#edit i just looked up the transcript again and in context HES SAYING THAT TO HER DAMN

[ravonosify]

Look I love Queen Vanessa but all I'm saying is Hoaxe was an abandoned feral bug who needed to learn what royalty is and does and he didn't learn it from the Giant's Lair that's for sure

[1nk20ul]

Jonathan Sims ALIVE?? I Believe I Have Proof.

(Spoilers for The Magnus Protocol!)

You heard that right. And if you've listened to TMP 39 - Dependents, you've heard it too. Not only can I prove without the shadow of a doubt that not one, but two Archivists are roaming TMA's London, but I can also prove with spectrogram + phonetical analysis exactly what Jon is saying.

Let me prove it to you.

First, let's start with an unedited audio sample, taken at 16:30:

Did you catch it? If you didn't, I don't blame you. There's a lot happening here. Let's check the official transcript for more context about what we're hearing.

So, what we're hearing is definitely the Archivist. It's evident that it's whispering something, but the specifics are currently hidden under layers of reverb, static, and tape winding. Let's clean it up a bit to get a better listen. I pitched the audio down 30%, reduced the background noise, and ran it through a few frequency filters to make the speech more prominent.

Oh.

Oh, shit.

Yeah, that's definitely Jon.

At the very least, we know this is obviously not Beth Eyre, who voices [ERROR]. Since the transcript states that this audio has to come from an Archivist, that really only leaves us with one other possibility.

But let's assume you still don't believe me. I took the liberty of isolating the vocals entirely and running them through a linguistics analysis programme called Praat (which is fantastic + free by the way!). This way, we can analyse the speech all the way down to the position of the Archivist's mouth when speaking.

Here's the new sample we're working with:

I admit, the speech is a tad more muffled in this version. However, the lack of background noise makes the spectrogram much easier to read, which is what we are aiming for here. We're far past the point of just using our ears.

Behold the Spectrogram:

Looking at this diagram, we can conclude that there are four words being spoken here. (The second word is the gap in the middle part. Note the density shift at around 1000Hz. We know this word must be free of any sharp consonants.) More importantly, the formants provided can be compared to samples of Jon's RP dialect to determine if there's a match. If the frequencies match, it's the same voice. If we get the wavelengths to match, it's the same word.

Let's start with the first word. I'll skip the specifics, as explaining every minute detail would take forever and bore everyone to death. The left image was extracted from the spectrogram above. The right photo? That's Jon saying the word "this."

Note how both waveforms are split into two halves, low then high. Note how the high half trails off at the end. Take into account the similar placement of the red formants. This is the same word, pronounced in the exact same dialect, with the exact same frequency. It is Jon.

Let's do that again with the second word.

Again, the formants line up in the exact same order. The audio on the right is a bit louder, which is why the waveforms have a higher contrast.

What did this word happen to be? World.

Here is the original spectrogram in Audacity. The two bright spots on the right-hand side are easy. It's the same sound as the end of the first word as well. (Notice the frequencies are the same.) These are an easy Letter S. I then fact-checked this using methods like before.

Finally, we have clear, undeniable proof:

"This world isn’t yours."

Edit: thank you to @thestrangepoet for correcting “is” to “isn’t!” The presence of the letter T was a bit inconclusive, but it makes so much more sense in this context.

Now, what does that actually mean? Well, he’s likely referring to Sam. The extent of what he actually knows I’m uncertain of. Feel free to theorise and let me know! I have an idea about how this affects the overall story, but that's a post for another day.

I furthermore checked every single instance [ERROR] spoke for occurrences like this, and what did I find? Nothing. There was a bit of whispering in TMP 10 that I couldn't manage to isolate, but the voice was definitely Beth Eyre's. The only other time an Archivist audibly appeared in this fashion was... Oh, Hello. The TMP series teaser with Jon and Martin. Brilliant.

Now I just have to hope that nothing gets debunked by tomorrow. I'm crossing my fingers, TMP 40.

Thank you to Rusty Quill for sending me down this rabbit hole! The details added to all corners of the production bring so much life to the Magnus mystery. I'm glad I could dig deep and analyse this - We love you!

[calamitydaze]

Why did he crop the Snapchat logs before where the "ur gorgeous" comment would have been

Why did he use transcripts that could be edited and not upload the logs where it could be separately looked over (like, for example, Kwite did with his text messages)

Why did he not provide evidence that Jamie's statement was actually from Jamie herself

Why would Sam hang on to an edited video for three years and release it only to retract it again less than a month later

Why did he edit his screenshot of burner 22 in his final tweet to omit the far more likely possibility of Sam lying in his video

Why did he get fucking Keem "if you remember 9/11 I don't want you" Star of all people on board to announce shit

He just made everything even more sus. Ppl will really believe anything if a white man says it confidently and adds some snappy editing lmao

these are almost certainly not good-faith questions coming from a place of healthy skepticism and care for victims, but for the sake of discussion i’ll pretend they are and indulge you:

1. i went back and looked at when he showed the logs and it looks to me like they’re being shown in reverse, with the oldest at the bottom and the most recent at the top. in that case both “gorgeous as fuck” and “fine as hell” would be visible— in between “got that 500 snap score” and “congrats :)”— but they’re not. the logs are kinda hard to make sense of so tell me if i’m misinterpreting them. but in any case, it doesn’t really matter because as stated in the video, if they happened it was after she was 18 and he had no context towards her being a fan, and compliments aren’t evidence of grooming anyway. and if he’s lying about them not being there, amanda’s had a year to download her own data and prove it

2. assuming you’re talking about the instagram dms here since he did show the logs of the snaps, but i mean…… idfk?? again, it doesn’t really matter since dry ass instagram dms are also not evidence of grooming 😭 but fwiw, i read through the transcript and it matches up with what i remember from reading the actual screenshots that amanda herself showed (and as demonstrated in the video, screenshots don’t automatically mean something is trustworthy anyway)

3. genuinely, what do you propose he could show as “proof” that the statement came from jamie without further exposing her to unwanted attention? i understand being skeptical of its validity and i raised an eyebrow too, but it matches up perfectly with both what we know she wants based on her twitter bios and separate statement from her that was given to keemstar and nicholas deorio by dream, and dream’s offered to prove the authenticity to any creator who reaches out. and, even if jamie herself doesn’t want to speak on it, it would be very easy for anyone else actually involved to dispute it but yet no one has. occam’s razor

4. frankly i have no idea why any of these people did what they did! does it really matter?

5. i think you sent this before the burner reactivated, but they’ve now said that they’re certain sam lied to them, so 🤷‍♀️ moot point

6. regardless the kind of person keemstar is, he’s got a wide reach and dream clearly wanted as many as people as possible to see his video, including audiences who don’t follow or subscribe to him specifically. makes sense to me

[amwritingmeta]

Jared’s remarks had more to do with how the show was never about incest, though…

So, I go to sleep and wake up to the hasthtag #homosexualdeclarationoflove trending on Twitter and I’m like... oh! And then I’m like... ohhhhh. 

Let’s start with a bit of context here. My impression of Jared is that he is inherently comfortable in his own skin. One of the earliest interviews I’ve seen with him from S1 has him stating that it’s flattering as an actor when you get attention from women and men alike, and he says it like it’s no big deal and he couldn’t be less flummoxed by men hitting on him. So to my mind he’s NOT homophobic and never has been. 

I think he might put his foot in it once in a while, though, and if other members of the LQBTQIA+ community that read this have a different and stronger opinion on him being homophobic, please comment and let’s talk about it. 

In short, my approach to this post is: I don’t know Jared, but I’ve been in a room with him when he’s been humble and kind and always respectful to his fans. He seems like such a loving person that my context for him saying anything is that it doesn’t come from a bad place.

I got this transcription off Twitter via @bisexualdw (Quinn) and I’ve edited it down so that all of Jared’s comments are in one block:

Q (to Jensen): When did you know that the way Cas loved Dean was romantic love?

Jared: I don’t think it’s the point that they both have... human... male bodies... seemingly. And want to... sleep with each other. I think the point is that like, you can love anything. Like, it’s a superpower. Somebody can punch you in the face and you can say, like, “I love you. I forgive you.” Somebody can give you a million bucks and you can say, “I love you.” It doesn’t mean, like. I say that with my friends. I say it with Ackles. “Hey, I love you, man.” That doesn’t mean like... (lower voice) “I wanna take you to a hotel room.” It means I love you! And, uh, so that was--the point of the relationship, story-wise, they could love each other the way Sam and Dean love each other. It wasn’t a show about incest, you know? So Cas and Dean can love each other. It’s not a show about heterosexuality or nonbinary. It’s a show about, hey, you can choose to live your life with love. Um, not, hey, this means they want to make out. It’s not about that. It’s about... I can tell my son “I love you”. And it’s not that I want to do something to or with my son, I just love my son. My daughter can say the same thing. So that wasn’t-- I’m sorry, that wasn’t the point of that scene. The point was, uh, you are free to love whoever you want. You can be heterosexual and love whoever you want, you can be queer and love whoever you want, you can be part of the LGBTQIA-- Love whoever the fuck you want, it doesn’t make-- Sorry, my cursing. It doesn’t mean you want to do something with them or to them. So hopefully, Supernatural and its 300 and something episodes helped to have people love those around them.

Look at it. Read it again. Then again. And don’t worry, I’m digging in, of course, but just read it through one more time. I mean damn. And yes, this is going to be my personal interpretation, coming from the angle I put into context above, but do you see it too?

Let me begin by saying that I’m intrigued. I don’t think we’ve had that much debunking of the incestuous interpretation of the brothers, right? In my years on here, I haven’t seen any floating around anyway. Not that there’s been much blatant supporting of it from Jared or Jensen either, of course. Anyway, if debunking Wincest comes with hack jobs like this one of trying to make Destiel into a symbol of transcendent, unconditional love... Hey, I’ll very happily accept. And do you want to know why?

Because we know it was a homosexual declaration of love, because it’s been confirmed by the very actor who made the declaration, and even if it hadn’t been, the subtext of that episode underlines this to be a requited love story, and I don’t need Jared to confirm it. I don’t even need Jensen to confirm it. Let me rephrase: I definitely do not need WB contracted producer Jensen Ackles to confirm it.

Jared’s explanation, to me, reads much more like a rebuff of interpreting all love as sexual, than it does as a rebuff of a love story between Dean and Cas. Actually, it feels like Jared takes the question and sees an opening to talk about how interpreting the love between people--especially family--as sexual isn’t perhaps the best way to go, and it certainly is not the legacy of SPN.

And I’m not saying he’s in any way endorsing a love story reading of Dean and Cas because that would be an insane thing to do, but the fact that he mentions incest and then has the familial love as a streak through his entire argument is kind of lovely, if you’re of the disposition to agree with him.

Let’s look at his choice of words and how he tries to illustrate his point by making comparisons to real life:

1. I don’t think it’s the point that they both have... human... male bodies... seemingly. And want to... sleep with each other. I think the point is that like, you can love anything.

Interpretation--> Unconditional love, right? What he’s trying to say is that it’s not about the sex or the sexualisation of this moment, as in Cas saying “I love you” could have been finished off with “now let’s fuck” and I think that’s a fair interpretation. Don’t you? Was Supernatural ever about the sex that needed to happen between Dean and Cas? I would say no. It was about the love that needed to happen. It was about the power love has to change a person’s mindset.

 2. Like, it’s a superpower. Somebody can punch you in the face and you can say, like, “I love you. I forgive you.” Somebody can give you a million bucks and you can say, “I love you.” It doesn’t mean, like. I say that with my friends. I say it with Ackles. “Hey, I love you, man.” That doesn’t mean like... (lower voice) “I wanna take you to a hotel room.” It means I love you!

Interpretation--> Love IS a superpower. It’s the great equaliser and facilitator of forgiveness. I’m so onboard. And now he starts veering off into how simply loving someone doesn’t mean you want to take them to a hotel room and do the dirty. He loves Jensen, but that doesn’t mean he wants to fuck him. It just means he loves him. And it’s interesting to me that he’s using their friendship to underline this concept of how love can just be non-sexual, junkless love. I mean, it’s almost like he saw an opening in the “romantic love” side to the question to make an argument against seeing romantic love everywhere that it really, really isn’t at all present. Like at all. There’s love there, but not romantic love. Almost like he has a separate point to make to what the question is actually about and he’s using the question’s topic to make said point. *shrug*

3. And, uh, so that was--the point of the relationship, story-wise, they could love each other the way Sam and Dean love each other. It wasn’t a show about incest, you know?

Interpretation--> I mean, he moves from underlining how his relationship with Jensen is platonic into this rather mind-blowing statement of how the show is not about incest, don’t we know? (oh, yes, Jared) (yes, we know) This statement is what made me sit down to write this post more than anything else, because it’s lovely. Props to Jared for making it.

4. So Cas and Dean can love each other. It’s not a show about heterosexuality or nonbinary. It’s a show about, hey, you can choose to live your life with love. Um, not, hey, this means they want to make out. It’s not about that.

Interpretation--> They love each other. Interesting. I mean, of course they DO, but it’s funny that this leads into how it’s not a show about heterosexuality (!) or nonbinary--as in it’s not about a heterosexual (Dean) or nonbinary (Cas) love, but a love that defies those labels? And then back to underlining how it’s not about the sex. Which is true--it never was about the sex. It was about opening yourself up to that fear of happiness, daring to be honest, and letting love in.

5. It’s about... I can tell my son “I love you”. And it’s not that I want to do something to or with my son, I just love my son. My daughter can say the same thing. So that wasn’t-- I’m sorry, that wasn’t the point of that scene. The point was, uh, you are free to love whoever you want.

Interpretation--> The interesting thing here is that he talks about Dean and Cas and heterosexual/nonbinary and how it’s not about definitions but about a love that goes beyond that, and at this point him bringing it back to familial love and the love he has for his children doesn’t quite mesh with Dean and Cas. It meshes with what he’s saying about the message of the show as a whole though, and ties back in with his comment about how the show is not about incest, is not about interpreting every relationship as having a streak of something sexual running through it, but when he comes back to the point of the scene he goes right back into how the scene between Dean and Cas was about transcending the expectations of who you are supposed to love-->

6. You can be heterosexual and love whoever you want, you can be queer and love whoever you want, you can be part of the LGBTQIA-- Love whoever the fuck you want, it doesn’t make-- Sorry, my cursing. It doesn’t mean you want to do something with them or to them.

Interpretation--> It’s like he’s talking about two different things. And again, this is just my interpretation, but there is support here for the Love Is Love proclamation of the LGBTQIA+ community and he’s embracing it, but then he comes back to the fact that love doesn’t have to be sexual, and that should be recognised as well. So he’s talking about this transcendent idea of what love is and how it breaks the mould, but also, to my mind, reiterating how this doesn’t apply to familial love.

7. So hopefully, Supernatural and its 300 and something episodes helped to have people love those around them.

Interpretation--> I hope so too. This post isn’t meant to poke at stuff that Wincest shippers don’t want poked. This post is for those of you who felt Jared was being homophobic or anti-Destiel. And in case his words are being weaponised within this fandom to come attack my fellow Hellers, here’s a counter argument for you, in case you hadn’t already interpreted Jared’s words this way. Make your counter argument with kindness and then gently block and turn away from anyone trying to argue that Wincest is a supported ship or that Jared and Jensen find Destiel disgusting or that they hate it. Or that Jensen and Dean hate Cas etc. etc.

Jensen: Yeah! Um, that the love that Cas had is heavenly. It was, you know, he’s an angel. So he’s able to-- he’s able to, I think, love on a level and on a plane that--human emotion doesn’t necessarily comprehend. Um, and I think we might default to making it a, uh, romantic or sexual love when I think that the way I interpreted it--and this is the great thing about the show and I think the relationships and some of these characters is that they’re open to interpretation! If you find identity in a character because of whatever reason--fantastic! Great! If that encourages you to be a better person, or to love someone a little harder, to forgive someone for something--fantastic! That’s--that’s I think that’s one of the beautiful things about doing what we do is that we get to encourage people on a variety of levels. And I think Cas’s love was a love that isn’t identified by humans, necessarily. It was a love that superseded that and so we try to find words to describe that and I just don’t think there are words.

First off, bless this man. “I just don’t think there are words.” This is Dean. This is the man who played Dean who listened to this angel of his telling him that he loves him and in Dean’s head he just could not fathom what that love might mean, but to his mind it’s a love that is so beyond anything he could ever wrap his mind around that there aren’t even words to describe it... 

And that’s a viable interpretation. Right? If we’re going off what Jensen has told us since 15x18 aired about Dean’s inability to properly comprehend Cas’ declaration, I would even say it’s a good way to avoid talking about Dean having any sort of feelings back, even though 15x18 is structured around the subtextual statement that he does. Very much. Have those sorts of feelings back.

Anyway.

I’ll take the overwhelm of having an angel and your best friend tell you he loves you over Jensen trying to tell us that Cas’ declaration was platonic any day of the week. Because Jensen isn’t saying that it’s platonic on Cas’ side, and he’s going to great lengths not to say it’s platonic. He’s saying it’s beyond human comprehension. I don’t know if I ever heard anything more goddamn romantic that this notion that Dean is loved beyond human comprehension.  

And honestly I feel Jared is making his argument to find some way to highlight how there is no incest on the show, more than he is arguing that Dean and Cas’ love was meant as purely platonic. 

I think they’re in a bit of a bind. And they’re doing the best they can with it. 

But props to Jared. All the props. 

“It wasn’t a show about incest, you know.”

It sure wasn’t.

[winterscaptain]

intellectual guesswork.

Aaron Hotchner x Gender Neutral Reader

a/n: another ajf update that requires absolutely no context to enjoy! i love you all so much. send some extra love to your favorite writers this week :)

one quick thing - if you’re on my taglist, please consider dropping a reply or a reblog! i love to see what you all think, and it encourages me to keep going :) it’s also getting a bit long, and i want to make sure my mutuals and people who engage are seeing everything - tumblr sometimes has a hard time with a lot of mentions. 

words: 1.6k warnings: none!

summary: “ignorance of the law excuses no man - from practicing it.” - addison mizner. au!may 2008

masterlist | a joyful future masterlist | ajf faq | taglist | what do you want to see next? edited: january 12th, 2021

You all settle into one row. Aaron’s on the end beside you, looking very sharp in a crisp black suit, his favorite Rolex, and a settled kind of confidence you’ve only seen in him a few times. It’s like he’s in his natural habitat. 

Aaron’s record as a federal prosecutor speaks for itself, of course, but you’ve never seen him in action. As often as they can, the bureau’s leadership sends him in as an expert witness. This time, the case happens to be one of yours. The judge hasn’t required a sequestration for Aaron, so you get the treat of sitting together in the courtroom. 

He’s scoffed and mumbled snide remarks under his breath all morning. You’re just itching to see him get up on the stand and give this joker an education. 

Emily leans over, whispering in your ear. “I promise you’ve never seen anything like this before. Hotch is going to rip this clown to shreds.” 

You stifle a laugh and look over at Aaron. He heard her. Leaning toward you, he murmurs, “All my JD does is collect dust. When I use it, I’d like to enjoy it.” 

“Your Honor, the prosecution would like to call our expert witness, Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner, to the stand.” 

He takes a breath and rises, buttoning his suit jacket and crossing the courtroom. His presence commands respect and everyone in the courtroom seems to shrink before him. 

The prosecution’s questions go over smoothly, and the defense attorney stands with an unreasonable amount of confidence. 

Emily leans over. “He thinks he can get Hotch with at least one of these questions, and he might. But just watch.” 

You nod, taking everything in. 

“So you’ve stated that it was your profile of the killer that led you and the police to my clients door that night.” 

“Behavioral analysis was a factor in our investigation, yes.” 

Without hesitation, the attorney follows up. “And was behavioral analysis also a factor in the Olympic Park bombings case in Atlanta?” 

“Yes, it was.” Aaron’s eyes and tone never waver, no hint of arrogance or cheek. 

“And was that suspect you identified,” the attorney asks, far too aggressively, “Richard Jewell, ever convicted of the bombings?”

The prosecution objects, and you watch Aaron. Every part of him observes the proceedings with an outwardly detached interest, but his eyes are alive - strategizing and anticipating. It’s like you can see the wheels turning as the lawyers bicker. 

 The judge ends the squabble. “I’ll allow it.”

Aaron, now with permission, answers simply, “No, he was not convicted.”

“Because he was innocent. Your profile led you to the wrong man.” 

Oh, give me a break. It takes everything in you not to scoff and you can feel Emily’s eye roll.

“Jewell was not the perpetrator, but if you look at the real Olympic Park Bomber, Eric Rudolph, you’ll see that our profile was dead-on.” 

Dead-on indeed, Aaron. 

“Well, how about we look at the Baton Rouge Killer? Your unit said that he was white and living in the city. He was Black and from the suburbs.”

Aaron’s eyes narrow and you feel Spencer shift beside you. Emily shakes her head. “Don’t worry,” she whispers. “He always recovers, never in the way you’d expect.” 

