#you can feature as many beautifully written female characters in your works as you want but if it doesnt sell it doesnt sell

[the-goldsmith]

You're absolutely right that making content out of spite is very much not a healthy mindset to have, and I appreciate that your original post was about encouraging creatives to do the things they want to do because they like them and not due to any outside pressure. I do think that's something that's always worth bringing up considering today's state of social media/fandom and how frustrating it can be.

Re: your other frustrations:

This now has much less to do with the original tweet and more my own personal projections/speculation.

I believe that while farcille is currently the top ship it will very likely soon be overtaken by an m/m ship, and its progression won't see the uptick that the m/m ships have seen.

The reason I feel this way is that dungeon meshi, before the anime came out, was a decently popular work among people who like yuri. This is obviously because it's easy to read farcille as romantic, and the story revolves in some way around them, so while Falin isn't actually around very often it makes for very good romantic subtext.

Now, unfortunately the number of people who like yuri is proportionally very small, they are used to not getting a lot of content, and are a fairly tightly-knit community. Meaning that once a New Lesbian Thing is discovered, most of the people who are likely to take an interest in it will do so right away. Additionally, himejoshi (getting tired of saying "people who like yuri" lol) are used to consuming manga over anime, since very few yuri anime adaptations get made.

So a good majority of people interested in farcille and willing to make content for it have likely already encountered it before the anime significantly heightened the manga's popularity, which is how we get farcille currently having the most fics out of any other ship on ao3.

Meanwhile, people who enjoy yaoi aren't exactly starved for content, so they can just organically come across new stories once they become popular.

This is all to say that I think farcille has already achieved somewhat close to peak popularity (proportionally to the size of the fandom), and while it will definitely get a bit of a boost once we get to the resurrection scene I don't think even that will be enough to garner much more attention.

On the other hand, labru/other m/m ships have only now started to get content because the larger animanga fandom has set its gaze on dunmeshi for the first time, and the larger animanga fandom tends to like yaoi.

So what I think will happen is that as the dunmeshi anime reaches the more interesting parts of the story and its popularity rises, the rate at which m/m content gets made will soon easily overtake the rate at which farcille content gets made, so the fact that it's still in the lead right now isn't necessarily reassuring. If anything, I'm so sure that this is what will happen that it only makes me dread the day it gets "dethroned" (dramatic choice of words but rest assured I'm not actually that invested in this situation).

As for the faults of the work itself, I agree that part of this phenomenon is to blame on the fact there's just not as many female characters, though one counterpoint I have is that the male characters who get the most spotlight in the story itself (Laios, Chilchuck, Senshi), don't exactly have "yaoiful" dynamics between them, and that's reflected on ao3. The two most popular yaoi ships are between Laios and a guy he has a very limited number of interactions with (significant interactions, but still), and two secondary characters who, again, have a few significant interactions but still not that many. Also, while every element in the story matters as it otherwise wouldn't have been included, these relationships are secondary aspects of the story. They inform the characters, but they're not necessarily integral.

Compare that to how farcille is very much a foundational aspect of the narrative, despite the fact that they also end up not getting to interact that often.

The way I see it there's comparatively a lot more meat on the farcille bone that will go largely unaddressed because fandom, as a rule, would rather focus on secondary dynamics so long as they involve men.

I don't want to make this a case of "my ship is better than yours" though, I really don't care about that, and I think I should add that a lot of my opinions on the matter are informed by similar dynamics in other fandoms and not dunmeshi's necessarily (the anime just came out so it's still a baby fandom in many ways), so this might actually play out differently from what I expect for all I know. Though I don't think it will, because so far it reads as another textbook case.

@the-goldsmith It is, though I didn't know it was a tweet until later, just that I saw people making posts about it in the tag.

And yeah, I don't really blame people for needing to vent about stuff, and I definitely think it's worth talking about fandom trends and how they can reflect misogyny, racism, etc. I do also think the form that this venting takes can slip into bullying sometimes, or just be more stressful than helpful for people involved.

The main reason I made that post was for writers and other fandom creative types. If writing from spite is a good motivator for someone then more power too them, but I'm intimately familiar with the feeling of wanting to "prove" something or change the tide of fandom by writing good enough or often enough about the thing I love. It is always an exhausting and demoralizing thought-spiral to get caught in for me, and truly I hope that the people frustrated by the ao3 stuff don't experience the same thing.

However, to soapbox a little... I also think the framing of the situation (in the original post/tweet/whatever) also is kind of disingenuous. Which isn't really the main point I was originally making but also I do find it frustrating. So I'm gonna talk a little about that too

THESE are the top relationship tags for dunmeshi on ao3:

Mar/Fal is still by far and away the most popular relationship. The reason there is more total M/M is because there are is a larger variety of M/M ships.

There are three major M/M pairings here with over 10 fics, as well as three categories of /Reader fics.

There is basically ONLY Mar/Fal for F/F content. Mar/Izu is the next closest, and most of those fics are pretty old, too. I don't think there will be a ton of focus on that category in the future, due to Izu's age and implied aroace orientation. Beyond that there are 4 Ki/Nam fics, as well as 2 Hien/Benchidori ones not in the screenshot.

And this also can be influenced by people not wanting to focus on female characters. Why isn't there more variety in pairs here? Well... to be honest, I think if we are going to talk about lack of content focused on women, we should also look at the source material.

Because like, don't get me wrong. I love dunmeshi. I think it does well by its female characters. But not THAT well. Marcille and Izutsumi are the only real main female characters. Even if we include Falin in this list, that's only three. Hell, let's even throw in Namari! Compared to Laios, Chilchuck, Senshi, Thistle, Kabru, Mithrun, and Shuro, that's barely over half as many major women as there are men in the story.

It's not an even playing field here, and I frankly think that sucks. I think it is a flaw of the story. And I don't think it gets talked about enough. If people are frustrated about misogyny, I wish they would dig into this too, and not just blame fans. And god, I know that gets touted a lot, the whole 'well it's not my fault that media focuses on men!' thing. I'm not saying that there's no biases in the fandom. But it is frustrating to see people talking about dunmeshi as if it's a super yuri/woman focused story when it just isn't. The lack of variety of female characters is the primary reason that total F/F content is less than M/M, and that problem DIRECTLY traces back to the canon.

[americasass81]

A Well Deserved Treat

Warnings:- Smut {m/f), Oral {male receiving], Mild Aftercare, Very Mild Fluff, Mild Spanking, Mild Degradation, Use of Pet Names. 18+ only. Do not read if any of these warnings are upsetting. Feedback is welcomed and any mistakes are entirely my own.

By proceeding you are acknowledging that you are over 18 and are consenting to the content below the cut.

Author’s Note:- This was written especially for @ozarkthedog who sparked the idea after posting the remark pictured below. While nowhere near the standard of the exceptional creations you’ve graced us with Ozzie, I can only hope this brings a smile to your face as your fics have done for so many of us. Thank you so so much for not only allowing me to attempt this, but for sharing your wonderful imagination with us in the first place. The joy and escape you and all the other writers here create can never be measured or repaid.

Synopsis:- Can your marriage survive the discovery of a secret and an unexpected surprise?

Pairing:- dark-ish/soft!Andy Barber x Named Female Character x dark-ish Steve Rogers

Word Count:- 3,652

How you'd ended up here was anybody's guess, but at this moment in time, it didn't really matter. If you had known that morning what lay ahead you might have paid closer attention to what was going on around you, but then would it have made any difference? Waking up early to surprise your husband with breakfast in bed, something had seemed . . . off. A bit too cheerful for someone who's case was ending today, his eyes tracked your every little movement, but his face remained that of the professional lawyer you knew him to be. Never flinching, never giving away his inner thoughts.

Eating up the delicious meal you prepared for him while talking about his plans for the day, you should have seen the warning signs when his usual affection was somewhat lacking. Oh sure, he kissed you good morning like he always did, but there was no quick rumble in the sheets like there normally was. Putting it down to the importance of his case and shrugging off your concerns, another alarm bell should have gone off when Andy asked if you'd be home that evening.

Knowing that today was your usual night out with the girls, he had never once asked you to miss it or change your plans for him, and still he didn't do it this time either. But something told you he wanted you there when he came home. So that just gave you another thing to ponder. Seeing him off to work in the usual way before starting into your daily routine of household errands, by two o'clock all was done and you went about calling up the girls to cancel the night's activities. Just getting off the phone with Juliette, Andy's number popped up and despite the little niggling in the back of your mind you couldn't hide the smile that graced your features or the love in your voice as you said hello.

"Ozzie honey, how's your day been? Good I hope?" he asked and your nerves settled somewhat as your ears acknowledged the lack of tension in his voice. Relaying to him that everything was well on your end, he hummed accordingly before telling you that things were looking good with the case and he should only be a couple more hours. Then telling you that he had something special planned for both of you, he said his goodbyes and left you thinking about what you would wear for the night ahead. Lightly moving around the house while wondering what your wonderful husband had planned, a text on your phone three hours later, told you that Andy had won his case, was stopping by the bar for a quick celebratory drink and would see you in an hour. Giving you ample time to make your preparations without knowing exactly what he had planned, twenty minutes before his arrival found you sipping on some wine and scrolling through your phone while your midnight blue dress hugged your figure beautifully.

Standing by the kitchen table as the door opened however, you were both shocked and confused when looking over your shoulder you saw, not your loving husband, but the new partner that had joined his firm a few months back. Recalling that the man before you was called Steve from the few times your husband had mentioned him, you held tighter to your phone and looked past this stranger to the open door behind him. Gauging the distance between your current location and your only escape, all thoughts of leaving were temporarily pushed from your mind however as Andy suddenly appeared before you. Smiling at you before taking off his jacket, your anxiety continued to rise as Steve just stood there like an Ancient Greek statue while Andy closed the door.

Wondering what exactly was going on, Steve threw a smirk your way and looked you up and down as you successfully sidled past him to reach your husband. Placing your hands against his shoulders as he placed his jacket on the couch, his expression stopped any words from leaving your mouth as his eyes raked over your satin covered body. Bringing his hand up to caress your cheek, his lips then kissed yours tenderly before taking your hand, spinning you gently and drawing you back against his body.

Now facing the other man in the room, your thoughts were brought into sharp focus once again when his voice finally broke the silence. "You're totally right Andy, she is a babe. But one has to wonder what's hiding underneath?" he added as your husband's warm hands held you close and roamed over your trembling form. Moving his fingers towards the dip by your cleavage, the words of "trust me" whispered in your ear did little to stifle your squeal as his fist closed around the fabric and pulled it apart. Standing now before both men in your dusky blue lingerie, you tried to move your hands to cover yourself up, but Steve's tutting as he walked closer stalled your moving limbs.

"Good girl, sweetheart." he smirked as he stopped before you and reached out to capture your chin. Gazing into your confused expression as Andy reached for your hands and laced your fingers together, your brain suddenly misfired when the man before you leaned forward and planted his lips against yours. Kissing you roughly as Andy still held you close, your world tilted on its axis as the man you loved told you to open up while his colleague wormed his other hand down your body and cupped your panty covered mound.

Moaning out as his fingers danced around your nether regions while your husband's impressive package made its presence known against your back, Steve took full advantage of your distraction and sucking on your tongue, then used his own to explore your mouth in a dance as old as time. Moaning now himself as his tongue tasted hints of the wine you had just consumed while Andy continued to whisper words of encouragement against the shell of your ear, you felt Steve's lips smile against you as your body relaxed slightly under their skilled assaults.

Pulling back to let both of you breathe, you now saw the same look on Steve's face as you saw on your husband's when both of you were lost in each other's arms and as he reached out to take you from Andy, his next words told you that a kiss was more than what was on his mind. "Sweetheart you taste exquisite." he complimented as he pulled you gently towards him and rested his chin atop your head while his hands reached down to squeeze your ass. Glancing over your shoulder now to look into the lust-blown eyes of your husband, your mind went temporarily blank as Steve's hands continued to roam over your naked body while Andy reached up and ever so slowly removed his tie. Enjoying seeing this hidden side of your husband's personality was something of a shock but nowhere near as shocking as what happened next.

Moving far quicker than someone of his size should have been able to, you suddenly found yourself picked up by this powerhouse and deposited by the kitchen table as chairs were unceremoniously shoved aside to make room for what happened next. Bending you over the smooth surface and holding you easily with one hand as the sound of a belt and zipper rang clearly in your ears, you had little time to focus on what was happening behind you as Andy came to stand before you. Kissing you fiercely with a passion that only made an appearance within the privacy of your bedroom, his mouth easily captured your yelp when Steve's fingers closed around your panties and ripped the fabric from you.

Whimpering now as those same fingers delved between your intimate folds to discover your secret, shame blossomed in your core when a laugh emanated from behind you and a booming voice relayed your betrayal to the man before you. "Dammit man, she's soaked." Steve confirmed as he moved his fingers up and down your dripping folds. "I don't even have to get her warmed up. Is it always like this?" he asked and his degrading tone repulsed and turned you on in equal measure. What really blew your mind however and caused a fresh wave of arousal to leave your core was when Andy winked down at you, reached a hand forward and licked your slick off Steve's offered fingers. Groaning out at the sight as your neck craned back to enjoy the show, your eyes widened in fear as you caught a glimpse of the weapon Steve was packing. Though slightly shorter than your husband's, the meat was certainly thicker and you swiftly closed your legs and clenched your thighs in hopes of staving off what they clearly had planned for you.

Laughing at your feeble efforts as Andy released his fingers with a satisfied pop, Steve easily pried your legs apart and this time used his considerable frame to keep them open. Now grasping his leaking, throbbing rod and sliding it through your wet folds, Andy knelt before you and brought your attention back to him just as Steve lined himself up with your entrance and plunged home in one powerful thrust. Screaming at the sheer girth, having never had anything that thick inside you, his first few movements had you sliding along the table until Andy cradled your face in his hands and awakened a previously unknown side of you with his mocking and degrading tone.

“Look at you takin’ such a big cock, Honey. Bet that sweet cunt’ll be so loose by the time he’s through with you.” he whispered against your ear while his thumbs wiped the moisture leaking from your eyes. "Do you think you'll still feel me in there after this. I know I'm longer, but damn honey . . .," he smirked, moving down to lick your lips as your mind tried to figure out where this new Andy had come from while your body desperately tried to adjust to the wide load stretching your insides apart. "guess we'll find out later. In the meantime . . ." he added and with that, Andy stood back and swiftly divested himself of his suit as Steve took full advantage of having you all to himself.

Groaning above you in unison with your moans and pants, Steve removed one hand from your hips to unhook your bra and then somehow to the amazement of your sex-addled brain, flipped you over onto your back and rested your legs against his chest without ever leaving your core and continued to push you nearer and nearer to the most powerful orgasm you could ever remember having. Now having little else to do but take in the man plowing into you, you couldn't believe how handsome he truly was as his hands took hold of your thighs while his hips continued to pump into you. Winking down at you while Andy reached a hand forward to remove your bra, you now acknowledged the other differences between both men. Though both powerfully built and packing impressive schlongs between their robust thighs, Andy's chest and arms sported a light covering of what you knew to be soft hair, while what little was exposed beneath his shirt indicated that like his face, Steve's skin was as smooth as the day he was born.

Wanting so badly to reach out, rip open the material and explore the glorious body hidden beneath, this proved impossible as Andy moved into your field of vision and cut off any sounds or protests coming from your mouth as he took hold of your head and slotted his cock between your lips. "That's better honey." Andy mocked as his hips remained still and his hands moved down to play with your newly exposed breasts. "You were starting to get a little loud. You just lay there and keep me warm while Steve pulls you apart. Okay?" he questioned, though how he honestly expected you to answer was anyone's guess. Then discussing their meetings for the week ahead as Andy pinched, kneaded and slapped your tits while Steve increased the pace and strength of his thrusts, you never felt more like a whore but the fire in your loins and the slick leaking out around Steve's erection told your brain that you were right at home with how they were treating you.

Breathing through your nose as their ministrations tightened every muscle in your body, you couldn't stop the scream that left your throat as Andy removed his cock while working his talented fingers over your clit which helped Steve throw you into your first orgasm of the night. Continuing to work you through your high as Andy slotted himself back inside your mouth while gently placing your arched back down onto the table again, your brain temporarily short-circuited as your orgasm failed to subside and the guys kept working you towards another release. Bending down to place a kiss on the side of your mouth that was currently wrapped around your husband's length, your eyes ballooned as Steve looked up at Andy before speaking. "Inside . . . uhh or . . . out?" he questioned between pants as you felt the change in his thrusts that signaled he was about to come.

Gazing down on you with a look you recognized as him seriously considering his options, Steve laugh sent a real shiver down your spine as your body began to trash beneath them. Finally taking pity on you, Andy bent forward and placed the tenderest of kisses on your forehead before addressing his colleague. "Pull out pal, if you don't mind. I don't think she's quite ready for that yet," and while you appreciated this change in developments, the word 'yet' did give you pause for thought. Smiling and nodding back at both of you as he returned to the task at hand, Andy took hold of your hands and moving one up to cup his balls while his lips sucked hungrily on the fingers of the other, another powerful orgasm rocked through you as Steve replaced his cock with his fingers and worked both of you to completion before spraying his load across your chest and stomach.

Eventually reaching his own high as Steve now shoved most of his hand into your dripping snatch, you wanted to protest at the over stimulation but was unable as Andy pushed the final inch down your throat and released his cum down your windpipe. Being extremely careful pulling out of you as Steve pulled another orgasm from your exhausted body, Andy kissed his fluid from your swollen lips as he rested your hands across your tits. Looking into his ocean eyes, you tried to ask if they were done but Steve easily answered that question for you.

"Well Barber," he stuttered as he removed his hand from your pussy and stepped back to finally remove his pants and briefs, "you got enough in the tank to reward your best girl?"

"Oh I think I can rise to the challenge, Rogers." he countered and now that your mouth was finally free, you were determined to make the love of your life see sense.

"Andy baby," you whined, leaning up on your elbows and surveying the streaks of white fluid dripping down the valley between your peaks, "I don't know what's come over you," you panted as your eyes tracked him moving to take Steve's place between your now dangling legs, "but this isn't us." you continued, hoping to appeal to the kind, wonderful man who loved and cherished you more than life itself.

"Isn't it honey?" he asked as his elbows came down to rest on either side of your hips as Steve coaxed you to lick your cum off his hand while the other began massaging his cum into your skin. "You never heard of an app called Tumblr? I swear Steve, you should see some of the filthy little things my girl dreams up." he said as your mind frantically tried to figure out how he could have found out about your writing blog. Hoping he hadn't connected the dots between your hobby and the girls you should have been meeting tonight, this hope was swiftly dashed as his booming laugh reached your ears. "Oh honey, quit thinking. It didn't take me long to figure out who the rest of your inner circle included. Don't worry, secret's safe with me." he winked as he lined himself up with your overused flower and slotted home until his tip kissed your cervix

Crying out around Steve's fingers as they both began stimulating your body once again, a shiver ran through you and your protests began again when Steve moved behind your head and tapped his still hard rod against your lips. Coaxing himself down your throat as Andy hit particularly hard, your hands and Steve's relocated to your tits as his words filled the room. "Don't you mean us, Andy? Her secret's safe with us." he panted as he started working himself in and out of your warm hole while your husband continued to work you towards another orgasm you could no longer keep count of.

"You're right Rogers. Though let's just enjoy tonight to begin with." he replied and had your mouth not been full of his colleague's cock, you all would have heard your sigh of relief. As it was, you could only lay there and continue to be used as loud, wet squelching noises filled the room, while these two powerful men engaged in acts reminiscent of a bygone era. Moaning out when both of them felt you tighten around them as indication of another onslaught, your body quaked and quivered once more beneath them as you came once more this night. Hoping now that your ordeal was over but remembering that both men had not yet finished, you audibly whined as Andy sped up his thrusts and attacked your clit as Steve continued pumping his hips while telling you over and over again what a good girl you were.

