#the thesis is the embodiment of my skill

[yujo-nishimura]

Shambles (Working title)

Took a creative break from my master thesis and had an idea about a devil fruit eater who could communicate with the dead. I also loved the Dressrosa Arc, let´s face it - Doffy and Law are hot and actually I have no idea where writing this will get me to - so this is a journey for all of us. ;)

Warnings: none at this point ;)

Note: English is not my native language, mistakes can occur

You had realized that you had become very valuable for a lot of people after eating the Talk-Talk-Fruit. This devil fruit made it possible for you to communicate with the dead, the deceased people who lived on as memories in other people's minds. The revelation of this power occurred during an encounter with your friend in the small village where you grew up. While playing a game of tag, you finally tagged your friend, and in that moment, both of your minds were flooded with memories of his deceased mother. Overwhelmed by emotions, you paused, witnessing your friend's tears as he desperately questioned why you had subjected him to such a sad memory.

Mastering this extraordinary skill took several years, beginning with the discovery of the fruit in the nearby forest, followed by its collection and consumption. The fruit's unpleasant taste compelled you to spit out half of it, marking the day where your arduous journey would start.

Now you were sailing the seas, you had left your home village where half of the population did not understand your talent and called you an evil witch or a sorcerer. 

You felt like you never fit in anywhere and you set out on your small boat to explore the Grand Line. In order to find not only people who could make use of your power and accept you as you are, but also the possibility of finding genuine friendship.

You had been sailing for several days as you arrived on an island with a beautiful town filled with citizens living together in harmony with toys who were able to speak and walk around. 

You had seen many things in your life  - such as speaking animals or the sad and sometimes comforting memories of the dead, however the sight of walking and speaking toys in this town amazed you. 

The country you had arrived at was called Dressrosa and their king, Donquixote Doflamingo was known as a war lord and savior of this country. 

Though you were too young to personally witness the event, historical accounts and books informed you that the previous king of Dressrosa had descended into madness one fateful day, mercilessly slaughtering his own citizens. It was during this crisis that the pirate Doflamingo and his family appeared, rescuing the town and embodying a sense of righteousness. This event instilled in you the belief that pirates, despite their reputation, could be inherently noble, protecting the vulnerable when necessary. 

If you just could make friends, maybe you could also have a crew and call yourself a pirate… You were deep in thoughts as you walked through the city, taking in the new scenery around you while contemplating your next steps. As you were not aware of your surroundings you accidently bumped into a young guy, he was standing in the middle of the street, holding a sword, his face half covered by a white hat. 

As you accidently touched him, pictures of a tall blonde man with a black feather coat flashed in front of your eyes. You saw this man lying in the snow, coughing blood. You immediately knew this man was not alive anymore. 

The man you unintentionally collided with spun around, his expression a mix of astonishment and anger. Despite his initial shock, he emitted an air of confidence and composure. His intense blue eyes peered out from beneath his hat, framed by his disheveled black hair.

Finally finding his voice, he mustered the question, "Who are you?" 

You recognized the emotions playing across his face—the sheer disbelief and wonder of a memory, encountering someone dear to him, someone who had already departed from this world - you knew this reaction so well by now. 

"I apologize," you responded, striving to maintain a sense of calm and composure. "My name is Y/n, and I believe my devil fruit powers accidentally stirred up an unpleasant memory within you."

He cast his gaze downward, concealing his eyes from your view. "It's alright," he uttered, his voice tinged with a note of caution. "Be careful in this town. Things are not as they seem to be." With those words, he turned around once more, gradually walking away. His movements betrayed signs of injury, but you hesitated to address it, not daring to provoke those icy eyes that had, for now, granted you forgiveness.

Shaking off the unpleasant vibes that lingered, you resolved to press on with your journey. You had made up your mind to meet the king and see if he had any use for your power. Being hailed as the savior of the country, he seemed like the appropriate individual to approach an outcast such as yourself.

[hirocimacruiser]

HSX 2 page poster brochure. Translations of all pages up on my Hirocima Cruisers page. Translations of main text from 2 HSX sections below. The HSX was the concept car that became the production Mitsubishi GTO / 3000GT

It stimulates the senses.

You can experience the thrill of driving.

A new generation of ultra-high performance sports car,

HSX.

The design form is intriguing.

Everything evolves. Cars are no exception. Or rather, it is the people who have been driving the speed of evolution by accepting the general consensus of the people's demands head on.

It might be possible.

There is.

The transmission is a 5-speed manual. The brake system is equipped with 4-piston aluminum calipers and ventilated brakes in the front and ventilated brakes in the rear.

Basic performance that has been thoroughly refined. Dry

When the driver improves his skills, the car responds. The car is in constant dialogue with the driver, sharing his feelings and deepening the emotions together. The more the driver and the car mature, the more they bring out the best in each other. The pinnacle of technology plays a role in unleashing the seeds of emotion hidden within each individual driver.

And so, the car has come this far.

HSX. A fusion of emotion and reason.

A beautiful form. Just seeing it has such an attractive force that your body heats up with anticipation of driving. Your heart trembles when you see its ultra-low and wide proportions of 1255mm high and 1880mm wide. The active aero system is symbolized by the Targa top roof and front and rear spoilers. The car's consistent design policy of "exuding driving energy even when stationary" pulsates throughout.

It is a car that responds to people's love. Its alluring charm. The design of the car seems to exude the unique will of the HSX.

Touch it. Feel the texture. Each surface is overflowing with supple beauty. Subtle curves. The intricacy of the form conveys not just the frame, but even the warmth of the craftsman. Once it starts moving, it foretells the vibrant beauty of its movement.

I saw the ultimate performance that can be demonstrated casually.

Just because it's a sports car doesn't mean it's a stand.

The HSX is a sports car for adults that has mastered the total balance. It is warm. The components are exactly the same as the HSR-II, V6, 3000DOHC 24 valve.

Twin turbo twin intercooler engine, Active Footwork System (4WD, 4WS,4I, 4ABS+ECS)

The tires are ultra-flat 245/50R17 tires.

We saw the ideal in car manufacturing with its high level of safety.

In order to satisfy the needs of our passengers, we always

It is necessary for the wheels to be kept in a controllable state. This can also be said to be the foundation for high safety. All-wheel control. This philosophy is embodied in the AWC HSX. If it is not sensitive, it cannot lead the times. If it is not exciting, it is not a car. And if there is a lack of a safety mindset, there is no capacity to make a car.

There is no class. The HSX clearly tells this philosophy. A story of driving. The difference between happiness and happiness between people and cars. Cars are steadily and rapidly becoming more and more high-tech. With today's car technology, it is not so difficult to bring a "very extreme car" to the world.

It's not that difficult. But I don't want to call it evolution. There is no future for a hollow Rakuei. Without the first thesis that people will come, there will be no tomorrow of cooperation. "Run, turn, stop." How far can we pursue high performance and safety based on the original functions of this car? When I stand in front of the HSX, one conclusion springs to mind. Evolution

It's not the car that's doing it, it's the people.

_____________________________________________________________________

The 28th Tokyo Motor Show Concept Car "HSX"

HSX

High safety and high performance driving. Mitsubishi's cutting-edge technology is alive in this vehicle.

The HSX is a full-fledged sports car that embodies the high-performance driving of the previously developed HSR-II in a form closer to a production model. It comes close to Mitsubishi's symbolic ideal in all aspects: power, form, and mechanism.

With a V6, 3000DOHC power unit and an Active 4 (4 valves, 4WD, 4WS, 4IS, 4ABS) as its base, this car is a perfect embodiment of well-balanced high technology, befitting a sports car of the new era. Every inch of its supple form is filled with incredible potential.

The engine is a V6, 3000DOHC 4-valve

Equipped with twin turbos and twin intercoolers, the drivetrain is equipped with a large-capacity 5-speed manual transmission and a full-time 4WD with a center differential with VCU. In addition, the mechanisms of the most important basic functions of a car, "running, turning, stopping," such as front strut and rear double wishbone suspension, 4WS that responds to vehicle speed and steering force, ultra-flat 245/50R17 tires, front and rear ventilated disc brakes (with 4-piston aluminum calipers on the front wheels), and 4ABS, have been taken to a new dimension.

It has already attracted attention both at home and abroad for pioneering the driving sensation.

I am.

Its overall height is 1255mm, its overall width is 1880mm, and its ultra-low and wide body proportions are truly sports. Its two-seater and targa top roof give it a style that is "still stationary, yet exudes driving energy."

What it quietly and proudly asserts is the aerodynamic performance that has been thoroughly pursued for driving, and the aerodynamic technology that is appropriate for a new-age sports car. The outstanding aerodynamics of the HSX, called the Active Aero System, are a concrete application of the aerodynamic technology that was developed in advance for the HSR-II. However, the original mission of the HSX is not to show off its powerful power and risky driving.

Each technology is carefully developed.

The result is a machine.

A heart that embraces you for running is poured into you

I'm here.

[troutfur]

Do you have any favorite Warriors fanworks or rewrites? :O I know there’s a lot more cropping up recently, so I’m curious!

My good friend @bonefall does easily the best rewrite content I've ever seen. His command of the sprawling source material, his eye for weaving interesting conflicts, his meticulous worldbuilding, his admirable levels of research, all of it comes together to make him top the gold standard of the fandom.

It's a testament to his skill how much he's pulled me in considering his work leans really heavily on elements that I usually do not like very much in WC content and in storytelling generally. The way in which he anthropomorphises the cats is waaaaaaay past the point I myself usually like. And his work is extremely theme-driven and centered in arguing a specific thesis which usually makes me want to scream at the author "GO WRITE AN ESSAY!!!!!"

Other than that, let me drop some recs of stuff

saccharine tithes of love and glory by mallowstep was a very formative influence when I was first getting into the fandom and I think you can very clearly see its influence in many of my AU concepts dealing with the rules surrounding meddies. I really like the ways in which is explores the solitude of the position and the ways in which the different characters nagivate it. I know it's a bit of an unpopular opinion in my circles these days, and it may just be the growing up Catholic religious trauma speaking, but I do really love the idea of the meddie position as a curse and I wish it was explored with the full gravity of what it entails.

you wear your heart on a ripped unraveled sleeve by space_pilot3000 is one of the most delicious pieces of character-centric writing this whole fandom has to offer. You really get to understand very deeply the bundle of issues that the whole of the Po3 apprentice generation of WindClan is. This series is what got me really turned me from being moslty apathetic towards Breezepelt into really cementing his place as one of my absolute favorite secondary characters.