“How do you know?”

Emily’s face pulls into a little smile. “I’ve read the transcripts. Hotch is terribly clever.” 

“You said that Dennis Rader, the B.T.K. Killer,” the attorney continues, “was divorced and impotent. He turned out to be married with two kids.” 

JJ huffs, and you hear her whisper to Spencer, “Can we quit with the sermon?” 

His lips turn up. “Just wait.”

Dave leans over and stares them down over Derek. Stop talking. 

All of you look down at your hands like chastised children, but your gaze floats back to Aaron right away. 

The prosecution objects again, this time on the grounds of preaching. The judge forces a question, and the attorney turns back on Aaron.

“Having been wrong on those cases, isn’t it possible that you were wrong about Brian Matloff?” 

“No.” Your chest squeezes. He’s completely firm in his denial. 

How does he do that?

“Fact is,” the attorney continues like Aaron didn’t speak at all, “behavioral analysis is really just intellectual guesswork. You probably couldn’t tell me the color of my socks with any greater accuracy than a carnival psychic.” 

“Objection!” 

Her outburst is unnecessary. Aaron has a plan. His eyes track to you as if to check in. Are you paying attention? 

If you weren’t watching before, you’re certainly watching now. Always. 

“Withdrawn.” 

“Charcoal grey.” His flat assertion makes you gasp and you immediately cover your mouth with your hand to stifle the sound. 

The attorney turns around. “Well, look at that,” he exposes his socks to the court, and they are, in fact, charcoal grey. “He got one right.”

Aaron’s not finished. “You match them to the color of your suit to appear taller. You also wear lifts and you’ve had the soles of your shoes replaced. One might think you’re frugal, but in fact, you’re having financial difficulties.” 

You do your best to school your expression and remove your hand from your mouth. Checking down the row, you see six smirks watching the witness box. 

“You wear a fake Rolex…”

And you’d know. 

“...because you pawned the real one to pay your debts. My guess would be to a bookie.” 

Is he smiling?

“I took this case pro bono.” There’s tension in Mr. Charcoal Grey’s voice. You can hear it behind the false confidence and it pulls a smile from you. “I am one of the most successful criminal attorneys in the state.”

Hotch continues, completely bypassing him. “Your vice is horses.” There’s definitely a little smile on his face now. “Your Blackberry’s been buzzing on the table every twenty minutes, which happens to be the average time between posts from Colonial Downs. You’re getting race results.” Your smile gets wider, and Emily grabs your hand. 

“Just watch.”

“And every time you do, it affects your mood in court, and you’re not having a very good day.” There’s something that looks almost like concern on Aaron’s face, but you know it’s nothing if not facetious. He’s ripping this poor man to shreds without changing a single thing about his presentation.

I love - 

Don’t finish that thought. 

Why not?

Remember how he’s freshly divorced?

I know, but have you seen him?

“That’s because you pick horses the same way you practice law -” 

You lean forward and Emily follows, her thumbnail between her teeth. 

The final blow. 

“- by always taking the long shot.” 

If this was any other setting, you’re sure the entire team would be on their feet, shouting and jeering. But alas, you’re in court, so you settle for a wide smile and a suppressed laugh. Amused brown eyes meet yours from across the room and you shake your head just the tiniest bit. I can’t believe you.

His lips twitch. 

“Well, you spin a very good yarn, Agent, but as usual, you’ve proven nothing.” He’s just trying to recover something, anything left of his dignity. He fails, miserably. 

“If I’m not mistaken,” Aaron says, his eyebrows raised just a little, “the results from the fifth race should be coming through any minute.”

Just then, his Blackberry buzzes on the defense table. “Why don’t you tell us if your luck has changed?”

You raise your hands to your face to cool the rising heat in your cheeks. 

“Your honor, this is - “

The judge takes matters into his own hands. “What do you want me to do? Either show us your Blackberry or cut him loose, counselor.”

Hotch and the defense attorney share a loaded look. It’s a battle of wills. 

Aaron wins. 

“Nothing further.”

+++

When you all leave the courthouse, you practically latch onto Aaron’s arm, completely floored. 

“How did you do that?”

He laughs and Derek jumps up beside him, shaking his shoulders. “Come on, Hotch. That was incredible.” 

“Why have a law degree if you aren’t going to use it?”

+++

He offers you a ride home later that evening and you take him up on it. You’re both still in the car, idling in front of your house. 

“That really was impressive today,” you admit, your eyes on your hands.

You can feel his soft smile rather than see it. “Thanks. I know it didn’t quite go the way we wanted as far as the case itself, but there’s more to come.” 

“It’s never as bad as it looks in the first couple of days.” 

“Exactly.” He sighs. “Thanks again for being there today. It’s…” his lips twist as he thinks, “nice to have the team around.” 

You reach out, squeezing his forearm before immediately letting him go. “Of course. We’ll always be there for you. Plus, there’s nothing better than watching you tear blowhard lawyers to shreds in a court of law.” 

“I’m not sure that’s exactly how it went.” 

“You’re kidding!” You laugh. “That’s just what happened. The man left without half his soul! You absolutely tore it from his body.”

The pair of you quiet, and you move to get out of the car. He stops you with a hand over yours as you unclip your seatbelt. “Really. Thanks for being there today.” 

“I can’t emphasize this enough - it was my pleasure.” 

Enough of a pleasure as it was, his smile in the dark of the car is the best part of your day.  

+++

tagging: @arganfics @quillvine @stxrryspencer @agenthotchner @wandaswitxh @hurricanejjareau @fics-ilike @ange-must-die @ughitsbaby @rousethemouse @criminalsmarts @shrimpyblog @genevievedarcygranger @ssaic-jareau @good-heavens-chris-evans @davidrossi-ismydad @angelsbabey @gublergirls @writefasttalkevenfaster @venusbarnes @hotchsflower @micaiahmoonheart @ogmilkis @thatreallyis-americas-ass @marvels-agents100 @hotchslatte @risenfox @mrs-dr-reid @captain-christopher-pike @joemazzello-imagines @pinkdiamond1016 @sebbybaby0 @pan-pride-12 @hotchlinebling @lee-rin-ah @sunshine-em @word-scribbless @jdougl-love @sageellsworth05 @nohalohoseok @giveusbackourbucky @writerxinthedark @bauslut @yourlovelynewsbian @sparklingkeylimepie @aili28 @kingandrear @reader4027 @spnobsessedmemes @rogers-mouth @dreila03 @forgottenword @aaronhotchnerr @ssa-morgan @hotchnersgoddess @buckybau @phoenixfyre374 @sana-li @tegggeeee @abschaffer2 @ssacandi-ass-prentiss  @dontkissthewriter @ellyhotchner @lotties-journey-abroad @mrs-joel-pimentel-23-25 @laneygthememequeen @ahopelessromantic @violentvulgarvolatile @andreasworlsboring101 @mooneylupinblack @ssareidbby @violet-amxthyst @bwbatta @roses-and-grasses @lcvischmitt @capricorngf @missdowntonabbey @averyhotchner @mandylove1000 @garcia-reid-lovechild  @cevanswhre @colbyskoalas @qvid-pro-qvo @jeor @spencers-hoodrat @infinity1321

[5uptic]

I'm not on twitter but what did fundy suposedly do that's so bad?

hi, anon! smile

um, i'll be going over the three things 5up discussed on his stream (x)

1. the jackbox thingy

fundy made some really inappropriate jokes about unconsensual sexual activities in a jackbox stream. he then prepared a stream to apologize for it, which i think he handled pretty good. i think by context alone you can tell that these are edgy jokes shared between friends, except that fundy forgot that the whole thing was being shared on a public platform lol. although he didn't have bad intentions, it was clearly an insensitive thing that he shouldn't have said on stream and he apologized accordingly.

2. the gorilla joke

here video. this one is the one that people reference the most to my knowledge, and it happened that in one stream that fundy is having a humorous convo with phill, he brings up how people will make stupid noises to imitate a gorilla and then he goes on to say that it's "racist". i get how it's easy to take it away from context but people don't take into account that english is not fundy's first language and he's from the netherlands too. this clip shows that there's other occasions in which fundy has referred to certain animals as "races". it's just him using the unfortunate example of a gorilla for it, which is usually used as a caricature to discriminate against black people. but context of the thing shows that he was humorously indicating that the imitation of the animal was so bad that it was "offensive" - again, there's a thing called a "hyperbole" and it's also a funny manner of speech.

intentions wise, it's clear that he never referred to black people in the first place (story had absolutely nothing to do with them in any way) and it takes like one minute to understand where he's coming from. however, it's really easy to twist this clip to mean what you want it to mean so, eh, unfortunate.

3. interjects/systems and fundy's discord

it was really hard to find proof for this on for some reason??? but here is what i found. basically, mods in fundy's discord made a rule against people with DID/OSDD to take roles of fundy and various other content creators. the argument of why it was wrong is that of course, you cannot expect people who suffer from DID and OSDD to have some sort of control over their alters. moreover, the mods made this rule upon an outburst of people who claimed to be systems as well, which people read as pointing fingers at systems and saying that they're only doing it for the trend. i think... this issue is particularly nuanced and there's not really a definite answer about it. the rules are there to make modding easier and assure a better discord for everyone involved, but the way some things were worded make it seem like they're treating DID as a new twitter trend. however, i believe what they mods said about the spike of people using alters on discord roles and names, and it's tricky to know who's doing it because they effectively suffer of the disorder, or if it's people who simply do it because they think it's fun. even things like self-diagnosing are tricky to discuss and have in mind when it comes to these things.

in the part of "hey how does this relate to fundy", i read that he's treated systems as "twitter trends" himself... which i honestly believe it's a reach because otherwise i would've found something about it lol. his behavior about his mods has been of ignoring the situation and umodding other people for other reasons/situations, at least that's what i read and what i'm inclined to believe is closer to the truth. certainly it's not something that pertains to fundy himself but more of the people he's allowed to mod his discord, which ....eh. if people want to cancel fundy, they'll take anything they can. right off the bat, calling the mods "ableist" is a reach and it doesn't help at all to actually find a solution to this entire situation.

EDIT: some people messaged me to include how fundy addressed the situation. i'm guessing he posted a twitlonger that i couldn't find anymore (good for her tbh) and here are some excerpts:

"...[the rule] went against my back. [...] The mod that has condoned this rule has been stripped from its status and removed from the mod team."

and further:

so looks like this was never fundy's idea from the first place, and then he took care of it afterwards. makes the whole "fundy is ableist" claim even more of a reach.

lastly, here's a video where 5up briefly mentions what happened with fundy. i just include it because i think he has fair takes on it, and it might help to clarify situations if you need it.

Transcription: "[reading chat] "Fundy getting shit on for nothing"? No, here's what I will say. Fundy got shit on... sometimes, justifiably. He got the shit he deserved for the jackbox thing. And he apologized for it, and he understands what he did wrong. Fundy did not deserve any shit for the gorilla thing, and people still call him racist."

"[reading chat] "It's also a matter of people taking things out of context"? Oh, a 100%. People are saying Fundy compared black people to gorillas, when that, like. Do you, do you [laughs] if you listen to the clip, that wasn't even mentioned even remotely! It's just- it's like third-hand information."

[felassan]

Dragon Age Library Edition Volume 1 annotations & additional pages/art compilation

Dragon Age Library Edition Volume 1 is a hardcover collection of some pre-existing Dragon Age comics that was released in 2014. It comprises of all issues of The Silent Grove, Those Who Speak and Until We Sleep. In places, it includes additional annotations/commentaries by the illustrators and authors, as well as a few additional pages with additional art. iirc these additional annotations and pages/art aren’t featured or available anywhere else (in the franchise I mean; other people have probably put them online at some point I’m sure).

From what I can see at least, Library Edition Volume 1 is no longer in print, and as such listings for it on resale sites etc are.. price-inflated & prohibitively expensive (~£100+, which I’m sure we can all agree is just not reasonable or accessible to most people). Due to this, I’ve compiled the additional annotations and pages here in this post. Thank you and credit to @artevalentinapaz, who kindly shared the material with me. This post has been made with their permission. The rest of this post is under a cut due to length.

These commentaries are in the context of The Silent Grove, Those Who Speak and Until We Sleep. If you notice any errors or annotations missing, or need anything clarified, just let me know. I think the annotations are in chronological order. In places I elaborated in square brackets to help explain which part of the comics an annotation is referring to. A note before you proceed further: some of the topics referenced in the annotations/additional pages are heavy or uncomfortable. The quotes here are word-for-word transcriptions of dev/creator commentaries, not my personal opinions or phrasings.

(Also, I do recommend always supporting comic creators by purchasing their comics legitimately. I own each issue of these comics having bought other editions of them all legitimately. The reason I put this post together is because this specific Library Edition volume has been discontinued and the consequently-inflated cost is so high, rendering the additional material inaccessible to most.)

-----

The Silent Grove annotations

Illustrator Chad Hardin: “I used to be an environmental artist for video games, so I built a 3-D model of Antiva City using the program Silo. Many of the buildings are simple cubes, but a few are more detailed. Overall, I spent the better part of a day building it, but I used it again and again throughout The Silent Grove to maintain continuity in the backgrounds.”

Script Writer Alexander Freed: “Even working with David Gaider, it took me several drafts to find Alistair’s voice. His narrative had to convey his humor and self-doubt from Dragon Age: Origins while suggesting a newfound weariness earned during his years on the throne. For readers familiar with the character, he needed to seem like a changed Alistair - but Alistair nonetheless.”

Chad Hardin: “If you read a lot of comics, you might wonder why the majority of the heroes wear skin-tight suits. Well, I can tell you: they are easy and quick to draw. In video games, you build the model once and then animate it, so details don’t slow you down. In comics, everything has to be rendered by hand. Varric and Alistair’s outfits were quite detailed. It took me a long time to get used to them, and even longer to memorize the designs until drawing them was second nature - Varric’s knee armor in particular! Oy vey!”

David Gaider: “One of my favorite scenes in the entire series [when Varric and Isabela are disarming traps and picking locks together while Alistair looks on]. Isabela and Varric, doing what rogues do. I had a suggestion for how to put it together, but Alex managed to make it fit and did a great job with it.”

Chad Hardin: “I never used to keep any of the artwork I created for comics. I would just hand the pages over to my agent to sell. This page [when Alistair, Varric and Isabela are in a tavern together, with hookah in the foreground] I kept for myself. I love the hookah-smoking elves in the second panel and Isabela’s face in the last panel. I rendered the first four chapters of The Silent Grove in grayscale using ink washes, gouache and Copie markers.”

David Gaider: “For a little while, Varric [in these comic stories] was supposed to be Zevran from Dragon Age: Origins, which would have made sense, Zevran being Antivan and all. I know that some fans would have loved to see him, but the dynamics of the group just didn’t work as well. Then a planned cameo later had to be cut for space. Ah well, Zev, another time.”

Alexander Freed: “Isabela at her most dangerous [climbing up the side of the cliff]. This scene - featuring a scantily clad, dripping-wet woman who tends to flaunt her sexuality - could easily have come across as exploitative, but Chad did a lovely drop portraying Isabela as purely focused and deadly.”

Chad Hardin: “Isabela rising out of the water and scaling the cliff with the knife in her mouth is one of my favorite parts of The Silent Grove. It is one of those moments where the writing really inspired the art. Hats off to Alex and David. This is another page I kept for myself.”

Colorist Michael Atiyeh: “This is one of my favorite Dragon Age pages. Chad is such an amazing artist; I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with him.”

Chad Hardin: “I love that this page [when a guard spots Varric and shouts ‘Intruder!’] made it in uncensored. So many times in comics, I draw something and some stuffy lawyers come out of the woodwork and tell me to tone it down. Dark Horse and BioWare always let me have fun, and this turned out to be one of my favorite pages with Varric and Bianca. Any guesses to which word he is mouthing in the second panel?”

Alexander Freed: “Note the simple decency of Alistair as he gives his cloak, without comment, to Isabela. For all his flaws, he’s genuinely kind at heart - a rare enough trait in Isabela’s world that I think it’s much of what she values in him.”

Chad Hardin: “I love the opening panel to this chapter [the opening panels to Chapter 3, when the team are on a ship at sea]. It’s the image I use on the homepage of my website. This page was a gift to my cousin Wendy, who loves pirates. Seascapes with sailing ships might be clichéd in fine art, but for me it was a first.”

David Gaider: “I wanted to have this story center on the group travelling to a Witch of the Wilds other than Flemeth, and originally I had set it somewhere else - until I remembered a Codex entry from Dragon: Age Origins that offhandedly mentioned a witch in the Tellari Swamps. Brilliant! It’d look like I planned it all along. I didn’t.”

Michael Atiyeh: “I love opportunities where I can show a change in the time of day as you move from panel to panel [when the ship heads towards and the team arrive in the Tellari Swamps]. I feel the palette of each panel is very distinct and beautiful.”

Alexander Freed: “Why did Alistair choose two people he barely knows to be his companions on this quest? We never make this explicit, but of course Varric is on the right track. Alistair wants to surround himself with people who don’t know him and won’t judge him, yet it’s Alistair’s idealism that Isabela and Varric work to preserve.”

Chad Hardin: “Another page where the writing inspired the art [when the group suddenly encounter a dragon]. I love the dragon bursting onto the scene and Isabela’s stare. Some writers will try to cram six or seven panels on a page like this and the pacing just doesn’t allow the artist to give each moment the right punch. Can you imagine if the first panel was crammed into a single square inch?”

Chad Hardin: “Yavana was one of the only characters that we did no preliminary sketches for. I don’t know how that happened, but thankfully it worked out.”

David Gaider: “I love how Yavana looks like a cross between Flemeth and Morrigan. Flemmigan? She’s totally Chad’s design, and it’s great. Typical for these witches, she never says things straight. In my mind, this Alistair is the one who did the Dark Ritual in Dragon Age: Origins - and I was half-tempted to have him lose his cool in this first scene [opening panels of Chapter 4] with her. Too early, though.”

Alexander Freed: “Through this whole sequence [the page when Varric aims Bianca at Yavana], Yavana is dropping cryptic hints and Alistair is refusing to play along. He’s met Flemeth and Morrigan - he knows Yavana won’t give him a straight answer, and he won’t give her the satisfaction of asking needlessly.”

Michael Atiyeh: “Sometimes it’s the little things on a page that spark my interest. Here [when the team navigate vines and mud to get to the temple], the sunset panel came out great and the mud looks really thick and gooey. It’s fun to focus on these details and make them stand out.”

Chad Hardin: “I hated drawing this scene [when Isabela gets kicked] where Isabela gets the boot to the face. Call me old fashioned, but I was raised to believe that only a coward would ever hit a woman (even a battle-hardened pirate adventurer). I draw at home, and my girls often watch me work in my studio. This was a page I didn’t want them watching me draw. I do like, though, that Isabela gets up, yanks the arrow out, and then soldiers on (and later extracts brutal revenge).”

Michael Atiyeh: “Poor Isabela. It seems I gave her more bruises and black eyes than any of the other characters. [when Isabela is yanking the arrow out]”

Chad Hardin: “It’s always interesting to go back and look at artwork because it reminds me of what was going on in my life at the time. I inked this page [opening panels of Chapter 5] at a ‘draw night’ session at an anime convention in St. George, Utah. I was one of the special guests, but I missed the first day because I was at my grandfather’s funeral in Las Vegas, Nevada. Seeing this page brought back those memories.”

David Gaider: “‘Bianca says hello.’ [quoting the panels being referenced] I adore Varric. I was tempted to have him narrate the entire series [in reference to these three comics], but then again I liked the idea of having each series center on one of the trio’s viewpoints. This book belongs to Alistair, but that doesn’t stop Varric from getting all the best lines.”

Alexander Freed: “Claudio, of course, is not a terribly sympathetic figure. But I wanted to emphasize that he takes this fight as personally as Isabela - he sincerely loved Luis and blames Isabela for the man’s death. I think it’s important to give every character, even the most loathsome, some dignity. [when Isabela and Claudio are fighting]”

Chad Hardin: “Payback! Here is where Isabela extracts her revenge on Claudio [when Isabela stabs Claudio]. I never enjoyed killing off a character so much. I particularly enjoyed putting the look of shock in his eyes. He had it coming. There is something satisfying about killing a ‘made man’.”

Chad Hardin: “Every now and then when drawing comics, I wish I could animate some panels and watch them as a cartoon. It would be great to see this sequence [when Yavana catches Claudio’s soul] in full motion as Yavana snatches Claudio’s soul, makes it reenter his corpse and then extracts information from him until he bursts into flame. It was a very Hellboy-ish moment. I enjoyed the movie that played in my mind while drawing this scene. Hope everyone liked the result.”

Chad Hardin: “As I mentioned on page 17, I rendered the first four chapters in grayscale, which made the black-and-white art look great, but had a neutralizing effect when it came to colors. By the time I drew chapter 4, I had seen the effect it was having and decided to stop using the grayscale so the colors would pop. When I saw this page [when Alistair says to Yavana ‘And we helped you find it’] in print, it confirmed to me that I made the right decision. I honestly feel this art was the best of The Silent Grove.”

