#at this point its taking me forever to get paid. the 20th seems so far away T-T

[dredgen-honey]

Should I make a kofi to fundraise for lightfall?

[hope-for-olicity]

Fabulous Olicity Fanfic Friday - October 20th, 2017

Happy Friday! So this is my attempt to both thank awesome fanfic writers for their amazing work and offer my recommendations to anyone who is interested. Here are the fantastic fanfic stories I read this week! They are posted in the order I read them.

The Life They Knew multi-chapter by @bytemegeekette - AU - Olicity - Felicity loved watching the happy life that her best friend had built for herself. Oliver watched his best friend reach every milestone he himself feared. An unexpected tragedy thrusts their lives together in a way neither could imagine. Could they over come their hate for each other to help fulfill the last wishes of their best friends. Loosely inspired by the movie 'Life as We Know It http://archiveofourown.org/works/4944559/chapters/11349703

May I Be Your Shield multi-chapter by @aussieforgood and @ghostfoxlovely - She could always tell him about her day. She could always tell him anything. Except she didn’t. The woman closest to him was keeping the biggest secret of all; a dark secret, a dangerous secret. Felicity Smoak is not safe, that much is true, but whether Oliver can save her from that is another matter. Sooner or later, we find out exactly how far we’ll go to protect the person we love most. http://archiveofourown.org/works/5721514/chapters/13182745

Time for a Story multi-chapter by @smkkbert - This fic shows Olicity and their life as a (married) couple with family. Although Olicity (and their kids) are the protagonists, other characters of Arrow and Flash make appearances. YOU NEED THIS STORY IN YOUR LIFE. http://archiveofourown.org/works/3912157/chapters/8757172

Waiting by the Phone by @felicityollies - Oliver and Felicity have taken to having phone calls every night before bed. Some of them are steamier than others. https://archiveofourown.org/works/12351333

6x01 Post Episode Fic by @anthfan - What takes places right after the credits roll, Part 1: http://anthfan.tumblr.com/post/166373524542/6x01-post-ep-fic and Part 2: http://anthfan.tumblr.com/post/166569312432/post-6x01-fic-part-2

If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don't Want To Be Right) multi-chapter by @smkkbert - They live in a society where the Ministry for Procreation decides who you get to marry. Once you get the letter with the contact details of your partner, you are supposed to marry within few months. Sexual relationships with any other partner are forbidden, even before you receive the contact details. Everyone who disobeys that law will be punished brutally.  Oliver and Nyssa have come to terms with that. Although they are married, Nyssa can secretly be with Sara, and Oliver can do whatever he wants to do. When Oliver decides to make changes, he falls madly in love with Felicity. Therefore, his life takes a pleasant turn because although they cannot publicly be together, at least they can be in secret. Things soon get complicated, though, when Felicity receives a letter that shall change her life. http://archiveofourown.org/works/11847900/chapters/26747613

Trust Me multi-chapter by @felicityollies - When a prostitute meets the perfect client, she has to remind herself that there’s no room for getting close to someone in her line of work. http://archiveofourown.org/works/8487226/chapters/22503983

Dear Hopeless by @wherethereissmoak - Through letters, Oliver and Felicity have a connection before they ever officially meet. This was written for ME! I'm beyond flattered!! IT IS A MUST READ!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/12369144

Zip by @someonesaidcake - Her dress has a zip. A zip that goes all....the....way....down. Set just before 6x01. That purple dress is stunning, gorgeous and Oliver has seen it before....https://archiveofourown.org/works/12370095

Finding Felicity by @lynn8828 - Because I still need to see this on the show…. 6x01 didn’t show us Oliver finding Felicity on Lian Yu and I was really looking forward to it. https://lynn8828.tumblr.com/post/166439559401/finding-felicity-because-i-still-need-to-see-this

(Don't) Let Me Go multi-chapter by @emmilynestill - Felicity told him to let her go, but even when Oliver tried, it didn’t seem to be something he was capable of. In the end, there would be nothing in the world Felicity was more grateful for. Weaving in and out of the final four episodes of Season 5 and beyond, follow Oliver and Felicity’s emotional journey back to one another, one step at a time. http://archiveofourown.org/works/11591223/chapters/26051715

I Just Need to Hear Your Voice by @alanna-the-lionheart - Coda to 6x01 (takes place at some point in the near future). In an attempt to slowly rebuild their relationship without complicating William’s life, Oliver and Felicity get in the habit of calling each other every night. Sometimes they watch TV together. Sometimes they discuss Team Arrow business. Most nights they just talk about their days. But then sometimes the nightmares come...and all they really want is to hear the other’s voice. This is one of those nights. http://archiveofourown.org/works/12368517

Our Version of Events multi-chapter by @machawicket and @geneeste - Action star Ollie Queen is trying to clean up his image and land parts that require him to do more than appear shirtless while fighting stuntmen. Pop star Felicity Smoak wants to be seen as an adult in time for the release of her new, grittier album. And talent manager John Diggle’s got an idea about what coverage of Oliver and Felicity’s brand new (and totally fake) romance could do for them both. http://archiveofourown.org/works/8025382/chapters/18375349

Little Flowers of Eloquence multi-chapter by @dettiot - After two bad relationships, Felicity Smoak has accepted that she’s not physically attractive to men.  That doesn’t mean her life isn’t good, but her friends make her realize that something is missing.  Something that might be fixed if she gives a chance to a certain newly-back-from-the-dead ex-playboy . . .https://archiveofourown.org/works/5783689/chapters/13329190

Why Don't Men Ever Listen? by @writewithurheart - AU Felicity tells Sara about an encounter with Ray Palmer and her Mystery Man. http://writewithurheart.tumblr.com/post/166452289044/birthday-prompt-why-dont-men-ever-listen

Between Love and Skate multi-chapter by @dettiot - After an injury ends his chances for a career in professional hockey, Oliver Queen doesn’t know what he’s going to do.  And then he gets an offer to become a figure skater and partner with a beautiful, babbling blonde skater: Felicity Smoak.  With a gold medal at the Olympics on the line, can love stick its landing? http://archiveofourown.org/works/3343235/chapters/7313252

Pieces of Always multi-chapter by @so-caffeinated and @dust2dust34 - Life continues after Forever is Composed of Nows. Ongoing non-linear collection of family moments for the Queens. http://archiveofourown.org/works/8220479/chapters/18840356

Radiate or Drain by @turtlejustice - Post 5x17 fic http://archiveofourown.org/works/12384441

Baby's First Salmon Ladder by @muslimsmoak - Little tommy queen inherited his father’s athleticism and that’s not a good thing. Especially when his mother felicity is trying to multitask managing the comms and watching her son in the bunker. http://archiveofourown.org/works/12382086

Shattered into Pieces multi-chapter by @diggo26 - Having to blow up the Foundry and last minute Oliver goes back in having forgot “something”…BUT it turned into a speculation/spoiler for 3x19 http://archiveofourown.org/works/3557969/chapters/7835702

South of the Equator multi-chapter by @charlinert -  A young teacher from Boston will do anything in her power to ensure that her upliftment project goes ahead, when the ground of a small farm school is threatened to be sold to a buyer who has no interest in her project. Oliver Queen, movie director of Queen Studios volunteers to do a documentary on upliftment work in a small farm town to put as much distance as possible between women, love and his broken heart. Oliver and Felicity’s paths cross 9000 miles from home, when their worlds come crashing in the heart of Southern Africa. http://archiveofourown.org/works/11568378/chapters/25990497

Pink on Green: Why do you keep her around? by @sssssssim - Oliver overhears Laurel being mean to Felicity and has had enough http://archiveofourown.org/works/1414105/chapters/3743612

Nightmare by @geneshaven - Felicity joins Oliver and William for the evening. https://geneshaven.tumblr.com/post/166518679404/nightmare

Better Together by @adiwriting - Oliver and Felicity attend a middle school dance http://adiwriting.tumblr.com/post/166519844071/fic-better-together

Thursday multi-chapter by @someonesaidcake - There is something about the girl next door that Oliver Queen is only now noticing... Felicity is moving to college just down the road from where Oliver is a senior.  He suddenly becomes very protective of the girl next door.  Thursday night dinners might not ever be the same again. This story gets better and better! http://archiveofourown.org/works/10688658/chapters/23670255