(I would die for you in secret) by KatieK101 is a newer one that I only came to after having spent a good bit of time in fandom and also one that doesn't originate within my circle of friends and acquaintances. All fics in the series just exude character and really embody the characteristics I value most in my favorite fics, namely the snappiness and conciseness that still manage to say so much about the characters portrayed.

And finally Uncle Jayfeather Chronicles by Dragon_Writes is just the cutest goddamn fic series out there and it has forever made me mentally unwell about Hollytuft, Sorrelstripe, and Fernsong. I have barely made it past the half-way point of AVoS but I'm attached to them a lot. My emotional support nothing characters. I should write about them some day.

[cucumbiejerbiegalope]

How I Met My Husband

By Alice Munros

INTRODUCTION

About the Author

Alice Munro is a beloved Canadian novelist and short story writer who has captivated readers around the world with her captivating and nuanced literary style. Born in 1931 in Wingham, Ontario, Munro grew up in a turbulent family environment before going on to study English Literature at the University of Western Ontario. Throughout her life, she has published numerous collections of short stories that explore complex themes such as love, loss, and the struggle to find one's place in the world. Her work has been praised for its honesty and emotional depth, which often draws upon her own experiences growing up in rural Canada. Despite facing significant challenges throughout her personal life, Munro continues to be an inspiration to many aspiring writers today.

About the Novel

Alice Munro's "How I Met My Husband" is a classic short story that explores the theme of social mobility and the power dynamics between men and women in rural Ontario during the 1950s. The protagonist, a young maid named Edie, develops a crush on the handsome pilot Chris Watters, who charms her with his stories of travel and adventure. However, when she learns that he is engaged to the wealthy Alice Kelling, Edie becomes disillusioned and decides to move on with her life.

Statement of the author

"How I Met My Husband"? It's a pretty fascinating story with an even more interesting thesis statement that speaks to the complexities and contradictions of love and romance. Munro argues, in essence, that we tend to fall in love with people because they represent something that is missing from our own lives - a kind of fantasy or idealized version of ourselves.

My own statement

But for me those fantasies can be shattered by the reality of the person we're actually involved with, leading to disappointment and disillusionment. The protagonist of the story learns this lesson firsthand as she falls in love with a man who seems to embody all her hopes and desires, only to realize that he is not what she thought he was. It's a poignant reminder that love is never quite as simple as we want it to be - but it can still be beautiful nonetheless.

Summary

Romantic relationship begins with an unexpected incident, leading to a never-ending journey of love.innocent girl who is visiting relatives in rural Ontario. She is captivated by the stunning view of the farm, and decides to climb up the steps of a strange house that she spots to get a better view. By this chance encounter with Chris Watters, a pilot, who flies over her head, the series of events that unfold bring him in, as her eventual husband as well. As fate would have it, Edie falls in love with Chris, thanks to his charming personality, and his sophisticated demeanor. It is as though they both are meant to be together, as Edie, initially, had not considered him as a romantic prospect, she had even taken a firm stance of steering clear of romance. But alas, destiny had other plans for her. In some ways, it depicts how our choices and decisions in life can alter our fate in ways that we cannot predict or expect.

Analysis

Alice Munro's "How I Met My Husband" is a short story that is widely regarded as a masterpiece of modern literature. However, like any work of art, it is not without its flaws. The story takes place in a predominantly white, rural community, and there is no representation of diverse cultural backgrounds or experiences.

Conclusion

The story presents traditional gender roles. This reinforces gender stereotypes and fails to challenge them. It is important to note that these criticisms are not meant to diminish the value of the story or the skill of the author. Instead, they are intended to encourage critical thinking and discussion about the themes and messages conveyed in the story.

[masongrizchel]

Day 217 of 366 🎓 (p1)

What makes you worry most, but once done, do you feel that you shouldn't fear anything? To me, it's my proposal defense.

I'll never forget this day. THESIS DEFENSE DAY!! (context)

I always asked myself whether or not it was worth finishing this degree. This degree consumed nearly a quarter of my life. I took 2-3 years to finish my coursework, including the bridging programs I needed to undertake. 

Before I enrolled in this program, I was full of optimism and aspirations to be a scientist. A career that is well unappreciated given the current circumstances that we have in a societal and economic sense. I was full of positive energy. In 2 years, I should be like this; in 3 years, I should be taking my PhD already. It is an illusion to sugarcoat myself that I have the gut and grit on what it takes to do 'science'. To be the embodiment of the scientific method. To push the boundaries of what we know and don't know. 

Alongside these aspirations, I forgot the societal, social, and personal decisions that I need to undertake to make it worthwhile to keep on pursuing. But on an individual level, it mostly drained my youth and the time that I should have focused on (e.g., planning to have a family or securing my job for the future); I was chasing this novelty of being a scientist. The prestige to have as a title, but as my dream evolves, I noticed how problematic it is when personal matters and unfortunate circumstances may appear to hinder your ways, a partial block that interferes with your vision.

I jumped from a non-science degree to a pure science degree, which requires a lot of mathematics, from which, before I entered, I didn't even know the basics of trigonometry. It is not just a question of essential skills that you have already; I have seen how disadvantaged I was and how gradually building up with an inferiority complex against those who are fortunate enough not to worry about their resources. I was a scholar but also a breadwinner, and my late father mainly left me his obligations that I shouldn't have taken. However, my moral compass tells me otherwise. It is one of the problems that I have, I chase on the dreams and obligations that destroys me from the inside.

I misprioritized what should have mattered, the time that I should have been spent with the people around me is being side tracked with this aspirations of mine. I came to the point that I questioned myself if I would die alone while hanging to the thread of being a 'scientist.' I don't have the time to break down; if I did, it would lose me money. And to me, being a bare minimum scientist, money is a very relevant resource. MONEY IS VALUABLE THAN MY SANITY. In the academe, apart from serving a long time, one of the critical requirements is to finish your Master's degree. Your previous service will be voided if you fail to finish it within your probationary period. 

I jumped from academe to corporate; I have a better chance of having my 'job security' escalate in a concise period. But here I am being questioned occasionally about what your dream, aspiration, and LOYALTY must be for the company. Above anything else, it feels like I was betraying both parties, the company I have been working for, and myself chasing my dream to be a "SCIENTIST."

And when this day came, 06 August 2024. I was like a bag of emotions: confused, astonished, sad, anxious, but for the most part, fulfilled and happy. I WORRIED ABOUT THIS TO MUCH. The fear of failure is not an option, as it will cost me another valuable resource, time, and money I can no longer get back.

So when this day came, I had no choice but to present myself confidently, leaving all my frustrations behind and trying to improve every day. 

[possession1981-moving]

I see you're interested in both fashion and cinema. And, from what I've gathered, you're majoring in cinema (I don't really know how to say it but I think cinema is your major? If not, we can all laugh at my blatant lack of detective skills) but I was wondering what made you choose cinema over fashion as a career? I hope it's not too much to ask.

hi, so yeah i am doing my masters in cinema studies and i did my bachelors in cinema studies as well, with theatre/performance studies and gender studies as part of my degree. after my undergrad i did two semesters of fashion studies to be able to qualify for a masters in fashion if i wanted to do that. however, although i applied for my ma in both fashion and cinema studies, i ultimately ended up choosing cinema studies simply because it affords me a wider range of subjects that i am interested in to study. i can study the intersection of fashion and film within cinema studies as i am doing for my masters thesis, but i can also do a lot of other things - like i am highly interested in fan culture, cult films, horror (particularly in the context of gender and embodiment) etc. and i can study all those things and more within a cinema studies faculty, whereas to me fashion felt more limiting because i am less interested in like, the business side of fashion for example.

[trisockatops]

It’s 5 am and I’ve only written kind of a paragraph and finished one paper out of three or four.

I still have to re-do my formatting, fix the units on my tables, fix the subscripts on my images, check my references, update my table of contents, and put my images and tables back into my document.

I’m fucked lmaooooooooooooo

[maloosh-baloosh64]

oughhhhh I’m reading too much into it but in my eyes Malenia and The Tarnished (the one that we play as) are almost equals.  Malenia has never known defeat, but we, The Tarnished, have known defeat all our lives, and we know it well.  Who is more powerful?  The one who has never faced struggle or defeat?  Or the one who has been defeated and who struggles millions of times, but chooses to keep fighting anyways?  No one can really say for sure and a biased part of me leans towards the latter but ultimately Malenia and The Tarnished are both equal in power but in very different ways.  

The Tarnished uses defeat as a way to grow stronger, learning and remembering everything from their past failures in order to prevail.  Malenia never has been defeated, proving that her skill surpasses all who dared to challenge her and that she is naturally gifted with her talents in a way that us mere Tarnished sadly do not posses.  It is fitting then that at first Malenia’s fight seems impossible, almost completely unfair.  

But every time we lose we learn a bit more, we gain more insight, we discover things that work and things that do not work.  We have all the time in the world to fail and try again and each time we do we get an opportunity to learn something new about who we are fighting and how to fight them.  

Malenia is the anti-thesis of this.  She never needed to fail to learn anything, it was always given to her through her raw talent within.  Her abilities surpass everyone around her as a gifted prodigy, but because she never has failed, she never has had the opportunity to refine her skills.  She never had to question her tactics, or change her approach, or improve her techniques, save for one time that we know of where she used her scarlet rot as a last ditch effort in the stalemate against General Radhan.  

In a way I think Malenia is the ultimate soulsborne boss/antagonist.  Someone who ruthlessly crushes all challenges before them, effortlessly accomplishing everything with ease, with all hardship washing over them like a gentle stream.  She is the perfect ying to a soulsborne player’s yang.  It is all the more fitting that she tests the player to their breaking point, embodying all the frustration and agony of this series/genre of games in a single 2 phase encounter.

I’m gushing and honestly a lot of this probably applies to other bosses in the soulsborne genre as well but still I just love the narrative parallel between someone who is known for losing fighting someone who is known for winning.  Someone who can’t fathom being defeated, and someone who expects it around every corner.  It’s poetic to me.

[ifwebefriends]

Gravity Falls Rewatch S1E12 A Tale of Two Stans

Honestly I’m so glad they took an entire episode to address all of Stan’s mysteries, especially after what we learned about him last episode

AWWWWWWW I LOVE BABY STANS ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Stan punches a perfect triangle in the wood oooo spooky

There’s a photo in the intro now with Ford putting away Journal 1!

Stan is just so happy to see his brother again :)

FORD SPEAKING WOOOOOOO LETS GET IT

Ayo new fictional crush acquired???

Me hearing Ford’s voice for the first time at age 13: CAVE JOHNSON FROM PORTAL 2?!?!

