#the narration is biased towards Maria

[thecottagecorebisexuals]

Playing the StoryMe visual novel and...

Catarina has to hold hands with Keith or hold hands with Geordo, no third option though Sophia is also there. I don't want her to hold hands with neither of these bozos.

Let me hold hands with Sophia! I'm begging.

There are too many Geordo-or-Keith choices, later on there's a Geordo-Keith-or-Sophia choice but it costs diamonds to choose Sophia. Damn biased game.

[whensomethingelsecries]

as much as i get Why i've seen people say battler's gameboards feel like ooc fanfiction versions of the family - and to an extent they probably are - i kind of am also like. i think we need to remember that most of what we see of the family is as pieces written by an author who is also a character in umineko with their own experiences and motivations, and their characters are largely established in the two episodes written by someone who was willing to literally blow all of them up

acting like there's no way kinzo would ever cutely fawn over his grandkids is so. like okay i Get that it is a bit of whiplash when you've just finished episode 7 and learned everything you've learned there, but like, if you can accept eva and hideyoshi flirting or krauss and natsuhi cuddling together or rudolf kissing the receiver when talking to kyrie on the phone or rosa making them late just to buy maria a treat, then you grasp that shitty people are capable of genuine love, often even towards the exact same people they mistreat

we barely even see kinzo alive in umineko and much of his character throughout the gameboards is pretty explicitly other people's impressions, projections, and fantasies of what he might be like, almost exclusively by characters who were direct victims of his abuse or knew about kuwadorian beatrice

and it's not that they're wrong at all to remember kinzo that way, it's just that like. what part of that is mutually exclusive with kinzo being emotional and over-excited to see his grandkids? the idea that he despises his family so much he has no interest in seeing them is explicitly a fabrication, and not even one the siblings are really able to buy - they just play nice while they figure out how to prove their suspicions about it

i think i'm just like. umineko spends a large amount of its runtime trying very hard to explain to you that both things can be - and often are - equally true about a person. and that love is not at all mutually exclusive with cruelty or abuse

battler's gameboards may at times stretch the limits of the rule that pieces must act in-character, but like, the point is that the capacity for this, too, existed in everyone, under the right circumstances.

and i think mechanically it's trying to make you understand the gameboards' capacity to pick one facet of a character and push it to the extreme - perhaps to make you interrogate whether something similarly biased may have been happening this whole time, gone unnoticed because the previous narrators all told it that way so consistently. ep8's gameboard wants you to ask yourself: what makes you trust one unreliable narrator more than another? if this is so fake, what does that say about other gameboards built under the same constraints as this one?

[egg-emperor]

Can't even lie, I really don't like the headcanon of Eggman being lonely, insecure, completely deeply miserable, etc. Sorry to those who do, I can respect that it's not for me and not bother you in your discussion of it. But it honestly just makes me really sad and uncomfortable to consider. Along with all the other angsty "Eggman is lonely and sad and miserable and insecure/has a tragic past" theories I always see. I just hope it never becomes the case in game canon

The games don't hint towards it currently. Not even in Frontiers like I see some say it does, as being jealous of Maria getting attention that he felt entitled to because of his ego and regarding it with more importance over her terminal illness and tragic death, is just him being the selfish bratty attention wh0re he's always been. Ian Flynn himself even said that he was a "biased narrator" on this. I really don't think it was implying that he was genuinely neglected or lonely at all.

I like that he actually LOVES being who he is and doing what he does. He gleefully acknowledges that he's evil and embraces it. You can see that he always has a blast doing his thing with his big smile and giddiness and the only time he's miserable is when he's defeated, but his determination to keep him trying comes from his passion more than hatred for his enemies, not just for accomplishing his dreams but also for the clear enjoyment he gets in the actual process too.

He's also genuinely self confident and loving too, as we know even when talking privately like the Egg Memos, he praises and regards himself just as highly as ever- it's not an act. That's why he feels the entire world belongs to him with so much certainty! Not everyone who has a big ego is trying to hide insecurities, it's never implied to be the case with Eggman in the games. And I think his self love can be inspiring in a way for that, even though it's to an egotistical degree XD

And I truly believe he likes being alone too, as it's not implied that he dislikes living alone and far away from all other human life- he seems very comfortable. He only lives around his own creations probably because he can make them into exactly who he wants them to be, control them in the ways he wants to control everyone else in the world someday, and they're always only created for the sake of evil and serving him- not for company. He doesn't express a need for that.

Plus I feel it's more accurate that he would see himself too superior for the close presence of others anyway and he wants to keep distance from those unworthy and below him aside from assistants. It actually seems that he is easily agitated within the province of others and has a very short temper around absolutely everyone, enemies, servants, those he teams up with and all and I LOVE that lol. And I can imagine that he prefers to be alone with his own brilliant mind and company.

I truly feel he only wants attention and worship from the whole world from afar, not a few people in close presence. Especially because if he had the latter, he'd surely say it wasn't enough. What he really wants is for the whole world to be under his control and for everyone to give him attention, praise, worship, and serve him in his glorious empire! Everyone and everything is below him for him to control, none are worthy of his close presence and couldn't meet his impossible standards.

He'll be the happiest that he can ever be if his dreams come true permanently but he clearly enjoys the process of wreaking havoc, destroying, manipulating, and scheming and the anticipation of success in itself too. I love how passionate he is about who he is, what he does, and what he wants and his self love and pride. It makes me really happy to see how happy he is and the idea of him secretly being lonely, miserable, and insecure is just very sad to me as a result.

But I see tons of things in the games that seem to point towards the opposite and that's one of the many things I adore about him 💜

[zaidshair]

Zaid truly wasn't sure what Hye-Jin was doing, with her visual assessment. He didn't know, because it wasn't often he was given so much personal attention from anyone but himself (in Zaid's heavily biased opinion, anyway). He couldn't tell what Hye-Jin was doing, but he couldn't deny it felt lovely. The closest thing he'd get to cocaine high, on this bloody island.

But then also, a bit of vanity-related concern. "Do I look alright?" Zaid asked, looking down at himself as well. "No buboes or open sores or nothing, right?"

Jeju. Zaid had always dreamed of a proper vacation to South Korea one day, him and Tej and Inika. A pipe dream then, as much as it was now. "I'll save the flattery for when you least expect it," he decided aloud, adding another playful bead on their teasing thread. "What's that called? Shock value."

Hye-Jin volunteered a highlight of Jeju for him, and wove Jeju's features into this place, like a narrator on a nature program. But with a distinct touch of personal familiarity, in the tender lilt of her voice. He mused aloud: "Britain's an island too. Useless comparison to here, though." He pointed up towards the top of the volcano. A slight wisp of blue smoke lazily curled from it. "Inshallah that doesn't do the same as me one day. You don't have any insight on eruptions, do you. Aside from your adventure film."

An appreciative huff of amusement, as Hye-Jin rather amicably ran with his silly analogies. Comparisons to gods; well. Zaid didn't think Hye-Jin would mind that so much. And by their response, invoking Ares, she was willing to play along for now. Zaid only kept his bracelet off for a few seconds, before slipping it back on his wrist. He got too antsy, keeping it off for too long.

They made a good point, about Maria and her bloody bracelet. Zaid didn't want to think about Maria anymore; he just wanted to focus on Hye-Jin, here, with him. Her pale, straight finger pressing black sand into her other palm. "You saved me," he said outloud, as if trying out the sentence to see how it felt.

When the seaweed slid away, Zaid missed the feel - what he now interpreted as a friendly touch, sleek and cool as Hye-Jin themselves. Zaid sat up to sigh, then stood up to stretch. Fingers flexing, arms raised and folded over his head as he looked out over the horizon. "Does it make you tired, or...energized, to be Demeter? After I, erm, explode, I feel like I can take on the world. But also like I could sleep for a million years."

Closeness, and distance, between each other, it could be said this was part of the magnetism towards Zaid as well. Their heated observation of him, scans for injuries as though they were a doctor, when in reality, they only knew the basics of cuts and bruises and their shapes. This, they couldn't help. It didn't happen often, these urges which couldn't be helped, but when they did, it had happened thrice in front of this particular chef. The first time, long ago, when his fanboying had been as eloquent and subtle as it was now, accent slipping, excitement evident. Who out there could say that many made any kind of first impression upon Hye-Jin?

