown Christmas?”

“Children are not immune from existential despair,” Helena said immediately.

Myka resented how endearing she found that.

Claudia sighed and said, “Why are you always right, but not like I want you to be?” Myka resented how true she found that. Claudia went on, “Okay, smarty, what’s another lesson?”

“One’s so-called friends are likely to scorn one’s attempts to celebrate the season.”

Not quite as endearing. Still right.

“But eventually they come around,” Claudia pronounced. “C’mon, H.G. Be the Linus you wish to see in the world. Or I guess you should be the Linus everybody other than you, or you and Myka, wish to see? Anyway, my point is, what’s the true meaning of Christmas?”

Helena’s hands rose to her temples again as she said, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only.”

Myka said, “I’m pretty sure it starts ‘And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field.’” She tried to mitigate her knee-jerk know-it-all-ness by offering, weakly, “I mean, if you’re really being the Linus.”

“I think H.G.’s flaunting again,” said Steve.

“I am repurposing,” Helena said. “A verse from the Epistle of James, as a Christmas thing. Being the sole Victorian representative, I claim the privilege.”

“Also you’re a pretty committed flaunter,” Myka said, because it was the case—and that too was knee-jerk, for she did not bear in mind, for the split second she said it, the full situation they were in. She’d said it as a tease, and they were nowhere near safe teasing ground.

But Helena’s mood had shifted—possibly because of Charlie Brown reasons, which possibly meant that Claudia really was a magical elf—for she said, “True. And truce? For the length of a verse: together as doers of the word, and not hearers only.”

“Fine,” Myka grudged. “But only so Claudia quits looking at us like we stole Christmas. And I pity the hearers.”

“As do I,” Helena said, solemn.

Claudia passed her phone to Helena. Myka leaned to read with her the words of the next verse. They both inhaled, looked at each other, and said “you start” at the same time. After a chorus of “geez,” “come on,” and similar from the annoying people who could actually sing (and who thus weren’t about to make fools of themselves), they gave up and got on with it.

And so they together submitted, in Wenceslasment:

“O dilecta domina, cur sic alienaris? An nescis, o carissima, quod sic adamaris? Si tu esses Helena, vellem esse Paris! Tamen potest fieri noster amor talis.”

The ensuing silence was eloquent enough, but Pete put it into words: “That’s a wow from me. I had no idea anything could sound that bad. Start to finish, next-level awful.”

“Thanks,” Myka said.

“You’re welcome. Seriously, if that was ‘Good King Wenceslas,’ then I’m good King Wenceslas.”

“And yet I feel like that did it? Made it happy?” Steve said, and Leena agreed with him.

Claudia said, “So I guess we’re calling Pete ‘good King Dub’ from now on.”

“I’m into it,” Pete said, “and my first royal decree is, I want to know what they just made it happy singing—or I guess I mean ‘singing’—about. Somewhere in the scary noises I heard ‘Helena,’ so something’s up.”

Helena said, “I have Latin, and I would rather not say.”

“So do I,” Myka said. “And ditto.”

“But for the rest of the class.” Claudia grabbed her phone back. “Okay, here’s what some guy Symonds said it meant, way back in, wait for it, ye olde Victorian times.”

Helena startled: a tiny upturn of chin. “John Symonds?”

“Yeah. Know him?”

“Not well. Mutual friends... he was an advocate of so-called ‘Greek love.’”

Pete’s eyebrows rose. “Going to Greece to get all hey-hey? Like a vacation?”

“Not... precisely that. Although not not that, I imagine.”

Steve chortled. Then he schooled his expression and said, “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize for understanding such euphemisms. This sole representative appreciates it.”

Claudia, not to be deterred, said, “Oh, like he’s the only one who got it. But speaking of getting it, because whoever was singing about the time of flowers clearly wanted to.” She then intoned, “O my chosen one, why dost thou shun me? Dost thou not know, dearest, how much thou art loved? If thou wert Helen, I would be Paris. So great is our love that it can be so.” Hearing that diction in Claudia’s voice was strange... but she reverted to normal with, “That’s some business. You certainly do get around, H.G.”

“I am not Helen of Troy, thank you.”

“You sure?” Pete said. “I heard she was hot, just like you.” He bumped Helena in the shoulder.

“Hey!” Myka objected—about the shoulder-bump as well as the “hot.” But more the “hot.”

“She is though! And I thought so first.”

“You did not,” Myka said.

Helena said, “That sounds like a veiled offense.”

“I saw you before he did,” Myka told her. “And anyone who sees you...” She would have gone on, but her ears had begun to burn, a sure sign she was about to head into the “saying too much out loud” zone.

Helena blinked herself to understanding, and Myka was gratified that she seemed a little flustered too as she said, “Oh. Well. That is... complimentary.”

*

That first sight... Myka had not felt anything recognizable as love at that sight; rather, she’d felt a sense, something that she now considered a flutter from the future. Their first interaction, in its entirety, had made no sense at all, primarily on the obvious “H.G. Wells?!?” level, but also in its subterranean murmur, which Myka could not parse, could not even fathom, not until years later when she understood what her body had been trying to tell her. What it had decided it wanted.

Because she could not help herself, she had recently asked Helena a version of “What did you know and when did you know it?” Because the Helena of that earliest part remained an opacity, one about whom Myka was endlessly curious, and asking obliquely about desire rather than baldly about deception seemed a safer way in.

Helena gave the question some thought, making Myka glad she had asked, for being able to prompt Helena to real thought was a prize. “Something sparked for me when you said, ‘H.G. Wells is a woman. I’m going to have to process this.' Because of course I was myself working to ‘process’ that H.G. Wells was not a woman, if you can see at all what I mean.”

“Not quite,” Myka admitted.

“At that point I hadn’t entirely absorbed the history, the idea that Charles had so fully become... him. Me? That time had rendered any distance between Charles and... what I mean is, I had not ‘processed’ that I myself, as myself, would be so utterly forgotten.” She paused. “And then that you would... ‘process.’ That word, used as a verb of cogitation, seemed so deliberate, so new, so singular, as if you’d invented such usage solely as a response to me.”

Helena lied with great facility; Myka did know that about her approach to deception. This sort of hesitant, cautious talk usually connoted truth—here, a truth flattering to Myka. “I wish I had invented it,” she said. New usages, new words, an entirely new language; she should have realized that all of these would come to seem necessary. “And I’m sorry if this shouldn’t be true, but I’m perversely glad to have this secret knowledge. About you. As yourself.” That was a prize too—the luxurious exclusivity of her knowledge, her behind-the-velvet-rope version of H.G. Wells.

“That you are one of the few who do have it is so pleasing to me that I would write a novel about it.”

“I thought you supplied the research,” Myka said, trying to distract herself from the suddenly all-consuming idea that H.G. Wells, in whatever incarnation, had just mentioned writing a novel about something even vaguely related to Myka Bering.

“As if I couldn’t have written those books? I simply didn’t have the time, and Charles did. But I have already compiled extensive research regarding yourself—and your ability to process.”

Myka’s own clearest spark-point had occurred when Helena had looked her up and down—so very thoroughly up and down that Myka had felt that look as a full scan of her very self, a magnetic, resonant measure-taking. Helena hadn’t looked at Pete like that. Myka had clung to that look, had continued to cling to it, more tightly than she probably should have, when she was wishing inchoately but bodily for things she couldn’t let herself know she had decided she wanted.

So Myka said, in the interest of truth-telling, “That you checked me out was pretty pleasing too.”

Yet another prize: a playful “Is that what I did?”

“More thoroughly than anybody ever has.”

“Then it seems I have some secret knowledge of my own.”

“You do,” Myka said, and: “I’m glad it’s you.” Myka wanted no one else to know any of it. Her own velvet rope, behind which no one else.

*

“When does this end, exactly?” Pete asked. “Not that it isn’t fun.”

“When we’ve done enough,” Leena said.

“And when’s that?” Myka asked in turn. “Because it isn’t fun.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s when Claudia feels that we have.”

Claudia groaned out, “Did Mrs. Frederic have to do this kind of thing?”

Leena said, “I wouldn’t know. Now, are we finished yet?”

“Something about infotech,” Claudia muttered. She started walking.

“Narrows it down,” Steve said, and he followed her, disciple-like.

As did they all. They walked and walked.

“Really old infotech,” Claudia said, so they kept walking.

They passed early computers, including the wall-sized Harvard Mark I; telephones and the switchboards that linked them; calculators, slide rules, Napier’s bones; Babbage’s Difference Engine and Leibniz’s Machine. Claudia dismissed it all: “No, no, no,” she chanted. “None of this. Where are you, pesky upset tech?”

At last she halted. “Okay. You?” And in response to some response, she nodded. “This is it. “

It was a structure that looked like a modernist desk crossed with a medieval torture device. “Gutenberg’s printing press,” Myka breathed, in reverence—not that she needed to say it out loud. Well, maybe for Pete.

“Really?” he said, proving her point. “Pretty much the O.G. of infotech then.”

“Actually we passed a bunch of abaci,” she noted, “which are a lot older than—”

“Ix-nay,” Pete said. “This big fella clearly needs a little jog to the self-esteem. What’s its Christmas deal, though?”

Claudia said, “And so the overburdened Caretaker-in-training got her Wikipedia on one more time.”

“No need,” Helena told her. “This one, I know.”

“You’re certainly a more reliable source,” Myka said.

“It worked, professor,” Claudia said. “What’s the Yuletide word, other professor?”

“There is a cantata commemorating Gutenberg’s invention. Written by Mendelssohn, sometime midcentury? Mid my century, that is... the ‘Festgesang.’ Also known as the Gutenberg Cantata.”

Claudia said, “I think I know how this song goes, and by now everybody can sing it with me: the Victorians stole it for Christmas. Right?”

“Part of the melody, yes. To accompany a Christmas hymn known as ‘Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.’ Do you—no. I was about to ask if you know it, but again we return to A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

“Everybody knows it,” Pete said.

“H.G., are you sure all of this song-stealing wasn’t you and your Warehouse 12 buddies?” Claudia asked. “Some super-secret Christmas-invention mission?”

Helena made a face. “Would I be surprised to learn that I had been manipulated into helping such a thing coalesce? Of course not. The Warehouse does enjoy the power generated by a holiday.”

Leena nodded. “Lots of belief. Collectively.”

I am so tired of belief, Myka thought.

“I hope we don’t have to sing whatever the German words are,” Steve said. “I took German in high school and nearly flunked out.”

“Learning lots of new things about you today, BFF,” Claudia commented. “Maybe this isn’t Caretaker practice at all; maybe it’s about us needing to get to know your whole big complicated sax-playing, Wenceslas-hating, German-flunking self. And since when are you a flunker?”

“Something about the word order made me nervous. Like I was always having to untangle what was true. My fault, obviously, not German’s, but I’ve got bad associations, so maybe we could just go with the carol?” He tried, in melodious English, “Hark, the herald angels sing,” then paused, waited. “It doesn’t seem to mind that too much. It isn’t placated yet, though.”

Leena said, “Maybe it doesn’t matter which words we sing.” She tried the next measure as a series of la-las, then stopped and considered. “That wasn’t bad either. I’m guessing it considers the melody Mendelssohn’s real tribute.”

“That’s funny,” said Pete. To multiples of “why,” he answered, “That a printing press doesn’t care about words.”

Helena laughed. “You make an excellent point,” she said. Then, to Myka, “Doesn’t he?”

“He... does,” Myka had to concede.

