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ginger-canary · 3 years

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Disregard my History, for Yours is my Mystery

For @flarrowverse-shipyard femslash february bingo square; enemies to friends to lovers. Season 2 legends + Nyssa. Nyssa/Amaya enemies to friends to lovers. Words: 1016. AO3 link: X

After she disbanded the league, Nyssa no longer had a true goal. Her entire life had been leading to one moment, a single goal- to rip that apart was something she never would’ve done if she had a choice. She was left without a cause, unfit to blend into society as she tried to find her way in life. Until Sara asked her aboard the Waverider.

At first, it was just for a night. The two of them sat in the abandoned captain’s quarters, speaking through their shared grief for Laurel, switching through Arabic and English as they drank deep into the night. The ship itself contained a collection of misfits who all listened to her past love. Mick, the rogue of the ship was someone Nyssa could appreciate. Mutual respect blossomed through their moments together, their tales of past adventures enjoyed by each. The two scientists aboard the ship were relatively afraid of Nyssa and she’d be lying if she said she didn’t get a kick out of that. Jax- professor Stein’s partner- seemed to both be intimidated by her and interested in her. His powers piqued her interest but not enough to avoid scaring him off when it suited her.

The alternate intelligence, Gideon, was someone Nyssa could greatly appreciate. Their turn of phrase along with their mannerisms was perfectly aligned with hers and having conversations with Gideon gave Nyssa a sense of peace. Then there was Nate; who seemed to be both the most excited one on the team and the most chaotic one. The first time Nyssa met him, he stumbled out of the library at eight in the morning with the biggest coffee mug ever and bleary eyes squinting against the light. He’d shaken her hand, rambled on about a theory concerning the 1400s then dropped his plastic mug and went chasing after it.

But none of these mates were quite like Amaya. Amaya, who’d instantly shown her disdain when Sara told her how she knew Nyssa, who made very clear that murder was something she could never forgive. The woman truly seemed to hate her and go out of her way to avoid spending time in the same room.

When Sara offered Nyssa a permanent spot on the team- needless to say, Amaya was less than pleased. She couldn’t argue, Sara’s reasoning behind it solid and logical. They needed Nyssa to defeat Darhk. However, that didn’t mean that Amaya would take “the enemy of my enemy is my friend route.”

Nyssa sat in the kitchen on the floor, a mug of tea curled in her hands as she stared out the window into the temporal zone. The green colours entranced her, gave her mind space to consider things. She was disturbed by a loud sigh at the door, light footsteps moving into the room.

“Good morning, ms Jiwe.” Nyssa sipped her tea, listening to the movements behind her.

“Hi,” Amaya grumbled.

Despite her control, Nyssa’s heart fell a little. There was no way to remove her own history from Amaya’s mind, no way to stop her predecided judgements. Two more sets of footsteps entered the kitchen- Mick and Sara.

“Hey Nys, Amaya,” Sara said as she moved toward the coffee machine. “How are my girls doing today?”

Amaya made a noise like she swallowed a bug, evidently hating being shoved in with Nyssa.

In the reflection of the glass, Nyssa watched Mick give Amaya a pointed look.

“I’m fine,” Amaya sighed, accepting a cup of coffee from Sara.

“I am settling in, thank you. How are you?” Nyssa turned to face the others.

Sara fell silent as Nyssa could easily follow her thought process. Rip. The time traveller. Laurel. Darhk. Her new role at the head of this team. “I’m settling in as well.” She glanced over to the stable pillar of her original team. “How are you doing, Rory?”

Mick paused his sandwich making efforts to exchange a glance with Nyssa. She’s still working on it. “I’m ready to kick some ass, boss.”

“That’s the spirit.” Sara sat down in a chair between Amaya and Nyssa as she stirred her oatmeal. “I asked Gideon to scan the timeline for any potential locations of the speedster as well as Rip, maybe she’s found something overnight.”

Mick instantly lifted his head to the ceiling, expecting a reply.

“She has,” Gideon chimed in, and Mick grinned at Nyssa. “There is a possible location for the speedster to reside in. This location is-”

Under his breath, Mick began to chant “Aruba, Aruba, Aruba.”

“Not Aruba. He can be in 18th century Denmark.”

Amaya lifted her head, still relatively uncomfortable with the idea of speaking to someone with no face. “Why is he there?”

“On this ship, we don’t question the artificial intelligence,” Mick grunted.

After a moment, Gideon said, “Mr Rory is right not to. It would take me a while to explain why the probability of finding him is highest there. Nevertheless, I suggest you go undercover in 18th century Copenhagen.”

“There any cops in 18th century Copenhagen?”

“Yes, Mr Rory.”

Mick grunted, lifting his morning beer to his lips.

Suppressing a smile, Sara raised her eyes back to where Gideon’s voice came from. “Gideon, babe, you know what to do.”

A few seconds later, they could all hear Gideon’s voice broadcasted through all the speakers. “All legends are required on the bridge.”

Nyssa raised an eyebrow. “Can we not just stay here? You are not finished with breakfast and I can say they have not started yet.”

Amaya opened her mouth to snark back but she glanced down at her half-eaten waffle. “She’s got a point,” she sighed.

Mick grunted in agreeance and made his point by taking a big bite of his sandwich.

“Alright, Gideon?”

Gideon’s voice once again sounded through the speakers, now telling the legends to show up in the kitchen.

Nyssa raised herself from the floor, moving to the kitchen and placed her empty mug in the dishwasher. “Shall I make some more coffee?”

“Yeah, that’d be wise,” Sara replied. “They’ll have to be awake for this.”

#femslash february #sara lance #mick rory #gideon lot #amaya jiwe #nyssa al ghul #nyssamaya #mayhaps #my writing #lot #legends of tomorrow #I wanna say this has been my new best title

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waveridden · 3 years

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12 if you want!!! :O

i didnt have anything in mind!! i forgot to specify blaseball specifically (unless you have something from something else that’d work better for that) but other than that your writing has made me care about SO many characters i otherwise wouldn’t so idm

thank you for giving me permission to be unhinged i am going to use it to further my nerd pacheco/val hitherto agenda (icymi this is the agenda)

12. things you said when you thought i was asleep

They’re in Moscow, when the 18th century is on the verge of tipping into the 19th. It’s a gorgeous city, more gorgeous than any of the paintings Nerd has seen. They insisted on walking through Cathedral Square. They’re not sure what cover story Val has concocted this time, or what exactly he’s hoping Nerd can do for him here. But, well, Nerd’s been on an architecture kick, and if Val is using them for heists then they’re at least going to get their money’s worth out of it.

Val thinks he’s being quite sneaky, Nerd can tell, continuing to suggest museums and private collections for the two of them to browse. It’s all for heists, of course, but he doesn’t think that Nerd knows. Someday, they’ll have to tell him that he’s not as clever as he thinks.

But then, do they mind cleverness when Val’s taking them through all of history? Do they mind cleverness when Val leaves trinkets in their apartment, little things that he picks up in every city?

Val finds a hotel, something opulent that Nerd knows beyond a shadow of a doubt is him trying to impress Nerd. It works, of course. Travelling through time is impressive. Val, for all the trickery and heists, is impressive, and so smooth, and slides through history like he belongs. Nerd does most of the talking, because they know the dialect better, but it’s Val that leads Nerd to the room with a hand on their waist.

As soon as they’re settled, Val says, “I have an errand to run.”

Nerd hums in acknowledgement. They want to say stay safe, but instead they say, “Bring me some pastila, if you can.”

Val smiles. “Of course,” he says, just slightly too sincere. “Don’t wait up for me.”

Nerd intends to wait up, but they’re tired today, a side effect of wandering through Moscow all day. They don’t even remember falling asleep but they wake up, just slightly, when the door clicks shut. Their back is to the door, but they don’t bother rolling over or saying anything; they’ll be asleep soon anyways.

“Oh, Professor Pacheco,” Val murmurs, and Nerd allows themself the smallest frown. He sounds tired. “Should’ve picked a sunnier city for you. Next time, hm.”

There’s a rustle of what sounds like paper, and then Nerd smells something fruity. Pastila, he realizes. He got them pastila.

“I’ve never enjoyed Moscow,” Val continues. They don’t think they’ve ever realized how much he talks to himself. “Perhaps I should take you to New Orleans next. Never enjoyed that much either, but if anyone could make it worthwhile...”

Nerd forces themself to take a slow, deep breath. Val doesn’t react. “Next time,” he murmurs.

Next time, Nerd thinks. They like the sound of that.

#anonymous #nerd x val #blaseball fic #i just think... they should be in love. goodbye #Anonymous #waveridden.ask #blaseball minific

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the-golden-ghost · 3 years

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What’s on the list of classic books you read and DIDN’T like?

HELL YEAH (this one’s gonna come with some Complaining because I want to)

The House of Seven Gables: This is supposed to be Hawthorne’s best work ever and yet? It’s just... not even good. The Scarlet Letter was better, this one’s just boring and dry. I fell asleep every five seconds reading this.

Catcher in the Rye: Here we have a truly dismal book about a depressed teen wandering around NYC (I think it was NYC? I can’t even remember) having Deep Thoughts about Ducks and Life and Posers and... I dunno. If you wanted to read an angsty 16 year old boy’s diary then this is the book for you, I guess. Otherwise don’t bother.

Hamlet: For much the same reasons as above. I like most Shakespeare plays so generally I will say I like all of Shakespeare but this is the one play I can’t stand (that isn’t like... widely considered to be bad. I mean I don’t like Henry VIII or All’s Well That Ends Well but nobody likes those). Pretty much again. It’s just some guy being Deep™ the whole play and I’m like Hi! I Don’t Care! Please Perform An Action Or I Am Checking Out!

Wuthering Heights: This one admittedly wouldn’t be so bad if it were taken more as a look on intergenerational abuse instead of like... Peak Romance. Also if every character didn’t have the same name I mean there’s a guy named Linton Linton what the fuck is happening

Anyway this one’s certainly not my least favorite but I still un-recommend it

The Wind in the Willows: What the fuck

Everything by H. P. Lovecraft: I know Lovecraft is obscenely racist but he’s hardly the only one. But the trouble is his obscene racism actually makes his horror less... horror-y cause it all boils down to “and then there was a Scary Thing” and that’s... it? It’s usually just Fear of the Unfamiliar and I just don’t vibe with that.