Though his recollection of her interviews embarrassed her. For there were no actual film cameras to hide behind, when it came to these things being shared. Seedlings thus planted, and splotches of what she would blame on exertion much later against her cheeks. "Jeju," she repeated, because it was correct. Reclining there, and if she closed her eyes for long enough, the scenery might resonate the same. Deciduous forests, with different foliage, with masquerading animals. "If you want try out the flattery and see if it works, I won't be stopping you." Could be actual invitation. Or it could be another method of — sharing? Space, details, feelings.

"Jeju both somehow looks like this, and yet not at all. You'd think every island has the same look, but they're different. In how they're shaped, in what depths there are. Some have no tide pools nor volcanoes; others are uninhabitable due to those and more. Sand or tar pits. Random sinkholes." To come upon a sinkhole in what was the midst of an island, already in the ocean, seemed counterintuitive. But in her travels, such a sinkhole had been one of her daring tours whilst filming a show. The exclamation, instead of the cheeky remark, made her jump. Almost out of her skin. A glance towards the seaweed. "Water? No. I can't."

Hesitation appeared. For all intents and purposes, there was no reason she shouldn't trust Zaid. She wasn't particularly shy, oddly enough, with the concept of sharing it with him, especially since he also had a power, and his was much worse off. But the bubbling of — well, it was green. Green as shame, and nausea. At being known. It was ironic, really. It baffled her. A shake of the head. Most definitely not trading.

"It would be less Poseidon and more Demeter." She would have said Gaia, but wished to keep it in the same pantheon. Comparison might be a good middle ground for being open. "And you have somehow skipped, and gone straight to Ares. The bracelet might have fallen where we couldn't see it. I personally don't want to know what ticking time clocks await nor where it has gone. Or if it went with her." To be imploding upon one's self, Hye-Jin understood. She had been there, moments before she awakened here, and this began. "Keep your Ares war self, Zaid, it's a good look on you, but a disaster on me."

The algae receded as her heart-rate calmed, pulse fluttering. Able to breathe, and to swallow. One hand absentmindedly fisted in the sand, dredging up the obsidian granules, pressing them roughly against her palm. She felt as though much would be a disaster on her, in her current state. One step away from nervosa.

[carynsilver]

Favorite Fics: Malex Edition

It’s a new year (quite definitively at this point), and a new set of fic recs. Just my small way of saying thank you to the writers who have made the past year, with all its challenges, a little better for me personally. Without the escape of reading, I don’t think I would’ve gotten through the past eleven months, so thank all of y’all for creating (now and in the past) and for sharing your work. You do it for free, and it’s amazing stuff.

If you’re interested, I previously shared my top 10 Stucky, Drarry, Stony, and Darcy Lewis (Wintershock, Shieldshock, and Tasertricks, mostly) fic lists. Today, I’ve finally decided on my top 10 Maxlex fics. So, in no particular order...

my love is a life taker by @jocarthage

If I were making a top 10 fics of all time list, this story would be on it. The breadth and scope of it is truly amazing, as is the writing. There’s world-fixing time travel and an interesting take on our favorite aliens and what could’ve been. Alex as a time agent is both so tragic and also so strong as he begins his journey of self discovery. He’s such an unreliable narrator, and yet also can clearly see so many things. Watching Michael’s growth through the years is just as fascinating as watching Alex travel through time. And it’s juxtaposed with the present so well. This Alex and Michael learn to communicate as they learn about themselves. And the story also taught me a ton about the Middle East and various historical events. I really love this story, and you should definitely read it right now if you haven’t yet.

To Trust Love by @laughsalot3412

This fic is amazing. It takes hurt/comfort to the nth degree. Michael, Isobel, and Max are the only remaining prisoners/subjects in Project Shepherd, and Alex (with the help of Liz, Kyle, and Maria) goes under cover as a guard to get them out. But to do so, first he has to gain their trust--an almost impossible test. The tweaks to the alien abilities and the handprint are interesting. Jesse Manes, as always, is absolutely horrible. But good wins in the end, and the boys are able to figure things out despite the mistakes they make along the way. I mean, trigger warnings for so much in a prison fic with Jesse Manes in it, but it is an awesome story. This author only wrote one RNM fic, but it’s a great one.

From Iraq, with Love by @adiwriting

Alex leaves for basic no way to contact Michael, so he reaches out to him via a YouTube channel. Alex writes years and years’ worth of love songs, hoping maybe Michael will see them and get in touch. The scene when Michael finally sees them is a gut punch in the best way, and the end is so satisfying. A truly excellent story, and I love how music from the heart eases their way into real communication--because, man, that is what these poor boys need.

unexpected tidings by @bestillmyslashyheart

The Vegas fic! Actually, that is not what this fic is about. There is only one scene set in Vegas, and yet that was the one I remembered when I was trying to find the fic again, lol. In this AU, Michael was never reunited with his siblings in Roswell, but he and Alex meet after Alex enlists. They meet three different times in three different states, and eventually fall in love. Then Alex has to come home to Roswell and take care of this little alien problem so his boyfriend can be safe from the horror that is Jesse Manes. One of the best things about this story is the past/present narrative structure. Only a really good writer can tell a successful story out of chronological order, and @bestillmyslashyheart really succeeds. Check out her other work, as well, such as A Simple Life (but with aliens).

Shadow Work by @myrmidryad

This fic has stellar world building. Alex and Michael are shades--people who work banishing hauntings, curses, etc. The scientific way the supernatural elements are approached is so interesting, as well as the different ways humans and aliens perceive them. Alex is a total unreliable narrator just because of how the haunt is affecting him, but he still gets the job done. This is a world you can just sink into. Totally immersive, and yet it works so well with the alien mythology we already have. And the conclusion to the haunt mystery is so satisfying. Such a great story!

Lovin’ you is a gift tonight (Lovin’ you for all of my life) by @bellakitse

Michael turned his cheek when Alex tried to kiss him, and then Alex and Rosa ran off to NYC before anything else could happen. Michael thinks of Alex as the one who got away, and then he runs into him when he’s stuck at the airport in Denver, trying to get home to Roswell for Christmas. Their reunion in the airport is fluffy and amazing, just a pleasure to read. And then they end up back in Roswell and all the other stuff comes into play in a really satisfying, let’s-deal-with-it-as-adults-instead-of-children kind of way. Ah, so good!

scream in there by thepredatorywasp

I’ll be honest, this one starts a little rough emotionally, but man, Alex and Michael really earn their happily ever after here. It is worth it. And then we get River! I enjoy a good kid!fic, and River the little alien found in a pod who gloms onto Alex and never lets go is amazing! River is my favorite kiddo that I’ve ever read in a Malex story.

truth (to the people we love) by @lambourngb

This is probably the shortest fic on my rec list. I am biased toward the long ones, I know. But man this one packs a punch. Alex recorded a goodbye message when he was overseas, and he has to tell it not to auto send every week. Then he is kidnapped for ten days... I don’t want to spoil too much, but just read it. It also plays with the narrative structure. And if you like this one, definitely check out @lambourngb‘s other stories. collect the bad habits and Vows are also great reads!

I Know Nothing Stays the Same by @aewriting

This is one of those stories that sticks in your head. It is awful (emotion-wise, not writing-wise) and wonderful all wrapped up together in the best way. Alex and Michael run away after the shed incident and go into hiding for five years. This is the past storyline. There’s also a present and a future. The ending of this story was so gorgeous, I don’t want to spoil it, but I remember it all the time when I think of Malex. Lovely and poignant. This is another version of this couple that <i>earn</i> their happiness together. And if you want even more in this ‘verse, the very talented @andrea-lyn (who also has a ton of great Malex stories) wrote a coda called There’s More Room in a Broken Heart.

Send Me Home by @litwitlady

I waffled back and forth about which story would fill the final slot. It’s always so hard to choose when there are so many excellent ones out there, but I had to have one of @litwitlady‘s stories on the list. She has quite a few excellent ones, but Send Me Home is my favorite. Michael the baseball player is both compelling and also heartwarming in his softer life. This is another fic where Alex is a musician, this one an actual country music star. So, it’s a sports fic and a celebrity romance, in addition to being a Malex RNM story. it is a WiP, which I sometimes hesitate to rec, but there’s only one more chapter to go, so I feel pretty safe about it. And she has lots of other stories you should check out. I’m fond of the Reunion series, as well.

