#I greatly appreciated both and the second one in particular is quite intriguing ^_^

[craving-for-chaos]

Probably the funniest part about the MV (aside from me accidentally kinda-sorta predicting the future) has to be all of the messages/comments/asks I've gotten because of it 💀

No guys, I'm unfortunately not a secret riot writer, nor am I a prophet 😔 (...or am I?) But I appreciate that so many of you immediately thought of my fic as soon as you watched the music video LMAO

[multific]

Wind of Change (Part 3/3)

Jaskier x Enchantress!Reader

Summary: One day two men come to your castle, just when you were already done with love, a certain bard catches your eye.

Leaving with Jaskier was possibly the best decision you ever made. 

But you did notice how careful he was around you. Deep down he knew you knew more about him than he shared. And the fact that he watched you move a mountain with a movement of your hand, did remind him just how strong you were.

Geralt went back to the village and told them the witch is gone, he never specified if he killed her or what happened, but he was paid handsomely for it.

Meanwhile, you followed Jaskier wherever he went. 

Since you traveled from one place to another, you hid your true identity. You chose to wear clothing women wore no more headpiece, jewels, and even changed the aura around you. When you changed yourself, Jaskier had a moment when he didn't recognize you. Geralt said he knew it was you from the smell for which you accused him of being a hound. 

Your admiration and obsession for the bard was quite obvious. You weren't even sure yourself why he intrigued you so much. 

You heard many people sing in your life. You heard many beautiful songs. 

But his were special.

Jaskier's songs were different from any other. The passion he put into his songs was admirable and whenever he sang of a woman, you felt that jealousy in your blood boiling. 

The fact that he was a very handsome man also added to the list. 

In the beginning, Jaskier was oblivious. He thought your kindness was because you were alone for such a long time. 

"You should be forward with him. He doesn't understand signs," said Geralt as he gave you a bowl of stew and some bread. You thanked him. 

"But I'm not even sure what I want."

"What do you mean? You are always confident."

"I look confident, but I'm not. You know my story, Geralt."

"Jaskier is not like that." was what Geralt said before Jaskier joined the two of you at the fire. 

He plopped down and started talking about what the people in town told him.

You could only stare at his profile. You thought to yourself what were you doing here.

You could do anything, literally, with your powers everything was possible. And yet you were like a teenage girl having their first crush.

And Jaskier was so oblivious.

He didn't notice when you scared a young woman away who dared to look at him two seconds too long.

He didn't notice how you dealt with the monster that wanted to bite his head off.

He didn't notice the way you looked at him.

But Geralt did.

Geralt saw just how true your feelings were. If he was honest with himself at the beginning when you joined the two, he was skeptical, but you proved yourself. 

And now, he was getting very frustrated with how the two of you danced around but didn't say anything to the other.

Oh, yes, Jaskier wasn't the only one who didn't notice the other's true feelings. 

You were just as blind.

Geralt noticed how Jaskier stopped flirting with women. Geralt noticed how Jaskier would silently sit and watch you do anything and he would let out that longing sigh.

And Geralt saw the songs, oh so many songs that Jaskier wrote about your beauty, kindness, and power. Geralt saw it all. And he knew he needed to act, do something so the thickness would finally disappear from the air whenever both of you were around. 

Passing through a particular town seemed to cause trouble, although you wore a hoodie, you could still hear people whisper behind you.

"Two rooms." said Geralt as he placed the coins on the table in the tavern, your head whipped towards him and so did Jaskier's. 

"One for me and two for my friends here, they are married." said Geralt when the man in front of him started to question him. IT surprised you but you went along with it, holding Jaskier’s hand to stop the man from asking further questions. 

This is how you found yourself in a room with only one small bed. 

"I will sleep on the floor." said Jaskier.

"No, you take the bed, I won't sleep tonight."

"Don't be silly, you need to rest." argued Jaskier.

"Actually, not really. I usually just 'sleep' to give you and Geralt the illusion, but most of the time I'm up. I don't need as much sleep as you two do." you said as you sat down on the windowsill, looking up at the sky as you saw clouds gather.

"It will rain soon."

"I love you." your eyes widened at the voice behind you. You slowly looked at Jaskier who stood right next to the bed. 

As if he was struck by lightning, he realized what he just said. He didn't mean to say it out loud, it was meant to be just his thought.

But in that split second when you looked at it and then he realized what he just said, he knew he couldn't hide it any longer. He quickly walked over to you and grabbed your hands, he knelt down in front of you and placed one of your hands on his chest, above his heart while he held the other. 

Jaskier looked into your eyes.

"I love you." he took a deep breath before he continued. "I know I'm only a mortal, while you are a Goddess. But my feelings are true and they come deep from my heart. I know you can feel it."

"I do. But I'm worried. Last time I fell in love... it didn't end so well." 

"I'm nothing like that idiot. He was a fool for not realizing the amazing woman that you are." you looked into his eyes, searching for something that would suggest he lied, anything to give you doubt but you found nothing. Jaskier was telling the truth and it made you very happy. 

Jaskier watched as you moved to stand up and so did he, his eyes never leaving yours. He was taller than you as you looked up at him. You offered him a smile which he returned.

"I love you too." you whispered and leaned up to kiss him.

He didn't need to be told twice, his lips met yours in a sweet and slow kiss.

You damned the lungs of a mortal for he needed to pull away to get some air into them. He placed his forehead against yours and he slowly started to sway you in his arms.

Even though you were one of the most powerful beings on the planet, you felt so fragile but safe at the same time in his arms.

You knew that your relationship will face a lot of difficulties, there will be a lot of arguments and uncertainty. But you also knew that there will be even more happiness. Even more kisses and declarations of love, longing gazes, and holding one another. 

But in that very moment, as he leaned in to kiss you one more time, all you could think about how perfectly his lips molded with yours. 

And how much you loved this man.

He came into your life and turned it upside down, for the better. He was the wind of change in your life which you so desperately needed, and you didn't even know about it.

The End

A/N: Thank you so much for reading this short story! I hope you enjoyed it.

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~Masterlist~

ˇAO3ˇ

My taglist is open!

Feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank You for reading my story!~

[mordoriscalling]

The Second Waltz (pt. 4/5)

(Part 1&2  Part 3)

The day after the ball, Jaskier went downstairs half past noon. After all, he had gone to bed well past midnight, which was a sufficient justification for his late arrival to breakfast. Nobody needed to know that he couldn’t fall asleep because thoughts about a certain witcher had kept him awake until it was no longer dark outside.

When he entered the dining room, he found no one there, which wasn’t an unwelcome surprise. The young Viscount sat down at the table and started eating, trying not to revisit the certain memories of the previous day. He didn't want to think about how his family would continue to tease him about his behaviour. 

Just as Jaskier thought that, his father walked in. 

“Oh, Julian!” Lord Pankratz greeted his son cheerfully, “We’re alone, good.”

The words made Jaskier freeze. “What do you mean, father?”

Count Alfred Pankratz sat down across his son. His usual gaiety gave way to seriousness as he answered, “There’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”

Jaskier’s studied his father’s expression, looking for any clues as to whether he should be worried. “Has something happened?” he asked. Then, it occurred to him what could be the reason for this conversation – it had taken place before. “Please don’t tell me that scandalous rumours about me are circling around again.”

Lord Pankratz’s dark green eyes twinkled. “Why, dear son,” he replied, “I should say that they erupted like a wildfire after your... spirited dance with Geralt of Rivia.”

Jaskier looked down at his plate, his cheeks hot. Count de Lettenhove only chuckled, for at this point he knew there was nothing to be done about his son’s untamable nature. In fact, he had grown to appreciate and be fond of that particular trait in his middle child. It was very similar to his wife’s character, and he admired her greatly.

“This is not what we want to discuss with you, however,” he told his son. Letting out a heavy sigh, he went on, “As you know, we’ve been struggling with monsters on our lands for a long time.”

Jaskier nodded. There were many kikimora nests all over the Lettenhove county, and wyverns were a strangely common occurrence as well. No matter how many times witchers were hired to deal with the monsters, the issue returned quickly. Some thought their lands to be cursed.

“After the recent kikimora attack, we’ve come to the conclusion that special measures should be taken,” Lord Pankratz said, “Your mother advised me to write to Master Vesemir of the Wolf School to request aid. Master Vesemir judged our monster infestation problem as rather grave and proposed a certain... lasting solution.” Count de Lettenhove’s hands fidgeted and it suddenly struck Jaskier that his father was nervous. “It would a contract between Lettenhove and Kaer Morhen,” he carried on explaining, “effective for years to come. The witchers of the Wolf School would regularly patrol our lands and kill monsters in exchange for funds. As a way of sealing this contract, one of my children, who conveniently are renowned bards, would enter a... binding partnership with one of the witchers.”

“A binding partnership,” Jaskier echoed flatly.

“Marriage, Julian.”

“Oh,” Jaskier could only say. “With who?”

Lord Pankratz watched him warily. “Master Vesemir chose Geralt of Rivia as the one to be married.” He paused, anticipating some kind of reaction from his son, but there came none. Jaskier only stared at him, his face carefully blank, so the Count went on, “And well, we were very glad to see you and him get along–”

Jaskier rose from his seat so abruptly that the chair fell to the floor. He directed an accusing pointing finger at Lord Pankratz, for he now understood everything. “You! You planned this!” he cried, “You and mother both, and you didn’t tell me a thing! Why?!”

“We know your free spirit,” his father replied, painfully honest, “You would’ve done your best to disappear, had we told you earlier.”

Jaskier opened his mouth to protest, then quickly closed it – he couldn’t deny his father’s words.

Lord Pankratz let out a rueful sigh. “I’m sorry that it has to be you, Julian, I truly am. Yet we simply couldn’t do that to Priscilla, and Essi is a bit too young.”

The Viscount pursed his lips but again found himself unable to disagree. “When?” his ground out, his jaw clenched tight.

There was immense sadness in his father’s eyes as he answered, “Next month.”

“All right, then,” Jaskier replied sharply. He then stormed out of the room and out of the Palace, barely aware of his surroundings. Fury almost blinded him.

 His legs carried him through the gardens, then towards the charming little forest that stood at the end of the grounds adjacent to the Palace. The brisk walk did nothing to help with getting the anger out of his system. In fact, the scorching heat of the day, rather unusual for May, had an opposite effect. Jaskier had to strip out of his doublet and unlace his chemise not to go absolutely mad, and when he finally reached the shade of the wood, he nearly teared up in relief. The Viscount wandered only a bit further, until he reached a small stream. He splashed its water all over his face and neck to cool down, almost soaking his chemise completely. After doing so, he sat down by the nearby oak tree, leaning his back against the massive trunk. Closing his eyes, Jaskier simply breathed in and tried to sort his thoughts.

He believed himself to be a true songbird in everything but physical form. He hated to be caged and always longed to fly free, after all. Being a witcher’s bard was practically a perfect way of living for him – he would gladly bear the tie of the partnership (that wasn’t too constricting anyway) in exchange for the constant travel and new wonders to immortalize in song. The commitment of being married to a witcher, however, displeased him greatly. Jaskier was aware that he was too self-absorbed to be married to anyone without hurting both parties.

The sound of a horse’s snort startled him out of his morose contemplation. Jaskier stood up and searched the surrounding with his gaze... only to see Geralt of Rivia himself, leading a chestnut horse by the reins a short distance away. Both the witcher and the Viscount froze in shock at the sight of each other, and Jaskier couldn’t help but notice that the handsome monster hunter looked even more impressive with the black armour on and the two swords on his back. His white hair caught the sunlight seeping through the trees and his golden eyes seemed to glow as they lingered on Jaskier.

Suddenly Jaskier realised what kind of picture he made – his chemise was still wet and unlaced, so it clung to his body and revealed his chest hair, leaving very little to the imagination. With a brazen smirk, Jaskier straightened his posture and put his hands on his hips, cocking them to the side. The witcher’s gaze followed the action in a rather appreciative manner, briefly roaming over Jaskier’s body before focusing on his face.

The bright gold met the cornflower blue and all at once, the yesterday’s memories of their dancing came back to Jaskier – the heat, the thrill, the breathlessness. Now, however, the experience was tainted with the truth of their situation, and Jaskier couldn’t fight the bitterness in his voice as he asked, “Did you find me satisfactory?”

The witcher let out a confused little “hmm?” that Jaskier refused to find endearing. “Yesterday, when we danced,” he clarified, “Did you deem me good enough to marry?”

Geralt of Rivia scowled formidably. “I didn’t know it was you,” he replied, “And I didn’t know about the arrangement either.” These words made Jaskier scoff. “I swear,” the White Wolf insisted with a growl, “If they’d told me, they wouldn’t have found me ever again.”

Jaskier strangely found comfort in this. The anger in him deflated as he let out a slow breath. He eyed his future spouse wearily, taking in his armour, swords and horse again.

Then, an idea struck him.

“We really could run away.”

Geralt looked at Jaskier as if he went insane. Then, he deadpanned, “Don’t tempt me.” Intrigued, Jaskier was about to say something, but the witcher spoke first, “We need this contract. Kaer Morhen is falling apart and we haven’t got the funds to properly restore it. My reputation, too...” he trailed off, then huffed. “I need a bard.”

As if that explained everything, the White Wolf tugged at his horse’s reins and started walking ahead, not even sparing Jaskier a glance. Jaskier, wholly overtaken by the urge to execute his brilliant idea, wouldn’t be ignored. He jogged up to the witcher’s side and stood in his way.

“Let’s run away,” he said.  

Geralt looked at Jaskier like he was the most vexing creature in the world. Jaskier, not cowered by the White Wolf’s furious stare, added, “For just a fortnight.”

This, Jaskier could see, made the witcher’s resolve crack slightly, so he pressed on, “We will leave no note, send no letters, just to make them mad with worry so that they will repent for the secrecy.”

“Hmm.”

“I’ll have enough coin to cover all the costs of travel.”

“Fuck.”

“I won’t be but a silent backup –”

“Fine.”

The witcher’s irritated grunt made Jaskier beam. His happy grin seemed to placate Geralt somewhat. “Let’s meet at the stables after dinner, then,” he said.  

“Pack light,” Geralt grumbled.  

This made Jaskier smile even more.

A few hours later, the Viscount finally got introduced to the rest of the special guests. He found that Lady Yennefer was just as terrifying as she looked, and Lady Triss and Mister Eskel were both amicable and overall a wonderful company. Jaskier’s sisters appeared to think so as well, since although they stayed wary of Lady Yennefer’s merciless wit, Priscilla seemed to have made fast friends with Lady Triss, while Essi and Eskel were clearly quite taken with each other. As regarding the latter development, Jaskier decided that he and the Wolf witcher will have words soon, for he wasn’t sure he could allow his dearest, sweetest, seventeen-year-old Poppet to leave for the Path just yet.

That conversation was to come later, however. First, there was the escape. After Jaskier and his family ate dinner with their four special guests, both the Viscount and the White Wolf excused themselves before they joined the rest for the evening. Jaskier said that he had to fetch his lute, while Geralt announced that he would first check on his horse, for the mare had seemed unwell. What Jaskier did go to grab was actually both his lute and his travel pack, and Geralt’s horse (named Roach, for reasons Jaskiers couldn’t begin to fathom) in truth seemed to be in good health as she carried them both away from the Palace.

Jaskier was almost heady from the success of the little scheme but his joy didn’t last long. As they stopped in the fields for the night and lit the bonfire, Lady Yennefer portalled into the middle of the campsite, almost giving Jaskier a heart attack. Geralt had failed to mention that apparently, sorceresses could make use of what was called “tracking spells”.

“What is the meaning of this?!” she thundered.

The White Wolf only smirked and pointed to Jaskier. “It was his idea,” he said.

Jaskier gasped at the betrayal. He was about to call Geralt a bastard but then Yennefer’s lightning-like eyes were on him, taking away his ability to speak.

“Mister Pankratz,” the sorceress addressed him, her voice calm but with a detectable threat undreneath, “your family are worried sick. I’m asking you to go back home on their behalf.”

“I will not,” Jaskier mustered a reply. Yennefer narrowed her eyes at him but he only raised his chin defiantly. “If you’d be so kind, Lady Yennefer, please pass my deepest, sincere apologies on to my sisters. Please also tell my parents that they can expect me back home in two weeks’ time. This –” he gestured at the campsite vaguely “– is what I believe to be the best way to get to know my future spouse and the reality of our approaching, arranged partnership. It’s an opportunity which my parents denied me, for they told me nothing about the marriage until this morning, and I refuse not to seize the chance now that I’m here.”

To his surprise, Yennefer relented.

At the beginning of their travels, Jaskier and Geralt learned all the ways in which they were incompatible. Jaskier was a flurry of music and motion, which assaulted Geralt’s sensitive witcher senses. Moreover, Jaskier kept complaining about the discomforts of the Path and camping in the wild, and his incessant whining, together with all the noise he made, irritated Geralt beyond belief. The witcher was at the end of his tether at all times, which made him quick to snap at Jaskier for any reason. Jaskier bore Geralt’s bad temper up to a point but as days passed, the witcher’s prickliness was beginning to put him off more and more. Geralt also didn’t engage in any kind of conversation with “his” bard, and the witcher’s dismissive silences were perhaps what hurt Jaskier the most.

By the end of their first week together, they could barely stand each other’s company. They were both in a foul mood, as their forcedly-shared future was looking rather bleak, but then something happened that kick-started a change in their dynamic – Geralt took a contract to get rid of a noonwraith. The pay for the job seemed meagre even to Jaskier but the White Wolf accepted only half of it. When Jaskier asked him why he had done that, the witcher replied, “Look around. This village is so poor that I’m surprised they collected as much money as they did.”

It was at this moment that Jaskier realised that the White Wolf was kind. He was kind and willing to sacrifice his well-being to protect others, even if they spat at him and called him a Butcher. When Geralt returned wounded to their camp after the hunt, he only laid down on the ground without a word, and Jaskier’s heart broke a little.

“Geralt,” he asked, “what do you need?”

“Silence,” the witcher grunted. After some time, he added, “And the black potion in the green veil.”

