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branwendaughterofllyr · 2 years

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Branwen reads ASOIAF (again) - AGOT Prologue

I love the prologue of AGOT. It’s probably my favorite opening to any of the books, it is such excellent atmospheric horror writing. I get chills every time I read it, it’s that good. It should probably come as no surprise that the Wall plotline is my favourite, and the prologue really sets the stage for it so well.

Three rangers of the Night Watch out are out beyond the Wall, and they are in trouble. The wildlings they have been tracking are all dead, and that's never a positive. Will, our POV character, is listening to fellow brother Gared argue with Ser Waymar Royce, who’s in charge of this ranging despite not having been at the Wall all that long.

Gared is making some excellent points; mainly that they should all turn around and go home. I like Gared.

But Waymar is having none of this. And now, poor Will is getting dragged into the conversation.

“My mother told me that dead men sing no songs,” he put in. “My wet nurse said the same thing, Will,” Royce replied. “Never believe anything you hear at a woman’s tit. There are things to be learned even from the dead.”

This entire chapter is 90% foreshadowing and 10% spooky trees. I love it.

Things to be learned from the dead, I’m so excited. This how all historians should pitch themselves.

Both Gared and Will no that something is seriously wrong tonight. Will has been on hundred of rangings and he’s never been this afraid. Not like this.

A cold wind was blowing out of the north, and it made the trees rustle like living things.

Probably my favourite line from the whole chapter. The feeling of not being alone combined with setting us up for hive mind of the tree gods? perfection!

Ser Waymar Royce is not getting the spooky tingles like the other two, and Will drops Waymar’s backstory and description on us.

Ser Waymar Royce was the youngest son of an ancient house with too many heirs. He was a handsome youth of eighteen, grey-eyed and graceful and slender as a knife.

We find out later that House Royce is one of the few non-Northern houses descended from the First Men, who also still send men to the Wall, though it is mainly to get rid of troublesome younger sons. Ah, troublesome younger sons who main threaten a main heir being sent to the Wall. Where have we heard that before?

Oh never mind, the comparison isn’t even subtle, when Waymar is described almost exactly the same way Jon is next chapter.

Jon's eyes were a grey so dark they seemed almost black, but there was little they did not see. He was of an age with Robb, but they did not look alike. Jon was slender where Robb was muscular, dark where Robb was fair, graceful and quick where his half brother was strong and fast. -BRAN I, AGOT

I’m just saying, Waymar is pretty clearly a stand in for Jon.

He’s also Sansa’s first crush

Anyway, Waymar is also proof from the start that Night’s Watch is not as egalitarian as the songs would lead you to believe, and who you are and who you know absolutely does matter in the NW. Jon gets this lecture from Donal Noye later, but the complicated social strata of Westeros influencing the NW is there from the start.

Will actually drops a bit of wisdom that I think might be important to a lot of the would be rulers of Westeros.

It is hard to take orders from a man you laughed at in your cups,

The power of mockery and laughter comes up a lot in ASOIAF, particularly as a tool to undermine rulers. Jon actually uses this same tactic against Ser Alliser Thorne, after Thorne tries to break him down. Tyrion is also pretty aware of this and also uses it against... Thorne too, in ACOK. That’s funny.

Meanwhile, Gared is back to arguing with Waymar that they should head back. Waymar, for all his trappings of knighthood, is a bit of a dick to Gared, but he’s not exactly *wrong*. Gared says that they should consider their mission ended, now that the wildlings all turned up dead, but Waymar isn’t having it. He instead asks Will exactly what he saw, and what Will describes is just straight up weird. There are no blood, no sign of a battle, just people lying too still to be alive. Their fire in the firepit had gone out.

Waymar also realizes this weird. Gared thinks it’s the cold.

“It was the cold,” Gared said with iron certainty. “I saw men freeze last winter, and the one before, when I was half a boy. Everyone talks about snows forty foot deep, and how the ice wind comes howling out of the north, but the real enemy is the cold. It steals up on you quieter than Will, and at first you shiver and your teeth chatter and you stamp your feet and dream of mulled wine and nice hot fires. It burns, it does. Nothing burns like the cold. But only for a while. Then it gets inside you and starts to fill you up, and after a while you don’t have the strength to fight it. It’s easier just to sit down or go to sleep. They say you don’t feel any pain toward the end. First you go weak and drowsy, and everything starts to fade, and then it’s like sinking into a sea of warm milk. Peaceful, like.”

What a terrifying description! Westerosi winters sound like they suck, and could easily kill a bunch of people just like that.

Also, what’s that??????? The cold burns????? Could it be! Ding ding ding! Our first set of ice and fire parallels!

But seriously, the idea that the cold can burn a person just a much as fire can comes up a ton in the Wall plot lines. Balancing between the extremes of ice and fire is going to matter. Remember that George has said he was inspired for the series title by Robert Frost’s poem “Fire and Ice” which is about the world ending? I do!

Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To know that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice. Once again, this chapter is 90% foreshadowing and 10% spooky trees. Just the way I like it.

Moving on, Waymar is a bit of an asshole to Gared about the ears and fingers he lost to frostbite, before he turns to Will, and points out that the Wall has been weeping this week, making it much too warm for everyone to freeze to death. Friendly reminder its still summer in Westeros. Balmy.

Now, Waymar wants to actually see the bodies, so he and Will head up together.

We get one of my favourite atmospheric lines from AGOT, possibly from the whole of ASOIAF.

Twilight deepened. The cloudless sky turned a deep purple, the color of an old bruise, then faded to black.

*SCREAMS* I just love it so much! I can see it my mind, the kind of winter sky without any clouds, just one colour, and it evokes old wounds, like the world itself is still aching from something. And fading into the black of night, just as the action is about to start???? I wish I could write like this. There’s even a wolf howling in the distance, something that is almost always a negative omen (unless you’re a Stark). Something is on the prowl.

Gared is doing is best to get out of dodge, while Waymar wants to press on. He draws a beautiful shiny new sword, only for Will to tell him it’s probably better to have knife in these tangles of tree. There’s something there, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Waymar ignores this advice, and starts another argument with Gared.

Gared wants to start a fire.

“There’s some enemies a fire will keep away,” Gared said. “Bears and direwolves and … and other things …”

So, the most obvious part here is that Gared is probably referring to the Others and white walkers. And this makes total sense in the context of the prologue. And we’ll see, later, that fire is about the only weapon that man really has against then (baring valyrian steel and dragon glass, which not everyone has). But allow me to put on my conspiracy hat. Gared mentions bears and direwolves, which are wary of fire, but neither of those animals are inherently bad. They are wild animals- they belong in the woods, and it’s the humans who are in their house essentially. I think it’s interesting to consider the devastation that fire can have on the natural world, and how fire is one of the advantages humans have on animals, and how animals are appropriately wary of that. And of course, the direwolf is the sigil of house Stark (and the bear is the sigil of house Mormont, but I would rather die than think about book Jorah,) Maybe the Starks should be wary of fire? All of them seem to be hurt by it at one time or another.

Waymar says no fire, and Will is afraid that gated might attack the lordling over this, and his money is on Gared. Luckily, no one dies (yet) and Waymar and Will go on ahead. Surprise! All the bodies are gone! In my personal experience, it’s never good when you’ve misplaced a body. Especially when there’s no-one around for miles to move them.

Unlike Will, Waymar is not prepared to immediately cut and run. This is his first ranging, and he will not return a failure! They're going to solve this mystery, even if its the last thing he has to do! (spoilers!)

Will scurries up a tree, his knife in his mouth, while Waymar tries to figure out what the fuck just happened. I only bring this up, since Will thinks the cold iron in his teeth brings him comfort, and all I could think about is faerie lore, since the fae abhor cold iron. It’s probably a completely irrelevant thought. But there’s nothing- only the sounds of spooky trees.

Branches stirred gently in the wind, scratching at one another with wooden fingers.

Spooky trees and foreshadowing!

There are pale shadows lurking in the corner’s of Will’s eyes, but when he looks, they are gone. It is cold. Too cold, and Waymar calls out. It's too late. I have to include the description of the Other because there is no way for me to do it justice.

A shadow emerged from the dark of the wood. It stood in front of Royce. Tall, it was, and gaunt and hard as old bones, with flesh pale as milk. Its armor seemed to change color as it moved; here it was white as new-fallen snow, there black as shadow, everywhere dappled with the deep grey-green of the trees. The patterns ran like moonlight on water with every step it took.

SO creepy! the comparison to old bones! Love it!

Will heard the breath go out of Ser Waymar Royce in a long hiss. “Come no farther,” the lordling warned. His voice cracked like a boy’s.

He’s only eighteen! Way too many of the characters in ASOIAF are essentially babies. And this is probably another nod to Jon, who is only fourteen at the start go AGOT. None of this “he’s three, he needs to toughen the fuck up” that Ned is fond of. Babies, I say! Children!

Waymar throws back the cloak that Will has been fixating on the whole time, and faces the Other and it’s creepy ice sword.

Ser Waymar met him bravely. “Dance with me then.” He lifted his sword high over his head, defiant. His hands trembled from the weight of it, or perhaps from the cold. Yet in that moment, Will thought, he was a boy no longer, but a man of the Night’s Watch.

What a great line! I’ll use it whenever one of my professors challenge me in class. Duel over my final marks

But in all serious, this is such a fantastic line. And the bit about him being a boy no longer, but a man of the NW is great as well. It most obviously is foreshadowing for Jon, as his changes from the unsure kid, to the Lord Commander, but I think this could also go for Sam as well, who finds his courage in his brothers.

The Other halts, and Will gets to see it’s eyes, a bright blue, “a blue that burned like ice.” And the ice and fire as opposite but equal forces motif continues. And as another side note, blue sometimes associated with death in the Middle Ages, and it’s interesting that George chose to associate it so strongly with the Others.

Waymar does his best but the Other’s pale blue blade gets him. Waymar rallies one last time, with a cry of “For Robert!” but his blade shatters, and down he goes. I think it’s interesting that Waymar choses “For Robert” as his last battle cry, but it makes sense. Robert as king of the Seven Kingdoms is the “Protector of the Realm.” In theory, he should be the one defending Westeros from this threat. In practice, it’s probably going to be the Stark in Winterfell, who is the one who pretty much always helps out WF.

Will waits until the laughter of the “watchers” in the trees dissipates, which is described as ‘sharp as icicles.” Really driving home that the Others are the personification of ice here.

He crawls down when he thinks the coast is clear, to check Waymar’s body.

Lying dead like that, you saw how young he was. A boy.

Yeah, Jon’s fate was sealed since AGOT.

Will picks up Waymar’s shattered sword, hoping to bring it back as proof.But unfortunately for Will, dead doesn’t quite mean the same thing as it used to. The corpse of Waymar, a wight, rises up. A shard from the shattered sword has pierced Waymar’s eye.

His fine clothes were a tatter, his face a ruin. A shard from his sword transfixed the blind white pupil of his left eye.

The first piece of evidence that Jon is going to lose an eye! Pretty much everything that has happened to Waymar in this chapter, will happen to Jon by ADWD, which means Jon will probably lose an eye. Just like Jonnel One-Eye Stark.

Will’s last thoughts, as the undead Waymar’s hands close over his throat, is that his touchy is ice cold.

*guitar riff*

WOW, what a doozy of prologue. A lot happened here. ASOIAF is a heavy metal series, and the Wall plotline is undoubtedly the most heavy metal part of the series, which is why I love it.

In conclusion, forehshadowing, spooky trees, and Westeros, specifically Jon is fucked.

In order the capture the full Heavy Metal-ness of ASOIAF, have this playlist by @starkmaiden

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5ChfZs9Vm3mjFoLEPaVoRn?si=e4ade6bdd61e4c55

#branwen reads asoioaf again #branwen reads #agot

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viscountessevie · 1 year

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The Hellions of Halstead Hall Quick Review!

Okay so having read all the Hellions books here are my quick spoiler free thoughts on them (in order of the books):

1) The Truth About Lord Stoneville

Oliver & Maria - Having read all the books, I can safely say this is one of my favourites! It was an excellent first book and introduction into my new favourite HR family. Ollie and Maria were simply marvellous and a pretty Kathony coded to be honest. I would say less mentally ill - well Maria is, Ollie is actually chock full of even more intense trauma than Ant tbh. I won't say more, yall gotta read to find out!

Honestly everything from the couple to the plot, side characters (Freddy my beloved) and conflict were perfect and entertaining to read. Just the best start to a series!

Kinda rereading it again with Triv @hptriviachamp: I gotta say I love how well it sets up the future siblings’ stories and books and we pretty much get introduced to 2 other in-laws. So the set up and pay offs were really good tbh!

2) A Hellion In Her Bed

Jarret & Annabel - I liked Jarett and Annabel well enough but I think they paled in comparison to a brilliant first book with Maria and Oliver. Still it was enjoyable, a good calm breather of a book after the excitement and drama of Maria and Ollie. I did love their romantic scenes - it's always more fun with a more experience heroine and Annabel and Jarret delivered on that front!

Tbh this ^^ is the nicer version for Goodreads but simply put: they were pretty boring. The sex scenes did make up for it; we really need more experienced heroines in HR. Funny clueless virgins are fun but for me personally, it's hotter and easier to get into sex scenes when the teaching doesn't take up most of the time.

Also despite being boring, I will give them points for staying consistent tonally and being a straightforward story (unlike Book 5 but I digress, I'll expand on this when we get there!)

3) How to Woo a Reluctant Lady

Minerva & Giles - Honestly I would say read the previous book just for the build up of these two, it’s absolutely delicious. I love how unashamed Giles is in his attraction to Minerva and their history together. Minerva was just a delight and fun character to read from Book 1 so I was definitely excited for these two. I mean she’s A GOTHIC WRITER AND HE’S A SPY! Exciting shit and for most part they did deliver! Can I also say that Minerva is the funniest virgin ever because when feeling him up she mistook his erection for a pistol. I CACKLED so hard reading that I literally cannot make this shit up. They were also very hot and I loved them sneaking around to uncover truths about Minerva’s family.

However, I was a bit disappointed in their Act 3 - it might just be a me thing so if yall have read this series or are going to, lemme know what you thought of Act 3! I just think there was a secondary plot point that could have been the main crux of their Act 3 rather than the one Sabrina chose to go with. Other than that, I adored this book and is high up on my ranking (which I’ll be listing below after all my short reviews of the books)

4) To Wed A Wild Lord

Gabriel (Gabe) & Virginia - (I’m calling her Ginny cos I can’t with her name) I absolutely loved this one and I think a big part of it was because Sephy is a horse girl and Gabe provided the best inspo for me to write for Sephy’s horse scenes in the future. Also I knew I would enjoy their book when we got the inciting incident in Minerva & Giles’ book - the drama was d e l i c i o u s. I loved how funny Gabe was in the previous books and this book delivered on that while giving us depth and a proper exploration of both of their traumas. I like how Sabrina showed Gabe’s comedic side is moreso a defense mechanism and how despite Ginny’s hostility to him, she’s actually kind and sunshine incarnate.

Similar to Book 1; the plot was great, I loved the racing scenes, the tension between Gabe and Ginny was on point - though I do wish we gotten to see them interact more during their ‘courtship’ scenes. I adored Freddy as my fave cousin side character but Pierce takes the cake! I am SO glad he gets his own book (which I will talk more about below!) Overall, it was a brilliantly written book and I loved it!

5) A Lady Never Surrenders

Celia & Jackson - This book man, had so much build up but left me so confused in terms of tone, characterisations and the progression. It was the last piece of the Sharpe parents’ murder mystery and also Jackson and Celia had FOUR books of build up. I liked that I was right about the murderer and I loved Jackson and Celia’s scenes in the last four books. Yet the first part of the book was draggy with the suitors plot and while it did come back around - it could have been written tighter. Celia seemed so badass in the other books but fell trap to the tomboy/NLOG trope in the way she was written even though she’s not?? It was really weird. There was a disconnect between the Celia in the last four books and in her own one. Like even with Gabe’s exploration - it still felt like him but Celia felt all over the place for me.

On top of all of this, I especially despised the racist treatment of Viscount Basto and it honestly put me off the book. I had to take a break to calm down and finish the series because I HAD to know what happened to the Sharpe parents. And the racism/xenaphobia gets worse because (skip past the caps if you don’t want spoilers):

🛑 MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE SERIES 🛑

I hated how Sabrina used the one foreign guy and made him a secondary villain. It made sense for the character and I suspected him and his wife from the start but why you gotta make him the SINGLE foreigner. It just came across extremely xenophobic. She could have made the Duke of Lyons or Jackson a MoC too, just to offset it ya know. It was just frustrating to see him singled out and villianised.

🛑 MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE SERIES END 🛑

Though for all its faults, I did enjoy the romance and how the mystery was solved. That’s why the book confused me like there were bits that were SO bad but then parts that were written SO well I was like ‘Am I reading two different books cos what the fuck??’ But yeah its not my favourite and while I did enjoy the good parts of it better than Jarret and Annabel’s book, at least the latter book was consistent. I will recommend pushing through this to see the reveal and also Jackson being a simp is great.

6) ‘Twas The Night After Christmas

Pierce & Camilla - It’s so funny that this is my #1 Hellion book (honestly tied with Book 1 but still) because Pierce isn’t even technically a Sharpe, he’s Ginny’s cousin but god I loved this book and honestly my one complaint is that Sabrina montaged their courtship week instead of giving us more scenes with them falling in love. Also could have been sluttier to offset the deep Mommy Issues kjdshkdj.

But yes if you like your HR heroes riddled with Mommy Issues, Pierce is the one for you! Camilla is also such a vibe, I love her so much. She’s lowkey a “I can fix everyone” person but it did not come across as annoying at all. But yeah reading this, heads up it gets sad and not enough horniness to make up for it. Overall, also a great Christmas time story!

Final Book Ranking:

1) Tied - The Truth About Lord Stoneville, (tbh pretty perfect to me)

‘Twas The Night After Christmas (needed to be sluttier and Pierce to be more quippy like he is in Book 4 and 5)

To Wed A Wild Lord (Ginny isn’t my fave heroine - I like her but like Maria and Camilla a lot more)

2) How to Woo a Reluctant Lady (Act 3 should have been better)

3) A Hellion In Her Bed (Not exciting of a storyline for me)

4) A Lady Never Surrenders (Confusion over the way the book was written and also the xenaphobia :/)

Overall as a series, I loved how well-connected they were and the overarching plot of solving their parents’ murder was great and I LOVED how each sibling had a piece of the puzzle that added up together and it was all very satisfying at the end because I love being right and called it. I did not expect the twist in Book 5 which would have been better if not for the spoiler I mentioned above. Also I love how close knit the family is and I LIVE for the ensemble moments in the books they just bring me extra joy because everyone is so likeable you’re excited to see them all interact. Mentioned this before but the set up for the future books were BRILLIANT (even if Book 5 didn’t pay off as well as the others).

Hope yall enjoyed reading this and might want to give this series a shot because I need more friends and people reading this and gushing to me about this family. Truly my new favourite comfort family!