As I Lay Dying: This one isn’t too bad again but the trouble is it requires you to create an excel spreadsheet of every family member and their relationships to each other and then read between the lines to figure out what’s going on at all. It’s basically a lot of work to read and parse, but the payoff isn’t... worth the effort. Still, it’s not my least favorite by any means but I’d give it a skip.

An American Dream: I can safely say this might be the worst book ever written. It’s boring, it’s sexist, the author clearly fancies himself to be Deep and Relatable but I guarantee you he isn’t. By the way, Normal Mailer also tried his hand in directing and produced one of the dumbest and most laughable scenes in cinematic history so yeah. Don’t read this book.

The Sun Also Rises: This is like American Dream in that it’s sexist and boring and not particularly deep or clever but actually, I don’t even think Hemingway was trying to write a good novel here. I just think people considered Hemingway to be a “great American author” and were prepared to classic-ize anything he wrote. Even if it’s this.

The Bell Jar: I wanted to like this book but man. It’s basically “Self-Centered Rich White Girl Complains About Her Life For 250 Pages: The Book.” I just couldn’t get with it. And yes, inb4 “well she had depression so :/” yeah I KNOW she had depression and I know the book was about the evils of sexism but. Still. Didn’t like it.

Heart of Darkness: I feel like if you’re going to set out to write an anti-imperialist and anti-racist text you should try to idk NOT further endorse racism and imperialism in the process but okay. Anyway this one wasn’t even all that good WITHOUT the racism, so the racism certainly did not help.

Dr. Faustus: I feel like I should probably give this one another chance, but overall I just found it to be a drag. But everything in it is stuff I would ordinarily like, you know. Homoerotic subtext, demons, The Perils Of Sacrificing One’s Humanity For Intellect, all the tropes. But for some reason I hated it so much that it put me off Marlowe forever.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: This one I didn’t like mostly cause I expected it to be funny and then it wasn’t. It was just kind of overrated. Mark Twain let me down.

Robinson Crusoe: This is one of the few noteworthy novels of the 18th century and arguably the thing that kicked off the adventure genre (which has in turned spurred lots of other genres like sci-fi and fantasy) so it sucks that it’s actually pretty bad. It’s like “Manly Man Lives On An Island. Alone!” So really you could watch Cast Away and get the same effect WITHOUT all the racism and slavery apologism.

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margridarnauds · 4 years

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I know you prefer a-cast, but what are some pros to buying m-cast instead? There's a bit of a war going on abt which is better. I heard m-cast is better bc the cast is more senior and experienced, but I don't know what to believe. Is a-cast or m-cast just a taste thing, or is it abt smthing else? Would you mind making a chart or smthing for the pros and cons of both versions? Maybe ratings per category? I know you have a preference, but I just think you are quite nuanced. Thanks in advance!

I am very honored that you would think of me as someone who’s fair and nuanced!

Before I begin, I’m going to say one thing that might or might not be considered....well. Very American of me, from the perspective of Japanese fandom: I do not believe, when it comes to spending the amount of money that these cost, on holding back information in order to appear diplomatic. I’ll try to be diplomatic, for the sake of people who might like anyone I criticize, but, also, if I dislike an aspect, I will try to find SOME way of making said displeasure known, because, again: The amount of money required to buy one DVD, let alone two, is quite a lot. I personally like to buy both, since it lets me compare and contrast, but my God, is it a bit of money (and this year, with the exception of the 2016 Elisabeth, I’ve had to cut down quite a bit while I’ve been abroad: I haven’t touched Frankenstein or Phantom...at least not yet.)

Also, I am always willing to arrange streams of either/both casts, since this musical is my baby, so that anyone reading this now can see whether what I say is true or not, as well as in order to determine your own preferences.

Alright, so that disclaimer out of the way, let’s start off:

I kind of disagree that M cast is more experienced, as a whole. Let’s compare:

Marie

Rena Sasamato (A Cast) - Had her debut when she was ten years old, in 1995. She is a Toho veteran with many, many musicals under her belt, including The Woman in White, Love Never Dies, Jekyll and Hyde, Les Miserables, West Side Story, Rudolf, Fiddler on the Roof, and, of course, the original 2006 production of Marie Antoinette, where she played Margrid Arnaud.

Hanafusa Mari (M Cast) - Almost needs no introduction, such is the fame that she has. And I say this as a detractor. My personal feelings about her personality, acting, and singing aside, I can admit that Hanafusa Mari is a living legend in the Japanese musical industry. She certainly lives up to her title of “Empress”, in all senses of the term. She had her debut in 1991 (after, admittedly, undergoing the training of the Takarazuka Revue, so I will give her that she had experience beforehand, just not in acting and singing on stage), and remained there until 2006, when she retired in conjunction with her fellow top star, Yoka Wao. From 2010 onward, she appeared in non-Takarazuka roles, including my very first exposure to Japanese theatre, Dracula, in 2011.

Now, of the two of them, I won’t deny that Hanafusa has more experience, however I also feel like saying that Rena has less experience is making it sound almost like she was some starving waif that Toho picked off the side of the streets in order to star in their new musical, as opposed to a seasoned actress in her own right who, on top of having an impressive number of musicals under her belt, also has experience in the musical itself. Hanafusa, when it comes down to it, only has four years’ more experience than Rena, though she is almost a decade older and undoubtedly, when she premiered, had more polish than 10 year old Rena. But, on the other hand, she DID remain with the Revue an impressively long time, which is very intense as far as how many musicals they perform on a yearly basis (most Top Musumeyaku only last about...2-3 years or so), she was the original Elisabeth in Takarazuka (a legendary role in its own right), and, my snark about her having the best career money can buy aside, I am willing to say that, for the most part, she’s earned her status as a legend.

And I want to say that I’m not ripping YOU apart when I say this, I want to make that absolutely clear. You’re asking me a very good question, but it is something I tend to find quite a bit of when I talk Japanese musicals, in the sense that there is often this...assumption that actresses who started off in non-Takarazuka musicals (also a moment of silence for the Shiki actresses, who I almost never talk about but who are kicking ass as Disney Princesses) are somehow...lesser, or that they have less training. Takarazuka is and remains very prestigious, but it’s hardly the be-all, end-all of all musical theatre, and, in many ways, I would argue that Rena has more experience than Hanafusa, in terms of the world of Toho musicals, which require a different style of acting and singing: Less stylized, less affected, more what you would expect from a Broadway or West End show. It’s actually something that I find quite a few Takarazuka actresses struggle with when they come to Toho, as they have to adjust how they’ve done things for a new audience.

Now, what does this have to do with the overall point? Well, a lot of people bought Marie Antoinette FOR Hanafusa to begin with, since she does have a huge following. I have seen plenty of people admit that they only bought it for her in the first place and didn’t bother with the other cast. I have even seen, in the past, people argue with me on the idea of a musical that DOESN’T have Hanafusa in it getting a proshot, simply because, for them, she IS the world of Japanese musical theatre. Coming from that perspective, of course Rena is less experienced, because she, simply put, isn’t Hanafusa.

In terms of their overall presentation of the characters, I found that their respective training really impacted how they portrayed the characters: Rena played Antoinette as being very elegant, with a pride that could turn to haughtiness. It made for an Antoinette that is interesting in her own right to watch, which is tricky, since I find that Antoinettes tend to be overshadowed by the other characters, especially Margrid, Fersen, and Orléans. She did include certain aspects of a Takarazuka performance in her performance, since her mother was a Takarazuka star in her own right, such as how to properly use an 18th century fan, but, for the most part, I’m willing to say that she played it much more naturalistically.

Hanafusa, meanwhile, emphasized the tragedy of Marie’s life. Throughout a decent portion of the musical, she can be seen crying, especially during the trial (which Rena played straightfaced, playing a Marie that is totally numbed by grief), and expresses her happy, joyful moments in a very exaggerated, almost forceful way, more what I would expect from a Zuka actress given that Zuka performances tend to emphasize extremes of sadness and happiness. (Keeping in mind, of course, that traditionally, it’s expected for musical/opera singers to act in an exaggerated way in order to be seen from the back.) If you are used to Hanafusa, then you’ll LOVE it, because she is very much there, and it’s very much what you’ve been accustomed to. She does show her training; she doesn’t miss a single note in the entire production, but I do find that, in this one area, her added age over Rena might be to her detriment, as I find that her voice has thinned somewhat with age, comparing her now to where she was in Dracula or during her Takarazuka days. Her vibrato also isn’t quite to my taste. Not BAD, but not for me. She isn’t UNPLEASANT to listen to, and again, if you are buying it to hear Hanafusa Mari’s voice, that is exactly what you’ll get, but I also do think the luster of it has faded.

So, in terms of overall ratings, here is what I would put them:

Rena:

Year of Debut: 1995

Acting: 9/10

Singing: 10/10

Hanafusa:

Year of Debut: 1991

Acting: 4/10

Singing: 6/10

Margrid

Sonim (A Cast) - Sonim’s history has been gone into detail here by my friend, @chibimyumi who, unlike me, has a native speaker’s understanding of Japanese (as opposed to getting lucky with Google Translate), so I’ll leave it to her. But, suffice it to say, Sonim had her musical debut about...2007 or so (she was involved in other stage projects, but for sanity’s sake I’m marking her appearance as Johanna in Sweeney Todd as her musical debut) after the idol industry decided to be cowards and kicked her out because she didn’t conform to their pretty pink princess dreams, was offered the title of Ogosho IMMEDIATELY upon her joining up with Toho, and, since then, has distinguished herself as one of their undisputed leading ladies. She has appeared, to my knowledge, on three proshots, two of which I own: Mozart, 1789, and Marie Antoinette, and has also appeared in Kinky Boots, Tanz der Vampire, FACTORY GIRLS, and Rent.