Jaskier hurried to fetch it as quietly as he could. From that point on, Jaskier started learning how not to be so self-centred – he stayed silent when he noticed that the witcher couldn’t stand his chatter anymore and tried to complain less. Geralt noticed this and thanked Jaskier for it in his own way, by making sure that his bard was as comfortable as it was possible and gracing Jaskier with instances of his dry humour. Jaskier actually found Geralt quite hilarious. Soon, the two were trading quips and barbs with ease, and the rest of their journey was marked by jokes and challenging stares.

“You know, Geralt,” Jaskier said when they were approaching the Lettenhove Palace, “I can’t wait for our first-second dance. I’m sure you’ll allow me to lead this time, won’t you?”

Geralt only hmmed as he held Jaskier’s gaze, his golden eyes making Jaskier short of breath.

TBC

Part 5

***

A/N: My god, these two dumbasses. I love them. This fic wasn’t supposed to get that long but well... what can you do? XD Tagging @siriusly-the-best-bi and @sometimesiwrite. Part 5 hopefully coming later today. 

[bullshittierlists]

I see no god up here other than me

Ty Lee- Ty Lee is best girl and I find it hard to argue with that statement. She’s just so bouncy and cute and honestly really powerful for not being a bender. I mean, the ability to paralyze someone on contact, much less being able to pinpoint specific parts of the body to paralyze, it’s just incredible. She was so cute in that beach episode because all the guys hit on her, which of course they do, have you seen how cute she is? I’m not super on board with her backstory, but it wasn’t a huge part of her character, so it’s fine.

Sokka- The man, the myth, the legend. It’s been said before, but the only reason Sokka couldn’t bend is because the creators knew he’d be too powerful. That’s the same reason he has to put his hair up. Also, he’s totally bi, change my mind.

Jet- I have several friends that watch this show and that watched the show before me. They all knew that I’d like Jet because he’s a “backstabbing traitor” despite their hatred of him and I guess I have a trend of liking those characters. I jokingly agreed with them and was excited to meet him. Little did I know just how much I would fall in love with him. A lot of my friends say that it’s just because he’s cute or he’s a sad boy, but there are honestly so many reasons to love him. I absolutely adore psychology and deep-diving into the minds of characters and his mentality is so intriguing. You would think this would lean me more towards Zuko, then. But Zuko gets so much focus that his psychology is always precedent, right front and center. But Jet doesn’t get that spotlight. I originally liked him more because he was under-appreciated, but now I realize just how amazing he is. At a very surface level, his actions are bad. He’s trying to murder innocent people for the sake of getting rid of a few fire nation soldiers. But as soon as you look deeper into his intentions, you can clearly see how badly he wanted to do good. These types of characters are always the saddest, the characters who think they are helping the world by destroying it. They legitimately think that the actions they are taking are the right ones even when everyone around them thinks otherwise. Other examples of this type of character are JD from Heathers and even Hector from Castlevania to some extent. Yes, he acknowledges that he will be sacrificing innocent lives. But he also knows that he will be saving lives in the future by going through with the dam plan. There’s so much more I could say about him, but I’ve been rambling for long enough.

Zuko- There’s nothing I could say about Zuko that hasn’t been said before. I already gushed about Jet for entirely too long, so have this instead: Sokka and Zuko have a wonderful relationship and I think that both parties could have benefitted greatly from being together romantically. Thank you.

You’re the best

Iroh- What can I say? He’s a good old man with lots of wisdom that we should all take to heart.

Momo- Some of my favorite parts of the entire show were scenes with Sokka and Momo just vibing. There should’ve been more emphasis on Sokka’s relationship with the animals in general.

Appa- I was really excited when Sokka started flying on Appa without Aang the first time, because I thought that meant that Sokka had created a really unique bond with Appa and was the only other one that could fly him. I was mistaken and incredibly upset.

Teo- He’s just a cute boy. I like his goggles.

Hey, I think you’re pretty cool, I like you a lot

Azula- Oh boy. There’s so much here to say, but she’s been analyzed to death, so I won’t go on for too long. As much as I would’ve loved to see Azula on the “good guy” team, I’m really glad she didn’t get a redemption. Not her, specifically, but more the villains in general. Zuko’s redemption was marvelous and there’s nothing that will ever top it, but if Azula had also gotten that redemption, his would’ve been downcast. It would’ve showed that anyone’s capable of a redemption and that he wasn’t special, he was just lucky to have that change of heart. Which maybe that’s still true, but at least with the ending we got, we give Zuko that spotlight. But back to Azula, she’s pretty cool, as the category would suggest. The Girl Gang (Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee) were a treat to watch and I instantly fell in love with all three of them as soon as they were introduced. Then they had to change to the Gayng once Zuko joined and I still loved all of them.

Longshot- It was super powerful when he spoke for the first time in Jet’s “death” scene. That was the first time he had said anything and he made it count. He helped show how even thought Jet is a “bad guy” at the surface level, he was still good enough of a leader and a friend for his group to stay with him in his ultimate time of need.

Suki- She’s badass. That’s about it. All parts of The Boiling Rock were my favorite episodes and they featured her pretty heavily in the back half. And I was not complaining.

Toph- Again, badass.

Aang- He’s the main character. I don’t have any super negative things to say or any super positive things to say. So he’s just here.

Kuei- I know he doesn’t do anything, like at all, but I can’t get over him and his bear.

Yue- When I started watching this show, I knew about some of the ships and I wasn’t super into it. Which was weird, because I’m always super into shipping. I wouldn’t have watched some of my favorite shows if it weren’t for the shipping aspect. But I just couldn’t get on board with it in this show. Aang and Katara felt kinda forced and weird, Sokka and Suki was alright, but I couldn’t quite get into it. But when I first saw Sokka and Yue interacting, I was enthralled. I was in love with their relationship and I thought it was so cute. I was genuinely excited to see where their relationship would go. But you know what happened next.

Mai- When I first met Mai, I loved her. She was an emo girl that just didn’t want anything to do with anything. Obviously, I still love her, but just slightly less. Something happened to her in the third season, and though I can’t pinpoint quite what, I have a feeling it was Zuko. I’m not a huge fan of Mai and Zuko’s relationship and I’ll possibly elaborate on that in a future post, but it really felt like the worst possible scenario for both of their characters. I do like Mai and Ty Lee together, but the shipping doesn’t really have anything major to do with it. She just dropped in quality a little in the third season and became a love interest instead of a character.

Kyoshi- Peace was never an option.

I remember you

Cabbage guy- This is normally the type of character I’d put at the top of the list and use as a joke to pretend like I especially enjoy the joke characters. Sometimes I do, but this list’s tone was a little different than usual, so I figured I’d put him where I really thought he should go. He was funny, sure, but I don’t religiously follow him like I do Ty Lee and everyone else in the top tier.

The other characters in this tier are in no particular order. Most of them are here just because I remember seeing them a little bit, but I don’t really remember much about them or I remember just not caring.

You are literally the worst. Actual scum. Leave this planet and never return.

Haru- This is more directed towards his newly-grown facial hair. He was so cute in his first appearance and then he had to do that. Even Sokka’s “I flirt with everyone” bisexual ass thought it was grody.

Hama- Nothing against her, personally, bloodbending’s just gross.

Zhao- He’s a typical villain. I can appreciate that, I just don’t like him.

Katara- This will take some explaining. It’s unpopular, but so is everything I say. I think of Katara in about the same way I do Allura. She was bearable in the first season, annoying in the second, and flat-out awful in the third. I understand that characters should have flaws, and I appreciate when they do, but her flaws aren’t necessarily treated as such. The worst offender I can think of with her is when she accused Sokka of not missing their mom as much as she did. This broke my heart. Seeing Sokka’s depressed face as he realized what his sister thought of him. He had been seeing her as sort of a replacement for their mom, but she accuses him of moving on without a second thought despite how much effort he puts into remembering her. This obviously isn’t the only bad thing she’s done. Another huge offender is when she assumed losing her mom was worse than Aang losing his entire nation. And then the show just keeps moving like she’s justified in thinking that. She’s done so many other things that caused other characters to halt in their development or causing the plot to just stop completely. Most of her actions are nonsensical at best and harmful at worst, but the show portrays her as always being a caring motherly figure. She does act like that at times, but we still need to acknowledge when she doesn’t.

Ozai- Literally the same as Zhao except he hurt Zuko physically AND emotionally.

[buoyantsaturn]

Royals (1/1)

summary: Nico finds himself married to Prince Will for his parent's financial gain.

word count: 1,653

read on ao3

Nico was allowed to meet his future husband once before the day of their wedding - the evening beforehand, during the rehearsal dinner.

Prince Will was seated beside him, chatting politely with Nico’s parents as the first course of the meal was served. Nico tried to do the same with the king and queen, though he couldn’t keep his mind from wandering back to the man sitting beside him. He was just so handsome, and Nico knew there was no way that Will would ever think the same of him. What would a prince like him want with the son of a duke, anyway?

Nico wished there was something, anything about Will that he could dislike, just to soften the blow a little bit, but no matter how hard he tried, Nico couldn’t find a single thing. He was polite, and charming, so nice to everyone he interacted with - even the servants as they brought the next course of dinner.

That was it - Will didn’t like men. He wasn’t given any more choice in this marriage than Nico was, though at least Nico’s parents had honored his wishes to marry a man. Will’s eyes lingered on the serving women as he smiled at them and thanked them (he really was the most polite prince Nico had ever met), and Nico realized that he would be stuck with no hope of love for the rest of his life.

Then again...as Will set a hand over Nico’s on the table and smiled that dazzling smile, Nico started to dream for a love he knew he would never have.

Will’s future husband was beautiful. He had eyes that Will could stare into for hours, if only Nico would let him. He seemed shy, which only intrigued Will more, and made him want to sneak out to the guest rooms later that night just to spend more time with Nico before their wedding. He didn’t think Nico would appreciate the surprise visit, though, so he settled for escorting Nico back to his room after dinner and pressing a kiss to his hand as he said goodnight.

Will laid awake in his bed for half the night with Nico on his mind. He’d learned much about him during dinner, about his studies and his sword fighting abilities, and even about how adamant he’d been about marrying a man rather than a woman - Will was almost certain that Nico hadn’t been paying attention to that part of the conversation, otherwise he would have no doubt been embarrassed.

Will dreamed of standing at the altar with Nico, finding himself lost in Nico’s eyes until he was finally given permission to lean down and kiss his new husband. He woke up before he could, though, and laid in his bed for almost an hour as he imagined his new life with Nico.

Is this what people meant when they talked about love at first sight?

The night of their wedding, Nico and Will were taken to their new home, and for the first time, the two were completely alone.

Will stretched his arms over his head and sighed. “God, today was exhausting, don’t you think?”

Nico picked at a fuzz on the cuff of his sleeve. “Um.”

Will shed his jacket and loosened his tie, his eyes locked on Nico as he did so. “As much as I’d like to stay up with you all night so that we could get to know each other, I think I’d probably fall asleep as soon as I sat down.” He chuckled at himself, hoping to ease Nico’s obvious discomfort, though it didn’t seem to do much. Nico hadn’t moved more than three feet from the doorway, while Will had crossed the room and thrown open the closet doors.

“Oh, good!” Will exclaimed at the sight of the closet filled with clothes. “I asked that both of our wardrobes be unpacked here for us, and here it all is! I hope you don’t have any particular organization system for your clothes, but if you do, I can always request that someone come fix it in the morning.”

“No, I’m sure it’s fine,” Nico replied quietly, and Will was pretty sure that that was the first time he’d spoken since they’d recited their vows. “I don’t want to be a bother.”

Will stepped back toward Nico and took one of his hands in his. “I assure you, you won’t be any bother at all. You’re married to the prince, now, remember. Anyone would be happy to fulfill any request you might have - even me.”

Nico’s cheeks flushed beautifully, and he ducked his head to avoid Will’s gaze.

Will was unable to avoid the temptation of kissing Nico’s hand once more, and so he did. “I say we both change into some more comfortable clothes, and go from there. Thoughts?”

Nico nodded slowly. “That sounds fine, Your Highness.”

He squeezed Nico’s hand. “Nico, please. I’m your husband - I’d like you to call me Will.”

Nico had stepped into an adjacent room to change his clothes, and when he came back, Will was lying shirtless across half of the bed, humming a tune and waiting for Nico’s return. Will smiled at him when he noticed Nico standing by the doorway, and Nico found himself frozen in place by the sight in front of him. Will looked like he was carved from marble, how could he settle for someone like Nico?

“Good, you’re back! I was afraid I was going to fall asleep without a chance to say goodnight.”

Nico eyed the space beside Will on the bed - he was probably expected to sleep beside his husband, but Will would rather have the bed to himself, right? “Oh. Right, well, goodnight.” He turned his back to Will, making to leave so that he could find someplace, any place else to sleep.

Will sat up on the bed. “Where are you going?”

Nico looked back at him. “I thought I would find somewhere else to sleep…”

“You don’t need to do that, this bed is plenty big enough for--” Will hesitated, seeing the apprehension in Nico’s eyes. “Or you should take the bed! I’ll sleep on the couch nextdoor.”

Nico frowned. “No, you don’t have to do that--”

Will rose from the bed and stepped toward him. “And neither do you--”

“But you’re the prince--”

“And you’re my husband!” Will set his hands on Nico’s arms comfortingly. “I don’t want to do anything that might make you uncomfortable. Please, take the bed.”

Nico huffed, glaring up at Will, which was probably the first time he’d shown such strong emotion in front of him, then dropped his gaze as he gave in. “I guess… You’re right, the bed is big enough for the both of us.”

Will tipped his head down to meet Nico’s eyes. “Are you sure?”

Nico nodded, and so Will pulled him gently toward the bed. After they settled down on their opposite sides of the bed, Will shut off the bedside lamp, and rolled onto his side to face Nico - he could just make out the shape of his husband in the dark.

“Nico?” Will whispered, reaching a hand across the sheets between them, but stopped short.

“Yes?” Nico tipped his head to face Will.

“Would it be alright if I...kissed you goodnight?”

He heard Nico’s breath catch in the otherwise silent room. “That would be...okay.”

Will pulled himself closer, placing a soft hand on Nico’s cheek, and pressed his lips to Nico’s for just a few seconds. “Goodnight, my darling.”

When they fell asleep, Nico and Will laid on opposite sides of the bed, their backs to each other, though when Nico woke the next morning, Will was plastered to his back with an arm and a leg thrown over him. Nico was torn between ripping himself away in discomfort and enjoying the moment while it lasted. Who knew how many mornings like this he would be allowed?

He lost his opportunity to choose when Will started to wake, tightening his hold on Nico and mumbling into the back of his neck, “Good morning, darling.”

“Good morning,” Nico replied, his voice strangled. He hurriedly untangled himself from Will’s octopus-like hold on him, and rose from the bed. “I’m going to go see about breakfast.”

Before Nico could make it across the room, Will stopped him. “Nico? Can I talk to you first? Just for a moment.”

Nico spun back around, nervously hugging his arms over his stomach. This was it - Will was going to tell him that there wouldn’t ever be anything between them, just a financial agreement between their parents. He watched as Will sat up against the headboard, rubbing tiredly at his face with one hand while patting the space beside him with the other. Nico returned to the bed, sitting down, and instantly he found his hands held by Will.

“You don’t seem all that happy about our arrangement,” Will started, staring down at their hands as he rubbed his thumbs across Nico’s knuckles. “It’s understandable, of course, being upset that you couldn’t pick your own partner. I was upset, too, when my parents informed me that I would be married for financial gain - but then I met you.

“Nico, you are...quite possibly the most attractive man I’ve ever met. You are beautiful, and intelligent, and funny, and from what I’ve heard about you during our wedding, incredibly talented and caring. I know this is only the third day that we’ve even known each other, but I truly believe that I am going to fall in love with you. I would greatly appreciate it if you would give me the chance to make you feel the same.”

He could feel his hands shaking despite Will’s firm grip on them. He stared into Will’s eyes and took a deep breath. “Of course I will.”

thanks for reading!

buy me a coffee | more auctober stuff

[megaboy335]

Mega’s 2019 Top Anime List

Another year of anime has come and gone. This year I ended up watching a lot less due to the over saturation of Isekai and light novel anime, but there was still plenty to enjoy. As usual I consider any show that ended this year as a contender to be on my list. This is simply my opinion and there will be spoilers below.

1) Pokemon Sun & Moon

Starting this list with a show I watched for 3 years, Pokemon Sun and Moon was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had with the Pokemon anime. It took the best aspects of XY and added loose animation to the mix. Ash and friends have never had so much personality as each episode brought the characters to life in new ways with funny facial expressions. As an adaptation of the game, Pokemon SM did better in some areas compared to others. The trials were simplified or restructured to account for Ash’s classmates being trial captains in the game. While the Kahuna battles were spaced out very far apart in the anime. I always thought it was strange that in-between major story battles, Ash barely ever thought about the challenges.

The two major story highlights of the anime are Lusamine’s arc and the Pokemon League. Lusamine’s story was the main plot of SM and it played out almost exactly like the game. Her downfall to her Ultra Beasts obsession and then Lillie knocking some sense back into her mom is still an emotional highlight of the series. In any Pokemon anime, the Pokemon League is what brings meaning to Ash’s entire journey through the region. SM’s league is similar to the game where it’s the first league of the region. The rival pairings and matches were completely predictable, but it ended with two big surprises. First, Ash was actually allowed to win for once (matching your character becoming the first champion in the game), and secondly he had a full 6 v 6 match with Kukui. It spanned 3.5 episodes with Ash’s Litten completing its character arc by reaching its final form during the battle. It was a rare match where both parties are battling it out for fun and it ended with a flashy finale of two hype Z-moves. Pokemon SM will be remembered for its simplicity, yet ambitious approach in always showing something new week after week.

2) Mob Psycho 100 Season 2

Mob-Psycho continues where it left off in season 1. The main protagonists have come away from a battle with Claw and now daily life resumes. This season featured a love story, Reigen’s arc, deeper exploration into psychic powers, and the return of Claw. Just like in season 1, Mob continues to excel in two major areas. First is of course the animation. An average episode of Mob is literally that one stand-out episode of a one cour anime. Psychic power usage is often a reflection of emotions and they are animated in different ways depending on the characters thoughts in a particular scene. There were so many highlights this season that it would be impossible to list them all.

