#folklore was like the most interactive beautiful film of all time

[thelonelybrilliance]

Eras Tour Setlist Ranked by How Much They Changed My Life

Reputation

Red

Fearless

Acoustic

Lover

folklore

evermore

Midnights

Speak Now

1989

[kaus-quietis]

The circus videoclub - November, by Rainer Sarnet

There are movies that haunt you, years after you watched them. These movies give off a particular feeling, one you cannot get out of your mind. Today in the circus videoclub, I want to share with you November, a masterpiece produced by estonian director Rainer Sarnet.

Hello there! I'm the circus resident poltergeist, Eliott, managing this blog until Lav comes back. Here in the circus videoclub I share with you my most recent discoveries / films I wish everyone would watch one day!

Rainer Sarnet was born in Rakvere, Estonia, in 1969. He is an estonian director and writer who started his work in animation. His film, November, was released in 2017, and is based on Rehepapp ehk november (the currants of november), a novel by famous estonian writer Andrus Kivirähk.

I have a lot of passions in life, which include black and white movies, folklore, good movies, books, and beautiful sceneries. November might have been just the perfect work for me in all these regards. Released in 2017, the movie is based on a novel, Rehepapp ehk november by Andrus Kivirähk (we will get to this author in another episode of the Circus Bookclub).

A quick note on Rehepapp ehk november, which happens to be one of my favourite novel: I cannot recommend it enough, however it hasn't been translated into english yet, from what I am aware of. You can read it in many other languages though, including finnish, latvian, russian, hungarian, french, etc. It is a great novel and has inspired a lot of artistic creations in Estonia (including this movie and a beautiful graphic novel).

In November, we follow the life of a nameless, fictional estonian village in the 19th century. The action takes place during the month of November, when winter is already there and life becomes harsher. In this village, however, things are not as ordinary as one could think. The villagers seek the help of treasure-bearers (kratts) to steal from each other and accomplish tasks, make deals with the devil at crossroads to buy a soul for their kratt in exchange of their own (fooling him, each time), trick the Plague and some turn into werewolves and ask the advice of witches. It is a strange and fascinating ballet of folktale, mythological themes, somber atmosphere and strange, beautifully written interactions between the villagers and the strange creatures/habits/phenomenas they live with, without questioning them. These strange things are part of the life of the villagers, and their acceptance of them gives to this movie a beautiful and particular ethereal feeling.

I simply love when such weird, strange situations are not perceived as weird and strange by the people living them. In November, these are just part of the story, without taking too much space or being put into question. As we see a kratt stealing, it is simply that: a kratt stealing, not a mystery to be solved. This is I think part of what makes Rainer Sarnet's movie so powerful, this perfect balance between the strange and the mundane.

November is a beautiful movie, with great images and well-written dialogues. It is strange and ethereal, but this strangeness is masterfully crafted, and does not put us outside of the action. From the first shot, the movie creates an atmosphere, a space from which it is impossible to free ourselves from: we have to wait for the credits. November is described as a fantasy horror drama film, and this mix of genres creates an original, unique and inspiring work. There is no movie like this one. As Hideo Kojima said on his twitter account: November is the movie for me.

I cannot encourage you enough to watch it. Not only is it a unique masterpiece, it is perfectly crafted from every angle, be it the scenario, the acting, the photography, the dialogues, the rythm, everything. Everything feels perfectly thought about, controled, and therefore flows perfectly in this strange yet fascinating film that unfolds. The main story itself -although there are many, many stories in this film, is quite simple, and it is a good thing. It allows the universe to unfold and takes all the space it needs and the atmosphere to settle.

This is it for November! I discovered this film a few years ago and it has been one of my biggest cinematic shocks so far. As time goes, I see this film gaining more and more recognition, and this makes me extremely happy. I hope you will enjoy it as well!

[la-appel-du-vide]

10•13•23

My year of Taylor Swift continues, with The Eras Tour the FILM! It was announced early on a weekday morning, so what did I do? Immediately bought two tickets to opening night, assuming I could find someone who wanted to go, and Maddie did! And within an hour the whole opening day was sold out. We were psyched.

As always, it was a long wait, but the day finally came. AMC and Cinemark were both showing the movie, and both had unique Eras Tour popcorn buckets and cups. But AMC had a special pink tin, and a tote bag with a light-up baton. I was really in it for the pink tin, but we had tickets to Cinemark! I called AMC the night before to find out if they would be selling the buckets early, and they said they'd go on sale at 11:30 opening day, but they'd suggest coming early because of how much interest people already had in getting that bucket.

So... we're insane. But Kena, Mads, and I got to the theater at 9 AM to wait in line. There was not a single other soul. From what the theater employee said, I expected a line around the block already! I might just be traumatized from tour day merch... haha.

But we were there, so we sat around making friendship bracelets to kill the time, and it was actually my first time doing it! I didn't take any with me to the show, but from now on I will! It was so fun and cute.We decided to all make one especially for each other. I made one for Kena that said "Karma is Ken's Cat" and she made me the most precious one in Speak Now colors that says "Time Of My Life" with a little dragon charm. I love it. For Mads, I did a "Madnights" bracelet, and she gave me a "Miss Ashicana" bracelet. I love Swifities and the cute stuff we all do. I made a few more for myself including a Bejeweled one with pearls and hanging gems that is my absolute favorite, and a Midnight Rain one with rain drop gems and stars to go along with our outfit for the movie!

Did I end up spending way too much money on merch? Yes, yes absolutely. I got the pink bucket, the black bucket, the tote bag, and a cup. And then at the show at Cinemark later, I ended up getting another bucket and another cup - because they had pink popcorn and it was too cute to pass up! So yeah, I'm set hahah.

I had to work for a couple of hours, and then Mads and I met up to finish our bracelets, and to finish getting ready for the movie. My dress came literally in the last possible second, and I was so relieved after worrying about it all day. We did "Sunshine" and "Midnight Rain." And if I say so myself, we were so cute! I was giving Fearless, with a side of Reputation thanks to my gold snake cuff. I would like to wear that outfit every single day.

The movie was just perfect. I loved reliving that incredible, beautiful night, and in so much close-up detail this time! It was so fun to be in a theater where everyone was singing and dancing, and just enjoying. Being human is cute.

I got to do my first friendship bracelet trading afterward, and I ended up with the cutest Folklore one in the end! And everyone we met was so sweet, and I love Swifties. As we were walking out, there was a little girl walking in, clearly going to the next showing. She was dressed just like me, and I just so happened to have been given a Fearless bracelet, that was much too tight for my wrist. I stopped her to ask if she wanted a bracelet, and she lit up. It was the most precious interaction. Her mom had her take a picture with me, and she had clip-on bangs to look more like Taylor, and honestly the night couldn't have been sweeter.

I'm already planning to go again with Whit! She used one of our secret songs (Our Song) in the movie, and I love that it's on-screen forever for us!

I love you Taylor, omg.

[ariel-seagull-wings]

TOP 10 LIVE-ACTION FAIRY TALE MOVIES

@princesssarisa @faintingheroine @the-blue-fairie @amalthea9 @angelixgutz @sabugabr @superkingofpriderock @chansondefortunio @notyouraveragejulie @giuliettaluce @solevenus

Note: this is just a list of personal favourite live-action fairy tale movies, not a list of "what are the objective best fairy tale movies".

To make the list slightly organized and consistent, i setted up some basic rules:

1° They must have been theatrically released. Direct- to-Video or Made-for-TV releases, like the Hallmark Hall of Fame series, the Muppets Fairy Tale TV specials or Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, will not be counted here.

2° They must be adaptations of pre existing fairy tales, be they directly collected from oral tradition like the Brothers Grimm tales, or literary tales slightly inspired by elements of oral tradition, like the works of Andersen. Movie script original stories like Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal or adaptations of fantasy novels like Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan and Pinocchio will not be on the list.

Now that the rules are set, let's go onto the countdown.

10° Snow White and The Three Stooges (1961)

Got the tenth place on this list because of how much i love the found family dinamic developed between Snow White, the Prince and the Three Stooges (who got the role of the Seven Dwarfs)

09° Jak se budi princezny (1977)

Princess Ruzhenka is a very outspoken and charismatic encarnation of the princess Sleeping Beauty, and because of that her and the movie she stars in has winned my hearth.

08° The Glass Slipper (1955)

This is one of the early cinematic adaptations of the Cinderella tale that experimented with turning the supernatural elements more subtle, exploring a more grounded love story between the heroine and the Prince, wich would be a very influential aproach over later adaptations. The highlight are the performances of Leslie Caron as the strong tempered but vulnerable Ella and Estelle Winwood as the unconventionally wise Mrs. Toquet.

07° La Belle et la Bete (1946)

Probably the most historically influential fairy tale movie of all time, in his masterpiece Jean Cocteau tooked what was considered a simple morality tale about a woman preparing to marriage, and turned it into a study about the minds of two complex characters in search of deep connection and their place in the world

06° Three Wishes for Cinderella (1973)

The late Libuse Safrankova brought with her performance one of the most funny, adventurous energetic and sassy encarnations of Cinderella. This is her movie, where she gets to be a scrappy maid, a confident warrior, and am elegant damsel, all at once, and i forever will be glad of finding her.

05° The Scarlet Flower (1977)

This live action film adaptation of Sergey Aksakov's take on the 'Beast and Beauty' type of story is very unique in its exploration of the russian countryside and its folklore, the plant inspired design of the Beast, and in its slow paced storytelling that invests more in the characters facial expressions and body language than in dialogue, all factors that have captivated me.

04° Zolushka (1947)

My number one favorite Cinderella live action movie. When i watch this movie and see the costume and set designs, the theatrical acting styles, the coloring work, the music, the small nods to other Perrault tales, i feel transported to my childhood, touched by how those artists joined together to bring one of my favourite storybooks to life with all emotional sincerity and no hint of irony.

03° Panna a Netvor (1978)

While Jean Cocteau set the stage for using the 'Beast and Beauty' type of tale as the basis for a cinematic psychological character study, 1978's Panna a Netvor went even deeper with the idea, choosing not to use any villain or external antagonistic force and instead completely centering the heroine and the Beast's characters as they interact in the closed space of the old castle and talk about the fears they have of their own feelings. Both get equally developed in this beautifull coming of age gothic fairy tale.

02° Donkeyskin (1970)

A loving homage to the storytelling legacy of both Charles Perrault and Jean Cocteau, this movie is the combination of a Medieval Book of Hours with the 1970s Psychodelia, wich when mixed resulted in something uniquely beautifull and colorfull.

01° The Company of Wolves (1984)

Based on Little Red Riding Hood, wich is my favorite fairy tale, i love the fact that this movie explores the fairy story at its root: the people, most of wich were working class women, who reunited their loved ones to tell them a story they learned in their dreams, and from those stories people would take different lessons about topics such as nature, spirituality, love, family, sexuality, life. Following Rosaleen's dream, where she and her Grandmother shares tales about humans turned wolves, we are invited to reflect about the roles of man and women in society and their arbitrareness, and how those roles can be subverted once we take consciousness that we all share a dark, wolf like side. All this, and more, are what makes The Company of Wolves my number favorite live action fairy-tale film adaptation.

Honorable Mentions:

Beauty and the Beast (1960)

This movie presented an interesting combination of fairy tale romance with political drama in an italian renaissance setting and a Beast who would turn human during day light, all very creative ideas that deserve to be complemented.

The Slipper and The Rose (1976)

This adaptation of the tale of Cinderella has great performances, beautifull costumes and magnificent songs by the Sherman Brothers. It was just that The Glass Slipper, wich shares the same 18th Century Setting, has personally touched me more.

[argentnoelle]

aromantic asexuality and light’s “coldness”

Misa: Don’t you believe in love at first sight? Light: (...) ...No. (Death Note, chapter 30)

(read on ao3) A frequent descriptor among people who watch Death Note and try to come up with a way to describe Light is that he’s “cold” “unfeeling” and “a psychopath.” All diagnosis aside, what is the element here that is being understood and interpreted in that way? Is it because he lies all the time? (So does L). Is it because he murders all the time? (So does Misa. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her described as “cold” or “unfeeling” although she casually betrays her friends and is not shown to have a single care for anyone who’s not Light.)

