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greysith · 11 months

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001

We start with three players:

Fasat Ek-Wando, a Natani. The Natani are a culture the player wrote up himself. They're Force users, more like grey Jedi than anything else, striving to be Just, but using both sides of the Force.

Vosh Xixus, an Imperial Redguard recently ejected from cryosleep & going through some major culture shock because the Empire is NOT in control and there is NO Sith Lord for him pledge to.

Dando Regina Haine. (Me!) I was trying to be obnoxious when I told the GM I wanted to be a princess. She's kiiinda equivalent to one -- her dad is a Moff in the Imperial Remnant, and he controls the Dantooine sector.

We have to jump directly into the game before we can get into ANY of Regina's backstory. Session one, we're on Dantooine. It's noted in A New Hope to be really remote, and other materials note it's mostly grassy plains, hills, rivers... tbh it makes me think of the English/Irish/Scottish countryside and I am in love with it.

And Dantooine is attacked 🙃 Immediately 🙃 By an unrecognized fleet that doesn't identify itself, just complete radio silence. Regina's mom is an admiral -- she's on the front damn line.

Regina's just hanging out at the starport cantina when all this happens, and Sar just rocks up with a squad of Storm Troopers. He grabs the first pilot he can get his hands on, grabs two people that look martially capable (Fasat and Vosh) and pays them all EXORBITANTLY to get Regina off the planet.

Dantooine's comms are being jammed, they can't get word out. Primarily Sar wants Regina away and safe but secondarily, he wants to her to speak out, warn their allies, bring back help.

The pilot's name is Dart Sethyl. (We were IMMEDIATELY making jokes about him being a Darth, and scrambling the rest of his name. GM just sigh sigh sighed.) His copilot is an assassination droid that tells us he would absolutely murder Dart if it weren't for the restraining bolt and restrictions in his programming. The droid's name is IG-274 and we just call him G.

The two Storm Troopers that go off with them are Jen and Zax, and they are Good And Loyal Boys. I don't remember how it started, but everyone started referring to them as Harem Troopers lol

Yavin4 is close to Dantooine and Regina goes there first. She doesn't think the Jedi will help her, but she doesn't think they'll deny her resupplying there. For SOME REASON, the Jedi do not like Vosh.

The Jedi know that Regina is Force Sensitive, though. They've been interested in training her since she was like five, but this is the first she's hearing about it. Her parents refused to let her go, and never really told her about it. When she shows the barest interest in learning, but says she really really needs to travel, the Jedi are like "Would you like a teacher? We can give you a teacher. Would you like to take this teacher? Please take this teacher." Soooo when we leave Yavin4, we are joined by the Ithorian Jedi Consular, Kada Habat.

Imma be honest, I was not the best at keeping game notes at the time. There are some gaps and leaps of logic I don't follow anymore. We went to Tatooine, but I don't know why. There, we get waylaid by Jawas and my next note is "Jekjek joins the party." He speaks Basic, and he thinks he's a droid.

AND THEN WE'RE AMBUSHED BY A SITH! The SITH are the ones attacking Dantooine. There's a fight. He threatens us that the Sith are everywhere, they have assassins everywhere, assassins will follow us, work with us, and eventually, we will become assassins. The group fights the assassin to the death (Regina is Not good at combat oh my GOD) and they find a holocron on him. Vosh is like "Ooh, neat! You should have this." And gives it to Regina.

Vosh is the Funny Guy with Invader Zim humor, but he spends the ENTIRE GAME trying to CORRUPT REGINA TO THE DARK SIDE. We're never sure if it's because he's into her? Or if he thinks it's funny? Or if he's just evil? He is ALLERGIC to straight answers.

Regina's big skill is Force Sense, and with Kada she's learning to hone that in to listen to peoples' surface thoughts. This holocron has Bad Fuckin Vibes and she tries to ditch it in the desert. Freaked out by the Sith appearance, the party decides to go back to Yavin4 and NOW beseech the Jedi for help. Somehow, before we leave, a guy sells Vosh THE SAME HOLOCRON REGINA TRIED TO DITCH. There is NO WAY the guy found it in the desert AND got to town before them, and the odds of him giving it right back to Vosh? The Bad Vibes are exponential.

Thus begins Regina being haunted by holocrons. We aren't sure if this thing is breaking physics with the Force?? Or if Vosh is fucking with her?? Vosh intentionally meditates with the thing and speaks to Sith Lord presence in it. Regina tries to break the thing. She gets everyone to try. And then it OPENS. Regina runs out of the room, but Fasat chats with it. The Sith Lord wants to talk to someone Force Sensitive, and even says, "Either the pilot or the princess." And since the Princess ain't doing it, the pilot is voluntold. It's all but spelled out that this Sith Lord is our game's Big Bad. he wants to control the universe. At LENGTH, Regina gets G to hide and lock up the holocron.

When we show back up on Yavin4, everyone is just??? Gone??? A 14 year old Padawan named Jee-la approaches us and says all the Jedi masters were called to fight Mandalorians shortly after we left Yavin the first time. There is one master left behind -- the Rodian Jedi Knight, Deego. I thiiiink something happened to Kada when we were attacked by the Sith assassin, but my notes don't say anything except he finally wakes up here.

We learn about Kada's Master, the former Grandmaster Kethir. Kada and Kethir have been cloning themselves and importing their memories into those clones for THREE HUNDRED YEARS. The current Kada is a perfect clone -- and the 5th iteration. We manage to fix the gaps in Kada's memories. Oh! His mind got scrambled because of the holocron. 😬

This was so dumb xD Fasat came up to me first and gave me a pink lightsaber. Vosh got all uppity because he was gonna do the same thing -- so Regina ends up with two pink lightsabers, a full size and a short size. Then we're like "okay we're supplied up, I guess we're taking this Padawan and her Drunken Master guy with us." Jee-la and Deego join the party. We head out to Nar Shaddaa to hire some Hunt Saboteurs, hoping they'll be useful in protecting us from Sith assassins.

We don't know HOW it happened because Regina can sense lifeforms and Kada can sense Sith specifically, but we are attacked while we are IN HYPERSPACE. MULTIPLE Sith got onto our ship, and while we're successful in defeating them, one may have remained hidden?? Kada is found the next morning, decapitated in his bed. We know it was done with a lightsaber. We don't know who did it. Regina scours that ship from stem to stern and doesn't find anyone that isn't supposed to be there.

We land on Nar Shaddaa. Dart has a house here, and we intend to hide out there except Dart discovers a plot to kill his ex-wife . Her name is Fira, and she's the current. Fucking. MANDALORE. So we run out to save her, exposing her current husband as a conspirator, and she THROWS HIM FROM A BUILDING. He survives, we have to fight him, he has a lightsaber and he's SITH!! This is a multi-branched conspiracy and we have no idea what the hell is going on. They're going after Dantooine, Regina, Fira, and the Empress -- who we found out is also hiding on Nar Shaddaa! Fasat recognized HER Natani bodyguard, and Empress Sasha Besseme has supplies from Sar Haine to pass on, plus a datapad with a message from him.

⏸️ We've been playing this game once a week for a couple months by this point. At no point have I discussed Regina's backstory with anyone, because everything I had was already in the game. Grew up on Dantooine. Dad's a Moff. She's Force Sensitive but went to military school. GM supplied her parents' names. I didn't have anything else.

▶️ Sar's message to Regina confirms some of what they already knew -- it's Sith attacking Dantooine. He warns her to stay out of Imperial space. They're waiting for the Republic to attack, and then they'll try to evacuate. But Regina's best friend Deena has disappeared and they worry she's been kidnapped. Enlin, Regina's potential fiance, the guy Sar has been pushing her toward, made it off the planet a couple weeks ago and is looking for Regina, swearing to protect her. Oh, and Regina's (ex?)boyfriend Jeren is with him. He has NOT been dead these last two years, like everyone thought.

I was like WHAT THE FLYING FUCK! The other players thought I was flipping out in character because hey, best friend missing, fiance being reckless, ex-boyfriend alive, and yeah fair valid but all of this was NEWS TO ME AS A PLAYER, TOO! I have a bestie? Fiance? DEAD EX BOYFRIEND ACTUALLY ALIVE? GM has NEVER blindsided anyone like that again lmao but I am a goddamn champion because when he tried to take it back I rolled with it like NO THEY'RE MINE NOW lololol

I can still watch this whole scene in my head lmao. There was a bit of a delay for Regina getting this message. Enlin's a computer engineer. He's tracked Regina down. Enlin and Jeren show up at Dart's door the very next day. Regina panics and tries to hide, but it's so beyond useless. Dart's just like "yeah, she's here -- Hey RegINA!" Is he clueless? Is he an asshole? The world may never know.

Soooo Regina grew up with Enlin, and he's been crushing on her since they were kids. He's sweet, but he's got some self-esteem issues. They were friends, but he never asked her out. Jeren's from Naboo. The short version of his job is he's basically a zoologist? He was working on Dantooine for Regina's parents when he met Enlin and became friends with him. Hanging out with Enlin, meeting Regina was inevitable. And Jeren is capital-B Bold. He was a relentless flirt, and it flustered her so so badly. Enlin and Jeren had a half-joking competition over her.

Regina was attracted to Jeren from the start, but he was her parent's employee and her bestie Deena was ALSO super into him. She resisted him a long time, thinking he'd give up, but he just fell harder. They did end up together. It drove an awkward wedge between Regina and Deena, but Enlin and Jeren stayed best bros.

The thing about Jeren's work, though, is that he travels a lot. He tracks animals, rehomes them, rehabilitates them, studies and advocates them. Aaaand one day, two years ago, he just didn't come back.

Like, complete, uncharacteristic radio silence. Regina contacted his mom, and mom said he was dead. And now we're here on Nar Shaddaa! He's not dead! Him and Enlin want to join the party and protect her from whatever is going on! Just tell them what to do!

She refuses to let them help. She doesn't want to get them killed -- she has literal assassin wizards after her and she doesn't even know why! She's got Fasat and Vosh, they're capable bodyguards. Enlin, he's not a front line fighter. He's most effective behind a keyboard. Jeren knows his cultural martial art (Echani) but he's a pacifist. He's vegan. He's the most peaceful person Regina knows. So, no. They can't come with her.

As she's trying to send them away, Jeren stops, determined to explain himself. He didn't leave her, like he can tell she was afraid of. He did die, technically. He had a horrible accident and was grotesquely impaled. The only reason he lived was because Ithorians found him and provided drastic medical attention, but it took a long time to heal. A section of his spine has been replaced with cybernetic prosthetics, and it took a long time to adapt to it and recover his strength. He still loves her. Deadass, I looked at GM and said, "I mourned you. I moved on. I don't know how I feel now." And every single person in the room winced.

It so very very obviously breaks his heart, but he accepts this. He leaves with Enlin. But see, the near-death experience has put him in Absolute YOLO Mode. He will not live with regrets, he will put his whole back into everything, and he will win Regina back. And Enlin will help him. (Enlin's like, man, I kinda still like her, do I have to-- you're already walking away. Damn, damn, fucking okay...)

[Next]

[Index]

#greysith stories #star wars TTRPG stories

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ohheyitsokay · 3 years

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Alright my sweet! I'm here with a soulmate request.

So I gotta go with Jack, because who doesn't love being soulmates with a secret agent man? As for the trope... There are so many to choose from and I love them all BUT let's go with "the first words you say to your soulmate are somewhere on their skin". I'm a sucker for that one.

Have fun darling!! 🥰🥰

helloo dear heart! have a fanfic about you n your man, you absolute ray of sunshine 💕

hope you enjoy!

warnings:fluff fluff fluff. enough fluff for a really nice waiting room chair.

soulmate requests / follower celebration

It was a weird day, but your dearest friend had insisted.

This will be a fun use of your day off, she promised. And...

If there was anywhere you were going to find your soulmate, it was here. Deep in the bowels of the distillery, there were secrets in each room, behind each lock, and sewn into every suit cuff as far as the eye could see.

Statesman Headquarters.

Sugar, that's supposed to be classified.

The words on your arm near tingled with each step you took, because you were being told with no uncertain terms, that everything you were seeing, hearing, and feeling was absolutely classified. Ginger rolled her eyes as her coworker chattered about privacy and the history of Statesman, smiling good-naturedly.

"I dont think I should be here," you murmured, tilting your head at your friend.

Her hands were stuffed in her lab coat pockets, and she shook her head. When the papers got signed and the tin on your hands was given a final suspicious look, she ushered off with you.

"Listen," she said, her strides long as she took you back through the labyrinth to her lab. "I'm allowed to bring my friend to my coworkers, so they can thank her properly for the best damn cookies they've ever eaten, just like anyone else."

You laughed, feeling lighter. The cookies had started out as an innocent gift for her to take to a holiday party, and according to her, became high demand. As often as time and ingredients allowed, she would beg you for enough to feed a small army, swearing up and down that they were like magic for her mysterious team.

She could be stubborn when she wanted to.

"You just want to show off your work to someone new."

And she winked. "Damn right I do."

After long moments entering passwords, she lead you through a heavy door, adding, "And it wouldnt hurt these guys to know that you're single."

You sputtered, wanting to protest that you were fine waiting for your soulmate, before deciding not to make a fool of yourself. Almost dropping your overfull tin was enough.

There was a handsome man sitting at what you could only assume was her main desk. And by ' a handsome man', you of course meant the most confidant, dreamy, gorgeous all-American gentleman you'd ever seen. When you snuck a glance at your friend, wondering if she was as rosey-eyed as you were, you were shocked to see a blend of annoyance and confusion instead. Any traces of teasing were gone, serious business overriding all of in a single second.

He stood, almost tripping as he looked at you, a little wide-eyed for his reputation. His mustache moved, and time slowed as you held eye contact before-

"No," Ginger's finger blocked your view. "Save the flirting, Whiskey." It was her best no-business tone, and both of you snapped back into reality. "What's going on? Why are you here?"

The man - Agent Whiskey - looked sheepish, hooking one hand in his belt and using the other to scratch the back of his neck.

"Stay here for just a moment?" Your friend looked apologetic and you nodded, nearly collapsing as they stepped away. Moments before, youd been given a brief tour of the government's most elaborate secret, but now, your knees felt weak.

What a weird day.

It got weirder.

You hovered nervously as lights blared and displays ran data faster than you could read and agents ran in and out.

Neck craning, searching for Ginger, you watched as she was pulled left and right, setting up a command center right in the conference room next door.