If I had a nickel for every character voiced by JK Simmons who has a strong association with portals I’d have two (three?) nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice, right?

Damn Ford got some sick moves get it old man

Dipper and Mabel’s grandparent is named Shermie

“I have a niece and nephew?” BRO 🥺🥺🥺🥺

“I like this kid. She’s weird” :))))

Dipper really embodying the fandom with his “you’re the author of the journals” comment

“You’ve read my journals?” Nah he’s just read the one

Mabel being a good sister and comforting Dipper through this almost-throwing up episode :)

We got the Stanley-Stanford name swap reveal folks!!!!!!

Soos canonically writes fanfic about Grunkle Stan

Stan’s mom was a fake psychic, maybe explaining him seeing through Gideon’s lies?

“Ford had a birth defect leading to him being obsessed with sci-fi and mystery” is so fucking based fr

It looks like Ford picked a fashion style as a kid and STUCK with it, good for him

Stan really was like that even as a kid lmao

I love the baby Stan twins’ relationship

It really was a mistake, Stan really loves his brother and didn’t mean to ruin things for him :(

Baby Shermie!

Stan’s dad is kind of a dick

Why was Ford writing in Journal 1? I thought that one was full?

I want to read Ford’s thesis

Octavia the 8-legged cow was in one of Ford’s books!

Okay so Gravity Falls has just always been like thatTM

Looks like one of Wendy’s relatives helped to build the Mystery Shack!

Dipper fanboying over the journals is something I needed in my life

Ford has some great art skills fr

Baby shapeshifter!

“It was finally a place where I felt at home” ayo…….LGBT-coded??

Ford and McGucket were college buddies!!

McGucket could have been Steve Jobs?!?

Looks like we have relatives to the “get him get him” guy

Ford and Stan were both at places at some point in their lives where they “didn’t need anyone”

The Mystery Shack address is 618 Gopher Road (there’s that number 618 again!)

Stan and Ford didn’t talk for over 10 years since Stan got kicked out :(

“Have you come to steal my eyes?!” Is that what the Society of the Blind Eye was doing at first?!?

“Let’s talk this through, okay?” Stan still cares, he always has 🥺🥺🥺🥺

“I’ve been around the world” I want to know how many countries Stan has been to

I want to know how Gideon found Journal 2

Stan’s tattoo is actually a burn mark!!!!

Stanley was sleeping in the Carpet Diem room!!!!

Young Lazy Susan and how her eye got lazy!

Young Blubs!

Young “get him get him” guy!

The cash register reads “6.18”

Early version of Dipper’s hat!

Ford really channeling that Cave Johnson spirit for that scene where he shooed out the feds

Soos and Wendy offscreen friendship!!

Loved Stan and Ford’s last interaction before they got all mean and bitter

Mabel worrying about the future! :(

Great episode!! One of my favorites!

I AM VERY VERY NORMAL ABOUT GRUNKLE FORD OKAY????????

[popculty]

52 Films by Women: 2020 Edition

Another annual challenge complete!

Last year, I focused on diversifying my list. This year I kept that intention but focused on watching more non-American films and films from the 20th century. Specifically, I sought out Agnès Varda’s entire filmography, after her death in 2019. (I was not disappointed - What a filmmaking legend we lost.) 

I also kept a film log for the first time and have included some of my thoughts on several films from that log. I made a point of including reviews both positive and negative, because I think it’s important to acknowledge the variability and breadth of the canon, so as not to put every film directed by a woman on a pedestal. (Although movies directed by women must clear a much higher bar to be greenlit, meaning generally higher quality...But that’s an essay for another day :)

* = directed by a woman of color

bold = fave

1. The Rhythm Section (2020) dir. Reed Morano - Not as good as it could have been, given Morano’s proven skill behind the camera, but also not nearly as bad as the critics made it out to be. And unbelievably refreshing to see a female revenge story not driven by sexual assault or the loss of a husband/child.

2. Cléo de 5 à 7 (1962) dir. Agnès Varda - If you ever wanted to take a real-time tour of Paris circa 1960, this is the film for you.

3. Little Women (2019) dir. Greta Gerwig - Still my favorite Little Women adaptation. I will re-watch it every year and cry.

4. Varda by Agnès (2019) dir. Agnès Varda & Didier Rouget

5. Booksmart (2019) dir. Olivia Wilde - An instant classic high school comedy romp that subverts all the gross tropes of its 1980s predecessors.

6. Girls of the Sun (2018) dir. Eva Husson

7. Blue My Mind (2017) dir. Lisa Brühlmann

8. Portrait of a Lady On Fire (2019) dir. Céline Sciamma - Believe the hype. This film is a master thesis on the female gaze, and also just really effing gorgeous.

9. Belle Epine (2010) dir. Rebecca Zlotowski

10. Vamps (2012) dir. Amy Heckerling - With Krysten Ritter and Alicia Silverstone as modern-day vampires, I was so ready for this movie. But it feels like a bad stage play or a sit-com that’s missing a laugh-track. Bummer.

11. *Birds of Prey (2020) dir. Cathy Yan - Where has this movie been all our lives?? Skip the next onslaught of Snyder-verse grim-darkery and give me two more of these STAT! 

12. She’s Missing (2019) dir. Alexandra McGuinness

13. The Mustang (2019) dir. Laure de Clermont-Tonnere - Trigger warning for the “protagonist” repeatedly punching a horse in the chest. I noped right out of there.

14. Monster (2003) dir. Patty Jenkins – I first watched this movie when I was probably too young and haven’t revisited it since. The rape scene traumatized me as a kid, but as an adult I appreciate how that trauma is not the center of the movie, or even of Aileen’s life. Everyone still talks about how Charlize “went ugly” for this role, but the biggest transformation here isn’t aesthetic, it’s physical – the way Theron replicates Wuernos’ mannerisms, way of speaking, and physicality. That’s why she won the Oscar. I also love that Jenkins calls the film “Monster” (which everyone labels Aileen), but then actually uses it to tell the story of how she fell in love with a woman when she was at her lowest, and that saved her. That’s kind of beautiful, and I’m glad I re-watched it so that I could see the story in that light, instead of the general memory I had of it being a good, feel-bad movie. It’s so much more than that.

15. Water Lilies (2007) dir. Céline Sciamma – Sciamma’s screenwriting and directorial debut, the first in her trilogy on youth, is as painfully beautiful as its sequels (Tomboy and Girlhood). It’s also one of the rare films that explores the overlap of queerness and girl friendships.

16. The Trouble with Angels (1966) dir. Ida Lupino – Movies about shenanigan-based female friendships are such rare delights. Rosalind Russel is divine as Mother Superior, and Hayley Mills as “scathingly brilliant” as the pranks she plays on her. Ida Lupino’s skill as an editor only enhances her directing, providing some truly iconic visual gags to complement dialogue snappy enough for Gilmore Girls. 

17. Vagabond (1985) dir. Agnès Varda – Shot with a haunting realism, this film has no qualms about its heroine’s inevitable, unceremonious death, which it opens with, matter-of-factly, before retracing her final (literal) steps to the road-side ditch she ends up in. (I’m partly convinced said heroine was the inspiration for Sarah Manning in Orphan Black.)

18. One Sings, The Other Doesn’t (1977) dir. Agnès Varda – Probably my favorite classic Varda, this film feels incredibly personal. It’s essentially a love story about two best friends with very different lives. For an indie made in the ‘70s, the diversity, scope, and themes of the film are impressive. Even if the second half a drags a bit, the first half is absolute perfection, engaging the viewer immediately, and clipping along, sprinkling in some great original songs that were way progressive for their time (about abortion, female bodily autonomy, etc) and could still be considered “bangers” today.

19. Emma (2020) dir. Autumn de Wilde

20. Black Panthers (1969) dir. Agnès Varda

21. Into the Forest (2016) dir. Patricia Rozema - When the world was ending (i.e. the pandemic hit) this was the first movie I turned to - a quiet, meditative story of two sisters (Elliot Page and Evan Rachel Wood) surviving off the land after a sudden global blackout. Four years later, it’s still one of my favorite book-to-screen adaptations. I fondly remember speaking with director Patricia Rozema at the 2016 Chicago Critics Film Festival after a screening, her love for the source material and desire to “get it right” so apparent. I assured her then, and reaffirm now, that she really did.

22. City of Trees (2019) dir. Alexandra Swarens

23. Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020) dir. Eliza Hittmann - To call this a harrowing and deeply personal journey of a sixteen-year-old who must cross state lines to get an abortion would be accurate, but incomplete. It is a story so much bigger than that, about the myriad ways women’s bodies and boundaries are constantly violated.

24. Paradise Hills (2019) dir. Alice Waddington

25. *Eve’s Bayou (1996) dir. Kasi Lemmons – I’ve been meaning to watch Kasi Lemmons’ directorial debut for many years now, and I’m so glad I finally have, because it fully deserves its icon status, beyond being one of the first major films directed by a black woman. Baby Jurnee Smollett's talent was immediately recognizable, and she has reminded us of it in Birds of Prey and Lovecraft Country this year. If merit was genuinely a factor for Oscar contenders, she would have taken home gold at eleven years old. Beasts of the Southern Wild has been one of my all-time favorites, but now I realize that most of my appreciation for that movie actually goes to Lemmons for blazing the trail with her story of a young black girl from the bayou first. It’s also a surprisingly dark story about memory and abuse and familial relationships that cross lines - really gutsy and surprising themes, especially for the ‘90s.

26. Blow the Man Down (2019) dir. Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy - Come and get your sea shanty fix!

27. Touchy Feely (2013) dir. Lynn Shelton - R.I.P. :(

28. Hannah Gadsby: Douglas (2020) dir. Madeleine Parry - If you thought Gadsby couldn’t follow up 2018′s sensational Nanette with a comedy special just as sharp and hilarious, you would have been sorely mistaken.

29. Girlhood (2013) dir. Céline Sciamma

30. Breathe (2014) dir. Mélanie Laurent

31. *A Dry White Season (1989) dir. Euzhan Palcy

32. Laggies (2014) dir. Lynn Shelton

33. *The Old Guard (2020) dir. Gina Prince-Bythewood – Everything I’ve ever wanted in an action movie: Immortal gays, Charlize Theron wielding a labrys (battle axe), kinetic fight choreography I haven’t seen since the last Bond movie…Watched it twice, then devoured the comics it was adapted from, and I gotta say: in the hands of black women, it eclipses the source material. Cannot wait for the just-announced sequel.