Finally releasing within you as all three of you came together yet again, your body shook and your breathing remained labored as Steve pulled out and kissed you tenderly while Andy continued to gently work his cock in and out of your throbbing and sensitive pussy. Thanking you for a wonderful night as Andy then directed Steve towards the downstairs bathroom before telling him he could show himself out, Andy successfully picked you up while still attached to his erection and walking both of you upstairs, only released you upon entering the en suite. Carefully holding your tender body and placing you gently on the toilet while he reached beside you to turn on the shower, you tried not to fall asleep as your body finally acknowledged all it had just been through.

Then turning around to lift you carefully to your feet, Andy slowly moved you to the shower and washing every part of your aching body with the utmost care, continued to heap words of love, praise and encouragement on you before turning off the water, wrapping you in a towel and placing you on the couch in the bedroom. Slipping back into the shower to clean himself off, he then dried quickly and returned to dry you off and lather your skin with the lotion he knew you loved before slipping both of you into bed.

Relaxing into the warm, comfortable bed beneath you, you lay down on your back and smiled up at your husband before finally speaking. "What really happened tonight Andy? Where did all that come from?" you asked, taking one of his hands and lacing his fingers with yours as a sigh left his lips.

"Part of it was definitely finding your blog Ozzie. But I also wanted to fulfill a fantasy I don't think you'd ever admit to having.." he answered, bringing his lips down to yours.

"A fantasy of mine?" you questioned. "Andy baby, you know you're more than enough for me, right?" you questioned, looking into his beautiful blue eyes for any doubt.

"Oh I know that Ozzie," he laughed and you found yourself relaxing once again as your own fears evaporated with his reassurance, "but I saw the way you and Steve looked at each other during the summer barbeque the firm had and I know my work causes me to neglect you too much. I thought you deserved a treat." he smirked and you honestly couldn't hide the laugh that left your throat that bringing you another dick was considered a treat.

"Okay well that is an . . . interesting treat." you giggled as you kissed him passionately before rolling over onto your side. "But next time, maybe discuss something like this with me first. Not that I'm complaining."

"Oh, next time." Andy laughed as he pulled your body against his and wrapped his arms securely around you. "I don't remember guaranteeing there'd be a next time, Ozzie." he whispered against your hair as you brought your hands up to slink around his biceps.

"True. But you're not retiring any time soon so I'm sure there'll be plenty more opportunities for me to feel lonely and neglected while waiting for my wonderful husband to come home." you giggled as his head moved down to the juncture between your neck and shoulders and he used his talented lips and glorious beard to tease and tickle your pulse point until tears of laughter streamed down your face and you became putty once more in his skillful hands. Eventually not being able to take any more, Andy kissed your forehead, eyelids and lips once more before moving onto his back, resting you gently against his chest and pulling the covers over both of you while waiting for sleep to claim your tired yet satiated bodies.

Tagging:- @ozarkthedog

[insanityclause]

Guillermo Del Toro is no stranger to widespread acclaim, especially from his ride or die legion of fans. Pan’s Labyrinth, the Hellboy duology, the list of genre-bending, timeless masterworks goes on. Coming off his 2 Oscar wins for The Shape of Water in 2018, and moving into finally releasing his animated Pinocchio film from the pits of development hell along with an adaption of Nightmare Alley next year, this couldn’t be a more thriving time for the Mexican auteur. Though amongst all the praise and glory, something has still felt missing these last handful of years. Besides his Oscar-winning film, Del Toro’s works prior to the 2010s are what generally buzz conversations of his genius. Those aforementioned films did, after all, skyrocket his name to fame. His titles from the last decade, however, are just as crucial to the Del Toro canon and emphasize his greater influence as a filmmaker. One, in particular, has seemingly gotten by in its young life at the hands of few. But now that Crimson Peak has officially turned 5, it’s time to turn that few into many.

Del Toro’s trifecta of the 2010s (not counting his work on television) stand out vastly from one another. Pacific Rim, Crimson Peak, and The Shape of Water: all love letters penned from the ‘nichest’ corners of his mind. These 3 arguably boast more diversity in genre than Del Toro’s 5 films of the 2000s (3 comic-book adaptations and 2 Spanish-set fantasies). Not a criticism, as established, those films now flaunt an immovable place within the cultural zeitgeist. Though with a career notoriously marked by a slew of unrealized projects (more on this later), it’s not often recognized how the ideas that did make the cut still lead a crystal clear trajectory in Del Toro’s growth as a storyteller. In the eyes of many, Del Toro pulls ideas out of a hat and gambles on which one actually sees the light of day. Humorous sure, but this is far from the truth.

Each Del Toro project feels like a pivotal step for what would come later, take his work on Trollhunters paving the way for his upcoming first animated feature for instance. Despite this trajectory, Crimson Peak feels criminally unsung 5 years later. Pacific Rim continued its life with a sequel and more planned spin-offs. The Shape of Water literally set a new bar for the Academy. This leaves Crimson Peak feeling like the pushed aside middle child of this trio. This isn’t a call for a sequel, and ‘underrated’ gets tossed around very loosely in modern film discussion. But for cinema as quintessential as Crimson Peak, it just doesn’t feel like it gets enough recognition – especially when the current film industry is seeing less big-budget, R-rated projects heavily steeped in genre.

You can easily trace Crimson Peak‘s short-lived spotlight back to its marketing. The timely October release and scare-heavy trailers sold a classic ‘Haunted House’ horror, when in reality, Del Toro’s film is a Gothic Romance. Set in the early 1900s, an aspiring American writer, Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska), is swept away by a promising English baronet, Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston). They discover true love and marry, leading the young newlywed to her husband’s decaying mansion in the English hills. The age-old manor is slowly, but surely, sinking in red clay – the very source of Sharpe’s wealth. Here Edith is forced to live with her new sister-in-law, Lucille Sharpe (Jessica Chastain), a reserved yet commanding force who works to hide the true nature of the house and its endless secrets. Mystery lingers as untamed lust, envy and greed unfold between the mansion walls, not leaving enough room for the restless red-colored spirits who haunt them. When it snows on this cursed hill, the clay surfaces, making it seem as if the land bleeds. Given more than just red clay rises from beneath, a deeper meaning is given to the place locals call ‘Crimson Peak’.

Just like the clay at the center of its mystery, Crimson Peak is an amalgamation, but of genre. It would be novice to expect anything less from Del Toro. The Gothic elements call back to many classic tales, such as Alfred Hitchcock’s adaption of Rebecca and, of course, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. On the horror side, homage is paid to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and Jack Clayton’s The Innocents. It’s a devilish blend that only this filmmaker could pull off so beautifully. And oh is Crimson Peak so god damn gorgeous. To contrast common period pieces that go for muted or sepia-toned color palettes, Del Toro turns the saturation on high. The result is an eye-popping picture that heightens the core emotions at play: fear, pain, and more importantly, love. Simply mesmerizing, avid fans will be quick to recognize the same shades of golden yellows, sea greens, and ruby reds found in Del Toro’s other works. It feels right at home in his filmography visually, while packing its own unique punch.

Red, a color mainly associated with passion, here instead intricately represents endless bloodshed. A twist that would suggest Crimson Peak is just as equal a horror film as it is a love story. Regardless of what might have been initially marketed to audiences in 2015, this film is a Gothic Romance from start to finish. Del Toro himself made this distinction clear to the studio from the get-go and repeatedly draws the line whenever given the chance. Yet, much like the rest of his repertoire, Crimson Peak utilizes horror not as a means to an end, but as a means for introspection. Yes, there are classic horror conventions such as jump scares, but it couldn’t be more obvious that Crimson Peak isn’t trying to evoke the same kind of high and dry fear other films heavily rely on. Del Toro is actively trying to get under your skin to achieve a hell of a cathartic viewing experience.

The ghosts of our past and how we let them define us is a core theme in Crimson Peak. The film opens on a flashback in which Edith is visited by the charcoal black ghost of her recently deceased mother. The nature of this visit sets the groundwork for the rest of the narrative. Mother Ghost, dreadful in appearance, doesn’t necessarily come to haunt her child, but to warn her. “Beware of Crimson Peak,” she says. The way Edith takes in this otherworldly occurrence, and those that follow, sets her apart from everyone else in the film. Wherein others flee from or lock away the ghosts of their past, she learns how to wear them on her sleeves – reaching out to the dead multiple times in the story, each attempt more confident than the last. Not too dissimilar from what Del Toro was playing with before, Jaeger pilots confronting past trauma in their quest to defeat Kaiju. At the same time, the transformation that occurs in Crimson Peak when neglected demons consume you from the inside – humans becoming the true monsters of their supernatural tales – would only be amplified in Del Toro’s next film.

Every minute detail coincides with this strategized, therapeutic use of horror. And to the everyday moviegoer trained by common tropes, Crimson Peak is quite deceptive. Just like Mother Ghost at the beginning of the film, the red spirits never manifest with the intent to cause physical harm, but instead to give messages and guide. Red clay seeps down the walls and the mansion ‘breathes’ as the country winds burst in. The house feels alive in the most cinematic sense possible, but the case as to it being ‘horrifying’ is not so black and white. Expertly designed to every inch, there is plenty of beauty to be found in the manor. Much of it has just been corrupted by a debauched affair – keeping this story rooted as a Gothic Romance. Subversion has always been the name of Del Toro’s game, and it’s within Crimson Peak that he uses it to mix genre so well while still staying true to his vision.

Though Crimson Peak saw Del Toro take subversion to a new level, notably with his main character. This film is a key chapter in his overarching legacy; not the first of his works to be lead by a defiant woman, but the first to have the female hero entangled in an unabashed love story. Effortlessly played by the brilliant Mia Wasikowska, the not so damsel in distress at the center of Crimson Peak is one of the most significant characters of Del Toro’s career. In discussing Gothic Romance with The Mary Sue in 2015, Del Toro explains: “This is quintessentially a female genre, that was written with characters that were very complex, very strong. I wanted to make a movie in which to some degree I recuperated and, maybe if possible, enhanced all that.” And enhanced he did for every central male character acts in more distress than Edith ever does, even when she is literally at the edge of death. A more than welcome change of pace that makes for a more resonating film.

Edith’s willingness to tackle the unknown is captivating and her vigor inspiring. But she isn’t absolved of frailty. For someone who comes to terms with facing the dead, her sheer vulnerability to heartbreak and suffering brings great humanity to the role. Hardly recognized, but Edith is one of Del Toro’s most self-reflective protagonists. A marginalized writer, inspired by the great Mary Shelley no less, in the midst of drafting her magnum opus, she immediately faces backlash from her novel’s inclusion of the paranormal. “It’s not [a ghost story]. It’s more a story with a ghost in it. The ghost is just a metaphor… for the past,” she says – giving Crimson Peak a rare Del Toro tongue-in-cheek quality that he utilizes until the credits roll. Meta enough given that the crimson ghosts Edith later encounters are, in fact, echoes of the past, but when looking back on the public’s initial perception of the film, it creates a charming, albeit ironic, wit only found here.

Additionally, when tracing back to Crimson Peak‘s pre-production days, you’ll find something even more profound. Penned by Del Toro and an old collaborator, screenwriter Matthew Robbins; this was the first script completed after the release of Pan’s Labyrinth in 2006. The two first worked together an entire decade earlier on Mimic, which has now gone down as the only film Del Toro has truly lost to studio interference. Del Toro was supposed to direct Crimson Peak in the late 2000s, but along came Hellboy II and his involvement in launching The Hobbit (another R.I.P). Through this hectic time, Del Toro would reunite with Robbins in writing 2010’s Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, directed by Troy Nixey. However, the two also spent time together writing something else: an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness.

For those unfamiliar, At the Mountains of Madness is by far one of, if not, the most tragic of this filmmaker’s unrealized projects. After spending years trying to get this dream off the ground, Del Toro had the following to say to Empire in 2010: “It doesn’t look like I can do it. It’s very difficult for the studios to take the step of doing a period-set, R-rated, tentpole movie with a tough ending and no love story.” The payoff of Crimson Peak being a period-set, R-rated, tentpole film only 5 years after that statement couldn’t be sweeter. In the film, Edith is told to insert a love story for the better of her novel. Del Toro is obviously commenting on expectations tied to gender here, but you can’t help but wonder if he’s also referring to one of the biggest thorns in his own writing career – one that also ties back to writing partner Matthew Robbins.

When faced with the question, Del Toro has consistently said that all of his films carry an inherent Mexican touch just from the utter fact that they come from him, and Crimson Peak is no different. Whether if deriving from his personal experiences with tackling genre, both on and off paper, or from actual events tied to his life – Del Toro reimagines two separate ghostly encounters experienced by him and his mother through Edith – this film beams with the very essence of Del Toro’s soul. Perhaps most personified when the marginalized writer gets bloody and fights back with nothing but her pen, a visual that cements this as an important stepping stone in his career. It’s a fascinating through-line, connecting to very different segments of his canon while still defining a clear path. The mending of our wounds and subversion of gender roles is continued from Pacific Rim, while setting a bold new course for delving into unfiltered, mature romance in The Shape of Water.

This is only a fraction of what makes Crimson Peak quintessential Guillermo Del Toro. Gothic Romance has long been part of this auteur’s framework, and you would be remiss not to indulge in all of its glorious melodrama. Even if it isn’t your cup of tea, Del Toro will make it so. Reaching its 5-year anniversary, the film hits stronger than before. The intricate motifs, compelling use of practical effects (complete with the involvement of Del Toro veteran Doug Jones), and cathartic use of horror make for something that has yet to be replicated by a major studio. Its lacking box office performance suggests that maybe the world merely wasn’t ready for this masterwork? But just like its characters, we hold the power to define what comes next. Del Toro himself has previously ranked Crimson Peak as one of the 3 best films he’s ever made, and straight-up called it the most beautiful. Take his word and dive in no strings attached, because who knows when we’ll get another large scale, unapologetic Gothic Romance with this much grandeur.

[dweemeister]

Blue Hawaii (1961)

Elvis Presley’s ascent to stardom struck the United States (and the world) like a lightning bolt. Hounded from Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry due to the country music establishment taking offense to his genre-blending musicianship, Elvis grew from being a regional phenomenon to a national sensation as he helped innovate rockabilly, a form of rock and roll. Movie producers, sensing an opportunity to cash in on Elvis’ skyrocketing popularity, gave Elvis star vehicles such as Love Me Tender (1956) and Jailhouse Rock (1957). Critics shrugged at these films – low-budget affairs where most of the budget went to Elvis’ salary – but his fans made them critic-proof, turning out in droves to scream and swoon at their slick-looking dreamboat. Grappling with television’s advent and the dissolution of the Old Hollywood Studio System, Hollywood’s major studios shifted their efforts towards more bombastic, showman-like films. Such was the situation in the early 1960s that longtime Warner Bros. producer Hal B. Wallis (1938’s The Adventures of Robin Hood, 1942’s Casablanca), now at Paramount, joked that, “a Presley picture is the only sure thing in Hollywood.”

To the horror of Elvis’ fans and movie studio executives but to the delight of those fans’ parental figures and teachers, the U.S. Army drafted him in March 1958. Elvis served twenty-four months before his discharge with the rank of Sergeant. During his service, Elvis nevertheless had plenty of singles in the can, many ranking high on the charts while he was at basic training and later his posting in West Germany. Looking forward to restarting his musical and acting careers, Elvis soon returned to the recording studio and shot G. I. Blues (1960) – he had discussed the film with Wallis months prior to his discharge – in short order. For the eighth film of his career and his fourth after his discharge, Elvis starred in Blue Hawaii, directed by Norman Taurog (1938’s Boys Town, nine Elvis films) and produced by Wallis. The film stars Elvis as an Army veteran recently discharged from the service, returning to his home state. I wonder where did they get that idea from? It also marks the unlikely beginning of Elvis’ association with the Aloha State – which shed its territorial status in 1959 and was ready for a Hollywood treatment that had nothing to do with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Chadwick “Chad” Gates (Presley) returns home to Hawai’i from his military service, greeted by girlfriend Maile Duval (Joan Blackman: “MY-lee”) and a flower seller named Waihila (Hilo Hattie in a cameo). Instead of immediately seeing his parents – mother Sarah Lee (Angela Lansbury, only ten years Elvis’ senior) and father Fred (Roland Winters) – he escapes to a secluded oceanside shack with Maile and his Hawaiian surf buddies. Chad is the son of pineapple plantation owners, and Sarah Lee wants him to succeed Fred when the time comes. But Chad is not interested in those plans, electing instead to work as a tour guide for Mr. Chapman’s (Howard McNear) travel agency – among other things, Maile works at the agency. The first tour he gives serves schoolteacher Abigail Prentice (Nancy Walters) and her four teenage students, all girls. One of those girls, Ellie Corbett (Jenny Maxwell), appears standoffish at first but then begins to flirt shamelessly with Chad.

If by that point in Blue Hawaii you are still concentrating on the plot, just note that your approach to watching Elvis movies is not advisable. Watching Elvis movies for a sensible plot is to invite frustration; accept the narrative drivel and enjoy.

Shot mostly on location on the Hawaiian Islands of O’ahu and Kaua’i, Hawai’i offers splendid backdrops to even the most mundane scenes of this film. Charles Lang’s (1947’s The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, 1959’s Some Like It Hot) camera allows characters to be dwarfed by the green mountains in the distance, the crystal blue waters extending to the horizon, and palm tree fronds wafting amid a gentle breeze. Scenes of breathtaking natural beauty abound in Blue Hawaii. In conjunction with the production (Hal Pereira and Walter H. Tyler) and set design (Sam Comer and Frank R. McKelvy), Blue Hawaii becomes, by default, the most colorful Elvis movie to date. The film, by design, partly becomes a tourism advertisement for the new state. Its white characters and filmmakers exotify and romanticize Native Hawaiian culture to fit their own expectations and perspectives – these sorts of depictions have endured across the last century, figuring heavily in cinema (1935’s Honolulu: The Paradise of the Pacific as part of [James A.] Fitzpatrick’s Traveltalks for MGM) and tourism advertising. This is the first live-action feature film from a major Hollywood studio to make even a minimal attempt to depict native Hawaiian culture since Waikiki Wedding (1937), another Paramount film.

Here are some more connections between Waikiki Wedding and Blue Hawaii: both share one song (“Blue Hawaii”) in both their soundtracks and both films are musicals. The Hawaiian musical sound is just as integral to popular conceptions of Hawai’i, and it is used liberally here in orchestrations, if not melodic structure. Blue Hawaii’s soundtrack contains the greatest amount of songs (fourteen) for an Elvis film. For those who enjoy their breathless musicals with a song at every turn, Blue Hawaii does just that. The musical numbers arrive in the most innocuous situations – from forming a melody from a tune heard on the radio, an impromptu jam session with a guitar conveniently within arm’s length of Elvis, or starting from nothing. The worst of the soundtrack avoids many of the novelty songs that plague Elvis films, especially the later entries. Given how nonsensical the plots to Elvis movies are, the lower-tier songs in Blue Hawaii are preferable compared to more stilted acting and fraternizing shenanigans. Thus, the bar is raised, and the inclusion of two non-original songs – “Blue Hawaii” (music by Ralph Rainger, lyrics by Leo Robin) and “Aloha ‘Oe” (Queen Lili’uokalani) – are arranged in such a way that beautifully complements Elvis’ velvety singing voice. Among the original songs, “Moonlight Swim” (music by Ben Weisman, lyrics by Sylvia Dee) is a sensuous, laid back song that perfectly serves Chad’s characterization: an unabashed Casanova, effortless in romance, a hint of masculine arrogance.

The runaway hit of the Blue Hawaii soundtrack is among Elvis’ most popular songs. “Can’t Help Falling in Love” – music and lyrics by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss – appears approximately midway through the film as Chad says hello to Maile’s grandmother (Flora Kaai Hayes, a former Hawaiian Territorial Representative to the U.S. House of Representatives) for the first time since before his military service. It, like so many other musical entries in Blue Hawaii, arrives without much warning, backed by a constantly harmonizing music box and a steel guitar played in a Hawaiian style. One might take issue with the song’s use in context, but it is a crooners’ standard that has crossed linguistic barriers worldwide. Its simplicity is self-evident: a memorable melody, chorus, and a minor key bridge aching for resolution as it modulates to major key. Perhaps “Can’t Help Falling in Love” is not considered one of the greatest original songs in movie history because of the questionable quality of the film it appears in. More likely, Elvis’ gravitational pull as a crossover music and movie star writes its own legends that defy a critic’s or a historian’s corrections.