And in agreeing that Pete made an excellent point, they were, however improbably, pulled extremely close to accord. Myka was barely able to refrain from grasping Helena’s hand again, this time to deal with the depth of her relief that they had... “reconciled” was the word that came to mind, though that probably had more to do with the carol they either were or weren’t about to sing the English words of.

Then again, what was wrong with reconciling, as a word, or as a concept? And so she asked herself why she was refraining. No good answer occurred to her, so she did in fact firmly take Helena’s hand.

Helena didn’t smirk, didn’t eyebrow, didn’t even look at Myka. But she did grip back. Then she went on, with a newly rich note in her voice, “I do think I understand: the press wants it known that the melody was intended to bring glory to it, not to this set of words or that one. And certainly the conceptual majesty of the printed word outglories any newborn baby in a manger, regardless of that infant’s kingship.”

“You’re definitely not being religious now,” Steve said.

“The press brought the Bible to the people, so it has a case for primacy on that score as well.”

“But that baby in the manger saved humankind,” he protested.

Claudia snickered. “I like how nobody’s being religious. Supposedly.”

“We are discussing religion,” Helena starched out. “A different philosophical undertaking entirely.”

“Instead let’s discuss what to sing,” Leena said, “because we’ll be singing together this time. Should it be about the newborn king?”

Helena said, “Not to upset my discursive partner, but the original German is about Gutenberg himself as a sort of savior. His glorious bringing of light into the darkness via the press.”

“If we have to,” Steve said.

“Although,” Helena mused, “I suppose that to sing about Gutenberg’s actions would be to glorify him, rather than the press as such. Perhaps that’s why it doesn’t care about words.”

“How about we split the difference?” Myka offered.

“What’s the difference between an English carol and a German cantata?” Steve asked. “Sounds like a really esoteric riddle.”

Myka said, “Let’s sing the alphabet.” The resulting confused expressions indicated that her very-clear-to-her idea wasn’t quite the beacon of obviousness she’d thought. “Connects all the dots, don’t you figure? Because what’s movable type?”

Helena looked at her like she, Myka, was the one who’d brought light into the darkness. She raised Myka’s hand, which she still held, to her mouth and kissed it. “Lovely,” she said, and although Myka still didn’t exactly feel like singing, she did find herself in a much greater mood to make a joyful noise.

Once the singing—or “singing”—began, they all had different ideas about syllabication, none of which entirely joined into a full cantata-appropriate chorus, but they did end up on “X-Y-Z!” for “re-con-ciled” on their first march through the alphabet, then moved on to the “Joy-ful all ye na-tions ri-ise” part with a rousing “Ay-bee cee dee eee-eff gee-ee!” Everyone was laughing by the time they finished, and Leena said, “Unless I’m misinterpreting, the press is as delighted as we are.” Even Myka, untuneful as she knew she’d been, couldn’t stop grinning... and, as she regarded a similarly smiling Helena, she wanted to be pelted with mistletoe for the right reasons.

Claudia looked up and around, as if snow had begun to fall. She said, “And I think we’re done. Unless anybody’s still unthrilled?” She asked the question of the Warehouse in general, the air around them.

The air held motionless.

Myka said, “I’m still unthrilled that we had to do this at all. I don’t know how Santa feels about anything, but Pete’s on my naughty list.”

“Aren’t you, however?” Helena asked. “Thrilled, in some small part?” To be back in accord, the sparkle in her eyes said.

Well, all right, she was. “You’re taking advantage of how this feels like a holiday now.”

“In Pete’s defense, and my apologies for uttering that phrase, as well as the one that now follows: his intentions were good.”

“There is a road to a place,” Myka said, “and that road is paved. I won’t name the place, but I think you and I and people who had to listen to us sing were recently in its vicinity.”

“Myka. You just now said it feels like a holiday. And it is also now certain that we will never forget this, our first Christmas together.”

“I like how everyone always forgets that I will never forget anything,” Myka complained.

“But sometimes you don’t keep things top of mind,” Steve said, with his particular delicacy.

“You didn’t forget that?”

“I’m not you, but I was paying attention.”

Myka said, “I appreciate it,” and, noting an inquiring eyebrow from Helena, told her, “I’ll explain later.”

Helena nodded and dropped the eyebrow. She said, “So perhaps a more meaningful statement is that I will never forget this, our first Christmas together. And I am being religious, though only slightly, when I say that it all—having such a Christmas, having this somewhat ear-splitting memory—is a blessing.”

“I knew you’d be all sentimental about Christmas, H.G.!” Pete crowed. “I knew it! Which is I bet why the Messiah figured I’d be all into saving Christmas. And which, FYI, I’m still pretty sure I did, Mrs. and Mrs. Bickerson.”

“Please,” Leena said, “not the M-word.”

“Mrs.?” Pete asked, in obvious confusion. “Should it be ‘Ms. and Ms.’ instead? I don’t know how to be sensitive.”

“That’s the truest thing you’ve ever said,” Myka told him. “Pay attention! You’re the one who just made noise about what tapped you for doing this supposed saving.”

“Messiah!” he shouted, like she’d acted it out in charades.

“Well, that’s re-agitated the press a bit,” Helena said, and to the mechanism, she spoke a single word: “Hark.” That word, said by that voice, was at the same time arresting and soothing. Something to heed. “Or, if you prefer, ‘A’,” Helena offered. Also something to heed. Myka’s ears informed her, by way of further burning, that they would in fact listen avidly to Helena reciting the alphabet. That they would find her doing so to be both arresting and soothing and arousing as well. Not surprising, ears, she told them.

“Speaking of sensitive,” Leena said, “the press is.”

“Aren’t we all,” Claudia affirmed.

“It has more right,” Helena said. “No holiday stole Mendelssohn’s music about any of us.”

“He did score a Midsummer,” Myka said. It was one of the few Mendelssohn facts she knew. “So technically about a Helena.”

That made Leena laugh. “We’ll see what happens if anyone ever puts Christmas lyrics to it.”

Myka said, “I really don’t think she needs a lot of help getting agitated,” and Pete put on an expression of concern. “No, Pete, that’s not what I mean.” Then he grinned. “And that’s not either.”

“What we should encourage Pete to do next year, however, is complete his inventory in a timely fashion,” Helena said, and to Claudia, “A timely supervised fashion, hm?”

“Sorry,” Claudia said, seemingly sincerely. Then she perked up. “But we’ve got happy artifacts and that’s still next in the stack, so let’s go home and play!”

Back at the B&B, just before the playing of Sorry commenced, Myka whispered that word to Helena, with whom she was to play, as that team Claudia had proposed—seemingly forever, but really only hours, before. That word, “Sorry,” followed by “I really am.” Helena didn’t whisper it back, but she did murmur, “Don’t be.”

TBC

[ladyherenya]

Books read in July

After I read How to Find Love in a Bookshop, I searched the library’s catalogue for other titles containing “bookshop” or “bookstore”. I was curled up in bed with a bad cold at the time, which meant I ended up choosing a bunch of books whose covers or synopses would have, on a different day, put me off. And that worked out rather well!

But afterwards I felt like I didn’t get the right balance between contemporary fiction and fantasy this month.

Favourite cover: Minor Mage by T. Kingfisher.

Still reading: The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert.

Next up: Mort by Terry Pratchett. Maybe The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton.

(Longer reviews and ratings are on LibraryThing. And also Dreamwidth.)

– (they’ve taken away page breaks) –

Things a Map Won’t Show You: stories from Australia & Beyond, edited by Susan La Marca and Pam Macintyre: I borrowed this because I recognised some of the names involved. I liked bits and pieces of it but nothing really stood out. Maybe Peta Freestone’s “Milford Sound”, for the setting. According to the introduction, the stories and poems were chosen “with the curriculum in mind and for their appeal to Year Seven and Eight readers”. That’s a valid reason but I suspect that approach is unlikely to result in a collection that would really appeal to me, not me now and not even when I was a young teenager.

A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II by Elizabeth Wein: This is AMAZING. It is aimed at young people, and I wondered if I’d find the writing style too simplistic, but it was just remarkably accessible. I knew bits about Russia’s history but this gave me a much more comprehensive understanding of the culture and politics these women grew up with, and how Russia came to have three regiments of airwomen at a point in time when other countries wouldn’t let women fly into war. The rest of the book is just as fascinating and surprising. Wein knows how to tell a story.

How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry: This is about Emilia, who inherits her father’s bookshop in a picturesque Cotswold village, and the bookshop’s customers. It doesn’t shy away from Emilia’s grief but otherwise is very much a cosy, optimistic story in which friends are made, relationships are mended, mistakes are overcome and everything turns out all right. Which definitely has its appeal. I wanted just a few more sharp edges -- or else slightly more uncertainty -- so that everyone’s happy endings felt more realistic. (I keep brainstorming ways that could have been managed.) Although I didn’t love this book, there was a lot I liked about it. 

The Masquaraders by Georgette Heyer (narrated by Ruth Sillers): This is ridiculous but still quite entertaining. Either I missed something or Heyer doesn’t really do a great job of explaining why Prudence and her brother Robin need to be in disguise, nor why they’ve decided the best way to do this is by crossdressing. The key to enjoying this book was to just roll with it. Also Prue’s romantic interest is a type Heyer writes so well: perceptive, unflappable, competent, with a sense of humour and an appreciation for level-headedness in others. Sensible people pushed into madcap adventures is something Heyer has a flair for.

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle: It’s much more dreamlike than I was expecting, in a similar vein to Patricia A. McKillip’s fantasy. I was emotionally invested only in flickers and bursts, but I appreciated the way it plays with, and comments on, fairytales. Quests may not simply be abandoned; prophecies may not be left to rot like unpicked fruit; unicorns may go unrescued for a very long time, but not forever. The happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story.

The Bookstore by Deborah Meyler: Esme, a British scholarship student studying art history at Columbia, discovers she’s pregnant and gets a job at a quirky secondhand bookshop. I would have found some of her choices -- and the book itself -- terribly frustrating, except I really liked the bookshop and Esme’s narration. I liked her quotes and references and her enthusiasm and her observations, especially those about living in New York and about the shop -- this is a story with a vivid sense of place. Esme’s naivety and optimism is both understandable and believable, and I wanted to see her finally, properly, free of her awful boyfriend. 

The “Happy Ever After Bookshop” books by Annie Darling:

The Little Bookshop of Lonely Hearts: If I hadn’t already read the second book about the Happy Ever After bookshop and liked it a lot, I probably wouldn’t have bothered reading this. The romantic interest annoyed me -- he’s not a bad match for Posy, but I’d find him infuriating in person and I didn’t want to read about him. Fortunately the book is just from Posy’s POV. I enjoyed the Britishness, and the bits about running a bookshop. I particularly liked Posy’s relationship with her younger teenaged brother, whom she has responsibility for. And I was pleased the romance bookshop stocks appropriate YA and mystery titles.

True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop: I was expecting it to turn into the sort of romance which annoys me. To my delight, it did not! Verity loves her noisy family, her nosy friends, her job in a bookshop and reading romances but she believes she isn’t suited to being in a romantic relationship. She reluctantly agrees to a fake-dating situation to avoid friends trying to set her up. I loved the way this story shows Verity being an introvert, and her obvious love for Pride and Prejudice. And this has all the things I like about fake-dating without too much cringe-worthy deception.

