#but as an hdm fan this is a must have for me

[mrscoultxr]

NYAH HA HA HA HA, I GOT THE BOX SET OF THE SERIES. Will I icon it? Who knows. We'll see. But now I can watch it whenever.

Edit: I'll actually probably try and screencap it and just give people access to the screenshots

[buriedwithit]

INTRODUCING: KALI

⸻ ( various cgi bears, 130, cis woman, she/her ) — Look who it is! If you take a look at our database, you’ll find that KALI is a PAINTER that works in SECTOR 10. According to the file, they’re a mutant with the power of ANIMAL SAPIENCE. That must be why they’re CURIOUS and QUICK-TEMPERED. If you ask me, they remind me of canvases strewn about every corner, summer nights spent in front of a fan, and mourning what once was and can never be again. They are affiliated with THE MUTANTS' SOCIETY.

basic information:

character name: kali

alias (es): n/a (if you know what's good for you!)

face claim: various cgi polar bears (golden compass/hdm/red one)

mutation status: gen i mutant ( animal sapience )

distinguishing mutations: is a polar bear. just a regular polar bear.

birthday: december 24th

sexuality: lesbian (only interested in other bears, sorry)

moral alignment: chaotic good

occupation: painter, philosopher, bounty hunter/warrior-poet

work sector: sector 10

affiliation: the mutants' society

3 positive traits: playful, loyal, affectionate

3 negative traits: aggressive, overly protective, stubborn

character summary:

born-in-captivity zoo animal gains sapience and becomes a respected public figure.

questionnaire:

how do they feel about living in sol city? have they always lived there or did they travel from another settlement?

although kali often wishes she could make the trip to what used to be the arctic, overall sol city is where she's most comfortable.

do they trust the council's leadership? why or why not?

yes and no. she trusts that it was created with the best of intentions but knows that humanity is often... fallible.

if they chose their sector and profession, why did they make that choice? if they didn't, why not? were they happy with their assignment or not?

she did choose, originally starting as a bounty hunter (warrior-poet, in her words) pre-sol city days, she then became a transport guard in sector 1 and later, a painter in sector 10. she's known for her arctic landscape artwork.

what's one object that they always keep on their person?

her reading glasses. she's far-sighted!

what is your character's ability (or abilities)?

animal sapience.

are they gen i or gen ii?

gen i.

what can your character do? what are their strengths?

through the mutating power of the meteor, kali gained sapience and longevity. in all other respects, she is just a normal polar bear.

what can't they do? what are their weaknesses?

physically, she can't do anything a normal polar bear can't. mentally, she's limited to human-level intellect. being smart doesn't mean she isn't instinctual, either.

is there anything else you'd like to specify about them?

even though painting is her actual job, she also considers herself a philosopher and a poet in her spare time. she loves a good haiku.

possible connections:

other society members: she has been there since the start, so they would know her!

gallery workers: obviously, since she's a bear... she needs a little help with dexterity-based tasks. she is not going to hang those canvases herself!

drinking buddies: (ladies only, sorry) she likes to go sit and drink at a lesbian bar. not for romance (she is a bear) but because she just prefers to spend her time with ladies, especially ladies who like ladies.

[ravenkings]

To your point about gender and patronuses- the only other time gender plays a big role in patronuses as I recall is when Tonks' patronus becomes a wolf. It's not stated the patronus' gender, but it is meant to reflect her love for Lupin, almost as evidence they should be together. A lot of people read both/either Lupin and/or Tonks as queer, so this development was part of the upset in their ending up together. Just wanted to share something I noticed in relation to your post because you're definitely onto something about the latent bioessentialism in her novels.

oh thank you, i completely forgot about this! honestly, that makes the whole thing even weirder because it begs the question if lily's patronus was always a doe, and if not, did it change to conform to james's (which is......you know........not super feminist if you ask me, joanne.......)

i also keep on thinking about this in comparison to how daemons work in philip pullman's his dark materials series, which, granted does have many of its own issues, but it's clearly much more nuanced and well thought-out. like in HDM, most (but, notably, not all!) people have daemons of the opposite gender to them who can shape-shift into different animals until their child hits puberty, which is when they settle into a specific animal form (which must, at least implicitly, be the choice of the individual imo.)

and like many fans have theorized and headcanoned that people who have daemons of the same presenting gender as them are queer or transgender, which it seems was, at least according to pullman, not necessarily his original intention, but he's nevertheless open to it! so like.......at least some level of careful thought was put into it even if not every single angle was addressed!