"I'm so sorry," she managed at one point, grabbing a cookie from your box, "You wont be able to leave until this mess gets cleaned up." And you nodded as she was whisked away again.

There was no one you knew in sight except... that Agent Whiskey. Jack someone called him. Hands on his hips he took control, steady and stern, neatly reigning in the chaos.

You told yourself you were watching him for guidance, comfort maybe. Not because he was handsome as a sunrise. Certainly not because his gaze kept meeting yours, no matter the crowds, and each time the clocks seemed to stall. Not because your whole body ached to be close to him and ... and you almost thought he looked like he wanted to be close to you, too.

When he caught you watching him, he'd smile, almost proud, fingers twitching at his side. He kept stepping your way, too, before a call of his name made him turn on his boot-heels, cursing under his breath.

You felt small.

A man they called Tequila kept tapping his hands on the table. You heard protests that the agents in the field needed backuo or at least guidance and headsets were tossed. He and Whiskey shared near-crazed grins and worried glances as the muttered urgently into their communication systems.

The tin of cookies near sang at your side, and you slipped forward, just placing it open between them.

You wanted to help.

And at their big bites and briefly closed eyes, and sagging shoulders, it was your turn to feel proud.

Then you retreated again, savoring a certain cowboy's nod of thanks, accompanied by a wink that warmed you to your toes.

Eventually, things seemed to calm.

There was no cheers, but deep sighs and clumps of people dispersing with claps of hands on backs and shoulders.

Headsets were hung to charge, and you walked back towards Gingers desk, hoping for your friend to reappear.

Instead, when you arrived, Jack was already standing in front of it, holding a box cleaned even of crumbs.

"I can give you the recipe," you offered, feeling suddenly shy. What they did here... it was so intense. All the little texts of thanks Ginger had sent you finally made sense - your cookies were extraordinarily normal, beautiful in their simplicity. Absolutely lifesavers in their chaotic world.

The man in fron of you shook his head, perfect brown hair ruffled slightly, the ends peaking out from beneath his head. Feeling like you already committed to the offer, you tried to reach around him for a wayward stack of sticky notes and a pen.

"It's just flour and butter and brown sugar and -"

"Sugar, that's supposed to be classified."

Oh.

He smiled more confidently, the realization in your eyes apparently spurring him on.

"Next time, whaddya say you just show me how it's done?"

Dark eyes, crinkling with genuity and twinkling with mischief.

"Can I? I mean - would you - I mean," He stepped forward, right in front of you, and you squeaked. "Sure."

He was so close and... and you felt like you were missing something.

"...Now?"

Not taking his eyes from yours, his hand found your hand, gently guiding it to his arm, where he had at some point pushed up a single sleeve.

I can give you the recipe.

Your eyes found his again, the confirmation almost moot. He had been pulling you in since the moment you laid eyes on him, he was just... right, he was... you would have to leave a note for Ginger.

It felt like you were the only two in the world that mattered right now. Jack could feel it too - you could see it, even as he smirked.

"Sounds like a mighty fine idea to me."

Now.

taglist: @fangirl-316 @scribbledghost @writeforfandoms @beautyagegoodnesssize @princess76179 @mrsbentallmadge @pbeatriz @saradika @zinzinina

Whiskey taglist: @0celestialbitch0

#finding my groove again #i think #jen lords a leaping #sweet friends #soulmate requests #agent whiskey x reader #jack daniels x reader #maybe i dont know people

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luthienne · 4 years

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Louise Glück, from Averno

“Sometimes you leave your hair at the bus station & get on the bus & as your face falls asleep against the window you realize it is all your body now, everything between you & the pieces you lost once,”

Aracelis Girmay, from Kingdom Animalia; “Portrait of the Woman As a Skein”

Marie Howe, from Magdalene: Poems; “The Girl at 3″

“She knew herself, how she had slowly, over years, become a cat, a wolf, a snake, anything but a girl. How she had wrung out her girlhood like death.”

Catherynne M. Valente, from Deathless

“Many girls lock themselves up, / become pantries, closets. / Some, like trees, grow bark, / and others, like rivers, / burble into dimpled pools.”

Eli Mandel, from “Rapunzel (Girl in a Tower)"

“Sometimes I forget. I become a volatile spirit / a butterfly out of its wings, a blooming flower / in decay. I fall in love with ghosts and cry / when they flesh out,”

Mahtem Shiferraw, from Fuschia; “Being a Woman”

Aracelis Girmay, from “Portrait of the Woman as a Skein”

“Not every girl survives the forest. / Sometimes she becomes it.”

Catherine Garbinsky, from “The Princess & the Thorns,” Even Curses End

Rebecca Solnit, A Field Guide to Getting Lost

“I was something else, not a girl, not a wolf, something blank-eyed, tired,”

Catherynne M. Valente, from The Bread We Eat in Dreams

“Shame fuses to silence letting the night maraud, killing bit by useless hope of not being this girl I was. Am. She is.”

Eimear McBride, from The Lesser Bohemians

“When I was a girl / and you were a girl / we were floral / and ungiveable. Squash / blossom. Bleeding / Hearts in the sideyard. / Vine, albino root. / Petals open only in the moonlight.”

Emily O'Neill, “Wedding Soup,” from Pelican

“Glory be to the girl who goes back for her body.”

Dominique Christina, from Star Gazer

“Cover the memory of your face with the mask of who you’ll be—come, and frighten the girl you used to be.”

Alejandra Pizarnik, from Extracting the Stone of Madness: Poems 1962-1972 (tr. Yvette Siegert), “Paths of the Mirror”

“—if I could remember a day when I was utterly a girl and not yet a woman— / but I don’t think there was a day like that for me. / When I look at the girl I was, dripping in her bathing suit, or riding her bike, pumping hard down the newly paved street, / she wears a furtive look— and even if I could go back in time to her as me, the age I am now / she would never come into my arms without believing that I wanted something.”

Marie Howe, from What the Living Do: Poems; “The Girl”

“‘How strange it is to long for one’s self!’ she said; ‘and yet I often, so often, long for myself as a young girl. I love her as one whom I had been very close to and shared life and happiness and everything with, and then had lost while I stood helpless.’”

Jens Peter Jacobsen, from Niels Lyhne

Mary Oliver, from Blue Horses; “Blueberries”

“Your bare feet became a woman's feet, always saying two things at once.”

Louise Glück, from Descending Figure

“And I must choose. War before me, and behind, a woman I do not know, the woman I could have been, a human woman, whole and hot.”

Catherynne M. Valente, from Deathless

Louise Glück, from “The Myth of Innocence”

“Beware your face, / your limbs, your walk: / Gods see these / as invitations. / Beware of swans. / They may lift you / but you will fall. / Beware of children / hatched from eggs, / unfledged and beautiful: / they will burn / cities to the ground. / Don’t be seduced by the gods, / my daughter. / Though you break / into song beneath them / you will remain broken.”

Jeannine Hall Gailey, from Becoming the Villainess; “Leda’s Mother Warns Her”

“What could I have grown up to be? What kind of human woman, what kind of simple, happy thing? If I had never been broken on a bird’s wing. If I had never seen the world naked. I want to be myself again… I want to stop knowing everything I know.”

Catherynne M. Valente, from Deathless

“But I don’t really like what I know; I don’t really care for wisdom and experience. I would rather believe, and beat out my brains, and believe some more. I do not like this safe well-armed woman I have become. The loud bleating disheveled starry reckless failed girl was a better person.”

Martha Gellhorn, from Selected Letters

“a child with seafoam eyes / and dusky skin might cry, there / goes a girl with seven thousand years / at the hollow of her throat,”

Amal El-Mohtar, from ‘Song for an Ancient City’

“I say “her,” because I don’t recall having been present, not in any meaningful sense of the word. I and the girl in the picture have ceased to be the same person. I am her outcome, the result of the life she once lived headlong; whereas she, if she can be said to exist at all, is composed only of what I remember.”

Margaret Atwood, from The Blind Assassin

“There were always in me two women at least, one woman desperate and bewildered, who felt she was drowning, and another who would leap into a scene, as upon a stage, conceal her true emotions because they were weaknesses, helplessness, despair, and present to the world only a smile, an eagerness, curiosity, enthusiasm, interest.”

Anaïs Nin, from The Diary of Anaïs Nin: Volume One, 1931-1934

“Come, let me suffer! That is worth more than viewing injustice with a serene countenance, as Shakespeare says. When I have drained my cup of bitterness, I shall feel better. I am a woman, I have affections, sympathies, and wrath.”

George Sand, in a letter to Gustave Flaubert

“Slapped the man’s face, then slapped it again, / broke the plate, broke the glass, pushed the cat / from the couch with my feet. Let the baby / cry too long, then shook him, / let the man walk, let the girl down, / wouldn’t talk, then talked too long, / lied when there was no need / and stole what others had, and never / told the secret that kept me apart from them. / Years holding on to a rope / that wasn’t there, always sorry / and righteous and wrong. Who would / follow that young woman down the narrow hallway? / Who would call her name until she turns?”

Marie Howe, “What I Did Wrong”

“She is a woman stranded at doorways and passivity is killing her. There is only one thing she can do. Make noise.”

Anne Carson, in her Introduction to Elektra

Audre Lorde, from The Black Unicorn: Poems

“Part of me died here / so another could go on.”

Marty McConnell, from “When They Say You Can’t Go Home Again, What They Mean Is You Were Never There”

“see, you will rise. / and are you less of a woman for this? / no / what is woman? / woman is this—enduring. / listen girl, you will survive this—you will. / but what fool said you had to do it silently? / here is a tip—scream”

Salma Deera, Letters From Medea, “medea gives advice to a young girl with a broken heart”

#compilation #quote compilation #words #the great wound #regarde comme ta fille est faite #long post #terfs dni #this is very long. but i needed to make it and every word was necessary so i am not sorry

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mountainmoth · 4 years

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Some more Cottagecore / Mosscore Playlists for you all (pt.2)

Part one 🌸

Okay so,,, a lot of y'all enjoyed my last playlist post so I thought I'd share more?

Also!! A few people asked if I take requests and I'd love to! I've got asks and requests open so please do drop and ask if you have any ideas!

Loose your mind as you loose your feet with the spring hares! Joy is your's tonight.

Ages - The Hunts // Almost (Sweet Music) - Hozier // Ends Of The Earth - Lord Huron // First Day Of My Life - Sam Huber // The Fishmonger's Daughter - Sonya Belousova, Joey Bately // Grow - The Oh Hellos // Last Night - Miner // Lay Me Down - The Oh Hellos // a Morning Song - Miner // Oh, Sing - Native Sibling // A Place To Call Home - jens // Second Child, Restless Child - The Oh Hellos // Sparrow - Branches // Until The Night Turns - Lord Huron // & more

All Small Beasts Should Have Bows In Their Tales - Ellinoora // Brothers - Penny and Sparrow // Circles - Post Malone // Firemaker - Elsa & Emilie // Good Life - OneRepublic // High On Humans (Abbey Road Piano Sessions) - Oh Wonder // Just For A While - The Hunts // Lakehouse - Of Monsters and Men // Mr Loverman - Ricky Montgomery // The Only Constant Thing - Malukah // People Are Strangers - Zella Day // The Storm - Bronze Radio Return // Sunflower - Post Malone // Would That I - Hozier // & more (many more this one's a long one)

The bard's journeys have been long, lend him a coin and listen to his song.

Back To The Cave - Colonel Suns // Battle Cries - The Amazing Devil // Dear Fellow Traveller - Sea Wolf // In Memoriam - The Oh Hellos // Make This Leap - The Hunts // NFWMB - Hozier // October - The Crane Wives // One Day (I Will Return) - Northern Assembly // The Only Constant Thing - Malukah // Thèid Mi Do Loch Àlainn - Julie Fowlis // Tiger Striped Sky - Roo Planes // To Be Alone - Hozier // To The Bones - OLY. // Travelling Blues - The Human Experience // When The Night Is Over - Lord Huron // Wild Blue Yonder - The Amazing Devil // & more

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patheticwithanem · 4 years

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2020 in Retrospect

Hey friend,

I know it’s late, but I HAVE TO DO THIS. I kind of promised myself I’m writing about the year that was. I’m not exactly sure why; maybe it’s to put things in perspective going in to 2021? And today’s my fourth year anniversary with my employer, so I guess it’s perfect timing? (More on that later)

So I was going through my notes (I have this habit of writing down what happens on a daily basis - be it activities, emotions, drama, name it) and one thing’s for sure. 2020 SUCKED. It did. But I’m committing to this no matter what!

First things first: lots of profanities along the way. Well actually, I was about halfway writing the letter when fucking Tumblr decided to refresh and delete what I’ve been writing for about one fucking hour now. So I have to fucking do it all over again. If this is the Lord telling me to stop being sentimental about 2020, fret not my Lord! I’m one stubborn son of a bitch, so I’m carrying on.

Here’s how the rest of the year unfolded. 2020. Let’s go.

JANUARY. Reunions?

January 1. Had a get-together with a few relatives in Malabon. It was fun! I used to be so allergic to family reunions but I guess age creeping in changes you? You value people even more now? This was also the last time we’re able to spend some time with my uncle from Singapore. He brought his family to spend the holidays here. He’s a sweetheart and a great father who’s missed.

January 9. I attended a college dormmate’s wedding. I remember contemplating whether to go or not only to realize I’m actually lucky to be even invited given the fact that I chose to be distant for them for a long while. I also told myself that not showing up is so far from what I’m trying to be. Although I wasn’t there for the whole thing, I’m glad I did come. I was able to bond with my roommates once again whom I treated like brothers ten years ago and that was nice. A not-so-close dormmate even introduced me to his boyfriend and that’s huuuuge. The bride was beautiful too, and I’m glad she’s in the best place right now after all she’s been through. She’s a strong one, that girl.

January 11. Got invited to a birthday pool party of a colleague at work. I have to say I’m actually quite surprised I was invited to this. She’s always had my back though and always kind of looked after me, so I had to go. It was fun but I didn’t get drunk AT ALL.

January 12. AND THIS IS WHERE SHIT STARTED HAPPENING. The Taal Volcano erupted. It was awful especially for everyone living near the area because everything was covered with ash. It was also a day before my brother’s birthday and we thought the ashfall would be worse the next day so we decided to celebrate earlier.

January 19. Went to a fiesta. Did not expect to survive that at all. It was a different kind of neighborhood, but the people were nice.