Mob’s second strength is the character writing. In season 1 Mob was a boy struggling to create his own identity. This season Mob actively tries to break out of his shell and become his own unique person. We see this through his efforts with the fitness club, again when he separates from Regien, and again as he shows everyone that having psychic powers is no substitute for personal growth or status. Mob is no longer a timid boy like he was at the start of the series. He can now stand on his own two feet and help others who are struggling to get up. Considering there is still a little more manga left to cover, I can only hope it gets one last season to finish out the story.

3) Kaguya-Sama: Love is War

In order to understand the appeal of Kaguya-Sama, just for a second imagine if Death Note was a romantic comedy. Both of the protagonists are locked into a battle of wits to outsmart the other in the events of daily life. The mere act of choosing a vacation spot, going somewhere, or giving an item to each other suddenly becomes a high stakes duel. Kaguya-sama follows Kaguya herself and Shirogane as they try to avoid being the first to admit their love for each other. The side characters only help to add wildcards to each battle such as Chika being able to change the tide of battle with a single phrase.

I enjoyed seeing how absurd each battle would become week after week. The presentation is simple, yet very effective in this anime. Resources were definitely allocated for use in certain places for maximum impact. The voice acting also helped a ton in selling just how important each battle was in the minds of the characters. Overall, the series knows how to play with your expectations. Some battles turn out as expected, some with a twist, and others end on some kind of middle ground. However, each battle brings them a little closer together. I can’t wait for the next season in April.

4) Run with the Wind

Almost all sports anime revolve around high school students trying to become as good as possible and win nationals before the 3rd years graduate. However, Run with the Wind takes a different approach to this formula. It focuses on a group of college students who, at the start at least, would rather do anything else than run. It takes about half of the show before our group of characters even get on the same page about running. I enjoyed how this anime put us into the heads of each character. Some have personal reasons for not wanting to run, while for others it was something trivial. However, by committing themselves to the team they each gained a new outlook on themselves and those around them. It was quite literally an uphill for the team to reach the level of success they got at the end. The final run brilliantly showed how each character learned from the experience and how the time they spent on the team was a positive life changing moment. Run with the Wind shows that it's never too late to try something new.

5) JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind

Jojo is back on the list after an extended break between parts 4 and 5. Compared to previous stories, Part 5 is most similar to part 3. There is a quest to clear and it involves the main group traveling across the land and defeating enemy stand users each step of the way. The differences between part 5 and its previous stories becoming apparent right away. First off, the protagonist is not a traditional Joestar. He is the son of Dio born from when he had Jonathan’s body. Secondly, the group of main characters are not exactly good guys. As mafia members they display a sense of unity, but lack the high integrity of previous Jojo characters. A connection they all share is being looked down upon in society, but placing a place in the world through Bucciarati’s squad.

The aspect that makes or breaks a JoJo story for me is usually the villain. I consider Diavolo to be the weakest of any villain across the various JoJo stories. During the early arcs of the story, Diavolo comes off as an interesting character. He has a mysterious personality and will clearly stop at nothing to keep his identity hidden, including killing his own daughter. The series then adds layer of complexity when we meet his alter ego Doppio. The two personalities are clearly distinctive, but the line between which one is charge can be murky. However, his character intrigue quickly comes crashing down as the final arc fully brings Diavolo into the limelight. The story comes down to who can control the stand arrow, which is a sharp contrast to previous villains who drove the final arc on the back of their eccentric personalities. While JoJo part 5 is still a good anime, it will always come near the bottom of my favorite JoJo parts.

The Year of High Profile Weekly Shonen Jump Anime Adaptations

As the 2016-17 hits from Weekly Shonen Jump have aged up, all of their anime dropped in succession this year. I am a huge fan of the magazine, so here’s a section with some quick thoughts of their anime.

The Promise Neverland - The anime changed the escape arc from a mental battle to a horror series. While animation is definitely better suited to playing with the idea of show don’t tell, the result ended up being telling the story through a different lens. While I appreciated the idea, I feel it came up short. The loss of Posuka Demizu’s art was another major blow to the mood they were trying to create.

Kimetsu no Yaiba - When the manga first began, I never imagined it would become a 1+ Million seller. Ufotable brought their top class digital effects to a manga that at a quick glance would make anyone think it would be the last series to get such treatment. The anime brought a lot to the table and greatly helped to bring the manga to life. It was a great experience from start to finish (episode 19 is a major highlight of the year). I’m looking forward to the upcoming film.

Dr. Stone - Compared to the other Jump anime this year, Dr. Stone’s animation and presentation stuck very close to the manga (if not even inferior to Boichi’s creative spreads at times). The aspect that sold this anime best was the voice cast. They brought so much life into the characters and conveyed the passion each one has for science and learning. I enjoyed seeing Senku create his inventions in animated form.

Bokuben - This might not exactly be considered “high-profile”, but I can’t help but find myself impressed by the anime week after week. It adds a few touches here and there to better tell a cohesive story and occasionally adds a scene or two. I appreciated the heart the anime brought to the series through the seiyuu. Introducing a new seiyuu unit from the cast was also a nice bonus as well.

Best OP/EDs of the year:

1) One Piece Opening 22 - The One Piece anime has changed dramatically under Tatsuya Nagamine. This opening is fast paced and filled with future story teases. It changes the format by cutting the op run time down to 2 minutes and includes clips of the episode. The final sequence of Luffy vs. Kaido always gets me hyped each to watch the episode each week. 

2) Mob Psycho II Opening - This opening feels like a natural continuation of the first season opening. It once again showcases how the show is full of creative animation and unusual characters.

3) Mix Opening 1- Mitsuru Adachi is known for his nuanced writing of giving characters the space to convey their thoughts. This opening fully shows these traits through its sequence of character shots that feel like a natural usage of his writing style. 

4) Kaguya-Sama Chika Ending - Cute song and amazing choreography. There’s a clear reason why this swept across the internet last winter

5) JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5 Opening 2 - Not only is Traitor’s Requiem a very cool name for a song for this part of the story, but the plot teases are perfectly timed in the song. The opening animation also kept on giving with the villain version and Giorno later recapturing the opening.

This brings 2019 to a close and another decade comes to an end. As my way of recapping the decade, here is a list of my top shows in each post I have made since I started posting them in 2014:

Space Brothers

Hunter x Hunter

Kill la Kill

Nisekoi

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 3

Sore ga Seiyuu

Death Parade

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 3 (Second Half)

Hibike Euphonium 

One Punch Man Season 1

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 4

Mob Psycho 100 Season 1

Yuri on Ice

Konosuba Season 1

Sakamoto Desu Ga?

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

Tsuki Ga Kirei

Re:Creators

Ero-manga Sensei

Owarimonogatari (the Monogatari series in general)

Hugtto Precure

A Place Further than the Universe

Yuru Camp

Dragonball Super

S.S.S.S. Gridman

[lostinroses]

Vanity Fair Oscar Party

A/N: This is my first time writing something in years so pls forgive me if this sucks ass. Let me know if I should continue to the second part. Any other feedback would be greatly appreciated :)

“You don’t have to do this, you know?”

You sighed quietly, putting your compact mirror back into the clutch. Her eyes had been glued on you since you both got in the car. There was no denying you’d rather be back home in your pajamas with a face mask on and binge-watching Netflix all night, but that wasn’t the case here. You glanced at her with a lazy smile and shrugged, “It’s too late to back out now. We’re almost there.”

With a deep sigh, she turned to look out the window. Although she was nothing more than just a manager, she worried about you like you were her own daughter, and for that, you were grateful. It’s not every day you end up with a manager that genuinely cares for your well-being before anything else. Closing your eyes, you lean your head back as you think about the past few weeks, trying to recall the last time you had an off-day.

Fashion month was the most exciting, yet hectic and stressful time of the year for the fashion industry. Happening twice a year, the fall/winter collections had been coming to an end, but the last of the shows hadn’t been in your schedule. So here you are, on your way to the annual Vanity Fair Oscar Party, trying to act like you hadn’t just got off an almost 11-hour flight no more than three hours prior to this moment.

Feeling the car come to a stop and hearing the faint sounds of cameras flashing, you opened your eyes and looked out the window. It’s go time.

He had just got done taking pictures on the red carpet and entered the venue where the event was being held. He took out his phone, noticing the multiple texts he received from his little sister. Here she goes again, he thought.

Ever since Aaliyah had found out Shawn was attending the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, she had been begging him to get a picture with Y/N L/N, her literal icon and obsession for the past year or so. He was surprised, to say the least, at her love for this girl. Aaliyah wasn’t usually one to have any sort of obsession with a person after having experienced others have an obsession with Shawn; she found it odd and a little unsettling. Not to mention the fact that it was her brother, and why would anyone be obsessed with him anyway? He’s just Shawn.

He stepped to the side as he opened her text messages, reassuring her in response that he’ll try his best to get a picture with her beloved, but made no promises. Putting his phone away, he looked around and tried to spot any familiar faces he could socialize with.

Halfway through the carpet, you were over it. Your exhaustion had hit harder at the worst time, making it difficult for you to keep your eyes bright and smile wide for the cameras. But you did your best at hiding it. After making it through the rest of the way, you felt a sense of relief to be inside. At least now you wouldn’t have to worry as much about looking out of it. Hopefully some cold water will wake you up. Walking straight to the bar, you made sure to keep your head low in hopes no one would try to talk to you. It’s not that you hated socializing, but you didn’t know if you could be the usual “bubbly angel” everyone knew you to be. Not that it was a front you put up, but that side of you was nowhere to be found at the moment.

After drinking some water, you leaned against the counter while looking around. You saw a bunch of familiar faces—actors, musicians, other fellow models. The safest bet is to probably stick with the other models. You hesitated as you kept your eyes locked on them, ready to join them. But it just didn’t feel right.

You had made quite a name for yourself in the modeling industry in the past two or so years. It was unusual for someone like you to make it as far as you did without coming from a wealthy family and already having a famous name to go with it, especially in such little time.

You argued with yourself: Would it make me a bitch to not be part of their group? It’s not that you thought you were too good for them; past interactions with one or two of them in particular, however, just made you rethink any decision you’d make of going over to them. Although they weren’t rude to you, their attitudes and treatment towards the people working for them didn’t sit right with you.

Before you could come to a decision, you heard a familiar voice call out your name. Turning around, you saw Hailee Steinfeld, a good friend of yours, approaching you with an excited smile on her face. But she wasn’t alone.

Shawn had eventually found some people to stick around with for a bit as he got into the zone and let loose a bit. He wasn’t one to be a social butterfly at the beginning, but once he finds a set group of people to get him out of his shell, he’ll talk to just about anyone that makes any sort of contact with him. He had been talking to Nina Dobrev for the past ten minutes, being a little too excited that she was Canadian as well. Typical.

“That was a cute stunt you and Zedd pulled on the red carpet.” He turned to see Hailee standing there with a teasing smile on her face. He laughed a little, pulling her into a hug, “You totally enjoyed that. We thought we’d make the pictures come out more appealing.” He laughed some more as she slapped his arm, laughing along with him, but quickly reassured her he was only kidding.

They had caught up on some new things going on in their lives, mainly music talk. He had been rambling about the album he had been working on for the past couple of months that is now finally completed, promising to let her listen to a few of the tracks soon. Their conversation had come to an end, making sure to exchange hugs in case they didn’t see each other some time later in the night. However, something had caught Shawn’s eye from across the room. His voice trailing off as his attention had become focused on you.

He had forgotten all about you after being roped into various conversations with different people, but after this moment, he was sure he could never forget you. He couldn’t pinpoint what it was about you that had him so intrigued so quickly, but he was determined to find out more about you.

Taking notice to his distracted state, Hailee slowly averted her gaze in the direction he was staring. A small smirk formed on her face, glancing back at Shawn.

“Y/N, huh?” she teased. His eyes snapped back to Hailee, a light tint of red forming on his cheeks, “What?”

“Oh c’mon, don’t play dumb,” she said, nudging his side, “I saw you staring.”

“Sorry, I just… my little sister like idolizes her, and she’ll kill me if I don’t at least get a picture with her.”

She snorted, “You’re really using your little sister as an excuse?”

“I’m being serious!” he says defensively, cheeks reddening more. She shook her head and tugged at his arm, “Let’s go.” She walked in your direction, Shawn following close behind.

He felt his hands getting a little sweaty and his heart racing. He wasn’t sure why he was becoming so nervous all of a sudden.

“Y/N!” Hailee shouted. With a slight squint on your face, you turned around, gaze settling on Hailee and Shawn. A sweet smile formed on your face, making Shawn’s heart race even faster. Holy fuck, she’s even more beautiful up close.

Watching the both of you exchange hugs, Shawn quickly wiped the palms of his hands on his dress pants, not wanting to make his sudden nervousness noticeable.

“Shawn?” He glanced between the both of you before realizing it wasn’t Hailee that said his name. It was you.

You held out your hand towards him, waiting for him to shake it as you introduced yourself, “I’m a huge fan of your music.”

He smiled wide at that. Probably wider than necessary, but the compliment made him feel giddy inside for some reason. He blushed slightly as he thanked you while shaking your hand. Jesus, her hands are soft.

You giggled quietly, wondering if he was blushing or if his cheeks were naturally like that. What a cutie, you thought. Little did he know, your heart was racing just as much as his was.

Meanwhile, Hailee stood off to the side, smirking to herself as she watched the two of you interact.

“I’m gonna go grab a drink. I’ll catch up with you guys later,” she said, giving Shawn a look before getting lost in a crowd of people.

You kept your eyes on her before glancing to the left of you where the bar was. The bar you were literally sitting at. You looked at Shawn with a confused smile on your face, laughing a bit.

“Did she not realize…”

He shook his head while laughing a bit shyly and hesitantly took a seat next to you, “Yeah, I don’t know what her deal is.”

“I guess it’s just you and me now then,” you said, giving him a flirty smile.

His eyebrows raised slightly in surprise as a small smirk formed on his face, “I guess so.”

Part 2

[doyelikehaggis]

Kizzie would be such a cute shipname! And I 100% agree with Kaleb's last name being Bennett. My second choice would be Griffith. As for my crackships: Lizzie x Landon. Josie x Kaleb. MG x Josie. Kaleb x MG is both a brotp and otp. Hope x Kaleb, maybe? Or MG x Hope? MG x Penelope? Kaleb x Penelope? Raf x Penelope?And I think that I am one of the few who genuinely liked Raf and Josie together xD Are you excited for S2? I am but I miss Emma Tig a whole lot.

You, Anon, are a person after my own heart. So, Kizzie is officially their shipname then, it has been decreed! And yes, oh my god, I could make an entire post on Kaleb and his last name alone.

My go-to is Bennett because I just love the idea of him being, like, Bonnie's cousin or something, because we always need a Bennett in these shows, and just imagine the possibilities of him being born a witch. I just love it. But hell yes to Griffith being another option!! That would actually make quite a lot of sense, and again, witchy heritage to explore!! Plus another connection The Originals and giving them more reason to bring Vincent into the show!!

Onto the ships! I love every single one of those, what the hell?? I hadn't even thought of some of them, but gosh are they good!! Let me just do a quick breakdown of all of them because I greatly appreciate the fact that you took the time to list all of them, and I need to give a response to all of them now.

Lizzie x Landon? Hell yeah. I see it, they could be pretty damn cute together.

Josie x Kaleb? Never even crossed my mind, but I am realizing what an error that was now that I'm remembering the way Josie also said "My boyfriend" during the mummy episode and even out her bloody hand on his chest!! Good potential to be absolutely adorable.

MG x Josie? There's not even doubt about this one. They would be the gosh darn cutest, and fit the best friends to lovers trope, and I am sucker for that. I love them. (Also, can people please write more for them?? There's not even a single fic where they're tagged as friends, never mind in a relationship.)

Kaleb x MG? I totally understand them being both a brotp and an otp, because that's pretty much exactly how I feel about them, too. I just really like their scenes, and honestly, I just wanna see more of them. Like, all the time.

Hope x Kaleb? I NEVER EVEN THOUGHT OF THIS. I know you said maybe, right, but the possibilities, oh my god. They haven't had a lot of scenes together, but I am positive that I would love their dynamic. There's something intriguing about this particular one.

MG x Hope? I love this, because I keep seeing people joke about how MG's the only one who doesn't have a crush on her. Just imagine if he actually did. It would be perfect. And honestly, would probably be bloody cute as all hell. I feel like I nees to go back and rewatch their scenes together, however many there may be.

MG x Penelope? Look, I am HERE for this. They have an interesting dynamic, and honestly, I was sort of hoping that after Penelope tried to "help" MG get Lizzie's attention, he was gonna end up catching feelings for her, or her for him, as cliché as it can be. I just really love these two, and they would be so soft and sweet. (Sidenote: Penelope, MG + Josie would also be super cute.)

Kaleb x Penelope? AGAIN, DID NOT EVEN CROSS MY MIND BUT NOW I LOVE IT?? This could go so many places, and I wanna see all of them. They would be powerful together, truly.

Rafael x Penelope? Honestly? Not a bad word to say about this ship. I didn't even think about it, but I like it, and I can imagine it being pretty cute.

And at last, Rafael x Josie. Yes, thank you!! Seriously, why did literally no one like them together?? They were cute!! It was sweet!! I thought they were absolutely adorable.

(Edit because I just remembered this, but Hope x Penelope is one of my favourite ships because can you imagine them?? Just...wow.)

Oh my god, I'm sorry this is so long, but I had to take the time to appreciate these truly wonderful ships. I can't even class these as crackships, honestly, because I love every single one of them and can see them working out in their own ways.

But yes, I am very excited for season 2!! I've actually probably made myself more excited for it because I've been writing this super long fic that I wanna get up before it comes out, so I've been counting down the days, and it's just made me even more excited to see what's gonna happen. As did that teaser trailer!! The drama!! The tension!! All good things.

But I am gonna agree with you on that; I really like Emma, and I don't wanna see her gone so soon! If she doesn't come back at all, I'm gonna riot. That's a lie, I'd probably just cry. But I'm definitely gonna miss her this season, that's for sure.

Thank you so much for replying, by the way!! This made my night ('tis currently midnight, I really need to sleep), and I am so happy to know all of your Legacies ships. Almost all of the characters in that show are shippable and have chemistry, it's so weird, and I love it.