[revengeisalwaysanoption]

And last, but not least, the guest I attended this con for… Rocco :D !!

He is so lovely, and he listens to every word you say as if you were telling him about the secrets of the universe, which tends to make me a bit anxious about having a conversation with him because I fear that I’m going to say something stupid.

I had a M&G with him and I was at his panel, so I got the chance to talk to him and listen to him a bit more than with the other guests:

- His favourite parts of conventions are M&G, because it’s the perfect chance to have a chat with people about his work. He doesn’t really like panels, because both him and the people asking the questions often feel awkward.

- As he said many times before, Skam Italia changed his life. It still is – especially in the pre-Netflix era – the project that showed him that you don’t need a massive budget to do an amazing work.

It was the biggest project he had taken part of ‘till then, and it meant a lot to him on a personal level. He still feels to blessed to have played Niccolò and so glad that some people could see themselves in him, something that he started to realise only at Fandom Vibes in April 2019 when he finally got the chance to -meet fans who told him how important his character had been for him.

- Both in the Gazelle video and in “Non mi uccidere” it’s not him driving, and he told us about how it works: he was actually sitting in the passenger seat with a fake steering wheel and there was another man crouching down in the driver’s seat who was the actually driving.

- Both him and Alice (who played the main character on “Non mi uccidere”) were full of bruises at the end of fight scenes, but he really liked the physicality of playing in a horror/fantasy movie.

- He is watching S3 of “Baby”

- One show that it’s not very well known (at least here in Italy) that he would recommend is “The Act”

- He spoilt all of “Squid Game” to the few who hadn’t watched it. He saw it in Korean, with English subtitles. He thinks with dubbing you lose too much. So, I told him that while I agree that you lose a big part of the actors’ performances, in terms of information you lose just as much with subtitles as you do with dubbing (I wrote my BA thesis on dubbing vs. subtitling). His favourite storyline was the one involving the two girls. The only scene he didn’t like was one near the end, where he felt the tone was a bit jarring (comical in a serious moment).

- Working with an American director for Hotel Portofino made him realise that the Italian film industry doesn’t leave much freedom to actors to give their own spin to the characters, whereas he had long talks about the character he played for this project.

- He likes writing scripts, but it doesn’t come easy to him and he’s very critical of his work so nothing he has written since Shirley&Baby has been deemed worthy to be shot.

- During the pandemic he wrote some more music, but he is waiting until he has at least four-five pieces before sharing them with the world

- He couldn’t share a single detail about S5, and said that the part of his job he dislikes the most is when he has interviews in which the journalists try to get some spoilers out of him, because he has trouble remembering what he can (and sometimes MUST) say and what he can’t.

- I can tell you that he hadn’t dyed his hair so, if they have started shooting, there haven’t been any scenes with Nico yet.

- So, we asked him what was his favourite scene in S4 and he said the hide-and-seek scene… Especially because Bessegato sent him the song before the script, and it gave him goosebumps. He felt like it was really fitting for Nico

- He thinks that Niccolò is studying either Psychology or Philosophy at University. History of Art could also be an option.

- If he could have more extra scenes for Niccolò, he’d love to see the relationship with his parents.

- Since I wrote and HDM!AU, I asked him if he had seen The Golden Compass (of course he did, since it stars his beloved Eva Green) and what he thought would be his daemon and Nico’s. He said a feline for him and a giraffe (of course) for Nico, though he found my idea of Nico having a daemon that never settled on a form fascinating too.