Somehow, I have written all the above without remarking on the acting. Other than Elvis himself, everyone else is a passing interest at best. Joan Blackman’s chemistry with Elvis is apparent, but she does not distinguish herself from every other female lead in an Elvis movie. Angela Lansbury’s exaggerated Southern accent displays her considerable range, even if there are better examples in other films. As much as some may deride Elvis’ performances for being unchallenging, one could not imagine an Elvis movie without the star attraction. His persona is effervescent; his charisma incontestable. According to Weiss, Elvis’ comedic instincts manifested themselves in subtle ways. If Elvis requested a joke to be explained in discussions about the screenplay, it was his roundabout, maybe overly polite, way to warn Weiss, Taurog, and screenwriter Hal Kanter (1952’s Road to Bali, at least twenty-two Academy Award ceremonies) that the joke was not funny. During test screenings of Blue Hawaii, every joke kept in the film that Elvis questioned elicited nothing from the audience. On- and off-screen, an Elvis movie with Elvis removed would collapse from the void of hilarity and charm such an absence would create.

Blue Hawaii, like all other Elvis movies prior, succeeded at the box office in comparison to its budget. Adding to this bounty for Elvis, the film’s soundtrack album sold millions of copies, sitting atop of the Billboard charts for twenty weeks, and garnering a Grammy nomination. The soundtrack profits from Blue Hawaii and the preceding G.I. Blues led Presley’s obstinate manager, Colonel Tom Parker, to have his client concentrate on film soundtrack albums at the expense of non-soundtrack albums – setting the groundwork for the remainder of the 1960s (Elvis released 16 soundtrack albums versus six non-soundtrack albums during this decade), with diminishing returns. Parker reasoned to Elvis that his fans demanded to see him in these musical romantic comedies, rejecting any roles that did not fit this mold. Elvis, believing his manager, continued to make films until well past the point an Elvis Presley picture was a guaranteed hit in theaters.

In its visual splendor and Pacific appeal, Blue Hawaii sealed the fate of Elvis’ post-Army career. No other subsequent Elvis film would match the commercial heights of Blue Hawaii, although one could argue several of those movies surpass this one in terms of acting, aesthetics, and musical interest (like 1964’s Viva Las Vegas and two concert documentaries in 1970 and 1972). Elvis returned to Hawai’i several more times during his career for concerts and two films – Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962) and Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966). As much as Elvis is associated with Tupelo, Mississippi (his birthplace) and Graceland in Memphis, there is also a special relationship between Elvis and Hawai’i. That relationship – one that touches Elvis’ personal life and the musical traditions of Native Hawaiians – begins with Blue Hawaii, an archetypal Elvis film and one of his best.

My rating: 6/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. Half-points are always rounded down. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog (as of July 1, 2020, tumblr is not permitting certain posts with links to appear on tag pages, so I cannot provide the URL).

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.

[toughbookie]

7 Books in 7 Days

I Stumbled across a few YouTube videos about this “7 Books in 7 Days” challenge going on on the internet.

I got curious and after absolutely no research or further preparation, I decided to do that as well; I would have read seven books in a week.

Aaaaand here’s pretty much how it went.

DAY 1: The book I couldn’t find in English

Title: Storia di una balena bianca raccontata da lei stessa

Author: Luis Sepúlveda

Pages: 107

Rate: 5/5

Having started in the early evening, I had to pick a book that was short enough for me to finish on the same day. The choice fell on this tiny masterpiece by Sepúlveda, whose literature I wasn’t familiar with (boy, will that change during this reading challenge) aside from The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her to Fly, read years and years and year and years ago.

What I thought I was going forward was a nice, cute little novel.

I.

Was.

Wrong.

This actually kind of broke me.

Based on the story of Moby Dick - which in turn is based on the true story of the Essex, a whaler that left the island of Nantucket in 1819 only to be destroyed by the giant sperm whale the crew was after to acquire the oil to power lamps… Look, life sucked before we got electricity - this book is narrated by the giant white whale in the flesh. As you might have guessed by now, we’re not talking about the happiest story ever.

What starts as an observation from the young whale’s eyes of the resourcefulness and curiosity of mankind, quickly transforms into a condemnation of its cruelty and disrespect for nature.

Beautifully written, I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves angst and can speak Italian or Spanish (I couldn’t find an English version).

I really had a good time with it. And also a good cry. I’m fragile.

DAY 2: The book about a murder

Title: The body in the library

Author: Agatha Christie

Pages: 215

Rate: 4/5

For the second day of this challenge, I’ve decided to throw myself into a novel featuring Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple.

In this crime novel, the body of a young woman is found in the library of Mr. and Mrs. Bantry’s house. The problem: nobody knows this girl or how she got in there. It’s going to be up to the police and, naturally, to Miss Marple, to find the truth.

I have discovered Agatha Christie only recently but it’s undeniable that she deserves all my love. It’s been fun to read this book and develop theories to find out who the murderer was and how and why they acted. It was like piecing a puzzle together. This is my first reading featuring Miss Marple, and I found her quite impressive. Unlike her “colleague”, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple is not a detective, she’s just people smart, and it’s delightful to follow her around on her adventures.

Unfortunately the finale didn’t satisfy me that much, but it was still pretty good. Definitely recommended.

DAY 3: The long one

Title: The temptation to be happy

Author: Lorenzo Marone

Pages: 268

Rate: 3.5/5

Note: The more I think about this book, the more I feel like it doesn’t fully deserve its 3.5 rating. Consider it as an “almost 4”, please and thank you.

On the third day, I faced the longest book of the ones I had chosen. And, since life happened and I had other things to do around, I risked not finishing it on time (no worries, I managed).

The story is one of a cynical 77 years old widow: Cesare Annunziata. He doesn’t really care much about the people around him, except his daughter and son whom he loves even though of course he doesn’t know how to show it. Up until here, it’s honestly pretty standard and it has its cliches.

Everything changes when Cesare realizes that his new neighbor, Emma, is a victim of domestic abuse and lives in fear of her husband. The old man and the woman form an improbable friendship aaaaand I don’t want to get into spoiler territory, even tho the story is actually quite simple and sometimes predictable.

The best part about this, however, is not the story. The characters are what really brings the book to life, with a perfect balance of goofy and more serious personalities. It’s people we could meet every day, and that’s what really makes it good. Not full of plot twist, but it’s not meant to be.

Reading Lorenzo Marone was a pretty nice way to spend the day.

DAY 4: The other book about the murder

Title: A Caribbean mystery

Author: Agatha Christie

Pages: 230

Rate: 4/5 

Another day, another Agatha Christie’s novel. In this sunny and colorful environment, new murders have happened and new assassins have to be found.

Miss Marple, on holidays in the Caribbean, is having quite a good time, except not much is going on around here. Lucky for her - and honestly, only for her… I mean, good for you that you have a hobby but you should really not enjoy dead people so much - old Major Palgrave is found dead in his room. What looks like a natural death to most is actually a deeper mystery, and it’s up to Miss Marple to dig up the truth and save the day before the assassin strikes again.

Again, making up theories and analyzing the characters is a lot of fun, and I actually found out who the assassin was, which is pretty rare because I’m dumb at mysteries.

At the end of this book I started to feel a bit tired and I got a bit of a headache. I loved reading it, but with work I never really have the time for long, intensive sessions that go on for multiple days in a row.

Still, the pleasure of reading this book made everything more bearable.

 DAY 5: The big fail

Title: Loving sabotage

Author: Amélie Nothomb

Pages: 62 out of 124

Rate: 1/5

God, I hated this book. Pretentious, boring, just bad. It didn’t even seem like there was a plot or the author was talking about anything in particular, just words put down one after the other without any true purpose.

Really felt like a waste of time. It was awful to get though. So I didn’t. Which, given my holiday was over and I had to go back to work, gave me a bit of a time problem.

DAY 5: Sepúlveda strikes back

Title: Patagonia Express

Author: Luis Sepúlveda

Pages: 127

Rate: 5/5

To save the day at the last minute, came Luis Sepúlveda with this short account of his travels in Patagonia.

Starting in Spain and exploring the very edge of the world, this collection is filled with wild characters and hilarious episodes that made me enjoy every single page. 

That is, after getting past that one chapter about lamb castration.

That was a weird one.

I’ve never liked this particular literary genre much, but Luis Sepúlveda gives an incredible description of the places he visited, the people he met and their own stories, which are particularly bizarre and told with incredible talent. It’s a pretty short book, so I don’t want to spoil anything, but you get the drill.

Possibly my favorite book out of this challenge, Patagonia Express is a delightful quick escape from the ordinary.

 DAY 6: Guess who’s back

Title: The old man who read love stories

Author: Luis Sepúlveda

Pages: 135

Rate: 3/5

So, Sepúlveda wasn’t originally supposed to stick around for so long, but here we go again.

As for The old man who read love stories, it’s possibly the book I liked the least from Sepúlveda. Which isn’t saying much, I still like his work a lot.

The story is one of old Antonio José Bolívar Proaño, and guess what: he likes to read love stories. 

That makes two of us, buddy.

He’s also an expert of the forest nearby the small town of El Idilio, and forced to hunt down a female of ocelot, along with a group of men from the town.

Through some flashbacks we also find out the story of his life and how he became to know the forest so well. That’s my favorite part of the novel, by the way.

While the book started well, it felt like it got lost somewhere around the second half, which was supposed to be the important, life-lessons-packed part. You know, the part you don’t want to get lost at.

By the last pages I was almost falling asleep, and thinking back a couple of days later I don’t really remember much of the story as a whole.

In total honesty, a lot of it might have been because it was the sixth book in as many days, and my three brain cells had been up to a lot more than they can usually stand. Plus, long work hours got in the way.

DAY 7: Because it’s Christmas

Title: Hercule Poirot’s Christmas

Author: Agatha Christie

Pages: 209

Rate: 3.5/5

A millionaire asshole. His children and their wives. A nephew and a family friend. A murder on Christmas night.

It would have been offensive to read so much Agatha Christie without any Hercule Poirot, and so here comes my dear detective, ready for the grand finale.

Also, it’s Christmas!! Christmas book!! Christmas spirit!! Quite literally I mean someone got killed -

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas is an interesting novel, full of well done characters and mystery. I had a good time reading it, as I always do with this kind of novels.

But I do have to say - it’s probably just me and other readers liked it fine - the finale really ruined it for me. It feels pulled out of nowhere at the last minute, and even though it was certainly a big surprise, it felt added like a second thought just to make an even bigger plot twist than what could have been.

Aside from that, it’s a good book and given the settings I dare say it’s the perfect reading for when it’s cold outside, maybe snowing, and you’re cuddling under a blanket with a nice warm cup of tea.

Or hot chocolate.

Pick your favorite, I won’t judge.

Conclusions:

So finally we’re at the end of this 7 Books in 7 days Challenge. It was very enjoyable, but also towards the end it got pretty draining and sometimes stressful to keep up with the reading schedule while squeezing into the day everything else life throws at you.

Doing that on a week of holidays instead three days, when I could have focused only on the books, it would have probably gone differently, maybe even attempting to tackle longer novels. But you know, we’re talking about reading 1139 pages in a week, which is not something I thought I was capable of doing.

So overall I’m proud of how I did.

Not sure if I’ll repeat this but I’m glad I’ve done it, at least this once, and I honestly recommend it.

Also I don’t want to read anything else until 2022.

Bookie, signing out.

[yeoldontknow]

Bloodletting: 4 (M+) (FINAL)

Author’s Note: for @ditzymax | this story includes graphic and extremely triggering content including but not limited to: predatory/dominating language, themes of gas-lighting, explicitly graphic violence against women, graphic depictions of blood and torture, and character death. please take every single warning on this chapter seriously and absolutely do not read if you are under 18 or uncomfortable with these warnings. | i absolutely do not condone any of these themes or actions, and all content below is written with creative license. none of these are a reflection of my character. Pairing: Taehyung x Reader (oc; female) Genre: Vampire!AU; horror; thriller; suspense Rating (this chapter): M (for violence) Warnings: predatory/dominating language; themes of emotional manipulation and abuse; explicit language; explicitly graphic violence against women; graphic depictions of torture; graphic depictions of blood; themes of gas-lighting; entrapment; character death. please take absolutely every single warning on this chapter seriously and do not read if under 18 or uncomfortable with these warnings. Word Count: 5,976

masterlist

It would be utterly ignorant to assume that I remained at your bedside while you slept.

Perhaps, even more so to assume that you were the only prey I had focused on. Fidelity or monogamy, whatever human word that could be applied to the theory of singularity, means little to me. No human is so unique: all will bleed the same, all are so painfully, achingly alive, and each is comprised of their own cadence of taste written into their DNA. 

In the endless, limitless length of my existence I have found that many are more delicious than some, but you, my darling, were the flavor upon which all palettes were meant to be based. I wonder now if you knew how drunk I was on you, my mouth still tingling with your taste long after I had departed from your spent body. Could you feel me as I felt you? The iron richness of you keeping my mouth wet and cock hard for hours. Yes, there was something special about you, but it would be a lie to define myself as picky- to deny that I was, in fact, the embodiment of greed.

I always did want to tell you that I was a lush for bodily fluid. And so, it was my lack of inherent selectivity mingled with your beautifully flawed human trait of curiosity that lead you, quite gloriously, to your death.

If I had learned anything about you in the months I had spent studying your shape and mind and person, it was that indolence did not suit your character. As a natural force of habit, you always had to be moving or in the process of completing a task, otherwise the very shell, I believe the very chemistry, of you would quake with an anxious sort of boredom. After only two short days of resting in a paralysis not unlike death, you pulled yourself from sleep and began to move through the house as though your body and limbs were trapped in a sensory fog.

I was lounging in the library, reading a sixteenth century German medical text with pages still silky and waxen, when you slid into the room. Your feet hardly touched the floor, gliding, as one would believe, over the floorboards in a semi-conscious state. You were sluggish and barely lucid, eyes struggling to focus and I daresay this amused me. It was rare to see you in a state so unaware and bleary. An unusual sort of terror filled me, wondering what exactly it was about you, a mere woman, that meant you could be strong enough to even walk so soon after our joining, and I watched you with a calculating gaze in an attempt to see if something had gone wrong.

‘How long was I asleep?’ you asked, voice thick and heavy. The words rolled off your tongue at a too slow pace to even be considered coherent, and I suppressed a chuckle. So unlike you to be slow and indelicate with your speech. Gravity took hold of you as your lowered yourself into the chair opposite me, sinking and dropping into the leather like you were being molded to fill it, boneless and inelegant.

I smiled, keeping my features cordial if unable to be truly concerned. ‘Two days.’

‘Jesus,’ you sighed, closing your eyes from the effort of existing. ‘I feel sick but I didn’t think I was that bad off.’ Leaning your head back against the chair, you pressed the back of your hand to your forehead, feeling your skin and seeing that it was dry. At this, you grimaced, feeling feverish without your adrenal glands helping you through the illness.

‘Are you hungry? You should eat.’ I said the words with a powerful sharpness I knew you would be too dazed to recognize or question me on, my quizzical brow remaining unnoticed.

‘Honestly, if I eat I feel like it’ll just...come back up, you know?’

Your lack of hunger eased the nerves that arose at the sight of you on your feet. Still, you were fading, and it was working. I fought past the urge to smile and morphed my face into one of mild tenderness, mimicking the shades of worry I had noticed over time on concerned mothers.

‘Are you sure?’ I kept my voice low, though far from soothing. The rumble of it would convince you these things were one and the same.

‘Yeah.’ You paused to breathe deep, the damp sheen of your skin glistening through the effort of being alive. ‘How are you feeling? I probably gave you this or was contagious.’

I snorted, a harsh sound that echoed around the room, and I did not bother to mask its cruelty. ‘I’m fine. Perfect, really.’

‘Yes, you are,’ you breathed, somehow finding the energy to provide me a lewd smirk. ‘That was the best orgasm of my life’

Death, though many would never know or allow it to be, was perhaps the most sensual and erotic experience imaginable. The total collapse and liberation of the soul from its bodily chains is, indeed, orgasmic, and it was no surprise to me that you would have found your brief encounter with the true essence of finality absolutely breathtaking.

Thinking on this, I offered you a grin, a face I had spent decades learning how to make without the natural malice I felt it deserved.

‘Go back to sleep. You’ll feel better.’ I kept my words slow, knowing you would mistake the pace for gentleness.  

You proved me right not seconds later. Even though they contained the barest hint of a command, an edge to my voice that would normally have made you shiver but instead, you blithely ignored my warning as though it were merely a request. 

‘No,’ you said, heaving a shaking breath that rattled in your lungs. Shaking your head, you gripped the arms of the chair with vigor. ‘I’ve been sleeping for days. I need to move around, get my mind off how I feel...if I can.’  

Grimacing, you closed your eyes and brought yourself to a stand, the action itself looking slow and painful. The anguished creaking of your bones rattled in my ears, a symphony. It would be a lie, a consideration, to say you walked away from me, legs heavy and hardly carrying you away from me. Lumbered, I think, would be the more accurate word, and I smothered a smirk that dared to pull at my cheek.

Frowning at the sight of you, I remained silent, keeping my expression placid. Your body was withering, trapped in a slow decay that would slowly consume your senses, and soon enough your limbs would give out beneath your weigh, entirely overcome. Throughout the endless and innumerable years of my existence, my engagement with the element of surprise had been reduced to little more than a slight raise of an eyebrow. And the number of times I had seen a mortal try, exert their most treasured effort to the act of living bordered on insufferable. 

I’d grown used to the frail monotony of human survival and will, bored by its absurd lack of creativity. Oh, they would fight, gloriously attempt a triumphant battle that offered little sport beyond coy entertainment, but the body would never support the mind and soon they would surrender themselves to defeat. 

But I had not ever considered that, perhaps one day, I would be able to surprise myself.

You had affected me, somehow brought me inches closer to humanity than I had been since, perhaps, weeks before my turning. Like a diamond stone to a blade, you had sharpened my cruelty, smoothed the edges of my glacial heart merely by turning the act of hunting you into a gleeful game of simplicity. And so, when I heard the weary, slow footsteps aimlessly drifting through the house, barely awake or even aware of your surroundings, I found myself willing you towards the attic.

How strange of me, honestly! To silently will a human towards their death days before it was truly meant to occur! But you sauntered towards your doom like a cat in heat, positively eager for it - just as you had been so wont to do from the very moment I laid eyes on you. Who was I to resist or deny the finality you so obviously craved? And you did, oh you did, even if you could not sense it, even if, when confronted with the truth, you would have combatted my every word, you inherently were called towards the majesty of it. 

Just minutes after I began mentally guiding you, I heard your feet come to pause outside the attic door.

Again, I surprised myself, hearing you easily turn the knob and open the door to ascend the stairs, running the pad of my index finger over the supple flesh of my lip in thought. I had left it unlocked, such an out of character thing for me to do that it became clear to me I had been subconsciously aware that it was time; the death of a human is exquisite, but the death of a human whose face is painted with betrayal and shock is something biblical.

There was a childlike excitement to the way I leapt from the chair to reach you, the kind of excitement I reserved for silent kills and the erasure of a person's identity to hide the nature of their death - that slow, intricate peel of their fingerprints from their skin. You were slowly making your way up the stairs, leaning heavily on the railing for purchase. It felt natural to follow behind in the shadows, to lead without the obvious exertion of power. This is was my purpose, the subtle control of a person's fate without the influence of their creator.

You reached the landing and stared ahead, the muscles in your back tensing as your mind, your heart, and your soul sobered to process the sight presented before you.

The attic was a large space, one that covered the majority of the top floor of the house. At some point during the 1940's, I had it renovated to become a fully functional room, moving in the excess furniture I acquired throughout the years of my diligent collecting. Over time, I arranged the pieces and placed them specifically to act as an extra sitting area and dining area, a sort of retreat for myself should I require the dark or the solitude. The walls were lined with bookcases, featuring items not suited for my library: empty wine bottles with labels dating back to the 1700's, various vials of herbs and poisons I had been making since boyhood, the occasional skull from precious kills - a relic of the sort of young man I used to be.