#The Hellions of Halstead Hall #The Truth About Lord Stoneville #A Hellion In Her Bed #How to Woo a Reluctant Lady #To Wed A Wild Lord #A Lady Never Surrenders #HR Blogging #Miss Maria Butterfield #Lord Oliver Stoneville #Miss Annabel Lake #Lord Jarret Sharpe #Lady Minerva Sharpe #Giles Master #Lord Gabriel Sharpe #Miss Virginia Waverly #lady Celia Sharpe #Jackson Pinter

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piduai · 1 year

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(long ask, sorry! i just. need to talk to Someone about dungeon meshi yeehaw. tbh im not on anon bc i just went thru your dm tag so uh. not subtle lol) heyyyy, i've seen you rb dungeon meshi stuff and due to Circumstances decided to start it finally and. omfg. omg. how do i recover from this. it's so good??? Anyways. i feel like you have some really interesting takes so i was wondering if i could ask you abt what you think of the series?? like. idk it's so good?? you start and it's fun but then it just keeps building and building and then poof you now have a wonderfully crafted story and it's seamless and amazing??? also the designs. i LOVE the designs. tade is so agdjwgdhw and falin and marcille and namari and- anyways women <3. but yeah all the designs are so good, and the characters.... at first i was like. ok. abt laius but now i love him and just. wow ryoko kui is so skilled. manga so good it makes me forget abt the horrors even if there are horrors in it too lmao. anyways, i'm really excited to see how this story is gonna end!!!! and then ill make time to reread it slower too..... but yeah, i'd be happy to hear abt your thoughts on the series!!!

dungeon meshi is very nice :) i think it's as basic as it can get in terms of plot/writing but it excels in other categories. it's just pleasant to read, pleasant to look at, misses the rough around the edges feel a lot of obscure manga have (not that it's obscure lol it got awards and stuff. but it's taken a while to get an anime project) but doesn't feel forced & fabricated either, it's a rather intricate work, like a beautifully crocheted shawl done in vibrant shades... it strikes a good balance between feel-good and eerie. what i personally like the most is how you can see that the author is a very artsy person through her additional sketches, it's someone passionate about her craft who has depth of perception but also knows how to appeal to a wider audience without losing authenticity. i like how her sketches are individualistic and at times unsettling, but the manga itself has a very neat, rounded up, tidy style. another thing i like about the manga is just how diverse the character designs are, not in a "races have distinct designs" way, but that there's a wide variety of physiques, body types, skin colors, and it just does not feel forced or tokenized at all. it's just nice to see something different for a change! and like, i'm a person who really dislikes the setting itself (dungeons & dragons lol. and i don't like anthro stuff and human/animal hybrids either) but it's still easy to enjoy it even for someone like me. and it's rather funny! it has an up-beat optimistic tone overall, light-hearted, the comedy is always timed and delivered well. it's like a more nerdy less plot-heavy fma, comparison to which is always a huge compliment in my book. and yes, the characters are very lovable. marcille is the poster girl for classic main female character, it feels like they even stopped making those lol. everyone is just so different from each other and all have unique personalities explained by their circumstances, even rather episodic characters, and with that you can feel the tremendous care that went into creating them. as i said i don't consider it anything worth writing home about in terms of plot/character writing (it DOES have a video game setting after all...) and frankly in the beginning it was a bit boring but with time it becomes really fluid. "pleasant" is the perfect word for it, it's a good manga

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stranger-who-writes-fiction · 3 years

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Back at it again with my self-indulgent comic posts. This time! It’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #3, perhaps the most tonally-distinct entry yet, with shades of The Twilight Zone.

Spoilers!

So, as mentioned, this issue is the most deliberate in terms of both its pacing and its tone, IMO.

What is that tone, you ask?

To quote Alex Danvers, from “Midvale”: Hello, darkness.

THE STORY:

Kara and Ruthye are still looking for Krem Clues in the alien town of Maypole.

(Which is actually just Small Town, USA, complete with vintage 50s aesthetics.)

But the locals are clearly hiding something! So Kara and Ruthye continue to investigate, and they eventually discover what it was that the residents of Maypole were so keen to keep hidden.

Genocide, basically.

As I said, this issue struck me as very Twilight Zone; a genre story involving the build-up to a dark twist, all set against the backdrop of an idyllic small town. (Think, like, “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” but instead of focusing on the Red Scare, it’s classism and racism.)

The wealthier blue aliens kicked all of the purple aliens out of town, and when space pirates showed up to pillage and plunder, the blue aliens made a deal with them: the lives of the purple aliens in exchange for their safety.

Which is where the episodic story connects to the larger mission; it was Krem who suggested the trade, and then joined up with the Brigands (space pirates) when he was freed by the blue aliens.

The issue ends with no tidy resolution to the terrible things Kara and Ruthye discovered, but they do have a lead on where to find Krem, now, as well as Barbond’s Brigands.

KARA-CTERIZATION:

Ironically, it’s here, in the darkest chapter yet, that we get the closest to what might be considered ‘classic’ Kara.

Which I think comes down to that aforementioned deliberate pace--this issue is a little slower, a little quieter. It gives the characters some room to breathe.

That’s not to say Crusty Kara is gone. Oh no. She is still very much Crusty. XD

But anyways. A list! Of Kara moments I loved!

I mentioned a few of these in a prior post when the preview pages came out: I like the moment where Kara blows down the guy’s house of cards, and I like that the action is echoed later in the issue when she grabs the mayor’s desk and tosses it aside. A nice visual representation of the escalation of Kara being, like. Done with these creeps. (Creeps is an understatement but you get the idea.)

Another one from the preview pages: Kara explains to Ruthye that her super hearing won’t necessarily help her detect a lie, especially if she’s dealing with an alien species she’s not familiar with.

It not only reveals her level of competence and understanding of her super powers, it also shows that, you know. She’s a thinker. She’s smart.

Amazing! Showing, rather than telling us, that Kara is smart! Without mentioning the science guild at all wow hey wow.

(Sorry, pointed criticism of the SG show fandom.)

Anyways.

I dig the PJs!

And Kara catching the bullet! Not only are the poses and character acting great, it’s also a neat bit of panel composition:

We start with Ruthye’s POV, and then move to the wide shot of the room. The panel where Kara actually catches the bullet is down and to the side of the wide shot panel--we move our eyes the way her body/arm would have to move to intercept the bullet. Physicality in static, 2D images!

Also, like. It’s a very tense moment, life-or-death, but. Ruthye’s wide-eyed surprise at the bullet in Kara’s hand? Kind of adorable.

I was pretty much prepared for the page of Kara shielding Ruthye from the gunfire to be the highlight--it was one of the first pages King shared and I was like, ‘yeah, YEAH.’ But, shockingly? The TRUE highlight of the issue?

Where do I BEGIN?!?!

EVERYTHING. About this moment. Is lovely.

From Kara holding Ruthye above the bench to explaining the concept of a piggyback ride, to telling her:

“I’m going to hold my hands here, and these hands can turn coal into diamonds, so they’re not going to let go. I’m going to keep you safe.”

HNNNNNNNNNNNG.

Ruthye’s narration--about how Kara had avoided flying as she was concerned it would freak Ruthye out--just adds a whole additional layer of YES, GOOD, YES, and her line on that splash page is great: “You see, all that time, she was worried about me.”

HNNNNNNNNNNNG. AGAIN.

To say nothing of the STELLAR ARTWORK.

And SPEAKING of that stellar artwork, Evely and Lopes continue to knock it out of the park. Each issue is distinct and beautifully crafted, a true joy to look at.

Before I jump into more of the art, a few final notes of character stuff in general.

Ruthye is the one most affected by the experience in Maypole, as she can’t comprehend how a society of people that look so nice and gentle and peaceful could have been party to such a horrible act.

One of the big criticisms of the book thus far is that Supergirl is not the main character, and I guess I can agree with that observation. Typically, in Western media, the main character is the one who goes through the most change in the story.

And, yeah. That’s Ruthye.

As I was reading the end, where Ruthye sits on the curb and Kara hugs her, I was imagining how the scene would’ve played, had King stuck with the original idea for the series: Kara as the one learning to be tough/experiencing all of this for the first time, and while I think that could certainly work...

I continue to appreciate that King literally flipped the script; that Kara, especially in this issue, is like, ‘I’ve seen this, I know this,’ as opposed to being the one going through a loss of innocence.

*Marge Simpson voice* I just think it’s neat!

Because Kara’s been a teen in DC comics for so long--ever since she was reintroduced to the main DCU continuity, actually--so this is all brand new territory, here. Having an older Kara who’s SEEN SOME STUFF.

(Alsoooooo, since Bendis made the destruction of Krypton not just inaction and climate disaster, but rather, genocide, and the subtext of a Kryptonian diaspora text, the waitress’ derogatory comment regarding the the destruction of Kryton, as well as Kara picking up the bad vibes the entire time, suggests not just a broad commentary on discrimination in all its forms, but specifically allegorical anti-Semitism. The purple aliens being forced out of their homes and into substandard living conditions, then the blue aliens--their neighbors and once-fellow residents--essentially allowing the space pirates to kill them, making them literal scapegoats, Kara discovering the remains of the purple aliens, and Ruthye’s horror at the ‘banality of evil’...yes. A case could be made, I think.)

(Which would probably require a post unto itself and a lot more in-depth discussion, nuance, and cited sources.)

(Should mention that King has brought up that both he and Orlando--the other Supergirl writer he talked to--are Jewish, and for him personally, that shaped his views on Kara’s origin story.)

I guess my point is that this issue is perhaps not as out-of-left-field as some might think, and just because there isn’t as obvious an arc for Kara, doesn’t mean there isn’t some sharp character work at play.

(I could be WAY OFF, of course, and I’m not suggesting it’s a clear 1:1 comparison. I’d actually really love to hear King talk about this issue in particular.)

Anyways.

Here’s the final page, which I think works, because as I mentioned before, there is no easy answer/quick wrap-up to the story of Maypole:

THE ART:

I mean. How many times can I just shout ‘ART! AAAARRRRRRRRRRRTTTT!’ before it gets old?

I dunno, but I guess we’re gonna FIND OUT.

There are some panels in this issue that I just. Like ‘em! From a purely artistic standpoint! Because they’re so good!

Like, I just really love the way Kara is drawn in that top panel. Her troubled, confused expression, the colors of the fading light, the HAIR.

Evely draws the best hair. I know I’ve said this before. I don’t care. I will continue to say it, because it continues to be true.

The issue I find myself running up against when I make these posts is that I really don’t want to post whole pages, as that’s generally frowned upon (re: pirating etc.) but with something like this, you just can’t appreciate it in panel-by-panel snippets.

(Guided View on digital reading platforms is a BANE and a POX I say!)

Anyways.

LOVE the implied movement of the cape settling as Kara speeds in and stops.

And, obviously, Kara flicking the bullet away is just. A+.

And the EYES, man. LOPES’ COLORS ON THE EYES???!?! BEAUTIFUL.

Also, should note the lettering! The more rounded letters for the ‘WOOSH’ of Kara’s speed (and, earlier, the super breath) work nicely, and contrast with the angular, violent BLAMS of the gunshots.

And, I gotta say, the editor is doing a really great job of not cluttering up the artwork with all the caption boxes. Which is no small task.

(I assume the editor is placing them, as editors usually handle word balloon/caption box placement, but I suppose it could be Evely? Sometimes the artist handles it. Either way, whoever’s taking care of all the text, EXCELLENT WORK! BRAVO!)

Okay I think that’s everything.

Ah, nope, wait.

MISC.

Just a funny observation, more than anything else: Superman: Red and Blue dropped this week, and King had a story in there, “The Special” (which was very good, btw.) Both Lois and the waitress swear a lot so I’m beginning to think that this is just how King writes dialogue for any adult character who isn’t Clark. XD

This is absolutely a personal preference but when Kara was like, “And my name IS Supergirl,” I was like nooooo. I know King is trying to simplify all of the conflicting origin stories and lore but I LIKE KARA DANVERS, SIR. XD

It’s almost assuredly a cash-grab/an attempt for DC to get all the money it can out of a book they don’t have much confidence in, but I like the cardstock covers! Very classy, much Strange Adventures.

(OH my gosh, can you imagine that issue 1 cover with spot gloss???? Basically the only way you could possibly improve on it.)

Okay NOW I’m done. For real. XD NEXT TIME: Kara and Ruthye go after Krem and the Brigands!

#supergirl: woman of tomorrow #long post #dc comics #supergirl: woman of tomorrow spoilers #kara zor el #comic thoughts #comic opinions #just occurred to me I should be crediting the creative team in these things #I think thus far I've included every title page?#still #will try to be better about that going forward

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revchainsaw · 3 years

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The Lost Boys (1987)

The City of Santa Carla, CA has a vampire problem and that's just the sort of thing i've been looking for. We are amping up to Summerween my flock. What better way to get in the spirit of the season than with this 80s Vampire flick set in a balmy california beach town.

I can't lie, having just recently viewed the 1985 film Fright Night, it got me comparing the two so you may read some of my opinions comparing and contrasting The Lost Boys with it's predecessor. But where Fright Night is a classic vampire story brought into the then contemporary 1980s, the Lost Boys was the decades very own vampire film. Drawing from classic vampire films and the story of Peter Pan in equal parts the Lost Boys set the precedent that vampire films would draw from for years to come.

Sermon

The Emerson family falls on hard times financially and therefor moves to the town where Grandpa Emerson, the patriarch of the family grew up; Santa Carla, CA. The family has recently experienced a schism due to divorce, leaving the family unit as a grandfather, a mother and 2 sons, Michael and Sam.

Michael is quiet and masculine, his interests include fitness, motorcycles, and girls, while Sam is a bit more timid. Sam is into comic books and still can't sleep with his closet door open. The two begin to explore their surroundings, and while Sam meets the self-certain and precocious Frog brothers, self proclaimed Vampire hunters, Michael is lure by a young woman named Star into a group of predatory teenage vampire punks. Which let's face it, if they were to lean into the schlock, Teenage Vampire Punks would have been a great alternative title.

These Lost Boys as we'll call them seem to be led by David, played by Keifer Sutherland. David and his gang seek to initiate michael and through some manipulation trick him into drinking vampire blood disguised as wine. This turns Michael into a half vampire, who must fully give up his humanity to join the family.

Sam learns of his brothers transformation and after a little adjustment seeks the aid of the Frog brothers. They decide they must defeat the lead vampire to return Michael to normal, and astutely as we'll later find out (no spoiler warning, the movies almost 30 years old), pegs his mom's new boyfriend Max as the head Vamp. Max outwits the boys attempts to prove his vampirism, and thus they settle on the belief that David is the big bad.

The Frog brothers invade the Lost Boys hideout and kill Bill of Wyld Stallyns fame. They narrowly escape into the daylight before David can exact his revenge, but they know they have targets on their backs and they prepare themselves for a vampiric siege. The Lost Boys attack the Emersons and the Frog brothers and are defeated one by one. David is killed by Michael but no return to normalcy occurs. Max reveals himself to be the big bad, right before Grandpa Emerson returns and saves his family from this Peter Pan's Neverland. Grandpa hops out of his truck and delivers one of the greatest final zingers in film history.

The Benediction

Best Character: Did you know David means Beloved?

It's true look it up, it's Hebrew. David is the prototype for the young, rebellious, sexy vampire. It wasn't long after the lost boys that we got Spike in Buffy the vampire slayer, who is let's be honest just the 90's version of David. Spike my be a bit more of a lone wolf, but David is hands down the best character in this movie, and really what competition does he have other than the Frog brothers? Michael is kind of a lump, even if he's a lump who resembles Jim Morrison.

I am also going to include best actor into this category. All the charisma and charm falls on Kiefer Sutherland, as he acts circles around everyone else on screen. There's a reason the image of David is what you think of every time you think of this movie. He's not even the main antagonist of the movie. David is a great look, a scary vampire, a great actor in a great role.

Worst Character: Who's the Kid?

The first time I ever saw Lost Boys, i didn't understand how Michael and Star had a kid already. It was later that I realized he's just some kid. He doesn't really add anything but a cool looking image of a vampire faced little boy. Kind of a superfluous part. Not bad, just extra and unnecessary.

Best Kill: Death Breath (or Guard Dog on Duty)

The best kill of Lost Boys is when the Frog brothers defeat ... Paul? one of the other vampires besides David. Whoops did I say the Frog brothers defeated him? No, that was actually Nanook coming in for the kill. The Frog Bros fail to succesfully off this bloodsucker when Nanook barges into the bathroom and knocks this punk into a tub of Holy Water. The gore on the vamps face is excellent and probably some of the better practical effects work in the film.

Best Effect: Holy Water Works

While the Vampire melt itself is pretty darn good to look at, it's immediately followed by a volatile reaction that Sam Raimi would be proud of. The whole bathroom convulses and erupts with blood, it comes out of every pipe! the toilet explodes! It's awesome!

Best Aspect: Not your Big Brothers Vampire Movie

I had mentioned earlier that I had been comparing this movie to Fright Night, and as much as I love that older film, the Lost Boys beats it at almost every way. The effects in Fright Night are above bar constantly and hold nothing back, but the film for all of it's unrelenting visuals is actually quite slow. The Lost Boys and Fright Night definitely represent how much youth culture can change in just 2 years. You'd be forgiven for thinking these films take place in different decades. The Lost Boys is faster, has more attitude, and is much more adventurous in it's scope than Fright Night. If Fright Night was Judas Priest then the Lost boys is Iron Maiden. It's not as mature, but it's just that rebellious juvenility that gives it it's punch.

Worst Aspect: Mini Max

As far as big bads go. If I could make another comparison to Fright Night, it would be so much more intimidating the have a charming Jerry Dandridge playing his games with the Emersons, as his underlings The Lost Boys get the dirty work done and have fun doing it. However, we end up with this kind of dorky dude, who is even written off in the second act, only to return at the ass end of the movie just to be immediately slain and provide the but of the final quip. It was pretty weak sauce.

Best Dog: Nanook

Nanook is a good dog. He does all the protecting and is the best vampire hunter in the movie. Sorry Frog Bros.

Runner Up Dog: Thorn

Thorn is a good dog. But Thorn is also a bad dog. Thorn is a hellhound familiar to Max, but she is still good at doing dog stuff. So round of applause for this good girl.

Best make-up: Vampire Face

Fright Night stomps all over Lost Boys in the effects department, except for in the design of the horrific vampire face. The vampire face in Fright Night looks like a prosthetic sitting on an actors face. It doesn't feel like that mouth could be used for eating or biting but is just there to look creepy. In moving away from that the make up artists for the Lost boys focused more on the upper parts of the face, creating an almost cat like predatory look for when the vampires are at their most carnivorous. This style was absolutely borrowed by the team on Buffy the Vampire Slayer years later, and it's an aspect of Vampires in film that has sadly gone away. Sign the petition, let's bring back vampire face.

Best Feature: The Soundtrack

It would be impossible to talk about the Lost Boys without talking about the soundtrack. There's not one standout song in this movie, some may argue the Echo and the Bunnymen cover of People are Strange, but I think it's just one incredibly well utilized song of many for this film. Listen to the whole soundtrack, it's all good.