- I asked him what if he thinks that Nico gets angry as well, because we have seen mainly Marti being the one with a bad temper and he answered that no… After everything he had to face in his life, to get where he is, and having such a wonderful love story, he is a very chill guy that would never explode. Rocco himself, on the other hand… He does his best to mind his own business and not to step on anyone’s toes, so when provoked he gets really furious!

- As @doblondoro requested, I asked him if the conversation between Nico and Marti in the café was something that was written in the script or something him and Federico came up while shooting… And he confirmed it was the latter. He said something along the lines of “Yeah, yeah, we were improvising so we said a lot of bullshit, about the foggiano and there was also a ‘Bambi’ thrown in there…”

- His two favourite cities in Italy are: Rome (for its beauty) and Milan (for its efficiency). He can’t stand Milan’s weather though (It’s even worse than in Paris, he said). He regrets that Italy doesn’t really have any massive work of arts (in any field) during the 19th century (his favourite). Then, he ended up talking about how dirty Rome has become lately and his only wish from the new mayor is that he will find a way to clean it.

- Rant about how underpaid teachers are in Italy (thanks!)

- He is studying French but find it difficult for the pronunciation and the grammar.

- Apparently, he gets tipsy after a Mojito, but tends not to throw up when he’s drunk and he thinks that it sucks (and then they ended up talking about acid reflux X°D)

- He can’t stay up all night anymore, because then during the whole day he’d be zombie-like, staring into the void asking existential questions (I know, it happens to me too, you’re like “Who am I? Why am I here? Is there a purpose to anything in this life?”)

- He has a lot of food intolerances

- He seemed surprised by my face-blindness, as I failed to recognise a girl that lived for nearly 10 months together with me in Mestre (it was 8/9 years ago, but still…)

The dinner was very noisy and I had trouble hearing whoever sat at the table, despite them being just one seat away from me, so I can’t even remember if I actually asked him something apart from telling him that I started thinking about what questions I should ask him (and gathering some from others who couldn’t come) at the M&G on Friday… (and he went ‘awww’).

I think that’s all.

By the way, it has been two years and a half since I last met him and I forgot how tiny he is. It’s not even a matter of height, because he’s taller than me, but he is just so slender...

[willsilvertongue]

*me seeing derry girls and hdm straight away on your blog* I MUST FOLLOW BACK!!!!!! 😍 hope you’re having a good day my love 🥰💖 (also I’m obsessed with those tags you left on my will & lyra set saying you don’t know what happens in the hdm books.......... I can’t wait to see all your reactions 😌)

AAH THIS IS SO SWEET OF YOU TO SEND TYSM 😭💖💖 followed you for the killer gifs and killer url and YES those shows are absolute quality it’s so nice to share the same good taste 😌 and goddd those two have me SO nervous but you know what! i will just enjoy what i am getting right now!! i can def imagine that book fans are eagerly anticipating the rest of our reactions djlsfgh

[yutaya]

Iron Fist Rewatch: 1x01: Snow Gives Way

-Someone barging into Ward's office acting like they own the place and also know Harold is alive must have sent such a jolt of fear through Ward for a second

-Ward puts himself between Danny and Joy when it seems like Danny might get physical

-Ward tells Joy not to have Danny arrested - Harold concerns?

-Danny PTSD set off by the elevator turbulence?? But he was fine going up. Just stress induced? He's shaking.

-FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT BREAK INTO THAT HOUSE

-Joy's dog just disappears after this episode?

-Danny just meditates or something to get that dog to calm down. Calms his mind so as to seem not a threat / not present? Is Danny some sort of animal whisperer? I'm now positive that at some point during Danny and Ward's Adventures Across Asia, they were stranded somewhere for some reason, Ward is complaining about being stuck in some muddy backwater hick town or whatever, Danny just sort of strolls up to some large animals (attached to a cart? Wait, that would be stealing. Hm...) goes all zen state, then says to Ward "they'll take us to the next town" like that's a normal series of events and not COMPLETELY INSANE, DANNY, WHAT THE F---.

