#yes i changed Mary's house because I needed all four houses to be represented

[propheciesanddreams]

A Safe Place to be Kids

Thanks to this convo started by @lily-flowersx I started to think about how Hogwarts needed a playground, a place for kids to just be kids and to feel safe. The following is my (unedited as always) story on how the Marauders and co. would react. I wrote this in an hour so please be nice lol. 

There were heavy footsteps on the stairs and landing before the door to the boy’s dorm crashed open. “Lads! Oh, hi Marlene. Lads!” Sirius spoke rapidly, barely breathing. James sat up urgently, jumping off his bed to go meet him as Sirius continued. “Did you know there’s a playground on the grounds?”

“Playground?” Peter looked up from the chess board where he was playing with Marlene. “As in?”

“Slides and swings and monkey bars. Keep up Wormy!” Sirius cut in.

“Be nice, Padfoot.” Remus chastised without looking up from his book. It was getting to a good part.

“Moony!” Sirius exaggerated his name and jumped on the bed next to him. “Did you know about the playground, Moony?”

“I did. What of it?” Of course he’d known. Between his habit of wandering the castle and now his prefect duties, he’d found the playground a few times. It was old. The magic on it was wearing out and could use some repairing but none of the professors seemed to feel it was a priority. Who was he to push the subject? The younger students took to playing gobstones and jump rope in the courtyards or else took to the skies at the quidditch field.

“You knew?” James interjected. “You didn’t tell us!”

“Wha—“ Remus fully set his book down as James jumped onto the bed on his other side. “Get off, Prongs!”

“No! You knew there was a playground and didn’t think it needed to be… plotted.” He glanced over briefly at Marlene who narrowed her eyes for a moment.

“Oh for Merlin’s sake if you’re talking about that map you all are always huddled over, we all know about it.” She rolled her eyes.

There was a crash as James fell off the bed at the same time as Peter jerked his knee and knocked over the chess board.

“Map? What map?” Peter squeaked. Marlene just rolled her eyes again as she stood.

“You’re right I was mistaken.” She turned to Sirius then. “I’m very interested in this playground though, if I go get the girls will you show us?” Sirius wrinkled his nose.

“Do I have to?”

“Do you want them to find out exactly why you call Remus, Professor?” She smirked.

There was a second crash. This time as Sirius was pushed from the bed by Remus at the same time as Peter, who had been picking up the chess pieces, knocked into the chess board again.

“Merlin! Do you know all our secrets?” Sirius yelled from his spot on the floor.

“Still working out the whole nicknames thing but I think I’m getting quite close. You see in Lancashire there’s a spectre of a large black dog and I—“

“I’ll show you all the playground! Let’s go now!” Sirius’ eyes were wide as saucers. Marlene gave a satisfied smile.

“Great, I'll get the girls and meet you in the common room.” With a flip of her blonde hair she left the boys dorm which was for once, completely silent.

“So…” James broke through the silence after a minute. “Why do you call Remus, Professor?”

“That’s enough, let’s go!” Remus announced. He got up from the bed and grabbed hold of Sirius’ wrist in order to drag him out of the dorm, the other two following closely behind.

About a half hour later found them all out on the grounds in a spot tucked away between the Western courtyard and Greenhouse Seven (both of which were rarely ever used).

“I want to go down the slide!” Peter exclaimed, eyes wide, staring at the metal before them.

“No!” Remus grabbed him and pulled him back before the boy started up the rickety ladder.

“Aww Moony you’re no fun, why not?” He pouted.

“Yeah, why not, Moony?” Sirius pouted beside him.

“Because,” Lily cut in, “the magic has worn off on a lot of this and it could collapse the minute you step on it.”

“Oh! What’s that?” James exclaimed, not listening and racing off to the merry-go-round.

“James!” Lily attempted to call him back but it was too late. He and Peter had jumped on the metal playground equipment and gotten one good rotation before the entire thing creaked and split on its axis.

“What do you think, Mary?” Lily turned to her girlfriend instead shaking her head and the boys who were now rolling in the grass laughing.

“They’re idiots.” Mary deadpanned.

“Well yes,” Lily smiled. “I meant charms wise. I’m thinking most of these just need updated preservation charms? Maybe something that reverses the rust damage?”

“I can definitely think of a few. Marlene, Remus, could you help us?” Mary asked and then explained the spells that she had in mind. They were quite simple ones, at least for all of them. James and Peter sprint over a few moments later, eager to help now that they’ve gotten some rambunctious energy out of their systems. With Sirius, the three begin working through what transfiguration needs the playground has.

“I wish Dorcas were here.” Marlene laments a few minutes later as she and Remus are repairing a set of climbing bars for doing gymnastics on.

“Took you long enough to miss them.” Remus teased.

“No, not that you idiot. They’re just so good at herbology and would know if we need to kill this plant or transplant it.” She pointed to a rather nasty looking vine that had grown up the side of a spring rider shaped like a hippogriff.

“That… is a good question.” He looked warily at the plant. “Why don’t you go get them? We can manage with these charms until you get back.”

“Thanks! I’ll be back in no time!” She yelled running off. “Wish I had grabbed my broom.” He heard her complain to James as she ran past him. He yelled something back about running being good for quidditch form but Remus didn’t pay any attention to the details of what was being said. He was getting rather tired. The moon had been a few days ago and he still hadn’t recovered his energy fully from it.

“Come sit, Moons.” Sirius had appeared beside him, holding him up by his arm. He smiled down at his boyfriend and ducked a quick kiss to his cheek. “Just fixed up the swings, it’s perfect timing.”

They sat on the swings and watched the others work. It was coming together well. Remus could see young first and second years, even some older students, coming down here on the weekends or during breaks on nice days.

“This is nice.” For a minute, Remus thought it had been him who had spoken. He glanced over to Sirius who was kicking his feet at the dirt beneath his own swing.

“It is.” Remus agreed.

“Do you think students will come to play here?” He asked. He seemed so small, so unsure. Remus hated when he got like this, it meant he was remembering something unpleasant about his house. Suddenly, his excitement about stumbling upon this place took on a different meaning.

“Where did you just go?” Remus inquired, cautiously.

“We weren’t allowed on playgrounds.” Sirius stated straight ahead as he spoke, looking out past the greenhouses. “Undignified for the heir to dirty his trousers with common kids, especially muggles. I always saw them playing though, across the street. Sometimes I would sneak out at night and come swing. It felt safe.” Remus nodded because all he could do when Sirius reminisced like this was listen. He had his own unkind words about Walburga and Orion that balled up like bile in his throat but he never voiced them. This was a time for Sirius to speak, not him. “I want the younger students to feel safe.” Sirius added after a long pause.

“I think they will, Pads.” Remus smiled warmly at him. He reached his hand over and Sirius, smiling back, linked his fingers through Remus’. They stayed like that mostly in silence as more of their friends came over and sat too as they finished their work. Their conversations stayed light, Remus floated in and out of them as he began to regain his energy. The sun set around them just as Dorcas and Pandora finished with the plants that had claimed various pieces of metal. With the work fully done, none of them felt like leaving yet. They cast balls of light and sent them up into the air to illuminate the space, Remus cast flames in his palm, a spell he rather enjoyed though the other light was enough for them all to see.

“Do you think our children will play here one day?” James asked nonchalantly. He was laying on his back staring up at the sky and tossing Regulus’ snitch up in the air to catch it.

“Are you trying to tell us something, James?” Marlene teased.

“Cas, can you hit your girlfriend for me?” Regulus propped up on his elbows and glared over at Marlene. Dorcas rolled over protectively in front of Marlene.

“No one’s pregnant!” James shrieked. “At least … I don’t think anyone is.” There was a spattering of no’s and laughter from the various couples in their circle. One “I am” from Barty followed by a swift “Oi! Ow! I’m sorry.” when Evan pushed him away.

“I’m just wondering…” James continued. “Years from now, when we do have kids and they come to Hogwarts… do you think they’ll find this space and know their parents rebuilt it?”

“We should leave our mark!” Sirius jumped up excitedly.

“What like piss on it?” Barty asked. There was a collective groan.

“That’s never what anyone means!” Evan rolled his eyes.

“I don’t know, it’s what a dog might do.” Marlene smirked. That woman was dangerous with the secrets she knew.