So, that’s it for this post. Thanks again to all the amazing fanfic authors and their awesome work. I’ve read so many great Malex fics lately. On this list or not, I appreciate you guys!

[buryme-makeoutcreek]

Short Story Recommendations

Excellent short stories that have stuck with me and will stick with you too. 

1) The Dead by James Joyce

I might be biased towards this one because I had to spend so much time studying it for one of my final papers in college but this is just a fantastic story. Set in Ireland The Dead follows a dinner party hosted by Gabriel Conroy’s elderly Aunts. Discussing themes of life and death the story is also very interesting in how it treats colonialism. During Joyce’s lifetime Ireland was in a constant fight for independence from England, making for a very bloody and violent time as is reflected by many of the writers of the time. And so The Dead focuses a lot on the loss of identity and of self due to colonialism. Plus Joyce’s prose is so pretty!

2) The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

If you didn’t have to read this in high school you’re in for a real treat. The story follows a woman who has recently been moved into an isolated house as part of the “rest cure” by her husband following giving birth. The narrator suffers from post-partum psychosis and increasingly gives into “madness” as she believes the yellow wallpaper in her new bedroom is evil. The story is considered one of the first explicitly feminist short stories and was revolutionary (still is) for it’s discussion of post-partum depression, mental illness, and clear rejection of the patriarchy. 

3) A Temporary Matter by Jhumpa Lahiri

 This one is a bit of an emotional doozy. Following the tragic loss of their child an Indian-American couple start to reconnect when their street’s power goes out. This is a heart wrenching, punch you in the gut kind of story but it’s so beautifully written and so so tragically human that you’ll accept the pain that comes along with reading it. Also of note, the larger collection this story is in won the Pulitzer prize, I tell you this writing is *chef’s kiss. 

4) Teeth by Erin McGraw

This is a more recent one I’ve read but it’s really stuck with me. This story focuses on the secretary at a dentist office on the morning her car breaks down. But it’s really about generational poverty examined through the lens of the dentist and teeth appearance. It’s really interesting and a very short but fulfilling read. 

5) Mothers by Carmen Maria Machado 

This is a very surreal one. Machado’s prose is stunning and luscious that you will get wrapped up and have to read read the story a few times to parse out what you want the meaning to be. This is a story you have to work a little for, and one that doesn’t give you a clear resolution but you won’t care because it’s so beautiful to read. In non-linear fashion the narrator tells us about her relationship with her ex-girlfriend “Bad” while in present day she is dealing with caring for the baby that is supposedly theirs. Just a content warning though this story depicts a very abusive and manipulative relationship and coming to terms with moving on from that relationship. 

[burnouts3s3]

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K, a review

(Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit unprofessional blog post written by an unprofessional blog poster. All purported facts and statement are little more than the subjective, biased opinion of said blog poster. In other words, don’t take anything I say too seriously.) Just the facts 'Cause you're in a Hurry! Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP): 50 USD Digital Copy (MSRP): 17.99 USD for 12 episodes How much I paid: 83.98 USD for Physical copy and an Amazon Video digital copy. Animation Studio: J.C. Staff Licensed and Localized by: Funimation Entertainment Audio: Japanese Audio with Subtitles and English Dub available.   English Cast: Jerry Jewell as Saiki Kusuo, David Weld as Nendo, Chuck Huber as Kuniharu Kusuo, Tia Ballard as Teruhashi, Megan Shipman as Chisato Mera, Morgan Garrett as Kurumi Saiki, Micah Solusod as Shun Kaido Number of Episodes: 24 Episodes Length per Episode: 25 Minutes on average. 21 Without Intro and Ending song. Number of Discs: 4 Blu-ray Discs in total Episodes per Disc: Episodes 1-9 on the first Blu-ray disc with Episodes 10-12 on the second Blu-ray disc along with the special features. Episodes 13-21 on 3rd Blu-ray disc and Episodes 22-24 on 4th. Bundle also includes: Digital Copy that can be redeemed on Funimation Now. Also on: Netflix, Google Play, Amazon Video, Funimation Now, Funimation’s streaming service that requires a subscription. Bonus Features: Textless Openings, Textless Ending and Trailers for other Funimation Licensed Shows. Episode 1 Commentary. Episode 24 commentary. Notable Localization Changes: Because of the nature of the dub, the voice performers are considerably slower than their Japanese counterparts and may annoy viewers. The English script uses multiple puns and other wordplay to add humor. (i.e. when Saiki addresses his father dressed up in a Santa outfit, he replies “You’re a lost Claus”. When Saiki takes off his transparent gloves to psychically read an object, he goes “But now the gloves are off!”) In Episode 24, Chiyo’s dialogue changes to “You jerk-ass writers! You couldn’t come up with any clever ideas so you had to dig through a bin of tired tropes?” My Personal Biases: I never heard of Saiki K until I saw an advertisement in a My-Hime blu-ray and seeing him featured on the roster of J-Stars Victory Vs. My Verdict: Saiki K manages to spin multiple plates at once by delivering a memorable character, establishing his powers and giving the audience gut busting dialogue masterfully executed. If you can forgive J.C. staff’s lackluster animation, you’ll have a good time. Check it out when you get the chance! The Disastrous Life of Saiki K, a review 

During the summer of 2016, 2 shows about psychics premiered. One was the hit juggernaut, Mob Psycho 100, praised for its beautiful animation, interesting characters and take on psychic characters. The other show was J.C. Staff’s The Disastrous life of Saiki K, an anime adaptation of a gag manga found in Weekly Shounen Jump. Saiki Kusuo is a 16 year old psychic with all the powers known. He possess telepathy, telekinesis, teleportation, psychokinesis and other traits not even mentioned. He’s seemingly the luckiest boy in the world… or it would seem. In reality, Saiki is, in his own words, the most miserable boy in the world. The show opts to answer of a character having an overpowered skill-set by giving said character new problems. Having telepathy means being spoiled on movies and video games. Having super strength and super intelligence means having to balance the skills just so he appears mediocre in school. Having telekenisis means having an unreliable father who constantly begs for help. The trick is that Saiki’s narration is always constant and we’re allowed to hear the other character’s internal thoughts, while Saiki himself provides commentary. It should also be noted that we never ‘see’ Saiki’s mouth move, implying he’s communicating via telepathy. (It also helps that Saiki’s powers come with a number of limitations. For example, he can restore something back to its original state but it takes a day to recharge). As Saiki explains his powers to us, we’re also allowed to hear the other characters and why they’re doing what they’re doing and how Saiki wants nothing to do with them… or does he?