Maybe it’s more than Misa’s cutesy manner versus Light’s reserved front that make people assign to one the idea of “cold” and not to another. After all, Misa has a very “understandable” motivation. She’s in love. She’s head-over-heels. She’s obsessed. She murders more people than anyone else in the entire series.

Light has strict ideals. He doesn’t sway from them, even when he should. L is his opposite, his foil, the only person who ever understood him, and Light kills him easily. He feels bad about it, but he never once considers changing his ways.

Plenty of other people in the series have strict ideals and wouldn’t ever consider changing their ways. Not least among them is Soichiro, who would probably kill Light and then himself if he ever found out that his son is Kira. Is he “cold” or “unfeeling”?

L is described in similar terms, although in peripheral canon. “He had been called a kinky detective who relished bizarre murders, a human computer capable of measuring mass murders in terms of cold numbers, a reclusive sociopath.” (L: Change the WorLd novelization). The novelization then goes on to say that this estimation of him is entirely wrong.

Maybe it’s the fact that Light pretends to feel things when he doesn’t. He “uses” people.

When people are shown to have something Light needs, particularly information or the ability to obfuscate something he’s doing, he generally uses flattery to convince people to do what he wants them to.  Most often, he uses these techniques on women, especially those shown to have a romantic interest in him. This behavior brings to mind an American film trope, the femme fatale, a woman who uses seduction in order to manipulate the men around her. Like the femme fatale’s focus on seduction techniques in order to get ahead, Light calls these women beautiful and uses romantic ideas like fate to keep them interested in him and therefore useful to his goals. (rachello344)

In the Sino-Japanese folklore “red string of fate” (unmei no akai ito, 運命の赤い糸), an invisible red string around one’s little finger, connects two lovers to each other. (Kaisa Lehtonen, “No Romantic Feelings—Asexuality in Japan”)

And yet a femme fatale is usually at least a little bit in love. Terrible, twisted, desperate love—that’s the center of noir! Light is not in love. He never seems to feel it. (Except for his actions toward L, which could easily be interpreted through a noir lens). None of Light’s interactions with his “potential love interests” have any hint of him falling in love, or feeling even remotely attracted to them in the slightest.

Overtaken by evil, Light even takes advantage of love to achieve his goals. (HTR13, page 9)

What exactly do we mean when we refer to “love”? In English there’s only one word for it. We can add descriptors, of course, say “romantic love” “familial love” etc, but mostly, we just use the word love.

In Japanese, there’s two big words that mean “love”—ai (愛) and koi (恋). Here is a small description of the difference. In short, koi is romantic or passionate, while ai is a general feeling of love, “‘koi’ is always wanting and ‘ai’ is always giving.”

Cultural discourses in Japan acknowledge also the spectrum of affectionate feelings of different kinds. Besides feelings of romantic love (ren’ai, 恋愛) or sexual love (seiai, 性愛) the language has different expressions for romantic love in a sudden, passionate sense (koi, 恋) and love as an affection that can grow into a person (ai, 愛). The latter can include the love felt for one’s spouse or romantic partner, as well as love towards one’s family or friends. The expression “I love you” in Japanese is “Ai shiteiru”. “Koi shiteiru” on the other hand refers to “falling in love with someone”. (Kaisa Lehtonen, “No Romantic Feelings—Asexuality in Japan”)

Misa epitomizes koi in all ways throughout the series—passionate, romantic, frequently selfish, a “love at first sight” kind of deal. When she’s first seen Light in Aoyama and looks him up on the internet, Misa says “so it’s spelled with the kanji for ‘moon’ but read as ‘Light’ ... that’s kinda hot.” (Death Note, chapter 29). Her computer even has a sticker on it that reads “sexy dynamite” in the same panels, as if to drive home the association between Misa and sex/romance.

In “No Romantic Feelings—Asexuality in Japan” Kaisa Lehtonen writes,

As will be seen from the accounts of the people I spoke with, in Japan, asexuality can also be described as ‘lack of romantic feelings.’ [...] generally Japanese who feel neither sexual nor romantic attraction (overlapping category to AVEN's “aromantic asexuals”) seem to identify themselves as “asexual” written as asekusharu (アセクシャル). [...] in Japanese it is also common to describe an asexual person as a person who ‘does not have romantic feelings’ (ren’ai kanjou, 恋愛感情 ).

This fits extraordinarily well with Light’s insistence that he doesn’t believe in “love at first sight” and his claim that “for example... if you write ‘Light Yagami falls in love with Misa Amane,’ the part about me falling in love will not happen but I’ll die from whatever method is outlined after that.” (Death Note, chapter 29). Light refers to the death note rule that when writing names and actions of death “the causes and situations of death are not impossible to occur” to justify the fact that “the part about me falling in love will not happen.” What Light is textually trying to say is that you can only control people’s actions, not their feelings; and yet the Death Note is certainly shown to have the ability to change people’s state of mind.

For the informants “not having romantic feelings” towards anyone seemed to be the key point of their experiences; Everyone told me that their internet searches had included something along the lines of “I don't have romantic feelings” (ren'ai kanjou ga nai, 恋 愛 感 情 が な い ) or “I don't understand romantic feelings” (ren'ai kanjou ga wakaranai, 恋愛感情がわからない). [...] I found for instance a blogger who argued quite straightforwardly that it is impossible for a person to be both “asexual and heterosexual” or “asexual and homosexual”, since there are no asexuals who feel romantic attraction, and thus the terms “asexual” and “nonsexual” should never be confused with each other. … I got the impression that nonsexuals were seen as people who could fall in love and feel romantic attraction towards others, but who did not want to have sex or were for one reason or another not interested in it. (Kaisa Lehtonen, “No Romantic Feelings—Asexuality in Japan”)

Lynkemma adds, “assuming he is telling the truth here, as far as Light is concerned, the idea that he might fall in love with a young and sexually attractive girl is something that is «impossible to think of». And this in spite of the fact that he knows that people can be made to commit suicide, hijack buses, cut themselves and draw pictures in their own blood...” (Lynkemma, Death Note—A Queer Reading). When Light experimented with the deaths leading up to Raye Penber, Light discovered he couldn’t make someone draw a picture of L without having seen him (in other words, make someone possess knowledge they didn’t already have), hop across the globe in an impossible time frame (in other words, make someone break the laws of physics), or in any other way do something they weren’t “capable” of.

Light: All right... I can’t become your boyfriend, but I can play the part. (Death Note, chapter 29)

What Light promises to Misa is that he will act the way a boyfriend is expected to, but that there’s no way he’s ever going to “feel” it. Of course, to Misa, this is just a hurdle on the way to their true love and him finally falling for her in return.

It was clear that the cultural image of men as naturally sexually active and women as not that interested in sex was also present in the Japanese discourses. (Kaisa Lehtonen, “No Romantic Feelings—Asexuality in Japan”)

In chapter 17, Light makes a big show of why he has traps on his door, and gazes unenthusiastically at sexy girls. As L watches through the surveillance cameras, he muses, “it’s only normal... but... to me... it looks like [Light’s] making a show of saying, ‘I was checking if anyone entered my room because I have books like this stashed inside.’” Light then tries to justify his non-interest to the cameras by saying, “jeez, tricked by the cover again.” As though maybe the girls inside just weren’t sexy enough, or his type, or something like that.

Sachiko: You sure are late, Light. Light: Yeah... I have a girlfriend now... I'll introduce you next time. Sayu: Whoa! What? Light has a girlfriend? Wow! Light: Come on, now. I'm an 18 year old college student, of course. [...] I got room service at the hotel. Sayu: Whoa! Hotel? What's this? Scandalous! Now, there are several things to note about this. First and foremost: Light is lying, he doesn't have a girlfriend. This is even before Misa enters the picture, the girlfriend is entirely fictitious. The lie serves the purpose of keeping his involvement with the Kira investigation secret. But note his comment I'm an 18 year old college student, of course. This is one of the few examples of Light articulating what is essentially his role, the act he puts on. He is an 18 year old college student, so it is «natural» that he should have a girlfriend. It fits his image, it fits the normality he is trying to project. (Lynkemma, Death Note—A Queer Reading)

Light knows that sexual interest (in girls) is a convenient excuse. He uses it all the time as just that—an excuse. While this can be interpreted as him being gay, what ends up being shown in the series is Light consistently using the assumptions other people have that he’ll be interested in sex to hide the fact that he has other goals entirely—killing L, yes, and then after that changing the world; being Kira; becoming a god; saving humanity. These ideals matter to him with the same intensity that having Light’s love matters to Misa, and he will do just about anything to accomplish them.

[Light is] likely not capable of loving a woman. This is probably because he looks down on everyone. He does possess love for his family and for humanity as a whole, however. He also had many friends. (HTR13, page 60)

Kaine-san: I can understand affection (ai, 愛) but what I don't get is romantic love (koi, 恋). (“Ai” wa wakaru kedo, “koi” wa wakaranai, 「愛」は分かるけど、「恋」は分からない。) KL: Ah, in Finnish both “ai” and “koi” are the same (rakkaus, love), so I still feel sometimes that I don't quite get the difference... Kaine-san: “Ai” is something that comes gradually, something you have growing on you, like the love you feel towards your family... (Kaisa Lehtonen, “No Romantic Feelings—Asexuality in Japan”)

However, the one thing that can sway Light from his goals as Kira is considerations about his family. His love for Sayu is what causes him to ruin the entire plan he’d created to clear his name, when she gets kidnapped, and his relationship with his father is complex and drives many of his actions.

But while Light cares about his family, and about humanity as a whole, he is still cut off in a distinct way from them.

It was often the people around them, that made the informants first realize that they saw and felt the world somehow differently from the others. Satou-san had started to feel left out as a high school student, after realizing how hard it was to follow the peer talk about crushes and relationships. Okutsu-san described her experiences similarly: “I felt somehow different, restless with other people”. Not being able to relate or identify with others came up often in the interviews. (Kaisa Lehtonen, “No Romantic Feelings—Asexuality in Japan”)

In Death Note, chapter 1, Light is shown looking listlessly out the window at school while his classmates around him chatter, read magazines under their desks, sleep, or study; he’s the only one shown looking upward, out the window, and away from everyone else. He thinks, “same old thing, day after day... what a bore. This world is a rotten mess.” In episode 1 of the anime, “Rebirth,” we get a whole montage emphasizing his feelings of restlessness and alienation from the world.

​​“Of course I was not interested in love in the first place, but I just tried to date someone as an experiment like decent people do.” (Kaisa Lehtonen, “No Romantic Feelings—Asexuality in Japan”)

Doesn’t this sound like Light? Not interested in love, and yet he’ll date because it’s expected of him. Throughout the series, he never shows the slightest interest in even the idea of love. In chapter 60, Light thinks, “I’ll be killing [Misa] eventually... I can’t develop feelings. That’s how most idiots screw up.” Fortunately for him, he never seems to develop feelings for her, even six years later when they’ve been partners in crime for a long time. Even his relationship with L could be easily described in the same way; you could have him say “I’ll be killing [L] eventually... I can’t develop feelings. That’s how most idiots screw up” and it would make sense. He enjoys L’s company, but L’s presence never sways him from his ideals. It never even makes him consider it.

Light defines himself fundamentally as a decent person. He does so many of the things he does in life because decent people do them, and so, so will he.

During college he had about five or six girlfriends, some being merely camouflage. (HTR13, page 60)

Kaine-san: I tried to go out with people, but well yeah. When I tried they were like “You have not gone out with enough people.” So, like, how many people does one have to go out with to prove that they are asexual? (KL: Ah, ah, ah...) Right? It's like the Devil's Proof [...] In the end, even if I'll never fall in love with anyone ever, they can just say that she had not met The Right One yet, right? (Kaisa Lehtonen, “No Romantic Feelings—Asexuality in Japan”)

In chapter 55, when Light has regained his memories and is coming up with an excuse to continue seeing Misa, he tells L, “Ryuzaki, we’re talking about a woman who not only says she loves me, but risked her life to help me out. [...] After receiving that much affection and dedication, any human with feelings would be moved.” L then asks, “so you’ve developed feelings for her?” Even though this is exactly where he’s wanted the conversation to go, Light is quiet for an entire panel, unable to answer in the affirmative. Finally, he lies, “yeah, maybe I just hadn’t noticed it until now...”

