#banjo envy

[fallow-grove]

im really sad so iium and i are going to try and find me a banjo today because banjo makes everything better

[fallow-grove]

...

Can you play banjo???

Yeah.

[blekitnyzamek]

Illustrations from "Blue Castle"

In Poland we have 5 translations of "Blue Castle" (and in the 1st one Valancy is not named Valancy but Joanna (Joanne); and I think it's funny enough to dedicate separate post about that in the future) and one of them has such a magical illustrations, that I need to share them <3

All of them are from this edition of "The Blue Castle"/"Błękitny zamek" (which was translated by Jolanta Bartosik) and were drawn by Katarzyna Karina Chmiel. Cover too, just look at it! I love this artstyle.

I will add quotes adjacent to the illustrations above them. That one is on title-page, gorgeous<3

Valancy went home by the short-cut of Lover’s Lane. She did not often go through Lover’s Lane—but it was getting near supper-time and it would never do to be late. Lover’s Lane wound back of the village, under great elms and maples, and deserved its name. It was hard to go there at any time and not find some canoodling couple—or young girls in pairs, arms intertwined, earnestly talking over their little secrets. Valancy didn’t know which made her feel more self-conscious and uncomfortable.

She [Valancy] had flatly refused to take either Purple Pills or Redfern’s Bitters. She had announced coolly that she did not intend to answer to the name of “Doss” any longer. She had told Cousin Stickles that she wished she would give up wearing that brooch with Cousin Artemas Stickles’ hair in it. She had moved her bed in her room to the opposite corner. She had read Magic of Wings Sunday afternoon. When Cousin Stickles had rebuked her Valancy had said indifferently, “Oh, I forgot it was Sunday”—and had gone on reading it.

Cousin Stickles had seen a terrible thing—she had caught Valancy sliding down the bannister. Cousin Stickles did not tell Mrs. Frederick this—poor Amelia was worried enough as it was.

Valancy had walked out to Roaring Abel’s house on the Mistawis road under a sky of purple and amber, with a queer exhilaration and expectancy in her heart. Back there, behind her, her mother and Cousin Stickles were crying—over themselves, not over her. But here the wind was in her face, soft, dew-wet, cool, blowing along the grassy roads. Oh, she loved the wind! The robins were whistling sleepily in the firs along the way and the moist air was fragrant with the tang of balsam. Big cars went purring past in the violet dusk—the stream of summer tourists to Muskoka had already begun—but Valancy did not envy any of their occupants. Muskoka cottages might be charming, but beyond, in the sunset skies, among the spires of the firs, her Blue Castle towered. She brushed the old years and habits and inhibitions away from her like dead leaves. She would not be littered with them.

“We’ll just sit here,” said Barney, “and if we think of anything worth while saying we’ll say it. Otherwise, not. Don’t imagine you’re bound to talk to me.”

“John Foster says,” quoted Valancy, “‘If you can sit in silence with a person for half an hour and yet be entirely comfortable, you and that person can be friends. If you cannot, friends you’ll never be and you need not waste time in trying.’”

“Evidently John Foster says a sensible thing once in a while,” conceded Barney.

“There’s our island,” he said gloatingly.

Valancy looked—and looked—and looked again. There was a diaphanous, lilac mist on the lake, shrouding the island. Through it the two enormous pine-trees that clasped hands over Barney’s shack loomed out like dark turrets. Behind them was a sky still rose-hued in the afterlight, and a pale young moon.

Valancy shivered like a tree the wind stirs suddenly. Something seemed to sweep over her soul.

“My Blue Castle!” she said. “Oh, my Blue Castle!”

Valancy and Barney turned under the mainland pines in the cool dusk of the September night for a farewell look at the Blue Castle. Mistawis was drowned in sunset lilac light, incredibly delicate and elusive. Nip and Tuck were cawing lazily in the old pines. Good Luck and Banjo were mewed and mewing in separate baskets in Barney’s new, dark-green car en route to Cousin Georgiana’s.