Chad Hardin: “I practically painted these pages [when Yavana says ‘It is permitted. Tonight and only tonight’] in thumbnails hoping it would help me choose how to render them in ink. It is so hard trying to figure out how to get a full range of value out of just black and white. There are some artists and inkers that make this look easy. Mark Schultz comes to mind. Michael saved my bacon. Colorists really do so much work when it comes to rendering; this page came out awesome because of him.”

David Gaider: “Here we reveal the existence of Great Dragons (as opposed to High Dragons), and also that Yavana was the source of the return of dragons to Thedas after their departure for so many centuries. But why? There’s the rub, and not even Alistair can trust that she’s telling him the truth.”

David Gaider: “Here’s the controversial scene [Alistair killing Yavana]. I think some fans don’t like that Alistair did this, and have said they consider it out of character. I don’t. From his perspective, Flemeth and her daughters have been toying with the world for reasons that can’t be trusted. They dragged Maric away from his family, from him. One might think his judgement foolish, but considering what Alistair was capable of deciding even back in Dragon Age: Origins, it’s certainly not out of character.”

Chad Hardin: “[same scene as above] This was a controversial page, and there were a lot of people who thought it was out of character for Alistair to kill Yavana (I didn’t see it coming - I mean, you just don’t kill a Witch of the Wild), but here is the thing: this page is Alistair acting as a king. Yavana has been manipulating him, trying to play him like a pawn, and he just can’t allow that. There’s too much at stake, for himself and for his subjects.”

Alexander Freed: “The end? An end, at least [the trio walking off into the distance]. The series needed a note of closure while leading into Those Who Speak (which wouldn’t arrive until many months later). David tweaked the ending in the outline several times, and I did my best to balance resolving Alistair’s emotional journey without resolving the quest. It’s not as clean as I’d have liked, but fortunately, now it’s all in one volume...”

Those Who Speak annotations

Alexander Freed: “Capturing Isabela’s narrative voice was much easier for me than capturing Alistair’s - partly because I’d already written The Silent Grove, and partly because of my own writing proclivities. Rereading now, I wonder if I laid on the (mild) profanity a bit too thick. I’ll leave you to judge.”

David Gaider: “I like the additional detail Alex and Chad put in, letting us see more of Qarinus and more of Isabela’s crew. Alex wanted to give her crew more of a presence, and let her first mate have some face time, so they weren’t just parts of the scenery. Good call on his part.”

David Gaider: “I’m really fond of the formal getups Chad made for the party. Isabela’s actually comes from a concept we didn’t use from the cancelled Dragon Age 2 expansion, if I remember right. And Maevaris came from me asking for ‘someone who looks like Mae West’ - with the wonderful outfit all Chad’s doing.

Chad Hardin: “Maevaris. I love Mae. When David and Dragon Age art director Matthew Goldman spoke to me about designing Mae, they wanted her to be fully female with the exception of her biology. They told me to think ‘Mae West’. Well, when I think of Mae West, I think of her... womanly shape. So, drawing Maevaris was always walking a fine line between portraying Mae’s identity and her biology. The process endeared her to me.”

Michael Atiyeh: “Just like in The Silent Grove, we are introduced to another gentleman from Isabela’s past [when the team meet Lord Devon and Isabela threatens him]. As was the case with Claudio, he will meet his fate at her hands.”

Chad Hardin: “When I was drawing Titus, my kids asked me why I was drawing ‘angry Jesus’ or ‘evil Jesus’. I can’t remember which term they used exactly, but it made me chuckle. I was going for a mix of Rapustin and Joe Stalin, but ‘evil Jesus’ would do.”

David Gaider: “I’m not sure it’s apparent here [when Alistair says ‘I’d really rather not’], but Alistair was supposed to be using one of his Templar powers on Titus (that’s why Titus recognizes what he is on the next page) and disrupting his magic.”

Alexander Freed: “Isabela is witty and charming enough that it can be easy to forget that she’s not, in fact, a nice person. Even after finishing the outline, David was concerned about making her too unsympathetic - but I loved his approach in this series. The dark deeds Isabela commits - this murder included [Isabela killing Lord Devon] - are what make her guilt tangible and no easy matter to overcome.”

Alexander Freed: “I thought the notions of Isabela’s pride in her captaincy and dedication to her crew were some of the most interesting aspects of her character in David’s story. In scenes here [when Isabela is on her ship saying ‘Keep them focused and keep them sober’] and elsewhere, I did my best to emphasize their place at the core of Isabela’s world.”

Chad Hardin: “Most of the time I draw from imagination, but because of the complexity of this page [Qunari trying to board Isabela’s ship] I decided it would work better if I had photo reference. On this page are my nephews Jared (Varric) and Adam, my niece Melissa, my kids Erica, Tasey Michaela (Isabela) and Chad (Alistair), my friend’s daughter Amy, my wife Joy, and the neighborhood kids as Isabela’s pirate crew. (The crew member mooning the Qunari is out of my ol’ noodle.) I paid their modelling fee in pizza and root beer. Also, I had originally drawn cannons on Isabela’s ship, so if there are parts of it that look slightly wonky, chances are there was a cannon there.”

David Gaider: “Ever since the BioWare artists finally did a concept for female Qunari, I’ve been itching to include one in the game. It’s always slipped through my fingers, so I was going to be damned if I’d have a Qunari plot in a comic - without the same technical limitations - and not have one present.

Chad Hardin: “I had no idea this was the first time anyone outside of BioWare had seen a female Qunari.”

Michael Atiyeh: “I really like the lighting in this sequence [Isabela in her cell thinking ‘I haven’t eaten in days’], especially the strong white light and the characters in shadow.”

David Gaider: “The entire sequence of Rasaan interrogating Isabela was something I plotted out in detail when this series began. Here they discuss names - something treated in a manner peculiar to the Qunari, considering how much importance they apply to what things are called (and not called), because it forms the core of their identity. Isabela brushes it off, but as we find out later it’s also at the core of her identity. I liked that parallel.”

Alexander Freed: “To balance out the relatively static talking pages elsewhere in the issue, I hoped to make the interrogation and flashback sequences beautiful and full of information. I proposed an approach to Chad, and he wisely reshaped it into what you see here [the page with the scene where Isabela says ‘I’ve made a lot of stupid mistakes’]. Anything that succeeds on these pages should be credited to him; anything that fails is my fault.”

Chad Hardin: “Probably the most challenging spread I have ever done. My friend Stacie Pitt was the model for Isabela on this page, and my wife Joy was Rasaan. I saved these pages [around the scene when Rasaan says ‘Mistakes can be corrected’] for myself.”

David Gaider: “Sten from Dragon Age: Origins becoming the new Arishok of the Qunari was something we'd planned even during Dragon Age 2. This was a great opportunity to show that, and also to show that Sten didn’t acquire horns even despite the makeover the Qunari received in DA2. Hornless Qunari are considered special, and Sten is no exception.”

Michael Atiyeh: “I think that David, Alex and Chad handled Isabela’s flashback [to when she was sold by her mother] in an interesting way, and it created a nice flow to the story.”

David Gaider: “This was a controversial scene [what happened to the slaves Isabela was transporting], the end result of a lot of discussions between me and Isabela’s original writer on the team, and it went through a lot of revisions over that time. It needed to fit with the story Isabela told the player in DA2, but fill in the blanks of what she didn’t tell. We didn’t want Isabela to be someone who became who she is because she was ‘broken’ but instead as a result of her own actions - yet also not be completely beyond redemption.”

Chad Hardin: “These were hard pages [as above] to draw. It was difficult knowing that events such as this are part of human history, such as the Zong massacre in 1781, where the British courts ordered the insurers to reimburse the crew of the Zong for financial losses caused by throwing slaves overboard when faced with a lack of water. Horrifying beyond words.”

Michael Atiyeh: “Here, Isabela visits here crew, and I wanted to play up that she was in the light and they were in a dark cell. The light streaming through the bars gave me the opportunity to highlight Brand, who also had dialogue in the scene.”

Alexander Freed: “I struggled to find a way for Varric to contribute to victory without distracting from Alistair and Sten’s big fight. I’m happy with the solution: a brazen lie seemed appropriate to the character without taking away from the main show.”

David Gaider: “I believe my original plan had Isabela’s and Alistair’s fight scenes happening separately, but I like how Alex intertwined them in the script and I especially like how this ends up highlighting the differences between their characters when their fights are resolved. Isabela is defiant, revealing her name not because Rasaan demands it but because it’s her choice. In both cases, mercy is strength.”

Michael Atiyeh: “The brush I created for the clouds really gave them a nice watercolor effect here [on the deck of the ship, Sten calling Alistair ‘kadan’]. That brush has become a staple in my toolbox.”

Alexander Freed: “With the strong theme of names running through these issues, I liked the notion that Isabela had outgrown being, well, ‘Isabela’. When her name comes up in Until We Sleep, it’s largely played with ambiguity.”

Until We Sleep annotations

Alexander Freed: “The story of ‘Arthur’ is one of my favorite minor sequences [Varric infiltrating and fighting his way into the fortress]. It tells us something about Varric and it delivers plot information - and it’s also a reminder that our heroes kill an awful lot of people during these series and cope with it in their own ways. In general, writing Varric let me skirt the edge of metacommentary, which I greatly enjoyed.”

David Gaider: “Varric, as always, is my ‘voice of the narrator’. Here he’s expressing some of my own amusement at Alistair’s growing list of peculiarities [‘Your majesty is quite the special snowflake’]. To think, back at the beginning of Dragon Age: Origins he was just the player’s goofy sidekick who grew up in a barn.”

Michael Atiyeh: “By the third series, Until We Sleep, I really started to have a complete feel for what I wanted the final art to look like. As an artist, it’s important to continue to evolve and grow. The close-up of Sten’s face [same page as above] is a perfect example of how I wanted the rendering on the characters to look.”

Alexander Freed: “David’s outline called for a short, somber reveal of the Calenhad story by Sten. Fueled by my desire to avoid ‘talking heads’ sequences, I scripted it as a full-on storytelling flashback. David made sure the history worked (at least from the Qunari point of view), and Chad did a beautiful job handling it in a mere two pages.”

David Gaider: “Blood is important in Dragon Age, as a theme. Here we tie in the dragon blood that was mentioned all the way back in The Silent Grove and explain what it means at last. I was a bit hesitant to tarnish the legend of Calenhad the Great in this way, but I comfort myself with the knowledge this tale is but a viewpoint and not necessarily the entire truth.”

Michael Atiyeh: “Titus melting the attacker is a great example of classic comicbook storytelling and exactly what made me fall in love with the medium.”

David Gaider: “I was really happy with how Chad handled the reveal of Mae as transgender [the scene with Mae in the cell]. My worry was that Varric finding her disrobed might be potentially titillating, but I think he handled it nicely. I only wish there was more time to have Mae properly respond to being exposed in this manner, even to a friend.”

Chad Hardin: “I originally drew Mae as female [same scene as above], then changed her anatomy, so the psychological violation and humiliation she felt would be the focus. Hope that came across.”

Chad Hardin: “When in doubt, have Bianca shoot it [Varric shooting the artifact].”

David Gaider: “This scene [Varric and Bianca the dwarf] with Varric was one I wanted to do for a very long time. We’ve hinted that Varric’s crossbow was named after a real person, someone he never wants to talk about. Now I finally had the chance to show why.”

Chad Hardin: “Of all my Dragon Age pages, this scene was hands down my favorite, because Varric is my favorite. It was awesome to get to draw Bianca in her dwarven form. These scenes give you a glimpse of the love Varric and Bianca shared. It doesn’t tell you the whole story, but you can assume plenty from what is shown. You get to see Varric mostly naked (you’re welcome), but most of all you witness Varric’s heartbreak. I felt privileged to draw it. I got so obsessed with drawing this page I did an entire watercolor painting based on the last panel [Varric gets up to leave, ‘This isn’t right’ - ? or perhaps the scene where he opens the door to leave].”

Alexander Freed: “Unreliable narrators are always tricky - done wrong, they can just confuse the reader. But I’m fairly happy with Varric’s lies throughout this series, most of which are used to downplay the emotional cost of events rather than whitewash the events themselves.”

Michael Atiyeh: “This palette worked perfectly [Varric standing in front of the doorway/portal in the Fade proper], but I can’t take all the credit because BioWare provided reference for the Fade. I added the hot orange energy for the doorway, which looks great with the sickly green sky.”

David Gaider: “This scene [Isabela’s Fade nightmare] was actually inspired by a fan named Allegra who did a cosplay as a Qunari version of Isabela. I knew I wanted something like this for Isabela’s Fade section of the comic, but it didn’t really solidify until I saw the cosplay.”

Chad Hardin: “Isabela is more affected by her encounter with Rasaan than we were led to believe. A portent of things to come?”

Michael Atiyeh: “I love this shot of Mae in the fourth panel [on the page where Isabela is affected by vines]. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention what a great character she is in the series, and Chad captures her beautifully in this shot.”

Alexander Freed: “I saw this issue as a sort of downbeat victory lap. Over the course of the previous series, our protagonists largely came to terms with the inner demons the Fade confronts them with here. The fact they’ve come so far lets them win this last battle... but they still have scars that will never completely disappear.”

David Gaider: “Maric was in the first two novels I wrote for Dragon Age. Seeing Chad’s rendering of him as a regal, grown-up version of Alistair made me incredibly nostalgic. Some characters you just never let go of.”

Alexander Freed: “I feel Varric’s lines (‘tell yourself the stories you need to tell’ but ‘never live your own lies’) are the natural endpoint of all the exchanges he’s had with Alistair, starting from the end of Chapter 1 of The Silent Grove. And of course it plays off the story of ‘Arthur’, as well.’’

Chad Hardin: “I’m happy with the way Titus came off in these pages [Titus attacking and saying ‘The last magisters of Tevinter were so close’]. He looks threatening and powerful when fighting Alistair, Isabela and Varric, but genuinely confused by his inability to defeat Maric. Bye-bye, evil Jesus.”

Alexander Freed: “I can’t help but feel for Titus. He was unthinkably corrupt, but I see him as genuinely motivated by Tevinter’s glory. (The fact Alistair reads zealous ideology as a lust for power says a lot about both characters.)”

Michael Atiyeh: “I love the seamless transition of color from Titus’ magic to the dragon breath and then back into the orange remnants of his magic in the smoke. This was a really fun panel to color [Titus saying ‘Die by what wrought you’].”

David Gaider: “‘You are not the dreamer here. I am.’ I always have a scene or a line that’s in my head when I begin a tale, and this line of Maric’s was one I wanted all the way back when I started working on The Silent Grove.”

Chad Hardin: “I love this page [Maric and Alistair clasping hands]; Mike’s colors are spot on. We get to see all our heroes in an ideal state for the last time. This is the last Dragon Age page I saved for myself.”

David Gaider: “This scene kills me [Alistair destroying the Magrallen]. I knew it needed to happen; I knew I wanted it to happen even back when I began the story. Alistair lets Maric remain in the Fade rather than dragging him back to a world which has moved on. Alistair’s ready to move on, but forcing him to give up that hope... it makes me feel like a bad person.”

Chad Hardin: “Heartbreak for Alistair as he realizes that once again, as a king, he must kill: this time, his own father (granted, the Magrallen did most of the work). I really like how Maric crumbles away in the end. This was my last page, and the emotions on the page and in my studio were very final. Altogether, this was a year of my life in the making. On my last page, I wrote a thank you to everyone involved, the crew at Dark Horse and the crew at BioWare. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them again. It was a thrill. Finally, a huge thank-you to the Dragon Age fan community, whose support was overwhelmingly awesome.”

Michael Atiyeh: “As the story came to an end, I knew I was going to miss these characters. Writing these annotations reinforces the fact that I hope to work with this great creative team again one day. Many thanks to Dark Horse and BioWare for the opportunity to work on Dragon Age.”

Alexander Freed: “The tension between the art and the narration on this page [the one with Alistair sitting on his throne while nobles argue] is something you can only pull off in comics. Neither tells the full, bittersweet story alone. Similarly, these issues wouldn’t have been possible without everyone on the team; thanks to David, Chad, Michael, and everyone I lack space to list!”

Additional pages / art

Library Edition Volume 1 also came with some additional pages, with additional art and commentary. These are as follows (I’m including them for the sake of completion, click the links to see):

1. Alistair and dragon concepts

2. Rasaan and Maevaris concepts

3. Sten, Titus and Yavana concepts

4. A series of cover pages 1

5. A series of cover pages 2

In case anyone has trouble reading the notes that accompany these images, I’ve transcribed them below:

1. Dragon Age Sketch Book

Alistair Concept 

Dragon Age / Dark Horse

Chad Hardin: “The headshot of Alistair is from a finished sketch with a rejected armor design. In order to save time, the redrawing was completed on the computer, where tweaks and changes are quick and easy, if somewhat less glorious.”

[Dragon] Head #1 / Head #2

Chad Hardin: “Everyone liked this dragon sketch so much that Dark Horse printed it for signings at conventions. You can see I did multiple proposals for the dragon’s head. It was more effective than drawing the body over and over.”

-

2. [arrow pointing to Mae’s sleeve] concealed [I think that’s what it says anyway] daggers / shurikens?

Chad Hardin: “When designing Rasaan and Maevaris, I wasn’t exactly sure how their roles would play out in the series. Maevaris’ outfit was inspired by brothel madams of the Wild West. I thought it would be cool to have some weapons concealed in the formal wear. These never came into play in the series, but they were there in my mind.”

-

3. Chad Hardin: “Although we only see Titus in his battle garb in one issue, I really liked the design of his armor. The sketch of Yavana was done on the fly and served as both a rough preliminary sketch and as a panel layout. You have to work hard and smart in comics to keep up with the deadlines.”

-

4. Cover Artist Anthony Palumbo: “This was my first assignment for Dark Horse, and I was both excited and nervous. I drew pencil sketches of the main characters, scanned them and played with different arrangements, poses and color schemes in Photoshop.”

-

5. Anthony Palumbo: “Fellow illustrator Winona Nelson helped me by sitting for photo reference. I created the mock-jewelry with gold-painted Sculpey. That’s a quick photo of my own gaping maw, to help with the image of Varric.”

[wherelibertydwells]

Michael Yeadon, former Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of pharma giant Pfizer for 16 years, discusses his thoughts as to why the lockdown was a mistake, and why the government strategies to manage the pandemic are only making things worse.

[EDITED (for brevity) TRANSCRIPT OF THE VIDEO]

"I’ve worked my entire life on the research side of the pharmaceutical industry, both big pharma and also biotech. My specific focus has been inflammation, immunology, allergy in the context of respiratory diseases."

"I became very perturbed about increasing restrictions on the behavior and movement of people in my country, and I could see no reason for it then and I still don’t."

"Government’s response to emergencies is guided by the [UK] scientific group who sit together under the Strategic Advisory Group for Emergencies [SAGE]. SAGE has got several fundamental things wrong and that has led to advice that’s inappropriate, has horrible economic effects, but has had continuing medical effects in that people are no longer being treated properly."

"SARS-CoV-2 was 80% similar to another virus called SARS that moved around the world a bit in 2003. When I heard that there was this coronavirus moving across the world, I wasn’t worried. Since there are four common cold causing coronaviruses, quite a lot of population would have a substantial protective immunity. Milkmaids never suffered from things like smallpox. The reason they had the protection was that they were exposed to a more benign-related virus called cowpox. Edward Jenner acquired some of the liquid from a person infected with cowpox. He got some of this and he scraped it into the skin of a small boy. He obtained some liquid from some poor person that was dying of smallpox and infected the boy. Lo and behold, the boy did not get ill. And that gave birth to the whole field of what’s called vaccination."

"At this time of year, about 1 in 30 people have a cold caused by one of these coronaviruses. People exposed to having had a cold caused by one of these coronaviruses are immune to SARS-CoV-2. 30% of the population was protected before we started. SAGE said it was zero which is impossible to justify. The percentage of the population that SAGE asserts have been infected to date by the virus is 7%. A document they published in September 'Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions' says more than 90 percent of the population is still vulnerable [unbelievably wrong!]. On the percentage of care home residents who have antibodies: they picked out residents that never were PCR-positive. These were people who never got infected. 65% of them had antibodies to the virus. There was a high prevalence of immunity in that population prior to the virus arriving."

"Big story in the media: the percentage of people with antibodies against the virus in their blood was falling. This was cast as a concern, "immunity to SARS-CoV-2 doesn’t last very long". Anyone with knowledge of immunity would reject that. It’s not the way immunity to virus works. That would be T cells. If the antibodies are falling gradually over time, the prevalence of the virus in the population is falling. That’s why the antibody production gradually subsides."

"Less than 40 percent of the population are susceptible. That’s too small a number to support a growing outbreak [community immunity, herd immunity]. SAGE says we’re not even close. The best science by the best scientists in the world, published in the top peer-reviewed journals, says they’re wrong. That is more than 60% of the population are now immune. It’s simply not possible to have a large and growing pandemic."

