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melisa-may-taylor72 · 4 years

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QUEEN BEFORE QUEEN

THE 1960s RECORDINGS

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PART 1:

BRIAN MAY, 1984 & THE LEFT HANDED MARRIAGE

JOHN S. STUART AND ANDY DAVIS DIG DEEP TO UNCOVER THE PREVIOUSLY UNDOCUMENTED AUDIO LEGACY OF ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST CHERISHED BANDS.

This month the beginning and end of Queen come together like the cosy ending of a contrived Hollywood drama. While fans wait with bated breath for the band’s final album, “Made In Heaven" — completed by Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor with the aid of Freddie Mercury’s last demos — author Mark Hodkinson launches a new book in which, in greater detail than has ever been attempted before, delves into the pre-fame histories of Queen’s musical antecedents.

With previously unpublished photographs of Roger Taylor's the Reaction, John Deacon’s the Opposítion and even more impressively, Freddie Mercury’s Sour Milk Sea, ‘Queen The Early Years’ is a treat fans have waited too long to read. Coincidentally, six months ago, we commissioned Queen historian, John S. Stuart, to research the definitive article on the band’s pre-fame recordings, and as you’ll see, the results complement Hodkinson’s broader picture with hitherto undocumented details of Queen's 60s recordings.

We've touched on Larry Lurex and Smile before, of course, but the vinyl output of those two acts barely scratches the surface, so to speak: literally hours and hours of privately- recorded material of Freddie, Brian, John and Roger survive to this day — as evidenced by the recent discovery of the Reaction’s ‘In The Midnight Hour’ acetate ( see RC 191). So, while the rest of the world comes to terms with the fact that Queen’s recording career is effectively at an end, we unravel the untold history of four individuals' first tentative steps in front of the microphone, beginning with the 1960′s exploits of Brian May. Next month, we’ll embrace Smile, and John, Roger and Freddie's hidden amateur recordings; but first, 1984 and the Left Handed Marriage.

1984

Around late August, or early September 1963, as the Beatles celebrated the birth of Beatlemania with sessions for their “With The Beatles” LP at EMI’s Abbey Road Studios in North London, another rock legend was developing just around the geographical corner. In a semi-detached house in Feltham, Middlesex, electronics engineer Harold May began an 18-month task, helping his sixteen-year-...[ ]

[ ]...old son, Brian, to construct the world's most famous home-made guitar, the ‘Red Special'. In the mean time, Brian would have to be content with thrashing away at the small Spanish acoustic his parents had bought him for his seventh birthday. (Brian evidently mislaid this childhood guitar shortly afterwards; and didn't see it again until 1991, when at a ‘reunion’ of former members of 1984, his schoolfriend and first musical collaborator, Dave Dilloway, returned it to him. Brian was so thrilled, that he featured the guitar in the video for Queen’s “Headlong" single).

By 1964, Brian and Dave Dilloway were already recording amateur duets together, and by linking up their two reel-to-reel tape docks, they discovered that they could lay down guitars on one machine, and perhaps bass, percussion and sometimes vocals on the other. Although the technique was crude, and despite the occasional disaster, the effect was often surprisingly good. One of the earliest tapes from these primitive recording sessions survives to this day, and features Brian belting out Bo Diddley’s eponymous R&B standard, "Bo Diddley".

“This is a mono quarter-inch, reel-to-reel I found buried among various other oddments from the era”, recalls Dave Dilloway. “It certanly dates from before the formation of 1984. It was recorded in Brian’s back room in Feltham, with Brian on lead vocals and guitar, and myself on bass and drums. The track is basic, but Brian’s vocals are clear and recognisable. The guitar playing is fairly basic as well, but competent, without any real solos as such”.

“ This is the only tape in my collection of those double-track recordings. I’m unsure whether Brian himself has retained the tapes we made at the time, but I believe he usually ended up with the finished versions, so he may still heve them somewhere.”

The duo also recorded four-track instrumental cover versions of several Shadows tunes — “Apache”, “FBI”, "Wonderful Land” and "The Rise And Fall Of Fingel Blunt” — as well as “Rambunkshush”, which they learned from the Shadows’ American counterparts, The Ventures. Also on the same tape is their reading of Chet Atkins' “Windy And Warm".

Yet another reel reveals an attempt at Cliff Richard’s "Bachelor Boy", on which Brian, once again, takes the lead vocal. Dave Dilloway's theory is probably correctt; May is known to have a meticulously catalogued personal collection of Queen (and pre-Queen) recordings and memorabilia, which almost certanlly contains unfathomable reels of similar early material.

In the autumn of 1964, Brian and Dave formed a rapidly-evolving band, through which many schoolmates passed, but which eventually settled with a line-up of bassist John 'Jag' Garnham, drummer Richard Thompson, and harmonica-playing vocalist Tim Staffell. After rejecting names such as the Mind Boggles and Bob Chappy & the Beetles, the quintet named themselves after George Orwell’s futuristic novel ‘1984’. Their look was far from sci-fi, however, and they happily adopted the classic, clean-cut beat- group look of the day: jackets, or in Brian's case a cardigan, and narrow trousers; and beat boots. Tim Staffell even acquired that year’s fashion accessory, a pork-pie hat.

The band rehearsed regularly at Chase Bridge Primary School Hall in Twickenham (located next to the rugby ground), and on the 28th October 1964, gave their first public performance at the nearby St. Mary’s Church Hall. It is believed that either one of the rehearsals, or the gig itself, was recorded, but unfortunately, no tape of this debut, performance has survived the years. Although 1984 recorded almost all of their live concerts for their own critical appraisal, to save on the expense of new tape they often wiped over old reels once they’d listened to them. Nevertheless, evidence of Brian May playing live does survive from this period, and the earliest example dates from an unknown gig (Shepperton Rowing Club is the favoured consensus), recorded in late 1965. This wasn’t a 1984 performance, but rather an ad-hoc trio comprising Brian May on bass and vocals, Pete ‘Woolly’ Hammerton (a school friend of Brian’s) on guitar and vocals, and 1984's Richard Thompson on drums. The tape reveals the trio turning in versions of Martha & the Vandellas’ “Dancing In The Street", the Beatles' “Eight Days A Week”, “I’m Taking Her Home” — a song by the group Woolly later joined, the Others — and a brave attempt at the Who’s "My Generation".

The Others comprised older boys from Hampton School, who in October 1964 had issued a single of their abrasive reading of Bo Diddley’s “Oh Yeah", backed by “I’m Taking Her Home", on Fontana (TF 501). “That was good!" claims singer, Tim Staffell. “I’ve still got that record buried somewhere deep in my mind — I remember the singer, Paul Stewart's voice and the quality of the guitar sound. The Others were a pretty significant influence. Maybe not in terms of the music, more in the sense that they were already doing it, which proved it was possible."

As evidenced by the photograph included in this feature, the Others clearly had attitude, something which 1984, or Tim Staffell at least, could only aspire to “If I had tried to push 1984 in any direction," reveals Tim, “then that would have been it. Without hearing any of these tapes of our band — and I didn't even know they existed! — l’d say we probably sounded a lot safer than the Others. Mind you, they were different to us. Their guitar style was very much inspired by American R&B, whereas Brian’s never was. Brian was a unique guitar player: he was able to extemporise a much more original way than most guitar players could. I hope he’ll forgive me for saying so, but I never perceived him as having the dangerous image which was necessary at the time — the cardigan says it all!.

LIGHTWEIGHT

“In retrospect, 1984 was lightweight, a bit fluffy” concedes Tim. “It was impossible not to be naively ambitious — that was part and parcel of it — and the primary motivation to do it was what we saw in the media as the end results of success. But I guess we were realistic about it — we were at school, after all. Also there was a good deal of pressure in the 60s from our parents, and the conservative generation, to conform."

Although a version of “I’m Taking Her Home” by 1984 was captured live on the Shepperton tape, and Brian occasionally guested with the Others on stage, it's worth stating once and for all that — despite the persistent rumours — he definitely doesn’t feature on "Oh Yeah". In fact, Pete ‘Woolly' Hammerton doesn't even play on the record — he only joined the band formally later on.

In the autumn of 1965, leaving Hampton Grammar with no fewer than four 'A' Levels and ten ‘O’ levels, Brian enrolled at Imperial College in Kensington, London, to read physics and infra-red astronomy. Before breaking up for the Christmas holidays that year, he played the first in a series of gigs with 1984 at the college, a tradition he continued later with Smile, and in their formative days with Queen. Although the exact date of the event has long since been forgotten, a very poor- quality tape still exists of 1984‘s college debut. The set was a typical one, comprising the group’s broad blend of pop, R&B and soul covers, and included the following songs: “Cool Jerk" (originally by the Capitols), ‘Respect" (Otis Redding), "My Girl" (the Temptations), “Shake" (Sam Cooke), “Stepping Stone" (the Monkees), “You Keep Me Hanging On" (the Supremes), “Whatcha Gonna Do Ahout it" ( Small Faces), “Substitute” (the Who), “How Can It Be” (the B-side of the Birds’ final single, “No Good Without You Baby”), “Dancing In The Street", “Dream" (Everly Brothers) and the Small Faces’ "Sha La La La Lee".

“Our repertoire was a little too eclectic to have developed into any particular style” reckons Tim Staffell. “But the Small Faces were quite influential. When we were at school, the songs were dredged from all sorts of areas. I’d always liked rhythm’n’blues. Brian’s input would have been Beatles-orientated, Dave’s as well. Richard Thompson would have been more into R&B, and Jag didn't really have an agenda as far as songs were concerned. Because of the nature of the material we covered, our approach to the gigs was almost schoollboy cabaret. 1984 was not a dangerous, moody rock band! Which may have something to do with the way Queen evolved."

1984 oponed 1966 with a couple of gigs at the Thames Rowing CIub in Putney; and once again, a tape recorder was set up to document the group’s progress. Two reels from January that year exist: the first is dated the 15th, and features “Im A Loser” (the Beatles), “I Wish You Would" ( the Yardbirds), “I Feel Fine" (the Beatles), “Little Egypt" (the Coasters), "Lucille” (Little Richard), “Too Much Monkey Business" (Chuck Berry), "I Got My Mojo Working” (Muddy Waters), "WalkingThe Dog” ( Rufus Thomas) and “Heart Full Of Soul" (the Yardbirds).

The second, dated two weeks later (29th January), demonstrates the great variety and confidence of a band which consistently renewed its repertoire. The show began with Jimmy Reed’s “Bright Lights, Big City", moving into the Cookies' “Chains" (popularised by the Beatles), “Walking The Dog", “Lucille", “Our Little Rendezvous" (Chuck Berry), “Jack O’ Diamonds" (Blind Lemon... (cont)

(cont) Jefferson, popularised by Lonnie Donegan), “I’ve Got My Mojo Working”, “Little Egypt" and Bo Diddley’s “I’m A Man”. The band’s finale was a versión of Sonny Boy Williamson’s "Bye Bye Bird".

For an amateur band with little real pretension towards stardom, or even a serious attempt at securing a recording contract, a staggering amount of live 1984 material has been preserved on tape. Dave Dilloway, for instance, is the guardian of a seven-inch reel-to-reel, which he says reveals either a very long performance or a compilation of various unknown dates.

Either way, the tape is divided into five distinct sections, which might make tedious reading, but is an invaluable reference: 1) “Route 66", (unknown instrumental), “I’m Taking Her Home", “Too Much Monkey Business’, “Yesterday" (featuring Brian May on lead vocals), “Walking The Dog", and “ Lucille"; 2) “Little Rendezvous", "Keep On Running”, “I Feel Fine”, “Walking The Dog”, “Jack O’ Diamonds", “High Heeled Sneakers", “I Want To Hold Your Hand", “I Got My Mojo Working*, and “I Should Have Known Better”; 3) “Little Rendezvous", “Jump Back Baby Jump Back", “I Feel Fine”, “Bye Bye Bird", “Little Egypt", “Crazy House". “Lucille”, “Oh Yeah”, “Heatwave”, “Too Much Monkey Business", “I Should Have Known Better", and “I Got My Mojo Working"; 4) “My Generation", “Little Egypt", “Dancing In The Street", “Whatcha Gonna Do About It", “I’m A Man", “Heatwave", “Lucille", and “Bye Bye Bird"; and 5) “Heart Full Of Soul", “Too Much Monkey Business”, “Something’s Got A Hold On Me", “Keep On Running", “My Generation", "Tired Of Waiting", “Bright Lights. Big City" and “Happy Hendrick’s Polka".

“These are all domestic quality, single microphone recordings of early-era 1984", reveals Dave Dilloway. “It's mostly bluesy material, with some soul and Beatles songs. While the quality is basic, the sound is intelligible, although there isn’t a large amount of identifiable Brian guitarwork. That came later in the band's history, when we included covers of Crearn and Hendrix. Brian's solo vocals on 'Yesterday' (on the first segment) are quite clear, however."

For much of 1966, the band carried on in a similar vein — Brian's and the others' college work permitting, of course. For Brian May and his unsigned, Twickenham-based covers band, the highlight of the following year, 1967, was undoubtedly the gig he secured via through his contacts at the college — supporting Jimi Hendrix at Imperial. The date was 13th May, the day after the release of Hendrix's debut, “Are You Experienced". Brian May idolised Hendrix to such an extent that he'd been nicknamed “Brimi" — a combination of the two guitarists' names—so although 1984 had seen him perform before, it goes without saying they were thrilled when backstage, they actually bumped into the ascending star as they filed past his dressing-room. It’s a familar story, but it's one worth repeating: Jimi enquired memorably, “Which way’s the stage, man?*.

BLOSSOMED

1984's act had certainly blossomed by this point. Their attire was now obligatory Swinging London — or Swinging Middlesex — fare: frilly shirts, Regency jackets, striped hipsters secured with a white belt, and hairtyles extending inexorably over the ears, and indeed the eyes. “Somewhere along the line, there was an external influence there", says Tim Staffell. “There was someone calling the shots. I don’t think all that was self-motivated. It’s something I’ve never been comfortable with, which explains why I split away from it early on — certainly from Smile onwards — because it was going that way; as indeed it ended up with Queen. It's fair enough, but that sort of flamboyance is just not me. I look fairly uncomfortable in the picture of the band from that period. My idea of a rock musician is one with hair down his back, a dirty pair of Levi's on, looking at the floor, thoroughly unconcerned with the visual and external trappings, playing the most extraordinary virtuoso guitar. That was my attitude."

Back in February 1967, Brian’s local paper, the ‘Middlesex Chronicle’ caught up with the band, and captured Tim Staffell in an equally decisive mood; although here, he was more enthusiastic about the latest trend. "Psychodelic music is certainly here to stay”~he claimed. "It makes more of music than mere sound, it makes it a whole and complete art form." Dave Dilloway, who also handled the group's light show, added: “We use everything in our act, including things like shaving foam, and plastic bricks we throw around”.

The ‘Chronicle’ was obviously impressed, and its reporter had this to say about a performance by what it called “one of the most foward-looking groups today". “Standards, like ‘Heatwave' receive a very original treatment, mostly due to the sounds that Brian coaxes out of his guitar. Jazz chords and electronic sounds add feeling and nuance to numbers that are often churned out wholesale. Using two bass drums for a fuller sound, Richard's drumming, combined with the full bass riffs of Dave and the steady (rhythm guitar) work of John, provides a firm basis for experiments in sound — an opportunity which is not wasted."

“To be quite honest with you, there’s more substance in the literary content there, than in the musical," laughs Tim Staffell. "If someone genuinely thought that, then I'm surprised! Brian might have used a fuzz-box. but generally, it was au naturel. I remember in the Smile days, somebody wrote about ‘humming chords of wonder’, referring to my bass playing. The reality of it was that sometimes I did try and play chords on the bass guitar, which might have come out as a deep-throated roar, but actually sounded like a load of crap!"

“We did use to tickle about with a few lights, suggests Dave Dilloway, “but being a local band, money was tight and there wasn’t a fortune to spend on the band." As to 1984's psychodelic sound, Dave adds: “Brian did use a bit of fuzz, yes, and Pink Floyd influences and a bit of screaming guitar. He’d actually built a fuzz box into his guitar, which was fairly unique for the day, but typical Brian. If you look carefully at recent pictures of his “Red Special” you can see the fuzz switch taped over."

