#context: i turned her self insert character into a tree

[clarablightt]

me: “i hate you (affectionate)”

my girlfriend: “enough to turn me into a tree?”

[honney-pies]

Ma Cherie❤︎

Birthday Girl

Pairing: Inumaki Toge/F! oc/ Okkotsu Yuuta

Fandom : Jujutsu Kaisen

Summary : this is how Kanae got her name and how found family is like my fav trope.

Content warning/chapter warning: character death, referenced/implied abuse, referenced/implied sexual assault, excessive blood loss, thoughts of self-hatred, depression, feeling helpless, a knife is used, her mother SUCKS, please please please seek help if you or a loved one is being abused or in a harmful environment. I'm not sure if there is anything else, but please let me know and I will add it to the list!

Length: 2.5k

A/n: GUYS I'M SO SORRY THAT I HAVEN'T POSTED I FORGOT THAT I SAVED THIS TO DRAFTS! the next couple chapters are going to be more gaining context while also establishing how she interacts with others. the next two chapters (and this one too i think) contain spoilers for JJK season two. Kanae's birth name is Akane, but after this chapter I don't plan on referencing that. right now i'm sitting at about three chapters either nearly completed or started. please let me know if you liked this post! as always there is a self insert version here and on ao3, feel free to read it if you would like! i'm still not sure how long this fic will be, but i'm aiming for about ten chapters.Kanae calls herself Akane anytime before she turns five.

Teaser

  ─── ⋆⋅ November  2016 ⋅⋆ ─── 

Kanae was looking at Panda and Maki sparring when she saw someone sit down in the corner of her eyes. Yuuta kept on staring at the sixteen year old, and she was beginning to feel her skin get itchy from feeling watched. He kept on looking at her then looking away, clearly he wanted to ask him something, but she didn’t want to bring it up if he didn’t intend to ask. 

“Kamo-san, why do some people call you Akane and others call you Kanae?” The girl in question looked at the dark haired boy and stared at him. 

“O-oh, you don’t need to answer that if you don’t want to! I didn’t mean to put you on the spot!” Kanae laughed, Yuuta was definitely too sweet for this world. 

“Do you want the short version or the longer one,” she asked. 

“I want to hear whatever you want to tell me,” he replied. 

     ─── ⋆⋅December 29, 2005⋅⋆ ─── 

It had been her birthday. Akane had just turned five years old and Shoko, Suguru and Satoru made sure to give her the best day ever. It had been her first birthday since her mother first tried to hurt her and Yaga banned her from entering the school. 

That night she was determined to sleep in her old room by herself and prove to herself that she grew up and could overcome what had happened to her. For a little over a month she had been alternating rooms and everyone had taken turns walking her to and from school along with having her accompany them on missions, obviously staying in the car, if no one else was available to watch her. All to protect her from her mother. 

When she had gotten into the room everything seemed fine, safe. Satoru was one room down and Suguru was in the same hallway as well. Shoko was still at her parents until classes started again. Satoru and Suguru had stayed with her for most of the night until she said she wanted to spend the night alone. They just looked at each other and agreed. What she didn’t know was that Suguru had let a small curse to watch over her, moreso to let him know if there were any changes in her mood or breathing. They both made their promises of seeing Akane tomorrow and to come into either one of their rooms should she feel scared. 

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Satoru?” The boy in question just looked at him and that’s all Suguru needed to know before grabbing his hand and holding it until they reached his room. The two went to their rooms and began to fall asleep. Although neither one was really able to do so. Akane’s well being was at the forefront of both of their minds. 

At first Akane didn’t know what was going on. She had thought that a tree was scratching at her window, maybe it had been a stray cat, but when she heard the shattering of her bedroom window break, she knew that it was no tree or cat. She knew it was something far worse. The five year old panicked and hid herself underneath the blanket and made herself small, as if that would keep the scary monsters away. 

We, as the readers of this story, know that hiding away under blankets will never keep the monsters at bay, but Akane was still a child, a child who didn’t fully know of the harsh realities the world, especially her own, had in store. 

The creaking of the wooden floors had been her only way of knowing where the monster was. The noises grew closer until one side of the bed dipped down and a soft voice called out to her. 

“Akane, it’s your mother. Come on out and tell me hi.” Akane was confused to say the least. From what she understood Mother was no longer allowed at the school since Yaga refused her entry. She had been told that if she did see her mother that she must go to another mom and ask to call her family or hide. 

This, however, wasn’t the first time Akane’s mother was not allowed to visit her for a period of time. From what she’s been told her mother got sad a lot. From what she heard while others thought she wasn’t listening was that her mother was unstable and had severe manic depression. She didn’t know what that really meant, but she knew that sometimes her mom wouldn’t be allowed to see her for a little bit. It happened pretty often, so Akane thought it was normal for her to disappear and show up out of nowhere. 

Unfortunately this was not one of those times. This time she felt her mothers animosity, this time she felt no love coming from her mother. Akane knew that her mother, the one she tries to remember, was nowhere to be seen. All that was left was a shell filled with rage, guilt, and anguish. This manifested itself into a pit in her mothers stomach, a pit that blamed Akane. Who she once viewed as her greatest achievement, her greatest creation, she could only view as her antagonizer.

That’s the funny thing about trauma, sometimes the blame can get misplaced. An innocent child can get the brunt of the aftermath of another man’s hand. 

Akane tried to sink herself as far down into her bed as she could, however the mattress didn’t swallow her up and protect her as she had hoped. Her mother only got angry and ripped the blanket off of her and clamped a bloodied, beaten hand over the child's mouth. Her child's mouth. 

She tried to squirm away, but her mother placed her full body weight onto her and forced her to stay put. 

“You listen here you insolent brat! You will keep your mouth shut and listen to your mother when you're told. I should have never left you here, you clearly don’t know what manners are. Now, nod your head if you’ll listen to mother like a good little girl.” Akane nodded her head, thinking that it would keep her safe. The hand that was placed over her mouth removed itself and reached to the side of her mothers clothes. She pulled out a knife and Akane had never been more scared in her life. 

“You have failed me for the last time, Akane,” hissed her mother, “you weren’t born a boy, you look like your father, you look like that other boy from your beloved fathers mistress, you have a hereditary cursed technique, one from the men's side. You have a family here, a happy one. You evade your fathers hand and live your life protected by the strongest. All of which I did for you, yet you never bother to show me gratitude. You are the product of your fathers control. Control over me, control over my body, control over my life. You are the embodiment of everything, everything, I have tried so hard to forget. I hate you! I wish you were never born!” 

The knife was lifted into the air. 

The knife was pushed into Akane’s small, fragile body. 

“Because of you, I can never be free!” The knife made its way to her stomach. She watched as her mother cried, as she wept and sobbed. Akane mirrored her mother and cried. She felt guilty for living and causing someone, especially her own mother, this much pain. As she watched the knife be lifted in the air again, she let a scream crawl its way from her throat. It came out garbled since she was choking on her own blood. She grabbed the blade and pushed it away from her body with all the strength that was left in her bloodied body. Through it all she screamed Satoru’s name, hoping that he heard her and would save her. Akane’s bedroom wall imploded on itself and two boys raced through. Suguru tackled her mother to the ground, effectively saving Akane. Satoru ran to her side and wrapped her in bedsheets, trying to stop the bleeding. The young girl looked over at her mother and noticed how she didn’t look human anymore, how she looked like a curse. 

She screamed and screamed at her daughter, blaming her, hating her. 

“I hate you! I wish you were never born!” Suguru stabbed her. The screaming turned into slurred, garbled speech.

Suguru had never seen someone actively turn into a curse before that night. He watched Akane’s mother turn into a curse right before his eyes, and just like so many times before he absorbed the girl’s mother. He hoped she would never see her mother ever again. 

Satoru rushed Akane to Shoko’s room, knowing she could save the girl. As they were leaving, Akane had three words falling from her lips.

“I love you.” 

When Akane woke back up she was in the medical bay, Shoko was watching over her. 

“Oh, you’re awake,” She pulled out her phone, “ Gojo, she woke up just now.” Shoko walked over to her and began to assess her. About half way through, the door slammed open and in ran Satoru, with Suguru not far behind. 

“You scared me! My lovely little sister scared me!” He threw himself onto her, but made sure he wasn’t actually hurting her. Suguru quickly joined them and all three of them curled up together while Shoko finished her tests. 

Later that day the four of them spent the night in Shoko’s room, it was the farthest away from the incident that happened last night. Their time together was spent goofing off and acting as children and above all else, making Akane feel loved. 

When he thought everyone else was asleep, Satoru pulled Akane closer to him and saw that she, too, hadn’t gone to bed.

“Can’t sleep,” he asked. She shook her head.

“I don’ know if I like who I am. Mother didn’ like me.” Satoru’s heart ached for her. He had been watching over the girl, mainly just keeping her company since he was 13, she was one. Their parents struck a deal to essentially groom the young girl into being a weapon for him if he desires. Though Satoru didn’t know how a measly toddler could be seen as one. 

He saw Akane all the time as he got older, when he moved into the dorms the two were practically inseparable. In fact when he introduced Suguru and Shoko to her, he referred to her as his little sister, in return she began to call him ‘toru-nii’. 

“You know, you don’t have to be who you were completely, you could be someone else. You could rise from the ashes like that one bird from Harry Potter!” She giggled quietly and rolled her eyes, although she didn’t know how to do that quite yet, so she just looked up. 

“Phoenix Fawkes, you’re there when Sugu-nii reads them too, should at least remember the names.” Satoru rolled his eyes and poked her forehead. 

“You do know we love you, right? I love you. You bring us, me, so much happiness, love, and you deserve those things too. You deserve affection. Kanae, do you know what that means? It means ‘love and affection.’ We could call you that if you want.” 

The young girl looked up at him and smiled like he was the greatest thing to ever happen to her. He watched as she began to be overtaken by dreams, he wished they would remain happy ones. 

“I wan’ t’do that, dad.” Ak- Kanae drifted to sleep, and Satoru couldn't help but let out the biggest, brightest smile the world had ever seen. This was the greatest thing that could ever happen to him. Kanae had never called him that before, although there had been a few times where she nearly did. He couldn’t be happier than he was at this moment. He pulled the girl as close as he could without hurting her. 

In the darkness of the room he met Suguru’s eyes. He smiled at Satoru and placed his hand on top of his. 

 ─── ⋆⋅ November 2017 ⋅⋆ ───

“My dad gave it to me. I was five at the time and he wanted me to be able to choose who I would become, to let go of my biological family and move forward. To have a constant reminder that I’m loved and deserve to be happy. Some people call me Akane to piss me off, some do it because they don’t know or simply don’t care.” Yuuta looked at the girl and he knew that she must have been through something that most wouldn’t have recovered from. 

“I thought you and your family don’t talk.” 

“I talk to my older brother sometimes.I guess you wouldn’t know since you aren’t familiar with the politics and all that, but he was here for the Sister School exchange event, he goes to the Kyoto school. In fact he’s the only remotely tolerable one from my family, although I don’t go out of my way to interact with them. I don’t talk to anyone from there anymore besides him, his name is Noritoshi. He doesn’t really know how to speak for himself and it annoys me, but he respects my decision to leave even if he thinks it was a stupid idea.” 

“Oh, the one with the shut eyes?” 

“They’re narrow, but yeah, that’s him.” 

Yuuta looked at her the whole time, giving her his undivided attention. In that moment she realized she liked the feeling of his eyes on her, her skin didn’t itch as much. 

“Like Maki,” he asked. She sighed.

“Fortunately I never spent more than a couple days at the estate at a time. I grew up here, actually. My mother gave a huge amount of money to the school to let me stay here. That and Yaga and her were friends I think.  Maki had to live with them for years. I didn’t, I had the privilege to live away from them in a loving family.” 

Yuuta looked like he had more to ask, but she saw Satoru sit down next to her. He saw her smile and bump her shoulder with his, no Infinity to get in the way. 

“Hi, sensei!” He grinned at the two.

“What were my beloved students talking about? Anything interesting?” 

“My name.” Satoru looked at her through his bandages and saw her staring at the sky, running her fingers over her clothes, where the scars were, are. 

“That’s a different kind of interesting, Kanae. You know I think I did a great job helping you pick that name out! It suits you.” Yuuta looked over confused, he was about to speak up when the girl tapped his shin with her foot, luckily he got the idea and closed his mouth. 

“I’m the one that agreed with you, so get off your high horse, sensei.” The two let out twin laughs as Satoru got up. ‘A meeting with the muscle man,’ he said. Before Yuuta even had a chance to speak, she beat him to the punch.

“He raised me. I only call him Gojo or sensei when talking around at school. To me he’ll always be toru-nii.”