"Why are we not talking about the 50% that have got T cell immunity? I believe, fundamentally, it is over. The number of people dying of SARS-CoV-2 in the capital is less than 10, so it’s down by 98%. The reason it’s down is because there are too few people in London susceptible to allow the virus to magnify, to amplify, to get an epidemic."

"Why isn’t the media telling us that the pandemic is over? It’s not over because SAGE says it’s not. I found, to my horror, that all the way through the spring and summer SAGE did not have on their committee someone who was an immunologist."

"There is a test that’s performed where people have their noses and tonsils swabbed [PCR test]. What they’re looking for is a small piece of genetic sequence [RNA]. It’s going to be found if they were infected weeks or even sometimes a small number of months ago. If you’ve been infected and you’ve fought off the virus, you’ll have broken dead bits of virus. Over a period of weeks or months, you bring up cells that contain broken dead pieces of the virus that you have conquered and killed. The PCR test is not able to detect whether the viral RNA has come from a living virus or a dead one. A large proportion of the so-called positives are what I call cold positives. They’re identifying viral RNA in the sample but it’s from a dead virus that can’t hurt them.

They’re not going to get ill.

They can’t transmit it to anybody else.

They’re not infectious.

Why are we using this test that cannot distinguish between active infection and people who’ve conquered the virus? This test has never been used in this way. It’s the kind of technique you would use for forensic purposes. You would not be doing these tests by a windy supermarket car parking. It’s not suitable at all and shouldn’t be done in the way it’s been done. It’s subject to many handling errors. If this was a test being used for legal purposes, the judge would throw out this evidence and say it’s not admissible. It produces positives even when there’s no virus there at all."

"The pandemic having passed through the population won’t return. Why won’t it return? They’ve got t-cell immunity. Just because the antibody falls away, doesn't mean you've lost immunity again. That’s not the way the human immune system works."

[cont. in video]

[much-brighter-ink]

farrah and “how did you fail a survey?”

This is months late, but it’s finally here! Keep in mind that this was written at 1 AM over the weekend and is completely unedited, because if I try to edit it I’ll leave it for later and never actually post. 

598 words, Clark’s POV, only TWs are cursing and a very brief reference to alcohol - enjoy my shitty writing! 

“Yeah, there were two, the Blood cast and the Axe cast- Eliza, no!” Farrah interrupted herself as the tiny curly puppy dove into a pile of mail by the front door, a clasp envelope clutched between her tiny teeth. 

Clark bent down, stroking Eliza’s ears and prying out the envelope. He skimmed the label. “Do you need this?” 

“Addressed to Annleigh O’Daniel and Farrah Torres. I have no idea what the fuck this is, I doubt it’s schedules- oh, shit, Clark, look at this.” 

He glanced over her shoulder at the page. “GCHS Tigers 2017-18 Pre-Season Survey”, the title read, to the left of a huge letter F, circled in orange gel pen. 

“Riley.” 

“How… how did you fail a survey?” Clark muttered, bewildered. “They’re not supposed to be graded, that doesn’t even seem like something Giles Corey would send out-” 

Farrah groaned. “Riley again. I have very little memory of taking this, but here, look at the questions if you’d like.” 

“Mind if I read them aloud?” 

“Be my guest.” 

“Question one. Full name. ‘My name is on the envelope, bitch, smiley face, my middle name is Annleigh’s sixth middle name’-” he turned his focus over to Farrah again. “Do you recall these answers at all?” 

They let out a sigh and an eye roll. “Considering how thrilled I was about cheer this year, how shitfaced I probably was when filling this out, it’s not a surprise that I don’t - though the last one is true, kudos to me for remembering that.” 

“Question two. Pronouns, height and weight, cheer position, date of birth. ‘She/they and I appreciate the woke points’, ‘short enough to kick your ass, maybe ask Chess how much I weigh because apparently she can’t hold that heft’, ‘Flyer,’, ‘July 28, 2002’.” 

Farrah seemed to be in an okay mood, so Clark didn’t bring up the second question again, since she’d stiffened at the mention of Chess in most other contexts. 

Next question. He stared at the paper, trying to make sense of what the survey was asking. 

“Question three. ‘Please check off a personality type, based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and add T (turbulent) or A (assertive) after the dash at the end of the letter sequence and proceed to question thirty-nine. If you have not yet been typed, please fill out the following quiz and I will send back your type with your score. If you are between types, please write your type(s) in the blank below with an x for a letter you’re stuck between.’ And ‘XXXX-x, first you ask for my birthday and then try to fucking psychoanalyze me? Guess again, loser’… okay, I sort of understand your answer to that. Keywords: sort of.” Clark sat down. “Question thirty-nine. Multiple choice, again. ‘We are: a) the soul of the school, b) the pride in the name, c) the heart and the flame, d) all of the above.’”

Farrah rubbed her temples. “What’d I say?” 

“That you were cheerleaders. I mean… valid? True?” He really didn’t get this, but he doubted they did either. 

“Let’s see the last one.” 

Clark cleared his throat. “Alright - question forty. ‘How do you think we’ll place in competition this year?’ You said, I quote, ‘you tell me, captain, I just got here, parentheses, please don’t @ me’,” he finished. “Any constructive criticism for your past self?” 

Farrah snorted. “More like… literally no captain does this except Riley, she’s way overthinking this.” 

“Fair.” 

“And I’m glad this isn’t part of my transcript, unless she’s managed to hack into my report card.” 

Clark chuckled. “Also fair.” 

[cicelythereaper]

Hello! I was wondering if you had anything on Y Gododdin 😃

hey! fellow gododdin enthusiast! what a delight

i presume this is a request for reading recommendations - i don’t know exactly what you’re looking for, or how accessible these will be, but i’ve tried to cover most bases here. i WISH there were more literary criticism, maybe there is in the welsh-language scholarship and i just haven’t found it? 

it’s entirely possible that i will have missed some obvious things here, i’m mostly sticking to stuff that i personally have read. if something mind-blowing has come out since the last time i did gododdin reading then it’s not here, i’m afraid! 

but enough disclaimers. on to the recs!

text and translation:

for a translation, i cannot recommend enough joseph p. clancy’s translation as found in the triumph tree: scotland’s earliest poetry, 550-1350, ed. t. o. clancy (1998). this is fantastic. it’s poetic, it’s a joy to read, and having used it as part of a deep read last year where i went through the welsh text in detail i am honestly AMAZED regularly at how well clancy handles the many translation issues that arise. it’s loose, and it doesn’t translate every single stanza unfortunately, but for the spirit of the poem you really can’t do better

that said, if you need another translation to check against/to fill in the gaps, i’d recommend kenneth jackson’s the gododdin: the oldest scottish poem (1969). it’s a prose translation, so it’s harder to use in conjunction with the text, but it’s pretty clear and accurate

text-wise... things get complicated. honestly, the best edition is probably still ifor williams’ canu aneirin (1938), in terms of faithfulness to the words on the manuscript page. (i also really enjoy his textual commentary, but it is in modern welsh so not accessible to everyone.) the major problem with it is that you are not going to get the stanzas in the order they appear in the manuscript - he reorders them into groups of perceived variants. this also makes it harder to distinguish between the A-text and the B-text. AND it means that the stanzas are not in the same order as in any of the translations!

if you can get hold of it, i really really think it is worth having daniel huws’ llyfr aneirin: a facsimile (1989). the introduction is SO useful for understanding the manuscript context, and it comes with gwenogvryn evans’ transcription of the book of aneirin, which you can compare with williams’ edition if need be to work out where a stanza actually goes.

there’s a conspectus of editions which i think thomas owen clancy put together but i cannot for the LIFE of me remember where it is - if you think you’ll need it, PM me and i’ll see what i can do

dating, textual criticism and historicity:

t. m. charles-edwards, wales and the britons, 350-1064 (2013), chapter 11 - this is from more of a historical perspective than a strictly linguistic/palaeographical/dating perspective, but it’s a really good general introduction and i definitely recommend starting with it. if you read nothing else, read this. this whole book is a godsend

t. m. charles-edwards, 'the authenticity of the gododdin: an historian's view', in astudiaethau ar yr hengerdd, eds. bromwich and jones (1978), pp. 44-91 - this kind of lays out the standard view which everyone has been deconstructing ever since. we don’t know anything about what’s going on with y gododdin, but at one point we thought we did know something and this was what it looked like

d. n. dumville, 'early welsh poetry: problems of historicity', in early welsh poetry: studies in the book of aneirin, ed. b. f. roberts (1988) - and HERE is the deconstruction! a pretty good overview of the issues with “knowing anything” when it comes to y gododdin

p. sims-williams, 'dating the poems of aneirin and taliesin', zeitschrift für celtische philologie 36 (2016), 163-224 - i don’t have any notes on this and haven’t read it recently, but i remember it being good (it’s sims-williams so of course it is). almost certainly contains linguistics, but is probably also written readably

o. j. padel, 'aneirin and taliesin: sceptical speculations', in beyond the gododdin: dark age scotland in medieval wales, ed. a. woolf (2013), pp. 153-75 - if you can stand linguistics talk, padel does his best to make it understandable here and gives a good overview of the linguistic arguments for and against suggested dates for y gododdin. this whole book is actually very useful

g. r. isaac, 'canu aneirin awdl LI', journal of celtic linguistics 2 (1993), 65-91, AND 'readings in the history and transmission of the gododdin', cambrian medieval celtic studies 37 (1999), 55-78 - DEEP IN THE TEXTUAL CRITICISM. honestly, my poor attention span means i find it hard to pay attention all the way through these two, but if you want a really in-depth look at the possible relationships between the A and B-texts of y gododdin, this is the way to go

historical discussion and background:

charles-edwards in wales and the britons chapter 11 again

j. rowland, 'warfare and horses in the gododdin and the problem of catraeth', cambrian medieval celtic studies 30 (1995), 13-40 - this is a pretty cool look at the role of cavalry in y gododdin and while i don’t agree with all of it, i think it’s really useful reading if you’re going for a historical take on the poem

p. m. dunshea, 'the meaning of catraeth: a revised early context for y gododdin', in beyond the gododdin again, pp. 81-114 - makes some ESSENTIAL points re the question of: is catraeth catterick? moreover, IS CATRAETH A PLACE?

c. cessford, 'northern england and the gododdin poem', northern history 33 (1997), 218-22 - a historical perspective on the poem with some very useful points, comparing the situation as sketched out in y gododdin with what we know of the area at the time

m. wood, 'bernician transitions: place-names and archaeology', in early medieval northumbria: kingdoms and communities, AD 450-1100, eds. petts and turner (2011), pp. 35-70 - a welcome look at the archaeological and place-name evidence for what was going on in bernicia as it changed from a brittonic to a germanic-dominated area. really useful to have in mind both when reading the poem and when reading more literary history

r. collins, 'military communities and transformation of the frontier from the fourth to the sixth centuries', in the same book, pp. 15-34 - pretty fascinating look at the earlier background running up to the time period depicted in y gododdin, and the possibility of continuity between the roman occupation of hadrian’s wall and the post-roman era there. useful social/archaeological perspective!

f. h. clark, 'thinking about western northumbria', in the same book, pp. 113-28 - an early medieval english perspective on the area at the time, useful for comparison and completeness’ sake 

literary discussion:

ifor williams, lectures on early welsh poetry (1944) and the beginnings of welsh poetry, ed. bromwich (1972, 2nd ed. 1980) - THE CLASSICS. an old-fashioned, not to say outdated, viewpoint, but that’s because this is the guy who INVENTED the viewpoint back when it was new! even now there’s a lot of good stuff packed into these and ifor williams’ prose style is a real pleasure to read. not to be missed

a. o. h. jarman, 'the heroic ideal in early welsh poetry', in beiträge zur indogermanistik und keltologie, ed. meid (1967), pp. 193-211 - likewise somewhat old-fashioned now, but lays out the classic viewpoint well and makes some good literary points. it may also be worth reading the introduction to his edition/translation, aneirin: the gododdin (1988). (i don’t recommend using it as an edition because he conflates the A and B texts and renders the text into modern welsh - this means it reads very smoothly but is quite a bit further away from what’s on the manuscript page.) 

h. fulton, 'cultural heroism in the old north of britain: the evidence of aneirin's gododdin', in the epic in history ed. davidson, mukherjee and zlatar (1994), pp. 18-39 - a pretty interesting read, about the mindset expressed in the poetry, its purpose and its construction

this isn’t lit crit but i’m putting in my favourite g. r. isaac quote from his article ‘gweith gwen ystrat and the northern heroic age of the sixth century’, p. 69: ‘Koch writes that the Book of Aneirin’s ‘immediate milieu is… not the Celtic Heroic Age, but the High Middle Ages’, as if the ‘Celtic Heroic Age’ were a period of comparable historical status to the High Middle Ages. This is not the case, however. A ‘heroic age’ cannot be the ‘immediate milieu’ of any literary production, a ‘heroic age’ cannot produce literature, because a ‘heroic age’ is itself produced through literature (taken in the broadest sense). It is a literary product. The Homeric epics are not the product of  a Bronze Age Achaean heroic age, but vice versa. The Irish Ulster Cycle is not the product of an Iron Age, pre-Christian heroic age, but vice versa. And the medieval Welsh poems of ‘Aneirin’ and ‘Taliesin’ (and Triads, sections of the Historia Brittonum, and much else) are not products of a sixth-century North British heroic age, but vice versa.’

honestly there just is not nearly enough lit crit for y gododdin, in english at least, especially to explain cool shit that the welsh text is doing that isn’t visible in the translation, and/or things that could be subversive or ambiguous about it - so, i don’t know what your level of engagement with the medieval welsh text is, but if you’re curious, if you want to know more about what’s going on in a specific stanza (or which stanzas are extended puns), or just which things i’ve been dying to yell about all year, PLEASE message me and I! WILL! YELL! 

articles which are almost certainly good and useful but it’s been too long since i’ve read them to say:

t. o. clancy, 'the kingdoms of the north: poetry, places, politics', in beyond the gododdin again, pp. 153-75

m. haycock, 'early welsh poets look north', likewise in beyond the gododdin, pp. 115-52

FINAL NOTE:

one of the problems with translations is that they give an impression of way more certainty about the meaning of the text... than is actually there. you’re pretty safe with clancy or kenneth jackson, but tread carefully. again, i don’t know your level of engagement with medieval welsh, but if you want to know if there are any major textual issues with a stanza, hmu and i will gladly consult my copious textual notes! but in general, BEWARE of basing anything too heavily on the following groups of stanzas:

A40, A41, B5, B6 (Am drynni drylaw drylenn; Clancy ‘For the feast, most sad, disastrous’)

A42, B25, B35 (Eur ar vur caer; Clancy ‘Gold on fortress wall’)

A48, B3, B24 (Llech leutu tud leudvre; Clancy ‘Standing stone in cleared ground’)

A62, B14, B15, B16, B36 (Angor dewr daen; Clancy ‘Anchor, Deifr-router’)

the Gorchanau if you’re interacting with those, especially the Gwarchan Maeldderw - if anyone tells you they know exactly what is going on in these, do not believe them. isaac has a full translation of the gwarchan maeldderw in cambrian medieval studies 44, and it’s useful, but i’m not by ANY means completely convinced by it, so tread carefully.  

the more stanzas there are in a group of variants (or at least a group that shares lines), the more likely it is that those stanzas are going to be SUPER DUPER TEXTUALLY FUCKED UP, is a pretty good rule of thumb.

[heartofether]

Season One Q&A - Part One TRANSCRIPT

[You can listen to the show wherever you get your podcasts, or go to our “Listen” page if you’re on desktop.]

VAL

Hey, there. Just wanted to let you all know that after we recorded our season one Q&A, we decided that because it ran so long, it would be a much better listening experience if we cut it into two parts. So, what you are listening to right now is part one. If you asked a question and you don’t hear it in this part, I can guarantee you it will be in the second one. Thank you all so much and enjoy the Q&A!

[MUSIC PLAYS FOR A FEW SECONDS]

LUKA [AS THE MUSIC FADES]

Hello everyone, welcome to My Brother, My Brother, and Me.

[VAL LAUGHS.]

LUKA

[THROUGH LAUGHTER] An advice show for the modern era. I guess, should I just try it and then if it sounds really bad, like, I’ll immediately back out?

VAL

Yeah, you can try.

LUKA

Hello, everyone. Welcome to The Heart of Ether season one Q&A! [THEY HUFF A LAUGH.] How are you feeling today, Val?

VAL

Feeling great. [BEAT] Was that it?

LUKA

That sounded like something.

[THEY BOTH LAUGH.]

LUKA

Should we introduce ourselves? I don’t know.

[PAUSE.] Um. I mean, probably.

VAL

Yeah.

LUKA

That would be good. [BEAT] Do you want to go first? [THEY LAUGH.]

VAL

Yeah. Um, my name is Val. I’m the writer and producer of The Heart of Ether, as well as the voice of Rosemary Quinn.

LUKA

Woo!

VAL

You’ve probably heard me say that several times at the beginning of episodes by now.

LUKA

[SMALLER] Woo!

VAL

So—

LUKA

Cheers.

VAL

Cheers.

LUKA

And— [THEY LAUGH.] Who am I? My name—nope. I’m gonna start that sentence over.

[THEY BOTH LAUGH.]

LUKA

And I’m Luka Miller! I play Irene, and I make music—no, I don’t. Yeah, I do.

[MORE LAUGHTER.]

LUKA

[CONT.] I do the music for the show.

So, we got a lot—I sound so disinterested. I’m not, I promise. I’m just trying to be cohesive.

VAL

[OVERLAPPING, THROUGH LAUGHTER] You’re fine, you’re fine.

LUKA

So we got sent a lot of very good questions. I’m going to moderate, I guess. Moderate is the worst word I could use—

VAL

In quotation marks.

LUKA

“Moderate” in quotation marks. There’s two people here, and I’m asking the questions. Interviewer? Question mark? That’s fine.

VAL

[OVERLAPPING] Wow, that’s so fancy.

LUKA

Okay, so, I was going to save my question for last, but I think it’s actually a good intro question. 

VAL

Okay.

LUKA

So starting right off the bat.

VAL

Okay.

LUKA

This is a question from me. Are you ready?

VAL

[SOMEWHAT NERVOUSLY] Yeah?

LUKA

So you bring this up in an episode, and I felt the need to ask it to where there was an answer. I think it’s Episode 7? If it’s not Episode 7, it’s not—that’s going to look really bad on me.

[VAL LAUGHS.]

VAL

It’s fine, it’s fine.

LUKA

Every time I think something happened, I say it’s in Episode 7.

[THEY BOTH LAUGH.]

LUKA

Um. Who was Irene’s anime crush in middle school?

VAL

See, you’re the one asking me that, but you’re the one who knows her name. ‘Cause I haven’t seen this—’cause we talked about this. We had a discussion about this, but I don’t remember the girl’s name.

LUKA

Okay, ‘cause I was—okay, ‘cause here’s the thing: I know who we kind of agreed on when we first had the conversation, but I was wondering if we had, like, settled on it.

VAL

I hadn’t given it any additional thought. I mean, I guess like...haven’t watched an anime in long enough to like, come up with a cohesive thought about who it would be.

LUKA

Um, the original answer was Bishamon from Noragami. [PAUSE] Because—

VAL

I—

LUKA

[CONT.] Because that was my, uh— [WHEEZE] Uh, can we edit that out?

[VAL LAUGHS.]

LUKA

That’s a joke. You can leave it in, but like— [THEY LAUGH.] I am exposing myself a little bit here. She’s kinda sexy.

VAL

I mean—you know what? I think that’s an acceptable answer.

LUKA

Yeah?

VAL

Like, I think that’s solid.

LUKA

Okay.

VAL

I can’t think of anything better.

LUKA

Okay. I just figured the people needed to know, so I wanted to throw it in there.

VAL

[OVERLAPPING] Now the people know.

LUKA

The people know.

Okay, so, the next ten questions are all from the same person. Shoutout to Jes.

VAL

Truly a homie.

LUKA

Jesse Smith. We love you. The light of my life. I feel like this just sounds like I’m just talking to some random person, uh—Jes is everything. We love Jes.

[THEY BOTH LAUGH.]

VAL

Jes, um—

LUKA

We know Jes personally. It’s not weird, I promise.

VAL

For context of the show, Jes is voice of Dr. Michaels in Episode 7. Kinda forgot that happened, not gonna lie.

LUKA

Yeah, Jes—Jes in the show. Cheers. Good for them.

VAL

Cheers.

LUKA

I wonder if Jes will ever be in the show again.

VAL

Wow!

LUKA

Probably—[DEADPAN] Never. They won’t.

[VAL LAUGHS.]

LUKA

Alright, number one. You’re gonna hate this question.

VAL

Okay.

LUKA

“Do you have an estimation for the season two or season two trailer release date?”

