#kinda obsessed with the fact that this was inspired by anne

[princessanneftw]

Fendi pays tribute to Princess Anne with themed Milan show

This was the designer’s witty love letter from one strong, forthright woman within a powerful dynasty to another

Stephen Doig for the Daily Telegraph

Just this week, a colleague was extolling the wardrobe virtues of the “accidentally stylish” Princess Anne. And it seems that Silvia Venturini Fendi, the formidable matriarch of the Roman fashion house, is in agreement.

“I fell in love with the style of Princess Anne who, to my mind, is the most elegant woman in the world,” said Fendi, backstage in Milan. “When I saw the Coronation last year with Princess Anne in her uniform, I thought she looked beautiful. So I said ‘let’s be inspired for a men’s collection’.” The collection took the codes of the Princess Royal’s singular approach to dressing and applied them to men’s clothing, with a dusting of Fendi luxury in the mix.

“It’s a little bit Town and Country,” Fendi said of the distinctly British homage. “The Princess Royal is very rigorous in how she dresses, with this kind of military minded attitude, but feminine at the same time. She has a life outside the spotlight. She’s kind of an anti-fashion person, and to me that’s something that’s actually very fashionable and chic.”

Princess Anne’s status as a style icon over the years certainly hasn’t been by design on her part – leave the Princess of Wales to the Burberry while she dons House of Bruar – and was never the intention of the no-nonsense and hardworking royal, who favours practical country attire and Oakley shades over couture and experimental shapes, horse trials over the Gucci horsebit loafer. But that same sense of self-assuredness, stoicism and very British approach to dressing is just what appealed to Fendi in theming her show around the royal.

In actual terms, that translated into twinsets and chunky tweed skirts, heritage fabric coats – plaids spliced on plaids for a layered effect – waxed jackets and Wellington boots. The kind of attire built for yomps at Balmoral and Gloucestershire horse trials rather than the bars of Milan’s Brera district. The colours were those of the British countryside; olive, moss, oak and stone hues that evoked Gatcombe’s Green & Pleasant Land. The skirts, coincidentally, were in fact big, blousy Bermuda shorts designed to ape the appearance of Princess Anne’s solid kilts, although the royal herself has always mixed up the gender codes with her upright military uniform, so perhaps she’d approve of a bit of fluidity in that respect.

This being Fendi, a bit of experimentation with fabrication also weaved its way into the collection, with a tufted coat actually made from slivers of denim and some plush shearling on cropped jackets.

What Princess Anne would make of the sparkly suits on the willowy young men on the catwalk – perhaps a nod to her 1970s glamour – as well as the screaming furor from fans outside due to the presence of K-Pop stars and actors James Franco and Kit Harrington is anyone’s guess. But Silvia Venturini Fendi is no stranger to the singular position of being a strong, forthright woman within a powerful dynasty. It was a witty stylistic love letter from one woman of substance to another.

[kitausuret]

You know I've literally never read any marvel comics so I kinda don't remember why I started following you but I have no regrets about it. I probably started following you for something to do with the venom movies bc I'm obsessed with those but I can't remember what it was?? And i haven't seen anything about them since then so idk

But anyway like even tho I've never read a single marvel comic I love reading your little comments about events I know nothing about lmao. Especially when you talk about Flash, Eddie and the symbiote like those tags about the first time Flash sees Eddie smile were so cute it made me rlly happy. And it's so funny bc I only know the movie versions of Eddie and V who I'm guessing are pretty different in the comics, and I'm still just sorta piecing together who Flash actually is as I read more posts on here but you've managed to make me ship something with characters I barely know from media I've never even touched before lmao

Hi anon! This is super sweet of you to say and I'm glad you've stuck around even if you don't always know what's going on. 😅

Believe it or not I do actually really super love the Venom movies as well, I just tend to hyperfixate on the comics because they are the most intriguing/aggravating to me. Back around late 2018 and such I actually reblogged quite a bit of stuff about the Sony ot4 (Dan/Anne/Venom/Eddie, AKA D.A.V.E.) and I still extremely love them. Nearly every Sonyverse fic I've written at least alludes to them.

In fact... I wrote a couple crossovers between 616 and Sony: - We See Through a Glass, Darkly (where 616!Eddie goes to the Sony Universe, and meets the other 2 of the ot4 and his counterpart) - Like Two Passing Ships (the sequel, where Sony!Eddie (and Venom!) travel to Earth-616, they also meet 616!Flash (: )

And for a holiday exchange I received this incredible piece! By @x-jean here on Tumblr, link is to the Ao3 version.

So yeah, I really adore both of these universes for Venom stuff! And by Venom stuff I mean shipping the combined entity of Venom with at least one other person.

And yes, Eddie and the Venom Symbiote are really different between Sony and the mainline comics universe (Earth-616) but that's kind of what makes it fun for me! At first I hated how different they were but Sony!Eddie eventually grew on me. And of course, I love the ot4.

616!Venom is a different beast entirely because the symbiote does have so many different connections with so many more people. That, of course, is what inspired the symbiot3 for me (Eddie/Venom Symbiote/Flash). Flash Thompson, however, originated as a Spider-Man supporting cast member looooong before Venom was even a thought in anyone's mind, so that also influences a lot of my headcanons and indeed my fics. It's with that knowledge and history in mind that I weave together any interactions he has with Eddie and the symbiote.

If you ever want to know more about Flash, or really even any Venom comics, always feel free to reach out to me via private message or the like! But this was so sweet to see and I'm glad you like my content, Anon. And yes, I fill those tags like they're going out of style.

And on that note, if anyone DOES have any questions or ideas or stuff they want to yell about movie!Venom with me I love to talk about that too.

[hydraulicfluidinmyteapot]

Pirates of the Caribbean

This is an ask from @shrigma-male​, but i accidentally deleted the ask.. so sorry! I am high key excited to get an ask about this topic, as the Pirates of the Caribbean ride is probably one of my earliest animatronic centric obsessions. not only is it one of the earliest and most impressive feats of Imagineering, it also remains solid to this day. it houses a great many iconic animatronic figurines, all of which work together in perfect harmony to capture beautifully life filled scenes of a cohesive storyline. Its individual ride concept was so strong that it birthed a line of clones and even a famous movie franchise. isn’t that sick? a RIDE was the key source material for a whole movie series! but it’s unsurprising, with the time and care poured into the ride. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you think about it, the ride is JAM PACKED so there is a LOT to talk about. This will only be a super brief post information-wise, but who knows? There may be more to come if this performs well. Apologies, my life’s not going great at the moment and i don’t have a lot of spare time so this is not as high a quality as i would like it to be.

Here’s my fast fact file on it!

Debut: March 16, 1967

Withdrawal: All rides are still operating

Attraction: The Pirates of the Caribbean 

Locations: Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, Shanghai Disney (but this one’s heavily modified)

Attraction Type: Dark ride

Riders Per Vehicle: 23–24

Number of vehicles:  50

Animatronics: 119 ish but it depends on the ride version

Ride videos: The entire ride varies from version to version and different people want to see different parts. i’m leaving you guys to find your own ride videos. it’s a very popular ride, just type on in to youtube and you’ll find heaps of nice high quality ones. 

The thing that stands out about this ride is the theming and the sheer amount of effort put in to creating an immersive environment. the ride houses an impressive 119 audio animatronics, 53 of which are animals. There are 630,000 gallons of water in the ride (original Disneyland) and takes three whole days to drain. there are over 40,000 gold coins in the treasure room scene alone. It holds what could possibly be considered Disney’s first themed restaurant which can be seen at the start of the ride. It is objectively one of the coolest things I’ve ever ridden. I want to call specific attention to the boat scene, where cannons fare at each other from opposite ships, creating glowing impacts and throwing water about. the first time I rode it it ensnared my attention and completely suspended my disbelief.The ride system is based on the one used in it’s a small world, due to that rides incredible success in debuting a boat-based transport system. Although I hate it’s a small world with a burning passion and refuse to write anything on it, I must be forced to admit that it did wonders as a test on how to create a good dark ride, emphasising key features such as a high rider capacity, boat-based transport system, and proving that animatronics are an incredibly attractive key event. Since the 60’s when it debuted, the Pirates of the Caribbean ride has gone through many changes throughout its location, including entire scenes being added and removed. but what it has maintained throughout its historic run time is its notoriety and splendour. the key change that I will bring up is the 2006 and 2007 renovations that include more theming from the very successful movie franchise. slightly unrelated, but the song “Yo ho, a pirate’s life for me” was actually first written for the ride. The rides are all being constantly updated in minor ways whether it’s slightly improving the animatronics, touching up background details or changing costuming. I’ll attach here a brief sort of timeline of the ride that I’ve whipped up here, but it only touches on the most notable modifications. sorry about how crap-tier it is..