Yes, the formula of ‘jerk suddenly wants to do the right thing’ is easy, but Saiki K makes it work. See, Saiki constantly doesn’t want to draw attention towards himself for fear of things such as experimentation and paparazzi, and the path of least resistance is usually the best and easiest for him. But, seeing each of the side character’s constant struggles and dedication moves him. At the same time, allowing us to be with Saiki also lets us see the hypocrisy of his own actions and how the seemingly all knowing psychic can’t see past his own weaknesses or nonsense. At one point, Saiki is set to swindle a salesman out of an expensive television, but Saiki’s weakness for coffee jelly damns the effort. Granted, I’m an easy target for the ‘jerk with a heart of gold’ trope and Saiki’s sarcasm is on the level of Justin Cook’s interpretation of Yusuke Urameshi, but it all looks easy. Each episode contains 5 segments detailing a certain obstacle in Saiki’s life (though certain segments such as a trip to Okinawa can last over multiple segments and episodes). We usually go into problem of the segment issues, but Saiki’s powers shows us how it affects him differently. It’s a Slice of Life for superpowered teens. Things like a noisy neighbor or a cute girl are usually pains in the ass for Saiki. The supporting cast also impressed me a great deal. For example, anyone that’s followed me online knows popular girls such as Sachiko from Maria watches over us or Chikane Himemiya from Kannazuki no Miko tend to annoy me, but Teruhashi isn’t just popular and pretty, but so dedicated to the part of keeping appearances, she’s willing to debase herself and eat disgusting ramen. At the same time, Saiki, because of his powers is so off-put by Teruhashi’s uncanny ability to get what she wants that he’s willing to alienate her, but he’s slowly won over by her commitment. It works. The rest of the cast also compliment Saiki in interesting ways. Nendo, despite being so dumb that not even Saiki can read his mind, has a genuine good heart and tries to help his single mother. Kaido, despite being a weakling and possessing no powers of his own, shows genuine courage in the face of danger. Hairo, despite being an overly excited jock who’s super competitive, is dedicated to the point of being an actual leader. Toritsuka, a spirit medium who can see ghosts but would rather see girls’ underwear, feels like a side character meant to become a lead in a spin-off. If the show has a weak spot, it’s definitely the animation. Don’t go into this show expecting the animation to be the same quality as Mob Psycho 100. Still shots, panning movements and lazy animation make it clear that animating the show was not a priority. I give this a pass because action is clearly not the emphasis of the show, humor is. And there’s just enough there in the editing, the music and the voice acting (both the original Japanese and the dubbed) to make it work. Funimation Entertainment did the localization of the show. For the most part, the English script stays as close to the original Japanese as much as possible. The English script uses multiple puns and other wordplay to add humor or change jokes that wouldn’t work in English. (i.e. when Saiki addresses his father dressed up in a Santa outfit, he replies “You’re a lost Claus”. When Saiki takes off his transparent gloves to psychically read an object, he goes “But now the gloves are off!”) Jerry Jewell as Saiki is noticeably slower in his delivery than the Japanese Seiyuu but Jewell’s use of deadpan as well as adding the appropriate amount of emotion at the right time more than makes up for it. (Fans may recognize Jewell from other Funimation roles such as Jimmy Kudo in Case Closed and Licht in Black Clover) Mainstays such as David Wald as Nindo, Kyle Phillips as Hairo, Megan Shipman as Mera and Chuck Huber as Kuniharu all add to the work. Tia Ballard (who plays Marron in Dragon Ball Super) is especially good in playing Teruhashi. THE ORIGINAL JAPANESE AUDIO WITH SUBTITLES IS AVAILABLE FOR THOSE WHO PREFER IT. CAVEAT: I don’t know if Saiki K is anything revolutionary in terms of comedy in the age of Nichijou, Lucky Star, and K-on! It’s a cheaply produced anime based off a gag manga. But, I’d be lying if I didn’t have a hell of a time watching it. It takes skill to balance exposition, character motivation and humor into 24 episodes, but Saiki K makes all look effortless. 50 USD for 24 episodes is steep, but I loved every moment of it. Plus, the bundle also includes a Funimation Digital copy that can be redeemed on Funimation Now, the company’s streaming service. Verdict: If you’re not sure, try checking it out for free on Crunchyroll or if you already have a Netflix subscription, check it out there. 

[bethanydelleman]

I think Mansfield Park is an excellent example of this. The first time I read it, I was totally with Fanny, I loved Edmund and I hated the Crawfords, along with Fanny. But on re-read, I started to see how biased Fanny was towards the Bertram family. Fanny focuses entirely on the negative influence of the Crawfords without really thinking about how badly the Bertrams are acting. She doesn't really blame the engaged Maria for any of her quite reprehensible actions, she only heaps blame on Henry.

I don't blame Fanny for this, she's been conditioned for years to be grateful towards the Bertrams, but it's worth detaching yourself from her perspective and listening to the far more objective narrator. Mansfield was rotten at the core before the Crawfords arrived, they only exposed what had already existed.

Also, I think a lot of the hated towards Marianne Dashwood is because she hurts Elinor, who is the main perspective throughout the novel. However, most of the time she's hurting Elinor, Marianne has no freaking idea because Elinor has not told Marianne anything she knows about Edward. Marianne can't help it! She is not causing harm on purpose at all. The same goes for Mary Crawford, who is completely unaware that Fanny loves Edmund. She does things that hurt Fanny, and people hate her for it, but she doesn't have any idea that she is doing so.

Thinking about how we view and judge Austen characters and their relationships.

@thingsiwishidlearnt commented this under @thatscarletflycatcher’s post on judgements of Edward Ferrars vs Frank Churchill, and I think it’s a great point that relates to the way we are led to view characters (initially).

Most of the time, we see characters only from the heroine’s biased perspective, so our first instinct is to also judge them from that perspective. The heroine’s thoughts and feelings about them, and their behaviour towards her and those close to her seems more relevant than the actual entirety of their actions, their (or others’) perspective and feelings, or the information they have available.

We know Emma doesn’t care about Frank, but he couldn’t have truly known that. We also get way less insight into Jane’s than Elinor’s feelings, making it easier to dismiss the pain Frank causes than the one Edward causes.

Sometimes, the narrative explicitly invites us to question this approach:

Mr Darcy is a jerk for separating Jane and Bingley because we know that Jane truly liked him, and we see Jane heartbroken. Then we get the letter and his perspective and are reminded that he didn’t have the same insight.

Sometimes, things might become more obvious on a reread:

Mr Darcy is arrogant for assuming Elizabeth would marry him because we know what she thinks of him. But if you go back and read P&P knowing the proposal is coming, there are so many obvious flirting attempts that Lizzy just misses.

I also think it’s tempting to “devalue” the parts of the story into which we have less immediate insight:

Marianne truly loved Willoughby but not Brandon because we get to witness all of her relationship with and love for Willoughby, while her love for Brandon is summarised in one sentence.

In a way, I think this is a natural reaction because the novels are written in a manner that invites us to fall for the biased perspective. But recognising it and looking beyond it can be so interesting!

[yusi-posts]

A Conversation With Now

Nowadays, there are many feminist issues that need to be addressed, paid attention to, and changed. Today, I want to discuss the power dynamic between men and women, and how sometimes men are taking complete control over women. Often during these times, women are seen as untrustworthy, which leads to the feeling of helplessness.

In the story “The Husband Stitch” written by Carmen Maria Machado, this issue of unequal power dynamic comes up several times throughout the story. The first time is at the very first line of the story, which sets the tone for the whole article: “Me: as a child, high-pitched, forgettable; as a woman, the same”(1, Machado). The author immediately puts this biased description on the voice of women, because as audience we all have common feelings about the unfair expectations towards women, which also indicates that this story is universal. Machado sets the tone in the first line of the story to bring audience into this uneasy and confusing emotional state. One of the stories that she told was when she was a young girl, her mother brings her to grocery shopping. She saw bloody and pale toes in the potatoes, and she even remembered the touch on her index finger. When she told this to her father, he said, “Why would Mr Barns sell toes? Where would he get them? And even if he got them somewhere, what would he have to gain by selling them among the potatoes? Why did no one notice the toes except for you?” (6, Machado) Being young, she could not answer these questions, and felt helpless after her father’s seemingly perfect logic. But as a grown woman, she said she would have told her father that “there are true things in the world only observed by a single set of eyes”(6, Machado). This story shows how powerful the man figure is and how much control they can have over women. In this situation, the author is oppressed to think critically towards her father. Only when she’s older did she realize that sometimes the truth are only in the hands of several people.

Another story that strongly demonstrates this top down power between men and women is when the narrator is in the hospital giving birth. As the nurse gives pills to make her sleepy so they can fix her where they cut, her husband and the doctor joke around about an extra stitch. Let’s pause for a second. The woman just went through such a painful, historical, glorious moment in her life to successfully give birth to their child, and the fact that the husband does not care how the woman feels, and that he is joking around when holding his wife’s hand is very disrespectful. The story continues. The husband said to the doctor,“How much to get that extra stitch? He asks. You offer that, right?” (13, Machado) “Please, I say to him. But it comes out slurred and twisted and possibly no more than a small moan. Neither man turns his head toward[s] me” (13, Machado). The husband says it in a way that’s so casual to get an extra stitch, and that all he cares about is how much it costs. He does not even ask for the wife’s permission to do something on her own body. The woman is in a state of extreme tiredness, and this man has even more power over her to make decisions. The doctor even chuckles about the husband asking the cost of stitch, and he says the man is not the first one to ask an extra stitch. The doctor also says to the woman after she is fully conscious, “You are all sewn up, don’t you worry. Nice and tight, everyone’s happy”(13, Machado). Excuse me? Who is happy? The language used here is very disturbing to me. Nice and tight, don’t you worry. All these men cared about was if she is sewed up nice and tight so they can have sex and enjoy their time.

