#oh yeah and then there was that period in season 2 where people were utterly convinced Marcanne was going to be the romantic duo thing

[mothicalspoken]

one of the funniest things about amphibia is that every ship becomes “essentially canon” all over again every few months

[nat-20s]

Part 5 of Wonderful! Au. *boyband voice* banter’s back alright!

Also on AO3

~*~

Jon: Hello everyone, and welcome back to our regular format. If my husband being horribly soppy-

Martin:-hey!-

Jon: -turned you off the how, this should be a refreshing return to formula, though I can’t guarantee there won’t be further horrible soppiness-

Martin, performatively under his breath: -most people thought it was charming-

Jon: -as that tends to happen when one is recording with the love of their life. If last week’s episode is the only one that you like, too bad, I’m back in full form, and should be at least through the rest of the season.

Martin: This show doesn’t have seasons? Due to the whole lack of a narrative thing?

Jon: I was referring to spring.

Martin: Oh, right.

[A beat passes.]

Martin, flatly: Oh. Great goof hon.

Jon, smug: Thank you.

Jon, sincere: Also, before we get properly started, I did want to actually thank everyone who sent well wishes.

M artin: Yes! We got positively inundated with lovely messages, it definitely brightened both of our days. I would even say it was wonderful.

[Jon groans.]

Jon: I am..not proud of the energy we’ve created for this episode so far, and we haven’t even hit the small wonders. Speaking of, do you have a small wonder this week?

Martin: Mine’s bad action movies.

Jon: Really? I had no idea you even liked them, let alone consider them wonderful.

Martin: Okay, so, saying I like them is a bit of a misnomer? It’s more that I like what they can do more than the movies themselves?

Jon: Elaborate?

Martin: It probably comes as a surprise to no one that I’ve tried my hand at a fair amount of mindfulness and mediation techniques. I’ve found poetry and journaling have been helpful for actually processing life events and whatnot, but when it comes to giving your brain a hard wipe and reset, nothing is half as quick and effective as a shitty shoot-em-up. Somethings about 2 hours of cartoonish, pg-13 violence held together with the absolute loosest of plots brings me to a state of mental blankness that would make a monk jealous.

Jon: How have I never witnessed you doing this? When are you sneaking off to go see Micheal Tarantino or who ever films?

M artin: That’s definitely not the right name.

Jon: Martin, dear, I don’t care. And you’re dodging the question.

Martin, fond: I’m not dodging anything. Since apparently we’re getting into it, you haven’t caught me cavorting with a movie involving more explosions than character development lately because I haven’t been. Haven’t needed it, in recent years. Turns out when you’re not crushingly lonely and working a literal nightmare of job, there’s less of a drive to try and escape your own thoughts. Shocker, I know. Still, to anyone out there that feels like their brain is on fire, go try watching a fast and furious. Any of ‘em, it doesn’t matter. Or even better, Chronicles of Riddick. I can’t remember a single goddamn detail of that movie, which makes it perfect for what I’m talking about.

Jon: I have the strong feeling that th is is a “mileage may vary” scenario.

Martin: Well, yeah, that’s this whole podcast. Plus, I imagine that movies like this would cause more stress to someone who cares about, say, world-building or rules consistency.

Jon: I wonder who you could possibly be referring to.

Martin: It’s a purely hypothetical person, love, don’t worry about it. Any small wonders?

Jon: Yes! Particularly relevant to the last week, my small wonder is stripping the sheets from your bed when it’s been too long between washes.

Martin: How very specific. M ost people would just say ‘clean sheets’.

Jon: Well, for one, I’m fairly certain that we’ve already covered clean sheets-

Martin: Shit, have we? Thank god other people keep track of this, otherwise this show would be unbearably repetitive.

Jon: Christ, yes. I typically check the website a good three times while prepping, and every about one out of those three times I find I’m trying to do an topic we did 30 episodes again. Anyway, um, it’s just nice, I think. When you’ve been too busy or sick or away for awhile, tossing the sheets in the wash makes a room instantly seem nicer. Of all the chores out there, this one, at least for me, has the highest reward to effort ratio.

Martin: Hard agree. Especially when the y have that slight funk of having been around to long, getting rid of that is such a relief. Speaking of, we need to change our sheets soon.

Jon: We can do it after the episode. Who goes first this week?

Martin: Considering last week was only me talking, I’m gonna say it’s you.

Jon: Alright, then. My first thing this week is Martin K. Blackwood.

Martin: Absolutely not!

Jon: Oh, you can do a whole episode on me, but I can’t do one little segment on my husband, whom I love very dearly?

Martin: Not while I’m sat here, no!

Jon: So you’re saying you don’t want me to tell the internet that your resolve to be kind even in the face of indescribable cruelty is one of the mot breathtaking things I’ve ever witnessed, or how I find it incredibly endearing when you get so emotional that your voice comes out as a squeak, or even that, on a more base level, you’re very physically attractive, and I could lose entire days thinking about your arms alone?

Martin, audibly blushing, voice the aforementioned squeak: Oh my god, Jon!

Jon, laughing: Then it’s probably for the best that my actual first thing is best friends.

Martin, peaking the audio levels: Oh you absolute bastard! Do you enjoy this? Do you get some sort of perverse sense of entertainment from riling me up?

Jon: Oh, don’t you start. As if you’re not as bad as I am. Maybe even worse.

Martin: That’s not…

Jon: Yes?

Martin: Okay. Maybe it’s slightly true. Really, what is romance for if not flustering your partner with compliments?

Jon, teasing: I certainly can’t think of anything.

Martin: Hush, you.

Jon: No, I don’t think I will.

Martin: Fine. I suppose you can tell our delightful audience about the power of friendship or whatever.

Jon: I would’ve assumed more enthusiasm, considering this segment is still, indirectly, about you.

Martin: In what way?

Jon: In the way that, to the shock of all, you’re my best friend.

Martin, pleased: Oh, is that what I am?

Jon, exasperated: Yes, dearest husband, I wouldn’t have married you otherwise. Though, upon reflection, I knew you were my best friend before I knew I held romantic feelings for you.

Martin: When was that?

Jon, letting out a breath that vibrates his lips: God it was...2016? I think it might’ve literally been the day after you told me about your CV.

Martin: That early? Huh. I wonder if that’s what people were picking up when they said they we were close.

Jon: What people?

Martin: I don’t know specifically, that’s just what Daisy told me.

Jon: Daisy? When the hell-?

Martin: It...was when she was interrogating me? And, because sometimes I have to be a parody of myself, pretty much my only take away from that interrogation was “people think me and Jon are close”.

Jon: Well then. It’s not like they were wrong.

Martin, smug: No, no they weren’t.

Martin, sincere: And you’re my best friend, too.

Jon: I was certainly hoping that you’re in this relationship for more than my good looks and incredible fortune, both in the monetary and luck sense.

Martin: You say that as if you aren’t good looking, which we all know is patently untrue.

Jon: You’re biased. You’d say I was good looking if I were nothing more than some primordial ooze with thoughts about its station.

Martin: I’m being completely objective. If you were primordial ooze with thoughts above its station, you’d be the cutest ooze of them all. That’s just scientific fact.

Jon: I’m starting to think we might be insufferable.

Martin: Starting to? Might be?

Jon:…

[Jon clears his throat]

Jon: What I find wonderful about the concept of best friends is, to me, they’re the closest thing real life has to soulmates. I don’t personally believe that there’s some..grand mystic force that drives people to be tied together in the manner that narrative typical soulmates are, and if there was I don’t think it would necessarily be the kind of emotional, heartfelt bond one would hope for, but I do believe that there’s individuals that get to know one another, and because of that knowledge, they chose to stick with one another. It doesn’t have to be a romantic, which is why I say best friend rather than specifically ‘spouse’, but I would argue that the basis of a strong romance like you and I have, is very much rooted in that connection. A true best friendship is an equal partnership, and there’s a sense of..matched sensibilities and understanding that can be utterly incandescent when it happens.