There’s something so deeply ironic and poignant about this line. Light claims, “after receiving that much affection and dedication, any human with feelings would be moved” and yet he’s not moved; he knows he’s not. For him, this is something impossible to think of—Light falling in love is something not even the death note, with all its powers, could contrive. And so, living in a world where everyone seems to be obsessed with sex and romance to one extent or another, Light comes to the conclusion that this is something intrinsic to being a “human with feelings.” And—if not a human with feelings—what does that make him?

(on ao3)

[writingwithfolklore]

Folklore Friday: Kelpie

I’m a lover of all things folklore, mythology, legend, etc. so of course we needed an entire day every week for it. Welcome to the very first (of hopefully many) Folklore Fridays, where I hope to capture a snapshot of one monster or creature from folklore a week.

This week I want to talk about Kelpies from Scottish folklore because I love an evil little water creature. I grew up in a landlocked city, so the ocean is the most mysterious and wonderful thing to me. These guys included.

If you’ve never heard of a Kelpie before, they’re most often beautiful water horses, but sometimes shapeshift and take the form of humans with hooves as well. If you’re at all familiar with water creatures, you won’t be surprised that they tend to take the form of women who lure men to their deaths, but some stories talk also about them turning into handsome men, intending to ward young girls from talking with attractive strangers. In both forms, the hair eternally drips water—a good way to identify an attractive stranger from a Kelpie in disguise.

The Kelpie, as a horse, entices people (including children) to climb onto its back where they become impossibly stuck. Then, it climbs back into the water and drowns them. After they’re drowned, the victims unstick so the Kelpie can eat them. Some say it’s magic, some a sort of energy or force. I like to think they’re just covered in reptilian-like barbs that keep people planted onto their backs, but believe what you will.

One of the cooler stories is that in the case of several victims, the Kelpie can stretch its back as long as needed to make room for more riders. I try to imagine a long stretched out horse and get instant chills. Another chilling story is the one about a child who stroked a Kelpie’s nose, got his hand stuck, and could only get free by cutting off his own finger.

Kelpies hang out around the water’s edge, sometimes already fitted with a saddle and bridle, sometimes bareback, or lurk under the water, ready to drag the unsuspecting swimmer into the depths.

Some stories claim that if you get ahold of their bridle you can turn them into work horses. Kelpies are said to be ten times stronger and have twice the endurance of regular horses, so if controlled, would make excellent workers.

The intention behind passing down the stories of Kelpies is said to scare children away from Scotland’s many rivers and lochs where under practiced swimmers could drown unsupervised, or to ward young people from interacting with strangers even if they are very attractive (and have wet hair, that’s probably nothing though).

So hey—if you’re around any lochs or rivers let me know if you hear any far-away whinnying in the night, or see hoof prints along the creek, or maybe meet an attractive stranger with wet hair and big boots. And if you do—beware.

Have a good weekend, on Monday: a little discussion about film school and dreams.

(But don’t just take my word for it)

Kelpies in Celtic Mythology – Celtic Mythology

Kelpie - Shape-shifting Water Spirit | Mythology.net

Scottish myths, folklore and legends | Scotland.org

Why Are Kelpies So Feared and Distrusted in Scottish Folklore? (icysedgwick.com)

The Kelpie – Scottish Mythological Creature - Symbol Sage

[romanticinpanic]

about me

screenname: rom (she/her)

blog content ranges anywhere from shitposting, fandom, history, aesthetic, and studyblr depending on mood

more about me/my interests below, though it may be slightly outdated

(just for reference, unless topical, a good amount of my reblogs are queued)

note: some of these linked tags are empty, this is mostly for organization (also I gave up on linking everything around the inactive fandom section) 

fav (mostly standalone) movies:

the mummy

scream

heathers

romeo + juliet

labyrinth

what we do in the shadows

the winter soldier

empire strikes back

the half of it

howl's moving castle

addams family values (the addams family)

pride and prejudice

childhood disney films (sleeping beauty, mulan, tangled), honorable mention anastasia

fav musical artists:

taylor swift

mitski

lana del rey

blackpink (rosé biased) and a whole lot of other kpop girl groups

and (according to my last.fm) the smiths, phoebe bridgers, hole, the beach boys, the shangri-las & tv girl

fandoms i consider myself active in (and what i like in them):

star wars (leia, hanleia, love OT, like PT, for the most part like to pretends ST doesn’t exists)

doctor who (rose tyler, RTD era mostly, doctorrose)

PJO (percabeth)

marvel (jean grey, gwen stacy, jott, romanogers, xmen/x-men/x men)

batfamily/dc (dick grayson, poison ivy, dickbabs leaning)

buffy the vampire slayer (drusilla, spuffy [in AUs, not in pure canon])

top gun (a guilty pleasure of mine, icemav)

wwe/pro-wrestling (Kairi [Sane], Asuka, AJ Lee, Judgement Day)

fandoms i’m either inactive in or no longer a part of (but formerly obsessed):

total drama (aleheather, au duncney)

taskmaster

x files

rpdr

yellowjackets

sailor moon

streamers (nihachu, technoblade, RT game, OTV & friends, in the past dsmp)

harry potter (hermione, dramione [in AUs, not in pure canon])

figure skating (evgenia medvedeva, alysa liu)

american horror story

A:TLA (katara, zutara, jinora)

sherlock (molly hooper, sherlolly)

musicals (hamilton, heathers, poto & more [I was in middle school ok! Cut me some slack])

ya fiction

other random obsessions:

empress sisi/sissi

ophelia

Misc folklore & mythology

history

historical fashion

ballet

time periods (for history content)

ancient times

20th century

1920s

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

90s

00s

misc tags i use that haven’t found their way in above

prev tags

quotes

paintings

long post

other accts

ao3: @romanticinpanic

elysian fields: @amina

there are some things i don’t like, but so long as you’ll tag them correctly i won’t interact with them. honestly as long as you’re not toxic/in denial, i’m pretty up for anything (which i know is such a vague description, but it’s hard to out of context create some all encompassing distinction of what is in good fun and what just worsens an online community)

[jadelotusflower]

July 2021 Roundup

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

Reading

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

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

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

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

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

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

And then later:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Watching

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Writing

The Lady of the Lake - 2335 words.

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

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

[loved-lefthaunted]

What are your thoughts on all the evermore songs?

oh my god. this is such a hard question for me so brace yourself. it’s taken me nearly 2 months to write this out and i still don’t think i’ve managed to encapsulate all my thoughts.

So, I have very strong feelings about evermore. I immediately loved it three times as much as folklore, for a variety of reasons. I can do a song-by-song breakdown alongside my general thoughts of the album below:

Firstly, I want to preface this by saying that I do not disregard the impact that folklore had on me prior to evermore’s release. I am not oblivious to the fact that folklore likely primed me for the sound that evermore had and that my mind was set up for a similar sounding album so was willing to receive it with more open ears.

That being said, I think that evermore is the superior album. The overall emotional range and sonic variety of the album is wider and more thought out. The different songs provide a more well-rounded listen in my opinion and give me much more emotional investment than folklore. Each individual song feels strong and there are far more songs with single potential than folklore.

So let’s get down to it:

1. Willow - iconic. The big sister that cardigan deserves. The song that I wish the Lover album had been. A song so fully devoted in such a soft and sweeet way without feeling sickly. A mature way to dedicate a song to the person that you can’t live without but in a way that doesn’t throw pink confetti at your face and tell single people to fuck off. TAKE MY HAND? OKAY TAYLOR. WRECK MY PLANS? FOR SURE BABES. THAT’S MY MAN? 100% FEEL U GAL.

2. Champagne Problems - LOOK. I AM CLAIMING THE NAME SAMPAGNE PROBLEMS FOR ALL FUTURE CONTENT. I want to be proposed to just so that I can reject them and then get wildly drunk on overpriced alcohol. It’s heartwrenching in a way that Taylor hasn’t been since the likes of Treacherous. It doesn’t throw sadness at you, overwhelm you with tears. It hides heartbreak within a soft piano riff and gorgeous imagery.

3. Gold Rush - a sapphic daydream. i cannot believe this is real. The return of a heart-thumping drumbeat and the most lovely, pure song that just describes the infatuation with someone beautiful and how you can wonder about them and be so happy about them and jealous of them all at once.

4. ‘Tis The Damn Season - this christmas song makes me wish i had a boy next door in my hometown that i could randomly sleep with. why don’t i have a fluffy hallmark holiday film based upon this premise? why isn’t there a christmas music video to show me how their interactions work during the holidays and how it differs so vastly with their normal lives? Why can i feel both the distance and the closeness that these two people feel? the cutest dedication to a very un-cute casual relationship. a bittersweet shout out to the people who make us happy for a few fleeting moments spread out over the long haul.

5. Tolerate It - i have very VERY strong feelings about this one. it feels like it both encapsulates romantic and non-romantic love so perfectly. It pairs perfectly with the likes of Closure (more on that later). We all deserve to be celebrated. In a world of people settling for less than they deserve, we should reach for those who deserve us. We are worth it. Find someone who will show us how worthy we are. It’s aching and slow and painful and just....everything. Just because someone has always been there doesn’t mean they deserve to continue to be there. Tolerating you is not the same as deserving your loyalty.

6. No Body, No Crime (feat. HIAM) - IT TOOK 14 YEARS BUT TAYLOR FINALLY MURDERED A MAN IN COLD BLOOD AND I AM HERE FOR IT. MEN ARE TRASH, LADIES. REMEMBER THIS. ENGRAVE IT INTO YOUR TOMBSTONES. TATTOO IT ON YOUR FOREHEADS. MEN AS AN ENTITY DO NOT DESERVE US. MURDER THEM. A YEEHAW DREAM. (I have no strong feelings about HIAM but the existence of Este’s name is a blessing in itself, their backing vocals are a lovely addition and a true testament to their friendship as we know how protective Taylor is about mixing business and friendship through collaborations)

7. Happiness - this song is HURTFUL. a song about growth, a song about finding yourself amidst the loss of a partner, a friend, a family member. a loss so deep that it will hurt you for years to come and take a piece of you away forever. but a loss that you have to be resigned to and grow from and let go of. the slow build of the backing is something i haven’t heard since Holy Ground. Both songs talk about loss and moving on in such starkly different ways but still encompass the feeling of reminiscing on something good and pure and perfect whilst battling the knowledge that it’s over and trying to be happy for the person now that they’re gone.

8. Dorothea - the sweetest girl in the neighbourhood. a childhood friend that we all miss having. a person we watched grow into something massive and successful and we’re so genuinely happy for them. the song encompasses the feeling of a distanced joy. a joy that has nothing to do with you, everything to do with this person that you’d be happy to accept again with open arms but will be equally as happy to watch succeed from a distance. a bouncy backing track and lovely vocalisations that really build a sense of a warm hug and the feeling of soft morning sun on your skin.

9. Coney Island (feat. The National) - alright. so i’m sat on a bench in the cold, wrapped up in a winter coat and a hat and gloves and a massive scarf that covers half of my face. i can see the air when i breathe out. there’s an empty ferris wheel at a deserted fairground and i can remember when it was alive and bustling and when i was surrounded by all of the people closest to me on a late summer’s day. and i miss them. i yearn for that to be back. the way we yearn for a time before covid, before masks and elbow touches and sanitising everything. a time when you could sit around a table with your friends and welcome someone with a hug and visit your family for the holidays. a time of joy that was so overlooked until it was gone. The presence of The National is also a breathtaking addition and truly deserved after Aaron’s input on both folklore and evermore. I’m glad they saved it for this song.

10. Ivy - this song just radiates GREEN. Am I in a forest? Am I just in a greenhouse, watering the plants? The guitar/banjo sounds make me so horrifically nostalgic for Speak Now era. The male backing vocals remind me that Taylor has evolved so far from the girl we used to exclusively listen in conjunction with Caitlin Bird and Liz Huett. 