Summary

In the 80s there were several attempts to resurrect the monsters of old. Several directors who had grown up on the Universal monsters were now in the position to make films themselves. The resistance to rely on vampires and werewolves was fading and these sorts of monster movies were finally being green lit. Arguably, An American Werewolf in London is the best of these films, but the Lost Boys is definitely the most representative of the movement. It's not a satire, its funny but not a comedy, it's not parody or a subversion. The Lost Boys is 100% the definitive 80s Vampire Movie.

Grade: A

#A #Grade A #The Lost Boys #Keifer Sutherland #donald sutherland #Horror #1987 #1980s #87 #vampire #sutherland

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dennou-translations · 4 years

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Tokushima Shinbun Interview with Yano Shougo

Interviewing Yano Shougo-san, who has starred for the first time in the topical anime “Given” and is originally from Tokushima. “I wanted to be an actor that would make people go, ‘I’m glad I entrusted the role to him’.”

Yano Shougo-san (30), who is from Tokushima and belongs to the troupe Super Eccentric Theater (SET), played a starring role for the first time as a voice actor in the anime “Given”, which aired from July to September on Fuji TV. “Given” is a heartrending story that centers itself around a romance between men from the same rock band. Having received high evaluations for his acting and singing voice, which portrayed with excellence the delicate emotions of the protagonist, Satou Mafuyu, Yano-san has told us about the feelings he put into the role and about his future goals.

Raw || Index || Ko-fi/PayPal ( ╹◡╹)っ’･*

——Good job on your first starring. Please tell us again about your impressions from when you were entrusted with the leading role.

Thank you very much. Playing a leading role in an anime series was my goal for 2019, so when my manager contacted me saying that I had passed the audition, I was happy to the point of shedding tears, but at the same time, I was also relieved. I could not sleep a wink the day before the recording of episode one, and at any rate, I was nervous. On the recording day, I was thinking as I headed to the studio, “It’d be great if the recording were tomorrow”, but I got over it a little by the moment that I thought, “If this anxiety would continue until tomorrow, then it’s actually better for it to be today!” and I remember relaxing straight away at it

——Yano-san, your fragile voice was a perfect fit for Mafuyu. What did you keep in mind when performing him? Were there any points that differed greatly in comparison to the roles you have been playing until now?

Mafuyu has an extremely painful past, unable to move a single step from where he was, as he bore a huge wound. Still, he has proper thoughts and feelings of his own, as well as a stubborn side, and though he has a mild and introverted personality, I figured that he was someone who had a strong core.

Other than that, when I saw him playing basketball with his friends, smiling and earnestly absorbing himself completely in music, I had the impression that he was a “high school boy that you can find anywhere”. This was something I always cherished when performing.

I have played uke roles before, but this was the first one where so many of my lines were “...” (laughs).

——What parts of Mafuyu do you think you have in common, Yano-san, and what parts are the total opposite of you?

I think we are just a little bit alike in that we are greedy about the things we like, and we are unable to concentrate on anything else when there is something that we need to do our best in order to achieve. What I feel to be the opposite is that Mafuyu gives off the impression that he is a big shot in some way, even without speaking much, while I am talkative and shy (laughs).

——You were also in charge of singing the insert song and ending theme song.

I knew ever since the audition phase just how essential Mafuyu’s song was for the series, so rather than my being happy about singing, the pressure was much more prominent. As a matter of course, the frequency of my voice training soon increased, and learned the basics and techniques of singing as much as time allowed me to. When I was first told about the composition, I thought, “This song was made for Mafuyu’s sake”. That is exactly why, rather than the technique, I reflected about why and how Mafuyu would be singing those lyrics, as well as the emotions that would be overflowing from him, and I thought I should sing it with care, without sugarcoating it.

——What did you keep in mind when singing as Mafuyu?

The song that Mafuyu sings bears his definite resolve to face his past and live in the present, thus I believed that I had to make it into something like a love confession, so to say - a song that could be sung because Mafuyu was the one doing it. For this, of course, technique was important, but I kept in mind that it would be okay even if it was rough-hewn or even if my voice faltered, as long as I sang in a way that would spit out everything Mafuyu had been shouldering.

——Although Noitamina has produced countless master piece animes, this has been their first Boys Love (BL), a series that depicts romance between males, so was there anything you were particularly conscious of when performing?

There was not. Just as I do when performing roles from other series, I performed while keeping in mind that I was going to live in the world of “Given” as Mafuyu with all my might.

——I believe there was such a huge response to “Given” due to its painful content, but did it get to your ears?

There are many fans of the original work not only in Japan but also overseas, so I became aware once again of the popularity of “Given”. That is just how high the expectations were for the anime adaptation, and I wanted people to like it even more when watching the anime, so I was truly happy when I actually did get evaluations like that on Twitter, etc.

——The airing of the anime “Given” is over, but a movie adaptation was green-lit. Please leave a message for the fans.

The story of “Given” will continue from now on too. I hope everyone can watch over what kind of sounds will come from Mafuyu’s song, Given’s (as in the band that Mafuyu and the others formed in the show) music and their romance from now onward.

——From here on out, Yano-san, I want to ask you about yourself. It seems you wanted to be an announcer at first.

I had the vague desire to move into the television business, and from yet another vague motive of wanting to become an announcer and engage with my favorite variety show, I started thinking in my third year of high school that I wanted to be an announcer.

——Why did you aim for voice actor from there?

After graduating from high school, I took a gap year in order to attend university, and during that time, I watched “Neon Genesis Evangelion” as per a friend’s recommendation, so with this as the trigger, I became interested in anime. I had almost never watched anime until then and was unfamiliar with voice actors, so I was shocked when I read in the end roll that Ogata Megumi-san was the one who played the role of Ikari Shinji, a boy, thus I became interested in them.

——Was there anything you put effort into in order to become a voice actor?

During my gap year, I watched many animes, looked up the voice actors that piqued my curiosity and imitated their acting, and performed lines from anime and manga with as much emotion as I could. I also bought a training book for becoming a voice actor and practiced enunciation while keeping it a secret from my family.

——What are the details of your joining SET?

I was was part of a the theater research association in university, but when I was in my fourth year, I once gave up the way of an actor and went job hunting. Even so, I wanted to have a job that was related to acting, so I took the recruitment test of a major production company hoping to become a manager, but during the individual interview, the person in charge told me, “Are you really all right with giving up on becoming an actor? If you want to be a voice actor, then go study theatre”.

And so, I began wanting to challenge myself one more time, so I stopped job hunting and after looking into audition magazines, I took an audition to become a research student of SET, where I could learn the essentials for musical, action and comedic theatre. I became a research student at 23, and after about a year of lessons and a graduation performance, I became an official member at the age of 24.

——Please tell us about the works and roles you did before your voice actor debut.

During my first year in becoming a troupe member, I played the role of Saburou, the protagonist of the TV anime “Nobunaga Kyousoukyoku”, as a motion actor - the kind of actor who does the gestures that are used as base for the characters’ movements.

I also participated in the troupe’s own public performance. It was a role where I had to drink coffee and say only one phrase, “It’s sweet”. It was a sentence that connected with a funny punchline, so I had been thinking all along about how I should act it out in order to induce laughter, and even during the performance, I did many attempts.

——After that, you debuted as a voice actor in the anime “Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V”.

When I was selected, I was really happy to be able to take the voice acting job that I had once given up on. I was brimming with confidence for some reason, even though I had no experience points. But when I went to the studio, I was no good at all; I would get nervous every week and had to stay overtime a lot, so I honestly hated going to the studio (laughs). Even so, thanks to the director and all the co-stars not throwing away someone like me, who did not know left and right, and instead nurturing me during the three years of “Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V”, I changed my thinking and posture in regards of acting.

——Afterward, you became capable of being entrusted with important roles, such as in “iDOLM@STER SideM” and “Tsurune —Kazemai Koukou Kyuudoubu—“, but were there any parts of them where you could feel your own growth?

In that I started thinking it was fun to perform. Even now, I still get nervous when going on-site, but as I would read the script, think about the role and create a foundation for my acting, I feel like I have become able to perform in front of the mic by responding to the acting of the person playing the other role, without thinking about unnecessary things, little by little. The moment I feel that the air has set to motion and it has turned into a drama is, if nothing else, enjoyable. I started having challenges, aspirations and goals for myself, such as, “I want to perform like this more” or, “I could bring this role into life more if I performed like that”.

——What are the fun and difficult parts of voice acting? Please tell us about your future goals too.

I believe the fun in being a voice actor is that we can perform roles that would be difficult in filming or on a stage.

There are many things that you can only learn in a recording site. When I go to them, I find a whole lot of people who are better at acting than I am, so I have to earn a role for myself. I fail most of my auditions and get depressed each time. Even so, I want to keep showing up in those series and play a role that moves the story. I always strongly think that I want to become an actor who can make people go, “I want to use Yano for this” and, “I’m glad I entrusted this role to Yano”.

——From now on, between actor and voice actor, which one to you plan to put more strength into?

Voice actor. That being said, in order to broaden my ranges as an actor too, I think I have to take on all kinds of jobs that require technique for different facial expressions on-stage. For us voice actors, charming people are mostly those who are also charismatic on the stage, so I think I also want to become a charming actor.

——Are you able to return to Tokushima regularly even now?

I make sure to go back as often as I can during summer vacation and New Years.

——Are there any parts of your life in Tokushima that have been put to good use in your acting jobs?

I seldom have any chance to come in contact with anything related to acting in Tokushima. Even if I had interest in voice actors and acting, wanted to attend a training school or thought about going to watch a play, they were all things that could not come true if I stayed in Tokushima. That is why I created many opportunities to come in contact with acting after moving to Tokyo, such as joining my university’s theatre research association and attending a school where I could study voice acting. I think I could cultivate something like a hungry spirit exactly because I used to live in Tokushima.

——If there is anything or any place in Tokushima that you like, please tell us.

Awa Dance, I guess. I did not like it that much when I was little, but after I became an adult, the group dance I watched from a box seat was stunning, and it made me so emotional that I started crying.

Also, the park that my grandfather often took me to when I was a child, though I don’t know if it still exists. I would put rice balls and pickled horseradish in a big plastic container and go there. I have memories of eating them with cold tea from a polyethylene teapot with my grandfather, after playing badminton. I want to do the same with my children and grandchildren when I become a parent and a grandpa.

——Yano-san, since you have made your dream come true, please leave a message to the young people who are chasing their dreams in Tokushima.

Time passes in a flash. For now, please do what you can with all your might. It can be anything, like classes, club activities, cultural festivals, sports festivals or romance.

If there is anything you can work your hardest in over there, please try facing it with all you have. It will certainly become a sustenance for your life from this point onward. I believe that it is better to do something and regret it than to regret not having done it.

Should there be anyone aiming to become an actor, please take action while constantly thinking about how you can get closer to the future that you have as your goal. I think there are surely many things you can do even if you are in Tokushima.

If you do not know what you should do after doing a research and reflecting on it, have courage and go consult someone who can give advice. Nothing is in vain, but rather than spending time not thinking about anything, I believe that spending time thinking about whatever is more worthwhile.

Please do your best. I will do my best too.

——Please leave a message for the fans who are cheering for you from Tokushima.

Thank you so very much for supporting me. The other day, when I took part in a recital play being held in Tokushima, I was able to show my acting to my family for the first time. They were very pleased.

Most events are held in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, so I believe that people cannot go watch them even if they want to. My wish for more and more people to experience an event in Tokushima and see me working has become even stronger.

I will be doing my best from now on too in order to be able to take part in more series, play all kinds of roles, get to do an event in Tokushima again someday and have people come talk to me. I will be counting with your continued support from this point onward too.

#fyeahgiven #satou mafuyu #dailygiven #givendaily #given #yano shougo #my translation #seiyuu #interview

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relishredshoes · 3 years

Photo

Interview given to The Severus Snape and Hermione Granger Shipping Fan Group. (sharing here Admin approved)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/199718373383293/

Hello Oracle Obscured and welcome to Behind the Quill, thank-you for letting us get to know you a little better.

Many readers will know you already and if they don’t I encourage them to look your works up including Teaching Miss Granger and How I learned to love teachers’ meetings

Okay, let’s jump right in.

What's the story behind your pen name?

Hmmm ... that’s kind of a weird answer for me. I wanted to choose a name that didn’t immediately indicate whether I was male or female. I’d noticed a certain freedom afforded to authors of indistinguishable gender. With no societal construct about the “nature” of the creator, the story stood on its own, without prejudice or conditioned expectations.

I brainstormed about six or seven names and then picked the one that appealed to me most. I’ve always felt drawn to the idea of oracles (those who see beyond). And I definitely felt obscured in that department. (Hell, at the time, my whole life felt obscured.)

Which Harry Potter character do you identify with the most?

I don’t know if I do. I guess if I had to pick, I’d say Hermione, as I have a tendency to be an obsessive perfectionist when it comes to work/studying. I like to be organized and plan things out. And I can be quite demanding and harsh with myself when I feel like I’m not measuring up to my own insane ideals.

But I took that openpsychometrics.org statistical quiz a while back, where you answer like a bazillion comparison questions (I did the longer version), and my highest HP match was Remus Lupin (83%). Yeah, I can see that.

Luna is my favorite character, but I don’t know if I identify with her more than anyone else.

Do you have a favourite genre to read? (not in fic, just in general)

It used to be horror/suspense, but ... I don’t know ... I’m just not as into it anymore. Maybe it’s because the real world is horrifying enough without adding fictional monsters to the mix.

Now I mostly read classics.

Do you have a favourite "classic" novel?

To Kill a Mockingbird.

At what age did you start writing?

Just writing stories in general? Maybe second grade. It wasn’t a passion or anything, just something I was pretty good at. I only really did it at school, though, not so much at home. I read A LOT growing up, so I naturally imagined that I might be an author one day. I tried to write a book when I was about 13 or 14, but less than one chapter in, I decided it was too hard. (I was NOT a Hermione growing up. Planning and perseverance were not my style.)

I took a massive break from thinking after high school (the smorgasbord of medications I was on didn’t like me using my brain too much, and my plans for college went out the window when my depression become unmanageable). I didn’t really start writing again until I was about twenty-seven. That was when I found fanfiction. I consider that when I really started writing.

How did you get into writing fanfiction?

I found fanfiction while looking for erotica. Needless to say I discovered the motherlode, and I was hooked. Over the years, I’d written bits and pieces of my own sexy scenarios (which is what you do when you grow up without the internet and you have to depend on your imagination for all your kink requirements), but I’d never really thought about taking someone else’s “story world” and using it as my setting. For a little over a year I read/devoured all the HP fanfiction I could, and then I realized I could take all the fantasies in my head and play them out with my favorite characters.

The first story I wrote was a funny/smutty Ginny/Draco thing, and it was HORRIBLE. The story and the sex were fine, but the writing was a nightmare. I submitted it to The Restricted Section, which was the only site I knew at the time, and they vetted their stories, so I had to get approved. They wrote me back saying it needed work and I should get a beta. So I went on the forum and found one (which was rather brave of me now that I think back). The person who helped me must’ve had the patience of a saint, because he/she(?) never said a damn thing about all the mistakes and shitty-ness. Suggestions and corrections were made, and I changed some of the pronouns to names so it wouldn’t sound so repetitive. The next time I submitted it, they accepted, and I got a decent response for a first-time writer (like three or four nice reviews). No one seemed to hate it, and the reviewers said the sex was hot, so I tried again, hoping to do better.

That’s when I wrote the first chapter of Teaching Miss Granger. It started out as just a oneshot. And it got a much better response. I wanted to write more, but I became extremely depressed and lethargic, and I didn’t really do anything for the next six or seven years. (I mean nothing. Unless you consider watching every episode of Law & Order CI and SVU ten times over to be an accomplishment.)

I came back to it years later, intending to add a few chapters to TMG where they have sex, but ... it just sort of evolved into the monster that it is. I worked on it pretty much every day for about a year. I’d never stuck with ANYTHING that long in my entire life.

What's the best theme you've ever come across in a fic? Is it a theme represented in your own works?

I would say love or “the power of love” is probably my favorite theme. But that includes synonyms for love as well. (Like wholeness, which is the theme of Quartet.)

What fandoms are you involved in other than Harry Potter?

None. I like other fandoms, but I don’t write for them, and I don’t usually read their fanfiction.

If you could make one change to canon, what would it be? Do you have a favourite piece of fanon?

I’ve never really thought about changing cannon. I mean, I change it to suit my fictional purposes (like Snape lives etc.), but I wouldn’t want to change canon for real. The deaths in HP serve a purpose, and while I find many of those deaths heartbreaking, that’s kind of the point. Hatred is bleak and destructive, and good people don’t survive wars simply because they’re good; bad things happen to good people all the time. As for changing something about the individual characters, I can’t get behind that either. The reasons people do things are multifaceted and complex and they’re colored by a lifetime of experiences I will never know or understand, so I don’t feel I can really judge. I can’t say I understand all the choices I’ve made in my own life, and there’ve been plenty of times where I had no choice at all. I can’t hold others to more rigorous standards than I myself can meet. We all have our shortcomings. (And that’s cool. Without them, there would be no growth or diversity.)

Do I have a favorite piece of fanon? Hmmm ... probably Head Boy and Head girl rooming together or having private rooms.

Oh! And uniforms.

Do you listen to music when you write or do you prefer quiet?

I used to listen to really quiet classical music while wearing headphones. Every little sound in the house distracts me, and I have to block it out. But lately I’ve just been running this old box fan that drowns out the noise.

What are your favourite fanfictions of all time?

Crap, I don’t know if I can choose. (Plus I feel like I’ve forgotten a lot of what I’ve read.)

My friend Desert Sea is my fav Hermione/Severus writer. Out of her stories, the ones I like best are In Their Hands and At the Headmaster’s Discretion.

After a brief search of my accounts, I’ll go with:

Do Not Go Gentle by senlinyu

Another Dream by dragoon811

The Last Twenty-Four Hours of Severus Snape by CryingCinderella

Pretty much everything by Aurette

Pet Project by Caeria

Post Tenebras, Lux by Loten

All the SS/HG stuff from snapeslittleblackbuttons

There’s a Teddy Radiator story that I like a lot, but I can’t remember the name of it. (Or what it’s about.) (Yes, very helpful, I know.)

And in a category all it’s own is Farmer Granger and the Most Glorious Cock by MyWitch. (Seriously, I read this like once a month and it makes me laugh every time.)

I read a lot of Drarry too. Drarry stories I love:

Everything by bixgrl1, but especially Balance Imperfect and In Evidence of Magical Theory

Everything by lq_traintracks (even the non-Drarry stuff). The writing is amazing.

I love all the advent stories by Saras_girl.

I like all the Drarry stories I’ve read by Faithwood.

I really like RZZMG’s writing. (No particular story or pairing.)

And I just rediscovered a story I found in 2007 (the first m/m fic I ever read). It’s a Snarry, which I know isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it was excellent. Snape: the Home Fries Nazi by pir8fancier

Are you a plotter or a pantser? How does that affect your writing process?