I also think that having one or more best friends makes living life on a day to day basis both better and just flat easier. The dark times aren’t as dark, and the bright times shine even more. I know from my own personal experience there are events that I..that I don’t know how I would’ve made it through without you. Hell, last week my..recovery period would’ve taken much longer if you hadn’t been there.

It’s an amazing thing to have someone to share things with, both triumphs and burdens. Um, also, according to Dictionary.com, the term best friends in English has been around since the 1200s. Something about that delights me, like, yes, we’ve had this casual way of referring to a Favorite Person for roughly 800 years. That makes it a hold-out from early Middle English. I dunno, it’s one of those things that make me feel overall very charmed by humanity.

Martin, audibly smiling: No, yeah, hard agree.

Jon: What’s that look for?

Martin: Nothing. Just. I love you a whole lot, you know that?

Jon, voice soft: I may have heard you say that once or twice. Per hour.

Martin: Only that often? I really need to be more diligent about that.

[There’s a bet of silence, presumably where they’re making doe eyes at each other.]

Jon: What’s your first thing?

Martin: Oh, um, right. Rats!

Jon: The expression or the animal?

Martin: Jon, have you ever once heard me say “rats” as an expression? Obviously I’m referring to the animal.

Jon: Ah. Should’ve known, considering that what, a third?, of all your segments have been on animals.

Martin: Yeah? And? You got a problem with critters? With creatures? With lil guys?

Jon, laughing: No, no, it’s very sweet. I’m just surprised you never became a vet.

Martin: Oh believe me, I wanted to. But then I learned that it was not, in fact, a job composed entirely of getting paid to play with other people’s pets.

Jon: You had that job, though, didn’t you? I thought I remembered you mentioning a month long stint at a doggie day care.

Martin, sighing dreamily: Best job I ever had. Too bad that place was shut down after it was revealed to be a money laundering front.

Jon: Good lord.

Jon: Martin did you...did you know it was a money laundering front at the time?

Martin:

Martin: Would it make you feel better if I said no?

Jon: Martin!

Martin: I figured it out like a week in, but, like, who cares? The pay was decent and the floor was super easy to clean, which is very much a plus for even a front of a doggie day care.

Jon: That’s...rather a lot. How about instead of getting into that any further, you tell me about rodents.

Martin: I would love to. But first, we have a shoutout!

Jon: Ooo, a shoutout. Does it specify who should read?

Martin: Let me check. It...does...not…..

...

Jon: Martin?

[A beat.]

Martin: Right! Sorry, um. This week’s shoutout is from Tim, to Danny. It says, “Danny! My favorite person who shares genetic material with me! I wanted to say thank you for your podcast obsession from 4 months ago, and specifically for telling me about these marrieds. They’ve gotten me through many a dull hour at the publishing house. Also, with this shoutout, I’ve officially gotten ahead on the Superior [Last Name Redacted] Brother scoreboard, so suck it. Love you lots, and looking forward to your visit next month, Tim.”

Jon: Oh.

Jon: Um. That’s very..sweet? I think? Mostly?

Martin: Yeah, I’d say so. Uh. We have to take a quick break because, uh, someone is..at our front door! Be back with you all in, from your side of things, just a moment.

[italicwatches]

The Good Place, season 2 - Episode 11

Okay. I am fed, I have done all of my Thanksgiving shopping prep, my house is full of food for the rest of the week, and my feet are killing me. I have finally caught us up on both platforms by outright skipping a day Tumblr-side, so now, all together, let’s see what happens. It’s The Good Place, season 2, episode 11! Here we GO!

We begin in an empty, silent room…And then there’s four people’s worth of screaming as the whole crew comes flailing out of one of the portals, and Chidi wants to know what happens to the vomit he expelled in that portal, does it just float out there forever? Is someone going to run into it? And WHERE IS MICHAEL?

-…Michael’s…Michael’s not coming. He was short a badge, the suits were coming, so he slammed his onto Eleanor and threw her in. The last thing she saw was Shawn getting his hands on him…

-And the portal seals up behind them. They’re doing this solo. Whatever’s going to happen, they’re going to make it happen. And…There’s a desk in front of them. A desk, with a burrito on it. And nothing else.

-And Jay suddenly wonders if the burrito is the Judge. Which, on the one hand, sounds weird. On the other hand, name one limit to the weirdness they’ve seen that stops short of “all-knowing burrito”. …So that’s how Eleanor finds herself introducing herself to a wrapped foodstuff.

-Which, I’m gonna be real, is not what I expected when I started this series way back when.

-Also it turns out that this is not the Judge, this is the Judge’s lunch. And the Judge is awfully…Casual.

-Chapter 25!

-And then she learns that they pulled a sneaky. And she’s kind of into Chidi. But also, some casual clothes, we learn the portals seal up entirely until she issues a judgment when there’s a case afoot, and also that she is not true omniscient and also she can’t hear the case goodbye.

-…No.

-Also the Judge is really into Tahani’s accent.

-Anyways, she she’s willing to hear them out because, real talk, she is bored. Let’s do it!

-Meanwhile, Shawn has dragged Michael back to his office and what went wrong, Michael? How did you fuck up your one job and betray them all?!

-Oh, give it up, Shawn. You don’t actually care. Besides, they’re in front of the Judge right now, so it’s out of your hands…And as for Janet, you’ll never find her.

-Bad Janet found her and marbled her off screen.

-FUCK

-YOU MONSTER

-Back to the Judge. She’s going to give each of them an individualized test…And Eleanor immediately wants to stand with her crew. They only got this far together. They succeed together, or fail together. …That is such a bad plan, Eleanor, but okay.

-So who’s first? Jay. In front of you is a game loaded with Madden 18. You have to play against the Jaguars, using their fiercest rivals, the Tennessee Titans. And before he even knows what he’s supposed to do, he is desperately playing the game.

-Over to Tahani’s test. We learn the Judge is named Gen, short for Hydrogen. And all she has to do is walk through this door, down the hallway, and through the red door at the end. And every single room will have someone in it discussing their true opinion about you.

-From childhood friends, to staff, to spa employees…

-Back to Michael, who’s laying everything out, and why the reboots were made. And what he found was…Ultimately, their data is wrong. The whole Good Place/Bad Place idea is based on a static idea of people, that they’re fundamentally Good or Bad and incapable of hopping to the other side. But every reboot that lasted long enough to have anything happen, had them find each other, help each other, and get better.

-And they have become good people. Shawn doubts it. And decides they’re done here, time to take Michael away.

-Back with Gen. Who has a combo test for Eleanor and Chidi. Each go into their rooms, and…

-Come out the other side of the room. Surprise, you two are good to go! Wait, what? Yeah. You two earned it through all of your tireless work. Here, have your Good Place medallions, and there’s the door. You can go whenever you like.

-So they’re excited, so very thrilled, amazed and awed, and thrilled for each other…And that’s when they learn that Tahani and Jay aren’t being tested to get in, they’re being tested to see how far down the Bad Place they’re going. They’re definitely not in. …This is your chance to cut them loose and send, guys. Now she’s gonna go finish that burrito she started in on.