The overall decor of the room was cluttered, yes, but I imagine had there not been a naked woman bleeding on the dining table the most unusual or, perhaps, eye-catching aspect of the space would have been that it was carpeted with a fifteenth century oriental rug.

Paralyzed in a state of shock and confusion, you became a more perfect version of yourself. There was an otherworldly quality to the ugliness of your panic. The way terror and anxiety seemed to grip you, course through you at a rapid pace that was at once both arousing and grotesque. I reveled in the sound of your racing heart, battling mightily against your chest  as the whole of you began to swell with adrenaline.

It was a test of my will not to laugh at the way you took her in. Lingering behind you as I was, I could sense your face had mutated into a grimace of disgust at the sight of her waxy skin, glassy eyes open wide - vacant and unseeing, the pretty pink of her lips open in a silent gasp. Perhaps what horrified you most was the sight of several slits along carefully selected points of her skin, arms and legs splayed to hang over the edge of the wood. She was bleeding into crystal glasses, the blood trickling in lines down her skin to linger on the tips of fingers or toes before dripping home into the pool below. But then, that is just my guess.

Having looked your fill, you turned quickly - the fastest you had moved in days - prepared to leave or to run, only to rear back and shout at the sight of me, barely visible in the shadows.

'What the fuck is this?' you croaked, voice strained and panicked and positively erotic in your horror.

I stepped forward and sighed, my footsteps impossibly light in comparison.. 'Oh, darling.’ I sighed. ‘I know you dropped out of university, but I refuse to believe you are truly that stupid. Surely,’ I began, gesturing vaguely towards the general atmosphere of the room, ‘this is self-explanatory?'

'I-wha-who-'

You were stuttering and I was bored of your sudden dalliance with mental failure. 'Spit it out.'

'I have so many questions I don't know where the fuck to start!' You were shouting, truly frightened, but the rage within you. Oh, if you could have seen how magnificent you were.

Cocking my head to the side, I breathed you in, taking the ambrosia of your perspiration deep into my lungs. 'Why not start with the most obvious.'

'You're a murderer.' It was a statement that came without a moment's pause, confident and accusatory.

I chuckled. 'Well, that's one label I've heard for it.'

'"IT?"' you exclaimed, eyes wide. 'What the fuck do you mean "it?"'

‘Child, use your eyes and assess what you see before you. This is not a difficult test.' I pointed over to the woman, prompting you to turn for a second look.

Had you been unwilling, I’d have never known. You took everything in, consumed the details with a voracity that mirrored my own hunger and studied it with a reserved eye as your body cowered as far away from the light as you could manage. You were repulsed and I was drowning in the thrill of witnessing your mental process.

'The glasses,' you breathed, finally turning back to me with a pallor in your cheeks that turned your skin ashen.

I nodded, fingers twitching with excitement. 'The glasses.'

'Why are -’ Cutting your mumbling off, you swallowed thickly, afraid of the truth that burned against your tongue. ‘Why is she bleeding into glasses?'

Exasperated with your indolence, I growled. 'Why does anyone put something into a glass? To hang it from their ceiling? Just because they're made of crystal does not mean they lose their purpose.'

Your eyes blew wide, lips trembling in disgust as you took a step back, craving distance between our bodies. Realization looked so wonderful on you, the dread of death mixed with the sudden eclipse of total awareness of your oncoming fate. 'You're going to drink her.' It was not a question. You knew.

'I intend to, yes.' Crossing an arm over my chest, and resting the index finger of my free hand on my lips, I chanced a step towards you, humming in delight when you stumbled back. Darling, you were like candy in that moment, trying to keep distance between us but still trying to live. Can’t you see, you had never been so beautiful to me? So delectable? 

'Are you a...a fucking cannibal?' You said the word like you were learning how to curse, and I wanted to break the purity of you in half.

I shook my head and stepped forward again. 'I'm not in this for the meat, child.'

Oh, your face as you understood my play on your continual use of the word 'daddy' was extraordinary. A concoction of mortification and pained betrayal - would that I could look upon such an expression until the sun dissolves.

'So-so you're a...monster.' You could barely let yourself say it, barely let the word hang in the air before speaking again, and I felt a twinge of wrath that you refused me the victory of relishing the truth after so long. 'That's impossible,’ you rationalized. ‘They aren't real, just horror stories and Halloween tales to scare kids.'

'I am very real,' I said, taking several quick steps toward you. The speed and coordination required of this failed you, limbs unprepared for such agile movements. Tripping over your feet, you collided into one of the bookcases and pressed yourself against it, neither cowering nor begging. You stood to your full height as I leered at you, extraordinarily brave. 'I believe I told you that myths will only cause you pain on that very first night we met.'

'Who is she?' you asked, gaze shifting away from me and onto the woman on the table. 

I'd seen it before. Such a human thing to do - deflect and change the subject to buy themselves time. It was a last effort to make me forget who the prey was, to remind me that there were eight chalices nearly filled to the brim with warm blood for me to drink. It never served as a proof of reason for them to live, merely made me want to silence them faster.

Coming to stand directly in front of you, I rolled my eyes and readied to end this conversation. But the smell of you, darling, it was so sweet I simply took you in deep and obliged your request, happy to carry on a little longer; anticipation in the blood always made for powerful drink.

'Her name is Katya. She is twenty-three, homeless, and a prostitute.' Turning my head, I brought my eyes back to her body, the sight of her round breasts gleaming with a dried sheen of sweat, lines of her ribcage raised like a book of Braille.

'Do you only kill those society deems unworthy?' 

Your voice brought my attention back to you, gaze snapping back with vigor. Your lips kissed at the word “society” with a disdain that bordered on vengeful. In your eyes, I could see the self-reflection occur, the wheels of your mind transmuting this realization into the iconography of your self-worth. But even then, you did not deflate, choosing instead to war against me, and this, my dear, was perhaps your most extraordinary trait.

'These days, yes.' I sighed. 'Oh, darling, if only you knew how hard this has become. Being me, slowly erasing humanity. It is no longer a means to survive, it has become a test of intelligence. I can't just hide the truth of my identity from you or the world, now I must also hide the truth of you.'

 Closing your eyes, you attempted to sort through my words or plan an escape that would be flawed from the moment of its inception. I took that as an opportunity to continue. I would have you soon enough. I’d learned to be patient.

'It is no longer 1650, my darling. Technology and science are against me.’ I don’t know why I had decided on this lecture. Perhaps, in that moment, I was glad to share this with someone who would soon no longer exist to tell. ‘The claim of an animal attack does not suffice. I am lucky that my fingerprints were burned off as a result of my turning, but I am still burdened by weight and teeth marks. And...your colleagues. No matter how insignificant you are, someone will always notice your absence. Someone will always come looking. I cannot afford to not be neat.'

'Neat,' you repeated, weakly.

Again, I looked back at Katya. 'Do you know how long one has to drain a body of its blood after the heart stops?' I asked. You were silent. 'Well?'

'No,' you said, forcefully. 'Unfortunately that wasn't part of my biology exams.'

'It takes two hours for the blood to congeal once the heart stops. I am sure you can understand how difficult it would be to accomplish this task if one is suddenly limited to time and scientific constraints. Oh, of course I could tear open your throat and feast, but again, the mess of you would be against me.'

Under pressure, you were truly a star. Your gaze followed mine over to Katya, slowly and sympathetic, and I smiled at the sound of your breath halting momentarily before wavering an unstable continuation of its rhythm.

'So -'

I cut you off, childlike in my eagerness. 'Yes.’ I nodded. ‘Her heart is still beating.'

It was as though those words alone had ignited an inferno in your soul, adrenaline pushing you to your limits.

'You sick fuck!' you spat, positively venomous. 'She’s still alive and I get to watch her die? I'm not your accomplice!'

'No,' I said, giving you my full attention once more and the full length of my smile. 'You are my dessert.'

The struggle in you erupted with a force. Suddenly, you were trying to fight your way past me, screaming and lashing at me like a rabid beast.

'You fucking cunt! You forced me here and lead me here to fucking die!’ Oh, you were howling, battling against the rationality as a huntress. And, even I will admit, you impressed me with the strength of your tongue while your heart was ever so slowly weakening. ‘You fucking bit me-'

I rolled my eyes and stepped forward, flush against your body and caging you between my arms, pressing you back against the bookcase with ease.

'No,' I said sternly. 'You must be aware of this, my darling. Think of me what you will, but anything that has happened to you was a cause of your own consent. You invited me to your home that first night. You accepted every offer I gave. I never once had to influence my will over you. Do you realize how stunningly perfect that makes you?'

I pressed my face against your cheek when you fell silent, recalling every yes and every please you had ever said, admiring the warmth your skin radiated as I inhaled a deep breath of your scent. My eyes rolled back into my head, then, and it was an extraordinary act of will not kissing you, letting my lips have their fill of your cheekbone.

‘How dare you manipulate my consent?’ you exclaimed, offering the pretense of shock but even then, deep down, I could sense the flames of shame burrowing in your belly.

'I would be so good for you, darling,' I whispered, so close to your ear I was positively humming with the urge to bite it and tear it free. ‘I would make it sweet for you. For you, death would be something sublime. I can take the pain of it away. Every second, with every breath, you’ll beg me for more, to sink my teeth deeper, to suck -’ I took my time to linger on the word ‘suck,’ licking lightly at your jawline. ‘Harder,’ I finished. You shivered and I nipped at the plump sinew of your cheek.

As I spoke, you shut your eyes, teeth coming to bite your lip with a vulnerability that was electrifying. There was a quake to your bones I found myself becoming addicted to and, for a moment, I found that I would miss your sensuous displays fear once they were gone.

But even in this moment, quiet and still and breathing the last, sweet drops of oxygen your tongue would taste, you still were on the edge of choice. Just as you had always been, the thought of finality, the peace of it, teased you. You did not rush to a denial, you simply lingered, considering me and considering yourself, weighing the length of your life in a single moment.

‘Or,’ I hummed, toying with your silence.

‘Or?’ The flutter of your eyes as they opened made me bark out a laugh, the hope you had somehow managed to find rooted itself your irises positively charming. And you chose to believe it, if only for a single, fleeing exhale. 

Letting my hand come to your hip, I held your waist firmly, watching you as though I were watching the Devil. ‘I can offer you eternity.’

The slow widening of your eyes enthralled me, the way the blood rushed from your cheeks, leaving you to appear sickly and frail. I saw you then as a statue, waiting to be cracked. 

‘Oh, think of it darling!’ I exclaimed in a low hiss, imagining a companion, one I would not need but one that would burn through the world with me, a partner, a lover, a bride. I did not think then of love or lovelessness, only of the blood I could kiss from your lips. ‘I could take you on as my apprentice. Finally become your ‘daddy.’ After all, isn’t that man’s true purpose?’ I buried my face into your neck and inhaled. ‘To breed?’ The words were released as a growl, and I couldn’t resist pressing my hips just a little harder against your groin just to make you whine involuntarily.

‘What if,’ you began, voice dry and suddenly unafraid. ‘I choose to live.’

I reared my head back, far away from your skin, and chuckled, amused by your endless will to negotiate. 

‘Darling, that is not a choice you have been offered,’ I chastised, shaking my head. My grip on your waist tightened, demanding that you listen. ‘Do you know what I’ve learned in all my years? The only gospel truth that absolutely rings true? It’s that governments rise and fall, people plead for peace and amnesty, but the only thing that seems to carry on throughout the meaningless wasteland of human life is that everyone craves a little death. War and greed and death, it’s in every living thing’s nature. And I am giving it to you! Twice over! You will never, ever be in such control of your fate as you are now.’

You took in my words, eyes searching my face for some kind of a trick or sign of insincerity. After several moments, you gripped the wrist of my hand that was still around your waist and sighed.

‘Let go of me.’

I cocked an eyebrow and stared at you.

‘Please,’ you said politely.

It is important to understand that you had made a choice. It was there, lingering behind your eyes and I could see that you had settled on something, though I could not have been sure what that choice entailed. This was the tragedy of you, the utter tragedy of your story. From the moment I laid eyes on you, my love, you were always in control of your own choices. There was a will at your core that could never be swayed, and, I assume, if I had tried to use my influence over you it would only have had the weakest effect. This was your greatest gift and, you would argue, your downfall; the total control you had over yourself meant every choice belonged entirely to you, and every choice somehow lead you into my arms.

And, perhaps, the barest shreds of mercy had been left inside me, lingering in the crevices of me unwilling to fully decay, because I obliged you. As soon as I released you, I could read the details of your decision all over the furrow of your brow and the heroic glow of survival resonating from your lungs to your ribs to your hands.

I was only too eager to extinguish it.

My hand had barely left your hip before you launched yourself at me, punching me with a surprising force before starting off at a groggy, sagging run. I sighed and took in the sight of you, your slow moving limp and the haggard way you breathed, quickly moving to plant myself in front of your body. Your shoulders slumped, heartbreaking at the sight of me standing so tall and so unfazed by the brush of your fist with my jaw. 

This was not the first time I had been punched, nor would it be the last I imagined, but it was indeed the first time someone had stood before me - the poison of me still coursing through them - and remained tall, and fierce, and unbroken. I hated tarnishing this spirit, a spirit so perfectly suited for the life I lead. 

It took little effort, walking you backwards to the bookshelf once again, just a few steps that had you racing away from me. We found ourselves in a similar position, your chest rising in even breaths, eyes locked on mine and choosing to not look away from me. You kept choosing to match me, choosing to keep me near you, choosing me. How was I ever to let you go?

Bringing my face inches from yours, I ran my lips over your slick flesh, the scent of you enhanced by the poison. Your heart beneath your sternum was a hummingbird, fragile and delicate, but the thunder of you rattled like wildfire. Running my hands over your hips, I smelled and smelled and smelled you, leaving the barest of touches against your skin as I spoke. 

‘I have thought about killing you since I first saw you,’ I mumbled to myself, unbothered by your small whimper of understanding. ‘In my head, I have planned an infinite amount of ways to break you down.’

‘Fuck you,’ you choked out. 

Smiling, I ignored you. ‘I could disembowel you, suck the blood from your still warm organs and feast on you until you were nothing but skin and bone.’

Growling, you raised your knee and thrust it against my groin. With a hiss, I chuckled, and pressed you harder against the bookshelf. Turning your head to the side your lifted your eyes, and fell still, pausing for a moment before you looked back, truly awoken.

‘I will choose how I die,’ you bit out, the power of you so intoxicating. ‘My life and my death are my choice alone.’

Pulling back, I fixed you with a curious stare, intrigued by your ramblings. In all my years, I had never heard these words, and the barest embers of excitement ignited within my spirit. You meant it, every word that spilled from your tongue contained a conviction I had not heard from a mortal since the French Revolution, when men were passionate and the women were lonely. 

‘You can give me eternity,’ you said, eyes casting a glance over to Katya. Briefly, you bit the inside of your cheek, eyes squeezing shut for a moment as you considered your words. ‘But you will not make me into an ornament.’ And when you looked at me once more, had I been alive and mortal and small, I imagine I would have trembled. ‘I deny you the pleasure of playing with your food.’ 

Pursing my lips, I regarded you in silence, hearing the tumble and timber of your heart. No one had ever challenged me, dared to fight me a cruelty that matched mine. In that moment, I had never wanted you more.

‘You know what this life requires?’ I challenged, reminding you of the scandalized expression you wore at the sight of a body. ‘The blood you will coax from people.’

‘Yes.’ For such a quiet word, the echo of it surprised you, catching you off guard before you pulled my hand from your body, gripping my wrist tightly. ‘But I am going to teach you how to really move a woman. And my choice,’ you paused, tone even and commanding, ‘will be your choice until the sun goes black.’

Raising my hand up to the shelf just above your head, you pressed it against an empty wine bottle, one I had saved from a special night on a ship from Calais to Dover in which I had drank every passenger dry. Lowering the bottle to just below your neck, you tilted your neck and I positively wailed in delight.

‘Oh, darling,’ I whispered, utterly pleased into spun gold. ‘I do love it when you choose.’

Pressing the sharp nail of my thumb into your throat, I pierced your skin as through it was silk, burying the finger into your neck and watching the crimson of you spill. Wrapping my free arm around your waist, I held you to me, looking deep into your eyes and into the ravenous war of your soul, and saw the truth of you while I made the pain disappear. As your pupils slowly dilated, I saw the trauma of your brief existence, the insignificance and the pain of it, all of it until the moment you realized life was little more than a series of hurts and this was the moment you would be free of the shackles that bound you to constant survival. 

Placing the tip of the bottle beneath my thumb, I slowly removed my nail to ease the bottle into the hole I had created, draining you into the glass. You fell limp against me, humming demands into my ear that made my mind race, already envision you as a creature of war and death. 

‘You will never drink from this bottle,’ you mumbled, words garbled and messy, but still I heard them. ‘I want you to remember the death you were denied.’ 

My mouth watered and my cock stirred, aroused by the torture of keeping you near me, always. No one had learned me quite as easily as you had, so full to the brim of witnessing me. This, darling, was the surprise of you.

When your eyes began to fall closed, so near passing, I removed the bottle and quickly placed my mouth to your skin. In this sense, darling, you were my first - the first I had turned, the first who had learned to challenge me, the first to deny me of things I wanted to call mine. The first I imagined I could truly crave, for any extended period of time beyond the brief affair between life and death. Turning you was an effort I had never imagined would be so easy, letting my poison be pulled to your open pores and ignited into molten gold. Holding you tight, you writhed against me, sputtering and moaning as your teeth gnawed against your tongue. 

And when you stilled, I felt the wetness on my cheeks, remembering my own turning - the violence of it and Sonia’s pathetic, glassy eyes - and hated you. Hate, which so easily is mistaken for love, all of it burning together and forcing me to truly, fully remember humanity before it faded into little more than nostalgia. I had sucked you into me, keeping all that human newness and softness in my bones until you stirred against my shoulder.  

Glaring down, ready to tear you from me as dead weight, I saw the silver of you, the effervescent nature of your eyes and craved, more than ever, to always see the moon in your irises.

Eight months without you now, my loss of you a tragedy that leaves me so encumbered, and I think of you often, when the moon is full and high and red. Other kills, men and women alike, have come and gone, none as vital and alive, yet, conversely so long past the point of living, as you. The bottle of your blood lingers on my shelf, and sometimes I feel you, hunting and warring against the world much like me. I’ve pressed similar bottles to lithe necks and hoped they would regard me with the same rage as you, missing the way it felt to look upon the purity of such an expression. They never do, and in this I scowl, forever aware that you have left me absent.

The bottle lingers, and at the sight of it, I think, much like tonight, that you were my favourite.

End Journal #826 

[entamewitchlulu]

so i did a reading challenge this year and i wanna talk about what i read

transcription under the cut

i did Popsugar 2019 and wanna talk about what i read:  Book Reccs and Anti-Reccs 

1.) Becoming a Movie in 2019: Umbrella Academy (vol 1) by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba

4/5. A fascinating take on superpowers, dysfunctional families, and the apocalypse. Can get pretty gory, confusing here and there and you have to pay close attention to panels for lore, but overall an entertaining romp.

2.) Makes you Feel Nostalgic: Circles in the Stream by Rachel Roberts

4/5. Middle grade novel about the magic of music, belief, and of course, friendship. Definitely written for kids, and has some unfortunately clumsy Native rep, but overall an absolute joy to dive into once again.

3.) Written by a Musician: Umbrella Academy (vol 2) by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba

4/5. Ramps up the confusion to ridiculous degrees with some absolutely bonkers, unexplained arcs, but still fun to watch this dysfunctional family do its dysfunctional thing.

4.) You Think Should be Turned into a movie: All That Glitters by Rachel Roberts

4/5. Continuation of Circles in the Stream, but with more unicorns, more rainbows, and more fae, which makes it automatically even better than the first.

5.) With At Least 1 Mil. Ratings on Goodreads: 1984 by George Orwell   

1/5. I understand why it's important and all but wasn't prepared for some of the more graphic scenes and the overall hopelessness of the message.  Would not recommend or read again.

6.) W/ a Plant in the title or cover: The secret of Dreadwillow carse by Brian farrey

5/5. A fantasy world where everyone is always happy, save for one girl and the princess, who set out to solve the mystery of their kingdom. Poignant and great for kids and adults.