Natsumi Kon (M Cast) - Natsumi Kon is, admittedly, also no slouch in the world of Japanese musical theatre: She had her debut in 2011, with the coveted role of Juliette Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, and has since been in Les Miserables, Grand Hotel, the Addams Family, The Fiddler on the Roof, and The Secret Garden, as well as being the voice actress for Belle in the 2017 Beauty and the Beast. She has been praised as essentially being “the next generation of the musical world”.

By the same standard I’ve set re: Hanafusa and Rena, there isn’t THAT much in terms of their ages, since they have the same difference in debut time (though in this case, it’s in Sonim’s favor, and I also think that it’s much more dramatic in terms of younger musical performers as opposed to older ones.)

I feel like, of the two of them, more people would have come for Sonim, since she is an Ogosho herself, being at the same level of ranking as Furukawa and Hanafusa. What I suspect, in fact, is that Toho, in a CLASSIC Toho move, split the cast that most people would have wanted, with Hanafusa, Furukawa, and Sonim, but I can’t confirm and, honestly, I feel like Hanafusa’s very expressive Antoinette would have clashed with Furukawa’s more aloof Fersen, but that will be dealt with down the line. As it is, M cast has Hanafusa, and A cast has two Ogosho-level performers for the price of one with Sonim and Furukawa. (Meaning that, on a purely technical level, it has the most starpower behind it.)

Sonim has a strong belt and has a reputation for playing scrappy girls, possibly because she herself easily qualifies as a bit of a “scrappy girl” herself. Her Margrid is bitter and cynical, not necessarily kind. The years on the streets have warped her into someone who is primarily motivated by herself and her own personal revenge. She uses “the people” as a self-justification to pursue her own vendetta, only realizing by the end what it’s done and cost her. She doesn’t care for social norms AT ALL, and would be the exact type of person that you would see on a tabletop counter at 2 AM, legs spread out, trying to stuff an entire pizza down her mouth. She’s distrustful, especially towards men and, even for those that she trusts, she has a low level of tolerance for. She is, frankly, a bit of a bitch. And I adore her for it, because it’s more realistic to what I think someone would be like after undergoing what she has. She’s a kind of female character we get relatively little of, really. I do think that, on a few occasions, Sonim perhaps outbelts herself here but, in general, I feel like it suits Margrid’s personality more.

Natsumi Kon took a more tragic bent to the character. Her Margrid IS a good person, at heart, but she lets her desire for justice, along with her own revenge, steer her towards a course that just causes more suffering. She is more like an 18th century Eponine from Les Miserables, the street girl who, if she’d JUST had the upbringing that Antoinette had, could have been a great lady like her. She seems to play up the love triangle with Fersen more, getting a little closer to him at different times, giving him more longing looks, while also seeming to have...some sort of dynamic with Orléans, with the two of them often touching and laughing with one another. She does have a very smooth, strong voice, though I feel like, on some level, she has never quite escaped playing ingenues, and, rewatching it with a critical eye, I think that, as the musical continues, her voice starts getting a little breathy and strained. I don’t really know whether this is by intent or simply because of the musical being very vocally demanding for the Margrids, but I do think that, if Sonim overbelts at times at the beginning, Natsumi has some issues by the end; the notes aren’t coming out quite as clear or as strong as they should be. Her Margrid has a little bit more of a polish to her and, in general, seems a little younger and more naive compared to Sonim’s. I do give her credit for really being willing to go UP CLOSE to her fellow actors in stand-offs, giving her Margrid the sense of being a little bit of a bull in a China shop; during the duet that Marie and Margrid share, there’s one point where it seems like Natsumi is only INCHES away from her face. I know that it’s out of style to make Harry Potter analogies, but Sonim plays Margrid as a Slytherin; Natsumi as a Gryffindor. She didn’t do a BAD job as an actress, and in fact adds some nice touches to Margrid that I do like, but she doesn’t really do anything too new with the character.

Now, why does THIS matter? Well, for one, I think that, if you go in expecting the best of everyone, Sonim’s Margrid can be like a dose of cold water. Natsumi is more...palatable. Less conflict, less difficult questions, especially since it becomes that much easier to separate Orléans-As-Villain from Margrid-As-Heroine.

Overall:

Sonim:

Year of Debut: 2007

Acting: 10/10

Singing: 9/10.

Natsumi:

Year of Debut: 2011

Acting: 8/10

Singing: 8/10

Fersen

Furukawa Yuta (A Cast) - Probably one of Toho’s most bankable male leads at the moment. His presence in a musical is generally a VERY good sign to me that Toho is planning on a proshot, since they know that fans will buy anything he’s in. (To illustrate: I wasn’t PLANNING on buying Marie Antoinette, I had more than my fair share of doubts after the disastrous German run, but then I saw Furukawa Yuta and Sonim were signed on and I promptly got both casts. Best insanely rash move I’ve ever made in my life.) He had his stage debut in 2007 with The Prince of Tennis series, and since then he’s played in the Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji) musicals, Elisabeth, 1789, Romeo and Juliet, and Mozart. Though he initially made his name with his dancing and acting abilities, along with his personal charisma, he has since worked on his singing, putting himself through Hell and back to earn his spot as Ogosho. While Mozart was his official debut, I would argue that, in some ways, it was as Fersen and then, later, Romeo that he REALLY got to demonstrate what made him star material.

Mario Tashiro (M Cast) - Mario Tashiro, like Natsumi Kon, is absolutely no slouch either. He has a full, operatic voice that he uses to excellent effect, making him very recognizable even if you don’t know who exactly he is. Plenty of times, I’ll be listening to a trailer on Youtube and hear this BOOMING voice and go “MARIO TASHIRO?” He has been very prolific on the Toho scene, taking roles in Sunset Boulevard, Chess, Love Never Dies, Elisabeth (marking the first time in known history that Fersen is locked in a love triangle with Fersen for Marie Antoinette and then seduces Fersen’s son, Fersen), The Great Gatsby, Jekyll and Hyde, and Sweeney Todd, among others.

In terms of approach, both men took very different approaches to their role. Furukawa played Fersen as much more aloof and distant, which makes for a contrast with Marie’s sunny, naive personality. He has a dry sense of humor and has a long-running cat and mouse game with Orléans where both understand, on some level, that they’re on equal ground. His love of Marie, while definitely a real, true love, is also very idealistic: Marie represents a world that, for Fersen, is slowly dying out, she represents the best part of humanity for him, especially after being gone during the war. I do not believe, looking at Furukawa’s Fersen, that he and Antoinette ever actually slept together, rather that it was very much a courtly love. He cares for Margrid, entreating her to have compassion, but there’s just enough wiggle room to wonder how MUCH of it is genuine VS him needing something from her at the time, and he’s very aware of his status as an aristocrat and makes use of it. It’s really unlike any other take on Fersen I’ve seen, in any media, and it’s part of why I ended up leaning towards this production, since it’s generally a MASSIVE feat to make me like Fersen. Furukawa’s voice in the role is softer, lacking the strength of Tashiro’s but still making for some very impressive low notes.

Mario Tashiro, on the other hand, focuses more on Fersen as a romantic hero, full of dash and daring. He has a notably dramatic take on Fersen, with flourishes and exaggerated movements, which, as an opera singer, are probably part and parcel of his acting training. If he’s aware of Orléans’ general presence, he doesn’t seem bothered by him, with their being really little sign that Orléans has any respect for him at all. He loves Marie as well, but it is much more of a sort of fairytale, Rose of Versailles love. There’s not as much moral gray areas to his Fersen, even though he makes the exact same decisions as Furukawa’s and, like Hanafusa Mari’s Marie, tends to go through extreme emotions. His voice was, as always, phenomenal, I give him full and complete credit for it, however, unfortunately, when put up against Hanafusa Mari, I found that the two of them had the tendency of trying to outbelt one another, leading to a distinct lack of chemistry during romantic scenes. (And you’ll notice that, despite generally being weighted against Hanafusa, I am NOT giving her the full blame for this one.)

Furukawa Yuta (A Cast)

Year of Debut: 2007

Acting - 10/10

Singing - 9/10

Mario Tashiro (M Cast)

Year of Debut: 2009 (He had his singing debut in 2007, but his overall musical debut was 2009)

Acting - 7/10

Singing - 10/10

Louis

Takanori Sato (A Cast) - Probably the baby of the group, in the sense that he had his own debut a little while after the others, in 2015. In his case, and his case alone, would I say that there was a REALLY strong case for him not having as much experience compared to his counterpart. He has played in Titanic, Elisabeth, the Scarlet Pimpernel (the one with Kazutaka Ishi), Mata Hari, Legally Blonde, and Chess, the latter possibly most impressively since he did the entire thing in English.

Yuichi Harada (M Cast) - I’ll be honest, I’ve never in my life been tempted to look up his biography before, but when I did, I was impressed to find that he’s actually been working in the world of musicals since 1992, when he was in Anne of Green Gables and then again in Les Miserables as Gavroche. He has had a long career with Toho, too, being in musicals such as Les Miserables, The Sound of Music, Titanic, the Beggar’s Opera, and La Cage Aux Folles, none of which I literally had any idea about until today, but that is very impressive. Massive props to him, honestly, as well as working as a director for Bare: The Musical, which...well. Props to him for branching out. I will never understand the love for Bare worldwide, but you know what? Almost all musicals deserved to be loved by SOMEONE. He has an impressive track record, I’ll give him that. One of these days, I’ll probably have to dig deeper, since I suspect that there’s a lot more to him than meets the eye.

Takanori has a very smooth, strong voice, without the projection of Mario Tashiro. I found that his take on Louis was quite charming, tender to his wife, a normal man who Marie respects even if she doesn’t love him in the same way as she loves Fersen. (Honestly, can I just say: While we all know that Orléans has my entire heart....if Takanori’s Louis asked me to marry him....#PhilippeWho.) He’s a steady man, not really dumb, but well-intentioned and occasionally oblivious to the real danger, and it’s that that kills him, in the end.