January 25. Went to a public market with co-workers to buy clothes, eat chicken wings for dinner and then our regular fix of karaoke. Good times.

Anything else? I was able to book a birthday trip to Yogyakarta, which I eventually canceled because of youknowwhat. Tragic.

February. Blindside!

February 7. Blindside’s a bitch. Yes, that’s what I had written on my notes. I legitimately felt blindsided. So story: I have a friend who I found out was pregnant (let’s call her Ms. Preggy, sorry) and me and her bestfriend (let’s call him Work Son because he was my work son in a lot of ways) decided to hold an intervention for her. The four of us including a friend I’m going to call The-Now-Bestie (kind of a spoiler) whom I had a misunderstanding and was not in speaking terms with will be coming to Work Son’s place. Essentially, the goal was to make Ms. Preggy open up about her pregnancy and her issues with the douchebag father; make her feel that she has us and she doesn’t need to be alone in this. I think it went well, in that regard. However, the whole thing was awkward in epic proportions. It’s as if me and The-Now-Bestie didn’t want to acknowledge each other’s existence, and when we didn’t have a choice, we were sarcastic to each other. I also really felt like an outsider among the four that time; like I wasn’t supposed to be there and wasn’t really contributing to anything. It was a really lonely feeling. I decided to distance myself to them after that.

February 13. WINNERS AT WAR PREMIERE! Words can’t even express how excited I was to see some of my heroes again on screen! Parvati with that “phoenix rising from the ashes” confessional? Damn, girl! Still a fucking legend! It was also nostalgic Yul working his godfather magic once again. I’ve always seen him as a top-tier winner and someone I looked up to for what he represented to the Asian community and the history of Survivor. It was also nice seeing Kim, Tyson, Tony, Sophie, Natalie and Sandra. But I must say I kind of missed Todd. He was my favorite winner and was a great storyteller, a great strategist and a great character with an amazing comeback story. He would’ve been perfect for a season with this caliber of players. And as much as I hate Jeff Probst for shoving him down our throats, I wanted to see Cochran play with these winners! Caramoan’s my first season (a late superfan, yes) and he’s the very reason I got so hooked with the show. I used to think it’s a game where people like me never win. So to see someone like Cochran who’s awkward in every sense of the word (and owning it) win Survivor, it is very inspiring. I like speaking in metaphors and it’s funny how much metaphorical Survivor can be to how I see life now. I see Cochran and if he can win in Survivor, I feel like I can win in life, as silly as that sounds. Cochran sucked his first season, but he then went on to play this dominant game his second try while still managing to be the adorkable underdog that he is. I love that story. Man, I get so worked up when I talk about Survivor! I wish I had that same passion with anything else.

February 19. Mom slipped and had to be rushed to the nearest ER. Good thing there were no fractures and she was fine. I guess we can thank the fats for that? LOL

February 21 ‘til 23. WEEKEND STAYCATION! I needed this! Drinking at the hotel taproom with a live band? YES! Indian for lunch and surf-and-turf buffet for dinner? YES YES YES! That lamb chops, MY LORD. Thank you.

February 29. Leap Day. I started journaling again.

March. FUCKING COVID.

March 16. The Start of the Lockdown we all come to love now (punk, sarcasm).

March 17. Politics is so taboo to discuss especially over dinner. But then BAM. I had a major fight with my dad (and by major, I mean MAJOR in a get-out-of-the-house-in-the-middle-of-the-pandemic kind of major). It was basically about a comment he made that’s so misogynistic (towards the Vice President) that I just knew I can’t just let go. It was sooo bad I got all pissed, and when I’m pissed, I can get scary. Maybe it’s the voice or the eyes or both, but the fight got really heated on the verge of getting physical. Which now that I think about it is stupid just because of fucking different political views. Well, I can never get behind the President and they’re huge fans of him and I’ve come to terms with that but it’s just... bleh. I’m not even gonna try to rationalize it because I can’t. It’s just.. disgusting. Oh fucking well.

April. Wander-fucking-lust.

April 1. I started a 30-day Financial Detox which basically meant no unnecessary expenses. No online shopping, no paying for leisure. None. It was April Fools, but I was dead-set on saving! (Spoiler alert: I failed.)

April 6. Meltdown. I just really couldn’t hold it in anymore.

April 11. Dad’s birthday. After not talking for over a month (which is no easy feat in a tiny condominium unit), we acknowledged each other’s presence. By April 15, it’s like nothing happened anymore. He even gave me a home haircut (which for a beginner, is pretty good). On other news, I started watching The Politician on Netflix and t’was the day I started obsessing on Ben Platt and his music.

April 16. A year ago, I was enjoying sidewalk pho and almost making friends at Cu Chi Tunnels and the Saigon Skydeck of the Bitexco Financial Tower in Ho Chi Minh. Damn, covid.

April 18. That crazy border-crossing from Saigon to Phnom Penh a year ago. That was fulfilling. Damn, covid.

April 19. A year ago, I was experiencing sunrise at Angkor Wat. Wander-fucking-lust UGH.

April 30. That Town Hall shoutout from our company’s President because of reaching my quota from last month. That really felt good. As much as I hate to admit it, I like being validated from time to time. It definitely meant a lot especially coming from her who took a chance on me. I was patting my back.

MAY. Endure. Let Go.

May 14. KING TONY WON. Very well-deserved win. A disappointment of a season if you ask me, but props to the king for dominating an all-winners season. Respect for that. Also Natalie and Michele played great games as well and they should be very proud of themselves. I feel like a proud father to these winners HAHAHA!

May 16. Was pleasantly surprised with Dead to Me. That car scene between Jen and Judy on that ninth episode from the second season? Damn. That’s one of the few moments I teared up because of a TV show. That was powerful. All that tension building up and then that sudden release? I really felt that.

May 26. Why do I always feel all this fucking rage inside of me? I try to think of any triggers but I can’t seem to find one that’s actually reasonable. It’s like the isolation getting the best of me. I initially thought quarantine’s going to be a cakewalk for an introvert like myself, but it wasn’t the case. I feel like I’m losing my shit because I was stripped off of the usual things I have access to whenever I feel uneasy and anxious and angry like this. Endure, let go, I know. But it’s so much easier said than done, right?

JUNE. Breathe.

June 12. So the plan to sell the condo and find a new place is real. We went to this great place in Valenzuela and it was a great house and all but I felt weird. Maybe I was having trouble letting go? Maybe it’s just me being averse to change yet again?

June 15. Slept 6am for that How To Get Away With Murder series finale. That speech. VIOLA. Chills all over my body.

June 18. New phone was delivered. That was fast.

June 27. First time visiting the village we moved to. We were checking a different house this time and was already picturing us living there. Still felt weird, but maybe less.

Looking at it now, I realize almost nothing happened in this stretch of months. Pathetic.

JULY. Change (that’s not necessarily good lol)

July 3. The Anti-Terrorism Bill signed. FUCK THE CIRCUS THAT IS THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT.

July 10. Doomsday. The ABS-CBN renewal disapproved. FUCK THE CIRCUS THAT IS THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT. Also, that first house we checked was bought this day. First heartbreak.

July 22. Decided to donate to one of my elementary teachers to help finance school supplies for his students in the province. That felt good.

July 24. folklore’s goooood. This is the Taylor Swift sound that I love. (I had to write that down because that was a 2020 highlight to be honest)

AUGUST. Getting older. Again.

August 2. Donated to another cause: to help a really close friend’s mom (who’s a school principal) on financing their students’ lesson modules (they needed more paper so the donation was going to be used to buy more paper). That felt good.

August 3. Started obsessing on Dear Evan Hansen. I mean come on. HOW COME I ONLY KNEW OF THIS NOW?!?! The story, the acting, the soundtrack... it felt like I asked the Lord for a musical for me and he gave this on a silver platter.

August 9. Lasagna, baked sushi, lechon belly, pansit, cake. Weird combination, I know, but that’s me!

August 11. Discovered the Slowly app. Changed my life since then! I’m not even exaggerating. I guess it has to do with feeling extremely lonely amid the pandemic and getting this platform where you can talk to literally anyone while still keeping your anonymity. And it strips you off of instant gratification you’re so used to because you actually have to wait for your letters to be sent and to arrive. A great exercise for patience if you ask me! And since you have to wait, you make your letters longer and more worthwhile. It’s a platform free of judgment which relies heavily on building actual mental and emotional connections. It’s a gift, truly. NOT EXAGGERATING; YES I’M THAT LONELY.

August 23. The house search continued. This time, the South!

August 24. It was my first time watching a Korean drama and I gotta say I get the hype now. Korea makes great stories and they take their time when telling these stories. The story centering about mental health was definitely what got me to try watching It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, but the show’s so much more than that. That was a great watch.

SEPTEMBER. Finally some light?

September 1. Second year anniversary. I still really miss her.

September 5. My cat’s 5th birthday! Of course we had to celebrate for her with baked macaroni and burnt cheesecake.

September 11. Lost uncle. He gave a good fight.

September 19. SENSE8. It’s a show that doesn’t need any explaining. It’s the BEST. I love this cast SO MUCH. I remember thinking if I ever get a tattoo (which is unlikely), I’ll maybe have the title of that Sense8 series finale inked on me. AMOR VINCIT OMNIA. Love conquers all.

September 27. After a series of unfortunate events, we were led to this house on the same village we keep going back to, and the moment we saw it, we were sold. This is going to be our house. And it happened.

OCTOBER. Surprises?

October 6. Hooked up with someone I probably shouldn’t.

October 12. Booked a trip for next year because I’M HOPEFUL AS FUCK.

October 21. Had the best conversation I had in a long time.

October 22. Hooked up with someone I probably shouldn’t.

October 28. Organized a digital event for work. I’m still on the fence whether I’m proud of it or not. It was my first event, and I’ve wanted to do that for a long time. While I enjoyed all the preparation that came with it, from making that tactical marketing plan to coordinating with the organizers and my team, I felt like it was bland. There were lapses here and there and I know that we all tried the best we could, but maybe I just pictured it a little better in my mind? It wasn’t a flawless event and maybe I wanted it to be flawless. But it was fun. I never would’ve imagined me hosting an event, but I did.

NOVEMBER. Decisions.

November 14. So news came and we’re finally moving. The buyer of the condo got approved and it was only a matter of weeks to settle documents and payment and we’re good to go. I had mixed feelings about it. It took me back to that time we started looking for houses. I wasn’t exactly ready to let go of the place I grew with for the past five years. And I wasn’t also ready to let go of the convenience, and the relationships I only have started building with friends I found along the way. But at that moment I knew I had to be happy because they were happy. My family was happy. I knew I have to be happy.

November 21. Started all the packing. Packing meant decluttering and reminiscing, so letting go of more things which was overwhelming at first, but inevitable.

November 23. I had something checked in the hospital, and something happened and it wasn’t supposed to go that way but it did and it was so fucking bizarre lol

November 28. HAPPY MOVING DAY. It’s that day of the year. Stress was off the charts because of the time constraint and frankly, the lack of preparedness. Good thing a few people helped us with the rest of the packing. It was an impossible task for me and my sister alone so we were glad we got all the help we needed. I did most of the heavy lifting, so I had bruises all over my body for weeks, but after all was said and done, it felt surreal. Felt like everything coming full circle. That first night in the new home? I’ll never forget that. That was special.

December. The end of an era.

December 2. I went back to the condo to stay for a few more days. Get to feel the place one last time. Also lost a huge deal at work to a competitor. I usually really get depressed with these losses, but for some reason I felt indifferent about it. I guess it was my mind telling me I’ve mentally checked out of work already? That maybe it is really time to move on to something that’ll make me care about what I do again? Make me feel again?

December 4. Met someone (who we can call the Professor) I’ve been talking to for a while now. We’ve had some really great conversations leading to this night; talks at 3AM that’s kind of liberating? I was upfront about the moving and that I only have a few days left in the place which is probably why it happened. Professor was also upfront about leaving the country in a few months for an opportunity to work and do research in Japan for five fucking years. It was awkward at first; but we eventually warmed up to each other and spent the night together.

December 5. Things escalated pretty quickly. The Professor gave me a shower (that was weird but I was feeling it and I thought it was sweet and sexy?). We cuddled until we slept and there was breakfast prepared when I woke up. I don’t usually get to experience this kind of stuff so I really appreciated that. I was feeling it. I thought I can get used to this! I left the place and was invited back again so I stayed over for another night. We’ve had a few more interesting conversations. I was not expecting some of the things we discussed especially the talk about long-distance relationships. The Professor asked me what I think about it and I was honest; I’m not against it but it’s not something I’ll take a chance on if I wasn’t sure about it. Mantra’s always been connection first before commitment. I’m not the “take a leap of faith” kind-of guy; I needed to be sure. Or at the very least be really mentally and emotionally connected with the person. I thought that made perfect sense. I still do.

December 6. So it was finally goodbye. Me and my sister went to the nearest church to donate a few clothes and shoes and to attend a mass. Bid farewell to the Professor too and promised each other to keep in touch. I also had an awkward encounter with my sister’s “friend” who she sneaked in the condo for God knows what for. Pretty sure they did the nasty.

December 13. We went to our old house (the one I spent my younger years in) to get a few stuff for the new house. I only really wanted to get my old bicycle because I want to be biking regularly for the next year. I want to take that fitness journey seriously! So I got the bike and I got to spend some time with some childhood friends. Good stuff.

December 15. A teammate resigned at work. The funny thing is he did it after getting that 13th month bonus HAHAHA! I can’t blame him though after learning about the salary he gets when he’s performing three functions in the team. That’s insane. But it really made me wonder: am I still in this for the long haul? Or do I move on too?

December 17. So I had my work desk and wardrobe delivered. Felt so nice buying things for my room!

December 19. We got a new dog! Another French Bulldog. He’s pretty sweet. Someone’s not happy! (MY MOM)

December 22. And then this happened. We were supposed to meet after my dentist appointment (which I only used as an excuse to meet and I thought that was obvious) but the Professor never showed up. I waited for FIVE FREAKIN HOURS. I had like clothes with me because we agreed I sleepover but FUCK. Good thing a friend kept me company, but that was horrible. I thought YOU NEVER DO THAT TO ANYONE. I deserve better.

December 24. We had our house blessed. It was all super spontaneous; we invited a few friends and relatives over and had an intimate gathering. Mom got emotional (AGAIN).