In September 1967, no doubt boosted by their praise — sincere or not — in the local press, the continuing evidence of their performance tapes and their recent Hendrix support slot, 1984 entered the local beats of a battle-of-the-bands competition at the Top...[ ]

...[ ] Rank Club in Croydon, just south of London. Effectively a promotion for Scotch tape, entrance to the contest could only be secured via a demo recorded on a Scotch reel. 1984’s effort duly arrived in the form of a two-track master, featuring covers of Marvin Gaye's “Ain’t That Peculiar?" and the Everly Brothers’ “Crying ln The Rain" (on stage, both tracks were usually enhanced by characteristic Brian May guitar solos, but conservatism prevailed, and they were absent in this instance). A copy of this recording still survives, carefully guarded by the custodian of the 1984 archive. “This tape is a quarter-inch, mono reel-to-reel," recalIs Dave Dilloway. “Tim took lead vocals on 'Ain't That Peculiar?’, and Tim and Brian duetted on ’Crying ln The Rain’. Brian's vocal style and tone can be clearly discerned, if one knows his voice. The songs were recorded in single takes, using a single microphone fed directly to the recorder. There was no mix facility so it has a ‘live' feel, a very good clean sound”.

The mix was achieved using the old fashioned technique of microphone position and relative volume levels of the amplified Instruments. “As far as I am aware, only the one (master) copy of this tape exists.”

As has been well-documented, after two sets at the competition (one of which saw Brian, Dave, John Garnham and drummer Richard Thompson acting as the back-up band for a singer called Lisa Perez), 1984 won the contest, and walked away with a reel of blank tape (Scotch, of course) and an album each on the CBS label. (Tim took the top prize, Simon & Garfunkel’s “Sounds Of Silence", Brian had to make do with a Barbra Streisand LP, and Dave Dilloway became the proud owner of an album by Irish bandleader Tommy Makem!). More importantly, their demo tape was forwarded to the CBS A&R department for the national showdown, although, clearly, they didn’t win.

True to form, 1984's performance that evening was committed to tape — for an unpublished review by ‘Melody’ Maker, no less — but was probably erased shortly afterwards. The twenty-minute set consisted of the Everlys’ "So Sad", Hendrix’s “Stone Free”, Buddy Knox’s “She’s Gone" and Eddie Floyd's “Knock On Wood". After the gig, the band were invited by a visiting promotor to participate in the all-night gala event which has since gone down as one of the key gigs of the London underground scene: Christmas On Earth Continued, at London's Olympia Theatre, on December 23rd 1967. 1984 was the lowest profile act at this decidedly high-profile event, and after Jimi Hendrix, Traffic, Pink Floyd, the Herd, and Tyrannosaurus Rex had all taken to the stage, they only got to perform their humble set of covers at 5 o’clock in the morning. When Brian finally plugged in his ‘Red Special’, 1984 played a thirty-minute set to a very small, and less than enthusiastic, audience.

Also from 1967, and of far more interest, is 1984′s professionally-recorded Thames Television demo tape. During his first-year of study at Twickenham Technical College, Dave Dilloway had made friends with a number of technicians, or trainee technicians, at the Teddington-based ITV company which served the London area. The station had recently invested in new recording equipment, and rather than hire professional musicians at the usual union rate, in a set up similar to the first Queen sessions at the De Lane Lea studios, 1984 were let loose in the studio to record at their leisure. Dave Dilloway's carefully preserved tape still plays perfectly, and includes the following songs: "Hold On I’m Corning", “Knock On Wood“, “NSU", *How Can It Be”, two early run-throughs of the original May/ Staffell composition “Step On Me” (which eventually became the B- side to Smile's “Earth"), “Purple Haze", “Our Love Is Driftin* ”, and medleys of “Remember”/”Sweet Wine" and “Get Out My Life Woman”/ ”Satisfaction". The session ended with a run-through of "My Girl”.

AMALGAM

"What an extraordinary amalgam!" declares Tim Staffell today. “There’s Tamla, Cream, Hendrix, Lee Dorsey . . ‘Our Love Is Driftin' we’d have heard by Paul Butterfield. I’d forgotten there was such a large soul component in 1984!".

Dave Dilloway has the technical details: “This tape is the most recent, best and most representative of 1984 that I'm aware of. It is mono, but since it was made on good quality TV studio equipment and was carried out along the lines of a proper studio recording, with separately-mixed microphones for each source, it is remarkably good quality for its age. The material, except for ‘Step On Me', is aII cover versions, but as it dates from the late 1984 era, Brian’s playing is more prominent and effective, with his own style starting to show through. All the performances are competent — particularly Tim’s vocals and Brian's guitar; although the mix is a little heavy on John's rhythm guitar for some reason, probably the ‘ear’ of the recording engineer at the time. All tracks were laid down in one take, i.e., no overdubbing at all, so the sound is predominantly simple, as per our live versions."

And that was 1984′s swansong. In the spring of 1968, shortly afler the Thames recording, mainly due to the pressures of infrequent meetings and university studies — coupled with increasing musical differences — 1984 scaled down their operations drastically. Brian May left the band, and Tim Staffell took over on lead guitar for a while. A little later, Tim himself quit, leaving Dave Dilloway, John Garnham and Richard Thompson to rebuild the group, which soldiered on into the 70′s, content merely to play for fun. They all conceded that 1984 had been a good, solid, and popular local band, but that it didn’t have the necessary spark or originality to transform into a great one.

The Left Handed Marriage

ln the summer of 1965, in another corner of Hampton Grammar School, Brian May’s old friend Bill Richards (who had been a fleeting, early member of 1984 before it acquired its futuristic name), and his colleagues Jenny Hill (née Rusbridge), Henry Deval and Terry Goulds, formed a folk-rock band called the Left-Handed Marriage, named after an archaic form of marrying beneath oneself. By January 1967, the quartet had progressed to the point where they had issued their own privately-pressed album, “On The Right Side Of The Left Handed Marriage", which ran to just fifty copies (and, incidentally, has since acquired cult status among collectors, with a £600 price tag to match).

Although naturally familiar with the album, Brian May as yet had not been involved with the band. That changed in March 1967, after Bill signed a twelve-month contract with EMI's music publishing company Ardmore & Beechwood — a deal secured through the efforts of Brian Henderson, a former member of Edinburgh beat outfit the Mark Five, and more recently, the bassist in Patrick Campbell- Lyons' 60′s psychodelic band, Nirvana. Bill approached Brian to help him create a “fuller" sound for the Left Handed Marriage, with a request to provide guitar and backing vocals on some recording sessions.

On the understanding that the project wouldn’t interfere with his commitment to 1984, Brian agreed. On 4th April 1967, he joined Jenny, Henry, Terry and Bill in AMC Sound, an amateur studio in Manor Road, Twickenham, to record four songs: “Give Me Time” (later changed to “I Need Time"), "She Was Once My Friend", “Sugar Lump Girl” and “Yours Sincerely” (which was basically “Give Me Time" backwards, with new lyrics pinched from the Russian author Pushkin).

The songs were all cleanly-recorded, melodic atempts at 1967 pop (despite the Left Handed Marriage's later classification, there's little actual folk music in evidence). “She Was Once My Friend" is the pick of the bunch, thanks to its Kinks-like structure — complete with Bill Richard's/ Ray Davies-soundalike vocal and, albeit way down in the mix, flashes of that distinctive Brian May 'Red Special’ guitar sound. Acetates of the AMC EP were cut, and the idea had been to release the songs as a commercial EP. Instead, the set merely became the Left Handed Marriage’s first demo for their publishers, although it did lead to the offer to record at a more professional session — at EMI’s prestigious Abbey Road studios.

The Abbey Road session took place on 28th June 1967, when Left Handed Marriage were joined by Brian and 1984′s Dave Dilloway, who was drafted in to play bass. Two further tracks were cut: the reworked “I Need Time",...[ ]

...[ ] and a new song called “Appointment". At this stage, there was more talk of issuing a record, this time a single, and a release date of August was even discussed. This never materialised either, and again 7″ acetates are all that remain.

Although Ardmore & Beechwood were pleased with the results, they still thought the Left Handed Marriage could improve their sound even further, and on 31st July 1967, they booked the band into another studio, this time Regent Sound in central London. As Dave Dilloway was not available, another friend, John Frankel, was called upon to play bass and piano. The eight-track Regent Sound machine was something of a technological marvel, and the session was flawlessly recorded, resulting in new versions of “I Need Time”, “She Was Once My Friend" (which also remixed and edited for the abandoned single), and "Appointment".

Despite the studio quality of the tape, Ardmore & Beechwood failed to place the songs with a record label, and like so many groups before and since, the Left Handed Marriage quietly disappeared from view. It was left to frontman Bill Richards belatedly to issue the fruits of this last session, when in February 1993, he tagged the three Regent Sound recordings — the final mix of “I Need Time”, the abridged version of “She Was Once A Friend Of Mine” and the final mix of “Appointment” — onto the end of “Crazy Chain”, a CD recorded by the reformed Left Handed Marriage, which itself was prompted by collector's interest in the group’s original 1967 LP, “The Right Hand Side Of...” . Most of the master tapes for the LHM recordings featuring Brian May have Iong since disappeared along with the Regent Sound studio, and (with the exception of "She Was Once My Friend") the Richards/May collaborations on the CD were digitally remastered from acetates.

RECORD COLLECTOR Nº 195, NOVEMBER 1995

➡NEXT: ROGER TAYLOR’S REACTION

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#Queen Before Queen #Pre-Queen Series #Brian May #Tim Staffell #1984 #The Left Handed Marriage #🎤🎵🎸👑⭐

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jackywroteabook · 4 years

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World Building: How to Create a Fictional Small Town in 10 Steps

Small towns are a classic literary setting, making appearances in all types of genres and forms. Maycomb County from To Kill a Mockingbird, Bedford Falls from It’s a Wonderful Life, Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls – all dreamy little towns that have become staples of the American image. You could even argue that fantasy has its share of small towns – the Shire from Lord of the Rings immediately comes to mind.

In my first published novel, The Last Summer, I chose to set my story in a small Southern town called Valia Springs. Here is how you can create your own small town setting that is charming and magical, while at the same time realistic and universal.

Psst! Grab your small town world-building checklist/brainstorming worksheet here. It’s in my free resource library.

1. Pick a region.

If you’re focusing on mainly a setting within the United States, you’ll want to choose a region as the foundation for your town’s culture. Is it in the South? New England? The Midwest? The Southwest? Each part of the country carries with it its own specialized problems, cultural norms, ethics, and colloquialisms. If your goal is to be less specific (meaning it isn’t necessarily set in the US), you should choose a geographic feature or biome to construct your town around. Is it on the prairie? In the mountains? Lakeside or coastal? In the desert? Surrounded by wheat fields, or corn, or vineyards, or cattle?

2. What created the town?

Now that you know the region or environment, consider what your town’s main industry would be. What brought people to live there in the first place? What is sustaining the town? Why is it so small? Is it part of a dying industry? Common small town industries include mining, oil rigging, fishing, farming or ranching, tourism, or one main factory. Or it could have been a common stop on a route towards a popular destination. Maybe it was the only place with water for hundreds of miles, due to a natural spring. These are all common reasons a small town would crop up and remain small for its duration.

3. What are the town’s problems – both overt and underlying?

Consider what obvious problems your small town is struggling with. Typically, this would be finance-related and replacement-rate related. Besides this, what not-so-obvious problems might the town have? Is the town government or police force corrupt? Are there underlying prejudices that run deep in the community? These problems will typically be part of your story’s conflict: sometimes the central conflict, sometimes the cause of or backdrop for the conflict, sometimes a secondary conflict. It’s a great way to connect with universal problems that almost any reader can relate to, because they’ve seen or experienced it in their own community.

4. What is the social structure?

Who in the town holds power, influence, or authority? Is it an individual, or a group? Who lives on the fringes of the society, or are outcast? How do the various social classes behave? What mannerisms or customs do they adhere to? What factors differentiate those in power from those not in power?

5. What are the town’s hidden gems?

Is there a special place or event within or around the town that evokes wonder or magic? It could be a hidden pond/lake, a scenic overlook, a cave or old mineshaft, an old abandoned house, a fair or festival, a broken down factory, an old railroad bridge – anything that can be made magical through its mystery or reputation.

6. The townsfolk characters should be archetypes.

Even though it may sound stereotypical or cliché, part of creating a universal small town is filling it with characters that reflect the people we encounter every day in real life. These include characters such as the trickster, the mother-figure, the control freak, the underdog, the athletic hero, the good citizen, and so on. (For a solid list of 12 archetypes, click here.)

7. What are the customs, behaviors, and mannerisms all the townspeople adhere to?

Are there certain societal norms that are accepted by all the townies? For example, is there a certain way they greet one another? Do all the ladies gather for coffee and Euchre at a different house each Friday afternoon? Does everybody attend a religious service each week? Are there any legends or stories that all the townies are familiar with? Is there a word, phrase, or accent that everyone uses (that isn’t common to the rest of us readers?) Is there a parade or festival that they host every year? If so, is it related to the town’s main industry or history? Is there a sports team that the whole community rallies behind?

8. I think it’s best to have a town that is, for the most part, considered very safe.

The sense of security not only adds to the magic (because many readers associate security with the safety and comfort of childhood), but when that sense of security is violated, it rocks the town and adds to the conflict, causing fear, suspicion, and mob mentality.

9. When considering the conflict, it’s best to account for how it will either divide or bring together a small, tight-knit community.

I grew up in a small tourist town on the coast of a major lake, so I know first-hand what shakes a community and what brings it together. A local middle-school girl who got terminal cancer caused the town to rally, hosting fundraiser spaghetti dinners and 5K walks for the cure. When she passed away, the memorial service was huge (practically the whole town attended), and I think a scholarship was created in her honor.

On the other hand, a local high school boy who was murdered while working alone at a pizzeria chilled my town to the bone. People pointed fingers at many of the usual high school troublemakers in the town, and some kids were jailed though innocent of the crime. No one felt safe anymore. Suspicion raged, lawsuits followed, and everyone was left in shock that something so cold-blooded could happen in such a tight-knit community.

10. Keep the town a typically uneventful place where nothing out of the ordinary seems to happen, but then capitalize on the one or two dramatic things that do happen.

How might they have affected the town? What was their lasting impact? How did people react? Were the incidents covered up, or were they made public to set an example?

This is my recipe for creating an unforgettable small town that readers will fall in love with. I personally think stories set in small towns have the ability to relate to the most readers and lay the groundwork for the most impactful storylines. To quote Gregory Peck, who played Atticus in the movie To Kill a Mockingbird:

“The Southern town…reminds me of the California town I grew up in. The characters of the novel are like the people I knew as a boy. I think perhaps the great appeal of the novel is that it reminds readers everywhere of a person or a town they have known. It is to me a universal story – moving, passionate and told with great humor and tenderness.”

I believe the same could be said of any literary small town. I consider this one of the highest compliments an author can receive.

Don’t forget to snag your small town world building checklist/brainstorming worksheet! It’s both helpful and free.

#am writing #world building stuff #tumblr writers #writers on tumblr #writblr #writeblr #writerscreed #writing a book #writing inspiration #writing tidbit #writing tips #writing advice #worldbuilding #fiction #writing about writing #writing a story #nanowrimo

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ambarto · 4 years

Text

Middle Earth geology: a masterpost

I did say I would do it once and I did it, a masterpost of all the works I found online pertaining to geology in Tolkien’s works. This isn’t to say that it’s a complete list of everything that has been written about the subjects - there’s multiple works that I’ve seen cited in some of these articles that I could not find anywhere, and likely other works I just didn’t dig deep enough to find. If anyone has links to additional works, feel free to share them, and I’ll add them to the post. Many of these works are somewhat old, but for the most part they’re still good in the points they make.

General Middle Earth works

A New Synthesis on the Geology of Middle-earth: Genesis, Orogeny and Tectonics by Chris Ingles and Lindy A. Orthia (2016) - an overview of all the mountain ranges in Middle Earth and how they might have come to be, as well as a discussion on what may have happened to Beleriand. Differs from many other articles in this list, as this one includes also the magical aspects of Arda’s formation rather than attempting to only use strictly realistic geological concepts. One of the longer articles here with 14 pages in total, but the language used makes it easy to read.