Sometimes I wonder how we can truly get some men to care. This reminds me of the article “Bloodchild” written by Octavia Butler. Is it really that when men get pregnant and go through the whole process of giving birth can they understand the pain and uneasiness that women go through? These issues don’t just exist in stories. Back home in China, there are some men that only see women as sex partners and have no respect whatsoever towards them. Women are just a thing for them to enjoy. They also think that women are supposed to stay home and take care of children. Even in these days, similar ideas are still present. The idea of equality between men and women have to be addressed and taken into action. I know there are many different layers and branches from the concept of feminism, but we can start finding solutions to stop this unequal power dynamic between men and women.

In the essay “The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction”, Ursula Le Guin talks about how important the way that story gets told and the content and meaning behind them is, and that stories should not just be about self-centered heros, aggression, and oppression. But you know what some people say to her? “That’s right, they said. What you are is a woman. Possibly not human at all, certainly defective”(Le Guin 151). What the author did was just bringing a creative idea about how stories should not always be his, but theirs. She suggested that we all start life with putting something we want in a basket, something that we think are beautiful, useful, and edible. It all starts with inclusivity instead of throwing arrows and shooting guns at each other. Those are some of her ideas yet some men say that she is “certainly defective”. This sense of power in men, and that women are irresponsible and untrustworthy is prevalent in these texts as well as real life; it is a universal problem. But how can we bring changes? Where do we even start? I see no hope.

[dontcallmecarrie]

Natasha's judgment is so off for a spy. Could we get insight as to how they're thinking? I know you wrote a chapter but maybe some backstory or such to explain why she dislikes Tony on principle? Why she's so quick to insult Maria and choose Steve? Is she caught up in the goodness and honestly Steve seems to project? Does her judgment on his decisions become biased bc she's used to reading ppl who mean harm not ppl who unintentionally/subconsciously harm? Does Steve make her feel like she's good

I’ll see what I can do to clarify this in-story, because odds are you’re not the only one who’s seeing it. Hopefully, though, at least some of my reasoning showed through.

Under the cut, because cue meta and you guys know how much I ramble when I get going:

There’s several factors to it all:

First and foremost, there’s the unreliable narrator thing to consider. 

JARVIS, for instance, hasn’t trusted her since before she stabbed Tony in the neck, back in IM2. 

Add to that how he died trying to protect Tony [and at least managed to give a bit of a warning, when the Penthouse Incident happened], coming back online [with all the trauma that entails, even if he doesn’t quite show it], to see Natasha doing absolutely nothing while Tony was a flick of the wrist from a snapped neck, and you get a budding Skynet who harbors absolutely no goodwill towards Natasha Romanov [and it shows through in his POV, even if it’s hopefully subtle].

Tony’s slightly more chill, but he’s known that Natasha doesn’t like him, and after the disaster that was his sole attempt to reach out towards Bruce, well…once bitten, twice shy. 

Then, during the Penthouse Incident, he’s 50% on the defensive while the other 50% is in shock because JARVIS died and only Maria Hill even cared. [That he was being attacked was secondary, at that point.] So when someone’s attacking the only one who gives a damn about JARVIS, Tony’s not exactly feeling very charitable towards the woman who introduced herself as Natalie Rushman. 

…also, anyone notice the codependence going on between Tony and JARVIS? There’s a reason I’ve been warning for it.

As for my take on Natasha’s perspective: I did my best, and hopefully my dislike didn’t show [much]. 

Thing is, TWiFFON is a spitefic at heart.

I started it in reaction to the turn the fandom took when it comes to Tony Stark especially after Civil War, so I’m not going to be exactly very friendly towards Natasha [or anyone on Team Cap for that matter, if you guys haven’t already noticed]. 

And that leads me to the next point.

Fun fact: I actually like Natasha, for the most part. Her characterization throughout the entirety of the MCU’s been through the wringer, fluctuating from movie to movie, though, and I took advantage of that when I outlined this fic.

See, Phase1-and-pre-AoU!Natasha’s got a good head on her shoulders. Her, I like: she’s badass and loyal to people rather than institutions and ruthless enough to do what’s necessary to keep her people safe [gee doesn’t that sound familiar]. She’s outwitted Loki [even if he was under the influence of the Scepter at the time], and survived the Red Room, for crying out loud! [If you’ve read my fic idea Welcome to the Family, you know that’s the one I had in mind at the time of writing.]

…however, that’s not the Natasha we’ve seen recently.

Phase2-especially-post-AoU!Natasha didn’t think to call the genius who’s company she infiltrated during a time they could’ve really used his expertise, didn’t see the problem in letting the fugitives she’d been helping chase go, and didn’t think twice about attacking the Crown Prince of a monarchy that just lost its King. I know it’s probably just bad writing in general [where the hell did the Bruce/Natasha thing even come from? Or the wanting a kid thing?! Canon or not, that’s just…nope], but still.

She unironically tried to go “I’m not the one who should watch my back”, in Civil War, despite having painted a target on anyone she ever worked with [yes I’m still salty about it], so it really should be no surprise that this is the Natasha I have in mind when writing TWiFFON. [Not very nice, but like I said, spitefic.]

So, that’s a good chunk on my approach to Natasha, right there. The rest involves her backstory.

I’ve yet to read a comic, but via tumblr and Phase 1, I got the feeling that the Red Room isn’t exactly very kind. [No comment on Phase 2′s interpretation bc I hate AoU with a passion rivaled only by Civil War.] As such, I can extrapolate from there that Natasha’s had some hardcore training, and to be fair, she’s very good at what she does, and her confidence in her skills is mostly justified.

However, she’s been born and raised as a living weapon, a child soldier and spy: that skillset is not exactly conductive towards being an analyst, or tactician.

Infiltrate consulates and take out hit squads singlehandedly? Sure. Reading people for the short term so she can use that to her advantage? Absolutely. But what she gets up to later on in the MCU is nowhere in her job description [coughcough*analysisinIM2*cough]. She can make a decent facsimile of it, sure, but she just isn’t qualified to diagnose people [though I have a headcanon for that scenario that explains why, but that’s something for another post].

But she can read people very well, and since it’s worked thus far, Natasha doesn’t think twice about it. Due to the life she’s had, she doesn’t look back, which I completely understand because if she had she might’ve drowned in regret because I get the feeling the Red Room’s upbringing was nothing less than cutthroat. Those two things get a special mention because of how she’s introduced to Tony.

Now, let me backtrack a little: I’ve done some meta before on how good Tony is at masks, enough so that he’s fooling everyone even as he’s dying. He grew up in front of the cameras, and learned how to work them from a master of the art [his mom, in my AUs].

So, when a spy rocks up expecting a show, Tony puts it on, and Natasha buys it. I don’t doubt she twisted some things to suit the analysis at the end, of course, but between his public image and his masks, Natasha ends up falling in the same trap everyone else does.

Anyone who gets close to him knows it’s bull, but since Tony in TWiFFON is more guarded than ever before, and he’s not about to let Natasha in now.

As for Steve Rogers…Tony’s image is a general “everyone knows” thing; it’s subtle and low-key “oh what’s he done now? Another Fashion Week Fiasco?” Kardashian-style sort of thing, which is part of why Natasha fell for it. Steve’s image, on the other hand, was blatant propaganda since the start and only became more so over time […I wonder what the Second Red Scare would’ve looked like, in the MCU now, ngl], so for Natasha, with her Red Room upbringing, it’s pretty damn easy for her to tell. 

From when she first meets Steve, and later on down the road, it’s a no-brainer to look past the propaganda and notice the lonely man who’s adrift in a world that’s moved on without him. And from there, it’s very [almost scarily, for someone who’s very guarded when it comes to personal stuff] easy to make friends. 

Steve sees Natasha where others see the Black Widow, which isn’t something many people do [Phil and Clint’re the exception, not the norm], though, so it makes sense that she warms up to him so quickly. Plus he’s a good man, and given the life she’s had, Natasha can fully appreciate just how few of them there are in the world.

And since we’ve already established that Natasha’s fiercely protective of the few people she likes, it makes sense she’s just as fierce to attack if the situation ever arises.

During the Penthouse Incident, Natasha’s immediate take-away of the situation was: Tony’d fucked up somehow and needed to own up to it, meanwhile Maria Hill was on his payroll, defending him when he was in the wrong, and had a gun pointed in the general direction of the people she liked more than the people she didn’t. Of course Natasha was going to yell at her for it! 