I enjoy a bit of both. My oneshots are all pantsed. TMG was totally pantsed. But Getting Personal and Quartet were both plotted and planned. For GP I did sort of a chapter by chapter synopsis before starting my rough draft, and for Q I went into even more detail—EVERYTHING was planned out ahead of time. The only thing that changed during the first draft was I ended up combining some of the chapters.

How does plotting affect my writing process compared to pantsing? It streamlines it. In a oneshot there’s not much to streamline; the basic story (or general idea) is all you really need. There’s not enough story to get muddled. But when I’m writing something longer, with multiple chapters, I find it’s better to know where the story is going. How deeply I go into that planning can vary. Sometimes there’s just a basic outline of the major plot points and then I fly by the seat of my pants from there. Sometimes I write out a very rough synopsis (sort of like a short and loose first draft) and then start writing as if it’s my second draft. Things inevitably get changed once I really start writing, so the planning isn’t set in stone by any means, but when I plan, the story goes in the general direction I intend without veering too far off course and there aren’t any plot holes. After I wrote TMG (with no planning) I saw that there was A LOT I could have cut or combined without affecting anything important. I learned a little more with each story I wrote, and when I got to Q, there was a lot of complicated ideas that I wanted to incorporate, and there were so many characters (and character arcs) going on that I had to plan extensively to make sure everything fit together. If I hadn’t worked it out ahead of time, it would’ve been like throwing a heap of puzzle pieces on the table but not being given a reference picture to know what it was I was working toward.

What is your writing genre of choice?

I have no idea. Plotty sex? Erotic dramady? Some of it is just straight up PWP, but I usually like to have something meaningful in there too.

Which of your stories are you most proud of? Why?

Usually the answer is whatever I’ve most recently written, as it’s the most likely to represent my current “best.” In terms of writing, I’ll go with A Brush with Magic, but Quartet is probably my best storytelling. A lot went into that (symbolism, planning, obsessive re-writes) and it holds a good deal of personal meaning to me. So, I guess I’ll go with Q due to the time and effort involved.

Did it unfold as you imagined it or did you find the unexpected cropped up as you wrote? What did you learn from writing it?

The unexpected always crops up (even with all my planning), and it’s the unexpected that makes the magic.

While I had many insights into my own nature while writing Quartet, in the end I think it taught me to trust/listen to myself more.

Later, however, it brought me a very different message. While writing it, I felt a lot of tension and anxiety; I wanted to “do it right” and present my story in the best light. But after some time away, I realized I’d been so worried because I felt as if that story represented me, as if it defined me. And the pressure of being judged worthy or unworthy had been eating me alive.

But I don’t feel that way anymore. Now it’s like I wrote all my stories in another lifetime. While they all might be a snapshot of a fraction of my mind, nothing I create ever says a damn thing about who or what I truly am. Since letting go of that, I’ve found a sense of freedom around writing. I still like to express things as clearly and beautifully as I can, but it’s more a celebration of words than a search for acceptance.

How personal is the story to you, and do you think that made it harder or easier to write?

Quartet was extremely personal to me when I wrote it, and in a lot of ways I think that made it easier to write. When I have to go strictly by imagination, I feel as if I’m missing some depth of understanding (like I’m getting the surface-level stuff, but missing the nuance). When I write from experience, it has an entirely different quality. Richer. More intimate. It’s work to write what I don’t know, but it’s easy to write the truth.

Posting, however, is an entirely different story. Other people don’t always want the truth, and if you feel like your story is an extension of you, it can hurt to have any part of it rejected.

What books or authors have influenced you? How do you think that shows in your writing?

I think everything I’ve ever read or seen has influenced me. In terms of writing, I guess I’d say I’m inspired by beauty in all its forms. When I first started reading fanfiction, I just searched for the kinks I liked; it was all about the sex (with bonus points for having a decent plot). Then one day I read an extremely well-written PWP (I don’t remember what), and the way the author described the sex was so unlike anything I had ever read, it totally blew my mind. It was art. Exquisite art. And before that, I didn’t know sex could be art. That author didn’t just recount the characters’ actions, they painted a word masterpiece—they turned porn into poetry. THAT was what I wanted in my life. And I didn’t know it until that moment.

Books/authors that stick with me:

The Harry Potter series (obviously).

Shel Silverstein (Love the poetry, but The Giving Tree is one of my favorite books of all time.)

Dr. Seuss (Always.)

Judy Blume (I still have my copy of Are You There God it’s Me Margaret from when I was, like, 10. Tiger Eyes is my favorite of hers.)

R.L. Stine (I got hooked prior to the creation of the Goosebumps series, but I had EVERY Fear Street Book he wrote when I was in middle school.)

Weekend by Christopher Pike (This was the first YA thriller I ever read. *Sigh* memories. I still have my original copy, and I still read it every once in a while. The characters and plot are great.)

Stephen King (Carrie is my fav.)

Anne Rice (I’ve read all the vampire and witch books, but The Witching Hour is the only one I’ve read multiple times. Blackwood Farm is my next favorite.)

To Kill a Mockingbird

Charles Dickens (David Copperfield is my fav.)

Jane Austen (I can’t pick between Pride & Prejudice and Sense & Sensibility.)

Thomas Harris (Brilliant writing, and Hannibal might be one of the most intriguing anti-heros ever.)

Stieg Larsson (Another brilliant writer with a brilliant character.)

The Giver by Lois Lowry (I haven’t read the rest of the trilogy. And I haven’t seen the movie. I refuse to besmirch my childhood love with Hollywood’s interpretation.)

Bridge to Terabithia (This book devastated me as a child.)

Gillian Flynn (Sharp Objects is my fav.)

Liane Moriarty (I like all of her books, especially Big Little Lies. The way she plays with the timeline is masterful.)

Frank Herbert’s Dune. (I grew up on this. It’s my dad’s all-time favorite book. And, yes, we’re looking forward to the new movie.)

Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale is horrifyingly wonderful. And Atwood herself is fascinating. Watch her Masterclass if you get the chance.)

Steinbeck’s East of Eden (This might be my second favorite book.)

The Lucifer Effect by Phillip Zimbardo (This isn’t fiction, but it was the first book that really affected the way I see the world.)

Eisler’s The Chalice and the Blade (Also not fiction. If you’re interested in the divine feminine and a more egalitarian society, this is the book for you.)

Loving What Is by Byron Katie (The only self-help book that’s ever actually helped me.)

Daphne Du Maurier (I love Rebecca, but she also has a story called “The Blue Lenses” that isn’t really intended to be scary, but it freaked me the fuck out.)

The Secret History by Donna Tartt (Gorgeous writing, and the plot left me seriously disturbed.)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey (Gah! I love this. The writing and the story and the characters and EVERYTHING!)

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (I Bradbury’s writing style, but the plot of F451 is pure horror for any book hoarder lover.)

The Lord of the Flies by William Golding (This might be my third favorite book ever. No, wait, I might like it better than East of Eden. I can’t choose!)

The Diary of Anne Frank (How in the hell could anyone read this and not be affected by it?)

Do people in your everyday life know you write fanfiction?

No. This is my own private world, and I like it that way.

How true for you is the notion of "writing for yourself"?

Very. I write what I want to read. There are certain adjustments I make when I write for other people as opposed to what I do when writing strictly for myself, but nothing major. I refuse to write things I have no interest in, and I don’t write to make people happy. I write to please myself. (But it’s nice when what pleases me pleases others. It’s wonderful to share that connection.)

How important is it for you to interact with your audience? How do you engage with them? Just at the point of publishing? Through social media?

I like hearing from my readers. I don’t have a lot of time to interact, but I like talking to my audience and listening to their insights. I try to reply to all the comments I get on AO3 (it’s just too hard on FFN). And when I have free time (which isn’t often) I check my FB groups to see what’s going on. To me, the interaction kind of completes the creative cycle; it helps me set the story free and allow it to be. It really belongs to the reader once I’ve published, and it’s nice to see the ripples creativity creates.

What is the best advice you've received about writing?

Unless it’s absolutely necessary, stop using the word “was.” Completely changed my writing.

What do you do when you hit writer's block?

It doesn’t really happen that much, as I usually know where I’m going with my story, but there can be glitches between scenes or times when I can’t find the words for something (like ending a chapter). When that happens, I usually just leave it and come back later—I can’t force it if it won’t come.

If I really need to get it done for some reason, I read what I have over and over, adding a little bit more each time, trying out words that “sound right” and building what I need bit by bit. What I come up with isn’t always right or what I want, but at least I have something to work with. Sometimes seeing what’s wrong makes what you want more obvious.

Has anything in real life trickled down into your writing?

Yeah, just about everything Sex, depression, anxiety, personal growth, likes/dislikes, insights, interests, philosophy, all my little neuroses. Every once in a while I’ll even include some dialogue from real life.

Do you have any stories in the works? Can you give us a teaser?

I’m juggling about five long stories right now (plus a couple oneshots). And I haven’t worked on any of them in ages. I don’t know what’s going on with me; I’m just not in the mood. I don’t want to say what they are, as I might never finish them. (Two are Drarry and three are Sevmione. One is a compilation of oneshots. Four of them are completely planned out and just need to be written. The unplanned Drarry was always just meant to be for myself and I doubt I’ll ever release it.)

Any words of encouragement to other writers?

Yes. Enjoy the whole writing/creative process as much as possible. Try not to beat yourself up, and don’t try to force yourself to be better. You will naturally get better the more you write. Change is inevitable; allow it to happen. Read books about writing, and read good writers. Notice what brings you the most pleasure when you read and tap into that same pleasure when you write. Play with words and ideas just for fun. Watch and see what appears. There is no perfect.

If you’re writing about sex (because I get asked about that a lot), write what turns YOU on. Don’t try to be sexy. Don’t try to write what you think other people want to hear. Don’t worry about what other people think (at least in the first draft). If they don’t like it they can go read something else. But if YOU like it, it will shine through in your writing, and that will have a bigger impact on your reader than any activity you describe. Also, the physicality is only a fraction of the sexual experience. Don’t turn your sex scenes into a play-by-play. You’re not really writing about what the characters are doing so much as how what they’re doing affects them. It’s a personal experience, and the more personal you make it (the more honest and vulnerable you are as a writer) the more satisfying the story will be for your reader. Wise words! Thank-you so much for speaking with us today Oracle Obscured.

#snamione #writing #fanfiction #fanfic

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radiosandrecordings · 4 years

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Okay I hate to be Podcast Negative on this blog and I hope this in no way ever gets back to the creators because I have a huge amount of respect for them

But people who listened to The Bright Sessions as it was airing years ago and listened to the College Tapes trailer that came out the other day - Were you a little bit disappointed in it? Because all of the people I’ve spoken to about it so far have been so.

I think it’s down to a number of factors. Firstly, I feel like at the time TBS had a young-ish demographic? It seemed to be teens, especially younger ones, at least from how I’ve seen it but that may be skewed. There haven’t really been any new fans in to it (ones who are currently young teens) because it ended over two years ago now so it hasn’t really picked up any new listeners. This is also largely because it has very little presence, odd for something that is still creating in-universe content. This is because it’s only running it’s new shows on Luminary, something you have to pay for access to, which a lot of people Do Not Want and is a whole other post for another time. Anyway, the age thing has left people, at least the people I talked to (myself included), feeling like maybe we just liked it more at the time because a lot of TBS as YA Lit vibes and that’s what we liked. Now we’re all 18 or older, supposedly the same age as the characters in the show, but it just feels like we moved on from what the show was and how it was important to us at the time. I bought The Infinite Noise when it came out, and asking the friends who read it they said the same thing: It just felt like generic YA. I didn’t even finish the book despite having been so excited about it. It just felt like Love, Simon with mild superpowers.

Secondly, the trailer itself. It’s just a badly edited trailer? It gives you absolutely no indication of what is happening or why, just a series of conversations cut together with no context. The first half feels like a coming of age movie and the second half an action and it just. It’s really oddly edited, listen if you haven’t. Also, why do a compilation trailer at all? Audio dramas have long since realised that supercuts like that don’t tend to work because you don’t have time to set up the context without visuals, so often you get trailers that are just small scenes lasting a minute or two that highlight the themes or characters, like a tiny prologue. Why not just do that?

Thirdly... What was up with that soundscaping. There was absolutely no room tone? It just felt like all of the lines were delivered in the exact same blank void? There was a bit of editing with a phone filter, and some zapping of what... Could be electric powers? Or someone with a taser? Who knows, not the audience, because they gave us no context. For something they want us to pay for, I would expect a lot more sound design to go into it. TBS had a minimal soundscape but because it was a therapists office that made sense. I have no clue where any of those tiny snippets were happening because they all sounded like they were just coming from a sound booth and not a place?

Fourth point kind of links into the first again which is that TBS was my second ever podcast. I loved it because it was cool and funny and queer and it was what I needed at 14. But it was also my second podcast so I had very little standard. Since then I’ve listened to a lot more (and made more) audio drama so maybe if I picked up TBS today I would find glaring flaws or faults in comparison to the stuff I usually listen to. (Though, it should not go without notice that TBS was a pioneer of the audio drama industry up there with Night Vale and Wolf 359 and it just doesn’t happen to be mentioned as much any more because it isn’t producing publicly available content anymore, It did a lot of new and interesting things at the time and the audio drama scene wouldn’t be the same without it and the cool things Lauren Shippen and Mischa Stanton did.)

But just overall I’m... Really disappointed in it? I shouldn’t be, I wasn’t going to pay for it anyway because I was content to leave the TBS universe when it closed to the public, but without getting into my thoughts on putting audio dramas behind a paywall... I’m just a little bit miffed that they seem to want people to pay a subscription fee for it when it seems lackluster already. But hey, maybe the trailer is deceiving and it’ll be excellent. I hope so, because I loved TBS and want it to do well and be something that is still quality. Just not sure it’s for me anymore.

#My Post #ABSOLUTELY NOT TAGGING THIS I DO NOT WANT THE RISK THAT IT'LL BE SEEN

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themattress · 3 years

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OUAT AND ME: SEASON 4

Story - The story for the first half of the season is the Frozen Saga and the story for the second half is the Operation Mongoose Saga. The Frozen Saga is about Elsa from Arendelle crossing over into Storybrooke in search of her sister Anna, bonding with Emma in the process and helping her face another Snow Queen who has a secret connection to both of them, while the Operation Mongoose Saga is about heroes and villains alike searching for the elusive author of Henry's storybook so that he can give them their happy endings.

The Frozen Saga is noteworthy for being the last time that OUAT was big in the mainstream, due to the ubiquitous nature of the Disney phenomenon it was capitalizing on not even a year after its release in theaters. And despite the initial apprehension of many, it's actually the Frozen elements that are the strongest part of this story. The flashbacks tell an interconnecting tale serving as the backstory of the present-day events much like the flashbacks of the Dark Curse Saga did, making excellent use of both Frozen and OUAT's established mythology. And the present-day story is all about the unexpected yet perfectly natural bond between Emma and Elsa, and it's honestly one of the strongest depicted friendships the show has ever had. The way the two of them are further linked through the Big Bad is also ingenious, bringing about a great feeling of cohesion to the narrative.

In fact, rewatching this arc after Frozen 2, it's kind of funny how I actually prefer it as a sequel to the original movie than the actual sequel! Like Frozen 2, this arc deals with why Elsa and Anna's parents left on their fateful voyage, the discovery of a secret from their mother's side of the family, a revelation of what the source of Elsa's power is, Elsa making peace with herself while Anna learns to be more independent and ends up marrying Kristoff, and a location called the Enchanted Forest. But it does so in a way that feels more true to the characters from the original film and avoids all of the pratfalls that Frozen 2 stumbled into. There's no over-its-head political message, no sisterly separation ending, and no Olaf.

Unfortunately, there are two subplots that put a damper on things. The first subplot starts off well enough, with Rumpelstiltskin returning to his former villainous glory as he sneaks and schemes and manipulates his way through a plan to obtain the power of the Sorcerer's Hat of Fantasia fame, but it sadly fails to stick the landing in a way that matches the build-up and there end up being no lingering consequences to it when there really should have been. The second subplot is horrendous, focusing on the increasingly skeevy romance between Regina and Robin Hood while also pushing Regina forward on a ridiculous quest to find the Author of Henry's storybook. Why? She believes some cosmic rule is preventing her from having a happy ending because she was written as a villain in the book (and not because, y'know, she was actually a villain in the past), and if she's rewritten as a hero she thinks that will change. Yes, that is the absurd idea that this whole subplot is founded upon, and the fact that everyone goes along with it as if there is an ounce of logic behind it is cringe-inducing.

Sadly, that subplot ends up becoming the plot of the Operation Mongoose Saga, which on the one hand gives Season 4 more connection between its two arcs than Season 3 had, but on the other hand it's so fucking stupid. Now, whenever it's Rumple leading around his villainous team, "the Queens of Darkness", to find the Author before the heroes can, things are fun and watchable in spite of the plot's stupidity. But whenever it's Regina and Robin's continued relationship angst or a horrendous new subplot about Snow and Charming having secretly been villains in the past by causing Maleficent to lose her child, it's tiresome and insulting. The finale, a two-parter actually named "Operation Mongoose", is highly enjoyable, but it can't fully wash away the taste of what came before it....or what it sets up to come after it.

Characters - Heroes and villains everywhere, and not always where you expect.

* Remember how in Season 3, Emma had a great character arc in the Neverland Saga but then it came to a halt in the Wicked Saga until the two-part season finale finally picked it up and resolved it? And that the Wicked Saga did her dirty by building her up as the only one who could defeat Zelena only for Regina to defeat her instead? Season 4 does kind of a repeating of these problems, except this time around they are a lot more glaring.

For most of the Frozen Saga, Emma has a great arc that's essentially her and Elsa's shared journey toward self-love; learning from each other to accept themselves and their innate powers without having to always rely on the approval of a loved one. But then, after a huge broo-ha-ha is made about how Emma must be the one to defeat the Snow Queen....she doesn't, and Anna barges in to help the Snow Queen see the error of her ways before Emma can lift a finger. She isn't even the one to save her own boyfriend from Rumple afterward, Belle does it instead. It makes Emma look like the definition of a Boring Failure Heroine.

And things don't improve for her in the Operation Mongoose Saga. Her roles are being subservient to Regina in spite of the abuse Regina had thrown her way in the previous arc, being unreasonably angry at her parents for keeping a secret from her, being vilified for daring to kill a heinous villain in defense of her son, going back and forth between being a friend or an enemy to her "dark half" Lily, and being hyped as the key to restoring reality to the way it was in the season finale...only for Regina, yet again, to end up taking that role away from her. I think it was Disney's insistence that Emma be tied to Elsa and have that arc in the Frozen Saga, because Adam and Eddy clearly couldn't care less about her.