34. Morvern Callar (2002) dir. Lynn Ramsay

35. Shirley (2020) dir. Josephine Decker

36. *Radioactive (2019) dir. Marjane Satrapi – The story is obviously well worth telling and the narrative structure – weaving in the future consequences of Curie’s discoveries – is clever, but a bit awkwardly executed and overly manipulative. There are glimpses of real brilliance throughout, but it feels as if the director’s vision was not fully realized, to my great disappointment. Nonetheless, I appreciated seeing Marie Curie's story being told by a female director and embodied by the always wonderful Rosamund Pike.

37. *The Half of It (2020) dir. Alice Wu - I feel like a real scrooge for saying this, but this movie did nothing for me. Nothing about it felt fresh, authentic or relatable. A real disappointment from the filmmaker behind the wlw classic Saving Face.

38. Mouthpiece (2018) dir. Patricia Rozema - I am absolutely floored. One of those films that makes you fall in love with the art form all over again. Patricia Rozema continues to prove herself one of the most creatively ambitious and insightful directors of our time, with this melancholic meditation on maternal grief and a woman’s duality.

39. Summerland (2020) dir. Jessica Swale - The rare period wlw love story that is not a) all-white or b) tragedy porn. Just lovely.

40. *The Last Thing He Wanted (2020) dir. Dee Rees – As rumored, a mess. Even by the end, I still couldn’t tell you who any of the characters are. Dee, we know you’re so much better than this! (see: Mudbound, Pariah)

41. *Cuties (2020) dir. Maïmouna Doucouré – I watched this film to 1) support a black woman director who has been getting death threats for her work and 2) see what all the fuss is about. While I do think there were possibly some directorial choices that could have saved quite a bit of the pearl-clutching, overall, I didn’t find it overly-exploitative or gross, as many (who obviously haven’t actually watched the film) have labeled it. It certainly does give me pause, though, and makes me wonder whether children can ever be put in front of a camera without it exploiting or causing harm to them in some way. It also makes one consider the blurry line between being a critique versus being an example. File this one under complicated, for sure.

42. A Call to Spy (2019) Lydia Dean Pilcher – An incredible true story of female spies during WWII that perfectly satisfied my itch for British period drama/spy thriller and taught me so much herstory I didn’t know.

43. Kajillionaire (2020) dir. Miranda July - I was lucky enough to attend the (virtual) premiere of this film, followed by an insightful cast/director Q&A, which only made me appreciate it more. July's offbeat dark comedy about a family of con artists is queerer and more heartfelt than it has any right to be, and a needed reprieve in a year of almost entirely white wlw stories. The family's shenanigans are the hook, but it's the budding relationship between Old Dolio (an almost unrecognizable Evan Rachel Wood) and aspiring grifter Melanie (the luminous Gina Rodriguez) that is the heart of the story.

44. Misbehaviour (2020) dir. Philippa Lowthorpe – Again, teaching me herstory I didn’t know, about how the Women’s Liberation Movement stormed the 1970 Miss World Pageant. Keira Knightley and Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s characters have a conversation in a bathroom at the end of the film that perfectly eviscerates well-meaning yet ignorant white feminism, without ever pitting women against each other - a feat I didn’t think was possible. I also didn’t think it was possible to critique the male gaze without showing it (*ahem Cuties, Bombshell, etc*), but this again, invents a way to do it. Bless women directors.

45. *All In: The Fight for Democracy (2020) dir. Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortes – 2020’s 13th. Thank god for Stacey Abrams, that is all.

46. *The 40-Year-Old Version (2020) dir. Radha Blank – This scene right here? I felt that in my soul. This whole film is so good and funny and heartfelt and relatable to any artist trying to walk that tightrope of “making it” while not selling their soul to make it. My only initial semi-note was that it’s a little long, but after hearing Radha Blank talk about how she fought for the two-hour run-time as a way of reclaiming space for older black women, I take it back. She’s right: Let black women take up space. Let her movie be as long as she wants it to be. GOOD FOR HER.

47. Happiest Season (2020) dir. Clea Duvall - Hoooo boy. What was marketed as the first lesbian Christmas rom-com is actually a horror movie for anyone who’s ever had to come out. Throw in casual racism and a toxic relationship treated as otp, and it’s YIKES on so many levels. Aubrey Plaza, Dan Levy, and an autistic-coded Jane are the only (underused) highlights.

48. *Monkey Beach (2020) dir. Loretta Todd

49. *Little Chief (2020) dir. Erica Tremblay – A short film part of the 2020 Red Nation Film Festival, it’s a perfect eleven minutes that I wish had gone on longer, if only to bask in Lily Gladstone in a leading role.

50. First Cow (2019) dir. Kelly Reichardt – I know Kelly Reichardt’s style, so I’ll admit-- even as I was preparing for an excellent film, I was also reaching for my phone, planning on only half paying attention during all the inevitable 30-second shots of grass blowing in the wind. (And yes, there are plenty of those.) But twenty minutes in, my phone was set aside and forgotten, as I am getting sucked into this beautiful story about two frontiersman trying to live their best domestic life.There is only one word to describe this film and that is: PURE. I’ve never seen such a tender platonic relationship between men on screen before, and it’s not lost on me that it took a woman to show us that tenderness. Reichardt gives us two men brought together by fate, and kept together by a shared dream and the simple pleasure of not being alone in such a hard world; two men who spend their days cooking, trapping, baking, and dreaming of a better life; two men who don’t say much, but feel everything for each other. The world would be a much better place if men showed us this kind of vulnerability and friendship toward each other. Oh, and it’s also a brutal take-down of capitalism and the myth of the American Dream!

51. Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) dir. Patty Jenkins - My most-anticipated film for the past two years was...well, a mixed bag, to say the least. Too many thoughts on it for a blog post, so stay tuned for the upcoming podcast ep where we go all in ;)

52. *Selah and the Spades (2019) dir. Tayarisha Poe

I hope this gives you some ideas to kick off your new year with a resolution to support more female directors!

What were your favorite women-directed movies of last year? Let me know in the tags, comments, or asks!

[passionate-reply]

This week on Great Albums: a deeper dive into one of the most underrated early synth-pop acts. You’ve heard “Fade to Grey” by now, I’m sure, but this record is weirder and wilder than you might imagine! Find out more by watching the video or reading the transcript below the break.

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums! Today, I’ll be discussing one of the first opening salvos of the New Romantic movement: the 1980 self-titled debut album by Visage. You could be forgiven for assuming that Visage was the alias of a single person, presumably the dapper fellow all over their brand, but Visage were, indeed, a group!

That “face of the band” figure was Steve Strange, who was less of a musician and more of a tastemaker and aesthete, and the club promoter for London’s famous nightclub, The Blitz. The Blitz’s DJ, Rusty Egan, was also a percussionist, and had previously played in the punk band Rich Kids, where he became acquainted with Midge Ure. Famous for his many connections and skill at leveraging them, Egan put together a sort of dream team out of the many musicians he knew at the time: Ure, who’d been orphaned by the dissolution of Rich Kids, Billy Currie, one-time synthesist of Ultravox before their group split apart, and several members of Buzzcocks alumnus Howard Devoto’s band Magazine. A bit of a motley crew, for sure...but one can’t argue with the success Visage would achieve.

Music: “Fade to Grey”

“Fade to Grey” is surely one of the most iconic songs of early 80s synth-pop, and its music video pushed forth a bold new aesthetic for the new decade: sophisticated, futuristic, androgynous. While Steve Strange would consistently reject the “New Romantic” label for his own work, his influence on the scene was undeniable. “Fade to Grey” strikes a balance between being debonair and mysterious, with its ghostly vocal reverb, and being a straight-up club classic, with an absolutely massive synth riff. The inclusion of a French-language translation of the main lyrics gives it a lot of European panache, and may well have been one of the main factors propelling it to international success--“Fade to Grey” was actually an even bigger hit in markets like France and Germany than in Visage’s native UK. That aside, though, as is so often the case with these famous 80s songs, the rest of this album is not to be missed! If you’re looking for another song with a bit of a similar vibe to their famous hit, I think you can’t go wrong with its opening track and final single, also titled “Visage.”

Music: “Visage”

There’s something really satisfying about a track, artist, AND album all having the same name--the triple threat! Still, I think this album’s title track stands well enough on its own, with a soaring refrain that’s quite easy to sing along to. While this album doesn’t get quite as “baroque” as Ultravox would, on tracks like their famous hit “Vienna,” the dry piano used throughout this track really classes the place up. Thematically, the title track seems to assert the importance of fashion and style, as well as the importance of innovating in those fields--“New styles, new shapes, new modes.” While lots of electronic acts were fixated on the future, Visage were one of the first to center aesthetics to such a dramatic degree. Plenty of people, both at the time and more recently, would criticize New Romantic acts of the MTV era for being “style over substance,” as though their embrace of the parallel art form of fashion inherently made their music worse. I’ve never understood that criticism myself, since it’s perfectly possible to care about, or excel at, more than one creative pursuit at once. At any rate, the title track’s focus on novelty contrasts quite strikingly with the preceding single, “Mind of a Toy.”

Music: “Mind of a Toy”

“Mind of a Toy” is a surprisingly high-concept song in comparison to the album’s other singles, narrating the thoughts of a plaything that’s lost its lustre, and has been discarded in favour of newer and better diversions. It feels like a pointed criticism of the consumerist obsession with novelty, and a counterpoint to the apparent thesis of the title track. It’s perhaps also a sort of critique of the way popular music disposes of so many of its once-loved idols--who, like puppets, are often controlled by unseen outside forces. You’ll also find several tracks that push into more experimental territory on the album, to a degree that may be surprising if you’re only familiar with the big hit. The eerie, cinematic instrumental “The Steps” is perhaps the most striking example, and closing the album on this note is certainly a bold decision!

Music: “The Steps”

The album’s cover features Steve Strange dancing with a woman, in a starkly lit, greyscale composition that recalls early photography. In the background, we can see the shadows of several instrumental musicians--perhaps a nod to the composition of the band itself, in which the composers and instrumentalists happily hid behind the facade of Strange’s attention-grabbing persona. What’s perhaps most interesting about it is the fact that despite having a dance partner, Strange’s attention seems to be focused entirely on us, the viewers. He seems to meet our gaze, with a vigour and intensity that borders on confrontational.