-Leaving Eleanor and Chidi to figure out what to do. Theory A: This is their test. Tahani and Jay must’ve gotten the same offer in those rooms, and whoever cracks first and cuts the other couple loose, loses. That would be fiendish—

-Nope, they did not. Here, she’ll show you. Tahani has to get all the way down the hallway and not be tempted by her gossiping friends and associates. Jay is just playing video games.

-…Oh.

-You have al little hot sauce on your chin.

-Technically it’s a sauce made of envy, but same deal. Thanks!

-So…Chidi’s in a real mess. If this isn’t a test, then it’s…A choice. The biggest choice in the world. The worst one ever.

-Meanwhile, Tahani’s almost to the end…When she hits the one door she can’t stop herself from opening.

-The one containing her parents. And they’re immediately talking about how much of a disappointment she is.

-Back over to Jay, who’s losing by 3 points against the Jaguars and is trying to meditate to psyche himself up for a comeback. And then he finally figures out the nature of the test! …She was very explicit and clear about it, my dude.

-Baaack over to Tahani. Who’s sitting in front of them both and is not taking this conversation well. Because the focus becomes Kamilah. Her sister. And Tahani figures it out. She finally realizes a simple, core thing that’s been eating at her, her entire life.

-She will never be enough for her parents. She will never earn their respect, never earn their praise.

-And it’s not because of anything she did, or failed to do. It’s because of them. And…Dammit, she’s been happier around Jay and Eleanor and Chidi, than she ever was trying to meet up to their impossible standards. “Eons after her own demise” might be a bit late to finally start living, but, dammit, it’ll have to do! She marches right on out of there, and doesn’t even look at the remaining handful of doors before it’s through the red one.

-Back to Michael, who learns he’s not being retired. That’s too much of a spectacle. Instead, he’s just going into a simple, unmarked, empty room, with an endless stack of New Yorker magazines as his only source of entertainment. And then…

-Bad Janet grabs Shawn, throws him into the fucking wall, and it turns out she’s our Janet! She escalated herself to being very willing to do anything to keep the crew safe, and that includes masquerading for an extended period as a very cruel Bad Janet. And even lying to Michael. And she’s not proud of that, but it worked dammit!

-And she is very tired of being bad so…Wait, Shawn’s still conscious. BOOM kick! Okay now she’s tired of it.

-Back with Eleanor, she’s just cascading through the doors to get an endless pacing thing going on and try to focus. They’ve tried contractualist arguments, Kantian, what would Superman do, what would Rihanna do, what else they got? The weirdest, oldest thing you’ve got.

-…A simple thing. Morally speaking, whatever portal they go through, Tahani and Jay experience the exact same torture. …But Chidi decides to put aside the books for a minute, because dammit, when it boils down…He doesn’t want to lose her.

-And that sinks it for Eleanor. Judge?

-Yes?

-She’s not going.

-Pardon?

-That’s not Chidi. The Chidi she knows would never argue to reward himself over someone else. Chidi’s probably in another copy room, right now, trying to get you to give one of these medallions to her.

-And then he poofs, and Eleanor gets to sit down, having passed her real test. And also that medallion is a coaster.

-So what’s Chidi’s test?

-A hat. He has to decide on a hat.

-And finally, he decides on a brown hat after an hour, and gets to leave.

-So everyone’s all lined up…And you’re all going back to the Bad Place.

-…WHY?!

-You took 82 minutes to pick a hat, Chidi! And Tahani…You ultimately failed by confronting your parents. Jay, you failed to control your impulses entirely. Eleanor’s test was about selfishness, and she—

-Eleanor failed utterly. She insists she knocked an old lady down to get to the shrimp bar when she got too hungry, and Gen doesn’t correct her. So then, ready for the portals?

-But this was really fun! And look, she made a video about their time together, to remember this! They tried, despite it all. Now eternal damnation is…

-Delayed by Michael and Janet arriving! How’ve you all been? He’s had a HELL of a time.

-Credits!

Well shiiiit.

[rockinlibrarian]

Three Survey Memes

@e_louise_bates tagged me once directly and twice indirectly (I mean, since I'm already typing something here I might as well do the others too), so here. Please feel free to comment! I like discussions!

Survey One (what I was actually tagged for): Name my top ten favorite characters from ten different fandoms.

I feel like the way this is phrased, I should pick ten fandoms first and then narrow them down to the characters, so that's what I did. It's an easier way to find my favorite characters, anyway.

1. From Harry Potter: Luna Lovegood, obviously

2. From Tolkien: Samwise Gamgee, obviously

3. From the MCU: Peggy Carter, most obviously of all

4. From Star Wars: This is a product of me picking fandoms first, and then discovering I don't have an OBVIOUSLY answer this time. But when you get right down to it, I've always had a special place in my heart for Obi Wan.

5. From Diana Wynne Jones: Sophie Hatter. Stealing one from Louise there, but again, obviously.

6. From L.M. Montgomery: Stealing the fandom from Louise that time, but I on the other hand have to stick with Anne Shirley, because she may top my fave character list, period.

7. From Jane Austen: Rev. Henry Tilney, NOT stealing from Louise because again, OBVIOUSLY, as she well knows, too. :D

8. From Discworld: DEATH. This was hard, because as soon as I started thinking of Discworld, so many MUST INCLUDES came up. Tiffany! DEATH's granddaughter, whose name I totally had a minute ago when I first thought of it but now has suddenly slipped my mind as I'm typing it (my brain now keeps trying to tell me it's "Karen" but that feels utterly wrong Her last name's Sto-Helit. I think. EDIT: SUSAN! Of course. The second I hit "post")! Sam Vimes, one of the other great Sams of fiction! But who's there and perfect and wonderful through all of it? DEATH. So I'm sticking with that.

9. Uh, other Marvel properties that aren't the MCU: I just have to shout out again to the Loudermilk twins from Legion. They count as one person because they sort of are, and because their chemistry together just MAKES them, even though they both individually are pretty fun, too (Cary's dorkiness and Kerry's innocent enthusiasm for beating people up). There was like a block of three or four episodes this season without them and it nearly ruined the whole season for me.

10. No particular fandom I'm aware of but no list of favorite characters is complete without: Blossom Culp. From the books by Richard Peck.

SURVEY TWO, a writing one:

1. When did you start writing and how? In first grade I had this dream about a disgruntled Santa's elf taking our church hostage on Christmas Eve. It was a great dream, so I decided to turn it into a book. Recently I decided to revisit it-- the basic plot, at least-- as a picture book. And for some stupid reason I decided it needed to be in verse. It might work some day.

Early on all my story ideas came from dreams, actually. Still today, my subconscious does most of my story-creating. Last night I had one about this huge family that lived in a mansion with a public pool in it and had all sorts of hijinks. They were great. They lived on Chalk Street and the oldest girl's boyfriend was named Granger the Ranger. Anyhoo.

2. What is your favorite line from your own work? It's got to be "Concentration leads to Meditation leads to Levitation leads to Aviation," because that's just a way of life.

I'm also partial to anything at all that Billy Boyd says in the Pipeweed Mafia Stories.

3. Who is your writing idol, and how have they influenced you? Hmm, I wouldn't call Madeleine L'Engle my writing idol, but she has influenced me the most, with her way of seeing the cosmic in the very small and the individual in the cosmic. And I named my daughter after her. But my Patron Saint of Writing whom I occasionally call on for intervention is Diana Wynne Jones. I don't know why. She just seems to be who I need to get my writing juices flowing.

4. Which oc has the best family (found or otherwise)? Of my characters? Hmm, I've never really focused much on family in my works. Even found family. I guess Billy 'Arrison's uncle IS George Harrison, so probably that.

5. Which oc has the most satisfying ending to their story? Ah, I'm terrible at endings. None of my characters has an ending to their story, not just because most of my works have never been finished, but because I keep thinking of things that happen to them later. NO ENDINGS.