Yuichi’s Louis is much more...confused throughout the thing and, while I think Antoinette has some compassion for him, I don’t really feel like it’s love so much as...affection, mixed with a certain amount of pity. He does show moments where it looks like he knows a lot more than he lets on, but in general, I think he did play it as much more humorous, a lot more...well, dumb, at least until the second act. He does have a solid voice, I give him that, but in general, it felt like there was a little less subtlety in how he interpreted the role. There’s something almost childish about the way that he grasps Orléans’ hands when he’s asking him to intercede for them, whereas in Takanori’s case, it’s more him realizing that his cousin is...well. Orléans, but knowing that he has to do a little bit of crawling if he’s going to survive.

Yuichi’s Louis DOES still get sympathy from me, but it’s in a way that is kind of insulting to him as a character, mainly because it’s less about HIM and more like “......god. Killing him is a bit like kicking a puppy. Like, you could do it, but my God, why would you?” Like, I do kind of want to write a fanfic where he can just......be safe........far, far away from everything, because I’m not sure if he would notice if they took him any place else, but it does kind of...take away his complexity? I will say, in his defense, looking over his entire performance, that seeing him constantly trying to smile as he’s being led while Marie panics, trying to let her know this is all going to be alright, is a tearjerker, though I still feel like his Louis is played a bit too much like the caricature of Louis that, at this point, I’m kind of used to seeing. That being said, while I don’t necessarily like all of the DIRECTION he took Louis, I can see that he put genuine thought into constructing the role, so I’m not going to nuke him too much in the acting category.

This one, more than any of the others, is probably YMMV, because I know people who were genuinely shocked to realize Louis is double-cast at all. Mainly because it isn’t like the role leaves THAT much of an impact, overall, having only one major song. I honestly think that the 2021 cast is making the right call in splitting Orléans and giving Louis one role, all things considered.

Takanori Sato

Year of Debut: 2015

Acting - 10/10

Singing - 10/10

Yuichi Harada

Year of Debut: 1992

Acting - 8/10

Singing - 8/10

The Case for M Cast

Now that we’ve gone through the rankings, it’s time for the original question: What are the pros of M Cast? And, if you just listened to me laying all this out, you would think that I wouldn’t have much positive to say. That being said, when I was back in the States and could spend an hour or two watching musicals every day, a LOT of the time, I would watch M Cast. There has never really been a point where I said “You know? I regret getting that cast, I wish I’d just had A the entire time.” If I was dangling off a cliff and I could only save one cast recording, I would HAVE to choose A (and then promptly sob), but I do, genuinely, like M on its own and would recommend getting both simply to compare.

- Mitsuo Yoshihara. Now, this is going to be odd for anyone reading, because I can hear it now: “But he wasn’t double cast! Wouldn’t you get him on A too?” Yes, you definitely would. But he is a very unique type of Toho actor in the sense that he changed up his performance for EACH cast he was in. If you look at M cast, he has a much warmer dynamic with Natsumi’s Margrid, either as a paternal substitute (making up for her own aristocratic father) or as a prospective love interest. He is MUCH more hurt in the final court scene, very clearly viewing Margrid’s decision as a personal betrayal. As the admitted and confessed Morléans shipper, I have to eat the angst up like it’s candy. The two of them have a nice amount of familiarity and chemistry with one another, presumably due to having worked with one another on other projects before.

- Mario Tashiro’s voice. This deserves its own section because it is REALLY, REALLY phenomenal. You know whenever you’re seeing Mario Tashiro in something simply because that voice is VERY distinctive and is totally overwhelming each time you hear it. I noted my misgivings in his section, but overall? It is very much worth the price of admission just to hear him.

- Different shots. I’m still figuring out exactly WHAT shots dramatically change from each cast, but M cast does contain some shots that A doesn’t have and vice versa. M cast doesn’t have this shot of Margrid and Antoinette, and A cast doesn’t have the one here of Antoinette and Fersen’s hands touching, which is a wonderful little bit of cinematography. I do think that, depending on the shot, you can get more or less of a character’s motivations in that moment. A personal favorite is Hébert trying to get Margrid alone during the scene just before the ball and Margrid shoving him off, which foreshadows what happens near the end of the second act.

-Hanafusa and Natsumi’s voices actually do go quite nicely together at the end.

-Mario Tashiro does make for a very splashy Fersen; yeah, you might not spend too long dissecting what he’s doing when he’s on stage, but he is fun to watch swish around in his 18th century officer’s outfit.

-My griping on Natsumi’s Margrid aside, I do think she has a lot of charm. No, it isn’t my FAVORITE take on the role, but I do actually like what she does, she adds quite a few nice touches to it, and she does make the song “Enough is Enough”, near the end of the first act, her actual bitch, adding her own riffs onto it to give it a sense of individuality. The parts where she’s smiling, hanging onto Orléans’ arm, make even my wrinkled, shriveled heart grow three sizes. I’ll be genuinely excited to see her return to the role in 2021 to see if there’s anything she changes, though I doubt I’ll be able to see any part of it in person.

-If you’re a Hanafusa Mari fan, you get to see the kind of performance from her that you’ve grown to expect and appreciate. If you’re not, you get to see her get splashed in the face with champagne. Win, win, win.

Overall, I think that it will depend on what you’re looking for. I really enjoyed the realism and the grit of the A cast, but not everyone WANTS grit, and in that case...I suppose M cast would appeal more, since M cast relies on everyone involved being much better human beings than A cast, though I do want to emphasize that everyone in A cast is still redeemable. (Except Hébert. Because fuck Hébert.) M cast is....easier to digest, in many ways. There’s a good queen, a stupid-yet-sweet king, a dashing hero, and a misunderstood-yet-angry-poor girl, manipulated by the siren’s song of the Revolution and her unrequited love for Fersen, who bullies the poor, downtrodden queen when she gets a chance before realizing the error of her ways. I think that, for many people, that’s perfectly fine, and that’s what they wanted, especially if they’re already used to Rose of Versailles. I do still LIKE it, because it’s a production of one of my top 2 favorite musicals, but I do think that, if it was the ONLY version of the musical available, I wouldn’t have spent so much time picking it apart. (Though I still would have thought it a MASSIVE improvement on the German.)

I do put a lot of it on Hanafusa Mari’s influence, though, because of the prevalence of her fanbase and the general belief that no one could ever come close to their star, so why bother getting another cast. Especially given how....devoted the Takarazuka fanbase is in comparison to the Toho fanbase, and the Thing I’ve noticed where fans try to argue that there is some sort of empirical reason for their bias as opposed to simply liking one more than the other.

#Anonymous #long post #toho stage #jmusicals

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iihappydaysii · 4 years

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Jamie is attracted to Lord John, which makes him very confused and angry, in this essay I will… okay, but I’m actually going to write this essay, so buckle up.

Last night, I read Jamie talking to the others at Castle Leoch in Outlander about his experiences as a teenager with the Duke of Sandringham. First of all, the duke is disgusting and needs a very swift kick to the balls—but even so, Jamie doesn’t take the duke so seriously. He finds an amount of humor in it, even if it’s in part just how he’s chosen to deal with it. Also, Jamie is surrounded by men that, though they’re far from “allies”, they’re not being particularly hateful about it. Of course, all of this discussion occurs before the rape and torture Jamie experiences from Black Jack Randall. This filled in a piece of what I’ve been trying to understand about Jamie’s relationship with Lord John.

Before Lord John, the Duke and Black Jack are Jamie’s experience with—I strongly hesitate to say gay men—but Jamie sees a connection between these three men based on their attractions to men, however disturbingly they present in the Duke and Black Jack. The Duke preys it seems to be exclusively or near exclusively on young men. Claire upon meeting him says that it’s all the boys under eighteen that seem wary of him, as they’ve been warned (I’m increasingly glad that as far as we know the Duke got nowhere near young Lord John). Of course, we have Black Jack who is an 18th century version of a serial rapist/serial killer. Jamie experiences a horrific trauma at his hands. Not only did he rape and hurt Jamie physically and very, very seriously, he also found ways to make Jamie find pleasure in it. And thinking of Jamie’s casual reaction to the Duke’s inappropriate advances, it makes me think Jamie’s particular reaction to this form of torture isn’t based on a simple baseline homophobia.

A) Jamie feels guilt for getting “pleasure” out of it because he’s married and faithful to Claire. Also, how could she ever love him if he did (his thoughts)? B) What does it say about him that he could find any kind of release/pleasure at the hands of such a horrific man and in the midst of an incredible amount of pain? C) Later, after the rape and torture, if he experiences any attraction towards a man—as it seems he might towards John, I’ll explain more later—how can he ever know if those feelings only exist because of Black Jack? And, even if he can parse that out, he can’t stomach the thought that he shares anything in common with the Duke or his rapist.

Enter Lord John Grey. Jamie likes him, despite the fact that he’s the Governor of the Ardsmuir Prison, despite the fact that he once tried to kill Jamie. At first, there’s mistrust and contempt there, but eventually, they grow to like and respect each other and enjoy time spent in each other’s company. Dining together, swapping stories and playing chess. Given Jamie’s strong reaction to John’s simple touch to his hand (a death threat, followed by basically years of contempt). If Black Jack had never happened, I think, at worst, he would’ve given an 18th century “Sorry, man. I don’t swing that way.” John would’ve apologized and that would’ve been that. Jamie knows John is no real threat to him. Jamie has little that can be leveraged against him, as Black Jack was able to leverage Claire against him. Our sweet David Berry gives us a false impression of the size difference between Jamie and Lord John. He’s near a foot taller and physically dwarfs John. Not to mention, in the show, Jamie says defiantly to John (before their friendship) that he can do his best to torture him but there’s nothing he can do that hasn’t already been done. He doesn’t seem particularly afraid.

I’ve mentioned this before, but its mentioned in the Lord John series that John is actually pretty good at figuring out who’s into dudes and who isn’t. He’d have to be to survive long, doing what he does, especially as he doesn’t go to the brothels. He ‘gets it wrong’ with Jamie and it’s likely a mix between wishful thinking/strong feelings and simple misinterpretation, but John is smart and he senses something. So he acts on it in as gentle a way as possible (not knowing anything of what happened to Jamie with Black Jack, he won’t realize Jamie has been raped at all until he guesses it in that painful scene in BOTB, which I’ll discuss in a moment. Firstly though I want to mention some things that come later that relate to suggestion that Jamie is attracted to John in some way, beyond John believing so enough that he takes such a large risk. For one, Claire will end up sensing something between John and Jamie, enough that it bothers her and she recognizes it for what it is, at least what it is for John. For two, we know there’s a connection between violence and sex for Jamie, we can see it in how he is ‘in bed’ with Claire. Anytime John’s attraction to Jamie gets brought up, he responds violently, despite John not being any actual threat to him—something he knows for certain by the time John is saying “We were both fucking you”—and yet, how does he react then? Violence. (I can’t fuck you, so I’ll hit you. Two sides of the same coin for Jamie.)