“You said your father gave you that name.” She smiled.

“I said my dad did. Not my father.”

“Oh... Does he know you see him as a dad,” he asked. She nodded her head. 

“C’mon Okkotsu, let's practice.” He stared up at the girl as she offered her hand to him. He grabbed it and pulled himself up. 

He liked the way her hand felt against his, though he didn’t know if Rika would appreciate the thought.

______________________________________________________________

the next chapter, 'family bonding' should be out Saturday, September 2nd! thank you so much for reading and I will make sure to get a masterlist in place soon!

-honney

[jayoctodot]

The Silent Patient vs The Maidens

I will start by saying that I understand the appeal of these novels as page-turners. They are easy to read and if you want a twisty reveal at the end, you will probably be entertained and satisfied. That being said, I am SO CONFUSED by the near-universal adoration of The Silent Patient and the reasonably positive reception of The Maidens. The weaknesses of the two are strikingly similar, as well, which doesn’t give me much hope of seeing improvement from this guy, though I am intrigued to see whether he keeps repeating the same (apparently successful!!) patterns. These books were at least super fun to hate.

(For context, I read The Maidens for a bookclub I'm in, because several of the members had read and loved The Silent Patient, and one of them gave me a copy of the latter to read on my own time. I loathed The Maidens and then read The SP for comparative purposes. And because I'm a masochist, apparently.)

SPOILER WARNING! Do not read on unless you've finished both books (or unless you care not for spoilers). Sorry if it gets a bit shouty.

Here are the similar weaknesses I noticed in both:

PSEUDO-PSYCHOLOGY

-> Weirdly similar “group therapy” scenes early on where a cartoonishly unstable patient arrives late, disrupts the meeting by throwing something into the middle of the circle, and is asked to join the group after the therapist(s) speechify on the importance of boundaries (HA! None of these therapists would know an appropriate boundary if it kicked them in the ass) and debate whether to “allow” the patient to join. Both scenes are so transparent in their design to establish the credibility/legitimacy of the narrators as therapists, but instead both Theo and Mariana come off as super patronizing. The protagonists are less and less believable as therapists at the stories progress (though at least Theo’s incompetence is explained away by the “twist” at the end; Mariana, on the other hand, is confronted in the opening pages of the novel by a patient who has self-harmed PRETTY extensively, and rather than ensure he get proper medical attention, she essentially throws him a first aid kit and tosses him out the door so she can pour herself a glass of wine and call her niece... and it devolves from there).

-> Ongoing insistence throughout the narrative that one’s childhood trauma entirely explains the warped/dysfunctional way a character behaves or views the world, which is why the books go out of their way to give EVERY potentially violent character a traumatic childhood; when Theo insists that no one ever became an abuser who hadn’t been abused themselves, I wanted to throw the book across the room. (That is a MYTH, SIR. GET OUT OF HERE WITH YOUR ARMCHAIR PSYCHOLOGY.)

-> Female murderers whose pathology boils down to “history of depression” and “traumatized by a male loved one/family member.” Because, as we all know, depression + abuse = murderer!

-> The “therapy” depicted in both books is laughable and so so unrealistic, mostly because neither narrators function as therapists so much as incompetent detectives, obsessively pursuing a case they have no place pursuing (or skill to pursue - both just happen across every clue mostly by way of clunky conversation with all the people who can provide precisely the snippet of info to send them along to the next person, and the next… until all is revealed in a tired, cliched “twist”). Their constant Psych 101 asides were so tiresome and weirdly dated (also, the constant harping on countertransference got so ridiculous that at one point during "therapy" Theo literally attributes his headache and a particular emotion he feels to Alicia, as though the contents of her head are being broadcast directly into his mind... and I'm PRETTY SURE that's not how it works???)

CHARACTERS

-> Psychotherapist narrators with abusive fathers and pretensions of being Sherlock Holmes, which results in both characters crossing ALL KINDS of ethical lines as they invade the personal lives of everyone even tangentially connected to their cases (and, in Theo's case, violate all kinds of patient confidentiality. Yeah, yeah, by the end, that's the least of his offenses, but before you get there, it's baffling that NO ONE is calling him out on this).

-> All female characters are either elderly with hilariously bad advice, monstrous hulking brutes, or beautiful bitches (except for ~MARIANA~, who is Bella Swan-esque in her unawareness of her own attractiveness, despite multiple men trying to get with her almost immediately after meeting her. I'm so tired of beautiful female characters being oblivious to their own hotness. Are we meant to believe all mirrors and male attention have escaped their notice? If it’s to make them “relatable,” this tactic really fails with me).

-> All characters of color are shallow, cartoonish side characters, and most of them are depicted as unsympathetic minor antagonists (the Sikh Chief Inspector in The Maidens continuously drinks tea from an ever-present thermos, and his only other notable characteristic is his instant dislike of Mariana, whom he VERY RIGHTLY warns to stay out of the investigation that she is VERY MUCH compromising… the Caribbean manager of the Grove is universally disliked by her staff for enforcing stricter safety regulations at the bafflingly poorly run mental institution, because HOW DARE SHE. There's a very clear vibe that we're supposed to dislike these characters and share the protagonists' indignation, but honestly Sangha/Stephanie were completely in the right for trying to shut down their wildly inappropriate investigations).

-> "Working class" characters (or basically anyone excluded from the comfortably upper-crust, educated main cadre of characters) are few and far between in both stories, but when they show up, he depicts them as such caricatures. We got Elsie the pathologically lying housekeeper in the Maidens, who is enticed to share her bullshit with cake, and then a TOOTHLESS LEPRECHAUN DEALING DRUGS UNDER A BRIDGE in the SP. I kid you not, a man described as having the body of a child, the face of Father Time, and no front teeth, emerges from beneath a bridge and offers to sell Theo some "grass." I was dyinggg.

-> There are no characters to root for. Anywhere. Partly because they’re all so thinly drawn — and because we’re clearly supposed to view almost ALL of them as potential suspects, so they’re ALL weird, creepy, or incompetent in some way.

-> The flimsiest of flimsy motives, both for the narrators and the murderers. Theo fully would have gotten away with his involvement in the murder if he hadn't gone out of his way to work at the Grove and "treat" Alicia and his justification for doing so is pretty weak; his rapid descent into stalking and murder fantasy and his random ass decision to "expose" Alicia's husband as a cheater with a spur-of-the-moment home invasion and staged attempted homicide is ONLY justified if the reader hand waves it away as WELP, HE'S CRAZY, I GUESS (after all, he DID have an abusive father and a history of mental illness, and in Michaelides novels, that's ALL YOU NEED to become a violent psycho). I guess we're lucky Mariana didn't also start dropping bodies (because the logic of his fictional universe says she should definitely be a murderer by now... maybe that'll be his Maidens sequel?). But she especially had NO reason to randomly turn detective - and she kept trying to justify it by saying she needed to re-enter the world or that Sebastian would want her to (??), even though she had no background in criminal psychology... or even a particular fondness for mysteries (really, I would've accepted ANYTHING to explain her dogged obsession with the case. WHY were Sebastian and Zoe so certain she would insert herself into the investigation just because one of Zoe's friends was the first victim? WHY?). As for Zoe and Alicia, their motives are mere suggestions: they were both abused and manipulated, and voila! Slippery slope to murder.

WRITING STYLE

-> Incessant allusions to Greek tragedy and myth, apparently to provide a sophisticated gloss over the bare-bones writing style, which opts more for telling than showing and frequently indulges in hilariously bizarre analogies. Credit where credit is due — the references to Greek myth are less clunky in the SP, and I liked learning about the Alcestis play/myth, which I hadn’t heard of before - but OMG the entire characterization of Fosca, who we are meant to believe is a professor of Greek tragedy at one of the most respected universities on the planet, is just absurd. His "lecture" on the liminal in Greek tragedy is essentially the Wikipedia page on the Eleusinian Mysteries capped off with some Hallmark-card carpe diem crap. The lecture hall responds with raucous applause, clearly never having heard such vague genius bullshit before.

-> Super clunky and amateurish narrative device of interludes written by another character; Sebastian’s letter reads like a mashup of Dexter monologues and Clarice’s memory of the screaming sheep, but by FAR the worse offender is Alicia’s diary, where we’re supposed to believe she painstakingly recorded ENTIRE CONVERSATIONS, BEAT-BY-BEAT DIALOGUE, even when she’s just been DRUGGED TO THE GILLS with morphine and has mere moments of consciousness left… and even before that, she literally takes the time to write “He's trying the windows and doors! ...Someone’s inside! Someone’s inside the house! ETC ETC” when she thinks her stalker has broken in downstairs. WHO DOES THAT?)

-> Speaking of dialogue, the dialogue is so bad. Based on his bio, Michaelides got a degree in screenwriting, which makes his terrible dialogue even more baffling.

-> HILARIOUSLY rendered voyeur scenes where the narrators spy on couples having sex. Such unintentionally awkward descriptions. First we had Kathy’s climax sounds through the trees and then the bowler hat carefully placed on a tombstone before the gatekeeper plows a student. Again, I died.

PLOT/"TWIST"

-> The CONSTANT red herrings make for such an exhausting read. Michaelides drops anvils with almost every character that are so obviously meant to designate them as suspects in our minds. There is absolutely no subtlety in his misdirections.

-> The “crossover” scene between the SP and The Maidens makes no sense - when in the timeline does Mariana’s story overlap with Theo’s? They confer just before Theo starts working at the Grove, obviously (though Mariana appears to be the one who alerts Theo to the job opening there? Whereas in the SP, Theo has been obsessively tracking Alicia since the murder and had already planned to apply to work there?), but then are we supposed to believe that while Theo has been psychotically pursuing his warped quest to “help” Alicia, he’s also been diligently treating Zoe, so invested in her case that he repeatedly reaches out to Mariana to get her to visit Zoe and even writes Mariana a lengthy letter to convince her to do so??? And then a couple days after The Maidens ends, Theo is arrested???

-> But the thing I really did hate the most is how Michaelides treats his female murderers (who are both also victims themselves) as mere means to deploy a “twist”; there’s no moment spared to encourage our sympathy for Zoe, who was groomed and manipulated by the only trusted father figure in her life, and even after spending a decent amount of time getting to know Alicia via her ridiculous diary, where it’s so apparent that she’s been demeaned, objectified, manipulated, gaslit, and/or used by EVERY man in her life, she’s sent packing to spend the rest of her days in a coma… HOW much more satisfying would it have been for her to succeed in exposing Theo and reclaiming her voice? But no, she basically rolls over when he comes to finish her off (SPEAKING OF — ARE WE SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE THERE ARE NO SECURITY CAMERAS IN THIS INSTITUTE FOR THE CRIMINALLY INSANE????), writes one last diary entry, and drifts off forever. And then a couple pages of nothing later, the story is over. GOODNIGHT, ALICIA!

Both books kept me rolling throughout (by which I mean eye-rolling but also rotfl). Maybe I will check out his next effort — I’m morbidly curious what he’ll turn out. It does leave me wondering whether I should give up on thriller novels entirely, though. Are many of the weaknesses of these novels just characteristic of the genre? Maybe I'm just holding these books to unfair standards? I'm mostly only familiar with thriller films — many of which I think are amazing — but maybe you can get away with more in a film than you can in a novel.

...I really only intended to write a handful of bullet points, but more and more kept coming to mind as I wrote, to the point where subheadings became necessary. Whoopsie.

[belle-keys]

I Love Matthew Fairchild aka Incoherent Thoughts about Chain of Iron (2021) by Cassandra Clare

I made one of these rant-rave reviews for SJM's book so check it out if you want, no pressure tho lmao.

Aight so I finished Chain of Iron last night and OMG I HAVE TO YELL like I loved it sooo much like yooo, I have a lot to say. I know the book is new so... beware for spoilers plebs.

Also context: I been reading the Shadowhunter books since I was 12 and I'm 19 now *insert dead emoji face* so yeah, I'm just so happy rn with where the Chronicles have come and the fact that they’re still ongoing *insert uwu face*. I remember when in like 2014-2015 or something when Cassandra Clare teased that Will and Tessa's kids' generation was gonna get a trilogy set in Edwardian London, loosely based on Great Expectations, and holy hell? I think that was perhaps one of the best days of my life considering how much I adore The Infernal Devices (that trilogy really changed the way I see YA literature... don't ask cus I won't shut up about it) (also yes I read TMI and loved it too but there's a “generation gap” between TMI and the other Shadowhunter books stylistically so don't ask me about that either cus I also won't shut up).

Anyway, shoo from here if you want a critical essay on Chain of Iron. I'm not providing that, this is just me raving here for the fun.

Listen... I want the bulk of this to just be two main things: The Matthew Situation, and then all the literary and judeo-christian meta aspects of it.