[harjii]

2018 Music | My Faves

This is a bit delayed but @genjitsu-no-yume reminded me to create a list of my favourite music in 2018. I’ve split this list into 3 sections; favourite songs, favourite albums and throwback discoveries because I am constantly discovering music releases months (sometimes years) after they’ve been released OTL. 

By no means is this a list of what I think was the best. This is simply a list of the music I discovered which I loved and none of it is in any particular order. There’s constantly so much being released and all of it is so wonderful, how to possibly pick between it all?! 

Anyway, without further ado, here’s a list of my favourite music in 2018!

Favourite Songs Released in 2018

Tell Me - Infinite

Till Sunrise (feat JW of Nell) - Kim Sunggyu

The Chance of Love - DBSK (TVXQ)

Crossing A Line - Mike Shinoda

Caste of the Nine - A9

Who We Are - FAKY

Get It - PRISTIN V

Forever and a Day (Lean On Me) - WANNA ONE

Dear My Friend (Feat. Washio Reina from E-Girls / Flower) - MACO

Warrior (Feat. John Cooper) - Ledger

HELP ME - NU’EST W

Heroine - Sunmi

Sleeping Beauty - Epik High x Sekai no Owari

Shoot Met - DAY6

Sober (feat Ummet Ozcan) - HYO

F E E L S - Safetysuit

Almost Love - Sabrina Carpenter

Growing Pains - Alessia Cara

Fakeshow - Da-iCE

If It’s Okay With You - Nam Woohyun

La Fiesta - THE RAMPAGE from EXILE TRIBE

Woman - BoA

Fake Divine - HYDE

Love Bomb - fromis_9

Upside Down - BIGFLO

Black Heart - UNB

Tempo - EXO

Pretty Sin (Oh! My Mistake) - APRIL

Hope Torture - NELL

Spring Breeze - WANNA ONE

Favourite Albums Released in 2018

1. Post Traumatic - Mike Shinoda

Having been a Linkin Park fan since I was 13, Chester’s passing hit me really, really hard. Every Linkin Park fan can relate to the heart break felt but when Mike started releasing music, it became therapy for us all. The album dropped half way through 2018 and by then, he’d already released a fair number of the tracks as E.P.’s beforehand. Even though we’d heard many of the songs by this point, listening to the album as a whole was so much more emotional and so moving. Mike’s emotive lyrics, the strife he went through after losing someone so close to him is a pain we all felt we could connect to. Truly, I’m so thankful to him for releasing this album. I replayed it so much for weeks and weeks and the more I listened to it, the more I felt myself healing. The music is incredible; as always Mike has his own unique touch when it comes to creating music and the lyrics really tell a story of grief, sorrow, heartbreak, anger but most of all, hope. It’s this hope that we’re left hanging on to by the time the album ends and if that isn’t the perfect way to end an album, I don’t know what is.

Favourite tracks:  Over Again / About You (feat. blackbear) / Crossing A Line / Hold It Together / Make it Up As I Go (feat. K.Flay) / Running From My Shadow (feat. grandson)

2. DON’T MESS UP MY TEMPO - EXO 

Honestly, I was too immersed in NU’EST to give EXO a second thought as both groups debuted at the same time but I’d always known of EXO and always had a distant appreciation of their talents. However, when they started releasing teasers for their comeback my EXO-L friend started sharing her excitement with me. I went with it, intrigued to hear what they’d release. The moment I watched the MV for ‘Tempo’, I was instantly sold. I was so sold that I couldn’t stop re-watching the MV for days and days, to the point that I was trying to find signal in the Bermuda triangle that is the staff room at work just to stream it during lunch breaks! Safe to say, I fell pretty hard. Then I listened to the whole album and I was blown away. My only question was-why hadn’t I listened to them properly in the first place? Every song on this album is a mature progression for the group and their harmonies are just unyielding. I honestly can not praise this album enough. Mostly I’m just so thankful that it exists because it got me into EXO’s music properly, after long last!

Favourite tracks:  Tempo / Ooh La La La / With You / 24/7 / Bad Dream / Oasis

3. WHO, YOU - NU’EST W

Picking a favourite album by my boys was difficult because they released 2 stellar mini albums in 2018, however I had to go with ‘WHO, YOU’ in the end because my goodness was every track blindingly fantastic. In fact I’d go as far as to say that every song on this album could be released as a promo track and every song would chart well. NU’EST W did a brilliant job in the composition and tone of this album. It’s somewhat moody whilst also incorporating EDM which just blends so effortlessly. I really can’t fault any song on this album. And don’t even get me started on the title track; ‘Dejavu’ was a masterpiece! Prior to release NU’EST W had stated that the title track would include Latin tones since that was quite a big musical trend throughout 2018. As expected, they incorporated the Latin tones so subtly that it created such a infectious and trendy song. Also that bass in the chorus-bridge is so funky! Just amazing. NU’EST W’s musical development in 2018 was such a marvel and this album really proved that.

Favourite tracks:  Signal / Dejavu

4. WARNING - Sunmi

As a Wonderful, naturally I was excited every time Sunmi released anything. However seeing just how her popularity soared after ‘Gashina’ was released filled me with so much inexplicable joy because yes, this is what she deserved; RECOGNITION. This woman has only ever worked hard to challenge herself and grow as an artist and ‘WARNING’ is certainly proof of that growth. Comparing the musical tone of ‘WARNING’ to her first mini album ‘Full Moon’ you can really hear the stark difference in styling both musically and vocally. Sunmi has always had a unique set of vocals but in her ‘Full Moon’ mini album, they were masked greatly by the production I felt. But having more musical control after leaving JYPent, Sunmi has proved release after release what a capable song-writer she is and how she can work with the production team to create an album that not only appeals to the large majority but is true to her artistry. This entire album is testament to her talents and to know that she snatched so many music awards for it fills me with nothing but pride. Every award and achievement with this album was well deserved.

Favourite tracks: Siren / Curve / Gashina / Heroine 

5. The Pains of Growing - Alessia Cara

I’ve been a fan of Alessia’s music from the moment I heard ‘Scars to Your Beautiful’, introduced to me by my sister. That was one of the rare times where she had shared music I actually loved! Ever since then, I’ve patiently waited for Alessia to release some new music, so the moment ‘Growing Pains’ was released as a single, I was instantly hooked. I replayed the song so many times in one day I lost count. I just knew that her new album would be equally if not better than her first album. She certainly matured in her lyric writing and musicality because ‘The Pains of Growing’ is such a fantastic conceptual album. The trials and tribulations of transitioning into an adult can really be trying but Alessia took all those experiences we all go through and placed them in song. Listening to the songs on this album just makes me remember those difficult times yet at the same time, there’s a fondness in the crazy and ridiculous emotions and moments which took place. That is what this album does; it takes you back to those times if you’re already grown. But for those who are growing still, it’s something you can find comfort in and relate to.

Favourite tracks: Growing Pains / I Don’t Want To / Trust My Lonely / Nintendo Game

Throwback Discoveries

1. EVOLution - Sabrina Carpenter 

I didn’t mean to completely fall helplessly in love with Sabrina Carpenter’s music especially since I just looked her music up after binge watching ‘Girl Meets World’, but that’s exactly what happened. In fact I listened to her music non-stop for so long, my sister got fed up of constantly listening to Sabrina (she should’ve been thanking me really //rolls eyes). Her first album ‘Eyes Wide Open’ was such a sweet and soft album, I really enjoyed it a lot but her second album ‘EVOLution’ really was a level up in her styling both musically and physically. It’s very experimental and you can tell that Sabrina was still finding her feet and figuring out what kind of music she wanted to release, but I always love the journey. The albums which portray the journey, the experimenting, I always end up loving them the most and this album is exactly that. Lyrically, I really love what Sabrina did on ‘Thumbs’; singing about society and humanity the way she did was brave and I couldn’t help but love her even more after hearing this song. Every song on this album holds its own and is such a fantastic testament to Sabrina’s progression as an artist. 

Favourite tracks: On Purpose / Thumbs / Run and Hide / Mirage / Don’t Want It Back / Shadows

2. Holiday Night - Girls’ Generation

Work became quite stressful for me last Spring and for a whole week, I found that ‘Holiday’ by Girls’ Generation kept popping into my head. The odd thing about this was that I’d only heard the song a handful of times and I’d never listened to the album-so then why was it in my head? How? I put it down to the fact that I actually needed a holiday, ironically (I really did though //sobs). In the end, I decided to look the album up and give it a listen. So I did. And then I listened to it some more. And before I knew it, I was just listening to it on repeat for weeks. Honestly, I’d never gotten in Girls’ Generation properly (aside from absolutely loving their Japanese album ‘Girls and Peace’); I’d just casually listened to them over the years so I was quite taken aback by just how much I loved this album. It just made me feel so happy and made me feel so good, especially after long tiring days at work. This then propelled me to look into their discography a little more...that is until I got a little sidetracked...

Favourite tracks: Holiday / Only One / One Last Time / Sweet Talk / Love Is Bitter 

3. The Voice - Taeyeon

So whilst listening to more Girls’ Generation, I thought, “Oh yes, solo work!” And I don’t know why, I went with Taeyeon’s solo work first. That’s basically where I got completely sidetracked and completely forgot to check the other members because W O W! Taeyeon has some amazing pipes!! I had watched her MV for ‘I (feat. Verbal Jint)’ years ago but just not taken to it as much; after re-watching it, I then watched the MV for her song ‘Make Me Love You’ and that’s where I fell for her music. It’s such a simple song melodically but the way Taeyeon’s vocals build throughout the song from one octave to another, gaining more and more strength and confidence just fits the meaning of the song so perfectly. I was so blown away when I heard this song that I needed more. I downloaded her album in the end and gave it a proper listen. Every song had me hooked but the song which got me the most was ‘Time Lapse’. When I saw that Kim Jongwan from Nell had written the lyrics and helped with the composition I just knew I’d love this because I love Nell, and I did love this! SO MUCH! But it wasn’t just the song structure and melody, but Taeyeon’s voice is so vulnerable in this song. When she hits that high note towards the ends of the song, it gives me goosebumps every time. Honestly, it left me breathless. No wonder her first full album was entitled ‘The Voice’ because really, Taeyeon’s voice is exceptionally. To add to it, she covered Nell’s ‘Time Spent Walking Through Memories’ which was an additional bonus track on the physical album and what a cover it is-WHAT A COVER! I’ve nothing but so much love for Taeyeon’s talent, truly.

Favourite tracks: Make Me Love You / Fine / Cover Up / Time Lapse / When I Was Young / Live in Color / Fire / Time Spent Walking Through Memories (Nell Cover)

4. Tree - SEKAI NO OWARI

What I love doing at conventions is picking up random album, just to discover something new and exciting. Although in this case, I knew about SEKAI NO OWARI already and I absolutely loved their song ‘Death Disco’ and their collab with Epik High, however beyond that? I knew very little of their music. I came across the limited edition of this album at a convention and thought, “Wow, I know this is rare so I should just get it. Yup.” Plus it was a great opportunity to expose myself to more of their music, so why not? I do think music is about timing because if past me had heard this album, I don’t think I’d have appreciated it half as much as I appreciated listening to it in 2018. SEKAI NO OWARI’s musicality is just so unique; I’ve never heard anything else like it! The more I listened to this album, the more I found myself in a trance just repeating it. I’m a big fantasy lover so when listening to this album, I realised it was like listening to something from another world, something mythical and sometimes ethereal but mostly just-unusual, in a good way. It’s very difficult to explain the way SEKAI NO OWARI’s music sounds but if you know it, you know what I mean. If you don’t know it, you should go check them out.

Favourite tracks: Snow / Magic / Fantasy / Mermaid Rhapsody / Pierrot / Death Disco / Dragon Night 

5. The War - EXO

Having finally given into EXO, I basically spent all of November and December listening to their entire discography. ALL OF IT. The hilarious thing is that my first impression of ‘The War’ was, “I’m not entirely sure what I feel about this album”. Then I re-listened to it more and more...and more...and more, until i realised the entire album had grown on me at an alarming rate. In fact, the point at which i realised just how much I loved this album was when I was trying to create a playlist of my favourite EXO songs and I put 7 out of 9 songs on this album in that playlist. What’s even funnier is that I liked ‘Forever’ and ‘Diamond’ the least when i first heard them, but after listening to the album so much, they became two of my favourite songs! This doesn’t happen often, where I end up liking an album I didn’t like much to begin with so much but this album really knocked me for twenty! I could probably write reams and reams for every single track on this album but what I will say is that this album really shows just how much EXO grew musically since their first album ‘XOXO’. I really feel like you can hear EXO coming into their own on this album like-they sound comfortable with the music they’re singing, as if this is what they’ve wanted to create for so long. They exude so much confidence vocally on this album that you can’t help but fall for every single track. At least that’s what I found!

Favourite tracks: Basically the entire album. Don’t even ask me to pick!

[banquet-grove]

Buzzsaw on Quaaludes: Killing Joke and the Guitar Stylings of Geordie Walker

Killing Joke has had a sole guitarist since its formation in 1979; a man who never receives the credit he deserves, save from the countless musicians he has inspired and his fans. He is a guitarist's guitarist – a player whose genius you cannot fully appreciate, unless you yourself share his craft. His name is Kevin Walker; but is known to most as ‘Geordie’.

Geordie Walker performing in Finland, 2009. (Photo by Thomas Vitikainen)

There aren't very many guitarists, whom you can recognize on a track solely based on style of play. Geordie Walker is certainly one of them.

Wikipedia describes his "unorthodox style of play" as "Byrds-like chiming arpeggios of repetitive and somewhat somber melodies with a hypnotic long-sustain tone". It is one reason why his play is so instantly recognizable and fascinating, but it is not the whole story.

While experimental in his ethos – and possessing a first wave post-punk background similar to Daniel Ash, Bernard Sumner, or Billy Duffy – Geordie Walker is a different species from these three. He bookends the fiddly, reverberating, scratchy, ingenuity of post-punk instrumentation, with some of the most inventive and memorable heavy riffage in rock history.

This is something which the mainstream has completely failed to bestow due credit for, in spite of concurrently acknowledging his "influence" the scant few times it has deemed him worthy of mention. This is an injustice which Killing Joke as a collective musical unit has long struggled with – the namedropping of stars who have owned their records, taking precedence over their actual music.

Early Output

London-based Killing Joke started out as a wonky dub outfit, releasing their first EP, Turn to Red, in 1979.

While perfectly adequate, within the narrow confines of the style of music his band was then playing; Walker's work on this release was not overly remarkable. It was within the following year, as the band began to take a more aggressive sonic approach – in response to the energetic environment of live shows – that he began to break the mould.

The 1980 single ‘Wardance’; accompanied by the equally famous b-side Pssyche; is a deliciously primitive release. ‘Wardance’ is what would happen if a Neu! cover band, or some other krautrock outfit, performed in "The Upside Down" from Stranger Things. A savage caveman beat by drummer Paul Ferguson introduces a fuzz-laden funk bassline. Then, Geordie does something quite interesting:

His riff on this song is one chord; played with the "scat" rhythm which has long been an aural trademark of reggae, dub, and ska. There was nothing remarkable about this in 1980 – The Clash, as well as other British punk and post-punk acts had been there, and done that. But this particular instance of it, was played with heavy distortion on the open E string – the lowest possible chord in E standard tuning. In other words, this was less of a "scat" and more of a "thwomp".

This minor change to a rather stale trope, was simply a stroke of genius. Killing Joke has downtuned their instruments since the early 80s; and as this video of them performing the song here in the teens shows, it has made the song even more utterly monstrous as it has aged.

On these earlier releases, Geordie Walker had not yet built up his distinctive style to its classic form. The Turn to Red EP, ‘Wardance’ single, self-titled Killing Joke debut album of 1980; and follow-up, what's THIS for...! (1981); were all recorded in E standard tuning, rather than the lower D standard tuning, which has now been used by Killing Joke for about thirty-five years.

More importantly, on all of those releases; plus 1982's Revelations; Geordie is without his most recognizable trademark: his yellow-gold, hollow-bodied Gibson ES-295 guitar. He had not purchased it yet at this time, and instead used a Gibson SG.

[Edit: I've also seen a video of a television performance from this period where he has a Fender Stratocaster, but the band is miming along to a studio recording, and I see no evidence that he ever used it in the studio or during any real live performances.]

Walker's nascent sound on these first four releases was thin and wiry; it is high-pitched, sharp, and has very clear definition, in contrast to his later multilayered textures, blanketing eerie harmonics. But it still has its charm, and the work he does with it is still very recognizably Geordie. But this was Geordie Walker 1.0: a sound that he would leave in the early 80s, and never again return to.

Recently, Jaz Coleman joined the Foo Fighters onstage in Prague to perform ‘Requiem’ off of Killing Joke’s first album. Although the performance is dreadful aside from Jaz Coleman's vocals, I noticed two things: first, three guitarists combined, sounding far less impressive than Walker does on his own; but also, that this may have been the first time that Requiem had been performed in its original tuning by a member of Killing Joke since 1982.

Killing Joke (1980) was the band's debut album, featuring many songs which would later become staples in Killing Joke's live setlist. It begins with the aforementioned track Requiem; a slow, thumping, buzzing, clockwork eulogy for humanity after an apocalypse.

When performed live, to lessen the monotony of repeating the riff throughout the whole song, Geordie will often do some improvisation following the first chorus; slide up from the second fret to the fourteenth to play it during the second and third choruses; or switch from the neck pickup to the bridge pickup during the second and third verses, to back up Jaz Coleman's vocals with a more muddy, chiming tone. All of these live quirks can be seen exhibited during this performance of the song.

Also of interest on the debut album, are ‘The Wait’, a white-hot early industrial metal masterpiece, which contains what may be the grandest riff of Geordie Walker's career. S.O.36 is a rarely-performed, extremely underrated cut, for which he provides dissonant, ghostly arpeggios. I also find the riff of Primitive fascinating; because, (to me, at least) it bears some resemblance to Ron Asheton's riff on The Stooges' ‘T.V. Eye’. Walker is such an underivative guitarist, that it's intriguing when he actually gives glimpses of who his influences may be.