Now, to talk more specifically about animatronics. The animatronics used on this ride are some of the earliest made by Disney. some are really quite basic, with their full range of motions being a singular full body action such as raising and lowering out of a barrel, but others move heads and arms in (sort of) lifelike actions. Some are newer, (specifically captain Jack Sparrow), but most are the original ones from the 60’s. One of my (and everyone’s tbh) favourites is the redheaded lady. She is (very originally) named Redd. Previously she was being sold off for auction, but in 2018 she was swapped to being an auctioneer. She has stunning red curls and a beautiful dress to match, and now holds a gun. here’s a little before and after.

 in the same refurbishment that changed her the mist screen in the tunnel before the fort battle was removed and replaced with a pirate in a cage who turns into a skeleton via an optical trick as well as an octopus playing with some medallions, along with the original 1967 narration about cursed treasure being restored. Her new version is based off none other than Anne Bonny herself (worth a google, she’s a fucking BOSS (like seriously!! Queer history icon!!! LOOK 👏 HER 👏 UP 👏 )) . She’s also displayed in dead man’s cove in a portrait, which I think is kinda neat. Her Paris version is completely silent, but the others yell about selling rum. Sadly I have never actually seen the new Redd in person, as I have only ridden the ride in Tokyo (where she is still being sold).

Now, the barker bird! oh how I love him so <3 he’s a little green pirate parrot, who spent his days crying about the ride. he was originally in the queue area but got kicked outside eventually to help deal with crowd control. he was then gotten rid of in 2006 in the big movie refurb. He was remarkably similar to the original barker bird who resided outside of the Enchanted Tikki Room; however, the pirate version has a peg leg, eye patch, tattoo on his chest and wondrously villainous hat. he was originally based off of Captain Flint, the parrot from Treasure Island. It is theorised that he has a skeletal clone inside the ride; the parrot belonging to “the Dirty Feet pirate”. 

When you first get on the ride, the first animatronic you come across is Old Joe. he is an animatronic character used in multiple different attractions, including Liberty Belle Riverboat, The Western River and Mark Twain Riverboat. in each version, he lives in a shack and is associated with the banjo. I say associated because it is actually a really common misconception that he actually plays the banjo. he does not, it is just a dark scene and there is banjo music playing around him. you can see the tip of his pipe glowing as you approach it in the ride, lit up alongside the fireflies. he is a small taste of what is to come.

Barbossa replaced the original pirate captain of The Wicked Wench in the boat battle scene in the mass movie renovation. he is my tied favourite with the redhead, as his dialog adds so much to the scene. his character moves in a beautiful fashion, lit up by a spotlight. His face is artfully painted, capturing what I believe to be the most human expression in the entire ride. His boat is fighting a Castillo del Morro fortress of Isla Tesoro, whilst busy searching for treasure and presumably captain jack sparrow. in 2011 his WDW version’s outfit was swapped over to his privateer uniform from On Stranger Tides, to keep the ride tied to the movies. What can be considered quite odd is that in Paris’s later renovation, the Captain did not replace the Wicked Wench captain, and was rather added in to a scene at the end of the ride, in the skeleton grotto. he is standing on the shipwreck beside the skeleton helmsman, carrying a lantern. 

The auctioneer. I don’t like him. greasy man. his eyes are wild. He’s originally voiced by Paul Frees (an icon, a legend) and is inspired by Captain Bartholomew Roberts (considered the most successful pirate in the golden age of piracy. He is also a pirate from the ship The Wicked Wench, and his auction is set up near a canteen called "La Cantina”. very creative. He was originally selling brides (human trafficking, not very snazzy) but now he sells chickens he stole from townspeople. however, this is unsuccessful. In the Paris version, instead of the chickens he is trying to sell a painting of Jean Laffite. Funnily enough, Jean is one of Disney’s sort of “stand in” pirate characters that they frequently just use whenever they need a pirate to slide in. Unfortunately, the auctioneer is always kept relatively up to date with the shiniest, newest technology that Disney can spare, and is always one of the most advanced figures on the ride. doesn’t deserve it, he’s slimy and I don’t like him. I should probably mention that he doesn’t actually have a name other than the auctioneer. There’s also a clone of him used in the haunted mansion for the duelling animatronics. loser. 

This is a very long post, so I shall cut it here. I will leave you with an image gallery, further reading and a possible promise of a part two if this post does well. Thank you!

(ok so i actually haven’t got any further reading gathered yet. give me like 6 hours and ill fix it in an edit. i promise. i just want to get this post out asap)

[harry-leroy]

Opera 2020: The Rake’s Progress (1/99) 

So I’m gonna do a little post for each of these operas that I watch and give some thoughts on it (kinda like I do when I finish a Shakespeare play, but possibly a little more organized? we’ll see...). I figured that I would start with The Rake’s Progress, since I am still interacting with that work, even though I listened to it at the end of 2019. I’m not going to do a post for Xerxes because I saw that opera nearly a year ago (so if anything, I’ll listen to it again once I’ve listened to the others). 

                                                             * * * 

Alright, y’all. I won’t lie. I’m a little obsessed with this work now. If you haven’t listened to The Rake’s Progress and you enjoy some opera, I highly suggest having a listen. There are also wonderfully staged performances that you can watch on YouTube that have been so fun for me to watch because I adore this opera. It’s just a fun, seductive, flirtatious thrill ride with tomfoolery and hell-raising for two and a half hours, (with an ending that seriously messes with my entire emotional state). 

In fact, I’ve enjoyed listening to this opera so much that I’ve begun to do research on the opera itself, as well as some academic questions related to the work. On a larger scale, this project that I’m unofficially undertaking involves the stock character of the rake and the literary (and possibly the musical)  imagination. It is something that I’ve only just begun working on, and am possibly poking at the idea for my thesis, but I am still unsure as I thought I would be doing that on something Shakespeare related. For now, I am looking at Stravinsky’s work (which premiered in 1951) under the lens of a few questions that I want to apply to other works as well (and these are just preliminary research questions - aka things that came into my head as things I wanted to think about - some of these might be rather dull): 

- What is it about The Rake’s Progress that excites us as an audience? To put it differently, what is it about that story that works? Is it the extravagant setting? The high-stakes hell-raising that takes us on a jostling roller-coaster ride to a 180 degree cliff face from which we have nowhere to go but down? Or is it the inevitable moral at the end? The relief that we’re not in the same position as Tom Rakewell? In experiencing Rakewell’s story second-hand, is there a kind of fascination there with looking in on a world that almost appears fantastical? Some combination of these? Which elements stand out more than others as being successful? 

- What inspires an author to make their main character a rake? What inspires them to go down the road of the ‘progress’ once more? Do these authors always have a restoration type setting in mind for their work? Why are we so easily able to move out of that time period? 

-Based on the different representations of the rake and his progress, can we develop a traditional trajectory for how his story will go down? Is it more similar to Hogarth’s artistic interpretation or more different? What changes have had to be made due to the circumstances under which the author wrote, or were made for other reasons? Were these changes successful considering the medium? 

For Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, the work takes a kind of neoclassicist  approach, in which Stravinsky refers to the work as a “period-drama”. He intended for his opera to be set in an eighteenth-century setting, but from what I’ve seen being staged, it certainly has not remained that way. The elaborate restoration setting (something out of Hogarth) actually seems to reveal something interesting about the characters, and reveals that this opera is something quite post-modern. 