[VAL SIGHS.]

VAL

That’s a great question. [BEAT] No.

[LUKA LAUGHS.]

LUKA

The answer is soon.

VAL

Soon. I don’t have any exact dates or times for you.

LUKA

It’s written.

VAL

Season two trailer is written. The actors have read over it. Will not say who those actors are.

LUKA

It’s been cast, though. Everything is set up to get it recorded.

VAL

Yeah. Also, while trailer is technically very close to being ready, I do not want to give you guys trailer and then you have to wait, like, seven months for season two or something crazy like that. Like, I wanna wait a little bit.

LUKA

Yeah, but we do have a few things that will be going up—

VAL

Yeah, that’s true.

LUKA

[CONT.] —in the few—in the next coming weeks. 

VAL

That’s true.

LUKA

Um, some of which are very exciting. I will not—

VAL

Some of it’s still being planned.

LUKA

Shh. Don’t worry about it. Don’t worry about it. Don’t worry about it. But, exciting things coming before trailer.

VAL

Yeah, so, trailer will be coming hopefully soon, but you will also have plenty of bonus content besides trailer to look forward to. 

LUKA

This one is fun: “If the main cast of characters was in D&D, what class would they be? Additionally, do any of them actually play D&D?”

VAL

[THINKING] This one’s gonna take me a moment.

LUKA

I think—oh, I was gonna say something, but that was gonna be really dumb. Valencia Wizard. 

VAL

I think you’re right about that. I think Valencia Wizard makes a lot of sense. Dorothy, also, I guess in that case.

I think Irene would be a Druid, and that’s primarily just because forestry—

LUKA

[OVERLAPPING] Forest School.

VAL

[THEY CHUCKLE.] Yeah. Forest School.

Carol would be—I think Carol would just be a Fighter. Just like, a basic Fighter. I can’t think of anything better for her. Uh—me forgetting every D&D class.

Hold on, I have one: Aden would be a Bard.

LUKA

Mmhm.

VAL

And he would exclusively play Mitski songs.

LUKA

[THEY CHUCKLE.] Good for him.

VAL

Good for him.

Phoebe, I think—Phoebe might also be a Wizard. But she might—I dunno, she might also be, like, a Sorcerer? I feel like that has an energy, but I’m not sure.

LUKA

I have a suggestion.

VAL

Okay.

LUKA

You can say no.

VAL

Alright.

LUKA

Holly maybe Ranger.

VAL

I was going to say Holly Barbarian, but Holly Ranger makes a lot more sense.

LUKA

Yeah?

VAL

Yeah.

LUKA

This is specifically—[CENSORED BEEP TO HIDE SPOILERS.]

[VAL LAUGHS.]

LUKA

I think makes—I think, uh, it makes sense to me.

VAL

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. So, I—wait, what would Rose be?

Maybe Rose would also be a Bard? I think Rose would either be a Bard or a Monk.

LUKA

Ooh.

VAL

Like I feel like Monk has vibes.

LUKA

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you think any of them actually play D&D?

VAL

I feel like Irene has at least tried to get into D&D at some point. 

LUKA

I—

VAL

Aden definitely does, um—

[THEY BOTH CHUCKLE.]

LUKA

I think Irene went to, like, one D&D club meeting in college.

VAL

Yeah.

LUKA

Tried to learn it, and then felt bad about herself because she couldn’t remember the rules, and then didn’t go again.

VAL

That makes a lot of sense, yeah.

LUKA

This is not from personal experience, but it’s darn close.

[VAL LAUGHS.]

LUKA

Anyways—[THEY LAUGH.] Um, number three. Well, number four, but number three off of Jes’s list.

VAL

Yeah.

LUKA

“Has Irene had any pets in the past? If so, what were their names?” Other than, um—well, I guess he doesn’t count. Because he’s not her cat.

VAL

Yeah. Sir Griffin the Third was Irene’s cat in spirit. Like, not actually, but it was borderline just co-parenting at a certain point.

I feel like it would make sense if at some point, in like, her initial grieving process, she tried to get some sort of pet for her dorm. So maybe she had, like, a fish? But then she got really upset when the fish died, and like didn’t have the heart to get another one. I feel like that makes sense?

LUKA

That makes sense to me, and it’s very sad.

Okay, so num— [STUTTERING FOR A FEW MOMENTS, THEN] We’ve talked about this question a little bit.

[VAL LAUGHS.]

LUKA

[CONT.] I’ll preface that. This one is not—this one I cannot say Val did not see it before we started it, because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut about it, because it’s really funny to me.

It says, “Irene kin list drop?”

[PAUSE.]

VAL

Okay—

LUKA

And now, we’ve had a bit of a discussion about it, but I think there’s room for a lot more.

VAL

There’s room for a lot of improvement. Um, Moomin from Moominvalley.

LUKA

Mmhm. Abandonment issues.

VAL

Abandonment issues.

I have a really awful thought.

LUKA

What?

VAL

The tenth Doctor.

LUKA

[OVERLAPPING] Now—

VAL

[OVERLAPPING] Reason being, Rose!

LUKA

Abandon—Rose, shaking hands with abandonment issues, tenth Doctor, yeah.

VAL

Yeah. The venn diagram—

[THEY BOTH LAUGH.]

LUKA

[THROUGH LAUGHTER] So, so far, we have Moomin, the tenth Doctor—

[MORE LAUGHTER.]

VAL

Um...we kind of—we kind of talked about this. I feel like—because we all know Irene really doesn’t like Twilight, but I feel like she has consumed Twilight at some point. Like, whether she saw the movies, or read the books out of curiosity, she knows Twilight. She just doesn’t want to admit it. So I feel like some inner part of her does identify with Alice Cullen.

LUKA

Yup.

[MUTTERS] Can I say that? Is that allowed?

VAL

What is it?

LUKA

I was gonna say Duck Newton.

[VAL LAUGHS.]

LUKA

Does that make sense?

[VAL SAYS SOMETHING INDISTINCT IN RESPONSE.]

LUKA

[OVERLAPPING] Alternatively, Juno Devine. 

VAL

That’s also really good.

LUKA

[OVERLAPPING] I think Juno Devine, maybe.

VAL

Juno Devine has an energy.

LUKA

[OVERLAPPING] There’s a fine line between Duck Newton and Juno Devine, and Irene’s treading it.

VAL

Yeah. So, um, Irene Gray kin list: Moomin, tenth Doctor, Alice Cullen, some mix of Duck Newton and Juno Devine. That feels—

LUKA

[OVERLAPPING] That feels pretty answered to me.

VAL

That feels good.

LUKA

Okay, number five: “What was the most fun episode to record?”

Now, this is—personally speaking, we did not sit down—like, at first, it was sitting down and being like, “Oh, we need to record this specific episode.” And then we got ahead on certain episodes that were recorded, and then had to go back in and fill in chunks.

VAL

Yeah.

LUKA

[OVERLAPPING] So I don’t think it’s necessarily, like, what episode—

VAL

Yeah.

LUKA

[CONT.] Because it was not all done at once for any of them.

VAL

Yeah. And that’s difficult for me, because the episodes that I remember recording the most aren’t the ones that were the most fun.

LUKA

[WITH DREAD] Yeah.

VAL

They were the ones that were the worst to record. Cough cough, Episode 12, cough cough. [THEY LAUGH.]

LUKA

[STRETCHED OUT] Yeah.

Um—I mean, I can talk about something I think was fun—

VAL

Yeah.

LUKA

[CONT.] —but was simultaneously bad.

VAL

Yeah?

LUKA

Um. You had this realization after the fact, but that every single scene in Episode 12, by the time we finished it, had to have been re-recorded at least once. 

VAL

Some of them several times.

LUKA

However, on the first take of—I think we ended up—no, we didn’t re-do Episode 11.

VAL

I don't—

LUKA

Like, I re-recorded “howdy, motherfucker” a decent amount of times, but other than that—

VAL

[OVERLAPPING] Yeah, and I’m sure—yeah, sorry, sidenote to that: you guys will at some point receive a compilation of just Irene saying “howdy, motherfucker” a bunch of times.

LUKA

It was not my highest moment, I will say that.

[THEY BOTH GIGGLE.]

LUKA

But Episode 11, the—when we went to record it, I had had surgery about two, three days before?

[MORE LAUGHTER.]

LUKA

[CONT.] Not, not on like, my arm or like, even like, my internal organs, but on my mouth. Like, in my gums.

VAL

Yeah.

LUKA

And so that was a whole process. Um, like obviously, we’ve left the question.

[THEY BOTH LAUGH.]

LUKA

We’ve left what was the most fun to record. But the entire time we were recording Episode 11, I was holding half of my cheek down, because if I laughed, I was going to tear my stitches. Could we have waited? Yes.

VAL

Did we?

LUKA

[OVERLAPPING] Don’t be like us. [THEY LAUGH.]

VAL

Learn your lesson now.

LUKA

Um, I’m trying to think of, like, my most fun.

VAL

I guess...I don’t know. 

LUKA

For me, it was probably recording with either Ayla or Cass. So maybe, either, what, 3 or 4?

VAL

Yeah.

LUKA

[OVERLAPPING] That feels like it happened six years ago.

VAL

Yeah.

LUKA

I don’t remember. Um, recording with Cass was a lot of fun.

VAL

Yeah.

LUKA

I’ll say that. So, what, Episode 3?

VAL

That makes sense, yeah.

LUKA

If that’s the wrong number, I’m gonna get dragged. [THEY LAUGH]

VAL

No. You’re right, you’re right.

LUKA

Okay. Um, I think Mitski scene—

VAL

Yeah.

LUKA

—and Cass and I trying to record while her cat scratched at the door, which, that’s Frank.

VAL

Yeah.

LUKA

Um, we—when there’s pause in the bloopers of me going, “Frank?” It’s ‘cause he was scratching at the door, trying to get in.

VAL

Yeah.

LUKA

Good for him. Alright. Uh, “what was your favorite line of the season?” Well-

VAL

This one feels pretty easy. Are we thinking of the same line?

LUKA

I mean probably.

VAL

Yeah, it’s probably “Howdy Motherfucker.”

LUKA

Yeah. I personally already, and you can cut this out too. I’m sorry I’m giving you more work but it popped into my head—

VAL

It’s okay—

LUKA

It popped into my head—actually you know what would be funny? If, um, I give this whole lead up to it and then you leave it in, and then you bleep out when I say the line.

VAL

Yeah?

LUKA

That would be really funny.

VAL

Okay, yeah.

LUKA

Um, I was gonna say this and then I realized that it’s not, um, in season one. But because you sent me first drafts for season two, my favorite is [BLEEPED OUT SPOILERS]

[LAUGHTER]

VAL

That is really good.

LUKA

So that’s actually my favorite line.

VAL

Yeah.

LUKA 

And it’s just bleeped out, I think that would be funny.  Anyways.

VAL

Yeah.

LUKA

“Howdy motherfucker.”

VAL

“Howdy motherfucker” is probably the highlight of the season.

LUKA

My alternate one is, “Well damn, Carol I don’t wanna die here.”

VAL

Yeah. [LAUGHING]

LUKA

Because of the meme that someone made edited over That 70s Show. “Damn Carol—”

VAL

I think about that—I think about that a lot.

LUKA

It’s actually one of my favorite things. [TAKES A BREATH] Um, “what are you most excited for in the future of the show?”

VAL

Um, I’m really excited to get to make merch for the show. Which, you know, we don’t really have anything officially to tell you guys yet, but we are, we are working on stuff. So generally for the show-

LUKA

Teehee.

VAL

I’m really excited for that. But also there are some very exciting moments in season two that I am super looking forward to people getting to hear.

LUKA

I’m really excited to start recording for season two.

VAL

Yeah.

LUKA

I think also specifically because there’s a lot of new, like, actors.

VAL

Yeah.

LUKA

And just having read, like, the first drafts of the first two episodes, the difference in like Irene interacting with Aden and Carol versus the characters that she’s, like, interacting with in the first two episodes of season two is, um, wildly different. Um, very excited to get bullied by other actors, I guess.

VAL

Season two just: Irene bully club.

LUKA

It is. Actually, you know what, you don’t have to listen to season two that’s it. [BEAT] Moving on.

“What is Carol’s favorite band?” I was—I don’t know why but it popped into my head Mumford and Sons.

[LAUGHTER]

VAL

See—hmm.

LUKA

Or like, Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood.

VAL

Kelly Clarkson’s an artist. Am I allowed to answer an artist instead of like—

LUKA That makes, yeah, yeah. I don’t think Jes is gonna drag you—

VAL

Am I allowed to say Jimmy Buffet?

LUKA

Yes?

[LAUGHTER]

LUKA

Yeah you can I guess.  I mean if you really want to. If you wanna commit to that—

VAL

I don’t think I can, actually, hold on, I’ll edit this out, I genuinely can’t think of anything. I’m trying to think of something that’s like borderline southern but like not all the way southern.

LUKA

Florida Georgia Line.

VAL

I almost said The Mountain Goats but that feels too queer for Carol.

LUKA

Mmhmm. I feel like maybe she listens to Keith Urban.

VAL

That makes sense.

LUKA

Like I know you said borderline country and that’s straight up country, or maybe like- oh my roots are showing- um Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban.

VAL

Yeah

LUKA

Uh, what’s his name, Luke Bryan… One off naming all the country men my mother used to listen to- aw what if my mom listens to the QnA?

[LAUGHTER]

LUKA

I’m sorry, mom! Does that—

VAL

I can’t think of a better answer. I feel like, okay. Honorary answer, outside of all of the country stuff, I do feel like Carol would like Elton John.

LUKA

Yeah.

VAL

Like, just a little bit at least. Vibes. Yeah.

LUKA

Yeah. Give her credit, give her credit.

VAL

I’ll give her some credit.

LUKA

Okay. Now this one is prefaced with “This is by far the most important question.”

VAL

Okay?

LUKA

“Does Carol have horses?”

VAL

She lives in an apartment.

[LAUGHING]

LUKA

Jes, Jes is very dedicated to horse girl Carol.

VAL

Where would she put them? No Jes? Jes message me after this comes out and tell me where would Carol put them?

LUKA

I, I think you can really tell um the difference between this list of ten questions from someone that we talk to every day, versus probably the way the tables are gonna turn as soon as we move on from this chunk of questions. But, no, Jes, please explain.

VAL

Yeah. No, my messages are open.

LUKA

Okay, number ten, from Jes. Last one.

VAL

Okay.

LUKA

“How long has Aden collected knitted cats, and does he have a favorite?”

VAL

I think he’s been doing it for a couple of years. I think it’s a combination of cats that he has tried to knit himself and cats that he has found at thrift stores, yard sales, wherever he can get his hands on them.

And I think his favorite is one that he made with an eye that’s, like a little bit lopsided? Like it’s a little bit off, but he’s so attached to it because it took him so long and it was like the first he ever made, and that’s his favorite. Yeah.

LUKA

Yeah, that sounds right.

VAL

And its name?

LUKA

Oh, you’re really, you’re putting pressure on yourself. I thought we were gonna move on, but no please, tell us the name.

VAL

Its name is Pearl. That’s not a funny name, that’s just a name.

LUKA

I mean that’s good enough.

VAL

That’s good enough!

LUKA

It’s funny if you let it be.

VAL

Someone will make a joke about it.

LUKA 

Alright, we’re moving on from Jes question, we can’t be mean to the question askers.

Okay. So this is from megnotmargaret on tiktok. Now, the first question on here, I remember looking at it, and I was like, oh, well this question’s gonna be answered by the time this comes out, however there are a few things that I wanna bring up in regards to it. So the question was, “Will we be getting any bloopers?”

So the answer is obviously yes. But. I felt there were a few things that needed to be brought up. There are bloopers that we can’t find. There are specific bits of bloopers that we know exist, and when we were looking through the audio to get our bloopers out, we could not find them. So—

VAL

Also, due to like remote recording, we had some really funny excellent bits in there, like some really excellent inside jokes from recording, i.e. “vegan garlic,” that just couldn’t make it in because we didn’t record the conversation happening.

LUKA

One of my favorite ones is the clip of you in the bloopers going “uh—hello?” But you can’t hear the other end of it.

VAL

Cause—let me give the context for that. Basically, we were recording episode twelve. It was Cass and I on the call, doing Rose’s part. And while I was recording this really serious Rose monologue, Cass started singing to herself on the other end of the call, and I got really confused.

LUKA

Cass said: I’ve never seen the mute button in my life. Don’t know her.

Um, also one more thing that I wanted to say about the bloopers before we move on, because I think at some point we had it in our heads that we were gonna clarify, like at the beginning of the bloopers, but we didn’t, the clip of me saying “blah blah blah blah blah, next time I cry, I’m gonna get Helen out.” Helen is the name of my microphone. I felt the need to give a little bit of context.

VAL

Yeah.

LUKA

I do have a new microphone, it is no longer Helen, but she lives on in spirit.

VAL

Rest in peace, Helen.

LUKA

Rest in peace, love. You never got to—no I’m not gonna try and do the joke. There’s nothing in my head. The joke is—I was gonna explain the joke but… we’re recording this on Michael right now, so that’s the joke.

VAL

Yeah.

VAL [ANNOUNCEMENT, OUTSIDE OF THE CONVERSATION]

Look forward to part two coming out in two weeks. Thank you for listening!

[kob131]

Oh and his ending, which is suppose to wrap all this up?

A. “They have the lamp that attracts Grimm, that won’t be masked by the Grimm! They’re so stupid!”

Fun Fact-When Ren and Jaune do their trick-It’s a split second so they can get in front of the Leviathan and Ruby can blast with her Silver Eyes.

“A pair of Manta aircraft are seen firing shots at the Leviathan. Suddenly, the Leviathan unleashes an energy beam attack from its mouth. It shifts the beam over to one of the poles powering the hard-light Dust barrier, destroying it. The Leviathan roars.

Ruby and her friends watch in horror from their aircraft.

Oscar: It tore straight through...!

Air Control: All squadrons, fall back to evacuation procedures. Disengage Leviathan! I repeat, disengage! Over!

Ruby: No, wait!Ruby runs up to the radio.

Qrow: Ruby!

Ruby: We can stop it!

Air Control: Who is this? Identify yourself!

Ruby: I'm a Huntress. My team and I are heading to the Leviathan and can weaken it for you to attack!

Everyone looks at Ruby in shock.

Jaune: We can?

Ruby: I can.

Maria: Ruby, when I said "trial by fire"--

Ruby: I did it at Beacon and at the farm.

Weiss: You really think you can do it now?

Ruby: I don't have a choice.

Air Control: Manta 5-1, your ship is currently flagged as hostile. You will receive no support, over.

Ruby: (picking up radio) Fine, we'll do it alone if we have to.

From her mech, Cordovin overhears Ruby's radio chatter.

Ruby: We can hit it while it's stopped at the next barrier. Ren, you're up!

Ren and Jaune proceed to combine their Semblances, masking the airship as it weaves between the air battles between Grimm and Atlas forces. The Leviathan makes its way to the next barrier and charges its energy breath again.

Qrow: We're too late! Pull up!

The Manta aircraft pulls up out of the way as the Leviathan fires its breath, destroying the next barrier and toppling a cupola off one of the buildings in Argus. Ren and Jaune collapse as their Auras are drained.’

The lamp wouldn’t matter. And it didn’t.

B. ‘Why is everyone shocked to hear Ruby suggesting to help? It’s sooo dumb!”

Wanna know why I gave so much context above? Because above- you see what FMF is referring to. ... Yeah, the shock wasn’t from deciding to help- It was from Ruby saying they can stall the Grimm.

So FMF just lied. Again. And used the commentary while misrepresenting the scene. Again.

C. ‘That’s what the Writers decide to remember? They talk as though the scenes Ruby referenced never happened!’

Yeah, remember what I said about FMF lying? Well, the commentary here isn’t edited over a scene from the show and look at the lines he choose-

‘I’m curious what the idea was, this is a pretty bold move right?’

“It came down to, they had to try.’

Doesn’t really should like they’re referring what was said right? And Kerry’s voice sounds different from how the other guy’s voice sounds like (as in, it’s as if Kerry’s voice doesn’t follow directly from what the other guy said). Considering that FMF has already lied in this segment- why should I trust that he didn’t just take a piece of the commentary out of context and sell it to an audience that buys outright lies?

Edit: Fun fact, I actually asked for a transcription of this part of the RWBY Volume 6 commentary and a user by the name of Changyuraptor did it for me.

Wanna see what was actually said here?

“Chris: "I'm curious what the idea was, like this is a pretty bold move right, like she had just not even 5 or 6 chapters ago talked to Maria about the concept of just using her silver eyes to begin with and she's looking at this massive Grimm."

Kerry: "It came back down to- there's actually some slightly different earlier versions of the speech that was a little bit different, but Miles was like (I think he's saying Miles' name here, not 100% sure) 'they have to try" you know, it doesn't look like anything else is working, if she can at least try and it works to any degree it's something you know, I think what was a bigger part of this message too is I think a lot of people probably would have told her not to do it but she needs to follow what she thinks is best."