Crazy in Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop: I have less in common with Nina than I do with her colleagues: she’s into make-up, tattoos and Wuthering Heights. But it was interesting seeing why she’s embraced both Wuthering Heights and her own particular style so fiercely -- she’s finding her own path, one that differs from what her conservative working class family expected. Some of the resolutions came about a bit too easily. However, I liked getting a different perspective on the bookshop, I enjoyed bits of her romance with Noah, and I share some of Nina’s fascination with the Bronte sisters.

A Winter Kiss on Rochester Mews:  Mattie runs the tearooms attached to the Happy Ever After bookshop. She is delighted about living above the bookshop, but not so impressed about her new flatmate. I’m not a fan of the crazy commercialism of Christmas, but really enjoyed reading about it here -- probably because the story recognises that not everybody loves it. And, given the weather, I was in the mood for something wintry. Other things I liked: the vivid portrayal of the challenges of working “in a customer-facing environment over Christmas”; the details about Mattie’s baking; and the intelligent commentary about romance novels and romantic relationships.

Allegra in Three Parts by Suzanne Daniel: Eleven year old Allegra lives with one grandmother, next door to the other, while her father lives in above the garage. Allegra knows her grandmothers love her, but they are very different. “Sometimes I wish they could just love me less and take what's left over and put it into liking each other a little bit more.” The initial mystery and conflict were slightly stronger than the answers and aftermath. But it’s an interesting portrayal of growing up in Sydney in the 70s, the women’s liberation movement, and of a family dealing with grief. I read it in practically one sitting.

We Rule the Night by Claire Eliza Bartlett (narrated by Chloe  Cannon): Revna’s father is a traitor. Linné’s father is a general. Revna is discovered protecting herself with illegal magic during an air-raid. Linné is discovered after three years fighting at the front disguised as a boy. They’re both sent to a new women’s Night Raiders regiment, where, if they are to survive this war, they have to learn to fly together. This is tense and captivating -- and nuanced. Magic is wondrous but also confronting, the Union is unjust but contains things worth defending, loyalties are not always predictable, difficult people can become valued friends, and not everything is neatly resolved.

The Way Past Winter by Kiran Millwood Hargrave: In the fifth year of winter, Mila and her sisters wake to find their brother has left. Sanna believes Oskar left them willingly, like their father once did, but Mila is convinced that Oskar was taken by last night’s unsettling visitors -- and is determined to rescue him. I didn’t find this as emotional and compelling as Hargrave’s previous books. I don’t know if that’s because this is a simpler narrative or because I didn’t listen to the audio book -- a good narrator adds liveliness and emotion. But Hargrave’s prose is lovely and I liked the fairytale quality this story has.

Grace After Henry by Eithne Shortall: I really enjoyed Love in Row 27, so I borrowed Shortall’s other novel. After her boyfriend dies, Grace keeps seeing him everywhere. Then she meets a man who looks unnervingly like Henry -- a long-lost relative of Henry’s she did not know about. This story is funny and touching. I didn’t expect it to be so compelling, nor make me so invested in Grace’s relationship with Henry. There’s a strong sense of history and of place -- it was interesting to read about contemporary Dublin. There are unexpected and hopeful developments in Grace’s life. But mostly, it’s just very sad.

Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills: Sophie loves her friends, her high school’s marching band and her small town. She has an idea for how the band could raise money -- enlisting the help of a famous country singer. I liked Sophie’s deep sense of belonging and how much she cares about things. She’s very kind in a way that is realistic and realistically complicated. Her friends are very supportive, but believably so. They all have flaws and make mistakes and have their secrets. I really enjoyed this story about friendship and summer (and it was a good choice after reading something sad).

Can’t Escape Love by Alyssa Cole: I’ve tried a couple of Cole’s novels and they didn’t appeal to me -- I wouldn’t have considered this novella if I hadn't seen a positive review. It’s fun and fandom-y and diverse. Reggie contacts an old internet acquaintance after she discovers his puzzle livestreams are no longer online. I liked how it’s very clear that Reggie’s disability has a significant impact on her daily life, but has nothing to do with her current problems. And, for Gus, being autistic isn’t ever an obstacle to a relationship with Reggie. I would have liked to read more but this still satisfying.

The Orphans of Raspay, a novella in the World of the Five Gods by Lois McMaster Bujold: Penric’s ship is captured by pirates and he is thrown in a hold with a couple of young girls from Raspay. As always, I enjoyed Pen’s interactions with Desdemona. I would have enjoyed the story even more had there been more significant character interactions -- the girls aren’t quite old enough to play a very active role in escape plans but are old enough that, in terms of emotional support, they’re not very demanding. I’d like to see Pen challenged more. But this is still a solid adventure. I’m very glad that Bujold hasn’t finished telling stories about Pen and Des.

Minor Mage by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon): Oliver, a twelve year old minor mage with an armadillo familiar, is sent by his village on a perilous journey to the mountains to bring back rain. There’s some dispute over whether this is a children’s book -- Vernon thought it was, her editor was adamant it wasn’t. It feelslike a children’s book to me, even when Oliver has to deal with ghuls, bandits and murderers. (There have always been children’s books which have been too dark and scary for some kids.) The tone is dryly humorous, the armadillo is a delight and I never doubted that Oliver would succeed.

[eldunea]

If Lotor was a Pokémon Masters character…

STATS.

LOTOR & ZOROARK. category: strike (special). type: dark. move 1: snarl move 2: night daze trainer move 1: x special attack. specialized trainer move: foul is fair—sharply raises the user’s speed and critical hit rate. sync move name: intellectual eclipse. (causes zoroark to activate bond phenomenon form until end of battle.) passive skill: illusory evasion—this pokémon is harder to hit than others. weakness: fighting.

LOTOR & ESPEON (sygna suit). category: tech. type: psychic. move 1: psychic. move 2: psyshock. move 3: toxic. specialized trainer move: power of alchemy—sharply raises special attack and special defense. sync move name: world-shattered psyche. passive skill: power of alchemy—special attack may increase when hits land. weakness: bug.

TEXT.

Basic dialogue: “Hm.” “Hmph.” “I see.” ”Well, you see…” “I do love a challenge.” “Do the impossible!” “Not a bad idea.” “I would prefer to do otherwise.” Vs. quote: “Your defeat is imminent!” Sending out Pokémon: “Let’s fight!” After Pokémon faints: “I must have miscalculated.” Level up: “My strength is incalculable!” Good Morning Message: “Every day is a day to grow and learn. Use it wisely, [player name]!” Pokémon Center Quote 1: I’m not just a scientist, you know. I’ve studied almost every field, from history to fine arts. But no matter how much I fill my life with learning…it’s simply not the same without my Pokémon. Joining you was well worth it! Pokémon Center Quote 2: On another note, what do you think Lear is up to? He may be a prince, but he certainly doesn’t act the part. A prince must be kind, humble, caring…and he’s none of those things! Who raised him? Pokémon Center quote 3: My studies tell me that Trainers’ strategies fall into two categories. There are those who win by strength, and there are those who win by deception. I prefer to win through the strength of my bond with my Pokémon. …Of course, I could prefer to win by deception, but I’ve lied and told you otherwise. (winks) Pokémon Center quote 4: It’s okay to trick your opponents. It’s very common on the battlefield to make your adversary believe one thing while actually planning another. But no matter what, you must NEVER lie to your Pokémon! That would be unforgivable! Activating Sync move quote: “Shine with the force of our minds!” Flavor text: A stubborn scholar who packs a punch. He and his Pokémon have as much brawn as they have brains, and that’s a lot of brawn!

STORY TEXT.

Honerva: The first experiment showed that the experimental version of X Special Attack increases a Pokémon’s regular move strength by a factor of one and a half. But it increases the sync move strength by a factor of four! Lotor: Well, it could be because the substance inside the X Special Attack causes differing chemical reactions according to the different proteins that are activated by the use of different attacks…Or it could simply be magic. Honerva: I say it’s magic. (Exclamation points appear over both of their heads and they turn around.) Honerva: I thought I sensed visitors. Lotor: And what brings you here? Dialogue options: 1) We want you on our team! 2) Uh…we were just wondering if… Lotor (if 1): You…you really came all this way just to… Lotor (if 2): I can tell by the look on your face. You want me to join your team for the PML, correct? Lotor: (sprite sighs and he looks to the side) I haven’t battled in ages. I’m sorry, but it’s a no. Barry: But this was a two-hour trip! Are you saying we walked all the way up here for nothing? Lotor: I didn’t come here to fight. I came here to learn. I’d be honored to fight by the side of such illustrious Trainers, but…I just won’t have the energy to join a team. Rosa: That’s not true! You studied and beat Leagues at the same time, didn’t you? Lotor: (smiles sadly) I taught myself the secrets of science while I made my way through my fair share of Leagues. That is true. But that’s not the kind of life I want to lead right now. I want all my focus to be on my work. There’s no time for distractions. (All characters look visibly disappointed.) Honerva: Son, do you mind if I have a word with these Trainers? Lotor: I won’t say no. Honerva: All right then. Come with me.

(scene cuts to outside the lab)

Barry: I know all about you. You said to Wallace that Training wasn’t a real job unless you were in a League. You were the one who tried to get Lotor to go back to school! Rosa: If you’re here to lecture us about what we love, stop right there. You’re wrong. Honerva: Oh, far from it, dear. I’m here to tell you exactly how to convince him to join you. (Barry and Rosa exchange looks of surprise.) Rosa: You have what you want from him. He’s studying with you now. Why would you help us? Honerva: In the past, I wanted nothing more than for my son to give up his profession and return to school. I used to argue with Lotor all the time about battling. I said…some truly awful things that I regret. And now that he isn’t battling anymore, I feel like he’s missing something from his very sense of self. I see now what I couldn’t see before. Battling makes his life whole. Rosa: So how do we convince him to battle again? Honerva: Lotor is as stubborn as I am—which means he’ll never back down from a good challenge. If you want his teammateship, give him a challenge that he can’t refuse. Barry: Then why don’t you do it yourself? Honerva: The decision to give up battling was ultimately his, and he hates being questioned by me. If I say a word, he’ll know what I’m up to right away. But if it comes from you, he won’t suspect a thing. (winks) Barry: Give him a challenge? What could we possibly challenge him wi— Rosa: I got it! I know exactly what to do. Come on, [player name]! Let’s go get us a new teammate!

(scene fades back into the lab)

Lotor: Oh. You’re back. Rosa: We have a challenge for you. Lotor: Which is…? Rosa: We want to fight you three-on-three. You defeat [player name] here, and we’ll go home and never bother you again. But if you lose… Lotor: I come with you and join your PML team? (shakes head) Not a chance. Barry (to Honerva): It’s not working! Rosa: O-oh really? And are you just saying that because you’re scared? Lotor: What?! Honerva: That’s right. You’re just scared of defeat, aren’t you? Lotor: No. I’m saying this because I’m being set up. Mom, I KNOW you went out there with them so you could put them up to this! Barry (to Honerva): Busted. Rosa: Please. That just sounds like an excuse. You talk big with all your League badges, but on the inside you’re just…you’re just a big fat scaredy-cat! Lotor: That’s not what I—oh, FINE. But I would like to add one more condition. Rosa: Yes? Lotor: You won’t just have to defeat me. If you want to have me at your side, you’ll have to go through my mom first. Barry: Oh, and I guess now you want to hide behind her so you can— Honerva: That’s enough. Just take the deal. (steps forward) I’ll admit I’m not much of a fighter myself, but I will do my best!

(Battle ensues, with Honerva and two scientists. Honerva battles with the Espeon that belongs to Lotor in his sygna suit.)