Walker's sound began to evolve on 1982's Revelations. I personally consider it to be a quite mediocre album, but Geordie has his moments on it. The guitar on tracks such as ‘The Hum’, and ‘The Pandys are Coming’ is bone-chilling. This album was supposedly the first on which Killing Joke downtuned their instruments – but only a half step down, instead of the full step D standard tuning which would first appear on 1983's ‘Fire Dances’.

Geordie's tone on the album is far different from the two that preceded it. The distorted, wiry, scratchy, sound of those early releases, was replaced with an airy, clean chime, with a boost to the mid-range frequencies. The result is guitar parts which have a clattering, messy smack to them – instead of a razor edged high-end hiss.

Fire Dances

The sound Walker introduced on Revelations was taken to a logical conclusion the following year, on Fire Dances (1983). The most significant development of his guitar work on this album, was the debut of his signature hollow-bodied 1952 Gibson ES-295. It was a milestone, as swapping out a solid body for a hollow one gave his sound far more resonance and presence.

"I kind of noticed that if you're using a really distorted sound, if you play complex chords, because of the harmonics in the distortion the chord will fucking disappear. I thought... if I got a semi-acoustic I could put like, a contact pickup in it and mix the acoustic sound with electric sound... and I got an old Gibson fucking catalog and I spotted it."

-- Geordie Walker in 2011 (source)

Originally released for use in big band jazz; and other forms of pre-rock 'n' roll music; in 1952, it gained notoriety as Scotty Moore's instrument of choice on Elvis's early singles. Its gold paint-job was considered outrageous at its time of release.

"To me, a hollowbody is the sound of wood making music. A solidbody is the sound of an amp."

-- Scotty Moore, 2015

Of course, in the world of distorted hard rock, and heavy metal, seeing such guitars onstage is rather a rare occurrence. It wasn't at all unheard of in the post-punk and new wave scenes (Billy Duffy comes to mind), but those players don't implement the heavy chugging, nor display other such metal influences, like Geordie does.

The first time I ever saw a video of Killing Joke performing live, I was a bit amused seeing what appeared to be an old fuddy-duddy rockabilly guitar, being used to play songs like ‘Asteroid’ or ‘Total Invasion’. I believed that the man laying down these tracks must have been a long-maned, bearded, metalhead in a t-shirt; and that the robust sound I was hearing must have been an illusion created by studio multi-tracking. I doubt that when anybody hears post-nineties Killing Joke for the first time they imagine an aloof, well-dressed gentleman nonchalantly strumming away at an Elvis guitar whilst puffing on a cigarette.

Fire Dances is Killing Joke gone psychedelic, featuring upbeat songs with vocals that alternate between childishly whimsical, and completely frantic. Geordie contributes off-kilter, dizzying melodies with a playful mood to them.

It sounds as though his bridge pickup began to see frequent use on this release, a development that would greatly expand his versatility both in-studio and onstage later in his career. A switch of pickups can be detected by the replacement of his high-end chainsaw neck pickup tone with a wet, bell-like chime. Nowadays, on many songs he will switch to his bridge pickup during verses (see: ‘Requiem’, ‘S.O.36′, ‘Primitive’, ‘Pandemonium’, ‘The Great Cull’); and on some songs he will do the opposite (see: ‘Love Like Blood’, ‘Autonomous Zone’, ‘Majestic’, ‘Hosannas’, ‘This Tribal Antidote’).

The New Wave Years

Geordie Walker's liberal usage of delay effects on Fire Dances became a staple of his sound in the commercially successful years which followed.

On 1984's Night Time, it can be argued that his sound finally progressed to vaguely what we hear today. Palm-muting and distortion made their return to his repertoire; however, instead of the icy “Geordie Walker 1.0″ sound of the first two albums, his tone maintained a resonance, density, and an imperial dignity of sorts, from Revelations and Fire Dances.

The exact combination of effects used by Walker from Night Time onward are oft-mistaken by those trying to imitate his sound. Chief among these misconceptions is that he uses a chorus pedal.

I have seen many people ask how to get their setup to sound reminiscent of Geordie Walker's on forums, and the other users will more often than not recommend chorus or stereo chorus effects. After spending countless hours fiddling around with my own guitar setup; and watching videos of Killing Joke performances, and interviews with Geordie (a very rare thing to come across); I strongly believe that he does not use – and probably hasn't ever used – chorus effects.

Delay Pedals

Instead, the resonance of his sound comes from (aside from his hollowbody guitar) clever usage of delay pedals. The users of EquipBoard, have compiled a list of some models he is seen using in various videos and photographs. They include:

The Line 6 DL4 Stompbox Delay Modeler. Spotted in a video from 2006 during the “Hosannas from the Basements of Hell” sessions.

The Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man (era not known).

The delay pedals are set up in a way which mimics chorus, but excludes some of the more "wet" elements of it. To hear the difference, listen to Killing Joke’s ‘Eighties’, followed by Nirvana's cheeky recycling of its riff in ‘Come As You Are’. On the latter, Kurt Cobain is using chorus, and the difference is quite apparent.

I also suspect that he uses a tiny amount of a phaser effect, to give his sound more ‘shimmer’; but I have no evidence to support this as of yet. 

Automatic Double Trackers

Geordie also uses automatic double trackers (ADTs) to replicate the layered guitar sound on records – usually only attainable in the studio. He claims to use two at once, which is undoubtedly a paramount component in the constitution of his gargantuan sound.

The ADTs he uses are "Parmee Acoustics and Collins Electromagnetics (PA:CE) Automatic Double Trackers".

Unfortunately, it appears that the company which manufactured these is long-defunct, and as such this unit is no longer in production (as of December 2018, Ebay appears to not have a single one listed). It is described by Fletcher Stewart at Tone Report to be "perhaps one of the most elusive effect units ever made". Stewart, who was able to cop one of the devices off of the internet somehow, described its key features as "the thickest liquid stereo chorus imaginable, chewy true pitch vibrato, sine wave flanging, detuned slap back and more".

The settings on the PA:CE ADT unit Geordie makes use of, are the slapback and detuning features; which are applied sparingly.

While this specific unit may be nearly impossible to locate nowadays, an automatic double tracking effect can be created by nearly any modern delay pedal which boasts multiple outputs and a modulation feature. Modern ADT units are also available for purchase, but I cannot vouch for their aural similarity to Walker's.

Amplifiers and Heads

In the eighties, Geordie used Burman cabinets. Burman is a defunct brand, and I can find no record of it existing after that decade. As such, they may also be difficult to get your hands on.

At some point following that decade, Walker switched to a Marshall EL34 100/100 Power Amp, used with a Marshall JMP-1 Tube MIDI Preamp. Since then, he has alternated between various Marshall heads, and Framus Dragon Heads. Similarly, he has also used both Marshall and Framus speakers in conjunction with different combinations of those heads. During the Killing Joke 40th anniversary tour of 2018, he can also be seen using speakers made by Blackstar; a UK-based manufacturer founded in 2004.

The Nineties

Walker's guitar work appeared on four albums in the nineties: Killing Joke's ‘Extremities, Dirt, and Various Repressed Emotions’ (1990), ‘Pandemonium’ (1994), and ‘Democracy’ (1996); and industrial super-group Murder, Inc.'s eponymous 1992 album.

Geordie became conspicuously more influenced by hard rock and heavy metal during this period, readopting a heavily overdriven sound for the first time since 1981 for the proto-grunge Extremities, as well as Murder, Inc.; and later introducing Ministry-esque crunchy, repetitive palm-muted power chord riffs on Pandemonium. This was a turning point, as the remnants of Geordie’s new wave past were nearly completely cast into the rear-view mirror.

The musical climate of the late eighties and early nineties essentially saw the end of new wave and synthpop, as bands for whom Killing Joke's early output had been a key influence began to break into the mainstream. This, combined with the abysmal reception to Outside the Gate – an oft-forgotten and widely-panned 1988 album which Geordie’s guitar is barely even audible on – spurred the band to go loud again.

Walker experimented a lot during this period, pulling many new tricks out of his bag which would not, ultimately, carry on into the next decade and beyond. The song ‘Whiteout’ off of Pandemonium is the only Killing Joke song to feature liberal use of a wah pedal. Live performances of ‘Exorcism’, ‘Millennium’, and on occasion, ‘Whiteout’, would see Walker briefly swap his beloved ES-295 for a sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard outfitted with white single coil pickups. This guitar was only used for these specific songs during tours in 1994 to 1996, and has not been used onstage by Geordie since.

The reason why Geordie Walker decided to bring a guitar which wasn't an ES-295 on tour with him for the first time since the early eighties is not known to me. Occam's Razor suggests he thought that the fat palm-muted tone (on the studio versions of the aforementioned tracks) would be best suited by a solid body guitar; rather than the more airy and resonant hollow body. I've never seen it discussed in any interview of his, nor did the Les Paul ever return when those songs were played on later tours. Regardless, for a brief period, it seemed Geordie didn't believe his ES-295 to be capable of providing the sound necessary for the band's heavier cuts.

It should also be noted that 1996's Democracy featured acoustic guitar overdubs on many of its tracks. Outside the Gate had also seen some sparse usage of an acoustic; but on Democracy, it is often front-and-center, especially on the title track. This was to be the last time acoustic guitar would appear on a Killing Joke album, but in a 2011 interview Walker didn't rule out the possibility of it returning for a future release.

2003 and Beyond

Killing Joke's heaviest album to date, I believe, was their 2003 self-titled release; produced by Gang of Four's Andy Gill, and featuring Dave Grohl as a guest musician on drums. Interestingly, Geordie was reportedly unhappy with how this album was mixed; which is understandable, considering the heavily-compressed loudness war production on the album, which was common in the early naughts.

His sound on the album is a beefed-up update to that which was used on the band's first self-titled album in 1980. It is ferocious, bordering on inhuman. It dominates the album, rendering the bass almost inaudible on most tracks.

‘The Death and Resurrection Show’'s palm-muted two-note riff is primitive and utterly brutal. ‘Asteroid’ sees Walker adopt drop C tuning for the first time, and the song has become Killing Joke's signature thrasher – a setlist staple which has appeared in almost every tour since 2003. Another notable Geordie moment, is ‘Blood On Your Hands’, which has an unusual, dissonant riff that sounds like a groove one would hear on an electronic track.

The 2003 release served as a template for successive new entries in the band's discography. Geordie’s style was perfected at the beginning of the new millennium, and has not seen much change since.

On 2006's Hosannas from the Basements of Hell (my personal favourite Killing Joke album), his sound is heard at its rawest. The high end on the guitar, on this album, could peel paint off walls. Listening to it makes me feel like I'm being devoured by a great machine, or being dragged on scorching hot asphalt. I've seen mutterings on the internet, that the guitar on the album's closer, ‘Gratitude’, is Geordie using a violin bow on his ES-295; but besides his expressed admiration for 60's mod rock outfit The Creation's use of the trick, I can't substantiate this.

While Geordie Walker has shown less interest in evolving his sound since 2003 than he did beforehand; the quality of his playing has been very consistent. Killing Joke's post-reunion renaissance has yielded some of their greatest songs, and Walker's outstanding riffs have been absolutely crucial to their success.

Now entering his sixties, it's a great disservice to music that he is never given his due. But most seem content with dusty old blues rockers, "iconic" hard rock axemen who are frozen in the year 1989, and the same ProTools-molded landfill bilge regurgitated ad nauseum. Geordie Walker, despite his middle age, continues to breathe life into what has become a monotonous contemporary rock & roll listening soundscape; and I hope to god that there will one day be far more unorthodox sounds out there, such as the one he has spent decades meticulously crafting.

Videos

2009 Instrumental Demos

Documentary Excerpt featuring Geordie Walker and the ES-295

Interview with Geordie Walker (2011)

Playlist of Ten Geordie Walker Instrumental Demos (2007)

[blog-researchblog]

Writing the Next Chapter

Personal Assessment

Although I am still quite uncertain about my future, overtime I have come to discover that I never want to stop learning and growing as a person. About a year ago I started becoming familiar with the field of Librarianship and realized that much of the philosophy behind libraries aligns with my personal beliefs regarding freedom of expression and access to information. By answering the questions in the article “7 Powerful Questions to Find Out What You Want to do With Your Life,” I was able to more closely examine my expectations for myself in both my educational pursuits and my future career goals. Whatever I end up doing, I know that I want to have a positive impact on not only my community, but society as a whole.

I have found that I enjoy helping people and hope to make that a main focus in my life going forward. Since school and education in general are very important to me, I think I would be comfortable working in a public school in the future. I like to be up and moving while I work so I appreciate the interactive nature of being a teacher. Although I do not have much experience working with children, I am becoming more comfortable with the idea as time goes on. I hope that in the future I can instill a love of learning and a natural curiosity about life in the children I end up teaching.

One thing I value immensely is personal time, which I may not have too much of working in the field of education. However, I could not imagine working a typical nine-to-five desk job, so I think I could easily adapt to the structure of a school schedule. I like the idea of having off weekends, holidays, and summer, although I do understand that much of this time off will be spent doing professional development and furthering my education. Since Librarianship is such a diverse field, there is still a lot of information I will need to be able to make a concrete decision about my career goals. To find out more about being a librarian, I researched the profession on the website for the Occupational Outlook Handbook.

Consulting the Handbook

According to the “Education, Training, and Library Occupations” article in the Occupational Outlook Handbook, the field of library science is quite broad and covers a wide range of services. In general, librarians assist people in gaining access to resources and information. There are many different types of libraries, including academic, medical, law, business, elementary or secondary school, and public. Librarians are typically required to obtain a Master’s degree in Library Science along with another degree in a specialized field, particularly if working in a special library. School librarians, sometimes also referred to as media specialists, need to be certified as a teacher. Other certification requirements vary by state.

The specific duties of the job vary depending on setting, but typically include researching information, book selection, collection curating, archiving, budget planning, and event planning. Librarians should be proficient in literacy, communication, problem solving, and using technology. In an elementary school setting, librarians are also teachers in a classroom. They teach skills such as literacy, database and catalog searching, literature analysis, and how to create proper citations. They often work with other teachers to create lesson plans and provide supplemental resources to aid in teaching and learning.

Job growth in librarianship is expected to grow at a rate similar to that of all jobs in the nation. The vast majority of librarians are employed in a grade school or academic setting, but other possible places of employment include hospitals, law firms, nonprofit organizations, and government organizations. The median salary for librarians nationwide is around $59,000 as of 2018, but this varies greatly due to location and institution of employment. There is an average of about 15,000 job openings annually across the country for librarians. For a more personal assessment of the job, I consulted with someone who currently works in the field.

Getting an Inside Look

When I first began college, I had no idea what I wanted to study or what my future career goals were. I enrolled in community college as a liberal arts major assuming I would figure it out along the way. By the end of my time there, I realized that I still lacked direction in my educational pursuits. One day I came across an article on the internet about the role of libraries in society, and that is when it clicked. I began researching how to become a librarian, and came across a website that listed Kutztown University as having one of the best undergraduate programs for library science. In that instant, the universe seemingly aligned and I felt like I had found something I could actually see myself doing in the future.

Now that I am at Kutztown, my classes are much more focused towards a specific area of study. I have been gaining more insight into library science and education in general, but there is still a lot to learn that I probably will not be taught in school. In my pursuit to discover more about becoming a librarian, I decided to interview a teacher I observed for two days over winter break as part of my mandatory observation hour requirement. Caitlin Budge currently works at Fogelsville Elementary School as the Library Media Specialist, but has also worked in other schools in and out of the state. She was extremely welcoming and down to earth, so I thought she would be the perfect person working in the field to interview. Due to limitations of time in both of our schedules, this interview took place through email. The goal of my interview was to gain a better understanding of the more behind-the-scenes aspect of working as a school librarian.

Caitlin received her undergraduate degree in library science from Kutztown University in 2010. She then went on to receive her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Moravian College in 2018. Unlike my personal situation, Caitlin knew that she wanted to be a librarian since high school when she interviewed her school’s librarian as part of a class project. For her, the most intriguing part of the job was being able to interact with all of the students in a school and not being confined to a specific grade level. She has always had a love for reading, but did not want to be an English teacher so becoming a librarian made the most sense to her. 

Through our interview, I learned that her day actually starts at 8 a.m. even though teachers are not required to be there until 8:35. Before the school day starts, she does bus duty which involves getting the students off the bus and into their classrooms. This is just one of the many responsibilities aside from teaching students that a librarian in an elementary school may have. Caitlin emphasized that she was not initially aware of the extra roles and responsibilities aside from just lesson planning that came with the job.

Having been in Caitlin’s classroom before, I have seen first hand how she teaches and the way she runs her class. The first thing her students do is return their previously checked out books and select new ones. She said that she felt it was important that the students have time to get the books they want even if it cuts into lesson time. This is a prime example of one of the ways that a teacher may have to modify their class to accommodate the needs of their students. For her older students, a typical assignment during class time may be researching information about a particular state or country. Her younger students, grades Kindergarten through second, come to her class at the end of the day. She explained that this is because they need to take their core subject lessons at the beginning of the day when they are the most focused. This adds an extra layer of difficulty to the job, because by the time the younger students come to the library they are a little checked out and ready to go home for the day. To keep the children’s attention and engage them in a constructive activity, the younger grades often do a story time during their class. According to Caitlin, some days this strategy works better than others.

One thing that I was surprised to learn through our interview was that Caitlin did not have much prior experience before starting her career as a librarian, other than student teaching during her undergraduate program at Kutztown University. Caitlin said, “my college experience prepared me very well for this job. It made me knowledgeable about the school library and many of the requirements/duties of a school librarian.” This came as a relief to me because I often feel like I am quite behind and out of touch with the “extra” things I should be doing while in school. Knowing that Caitlin was able to get a job at a school with little to no experience working as a librarian or working with children in general made me feel more confident that this is something I could also be doing in the future, even though I have no background in this type of work.

One thing that Caitlin mentioned a couple of times in our interview was the politics involved in working at a school. She said that it was one of the things she wished she knew more about before entering the field of education. She also mentioned that sometimes she feels looked down upon by the other teachers in the school as she is not a typical classroom teacher. Fortunately, Caitlin praises her principal as being very accessible and offering support when needed. Overall, Caitlin said, “I chose the correct field because I drive to work each day and do not dread going in.” Reading this statement made me realize that I strive to feel the same way about my job in the future.