-Pictures on Joy's shelf: Harold with his arm around young Joy, all six of them on some vacation. Rands + Meachums kind of separated in this photo, though. Don't people normally stand closer together in group photos? Also, young Joy much shorter than young Danny. Note: Wendall's hands on both Heather and Danny's shoulders. Harold's hand on Joy's shoulder. Ward and Danny both have hands in pockets.

-"Dad says rules are for pussies" ;___; (Young Ward refusing to pay monopoly rent because he just doesn't want to. Starting the corrupt financial elite training off early, huh?)

-"Oh, here comes Mommy and Daddy to protect you and give you lots of hugs and kisses and tell you what a sweet little boy you are. It's disgusting. *sweeps all the game pieces off the table even though they've clearly been playing for awhile and it's not like Danny just won he was only asking for like $200*" Ward, you dramatic bitch. Also, they were literally only saying they were home, not necessarily rushing in to protect Danny from the Big Bad Ward refusing to pay $200 monopoly money. Metaphorically, I suppose this is still Ward being a sore loser, though. It's not monopoly Danny beat him at, it's having parents who love him. T_T AND THEN HE LIES ABOUT IT, PLAYING THE BELEAGUERED BABYSITTER, ASDFGHJKL - WARD. (Note: neither Danny nor Joy speak up against this blatant unfairness. Previous failure? YOU'RE SUCH A BULLY, WARD.)

-Big Al is first person to be friendly to Danny and I'm sure Danny doesn't forget it. Headcanon Danny is def actively caring towards 'lower class', including homeless and drug addicts, and actually sees + treats them as equals. Classism definitely a theme in these shows with the people who struggle financially like Colleen being the kindest and most charitable and the rich being assholes.

-But also why is he informing Danny that the internet can be used as a search engine with no prior indication in their conversation that Danny doesn't know this? I mean, Danny does not, in fact, know this, but.

-In the news article, the photo of the Rands is the same one in Joy's apartment, but the Meachums are not there. However, they are not merely cropped out: the background extends into the spot they should occupy. Did some poor news article graphic designer have to go find a photo of that tourist spot background at the exact right angle and photoshop them together to get rid of the Meachums, or was Joy's photo a photoshopped family vacation image, which could have explained the awkward distance between the two families, even though it wouldn't have been that hard in editing to set them all closer together? Maybe they all still went on the same vacation together, but instead of asking a passerby to take a photo for them, both families took photos of each other and then someone combined them at a later date? Practically speaking, that still means the angle would be likely to be off for the background, and it's also suspicious that there are zero other tourists around. These rich families rented out the entire space?? Would lend to lack of external parties to take a group pic for them. Obviously, IRL explanation is they're all photoshopped onto a static background, but fun to think of the in-universe reasons. ...Actually, most likely explanation is that they took multiple photos - Rand only, Meachum only, maybe also kids only, Wendall+Harold only, etc, as well as group. So this entire train of thought is inconsequential. Oops.

-Harold had a big event funeral, "mayor and everything"? That must have been fun for both Harold and Ward, with significantly different usages of the word 'fun'.

-Hello Joy, not only did I follow you home to accost you at your front door the morning after I attacked the security at your workplace to enter your probably restricted top floor executives offices, I also did extensive research into your childhood history down to the position you and your friend played on your childhood soccer team, oh and also I broke into your house yesterday where I interacted with your dog. Now watch while I prove my physical prowess by flipping over a taxi.

-Bird flying into city while Danny meditates?? Symbolically, follows the idea of the bird flying through the pass that was Danny's sign to leave K'un Lun and return to NYC. Spiritually - what? AU where the bird is Danny's spirit animal and he's connected to it / seeing through its eyes right now. For the HDM AU fans: bird could be Danny's separated dæmon? (Would a HDM AU Danny's dæmon be a dragon? Honestly, idk how much dragon stereotypes match Danny's personality. Would have to think about that. Would be funny if someone else had the dragon dæmon, not any of the Fist holders.)