Lotor: Well, you certainly gave them a run for their money. Honerva: Didn’t know the world’s greatest scientist was also a damn good battler, did you? I hardly even knew myself! (laughs) Rosa: It was a pleasure, Miss Sincline. And now… Lotor: (smirks) It’s time for you to lose!

(Battle ensues, with Lotor and two scientists.)

Lotor: (hangs head and sighs) Well, you got me. Barry: Why the long face? Your mom said you loved battling. Shouldn’t you be excited? Lotor: I…I was really hoping I could stay here so I could spend some more time with my mom. She and I weren’t always on the best of terms, but now we finally have a chance to make it up to each other. Honerva: But that’s not the real reason you’re so upset, now is it? Lotor: (shakes his head) You read me like a textbook, Mom. You’re right. It isn’t. Rosa: What’s wrong? Lotor: If I tell you this, you must promise not to tell ANYONE. Barry: Sure thing. Rosa: Of course! Lotor: (closes his eyes briefly before opening them again) It’s about Lear. The man who founded this place. I’ve…I’ve met him before, and I can tell there’s something wrong with him. I wanted to believe he was a good person because he brought so much happiness to others by creating Pasio. But bad people can do good things too, and I wouldn’t put it past him to be up to something nefarious. I feel as though by participating in the PML, I’d be putting my stamp of approval on his poor character and whatever he’s hiding from us…But I suppose I don’t have a say in the matter, now, do I? Rosa: You don’t have to join us if you don’t want to. Barry: Wha— Rosa: I’m sorry. I challenged you because I didn’t know how much you wanted to avoid doing this. I shouldn’t have forced you into something you want to stay away from this badly. You can stay. Barry: But— Rosa: He’s right, though. Lear isn’t the best person in the world. And while I want to give Lear a chance, I don’t blame Lotor at all for feeling the way he does. Let’s just leave him alone. (The two of them turn around to leave.) Lotor: Wait! (Rosa and Barry whirl around.) Lotor: I’ll go with you. Rosa: But you just said— Lotor: First, though. Are we all in agreement that Lear is not a good person? Dialogue options: 1) Yes, definitely! 2) I don’t know him well enough. Lotor’s response to #1: Good. Then what I have to ask of you shouldn’t be an issue. Help me keep an eye on Lear. Lotor’s response to #2: Then I suppose helping me keep an eye on him wouldn’t hurt, would it? Lotor: And if anything goes wrong…we’ll just have to take care of him. Rosa: What do you think, Barry? Barry: I mean he’s probably not evil, but if he is, then let’s give it to him! Rosa: All right! Lotor: So…you’ll really do it? You’ll help me? Dialogue options: 1) Yes, of course! 2) You can count on us! Lotor: Excellent. I’ll pack my things immediately. Honerva: If you need someone to take you back to Pasio, I have a teleporter to send you back in a flash. I wouldn’t want you to go walking another two hours! Rosa: Thanks, Miss Sincline. Honerva: You’re welcome back here anytime.

[enterinit]

Greedfall and other games coming to Xbox One this week

Greedfall and other games coming to Xbox One this week. Path of Exile: Blight (September 09, 2019) Stop the spread of the deadly Blight by building towers to defend yourself against monsters. This expansion includes the Blight challenge league, three revamped balance archetypes with new skills and support gems, plenty of new items, two old leagues being integrated into the core game, and a focus on giving you more freedom to choose which aspects of Path of Exile's content you play and when. GRID (September 10, 2019) Offering unrivalled moment-to-moment racing, GRID returns with an all-new experience where every race is the chance to choose your own path, create your own story, and conquer the world of motorsport. Fight in thrilling wheel-to-wheel battles with the most iconic and desirable race cars, from GT through Touring and Muscle to Stock and Super Modifieds – and in some of the world’s most iconic locations. eFootball PES 2020 (September 10, 2019) Experience the most realistic and authentic soccer game with PES 2020, featuring Juventus exclusively licensed, alongside partnerships with FC Barcelona, FC Bayern München, and Manchester United! New features: GAMEPLAY: New dynamic dribbling skills, new first touch techniques, and finely-tuned ball physics, all developed in close consultation with renowned midfielder Andrés Iniesta.MATCHDAY: Pick a side and join forces with newcomers and veterans alike in a grand struggle for dominance in this new online competitive mode.MASTER LEAGUE: A completely revamped ML experience awaits — featuring a new interactive dialogue system, an overhauled menu design, and a more realistic transfer market realized through improved data integration. NHL 20 Ultimate Edition (September 10, 2019) EA SPORTS™ NHL® 20 introduces cutting-edge gameplay innovation to showcase your skills, more customization to unlock your style, and new modes to compete with friends. RPM Tech-powered gameplay introduces Signature Shots that replicate your favorite NHL players’ real-world shot styles. Over 45 new shot animations make every attack a threat, and new passing and puck pick-ups create faster, fluid gameplay executed at full speed. A revamped broadcast package delivers all-new visuals and commentary. Combined with over 1,100 new customization items for your club and character, your biggest goals look incredible during the action and in the highlight reel. Finally, NHL 20 adds three new game modes. HUT Squad Battles features weekly teams, built by athletes and artists, to challenge for unique rewards. The fan-favorite ONES can now be played with friends on the couch, and the all-new Eliminator mode in World of CHEL introduces winner-take-all competition where you and your friends compete to be the best in the barn.

GreedFall (September 10, 2019)

Explore uncharted new lands as you set foot on a remote island seeping with magic, and filled with riches, lost secrets, and fantastic creatures. Forge this new world’s destiny, as you befriend or betray companions and entire factions. With diplomacy, deception and force, become part of a living, evolving world - influence its course and shape your story. Engage in a core roleplaying experience – achieve quests and complete objectives in a multitude of different ways – through combat, diplomacy, deception, or stealth.Complete freedom in character progression – play as a male or female, customize your appearance, and freely choose your abilities, spells and skills.Delve into a mysterious world of magic – begin a grand journey and uncover ancient secrets protected by supernatural beings, manifestations of the island’s earthly magic. NASCAR Heat 4 (September 10, 2019) NASCAR Heat 4, the official video game of NASCAR, looks, sounds, and plays better than ever! New Features: Track Maps, Unlockable Paint Schemes, Dynamic User Interface, More Driving Control Options, Deeper Career Mode, Sonoma Raceway & Charlotte Roval Track UpdatesNew Graphics & Sound - Complete overhaul of all graphics and audio packagesDraft Like a Pro - Team up and draft with other drivers with the drafting featuresSmarter, Competitive AI - The AI now runs multiple racing lines and utilizes new controls to adjust its skill range, stability and spreadCompete for a Real NASCAR Esports Team - NASCAR Heat 4 is the only way to qualify for the eNASCAR Heat Pro League where you can race for a real NASCAR team. (Note: the eNASCAR Heat Pro League is currently available to USA players only) Gears 5 (September 10, 2019) From one of gaming’s most acclaimed sagas, Gears is back and bigger than ever, with five thrilling modes and the deepest campaign yet. With all-out war descending, Kait Diaz breaks away to uncover her connection to the enemy and discovers the true danger to Sera – herself. In addition to the epic campaign (with 3 player co-op), experience the all-new Escape multiplayer mode, compete online in Versus, team up with friends in Horde, and create custom maps with the new Map Builder. Distraint (September 11, 2019) DISTRAINT: Deluxe Edition is a 2D psychological horror adventure game that tells the story of Price, a young man who seizes an old woman’s apartment. After seizing her home, his humanity is now gone. So begins his tale of regrets… Creep your way through different locations, learning the backstory of Price and his motivations that led him down this dark path. Progress through the somber story by solving light puzzles across a variety of different scenarios and settings! Features: Side scrolling 2D art with dynamic hand drawn graphicsAtmospheric music and sound designMinimalist interface so your focus never wavers from the experienceDelve into a unique story full of intriguing twists Super Dodgeball Beats (September 12, 2019) Take part in insanely cool dodgeball games played to the rhythm of 18 original music tracks. Conquer your rivals in style with perfect rhythm and sweet moves. There’s nothing else like it! MULTIPLAYER: Play against a friend via couch co-op and show off your amazing skills. Choose from 4 different teams, 8 gorgeous hand-drawn levels, and select any music track you want! Perfectly time your supercharged moves to finish off your opponents! CHAMPIONSHIP MODE: Be the galaxy’s best dodgeball team in this intense single-player mode! Your squad of 4 dodgeball students must rise through the ranks and face the weirdest foes, from the fearsome Vampire dodgeball masters to the mysterious thunder-infused ancients. Make it far enough and you’ll face even weirder and more powerful dodgeball bosses! INSANE POWERUPS: Turn the tide of battle by utilising a plethora of powerups including grenades, doughnuts, stone golems and more. Colina: Legacy (September 13, 2019) Alex wakes up in his grandmother's home alone and unsure of where everyone has gone. As he begins to escape from the house, the feeling of something watching him lingers on his mind. Facing the unknown, Alex must make it through the night, and the house, before he loses more than just his mind in this indie horror game. Ellen – The Game (September 13, 2019) Help young investigator James uncover the dark truth behind the murder of the Smiths' and their missing daughter Ellen in this thrilling 2D pixel horror game. If you don’t believe in paranormal events, meet the people from White Hill. It’s been years since all but the daughter in the Smiths’ family were found brutally murdered. The people of the town are getting uneasy as more and more witnesses have spoken about seeing the silhouette of a little girl standing in the house. Rumors spread that the silhouette has to be Ellen, the daughter of the Smith’s family, whose body was never found during the investigation of the murders. 1 year later, James, a bright and eager investigator, has taken matters into his own hands to finally reveal the truth of what happened that horrible night. Features: Play as James, an intelligent detective who is trying to get to the bottom of the paranormal events happening in the Smiths' Residence at White Hill.Dive into an emotional and thrilling experience while solving puzzles and persisting through nerve-racking scenarios.Listen to breath-taking soundtracks as you’re traversing through the unnerving residence of the Smiths' in a beautiful pixel art style.Enjoy the atmospheric storytelling as you unfold the mystery by completing all chapters. Light Fairytale – Episode 1 (September 13, 2019) - Introduction: Light Fairytale is a turn-based Japanese-style RPG in full 3D, set in a dying underground world ruled by a fierce and powerful empire. The goal of this project is to bring back the immersion and emotion of 90's era JRPGs on current hardware, with the expected evolution in both design and technique. - Story: A long time ago, the world was prosperous. Technology and sciences were quite advanced, and people lived in great pleasure and casual excess. However, this proved their undoing when the world as they knew it, seemingly in an instant, was destroyed forever. Desperate and forlorn, the survivors of civilization resorted to fleeing to the only place on the planet where it was still possible to live - deeply underground. And so there they stayed, and survived. Thousands of years later, the history of the surface has been forgotten, left to dust, and the wealth of the past lost to time. Even the very word "sky" has lost all meaning... And then, a young boy named Haru wakes one day, fleeting dreams of vast green plains and a clear blue void locked in his memory; deep rooted, unshakeable... and driving him to know just what he saw. Now, he must embark on a great adventure in order to discover the mysteries of the lost world, confronting the rulers of this dystopian society and beyond with the aid of a mysterious, silver haired girl... Light Fairytale will span over multiple episodes. A long journey awaits! - Characters: Haru: A bit lazy and a lot naive, Haru nonetheless is a kind soul and knows how to handle himself if push comes to shove. His noble heart can move people to do things they'd never dreamed themselves capable. Kuroko: She might be short and cute (sometimes), but don't let that fool you: Kuroko is exceedingly capable in battle and always willing to step up. She's also fond of technology - maaaybe a bit too much so. - About neko.works neko.works is a one person indie game studio from France making modern renditions of classic concepts. Features: Classic turn-based battles that happen directly in the field.Modern real-time 3D graphics.Cute chibi characters.Two playable stories with many alternate events and a few exclusives. Read the full article

[littlewalken]

What’s on my Kindle

Part of making a list of all the books I have be they analog, digital pdf, or digital Kindle (which is what the k means). 