11. Cowboy Like Me - one of the only songs I don’t really care about? it’s not bad, it’s just not great. it’s yeehaw without the accompanying passion. It’s the end of a sad, sad wild west movie. It’s a backing track in a scene of a TV show when someone is going on a journey alone to find themselves. But it’s nothing special.

12. Long Story Short - DO NOT FUCKING TOUCH ME. THE BEST SONG ON THIS ALBUM IN MY OPINION. THE STRONGEST BEAT, THE NOSTALGIA OF 1989, THE LYRICS OF RED, THE FUCKS GIVEN OF REPUTATION. THE PERFECT IMMERSIVE TAYLOR EXPERIENCE. TRULY A 10/10 ENTITY. I WILL HAVE THIS PLAYING AT MY GRADUATION. I SURVIVED.

13. Marjorie - the loss of a grandparent is always a lot. i’ve lost 2 due to Covid and it’s cut me deeper than I ever imagined. Marjorie is the 50′s sepia toned daydream that sends you flying back to being a child and being taught life’s most important lessons when you were far too young to understand them from someone so much wiser than you. It feels like I’m being taught to live again. Another build up backing track, but in such an uplifting way? A way that makes you think of the sun slowly coming out of the clouds. Of the end of a rainstorm and the start of a new day. Optimism and innocence. Peace and hope.

14. Closure - right, the return of sadness. The use of the clatter and discord in the background. The death of a Big Machine (subtle and perfectly done). She’s doing better. We all are. It reminds me of the friends I’ve lost and crave to have back but know I’m better off without. We have to let go of this. Close the chapter. You don’t even need the epilogue, it’s over. The production makes me so uncomfortable and it’s SO NECESSARY because lack of closure is UNSETTLING. It’s horrifying. It’s devastating. But the lyrics and the power of the song show how strong you can be and how important it is to push through the discomfort and continue to live.

15. Evermore (feat. Bon Iver) - the titular song. The return of Bon Iver’s vocals and the lone piano background are truly something to be commemorated for years to come. Although it lacks the painstaking hurt of Exile, this is one of her most simple pieces of artistry on this album and it’s BEAUTIFUL. Something that feels bare and raw. A song that cuts deep and shows us the true core of what she’s currently feeling right now: that although pain might feel forever, it’s not. all pain, much like joy, is fleeting and we have to feel it but we need to remember that it’s only a piece of our experience and place it into context. The song veers on self-pity and wallowing in hopelessness until the latter third, where suddenly hope rises out of the ashes alongside a slightly padded out production from Bon Iver’s vocals. A strong end to the album. This song sets us up for future albums on a note of optimism. It’s a new dawn. 

[infp-with-all-the-feelings]

2020 Year in Review

Rules: answer some questions about 2020 and tag some people!

Tagged by: the sweetest @bookwormforalways 🌻

Top Five Four Films you watched in 2020: 1. Hamilton 2. Inside Out 3. All the Bright Places 4. Little Women (honest to goodness can’t remember if I saw this at the end of last year or the beginning of this year so I’m putting it on this list) **I don’t watch movies very often and feel like I should get better at this

Top Five Six TV Shows in 2020: 1. Schitt’s Creek 2. The Good Place 3. Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist 4. Agents of Shield 5. Julie and the Phantoms 6. Outer Banks

Top Five Songs/Albums in 2020: 1. Folklore (the album), Taylor Swift (never thought I’d say that but here we are) 2. I Found (acoustic) by Amber Run 3. Anchor by Novo Amor 4. You are Gold by The National Parks 5. Killer + The Sound by Phoebe Bridgers ft. Noah and Abby Gundersen **I think like all of these songs came out before 2020 but I heard them this year and that’s all that matters

Top Five Books of 2020: 1. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 2. The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes 3. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo 4. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (because I read it every year and it’s still just as beautiful and heartbreaking as the first time) 5. Uhhh... all the fanfiction? All combined would make up so many books and I got really into fanfiction this year (which is probably why I was so bad at reading real books🙈)

Top Five Nine Fanfictions of 2020: HOLY POOP THERE ARE SO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THIS?? 1. I’ll Find You in the Morning Sun by @cominguproses13x 2. I Found Peace in Your Violence by @eyessharpweaponshot 3. All Because of You by @burninghoneyatdusk 4. Paint Me in Trust by @pawprinterfanfic 5. The Courage of the Stars by @bookwormforalways 6. Where the Light Won’t Find You by @asroarke 7. Finding North by @kombellarke 8. Instant Family by @nakey-cats-take-bathsss 9. Intertwining your soul (with somebody else) by @stealing-jasons-job **I only started reading fanfiction this year and Y’ALL you are a TALENTED bunch!! Like I’m overwhelmed with trying to choose so please know I enjoy reading so many more stories than just what’s listed!

Five good/positive things that happened to you in 2020: 1. I was made an aunt for a second time! And then a third! I gained a new niece and nephew this year and have been lucky enough to get to meet them and love on ‘em a little in this crazy year. 2. I’ve been able to maintain steady employment and safely work from home. I know that’s been a struggle for a lot of people this year, and I don’t take it lightly that I’m a lucky one. Our county also just told us today that we’ve been approved as “essential workers” for the vaccination and I’m signed up for the first dose next week! 3. I’ve gone outside and taken walks more frequently! With the shutdown happening right as spring hit my state my roommate and I often took walks when we were finished working to help get out of the monotony of of living within our apartment. When I moved this summer I learned there’s a little park within walking distance and it has a path along the river so I tried to walk there as often as I could and hope to continue to go on not super-cold days this winter. 4. I think I’ve come to truly appreciate time spent with family and friends. Before this year, I think it’s safe to say that most everyone would never have expected to lose the ability to see the people you love and I finally realized how much I had taken that for granted. I’m an introvert, but I have a number of friends that I like to see regularly and when that was stripped away it was a shock that I never expected (let’s be real - this whole year is a shock none of us expected). I think I’m losing my point which is simply I LOVE MY FRIENDS AND I MISS THEM AND I ALSO APPRECIATE THEM SO MUCH. 5. THIS. THIS WHOLE SPACE HERE. ALL OF YOU LOVELY PEOPLE THAT I’VE MET AND GROWN TO LOVE. I could prolly go on for dayz about what this space has meant to me but this is already a super long post and we don’t have time for that. Truly though, I’m so lucky to have met such talented, thoughtful, intelligent, beautiful, funny, etc etc people. Bellarke fam -- y’all have been the most welcoming and I’m forever grateful to have decided to join tumblr and interact with you guys. You’re all so incredible and I love you. LONG LIVE BELLARKE.

Tagging/sending lots of love and big NYE hugs💛: @igotbellarkeforthat @otp-armada @pendragaryen @together-is-my-favourite-place @bellamyblake @immortalpramheda @gansxythethird @slick-as-hell @carrieeve @angstybleuskies @wonderingwhyy and any of the fic writers I tagged!

[thelanternlight]

Source

Witchy Asks!

Hello fellow witches! Here’s 50 Witchy Asks written by the-lunar-vixen. Please follow if you enjoy them. Blessed be!

1    What type of witch are you?

A gay one.

2    What deities do you like to work with, if any?

Angels, faery, guides, Mother God, Father God, Christ, saints, and ancestors. I'll also work with deities from various religions as they pertain to a spell or ritual (e.g. I may work with Hathor for a love spell).

3    Have you ever created your own spell?

Absolutely, most of the spellwork I do is original at least to some extent.

4    What’s your favorite time of year?

All the year is beautiful and wonderful for a myriad of reasons but Springtime is sacred to me.

5    Do you have a witch you look up to?

I think I have teachers that come and go in my life. They can be famous or not famous, witches or not, etc. Currently I'm loving Ember Honeyraven.

6    What makes you feel powerful?

Balance and freedom. Knowing that I'm on the side of what's good and right.

7    Do you have a favorite myth?

I'm an author and storyteller so I have many, many favorite myths. Off the top of my head I love the stories of Medusa, Apollo, the Christian Creation myth, Germanic and Scandinavian folklore, Anansi and his stories, Arthurian legends... the list goes on, but yes I LOVE stories. I think have so much meaning and wisdom to share.

8    Which famous/fantasy witch do you relate to the most?

I've grown up watching witches in movies, television, reading about them, etc so I've related to witches one way or another since day one. The Charmed Ones (all four) were role models for me when there were no role models for little, effeminate weirdos like myself as a child. The Sanderson Sisters were person heroes to me and I tried to emulate them from the very first time I saw the film; in fact those three are perhaps the original witches with whom I related the most. Since then there have been SO many wonderful characters in entertainment and in real life that inspired me so incredibly much that they've become a part of me.

9    Are you a wiccan?

I am not.

10   What’s the most unique item you’ve ever used in a spell?

I guess a dildo? I think 'unique' is a relative term.

11   Do you own any witchy books?

Apart from my personal book of spells I've owned many books on witchcraft but have parted ways with the majority of them. I'm currently trying to downsize the amount I have currently as it happens. Anybody want some free books?

12   Which misconception about witches annoys you the most?

That magic isn't real and this is all nonsense. I think it's especially irritating when people of other faiths criticize my own as if a prayer is anything different from an incantation. In fact I would argue that spells direct energy in a more concentrated way to affect change than simply petitioning a deity.

13   Have you ever created your own sigil?

You bet. Sometimes you just need something original and unique for the rite/spell.

14   What element are you most drawn to?

Water.

15   Do you have a familiar?

Some people use the word "familiar" interchangeably with "pet". I do have a pet but she's not my familiar. Other people define "familiar" as "spirit animal" which I'm not entirely sure is correct either. I'm in a bit of a gray area on this subject, but I see question 17 below touches on it as well.

16   Are you a part of a coven?

No. I've tried working with others to do magic but I think the synergy/chemistry has to REALLY be on point to do effective magic. Very often there's a clash of philosophies or practice that sort of spoils things all too easily whereas working alone allows me to concentrate so much better.

17   What’s your spirit animal?

Again this is a vague term that means different things to different people. I consider my spirit animal to be more or less my "familiar". When I was younger I was walking in the woods one evening praying really hard about something that was weighing very heavily on me. Then suddenly I looked up and there was this gorgeous and perfectly white stag looking back at me. He stood there for quite a while before slowly walking off again and the whole situation had such a profound sense of meaning to it. I saw the stag a few more times until finally, late one night while I was walking through the woods by a lake under the glow of a bright full moon I saw the stag one last time on the far side of the water. Ever since then the white stag has been sacred to me. So that's what I consider my spirit animal/familiar. It's a guide of sorts, a good omen, a sign, a representation of Spirit/Soul/God-energy and Self. I identify with it. So that's my spirit animal.

18   Do you do tarot readings?

I do indeed!

19   What’s your favorite witch movie?

I have several, but Hocus Pocus has been my favorite since I was a wee tot.

20   How many crystal do you have?

I actually don't really know. I don't go out and buy crystals but sometimes they come into my life and then go when they've served their purpose. For example, I had a beautiful large quartz that my grandmother had bought me from the nature store when I was a kid. I loved it so much. But one Halloween night I was doing a ritual with a friend of mine in the woods and ended up losing it. Interestingly, that friend was pursuing me romantically unbeknownst to me while also hooking up with the guy I was hooking up with and also really liked (ugh, gay culture). And during that ritual I was speaking with my grandfather (husband to the grandmother who bought me the quartz that I lost that night). So what does all that mean? I have no idea. But I figured all things considered maybe it was just time to let that thing go, along with other things that night.

21   What’s the most unique item on your altar?

I don't really have the privacy to set up an altar but generally I like my "work area" to be neat. Everything has a purpose and a meaning and a function. If I need to burn something I have the item/items, the cauldron, the lighter, oils, and anything else needed for what I'm doing. So nothing in particular stands out as "unique"... unless... Well I do have a small copper cauldron with a handful of dirt from my grandmother's house that I've kept for almost twenty years now. I guess that's unique?

22   Have you ever enchanted anything?

Oh god, yes, lots of things. I've enchanted things so as to protect them, or so that the item will protect someone else or some place... I've enchanted things for love, or to keep something or someone away. I've enchanted things to help in a greater ritual or spell. And so on.