-Danny. Danny. Colleen JUST HUNG THAT FLYER UP. Take one of the little tabbies, if you must, that's what they're for, but don't take the entire flyer down! Those cost money, you know. And it takes time to cut all those little tabbies out and then go around hanging the flyers up.

-Colleen be like "dear god, this is why you shouldn't be nice to people, they start trying to hit on you, @ random park dude, please stop talking at me and following me while I continually shift out of your line of vision"

-Danny: "Hey you speak Chinese? I speak Chinese." Colleen: "I'm Japanese you dick. :)"

-Ward: I'm gonna make sure our personal security team is guarding you against this clear and present threat, but also we're still not calling the police??

-Ward turns this from either a crazy homeless guy or a scam artist into a potential organized corporate sabotage - the kind of threat that Joy is more easily able to compartmentalize her emotions on and crush under her heel?

-Ward just gets into a moving vehicle with someone he has verbally acknowledged as an active threat to his family. Did you have ANY stranger danger safety lessons growing up, Ward?

-Danny now appears to be actively threatening Ward, while using the reasoning that Ward and everyone else have been seriously trying his patience and he's in danger of losing his temper, but he's still giving Ward one last chance to back down. Note: this is a technique commonly employed by abusers, and probably more triggering to Ward than Danny knows, even though Danny probably actually does think he's being sincere as opposed to manipulative.

-->Aaaand Ward responds by ratcheting up instead, because of course he does, IMMEDIATELY leading to the gun to head scene. oh, geez.

-Danny provides personal details - probably this is the moment Ward starts to believe it might actually be Danny somehow, against all logic and reason. He looks shaken, then immediately starts trying to gaslight Danny. asdfghjkl WARD.

-->Ward lying to Danny's face and putting himself in the position of the righteous with Danny as the person in the wrong when they both know it's a lie is very reminiscent of the monopoly scene from when they were kids and the implied constant behavior from when they were kids. But this time, Danny doesn't accept it the way he did as a kid. He stares at Ward, remembering this pattern, actively teetering on PTSD flashback mode, and fights back. Makes Ward think he might be about to kill them both - while having flashbacks that hinder his ability to stop so Danny in hindsight gets freaked out about what he almost did too. (Note: looking freaked out and claiming he didn't mean to almost kill them both just now was probably more concerning to Ward rather than less.) And then he promises he'll be back because this isn't over. gdi, Danny, no wonder Ward wants you gone asap.

-Colleen, trying to tell Danny to go away because he's being a creeper: TAKE A HINT TAKE A HINT

-Danny, casually: Oh yeah Master Lei Gun "The Thunderer" used to smack me hard in the face with the practice swords

-Colleen bringing a sword to a gun fight

-Danny grabs enemy's gun, but not to use as weapon/defense - only to disarm it and run off - which Colleen sees.

-What festival is this that's happening in Chinatown? Has anyone figured out an IF timeline? Could compare dates to real world events, see if there's any potential cross over.

-None of these bystanders so much as bother to look at the fistfights happening 2 feet away from them

-Ward sitting in his office eating his food (it has decorative greens so you know it's ~fancy~) and answers his phone smiling because he's expecting the good news that Danny-probably-an-impersonator-but-also-potentially-maybe-not-but-we're-not-thinking-about-that-Ward-get-a-hold-of-yourself is dead. Way to be a villain stereotype, Ward. I know you try real hard at it so good job uwu

-Harold intro. Ward clearly at his beck and call and just as clearly resentful of it. "I think...” *resigned* “-of course, right away." is such immediate shorthand for someone abusing the power imbalance. (Note: Ward puts off approaching Harold with the "Danny problem" until night 2, tries to handle it quietly until he has implicated himself (Danny now knows Ward tried to have him killed) and Danny is still present and now an even bigger threat)

-So many elevators. All express to specific floors/areas? This lobby is so unsettling. Elevator leads to another hall full of elevators, then stairs, then handprint access to hall with second elevator into penthouse. (Note: Ward is one of those people who press the close door button multiple times with a frustrated facial expression)

-Ward to Harold: "How do you even know about that? ...Shit. Are you behind this? Is this another one of your stupid tests?"