And it wasn’t like Thor was going to hurt Tony or anything, his hand was obviously positioned in a way that was meant to be nonlethal and if he’d really wanted to kill Tony his grip would’ve been different.

After the fact, once Ultron’s made clear just what he is, she’s mildly apologetic about it. But since she didn’t really like Tony anyway and Maria Hill seemed to have forgotten about it, well, it wasn’t like it was anything major anyway, right?

...meanwhile, Maria’s very good at hiding her grudge and venting whenever she’s at one of the SWORD meet-ups while the others are patting her on the back while continuing to plan Phase 3 and checking out rich protocols, but that’s a story for another day.

Also: bear in mind that Natasha, in my AUs, has the Red Room’s version of the serum, so she forgets that not everyone’s as durable as she is. [that’s the only explanation for why I see her being so chill during That One Scene because the alternative’s incoherent internal screaming]

[lalalaugenbrot]

entirely unasked for, read books 2017, first half.

Unter der Sonne (Daniel Kehlmann, 1998/2008): Daniel Kehlmann is, for now, my favourite germanspeaking writer (style-wise, no worries Fritz) and I started the year with reading some of his early works I hadn’t read yet. Unter der Sonne is a collection of short stories and as almost all of Kehlmanns narrations they are always very real but shifting into a dream, or it feels like it at least, always on the verge of a nightmare. one could call it surreal realism? or very real surrealism? it’s very hard to put into words but oh boy, I just love it so much. so I have already read Ruhm (Fame), a later collection of short stories and I liked the overall compilation of those more, especially because the stories were slightly linked to each other. But still Unter der Sonne was brilliant as ever! / English title: this has not been translated I think?

Der Verbrecher aus verlorener Ehre (Friedrich Schiller, 1786): this was… quite wild to say the least. / English title: The Criminal of Lost Honour

Du hättest gehen sollen (Daniel Kehlmann, 2016): I love this little novel. It’s definitely one of my favourites by Daniel Kehlmann. And i really need to reread it! The mathematics mysticism is strong in this one. Das Geodreieck! / English title: You should have left

Maria Stuart (Friedrich Schiller, 1800): i feel terrible but the best thing about this book, which i bought at the flea market, is still that it came with a self made book mark -a ladie’s leg in a pantyhose and a very fancy high heeled shoe, probably cut out from a magazine and strengthend with adhesive tape- which must be, judging by the look of it, at least 60 years old, if not older (the book is from 1939). but apart from that, I also liked the play itself! but it has already been several months and to say anything specific about it now I would have to ask Evelyn Hamann to give a short recap of the bisher gesendeten Folgen. “Auf dem Landsitz Fortheringhay…” 

Die Wahlverwandschaften (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1809): i was meaning forever to read this and it was so beautiful, and sad! :( not even to speak of the quite obvious Schiller parallels. :(( and also, if you ever decide to read Die Wahlverwandschaften, please do so while listening to Die Ballade von Wolfgang und Brigitte by Wir sind Helden! / English title:  Elective Affinities

Beerholms Vorstellung (Daniel Kehlmann, 1997): this was Daniel Kehlmann’s first novel and ironically the last left that I hadn’t read. Compared to later works it maybe wasn’t as strong and the style not as developped but still very, very good. It’s about a magician, that is illusionist, who isn’t satisfied with his own skills because he himself still is aware that it’s all just tricks and illusion and thus tries to master his tricks so perfectly and blindly that he can become oblivious to the procedure in order to become a Real Magician and in the progress partially loses grip of reality. I mean… that idea alone is fascinating.

Cornelia Goethe (Sigrid Damm, 1992): Sigrid Damm deserves a medal for writing honest, inspiring and heartwrenching biographies about people (esp. women) we know so very little about! 

Heinrich von Kleist (Dora Wentscher, 1956): this was a true lucky find at the flea market, I am still amazed. Oh Berndi!

Wallensteins Lager (Friedrich Schiller, 1798): this is merely a prologue to the other two parts of the Wallenstein triology so i really need to go on reading the other two (main) parts. / English title: Wallenstein’s Camp

Sprachwandel (Rudi Keller, 1990): How and that language changes is something that amazes me to no ends and I have been musing about that subject for years now but I have never actually read anything about it by someone who actually knows what they’re talking about. So it was amazing and interesting and I am (still) so thrilled by this. Language is like the most amazing yet inapprehensible thing ever?! / English title: On Language Change

Maurice (E. M. Forster, 1914/1971): this book stole my heart all over again after having seen the film already some years ago. like seriously, I am internally crying tears of joy ever since. please read this! it will not diasappoint, and Christopher Isherwood himself was a fanboy okay?

Goodbye to Berlin (Christopher Isherwood, 1939): talking of the devil-this book is amazing! it’s like a mosaicy glimpse into pre-nazi Berlin, or rather Berlin right before turning and already turning into nazi Berlin. despite all, this book made me want to be there myself with all these people.

Die Physiker (Friedrich Dürrenmatt, 1962): that was a weird and funny one. and not at all what I expected. I had always heard that even people who had to read it in school had liked it but apart from that knew nothing about it. / English title: The Physicists

Christopher and his kind (Christopher Isherwood, 1976): this is the non-fiction version of Christopher Isherwoods time in Berlin with its gay community. mainly, he is on the run from the nazis with his boyfriend Heinz. very sad and also a bit wild.

Winnie-the-Pooh (A. A. Milne, 1926): I might be identifying with Eeyore A Little Too Much. But really what a cute and clever book! (It made me think in Capitalised Expressions for days.)

The Importance of being Earnest (Oscar Wilde, 1895): i don’t know why i waited so long to read Oscar Wilde but omg, that was hilarious and amazing!!

Mr Norris Changes Trains (Christopher Isherwood, 1935): i didn’t enjoy this as much as Goodbye to Berlin and Christopher and his Kind, the entire story is somewhat sinister and the characters not really likeable somehow? but then I also read that Isherwood himself didn’t like it before i even started reading so I think I was also a bit biased. but it’s also very interesting to see how his style developped in contrast to the masterpiece I think Goodbye to Berlin is

Relato de un náufrago (Gabriel García Márquez, 1970): earlier this year I started reading Cien Años de Soledad (100 Years of Solitude) by García Márquez but stopped half way through because it confused the hell out of me and I somehow didn’t connect to the characters at all. I don’t know if it was for the Spanish or simply for the sheer amount of characters -of which half have the same name?!- and the large time span the novel is narrated on? anyway I wanted to give García Márquez another chance and picked something lighter, shorter and with less people - only one to be precise! And I enjoyed it very much! / English title: The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor

Schillers Schwester Christophine (Annette Seemann, 2009): Christophine (Fene) was two years older than her little brother Fritz and since they both were much older than their younger siblings they were an inseparable duo in their childhood days. It is also said that Christophine’s character was a model for a lot, if not most, of Schiller’s female heroines. But as biographies about women in history go they can be a tough thing and this one makes no exception - to the point where it becomes almost unbearable! I got teary eyed reading this in the subway; but then I also might be caring about the Schillers A Little Too Much. / I highly doubt this has been transated.

Progress in Sign Language Research (Schulmeister/Reinitzer, 2002): blame (that is thank) Fargo and Russel Harvard that I suddenly became aware of how there’s an entire different set of languages to learn and learn about! The craziest thing was that while I was reading this very book (at work, sometimes there’s just not that much to do) an actual Deaf Person came to the cinema and asked if we were showing movies with english subtitles (which we don’t). That is he came up to me and said “deaf” and gestured writing in his hand and I then handed him a notepad on which we had our conversation. But everything happened so fast and there was another costumer waiting, and I was so taken aback, (I misspelled english as englisch how awkward!) but I had that book literally laying there next to me on the counter. I still wish I could have showed him. :/ I also regret not having been able to look up some cinemas for him that show movies with english subtitles. I hope he found one anyway!