23   What’s your religion?

I was raised Christian Baptist but following one horrible experience after another I've absolutely left that faith well behind long ago. I don't have a particular religion in the sense of organized religion. I'm spiritual and I cast spells. I also believe in science. I don't call myself a witch but I do everything a witch does.

24   Do you have a favorite crystal?

"I could no sooner choose a favorite star in the heavens".

25   What are some of your favorite spells?

Oooo I'd have to say I'm rather partial to love magic. I'm particularly good at it too.

26   What do you like to do to cleanse your space?

After physically cleaning a space I like to use the Violet Fire to cleanse an area as well as cleansing using a broom and a wand and/or athame.

27   When do you feel the most powerful?

When nature and I have our little moments. When the wind is warm and strong. When I'm out in a storm. When I can "feel" things growing during the Spring. The silence of a frozen winter night in the woods... Also when I'm cooking. I fucking LOVE charging a pot of boiling ingredients with good juju.

28   Do other people know you’re a witch?

A few people close to me know I practice witchcraft. Others think I'm just a little bit daffy.

29   Has one of your spells ever gone wrong?

Definitely. Mostly when I was still learning and practicing. Like this one time in sixth grade I cast a spell so that a popular girl in school would like me and we could start dating. Obviously since I was gay I didn't really want to be with her, I only did it because I wanted to be cool (although I did like her and we ended up being fairly good friends until we went to different high schools). That spell backfired and I ended up 1. not getting the result I intended because I was doing it for the wrong reason and simultaneously trying to force another to do something against her will, and 2. I ended up having one shitty fucking love life for the longest time.

30   What outfit makes you feel the most witchy?

Oh I love me a good cape. Even just walking around with a long blanket around me.

31   Have you ever tried astral projection?

Yes, successfully, several times. I like to use it for meditation. Often I go to the artic sea where there's just ocean, ice, and darkness.

32   Do you have any enchanted jewelry?

Probably.

33   What does your altar look like?

A space on the floor where I cast a circle and set up my stuff.

34   Have you ever seen a spirit?

YES! I've seen fairies, spirits, ghosts, shadows, sparks, heard voices, etc.

35   What’s your favorite spell sachet?

I can't say that I have one.

36   Do you have a favorite sigil?

I'm especially fond of the Sigil of Venus.

37   What’s your astrological sign?

Sun sign Virgo, Rising Pisces, Moon in Sagittarius

38   Have you ever interacted with a deity?

Well, yes, of course... per the previous questions.

39   What color are you most drawn to?

Purple.

40   Do you believe in past lives?

Without a doubt.

41   Where do you like to practice your craft?

Wherever I have privacy and calm.

42   What’s your favorite season?

Springtime, as mentioned previously.

43   Have you ever cursed someone?

That's not what my magic is for. Yes I'm familiar with the how-to, but no I don't partake in that kind of thing. The "worst" I've ever done is cast binding spells to keep someone from harming me and/or even coming into my presence.

44   How long have you been a practicing witch?

I'm telling on myself now but I'd say about 24 years practicing in earnest.

45   What drew you to witchcraft?

A natural inclination.

46   In what moon phase do you feel the most powerful?

The Moon itself does not change with the phases of its shadow. The phases are representational, of course, and its symbology can be evocative and meaningful, but otherwise the Moon is what it is. Therefore I'd have to say I personally feel most connected or at least most aware of the Moon when it's full. Else, I would say when it's waxing as that's when most of my spells are done simply because of the type of spell I usually work.

47   What’s your favorite holiday?

Wisterlimas, and then Halloween. Although I love all the holidays.

48   Do you know anything about your past lives? (if you believe in them!)

Yes, wow, I've done extensive work on discovering my past lives. I've lived in San Francisco at the turn of the century, in Scotland, England, France, Japan, China, as a woman, as a man... It's all very fascinating but you can't delve too deep because it's simply not necessary. You're not really *supposed* to know about your past lives. That defeats the purpose of the great forgetting once you're reincarnated. Yes, you can revisit the major themes and lessons learned, but one shouldn't really fret too much about what happened in the past.

49   Have you ever done an energy reading?

Certainly. I think most people do energy readings even when they don't know they're doing it. There's "reading the room" or "getting a bad vibe". There's also reiki and the like. And healing work. And of course magic is all about directing energy so to achieve a specific goal.

50   What time of day do you like to practice your craft?

Usually at night but it has more to do with the individual spell. Astronomical positioning is also important as well as weather, season, personal mood, day of the week, et al.

[simulacrumcfp]

CALL FOR PAPERS: MYTHS

Two mermaids, from Apocalypse, Prophecy of the Tiburtine Sibyl, Harley MS 4972 f. 20r, 1275-1325.

He placed one hand upon my shoulder and, holding me tight, bared my throat with the other, saying as he did so: “First, a little refreshment to reward my exertions. You may as well be quiet; it is not the first time, or the second, that your veins have appeased my thirst!” 

Lucy’s eyes were unclean […], instead of pure.

Poor Lucy finds herself tainted by the bite of Count Dracula, an aristocratic Transylvanian vampire that is thirsty for blood, out to export his barbaric ways to Victorian England. In his Dracula (1897), Bram Stoker utilises the myth of the vampire to warn the Victorian reader of the Eastern threat, by portraying Eastern Europe as a place of backwardness and barbaric – vampiristic – rituals. Myths about vampires have been around since the medieval period, when they were commonly linked to profanity. Stoker’s Dracula is the resurrection of a mythological figure, one that can be guided in all sorts of directions, for what was once the myth of the undead has come to represent the fears and threats of the time in which they are resurrected. 

Since ancient times, myths have spoken of the how’s and why’s located at the limits of human understanding, designating that place where intellect fails. There, where knowers stop knowing, we story. In The World of Myth (1990) David Leeming writes that ‘human beings have traditionally used stories to describe or explain things they could not otherwise,’ pointing to the timeless human tendency to grapple with the unknown through story. The myth functions as the means by which we relate to the unknown, embodying our wonderings of the worlds beyond human ratio. 

These stories are then conveyed through artworks, literature, history, or religion. Myths, however, do not just function as a source of inspiration for the arts, but often find their origin in art, spreading, evolving, and growing with different art forms and styles. The Venus Anadyomene, for example, first emerged from the sea in the Theogony – a poem by Hesiod from the 8th century BC. This specific depiction of Venus, daughter of Jupiter and Dione, as birthed by the sea was then made famous by the painting by Apelles (4th century BC). Although this painting has long been lost, it was described by Pliny in his Naturalis Historia (1st century AD), which served as an iconological guidebook for artists. From the orators who tell and retell their stories throughout generations, to the poets who write them down, to the sculptors who carve them out, stories are kept alive. To this day, Venus is most commonly known as the goddess who rose from the sea. 

In the Danish fairytale Den Lille Havfrue (1837) by Hans Christian Andersen, sea foam is not where love is born, but where love goes to die. In the Walt Disney adaptation of the fairytale, The Little Mermaid (1989), mermaid princess Ariel, daughter of king Triton, falls in love with a human prince and gives up her tail to be with him. In the original, quite grim, fairytale by Andersen, the little mermaid finds her prince lying with another. She refuses to stab the lovers to death, as her sisters urge her to, and as a result of her broken heart she dissolves in the foam of the waves. 

In Japan, ancient folklore is being retold to a modern audience through the films by Hayao Miyazaki. His Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away, 2001) animates kami, spirits, washing themselves in a bathhouse as a result of pollution and human activity. This mirrors the Shinto belief that both gods and nature have to be respected and kept clean, and serves as a modern warning. Their demonic counterparts, the oni, take form in the character of Yubaba, who is based on the archetype of the mountain witch, or yumuaba. By taking Japanese mythology as a starting point, Miyazaki is able to create a fantasy-scape: a place where the unthinkable becomes possible. 

Perhaps our first association with mythology brings us back to Ancient Greece. But for them, μῦθος simply meant a story – whether a true or false one, gossip, a historical tale or one of faeries, even a dream. Mῦθος and λόγος, two seemingly opposite terms, fantasy and reason, come together in mythology: the analysing and explaining of stories. There are several ways in which a myth can be explained, and therefore one can also speak of several mythologies. In Creative Mythology (1968) for example, American mythologist Joseph Campbell describes how literary figures such as Thomas Mann or James Joyce managed to make themselves into “living myths,” by translating individual experiences through the correct signs. Shakespeare, with his plays, even managed to create myths around historical figures such as King Henry IV, attracting audiences that were eager to learn about history. History has made other figures into myths as well, such as Louis XIV, known as the Sun King, or Marie Antoinnete.  

In his Mythologies (1957) Roland Barthes explains the creation and circulation of myths through signs and language. According to Barthes, myths are a societal necessity created on the basis of contemporary social value systems, whereby myth formation should mainly be seen as a semiological process, partly as an ideological one. In the essay “Myth Today,” Barthes examines French bourgeois myths that are deeply rooted in society, yet often go unnoticed or taken as fact. By deconstructing modern myths that are spread through advertisements and propaganda, Barthes is able to get to the core of the societal value system of his time. Most famously, he deconstructs the myths around France’s two national products: steak frites and red wine. Both serve as metaphors for blood which, in French society, equals vitality and virility, which equals masculinity, which equals superiority. Equating France with steak frites and red wine then means equating France with virility, masculinity, superiority. 

In “The Double Standard of Aging” (1972), Susan Sontag tackles another modern myth that is deeply-rooted in society, concerning women and age. In the essay, she explains how and why women “of a certain age” are deemed physically undesirable, noting that this differentiates per country. She explains that urbanised societies allow two standards of male beauty, the man and the boy, but only one of female beauty: the girl. This societal judgement of beauty mirrors the evolutionary myth that the value of women is based on their ability for procreation. As a woman’s fertility decreases with age, so does her societal worth.

As the myth moves beyond the human, outside the world as we know it, it writes a strange universe.  It points to that which is not completely explainable according to our current structures for categorising the world. The enchanted world of the supernatural, with its gods, witches, and vampires, perhaps writes of a darker, less knowable reality. Their magic, spells, and strange rituals trouble the disenchanted story of Enlightenment, which tells of reason, control, and certainty – a myth in itself. But even though these supernatural entities tell of the incredible and unbelievable, they remain somewhat explainable. Vampires, gods, and witches, for example, are familiar figures based on a set of commonly understood fictions, differing ever so slightly from the human. ‘In many ways, a natural phenomenon such as a black hole is more weird than a vampire,’ writes Mark Fisher in The Weird and The Eerie (2016). We understand where to place and how to interpret the vampire as a fictional entity. A black hole actually exists, yet we do not understand its strange ways of bending space and time. Science Fiction balances on this thin line between fiction and reality. Perhaps the biggest myths, strangest entities, and weirdest monsters are not necessarily found within the fictional realm of the supernatural but right here in ‘the natural.’ 

‘Coral reefs are monsters.’ In the Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet (2017), Anna Tsing equates this natural phenomenon to the supernatural. Like the mythical chimeras of ancient Greece – beasts made up of the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a snake – coral reefs are made of mismatched parts. They embody a strange species encounter as their polyps grow from both animal, plant, and more. Symbiosis, the interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association, might point to some monstrous truth essential to our current epoch of living with the world. In all our vulnerable entanglements with more than human life – we humans too are monsters. 

There are literary differences to be found between myths, fairy tales, sagas, lores, fables, and legends. Fairy tales, for example, often take place in a fantastical world, in which magical creatures roam, and battles between Good and Evil take place. Myths, on the other hand, often have a basis in religion and tell stories about gods or divine creators. Both contain supernatural elements, sometimes these have a basis in history, sometimes in religion, and sometimes in fantasy. For this issue of Simulacrum, we have therefore chosen to soften the boundaries between these ways of storytelling, in order to be open to multiple mythologies, their meanings, and interpretations.

Fancy yourself a modern mythologist? Write an article of 1.000, 1.400, or 1.800 words for our upcoming issue, Mythologies. The deadline for first drafts is the 15th of November, 2020. Would you rather write a column, an interview, fiction, poetry, or do you know an artist whose work fits with this theme? Email us at info@simulacrum.nl. Please send articles as .doc or .docx and portfolio’s as PDF.