The Geology of Middle-earth by William A. S. Sarjeant (1995) - a general overview of tectonical processes involving Middle Earth, in particular relating to tectonic plates and faults. Literally the first results I got when I googled “geology tolkien”. Not too long and not too complicated a read, many of the technical terms used receive an in-text explanation. Includes various maps. The most difficult parts to understand are probably towards the end, with citations from “The Geomorphology of Middle-earth” by Robert Reynolds (the whole article wants to present a more recent take on the previous work by Reynolds, an article that gets cited a lot but I haven’t been able to find anywhere).

Glaciation in Middle-earth by Samuel Cook (2016) - part of a copy of the journal “Anor”. Article is four pages long and fairly easy to understand. The topic straddles the line between a geological and a more geographical/climatological narrative, but geologists love glaciers so we’re gonna put glaciers here too.

Middle Earth Geology, a thread (2019) - not an article, but a thread on TheOneRing.net forum were various users discuss possible explanations for various features of Middle Earth and Beleriand. Because it’s a forum thread it doesn’t have definite conclusions, simply puts forwards multiple theories. A few mentions of things that get overall overlooked in other works, like some of the mountain ranges present in Beleriand.

The Geologic History of Middle Earth by Benjamin D. Hilton (2009) - this is a rather technical paper in language, and extremely speculative. Essentially, this paper talks about an hypothetical history of Middle Earth on a real world geological timescale, starting 1.7 billion years ago. The way the article is written as if the author was able to gain actual field data, and while much of what is said makes sense as far as theories go a lot of it is based on fake evidence peppered in through the paper. Doubtful in conclusions, but a fun read for sure

The Elder Ages and the Later Glaciations of the Pleistocene Epoch by Margaret M. Howes (1967) - this work is often cited as the first article investigating Middle Earth’s geology so I couldn’t not add it here. I should however mention that the contents are, well, they’re kind of a wild ride. The article essentially strives to explain how Middle Earth could have hypothetically been turned into modern day Europe and tries to give an explanation to real glaciations through the eyes of Tolkien’s works. I wouldn’t really call this article scientifically or historically sound, it’s more definitely a curiosity if anyone is interested. A bit longer than some other articles. Scan of a typewriter document, which might make it a little harder to read.

The Shire

The Geology of the Shire by Mike Percival (1984) - second article in this PDF. The document is a scan of an old copy of “Anor”, which may make it harder to read than some other files. Short article and without a lot of technical terms. Very little tectonics, mostly makes guesses as to what kind of rocks you might find in various areas of the Shire. Also features a geologic profile and map.

Khazad-dum/Moria

The Draining of Moria by Mike Percival (1987) - part of a scanned copy of “Anor”. Explores theories on how the Dwarves of Moria would have gotten rid of the water that might have flooded the mines, and before that makes hypothesis on the kind of bedrock Moria might have been built into. It also answers a question as to why the Sirannon formed a lake outside of the Doors of Moria. Fairly easy when it comes to language.

The Mines of Moria - a comment by Ted Crawford (1988) - a comment on the previous article, again on an “Anor” journal. Focused more on the engineering side than the geological one, I’m mostly adding this one for completeness, but it doesn’t really contradict the purely geological conclusions. Lots of numbers going on there.

The Mines of Moria - Further Thoughts by Mike Percival (1988) - a comment on the previous comment. Same journal, same discussion. Once again, more engineering focused, but might be interesting.

Numenor

Geographical Observations on Numenor by Duncan McLaren (1985) - once again, scanned “Anor” copy, and not the best scan I’ve seen. Short article, not exclusive to geology. The part dealing with what kind of rocks you might find on Numenor, which is also probably what may interest a fic writer more, seems overall rather reasonable. Also gives a theory on plate tectonics and attempts a geological explanation of the Akallabeth.

On Numenor by Mike Percival (1985) - a comment and response to the previous article. Scanned “Anor” copy again. Focuses on the plate tectonics, and has a somewhat more technical language than the previous article, going more in depth. Alternate view for an Akallabeth event than the previous article. Also features maps.

Paleontology

Paleontology in the Silmarillion by Mike Sutton (1991) - very short and very easy in language. Doesn’t really go particularly in depth on any matter, essentially explores how there could be certain similarities between what is considered (or was considered, paleontological ideas change a lot in thirty years) the order in which various life forms appeared and certain language used in the Silmarillion. If you thought that this was an “Anor” copy, you guessed it right.

Misc

“Beneath the Earth’s dark keel” Tolkien and Geology by Gerard Hynes (2012) - this article doesn’t deal with the geology of Arda, but rather speculates the way Tolkien himself might have tried to work geology within the text by considering the state of geological knowledge and how it evolved during Tolkien’s life. Also covers a little the history of the theory of plate tectonics, if anyone is interested about learning about it.

Re-reading the Map of Middle-earth: Fan Cartography’s Engagement with Tolkien’s Legendarium by Stentor Danielson (2013) - this is not a geological article, but a cartography article. The reason I added it is because a lot of the geological studies on Middle Earth, especially of the tectonics kind, are based on how maps look like and what deductions can be made from the shapes you see on them. As this author points out, maps are not necessarily accurate with their information, especially older ones, and might do things like, for example, make mountain ranges be excessively straight in line. A bit long, but worth reading.

#lotr #lord of the rings #silm #silmarillion #the hobbit #again with the geology posting

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themoonsbeloved · 3 years

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Hello! The same anon here as before

First of all, I’m sorry for making it look like I expected you to do the research for me regarding the “blackwashing” as it was more meant to be me not yet understanding how to navigate tumblr efficiently and not finding the info I wanted on my own + I think you are very eloquent and explain your thoughts well in a way that is coherent and enjoyable (the same way a neat handwriting is - you can appreciate how thought out everything is) I asked you in particular because I wrote with poc in mind - I think the topic of whitewashing vs the nonexistent blackwashing has been explained well and thoroughly , it’s other races that I was curious about whether there are different rules since some people treat it like a weird gray area. However, I assume it’s not any different since it is the same action . Personally I’m not an artist of any kind so I’m stumbling a bit through the topic in an attempt to learn but I’m again grateful for your kind, not bashing my ass for being unable to search, answer. Also, I wanted to add that I agree with the comments and I think the photos you posted are lovely and that colour is very flattering :) Have a lovely day

Hey sorry for such a late reply, its just such a big question I had to give myself a few days to figure how I wanna answer this. And its no bother, thank you for the kind words. Half the time I am that person googling if I'm using a word correctly in a sentence and even then I feel I'm not the most eloquent/trying too hard lol...

So basically you mean when people change the race/facial features of a character of colour to look like another? I haven't come across this myself as far as I'm aware, so my take on it might not be credible, but I assume it's complex and depends on context and intention of the artist, I think. We already know there is no sets of physical features attributed to only one 'race' or 'ethnicity' (e.g monolids and straight hair only attributed to East Asians, or curly/coily hair attributed to only Black people, or all South Asians are brown) because realistically human beings are extremely diverse, despite the invention of race introducing the idea to categorise, and ultimately justify the oppression of, certain groups of people based on geographical location and external traits. I mean literally mixed-race people exist, we just can't be confined to one group of physical characteristics. This was really highlighted when doing my final year empirical project, that not everyone identifies themselves by race/ethnicity the way we expect them to.

But on the other hand of course 'skinwashing' can be rooted in power, and historical power over certain people and cultures plays a role in the way we may further enable that erasure of marginalised identities altogether in our art. I do believe that an artist actively and purposefully trying to erase a character of colour's canon race/ethnicity is inappropriate when the context suggests it was done so (whether out of ignorance but privilege or direct hostility) because they did not like the character's canon identity and have underlying biases. But also the artist's identity plays a role too. A Black artist drawing their fave Japanese character as Black doesn't erase East Asians/Japanese people, Black Japanese and EA's exist, and are in fact the ones marginalised and erased. Basically its context and level of appropriateness, like I would be alarmed if a White artist was taking one character of colour and turning them into another race that's not white because I don't trust that shit from them for obvious reasons lol.

Idk, like for me personally I haven't come across an artist of colour intentionally trying to erase a character of colour's identity like that (but again there can be very obvious acts of erasure like antiblackness), we know what it's like to be on the receiving end, and unless you hold power and privilege over them (e.g non-Black artist erasing a Black character's blackness) the need to change their race doesn't pass our minds, I would like to believe that we are mindful and respect their identity. We should take care not to unintentionally contribute to the erasure of marginalised groups as people of colour, but we also may not necessarily hold historical oppression over others like that for it to become a really unneeded debate as everything becomes on tumblr dot com lmao.

#i am open to hearing what other artists have to say obviously #i've never had to think about this because i thought we all just know when not to erase a character's race lol #but its fine the more knowledge we know the better i guess #also i wanna say I'm not the expert or authority in these issues and fanart is already such a niche thing where the character's race #says a lot about how people approach such issues #i personally don't believe its that deep we all kinda know #but again if others have other opinions do express #people of colour only tho

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vantaenims · 4 years

Text

anemoia | jungkook

pairing: jungkook x reader

genre: futuristic au | fluff, mystery

word count: 11.7k

warning/s: mentions of death and a bit of a make out session (oh my).

summary: It’s a well known fact that a person only dreams about people they’ve already seen in their life but how come you’re dreaming about someone you’ve never seen before, someone who is probably a person your subconscious created, and someone that continues to only exist in your dreams.

Part of BTSGhostieBingo (futuristic!au prompt)

masterlist

According to a study, as much as 95% of all dreams are quickly forgotten shortly after waking.

Reverie is a helpful device where you can securely store your dreams and archive them by syncing the device through the Reverie Application. With other built-in features, you can now customize how your dream works by choosing your desired location and inputting any character you want to appear in your dream.

With Reverie, you can build your own dreams.

You slid the switch to turn on the device and a blinking blue light is now visible on it’s side though it was only for a moment as you successfully paired the device with your phone and the application.

As usual, you registered for an account and input the required necessary information but what piqued your interest the most are the so called built-in features like the location where you can choose from various choices like beach, urban city, garden, festivals, etc. and lastly, the characters, wherein you should input a picture of a person that you like to appear in your dream.

This is the reason why you’re so keen in purchasing Reverie because it’ll be the only way you can actually see your late mother in limitless ways. You barely remember your memories with her since she passed away from Ovarian Cancer when you were only four - an age where memories can be pretty hazy.

You can only remember her through pictures and stories your father has told you so it’ll be a joy to at least watch your dreams with her in it or perhaps watch the memories you’ve invented.

Spreading the covers, you soon get in your bed as you ready yourself to sleep, clicking the Reverie app to choose your location in a garden and clicking the picture of your mother you uploaded a while ago as your character.

You placed your phone on your nightstand as soon as you finalized your dream customization, putting the Reverie device on your temple while you managed to lay down on your bed, tapping the circle device as you close your eyes until you can finally sleep and dream.

All you could see are stars in the wide vast dark sky, they’re so clear and bright since there are no clouds to cover them for tonight but you could definitely feel most the cold wind of the night enveloping you though you could feel the warmth of the person next to you - your mom.

“How are you, my dear?” you turn your head to the side to see your mom plucking some leaves around the stem of a red rose, “You’ve grown to be such a beautiful lady.”

You were suddenly hit with a surge of overwhelming emotions, thinking how the moment feels so vivid and real like it’s really taking place right now though you’re fully aware that this is only projection of your subconscious.

“You look perfect just like what dad told me” you smiled as you got the red rose from your mother’s hand, twirling it to examine it’s petals.

“How old are you now?”

“I’m turning 23 this year” you held your mother’s hand that was right by your side, squeezing it as you moved closer to rest your head on her shoulder, both laying down in the middle of the garden to stargaze.

“Ten years from now you’re gonna be the same age as me”

“Aren’t you like 52 now just like dad?” you peered up at your mom but then surprisingly, she looks too young to be in her early fifties.

“The dead doesn’t age, dear” your mom chuckled as she kissed your forehead whilst she pointed her fingers towards the sky, “We’re all up there amongst the stars where i constantly watch you from above”

“Heaven does exist?” you said like a curious child.

“I suppose so but you see that little twinkling star right there?” you nodded as you listened attentively to what more she could say, “I’m always right there.”

“Can i look at that star whenever i feel lonely?”

Your mom warmly smiled, grabbing the rose from you as she broke the stem to make it shorter, placing it right behind your ear whilst she thread her fingers soothingly along your hair to fix it.

“You can and not just when you’re lonely but whenever you feel happy or whatever it is you feel. I’ll always be here for you, my dear.”

You woke up not too long after your mother had said that which instantly made you feel better though you felt like the dream’s too short and only happened in a span of five minutes but then time seems to be irrelevant when you’re dreaming since it’s clearly morning now and it has been seven hours since you slept.

So far, you could say that the Reverie delivered and met your expectations. The dream was lucid and felt so realistic which happens to be true to what the device promised though they have warned that the flow will not be consistently like that as it’s in the nature of our dreams to be purely irrational and weird which something the company is trying to eliminate by continuous extensive research.

You start your day ahead with a wide smile on your face, feeling exquisitely happy that you got the chance to spend time with your mother even though it’s just a dream but if it’s the only way you could get to be with your mother then that’s what matters.

You rung the doorbell of the veterinary clinic which is the place you’re working for as a receptionist - a job you took since you’ve gotten practically bored being unproductive halfway into your gap year so might as well apply for a job that doesn’t require much work plus you figured that it’d be fun since you’ll get to be around lovely dogs and cats all day long.

“You’re early” you smiled back at Hoseok who happens to be the veterinary doctor and the owner of the clinic, so practically he’s your boss though he’s rather much of a friend to you given how he’s just a few years older from you.

“Good morning”, you said, “Is Jimin still not here?”

Jimin is also a veterinary doctor much like Hoseok but he’s acting more of an assistant doctor in this clinic.

“He bought some pastries down the bakery” you nodded as you settled yourself inside your booth, opening the computer to check the appointments scheduled for today in the spreadsheet until you noticed Mickey - Hoseok’s Shih Tzu dog - sitting on the floor right beside your feet, staring up at you.

“Hello, Mickey”, you spoke in a little voice as you picked him up and placed him in your lap to pet him, noticing how he’s wearing a new striped shirt, “You have new clothes, hm?”

The chimes attached to the door rang as you see Jimin entering the clinic whilst he rummages around the paper bag he’s holding until he holds out what seems to be like cheese bread to you.

“I got this for you,” Jimin said as he placed the cheese bread and iced coffee on your desk, “And for you” also giving the same thing to Hoseok.

“Thank you Jimin but you don’t have to”

“Eat up besides all the pastries in the bakery today are buy two, get one” Jimin sweetly smiled at you, leaning one of his elbows on top of your desk as he took a bite off the cheese bread.��

“What’s the schedule for today?” Hoseok asked as he joined Jimin, also leaning against your desk.

“Ms. Nam Chung Hee scheduled an annual booster shot for her two dogs at 2 p.m.” you said as you read out through your computer.

“Does she already have a record here?”

“Yeah, I checked yesterday” you spun your chair to rack through the filing cabinet, taking out the folder with the client’s name on it as you handed it to Hoseok.

You set down Mickey on the floor as you stood up to grab the remote of the television from your desk, turning it on and setting the channel to National Geographic for the guests to watch in the waiting area.

With nothing else to do, you sat behind the reception desk as you took out your phone to go to the Reverie app, thinking it’d be best to kill time whilst you watch your dream from last night. You plugged in your earphones to your phone, putting only one piece of it to your right ear just so you could still be aware of your surroundings.

Clicking on the video dated yesterday, you instantly saw the familiar starry night sky though you could already tell that the video quality is bad but not bad enough that you can’t make it out - it’s more of like a 144p video, it’s not like you could complain though as Reverie is said to be still up for improvement.

Despite how blurry it is, you smiled as soon as your mother’s face appeared on your screen, listening back to your conversation on how she’s the little twinkling star on the sky but then you were disrupted when you heard the door chimes, causing you to remove your earphones and placing your phone back to the desk.

