#i seem to love it more than real christmas rofl

[liaprime]

It.. is.. LIFE DAAAY!! *throws snowballs at everyone* ❄️°˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°❄️

*changes Lia into her Life Day outfit*

*equips snowball + cannon*

*changes title to Life Day Celebrant*

*puts on Snowtacular flair*

*puts in Festive Snow Fall weapon tuning*

*rides off into the snowy plains of Hoth on her Festive Tauntaun*

❄️ („• ᴗ •„)

[aspiringwarriorlibrarian]

2023 Year in Review

1. 28,490 notes - Jun 16 2023

You know, it’s kinda funny how much of high fantasy centers around kings and nobility and courtly intrigue considering that the archetypal high fantasy, Lord of the Rings, had the rather explicit moral of “saving the world is up to this backwater hick and his gardener because no politician, least of all inherited nobility, would have the ability to see past their own ambition and throw away a weapon”. Oh sure, Aragorn is a great king and all, but there’s a reason he’s over there running a distraction ring while the hobbits do the real work. Sauron loses because he gets distracted by kings and armies and great battles (i.e. typical high fantasy stuff) letting Frodo and Sam sneak through his back door and blow it all to hell.  

Just saying, maybe old Jirt knew what he was saying when he said that the small folk doing their best and holding to each other was more powerful than a dozen alliances and superweapons and we should respect him for it.

2. 22,425 notes - Jul 6 2023

“LOL. You think your vote matters? ROFL and LOL.” Yes, I am aware my vote carries less and less relative power the more people I’m voting with, but unlike your glorious violent revolution, it actually exists.

3. 20,183 notes - Mar 7 2023

The 4 approaches to “orphaned etymology” problems in fiction

1. Obviously we can’t call it French toast if there’s no France so we’re just gonna replace it with something else.

2. The word abattoir sounds too French so it wouldn’t make sense for it to be here without a France. Even though we use English without there being an England.

3. This is called a Ming vase because when you tap it it makes a “Ming!” sound.

4. I am JRR Tolkien and every single word I write has a fictional etymology attached to it that I am translating into English for your convenience.

4. 17,918 notes - Dec 26 2023

As to whether the Gavle Goat’s consumption should be seen as a good omen or a bad omen, I’d say good. Traditionally the Yule goat is made of straw from the final harvest and as a talisman against hard times, and there are unproven theories that its shape is inspired by Thor’s goats, who are constantly killed, eaten, and reborn to provide endless meat for Thor and whatever guests he entertains.  Therefore, its use by birds as a food store and safe harbor is an affirmation of its original purpose and truly in the Christmas spirit of generosity in lean times. What’s more, the birds eating it seems to be have been the one outcome to unite both goat burners and goat keepers, as they have decided not to scare the birds away from their safe harbor and not to harm the goat, a decision that has been universally lauded. 

As omens go, this one’s all positive: safety, plenty, and unity between previous ideological opponents through a creative third solution built on shared values (birds being fed and sheltered is a good thing). May more birds find their way to the Gavle Goat next year. 

5. 11,031 notes - Apr 24 2023

Okay hearing that people actually do this has made me morbidly curious so... My house was split into Parents and Kids bathrooms...

6. 9,188 notes - Mar 16 2023

The best decision The Mandalorian ever made was centering their show around an archetypal masked, taciturn gunslinger who wanders from town to town never putting down roots, and then revealing that he acts that way because he’s a massively awkward introvert who uses that archetype to avoid having to socialize with people beyond the three interaction scripts he already knows.  10/10, top tier characterization, I love seeing this man outshoot a bar full of people and then get scammed by a random mechanic because he’s too polite to confront her about it. Truly a hero of our times.

7. 5,183 notes - Mar 21 2023

Okay but for a corporately mandated love triangle (Gale was meant to be Katniss’ cousin, publisher asked to make him the childhood friend with a crush), Hunger Games absolutely nails it. It can’t just be solved by polyamory because it represents her choosing between two aspects of herself. Yes Gale sometimes acts like a dumb teenager because he is, but not to an obnoxious level. The one and only time Peeta and Gale get a conversation about it, both of them fully acknowledge that it’s Katniss’ choice so fighting over her is pointless. It’s not a marketing gimmick to generate unnecessary tension, it’s a complicated relationship that informs all three of their characters and is deeply intertwined with the series’ themes of war and trauma.

8. 4,122 notes - Jul 1 2023

I mean I’m not even trans and I can still tell Nimona the movie is basically ND Stevenson going back and saying “okay, let’s do it on purpose this time”.

9. 3,850 notes - Jan 4 2023

What I really like about the dinner mystery is that they could have made it super easy or had Blanc go on about how obvious it is since he needed to solve it quickly, but instead he’s thrilled by it. He points out every subtle clue, all the foreshadowing, the style of it, and he even tells Miles that it was satisfying and the perfect bite-sized mystery. “A dramatic, passionate, and colorful crime for a fashionista!”. He might have solved it easily, because this is his job, but he can still appreciate the artistry in it and enjoy solving it.

It provides a nice counterpoint to the later reveal, where he is genuinely disappointed by how dumb the murders where but still prioritizes the victims. He might love solving the mysteries, but he knows what’s really important. So what could be better than a mystery with no victims?

10. 3,467 notes - Apr 6 2023

Honestly when you hear that someone once held bigoted views in the past but no longer does that shouldn’t be a disappointment, but a victory. Yes! We got ‘em! One less person on the wrong side of history and one more for us! This is exactly what we want, for people to leave their prejudices behind, and we succeeded!