6. If you’ve gotten feedback on your writing, who is your readers’ favorite character? If not who do you think readers will fall in love with? Well, no questions there. Billy 'Arrison. I mean look how often he's come up already in this survey. If you ask anybody whose ever read my work to name ANY of my original characters, they will go with Billy. Heck, people who HAVEN'T actually read his story would pick Billy.

7. Which tropes (eg. Friends to lovers, fake death, white haired pretty boy) do you always find yourself wanting to write? All my stories tend to have the theme of disparate people becoming friends through having an adventure together. I recently wondered if that's because I've always thought friendship would be easier if you could cut out all the small talk, and having an adventure leaves no time for small talk.

8. What goes through your head when writing a scene? The... scene? Also, random entirely unrelated stuff. Because I have ADHD. My brain is impossible to follow anywhere.

9. How specific is your idea of your characters’ appearance usually? Do you draw them? (If so can we see it?) Facial features are usually fairly foggy to me. I get general shape and color, so, like, what their hair looks like, their size, their race. I get their sense of style, too-- often I give them a signature item of clothing whether in my mind or in the text. I've drawn a few of my characters, yes, but I'm not particularly good at drawing consistently.

10. What are you proudest of as a writer? That I can occasionally look back at things I have written and be delighted by them as a reader. Unfortunately most of these things I have written continue to not be finished.

SURVEY THREE, also about writing:

1. How many works in progress do you currently have? That depends on your definition of "in progress." If you mean ACTUALLY IN PROGRESS, zero. Zip. Unless you count a couple of GeekMom articles I have in the planning stage. Or unless you count not-writing. I have a living room renovation in progress at the moment.

How many works do I have in an incomplete status that I plan to get back to eventually? Hmmm. At least five.

2. Do you/would you write fanfiction? I'm not INTO fanfiction but I do/have written a few pieces when they occur to me. There's of course the Pipeweed Mafia, which is a mix of Inklings fanfic and real people fanfic. You could count me writing George Harrison into Billy's background real people fic. One of my works in possible occasional progress is a Firefly fic about how Zoe fell in love with Wash. Oh, I should have put Firefly on my list of fandoms above, just so I could name Kaylee. KAYLEE, people. But I haven't written fic about her. Anyway. I also once wrote a very short prompt response X-Files fic that always delights me. It's silly, and yet in character.

3) Do you prefer paper books or ebooks? Paper.

4) When did you start writing? First grade.

5) Do you have someone you trust that you share your work with? A few people. It depends on the type of work, who would be the best fit for it. Louise is in fact one.

6) Where is your favorite place to write? Someplace where I don't have real life demands calling on me. Oddly enough, I think I got some of my best writing done while working at the Children's Museum, during downtime. On slow days I'd write a scene on the back of my schedule. A page a day really adds up! Of course, on busy days that was unthinkable!

7) Favorite childhood book? Have I mentioned A Wrinkle In Time?

8) Writing for fun or publication? Depends on where I am in life. Now, it is for fun, unless it is an article.

9) Pen and paper or computer? First drafts pen and paper. Then putting it together on the computer.

10) Have you ever taken any writing classes? Yeah, I had some writing courses in college, and I also took correspondence courses twice.

11) What inspires you to write? Ideas. As I mentioned, I get a lot of ideas from dreams. But there's also, like, a swelling of words in my brain that needs to come out through my hands every so often. I called it "writeritis" as a kid, and I guess I still do.

TAGGING: Whoever. You know who you are, if any of this resonates with you!

[margridarnauds]

Ronan/Laz and Wash/Mira

Thank you!

Ronan/Laz

To fully understand my relationship with this ship, we have to go into one of the darkest periods of my life, a period of time that, to this day, I struggle to talk about: The first time I was into 1789, circa 2015-ish. I was young, I was impetuous, I was heavily closeted (to myself; my mom had already given me my “YOU KNOW I WILL LOVE AND SUPPORT YOU NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS” conversation) and…I shipped…Ronan/Olympe. 

100%. 

Like, “Google Translated French Fanfiction on FF.net to get more content” shipped it. (Now, I suspect it’s because I was a bisexual mess, but I digress). 

As I said, a dark, cursed time where I shipped the *100% canon* brother-in- law/sister-in-law. 

I barely remember it. I scarcely acknowledge it happened. It physically pains me to mention it.

I had the Takarazuka version, but I didn’t have subtitles to it and, as a result, I didn’t really…watch it…all the way through, instead skipping around as it suited me. I knew about Laz’s sex dungeon, but it really didn’t…register, I suppose? How very, very gay it was and the chemistry that was there. I did NOT like Lazare, I didn’t see why he occupied a considerable piece of fandom time (Not enough) when he has such a small role and he’s portrayed fairly consistently as an asshole throughout the musical (Yes, he’s an asshole, but he’s my asshole now). R/L has NOTHING on FF.net to this day and, I don’t think at the time, there was anything on AO3? And if there was, I don’t remember seeing it and, if I did, I’m pretty sure my initial reaction would still have been, “Who cares about Lazare? He’s so mean! EW!” (Oh, my sweet, naive, teenaged self. How the tables will turn. How the tables will turn.) 

Now, it’s hard to sustain an interest in a show with negative chemistry between the leads and the growing realization that French!Ronan is an asshole, and eventually my interest in 1789 dimmed considerably. Not entirely faded, but dimmed. 

Then came The Stream. 

So, last year, around June-ish, the Moraholics set up a series of European Musical streams that lasted around half a year and was an absolute masterpiece of cooperation, and among them, we had the Takarazuka 1789, as subbed and hosted by the utterly phenomenal @berncat, who I’m eternally grateful to but who is also still not off the hook for getting me back into this Hell. And, suffice it to say (1) Having the Japanese actually translated and, for example, hearing Lazare promise to “give [Ronan] release” while looking at him with bedroom eyes, (2) Watching Magee with that whip, answering many questions about my sexuality that I didn’t know I had, and (3) Watching it with a group of people who were likewise cheering it on was a completely different experience with the musical than I’d had before and I jumped onto the ship HARD. (Btw, whoever said, “Someone should write a smutfic with Peyrol/Ronan” fuck you because it’s been nearly a year and the Abomination is, well, the Abomination and my 2k-4k pwp is now a sprawling universe in its own right currently clocking in at around 31k words and most of them aren’t even smutty, damn it). And, the week immediately afterwards, we watched the French and, well…

If I had any doubts about the viability of French!L/R, this kind of showed me that they were unfounded, with the Other Maniaque video (You know the one to which I refer) being the clencher (Was it really necessary to nuzzle your future arch-enemy, Ronan? And Laz, couldn’t you have been at least a little more proactive in making sure you didn’t get peasant germs on your nice fur coat rather than leaning into him?) That’s the weakest ass intimidation tactic I’ve ever seen and the only way I can justify it is Laz being in a constant state of “CUTE PEASANT BOY ABORT ABORT. CONCEAL DON’T FEEL” Right now, the only production I’m not really certain about is the Toho, since it looks like the Lazare there is significantly more…brutal than we’ve gotten before but, tbh, I can probably find some way to ship it there by selectively ignoring the canon as I always do. 

So, yeah, I’ve basically been stuck in 1789 Hell since then, because apparently my brain said, “Special Interest? SPECIAL INTEREST?” It’s a bit unusual to me since I’m really not used to actually creating content for a ship this much (even if very little of it gets published). 