“Maybe we can carve our names somewhere?” Remus suggested before the theories of his friends' animal forms could be brought back up. There was a resounding agreement in the group. With their names tucked within their work they all walked back to the castle, thoughts of their theoretical future children forgotten as they began to theorize about what was for supper.

~~~~

Teddy delighted in the way the wind felt in his hair as he slid down the tall slide. It wasn’t like the one at the beach, somehow the muggle one was so much taller, but this one had a magic to it that made you feel like you were about to fly right off and then you didn't.

“Teddy!” One of his friends called his name, ushering him over. He and another Hufflepuff boy were staring up at a tree growing by the side of the merry-go-round.

“What is it?” He asked.

“What’s your dad’s name again?”

“Which one?” Teddy rolled his eyes. Why were people always forgetting he had two.

“The star one.”

“Sirius. Why?” His friend’s eyes had gone wide and he pointed up.

On the tree was a small plaque several feet above the ground. Etched on it read:

We rebuild this playground for all of Hogwarts children who just need a place to feel safe and be a kid:

Remus (G), Peter (G), Sirius (G), James (G), Marlene (G), Mary (H), Lily (G), Dorcas (S), Pandora [R], Regulus (S), Evan (S), and Barty (S)

[drconstellation]

Uriel's Star Ring

Thank you @fuckyeahgoodomens for sharing the image

Getting the high-res image of Uriel and their ring today was an unexpected gift! It's not that I haven't done any work on them before now - I have, you just haven't seen it yet, because I needed a bit of a "key" to unlock it and the ring was always a major element of that. Because they are one of the archangels they do have a role and purpose, it just hasn't been made all that clear yet, and I don't think we've seen the best of them yet, either.

Uriel's name means "the light of God" and they are included as part of the main four archangels as they are considered needed to balance out the fourth compass point, the North. Their colour is yellow, and they carry a scroll signifying wisdom.

Up until now that was how I was considering Uriel, as playing a balancing role to hold Michael back. But now it looks like Uriel might have a bigger role in the future. I hope so.

Anyway, here's the ring:

It's a star! - a Marian Star, which is one of the symbols of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Its a modified star of David, used to highlight Mary's role in as a helper in bringing humans towards salvation - that is, the restitution of the original harmony between God and humanity brought about by incarnation and redemption (Second Coming, any one?)

Stars are symbolic of faith, hope and inspiration (and yes, I am including some Tarot symbolism here.) They are a guiding light in the dark just before the dawn, they aid the navigators to cross the seas and one guided the Wise Men to Bethlehem. Without that starlight giving us a sense of purpose it can be hard to continue on in challenging times.

In the Tarot, there is a dark side the The Star: Ideals and expectations can be too high, abandonment, arrogance, haughtiness, theft, loss. The GO Uriel does tend to maintain a rather cold, distant and haughty demeanor.

The card for The Star in the classic Rider-Waite deck, Number 17, is perhaps an interesting one to include for discussion here.

In the back right of the card is the Tree of Life, the companion to the Tree of Knowledge, from where the apple was taken. Eating from this tree is said to give you immortality, and this is what Aziraphale as Guardian of the Eastern Gate was really supposed to be protecting humans from getting back into the Garden to. The bird sitting on it is an ibis, a bird connected with immortality in Egypt. The nudity of the maiden represent truth unveiled, and she is young to represent a new start and renewal, because the card before this one is the Tower.

You've already seen the Tower card in S2 - it was in the Job minisode, when lightning struck Job's house to start the destruction. The Tower is card that signifies great change, often in a sudden and catastrophic way, and the breaking down of the structures that once supported and protected us, so we can move on. (Sound familiar?) So, I'm wondering, perhaps Uriel will have some surprise role in helping to reshape the order of things in S3?

There are twenty cards in the Major Arcana of the Tarot and they can be looked as a spiritual journey of sorts, starting with The Fool then working through to the World. Now I've seen Uriel's star ring, and knowing how many other Tarot connections there are, perhaps we need to look at that as well - I know there are other Tarot experts out there who are probably better readers than me!

[mcustorm]

In Defense of a Black Cyclops

In case my username didn’t make it clear, the single most anticipated visual project for me is the MCU’s interpretation of the X-Men, which hasn’t even been announced yet [officially]. And ladies and gents, I have found your Cyclops:

Good ol’ Alfred Enoch, who we all know from Harry Potter and How to Get Away With Murder. If you’re not familiar with HTGAWM, know that his character goes from the de facto leader of the ragtag (murderers) and most cherished protege of Viola Davis’ Professor X to taking more of a grimdark turn after his girlfriend’s death. Sound at least somewhat familiar?

Enoch also embodies the physicality of the character well, seeing as to how he’s “slim”, 6′4(!!), black, and notoriously lanky. Wait, one of these isn’t like the others.

In general I hate fancasting. Everyone generally picks from the same pool of about 30 actors (Peeps, neither Taron nor Daniel is a good Wolverine choice. Argue with your mother!), and most all of it is based on physicality, except when it absolutely should be (like say, choosing a ~5′10 dark-skinned black woman for Storm).

And I think there’s some malarkey afoot. I think there needs to be some serious consideration on part of fancasters and actual casting agents alike to rethink race when it comes to the [white] X-Men, especially since they’re the X-Men of all teams. So I’ll make the case for a black Cyclops: 

1. There is no quota on Black X-Men: There’s a bug in your ear that’s been whispering lies to you for years, it says something to the effect of “We need a black person on the team for diversity. How bout Storm?” And you’ve gotten complacent. Storm does not have to be the only black person on your X-Men roster.

2. The X-Men represent diversity: Iceman is gay, Cyclops and Prof. X are disabled (sorta), there are plenty of women, oh and everybody except Storm is white. Of the A-List X-Men, there is only *one* POC character. I’d argue that an MCU X-Men needs to champion diversity like never before.

3. The X-Men represent minority struggle while being mostly white: There’s a cognitive dissonance in the metaphor that has always been there, and for the most part, nobody cares. To appeal to the white readers of the 60′s, the X-Men were all initially white. That way, the message of the mutants could be related to the audience with a familiar face. We don’t need to approach the problem that way in 202?

4. Just because that’s the way it’s always been, doesn’t mean that’s the way it should be: The first line of defense. Sorry, that will never be a good justification for literally any idea. It’s time for some more critical thinking.

5. We don’t all want to be Bishop: So say you’re white and you have a kid who for his birthday having a costume party. You’ve bought some X-Men costumes and you want each kid to pick one. 9 white kids and one black kid show up to your house. As the kids deliberate who gets what costume, be it Cyke or Wolvie or whatever, you yell at everybody to “STOP!”, point to the one black kid and tell him “You’re gonna be Bishop. That’s it, end of story!” 

We don’t all want to be Bishop. The black child could have the best Cyclops interpretation within him, but you’ll never know if you don’t let him try. And that’s no different from the Black actors of Hollywood. There’s no reason why all of the black talent should *have* to compete for the role of Bishop or Storm, which I’ve discussed, while Joe Schmo can walk up and audition for literally anybody he wants.          

Jharrel Jerome is 23 and has an Emmy to his name. He needs to be in the MCU in some capacity, period. Stephan James is another. How bout Damson Idris. Ashton Sanders. But no, no, let’s fancast Dacre Montgomery or Ansel or Joe Keery again as [Human Torch, Wolverine, Iceman, Angel, I’ve literally seen it all.]

6. Nobody wants to see the B-team if it comes down to it. The next line of defense from your racebending naysayers after “That’s the way it’s always been!” is “Well, what about Psylocke, Bishop, Forge and Jubilee?” who are otherwise known as B-tier X-Men. The problem is, we’ve got limited time and limited spots.

So since the X-Men is all about wonky metaphors that make half sense, let me give you another: Let’s say somebody approaches you and says “Hey buddy, I got two free concert tickets for ya! You can either see Michael Jackson Sings the Blues, or you can go see Justin Timberlake. Free of charge!”

Now, are you used to MJ singing the blues? No! Do you have a problem with going to see Justin Timberlake? No, he’s fine on a Wednesday! He had that one little diddy we liked that one time. We’d love to see him eventually! But are you gonna say, “fuck that, I’m going to see MJ Sings the Blues” regardless? Hell yes, because that’s still Michael Jackson. He’s gonna give the same amazing performance he always does, it’s just gonna be the blues. And speaking of blues...

7. Black is not Blue, Brown is not Blue: Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard this one: “I don’t care if you’re black, white, purple, or green, I’m going to treat you all the same!” I will not say all have this intention, but some fancasters have noticed that the racial diversity is kinda low within the A-List X-Men, so they oh-so-generously give the following roles to a black or brown person: Iceman, Nightcrawler, Beast. 

Notice the pattern? It’s a microaggression, and it’s bullshit. What these fancasters are implicitly telling you is that, yes the actors will be black or brown, but when the action starts we can ignore that. They’ll be blue by then. In other words, you in fact do care if they’re purple or green. Nobody will cry foul if Dev Patel gets to play Nightcrawler (because that’s a common one I see), but should Anna Diop be Starfire or Michael B. Jordan be Human Torch, I bet there’d be backlash. Oh wait. If that’s you, please stop acting like you actually value diversity. You don’t want to see black or brown skin, period. Unless of course, it’s Storm (refer to point #1).

But wait, there’s more! When brown characters get whitewashed in these movies, it’s crickets! So eventually it’s revealed implicitly that proclaimers of point #4 only care about it one way.

8. Professor X should not be black if you’re not willing to change anyone else: The next line of defense is that some people say the professor should be black, if anybody HAS to be racebent. Something something MLK Jr., Civil Rights or some shit. Number one, I’m not reducing Professor X to being a magical negro for 9 white people (and Storm!) who for all intents and purposes get to have all the action. Number 2, the Professor X/MLK/Magneto/Malcolm X comparison is an oversimplifying disservice to ALL FOUR of those people. I hate that line whenever I see it, please watch a documentary my friends. 

9. The Candidates for Racebending: For me, the A-List X-Men are Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Angel, Beast, Wolverine, Storm, Gambit, Rogue, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Kitty Pryde. Now, who should be exempt from the racebending? Storm, she’s our designated minority. Gambit, he’s Cajun and they’re white (generally speaking, that’s a fun bit of research). Wolverine, Colossus, and Nightcrawler, because their nationality/ethnicity was the whole point of the Giant-Size premise in the first place. Angel, because his character embodies a privileged white male. Beast and Iceman, I don’t care one way or another (Point #7).

That leaves Cyclops, Rogue, Jean Grey, and Kitty Pryde. Now Jean Grey is a redhead, and we all know that every time a redhead is racebent people sharpen their pitchforks (Mary Jane, Wally West, Iris West), so I will cede the ground on Jean if only so that my ginger friends can get their rep. Kitty Pryde is Jewish, but Jews of color exist. Rogue is from the South. And Cyclops is, well, just Cyclops. That makes those three characters good options for more diversity. But allow me to make the case for Cyclops, specifically.

10. It’s not just diversity for diversity’s sake: If you had to pick who the main character of the X-Men is supposed to be, most would say Cyclops. And so in a series that highlights racial discrimination in society, it makes sense that our main character be black. While changing Cyclops’ skin color should not change who he is as a character, it *should* recontextualize it. Now, as an eventual increasingly radical leader of the X-Men, Cyclops would evoke real life figures such as Colin Kaepernick or, shall I say, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Not that most X-Men fans and writers truly think about what it means to be black anyways. Storm’s minority status is almost always put through the lens of her being a mutant and not her being a black woman. In other words, you can’t argue that making a character black will fundamentally change his or her character when you haven’t even analyzed the racial context of the black character(s) you already have. Another concept that the MCU X-Men should tackle: intersectionality.

11. Representation matters: I have to say it: Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther hit different. And now he is tragically gone. At the end of the day, the MCU moving forward is down its most prominent black male superhero. Which has implications beyond just the movies themselves.

The women are in good hands. Shuri, Okoye, and Nakia are badasses in Wakanda, Valkyrie is ruling Asgard, Storm is almost assuredly on the way, RiRi Williams has already been cast, and Monica Rambeau is here and she’s not even at her most glorious yet. That doesn’t even include variable Δ, or the number of characters who can and will be racebent. And I’ll note again that to me, Gamora doesn’t count, because she’s green (#7 really pisses me off because it’s so blatant. I hate it). Of course from a behind the camera perspective we love black women getting work.

The men are a completely different story. Imma just go out and say it, I can’t stand Falcon and War Machine [in the MCU] because they’re not characters, they’re just two of a slew of MCU minority sidekicks who have essentially been at the beck and call of Captain America and Iron Man, respectively. You cannot tell Falcon’s story without mentioning Cap. The reverse is not true. There’s a whole essay that could be and have been written on “Minorities in the MCU, pre-Black Panther”. Remember, there’s a reason BP made so much noise in the first place.

So excluding those two we have, let’s see, M’Baku, Blade, and Fury who aren’t exactly the most superheroic superheroes, Eli Bradley is proooobably coming, I doubt Miles Morales is coming (because he’s just Peter Parker in the MCU), Luke Cage(?) Bishop(??), Sunspot(???), Blue Marvel(????). Not only are they not A-List, I would not put money on any of them being in the MCU any time soon.

Cyclops is thee Captain America of the X-Men. He’s the frontman. He’s the poster boy. He’s the “boy scout”, which in other words means he’s the hero, if there has to be one. It would mean a lot right now, and specifically *right now*, if he were to be black. The MCU needs it. It NEEDS it.

12. The X-Men is the Summers Story: I’ll even make the case that if just one character needs to racebent, then it should be Cyclops, because that of course implies that other related characters need to be black because half of the X-Men universe is in fact a part of the Summers family. 

So now Cable is black. Corsair is black. Havok is black. And one of the most central stories in the X-Men mythos, the Summers family drama, is now a black family drama set in space or the future or where the fuck ever. The concept is boundary pushing. When white families have drama in the media, it gets to be Game of Thrones or Star Wars, while when black families have drama in the media, it has to be black people arguing in a kitchen or living room about their various earthly traumas (I’m @’ing you, Mr. Perry). I mean, that’s all fine and good often times, but I want my black family drama in space, dammit.

And again, this is the X-Men, the series that’s all about *minorities* and their struggle, so again, why not?

Oh, and I’ll even throw out a Havok fancast for you: How bout Jharrel Jerome?

[elaine4queen]

Back on the testosterone and the migraines fade away. I’m furious that I’m being denied a treatment that works for me. All medicines work on a bell curve - yes, most people benefit from a certain dose, but there will be others who can only get an effect from a massive dose and some who need a small dose of any given substance.

Hugh puts it this way

This is a great example of a systemic antipattern called “description becomes prescription”, whereby something that describes (eg average testosterone levels in a population) becomes the benchmark to which all should subscribe. This anti pattern is everywhere, including religion (“real” Christians do X, so you can’t be one unless you do X). It’s a false syllogism.

I only wish I could be so articulate. Still, I have to bide my time for now and hope that I can get my needs met legitimately, which is all that I ask for. 

Meanwhile I’m focusing on getting things done for my trip to Dublin. The dog needs her own bag packed, and then I have to make my flat clean and welcoming for Mari who is taking over from Julie but here. This involves doing lots of laundry and cleaning as well as my own personal admin. The flow of preparations is interrupted by my MP’s office emailing me to say that the Housing Association haven’t got back to him, and did I have a complaints reference number so he could chase it up and take it to the Housing Ombudsman. 

On the gov.uk page about going to the ombudsman I read that 

The regulator cannot help to resolve individual tenant complaints but can consider whether individual complaints are evidence of systematic failings by the landlord

So I focus on what I’d like them to do better. I don’t know what current regulations are regarding what they call Decent Homes, and although I’m sure mine has been pushed into not being one by the neglect of the landlord, I decide that my focus will be on the way in which I’ve had to talk to maybe 30 plus different people on the phone, or via email, and how stressful this has been. I’ve been told point blank that Southern Housing ‘don’t do’ single point of contact, but it seems to me that under the 2010 Equalities Act disabled people have a right to be levelled up to equality of access to repairs, lets say, and that having to waste my one good usable hour a day on phoning or emailing them for four months represents discrimination. Let’s see if that flies. The daughter of the guy downstairs is talking about compensation, but although compensation would not be unwelcome I’d like to see a change in policy, so that I feel more secure in my home in terms of access to repairs. The big pay off would be if I could get the policy changed for everyone.

I’m not in a position to conduct political campaigns, but having sunk several months of mental labour into this already it would be good to have an outcome I can be proud of. 

There are too many things going on right now. I’m struggling to prioritise, but with my trip almost imminent, I’m focusing on that today. I’ve set aside time this week because next week will pass quickly, and I have an ENT appointment right in the middle of it which will trash a day at least. I’ve had this procedure before -where they pass a camera up your nose and down your throat. I actually don’t expect anything to come of it, but it’s part of the medical process. I can’t help but feel trapped. Between the administration of my bodily failures and a precarious living situation the only sense of freedom I have right now is here on the page, and this trip to see Terri.

[lacrimaomnis]

BRF Reading, 21/7/2021 (Part 2 of 3)

This is the second of three spreads.

Yesterday, after I posted my first spread, I came across a post saying that there is no birth certificate for a Lili Diana, but there is a birth certificate for a Diana Mary Mountbatten-Windsor issued in Los Angeles. Now, this significantly changes the direction of my readings, because if the baby is indeed named Diana Mary (which is proved by the birth certificate), then, of course, there is no Lili Diana in the first place because she was not named as such. As the result of that development (I am aware it is well known by this point in Tumblr, but for me, this is absolutely new since I first read it in a passing and had just gotten the full gist of it last night when I came across it again), I decided to redraw the two spreads I have had previously drawn, this time with two different questions.

I also decided to do the Celtic Cross spread since I wanted to get clarity on both the internal and external motivation of these two.

As written, this is merely a speculation and therefore must be taken with a grain of salt. This speculation is not true until proven otherwise.

My question has changed into if Lili and Diana Mary is one and the same, why did Meghan and Harry decide to publicise her name as Lili(bet) Diana?

Cards drawn: Three of Wands, Seven of Swords, Ace of Cups, Two of Swords, Justice, Four of Wands, Five of Pentacles, Three of Cups, Three of Pentacles, The Emperor

Remarks/Comments: Well, well, well. Would you look at that? We have 3 Three cards (sorry, did that throw you off guard?), which prompted me to look into the numerology of the cards because the Threes seem to be particularly important.

Summary: They decided to publicise the baby as Lilibet Diana in part to get their business opportunities ongoing, and in part, as an act of revenge against BRF for the perceived slight they had received from the royal family. This is just one sad reading.

First part: Three of Wands, Seven of Swords, Ace of Cups, Two of Swords, Four of Wands, Justice

First card: Three of Wands. This is the first card of the cross part, and this card indicates the "present situation". As the card of enterprise, cooperation, and future financial success, this card told me Meghan and Harry decided to publicise her name as Lilibet Diana in order to have future financial success.

This is in line with all the readings I have done so far or the circumstances as they are known to the public: Meghan and Harry are in debt, they have purchased domains of Lilibet Diana, they already have plans to merchandise her. This card is very important because this card sets the entire tone of the reading. When they decided to publicise her name as Lilibet Diana, at that particular time (the present), they thought that she would be able to get them those business partnerships and cooperations.

This card also told me that instead of being an 'idea pops in my head and let's do it immediately' plan, Meghan and Harry's decision to publicise this baby as Lilibet Diana is well-thought-of and was planned to be their long-term plan insurance. In my deck, this card is illustrated as a stag looking away into the distance, a representation of visualising a future and thinking of long-term plans.

Second card: Seven of Swords. The card of deception and hidden plans, this is the "problem" card. Harry and Meghan thought they could keep "Diana Mary" sealed from the public's knowledge forever, and that they can profit off the "Lilibet Diana". Or, this could also be a plan from their part: they would first publicise her as "Lilibet Diana", and then when people are coming at them, they could show off the birth certificate of the baby being "Diana Mary" and then go on into the victim narratives we were all too familiar with. The problem is, they will eventually be figured out, sooner or later. They might get away for some time, but they will be figured out. And they perhaps did not think of that.

Third card: Ace of Cups. This is the "past" card, the motivations leading up to the event. This card speaks about new opportunities and beginnings, and this card affirmed to me that Meghan and Harry thought that publicising this baby as "Lilibet Diana" would give them new opportunities and a new beginning to get those moneybags back into their pockets.

Fourth card: Two of Swords. This is the card of difficult decisions, and as the card of the near future, this may imply that soon, a difficult decision must be made. This could also be interpreted that instead of getting them those business opportunities and beginnings, the decision to publicise the baby as "Lilibet Diana" will force them or the royal family to make a difficult decision regarding the baby.

Fifth card: Justice. The card of law, karma, fairness, honesty, balance, and reason. This card represents the effects of one's actions and the consequences of their decisions. Looking at the position of this card, this card is in the "conscious" position -- to put it simply, this is the "I want to do this to get something" card.

This card tells me that the reason why Meghan and Harry took this decision was to "get back" at the royal family for "cutting them off". This is the "justice" they think they deserve -- after all, they are the victim and the royal family is a "hostile" institution where they were constantly denied of what they "need". Is it the "justice" they "deserve"? That is up to your interpretation, but honestly? I don't think they deserve this "justice".

Sixth card: Four of Wands. In three separate readings done on different days, this card likes to show itself, all in readings related to Harry and Meghan in any sort. The position of this card in the spread speaks about the "unconscious" part of oneself. This card speaks about the "why I want to do this" card.

Four of Wands, is again, a card closely associated with the elements of home and family. A card of celebration and happiness. This tells me that by deciding to publicise "Lilibet Diana", Meghan and Harry had hoped that they will get their "justice" over the royal family and that they perhaps wanted their way back in so the royal family can be "whole" again. They had hoped that the public will celebrate this baby's birthday and had hoped that the public's celebration will drive home to the royal family that they are not "whole", that Meghan and Harry are "needed", because look at the public's celebration! ...which is little to none. Rather than celebration, all they get was negative PRs and people being fed up with them.

Second part: Five of Pentacles, Three of Cups, Three of Pentacles, The Emperor