My interview with Caitlin was very informative and eased a lot of concerns I still have about my prospective career path. I feel slightly less pressure and much more secure in my choices after conversing with someone who is currently where I hope to be in just a few years. This interview has given me a slightly firmer grasp on what types of things to expect in my future. One thing I still want to learn more about is the current societal events involving libraries in this country. To do this, I turned to the internet to search for some popular news articles about public libraries. I came across a headline reading “A Missouri Bill Would Cut Off Aid to Libraries That Allow Kids Access to ‘Age-Inappropriate Sexual Materials’” on CNN’s website.

Libraries in the News

This article, written by Harmeet Kaur, covers a proposed bill affecting libraries in Missouri, bringing attention to the debate over censorship of literature. Under this bill, state funding would be eliminated from any library deemed as lending inappropriate materials to minors. Librarians could also be fined and imprisoned for one year for failure to follow this law. This bill proposes a parental advisory board to be established to determine what materials are age appropriate. The publicly elected board members would also be allowed to remove any materials they consider to be inappropriate. Library employees would not be allowed to serve on this board. The Missouri Library Association and free-expression advocacy groups do not support this bill, claiming it is an attempt to legalize book banning and limit free speech. Supporters of this bill deny these claims.

I chose this article because it depicts a controversial issue that has affected libraries since their beginnings in modern society. I am interested in the ethical aspects of first amendment rights issues and how they impact our society as a whole. Limitations of speech, in any form, pose a threat to the community that libraries specifically work to combat by providing free access to information. I believe it is important for everyone to have access to resources without the fear of persecution, as historically information has been withheld from the public as a form of manipulation and control. It may not seem like a big deal, but limiting the types of resources a child can access opens the door for other restrictions to be imposed regarding free access to information.

As a hopeful future librarian, these types of issues will directly affect me in my line of work. Libraries work to serve the community as a whole, and attempts at censorship are counterproductive to that service. Even in an elementary school setting, librarians have to address book-banning challenges as there will always be parents or community members who are unhappy with certain materials in the library’s collection. It is a library’s duty to provide unbiased access to a vast array of information and resources, not to dictate what people do with that information. It will be my job as a librarian to encourage people to seek information from all different perspectives to educate themselves, so I have to be aware of the outside forces that are actively trying to prevent that from happening. The proposed laws to limit materials based on appropriateness are not only an issue in Missouri; this is an issue that continues to happen in communities nationwide.

This article has taught me that, despite our freedom of speech, this type of censorship is still an ongoing issue in the United States. This article provides a great example as to why it is important to vote as an informed citizen, and to know the policies behind the people who are voted into power. I would still like to learn about any other recent attempts that have been made to pass similar laws. This type of proposed legislature infringes upon our rights laid out by the first amendment, so I am curious to know how this has been received in other areas of the country. I would also like to know more about the selection process and criteria that would be implemented if this bill passes into law. I do know that plenty of books from every genre have been banned in the past, and many of these books hold immense literary value by today's standards. I am interested to see how the view of today’s controversial literature will change over time as our societal values as a whole shift. As a future librarian, I hope to be a part of this ongoing conversation about the access of information.

By Kirstyn Jaeger

[jccamus]

The Outer Fringes of Our Language: A Conversation with Werner Herzog

The Outer Fringes of Our Language: A Conversation with Werner Herzog https://ift.tt/3668v3o

DECEMBER 30, 2019

I INVITED WERNER HERZOG to Stanford to discuss a relatively unknown masterpiece published in 1967 called The Peregrine, by an obscure British writer named J. A. Baker. We hardly know anything about him, except that he authored one of the most extraordinary pieces of nature writing of the 20th century. The Peregrine is one of Herzog’s favorite books, and it’s one of mine as well.

Herzog ended up speaking mostly about his devotion to books in general, and his belief that reading is the best, and perhaps even only, way to take possession of the world.

Our conversation took place on February 2, 2016, at Dinkelspiel Auditorium as part of Stanford’s Another Look book events. This transcript is excerpted from that interview.

You can listen to the audio of the conversation here.

¤

Legendary film director Werner Herzog discusses J.A. Baker’s book The Peregrine with Robert Pogue Harrison, a Stanford professor of Italian literature, at the Feb. 2 Another Look book club event.

ROBERT POGUE HARRISON: In your conversation with Paul Cronin in 2014, you say, “Read, read, read, read, read. Those who read own the world; those who immerse themselves in the internet or watch too much television lose it. […] Our civilization is suffering profound wounds because of the wholesale abandonment of reading by contemporary society.” Could you share with us some of your thoughts about your relationship to reading books and the value of the literary?

WERNER HERZOG: In a way, it has been something that is guiding me throughout my life. Beyond this auditorium, there are many more students at Stanford University, and many of them do not really read — including film students. They read a book about editing, but they haven’t read, let’s say, the dramas of Greek antiquity. And I keep saying to them you have to read. Read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read. If you do not read, you will become a mediocre filmmaker at best, but you will never make a really good film. And almost everyone that I know who has made very strong, very good substantial films are people who are reading all the time. I see three, four films a year, maybe sometimes a little bit more during a festival, but I do read.

And of course, I’ve written prose and some poetry. I am fairly certain that my written work will outlive my films.

Is that right?

It’s very, very clear. There’s no doubt whatsoever in me.

Why is that?

When you make a film, you have cameras and production money and actors, a lab or a post-production editing. Many, many layers of very vulnerable elements. When you write, you just write and there’s nothing else. It’s a completely direct form of expressing something.

I’m curious about the books that have become a part of you and your psyche. You mentioned, in A Guide for the Perplexed, that whenever you go on a film set, you bring two books with you, in particular. One is Luther’s translation of the Bible. You have to read the Book of Job for consolation —

It’s a 1546 edition in the original Lutheran language, which was an enormous cultural event. The German language somehow started with Martin Luther — the common language, Hochdeutsch, high German. Before that, there were only dialects. But Luther, yes, the Book of Job for consolation. Or the Psalms sometimes. I have it with me. I love to read it.

The other book that intrigued me greatly is Livy’s The Second Punic War. It’s the story of Hannibal’s invasion [of Rome] and the war with Carthage. Fabius Maximus, who is the Roman general, refused to engage Hannibal directly and was derided by his fellow generals — even accused of cowardice. And you say that he saved Rome.

History derided him, yes. Until today.

But you think that we still owe a huge debt to that man because he’s the one who saved Rome?

Exactly. And not only Rome, the Occident. The Western world was at stake. Rome was in a very, very deep crisis. Hannibal was coming across the Alps with a motley army and elephants. He defeated Rome twice at the Trasimene Lake and Cannae. They were the most devastating defeats Rome ever suffered. Rome was on the verge of collapse. And they voted in Quintus Fabius Maximus Cunctator. “Cunctator” is his cognomen, a deriding attribute — the cowardly, hesitant one. Cunctatore means to hesitate, to not be bold enough to take steps, because he said to everyone, “If Rome continues to encounter Hannibal in open field combat, we will perish completely and we will be extinguished.”

He started a war of attrition, always moving away, always retreating, always being hesitant, never offering an open field battle and attacking the retro guard or the foraging parties. He was the one who saved Rome. Our civilization would otherwise have been dominated by the North African Punic ideas and culture. He was derided and solitary — the solitude of the man is totally intriguing for me.

And you read Livy in Latin?

Yes, I do. I had to learn Latin and ancient Greek in school. I hated it. Only now, much later, I started to appreciate it.

And another classic that you read in Latin and love dearly is Virgil’s Georgics.

Yes. I run my own film school, the so-called Rogue Film School. It’s really wild stuff. In Guide for the Perplexed, there’s some summing up of advice. “Guerrilla tactics are best. Take revenge if need be. Get used to the bear behind you.” Actually, there’s a photo with a bear right behind me. It is not photoshopped. My wife made it, and there was a real bear. But it was a setup. The bear was not completely docile, but it didn’t do any harm. It was habituated to humans. A few things I teach students: breaking safety locks or forging documents and doing criminal things for the sake of making a film.

The film school has a mandatory reading list. On it is Virgil’s Georgics. It’s more than programmatic writing, it’s celebrating the achievements of the Augustan Rome. There’s a clear ideology and a sheer celebration of Rome.

Virgil grew up as a farm boy near Mantova, in northern Italy. He observed it all. Of course there’s also some program in it — half of it is about the world of gods who somehow interfere in things. But what’s really incredible is his knowledge about what he is writing, the precision of observation. In a way, that’s quite close to J. A. Baker. I’d like to read one brief passage, “Death of a horse, how a plague invades the stables.” It’s totally illuminating in the caliber of language. The caliber of observation is unbelievable. I love his writing. Here it is:

Then everywhere in the joyous burgeoning fields, the young cows die; in their pens, in the very presence of their mangers full of food, give up sweet life. Fawning dogs go mad. The sick swine seized with retching, coughing, choke on their own swollen throats. The horse that was once victorious, now miserably sinks as he tries to arise, forgetting what he has been, forgetting his pasture with its lush green grass, averting his face from the waters of the trough, over and over again pounding the earth with a disconsolate hoof, his ears laid back, fitfully sweating. The sweat turns cold as death draws near. His skin is dry and hard, insensible to the touch of the stroking hand.

These are the signs you witness in the first days of the coming of the death. But as the suffering moves into its final phase, his eyes glare bright, with a brightness of the fever. The horse’s groaning breathing drags itself forth from deep inside, and the whole length of the body labors and strains with drawn-out shattering sobbing. Black blood pours out from the nose and the creature’s throat is utterly blocked up and choked by its tongue. There are those who have thought the only possible hope was to use a funnel to pour in a little wine. But this itself facilitated death. Revived, they raged with weird, new, desperate strength. And in the final crisis — god grant such madness not to ourselves, but to our enemies — they tore at their own flesh with their own bad teeth.

The difference between the Georgics and the Aeneid, both by Virgil, is that the Aeneid is about history, the founding of Rome, whereas the Georgics is about the earth, the cultivating of the earth, the care for the earth. This might be an occasion for one of the questions from the audience — Valerie Kinsey asks the following question: “Based upon your documentary films like Happy People, Grizzly Man, Encounters, and your admiration for The Peregrine, you seem to have a deep interest in exploring the need of some individuals, mainly men, to reconnect with the earth in a primordial way. Where does this interest come from? Is it an elegiac homage to an interconnection between man and earth that has all but disappeared among suburban contemporary populations? Or is it a diagnostic of our present alienation from the status quo?”

Well, that sounds … complicated … but I understand the core of the question.

There seems to be an interest, on your part, in people who have this nostalgia to reconnect with the earth. Is that correct?

No, I have no nostalgia. I’m not a nostalgic person.

I grew up in the very secluded in the mountains of Bavaria, with no real technology around. Of course, I was connected to the mountains. And then, more than anything else, traveling on foot. I would walk 1,000 kilometers for very existentially important reasons. I would travel on foot, not with a backpack — not with my household, a tent, and a sleeping bag on my back. I have understood, first, that it’s a solitude that is unimaginable for anyone who hasn’t done it. And second, a dictum: the world reveals itself to those who travel on foot.

You see a connection with the German poet Hölderlin, whom I really love more than anyone else. He traveled on foot and actually became insane. He traveled from Bordeaux to Tübingen or Frankfurt and arrived stark mad. He had a premonition of insanity coming at him, creeping up on him. He describes it in some of his poems in a very secretive form. Very, very tragic man. He understood the outer fringes of our language. He understood the essence of being solitary, of solitude.

I keep saying to the Rogue Film School students that The Peregrine is a book that is the absolute must-read piece of literature, because that’s how a filmmaker should see things: in loneliness. He or she or it should see the world with an incredible amount of human pathos and enthusiasm and rapture.

He sees with ecstasy. He has such rapture, such enthusiasm, such passion. That’s the way a filmmaker should see the real world and people and everything around us — with an enormous amount of passion. But that’s not all. Anyone can have this passion, but he writes in a language, with a caliber of prose, that we have not seen since Joseph Conrad’s short stories. That’s why I find this a very, very decisive book for anyone who wants to make films. By the way, for anyone who is becoming a writer, you will have to read it, learn it. Learn the whole book by heart.

I agree. When you open that book, you ask: What is going on? What passion is he bringing to bear? I think he falls in love with a peregrine. He is infatuated. On page 12, when he describes his first encounter with the peregrine, it’s a language of rapture. He says,  

This was my first peregrine. I have seen many since then, but none has excelled it for speed and fire of spirit. For ten years I spent all my winters searching for that restless brilliance, for the sudden passion and violence that peregrines flush from the sky. For ten years I have been looking upward for that cloud-biting anchor shape, that crossbow flinging through the air. The eye becomes insatiable for hawks. It clicks towards them with ecstatic fury …

Yes, it’s ecstasy. And that’s one of the things that really caught my attention because there’s always a question — in filmmaking, particularly in documentary filmmaking — of what constitutes a deeper truth. Sometimes in poetry, you have the instant sense that there’s a deep truth. You don’t have to analyze it and vivisect it in academic terms and with the tools of literary theory. The same thing with films. Because today what you see — and what I hear constantly at any festival, with all colleagues — is they believe wrongfully that facts constitute truth. They do not. At best, facts create norms; they have that power. But only truth is something that illuminates us, that carries us into some sort of an ecstasy. And that is something which I find on every second page in The Peregrine. There is a religious quality of incantation, the invocation of a demon brother, which is a peregrine falcon. It’s like a ritual and the question, of course, is: How much is factual?

I have tried to defend Baker on factual grounds, but I don’t have the competence or authority to do that. The question is: If the book is full of factual inaccuracies …

There may be a few. That’s what I keep saying in moviemaking: “It’s the accountant’s truth you are after. You get a straight A, you idiot!” In [Robert Macfarlane’s] very intelligent, beautiful introduction, he says it’s irrelevant, that The Peregrine is “not a book about watching a bird, it is a book about becoming a bird.” Quite often in the book he writes how the peregrine is soaring higher and higher, and becomes a dot in this incredible sky. Then he writes, “And then we swooped down” — we swooped down — as if he had become a peregrine himself. Sure, that’s a factual inaccuracy.

Let me make a case for facts. A quote from Henry David Thoreau, in one passage from Walden where he says, “If you stand right fronting and face to face to a fact, you will see the sun glimmer on both its surfaces, as if it were a cimeter, and feel its sweet edge dividing you through the heart and marrow, and so you will happily conclude your mortal career. Be it life or death, we crave only reality.”

I crave many other things beyond reality. It’s a very impoverished life if we go only for that. Even a good steak is a form of ecstasy sometimes. You shouldn’t dismiss that the primitive things of real, everyday life can acquire different quality.

And facts and ecstasy go together.

No, they do not marry.

They do not?

Truth gives you an illumination and transports you into a state where you step outside of your own existence in an ecstasy. You can, for example, find it in the writings of late medieval mystics — that kind of ecstasy. That’s the beauty of this book.

After the book came out, many people were calling attention to misrepresentations. Baker was asked if he took any poetic license in writing this book — and Baker said none.

Probably all these kinds of reports are made-up things, like on the internet. I believe it wasn’t until recently we even knew who J. A. Baker was or what the J and A stood for — I still do not know. Probably we only know that he may have worked in a library sometime in his life and he may have been carrying some illness. That’s all. I think we do not have a single letter from him. And it’s better that we don’t know.

Well, it doesn’t matter. We have a few letters. But let me quote this to you. Maybe this can shed some light. He says, “Everything I describe took place while I was watching it, but I do not believe that honest observation is enough. The emotions and behavior of the watcher are also facts, and they must be truthfully recorded.”

That’s beautiful. I hope that he really wrote it and not some internet imposter. Yes, it’s strange what happens to us. It’s not happening to the observer alone, it happens to the memory of the observer. I give you a recent example, which is very puzzling for me. I made a film, Lessons of Darkness, about the fires in Kuwait. It’s a film where, for 60 minutes, there’s not a single image that belongs to our planet anymore. You do not recognize our planet anymore. I start the film with a caption and it reads, and it’s a very beautiful two-liner: “The collapse of the stellar universe will occur — like creation — in grandiose splendor. Blaise Pascal.” Some people asked me, “Where can I find this? I can’t find it in his aphorisms. I can’t find it in Pensées.”

Fact is, I invented it. And I put “Pascal” under it. Pascal could not have written it better. But it takes the audience right into a quasi-ecstasy, to a very sublime, elevated position. And then the film begins, and I never let them down from that.

In Lo and Behold, about the internet, there’s one question I’m posing. The Prussian war theoretician Clausewitz, in Napoleonic times, once famously said, “War sometimes dreams of itself.” Does the internet dream of itself? It’s really a deep and a very, very puzzling question for very intelligent people.

Now, what happened? I tried to find this quote in Clausewitz, and I did not find it. So it may happen that in my memory I somehow thought it was Clausewitz — but maybe I made it up myself. I do not know. So it’s a very blurred thing. But the question itself, in the way I quote Clausewitz, has such a formal clarity in it that it doesn’t matter whether it was Clausewitz or me making it up and not remembering whether I made it up. That’s a very disturbing moment.

And that’s why, if it’s true that the emotions and behavior of the watcher are also facts and must be truthfully recorded, then there could be an exact, a very exact truth, that has to do with the subjectivity of the watcher.

And the behavior of the watcher.

Behavior, where he becomes more and more the hawk. It’s quite remarkable. The further Baker gets on in his diary, and he’s inspecting these kills, there’s a suggestion that he ends up also tasting —

He writes:

I found myself crouching over the kill, like a mantling hawk. My eyes turned quickly about, alert for the walking heads of men. Unconsciously I was imitating the movements of a hawk as in some primitive ritual, the hunter becoming the thing he hunts. […] We live, in these days in the open, the same ecstatic fearful life. We shun men.

We. While he writes these five lines, he morphs into a falcon.

A hundred pages later he says, “What was left [of the kill] smelt fresh and sweet, like a mash of raw beef and pineapple. It was an appetizing smell, not the least bit rank or fishy. I could have eaten it myself if I had been hungry.” And one has a sense that he might have, every now and then, even tasted some of these dead birds.

Yes. But I think there wouldn’t be anything wrong to eat a bird or the carcass of a bird raw. Why not?