BUT I ALSO NEED TO TALK ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE SO FRICK LET'S JUST START WITH THE OBVIOUS SHIT LIKE THE PLOT AND WHATEVER

Okay, the plot and writing and shit, let's get that out of the way:

The WHOLE Jack-the-Ripper-esque ambiance was just sooooo good man wow like I did not expect the book to take this cold turn but it worked so well. There was such a contrast between Jamie and Cordelia's warm little house and then the cold winter and the stabbings and shit and it felt like a nice little callback to the actual Ripper phenomenon that preceded them and a nod to the Whitechapel Fiend story from Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy.

Bitch OFC that whole thing with Wayland was a set-up like nawww that was too easy to spot and I get why Cordelia feels like shit about it.

Dawg Lucie was just the Among Us imposter here in that my girl was just venting and sneaking around with dead people and I was like nooooo girl run, don't deal with Fade this is a set-up THINK ABOUT JULES LUCIE THAT'S LIKE YO GREAT-GRANDSON *sobs* but yeah anyway my girl has death powers she gonna kill some bitches next book.

You see that confrontation between Lilith and Belial? MASTERPIECE DIALOGUE like this was the point within which I was just like "yo is this the book of Genesis or a YA Fantasy novel" like when Lilith said "I may have been cast out but I did not fall" like??????????????????? I YELLED she did not have to END Belial like that. What a bad bitch.

More on Lilith and Belial... "You, who brought nations into darkness? Shall I finally be able to tell the infernal realms you have gone mad, lost even the image of the Creator." HAHAHHAHAHA SHE SAID "YO BELIAL GO GET SOME THERAPY AND GET OFF MY ASS" LIKE??????

Ughhhh yasss Clare has improved writing diverse characters in this book compared to in The Dark Artifices in my opinion... I'm not gonna expand on it cus ain't nobody got time for that but like, I enjoyed how she wove Persian poetry and tales into the story and the way in which she writes Cordelia and Alistair. They're not caricatures of Persian people but rather multi-faceted beings who also happen to be Persian and I appreciate that. Also, Alistair and Thomas and Anna and Ariadne were just so fun and interesting to read as coupbles but also as individuals. She really higlighted diversity in a very natural manner. All I need is a hijabi character and I’ll die a happy woman lmao.

The level of META man like the references to Classics and art (I swear, she might have compared Matthew to angels out of Caravaggio AND Rosetti AND Boticelli paintings and I Am Living For It) and just all the quotes from holy books and shit omg I love it here like you really feel catapulted into the time period, she draws reference to external art and philosophy so well and I feel like she upped the notch on it in this book (didn’t know that was possible but it was the prose is BEAUTIFUL, archaic, but not pretentiously so). No, like the characters live in their OWN worlds of literature and art and history in the way we are living in THEIRS. They quote Wilde and Milton while we'll quote Clare. It's awesome.

This is an unusually structuralist take even from me but: I like the way the milieu social of the book, i.e., the high society Edwardian circles and their values, have a direct influence on the plot. James and Cordelia got married because society’s values essentially forced them to, not a demon. Cordelia abandons Jamie at the end of Iron because her shame as a woman in society and fear for her reputation made her, not a demon. Thomas and Alistair can't be together solely because of how Alistair tarnished the reputation of the Fairchilds and Lightwoods by using the horror of infidelity against them. Issues relating to marriage, gender roles, etc, stemming DIRECTLY from the time period rule the sequence of events to the same degree as the epic fantasy aspects (demons, Princes of Hell, the lore itself) do and I LOVE that dear God above.

OKAY THE GOOD SHIT LET US TALK ABOUT CHARACTERS AND SHIPS (N.B. but imma discuss Matthew and the Fairstairs situation separately below this portion):

Alistair's redemption arc: No, cus Alistair's redemption arc is honestly amazing. He really did change and it's not like his betterment as a person was linked to any one heroic deed but rather he simply decided he wanted to be better especially for his family and he decided to become a proper protective son, a caring brother, and an amiable friend. He fully owned up to his Malfoy tendencies and apologized without expecting forgiveness. He shows how he cares in the little ways and omg it's so sweet and tender. I really do want him to love himself now and be embraced by Matthew especially and the rest of the Thieves.

Dawg Lucie and Jesse are so funny to me like it's so hilarious how this girl fell in love with a whole ass ghost that no one else knows about like HHAHA. Are Lucie and Jesse my ult ship ever? Nah, but it's nothing to do with Clare, it's just that their relationship happened pretty quick and feels quite like something epicly romantic that Lucie herself would write. I just like slow burn and friends-to-lovers the most from Clare. To be honest part of me just wanted Lucie to not have a romantic arc all together but like, it's all good, I'm not complaining.

Okay Grace- like yooooooooooo I never hated her yunno. She has been abused and isolated all her life. It's not that she is a bad person, but rather that she does not know what being a person even entails. Can't even say she's a “doll” of a person cus she's never even been pampered like one by her family. I really started understanding her motivations since when they gave us her half-childhood with Jesse. I want better for her but cmon can she REALLY be saved???

GRACE X CHRISTOPHER *pretends to be shocked*... Okay, sometime in the middle of the Dark Artifices series some big brain put together a very thorough family tree of the families and like, it clearly showed that Grace and Christopher got married so like, lmfaooooo, I knew this was coming one way or another, but the journey to this ship is more important than the destination. Like in a way Christopher is such a cute baby lamb that it makes sense he'd end up being immune to her Grace-ness when he's just a cute little Einstein boiii. Like this is just so funny to me cus he's so oblivious to social conventions while she makes the milieu social her entire life so OFC it's gonna work. Like, this is such a worlds-colliding trope like just Give It To Me.

James and Grace - aw mannn Jamie just had me fricking wanting to hit a wall every two seconds cus like yooooooo every single time I think he and Cordelia are gonna stop being emotionally-constipated spouses, Jamie says some kinda shit like "omg me and Daisy are just friends uwu" like DO I NEED TO HIT YOU?????????? See I can't blame him for not slamming the door on Grace's face even tho he totes should- Jamie is so cerebral and kind that even if Grace wasn't using the enchantment on him, I think he would always be soft for her even if it isn't in a romantic way. There's just so much miscommunication cus like he said "Thank God" when she broke off the engagement with Charles and lowkey embraced her but it also wasn't his fault cus it wasn't even romantic BUT OFC IT LOOKED HORRIBLE TO CORDELIA like James literally never told the woman at least once that he loved her so OFC she thought she was back to square one with him dear God above what a mess. Not his fault, but she DID set down one rule for him: don’t cheat with Grace. And yeah even tho he hasn’t properly cheated, it must FEEL horrible to her cus she’s just been enduring the pain of their unrequeted love for so long :((

See imma just say it but if Cordelia thought that James didn't love Grace then she def would have confessed to him about her feelings right but like James, on the other hand, was delaying his own romantic confession cus he was BEING EMOTIONALLY CONSTIPATED and I can't even say the bracelet was solely to blame cus like my boi was just being so difficult omg I believe he should be lightly spanked by his three parents aka Will, Tessa and Jem *cries*.

Cordelia is such a MOM like she's so mature and stable and her self-preservation instinct? OFF THE CHARTS I love this woman like James definitely treated her well as a hubby but like I JUST WANTED HER TO HAVE CLOSURE ABOUT SOMETHING and boy oh boy she did get that closure she got it good but not from the person she expected in the LEAST *hehe* *pelican screeching*... like Lucie was being sus with the whole ghost business and James was being just, quite a case, dealing with Grace and Belial right and I don't blame them at all for their secrecy and shit but her FATHER DIED and her friends were hiding a lot from her so in a way she turned to Alistair for help but he could only do so much cus of his own pain (she couldn't even talk to her mom cus she's pregnant and she doesn't wanna stress her right) and then there was this emotional block between her and Jamie, Lucie was often absent and conspiring with the dead... the last person remaining was HIM (imma discuss this soon), but yeah my heart just went OUT to her cus she's tryna save herself and her family and she just doesn't know what to do. That's why I love the way her mom told her to stop holding herself back for others and live her own life. Like Cordelia grew on me so much cus in Gold she undoubtedly was a strange Elizabeth Bennet-wallflower hybrid and I... do not usually get attached to wallflowers but in Iron I feel like I finally understood that she was just tryna be unproblematic and self-preserving all along and nottt put her family and friends in a tough situation.... she reminds me of my mom personality-wise so yeah I’m totally rooting for her now that her *situation* in the past seems clearer.

Anna, Thomas and Matthew are such a SQUAD lmfaooooo like united in their gayness they'd be so unstoppable.

Will and Tessa are the most in-love of all the in-loves in this story and I respect that so much.

I lost a year to my life every time the romance between James and Cordelia got cockblocked. Like they were MARRIED and I thought they were gonna at least sleep next to each other at least once BUT NO James couldn't take a hint omg I'm actually gonna eat my fist and sob (but in retrospect, I think this serves a bigger purpose in terms of the narrative structure i.e. the interruption of all the spicy James and Cordelia action serves a bigger purpose which I think brings me to my next section, *exhale*)

Welcome to the Matthew Fairchild Enthusiast Club (this section is me talking out loud; it makes no sense):

bitch.

LISTEN TO ME LISTEN WELL I LOVE THIS BOY SO MUCH IMMA SCREAM I REALLY AM GONNA SCREAM MY FIST IS LITERALLY IN MY MOUTH *BACKFLIPS OFF THE ROOF WITH LANA DEL REY PLAYING*

Okay like where to BEGIN I think the Shadowhunter boy who I'm most attracted to is Julian while the one I love the most is Will but I think I see myself in Matthew the most. Like ever since that first story where the Thieves all met at the Academy then got expelled, I think that I just KNEW Matthew was destined to be epic. Plus the whole Wilde obsession? I’m no libertine myself but I just love his chaos and passion for life.

NO CUS HE'S SO WITTY AND SWEET AND EPIC AND YET SO SECRETIVE AND DEAR GOD ABOVE AHHHHH WILL HE SURPASS JULIAN FOR ME??? Ion even know but this is just sodjsgdwsdygyegydgef

Hear me out but I said after finishing Gold last March that I wanted this book to be Matthew's healing arc right so halfway into the book when I realized that we weren't getting all that good healing arcing I was confused just cus I thought it seemed natural to address all of his alcohol issues and sadness by now. LITTLE DID I KNOW CASSIE WAS SETTING UP A WHOLE OTHER ARC WITH HIM THAT I WOULD HAVE NEVER GUESSED WTH.

At first I thought Matthew didn't have feelings for anyone at all, and if he DID develop feelings unexpectedly, I fricking thought that maybe he's catching feelings for James, if anyone??? I mean, I did have some suspicions about Matthew from the get-go: like he's so secretive and as readers we think we know everything there is to know about him since we were all privy to the truth potion incident in his short story right BUT NO I GOT PLAYED AND I DESERVE IT SO BADDDDDD.

Listen I hadn't shipped him and Cordelia simply because I never thought it in the realm of possibility but it MAKES SENSE as a ship... think about it: he never says what he feels, he flirts with her like he does with EVERYONE, he is kind to her in the way he is with EVERYONE. Really, Matthew is shippable with everyone, doesn’t matter if they’re taken cus that’s just what his Matthewnes allows for ya feel. There is such a beautiful irony that CORDELIA herself did not see this coming. Even the little teasers and hints in Gold have only NOW started making sense to me likejhss. I just felt like the hints in book 1 did not indicate to me that Matthew really harbored real romantic feelings for Daisy. I thought he was upset that James and Cordelia were being fakes, not a developing CRUSH on the woman fgs.

Not to mention that you usually sense a ship building when the emotional connection or sexual tension between the characters is made clearer but to me their FRIENDSHIP grew right but it didn’t feel like Cordelia was thought that she liked him or he liked her so that means me and Cordelia are clowns *together* 😤

Okay I was lowkey having SUSPICIONS but I immediately shut them down right... like firstly when he took her to the White Horse in his car and she went OFF and OFF and off about how she felt free for the first time? I thought Cassie was just tryna develop Cordelia's self-liberation arc through Matthew there. Heck, I didn't even think ANYTHING of it when Matthew confession to Cordelia about the "truth potion" incident at all cus I was like they're FRIENDS??? BUT now it's adding up now...

See when they were at the inn place and he was telling her that she doesn't in the least seem like a 100 year-old married woman? I was like hmmmm he's so sweet but why did Cassie phrase it like that like??? When Cordelia later reiterated that she thought Matthew's flirting was “meaningless”?? I was like hmmm kinda SUS tho. And then when he and James had their fight over the way Jamie kissed Grace like again I thought he was just like? ion know? mad at James for it but I didn't think he was in LOVE with Cordelia??? So I immediately put aside my slight suspicions. The probability that he had a crush on James at that point seemed more likely to me.