First card: Five of Pentacles. This card is about financial hardship, loss, and poverty. As the first card of the staff section, the section that rules the outside situation of the subject, this card once again affirms to me that yes, Meghan and Harry are in a difficult situation, money-wise, that they decided to take this step. They really think that parading the baby around as 'Lilibet Diana' would get them the money.

Second card: Three of Cups. This is the card of celebration, weddings, friendship, and parties. If we look at the first card, the Five of Pentacles, this card seems to tell me that Meghan and Harry were in a difficult financial position because they partied way too hard. They were not careful with their money. They perhaps had said yes to one too many opportunities to party; or to splurge on money to celebrate something, whatever the occasion is. A friend's birthday? A friend had a child? Someone bought a new house and invited them all over to a party? You name it, they spent money on it.

Third card: Three of Pentacles. I have 3 Three out of the four possible Threes, the only missing Three is the Three of Swords. What are they trying to say?

I looked up a little bit (I am not at by any means versed in numerology) -- threes are usually about imagination, about someone with great creative energy but little to no direction. Threes tend to speak about frivolity, lack of discipline, naivety, and egoism -- things we all have seen from Meghan and Harry.

Three of Pentacles speaks about future building, diligence, hard work, and teamwork. As the "hopes and fears" card of the spread, this tells me that by deciding to parade the baby as "Lilibet Diana", Meghan and Harry had hoped their decision would contribute to their "future building". Pentacles are all about anything material and wealth, so this could well mean that the "future building" they wanted was synonymous with "racking in the cash".

Fourth card: The Emperor. This is the card of authority or a father. He is the patriarch, the card that urges one to choose the mind over the heart, to make decisions based on available facts rather than feelings.

In this spread, the card that can be read as The Emperor's pair is the Two of Swords -- implying that the difficult decision must be made by using a fact-based approach with little to no room for sentimentality or feelings. This card comes across to me as BRF as the institution, and that because of Meghan and Harry's decision to publicise the name of the baby as "Lilibet Diana", BRF has to make a difficult decision: for me, that manifested in the palace's statement where the palace will not tolerate any mistruths spoken by Meghan and Harry -- for years, the royal family's motto is to "never explain, never complain", and for the first time in their long existence, they are now forced to speak up.

Conclusion: They really think of this baby, whoever she is, as a means to cash in the moneybags and as a weapon to get their "revenge" over BRF and to get their "justice". This is just sick. How could someone decided to have a baby (surrogate or not, it matters not) just so they can use the baby as a weapon to get back against a perceived slight? As a way to milk money? I am sick to my stomach just thinking about it.

[imgoingtocrash]

Made of Iron, Born of Fire: The Fanmix 

by @imgoingtocrash

Listen on Spotify and 8tracks

Read the series on Ao3

AKA: A labor of love for @savvysass’s birthday!!!!

What can I say that hasn’t already been said because we’re both incredibly sappy people in our Author’s Notes? Writing this series with you has brought me so much joy in the last two years, and I never could have hit over 100k words without you. Here’s to whatever we write next in the series...and all of the WIPs we’re working on right now...and only god knows what’s next for us personally and professionally...and most importantly, to you on your Birthday. Thank you for being such a good friend, in both fandom and outside of it. I’m so, so thankful to know you and love you. 🥰

Director’s Cut Below, because we all know I love talking about this series, and yes, that does extend to why I picked these songs. (And also maybe because these song choices only make sense in my brain and hopefully Savannah’s?? Who knows! Feel free to ask questions if you want but let’s be honest this series and fanmix are most importantly for us, because we love the series so dang much.)

My Wildest Dreams by Ron Pope

I spoke in riddles and in rhymes, but my time with you has taught me to simplify, you’re not quite what I pictured you would be, you’re better than my wildest dreams.

We’ve talked about this one before, and I’LL TALK ABOUT IT AGAIN!!!! Ron Pope is so good imo, and this song wowowow the father-child feels, but especially with Tony and newborn Peter a la A Foreign Feeling and A First Time For Everything.

Big & Scared by Raleigh Ritchie

I want to be better for you, let me do that now, you’re my favorite human, so you should be prepared, I’ll help you get through it, when you’re big and scared

We’ve mentioned Tony’s thoughts about legacy multiple times by now, and I think this song really represents Tony looking forward to the person Peter could be become and that “breaking the cycle” mentality of supporting Peter even when he’s not a perfect father.

Legacy of Sadness by Ron Pope

irrational as it may seem I guess I’m sorry, even though I know that none of it’s my fault, it is easier for me to count my blessings, than to cry for every single thing we’ve lost

I have 0 shame putting these two songs by Ron Pope almost back to back because they’re the opening and closing of an album dedicated to his child like...it’s so perfect for Tony and this theme of reflection on who he is and who Peter will become/is becoming and all that entails.

this is me trying by Taylor Swift

They told me all of my cages were mental, so I got wasted like all my potential, and my words shoot to kill when I'm mad, I have a lot of regrets about that

I wrote something...very sad but also soft recently??? and this is for That it’s about pre-CW Pepperony being separated and the road to them trying to come back together including Tony working on himself and I love it!!! It hurts really good!!! This whole song is perfect for it and I can’t wait until people get to read it.

Be Good When I’m Gone by Four Year Strong

I'm sorry I can't stop to listen, but I've got so much to do and I've got some place to be, the house looks like the aftermath of a hurricane, I hope it stays that way

Tony being a busy parent but doing his best to make time for Peter in his life and making that time count has been something super important to illustrate to us, especially the transition from being a CEO to being a superhero and how that changes how Peter sees Tony’s absence over time.

I Won’t Back Down by Johnnyswim, Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors, and Penny and Sparrow

Tony puts on the original version by Tom Petty in Home Is Where The Heart Is, but I think this cover has a very slow, emotional undertone that’s really great too. The interludes, if you didn’t catch it, have all been featured in a fic previously.

Let It Matter by Johnnyswim

So if it matters let it matter, if your heart's breaking let it ache, catch those pieces as they scatter, know your hurt is not in vain

Pepper in Never Tell Me The Odds ALL DAYYYYY. She’s the emotional rock of that fic (and of our Ironfam TBH) and it’s all because she allows herself to feel her feelings and encourages the Stark boys to do so as well.

Simmer - Acoustic by Hayley Williams

And if my child, needed protection, from a fucker like that man, I’d sooner gut him, cause nothing cuts like a mother

Post-Home Is Where The Heart Is...y’all know Pepper’s not that mad about what happened to Obie. Also just Pepper when someone hurts her family?? I always write it as her sort of putting all of her emotion into something she can control and doing it well, so, this song is all about that.

Tightrope by Nia Hendricks

one step after another, keep holding on to each other, don’t look back, move on and let go, that’s how you walk on a tightrope

Pepperony trying to navigate their relationship and the insanity of superhero stuff and also co-parenting. It’s all excellent, I love them so much, I enjoy writing it so much!!!!

Dancing With Your Ghost by Sasha Sloan

Never got the chance, to say a last goodbye, I gotta move on, but it hurts to try, how do I love, how do I love again?

This song is tilted towards romance, but if you’ll remember, we’re a Pro-Tony Survives Endgame AU series, so it’s not about THAT...but well...Infinity War sure will hit something fierce for certain non-romantic relationships in this series, huh?

The Bones by Maren Morris

Call it dumb luck, but baby, you and I, can't even mess it up, although we both try, no, it don't always go the way we planned it, but the wolves came and went and we're still standing

Post-Endgame Ironfam!!! Tony and Pepper married with their kids, their family and HAPPY...THIS IS WHY WE DO ALL OF THE ANGST...FOR A FAMILY...WE LOVE THEM

Carry on Wayward Son by Kansas

Considered Pepper and Peter’s ‘song’, as it’s referenced multiple times in the series, and was one of the bigger solidifying moments of their mother-son relationship as a whole.

Mundane by Hardcastle

And I’ve been sinking into silence, dwelling on my thoughts, and in these months, I haven’t felt that most conversations have left me anything but blue

Peter’s selective mutism was something very special to us when we originally had the idea, and making sure we talk about it and utilize it in the right way is something we’re still working on, particularly with the Therapy Fic we’re brainstorming atm.

survivin’ (One Eyed Jack’s Session) by Bastille

What can I say? I'm survivin', crawling out these sheets to see another day, what can I say? I'm survivin', and I'm gonna be fine, I'm gonna be fine, I think I'll be fine

Spoiler Alert: Peter’s not fine, like, a decent amount of the time. But he’s sure trying, and we love him for that.

Jacob from the Bible by Jake Wesley Rogers

Mama, don't worry, it took me years, to say I'm sorry, to see your tears, Mama, forgive me, I grew up too fast, but it's not on you, it's in the past

Mostly part of Peter growing up to become a hero and realizing what his parents--particularly Pepper--have gone through for him to become the person he is today, but that sometimes he still doesn’t feel like he’s making them proud enough.

Compassion Is a German Word by To Kill A King

Don't be so arrogant, you ain't no different to anyone I've met, we're all the heroes in our own film, or maybe the villain in someone else's

Spider-Man being an excellent superhero boi!!! Being kind and good!!! We love it!! Also, I put a TKAK song on...a LOT of my playlists, because I think they’re great.

brutal by Olivia Rodrigo

And I'm so sick of seventeen, where's my fucking teenage dream?, if someone tells me one more time, "Enjoy your youth", I'm gonna cry

I mean...this song is such a Teenage Mood...I had to do it...

In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning by Frank Sinatra

So, I had this cute little scene in my head that went with this song for SO LONG but there wasn’t really anything for it to fit into so...yeah that’s part 2 of Savannah’s Birthday Gift, a little soft Baby Peter drabble. Fluffy Goop from top to bottom. That can be read here.

Home by Phillip Phillips

Just know you're not alone, 'Cause I'm gonna make this place your home

...I know it’s not original, okay? It’s found family, it’s great, I don’t care!

Comes and Goes (In Waves) by Greg Laswell

And this part was for her, and this part was for her, this part was for her, does she remember?

This song is good family angst in general BUT these specific lyrics made me think of Mary and that they never forget her in their lives despite the other stuff going on (because we refuse to let them).

I Have Made Mistakes by The Oh Hellos

I have made mistakes, I continue to make them, the promises I've made, I continue to break them, and all the doubts I've faced, I continue to face them, but nothing is a waste if you learn from it

No one in the Ironfam is perfect, but they all do their best to try and grow even when they’re scared they’ll never be able to. The ups and downs are all par for the course of this series to us.

Easy Days - Demo by Bastille

Cause I don’t wanna fall back again, back into the easy days, everything was so simple then, little fires burned away

Strife is a part of life, and the family in this fic growing through their loss and struggles and moving ahead as a unit to get to a better place is super central to making the fic what it is...but it’s easy for them to remember the old days before being superheroes and wishing it was simple again.

North by Sleeping At Last

Let the years we’re here be kind, be kind, let our hearts like doors open wide, open wide, settle our bones like wood over time, over time, give us bread, give us salt, give us wine

The way Tony went from feeling so alone to having an entire built family that’s so full of love and everything he never dreamed of...*screams into my pillow* I love this series so much thank you and good night!!!

[fratresdei]

How to Create Sacred Space

Sacred spaces are some of the clearest examples we have of humanity’s active involvement in cultivating the Sacred. Within sacred spaces, the lines between “what is ‘just people’ and “what is ‘purely divine,'” are, blessedly, blurred to indistinction.

For example, when humans build temples, they often believe that holy presence resides within it. However, there is no delusion that the temple was not built by human hands. That reality is in fact celebrated! Within sacred space we are free to relish in our participation, or co-creation, of divine presence in our world. This power we possess does not detract from the mystery of sacred space, but is something to cherish. If we have the power to construct and nurture sacred space, that says a lot about our standing in the universe.

So, what constitutes a sacred space? The answer could include many possibilities: perhaps you have a favorite quiet spot in your place of worship or out in nature. Maybe you grew up with a shrine or altar in the home, or you may be seeking to curate and maintain a space for yourself. The space may be hidden away where only you can access it, or out in the open where you spend most of your day. There may be objects that represent deities, loved ones, prayers or intentions present. It could be a clear, clean space, empty of clutter, where the mind and spirit feel free to declutter as well. Your sacred space may simply be your own body. While the size and structure of a personal sacred space may vary, the core is the same: a place that has been set aside for contemplation or communion with the divine. The beauty of a sacred space, like many facets of spiritual life, derives from the meaning it carries for you.

To help illustrate the many variations and nuances of a sacred space, Fratres Dei Spiritual Direction Contributor Saint Gibson @stgibsonofficial and Communications Manager Caroline Crook @yourfavoriteauntcarol (yours truly), have each shared a picture of our own sacred spaces and described the contents therein.

Saint’s Space

There are a number of sacred spaces scattered throughout my house; the rose-scented Our Lady of Guadalupe candle and collection of crystals in my bedroom, the shelf where my fiancé and I remember our departed ancestors with little photos and trinkets, and the font of holy water affixed to the wall by the front door. But the most prominent sacred space in my home is the altar table set up in the living room, underneath a gilded icon of the Madonna and child.

On it, I keep all my candles and figurines representing the saints and angels, and some beloved keepsakes, like dried flowers, gifted rosaries, and letters from friends. The plate in the center of the altar features a painting of the last supper and is used for offerings: generally water, and sometimes alcohol or milk depending on whether or not that's appropriate to the petition or the day on the church calendar. My household celebrates both the Christian holidays and the pagan wheel of the year, so the decorations on the altar change out with feast days and seasons. The candles around the offering plate change, but there's always a sacred heart of Jesus and a Mary mother of God burning away, and usually a Saint Jude and a Saint Joseph as well. I burn a rainbow candle to remember the queer saints of the church both known and unknown, and to ask for God's protection on LGBTQ+ people worldwide.

My patron saint is the archangel Uriel, patron of confirmation in the Episcopal church and of poets and scholars widely. My golden Uriel figurine presides over his side of the altar, along with a figurine of the archangel Raphael, my fiancé's patron. We've got all sorts of talismans and charms representing the four archangels, and we have a fiery red candle for the archangel Michael that stands looped in a necklace featuring a ward against the evil eye. A golden pietà, my fiancé's greatest thrift store find, watches over all the candles. We've also got a colored figurine of the Infant of Prague standing proudly over a photograph of my fiancé and I. That's because the very first letter my fiancé ever sent me was a photograph of the Infant when he was traveling abroad, and we like to think he watches over us.

There are prayer cards littered about, and I often find myself reaching for Saint Ignatius of Loyola or Saint John the Revelator in times of need. We also usually keep incense burning in a metal cauldron that's always stuffed full of salt and ashes. Frankincense, rose, and lemongrass are my favorites. There are also many taper candles that I've saved from trips to other churches or from sung masses on Michaelmas and Christmas Eve.

I've been curating sacred space in every dorm room and apartment I've lived in for years, and this is by far my most favorite space yet. There's enough room to stand while you pray and move items around, but it's small enough that I could pack up everything on the altar into one box if I needed to. The table stands right between the living room and the kitchen, in the heart of the home, and it makes me feel like blessings are being disseminated from the altar to every room in the house. It's a way to keep a little bit of divinity always within arms reach, incarnate in rosaries and candles and bottles of holy water. With my altar nearby, I feel prepared for any spiritual celebration or crisis, and I know exactly where to retrieve up my spiritual tools when the occasion calls for it.

Caroline’s Space

Let’s call my sacred space an acoustic version of what a sacred space can be. It’s only a few months old; yet another quarantine project. Cluttered? Yes. Often mistaken as just a shelf for all my candles? Also yes. But it serves my spiritual life in ways that I personally find intuitive and accessible.

Of the three bookshelves in my apartment, this one is in a central spot in the living room, facing the couch. It’s part of the space and rhythm where most of my daily life takes place. Especially during quarantine when my brain fog is even worse than normal, it’s nice to be able to naturally glance over at this shelf and quickly check in with its contents.

Said contents are 95% candles. Whenever I need to set aside some time for an intentional, spiritually fulfilling practice (whether prayer, yoga, reading, writing, or just a break from social media) I light a candle. On days of significance (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) or to pray for a loved one, I’ll light a smaller tealight candle in the centerpiece and let it burn for the day.

The remaining 5% is all gifted, bought or found objects from friends and family members. The centerpiece is a candle/incense holder one of my oldest and dearest friends gave to me. There is a glass dish of crystals, shells and sharks’ teeth, all collected over the years between Florida and DC, with family and friends. The glass bottle in the corner was a gift from a friend’s wedding last summer, and I keep that filled with rainwater or holy water, depending on what’s at hand. There’s a crystal seashell towards the back that was a gift from my late grandmother. Each of these objects, to me, represents the many connections, joys and loves in my life. I’m also part magpie, so it’s nice to have a place where these odds and ends I collect can be 1) on display, 2) out of the way.

Other objects come and go, as I like to place items on this shelf that symbolize what’s on my heart at the time. Coins, written turns of phrase, scraps from old clothes, photos of loved ones, etc. Occasionally the odd tarot card, if I’m looking for a stronger visual.

For years this surface was just part candle repository, part please-God-do-not-forget-to-return-these-library-books shelf. It had a vague purpose, and certainly held things that are important to me, but not in an especially meaningful way. The act of curating this space -- choosing that shelf, cleaning it up, deciding what to place where, and maintaining it over time -- has been a source of calm, inspiration, and reflection. It’s still a work in progress though; I have a holly wreath I place around the centerpiece during the holidays, and am looking into getting a wreath to celebrate each season in the year. To, you know, help me remember that time is still passing in quarantine (I want to say April was… two weeks ago?)

If you feel so inclined, we would love to hear from you as well: what does a sacred space mean to you? What sacred spaces have you cultivated or visited?

If you’re curious about cultivating your own sacred space with the help of an expert, book your first free virtual session with Fratres Dei Spiritual Direction in the comments.

Saint offers tarot readings that are affirming, insightful and welcome to all. Check out Holy Roots Tarot using the link in the comments.

February 18, 2021 | Denver, Colorado

[masterhandss]

Hamefura♪ Idol AU! (part 3)

Thank you so much to the people who have voiced their interest for this AU! I honestly wouldn’t have planned on writing any of this and just planned to keep it all in my head if no one asked :’’DD Special thanks to @ineedglassesalways​​ for the song reqs for this one! please check her out she has amazing art!

Please bare in mind that my thoughts are an absolute mess and that what i’m talking about switches between Fortune Lover and Hamefura at the snap of a finger. Most info is the same, so just try to understand which i’m talking about while reading fjhgsdjhfg

(Also i’m gonna start calling this “My Next Life as an Idol?! All Routes lead to Doom!!!” or HameFura♪ now hgfjsdgf)

Directory: Hamefura♪ Part 1 - Fortune Lover ||  Hamefura♪ Part 2 - hamefura

Edit: I added a cut bc i’m starting to sympathize with the people who has to scroll passed all this gjshgf

Random Plot and World-building stuff

Sorcier Entertainment is the biggest entertainment business for the past 2 decades, bringing out and producing the best quality of idols, actors, models, composers, musicians, DJs etc. It is a parent company to a lot of branches and agencies. 

Sorcier Pro. is the main sub-branch of SorEn, being the most popular agency for producing the current hit in the market, which are idols. There a few other agencies within SorEn, but they wont be important until later. Geoffrey Stuart is the president of Sorcier Entertainment, and is the overseer of the main idol branch (no one knows why though, probably bc his lil bros are there). Entertainment is such an important and prevalent part of Society that the combination of the Stuarts holding power of the the entertainment industry, as well as Mr. Stuart being the prime minister, they are truly considered to be the most influential family in the country, which is added by the fact that every member of the family is an outstanding and well-respect individual. 

Sorcier Pro. has a variety of high quality facilities for their idols, and even had a dormitory where they can stay in. This was done for the sake of maximizing the idol’s work hours while giving them a comfortable and accessible place of rest. Not all idols are living in the dormitories, and is usually just housing the popular ones at the time. 

All of the main characters (except Sirius, and Villainess!Katarina) are living in the dormitory during the events of the “game”. Nicol and Sophia has rooms there, but they usually return to their home because they are more comfortable there. Katarina and Keith also regularly visit their parents whenever they are free, so their stay is a 50/50. Maria doesn’t visit her mother often (as her house is too far from her private school and work) so she’s always at the dorms. 

A lot of the well known powerful, political and celebrity families (that are the equivalent to “nobles” in this world) are collaborators and sponsors of the company, one of the main sponsors being the Claes Family.

I thought of just making the setting an “Idol Academy” like in Aikatsu! and EnStars!, but I though nah, that’s just too easy. Industry idols are much more interesting to me, and that plot works better for a “idol rhythm game/producer simulator”, specifically for what M.C. gets to do in the game (plus I was listening to IM@S when writing the first part so hgfsdjhfdgsj)

Most prestigious families has their kids be home-schooled, especially ones that are involved in the entertainment industry. This is so that they can focus on their career while they are still young. The exception to this was Maria, until she became an idol and had to take a hiatus from school as Sorcier Pro. expects her to focus on expanding her career. She takes supplementary classes on the weekends.

Katarina’s solo unit name in Fortune Lover is Nobelia (a combination of “nobilis or noble” and “lobelia”, the blue flower of malevolence or evil). She sometimes gets temporary teammates to join for tournaments and projects, but she is a solo idol. 

So the units are Fortuna (Gerald, Keith, Alan and Nicol), Amour (Maria, Sophia, and Mary), Nobelia (Katarina solo), Picotee (Sophia solo), Marigold (Mary solo), Alcea (Maria solo), Regalis (Gerald and Alan), Edel Herz (Keith and Nicol). 

The name’s origins being: Fortuna as the greek of ‘Fortune’, Amour as the french of ‘Love’, Picotee as the dual colored flower (that can be white and red), Marigold (bc obviously) as the flower of passion, Alcea from alcea rosea (the pink hollyhock, which almost means strength and healing), Regalis as a root word/synonym to royal/royalty, Edel Herz being just a google translate of “noble heart” in german teehee (pls appreciate all the googling I had to do dhfgsjhfdg yes it’s mostly flower names bc I have no originality)

yes i changed the names form my original post, don’t call me out asdfgh

Idols don’t really need a stage name if they are a solo idol, but most popular idols are associated with one so it just became a trend to have both stage names and unit names. 

In the original game, Maria’s default stage name is “Cinderella”, which you can then change into the username or player name. This is so that Maria can keep her name while still giving the players a custom name. 