Before “New Romantic” took such a strong hold as the term for this movement, one of the contenders for its name was “peacock punk.” I’ve always liked the way that alternative phrase communicates the brash, almost macho nature of its seemingly fey male frontmen, whose gender-bending style was often rooted in self-confidence that bordered on bravado. I think Steve Strange’s fixed gaze on the cover of this album embodies this principle of “peacocking,” and lavishing attention on one’s personal aesthetic in a daring, perhaps even aggressively counter-cultural manner. While a lot of this music, and its associated visual culture, has been dismissed as some sort of yuppie frippery, it takes some serious balls to transgress ideas about gender as much as the New Romantics did, and I’d say it’s pretty damn punk.

This album is, of course, self-titled, which I suppose could be seen as a sort of throwaway non-decision. But I think the use of “Visage” for the title calls attention to the idea their name represents. A “visage” is, literally, a face, but the connotation of the word is certainly a bit loftier and more refined than that. A visage is less likely to be an everyday face, and more likely to be a metaphorical or symbolic “face”--a front for something, a representation of some greater idea. While Strange and company couldn’t see the future, they of course ended up being the representative front for the coming wave of stylish, synthesiser-driven pop, even if they weren’t at the crest of it for too long.

After their debut, Visage would go on to release one more LP with their original line-up, 1982’s The Anvil. Less experimental, and more indebted to disco and dance music, The Anvil would produce two more charting singles, “Night Train” and “The Damned Don’t Cry,” though neither of them would reach the same heights of international success as “Fade to Grey.”

Music: “Night Train”

Later in the 1980s, Billy Currie and Midge Ure would become increasingly committed to their work with the re-formed Ultravox, and they left Steve Strange and Rusty Egan to continue the Visage project on their own. The two of them released one more album under the Visage name in 1984, but when that was panned, they went back to running the Blitz Club together.

In 2013, Steve Strange decided to return to making music, and revive the “Visage” name. While his untimely death in 2015 would cut this era short, Strange released one full album, and recorded enough material for a followup that it could be released posthumously. Though Strange is no longer with us, Rusty Egan has become quite keen on the idea of a Visage reunion of some sort in the past year or two, possibly involving Midge Ure, Billy Currie, and/or fellow New Romantic heartthrob Zaine Griff, who I think could fill Strange’s shoes better than just about anybody. It sounds quite promising, so we’ll have to stay tuned.

My favourite track from this album is “Tar,” which was actually released ahead of the album, in 1979, but failed to attract much notice. It was love at first listen for me, though--I love the way the chorus rises so triumphantly, only to fall back down into its screwy, glitchy synth hook. Besides that abrasive touch, the theme of the song is also a bit out there: it’s a somewhat patronizing number all about the repulsiveness of cigarette smoking. Perhaps now that fewer people are smokers, this premise will come across as less alienating than it did at the time! That’s all I’ve got for today, thanks for listening.

Outro: “Tar”

[talesfromgringolandia]

Underwing Challenge, final day(albeit a day late)

Thanks for the final question, @drippingmoon! And thanks for compliments, too. You wouldn't believe how many things I just came up with specifically for the questions you asked. This has been so fun for me, and I'm glad you enjoyed it too!

Anwho, here's some things I've been dying to talk about some more: The Titans, and the moon.

So, here are some things I was dying to talk about: My Titans, and the moon

The titans are powerful beings of unknown origin. There are six, and each one has a specific domain, and also directly opposes one of the other titans. Essentially, each Titan poses a thesis about the truth of life, and their paladins live according to that thesis. Every titan also exists physically somewhere in the world, but I’ve only come up with the physical forms for two of them so far.

The first titan I came up with was Lralso. (You thought I’d say Felenor, didn’cha?) Lralso’s interesting in that he’s barely changed from the moment I conceived of him, not even his name. He’s always been the titan of trickery and dishonor, although originally he had fire as well but I got rid of that. Lralso embodies the idea that there is no such thing as honor, but rules that society puts up with because it's convenient. Meaning that every person who claims to be honorable is a liar and a fraud. (I came up with him before watching the Dark Knight, I swear. But the movie did help me refine him).

Lralso is directly opposed to Felenor, who I came up with second. Felenor embodies honor, justice, and protection. Everyone deserves a safe place to thrive, and Paladins of Felenor are supposed to provide that. Not necessarily because it helps others, but because it's the right thing to do. The ideology of Felenor is that there is an objective morality which exists whether or not it helps anybody, and every human knows this natural law instinctively. So when a person saves someone from being robbed in a dark alleyway, he shouldn’t expect payment or a thanks, but should do it because it's the right thing to do. This is why white lies are also very bad. The most valuable possession of a paladin of Felenor is his honor.

Next is Ildra, titan of pleasure and suffering. That seems contradictory, but bear with me. Ildra posits that the sole purpose of life is to enjoy yourself physically, with no consideration for morality or convenience at all. Do the standards of society get in the way of your material pleasure? Tear them down. Everything in the world, including other people, only exists for the sake of making you feel better. Nothing is sacred for a paladin of Ildra. Naturally, this kind of lifestyle does not actually lead to fulfillment, and every so often, you find yourself with two options - pull out of this life of misery and try to live in a way that can fulfill you, which is a daunting task, OR dive even deeper into this life of sin and pleasure to ignore the gaping whole inside. The most powerful paladins of Ildra are the most evil beings you will ever meet, because they do not only ignore their pull to good - they actively run from it.

Next I’ll talk about Elara, the direct opponent of Ildra. She’s actually the last one I came up with, so she’s still a little fuzzy in my mind. She’s also the last titan who has anything to do directly with humans. Elara’s thesis is that every other person you meet exists so that you can help them. Many of her paladins live in convents together. (Yes, they’re nuns. Sue me)

Now I’ll get into my non-human involved titans. First is Caorr, who I’ve talked about before. He’s a massive dragon who lives in the abyss, at the surface of Venus. He commands the hordes of dragons who also inhabit the Eternal Storm down there. Caorr represents the idea of destruction and chaos, pure and simple. He doesn’t like the existence of the isles up above. He has only ever had one paladin, named Azor, who was one of the most powerful humans to walk the isles. He caused a massive war, with Azor and the dragons vs all the humans, resulting in the destruction of many cities. It was essentially a world war, for all the impact it had afterwards. The Order of Felenor picked up the pieces, creating a golden age of law and order, and setting the stage for their defeat by Galras and their fall at the hands of Ildra.

Yes, I named the titan of chaos, Caorr. I’m subtle like that.

Finally, the titan of nature, Elorath. His form is that of a massive whale or turtle(I’ve yet to decide) made of earth and stone, floating in the sky like another isle. He’s very far away at the moment, which is why nobody’s found him yet. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t exert control over his domain. His Paladins aren’t well-known at all, because they don’t leave their forests, deserts, or whatever habitat they call home. They only care to protect their home, and are often called druids. Elorath is naturally opposed to Caorr, but it's not like their domains cross very often.

Yeah, those are my titans! All of them have a physical form somewhere in the world, but I’ve only figured out that form is for Caorr and Elorath so far.

And then there’s the moon!

So, as I mentioned in a previous post, Venus doesn’t have a moon. And according to the definition of moon(a satellite of a planet), it still doesn't have a moon in my setting. But there is a moon-looking thing, just a lot smaller, and floating in the atmosphere along with all the isles. It floats a lot higher though, making access to it difficult. You have to use powerful hot-air balloons in conjunction with propellers, and then you can’t be up there too long because there’s not much oxygen. It’s very far away from the other isles as well, about two week’s journey there and back. Why would anyone want to go there? Well, it’s made of a material called Aetherstone. Aetherstone has the ability to receive, hold, and conduct aether, meaning it can act as a battery and a jump starter. Humans can only use a little aether at a time, meaning that Tinkerers would be limited to machines that function with a slow burn. Aetherstone can release a lot of aether at once, but it requires a skilled tinkerer/alchemist/etc to control it. Otherwise it can wreak all sorts of havoc. Aether is energy, and if it's not directed, it's going to cause some kind of change.

[theprojectschool]

This interview could start with ‘Dear John’, a project of care conceived by  architect and interior designer Marianna Karalioliou about the dwindling Brixton barrows, and more specifically the craftsmen that look after them. In a covid 19 world, projects about the public space and/or that look after community members are more than welcome. We salute you, ‘Dear John’.

In your project about the Brixton Market, you propose to create a space for John, the man that repairs the barrows. Can you tell us a bit more about it?

During the second and final year of my MA studies in Interior Design at the Royal College of Art, I chose to do my Thesis project in the Interior Detail platform, run by senior tutor Ian Higgins. The general subject of the Detail platform for the year was the re-use of abandoned railway arches in London. After a potential site exploration that the group of Interior Detail did in South London, we decided that the common site for our thesis projects would be the railway arches of Valentia place, in Brixton.

Having established a site, the next step was to decide what function I would insert in the arch to start building up my project. My personal research for Brixton led me to discover a very peculiar issue that has been rising concern among the locals for quite some time. The market's traditional barrows are dwindling in number, as the craftsmen that are able to repair these ageing vehicles are few and far from London. This would palpably alter life in Brixton market, as the stallholders still rely entirely on the use of the barrows to run their businesses.

This is the beginning of 'John's' story. He's my fictional craftsman that embodies the initiatives of the locals to save the Brixton barrows. In his live – work space, within a set of railway arches that becomes part of an imagined masterplan where a new public space is created, John lives among other makers and offers his craftsmanship to the market people, repairing their barrows and preserving the character of the market and the area in general.

- Do you think that markets are important in urban cities like London?

Definitely. I might be a little biased as I come from Greece, a country where markets are an integral part of everyday life, but markets do not only enrich a city's public life, they also create a micro-scale in the modern metropolis. This micro-scale is what transforms co-existence to conviviality, a quality that is quite scarce in urban cities, from my experience at least.

- One of the things that I like about your project is the combination between arts and crafts. As an architect, do you think that they are important?

I couldn't imagine the one existing without the other and I wouldn't like to imagine how life would be without both of them. Arts and crafts in their greatest manifestations, such as in Ancient Greece, Renaissance etc., were leaps in the evolution of human civilisation, but I believe that the significance of their harmonious combination in everyday life is of equal importance. The quality of our lives is substantially improved when objects and 'things' are both thoughtfully considered and beautifully crafted, not only serving their purpose of making one's life easier but also offering aesthetic pleasure, at some level at least.

- Do you think that these roles - like John and others that repair boats, work with woods, etc - are important for the sustainability of society?