Blood Hands multi-chapter by @dust2dust34 - When new Bratva business comes to Starling City, it brings Oliver’s past with the brotherhood into sharp, ugly focus. But when it strikes too close to home, endangering the one person he never wanted that darkness to touch, he finds out his and Felicity’s pasts are more tangled than he could have ever imagined. (Set between 2x06 and 2x07) http://archiveofourown.org/works/3628926/chapters/8013672

Love and Little Cupcakes multi-chapter by @xtina-lynn - Felicity loved sweets so much that she paid no attention to her love life. Until Thea Queen came into her store wanting fabulous cupcakes for her sixteenth birthday. http://archiveofourown.org/works/12400539/chapters/28216053

On-Call for Christmas by LoisLane89 - Short Christmas fic I forgot I wrote a while back and just found. - Felicity is working the emergency call line of the QC IT Department and gets called to her boss's house. http://archiveofourown.org/works/12407439

First Impressions multi-chapter by @entersomethingcleverhere - Modern Pride and Prejudice AU: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a young woman in possession of a great intellect must be in want of job that requires its use.” But Felicity Smoak seemed stuck in the quiet beach town of Hertfordshire forever. Will the handsome summer tourist and his snobby best friend save her from another season of boredom or will Oliver Queen’s stuck up attitude make Felicity want to strangle him before it’s even over? http://archiveofourown.org/works/6033276/chapters/13834785

What Might Happen by @dust2dust34 - 6x03 spoiler fic http://dust2dust34.tumblr.com/post/166557840799/what-might-happen-is-this-felicity-stared

It's Going Down in Ivy Town by @jsevick - NSFW, Oliver and Felicity have fun in an Ivy Town hotel room.http://jsevick.tumblr.com/post/166582904437/just-reread-some-of-your-fever-dreams-smut-and

Oliver's Journal: November 1st, 2017 by @geneshaven - post 6x03 spoiler fic https://geneshaven.tumblr.com/post/166586483544/olivers-journal

// @almondblossomme // @emmaamelia95 // @mel-loves-all // @oliverfel4 // @green-arrows-of-karamel // @coal000 // @miriam1779 // @memcjo// @captainolicitysbedroom // @tdgal1 // @spaztronautwriter // @lalawo1// @quiveringbunny // @quant-um-fizzx // @thebookjumper // @vaelisamaza // @myhauntedblacksoul // @lovelycssefan // @laurabelle2930 // @wrongshipper //

[ricardosousalemos]

Jay Z: Reasonable Doubt

He was only going to make one album. So goes the story of Reasonable Doubt, anyway, a tale Jay Z has regaled us with at every opportunity since its release on a new and unproven independent label called Roc-A-Fella records. It was the album he made before the world was listening, with only a close crew of friends and associates at the late age of 26.  Every contributor was paid in bags of cash, piles so mountainous nobody involved could be mistaken how they were acquired. It was the valedictory statement of a drug kingpin and the commencement of a brand, a lifetime’s worth of private thoughts discharged before the true business of empire-building could begin. Grand opening; grand closing.

Shawn Carter has always been fiercely protective of his first full-length, to the degree that it sometimes feels like it belongs more to him than to us. He keeps yanking it from streaming services, as if the album is a troubled prep-school kid. He’s thrown it a series of lavish birthday parties, celebrating its 10th anniversary with a full-concert performance in 2006 and commissioning a documentary to air only on his TIDAL streaming service for its 20th. He has curated its legacy so assiduously that Reasonable Doubt seems like the one part of his story about which he remains insecure, the piece of his legacy that might blink out if he didn’t take care of it.

Perhaps he’s never forgotten its relatively inauspicious release. “Ain’t No Nigga” was a hit, for sure, and the album was certified Gold on its release; solid, but hardly world-conquering in the dynastic era CD sales. Critics were impressed, but not overly so: Mainstream and non-hip hop publications noted it was clever at times but mostly a rehash of Scarface and gangster-movie tropes. The Source gave it 4 out of 5 mics—approving, not rapturous. The smaller but more influential world of hardcore rap intelligentsia paid attention to him, but in the shadow of Biggie and Pac, Jay felt like a lesser myth. He announced the album with a statement that he was retiring and henceforth “would only be about the business.” In some alternate universe, that might’ve been it.

In Jay’s mind at least, the album certainly marked the end of an era. At this point, by his own cold-eyed accounting on the song “Politics As Usual,” he had been selling drugs for “ten years.” Along a parallel track, he had been flirting furtively with being a rapper. He linked up with Big Jaz (later Jaz-O), doing a stint as the older man's  baby-faced sidekick and kicking the triplet-time “figgity-figgity”-style flows that were sweeping New York at the time. He toured, briefly, with Big Daddy Kane, and spit some freestyles for New York hip-hop radio. He was an impressive local kid, but no one’s idea of a worldwide star.

In that murky time between his puppyish Jaz-O beginnings and his sober and assured reappearance on Reasonable Doubt, he figured some things out. First, nobody wanted to hear Jay Z excited. Composed, assured, jaded, deeply unimpressed—these were emotions he could radiate without even trying, and they were truer to his nature. Gone were the endearing attempts at dancing alongside Jaz, looking like a kid at his own bar mitzvah being coaxed onto the floor. His years selling drugs had presumably hardened him, and by the time he opened his mouth on Reasonable Doubt’s opening track, “Can’t Knock the Hustle,” he had mastered an unshakable godfather pose. It is hard to convincingly telegraph “above it all” from the bottom of the food chain, but Shawn Carter had a natural haughtiness that couldn’t be faked. “You ain’t havin’ it? Good, me either/Let’s get together and make this whole world believe us,” he barked.

He also figured out how to best wield his clear, surprisingly boyish voice. The syllable chopping disappeared and his words became musical and mellifluous. Even though his voice never rose above a conversational monotone, sailed high and glittering over the music, which sampled butter-soft soul from previous decades, blurred memories of more innocent times. These were the lyrics he’s been painstakingly stacking together in his head for years, (the “no pen, no pad” detail is another famous and well-rehearsed bit of Jay mythos), and he rolled them out, one pearly string of words after another, like he was exhaling a breath he’d been holding forever.

Lines like “By the ounce, dough accumulate like snow” were their own kind of song, and he treated each syllable with a love undetectable elsewhere in his work. On “Can I Live,” he matches the “Fs” and “Ls” in the phrase “illin’ for revenues, Rayful Edmond-like” to create an irregular little mountain-peak rhythm that echoes the stuttering “expectation for dips, we stack chips” line from earlier in the same verse. He was thinking on several levels at once—how phonetics color meaning, how multiple meanings can suggest all the stories that aren’t being told. He wanted us to feel the discomfited hum of his unquiet mind, even if we couldn’t immediately follow every stray thread. What Biggie and Pac did for self-mythologizing and hip-hop, Jay undoubtedly did for the art of close reading.

The narrative that emerges from a close reading of Reasonable Doubt remains startlingly grim; seen up close, it is a masterpiece of dissociation, a graveyard of dead emotions. From the outset, Jay Z projected surface glamor: He was the first rapper to book a flight out to St. Thomas and hop on a yacht just to film a video. He was the guy who made the “Big Pimpin’ video, putting up a million dollars for the budget. But the message behind all of this flash was always clear: It was all too late for him, and the money was just cold comfort.

This is never clearer than on “D’Evils,” maybe the bleakest, saddest song ever written about the well-worn theme of the psychic toll of drug dealing. “Shit is wicked on these mean streets” could be a boast, the prelude to some exuberant Eazy-E-style tall tales, but the next line echoes in pure psychological space: “None of my friends speak, we all trying to win.” The song’s most lurid moment of violence, and maybe the most brutal scene in all the Jay discography, occurs off-camera, so to speak, only by implication: To locate a rival, Jay kidnaps the mother of his child and stuffs bills into her mouth, force-feeding her crumpled, filthy money while she weeps as he demands information. It is a gruesome scene, but Jay the writer is uninterested in the visual; he’s drawn to the contusion it leaves on her psyche and his: “Don’t cry, it is to be/In time, I take away your miseries and make it mine,” he tells her flatly. It is a chilling promise to both end her life and carry the act with him until the end of his own.