“Hi, i scheduled yesterday a booster shot for my dogs”

“Ah yes, you must be Ms. Nam?” you asked as she nodded her head to confirm, thinking that she’s a few hours early from an appointment but it’s not like a problem at all considering you don’t have any clients or customers yet to attend to.

“Can I have your dog’s vaccination cards please?”

You prompted her to sit in the waiting area for a while as you wrote down the information on your records that you have detached from the folder to put it in a clipboard along with the vaccination cards, reading out the name of the two Maltese dogs - Blossom and Bubbles.

“Here are their records, I'll be calling Hoseok” you handed the clipboard towards Jimin who just got out of the bathroom right in time as you were about to call him and Hoseok.

“Dr. Park will assist you for a while” you said before you disappeared to go to Hoseok’s office, knocking your knuckles against the door before you peered your head inside to inform Hoseok that Ms. Nam had arrived for her appointment.

“Oh it’s the Powerpuff dogs, Blossom and Bubbles” Hoseok exclaimed as he read out their names in the record that Jimin handed to him, petting the dogs who are now placed in the metal table.

“Y/N, can I have one of those record sheets? There are only two lines left for me to write in here” you looked back to see that Jimin had followed you on your way back towards your desk.

“Is there a Buttercup?” you asked as you handed Jimin a blank record sheet. Jimin was confused for a moment until he catched on to what you are referring to.

“Ah no, she said she’ll save that name for when she gets another dog” Jimin smiled and raised his eyebrows at you before he went back to the room to assist Hoseok.

You sat down as you put back the folders of records you got out from the filing cabinet, unaware that you started to subconsciously hum to the song Build Me Up Buttercup by The Foundations.

You sat on one of the benches under the waiting shed, taking out your phone to watch again the clip of your dream but before you could even unlock your phone, the sound of the bus doors opening caught your attention. Coincidentally, it happened to be your bus hence you stood up to enter inside, choosing the seat at the far right end, continuing the video once you’ve sat yourself comfortably.

As you got yourself comfortable, you then started to watch your dream and you think you don’t mind replaying it all day long, still finding the whole thing impressive. You can’t help but feel excited for the memories and moments you’ll build in the future with your mother, not minding a bit that it’ll be artificial.

Surprisingly, you arrived at the bus stop near your home earlier than usual, thinking that you must’ve avoided the rush hour since Hoseok decided to close the clinic twenty minutes early from it’s closing time since there are not much clients after Ms. Nam’s appointments, just the usual customers who are buying pet foods are coming to the clinic.

You managed to stop by a convenience store first to buy two pints of salted caramel ice cream for you and your dad whom you’re still living with since you promised to him that you’ll not be moving out anytime soon unless you get married that is. You were an only child so ever since your mom died, it was only you and your dad.

“Dad, I’m home” you left your shoes at the door mat, slipping on to your slippers as you directly went to the dining room upon whiffing something savory once you entered the door.

“Oh you’re right in time, i just finished preparing the smoked salmon” your dad said, placing the plates on the table.

“It looks delicious”, you eyed the salmon which is plated and designed elegantly, making it such a fine piece of meal with the presentation alone, “and it tastes one too.”

Your dad works as an executive chef for a five star hotel in Seoul which makes you lucky since you got to taste their premium menu specialties and other delicacies for free once in a while, like tonight since he took a day off.

“Eat as much as you want, I've prepared enough. In fact, why don’t you bring some at work tomorrow and also give it to those two doctors…” your dad looked as if he’s trying hard to recall the name of your co-workers.

“Jimin and Hoseok” you laughed as you reminded him.

“Give it to Jimin and Hoseok, i’ll put it in a microwavable container so that you could heat it up”

You warmly smiled at your dad at how caring he is, placing your hand on top of your dad’s on the table, squeezing it with yours, “Thanks, Dad.”

“You know, i just remember that i’ve never seen them yet” your dad said, “They must be good looking huh? I mean a doctor ain’t a bad choice is it?”

You stopped chewing as you playfully glared at your dad, knowing where this conversation is heading.

“Dad, it’s inappropriate if i go beyond our professional relationship” you shook your head, thinking how you dad has countlessly pestered you about getting a boyfriend since he thought that your life is pretty lonely for a 22 year old girl who chose to spent most of her time with his dad whom he’s still living with which you’re pretty content with but your dad must’ve thought the other way around.

“I just want you to be happy, that’s all”

“Being single doesn’t equate to being lonely” you clarified, “Anyway, I am happy so don’t worry about that plus I’ll eventually find someone.”

“Well, you’re not getting any younger and it’s probably what your mom wants for you too” your dad shrugged, looking at you and then to your plate where your asparagus seems to be untouched.

“Aren’t you going to eat that?”

“You know that i don’t eat asparagus, dad”

“It’s glazed in honey though, try it you might like it”

You picked up your fork to try the honey glazed asparagus but it still tastes wrong to you and your dad must’ve noticed when he saw you scrunch your nose in disgust, shaking your head in disapproval.

“You’re like a little child” your dad sighed as he transferred the asparagus into his plate to eat it.

Majority of your dinner was spent with your dad asking you loads of questions about Jimin and Hoseok, defending himself that he just wants to know the boys that are working with his precious girl. Defeatedly, you have no choice but to answer his questions as you both eat over the pint of ice cream you’ve bought.

After you’ve washed the dishes, you wished your dad good night even though it’s still pretty early for bedtime, heading straight away to your room to wash up and ready yourself for bed. It’s funny how you’ve never been this excited to sleep except the times when you’re sleep deprived.

As you plopped on your bed, you then grabbed your device from your nightstand to turn it on as you plug in your phone to your charger, opening the Reverie app to pair it with your phone but then a tab suddenly appeared as it got paired.

Would you like to continue your dream?

Confused, you got the manual inside your drawer to find out that you could continue your previous dream for two times only as the brain could only take so much. You declined the option to continue since you want to try first the other locations.

Train Station is what you choose since you plan to travel around Seoul with your mom. As soon as you got to choose the location and character, you placed the device on your temple as you try to sleep.

You soon found yourself in front of the ticket vending machine, getting the cards from the machine’s dispenser.

“Let’s go” your mom said as she got on the escalator, prompting you to hurriedly catch up with her, “Hurry, the train’s about to leave.”

You run up the escalator, excusing yourself as you try to catch up with your mom who’s already standing on the platform but then the train doors had closed already as soon as you step foot onto the platform.

“It’s okay, let’s just sit and wait for the next one”, your mom said as she sat down on the bench, tapping the seat next to hers for you to sit.

“Where should we go?” you asked but you were rather met with silence. Looking to your right, you noticed that she’s no longer sitting beside you. Furrowing your brows, your scan around the platform as you search for your mom but it’s as if she just suddenly disappeared into thin air.

The clinking sound of coins hitting against the ground has caught your attention, turning your head to the side to see an old man bending down to pick up his coins whilst one of his coins managed to roll towards your direction, only stopping as it bumped the side of your shoes.

You picked it up as you went over to the old man to give it until he smiled at you, stopping your hand that’s about to give him his coin.

“Keep the change” he chuckled as he rode the elevator, leaving you there with his ₩100 coin.

Shrugging, you then played with the coin in your hand, tossing it just to catch it mid-air to slam it at the back of your hand. You then removed your hand to reveal that it landed on tails.

You grasped the coin in your hand as you watch the train pick up its speed by the second, setting aside your hair that has made its way to your face from the gush of wind until the rumbling sounds of the train completely faded out in the distance making the station a quiet and calm place once again.

Once again, you heard the clinking sound of the coin hitting the ground, realizing that it fell off your hand at the sight of a boy at the other side of the platform who seemed to be staring straight at you. You looked at your sides to see if you were mistaken but it looks like you’re the only one standing on your side of the platform much like him.

But then he broke eye contact as he walked towards the stairs of the station, causing you to rush towards the stairs so that you’ll be able to catch him before he’s out of your sight. Thankfully, you managed to grab his arm before he could pass through the turnstile. You felt him tense a bit as you touched him, turning around to look at you with a surprised look on his face that instantly turned into confusion once you spoke.

“Jungkook” you whispered.

Suddenly, an odd blaring sound blasted throughout the station, jolting you up from reality that the sound you happened to hear came from your phone. You extend your hand towards the nightstand to grab it, snoozing the alarm.

Sitting up, you open your bleary eyes as you remove the device from your temple, staring at it for the weird dream you’ve just encountered but dreams are supposed to be weird isn’t it? But how come everyone’s faces are blurry except for your mother and that boy - Jungkook - whom you followed after.

It’s not like you’ve ever seen that face or know anyone whose name is Jungkook but you shrugged the idea off, remembering the warning in the manual that dreams don’t consistently flow smoothly since it’s in the dreams nature to be purely irrational and weird though you can’t help but wonder about the boy that suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Who is Jungkook?

You found yourself sitting in the waiting lounge, watching some sort of a Moose Documentary in National Geographic Channel. The battery from the remote control ran out so it’s not like you have any choice but to watch whatever’s playing but it’s not like it’s bad at all, you just happen to learn that Mooses can dive up to six meters or twenty feet and they can hold their breath for a minute!

The door chimes rung, making you dart your attention towards the door. A young boy who looks to be thirteen came in with a Beagle Pup on his arms, stopping in front of your desk with quite a lost look upon noticing that the reception is empty with quite a worried look on his face.

“Hi, how can i help you?” you stood up, instantly going behind your desk to assist the young boy.

“I think he’s not feeling well” the boy lightly cradles and bounces the puppy like a parent trying to calm a baby.

“Well, can you explain to me what’s wrong?”

“He’s been constantly vomiting since this morning and i think he’s getting weaker by the second”

“Let me just call the doctor” you said, standing up to go directly to Hoseok’s office to inform him and Jimin who’s also in the room that there’s an emergency waiting for them outside.

“Do you have a record in here yet?” you asked the boy as you got behind your desk to ready the clipboard for Jimin.

“Uh I don’t know he’s actually my sister’s dog”

“Okay, what’s her name then?” you smiled, noticing how he’s panicking a bit but he sighed in relief once he saw her sister come through inside the clinic, helping her brother to give out the necessary details.

Jimin then assisted them to go inside the room for the check up whilst you followed them to give Jimin his clipboard, giving you a chance to witness Hoseok question the siblings when the symptoms appeared while he assessed the dog’s condition. making you leave the room to go back to your desk now that your task is done.

You went back behind your desk, continuing to watch the documentary whilst you eat some sliced apples that your dad prepared for you, saying that you should start eating healthy foods rather than fast food you’ve always been eating.

“What happened?” you asked just as Jimin got out of the room.

“The dog’s dehydrated and he needs to be put in a drip so he’ll be confined here for a while until he gets better”, Jimin explained as he placed the clipboard on top of your desk and then grabbed the fork to eat one of your sliced apples.

Soon after, the girl got out of the room as he handed you a piece of paper that happens to be a prescription and also the list of supplies needed for the dog’s in confinement that was written by Hoseok.

“Are you getting all this?” you peered up towards her just before you could write it in an official receipt to which she confirmed by nodding.

“Should i bring his dog food here?” The man asked you but Jimin beat you to it to answer him.

“Yeah, you can but you could also just buy some here, you know to save you some legwork” Jimin smiled as you purse your lips from smiling further at Jimin’s tactic of encouraging customers to buy your products.

“Sure, could you add the dog food too” she said to you, nodding as you wrote down the additional item before you ripped the receipt to give it to her and also the calling card, informing her that she could call anytime for updates about her dog.

The siblings soon leave after they’ve watched Bruno - the name of the Beagle - put on a drip with Hoseok assuring them that he’ll be treated with proper care. You then volunteered to be the one to bring the beagle his food, saying how it’s the least thing you could do to help Hoseok and Jimin.

You came into the room where the beagle is supposedly being confined inside a cage that’s large enough for him to fit as you carry the bowl filled with dog food.

“Here you go” you said once you opened the cage and placed the bowl in front of Bruno who appears to be lethargic as he did not make any move to eat the food, only looking up at you with it’s such big adorable puppy eyes.

“You’ll be better soon” you gently petted the base of his neck.

Before you could stand up and leave, you picked up the card that’s placed atop of the cage as you wrote down the time on the card which is meant for monitoring his food intake and other medications.

“I’ll get going” you said to Jimin while you grab your belongings behind your desk.

“Alright, be safe and tell your dad we enjoyed his smoked salmon”

“Sure thing” you waved as you exited the clinic, making your way down to the bus stop to finally go home.

—

Would you like to continue your dream?

You were instantly reminded of your bizzare dream last night about that boy named Jungkook who you don’t even know and also clueless as to why you followed and chased him down.

Nonetheless, you tapped the ‘No’ option since you planned a while ago that you want to have some kind of a nice dinner setting in a restaurant with both of your parents present since you’ve been wanting to have a clear memory of having your family complete.

Laying down, you did the routine of setting up Reverie and next thing you know, you’re in one of those fancy restaurants located on the rooftop where the view of the towering skyscrapers of Seoul mixed in with the city lights. It took you awhile to register that you’re inside the five star hotel where your dad is working at.

“What must be your dad cooking for us hm?”

Sitting in front of you is none other than your mom who seems to be fashionably dressed well in a straight black dress paired with a dainty pearl necklace and earrings, hair perfectly styled that stops right just at her shoulders.

“Probably something delicious”

“Isn’t it nice we get to eat here? Who knew that your dad’s perks could come in handy” your mom chuckled as she looked around the expansive room that you guessed to be one of the private rooms since you’re the only ones inside.

You looked around to examine that the two sides of the room are glass walled while it’s also well lit thanks to the big elegant chandelier hanging in the middle of the room but most of all, it’s perfectly beautiful because of the night sky view from up here.

Suddenly, the door to your right opened as a waiter who’s holding a tray came inside to place the plate filled with smoked salmon paired with honey glazed asparagus in front of you, speaking to say that it’s the main dish for tonight.

“How are you two doing?” your dad said, following suit to enter the room.

“I thought you’ll be joining us” you said once you noticed that your dad’s still wearing his uniform.

“It’s a pretty busy night, I'll try to catch up later” your dad said, “besides why don’t you first enjoy your time with Jungkook here?”

You took a glance in front of you to see that your mother has now been replaced with Jungkook whose exchanging a few words with your father as if they’ve known each other for a very long time, making you confused to decipher how your dream got weird again but mostly surprised to see Jungkook appear.

“I’ll leave you two for now, okay?” your dad left you a kiss on top of your head whilst he patted Jungkook’s back as he exited the door to go back to the kitchen thus leaving you two alone.

“I remember how you always boast about your father’s cooking skills and I must say, you’re not exaggerating even a bit”

“See, I told you so” you said even though you’re partly confused because the you in your dreams always manages to act dominantly.

“Would you like some wine?” you peered up at the source to see that a waiter’s waiting for your confirmation before he poured some wine on both of your glasses when you sent him a nod.

“Let’s make a toast” Jungkook said as he raised his glass at you but then you were confused to say the least.

“For what? It’s not our anniversary, right?” you asked, suddenly growing anxious that you might’ve forgotten that today’s supposed to be special but you do know that your anniversary as a couple is months away.

“How could you forget this?” Jungkook asked, chuckling as he widened his eyes at you in disbelief, “It has been a year since the day we met!”

“Has it been a year already?”

Jungkook hummed as he transferred your untouched asparagus into his plate once he devoured all of his portion but then he glanced up at you to see just as he’s about to eat a piece of your asparagus.

“What? You don’t like asparagus” Jungkook said in an unfazed manner, happily munching on his food as he hummed in delight until he remembered the untouched glass of wine. He wiped his mouth hurriedly with the napkin to grab the wine glass.

“Cheers?” Jungkook said with his mouth still full, smiling as he placed his hand atop of yours, thumb lightly grazing against your skin.

“Cheers”

Adjusting yourself on your seat, you propped your elbow against the desk as you leaned your head over your hand, watching the dream from last night wherein your mom magically disappeared out of nowhere and was instead replaced with Jungkook who you assume is your ‘boyfriend’ in your dream.

You’re still unaware as to why he appeared in your dream for the second time again that’s why it prompted you to search on the internet if Reverie users have experienced the same thing as you but there was none so far.