I still ship it as hard if not harder than I did when I first jumped on; I think that they both have the most potential for growth and development from each other and the most potential as far as an overall plot arc (and delicious, delicious angst, hence why, across the board, no matter how much of the French production I bring into a given WIP, I always keep Peyrol being the one responsible for Ronan getting shot, though there’s also significant angst potential in Peyrol not knowing, thinking bitterly that Ronan had gotten what he wanted but still going back to their apartment only to find it empty, keeping hope that he’s alive for the rest of the night even as it becomes increasingly unlikely, thinking that perhaps Ronan’s still mad at him for everything that happened in Nous ne Sommes, only to learn the next day that Ronan’s dead). I can drop them into roughly any situation, both in the French Revolution and outside of it, and, for the most part, I can have fun with it. September Massacres? Check. Zombie Apocalypse? Check. Being dropped into the Cretaceous Period? Check. One of them’s a dragon who abducts the other one? Check. Afterlife Fic? Check. Going to Disney World together? Check. I was going to say “Childhood Friends AU” but we both know that only leads to pain but, otherwise? CHECK. 

It’s very much a multipurpose ship for me; I can do basically whatever I want with it as it suits my mood, and Lazare de Peyrol is an absolutely fantastic torture subject.10/10 would recommend. 

Mira/Wash

I hadn’t even considered this one until you brought it up and I’m very, very grateful you did because ANGST! PAIN! BETRAYAL! ANGST! WASH GETTING CHARACTERIZATION! ANGST! BONDAGE! ANGST! It’s definitely my dominant OTP for Terra Nova, I absolutely love it to bits. I liked both Wash and Mira the first time I watched it; I thought that both of them were more interesting than the main plot we got and, tbh, I wanted Wash content that wasn’t necessarily Wash/Taylor centered because I tried it once and it just felt…off. It’s not “NO BAD WRONG” for me and I have the distinct feeling that it’s what the writers were edging towards (which, given the other relationships in TN, might be why it felt off), but I definitely ended up preferring it as mutual, longstanding respect/loyalty rather than an actual romance.

 So, Mira was definitely a better fit for me, in the sense that there’s a lot of potential there for Wash’s characterization that’s not really touched on in the show, there’s a chance for conflict for both of them, there’s a lot of potential as far as backstory, etc. And, looking at the trajectory of the series after Taylor goes, to use the clinical term, bat-shit insane, I think that there’s a lot of potential for a team up between the two of them and a moment where they basically end up meeting in the center so they can fuck up their respective old sides together, get Sienna, and live happily ever after. (Which is also why the Taylor/Mira team up was such a waste compared to Wash/Mira, because WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU SET UP THAT OPPORTUNITY FOR A PARALLEL SCENE IN A FEW SEASONS AND NOT USE IT.) 

The only reason I’m not as active with it as I am with, say, Laz and Ronan is because I feel significantly more uncomfortable writing in sci-fi and fantasy settings than I am with historical fiction/modern day fics. Because with that stuff, I have a decent grasp of the world I’m dealing with, how it works, the basic technology I’m dealing with, how to navigate it, etc. whereas with a sci-fi/fantasy element, it’s harder to nail it down, especially with something like TN where we got so little time in the world and most of it was wasted doing other things. (GIVE ME A SERIES BIBLE, SPIELBERG YOU COWARD; NOT JUST THE ARCS AND MYTHOLOGY WITH CREEPY!!TAYLOR.) I can’t really do research on it the same way I can for, say, The Women’s March to Versailles, and I don’t personally feel like I have as good of a grasp on that universe as a whole. I’m fine taking the characters in places that would make the original writers faint, but I want to have a decent grounding for it when I do it. 

[marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer]

MTVS Epic Rewatch #194

DON’T FORGET TO VOTE!

VM 3x16 Un-American Grafitti

Stray thoughts

1) The smiles of these two fucking idiots as they pretend to be friends while secretly pining after each other, I hate them so much ugh!

2) Oh, this sardonic self-deprecating asshole, stop breaking my heart!

LOGAN: Lots of advancements since the last time I buckled down. How 'bout you?

VERONICA: Uh, "Violence in Early Adolescence."

LOGAN: Ah. Need me to autograph your textbook?

It’s nice to see them chat and banter without all the angst, even if it’s short-lived and all pretense, though.

3) Veronica is all smiles and sunshine until Logan uses the word “both” to refer to him and Parker. The realization that Logan wasn’t just bluffing and that not only was he dating someone else but he also seemed to have zero hang-ups about their break-up just utterly destroys her. 

4) This is actually refreshing, and it’s not the only time it happens in this season…

VERONICA VOICEOVER: I took this case so I wouldn't have time to dwell on Parker's birthday party and now, here I am, sitting in a car with nothing but a whole lot of dwelling time on my hands.

Veronica’s voiceover clearly implies she’s far from cool with the idea of Logan being Parker’s Picture Perfect Boyfriend. It’s the most outspoken she’s been as regards how she really feels about Logan and their break-up. We get the same type of voiceover in There’s Got to be a Morning After Pill, when Veronica goes bananas and stalks Madison because of her misplaced vendetta. Hardly ever did Veronica let us on in her inner feelings during times of emotional turmoil caused by the ups and downs of her relationship with Logan. In fact, in the early seasons, she usually went uncharacteristically silent when Logan was concerned. I think that in spite of all their fuck-ups, Logan and Veronica actually were in a much more mature and vulnerable place now than they ever were (think of their intimate conversations in Wichita Linebacker and Poughkeepsie, Tramps and Thieves) and it’s shown in Veronica’s voiceovers.

It’s sort of a step in the right direction for Veronica, and it’s hard to argue it’s not related to Logan’s claims that she always puts herself at a distance and never lets herself need others. 

5) I love this little callback…

AMIRA: Veronica Mars?

VERONICA: Amira. Long time, no see.

AMIRA: Yeah. Like since my senior year, when you made my Pirate Points worth less.

But… wasn’t Duncan the one who did that?

6) I think this is the moment when Veronica decides she will get her revenge on…

You don’t go ruining Veronica’s jacket and expect her not to get you back.

7) I know Ronald is only a kid, but damn does it feel good to see Veronica putting that little dick in his place…

RONALD: What does a criminologist do?

VERONICA: Oh, grads usually go into work in law enforcement. I'm considering pursuing a career at the FBI.

RONALD: You're a girl.

MRS. HILLS:  Ronald.

VERONICA: Actually, Ronald, did you know that on average, girls develop faster than boys and have higher levels of cognitive functioning, including math calculation, written language, and verbal fluency?

RONALD: So?

VERONICA: Well put, Ronald. We need fireman, too.

There’s nothing wrong with being a fireman, though.

8) This is hands down one of my favorite moments in the series, I don’t know why I get so much pleasure from seeing Veronica reenact a scene from Pulp Fiction almost verbatim and using a paint gun in lieu of a real gun.

9) Poor Mr. Clemmons but aww at Veronica shooting "Towelie” for making fun of him.

10) How didn’t Mac read Veronica’s expression? That’s not the face of someone who has ever been cool about anything ever.

MAC: You ready? We can offer them our table.

VERONICA: Sure. 

11) And I love how dumbfounded Veronica is about Mac and Logan actually getting along. I brought this up in a previous recap, but it’s pretty obvious the only reason Logan didn’t form any bonds with Mac or Wallace is because of Veronica’s need to compartmentalize. Mac sums it up quite nicely here…

VERONICA: You and Logan seem chummy.

MAC: Guess I never thought much of the guy when you two were dating. Surly thing, you know. But since he's been around so much lately, I've seen his sweet side. Probably the side you saw all the time.

VERONICA: Oh, yeah. That side.