What happens in The Rake’s Progress is that we have some characters that are actually aware of their existence in the opera itself, some feeling somewhat trapped by that limit of just being in a show (in which their course is already set for them), and some taking it for what it is, or even taking advantage of it. Some characters are not aware of this at all. Tom becomes more and more aware of his existence as a character as the show goes on. He hopes that his written fate is a good one at the beginning, then in trying to take control of it in a state of maddened anxiety, destroys his other self (Nick) and subsequently goes mad. He falls into the first category of characters, as one who is trapped. Baba is totally aware that she’s just in an opera, and she’s going to make the best of it. She even recognizes it in her libretto during the epilogue (”Good people, just a moment”), “all men are mad, all they say and do is theatre”. She takes the situation for what it is. Nick takes control of it and like Tom, tests its limits, though that later comes to his downfall when he is dragged back down to hell for suddenly changing to rules and allowing Tom a chance to destroy him. He also laments this fact in the epilogue, “day in, day out, poor Shadow/ must do as he is bidden./ Many insist I do not exist./ At times I wish I didn’t”. However, this line comes across as more comedic than tragic. Anne and Trulove do not seem to recognize that they are only part of an opera, though this is somewhat contradictory given the nature of the epilogue in which the five primary characters sing a song very clearly addressing an audience who has been watching them this entire time, in which Tom has come back to life to do the same (clearly out of story-line). So not only does the epilogue help the moral of the story: “for idle hands, the devil finds work to do”, but it also shows that these characters are aware that they are characters and that they are putting on theatre. 

Another thing that has interested me was the relationship between Tom and Nick, and the possibility that Nick is a part of Tom, being his “Shadow”. This becomes somewhat complicated because on stage we see them as separate entities, separate bodies, and they sometimes act independently of one another. As far as the audience is concerned, they are two different characters, and visually they are two different people. However, when one applies the thought that Shadow is only just a part of Tom, all sorts of questions can arise. For me, it makes Tom an even more unstable character. Having done a little bit of score study, his lines are often tonally in opposition with the orchestra, or sometimes he’s so nervous that he doesn’t start right on the downbeat of a measure, but an eighth note behind it. This is especially apparent in the Graveyard scene. Additionally, Tom’s nervousness and instability is shown in his constant key-changes, the way his key pushes against the music played in the orchestra. In the first scene in which he is mad (”With roses crowned”), he sings Nick’s melody that he sang in the graveyard scene: three eighth notes followed by a dotted-eighth, sixteenth pattern, losing sight of his own melody that he had (which in itself was highly unstable, once again having many phrases that did not start right on the downbeat, though some did). 

Regardless of score study, the idea of having these two characters be a part of Tom almost makes me want to toy with the idea of Nick being a vision to him throughout, a vision that is more handsome, less hesitant, and more willing to exercise free-will. (I was joking earlier that Shadow’s either gotta be really creepy or really hot, but now I think it’s whether you want him to come across as a devil or as the other, more-reckless part of Tom). It makes me think that the whole graveyard scene could be some drawn out suicide attempt rather than an opposition between man and devil, which if allowed the luxury of a film version, could possibly be done. In such a case, it could be argued that Tom’s been on the verge of madness this entire time, but his destruction of Shadow finalizes it. However, again, having two figures on stage during that scene playing this elaborate card game would suggest that we are to imagine a card game with the devil, rather than a man imagining his other self threatening him. 

It also calls into question how much sympathy we should (or shouldn’t) have for Tom by the end. If we believe that he is cursed to madness by a devil figure, then perhaps he is more likely to gain our sympathy than if this was caused by his own hand pushing Shadow back into hell, or perhaps into non-existence as is mused by the epilogue. Furthermore, the opera does not end as Shadow is defeated, but after Tom’s (Adonis’s) death. In between these two deaths, we get a heartbreaking reunion between Tom and Anne, in which Tom as Adonis is asking his Venus for forgiveness. “What should I forgive?” she responds with almost too much innocence. Despite the fact that Anne was tossed aside during Tom’s wayward adventures in London, his love for her never seems to fade. Even when he is married to Baba (for that short and wild time), Anne is always in the back of his mind. In Bedlam, we are almost brought back to the Elysium of the woods. It’s almost out of a pastoral, but then we are bitterly reminded that these are no idyllic woods, but rather “a common darkness... in a night that never ends”. So perhaps the question is not of a moral choice of whether we should or should not have sympathy for Tom, but rather do we have sympathy for Tom. The answer for me will always be a yes, and I think that is one of many things that makes The Rake’s Progress an effective work. 

Of course, there are a lot more thoughts I have on this particular opera. The other posts about these operas that I’m going to be listening to will not be as long as this one. I’ve just taken a deep interest with The Rake’s Progress because, as I said before, it’s an absolute joy-ride. I highly recommend giving it a listen. There’s an excellent recording with Ian Bostridge as Tom Rakewell (and I am so upset that they didn’t make an entire production out of it because they should have - it’s scary good). There’s also a fun production on YouTube that was done in Aix in 2017 starring Paul Appleby and Julia Bullock that I love because it’s 9000% more extravagant than it needs to be, but I’m 9000% here for it. The staging is wonderful, to say the very least.

[dillydedalus]

what i read in july

THAT’S MORE LIKE IT aka i’m finally out of the (relative) reading slump for good & my bro james joyce was there

men explain things to me, rebecca solnit the original mansplaining essay is great, and still scarily relevant; the others in this collection (most on feminist issues) are also quite good; some aspects are a bit dated & problematic so be aware of that. 2.5/5

erschlagt die armen!, shumona sinha (tr. from french, not available in english) short but very impactful novella about a young french woman, originally from india, who works as an interpreter in the asylum system and becomes more & more broken by this system of inhumane bureaucracy and suffering, until she snaps and hits a migrant over the head with a wine bottle. full of alienation and misery and beautiful but disturbing language - the title translates to ‘beat the poor to death’ so like. yeah. 3.5/5

fire & blood: a history of the targaryen family I, george r r martin look, it’s a 700-page-long fake history book about a fictional ruling dynasty in a fictional world, and i’m just That Obsessed & Desperate about asoiaf (and i don’t even care about the targs That Much). anyway, now i know more about the targs than any ruling family from, you know, real history, which is like, whatever. this is pretty enjoyable if you are That Obsessed, although i will say that some bits are much better than others (there are some dry dull years even in everyone’s fav overly dramatic dragon-riding incest-loving family) and the misogyny really is. a lot. too much. way too much. BUT i did really like Good Best Queen Alysanne (her husband king joe harris is alright too i guess) and i found my new westerosi otp, cregan stark/aly blackwood, who both have Big Dick Energy off the fucking charts. 3.5/5 (+0.5 points for cregan and aly’s combined BDE)

the old drift, namwali serpell hugely ambitious sprawling postcolonial nation-building novel about zambia, told thru three generations of three families, as well as a chorus of mosquitoes (consistently the best & smartest parts). there is A LOT going on, in terms of characters, of plot points, of references to history (the zambian space programme) and literature (finally my knowledge of heart of darkness paid off) and thematically, and honestly it was a bit too much, a bit too tangled & fragmented & drifty, and in the end i probably admire this book more than i liked it, but serpell’s writing is incredibly smart and funny and full of electrical sparks 3.5/5

a severed head, iris murdoch the original love dodecahedron (not that i counted). iris murdoch is fucking WILD and i love her for it. this is a strange darkly funny little farce about some rich well-educated londoners and their bizarre & rather convoluted love lives. not as grandiosely wild as the sea the sea, but fun nevertheless. 3/5

midnight in chernobyl, adam higginbotham jumping on the hype bandwagon caused by the hbo series (very weird to call the current fascination with chernobyl a hype bandwagon but you know). interesting & well-written & accessible (tho the science is still totally beyond me) & gets you to care about the people involved. lots of human failure, lots of human greatness, set against the background of the almost eldritch threat of radioactivity (look up the elephant foot & see if you don’t get chills), and acute radiation syndrome which is THE MOST TERRIFYING THING ON EARTH . 3.5/5