BUT THEN it started hitting me that every time Matthew drank, even before he explained his issue with the truth potion, that Cordelia would note it, she would worry about him, she would think of her father which seemed so poetic to me, history repeating itself and all that but this time you can FIX it??? Yeah, but again I didn't think the L WORD would be involved man???

Now imma sound like a delulu shipper here but it just makes sense they would develop feelings logically- reason being that it definitely is possible based on the way Cassie set up the story, like there's a combination of little “friend things” that can turn this into a proper ship: Matthew rescues Cordelia in the ballroom when Grace captures James' attention in Gold. Cordelia sees her father in Matthew all the time but knows now she has a chance to be there for him in the way she couldn't have been there for Elias (classic “history repeats itself” trope, she doesn't want Matthew drinking in Paris like dhshghdfhdhch). Cordelia tastes freedom for the first time when driving with Matthew. Matthew caught James and Cordelia making out in the room and was pissed but not even HE properly knew why then??? Umm, when she thinks James is forreal cheating with Grace on her she subconsciously goes to Matthew??? I also found it funny just how every intimate marital moment between her and James got interrupted somehow. Like, it's as if the narrative is just a living force REFUSING to let James and Cordelia as a ship be consecrated. Heck, every time Matthew is scantily clothed Cordelia notes it. LITTLE CRUMBS I TELL YOU LITTLE CRUMBS.

I tell you when Cordelia showed up to Matthew's flat I thought they were gonna f*ck as friends but I got SOMETHING EVEN BETTER SOMEHOW

THEY ARE GOING TO PARIS LA BELLE EPOQUE PARIS THE PARIS OF DREAMS AND ART LIKE??? FRICKKKKK I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING AT ALLLL MAN? I deadass thought the story would be restrained to the UK but like it MAKES SENSE the trope subversion MAKES SENSE.

“In Paris, with you, I will not need to forget.” SHITTRGEGGGDG

BUT CORDELIA LOVES JAMES TOO LIKE I CAN'T DENY THAT... where are we GOING with this like Matthew wouldn't lie about his feelings and yet Cassie wouldn't give us Matthew and Cordelia crumbs to only end it in the next book immediately for her to just ditch him for James. I mean she was clearly holding back on fleshing out James and Cordelia as a ship for this but to WHAT END??? Daisy feels wild and free with Matthew and she feels warm at home warm with James. I can’t advocate for the sinking of ANY ship here.

Imma say what we're all thinking: Is she gonna give us a Will x Jem x Tessa type situation where Cordelia gets both of them cus I'm not strong enough for this but I also think it'd be really funny if James gets a surprise bi awakening in the next books and then we get POLY even tho this would never happen, it’s actually impossible, because of the whole parabatai thing.

Listen I ship Cordelia and Matthew much more than Cordelia and James, not that I dislike James in any way tho. It's just: Matthew is so unrestrained and she's so composed. They seem like an unlikely pair so it makes sense that they hit harder for me. James and Cordelia have such similar personalities but I ALSO don't ship James with Grace at all so like?? Poly would be... ideal... but it can’t happen especially cus they are fricking parabatai... a Will-Jem-Tessa situation seems more likely but mannnn ion know what to expect. I just want FAIRSTAIRS to have their moment in Paris. I mean James and Matthew clearly don't abhor each other for this.

Take everything I say with several grains of salt, take everything I say with the whole Dead Sea actually, cus I damn well know that Matthew is so flirty and whatnot that I’d have shipped him with anyone in their little circle but now that she set him up with Cordelia it all feels so right?? I have wanted this man in a good relationship since he walked onto the page in Nothing But Shadows so-

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I can't believe Cassia duped me like this omg, Matthew is gonna have his healing arc in Paris with Cordelia by his side like- THIS IS ALL I HAVE WANTED AND SO MUCH MORE. Question to yall btw: are you all as surpised at Fairstairs as me or did yall see it coming all along like smart people? Am I a lone clown? 🥺

BRUH okay criticisms of CC?:

Lmfao a part of me feels like I GOTTA say something bad about CC or the book but honestly I have no objective complaints about it as of now. Am I saying that it’s the PEAK of Young Adult literature and Urban Fantasy? I mean, I make no such claims tbh. I’m not here to be critical when I read as a hobby and when CC’s writing makes me happy regardless of how flawed some people see it.

Okay what next?

So like I’m excited for the adult high fantasy she’s releasing in the fall and whatever other works she might be releasing outside of Chain of Gold within the Chronicles.

As for TLH itself? Man I’m just VIBING like I suspect I will reread Chain of Iron soon and maybe one of the anthologies just because I am happy that this series actually happened after me waiting like 6 years for it when it was just a concept: a Dickensian retelling filled with poetry and culture and history and the conventions I so loved in TID at age 12. This is all I been wanting tbh. I’m just enjoying watching this series come to fruition for it to inspire and transform me in some way. I feel like in a way my coming-of-age aligns with that of these specific characters yet I ALSO feel like I raised Jamie since infancy. Wack.

MATTHEW AND CORDELIA IN FRANCE LA BELLE EPOQUE TO BE EXACT IMMA CRY I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING AND AHHHHHH. ALSO WILL AND JAMIE GOING TO CORNWALL TO GET LUCIE AND MAYBE BOND I LOVE WILL. HE WAS ONE OF MY DILF AWAKENINGS AT AGE 12 AND NOW HE’S HERE AGAIN IMMA CRY. I WANNA SEE MATTHEW GET HAPPY. AHHH.

Ending with a fun quote: “In the wise words of someone or other, there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Maurice.” 😉

[anextraordinarymuse]

LOVED your last post. Could have read more—ALL you wanted to write. Thank you!

You know what, anon? I just saw the new sneak peek from Parade of 8x09, and I am feeling exhausted. I am so tired of this game. So you know what? We’re gonna take another little ride on the “We’re not crazy, here’s all the proof” train re: Nathan is endgame. I hope you’re ready to read!  =)

The cast, writers, and characters themselves have already told us that Lucas isn’t endgame. I’ll start with an interview from Erin Krakow (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98IN4aE0LYE) where she’s asked what she would like to see in season 9. Erin says that she’d like to see how the chosen man fits into life with little Jack - and she says she wants to see Elizabeth and said man “without the complication of the other man. Getting to have real dates, and see what that romance and courtship is like ...” At this point in season 8, I don’t think that comment makes any real sense as far as Lucas is concerned. We’ve seen nothing but their dates and their courtship this season. There is still the complication of the other man, because we know that Nathan is still very much in the picture, but I would argue that he’s not really that much of a complication since it hasn’t stopped Elizabeth and Lucas from going on dates or courting. We’ve seen them go to dinner, go on picnics, hold hands, almost kiss ... season 8 has basically been all about their dating and courtship. You know who hasn’t been on a real date? Elizabeth and Nathan. We have no idea what a romance or courtship between them is like, so I would point out that Erin’s answer only makes sense if Nathan is the endgame. 

But we also know that there’s usually always a theme to each season. Would anyone disagree at this point if I said that the theme of season 8 is fighting and conflict? Because come on. This whole season has been about conflict for pretty much every character: the conflict between Rachel and her mom (and then Rachel and Rosemary and Lee); the conflict between Carson and what he wants, and between Carson and Faith; the conflict between Henry and Christopher; between Christopher and Lucas; between Lucas and Nathan; between Nathan and Elizabeth ... etc. This season is about conflict and fighting. More specifically, it’s about fighting for love (and fighting against it). Considering that, it’s very telling that we’ve been told outright by Chris McNally and by Lucas that Lucas has no intention of fighting for Elizabeth. Like, straight up. Chris McNally has said that Lucas only wants what’s best for Elizabeth, whatever that may be. Which isn’t too crazy on its own. But, look at it in the context of the characters. Elizabeth says early on in the season, to Lucas, that love needs to be fought for. And what does Lucas do? He spits out a retort and walks away. Later in the season, when Nathan tells Lucas that he hasn’t given up on Elizabeth Lucas responds by telling him to do whatever he wants. These are both very telling moments. We’ve got Elizabeth who believes that love is worth fighting for, and Nathan who also believes that, and Lucas, who ... apparently doesn’t. They have given Lucas several chances to meet Elizabeth on this, and he pointedly does not. It’s no accident that it’s Nathan who says the same thing to Elizabeth like half a season later, unprompted, without knowing that she has previously said the same words to Lucas. When Jack and Elizabeth were courting they had their shared phrase: “Love is patient, love is kind.” Now we’re being shown that Nathan and Elizabeth have their shared phrase (although they don’t know/haven’t accepted yet that it’s shared): “Love is worth fighting for.” Lucas and Elizabeth don’t share anything like that. They have some similar talents (speaking French, worldliness, love of writing and reading, etc.) but they don’t seem to share the same views on what’s really important. Also, it’s been pointed out that Lucas isn’t the type to stay in one place for long and that he’s really only in Hope Valley because of Elizabeth. Why point that out unless it’s important? If Lucas and Elizabeth were endgame, how would that work? Because Elizabeth would never leave Hope Valley, and teaching is too pivotal to who she is as a person to give it up - but Lucas has more of a vagabond spirit. Would he be willing to stay in HV permanently? I find that hard to believe.

Juxtapose that with Nathan, who has put down roots in Hope Valley and wants to keep doing so. He’s already talked about building a house, and Allie is pretty settled in their life. Nathan is a family man who likes the simple things, by his own admission. Which of those two men seems to align more with what’s important to Elizabeth? That’s a deliberate difference. 

On a bit of a side note, I’d also like to point out that the phrases that have presented themselves for the Jack/Elizabeth and Nathan/Elizabeth pairings are just another example of how different Jack and Nathan are, and the differences in their relationships. Jack and Elizabeth’s phrase is passive, and gentle, and easy: “Love is patient, love is kind.” Whereas Nathan and Elizabeth’s phrase is active, and speaks of turmoil and difficulty and effort: “Love is worth fighting for.” This is a clever way of highlighting the differences through lexical clues. Jack and Elizabeth’s romance came relatively easy - they had the usual challenges of backgrounds, youth, and self-discovery to face and overcome. Nathan and Elizabeth’s romance is going to come relatively difficulty (as I’m sure all of us exhausted Nathan fans can attest): they have to overcome so much more than Jack and Elizabeth did because they are at different places in their lives and have a lot more baggage. This isn’t the ease of a first romance; this is the tribulation and tumult of a second romance on one side, and a first romance on the other. Think of how difficult that would be on its own, without the added complication of Elizabeth being a widow (and both Nathan and Elizabeth being single parents!). This isn’t a relationship that will come easily: it will be earned, and actively chosen, and fought for. No one has ever fought as hard for Elizabeth as Nathan has - including Jack, because Jack didn’t have to fight as hard. 

Also on that note, you know who doesn’t have to fight for Elizabeth? Lucas. He pursues her, as I touched on in my previous answer, but he doesn’t fight for her. She willingly steps into a romance with him, and they never have to confront her fears or worries, and nothing of note ever happens between them. Everything comes easily to Elizabeth and Lucas. Their only real spot of conflict is ... Nathan. Does that sound at all like Elizabeth’s “next great love?” No. 

Keep in mind, the writers aren’t just convincing Elizabeth and Nathan that they’re in love - they have to convince the audience as well. That’s true of any romance. You have to make people want it - you have to give them something to root for and invest in, otherwise there’s no payoff. The end result will feel hollow. Granted, I would say that the writers took that a little far with all of this. This fight has felt all uphill and ridiculously one sided all season. I have no idea how they’re going to change that or even it out in like two or three episodes (since I think Lucas and Elizabeth will still be a thing in episode 9 and probably at least part of 10).

Anyway, continuing on. If we go back to season 7, it’s clear that Elizabeth wants Nathan’s attention, time, trust, confidence, etc. She accepts those things from Lucas, but she actively seeks them out from Nathan. In the Christmas episode, Elizabeth offers to take Nathan and Allie to find a tree; she offers them the use of her decorations, helps them place it in the house, and then stays to help them decorate it. We also get our first moment of physical closeness and suggestion of a kiss here between Elizabeth and either man, in the quiet intimacy of an evening spent decorating said tree. Elizabeth is damn near against Nathan’s chest and in his arms, and she’s the one to turn and look up into his face. I’ll also point out that it’s Elizabeth who first looks shyly at Nathan when she says “when it’s right, you can just feel it.” Elizabeth immediately looks at Nathan as if she’s suddenly aware of having said something that she maybe didn’t mean to, and then Nathan looks at her - but his expression is not the same. Elizabeth almost looks like she’s been caught out, but Nathan just looks attentive. Anyway, twice in this episode Elizabeth tries to gain Nathan’s confidence (here I mean this definition of confidence: “a secret or private matter told to someone under a condition of trust.”) when she keeps asking him what’s wrong. Oh, and her smile when Nathan tells her there’s no place else he’d rather be? Yeah. She smiles at him like that a lot in season 7.