Much later in his career, further removed from the shock of his time dealing drugs, Jay would root around in the messier, more visceral stuff of his early traumas. On “This Can’t Be Life,” he opened his heart to a former girlfriend who miscarried. On “Still Got Love For You,” from Beanie Sigel’s 2001 album The Reason, he raged at his absent father, even allowing his imperial voice to crack slightly: “I’m a mess, Dad/Still I love you no less, dad/Hope you didn’t think success would make me less mad.” But at age 26, too old to be a burgeoning rap star and far too young to be as tired as he often appeared onstage, he was still in the blast radius of his former life, and all the wounds it left on him were still open. The wide-brimmed hat concealing his eyes, the white suit and fancy cigar of the album’s cover—they were expensive gauze pads, covering a ravaged body. On “Politics As Usual,” perhaps the silkiest track on the record, he is “Cursing the very god that brought this grief to be.”  

This album’s legacy is both magnificent and lonely, an immaculate crystal chandelier gathering dust in an abandoned mansion. Every line gleams, begging you to memorize it but forbidding you from loving it. Its impact was subterranean, subliminal—Kendrick Lamar picked up on the notion of “D’evils of Lucy” as recently as 2015, with To Pimp a Butterfly. Other rappers picked up on his chilly, bored pose, but as his rapping was really too byzantine to convincingly imitate. It wasn’t until he slowed down his flow, breaking off glittering bits of mind that people could hold onto, that his influence penetrated and spread. Decades later, everyone flows like Jay Z, but not the Jay Z of Reasonable Doubt. That guy is still alone with his thoughts, learning to live with regrets.

Maybe this is why Shawn Carter the man seems to have such a wistful fondness for the album and the time it represented. It feels doomed in its melancholy that it will be misunderstood. “I hope you fools choose to listen, I drop jewels, bust it,” he rhymed on “Feelin’ It,” and then sneered, “Y’all don’t feel me,” a moment later. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy in rhyme, the sound of a guy baring his heart and freezing it in carbonite in the same breath. “Sometimes I hear myself moaning,” he adds later, after he’s let his guard down slightly to take a small hit of weed. It’s a startling moment of depersonalization, the sound of pain whistling like wind through the cracks in a fractured psyche.

One of the only other times Jay admits to smoking weed on record came years later, on The Black Album, a lifetime’s worth of accomplishments later. “I try to smoke weed to give me the fix I need /For what the game did to my pulse with no results,” he rapped ruefully on “Allure.”  The Black Album ended his most coherent, compelling, and memorable era; the hustler makes it all the way to the beloved corporate American icon and bows out on top. He had sold out Madison Square Garden, and the entire music industry knelt at his feet. Everyone felt him. But the only place he’s ever truly wanted to get back to was here.

[sevendeadlyseans]

10 (or 11) Movies Released Last Year That I Really Liked, 2016 Edition

Before I get to my “official” Top 10, one title has been excluded for consideration due to conflict of interest, but would otherwise top my list.  

Darling

Mickey Keating’s 3rd feature (produced by the fabulous Jenn Wexler, a.k.a. my girlfriend) is, of course, my favorite film of the year. I’ve seen it three times in theaters—twice in 2015 on the festival circuit, and again last April on opening night—and still keep finding new, subtle things about it to love.

The story: a young woman is paid to housesit a glorious old building while its eccentric owner is away. Is the house haunted? Is she unhinged? Maybe both? Star Lauren Ashley Carter—rightly recognized as “the Audrey Hepburn of indie horror” by The Austin Chronicle, is in almost every frame of the film and is never short of mesmerizing, whether answering the telephone, putting on make-up or getting her hands dirty by...well, let’s not give away the fun. 

The black and white cinematography is gorgeous, the score crawls under your skin and the editing is legit terrifying. Watch with the lights out.

And now back to our official, less personally biased top 10, in order...

Moonlight

Without question, the most accomplished, most moving film of 2016. 

James Joyce once noted, “In the particular is the universal.” Moonlight is atop my list in no small part because it’s so breathtaking in its particular intimacies. 

Moonlight is like Boyhood on a budget: it drops us into three important periods in the life of a boy who becomes a teen who becomes a man—at first bullied and confused, increasingly neglected by his crack-addicted mother and influenced by a kind-hearted, drug-dealing surrogate father. We see him harden, over time, under the pressure of a world with no use for softness, and then, perhaps, reconnecting with a lost bit of himself, at long last.  

Writing that synopsis, it strikes me how easily such a story could have tipped into cliché and melodrama. Perhaps because writer/director Barry Jenkins and playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney are both from the Liberty City projects themselves. their knowledge—coupled with a great cast, an impeccable soundtrack, a deft use of color and Jenkins’ masterful control of tone—l gives Moonlight specificity, and that makes it universal.

Jackie

Tone is a theme for the first three films on my 2016 list—four if you count Darling, and you most definitely should. Pablo Larrain’s Jackie puts us inside the experience of First Lady Jackie Kennedy in the aftermath of JFK’s assassination, in a way I never thought I could experience:

Your husband was just murdered; his blood is on your dress. Your life is cracked, and even if you put the pieces back together, nothing will ever be the same. Oh, and he’s the president—was the president—so your country is broken, too. History has its eye on you, so while the crushing weight of grief bears down, try to look good for the cameras. It’s only his legacy at stake.

It seems ludicrous to say that Oscar-nominated Natalie Portman is underrated, but somehow she is—and I adored her in Black Swan. In Jackie, she’s working at another level. Open and wounded when no one but us can see, calculating and brittle and angry before an eager reporter. I am excited to see Portman does next.

Special mention to Mica Levi’s score, her second feature after 2013′s Under the Skin. Can’t wait to hear what she does next, too. 

The Witch

Someone had the terrible idea to market The Witch as “the year’s scariest movie.” It’s not, nor is it trying to be. It is, however, among the most unsettling films of this year or any other. (Again: tone.)  

The story: it’s 17th century New England. William, his wife Katherine, and their five children have been kicked out of the settlement being too religious (it seems, or perhaps just too self-righteous) and must find a way to survive on their own on the fringes of the deep, dark wood. 

Before you have time to wonder if the titular witch might be metaphoric, she shows up and does something unspeakable to William and Katherine’s newborn son. Things go downhill from there, exacerbated by both outside, malevolent forces and unacknowledged tensions within the family unit.

The Witch looks gorgeous, as well it should. First-time director Robert Eggers made his bones as a production and costume designer, and reportedly built an actual, mostly working 17th century farm for the film. Even the dialogue itself was built out of scraps of things people wrote and said back then. You can feel the authenticity, which makes the family’s isolation feel that much more acute and dangerous. 

O.J.: Made in America

Bob Dylan never asked “How many minutes does a film have to be, before we can call it TV?” but the answer, my friend, is probably not much more than the 467 minute runtime of Ezra Edelman’s O.J.: Made in America. (For comparison, that’s almost 3 hours longer than a full season of HBO’s Veep.)

It doesn’t help that it was produced by ESPN, or that it aired on that cable network less than a month after it’s Oscar-qualifying theatrical run. And yet...it was my favorite documentary in a year of many great docs (more on that later), so if wants to call itself a movie, I’ll roll with it.

2014 marked the 20th anniversary of the murders. The revived attention around the so-called “trial of the century” led to two great works of art, Edelman’s doc and FX’s American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson. (One can only wonder how our present political moment will be filtered through the culture of 2018).

Rather than produce O.J. overload, the two projects complement one another—the dramatic series taking us inside the lives and hearts of key figures on both legal teams, while the doc simultaneously expands the scope and deepens the focus—showing us more about who O.J. was before, during and after, and what America was and still is, especially but not only in Los Angeles, but also in Ferguson, on Staten Island, everywhere. If it takes Edelman 8 hours to set up all details to knock us down with his larger point, well, that’s 8 hours well spent. 

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrB3rOcrJxg&list

The Lobster

Yorgos Lanthimos’ Dogtooth was one of my favorite movies of 2010. He’s back on the list with a film that’s just as strange but far more accessible. 

I love absurdism, deadpan humor, magical realism and dystopian fantasy, but I can’t recall a film that manages the trick of juggling all three at once as The Lobster does—with an honest-to-goodness love story right there in the middle.

I’ll skip the premise—if you don’t know it, watch the trailer. 

The cast is great, and Colin Farrell is a revelation, topping my previous Farrell favorite, the criminally under seen In Bruges. Lanthimos packs the film with small details that make the surreal world of The Lobster believable. The first shot packs an entire story of love, betrayal and murder (which is never revisited) into a single, long take. And its final, wrenching moments will stay with me forever. 