* Snow and Charming....SIGH. In the Frozen Saga, Snow is the new mayor of Storybrooke...until the Operation Mongoose Saga, where she suddenly isn't anymore and Regina takes up the mantle again. Through both arcs, Snow reaches new levels of bad motherhood toward Emma while continuing to coddle Regina, which is not touching, it's creepy. Charming, meanwhile, is revealed to have been a long-haired coward during his shepherd days and owes his bravery and swordsman skills to Anna, which neuters just about any coolness he ever had. And then, of course, there's the egg-napping subplot from the Operation Mongoose Saga, where Snow and Charming are revealed to have stolen the egg containing Maleficent's baby, transferred Emma's darkness into it while Emma was still in Snow's womb, and then sent it away in a portal. All because of some nebulous prophesizing and interference from Isaac. And this revelation means, according to the show, that they were villains all along and thus all this time have been pious hypocrites who just do things the easy way rather than the right way. Doesn't Regina look so much better in comparison to them now? Because that's clearly the intent behind this fucking writing decision. Character assassination at its finest.

* Henry sucks, Henry sucks, Henry.....doesn't suck? Yes, for most of the season Henry is lamer than he's ever been, still being treated like a precocious kid character even though Jared Gilmore has clearly entered puberty. But then he ends up as the leading character of the season finale, and shockingly rises to the occasion. It concludes with him becoming the new Author, and this marks a turning point in Henry's character that has been a long time coming, which I will go more into detail about when I talk about the next two seasons.

* This is the season where Regina officially crossed the line into Mary Sue territory. She decides that Marian's reappearance means that she is being punished for being a villain...not because she actually was a villain, but because some Author dared to write her as a villain in a storybook, and that he needs to rewrite her into a hero so that she can get the happy ending that she's entitled to. And in true Mary Sue fashion, she warps the plot and characters around her so that nobody objects to this idea and instead whole-heartedly embrace it.

Every good guy in Storybrooke fights to help Regina get her happy ending, constantly repeating that she "deserves it" and has "come so far" even as she continues to act in ways contradicting that notion. In the end, she doesn't even need the Author since she gets Robin Hood back, gets the adulation of being a "Light Savior" who restores reality back to normal, and has Emma sacrifice herself to the Dark One curse in order to save Regina and her "hard-earned" happy ending. I think the scene that best displays the problem is in the flashback of the episode "Mother", where we see Regina in the past remorselessly murder a groom on his wedding day for no good reason, then immediately go cry over Daniel's grave since this is the anniversary of his death, and then we cut to present-day Regina mention how life always "kicks her in the teeth". Yeah, I kinda think life kicked that groom in the teeth WAY more. So where the Hell is the Author who's gonna give his poor widowed bride her happy ending?

* Rumple, for the most part, is great in this season. In the Frozen Saga, we see him going back to his Dark Curse Saga roots as he plays the role of the true villainous mastermind behind the female Big Bad, dealing and manipulating his way toward one single objective - in this case being to use the power of the Sorcerer's Hat to "cleave" himself from the Dark One dagger. And in the Operation Mongoose Saga, he steps up as the direct Big Bad who leads a team of other villains in pursuit of the Author, under the promise that he can give them their happy endings. It helps that Robert Carlyle is clearly enjoying himself; that fun is infectious.

Unfortunately, there is a problem: Rumple fails to stick the landing in his last three episodes of both arcs. In the Frozen Saga, his failure to absorb Emma into the Sorcerer's Hat seems to drive him bonkers because he then rips out Hook's heart, relying solely on commanding him to do his dirty work all while ranting and raving repetitively about how when the stars in the sky and the stars in the hat are aligned, he will cleave himself of the dagger and he will kill Hook to do so, and that Hook better enjoy so-and-so because it'll be his last and blah blah blah. It's boring and silly, and Rumple's arrogance as he keeps saying it just makes his failure that much more pathetic. And in the Operation Mongoose Saga, his suddenly revealed heart condition ends up taking its toll on him and he is ultimately unable to mount a final assault against the heroes on his own, requiring the far less impressive Isaac to do so instead. The "Light One" version of him that Isaac overwrites him with manages to put up a fight, but that's not nearly as good. Rumple as the Big Bad should have gone out with a bang, not a whimper.

* Hook remains one of the best characters in the ensemble, forced to reconcile his pirate past with his heroic present in both the Frozen Saga and the Operation Mongoose Saga. In the former, his fears of regressing allow Rumple to manipulate him into servitude, which Hook ends up fighting against until Rumple rips out his heart. In the latter, he contends with the way in which he'd wronged Ursula in the past, and with the help of Ariel (whom he also finally does right by), he is able to rectify his mistake and grant Ursula her true happy ending. I'm not really a big fan of his new modern leather jacket, though. The pirate coat was iconic!

* Following such a good Season 3 performance, Belle looks like she's on track to become even better at the end of the Frozen Saga when she finally sees Rumple for who he is and dumps his ass all the way across the town line. It was a powerful scene with some great lines from Belle, and by all logic it should have been the end of her and Rumple as a romantic pairing. They needed to be done after that, with Belle now being free to develop her character entirely apart from Rumple. But of course, Adam and Eddy would never allow that, so all she does in the Operation Mongoose Saga is date a man she doesn't actually love to soothe her heartbreak, fall passed out on the floor, have her heart stolen by Regina and then have it recovered by Rumple which causes her to inevitably crawl back to him at the end of the finale. As the next seasons will show, this damaged Belle's character beyond repair, turning her into the very Stockholm Syndrome-afflicted abuse victim that stupid detractors of the Disney version always claimed she was. This isn't a love story anymore. It's a horror story.

* Robin Hood is a regular for this season in all but title, being present for many episodes in the Frozen Saga and even getting his own focus episode in the Operation Mongoose Saga. If there was any chance of salvaging this horrendously misused character, it died the moment it showed that he still desired a relationship with Regina even after learning that she was the one who killed Marian, which would have stuck if not for Emma and Hook's time travel adventure. I'm sorry, who does that!? That is not realistic human behavior! And it only gets worse when he ends up deliberately and vocally throwing away his honor code by cheating on Marian with Regina while Marian is frozen solid and could possibly die! Oh, but Marian ends up being Zelena anyway, so all's cool. No! All's not cool! Why did this show make Robin Hood into such a lame character!? It's especially a disservice to Sean Maguire, who's a smooth and funny guy in real life and the Robin Hood he plays utilizes none of his charm.

* And then we have the regular in title only, Robin's former associate Will Scarlet, carried over from Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. Of all the screwed-over regulars the show has had, none can compare with Will Scarlet. He does little of interest in the Frozen Saga except for enticing viewers with various mysteries about who he is, why he's here and what's he up to...and those mysteries get absolutely no pay-off in the Operation Mongoose Saga, where he barely shows up and when he does is mainly just Belle's new boyfriend (whom she scarcely interacts with directly!) so that Rumple can get jealous and more determined to find the Author. In the end, Will Scarlet is a nuisance who has fuck-all to do with anything that's going on in the season, leaving viewers scratching their heads as to why he was included to begin with. I can't believe that in his last speaking appearance, the show actually has him deliver the line "I warn ya, I'm scrappy", to which Rumple replies "All right, Scrappy." It's funny because Scrappy, in the TV Tropes usage of the word, perfectly describes Will here.

So, what went wrong? Well, originally the Wonderland spin-off was meant to take place during Season 2 of the main show, with the originally filmed pilot making this explicit. So Will in Season 4 was to be the Will we have after the Wonderland Saga's conclusion, meaning somehow he'd gone back to Storybrooke and regressed back into a selfish, self-esteem lacking, seemingly heartless thief separated from his true love Anastasia / the Red Queen. Highly unoriginal of Adam and Eddy, but whatever, there were still plans to move forward with him as a character on the main show. But those plans failed to materialize and Michael Socha spent a lot of time on set doing nothing, a miserable experience which he was very vocal about afterward. And what was Adam and Eddy's excuse? "It’s just, you know, there’s just so many…there’s just so many people that it’s like, it’s sometimes hard to do that story and sacrifice Regina’s story. That’s just showbiz." It all comes down to Regina. Of course.

In the end it's for the best that the confirmation of the Wonderland Saga as taking place in Season 2 never happened in the pilot we actually got, since Will's existence in this season only makes sense now if it was happening before the Wonderland Saga rather than after, thus my headcanon will always be that Will's fateful break-in to Granny's was after it closed up on the night "Operation Mongoose" ended on rather than the night of the wraith attack.

* Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Sven, Hans, Grand Pabbie, Oaken, the Duke of Weselton, and the former King and Queen of Arendelle are all lifted from Frozen to OUAT, and for every character that required an actor they got an actor who perfectly brought the animated movie character to life. They are also written accurately as well, with Elsa naturally being the stand-out given how much she gets to do and the bond she forges with Emma. And then there are the new Frozen characters invented for the show: Elsa and Anna's aunts - the deceased Helga and the icy-powered Ingrid, who is also the Frozen Saga's Big Bad, the Snow Queen. Ingrid, played beautifully by Elizabeth Mitchell, is essentially what Elsa might have become if Anna hadn't been so unconditionally loving toward her - her mind warped by her past pain and trauma, embittered toward all normal people, and willing to cross any moral boundary to find a family and place to belong to. Her connection to Elsa and Anna is perfectly exploited, her interactions with characters like Emma and Rumple are fascinating, and her ending where she realizes the error of her ways and sacrifices her life to reverse the damage she's done is the show's most beautiful, emotional send-offs for a villain since Rumple's death.

* The Queens of Darkness are Rumple's cohorts in the Operation Mongoose Saga who also desire the Author to write them a happy ending. The initial group is the trio of Maleficent, Ursula and Cruella De Vil, and it's later revealed that not-so-dead Zelena is also a member.

Maleficent, in spite of being played competently by Kristen Bauer van Straten and having great fashion sense in both worlds, is the weakest of the initial trio, since she is saddled with the mind-bogglingly stupid eggnapping subplot. Ursula isn't actually reflective of the Disney version of the character (Regina already did that in Season 3) and is more like a dark version of Ariel in regards to her backstory. She also isn't nearly as villainous as her peers and naturally she is redeemed rather quickly and easily as a result. And then there's Cruella De Vil, who is not a fairy tale character so everyone feared how she'd come off. Well, she's not only the best of the trio but one of the show's best villains, period. Victoria Smurfit looks, sounds and moves like the cartoon character made flesh, backed up by strong writing that makes her both funny and menacing - especially the latter when it comes to her backstory, a twisted little tale that subverts the show's usual "evil isn't born, it's made" mantra HARD.

Zelena.....SIGH. Like I said before, Adam and Eddy were dropping obvious clues that she wasn't really dead at the end of Season 3, which begged the question why they did a fake-out death to begin with. Apparently, it's because of this season's twist where, with almost no foreshadowing whatsoever, Marian is revealed to actually be Zelena in disguise, having traveled back in time with Emma and Hook and then killed the real Marian in order to take her place. She's revealed to then be pregnant with Robin Hood's child (since he slept with her thinking she was Marian...therefore, she raped him) before being hauled right on back to Storybrooke prison again. It's awful writing, salvaged only by Rebecca Mader's performance.

* We get some welcome returning characters this season, including Sydney Glass, Blackbeard, Ariel, Cora, and against all expectations August Booth. There are some interesting new side characters introduced as well, such as warlord Bo Peep (yes, really), Ursula's father Poseidon played by the great Ernie Hudson, and the Sorcerer's Apprentice, keeper of the Sorcerer's Hat and the Author's boss, meaning he naturally plays a major role throughout the season. The Author himself is Isaac Heller, played by Patrick Fischler, and he turns out to be a surprise villain who abuses his powers to influence events, which an Author is not supposed to do. While I wish he didn't take over the Big Bad position to such a degree in the finale, Isaac is still a very entertaining villain, especially when he's playing off of Regina and Rumple. His sardonic and cynical attitude also make him the perfect foil to Henry.

And then there's this season's biggest waste of a new character: Lilith "Lily" Page. There are three major problems with Lily. First of all, her origin - she's Maleficent's child that Snow and Charming kidnapped, passed all of Emma's natural-born darkness onto, and sent through a portal when she was still in an egg. It's so utterly stupid. Second, she is played by a Latino actress as a child only to have a white actress playing her as an adult. How does that work!? Finally, for all of the build-up she receives, she and her story go absolutely nowhere after she is reunited with her mother. They even make a point of giving her a scene toward the end about wanting to find who her father is, and that never gets followed up on. Even worse, the next story arc is all about Emma going dark, which Rumple had been trying to make happen throughout this arc and Lily was linked to, and yet Lily, her literal dark half, ISN'T involved!? Honestly, Mal from Descendants made a better "daughter of Maleficent" character! MAL!

Atmosphere - The Frozen Saga's atmosphere is very...Frozen-y; I don't really know another word to describe it. At least whenever it's focused on the Frozen characters. The Rumple subplot gets progressively darker to the point of becoming unpleasant, while the Regina subplot is just romantic and existential angst 24/7. These atmospheres don't fit in with the Frozen one at all, which is a testament to how Adam and Eddy are going the wrong direction with this show. Once the Operation Mongoose Saga happens, the atmosphere of the show goes insane, flip-flopping back and forth between family fairy tale wholesomeness to dark and disturbing and depressing to campiness on a level that feels off even for this show.

Episode Quality - For the most part, the Frozen Saga's episodes are perfectly fine and entertaining, although stretching out the 8th episode, "Smash the Mirror", into a two-parter was a horrible idea that cost the show terribly in the ratings. The only two standouts of badness are the 5th episode, "Breaking Glass", which introduces Lily in the flashback story while the present day story is all about Emma just having to sit back and take Regina's verbal abuse in spite of doing nothing to deserve it, and the final episode, "Heroes and Villains", whose only redeeming quality is the scene with Rumple and Belle at the town line, which doesn't even have lasting consequences. For the rest of the episode, we either spend time giving the Frozen cast a rushed, underwhelming send-off, having Rumple continue to abuse Hook while none of the idiot heroes catch on, fixating even more on Regina's angst as she has to let Robin Hood leave town in order to "save" "Marian", and watching a stupid Rumbelle-based flashback introducing the Queen of Darkness trio. In short, the episode is more the start of the Operation Mongoose Saga than it is the end of the Frozen Saga, which feels like a slap in the face to the last thing that made this show relevant to the mainstream.

And the Operation Mongoose Saga's episodes....actually got a lot better on a rewatch!? Don't get me wrong, this story arc is BAD. But when you detach yourself emotionally from the show and its characters, it becomes So Bad It's Good. It's as if the entire saga is Isaac's fanfiction; after all, it truly got started in "Heroes and Villains", and that's the name of Isaac's book in the "Operation Mongoose" two-part finale. Some episodes are unironically fun: "Darkness on the Edge of Town", "Poor Unfortunate Soul" and "Sympathy For the De Vil", but the other episodes are also fun when you just embrace how batshit crazy this whole story is and just enjoy watching how these poor actors are struggling to make something out of the material, and it's just as much fun when they fail as it is when they succeed. "Heart of Gold", the Robin Hood focus episode that reveals the Marian = Zelena twist, is one I have a soft spot for, because between Mader and Carlyle's acting, the scene of that reveal is hilarious.

Overall - Season 4 is basically the inverse of Season 2. Whereas Season 2 was horribly structured but a lot of strong material in either writing or acting was able to make it stronger than the sum of its parts. Season 4, on the other hand, has a solid structure with two inter-connected story arcs, but the material gets so increasingly shoddy that it doesn't matter. Until Seasons 6 and 7 came along, this was definitely the weakest season the show had to offer. If you don't mind a So Bad It's Good quality, then you should stick with the entire thing. But if you only want something that's actually good, then just watch all of the Frozen material.

#Once Upon a Time #ABC #OUAT and Me #Opinion #Analysis

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lia-jones · 3 years

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Growing Together - Chapter Thirteen - Like Ants Do

Fall was already making an appearance, painting the trees that lined the road to Terry’s ranch in reds and oranges. I always loved the season and everything it symbolized: the hot beverages, the crafts, and the colder weather that made me put on an extra sweater, but not cold enough to discourage me from leaving the house. The thing I loved the most, though, was the trees. It was like they were preparing to die and chose to go out with a bang, showing us how astonishing they could be, coloring the landscape for us so during the winter we would remember what it was like to have beautiful trees. Fall was the first step of a beautiful end, and, simultaneously, the promise of a magnificent beginning.

Inside the car, however, there was the energy of a painful start that still held the potential energy of an even more painful ending. A week had passed since Owen’s adoption, and we were faced with a very different child than the one we used to visit every weekend. The funny extroverted version of Owen seemed to no longer be available and gave way to a morose child who seemed on edge all the time.

For a week we tried to connect, and although it wasn’t all bad, it was nothing like we had expected. Owen seemed to have no excitement over his new house or his new room, and was yet to touch any of the toys we had bought him, busying himself with the books alone. He mostly kept to himself in his bedroom, and would only come out for activities with us if we insisted on it. The only thing that seemed to have some kind of effect was asking for him to help with chores, like setting the table or preparing dinner, which he would do quietly and cautiously, as if afraid to mess up somehow.

I couldn’t complain though, Victor was having it way worse. Even though it was difficult, I could still interact with the boy, but my husband wasn’t having such luck. Owen looked at him with frightened eyes, and avoided him like the plague, turning to me the rare times he needed something. Hence our trip to Terry’s farm. We hoped that a new activity, an exciting environment, could bring the boy out of his shell. To be honest, this small excursion was our Hail Mary.

Victor turned down the dirt road that led to the iron gate, focused on his driving. He had done his best to look casual and nonthreatening, wearing a gray sweater instead of the usual dress shirt, maintaining a relaxed look on his face. I obviously could see through it, noticing the clench in his jaw and the tension on his shoulders. And Owen apparently did too, as he almost curled in on himself in his seat, training his eyes on the scenery outside, and had yet to make a single peep.

Susan and Terry were waiting for us in the garden when we parked our car.

“Hey! How are you all?” Terry greeted us with a hug. “And who is this gorgeous young man?” She grinned at Owen.

“Owen, this is Terry, my aunt, and her girlfriend, Susan.” Victor held Owen’s shoulder fatherly. “Terry, this is Owen.”

“Nice to meet you!” Terry extended her hand for Owen to shake, which he politely took. “Your father tells me you like animals.”

“My father?” Owen made a confused expression, looking at Victor. “Yes…”

“Fantastic! I will show you the horses later.” Terry took Owen’s hand and motioned us to follow her. “Mina made iced tea, come have some.”

We followed her to the patio where a set table was already waiting for us. I sat down, saving a seat for Owen between me and Victor, my eyes on Owen, trying to assess his mood. The boy sat next to me quietly, his eyes on the ground. I took the iced tea pitcher, while Victor went inside to call Mina.

“Would you like to try some? It’s delicious.” I asked softly.

“Yes, please.” He took the glass from my hands, taking a sip. “Yum, it’s great!” He whispered, his eyes shining.

“See? I told you.” My heart jumped to see him relax, even if just a little. “You’ll love it here, you’ll get to meet Naia and Onyx.”

“You think I can ride them?” Owen’s eyes widened.

“Maybe not today, but we can definitely feed them.” I grinned.

“Andrea!” Mina greeted me, Victor following her. “How are you, dear? And this beautiful child… You are Owen, right?”

Mina crouched to his height, a sweet look in her eyes.

“Do you want to know what I’m making back in the kitchen? Victor’s favorite delicacy, saltwater taffy. Do you want to help me stretch it?”