These themes are repeated everywhere in season 7. Every time Elizabeth and Nathan get closer, Lucas inserts himself in the situation. Elizabeth stops Nathan in the street to talk about Allie’s book report, and Lucas suddenly appears and butts in; Elizabeth makes eye contact with Nathan from across the saloon at the bachelor/bachelorette parties and gives him a sweet smile, and then she sees Lucas/he smiles or however that plays out; Elizabeth looks at Nathan when she says the mystery flowers really made her day because that’s who she thinks they’re from. Also, when Elizabeth is telling Rosemary about her argument with Nathan after the windstorm, and about how Lucas sent his mother her manuscript without asking, she says something about how she’s left wondering how much she can trust Lucas, and how the irony is that Nathan seems to be wondering how much he can trust her. Even though Elizabeth forgives Lucas and it ends up working out in her favor, it’s still very telling that Lucas knew that Elizabeth would probably say no to letting him send the chapters to his mother, so he just didn’t ask and did it anyway. So Lucas has momentarily lost Elizabeth’s trust, which upsets her, but she’s also concerned that she’s lost Nathan’s trust - which she’s been working for all season. 

In fact, season 7 establishes a pattern: in almost every instance in which she has a choice, Elizabeth seeks out Nathan first - as in, before Nathan seeks her out, and before she seeks out Lucas. There are a few exceptions to this, like in the finale of season 6 when she asks Lucas to dance, although if you go back and watch that scene I’m not sure she actually makes a choice. Elizabeth and Nathan do not interact in that scene at all, and she doesn’t actually see him until the moment she sees him walking out the door. So, it’s safe to assume that she probably didn’t even know he was there, in which case it wasn’t really a choice between them. 

In light of season 8, I think we can say that Season 7 was about Elizabeth pursuing Nathan, and season 8 is about Nathan pursuing Elizabeth. We’ve essentially flipped. Lucas has been pursuing Elizabeth since season 6, but she’s more given in to him than she has pursued him. 

And that’s interesting on its own. We find out in season 7 that Lucas’s father pursued his mother for like five years, or some insanely long time, and that she finally gave in to him. If I’m not mistaken, that’s the exact wording that Lucas uses. He then goes on to say that he plans to be as patient as his father was. But then in season 8, we find out that Lucas’s parents are separated and their relationship hasn’t been good for awhile according to Helen. This is clearly an allusion to what the future holds for Lucas and Elizabeth if they were to get that far. Elizabeth asks Helen if she has shown her true self and true heart to her husband, and Helen says no; when Lucas asks Elizabeth “how do you lose that?” in regards to his parents’ love, she says something about how maybe they loved each other at one time, and maybe still did, but it’s clear that it’s uncertain if either of those things are true. So, we find out that the relationship that Lucas has basically used as his basis for chasing Elizabeth is not stable or honest. And of course, we know now that Lucas and Elizabeth’s relationship is neither of those things either. Elizabeth is not showing Lucas her true self or her true heart. 

Also, if you’ve seen the new sneak peek for 8x09, there’s an interesting exchange in that. Basically, Lucas tells Elizabeth that he wasn’t hurt when Elizabeth took Nathan’s hands instead of his, and that she didn’t need to be mortified on his behalf. I’m sorry ... what? This is the woman you have now been courting for some time, and definitely chasing for years, and you ... aren’t at all bothered by the fact that she claimed another man’s hands in a game of “find your true love?” I find that ... odd. Especially considering that this isn’t just some funny, haha accident between, like, Elizabeth and Hickam. This is Elizabeth and Nathan, the man Lucas has been competing with for literal years for Elizabeth’s time and attention and affection. And you just ... don’t mind? Because you should mind. Honestly. If you cared deeply for Elizabeth you should be upset, at least on some level. Unless it was more about the chase for Lucas, and his feelings for her are not on the same level as Nathan’s, and he’s already begun to suspect that Elizabeth’s heart is really with Nathan. 

Because I think that Lucas cares about Elizabeth, and I think that he would be happy with her (at least for a while), but I don’t think that Lucas is in love with Elizabeth. I think he liked the challenge she presented, and he likes trying to sweep her off her feet, but I don’t think it goes much further than that. Here’s Nathan, who stands as sure and as concretely as a lighthouse in a storm, and will not be swayed. Elizabeth runs from him, it looks like Rosemary is going to try to discourage him, he has to watch Elizabeth and Lucas together all over town, has to tell Elizabeth something that will hurt her ... here is Nathan, who has been given basically zero encouragement or support in his efforts, and he still won’t give up. He believes so completely that Elizabeth is in love with him that he’s the freaking man who can’t be moved. Compare that to Lucas, who has finally gotten what he’s wanted for like two years, and he just ... has no intention of fighting for it. Easy come, easy go, I guess.

And that, too, tells us that Lucas and Elizabeth’s story is coming to a close. Relationships take effort - so much effort, even when things are good. They’re not passive: you have to actively build and maintain them. Not necessarily every day, but the longer you remain passive the more they degrade. So, where has all of Lucas’s effort gone? Because Nathan still has effort and try and fight in spades, and that man has been beaten down at every turn for like 90% of the season.

And still - despite how hard it is, and how alone he must feel, and how discouraging this all has to be - Nathan still won’t give up because he knows Elizabeth’s heart so well and loves her so completely that he can’t give up. Which is exactly what he tells Rosemary. 

So, I say it again: this has never been Lucas and Elizabeth’s love story. It’s always been Nathan and Elizabeth, and we’ve always been headed down this road. We’ve just taken a few sharp turns and hit a detour or two on the way.

[aritany]

10 Questions Tag

thanks @lemon-writings for tagging me in this! 

Rules: Answer the 10 questions, ask a different 10, and tag 10 people.

1. What weird writing habits do you have?

hmmmm i have several terribly odd habits but i think the main one is that i could not write linearly if my life depended on it. i’ve been told that my writing process is awfully chaotic and not very fun at all to try and follow and that that i am a bastard gremlin for having very fun snippets that exist completely out of context 99% of the time. however. in my defense. it turns out quite well in the end, and i always finish my WIPS. 

2. Have you ever read a book you hated so much you couldn’t finish it? What was it? Why?

this is hard because as a rule i don’t make myself finish books i don’t like and then they don’t really stick in my mind. however (and this might be cheating because technically i finished it but i complained the whole time) i just couldn’t get into Flaubert’s Parrot. i had to read it for a class or i wouldn’t have finished it. not my style at all, and i have a hard time reading books that are fiction and focus on one subject matter without having any sort of narrative.

3. What do you listen to while you write?

i have playlists for each WIP! most often i’ll listen to those (you can listen to the playlist for what no one wants to hear here and the playlist for where the trees whisper here) but if i get tired of that i’ll listen to the playlist radio for the playlists or just explore the playlists spotify thinks i’ll groove to. 

if i’m feeling like I really want to get into the vibe, MyNoise has hundreds of different customizable soundscapes. i really like the Irish Coast generator and the Cafe Restaurant for if i need to focus and my brain won’t turn off.

4. What does an average day of writing look like for you?

i try to write first thing when i get up after i get ready for the day - not really because i’ve set that as a rule or anything, it’s more that i just genuinely really want to write all the time - because if i do that then it sort of gets things flowing for the rest of the day. once i’ve started it’s much easier to keep going. i don’t have a set schedule for when i write but i do it every day unless i don’t have a spare minute.

5. What is a project you’ve always wanted to start, but haven’t gotten around to yet?

OKAY. okay SO. my cousin and i have this very excellent cool idea for a potential graphic novel that blends the medieval with the modern and it’s very very cool and full of wlw content. it is about a witch living in a modern glass city who is in training to become a mage for the queen, and her love story with an assassin sent to take down the monarchy. it’s currently in the ‘i think about it a lot and oh boy that sure would be cool’ since neither of us have a whole lot of free time but anyways i’m very excited to work on it one day because she is Very Fucking Smart and good at drawing things together in a way i just... *chefs kiss* (s if you’re reading this i’m obsessed with your brain) and we have somehow never worked together on a creative project so i feel that must be remedied.

6. Is there anything about your current WIP that you’re super proud of?

not to toot my own horn but there are LOTS of things in my wip i’m proud of!! i think the symbolism is very cool and it has been difficult to pull of the simultaneous chronological telling of two separate timelines in a way that makes coherent sense but like... it’s happening babey! i think the characterization is also very good in this novel compared to other things i’ve written.

7. What is a trope you absolutely can’t stand?

i know everyone says this but it’s TRUE. fucking HATE love triangles. GOD. like ok it’s one thing if more than one person is interested in a character. that’s just life and it’s realistic. but when. BUT WHEN. when the object of these characters affections waffles back and forth on who to choose twilight style i just... lose all interest in their narrative arc, because that’s usually their defining feature. it’s gross and boring and i’m tired of it. 

although i’m a slut for the character THINKING they’re interested in one character and then suddenly realizing they aren’t and that they’re in love with someone else. if it’s done well. that’s the kicker. there’s gotta be room for some nuance here.

8. Do you have an OC that’s more or less just a fantasy version of yourself?

....................................... 

... okay. so. there is not a single character that i don’t relate to on some level. i think all of my characters (at least those that I write POV for) exemplify some trait or quirk that i have, in some stretched or exaggerated way. nora from WNOWTH is the closest i have to a self-insert though. she’s funnier than i am though.

9. Have any works inspired your current WIP?

where the trees whisper - yes! i read the raven cycle and got hungry for more ley lines and psychics and magical forests. no welsh kings, though. i think TRC and WTTW are very very different stories but they share those features which overall sound suspiciously similar.

what no one wants to hear - no! this one was inspired by the fact that i haven’t read anything like it and i think it’s an important issue to talk about. mental health and toxic friendships/emotional abuse/manipulation are all very close to my heart so it’s really derived from my own experiences.

sound carries - yes! i’ve wanted to write about opera for AGES but i didn’t have a context for it that made sense until i read The Secret History and If We Were Villains. i thought you know what if we have dark academia for classic lit and shakespeare i also want it for opera students. so. opera and murder. 

10. What is your favorite WIP to write for?

right now, what no one wants to hear. i just love first drafts. so much room for mess and feelings and good ideas that make it feel like i’m really doing something. i’m very excited about the subject matter and i am a soft child for my own characters, and i’m just constantly thinking about it so it’s hard not to go a lil crazy. i’ve written 15k for it this week and i feel another big writing day brewing soooo we’ll see what happens. 

my questions: 

what is your ideal scenario for writing? 

which oc is the most difficult for you to write?

what do you love the most about your own writing?

you have 5 individual words to describe your current WIP. what are they?

who has been most influential to you as a writer?

how do you get over writer’s block?

if you were transported into one of your WIPS, which world would you LEAST want to be in and why?

what is your most hated book of all time? 

do you outline or prefer to just go with it? 

what is your favourite sort of scene to write?

i tag: @lesbianwriteblr @dustylovelyrun @raevenlywrites @nintendonianrose @raenawrites @writemares @evergrcen @whatwordsdidnttouch @marie-writess @llesbianwrites if you guys want to! 

[jeanmoreaux]

28. The first book that comes to mind, tell us about it. Rant.

hey!! sorry for my late response, hon! this ask has been sitting in my inbox for close to 2 weeks due to multiple reasons, two of them being my terrible time management and my limited amount of spare time to waste away on tumblr. mainly, though, i just didn’t know what book to rant about bc i feel like if i rant about a book there has to be a good justification as to why this book deserves my bashing. so i tried to think of a rant-worthy book and i came up empty. but then the other day, i walked into a book store, unknowing of the inspiration that would hit me and help me to finally answer this ask. as i made my way through the numerous shelves full of great books, a familiar cover caught my eyes and filled me with abhorrence. the book i am taking about is Adam by Ariel Schrag. 

for all of you who haven’t read this book yet; good, keep it like way. it’s the most utter piece of garbage i have ever laid eyes on. honestly, i have never hated a book with more passion. It’s beyond me why it has a 2.87 star rating on goodreads. apparently, it was initially praised as a revolutionary, subversive queer story, but actually it’s a homophobic, transphobic, racist, and misogynist disaster that is not worth the paper it was printed on. seriously, it physically hurts me to think about how trees had to die for this dumpster fire of a book to exist in physical form in bookshelves around the globe.

i conjecture the author’s intent was to promote the idea that sexuality and gender can be fluid and that love knows no gender, which is in itself a great message, but, oh boy, the execution was just horrendous. worse than anything i have ever seen, and ten time as problematic.