Perfectly understandable. Let me propose my interpretation: it’s not so much that Baker desires to become the hawk. He does have flight envy and he does have this aerial envy. He wants to fly and —

So do I. I’ve wanted to fly all my life.

— and unfortunately, the only way he can do it is in prose. There are moments in this book where he is soaring as high as any writer can soar in sentences, in the way he’s writing, and in the ecstatic passion that transports him. And therefore, as a writer, he does become like a hawk.

The raptor has another myth associated with it, which goes back to the Greek myth of Ganymede — the young boy, the most beautiful of all mortals whose father was Tros, after whom Troy was named. On Mount Ida, Zeus takes the form of an eagle and seizes him, captures him, “rapes” him in a sense, of rapture, bearing him up into the heavens. He becomes the cup-bearer of the gods and he becomes immortal. There are moments in The Peregrine where one has a sense that Baker is just waiting to be rapt or enraptured by the hawk.

That’s fantastic. Via his own writing and via his own life watching the birds.

Let me see if I can find the passage. On page 154–155:

After two minutes of uneasy glaring, he [the peregrine] flew straight at me as though intending to attack. He swept up into the wind before he reached me, and hovered twenty feet above my head, looking down. I felt as a mouse must feel, crouching unconcealed in shallow grass, cringing and hoping. The hawk’s keen-bladed face seemed horribly close. The glazed inhuman eyes — so foreign and remote […] I could not look away from the crushing light of those eyes, from the impaling horn of that curved bill. Many birds are snared in the tightening loop of his gaze. They turn their heads toward him as they die.

The fantasy is to be borne up into the sky like Ganymede. To call it a Ganymede complex would trivialize everything, but he wants to leave the earth and he can’t leave the earth.

At the same time, he is very warm-hearted, almost humorous. A couple of times he describes wrens. They really touch his heart very deeply: “The flat land was booming void where nothing lived. Under the wind, a wren, in sunlight among fallen leaves in a dry ditch seemed suddenly divine, like a small brown priest in a parish of dead leaves and wintry hedges, devoted till death.” I mean, it can’t get any better. Or he writes another time about a wren: “Turning through a hedge-gap, I surprised a wren. It trembled on its perch in an agony of hesitation, not knowing whether to fly or not, its mind in a stutter, splitting up with fear. I went quickly past, and it relaxed, and sang.” It’s just wonderful.

The elements are very present in this book. There’s the earth, water, air, obviously, and then the circle of fire. Fire is not technically an element, but the sun really represents that fiery element. He speaks of the falcon in terms of fire. He speaks of the heart of fire that it has. He sees it flying, he calls it a burning brand. And yet he is earthbound.

I think he’s not reconciled with the world …

No, he’s not reconciled.

He’s not reconciled with human beings, and he’s not reconciled with creation. Absolutely not. I share this kind of anger against the mess out there. When you look at it, there’s no glorious harmony of the spheres. It’s a stupid concept that still pops up in Walt Disney sorts of movies sometimes.

You read the passage on the wren. With your permission, I’ll read one about the mouse. I think those of you who read the book will have noticed that Baker takes the perspective of a bird’s-eye view. He describes a valley, estuary, sea. It’s from great distances. But all this changes when he’s speaking about a little mouse that is an earthbound creature. I’m reading from page 45. Let me read the whole paragraph:

At the side of the lane to the ford, I found a long-tailed field mouse feeding on a slope of grass. He was eating the grass seeds, holding the blade securely between his skinny white front paws. So small, blown over by the breath of passing cars, felted with a soft moss of green-brown fur; yet his back was hard and solid to the touch. His long, delicate ears were like hands unfolding; his huge, night-seeing eyes were opaque and dark. He was unaware of my touch, of my face a foot above him, as he bend the tree-top grasses down to his nibbling teeth. I was like a galaxy to him, too big to be seen. I could have picked him up but it seemed wrong to separate him now from the surface he would never leave until he died. I gave him an acorn. He carried it up the slope in his mouth, stopped and turned it round against his teeth, flicked it round with his hands, like a potter spinning. His life is eating to live, to catch up, to keep up; never getting ahead, moving always in the narrow way between a death and a death; between stoats and weasels, foxes and owls by night; between cars and kestrels and herons by day.

This is the fate of those who are earthbound. It’s also the fate of Baker himself. He can get that close to the mouse because they share, at least, this earthboundedness. And we know that Baker was in the grip of a very serious illness when he was out there, recording these things that he was seeing. Perhaps there was some kind of promise of transcendence if you could somehow take to the sky and free yourself from living “between a death and a death” on earth.

I think that pervades the whole book. It is not just observations of natural creatures out there, it’s much more.

I traveled on foot to Paris in snowstorms, in rainstorms. You see so many mice. It’s astonishing how many mice there are. In Of Walking in Ice, I write, “Friendship is possible with mice.” It’s very strange. They have something which has a very strong allure to those who are the solitary wanderers out there.

Baker writes that creatures, even when they’re dying in agony, will do anything desperately to get away if a human being approaches them. Their fear and phobia of humans is such that you can never get near them. And yet Baker can actually stroke this mouse.

We have a question from Mark, in the audience: “Part three of The Peregrine begins, ‘Wherever he goes this winter, I will follow him [the peregrine]. I will share the fear, and the exaltation, and the boredom, of the hunting life.’ Do you feel this way as a documentary filmmaker, that you are on a quest without knowing where it will lead you? Or do you have a clearer idea of what you’ll find when you begin?”

That’s a deep question because I do have a focus and I do know basically what I’m out for. Of course, there are surprises en route. I follow the surprises and I follow my instincts. It’s a little bit like hunting. But in documentaries, you should not underestimate the amount of casting that I do. I’m speaking of casting the same way you cast a feature film with actors. And I look around, [and I think] “Who could be really good for introducing me to this or that phenomenon?” Casting somehow narrows the possibilities, of course, but it intensifies the possibilities at the same time. So, yes, it’s wonderful where you are ending up. One signal that I know what I’m doing is that I end up with very little footage.

Yes. For those who have devoted decades of their lives to a kind of scientific study of a bird or some other aspect of nature, and go through the labor and careful analysis to get the facts correct, that’s also a form of devotion. It’s not poetry, but it is a love that takes a different form.

That’s what scientists do. That’s the charm of what they do. Sometimes it takes them to discoveries that decide the shape of our civilization — the tools that we use, the inventions or the insights that they have. We change because of these lonesome insights. That’s the beauty of it. It transforms society, it transforms how we behave as human beings. Our humaneness suddenly changes because we are using cell phones, the internet, Facebook. The idea of self, which is shifting and changing, and the ambiguity of human exchange suddenly becomes so clearly visible.

Legendary film director Werner Herzog discusses J.A. Baker’s book The Peregrine with Robert Pogue Harrison, a Stanford professor of Italian literature, at the Feb. 2 Another Look book club event.

May I ask about some of the other books that you ask your students at the Rogue Film School to read?

Yes. I brought with me the Poetic Edda, but I also, for example, have a very, very fine book by Bernal Díaz del Castillo, The Conquest of New Spain. He was a 19-year-old footman of the conquistador Cortés. Late in his life, he wrote a very, very, very detailed account — much better than any other source at that time. It is a phenomenal book.

I would also recommend you all read the Warren Commission Report on the Assassination of Kennedy. Everybody puts it down, yet nobody has read it. It’s a wonderful, incredible crime story. And it has a logical conclusiveness that is staggering. It’s a truly wonderful, wonderful piece of reading.

Back to the Poetic Edda. I am somebody who has held the Codex Regius in my hands twice in my life already — a little crumpled parchment text which is a little like the Dead Sea Scrolls for Israel. This is a book for Iceland. It goes into the mythological life and description of the creation of the world. It’s very, very strong. I tell people who make documentaries: go read the Edda, read the depth of the myths that can suddenly come out of very simple things that you do not notice — unless you have a sensory organ for the mythological. Here’s Völuspá Edda, the creation of the world:

In earliest times     did Ymir live: was not sea, nor land    nor salty waves, neither Earth was there     nor upper heaven, but a gaping nothing,    and in green things nowhere.

Was the land then lifted aloft     by Bur’s sons who made Mithgarth,    the matchless earth; shown from the south    the sun on dry land, on the ground then grew    The greensward soft.

The “matchless earth” is just very, very beautiful. A few stanzas later in the text — the creation of dwarfs. And all of a sudden, the text about the creation of the world rattles down to 84 names of dwarfs. Idiot scholars believe that it is an interpolation of later times, which probably it was. It doesn’t matter. It is an integral part of the Codex Regius. It’s just really, really beautiful. I’ll read a little bit into it, if I don’t bore you with names of dwarfs:

Then gathered together     the gods for counsel, the holy hosts,     and held converse: who the deep-dwelling     dwarfs was to make of Brimir’s blood      and Bláin’s bones.

Mótsognir rose,      mightiest ruler of the kin of dwarfs,      but Durin next; molded many manlike      bodies the dwarfs under earth,      as Durin bade them.

Nýi and Nithi,     Northri and Suthri, Austri and Vestri,     Althjóf, Dvalin, Nár and Náin,     Níping, Dáin, Bifur, Bofur,     Bombur, Nóri, Án and Onar,     Ái, Mjóthvitnir.

Veig and Gandálf,     Vindálf, Thráin, Thekk and Thorin,    Thrór, Vit, and Lit, Nár and Regin,     Nýráth and Ráthsvith; now is reckoned     the roster of dwarfs.

Those are only the first 40. And you see this kind of love for these things is … I cannot describe it. These things have not changed the course of my life, but they have made it better.

I’ve never made a pilgrimage to a filmmaker, but I did make a pilgrimage to Salt Lake City, to the University of Utah. One of the texts, which is not on my list, is one of the greatest books — one of the most intense and beautiful texts. The Florentine Codex, a collection by monks who accompanied the next wave, the next generation of Conquistadors. They collected voices from Aztecs about child rearing, about botanic knowledge, about military things, about history, about religion, about human sacrifice, and so on.

The text is so stunning because the Aztecs, in the shock of the conquest and utter destruction, tried to regain their speech. They try to describe simple things. “A cave is a place of darkness. It is full of fear. It is dark, yes, very dark. And fear looms there and do we dare to enter because the cave is big and it is dark” — and it continues like this. Somehow trying to grasp the world by newly trying to name it — just name it. The translation was done by some scholars of the University of Utah, because the Mormons believe that the Aztecs were one of the lost tribes of Israel. So they have the probably the best pre-Colombian studies in the world. Two professors translated the text, which is Nahuatl, with Spanish translation in parallel text, in the Codex Florentino. They translated it into English. Over 25 years, they released bit by bit by bit in scholarly editions. Now you can buy it. It’s a book which unfortunately has very few copies. I think I had to pay $1,200 or so for 12 or 14 volumes. The translation has such a power of language. It’s like the Old Testament in the King James Bible translations. Something which happens only once in a few centuries. And it was translated by two wonderful scholars, Professor [Arthur] Anderson and Professor [Charles] Dibble.

Anderson had died. I learned that Professor Dibble was still alive, professor emeritus at the University of Utah. And so I went to Salt Lake. I asked him if I could see him and I made a little pilgrimage to him. He was completely astonished that a filmmaker would come and visit him. Nobody had ever visited him. And he had no real help. I cooked tea for him. He didn’t know how to ignite his gas stove anymore. So he was really a great, wonderful, tragic man who made an incredible achievement in language. And for him, I made a pilgrimage. I visited him. I would never do that for a filmmaker.

So, Werner, to conclude, you’re persuaded that you’ll be remembered more for your books and your films.

Not remembered. I don’t care about being remembered. No, no, no, I mean something different. They will outlive the films, whether anybody cares who the person was, or what my name was. You cannot become completely anonymous in our time, in our century.

Good. But there is another book that maybe you could read from, Conquest of the Useless: Reflections from the Making of Fitzcarraldo.

It was written during the time when I filmed Fitzcarraldo, and of course there were lots of catastrophes. Whenever I had a moment, I would write, and my handwriting shrank to miniature size — I mean, microscopic. It has this kind of strange prose in it, which just comes at me here. I’ll read something from the prologue:

A vision had seized hold of me, like the demented fury of a hound that has sunk its teeth into the leg of a deer carcass and is shaking and tugging at the downed game so frantically that the hunter gives up trying to calm him. It was the vision of a large steamship scaling a hill under its own steam, working its way up a steep slope in the jungle, while above this natural landscape, which shatters the weak and the strong with equal ferocity, soars the voice of Caruso, silencing all the pain and all the voices of the primeval forest and drowning out all birdsong. To be more precise, bird cries, for in this setting, left unfinished and abandoned by God in wrath, the birds do not sing; they shriek in pain, and confused trees tangle with one another like battling Titans, from horizon to horizon, in a steaming creation still being formed. Fog-panting and exhausted they stand in this unreal world, in unreal misery — and I, like a stanza in a a poem written in an unknown foreign tongue, am shaken to the core.

This kind of stuff calms you when you’re battling in the forest. Others would seek consolation or refuge in drugs or in alcohol or in religion or whatever. My last resort is language. It’s a last resort. And it is boiling inside of me and I sometimes, like a tune that you cannot get out of your head for weeks and weeks, words and things are spinning in my head. It was very strange because I later returned to the site where I moved the shape of the mountain, and there was hardly anything that you could see, no trace is left. I noticed the hostility among people in a native village, which I had not really noticed before but it was evidently there. I describe it:

It was midday and very still.

I looked around, because everything was so motionless. I recognized the jungle as something familiar, something I had inside me, and I knew that I loved it: yet against my better judgment. Then words came back to me that had been circling, swirling inside me through all those years: Hearken, heifer, hoarfrost. Denizens of the crag, will-o’-the wisp, hogwash. Uncouth, flotsam, fiend. Only now did it seem as though I could escape from the vortex of words.

Something struck me, a change that actually was no change at all. I had simply not noticed it when I was working there. There had been an odd tension hovering over the huts, a brooding hostility. The native families hardly had any contact with each other, as if a feud reined among them. But I had always overlooked that somehow, or denied it. Only the children had played together. Now, as I made my way past the huts and asked for directions, it was hardly possible to get one family to acknowledge another. The seething hatred was undeniable, as if something like a climate of vengeance prevailed, from hut to hut, from family to family, from clan to can.

I looked around, and there was the jungle, manifesting the same seething hatred, wrathful and steaming, while the river flowed by in majestic indifference and scornful condescension, ignoring everything: the plight of man, the burden of dreams, and the torments of time.

So that’s how I see nature.

¤

Robert Pogue Harrison is the Rosina Pierotti Professor of Italian Literature at Stanford University. He is the author of several books, among them Forests: The Shadow of Civilization (1992), The Dominion of the Dead (2003), and Juvenescence: A Cultural History of Our Age (2014).

  https://ift.tt/39riVwF via Los Angeles Review of Books December 30, 2019 at 10:35PM

[whatanauthorsgottado]

Harry Potter and the Dark Councillors

Chapter 3: Let’s Get You a Wand

Anubin paced the floor in front of the group, wondering what he should say first. Perhaps a greeting - or should he get right into it? He decided on the second option, as some of his audience seemed... twitchy.

"Using the Force - what you call magic - without a focus will not be easy for many of you, given how you're used to relying on them. The hope, though, is that you will at least grasp the basics within a few weeks."

He took stock of the expressions of his audience, pleased to find that they were mostly nodding and hopeful, rather than confused.

"Good. Now, everyone sit. Find a comfortable position. I will begin by teaching you to touch the Force with your senses through meditation."

By the end of the session, several members of the group - Dumbledore, Minerva, and a redheaded woman named Lily - had managed to feel the Force and reach out into it. Lily had even begun to try manipulating it, lifting her wand according to Anubin's instructions. She couldn't quite manage it, but he could feel her grasp on the wand by the time the session ended.

"You've all done quite well," Anubin said by way of conclusion. "Tomorrow, we will try again, and see if more of you can touch the Force. Being able to touch it is the first step to being able to manipulate it."

Some members of the group stayed behind to ask him some questions about the limits of their abilities without their wands, and he answered them to the best of his ability. When their curiosity was largely satisfied, they left, leaving Anubin alone with Minerva.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"Yes. I'll go get Vowrawn."

The three were to go and get Anubin a wand. Minerva led them to the Headmaster's office, where she lit a fire in the hearth and explained to them about Floo travel. Anubin found the experience disorienting, but fascinating. Upon learning that the formula for Floo powder was a closely guarded secret, he made up his mind to demand in any possible treaty that he be taught the secrets of the Floo network.

They emerged from the fireplace in a rather cozy bar. The denizens didn't even flinch at their appearance, though Anubin caught some people glancing curiously at his tattoos. He pulled the hood of his robe forward a little, to better hide his horns.

Minerva led them behind the bar building to some bins smelling of garbage. Before Anubin could comment, she tapped one particular brick in the wall behind the bins with her wand.

The wall opened into a doorway to a long narrow street, shadowed on both sides by building holding shops of all kinds. Each shop had a wooden sign jutting into the air advertising their wares, from birds to books to what looked like a bloated organ of some kind. Anubin zeroed in on the sign displaying a wand with sparks at the end, the lettering below the wand declaring that the shop belonged to Ollivander and had been established in 635 BC, whatever that meant. Anubin took it to mean 'a long time ago'.

The three walked into that shop, a worn bell proclaiming their entrance with a tired chime. Shortly thereafter, an older-looking human with a shock of white hair made an appearance, smiling at the group. It was rather off-putting.

"Hello, Minerva. You're not here for a new wand, are you?" His gaze landed on Anubin and Vowrawn. "I don't recall ever meeting either of you. Perhaps you're the ones looking for wands?"

"I am, in fact," Anubin replied. "I was curious about your wands. I build foci for Force power myself, though they're usually not made of wood."

"Oh? Force? My dear boy, I do suppose you refer to magic? In that case, I would quite like to see what focus you use."

Anubin handed over his usual Force focus to the man, who was presumably Ollivander himself. Ollivander took it carefully, producing his own wand and tapping at it. The focus sparked, and Ollivander handed it back, satisfied.

"Interesting. I suppose your usual use involves channeling lightning?"

"Yes. I was wondering how that might affect a wand..."

The two chatted for some time about focus uses and materials. Anubin made a mental note to ask Dumbledore about teaching this man to wandlessly channel the Force; it seemed something he might be interested in.