I have enormous respect and admiration for craftsmen like 'John', and I believe that their existence will always be of crucial importance for the sustainability of society. Despite the fact that they are somehow the exception in an economy that fosters standardisation and mass production, their significance lies within the invaluable knowledge and skills that pass on from generation to generation and have been formed throughout decades of experience. The hands on approach that craftsmen have is characterised by, what I would like to call, a sentimental intelligence and ingeniousness, as the relationship they build with their work is something much deeper than mere production and has quite a 'parental' quality to it. I don't think that the knowledge deriving from such personal devotion to a craft could ever be replaced, even in the most technologically developed societies.

- How do you perceive the public space in a covid 19 context?

In a circumstance where the private sphere is becoming the dominant part of everyday life as it forms a safety zone, public space either maintains the identity of a space of decompression, or is facing the danger of becoming a zone where insecurity dominates. As the Covid-19 is a quite recent context, I think we are all trying to find a new balance and discover new ways of living in public. The way I perceive public space hasn't drastically changed, as I still consider it as a way out of normal, everyday city life. The fact that we have to re-adjust and follow a new set of rules for the protection of public health might create some restrictions in public life and the way we inhabit public space. However, as public space is a living space that evolves and adapts to current social needs and circumstances, I would like to perceive it as a space of undiscovered opportunities. I certainly hope that the new terms of a global pandemic will create the ground to discover new ways of safely living in public.

- People speak in human ecology, a term that I dislike, but your project has the beautiful quality of looking for the others in the city. Do you think that covid 19 changed the terms in which we relate to one another?

Thank you for your comment. The truth is that my project had started before the Covid-19 outbreak and the public aspect of it had already been addressed and settled before the massive change the virus brought in our lives. However, something that started as a need to create a proposal that would be closely connected to the site and become an organic part of the area rather than a proposal that would focus solely on the design of John's space, soon acquired an additional dimension. It was as if the neighborhood I was envisioning to be born and nurtured by the vibrant area of Brixton became a reminder of the importance of public life in an urban city. Covid-19 certainly pushed us indoors and made us build stronger relationships with our closest ones, but it changed the way we define ourselves in the vaster social network of a neighborhood, an area and a city. Social distancing has made people more alienated and suspicious to each other, which is quite a natural reaction to such an unprecedented situation causing fear to all. However, I believe that this numbness we are all feeling is somehow creative, as it is making us reconsider how we want our social lives to be particularly in urban cities, when things hopefully return to normal, at least to some degree.

[regeek]

Thoughts on the “guardians” in Deltora series 2.

People seemed to like my last Deltora analysis piece, and are anticipating my promised essay on the guardians of the Four Sisters. That’s going to take a little bit more time, as I’m rereading series 3 and there’s so much to talk about with them. I’m also planning an essay on Lief’s psychology, but at this point it might be one big essay, since all the Sister guardians are reflections of Lief’s internal struggles. It’s hard to talk about one and not the other.

So in the meantime I thought I’d share a few thoughts on the second series. This series is different from the other two in that it is shorter and less formulaic. So much of the story is focused on the palace storyline, and getting in and out of the caves. The quest for the Pirran Pipe didn’t have “guardians” in the same way the Gems or the Sisters did. The protagonists basically got all three pieces by asking politely. The quest was more about solving Pirra’s problems and learning not to repeat the Pirran’s mistakes. However, like all Deltora books they had at least one big monster, and Emily Rodda put themes and symbolism into them just like all the others. So let’s talk about them! There isn’t really a main conclusion or thesis here, just some thoughts. 

First up is The Fear, who is interesting in that it comes up so late in the book. The Fear is not the antagonist of the story, which doesn’t really have one. The Cavern of the Fear is more about internal, interpersonal conflict than almost any other book in the series. As such, the real antagonist is fear itself. Jasmine’s fears about not fitting into the palace and Lief changing, Lief’s fear about his responsibility and losing Jasmine, the Pirran’s fears of the other tribes, etc. The Fear is just an embodiment of the of the concept for the end of the story. I don’t put too much stock into it’s design, as I think Rodda just wanted to use a squid mosnter because she hadn’t used one yet. The most significant part of its design is that it literally separates the Plume from the other two tribes, keeping them from ever overcoming their prejudice and reuniting with the others. It is also notable how the Fear is defeated, in a selfless, kamikaze attack from Glock. Glock isn’t that sympathetic of a character, but he has one positive characteristic: his bravery. He might not have much else going on as a person, but in this story he was the only one suited to solve the problem. 

The Arachs aren’t really the guardian of the Isle of Illusion. The Isle itself is the real final boss for the story, and the Arach are simply part of the metaphor. They are creatures of darkness and decay, thriving as the Isle drains the light from the cavern and pollutes the water. Again their design isn’t too significant, just that the horror of giant spiders contrasts nicely with the false beauty of the Isle. I do find it highly amusing that Flash and Fury overcome their feud by encountering a much larger, more terrifying spider neither could ever hope to fight. You could interpret this as a metaphor for the people of Pirra overcoming their differences in the face of the greater threat of the Shadow Lord, but I mostly think it’s just a joke. I do think it’s relevant that the trio doesn’t even attempt to fight them, with Barda specifically comparing them to the Hive and the Glus. The Deltora books have a lot of big monster fights, but the heroes only destroy creatures created by the Shadow Lord. Natural parts of the Deltoran ecosystem are spared. (Notice they also don’t kill the Kobb in Isle of the Dead.)

Auris is really interesting. He made a much bigger impact on me rereading this than I remembered, which might be because he’s the guardian with the most social and political implications. The Island of Auron is a microcosm of all the social criticism in Deltora. Ignoring the problems of your land, allowing pollution and corruption to thrive, revisionist history, crushing dissent, its all here. I love that Jasmine is the one who really lays into him, she’s the one with the least tolerance for this sort of thing. I particularly like the reveal that the dome is maintained by one last believer, and I love the imagery as the dome starts to collapse and the Arachs swarm in. It’s a pretty bleak conclusion, with the fact that the illusion could only be destroyed with the death of its last believer. Rodda isn’t afraid to say that some people are really past being saved. The statue of Auron is one of the best symbols in the whole series. It is beautiful but artificial, and very fragile. The fact that it cuts you if you touch it is a particularly nice touch. 

The third piece of the Pipe had no guardian, Lief just to haggle with Tirral in the best example of his diplomatic and deceptive skills. Appropriately enough, he played them like a fiddle. The Big Monster on the Book Cover for the third book is a Vraal, but I’d like to talk about the ecosystem of the Shadowlands in general. The Shadowlands are as horrible as you’d imagine, and make really drive home the industrial and scientific side of the Shadow Lord. The various wildlife the trio meets isn’t as layered ins symbolism as most Deltoran creatures, but there’s still some stuff to talk about. The main thing is that everything, the beetles, the Wild Ones, the Stinger, and the Vraal are all clearly not natural, as none of them could have existed in Pirra the way it was described. Even compared to the monsters of Deltora they are unnatural, freakish horrors. The Vraal are a particularly memorable creation, bred for combat and nothing else, as efficiently designed to kill as the Xenomorphs in Alien. 

Once the trio enters the Factory the series veers further into science fiction and dystopian territory than ever before. Deltora is a fantasy setting, the Factory is pure sci-fi, its very name telling us how different it is from anything else we’ve seen. The Shadow Lord does not seem very creative in naming things: the Factory, the Conversion Project, referring to an Ol as 3-19 (implicitly the 19th grade 3 Ol) are all efficient, practical designations. This is nothing like the fantastical, poetic names for all of Deltora’s creatures. We also get some fascinating glimpses into the psychology of the Shadow Lord’s minions and how he runs his empire. It seems to be fiercely competitive, with all of his minions vying for their master’s approval. We saw a bit of this with Dain and Fallow, but it’s everywhere in this book. It’s implied that every Grey Guard squad is told they’re the only ones without an expiration date, but they have to keep it secret from the others. The Shadow Lord exaggerates the importance of all his minions to them, fueling them with inadequacy as they struggle to live up to their perceived significance. 

Anyway, that’s all I have to say about the monsters in these books. Again, not much of a theme, but then series 2 is a very concerned with internal struggles between members of the trio, so the monsters are a bit more of an afterthought then usual. In series three the villains are more closely woven into the internal struggles of our heroes, representing their worst characteristics brought to life. 

[goblin-gardens]

Gob Or Not? An Extremely Scientific Examination Of The Mighty Nein

A couple weeks ago, as an attempt to lure my friend Grim into Critical Role, I made a Goblin Inventory of the M9. this post is an updated survey of the team, slightly reformatted, mostly to be more accurate to my current understanding of the characters (as of Episode 58) and also funnier.

Abstract:

The goals of the initial report were two-fold. First, to examine the differences between being a member of the goblin species and Being Goblin, and second to determine whether Nott The Brave was truly the most Goblin of the group. The first findings showed that Nott scored a 40 out of 77 on the Goblin Scale, not an especially high score and far from the highest in the group. While the conclusions of this survey are not wildly different, the key to Science is repeating your experiments and coming up with not-exactly-identical findings, and doing this roughly a billion times and then you can say that you’re Probably Right (Most Of The Time).

The Goblin Quotient is determined by quantifying, on a scale of 0-11, how fully a person embodies each of the 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Goblins. These are, 1) Collection Of Crap, 2) Chaos, 3) Minionhood, 4) Gooey Center, 5) Laser Pointer Focus, 6) Furious Devotion, and 7) Hideous Cackling.

the full text of this very serious academic paper is under the cut and not behind a paywall.

1) Collection Of Crap

Top scorer, Caleb Widogast As a wizard, Caleb has purposefully immersed himself in Collecting. He is constantly filling his pockets with spell components including, but by no means limited to, sulfur, molasses, honeycomb, bits of copper wire, and literal bat shit. it’s all just. in his pockets. being slimy. Other Caleb Collections include: Books, Paper, Friends, Magic, and Pain. unfortunately, he still has not collected a fantasy therapist to help him KonMari some of it into healthier boxes. Nott’s new form has upped her Collecting habits, but this is a fundamental hobby of Veth’s. This quells some uncertainty about how much of this is truly Her. turns out, lots! (Runners up: Jester, with the animals and haversack of holding, Nott, with the buttons. Special mention: Fjord, with his balls.) Lowest Scorer, Yasha: a 6 of 11 ain’t shabby, but it’s not much compared to the others. This might be due to her having had less screen time, but she does tend to travel light.

Trait The Second) Chaos.