Film critic Britt Hayes got to the heart of the filmmaker’s uncanny alchemy when she noted “Lanthimos doesn’t heighten reality to an absurd degree; he heightens the absurdity of our existing reality.” Or put another way, he doesn’t add absurdity, he just turns the heat up on reality and our own absurdity bubbles to the surface.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTNZmOJxuAc

Hail, Caesar!

There’s this other movie that’s sort of a throwback to old Hollywood, with some singing and dancing in it. That movie’s fine, but don’t hold your breath, it didn’t make my list. For my money, the real love letter to Hollywood—and why the movie industry matters—came from the Coen Brothers. 

Now, it wouldn’t be a Coens movie if that tender heart weren’t covered under many layers of arch cynicism, stylized reference bordering on “acting” “in” “quotation” “marks” and the occasional silliness. But you don’t have to peel much of it away to see the real love they have for not just the magic of movies but also the joy in so many abandoned film genres that once ruled the box office—be they Gene Kelly musicals, Gene Autry oaters or C.B. DeMille bible epics, to name but a few recreated here. 

For me, Hail, Caesar! sits perfectly between the sour cynicism of the Hollywood in Woody Allen’s misanthropic Cafe Society and the false romanticism of the ambition-for-ambition’s sake “dreamers" of La La Land who prize the warmth of the spotlight over any real human affection. 

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NYpz_j3e38

13th

Ava DuVernay’s 13th is a civics lesson for a country in dire need of one. With a controlled but searing ferocity, the documentary lays out the case that the 13th amendment allowed the continuation of a system of oppression and control not all that from slavery: the criminal justice system. If you haven’t read your Constitution lately, here’s a refresher on the 13th, the amendment that ostensibly ended slavery:

“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

This one, terrible clause not just perpetuated slavery under another name but incentivized an expansion of the definition of criminality, in order to profit from the subjugation of mostly brown and black bodies, which has led to an explosion in America’s incarcerated population. In effect, through laws designed to maintain segregation, blackness itself has been criminalized.

With Jim Crow, redlining, lynching (terrorism by another name) and the like, the 13th has led to a more unequal society—and, indirectly, to leaders who lie and stoke racial, as well as religions and ethnic, divisions in order to maintain the ever-growing class divide from which they profit. 

This poor summation doesn’t do justice to the full weight of the case DuVernay and her experts make, or how well they make it. 13th should be required viewing by everyone, but most of all by those who hold the power to make and enforce the law.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V66F3WU2CKk

The Love Witch

Let’s start with the obvious: Anna Biller’s The Love Witch is a gorgeous film. Turn the sound off, re-order the scenes at random and you still can’t take your eyes off what looks like a lost Technicolor American Giallo from 1972. Biller not only wrote, edited and directed the film but also handled production design, art direction, set decoration and costuming, almost single-handedly crafting one of the best looking films of 2016. 

Beneath that dazzling frosting is a rich, feminist layer cake. Elaine is a witch specializing in sex magic, who believes her path to happiness lies in finding the right man, seducing him and pleasing him in every way. On paper, she’s a patriarchy’s dream come true. But when these lustful men inevitably fall short—as they all must, as patriarchy itself is built on a lie—she gets rid of them, permanently. Poor, unfulfilled Elaine. 

The Love Witch is Biller’s own magic trick, casting its spell over us with its color, its throwback ‘70s sexploitation vibe and its razor-sharp message we don’t notice until the blade has slid, quietly, between our ribs and stabbed us in the heart. Metaphorically.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXjDEDYlu7c

I, Daniel Blake

Daniel Blake has spent a lifetime working with his hands, supporting a modest but pleasant life for himself and his late wife. After a heart attack, his doctors tell him he’s not fit to return to work—yet with a simple questionnaire (and absent any input from his doctors), the government’s welfare bureau deems him too fit to qualify for disability. 

He can apply for unemployment benefits, but only if he’s actively seeking work—work which, according to his doctors, he can’t accept. Caught in a catch-22, he must appeal to an unreachable “decision-maker” for relief—provided he can find a way, without income or assistance, to get by while he waits. Then Daniel meets a single mother in stuck in a similar situation and does his best to help her struggling family, even as his own situation grows worse.

Ken Loach’s drama won the Palm D’Or at Cannes but has received not much notice since then, at least outside the UK, perhaps because of the specific criticism of the British welfare bureaucracy at the heart of the story. But you don’t need much imagination to see how things can be as bad or worse for the many Daniel Blakes of this country.

Loach has been making socially conscious films about the struggles of the working and lower classes for longer than I’ve been alive. As with Jenkins and Moonlight, it’s clear Loach knows this world, these people and their struggles, and knows how to tell their particular stories in a simple yet powerful, moving and universal way.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4KbJLpu7yo

The Handmaiden

Apologies if you’re getting whiplash. I went from a highly stylized Love Witch to a pared-down I, Daniel Blake. Now I’m going to swing back the other way with Park Chan-Wook’s sensual, sensuous The Handmaiden. 

As has been the case in years prior, the 10th (really, 11th) and final spot on my list could have gone to a number of worthy films, and almost did—I began writing up another film here before realizing there’s no way I could round out 2016 without giving The Handmaiden its due.  (Sorry, Elle!)

The story of The Handmaiden is...too complex to go into here, frankly. There’s a con man and his female accomplice. There’s a rich heiress and her controlling uncle. Some of them are Japanese occupiers; others native Koreans. Oh, ands there’s a library of dirty, dirty books. 

Cons are conned, crosses are doubled, no one is quite who they pretend to be and everyone is up to something. In the end, something real is found and, through it, freedom is won.

The Handmaiden is a thriller as elegant as it is perverse. Every change in perspective brings new meaning to all that’s come before. Every twist revealed is a delight. Park Chan-Wook is at the top of his game.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4Z5jfjxdvQ

Honorable Mentions & More 

Wait, don’t get up. There’s more! 

First, let’s start with honorable mentions that you already know are great: 

Paul Verhoeven’s psychological thriller Elle, which features Isabelle Huppert in one of my favorite performances of the year, or maybe ever.

Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival, which goes on my list of essential smart science fiction, along with Gattaca, Ex Machina, Primer and Under the Skin, to name a few.

Sing Street, one of the most joyful films of the year. A misfit ‘80s Irish teen starts a band so he can cast the girl he likes in their highly creative music videos. From John Carney, the filmmaker behind the equally charming Once.

Nicolas Winding Refn’s mad look at fashion, envy and unchecked ambition (kind of the anti-La La Land?), The Neon Demon.  

Next, films that might have been off your radar but are well worth seeking out:

Benjamin Dickinson’s Creative Control, a very-near-future sci-fi film about augmented reality, and the augmented lives we all want to pretend we’re living (at least on Instagram). A must-see for all my friends in media, marketing or technology. 

Elizabeth Wood’s directorial debut, White Girl, in which a New York City undergrad moves to Queens, dates her local corner drug dealer and learns first hand the limits of her privilege in both their lives.

Taika Waititi’s The Hunt for the Wilderpeople, a reluctant buddy comedy/coming-of-age film that’s way more fun than it has any right to be.

Todd Solondz’s Weiner-Dog, a dark, dark comedy stringing together four tales of unhappy people, all of whom at one point own the same sad canine. Or, for you hard-core cineastes: Au Hasard Dachshund.

American Honey, Andrea Arnold’s sprawling tale of wayward youth living for the moment across a vast swath of America, high and low.

The animated documentaries Tower, which looks back on America’s first campus mass shooting in a surprisingly moving way, and Nuts!, which is the rare doc with an unreliable narrator, which fits the unreliable (Trump-like) conman at the center of its story. 

Julian Rosefeldt’s Manifesto, which I was fortunate enough to experience as a multi-screen installation at the Park Avenue Armory but has been adapted (rather successfully, it seems) as a traditional film. Either way, Cate Blanchett takes on a dozen different guises in a sequence of stunning short films, the text of each comprised of bits of famous manifestos, from Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto to Jim Jarmusch’s Golden Rules of Filmmaking. 

And last, because the horror genre in near and dear to my heart, here’s #4-#10 on my year’s best horror list. (The top 3 being Darling, The Witch and The Love Witch.)