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CALL FOR PAPERS: Mythologieën

Hij legde een hand op mijn schouder, hield me stevig vast, ontblootte mijn keel met de andere en zei daarbij: ‘Eerst een beetje verfrissing om mijn inspanningen te belonen. U kunt net zo goed stil zijn; het is niet de eerste keer, of de tweede, dat je aderen mijn dorst hebben gestild!’

Lucy’s ogen waren onrein [...], in plaats van puur

Lucy wordt gebeten door de bloeddorstige Graaf Dracula, een aristocratische vampier uit Transsylvanië, die er op uit is om zijn zondige en barbaarse levensstijl naar Victoriaans Engeland over te brengen. In zijn roman Dracula (1897) zet Bram Stoker de mythische vampier in om de Victoriaanse lezers te waarschuwen voor de opkomende ‘dreiging van het Oosten’ door Oost-Europa af te schilderen als een plek van barbaarse – vampiristische – rituelen. Mythes over vampieren gaan al rond sinds de middeleeuwen en werden toen vooral gelinkt aan godslastering. Met Dracula wekt Stoker dit mythologische figuur op uit de dood en blaast deze nieuw leven in. De vampier, eens de mythe van de ondoden, vertegenwoordigt voortaan de angsten en bedreigingen van de tijd waarin ze herrijst.

Sinds de oudheid gaan mythen over het hoe en het waarom. Daarmee bevinden ze zich aan de grenzen van het menselijk begrip – daar waar het intellect faalt, wordt er verhaald. In The World of Myth (1990) schrijft David Leeming dat ‘mensen van oudsher verhalen hebben gebruikt om dingen te beschrijven of uit te leggen die ze zonder niet zouden kunnen,’ duidend op een tijdloze menselijke neiging om door middel van verhaal door het onbekende te navigeren. Zo functioneert de mythe als het middel waarmee we ons verhouden tot het onbekende, en belichaamt deze onze verwondering over de werelden buiten de menselijke ratio.

Deze verhalen leven vervolgens door via de kunst, literatuur, geschiedenis of religie. Mythen gelden echter niet alleen als inspiratiebron voor de kunsten, maar vinden ook vaak hun oorsprong in de kunst, en verspreiden, evolueren en groeien met verschillende kunstvormen en -stijlen mee. Zo verrees de Venus Anadyomene voor het eerst uit de zee in de Theogonie - een gedicht van Hesiodus uit de 8e eeuw BC. Deze specifieke weergave van Venus, dochter van Jupiter en Dione, als geboren uit de zee werd vervolgens beroemd gemaakt door het schilderij van Apelles (4e eeuw BC). Hoewel het schilderij verloren is geraakt, werd de Venus Anadyomene door Plinius beschreven in de Naturalis Historia (1e eeuw AD), dat diende als iconologische handboek voor volgende generaties kunstenaars. Van de redenaars die generaties lang hun verhalen vertellen, tot de dichters die ze opschrijven en de beeldhouwers die ze uithakken, worden verhalen levend gehouden. Zo staat Venus tot op de dag van vandaag bekend als de godin die uit de zee verrees.

In het Deense sprookje Den Lille Havfrue (1837) van Hans Christian Andersen is zeeschuim niet waar de liefde wordt geboren, maar waar liefde sterft. In de Walt Disney-bewerking van het sprookje, De Kleine Zeemeermin (1989), wordt zeemeermin prinses Ariel, dochter van koning Triton, verliefd op een menselijke prins en geeft ze haar schubben op om bij hem te zijn. In de originele, aanzienlijk grimmigere versie van Andersen treft de kleine zeemeermin haar beminde in bed bij een ander aan. Ze weigert de twee geliefden dood te steken, zoals haar zussen haar toe aanzetten, en als gevolg van haar gebroken hart lost ze op in het schuim van de golven.

In Japan wordt oude folklore voorgedragen aan een modern publiek door de films van Hayao Miyazaki. De geanimeerde Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (De reis van Chihiro, 2001) brengt kami, geesten, tot leven. Ten gevolge van menselijke vervuiling moeten de kami zich wassen in badhuizen om zichzelf weer schoon te krijgen. Deze moderne interpretatie weerspiegelt het Shinto-geloof dat zowel goden als de natuur moeten worden gerespecteerd door ze schoon te houden. De demonische tegenhangers, de oni, krijgen vorm in het karakter van Yubaba, die is gebaseerd op het archetype van de bergheks, de yumuaba. Door de Japanse mythologie als uitgangspunt te nemen, is Miyazaki in staat een ‘fantasyscape’ te creëren: een plek waar het ondenkbare mogelijk wordt.

Wellicht brengt een eerste associatie met mythologie ons terug naar de Klassieke Oudheid. Voor de Grieken betekende μῦθος echter simpelweg een verhaal – of dit nu een waar of een onwaar verhaal was; roddels, geschiedenis of een sprookje, zelfs dromen werden gezien als mythe. Mῦθος en λόγος, twee ogenschijnlijk tegengestelde termen, de fantasie en de rede, komen samen in de mythologie: het analyseren en verklaren van verhalen. Er zijn verschillende manieren waarop een mythe verklaard kan worden, en daarom kan er ook sprake zijn van meerdere mythologieën. In Creative Mythology (1968) beschrijft de Amerikaanse mytholoog Joseph Campbell bijvoorbeeld hoe literaire figuren als Thomas Mann of James Joyce erin slaagden om 'levende mythen' van zichzelf te maken door individuele ervaringen met de juiste tekens te vertalen. Shakespeare slaagde er met zijn toneelstukken in mythen te creëren rondom historische figuren zoals koning Hendrik IV, en trok daarmee een publiek aan dat graag over de geschiedenis wilde leren. Zo ook zijn andere figuren zoals Lodewijk XIV, beter bekend als de Zonnekoning, of Marie Antoinette, binnen de historie tot mythen geraakt.

In Mythologies (1975) analyseert Roland Barthes het ontstaan en de circulatie van mythen aan de hand van semiotiek en taal. Volgens Barthes zijn mythen onmisbaar in de maatschappij en baseren zij zich op hedendaagse sociale waardesystemen, waarbij de formatie van de mythe voornamelijk gezien moet worden als een semiologisch process en deels ideologisch. In het essay “Myth Today,” onderzoekt Barthes diepgewortelde Franse mythen die nochtans onopgemerkt blijven of als feit worden beschouwd. Door de deconstructie van moderne mythen, verspreid door reclame en propaganda, komt Barthes tot de kern van zijn eigentijdse sociale waardesysteem. Meest bekend is de deconstructie van de mythe rondom twee nationale Franse producten: biefstuk en rode wijn. Beide dienen als metafoor voor bloed, dat in de Franse maatschappij rijmt met vitaliteit en moed, die rijmen met mannelijkheid, dat rijmt met superioriteit. Het gelijkstellen van Frankrijk aan biefstuk en rode wijn betekent het gelijkstellen van Frankrijk aan moed, mannelijkheid en superioriteit.

In The Double Standard of Aging (1972) pakt Susan Sontag een andere diepgewortelde mythe aan, een omtrent vrouwen en leeftijd. In haar essay zet ze uit een hoe en waarom vrouwen vanaf een bepaalde leeftijd fysiek niet begeerbaar worden geacht, en merkt hierbij op dat dit per land verschilt. Ze legt uit dat verstedelijkte samenlevingen twee normen voor mannelijke schoonheid kennen, die van de man en die van de jongen, en maar een voor vrouwen, die van het meisje. Dit maatschappelijke schoonheidsoordeel weerspiegeld de evolutaire mythe die stelt dat de waarde van een vrouw gelijk staat aan haar voortplantingsvermogen. Net zoals de vruchtbaarheid van een vrouw  verminderd naarmate zij verjaard, verminderd ook haar maatschappelijke waarde. 

Naarmate de mythe de mens passeert, buiten de wereld zoals wij haar kennen treedt, schept ze een vreemd universum. Ze wijst naar dat wat we nog niet kunnen verklaren met onze huidige structuren voor het categoriseren van de wereld. Het betoverde rijk van het bovennatuurlijke, met haar goden, heksen en vampiers, schetst wellicht een donkerdere realiteit die zich minder goed laat kennen. Hun magie, spreuken en vreemde rituelen zetten zich af tegen het onttoverde narratief van de verlichting, welk van rede, controle en verstand spreekt – een mythe an sich. Maar hoewel deze bovennatuurlijke entiteiten verhalen vertellen over het ongelofelijke, blijven ze enigszins verklaarbaar. Vampiers, goden en heksen bijvoorbeeld, zijn vertrouwde figuren gebaseerd op een verzameling van collectieve fictie, die net afwijken van het menselijke. ‘In many ways, a natural phenomenon such as a black hole is more weird than a vampire,’ schreef Mark Fisher in The Weird and the Eerie (2016). We begrijpen hoe we vampiers als fictionele entiteit moeten plaatsen en interpreteren. Zwarte gaten bestaan echter wél, terwijl wij hun vreemde manieren in het buigen van tijd en ruimte niet bevatten. Science-fiction balanceert op deze dunne lijn tussen fictie en realiteit. Misschien zijn de grootste mythen, raarste entiteiten en meest vervreemdende monsters wel niet te vinden in het fictionele landschap van het bovennatuurlijke maar juist pal hier in het ‘natuurlijke.’

‘Coral reefs are monsters.’ In Arts of Living on a Dying Planet (2017), stelt Anna Tsing dit natuurlijke fenomeen gelijk aan het bovennatuurlijke. Zoals de mythische chimeras uit de Griekse oudheid – beesten met het hoofd van een leeuw, het lichaam van een geit en de staart van een slang – bestaan koraalriffen uit mismatched onderdelen. Met hun poliepen die zowel dierlijk als plantaardig kunnen zijn, belichamen ze een vreemde ontmoeting tussen de soorten. Symbiose, de interactie tussen twee verschillende organismen die in nauw contact met elkaar leven, wijzen ons wellicht naar een bepaalde, monsterlijke waarheid die essentieel is aan ons huidige tijdperk van leven met de aarde. In al onze kwetsbare verstrengelingen met meer dan menselijk leven, zijn ook wij mensen monsters.

Er zijn literaire verschillen te vinden tussen mythen, sprookjes, sagen, fabels en legenden. Sprookjes, bijvoorbeeld, vinden vaak plaats in een fantasiewereld, waar magische figuren rondzwerven en een strijd tussen goed en kwaad plaatsvindt. Mythes, aan de andere kant, vinden vaak hun oorsprong in religie en vertellen over goden en hemelse scheppers. Beiden bevatten bovennatuurlijke elementen. Soms ligt de basis daarvan in geschiedenis, soms in religie, soms in fantasie. Voor deze uitgave van Simulacrum hebben we er daarom voor gekozen de grenzen tussen deze literaire genres te vervagen, om ons open te stellen voor verschillende mythologieën, hun betekenissen en interpretaties.

Waan je jezelf een moderne mytholoog? Schrijf een artikel van 1.000, 1.400 of 1.800 woorden voor ons komende nummer Mythologieën. De deadline voor de eerste versies is op 15 november 2020. Schrijf je liever een column, interview, fictie of poëzie, of ken je een kunstenaar wiens werk in dit thema ligt? Email naar info@simulacrum.nl. Voeg artikelen s.v.p. bij als .doc of .docx en portfolio’s als PDF.