And in fact, it begs the question: did Veronica keep Logan away from her friends and family because she feared they might not like him or because she wanted them to continue seeing him as the dark, brooding, dangerous type so that she could keep the “real” Logan all to herself?

12) Piz actually gained a couple of cool points because of this reference…

PIZ: It's like the new Rocky Horror. Now at one point people throw plastic spoons at the screen. You gotta check it out. It'll-it'll change your life.

But don’t worry, he’ll lose all of them and then some by the end of the episode.

13) Wallace, you’re such a good friend to all your friends, I love you.

WALLACE: I thought you were going to Yoyo Taco on Saturday.

PIZ: Yo La Tengo. Yeah. But, you know, this sounds more fun. What?

WALLACE: You're like one of those guys who stands behind the players at the poker table and pretends he's playing.

PIZ: Sorry, I've never been to Vegas, so what exactly...

WALLACE: Look. Every once in a while, you gotta go all in.

PIZ: Right. Will do.

WALLACE: Excellent.

PIZ: I don't know what that means, though.

WALLACE: It means we're going out tonight. You're going to talk to some girl who knows you're alive. Wait, actually, that's not what it means, but it's a start.

14) I’m not addressing the mystery of the week because I feel it’s so wrong in so many aspects I don’t even know where to start.

15) Now, this is awkward…

KEITH: Last time I saw you, you were nineteen, and that was...just a couple weeks ago. (…) Mind if I see those IDs of yours. I guess I don't have to ask where you got these.

 KEITH: You recognise the work? Out of thirty-seven citations yours truly wrote in six campus-area bars last night, no fake ID could hold a candle to your standards. You may not want to believe this, honey, but there are mistakes you can't take back. What if they'd gotten drunk and stumbled into the street like Jim Wilson. Would you want to explain that to their parents?

This is yet another instance of Veronica’s almighty and reckless attitude.

16)

DICK: Veronica Mars! What's that line about the beginning of some sort of friendship?

17) Isn’t there here a bit of foreshadowing, though?

MAC: Sorry. I was afraid you were trying to get back at Logan somehow by coming as Dick's date.

VERONICA: Ew. Yeah, nothing says "I'm over you" like dating down.

18) Oh, the cringe, the c r I N G E!!!

19) And the pain, oh, THE PAIN!!

20) Jebus, the subtext in their conversation is so overwhelming, though.

LOGAN: I girded myself for seeing you with a date tonight, you know, proof you weren't pining away.

VERONICA: All the periodically good ones were taken and I pine for no man.

LOGAN: Hmm. Well maybe you should try branching out. I mean, who knows, maybe there's a consistently good one here tonight.

I kind of wish she had brought up the fact she had been eating his face when he approached her.

Anyway, it’s kind of obvious that Logan is disguising the truth as a joke and that he had mentally prepared himself to see Veronica with someone. Joke’s on him, though. Have you ever thought about the fact that Logan’s joke about sending the weird guy on Veronica’s way was the catalyst that brought Veronica and Piz together? If Logan hadn’t sent the guy, then Veronica wouldn’t have run to Piz for help. In turn, Piz wouldn’t have pretended to be her boyfriend, Wallace wouldn’t have confronted Veronica about how insensitive she was being with Piz’s feelings, Veronica wouldn’t have apologized to Piz, Piz wouldn’t have sloppily kissed her and Veronica wouldn’t have chased him.

21) Veronica was pushing it, though. She could really be an asshole sometimes. There’s no way she wasn’t aware of how he felt about her. Also, bless you, Wallace.

VERONICA: There you are! Sorry, this is a “break glass in case of emergency” situation. I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend.

PIZ: Oh, sorry. You're right, babe. Bad boyfriend. Fresh drink coming up, okay.

WALLACE: (…) You need to listen to me right now, okay. What you're doing is cruel.

VERONICA: Are you kidding? When I told him my name... He did that whole "banana fanna fofanna" thing.

WALLACE: No, not him. Piz. If you don't know he has a thing for you...

VERONICA: Piz doesn’t have a th-

WALLACE: You're smarter than that. Be a good person. Just put him out of his misery.

22) MY EYESSSS! MY EYESSSS!

Isn’t this the most awkward and awful kiss in the history of kisses? There’s nothing about that kiss that would’ve swept Veronica off her feet. If you’d like to read more about what I think of this scene, go here. And if you want to see something that can’t be unseen go here.

Totally unrelated, but if you get me a kofi I’ll be forever grateful!

23) My heart.

Ugh, that ending.

fuck you, Piz.

[ivanaskye]

8+2 writing questions meme

@vardasvapors tagged me and I used doing this as a reward for dealing with airport security....

1. What are your current writing goals? Ohhh boy, okay, let’s see, I’ve got to get Šehhinah book 3 fully edited by March 9th, when I’m planning on publishing it … finishing drafting Evocation 3&4 … editing Evocation 2 … then editing the other Evocation books, obviously, once they’re drafted … outlining the series that takes place after Evocation … I think that’s as far as I have planned.  That should get me through some of the year!  Although let’s be real I probably haven’t even done cursory outlining of whatever I’ll be writing in November or whatever yet.

2. When did you first discover your love of writing? HAHAHAHAHA when DIDN’T I discover it.

Uhh ok no really … I learned how to read like really early and was always super into books.  “Book!  Book!” I apparently demanded of my mom like, all the time.  My physical ability to hold a pencil took longer to be a thing than my ability to read, and certainly longer than my ability to storytell, but there’s a whole collection of little stories I dictated to my mom as she wrote them down when I was three or four or so.  These include memorable lines such as “Yes, dear, a fire hydrant is very important” and “Buzzing! He couldn’t believe his eyes!” and “And then they drank all day and died.  This was a long time ago, when people used to do that sort of thing.”  There was also the story that ended in Pooh Bear and Piglet dying … and the one where Thomas the Tank Engine “took his medicine” and “didn’t do any bad things anymore” …

Not too long after those, there started being little things I’d write myself with pencil and paper.  For whatever reason the first that comes to mind is this song about winter (meant to be sung by Pooh Bear, obviously) which I think I wrote when I was six, that went “It’s snowing / it’s mowing / but I don’t mind // I’ve got furry furry fur to keep me warm and snuggly / because it’s winter!”  Gods, uh, I even still remember the tune for that actually.  Then again, I think I remember all the tunes of the bad songs I wrote as a kid.

Also by the way I still have basically all of this stuff.  I have like, a barely-even-started attempt at uh, a nonfiction book, bound by staples, about volcanoes … THE FREAKING FAIRY SLAVE STORY, involving a fairy enslaved by an evil witch at the age of six …

This kept ramping up in complexity until I was nine and decided that a good way to spend a three-week road trip would be to write an entire movie script.  Which I did; it was about sixty pages long once later typed up by my mom (these were the waning days before I really learned how to type), which by typical page-to-minute conversions for scripts, means it would have been about an hour long as a movie.  I did try to film it, and got partway through, but oh my Gods, that is a story for another time and this is already an essay and I’m only on the second question.