[nights-flying-fox]

TMNT STORY AU COMP COMPETITORS MASTERLIST (@tmntstorycomp )

☆ Danny Phantom ROTTMNT Crossover by @chasingrabbits-art

☆ Love me, Love my Dog. by @tothefiniteyou

☆ We're not babysitters by @theawesomeninja-xd

☆ (Too Many Leos) Put One Back by  @beeceit

☆ Mitosis = duplication and separation by @varianlikescheese

☆ The Loyal Remain by @daboyau

☆ Monster Inside the Man by @keepsdrifting

☆ A Tear in my Eye by @cartoonhostage

☆ ERICA by @13runningsomething

☆ Captainx2 by @veearrifarrariboom

☆ Black and brown fur AU by @haro0o

☆ Set a Course for Home by @los-ninos-tortugas

☆ Catch You AU by @mudlarkspur

☆ Same Story Different Font by @tmnt-obsessed-ace

☆ Saviors of the Yokai by @mostlyvoid-partiallyturtles

☆ Everything Stays by @oddpocalypse

☆ Twin-Sync (More Than You Think) by @little-banjo-frog 

☆ Dimension Hopper Leo AU by @nights-flying-fox

☆ Inverted Confrontation by @boots-with-the-fur-club

☆ Cardinal Rules by @m0ths-wanderings / @dluebirb

☆ Manhatten: TMNT FARGO AU by @jxstacey [au masterpost]

☆ Universal Mayhem by @trixanimations

☆ Reminiscing that Old Time by @misshowdoyoudo

☆ Old Soul au by @delicatechildwitch

☆ Prime Leo AU by @darth-sonny

☆ TMNT: Broken Trifecta by @genderfluid-envy / @ask-broken-trifecta-turtles

☆ Body Horror Baby by @bambiraptorx

☆ Tiny Lil Fruit Turtles by @mochi-myles

☆ Through Your Hollow Bones au by @idiot-mushroom

☆ One Turtle Short of a Lair by @bucketofbugz

☆ Kitty's TMNT-Verse by @kittynumyum

☆ Shattered Pieces Of The Same Mirror by @xcometstarx

☆ Soulmates (Evil) AU by @error-core-animations

☆ Oh Hades, Let Me Have This by @faggotdonnie

☆ Empathy is Learned by @alicat54c

☆ Teenage Mutant Beetle Turtles by @beetleviolet

☆ Wouldn't it be Easier by @14muffinz

☆ Teenage Turtle Ninja Mutants (ttnm) by @idiot-mushroom

☆ The Birds & the Bees

☆ Two Nardos one dream Sequence by @tinytinyturttlesoup

☆ Sub-Zero AU by @noxvee6

☆ An OC, Echo! by @smol-bean-boi13 & @percy-eats-souls

☆ It's a Complicated Equation by @leilanising-vault-of-knowledge

☆ Good Genes by @lordshroom

☆ A Ghost of the Ninja I Used to Be by @robin-with-a-pen

☆ Sanctuary by @aquietwritingcorner

[allyssl]

TMNT AU Comp Preliminary Links

this is long

@tmntaucompetition

Snapdragon - bluesgras

But First They Must Catch You - mudlarkspur (+ao3)

Sorry I’m Late - GeminiForest

Lone Turtle and Hunter - midnightcreator12 (+ao3)

Happily Ever After - Phykoha

Kendratello Childhood AU - zeawesomeness

The Mutation Situation - Indieyuugre

Quilt AU - Cokoweee

I’m sorry teenage mutant what now? - tangledinink

Good Genes - lordshroom

Twin-Sync (More than you Think) - little-banjo-frog

Mama’s Boys - honey_rye

Warrior’s Heart - peanutrat20

Rabbit’s Broach - pigeonsgrame2

UPRISING: A Rise Dystopia AU - alexthenerdbird

Down with the Stockholm - devotedtosadpoetry

Broken Trifecta - genderfluid-envy

TMNT Chicago Style - its-captain-sir

Tiz Sep AU - Tizeline

Please Don’t Leave I Need You - fowlaroundtown (ao3)