[space-feminist]

rewatched the aladdin trilogy because i had free time and there’s a remake coming out and, boy, do i have thoughts:

section 1: aladdin is a normal silly disney movie that happens to be set in Middle-Eastern-Stereotype-Land

i remember there being this big uproar that the actors in the live-action version should be Middle Eastern and i was like, ah yes, this movie set in Middle-Eastern-Stereotype-Land full of scantily clad harem girls and shifty traders in turbans and beards is obviously going to be woke if it has middle eastern people playing the leads. sure.

i’m not saying whitewashing isn’t bad, i’m just saying that if we want to discuss the representation of poc on film in the context of aladdin, we might want to go a little deeper than “cast Middle Eastern actors”. people will argue that it’s not meant to be accurate because it’s fantasy-Arabia, but accuracy isn’t actually what’s at stake when people talk about racism in fiction, they’re talking about dehumanizing stereotypes. dehumanizing stereotypes like giving your villain dark skin and a turban and a beard and an accent while your heroes are coded more white. 

a) why is no one talking about this?

i like aladdin. i think it’s a good disney movie, full of fun characters and songs, and of course Robin Williams’s genie is a highlight. that’s probably why it hasn’t gotten the same criticism as other disney movies have. it is a fun movie that just happens to be set in a stereotype-laden world.

contrast, say, pocahontas, which is widely criticized for its representation of Native Americans and of American history. pocahontas just isn’t a good movie. it’s got pretty animation and songs, but pocahontas and john smith are fairly uninteresting characters, and the villain doesn’t have the threat level or aesthetic or motivation of a good disney villain. it isn’t really trying to be a fun movie, it’s trying to be deep and meaningful and real (after all, it’s set in ‘the real world’). when you take into account the actual historical reality, the entire movie falls apart because the setting and message are the only memorable parts.

aladdin doesn’t try to do what pocahontas does so it doesn’t fail in the same way. the plot of aladdin isn’t tied to its setting aside from the maybe the inclusion of a genie, which i believe is a figure specifically from middle-eastern folklore (i’m white though so don’t take my word for that). replace the genie with some other wish-granting magical being, change sultan to king, and you could set it in europe no problem. it’s both completely stereotypical about the middle east and also a totally white-washed version of it.

what i’m saying is that aladdin is an enjoyable story without the window-dressing, and i can’t fault you for enjoying that especially when i enjoy it as well. i also think this has somewhat shielded it from accusations of racism.

HOWEVER

b) the live action remake is going to be a disaster

these disney live-action remakes add new stuff to supposedly “fix” problems, but they also don’t deviate too far because then they can’t pump out the nostalgia dollars. there’s no way to walk that line with aladdin’s problems, so what we’re going to get is a shallow rehash of the original with maybe a token change that really does nothing to fix anything.

with 1992 aladdin, we can go “there’s some good bits in there despite the racism of the setting”, but all the good bits of the new aladdin will also be present in the earlier movie, rendering it devoid of any value at all.

section 2: you remember what i said earlier about how you can separate the story from the seting? now i’m doing that

a) misconceptions and bad takes

people rag on jasmine a lot for not recognizing aladdin at first but in her defense she 100% does and he denies it, plus she believes he’s dead. and then even after the carpet ride, she asks him about abu. she believes his second lie a little too readily, though, but despite being this spunky princess who defies norms she’s still been very sheltered.

this brings me to the thing people rag on aladdin for, which is lying to get into a girl’s billowy pants. this frustrates me similar to the hot takes that claim beauty and the beast is about abuse, like. it’s called a character arc. he regrets his actions and is about to come clean when jafar starts trying to take over the world. please. leave him alone.

b) An Analysis Of Aladdin Through The Lens of Class

“sometimes you just feel…trapped” aladdin and jasmine say in unison. jasmine is talking about the expectation to marry a prince, while aladdin’s talking about poverty and constanly running from police because he steals to survive. aladdin dreams about a life of luxury in the palace, while jasmine dreams of the freedom of living on the streets.

the fact that the movie tries to equate those two experiences is laughable. jasmine is a privileged person romanticizing and play-acting at poverty for fun, so disconnected from the realities of her people that she doesn’t even know that should have brought money when she escaped the palace. aladdin dreams of wealth because it will solve his material needs.

certainly from an anti-capitalist perspective, we can critique how aladdin’s fantasies reflect an embrace of the system that excludes him - rather than calling for an end to the wealth inequality between the people and the ruling classes, he instead dreams of joining the ruling classes. when the prince walks through the town, aladdin says “if i were as rich as you, i could afford some manners!” and in his princely guise the genie gives him, he throws handfuls of gold coins to the public. he seems to believe that it is possible to be both moral and rich. 

however, i am uncomfortable with leveling much of my anti-capitalist critique at the character who is in poverty rather than at the ineffectual government of agrabah. a weak, childish king, puppeted by a conniving, power-hungry advisor. the princess isn’t allowed even the smallest interaction with the people she will someday govern. the police force sends out an entire squad after someone who stole a loaf of bread. it’s basically pre-revolutionary france, and someone needs to guillotine the sultan.

in the end, the status quo of agrabah remains unchanged except for aladdin, who manages to achieve the capitalist dream. it’s unclear whether he’ll be able to enact any of the broad sweeping reforms agrabah desperately needs.

ultimately, this is a movie that brings up the issue of class divides, but offers the safe pro-capitalist answer that you’d expect of a major corporation like disney.

c) An Analysis Of The Aladdin Sequels Through The Lens Of Class 

in both sequels, aladdin finds himself advocating for a criminal - iago the parrot in “return of jafar”, and his father, casim, in “king of thieves”. jafar mentions rescuing iago from a cage in a bazaar. casim leaves his family to seek fortune, and ends up falling in with the forty thieves. aladdin advocates for them because he understands how poverty and desperation can drive someone to a life of crime. he was there.

he is now in a position where he thinks he can use his privilege to help people, but he doesn’t quite have the privilege he thinks he does. he’s distrusted for trusting iago, and the police force seems delighted to hear he’s related to the king of thieves and that they now have an excuse to chase him down again. notably, he’s called “the prince of thieves” by the police chief - he’s not just perceived as criminal because he’s helping criminals, but because of the circumstances of his birth. aladdin is jay gatsby, discovering that old money is unimpressed by new money.

but yet again, the ending stops short of pursuing this critique to its fullest. aladdin is, in fact, accepted by old money and he ends up marrying his Daisy Buchanan. iago and casim are never accepted into the upper classes. again, we end with aladdin maintaining the current power structures. it is yet again, the safe answer you’d expect from a corporation like disney, that created these direct-to-video sequels simply to pump more money out of the consumer.

section 3: this was super fun

honestly, these movies were legitimately delightful. maybe it was nostalgia or the robin williams, but i thorougly enjoyed myself watching them and writing this post. i’m not saying i recommend watching disney sequels (most of them are bad, and even “king of thieves”, probably the best, has its cringy moments), but i do highly recommend indulging in your nostalgia every once in a while.

[elizas-writing]

Animated August, Day 20: Song of the Sea

How in the FUCK have we been sitting on Tomm Moore for so long? Why aren’t we eating his movies up at this point? Give the guy a fucking Oscar already!

In any case, Moore, the same director for The Secret of Kells, is back again with his second film, Song of the Sea; a beautiful adventure with gripping, raw emotion and beautiful interpretations of Irish mythology and folktales. I’m starting to wonder if there’s anything Moore can’t do with another knock out of the park. Let’s take a look at a film which many viewers felt was robbed by the Academy.

Just a short boat ride away from a seaside Irish village, a family lives at a lighthouse on top of a hill. Their happy life suddenly changes when the mother mysteriously vanishes, presumably dying after giving birth to her daugther, Saoirse (SEER-sha). Six years pass, the father is still depressed, Saoirse is mute, and her older brother, Ben, resents her and blames her for their mother’s disappearance. On the night of her birthday, Saoirse finds an old chest with a lovely white coat, and finds herself drawn to the ocean. The coat allows her to turn into a seal in the water, revealing her to be a selkie, a magical shape-shifting creature. The father suddenly sends the children to live with their grandmother on the mainland village, so they may have some normal life without grief constantly overwhelming them. Ben immediately decides to run away and go back home, and Saoirse follows. Along the way, Ben learns of what Saoirse is and that the folktales their mother told him of fairies and spirits are true. On top of which, Saoirse is the key to save the spirit world, but grows weaker without her coat and must hurry back home before she dies or is taken by dark creatures.

Once again, the animation style borrows a lot from Celtic mythology and art with flat, geometric shapes and saturated colors. As The Secret of Kells captured medieval art, Song of the Sea more emulates the look of a children’s bedtime story-- a perfect fit given the main characters’ connection to folktales. It favors dark blues which match for any scene throughout the film. Aside from the fairies and spirits, the character designs are very simplistic while the great detail work pops in the backgrounds. And the spirits are just delightful in how they interact with the kids and do whatever they can to help them, even this seemingly malevolent owl spirit who just wanted to alleviate her son’s grief. It’s a magical world of wonder and danger you just want to see more of in all its splendor. Even though it has a similar slow, atmospheric tone to The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea has a more fleshed-out plot to work with, making way for intense drama, chases, and a race against the clock. And the animation and voice acting carry through each scene with perfect pacing to develop the characters and their dilemmas.

From the plot summary, it sounds like we’re mostly following Saoirse’s self-discovery. She still has sufficient screen time with subtle character changes, but the focus mainly falls on Ben’s grief. He’s stubborn and projects his anger far too much on his younger sister, but as he learns more about his mother and the spirits, the guilt steadily piles on as he has to move on and be a better brother, especially when it comes to passing down the stories he grew up with. It’s really nice to see his attitude slowly change as he remembers how he felt when he was first told these stories, how much more dark and depressing they are now that he’s older, and how similar his experiences with grief are to those folktales.

And Saoirse, despite her sweet demeanor, eventually comes to not take her brother’s shit, and when she want something, she’ll be damn sure he pays attention. Their development from estranged siblings to sacrificing for each other is incredibly well-paced and feels earned when the film reaches the climax. And it ties together amazingly with remembering/discovering cultural roots, connecting with people, learning from the past, and coping when one of your few major connections to your heritage just vanishes from your life. It’s all specific to Irish folklore, but has a ton of universality which anyone can pick up.

Song of the Sea is a film unlike most in the animation world, especially as one of the rare 2D animated movies still being made. It takes a simple premise and juices it up with Irish mythology and a grand commentary on the importance of maintaining and passing down your heritage. It’s a breathtaking and magical visual marvel celebrating the beauty of Irish culture from the stories to the music. But why listen to me go on and on? Experience Song of the Sea for yourself... with tissues on standby.

Day 19 >> Day 20 >> Day 21

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[alexsfictionaddiction]

Review: The Winter of Second Chances by Jenny Bayliss

There are very few things that warm my heart quite like a wintery story of new beginnings and romance. The title of this book and its cover promised me these things and so I was so happy to be accepted for it.

Annie Sharpe is a successful restauranteur with grown up twin sons and a husband who has had affair after affair. But he has now used his last chance and Annie is off to the Kentish coast to become the winter guardian of a godforsaken beach house. When Annie decides to open up the tea room attached to the house, which has been shut for years, the friendly local community is delighted But the owner’s nephew, who is keen to sell the place to help pay for his elderly aunt’s care, isn’t happy that Annie has reopened the business. This coupled with Annie’s ex-husband Max continuously pursuing forgiveness and another chance, Annie has some tricky decisions to make.

Annie knows that she still has a lot of sex appeal and her confidence is really inspiring. So many single 40-something women in books and films feel ashamed or disgusted by their bodies but Annie isn’t one of them. I actually found quite inspiring in so many ways and I can only hope that I am a little bit like her when I get to her age.

There is some brutally honest depictions of less than great sex in the book too. I wasn’t expecting it because it’s really not something that I see often. Particularly in romance books, sex is nearly always an incredible, heady trip that the heroine can’t stop thinking about. It was really refreshing to read a less than perfect sexual experience.

Annie is clearly not too bothered by Max’s latest infidelity and it seems that she was actually looking for a reason to get out of the marriage. The opening chapter where she walks in on him with a waitress is full of cringe but it’s not uncomfortable because Annie’s mind is clearly on other things. She is more concerned about her restaurant’s decor rather than the fact her husband is cheating on her. Because of this, I knew that Max wouldn’t ever succeed in getting her back. Annie left the relationship a long time ago.

Saltwater Nook is a place in serious need to tender loving care. There are so many real places like it in small seaside towns that have been abandoned and fallen into disrepair, particularly since COVID-19. All of these houses and businesses have stories behind them and seeing Saltwater Nook for the first time reminded me how sad it is that these places have simply vanished from the coastline. However, Annie proves that these places can be brought back from the dead if someone cares enough to put in the effort.