Maria’s original stage name is a nod to a lot of things: the “Cindrella syndrome” that her character is based on, The name of Fortuna’s fans/fanbase (as most players really are a fan of the boys), and is also a reference to how you are the main love interest for the boys (as you are their true Cinderella)

Katarina doesn’t retain the same stage name “Nobelia” as Villainess!Katarina does, in fear that it might her more similar to her, leading her to a doom end. She doesn’t have a stage name, unlike her friends. Her fans would call her “Bakarina” online though, but she never finds out about it jhagjsfg

Fortuna is an all-around male idol unit, one that can take on different images and genres with ease. The image of the unit changes depending on which boy is the center/lead of the song:

With Gerald, the music focuses on the instrumentals or the orchestra, giving a royal or heavenly vibe. The songs have an emphasis on righteousness, the beauty of life and a prosperous future. The songs for the fans usually has a theme of “reminiscent love” or “looking forward to a future with their partner”. A good example of a unit center song for his is Genuine Revelation from EnStars, and Flower as a solo song from his VA

With Keith, the music becomes more mature. The songs have more seductive lyrics, and has an emphasis on “forbidden love” or “having a secret relationship” with the fans. The lyrics are usually innocent in nature, until you read in-between the lines. Sometimes, his center songs throw a curveball and becomes about a “pure and innocent love” or “longing to be loved”. A good example for his solo song is Gekkoujou no Aria from A3 (please listen to it, it’s by Keith’s VA and the lyrics screams “Keith”)

With Alan, the guitar, violin and piano take the center stage.The music usually has more instrumentals than lyrics. The songs are primarily about being one’s true self, loving who you are and looking back at the past. Friendship and Identity are common themes in his songs. Sometimes, his center songs would throw a curve ball and be about something like “not acknowledging one’s feelings until it is too late”. A good song that represents his usually themes is Bokura no Kizuna from A3

With Nicol, the music is more slow and deep. The songs are usually about self-conflict, self-development and change. His songs sometimes have a theme of having an extreme adoration for the fans, a love so strong that time nor age can make it falter. “Being the only one for him” is the theme of his more popular songs. A good example for his solo song is Sword and Soul from his very own VA!

Yeah, basically the image of the center idol is reflected in the performance.

I don’t have a full list of idol song recommendations yet, but my friend who i mentioned above already recommended a bunch of good duo songs for the boys!: (feel free to suggest stuff if you guys have any :DD)

Gerald/Keith - Es No Yutsu from A3

Keith/Nicol- Plastic Poker from A3

Alan/Nicol - Don't Cry from A3

In the original game, all four boys we’re scouted while the girls all auditioned to become idols. Now, since they are all close friends, Gerald was able to market the talents of his friends and was able to get them all scouted into Sorcier Production. 

Fortuna has a producer before Maria, but by the beginning of the game, he had to leave due to health reasons, leading to the sudden application for a new producer. While many producers offered to take care of the boys alongside their other idols, Fortuna insisted that they want a new producer who would focus solely on them. 

Mary and Sophia also have their own producers, but they are barely present because they are busy handing other idols (and eventually, will let go of Mary and Sophia once they decide that they want Maria to produce them)

While Fortuna, Mary and Sophia’s careers were able to skyrocket quickly do to their appeals and talents, Katarina’s career grew slowly compared to her friends. This is because, despite to protests of her Producer Anne, she usually takes smaller gigs in far away towns, malls and small live houses. This is because Katarina wanted to perform in front of people who can’t easily access or attend live performances outside of the internet, just like her own small town in her previous life. She knew how happy she’d feel if there was an idol performance near her area, so she wanted to share that joy to other people. 

Katarina doesn’t join her friends in doing acting and modeling jobs until much later, when Maria joins their group. 

Anne Shelley acts as Katarina’s fitness instructor, personal health manager, and producer. She was brought into Katarina’s life even before she regained her memories, only exclusively as a health manager recommended to the Claes Family. She ended up taking on more jobs that involves watching over Katarina as the years pass by, as the young girl started gaining more and more interests and hobbies. Katarina wonders how Anne is able to be qualified for so many jobs, but she just sums it up as Anne being amazing! (Katarina: I guess she’s kind of like a maid!... or a babysitter...) Anne was (somehow) able to become a producer in Sorcier Productions and was easily recommended for Katarina due to their history. Anne cares a lot about Katarina in her happiness, and will do anything to support her (both version of her, in fact), so much that she is willing to juggle so many careers in order to stay by her side. 

Katarina has a small farm that she tends to in her free time (since she doesn’t get a lot of job offers in the first place) that is located in the garden grounds near the main office of Sorcier Pro. Her visitors/helpers differ each day, depending on who is available (and who intentionally made themselves available to make sure they can spend as much time as they can with Katarina)

While her friends constantly get fan mail, the delivery man is always wondering why Katarina always specifically gets a small light box. In reality, it’s packages sent by Tom the gardener, from the Claes Mansion, showing her all his new prototypes for the snake toy. While Katarina first started out as making them out of paper before deciding on buying them online, she knew her family would be suspicious and question why she’s making such a purchase, so she was surprised when Tom started joining her in making fake snakes, until the snakes started to look even more realistic than the plastic ones online!

Maria Campbell: A Girl Chosen by Destiny

Since “Maria” is an involved protagonist, she gets to keep her name in the game, with her idol alias being the “username”of the player

Just like in HameFura, the game doesn’t give much on Maria’s actual history. 

The game does have an implied personality for her, being a kind and hardworking girl who puts all her focus on the task at hand. The game implies that she is also a bit introverted, with her personality becoming more open and outgoing as the game progresses (implied through the slight changes in dialogue choices).

She’s a bit of a country bumpkin who moved into the big city in order to experience the world outside her town. She was able to gain a scholarship to a school in the city, and moved alone to stay with her aunt from her father’s side.

Due to her father leaving the family when she was young to due to rumors that she might be the daughter of a different man, Maria’s relationship with her mother is still very strayed. Thanks to these rumors, her father left her and her mother when she was young, and her town heavily criticized the two for the adultery that her mother apparently committed. These rumors stemmed form the fact that even as a child, Maria was beautiful (with clear blue eyes and bright blonde hair, that are in contrast to her mother’s dull eyes and dull hair). While her mother was fare-faced, the appearance that Maria had was usually associated with celebrities or artists, making people believe that Maria didn’t come from her father. Despite Maria’s mother claiming that none of it was true, the rumors got so out of hand that Maria’s father became ashamed of his family, leading him to leave without a word.

In the beginning of the game, she stayed with an Aunt from her father’s side, on the condition that she somehow pays the bills by herself, leading her to want to get a job. 

Maria saw the announcement of Sorcier Production being in need of new staff, so she applied quickly in order to start saving money. Thanks to a set of misunderstandings, she accidentally got the role as a producer, despite her lack of credentials (not knowing that she was the beginning of a big project of SorEn)

Maria is an extremely hardworking person, believing that if she worked hard enough, she will be one day rewarded with the love that she’s always dreamed of receiving.  Fortune Lover makes you think that Maria is naturally able to produce 7 idols, but in reality, it’s at the expense of Maria overworking herself to the bone, with almost no time for herself at all. Sometimes she sleeps in her small desk office instead of the household that she’s paying the bills of, in order to maximize her work hours. She dedicates every second that she has on the four boys, so when they shower her with love and attention, she was able to easily fall in love with them as well (and sadly becomes dependent on their validation as a personal reward for her efforts). 

A month before one of Fortuna’s biggest live performance (or a little bit after Maria joins them as their producer), Maria oversaw the training of another idol who came to her and ask for help (not knowing that she was just trying to get close to Maria to get close with the Fortuna boys). Maria helped her train her dancing and singing, and even memorized her choreography in order to critique her steps. She became too dedicated in helping that idol improve, thinking that the girl wanted to be friends with her. When the event happened, the female idol was hit with bad karma and injured her leg just as the live started, leaving her unable to perform. This causes an uproar among the staff, as the set list was too complicated to change in such short notice. Gerald, who is aware that Maria has been helping their colleague, encourages Maria to take her place since she knew the lyrics and the dance. Thanks to the encouragement of the boys, Maria debuts in front of a huge crowd, gaining instant popularity as the cinderella idol that saved the live event. 

Most of Maria’s job as a producer in arranging the schedules of the boys, staying in contact with their costume designer, staying in contact with their personal composers and lyricists, sorting through job offers, keeping watch of their health, watching them while they practice and accompanying them in their jobs. When she isn’t there to accompany any of them, another producer temporarily takes her place. 

As Maria’s popularity increases, she is given job offers that prevents her from focusing on being a producer. Since the boys are very fond of Maria, they are very encouraging of her desire to become an idol too, and offers to help support her and themselves moving forward. 

The game itself doesn’t make the changes in Maria’s occupation obvious, since Maria’s idol life is only prevalent in the Idol Rhythm Game Mode, but in reality the increase in workload is slowly eating her up (not that she’d let anyone know that)

Maria, as an idol, gets constantly harassed by her peers (especially Katarina) for being a nobody idol who took the spotlight away from them, as well as for being a close ally to Fortuna. A lot of scenes in the story mode is the boys saving her from the harassment (leading to a lot of good CG art that are sold as posters :P)

Depending on whose romance route you are on, Mary and Sophia start out as very hostile towards Maria, as her existence takes away the attention that their loved ones were supposed to give to them. Sophia warms up the fastest, as Maria’s lack of hostility towards her makes both her and Nicol easily attached. Even after the three starts as unit as Amour, Mary’s relationship with maria is mostly professional, before she slowly warms up to her somewhere near the end of the Alan Romance Route. The three can be considered friends, but they still seemed more like colleagues in the eyes of other people. 

When Katarina meets Maria, she was very surprised to know that the Maria she played as in the game was a more humane person than the game shows up (somehow who isn’t perfect in every way, and works hard and long to be able to provide for both herself and the four boys)

Their meeting and friendship bloomed in the same way as the Otome Game version (because i’m too lazy to jot down every minor difference hgfjsdgf), surprising Katarina that baking hobby that was just mentioned in text or used as a plot device is actually real and flourishing, and is something she actively supported Maria. 

Due to Katarina’s slow popularity gain, and Maria being a novice idol, they usually took and accepted jobs together since they both needed a boost. Instead of the quick burst of popularity that Maria has in the game, this time she wants to take each step slowly with Katarina, with the desire for them to grow at the same time.

Since Katarina is now aware of the hardships that Maria must be facing as both a producer and an idol, this time Katarina and Anne often help Maria with her paperwork and organization. Whenever Maria isn’t there to follow Gerald, Keith, Alan or Nicol, Anne now takes over if she’s available or she’d recommend a colleague that she knows would assist the boys like a pro. 

Katarina insists that Maria doesn’t have to shoulder all her burden alone, and that she has all their friends around to help her and support her as they do with each other. Katarina tells her that it’s okay to ask for help and even offers her hand constantly (wow, Katarina can easily carry all these boxes of documents? My hero~) and Maria takes this lesson to heart.

Even though Maria felt nervous about joining Katarina’s friend group so suddenly, which even includes the very idols that she’s meant to watch over, Katarina was very insistent that Maria’s wonderful and warming presence would let her blend in so easily (Katarina isn’t aware of how the relationships of the characters were like in the original game since she never finished). Maria is eventually able to become friends with everyone, and is easily able to hold conversations with Mary and Sophia without Katarina around. Maria is there to act as a straight man to Mary’s exaggerated attempts at hindering the boy’s time with Katarina, and Maria often acts as an ear to Mary’s gossips about other idols. Maria, while not an avid fan of novels as Sophia and Katarina, can still join conversations about books by asking details, recommendations and insights on books she’s already read. Maria can easily get along with the boys as well, since they are in each other’s presence most of the time due to her role. They don’t hesitate to help Maria whenever they can (despite her resistance), and she’s usually the one who stops the arguments between Gerald and Keith whenever they are in the middle of a job. 

Since Katarina ended p being so attached to Maria, the boys sometimes takes advantage of Maria’s role as a producer to have her work instead of attending to the woman of their affections (of course they feel somewhat bad about it, but it’s better than watching them look so love-struck with each other!) but it ends up backfiring when Katarina lets go of all her activities in favor of assisting Maria with her job as a producer.

Whenever Maria is free, she insists on borrowing the small kitchen in the Office in order to use the small over to bake some pastries and treats for her friends. Katarina constantly endorses the amazingness of Maria’s sweets, and they are both happy whenever their friends compliments the results of Maria’s hard work.

Compared to her work schedule in the game, Maria can now work comfortably as both an idol and a producer, thanks to the support and help of her friends. 

Sirius Dieke: The 5th Love Interest

Sirius Dieke is a non-payable character in Fortune Lover, who usually appears in Gerald and Nicol’s stories and side story events to explain things about the world and the past relationship of the characters.

He is another idol in Sorcier Pro, and is an old friend to Nicol.

In reality, he’s actually a hidden character within the game that can only be playable if you get a Friendship Ending in the first playthrough. Getting a neural ending is already super hard, so Sirius being playable wasn’t revealed until two months after the game initial release. The game is so good at hiding this fact that not even the dataminers were able to find evidence of his existence outside of being an NPC. 

Getting a Sirius Route is only possible in the New Game+ Mode, with story events and side story events dedicated to him alone. He only comes with only one new song though, so people in forums usually don’t recommend going to the Sirius Route in the second playthrough (unless you’re a completionist dgjfd)

There’s also the fact that Sirius’ Route has a completely different tone than the rest of the game. The developers of the game planned on removing his route in their game update, but due to the outcry of his fans, they kept it in, and even included a payed DLC where you can instantly unlock his route on your first playthrough. 

In Sirius’ Route, it’s revealed that he was the son of a former celebrity and one of his maids, and that his real name is Raphael Wolt. His mother quited her job just before he was born. They were ultimately hunted down by Mrs. Dieke, who refused to believe that her husband had a mistress.

Raphael and his mother were kidnapped by people payed by Mrs. Dieke, and as his mother begged for her to spare their lives, Mrs. Dieke’s plans were revealed: Her own son is ill and was slowly dying from an illness, and in her jealousy of Raphael’s strong physique and health, she has decided to take Raphael as her own son, as both him and her original son both looked like their fathers more than their mothers. 

In front of his eyes, Raphael’s mother was murdered in cold blood and Raphael was left to suffer from various degrees of shock therapy and blunt forces to the head in order to forcefully induce amnesia without killing him. He wakes up in the hospital bed with no memories of who he is, and Mrs. Dieke graciously plays the part of a concerned mother who is visiting her own son in order to sell the idea that Raphael is her own. 

In the background, a news headline states that a mother and son was found dead in an abandoned warehouse.

The doctor tells Mrs. Dieke that her son “Sirius�� might not recover his memories, and despite the glee in her voice, Mrs. Dieke acts and pretends to be devastated by the news. Unbeknownst to both of them, Sirius did eventually regain his lost memories over time and realizes that the woman claiming to be his mother is in fact the very person who had killed his only family. 

Sirius learns that the reason Mrs. Dieke is so insistent on having a son was to be able to nurture and create a new star that would dazzle the entertainment world, with hopes of being able to live vicariously through her son’s career and success. Feeling disgust and hatred towards the woman that he is now forced to call “mother”, he plans to enact his revenge by destroying the entertainment world from the inside, exposing its ugliness to the world.

Sirius ends up becoming an idol because of the encouragement of his “mother”, leading him to be affiliated with Nicol and Gerald. He had already met them when they were all young, and he even planned to have them as allies in his quest to destroy the entertainment industry, only to find them as disappointingly bright eyed teens when they reunited.  

When Sirius finds out that it was the effect of Maria Campbell, their new producer, he decided to wage war against her for acting as a thorn to his perfect plans. It’s revealed that a lot of the bullying scenarios in the story mode was orchestrated by Sirius himself, in an attempt to get maria to lose her reputation and her job. 

Maria was able to trace back all the incidents to him, and confront him alone in the Office at night, before he left to go home. Sirius laughed and admitted to all of his past and crimes, and mocked Maria for having no proof against him. Instead of condemning him, Maria hugs him while telling him to change his ways. Despite the violent ways that he tries to get Maria off him, she doesn’t let go, trying to convince him that his way of acting in correspondence to his grief is wrong. Sirius cries as Maria spoke sense into him and dissected the flaws in his grand plan, until only the sound of his crying is left in the cold and empty office that day. 

In Hamefura, When Sirius finds out that this was the effect of the “saint” Katarina Claes, he had orchestrated various events that could lead Katarina to being condemned by the public through her supposed “bullying” of the public darling Maria. This plans fails, so he plans on using Maria as a form of blackmail to get Katarina to leave the entertainment world in exchange for her friend’s safety. Maria disappears for a few days, causing her friends to be very worried for her, especially Katarina who is somewhat aware of the events that were occurring. During the search, she was able to find Sirius and tried to engage in some small talk, until she remembered a detail that her old friend Acchan said about a dark and secret love interest. Without any thought, Katarina questioned Sirius about Maria’s disappearance, surprising him with her sudden awareness.

Sirius admits to his crimes, and before Katarina can escape, Sirius hit her on the head so she can lose consciousness, but not before screaming about how he hates her ignorant enthusiasm, how she changed his pawns and made them better people, and how he wont let her take his heart and change him as well before he could enact his revenge, with tears in his eyes. This act leads to Katarina going unconscious for a few days. In this come state, Katarina was able to gain information from her old friend Acchan that she can use to save Sirius and Maria. 

In the abandoned warehouse where “he” and his mother supposedly died, Sirius has Maria locked up, with no plans of letting her escape until he can guarantee that Katarina is out of the picture. He is shocked to find out that Katarina and her friends were able to find both of them; he goes on a rampage about how he wants to destroy the Dieke family and everyone associated with them and the cruel world they have created, before the feeling of despair and fear for his future leads him to almost taking his own life as a final escape. 

Katarina stops him, and tells him that both of them has no future, as a secret love interest and as a villainess, and how she can’t save him the way Maria can. But that if anything else, she can a least stay by his side and take some of the weight off his shoulders, like what her friends have been doing for her since the beginning. Katarina calls him by his real name, Raphael Wolt, leading him to unlocking the final memory that he had lost from his temporary amnesia:

A memory of his mother, in her final moments, telling Raphael that she will always be by his side, and that she wishes for him to have a happy future, even if it wouldn’t have her in it. Katarina’s words made him realize that this wasn’t what his mother would wanted for him, leading him to see the error of his ways. 

In both versions, it ends with Sirius turning himself in and confessing to the crimes of both him and Mrs. Dieke, leading to both of their arrest and the return/resurface of the Wolt Family murder case investigation. Sirius’ contract with Sorcier Entertainment gets terminated, and heavy manipulation of the media was used in order to prevent the story from coming into light. 

Since Raphael lacked any crimes that would have him arrested, he was set free and left the Dieke family as it slowly fell apart from the controversy. He announced that he wants to spend his freedom as himself, but will one day come back to all of them as a better person. 

Without Katarina realizing it, Raphael confesses that his rampage was caused by his fear of his desires for her and her company, and that he was scared that if she continued to open her arms to him in such an easy-going and warm fashion, he would lose all his will to have his revenge on the entertainment industry. Much to the annoyance of Katarina and Raphael’s friends, he takes her hand and promises to come back, to stay by her side, like she had promised to him. 

In the Raphael Ending, Maria and Raphael meets again years later as both were on the way to work. Maria has already left the entertainment business and had no plans of returning, while Raphael became a changed man with a good heart and a steady job. Eventually, Maria was able to fall in love with the good man that Raphael was always meant to be/has become, and Raphael was able to rekindle the love and affection that he felt for Maria when they were still idols together.

Raphael had declared that he will back, better than ever! As an idol? who knows :3c But where will he go from here...?

Fortune Lover 2/Fortune Lover Re:Dive

Spoilers for Volume 3 of Hamefura and beyond, since this is about FL2

I’ve had a bunch of ideas that I’d like for Fortune Lover 2, but I’m not really sure if I want to put it out there because it seems too fanfiction-y in a way?

I feel like my ideas are straying far away from the original version, which disappoints me in a way, but then again, My Idol Game version of Fortune Lover is nothing like the Otome Game counterpart, so I’ll still write about it. 

If you like the premise for an Idol Game style Fortune Lover, then feel free to just absorb the content above because for (my version of) Fortune Lover 2 to happen, Katarina will still get her bad end: Public Humiliation and Self-Banishment. I’ll save how it happens in part 4 

In Fortune Lover 2, there would be 3 new produce-able idols, but in My Next Life as an Idol, there will be 5 new idols:

this is what i meant when I said the plot is gonna feel like a fanfiction :DD

Fortune Lover 2 isn’t really a sequel, as it is like a bulkier and softly rewritten version of FL, like how Persona 3/4/5 remakes are to their original games.

FL2 introduces a new Idol Agency that is affiliated with Sorcier Entertainment: Mahouka Production (also known as MahoPro), a recently established talent agency created by a mysterious Director. Despite being new, they were able to quickly gain a following through the eccentric idols in their line-up.

With a longer story, halfway through the game you start being introduced to three new male idols: Sora Smith, Cyrus Lanchester and Dewey Percy. They are idols that are under MahoPro, who dislikes the idols of SorPro and claims to be their rivals.

They start out as rival characters in the game, taunting you (Maria) and the idols of Fortuna constantly for a few chapters. Some time after your initial introduction, you slowly get to know the boys, until you’re finally able to gain their trust. You can then start to secretly “produce” them without their Director knowing (just like Shika from IM@S Stella Stage), which leads to gaining events, scenes, idol clothes, songs and CGs of the three new boys.