So, um, make your own jokes/assumptions about the kind of person I am based on my partial library. They’re all real books and quite a few are free public domain.

Adventures of an American Girl in Victorian London- Elizabeth Banks (k) Adventures of Pinocchio-Carlo Collodi (k) The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (k) The Age Of Innocence- Edith Wharton (k) Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland-Lewis Carroll (k) American on Purpose-Craig Ferguson (k) And the Universe So Big: Understanding Batman The Killing Joke-Julian Darius (k) Anne of Green Gables, Avonlea, The Island-LM Montgomery (k) Appropriate clothes for the High School Girl- Virginia M Alexander (k) The Artist’s Complete Guide to Facial Expression- Gary Faign (k) The Awakening and Selected Short Stories- Kate Chopin (k) Backstreet Mom-Denise McLean (k) Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight-Travis Langly (k) Batman at 45 part 1-4-Chris Gould (k) Batman a Celebration of 75 years-Bob Kane (k) Batman: Battle for the Cowl-Tony Daniel (k) Batman: Death in the Family (includes new Robin)- Jim Starlin (k) Batman: Under the Red Hood- Judd Winick (k) Becoming Batman- E Paul Zehr (k) Behind the Burley Q:The Story of Burlesque in America- Leslie Zmeckis (k) all colored fairy books Andrew Lang (k) The Bobsey Twind or Merry Days Indoors and Out- Laura Lee Hope (k) The Book of Hallowe’en- Ruth Edna Kelley (k) The Book of Household Management- Mrs Beeton (k) The Book of 1001 Nights v1&2 (k) Boy and Girl Wonders: Robin in Cultural Context- Mary Borsellino (k) The Brain and Voice in Speech and Song- FW Mott (k) The Burlesque Handbook- Jo Weldon (k) The Call of The Wild- Jack London (k) Candidie- Voltaire (k) Carmilla- Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (k) The Castle of Oranto-Horace Walpole (k) Celebrated Crimes-Alexandre Dumas (k) The Circus Age- Janet M Davis (k) Circus and Carnival Ballyhoo: AW Stencil (k) Circus Bodies: Cultrural Identity in Aerial Performance- Peta Tait (k) The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce vol 1&2 (k) Come Hither: A Commonsense Guide to Kinky Sex (k) The Complete Works of Nellie Bly (k) Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys- Lol Tolhurst (k) A Curious Man: The Strange and Brilliant Life of Ripley- Neal Thompson (k) Daily Life in Victorian London- Lee Jackson (k) Danse Macabre- Stephen King (k) Dark Places (Locations)- Barry Curtis (k) Dear Boy: The life of Keith Moon- Tony Fletcher (k) Death At SeaWorld- David Kirby (k) Demonology and Devil-lore- Daniel Conway Moncure (k) Depeche Mode: The Biography- Steve Malins corrected from analog version(k) Dick Greyson, Boy Wonder- Kristen L Geaman (k) The Dirt on Clean: An Unsanitized History- Kathrine Ashenburg (k) The Discoverie of Witchcraft- Reginald Scot (k) The Discovery or Witches- Mathew Hopkins (k) Dolly and I: A Story for Little Folks- Oliver Optic (k) The Dominion in 1983- Ralph Centennius (k) Drawing Drapery from Head to Toe Dover- Cliff Young (k) Dyatlov Pass Keeps It’s Secrets- Irena Lobatcheva (k) Electric Dreamland: Amusement Parks, Movies, and American Modernity- Lauren Rabinovitz (k) Elizabethan Demonology- Thomas Alfred Spalding (k) Emma- Jane Austen (k) Enchanted Hunters: The Powers of Stories in Childhood (k) Famous Imposters- Bram Stocker (k) Fancies and Goodnights v1&2- John Collier (k) Fashion Victims: The Dangers of Dress Past and Present- Alison Matthews David (k) Fashionably Fatal- Summer Strevons (k) Faust- Johan Wolfgang von Gothe (k) Female Masculinity- Judith Halberstam (k) Fetish, Fashion, Sex & Power- Valerie Steele (k) Fifty-Two Stories For Girls (k) Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions- Edwin Abott (k) Forensic Sculpting Step by Step in Photographs- Seth Wolfson (k) Frankenstein- Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (k) Freak Show: Presenting Human Oddities for Amusement- Robert Bogdan (k) The Freak-garde: Extraordinary Bodies and Revolutionary Art- Robin Blyn (k) Freaks: We Who Are Not As Others- Daniel P Mannix A General History of the Pyrates- Daniel Defoe (k) The Girl of the Period and Other Social Essays vol1&2- Eliza Lynn Linton (k) Godey’s Lady Book 1851 vol 1&2 (k) The Golden Asse- Apuleius (k) The Great God Pan- Arthur Machen (k) Gulliver’s Travels- Jonathan Swift (k) Harper’s Monthly 1850 vol1&2 (k) The Haunting of Hill House- Shirley Jackson (k) Heidi- Johanna Spyri (k) The History of the Devil- Daniel Defoe (k) Hold Up Your Head, Girls!- Annie H Ryder (k) Horrible Prettiness: Burlesques and American Culture- Robert C Allen (k) The House of Souls- Arthur Machen (k) The House of Seven Gables- Nathaniel Hawthorne (k) How to Be a Victorian: A Dawn to Dusk Guide to Victorian Life (k) Hustlers, Harlots, and Heroes- Kirsta D Ball (k) Hysteria: The Disturbing History- Andrew Scull (k) If Walls Could Talk: An Intimate History of the Home- Lucy Worsley (k) Illuminated Manuscripts- John William Bradley (k) In A Glas Darkly vol 1-3- Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (k) Inside Pee-wee’s Playhouse- Caseen Gaines (k) The Invisible Man- HG Wells (k) Irish Witchcraft and Demonology- ST John Seymour (k) The Island of Dr Moreau- HG Wells (k) Jane Eyre: AN Autobiography- Charlotte Bronte (k) Jim Henson: The Biography- Brian Jay Jones (k) Jimmy Page: Magus, Musician, Man: An Unauthorized Biography (k) LaVie Electrique- Albert Robia (k) Ladies’ Clothing in the 1830s- Sarah E Mitchel (k) Lady Susan- Jane Austin (k) Lair of the White Worm- Bram Stoker (k) The League of Regrettable Superheroes- Jon Morris (k) The Legend of Sleepy Hollow- Washington Irving (k) The LEGO Adventure Book vol 1-3- Megan H Rothrock (k) The LEGO Neighborhood Book: Build Your Own Town!- Brian Lyles (k) Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft- Sir Walter Scott (k) Liberace Extravaganza!- Connie Furr Soloman (k) Liberace: AN American Boy- Darden Asbury Pyron (k) Life as a Victorian Lady- Pamela Horn (k) Life in a Victorian Household- Pamela Horn (k) The Life of PT Barnum- Joel Benton (k) Listening to Whales: What the Orcas Have Taught Us- Alexandra Morton (k) Little Lord Fauntleroy- Frances Hodgson Burnett (k) A Little Princess- Frances Hodgson Burnett (k) Little Women- Louisa May Alcott (k) Lock and Key k Kipling- My Own True Ghost Story, The Sending of Dana Da, In the House of Suddhoo, His Wedded Wife Doyle- A Case of Identity, A scandal in Bohemia, The Red-Headed League Castle- The Baron’s Quarry Weyman- The Fowl in the Pot Stevenson- The Pavilion on the Links Collins- The Dream Woma Anonymous- The Lost Duchess, The Minor Canon, The Pipe, The Puzzle, The Great Valdez Sapphire Dickens- The Haunted House, No 1 Branch Line: The Signal Man Bulwer-Lyton- The Haunted and the Hunters, The incantation DeQuincey- The Avenger Maturin- Melmouth the Wanderer Sterne- A Mystery With A Moral Thackeray- On Being Found Out, The Notch on the Axe Anonymous- Bourgonef, The Closed Cabinet Crawford- By the Waters of Paradise Freeman- The Shadows on the Wall Post- The Corpus Delicti Bierce- The Oblong Box, The Gold-Bug Irving- Wolfert Webber, Adventure of the Black Fisherman Brown- Wieland’s Madness O’Brien- The Golden Ingot, My Wife’s Tempter Hawthorne- The Minister’s Black Veil Anonymous- Horror a True Tale Cherbuliez- Count Kostia Bourget- Andre Cornelius Anonymous- The Last of the Costellos, The Lady Betty’s Indiscretion Pushkin- The Queen of Spades Jelihovsky- The General’s Will Dostoyevsky- Crime and Punishment Checkoff- The Safety Match Krestovski- Knights of Industry Begsoe- The Amputated Arms Larssen- The Manuscript Ingemann- The Sealed ROom Blicher- The Rector of Veilbye Molnar- The Living Death Marus- 13 at Table Elck- The Tower Room Train- A flight in to Texas Woodward- Adventures in the Secret Service of the Post Office Department, An Erring Shepherd, An Aspirant for Congress, The Fortune of Seth Savage, A Wish Unexpectedly Granted, An Old Game Revived, A Formidable Weapon Lang- St Germaine the Deathless, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Legend, The Valet’s History, The Valet’s Master, Original Papers in the Case of Roux De Marsilly Houdin- A Conjurer’s Confession, Self Training, Second Sight, The Magician Who Became Ambassador, Facing the Arab’s Pistol Abbott- Fraudulent Spiritualism Revealed, A Doctor of the Occult, How the Tricks Succeeded, The Name of the Dead, Mind Reading in Public, Some Famous Exposures Carrington- More ticks of Spiritualism, Matter through Matter, Deception Explained by the Science of Psychology Anonymous- How Spirits Materialize The Lone Ranger Rides- Fran Striker (k) The Lost Prince- Frances Hodgson Burnett (k) Love and Frienship- Jane Austen (k) Lucy Maud Montgomery short stories (k) Madamoiselle de Maupin- Theophile Gautier (k) Maggie, a Girl of the Streets- Stephen Crane (k) Magic and Witchcraft- anonymous (k) Make Room for TV- Lynn Spigel (k) The Mammoth Encyclopedia of the Unsolved- Colin Wilson (k) The Man in the Iron Mask-Alexandre Dumas (k) The Man With Two Left Feet and Other Stories- PG Wodehouse (k) Mansfield Park- Jane Austen (k) Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer- Peter Turchi (k) Mark of Zorro- Johnston McCulley (k) Mary Schweidler, the Amber Witch- Wilhelm Meinhold (k) Medical Muses: Hysteria in 19th Century Paris- Asti Hustvedt (k) Medieval Underpants and Other Blunders- Susanne Alleyn (k) Memoirs of a Muppets Writer- Joseph A Bailey (k) Memoirs of Extraordinary popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds- Charles Mackay (k) Memoirs of Fanny Hill- John Cleland (k) Men in Bras, Panties, and Dresses- Dr Vernon Coleman (k) The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood- Howard Pyle (k) Metamorphosis- Franz Kafka (k) Miss Lucy’s Victorian Scrapbook- Lucy Booker Roper (k) Modern Magic- Maximillian Schele de Vere (k) Modern Women and What is Said of Them- E Lynn Linton (k) The Monk; a romance- MG Lewis (k) Monkee Business- Eric Lefcowitz (k) The Monster and Other Stories- Stephen Crane (k) Monsters in America- W Scott Poole (k) Monsters: Evil Beings, Mythical Beasts, and All Manner of Imaginary Terrors- David D Gilmore (k) The Most Disgusting Jobs in Victorian London- Henry Mayhew (k) Movie-Made America:A Cultural History of American Movies- Robert Sklar (k) A Muse and a Maze: Writing as Puzzle, Mystery, and Magic- Peter Turchi (k) My Man Jeeves- PG Wodehouse (k) The Mysteries of Udolpho- And Ward Radcliffe (k) Mythical Monsters- Charles Gould (k) Neil Patrick Harris:Choose Your Own Autobiography (k) Never Done: A History of American Housework- Susan Strasser (k) Never Enough: The Story of The Cure- Jeff Apter (k) New Kids on the Block’s Hangin’ Tough (33 1/3)- Rebecca Wallwork (k) Night Shift- Stephen King (k) Nightmares in Red, White, and Blue- Joseph Maddrey (k) The North American Medical and Surgical Journal July 1826 (k) Northanger Abbey- Jane Austin (k) Orca: The Whale Called Killer0 Erich Hoyt (k) The Origin and Nature of the Emotions- George Washington Crile (k) The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (k) Out of Sync: A Memoir- Lance Bass (k) Personal Geographies: Explorations in Mixed Media Mapmaking- Jill K Berry (k) Persuasion- Jane Austin (k) Peter Pan- JM Barrie (k) The Phantom of the Opera- Gaston Leroux (k) The Philosophy of Horror- Thomas Fahy etc (k) The Physics of Superheroes: Spectacular Second Edition- James Kakailos (k) The Picture of Dorian Gray- Oscar Wilde (k) Picturing Disability: Beggar, Freak, Citizen, and Other Photographic Rhetoric- Robert Bogdan (k) Prester John- John Buchan (k) Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austin (k) The Prisoner of Zenda- Anthony Hope (k) The Psychology of Beauty- Ethell Dench Puffer Howes (k) Queen Unseen- Peter Hince (k) Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History- Phil Sutcliffe (k) Raggedy Ann Stories- Johnny Gruelle (k) Right Ho, Jeeves- PG Wodehouse (k) Robin the Boy Wonder: A Celebration of 75 Years (k) A Room With A View- EM Forster (k) Salem Witchcraft v1&2- Charles Wentworth Upham (k) Sawdust and Spangles Stories and Secrets of the Circus- WC Coup (k) The Scarlet Letter- Nathaniel Hawthorne (k) The Scarlet Pimpernel- Baroness Emmuska Orcsy (k) The Science of Monsters- Matt Kaplan (k) The Scrap Book vol 1 #1-6 from 1906 (k) The Secret Garden- Frances Hodgson Burnett (k) The Secret History of Wonder Woman- Jill Lepore (k) Self Made Man: One Woman’s Year Disguised as a Man- Norah Vincent (k) Sense and Sensibility- Jane Austen (k) Servants: A Downstairs history of Britain- Lucy Lethbridge (k) SheZow: Sleepless ’n’ She-Addled- Nils Erickson (k) Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters- Judith Haberstam (k) Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals- Stephen L Macknik (k) Steampunk For Simpletons: A Fun Primer- Travis Sivart (k) A Stitch In Time (ST DS9 #27)- Andrew J Robinson (k) The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde- Robert Louis Stevenson (k) Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street- Michael Davis (k) Stripped: Depeche Mode- Jonathan Miller (k) Studies in the Psychology of Sex vol 1-6- Havelock Ellis (k) Supergods- Grant Morrison (k) Sybil Exposed- Debbie Nathan (k) The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons- Sam Kean (k) Tales of the Jazz Age- F Scott Fitzgerald (k) Tarzan of the Apes- Edgar Rice Burroghs (k) Through the Looking Glass- Lewis Carroll (k) The Trial- Franz Kafka (k) Trilby- George Du Maurier (k) True Story of My Life- Hans Christian Andersen (k) The Turn of The Screw- Harry James (k) The Ultimate Biography of The Bee Gees:Tales of the Brothers Gibb (k) The Uses of Enchantment- Bruno Bettelheim (k) The Vampyre; a tale- John William Polidori (k) Varney the Vampire/Or the Feast of Blood- Thomas Presketts Prest (k) Vested Interests: Cross Dressing and Cultural Anxiety- Marjorie Garber (k) Victorian and Edwardian Fashion: A Photographic Survey Dover (k) The Video Nasties Moment- Christopher A Brown (k) Vixens, Vamps & Vipers: Lost Villainesses of Golden Age Comics- Mike Madrid (k) The Water Babies- Charles Kingsley (k) Weird and Wonderful: The Dime Museum in America- Andrea Stulman Dennett (k) Who Are You: The Life of Pete Townshend- Mark Wilkerson (k) Who Am I: A Memoir- Pete Townshend (k) Widdershins- Oliver Onions (k) Witch Stories- E Lynn Linton (k) The Witch-cult in Western Europe- Margaret Alice Murray (k) Woman’s Trials- TS Arthur (k) The Works of Aristotle (freaks) (k) Writing With Scissors:American Scrapbooks- Ellen Gruber Garvey (k) Wuthering Heights- Emily Bronte (k) The Yellow Wallpaper- Charlotte Perkins Gilman (k)