The Invitation

Green Room

Demon

Under the Shadow

Train to Busan

10 Cloverfield Lane

Southbound

Honorable mention: the “Happy Father’s Day” segment of Holidays

Past years: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008

[comicteaparty]

September 20th, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on September 20th, 2018, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on The Hunter of Fenaur by CalimonGraal.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing The Hunter of Fenaur by CalimonGraal~! (http://hunter.fenauriverse.moe/)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin! NOTE Disclaimer about today’s questions: Questions have been written with the assumption at least some people have only read The Hunter of Fenaur and not Cali’s other comics. Keep that in mind with your spoilers.

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

Superjustinbros

HELOO

Draco Plato

Hiiiii~!

I really enjoyed the restaurant scene, the facial expressions were adorable and I enjoyed the back and forth between the characters~!

RebelVampire

i really enjoyed iris being like whatever to how ever much money he was spending.

Superjustinbros

http://hunter.fenauriverse.moe/comic/43

This page gave me a good laugh

CalimonGraal

watching

Draco Plato

hahah I enjoyed that too

Superjustinbros

take it offfffff

RebelVampire

i actually think scene wise ivan getting to the place where thistle is dancing is my favorite. theres a lot of great illustrations and good energy.

Draco Plato

loooooooool

his little cameo in the back

ivan always showing up in the pervy places

Kabocha

I actually really liked chapter 3! http://hunter.fenauriverse.moe/comic/28 I relate so much to "holy crap everything here is expensive"

Iris, though... I mean, it's nice that he ordered what Thistle wanted, but... :| I feel like in some ways that's crossing a line

but he's trying to win Thistle over, so... I dunno, it's just something that makes me slightly uneasy.

CalimonGraal

haha i worried about that

RebelVampire

its okay for me i also wondered if thistle even wanted a pansket. cause thistle couldve just been looking for that under the assumption itd be the cheapest

Kabocha

Well, from a comic side, it's fine. It shows their personalities. But if it was me on that date, I'd be like... "wait what"

Draco Plato

i wondered that too rebel, lol

Kabocha

Thankfully it ended up being that's what Thistle wanted.

Draco Plato

yeah i felt like if that had been me i'd have been a bit offended, like iris was coming on way too forcefully(edited)

RebelVampire

nah personally im with you. i would be pissed if iris did that and would probably leave XD

Superjustinbros

http://hunter.fenauriverse.moe/comic/46 The bottom of this page

Draco Plato

what about it?

Superjustinbros

Oh wait, it was the one before it

Silly me

But good to see we got a dance lover in this story

Kabocha

Iris strikes me as wanting to unsettle thistle just a smidge. "Don't get too comfy"

RebelVampire

tbf i think that might be true. cause you dont want your persons of interest to be too comfy when youre getting ready for an interrogation

although alternatively, iris might just not get out much

and just thinks its normal

secretly this is iris' first date and he spent 2 hours deciding what to wear

Mharz

I have to say the restaurant scene. Thistle is so adorable eating those fancy food.

Draco Plato

takes two hours to decide what to wear and shows up in the same outfit XD

Superjustinbros

@RebelVampire Great, now I'm thinking of all the ways you can make someone comfy during an interrogation.

^That's me on a busy day

Mharz

Lol

RebelVampire

clearly iris decided that he should look casual and not come off as overly eager O_O

CalimonGraal

maybe iris did it this way so many times he thinks this is how a normal date is like

RebelVampire

iris is the victim of the gold diggers

which to be fair

fenaur is probably full of them

cause fenaur is a terrible planet /shot

Draco Plato

iris just showing off his rich fancy pants self

Superjustinbros

Iris and his pants

Draco Plato

Waiter, I'll buy the whole menu

actually surprised he didn't do that XD

Superjustinbros

"That'll be one million dollars."

Mharz

Ask the person to go on date. 5mins later... "Hey, are you the dude I'm looking for?"

Kabocha

LOL

"This is all business, no pleasure. That'll be in a few days."

RebelVampire

wait wait wait

http://hunter.fenauriverse.moe/comic/45

iris you cant wait till then to ask if youre making thistle uncomfy XD

that ship sailed at dinnedr

Draco Plato

riiiiight?

Superjustinbros

"This aint uncomfy at all"

Kabocha

"So you're wasting my time" No, hes getting paid

Draco Plato

I'm sorry is my stalker nature uncomfortable

Kabocha

the questions are less work aren't they xD(edited)

Draco Plato

i did wonder why iris didn't just pay for him and only talk

I thought it was kinda a jerk thing to actually use him as a whore by actually sleeping with him based on what his ambitions are

especially knowing that thistle isn't that into him atm

granted thistle said it was fine

but maybe that was just to shut iris up too

Kabocha

Honestly, it wasn't until chapter 4 page 15 that I actually imagined Thistle having a deeper voice. I'd imagined he was putting on a falsetto to sound demure and then on this page he's all like: "Hmph. I highly doubt it" And Iris is all like "Dropped the bass too soon"

Mharz

Thistle said his boss would be mad if he didn't do his job

Draco Plato

true but i mean sleeping with someone seems like a big deal, but that may just be me too

especially if you're mainly just trying to use them for something, it seems dishonest

RebelVampire

sleeping with someone can be a big deal but might be a better option than getting beaten.

Mharz

Fair

Kabocha

Iris was kind of trying to demand that he do what he paid for or gtfo

Draco Plato

yeah, and I think it works in story, but from a personal level I wouldn't consider it romantic at least

Kabocha

His boss could make a ton more money by treating these as therapy sessions tho

Mharz

Lol yeah

Kabocha

I mean, there's an entire industry based on cuddling

Draco Plato

riiiight?

and unless the boss is filming it he doesn't really know wtf they're doing in there

Superjustinbros

Oh yeah, Kabo's right

Gotta milk out all them monies

Kabocha

...I mean, they live in fenaur. ....................Therapy would be useful.

Draco Plato

truth

Mharz

There might be cctvs. The world may never know

RebelVampire

no no the planet has to be fixed first. cause otherwise therell never be enough theapists for the planet.

Superjustinbros

what about ciropractors

Kabocha

at the risk of being gross -- I would think the boss is happier with clients that talk instead of have sex -- means less to clean up...

Draco Plato

oh that's a good point

Kabocha

You don't have to pay for laundry or cleaner or anything!

THISTLE, MAKE THIS A BUSINESS PLAN ALREADY

Draco Plato

on fenaur i doubt they'd do that anyway

Superjustinbros

True.

Kabocha

ew, ew ewwwwww

Draco Plato

omg that room is probably so filthy

Superjustinbros

Sex can be fun sometimes but good god it's messy as hell

Kabocha

never enter a Fenaurian brothel. Or at least don't--- take a black light in there

........rip

Draco Plato

rip PG chat

Mharz

Lol

Kabocha

Realistically, the bigger problem is people who fall asleep and drool on the pillows

THISTLE

Superjustinbros

UGH I HATE WHEN I DO THAT

RebelVampire

thistle now owes the boss an extra $10,000 for the pillow

Superjustinbros

That's why I always sleep on my back

Draco Plato

they didn't even spoon, gosh

Kabocha

http://hunter.fenauriverse.moe/comic/50 These pillows are probably just covered in drool.

Mharz

Omg

RebelVampire

to iris' credit, he at least commented what he did felt wrong

Draco Plato

drool and sweat

Mharz

And some other unmentionable stuff

Draco Plato

Iris: I feel so wrong, if i stay longer maybe there'll be a round 2

CalimonGraal

loooooool

Mharz

Pft

If I stay longer, maybe I can examine him more.

/shots(edited)

Draco Plato

gotta look over his body again

for "clues"

RebelVampire

jokes on you thistle has all the answers inked on his back

Mharz

Lmao

Draco Plato

liiiiies

Kabocha

cough

RebelVampire

QUESTION 2. Though Thistle and Iris grow close rather quickly, much is left to mystery. Who exactly do you think Thistle is? Is Iris right in that Thistle is connected to Dezar in some way? Alternatively, do you think the resemblance is a red herring? Whichever the case, do you think Thistle knows more about Dezar than he lets on? If so, why would he keep it secret? What do you think Thistle’s past is, especially in regards to the pain that Iris keeps mentioning he sees? Do you think Iris will be able to help Thistle in regards to his past, or is Thistle going to be forever haunted?

Kabocha

Thistle didn't let him see his back, so

I think Thistle is Dezar. But we'll see!