Sewer Punks - kettle-bird

Grown Apart - Chiscribbs

Leaves from the Vine - Cheetochild989

TMNT Shen and the League of Lesbians - genderfluid-envy

The Unicorn paradox - Mushangaa

Snapper Lou AU - Kittynomore

Sep Leo AU - dianagj-art

The Rise Hunger Games AU - daboyau

Honor Bound - terrazooid

Universes - XxLea-nardoxX

Minecraft Isekai - Songdrop/Caleb at calebscornerofart

Raised by the Capybara AU - Rubies-tmnt-aus

Dee-Evolution AU - cnwolf-brainrot

Welcome to Mutinis - mutiniau (ao3)

Portal Baby - QuarterGremlin

Wouldn’t It Be Easier - 14Muffinz (+ao3)

Twinpathy - twinpathy

Live Life - centerofleesmind

August’s AU - star-sparkler

No Fun in Fungus - boots-with-the-fur-club

At my Worst - teainthesnow (+ao3)

Ktech - dontfindmeimscared

Camp Hamato - P0t3n1al

Even more of a Disaster - 3lectricinsomnia and teaableu (main blog evenmoreofadisaster)

No Crime only Brooches - Olliethescribe (+ao3)

DNAngel - blye-flower

Finding home - sad-leon

Causa scienta - urlocalllama (ao3)

TMNT 04 - koolaidashley

Is this right? - cruitly-ink

Turtles all the way down - pommigranite

Firefight au - remedyturtles (remrose - ao3)

Death wish - remedyturtles (remrose - ao3)

Ghost AU - Melliedoodles

Mama’s Wishes - Bucketofbugz (+askblog)

Forgive Me - reagi-df

Eclipse - G0LD_Tea (Twitter)

Magic AU - vaudeville-moggie

Mitosis - Varian_dislikes_cheese (ao3)

Vengeance is yours - that-one-dork (+ao3)

The likeness of mirrored souls - enthblaze and omgselinabeckendorf

The employees - theemployees

Hello, Clairvoyant? - cogentsummonor (ao3)

Sidelined au - Dandylovesturtles

100 feet and a world away - Dandylovesturtles

Villain leo - Villianleoau

Bloom from oblivion - Aliteraladhdmess

Soulmates (evil) - error-core-animations (Oofiescreams - ao3)

The somber sunrise - xmochaccinox (ao3)

Snapdonnie - onejellyfishplease

Ōnryo leo - aquariumgirls (ao3)

Lost in the pink mist - lost-in-the-pink-mist

The Lonely Buzz in Blue - overthinkingbluesparks (+ao3)

The Blood Orange Multiverse - Jade-Clementine (Mylenapony11 + Cherry-blossom-consumer)

Teenage turtle ninja mutants - idiot-mushroom

Revelations Timeline AU - idk_im_just_here_now (ao3)

Two Souls - virgilsspidey (+ao3)

[jesse-pinko]

More OC art and lore nobody asked for! Matilda, Dipper and Mabel all growed up :’)

More unsolicited Matilda lore:

- Will magically grow her hair long sometimes so that Mabel can braid it

- Absolutely not above tormenting her siblings by telepathically projecting annoying songs into their heads (Blanchin’) when she’s mad at them

- Has been doing ballet since she was itty bitty; I’m thinking as an adult she joins a (much less antagonistic) Susperia-esque dancing company/coven

- Episode of “Dipper’s Guide to the Unexplained” where her siblings attempt to confirm/disprove stereotypes about witches using Matilda as a test subject, she is an enthusiastic participant (ex: sister does not melt when you throw water balloons at her)

- Bill cannot possess her or even appear in her dreams (unbeknownst to both of them this is because she technically already possesses a Euclydian soul and is equivalent to him in power)

- She can enter other people’s dreams and often intervenes with Ford’s nightmares about Bill