7.) Reread of a favorite: Cry of the Wolf by Rachel Roberts

4/5. Yet another installment in the Avalon: Web of Magic series, which clearly I am obsessed with.  Please just read them.

8.) About a Hobby: Welcome to the Writer's Life by Paulette Perhach

5/5. A welcome kick in the pants, chock full of great advice told without condescension, and full of hope and inspiration for writers both new and old.

9.) Meant to read in 2018: The Poet x by Elizabeth Acevedo  

4/5. Absolutely beautiful coming of age novel told in verse.  Do yourself a favor and listen to the audiobook version.

10.) w/ "pop," "sugar," or "challenge" in the title: Black Sugar by Miguel Bonnefoy

2/5. I think maybe I just don't understand this genre.  Or maybe the translation was weird. I was confused.  

11.) w/ An Item of Clothing or Accessory on the cover: Our dreams at Dusk by Yuhki Kamatani

4/5. It had a lot more slurs/homophobia than I was prepared for, but otherwise is a very touching, relatable collection of queer characters living in a heteronormative world.

12.) Inspired by Mythology or Folklore: Ravenous by MarcyKate Connolly

3/5. A girl goes on an impossible quest to save her brother from a child-eating witch. Really wanted to like it more because I loved the first one, Monstrous, but it dragged a little.

13.) Published Posthumously: The Islands of Chaldea by Diana Wynne Jones

3/5. I adore Diana Wynne Jones, but this one was missing some of the magic of her other books. Not sure if it was because it had to be finished by someone else, or if I just grew out of her stories.

14.) Set in Space: Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

4/5. Powerfully written story of a girl straddling tradition and innovation, who wields power through mathematical magic, surviving on a spaceship alone with a dangerous alien occupation after everyone else has been killed.

15.) By 2 Female Authors: Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

2/5. Ostensibly a story about a revenge pact in a small island town, but leaves far too many dangling threads to attempt alluring you to the sequel.

16.) W/ A Title containing "salty," "bitter," "Sweet," or "Spicy": The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith  

3/5. It's okay but I literally just never know what anyone means at any time. Are they being reticent on purpose or do i just not understand communication

17.) Set in scandinavia: Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura

2/5. Technically and historically accurate and well made, but the story itself is not my cup of tea.  Very gory.

18.) Takes Place in a Single Day: Long WAy Down by Jason Reynolds

4/5. A boy goes to avenge his murdered brother, but ghostly passengers join him on the elevator ride down. Stunning and powerful character-driven analysis.

19.) Debut Novel: Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

4/5. Charming and then surprisingly heart-breaking comic about Nimona, a shapeshifter who wants to become a villain's minion. Really love the villain/hero dynamic going on in the background, along with the dysfunctional found family.

20.) Published in 2019: The Book of Pride by Mason Funk  

4/5. A collection of interviews with the movers, shakers, and pioneers of the queer and LGBTQ+ community.  An absolutely essential work for community members and allies alike.

21.) Featuring an extinct/imaginary creature: Phoebe and her Unicorn by Dana Simpson

4/5. Incredibly charming, Calvin and Hobbes-esque collection of comics featuring the adventures of Phoebe and her unicorn best friend.

22.) Recced by a celebrity you admire: The Emerald Circus by Jane Yolen

2/5. Recced by my fave author Brandon Sanderson. An unfortunately disappointing anthology proving that any story can be made uninteresting by telling the wrong section of it.

23.) With "Love" in the Title: Book Love by Debbie Tung

4/5. One of those relatable webcomics, only this one I felt super hard almost the entire time.  Books are awesome and libraries rule.

24.) Featuring an amateur detective: Nancy Drew: Palace of Wisdom by Kelly Thompson

4/5. REALLY love this modern take on Nancy Drew, coming back home to her roots to solve a brand new mystery. Diverse cast and lovely artwork, though definitely more adult.

25.) About a family: Amulet by Kabu Kibuishi

4/5. Excellent, top tier graphic novel about a sister and brother who have to go rescue their mother with a mysterious magic stone. LOVE that the mom gets to be involved in the adventure for once.

26.) by an author from asia, Africa, or s. America: Girls' Last tour by Tsukumizu

4/5. Somehow both light-hearted and melancholy. Two girls travel about an empty, post-apocalyptic world, and muse about life and their next meal.

27.) w/ a Zodiac or astrology term in title: Drawing down the moon by margot adler

3/5. A good starting place for anyone interested in the Neo Pagan movement, but didn't really give me what I was personally looking for.

28.) you see someone reading in a tv show or movie: The Promised NEverland by Kaiu Shirai

4/5. I don't watch TV or movies where people read books so i think reading an adaptation of a TV series after watching the series counts. Anyway it was good but beware racist caricatures

29.) A retelling of a classic: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Rey Terciero

5/5. We can stop the Little Women reboots and retellings now, this is the only one we need. In fact, we can toss out the original too, this is the only one necessary.

30.) w/ a question in the title: So I'm a spider, so what? by Asahiro Kakashi

4/5. Cute art despite the subject matter, and a surprisingly enthralling take on the isekai genre. Love the doubling down on the video game skills.

31.) Set in a college or university campus: Moonstruck (vol 2) by Grace Ellis

2/5. An incredibly cute, beautiful, and fascinating world of modern magic and creatures, but unfortunately falls apart at the plot and pacing.

32.) About someone with a superpower: Moonstruck (vol 1) by Grace Ellis

4/5. Though nearly as messy plot-wise as its sequel, the first volume is overwhelmingly charming in a way that overpowers the more confusing plot elements.

33.) told from multiple povs: The Long way to a Small, Angry Planet by becky Chambers

4/5. Told almost in a serial format, like watching a miniseries, a group of found-family spaceship crew members make the long journey to their biggest job ever.

34.) Includes a wedding: We Set the dark on fire by Tehlor kay mejia

4/5. Timely and poignant, a girl tumbles into both love and resistance after becoming one of two wives to one of the most powerful men in the country.

35.) by an author w/ alliterative name: The only harmless great Thing by brooke bolander

3/5. Much deeper than I can currently comprehend.  Beautifully written, but difficult to parse.

36.) A ghost story: Her body and other parties by Carmen Maria Machado

4/5.  It counts because one of the stories in it has ghosts. A sometimes difficult collection of surrealist, feminist, queer short stories.

37.) W/ a 2 word title: Good omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

4/5. Charming, touching, and comical, probably the best take on the apocalypse to date. Also excellent ruminations on religion and purpose.

38.) based on a true story: The faithful Spy by John Hendrix

4/5. Brilliantly crafted graphic biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and his assistance in fighting back against Nazi Germany.

39.) Revolving around a puzzle or game: the Crossover by Kwame alexander

4/5. The verse didn't always hit right with me, but the story is a sweet, melancholy one about family, loss, and moving on.

40.) previous popsugar prompt (animal in title): The last unicorn by peter s. Beagle

5/5. Absolutely one of my all-time favorite books, it manages to perfectly combine anachronism and comedy with lyricism, melancholy, and ethereal beauty.

41.) Cli-fi: Tokyo Mew Mew by Mia ikumi and Reiko Yoshida

4/5. Shut up it counts

42.) Choose-your-own-adventure: My Lady's choosing by Kitty curran

3/5. Cute in concept, a bit underwhelming in execution. Honestly, just play an otome.

43.) "Own Voices": Home by Nnedi Okorafor

3/5. The storytelling style was definitely not my style; while the first book was slow, too, it felt more purposeful. I found my attention wandering during this installment.

44.) During the season it's set in: Pumpkinheads by rainbow rowell

3/5. Cute art, but precious little substance.  The concept simply wasn't for me in the first place.

45.) LITRPG: My next life as a villainess: All routes lead to doom! by Hidaka nami

5/5. An absolute insta-fave! Charming art, endearing characters, an incredible premise, and so much sweet wholesome fluff it'll give you cavities.

46.) No chapters: The field guide to dumb birds of north america by matt kracht

3/5. It started out super strong, but the joke started to wear thin at a little past the halfway point.

47.) 2 books with the same title: Unfollow by Megan Phelps-Roger

4/5. A brave and enduring personal story of growing up in and eventually leaving the Westboro Baptist Church. Really called to me to act with grace and kindness even more in the future.

48.) 2 books with the same title: unfollow by rob williams and michael dowling

1/5. How many times do you think we can make Battle Royale again before someone notices

49.) That has inspired a common phrase or idiom: THe Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

4/5. Definitely good and deserves it's praise as something that pretty much revolutionized and created an entire demographic of literature.

50.) Set in an abbey, cloister, Monastery, convent, or vicarage: Murder at the vicarage by agatha christie

3/5. I just cannot. physically keep up with all of these characters or find the energy to read between the lines.

ok that's all i got, what did y'all read and like this year?  (oh god it’s gonna be 2020)

[schmergo]

The Winter’s Tale at American Shakespeare Center: Informal Review

It’s less than two weeks until auditions for the production of The Winter’s Tale that I’m directing this summer, so my friend and I went down to the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton last weekend to get some inspiration and get hyped… and it worked! Ever since, I’ve felt compelled to write one of my little informal reviews, so here goes!

If you’ve never been to ASC, first of all, you should. It’s my favorite place to see Shakespeare’s plays in the entire world. They’re this little recreation of Shakespeare’s indoor Blackfriars Playhouse (fancy people saw shows there in winter months in London), a cozy and intimate place that replicates Renaissance traditions like keeping the lights on through the show and using a small ensemble of actors to play multiple roles. But just because they take Shakespeare seriously doesn’t mean they take themselves seriously. Their shows are always fun, energetic, pleasantly irreverent, and full of creative little surprises in staging. They always pull out the spirit of the show. Another thing that they do is incorporate lots of music into the shows—they present a lively preshow and intermission mini-concert featuring the talented troupe of actors playing instruments and singing folksy renditions of contemporary tunes. My favorite this time was “Mr. Brightside,” sung by the actor who played  King Leontes. For those unfamiliar with The Winter’s Tale… well, that song is extremely fitting for Leontes’ state of mind.

The Winter’s Tale is—there’s no doubt about it—one of Shakespeare’s weirder plays. One part tense psychological drama and one part comedic pastoral romance separated by a 16-year time gap, it somehow all comes together in the end with a magical, intensely moving family reunion. I used to dislike this show, and I still think that on paper, it’s not Shakespeare’s best work, but seeing an imaginative production at the Folger Shakespeare Library the other year was a revelation to me: this show could be unbelievably powerful to watch if acted by passionate actors who are truly absorbed in their characters journeys without winking. As one character, Paulina, says in the play’s final act, “It is required that you awake your face.” Even the smallest shred of cynicism can shatter the delicate illusion that Shakespeare creates in The Winter’s Tale. Its plot is as fragile, intricate, and impractical as a Faberge egg.

I’ve seen six productions of The Winter’s Tale. Four of them only reinforced my snarky feelings about it. The Folger’s reimagined, highly original take on it was a breath of fresh air. ASC’s was different. It completely captured and reflected Shakespeare’s play for better AND worse, without doing any rewriting or reorganizing to cover up some of the play’s more awkward moments. It was unapologetic and authentic. All in all, it was emotionally exhilarating yet messy.

The story goes thusly: King Leontes of Sicilia is hosting his best friend, King Polixenes of Bohemia, for a long stay at his palace when he suddenly begins to suspect that his wife, Queen Hermione, has been cheating with his bestie. This is especially worrisome because Hermione is pregnant. Although she is actually totally innocent, Leontes’ paranoia spirals out of control until he tears apart his own family and destroys multiple lives—yet lost family members sometimes come back in the most unexpected way.

The final scene of the play, when done well, is a transcendent moment that brings tears to the most jaded eyes. I always judge a production’s Leontes—and, really, the production itself—on whether that final scene feels deserved, whether I want that happy family reunion for the penitent king. ASC’s Ronald Roman-Melendez completely delivered. I wanted his happy ending so badly that my heart was pounding.

               Roman-Melendez took a surprisingly long time to fully inhabit his character, however. In Act 1, he struggled a little with Leontes’ fragmented speech, sometimes seeming not to understand when Leontes’ phrases change direction. Some lines came out disappointingly Shatnerian. “Oh boy, this’ll be a long night,” I thought glumly, anticipating four more acts of this. But I needn’t have worried. When Leontes’ madness hit its full pitch in Act 3, Roman-Melendez crafted an incredibly complex portrait of conflict, sleep deprivation, rage and mental disorientation that was so believable that it was scary—and pitiable. After the play’s time skip, he beautifully reflected the passing of sixteen years of guilt, grief, and pious contemplation, his eyes sad but his voice warm. Leontes is, in my opinion, one of the most challenging roles ever written by Shakespeare,  and even the most talented actors often don’t seem to get it. Roman-Melendez is one of the few actors I’ve seen who seem to understand that Leontes’ tyranny is not an expression of strength. He craves control only because he’s completely out of control.

               As Leontes’ queen Hermione, Ally Farzetta resembles a Renaissance painting of the virgin Mary, with beautiful long dark hair, pensive features, and a halo-like headdress that seems to hint at her virtuous nature. Her Hermione is both playful and elegant, gentle yet strong. When she tells us in Act 2 that she is not prone to weeping as many of her sex are, it’s not bragging but overly naïve: she has no idea what kind of horrors will befall her. When she later appears bedraggled at her public trial, too soon after childbirth, her husband resolutely facing away from her, she cries.  I cried with her. Farzetta doubles delightfully as a ditzy shepherdess named Mopsa before a stirringly emotional turn in Act 5.

               The most powerful player in the ensemble was unquestionably Annabelle Rollison, who plays Leontes’ sharp-tongued advisor, Paulina. This may be a little unfair because Paulina is probably the coolest character in the play, with daring one-liners like “It is a heretic that makes the fire, not she that burns in it,” but Rollison takes a role that could be a one-note ‘strong female character’ and makes her utterly real: proud, emotional, manipulative, loving, devastated, hopeful, and much more. Her words feel like a punch in the gut half the time and an encouraging arm around the shoulders the other half the time. She commands the stage in every scene with a confident, stately bearing. (Her shepherdess character is even goofier than Ally Farzetta’s. The character’s name is Dorcas. That’s all you need to know.)

               Topher Embrey stole every scene as the adorably gullible Shepherd’s Son, an overgrown child with a sunny disposition and a fondness for the ukulele. Embrey plays the Shepherd’s Son (aka Clown) as unaware of his own strength to hilarious effect and, with his warm voice and wide eyes, is one of the most lovable lugs you’ll ever see. No wonder the two shepherdesses squabble so much over him—that and the fact that he carries more money than is good for him.

As young lovers Perdita and Prince Florizel, Constance Swain and Josh Clark show strong chemistry and energy and wonderful dance skills, as wild and free as you’d expect Bohemian revellers to be. They’re a treat to watch, yet I couldn’t help but feel some elements of their characterization could have been more carefully calibrated. Swain’s Perdita, though utterly lovely, came across as more 'manic pixie dream girl' than regal, no matter how much other characters commented that she seemed too great for her humble surroundings. Clark’s Florizel was a hair more petulant and irritable than I’d like to see in the impulsive poet-Prince.

The rest of the ensemble was good, though some characters (especially wise advisor Camillo) made less of an impression than I'm used to seeing. The energetic Madeline Calais failed to entertain as the mischievous peddler and scam-artist Autolycus, but that's not exactly her fault-- I've never found that character amusing in any of the productions I've seen. The scenes featuring Autolycus dragged even with the presence of audience favorite Topher Embrey.

Jessica Van Essen's sumptuous costumes enhanced every scene. She dressed Sicilia's royals and courtiers in formal Renaissance garb, with Leontes decked out in regal purple, while creating colorful costumes for the foreign land of Bohemia that seemed equally inspired by traditional Turkish, Ukrainian, and Bavarian dress. Plenty of flower crowns, silk jackets, intricate patterns, and a cool turban for Kenn Hopkins' commanding King Polixenes. In Act 5, Leontes appeared in a huge fur cape that seemed to represent the weight of sorrows heaped upon his shoulders.

Special effects were simple, as is common at ASC, but well-timed thunder sounds were often used to dramatic effect. The famous bear, simply played by an actor in furry costume, was nonetheless effective, both brutal and darkly comedic. One more modern touch included an automated pedestal that glided out across ASC's stage in the play's final scene-- a departure from the usual low-tech staging conventions, but magical enough to fit seamlessly into the play. "If this be magic, let it be an art as lawful as eating." I sobbed through the final scene.

Though this may not have been a perfect production of Winter's Tale, it was a wonderful recreation of Shakespeare's charmingly imperfect play. If you get the chance to go down to Staunton, don't miss it!

I can't wait for auditions!

[lgbtqiahistoricalromance]

YA & School Love in LGBTQIA+ Historical Romances

First off, I’m glad to say that the YA novels of today are teeming with LGBT characters, many of them MCs. That said, this is just a taste of a few that I really enjoyed or by authors you might not be aware of yet. @lgbtqreads is an excellent resource for more exhaustive lists, and also companies like Book Riot.

All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens throughout the Ages. Short story anthology of LGBTQIA teenagers throughout history, from across the spectrum. Ed by Sandra Mitchell

- Take a journey through time and genres to discover stories where queer teens live, love and shape the world around them. Seventeen young adult authors across the queer spectrum have come together to create a collection of beautifully written diverse historical fiction for teens. From a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood set in war-torn 1870s Mexico featuring a transgender soldier, to two girls falling in love while mourning the death of Kurt Cobain, forbidden love in a sixteenth-century Spanish convent or an asexual girl discovering her identity amid the 1970s roller-disco scene, All Out tells a diverse range of stories across cultures, time periods and identities, shedding light on an area of history often ignored or forgotten.

Hayden Thorne novels are being reissued. She specializes in YA LGBT romance novels, many with fantasy elements, but all of them well constructed and inventive. I’ve read almost all of her novels in this genre, and several are mentioned elsewhere on this blog. Just, please, check out this amazing author’s work for some very creative takes on some of your favorite tropes, and ideas I’ve never read anywhere else.

A Place for Wolves by Kosoko Jackson

- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe meets Code Name Verity in this heartbreaking and poignant historical thriller. (YA!!)

James Mills isn’t sure he can forgive his parents for dragging him away from his life, not to mention his best friend and sister, Anna. He’s never felt so alone. Enter Tomas. Falling for Tomas is unexpected, but sometimes the best things in life are. Then their world splits apart. A war that has been brewing finally bursts forward, filled with violence, pain, and cruelty. James and Tomas can only rely on each other as they decide how far they are willing to go—and who they are willing to become—in order to make it back to their families.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee (Review)

- A young bisexual British lord embarks on an unforgettable Grand Tour of Europe with his best friend/secret crush. An 18th-century romantic adventure for the modern age written by This Monstrous Thing author Mackenzi Lee - Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda meets the 1700s.Henry "Monty" Montague doesn't care that his roguish passions are far from suitable for the gentleman he was born to be. But as Monty embarks on his grand tour of Europe, his quests for pleasure and vice are in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family's estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.So Monty vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty's reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.Witty, dazzling, and intriguing at every turn, The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue is an irresistible romp that explores the undeniably fine lines between friendship and love.

Don't miss Felicity's adventures in The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, the highly anticipated sequel!

Pantomine by Laura Lam (Micah Grey Trilogy Book 1)

- In a land of lost wonders, the past is stirring once more . . .

Gene's life resembles a debutante's dream. Yet she hides a secret that would see her shunned by the nobility. Gene is both male and female. Then she displays unwanted magical abilities - last seen in mysterious beings from an almost-forgotten age. Matters escalate further when her parents plan a devastating betrayal, so she flees home, dressed as a boy.

The city beyond contains glowing glass relics from a lost civilization. They call to her, but she wants freedom not mysteries. So, reinvented as 'Micah Grey', Gene joins the circus. As an aerialist, she discovers the joy of flight - but the circus has a dark side. She's also plagued by visions foretelling danger. A storm is howling in from the past, but will she heed its roar?

Ash by Malinda Lo

In the wake of her father's death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted. The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Their friendship, as delicate as a new bloom, reawakens Ash's capacity for love--and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love. Entrancing and empowering, Ash beautifully unfolds the connections between life and love, and solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief.