Owen looked at her with wide eyes, excited to have that new experience. Until Victor spoke sternly.

“It’s alright Mina, he can stay with us, you don’t need to take him to the kitchen.” He spoke somewhat bitterly. “I’m not my father.”

Ouch . Bringing his son here was unfortunately making Victor relive some of his childhood memories, and for a second, everybody stared at him like he had said a dirty word. I cleared my throat.

“Unless you want to stretch the taffy with Mina.” I spoke. “You can go if you want to, Owen.”

The red-haired boy looked at Victor for a sign of disapproval, but Victor was too busy shooting a confused look at me. As Owen finally decided, following Mina to the kitchen, I tried to placate my husband.

“It’s ok, let him go.” I whispered. “If he wants to go with Mina, let him.”

Victor pursed his lips, but remained silent.

“So, how is the first week going?” Terry tried to break the tension.

Awful. Terrible. A nightmare. We have no idea of what we are doing.

“Good.” Victor quipped, helping himself with some ice tea. “We were visiting schools this week, Owen is starting next week at Crestview.”

Another touchy subject. Victor and I couldn’t agree on the school. He wanted a more traditional one, like the ones he attended, with bratty rich kids and boastful parents, while I was leaning towards a public school, with trees and a playground where Owen could go play in the rain and the mud. Eventually, Victor twisted my arm. The school was known for having excellent teachers, and it was close to home. I had no reason to say no.

“That is a very reputable school, wonderful choice.” Terry nodded in approval. “Owen will thrive there.”

“Andrea is not entirely convinced yet.” My husband commented, smiling smugly at me.

This had not been a good week, especially for Victor. So I let the comment slide.

“Look what we got here!” Mina emerged from the kitchen once again, a proud Owen behind her, holding a bowl full of taffy pieces.

“Try one!” Owen placed the bowl on the table. “They are very good.”

We all took a piece, and I realized once again why this was Victor’s favorite. Mina’s taffy was a perfect balance of salty and sweet, and it melted in one’s mouth as soon as it touched it, turning into this velvety sweetness.

“Can I explore the garden?” Owen asked me, excited.

I was loving seeing him this happy; it turned out our idea had been quite a good one. But the garden was immense. My heart shrunk at the thought.

“Will you be careful? Please stay near.” I cautioned.

“I’m four, I’m not a baby. I won’t get lost.” Owen assured me.

“There are a lot of secrets hiding in this garden.” Victor spoke to Owen, who shrunk slightly at the sound of his voice. “Go explore, have fun.”

Happy with Victor’s answer, the boy ran to the garden, lost in his own imagination.

“He’ll be ok, he’s a smart child.” I felt Vic’s hand on mine, reassuring me. “I was seven when I took my first transatlantic flight. This is just a garden.”

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at him.

“Your parents were with you all the time, there’s hardly any comparison.”

“I went by myself.” Victor replied nonchalantly. “My mother was in France at the time, and my father was busy, so I went on my own.”

For a moment, I didn’t know what to say. Well, I knew what to say. I just didn’t know if I should say it. It turned out, like most times in my life, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.

“Your parents let you fly across the ocean, to a foreign country, all by yourself?” My voice sounded shocked, but I couldn’t help it. I was astonished.

“I was being taken care of by the flight attendants, I had a car waiting for me at the airport to take me to my mother’s house. It was perfectly safe.”

I could see by Mina and Terry’s expression that I was dealing with yet another sensitive subject, Terry shaking her head behind Victor, telling me to leave it alone. That was a Lee thing, pretending that bad things don’t exist, or that they are normal, appearances mattering most of all. I decided there and then that, although I was a Lee, I wasn’t born one, so I would speak my mind. Gently.

“So what you’re saying is that, if my mother were to invite Owen to Portugal and both of us were busy, you would have no problem putting him on a plane by himself and sending him there?”

“Without one of us? Of course not!” Victor was about to say something else but paused, lost in thought, his answer dawning on him.

There was a moment of silence at that moment, as we witnessed many emotions go through the eyes of the man I loved. And for a moment, I felt guilty for pointing out an ugly truth. It was the truth, and in a way, Victor needed to realize the gravity of it, but it still hurt him. And I hated to see him hurt.

“What do you say we go show Owen the horses? Onyx and Naia will love to see you.” Terry broke the silence.

“I’ll go get some carrots and sugar cubes for Owen to feed them.” Mina walked into the kitchen.

As he saw me waving at him, the boy ran back to us, his face almost as red as his curls.

“I found an anthill!” He declared, excited. “Can I take some taffy to feed the ants?”

“Maybe later.” I laughed. “Come on, finish your tea, we’re going to see the horses.”

“Do you know ants don't have lungs or ears?” Owen started talking excitedly, just like before. “They sense vibrations and they communicate with chemicals they produce. And they have two stomachs!”

“Two stomachs?” I played along. “That’s a lot of food for such a tiny ant. They should be really fat!”

“They don’t eat all of it!” Owen giggled. “It’s one for them and the other for storage. They need to feed the ants that stay behind!”

“They don’t get fat, they exercise, carrying all that food.” Victor joked, pleased to see Owen as vibrant again.

“They can carry up to fifty times their weight! And that means things that are way bigger than them!” Owen gesticulated excitingly, forgetting the glass of ice tea he was holding. As he lifted his hands to illustrate his point, the glass slipped from his hand, shattering on the ground. Owen’s face, flushed and happy before, turned pale.

“Be careful, don’t step on the glass, honey.” I bowed to the floor with a napkin, picking the bigger shards from the floor.

“I’m sorry I made a mess.” He panicked, looking at the broken glass on the floor. “I’ll clean it up, don’t be mad!” He crouched next to me, his tiny hands ready to touch the sharp shards. Before I could say anything, Victor's voice echoed through the garden.

“Owen, NO! Don’t touch that!”

Owen let out a frightened scream, jumping into my arms.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, please don’t be mad at me! I didn’t mean it!” He burst into tears, his face buried in my shoulder.

“Owen, I’m not mad.” Victor tried. “I was just-”

“I want Miss Dillon, I want to go back!” Owen interrupted him, tightening his grip on me. “Please take me back.”

And the crushed look spreading over my husband’s face broke my heart.

“Owen, it’s ok, nothing wrong happened, it was just a glass.” I caressed his curls. “Victor was just afraid you would cut yourself on the glass, he didn’t mean to scare you. He is not mad at you, I promise.”

“I’m sorry I made a mess…” The boy sobbed in my arms, and I watched Victor silently walk into the house, completely disheartened. Mina and Terry followed him.

“Owen, I need you to calm down and pay close attention to me, can you do that?” I whispered to him.

After a moment, the sobbing ceased, and Owen turned his eyes to me.

“When we make a mess, we simply clean it up. Or, in this case, because it’s dangerous, we ask for help to clean it up. And next time, we pay attention. That’s it. No one needs to cry. No one will ever get mad at you because of one silly accident.”

The boy kept staring at me, still deciding if he should believe me.

“Besides, when one ant drops a piece of bread, the other ants don’t get mad, do they? They help their mate. In this family, we do the same. We are just like the ants, working together as a family.”

“But…” Owen trailed off, his eyes turning to the door Victor walked through.

“He wasn’t mad, he just didn’t want you to get hurt. But he has that thunder voice that can scare the ants.” I joked, making Owen chuckle. “Come on, help me get a broom so we can clean this.”

“Andy…” He interrupted me before I could get up, his face somber again. “I’m sorry I said I want to go back to Miss Dillon. I didn't mean it.”

“I know.” I smiled at him. “Don’t worry about it, ok?”

It was exhilarating to see Owen smile back at me.

For the first time that week, despite the drama, I felt that I got through to him. We walked into the kitchen, Owen in a much better mood, holding my hand.

“Don’t worry, my angel, I’ll clean it up.” Mina took the broom from Owen’s hands.

“Hey, I would love to see that anthill you found.” Terry called Owen. “Will you show it to me?”

“Can I?” He turned to me.

“Of course, my little ant.” I ruffled his hair, making him giggle. “Go have fun.”

I stayed behind with Mina in the kitchen, watching an enthused Owen tell Terry all the fun facts he knew about ants.

“He’s in the study.” Mina informed me with a knowing smile, following them outside with the broom.

I carefully knocked on the study’s door, hearing an annoyed Yes from inside. Victor was sitting on a chair, fingers rubbing his temples, staring at the carpet.

“How is Owen?” Victor looked up when he saw me.

“He’s fine, he’s in a good mood. Terry took him outside.” I downplayed it.

“Didn’t you see how frightened he was? He was shaking. He’s scared of me.” Victor stated blandly, a deep dark pit of sorrow in his grey eyes.

Based on our previous conversation, it wasn’t hard to get to the root of what was troubling my husband. I kneeled before him, placing my hands on his shoulders.

“You are not your father. You and your father are completely different people.”

“Maybe I am though.” He turned his eyes away in shame. “Maybe one day Owen will look back and see what a terrible father I was. I yelled at him. What kind of person yells at a little child, let alone his own son?”

“Why did you yell at him?”

“I didn’t want him to cut himself in the glass. But I-”

“Exactly.” I held his face in my hands. “You weren’t scolding him, you were protecting him. Just what a good father would do. I would’ve done exactly the same, you just beat me to it.”

I felt my husband’s tension slacken slightly, as he let out a deep breath.

“Look, I don't want you to second guess yourself like this.” I looked deep into his eyes. “It’s normal to have questions, it’s ok not to know everything, but if there is a person I know is absolutely competent and experienced in raising a child, it’s the man I love.”

“Experienced?” He frowned at me. “I‘ve never raised a child before in my life, what on earth are you talking about?”

“Yes, you have.” I answered firmly. “You raised yourself.”

He scoffed, looking away, like I had said something ridiculous. My gentle hands guided his face towards mine again.

“It’s true. Victor, you were neglected in so many ways, and even as a child, all by yourself, you guided yourself towards the best choices in life, and you became the wonderful man you are today. You are nothing like your father, because you chose not to be. Despite everything you could have learned from him, despite his negative influence, you chose differently.”

Victor looked at me with wide eyes. Hopefully, my words were sinking into him. I continued my heartfelt speech.

“And you did this as a child, with zero life experience. Now that you are an adult, you can help Owen in the way he needs, help him overcome all he’s been through. All you need to do is guide him the same way you did to yourself, this is nothing new to you. You did this before. And while things may seem hard now, they won’t be like this forever. You just have to be patient. Time and love will make all the pieces fit together. To be honest, I think Owen is really lucky to have you as a father.”

The corner of my husband’s mouth lifted, his gaze soft and loving, all the worry magically gone.

“Come here.” Victor pulled me to his lap, his lips touching mine, making me melt in his arms, like I always did. “I’m the lucky one.” He hushed, as he broke the kiss.

A few moments after, childish laughter sounded through the house. Owen had returned from the garden with Terry, and he looked positively delighted.

“Hey!” I greeted them. “Did you have fun, Owen?”

Owen said nothing, his gaze locked on Victor. He was still uneasy, not knowing what to expect.

“We still have to visit the stables.” Victor chimed in. “Owen, do you want to meet our horses?”

The boy nodded.

“Come on, then.” Victor motioned for him to follow. “Do you know the names of our horses?”

“Naia and Onyx. Naia is a mare and Onyx is a stallion.” Owen replied.

“Very good. Onyx is the horse I ride, Naia is Andrea’s. When you learn how to ride properly, you will have your own horse.” Victor promised as he walked beside Owen.

“I’m going to learn how to ride a horse?” Owen asked, exhilarated.

“Yes, I will teach you. What do you say?”

“Yes, please, Sir.”

I walked a few steps behind, trying to give them the space they needed to bond. I had absolutely no doubt in my mind that Owen would see Victor for the wonderful man that he was, and that a beautiful relationship was in the making. It would take some time, but we would finally have the family we all dreamed of.

#dadvic #vic adoptive father #Growing Pains - Series #growingtogether #victor x oc #mldd victor #mlqc victor #mlqc li zeyan #love and producer #mister love dream date #mister love queens choice

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hamliet · 4 years

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Girls Don’t Want Boys, Girls Want Monsters: Netflix’s The Witcher Review

Finally, the show we deserve.

Men get all their superhero power fantasies of kicking villain ass. Finally there’s a story that has that and includes women’s emotional power fantasies about falling in love with monsters who change. It doesn’t treat either as ridiculous or limited by gender, either, since Geralt falls for a monster too and women get to kick ass as well.

Essentially, it’s a story about defeating monsters: often through integration with the shadow, sometimes involving love and connection, sometimes violence, but the violence is never glorified. It’s good.

NB: I’m in the middle of reading the books (in the middle of Blood of Elves so far). I haven’t played the game since video games aren’t really a medium I enjoy. So I’ll make some comparisons since the show covered the two books I’ve read thus far, but please don’t put spoilers for the books below!

Let’s talk my favorite aspect of every story: characters.

Renfri.

Her story was somewhat sanitized from the books (it’s a lot more brutal what happened to Renfri) but well adapted. Both versions--the book and show--depict sincere empathy for our deconstructed Snow White. I loved her dialogue with Geralt, in which Geralt praises her for escaping the huntsman her stepmother hired to kill her, and she laughs and says that she didn’t. He let her go, but not before raping and robbing her. The story never directly answers if the prophecy was true or not; Geralt doesn’t believe it, but a lot of things Geralt doubts turn out to be true. Renfri was supposedly attacking animals as a child; however, the person reporting that is highly unlikely to be unbiased (Stregobor) so is this even true? Did Renfri become a killer because she was horribly abused and left with no other option? (That’s the option that I think seems most likely.)

We can’t know. The Witcher isn’t interested in giving its audience palatable answers. It’s interested in provoking questions. The show gives more answers than do the books, again likely due to the medium, but it still lets these questions linger.

Renfri’s story is not the first one in the books, but it is the first one the show adapts, and that’s a good decision imo. Her story embodies The Witcher’s themes and questions:

By acting the monster, we make monsters out of others.

To defeat monsters, you must be a monster.

What, then, can heal, especially in a world so broken?

Ciri.

Our deconstructed Rapunzel (yes, there are a lot of fairy tale references). As far as her story goes in its adaptation, the addition of Dara was well done. Sadly, no, Dara is not in the books, but his addition gave Ciri an arc beyond merely running in this story.

That said, Ciri in the books is much younger than she is in the show. Which is okay, because Ciri is somewhat emblematic of the future: there’s a lot unknown about her powers, she needs to be protected from everyone trying to grab her and use her powers for themselves. She is Geralt’s destiny, and she is the future of the world of The Witcher.

NB: I can’t discuss Ciri without shouting out to the casting director for casting Pavetta: how did they find an actress who looks so much like Ciri’s actress? It’s almost eerie.

The episode where Geralt finds out about the Law of Surprise and his reaction to Pavetta’s pregnancy is perhaps the only story that I felt was better in the show than in the books (again, this isn’t inherently a quality thing but a medium preference). It added some much-needed hilarity (Geralt’s perfectly-timed “destiny can go f--” *Pavetta vomits* and all he can say is, “fuck”) and gave Geralt an arc.

Geralt.

Mm.

I liked how they handled his character and his struggles with what it means to be a Witcher and/or human. His struggles to understand himself are relatable, and fairly well set-up for future exploration. He’s a foil of Ciri, Yennefer, Jaskier, and Cahir so far, and I’m particularly intrigued by the monster theme and the foiling that is already set up thus with all of the above except Jaskier (who is no monster). Geralt was skeptical about saving the striga for her father, but managed to succeed, and I wonder if he will somehow be able to save himself from his own inner fears/monster by being a father. (Basically, I am curious as to how being Ciri’s de factor dad is going to challenge him.)

Jaskier.

Or, Dandelion, as he’s known in the books. The bard adds some much needed levity to the tale, and as @aspoonofsugar says, he’s pretty much Donkey from Shrek. But he is used fairly well within the story: he shows Geralt even before Ciri and Yennefer enter his life that he has a purpose beyond being a killing machine. In that sense he’s the foil of Renfri (Renfri accomplishes the same, but through violence) in that Geralt saves him and he clearly thinks highly of the Witcher. Jaskier is in some ways humanity in all its paradoxes and foibles, annoying and stupid, kind and clever, funny and truthful, deceptive and respectful.

Cahir.

I’m a sucker for ravens as part of an aesthetic, as well as pretty, tormented bad boys. Yes, I know he’s a character I’m sure will arouse much handwringing and puritanical policing a la his other archetype brothers (Loki, Kylo Ren, Snape, etc). I don’t care. I do think the show made him much darker when compared to the books, but I still expect his arc to go in the same direction as the books. He’s a complicated, conflicted, complex character, and I’m not sorry for feeling empathy for him.

But I am curious about his foiling with Geralt. Both are characters seeking Ciri to fulfill... something, and monstrous in a way (Cahir more for what he does, but there’s a humanity to him as well).

Yennefer.

Finally, my favorite, my baby murder daughter.

Yennefer’s character was fascinating. I appreciated that she’s allowed to want deeply, her own wants, instead of attaching her wants to be whatever the male character desires. She wants to have children. She wants love. She wants to be beautiful. Her desires are traditionally feminine, and the show doesn’t put this down. And she also kicks ass and takes names, she fails, she’s allowed to be angry, to be mean often, to want to learn and to want to be the best.

The show doesn’t punish Yennefer for her ambition. Neither do the books. She experiences consequences, both positive and negative, for her every choice. The show reveals her backstory right away, whereas the books don’t, but again that’s a medium thing. I think both do excellently in setting up Yennefer for our empathy. It doesn’t apologize for her or her wants or actions; it lets her arc and the story itself do the talking.

Yennefer’s not here to be your cautionary tale or your role model. She’s just there to be her and to live.

That is, to an extent, perhaps the best kind of role model.

That doesn’t mean the show did everything in Yennefer’s story justice. I wasn’t thrilled with the adaptation of her first meeting with Geralt--the orgy in the background isn’t in the books and is a very bizarre decision given context. While, I loved Tissaia’s character and her foiling with Yennefer: they are too alike to ever get along, I really didn’t understand the point of Tissaia turning the other girls into slugs in episode 2. It was unsettling and not in the books. It was a heavy-handed metaphor not explained until episode 7 (about treating people as expendable slugs) that didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know about how the world and Dark!Hogwarts worked. If anything it made the school seem foolishly cackling-mustache evil instead of the true current of darkness within it: manipulation and utilitarianism. As part of effort to control things, that control itself can lead to chaos.

I think the rest of the series set this precise dilemma of a precarious balance between self-control and manipulation/utilitarianism quite well, though (it goes hand-in-hand with the theme of a “lesser evil” to quote Renfri’s story). I’m excited to see this explored more.

Other comments:

When comparing the show to the books as I’ve read so far, I think the show made some smart changes for adapting to a visual medium. For example, Foltest and Adda’s story was adapted as a mystery: what is the monster? Who is the father? Who is the curser? Can the monster be saved? Whereas the book doesn’t do that: you know immediately that the monster is a striga, Foltest is the father, and he wants the striga saved. The answer to who cursed Adda is never clear in the written story either, whereas the show declares it was Ostrit (the book leaves it very much up in the air as to whether it was Ostrit or Adda’s mother). However, the way this particular episode weaves Adda’s story of rebirth with Yennefer’s rebirth was beautifully done. (Foltest is a good dad. We need more good dads in stories; of course, if we had more good dads, we’d have far less stories.) (I’m jesting.)