But you know for sure that dreams are heavily influenced on what happened to you in real life thus the reason you were eating the smoked salmon dish with asparagus because of that dinner you had with your dad one day ago and also the reason why he’s your boyfriend because of that talk with your dad.

Sighing, you stand up as you leave your desk to sit beside Jimin who’s watching a movie in the waiting area.

“Do you want some?” Jimin stretched his hand that’s holding a pack of peanuts. You held out your palm to him as he poured over some nuts until it’s enough for your liking.

“Thanks” you said as you popped them into your mouth, “Jimin…”

“Hmm?” you were a bit hesitant if you should talk to Jimin about Reverie since it gained a bad image with one news outlet saying that the device’s original purpose got taken out of its context and was instead converted into something controversial - it was now being used by others to satisfy their sexual fantasies.

“What do you think about Reverie?” you shyly said.

“The dreaming device?” Jimin asked, “I don’t know much about it except that everyone uses it to dream about wild things, why?”

Well, it looks like that article broke out the internet already and it made you even more bashful to open up to Jimin that you’ve purchased the device yourself even though you know that you’re using it for another reason.

“I, um, bought it”

Jimin peered his eyes away from the television as he looked at you with his eyebrows raised, momentarily stopping himself from munching down the peanuts.

“I mean i have it since you know, my mom died a long time ago and it’s the only way i could only see her” you defended yourself, feeling a bit embarrassed from how you talked so fast.

“Well, I thought you bought it for another reason” Jimin chuckled, “How is it?”

“It’s good, i get to see my mom anytime i want but then it started getting weird recently” you purse your lips as you contemplate if it’ll be a good idea to tell him the boy in your dream - Jungkook.

“Go on”, Jimin said, urging you to continue.

“I was dreaming about my mom but then a boy would constantly take her place but what’s weird is that i called him ‘Jungkook’ and i don’t even know anyone who has that name”

“What does he look like then?”

“Well, he has big doe eyes, sharp nose, nice smile and i must admit, he looks quite handsome and cute at the same time” you think you’ve imprinted the image of him in your mind with the amount of times you’ve replayed the video as you try to ponder if you’ve ever seen Jungkook before but nothing came in mind.

“Sounds like he’s a sexual fantasy of yours” you threw the rest of your peanuts at Jimin as he doubled in laughter.

“But jokes aside, do you think you could vividly dream about a person you didn’t know in the first place?” you curiously asked as you waited for Jimin to calm down from his laughing fit, adjusting himself on his seat as he properly answered you.

“No? I mean, maybe those are the physical traits you like in a person and your subconscious just so happened to create this ‘Jungkook’ guy” Jimin said.

“You think so?”

“Don’t take it from me though, I’m a veterinarian not a neurologist” you shrugged, returning your attention back on the television.

After the credits rolled on the television, you went inside the room where Bruno is to give him the food and water he needs just before you leave the clinic. He seems to be getting better but it was still clear that he’s still weak at some point.

“Hello, Bruno” you pet his head, cooing as his head leaned further to your touch.

It reminded you of that time when you would endlessly beg your dad to get a dog, reasoning out that you’re tired of having no one to play with as the only child you are and that a dog was your best bet in having a playmate or so although that did not fully convince for your dad to get you one.

That only resulted for you to ignore your dad for a few days as the brat you are until he came home with a cage where a hamster resides rather than the dog you’re wishing for but it’s enough for you to smile at your dad, thanking him for the new pet.

You mutter a goodbye to the Beagle, standing up to go towards the door when you get suddenly surprised by Hoseok when his head suddenly peeked inside the door.

“Y/N, could you help us for awhile?” Hoseok said, resting his shoulders on the door frame.

“Are you going to put up some Christmas decorations?” you said as soon as you saw the box he’s carrying where a ‘Christmas Stuff’ is labelled on the front with a permanent marker.

“Yeah, it’ll be just quick though” Hoseok reassured you since the clinic already closed a few minutes ago.

“Alright” you grabbed the box from Hoseok, exiting the room to find Jimin already setting up the mini Christmas Tree in the waiting area.

“How many days is it before Christmas?” you asked, standing up on a chair as you try to stick the garland against the walls.

“Uh twenty nine days” Jimin grabbed the rest of the garland as he assisted you.

“Oh really? Time must’ve passed by quickly”

“Yeah, days are shorter during this time of the year so maybe that’s why” Hoseok shrugged as he embellished the Christmas Tree with some decorative balls.

It was spring when you started to work in the clinic which means that it has also been mostly eight or nine months since your stay. You were only supposed to work here for six months but you’ve quite enjoyed it that you managed to delay applying for a job in your field, thinking how you’re going to complete a year in the clinic before you do so.

—

Sitting on your bed, you managed to turn the television on to continue the movie you were watching last weekend whilst you slurp over the instant noodles you’ve cooked yourself as your late lunch since your dad isn’t home as he usually is this time since his work demands him to be present in days like the weekend and holidays.

That’s the great thing about Sundays, it’s the only day you could have the whole day for yourself considering you only have to work until 12 p.m. in the clinic today and you can lounge around your house just by yourself, not that you don’t like the presence of your dad but you guess you’re one of those people who prefers alone time.

You turned off the television once you felt the burning like sensation from your eyes probably because you’ve taken only four hours of sleep last night. Plopping down your head sideways on your pillow, the device came into your sight, remembering how you forgot to wear it last night from how tired you are from decorating the clinic.

The conversation you had with Jimin yesterday came flashing back when he told you that it could be a probability that Jungkook is a character made by your subconscious and Jimin’s not wrong when he told you that Jungkook might be just a reflection of what you want in a person because you could say he’s piqued your interest.

Would you like to continue your dream?

You clicked the ‘No’ option right away as you still find the whole thing quite odd though you’re quite unfazed by now. It has been a while since that first vivid dream you had with your mom so that’s why you hope Reverie won’t alter your dream though that’ll be highly unlikely.

The fireplace is the first thing you saw in your dream, Christmas decorations and picture frames filled the mantel though you can’t completely make out who the individuals in the pictures are but you’re sure it’s someone else’s house.

“What is your dream?”

You looked sideways to see your mom sitting beside you on the sofa as she sipped something on a mug after she had said that statement, the snow outside the window catching your attention for a second before you looked back at your mom with a quite confused look.

“Like my dream in life?” your mom nodded, intently looking at you.

“I dream of having my own business someday” you said, “But i’m still not sure what kind of business it’ll be?”

“Your dad’s a chef, why don’t you hire him and build a restaurant?” your mom suggested, making you laugh at her suggestion though you think you’re going to consider it into one of your ideas.

“What about you mom?” you laid down on your mom’s lap as you looked up at her whilst she softly caressed your hair, straying out some strands of your hair that had made way into your face.

“I dreamt about having a beautiful daughter when me and your dad got married and look you’re here”

“Isn’t it sad we only get to be together for three years?” you frowned.

“Out of all the years i’ve lived, those three years are the most precious thing that happened to me and it’s because of you, my dear”

You think you must’ve shed some tears as your mom wiped the corners of your eyes with her thumb, gently smiling at you as she told you not to be sad but to be happy.

“There’s a dream I have for you but I could only do so much,” she said, staring straight ahead at something. Your eyes are about to look at where she’s looking at but she held your face gently just before you could turn your head, “Always remember to follow your dreams.”

You could tell when your dream is about to end, it’s when the scene in front of you dims slowly into the void and that’s what’s happening right now but before you could slowly succumb into consciousness, your mom squeezed your hand tightly as if to remind you one last time.

“Follow your dream.”

Tears ran down your face once you opened your eyes, noticing that your tears are what must’ve woken you up. You’ve cried for a bit, thinking how unfortunate it is that she’s gone and how you’ve greatly missed her.

After you’ve calmed, you grab the device as you stick it once again on your temple to continue your dream to ask her about the dream she has for you and also taking advantage of it now that Jungkook didn’t manage to appear.

You found yourself once again in front of the fireplace when you chose to continue your dream. It looks exactly the same when you left although you could hear some Christmas songs playing now and the space beside you where your mom should be seating is now empty.

“I have a surprise for you”

A voice said that doesn’t belong to your mom but you definitely know that it’s Jungkook who seems to be covering your eyes with both of his hands as he whispers into your ear, his breath tickling you a bit.

“What is it?”

“I’ll have to get it first” he said, “Promise me you’ll close your eyes?”

Jungkook took off his hands once you gave him a nod though you’re tempted to open your eyes to see what the surprise is, you tried your best to be obedient and soon enough, you heard his footsteps in front of you.

“Okay, you can open them now”

Jungkook’s hair is now dyed pink like cotton candy pink which caught you by surprise but that’s not what surprised you more because your eyes immediately panned towards the adorable thing he’s cradling like a baby in his arms.

“Merry Christmas!”

“Oh my god a puppy?” you said in awe as you stretched out your hand for Jungkook so that you could cradle it instead though he more of placed it on your lap, making you coo how the Beagle pup is trying to remove the red ribbon that’s loosely tied around its neck with its cute tiny paws.

“I remember when you told me that you wanted a dog ever since you were a kid” Jungkook scratched his head, sitting down beside you who seems to be so caught up with the puppy as you giggled at how playful it is.

“Let’s call her Buttercup” Jungkook didn’t question you for the name as he instead admired how the big smile on your face made him feel so much warmth in his chest, perhaps it’s because from the sense of pride that he’s the reason behind your happiness although it’s somewhat more of the puppy who's still on your lap.

“Your gift is much better than mine, I feel bad” you playfully frowned.

“Don’t be, what is it then?”

“It’s in my house, you’ll get to see tomorrow” you winked, thinking if he would even like yours which is a newly released game he’s been dying to play ever since it was announced plus some quirky love note on the side as the low key romantic person you are.

It never even crossed your mind to consider if Jungkook might’ve bought it already, so it’ll be really lame of you if he ever has it though you think he hasn't got it yet when you clearly remember scanning his shelf filled with his games when you came by his house. You can’t help but be worried but if that’s the case then the love note might as well work then.

“Hey, you’re already a gift to me” Jungkook tilted your chin upwards so his eyes could meet your worried ones.

“You’re so mushy” you laughed, gently tilting Jungkook’s head to the side so he can stop staring at you like that, like he’s so into you and it’s making you want to hide and shy away from his stare, “Anyways, thank you-”

“I love you”

You were dumbfounded for a while as you try to process those three words that just came out of Jungkook’s mouth. Your dad wasn’t lying when he told you the time he felt his world stopped when your mom said those words to him for the first time because fuck, this is indeed the first time Jungkook said this to you and you felt like your heart stopped beating too.

“I just wanted to tell you and y-you don’t have to say it back” Jungkook stammered, panic settling within him.

Jungkook’s the one who’s more expressive in your relationship, the one who’s more romantic and cheesier than you while you’re more of an awkward and shy one since Jungkook is your first boyfriend. Not that you don’t love him the same but you’re quite not sure how to properly show affection to him none other than through letters and notes that is.

Impulsively, you cupped Jungkook’s cheek as you leaned in further until your lips were mashed together that’s why it’s understandable that Jungkook’s not been responding to you for a while, possibly shock that you initiated to kiss him when it was always him who’s used to kissing you first.

Jungkook then smiled as he kissed you back, taking it up a notch when he grabbed your waist towards him, making you straddle him as you put one hand on his shoulder whilst the other is on his neck where you’re gently caressing his hair, making him audibly emit a low hum against your lips, shy at how that got you so bothered.

You felt the warmth of his hands more after it had made its way under the base of your shirt, thumb gently grazing on your skin above your hip bone where he drew circling motions on it, making you emit a chuckle at how ticklish it feels yet it’s enough for you to melt more into the kiss.

Jungkook detached his lips to yours to pepper your chin with kisses instead then making his way to the side of your jaw where he left a trail of wet kisses, eyes closing from pleasure and how good it felt until you got distracted by Buttercup’s bark.

“Wait” you gently pushed Jungkook back by his shoulders so you could look at what’s bothering the puppy who seems to be running back and forth towards the edge of the sofa and practically just barking at the floor, taking a look to see that there’s nothing on the floor which left you to think of what could possibly be bothering her.

“She wants to go down but it’s too high for her” Jungkook helped you out.

You scooped Buttercup up so you could finally place her down on the floor whilst Jungkook held you in place by tightening his hold on your waist so you wouldn’t fall.

With the barking gone, you then smiled, proceeding to continue the heated kiss you shared with Jungkook but not for long as you opened your eyes in panic when you realized something that made you break the kiss once again, removing your weight on Jungkook’s lap to sit instead next to his side, making him furrowed his brows in worry at you.

“What’s wrong?”

“Your parents and your brother could walk in any minute!” you whispered at him, fearing that you might get caught making out with Jungkook in their living room and it’s not good, not when you just met his family.

Jungkook’s family lives in Busan that’s why it took so long for you to actually meet them personally. The reason you’re also here is because you and Jungkook both agreed that you’ll celebrate Christmas Eve with Jungkook’s family while he will then celebrate Christmas itself with you and your dad tomorrow.

“Let’s go to my room then” Jungkook said as he kissed your cheek, standing up whilst he pulled your arm to get up and follow him upstairs. You were at the end of the stairs when you heard tiny whimpers coming from the living room.

“Oh no, how could I forget?” you let go of Jungkook’s hand as you briskly walked towards the living room to pick up Buttercup, pecking her kisses and muttering apologies for forgetting and leaving her all alone in the living room.

Once you're back on his side, Jungkook pulled you in by the waist to give you a peck on the lips but he must’ve got carried away as he tried to deepen it, not that you could blame him if it’s addicting in the first place only for Buttercup to ruin the moment again as she barked, causing you two to break away.

“I’m starting to think Buttercup doesn’t like it when i kiss you, hm?” Jungkook said, cupping the Beagle’s head as he glared at her, “Shouldn't you be nice to your dad?”

You watch as Jungkook continuously played with the puppy on your arms, finding it cute that Jungkook just referred to himself as Buttercup’s dad which made him more endearingly adorable if that’s possible.

“I love you too, Jungkook”

You’d like to believe that Jungkook felt his whole world stopped too just like what happened to you when you noticed how he’s staring at you with wide eyes and mouth agape until he placed a hand on his chest, dramatically heaving a relieved sigh.

“Thank god, I thought i’d be raising this puppy all by myself” you gently shoved Jungkook’s shoulder as he put his hand above where you hit him, face contorting in pain as if he really got hurt, making you chuckle more at his silliness.

“Just lead the way” you pushed him with your free hands when he made no move to go up at all.

“Alright, someone’s too eager” Jungkook doubled in laughter once he felt a slap against his back.

“I love you” he said, stealing a kiss right before he dashed up the stairs.

You joined Jimin and Hoseok in the waiting area, sighing as you stretched your neck and shoulders. The clinic was pretty busy for today and you’re glad you don’t have any clients to attend now considering the closing time will be in an hour. Mickey jumped off of Hoseok’s lap to transfer to you instead, smiling at the Santa outfit he’s sporting today.

“Why don’t we watch some news?” Hoseok took the remote from Jimin, both of you not muttering anything as you find the film showing in the television to be a bore anyway. You focused on petting Mickey instead, observing how his eyes were slowly fluttering by the second.

Well, it seems like not only three but the four of you are tired from today. Mickey was about to close his eyes until he got startled from Jimin’s quite loud voice.

“Have you ever dreamt about lottery numbers?” Jimin asked, making you confused until he told you to watch the news which is currently featuring the story of how a man won the lottery simply because of the Reverie device, stating that he won the lottery thanks to the random numbers that showed up in his dreams.

“You own a Reverie?” Hoseok asked but before you could answer, Jimin interjected to explain why you got it whilst you continue to watch the news again where they’re showing a similar story from the lottery man.

A high school student whose identity was disclosed is shown holding her nearly perfect exam paper to the camera, saying how she dreamt about the contents of the exam beforehand the test that’s why she was able to get a high score and how she intentionally omitted mistakes to not raise suspicions.

“Did something like that happen to you?” Jimin asked, shaking your head no, “Still dreaming about your mom?”

“Yeah but not that often anymore, it’s more of-”

“Jungkook?” Jimin cut you off, laughing as he saw you nod at him, “Any sexual fantasies yet?”