Later, he’ll even admit to Claire that when he was falling apart after William was born that it was John who was able to put him back together again, and that he’s angry about it. He’s angry that John can touch his heart in that way.

Anyway, let’s rewind a bit, so we can discuss why exactly Jamie would be so angry about any possible attraction to John based on how he sees gay men (and how he believes he’d have to see himself if he were to accept the way John is able to make him feel).

The scene where John comes to Jamie for help figuring out what to do about Percy’s impending trial is where we can see this issue most clearly laid out. First of all, Jamie has a VERY strong reaction to realizing Percy was John’s lover.

I can’t in honor see him hanged for a crime whose guilt I share—and from whose consequences I am escaped by chance alone.

This is all it takes for Jamie to realize that Percy is John’s lover. Though John doesn’t directly state that, Jamie senses it, is smart enough to figure it out—and does not react well. (Also, the word Jamie uses is ‘catamite’, which is a term from ancient Rome and Greece that means ‘a boy kept for homosexual practices—and John corrects him to lover).

They begin to argue it at this point, basically the concept of whether or not men can be lovers. Jamie, whose experience is limited to the Duke and Black Jack, knows intimately that what those men experienced was not love, but selfishness and power trip to varying degrees. He’s projected that on to all men who experience attraction to men—a burden he would have to hang around his own neck as well—if he were to feel a similar (as maybe he did when John touched his hand in Ardsmuir… in that moment, before he pulled away.)

Only men who lack the ability to possess a woman or cowards who fear them—must resort to such feeble indecencies to relieve their lusts.

It’s an attempt to goad John, to insult him. It doesn’t particularly work as Lord John doesn’t possess any great deal of shame around his being gay and knows that isn’t true. He’s not afraid of women and could most certainly possess one if he wanted to. John doesn’t take the bait as intended and deflects to talking about love. What do you think love is?

He needs to keep his love for Claire separate from anything he could or could not feel for John and Jamie goes on to speak of one of his other experiences with gay men, though John doesn’t know that this relates to an exact experience (this can also relate to Black Jack because of Fergus). But I think Jamie, at this point, is pretty certain that John is no Black Jack. His negative reaction to Jamie (in a sense) forcing John to whip him Ardsmuir was a good example to him that John doesn’t get pleasure out of that. But still, if John has this attraction to men in common with Black Jack and the Duke, he must have others, right? So, he turns to accusing John of ‘preying upon helpless boys’.

Lord John threatens to physically fight him for that comment, which is very fair. It’s a horrible and gross accusation that he absolutely does not deserve in any way.

Jamie’s reaction to this is interesting. Armed or no, ye canna master me.

Of course, this is when John says something really motherfucking dumb without realizing the implications because he doesn’t know Jamie’s history of trauma.

I tell you sir—were I to take you to my bed—I could make you scream and by God, I would do it.

This conversation goes all to hell because John thinks he’s arguing against homophobia and what he’s really arguing against are fundamental beliefs Jamie now holds to protect himself against his trauma and any feelings he may or may not have for John. (and it just must really suck to be in love with someone who thinks such terrible things of you, through not fault of your own).

(Also a quick aside about Grey wanking after this, like it doesn’t make a hell of a lot of a sense in reality. Especially as we know Grey will be very angry about this conversation for a long time after. However, in a literary sense it goes to reflect that idea of violence as sex or violence as a way to express sexual attraction. If Jamie’s release of the sexual tension of that scene was the punch, John’s was this.)

Of course, they’ll rebuild their friendship slowly, over the years at Helwater and in Scotland. Enough so that Jamie will gift John with one of his most precious things—his son William. This time will end with an offer of his body in exchange for John to care for William (though it is a test to make certain John’s not a creep and if he is Jamie plans to kill him). John, of course, turns Jamie down because as Jamie will later say to Claire, “he would not take counterfeit for true coin”. This is the moment where Jamie separates John from Black Jack and the Duke. And, at least for a moment, is able to separate himself from them too. Enough that he does something he does not have to do, that there’s no real reason for him to do, he kisses John.

Grey felt the big hands warm on the skin of his face, light and strong as the brush of an eagle’s feather, and then Jamie Fraser’s soft wide mouth touched his own. There was a fleeting impression of tenderness and strength held in check, the faint taste of ale and fresh-baked bread. Then it was gone, and Grey stood blinking in the brilliant sun.

#lord john grey #jamie x john #outlander nonsense #rape tw #homophobia tw

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cecilspeaks · 4 years

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161 - The Space Race

Space, the final frontier. The womb, the first frontier. Somewhere between those two, the ocean. Welcome to Night Vale.

I’m excited today for the annual Night Vale Children’s Fun Fact Science Presentation. Yess, that’s right! As we’ve done every year on this day, we will be devoting our entire episode to a scientific narrative that is sure to delight both the young and the young at heart. And also those who have stolen young hearts and incorporated them into your flesh sacks. For this year’s Children’s Fun Fact Science Presentations, we will be looking into the history of – the Space Race. Mmm! My husband Carlos has been helping me research this. Thanks, honey! And so it should be airtight and without error.

Now, the Space Race truly began in 1792, at a garden party hosted by the first Duke of Luftnarp one lazy July weekend. A bored group of noble people were sitting out in the garden in all their ruffles and wigs, looking absolutely fashionable for the time, and absolutely ridiculous to modern eyes. And soon the conversation turned, as it often does in parties, to how much they all hated the moon. “Stupid moon!” said one. “Lousy orb!” added another. “Why, I loathe that sky rock!” said a third. Then they started to throw things at the moon to demonstrate how much they hated it. But none of the objects they threw, not the champagne glasses, nor the decorative party masks, nor the dangerous knives, came anywhere near the moon. Most of the hurled items followed the tedious arch of gravity back into the party with mixed results for the attendees, some of whom required immediate medical attention. “This won’t do,” said the first Duke of Luftnarp. “We must hit the moon square on with our objects of derision. “Let us endeavour,” said the Prince of York, “to build an object that can make it all the way to the moon, and smack that awful rock right across its ugly surface. The first one to do so will show that they indeed hate the moon the most.” There was general cheering to that remark, along with some moaning from those who had been struck by the falling objects. And thus, the Space Race was born.

And now the news. As I’m sure we’ve all been following, there is a presidential race going on. Yes, Night Vale may be a small town, mostly preoccupied with the banal goings on of our day to day life, but we are not unaware of national stories. Just like any other town, we have our own opinions on the presidential race. And spirited debates are held weekly in the Compressed Spine amateur boxing gym. Winner is generally by knockout, although occasionally a winner has to be chosen by points. I myself am a strong supporter of Spotless Tony, who I think has the best positions including banning guns, legalizing writing utensils, and Medicare for Spotless Tony. A-a program that would provide comprehensive health care to himself. Others may support Heartbreak Maggie, and I do see the arguments for her. She has the most number of arms, the most number of eyes, and her singing voice literally kills. In any case, I think we can all get together on one thing: Old Towel Leonard has got to go. Get him out of here, ugh! Old Towel Leonard! This has been the news.

And now traffic. Lift your eyes, pilgrims. See above you, another world awaits. This world has grown so tired. This world has grown restless. This world has less color and more dust. Lift your eyes, pilgrims. See above you, another world awaits. Get to that other world by any means, pilgrims. For what are pilgrims without their pilgrimage? What is anyone without a destination? You must lift yourself up to that other place. Gather your supplies, pilgrims. Strip this world bare in order to raise yourself up. Take every scrap around you and put it toward that other world. This is all that matters. It’s all that matters to you, and so it is all that matters. Aloft, pilgrims. You have done it. from here, the sweep of the universe presents itself. Cast down your eyes, pilgrims. See below you the world you left behind, the world you stripped bare to make this journey. There was found all the conditions of life. Up here is only a cold, lonely hollow. Why did you ever feel you needed to leave? But oh well, ooooh well. For what are pilgrims without their pilgrimage? This has been traffic.

Let us know continue with our Children’s Fun Fact Science Presentation. The history of the Space Race. The Space Race went on through the 18th and 19th centuries, with the rich and poor alike trying to be the first to successfully throw something at that horrible moon. The most obvious methods were quickly tried and discarded. Catapults only managed to cause collateral damage to neighboring homes, gunpowder only backfired on the scientists involved, often quite literally. One woman, the Arch Dutchess of the Motley Meadows, believed that she could reach the moon through dreaming. Every night, she performed a series of meditations that allowed her to have lucid control of her dreams. In those dreams, she would fly upward, each time getting a little closer to the dumb old moon. It was her belief that when she reached the moon in her dream, she would attain the same goal in real life. But the moment she finally touched the moon in her dream, she awoke to find herself in the stifling darkness of a coffin. It seems she had died several decades before, but still she dreamed. Having ascertained that there was no way back from the grave, she performed the meditations and fell into one final endless lucid dream. And that basically sums up the Space Race until 1953.

Now a word from our sponsors. Today’s show is brought to you by Borders Books and Music. Remember the old days when your legs were shorter, but your life stretched longer? When the shadows were less dark and the lights less bleary. When the internet was a secret club and not a poisoned chalice. When energy was a bottomless thing, not a quickly siphoned tank. We are what once was. Look on our works, both books and music, ye mighty, and peruse. Borders Books and Music. What you are now, we used to be. What we are now, you will be. This has been a word from our sponsors.