Top scorer, Jester Lavorre: The M9 are a pretty Chaotic group, but Jester is the only one who’s built a religion out of chaos. She’s a high priestess of drawing dicks on things. Her magic powers come from a divine mandate to fuck shit up. Pets (to which she has added Yarnball) up the chaos meter, and their virtually indestructible plot armor means they’re not going anywhere execpt maybe home wth Yeza. In general, Jester’s childhood in the Lavish Chateau was sort of like a pandora’s jack in the box getting wound tighter and tighter and tighter past all physical comprehension, and though the lid has been lifted, the spring is only just starting to sproing. we haven’t even reached the Zenith yet! After seeing some more of Veth and Yeza, it’s clear they’re not the most sedate of couples. Some eyebrows have definitely gotten singed in the Brenatto lab. However, since they aren’t the ones who burned it to the ground, a bit of Safe Science Techniques have to at least be assumed. (Runner up: Molly, with the egg dick incident) Lowest scorer, Beau: She’s not settling down, but she is… settling. Beau does her share of the check-ins, and has made the highest number of Agreements To Not Be Assholes Together. She might be in the running for mom friend??

C) Minionhood.

Top scorer, Fjord “No-Name” Swordvjore. In CR, goblins are not often leaders. They will work together to target weaker and easy opponents, but aren’t typically masterminds. They aren’t prone to individual heroism and rarely, if ever, go out of their way to save a friend. In their villages, little value is placed on familial relationships or education, they’re not big team players, and everyone has a terrible sense of humor. So how does Fjord factor into this? By showing the other side of the coin, like how tactics that don’t rely on using yourself as canon fodder are more successful, or like how the power of friendship and diverse skill sets makes your team stronger. Nott is not much of a follower, though she is an aggressive supporter. Though both these green kids were outcasts when they were younger, finding love with Yeza, stating a family and running a business has given Veth a strong sense of what she wants, and it’s not to be a leader or a follower. (runners up: Caduceus Clay, committed WildMinion and Jester, Travelerite) Lowest scorer, Caleb Widogast. He’s had his brush with Minionhood and the further and safer from it he feels, the more he wants revenge.

Four) Gooey Center Top scorer, Yasha Nydoorin. The Gooey Center is protected by a spiky, brittle, intimidating, crunchy, and/or off putting exterior.  Yasha is our big, scary, tenderhearted wlw. our giant soft-hearted, angelic, full-of-boiling-murderous-rage, lightning-punching, funeral-not-having runaway who loves her wife and makes us cry. she shaves her arms with her sword. she uses books in non-traditional ways. she vanishes into the night sometimes in a very mysterious and tragic manner. she is our most Romantic player character, and she is super ripped and super queer, which are all aspirational goblin qualities. in practice, most goblins connect with their gooey center by being squished by someone like Yasha, maybe with a giant hammer. Nott does more to protect others’ feelings than her own, really. Poking at her sore spots makes her stab at yours, but she’s pretty up front about how she feels. When actually fighting, she’s proven to be pretty adept at not being hit. (runners up: Caleb, glass canon with a very crunchy exterior, Fjord, known horc twunk, Caducues, mystery boy, and Molly, who rudely showed us just how how close that center can be to the surface) Lowest scorer: Nott! She’s actually…. Relatively well adjusted? Has emotional intelligence?

5️⃣) Laser Pointer Focus Top scorer: Caduceus Clay. Related to Minionhood, this is the aspect of Goblinry that the leader uses to achieve goals. the dogged focus of a True Goblin is powerful and direct, but can be redirected with the proper pressure or leadership, or lost when a cause or leader is not compelling enough or doesn’t provide adequate payment. the Laser Pointer Focus has an investigatory aspect as well, gathering little bits of info from every which way in moments, though the information gathered is rarely put to use immediately. Caduceus, who sees all but doesn’t always act on it, and is content to support the Nein and follow their meandering path to his goal, checks many of these boxes. Nott knows exactly what she wants in life, which is her old life. She knows how to get it, which is to keep Caleb alive until he can learn a powerful enough spell. The difference between her pursuit of her goal and Caduceus’s lies in the fact that this isn’t a Hero’s Quest for her, with no Tests of Character or Symbolic Goals set or arbitrated by an outside force. (runners up: Fjord, spiritually chasing a laser pointer at all times, Jester, whose laser pointer always points at chaos. Special mention: Frumpkin) Lowest scorer: Beau. Maybe she’s still figuring out what her driving forces are. She knows what they aren’t, but Not Being The Same Type Of Shitty As My Dad isn’t a full thesis. She’s dedicated to protecting her friends, but until we see exactly what it is that she defines herself in opposition to (ie. get that sweet sweet Loregard) her intentions might remain a bit fuzzy around the edges.

VI) Furious Devotion Top scorer: Beauregard Lionett. Also going hand in hand with Minionhood (Minionhood has two hands), this is the trait that makes goblins actually willing to die in battle against adventurers and town guards and shit. It doesn’t require any comfort with or willingness to follow authority, it’s the more feral side of love that is reigned in by Minionhood in true Goblins. this is the part of the Goblin that drives the Collecting of Crap because it genuinely loves all the shit it finds. Beau is a prime example of this trait, especially because as she gets more and more invested in a person or ideal, her willingness to let go, even in the face of likely death, decreases dramatically. see episode 55 for reference, among others. she also has a rather Goblinish inability to effectively communicate the depths of her feelings, though this is sort of an aspect of her defense of her Gooey Center and something she’s actively working on. Now here’s something Nott’s got. So much love. More love than can be contained by one family. Angry love, protective love, throw-all-the-dishes-on-the-floor-in-a-pile love. Draw the dragon’s attention so her friend she’s had for less than a day can get away love. She can and will sacrifice herself for the people she cares about. (runners up: Nott, whomst loves, Yasha, very good at using the Fury to pursue the Devotion, Jester, whose love is so powerful it brings people back from the dead, and Caleb, even less able to discuss his feelings than Beau) Lowest scorer: Fjord. This does NOT mean he doesn’t love his friends, or that he’s not sometimes very angry, but they aren’t connected. He’s still keeping everyone at arm’s length, tbh. Again, this is something that will be easier to judge with more backstory.

and finally 7) Hideous Cackling Top Score: Mollymauk Tealeaf. This is what a Goblin does when surveying their Collection of Crap and the Chaos they have caused. This is how they communicate with fellow Minions in the know, how they react to seeing someone else’s Gooey Center, to catching the Laser Pointer. This is the easiest way to express their feelings of Devotion. The Hideous Cackle of a True Goblin is un-selfconscious and entirely for the benefit of the Cackler. Cackling Hideously is an act of self love. You can find your goblin group by listening to the Discordant Chorus made by Cackling together, and when you’re all reveling in the cacophony, there you are. It’s a little hedonistic and a little punk and a little queer, disregarding conventional expectations of beauty or family or polite behavior, and all about diving deep into the things that you are and the things that make you happy. An extremely Molly philosophy, truth be told. Nott Cackles, sometimes. More since Yeza is back. Unclear whether this arc ending in safe Brenatto Boys will leave her more prone to Cackling, or if she’ll miss them and be too sad :( (runner up: Jester, gleeful agent of chaos) Lowest scorers: Caleb and Fjord. Part of their higher charisma is being careful with their words and presentation. A truly Hideous Cackle doesn’t have time to be self conscious.

And now, the rankings themselves!

Nott The Brave Collection of Crap– So. Many. Buttons.  10/11 Chaos– FLUFFERNUTTERRRRRRRRRR!  8/11 Minionhood– Eh. She’s more of a supporter than a follower.  3/11 Gooey Center–  She’s not particularly secretive about her feelings or opinions 4/11 Laser Pointer Focus–  Her main goals are all inwardly motivated and have not changed during the campaign.  3/11 Furious Devotion– Her love is extremely powerful.  10/11 Hideous Cackling– Reunited with her husband, she has felt freer to Cackle, she also seems to appreciate her current job a lot  6/11 total score: 44/77

Caleb Collection of Crap– keeps everything in his pockets except for his cat, which is in his heart.  11/11 Chaos– Absolutely creates it, and is starting to revel in it.  6/11 Minionhood– Formerly a Minion, he is now hellbent on the destruction of the System. Good for him.  0/11 Gooey Center– Easily smashed by any large or medium-sized hammer, but maintains staunch denial of inner Gooeyness.  8/11 Laser Pointer Focus– Has goal, will travel. Difficult to redirect.  5/11 Furious Devotion– Slow to accept his own devotion, but very committed once he has.  10/11 Hideous Cackling– Having friends and talking about his feelings is good for him. He’s getting better at this. 3/11 total score: 43/77

Yasha Collection of Crap– A whole book of pressed flowers!  6/11 Chaos– She doesn’t really revel in it :/.  5/11 Minionhood-- Serves a higher power and follows along the decisions of others in the group, even when not super enthused about them, like going to Xhorhas.  8/11 Gooey Center– All the Gooeyer for being well protected, and though her emotional walls are not the most formidable in the party, the amount of protected feeling was unexpected  11/11 Laser Pointer Focus– Loyal to two guides, the Stormlord and the M9, though the Stormlord can pull her easily away from the group.  9/11 Furious Devotion– Very very angry.  10/11 Hideous Cackling– Could stand to be a bit more open about it.  4/11 Total score: 53/77

Fjord Collection of Crap– Collection is limited in scope and volume, but high in Strangeness.  8/11 Chaos– a troublemaker, for sure and certain.  7/11 Minionhood– Literally A Minion right now, summons demonic minions on occasion.  11/11 Gooey Center– Desperately wants somebody, anybody, to tell him he’s doing a Good Job. Adamantly refuses to admit that.  8/11 Laser Pointer Focus– this man cannot resist pushing buttons, be they physical, emotional, or likely to end the word.  10/11 Furious Devotion– He is angry, but it’s not focused. To get more points here, he needs to be less angry at himself.  3/11 Hideous Cackling– too self conscious! loosen up! needs to Cackle in his own voice.  3/11 total score: 50/77

Beau Collection of Crap– Wants to know everything, is building a family. Some points lost for minimalist monk aesthetic.  8/11 Chaos– Aspiring member of Nott the Best Detective Agency, punches people to learn about them. BUT she is apparently a Voice Of Reason, which makes it harder. 4/11 Minionhood– would destroy me for even suggesting it.  1/11 Gooey Center– just! wants! everyone! to! get! along!  7/11 Laser Pointer Focus– Is becoming a moral compass?  2/11 Furious Devotion– JUST! WANTS! EVERYONE! TO! GET! ALONG!  11/11 Hideous Cackling– Tries too hard to be cool. Like yeah, she is cool, but she tries too hard to make sure people know.  5/11 total score: 38/77