“No!...That’s ridiculous” you denied though it’s clear that you’re embarrassed because it was exactly three days ago since that Christmas Eve make out session with Jungkook happened. You stopped using Reverie for a while because of how that particular thing weirded you out because who even is Jungkook and why are you doing something intimate with him?

You’re scared because what if Jimin is right and Jungkook is a sexual fantasy of yours that you just strongly deny but it’s not like you completely dislike the idea of Jungkook, it’s just taken you aback how things escalated quickly. After all, there’s no harm dreaming about him.

“Well, you should tell me if ever you’ve dreamt about lottery numbers, okay?” Jimin said, winking at you.

“Why would she tell you? If I were her, I'd just enter those numbers by myself” Hoseok argued, “Plus, isn’t this just some kind of marketing ploy for the device?”

If you come to think of it, maybe Hoseok’s right. Reverie is surely just producing these kinds of stories in order to steer away from its bad reputation the internet has given them though for you, they should’ve let it be - bad marketing is still a form of marketing. It’s not like you could blame the company, they gotta do what they need to do to save its image.

How you wish that you get to have the same kind of dreams from the users they’ve interviewed but you only manage to dream about this boy who only continues to exist in your dreams instead.

Jungkook is his name and his family lives in Busan - those are only the two things that makes him distinct from your dreams but you’re sure that it’s only your subconscious who made that up. Sometimes, your curiosity gets you to wonder things about him that’s beyond what your mind can imagine.

What if Jungkook does exist in reality?

“Hi, how may i help you?” you asked once you saw a woman enter the store with a dog on a leash and a little girl came following

“We’re here for the 2 p.m. appointment”

You did your usual task of retrieving the records and clipping them on a clipboard for Jimin to take. Assisting the woman to the room where Hoseok is supposedly preparing the materials and equipment needed.

“Just sit and wait for me, okay?” the woman crouched down as she said this to the little girl until she looked back at you, “Can you please look over her for a while? Thank you”

You guided the little girl towards the waiting area as you told her that she could watch the television while she waits for her mom, leaving her to walk back to your desk once she got settled though you would still look at her from time to time.

With nothing else to do, you find yourself writing down your signature repeatedly on scratch paper until you get tired of it, resorting to writing another word or perhaps another name - Jungkook.

It has been a week since you managed to continue using Reverie again and you noticed that Jungkook is pretty much an inhabitant of your dreams by now with the amount of time he appears more in it than your mom that you started to be more accustomed with the boy and there’s no denying that you have come to let him live in your dreams.

Sometimes, you feel bad that you’re more looking forward to dreaming about Jungkook than your mom nowadays though you still hope she could appear once again. You’ve been missing the talks you have with her specially if the last talk you’ve had with her was back at Jungkook’s family house where she told you to follow your dreams.

“Hello miss”

You stopped from writing down Jungkook’s name as you heard little grunting sounds coming in front of you. One pair of cute tiny hands came into your view, the girl clearly trying to clutch both of her fingers around the edge of your desk as she finally managed to propped her chin after successfully tiptoeing.

“Hello, what can i do for you?” you said in a rather cheery voice to match her energy.

“Can i watch some cartoons, please?” you can now only see her eyes at this point, figuring that she must’ve given up from trying to reach the desk.

“Sure” you grabbed the remote from your side as you stood up to make your way and sit towards the waiting area with the little girl. You’re just casually switching the channels as you told the little girl to tell you to stop if she finds what she wants to watch.

“Cinderella!” the little girl squealed.

“Oh would you like to watch that?”

The little girl nodded at you, increasing the volume as you relaxed back to your chair to watch the Disney film until you notice her singing along to A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes in that scene where Cinderella was assisted by the birds and mouses as she gets ready for the day.

“No matter how your heart is grieving,

If you keep on believing,

The dream that you wish will come true”

“You must’ve watched it a lot of times, hm?” you asked once you noticed she knows the lyrics to the song all too well.

“Birds aren’t nice,” the girl said, “I thought they’re helpful.”

“What do you mean?”

The little girl then proceeded to tell you that one time she’s too lazy to fix her bed in the morning so an idea popped in her mind once she saw the movie. Since they have a love bird in their garden, she thought it’d be a good idea to get the cage and set them free into her room, thinking that they’ll help her clean the room just like in Cinderella.

“Did your mom get angry at you?” you stifled a laugh at how cute and innocent this little girl is who then pouted and nodded at your question.

“But it was funny watching her and dad trying to catch and get them back” the girl giggled as she recalled the memory.

Not long after, the little girl’s mom came out of the room, making her way towards the desk to pay the fees.

“Thank you for watching over her”, the woman said as you gave her a polite smile.

“Goodbye Miss!” The girl cutely waved at you, waving back at her as you gush at her cuteness.

Time pretty much passed by quickly after the little girl left because next thing you know, you’re getting off at the bus stop, walking towards your house as you keep your head up to look at the clear sky, giving you a perfect view of the stars.

You then refrain from walking once you spotted the familiar star which your mom told you where she is in your dreams. Smiling at the thought even though you probably look crazy with how you look - standing at the side of the road and smiling at the sky.

“I miss you” you said under your breath, “I’ll promise to follow my dreams”

“Wait, I’m getting the change” you chuckled as Jungkook impatiently tugged your arm as soon as he heard that the Disney Illumination Show will start in five minutes.

Grabbing the churros from the vendor, Jungkook then started to drag you along with him towards the front of the Cinderella Castle, chuckling in the process as you can’t help how Jungkook acts like a child with how excited he is right now that he even devoured his churros as fast as possible so he could potentially focus during the show.

Thankfully, you got a pretty good spot and you’ve arrived right in time as the show is just about to begin in a minute.

The lights that are lighting up the castle are then turned off only to be back on but are now illuminated with different Disney animations, music then starts playing with the water fountain and fireworks perfectly synced to the beat, clearly understanding Jungkook’s excitement for the show as you stand and watch in awe.

Halfway to the show, you glanced beside Jungkook to see his glassy eyes, remembering how Jungkook could get so emotional and touched in things like this and next thing you know a tear rolled down on his face that you managed to wipe with your thumbs as you endearingly smile at him.

Jungkook chuckled, clearly abashed that he unknowingly cried resulting in him to pull you in towards his chest, enclosing you in a back hug where he rested his chin on your shoulder. You look sideways at him to kiss his cheek, placing your hand on his arm as you continue to watch.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” you asked.

“Do you want me to say you’re beautiful too?” Jungkook teased as he raised his eyebrows at you.

“If you say so”

“You glow more than these fireworks”

“You’re cheesy, I hate you” you glanced at your side to see Jungkook already staring at you.

“But you love it anyway” Jungkook smiled, leaning his head towards you to kiss you on your cheeks and then on the corner of your mouth until you moved your head a bit to the right so that you could fully kiss him.

“I could still taste the sugar” you chuckled, turning around to wipe the corner of Jungkook’s lips with the sleeves of your sweater from the sugar he possibly got from the churros.

You turned back to your previous position as you continue to watch the show and as soon as it ended, you two headed out towards the exit with Jungkook wildly swinging both of your hands that are intertwined while his other hand is holding the bag that contains the BB-8 Soda Container and two shirts that you got in the souvenir shop.

as he keeps on singing the songs that played out in the show awhile ago but he’s more particularly singing the song in the Cinderella movie.

“Did you have fun?” Jungkook asked in between the songs he kept on singing ever since the show ended, more particularly the song from Cinderella that played out in the show.

“Yeah, it felt so magical right?”

“Being here with you is magical enough” Jungkook raised your intertwined hands as he kissed the back of your hand, smiling as he saw you leaning your face towards his arm to hide how flustered that just made you feel.

“I hate you” you mumbled, still hiding your face in his arms.

“I know, I love you too”

Jungkook removed his hand from yours to place it instead on your shoulders to pull you more into his side, kissing the crown of your head as he continued singing the song that has managed to plague his mind.

‘Have faith in your dreams and someday,

Your rainbow will come smiling through.

No matter how your heart is grieving,

If you keep on believing,

The dream that you wish will come true.’

When you opened your eyes, you were then drifted back to reality when the ceiling of your room came into view. You then placed your hand on top of your chest as soon as you felt your heart thumping rapidly, smiling as you relive the dream that got you so giddy first thing in the morning.

But then you were pulled out from your dreamy state when you grabbed your phone, thinking you woke up right before your alarm went off but it looks like you’ve slept through it when you saw the time and Hoseok’s text, asking your whereabouts.

You threw your blanket away off of you, rushing inside your bathroom to get ready as fast as possible and next thing you know, you’re right outside of your house in just fifteen minutes, locking your door as you jog towards the bus stop which is thankfully just a few meters away from your house but then morning rush sure is hell as you notice the slow traffic flow.

As if you aren’t startled enough from being late, your phone went off to show that Hoseok’s calling you.

“Hi Y/N, where-”

“Hoseok, I woke up late, I'm sorry but I’ll be there in twenty minutes!” you said, quickly rushing towards the train station which is the best possible mode of transportation in your situation right now even though you’ll have to switch trains but it’s not like you have any choice anyway.

“Okay, just make sure you’ll make it in time for the two appointments in the next hour”

After the call ended, you quickly placed your phone in your pocket wherein you also retrieved your transportation card to scan it through the turnstile gate only for it not to open since your card’s balance is insufficient, making you even more agitated as you load your card down by the ticketing machine.

Thankfully, you passed through the gates and you’re now rushingly going up the escalator as soon as you felt the incoming rumbles of the train but then a man was blocking the walking side of the escalator.

“Excuse me” you said but the man made no move to step aside, annoying you even more until you noticed that he’s wearing earphones. The man just noticed that he’s on the wrong side of the elevator when you tapped him on the shoulder, profusely apologizing as you lightly smiled before you ran up again.

As soon as you got on the platform, the doors of the train closed as if luck wasn't by your side this morning. Sighing, you make your way to one of the seats as you feel your adrenaline rush wearing out, finally accepting that you’re late for work.

You picked it up as you went over to the old man to give it until he smiled at you, stopping your hand that’s about to give him his coin.

“Keep the change” he chuckled as he rode the elevator, leaving you quite puzzled all of a sudden because why does it feel like this has happened before yet it feels strangely unfamiliar at the same time perhaps could this be just a deja vu?

Until you remembered why it was so familiar to begin with. Skeptically, you tossed the coin in the air just to catch it mid-air as you slammed it at the back of your hand just to see if it’ll result into the same scene that happened before in your dreams

You don’t know why you’re so anxious to remove your hand. Perhaps you might freak out a bit if it happens to land on tails but there’s still a bit of probability that it could land on heads instead.

No, it landed on tails.

Baffled, you thought to yourself that this could be just a coincidence. You start to feel the hairs on your skin rise and your hands are starting to become clammy because you know well how the next scene will play out.

What if Jungkook is standing on the other side of the tracks?

It can’t be, Jungkook is just a figment of my subconscious, you reminded yourself.

You grasped the coin in your hand, fidgeting with it as you watch the train pick up its speed by the second, setting aside your hair that has made its way to your face from the gush of wind, anticipation building up by the second.

Waiting.

Impatiently Waiting.

The rumbling sounds of the train completely faded out in the distance making the station a quiet and calm place. Once again, you heard the clinking sound of the coin hitting the ground.

‘Follow your dreams’ is what your mom told you but is it possible for your dreams to follow you? As inconceivable it may seem, you're directly looking at a boy you just saw in your dreams and a boy you never knew existed in reality until now.

Who would know that the conscious could meet the subconscious.

A/N: I guess I took the futuristic!au quite literally. I think it wasn’t futuristic enough except for the device though it somewhat looks like it’ll fit as a Black Mirror episode haha. Hope you liked this one!

Also, coffee?

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vainraven · 2 years

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untamedunrestrained · 5 years

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The Untamed and Mo Dao Zu Shi

These past eight days have been surreal.

I have drowned so fully in this story that it feels like I am just surfacing.

On Valentine’s Day, fandom on tumblr reblogged this fanart of WangXian by qulfeeh and I was intrigued. The reblog was tagged with two important key words ‘Wangxian’ and ‘The Untamed’. In the brush of a few keystrokes I came across the Wikipedia page for a show known as the Untamed that was available on Netflix. The thing that stood out was that it was based on a BL novel and that both the very male protagonists were described as each other’s soulmates and somehow that was enough. So, I opened Netflix and after like a second of hesitation I started watching the show and I didn’t stop. I started at eight in the evening and I watched nine episodes in a row which basically meant I was up till five in the morning. What followed seems like a record for me. I finished all fifty episodes of the Untamed in under seventy-two hours.

I put hardly five minutes of thought into my decision to watch this story and ended up dedicating the past eight days straight. The first three days to the live action drama and the past five to reading the novel.

If it isn’t obvious this story is that good.

The Untamed

The Untamed is a first for me on so many levels. I have never watched a Chinese show before ever and that seemed extremely significant to me because China is actually a neighbouring country yet as far as my mind is concerned it might as well be on another planet. Which seems particularly odd considering shows from English speaking countries like the UK and the US are a staple for me which makes these countries feel so much closer though they are geographically on the other side of the planet. Of course, a major factor is the language barrier but another is the political scenario between our two countries and amazingly this show made me realise how much of an impact perceiving different cultures can have on your perception of their people. It has literally opened up a whole new world for me that I have just realised I have never taken the moment to discover. Well, considering this is me we are talking about, how appropriate, that it would be a drama based on a BL novel that unlocked this whole new world for me.

I have tried reading a Danmei novel before which was awful and it completely turned me off the genre but it did have a side effect of educating we about elements of a wuxia novel which made this xianxia world seem a little familiar but even if it hadn’t, I would have still been hooked.

It didn’t take long for The Untamed to find a new fan and I have been obsessing over it ever since.

The Untamed is an amazing drama which revolves around the love Lan WangJi and Wei WuXian have for each other and the plot is so intriguing that you wouldn’t be able to stop even if you tried (I didn’t because that thought didn’t even manage to enter my mind).

It’s a love story and that is undisputable for me, they don’t say it, it isn’t mentioned but there is this palpable force influencing events and you know they love each other. I have somehow really disregarded how much a show can show you stuff without ever explicitly stating it but The Untamed set me straight in that regard. I doubt anyone who watches the show would mistake it for anything but the love story it is.

Wei WuXian was an instant hit for me. He is a lovable, gregarious character always up to mischief but is someone who always wants to be on the side of justice and I have a weak spot for characters with a hard on for justice. He is just such a lively character who keeps smiling all the time that it’s just hard not to fall for him in minutes. His antics and his demeanour are so charming that you’re hooked. He would have easily been my most favourite character in any other drama that doesn’t have a Lan WangJi.

Lan WangJi is an amazing character. In a world, which has become increasing about everyone voicing their opinions (like I’m doing at present) it is hard to believe that people like Lan WangJi exist. People who are quiet, who don’t speak unless absolutely necessary. He is literally the embodiment of tranquillity and more important he is Wei WuXian’s hero. Like literally he protects him like he’s protecting his life which on second thought he definitely is.

I literally had second-hand embarrassment from how obviously romantic these two are.

Hands down the best thing I have watched in 2020 by far! The characters are amazing, the plot is intricate and it is so, so interesting. I watched almost fourty hours of this series non-stop and I don’t remember a single point where I felt like the story became boring for a second which now that I think about it is, is… astonishing. How can such a large drama be so engrossing? This isn’t binge-worthy there is literally no other way to watch the show!!!

Mo Dao Zu Shi

But after coming down from the high of the first seventy-two hours of being submerged in this world, I was reluctant to leave this world so much so that I didn’t even contemplate it. I had a wide variety of media to choose from. The story is based on a web series by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu that was made into a manhua, followed by an donghua, followed by an audio drama followed by The Untamed. It must speak to the universality of the story that the people are willing to read the same story in so many different formats, I know I’m not done.

But, high up on my list was the source material, one of the articles described the show as being extremely faithful to the novel, which made me want to jump on that wagon posthaste, and I agree whole-heartedly. I read the translation by Exiled Rebels Scanlations and what struck me was how the show and the novel were tonally the same. I had switched mediums but it didn’t feel like a different story or like I was reading different characters which is shocking because that’s literally how good the show was at translating words into video.