The lawsuit in the case of the estate of Franklin Chen versus the city of Night Vale continues apace. The suit is currently in the discovery phase, which has been made difficult by the fact that the apparent murderer of Franklin Chen, Hiram McDaniels, has not been seen in Night Vale for years. Not since… the incident. And all records in Night Vale are top secret. So every time the lawyers for the Chen family try to see one, they have to dodge the laser grid and tank darts that surround every filing cabinet in City Hall. Those lawyers have filed an injunction against the city to try to force them to turn the laser grids off, but as the official Night Vale motto, written by the town founders hundreds of years ago clearly states: “Laser grids or death”. More news on this lawsuit as news is made by this lawsuit.

Back to the Space Race. Affairs continued with little success until 1953, when the United States, descendants of the Prince of York, decided that enough was enough and established the North American Slap the Moon Agency, or NASA, dedicated to developing the skills and technology needed to give that horrible orbiter what for. Meanwhile, the Russians, descendants of the Duke of Luftnarp, started their own agency designed to kick the moon in the you know what. And so a bet between two bored aristocrats became a global race, as they both tried to be the first to aim missiles at that sad little planetoid. To represent us, we chose Neil Armstrong. He was a test pilot, and he reportedly hated the moon more than anyone. Above his bed, he kept a National Geographic picture of the moon. The caption: “Can this celestial trash ever be put in its place?”, which he had drawn a huge red X through. Below that, he wrote: “Darn you, moon!” Which was the strongest language that existed in the 1950’s.

Finally, all was prepared. Neil Armstrong and his fellow astronauts boarded the rocket. All was quiet. Then, all was loud. More soon, but now for this week’s word jumble.

The following nonsense words will, when the letters are rearranged, produce a simple phrase we all know well. Here we go. Before I went into the cave, the prospect of the cave became so monstrous in my head that I dreamt about it for weeks. In my dreams I was just outside of the cave and I knew that the moment I stepped into the cave, my life would be over. But I also knew I could not delay my journey into the cave. I shook and shook with fear, and in my shaking awoke myself. This happened night after night. Then came the day of our expedition and to my horror, as I stood outside the cave, the same dread certainty came to me as soon as I stepped one foot into the crevice before me, my life would be over. I shook and shook, but I did not awaken, for I was not asleep but in the terrible dream we call life. So there it is. Just take those nonsense words apart and rearrange them into the phrase we’re looking for. If you think you have the answer, you probably do. Great job! Uh, before we go, the answer to last week’s jumble was: “Hop! The window shakes slyly, look here!” Which is, of course, the title to Dave Edgar’s new book of essays about block chains. This has been this week’s word jumble.

We near the end of our story on the Space Race. Neil Armstrong and his comrades hunched in this tiny capsule that absurdity of absurdities was about to be launched through void to lifeless rock. Sweat on his nose, sweat on his lips. Then sweat in his mouth. This was all unnecessary, the-the history of humanity did not require us to physically touch everything there is, but. Some drive made him willing to risk his life, the only life he would ever get, in order to go far away and then come back again. There was a sound. There was a fire! There was pressure! And then, there was an absence of pressure. And they were at the moon. The lander careened its way to the surface. Neil, sweat still on his face, placed one foot on the moon. “I have a small foot,” he said. “But humanity metaphorically has big feet. Biiiig huuuge metaphoric feet.” History would record and repeat these poetic words. Neil looked about him. He had done it. He had been the first one to smack into this disgusting space rock. All around was grey, and above that black. And within that, unnervingly distant blue and green. And then, Neil saw.

What Neil saw in a moment. But we really should, and we really must Go to the weather.

[“Have a Smoke” by Head Portals https://headportals.bandcamp.com]

Neil’s breath made shapes on the inside of his helmet. Some part of him felt that it was not even him on the moon, but that he was merely watching someone else’s body through a little window. That other him stepped forward and saw something truly odd. It was a house. Solidly built, two floors, a front door and gable windows. As he looked at it in disbelief, he realized that it was one of many. An entire town all cleverly camouflaged from above with grey and black mesh, so that it would appear through telescopes to be merely the awful boring surface of the awful boring moon. He was not the first one on the moon after all. Who had come before? He walked through the town, tho it appeared abandoned. He stood in the middle of the main square and he said, tho he would not be able to be heard through his helmet and the thin atmosphere: “Hello?” In every window appeared an animal. Dogs, cats, snakes, hamsters, and parrots. So many animals all watching him silently, regarding him from the windows of their little town. One cat, grey as the moon itself, hopped from her ledge and came over to him. “I am Barbara Emmeline Gwendolyn Sauss,” said the cat. “But you may call me Barb-E-Q –Sauss.” Neil said: “You can talk?” And then he said, “Well, apparently you can, I don’t know why I asked. The cat continued as though he had not spoken. “This is our city. We are the lost pets of your world. We are lost, because that is what we choose to be. We came here so we could be lost forever. Tell no one.” Neil didn’t know what to say. All of his training had been about zero-G maneuvering and the best way to hit the stupid moon when he got there. Nothing about how to interact with a cat that wanted him to keep a secret. “Please,” the cat repeated, and Neil nodded. Not knowing what else to do, he went back to the lander, climbed in, and looked at the other man who had made this journey with him. Lee Marvin looked back at him with gentle eyes. “Lee,” Neil said, “You’re not going to believe this!” “A secret lost pet city on the moon?” Lee said. “Well…” Neil said, “Uh… yes!” Lee nodded thoughtfully. “Better leave them to it then,” he said. “Probably better we keep this between us.” Lee did not look surprised. It seemed to Neil that maybe Lee was there precisely to ensure that this secret was kept. And so again Neil only nodded, and they made their preparations and left. As they launched, out of the tiny window, Neil could just barely see thousands of animal eyes looking up at him. “I’ll keep your secret,” he whispered, “I’ll keep your secret. And he did. He never told anyone. Neither did Lee. No one knows this story. No one has ever heard it.

This has been the Children’s Fun Fact Science Presentation.

Good night, Night Vale, Good night.

Today’s proverb: Correct placement from right to left: salad fork, soup spoon, salad spoon, bread knife, bowie knife, meat thermometer, entrée fork, and finally, the dessert claws.

#welcome to night vale #wtnv #episode 161 #the space race

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gmariam321 · 4 years

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@miladydragon wrote... @gmariam321 Well, it’s canon in the BF audios that Ianto is houseproud…wouldn’t it be just like him to want to “pretty” the place up a bit?

Okay, let’s talk about this. Where did Ianto get this from? Where did he learn to put out blue towels just for pretty? He’s a 25-year-old guy who seems to have gone through a lot of shit. Is it a coping thing? Did he pick it up from his mum (since I get the impression it probably wasn’t his dad)? His grandmother or grandfather? Did his sister grow up and move out and get a house and he picked it up from her?

Did Yvonne Hartmann teach him how to decorate? (LOL)

It’s been pretty obvious from the start, and certainly from Fragments, that his personal appearance is a construct, that proverbial suit of armor we all love writing about in fanfic that was eventually confirmed in Broken. But being houseproud?

I don’t know - I can see it as a coping mechanism at the Hub: cleanliness and order to manage the chaos. And I can see him working hard to do the research and blend in at Serenity Plaza with the lawn and the towels and such. But somehow I feel like his flat is no modern Vogue spread, but a hodge podge of mismatched furniture and dishes, fandom junk, and a general sense of messiness. A place he can relax and not worry about whether an organized refrigerator will be the life or death of someone. Where he can leave his jeans on the floor and the rubbish in the bin for a few days. I’ve read a fic or two about this Ianto and his messy flat, and it’s just sort of stuck in my head; the image of him with a modern, neat, well-decorated home given the life he’s lead and the life he leads doesn’t fit as well to me.

That said, I can totally see him holding tight to things like tradition and sentimentality. Like maybe that crystal bowl belonged to someone who died because of Torchwood and Ianto wanted to honor them by putting it out. Things like that. Or, as @thatlastdanceofchances mentioned, maybe it came through the Rift. I can totally see him setting out Rift pieces too. Maybe he looked into it, found it was a piece of priceless crystal from the 18th century, and got a kick out of putting it on display. And not just because it was pretty, but because it was priceless18th century crystal in the middle of the Torchwood Hub just begging to get flattened. I am totally working this into a story this year!!

I really wish we’d seen more of the Hub, but that’s okay because I don’t mind making up things that could certainly be tucked around a dark corner. It would be even neater to know more about it’s history and all the junk in there. And what I wouldn’t give to have seen the archives!!

And a bit more information about Ianto Jones would always be welcome, of course.

Stay tuned - my next post will most likely be about the Torchwood crystal decanter collection! ;-)

#Torchwood #Ianto Jones #Houseproud #The Hub #That crystal bowl #Those crystal decanters #This show is nuts #That's why we love it though!

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oldshrewsburyian · 4 years

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Escapist fiction rec round-up

@stripedroseandsketchpads

I recommend Treasure Island because like. Everyone already knows the plot but it was pretty entertaining iirc and like. Over the top pirates!! Hooray!

Also, it’s completely absurd but I LOVE the Master and Margarita by Bulgakov which isn’t really the same genre but it’s historical in that it’s set in the 30s and escapist in that it’s a bunch of highly chaotic and amusing demons destroying the day to day bureaucracy of Soviet Russia for kicks

True story: I read Treasure Island when I was 10, and I am still terrified of Blind Pew, Long John Silver, and the black spot. Currently loving Black Sails, though. The Master and Margarita is one of those I keep meaning to get around to!

@junomarlowe

I'm currently enjoying Golden Hill a great deal. I suppose it's a literary picaresque swashbuckler, with bickering and fun 18th century vocab

This sounds amazing.

@lochtayboatsong

Swashbuckler: Pirates! by Celia Rees has been one of my favorites since I was a teen. I haven’t read it recently to see how it holds up when read as an adult, but it immediately came to mind.

...delightful.

@literarymagpie

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is about a young woman in 1920s Mexico who has to help the Mayan god of death reclaim his throne. (The MC is a young woman, but it's not a YA novel.)

Obviously something I never knew I needed.