December 27. So Ms. Preggy (from February - oooh that rhymed) had her son baptized. Since she lives a little father from the city, we decided to have a little staycation with some friends there too. The-Now-Bestie and Work Son was there, and we had beer and homecooked food and a slew of great conversations to cap off the year.

Also December 27. I knew I needed to get something off my chest. And I just had to say it.

“You’re so unfair. You shouldn’t have done that. Gave me false hopes. Gave me a “3-day trial period” only to disappear without any warning. Made promises you never intended to keep. You could’ve just told me you’re not interested anymore and I would’ve been fine with that but instead, you ghosted me. For the past few weeks since that weekend, it never seemed like you wanted to get to know me better. Or even just keep the communication going. It’s been one-sided and I wonder: has it always been this way? Maybe I’m remembering things differently. I told you I like you and I meant that. I’m still wrapping around my head why and how it happened to be honest. Maybe it’s that weekend? Maybe it’s the conversations leading up to when we first met? I don’t know. But things changed after that and I should ask you for an explanation but it’s really not the point. The point is I thought we can work something out and you hurt me. You may feel like you’re running out of time because of Japan but it’s no excuse to do that to anyone, really. You seem so sure about what you want so I hope you get whatever that is. Merry Christmas. Thanks for the memories.”

That was intense.

December 28. The Professor responded. “I apologize... I am getting attached... I had to “ponder on its implications to me in the long run”... I decided to slow down... It hurts... “That weekend that we met felt like I knew you before”... I am afraid... “You have no idea how hard it is to leave everything behind every 4-5 fucking years not because I wanted it but because I have to”... I still hope to continue whatever we have... “I will always remember you. Please don’t forget about me.”... YADA YADA YADA.

I know. You know me. I try to empathize as much as possible. But I mean, come on. These are things I already know. It’s not what I needed to hear.

December 31. I needed to say something one last time. There’s already a lot of uncertainties in the world with COVID and life and everything else. I knew I needed answers; I want the binary. I want the black or white for this one. I’m not taking the gray with me next year. So I asked the following questions:

“What do you want from me? Do you want to be friends? Or we stick with occasional catching up on Viber every once in a while (because that’s what it sounds like to me)?”

“What do you want to get from your last two months here? What are you looking for? Just make the most “fun’? Or look for something that will stick?”

“Have you told me anything you really didn’t mean?”

“That one time we talked about long-distance, were you asking me?”

Fast forward to now: I never got the answer I needed. I guess this is one of those rare occasions where no answer is the answer. And after a few weeks of contemplating about it, I am leaving it behind in 2020.

I’m actually at peace with that.

So there you have it. The suck-fest that is 2020. The first month of the new year wasn’t so bad. I feel this great energy. This year’s going to be different. I did tell you that this letter’s perfect timing. That’s because I’ve resigned and I’m moving on. A friend told me a while ago that he’s proud of me for finally taking action. The 2018 version of myself wouldn’t have done what I did and he was happy for me. I wanted a clean slate and I took it. That I was finally taking ownership of my life.

I was elated. My friend usually spoils me with compliments and encouragement and my ever reliable negative self-image tend to disagree with him but for the first time in a very long time, it felt right. I’m not usually excited for New Years, but I guess I am?

I say bring it on, 2021.

Until then,

Patheticwithanem

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1980smovies · 3 years

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Thursday, April 1 2021

The Dark Crystal:

Now!!! A family favorite!! The Dark Crystal! It was my favorite movie to watch as a child, though it was made before I was born, it was still amazing to me. It was realeased in 1982, this movie featured the puppets created by the director: Jim Henson. That's right the same director from the labyrinth (which also featured his puppets).

Most of the movie was souly his puppets, plus a couple running seens from a look alike stunt double. Making it look like the main character was actually running.

Quotes:

Aughra:

Ya look like Gelfling...

Aughra:

SMELL like Gelfling...

Aughra:

maybe y'ARE Gelfling!

Plot summary:

A millennium ago on the planet Thra, two new races appeared when a shard was shattered from the Crystal of Truth: the malevolent Skeksis whose continued corruption of the Crystal to extend their lives ravaged Thra, and the gentle urRu, more commonly known as the Mystics, who made their home in the Valley of Stones to await for their destiny. The leader of the urRu, the Master UrSu, raised a young Gelfling named Jen whose clan were slaughtered by the Skeksis. As the Great Conjunction of Thra's three suns draws near, a dying UrSu instructs Jen to fulfill a prophecy to heal the Crystal by first retrieving the Shard from Aughra. As UrSu passes, the Skeksis' Emperor, skekSo, also dies, leaving the position for the leader vacant. The Skeksis Chamberlain, skekSil, and the General, skekUng, challenge each other to a duel of succession, which results in skekUng defeating skekSil in a "Trial by Stone". SkekSil is stripped of his robes and exiled, while skekUng is proclaimed the Skeksis' new emperor. When the Skeksis learn of Jen's existence, they send their army of giant crab-like Garthim to capture him, with skekSil following.

Jen meets Aughra and enters her orrery, which she uses to predict the motions of the heavens as she explains about the Conjunction before having Jen select the Shard from a box full of shards. Aughra was about to explain Jen's mission before the Garthim arrive and destroy the orrery, taking Aughra prisoner as Jen flees. Hearing the call of the Crystal, the urRu leave their valley to travel to the Skeksis' Castle. On his journey through the swamp, Jen meets Kira, another surviving Gelfling who can communicate with animals. The two learn more about each other when they accidentally "dreamfast", seeing into each other's memories. They stay for a night with the Podlings who raised Kira, only for them and Kira's pet Fizzgig to flee when the Garthim raid the village. They are nearly caught by one of the Garthim, but skekSil intervenes by stalling it in its tracks, effectively keeping the Garthim from pursuing them.

Jen and Kira discover a ruined Gelfling city with ancient writing describing a prophecy: "When single shines the triple sun, what was sundered and undone shall be whole, the two made one by Gelfling hand or else by none." They are interrupted by skekSil, revealing the prophecy was the reason for the Gelfling genocide while trying to trick them into coming with him to the castle under false pretenses. But the Gelflings run off and reach the Castle of the Crystal on Landstriders, intercepting the Garthim that attacked Kira's village. While trying to free the captured Podlings, Kira, Jen, and Fizzgig descend to the bottom of the Castle's dry moat and use a lower-level entrance to gain access. But they are intercepted by skekSil, who once again attempts to convince the Gelflings to come with him, even attempting to drag them there when they refuse him further. Jen stabs skekSil's hand with the crystal shard in defiance, and skekSil, in a fit of rage, buries Jen in a cave-in and takes Kira to the Skeksis. skekSil is reinstated as Chamberlain while giving Kira to the Skeksis' Scientist, skekTek, to be drained of her life essence for skekUng to drink so that he can regain his youth. Aughra, imprisoned in the Scientist's laboratory, tells Kira to call for help from the captive animals; they break free in response and free Kira while causing skekTek to fall down the crystal shaft to his death. The very moment of skekTek's death, his urRu counterpart, urTih, vanishes in a burst of flame. Aughra frees herself soon after Kira left and before Jen arrived.

The three suns begin to align as the Gelflings reunite at the Crystal Chamber as the Skeksis gather for the ritual that will grant them immortality. Jen leaps onto the Dark Crystal but drops the Shard, with Kira taking it after Fizzgig is knocked down the crystal shaft by skekUng (he is saved by Aughra shortly after). Kira throws the Shard back to Jen as she is fatally stabbed from behind by skekZok, the Skeksis' Ritual-Master, and an enraged Jen inserts the Shard into the Crystal, fulfilling the prophecy. The Garthim disintegrate and the Podling slaves regain their essence while the dark stone covering the Castle crumbles away to reveal a crystalline structure. The urRu arrive and use the Crystal to merge themselves and the Skeksis into the beings they once were: the tall, glowing, and angelic urSkeks. The urSkeks' leader explains to Jen they had mistakenly shattered the Crystal long ago, splitting them into two races and decimating Thra, and that Jen's actions have restored them. The urSkeks revive Kira in gratitude for her sacrifice and Jen's courage, and then ascend to a higher level of existence, leaving the Crystal to the Gelflings on the now-rejuvenated Thra. (Wiki)

Cast:

Stephen Garlick as Jen, a Gelfling raised by the urRu and entrusted to restore the Dark Crystal. He is performed by Jim Henson and performed by Kiran Shah.

Lisa Maxwell as Kira, a Gelfling raised by the Podlings who joins Jen's quest. She is performed by Kathryn Mullen and stunt-performed by Kiran Shah.

Billie Whitelaw as Aughra: The Keeper of Secrets and an astronomer. She is performed by Frank Oz and performed by Kiran Shah and Mike Edmonds.

Percy Edwards as Fizzgig: A species of animal on Thra that is Kira's pet, performed by Dave Goelz.

Skeksis

Barry Dennen as The Chamberlain (skekSil): A Skeksis who was exiled following his failed attempt to claim the throne, performed by Frank Oz.

Michael Kilgarriff as The General (skekUng): The easily-angered Garthim-Master who becomes the current Emperor, performed by Dave Goelz.

Jerry Nelson as The Ritual-Master (skekZok): The high priest of the Ceremony of the Sun, performed by Jim Henson.

Both Nelson and Henson also voiced and performed respectively skekSo, the Skeksis Emperor who ruled Thra before his death at the beginning of the film.

Steve Whitmire as The Scientist (skekTek): A supporter of skekUng who uses the Dark Crystal to drain life essence from Podlings and Gelflings.

Thick Wilson as The Gourmand (skekAyuk): The organizer of the Skeksis banquets, performed by Louise Gold.

Brian Muehl as The Ornamentalist (skekEkt): The designer of the Skeksis garments.

John Baddeley as The Scroll Keeper (skekOk): The Crystal Castle's historian, performed by Bob Payne.

David Buck as The Slave-Master (skekNa): The Skeksis who oversees the enslaved Podlings, performed by Mike Quinn.

Charles Collingwood as The Treasurer (skekShod): A soft-spoken Skeksis who guards the Crystal Castle's riches, performed by Tim Rose.

Production:

Directed by:

Jim Henson and Frank Oz

Produced by (6) :

Jim Henson- producer (produced by)

Lew Grade- executive producer (as Lord Grade)

Duncan Kenworthy- associate producer: Henson Organization

Gary Kurtz- producer (produced by)

David Lazer-executive producer

Bruce Sharman- associate producer

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,657,335 19 December 1982

Gross USA:

$41,613,957

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$41,630,431

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thebibliomancer · 4 years

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Shadows of the Dark Crystal liveblog pt 7

Shadows of the Dark Crystal by J. M. Lee because surely people can’t get ruder to Naia, right?

Last times on book: Naia left her home swamp for the first time to travel to Ha’rar to prove her brother’s innocence. She made a stop in Sami Thicket where the rude Gelfling live. Then she saw some Skeksis for the first time. Big day for her.

Chapter 9

Naia is not having a good time at this party, Kylan sings a song.

“Naia sat alone on one of the many benches in the square ... No one joined her, and that was fine, or so she told herself.”

Ooof. Gelflings are the best at being so lonely that it hurts me, the audience.

Even Neech, her shoulder eel, ditches. Because the Spriton food is unpalatable and he goes to hunt something more appetizing.

But Naia doesn’t want to cause a scene or do anything to ruin Maudra Mera’s event so she just sits off to the side, watching the Lords from afar.

She tries to help the children and Podlings do dishes but they just give her a weird look.

Geez, poor Naia.

She’s alone in a crowd. “She felt more alone in Sami Thicket than she had in the wild field beyond it.”

Then the Census Taker SkekLach starts to take the census and the Spriton all form a line to be counted.

Maudra Mera manifests out of nowhere to tell Naia not to join the line, since she’s not Spriton. And calls her “my little soggy pet” because they will not have a single interaction where Mera isn’t vaguely rude or condescending.

Naia asks why the Skeksis are taking count, since they’ve never done it in the Sog before so she doesn’t really understand the core concept.

Maudra Mera: “It’s only worth counting what’s valuable”

GEEZ!

I didn’t think she could be shittier but she managed!

She also just starts touching Naia’s hair without asking which is also not great. Don’t do that, Gelflings or humanlings.

Aside from being casually offensive, Maudra Mera tells Naia she’s set up a cot for her in her own chamber to stay the night. Or if she’s staying up (best boy) Kylan will be preforming a song after dinner.

“Though she wasn’t particularly interested in hearing a song, she also wasn’t a child, ushered off to bed so early in the evening by her mother.”

Yeah, Naia! This is your quest! You can stay up as late as you want!

“Song telling wasn’t popular with the Drenchen. Weaving fantasy stories was a waste of time, according to her mother, who favored hard-talk and action. Stories were only good for distractions.”

Naia finds Neech eating a strange bug and gets ready to go to bed mostly to avoid being avoided the rest of the night. But she stops when best boy Kylan starts to sing.

Let me tell you a tale of Jarra-Jen

Who flew Thra once move and back again

Met a four-armed monster with half a heart

Jarra-Jen and the Hunter, and the Leap in the Dark

Huh! Was Jen from the movie named after an adventurous folk hero? If so, its almost an ironic name! Jen would really like to have a quiet afternoon.

Also, Kylan is such a confidant singer that even the Skeksis have turned to listen.

So the story of brave Jarra-Jen is that he’s heading home through the Dark Wood with a bag full of gifts from the Skeksis because the Skeksis super love Jarra-Jen and his cool travel stories.

But while walking through the dark forbidden Dark Wood, the Hunter starts chasing Jarra-Jen. The heroic traveling Gelfling winds up cornered against a cliff with a drop into darkness.

So this clever Gelfling chucks his Skeksis treasure off the cliff and listens. And before the Hunter can attack, Jarra-Jen jumps off the cliff into a calm river and laughs at the Hunter’s frustration. The end.

Everyone cheers after Kylan finishes. Even SkekLach starts chortling. Because if there’s anything the Skeksis like doing its laughing at other Skeksis. Although they’re the only ones who currently know that the Hunter is one. Its like a private joke, population 2.

The Skeksis start talking to Kylan who mentions that the Hunter killed his parents when he was young.

And Maudra Mera immediately rushes in and tries to rush Kylan away.

“This... Hunter. From song,” the Scroll Keeper said. “A myth? Some story, made by Gelfling?”

“It’s not a myth,” Kylan said, but Maudra Mera laughed nervously and clutched his shoulders tightly.