Keep in mind that on that same road trip I also attempted to start drawing several manga—most not making it past the third page—and did some Tokyo Mew Mew fanfic, and a number of other things besides …

Uhh anyway this brings us to March 9th, 2006, which is the “created on” date of my very first writing document on my computer!  It was four paragraphs long and terrible and I was a bit of a weeb, so the main character’s name was Subeteno Kakusei … there was this whole thing where like, she’d fight for Life in the daylight but switch personalities and fight for Death in the nighttime, but I got stuck and stopped writing when she asked, “and why is life bad?” and I couldn’t come up with the answer.  Uh.  Also this story itself was already a revamp of another story written on paper which had started out as a riff on Pokemon…

3. What motivates you to keep writing? UH WANTING TO REMAIN BREATHING, lmao.

No seriously though, that’s actually something I’ve said to people: “oh, yeah, I have to write every day, OR I WILL DIE.” And I mean??? I probably would?? Wtf is a not writing every day?  I mean, okay, yeah, I only started the daily thing at the beginning of 2016, but still…

Seriously though, writing makes me feel like myself, it’s kind of what I am…

4. How important is worldbuilding for your writing? VERY??? EXTREMELY??? A WHOLE BUNCH???? I absolutely 100% have to get the cosmology of a setting down before I can write in it.  It’s the most essential thing in my entire process and also the hardest.  That essential-ness is why I write secondary world stuff—I want to decide the cosmology Gods heck it!!  I get to display something, a possibility of something, that is good, where the world works in a way that feels right, where the very formation of how the world works including its magic system is supportive of people’s happiness.

The whole cosmology process requires heavy amounts of thinking and analyzing and even heavier amounts of believing in myself though, and I feel utterly exhausted after it every time.

For all the other parts of worldbuilding, I do better if I have it down ahead of time rather than expect myself to come up with stuff while drafting—because, lol, I won’t, I’ll make up a cool landscape if I give myself a minute to do it in outlining or worldbuilding but if I don’t have one when drafting, I will somehow just completely fail to come up with anything interesting at all.  But also, I like drafting way more than any other part of the writing process, so generally speaking I don’t worldbuild quite as much as I could or maybe should!

5. Pen on paper versus typing? Typing typing typing oh my Gods.

6. Favorite Author? OKAY UH … the obvious answer here is N.K Jemisin bc her most recent trilogy is perfect, and she has great subject matter AND a gorgeous writing style that’s just amazing, and, and.  But.  I don’t usually like to say someone’s my favorite unless I’m certain that the stuff they’re doing next is also going to be something I like, so I might defer Official Favorite Status to such a time as her next book is published!

In that case, the backup favorite would be Brandon Sanderson…

7. Something you do to get the creative juices flowing to write? Coffee.

But more seriously … to get the creativity flowing to write, I write.  It’s a habit.  There is no muse.  There’s no use in waiting for inspiration to strike.  You have to make it happen anyway.  You have to just keep going and believe, and believe.

(More generalizing than I would normally say, but I highkey feel this one…)

8. Do you write better at night, or first thing in the morning? Morning! This past month is the first period of time for two years where I’ve not felt like I’m dying if writing isn’t the first thing I do in the morning … if only because I trust I’ll end up doing it for three hours in the afternoon anyway.  I can pretty much write any time of day now but I’m most attuned to doing it in the morning.  With coffee…

9. How do you take your coffee/tea? Cappuccinos are very important to my lifestyle.  BY CAPPUCCINO, I specifically mean equal parts espresso, steamed milk, and foam—but the foam is mixed into the milk, it isn’t just spooned on top, so basically it’s foamy milk.  The drink should be approximately 8oz.  It includes two shots of espresso.  The most preferred types of espresso tend to be Ethiopian, but anything with a bright flavor is great (which still is very most often African beans, with Ethiopian almost always as the best!).

…So, ok, maybe I’m a little particular…

10. If you could only live with one season for the rest of your life, what would it be? I’d say summer except that in many ways nighttime is more important to me than the day and also I lived in Hawaii for the better part of 4 years and the constant heat was too much for me.  So uh.  Uhhh.

I do need a lot of sunlight though, and even more than that clear skies!  I need starlight!  And moonlight!  So any season where I can get those things, and where the temperature’s not too hot but not like horribly cold either.  (Of late, my cold tolerance has outpaced my heat tolerance, but it too has limits.)

Tagging @lcmawson, predictably.

[turqrambles]

I watched all 26 episodes of an obscure Australian cartoon in one week and I’m not okay - My journey with Wicked! (2001) PART 2 - The Actual Review

Hello again! I just checked my watch and I noticed that it was time to talk about the cartoon with the apple-headed guy some more!

When I last talked about this delightful piece of obscure media, I went over the origin story of how the show was created, introduced the cast of characters, and then talked about the main draw of the cartoon that makes it unique of other cartoons of its quality.

And then, at the end of the blog post, I mentioned that I think that the cartoon is merely “Okay” rather than anything Amazing. It has a great idea but ultimately, it really is just an alright show.

So now, after introducing this beautiful cartoon and explaining to everyone just what the hell is going on, it’s time to break this whole thing down.

The Good, The Bad, and The Apple-Flavored

Wicked! is a weird show to grade. The animation itself fluctuates in quality and there’s some very obvious cut corners from how frequently animation is recycled in some of the episodes, scenes can have weird editing or continuity errors, and sometimes they’ll even recycle sound bytes like insults that Dawn and Rory shout at each other or Gramps reminding everyone about Normandy. I feel like I heard The Appleman mention that something was “100% real nightmare” like five times while watching this whole thing in quick succession.

Information for this cartoon is practically nonexistent, but my theory is that this happened because the animation was all produced in a single in-house Australian studio rather than shipping bits of it overseas to get tightened up. Again, I could be wrong, and if anyone has any better information, please send me an ask, but a lot of the techniques that Wicked! use reminded me of Filmation, which also famously kept everything in one studio.

Just be warned, similar to when someone watches He-Man and go “oh hey, I recognize that talking animation from the second episode”, there are shots that get reused often to save time. Get used to that one scene where Appleman is laughing and running across the steel walkway suspending over the refinery vats, it’s used a ton.

That being said, when they give them the budget to add a little polish to the show, they do a pretty good job!

Don’t be fooled by my talk of He-Man - this show actually looks pretty great. Most of the time the animation is pretty fluid and the decision to constantly use shadows to wrap around the characters really works in its favor and gives it an extra layer of moodiness.

It just reuses animation on top of that.

I think that, in many ways, Wicked! is carried more by the strength of its ideas over its actual execution. Even if this show gets super goofy at times (this is a show where the Appleman literally infects the Internet by taking a piper and dropping glowing green goo on a CD-ROM), there is a definite horror undertone to the show that gets carried through its entire season.

Dare I say it, the show actually gets a little scary at times. That scene where the kids discover that their pets are nothing but empty skins with all the organs and bones sucked out in the first episode actually sets the mood really well and feels extremely faithful to the original books.

Plus the concept of The Appleman being able to tinker around with a living virus and create something that can mutate literally anything is a fun as hell idea, even if it doesn’t make sense most of the time and seems like a weird mutation (hah) of the conflict from the books. It’s just fun that this guy can create literally anything out of thin air as a weapon just so long as he goes to his lab and makes something that allows him to do so.

The Pros

*The Appleman. Yeah, there’s a very good reason why the only thing people remember about this show is The Appleman. He’s just a fun character and a fun villain. His design does takes a bit to get used to on account of how uncanny he can be, and there are times when they draw him off-model and make him look just horrendous, but once you see how far they go with the apple-theming, you kinda start to vibe with the apple headed monster.

Sure, he’s basically your run-of-the-mill cartoon villain but with a bonus tragic backstory, but his vocal performance by Bill Conn really sells the whole package. You can tell that he’s greatly unhinged and that he’s not exactly playing with a full deck. It’s only until the last episode that they flat-out say that he’s being controlled by the same virus that he’s been using to infect other creatures, but I’m pretty sure your average cartoon-watching kid is able to guess that just from the small hints that they drop.

Also all of his vehicles are apple-colored and I love a villain that takes the time to make sure he has a proper theme.