The Unbinding of Mary Reade by Miriam McNamara

- A clever, romantic novel based on the true story of a girl who disguised herself as a boy to sail with the infamous pirates Anne Bonny and Calico Jack—and fell in love with Anne Bonny.

There’s no place for a girl in Mary’s world. Not in the home of her mum, desperately drunk and poor. Not in the household of her wealthy granny, where no girl can be named an heir. And certainly not in the arms of Nat, her childhood love who never knew her for who she was. As a sailor aboard a Caribbean merchant ship, Mary’s livelihood—and her safety—depends on her ability to disguise her gender.

At least, that’s what she thinks is true. But then pirates attack the ship, and in the midst of the gang of cutthroats, Mary spots something she never could have imagined: a girl pirate.

The sight of a girl standing unafraid upon the deck, gun and sword in hand, changes everything. In a split-second decision, Mary turns her gun on her own captain, earning herself the chance to join the account and become a pirate alongside Calico Jack and Anne Bonny.

For the first time, Mary has a shot at freedom. But imagining living as her true self is easier, it seems, than actually doing it. And when Mary finds herself falling for the captain’s mistress, she risks everything—her childhood love, her place among the crew, and even her life.

Breathlessly romantic and brilliantly subversive, The Unbinding of Mary Reade is sure to sweep readers off their feet and make their hearts soar.

Deviant Desire by Jackson Marsh (Just came out March 7th!)

- The Victorian East End lives in fear of the Ripper and his mission to kill rent boys. Silas Hawkins, nineteen and forging a life on the streets could well be the next victim, but when he meets Archer, his life changes forever. Young, attractive and rich, Archer is The Viscount Clearwater, a philanthropist, adventurer and homosexual.When Archer suspects the Ripper is killing to lure him to a confrontation, he risks his reputation and his life to stop the madman's murders. Every man must play his part, including Silas.A mashup of mystery, romance and adventure, Deviant Desire is set in an imaginary London of 1888. The first in an on-going series, it takes the theme of loyalty and friendship in a world where homosexuality is a crime. Secrets must be kept, lovers must be protected, and for Archer and Silas, it marks the start of their biggest adventure - love.

The Prince and The Dressmaker by Jen Wang

- Set in Paris, this graphic novel follows Sebastian, a prince with a secret. By day, Sebastian laments his parents' fervent search for his bride-to-be, but by night, Sebastian transforms into fashion icon Lady Crystallia! Sebastian's best friend and dressmaker, Frances, has kept his secret, but when the secret becomes too hard to keep, she may risk their friendship and Sebastian's trust for her own shot at the spotlight.

A Light Amongst Shadows (Dark is the Night series Book 1) by Kelley York and Rowan Altwood

This whole series is gold, but here is the information on the first novel...

James Spencer is hardly the typical troubled youth who ends up at Whisperwood School for Boys. Instead of hating the strict schedules and tight oversight by staff, James blossoms, quickly making friends, indulging in his love of writing, and contemplating the merits of sneaking love poems to the elusive and aloof William Esher. The rumours about William’s sexuality and opium reliance are prime gossip material amongst the third years…rumours that only further pique James’ curiosity to uncover what William is really like beneath all that emotional armor. And, when the normally collected William stumbles in one night, shaken and ranting of ghosts, James is the only one who believes him. James himself has heard the nails dragging down his bedroom door and the sobs echoing in the halls at night. He knows others have, too, even if no one will admit it. The staff refuses to entertain such ridiculous tales, and punishment awaits anyone who brings it up. Their fervent denial and the disappearance of students only furthers James’ determination to find out what secrets Whisperwood is hiding…especially if it prevents William and himself from becoming the next victims.

Originally, this list was going to include professors too, but they were already on a list and May/December romances will be on the list for May.

Adding a link for a list of best LGBT fantasy romances in the YA genre, because they have several novels with historical themes that I know friends/fellow readers I know, have enjoyed.

[letterboxd]

Family.

“We’re trying to say: stop thinking about Manson as the embodiment of all evil. If he got a record deal, maybe nobody would have died.”

Jack Moulton talks cults, Trump and noise-cancelling headphones with American actress and screenwriter Guinevere Turner. Charlie Says is her latest film with frequent collaborator, Canadian director Mary Harron.

Of the serial-killer films currently in release, Charlie Says is the one that puts a strong focus on the women who often remain in the background of these retellings. Leslie Van Houten (Hannah Murray), Patricia Krenwinkel (Sosie Bacon), and Susan Atkins (Marianne Rendón)—the three women who killed for Charles Manson (Matt Smith)—are imprisoned in isolation in a California penitentiary, as well as psychologically imprisoned by Manson’s delusional ideas.

Then graduate student Karlene Faith (Merritt Wever) is given the job of rehabilitating the young women—as long as they are prepared to confront the horrors of their actions.

Turner co-wrote the 90s urban indie lesbian feature Go Fish directed by Rose Troche, which preceded her meeting with Harron. Charlie Says is their most recent collaboration, having partnered previously on American Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page.

What interested you in writing a film about Charles Manson? Guinevere Turner: When the producers met with me they said they wanted to focus on the women as we definitely never got a sense of a story told from their perspective before. Once I found Karlene Faith’s book The Long Prison Journey of Leslie Van Houten [Faith’s study of the rehabilitation process and elongated incarceration of the three Manson Family girls], I saw a whole side of the story that literally never gets represented.

I got very excited that I could make a good movie out of this and it would also be an interesting commentary on what it says about society that we always treated these women like they’re interchangeable. Nobody’s ever asked “what happened to them?”, “what made them do what they did?” and more importantly “why did we stop talking about them?”. We never stopped talking to Charlie! There was a real opportunity to talk about men and women, who and when we pay attention to historically.

Did you get the chance to work with Karlene Faith in person before she passed away [in May 2017]? Yes, she was fantastic. It took a while to persuade her into talking to me at first. I slowly gained her trust via email, then we would talk on the phone, and eventually I would be visiting her apartment in Vancouver and we became friends. For about two years we were as thick as thieves.

Her book was obviously a huge resource but she was also useful for research as she was a woman of that time. She gave me a great visual, listening to her activist life outside of prison. When she met the girls for the first time she had all these assumptions that they were gonna be freaky psycho-killers and she was blown away by how sweet they were. She was immediately turned by them and she wanted to help them.

What were some of the unexpected realities of living in a cult environment that you wanted to portray? So I grew up in a cult environment as you probably knew so I assume that’s why you ask that question. [Ms. Turner spent the first eleven years of her life as part of the Lyman Family. They were devotees of Mel Lyman who believed he and his commune members would eventually live on the planet Venus. Though parted from her mother after birth, she and her younger sister were ejected from the Family when her mother eventually decided to leave. Ms. Turner considered returning at eighteen but chose to go to college instead.]

Yes, I read the article in The New Yorker. For me, I was excited to bring this knowledge in my DNA of what it’s really like living in that environment to represent both the good and the bad parts. You have those semi-orgy scenes and people doing acid, but also scenes where everyone is sitting around for dinner. That grounds it a little more. At the end of the day, it is a family—albeit an infamously weird one—but it is a bunch of people trying to live together.

While there’s the “everyday” quality to it I also wanted to show the volatility. It can be beautifully tranquil one moment and then turn on the dime into something scary and destabilizing. I feel like those things were true of my childhood. Mary Harron heard me talking about my upbringing for decades and she would always say “you should write about it”. I didn’t want to write about it specifically, but when I found this movie I thought I could bring something personal to the project that no other screenwriter could.

We’re curious about how you like to write. What music do you listen to while you work and are there any films you used as inspiration? I can’t listen to anything when I’m writing. I have noise-cancelling headphones that don’t cancel noise enough. I could live in an actual sensory deprivation tank while I write and I would be so happy, but unfortunately you can’t bring computers underwater. So, no music.

I watched a lot of movies of the era, especially unconventional movies about Jesus such as Jesus Christ Superstar (1973). Those were interesting aesthetically.

There’s a shot in the movie where they’re walking up the side of this mountain and I just loved that iconography. We were short for time on the day and I pleaded with Mary to make it happen. It made me so happy that it became one of the images they use for the promotion of the film. It does feel like this biblical journey and we were trying to capture that vibe.

What do you do to ensure the female gaze is considered from the script? I find a lot of that is intuitive. For example in this script, there has to be nudity but you notice that every time someone is naked in this movie it’s really uncomfortable. That’s one thing in terms of subverting male gaze, is that there’s no way that any person could see those scenes as objectifying the body for more than a nanosecond because of what’s happening.

It’s all about power, so I like that it’s portrayed as being uneasy. Even when Matt Smith is naked, Charlie is exerting power over someone else and she’s repulsed by him. That’s one of my favorite scenes in the movie.

How does your acting background feed into the way you write your characters? I think because I’m an actor I deeply feel the reality of what’s available for the average female actor to play. There’s tons of “someone’s girlfriend” and all the tropes, so for me when I’m writing I’m asking myself what about this is going to make an actor say “yes please, let me play that part!”.

I need to present something complex and challenging that they don’t often see. As someone who’s auditioned for many characters that I thought were poorly written, I try and give even the small parts something that will make an actor excited to play them.

What makes your creative partnership with Mary Harron work so well? It’s funny because we’ve never really asked ourselves that. Of course in the last week we’ve been asked that a lot while we’re in the same room and we look at each other like confused animals going “why does it work?”.

We realize that we have a similar sense of humor so we laugh a lot even while we’re writing all this dark stuff. The main factor is that we really trust each other. One of the hardest things about collaborating is that you’re not sure if someone is shooting down your idea because it doesn’t work or they’re jealous that it’s good. You need to trust that you can test stupid ideas with them.

When we first met in 1996 [shortly after Harron’s directing debut I Shot Andy Warhol and Turner’s writing debut Go Fish] we immediately had an affinity for each other and started writing together. It was as easy the first time we tried it as it is now. There’s not even much of an evolution. I feel really lucky for that because as a screenwriter it certainly means I have a lot more access to the movie than usual because the director is always checking in with me.

Despite all of the bleakness, it’s clear in the film that these women just wanted to be loved. There’s such a deep sympathy for them. What interests you about the line of responsibility for those influenced by dangerous charismatic leaders? I’d say everything about that interests me.

I’m drawing parallels to politics today such as the alt-right people that Trump influences, for example. We’re seeing echoes where people are mindlessly following a person who is validating evil, dangerous, and disgusting ideas. For these women I had to constantly remind myself that they did commit these horrible crimes.

I feel like Charles Manson and Donald Trump are apples and oranges except for the fact that they strike me as people where their only real fuel is power and that half the time they don’t know what they’re doing or saying, they’re just terrified of losing it. They almost have no internal life. They just feel when they have the power and when the power may be taken away and what they do to keep it makes people do terrible things. It’s like an addiction.

Matt Smith as Charles Manson in ‘Charlie Says’.

I’m sure you’re painfully aware that we have four Charles Manson films coming out in a short space of time. There’s Tate, The Haunting of Sharon Tate, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, though I’m certain Charlie Says was conceived before all of these. How do you feel about being a part of this cycle? I started writing the movie in 2014 and most of the time movies are made two years later but that’s not how it worked out for various logistical reasons. So on the one hand, I cringe that it’s the 50th anniversary [of Sharon Tate’s murder] and that’s when our movie’s coming out—it feels tacky but it’s definitely not on purpose.

Which seems to be very deliberate on Tarantino’s part… But the way independent films work is that you try and get them made until you get them produced. You don’t have these luxuries of when exactly they’re going to come out. That said, we have landed in a zeitgeist moment which is nice in terms of people paying attention to the movie. I don’t know much about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood but I’m sure Tarantino has a radically different approach from ours.

While they share some similarities, your depiction of Charles Manson doesn’t work in quite the same way as American Psycho’s Patrick Bateman. How did you decide the ways you wanted to humanize Manson? I think the first thing that’s similar between how we portrayed these two characters is that while they’re these powerful frightening people, we’re demystifying them and grounding them in an essential pathetic loserness. Mary and I don’t talk about how we can make another movie that takes down toxic masculinity, that’s just where we end up sometimes.

With American Psycho the stakes of social responsibility were different. We were asking people to put your baggage with the book away, we’re women making this, and we are trying to turn it into something that’s a critique of masculinity in a funny and dark way.

For Charlie Says we’re trying to say: stop thinking about Manson as the embodiment of all evil. We want to stop giving him that power and show that he was a conman who was just a failed musician. If he got a record deal, maybe nobody would have died.

Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman in ‘American Psycho’ (2000).

I have to say, American Psycho holds up really well for the Trump era. One could argue that it works better now than when it came out.

How do you respond to the way you’ve already satirized these sociopaths in power and how that affected the increasing appreciation for the film over the years? It’s gratifying, because [American Psycho] was not particularly well loved when it came out. That’s disheartening when you work hard on a project that you think is more worthy. That said, it being more relevant now is terrifying. I watched the movie again recently and there’s a little part of you that cringes when we make Trump jokes because Donald Trump was a different kind of funny at the time.

‘Charlie Says’ is in US cinemas now, and available on VOD and digital from May 17.

[the-desolated-quill]

The Quill Seal Of Approval Awards - The Best of 2018

Hello and welcome, dear reader, to the greatest, most important awards ceremony in the history of entertainment. The Quill Seal Of Approval Awards. The award of recognition that everyone on Earth covets even though they don’t know it. For the Quill Seal Of Approval is a most esteemed prize for hard work and artistry. Better than the Golden Globes, more prestigious than the BAFTAs and guaranteed to be more diverse than the Academy Awards. You know your film, novel, TV show or video game has achieved legendary status when some random nobody on the internet says it’s the best in some obscure top 10 list that’s read by only a couple of people. That’s the true sign of success.

First, a few parish notices. Obviously this is my subjective opinion, so if you disagree with my choices, that’s fine. Go make your own list. (also remember that my opinion is 100% objective, scientific, factual and literal truth and anyone who disagrees is clearly a philistine and a dummy and a poopy-head whose mum smells of elderberries). Also please bear in mind that I haven’t been able to experience everything 2018 has to offer for one reason or another. In other words, please don’t be upset that A Star Is Born isn’t on this list. I’m sure it’s as amazing as everyone says it is. I just never got around to watching it.

Okay. Let us begin.

Inside No. 9 - Series 4

BBC2′s Inside No. 9, written by the League of Gentlemen’s Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, is an anthology series that’s often sadly overlooked, but it’s really worth a watch if you’re into shows like Black Mirror and The Twilight Zone, and this series in particular has been fantastic. We’ve had an episode written entirely in iambic pentameter, an episode whose chronology runs backwards, a live episode that really plays around with the format, episodes containing tragic and biting satire, and one especially twisted episode that brings out a side of Steve Pemberton we’ve never seen before. Series 4 has been a real treat from start to finish, with each episode beautifully written and expertly performed. Inside No. 9 deserves to share the same pedestal as Black Mirror, no question.

Black Panther

I’m sure everyone knows about my less than flattering views on the Marvel Cinematic Universe by now, which is what made Black Panther such a breath of fresh air for me. Stripping away all the convoluted crap, Black Panther has often been compared to The Dark Knight, and for good reason. Like The Dark Knight, this movie uses the superhero genre to tackle real social and political issues. In Black Panther’s case, exploring just what it means to be black in the modern world. Boasting an impressive cast of black actors, strong female characters, an engaging and complex antagonist, fantastic special effects and truly excellent direction from Ryan Coogler, Black Panther represents a new benchmark for Marvel, the superhero genre and the film industry in general. It proves how important and how lucrative diversity and representation in media can be, and it unintentionally shows how flawed the Marvel business model has become. The reason behind Black Panther’s success is simple. It’s because it’s bloody brilliant. And the reason it’s bloody brilliant is because Coogler was allowed to realise his own creative vision without Kevin Feige and Mickey Mouse breathing down his neck. Perhaps they should take note of that in future.

Deadpool 2

Of course Deadpool 2 is going to be on this list. Are you really surprised?

The Merc with the Mouth goes from strength to strength in the rare instance where the sequel is actually as good as, if not better than, the original. The first Deadpool was a great origin story for the character, but Deadpool 2 felt like an adventure ripped straight from the comics themselves. Crass, ultra violent and hysterically funny, Deadpool 2 is the crowning jewel of the X-Men franchise. Fan favourites such as Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Colossus return as well as new characters such as Domino, played by the exceptional Zazie Beetz, Cable, played by the astounding Josh Brolin, and Firefist, played by Julian Dennison who deserves all the success in the world because good God this kid can act!

But of course the star of the film is Deadpool himself with Ryan Reynolds once again proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that he understands this character back to front. Not only is he hysterically funny, capturing the character’s irreverent tone perfectly, he also absolutely nails the tragic underpinnings of Deadpool that make him such a wonderful character. In between the f-bombs and gore are moments of real drama and emotional pathos as the film tackles themes such as loss, discrimination, abuse and suicidal depression. All this whilst taking the piss out of 2017′s Logan. 

Oh yeah, and it also features the first openly LGBT superheroes in cinematic history. Fuck you Disney! NegaYukio and Poololosus for the win! LOL! No, but seriously, now that you have the rights to X-Men back, if you try and censor Deadpool in any way, shape or form, I will kick your arse.

God Of War (2018)

“BOY!”

Yes Kratos is back, having successfully destroyed the world of Greek mythology and now has his eyes on the Norse Gods. And he has a son now. What could possibly go wrong?

Seriously though, this new God Of War is simply exquisite. While I have long admired the God Of War franchise for its interpretation and adaptation of Greek mythology, the previous games in the series have never exactly been the most sophisticated when it comes to storytelling (and the less said about the casual sexism, the better. Yes Sony, I promise I understand the thematic reasons behind playing a minigame that allows you to have sex with Aphrodite in God Of War 3, but it still doesn’t change the fact that it’s sexist as shit). God Of War 2018 changes all that with an intelligent and engaging story that allows us understand and connect with Kratos at a more personal level than we’ve ever done before. Taking place years after God Of War 3, Kratos is older, wiser and trying to raise his son Atreus in the hopes that he won’t make the same mistakes Kratos did in his past. Not only is the story amazing, continuing the franchise’s themes of vengeance and the strained relationships between parents and their children, the gameplay is also a ton of fun with many memorable moments and boss fights.

And as an added bonus, we get two strong female characters that aren’t treated like discardable sex objects. That was nice of them.

Incredibles 2

The long awaited sequel to The Incredibles finally arrived in 2018 and it did not disappoint. Incredibles 2 was everything I could have wanted and more. Continuing on from the events of the first movie, we see Elastigirl take the spotlight as she fights the Screenslaver whilst trying to persuade the worlds’ governments to lift the ban on superheroes. Meanwhile Mr. Incredible takes a back seat as he tries to reconnect with his kids Violet, Dash and Jack-Jack and prove he can be a good, supportive dad. 

Continuing to draw inspiration from Fantastic Four, X-Men and Watchmen, Incredibles 2 is... well... incredible. Expanding the world he created, Brad Bird tells a smart, funny and compelling story that stands head and shoulders above the majority of superhero movie fodder we get nowadays. Elastigirl flourishes in the lead role this time around and the kids get a lot more development, the Screenslaver is a great villain that compliments the themes of the franchise wonderfully, and we get to see a whole bunch of new characters such as Voyd and the Deavor siblings as well as the return of old favourites like Frozone and Edna Mode. 

Honestly, the baby alone is worth the price of admission. Hopefully we won’t have to wait another fourteen years for Incredibles 3.

Marvel’s Spider-Man

Marvel’s Spider-Man is an amazing game. But of course you knew that already. It’s made by Insomniac Games, the same guys behind Ratchet & Clank. Of course it was going to be brilliant.

Simply put, this game does for Spider-Man what the Arkham games did for Batman. Not only is it a great game with brilliant combat and fun web swinging mechanics, it also has a great story worthy of the wall crawler. Unlike the movies, which seem to continuously yank Peter Parker back into high school with each new reboot as those the poor bastard were attached to the fucker on a bungee rope, this Spidey has been fighting crime for eight years. With great power comes many responsibilities as we see him struggle to juggle crime fighting, his new job as a scientist, his commitments to helping Aunt May at the F.E.A.S.T shelter and trying to win his ex Mary Jane Watson back after a six month split. It’s a brilliant story featuring many classic villains such as Shocker and Electro as well as lesser known villains like Screwball and the criminally underrated Mister Negative who finally gets to be the central antagonist in a Spider-Man adaptation. It’s fun to play, engaging, dramatic and really emotional at points. I cried real tears at the end. What a punch to the gut that was.