A Room with a View (E. M. Forster, 1908): so after Maurice I wanted to read more by Forster and he did not disappoint! i had a lot of other stuff on my mind while reading this so it lost me a bit in the middle but totally got my attention back towards the end and i’m definitely going to reread this some day. and I simply cannot believe how wonderfully fantastical the Emersons are! although i’m yet to read Walden I am already contemplating putting “mistrust all enterprises that require new clothes” on my wardrobe as well-what a thing to do lmao! naturally I immediately watched the film after finishing the book and it was also nice seeing the entire Maurice cast again, only in different roles, haha!

books on my reading list for the second half of 2017: 

Hundraårigen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvann (Jonas Jonasson, 2009)

A Single Man (Christopher Isherwood, 1964)

Die Leiden des jungen Werther (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,1774)

The House at Pooh Corner (A. A. Milne, 1928)

Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck 1937)

A Manual for Cleaning Women (Lucia Berlin, 1977/1999)

Die Piccolomini (Friedrich Schiller, 1799)

Wallensteins Tod (Friedrich Schiller, 1799)

Walden (Henry David Thoreau, 1854)

Christiane und Goethe (Sigrid Damm, 1998)

La Casa de los Espiritus (Isabel Allende, 1982)

Penthesilea (Heinrich von Kleist, 1808)

Die Geschichte der Bienen (Maja (!) Lunde, 2015)

Glimpses of World History (Jawaharlal Nehru, 1930/1962)

Howards End (E. M. Forster, 1910)

A Passage to India (E. M. Forster, 1924)

The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde, 1890)

Die Entdeckung der Langsamkeit (Sten Nadolny, 1983)

Frühlings Erwachen (Frank Wedekind, 1891)

[theliterateape]

Book Club Made Me Read It | Sophie's Choice

By Kari Castor

I’m a member of a small, informal, friends and friends-of-friends book club. We try to read one book every five weeks or so. The rules are simple: Everyone gets an opportunity to pick a book for the book club to read. Each member must pick a book that they have not personally read before and each member is responsible for leading the discussion after we read their selection. Sometimes the books are good. Sometimes they are not. I review them here regardless of their quality.

I’m a bitch and don’t care about ruining the experience for you, so I’m going to include spoilers whenever I please. That’s your only warning. Proceed at your own risk.

Sophie’s Choice by William Styron

Sophie’s Choice is dense and complicated. It is a bleak and tragic story told by a naive, egotistical narrator preoccupied with getting his dick wet. William Styron’s writing verges on the Faulknerian, if only Faulker had been a bit more interested in describing the curves of a fine woman’s ass. 

I enjoyed it a great deal, and most of the rest of my book club hated it. It is not an uplifting, feel-good sort of book. Should you read it? That depends. How hard do you like to think about your reading, and how meandering can you handle your prose being?

In lieu of an actual review, I offer a brief synopsis followed by a half-assed academic paper about the book.

Synopsis: In 1947, a young southern man, the narrator Stingo, moves to New York and takes a room in a boarding house, where he hopes to write his first novel. He becomes close friends with two other residents of the boarding house, Nathan Landau and Sophie Zawistowska, who have a volatile romantic relationship. Nathan is prone to flying off into jealous, violent rages. Sophie, a Holocaust survivor, is beautiful and gentle and infinitely forgiving, and Stingo, of course, falls hopelessly in love with her. The present-day action of the book follows the relationships between these three characters over the course of a summer. During this time, Sophie tells Stingo about her past, including her time in Auschwitz and her efforts to save her son, who was brought to the camp with her. It is eventually revealed that Sophie also had a daughter, but that upon arrival at the camp, she was forced to choose which of her children should be sent immediately to the gas chamber. When Nathan accuses Sophie and Stingo of having an affair and threatens to kill them both, the two flee New York together; Stingo plans to bring Sophie to a farm owned by his family and marry her. Sophie instead goes back to New York, and she and Nathan commit suicide together.

Lit Nerd Blither Blather: Sophie’s Choice has some marked similarities to one of my favorite books: Wuthering Heights is a tale primarily about two compelling, damaged people who are drawn to each other obsessively, who cannot find happiness together but cannot bear to be apart. Styron trades the British moors for Brooklyn in his story, but the magnetism and destructiveness of the relationship at the core of Sophie’s Choice certainly bears some distinct parallels to Emily Brontë's only novel, which is centered on the passionate and ultimately doomed love affair between Heathcliff and Catherine, and on the fallout wrought by their savage feelings. Styron’s version of Heathcliff is Nathan — magnetic, brilliant, and a drug-addicted schizophrenic; his Catherine is Sophie — a gentle, beautiful, and guilt-ridden Auschwitz survivor. Lockwood, the wealthy gentlemen seeking a quiet retreat from the city, becomes Stingo, the poor aspiring author hoping to broaden his experience; neither is entirely reliable as far as narrators go and both filter parts of the story through their own biases and beliefs.

If Sophie’s Choice is in some ways a Wuthering Heights analogue, though, it is without the “happy ending” of sorts that Brontë's novel offers. Heathcliff and Catherine are destructive forces that threaten to (and sometimes do) consume everyone around them, but in the end their passing allows new growth to bloom in the form of a romance between Catherine’s daughter and Heathcliff’s ward. Catherine and Heathcliff’s deaths are a necessary part of the healing process for the small world on the moors, but Sophie and Nathan just die. There is no healing, no regrowth, just senseless grief dulled eventually by time.

This sheer meaninglessness, is one of the key overarching themes of Sophie’s Choice. It’s a book that seems frequently to yearn towards meaning and yet has strong undercurrents of nihilism. “I don’t have any answer. Do you have an answer?” laments Nathan’s brother Larry after he has revealed Nathan’s schizophrenia diagnosis to the narrator. “Sometimes I think life is a hideous trap” (466).

Narrator Stingo constantly strives to make meaning out of the events in his life. He receives an unexpected financial windfall, which allows him to take lodging and focus on his writing his first novel — the money, recently unearthed in the basement of an old family home, represents the proceeds of the sale of a 16-year-old slave boy named Artiste, owned by the narrator’s great-grandfather. Stingo fancies himself an enlightened southerner, and feels significant angst over using this blood money to pay his rent, but he comforts himself that he needs the money “as badly as any black man” (34). He refers to Artiste as his “young black savior” (562) and thinks of him with a sort of guilty reverence. Rather than confront the simple truth — that he is benefiting from his family’s legacy as slave-owners — Stingo mentally reframes Artiste’s sale as a sacrifice, made for his benefit.

The novel that Stingo begins writing during his summer in boarding house is inspired by the suicide of a young woman, Maria Hunt, whom he’d had a crush on as a schoolboy. His father writes to tell him of Maria’s death and sends him a newspaper clipping, and Stingo immediately becomes morbidly preoccupied with the tidings, despite the fact that he hasn’t seen her in years, knows next to nothing about who she actually was as a person, and didn’t even know that she was also living in New York City. “Reading the article over and over again, I verged very close to a state of real upheaval, and found myself moaning aloud at this senseless story of young despair and lass. Why did she do it?” (47). It’s not long, though, before his agony turns to “a fabulous sense of discovery” (119). Why, Stingo realizes, Maria’s death needn’t be simply a meaningless tragedy — it can be the impetus for his first great novel! “It was perfectly marvelous, a gift from the sky!” (119). (This is a particularly ghoulish turn of phrase, given that Maria Hunt jumped from a window to her death.) Again, Stingo is benefiting from someone else’s tragedy, but he reimagines it as a blessing from the universe, laid upon himself.

Stingo constantly shies away from the idea that people simply do cruel things because they can, or that bad things just happen for no good reason. When Sophie tells him the story about her arrival at Auschwitz, which culminates in her daughter’s death, she does not speculate about the motives of the doctor who forced her to choose which of her children should go to the gas chamber. She doesn’t know the man’s name, let alone his inner life. But Stingo, who cannot abide a meaningless tragedy, spins a tale to make sense of these events for himself. He bestows the man with a name and a backstory and a motive of sorts. The doctor, Stingo speculates through rather tortuous logic, is a formerly devout Christian, struggling to reconcile his faith and his awful work as a member of the SS. He has conceived of forcing someone to make this awful choice in order to restore his own belief in God by proving to himself that sin exists. “This is the only way I have been able to explain what Dr. Jemand von Niemand did to Sophie when she appeared with her two little children” (532), Stingo tells the reader. With all the naive arrogance of youth, Stingo layers his own version of the story atop Sophie’s truth. 

Sophie herself avoids these philosophical contortions. “Suppose I had chosen Jan to go... to go to the left instead of Eva. Would that have changed anything? …Nothing would have changed anything” (539). She has lived through incomprehensible horror and remains tormented by guilt, but she tries to move forward as best as she can. It is Stingo who feels the need to rationalize the past, to force it to make sense.