normal people, sally rooney honestly this is incredibly engrossing & absorbing once you get used to how rooney completely ignores ‘show don’t tell’ (it works!), i pretty much read the whole thing in one slow workday (boss makes a dollar, i make a dime so i read books on my phone on company time, also i genuinely had nothing to do). i also think rooney is really good at precisely capturing the ~millenial experience in a way that feels very true, especially the transition from school to uni. BUT i really disliked the ending, the book never engages with the political themes it introduces (esp. class and gender) as deeply as it could and the bdsm stuff never really gets TIED UP LOL. so overall idk: 3.5/5

störfall: nachrichten eines tages, christa wolf quiet reflective undramatic little book narrated by a woman waiting to hear about the outcome of her brother’s brain surgery on the day of the catastrophe at chernobyl - throughout the day she puts down her thoughts about her brother and the events unfolding at chernobyl, as well as the double uncertainty she is trying to cope with. really interesting to read such an immediate reaction to chernobyl (the book came out less than a year after chernobyl). 2.5/5

the man in the high castle, philip k dick it was fine? quick & entertaining alternative history where the axis powers win the war, some interesting bits of worldbuilding (like the draining of the mediterranean which was apparently a real idea in the early 20th century?) but overall it’s just felt a bit disjointed & unsatisfying to me. 2.5/5

fugitive pieces, anne michaels very poetic & thoughtful novel about the holocaust, grief, remembrance & the difference between history and memory, intergenerational trauma, love, geology and the weather. i’m not sure how much this comes together as a novel, but it is absolutely beautifully written (the author is a poet as well) and very affective. 3.5/5

american innovations, rivka galchen short collection of bizarre & often funny short stories about neurotic women whose furniture flies away, or who grow an extra breast, or who are maybe too occupied with financial details. very vague & very precise at once, which seems to be the thing with these sort of collections. 3/5

fool’s assassin (fitz & the fool #1), robin hobb YAASS i’m back in the realm of the elderlings!!! i thought this was one of the weaker installments in the series - i still enjoyed it a lot, and Feelings were had, but it just doesn’t quite fit together pacing-wise & some of the characterisation struck me as off (can i get some nuance for shun & lant please?) and tbh fitz is at peak Selfcentred Dumbass Levels & it drove me up the fucking wall. molly, nettle & bee deserve better. still, completely HYPE for the rest of the trilogy. 3.5/5

JAMES JOYCE JULY

note: i decided not to read dubliners bc it’s my least fav of joyce’s major works & too bleak & repetitive for my mood right now AND while i planned not to reread finnegans wake bc……. it’s finnegans wake…. i kinda do want to read it now (but i also. really don’t.) so idk yet.

a portrait of the artist as a young man, james joyce y’all. i read this book at least once a year between the ages of 15 and 19, it’s beyond formative, it is burnt into my brain, and reading it now several years later it is still everything, soaring and searing (that searing clarity of truth, thanks burgess) and poetic and dirty, and stephen is baby, and a pretentious self-important little prick and i love him & i am him (or was him as only a pretentious self-important teenage girl reading joyce can be him - because this truly is a book that should be read in your late teens when you feel everything as intensely and world-endingly and severely as my boy stephen does and every new experience feels like the world changing). anyway i love this book & i love stephen dedalus, bird-like, hawk-like, knife-blade, aloof, alienated, severe and stern, a poet-priest-prophet if he could ever get over himself, baby baby baby. 5/5

exiles, james joyce well. there’s a reason joyce is known as a novelist. this is….. a failed experiment, maybe. a fairly boring play about an adulterous love-square and uh… love beyond morality and possession maybe??? about how much it would suck for joyce to return to ireland??? and tbh it’s not terribly interesting. 2/5

travesties, tom stoppard a wild funny irreverent & smart antic comedy inspired by the fact that during ww1, james joyce, lenin, and dadaist tristan tzara were all in neutral zurich, more or less simultaneously; they probably never met, but in this play they do, as dadaist poetry, socialist art critique, and a james joyce high on his own genius & in desperate need of some cash while writing ulysses, AND the importance of being earnest (joyce is putting on a production of it) all collide in the memories of henry carr, who played algernon & later sued joyce over money (tru facts). not my fav stoppard (that’s arcadia) but it’s funny & fizzy & smart & combines many many things that i love. 4/5 

ulysses, james joyce look i’m not really going to tell y’all anything new about ulysses, but it really has everything, it’s warm & human(e) & cerebral & difficult & funny & sad & healing & i always get a lot out of it even tho there’s bits (a lot of them) i’ll never wrap my head around. ultimate affirmation of humanity or whatever. also stephen dedalus is baby. 5/5

dedalus, chris mccabe the fact that this book (sequel to ulysses about what stephen dedalus might have done the next day) exists and was published ON MY BIRTHDAY is proof that the universe loves me. 

anyway this is very very good, very very clever, extremely good at stephen (less good at bloom but his parts are still good), engages w/ ulysses, portrait & hamlet (& others) very cleverly & does some cool meta and experimental shit. y’all it has stephen talking to a contemporary therapist about how he’s stuck in joyce’s text which is all about joyce & very little about whoever stephen is when he’s not joyce’s alter ego/affectionate but slightly amused look at younger self and ithaca is an interview w/ the author about how his relationship to his dad influenced his response to ulysses and I’M INTO IT. the oxen of the sun chapter replaces the whole ‘gestation of english prose’ w/ just slightly rewriting the first pages of about 10 novels published between ulysses and now & it does lolita w/ “bloom, thorn of stephen’s sleep, light in his eyes. his sire, his son’ and i lit. screamed. anyway i don’t want to give this 5 stars (yet) bc i think some of the experimental stuff ended up a bit gimmicky & didn’t add that much to the text but fuck. that’s my boy & i want to reread it right now. 4.5/5 ALSO it’s a crime no literary weirdo woman has written ‘a portrait of the artist’s sister’ about delia ‘dilly’ dedalus, shadow of stephen’s mind, quick far & daring, teaching herself french from a 3rd hand primer while her father drinks the nonexistent family fortune away and her older brother is getting drunk on a beach & starting fights w/ soldiers bc he’s a smartarse

[whitetrashjj]

Lara’s birthday mutual appreciation rant

Anyway as of 50 minutes ago, it’s my birthday and I’ve been playing tennis all day so naturally, I’m drunk.  

So feeling the love and affection right now, I thought why not show some appreciation to all my mutuals who are amazing and I love. 

there is a good chance I’ll regret this when I’m sober but lets take that gamble

Let’s start with a blanket statement, which is how happy even having mutuals makes me. Things from seeing my mutuals on my dash to seeing my posts on my dash and even just seeing that little *reblogged from* you thing makes me smile. Every time any of you say my name in your tags, it just remind me that you are real people and that I am real and some how I am connected to all these amazing people from around the world. i don’t even care if sometimes you have to check my description to remember my name

Having an outlet where I can share my thoughts and feelings on these stupid things I get obsessed with is amazing, and the fact that even one of you would listen to my stupid rants means the most to. I honestly think this is something we take for granted and some times we focus to much on the negative but tonight we are sharing the love, because we need more of that in this world. 

In all honesty I don’t talk to many of you, and the ones that I do it’s only been once or twice. Please don’t take this the wrong way, mostly I think that I’m not that interesting, so why would you want to talk to me ? If I ever drop out of a conversation randomly it’s because I think I’m boring you and I don’t want to bother you even if you messaged me first . If I never message you first I promise it’s not because I don’t want to talk, but more my brain tells me you only wanted to talk once about that specific topic and then never wanted to interact again. But I promise if you want to talk to me, I’m always game.

That fact that you all continue to follow me and support me even when i’m posting and talking shit, or go through phases of shows that you don’t watch, or post about characters or ship that you don’t like, or sometimes actively hate (*cough*murven*cough*), really does mean alot in this small little world and i want to thank all of you for it... 