- Ford initially interprets her distrust of him as her thinking he’s “uncool” and tries to win her over by using painfully dated slang words to seem more “with it”, which becomes a running joke between them when they become closer, with both of them throwing eighties slang terms into their everyday conversations, to everyone’s annoyance

- Was totally nonverbal as a little kid, though Dipper and Mabel could always understand her (they didn’t think too much of it at the time, but she was basically just communicating with them telepathically). This was in part because it was difficult for her soul to adjust to being human, but a few months after she started talking she went back to being nonverbal because nobody seemed to want to hear what she had to say (she knew things she shouldn’t and could predict the future). She finally started speaking for good at around age 7

- She starts smoking cigarettes after the discovery of her previous incarnation when she’s in high school, developing a persistent nicotine addiction

- Uses her powers to help both McGucket and Stan recover their memories. McGucket teaches her the banjo and hillbilly knee-slapping curse words

- In “Carpet Diem” Matilda discovers that she still has her powers while in another person’s body. Her siblings do not think this is fair, but do ask her to do cool magic stuff as them so they can film themselves doing cool magic stuff

- Apologies to fellow Dipcifica enjoyers but when I first forehead-spawned Matilda as a kid I very unoriginally paired her off with Pacifica and now I’m pretty attached to their relationship. So! Dipper is just as much of a presence in “Northwest Mansion Mystery” because it helps resolve both her and Matilda’s feelings of hostility toward Pacifica after the way she treated their sister, with Pacifica and Mabel already having put aside their rivalry in “The Golf War” but since I don’t particularly care for Mabel’s side story in this ep I’m thinking that Matilda has let Mabel kind of run roughshod over her for something or another, not maliciously of course, but putting their family’s wants before their own is something I think Matilda and Pacifica could bond over, and I can see Matilda being especially sympathetic because of how much harder Pacifica has it with her family. Pacifica is also surprised at Matilda’s admittance to being kind of a pushover, as she’s always seemed confident around Pacifica, genuinely confident in a way she admits to envying. She also admits, through gritted teeth, that she likes Matilda’s dress. And her hair. And her makeup. And not to tell anyone she said that.

- Tries to invent a potion or spell to extend a pig’s lifespan as a birthday gift for Mabel

- Letter to Bill in TBOB simply reads; “Dear Bill, if you are still alive, kys. Thanks, Matilda Pines”

- I think I want her to have a familiar that is one of Stan’s unholy taxidermy creations brought to life, but I’m not sure ab the design yet, or the design of her grimoire

- She’s pretty sure throughout the first season that Stan is lying to them about not believing in the supernatural, but thinks he’s just doing it to mess with Dipper

- If you’ve ever had a parent that you know has had a hard life and you want to fix it for them and protect them but feel helpless to do so as the child, you’ll have an idea of her relationship with Stan

[delicatechildwitch]

You've just been glitter-bombed by Cabin 15! Mwhahaha! 👹✨

Comic by @justalittleobsessed and amazing art by @belleyellsaboutturtles

@tmnt-fandom-family-reunion

Unfortunately, they're a little paranoid about gifts and spent the science fair checking it for pranks ...

They did find another use for it though.

Context

@tmnt-fandom-family-reunion

Cabin 8 (if you wanna respond, no pressure <3):

@usernameneon

@autumnmoon15

@its-captain-sir

@evenmoreofadisaster

@genderfluid-envy

@liya4kar

@little-banjo-frog

[cjkie22]

A non-exhaustive list of why you should listen to hit dirtbag boyband Bears in Trees:

their music is really amazing. you'll love it.

especially if your Spotify wrapped was on the pov: indie side of things

and even if it wasn't.

songs for every emotion

absolutely beautiful lyrics

sometimes these lyrics make sense. sometimes they don't. that's part of the fun.

songs about platonic love !!!!!

songs for the queers! the aros! the aces! the enbies! the trans community!

my dad likes them. doesn't sound like a lot, but it's an achievement.