@ressiart

Sarah Perry, The Essex Serpent or Melmoth for some historical gothic romance. The Temeraire series by Naomi Novik if you'd like to dabble with dragons, the napoleonic wars, fuck colonialism and trips to Turkey, China, Africa, Australia and Brazil. Circe by Madeline Miller, for a lovely first person retelling of the witch's story. The Ancillary Justice series by Ann Leckie. This one's a space opera/SF, but I think you'll appreciate the parallels to the Roman Empire.

You know, I read about how The Essex Serpent deals with cultic Protestant communities and I’ve been emotionally unprepared ever since. I’ll look for the Ann Leckie. Somehow I thought Naomi Novik was YA, so I’ll have to check that out. I found Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles to be so boring, reductive, and unimaginative that I’m loath to give her another try, I confess.

@msmaple

Oxford Time Travel series by Connie Willis is a pleasure

Yes, yes it is.

@kirstenseas

Well, at the risk of being a bit juvenile, the Temeraire series is really good - Napoleonic wars with dragons. It is a constant delight with only a few weak moments and some really brilliant character arcs.

Has Naomi Novik been writing for grownups this whole time? My mistake.

@novelogical

I would like to recommend to you all of Susanna Kearsley’s books - specifically The Winter Sea, The Firebird, The Shadow Horses.

Ooh. The plots look more interesting than the prose, but I might give them a try. Thanks!

@counterwiddershins

For something swashbuckly, I might recommend Georgette Heyer's "The Masqueraders," but if you want some political intrigue and fantasy there's Bujold's Chalion series with "Curse of Chalion" and "Paladin of Souls." (I know Chalion is a familiar rec so you may have read either book by now.)

Thanks!

@countingnothings

if you haven't picked up any Guy Gavriel Kay, that would be my recommendation! he calls what he does "history with a quarter-turn to the fantastic," and his older stuff is more fantastic while the newer is more historical. if you're in a mood for the former, Tigana or Sailing to Sarantium are my recs! if the latter, Under Heaven or A Brightness Long Ago. his first trilogy, The Fionavar Tapestry, riffs on Tolkien & Arthuriana but is a bit heavy-handed

Another author I was sure was YA... maybe I was confused because I read his books in my teens.

@thelibraryiscool

The Lies of Locke Lamora gets old after a while but the first book is very solid. The Cadfael chronicles are some of the most calming escapist books I know (but you’ve probably read them). The rivers of London series is also amusing. Jonathan Strange And Mr Norrel is a delight. And I suppose Poldark, while, in my opinion, much worse than Outlander, has some of that same vibe if that’s what you’re after.

Thanks! I do love Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, and I really should get around to Rivers of London. I’m afraid I have the Cadfael books semi-memorized by this point. “Much worse than Outlander” is, uh, not a ringing endorsement, and I’ve heard enough opinions on Poldark’s misogyny that I might give it a miss.

#adultbooklr #book recommendations #fantasy #historical fiction

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blake-nikos · 4 years

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The longest DnD backstory i have made... so far

so small bit of context this is for a 5e game in a 18th century bloodborne style setting. it was meant to be one shot so i just made lady maria of the astral clock tower as my character, but the dm really likes the setting and how the game went so its becoming a full game, but i really liked how i played lady maria but i wanted something a little more then a dnd version of a bloodborne boss so i wrote this over the last few hours and its now 5:30 am oops The lady maria real name Blair ( insert appropriate lore last name with vanhellsing vibes to it ) class blood hunter level 10 Born into a noble house the daughter of a previous lady maria that died during child birth and a noble man, that was once a charming artist and writer but reduced to a cowardly shell of a man after the death of his first love, even though he has re married he never found his passions for the arts again now only making bland history text books for schools and little else. all through Blair's early life her grandfather on her mothers side would come around every few months bring gifts and tails of his latest monster hunts and the promise of "once your older if you wish it, I'll take you away from this stale noble life" as she grew her grandfather started training her in swordsmanship and fire arms, her farther forbid the training but the grandfather kept coming till one day he had the town guards waiting and threaten to have him killed if he took "his last piece of her away" blair over heard this but didn't understand at the time only being around 9 years old confused as her farther barely could even stand to look at her most days. Her grandfather didn't come for 3 years after that point, till one night blare started getting ravens at her window with short notes and pages taken from swordsmanship manuals page by page every day over time forming more then a few books on different styles of fighting and firearm manufacture and such. she trained every day till her hands were blistered from the bits of wood and furniture she had been using as wooden swords to train with in her bedroom. On the day before her 14th birthday she noticed a hooded figure with a raven in the small woods out her window, she grabbed a small kitchen knife she had stolen and suck out looking for them. it didn't take long till she was deep in the woods only to be startled by a well made wooden sword being thrown to her feet "pick it up and fight for your birthday present little one" the look of joy forced down by one of determination she picked up the sword and took the guard positions she'd been practicing for all this time, swing hard but true to form never faltering a step in her foot work, pushing the old man on to is back foot , not one to show to much mercy and a reflex from years of fighting he pushed hard in to his next swing and disarmed her of her wooden sword just as he dropped his guard about to gloat " guess some ones not getting her..." shes rushes him gets her body under his guard position thrusts her arms right up under his chin and with the stolen kitten knife to his neck "took you long enough old man" drops the knife to her side and hugs him tight enough she may have heard some of is old bones crack. and starts to cry into his chest. "okay alright little one, you won the fight now need to crush me now" as he hugs her back for a moment. "i know its been a while " only to hear " too long " as she kicks him in the shin "if you hit me again no present " She pules back to look at him to notice a few more scars on his face then last time she spoke to him. he stands up straight and calls out “ lady maria please come meet my grand daughter” As a hooded woman with a raven on her shoulder looking to be in her late 30s steps out from behind a tree. she steps forward and curtsy towards Blair “ its a honor to meet you little miss, i knew your mother well, and she would be very proud of such a skilled young fighter” she says with a smile, a head tilt and a slight tear in her eye “ you most certainly have her eyes and expressions... its like looking at a memory right before me” Blair looks to her before looking down to the dirt “ ive only heard story's from granddad and farther locked all the paintings of mum in the attic i haven't seen them in years” her grandfather after swallowing his anger “ well this just wont do “ and pulls out a locket from his pocket “ i have a portrait of her above the mantel in my family manner, why don't you hold on to this one, till you come see it for your self “ as he hands her the locked with a small picture of her mother inside. she holds it close before placing it around her neck. “but now little one its your birthday tomorrow and that's not your gift this is!” as the lady maria grabs a fabric wrapped sword from behind her “this was hers it needed some repairs after she put it aside when she moved in with your father, but its been cleaned sharped and has a fresh coat of sliver” Blair takes the wrapping off the sword to see a brilliant sliver coated steel scabbed, a saber with a enlarged almost small sword style handle and guard. she clips it to her belt and draws the blade “its heavy... well compared to a chair leg but the balance feels much nicer, this, this is mine now ?” her grandfather smiles “yes little one cant have you training with chair legs forever now can we, plus you will need a real blade when our lady maria hear starts training you in our family's blood magic next week ” Blair now looking rather confused “ blood magic?” the grandfather draws a dagger from his belt and slices the the blade along his palm as the blood runs down the blade it starts to crackle and spark with lightning he throws the blade at a tree and it sparks with a brilliant light and shark cracking sound like a small bolt of lighting, “now little one this is a family secret so don't go talking about magic, can you promise me that and don't let your father find that sword?” she nods her head with gusto “ yes sir ! totally, easy, no problem. and he wont look at me any way so its easy to steal stuff and sneak around ” the day starts to grow long and they say there goodby’s for now 3 years of weakly training some times with grandfather, some times with lady maria, some times with both and some times with a different lady maria she dresses the same and spoke the same formal way for the most part but much younger she explained “lady maria is not my name little one its a title... all the lady maria's are in some way related even you. im actually your cousin my name is Juliet. the older lady maria you met the first night was my aunt and your mothers sister. On her 16th birthday and a few years of Blair being a rebellious young teen and making trouble for the towns guard and her farther getting more and more strict as she aged, Blair promptly set out with trying to ruin her farther reputation especially when the step mother started pressing to “marry her off “ even though the farther was against it the step mother started making plans for marriage behind his back. Blair being a witty young trouble maker found out about her plans and took it as a challenge and found a new form of combat training in bar fights and sneaking to the next town over and drinking with the army boys in training. till it go to the tipping point a argument with her farther that was promoted by the step mother yelling at him for the better part of the day, when she came home at dusk one evening not looking to worse for ware but about as far lady like as one can get, her father going straight in to yelling “whats wrong with you!? why must you fight against the best life you’ll ever get? how ungrateful are you ! “ the step mother butting in “ your mother would be ashamed you” with out hesitation from across the room Blair pulls a knife cuts her palm and utters a Blood Curse of Bloated Agony on the step mother and drops the step mother to her knees in pain “ you know nothing about her you good for nothing noble piece of trash” “ and dad i don’t know if you hate me... or blame me for killing mum by being borne, but you never loved me you never gave me what i needed!, and you took away the only person that could! you stopped granddad from coming you took the one person that loved me! you left me with nothing what did you expect!? her farther now yelling at Blair to stop this “fine if you want to be with him so badly then leave but if you do your title stays behind your money you’ll will be nothing more then a common present!” “OH but father i have a title you could never take I’m the lady maria” as she drops the curse go’s to her room packs a travel bag grabs her mothers sword and walks right by her father who is trying to calm the step mother now screaming for a doctor and calling Blair a witch, on the way out Blair with sword worn proud on her side, she hesitates for a moment in the door way with her back to her farther, and can hear him over the sound of the now rageing woman next to him “what have i done Ive lost her again... i’m sorry i’m so sorry” blair pretends not to hear him and walks away in to the night. after another year of training now at the grandfathers manor and returning the locket, she started going on monster hunts and when the war came true and proper she fought right besides the young army boys from time to time as a mercenary and protected them from the monsters by night, even earning some honorary militarily ranks. now a few years after the war shes now 31 and has been a proper lady maria for a good while fighting monsters and making stories of her own.