Now onto some specifics... in no particular order 

@clarkegriffintitties - i followed you because of you’re url because eternal mood, lets be real. I’m pretty sure I’ve told you this before, another drunk lara declaration, but not a single regret because you are officially my #1 crush, according to Tumblr. So keep doing your thang boo !

@eizagonzalezs - oh meg, a fellow cora hale stan. the literal reason I started watching the 100, you know back in the day when i thought they were canon and their names were the other way around. and ofcourse one of my murvensource gals. follow forever and eternal devotion !

@madigriffen - my other murvensource gal! i’m eternal grateful for you kat because I no longer feel like I’m single handedly coming out with murven content! im both shocked and impressed how quickly you have gained followers, but not at all surprised because you deserve every single on of them.

@blarke - maggie. you gave me this url. and that should be enough to express how much i appreciate you. but it’s not. you love for the boys from my old url, gendry and bell will always be remembered. and i wish you came and talked to me sooner because i honestly can’t remember what it’s like not to follow you, they must have been dark times. ALSO when I was stalking your about page when i first followed you i noticed our birthdays were one day apart, same year and all (different time zones but whatever) and that really excited me, so happy late birthday and hope you’re pumped for your 20′s!

@clarkebell - without a doubt one of my favourite mutuals. can i say, even though you seem like the sweetest most approachable people you intimidate the hell out of me. because you are pretty af, seem so cool and are all around just amazing. also i always love a fellow aussie, you are a blues supporter but i guess i can let that slide 

@starboybellamy - i feel the thing i will always associate with you is the ‘my husband doesn’t understand the meaning of fucking hurry’ text post because it was the most unintentionally blarke thing ever. i always live for you’re bfsn, partly because you’re usually drinking and/or drunk and i respect that, mainly because you are gorgeous ..

@bellofthesky - i followed you because tumblr wouldn’t stop recommending you’re blog. and for once they got something right! despite me not having followed you for very long (5th most recent follow) you are one of my top 9 tumblr crushes. basically, i feel you’re content boo so keep it up xx

@bellarkes-hope - how long have we been mutuals? about a month. how long have i thought we’ve been mutuals? like all year. not much to say other than i dropped the ball, I've corrected that mistake and i’m now out here living my best life will you on my dash

@bb-8 - have i watched a single star wars movie? nope. did i squeal with excitement for you when you got this url? of-fucking-course! cody, you are the queen of icons and an amazing person. and anyone who loves anne bonny as much as i do will always be loved and respected in this house

@sanssa - a multifandom blog that is actually consistently multifandom? sorcery or just an icon? maybe both. Kyra, i feel like you were out there giving me love and supporting me back when i barely had any mutuals and for that you will always have a special place in my heart. i will admit i lost you for a minute there with url changes but i found you again of course you just moved to a different sansa stark url 

@blueshirtbell - Isla you are probably the person who uses my name in the tags the most often and every time it makes me feel warm and fuzzy. also you’re comments on my bfsn are always so sweet and make me smile. you truely are a great person and i feel like everyone in you’re life is better off for it

@bellamynochillblake - you’re ship and let ship attitude is truly an inspiration, and lets be honest a massive relief at times when this fandom can become a negative mess! 

@jarleene - as the author of some of my fave murven fics you will always deserve a special mention. when i saw you updated crazy recently i couldn’t stop smiling. that fic has been a slow process but worth every wait, i couldn’t care less if it ever gets finished because even having any of it is truly a gift!

@hvitserkk - desirae, you followed me soon after i followed you. why? i’ll never know. but you’re url alone is enough reason to love you. in this brief time i’ve already learnt so much from you about colourings and you are always my first stop to learn more! and eternal thank yous for getting me onto animal kingdom

@lieutenantshaw - im? not? worthy? im not sure why i feel this way.. maybe it’s the amazing edits or the whole aesthetic or maybe that your whole blog seems well thought out and clean and i feel like you looking at my blog would kinda be like that ‘damn bitch you live like this?’ picture.. do you feel like you’re blog is like that ? idk,, but if you are happy following me you do you cause it makes me feel good :)

the rest of my mutals - not because i love you less or don’t have anything to say about you but simply because i’m coming down, i’m tired and lazy as all fuck.

if you want a paragraph about why you are amazing swing into my ask box because i guarantee you I’ve got one ;)

@bellammy @p-tonkins @halfbloodduchess @the-most-beautiful-broom @octannibal-blake @failing-at-being-an-angel @diyozaa @niylvh @blakes-griffin @joncthanmurphy @johnmurphe @pandalandalopalis @izzycheeese @grumpymonty @tracylorde @bellamyblakesass @clarkesgrfin @a-timely-interruption @clorkegriffin @platonic-bellarke @abugonahotplate @smoakedvigilanties @beelarkes @inajohncriminalway @kaymarie195 @vixiously @otakujess @harpersmcintyred @the100lunarsship @vulgarvixen4 @head-and-heart @the-ships-to-rule-them-all @deadshotbellamy @fuckitforgendry @spaaleb 

a few things before i go to bed..

if you read your paragraph and gone ‘damn girl that aint me’, so sorry i am drunk and easily confused 

if i have tagged you and you are no longer/never was a mutual, many apologies and best of luck in your future endeavours

if you don’t like this feel free to completely ignore it, i wont mind :)

much love, drunk lara x

[dove-annarchie]

A Slow Damage headcanon theory compilation by Ann

It’s late and I’m supposed to write short stories instead of a long rant about a game that’s not even out. But after watching the Slow Damage PV another hundred times and seeing that the N+C fandom is kinda dead. I decided to add my little, possibly going to remain unseen theories/headcanons/speculations/guesses etc. for the fans waiting for something new.

Note that nothing of what I’ve written is to be taken at face-value, it’s just my speculation and feel free to correct me on anything or share your theories with me. Anything to make this agonizing period of waiting a bit less agonizing!

First, these guesses wouldn’t be as strong without @shinocchidesu’s text decode on the PV and the inverted sketches @bara-mink (sorry, for some reason i couldn’t tag you :C) made to get a new perspective on the images, and they look clearer!. Kudos to them!

To start this trip, I may warn you this is gonna be long as heck. Be prepared.

We’ve got to start with the ambience. N+C has something like a track record regarding crapsack worlds, dramatical murder and maybe false alkanet being the exceptions (and even then, Dmmd was dark as fuck despite the cheery, colorful world it was in). Togainu no Chi was a post-war dystopia, Lamento was a story in a world that was slowly dying, and sweet pool’s world was fairly ordinary but the darkness on the plot was the product of the characters’ doing.

Slow damage seems to be the game where both the characters and the world around them are grimdark as hell.

Taking the PV at face value, the characters seemed suspicious, the music and effects were unsettling and the background left an impression (at least in me) that nothing was fine. Looked kind of like a decadent city, or a red-light district, just an urban zone full of crime. If I had to compare it to explain myself better, think of Dragon Palace in Omerta Chinmoku no Okite (another BL, mafia themed VN).

(what looks like an urban environment in the pv):

(omerta’s dragon palace, for comparison):

A crime-filled ambience is an ideal place for a dark plot with troubled characters.

Moving along with the characters, we see 4 of them (at least if there’s not a hidden twin, clone or doppelganger). None of them look 100% sane to me. The flashing visuals and slightly off-key music and sounds are likely to hint that at us, or maybe it’s the kanji, for the Japanese-speaking people? They’re either very involved with crime, or their hands aren’t clean enough to disprove any guilt. At least for me, since these are my deductions.

Moving on, I’m going to talk about the people we see in the PV. Starting with:

My thoughts about him? When there’s crime, there should be cops. He looks like a detective or cop to me. He also seems to be middle aged, or older than the MC at the very least. Old enough to have been a father? Who knows. But he reminds me of Motomi (TnC) and Kiryuu (Omerta) for some reason. I’ll call him Kiryu for now.

The words deciphered by shinocchidesu in their post read:

Sins, guilt, depression, self-loathing, to hide something, mask.