(more underneath the break)

iain (bass/vox/lyrics) has "ginger" tattooed on the back of their head. if that isn't iconic I don't know what is.

on the note of iain, they were the first person i was aware of that used they as a pronoun, and that changed my life

they have a discord server! it's a really lovely community. i am not biased in the slightest. (discord.gg/sandbox) (https://discord.com/invite/thesandbox) (i will personally send you an invite i don't actually know what the link is)

they should DEFINITELY be on the heartstopper soundtrack

if I'm remembering correctly in the tiktok where they said they should be on the heartstopper soundtrack, they also said 3 out of 4 of them were in some way queer. seems like a good thing to me.

they opened for you me at six earlier this year. it was my first time seeing them live. and WOW.

I met some of my best friends through this band. I'm not joking; big shout out to the mojo dojo castle house, I'll never forget that weekend.

they're hilarious on the internet

you might cry at several of their songs for a million different reasons

BearBerry records

they have a tumblr blog @/bearsintreesofficial (iirc). I'm not gonna tag them but

BiT gigs are a safe space. I may have almost fainted at my last one (new cross inn, August 2023) but I've never met so many kind strangers and genuinely lovely people

merch is super comfy and really cute.

it gives stardew valley and animal crossing (trust me I'm right)

after the new cross gig (sweatiest gig in the world), despite surely being exhausted, callum (uke/keys/vox) took my bereal and i got my mini lesbian flag signed by them all

I turned out not to be a lesbian, which possibly makes it funnier, but the flag is stuck on my wall still

cryptids would LOVE their band

dash.

there's also a community minecraft server for discord members

BiT postcards !!!!

gosh and the bit stickers

they covered stick season on an Instagram live

they also do the funniest twitch streams

iain and the mountain

the raccoon email address

george (drums/production) is elite. the drum fills in doing this again? iconic. also has a specific really cool shirt I want to steal

wedding. dress. tiktok.

callum doesn't wear shoes on stage. apparently this was common knowledge but it sure surprised me at new cross.

the austrian soft drinks advert

iain make up looks

callum plays the flute. I want to say classically trained flautist but i may be wrong.

none of them have EVER bribed any members of law enforcement

their songs are very tattooable

talking of tattoos, nick (lyrics/guitar/saw him play the uke on stage once) has L + R tattooed on his forearms (iirc). absolute genius and I am stealing it when I get more of my patchwork sleeve done

iain releases solo music to under the name pet yeti. it's ethereal. callum also plays flute on one of them.

trumpet joe

the four of them never look like they are dressed for the same event

someone once edited the bears in trees wiki page to say that Ryan Ross was in their band

silly geese

that time we got singing? poetry? performance art? of THAT harry potter fanfiction

according to tiktok, iain and nick once had to sneak into their own show because they were underage

nurby

I have a video in the depths of my camera roll of them covering Mama by My Chemical Romance on a twitch stream

sonick

all of them give me gender envy at different times

their newest single (bart's bike) features banjo

patreon content

yelling it gets better with a room full of people was a healing experience.

tilly

modern baseball and fall out boy adjacent in my brain

if you like bears in trees you're automatically hot and really cool

they did a song with noahfinnce and its really super good

callum also featured on a myriad song which is also really super good

bit songs feel like coming home. they feel like hot chocolate and a blanket on a cold night. they feel like a warm hug. they feel like surviving and falling in love with life again and overcoming the worst things. they feel like victory, because you didn't think you'd make it to adulthood. but I'm 20 now. and I'm still here. I've almost graduated uni. and that's what bears in trees feels like.

all of their songs!!!! amazing!!!!

please feel free to add to this list. I'm taking suggestions.

[tmnt-fandom-family-reunion]

The New List: Sector Four

Moderator: @nights-flying-fox

Cabin Seven:

@curlyquest

@hitwiththetmnt

@actuallynobutwhynot

@xxsociallyunacceptablepuppetxx

@rav3nsk0ll

@bluefeather-tmnt

@sarahthewhat

Cabin Eight:

@genderfluid-envy / @ask-broken-trifecta-turtles

@liya4kar

@3lectricinsomnia & @teaableu

@its-captain-sir

@little-banjo-frog

@autumnmoon15

@usernameneon

Sector Four, welcome your newbie, autumnmoon15!