OOOOOH! And we might be getting to play as Miles Morales in the sequel! I sure hope so! :D

The Grinch

At this point I imagine many of you are scratching your heads. 

“Really Quill? The Grinch? Illumination’s The Grinch? This deserves the Quill Seal Of Approval? Are you sure?” Yes dear reader, I’m absolutely sure. Just hear me out.

It’s true that the majority of Dr Seuss adaptations are shit. While the live action version of the Grinch starring Jim Carrey has a cult following and is fondly remembered by some, it’s still pretty crap, and even Illumination themselves screwed up royally with their adaptation of The Lorax. But this new Grinch is truly excellent. For starters, the animation is gorgeous. This is clearly the format that works best for Seuss movies. Benedict Cumberbatch does a really good job voicing the character, giving him depth and complexity beyond just being a big old meanie. The film also has something no other Seuss film has ever had before. Subtlety. Illumination have clearly learned their lesson after The Lorax. They’re no longer bashing you over the head with a moral message. They’re not trying to over-complicate a simple story by adding pointless sub-plot after pointless sub-plot. In fact the bits they do add actually feed into the main core of the narrative, as opposed to The Lorax, which just confused things. And while there are cute Minion-esque sidekicks like there are in a lot of Illumination films, The Grinch limits it to two (Max the dog and a reindeer named Fred), they’re both legitimately funny, serve an important narrative purpose and don’t distract from the more serious and emotional moments.

In all honesty, I was debating between giving the Quill Seal of Approval to The Grinch or to Bumblebee (the first legitimately good Transformers movie), but I decided to go with The Grinch because of how it handles the character and the story’s message. A lot of people scoffed at the idea of giving the Grinch a back story (and to the film’s credit they don’t force the issue or over-explain where the Grinch came from) but it’s honestly what makes this new adaptation of The Grinch so special to me. He’s gone from being a Scrooge-like monster to an anxiety filled misanthrope who associates Christmas with being alone. It may sound like a jarring change on paper, but in practice it honestly works so well and adds a whole new dimension to the Grinch. It’s treated with absolute care and sincerity and the film really earns its emotional moments, particularly at the end when we see the Grinch sit down to have Christmas dinner with the Whos.

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend you give this new Grinch a chance. You might be pleasantly surprised :)

Doctor Who - Series 11

A woman?! In the TARDIS?! How absurd!

Jodie Whittaker made history as the first woman to play the Doctor and the new series doesn’t disappoint. Whittaker is predictably brilliant in the role, giving the character compassion, charm and wit. We also get a new bunch of companions (including the always brilliant Bradley Walsh as Graham) who all have some great moments in Series 11 and the relationships they form with each other is incredibly touching and fun to watch. But the writing, my God, the writing. Admittedly not every episode has been perfect, but it’s leagues above anything Moffat has given us during his disastrous reign. The majority of Series 11 has been well written and intelligent, tackling important and relevant social issues (something Doctor Who has always been doing and anyone who says otherwise is an idiot) and focusing on likeable and relatable characters rather than convoluted series arcs. We got to meet Rosa Parks, witness the partition of India, and ponder on the dangers of automation whilst the Doctor tries to save the world from bubble wrap. Oh, and the Daleks are scary again! I know! I couldn’t believe it either!

What makes this all the more remarkable is who the showrunner is. Chris Chibnall. A writer I’ve often criticised in the past for being derivative and shit, and yet somehow he’s managed to create some of the best Doctor Who I’ve seen in a long time. Not only has his writing improved dramatically since his Torchwood days, he’s also demonstrated a commitment to having diverse representation both in front of and behind the camera as well as in the scripts themselves. For the first time in what feels like an age, Doctor Who feels like Doctor Who again, and I’m ecstatically happy.

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse

How come we don’t see many animated superhero movies in the cinema? Considering the medium from which superheroes came from, you’d think it would be a no-brainer. Presumably it’s because Disney have got such a strangle hold on the animation market, but that’s hopefully going to change thanks to Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (or, Sony’s Repentance for The Emoji Movie).

Let’s get the obvious out of the way. The animation is gorgeous. It’s pretty much an animated comic book and it stands out as one of the most unique looking animated films in recent memory. Spider-Verse is essentially a love letter to the legacy of Spider-Man as we see multiple different versions of Spidey, including Spider-Gwen, Spider-Ham and Nicholas Cage as Ghost Rider cosplaying as Spider-Man Noir, demonstrating not only the sheer variety of Spider-Men we’ve had over the years, but also exploring what connects them together. With all these different interpretations across many different universes, the idea of Spider-Man comes to the same thing. An ordinary person who experiences tragedy and becomes something greater. It’s hopeful and inspirational in a way Spider-Man films hasn’t been for a while now (Spider-Man: Homecoming sucked donkey balls. Period).

But let’s not forget that while the film explores the Spider-Verse, the main focus is Miles Morales who finally makes his cinematic debut. Not only is it a very faithful adaptation of Ultimate Spider-Man’s origin story, Miles himself is such a great central character for the modern age and arguably has more relevance to today than Peter Parker does. The characters are funny and relatable and the story is expertly crafted and impactful. But then what do you expect from the writers and directors of The Lego Movie? (if only Disney hadn’t interfered with Solo: A Star Wars Story. We could have had it all).

Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle

This one kind of snuck up on me toward the end of December, but I knew the moment I saw it I had to include it on this list.

Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle is an adaptation of The Jungle Book with Andy Serkis making his directorial debut. Yes the same guy who did the motion capture for Gollum in Lord Of The Rings and Caesar in the rebooted Planet Of The Apes movies and who totes deserves an Oscar for Best Actor (fuck you Academy Awards!), and he brings this same motion capture technology to this film. Unlike Disney’s Jungle Book, which merely rehashes the original animated film whilst somehow stripping all the charm from it, Mowgli sticks closer to the original Rudyard Kipling book. This isn’t a cheery musical. This film is often dark and intense as we see Mowgli (played wonderfully by Rohan Chand) struggle to find his place in the world. He knows he doesn’t belong with the animals in the jungle, but he doesn’t really fit in with the world of man neither. It’s an emotional and dramatic character piece brought to life by great writing, great acting and stunning special effects. 

Andy Serkis has expressed a desire to do an adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, and after watching this movie, I would love to see that. If you haven’t already, go watch Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle. It’s available to stream on Netflix and it’s truly amazing.

And that’s it for 2018. Congratulations to the winners of this year’s Quill Seal Of Approval Awards. Unfortunately we’re on a limited budget here on The Desolated Quill, so I can’t offer any sort of trophy or medal or anything. What I can do though is write the words ‘I’m an awesome cookie’ on a post-it note and stick it on your forehead. Will that do?

[mercerislandbooks]

Pride Month Picks

If you don’t already know, June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month, which means it’s time to celebrate and support our community. Businesses across the Puget Sound area are flying rainbow flags, and Island Books is not missing out! To mark the month, we are going to giveaway two awesome rainbow Lokai bracelets (read to the bottom for more details).

It is also an excuse to call attention to queer books, an overarching category for any book that features a LGBTQ+ main character, focuses on queer issues, or is written by a queer author. This is one of my favorite genres because literature about queer people normalizes their existence, in the same way it does with racial or religious minorities.

I have to admit that I told Lillian, our children’s buyer, last summer that I had one rule when I read queer books: No one can die.

This may sound like a silly requirement, but until recently, I felt like all of the books about LGBTQ+ characters were depressing. While trying to portray real world examples of these characters’ situations, the books I saw also squashed hope for a better future. The only queer book I knew about in high school was Blue is the Warmest Color, and it is not the happiest. It seems that queerness in literature equaled heartbreak, and that wasn’t the world I wanted to exist in. (I probably should have gone to a bookstore and asked a salesperson, but I was introverted fifteen year old who wasn’t quite confident enough in her own identity.)

I pulled as many books as I could think of from the teen section that featured queer characters!

I have been so excited over the past year or so to rediscover queer literature, especially for young adults. One of my favorite books of the past year has been Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan, an adorable book about two best friends mourning the closure of the town theme park, and consequently their childhood. Through their hijinks to save the park, the girls realize that the most important thing they have is their relationship and that they’ve fallen in love. And it’s so sweet! Over the past almost-decade since my rejection of queer books, authors have made a point to write books that show positive role models for queer relationships, highlighting complexity, intersectionality, and humor in fantastic ways.

Consequently, there are now stories about queer characters in almost every genre now, from picture books to literary adult fiction. As there are too many books to showcase in this blog post alone, I’ll start with some of favorite summer reads, which all happen to feature gay relationships.

Camille Perri’s When Katie Met Cassidy is a spin on romantic comedy. Katie is a Kentucky born blond-haired blue-eyed sweetheart working at a law firm in New York City. Raised with traditional family values, she is put into a tailspin when she can’t stop thinking about Cassidy, an androgynously masculine woman working for an opposing firm. On the other side, Cassidy is dealing with her own personal crisis, passing thirty and feeling like she is aging out of her party lifestyle. To top off her woes, Cassidy can’t stop thinking about Katie, the straight girl who is not so straight, either. I loved this hilarious romance because gracefully deals with identity politics and the complications of being true to one’s instincts. Camille Perri focuses on queer communities and the power of female relationships.

Two books I loved featuring kitten paws.

Red, White, and Royal Blue is one of my must-reads this summer. It has received a huge amount of hype; I read the book in the day and the hype is accurate. The book poses the question, What if the hypothetical First Son of America and the hypothetical Prince of Wales hated each other? What if they had to spend PR time together for political peace and then fell in love? What if?? While the plot may sound silly, I adore the book because Casey McQuiston does a fantastic job of balancing the levity of first love with real-world consequences of such a political “scandal.” As a bonus, I enjoyed how vivid and realistic the characters are.

On the literary side, there are so many beautifully written books about queer experiences that I cannot even begin to cover them all. I will talk about two, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong and Lie With Me by Philippe Besson, translated by Molly Ringwald. All books about queer people deal with ideas of self-identity, especially when the characters are discovering their sexualities. These two books both follow men in their experiences with first love and heartbreak. In On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, the main character Little Dog writes a letter to his illiterate mother about his childhood and experiences growing up the child of a Vietnamese immigrant. The poetry of Ocean Vuong’s previous work bleeds seamlessly into this sometimes stream-of-consciousness narrative. One of my favorite things about the novel is how Little Dog’s sexual identity is not the main focus of his story but simply an aspect. The intersectionalism of Vuong’s work is definitely one of its many strengths. I definitely broke my rule about death with this one, but the sadness is integral to the story line.

Lie With Me is heartbreaking. There is no way for me to get around it, but the simplicity and restrained manner of the French translation is addicting. The book starts with the narrator seeing a teenager in a hotel lobby that looks identical to his first love. This vision sends him into a spiral of memories, jumping back and forth in time and space. Because of its a reminiscence, the AIDS epidemic tints his youth in grief. The reader also learns that the title has a double-meaning, referring to both the intimacy of the teenagers and the social perjury they have to commit. I loved the uncomplicated language and the fundamental and overwhelming emotions that fill the story. Clearly, there is a reason it sold over 120,000 copies in France.

Though there are many more queer books that I could have reviewed, these are some of my favorites of the year so far. Each of them delved deeper into the emotional milieu of queer identification than expected or spoke to me in a personal way.

We have two bracelets up for grabs! Photo courtesy of Lokai.com

Please come into the store if you would like to get more recommendations or just simply chat! We would all be delighted to help you. If you would like to win one of these super fun Lokai bracelets, post a picture on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram of your favorite queer read and tag us! We will be taking submissions until the 20th of June.

Happy Pride!

— Kelleen

[instantlit]

Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag

I went back and forth a lot on whether or not I want to do this tag this year. I did it last year on another blog and I remember really enjoying it and, I don’t know, I couldn’t summon the same enthusiasm as last year? I know, weird. But anyway, here it is.

 So, against all expectations, I’ve actually read 3 more books than last year: a total of 19 books for the first half of the year, which is freaking amazing for me. I’ve set the exact same Reading Goal on Goodreads for 2018, which is 25 books, and I’m already more than halfway through. I usually don’t want to focus too much on the numbers because it takes the joy out of reading, but knowing that I’m way ahead of schedule allows me a bit more breathing room, which leads me to pick some books that I probably wouldn’t have picked otherwise or, at least, not at that moment. I’ve also had some very impulsive buys, because I went to Shakespeare & Company on a rare day where there wasn’t that much people in the shop? Like, wow! And also, because I went to London and visited Daunt Books, so I couldn’t leave empty-handed. For better or for worse.  

 So anyway, here’s my recap for the first half of 2018!  

1 | Best book 1st half of 2018

I’m actually having a hard time choosing. It’s a complete change from last year because I’ve read very different books and not much Fantasy, which I usually stick pretty faithfully to. In the end, I’m choosing Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. It’s not a perfect book, but it had such an impact on me, it’s one of those books that you keep thinking about even weeks or months after you’ve finished it. It was moving, incredibly ambitious and powerful in its own quiet way. It would be hard to recommend but I wish everyone would read it.

 I also want to do a quick shout-out to The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, because I love her and I love her writing style, and I can’t not mention this book in my Mid-Year Freak Out.

 2 | Best sequel 1st half of 2018

Okay so, like, I’m cheating a bit here. I haven’t read many series so far, I’ve mostly stuck to stand-alones, but I don’t want to keep mentioning V.E. Schwab whenever I have to answer this question so, this time, I’m going with Circe by Madeline Miller. I know, it’s not technically a sequel (I did say I was cheating), but the story happens in the same universe as the Song of Achilles, part of it even happens at the same time, so I’m sticking with this answer. And, anyway, the main reason I’m choosing this is because it’s such a nice progression to go from the Song of Achilles to Circe, because the universe is expanded (since we go from a mortal’s perspective to a god’s) but also because the writing is so much better. I seriously can’t wait to get my hands on another one of her retellings.    

 3 | Must-read new release 1st half of 2018 (released 1st half)

I’ve got a bunch, not as much as I thought I would, but they’re still there. I don’t know when I’ll get around to reading them, though, because my pile of books at the moment is a little too big for my taste.

In any case, here they are:

-          All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages, which is collection of short stories all featuring queer characters. Mackenzi Lee wrote one, who you’ll recognize as the author of The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, which I loved last year, and I’m excited to read Shaun David Hutchinson’s story as well, since I read one of his book this year and absolutely loved it.

-          The City of Lost Fortunes by Bryan Camp, which was sold to me as beautifully-written magical realism reminiscent of the Night Circus. What more could I want?

-          The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang, which I probably almost missed out on, but I’m really into Asian cultures at the moment and I’ve read some really great reviews which make it seem more than your typical historical YA, so I’m excited to get to it.

-          Us Against You by Fredrick Backman, the unexpected sequel to Beartown, which was one of my favorite books last year!

 4 | Most anticipated release 2nd half

Ah, so many! I’m just realizing that the majority of my most anticipated 2018 releases are happening in the second half. So, to only name a few:

-          Check Please! by Ngozi Ukazu. I’ve been a fan of the webcomic for years so I’m really excited and proud that she got the chance to publish her work. I really want to have this story on paper, in my hands!

-          Vengeful by V.E. Schwab. I’ll sort of have to reread Vicious beforehand because, while I have a good memory of the book, I remember the experience not being super pleasant because I found the characters so annoying and unlikable. Anyway, I’m excited for the sequel, I want to see where she’s taking the story.

-          City of Ghost by V.E. Schwab. She’s very productive, isn’t she? I just know that it involves ghost and that the story takes place in Edinburgh. She just gets me.

-          Muse of Nightmare by Laini Taylor. Strange the Dreamer was one of the biggest surprises of last year as well as one of my favorite books of the year so, of course, I’m excited to read the conclusion to this amazing story.

-          Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. Okay but, like, Uprooted is one of my favorite books of all time, so I really hope that this one is up to the task.

5 ­| Biggest disappointment

It’s not the book I’ve given the lowest rating to so far but, considering the history I have with John Green, I think its place as my biggest disappointment of the year is justified: it’s Turtles All the Way Down. The hype certainly didn’t help but, more than that, I felt it was lacking something, some spark, something more. Or maybe I’m just getting too old for John Green and I just have to accept it but, your oldest ties aren’t the easiest to break…

6 | Biggest surprise

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand (among others). I had my reservations about it, even if I thought I could like it. I thought it would be too YA, that it wouldn’t be as funny as everyone said it was. Well, I didn’t need to worry because it’s probably my most fun read of this first half of 2018. It was light and fluffy and hilarious. 100% would recommend.

7 | Favorite debut/new author

Can I say Shaun David Hutchinson? Because We Are the Ants is a book that had me shook. The writing in itself didn’t have anything really special, but the story and the way it was told was so moving and raw and real. I don’t know what his other books are like, but I’d be willing to try them out.

8 ­| Newest fictional crush

Not gonna lie, I was crushing a bit on Noa from Pachinko, even though it wasn’t the purpose of this book at all. But like, if one of your characters is a talented, smart young man with lots of insecurities and a tragic path, then you can definitely expect me to fall halfway in love with him. It’s just the way it is, I don’t make the rules.    

 9 | Newest favorite character

Circe because she’s everything I could ever want from a female character: she’s strong and fierce and flawed and insecure and loyal and vicious and naïve and wise. She was really well-written, okay?!

10 | A book that made you cry

Pachinko, again, because you follow all these different lives for such a long time. I was just really emotional at times. Also, because of Noa.

 11 | A book that made you happy

Opal by Maggie Stiefvater. I don’t know what the next series is going to be like, but I know that I need more Ronan and more Pynch in my life. I’m glad I got a small dose through this short story. I’m alive again!

12 | Most beautiful book

The prettiest covers, hands down, are Circe and All the Crooked Saints.    

   13 | TBR for the rest of 2018 (books you still need to read)

So many! I’m currently reading All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, which is not exactly a light summer read, but I’m enjoying it so far, and Stardust by Neil Gaiman. It’s not often that I read several books at once, but Stardust is super short and I want to finish both by the end of my vacation, so…

After that, I’m heading towards Radio Silence by Alice Oseman (another impulsive buy). People have given me high hopes and there’s a really diverse cast of characters, so I’m really hoping I’ll love it.

And then, I’ll try to finish the rest of my last book batches: The Thirteenth Tale, The Shadow of the Wind, Station Eleven and The Lies of Locke Lamora. Pretty big pile, I know!

 Wish me luck!

[eyesaremosaics]

Feminist film recommendations?

Hmm interesting question anon. I will list some of my personal favorites (in no particular order) hopefully you enjoy them.

1. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

I felt like there was fire in my veins walking out of the cinema. Not only is Charlize Theron’s Furiosa a total badass, but the best thing is that it’s not just her. To have such a range of women portrayed equally and beautifully was so uplifting. Women caring for each other, lifting each other and fighting hard for what is right. We need more of that, both in Hollywood and in life.

2. The color purple (1985)

Read this book in high school, about a sisterhood of women, all standing together against the racism and sexism that they face and somehow coming out on top. It’s an inspiring story of women coming together in the face of adversity.

3. Gone With the Wind (1939)

Scarlett was the most coveted female film role of all time. Despite the films obvious flaws as a result of the time period in which it was made, overall this is a feminist parable. Scarlett is above all else–a survivor. She never gives up, digs her heels in, rolls up her sleeves and does it. She faces adversity with admirable courage. Despite the fact that she is a terribly flawed human being, you can relate to her. She sets her mind to something and she does it, whether it’s dragging her family out of poverty or eating as much BBQ food as she damn well likes. Her flaws make her human, which adds richness to the overall story. Scarlett has inspired me to persevere at the darkest of times. When all hope seems lost, “tomorrow is another day.”