As the new character gets introduced later into the story mode, they are more of an optional route, as the game still prioritizes the original 4 boys over the new cast. You can still “romance” the 3 new characters, but since they are introduced late, it can only be done at the expense of focusing on them almost exclusively during story events and side stories so that you can quickly gain Relationship Points for them.

So basically, halfway through the game, you have the option to produce 11 idols: Yourself (Maria), Gerald, Alan, Keith, Nicol, Mary, Sophia, Raphael, Sora, Dewey and Cyrus. The first 5 being obligatory, while the last 6 are optional

Rufus Smith (or “Sora”, as he reveals to you his real name during the story) is new idol in MahoPro who was able to quickly gain a female following due to his attractive figure and maxed-out sex appeal. Many compare him to Nicol Ascart due to the fact that he is slowly taking a lot of his jobs (or works alongside him at times) due to his handsome face. While both of them are handsome models, the public is aware that there is no point in pining the two against each other since their beauty works in different ways.

In the story (and as hinted in a few side story events), he was a slum rat who didn’t have much for himself. One day, he met a man who had join him and his fellow slum dwellers into their territory, a man by the name of David. The man was able to give Sora a new perspective on life, his new name, as well as how to sing. After David died, he wandered around the country, doing dirty jobs for shady adults for money. A few years later, we was caught singing in the streets by a man who offered to take care of him and cultivate him as an idol at the age of 13, complimenting him for his beauty and his singing. While Sora rejected the offer, the man’s words never left his mind. He started out by singing in the street for change, then getting singing jobs at cafes/live houses/restaurants for money, until he suddenly got a small following as an underground idol. The Director of MahoPro offers a place for Sora, alongside with giving him jobs as a full-fledged idol that can help him provide for himself, leading him to be affiliated with Sorcier Entertainment. 

Sora starts out having a rather sarcastic relationship with Maria, thinking that she is one of the many women who throws themselves at him to get his attention. He always gives her back handed compliments as always has a vicious tone when speaking. As the story progresses, Sora realizes that Maria isn’t disgusted by his history, and realized that Maria is truly a good and kind person. Sora starts to unconsciously seek her out, trying to reverse the bad impression that he must have left on her and to be with someone who doesn’t look at him lowly, like the other adults and idols of SorEn who dislikes people that aren’t of celebrity-upbringing.

Dewey Percy is a young idol that auditioned for Sorcier Pro. and won, but was rejected at the last minute in favor of a less talented wannabe-idol who was related to a famous actor. The Director of MahoPro came to Dewey with an offer as an idol, acknowledging his talents in music and dancing that he evidently have been polishing for years. In his town, Dewey was known as a Music Prodigy, as he was talented in singing, dancing, acting and playing instruments, though that’s not to say that those weren’t the effects of his own hard work. Because his family wasn’t the absolute best financially, he decided to audition as an idol in order to get jobs despite being young.

Dewey is revealed to be somewhat of a childhood friend to Maria, as he lived in the same town as her. Despite this, he is very wary of her due to the bad impressions left on his by Sorcier Pro. after he almost lost his chance at becoming an idol. Dewey absolutely hated asking for help, even when it was draining him down. He is very desperate to keep his title as a music prodigy, even though he knows it’ll be drowned once he’s in a battlefield of idols. (Also he tries very desperately to be seen as a mature and hot idol, despite his youth and appearance giving him a cute one instead lol) 

Maria realizes how hard Dewey is pushing himself, and convinces him over multiple instances that he doesn’t need to be hard on himself and suffer alone. Maria offers herself as a shoulder to lean on, making Dewey embarrassed but happy at the idea that he can finally have someone to rely on, and that he doesn’t need to be alone anymore. They were also able to bond about their similar upbringing, making Dewey feel at home in the arms of Maria despite being miles away from their town. 

Cyrus Lanchester is an idol from a different agency, who was transferred to MahoPro by the time the events of the game began. He has a very strict personality, and is an overall perfectionist as an idol. He was let go from his original Agency because his strictness and tendency to scold his fellow idols caused his peers (who are a bunch of lazy and stuck up children of celebrities) to take him out because they didn’t vibe with his attitude. Before his original producer was able to tell him that he was done as an idol, the Director of MahoPro offered a place for him in their new agency. 

While being grateful to the Director for taking him in, he does not hold back in letting everyone know about his distaste for their odd Director. While is he very talented as an idol, he is just using it as a chance to learn more about the industry and gain connections that he can use to be a part of it in the near future. 

While he doesn’t start as wary of Maria as his fellow male idols, he insist on keeping distance with her due to the fact that they are of different agencies, as well as the fact that he is not good at dealing with women.

Notes

(I’ll have to rewrite Cyrus and Dewey’s descriptions after Volume 7 comes out, since I don’t have much to work with. I’ll add the Sora, Cyrus and Dewey endings in the edit as well.)

I know some part of Maria and Sirius’ backstory doesn’t make any sense but just use your imagination lol hgjgfjsfgd

More about Katarina, the silhouettes, the Director, and how it affects the story on the next part :DD my fingers really hurt from all this typing hgjsdgfjs

If ever i’m dissatisfied with what I have here and end up changing things, don’t be surprised jhfjshdgfs

Next Part is gonna be plot points that I want for this AU and a bit of FL2, so sorry if the next one might not be that exciting fsjhgfjsd

feedback and suggestions are very much appreciated! Thank you to the few people who are interested in this AU :DD

[miggydiaz]

for the salty ask: 3, 7, 10, 11, 15, 16, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 27 for spn

I had to do this one today because I have a LOT of Supernatural feelings and so a lot of these are even longer than my CK one. But thanks for the ask @wonderwolfballoon!

UNPOPULAR SUPERNATURAL OPINIONS AHOY: INCLUDES ANTI-DESTIEL SENTIMENTS AND OTHER UNSAVORY ELEMENTS

3. Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion? 100000000% I have unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion in the SPN fandom. SPN was the fandom that taught me to make JUDICIOUS use of the blocking feature tumblr offers in order to curate my experience. I would actually encourage anyone and everyone to use the blocking feature if they disagree with people. Honestly, we don’t owe anyone our time or energy, especially on the internet! It is much healthier than sending or responding to hate, IMO. 7. Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?* This is actually a hard one for me to answer, so let me start by saying -- I have not seen a SINGLE episode since 9x05? I think? Whichever episode was the Dr. Deanlittle one where he talks to animals. I just couldn’t do it anymore. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the first 5 seasons, and they are all I watch anymore and I pretend nothing else exists after that (except The French Mistake because that episode is hilarious). But uh... I guess the simple answer is when I was originally watching it, I really loved Dean. He was brash, snarky, rough around the edges... but kind of soft in a I’m too toxically masculine to deal with my softness sort of way that I love seeing characters grow out of as they mature. But when I go back and rewatch now, much older than I was in 2006 when I first started watching, I see how awful a lot of his older behavior truly was. I still love Dean, and I will be a Dean girl until I die probably, but sometimes you gotta remind yourself that your faves have been problematic in the past so you don’t put them up on fandom constructed pedestals.

10. Most disliked arc? Why? AND AS A BONUS, MY ANSWER to 11. Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why? I could write a literal essay about all of the problems I have with the later seasons (the ones I watched, which encompasses 6, 7, 8, and a few episodes of 9). But by far and away, the thing I hated most, was the Men of Letters.

Okay, this is where I am going to recognize my love of certain characters is at FUNDAMENTAL ODDS with how that character develops later and what history and background we get later on them. I RECOGNIZE this character is problematic, and I would NEVER STAND for his shit IRL, but fiction is complicated and nuanced, and fantastic circumstances do not make for normal behaviors. That being said, with all warnings I could possibly give, and with the full understanding that what I am about to say is basically fandom blasphemy of the highest order...

I like John Winchester’s character.

I know, I know. If you wanna stop reading and block me now, you are free to do that. I will not hold it against you. I am not about to apologize for anything he has done. I just need to contextualize why I have such an issue with the MOL storyline and it starts with the simple fact that I liked John Winchester as he was originally presented.

To me, and with the full understanding that I am answering this from the perspective of someone who DOES NOT regard anything past season 5 as personal canon, John Winchester is the perfect example of a truly complicated character. Here’s a parent who, if we take the pilot and the original s2 Djinn episodes at face value, could have been a great parent, who then got shoved into a fantastically impossible situation and made terrible choices that he thought were necessary in order to keep himself and his sons safe. That does not EXCUSE the heaps of abuse that he piled onto Dean in any way. We know John and Mary didn’t have a great marriage. But we also know from the pilot that John was at least a caring and present father, mostly,  for the 4 years he got to parent in a normal world, and that if Mary had lived, John would’ve been a softball playing dad who raised his kids and had a loving marriage with his wife. (Again, I need to reiterate, I did not watch anything past the early episodes of s9. If there is later canon that negates this, I do not know about it, nor do I want to because I don’t think of anything past 5 as canon) This is all important to me because these things emphasize that John was “NORMAL”. He was a mechanic, from a family of mechanics, whose father didn’t bail on him (a man in the episode where Dean is transported back in time to Lawrence tells John to ‘say hi to your old man for me’ or something to that effect). He was just a midwestern dude. Giving John Winchester a fantastical background through this Men of Letters bullshit made me SO MAD. First of all, I hate when later canon negates previous canon. I cannon TELL you how much I hate it. And the later seasons of Supernatural are riddled with stuff that doesn’t make any damn sense in the context of original, Kripke written canon, which is exactly why I stopped watching. That’s not ~Evolution of the show.~ That’s conveniently forgetting stuff that made your show and its premise so successful to begin with in order to keep filming episodes so you can keep making money. It’s the sacrifice of art for capitalism and yes I know this is a stupid TV show but as a writer myself it PISSES ME OFF.

/rant

ALSO, the idea that this toxically masculine family was set on this path by Heaven, and inherited this curse that put them on this path from their mother was such a good plot twist in its heyday. We spent four seasons thinking of Mary Winchester as a victim of circumstance, whose fate could not have been avoided because she was the mother to Sam, who is effectively cursed. And then, we learn that its BECAUSE of Mary that this ball even got rolling in the first place. IDK if you were around for that time in the fandom but at least in my circle, this was a big fucking deal. There had been so much (rightful) discourse about John before this, and what kind of parent he was, that Mary became almost deified in the same way Dean deifies her. And then we find out that this whole story gets set in motion by a decision she made because this was the life she found herself in. This was great. It was interesting. And even though the MOL doesn’t negate any of this, it does give John this weirdly fantastical that isn’t necessary. Let this guy be just some Joe Schmoe who fell in love with a kick ass hunter and had no idea any of this even existed. Let Mary and her want to be ‘normal’ be a complicated moral choice that fundamentally altered the paths of her husband and sons. It’s good tv!

Also, I fucking hate the bunker. The best episodes are Dean and Sam having moments in the car, or while in motel rooms on their cases, or whatever. I don’t mind them having a home base. I’m fine with that. But if a building could ever be a Mary Sue character, the bunker is it. I hate all of the MOL storyline, starting with this place.

I may not even tag this as Supernatural, I don’t need angry later season stans in my inbox.

15. Unpopular opinion about the manga/show?

There’s nothing good about anything that happened after season 6. It’s all a bunch of retconning bullshit. Season 6 had its moments where it was interesting, so I cut it a little bit of slack, but as far as I’m concerned, the show ended in season 5. I’m not sure that’s necessarily unpopular, but it does feel that way on tumblr, so. 

16. If you could change anything in the show, what would you change?

Aside from ending it in season 5?

Oooh, I’m about to blaspheme again. I am definitely not tagging this as Supernatural.

I would never have introduced Castiel, and I would’ve given that entire storyline to Anna. Or, alternatively, I would’ve flipped their story lines.

Look, for whatever it’s worth... I agree with the idea that Dean Winchester is a repressed bisexual. His Dr. Sexy love, the entire storyline with Benny in season 8, etc. I just don’t think he feels romantically about Castiel. And like, that’s okay! Just because you’re not into someone who is into you doesn’t mean you owe them a relationship or anything, no matter what the fandom thinks.

But I also think Dean has a big problem when it comes to women. Again, obviously later on in the series, Dean shifts and Charlie happens and Claire Novak and I know all of these things from gifs okay, context is not applicable here because I have none. But early on, Dean struggles A LOT with thinking of women as A) capable and B) trustworthy. He exists in a perpetual state of identifying women along the Madonna/Whore binary. Even Jo, however you feel about her, and to be clear, I loved Jo, but he doesn’t stop thinking of her really as a kid until they’re about to shoot the devil. Up until then, he’s genuinely surprised Ellen lets her out of the damn house.

Giving him a strong, capable woman who rebels against Heaven for HIM would have fundamentally altered Dean’s perceptions of women much earlier on than we get and would have forced him to examine some of that misogyny head on.

Dean has no problems trusting men. This is why the entire Gordon fiasco happens, right? It was less work for him to trust Castiel because Castiel is the inverse of Ruby. Angel to her Demon. Angels and demons don’t really have genders, but for the sake of presentation of vessels, man to her woman. Not even getting me started on the problematic parts of having significant demons mostly symbolized by women (Meg, Ruby, Lilith) and having significant angels mostly represented by Men (Castiel, Michael, Lucifer, Zachariah, Gabriel, Raphael), and how that ties into the idea of Original Sin and yada yada, but just like it’s interesting to have Mary and her decisions be the catalyst for the story, it’s interesting to have this badass warrior angel in Anna who marches down to Hell to yank Dean out, and through her interactions with him, decide to rebel against the ultimate patriarchy, while Dean gets an equally strong female counterpart to Sam’s Ruby, a woman for all intents and purposes that he respects as a soldier and an ally and not just a potential piece of ass.

Also, Castiel fans being literally unbearable is why I left the fandom. Nothing against Misha or anything, and not even anything against Cas as a character (who I very much enjoyed in seasons 4 and 5), but his fans have always been the worst and they try to insert him into everything.

19. What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

Castiel/Destiel fans, which even though I also hated the direction the show was going, drove me out of the fandom. Not like, personally or directly, but just the sheer mental hoops they had to jump through in order to make their ship work and I just got tired of seeing all of the contrived meta on my dash. Oh, and the rampant misogyny that came out of those early Castiel fans. I didn’t appreciate it from the Wincest corner, and I definitely didn’t appreciate it from the fans of the new guy. Gross.

22. Popular character you hate?

Oof. I don’t know. I don’t really hate Castiel, because again, I liked him a lot in seasons 4 and 5. Even 6 was interesting, even if I don’t regard it as my own personal show canon. I don’t think there was a popular character in those first five seasons I ever really hated. I didn’t fundamentally hate a character at all until the MOL stuff came around. Um. Yeah, I don’t really have an answer for this.

23. Unpopular character you love?

Pretty much every female character ever. Jo, Ellen, Ruby, Meg... although Meg became more popular as the series went on, Anna. Um. OH, BELA. Bela ESPECIALLY, I recently rewatched season 3 and I cannot emphasize how MUCH I love Bela. She was the best purely human foil ever. Bela is hands down the character I love most that the fandom had frothing at the mouth hatred for. It doesn’t help that I legitimately think Lauren Cohan is one of the most beautiful women on the planet. But seriously, Bela. Hands down.

24. Would you recommend XXX to a friend? Why or why not? 

I have! Many of times, and ALWAYS WITH THE CAVEAT to stop at the end of season 5. Not a single one of them has listened to me and almost all of them came to me at the end of the finale and were like WHY DID I WASTE SO MUCH TIME, and I don’t want to say I told them so, but like, I explicitly in neon colored text once told them so, so like, idk what to tell them. But yes! I think if someone is interested in some classic mystery television that has an overarching theme of family and forgiveness and striking out against the boxes that life tries to put us all into, SPN is a great show. But only the first 5 seasons. Also, be prepared for some thematically problematic parts of the show because there’s a lot of cishet toxic masculinity in those early seasons, and we should examine our media critically. There’s also a lot of good though too, and IMO, the good outweighs the bad.

25. How would you end XXX/Would you change the ending of XXX?

I would’ve ended it at season 5. I would’ve had Sam escape the pit and seen him standing under the street lamp, but then I would’ve had him walking away to leave Dean with Lisa (btw, side note, I DIDN’T like Lisa because I don’t think Dean would ever be truly happy with someone completely outside the life). Not because Sam doesn’t love his brother, but because he *does* love his brother, and because he would want Dean to be happy, even though Dean and Sam’s ideas of what makes the other happy have always been a little bit screwed up.. but that’s a different story.

27. Least shippable character?

Probably Zachariah. God, could you imagine? And... maybe Alastair, but I’m sure there are fics out there that I do not want to think about.

[girlbossfrankshepard]

Hey guess what! I just took upon myself the fun challenge of transcribing this early version of Rich And Happy from Broadway previews, and I managed to get most of it pretty good! If anyone could help me fill in the blanks, I would much appreciate it, because uh. It’s A Lot

[TERRY] So we bought this little condominium...

[KATE] So we found this little Chinese gardener...

[JEROME] It's a clear case of studio politics...

[PHOTOGRAPHER] We were stuck on the freeway till half past six...

[TERRY] So we bought this little condominium...

[FOUR GUESTS] Great… Hmm... Yeah...

[ALL] Party!

[FRANK] Life is swinging Skies are blue and bells are ringing Every day I wake up singing "Look at me, I'm rich and happy!"

Days are sunny Working hard for lots of money Filled with people smart and funny Filled with people rich and happy!

Who says, "Lonely at the top"? I say, "Let it never stop!" It's my time coming through All my dreams coming true: Gorgeous house, gorgeous wife Who wants any more from life?

Skies are beaming Future bright and prospects gleaming Best of all, I don't stop dreaming Just because I'm rich And happy And- oh, yes! Famous, too!

[KATE, speaking] Oh Frank! I am paralyzed with joy tonight! And I cannot tell a lie, so, you look very young and very handsome!

[FRANK] Ugh, I needed to hear that today! Only this morning I was asked to come back and speak at my old high school’s commencement next year! I will have been out 25 years.

[KATE] Oh, be still my heart! You going to go?

[FRANK] Ha, who knows what I’ll be doing a year from now? If my life is falling apart and I need some good press, I’ll go.

[KATE] Ah, come, come, my dear! This is your year!

[RU singing Good Thing Going in.. French I think? Also a bit of chatter I can’t make out]

[TED, singing] Which one is that one?

[RU] That one’s the rich one, Married to which one?

[TED] I think it’s that one. (scatting??)

[ALL] Party!

[MARY, speaking] Come on, Frank, get me a double vodka. Straight up. And a floor plan (?).

[RU laughs, MARY mocks his laughing]

[MARY] Could you have been so upset? After all, it’s only lies. And if I have to keep playing this one more depressing day… Who wrote that song?

[RU] The host.

[MARY] What? It’s been 20 years since he wrote it, inspire (?) anything else. What’s your name?

[RU] Ru, like the poet.

[MARY] My name’s Mary, like “good old Mary”. Ru, if you were somewhere else in the world, where would you be?

[RU] (something about living on a farm?) It’s got everything.

[MARY] So have you.

[RU] Excuse me?

[MARY] I was being a brat. I’m a 42 year old brat. Is this empty cup yours?

[RU] Well, it was.

[MARY] Can I just borrow it so everybody doesn’t know all my business? I want to have one simple double, and that’s all. Oh God, now you’re gonna think I’m a drunk, right? Well, I’m not. I happen to be a captain. (??) That guy over there is just crazy about me, but he hates it when I drink. Hehehe…

[ALEX, singing] Perfect house, perfect wife Yes, my dear And yet the hostess isn’t here I wonder where could she appear

[Sounds of frustrated people, “are you kidding?”]

[TERRY] So we bought this little condominium…

[Crowd chatter]

[TERRY] So we bought this little string of laundromats...

[ALL?] Great! Smog Points

{SOME GUY 1] These are the movers These are the shapers These are the people That kill the papers

[SOME GUY 2] Looking good!

[ALL] We are the friends of Frank!

[SOME GUY 2] Everybody’s looking good!

[ALL] We all have Frank to thank!

[MARY] These are the movers These are the shapers These are the people That give you vapors

[GUEST, speaking] Ah, there are oceans and champagne! This is all just set for the occasion! I believe we’re going to see some fabulously important movie premiere!

[RICH BACKER] And just wait until you see our darling child in it! Gird your loins!

[MEG] Mother!

[RICH BACKER, singing] Twenty years ago, Who’d have thunk? Who’d have thunk we’d be standing here? Hours of sobbing and overrun (?) You (?) with Frank

[GUEST] Looking good

[RICH BACKER] Now you represent Frank! And I’m his personal bank!

[“Everybody’s looking good” and “These are the movers” overlapping]

[ALL] Life is swinging Skies are blue and bells are ringing Every day I wake up singing "Look at me, I'm rich and happy!"

[MEG] Gosh, he’s attractive Gosh, he’s so smart Gosh, it’s exciting being here Gosh, it’s my start! This is my first premiere I should be acting looser Gosh, this is my first affair With a first-rate producer

[Some guy fucking scatting again]

[ALEX, speaking] Mary! Come! That last review you wrote, I do not have the words! I read it over and over!

[MARY] Didn’t you get it the first time?

[ALEX] I do wish you wrote fiction instead of reviewing movies. I’d love you to write about our house last week when we thought we’d lost our little dog. All of us searching the house, the yard, everywhere, and you know what? Ha! I had forgotten I’d put it in the car!

[MARY] How can I get the rights? Excuse me, I promised that shy guy over there by the piano I’d (?)

[ALEX] See you later!

[MARY] I hope so!

[ALL] Days are stunning (?) stars are slumming

[TED] (?) The right one?

[RU] That’s their employer

[TED] Who’s the uptight one?

[RU] That one’s his lawyer And that one’s his agent And that one’s his banker (?)

[TED] And then there’s his “yes man”

[RU] Now where is his yes man? ...Oh yes.

[TED, speaking] You making money?

[RU] Sure. (I think I may have gotten these two mixed up a few times)

[GUEST] Shut up.

[ALL] Party!

[Frank and Jerome are playing Backgammon]

[JEROME] That’s two-thousand, I’ll take a check!

(?)

[FRANK] Did I say on the invitation “cocktail party” or “drinks before my premiere”?

[MEG?] Frank-

[FRANK] Meg, be a good girl, I’m trying to write a bad check.

[JEROME] After producing this movie, he now joins an income bracket that’s limited to oil barons and drug producers.

[FRANK] (Seemingly sullen) Yeah, and isn’t it wonderful? Now I have everything I have ever wanted. I have nothing more to wish for. My every want, my every dream has finally come true.

[KATE?] I guess that’s (?), Frank

[FRANK] God, Jerome. Don’t you wish you could put on your 18 year old glasses and see life the way Meg does?

[KATE?, singing] Twenty years ago, He parked cars

[A bunch of people overlapping here, “he was out of a job”]

[GUESTS] Now just look at us superstars Worth the national bank (I make cars) Each as big as his (?) (I own cars) Friends of president (?)

[GUEST] I’m still out of it!

[Too many people]