Members old and new, if you are able, please join the discord server! It makes things just that much easier for everyone!

- Moth

[red-balloon12]

Phantom Headcanons!

(Note that all of my versions of the Battle Egos….and basically all egos in general, aren’t inherently related in any aspect. They are they’re own individual creations. Also these H/Cs are self indulgent as hell so warning-)

General H/Cs

Name: Phantom

Age: 30 (Yes, I’m making him younger than Mare-)

Species: Incubus

Sexuality/Romantic Orientation: Pansexual/Biromantic/Demiromantic

Specific H/Cs

Dramatic af

Theater nerd (his favorite musical is Hade’s Town)

Phantom likes classical music but he’s a SLUT for electro-swing/punk-swing

He doesn’t actually do deals all that often and the ones he DOES do are performance related deals.

His powers comes from himself and his cane is really just to hone in his abilities (like Thor)

His cane is still his prized possession. He doesn’t let many people touch it and he goes almost everywhere with it.

Phantom hand writes all of his contracts with an ink feather for the aesthetic.

Phantom doesn’t actually take pleasure in soul stealing. It’s mostly a means to an end for him. But he WILL take pleasure in it if he can’t stand the client.

He DOES find a lot of his clients as well as the process of deal making amusing as it shows the length humans go through to fulfill their dreams.

When he’s not soul stealing and making contracts, he often likes to do sorcery or perform at his bar.

He’s good at playing the violin.

Dude HATES the sound of the banjo. (He doesn’t like country music in general.)

Phantom has a big and yet very fragile ego and he flaunts himself as a defense mechanism.

At first he found Natemare’s “hatred” of him adorable. He always taunted him about it which made Mare frustrated, to Phan’s amusement. Over time though, Mare started to work on himself and no worry about Phantom which in turn made Phantom uneasy. So he started to show off more which eventually made Mare fuss over him again.

The reasons why Phantom was uneasy when Mare stopped worrying about him was because he’s not used to people not fawning over him so suddenly, it makes him actually doubt his performance skills and he both admires and envy Mare’s want to make a name for himself because Phantom had already subconsciously accepted all of the labels people have pushed onto him. He feels…useless if he’s not making people scream for him and he HATES that Mare doesn’t need his validation to make him happy. (….they both has self worth issues-)

Phantom knows Mare has a crush on him. He finds it amusing when Mare acts like a tsundere and those feelings may or may not be reciprocated-

Despite him having a crush on Mare he does find Jackaboy hot af

Him and Actor!Mark are bitter exes tho

Phantom, Janus Sanders and Wilford Warfstash are all good friends.

He has a soft spot for the Bendy franchise.

His favorite animals are snakes and cats (specifically bombay/black cats).

At some point in his life he took one pole dance class and never looked back.

And these are all of my Phantom head canons for now. If you guys want me to do an spicy version of the bois’s list I’ll gladly make it. Otherwise my next list will either be a PhantoMare ship h/c list or an h/c list for Pumpkin.

(Just a note: I don’t normally do this but if you liked this list then please check out my Natemare Headcanon list since there’s lore there that connects to Phantom’s lore)

[magicaltalkingpony]

If someone was gonna do commission art of Banjo and Kazooie... what would be the charge for it? Most artists charge per character in the scene, but Kazooie is just kinda hanging out in Banjo's backpack most of the time. Would it be a full character plus a halfbody? A character plus a charge for some kinda fancy accessory or pet? If it's the last one I don't envy whoever has to explain to Kazooie she qualified as a Pet instead of her own person. Even if it is a "all children are under 5 if they eat for free" scenario. I'm not looking to commission art right now, this just popped into my mind last night and now it's been eating at me.