Mharz

I like Thistle's reaction when Iris mentioned the name Dezar

Draco Plato

I think Thistle is some kind of plant

Kabocha

Thistle doesn't want his rap as a monster gettin' out, so he's like, ooph, gotta look cute! MAGIC, GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Superjustinbros

Did someone say rap

Mharz

Thistle is a flower literally iirc

RebelVampire

draco no

Mharz

Lol

RebelVampire

thistle was a planet monster all along

Superjustinbros

EPIC RAP BATTLE START

D:

Kabocha

I have thistles in my yard

should I pull them up

Mharz

Clearly the solution to heal thistle is to give him fancy food

Draco Plato

maybe Thistle is his missing uncle

in disguise

Mharz

Gasp

Draco Plato

and that's why thistle was like no this is bad but then was like well okay, for my cute nephew

Mharz

It is high likely that Thistle is Dezar tho becos it was mentioned Dezar can shapeshift.

RebelVampire

draco no

bad draco

Mharz

Altho by that logic Dezar can also be one of thistles pillows.

Draco Plato

and then he becomes his wife

and it's beautiful

RebelVampire

but i am going to post a theory draco stated yesterday elsewhere

“maybe thistle is a sleeper agent

and was ordered to kill iris, and this is all a trap he set up to entice him”

CalimonGraal

a pillow that thistle drooled on

Draco Plato

oh thank you cause i couldn't remember the real theories I had XD

Kabocha

So thistle is Dezar XD

but Dezar is the sleeper agent of DESTRUCTION

Draco Plato

gdi

thistle cannot be dezar

Mharz

Gasp

Draco Plato

madness

Kabocha

Why's that

Draco Plato

because one has black hair

Kabocha

So? XD

Draco Plato

and their face markings are different, gosh

and they have different clothes!

RebelVampire

another of draco's darker theories

“they just happen to be the same height

maybe dezar brainwashed iris into loving him

and replaced thistle in his mind”

Mharz

He's one of the pillows

Draco Plato

ah okay that was the better theory

RebelVampire

even tho that tech be psychteria spoilers but w/e

Mharz

Lol

Draco Plato

flails over multiple story confusion

RebelVampire

cause atm i think most of us here have read psychteria anyway

XD

Mharz

Yas

Draco Plato

true

Kabocha

Yep.

RebelVampire

wait @CalimonGraal have you read psychteria? /shot

Draco Plato

looooool

Tenor | Shinavar

Gasp Such spoilers how dare

Mharz

Pft

Tenor | Shinavar

(I'M SLOW SORRY EVERYTHING HAPPENING AT ONCE WILL ANSWER Q'S IN A BIT)

Kabocha

Zage had been changed, but. I mean like. ................Why can't Dezar have been changed to Thistle and then back?

Draco Plato

cause OvO;;;

Tenor | Shinavar

Would explain a lot tbh - serious mental damage

Mharz

<.<

Draco Plato

internal screaming

Kabocha

we know almost nothing about Dezar aside from him being a super murderer

I'll never forgive him for what he did to Jamie's mooooooooom

Draco Plato

it's sad the song Stacy's mom started playing in my head(edited)

Mharz

Kabocha no spillerz

Tenor | Shinavar

-Holds back my own screaming about Jamie's mom-

Kabocha

Hunter takes place AFTER Chronicles, so...

are they spoilers?

are they really

Mharz

Lol

RebelVampire

dezar couldnt live with what he did to jamie's mom either so said "plz employers i want to forget." so they made him into thistle. but then thistle regained dezar memories anyway cause employers sucked.

Tenor | Shinavar

THat's fair

CalimonGraal

hunter does indeed take place a lot of years after chronicles

lol

Tenor | Shinavar

Wait why just Jamie's mom tho

and not like the whole neighborhood he nuked/moved

Draco Plato

cause she baked cookies

and we like cookies

Tenor | Shinavar

-Snert-

Fair

Mharz

Lol

Tenor | Shinavar

We need dem cookies

Draco Plato

what's life without cookies

come back mom

RebelVampire

fenaur clearly doesnt have cookies

Tenor | Shinavar

...Does Iris make some fine cookies?

RebelVampire

its like the most luxury item

Mharz

Dezar actually just want cookies

Draco Plato

Iris certainly does some fine baking in the bedroom

Mharz

Pretty sure Iris can do anything

:3

Draco Plato

except be tall

Mharz

Rip

Draco Plato

Iris brings a box to stand on from now on

RebelVampire

im so glad i was not drinking anything in that moment.

Mharz

No workout will save him from that

Sorry Iris

RebelVampire

i like the sleep agent theory because it makes iris bumping into thistle less of a coincidence

Draco Plato

I do too

Superjustinbros

Lol, yes.

Tenor | Shinavar

Saaaame

Draco Plato

cause it puts thistle more in control than it seems like

thistle laying in bed like all according to keikaku

Tenor | Shinavar

kasjdhLKASJDH.

Mharz

OwO

Tenor | Shinavar

New level of Voyuerism right there

RebelVampire

as long as thistle is still drooling while thinking that

Draco Plato

well he's thinking about jamie's mom's cookies then

Tenor | Shinavar

Or exhibitionist. Or both. \

HHH-

Mharz

He's drooling about food and other stuffs

Tenor | Shinavar

LOL omg

BL doesn't stand for boy love it's Bake Love

Mharz

Pretty sure he wished Iris brought more strawberry cakes

Superjustinbros

I heard strawberry cakes

Mharz

Yas

RebelVampire

ya know iris really should have

Superjustinbros

strawberry cakes for everyone

Mharz

Right?

RebelVampire

cause bribery is another option for getting ppl to talk

Draco Plato

Iris: I know you're not happy to see me, but- BUT- I brought cake, so

Mharz

"Hey uh I brought you strawberry cakes, tell me, are you Dezar?"

Draco Plato

Thistle: eating the cake MMmmmmph?

Mharz

Lol

Draco Plato

Thistle: Man you're focused on this Dezar guy, just go sleep with him then fume fume

Mharz

I heard Dezar likes strawberry cakes too

Draco Plato

Thistle: Who told you that???

Thistle: I mean.... cough I don't care, who cares, who's Dezar, who's cake

RebelVampire

thistle and dezar are really brothers. and the pain iris is always seeing is thsitle remembering that time dezar stole his cake

Draco Plato

inwardly he's just cursing him in his mind

Mharz

He stole the entire thing

Draco Plato

maybe dezar is his split personality

Mharz

Not even a morsel was left

Draco Plato

maybe they're conjoined twins

in their soul

RebelVampire

split personalities opens hilarious doors

iris and thistle sleep together

iris wakes up

surprise dezar is in bed with him

Mharz

Lol

Superjustinbros

"Wake up, sweetie"

Draco Plato

Oh no, I was supposed to capture him but instead I captured his heart

Mharz

Or rather his heart was captured

CalimonGraal

loooool

iris is a pokemon trainer

catches hearts

RebelVampire

hey the king just wanted dezar contained. iris is choosing to contain dezar with love.

Draco Plato

Iris: It's okay, I've contained him in my bedroom sparkles

Mharz

It still works in a way.

Tenor | Shinavar

(I admit minor disappointment in Iris no having candy crush on his phone)

Mharz

Pft

Draco Plato

loooool

RebelVampire

hey maybe we just didnt see it

Mharz

He already finished it

Superjustinbros

>Candy Crush

Eww(edited)

RebelVampire

thats what he did after buying thistle's time

Mharz

So he deleted the app

xxbonecrusher

Hello

Kabocha

he probably had sailormoon drops if he wanted suffering

Draco Plato

Hi Bone~!

Mharz

Hi bone(edited)

RebelVampire

hello bone~!

Superjustinbros

eey Bone~

Tenor | Shinavar

“1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?”

THe dinner scene: Because Iris comes off so much like a sugar daddy it's killing me.

“2. Though Thistle and Iris grow close rather quickly, much is left to mystery. Who exactly do you think Thistle is? Is Iris right in that Thistle is connected to Dezar in some way? Alternatively, do you think the resemblance is a red herring? Whichever the case, do you think Thistle knows more about Dezar than he lets on? If so, why would he keep it secret? What do you think Thistle’s past is, especially in regards to the pain that Iris keeps mentioning he sees? Do you think Iris will be able to help Thistle in regards to his past, or is Thistle going to be forever haunted?”

I wasn't under the impression they're close at all. Just because you pay to do the deed don't mean jack and neither have been very forthcoming without having serious strings attached/one hell of a mental game of chess going on. DUE TO SPOILERS I can't answer some of this but yeah I like the secret agent idea going around.