*spoilers ahead*

((my brain tried to erase this book’s content form my memory, so i forgot the names of every character except for the protagonist’s one since his name is in the title lmao)) basically, this story follows this cis boy, adam, who’s nonstop horny and would literally do ANYTHING to get laid, which shows in the questionable decisions he makes throughout the story. he spends his summer at his sister’s apartment in new york. through his sister, who is a lesbian, he comes into contact with various other lgbtq+ individuals, of which some are trans. he meets a cute lesbian at a party, and decides that she is his one true love (yikes), the-girl-of-his-dreams (quite literally! he dreams of her and later meets her at this party and it’s supposed to be an adorable dejà vu kinda thing but it is NOT. it’s just cringy and uncomfortable). he then sets his mind on seducing her. since she’s a lesbian, he decides to pretend to be a trans guy ((like what the fuck, dude????!!!?)) so she’s willing to go on a date with him ((which does not make any fucking sense to me bc she’s still a lesbian and he’s still a guy, but whatever)). in the mean time, his sister has some drama going on that’s quite yikes, if you know what i mean, and there is also a lot of other horrible stuff going on, such as fetishizing various minorities and reinforcing harmful stereotypes, that makes you wanna bury the book somewhere no one will ever be able to find and read it. 

adam keeps telling people he is trans, and is quite proud of his “performance” as he keeps lying to everyone’s faces about being trans. there is a lot of drama happening, but i forgot most of it. what i do remember, though is that eventually adam and the-girl-of-his-dreams start officially dating and, consequently, they start having sex. adam insists that they only have sex in the dark, using his made-up gender dysphoria as an excuse. at first he use a strap-on to keep his masquerade up, but at a later point in the story adam just tells himself “fuck it, i wanna have REAL (uhhhm, wtf as if only penetrative sex is real sex), UNPROTECTED sex with this girl who still doesn’t know i am lying to her about being trans. so i’ll just insert my penis into her vagina without her consent.” i believe he tells her after the fact, and she’s like “i know, it’s chill. i found out that you’re a cis guy a while ago, and what can i say, you’re such an amazing guy i still fell in love with you, despite being a lesbian (!!!!!!!! WTF)”

they keep dating for a few month, and when they break up the girl starts dating an older guy shortly after. suddenly, she isn’t a lesbian anymore (i don’t even think she considers herself bi), and the ending kinda suggests that adam turned her straight, which is hella problematic, to say the least. don’t get me wrong, this change of labels is not intrinsically bad, but the way it is presented in the context of the book suggests that you can “turn people straight” and that being gay is “ a choice” or “a phase” that ends when you meet the right person of the opposite sex. furthermore, the way the characters are crafted and the story is told, Adam also suggests that queer people are annoying assholes whose only defining characteristic is their queerness. this notion of anti-queer character portrayal and conversion is also present in the storyline of adam’s sister.  i think his sister who labelled her lesbian in the beginning turns bi in the end, too, bc she just Can’t™ with lesbians and trans people anymore since their all selfish & self-righteous pricks.

and it’s not like this book judges adam’s actions or critically comments on his bad behavior. there are literally no consequences for adam unless you count the break up as one, which i think you can’t be they still happily dated for a considerable amount of time.

i hope you get the gist of why i loathe this book so much. there is nothing subversive or revolutionary about this sort of portrayal of lqbtq+ issues and characters. the representation & messages contained in this story are damaging as fuck. i have no idea how this book was repeatedly approved of by several instances in the process of publishing and no one in this chain of decision making voiced concerns and was like “i’m sorry but this is a really shitty book”??!!? HOW IS IT POSSIBLE SOMETHING LIKE THIS GETS PUBLISHED??!!? after this massive fuck up, ariel schrag probably can’t ever again publish a story under her name.

frankly, i desperately want to throw Adam into the destructive, all-consuming flames of eternal hell fire so it vanishes into ever-lasting oblivion. 

[sneakystorms]

I’m compiling my “reading campbell as an utena fan” reblogs into one post cuz that was getting ridiculous. 

Literally no one asked for this but i took Campbell’s hero with a thousand faces out of the library and I’m going to note anything that reminds me of revolutionary girl utena. Here we go

Literally the first thing in the book, a picture of medusa’s head. I’m suddenly reminded of how much emphasis there is on anthy’s coiling locks of hair as well as her eyes. I read in a liveblog that it’s significant kanae was struck by seeing anthy’s eyes when she removed her glasses - the glasses serve as a protective measure meant to conceal anthy’s emotion, but also her power. Reminds me of how modern reimaginings of medusa always wear dark glasses to not turn people to stone.

Page 7, on unsolved childhood issues: “we remain fixated to the unexercised images of our infancy, and hence disinclined to the necessary passages of our adulthood” It’s not very revolutionary to suggest that this is one of the main themes of the show; akip remains in his adolescent state of having left behind his childishly idealistic self (or rather been forced to leave it by anthy) but refusing to progress to true adulthood, choosing rather to fruitlessly chase that childhood state. Other characters are guilty of this too, of course, but it’s less striking because they’re actual adolescents - this is a somewhat expected (though Campbell wpuld argue, not natural) stage in their development, whereas akio is clearly past his due date and dragging everyone down with him.

Page 30, on myths and fairy tales - “typically, the hero of the fairy tale achieves a domestic, microcosmic triumph, and the hero of myth a world-historical, macrocosmic triumph” Not super relevant to rgu itself, but I’d often wonder about the relationship between myth an fairy tale, seeing as rgu relates heavily to both. Utena’s revolution, in the end, is microcosmic - she helped a friend, and achieved a higher degree of self awareness than before.

Page 32, on the world navel: “the torrent pours from an invisible source, the point of entry being the center of the symbolic circle of the universe, the Immovable Spot of the Buddha Legend, around which the world may be said to revolve. (…) the tree of life, i.e., the universe itself, grows from this point. It is rooted in the supporting darkness; the golden sun bird perches on its peak; a spring, the inexhaustible well, bubbles at its foot. Or the figure may be that of a cosmic mountain, with the city of the gods, like a lotus of flight, upon its summit, and in its hollow the cities of the demons, illuminated by precious stones.” WHEW. Where to even begin. In the context of ohtori this would obviously be the gate in the forbidden forest, and the arena itself. There is a spring of sorts at its bottom (even a wall of water), and a bird figure features at the gate. The arena with its staircase resembles a rose, which is close enough to a tree. You could even see the black rose’s basement as the demon hollows.Of course, we eventually find out that it’s all fake, a stage set by akio with anthy’s help, which in this context positions akio as a sort of false god.

Page 35, again on the world navel: “wherever a hero has been born, has wrought, or has passed back into the void, the place is marked and sanctified. (…) someone at this point discovered eternity. (…) the one who enters the temple compound and proceeds to the sanctuary is imitating the deed of the original hero. His aim is to rehearse the universal pattern as a means of evoking within himself the recollection of the life-centering, life-renewing form.” This one mostly caught my attention because of the word eternity, but then i thought of dios’s grave… Since his grave, the arena and akio’s planetarium are really one and the same, it could easily follow that anyone who enters it is seeking to emulate dios, or the prince archetype in abstract. This certainly applies to utena and akio, and perhaps other duelists as well to some extent.

OH WE GETTING TO THE TASTY PART NOW…… ANTHY TIME BITCHHH ITS THE MEETING WITH THE GODDESS CHAPTEROk immediately I’m struck by the phrase “the queen goddess”. I know akio says he thought of anthy as a goddess once, I’m trying to remember if anyone ever refers to her as a queen… she’s mostly seen in context of the princess-witch dichotomy but once you really get down to it it’s more complicated, like is the rose bride basically the epitome of the princess archetype? It does include hyperfemininity, victimhood, obedience, passivity and power that can be obtained by marrying her but which she cannot wield herself… but the rose bride role is also explicitly tied to the witch, since it’s anthy’s punishment for imprisoning dios… It’s also interesting how despised she is - the princess role is supposed to be respectable (especially if we connect the princess witch dichotomy to the Madonna whore complex) but anthy is constantly mistreated and degraded - which, yes, makes her more of a princess in Utena’s (and the viewer’s) eyes, but is also a direct result of her role as the rose bride. If the rose bride position is basically the dragon that the prince has to save the princess from then can the rose bride be synonymous with the princess?Wait I was originally going to talk about something else I think. Well anyway I guess the Ockham’s razor is that the narrative had to make sense somehow and couldn’t JUST be metaphors but. Idk man food for thought. Maybe the rose bride as a role is supposed to be a blend of the princess and witch traits, or maybe it’s meant to showcase how the two are just different sides of the same coin. Anyway I’m one sentence into this chapter and my bedtime is in 7 minutes

Campbell describes the two types of goddesses as representing the good mother - forever youthful, beautiful and kind - and the bad mother - split here into four types but generally cold and distant. I’m tempted to connect the two to the princess and the witch (or the Madonna and the whore) but Campbell explicitly connects the bad mother to Diana and emphasises her chastity, when sexuality is such a big part of both the witch and the whore… hmm

K it’s late so I’ll continue sometime else but I wanted to mention that this whole thing was a result of reading this fantastic essay on anthy and specifically the part about Campbell’s goddess

Page 97, still on the goddess: “woman, in the picture language of mythology, represents the totality of what can be known. The hero is the one who comes to know. As he progresses in the slow initiation which is life, the form of the goddess undergoes for him a series of transfigurations: she can never be greater than himself, though she can always promise more than he is yet capable of comprehending. She lures, she guides, she bids him burst his fetters. And if he can match her import, the two, the knower and the known, will be released for every limitation. Woman is the guide to the sublime acme of sensuous adventure. ” This is the passage quoted in the essay that inspired me… The part about transfigurations is painfully reminiscent of anthy for sure, but the “she can never be greater than himself” sounds more like utena to me, makes me think of that digibro quote about how romantic interests in self insert power fantasy shounen anime (either Sao or asterisk war in this case) are often supposed to be the second best warrior right after the number one hero because they’re a sort of status symbol but of course can’t undermine the hero’s ego. Similarly akio wants utena at her strongest and only wants her because she is the strongest but still wants her beneath him. Also the phrasing of “the knower and the known” is so telling…. Even if a woman is meant to signify great knowledge it’s still in a way that makes her something passive, an object for the hero to consume. This reminds me of the born sexy yesterday video where he remarks on how even if the female character is supposed to be impossibly wise it just means the male hero is the one who gets to “discover” her

Page 99, still on the meeting with the goddess: “and when the adventurer, in this context, is not a youth but a maid, she is the one who, by her qualities, her beauty, or her yearning, is fit to become the consort of an immortal. Then the heavenly husband descends to her and conducts her to his bed-whether she will or no. And if she has shunned him, the scales fall from her eyes; if she has sought him, her desire finds its peace” God, what a creepy and accurate way to portray utena and akios relationship. He sees her as worthy of becoming his bride, he rapes her, he almost has her serve herself to him on a golden platter until she decides to pick up the sword and fight him. He sees himself as her god.