Created by TumblrTop10

[the-desolated-quill]

Private View - Inside No. 9 blog

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. If you haven’t seen this episode yet, you may want to before reading this review)

Another series has come to an end and overall I thought Series 3 was a bit of a mixed bag. The Riddle Of The Sphinx left a sour taste in my mouth and while The Devil of Christmas and The Bill were both fun, their final twists did run the risk of dismantling all the good stuff that came before. Thankfully Empty Orchestra and Diddle Diddle Dumpling were there to pick up the pieces, both episodes I consider to be some Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton’s best work. And now we come to the Series 3 finale, Private View.

Set inside an art gallery called Nine (a restaurant, a shoe and now an art gallery? Shearsmith and Pemberton are really starting to push their luck here with regards to what ‘Inside No. 9′ means. Who would name their art gallery Nine? Is it the ninth art gallery in the set?), Private View is a good old fashioned murder mystery. After a surprise cameo appearance from Peter Kay (’Ooooh! I spilt me Ritz!’ ROFL XD), we’re introduced to the premise. A group of people have been invited to a private viewing of the late Elliot Quinn’s art exhibition called Fragments. They’ve never met each other before, have no idea why they were invited and only a few seem to have any interest in art. And then the deaths occur...

The first time I watched this episode, I wasn’t too fond of it. Sure there were some good jokes, a creepy atmosphere thanks to the lighting and set design, and the reveal that Fiona Shaw’s character was the murderer was a good twist, but I thought it was all a bit flat. The characters aren’t given much development and it all feels a bit rushed. But having watched this episode a couple more times for the purposes of this review, I discovered that Private View actually has a lot more to say than I initially thought.

Private View isn’t so much a murder mystery, but rather a pastiche of murder mysteries. The episode follows all the same beats, including the characters stupidly deciding to split up so that the killer can pick them off one by one, and the episode openly makes fun of that fact. Felicity Kendall’s character has a whole monologue talking about how difficult it is to write a good murder mystery and describing the cliches whilst those same cliches play out in real time. 

The characters are all pretty one dimensional, but it seems almost deliberate. They do seem to have a lot in common with the characters you’d find in Cluedo. Characters who have just one definable character trait, and the episode openly makes fun of that too. When the tragically named Kenneth Williams (played by Steve Pemberton) talks about how much he hates comedies, someone says there must be funny side to him lurking deep inside him, and he just flat out says no. The episode tries to dig deeper into a character and the character dismisses the attempt. It’s hard not to see this as deliberate. Even the murderer’s motivation seems suspiciously weak. She reveals she’s Elliot Quinn’s mum who is trying to recover the organs her son donated after his death, and as she describes why each victim doesn’t deserve the ‘gift’ they were given, her reasons become more and more flimsy. By the time she gets to Reece Shearsmith’s character (who had a heart transplant), her reason is because he’s a ‘heartless critic’, to which the character scoffs. Even he recognises how flimsy this is and Fiona Shaw’s character just shrugs and goes ‘whatever.’ And that perfectly describes the whole attitude of this episode. It’s not this deep, complex murder mystery, but it’s not really trying to be neither. 

Given the 30 minute time frame, there’s no way they could make a true whodunnit (they practically just tell you who the murderer is about halfway through the episode), so they just focus on what people would want to see. A tense atmosphere, increasingly grotesque deaths and dark humour to undercut the threat. As paper thin as Private View is, it’s all done with this kind of tongue in cheek attitude that you can’t help but find quite endearing. The actors all embrace their caricatures completely and are extremely funny. Felicity Kendall in particular got some massive laughs from me. When she goes to hide from the killer in the toilets only to switch cubicles because of the stink, I nearly bust a gut laughing. And Fiona Shaw, once her character has been revealed to be the killer, just milks it for all its worth. It’s a truly delightful performance.

But it’s not just a murder mystery pastiche. There also seem to be elements of self parody in there too. Shearsmith and Pemberton are not and probably never will be household names due to the nature of their writing. Most mainstream critics dismiss their work as being too grotesque and weird, but that’s precisely the reason why some people (myself included) love shows like The League Of Gentlemen and Psychoville. Private View does very much embrace that fully, which surprisingly leads into a very interesting comment about art. Artists like Damien Hirst are hugely successful, but whereas some like myself can’t see the artistic merit of a bisected cow or a diamond encrusted skull, others seem to get a lot out of those kinds of exhibits. Art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, and it’s this idea that permeates throughout Private View and starts to take on a more meta meaning.

When Elliot Quinn died and donated his organs, he intended to posthumously bring the recipients together three years later to Fragments. A living exhibit where the guests are the art. His mum, believing they squandered the ‘gifts’ they were given, kills them to steal the organs back and turn them into an exhibit instead. It’s pretty clear that her son’s death has driven her completely mad, as demonstrated by her behaviour as we see her practically worship Elliot Quinn almost as a godlike figure. But as grotesque and morally reprehensible as this is, Shearsmith’s character sees true artistic value in it, which leads to final twist where he kills her and uses her heart for the exhibit instead, taking all the credit. I feel this is a very appropriate metaphor for Shearsmith and Pemberton’s work. It’ll never be mainstream, deemed by some as too grotesque or macabre, but it’s the kind of thing they enjoy writing and what many people enjoy watching. So what seems, at first glance, to be a paper thin murder mystery is actually a surprisingly deep and thought provoking look into the often subjective meaning and value of art.

While it doesn’t quite have the same punch as say The Harrowing, Private View serves as a decent series finale that accepts its limitations and finds creative ways of twisting and exploiting them for our own amusement.

And that’s it. Series 3 is finished. Now when does Series 4 come out?