-Harold to Ward: "I wish you would take things like this more seriously, so I don't see my company destroyed."

-Photos on Harold's shelf: young Joy, posed photo of Meachums in formal-ish clothing, Harold's hands on both kids shoulders, indistinguishable group of people on a bridge(?) somewhere. Group photo atop a fancy box, Joy photo in front of the Meachum family photo. On Harold's desk: another photo of young Joy, this one looks like one of those posed school photos where they have the kid stand against a "tree" backdrop.

-Ward says out loud that he could ignore Harold and Harold wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Harold casually observes that Ward is now and has always been childish. Ward remarks that Harold has been telling Ward he's disappointed in him his whole life. Harold is still disappointed in Ward right now.

-Harold: this is how you make your employees loyal to you. *proceeds to display his complete dominance over Kyle, who looks nervous and threatened by the direct attention* Ward: "Jesus, Dad, what the hell is wrong with you?" (Still doesn't do anything to remove Kyle from this situation though)

-Harold lectures at Ward as if everything Ward has ever done is wrong, always, including snapping his fingers at him when he starts to speak himself, like a bad dog, and listing off things that Ward has already brought up to Joy as if Ward is an incompetent who would never consider those angles himself

-Ward makes a snide comment, Harold snaps at him, Ward smiles a little bit because he has succeeded in getting under Harold's skin for a moment

-Harold: Leave this to me. I'll tell you exactly what to do. Ward: Like always. Harold: Like always.

-Awww, Danny was rushing back to tell his new friend Al all about Ward sending people to kill him, possibly looking for advice? ;_; (Also, why is there a foreboding music significance to Al having a bird tattoo? Does this ever come back??? I don't remember this mystery going anywhere.)

-Danny is lurking in Joy's office. He doesn't say anything even slightly reassuring, like that he has an appointment, just heavily implies that he snuck in. sigh.

-"I'm not gonna hurt you," Danny laughs, after displaying a whole lot of extremely threatening behavior. Joy smiles, drugs him, and buys time until it kicks in.

[silveryinkystar]

Hello HDM fans, I’ve been listening to the soundtrack again and have decided to analyse yet another brilliant character theme: Mrs. M. Coulter. Now, I absolutely adore her complexity so bear in mind that this may turn into a full character analysis that may not entirely be related to her theme. If you’re interested, I have also analysed Lee’s theme in this post.

We’re starting strong with high strings and low brass, which is both powerful and creepy - a perfect way to show her introduction in both the books and the show*. In Northern Lights, Mrs. C is introduced through her very unique daemon, the golden monkey. This serves as a future distinction of her identity when she meets Lyra for the first time, ringing alarm bells in readers. In the series, however, this introduction is foregone (along with Tony Makarios), changed to her wonderful entrance in episode 1.

*It must be noted that this introduction isn’t the one used when she appears onscreen for the first time - they use a section from further along the track, which sets the mood well enough.

At the 0:25 count, a single woodwind instrument plays a note (which is overridden by the brass immediately), and we enter the next phase with the harpsichord (or another similar instrument). The woodwind instrument echoes the last notes of the phrase, and we move on. This phrase lasts for almost ten seconds, and establishes a mysterious feeling about her - who exactly is Mrs. C? This is exactly the mystery she would adore, too.

Halfway through the next phrase, the strings enter into what becomes her grand entrance into Jordan College. It starts off with violins, followed by cellos and basses (I may be missing other instruments but they’re all playing lower octaves) which only add onto the anticipation of finding out who she is. Here I get the feel of Lyra’s apprehension when she finds out about the golden monkey being able to separate from Mrs. C.

I’d also say that the last few seconds before the 1:00 count could mean the terror Lyra and Pan would have felt when the golden monkey attacked them at Mrs. C’s command.