There are a lot of hilarious lines in the book and most of them come from Annie’s friend Maeve, an older cynical lady who apparently knows the wonders of sex toys better than anyone. She and Gemma, a young mum, have the most wonderful friendship and watching them verbally spar is so much fun. Bayliss does a great job of depicting beautiful connections between an eclectic group of personalities and provoking that warm fuzzy feeling inside that comes from watching them interact.

Maeve, Gemma and Annie’s hotelier friend Sally, make up Annie’s Victorian book club, which she runs out of the tea room after closing hours. They make some really interesting points about the books they read as well as share gossip and laughs. I found myself really looking forward to these scenes because I really felt like a honorary book club member. Although these meetings were often interrupted by drama, they were really warm, cosy affairs that I couldn’t get enough of.

The town itself has a lot of traditions and I could feel the local folklore seeping through all of them. The honouring of the past and strange important rituals that are still kept are probably one of the things I love most about small communities. The preparation for both the Halloween and Christmas celebrations really got me in the mood for the colder months and I’m even more excited for them now.

The Winter of Second Chances is a funny, cosy romance with themes of new beginnings, friendship and community. It’s a predictable but light-hearted, comforting autumnal read with some laugh-out-loud dialogue, a touch of drama and a lot of warmth.

[astarkey]

IN DEPTH FANDOM QUESTIONS: Charmed and FDTD! 💖💖💖

It’s kinda long, so I’m gonna have it under the cut lol.

Charmed

Top 5 favorite characters: Piper Halliwell, Prue Halliwell, Phoebe Halliwell, Paige Matthews, Andy Trudeau Other characters you like: Darryl Morris, Leo Wyatt, Cole Turner, Barbas Least favorite characters: Billie Jenkins, (Adult) Chris Halliwell Otps: Prue/Andy, Piper/Leo, Phoebe/Cole, Prue/Bane Notps: Prue/Jack, Phoebe/Coop Favorite friendships: The Halliwells and Darryl Favorite family: The Halliwell sisters (Paige included) Favorite episodes: “Murphy’s Luck,” “Ex Libris,” “A Witch’s Tail,” “The Day the Magic Died,” and “Oh My Goddess.” Favorite season/book/movie: Season 2 Favorite quotes: “I know it’s not very P.C. but I want romance. Long, slow kisses, late night talks, candlelight. I love love.,” “It’s the 21st century. It’s the woman’s job to save the day.,” “I don’t obsess. I think, intensely.,” “I think from now on I’m gonna stop trying to control every little moment. The best ones kinda sneak up on you, anyway.” Best musical moment: All the musical guest at the club, P3. Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: I think when I saw Bane make a re-appearence when he kidnapped Prue 😂 I don’t think I fangirl'd too hard, I was calm and surprised about it haha. When it really disappointed you: When they added Billie. I don’t know, I didn’t really like much of season 8 ‘cause I felt like they were making the focus on her and didn’t know what to do with the rest of the main characters. I hardly watched that season anyway, it just felt dragged out and confusing. Saddest moment: When Phoebe vanquished Cole Most well done character death: I don’t know, I guess Andy’s. Favorite guest star: John Cho Favorite cast member: Holly Marie Combs Character you wish was still alive: Prue Halliwell AND Andy Trudeau. One thing you hope really happens: I don’t know. It would’ve been nice to see the next generation of Halliwells kicking demon ass lol. Most shocking twist: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ When did you start watching/reading?: Probably around the time that s4 aired. I always saw glimpses of episodes on TNT when my mom used to do my hair before taking me to school, and I just decided to sit and watch it with her when they were showing new episodes on WB (CW). Best animal/creature: I think the Grimlocks. They kinda scared me when I was a kid lol. Favorite location: The Halliwell house Trope you wish they would stop using: I don’t know... I don’t know if it’s necessarily a trope, but I kinda noticed how they would make the big sisters seem a little bossy. Like Prue was the big sister and she was bossy, and then when she died and Piper ended up being the big sister, she became bossy later on, too. It’s like they have to have one of the sisters being the boss in the trio and it’s like why??? lol.  One thing this show/book/film does better than others: It’s three sisters that are witches and kicking demon ass. How cool is that lol  Funniest moments: Piper on the ground kicking and screaming in that episode “Is There a Woogy in the House,” and Piper calling some dude skid mark lol. Couple you would like to see: I don’t know. Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: I’m not sure. Favorite outfit: Phoebe’s outfit here [Link] It’s always been my favorite. Favorite item: The Book of Shadows Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: No What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: I don’t know. Most boring plotline: I don’t know, I kinda stopped investing in the show when they did the whole Wyatt going to magic school like going to Hogwarts, and the warlock running the school wanted to steal Wyatt and make him evil so he could be evil!Wyatt in the future. It was like around that season and when Oded Fehr played that demon (I forgot his name, but I know it starts with a “Z”) and when Billie showed up, it just got boring later on. Most laughably bad moment: Piper’s Halloween costume as Gilda the witch from The Wizard of Oz. Best flashback/flashfoward if any: Idk, I can’t remember. There were so many 😂 Most layered character: Piper Halliwell Most one dimensional character: Uh... I don’t know. I wanna say (Adult) Chris Halliwell lmao. Scariest moment: I think a reporter was in the sewers trying to report on the Charmed Ones, but then a Grimlock popped up in front of the camera and attacked the reporter. Grossest moment: I don’t remember. Best looking male: Bane Jessup (let’s be honest here, people, lol) Best looking female: All of the sisters are good looking, lol. But I’ll say Phoebe Halliwell. Who you’re crushing on (if any): Nobody lol. Favorite cast moment: I don’t know. Favorite transportation: Orbing Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): The dream sequences in the “Dream Sorcerer” episode. Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: I know the reason (the Shannen and Alyssa beef while filming), but it’s weird that Prue’s spirit never shows up whenever the family’s spirits are called upon, like Grams’ and Penny’s spirit. Even in the last episode of the show, Prue never showed up, and even the characters questioned that! 😂 Best promo: I have no idea. At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: I don’t know, it kinda grew on me lol. I liked the idea of witches fighting evil, and the show gave off this warm nostalgic feeling (kinda like Practical Magic), and I think that’s what drew me to the show, as well.

From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series

Top 5 favorite characters: Seth Gecko, Kate Fuller, Richie Gecko, Kisa, and Eddie Cruickshank.  Other characters you like: Freddie Gonzalez, Scott Fuller, Ximena Vasconcelos, Jacob Fuller, Burt, Kalinda, Dakota Block, Rafa Infante, Vanessa Styles, Celestino Oculto 😎, and Kalinda Least favorite characters: Aiden Tanner, Carlos Madrigal, Sonja Lam Otps: Seth/Kate, Richie/Kate Notps: Scott/Kate, Seth/Richie, Kate/Carlos, and shipping anybody with Aiden lol. Favorite friendships: Seth and Kisa, Seth and Kalinda (even though it was extremely short, their interaction was just so nice to see), Kate and Rafa, and Richie and Kisa (I wanna say they’re otp, but I also like the mutual relationship they have) Favorite family: The Fuller family including the Gecko brothers... and Uncle Eddie 😂 Favorite episodes: “Let’s Get Ramblin’,”Santa Sangre,” “Shady Glen,” and “Dark Side of the Sun.” Favorite season/book/movie: Season 2 Favorite quotes: “And every spidey since I got is tingling in every nook and cranny from eyeballs to balls-balls.,” “’Got your balls on?’ ‘Screwed on tight.,’” “’Are you here for redemption? In whose eyes? Your God’s?’ No. In the eyes of the people I love.,’“ “My family might survive if we stick together because we’re better together. When we’re alone, we’re lost.,” “Now like it or not, we are a family. A broken, messed up, sad excuse for a family. But goddamn it, we got love for each other, don’t we? Love and forgiveness. That’s how you get through the day, right?,” “Next one that pipes up gets a stake through the heart. Reptile, regular jackass, I don’t really give a shit. Got it? Fantastic.,” “You, be cool.” Best musical moment: Uh... Every musical moment was pretty mediocre, so I guess Fanglorious on stage was pretty great (those are the only 2 musical moments I know). Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: Los Tres Geckos robbing a bank at the end of s3 lol. When it really disappointed you: How the creators just decided to change Sex Machine’s character from the movie into this total perv/predator in the show, like wtf. Movie version Sex Machine was my fav. AND THEY KEPT BRINGING HIM BACK EACH SEASON WHEN NO ONE WANTED HIM BACK, LIKE MAJORITY OF US COLLECTIVELY WANTED HIM TO STAY DEAD! Saddest moment: In the “Straightjacket” episode when Seth was tied up and trying to talk to Richie to get his normal self to come back while his shadow-self took over. They really got me with that one. Most well done character death: Carlos getting butchered by the main characters, leaving Scott to finish him off by decapitating his head. That was some pretty poetic shit right there lol. Favorite guest star: Tom Savini Favorite cast member: D.J. Cotrona Character you wish was still alive: Pretty much majority of the ones that have died 😂 I’ll just say everyone except Malvado, Carlos, and Aiden Tanner. One thing you hope really happens: Dude, I just wanna see Seth and Kate kiss, that’s all man 😆 Most shocking twist: I mean I wasn’t expecting Kate to show up with the brothers robbing a bank, so that was a shock lol. When did you start watching/reading?: Pfff, pretty much five years ago, now, in March! Lol.  Best animal/creature: Culebras Favorite location: I’d say the run-down motel in the beginning of s2 😂 Also Uncle Eddie’s shop. Trope you wish they would stop using: Idk... Idk if it’s a trope, but it kinda sucks seeing innocent girls getting treated like shit and killed, and then they come back from the dead and like some part of them is stripped away like they’re not as they used to be, and they’re out for blood. I don’t know... One thing this show/book/film does better than others: As cheesy as this show is, it has Robert Rodriguez all over it, which kept me hooked. It also incorporates Mesoamerican mythology and folklore, which I’m a huge sucker for, AND VAMPIRES!!!!! Funniest moments: Richie sliding out when Seth told him to shut up at the liquor store, Carlos pretending to hand something to Malvado when he’s handing him nothing and saying he’s all out of fucks to give, Seth shooting a gun in the garage with a straight face, and Seth protecting his crotch before he attempts to shoot a gas tank. Couple you would like to see: Idk, I guess Seth/Kate??? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: Salma Hayek (I still wanna know why she wasn’t on the show. She would’ve been amazing as one of the nine lords) Favorite outfit: [Here], [here], and [HERE] Favorite item: Kate’s cross? Idk. Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: Yep! A shirt of a fanart of the Gecko bros., a sethkate cup, and a fanart sethkate iTouch case. What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: I don’t know. Probably a culebra lol. Most boring plotline: None of them were really boring.  Most laughably bad moment: Richie just staring off into space as he’s drawing circles in his book like right after Seth said that Richie wasn’t crazy lol. Best flashback/flashfoward if any: Kisa’s flashbacks. Most layered character: Idk, there’s a lot of characters that are equally layered. Most one dimensional character: I don’t think there’s any 😂 Scariest moment: The Head Games monster taking the skull out of his victims was pretty crazy. Grossest moment: When that dude peed on Freddie while he was tied up. I’d say that was disgusting. Best looking male: That’s a tie between Seth and Richie. Best looking female: Kisa Who you’re crushing on (if any): SETH GECKO Favorite cast moment: When they all went on a group chat, and reminisced on the show and shared pics when they were on set filming. Favorite transportation: The rv, even though that rv needs to be cleansed thoroughly. Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): Kate swimming and floating in the pool (before the water turns red lol) Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: Like... there’s no way anyone could come out cold turkey that friggin’ quick within a couple hours. It usually would last within three days. Best promo: Season 3, I think. At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: I think it was the scene when Kate had the conversation with Richie by the pool. I loved how the creators made the interaction less creepy compared to the movie, and I found it pleasing with all these changes they made from the movie for the show. There were a lot of things they changed that I found it appealing, AND THEY CHANGED SETH’S ANSWER AND WANTED KATE TO ACCOMPANY HIM, LIKE THAT’S WHAT I WANTED TO HAPPEN FOR 20 YEARS, AND IT HAPPENED! 😩🙌🏽 It’s like they gave me everything I wanted, but wasn’t expecting to happen lmao.

Geez, sorry this took so long lol! Thank you so much for asking me these!!!! 😁💗