They weren’t talking about Ruby’s idea specifically, nor is anything said here indicating they forgot anything.

In fact, he cuts off most of what was said (even cutting stuff said INBETWEEN what he used) JUST to make that point.

So yeah- definitive proof he lies using the commentary.

D. ‘Oh Atlas doesn’t want help after asking for help! How stupid!’

“Air Control: Who is this? Identify yourself!

Ruby: I'm a Huntress. My team and I are heading to the Leviathan and can weaken it for you to attack!

-

Air Control: Manta 5-1, your ship is currently flagged as hostile. You will receive no support, over.

Ruby: (picking up radio) Fine, we'll do it alone if we have to.”

Not what they said FMF.

Also he tries saying the group was surprised when Ruby said they helped when that’s NOT what she said. Again. So he made the same lie TWICE.

Also also, he misspelled Atlas as ‘Atlus’. As in, the SMT/Persona company. It would have even registered as an incorrect spelling when he made the spelling. This was a video in production over a YEAR.

E. ‘Atlas hates the idea of Huntsmen!’

*Shows Ironwood giving a bunch of teams the option to walk away from the Fall of Beacon*

That’s not even connected to anything here...well, here as in the review because this does reinforce the thematic idea the show presents that you should stand and fight.

... Did FMF just support Team RWBY’s stance in Volume 7?

F. ‘NO body would tell a Huntress to not save a town full of people!’

*looks over at the people calling Team RWBY stupid for trying to save all of Mantle in Volume 7*

Cool, now even his laziness is biting him in the ass.

G. “THIS FICTIONAL PERSON WANTED A HUNTRESS SO THE REAL PEOPLE WHO THE COMMENTARY IS REFERRING TO DON’T EXIST!”

Fuck, how does anyone take him seriously?

H. ‘DUr Atlas man being stupid!’

Oh so not backing up the STOLEN SHIP that was JUST IN A FIGHT WITH THEIR COMMANDER and NOT KNOWING THE PEOPLE ON BOARD PERSONALLY is stupid huh? He should just risk his men’s lives for an enemy that SAYS they can help but they don’t KNOW that.

Gee, what were you saying about logic again?

I. ‘Maria flies into a dangerous spot, so stupid!’

Gee, not like point blank range would be a good idea or that they were already on that course but that’d require FMF to not edit a scene to suit himself and we all know intellectual integrity is toxic to his very existence./s

J. ‘How do the shield generators get hit if the shields are up?’

*Shown: the shield generators NOT BEING BEHIND THE SHIELDS*

K. ‘Hey, why try to get it’s attention when you have lamp!’

*Episode 1: shows that a bunch of panicking people would attract the Grimm over the lamp*

L. ‘DUR, REN’S SEMBLANCE!’

*Shown: Ren’s AURA AKA SEMBLANCE FUEL SOURCE BREAKING*

M. ‘Ruby takes lamp despite distraction!’

Hm, gee, almost like her plan was to FREEZE the damn thing and it didn’t notice her even while flying around with the lamp.

N. ‘THEY FORGET LAMP WAS DANGEROUS BUT REMEMBER IT STOP TIME!’

*points above*

O. ‘DUR< MECH FIGHT ONLY STOPPED FINAL BATTLE FOR LESS TWO MINUTES!’

You know...and taking out the weapon made to kill the Grimm for a long period of time...and Cordovon’s actions SUMMONED the Grimm...and all the shields were down and the breath attack that could level half the city in one shot takes about five seconds to charge up.

Gosh, it’s almost like he relies on his audience not knowing any better...

P, ‘SALEM THINKS HER PROBLEM SOLVED WITH FLYING MONKEY WHICH COULD HAPPEN IN EPISODE 2!’

1. You cut out the WHOLE REST OF THE ARMY.

2. ‘Hazel: There's an old saying. 

he two notice Hazel Rainart enter the room and stand next to them. 

Hazel: If you want something done right... do it yourself. 

Salem looks up to the army of Grimm she has gathered, before turning around and using her magic on the black pools again, engulfing the entire scene...’

3. Salem’s problem is the news Ozpin lived...delievered to her in Episode 4. Not Episode 2.

Q. ‘THEY GO TO ATLAS LIKE BAD MAN OZPIN SAY THEY DO! THEY NO QUESTION ANYTHING!’

Question.

What the fuck are they suppose to do?

Can’t wait anywhere, you yourself admitted that they showed the lamp attracted Grimm AND you never stopped bitching about Volume 5.

Vale is out.

Mistral is out, no Raven.

Vacuo is clear across the other side of Remnant.

Can’t even talk it out because people wouldn’t stop bitching about the talking in Volume 5.

You act like there’s any OTHER logical choice, FMF. Or that Ozpin’s lies would change ANYTHING about his decision about going to Atlas being bad.

But then again, that’d require your brain to function in regard to RWBY.

Then he goes on to say some shit about how everyone is just back to the way they are and how the Volume was pointless. I’d discuss that...but I want you to look at everything he said here. All the lying he did. All the suspect shit he pulled. All the crap he ignored. All the positions he abandoned in Volume 5 to bitch about here.

All the piss he spewed for nothing.

Look at this and think to yourself: Even if I saw the whole thing and heard his reasonings-

Would you believe a word he says?

I had to stop myself from wheezing I laughed at him so hard. This is the video equivalent of that drowning meme

He CREATED every single bit of his situation. He CHOSE to see things this way even after it took mental gynmastics to see it so.

It’s hilarious he acts like he’s in so much pain that HE INFLICTED TO HIMSELF.

I gave FMF a chance. His first point and his last point to impress me even a little. What did I get?

 An ironic comedy routine that makes Beavis and Butt Head look like Steven Hawking. 

[intoxicatingimmediacy]

Partners S1: E5 Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal

Daveed & Rafael are best friends and artists who have collaborated across film, theater, music, and poetry. Their partnership extends beyond the normal boundaries of friendship, and the normal boundaries of a working relationship.

Rafael: There's sort of a before we met and an after we met and no gradient. Daveed: Yeah. Rafael: I don't remember— Daveed: It's like, I don't even know this guy and then this is the person I work with on everything. Rafael: And I'm pretty sure I said to him, I was like, "This is my best friend." Daveed: I'm Daveed Diggs. Rafael: I'm Rafael Casal. Daveed: And we're buddies.

Listen to it here

Full transcript under the cut...

Daveed: I'm not sure when we met or when we were formally introduced, but surely at some sort of poetry event, because we were both sort of coming up in that scene. I was older, I was four years older than him. Rafael: My freshman year, his senior year. That's a lifetime apart in high school. My memory of him in high school is Diggs always had a very nonchalant way about him. I don't know that this paints it accurately, but this is a representation of it, at some point Diggs was like, "I'm just wearing pajama pants to school every day," and I'm sure that wasn't the whole time, I got this little window of it. Daveed: It was the whole time. All of high school, for sure. Rafael: That's amazing. Daveed: It was as a rule. But we would see each other at these poetry events and he was really, really good at writing poems. A way more sort of focused writer than I had ever been in that situation, you know? So I remember that. I remember thinking that here's a person that's actually better than me at this thing and that's pretty cool. Daveed: Then over the years, also after when I was in college, when I'd come back home for the summers, sometimes I'd drop in just to watch poetry things that were happening, sort of check in on the scene. He was the dude, he had become that guy. Rafael: I remember that so differently. I barely finished high school in a very nontraditional way and then went off and did this show on HBO, Def Poetry.

Rafael: I came back and had just enough money saved up with some friends to open a very dungeon-y recording studio and we were looking for other artists. We didn't have anybody else recording at the studio. So a mutual friend of ours, one of his close friends who was the older brother of one of my close friends was like, "You know Daveed raps?" Daveed: Yeah, we really got set up on a rapper play date. So our friend Justin was like, "You guys should work together. You're two of my favorite rappers." I was like, "Yeah, yeah." And he played me his stuff and it was really good. I didn't have anywhere to record, I was recording songs in my Mom's closet, in the little closet in my room. I hadn't been in a lot of studio spaces, so I was like, oh, a studio? Rafael: I don't know that this qualified as an actual studio. Daveed: I didn't know that yet because I hadn't been there yet. Rafael: But I don't think we had any idea what meeting each other and actually getting time was going to be like. Daveed: Finally we started. It was like, this is the song we're going to work. We had listened through some beats and it was like, "Let's work on this one." I just started writing and, yeah, it happened really fast. At some point we looked up and everyone else was gone and it was just the two of us in there and we were still making music. Rafael: We just made music until the sun came up and began the ritual that day of going to the car at 8:00 AM and playing everything that you'd recorded and then dragging your body home to sleep and kind of doing it all over again. Daveed: I'd been making music for many, many years and it had never been that much fun before. Rafael: Suddenly there's this person that writes a verse in five minutes and can nail it in a take. And at the time we were working with some random singers and stuff that couldn't ever sing the line and rappers who took an hour to get a verse down. It was just like, "Wow, this is so easy," and then we'd just have songs done.

Daveed: As a young artist early on when I'm still trying to figure things out and creating is hard for me, being around somebody who just creates all the time, it's addictive. I don't have the technical skill set that Rafa has, so he was so fast in Pro Tools. He was all of these things that I just would have to labor over and then all of that stuff became really impressive too. Once, as we started working together and I became aware that he had taught himself all of these things, nobody ever really showed him how to do anything, it seemed like... and he was editing videos and shooting things, the whole range of what it takes to be a music artist out in the world he had taught himself to do. I didn't really know anybody like that. Rafael: Over the next four or five years we recorded hundreds of songs- Daveed: So many more songs- Rafael:...that no-one's heard. Daveed:...that no-one will ever hear. Rafael: Legit hundreds and wrote a play together and then we lived together and it was like, oh man. When we're around each other this much it's like we have too many ideas. It was the right amount of proximity for the full version of creativity that we had always... we had thought we'd already tapped it and we did so much shit that year. I think artistically we were doing great. Daveed: Yeah, we're definitely making it and we were definitely broke. Rafael: People knew us. Daveed: It was just a combination of the thing, it was like- Rafael: We got on the radio. Daveed: This is also great, listen to how he says we. Because really Rafa was known, right? He had a song that got played on Clear Channel radio and then got named one of the Bay Area Freshmen '10. Rafael: Best new whatever. Daveed: He got named one of those, but Rafa never would take that for himself, it was always us. We are. We played those shows together and would end up making no money on these gigs because he would bring me and a band, four or five other people to play music, use the entire fee to fly us out to wherever, Georgia and play a show where no-one would make any money but we got to play a show. He was doing that from jump for so long. Hrishikesh: Why was that how you would always do it? Rafael: Well because, one, I don't, I'm uncomfortable with I statements. Daveed: Berkeley is shit. Rafael: Berkeley is shit. I'm not good to roll with I statements, they feel self indulgent. I was raised to not feed an ego that feels constantly eager for food. What I love about that period is we were all pushing to little different degrees of success. We're just kind of weirdos almost in a scene that we kind of make sense in. They didn't understand Diggs very much at all, I feel like the more commercial Bay Areas scene and they only sort of understood me. It was very you're in, but don't try to make any changes, you know? And I think that's a big reason that we went to LA. We could see the top of the ladder and it's not getting any friendlier or more receptive. We maybe can make this movie and maybe there's different music opportunities down there, but it's definitely not going to happen here. And then suddenly we packed up from the West Oakland place and moved to LA. Daveed: Also we had already been, we were working on Blindspotting, so we'd been traveling up and down. Our producers, we had been driving to meet with them really frequently. Rafael: We were slumming it so hard when we got to LA, we were so poor. Diggs was delivering tacos. Daveed: Yeah. I was like... I couldn't be an actor in LA, is what I decided. Rafael: We're just swinging and missing, just trying to figure out what does it mean to be in the bigger pond and want to be artists professionally. We did five years in LA before Diggs went to New York to do Hamilton. I think that was one of those things that came about for Diggs really organically. Hamilton was such an interesting... it was a play, it was legit written for him to flex all the things he's good at. They were like, "Who's this rap kid that turns out can also act?" And the rest of us were like, "Turns out? He's been doing that more than a lot of y'all." And the world saw Diggs in the light that best showed everything and they not only accepted, but obsessed over it. And then I went to visit him in New York when the show was picking up steam and the first thing that happened is this girl grabs my arm and looks at Diggs and goes, "Oh my God, is that Daveed Diggs?" to me and I start to realize that this woman is Anne Hathaway and she's fan-girling out. I'm like, "Oh man, a major shift is happening."

Daveed: My life is changing very, very quickly. I was under stress constantly. Rafa is calling and texting and emailing and I'm getting back to the degree that I can. So yes, obviously it would have been so much easier and nicer if my best friend was also living in New York and somebody who has context for me outside of this thing. Rafael: I remember [inaudible 00:10:39] I turned to Diggs and I was like, "I'm thinking about moving to New York so you'll respond more in person." I remember Diggs goes, "I didn't want to ask." Daveed: That's a big ask and I'm doing eight shows a week. It's not like, move to New York and let's go kick it in the Berkshires, you know? It's like, move to New York and I'll see you at midnight sometimes. Rafael: But I was like, well it's just good for him to have a friend there. But also can I run your social media? Because you're not posting enough and people want to see this adventure and there's a sincere way to do it. And I had done a little bit of it with his Twitter and stuff in the Bay and in LA, but this was like, "Give me your passwords." I probably already had them. Daveed: This was an admission that he was going to use them. Rafael: I was letting him know that I was going to do it. Daveed: On a regular basis. And I was like, "Yeah, yeah, do that." Rafael: And especially if you actually hadn't been able to do it, you didn't have to be self-indulgent, I'm doing it. There's a year of his Instagram that's just his friend's version of how awesome he is.

Rafael: Blindspotting got started because, around when I was 21, one of my friends got killed in a way that sort of didn't make a lot of sense to most people in the community. And it was sort of the breaking point because it was a woman, because it was somebody who wasn't really involved in the violence of the world that we were existing in at the time. Some other people had been killed and other people I sort of was close to. There was a series of funerals people had gone to in succession and this was the button on it. It was just a breaking point for me. So I had written this poem about sort of the numbness of that experience of like, "God, is this what life is? People die and we get numb and we care a little less every time? How does this go?" And then we just kind of started coming up with a story that was a movie that's in verse starring the two of us. We kept almost making Blindspotting and not making it. Diggs, he finishes this massive sensation in New York. He had 30 days in June that he could shoot this movie- Daveed: 22. Rafael:... and then a month later we were in Oakland shooting the movie. Daveed: In the hometown. Everybody who's an extra in that movie is a friend of ours that we grew up with. Rafael: Yeah. And it's still not a real movie to us. It's still a thing we can't believe they made. Daveed: In Hollywood, in a world that we always assumed we didn't belong in, that we never really figured out how we would fit into anyway. To have doors start opening in a way where they're sort of asking questions about what you want to do is crazy actually. It's just fun in meetings post Blindspotting now that we're associated together in this way and also people have been able to see that Rafael is a great actor as well as a great writer. It's like, "Well what's he doing? Do you think he'd be interested in this? Can you talk to him for us?" It's pretty... I love that. I love that so much. Rafael: And I still know the 10 things that he can do that nobody's seen yet. And that's still fun for me. Daveed: The closest I have ever gotten to fighting with Rafa I think is when somebody else I'm close to is fighting with Rafa, right? Rafael: I think that's sort of our good cop, bad cop type of... where someone will be venting to him and he's like, "I don't know what to tell you, I've already picked my team." We have this expression that we always say, we did this before every show and we kind of do it anytime we're at a crossroads. We're like energy up, expectations down. Daveed: Energy up, expectations down. Rafael: It's just like this whole ship runs on enthusiasm.

Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal are partners. Go watch their film Blindspotting and check out the album they put out together last year, called Seven Nights in Chicago. You can follow them on Twitter or Instagram @DaveedDiggs and @RafaelCasal. Rafael probably still has the passwords to Daveed's accounts.

[cryptidvagabond]

My cousins convinced me to play AI dungeon with them for the first time last night.

What follows is a transcript. With a little minor editing to clean it up and make it presentable.

For context: (me) You are Morven, a teenage vampire with blue hair in a mohawk, dressed like a punk band reject. (my cousin) Officer Fluffette Puppypaws is a short, chubby werewolf, with a collar on. (my other cousin) Officer Johnny Law is a tall, thin “human”. It was a dark and stormy night...

The lights flickered in the seemingly abandoned house on the edge of town. The sound of the rain drops pelting the windows and roof could be heard as you sat in the dark living room. There's a knock on the door. You open it to find two figures standing there. They are two police officers.

"Hello there, son. We've had some reports of a prowler in the area. Can we come in?" one of the officers says to you.

"Um, yeah." 

The officers step inside and introduce themselves as Officer Johnny Law and Officer Fluffette Puppypaws. You offer them a slice of cake.

"I didn't know we were having a party," Officer Johnny Law says.

"Oh, this is just a leftover piece of cake from my sister's wedding. Have a seat."

Officer Fluffette sits on the floor, tail wagging, "Well, this is comfy."

Officer Johnny Law looks at the slice of wedding cake in his hand. He seems puzzled.

"What kind of cake is this?" Officer Johnny Law asks.

"Red velvet," you say.

"This isn't red velvet. This is blood."

You notice that a maddening hunger begins to overcome Officer Johnny Law. His pupils are like pinpoints, and his fangs have descended.

You say, "Whoa, man, it's vegan!" But Officer Johnny Law lunges at you with the slice of red velvet cake.

"Nobody should know my secret," he says in a deep voice. You fight Officer Johnny Law for the cake knife. Fluffette ignores the fight, scarfing down red velvet cake, which is now all over the floor. She seems to love the taste of it. She stands up and lets out a long, blood-curdling howl. She grows hair all over her body until she is hair from head to toe. You and Johnny stop and stare at Fluffette, puzzled.

"What just happened?" you ask. Fluffette has turned into a werewolf. Fluffette pauses, noticing the attention, cake all over her muzzle. 

"Whuff?" she asks through a mouthful of cake.

"Um, nothing," you say nervously. Officer Johnny Law lets you pick yourself up off the floor. You dust yourself off and ask, "So, uh, what's this about a prowler?" Officer Johnny Law says, "We got a call that there was a prowler in this neighborhood."

"Oh, that. Nah, I was just seeking shelter from the storm." You say, "I live here, this is my house."

"Do you own this house?"

"Yeah. I bought it from the bank." 

Officer Johnny Law says, "There's been a housing shortage ever since Werewolves Inc. moved in across town." Officer Johnny Law glares at Fluffette, who stares back innocently, face full of red velvet cake.

"We've had to relocate most of the town." 

You say, "You can move them in here if you want. There's plenty of room."

Officer Johnny Law says, "I'll be right back. I'm calling for backup."

"Sure," you say, "Whatever you need to do."

Officer Johnny Law calls his friends over as you show them around the house. Johnny Law's friends remake the entire house over, to be a disco club. Johnny Law rips off his uniform to reveal a sequined white disco jumpsuit underneath.

"What is this?" you ask.

"This is a raid. I'm sorry, man."

You hear sirens outside. The police burst into the house with their weapons drawn. You look around in complete and utter confusion. 

"I was just trying to have some cake," you say. They don't listen. They beat you into submission with rubber hoses. You are handcuffed and dragged to your feet. Fluffette growls at the officers arresting you, hackles rising. She lunges at the officer nearest you. 

"Aw, sick!" you say, snapping the handcuffs and suplexing the other officer.

"Yeah!" you say as the police stare in bewildered silence, "Sic 'em, girl!"

Your pet wolf mauls the two police officers.

"Don't just stand there, shoot her!" Johnny Law grabs Fluffette by the collar and says, "Bad dog! Heel!" 

Your pet wolf snaps at Johnny, but he manages to hold her back. Your pet growls, and obeys the order. You grab a handful of cake off the floor and shove it into Officer Johnny Law's face while grabbing Fluffette's collar and unfastening it.

"Stay frosty!" you shout, exploding into bats.

Officier Johnny Law wipes the frosting off his face, then catches sight of you fleeing out the door. "Shi-," he says, but Fluffette leaps onto him and knocks him over. 

Fluffette races out the door after you. You both escape into the night.

"Do you have any ideas?" you ask. Fluffette barks.

"Yeah, I don't have my license on me." you reply.

You turn to Fluffette and say, "Do you know where the witch's house is? We need to borrow a broom."

She barks, and runs down the sidewalk.

"The bakery's that way," you say in confusion. She continues barking. You shrug, and follow her.

Back at the house, Johnny Law is enraged at Fluffette's betrayal. He curses, and chases you into the night.

You head to the bakery, where you find Agnus waiting for you. 

"Come on!" she shouts. "Get in here!"

"Oh! How did you know we were coming?" you ask, ducking inside and hiding behind the door, Fluffette right behind you.

"It's my job to know. Now come on, the others are waiting." Agnus pulls you in the back room and slams the door shut.

"The others?" you ask, baffled.