[GUESTS] Twenty years ago, Who’d have thought We’d be setting the trends? Who’d have guessed we’d be friends? Who can tell where it ends?

Making it (Get in line) Everybody’s making it (Get in line) Everybody’s got that hard-earned hungry look in their eyes

[TERRY, speaking] I think the last of the old contract-slayers here is falling apart! You got something on your nose, Jerome. (playfully) Your finger! Ahahaha!

[FRANK] Terry, you know Meg who is starring in my picture.

[TERRY] (to MEG) Not too gorgeous, huh? Oh, and don’t feel bad you don’t have bosoms like mine. It’s gonna take growing to have bosoms like these, (?) put silicone in their training bra! Meg, while you can, cause they don’t last long after (?) Oh well, tut tut. I used to have class like that. See you at the movies! Which is more than you can say for me! (gasp) Is that Mary?

[MARY] No. You see, Ru, I can’t marry you. No, I can’t, there’d be too many changes in my life. So don’t ask me. (approached by ALEX) What?

[ALEX, singing] Perfect house, perfect wife Yes, my dear And yet, well, Gussie’s not here I need the time

[Some overlapping voices, then a really uncomfortable long silence]

[TERRY?] So we bought this little piece of property…

[ALL] Days go zipping Even when they’re less than gripping Mostly though it’s like you’re tripping High on being rich And happy

Most fulfilling Even when you don’t get billing Every day you wake up willing Happy to be rich And happy (lol isn’t that kind of redundant)

Who says all our dreams get burned? Every bit of this was earned It's our time coming through All our dreams coming true All our days full of beans This must be what happy means!

Skies are beaming Future bright and prospects gleaming! Best of all, we don't stop dreaming Just because we're rich— And happy

[GUEST] And maybe-

[Bit of chatter]

[ALL] Famous too!

[dweemeister]

NOTE: This review contains full spoilers.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

The ninth installment of the Skywalker saga is not only the conclusion to the Star Wars sequel trilogy, but to a decade where the Walt Disney Company has asserted itself as the most powerful entertainment company that has ever existed. The company, led by Chairman and CEO Bob Iger, is unrecognizable from where it was a decade ago, with Walt Disney Motion Pictures dominating, if not outright monopolizing, theater screens internationally. Unlike the movie moguls of yore such as Darryl F. Zanuck (20th Century Fox), Mack Sennett (Keystone Studios), David O. Selznick (Selznick International), or Jack Warner (Warner Bros.), Iger has a business background, not an artistic one. His respective $4 billion purchases of Lucasfilm and Marvel were decisions not made from cinematic considerations, but financial ones. The conservative artistry seen in Disney’s films in 2019 – including that other enormous blockbuster of the year, Avengers: Endgame – has evidenced where the company’s soul is. This is not the House of Mouse of Walt Disney, which ceased to be in 1968 after the final films Walt produced before his death were released to theaters.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is directed and co-written by J.J. Abrams (the other co-writer is Chris Terrio), who directed The Force Awakens (2015). The film goes out of its way to repudiate Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi (2017), which – though valued more than its predecessor by yours truly – unleashed a torrent of intra-fandom acrimony rooted in racism; sexism; and an unhealthy, uncritical merger of personal identity and pop culture franchise. This is not to absolve The Last Jedi of its plentiful shortcomings, but to comment on where the Star Wars fandom is upon the release of The Rise of Skywalker. The Rise of Skywalker is more of a continuation of The Force Awakens, and this includes Abrams’ propensity to craft variations on existing material. Yet even the most creative decisions in this ninth Star Wars episode are hampered by poor filmmaking, two-and-a-half films worth of plot stuffed into one, dreadful writing resulting in thematic inconsistencies and canonical contradictions that will be  explained away in some novel or video game, and an obvious lack of planning. The most concerning thing is that Star Wars’ reputation – despite my description of the series four years ago as, “a pastiche and always has been” – as an innovative force in cinema (even the prequels) has been lost. This is not the Star Wars of George Lucas, which ceased to be after Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm.

Without warning or foreshadowing, the opening crawl immediately states that Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) – who appeared to have died in Return of the Jedi (1983) – has broadcasted an ominous message to the galaxy. This message, which you can hear exclusively on Fortnite (this is not a joke), has caused widespread anxiety but, most importantly, has led Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) to Palpatine’s whereabouts. Palpatine has been orchestrating everything to seduce Kylo to the dark side, also revealing to the erstwhile Ben Solo that he has commissioned a fleet that will bolster the First Order’s by ten thousand-fold – a fleet that will send shivers down the spines of accountants anywhere. Elsewhere, Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher posthumously) is finalizing Rey’s (Daisy Ridley) Jedi training as Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac; whose character is now Leia’s successor apparent) learn of the name of the planet where Palpatine is hiding, thanks to a well-placed spy. What follows is a series of fetch quests with the three central sequel trilogy heroes, accompanied by Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), BB-8 (operated by David Chapman and Brian Herring), and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels).

The film features many others, most notably Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), Resistance ally Jannah (Naomi Ackie), First Order General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson), Allegiant General Pride (Richard E. Grant doing his best Peter Cushing impression), Poe’s friend/acquaintance/Abrams and Terrio’s written excuse to make him straight Zorii Bliss (Keri Russell), and R2-D2 (Hassan Taj and Lee Towersey). Lupita Nyong’o’s Maz Kanata returns in a glorified cameo; a handful of deceased characters make postmortem appearances.

Rose Tico made Kelly Marie Tran the first (and only) non-white actress to play a lead role in a Star Wars film. The character, along with John Boyega’s Finn, was given a poorly-written C-plot in The Last Jedi – Tran (who was subjected to online abuse prior to and after The Last Jedi’s release) and Boyega did their damndest in some of the worst sequences Star Wars has. The filmmakers (it is not exactly clear who is responsible, whether it is the screenwriters or the producers) have capitulated to the online trolls who attacked Tran (and her character) for her appearance, gender, and race. Her exclusion and other decisions in this film dispose entirely The Last Jedi’s antithesis that one need not be from a hallowed bloodline or an exclusive order to exemplify the bravery, compassion, and service to others that is celebrated within and beyond Star Wars. Rose Tico, described as, “the heart of [The Last Jedi]”, is an embodiment of the idea that the consequences of the multigenerational violence initiated or inspired by the Skywalkers – and, by extension, the centuries-old conflict between the Jedi and the Sith – are felt most by those without Force capabilities, military or political power. The Rise of Skywalker, through its treatment of Rose Tico among other storytelling choices, openly rejects this commentary and opportunity to present an untold perspective in favor of dynastic interests and expositional excess.

For Finn and Poe, The Rise of Skywalker represents another missed opportunity for character development. Finn, from the moment he appears onscreen, is too busy speaking expository points. Poe is given a lady friend so that homophobic censors around the world do not give Disney’s distribution managers a difficult time. The interest surrounding Rey (whose arc, as a mythic hero finally realizing her horrible family history as a Palpatine, comes to a merely satisfactory conclusion in The Rise of Skywalker) and Kylo Ren/Ben Solo – and yes, that includes their bewildering relationship that Abrams himself cannot coherently explain – will be endlessly debated in greater detail by others with a greater emotional affinity for Star Wars.

As the embodiment for the First Order for almost all the sequel trilogy, Kylo Ren’s/Ben Solo’s about face to the light after being stabbed in the stomach by Rey is unconvincing. This is a character who has been presented with numerous opportunities to renounce the ways of the dark side of the Force and has spurned each opportunity – even after becoming Supreme Leader of the First Order in The Last Jedi, with no authority figure influencing his conduct, and fully understanding the difference between right and wrong. He has acted predatory towards Rey in the form of physical threats and has demonstrated no willingness to change. Abrams and Terrio’s solution is to have Kylo Ren hallucinate a forgiving Han Solo (Harrison Ford, uncredited) to inspire this change – they might as well have had an angel and devil on Kylo Ren’s opposing shoulders because it would have been just as believable.

Too many aspects of The Rise of Skywalker depend on fanservice. The appearances of individuals like Lando Calrissian and Luke Skywalker’s Force ghost (Mark Hamill) are welcome, but do not add enough to the film from what the filmmakers are intending. The introduction of new characters in the final film of a sequel trilogy is additional bloat that will be better developed in a future Star Wars book, television series, or video game. This is an irritating development, as ancillary Star Wars media is not guaranteed (okay, with Disney’s money it is probably a certainty) and probably will not be consumed by the masses (especially in several decades’ time) – these characters and other subplots should stand independently within the film they appear. Abrams and Terrio’s attempts to provide a morsel of character development to these secondary and tertiary characters should have occurred in earlier films or scaled back for The Rise of Skywalker. Death is apparently a reversible thing, robbing scenes of emotional power and exemplifying how gutless the screenplay is – certain developments in how the Force works have opened dangerous precedents for future Star Wars media, making it resemble more like superhero media (where only Bruce Wayne’s parents and Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben remain deceased). It is further evidence that, as has been widely speculated, that Abrams and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy approved this sequel trilogy without a comprehensible three-part story or, at the very least, a general idea of how to develop a logical story arc for this project.

Other questions raised but not developed across The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi linger. The sequel trilogy dispenses with the tried-and-tested theory of the three-act narrative structure if analyzed from the entirety of the Skywalker saga – a trilogy of trilogies. Films and cinematic trilogies do not always adhere to this paradigm, but given how the previous eight episodes are told and how rigidly J.J. Abrams has kept to this structure in his career, it is stunning how the ninth episode completes the sequel trilogy’s incongruence with all that has come before. Episodes I, II, and III (“Act 1″) are the catalyst: with his fear unchecked and exploited by Palpatine, Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader and the Republic is overthrown by an authoritarian Galactic Empire. The Jedi Order is almost destroyed. Episodes IV, V, and VI (“Act 2″) sees the light confront the dark: Luke Skywalker becomes a Jedi and the Rebel Alliance lands a fatal, but not final, blow to the Galactic Empire. Anakin, “the Chosen One”, fulfills the prophecy of bringing balance to the Force.

Episodes VII, VIII, and IX (“Act 3″) – if we are assuming the traditional three-act structure that Star Wars has adopted in each of its films and the two preceding trilogies – should see how the protagonists create and maintain order leading up to and/or after the fall of the Galactic Empire. Thus, the sequel trilogy should see the reconstruction of the Galactic Republic and Jedi Order. More politics may not be what Star Wars fans want to see, but post-revolutionary/post-war states tend to be unstable politically and militarily. A post-Galactic Civil War period could easily see the violent death throes of Imperial and Sith-y remnants amid the restoration of the Republic. To quote from The Battle of Algiers (1966): “It’s hard to start a revolution. Even harder to continue it. And hardest of all to win it. But, it’s only afterwards... that the true difficulties begin.” Instead, this sequel trilogy is nothing more than a contemporary rehash of the second act. It is another dramatic second act confrontation, an escalation of the second act because we learn little about the post-Galactic Civil War period within the films. Palpatine’s zombified resurrection (Abrams’ responsibility) and defeat at the hands of Rey does not flow naturally from The Last Jedi and makes the final minutes of Return of the Jedi (which it partially copies in its climax) a lot less consequential than it should be. What should be the Skywalker saga’s third act is shoveled into the final ten or twenty minutes of The Rise of Skywalker.

The maximalism of The Rise of Skywalker requires it to juggle too many plotlines for an overlong fetch quest. It is not aided by the editing of Maryann Brandon (2009′s Star Trek, The Force Awakens) and Stefan Grube (The Force Awakens, 2016′s 10 Cloverfield Lane). In a series that has contained remarkable examples of film editing, The Rise of Skywalker is a franchise-worst – even the prequels had the decency to stay on certain shots for a few seconds to allow the audience to bask in the landscape, a certain character or creature, or a lightsaber duel. The film switches cameras too quickly, positioned too close to the characters. It occurs in the film’s quieter moments and during the climactic battles (the gold standard of editing in Star Wars battles is Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi v. Darth Maul in 1999′s The Phantom Menace; note how few cuts there are compared to most of today’s action movies and how Lucas is not afraid to pull his camera to a wide shot to let the scene feel larger than life as well as making spatial sense).

The Rise of Skywalker still feels like a space opera epic, with exciting action sequences abound here and there. The “secret sauce of Star Wars”, George Lucas will tell you, is not in the new worlds and aliens and those who use the Force. It is composer John Williams; The Rise of Skywalker is his final Star Wars score. This is not Williams’ best Star Wars score, but it is a masterful capstone to forty-two years of work. The newest and most fascinating musical ideas are both contained in the cue “The Rise of Skywalker”. Williams, whose motivic-heavy scoring relates ideas and grows alongside characters, provides a general main theme (0:00-0:54) and a friendship motif (beginning at 0:54) appearing in scenes where the bonds between Rey, Finn, and Poe are depicted. These few minutes exemplify how wondrous Williams’ ability to add complex harmonies underneath his soaring melodies is. Few other film composers living, if any at all, can have these two new musical ideas (these motifs are abnormally, but welcomingly, longer than usual for Williams) intermingling and in contrapuntal conversation to such mesmeric heights. 

The Emperor’s theme, as first heard in Return of the Jedi, makes its predictable and always-unsettling return here. But the other major motif introduced for The Rise of Skywalker is “Anthem of Evil”. This, introduced by choir, is expanded upon in “Approaching the Throne” and is befitting a being neither fully alive nor dead. The unsettling bass notes and low choir seem more appropriate for a horror film, but is entirely deserved for this film. One can also find excellent cues online (a favorite is “Falcon Flight”, which demonstrates the best of Williams’ action scoring) as of the writing of this review that do not appear on the initial commercial release album, but an album provided to Hollywood insiders for awards consideration (that album contains the best statement of Kylo Ren’s motif). This is a valedictory score, yet contains some of the best film music work of the year. We will give John Williams a pass if he is in a celebratory mood.

Williams has completed something that, in film history, only one other composer has accomplished. He stands alone with Akira Ifukube. Where Ifukube composed for Toho Company’s kaiju films/Godzilla franchise (from 1952′s Godzilla to 1995′s Godzilla vs. Destoroyah), Williams has composed for a multipart cycle of films released over several decades (nine films, like the nine symphonies of many classical music composers). Williams’ Star Wars cycle is the most popular example of what grand orchestral film music can do – how it lends greater emotional heft to images onscreen, its dramatic versatility, why it deserves a place in the concert hall and classical music history – among today’s audiences. The nine scores will be his defining work, but hopefully posterity will remember and see the genius of his compositions like Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Schindler’s List (1993), and even his strict classical music and jazz pieces.*

Kathleen Kennedy’s mismanagement of this sequel trilogy has been laid bare by The Rise of Skywalker. In four short years, Disney has somehow run one of its most prized IPs into the creative cinematic dirt by attempting to please as broad a base as possible in this ninth installment. The creative choices of the last several years and The Rise of Skywalker alone has made being a casual Star Wars fan exhausting. As someone who did not watch a Star Wars film all the way through until I was thirteen, has it always been this exhausting? One day that exhaustion will make way for relief, but that will be long after Bob Iger is hailed for his supposed moviemaking acumen with Star Wars and Marvel leading the way. Iger, as mentioned previously, has not been visionary but mercenary for the Walt Disney Company, with Kathleen Kennedy and Kevin Feige his enforcers. He will remain in charge of the Walt Disney Company until the end of 2021.

This Star Wars sequel trilogy, popular as it has been, has been an artistic misfire. J.J. Abrams, more of a hype man‡ than the B-director whose has never shaken off his television background, has somehow regressed from the ideologically bankrupt Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) – hey, Trekkies and Star Wars fans have something in common! The filmmakers chosen to bring The Rise of Skywalker and this sequel trilogy were baptized in waters created when George Lucas, Gary Kurtz, and others redirected the flow of film history with Star Wars. Star Wars may no longer be guided by Lucas’ vision, but the artistry that arrived in theaters in 1977 can never be washed away.

My rating: 5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found here.

Also in this series: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) and The Last Jedi (2017)

* These references to classical music history should not be construed as a claim that John Williams is an equal to Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, or Mahler - they are composing music in different artistic contexts (classical music for music’s sake is different from classical opera and both are contextually different compared to orchestral music written for a film). Instead, it is an acknowledgment that orchestral film music is gaining widespread acceptance as part of the classical music canon. Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1938′s The Adventures of Robin Hood), Alfred Newman (1962′s How the West Was Won), and Max Steiner (1939′s Gone with the Wind) created the vocabulary of film music in the early sound era and have - to varying degrees - been accepted into the classical music canon. The jury is out for the younger composers working in Hollywood in the twenty-first century.

‡ Abrams’ (and others as well) incessant teasing of LGBTQ+ representation resulted in a scene where two women we have no information about kiss in the background for a few moments after the Final Order’s defeat, surrounded by a bunch of Resistance soldiers also celebrating. Given the context, this kiss can be explained away as a moment of platonic affection that went further than it should (hypothetical: it’s nearing midnight at New Years’ Eve and folks are drunk everywhere... what do you think is going to happen?). Let’s not pat ourselves on the back now, filmmakers.

[snugglyporos]

Okay ya’ll I have to rant for a good minute about the Fate series because my stupid autistic brain has been hyper focusing on it for the past four hours and I need to put these thoughts down or I’ll never get rid of them. 

I’m so... disappointed? frustrated? mad? Idk what I think. It’s all of these things to see such a great idea executed so awfully. So lazily. So incompetently. 

Because I can’t help constantly engaging with it and going ‘you know, this would be really good if they just did x.’ There’s so many monumental moments of stupidity that I can’t help but go ‘wow that’s dumb as hell.’

There’s a rule in fiction where the larger the stakes are, the more complex and unwieldy it gets, because it effects more things. That’s why usually the best fiction involves low stakes overall, or personal stakes, because you don’t need to then consider the cosmological complications of your story. Having a story that involves magic, time travel, secret organizations, multiple illuminati organizations on top of those, and countless other bullshit does not make for a coherent or compelling story. 

I’ve said before that one thing I hate is the idea of a ‘world organization.’ It’s lazy as hell. If Russia and China couldn’t get along when they were both communist, the idea that the entire world with all its varying ideologies and ethnic groups could be run by one group of people is nonsense. People can barely coexist with others like themselves. Furthermore, in our age of nationalism, the idea that say, China would have their top brass subserviant to western illumiati is stupid. It’s also stupid in the reverse. The idea that all of ANYTHING is ruled by one group of people is stupid and it makes you look lazy to write things like that.

Second, trying to put your story in the ‘real world’ or any image of it while claiming that all the world’s mages belong to one organization while ‘the church’ that runs all religions exists is stupid. It defies belief. It also wouldn’t be an issue if they weren’t dead set on trying to explain how this goes on in the ‘real world’. 

Also, apparently time travel exists. Also, all of human history was erased. Yet somehow they go back in time, and summon people from the future. You know, going back to a time that doesn’t exist, and summoning people from the future who haven’t been born yet, who also don’t exist. Time travel is ALWAYS stupid. It’s ALWAYS bad. Always. Because the core notions and questions that it brings up immediately reveal why it is stupid. Let’s say you sent one person back in time. If you witnessed it, and didn’t go with them, you should now not exist. Why? Because the act of something being somewhere that it wasn’t before creates a paradox. The only way it doesn’t is if the world you lived in is the same world where they went back in time, and that raises questions about fate and free will, and most authors simply aren’t interested in getting that metaphysical, and as such render their stories incredibly stupid. 

But! Let’s try, for the sake of arguement, to put aside all this nonsense. Does the core idea of the story make sense? Are there clear, defined rules? No! Nothing makes any goddamn sense. Apparently, magic exists, but then there are magic circuts, which aren’t explained. The rules about everything is not explained and is frequently contradicted. Example. Who can be summoned, and how? Sometimes, it’s anyone. Sometimes, it’s different versions of someone. Sometimes, it requires a piece attached to that someone. Sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes, where the person is summoned changes how powerful they are, and sometimes it doesn’t.

But they can’t even get their basic shit right. Example: is Dracula a vampire or is he not? Because the series can’t decide if it wants to allow people from history OR people from fiction to be summoned, it can’t decide if someone like Vlad III is undead or not. Are you going with the version of history where he was an insane, murderous, nationalistic king? Or are you going with the version from the story of Dracula, a work of fiction? You can’t have it both ways!

Here’s another example: can you summon gods or not? Heracles is summoned, and Heracles is a god. He was literally made into a god at the end of his own story. Even if you go ‘well, the version that people can summon is his non-god self from before the end’ he is still a demigod. Which means that you’re now getting into weird territory where it’s unclear who and what counts as someone who can be summoned.

But then you get into having to think about all the weird historical revisionism that the series plays with. Look, historical fiction can be fine. What I don’t understand is the series’ weird fixation with turning some of histories worst individuals into anime girls. You could certainly, for example, make a version of King Arthur where all the sexes are switched. Granted, a whole lot of the story wouldn’t work, because characters like Morgan Le Fay and Mordred no longer work in their story roles anymore. But you could, theoretically do it. 

What I don’t get is why the series says, ‘you know who we should depict as a kind and gentle anime babe? Nero.” You know, the Nero who kicked his pregnant wife to death, castrated a man and forced him to marry him, put on plays that people were forced to attend and then executed anyone who yawned or sneezed during his performances, and who built a private lake where the Colosseum now is, put a floating house on it, and had the ceiling have an accurate replica of the starry night sky using precious gems, only to then remark that ‘now I can live like a human being.’ Yeah, that Nero. Clearly, this just screams that we need to depict them as being a kind and gentle ruler, and not say, an unstable psychopath who sees himself as a literal god walking upon the earth. 

But that’s not even their worst offence. They turn Elizabeth Bathory into a pop idol. You know, one of histories worst serial killers? The person who had innocent women murdered and then bathed in their blood? Yes, clearly that is someone we should portray as an innocent girl. 

