#riah is the latter

[starlit-hopes-and-dreams]

Happy STS, Anna! You mentioned recently that you were still getting to know your new character Riah (we’re so excited to meet her btw 😁). Has she revealed more of herself to you since you shared that? Anything fun or juicy you wish to/are able to share about her? If not, feel free to ramble about a topic of your choice instead. 😊

Happy STS, Kate! :D

Oh boy, this is a dangerous question. I just got refocused back onto HD arc 2, you know? You risk pulling me away from that to work on shattered kneecaps again LOL (somehow I don't think you would protest that lol) (and I am so excited to share her :D)

Under the cut bc it got long and I included some quotes :)

So. I have been rolling Riah's backstory around in my mind, trying to figure out where she came from. This is an unusual method for me, and may not actually work, but we'll see.

I don't think I've mentioned this outright yet, but Riah used to work as a prostitute until she was... acquired by her current, uh. person. It's a complicated dynamic :') Let's just say the place she worked was not the greatest, and she thought this person alone was the better option. Ooph.

Anyways, I've been thinking about how she became a prostitute to begin with. She is older than the characters I've previously written, in her 30's, so has more room for previous history, you know. I'm thinking she either ran away from an undesirable situation, or she found herself out on the streets for whatever reason and was forced to turn to prostitution to survive.

I'm also thinking she was raised in a respectable section of the city; perhaps the child of crafters or merchants. Not too high up in society, but not poorly off either. So how did she get to this undesirable situation or whatever? I don't know the answer to this yet.

Anyways, have a snippet that may provide a bit of insight into her personality :)

It took her too long. Too long to stand. Too long to work up the nerve to duck under the chain, making sure to only step on the blocks of stone. Too long to raise her head. She probably resembled nothing more than a frightened prey animal.  Annoyed with herself, Riah set her jaw and forced herself to look.

And here, have another from Nykim's POV, because I'm feeling nice lol

Nykim hadn’t expected kindness from her at all.  But the truth was, he didn’t want Shadow to stop staring at him, even if that did prolong his suffering. She was an excellent focus, and not just because she was nice to look at. There was something about her voice, something about the emotion behind her brilliant blue eyes, something about how she’d overcome her obvious fear of him enough to come around to look him in the eye.  Well, kind of in the eye. She’d been looking at some other parts of him too.  There was something about that smile she tried to hide from him after he’d purposely brushed his lips against her fingers.  There was something about the automatic fight or flight response she had when the door opened.  Fuck. 

[starstruckteacup]

Cottagecore Films (pt. 3)

The Black Velvet Gown (1991)

TW: death during childbirth, blood

starring Janet McTeer, Bob Peck, Geraldine Somerville, Brendan P. Healy, David Hunt

Riah Millican, an Irish widow of a coal miner, takes a job with a former teacher, Percival Miller, to support her three children. Over time, Miller grows fond of their family: he gifts Riah with a black velvet gown that belonged to his mother and gifts the children with daily lessons. However, Riah discovers Miller’s true intent behind all the gifts soon enough. Repulsed, she threatens to take her children and leave the house, but Miller blackmails her into staying. Even after his death, Riah cannot leave as he bequeaths his mansion, without the means to upkeep it, to Riah and her daughter, Biddy. When Biddy reaches adulthood, she seeks a job as a laundress in the wealthy Cullmington house, where her education makes her a target for unnecessary and cruel punishments. However, her willfulness attracts the attention of the Cullmington matriarch and her grandson, the former of whom takes Biddy on as her personal servant, and the latter of whom falls for her brilliant mind. Perhaps a bright future is still in store for Biddy Millican.

This was a fairly intricate movie. You have to be closely paying attention throughout it, otherwise you can miss key plot points that are integral to the story. Biddy and Riah are both brave, hardworking, and willful, and are very enjoyable to watch, even though their stubbornness often made me afraid for their wellbeing. Many of the male characters clearly abused their power and the people lower on the social hierarchy, which was infuriating but true to the times. The movie strongly emphasizes that determination can and will lead to happiness, despite the hardships along the way, which I really liked to see in a period drama; many of these films are either highly romanticized or feel doomed from the start, and this film had an incredibly thorough balance of both. 7/10

Julie & Julia (2009)

starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina

Based on a true story, Julie Powell, an aspiring writer, finds herself depressed by her job and seeks fulfillment in preparing the entire cookbook--all 524 recipes--written by Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, all in just 365 days. As she works her way through the cookbook, the film simultaneously escorts us through Julia Child’s journey writing the book--her inspiration, her passion, her world travels, her struggles--just as we see Julie experiencing them.

This was a truly delightful movie. It brings out the complex in the simple, following the ambitions of two women who want nothing more than to change the world. It was inspiring while still showing the flaws in the characters. The ending was somewhat surprising in that it didn’t follow the cliches one would expect from a similar movie, but it was still the ending the characters needed. 9/10

From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)

starring Nagasawa Masami, Okada Jun’ichi

Matsuzaki Umi, a young, hardworking high schooler, rises early every morning to care for her family and boarders and raise the flags in an effort to reconnect with her deceased father. One day, she meets renegade student journalist, Kazama Shun, in Shun’s daring act of jumping from a rooftop in protest of the school board tearing down the Latin Quarter, the boys’ club building. As they bring the students together to restore the building, their relationship grows closer, blossoming into something more, until they discover some unsettling information that could change their friendship forever.

This movie was very simple and sweet, and focused on the importance of kindness, hard work, and teamwork. The artwork, as in any Ghibli movie, was stunning. It focused on Japanese values following a series of wars and international conflicts, which I found interesting, having only really been exposed to American history in the past. Their focus on new beginnings, especially with the ‘64 Olympics in Tokyo, tied into their determination to hold their history close, was really wonderful to experience through this film. It wasn’t the studio’s best film, but with such a high bar set by its earlier films, you’ll hear no complaints from me. 7/10

Part One // Part Two