Differences

One of the startling things about the book is that it really ties up the plot neatly. There are tons of plot points that aren’t as completely resolved on the show as they are on the novel which I only ever realised after reading the novel. A lot of this had to do with how certain details of the plot are different. A classic example that the reason behind the scars on Lan Zhan’s back is different in the two. In the novel, LWJ whisks WWX away from the Nightless City after he massacres and pretty much beats-to-a-pulp the entire alliance of sects. LWJ then has to tend to WWX so they remain in hiding for three days. When cultivators from the GusuLan Sect finally discover the two, LWJ has to defeat all of them to keep WWX safe and that’s why he is given one whipping for every cultivator he defeated. Of course, since WWX dies on the battlefield in the show this couldn’t be the reason behind the scars so they have LWJ defend Burial Mounds which wasn’t all that fruitful considereing the LanlingJin Clan does end up with a lot of WWX’s artifacts, there was no point in defending Burial Mounds as he couldn’t have kept it up in the long run but him going to Burial Mounds after the massacre at Nightless City is important to ensure they story can credibly reveal Lan ShiZui to be A-Yuan. So, yeah differences, the show focuses on the Wen Clan and the Yin Iron while the novel doesn’t have the Yin Iron at all and focuses on Jin GuangYao. But, despite the differences the story still feels coherent between the two mediums mainly because the relationship between LWJ and WWX that is at the core of both remains central to the plot at all times.

The plot of the novel though is extremely intricate and the author does an amazing job of deconstructing it which makes it easier to understand what’s happening while the show in hindsight does get away with sweeping up certain loose ends.

Of course, the kisses and the sex are gone but I will gladly take that cliff scene in exchange. I was actually shocked that the novel actually doesn’t dwell on WWX’s first death at all. Like, we don’t even know how exactly he died in the novel and this was hsocking given how pivotal that cliff scene is in the show.

Characters

Surprisingly though a lot of the roles of side characters were expanded for the show, the novel seems to have delivered a better understanding of these characters. The biggest example for me being Jiang Yanli.

She has an elaborately expanded role in the show which does highlight how deep her bind with her brothers particularly WWX is but somehow she seems like a timid character among a bunch of very strong characters. What the novel does is that it gives you a very realistic picture of her, she might not seem like a significant influence on the story but her impact is far-reaching. The novel doesn’t showcase much of her character but the scenes that feature her in the book are some of the most poignant ones and incidentally those are the same ones that stand out in the show. I feel like novel did a better job of showing off her strength. While, in the show I couldn’t look beneath her timid demeanour the novel manages to showcase the strength of her love. She cares deeply and loves deeply and the novel manages to show you the courage it takes to love someone so deeply. I definitely admire her character more and in fact I’m kind of in awe that someone who appears so traditional was so awesome. It felt easy to dismiss her character but reading the author’s words made me realise that I would be very, very wrong in doing so.

Wei WuXian might be the luckiest guy in the world to have a shijie like her followed by a husband like LWJ who both seem very determined to spoil the hell out of him. I might be experiencing some jealousy right now.

The author somehow manages to imbue her characters with qualities that makes them real and unique. Like WWX forgetting everybody’s face which is a real world problem that I have never seen anybody suffer from in a novel but just the fact that WWX doesn’t immediately bring his old hang-ups in his subsequent meetings with side characters didn’t only have hilarious consequences but made everything that much more intriguing and credible.

This author also does an amazing job of flipping characters. There are very few villains who are black and white in this story. WWX himself is a character caught in the gray of it all, universally reviled for standing up for the right reasons. This is a theme throughout the show and the novel where bad characters might be good and good might be bad but the author endeavours to show us all sides to a character. While this most definitely applies to Jin GuangYao, I’m surprised with how it resonates with Xue Yang who’s relationship with Xiao Xinchen can only be characterized with the words “It’s Complicated”. I don’t actually know what to think of these two Xiao Xingchen was definitely betrayed but can we ignore the fact that he found himself a companion in Xue Yang his sworn enemy and Xue Yang’s feelings for Xiao Xingchen are enough to drive me crazy. This guy has no idea how frustrating he is, that piece of candy clenched in his fist will drive me crazy for the rest of my life. The entire Yi City Arc is a big mess of grey there are no whites and blacks and the show underscores that with this quote –

Once upon a time, there was a little child who liked sweets very much. But because he had no parents nor money, he could never have such things. So he’d been dreaming if only someone could give him a candy every day.

Don’t even get me started on the music that plays in the background when this quote is being narrated.

There are just so many amazing things about the show and the novel. I mean the show might have actually worked harder to make things more romantic and one scene that I’m surprised isn’t from the book is the lantern scene with both of them making pledges like that particular scene neatly underlined who WWX is and would become. The hand-fastening scene is also not from the book but then there are other scenes and other delights to be found in the novels.

This story is definitely worth reading and watching for years to come. If anyone has any apprehensions about the novel I will be glad to clarify but the everything about “The Untamed” and “Mo Dao Zu Shi” stand in the same breath.

#wangxian #the untamed #mo dao zu shi #the grandmaster of demonic cultivation #lan wangji #wei wuxian #jiang yanli #xue yang #xiao xingchen #posts #myposts #mo xiang tong xiu #the show which reminded me what it was like to be obsessed #once more

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nicklloydnow · 4 years

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“Absent a perfect harmony of all interests, conflicts regarding scarce resources can only be avoided if all scarce resources are assigned as private, exclusive property to some specified individual. Only then can I act independently, with my own things, from you, with your own things, without you and me coming into conflict.

But who owns what scarce resource as his private property and who does not? First: Each person owns his physical body that only he and no one else controls directly (I can control your body only in-directly, by first directly controlling my body, and vice versa) and that only he directly controls also in particular when discussing and arguing the question at hand. Otherwise, if body-ownership were assigned to some indirect body-controller, conflict would become unavoidable as the direct body-controller cannot give up his direct control over his body as long as he is alive; and in particular, otherwise it would be impossible that any two persons, as the contenders in any property dispute, could ever argue and debate the question whose will is to prevail, since arguing and debating presupposes that both, the proponent and the opponent, have exclusive control over their respective bodies and so come to the correct judgment on their own, without a fight (in a conflict-free form of interaction).

And second, as for scarce resources that can be controlled only indirectly (that must be appropriated with our own nature-given, i.e., un-appropriated, body): Exclusive control (property) is acquired by and assigned to that person, who appropriated the resource in question first or who acquired it through voluntary (conflict-free) exchange from its previous owner. For only the first appropriator of a resource (and all later owners connected to him through a chain of voluntary exchanges) can possibly acquire and gain control over it without conflict, i.e., peacefully. Otherwise, if exclusive control is assigned instead to latecomers, conflict is not avoided but contrary to the very purpose of norms made unavoidable and permanent.

Let me emphasize that I consider this theory as essentially irrefutable, as a priori true. In my estimation this theory represents one of the greatest – if not the greatest – achievement of social thought. It formulates and codifies the immutable ground rules for all people, everywhere, who wish to live together in peace.

(...)

The difference between the Right and the Left, as Paul Gottfried has often noted, is a fundamental disagreement concerning an empirical question. The Right recognizes, as a matter of fact, the existence of individual human differences and diversities and accepts them as natural, whereas the Left denies the existence of such differences and diversities or tries to explain them away and in any case regards them as something unnatural that must be rectified to establish a natural state of human equality.

The Right recognizes the existence of individual human differences not just with regard to the physical location and make-up of the human environment and of the individual human body (its height, strength, weight, age, gender, skin- hair- or eye-color, facial features, etc., etc.). More importantly, the Right also recognizes the existence of differences in the mental make-up of people, i.e., in their cognitive abilities, talents, psychological dispositions, and motivations. It recognizes the existence of bright and dull, smart and dumb, short- and far-sighted, busy and lazy, aggressive and peaceful, docile and inventive, impulsive and patient, scrupulous and careless people, etc., etc.. The Right recognizes that these mental differences, resulting from the interaction of the physical environment and the physical human body, are the results of both environmental and physiological and biological factors. The Right further recognizes that people are tied together (or separated) both physically in geographical space and emotionally by blood (biological commonalities and relationships), by language and religion, as well as by customs and traditions. Moreover, the Right not merely recognizes the existence of these differences and diversities. It realizes also that the outcome of input-differences will again be different and result in people with much or little property, in rich and poor, and in people of high or low social status, rank, influence or authority. And it accepts these different outcomes of different inputs as normal and natural.

The Left on the other hand is convinced of the fundamental equality of man, that all men are “created equal.” It does not deny the patently obvious, of course: that there are environmental and physiological differences, i.e., that some people live in the mountains and others on the seaside, or that some men are tall and others short, some white and others black, some male and others female, etc.. But the Left does deny the existence of mental differences or, insofar as these are too apparent to be entirely denied, it tries to explain them away as “accidental.” That is, the Left either explains such differences as solely environmentally determined, such that a change in environmental circumstances (moving a person from the mountains to the seaside and vice versa, for instance, or giving each person identical pre- and post-natal attention) would produce an equal outcome, and it denies that these differences are caused (also) by some – comparatively intractable – biological factors. Or else, in those cases where it cannot be denied that biological factors play a causal role in determining success or failure in life (money and fame), such as when a 5 foot tall man cannot win an Olympic gold medal in the 100 meter dash or a fat and ugly girl cannot become Miss Universe, the Left considers these differences as pure luck and the resulting outcome of individual success or failure as undeserved. In any case, whether caused by advantageous or disadvantageous environmental circumstances or biological attributes, all observable individual human differences are to be equalized. And where this cannot be done literally, as we cannot move mountains and seas or make a tall man short or a black man white, the Left insists that the undeservedly “lucky” must compensate the “unlucky” so that every person will be accorded an “equal station in life,” in correspondence with the natural equality of all men.

As for the Right, the answer is an emphatic “yes.” Every libertarian only vaguely familiar with social reality will have no difficulty acknowledging the fundamental truth of the Rightist world-view. He can, and in light of the empirical evidence indeed must agree with the Right’s empirical claim regarding the fundamental not only physical but also mental in-equality of man; and he can in particular also agree with the Right’s normative claim of “laissez faire,” i.e., that this natural human inequality will inevitably result also in un-equal outcomes and that nothing can or should be done about this.

There is only one important caveat, however. While the Right may accept all human inequalities, whether of starting-points or of outcomes, as natural, the libertarian would insist that only those inequalities are natural and should not be interfered with that have come into existence by following the ground-rules of peaceful human interaction mentioned at the beginning. Inequalities that are the result of violations of these rules, however, do require corrective action and should be eliminated. And moreover, the libertarian would insist that, as a matter of empirical fact, there exist quite a few among the innumerable observable human inequalities that are the result of such rule-violations, such as rich men who owe their fortune not to hard work, foresight, entrepreneurial talent or else a voluntary gift or inheritance, but to robbery, fraud or state-granted monopolistic privilege. The corrective action required in such cases, however, is not motivated by egalitarianism but by a desire for restitution: he (and only he), who can show that he has been robbed, defrauded or legally disadvantaged should be made whole again by those (and only those) who have committed these crimes against him and his property, including also cases where restitution would result in an even greater inequality (as when a poor man had defrauded and owed restitution to a rich one).

On the other hand: As for the Left, the answer is an equally emphatic “no.” The empirical claim of the Left, that there exist no significant mental differences between individuals and, by implication, between various groups of people, and that what appear to be such differences are due solely to environmental factors and would disappear if only the environment were equalized is contradicted by all everyday-life experience and mountains of empirical social research. Men are not and cannot be made equal, and whatever one tries in this regard, inequalities will always re-emerge. However, it is in particular the implied normative claim and activist agenda of the Left that makes it incompatible with libertarianism. The leftist goal of equalizing everyone or equalizing everyone’s “station in life” is incompatible with private property, whether in one’s body or in external things. Instead of peaceful cooperation, it brings about unending conflict and leads to the decidedly un-egalitarian establishment of a permanent ruling-class lording it over the rest of the people as their “material” to be equalized. “Since,” as Murray Rothbard has formulated it, “no two people are uniform or ‘equal’ in any sense in nature, or in the outcomes of a voluntary society, to bring about and maintain such equality necessarily requires the permanent imposition of a power elite armed with devastating coercive power.”

(...)

First off: Why should anyone be particularly nice to anyone else – apart from respecting ones’ respective private property rights in certain specified physical means (goods)? To be nice is a deliberate action and takes an effort, like all actions do. There are opportunity costs. The same effort could also be put to other effects. Indeed, many if not most of our activities are conducted alone and in silence, without any direct interaction with others, as when we prepare our meal, drive our car, or read and write. Time devoted to ‘niceness to others’ is time lost to do other, possibly more worthwhile things. Moreover, niceness must be warranted. Why should I be nice to people who are nasty to me? Niceness must be deserved. Indiscriminating niceness diminishes and ultimately extinguishes the distinction between meritorious and faulty conduct. Too much niceness will be given to undeserving people and too little to deserving ones and the overall level of nastiness will consequently rise and public life become increasingly unpleasant.

Moreover, there are also genuinely evil people doing real evil things to real private property owners, most importantly the ruling elites in charge of the State-apparatus, as every libertarian would have to admit. One surely has no obligation to be nice to them! And yet, in rewarding the vast majority of ‘victims’ with extra love, care and attention, one accomplishes precisely this: less time and effort is devoted to exhibiting nasty behavior toward those actually most deserving of it. The power of the State will not be weakened by universal ‘niceness,’ then, but strengthened.

(...)

In order to reach total control over each individual person, the State must pursue a divide et impera policy. It must weaken, undermine and ultimately destroy all other, rival centers of social authority. Most importantly, it must weaken the traditional, patriarchic family household, and especially the independently wealthy family household, as autonomous decision-making centers by sowing and legislating conflicts between wives and husbands, children and parents, women and men, rich and poor. As well, all hierarchical orders and ranks of social authority, all exclusive associations, and all personal loyalties and attachments – be it to a particular family, community, ethnicity, tribe, nation, race, language, religion, custom or tradition – except the attachment to a given State qua citizen-subject and passport holder, must be weakened and ultimately destroyed.

(...)

You cannot be a consistent left-libertarian, because the left-libertarian doctrine, even if unintended, promotes Statist, i.e., un-libertarian, ends. From this, many libertarians have drawn the conclusion that libertarianism is neither Left nor Right. That it is just “thin” libertarianism. I do not accept this conclusion. Nor, apparently, did Murray Rothbard, when he ended the initially presented quote saying: “but psychologically, sociologically, and in practice, it simply doesn’t work that way.” Indeed, I consider myself a right-libertarian – or, if that may sound more appealing, a realistic or commonsensical libertarian – and a consistent one at that.

True enough, the libertarian doctrine is a purely aprioristic and deductive theory and as such does not say or imply anything about the rival claims of the Right and the Left regarding the existence, the extent and the causes of human inequalities. That is an empirical question. But on this question the Left happens to be largely unrealistic, wrong and devoid of any common sense, whereas the Right is realistic and essentially correct and sensible. There can be consequently nothing wrong with applying a correct aprioristic theory of how peaceful human cooperation is possible to a realistic, i.e., fundamentally rightist, description of the world. For only based on correct empirical assumptions about man is it possible to arrive at a correct assessment as regards the practical implementation and the sustainability of a libertarian social order.

Realistically, then, a right-libertarian does not only recognize that physical and mental abilities are unequally distributed among the various individuals within each society and that accordingly each society will be characterized by countless inequalities, by social stratification and a multitude of rank orders of achievement and authority. He also recognizes that such abilities are unequally distributed among the many different societies coexisting on the globe and that consequently also the world-as-a-whole will be characterized by regional and local inequalities, disparities, stratification and rank orders. As for individuals, so are also not all societies equal and on a par with each other. He notices further that among these unequally distributed abilities, both within any given society and between different societies, is also the mental ability of recognizing the requirements and the benefits of peaceful cooperation. And he notices that the conduct of the various regional or local States and their respective power elites that have emerged from different societies can serve as a good indicator for the various degrees of deviation from the recognition of libertarian principles in such societies.”