desktop is really fucking this up depending on what device i rb on but alas. lets continue. surprisingly enough i don’t have much to say about the woman as temptress chapter in relation to anthy because now that i think about it, the men of ohtori don’t really see her as one? nanami does, and maybe kozue too, but anthy generally isn’t very proactive when it comes to romance or sex… I guess Miki would be the closest example, since she seems to consciously try and get his attention by playing the piano, but Miki is pretty oblivious to it, so.Trying to think of other characters who might fit that trope… Kozue does act pretty provocative both towards the random dude she flirted with and Miki, but their relationship is one I don’t have much of a grip on tbh. Really the tempting spotlight is pretty firmly on Touga and Akio in this show haha

reading the “atonement with the father” chapter and, like, it’s kind of annoying how much the male hero is the default in this book, with the female hero only an occasional mention, but it does remind me of anthy’s incredibly fucking disturbing line about how akio is “more like her father” since their parents are nowhere to be seen. i don’t really have anything profound to say, but it is pretty interesting that parents are such a non-entity in rgu, given how prominent the mother and father figures are in psychoanalysis and archetype theory. should akio be read as anthy’s father, acting as one in the absence of the real thing, the same way he acts as the chairman? i’m not super familiar with the electra complex theory, but if the resolution to the oedipus complex is letting go of the unhealthy attachment to to mother and reconciliation with the father, i guess the analogous resolution to the electra complex would be letting go of the father? which anthy, in this reading, does do… but then again in rgu it’s akio who rapes anthy and we see him rather than her initiating sex so i doubt the writers had uncritically reproducing freud’s theory in mind

nothing too insightful but in the chapter the magic flight campbell talks about a welsh myth about Caridwen and she seems like a perfect witch character

page 209, on freedom to live - campbell quotes the end of the grimm brothers’ little briar rose, but precedes it with “When the Prince of Eternity kissed the Princess of the World, her resistance was allayed”. the phrasing of course caught my eye, but i’d never really seen anyone go in depth about the similarity between sleeping beauty and utena’s childhood story… the shadow-faced version that sometimes appears at the start of an episode omits utena sleeping in her coffin, but includes the prince kissing her tears away - something that did happen in the ep34 flashback, but was not what made baby utena get up. i suppose i don’t have anything terribly profound to say about the relationship between rgu and sleeping beauty, aside from some similar elements - the sleeping princess kissed awake by her prince, the princess in the grimms’ version being called briar rose, and the unspecified thorny bushes possibly being roses as well… and the witch, of course

page 259, matrix of destiny. “The universal goddess makes her appearance to men under a multitude of guises; for the effects of creation are multitudinous, complex and of mutually contradictory kind when experienced from the viewpoint of the created world. the mother of life is at the same time the mother of death; she is masked in the ugly demonesses of famine and disease. The Sumero-Babylonian astral mythology identified the aspects of the cosmic female with the phases of the planet Venus. As morning star she was the virgin, as evening star the harlot, as lady of the night sky the consort of the moon; and when extinguished under the blaze of the sun she was the hag of hell” campbell continues to insist on tying every female character back to the mother, which doesn’t really seem to be very relevant with anthy, but i’m digging the various aspects of the woman. seems interesting to me how this is at least the second time he’s characterised the woman in myths as someone constantly changing roles and aspects (first time was on page 97) whereas i don’t really see this tendency in male characters. women seem to need to constantly adapt, shift their identity to suit the male character, who is allowed to remain stably himself. also fascinating are the particular archetypes campbell brings up - the virgin (princess), the harlot (rose bride? the position does seem to be given respect on some level, but in practice she doesn’t get much... add to that the design elements tying her to the “scarlet woman”, and possibly even the playboy bunnies, and her duties do seem to include sleeping with every Engaged if the movie is anything to go by), consort of the moon (we all know what akio and anthy’s connection to the moon...) and the hag of hell (witch)

this has very little to do with rgu but reading the Mwuetsi/Massassi myth kinda makes me sick lol!!! not only does it include the first man being given a woman but he symbolically impregnates her with some oil from a horn (subtle, also done without her knowledge since she was asleep) and she gives birth to all the plants on earth. ew

UH OK HE THEN GOES ON TO SLEEP WITH HIS DAUGHTERS.... AND THEN TO RAPE HIS NEXT WIFE.......... MR CAMPBELL CAN I GO like i know it’s old myths so it’s all symbolic or whatever but that doesn’t make it any easier to read lol

page 296, an offhand comment of “The characteristic adventure of the first [type of hero] is the winning of the bride - the bride is life” and my brain automatically supplied “life... eternity... that which shines... the power of miracles... the power to revolutionise the world” LMAO

[ukesonfire]

have i done this before?

i’ve written a bunch of songs since my freshman year of high school. recently, i went through them and gave them all new titles. BOY CONTEXT:

boy #1- a brit i met at a summer camp

boy #2- my high school muse

boy #3- an individual i crushed on in middle school, ended up as close friends

boy #4- someone who i became close with on a musical level

boy #5- a mess that friends tried to set me up with

boy #6- my longtime high school crush

boy #7- he had feelings, i didn’t

“gee I wonder what this rock opera is all about” *the lead character dies at the end* “so like hamilton but more angsty and emo got it”

pseudo-mary sue has tragic backstory. now with big fancy guns!

and in the blink of an eye, [boy #1] disappeared back into USA 2.0: universal healthcare edition. ukesonfire still maintains feelings

that time when my cousin educated me about “deep emo lyric writing”

my sister writes a verse and a chorus with actual real emotions. instructions unclear, song isn't dark enough for ukesonfire

pseudo-mary sue had a little bit of time where people weren't trying to kill her. it's up to The Real mary sue (ukesonfire) to save the day (for some reason??)!

ukesonfire writes a dark fucking monologue and then bases a song off of it because that's a Great Idea (TM)

pseudo-mary sue dies, as the title track suggested. Real Mary Sue is forlorn and seeks answers.

ukesonfire is angsty because she's not emo enough and how she regrets being a poser prep two years prior

seriously how many times does pseudo-mary sue get accosted by fucking demon stalkers??

a lot of big words thrown together between over-processed guitars

bdsm stage version of hamlet induces intense feelings of loneliness, alternate universes, and cristofori's dream

post concert feelings strummed out on a new ukulele in an empty band room

I recently read 1984 and I hate the government!: starter pack

ukesonfire gets angsty … feat. somewhat intermediate Spanish (TM)

remember that time ukesonfire almost decided to transfer to [nearby catholic school]?

ukesonfire gets emotional about [boy #2] while she's at camp, part 1

ukesonfire gets emotional about [boy #2] and is convinced that she has an unspecified mental illness that only his affection can cure while she's at camp, part 2

is this about ukesonfire's personal life or is she lowkey shading summer camp divas? tune in next week

honestly don't remember the original meaning behind this one but the second verse sorta came true so who's the real mvp here

the piece that time (and ukesonfire) genuinely forgot

ukesonfire has feelings … in [native language] (R)

ukesonfire is super judgemental and has never actually inhaled a marijuana

ukesonfire gets reminiscent in [native language] and also listened to The Eagles a lot for some reason

ukesonfire has a brief moment of self reflection and a really fucking catchy riff

writing songs about secret agents are dark and mysterious, also very historical

the one where mama just doesn't understand that I am an independent 16 year old dammit

no one writes songs about october that aren't about halloween! also I recently downloaded the decemberists' entire discography!

ukesonfire tries to write something sappy and uplifting. she fails

junior year is a mess and also ukesonfire has conveniently placed herself in a black void trash can For Fun (C)

decent lyrics are fucked over with pitiful attempts at trying to sing better scat lyrics

ripping off a moderately famous [native country] band's song, but it's ok if the meaning is completely different and also in spanish!

ukesonfire believes she can save the world by hiding from everyone and discovers the truth about everything but decides not to tell anyone because trust no bitch amirite

3oh!3 inspired chord changes, dismal lyrics, intended for edm probably

lol I can't focus for shit also let's have a loose understanding of this mental illness and make fun of it

forgotten lyrics in an english binder, now rewritten to include [boy #3] because ukesonfire hasn't written a song about him yet (long after that one time she crushed on him hard, lol remember that??)

ukesonfire has feelings about friends that she'll never see or connect with again

ukesonfire is convinced that she's going to die young, better write a indie will (half insp. by the band perry)

thinly veiled metaphors for self reflection and turning points in life are thinly veiled. meredith monk secretly had something to do with this

ukesonfire tries to write rap. it does not end well

subtweeting [boy #4]. mostly in the last part. the second half of the last part.

Based On A True Story But With A Fictitious Plot And A Generously Inserted Mary Sue (also it's kinda about mama)

title character backstory, because it has to be Flawless and Epic

ukesonfire is still a huge judgemental asshole, apology and all

ukesonfire takes heavy inspiration from contemporary choral music and turns it into a romance

ukesonfire gets drunk and listens to some neon trees and strings some words together and then [boy #5] thinks it's the most magical thing he's ever seen

let's throw every nifty choral element ukesonfire's heard in the past two months and jam it into this one, featuring a whitacre-esque ad libitum vocal bit at the end for like four measures

you want a song about [boy #2], [boy #6], [boy #7] and [boy #5] all at once? well here ya go friendo and boy is it loaded with burns, emotions, and excedrin!

let's gather round the campfire and sing our campfire song, but in [native country]

[boy #5] is an asshole so I stole his song and threw some angsty lyrics at the end

weak buildup to an even weaker finale of a 12-minute long epic, but got damn those instrumentals though

very thinly veiled historical fanfiction

maybe this one won't sound like shit at the end ft [boy #5]/[boy #4] feels

[dawnajaynes32]

Old Vessels, Robust New Wine

Old Vessels, Robust New Wine

By Tom Wachunas

   “The aesthetic rationale for using appropriation, as distinct from a political one (though it may come to the same thing), is to insert a tiny wedge between the name and the named, to search out a crack in the wall built of habit and certainty, and work into that small fissure a measure of existential rebellion…Change the context, and meaning is made anew.” – David Salle, from his book, “How To See”

   “For many, even those who have not read the Odyssey, Odysseus’ adventures are part of our cultural knowledge. Given this familiarity, I have chosen to depict his journey within the mythological time period. In contrast, I have chosen to align Penelope’s heroic journey within the present context of female struggle and empowerment.”

- Kari Halker-Saathoff

   EXHIBIT: Odysseus and Penelope – The Long Journey, by Kari Halker-Saathoff / at the Canton Museum of Art THROUGH JULY 22, 2018

 1001 Market Ave. N, Canton, Ohio / Information: 330-453-7666,

 www.cantonart.org

   As physical entities in time and space, we are all vessels. Containers and transporters of our stories. Likewise, our art. 

   One way to think of art – whether spoken or sung, played or performed,  drawn, painted, printed or sculpted – is as a societal self-portrait; a tangible, formalized declaration and sharing of our collective soul. Our art can let us see who we were once, are now, and could yet become. 

   With this exhibit, Kari Halker-Saathoff has employed the historically potent art practice of bringing attention to a now by re-presenting a then. Parallel messages separated by centuries if not millennia.

   There are many significant precedents, among them the Neoclassical oil masterpiece by French painter Jacques- Louis David, Oath of the Horatii. The painting was inspired by an ancient story of early Roman soldiers pledging their lives to a cause before going to war, and here was intended to inspire French citizenry in 1784 to embrace the classical values of civic duty and sacrifice amidst the fervor of the impending French Revolution. Another compelling example is a series of magnificent oil paintings by Italian Baroque-era painter Artemesia Gentileschi, a brilliant advancer of Caravaggio’s tenebrism. The series began in about 1620 with Judith Beheading Holofernes. All the ensuing paintings in the series were variations on a story from the Biblical book of Judith, preserved in the Catholic Old Testament, but designated in the Protestant canon as apocryphal.  In any case, Judith was a Hebrew widow who saved her city from destruction by killing the enemy Assyrian General Holofernes. Judith’s actions in such an adversarial context resonated with Gentileschi as a symbol of her own struggle to be acknowledged not just as an accomplished painter in a male-dominated art world, but also respected as a strong, relevant woman in an oppressively patriarchal society. 

   And so it is that in this remarkable body of work - a combination of 12 graphite drawings on paper and 12 ceramic vessels - Kari Halker-Saathoff has appropriated Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, composed near the end of the 8th century BCE. In text placards that accompany the artworks, the artist gives us an episodic synopsis of this iconic narrative, wherein we learn of Odysseus’ arduous 10-year journey to return to his homeland after the Trojan War. He battles mythical beasts and wrathful deities. Meanwhile, his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, bravely resist cruel and conniving suitors who compete to marry Penelope in a doomed attempt to claim the kingdom of Ithaca.

   The intricately composed graphite drawings exude a graceful theatricality, as if constructed by a scenic designer for a stage play. All those beautifully blended grey tones and ornate linear details against white grounds are actually cut-outs in part, placed in turn against solid black backdrops. It’s an arresting effect, lending a sculpted, bas-relief air to the compositions. Additionally, there are ovoid portraits floating in the corners of each drawing, looking like jeweled pendants or medallions. For the most part, these visages seem to be too…today to be characters from an ancient epic. Perhaps they’re important contemporaries, personal to the artist’s own journey. 

   And therein lies a fascinating turn of perspective, most apparent in Kari’s 12 ceramic vessels. The clay was formed by potter Joshua Ausman according to her specifications, and the shapes of the pots are reminiscent of classical Greek amphoras. Each is trimmed with low fire red accents and adorned with bold, illustrative images in black. 

   You could call these images dramas-in-the-round. They require you to circle them on your own journey to take in all their visual and thematic content, which was inspired by the Women’s March of 2017, and the concomitant concerns of the #MeToo movement. In recognizing the elements of dignity and valor and bravery and heroism threaded through The Odyssey, Kari identifies most deeply with Penelope - not only her anxieties and sufferings, but her fortitude, faithfulness, ingenuity and intelligence as well. Notice how the story progresses from one vessel to the next. The years march on as Penelope waits. Accordingly, the vessels’ necks, ringed with red lines (somewhat suggestive of tree rings), grow progressively taller. Vessels holding more and more…hope?