"Yeah, the rest of the witches, you doofus. Now hurry up and change, there's a mob outside."

You glance down at Fluffette, confused, but decide to go along with it. You hurriedly drag the clothes Agnus gives you on over the clothes you were wearing and follow her. You shrug. 

"I'm ready."

Agnus grabs you by the shoulders and looks into your eyes.

"Personal space!" you squeak.

"Listen. You're human now. You can never reveal that you're a vampire."

"I know that!" you say, annoyed.

"If they find out, they'll kill you." 

Leading the mob outside, Johnny Law casts Revealing Disco Balls to see all around him.

"I can see you! You're going down, vampire scum!"

"Is he talking to us?" you ask. Agnus nods grimly.

"But he's a vampire too," you say, gesturing towards the mob outside with a look of annoyance. Fluffette barks in agreement.

"Shut up. Oh, and your name's Agrippina," says Agnus as she opens the door slowly. Agnus walks ahead of you, down the stairs. You follow her.

"But I don't want my name to be Agrippina," you grumble, following along behind.

"I've decided it's going to be Agrippina," says Agnus. You reach the bottom of the stairs, and Agnus throws open the door. A bloodthirsty crowd awaits you. Agnus throws a bunch of dried garlic into their midst, and they back away. 

"Make it quick," she says, and pushes you forward.

"Make what quick?!" you ask, somewhat panicked, "You gave us zero instructions!" Fluffette chases the dried garlic excitedly, mistaking it for a ball.

"Just go with it!" says Agnus. You step forward, and the townspeople corner you and begin chanting "Burn the witch! Burn the witch! Burn the witch!"

Just then, Johnny Law and his mob of disco dancers appear around the corner, chanting, "Disco's not dead!" over and over. You look from one mob to the other in confusion.

"Who should we kill?" you ask. Agnus appears behind you. 

"None of them!" she hisses. "Kill none of them. The garlic will protect you."

Fluffette returns to your side, garlic in mouth, tail wagging furiously. You look down at her and think for a moment. As the mobs converge in front of you, you finally realize what must be done. 

"Wait!" you shout at the top of your lungs, throwing your arms in the air. The mobs both stop and look at you. 

"I know what we have to do!" you shout, "This calls for a dance-off!"

The vampires and werewolves go wild with excitement. You look nervously at Agnus, who shrugs.

"I guess it beats slaughter," she says.

Johnny Law steps up as the first challenger. 

"I will take you on in dance battle for the lives of your friends!"

"You're on," you say.

Johnny removes his hat and coat, tossing them aside. He begins to bust a move. 

You do the Mashed Potato and then do the Twist. 

The crowd goes wild. 

You continue dancing, trading off partners and throwing in choreographed moves. You're having so much fun that you forget all your troubles. 

Johnny Law does a 360 no-scope head twirl followed by a pelvic thrust.

The crowd explodes as you hit the finale: The Carlton Dance. 

Everyone goes wild. The werewolves howl, and the vampires hiss. You take a bow, and then bend down to pet Fluffette.

In the final battle of the disco dance-off, you face off against Johnny Law, winner takes all.

The crowd goes wild.

You begin the dance-off with a series of backflips, handsprings, and cartwheels.

Johnny attempts a backflip, but lands on his head. He is OK, and tries again, but doesn't land it.

You show off your prowess with the Matrix moves, and do the Cabbage Patch.

Johnny does the Running Man, but trips over his feet and falls into the crowd. Some of the crowd begins to boo him.

You take advantage of Johnny's fall with a series of expertly performed backflips. The crowd is on their feet, cheering you on.

Johnny attempts another cartwheel, but falls on his face again. The crowd begins to boo him. He tries another cartwheel, but hits his head on the base of Agnus' throne. The vampire crowd begins to hiss at him.

Meanwhile, you do the Funky Chicken and the Robot. 

The crowd goes wild.

Johnny Law attempts to do a backflip. He lands on his head once again.

You stop dancing and stare at Johnny, feeling embarrassed for him. 

"Wow, Johnny, those are some sick moves! I think you win this one, but instead of killing me and my friends, how 'bout we all just go back to my place and have some cake?" 

You glance meaningfully at the crowd, willing them to play along with you.

"Yeah!" shouts the crowd. "Let's go have cake at Morven's house!"

Johnny Law gets to his feet, looking ashamed. He nods at you, and scrapes his foot along the ground.

You all go back to the seemingly abandoned house for tea and cake in front of the warm fireplace. Everyone is dry and happy, especially Fluffette, who is overjoyed to have more cake to eat. 

The end.

You all stand around awkwardly as the credits roll. After a while, the news comes on, and you leave to watch that instead.

The moral of the story is: There are some things that even friendship can't overcome. You should have followed your first instinct and just killed all the werewolves. 

This was a pretty close call, you think, heading back to the living room.

Note: I would just like to let everyone know that I could write for the rest of my life and never come up with something as brilliant and hilarious as this...

[stereogeekspodcast]

[Transcript] Season 1, Episode 3. What’s New – The New Mutants

We had thoughts about The New Mutants, few of them good. There were some enjoyable moments, which we discuss, along with sharing our thoughts on what could have been better. 

Spoiler alert: we will be talking about the entire film.

Content warning: some of the content in the film can be triggering, please proceed with caution.

Listen to the episode on Anchor.

[Continuum by Audionautix plays]

Ron:  Hello and welcome to Episode Three of Stereo Geeks. Today we'll be talking about what’s new in pop culture.

Mon: I’m Mon.

Ron: I'm Ron.

Mon: And this week we’re talking about The New Mutants.

Ron: This is a spoiler alert because we’ll be talking about the entire film, including the ending, so if you haven’t watched it yet, please watch the whole thing and then come back and listen to our podcast.

Please note, we will be discussing some triggering topics as contained within the film so, proceed with caution.

Ron: This film was initially intended for release in 2018, having been filmed in 2017, but it languished in production hell till 2020.

Mon: This year, it finally hit theaters, but because it was in the middle of the pandemic, most of us didn't go and watch it. Now that it's out on digital, we have some thoughts.

The film begins with Danielle Moonstar, played by Blu Hunt escaping the decimation of her village. She wakes up in a rehabilitation center, which is for mutants.

She is one of five students being supervised by Dr Cecilia Reyes, played by Alice Braga. The other students are Illyana Rasputin, played by Anya Taylor Joy; Rahne Sinclair by, played by Maisie Williams, Roberto Da Costa, played by Henry Zaga, and Sam Guthrie, played by Charlie Heaton. Let's talk about plot!

The film follows Dani as she gets to know these other mutants around her, tries to figure out what her power is, and tries to survive Dr Reyes’ experiments. Ron: There isn't much plot to speak of. It's very much a setup film, though there isn't any reason for us to believe that there's going to be a New Mutants 2. The majority of the film is spent with Danielle getting to know her fellow mutants and exploring their relationships. Though I would say that even there, the film doesn't really do a great job.

Mon: Yeah, there's a huge focus on the central relationship between Dani and Rahne. But the other characters, they're more antagonistic or just in the background. So it doesn't really develop her relation with them.

Ron: Yes, it comes across very much like the new girl being bullied, especially by Illyana though, that really doesn't do justice to the character as she appears in the comics. So, that was a bit of a surprise. Speaking of the backstories of these characters, we would say that really Rahne is the only one who has a similar backstory to the one that she has in the comics.

Mon: In the comics, Rahne comes from a small, very rigid, very religious community, and they freak out when she turns into a werewolf, because of her mutation. That backstory remains the same in the film, except now she’s been branded as a witch.

Ron: I didn't mind that particular inclusion. I think that made sense within the scope of the story. The other characters, there is no similarity between their stories in the film, and how we got to know them in the comic books.

Mon: Let's start with Dani herself. Why is there no mother in the picture? Ron: In the ‘Demon Bear’ storyline, which this movie is based on, Dani loses both her parents, and that actually does play a very large part in the conclusion. But the film only focuses on her father in the very opening scene, which was not edited very well, and we see him later on as well. Mon: Let's talk about Roberto.

Ron: I have to say I was so, so disappointed in Roberto Da Costa in this film. Sunspot was my favorite new mutant and the character in the film doesn't resemble the comic book character at all. Especially not his backstory which plays such an important part in not only his mutant powers, but the way he engages with the world.

Mon: I think the first warning that they wouldn't be doing ‘Berto correctly was the casting of Henry Zaga.

Ron: I'm sure Zaga is a very good actor. I haven't seen him in anything else, but I'm sure he's very talented. Unfortunately, he doesn't look anything like Sunspot in the comics. There is one integral part of his character arc that is completely missing from this film because Zaga has been cast in it.

Let me explain. In the comics, Roberto Da Costa belongs to a very rich family. He doesn't really understand his privilege. But he is also very dark skinned. Because of this, despite his privilege, he is bullied. It is while being bullied by fellow classmates that his powers activate.

Mon: ‘Berto in the comics is Afro-Latino, but they refused to cast character an actor who reflected the same heritage in the film, and that really does him a great disservice. Because race is an important part of ‘Berto’s characterization in the comics, but it's completely forgotten and the backstory that Berto is given in the film is boring. It is staid and it is another example of fridging.

Ron: In the film, Sunspot’s powers activate when he is having a romantic moment with his girlfriend, thus killing her in the most awful way possible. So, not only do they erase an extremely important part of his characterization, but they fridge his girlfriend who is then used as horror movie-material later on. Mon: Let's move on to Sam Guthrie. So, Sam is kind of the pseudo-leader in the comics. He's conveniently the leader because, I feel like the writers, at the time, weren't sure who they could give it to so they gave it to the southern white guy.

In the comics, he's very happy, he's a very positive guy. He's had hardships in his life, but he never lets it bring him down. He struggles with his powers, he's a cannonball, quite literally, and it's a difficult power to master. The film touches on the fact that Sam still struggles with mastering his power, but he's given this broody, overly dark backstory, which doesn't do the character any justice. Sam's storyline in the film really should have come with some kind of warning. Because Sam is essentially self-harming throughout. He's in a cast constantly, he is seen punching himself. Basically, it's quite disturbing to watch what happens. And it comes without context, and we'll come to the fact that a lot of what happens in the film is without context.

What we learn is that Sam was working in the mines with his father and several other men, and his powers accidentally activated and he killed, not only the other men, but also his father, and he's obviously struggling with what happened. And, and he's taking it out on himself. He's not able to grow, learn, or attach himself to anybody. So, this was a huge departure, again, from the comics.

Ron: And then finally we come to Illyana, whose backstory is also extremely different from the comics. When we first meet her, she is a very small child, who ends up in limbo and spends her formative years in that hellhole. But when she's rescued which is a few seconds after her disappearance, she's a teenager.

None of that, obviously made it into this film, understandably, because the budgets would not have allowed for it, though we do get glimpses of limbo. However, Illyana’s backstory appears to be about her being trapped somewhere and being abused. What did you think about her backstory?

Mon: I didn't feel like it was necessary to have that kind of backstory. What I will say is that this is the subtlest way of suggesting any kind of assault or abuse on any kind of character. They really worked hard to be sensitive to the topic, but at the same time I have to ask, why did Illyana need that backstory in the first place? Why can’t she just come from a poor Russian home? Why couldn't it be like a Dostoyevsky story? She didn't need that kind of background.

And I also felt like there were maybe one too many hints about what happened to her. I understand the need to pare down Illyana’s rather complicated, fantastical comic book origins, but they went the other extreme by making it a little too realistic.

Ron: They tried to marry some of the realistic elements of childhood abuse that we see in real life with the fantastical elements of her childish imagination of what these monsters were. I think that worked for them. But to keep coming back and for us to keep seeing small Illyana in that room, there were one too many moments that would have been triggering for anybody who has been in that situation in their life. So, basically there are two instances in this film where they should have added content warnings, and they had three years to do that, but they didn't.

Mon: And that's not the only thing they didn't fix in the three years. The CGI is terrible! When you're talking about a comic book adaptation, especially with the New Mutants, who are more fantastical, and have more imaginative powers, that requires a lot of special effects. I was disappointed with what we saw. We didn't actually see their powers in action as much as we saw some of the horror elements, and I'm sorry but that is the worst CGI I've seen.

After people have been shouting about how hard they've been working to make this product the best that they can, it honestly feels like this movie was made and somebody forgot about what to do with it. And then they just kept playing hot potato with it. They didn't embellish it, nothing. It's not like they tried very hard to make it the best story possible.

Ron: And I think the other problem is that from the very first previews, people had strong reactions to Zaga, to Heaton. There were a lot of people who were upset that an Afro-Latino character had been replaced by somebody who was lighter skinned. This is colorism and 2020 may have put colorism in the spotlight, but, in 2017, this was definitely something that people knew about.

There were also a lot of concern about Heaton’s casting. He was hot off the success of Stranger Things; it made sense to cast him in a movie like this. But he doesn't fit Sam Guthrie at all! I was extremely disappointed in Zaga and Heaton in this film. Not only did they not look like the characters, they had so little to do. 

The burden of carrying this film really fell on Blu Hunt and Maisie Williams. They did a good job. But there were also a lot of problematic elements around them. So, whatever they were doing was undone. For instance, Illyana is unnecessarily antagonistic towards Dani. She's also racist. She keeps calling her Pocahontas!

They did a good job. But there were also a lot of problematic elements around them. So, whatever they were doing was undone. For instance, Illyana is unnecessarily antagonistic towards Dani. She's also racist. She keeps calling her Pocahontas!

Mon: Yeah, I found that very disturbing and I didn't see any need for that.

Ron: Absolutely not. And 2017 was one year after Trump was elected. He made a lot of Pocahontas comments soon after coming into power. And a lot of people were very, very upset about that, and they were very vocal about that. Why would they put this into the film?

Mon: I think the whole ‘Pocahontas’ thing in the film is kind of reflective of how the director seems quite blinkered in his view? We have the Zaga issue. We have the racist comments against Dani Moonstar, as well. But there's a character missing in this film from the comics and she's integral!

Xi’an Coy Manh, who is the mutant Karma, is a Vietnamese immigrant who becomes the leader of the group. She is conspicuously missing from this film. Why is the Asian mutant, who was such an important part of the comics missing from the film?

Ron: I understand that for the majority of the ‘Demon Bear’ storyline, Xi’an was not there. But if you're making a film which introduces this particular group, you've got to have her.

Mon: I completely agree with you on that. It makes no sense. We were talking about how Heaton and Zaga really don't do much in film. I have to say, this is probably the first time I've seen a genre film where the two boys spend most of the time cleaning dishes and washing clothes, whereas the girls seem to be driving the story forward. It's hinted at that ‘Berto and Sam are becoming close friends, but you don't really see much of the relationship; it's just one montage where they're having a little bit of fun, but the three girls, there's a lot more to their relationship, especially between Blue Hunt’s Dani Moonstar and Maisie Williams’ Rahne Sinclair.

Ron: I was pleasantly surprised that from nowhere, we got this queer relationship. And it comes off the fact that Blu and Maisie obviously have a lot of chemistry. So, the film just went with it. From the very first time that Dani and Rahne see each other, there's this connection. And it just grows throughout the film, and they become a couple.

Mon: I couldn't believe it because, in the books, they're pretty much written as straight. Romance isn't a huge part of their storylines. But in this film, it's there from the very beginning. There's a scene soon after Danny wakes up, and she's struggling to cope with the death of her father, the death of her entire village, and Rahne really talks her down. It's really sweet, this interaction between two young people who are struggling to find themselves in a world that doesn't make sense. And it’s also a little bit funny.

Ron: In any other film, one of the characters would have been a man. But here, it's two girls. And it's one of the nicest moments in the entire film. Once again, a trigger warning is required. But it's a great moment. Because we have seen so many superhero films, and we're still waiting for those queer characters. And it didn't feel forced at all.

Mon: It definitely because, as you mentioned, the actors had so much chemistry between them. It's a friendly chemistry, and the story doesn't try too hard. It makes sure that they come together because they understand each other. Because Rahne is such a kindly character and Dani needs that at that point, she needs somebody who can just understand. And she also needs to know that other people are also suffering in some way, they have their own pain, so that she can open up herself.

Ron: I also liked was there were no salacious comments, no maliciousness towards that relationship.

Mon: They were no gratuitous scenes.

Ron: Exactly, especially when the characters are young, you know, it would have been very disturbing to watch that. We anyway had the whole thing with Illyana’s backstory. One of the things that we really get to see in genre cinema, that even if you have queer characters, if everybody around them is like, ‘oh, you're queer, or gay or trans’, that ruins the moment, because that is again singling out the marginalized character. We also need to talk about how them being a couple isn't the only driving force behind their characterizations. It is a part of what makes them grow and brings them closer. But it also plays a part in resolving some of the issues in the plot.

Mon: So, here's the problem. While this beautiful little love story is fleshed out throughout the film, everything else got left behind. There isn't really anything else. Even if this was supposed to be a character driven story, or a relationship building story, those are also left by the wayside. Because Illyana is antagonistic, when she comes to Dani aide, it's supposed to be seen as she's coming to help Dani out of a newfound-love for Dani, but it's not true. And I couldn't actually read it that way.

Mon: When I was watching the film, I couldn't understand why Illyana suddenly had this change of heart. She'd managed to fight the monsters from her childhood that had come to come to life. But why did that make her feel like she had to fight for Dani? It seemed more like all the other characters, barring Rahne, were fighting for survival. Ron: I agree. Even Sunspot. When he's in the church, it doesn't seem like he's trying to save Dani, or he's trying to help the others. He's just trying to protect himself. And Sam seems to have so little control over his powers that whatever he does do is always by accident.

What I also feel is that we've been skirting around the issue of the plot. And the problem is that there isn't much plot here. The structure of the story goes something like this. Dani meets her fellow mutants. They try to get to know each other. Mysterious things seem to be happening, and they all seem to be related to everybody's worst fears. As the film continues, we realized that those manifestations have a connection with Dani. And then we finally learn that Dani’s greatest fear is the demon bear.

Mon: The final arc of the film is the demon bear attacking the facility and Dani is incapacitated, which leaves the rest of the team to fight off the demon bear and protect her at the same time. This brings the team together, but it brings them together more for their own survival than for the protection of Dani or for any emotional connection that they have to her.

Ron: Also, the stakes in some ways aren't very high. We are used to seeing the very formulaic superhero ending on this huge battleground, so many faceless people in danger having to be protected. And this is much smaller. The new mutants are fighting their own inner demons. And that works in some ways, but it's also not earned. Mon: I think the lack of payoff in this film comes from the fact that there is no context to what we've seen. The context always comes after the fact. We see Sam self-harming but why? We don't find out until several scenes later. We see Illyana being haunted by these scary creatures. But who are they? Why do they look like that? We don't get an answer to that. Most of the other manifestations, they do become more realistic. Whereas with Illyana’s, for some reason, it remains these otherworldly creatures.

Ron: I kept thinking that at some point, especially in the third act, that the monsters would transform into people we would see that the people who were harming her were actually real men.

Mon: Either that, or it was all in limbo, and that’s why they looked like that. But we don't know because limbo is just hinted at during the last section of the film. We get glimpses of a lot of hellfire but not much else.

Ron: The only remaining aspect of limbo in the real world is Lockheed. For the longest time, he’s just a stuffed toy and then randomly in one scene, he turns into a real dragon.

Mon: As real as bad CGI can make it, anyway.

Ron: It’s sad honestly. We love Lockheed in the comics, but also Lockheed belongs to Kitty. So, why is Lockheed here with Illyana? I don't know.

Mon: I'd argue that that was an Easter egg that didn't belong.

Ron: Yes, and seeing Lockheed look like that was super disappointing. They had three years to get this film on our screens, they couldn't fix Lockheed? They didn't actually do anything once it was filmed once it was packaged, once that first preview came out. They just put it on a shelf and waited for it to be released in theaters.

Mon: Disappointing indeed. What are the other comic book elements that you spotted in the film?

Ron: Well, when we saw Dr Reyes’ screen, we could see Essex Corp. It took me a second before I realized that Essex Corp meant Nathaniel Essex, aka Mr. Sinister.

Mon: And throughout, Dr Reyes kept hinting at how her supervisor was in charge and we knew that she was basically following his orders. Since this mysterious character is such a fan-favourite and a huge part of the X-Men comics, we were expecting, at the end, perhaps a little glimpse of the man himself?

Ron: There have been X-Men stories where Nathaniel Essex has been part of the background and then right in the very last panel, there he is standing there in all his glory. We were kind of hoping for that to happen and we waited till the end of the credits. Nothing.

Mon: The film is connected to the main X-Men film universe. There are glimpses of where these young mutants are going to be taken, and these are scenes from Logan. The corporation from which Logan rescues X-23. They were obviously hoping for a larger universe which would include the new mutants, but it never came to fruition.

Ron: Which is again making me wonder, what was the point of this film? It doesn't really give us an hoped for New Mutants 2. In fact, once they have defeated the demon bear, and they've managed to get rid of Dr Reyes, they're leaving the facility, but they have no idea where they're going. As far as they know, there's nothing around them for miles. So, what is the point?