[fallow-grove]

guys help i have banjo envy

[fallow-grove]

hey wait i just came back from yardwork does ahno have a fucking banjo

Idk why banjo is the thing that did it for me but I might be just a little bit in love now

[hummingbird-hunter]

@fallow-grove 's Banjo Envy vs my Banjo Lust

[misculenica]

Spirits + Demons - a (messy) speculative short essay.

Spirits are the more benevolent forms of abstract sentient concepts;

eg. Compassion, Wisdom, Hope, Faith, etc

Demons are the more malevolent forms of abstract sentient concepts;

eg. Pride, Envy, Hunger, Rage, etc.

But we already know there concepts/beings can be subcategorized into even more specific concepts.

For example; in DA: Absolution - there is a spirit of wisdom called Memory. And in DA:2 there is a pride demon called Audacity.

From this, we can gather that there is more to spirits and demons than a simple label of 'benevolent/malevolent' or even a further domain of being, it goes deeper than that.

Now, does that mean every spirit is unique in that sense? Perhaps. That's all there can be said on the matter, given that there aren't enough instances of prolonged interaction with spirits and demons.

So to summarise;

there are 2 types of being that inhabit the Fade; benevolent Spirits, and malevolent Demons. (along with wisps, wraiths, etc - additionally, classifying them as 'good' and 'bad' is just a generalisation for the sake of simplicity here - it's complicated).

And there are several types of benevolent Spirits;

Compassion, Love, Valor, Justice, Wisdom, Faith and Hope.

And there are several types of malevolent Demons;

Pride, Desire, Sloth, Hunger, Envy, Rage, Fear, and Despair.

Now, there are likely very many more, but I like to think these are the most basic categories down from the 2 types. For example; Vertebrate + Invertebrate (creatures), goes further down to mammals, reptiles, birds, etc, and arthropods, mollusks, annelids, etc. But it goes further than that, doesn't it? Mammals - rodents, primates, carnivora, etc, and Arthropods - crustaceans, arachnids, insects, etc. And so on it goes until you have a goat named Banjo. So how about spirits and demons?

So, given this train of thought, perhaps we can speculate further on further categories?

Demon --> Pride --> Audacity/Hubris/Vanity?

Spirit --> Wisdom --> Memory/Judgement/Study?

Now, I deliberately put pride and wisdom together to dovetail into my next point.

Opposite/antithesis and the downfalls of the abstract.

Here's where things get complicated.

Wisdom and pride are one and the same, we've been given many examples of spirits of wisdom changing into pride demons. So it implies that they are strongly connected/2 sides of the same coin.

But here's the interesting thing; what does that say about every spirit/demon? We know that a spirit can shift into a demon, and it is possible for a demon to shift into a spirit. How do we then categorise pride demons and wisdom spirits?

Here's an example I like going back to;

Mouse, from DAO - a pride demon you encounter during the circle mage origin. He is a pride demon, yes, but he is not merely pride - he's quite the complicated guy. He's cautious, he's a bad liar (senior enchanter robes do not match your story, man, and that story changes repeatedly), he's contemplative, judgemental, and he's wistful. That's a lot for a single spirit to be. Granted, he is a pride demon, the most intelligent (and powerful) 'category' of demon. But there's a lot more going on with him, you would have noticed. If you work out that he's a demon, he seems rather proud of you, and even offers advice. So... What the hell do we do with that? Perhaps we could call him Pride, or Wisdom - but I would prefer to call him Judgement (given how he seems to be judging your abilities, constantly weighing the merit of the spirits/demons you meet as well as the templars/chantry/other mages). And from Judgement, to Mouse. (Is that, then, the next line of category?)

Demon --> Pride --> Judgement --> Mouse? (do spirits that are conscious/sentient enough give themselves names that are more metaphorical/personal choices?).

Do we then, even judge someone like Mouse as a demon? Perhaps we could still call him a spirit?

Spirit --> Wisdom --> Judgement --> Mouse?

Where is the line between the 2?

Perhaps it is based on the level of sentience/consciousness?