"As terribly interesting as this conversation is," Vowrawn interrupted after a while, "are we not here for a reason?"

"Of course," Ollivander agreed. "Now, who would like to be measured first?"

"I will," Anubin volunteered.

Ollivander tapped a length of string on his desk with his wand, and it flew over to Anubin to measure him. He dropped his hood to allow it to measure his head, ignoring Ollivander's shock at seeing his horns.

The measuring string seemed enthusiastic about its job, moving on to measuring his ankles and wrists. Anubin had to draw the line when it attempted to measure between his nostrils, and he pushed it away with a blast of Force energy. It fell to the floor.

"I would appreciate it if you would try not to unleash magic on my equipment."

"Sorry."

"No matter. Try this. Fir and unicorn hair, ten and a quarter inches, reasonably bendy."

Anubin allowed the Force to flow through him into the wand, but found that the wand didn't want to channel the Force for him, if it could be said to have wants.

He asked Ollivander as much and received an emphatic yes. "The wand chooses the wizard, dear boy." Suddenly his face took on a look of confusion; combined with his hair and his long, thin features, it was almost comical. "I never learned your name."

"It's Anubin. And this is Vowrawn." Vowrawn nodded his agreement.

"I see. Well, Anubin, wands are capable of many things. In fact, wands are nearly conscious, with at least the ability to tell whether an individual is a suitable master, and..."

MInerva cleared her throat, and he cut himself off. "Of course, we can perhaps speak of wandlore in greater detail later. For now, try this. Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple. A rather odd combination, but it may just fit."

This wand had a rather explosive negative reaction, sending itself flying into one wall and Anubin into the other. He reacted quickly enough to cushion the impact.

"Marvellous! No, that absolutely does not fit! I know I have one here..." Ollivander dove into the back of the store, riffling through the boxes on one shelf until he apparently found what he was looking for.

"Vine and dragon heartstring, twelve and three quarter inches, hard." As soon as he opened the box, the tip of the wand crackled with electricity.

Anubin reached out and took the wand in his hand. As soon as he did, his arm felt warm, and as he channeled the Force, it felt like a circuit had suddenly been completed. A spark jumped from the tip of the wand, exploding in midair with a crackle of lightning.

"It's perfect. I'll have to test my abilities with it further, but i believe it's perfect."

He switched the wand into his left hand and drew his lightsaber without activating it. He liked the feeling of both his weapons in his hands. Satisfied, he returned his lightsaber to his belt.

Ollivander, meanwhile, focused on Vowrawn. "Would you like to be fitted for a wand as well?"

"Why not? I admit, I found there was something about the spectacle you put on, Anubin, that's intrigued me greatly."

"Of course. You just enjoyed seeing me thrown across the room."

Vowrawn's eyes glittered. "Never. Perish the thought."

Ollivander watched their conversation with bright eyes, then went for the wand boxes again.

"Here. Dogwood and dragon heartstring, twelve inches, quite flexible."

Vowrawn took the wand. Immediately there was a loud pop and a small spark jumped from the end.

Vowrawn pointed the wand at the wall, and a small bolt of lightning flew from the end. The bolt stopped just before it hit the wall and dissipated into the air.

Vowrawn grinned at the wand. "Marvellous! It's a wonderful focus. As Anubin said, it's very nearly perfect!"

Ollivander, oddly, looked a little put out. "That was rather easy, wasn't it. Yes, it does seem quite a good fit. Well, that will do... it's fourteen Galleons for the two of them."

Minerva reached into her robes and pulled out what had to be a moneybag, removing fourteen large gold coins from it. Anubin watched with interest.

"So that's a Galleon. What are your other coins? Sickles and Knuts, right?"

"Yes. Twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, and seventeen Sickles to a Galleon," Minerva replied.

"Indeed. Good day to you," Ollivander said, accepting the coins from Minerva.

The three left the shop and continued down the alley, Anubin and Vowrawn glancing into the windows of shops as they passed. One in particular, the Magical Menagerie, caught Anubin's eye, mainly because as they passed the door flew open and a greyish blur came streaking out and attached itself to Anubin's leg.

The shop owner came dashing out after it, stopping in his tracks when he spotted the animal attached to Anubin. "That's where you went! Get back here, you little beast!" He lunged for the animal, who leapt off Anubin into Vowrawn's rather surprised arms and hissed at the man attempting to capture it.

Anubin automatically brought his wand to bear, calling on the Force to stop the shopkeeper in his tracks once again. Then, with exaggerated calm, he took the animal from Vowrawn's arms and held it in front of himself to examine it.

It appeared to be a feline of some sort, though it was rather small and scruffy. Presumably, it was intended to be a pet, so likely it wouldn't get much bigger. It sported a number of scars on its flanks and had a tip torn off its ear, and was covered in so much dirt that it was nearly impossible to tell what colour its fur was. It stared at Anubin in return with bright yellow eyes, which closed for a moment as Anubin looked into them. The animal began to vibrate softly in Anubin's hands, and Anubin realized it was purring.

"She likes you," the shopkeeper said in astonishment, having picked himself off the ground where he'd fallen when Anubin stopped focusing on him. "That cat doesn't like anybody, but she likes you."

"Apparently." Anubin offered the cat to the shopkeeper, but he shook his head.

"You keep 'er. She likes you, and she won't sell in the shop on account of being all torn up like that. Have 'er."

Anubin looked at the cat again. She seemed content, despite the awkward way she was being held. Anubin put her down on the ground, and she immediately pressed herself into his shins.

"I am most grateful," Anubin said. He continued on down the alleyway, the cat following at his heels, along with Vowrawn and MInerva.

[burnt-violets-blog]

Welcome to ‘Reviews’, the segment where I review stories I’ve read recently with varying degrees of detail and inanity. Read on to see what I’ve been enjoying and upon which writer the most illustrious and highly coveted 🏆 emoji for ‘The Best Damn Thing I Damn Did Read’ has been bestowed.

The Broken Earth Trilogy by N K Jemisin – 4 STARS

The Fifth Season (2015)

The Obelisk Gate (2016)

The Stone Sky (2017)

When the end of the world happens, which Essun plays a far greater role in than she could’ve ever anticipated, she is is a mother-of-two whose young son has just been brutally killed by her partner Jija. Essun’s son was an oregene—someone who can harness the Earth’s elemental energy, and has the ability to do things such as causing earthquakes—and with the world now literally falling apart around her, Essun can no longer be an oregene in hiding. Jija has fled with their daughter and Essun leaves her community to find her and get her revenge. That story is just one piece of a ornate puzzle. Essun’s story is joined by Damaya, who is a young girl taken from her home to receive training as an oregene, and by Syenite, a young oregene woman who has received instructions from her superiors that will have very a unexpected and transformative impact on her life and everyone else’s.

There is a lot to love about this series. This is high fantasy that makes me excited as someone who greatly appreciates the genre both as a reader and writer. The Fifth Season features very detailed, vivid, geology-based world-building that is a delight to get accustomed to. The cast of characters here live in a tough and collapsing world, and are themselves an intriguing lot damaged by an array of traumas and who over the course of the series make unpredictable decisions by grief. Without spoiling the series, there’s a few narrative tricks at play here such as the second person narration and the structure of the first book in particular that were fun. My only criticism is that especially through using second person Jemisin tells you everything about how her characters operate which can be far too much and leaves very little to the imagination. At points in the first book especially the language/dialogue also grows quite melodramatic (far too many italics and ellipsis’s) but this became less of an issue as I got more invested.

Be reassured, however, because those are small complaints. In all, there’s a slow ongoing reveal about what is going on and how everything is connected that takes place in these three books that is greatly satisfying. Once you’re under its thrall The Broken Earth trilogy is absorbing as fuck. This is for the people who love high fantasy and want a glimpse as to what the future of the genre may look like. This is also for those who want to read a high fantasy that isn’t Eurocentric. This series is enjoyable to read and features some really excellent moments to look forward to.

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera – 3 STARS

The premise is simple but engaging: a company called DeathCast exists and they give you a notification on the day you’re about to die. Because of this company we now live in a society with the blessing and curse that is having advanced warning. When you have advanced warning of your impending death, you can ensure that your last day alive is spent living life to its fullest. We follow two teenage boys marked for death, Matteo and Rufus, as they spend a whirlwind last twenty four hours together.

If a review could hurt me it would be this one. I love Adam Silvera and what his books, featuring LGBT characters of colour, represent for YA. We need him. He is for me the most interesting new YA contemporary/speculative fiction writer of the last few years. Having said that this book didn’t hit the right notes. Emotionally impacting the reader is of importance for a romance set over twenty four hours featuring two teenagers trying to live their best lives before their inevitable death by the day’s end. And to that end They Both Die at the End is underwhelming. Silvera writes simply and really inhabits the voice of his characters so his books are easy to fly through. But overall this book read a bit too juvenile and (surprisingly for a book on dying and living your best life) did not achieve the depth I was looking for. Including a twenty-four hour romance and the subsequent whistle-stop (and often cheesy) nature of all of the couple’s conversations and interactions that follow have something to do with that. You can read more about my thoughts on my review here but the short of it is that this wasn’t it for me. Silvera has promise, though, and I love that he’s achieving success with LGBT characters of colour. Make money, king.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng – 3 STARS

Another one that I was excited to read because there was lot of good things said about Celeste Ng’s debut, Everything I Never Told You. That one came out in 2014 and I still hadn’t gotten around to reading it. Then, in the weeks leading up to release, a succession of positive reviews for Little Fires Everywhere peppered my social media.

Dear reader, I was excited. I harboured no premonitions as I started with book in hand, with green tea besides. I wanted to like this.

The majority of Little Fires Everywhere is pedestrian and underwhelming. The novel is told through the perspective of white middle-class characters and I could absolutely feel it, each page had weight. I just did not care for their perspective around this novel’s interesting central issue, about a Chinese woman and her attempt to regain custody over her child where that child has been taken in by a white family. There is also so much ‘telling’ used to convey what are supposed to be close and dynamic relationships between the characters. Significant parts of chapters in this novel read like Wikipedia summaries of relationships between characters. The novel does end well and so I am glad ultimately to have stuck with it. Unfortunately, as a purported drama between two families that meet and become obsessed with each other at a devastating cost, I was bored and uninterested in the lives of the majority of the run–of-the-mill, bland characters populating this book.

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward – 4 STARS, and 🏆.

The less you know about this one the better. You must simply know that Sing, Unburied, Sing is fantastically written and deals finely with an assorted bunch of issues that culminate toward an incredible piece of work. This is a story about poverty, the aftershocks of intergenerational trauma, the effects of bad(/borderline abusive?) parenting on children, and drug addiction. All set in the South and with added ghosts. It feels sweaty, grimy, and claustrophobic. Sing, Unburied Sing is what an engaging family drama (and what literary fiction, generally) should be and I didn’t even know it could be until I read it with my own eyes. You can stick a 🏆 in that pipe and smoke it.

  And that’s all from me, dear reader. Congratulations to Jesmyn Ward. I know what with the autumn months there are so many amazing books being released but you definitely want to make time for Sing, Unburied, Sing.

Until next time this is your friendly neighbourhood peruser of the written word, signing out!

      Reviews, II Welcome to ‘Reviews’, the segment where I review stories I’ve read recently with varying degrees of detail and inanity.

[drink-n-watch]

This week plunged us right back, head first, into the story of an old god of destruction, the ghost of an evil man and fifteen year old Chuuya and Dazai chasing after them. Almost immediately, I prefered this episode to the last. And that’s saying something because I quite liked the last one.

Do you guys like my gif. I’ve been making them lately. Also – all the spoilers, if you haven’t seen the episode, it’ll be like you did after reading this!

oh why thank you…ok, so this review is going to be positive..I mean, you can’t buy me!

We open on a dizzyingly well animated action scene as Chuuya and Dazai have to deal with the armed welcome committee they encountered at the mansion. Of course I always knew that Chuuya has an extremely powerful gift, but I had never quite gotten my mind around all the potential applications. Seeing him fight multiple enemies with childish glee was impressive and mesmerizing. It gave me a new appreciation for just how cool gravity manipulation is.

  And a few minutes later, I got a whole new appreciation for just how terrifying Dazai is. There’s always been something uncomfortable about Dazai’s character. Bungou Stray Dogs tends to be bloodless and lighthearted in general so his personality has always been skimmed over or used for laughs but Dazai is not o.k…. Not at all. He pushes way past anti-hero into actual villain territory pretty often. I guess what Mori said last episode was true. Those two really are alike.

and we had started off so well…

About 5 minutes in and I was fully captivated. The visuals were stunning, the character developments riveting and the atmosphere somehow managed to be disturbing, ominous and yet cheerful all at once. Superimposing ll that violence over such a beautiful lush garden on a sunny afternoon. Good move.

I don’t remember exactly when it cut in, but we also got an OP for the first time this week. It was decent. I quite liked the song. The visuals were mostly stylized still images. No special but good.

Turns out the ability user they were visiting, and those armed guys were trying to take out, was none other than Rando. I had to look it up last week to find out it’s actually Arthur Rimbaud (french poet – good one – died quite young). There was something both sneering and incredibly fitting at watching the eternally cold Rimbaud dispassionately throwing books into his fire lace to keep warm. As a big fan of the poet, that scene resonated with me. I like to think that he would have enjoyed it.

is the state of the mansion a reference to how Rimbaud died in poverty? ohhh I made myself sad.

Basically this s what we know so far. 8 years ago, a god like creature named Arahabaki almost destroyed an entire city with an explosion of *black flame* then disappeared. In the past weeks, there have been sightings of those black flames again with the Port Mafia’s old boss at the center. Rimbaud was a witness at one of the last sightings.

Dazai is pretty sure the whole thing is an elaborate hoax. A simple chemical reaction can make ordinary flames look black and there are many ways to make people think they saw someone who isn’t there. Especially in stressful conditions. But who would be putting on this hoax.

As for the armed guys. They’re just a rival faction. Rimbaud’s new loyalty to Mori is helping calm down and unify the Port Mafia. If he were to suddenly be dispatched (especially in a see of black flames) that could spark mutiny in the ranks and greatly weaken the organisation. I dunno why I bothered writing about these guys. Chuuya already took care of them.

wait, you’re getting ahead here

  Dazai isn’t the least bit thrown off when Rimbaud tells him what what he saw was definitely not a hoax, but it wasn’t the od boss either. He describes his encounter with Arahabaki and is visibly still shaken by it.

At this point I was intrigued. BSD is very loose with it’s rules. There definitely could be a great old god out there. Heck, there could even be a vengeful mafia boss ghost. This should really not be playing in the show’s favour. Universes where everything’s possible tend to get boring, and flashbacks with characters we know have no long term stakes. Yet, I’m eating this up so far. It’s well paced and interesting. They manage to make this bonker story just convincingly enough for me to want to find out what happens next.

Well what does happen next is some comedy relief banter between Chuuya and Dazai. Chuuya has a running gag that he’s only 15 and is going to get taller. it’s cute. They also make some silly bet at an arced, because they’re kids. Whoever figures out who’s behind it all first, get to boss the other one round. It’s always hard to tell with Dazai, but I think he might actually like Chuuya.

oh Chuuya…so easy…

Some bad timing means that Chuuya has an unfortunate encounter with some Sheep members and gets himself thrown out for collaborating with the Port Mafia. One thing I noticed throughout the episode, is that everybody seems to know Chuuya. No one knows Dazai. I wonder why he’s so popular!

Usually when shows have genius characters that can figure/plan everything out, there’s a fair bit of contrivances and intuitive leaps going on. It’s very difficult to consistently write these archetypes in a satisfying way. Dazai is no exception. But this time it worked. Because it was very simple. That’s the key to making your mysteries impactful. keep them straightforward.

and to the point

Dazai is throwing Chuuya a party to celebrate his new freedom with Rimbaud as the only guest. Let’s face it, neither of these guys have many friends. While waiting for the guest of honor Dazai an Rimbaud chat a bit and the conversation falls n the bet. At this point Dazai reveals he’s won and he knows the culprit.

In traditional sitcom style, Dazai calmy points at Rimbaud as the traitor both men just pleasantly chat while Dazai explains. This is where I was expecting a flood of coincidences and hard to follow mental contortionist but no. Simple answers are the best answers. Rimbaud’s description of the events of the previous week insisted on him seeing the sea. Yet he would have been in the middle of the crater. The sea is clearly not visible from there. The scene he described, could only have taken place before the xplosion 8 years ago.

And speaking of explosions, Chuuya sure knows how to make an entrance.

congratulations, you’re guilty!

Seems Chuuya also figured out it was Rimbaud behind it all but how? He simply says that all the other witnesses described seeing the boss’ face while Rimbaud described the actual Arahabaki and is simply not possible….

The episode ends on a shocking reveal. The fact that there was something that Dazai had not anticipated! I know, jaw dropped!

right!!!

But you must be asking yourselves. What exactly aren’t you ready for Irina??? Well basically this felt like an ending. That season 2 opening arc I keep droning on about was adapted from a light novel rather than the manga proper. It was a side story meant to give Dazai a bit of background. Thi explains the shift in tone and pacing. It was riveting. A bit of research has revealed that the present episodes are also adapted from a light novel. It’s entirely possible that the last second reveal marked the end of this particular journey and that next episode will bring us back to the present.

And I’m not ready. Sure I would love to see the rest of the gang again but I still have so many questions. I can guess Rimbaud’s motivations. He was not quite as loyal to Mori as he seemed and considering Mori staged a coup, he’s made plenty of enemies. There’s no need to go into that much deeper but, what about Chuuya. His character is up in the air right now. Not to mention Dazai who is rather worryingly unhinged at this point. Why did Mori bring them together in the first place.

And beyond the questions, I’m still enjoying this more mature and severe story. It has consequences and a lot of questionable morality. I enjoy shades of grey. I’m not ready to say goodbye to the comedy duo of angsty teenage Dazai and Chuuya. I hope to see them again next week. Fingers crossed!

agreed

in the meantime, you can see them in the dozens of screencaps I took!

  Bungo Stray Dogs 3 -2 : I’m Not Ready This week plunged us right back, head first, into the story of an old god of destruction, the ghost of an evil man and fifteen year old Chuuya and Dazai chasing after them.