[allbestnet]

232 Book Recommendations From Derek Sivers

Mindwise: How We Understand What Others Think, Believe, Feel, and Want by Nicholas Epley

So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William Irvine

The Time Paradox by Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd

Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert

E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber

The Dip by Seth Godin

Happy by Derren Brown

Au Contraire: Figuring Out the French by Gilles Asselin and Ruth Mastron

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson

Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday

Total Recall by Arnold Schwarzenegger

Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart: Thirty True Things You Need to Know Now by Gordon Livingston

Zero to One by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters

Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches by Marvin Harris

The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster by Darren Hardy

On Writing Well by William Zinsser

The Wisdom of No Escape by Pema Chödrön

When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön

Fluent Forever by Gabriel Wyner

The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

When Cultures Collide by Richard D. Lewis

The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman

Show Your Work by Austin Kleon

Self Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal

Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield

Quiet by Susan Cain

What Technology Wants by Kevin Kelly

Do the Work by Steven Pressfield

What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith

The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman

Drive by Daniel Pink

Switch by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt

Influence by Robert Cialdini

Personal Development for Smart People by Steve Pavlina

Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes

The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss

The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read by Daniel R. Solin

The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki

The Paradox of Choice - Why More is Less by Barry Schwartz

Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

The Art of Profitability by Adrian Slywotzky

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon

The Geography of Genius by Eric Weiner

A Mind for Numbers by Barbara Oakley

Smartcuts by Shane Snow

Superhuman by Habit by Tynan

The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday

Decisive by Chip and Dan Heath

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams

5 Elements of Effective Thinking by Edward B. Burger and Michael Starbird

The Icarus Deception by Seth Godin

Mastery by Robert Greene

Mastery by George Leonard

The Little Book of Talent by Daniel Coyle

The Developing World by Fredrik Härén

Willpower by Roy Baumeister and John Tierney

Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz

Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer

Practicing Mind by Thomas Sterner

Seeking Wisdom by Peter Bevelin

Mindset by Carol Dweck

Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland

Start Small, Stay Small by Rob Walling and Mike Taber

On Writing by Stephen King

The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner

The Investor's Manifesto by William J. Bernstein

How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer

Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman

The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle

Ignore Everybody by Hugh MacLeod

Tribes by Seth Godin

How to Talk to Anyone by Leil Lowndes

Brain Rules by John Medina

You, Inc - The Art of Selling Yourselfby Harry Beckwith

How to Get Rich by Felix Dennis

The Innovator's Solution by Clayton Christensen

Small is the New Big by Seth Godin

Getting Things Done by David Allen

The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene and Joost Elffers

The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck

Grit by Angela Duckworth

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Fabe and Elaine Mazlish

The Gardener and the Carpenter by Alison Gopnik

The Inevitable by Kevin Kelly

Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson

Deep Work by Cal Newport

Geography of Time by Robert Levine

How to Learn a Foreign Language by Paul Pimsleur

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Choose Yourself! by James Altucher

No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs by Dan S. Kennedy

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

The Passionate Programmer by Chad Fowler

Fail-Safe Investingby Harry Browne

Poke the Box by Seth Godin

The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss

Cognitive Surplus by Clay Shirky

Hackers & Painters by Paul Graham

Confessions of a Public Speaker by Scott Berkun

I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi

Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes by Gilovich and Belsky

What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis

CrowdSourcing by Jeff Howe

The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz

The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin

Wikinomics by Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams

Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin

Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug

Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t by Steven Pressfield

The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need by Andrew Tobias

Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change by Pema Chödrön

Germany: Unraveling an Enigma by Greg Nees

Give and Take by Adam M. Grant

The Bed of Procrustes by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Ikigai by Sebastian Marshall

Wired for Story by Lisa Cron

Pragmatic Programmer by Andy Hunt and David Thomas

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius 

You Are Not So Smart by David McRaney

The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

Making a Good Brain Great by Daniel G. Amen

Business Stripped Bare by Richard Branson

Talent Is Overrated by Geoff Colvin

Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz

Overachievement by John Eliot

The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky

The Culture Code by Clotaire Rapaille

The Four Pillars of Investing by William Bernstein

Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky

The Culting of Brands by Douglas Atkin

Execution by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan

Maximum Achievement by Brian Tracy

The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday

How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World by Harry Browne

The Sense of Style by Steven Pinker

How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life by Russ Roberts

Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey

The Story of French by Jean-Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlow

Island by Aldous Huxley

Ready for Anything by David Allen

Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe

The Now Habit by Neil Fiore

Meditation for Beginners by Jack Kornfield

A Gift to My Children by Jim Rogers

Linchpin by Seth Godin

The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins

Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein

Being Logical: A Guide to Good Thinking by D.Q. McInerny

Pomodoro Technique Illustrated by Staffan Nöteberg

Pragmatic Thinking and Learning by Andy Hunt

The Great Formula by Mark Joyner

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

Lucky Or Smart? by Bo Peabody

The China Study by Campbell and Campbell

The Power of Less by Leo Babuta

Cut to the Chase by Stuart Levine

Know-How by Ram Charan with Geri Willigan

The Art of Project Management by Scott Berkun

Mindware: Tools for Smart Thinking by Richard Nisbett

Never Let Go by Dan John

In Pursuit of Silence by George Prochnik

The Laws of Subtraction by Matthew May

Drop Dead Healthy by A. J. Jacobs

Little Bets by Peter Sims

One Simple Idea by Stephen Key

Focus by Leo Babauta

The Upside of Irrationality by Dan Ariely

The Profit Zone by Adrian Slywotzky

Speaking of India by Craig Sorti

Losing My Virginity : How I've Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way by Richard Branson