In the end, though, even Stingo is forced to admit that some things are simply incomprehensible. “No one will ever understand Auschwitz” (560). Despite Stingo’s attempts to refashion the legacy of Artiste into something meaningful, Artiste himself still died in brutal slavery. Despite Stingo’s attempts to make meaning out the Auschwitz doctor’s behavior, Sophie’s daughter Eva is still dead.  The fate of her son Jan is unknown. Despite Stingo’s desire to save Sophie, despite his attempt to fit her into the narrative of his love-struck fantasy, she and Nathan are dead by their own hands. There is no analysis or reimagining that Stingo can do to change anything. In the end, all he can do is rise with the morning and keep moving forward.

Styron, William. Sophie’s Choice. 1976. Vintage International, 1992.

MY RATING: 4.5/5 stars

POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT FOR: Lush, if occasionally labyrinthine, prose. Plus a fair bit of unexpected dry humor re: the narrator’s own youthful arrogance and foolishness.

PLEASE NO MORE: I could probably do with a few less meditations on the beauty of Sophie’s ass.

SHOUT-OUT TO: Sophie herself, who, despite the narrator’s preoccupation with her body, is an interesting and fully-realized character. The sad, beautiful survivor of tragedy, the victim of an abusive relationship, Sophie could easily have been a blandly cliche damsel, but Styron make her much more than that, even if he does also spend a lot of time describing the curve of her hips.

[egg-emperor]

I still don't get how people even interpreted the Eggman memo as signs of him being neglected and abused as a child when it didn't even actually imply that even a little. Flynn shouldn't have even needed to say that he's a biased unreliable narrator because the line really sounded like Eggman being bratty, self-centered, and entitled as ever.

I wish people would focus on what's actually there with how he's careless towards Maria's reasons for getting so much love and attention, for her illness and sweet soul and how she died so young and tragically, and how he still holds onto that jealousy because of his selfish entitlement to all the attention because that's great and in character for him.

but everyone wants him to have a sad tragic back story where he was neglected or abused so bad for some reason Ig

[yusi-posts]

Men Shouldn’t Always Be In The Spotlight

[Updated “A Conversation With Now”]

Nowadays, there are many feminist issues that need to be addressed, paid attention to, and changed. Today, I want to discuss the unequal power dynamics between men and women in fictional stories, as well as in our daily lives. It is problematic that gender-related fictional stories are often centered around males and include extensive descriptions on their opinions, feelings, and decision-makings, and the reason behind this is that writers unconsciously believe it is the way to get people, especially men, to care and actually give a damn about what they are writing.

In the story “The Husband Stitch” written by Carmen Maria Machado, this issue of unequal power dynamic comes up several times throughout the story. The first time is at the very first line of the story, which sets the tone for the whole article: “Me: as a child, high-pitched, forgettable; as a woman, the same”(1, Machado). The author immediately puts this biased description on the voice of women, because as audience we all have common feelings about the unfair expectations towards women, which also indicates that this story is universal. Machado sets the tone in the first line of the story to bring audience into this uneasy and confusing emotional state. One of the stories that she told was when she was a young girl, her mother brings her to grocery shopping. She saw bloody and pale toes in the potatoes, and she even remembered the touch on her index finger. When she told this to her father, he said, “Why would Mr Barns sell toes? Where would he get them? And even if he got them somewhere, what would he have to gain by selling them among the potatoes? Why did no one notice the toes except for you?” (6, Machado) Being young, she could not answer these questions, and felt helpless after her father’s seemingly perfect logic. But as a grown woman, she said she would have told her father that “there are true things in the world only observed by a single set of eyes”(6, Machado). This story shows how powerful the man figure is and how much control they can have over women. In this situation, the author is oppressed to think critically towards her father. Only when she’s older did she realize that sometimes the truth are only in the hands of several people.

Another story that strongly demonstrates this top down power between men and women is when the narrator is in the hospital giving birth. As the nurse gives pills to make her sleepy so they can fix her where they cut, her husband and the doctor joke around about an extra stitch. Let’s pause for a second. The woman just went through such a painful, historical, glorious moment in her life to successfully give birth to their child, and the fact that the husband does not care how the woman feels, and that he is joking around when holding his wife’s hand is very disrespectful. The story continues. The husband said to the doctor,“How much to get that extra stitch? He asks. You offer that, right?” (13, Machado) “Please, I say to him. But it comes out slurred and twisted and possibly no more than a small moan. Neither man turns his head toward[s] me” (13, Machado). The husband says it in a way that’s so casual to get an extra stitch, and that all he cares about is how much it costs. He does not even ask for the wife’s permission to do something on her own body. The woman is in a state of extreme tiredness, and this man has even more power over her to make decisions. The doctor even chuckles about the husband asking the cost of stitch, and he says the man is not the first one to ask an extra stitch. The doctor also says to the woman after she is fully conscious, “You are all sewn up, don’t you worry. Nice and tight, everyone’s happy”(13, Machado). Excuse me? Who is happy? The language used here is very disturbing to me. Nice and tight, don’t you worry. All these men cared about was if she is sewed up nice and tight so they can have sex and enjoy their time.

These fictional short stories in “The Husband Stitch” are all centered around men, and why is that? Is it because men are born to be ignorant and self-centered, so that they are only interested in reading stories about their own gender? Is it because men think that they are just better, and women are always the ones to serve and satisfy their needs? Is this really the right way that we get men to care about how women are feeling?

Sometimes I wonder how we can truly get some men to care. This reminds me of the article “Bloodchild” written by Octavia Butler. This is a fictional story centered around men as well, and how they are playing the roles of women to bare and give birth to children of another species. In the story, the main character Gan becomes an egg carrier of the alien species called Tlic. He struggles to watch another man giving birth, and then decides to carry egg for his sister. The fact that this story is based on Gan finding his meaning of existence is an interesting take on gender roles, because it invites the male readers to imagine what it is like to be a woman. Let’s pause for another second. What is the meaning of fictional stories? I would say it is a door for us to be in someone else’s shoes and experience others pain and struggle. Is it really that when men get pregnant and go through the whole process of giving birth can they understand the pain and uneasiness that women go through?

These issues don’t just exist in fictional stories. Back home in China, there are some men that only see women as sex partners and have no respect whatsoever towards them. Women are just a thing for them to enjoy. They also think that women are supposed to stay home and take care of children. Even in these days, similar ideas are still present. The idea of equality between men and women have to be addressed and taken into action. I know there are many different criticisms and different beliefs for the concept of feminism, but we should at least start finding solutions to stop these people’s ignorance.

In the essay “The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction”, Ursula Le Guin talks about how important the way that story gets told and the meaning behind them, and that stories should not just be about self-centered heros, aggressions, and oppressions. She says that nowadays, fictional stories “not only has Action, it has a Hero. Heroes are powerful… it isn’t their story. It’s his”(Le Guin 150). Why do our authors start writing their stories centering a male character who often saves the world and is powerful to control others and even the society. Just like in “The Husband Stitch”, the father is the one who says something is right or wrong, and the husband is the one who makes decisions for the wife. In the “Bloodchild”, men are the ones who experience pain and struggle, but in real life women are the ones who are actually suffering. Why did these authors feel the urge to write fictional stories making men as the main characters? Isn’t it problematic? Do people ever question how stories are told, especially these men who are destroying and damaging women’s bodies and mental health? Le Guin makes an amazing argument that most people like stories about heroes, blood, and brutality, instead of stories about a community, something that we love, and just something pure and original. In our society, men are too focused on throwing arrows and knives, like those fictional heroes, to vulnerable women, and forget that people started out with a basket in their hands, to take beautiful things in, to include diverse and amazing things, and they can simply be flowers, leaves, or wood (Le Guin 152). These are the things that we should include in our fictional stories. They should all be about inclusivity and kindness to each other despite gender roles. But you know what some people say to her? “That’s right. What you are is a woman. Possibly not human at all, certainly defective”(Le Guin 151). The author only brings creative ideas about how fictional stories should be told, but men come in again and judge on her beliefs.

Our society should not be this way. Stories should not only be his, but also theirs.

No matter what and how authors choose to write in their fictional stories, we should care for each other. Maybe one day men will be the ones to give birth to our future generations. You never know.