“A story, yes,” she added. “To teach the children not to leave their homes after the Three Brothers have gone to bed. You know, they listen to the song tellers more oft than they do their own parents!”

“Songs of brave heroes, thwarting villains,” SkekOk said, almost humming the words. “Gives a Gelfling hope, eh? Gets a Gelfling through the night? Very well, very well.”

Phew! I was wrong when I said the scene where SkekLach ate some squash was the most tense scene in Dark Crystal!

Maudra Mera is still a jerk but I sympathize in this moment specifically.

Naia finally heads to beds which in this case is a stack of blankets and cushions by the hearth. She was promised a cot tho!

She flops into bed and instantly gets incredibly homesick. Aww.

Naia wanders if Jarra-Jen ever got homesick and then dismisses it because they’re just made up stories.

“The songs might be fun to listen to while they were being sung - but after they were said and done, the song teller’s lute was packed away. They didn’t help her now. In a way, they were nothing but soft-speak, huff-puff only good for distraction, children, and the curious Podlings.”

I dunno. You seem like you could use some distraction, honestly.

Naia decides that what IS real is the Skeksis. And she’s going to go to Ha’rar, defend the crap out of her brother, and bring honor to her clan!

“Before long, she told herself, the names of the Drenchen would be marked in the thick pages of Lord SkekLach’s tome, and their number would be recorded in history.”

Hahahahahah.

Oof.

#dark crystal #the dark crystal #Shadows of the Dark Crystal #liveblog #Naia #Kylan #that's right BOOM #best boy is here

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alisonembers · 4 years

Text

Cogs and Queens (D&D Eberron Fan Fic) - Week 2

Content Warning: Blood, Course Language, Violence.

—————————————————–

Cogs and Queens - Part Two

When I woke up from my unconscious state, I found my arm had been replaced with silvered metal. I’d say I was upset, crying, or in denial… But honestly, I was just in shock. I’d never been knocked down before, outside of a back room or something, at least. The doc ran some arcane examinations while fusing the arm to my mind and found a secret I had kept from the world. He’d learned that I had a curse on me, a curse that guaranteed my expiration date. I’m lucky he did find out because thanks to the explosion, that date has been accelerated, and every day I don’t find a priest, is another day my life grows twice as short. Dandran, my artificer friend who fixed me up, he repaired my gun. Turned it from a single-action to a double-action with a break loader. I was offended at first, but I won’t lie. Six hasn’t performed so well before. Mercury sketches a small horned figure wearing a cloak with a revolver into their journal.

“Merc, you ready?” Quinton asks, zipping the fly of his pants while standing at the edge of the tavern porch.

“Yeah…” Not really. Mercury looks around themselves, seeing four men. Have I really slept with all of them?

“Convoy should be here any moment,” Quinton says. “Get your horses ready.”

“Why are the Daasks moving on land?” Mercury asks.

“Quicker to get it to the lower city? Don’t have to go through any official ports.”

“Makes sense. What’s the asset anyway?”

“Doesn’t matter. You’re getting paid, and you’re in debt. Better for you to stay oblivious.”

Mercury looks up at the sky, squinting at small airships. They’ve always hated the city outskirts, with its lengthy fields and dry grass, with no particular places worth stopping. I could do anything for whisky right now. They lick the top of their mouth. I wish I could afford whisky. Mercury walks over to their horse, provided by Quinton and his men. They climb on top, swinging their right foot over first. “I’ll never get used to this.”

“Too much time in the city, your highness?” Bendrick, the dwarf, says, riding on a horse alongside Mercury.

“Life in the city is incredibly comfortable! Gamble, smoke, drink, lose an arm… What’s not to love?” Mercury replies.

“Gonna miss your left hand, I think. You were quite good with it!” Bendrick teases.

“Yeah, fuck off,” Mercury replies.

Quinton rides ahead. “All right, boys and Merc, let’s pick up the pace.”

Mercury follows the men, lingering at the back of the group. They keep a watchful eye out, scanning their back, making sure nobody comes from behind, and keeping a lookout for the law. The pink fiend follows the outlaws over the small mountain, catching a look at the convoy from above. Two carts, one carriage.

“There they are!” Quinton shouts. “Ben, Lars, Jen. You cross to the other side, follow them from the right. I’ll take Merc with me, flanking from their left. You’ll know when to move in!”

The three men begin riding to the other side of the valley, aways behind to not be seen by the convoy crossing.

“Quinton! How are we gonna handle this? We going for the carriage?”

“I’ll handle the carriage. You cover me while I get inside,” Quinton says. “The boys will push up and take what they can.”

“Got it!” Mercury says.

As they rode on through the valley, the dry grass still kicked dust,

For it had not rained in many weeks, and the wind blew a gust,

The pink fiend and their outlaw friend caught up with great speed,

It wouldn’t be long before Mercury would make more men bleed.

Mercury unholsters their pistol, aiming it at the cart ahead,

Not a single tear for mortal men would they ever shed,

The sound of six the golden gun went echoing through the air,

And the merry gang began firing without a single care.

Mercury fires off another shot, hitting a man in the shoulder, his cry heard by all as he fell backward into the cart. They watch Quinton jump onto the back of the carriage, now seen up close, completely enclosed with no windows and armored to the teeth. What in the hells could be in there.

Quinton climbs along the side of the carriage to the driver. “Howdy!” he beats them over the side of the head, knocking them off the side. A bullet whizzes past, ricocheting off of the metal carriage, shrapnel piercing into Quiltons shoulder. “Fuck!”

Mercury pulls away. “You good?”

“Yeah!”

Mercury aims their pistol forward again at one of the carts, two more shots cracking out of the revolver. One of the Daask criminals falls out of the cart, and the horse leaps over their corpse. Mercury watches one of the carts begin to be pelted with repeating shots from rifles, sending pieces of wood flying, revealing the men inside. They aim their pistol once more, steading their aim with a deep breath. Okay, Merc, you got this, no missing allowed. They gently squeeze the trigger, their bullet whizzing through the air and colliding with the back of the driver’s skull. “Yee-haw!”

Bendrick rides closer to the cart, leaping from his horse, landing in the back on top of the dead men. He climbs the divider between the bed and the bench, pushing the dead driver off the side, and pulling the horses over.

Quinton slows the carriage, beginning to turn. “We got what we came for. Let’s move out before more show up!”

Bendrick begins turning the cart around, the one ahead of him still taking shots from a far distance, however poor with accuracy.

“That went easier than I expected!” Mercury says.

“Too easy. We need to get out of here!” Quinton says. “I don’t want to know who’s gonna show up.”

Mercury nods, escorting the carriage back through the valley.

Mercury leans against the railing out the front of the old tavern. “So, Quinton, you gonna tell me what I just helped with?”

“I pay you first, and then I can tell you.”

“Sure?”

Quinton pulls a pouch from his pack, tossing it to Mercury. “Fifty gold, as promised.”

“Never doubted you. I’m gonna get that whisky.” Mercury steps into the tavern, the air smelling of straw. “Hey, a whisky for the fiend!” they say.

“Well sure, that’ll be a gold,” the bartender says, his voice thick and gravelly.

Mercury flips a coin from the bag towards him and leans against the bar. “So, other than Quinton, any other work around?”

The bartender fills the whisky glass to the midpoint before placing it before Mercury. “Some artsy folk came through not long ago. Young folk. All optimisitcs. Something about wanting a traveling carnival escort as they move around the country. You up for that?”

Mercury nods, sipping their whisky. Lord of Dust, my tongue, the euphoria. “Why not, it could be interestin’ traveling with the artsy-” the sound of metal melting by a strange hissing sound rang through the air, and the smell was as foul as sulfur. “Gods, what is that?”

An explosion sends chunks of metal flying across the front yard of the tavern. “Here we are, boys!” Quinton shouts.

Mercury steps out, whisky glass in hand. “Not one for subtlety, are you?”

“Mercury, what you’re witnessing is the day the Everett gang gets rich!” Quinton replies.

Mercury walks over to the carriage, seeing gold bars inside, stacked on top of one another. Sipping from the whisky, they watch Lars pull a small chest out of the carriage, placing it on a small wooden table.

Jenson walks over with some picklocks and begins working the chest. “Easy… Peasy!” the lock cracks open, and Quinton lifts the top of the chest up.

“There they are!” Quinton says. “Shares to the Kundarak Bank of Sharn!”

“You gotta be fucking kidding me!” Mercury says. “We stole a fucking bank carriage?”

“Well, technically, the Daask boys stole it, and then we stole it from them.”

“How did you know they’d have it?” Mercury asks. “Impressive, but this is a big fuckin’ target.”

“That detail isn’t important. What is important is that we-”

A gunshot cracks from the hill, and a bullet blows straight through Mercury’s glass of whisky.

“Get down!” Quinton shouts, ducking for cover.

“My fucking whisky!” Mercury replies. “Why can’t I ever finish a god damn glass of whisky!”

The air settles as the gang hide behind walls, barrels, and the carriage.

“Quinton Everett! Lay down your arms and surrender! You and your gang will be facing trial for crimes against Sharn and her people! Namely, stealing a bank carriage!”

Mercury flicks six new cartridges into their empty pistol. Living life by the second!

To be continued.

#dnd fanfic #dnd #eberron #tiefling #bard #dungeons and dragons #lgbtq #lgbt fiction

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maraschinocheri · 5 years

Text

A novel no one needed on the Les Mis filmed concert: 1,800+ words of stuff and nonsense.

The first thing that jumps into my head is that I am so glad the concert run is over, and the second is that it’s a very strange feeling when the strongest vocal performances on stage seemed to belong to Enjolras, Eponine, and … Cosette. But let’s get the rest of it all over with first.

• Alfie Boe’s acting has improved since he last played Valjean, thankfully, but good lord, he really needs to not get involved in any even moderately extended run of anything, because he clearly cannot hack it physically or vocally. And while it may seem churlish to say so, I am so bored of his Valjean. Warble warble warble, seeming so out of place with everyone else’s voices, and just. Enough. He looked lovely, of course, and I’m sure his fans truly enjoyed this repeat of him in the role, when … he was actually there, but he sounded absolutely exhausted. I’m afraid I spent a lot of his performance wishing I were watching JOJ on film instead.

• Michael Ball’s mention during the encore that this was his last performance as Javert seems a fair thing; he is not—and never was— meant for this role on any level (I maintain he has all the threatening menace of Snidely Whiplash), though Stars was not bad, especially because he left himself, you know, sing and not bark or growl or spend so much damn time and energy trying to not be *~MICHAEL BALL~*. The gritted teeth “m’sieur! mayor!” was just a boring choice, the Confrontation was a muddy mess, the Intervention played too much for comic effect (though MASSIVE POINTS for bringing back the original why the hell did he run? instead of why on earth did he run?), the barricade scenes had too little punch, the Sewers had so much potential that disappeared, but …

But. While Ball’s is not my preferred style of Javert and never could be, I have to take a deep breath and blinkingly applaud his wild leaping commitment to batshittery in the Suicide. I mean, if you’re going for full on batshit at that point, you have to really sell it, and with any luck make it a different range of batshit than previous batshit Javerts, and he did. My dad, the sole member of my family not much prone to show commentary, said “That was excellent.” firmly after the Suicide, and a part of me grudgingly agreed. But please, never again, Michael. Honestly I think he’s relieved it’s done.

(Also honestly, the most amusing moment of the entire concert experience for me was my mother’s interval exclamation that she had “a new boyfriend!” Assuming she meant Bwadders, I laughed and asked oh really, who? And she said … Javert. After I recovered myself, I reminded her that Javert was Michael. Ball., who has been at one stage or another my—and everyone else’s—mother’s boyfriend since 1985. She had entirely forgotten he was playing Javert in the concert and was bizarrely fooled by wig and costume, but assured me that even now, she “could swim in his dimples.” My mother, everyone.)

• Shan Ako was a marvelous Eponine, and I loved her On My Own. She’ll be great fun to watch in the actual production, I think, and I so appreciated a tough cookie Eponine with old school vocal power but newer school technique and touch and oh my god subtlety without losing anything in characterization, even given the limitations of a concert performance. Houchen’s Marius wouldn’t have deserved her, anyway.

• Speaking of Houchen. You know, I was fond of Rob while he was in his actual run as Marius, but he’s absolutely checked out of it mentally and emotionally, and it shows. He still has a lovely voice that really works as Marius sometimes, but there’s nothing … there underneath the pretty sheen, and after the few years’ distance since his proper run, I’ve seen enough Marii who enjoyed the role and found substance in it that the lack of depth in Rob’s take was disappointing. However, I acknowledge that some of Marius’ actual-show chances of showing range don’t happen in the concert version, and perhaps if they’d been included my opinion would change. He knows he’s aged out the role now, however, and I highly doubt he’d ever want to do it again even if invited to do so. But who knows.

• I walked into the concert film with no opinion of Lily Kerhoas’ Cosette other than knowing she could sing it beautifully, but I was actually impressed—and sort of want to sit nearly every principal Cosette of the last, oh, decade in front of her performance and say, see you’re allowed to act; it can actually work—and I look forward to her work in the proper show as well, especially if they get her some costumes that actually fit and don’t look made of tissue.

• God, I hate Matt Lucas. The end.

• Katy Secombe has added some different touches to her Madame T, some good, and some—obviously Lucas-influenced—bad. It’s unfortunate that some of the Thenardier ~comedy absolutely cannot work in a concert setting—the wedding was awful—but she made a decent hash of a bad deal.

• Which brings me to Bwadders. Oh, Bradley. He’s just so very, very good at Enjolras, and always has been. This concert!jolras, however, had one very different vibe from his run’s take on the role, which was … a hopefulness, maybe? A joy and breathless hope running beneath the passion passion PASSION that’s always been there, and it was beautiful to watch in his eyes and mannerisms. The concert contained Bradley somewhat, in that his strong physicality wasn’t allowed to sort of fill the room (and barricade) as it had at the Queens, and I missed that. Also—and there is no getting around this, sadly, for me—that manbun still ain’t it. (Gingerfather—whose fave character in the show is Enjolras—just sighed heavily and said that there should’ve just been one of the Ponytails of Yore instead, and you know, he’s not wrong.) Bradley also nailed two of the three Big Notes, but his until the earth is free was done differently from how he approached it during his real run, and not for the better (the Ghost of THAXTON giveth, and it taketh away). And yet … it didn’t matter. It truly didn’t. He was the best of the principals, and at least for me would probably have been even if he’d bollocked the other two Big Notes as well. Anyway, Bwadders. A thrill to watch, and alive with energy so much of the show otherwise lacked.