Leading an Inspired Life by Jim Rohn

And Never Stop Dancing by Gordon Livingston

The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow

Simple Rules: How to Thrive in a Complex World by Donald Sull

Quirkology by Richard Wiseman

Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark

A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger

Make It Stick by Peter Brown

The Power of No by James and Claudia Altucher

How to Learn and Memorize French Vocabulary by Anthony Metivier

The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande

Hiring Smart by Pierre Mornell

Discover Your Inner Economist by Tyler Cowen

Causing a Scene by Charlie Todd

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

How to be a Billionaire by Martin Fridson

Enough by John Bogle

Management of the Absurd by Richard Farson

Reality Check by Guy Kawasaki

Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

The Obsolete Employee by Michael Russer

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Ecker

The Future of Almost Everything by Patrick Dixon

Wilde in America by David M. Friedman

Complexity: A Guided Tour by Melanie Mitchell

Your Memory by Kenneth L. Higbee

The Philosophical Baby by Alison Gopnik

Hire With Your Head by Lou Adler

The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain De Botton

Born Standing Up by Steve Martin

Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert

What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell

China Road by Rob Gifford

Hot Commodities by Jim Rogers

Me, Inc. by Gene Simmons

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

Program or Be Programmed by Douglas Rushkoff and Leland Purvis

The Four Filters Invention of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger by Bud Labitan

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

Confessions of a Serial Entrepreneur by Stuart Skorman

Life Without Lawyers by Philip K. Howard

The Productive Programmer by Neal Ford

Crash Proof 2.0 by Peter Schiff

Rapt by Winifred Gallagher

Radical Honesty by Brad Blanton

A Bull in China by Jim Rogers

Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston

Seeing What Others Don't by Gary Klein

Flex: Do Something Different by Ben Fletcher and Karen Pine

Cambodia's Curse by Joel Brinkley

Conspiracy of the Rich by Robert Kiyosaki

The Think Big Manifesto by Michael Port and Mina Samuels

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Narratology Lecture Notes 3

Noteable Books

The Enchanted Screen: The Unknown History of Fairy-Tale Films (2011), Jack Zipes

From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairytales and their Tellers (1994), Marina Warner

Morphology of the Folktake, Vladimir Propp

“One of the best-kept secrets in the study of the cinema concerns the neglect of the influential role that the fairy-tale narrative has played in informing most of the films ever made” (Zipes, 2011)

What is a fairy-tale? “A wonder tale involving marvellous elements and occurrences, though not necessarily about fairies.” Encyclopedia Britannica

Fairytales do end “happily”

Justice is served, there is closure (such as the fate of the step-mother in Grimm’s Snow White, forced to dance to her death in red-hot iron slippers fresh from the fire)

Bluebeard (1697), Charles Perrault May have roots in real life story of a 15th century serial killer Bluebeard gives his new wife a key to a secret room that she must never enter, and inside the room are all his dead wives.

Medieval versions of Cinderella: her step-sisters slice off their toes to fit in the slipper - versions which the Grimm brothers based their story on. The Fairy Godmother was Perrault’s romanticised version. Cinderella is actually helped by birds who visit a tree she plants on her mother’s grave. The step-sisters are physically beautiful and inwardly ugly, and are punished for their deception and cruelty by having their eyes pecked out by pigeons (the natural world can only ever be appeased, not tamed). The glass slipper was originally made of squirrel fur.

The Little Engine That Could (1921), Lucy Sprague Mitchell Focuses on stories about the “here and now” because old fairytales had peculiar and disturbing images.

Dr. Gardner’s Fairy Tales for Today’s Children, 1974 Disturbing psychological messages removed - Cinderella decides the prince is out of her league, opens her own dress shop and marries a hardworking printer from the shop next door.

The earliest fairytales were shared amongst adults, contained serious meanings and ritualistic elements with clear polarity between good and evil. Draws lines between myth and religion. We can never be that heroic or that perfect in our actual life.

Fairytales rarely have names and instead use nicknames (Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella), implying that they could be us. They are about “everyman” and “everywoman”.

Angela Carter (1940-1992), feminist writer (dark fairytales: The Bloody Chambers (1979)) brought sex and death to fairytales.

Modern “subversions” often reject the “polarity” of the old-fashioned tale. (Charle’s Perrault’s 1967 version of the tale, Little Red Cap, was a clear warning to “stick to the path”: danger was “out there”, in the forest, a thing to be avoided.

Angela Carter suggests that danger is also “in here”, in us - our “inner hairiness”

Tales of Mother Goose (1697), Charles Perrault

Children’s and Household Tales (1812), The Brothers Grimm

Georges Méliès, the pioneer of the fairy tale film (and the man who accidentally invented stop motion animation when his camera jammed) with Cinderella (1899)

The trouble with live action fairytales are special effects.

Animation: the ideal medium for fairytales?

Disney has started doing live action as well as animation (the new Beauty and the Beast has CGI puppets)

Who is the audience aimed at?

Muppet fairytales

CGI is so good now that you can use elements of that in a live action and create a believable movie - NASA didn’t believe that the movie “Gravity” was actually CGI

“Metamorphosis defines the fairytale” Marina Warner, 1994

“Shapeshifting is one of fairytale’ dominant and characteristic wonders: hands are cut off, found and reattached, babies’ throats are slit, but they are later restored to life, a rusty lamp turns into an all-powerful talisman, a humble pestle and mortar becomes the winged vehicle of the fairy enchantress and the slattern in the filthy donkey skin turns into a golden-haired princess.”

Images eat each other in Fantasmagorie (1908)

The Fleischer Brothers, Snow White: A Cartoon Fairy Tale (1933)

“The moveable silhouette charmingly maintains the right balance between the product of art and life; we believe enough to be enthralled, and we do not believe it enough to get the goosebumps we get when experiencing the supernatural.” Rudolph Arnheim (film critic) describes the silhouette film as the ideal medium for the realisation of a fairy tale.

Lotte Reiniger, Cinderella (1922)

“The Three Brothers”, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, J. K. Rowling 3 minute animated shadow-play sequence created by Framestore, for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part One) Follows along the idea that silhouette is best for fairytale - the animation is precise and straight to the point with no focus on details. Assumed to be a brief history of the Peverell brothers, who each owned a Deathly Hallow (Elder Wand, Resurrection Stone, Invisibility Cloak) that made up one Master of Death. J. K. Rowling loosely based this on Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Pardoner’s Tale”. Follows the idea of the “rule of threes”, and would probably be more of a fable than a fairytale. Has connotations to the “Three Billy Goats Gruff” which also features three goats trying to cross a river manned by a troll.

Has several interpretations and morals: taught to wizarding children to provide humility and morality, teaches that you “cannot cheat death” and you will eventually “part [with death] as equals”, suggests that extreme greed leads to an untimely death.

Les Contes de la Nuit (2011), Michel Ocelot - CGI silhouette animation (contemporary)

Disney was among the first (Zipes, 2011) “to realise how the fairy-tale genre might be enriched by film in unimaginable ways, and how film might be enriched by the fairy tale.”

Disney did “Bowdlerise” (so called for Thomas Bowdler who produced a ten volume set of the collected works of Shakespeare in 1818 which took out all the “offensive” content) the tales he told.

One hand, he was entitled to this - fairytales have always been subject to change depending on the audience they’re aimed at (Disney wanted as big of an audience as possible).

Other hand, the emphasis on romance - on dreams “magically” coming true - could stand in opposition to the true moral of the fairy tale: that rewards are earned by overcoming tests and challenges rather than simply “wishing” for things.

Epic Forumals in the Folktale (1908), Axel Olrik - identified so-called “Epic Laws” including:

The Laws of Threes - “three is the maximum number of men and objects that occur in a traditional narrative”

The Law of Repetition - actions in folk tales are typically repeated 3 times

Such as Grimm’s Snow White, the bodice laces, poisoned comb, poisoned apple

The Law of Contrast - other people should be antithetical to the hero; therefore if the hero is generous, other characters should be “stingy” to contradict him.

The Law of Twins - two people can appear together in the same role, and should be similar in nature

The Law of Patterning - situations and events are told and re-told in “as a similar a manner as possible”

Olrik also said that folktales are “single-stranded” have a “unity of plot”. There is a Concentration on a Leading Character. They don’t branch off into sub-plots.

“31 Functions” - Vladimir Propp analysed 100 Russian fairy tales and found striking similarities between them. He found they were all built on a pattern drawn from 31 functions (actions) occurring in a set order. In other words, only 31 things can happen in a fairytale.

Alfred Hitchcock 1939 “MacGuffin” described this as a plot device

Before Propp’s seminal work, fairy tales were categorised according to type (animal stories, fantastical stories, etc.) or “motif” (the appearance of a dragon). There were weaknesses: many tales belonged in more than one category, and the system did nothing to illuminate the underlying structure of the fairytale. Propp argued that fairytales had a “particular structure” and, although many details were variable, there were also set elements, or constants.

Any basic plot “will have static elements and variable elements. If we decide, for example, that the quest is a basic plot then we can say that a static example is that it will always involve a journey. A variable would be the destination.” Thomas, 2012

You can’t find 31 functions in 1 story

Propp’s “dramatis personae” (characters, like the archetypes)

Villain

Doner

Helper

Princess and the Father (single agent)

Dispatcher

Hero

False Hero

Villain appears twice usually - sneaks up, is sought out - Hans from frozen saves Ana from falling into the ocean, Ana then seeks him out for true love’s kiss

Doner is encountered accidentally and provides the hero with a magical object or gift (such as Rumplestiltskin)

Helper - such as the fairy godmother

An “initial situation” is followed by any of 31 functions, organised into 6 stages: Preparation (1-7), Complication (8-10), Transference or donation (11-15), Struggle (16-19), Return (20-22), Recognition (or difficult task) (23-31).

Deviations on Propp’s theory do occur. It aimed to catalogue oral fairytales of Russian origin, and he admits that it may not fit all fairytales.

Useful Vocabulary

Märchen - popular folktales, oral in origin (predate written records, many are hundreds, if not thousands, of years old) Kunstmärchen - literary (written) or artistic fairytales, mostly produced in the 19th century (such as The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen (1837) Morphology - the study of forms Dramatis Personae - Proppian version of the archetypes

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Ascendancy: World (Races)