If I tie this to his assumed position in the law, Kiryu must have committed a crime himself and/or gotten someone killed. It was either an accident or intentional, whether in a moment of weakness or fully aware of what was going to unfold. In any case. It seems like Kiryu desperately wants to hide it, or forget it. Or the disgust he felt with himself after doing it.

Affection, mercy, silence, determination to be…

What if his route is like a healing process, maybe not just for Kiryu, but also for whatever the MC went through before? Maybe by taking his route, if he has one, we can make him move on or remind him that the past is in the past, and that he can still find worthy things in his life (Like the MC?). he’s going to feel more positive with the MC around him, he may quickly take a liking to him. Maybe because he reminds Kiryu of someone from his past? Is being romanced by the MC like a chance to symbolically or internally fix everything that went wrong?

Next is…

My thoughts about him? Looks like the typical pretty boy every anime media must have. Longish hair? Check. More delicate face structure? Check. Mischievous smile? Check. He also seems to have piercings, or maybe it’s the rough lines of the sketches. I’m going to call him Shi for now, read the explanation ahead.

The deciphered words read:

Unrestrained, unstoppable pleasure, blood, bone, flesh, violence.

This doesn’t spell good.

I’m going to stretch my deductions a lot and state that maybe Shi was (or is) a cannibal, or a serial killer. I see him as a hedonistic fuck who doesn’t care about other people’s wellbeing as long as he’s having a blast. Maybe he was under the influence of drugs. All of this spells that Shi was an outright criminal, the kind of pleasure-seeking person who will go to the extreme just to feel new sensations, even if they’re morally wrong. Shi wants to feel thrilled, he has no barriers or chains. He’s a free man and not even the police can keep him from having his way. He’s sassy, brash, carefree and confident. Has a joyful and fun façade to hide his bloodthirstiness and the misery it caused him.

Or we can take the other side and imply he was being forced to be like this. Maybe he was part of a cult or a very toxic group who indulged in killing and intoxication. He’s used to this, even if he doesn’t want to be. Maybe the MC can help him withdraw from his passions or push him deeper into it while joining him. I still don’t have this clear.

Self-denial, build and rebuild, hidden aesthetic.

Shi lives very frugally. Because of his criminal status he has to constantly relocate, but it’s not like he has important things to leave behind. Much like Nine told Aoba in dmmd re:connect, Shi can build and destroy his (outer) world whenever he wants or needs to and he doesn’t lose much by that. The build and rebuild part can also apply to his possible murderous intents, since he destroys lives in order to build up his pleasure. Possibly being with the MC may inspire a desire to settle down, despite the risk, and having legitimate reasons to do the opposite. A possible bad end might be joining in the bloody debauchery and being dominated by Shi?

Next one…

My thoughts about him? A classic character; the kichiku megane. Other than Ugajin (also from Omerta) and the yaoi manga with that name, I cannot make any comparisons due the fact I haven’t seen many examples of this archetype. Unless he turns out to be a caring, if amoral sweetheart, I’m betting my cat’s life that he’s going to follow the trope to a T. Stoic, sadistic, cruel and uncaring, but smart, sophisticated, desirable and maybe hiding a very tiny good heart. He looks like a high-ranking criminal, or yakuza or mafia or I dunno, he looks not like a lowlife thug, but more like an evil hidden-in-plain-sight kind of criminal. He can afford to look elegantly amoral. It took me a while to give him a decent placeholder name, so I’m just calling him Kenji for now.

Let’s analyze his phrases.

To put on, not being himself, inerasable past, acted out truth, hatred towards their own.

This one’s a little more complicated to me even if it seems to be explicitly spelled out. Kenji’s self-hatred must stem from a typical traumatic experience. Maybe his family/race/clan/group did something awful and he was one of the few who regretted letting it happen? And that’s why he’s involved with crime? Because he sees himself as nothing but another apple that rot far away from the tree and he can’t do better than commit more crimes?. A little part of himself knows that while he’s scum, or at least related with the real scum, he didn’t commit atrocities like his kind so he can afford to be a little bit better. He desperately tries to distance himself from his clan, erasing his past and not wanting the horrible truth to be discovered. He doesn’t need to have a higher moral ground, he’s content with not doing horrible things directly. And he clings to that.

Cruel, thorough confrontation, continuous obsession.

Rule of three dictated these might refer to Kenji’s relationship with the MC. While MC doesn’t look like a career criminal, he’s still at the very bottom of the barrel, living in the crime-ridden urban settlement on a filthy studio (assuming he’s an artist). While Kenji can flaunt of being sophisticated and respected. If the kichiku megane aspect is played straight, Kenji won’t limit his cruelty with the MC, maybe seeing him as just another ruffian undeserving of even mere eye contact, much like he sees the people working for him. MC will keep clashing with Kenji, causing the yakuza to become enticed and attracted to the young (?) smoker. As if he’s “deserving” of him. I don’t have much else, sorry.

And finally…

Now let’s go with the hooded person, who I’m assuming it’s the MC, and if he isn’t and turned out to be the main antagonist or some shit like that, welp, then screech in my ear and call me Rachel.

I’m basing my guesses from the teaser images rather than the kanji.

The first one is simplistic. We see a person in a hoodie sporting a macabre smile, standing in the middle of a street with distorted figures which must be buildings. The colors are limited, classical red, black and white, aiding the macabre aesthetic of the picture. The black figures seem to sink onto the ground and lose consistency. As seen on the N+C website, the title of the game is written twice; once in white and then in black, right over the white katakana in an irregular way that may be meant to add to the “instability” of the image.

I don’t see much symbolism other that this being N+C’s way of saying “yo, we gon fuck your mind up but you gotta wait for it ;) also if you don’t speak Japanese then you’re doubly screwed fam”

The second one is more complex and gives us a very good look at the aspects and symbolism. We see the hooded person in much clearer detail. Looks definitely masculine (it’s a yaoi game, duh). He’s sitting on a stool, in a crooked posture, looking depressed and defeated, smoking while avoiding eye contact with the camera. Smoking was believed to reduce stress, but that was debunked a while ago, so he has pent up a ton of anxiety added to the usual problems with his already underprivileged lifestyle. Behind him there are numerous canvases (assuming he’s an artist, or at least a hobbyist) with a huge black one right behind his back, they show no images other than empty whiteness and some shadows, their meanings being that either he gave up, those easels are representing emptiness and gloom, he became disillusioned and he’s reflecting on stuff, or that there are multiple problems in his life that are unimportant or self-inflicted and thus cause him small amounts of misery but not to an extreme extent, and this one big black canvas right behind his back represents factor that started, prolonged or keeps fueling his bitterness and internal struggle.

I want you to save me./Do you want to be saved?

In a world of crime, a young man has the chance to make things right. Anything he could do may make things better or worse. Is he talking to himself? Is someone else asking him that? All the above?

By who? By me?

He’s doubtful and depressed. He started at the bottom and he’s still in the bottom (that was unintentional). But can he push his frustrations aside and face the music?

That concludes my analysis and helped quench my impatience a little bit. I should repeat that this is not to be taken at face value nor I’m saying this is 100% canon official information. It’s just another guessing game to see if I can give you an idea of what to expect. I dunno, I just wrote this for fun C: thanks for reading!

[itsjoalba]

30 FACTS

So guys this is really awkward telling you facts about myself *shy smile, oh well just think of this as a “getting to know” each other stage. Nevertheless, here are the 30 facts about me.

Hi my name is Jonalyn but you can call me Jo for short

I love art, and I mean art in all forms.

I have a baby brother

I was born on February 17

Anne Curtis and I have the same birth date and Im so happy because she’s one of the celebrity or ambassador that I look up to. 

The first book that I brought home from a library was “The Three Little Pigs”

I love to watch movies and series ahahaha 

I was a barista for 2 months and half

Im kinda obsessed with wallets

I’m not fond with flat/strappies sandals. (tho I love sandals with heels)

I love music so much.

Im into calligraphy, paintings, sketches etc.

I don’t want to have utang with someone, I always keep track of my debt even if it’s only 1 peso and I always make sure to pay it right away.

I love to give handwritten letters (i always have a thing for writing.)