The second half of the track is what gets me the most. Till now, we see the mystery, the fog around Mrs. C, the Gobblers, her identity in general. Onscreen, we see her bonding with Lyra, teaching her to be able to blend with high society among other scholarly things. There is an undercurrent of apprehension in Pan, though - he doesn’t fully trust her, particularly because of the golden monkey. Lyra, though, innocent child she is, is enchanted by her. This is discussed more in the books - that Mrs. C is alluring and no one understands how they’re affected this way, but this theme kind of hints towards that.

The drums come in, with a manic and driven beat. This is now the reveal of Mrs. C’s true identity, this is the Marisa Coulter who was behind the Bolvangar project. This is Mrs. C at her most ruthless, determined level. This is the side of her that Lyra finds out with the gyptians (in the book), the woman whose blueprints of intercision she found in the hidden compartment in her desk. 

(Off-note, but can we talk about how Mrs. C kept the blueprints hidden in her own apartment in a room that was locked to others unless she was with them? Inside an apartment that also needed her key to enter or leave? Because holy Norns)

This is also the section the show uses when Marisa enters Jordan College. That way, the audience knows that she means business. The theme is unsettling enough to give a feeling that something seems off, somehow, but we’re willing to look past that for the moment. Because the rhythm is so captivating, we’re put off-guard.

And that’s why this music is perfect - it disarms you, much like Mrs. Coulter disarms her opponents with her captivation before she strikes.

[hdmnews]

IT’S CONFIRMED! The Secret Commonwealth will be out in October. This week really isn’t giving us any breaks. 

This article also contains our first extract from the book! Lyra and Pan talking again! But 10 years older than when he last saw them (if we’re not counting Lyra’s Oxford), and things, as always, must change. 

Click on to the article to read the extract. Warning, as always, there are mild spoilers for the plot of the book in the article itself - but they’re very mild. 

Here’s something Pullman had to say about the book (again, contains light spoilers). 

“Things have been biding their time, waiting for the right moment to reveal their consequences for Lyra Silvertongue,” said the novelist. “The Secret Commonwealth tells the continuing story of the impact on Lyra’s life of the search for, and the fear of, Dust. I found it intriguing and deeply exciting to discover how great events can turn on a little moment, and how revenge can be nurtured and fed and watered till it grows beyond control.”

[...]

“It was enthralling for me to remember how powerfully and passionately our minds and opinions can be turned by reading a particular book at the right time. Lyra, as a student, is finding that out. She is also discovering a new and difficult aspect to her relationship with Pantalaimon, and other things about daemons that she never suspected,” said the novelist.

Thoughts? Theories? Screaming and excited gifs? 

How are you feeling, reading new words from Lyra and Pantalaimon for the first time in so many years? 

It’s a good time to be a HDM fan indeed. 

[laurenshield]

I haven't read any of Lewis' works, so I can't comment on that aspect in particular. I've read some of Pullman's statements about it, though- and they didn't surprise me, since HDM is basically a response to Narnia books.

This made me think, however, about how stories with a clearly religious perspective and message tend to be perceived nowadays. I'm not an expert on this subject, not at all, so my takes here could be totally unfounded.

To be honest, I get why people get annoyed when they perceive an author's intention to "educate" the reader in a religious sense. It's hard not to perceive this kind of narrative as condescending and shaming, especially if it comes from someone whose belief you don't share. But to me, it seems that this legitimate sense of annoyance sometimes turns into a deliberate misreading of a text, because people tend to believe that, just because you make your faith clear in your work, this automatically means you're a bigot with no sense of reality and that you hate everyone with different ideals than yours.

The greatest example I have, about this, is an argument I've had with one of my teacher about The Betrothed- a book that never left my top ten since I've read it at fourteen, that holds a central place in Italian culture and literature and that is hated by almost everyone my age because we had to study it as if it was a sacred text and not a novel we had the right to like, dislike or discuss like any other piece of literary work. What my teacher and I disagreed on was the interpretation of this quote:

"They settled the question, by deciding that misfortunes most commonly happen to us from our own misconduct or imprudence; but sometimes from causes independent of ourselves; that the most innocent and prudent conduct cannot always preserve us from them; and that, whether they arise from our own fault or not, trust in God softens them, and renders them useful in preparing us for a better life."