Spirits seem to be limited by their desire to remain where they are (emotionally/mentally). They have a very live and let live attitude typically, some going so far as to help/encourage mortals/physical beings. They are classified by rarity.

Demons come across as beings looking beyond the live and let live, they want, they need, they are not content where they are. And I think this is the reason why demons 9/10 will be more like people, especially desire and pride demons.

Let's look at another one who is damn near close to being a 'person'; Imshael - a desire demon choice spirit. At this point, I have no idea what the hell is going on with him, we know he's at a higher level of being - he can shapeshift, and reason, and bargain. As messed up as the things he does are, it's very interesting that he makes other people choose, purely because he's curious about what each person will do if put between a rock and a hard place.

But here's the thing, what I want to get across is this; once a spirit/demon (usually demon) reaches a point of cognition that it goes so far as to appoint a name with more personality/personhood (Imshael, Mouse, Cole, Audric Felhausen), that is when the line becomes.... smudged. They become 'people' as we would recognise them. I would also like to note that demons seem to retain a sense of themselves, whilst spirits tend to replicate/attach themselves with another's being.

A better way I would describe spirits and demons is this;

Demons work to forge/reaffirm their own identities as a point of some sort of discontent they experience. It's defiance, put plainly.

Spirits work to connect with others as a way of making themselves feel more real/validated in their sense of self. Contentedness, or harmony.

Thank you for reading, I may have more to say on this, but that'll be in another post!

[mmepastel]

Nouveauté de Claire Fuller, autrice britannique que j’avais déjà appréciée avec L’été des oranges amères.

Ici, c’est un roman très différent, même si on retrouve son goût pour les personnages décalés, abîmés, marginaux.

Julius et Jeanie sont des jumeaux de 51 ans, vivant dans un vieux cottage miteux avec leur mère, quelque part dans la campagne anglaise. Ils vivotent, vendent des légumes, font des petits boulots, ne savent pas vraiment lire ni écrire. Jouent du piano et du banjo. Pas trop malheureux, finalement.

Lorsque Dot, leur mère meurt brusquement, la survie devient plus complexe, leur précarité leur saute à la figure, d’autant que les secrets de Dot secouent leurs certitudes et mettent en péril leur avenir.

Le roman devient alors un genre de thriller dont l’enjeu est social : réussiront-ils à garder un toit sur leur tête ? À trouver de quoi dîner le lendemain ? Avouez que c’est original. Le récit est à la fois haletant et cruel, car on a du mal à ne pas souffrir avec eux de cette situation si insensée et pourtant tellement banale. On ne peut pas repousser le suspense aux frontières du quotidien, il est là, dans le livre comme sous notre nez. La pauvreté n’est pas exotique au point de rester à l’entrée du monde littéraire, de la fiction.

Au fur et à mesure du récit, on assiste à un défilé de galerie de personnages, majoritairement pauvres, ou modestes, plus ou moins concerné par leur sort, plus ou moins sympas ou mal intentionnés.

Ce qui est génial, c’est l’écriture, précise, tranchante. Qui brasse les sentiments de Jeanie, qui se démène pour faire face, et de Julius dont on devine qu’il rêverait bien d’autre chose. Qui raconte le quotidien et les efforts à fournir pour accomplir des tâches qui peuvent sembler dérisoires mais sur lesquelles repose la survie des jumeaux. La psychologie est juste, l’inquiétude palpable même si jamais on ne tombe dans le pathos. Jeanie n’est pas du genre sentimentale. Mais elle doit gérer le deuil, le risque d’expropriation, et n’a envie de rien devoir à quiconque.

L’air de rien, beaucoup de choses sont rendues sensibles grâce à ce récit, l’attachement familial, la compréhension non verbale, les habitudes, la nature profonde des êtres, l’irrésistible envie de vivre, le besoin de solidarité, la défaillance des aides sociales, les manipulations quasi inconscientes intra familiales, la rudesse du réel, la loyauté d’un chien.

J’ai été très touchée par leur histoire, j’ai eu l’impression de connaître ces personnages. Ils vont me manquer.