• You will note no mention yet of Fletcher. I refer to the point above re: Matt Lucas.

• The Amis, as one. I am aware that many, many people adore Raymond Walsh’s Grantaire, and I entirely understand why. He was fine. Craig Mather’s Combeferre and Niall Sheehy’s Courfeyrac both allowed both actors to show off some real oomph in their voices, though I’m still much too rattled by a Courfeyrac wearing Joly’s clothes. I love Vinny Coyle because he’s just so obviously, thrillingly in love with the show, but he’s also a fabulous Feuilly, and I merrily handwave the not-so-great we’ll be therrrre because a) it’s a horrendous note few people can carry well, and b) I’ve seen and heard him do it brilliantly so many other times when he was covering Feuilly as a swing. And it was delicious to see Will Jennings as a background onstage SwingAmi. Everyone else was just sort of … there, though all very pretty. It was extremely clear who had been in casts properly educated and invested in the show, but that’s a record I’ve played enough.

• I will never not love seeing Sarah Lark, Jo Loxton, and Tamsin Dowsett. I also deeply appreciate seeing Oli Brenin doing everything, everywhere, all the time.

• It is never not wonderful seeing Earl Carpenter bishoping, but my god EARL WHAT EVEN with that Bamatabois. What even. There was active squeaky recoiling happening in my row.

• Gavroche was excellent and adorable and GINGER. Full marks.

• And so to the encores. The only point I could see to the coat handover from Michael to Bradley was to give Michael a Moment along the lines of the Valjeanfest, as it’s not like the role of Javert is new to Bradley. However, I was fascinated by the strangeness of the harmonized Stars, and I think I need to watch and listen to it again about a thousand times to really confirm my proper opinion. I know Bradley doesn’t sing Stars that high for real—and certainly doesn’t need to—and what they did here doesn’t really … show his approach to the role, but it was interesting, and I give them credit for the try. (I did attempt to imagine others—let’s be real, I was imagining THAXTON—even being asked to make a go of this, and my imagined Thaxtonic response will make for excellent nightmare fuel.)

• Then, then, then. All Valjeans all the time, including some Potato in a tour costume that still has me hissing at its wrongness. Anyway! Leaving aside Alfie—whose section just really sounded like jesus christ I cannot believe I have to do this again; I just want to lie down for a thousand years and block Cameron’s number from any further contact with me put to music—I found the whole thing much more palatable than the 25th anniversary Valjeanfest, perhaps mostly because of my fave part of the whole concert—the whole two lines JOJ and Killian shared—but also because the four Valjeans not actively praying for their own deaths all seemed to have physical, emotional, and vocal respect for the role, the show, the audience, and each other. It was a strange joy to watch.

Which, truly, this concert was as well, in enough places to ensure that I will buy the inevitable DVD. On some occasions I may even start its playback before Look Down (Paris). Maybe.

(One more small thought, though, on this concert and why I am glad it’s over: I know the run sparked a lot of joy for a lot of people, but if I saw one more bitchy tweet from the cast members I might have screamed. Are some audience members dickheads? Absolutely. Then enforce the fucking rules. Train and allow your FOH to go after those people (and force the management to back the FOH staff up!), remove them, throw one of the old pest catcher boxes from under the Queens seats at them, whatever. But shut up. I don’t even follow any of the whingers I saw! Twitter just enjoyed throwing their tweets into my feed like a toddler’s wall-splattering food. #blessed)

Anyway. That’s that done. The show’s world turns, though obviously it no longer revolves.

#ginger is headed this way with an opinion #natter natter natter

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alwaysbringabookwithyou · 5 years

Note

Other forms of media you enjoy and some of your favorite examples?

Oooo I like this question - here are some of my favourite things:

Podcasts: Welcome to Nightvale, Dear Hank and John, The Ricky Gervaise Show

Netflix: Orange is the New Black, Stranger Things, Dear White People, The Get Down (season one), The Good Place, One Day at a Time

TV: Peaky Blinders, Luther, Brooklyn 99, Broadchurch, Sherlock, anything narrated by Attenborough, Parks and Rec

Film: Tangled, The Princess and the Frog, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Legally Blonde, Clueless, To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Leap Year

Youtube: vlogbrothers, crashcourse, Madeleine Olivia, Jen Campbell

Video Games: Nintendo Pokemon, any Lara Croft ever, Blizzard World of Warcraft, Sega Sonic Adventures

Music: Hozier, Florence and the Machine, Beyonce, The Hamilton soundtrack, Arctic Monkeys

Art: Any French impressionist painting but particularly those by Alfred Sisley, Van Gogh, Gericault's The Raft of the Medusa, Turner's The Slave Ship

Send me asks about anything you guys!

#books #booklr #book #bookworm #bookblr #reading #bibliophile #favourite

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aithne · 5 years

Text

(Illume) From Lady Yukiko's Journal, 7/9 - 7/13: Cold as River Stone

7/9/1583 Aomori

We've stayed here an extra day to restock and decide what we need to do next. There are several things in Tokyo that need our attention, including finding another part of the key to Sky Home and, possibly, finding and freeing Akechi. While my heart leaps at the idea of having Akechi back with me, I fear that to go into the enemy's very strength is a foolish venture that will doom us all. We will see if the feat proves possible. We also need to go visit Miyazaki, the Scorpion ancestral seat, but that's at the other end of Japan and it's over a week's voyage down there if the wind is with us--which, this being summer, we cannot count on.

First, however, we are going to make a stop in Dragon territory. Haku has a scroll that he would really like back, and that would make him the leader of the Dragons, as his claim to the Ruling Lord's seat is far better than anyone who has held it for the last while. As he explained to me, the scroll is written in Vedic and contains the accumulated wisdom of his entire family, handed down over the ages. One who can read the scroll can read the Ritual of Ascension, which confirms one's blood right to rule the Dragons.

And, should we manage that, our alliance with yet another clan will be cemented. Scorpion, Phoenix, Unicorn, Dragon, and part of Crane would fall on our side. The main strength of Crane currently falls on the other, with Crab and Lion still unallied. On paper, we have the advantage, especially if we can get all the Clans working together. But our strength is far too diffuse. We have the hand but cannot as yet make a fist.

This is where I sorely wish Akechi with us once again. I am not a war leader, that isn't where my strength lies. And the child more than ever grows restless, as quarters begin to get a little cramped. I spend quite a bit of time wandering the deck. Me being in motion seems to soothe the child within me.

One of these walks this afternoon, I saw the oddest thing. Reiko has taken to teasing the Thrykeen, waiting until they fall asleep and then crouching by them and staring at them until they wake up. It seems to be her goal to make sure none of them sleep at any time she's awake. But what she was doing now was different.

She was surrounded, as usual, by the three or four mantids that were awake, in their human forms. They moved restlessly, wanting to get closer to her but prevented by their orders from doing so.

And the kitsune was dancing among them.

She would dance forward a few steps, and the mantid would back away. Dance back, and it would come forward. She turned this back and forth into a silent dance that spoke eloquently of hatred and fear, her partners the mantids who, not understanding what she was doing, were connected to her as with invisible threads. She pressed them into each other, surrounding them even as they were surrounding her.

It is easy to forget how dangerous she is, our confused little shaman. Though not so confused, these days, it seems. I'm almost used to her spirits now. On occasion, I fancy I can see them myself, though I know it's only heat-shimmer and wishful thinking. Funitsu, I think, is still of the opinion that Reiko has merely seen things none were meant to and is mad as a result. While that may be true, I no longer doubt the existence of her spirits.

For some reason, I can't get the image of the kitsune dancing to music only she heard among her blood enemies out of my mind. Perhaps she is mad, at that.

This evening, we had someone request permission to come aboard--a tall man with blond hair, unusual in the Kingdom. I find myself being suspicious that every person we meet who is more than usually attractive is something other than what they seem. In this case, I was right. He brought a message to Funitsu, which the Scorpion read and sighed. "Kakita Reina is dead. Arenro blamed her Akechi's orb going missing, and he tortured her to death. We have to assume that he knows we have it, now." I was shaken--I liked the gawky Crane girl, and she had information that would have come in handy.

For some reason, I feel as if we should have protected her but failed. I'm not sure why I feel this way--she was under the protection of Lord Tsuneyasu, not us--but she died because of us.

No matter.

The blond man asked to see Tadaki, and introduced himself to him as Jeron, a Thrykeen who had come with five hundred mantid eggs for Tadaki, a gift from my father. Tadaki can give the order for them to hatch, and three days later we will have five hundred perfectly loyal warriors. He told Tadaki that he was a commander assigned to Tadaki's crystal, and owed his loyalty to the Sparrow.

He then reached into a bag that he'd carried on board the ship. "I found this, and rather than killing it, I thought I would bring it to you." He pulled out a fox, red fur glowing in the setting sun. A fox with two tails. Another kitsune.

"It's bound and therefore helpless. It's a male. Very rare. Almost a curiosity, if one were interested in these things." The kitsune, held by the scruff of the neck, glared balefully at Jeron and then at the rest of us. "What would you like me to do with it? One word, and I will kill it for you." Beside me, Reiko uttered a whimpering cry.

"I'll give it as a gift to our other kitsune." Tadaki reached out and took the fox by both its tails. He brought it over to Reiko and said, "Here. Present for you." He dropped it at her feet and went back to talk to the Thrykeen.

"Do you have any standing orders for us? Anything I need to know about?"

"You're to stay at least seven feet from the kitsune at all times, and protect her when it becomes necessary. However, a clarification of that is in order. You can stay farther than seven feet from her. Hanging around her is beginning to make her very, very nervous."

The Thrykeen bowed. "As you command. I will endeavor to keep those in my command away from her."

Reiko was kneeling beside the male kitsune. "He's bound, like I was. He can't change and he can't feed. Unless we have a shujenja with a concentration in Water that I don't know about, I'm going to need to do this the hard way. It'll take me a few days." The fox was nuzzling her fingertips, and automatically she started scratching it behind the ears.

Before I retired tonight, I saw two foxes--one small and coal black, the other a bit larger and fire red--chasing each other around the deck. Playing together. I am hoping this bodes well, but one kitsune was probably too many. Two may prove a strain on my retinue's good nature.

We'll see, though.

7/10/1583 At sea, late morning

Was woken early this morning by Reiko, who had been on watch with Tadaki. From what she said, they had both heard a pop of some sort in the crow's nest. When Reiko climbed up to take a look, she found a decrepit old orange cat sitting up there. She surmised that it wasn't what it appeared, but picked it up and carried it down to the deck anyway. Panda confirmed that it was a hengeyokai, frowning, saying that it seemed very odd that tiny Reiko was carrying an old man who, even stooped, was taller than she was.

The cat changed into an old man, who asked to see the librarian. Evidently, the old man (whose name is Winter) is an old friend of his, and one of the only people to ever live long enough to retire from the Black Hand. Winter asked where we were going, and we said we were heading towards Miyako, the Dragon Clan seat. He shrugged and said, "Well, you could try, but you might have some trouble sailing down there. The sea's starting to freeze over."

General muttering ensued. It turned out that the leader of the Dragon clan, one Lord Takuma, had learned how to read the Vedic scrolls that belonged to Haku's village, without learning the wisdom of what to read when. He'd changed summer to the depths of winter for a thirty-mile radius, accidentally. Haku muttered, "And I'll bet he has no idea how to fix it, either." He seemed to be more disgusted than angry at the wayward Lord, but I could tell, knowing Haku, that somewhere in his mind Tanaka was already dead. The fact that he was still breathing was merely an unfortunate condition to be corrected as soon as possible.

From the story that Akechi told me about where he came from, Haku does indeed have a legitimate feud with Tanaka, since he (without any provocation as far as anyone could tell) rode into his home village with samurai and wu jen and slaughtered them all, down to the last child, except Haku. And Haku was badly wounded; Panda found him and patched him up, taking him into Akechi's service when he was well enough to travel.

The last anyone knew, Lord Tanaka was near Baiden Mountain, somewhere close to the pass. Funitsu used his orb to scry on him, and made a surprised noise when he saw the scene in the orb.

Tanaka was standing in chains, something dark and monstrous standing over him. He was before a pool of steaming water, evidently inside of Baiden, and he was reading from Haku's scroll. Every time he would falter, the thing standing behind him would prod him.

"What is that thing?" Funitsu asked.

Panda looked into the orb, her brow dark. "It's an oni. A sort of demon. Nasty things."

Well, we were going there anyway, and so we made plans to stop a bit north of where the ice began and fly to Baiden--one person riding Gryphon, the rest of us in the mirror. Tadaki elected to hatch eleven of the mantid eggs, so we'd have a nice even twenty if she came back without losing any of the Thrykeen. I suspect that this isn't going to be the case, though.

Winter's bright eyes focused on Funitsu. He bowed and greeted him with, "Lord Soshi. It is good to finally meet you. I must tender my congratulations on the marriage of your sister."

I'm not certain if I've ever seen anyone look so stunned. But he swiftly recovered and said, "My sister? you must be mistaken. My sister has been missing for a number of years now. We've all assumed she was dead. Also, I am not Lord Soshi. Unless you have news of my brother that I don't yet know...?"

Winter shrugged. "No, no, no news. Merely...being polite. But your sister has been hiding in plain sight for years. She changed her name and went into the Hand. You may recognize the name she took. It's Minaku."

The Scorpion sputtered. "Minaku? But--"

The librarian frowned. "It can't be. Minaku raised me, she'd have to be in her forties now--and your sister is younger than you, isn't she?"

"By several years. They can't be the same person. Perhaps she killed the old Minaku and replaced her." Funitsu was still scowling, lines marring his smooth brow. "Winter, you said that she married. Who's her husband?"

The old man's eyes were still bright as he replied, "Arenro."

Ah, yes, Arenro's revenge for Funitsu's marriage to Tomika. Now the scales are balanced once more, and Arenro and Funitsu are in approximately the same position within each others' clans. Just the news we wanted to hear.

Tomorrow, we'll be in flying range of Baiden, and we'll go see if we can get Haku's scroll back.

7/11/1583 At sea

We're flying to Baiden sometime within the next hour. I have to say that the mirror's really the only way to travel. The beds are comfortable, the food is good, and the only downside is that you never know what's going on outside.