Mon: My biggest struggle with this film is that the new mutants do not lend themselves to a film or a film trilogy. The new mutants should be a TV series.

Ron: Especially since it has a large cast of characters. And if you had added the other characters, you would have had a good number of people to follow. That'll make for great television. I'm thinking about The Gifted, which was an X-Men spinoff. Unfortunately, it was canceled after two seasons but I enjoyed it. Not everybody else did, but I did. And that showed how an X-Men story in television form could work.

Mon: The thing with the X-Men universe is that it's an expansive universe and new characters are constantly being added to it. So, you can't reproduce that universe in just a few films. While the X-Men films, some of them have been very successful, but several of the characters were underserved. Cyclops is the leader in the comics; he got short shrift in the films. Jean Grey is a very powerful character in the comics, and she spends most of her time standing and waving her arms.

While the main X-Men series can still be carried by a handful of actors, with The New Mutants, they are a group, they're a band of youngsters who spend a lot of time getting to know each other and build their friendships together. The whole point of these characters is not just that they have to explore their powers, they also have to explore their own youth. They are young people that are growing up; they need to find out who they are as people. For these characters, the film being a one off, or even if it was supposed to be a trilogy, it doesn't work. The new mutants need to have episodic stories, which were the central theme of the comics.

Ron: It shouldn't be a horror story. I understand where they were going with that. Even within the comic books, the ‘Demon Bear’ storyline does lend itself to suspense but it's also very tragic. I think we need to move away from instilling fear in the viewer, and more about instilling some hope.

Mon: I also feel like the final product didn't quite live up to the anticipation of the original previews. The first trailer that we saw, it really made it look like the classic horror stories that we are so used to seeing. They're stuck in an asylum and scary creatures are coming at them. That's not what we got.

Ron: This was ‘Jumpscares: The Mutant Movie’. Especially that Sunspot scene in the swimming pool, with him and Illyana, which never happens in the comics, and it came off as super gross.

Mon: I still can't figure out whether that was Illyana or that was his imagination.

Ron: That's what I'm saying! ;Jumpscares: The Mutant Movie’. Look, in a horror film, you can have your own kind of logic, but that logic needs to follow a certain pattern. That scene didn't follow any pattern. It seemed like just an excuse for Henry Zaga to take his clothes off, which is not necessary in this film at all. And to put him and Illyana together as a potential couple, which also didn't work because the two characters had no chemistry. And there was no reason for them to want to be together. Mon: Yes, it is just one of the many, many missteps. Surprisingly, I don't feel like this film was the worst film ever made. I would say that it was a poor choice of subject matter and poor execution.

Ron: It's not a bad film. It's just boring. It doesn't try to push any boundaries. The only area where they did something different was with the relationship between Dani and Rahne and but aside from that, the story is very limited in its scope. And for that reason, having just seen The New Mutants, we are struggling to remember parts of it. Mon: So, let us know, what did you think about the New Mutants?

Ron: You can find us on Twitter @Stereo_Geeks. Or send us an email stereogeekspodcast@gmail.com

Ron: We hope you enjoyed this episode. And see you next week!

Mon: The Stereo Geeks logo was created using Canva. The music for our podcast comes courtesy Audionautix.

[Continuum by Audionautix plays]

Transcription by Otter.ai and Ron.

[iredreamer]

I know you’ve posted before how Anne & Mariana spent Christmas together in 1834 and that Mariana tempted Anne unsuccessfully, but have you read Moving Between Worlds? Because the author (excerpting diaries) states plainly that kissing/ grubbling did occur during Anne’s visit (12/24/1834 diary entry: “gratify her passion by one parting grubble”). I take you to be the master at all things real life Anne Lister and Ann Walker so I wanted to get your input. THANK YOU for all your posts, seriously!!

hey :) thank you so much for your message! Yes I’ve read Moving Between Worlds, and I’ve also checked Anne’s diary (from the 22nd of December – when she arrives at Lawton – to the 26th – when she goes back to Shibden) to understand better what happened.

I transcribed AL’s coded parts where she talks about what happened with Mariana during those days. At the end you’ll find what I personally think of this whole thing.

EDIT: I updated the post with parts – coded and not – that even tho are not directly about what happened between them, still help understand the context and what went on during those days. I think that the context and the conversations Mariana & Anne had during this time are quite important to understand why some things happened. The only things I left out in my transcriptions are stuff like “I went from there to there, we visited this lady etc.”, things that are quite mundane.

December 22, 1834 (Monday) > (…) at Lawton at 9 – i.e. 8 ¾ by their clocks – Shewn into M-’s [Mariana] room. And she soon came nervous sobbing, but she got over it pretty soon and well – Had a couple of nice little mutton chops, and then coffee – Mr. L- [Charles Lawton] just came in for a minute or 2 but finding we were still going to have coffee said he had had tea, went back to the dining room and we saw him no more – M- [Mariana] and I sat talking till 11.35 by Halifax – She gave me the history of Martha Booth – not good – her head full of novels that she had read before coming to M- [Mariana] – and her principles spoilt by the bad examples of 2 succession cooks – had been deceitful – was too much set up – Mrs. Duff to give me Martha’s character – M- [Mariana] not to tell me anything – I said if Martha left here, I should have nothing more to say to her – M- [Mariana] then gave me the history of Miss Crewe (…) I never felt less in love’s danger. I thought M- [Mariana] prosy but this was better than the way she talked in at first, despairing & as if the sooner she died the better – she would not listen to my proofs that she herself had had things between us all her own way, however I would not give up the point tho’ I pressed it gently – I was very affectionate, spoke kindly of Mr. Crowe & said I would do anything in the world I could for her but there was no love in my manner or thoughts – I merely thought I was glad this was at an end & that I was as I was – Talked of the Norcliffes & Mrs. Milne’s sarcastic manner which seems to have shewn itself to M- [Mariana] at Scarbro – M- [Mariana] said she always appeared to know all about me whether she did know anything or not – She had talked at Leamington of her great anxiety to see Lady Vere as the most particular friend of her, M- [Mariana] most particular friend! I have guessed right, M- [Mariana] does not want to love the eclat of my friendship (…) M- came upstairs with me to my room & staid ten minutes – a little nervous again & hung on me & went off, talks of giddiness in her head & not living long but I said I should do her good, in fact as I shrewdly hinted I shall not be the death of her. Thank God I am as I am. I thought very little of M- as I came along & never felt more calm – Very fine day – till one tonight wrote all but the five first lines of the day – till 1 ½ wrote 2 pp. to A- [Ann Walker] to go tomorrow – account of my journey – good account of things. [SH:7/ML/E/17/0127]

December 23, 1834 (Tuesday) > (Go by the Lawton clocks) breakfast at 10.20 – then sat talking till 12 – from 12 to 2 walked (about 2 miles) to see a poor man (James Shaw) confined to his bed these 30 weeks for having fallen into a hot salt pan – Luncheon with Mr. L- [Charles Lawton] in his room (I not eating) then sat talking in M-‘s [Mariana] sitting room – Out at 4, for 40 minutes (…) then sat talking in my dressing room till 5.40 – dressed – dinner at 6.10 – coffee – tea… came upstairs at 10 ½ and M- [Mariana] sat with me ½ hour – sealed and gave her my letter written last night to A- [Ann Walker], Shibden, to be put into the post before 9 a.m. tomorrow – annoyed this morning to find I was too late for today’s post – the letters must be there at 9, and the mail goes at 10 – Told M- [Mariana] she had never come to me to see if I was up this morning, she said she would but thought I should not like it – I was rather attendrie this morning, particularly after our walk – She told Mr. Crewe had been with her at Scarbro, glad I had not heard of it in York & that she herself was first to tell me of it – He had said he hoped to her happy with the friend she liked best staying with her at Warmingham, meaning to have me with them – I asked if she did not think this speech plain enough – she said it had not struck her much but at last owned it was pretty plain tho she still says she never was in love with him & wonders if she ever shall be – I calmly said “Oh, yes all that would come” – she told me Mr. C- [Crewe] was very calm on that subject – in telling her a story of a chère amie [dear friend] of Brooke? Grevilles said but he & his friend could very well do without those domestic comforts – she still persists that all her love is for me – I led the conversation to A- [Ann Walker], said I really liked [her], was more than comfortable & that whatever might be said money had nothing to do with it – M- [Mariana] asked if it was true that she had three thousand a year – I said no, but our fortunes would be about equal & that we should have five thousands a year – said I had thought of her the first thing after M-’s [Mariana] break off – I was thankful things were as they were for I was determined to have one & certainly could not have done better – Charlotte said A- [Ann Walker] was not ladylike & she & Mrs. Milne thought she [Mariana] should not be flattered if she saw her successor, but that I could not do without money – M- [Mariana] took all well – said she thought I had done right & perhaps she herself was the cause of it, they wondered – Mr. C- [Crewe] does not like Mrs. Milne – she behaved sarcastically & he expected better things after all the trouble he had taken about Hamlyn – He wished M- [Mariana] to get her uncle & Lou to go to Geneva next summer. M- [Mariana] to join them & then he & his two boys would join them all at Geneva & make a tour for with her uncle there could be nothing wrong. I made no remark. But this explained the passage she read from Lou’s letter that came today, that with a little persuasion she thought her uncle might be got to go to Geneva tho she had preferred Scotland on account of not leaving her mother so far –  This proves M- [Mariana] had thought of the plan & seriously too – perhaps she wished to sound me, what will the world say? She protests she feels towards only as a brother – well nous verrons [we’ll see] – I told her that but for him I might have acted differently – said I read her last letter to A- [Ann Walker] but she did not understand it – I had told all that was necessary but not quite all, that is not of our connection – nor did any know of this or ever would – This seemed to satisfy her – Said I was not quite satisfied with her brother’s conduct about Clifton to his mother in paying with so much difficulty, nor with his management of his wife & that he had latterly left A- [Ann Walker] ten days unvisited by him – but this not to be named any more than the brandy & water drunk by Miss. Bagshaw at Mrs. Bewleys – M- [Mariana] has seemed low today at intervals – it seems she does not now like Mrs. Wilbraham who has interfered with the friendly society etc. Mr. C- [Crewe] says how worldly they all are & he cannot endure them – somehow I do not like him – M- [Mariana] says Mr. C- [Crewe] was never conscious of his feelings towards till L-’s [Charles Lawton?] conduct to him at Mr. Woodsin – 1831 – I cannot quite understand M- [Mariana] – she shews me she is still in love with me – I might have her as heretofore without much difficulty. She says she is glad to see me but talks of the difference there is when my interest is hung on another peg – I asked tonight if I was not as much attached & as affectionate as she wished me to be – she made no answer – I pressed her to say yes & she merely replied “yes, you are very affectionate” – she has kissed me as warmly as she dared venture & given me licence enough if I chose to take it, but in answer “do you love me” my “yes indeed I do” bespoke nothing beyond friendship. The fact is I am really indifferent to her – but she would lead me astray if she could – She will send a present to A- sorry I had proposed it as it was her own intention – L- [Charles Lawton?] & I very good friends but no more – very fine frosty day – no use to look at my thermometer – my dressing room having a good fire in it – wrote all the above of today from 11 ½ to 12 ½ tonight. [SH:7/ML/E/17/0128]

December 24, 1834 (Wednesday) > Fine soft morning – jumped up at 8 ½ on M-‘s [Mariana] coming to call me; and we sat talking in my dressing room ¾ hour (…) M- [Mariana] and I then sat talking in her sitting room till 1 – Luncheon with C- [Charles Lawton]. Letter 3 pp. and 1st page crossed (nice, kind, chit-chat letter) from A- [Ann Walker] her aunt all kindness, but nothing transpired about the contents of her sister’s letter – my aunt not so well as when I left her – if worse would write by the next post – if no letter here, wishes me to call (en passant) at the post office at Manchester – M- [Mariana] and I came and sat talking in my dressing room till 2 – she asked to look at the handwriting and I read her the letter, she looking over me, she said it was a nice simple minded letter – she was better satisfied to have seen it – M- [Mariana] and I went out at 2 to see poor old Molly Owen at the Lodge… and then walked about home till 4 ¾ – Much talk about Mr. Crewe to whom for short I gave the name of short – spoke of Micklestone (pronounced Muckstone) & her living there & our all meeting – she said we should be an odd quartette but seemed in tolerable spirits saying she should now try to turn her thoughts that way – glad to have seen me, for till she saw me, could scarce believe things really as they are – she wondered if she could ever love him, perhaps it would come but thought she should feel as if she was breaking the seventh commandment – very well satisfied with A- [Ann Walker] – should like her all the daytime, could not bear her at night, could not bear to see her go off to bed with me – I kindly parried all this – she said if she had not seen me now perhaps we might have not met again – owned it was much better to have met – I told her & explained quietly that it was all her own doing, that no human influence could have done it but her own – spoke highly of A-’s [Ann Walker] high principle & honorable feeling & that even in any case if it cost me life itself I would not willingly give her up easiness she trusted me & she was right if I could do so much in this case what could I not have done in another, but she, M- [Mariana], had never understood me – I was never half as bad as she thought me – Home at4 ¾ and sat talking inmy dressing room till 5 ½ (…) Told M- [Mariana] servants would always be left in the house at Shibden – if ever she wanted a place to go to, the house would always be at her service – but said gently I would rather she was there alone supposing I was absent – she said she should take Louisa or Ann [Mariana’s sisters] – said I had never liked her family and was sorry for it, but somehow I never could get over my feeling of dislike – I certainly owed them nothing & she said she certainly owed them nothing – dressed – dinner at 6.20 (…) on our leaving the dining room M- [Mariana] and I soon came to my dressing room – She being so low she could not stand it – drank cold water sobbed & was almost in hysterics. Then asked if I loved her “yes” said I “you know I do” we then kissed – our lips seeming glewed together & somehow tongues meeting. She sobbed & said “it is hard, very hard, to be a friend for one who has been a wife” – I was attendrie – we both cried our eyes nearly when we were obliged to go down to tea after nine. She came for a few minutes on going but was quite upset I had to go for Watson to call Eugenie & saw M- [Mariana] almost undressed – I just kiss the back of her neck & came away for she seemed worse seeing me again. It occurs to me that I inadvertently kissed her rather too warmly just after dinner. Was it this that upset her for the night? it is very sad – I am very sorry but my own indifference makes me safer that she thinks. I advised her this morning not to meet Mr. C- [Crewe] at Geneva better go with A- [Ann Walker] & me than anyone I had thought of taking Mr. Brown for A-’s drawing if so M- [Mariana] might return with him, but what I could do very uncertain. [SH:7/ML/E/17/0128 & SH:7/ML/E/17/0129]

December 25, 1834 (Thursday) > M- [Mariana] came a little before eight & staid till nine in bed with me – rather in the pathetics – she cannot get over her love for me – but I behaved with perfect propriety. She said “well” if anything happened to A- [Ann Walker] & Mr. C- [Crewe] would I take her back again – I made no answer till she said “would I not” when I replied “I would not shut the door against you” on which she thanked me & said I was very good. (…) Letter from A- [Ann Walker] (Shibden) my aunt better – 3 pp. widely written – nice letter – properly affectionate – wants me back again – (…) M- [Mariana] said nothing & L- [Charles Lawton] said he [Crewe?] was a scoundrel, of which nobody apparently took any notice – M- [Mariana] mentioned it when we came up to bed, seemed low & nervous, I tried to cheer her – advised her going to London to her uncle & Louisa for a week to see little M- till she told me the history at length of L- [Charles Lawton] & Eliza Lawton – then told her not to be away – said I saw her mind wavered about leaving L- [Charles Lawton] but that she must not do it unless he compelled her for refusing to have the girl to live with them or unless something between him & the girl came out – she had taxed with it, with what the girl said & he declared it was a lie – the girl did not like to be alone with him – he out his tongue unto her moth [mouth?]  which, said M- [Mariana], is you know, the last thing, but one to which I agreed – we talked of how the girl’s mind might be debauched till M- began kissing me & we got on to such tongueing warm work that she got excited. I kept my hands over her clothes & my arms decently round her till the right wandered to queer outside till she took up her petticoats & put it to her & I gave her a thorough grubbling – I think she will have her cousin for it – I certainly felt oddish but no wish to be near to her myself, tho she said in the midst “can you not come near to me for a minute or two” I made no reply but went on never opening my eyes. She asked if I loved her, I merely said “yes”. When I did look at her it was in silence neither as if ashamed nor as if attendri nor caring much. I was grave & silent. She said she was better & hoped I should have a good night. What is the meaning of all this? Can this be the conduct of a pure minded virtuous woman! I despise it – she had tried all ways to upset me – I have done what I have done, but she shall never gain more nor ever I hope a repetition ever of this. I could have done without it but somehow I thought gratify her passion by one parting grubble. It ought not to have been but I will try to turn it to some good account by telling her I shall shew her letters & by keeping out of her way – my respect is gone. – She read me Mr. C-’s [Crewe] last letter long & written at different times according to her request nothing absolutely improper might be read aloud but the understanding between them is evident – How will it end? He is a gambler – I told her today I did not think that right & I was sorry for it – She send’s A- [Ann Walker] little pocket book yet she will try to lead me astray from her! But she shall do no worse & I hope & trust the scene of tonight cannot recur. Is this the chaste & quiet M- [Mariana]? I will keep out to her way & Mr. C–’s [Crewe] too as well as I can. [SH:7/ML/E/17/0129 & SH:7/ML/E/17/0130]

December 26, 1834 (Friday) > Had slept in my clothes – M- [Mariana] came before eight & leaned or lay on the bed till I got up – I don’t think she found out that I was not undress, my night chemise hid all that she seemed in good spirits – said she had had a very good night & hoped I had had one too. I said not much on this part of the subject – she saw that I did not think of last night’s business quite as she did I said let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall – she seemed rejoiced at the sort of victory she thought she had gained & argued against my fancying there was any wrong in it – said it had done her good & she was now much happier – begged me not to abuse her in my heart. I said as little as possible not troubling myself to knock down her arguments but saying the only thing I had thought of as a consolation was the telling her I should show all my letters to A- [Ann Walker]. She made no objections, in fact she could not well make any, she was satisfied to have found as she thought that all her influence over me was not gone – she little dreampt the real state of the case, she had fallen in my opinion she had been too much in the style of Mrs. Milne & I mean to be as little in her way as possible in time to come. She said she still could believe herself belonging to anyone but me – the night before last she had left me in an agony quite wet thro & ill – last night she was calmer & could have done without it if I had not been different. I said nothing against all this but let it pass – she said I do not know what it is was to be obliged to restraint where formerly she had only to ask & have, I merely said I saw how she was on Wednesday night & was on my guard – last night I was off my guard & etc. etc. (…) Went down to breakfast at 11 – Mr. L- [Charles Lawton] had waited to wish me good bye – never so attentive before… off from Lawton at 11.50 (…) and at Shibden at 10.55 – all gone to bed but Cordingley and John expecting me, had come down – A- [Ann Walker] jumped up – and came to me in her dressing gown and cloak, delighted to see me back again – had given up in despair – had tea – the first thing we did was to laugh aloud at her droll figure and the bustle I had made – explained, sat talking – Told her I myself was astonished how little I had thought of M- [Mariana] either going or returning. Very glad to be back again. Mentioned how I had offered her the use of Shibden in the event of L-’s [Charles Lawton] death etc. etc. –   [SH:7/ML/E/17/0130 & SH:7/ML/E/17/0131]

Anne Lister goes back to Shibden the 26th. She’s happy to be back and tells AW that she “was astonished how little I had thought of M- either going or returning. Very glad to be back again.” and then she and AW have sex: “One very good kiss after getting into bed & not long after this another not quite so good but very fair.” (December 27, 1834 – Saturday)

So, to wrap this up… Mariana tries to have sex with AL everyday while they’re together, and AL tries her best to stay away (and I mean, they do what they do but they don’t have sex?? at least for Anne’s way of thinking). Anne writes how indifferent she is to it all and that basically she doesn’t even know why she gave in to Mariana’s attentions (and she doesn’t really seem into it anyway). What I think is this: I see it as a moment of weakness, their relationship is so complex and their dynamic is just so established that I think it was easy for Anne Lister to fall in the old ways with Mariana just because it was what she was used to. Doesn’t seem to me that AL was very happy with what happened, with Mariana’s behaviour or her own behaviour. I’m also very curious about why, in everything I’ve read by any historian, everyone says that AL stayed faithful to Ann Walker, clearly no one considered this thing with Mariana an important fact…

The situation between them was quite complex. There are a lot of grey areas, there is a lot of history between them, and as always Mariana has a strong hold on Anne. We’re talking about real people here, with complex feelings, with contradictory feelings. It is very hard to say one thing or the other about this matter, there is so much complexity in their relationship, in what happens and in what Anne feels that I think that reducing everything to “she was faithful” or “she wasn’t faithful” is not the right way to deconstruct/understand the whole thing.