#hans hermann hoppe #hoppe #libertarianism #libertarian #liberty #property #right #left #rothbard #konkin #agorism #conservatism #conservative

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rwby-redux · 4 years

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Deconstruction

Worldbuilding: Geography

Full disclosure: I hated doing this post. Not because the writing was difficult or the topic was boring—far from it. No, the reason I hated doing this was because I got sucked into a wikihole. I started out researching climate zones, and ten hours later I was reading an article about Icelandic hot spring rye bread (which is called hverabrauð by the way and you should absolutely check it out). I only realized what time it was when I looked out my window and saw the sun starting to rise. Try to picture what my sleep schedule has looked like for the last few days, and you can see why I might be just a smidge upset.

Sorry. Where was I?

Ah, yes: geography. The bane of cartographers everywhere. If you’ve ever dabbled in writing stories with a non-Earth setting, you’ll know that one of the most fundamental aspects of worldbuilding is the lay of the land. Even before you’ve started working on the cultures of your fictional people (or hell, even the plot), you need to develop the locations. Any writer worth their salt will correctly tell you that geography dictates who the characters are, what the story’s about, when major actions occur, where the major story beats take place, why things progress the way they do, and how certain steps are achieved.

Want an example of this? Take a look at the geography of Avatar: The Last Airbender and how it influenced the Fire Nation’s culture and resulting imperialistic conquest: [1]

A geographic map of Avatar: The Last Airbender depicting the four major countries: the Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, Water Tribes, and Air Temples. | Source: Imgur.

The Fire Nation, being located on a volcanic archipelago, was able to jumpstart its industrial revolution decades before anyone else, courtesy of access to natural resources such as coal and metal ore deposits (which were disproportionately scarcer in the other countries). This abundance of minerals was reflected in gold being commonly incorporated into Fire Nation royal attire, and the Fire Nation boasting some of the most proficient blacksmiths and swordfighters in the world (like Piandao).

Being an island nation, their culinary staples included aquatic and marine species such as waterfowl, fish, cephalopods, crustaceans, bivalves, and seaweed.

The mountainous regions of the Fire Nation made the land ill-suited for agriculture, which likely influenced the development of an oceanic trade route. This allowed for the import of otherwise-unavailable resources from the Earth Kingdom.

The trade route helped to reinforce a unified state by connecting all seaports, trading outposts, and settlements in the archipelago to the major urban capital. This interconnectivity created economic advantages, and solidified a sense of cultural unity and loyalty to the nation by making communication (via ship and messenger hawk) direct and expedient.

The navy emerged as a natural outgrowth of the oceanic trade route. Martial vessels would have been necessary for protecting merchant ships from pirates, collecting taxes from provincial settlements (because navies have steep operating costs), and enforcing the laws of the central authority. Similarly, as an island country, the only way the Fire Nation could have feasibly been harmed is through a naval attack, which would have given it the incentive to cultivate a naval defense.

At the beginning of the Hundred Year War, the Fire Nation seized control of the northwestern Earth Kingdom because the region was rich in resources that they would need to sustain themselves if they were going to survive without international trade.

Their technologically-advanced navy and control of the major oceanic trade routes allowed the Fire Nation to orchestrate blockades, quickly transport troops and equipment between places, and limit the tactical movements of the other countries.

To say that geography dictates the story is an understatement—without it, the story wouldn’t exist. Good writing and likeable characters can only do so much to save a story that lacks this crucial component of worldbuilding.

So, how does this apply to RWBY?

In order to talk about that, first we have to address the unusual way that Remnant’s map was designed.

Back in 2012, while out at an IHOP with Shane Newville, Monty Oum had the idea of squirting a ketchup bottle into a napkin, crumpling it up, and then unfolding it to reveal the blotchy proto-topography of Remnant. His reason for doing so, as he explains:

“The philosophy behind [making the map that way] is that, I feel like, as a 3D animator […] utilizing all this technology, our process—all these computers, all these numbers and stuff—our process is so artificial, it’s riddled with so much artifice, that not only for that, but for everything else I do, I try to imbue kind of like an anarchy, an anarchic-like chaos, just to give it some sense of, like, randomness. Like, you need to preserve that sense of chaos because the process we do is so robotic. […] But the important thing was, like especially with everything that we just raise in our production value, that you have to preserve that anarchic energy that influences everything you do.” [2]

The original terrain map created by Monty Oum. | Source: RWBY Wiki contributor user:Sgt D Grif.

You’d be hard-pressed to disagree with the artistic merit of this design approach. There’s a simplistic elegance to be found in a creator forfeiting a degree of their control over a project, in order to watch how it might organically evolve.

But here’s the thing: this isn’t like leaving slime molds in a petri dish and letting them network until they resemble Japanese subway lines. While anarchic chaos can work for some disciplines of art, it creates glaring issues when applied to worldbuilding. Nature, although it appears outwardly random, is actually rather ordered. The reason why we don’t leave our houses every day carrying umbrellas is because we don’t have to—we have meteorologists that can anticipate the forecast days or weeks ahead. Plenty of natural phenomena can be predicted: weather systems over vast areas, environmental selection pressures converging on similar traits…

And, of course, plate tectonics.

You see, the problem with Monty’s method is that it didn’t account for the movement of Remnant’s continents. Because the planet’s continents were born from artistic randomness rather than methodical and deliberate forethought, we have no reliable access to certain information, like atmospheric circulation, ocean currents, or plate boundaries. All three of these planetary subsystems—the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere—and their dynamics shape the geography of a planet.

Without this information, we can’t answer certain questions.

Was Lake Matsu formed by glacial retreat?

Are Vale’s mountains sitting on a convergent plate boundary? Or are they more like the Appalachians, which are the remains of the Central Pangean Mountains?

If Vale’s mountains were formed by convergent plate boundaries, then why don’t we see evidence of it in the forms of volcanism and earthquakes?

Is Vacuo’s interior desert formed by a rain shadow?

If Solitas’ geography is based on a polar ice cap, then how did early settlers survive long enough to excavate the Dust? How would they have dug through the ice and permafrost?

Has climate change ever resulted in changes in sea level that submerged or exposed the continents? Did early humans and Faunus move between continents by land bridges? Have rises in sea level ever hidden continents (like Earth’s Zealandia)?

Does Mistral’s capital rely on meltwater from the surrounding mountains for irrigating crops?

When the Younger Brother shattered the moon, did the lunar debris alter the landscape when it fell to Remnant? Was it like the Chicxulub asteroid that caused the K-Pg extinction? Did the lunar debris leave craters on the planet’s surface, or cause phenomena like impact winters and ocean acidification?

It bears mentioning that these questions pertain to real-life geographic concepts. This isn’t even touching upon fictional geographic concepts that RWBY introduced, like largescale Dust deposits altering the local environment in such a way that it functionally becomes its own ecosystem (like Lake Matsu’s floating islands). We’re also assuming that RWBY’s continental plates are capable of drift, and weren’t magically glued in place by the gods during the formation of the planet.

Given the scale of these problems, I think it’s safe to say that—while I can appreciate the artistry behind Monty’s design philosophy—the way he designed Remnant ultimately did more harm than good.

While I could spend all afternoon debating the pros and cons of condiment cartography, there are more productive things I could be doing with my time. Instead, I want to discuss Remnant’s geography as it currently is. Specifically, there are three questions I want to test:

How well does the geography hold up?

Does the geography have a realistic influence on society?

How well does the show integrate foreign geographic features into its worldbuilding?

As a quick disclaimer, I’m not an expert on any of the aforementioned subsystems. And because I don’t have any canonical information on Remnant’s atmospheric circulation, ocean currents, or plate boundaries, it becomes impossible to prove or disprove the realism of its geography. For now, we’re going to err on the side of caution and assume that Remnant is a planet with a functionally-analogous lithosphere to Earth’s, and that Remnant’s features are byproducts of such a system.

The current geographic map of Remnant. It boasts five major continents (of which only four have been named) and multiple islands. | Source: World of Remnant, Volume 4, Episode 1: “Vale.”

How Well Does the Geography Hold Up?

To answer this, I used the Köppen-Geiger climate classification to categorize Remnant’s main landmasses (with the exception of the unnamed continent). This model organizes areas into distinct climatic regions based on seasonal precipitation and temperature patterns. The results I cobbled together are based on approximate latitude, ecosystems that we’ve seen in the show, canon maps, and comparisons between the continents and their real-world sources of inspiration (Asia for Anima, North America for eastern Sanus, Australia for Menagerie, etc). Here’s what I came up with:

SANUS: Tropical savanna (Aw/As), cold desert (BWk), cold semi-arid (BSk), hot-summer mediterranean (Csa), warm-summer mediterranean (Csb), humid subtropical (Cfa, Cwa), hot-summer humid continental (Dfa), warm-summer humid continental (Dfb)

ANIMA: Tropical rainforest (Af), area of tropical monsoon (Am), tropical savanna (Aw/As), desert (BWh), hot semi-arid (BSh), humid subtropical (Cfa, Cwa), subtropical highland (Cwb), hot-summer humid continental (Dfa), warm-summer humid continental (Dfb), subarctic (Dfc), Mediterranean-influenced subarctic (Dsc)

SOLITAS: Tundra (ET), subarctic (Dfc), ice cap (EF)

MENAGERIE: Tropical savanna (Aw/As), desert (BWh), hot semi-arid (BSh), humid subtropical (Cfa, Cwa), temperate oceanic (Cfb)

VYTAL: Subpolar oceanic (Cfb)

This isn’t perfect by any means, but I think it satisfies some lingering doubt about the credibility of the geography. Sanus’ interior desert, for example, could easily be a cold desert climate. The exterior band of foliage on the northern and western sides appears to be indicative of a rain shadow effect caused by a mountain belt (the conditions necessary for creating this climate type). We have evidence of there being nearby western mountains courtesy of the earthquakes in Vacuo, [3] as earthquakes often occur near mountain ranges created by subduction boundaries. Similarly, oases (like the one once found in Vacuo) tend to form in cold desert climates as the result of rain shadows (similar to the el-Djerid oases near the Atlas Mountains).

All things considered, I’m inclined to give the climate regions a tentative pass. Like I said, they’re not perfect, but they seem to be holding up so far.

Does the Geography Have a Realistic Influence on Society?

Ehhh. It depends. With Vale it’s hard to say, given how little we’ve seen of the areas outside the capital (like the Emerald Forest and Forever Fall), and the fact that we haven’t visited any other cities in the kingdom. We know that Vale makes use of a massive port for trade and travel due to the nearby body of water. But there doesn’t seem to be anything particularly unique about the capital’s culture that can be directly attributed to its geography. Despite being a coastal city, it doesn’t have any signature delicacies derived from the abundant seafood. The architecture is largely generic urban-Western, and doesn’t incorporate the mountains in any way. Vale’s geography is little more than a convenient buffer against the Grimm.

Mistral, on the other hand, is heavily influenced by the geography. All of its houses and shops are directly integrated into the mountains, with an emphasis on vertical building to accommodate the limited space on the cliffs. Stairs, bridges, and electronic lifts are used for getting around the city. Unlike Vale, Atlas, and Mantle, which use motor vehicles, Mistral doesn’t have the space to accommodate modern roads, and instead relies on railroad transport (like the Argus Limited) to move around the continent. Compared to Vale, Mistral is a vast improvement on how well the writers used geography to influence the culture of a city. However, I still think the show could’ve done more to strengthen this connection. For instance, we see evidence of cave systems in Mistral, which briefly appear on-screen and are never brought up again. [4] Talk about wasted potential. Additionally, the show never addresses how the Council keeps its citizens from falling to death. No joke, the only place in the city that has railings is the safehouse where Qrow and the kids stay. What the hell do people do in the winter when the stairs and paths ice over? How do they not slip and fall and plummet to their deaths? And while I’m thinking about it, why doesn’t the city have a system of ziplines or ski lifts for getting around? Are native-born Mistrali people adapted to the lower oxygen found at higher elevations? And what about Mistral’s agriculture? Do farmers live outside the capital? How do they protect themselves?

Like I said, Mistral is better than Vale in this department, but it could still do with more worldbuilding.

Atlas and Mantle are more akin to Vale when it comes to noticeable geographic influence—or rather, a lack thereof. While the technology accommodates its residents via the heating grid, there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of how the geography shaped the people of this continent. You’d expect a circumpolar indigenous group to have very distinct cultural traits, but there’s none of that. It’s just rampant technological growth. Now, you could argue that any aspect of geographic influence on culture was wiped out around the time of the Great War. But if the show wants me to believe that, it needs to show me proof. Whether it’s a conversation between two characters, or a political movement spearheading cultural revitalization. Something—anything—that might hint at how geography influenced pre-industrial Mantle.

And forgive me if I don’t feel like speculating about Vacuo, given that it’s only appeared in After the Fall and Before the Dawn. When the show decides to unveil it, then I’ll have more to say.

As for Menagerie? Another resounding meh. The inherent intrigue of a settlement that shelters aquatic Faunus is never fully explored. We get to briefly visit the Shallow Sea district of Kuo Kuana, but the scene is too focused on Blake’s and Sun’s conversation to let us fully explore the area. Which is a shame, because a concept like that could easily be taken to some really cool extremes. Like, what about entirely underwater settlements that are built on coral reefs? How cool would that be for Faunus that have gills, webbed appendages, or caudal fins? I’m not expecting Zootopia or anything like that, but it’d be neat if settlers had gone to creative extremes to accommodate the wide variety of Faunus traits.

How Well Does the Show Integrate Foreign Geographic Features into Its Worldbuilding?

In Volume 5 we’re introduced to Lake Matsu, an area rich with naturally-occurring superterranean Gravity Dust. What makes this place so intriguing is the fact that the Dust is in a constant active state, causing the islands to float in the air. Given that Dust is usually inert unless activated by an Aura, the existence of this place is frankly astonishing, and for the life of me I don’t get why the show treated it as little more than set dressing.

This phenomenon—which I’ve taken to calling a Dust vortex—has so much worldbuilding potential. What if Remnant had pseudo-ephemeral lakes created by concentrations of Water Dust? Or how about a cave system with an abundance of Electricity Dust that causes magnetic charges in the surrounding minerals, creating a place similar to Unova’s Chargestone Cave? Maybe Sanus’ southeastern desert has large pockets of Steam Dust that enshroud the area in permanent fog?

Dust vortices wouldn’t just be aesthetically cool, either; they’d have important implications for the lore. Let’s use Lake Matsu as an example.

If the Dust vortex has been there for a long time (upwards of thousands of years), then the organisms in this ecosystem would’ve adapted to it. You would have endemic wildlife—agamid-like gliding lizards, plants with wind-dispersed fruit, lianas and mosses draped from the underside of the islands, diving birds that nest on the outcrops, microbial detritivores found exclusively in the islands’ soil. Maybe Lake Matsu is an important stopover for migrating birds. Maybe the shadows from the overhead islands are important for predatory fish, which hide in the shade to ambush flying insects. Because the wildlife would be endemic to this ecosystem, perhaps the Mistrali government would designate it a protected area and prevent Dust companies from excavating the site. What if there were fishing towns on the shore that depended on tourism to sustain the local economy? Would they ever come into conflict with Dust companies that lobby the government to open up the area to selective mining?

I’m sure I must sound like a broken record at this point, but the worldbuilding possibilities on display here are nothing short of incredible. And the failure of RWBY to explore even a single one feels like getting repeatedly kicked in the stomach by a feral horse.

We’re now 3,000 words in and I didn’t even get to include ideas for tautological place names. It sucks, but sometimes you have to compromise and go with the idea that make sense to include, rather than the idea that exists just to be novel.

Sound familiar?

[1] Hello Future Me. “Avatar: A Study in Worldbuilding — the Fire Nation [ The Last Airbender ]” YouTube video. October 26, 2019. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa2BD13VzxY&t=3s]

[2] Rooster Teeth. “RT Podcast: Ep. 191.” YouTube video. November 14, 2012. 7:52 - 12:01. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kymVnsIUWLY]

[3] Myers, E. C. RWBY: Before the Dawn (Book 2). Scholastic Inc, 2020. Online preview. “The city of Vacuo had some order to it, with different districts for residences and businesses, and a wide street down the center for the market. But the outer edges of it were periodically wiped out, because of sandstorms or sinkholes or earthquakes.”

[4] Volume 5, Episode 1: “Welcome to Haven.”

#deconstruction #worldbuilding #writing #geography

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