Tadaki was the one riding Gryphon when we reached Baiden. We heard his voice echoing into the entrance hall. "You'd all better come out and look at this." We came out into the scene of a battle, apparently between Oni and human warriors. The humans had triumphed, it appeared--there were oni tracks and black blood leading away from the battle--but nobody was there now. The steam vent that the humans had been guarding lay wide open.

I shivered. The air was very cold, and there was a thick layer of snow on the ground. Panda, after looking down at the tracks in the snow, raised her head. "What's that?" She pointed into the steam vent, where all of us could now see some shadowy shapes approaching. Too large for humans. I slipped back into the mirror to let my retinue fight.

I realize that it keeps me safe, this hiding, but it does grate so! I should be out there with my retinue, and instead I am hiding in the mirror. But I remembered my faithful Panda's black eyes as she had told me, "If you die, all is lost, my Lady. Please, let us guard you as best we can."

And so I wait in the mirror for the all-clear, and I worry about my retinue, fighting a battle just on the other side of the mirror hanging in the entrance hall.

The rest is put together from tales my people told when we were traveling back, since I was unable to witness it myself.

We found out that the oni can spit chunks of molten copper as a weapon. That was a painful lesson for several of us. Reiko, as usual, hid behind a boulder, and the rest of us charged in and smote oni. We triumphed, relatively easily, and we captured one that told us there were two different ways to get to where they were holding Tanaka. We thanked it and then gave it the gift of a dagger in the heart.

Reiko picked up Winter, who was in cat form and looking cranky about being in the snow, and dropped him into a sling she'd fashioned from a piece of silk she'd found in the mirror somewhere. The orange cat blinked and promptly went to sleep.

Into the steam vent we went, taking the top of the two routes, twisting and turning our way into a large cavern, the walls made of basalt. Reiko volunteered to be a scout, saying she had a spell that would keep the enemy from seeing her. The spell, oddly enough, worked, and she came back and reported that there were fifteen oni and one nearly-dead Tanaka who was still reading from the scroll.

Panda frowned. "The orb says there's a fragment of the night spirit in there somewhere. Can anyone turn me invisible so I can go look?" Reiko assented, and Panda went and found a small woman who was invisible and watching the proceedings.

We came back together, retreated a bit, and then in whispers made a plan. It was very simple, as all the best plans are. Panda would try and get a dose of the true source down the invisible woman's throat, and we'd send in the Thrykeen ahead of us and then just kill oni. And, oddly enough, it worked.

Panda managed to get some of the true source into the unsuspecting woman, freeing the fragment of spirit from her body and trapping it in the orb Panda carries. The woman collapsed, as if she were a puppet with her strings cut. The rest fought most bravely, both human and oni blood flowing freely. The librarian, who for some reason had decided to get into direct combat with an oni, was most gravely wounded, falling dead on the basalt floor. As Tomika was dosing him with one of her resurrection tablets, Reiko (still under that spell that renders her invisible to our enemies but visible to us) wandered up to Tanaka, who was still reading, summoning something far worse than the oni we were fighting from the steaming pool.

Winter, at this point, woke and jumped down from her sling, wandering away through the battle. Evidently he anticipated what the kitsune was about to do.

The kitsune reached upwards and snatched the scroll out of Tanaka's shaking hands. She flashed the startled Dragon a grin and then began running absolutely flat-out towards the entrance we'd come in from. Gryphon saw her running and ran after her, snatching her up and taking to the air as all of the remaining oni turned and began to run after her.

Haku and Panda glanced at each other. One of those quick unspoken conferences that my two warriors have on occasion occurred, and it was quickly and silently decided that since we now had the scroll, it was time to retreat. Panda grabbed the woman who she'd given the true source to by the scruff of the neck and dragged her out behind her, and the rest of my retinue beat a hasty retreat out into the snow.

Reiko said, "Haku, catch!" and tossed the scroll at him. He caught it, looking gratified. Reiko and Funitsu busied themselves with binding wounds and giving what healing they had left.

We questioned the woman we'd given the true source to, and it turned out that her name was Hitomi, and she was a Crane Clan member. We couldn't decided what we wanted to do with her--kill her, let her go, or ransom her back to her clan. The latter is probably the better of the three options, but it does give her right back into Arenro's clutches.

We were about to depart when the one person we were missing--Winter--came limping out of the tunnel, dragging three oni heads and one extremely bedraggled Lord Tanaka with him. The kitsune said, "Hey, it's the kitty!"

"'Ey. Thought you might want this one. He's not looking so healthy, but you know." And before my retinue's amazed eyes, he changed back into his cat shape and went over to Reiko, who silently picked him up and put him back into the sling she wore.

(Gryphon, at this point, started pouting at Reiko, and saying, "But I thought I was Kittycat!" She hastened to reassure him and scratch his ruff, rubbing her nose against his feathers. He forgave her. I think.)

We climbed into the mirror once more and Gryphon (accommodating sort that he is) flew us back to Miyako, the Dragon Clan headquarters.

We walked through the town, the barely-conscious Lord Tanaka in chains among us. We were getting some very odd looks of the sort that usually presage a general riot, so Haku hastily found a place to speak from and read from the scroll--something called the Clause of Ascension. And then he killed Lord Tanaka with a dagger in the back of the neck.

There was not a sound other than the thud as Tanaka's body hit the ground. Haku cleared his throat and said, "All right. Any questions?" None were forthcoming. The second in command in the Clan seemed to be a man named Tohiro, and Haku hastened to find him.

The news of the clan was not good at all.

The Dragons have been fighting many battles in the past few months, almost all of them suicide missions of one sort or another. Tanaka, near as anyone could tell, was intent on running the clan into the ground. At the moment, the only sortie that was going on was a General Isamu who was leading a bunch of Dragons into Lion territory. Haku did what he could, including sending a message off to Storming Bear, asking if the Unicorns would consider a mutual defense alliance with the Dragons. We await their response.

Haku also put the weather right, which I almost objected to but thought better of it. It's difficult, being so pregnant in the swelter of the summer, but I persevere. The growing season has been interrupted, and that will cause problems with having enough food to go around this winter. I suggested to Haku that he look into having grain brought in before the neighboring lands discover that Miyaku is in desperate need of it and thus raise their prices.

We'll be here for a few days, I think, to let Haku.

It's odd how things are beginning to fall into place. It may be that each of us (except probably the kitsune, who I cannot imagine leading *anything*) ends up as a leader of our own people.

But if that happens, this war we are fighting may yet consume Japan.

7/12/1583 Miyako

Funitsu came back from a visit to the local Black Hand headquarters--sorry, the local "private library"--with interesting news. He said that the local Hand, when he asked them if they'd been attempting to destabilize the Dragon leadership, fell on their faces and begged from him the opportunity to die honorably. When he asked them why, they said that they had been given orders or kill Tohiro, the Clan's second-in-command, but had seen no reason for it and thus had ignored their orders.

"I had to talk fast to get them to not try to kill themselves for disobeying, and even faster to convince them I wasn't upset at them for disobeying what was really an unlawful order," Funitsu said with a wry smile on his face. "In the end, I managed."

We're planning on settling here for a few days, with our departure tentatively scheduled for the fourteenth. The kitsune says that she's almost done unraveling the bindings on the male kitsune she was given, and Panda wants her to finish the unbinding on dry land, within the heart of the Dragon strength, just in case he proves troublesome.

The Thrykeen, now that their orders have been amended, have stopped being merely ominous towards the kitsune and have started being obnoxious. They come to within seven feet of her, stop, bow, and walk away. All day long. I'm irritated by it, and I'm not the one it's aimed at. Reiko is spending quite a bit of time in the crow's nest or around Winter and Gryphon.

My father's reach is long, it seems. He can annoy the kitsune even half a country away.

7/13/1583 Miyako

Reiko finished unbinding the kitsune today, spent a few minutes talking to him, and then brought him out to introduce him to us as Ito. He's a pretty boy, but there's something I found unnerving about him. Ito has been staying close to Reiko, wary of the Thrykeen and, it seems, not sure of his welcome among us.

I caught Reiko and pulled her off to the side. "What's his story? What do you think?"

She sighed. "He says he was Nobunga's prisoner his entire life, until the old Emperor was killed and he was set free. He's never known freedom, never known free will. I need to teach him a few things about being a kitsune, like how to feed without killing, and I have threatened him within an inch of his life if he harms any of your retinue or you yourself. I'd like to bring him along for a while, if I could. But only with your permission." She looked sidelong at me, evidently gauging my reaction to her request.

I frowned, but I couldn't think of any real objections. "I'm holding you responsible for his behavior, Reiko. If he misbehaves, it's your job to bring him back in line. Is he willing to swear loyalty?"

"Yes, and even better, he's agreed to follow the same rules I do."

"All right. Keep a close eye on him."

"Don't worry. I don't trust him as far as I can throw him." She gave me her most charming smile, and added, "After all, he's a kitsune. Just like me." With that, she wandered away, back towards where the male kitsune was talking with Winter and the librarian.

Taking yet another assassin into our midst, and this one we can't trust. Possibly foolish. No, probably. I think both I and Funitsu should sleep lightly for a while.

Ah, the child is restless tonight once more. The same as his mother, I fear.

Waiting for Haku to finish his business, the rest of us enjoyed a bit of rest today. I was finishing writing a letter when Tomika came and sat on the cushion beside me, settling herself down and glancing over at me. Panda was in earshot but on guard, and Tomika elected to pretend that she wasn't there.

"Lady Yukiko...can I speak to you?"

I nodded. "What do you need?"

She grimaced. "Advice, I think. You seem to be a most unusual woman, and I find myself in an unusual situation."

She seemed to be searching for words, and I prompted her with, "Unusual, how?"

"I....well. You know I was not particularly happy with the necessity of marrying Funitsu, I assume."

"Many of us aren't, when we marry for politics instead of love."

"Over the past few weeks, I've found myself with...fewer objections about my marriage. I find myself admiring my husband, for some reason. Though he is still irritating, he also has a number of qualities that I might have overlooked at first. And he does not seem to be a typical Scorpion, in many ways."

"That's good news, then. I know I've found much happiness in my own marriage. So why does this occasion the need to talk to me?" I was genuinely curious now. The pretty, auburn-haired woman was obviously troubled, and perhaps it was this that had caused her irritableness over the past week or so.

She was twisting one of the dangling ties of her kimono in her hands, absently. "This is somewhat embarrassing. Do I have your word that this conversation will remain private?"

"You have my word, and the samurai's honor. Is that sufficient?"

"I suppose it'll have to be." She kept twisting the silk, back and forth. "My Lady...am I so very ugly?"

I looked at her, shocked. "Tomika, no. You're not, at all. Why do you need to ask?"

She looked down, her voice dropping almost to a whisper. "Funitsu...has not touched me. Ever. He has the rights of the marriage bed and yet he has never exercised them. I don't understand why not. At first I was relieved about it and didn't question why. And now, when I wish he would, he does not. The only explanation I can think of is that he finds me repulsive."

Of all the things I had thought the Crane would bring to me, this was certainly not among them. I thought carefully through my reply before I gave it to her. "Tomika, you were raised in the house of your father, were you not? What were you taught about how a husband and a wife act towards each other?"

"They raised me to behave with honor and bring no shame upon my house. My father was the one who insisted I be trained as a wu jen, as almost all of the children of my Clan are. My mother thought my time would be better spent learning more...womanly arts. Dance, the tea ceremony, things like that. But either way, I was raised to be an obedient daughter. Even the smallest rebellion was punished--I still remember the beating I got when I slipped off one afternoon to read some poetry that I wanted to study rather than my spellbooks."

I sighed. Such potential, such fire, wasted in the cause of "obedience". We are, all of us, our fathers' daughters. "And so you were probably taught that a proper wife makes no demands on her husband, that she is silent unless spoken to. Not in so many words, of course, but that is what we are taught. The problem, Tomika, is that I have known Funitsu for years now, and one of the basic facts of his character is that he respects woman. Well, people in general, women in particular. Very un-Scorpion like, really. He knew that you weren't happy with having to marry him, and elected not to force himself on you. It isn't that he finds you unattractive. It's that he thinks you don't want him."

I could see Tomika turning this over in her mind, tasting it. Her hands stilled as she considered my words. "So...how would I go about changing this? I've always been the pursued. I've never had to...say..." She blushed. Tomika, blushing! Surely, the end is nigh.

I tried to keep the laughter out of my voice and mostly succeeded. "You can say volumes without any words. You've watched the kitsune at work, haven't you? You've seen how she touches people, straightening their clothing or smoothing their hair. She flirts like she breathes. The same thing might work on Funitsu. Though, at this point, you may have to give him a stronger sign than that."

"How much stronger?"

I gave her a mischievous smile. "Going into his cabin after he's retired and dropping your robe to the floor might be strong enough."

She gasped, on hand covering her mouth. "I couldn't! It wouldn't be proper, not at all. Do you mean you've--"

"Akechi, though I love him dearly, is occasionally difficult to distract from his work. I had to resort to that exact tactic a few times when I was feeling a trifle neglected. He was never unappreciative, let me tell you."

She was still blushing, flipping her fan back and forth. "I don't know if I could--perhaps I'll try the other, first. Though I am not certain I like the idea of imitating the kitsune. She's so..." She trailed off, perhaps realizing that comment was not appropriate for my ears.

I raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Tomika?

"Common." Her eyes met mine, challenging.

I snapped my fan shut. Between the heat of the day and being physically uncomfortable in general, I fear I lost my temper. "Tomika. I recommend, that if you're going to stay with us, that you amend your attitude. First, even those of my retinue who look common evidently aren't, as Haku has demonstrated to us today. Second, the kitsune is one of my chosen retainers, and she is one of Akechi's ancestors. Calling her common is walking very close to the edge of heresy. And third, the act isn't necessary. Not here, not among us. It doesn't impress anyone, and only serves to irritate."

Her mouth was open as she stared at me. Finally she asked, in a small voice, "Act? What act?"

"The 'noble lady' act. You're a wu jen, powerful in your own right, the wife of the Soshi scion. Power doesn't simper, or complain about wanting comforts that aren't available." I sighed. "I'm sorry, Tomika. It's the heat, it makes me irritable."

Her eyes were cast down at the floor as she sat. "You have given me much to think about, Lady. If I may, I think a walk would do me good."

I opened my fan again and waved it at her. "Go, Tomika. And remember what I said about the robe, if flirtation doesn't work." She blushed again and fled.