Molly Collection of Crap– Behold the coat. 8/11 Chaos– He has that certain je ne se quois.  10/11 Minionhood– The Moonweaver in not a fan of her followers following anyone’s orders. also he has his own minions and doesn’t want them  3/11 Gooey Center-- Loves openly and without reservation. and also……………………  8/11 Laser Pointer Focus– Molly’s focus is loving his friends and knowing fuck all.  5/11 Furious Devotion– Found a tall sad lady and made his circus adopt her. gives money to orphans.  7/11 Hideous Cackling– Genuinely personified this action for two years.  11/11 total score: 52/77

Jester Collection of Crap– In addition to being the Holder Of The Bag, she also collects doughnuts and cool shit. While most of her random shit has potential uses, it’s also a whole lot of random shit. Some of its weasels.  10/11 Chaos– Spreading discord is a religious mandate for her. Her powers come from chaos.  11/11 Minionhood– A champion of the Yes And, she is more likely to voice her opinion of an existing plan than come up with her own. She is definitely a better minion than the Traveler’s other ONE.  10/11 Gooey Center– Physically well-defended, she has the luxury of wearing her heart on her sleeve. 6/11 Laser Pointer Focus– It might seem like she’s easily distracted, but that’s actually because her surface level attention is secondary. her primary goal is actually Fucking Shit Up, and she’s good at it. 7/11 Furious Devotion– Gets attached and does. not. let. go.  10/11 Hideous Cackling– The end goal of practically everything Jester does is Cackling With The Traveler, and she often succeeds.  10/11 total score: 64/77

Caduceus: Collection of Crap– Dude has a swarm of bugs living in his staff, and his backpack is full of tea.  8/11 Chaos– NOT a fan of stuff that disrupts the proper order of nature, but he is developing a wonderful and unique sense of humor. 5/11 Minionhood– Of all the M9, Caduceus has the strongest adherence to an ironclad and pre-written set of ethics and willingness to follow the path a greater power has laid out for him.  10/11 Gooey Center– Encourages everyone else to talk about their feelings, yet doesn’t talk about his own in the same way. Mysterious. 7/11 Laser Pointer Focus– Has a well-defined goal, but not a well defined path. 11/11 Furious Devotion-- You can’t be On A Quest To Save Your Home (And The World?) if you’re not devoted to your home. However we haven’t seen the fury? Structured devotion is different and not exactly Goblin. 5/11 Hideous Cackling– Cackling is a bit more intense than what he does, but he’s on the right track. 5/11 total score: 51/77

final ranking (out of 77)

38, Beau 👊

43, Caleb 🐱

44, Nott 🏹

50, Fjord 🗡️

51, Caduceus 🐞

52, Molly 🎴

53, Yasha ⚡

64, Jester 🦄

All in all, a pretty Goblin Group, and Nott, the only one who is physically a goblin, is not even in the middle of the pack. Clearly, true Goblin Spirit is something else all together. 

It seem that perhaps the True Goblin Was The Friends We Made Along The Way. also Jester.

[morievna]

Ni-Ti loop curse - Ugetsu’s arc and predictions

I noticed that most of fandom thinks that after chapters 27-28 Ugetsu’s story is finished. It surprised me a little since I have different opinion that in fact he will definitely play role in upcoming final arc and that him getting happy ending is still possible.

Whole Given basically

Spoilers for manga below.

1. Ugetsu compared to rest of characters

Since Ugetsu was introduced I was clearly intrigued by him, but no means I expected him grow to be my favorite character. I was rather surprised that instead of presenting him in a bad-ex trope way he got full-fleshed and nuanced. I like how he is one of mysteries of the story – at first we know that he is responsible for Akihiko views of love as painful thing and we got tidbits of theirs domestic life where they seems to be intimate but we get vibe that there is something wrong. Then we got chapter 17 and we know what went wrong and it is heartbreaking. I think it interesting choice that we simultaneously got both Akihiko and Ugetsu perspective on it and we get why it went that way. Natsuki-sensei not only spent lot of time fleshing out story from his perspective to sympathize with him and clearly puts a lot of effort in showing all emotions on his face. Compared to other supporting characters he got the most of time in manga and we get him to know relatively very well – from little information about childhood, his motivation and so on. Besides, what also distinguish him from them the most is the way he impact main storyline – he is important both to Akihiko’s as well as Mafuyu’s story, while rest orbits primarily around one character.

But what I found truly fascinating is how he is foil and contrast with rest of characters, because he is such extremum when it comes to music and relationships.

Uenoyama – he is called prodigy too; before meeting Mafuyu his life was centered only on music but it didn’t go well for him

Haruki -  totally opposite in almost everything from acting towards others, living space, views on music to relationship with Akihiko

Mafuyu – another prodigy who express feelings via music, but who wants to cultivate bonds with others

Yuki – both are dedicated to music at cost of their wellbeing and relationship

Akihiko – since he and Ugetsu are paralleled a lot with Yuuki-Mafuyu I will use Hiiragi’s quote “together, they filled in each other’s missing pieces” – in terms of character qualities and simple things as providing home and support, whose they respectively needed.

By all this I wanted to show you how his story entwines with rest of characters, so cutting him from main plot would be for me at least weird.

2. Ni-Ti loop and CAC song

To be honest I was worried that we may get negative character arc to contrast him with Mafuyu. But after rereading whole story I have more hope about this. So let’s start what is core of positive/negative character arc

“The Central Problem: This is the damaging belief your character must face to complete their arc. They may believe they’re weak or inferior to others, or they may refuse to trust anyone but themselves. This inner struggle will be confronted at the Climax and their ability to overcome it will determine if they succeed or fail in the conflict of your story.”

https://thenovelsmithy.com/positive-negative-character-arcs/

Applying it to Ugetsu he believes that being isolated from others is only way to be dedicated to music, thus pushing away others and acting inconsiderate to them.

It reminds me also of Ni-Ti loop:

“Instead of a healthy balance of introverted and extroverted functions, the INFJ becomes stuck in their introverted processes, keeping them trapped within their own mind in a seemingly endless loop of thought.

As our introverted iNtuition (Ni) ponders theories, concepts and possibilities, it feeds these ideas to our Ti which seeks facts and logic to back up and solidify these thoughts.  As it obtains this information, it feeds it back to our Ni which creates even more theories and concepts.

Each time this loop goes full circle, the thoughts become more and more radical and outlandish, pushing us further from reality and deeper into our minds.”

http://www.jennifersoldner.com/2016/02/ni-ti-loop.html

So we get Ugetsu thinking about how they chasing each other and neglecting music, then instead of talking to Akihiko about his insecurities he decided to push him away since prior to their meeting he was alone and fine this way. When declaring breakup didn’t work, he fallen further in this way of thinking and tried to discourage Akihiko by sleeping with other men. However, logic doesn’t apply well to love, so he is conflicted about his feelings constantly. So there is cycle in their relationship of pulling and pushing away resulting only in more pain and violence.

But even after Akihiko leaves him after their argument, it got even worse – he got more isolated from rest of world and depressed. His solution didn’t work at all.

During CAC we can observe that he starts to understand this. He seems to be stunned that not only Mafuyu can perform music on his level and be connected to others and Akihiko’s skill in drums got so much better thanks to Haruki’s influence.

Theoretically this could be end with him failing to change but…

CAC song is about ending and begging. It conveys that positive change is possible. I like how Mafuyu is not only referencing his experience about trauma and healing, but want to help others persons in his life and reassure them that everything will be alright. And there is this frame:

Of course it has double meaning – Mafuyu want to resonate feelings via music like Ugetsu as well as to resonate meaning of song to him.

So concluding – with the both facts that Ugetsu does no longer believe in his previous standpoint and we have positive message of the song, we can discard option that his story ends here. But what comes next?

3. 3-act structure and what it means for the story

Quoting Wikipedia:

“The three-act structure is a model used in narrative fiction that divides a story into three parts, often called the Setup, the Confrontation and the Resolution.”

For Given as whole it would look like that (image from wikipedia, little changed by me):

3-act structure is one of most common used in stories. I think it can be applied to Given too, because of the way stakes are gradually rising and evolution of Mafuyu’s songs (first one about his trauma and past love, second about positive change and final will be most likely about his feelings for Uenoyama – well technically second one mentions it too, but I think it will be explored more). For now I rather want to use that structure as tool to predict what can happen. Let’s look again at what Wikipedia says about final act:

“The third act features the resolution of the story and its subplots. The climax is the scene or sequence in which the main tensions of the story are brought to their most intense point and the dramatic question answered, leaving the protagonist and other characters with a new sense of who they really are.”

How to grow more tension?

For me the most interesting it would be instead of *insert some cliché drama* getting all main four character confronted with someone who foils all of them on both music and personal level. It would cause to challenge their perspectives, disrupt the routine and reevaluate their standpoints. In the end it would be resulting in character grow for all of them.

In less vague terms my theory is that Ugetsu will perform together with Given on debut in festival. To break Ni-Ti loop the best is interacting with people and outside world. To step out of comfort zone and leave basement.

I envision this scenario roughly like that:

Since it is very likely that Mafuyu will write new song (probably together with Uenoyama)

Then he would consult it with Ugetsu

Mafuyu would be concerned about the other wellbeing hence trying to help him the same way it worked for him in begging of the story 

Tensions during rehearsals – mainly due to Ugetsu being critical of their skills at music

After some time Ugetsu will start open towards rest of group and genuine wanting to help them performing at their the best – even if it would took some sacrifice from him (like resignation from violin competition or concert)

Thus resulting in final reconciliation with Akihiko (not necessary in romantic sense, more like healing each other wounds they caused before)

Climax at debut

Of course, maybe I went too far with this theory, but it would wrap up things nicely in my opinion. This was written emphasizing Ugetsu’s story, maybe I will expand it in relation to rest characters another time.

Finally I want to point out certain issues that would tie into this from recent chapter:

1.    Mafuyu’s hesitation about debut - his fear of taking music seriously is rooted in Yuuki’s death and Ugetsu’s story as well. As chapter 18 showed he want to learn from their mistakes and I think he is afraid of losing himself too much in music and breaking up with Uenoyama in result. In order to move forward he has to make peace with music in some sense like discussing his insecurities with certain some who embodies music basically XD

2.    Akihiko pursuing both violin and drums – these two instruments are so loaded with double meaning (drums – fun, escaping pain and violin – passion and lost dreams). But regardless if Akihiko has to choose one of them or not – pursing violin corresponds to confronting why he given up on violinist career earlier and by this confronting Ugetsu

Bonus:

Doesn’t sound it like foreshadowing?

So this is all for today. I don’t remember writing this much since my thesis – I hope it is coherent and that there is not that many errors XD If there is something unclear – feel free to ask.