4. Erin Brockovich (2000)

I love Julia Roberts, and this movie stands out as one of her best in my opinion. A single mother, fallen on hard times, but somehow holding everything together. Making the best of a bad situation, an eternal realist. Portraying a woman as much more than she appears. She uncovers some dark secrets (chemicals leaked into the sewer systems) which led an entire community to develop terminal illness. She works tirelessly to expose those responsible and find justice for those who can’t help themselves. My favorite line is when this bitchy secretary says: “maybe we got off on the wrong foot here.”“Yeah lady because that’s all you got, two wrong feet and fucking ugly shoes.” Bahahaha

5. Suffragette (2015)

Tells the story of the women’s right movement at the turn of the last century. It taught me to stand up for myself, and for women everywhere. Very proud to have that as a part of our history. Incredibly grateful to all the women who fought tirelessly, endured persecution, humiliation, incarceration to ensure my right to vote.

6. Pocahontas (1995)

Pocahontas is VERY loosely based on the true story. Disney took a lot of liberties here which mask the horror of early American history and its impact on the native Americans. HOWEVER, what I like about her characterization in this film… Is that she was strong, rebellious, bold, adventurous, and wise. She went wherever the wind took her, a true free spirit. She was graceful, and kind in ways other Disney princesses were not. The purity of her heart and the message she had to bring, stopped a war. She is a warrior, but not one that fights with weapons, she fights with love. In the end she chose herself and her duty to her people over a man. I wanted to be just like her when I was a little girl watching this in the theater, and she still inspires me today, nearly 20 years later.

7. Fried green tomatoes (1992)

I watched this film when I was in high school, with low expectations and was very surprised to discover how moved I was. A story of two women, finding empowerment within oneself. The main character listens to a story from an elderly woman and learns how to love herself. I believe it’s important to encourage other women and learn from each other.

8. Obvious child (2014)

Jenny Slate’s character has an abortion after a one night stand with a guy she actually really likes. However, she knows she isn’t prepared for it and chooses to terminate the pregnancy. There’s great friendship and family in the film and it really helps to destigmatise abortion.

9. Wild (2014)

The book is arguably better, but the film is worth watching. A woman goes out and hikes one of the worlds longest trails, on a mission to find herself and to prove that she can finish what she starts. Finding herself on the elements, and getting clarity. Very freeing and inspiring.

10. Kill Bill 1 & 2 (2003)

Uma Thurman is a boss, and everyone knows it. She is so vice tally connected to her inner life as an actress, always enjoy watching her. These films are what she is most known for nowadays, and for good reason. It’s a story of revenge. A woman is almost murdered by the man she loved, pregnant with his child. Wakes up in a hospital, having been in a coma for years. Suffered all kinds of indignities, she willed herself to walk again. Dragged herself by her fingernails until she could rise up, strengthen her skills as a warrior, and set out to settle old scores. She takes each person down one by one, yet you still find the humanity behind each character and the reasons why they did what they did and became who they were. It’s about survival, perseverance, and ultimately in the end–forgiveness. Leaving the past behind, to start over again.

11. She’s beautiful when she’s angry (2014)

It’s a documentary about the feminist movement in the 1960s and 1970s, with interviews with many of the women who were part of it. Sure, it makes you angry to see injustice, but it’s also highly uplifting to see what these women did, and how it paved the way for equality forty to fifty years later. These women were, and still are, amazing figures who haven’t stopped fighting.

12. How to make an American quilt

A group of older women reflecting on their lives around a quilting table. Each of their stories are so inspiring, and the way they all come together to heal from their traumas is very powerful. Winona Ryder’s character (Finn) is experiencing a late twenties crisis of identity, and is unsure about wether or not to get married to her long term fiancée. Listening to the lives of all these women helps bring perspective and clarity to her. Life is never black and white, life is like a quilt. You build as you go along.

13. Frida

This Selma Hayek-fronted, Academy Award-winning biopic of the feminist icon portrays the artist in a whole new light. It’s amazing to watch the story of any incredible historic figure succeed against the odds, but double if said figure is also a woman and shot so beautifully by Julie Taymor.

14. The hours (2002)

This film follows three women as their lives weave in and around the narrative of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway. The multi-generational movie shows how people are connected through time by similar angst, anxieties, and personal struggles.

15. The Stepford wives (1975)

What happens to women when things are too perfect? The answer might make their husbands happy, but the truth behind what is happening in this ideal-seeming suburb is nothing short of horrifying.

16. Miss Representation (2011)

A documentary on the way women are treated and portrayed in the media, this film broke open the truth behind the images women and young girls are force fed on a daily basis. Start your watching here, if you can, and then continue on to these other films to see how much has and hasn’t changed.

17. North Country (2005)

A fictionalized account of the first majorly successful sexual harassment case in the United States, this film follows the female miners who fought for their right to work without suffering the abuse their male coworkers heaped on them because of their gender.

18. The Headless Woman, Lucrecia Martel

New Argentine Cinema figure Lucrecia Martel draws connections to the country’s dark political/class struggles, transposing its “disappeared” from the mid-to-late ‘70s into a sedate, challenging story about a woman’s fractured state following a fatal accident and its ensuing cover-up.

18. Princess Mononoke, Hayao Miyazaki

A thread of feminism weaves itself through the work of Hayao Miyazaki. Perhaps his most mature film, Princess Mononoke features a memorable and tenacious heroine, San, who subverts feminine stereotypes and is written without the fanciful quirks commonly found in animation. She is serious and single minded. Grounded to the earth, living in the moment. She is totally present, and pure. Even her rage comes from a pure unadulterated place. Wolf-goddess character Moro deserves attention as an unlikely mother figure that is fierce and, well, totally pissed off (you would be too if people were destroying your home), but also wise and nurturing. Fighting for what’s right, against impossible odds. Being humbled by nature, the ultimate female reclamation. So many layers in this film.

19. Dogfight, Nancy Savoca

A rare film set during the Vietnam War and told from the perspective of a woman, Nancy Savoca’s Dogfight reveals a different kind of cruelty people inflict upon one another, off the battlefield — in this case, a group of misogynistic Marines using women in a contest of looks. Lili Taylor’s peace-loving Rose, who becomes one of the targets in this game, soon realizes she’s being courted by River Phoenix’s Eddie for the wrong reasons — though his guilt and seemingly genuine interest in Rose is apparent. Rose confronts Eddie about the game, defending the honor of all women involved, which winds up bringing them closer together.

20. Alien, Ridley Scott

She’s not a sidekick, arm candy, or a damsel to be rescued. She isn’t a fantasy version of a woman. The character is strong enough to survive multiple screenwriters. She was lucky enough to be played by Sigourney Weaver,” said Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America President John Scalzi of Ellen Ripley from 1979’s Alien. Defying genre cinema’s gender clichés (she is gender neutral, really) as the clear-minded, intelligent, and capable officer of the ship Nostromo, Ripley is more resourceful than the men who employ her and steps in to take over when all hell breaks loose.

21. Orlando, Sally Potter

Our own Judy Berman recently highlighted Tilda Swinton’s performance in Potter’s adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s satirical text that explores gender and artistic subjectivity, a project that was ambitious in both form and content:

“Although it’s far more straightforward a narrative than most of her work, Virginia Woolf’s Orlando still presents one major challenge for the big screen: its protagonist is a nobleman in Elizabethan England who lives a life that spans centuries, and is suddenly transformed into a woman midway through it. Tilda Swinton may be the only (allegedly) human actor equipped to play the role of such a regal, mysterious androgyne, and her performance in this adaptation — also a breakthrough for director Sally Potter — became her signature.”

22. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Jacques Demy

Celebrated for its vivid milieu, Jacques Demy’s sensitively characterized film is a superior look at an independent woman (Catherine Deneuve) in a romantic narrative who makes difficult choices about marriage, children, and survival that sometimes leave her alone — but she is never lonely because of that.

23. Daisies, Vera Chytilová

The young women in Vera Chytilová’s Czech New Wave farce “construct fluid identities for themselves, keenly aware of their sexuality, toying with the men who pursue them. It’s an exhilarating, surreal, anarchic experiment, framed by the turbulent 1960s.

24. Daughters of the Dust, Julie Dash

Julie Dash directed the first feature film by an African-American woman distributed theatrically in the United States in 1991 — a stunningly captured look at three generations of Gullah women off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia in 1902.

25. Meshes of the Afternoon, Maya Deren

The bar for avant-garde female filmmaking, born from personal experiences and anxieties. Maya Deren’s 1943 experimental classic builds its interior female perspective and constructs of selfhood through dreamlike imagery.

26. The Passion of Joan of Arc, Carl Theodor Dreyer

Critic Jonathan Rosenbaum on Carl Theodor Dreyer’s crowning achievement, released in 1928, that still painfully echoes contemporary cases of female oppression — the film’s silent context taking on an unintentional resonance:

“Carl Dreyer’s last silent, the greatest of all Joan of Arc films��� . Joan is played by stage actress Renee Falconetti, and though hers is one of the key performances in the history of movies, she never made another film. (Antonin Artaud also appears in a memorable cameo.) Dreyer’s radical approach to constructing space and the slow intensity of his mobile style make this ‘difficult’ in the sense that, like all the greatest films, it reinvents the world from the ground up. It’s also painful in a way that all Dreyer’s tragedies are, but it will continue to live long after most commercial movies have vanished from memory.”

[fictionstuff]

Astral Chain Points: 3.75/5 Status: no walkthrough used played through in approximately 20 hours

Astral Chain is officially called an “action” game, but the main point is not even the action aspect. It's so much more, but Astral Chain has indeed a very good “action”  base. It was published in August, 2019 and created by Platinum Games, who always manage to release stylish action games. I also played NieR: Automata and was heavily surprised by a very well written and sharp plot. Astral Chain sadly doesn't have such a good story, but a good foundation for it. It'll impress you with gorgeous animations, a very well established combat system and an interesting and exciting plot.

Artwork/Design Astral Chain is a game with anime style. The more than gorgeous and cool looking characters and monsters were created by mangaka Masakazu Katsura. I've bought the Collector's Edition which also features a booklet of designs and drawings by the designer and it is so nice to look at. It's easy to see how much detail and love was put into these designs and creations. Even the monsters, called chimeras, look awesome and very distinctive although they're sometimes rather huge and kind of stuff the screen.

In between there will be many beautifully animated cutscenes which add to the very interesting plot. I personally enjoyed the cutscenes quite a lot.

On the other hand Astral Chain doesn't have many locations that will probably kick you out of your socks, but the few locations that are present in the game are unique and wonderful to look at, with much detail and rather unique, futuristic perhaps. You will find many creative and interesting NPCs, much to explore and many characters to talk to.

Story/Combat system Astral Chain is set in a futuristic dystopia, which is very rich in detail and has a decently written story (that overall falls short within my expectations). It's rightfully described as an action game and Astral Chain does have a very dynamic and flashy combat system, which may firstly appear to be quite difficult, but the longer you try to get the controls down, the more you will also enjoy it.

The story takes place in a very distant future, in 2078, where humanity is at the brink of extinction. Many retreated to “the Ark”, a megacity. The people are hunted by chimeras, huge and to the normal civilian's eye invisible. These chimeras live in an astral plane and kidnap humans and spread corruption. Humanity's last hope is a police force named Neuron, a special kind of police force which knows how to capture Chimeras and use them as weapons against their own race. It's needless to say, that the game delivers a lot of philosophical or ethical problems. Anyhow, these Chimeras are called legions and can only be used by a handful of special soldiers.

You can choose between a set of twins: a male or a female. I chose the girl in my first run. The other twin will be used as a narrative device and encounter a rather sad and dramatic fate. You and your twin join the police force and within time you are the only persons who can handle their legions perfectly.

The game is structured into chapters which are called files. The 11th file is the last one and marks the end of the game. Until then you'll come across many twists and turns delivered in smaller missions which lead to a boss fight in the end of the chapter. Within these chapters you'll be doing detective work in an adventure style investigative gameplay. You'll be searching the areas for clues and witnesses and at the end there will be a quick q&a. I always tried to answer everything correctly to gather the most points for the case as the chapter will be ranked from S+ (perfect) to D (worse than worse).

The files always play out in the very same way: Your character will be at Neuron's HQ, ready to go on a mission. At Neuron's HQ you can do a million of things before starting the main mission. You can change the clothes of your character, which you receive during the story. You can upgrade your weapons and your legions. The menu is very easy to handle and every easy to navigate. You can take pictures of your colleagues to gain more biographies. You can buy items and you can talk to all of the available NPCs. There are also various side missions you can take on, which I'd advise you to do, because the files will contain all side missions and they add to the ranking in the end. To browse through the main game you either need to head to the roof or the garage and from there on, the story will go on with detective games, exploring various other smaller missions and the eventual boss fight.

The main game takes less than 20 hours. In order to expend the life line I'd expect for everyone to try to achieve S rankings, but even that would end around 25-35 hours. In any case, side missions are very well integrated into the main missions and never feel like a filler. They're often rather entertaining, adding to the special charm Platinum Games have. Talking about side missions also makes me want to talk about the legions, their special abilities and travelling through the astral plane. There's always much to explore using your legion's various special and very cool abilities.

The main aspect of the creators seems to be the combat system though. Live action battles where you control 2 units. Your character and your legion and at first it may be quite complicated, but it's overall a delight once you're used to fighting: the main character has a fixed set of weapons: baton, gun and a heavy sword. The tactical aspects here are quite obvious. In addition you can use your legion to chain your enemies and freeze them with the right control stick, you can throw your enemies around with the chain, you can practically teleport yourself from one place to another using the chain. Your legion knows certain special attacks and when you dodge successfully, you can always start a combo attack. The system heavily relies on quick reactions, but it's such a big variety and joy.

I think the game itself a heavier and more thought out plot (only a sequel would make it better understandable, because many things remained unexplained). The world building could have been elaborated on. In contract to the wonderful voice actors your main character always feels heavily misplaced considering he barely makes any noises.

Nonetheless is Astral Chain a wonderful mixture of an rpg and an action game that contains a interesting world, plot and a very cool delightful combat system.

[dccomicsnews]

This October, at New York’s Comic-Con, DCN had some wicked fun! The playful, witty cast of Dirk Gently discussed their newest season and their work with Max Landis. They all sound greatly fond of him, certainly applauding his writing and talents. At the end of the cast’s questions, Max Landis spoke with DCN to tell us what inspires him to write such trying and melancholy underdog tales as we saw in the brilliant, cathartic DC Comic series, American Alien, which featured the struggle and growth of New 52’s Clark Kent into becoming Superman.

Lois Lane: You want to do something small? C’mon Clark…

Do something BIG.

Q: This sort of genre, this detective but also sci-fi, how do you think this sort of genre helps improve society, any benefits that the show [morally] comes with? 

(Left to right: Fiona Dourif, Elijah Wood, Arvind Ethan David (Producer), Hannah Marker, Jad Eshete, Samuel Barnett, Max Landis, Mpho Koaho)

Samuel Barnett: Without getting political, we are living in times that feel more chaotic. And I think the nature of the show [Dirk Gently] is that the universe is chaos, but ultimately everything passes and everything somehow comes together, and everything is connecting. I think it [this genre] is a beautiful reminder with things being so polarized at the moment that we are actually all connected and all the same ultimately. And I think it’s a very human show. I think that’s what people plug into.

Elijah Wood: Beautifully said. Yeah, and there is so many genre elements within the context of the storytelling, it is also ultimately character driven. All of the characters present, even the “supposed” heroes are flawed, and I think that is something really beautiful, is that they’re all related. Ever Dirk Gently, even our strongest character is flawed and you can kind of relate to. It’s a group of misfits trying to do good.

Q: I like your beautiful chemistry, and I see it between your cast and I see it on the show too. How do you think that impacts the way the script is written?

Hannah Marks: I would love to say that Max took from our personalities but I don’t think so. Max has got a vision that he’s had for years and years and years somewhere in that crazy brain of his so I think he intentionally divides the people that have chemistry. He’s like “I don’t want you guys together!” And he picks the people you would never expect in a million years. He’s going to put those two characters together. As much as I would love to work with [only] Jade.

Jade Eshete: Right! “Hey! Can I have a scene with Hannah now?”

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Q: [To  Fiona Dourif and Mpho Koaho] How does your relationship develop with Ken [in season 2], what route does it take?

Fiona Dourif: Well…watch season 2 of Dirk Gently on BBC News. [She laughs] You know, finding a connection with Ken is the dragging force behind everything I do in season 2. It’s a testament to Max Landis, there is an emotional light built into all the plotlines so there is a human reason why I do everything that I do in season 2.

Mpho Koaho: The progression of Ken is not because of Ken. It is taken a lot of Ken to do almost anything by himself. The kid is just a different guy: hermit, scared, all these things and Bart gives him a reason. It’s like “oh, somebody likes me?” Do you know what I mean? That was Ken’s mentality, especially when he had the chance to walk away when she gave him the option to leave. He came back. […] So that’s enough for Ken, I’ve got a friend now!  You know, that’s purpose.

Q: Detective and Supernatural genres bring so much to the table, but what do you think putting them together brings to people, as a heart of the story? 

Mpho Koaho: I think relationships do that. Bart, Ken, and Bart. I mean, who wouldn’t want that? Maybe it looks weird at first, you know, the girl trying to kill everybody and then this sweet boy [comes in] but where it goes though?

Who wouldn’t want that? Dirk and Todd have their own thing and then you add the rowdy three, everyone has the development to their relationship to their extent, so if you take that away, where is the human element to it? People need to connect. Everything is connected. People want to relate to somebody, there are so many characters on the show, somebody is going to see someone they know! They’re close to. And the relationships influence, because you finally connect with a person and somebody cares for this person.

Q: Do you feel the relationship has romantic potential? 

MK: No. That’s not this show. We don’t do that on this show. And I’m not talking about how Bart’s not a stone-cold fox. That’s not what I’m saying. I just don’t think that’s why we participate on our show, I think we do a great job separating all that [romance]. We don’t ship.

FD: We have a surprising amount of anti-tropes. There is some sex in Dirk Gently season 2 and we have two lead gay characters, which is really nice. I think its refreshing and fantastic the lead female characters are not their clothes off, and it never comes up. It’s not even a plot point that I don’t have a boyfriend.

The cast talks about Max’s writing, he puts his passion into building strong, meaningful bonds.

Q: I read your comic, American Alien, brilliant series, Dirk Gently too. It deals with a lot of identities. What drives you to write stories about people who are underdogs mastering their demons?

Max Landis: So everything I write is about…do you want the real answer?

Yes, the real answer.

Max Landis: Basically, everything I write, if you look at my work, is about an outsider who is unhappy and frustrated with their life. Then discovering a secret talent that allows them to connect with other people and that then causes trouble. And either they engage with their identity and change their behavior as a hero, OR they refuse and use their talent in a bad way and that causes chaos. So that’s American Alien, Chronicle, Victor Frankenstein, Mr. Right, American Ultra, everything I do is that.

And that’s because I was a lonely kid who’s kind of…spent a lot of my time as a jerk. And blaming other people, and felt very lonely and alone and weird. I couldn’t connect with other people. And then I started to become a writer and through that, I have been forced to engage with ideas about myself and other people that have caused me to grow. And that started when I was 23 and is still in process. But you can SEE. If you track my scripts, my development personally is right alongside them. In a way that’s really upsetting, that I didn’t realize until my girlfriend pointed it out to me. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. Even in like my movies, the movie I wrote first was Mr. Right (that got made later), and Mr. Right is Marth, Anna Kendrick is a sociopath. She is a demented crazy person who can’t connect with other people who then meets another sociopath and instead of it helping or curing her, she just goes “ok, I’m gonna murder people.”

And that’s her arc. “yeah good!” But then if you look at Chronicle, Andrew finally makes friends and then goes “f*** you, you guys don’t know me!” And dies. So now, being crazy is fine, being crazy maybe causes problems, and then you look at American Ultra or Victor Frankenstein, which both features friendships, one of which is a romance once of which is a friendship, where characters find the salvation of each other. And that’s where it goes from there.

Max Landis, creator, and writer of Dirk Gently, author of American Alien! Check out season 2 of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, where supernatural meets great detectives!

DCN Visits NYCC: Interviewing DC Comics ‘American Alien’ Writer Max Landis With Cast Of ‘Dirk Gently’ This October, at New York's Comic-Con, DCN had some wicked fun! The playful, witty cast of…