I use to have a pet his name was crawly and he is a turtle (he was given to us by my auntie)

Im not good at explaining my point (aquarius)

I have a lot of memory from my childhood and most of them was a fun memory.

 I want to write a lot like I want to write down my to-do list (tho im not a good writer) like even though smartphones can do a lot of things, but there is something in writing down my thoughts that comforts me.

I go crazy with my crush, like I could stalk them for hours in social media to the point I could actually discover their family tree *sheems

A lot of people would say I’m a happy go lucky or like the funny one in the group (depending on people that im with) I could be the loudest and also be the silent person. 

I could not imagine myself being in a relationship with someone in short im a NBSB, (didn’t experience having a suitor)

I don’t want people to tell me what to do, but I will listen to what they say.

One of the inspiring woman that I’ve known is my mom (no bias). I mean for me she is the model of HARDWORK. I aspire to be like my mom a strong independent, in terms of financial she really knows how to handle them. She is an excellent lover especially to her family (including us of course). We may not exchange our “iloveyous” but she never fails to show us how she treasures us *vice versa. And also, full battery of humor and wisdom that’s my mom.

I’m a weird person like I like to ask a lot of things to the point I will annoy you. ahahahah nganong mo color man ang color? ahhahaha kidding dba samok ahahaha

I’m the happiest if ever I will see sunsets, act of love and kindness, humanity, sunrise, nature, waves, clear ocean, a person with manners, something that the inner self of mine/soul is happy, especially things that I cannot explain but only feel. 

I cannot sleep without putting lotion on my feet.

Sometimes I would consider myself as a procrastinator BUT usually I am more productive if I’m at my creative state of mind if there is a word for that, and BOOM the task is done! hahahah

If there is one thing that I would like to have as a talent it would definitely be singing ;)

When someone would ask me to take photos of them what I usually do is to tell them a joke so that I could capture their candid smile. (sucker of candid photos)

[omgkatsudonplease]

Hello :) I've been following your fic BtDS for long time now and I love the complex story and the entire premise of this story. I'm really curious how you two got around such complex world building including the little details and so much more. Have you already discussed this topic on world building before where I can read? I'd would love to know what inspired you both for this story and the background research you did for this? If you don't mind me asking? I admire your storytelling technique:)

Oh man, thank you so much; I’m super glad you like our fic! @atomicsapphic and I actually started thinking about this fic while I was on a cruise this past Christmas (you know, surrounded by water). I can’t say much about her train of thought regarding this fic since I actually do most of the writing (but she and I talk about every plot development and she also reads and okays all the chapters before we post -- oh! and she’s also responsible for some of the poems and the really lovely stream of consciousness in chapter 8), so most of it is just me spewing feelings and stuff all over the place. I’m actually a compulsive world-builder; ask any of my friends and they’ll tell you right off the bat that I do this shit for like everything creative, ever. I’ve been world-building and writing since I was 11, so in terms of storytelling technique it’s just how I’ve been rolling for a long time. I’ve actually taken some time each year since high school to write a really long fic (or, last year, the Quest for Erebor liveblogs on tumblr at @quiterespectablyyours) so writing giant wordcounts is also something I’m fairly used to, haha. 

Anyway, I’ll talk about my process under the cut.

I actually did know quite a bit about selkies before I started! I read a couple selkie AUs for other fandoms (there’s a good series for Gravity Falls and there’s a really lovely heartbreaking one for Gimli/Legolas in LotR) and I knew I wanted to do something set in a seaside town for a really long time, not to mention a long slow-burn multimedia fic (I just didn’t anticipate it being this). I’ve grown up in a city that’s a ten-minute drive from the beach, and I’ve gone to a lot of little seaside towns in my life, so I’ve had some experience on that front, though I do admit in constructing Torvill Cove I took a lot of liberties with the town; there isn’t one specific town in the Highlands that is the “real” Torvill Cove (though its location is roughly where Maillaig is). In a way it’s kinda idealised and playing more with my childhood nostalgia of Thomas Kinkade paintings and Anne of Green Gables novels, so there’s something North American about the town sometimes, but I tried to put in some more Scottish details where I could find them (the Hogamany stuff, a lot of the Celtic mythological detail, the Torvill family crest, the process of renting a cottage, etc). At one point we’d actually set the fic in the south of England instead because I’m a sucker for chalk cliffs, but then we decided that Scotland was just a more accurate setting in terms of the folklore and the mood of the piece. 

But the process of actually building the town itself was relatively simple; Leah and I talked about what jobs we wanted each of the characters to have, and that in turn informed us as to what the town had. We did change things up a lot in between our initial plans and the final story, mostly because once we factored in the fact that they’re mostly school-age people and we didn’t want to age people up, we had to give them all schools/colleges to attend in addition to their jobs. So not all of it was planned from the get-go -- things and details cropped up as I was writing and I just rolled with a lot of them. I’d actually written out like around 3 or 4 chapters before we started publishing them, so we had a large portion of time in which the fic was sitting around unpublished and I could just go in and change details as I pleased (it’s not so easy to do that now haha; I’ve had to go back and edit things like the winery’s product -- grape wines aren’t doing so hot in Scotland but berry wines are apparently a thing -- and the town’s population -- which I’ve adjusted like at least four times lol). I’ve also drawn some pretty crude maps of the town’s general layout, as well as floorplans for Viktor’s cottage and the lighthouse. I don’t have much for Yu-Topia, though -- I just sorta imagine Hotel del Coronado meets the Spirited Away bathhouse and go from there lmao

Honestly the biggest thing during the writing process was mostly the direction in which we wanted to take the story. Leah had actually imagined something a lot darker; she had envisioned something more like Gone Girl where Viktor deliberately takes the skin, but I wasn’t necessarily comfortable with something like that because this fic is actually tapping into some personal issues I dealt with this time last year (you could say it’s my own personal Stay Close to Me except I don’t want the hypothetical Yuuri in this situation to stay close to me? weird) and I personally felt like I wanted to do a story about people who love each other and, despite both of them being excellent writers and communicators of emotions in fiction, can’t seem to properly communicate with one another about their own feelings without hurting the other. So Leah and I had a talk about the vastly different wavelengths we were on and... well, since I’m writing the bulk of the story, my vision prevailed lol. I mean, I wanted there to be a little vein of darkness, but I didn’t want too much? I wanted there to be some obsession, obviously, but not to a very dangerous, borderline-abusive level. I didn’t want to portray this couple as having an abusive relationship (even if writing something Gone Girl-esque would be fuckin amazing -- just not for this fic lol); I wanted something that was a bit unhealthy, a bit codependent, but nothing that the two of them couldn’t eventually work out. That’s not strictly worldbuilding per se but it did greatly inform the tone of the words that I picked for Viktor’s endless thirst and pining so, yeah.

The multimedia aspect of the fic was actually purely accidental, since I realised I was going to get into nitty-gritty details but I also wanted bridges between each scene so it wasn’t jarring. So I rewrote a great portion of the first chapter, added in a visitor’s guide, and... it worked? And we rolled from there. Having that additional layer actually lets Leah keep working with me on this since she’s so busy with other things, so it worked out pretty well in the end. 

I’m glad you asked this question, as it sorta let me get my thoughts in order as I write chapters 11 and 12 -- which, for plot related purposes as you’ll find next Sunday, are from Yuuri’s POV -- so thank you so much for this! If you have more questions, my ask box is open. 

(also, if you’re feeling generous, please, consider buying me a cuppa?)

[brittanyinterviews]

Simone Anne, Wedding, Travel, and Commercial Photographer

Simone Anne, Wedding, Travel, and Commercial Photographer

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This interview was conducted via email in October 2019.

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Brittany: How did you get into wedding, travel, and commercial photography?