The dialogue is at times... well it’s not like it’s The Rise of Skywalker levels of “who wrote this???” but it’s not always stellar. Actually, I’d say the quality tends to swing wildly about between clever (episode 4) and just confusing (episode 5). But in general, I think the dialogue issue is representative of the show’s largest issue: it struggles to know when to trust its audience. When should it give details? When should it trust them? When is it spoonfeeding, and when is it just confusing? It tries to walk a fine line and stumbles a bit. It succeeds, however, with the characters as I mentioned earlier with Yennefer, Geralt, and Ciri.

My advice for the show going forward (not that they should definitely listen to me) is to forget Game of Thrones. It’s pretty obvious that this show is a passion project made by people who love The Witcher. I really hope they lean into that aspect instead of into the GoT-replacement aspect (because there are definitely aspects of that, particularly in the mood/aesthetic, tone, and gratuitous nudity--which is not exploitative or disturbing, but it also wasn’t necessary, isn’t in the books, and so felt like pandering).

However, the sheer love for the material still really shines through. They made me care for the characters, they interested me in the world, and they have me hooked for season 2. The showrunners’ excitement for the story and adoration of its characters is contagious, and I hope the show lets this excitement spread.

#the witcher #netflix's the witcher #geralt of rivia #yennefer of vengerberg #cahir #ciri #princess cirilla #hamliet reviews #jaskier #renfri

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notjanine · 3 years

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2020 in books!

the only kind of new year’s resolution i made as a naive baby last january was to try to read 40 books for the year. (i read 37 in 2019, for context.) well, with all of my commuting time eliminated and an increased need for immersive escapism, i ended up surpassing that goal three times over lmao (thanks library ebooks!)

idk how to summarize my year in books in a way that makes sense but

(f) = fiction, (nf) = nonfiction, (p) = poetry.

books that rewired my fucking brain:

braiding sweetgrass by robin wall kimmerer (nf)- GOD?!?!?! good. dr. k is right. ostensibly a book about plants, but actually a book about shut up and go outside. consumerism and capitalism are doing their damnedest to fuck you up, but you can just choose to value different things. take care of yourself by taking care of your environment. etc etc.

wasp by richard jones (nf)- lissen. when i got this book, my wasp-phobia was so severe that i had to put it away face down on a high shelf because there are wasps on the cover and i couldn’t bear to RISK even GLIMPSING them. now i am like... a wasp evangelist. (also due to the bugs 101 course on coursera it’s so good.)

wag by zazie todd (nf)- i have a dog, but i am NOT a Dog Person (i.e. i love my dog, but please keep yours away from me, thanks.) this book helped me understand my little guy better, plus it gives actionable tasks and activities to do with and for your pup! plus, y’know, learning about things you’re scared of helps to lessen that fear. i’d recommend this to anyone who has, wants, or regularly interacts with a dog.

a closed and common orbit by becky chambers (f)- is this series complete fluff? absolutely. am i fundamentally different after reading this one? maybe.

the best we could do by thi bui (nf)- this is so far outside of my personal experience but somehow still made me come to peace with my relationship with my mom?? and it’s barely even about that?? idk. this is probably objectively the best book i’ve read this year.

books that were just fun as hell:

mexican gothic by silvia moreno-garcia (f)- this book made me YELL out loud

death on the nile by agatha christie (f)- i grew up on agatha christie shows, but never actually read her before this year! she really was That Bitch. read this before the movie comes out

cosmoknights by hannah templer (f)- i read this in one sitting through the worst headache i’ve had in years. it is a goddamn DELIGHT. this book has everything: spaceships. mech suits. fighting the patriarchy. a perfect otp. fun art in bright colors with clean lines. onomatopoetic WAPs from before the song gave that hilarious context. 800 lesbians. this is an antidepressant in graphic novel form.

stiff by mary roach (nf)- ms. roach is like the 4th most represented author on my bookshelf because she 1. stays writing about shit i’m interested in and 2. manages to talk about gross and ridiculous things without resorting to sensationalism. it takes skill to write a hilarious book about corpses.

black sun by rebecca roanhorse (f)- excellent sexual tension between a horny siren pirate and a hot doomed... monk, kinda? set in the pre-columbian gulf of mexico with magic and shit.

cuisine chinoise by zao dao (? n/f)- this graphic novel about chinese food history/mythology is BEAUTIFUL.

the color of magic by terry pratchett (f)- you’d think a hardcore douglas adams stan would have gotten to this sooner, but no, i had to date a nerdy white boy to get here. it’s fun though! i’m not gonna read them all, but this one was good. bonus: contains one (1) great himbo.

gideon the ninth by tamsyn muir (f)- like 500 pages of action and mystery and jokes and space necromancy. harrow the ninth gets a special mention bc it has a meme reference that took me out so hard i had to close the book, lie down, and groan for an entire minute before continuing.

other minds by peter godfrey-smith (nf)- i love octopuses. on one tma bonus ep, jonny sims says that if a creature can choose to do evil, then it’s a Person. octopuses are People. but anyway frfr this has an explanation of the evolution of consciousness that is cool af. (this one is much better than the other recent popsci octo book which i will not name out of politeness.)

the perfect predator by steffanie strathdee and thomas patterson (nf)- i read this bc my microbiology prof recommended it and it’s cool as heck! it’s got adventure, drama, mystery, Science-with-a-capital-S. i’m biased bc i’m a bit of a microbes nerd, but i had a blast with this. (but only bc we know going in that everything works out okay; if i hadn’t known that, i would have been TOO stressed!)

books that were a little less fun but still very readable:

my sister, the serial killer by oyinkan braithwaite (f)- i couldn’t find this as funny as other people bc i, too, have a beautiful sister who’s an insufferable narcissist, so it hits a little too close to home, but. it is a wild ride.

piranesi by susanna clarke (f)- idek what to say! i went into this one blind just bc it had a cool cover and title, so i guess i’d recommend that for other people too.

the sixth world series by rebecca roanhorse (f)- monster hunting! a post-apocalyptic take that doesn’t feel tired.

the shades of magic trilogy by v.e. schwab (f)- easy escapism. some ideas feel a little first draft-y, but idk, it’s also a pretty simple premise (which isn’t a bad thing). it’s a decent urban fantasy set in ~georgian?-era london. very actiony. suffers from a bit of i’m-not-like-other-girls disease, but i didn’t even notice until book two or three, so.

the only good indians by stephen graham jones (f)- starts off a little ??? (and reeks of being Written By A Man) but picks up. the pacing’s great and there’s just a super fucking cool monster.

robopocalypse by daniel h. wilson (f)- this reads like a tv miniseries so much that i can’t believe it isn’t one yet.

confessions of the fox by jordy rosenberg (f)- not my usual cup of tea, fiction-wise, but still compelling. a fresh take on the white-male-english-professor-self-insert? but not insufferable. gets weird!

spinning silver by naomi novik (f)- rumplestilstkin, but make it interesting! a great, richly-told fairy tale, but like, large scale. good to read on a cold day while you’re wrapped up in a blanket with some hot tea.

interior chinatown by charles yu (f)- compulsively readable. a couple things bugged me, but not enough to make me dislike it. a fun companion piece to how to live safely in a science fictional universe. i like this guy’s style.

cannibalism by bill schutt (nf)- COOL. mostly covers the animal kingdom (fun), spends too much time on the donner party (less fun), ends with a SPICY take on prions that i cannot get out of my head!!!

buzz, sting, bite by anne sverdrup-thygeson (nf)- BUGS! broad but not overwhelming, neither dumbed down nor overly scientific, short enough to finish in a day or two. recommend this to literally everyone.

books that made me want to read everything else in the author’s ouevre:

the time invariance of snow by e. lily yu (f)- this FUCKS but it’s too short!!!

an unkindness of ghosts by rivers solomon (f)- okay this book is SO good and so well-written and interesting and blah blah blah all the good things, but... the whole time, i was just like?? why???? why is this what you’re choosing to write about??? (i did also read the deep and blood is another word for hunger after this one, and i did like them both, especially the latter, but i think they can do better! like i think they could write a perfect book and i am gonna be *eyes emoji* until then.)

the space between worlds by micaiah johnson (f)- a fine debut novel, but i want to see her do something a little more... idk, refined? i think she overreaches here, like it’s a little... idk looper? this is how you lose the time war? there’s a better comparison, but i can’t think of it, but you get the idea. and then halfway through it shifts gears to mad max. there’s something weird about one of the central relationships, like it’s not complex enough to take as long to resolve as it does. idk idk. there are just a lot of little nitpicky things. it’s not bad! but i think she can do better and i look forward to finding out.

postcolonial love poem by natalie diaz (p)- thinky! like i tried to read this before bed, but it’s not the sort of thing to parse out while you’re falling asleep, it requires more attention than that.

books that Learned Me Somethin:

smoke gets in your eyes by caitlin doughty (nf)- i am a self-professed death obsessed weirdo, fascinated by death and mourning, but i didn’t know all that much about what happens to a body between the dying and the funeral! this book isn’t big, but it covers a lot and doughty’s writing style is engaging and honest. it’s very memorable.

queer by meg-john barker and julia scheele (nf)- i’m gonna be totally honest and say Queer Theory is above my intellectual pay grade, but this book takes you by the hand and explains the basics.

vitamania by catherine price (nf)- LMAO my fellow americans, never take a supplement. this book is great and well-researched, but normal folks don’t need to read it, just listen to season two of the dream podcast, which definitely cribbed from this.

vegetable kingdom by bryant terry (nf)- this is a fine cookbook, my favorite of his that i’ve read so far. gets a special mention bc i had a religious experience just reading one of his kohlrabi recipes. absolutely gutted that i didn’t have an opportunity to try it this year, since the pandemic put the kibosh on all family bbqs.

the best american food writing 2020 edited by j. kenji lopez-alt (nf)- this really is just a great collection.

are prisons obsolete? by angela y. davis (nf)- yes.

i moved to los angeles to work in animation by natalie nourigat (nf)- before reading this, i had basically zero knowledge of how the animation industry works. now i know like three things.

the secret lives of bats by merlin tuttle (nf)- BATS! okay this book is more about the adventures of being a bat scientist than it actually is about bats, but there are bats in there. insectivorous bats basically shit glitter, you should know this.

books from valuable perspectives:

hood feminism by mikki kendall (nf)- a breakdown of who’s getting left out of feminist spaces, why that’s happening, and why it shouldn’t be happening.

all you can ever know by nicole chung (nf)- a (transracial) adoptee’s take on adoption and learning more about her birth family. the personal storytelling of this one really stuck with me.

motherhood so white by nefertiti austin (nf)- a single-mom-by-choice’s take on the foster system/adoption process. walks you through some things i always wondered about and some things i wouldn’t even have thought about.

this place by kateri akiwenzie-damm et al (? n/f)- i, like a lot of non- native americans, only know that history in broad strokes. getting this many highly specific stories in one dense and beautiful book felt like a lucky find. and taking that perspective into the future in the context of that history is v good.

empty by susan burton (nf)- eating disorder stories are important to me bc i care about food so much. this one is so relatable- not in its specificity, but rather its generality. it’s easy to empathize with her perspective because it’s like, Oh, i don’t have that exact problem, but i struggle with different problems in a very similar way. (feels like the opposite of roxane gay’s hunger, in a way.)

obit by victoria chang (p)- this exploration of grief is... woof.

short story collections are hard to evaluate bc you’ll never read one where every single story hits but i generally enjoyed these:

a thousand beginnings and endings edited by ellen oh and elsie chapman (f)

how long til black future month? by n.k. jemisin (f)

her body and other parties by carmen maria machado (f)

books i revisited:

the broken earth trilogy by n.k. jemisin (f)- i read the series backwards this time and like... i can’t really find any faults in these books, man. they’re just the best.

everyone’s a aliebn when ur a aliebn too by jomny sun (f... but is it really?)- half of this book’s sales are from me buying it for other people bc it’s the only way i know how to say i love you. i reread it every time just to make sure it still feels right and it always does.

other honorable mentions:

white is for witching by helen oyeyemi (f)- not to pit two bad bitches against each other, but this book does what akwaeke emezi’s freshwater was trying to do. it’s a little weird, a little haunted, a little of a lot of things. read this only in the dead of winter. (and with stephen rennicks’ score for the little stranger playing in the background.)

homie by danez smith (p)- there’s a lot going on here, but this just made me crack a smile a couple times in a way that no other book of poetry has ever done.

the murder of roger ackroyd and murder in mesopotamia by agatha christie (f)- That Bitch!

blues by nikki giovanni (p)- she sure has some Things To Say

the three-body problem by cixin liu (f)- interesting concepts, but... idk something’s missing? felt weirdly soulless to me. i’m probably not gonna read the sequels. but it did make some points!

the sisters of the winter wood by rena rossner (f)- i’m a slut for shapeshifting, okay. but this is a good fairy tale, it works!

parable of the sower by octavia butler (f)- i read this in march, when the pandemic was just kicking off and boy that was not the right time. def my least favorite of hers so far, but an octavia butler i don’t love is still better than a hell of a lot of other books. no idea when or if i’ll get to a good enough headspace for the sequel.

faves:

saturnino herrán by adriana zapett tapia (nf)- i got to learn new things about my mans and see some of his paintings i’ve never even seen online! GOSH.

on food and cooking by harold mcgee (nf)- yeah yeah, i’ve already mentioned this book half a dozen times on here this year, but i don’t care. this book lives off the shelf in my home bc i reference it like every other fucking day. this book is a part of me now.

#long post #final total for the year will be 120 by the end of the day!#and i had a pretty good hit rate. would probably recommend at least half #and only outright hated four

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anthonycrowleymoved · 5 years

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HAIR SURVEY RESULTS TWO: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

i know this was a long time coming. without further ado, i’m going to show you the final scores. then, if you so choose, you can go in and see my ~further analysis and information~ as well as other details and a comparison of lev’s earlier survey.

SO. here’s how it worked. i had a total of 561 people rank 16 of crowley’s hairstyles. i wanted people to rank the hairstyles to see if the results differed from when people were asked what their favorite overall style was. each person who gave a hairstyle a ranking of 1 contributed 16 points towards that style, 2 contributed 15 points, and so on. this means the lowest possible score a Look™ can get is 561, and the highest is 8976 (16 x 561)

OFFICIAL RANKINGS:

1. 2012 BUN - 7965

2. GOLGOTHA - 7108

3. PRESENT DAY - 7060

4. 2007 HAIR - 6988

5. MESOPOTAMIA - 6820

6. EDEN - 5547

7. 1941 (CHURCH SCENE) - 5406

8. 1967 - 4644

9. 2012 NANNY - 4146

10. BOOK!CROWLEY - 3650

11. 1970s - 3408

12. 33 AD (ROME) - 3040

13. 1601 (SHAKESPEARE) - 2770

14. 541 AD (KNIGHTS) - 2751

15. 1862 - 2708

16. 1793 (FRENCH REVOLUTION) - 2477

DISCUSSION OF OVERALL RESULTS

graphic representation of all of the results, in descending order. as you can see, bun was the runaway lead, with the next four highest scoring looks™ pretty close together. similarly, the shakespeare look, knight look, and sideburn look are all similarly hated.

fig. 2: scores sorted by in-universe order of appearance. i think it’s interesting to look at this and see that there seems to be....sort of a trend. in general people seem to like the very early looks and the very modern looks, with the lowest scoring looks all clumped together.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

now, i’d like to discuss the individual breakdown of each look™, to determine how universally it was liked or disliked, or alternately the distribution of votes

eden

eden had an average score of 9.89. people seemed pretty middle of the road on this look, with the occasional person either loving it or hating it. it’s a lot more divisive than a lot of his hairstyles for sure. (me, i personally thought it verged a bit into ‘bad wig’ territory, and i did see a couple people thinking the same)

mesopotamia

i was kind of surprised by this one being as low as it was! obviously it was in that grouping of popular hairstyles, but i feel like the general consensus you read on here is that this is the fan favorite. apparently not so. the average score was 12.16, however, which, not bad. people in general did tend to like this look, obviously, with a few holdouts scattered about

golgotha

fun fact! this is my personal favorite because, the headscarf. my god. iconic. and apparently y’all agree! it eeked out second place with an average score of 12.67

rome

so this is the first. not great look. people don’t seem to be crazy about this one. it had an average score of 5.41

knight look

“oh maggie why is this even here we can’t see his hair” It’s My Survey And I Get To Choose The Looks. but anyway. no one liked this. seriously. this is the first one that didn’t get a single person to give it the top spot. average score was 4.903, which also isn’t great.

1601

look, i know you’re supposed to be unbiased or whatever, but this is a tumblr survey and none of this matters. i hate this look. i hate it so much i often forget it exists out of self preservation. even now as i type this i know if i scroll up i’ll see that terrible facial hair, and i saw it like a minute ago when i uploaded the picture, but i can’t for the life of me remember what it looks like because my brain has put up a protective barrier. you all seem to agree with me, as the average score of this is just 4.94. excellent taste all around

1793

LAST PLACE. i don’t completely. GET. the hatred of this one. i found it to be. very middle of the road. fine i suppose. but the people have spoken with an average score of just 4.42. so what do i know

1862

another one no one said was their favorite. i mean. fair. this one had an average of 4.83, and many people said this was his most heterosexual look, and i agree. bad.

1941

this one seemed to be a bit middle of the road for people, which is kind of understandable. it’s a great hat, but i get that people like the more dramatique™ looks better. had an average score of 9.64, so like. not bad

1967

now this one was ALLLLL over the place. people love it, people hate it, people are indifferent. average score was 8.28, which, again, shows how split this one was. i for one welcome john lennon and joyce byers’ demon lovechild.

1970s

i’m so mad. average score was 6.07. this is my second favorite hairstyle overall. yes, seriously. anyway you all are wrong and that’s all i have to say about that have a good night

1990s

people kept asking me why i included the illustration from the modern cover of the book, and the primary reason was because i thought it would be funny, which is why i do most things. i also was kind of wondering what people would do with it, and the answer is seemingly ‘question why it was there.’ i wish there was a way i could have included ‘your own personal headcanon for what he looked like while reading the book,’ but alas this is as close as i could get. average score was 6.51. the people who gave said this was their favorite are my heroes, and one person described him as looking like an insurance salesman, which like. thank you from the bottom of my heart

2007

yeah. okay. i nicknamed this one ‘cursed’ in my master list. i don’t get it. i’m so sorry. i am like, the singular holdout who just can’t stand this hair. but i am very much in the minority, everyone else seems to love it. average score was 12.46. good for you, 2007 crowley. i will never understand you

2012 (Nanny)

this is the last....not great look. again, a bit all over the place. average score was 7.39.