Superjustinbros

Seems like the dinner scene is a fav

Draco Plato

it was a good scene

full of emotion

RebelVampire

sorry thistle, no one cares about your dancing. your performance calling is eating(edited)

Tenor | Shinavar

I'm just hooked on the idea Iris is SO USED to being rich any concept around it is kjust mind boggling to him

Draco Plato

thistle was showing much leg

Mharz

Rip

Tenor | Shinavar

To the point he's forgoing so many social norms apparently hhhh

Mharz

Iris is secretly a prince

Superjustinbros

legs

Iris is now our price

RebelVampire

iris was the king's son all along!

Superjustinbros

it's all in the l e g s

Tenor | Shinavar

I'd believe it

Draco Plato

le gasp

RebelVampire

the king just wanted an excuse to meet his son

Tenor | Shinavar

Boi gotta earn his lavish lifestyle

Mharz

Becos he can probably get anything with cash

CalimonGraal

looool

i imagined iris in a prince outfit now

Mharz

Yes

Tenor | Shinavar

Next time he pays for Thistle - meet him in the room already dressed

Superjustinbros

yessss

CalimonGraal

prince iris's actual plan; make thistle into one of his concubines

//lolno

Tenor | Shinavar

IDK I'D BELIEVE IT

Draco Plato

i'd buy it

RebelVampire

nope this is the new canon

iris is a prince

its how he got his sassy walk

Tenor | Shinavar

SO MUCH IS EXPLAINED

RebelVampire

iris also intends to overthrow his father

which explains psychteria

all the pieces fall into place

Superjustinbros

and then we put them back together?

RebelVampire

??? not sure what your meaning is?

Mharz

Fnaf ref(edited)

Draco Plato

if it wasn't in a song I won't get FnaF refs

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. In recent times, Iris seems to more or less have convinced Thistle to help him. Do you think Thistle will indeed help Iris, or will Thistle throw in the towel for some reason? Similarly, will Iris still want Thistle’s help after they’ve been together for some time? Besides information, how do you foresee Thistle might help Iris? Given Thistle’s fear of his boss, do you think Thistle and Iris will suffer consequences for Thistle trying to leave? Assuming the two manage to find Dezar, what do you think will happen in that case? Lastly, what events in general do you foresee might bring the pair closer together?

Draco Plato

so many questions

Mharz

Somehow I think Thistle will mislead him

Draco Plato

i think foreshadowing has been set up for the boss being hard to get away from

so it seems like he'll be an obstacle at some point because of that

if Thistle were Dezar why would he be so afraid of the boss

what is the boss's secrets

is he a titan

CalimonGraal

the boss is scary

Draco Plato

he don't look scary

Tenor | Shinavar

I'm waiting for Thistle to like; milk Iris dry. "Do you like this?" "SLip me a $20 and I'll tell you" /shot

Draco Plato

he totally should, LOL

Tenor | Shinavar

But nah; the way things sounds there's gotta be a conract on Thistle or something that money alone would prevent him from being able to escape - though with Iris' penchance to just kill and ask questions later in case he was heavily mistaken <_< He's gotta be a top grade A badass for that to just not happen either

THe boss I mean being a badass

RebelVampire

thistle agreed to help cause hes like "clearly this dude wants to be my sugar daddy. time to leave and get to wear jewels and fine fabric outfits all the time."

Tenor | Shinavar

Exactly

Draco Plato

buy me a penthouse sugardaddy

Mharz

Lol

RebelVampire

i would assume the boss has minions so maybe it doesnt matter if the boss is scary or not if the minions are scary

and secretly titans

Tenor | Shinavar

True

Draco Plato

i wonder how strong thistle is

Tenor | Shinavar

Either way something has to exist to prevent Iris' murder itch

strong enough to fireman carry Iris when he's being a shit

Draco Plato

cause if he were dezar on that hypothetical than why would an immortal fear anyone

Tenor | Shinavar

Hm.

THat would fall into the sleeper agent idea, wouldn't it?

If he doesn't know he's immortal-

Draco Plato

true

or if he's a sleeper agent for an organization and not dezar than it could all be a ruse

Tenor | Shinavar

Tho TBF - if you were immortal would you still want to go through pain and live your life on the run?

RebelVampire

if this is the case, thistle is gonna get stabbed, almost die, but then not die and be like "wtf is going on"

Draco Plato

maybe he's trying to have the boss kill iris

Tenor | Shinavar

OH GOD REBEL

Draco Plato

looooool

Tenor | Shinavar

Iris holding him sobbing hysterically in a pool of blood

Thistle just coughs and sits up like "who died wtf iris"

Draco Plato

stop blubbering like a baby you loser, i'm fine

Tenor | Shinavar

-choke- "tis but a flesh wound"

Draco Plato

omg XDD

Tenor | Shinavar

I was about to cheer I didn't feel old

then I remembered we're the same age

OTL

Draco Plato

it's okay, we're old together

kabo and rebel got it too i'm sure

Tenor | Shinavar

wheeze

mathtans

I liked the scene where Iris was all "I will buy all of your knives ... also I will take a couple right now because evil is afoot!"

Draco Plato

i wondered why iris didn't bring his own weapons

after he'd been preparing for days

but then didn't bring weapons XD

mathtans

Left them in the last person he killed. Can always buy more.

Tenor | Shinavar

I want to pretend he did

Draco Plato

pulled a deadpool and left them in the car

Tenor | Shinavar

but left them in the bike

Draco Plato

YUP

Tenor | Shinavar

Cause he's kinda 'derp' about social norms - so I like to think he's one of those people who never failed a lot?

Cause he acts like someone who doesn't know much failure in life <_<

mathtans

Tried spoons on the last mission, they didn't go so hot, needs to buy his knives back.

Mharz

He never picks the knives once he threw it

Superjustinbros

what about forks

mathtans

Had watched 'The Tick' too much.

Draco Plato

when in doubt use cutlery

mathtans

But get the cake to go.

Tenor | Shinavar

hhhhhh

RebelVampire

yes i concur with tenor, that iris isnt well adapted to failure

minus whatever might have happened with his uncle

thistle is not helping iris' ego

Tenor | Shinavar

YeAH

THistle's gonna make it worse I bet

mathtans

Thistle finds Dezar, Dezar says "I am your father", and Thistle helps him escape from Iris.

Draco Plato

oh that could be

dezar could be his dad

cause there was the orphan comment on thistle's end

mathtans

Yis. Dezar gave him up for adoption because people were trying to kill him.

Dezar that is, not Thistle.

Tenor | Shinavar

Would Dezar know tho, bc mom and all that?

mathtans

Don't want to give assassins someone who's a relative to target.

Draco Plato

men give birth a lot on fenaur

Tenor | Shinavar

OH RIGHT

I forgot that

RebelVampire

especially shape shifter men

Tenor | Shinavar

...WHat if the original Dezar is gonna die thanks to Iris but then Thistle changes his identity to Dezar to escape his boss?

Mharz

I ended up thinking of seahorse

I was thinking the boss know who dezar is

Iris shouldve bribed him first

Tenor | Shinavar

Fffft

RebelVampire

i like it cause its ironic, that this immortal dezar actually wasnt so immortal after all

i mean really

where is the king's info coming from

Draco Plato

ponyville

mathtans

Dezar isn't really immortal, it's just he keeps giving the title over to another shapeshifter. Thistle is next Dezar.

Draco Plato

O_O

Tenor | Shinavar

This is true. And look at how rumors/legends get around

Draco Plato

that'd be neat tho if it was just an assassin name or something

Mharz

Gasp

mathtans

It's like that pirate king in "Princess Bride".

Mharz

Dezar is the avatar

mathtans

Roberts.

Draco Plato

yus, that's who i was thinking of too

Tenor | Shinavar

Superjustinbros

Robertsons?

mathtans

Or maybe Iris is the next Dezar. Takes on the mantle to protect Thistle from people who think Thistle is Dezar.

Draco Plato

that'd be neat

but iris so short

mathtans

Stilts.

Draco Plato

they're like storm troopers, gotta be 6ft

RebelVampire

guy who knew the last dezar meets iris dezar, is like "hey did you get shorter"

Draco Plato

then iris pulls out his box and stands on it and says call me short now O_O

mathtans

More like pulls out knives.

Draco Plato

real question is does iris' stature hint at him being the uke

in the future that is

RebelVampire

only if we apply the anime ruleset

mathtans

That means he plays the ukulele in bed?