Such a pretty puzzle, this Crane Funitsu has married. We'll see if she takes my advice to heart.

Tomorrow, we sail for Tokyo.

Quotes: "Why would a librarian need a spying orb?" "To make sure nobody's dog-earing the pages!"

"The problem with Tokyo is--" "all the goddamned Godzillas!" (Laura interrupts Reiko with an OOC remark)

"You know you're old if your wrinkles are old." (Ray)

"He's definitely a prisoner, then?" "Yes." "I feel all warm and fuzzy." (Haku and Storm)

"Ah, the Dread Pirate Minaku!" (Laura)

"Kitsune are notorious for their...breadth of sexual appetites." "Gee, Kris, roleplaying this character must be *so* difficult for you." (Kris and Laura, who got tickled for her pains.)

"Demons are people, too." "No. They're not." (Haku and Funitsu.)

"That was the chilly finger of prostate examination." (Laura, referring to one of Tadaki's spells, which did four points of damage and brought down an oni)

"All right. Any questions?" (Haku, after killing Lord Tanaka in front of the Dragon clan)

(play date: 7/18/2004)

#so queued #gaming recaps: illume #D&D recap

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socialnetlive · 2 years

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youtube

This preacher makes many very legitimate criticisms of many of the practices we see in many modern churches. A few things he says however are not scriptural.

Its true for example that many preachers and pastors have abused and do abuse the money that is collected from those they minister too. It is not true that the pastors should be sent out to work secular jobs. That is in fact not at all ideal. If he thinks that pastoring and ministering is not "real work" then he doesn't know any real Pastors, or Missionaries or true men and women of God at all!

I myself have worked a secular job and still pastored and ministered most of my life so I understand what that life is. Paul the Apostle explained that he worked a secular business to avoid being accused of this sort of preaching just for money type of activity. Still Pastor Jennings should really go study 1 Corinthians chapter 9 along with many other Sixers about God's financial model for His church.

1 Corinthians 9:13 Do you not know that those who work in the temple eat of its food, and those who serve at the altar partake of its offerings? 14 In the same way, the Lord has prescribed that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

He badly misrepresents the biblical handling of the Levitical Priesthood. They were salaried from the tithes and offerings so they could dedicate their time to the service of God's temple and people. The entire point is that the people of God need men and women that dedicated full to the true work of the ministry. Again, this Pastor says we should stick to the bible so he should go read and understand what the Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ said in Acts chapter 6.

6 1-4 During this time, as the disciples were increasing in numbers by leaps and bounds, hard feelings developed among the Greek-speaking believers—“Hellenists”—toward the Hebrew-speaking believers because their widows were being discriminated against in the daily food lines. So the Twelve called a meeting of the disciples. They said, “It wouldn’t be right for us to abandon our responsibilities for preaching and teaching the Word of God to help with the care of the poor.

So, friends, choose seven men from among you whom everyone trusts, men full of the Holy Spirit and good sense, and we’ll assign them this task. Meanwhile, we’ll stick to our assigned tasks of prayer and speaking God’s Word.” I very much share the pastor's positions on abuses and the need for the fear and respect of God to be renewed among the people. At the same time it should be tempered with the recognition that many faithful men and women including missionaries and small church shepherds have and do labor at great cost and sacrifice. Certainly God always maintains a faithful percentage.

That faithful percentage of God's servants is in fact represented by the divine number here in 1 Kings 19:18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

https://mhmbio.ewrc.me

#bible study #bitesizedtruth #bitesizedtruth.com #bibleverse #mhm #Youtube

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literaticat · 2 years

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Hi, Jen! How do you know the difference between telling a character’s backstory and just info-dumping?

I feel like important backstory (ie, things that inform the reader about the WHY of it all) can be woven in to a story in a way that creates tension etc -- just enough so that the reader is not confused, but not so much that you are explaining everything about the person's past.

Info-dumping would be where you just literally are like "OK here's a page just about this person's life story kablam" and it interrupts the flow of the narrative and slows everything down. Weaving backstory into the narrative is more subtle -- maybe the characters have a conversation that references the past, or the character sees some item that reminds them of the past. Maybe they abhor the smell of pipe tobacco because their abusive father smoked pipes, but you don't just SAY that, you have them shudder when they smell the smell, and we find out more in the fullness of time. Or, if we already know the father is a baddie, maybe the hero makes a pointed comment to that effect when his brother lights the pipe -- but what he DOESN'T do is stop the narrative to insert three pages about how and when he was abused right then.

As a "For Example" -- I'm reading a romance novel right now. The heroine, we know, has a troubled past of some kind; she has disguised herself as an unattractive spinster (dyed her striking light hair a mouse-brown, donned clothing that is unflattering and out of fashion, etc), and taken up a post as a governess. The author alludes to the fact that if her employers knew about her past, they would send her away, and if people from London visiting at a ball recognized her, she would have to run away. But she finds herself getting closer and closer to the lord of the manor -- so much so that she realizes that she will have to run. She finds herself wanting to confide in him -- but he CAN'T find out about her past, he'd think less of her, she's unwilling to bring scandal to her employers home, and she'd potentially be endangering both herself and all of them.

So what the DEVIL is up with her past? Did she have a scandal? Of what kind? Is she a criminal? How so? Are criminals after her? WHY? We simply have no idea. That's the tension of the book, right? We can assume all kinds of things, but none of them seem to be quite right, because the author has given us just enough tantalizing clues to make us want to move forward but not so many that we understand all of it too early. If the author just TOLD us what the deal was (via info-dump), the rich dude would either have her sent away immediately, OR, fix the problem with copious applications of money. Either way, the book would be over.

(Sort of like how most episodes of I LOVE LUCY or THREE'S COMPANY would be over in five minutes if people just had frank conversations with one another instead of overhearing a snippet of a random conversation and leaping to wild conclusions lol. NO LUCY, your new neighbors AREN'T Soviet spies and Hedda Hopper isn't a crime boss! NO, CHRISSY, Jack ISN'T planning to marry Lana or burn down the Regal Beagle!).

But ANYWAY, back to our governess! We do get dribs and drabs of her past. She takes pains to dress drably and with utmost propriety, but we know she wears glamorous garters because a pet ferret keeps stealing them (yes you read that correctly). When the lord of the manor grabs her wrists at a certain point, she clearly becomes distressed (more distressed than usual, anyway). We find out for reasons some backstory -- that she was raised by a negligent mother, and she has an insanely wealthy half-brother that has bestowed on her a sum that ensures she never HAS to work. This backstory ensures we have SOME answers, but even more questions! More clues and backstory are woven in as necessary-- and I'll assume that when the answers come, they will all make sense, and it will have a happy ending (because it's a romance).

This is all me rambling at this point -- and I grant that it can be a fine line; I'd suggest that you read and study mentor texts and see how OTHER writers manage it. (And/Or, google "info-dump vs backstory" for other people being smarter than me!)

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dammitadolfnomorecake · 3 years

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Stock Take for Today #literallyabookstore6531 (So i dont lose it)

Traci Chee - The Speaker

Renee Ahdieh - Smoke in the sun

Meagen Spooner - Sherwood

Crystal Chan - All that I can fix

Derek Milman - Scream All Night

Alexandra Blogier - The last girl on Earth

Shannon Dunlap - Izzy and Tristan

Jennifer Mathieu - Devoted

Oliver - Before I fall

Greff Olsen - Run

Hayley Long - The nearest far away place

Chloe Coles - Life's a Beach

Jono Dawson - Margot and Me

Eileen Cook - The hanging Girl

Claudia Gray - The Worlds

Eliza Waas - The life and death parade

Phyllida Shrimpton - Flowers and February

Jake Halpen - Edgeland

Laura Dockrill - Aurabel

Claire Hennessy - Other Girls

Robert Cochran - The sword and the dagger

Klingele - The truth lies here

Tyler - The Pioneer

Rosalyn Eves - Blood Rose Rebellion

Breeana Shields - Poison's Cage

Nancy Werlin - And then there were four

Adrianne Strickland - Shadow Call

Somaiya Daud - Mirage

Michelle Falkoff - Questoins I want to ask you

1. A Different Drummer: the extraordinary rediscovered classic By: William Melvin Kelley ISBN: 9781787478039

2. Ghost Stories By: Charles Dickens ISBN: 9781509825400

3. The Castle of Otranto By: Horace Walpole ISBN: 9781847497598

4. A Christmas Carol and Other Stories By: Charles Dickens ISBN: 9781849310802

5. Europe after the Rain By: Alan Burns ISBN: 9780714549163

6. Madame Bovary By: Gustave Flaubert ISBN: 9781509842889

7. If You're Reading This By: Andrew Nicoll ISBN: 9780857384942

8. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes By: Arthur Conan Doyle ISBN: 9781847497444

9. Classic Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm By: Jacob Grimm ISBN: 9781849311670

10. Life in the Country By: Giovanni Verga ISBN: 9781847497710

11. 20000 Leagues Under the Sea By: Jules Verne ISBN: 9781849311656

12. If This Is A Man/The Truce: Hachette Essentials By: Primo Levi ISBN: 9780349144009

13. Cold Mountain: Hachette Essentials By: Charles Frazier ISBN: 9781529325270

14. The Prelude and Other Poems By: William Wordsworth ISBN: 9781847497505

15. The Touchstone By: Edith Wharton ISBN: 9781847497932

16. The Magus By: John Fowles ISBN: 9780099478355

17. Naked Lunch: The Restored Text By: William S. Burroughs ISBN: 9780141189765

18. The Old Man and the Sea By: Ernest Hemingway ISBN: 9780099595632

1. Becoming Mrs. Lewis: The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis By: Patti Callahan ISBN: 9780310104803

2. House of Glass By: Susan Fletcher ISBN: 9780349007656

3. Orphan #8: A Novel By: Kim van Alkemade ISBN: 9780062338303

4. The Queen's Necklace By: Len Rix ISBN: 9781782274476

5. The Gravediggers' Bread By: Frederic Dard ISBN: 9781782272014

6. A Master Plan for Rescue: A Novel By: Janis Cooke Newman ISBN: 9780399185021

7. Sappho's Leap: A Novel By: Erica Jong ISBN: 9780393325614

8. Nine Lessons By: Nicola Upson ISBN: 9780571324781

9. Little Jewel By: Patrick Modiano ISBN: 9780300221824

10. A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding: A Novel By: Jackie Copleton ISBN: 9780143128250

11. The Book Borrower By: Alice Mattison ISBN: 9780061153020

12. The Assassin of Verona By: Benet Brandreth ISBN: 9781785762154

13. Death Comes to Pemberley By: P. D. James ISBN: 9780571346233

14. The Song Collector By: Natasha Solomons ISBN: 9781444736380

15. The Hour of Separation: From the bestselling author of Richard & Judy book club pick By: Katharine McMahon ISBN: 9780297866077

16. The Ventriloquists By: E.R. Ramzipoor ISBN: 9781489286574

17. The Lions' Torment By: Blanche d'Alpuget ISBN: 9781925384802

18. Pasha: Thomas Kydd 15 By: Julian Stockwin ISBN: 9781444785388

1. Jens Lapidus By: Top Dog ISBN: 9781786491770

2. Pierre Lemaitre By: The Great Swindle ISBN: 9781681443935

3. Jessica Fellowes By: The Mitford Scandal: Diana Mitford and a death at the party ISBN: 9780751573930

4. Professor of Humanities Joyce Carol Oates By: A Fair Maiden ISBN: 9780547263359

5. Raymond Khoury By: Second Time Around ISBN: 9781409117964

6. Sandra Brown By: Outfox: The new twisty ISBN: 9781473669512

7. Val McDermid By: How the Dead Speak ISBN: 9781408712269

8. Edward Marston By: Points of Danger ISBN: 9780749023522

9. HC Warner By: She ISBN: 9780008204686

10. Helen Fields By: The Shadow Man ISBN: 9780008394073

11. Tom Clancy By: Net Force: Dark Web ISBN: 9781489287113

12. Mason Cross By: The Killing Season: Carter Blake Book 1 ISBN: 9781409145691

13. Mons Kallentoft By: Earth Storm: The new novel from the Swedish crime-writing phenomenon ISBN: 9781444776416

14. Quintin Jardine By: Skinner's Round (Bob Skinner series ISBN: 9780747250418

15. George Pelecanos By: The Double ISBN: 9781409114598

16. Yrsa Sigurdardottir By: The Reckoning: A Completely Chilling Thriller ISBN: 9781473621589

17. Quintin Jardine By: Game Over (Bob Skinner series ISBN: 9781472205728

18. Ian Rankin By: Rather Be the Devil: The superb Rebus No.1 bestseller (Inspector Rebus 21) ISBN: 9781409159421

19. Kate Ellis By: The Mechanical Devil: Book 22 in the DI Wesley Peterson crime series ISBN: 9780349413136

20. Yrsa Sigurdardottir By: The Legacy ISBN: 9781473621534

Roisin Meany - The Reunion

Lucy Siegle - Turning the tide on plastic - NF

E.S Thomas - Dark Asylum

Sue Simkin - Afternoon Tea

Jane O'Reilly - Blue Shift

Susanna Gregory - The Executioner of St Paul's

Ian Rankin - Saints of the Shadow Bible

Terry Shames - Dead Broke in Jarrett Creek

Maria Goodvage - Secret Service Dogs - NF

Tim O'Brien - In the Lake of the Woods

Jack Higgins Eye of the Storm

James Wilson - The Summer of Broken Stories

Charlie Cambell - Scapegoat

Chris Ryan - Safe

Mary Chamberlain - The Hidden

Nora Roberts - Christmas with You

Claire Balding - My Animals and Other Family - NF

Bridget Collins - The Betrayals

Paul Terry - The Claimant

Bernard Cornwell - Lord War

Sarah Morgan - Family For Beginners - NF

Jess Lagasse - The Gluten Free Table - NF

Harry and Meghan - Finding Freedom - NF

David Koepp - Cold Storage

Graham Apthorpe - The Man Inside The Bloodiest Outbreak - NF

Erin Kelly - Stone Mothers

Justina Robson - Down to the Bone

Andrew O'Hagan - The Secret Life

Celia Imrie - Sail Away

1 Lined Notebook

Gill Sims - Why Mummy Doesn't Give A !

Jon Kalman Stefansson - Heaven and Hell

William Golding - Close Quarters

Lisa Lutz - The Swallows

#workstuff

0 notes