And it’s not like history is lacking in great women who did fantastic things. There are scores of heroines to choose from if you want to use them. You don’t need to pick serial killers and sex change the most insane emperors.

But even some of the ones they do pick don’t make sense. Why the fuck is Marie Antoinette considered a ‘heroic spirit?’ If we go by her in popular myth, she’s best known for something she didn’t say, which is ‘let them eat cake.’ Why the fuck did that mean ‘let’s make her someone who is entirely misunderstood and loves the peasants?’ Also, why a ‘rider’ and choose her for that because of her being pulled in a cart to her execution? The fuck?

It beggars belief. It utterly confounds the mind. It’s lazy, and its shoddy. Almost as shoddy as the notion of ‘classes’ which makes no sense and apparently has a heirarchy, which itself makes no sense if the whole point of having people fight is to decide something. Having people fight where someone gets an innately better class at random makes no sense. Hell, having classes at all makes no sense. Having it be okay for the things you summon to kill those who summoned them to win makes no sense, because if all you needed to do was kill each other, you don’t need heroes to do that! 

Hell, the fact that they’re fighting over the ‘holy grail’ and that it was made in japan is nonsense already. The holy grail is literally arthurian legend. I know japan gets a pass for this shit, but I don’t know why. Everyone rolls their eyes when they say that ancient egyptians look exactly like modern day japanese people, but apparently it’s also okay that they just straight up steal something from arthurian legend as a premise... and then entirely botch that premise or understanding anything ABOUT it. 

Here’s an idea. If you’re going to use the holy grail as your plot device, you know the thing Jesus drank out of at the last supper, maybe don’t then say that people can just make them all over the place? That’d be like if in the last crusade, all of the cups that Indiana Jones found were all capable of being the holy grail. It’s stupid.

Why is it so hard to just do something simple? You don’t need to overcomplicate this shit. Grab some characters who each want a thing they can’t have, have them be represented by some great hero, have them fight for that thing, and you’re done! You don’t need to bring time travel, the illuminati, nonsense magical rules, and metaphysical shit into this! 

Again, maybe the creators have no desire to do anything other than try and see how many awful historical people they can put boobs on. It’s starting to remind me of that book that went around a few years back where someone drew history’s greatest murderers as anime babes, so you could see guys like Stalin, Hitler, and Pol Pot as big tiddy anime girls. Why? Idk. 

But if the series wants to do that, if all it wants to do is wallow around in its own shit, it’s taking way too much time and effort trying to make up stupid nonsense. It’s just so frustrating and disappointing to see an idea with such promise be farted away by people who clearly do not give a shit about what they’re making in the slightest. It’s a damn shame.

[pubtheatres1]

ONE GIANT LEAP Brockley Jack Theatre 2 – 27 July 2019 “That’s one small step for man…” Neil Armstrong INTERVIEW WITH WRITER & DIRECTOR OF ARROWS AND TRAPS THEATRE, ROSS MCGREGOR LPT: Hello Ross, We’re rather pleased to have another chat with you about your company, the award nominated Arrows & Traps but also wanted to grill you a little bit on your new writing, ONE GIANT LEAP. How long did it take you to write it? Hi there, how lovely to be asked. I have a somewhat unusual process in that I pitch the idea to the Jack, book the slot, design the artwork / poster, get the show on sale, start selling tickets and only then start writing the script. This is partly due to the quick turnaround of shows and my lack of time between, and also that we have to book these things quite far in advance as the Jack is a popular and sought-after space, but also because I have an issue with self-discipline, and so if I didn’t have a concrete deadline, I think I’d still be tinkering with Frankenstein, a show I wrote and produced in 2017. One Giant Leap is the first completely original piece that I’ve written without a source material, and it took me about two weeks to get onto paper. ONE GIANT LEAP is celebrating the fiftieth Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing but it seems you have got your own spin on it. Could you tell us the story in nutshell? Yes absolutely. It’s a comic take on the greatest conspiracy in history. It centres on Edward Price, a producer of a failing 60’s sci-fi show called Moonsaber – which is basically a poor man’s Star Trek. Edward’s life has fallen into a rut, his wife has left him, he’s lost his house to the IRS, and Moonsaber has just been cancelled in its first season. All looks grim, until a representative to President Nixon comes to his door with a suitcase of money and a proposition. The Apollo 11 Moon Landing is four days away, but due to the moon being about a hundred degrees too hot for photographic film; they can get there, they just can’t film it. And what is a massive propaganda exercise without proof that you actually did it? So they ask Edward to fake the footage by any means possible, if he can do it, he can bring Moonsaber back to life for another season, if he fails – he loses everything. Where does the comedy come from? Mainly from the people that Edward employs in Moonsaber. They’re a ragtag bunch of actors, stage managers and technicians, and due to the show being cancelled – they’re falling apart at the seams – it’s down to Edward to keep it all together, to pull off the greatest lie in history, whilst trying to save his marriage, salvage his career, and keep the lies he’s telling intact. It’s a study of the creative industry, a satirical and loving homage to theatre. We’re not trying to say anything serious about whether the moon landing was or wasn’t real, but more provide a raucous night out at the theatre, and keep you laughing about it on the Overground home. Why is it important to offer a lighter comedy in theatre right now? I think, at times, theatre can take itself too seriously, and become too myopic about tackling the dark and dreadful issues that are affecting society – I’ve lost count of how many shows there are about Brexit playing right now – and whilst that’s great, and admirable - speaking for myself, after the last year I’m sick of the darkness, I’m bored by the constant stream of depressive updates about the rise of the Right, I can’t engage with it, the European elections gave a victory to nationalists, we gave a state visit to a racist, homelessness is at an all-time high, and we’re literally cooking the planet to death. There are sometimes when I just want a great night out and forget how scary the world seems right now – laughter is the best medicine – not as a retreat, but a reminder of the good in us, of the joy, of the light. As the company is repertory, you’ll be working with some actors you know very well. Did you have any of them in mind when you were writing the script? I certainly wrote two of the eight roles with long time company members Will Pinchin and Lucy Loannou in mind. And whilst yes, the roles are tailored to suit both of them - I did write the roles of Howard and Alchamy to stretch and challenge Will and Lucy, because I’d never seen them play characters like that. Will is nothing like Howard, and Lucy isn’t at all like Alchamy, but in way, they’re made for those roles, and for me, they’re perfect choices. I do like working with the same actors repeatedly, it is true, because you build up a short hand of technique and approach, but also you build up a trust. The actors in the company come in on day one, sort of knowing what to bring me, and what kind of vision I’ll probably have, since my style is something of a constant, but also I’m able to, as their director, cast them in roles that perhaps play against type, or test their flexibility and skillsets. I’m not an actor, but if I were, I’d hate to play the same roles every time, to only get the “intense one” or the “dopey one” or the “awkward one” – I’d want to think I could play anything that was thrown at me, and I think our rep system allows for experimentation and exploration. What has been the hardest part of the whole process to date? We’re only in the first week of rehearsal, so nothing too taxing thus far. Hands down, the hardest part of a comedy is when you’ve rehearsed it so much you no longer find it funny, at which point we need an audience. One Giant Leap hasn’t hit that point yet, obviously, but I think most comic work benefits from the response and energy an audience gives. Theatre can be electric when you have that to play off, but in terms of where we are – One Giant Leap’s greatest challenge is the analysing of why something is funny, and making sure it’s that way every time. It’s all about timing. For many years I laboured under the misapprehension that stand up comedy was just a funny person being funny with a microphone, that was until I saw Dylan Moran do the same set twice in the space of three weeks. He has a very casual, off the cuff, almost improvised way of performing, and I assumed that it was just his natural charisma and quick wit, until I saw the set the second time, only to find it was identical to the first. All the pauses, the stresses, the tangents, the quips, all of which was honed, polished and a work of precision. It was funny because he’d worked out the best way to get the laugh, every time, and that’s beyond art, it’s science, it’s music. Traditionally Arrows and Traps have produced a selection of brilliantly adapted classics, including Dracula, Frankenstein, Crime & Punishment and Anna Karenina. Have you got a soft spot for one of them? I loved the breathlessness and breadth of Anna Karenina, the precision and murk of Crime & Punishment, the thrill and gothicism of Dracula, and the humanity and pang of loss in Frankenstein. I think my favourite adaptation, if I had to pick one, is probably Frankenstein – but that’s purely subjective, and there was something about the biography of Mary Shelley, which we incorporated into the show, that really spoke to me – in the sense of a creator and a creation, a parent and child, a sinner and the terrible revenge. You’ve also got THE STRANGE CASE OF JEKYLL & HYDE coming up at Jack Studio in September. Your adaptations of the classics have been Arrows and Traps main focus, so does ONE GIANT LEAP herald a shift away from this? No, in fact because I know the next season of shows, One Giant Leap is perhaps the anomaly. Our work normally has a dark bent, we favour drama with funny lines as opposed to an out-and-out comedy. We’ve only ever done one full comedy before, The Gospel According To Philip back in 2016, so this is something of a return to that. I knew that the company was changing, and wanted to make a swansong to the current phase of work, I had originally planned for it to be TARO but that story ended so sadly, I wanted the last one to be lighter, more celebratory – there’s something inherently amusing about the various tropes you usually get in the theatre world, and so I thought a comedy would be a fitting homage to where we’ve come from, and a clean break to where we want to go next. The company has been going from strength to strength, what are the things of which you are most proud? Mainly, that we’re still going. Most theatre companies on the fringe don’t make it to their third show, we’re on our seventeenth. Part of that is sheer stubbornness, there have been points where any rational person would have thrown in the towel, but there was always something in me that would never bend, never break, never give up. It’s part ambition, part not wanting to fail, part wanting to make my father proud of me, part bloody-mindedness, part theatre-addiction. I think production-wise I’m most proud of The White Rose, to what that achieved, all the five star reviews and the Best Production Offie-nom, but of course I’m also very proud of the other twelve times we’ve been nominated for Off West End Awards, the relationship we’ve built with the Jack, the bond I have with my creative team and my casts, and just the fact that people seem to like the work. It’s still always funny to me when a reviewer calls us “critically-acclaimed” or “renowned rep company” – to me it’s just me, telling the stories I want to tell, with people I want to work with, you don’t always think about how it looks from the outside. I’m just producing the theatre I’d like to go and see. It was rumoured that you would be leaving fringe theatre for other careers, partly because of problems with funding. Was there are truth in that? Absolutely! And in a sense, this is still completely true. I am indeed done with fringe. I think I got to The White Rose in 2018 – where we got the Offie-Nom for Production, we had eight 5-star reviews, four 4 star reviews, we’d completely sold out, and done it the cheapest way possible, and we still didn’t break even. Which was very hard to take, and forced me to face the truth – you cannot hope to attain best practice ITC rates for your casts / creatives / yourself if you only do 15 shows in a 50 seater and you don’t have subsidising support from an arts grant scheme. It just isn’t possible. So I made the decision to stop producing work. Now obviously, with the shows being booked so far in advance, there were still three productions upcoming in the diary that I had to honour. But knowing I was quitting, and that this was the end for me, was too hard to bear - ultimately I had to face the fact that theatre is my life, and I could never leave it – so I had to find a way to make it work financially, not just for myself but for everyone else in the company, particularly the actors who are so often completely screwed over in fringe, and often end up working for nothing. Which is where the idea to change the model came from. Shrink the casts and sets to a more tourable model – 14 people down to 4 – and engage a tour booker to take the productions out of London to larger spaces that could widen the potential revenue. The Jack is our home, and we will always premiere all our shows there, but then we will take them into the provinces. The vision is still the same, adaptations of literary work, and biopics of iconic figures of history, but the remit and scale of the endeavour has changed. I don’t see it as an ending, just a moving from one phase into another. But yes, absolutely, the 8-10 handers, movement-heavy, ensemble, big music, huge shows – this stage in our trajectory is ending with One Giant Leap, and whilst I see why it has to end, a part of me is sad to see it go, because there was something so wonderful about doing a massive 15-hander like Three Sisters. Are you one of those people who is meticulously planning the future? Yes indeed, because really we have to plan ahead in order to book the shows with the venues. We’re doing One Giant Leap next month, and then move to Jeykll & Hyde in September, both at the Jack – and then Hyde goes on tour for about six months, with an opening of our next biopic Chaplin coming about halfway through the run in February. Because I’m overseeing contracts, and touring plans, and writing the scripts as well as casting each show and most likely directing each one, I need to know where we’ll be and when we’re doing it – I’m trying to build a book of shows, a repertoire that is constantly touring, moving forward, and ever-evolving – reaching more audiences, and engaging with new communities. In the meantime, we can’t wait to see ONE GIANT LEAP. Could you give us a little flavour of what’s to come? In terms of shows after One Giant Leap, we have Jekyll & Hyde - a dark, political thriller set in a post-Trump America – a gritty examination of the corruption of power, then Chaplin – which tells the story of the 20th Century’s most famous clown, documenting his path to becoming the iconic Little Tramp – and his meteoric rise from Victorian poverty to Hollywood fame. After that, we’re bringing back one of our most successful productions of 2017, Frankenstein, revisited and rewritten for a more tourable model, and then a biopic of Marilyn Monroe, called Making Marilyn, which covers the Norma Jean origin portion of the star’s life. After that – who knows? I’ve always wanted to tackle Madame Bovary – and I’d like to bring back TARO as it was one that I was particularly proud of in terms of its style and poetry. Finally, your shows at Brockley Jack are becoming legendary, it’s a great partnership. What are the things you’ve learnt about theatre whilst working at Brockley Jack? So much. The Jack has been a great place to develop my approach to stagecraft, and how to tell stories as clearly and engagingly as possible. Since we joined the Jack, we’ve built a vision of the style we want to have, and how we approach each difficulty, or tricky moment to stage, how our work with movement and text interconnect, and what we look for in our ensemble for each show. And, I guess, ultimately, I’ve being able to return to my training as a writer, and I’ve been so lucky to have so many opportunities to experiment with my writing, and get to think about how to tell a story and how to build each character. Playwriting is not something I’ve tried before, and I’ve loved delving into each of the worlds that the Jack has opened the door to. But I think most of all, I’ve been honoured by the patronage and support of Kate and Karl – and they’ve shown me the power of hard work, diligence, and care – if I ended up with anything like the talent and acumen they have, I’d be very happy. @June 2019 London Pub Theatres Magazine Ltd All Rights Reserved THIS SHOW HAS ENDED ONE GIANT LEAP Brockley Jack Theatre 2 – 27 July 2019 directed by Ross McGregor produced by Arrows & Traps Theatre Productions Box Office > Below: Rehearsals at Brockley Jack Studio "We’re not trying to say anything serious about whether the moon landing was or wasn’t real, but more provide a raucous night out at the theatre, and keep you laughing about it on the Overground home." "... speaking for myself, after the last year I’m sick of the darkness, I’m bored by the constant stream of depressive updates about the rise of the Right, I can’t engage with it, the European elections gave a victory to nationalists, we gave a state visit to a racist, homelessness is at an all-time high, and we’re literally cooking the planet to death." "Most theatre companies on the fringe don’t make it to their third show, we’re on our seventeenth. Part of that is sheer stubbornness, there have been points where any rational person would have thrown in the towel, but there was always something in me that would never bend, never break, never give up. It’s part ambition, part not wanting to fail, part wanting to make my father proud of me, part bloody-mindedness, part theatre-addiction." "... knowing I was quitting, and that this was the end for me, was too hard to bear - ultimately I had to face the fact that theatre is my life, and I could never leave it – so I had to find a way to make it work financially, not just for myself but for everyone else in the company, particularly the actors who are so often completely screwed over in fringe, and often end up working for nothing. Which is where the idea to change the model came from." " ... most of all, I’ve been honoured by the patronage and support of Kate and Karl (Jack Studio Theatre) – and they’ve shown me the power of hard work, diligence, and care – if I ended up with anything like the talent and acumen they have, I’d be very happy." In celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, Arrows & Traps Theatre bring their critically-acclaimed approach to a brand-new comedy set in the back streets of a Hollywood lot. One Giant Leap is about the power of having an impossible dream, realising it’s impossible, and then trying your hardest to fake it and hope no one notices.

[underthewingsofthblackeagle]

The Murderess from the Grunewald (8): Claire’s story (2)

“Der Reichstag” - Seat of the German Parliament * Picture by Jürgen Matern [CC BY-SA 3.0  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Previoulsy

Six months ago - First Attorney’s Visit in Prison (3)

        “So your husband had bought a house in prestigious Grunewald colony …“

       "Yes, Frank was very proud that he had managed to acquire a house in this prosperous district. The ‘best district’ of Berlin, as he emphasized again and again. Of course he knew the history of this place. When we were still in Boston he had only told me that he had acquired a large house in a good district of Berlin for our future family. Honestly, I didn’t care that much. I had lived in so many places on this earth and under so many different circumstances with my uncle Lambert … The only important thing for me was that we had a good place to live and see our children grow up in. On the flight to Berlin he told me about the history of this place.”

        "Otto Prince of Bismarck, the first chancellor of the German Empire, himself made sure that a large part of the forest Grunewald was sold by the Prussian State to the Kurfürstendamm Society, a banking consortium, in 1880. The aim of the company was to build a more elaborate residential district based on the model of the very successful villa colonies in Alsen and Lichterfelde, thus creating what was later called  'the millionaire colony Grunewald’. Whoever lived there then, had made it. That’s how it is still today. Several states have their embassies there and also maintain residences for their ambassadors. Great Britain and Ireland for example … “

        He smiled.

       "I know. Frank told me that on the flight from Boston to Berlin. And, of course, celebrities lived and live there too - Ferdinand Sauerbruch, Lyonel Feininger, Hildegard Knef, Isadora Duncan, Max Plank, Judith and Michael Kerr.”

        "Did he also tell you that Heinrich Himmler lived there?“

        Claire turned white.

        "No.”

        "I knew it,“ Jamie thought, "one can’t be proud of that.” To Clair he said:

        "Well, it doesn’t matter. Please continue.“

       "As I said, the house we moved into was one of the so-called 'smaller    villas’. Nevertheless, it was huge in my opinion. It had three floors. On the ground floor, next to Frank’s library and his study, there were several large rooms. And of course the kitchen with its own large pantry. We mainly used these rooms when guests came. On the second floor was our bedroom, which had a dressing room. It was like a big, walk-in closet. There were four other rooms, which were a bit smaller. The largest of these rooms we used as a living room. In another, I set up a small room for myself.”

        Jamie looked up from his notebook.

        "Why did you need a private room?“

       "I simply felt the need for a place that only belonged to me. I wanted to be able to sew without disturbing Frank. While living in Boston, I could only do that when he was away from home. He always felt disturbed by the sound of the sewing machine. I also wanted to have a place where I could keep a diary, a place where I could place my pictures on the walls.”

W. Ulbricht im Tal der Könige, Ägypten * Picture: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-D0227-0053-004 / CC-BY-SA 3.0 [CC BY-SA 3.0 de (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons

        Jamie looked up from his notes again. His face showed astonishment.

        "Why couldn’t you hang your pictures somewhere else in the house?“

       "Frank was ... against it. I have many pictures of myself and my uncle Lambert, of the places we visited during his expeditions and excavations. Mostly … unconventional pictures. Frank said that they would not fit into the overall picture of our house. After all, we would have guests, colleagues from the university, and my pictures could raise questions … ”

        "What questions?“

        "Questions about my 'unconventional past’, my 'unconventional upbringing’, my ‘unconventional education’  … Frank did not want that to be known to his new colleagues.”

        Jamie rolled his eyes.

       "When he talked to his colleagues, however, my doctor’s degree always came quickly to his lips … But he always added that I would not work at the moment because we wanted to start a family.“  

        "What happened then after you arrived in Berlin?”

       "As I said, the arrangement of the house took a lot of time, especially since I had to do most of it alone. Frank, when he was in Berlin to buy the house, had also commissioned a company to paint and decorate it. He had also brought a floor plan, so that we planned the layout and furnishing of the rooms while still in Boston. But with all the boxes of our belongings … I was alone. Frank started working at the university the week after we arrived. He had little time to help and if he had it was only on the weekends. In addition, one of our containers arrived late. It took about two months for us to get properly set up.“

        "And then?”

       "Well, the first months were good. I took care of the house, we tried to get pregnant, … Frank got to know his colleagues, we went to parties … we also took some trips. Although Frank liked to spend the weekends at home - at least at that time - he was well aware that it was not good if we didn’t do anything together. We visited the Reichstag and boarded the Reichstag dome. Of course, Frank knew everything about the history of the building. When we arrived at the top of the dome, he was talking about the Reichstag fire in 1933 and what consequences it had for the country. Some seniors who stood beside us started a conversation with Frank. They were thrilled to be talking to a real 'Herr Professor’ … and obviously, it flattered Frank that he immediately had an audience. After a few minutes, I took off from Frank and the seniors and explored the dome on my own. The architect’s idea that the glass dome over the Parliament should urge the Members of Parliament to be more transparent towards the citizens impressed me. When Frank’s seniors had said goodbye, I told him about it. But he found this idea 'unrealistic’. Politicians would do what they wanted … no artistic symbol would have the power to change that.“

Blick durch die Kuppel des Reichstages in den Abgeordnetenhaus des Deutschen Bundestages (View through the dome of the Reichstag into the House of Representatives of the German Bundestag) * Picture: By Another Believer [CC BY-SA 4.0  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

       She sighed, then she looked down and - for a moment - and said nothing.  

       "Still, these months were some of our better times. We visited Charlottenburg Palace, the TV Tower, the Gendarmenmarkt, the German and the French Cathedral. In our second summer in Berlin, we even made a river cruise on the Spree. I remember that well … and gladly. It was a very nice experience. In the evening we were eating at the Corroboree. That is an …”

        "… Australian restaurant in the Tiergarten district. I know.“

        Jamie smiled.