My teacher used this extract to state that Manzoni, the author, wanted his reader to come to the conclusion that the right way to approach life is to passively float with society's rules and norms and not trying to challenge injustice or change anything on your own, and that you don't need to act because Providence will be there to do the dirty work for you and resolve any of your problems. And this take came from the fact that Manzoni is a very Christian author whose faith is a central part of what he writes and what he wants to convey and that translated to him being a fan of the status quo, because that's what all Christians are: people totally at peace with the rot in the world waiting with hands in pocket for God to magically solve all of their problems and take them to a better place.

But if you actually read the quote and if you have read the novel in its entirety, that's not what Manzoni is saying. He's saying that evil and injustice are an inevitable part of human life and that it's naive to believe that being good, being religious, conforming to the norms is a magical shield against suffering; but the central point of the story is that you can change your misfortune in an occasion to become the best version of yourselves- but it must be a choice, it must be an active decision to not let yourself be tainted by the darkness imposed of you by an unfair world, an unfair society. Trust in God doesn't mean that God will do everything for you. It means being aware that God is at your side even when you can't see him and trusting in him is what will help you make the best of the grief you've had to deal with.

Long story short, I think that's what happened with Pullman's reading of Lewis and that's why he failed to see that faith requires a lot more struggle and activity than what he gives it credit for. (And I'm also sorry for what you've had to go through in your childhood. I can't imagine what it's like to grow up in a cult).

I'll shut up ;) but I'm so happy I've finally had the chance to ramble about the Betrothed on Tumblr.

have u read his dark materials by phillip pullman?

Not really.

See, I grew up in a cult. I am very, very wary of books that strictly beat the reader over the head with a religious message. Statements of Pullman's and his works from what I know of them set off my alarm bells (which are personal, not commenting on their general value).

I'm fine with all belief systems or lack thereof in fiction (and irl)--it's just a story--and more than fine with critiques of religion (bring me all of them), but I am not particularly compelled to read something written in bad faith (pun intended) that assumes the worst of absolutely everything religious. That itself is fundamentalist.

Pullman's bad faith simplistic takes on Narnia (although there are very valid critiques too) just make him seem like he lacks a good understanding of narrative (though from what I've heard, his books are narratively sound actually and do have good themes, but... so is/does Narnia). If he genuinely want to explore these questions and offer valid critique, that's great, but his statements and the summaries I've read of his works seem more about trying to offend people of faith but without any compassion or point in doing so beyond winning. It's about "gotcha!" not about exploring, preaching instead of wrestling, and reaching an answer instead of empathy.

I don't read narratives to be preached at; had enough of that in my life already.

[selenityshiroi]

I replied to the HDM extended trailer on twitter saying

'Disney: you can't have CG realistic animals emote

HDM: hold my beer'

And the BBCOne twitter account liked and then unliked it. I assume because they aren't supposed to be snarking about others but I saw that notification pop up on my phone!

Anyway, I've seen a couple of things said that really gives me faith in this production.

I mean, I was optimistic when Julie Gardener was named executive producer back when it was first announced. Because of Bad Wolf Bay in Doctor Who S2. That scene was so obviously inspired by the end of The Amber Spyglass (and I'm sure it was confirmed in one of the compendiums) that I knew she must have been a book fan.

But seeing the quotes from SDCC floating around and the respect people seem to have for the books just makes me so happy.

I always knew they would tone down the anti-religious sentiments to be anti-authority (and to be honest, seperating the way people try to use religion to control others from the genuine ideals of religion is probably a good message to have in this day and age). So that doesn't bother me if done well.

But the whole trailer just feels right. I actually cried when the BBC announced they were making this series and now that we are so close I feel like I could shake out of my skin.