  A rising up. Slowly but surely, these engaging artworks transcend their rootedness in dusty old myth to become a tangible connection to ourpresent. As such, they’re immediately, indeed urgently relevant to our current milieu of volatile social confrontation and ideological reckoning. “Change the context, and meaning is made anew.”   

   PHOTOS, from top:  1. Clay vessels by  Kari Halker-Saathoff  (with Joshua Ausman)  - image courtesy of the artist) / 2. She Resisted / 3. She Was Warned / 4. Suitors Sued For Harrasment / 5. Breathless Dead / 6. Who Receives Him Kindly / 7. Heartsick On The Open Sea – He Made His Name By Sailing There 

Old Vessels, Robust New Wine syndicated post

[gvnmetal]

Jordan + Relationships

On relationships (family, friends, romantic/sexual partners).

There are two clear periods of Jordan's life in his story: the Before and the After.

The Before period was also divided between two parts, the first were the years where he didn't grasp why or how his feelings towards the people close to him – his father, his brother, himself – were growing twisted. He believed what he felt was ordinary, not uncommon among his friends. People told him he was a momma's boy before and while embarrassed for being called out he didn't think they were wrong, he's always felt more at ease with Melissa than William and his dad never hid well that he played favorites either, it was obvious to anyone who knew them. 

Despite the lectures, disapproving glances, loose yet meaningful jabs from his dad or direct verbal calling from him, Jordan never felt anger towards his father, it wasn't like he was the only target to his dad's bad temper, but he felt scared, weak and often ashamed whenever they were alone. 

Since young age he escaped when the pressure got too much and while he's sure he would eventually learn his love for nature some other way he's somewhat glad for those moments when he couldn't bear anymore and would run to woods nearby, he needed the space but being in that open space with the smell of the river and the trees he immediately made him feel better. It was usually shadowed by worry and guilt when he made his way back and saw his father sitting on the porch waiting to ask where he was, what he was doing and why did he leave without telling him.

It was fine, he convinced himself, it's the way it is.

During those forming years he was still pretty optimistic and playful all around. He had a great relationship with his brother and the neighborhood kids, always there for any games or challenges. He wasn't best player but also not the last one to be picked. It wasn't hard to make friends, he smiled enough, made jokes and didn't mind falling to the back of the group when they walked together to or from school but liked it even better when he would hear the family laughter and Taylor pulling him back to the front to hear whatever story he thought Jordan had to know.

Perhaps that was the biggest contrast and reason Jordan felt his feelings were completely rational at first. Everything dreadful he felt when his father wasn't in a good mood was balanced by how bright and good Taylor was to him. His brother was his dad's pride but that didn't mean he didn't get his share of abuse yet somehow Taylor seemed to be better at handling it than Jordan, those were the times he believed they didn't have it bad, his father was just... strict, he thought, everyone had a parent like that, right? They were fine.

People asked him, more than once, if he didn't feel jealous his younger brother was better at him at (insert pretty much anything but math and computer science probably)? The honest answer no, he was just as proud of Taylor's accomplishments as his parents. Not to say he was never jealous of Taylor but his brother being was great didn't mean Jordan wasn't good too (Enough at the very least). 

When people spoke of jealousy and Taylor in the same context it made him think of other situations, though. Throwback to Jordan being jealous of Hunter, that's close to how it was but less sexual. This realization was the beginning of the second part of his Before situation.

The second part was where I started when I first came up with the idea of them. Honestly it's pretty clear I didn't think that hard on every level how complicated Jordan's emotions and relationship (especially with Taylor) would be but I knew I wanted the challenge of playing a character less... easy? to handle. As in, with pretty much any other character I can have them get away from this messy situation, move on, fall in love with someone else and find a better future, but when it came down to a character romantically and sexually attracted to not only someone in their family but his only brother I knew I was fucked and was going to suffer finding a will to work this out and knowing there was no good solution to it ever. 

We've already discussed a lot about how Jordan realizing what he was feeling for his brother led to a lot of self hate and confusion and the culmination of it caused the twist of the plot, him subtly admitting things to Taylor and then getting kicked out of the house and moving to Chicago. 

The After begins with him moving to USA but still policing his behavior as if William is behind him ready to judge him. It took him a while to accept he was alone, he didn't have his father hovering, his mother worrying and Taylor... well Taylor in general. It hurt more than he thought it would, he had thought of this before but thinking and living it were two very different things. He missed his people, friends and family, his father included and even fighting with Taylor over stupidest shit felt like something he needed back but thinking about it would always bring back his brother's shocked face the night he ruined everything for them and that guilt beat down any sense of pity and urge to go back to Canada. He wasn't welcome anymore.

I do think that during that period Jordan tried to become intimate with a handful of people hoping it would change him, it was a "fresh" start, new life in every sense. From sleeping with girls he barely knew to seriously dating them and once with a guy after too many frustrated attempts and convincing himself his father was never gonna find out and hunt him down for it, he wasn't around anymore. It happened once and while he felt good he didn't call back, never tried it again, he'd never sleep with another man again until Taylor. And then there in this universe there will be one time he sleeps with Cubbie and Lucy but well

There were eventually girlfriends. Ones that lasted three months, other almost a year, one that he went as far as thinking about moving together and saying I love you but none of them made him as comfortable as Leah would eventually make him feel.

Much like his childhood he didn't struggle with making friends. He knew how to be social while still revealing as little as possible about his family, Oh they're in Canada yeah, and then moving the conversation to another topic. It wasn't until TJ showed up that he felt caught with his past but also excited, he could've brushed TJ away but selfishly or not seeing how much TJ was struggling to get his life in order almost made Jordan feel better about his own. Yes they were both fuck ups in their own different way but Jordan knew he didn't have to pretend to be a better person than he really was with his old high school friend.

The fact that they almost got arrested after their little stunt, yeah that was scary but weirdly thrilling. Also it was a great story to tell people, come on.

Then Lucy showed up, he remembers her being such a princess when they were younger, she was more TJ's friend than his but they all changed over the years and turns out he didn't mind having her as his roommate. She was clingy in a way most of his exes never were but she also didn't mind when he told her to go away when he needed to work and she was getting in his way. She also seemed to good at noticing when his mood went dark, days he would stalk Taylor online for no good reason and then hate himself for it and she would stay in instead of going out with her friends and force him into watching movies and massaging her feet. 

The group grows and I don't know if we've talked about this or not but while Jordan doesn't mind being the guy people make fun of I think it's mostly out of his lack of self love. He knows that they don't know what he's done but he thinks he deserves being the joke, he doesn't mind them noticing his screw ups since they're mostly harmless and laughable. Also he can tell when people are being intentionally mean or not, so there's that but on the other hand his care for animals, fragile ones like rabbits, fishes and birds come from his need of proving himself he's capable of protecting them and his overall love for animals. Of course it becomes one more reason to make fun of him, he's a tech guy who likes to smoke weed and name his pet weird names. He's okay with this type of life.

But then (dun dun dun!) – he gets the call. He really didn't think there would be a day he would have to go back to Toronto and see his family again. Realizing what was happening to his father felt surreal, the whole trip and even the moment he saw his family for the first time in person in so many years was underwhelming since it lacked an intense soundtrack and pouring rain but made up with the way his heart beat so loud in his ears and his stomach coiled with the shitty crackers and coffee he had on the plane.

I'll stop this now because I think it's reached a point on the story where we know what happens and also because if I don't idk where I'll end up lmao also this so wasn't just about relationships but I think it covers most of it.

Also one day I will write down all about his relationship with the future Kirrane family because that deserves a different thread really.

[dawnajaynes32]

Old Vessels, Robust New Wine

Old Vessels, Robust New Wine

By Tom Wachunas

   “The aesthetic rationale for using appropriation, as distinct from a political one (though it may come to the same thing), is to insert a tiny wedge between the name and the named, to search out a crack in the wall built of habit and certainty, and work into that small fissure a measure of existential rebellion…Change the context, and meaning is made anew.” – David Salle, from his book, “How To See”

   “For many, even those who have not read the Odyssey, Odysseus’ adventures are part of our cultural knowledge. Given this familiarity, I have chosen to depict his journey within the mythological time period. In contrast, I have chosen to align Penelope’s heroic journey within the present context of female struggle and empowerment.”

- Kari Halker-Saathoff

   EXHIBIT: Odysseus and Penelope – The Long Journey, by Kari Halker-Saathoff / at the Canton Museum of Art THROUGH JULY 22, 2018

 1001 Market Ave. N, Canton, Ohio / Information: 330-453-7666,

 www.cantonart.org

   As physical entities in time and space, we are all vessels. Containers and transporters of our stories. Likewise, our art. 

   One way to think of art – whether spoken or sung, played or performed,  drawn, painted, printed or sculpted – is as a societal self-portrait; a tangible, formalized declaration and sharing of our collective soul. Our art can let us see who we were once, are now, and could yet become. 

   With this exhibit, Kari Halker-Saathoff has employed the historically potent art practice of bringing attention to a now by re-presenting a then. Parallel messages separated by centuries if not millennia.

   There are many significant precedents, among them the Neoclassical oil masterpiece by French painter Jacques- Louis David, Oath of the Horatii. The painting was inspired by an ancient story of early Roman soldiers pledging their lives to a cause before going to war, and here was intended to inspire French citizenry in 1784 to embrace the classical values of civic duty and sacrifice amidst the fervor of the impending French Revolution. Another compelling example is a series of magnificent oil paintings by Italian Baroque-era painter Artemesia Gentileschi, a brilliant advancer of Caravaggio’s tenebrism. The series began in about 1620 with Judith Beheading Holofernes. All the ensuing paintings in the series were variations on a story from the Biblical book of Judith, preserved in the Catholic Old Testament, but designated in the Protestant canon as apocryphal.  In any case, Judith was a Hebrew widow who saved her city from destruction by killing the enemy Assyrian General Holofernes. Judith’s actions in such an adversarial context resonated with Gentileschi as a symbol of her own struggle to be acknowledged not just as an accomplished painter in a male-dominated art world, but also respected as a strong, relevant woman in an oppressively patriarchal society. 

   And so it is that in this remarkable body of work - a combination of 12 graphite drawings on paper and 12 ceramic vessels - Kari Halker-Saathoff has appropriated Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, composed near the end of the 8th century BCE. In text placards that accompany the artworks, the artist gives us an episodic synopsis of this iconic narrative, wherein we learn of Odysseus’ arduous 10-year journey to return to his homeland after the Trojan War. He battles mythical beasts and wrathful deities. Meanwhile, his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, bravely resist cruel and conniving suitors who compete to marry Penelope in a doomed attempt to claim the kingdom of Ithaca.

   The intricately composed graphite drawings exude a graceful theatricality, as if constructed by a scenic designer for a stage play. All those beautifully blended grey tones and ornate linear details against white grounds are actually cut-outs in part, placed in turn against solid black backdrops. It’s an arresting effect, lending a sculpted, bas-relief air to the compositions. Additionally, there are ovoid portraits floating in the corners of each drawing, looking like jeweled pendants or medallions. For the most part, these visages seem to be too…today to be characters from an ancient epic. Perhaps they’re important contemporaries, personal to the artist’s own journey. 

   And therein lies a fascinating turn of perspective, most apparent in Kari’s 12 ceramic vessels. The clay was formed by potter Joshua Ausman according to her specifications, and the shapes of the pots are reminiscent of classical Greek amphoras. Each is trimmed with low fire red accents and adorned with bold, illustrative images in black. 

   You could call these images dramas-in-the-round. They require you to circle them on your own journey to take in all their visual and thematic content, which was inspired by the Women’s March of 2017, and the concomitant concerns of the #MeToo movement. In recognizing the elements of dignity and valor and bravery and heroism threaded through The Odyssey, Kari identifies most deeply with Penelope - not only her anxieties and sufferings, but her fortitude, faithfulness, ingenuity and intelligence as well. Notice how the story progresses from one vessel to the next. The years march on as Penelope waits. Accordingly, the vessels’ necks, ringed with red lines (somewhat suggestive of tree rings), grow progressively taller. Vessels holding more and more…hope?

  A rising up. Slowly but surely, these engaging artworks transcend their rootedness in dusty old myth to become a tangible connection to ourpresent. As such, they’re immediately, indeed urgently relevant to our current milieu of volatile social confrontation and ideological reckoning. “Change the context, and meaning is made anew.”   

   PHOTOS, from top:  1. Clay vessels by  Kari Halker-Saathoff  (with Joshua Ausman)  - image courtesy of the artist) / 2. She Resisted / 3. She Was Warned / 4. Suitors Sued For Harrasment / 5. Breathless Dead / 6. Who Receives Him Kindly / 7. Heartsick On The Open Sea – He Made His Name By Sailing There 

Old Vessels, Robust New Wine syndicated post