2012 (Bun)

i LOVE this hairstyle, but i was blown away by how high it was on lev’s poll and i’m blown away again with how high it is here. i just feel like we collectively never talk about how much we love the bun look, and then when we’re asked we go feral. this had an average score of 14.19. how. gender, indeed.

present

ahhh, the classic tennant hair. a solid look. no one really seems to dislike it, it’s just. not everyone’s top spot. there’s nothing offensive about it, clearly, but i don’t think it sets anyone off like some of the other top contenders. and i’m slightly surprised how little we talk about this hairstyle considering how popular it is (and i get it, he looks like every lesbian i’ve ever had a crush on who was painfully out of my league), but again, that might be because it’s Tennant Classic™. average score was 12.58.

LEV DYKEIEL’S RESULTS VERSUS MAGGIE ANTHONYCROWLEY’S RESULTS: A BRIEF ANALYSIS

the main reason i wanted to do this in the first place was to see if the results changed at all from lev’s survey when i asked people to rank their choices rather than just choose their favorite. the answer is actually like, kind of! not majorly, but a bit. the comparison as it stands without the entries that did not appear on both lists:

if you want to see the changes more easily, i’ve done some color coding here:

as you can see, there were definitely some shifts, but what i’d like to focus on is the change in rank of the golgotha hair, the two that came in last place, and the sixties and seventies looks. for the golgotha hair, i suspect that because it was so close to the mesopotamia hair, the vote may have been split a bit, whereas here you could have realistically given both a good score. lev also said that in their results, after the 2012 bun look, 2007, present, and mesopotamia were kind of always in a bit of a tie with each other, whereas this was the case with mine with the addition of the golgotha hair. taking that into consideration i think it’s interesting that that one ended up getting second place.

i also think it’s interesting that france wasn’t in last place on lev’s poll, because there’s such a huge difference in points between the sideburn look and the french revolution look according to my numbers. however, as i said before, no one actually picked sideburns as their favorite on this survey, but there were a couple of people who like, loved the revolution hair. i think that may have ended up giving lev and i slightly different results, as the revolution hair is like ‘you either really love it for some reason (rare) or despise it’ and the 1860s hair is like ‘you either hate it or you’re lukewarm about it’.

similarly, the shift in rank in both the sixties and seventies looks is also interesting, because they both moved kind of significantly. i think the 60s look changed because, as i said, it seemed to be a pretty divisive look. people don’t seem to be agreed on how much they like it, so there are people really Into It who voted it as their favorite on lev’s, but there are also people who HATE IT. i think something sort of similar happened with the 70s look in the opposite direction. i think not many people LOVE it, but a lot of people kind it not to be like, the worst one. as a result it went up a bit because, while few people consider it their favorite (can’t relate), a few people were like ‘okay it’s fun’ and ranked it semi-high, or at least there was more of a distribution than some of the more hated looks. also it’s almost 2 am i hope this analysis makes sense because words. the english language.

ANYWAY THOSE ARE MY RESULTS I KNOW I PROMISED TABLEAU GRAPHICS BUT I FORGOT I NO LONGER HAVE A LICENSE FOR THAT BECAUSE I GRADUATED AND ALSO IT LOOKS FINE WITH THE GOOGLE GRAPHICS AND I DON’T WANT TO MAKE MY LIFE HARDER COOL BYE!

#shut up maggie #text #CAN U SEE ??? WHY THIS TOOK SO LONG #good omens #go #long post #but there should be a read more

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michiigii-writes · 4 years

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Of Shadows and Tyr (1.5/??)

A continuation of our DnD campaign’s first session right here. Because there is a limit to text on text posts. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In the beginning: There was a city (2/2)

We spent about a week living in the Church of Tyr. Elyssia provided us with a constant stream of free food, and it was a safe, dry place to stay. Craven and Valzan were also always around, but I spent the most of my time with the Tiefling girl.

She never spoke. I was pretty sure she could understand common, from the way that she listened to the rest of us speak, but the most she ever said was during that first fight with the slavers. I wondered if she knew how to write or draw, but she tended to keep herself otherwise occupied, so I never got much of a chance to ask.

She had scars all over her arm and neck, like she had been shackled for a long time and the bonds had chafed. I tried touching her to cure her wounds, the first evening at the church. She looked so small and guarded, and had clearly had a rough life; I was worried that there was some kind of wound that she was keeping to herself.

I was promptly bitten for my efforts.

I had hoped that clearly being an ally would have warmed me up to her even a little, but she definitely did not like to be touched ever. I drew back with a grimace.

“I’m only trying to help you,” I grumbled, keeping my low but feeling annoyance bubble into my tone.

For a reply, she bared her teeth at me in warning. I frowned, then recalled a different spell that might work.

[May you find sweet grass and gentle water,] I murmured, sending healing words her way.

The spell wasn’t as strong as if I had touched her, but I saw her sit up a bit straighter in shock as she felt the healing take effect. I couldn’t see or feel if what I had done was enough, but seeing her surprised yet calm was enough to satisfy my efforts. At the very least, she was well, and I had to be content with that.

For the rest of the week, she remained in my sights, not necessarily beside me, but always nearby. I’m not sure who thought of her name first. It might of been me, joking referring to her as “my shadow” whenever I spoke about her. It might have been Elyssia, nodding to how the young Tiefling always managed to find the darkest, most secret corners of a room.

It was definitely not Craven. The giant somehow found out that she liked all things that glittered in the light, and from then on, he called her, “Shiny.”

But by the time our company decided to go out and explore Kendrith as a group, we had somehow all elected to refer to call her, “Shadow.” And she seemed to like it just fine.

Craven and Valzan had a few errands they wanted to run, before investigating about the slavers we had come across. I heard mention of “books,” so I wanted to go, and wherever I went, Shadow tended to follow.

It was another bright day; I found the weather rather pleasant in comparison to the humid, warm days we had in the swamp. Shadow walked to and fro behind us, while Valzan and Craven walked ahead. As usual, I kept my distance from Valzan, but I had to admit he was growing on me. He treated Shadow and I with the same courtesy he paid Craven. I still kept my horns tucked away in his presence, whipping my hood up when he approached, but more than once, I had accidentally let my tail peek out while talking to him. I was getting comfortable around the human, and that troubled me, a little. Was Valzan the exception, or had it been the humans in my past?

Time and experience would have to tell. Maybe there was a reason Master didn’t want me to return until a good year had passed.

Not too far from the church, Shadow ended up distracted by sparkling glass shards by the side of the road. Tail swishing back and forth under the cloak that Elyssia had provided her, she crouched low and fixated on the twinkling remains of what might have been a bottle.

Our party ended up right within reach of a nearby game stall. There were targets set up, and according to the hawker, if we hit a bulls-eye with a throwing axe, we would get a voucher for a free drink at a local tavern.

I heard “free.” Considering I had about two silver pieces to my name, that was enough to get my attention.

I waited for Valzan and Craven to play, first. Craven managed to snag three free drinks! I was impressed, but not too surprised; the Kalashtar barbarian was huge.

I was, however, surprised when he gave his prizes to Valzan. Who turned down something that was free? And Craven didn’t seem particularly wealthy, to me.

When it came to my turn, I did my best, but I clearly had never used a throwing axe, before. I could hit the targets, but not well enough to win anything. For my last throw, I could see that it was about to fall just a little too low. Wanting that stupid coupon, I drew on my Druidcraft and encouraged a light puff of wind to boost the axe up, a little.

I was too encouraging. The axe ended up blown too high above the target.

"You better not be trying to pull any funny business,” the stall-keeper said suspiciously, looking between the target and I.

Feeling cornered, I forced a laugh.

“Well, if I were going to cheat, you would think I’d be more successful,” I joked, mentally kicking myself for being so eager about a free drink.

The stall-keeper seemed to agree, but I don’t think he completely bought it. He offered me another try, but I declined; only the first round was free, and it would probably be cheaper to just buy myself my own drink. Valzan asked the man where we could get information, and he was told that a woman who worked at the tavern where our coupons applied might help us. Convenient, but good enough for me!

Our next stop was to the library. I’d never seen so many books in one place, before; I had thought Master had a grand collection, but even all of his tomes would barely take up a shelf. I was also relieved to see that the librarian was half orc(?). I hoped humans like Valzan were the rule and not the exception, but I really didn’t want to test it in the library.

Craven walked off in search of books on plagues and blights, of all things. I opted for herbs. I was only familiar with swampy things, and it would be nice to see what could be used for healing or poison from local flora. Shadow followed suit, even finding me a couple books with some excellent diagrams. Nothing with words, though...I was becoming more certain that she didn’t know how to read or write. I considered teaching her for a moment, before throwing the idea away. I wasn’t patient enough to teach, and if she wanted to learn, she was clearly determined enough that she would have made some signs of it.

Still, I wanted her to have something to take from the library. The books were free. Everyone should take advantage of free. I knew she liked shiny things, and Valzan had recently given her a brass bell that she liked, but I asked her what kind of books she wanted. However, she either didn’t hear or didn’t have time to answer, because Craven took that moment to materialize.

He wanted to know if I knew anything about creeping blights; according to him, the land of his home was slowly dying by some unknown evil. He said he realized that I was in-tune with nature, and knew about growing things, so he felt that I was his key, or destined to meet him, or something?

He got a bit fuzzy, after that, turning red and tripping over his words. I thought he was being silly, in an endearing sort of way, and couldn’t help but smile a little. Shadow, on the other hand, seemed irritated with him, hissing her displeasure. That seemed to cool Craven off, and rather than let me really respond in any way, the giant lumbered off, muttering to himself as he was wont to do.

I looked at Shadow, and saw that she looked ready to leave the library. I grabbed a book on healing herbs, and one on poisons, and when the librarian said I could take a third, and snagged a book with a lot of rather beautifully illustrated gemstones. With my hand, the librarian set some kind of enchantment that would return the books automatically, once a week was up. I liked it; that would prevent me from accidentally paying late fees, and I wouldn’t need to worry about losing the books.

When we left the library, I handed the book on gems to Shadow. I had meant well, but from the way she looked at me, she was very clearly offended that I thought she would enjoy a children’s book.

“She’s probably older than she looks,” Valzan pointed out.

I rolled my eyes and tried not to groan, while Shadow moved to the side of the group furthest from me. It’s not like she mentioned what she did want to check out! How was I supposed to know!?

I clearly wasn’t doing a good job getting on Shadow’s good side.

And, to add insult to injury, she excepted a shiny marble from Valzan.

“How is that not condescending?!” I exclaimed, while Shadow contentedly added the bauble to a pocket of what I was certain contained a growing collection of shiny things.

Instead of answering, Valzan shrugged dismissively. The desire to grab a less shiny rock and throw it at his head occurred to me, but instead, we continued to our second stop: A pet store.

Craven was under the impression that he could find a bear for a pet. The shopkeeper was surprised, most likely because that seemed more like an exotic/black market kind of pet. However, when he offered up hedgehogs as an adequate alternative, I was on Craven’s side: bears are to hedgehogs as falcons are to finches. They are not equal.

Naturally, Craven got even more upset when the shopkeeper suggested a squirrel, instead.

To use as bait.

None of us were pleased! Craven began roaring about what a terrible person the shopkeeper was, and I’m pretty sure when Shadow called him a squirrel murderer, his nose started bleeding. Valzan ushered us out, but when Craven suggested we return after dark to Free the Enslaved, I readily agreed. I wanted to Speak to the animals, to see if they were all in danger or just the squirrels, but there wasn’t enough time; already, we were out the door.

It didn’t take us long to reach the top of the hill, finding the tavern where we could redeem Craven’s vouchers was situated. A creaky sign with the words “Scout’s Mug Bar and Inn” hung over the doorway that we entered, Craven stooping slightly to fit through. I braced myself for noise, but it was early enough in the day that there weren’t too many patrons.

Shadow moved straight to a table in a secluded corner, dark but safe; I and the rest followed suit. Craven, of course, immediately ordered every dessert on the menu. I tried not to let my eyes pop out of my head as plate after plate of confection and pastry were brought by the waitress and placed before him. I was about to ask how he could possibly eat all of those desserts by himself, when I saw him push all the plates to Shadow.

...Of course they weren’t just for himself. I made a note to myself to be a little less snide toward Craven.

Eyeing all the desserts, I surreptitiously slid what looked like a slice of apple pie towards myself. Shadow didn’t seem to notice. And while she did have a good appetite, I doubted she could finish everything. Besides, the pie was warm and smelled heavenly. I never got to eat anything like this, in the swamp.

Valzan, ever dutiful, was already in the process of asking for Mildred, the woman who would most likely have information for us. By some stroke of luck, our waitress was Mildred.

Things were coming together smoothly! Perhaps things would be simple from now on, I thought.

Suddenly, a bang came at the bar’s entrance; someone had slammed open the door. A dishevelled man rushed in, eyes wild, hands wringing in worry.

...of course it wouldn’t be that easy, I sighed inwardly.

“My daughter! They took my daughter!” he exclaimed.

I sat up straight, head whipping around to look at the man in surprise. His daughter? Taken? That was awful! The very idea made me sick.

And yet, for some unfathomable reason, all the patrons of the bar started laughing at the man.

What on earth is going on?

---tbc--

Continuation here!

#Of Shadows and Tyr #dnd campaign #dnd #Strive not Charity

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britesparc · 4 years

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Weekend Top Ten #443

Top Ten American High School Movies

So this week the kids are going back to school after their summer break, which is always a moment fraught with emotion (for us, not for them, they love school). However it’s even more of an angst-fest than usual this year, because notwithstanding ongoing and genuine concerns over just how safe school is and will remain, there’s also the fact that they’ve been at home all the time since March. This is probably the single greatest period of time all four of us has been in the house together. It’s madness, but it’s also glorious. Weirdly, I’m finding myself getting nostalgic for the beginning of lockdown; there’s a part of me that’ll miss organising their lessons every night and imposing a rough-hewn sense of order and schedule to the working day, the pair of them sat at the kitchen table doing printed-off worksheets or playing educational games from the BBC or wherever. As well as spending time together there was also a frisson of newness, a sense of shared learning and the feeling that, even if my work had dried up in lockdown and we were stuck at home, everyone was in the same boat so it didn’t really matter. We felt relatively safe in our little bubble, every wary step outside an adventure. They drew a mountain of pictures. I still didn’t finish my book. We bought a big monitor so it was easier for my wife to work from home. Good times, unless you turned on the news.

Anyway, they’re going back, notwithstanding further catastrophic spikes in infection rates. Everything’s going to keep being different, but in a different way. I’ll have to get used to dealing with pick-ups and drop-offs and I’ll probably always be worrying about what – and who – they’ve touched. But hopefully we’ll get used to it, hopefully no one will get sick, and it’s unquestionably beneficial for them to be in school with their teachers and friends and all that jazz.

So! School. I don’t wanna get maudlin or angsty about it, so I’m looking at schools through a prism of fun. And what’s more fun than a vaguely fantastical simulacrum of school life, filtered through a gauze of foreign motifs? American high school movies have been a mainstay of cinema all my life, and the tropes and trappings of their school life are almost as familiar as my own schooling. The same but different, the world of lockers in the corridor, gym class, jocks and nerds, cheerleaders, kids in cars, spelling bees and science fairs, all felt like a wish-fulfilment dream of a better, more grown-up school life. To turn the TV on for a second, the likes of Grange Hill paled in comparison to Saved by the Bell as far as I was concerned. Like Hogwarts, an American school was a cool school, a school you’d wish to go to, but that you knew didn’t really exist. I’m sure real high school life is not very much like it is in Clueless, for instance.

But – hey! – that’s all fine. Hospitals aren’t much like Grey’s Anatomy either, and I bet space is bugger all like Star Trek.

Anyway. Here are my favourite American high school movies. Enjoy.

10 Things I Hate About You (1999): using the weight of Shakespeare helps give the story strength and heft, but it succeeds in having one of those glorious teen casts of future greats. Perfectly pitched comedy as we unravel some teen archetypes, and at least one moment of stand-our brauvora spectacle as Heath Ledger serenades Julia Stiles. One of those scenes where you watch an unknown become a movie star in real time.

Clueless (1995): another teen film smartly utilising the classics, this gives us an even more stylised world in which to unpick those stereotypes, as seemingly vapid but good-natured Cher looks beyond her preconceptions. Gentle satire gives way to a cute romance, and in Dan Hedaya it boasts the best teen movie dad of all time.

Heathers (1988): a very dark but very funny look at high school life, as the supposed “it crowd” of glamorous girls and studly boys are, well, murdered by put upon outsiders. A satire on American exceptionalism but also a peek into the mindset of fundamentalism as their campaign continues to escalate to frightening extremes.

Brick (2005): using the tropes and trappings of a high school to present an alternative version of a classic mystery noir, this is less about examining existing stereotypes and cultures than twisting them to serve its plot and style. Invents its own teen slang, Clueless-style, but does so with a thirties gangster vibe, and expertly meshes these two worlds in a way that seems obvious.

The Faculty (1998): “the teachers are evil” is a common high school trope, here rendered literal by its funky millennial take on Invasion of the Body-Snatchers. As the school is taken over, a bunch of kids from – yep – different social sub-groups band together, put enmities aside, to basically kill their teachers. Fun horror comedy that, if you were a teen in 1998, felt smartly relevant.

The Breakfast Club (1985): John Hughes films are often considered teen-movie landmarks, even if they’ve often not aged well. Breakfast is probably the best at dealing specifically with high school, as its disparate heroes (again, each representing a different archetype) reveal depths beneath their surface personae. Angsty and on-the-nose but well-acted and with plenty of charm.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017): Spider-Man is the best teen hero (sorry, Robin) because he’s navigating a traditional teenage high school life as well as being a superhero. No film has handled that better than Homecoming, where he deals with his secret identity, a date with his dream girl, and how being a superhero impacts his education.

Back to the Future (1985): I did consider whether this qualifies as a proper high school movie, but I think the school setting is actually pivotal; it juxtaposes the 1980s high school with its 1950s version, and is able to show how much has changed but the teenagers stay basically the same. And, of course, the climactic dance is the cornerstone of the plot. Finally, BTTF is one of the best-written films of all time and a masterpiece, only this low on the list because it’s not quite as high school-y as other films.

Carrie (1976): high school as horror film, obviously, but whilst there’s plenty of terror to be mined from Carrie’s powers and her mum’s fire-and-brimstone fundamentalism, it’s the petty cruelty and viciousness of school that feels darkest and yet most real. Carrie is horrendously bullied for stepping outside of her lane, and that is very high school.

Grease (1978): certainly not the best or most realistic examination of fifties high school life, but iconic enough to deserve its place. The lines between the various sub-groups are broadly drawn, as are the teachers (mostly fools), and the central struggle of the plot – tough guy, nice girl – is timeworn. But, of course, it’s carried off in oodles of style and some classic songs.

Incidentally, there were a few films that I excluded because whilst I think they’re excellent films about teenagers – Rebel Without a Cause, say – they’re not really about high school life. And, of course, I was focussing on American high schools, so no Harry Potter. Just in case you were wondering. And sadly I couldn’t find out how to stick Teen Titans Go! To the Movies in there somewhere.

#top ten #school #lockdown #high school #high school movies #teen movies #movies #kids #teenagers

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