#dnd backstory

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phroyd · 5 years

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This brilliant researcher supports a theory that vindicates important Feminist Thought, but removes some hopeful biological validation of the pre-adolescent Transgender rationale! And she is totally correct, there IS No Gendered Brain! - Phroyd

You receive an invitation, emblazoned with a question: “A bouncing little ‘he’ or a pretty little ‘she’?” The question is your teaser for the “gender reveal party” to which you are being invited by an expectant mother who, at more than 20 weeks into her pregnancy, knows what you don’t: the sex of her child. After you arrive, explains cognitive neuroscientist Gina Rippon in her riveting new book, The Gendered Brain, the big reveal will be hidden within some novelty item, such as a white iced cake, and will be colour-coded. Cut the cake and you’ll see either blue or pink filling. If it is blue, it is a…

Yes, you’ve guessed it. Whatever its sex, this baby’s future is predetermined by the entrenched belief that males and females do all kinds of things differently, better or worse, because they have different brains.

A neuroscientist explains: the need for ‘empathetic citizens’ - podcast

“Hang on a minute!” chuckles Rippon, who has been interested in the human brain since childhood, “the science has moved on. We’re in the 21st century now!” Her measured delivery is at odds with the image created by her detractors, who decry her as a “neuronazi” and a “grumpy old harridan” with an “equality fetish”. For my part, I was braced for an encounter with an egghead, who would talk at me and over me. Rippon is patient, though there is an urgency in her voice as she explains how vital it is, how life-changing, that we finally unpack – and discard – the sexist stereotypes and binary coding that limit and harm us.

For Rippon, a twin, the effects of stereotyping kicked in early. Her “under-achieving” brother was sent to a boys’ academic Catholic boarding school, aged 11. “It’s difficult to say this. I was clearly academically bright. I was top in the country for the 11+.” This gave her a scholarship to a grammar school. Her parents sent her to a girls’ non-academic Catholic convent instead. The school did not teach science. Pupils were brought up to be nuns or a diplomatic wife or mother. “Psychology,” she points out, “was the nearest I could get to studying the brain. I didn’t have the A levels to do medicine. I had wanted to be a doctor.”

A PhD in physiological psychology and a focus on brain processes and schizophrenia followed. Today, the Essex-born scientist is a professor emeritus of cognitive neuroimaging at Aston University, Birmingham. Her brother is an artist. When she is not in the lab using state-of-the-art brain imaging techniques to study developmental disorders such as autism, she is out in the world, debunking the “pernicious” sex differences myth: the idea that you can “sex” a brain or that there is such a thing as a male brain and a female brain. It is a scientific argument that has gathered momentum, unchallenged, since the 18th century “when people were happy to spout off about what men and women’s brains were like – before you could even look at them. They came up with these nice ideas and metaphors that fitted the status quo and society, and gave rise to different education for men and women.”

Rippon has analysed the data on sex differences in the brain. She admits that she, like many others, initially sought out these differences. But she couldn’t find any beyond the negligible, and other research was also starting to question the very existence of such differences. For example, once any differences in brain size were accounted for, “well-known” sex differences in key structures disappeared. Which is when the penny dropped: perhaps it was time to abandon the age-old search for the differences between brains from men and brains from women. Are there any significant differences based on sex alone? The answer, she says, is no. To suggest otherwise is “neurofoolishness”.

Plasticity is now a scientific given – the brain is moulded from birth onwards until old age

“The idea of the male brain and the female brain suggests that each is a characteristically homogenous thing and that whoever has got a male brain, say, will have the same kind of aptitudes, preferences and personalities as everyone else with that ‘type’ of brain. We now know that is not the case. We are at the point where we need to say, ‘Forget the male and female brain; it’s a distraction, it’s inaccurate.’ It’s possibly harmful, too, because it’s used as a hook to say, well, there’s no point girls doing science because they haven’t got a science brain, or boys shouldn’t be emotional or should want to lead.”

The next question was, what then is driving the differences in behaviour between girls and boys, men and women? Our “gendered world”, she says, shapes everything, from educational policy and social hierarchies to relationships, self-identity, wellbeing and mental health. If that sounds like a familiar 20th-century social conditioning argument, it is – except that it is now coupled with knowledge of the brain’s plasticity, which we have only been aware of in the past 30 years.

“It is now a scientific given,” says Rippon, “that the brain is moulded from birth onwards and continues to be moulded through to the ‘cognitive cliff’ in old age when our grey cells start disappearing. So out goes the old ‘biology is destiny’ argument: effectively, that you get the brain you are born with – yes, it gets a bit bigger and better connected but you’ve got your developmental endpoint, determined by a biological blueprint unfolding along the way. With brain plasticity, the brain is much more a function of experiences. If you learn a skill your brain will change, and it will carry on changing.” This is shown to be the case in studies of black cab drivers learning the Knowledge, for example. “The brain is waxing and waning much more than we ever realised. So if you haven’t had particular experiences – if as a girl you weren’t given Lego, you don’t have the same spatial training that other people in the world have.

If, on the other hand, you were given those spatial tasks again and again, you would get better at them. “The neural paths change; they become automatic pathways. The task really does become easier.”

Neural plasticity throws the nature/nurture polarity out of the lab window. “Nature is entangled with nature,” says Rippon. Added to this, “being part of a social cooperative group is one of the prime drives of our brain.” The brain is also predictive and forward-thinking in a way we had never previously realised. Like a satnav, it follows rules, is hungry for them. “The brain is a rule scavenger,” explains Rippon, “and it picks up its rules from the outside world. The rules will change how the brain works and how someone behaves.” The upshot of gendered rules? “The ‘gender gap’ becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Rippon regularly talks in schools. She wants girls to have leading scientists as role models, and she wants all children to know that their identity, abilities, achievements and behaviour are not prescribed by their biological sex. “Gender bombardment” makes us think otherwise. Male babies dressed in blue romper suits, female ones in pink is a binary coding that belies a status quo that resists the scientific evidence. “Pinkification”, as Rippon calls it, has to go. Parents don’t always like what they hear.

The brain is a rule scavenger and it picks up its rules from the outside world

“They say, ‘I have a son and a daughter, and they are different.’ And I say, ‘I have two daughters, and they are very different.’ When you talk about male and female identity, people are very wedded to the idea that men and women are different. People like me are not sex-difference deniers,” continues Rippon. “Of course there are sex differences. Anatomically, men and women are different. The brain is a biological organ. Sex is a biological factor. But it is not the sole factor; it intersects with so many variables.”

I ask her for a comparable watershed moment in the history of scientific understanding, in order to gauge the significance of her own. “The idea of the Earth circling around the sun,” she bats back.

Letting go of age-old certainties is frightening, concedes Rippon, who is both optimistic about the future, and fearful for it. “I am concerned about what the 21st century is doing, the way it’s making gender more relevant. We need to look at what we are plunging our children’s brains into.”

Ours may be the age of the self-image, yet we aren’t ready to let the individual self emerge, unfettered by cultural expectations of one’s biological sex. That disconnect, says Rippon, is writ large, for example, in men. “It suggests there is something wrong in their self-image.” The social brain wants to fit in. The satnav recalibrates, according to expectations. “If they are being driven down a route that leads to self-harm or even suicide or violence, what is taking them there?”

On the plus side, our plastic brains are good learners. All we need to do is change the life lessons.

How gender stereotypes led brain science

Research so far has failed to challenge deep prejudice, says Gina Rippon

Several things went wrong in the early days of sex differences and brain imaging research. With respect to sex differences, there was a frustrating backward focus on historical beliefs in stereotypes (termed “neurosexism” by psychologist Cordelia Fine). Studies were designed based on the go-to list of the “robust” differences between females and males, generated over the centuries, or the data were interpreted in terms of stereotypical female/male characteristics which may not have even been measured in the scanner. If a difference was found, it was much more likely to be published than a finding of no difference, and it would also breathlessly be hailed as an “at last the truth” moment by an enthusiastic media. Finally the evidence that women are hard-wired to be rubbish at map reading and that men can’t multi-task! So the advent of brain imaging at the end of the 20th century did not do much to advance our understanding of alleged links between sex and the brain. Here in the 21st century, are we doing any better?

One major breakthrough in recent years has been the realisation that, even in adulthood, our brains are continually being changed, not just by the education we receive, but also by the jobs we do, the hobbies we have, the sports we play. The brain of a working London taxi driver will be different from that of a trainee and from that of a retired taxi driver; we can track differences among people who play videogames or are learning origami or to play the violin. Supposing these brain-changing experiences are different for different people, or groups of people? If, for example, being male means that you have much greater experience of constructing things or manipulating complex 3D representations (such as playing with Lego), it is very likely that this will be shown in your brain. Brains reflect the lives they have lived, not just the sex of their owners.

Seeing the life-long impressions made on our plastic brains by the experiences and attitudes they encounter makes us realise that we need to take a really close look at what is going on outside our heads as well as inside. We can no longer cast the sex differences debate as nature versus nurture – we need to acknowledge that the relationship between a brain and its world is not a one-way street, but a constant two-way flow of traffic.

Once we acknowledge that our brains are plastic and mouldable, then the power of gender stereotypes becomes evident. If we could follow the brain journey of a baby girl or a baby boy, we could see that right from the moment of birth, or even before, these brains may be set on different roads. Toys, clothes, books, parents, families, teachers, schools, universities, employers, social and cultural norms – and, of course, gender stereotypes – all can signpost different directions for different brains.

Resolving arguments about differences in the brain really matters. Understanding where such differences come from is important for everyone who has a brain and everyone who has a sex or a gender of some kind. Beliefs about sex differences (even if ill-founded) inform stereotypes, which commonly provide just two labels – girl or boy, female or male – which, in turn, historically carry with them huge amounts of “contents assured” information and save us having to judge each individual on their own merits or idiosyncrasies.

With input from exciting breakthroughs in neuroscience, the neat, binary distinctiveness of these labels is being challenged – we are coming to realise that nature is inextricably entangled with nurture. What used to be thought fixed and inevitable is being shown to be plastic and flexible; the powerful biology-changing effects of our physical and our social worlds are being revealed.

The 21st century is not just challenging the old answers – it is challenging the question itself.

An extract from The Gendered Brain by Gina Rippon, published by Vintage on 28 February for £20. To buy a copy for £15 go to guardianbookshop.com

Phroyd

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