Draco Plato

now that i know zage is pronounced like mage I feel like anime logic is lost

that's exactly what it means math

mathtans

Problematic if there's no strings attached.

Draco Plato

LOL

noice

CalimonGraal

omg

Draco Plato

awww wouldn't it be cool if Thistle were a living doll

Mharz

I always thought it's pronounced like that

mathtans

I think I ship.... the booth bunnies in Panel 2 here. http://hunter.fenauriverse.moe/comic/9

RebelVampire

i cant unpicture iris playing a ukulele in bed now. and thistle waking up being like wtf im trying to sleep

Draco Plato

oh no i didn't even notice them before, they're cute

CalimonGraal

thistle would make a pretty doll

Draco Plato

Iris: It's because I'm the Uke, this is what I do

RebelVampire

yeah cali's background characters are actually pretty interesting and cute if you take the time to look

Draco Plato

They are, it's true

mathtans

Rebel: Thistle can play the seme instrument.

CalimonGraal

looooooool

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. Despite the comic’s infancy, there are several mini mysteries that have been hinted at throughout. Who do you think was the mysterious stranger who glared at Thistle and Iris on their “date?” Is it no one, someone from Thistle’s past, someone from Iris’ past, or someone tied to the story in a different way? What do you think the stranger wants from Thistle and/or Iris? Further, Iris has mentioned a missing uncle. What do you think happened to Iris’ uncle? Do you think hunting Dezar will help Iris find him? If so, how? If not, do you think Iris will give up the search or suffer through it for years to come? Lastly, who the heck is Dezar? How do you think he became immortal, and do you think there is an actual way for Iris to defeat someone so dangerous?

mathtans

Let's hear it for background characters!

RebelVampire

aww ukelele duets

mathtans

Like duelling banjos but with more gay.

RebelVampire

rubs hands together cause some of those questions you cant have answers to just from reading cali's other comics

Mharz

I thought it was the boss

Kabocha

I step away to get dinner and come back to conspiracy theories and avatar talk!

Superjustinbros

welcome back~

Kabocha

I'm proud of you all. Anyway, who glared at Thistle and Iris? Probably Iris' boss.

mathtans

The stranger wants to know where to get cool knives and birthmarks like them.

Kabocha

Iris has probably been told not to sleep with his marks.

Repeatedly. AND THEN IT HAPPENED AGAIN.

CalimonGraal

iris pls

mathtans

Or possibly the stranger just wants a nice cake, like Thistle got.

Kabocha

Iris is a walking HR complaint.

Thistle was seduced by cake. :3

Superjustinbros

Seduce the cake back

RebelVampire

gonna give some help http://hunter.fenauriverse.moe/comic/25 glare-y person http://hunter.fenauriverse.moe/comic/43 who we can assume is the boss

mathtans

The missing uncle is actually the guy who was selling gym equipment at the sales day. Disguised. Been tracking Iris for a while.

While the Glare-y person is Thistle's ex-boyfriend.

Or maybe that's the other way around.

RebelVampire

just watched them at the restaurant the whole time thinking "how dare you buy thistle cake you date stealer"

Kabocha

WAIT IS THAT GLARING PERSON............................................ Whatishname

Sen

mathtans

"how dare you go to the one restaurant I cannot afford"

CalimonGraal

i'm not sure if sen was born yet when HoF happened

RebelVampire

no shush cali

its sen

Kabocha

Sen's father! Or grandfather!

mathtans

Sen is also immortal now.

CalimonGraal

loooooool

Kabocha

Sen's memories of his sister are fake.

RebelVampire

maybe it is sen's father tho

Kabocha

She was ACTUALLY his handler and the mastermind of the Psyc/ --cue Kabocha being dragged off for spoilers

RebelVampire

rip XD my theory is its iris' debt collector. iris isnt rich, he just maxes out his credit cards

Superjustinbros

Good idea

Kabocha

GASP! He's gonna break Iris' knees

CalimonGraal

iris trying to impress everyone how rich he is

mathtans

I like that one. Collects debts by taking Iris' boyfriends.

CalimonGraal

has trashcans full of dead cards

mathtans

Or maybe it's a ukulele salesman. ducks runs

Kabocha

What if it's really Dezar with some foundation to cover up his eye marks

mathtans

Or it's Thistle's makeup specialist/manicurist.

RebelVampire

or both O_O dezar quit being a murderer and switched careers but had to hide lest the past follow him

Kabocha

"If he eats cake he's going to ruin his lipstick!!"

Superjustinbros

r.i.p. lipstick

RebelVampire

after thistle ran out he approached thistle and said how dare, now we have to go redo all your makeup

Superjustinbros

what color lipstick does he wear

Kabocha

Black.

Like Iris' heart.

CalimonGraal

like his soul

or that

mathtans

On the topic of how do you trap a person who's immortal... maybe pin them to a wall with knives? Or dig a pit and put tasty cake on top as a trap? (Does Dezar like cake too?)(edited)

Superjustinbros

that sounds brutal

RebelVampire

iris has black everything. black heart, black soul, etc.

CalimonGraal

he likes to paint it all black

mathtans

Black beard?

RebelVampire

i mean tbf being immortal doesnt auto mean youre super invulnerable

Superjustinbros

Black lipstick

RebelVampire

so maybe they just pin dezar to the wall

leave him

CalimonGraal

he still feels pain

RebelVampire

and dezar is just trapped forever

mathtans

Dezar's the pin-up boy.

CalimonGraal

omg

RebelVampire

ppl stop by every tuesday to throw tomatos at him

mathtans

Or cake.

Kabocha

His feelings can be hurt.

CalimonGraal

hes secretly quasimoto

RebelVampire

Iris: You have split ends and your skin is dry. Dezar: cries forever

CalimonGraal

looooooool

RebelVampire

on a diff note, maybe iris' uncle is the king O_O and iris just doesnt realize it cause the king looks like a kid

Superjustinbros

Maybe

mathtans

Oh, right, the King. Hmm, maybe Dezar and the King have a bet going, that's how the whole thing started. It's why Iris had to swear to the consequences and all.

RebelVampire

the king and dezar are teaching iris a lesson about failure

since iris doesnt know about failure

mathtans

That's actually a pretty valid point. They already tried to do it through the debt collector and it didn't work.

Superjustinbros

lol

mathtans

Iris does seem to be rethinking things towards the end there though. That's interesting.

RebelVampire

yes, iris does have a conscience

maybe during his journey iris is going to find out dezar killed his uncle, thus giving him personal incenetive for his hunt. only to find out that his uncle was a terrible person.

mathtans

That would be an interesting twist.

Superjustinbros

ye

mathtans

Or it was an uncle-Dezar duel, and they both attacked, except for the immortality thing guaranteeing a win.

(Or is Dezar the uncle?)

RebelVampire

gasp

Superjustinbros

Anyways I guess since time's almost up, I'd like to say good luck with the rest of the comic, Cali. You have a great story going on here and it's backed up with some cool art (and cute bois).

Draco Plato

I think it's a fun read and the dialogue is well written

mathtans

Yeah, big universe there, much going on!

RebelVampire

but that is an interesting point. dezar can just always win by challenging to duels and then surprise, hes immortal

can never lose

try try again O_O

CalimonGraal

thank :"3

mathtans

Maybe that's why the King wants him dead. Accidentally accepted a duel next month.

CalimonGraal

looooooool

Kabocha

Cali - I look forward to reading more!

Superjustinbros

You're welcome

And I second Kabo~

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END!

Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to CalimonGraal, as well, for making The Hunter of Fenaur. If you liked the comic, make sure to support CalimonGraal’s efforts however you’re able to~!

Read and Comment: http://hunter.fenauriverse.moe/

CalimonGraal’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/CalimonGraal

CalimonGraal’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/CalimonGraal

CalimonGraal’s Discord Server: https://discord.gg/pAjPAfu

Comic Tea Party- Thursday Book Club

Next week’s Thursday Book Club will be about Heart of Keol by keiiii. For participants, you have the next week to read as much of the comic as you would like~! We hope to see you on Thursday, September 27th, from 5PM to 7PM PDT for the chat in #thursday_bookclub! @keii4ii Comic’s Main Site: http://www.heartofkeol.com/

Comic’s Tapas Mirror: < https://tapas.io/series/keol/%3E

Comic’s ComicFury Mirror: http://keol.webcomic.ws/