        "You know it?”

        "Yes, a colleague of mine, Ben Hombach, wanted to know how kangaroo tastes. He invited me there.“

        "And? Did you eat kangaroo?” she challenged him.

       Jamie decided to play along. He was sure that they would have to address many unpleasant things in their conversations. Why shouldn’t he give her a moment of relaxation?  

        "No, I opted for a steak after all. I like kangaroos too much to have one of them on my plate. But please continue. “

       "As I said, this time was positive. We hardly argued and when, it was never a big fight. It was always forgiven quickly and forgotten. In between, we visited Frank’s cousin in England or Alex came to us. Mutual visits to Christmas were … obligatory. Frank enjoyed these stays in England very much. Although there is a great deal of English culture in Berlin - and even some English restaurants … ”

        "Like the ‘East London’, for example.“

        "Were you there with your friend Ben too?”

       "No, not yet and to be honest, due to my background I prefer the Scottish Pub in Lichterfelde. They have over 800 varieties of whiskey on offer.“

        "I would be glad if I had one whiskey now.”

        "Alcohol is ….“

       ”… forbidden in prison. I know. Where was I? Oh yes, family visits. Alex, Frank’s cousin, also liked to come to Berlin. I think it was the third year after our move that he visited us on the occasion of my birthday. Frank invited us on a trip to the Museum Island. We visited the New Museum with the Nefertiti hall. That was a really special event for me. My uncle Lamb had often told me about her bust. He had been to Berlin several times and had seen her. However, that was long before he became my guardian and long before the Egyptian queen got her own room in the renovated Museum. So my first visit there was a very special experience. However, the mood was soon to change. On Saturday that week we had guests to celebrate my birthday. Several of Frank’s colleagues with wives or girlfriends were there, but I also invited a few people whom I had met in the meantime.“

       "So you also had new contacts on your own?”

       “A few, yes.”

       “Tell me about it!”

      “Well, you certainly know that years before you have a baby you have to register for a kindergarten place. Of course we did not want any kindergarten for our child, but an English speaking one. So we visited our chosen kindergarten and had a conversation with the headmistress, Mary Hawkins. She was immediately sympathetic to me, and after meeting her in the city a few weeks later, we stayed in touch and became friends. Next to our house in Grunewald lived an elderly lady, Glenna Fitz-Gibbons. Her husband, who died a few years ago, was an English officer stationed with some NATO unit. She herself has worked for the British Embassy until she retired. Over time, we developed a very good relationship. We started talking about the flowers that I planted in our garden and from then on we met regularly for tea. One day Frank brought home a young colleague who had just moved to Berlin with his wife. His name is Roger Wakefield. He is a nice guy, very helpful and friendly. He and his wife Fiona have a little son, named Colin. They are very … conventional … if you understand what I mean. Nevertheless, I met with Fiona every now and then.”

        "She is not as unconventional as you?“

        Claire smiled, but that smile did not last long.

       "I had invited these three women. Oh, and a nurse whom I knew from the Benjamin Franklin Hospital in Berlin, or better, trough a friend from Boston. Her name is Gellis Duncan. She is Scottish but lived and worked in Boston for several years, at the same hospital as my friend Joe Abernathy. She had a relationship with a doctor and when he was called to Berlin, she went with him. Joe wrote me and asked me to take care of her. She did not know anybody in Berlin. I made an appointment with her and showed her the city. We stayed in contact and met often.”

River cruise ships on the Spree / Berlin, the Bode-Museum (with dome) at the right side marks the Entrance to the Museum Island * Picture: by Bode Museum [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons

        "Did you also have any contacts or friendships with 'locals’?“

        Claire rolled her eyes. Then she leaned forward and whispered:

        "Yes, but do not pass it on!”

        Jamie leaned over and whispered:

        "Promised. Tell me more!“

       "Well, I got to know one of the librarians of the district library when I registered there. Her name is Suzette Fournier.”

        "But that sounds French.“

       "She comes from one of the Huguenot families who fled France after the persecutions three hundred years ago. Her family has kept the custom of giving the children French names and they also tend to cultivate some French customs. But Suzette is already very German. You must see her when she drinks beer. But … yes its true … most of my contacts and friendships to ’locals’ came after I moved to my present apartment … after Frank’s death.”

        "How did your husband relate to these contacts or friendships you mentioned?“

       "He was not against me meeting with those women, but after my birthday party he said that next time I should invite them separately. These women wouldn’t be the right people to have when his colleagues and their wives were our guests. I was angry, but I swallowed it and later I just didn’t talk about it anymore and from our fourth year it got harder and harder with us.”

        Jamie looked at her and took a deep breath. Then he said:

       "I know, Claire, it’s certainly hard for you … but we need to discuss that. We do not know what this … witness …. and your husband’s cousin will tell the court … we have to be prepared.“

        She nodded and he saw her body stiffen.

       "For the first two years, everything was reasonably normal. But when I did not get pregnant in the third year … Frank became more and more angry. He did not show it at first, but I did notice the anger seething inside him. I tried to comfort him, to give him hope …. ”

        "Did you suggest to him that you both could undergo medical examination?“

        "No! I had thought about that, but no. I … I was worried that … how he would react.”

        Claire went silent for a moment. Her face showed signs of despair.  

        "In Boston … I once addressed the issue of adoption …“  

        "How did her husband react?”

        "With a tantrum. He … he said, he only wanted to accept a child of his own blood.“  

        "Did you fear that you husband would become violent?”

       "Well, as I said, once he nearly slapped me. That was when he found out that I had started medical school. In some disputes that we had later, I noticed that he pulled all his strength together not to hit me. But he used his words to hurt me. That was much more effective. Besides, his words left no visible injuries.“

        "You said the deterioration of your marriage started in your third year in Berlin …”

       "Yes, it was in the fall of that year. The summer was, as I said, still quite positive. Then Frank flew to Prague for a conference … two weeks before the autumn-winter semester should begin. The conference lasted only a weekend, but he called and said that he would return later. He wanted to exchange views with colleagues and take the opportunity to get to know the history of the city. I knew he was lying to me while he talked. Later I learned that Frank met his old affair in Prague  - Sandy Travers. Except that she had married in the meantime and was now called Miller.“

        "How did you find out about them?”

       "I learned about it from Roger Wakefield. Of course he didn’t inform me voluntarily. Roger was also at this conference. However, he came home immediately after the weekend. He may be very conventions-minded, but he’s a man with a  conscience. Roger can’t lie well. Weeks after the said conference I met with his wife in the city and afterwards she invited me for tea. Roger came home earlier than intended and they both asked me to stay for dinner. When Fiona put little Colin to bed, I freely asked Roger if Frank had anything to do with another woman in Prague. Frank had obliged him to secrecy, but … he blushed and was embarrassed and then he quietly said 'yes’. I didn’t have to know more. When Roger drove me home, he tried somehow to mediate. But I told him he didn’t have to worry. I did not mean to tell Frank that I knew it from him. Before we said goodbye Roger told me that he did not know the woman and he also gave me her name. I knew immediately that it was her, even if her last name had changed. I did not tell Frank about it, but I withdrew internally - and externally - from him. When he asked me a few weeks later ‘why I was so cold to him’, I told him that I didn’t believe him, that he was only interested in colleagues and sightseeing while he was in Prague. I told him right away that I suspected him having a new affair.“

        "How did he react to that?”

       "He called me hysterical and said I had delusions. Then he left the house. I … I got drunk and slept in my own room. Frank came back sometime in the night. The next morning he was waiting for me at the breakfast table as if nothing had ever happened.“

        "So you continued to live with him.”

       "What should I have done? I had no one besides him. In addition, I was financially dependent on him at this time. I had inherited a larger sum by my uncle. But when we moved to Berlin, I had invested this money for several years … at the time, I still thought that everything would be better. Now I could not get that money. I was desperate and slowly slipped into depression. I felt so incompetent, so inadequate, so worthless.“

        "Did you see a doctor?”

        "Yes. I have a German regular physician, Dr. Clemens Dupont.“

        "A very German name.”

        Jamie smiled.

        "I met him though Suzette, his family …“

        ”… has been living in Berlin for 187 years.“

       "About that time. But seriously, he referred me to a therapist in Charlottenburg, Dr. Brosig. Meeting and talking with him, did me good. But just when I was feeling better, the next blow came.”

        Jamie sensed that they were now approaching the hardest part of the conversation and so he only nodded.

       "It was in the spring after the conference in Prague. I remember very well. It was a beautiful, sunny April day. For the first time ... after a long time I felt well enough to go out for a walk. I walked through the forest area that bordered our house in the direction of the Grunewaldsee. On my way back, I passed one of the larger villas, three blocks from our house. It is divided into several apartments ... and there I saw her - Sandy Travers. She stood beside a large moving van and directed men carrying furniture into the house. I could not believe my eyes. Frank had possessed the insolence and quartered his affair in our neighborhood.“

Thank you for reading. Next time, read: Secret Whitsun holidays on Rügen (3): Sharing joy and sorrow (1)

[jswdmb1]

King For A Day

“Well the way that we're living,

Is all take and no giving,

There's nothing to believe in,

The loudest mouth will hail the new found way”

- XTC

The State of the Union and the Democratic response will be on tonight and I will not be watching (I’ll actually be at the Loyola game where you should be too!).  This is not some sort of meaningless protest but rather a part of honoring a commitment I have made to myself not to waste any given day.  This also has nothing to do with any personal dislike I have for the current president or anyone else in office as I haven’t paid attention to one of these addresses in years (if ever).  It’s a pointless exercise that somehow became a tradition that nobody ever wanted.

The Constitution only requires that the president report back to Congress from time-to-time on how things are going.  This was back in a time when that type of report would have been necessary due to the lack of technology we have now that allows everyone to keep tabs on everybody.  It was also because of the legitimate separation of branches of government existed where Congress and the executive branch generally stayed pretty far apart.  The State of the Union was typically a written report and basically served as an inter-office memo to keep the two branches updated on their activities and that’s about it.  

At some point in the 20th century, this changed and the address became delivered by the president in person at the invitation of Congress.  If you really want to know who, why, when that happened feel free to GTS (I don’t know and don’t do research here).  The television era turned the address into a political spectical that somehow morphed into a sacred tradition of our democracy.  That, of course, never was the intent of the framers of our Constitution and they certainly wouldn’t approve of an administrative provision becoming a partisan showcase.  Besides, with the advent of 24/7 information using technology that the founding fathers could have never imagined, the whole point of providing a status update has become obsolete.  This is true with much of the way we govern, which brings me to my real point - we need a Constitutional Convention.

When our Constitution was drawn up, the writers were incredibly prescient and put in safety valves for updating it when needed.  They were way too smart to believe that they could get things perfect, and certainly did not intend for the document to turn into the equivalent of Moses getting the commandments on two stones.  Parts of the Constitution were left vague for this purpose, or were unintentionally created ambiguously, so that future leaders would have the flexibility to adapt with a future no one could possibly predict.  These safety valves would ensure that the democratic ideals that upon which they founded our nation would stay intact no matter what changes around it take place.

The first one everyone knows is the Constitutional amendment.  Congress can propose an amendment if two-thirds of each chamber approve it.  It then goes to the individual state legislatures, and if thirty-four approve it (also two-thirds rounded up for you math junkies), then the Constitution is amended.  This, of course, was used immediately for the Bill of Rights.  Over the past 200+ years since the passing of the Bill of Rights, there have been only seventeen more amendments with two of those cancelling each other out (the prohibition of alcohol and the subsequent repealing of said amendment).  If you had started a pool among the original members of the first Constitutional Convention about how many amendments there would be in the next 250 years, I’m guessing none would have gone for just 27.  They probably would have envisioned hundreds going through by this point in time. 

Now i am not suggesting that amendments are too hard to get passed.  The mechanisms put in place were designed to make it difficult to adopt frivolous or partisan changes to the basic structure of the government the framers designed. This has largely worked (prohibition being the exception), and the amendments passed so far have been appropriate.  The problem is that the partisan divide that a two-party monopoly has created makes any potential for an amendment to ever occur again almost impossible.  Remember, when the constitution was drawn up, there really weren’t political parties, or at least they did not exist in the form we see now.  At best, the framers likely assumed there would be many parties out there and cooperation among them would occur avoiding any one or two taking firm control.  Of course, that did not happen, and it has led to the constitutional amendment becoming impotent.

So then how do we get progress accomplished without the ability to change with the times as our forefathers intended?  An easy answer would be the rising of at least a third-party (if not more) that would break the stranglehold the Democrats and Republicans have over our current government and force some bipartisan efforts to make or change laws that are for the better of the majority of Americans, not just a few that have the power and/or money to lobby Congress.  I have not totally given up on this notion as I think the weight of internal pressures will break apart one if not both major parties at some point (my bet is that the Republicans go first simply because they have strayed so far from their core ideologies).  That may take a while, though, and we cannot sit around and wait.  Fortunately, the founders gave us another safety valve.

Without congressional approval, two-thirds of the states (again that is thirty-four) can call for another constitutional convention.  Impossible, you say, but think about it.  All that is being passed in this case is to have the convention itself not what happens there or what is discussed.  While thirty-four states may not agree on the reason why this needed, that is not relevant. There could be competing motivations from states on complete opposite ends of the political spectrum that come to the same conclusion that a convention is needed.  Supposedly, twenty-seven states have passed such a request (again, I don’t research so I don’t know if that is true).  If seven more states go with this notion, then one is happening whether Congress wants it or not.  And, the president has no say in this whatsoever.  It is very likely he/she would not be allowed at such an event (in the accounting world, we call this an internal control).  This becomes a much less far-fetched scenario compared to the long-shot that an individual amendment would have in this environment.

What would be discussed at a constitutional convention?  Well, that is up to the participants, but I think the focus should be on a re-balancing of power among the branches and reducing the consolidation of power a few old, rich, white men have accumulated, which is holding government hostage for the rest of us.  Items to explore would be reducing the power of the executive order, instituting term limits (including for the Supreme Court), and revising or eliminating the incredibly outdated concept of an Electoral College.  Two other issues that need prioritization are campaign finance and gerrymandering.  My guess is that a guy like Thomas Jefferson would throw up if he saw a map of my congressional district and the money that was spent to get it that way.  While none of these topics will get settled easily or quickly, some forum is needed for the debate to occur.  As the recent shutdown showed, the current government is not a place for any sort of healthy exchange of ideas to take place.  Even well=meaning and intelligent politicians (yes there are a few - in both parties) have no shot at making a difference due to the stranglehold of their own party leaderships.  A convention would give at least those folks an open forum to get ideas on the table.

What are the chances of this?  I really don’t know.  Even if they are low, it is our only shot.  If our country was a football game, we are down seven with the ball at the fifty yard line with three seconds left.  The only play to save the game and go to overtime is a Hail Mary pass.  While the odds of completing one of those is very low, we have to at least take a shot or the game is over.  The impacts of the most recent shutdown were real and hurt regular Americans deeply.  Without change, that is a preview of what life is going to be like in this country if we continue to allow the current stakeholders to keep consolidating power, money and influence to advance their self-interests at the expense of our freedoms as we know them.  A while back I wrote a post hoping I’ll be alive to see the country celebrate its tricentennial.  I now have a more modest goal of seeing this government survive to its 250th birthday.  A nice present for that celebration would be a constitutional convention to go along with the tall ships and fireworks that will inevitably be trotted out (that will be in 2026 if your really have to ask).  We should start working now at lobbying our state politicians to push for approving a convention.  I have no idea if Illinois has already passed such an amendment, but I’m going to ask my representative in the state house to look into it (remember she owes me a favor after stopping by my house during her campaign and interrupting my afternoon game shows).  It all sounds crazy (hey, that’s my calling card), but we have no choice.  If we don’t try this,then it is the football equivalent of taking a knee and ending the game.  I don’t think anyone at that first convention wanted us to do that, and I, for one, will do my best to not let it happen.

Cheers,

Jim  

[churchill01bland-blog]

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Rising up just exterior of Odessa in West Texas, Dustin is the oldest of five siblings with three youthful brothers and a youthful sister. The three males who moved us were wonderful. I usually pick as many options that I can think of and then work it all the way down to the top three after which decide my number one. They wiped down something that happened to get wet. ” sat down. Whereupon an Irishman, who was present for the novelty of the factor or by mistake, shouted out, “The d—d you're! He was repeatedly accosted by the ringing of his doorbell; those homeowners who may nonetheless keep their mortgages present came to Mr. Noyes to service their debts with payments of cold arduous money. A person who relocates due to a change in employment might attach a Type 3903 to his annual Kind 1040 to deduct certain qualified shifting expenses.

Almost every change of consequence means months and even years of planning periods amongst all of the stakeholders named to this point, plus neighborhood associations and business district firms. I am 19 YEARS OF AGE. My cat Asher had been diagnosed with a coronary heart condition around age 3 that was imagined to shorten his life, however he had outlived them all. I'm a Yankees fan at coronary heart and you put two of em on there! This enlargement will assist to supply a better move-coordinator system, customer service call middle, and cut back the overall value for these two divisions. Two stained glass items are damaged. He his 16 yrs outdated and graduating from highschool on March 2011, there are few aero faculties right here within the Philippines and each of us confuse what course he will want to absorb faculty? Mary: Everybody loves to be well-liked, simply suppose again to highschool.

Four months ago from USA

sixteen months ago from Louisiana, USA

Dearnley Park Civic Affiliation

Near Northeast Philadelphia

9 years in the past from Illinois

8 years in the past from UK

The truth that she was starting school on this small town more than an hour north of Austin was also a shock to Leah and her family. Massive or small transfer, we are able to provide you with advice and guidance that will give you a smooth head start in your move. Though some moving firms have a habit of hiring day laborers and part-timers to handle moves, other good ones can have plenty of full-time movers on workers. Good morning Peter, yes we really must. If you are uncomfortable with the reply you get, then consider taking your online business elsewhere, as a very good moving company may have methods in place for maintaining high-worth items out of hurt's way. It's also a superb place to donate furnishings when you progress because they will choose it up. It can even get you into your new house faster, which is able to give more time to calm down and settle into the new surroundings. Particulars such because the time and date of the transfer, packing companies needed, and the equipment to be used for transferring your gadgets will also be discussed in the course of the go to. Luckily, we are right here for you and we use prime-quality packing supplies, akin to duct-tape, blanket wrap, stretch wrap, bubble wrap, cellophane, aluminum foil, and others.

In any case, far too many individuals each year end up making the error of packing poorly and damaging their worthwhile possessions as a result. They moved us into our new residence in a short amount of time, very pleasant and skilled and careful with all of our possessions. Let us enable you get prompt shifting quotes from skilled Providence moving corporations, auto movers and office movers. The crew was polite, environment friendly and skilled. “This transferring crew was completely wonderful. Born and raised in Houston Tx, I am a fresh transplant to Austin. Movers Corp will assist you to search out and rent the perfect Philadelphia shifting firms and helpers corresponding to packers and unpackers in addition to loaders and unloaders that can load and unload trucks, containers, trailers and PODS models. Right here at our firm, Philadelphia Movers, we offer all the things you will ever need or call for moving. As such, you'll defeat the aim if you need to exit and buy your individual bins.

One in all our friendly, useful representatives is standing by to answer any questions you might have and that will help you get began. Additionally it is one of the inexpensive areas on the East coast. Due to this fact, choosing one that's near to your present residence in line with your funds could be easier and faster. That explains why Cartwright was here one humid September afternoon, at a fair of carnival rides, funnel cakes, and monster trucks. Right here is the answer: request a free estimate, receive a assured competitive price, guide your pickup and supply dates, and have us pack your gadgets to be prepared for cross border transfer. Have a neighborhood move with the technology and efficiency of a protracted distance transfer, and a global transfer with an area contact and devoted attention. Q: Is the associated fee estimate for my transfer correct? There is not any question that managing a move will be difficult and time-consuming, however don't neglect your pet throughout this specific time. And that increases over time.

To save cash, time and energy looking for the most effective moving company at the bottom attainable value, consider getting the help of a movers lead service. Fancying himself a visionary, Elijah spends his free time reading, skateboarding, boxing, writing, and bodybuilding. We are a fully licensed, bonded and insured moving company and we're here to assist on your problem free relocation. So I do not find something more to comment right here. His numbers certainly would have been even more spectacular. You should have a funds determine and a listing of tasks with you to communicate to the company what your needs are. Regardless of once you want transferring service, our moving company in Philadelphia, PA is at all times a name away from you. From household shifting services to a vast vary of economic services, we will do it all as a full-service company. When i watch a industrial lately (which is a rare happening) or see a print ad--either in a magazine or on the internet--I am a skeptic about its claims.

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