Humans - I assume little needs to be said of Humanity. The two largest ethnicity of humans are Ajivhans and Aurorans. Ajivhans on average are a tall dark skinned people of complexions ranging between what one would associate with Greeks and what one would associate with the Turkish. Aurorans are a varied lot that all consider themselves the same people, encompassing all of non-Ajivhan humanity they can be found across the continent. Ray Das - Ray Das - The Ray-das are short people, resembling Humans the most, who are often very jolly and happy but have been known to take great pleasure in stealing everything you own and watching you bleed whilst they do it. It is claimed by some that their people used to be able to turn into animals, and while it's impossible now, it's believed by some that they still retain traits for their animal. It's sometimes said by the halflings that you could figure out their animal just by the way they acted. The majority of the Ray Das live along the coast or on islands, many of them raiders, bandits, and highwaymen of one variety or another with their kind's long affinity with the sea, natural greed, and predilection to violence. Yish - The Yish'Tai are a pale-skinned, pan-eyed humanoid species that inhabit the densely shadowed Marshlands of the South West. The average height for males is 7 feet, for women it is 6'5. Their skin colour varies somewhat between white and translucent blue. With elongated ears and large, flat discs for eyes, they present a somewhat unnerving image. Their noses have all but sunken back into their face, and their lips are thick and scaly. Most Yish'Tai keep their black hair cut short for practical purposes; some women tie it back with marsh-weed, while their men often keep it in a wolf-tail. Yish'Tai are tall and lean; and most lack the potential for large musculature, due to both their diet and lifestyle. While their reflexes are certainly quick, they heavily rely upon surprise and speed when hunting. Most of the Yish'Tai died during the war and the cataclysms, others became what are now known as Corvans, some clans of the kind remain however. Primarily in the Ajivhan Khaganate. Corvans - Corvans in the past were a race born of the first burning of Ajivha, resurrected and bound to Gangari, Corvans appeared much as they were before aside from some changes. Their eyes changed, developing black pupils and a metallic bronze iris, and upon their backs the bronze living metal of Gangari grew into his spiral-star mark. They were strong, healthy, and keen of mind each. Each holding a natural tie to Gangari and an affinity for his magics. This blessing in it's time became a pact, and it's power was shared amongst those peoples who held Gangari in their hearts. This brotherhood eventually spread to all races and nations and it was this brotherhood that came to serve Gangari in his collective and during the war fought to bring his order. It's unknown at what point this racial identity became associated with the modern Corvans, the descendants of the old Aetherial Collective and a somewhat different race. The Corvans of the fifth and latter days of the fourth age are a collection of several similar races which claim Corvan ancestry and seem to have descended from Humans and Yish alike despite such a thing being impossible. Some believe this to have been the work of Gangari and others the result of almost constant exposure to mild wild magics over the generations. Modern Corvans on average are lithe, elven creatures bearing resemblance to both Humans and Yish. Details vary based upon their various hybrid natures and the course of their blood, but all of them have in common the marks of the old pact: Pitch black eyes and Gangari's star-spiral mark in bronze living metal upon their backs. It's known that some of the old blessing remains, with their hardy natures and ability to heal from almost any wound given enough time. Silver Corvans - Silver Corvans are cousins of the bronze Corvans more commonly seen, originating from the Harconin Protectorate. They have silver eyes and silver living metal spirals on their backs, and an affinity with living metal. Given time and training they're able to tap into the living metal and manipulate it to work impressive feats of science, magic, engineering, or art. Gold Corvans - Gold Corvans are a race of Corvan created by the Khagan Sinan the early 1100s to be a superior race. With blue eyes and a gold Star-spiral, their kind is readily identifiable as related to the Khagan's bloodline and are thus considered royalty, generally having social and legal status above their means. Shared amongst them, and generally kept a secret is the ritea they undergo at the age of eighteen connecting them further to the ancient Khagan, having shards of Simulacra crystal implanted into their skull which slowly replaces their brain and nervous system, giving them fragments of Sinan's memory and ensuring them a form of immortality. Krakari - Long, lean and lithe, the Krakari are an avian race with feathers and all. Their feathers vary from one Krakar to the other much like hair or eye color in humans. But instead of humans, the Krakaris are covered in feathers. Their face carry large eyes used to spotting prey from afar and beaks from when they had to tear them apart. The Krakari descend from birds of prey so their beaks are strong and hooked at the end. Their hearing is better than normal but not abnormally good. Their necks turn from side to side like a regular human being but they have a natural hunch in their back whenever their attention isn't piqued. When they are detecting noise, searching, listening intently or trying to intimidate something they raise their necks and reveal their true height. When they spread their wings, their wingspan are almost double their height. An average male Krakar is usually between five and six feet tall with the females between four and five feet tall. Their arms are deceptively long but are usually tucked at their sides with their small hands in the middle. Their arms are actually proportional to their bodies but muscle exists beneath their hands that hold the rest of their wing making it seem like they have their hands in the middle of their wings when at full length. Their hands are long, wiry digits with three fingers and a thumb with a perpetual cold feel to them despite the Krakaris being warm-blooded. They fold their arms and keep them at their sides making their wings tuck neatly next to their body. It acts as a natural cloak if need be and water usually slides right off their feathers. The Krakari have very strong legs that bend slightly backwards with talons at their feet. Their talons are sharp and deadly and help the Krakaris get a good grip of earth alongside helping them hang off of things. They have a very recognizable sound when they walk especially on flat stone or marble floors which is why rich merchants usually dread having Krakari over in their lavish mansions. Their talons tear and grab instinctively and of recently the wealthy Krakaris dip their talons in bronze, silver or gold to show their wealth. The Krakaris lay eggs and are fiercely protective of their young. They guard their eggs with their life and when the eggs are hatched, they care for them deeply. Often the parents of a newborn egg will guard their offspring until the baby emerges from the egg. The initial period where the baby emerges from the egg are when the parents see the characteristics of their child. A child may burst out of an egg showing their strength or even crack the egg at certain places to weaken the structure to signify its intelligence. But newborn that do not emerge at all are cast down. Luug - A hulking, grey, stone skinned, and hard-headed breed of beasts, the Luug are of the earth. Literally, the Luug are spawned from large pools of a primordial substance, practically beings of living stone. Apparently immune to the ravages of time, the Luug's rocky scabs grow over their body and eventually come to form a boulder upon the Luug's back. When the Luug has become this old, they start to catalog their own history on their own back, their life story engraved for all to see. Then, finally, when a Luug desires death, or has fallen in battle, they give themselves to the pool that spawned them. In giving themselves to the pool, they feed it, keeping it "alive" and able to spawn more Luug. New pools can be made with several Luug dying with each other and being in a place where their liquid remains can pool. Their appearance is dependent on the Luug's surroundings during the first years of development, along with the location of the spawning pool. Once the Luug reaches adolescence, their skin is like that of the earth around them. Born warriors, the Luug value strength, but they also see strength in places that others might not. In the runes the elders carve on their back, the Luug see wisdom, which hones strength in directing its fury. In the crawling of newborn Luug from the spawning pools, the Luug see perseverance, which keeps one strong in the darkest times. In honor, the Luug see the practical restrictions of strength, for the raging beast destroys its own home, as the Luug have seen firsthand. Driders - The spiderfolk known as the driders are an odd blend of man and arachnid introduced into the world by Lysei and his Genners. Larger than men and almost resembling them if one were drunk, driders have an upper half (mostly) resembling the upper half of a human (save the originating breed which had bodies covered entirely in chitin, eight eyes upon their heads, and mouths filled with needle-like fangs) and a lower half mostly resembling a spider. All Driders are born starving and all Driders are so born feral, taking years for the other Driders to whip civilization and thought into them. Sexually dimorphic and functioning in biological castes, all Driders are bound to a brood queen which is the only female allowed to breed in their clan and in turn their clan. All Driders are recognizable as a descendant of their particular Queen resulting from the series of biological quirks burned into their genes by Lysei that makes each Queens offspring unique from the others in one way or another with each generation becoming further and further apart from one another. Queens have been known to grow to take up entire rooms. Most Driders live in the Kingdom of Khalorean in the Empire of Aurora. Wildwings (Dust Moths) - A race of creatures created by Khalorean during the Third Age, Dust Moths were once a colourful breed of supposedly humanish creatures able to take the forms of large butterflies with wings said to be about eight feet wide. These 'Rainbow Butterflies' as their creator referred to them, preached unity and tolerance until their near extinction during the opening days of the great war when the Khaloric settlements were gassed and burned. The few survivors fled underground, losing their colour and the ability to change form, they became an odd race resembling a blend of man and moth. Humanish creatures with pitch black eyes, moth-like antennae that appear almost like large elegant eyebrows, and dull coloured moth-like wings. Most left with the Khaloric Swarm as recombinants but a few remained, settling across the Auroran Union. Grat - The Grat are an odd race of large predatory tree dwelling reptilian marsupial-like creatures. Tribal and Xenophobic, during the cataclysms of old the Grat retreated into the northern forests. Few have seen them since or atleast lived to tell of encounters with them. Simulacra - A race of incredibly complex mechanical humanoids related to Zalya, Simulacra were created by the god Gangari to grant his followers a way to continue their service after death. Forged of living metals and odd crystals, Simulacra contain the bound souls of ancient dead, eternally bound to a pact made with their now absent lord to serve. Slowly decaying from a lack of maintenance most Simulacra live within ruins and what is known as the Dead Republic, finding only sadness in walking amongst mortals for too long a time. Amongst the dead and the immortal they find kinship as they watch the world and wait for things to change or for them to be released from their eternity. Revenants - Revenants are the risen dead of the land, victims granted a chance by the gods to bring vengeance upon their murderers. Or atleast that's how it was in the past. The original Revenants were men and women brought back to the land of the living by the divinity now known as the dead god, their bodies fixed and their minds guided to wreak vengeance upon whoever the dead god decided was guilty for their death. Their bodies were made whole and resilient, their minds sharp, and they were granted strange powers to carry out their work. When their appointed tasks were completed they returned back to their graves, and they dropped dead so that their souls could return to their proper afterlives. In the current times, after the death of the "Dead God" and the disappearance of Gangari and his other scions, the rise of Revenants continues but they come back in far greater numbers without a divinity directing the process and determining what is and isn't murder, without purpose or guidance instilled into them, and without a path to release. All who can be said to have been killed in the Fifth Age rise as Revenants without guidance or purpose, to wander the lands for all eternity waiting to be released from their undeath. They return whole and unaging, never healing they're able to be injured and eventually killed but they always rise again upon the next full moon. The slow natural decay of their kind and death taking a toll on their bodies and minds. It is said to be possible to kill them or grant them death and the ways are many if difficult or unappealing. A third age ritualized burning is said to have been the cleanest and most merciful way to prevent or end their rising, but those who knew the prayers were long ago lost to the cataclysms. Being struck by lightning, being consumed by an Aberration, or having ones ashes buried in a land afflicted with wild magics or for that matter being killed by magics wild or otherwise are known ways to stop them. Some societies take this as a blessing, letting their dead rise for one reason or another. Others take it as a curse, ritually destroying their dead before and doing what they can to prevent them from rising in the first place. Most who rise eventually find their way to their own kind and the Dead Republic. Vampires - Immortal creatures first introduced into the world by Jashiki. Those who become vampires develop elongated and pointed teeth, become repelled by Silver and burned by contact with it, become able to heal and regenerate their physical forms except what is inflicted by silver, become stronger, and become able to breathe underwater. Being bitten by a vampire transfers the blessing and transformation into one happens over the course of a week. Vampires were mostly prevalent amongst the coast and island dwellers of Aurora, and particularly amongst the Ray-Das population. Due to their nature as immortals most vampires now live within the Dead Republic. Fallen - Ghouls descended from the ancient house of Verde, the Fallen are a race of giant aberrational crabs living in the far North carefully biding their time and growing more insane with the passing of every year. The Fallen practice blasphemous rites and magic to meddle with spirits, binding aberrations to their will for use in their armies and similarly binding spirits to their remaining flesh to increase their power. They exist in an alliance with the Empire of Aurora, bending their knee to its emperor and standing behind the throne in times of trouble. Morians -The Morians are a off-branch of humanity descended from Mariana, the only daughter of Valencia and her drider husband Prince Moria. A union made possible by the will of the god Khalorean, repeated intermarriage between Mariana's descendants and unmodified humans has not diminished their arachnid features: typically hard chitin plates on the chest, elbows, back, and thighs. Morians are typically very private about their status and rarely show their plates in public, perhaps in recognition that despite the egalitarian philosophy of Valencianism, they wield disproportionate power to their actual numbers. While only comprising a tiny fraction of the population, it is estimated that as many as thirty percent of the highest positions in Aurora are occupied by Morians, including present day hegemon Romana Alascane. The Morians retain close links with their cousins, the Khaloric Swarm.