Simone: I started with photography my senior year of high school when I took a black and white film photo class. I’d love to say that it was love at first click, but it was just something I enjoyed (although, true to my obsessive nature, I spent hours and hours in the darkroom on weekends, so I must have loved it in some way). I was finishing up a roll of film at the park taking photos of my mom when she got tired of me taking her photo. My mom, who doesn’t love being in front of the camera, pushed me towards another woman in the park. “Excuse me,” I said. “I’m taking a photography class at the high school and need to finish up this roll of film for school. Do you think I could take a few photos of you?” She said yes, I awkwardly manually focused and snapped some images. Then she turned to me and said, “I’m actually a professional photographer.” Shanti, the photographer I met in the park that day, became my mentor, friend, inspiration, and more. She’s a wonderful human, inspiring business owner, and incredible photographer. Without her and this chance encounter in the park, I would not have gotten into photography and it would not have turned into my career in this way.

Brittany: Can you describe a typical day as a professional photographer?

Simone: I am very much not a routine oriented person and one of the big things that I love about my role as an independent business owner is that for the most part, I get to mold my work days to how I’m feeling. There are (of course) photography days where I am working with clients with my camera: Usually we’re outside, exploring around, and having a ton of fun. I love these days so much. I also love editing days, where I tuck myself in at my desk, put on an audiobook or podcast (I listen to a TON of audio in this role and love it very much), and make the images match my vision.

A huge part of my job is also back end things: I send a lot of planning and organizing emails, talk to my clients on the phone a lot to help them plan their day or pick their photographer, and work on various web things. For commercial jobs or travel jobs, I’ll put together fancy pitch / proposal decks to get the job, go back and forth with them on the phone and via email to make sure all of our plans are set, and more. Most of my wedding photography clients find me through Google and I spend quite a bit of time working on my website, dealing with pages and content that drive traffic, and working on the back end things (I don’t have a developer so it’s all just me). There’s always a lot going on and I am a work-a-holic who loves to get everything done as soon as possible, always.

Brittany: Can you describe the process of planning an engagement, wedding, or elopement shoot with a couple, touching on logistical details like timing, picking locations, and mapping out the kinds of photos you'll be taking?

Simone: My biggest goal for a wedding is this: I want my clients to have their dream day, whatever that is. I ask questions to help them narrow in on what kind of day they want and what that might look like and then I make suggestions as to how photography can fit into and augment that. I always tell my clients, “I’ll never tell you what to do, I’ll just tell you what your choices mean.” What this means is that I’m never ever leaving them hanging, but I will make whatever they want work, as long as we’re realistic about the timeline and build in the time they need for their dreams to come true. It sounds very up in the clouds, but ultimately it means that the way that I do it, wedding photography is a super fun and rewarding part of an overall joyful wedding day where we get exuberant, meaningful images that are beautiful, too.

That being said, in terms of locations and timelines, I do make suggestions. For locations, I like to get a general sense of where clients love (ocean, mountains, town, etc.) and make suggestions from there. I have a HUGE library of past work and can often share that to inspire locations, otherwise I am always scouting and exploring and love to share new finds.

In terms of the kinds of images I am going to make, I feel so lucky to have clients that trust my vision completely. I am always happy to work in a request or two, but mostly my clients come to me without anything except love of my work and trust in me and it really opens us up to a super fun and rewarding experience working and creating magic together.

Brittany: Many of the moments you capture seem so natural and your subjects seem far from stiff. Do you find yourself directing your subjects? How do you make them feel comfortable in front of a camera?

Simone: I absolutely direct and pose clients, but never in a way that asks them to stand there and hold a moment. I believe that good “posing” is less about telling you how exactly to position your body or interact with your partner, but more about figuring out where your body is its most comfortable, most you, most beautiful, and how you and your partner most naturally fit together. It’s pretty common for me to get on the phone with a potential client and have them tell me that while they love the natural, candid look of my work and want that for their own photos, they don’t actually feel that relaxed in front of the camera. This is very normal! I do a fun kind of posing that lets my clients relax, have a wonderful time, AND come away with photos they absolutely love.

Brittany: You've worked with brands like CLIF Bar and United Airlines. How does a commercial gig come to be?

Simone: I’ve gotten my biggest commercial gigs through Instagram, where clients are looking for a powerful combination of high quality photography and a strong social media presence. Most of these clients have then licensed images for other use after the fact as well.

These types of jobs have led to other commercial and editorial jobs as well: Word of mouth and experience of course go a long way.

I am not a high production commercial photographer who manages production teams of 30 people over a week in a big company’s office building. That’s just not what I do or what I am interested in, so in that sense “commercial” is perhaps not quite the right industry word, although I am working with commercial partners on big jobs.

Brittany: How has your business grown or changed over the years?

Simone: Over time, I’ve dialed in my voice and my work to really and truly represent who I am, how I approach photography, and how I work on a wedding day. With a strong voice (or brand) and strong images that fit within that story, the clients I work with these days are people who I utterly and truly love and who are SO excited about my work (beforehand, on the day of, and when they get their gallery). It’s ideal because it works as a win-win all around for my clients and myself and I am endlessly thankful for the wonderful relationships and jobs this has brought me.

Brittany: In addition to being an amazing photographer, you're clearly a UC Berkeley grad in that you steep yourself in local and global issues. Is there any issue you think more people should be paying attention to right now?

Simone: I don’t understand why managing climate change isn’t our number one priority at all times, above profit, above politics, above everything. The concept that there are people out there who don’t believe the science boggles my mind and I find our lack of care for the planet embarrassing and upsetting.

Brittany: You're definitely an expert in social media and have a background in marketing. If you could share one tip (or even a pet peeve) on how to use social media better, what would it be?

Simone: Honestly as our social media lives and IRL lives become more and more intertwined, my advice for both is the same: Focus on being interested, not just interesting, and the rest will follow.

I’ll follow an interesting account that doesn’t know how to use hashtags over a glossy, perfect account any day and overall those accounts and people that build a real rapport or community will always have a voice that outlasts the social media platform and usage tactic of the day. All that and you didn’t sell out! ;)

Brittany: Have you always been interested in photography and art in general? Can you describe your first "art memory"?

Simone: I have always been interested in art and writing, but photography was a later interest acquisition. I grew up without a television and while it meant I miss out on a TON of pop culture references, it also meant I just kinda putzed around and created a lot as a kid.

I was really, really into scissors as a young child and created a lot of collages and cut paper art. (I still love doing this, haha).

I also wrote a LOT. My parents still have so many little homemade books: For example, I had an adventure series I wrote about a girl who liked to explore outside named Art with probably five or six “books” in the series. I’ve also kept a journal since I was six years old. I’ve written in them a few times a week pretty consistently my whole life and I have a printer box full of old thoughts, worries, interests, travels, and more. And since everybody asks if this comes up: I don’t really read through them! Maybe one day I will, but for now the joy has been in the writing and exploration of them.

Brittany: I know you're a writer and have been making pottery for a few years now. Have you ever experimented with other creative mediums, like video?

Simone: I’ve never played with video professionally or even with my camera, but I’ve fallen in love with video on Instagram Stories! It’s such a versatile medium, where you can meld sound, movement, and vision to share a true sense of place. I’ve considered experimenting with this “for real,” so to speak, but video editing is time consuming and a true art.

Brittany: You've traveled all over the world, including places as far as South Africa and India and as close as the John Muir Trail here in California. What's on your travel bucket list?

Simone: I want to spend more time in India, for sure. Getting just a month in only a few of the Northern states was seriously not enough. So much to explore (and eat!) and so many interesting, historic, and beautiful things to see. Other than a return to India, I want to spend some time in Bolivia (I have tentative plans to be there for a job next fall!), explore Greece and Portugal, and get back to Africa (not sure what’s at the top of my list, but possibly Egypt, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Morocco… Ahh, so many ideas). In short, everywhere!

Brittany: What can we expect to see from you in the future?

Simone: I want to work on more editorial and travel projects, am interested in pursuing writing more seriously, and will continue to photograph rad couples getting married with joy and intention (so, more of that). I really love the life I’ve built and right now I just want to continue that: Grow and finess my business, travel more, and pursue some personal projects as well.

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Photo by Karen Santos

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Special thanks to Simone for discussing her work with us. You can follow her work on her wedding photographer website, travel and editorial photographer website, travel, editorial, life Instagram, wedding Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.