(The “starting out with an island with apple trees on Animal Crossing: New Horizons” moodboard)

*The Family. I liked that, since this show is about terrorizing one particular dysfunctional Australian family, all five family members of this show get enough character development that the mom and dad feel like they’re more than “the mom and dad character”. Save for that one episode where Gramps was constantly bragging about how back in his day, he didn’t need electricity, he was a fun, lovable grandpa, and I like that the kids get someone to talk to about mutant frogs and such.

They’re definitely dysfunctional and, as I mentioned in the previous post, Rory and Dawn constantly insulting each other in every single episode can be grating at times, but I like that their level of dysfunction is not because of the mom and the dad having an emotionally abusive relationship. If anything, the mom and the dad have the most stable relationship in the whole show! Eileen and Jack love each other and I hate that I’m at a point where I see this husband and wife genuinely enjoying each other’s company and I go “Yes, this is something refreshing”.

Also, gotta give the show points for having the family be two single parents from past relationships finding each other and getting married and for having Eileen be totally cool with her new in-law Gramps. 

*The Slobberers. Expanded from the first creatures from the books, I like that the apple-headed monster has giant worms for pets (again, gotta aggressively keep to the apple theming) and, while there’s a couple episodes where they’re just something to give The Appleman something to talk to, their designs are fun. Gives the animators an excuse to draw slime.

In a later episode, he mentions that he considers them his only friends and boy...that’s rough, buddy. 

*There’s an episode where characters travel into the Internet and fight a buff video game avatar of The Appleman in a late 90′s dungeon crawler computer game. I looooove late 90′s Internet imagery in cartoons, what can I say. You even see the dial-up pop window and a clunky late 90′s webcam!

*This is a show where a divorced man keeps bugging his own son and ex-wife while sometimes trying to kill his ex-wife’s new husband - all while keeping to a strict apple and virus theme - and honestly, this is a pro on its own. The Appleman is such a petty bitch at times and I love it.

*The Appleman is allergic to medicine. Minor touch, but I like that, since he’s a virus-themed bad guy, they apply “Revive Kills Zombie” logic on this guy and he literally can’t take painkillers because it’ll only cause him more pain and agony. This comes up in an episode where he’s screaming in pain and wishes he could make the pain go away but just can’t.

*The Title Cards. This is one of those shows that freezes on eye-catching artwork for each episode title before they continue with the rest of the episode and they’re really nice.

*The Accents. Forgot to mention this anywhere else, but since this is an Australian produced cartoon that aired primarily in Australia, everyone is rocking a very noticeable Australian accent and say things like “Oi, you two! Come and get a wriggle on!”. It’s fantastic.

They were definitely at the level where, if this show ever did make it to the states, they would’ve dubbed it to sound more American. And probably flip the animation so that the characters are driving on the opposite side of the road.  

The Cons

*The Reused animation and sound clips. This is unfortunately the show’s biggest strike against it. Once your brain picks out which scenes get reused and which voice clips get reused, you’ll notice that some of the episodes have a noticeably smaller polish than others. The episode “Decayed” in particular felt like 50% footage from previous episodes and boy, did it stick out like a sour thumb because of it.

That being said, I didn’t mind too much (watching a lot of B-list anime and Filmation shows will do that to you) and I feel like you would’ve noticed this a lot less if you weren’t blazing through all 26 episodes in a short period of time like I was. But it is definitely a bummer that they had to cut corners like this because again, when they don’t cut corners, this show looks utterly fantastic.

I guess the lesson here is that the animators of this show didn’t get paid enough, but really, you can say that about literally every animated project in existence.

*Weird continuity inconsistencies. This goes into a weird nitpicking “you probably only noticed this because you’re an adult with too much free time/boy I sure hope someone got fired for THAT blunder!” territory, but sometimes this cartoon does a thing where something minor is established and then the cartoon subtly retcons it.

Mostly I’m using this space to complain about how Dawn explicitly mentions that they don’t own a cat, but then in the “character shrinks to the size of an ant” episode, they have a pet cat! They have a pet cat that lasts a grand total of one episode and no one says anything!

What happened to the cat, Rory? What happened to the cat?!

(my theory is, like his father, it ran away from this family)

*Some episodes use stock cartoon plots. There is an episode where the main characters shrink to the size of an ant. There is a camping episode. There is a school dance episode. There is a Halloween episode. There is an episode focused on teeth. There is an episode that talks about the dangers of too much fast food.

Like the reused animation issue, depending on the episode, you end up not minding too much about this on account of how utterly bonkers The Appleman is when he’s concocting his evil schemes. The “characters teleport into the Internet” episode ended up being one of my favorites, as did the school dance episode.

But at the same time, two of my least favorite episodes are the stock episode plot episodes, so it’s definitely a mixed bag.

*They use real photographs in background shots and it bugs me. Come on, guys. Just have the blank wall or scribble in some posters. Anything will look better than this cartoon character standing right next to a still image from Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, especially when you clearly had the time to draw that cartoon skull on the door.

*The three plot-heavy episodes unfortunately have weaker animation. This just seems like weird planning on their parts, but Episode 1, Episode 4, and Episode 26 are all episodes that deal with backstory of The Appleman and this wacky dysfunctional family and, for some reason, they didn’t bring their A game in regards to actually animating these episodes.

I feel like if you’re dealing with heavy backstory, you need to make the episode look good, because that’s going to be the stuff that the audience remembers. You need to have the flashback of The Appleman’s horrific transformation while he was working at the old refinery look amazing, but instead it just....doesn’t.

(picture unfortunately related)

Just to make a note, the episodes with the most fluid animation are the following: The one with the mutant plants, the one with the mutant sheep, the Halloween episode, the episode with the dinosaur bones, and the episode where The Appleman learns how to make clones. None of these episodes are important to the overarching plot. 

*One of the episodes is unfortunately popular because it depicts animation that caters to the inflation fetish. Just...noting this for posterity. It makes google image searches of this cartoon a bit awkward. I’m not going to elaborate much further.

*There’s a minor transphobic joke in one of the episodes. In the episode “Decayed”, The Appleman dresses up like a nurse, tries to adopt a more feminine voice, and puts on makeup and fake eyelashes. Thankfully, this only happens for like three seconds and is never mentioned again.

The rest of the show otherwise passes the “can this still fly in 2020″ test. I’m just making a note here because it is pretty shitty. 

Closing Thoughts

Wicked! is not the best show in the world, and I struggle to call it “great”, but it is a solid and enjoyable one and honestly, the things that it has going for it are unique enough that I recommend giving it a shot despite its shortcomings.

If anything, my main takeaway from watching this whole show is that this show does not deserve to be as obscure as it is. At the very least, the concepts and characters introduced here are strong ones - the villain is a bitter divorced man transformed by a hate-feeding virus after all - and I feel that, in a more fair world, this show got the small but dedicated fanbase it so woefully needs. It doesn’t deserve a huge following of fans, but I say it definitely deserves a Fanfiction.net tag with 200 fanfics total and a lot more fanart than what it does.

While I’m not sure I could recommend it as one of the great obscure cartoons that everyone missed, I think it’s definitely worth checking out for anyone looking for a fun time. It’s definitely a hidden gem, even if the hidden gem has a few imperfections. If anything, this show is a definite wild ride and I think it’s time for everyone to give this cartoon a shot.

Anyway I got to see The Appleman playing Second Life and moving the muscle slider all the way to the right, so I obviously had a blast.

Next time, I talk about the actual episodes!

[curly-q-reviews]

ROAD TO THE OSCAR MAYER WIENER AWARDS 2K19

Cold War (original title Zimna wojna), 2018 (dir. Pawel Pawlikowski)

Nominated for: Best Foreign Language Film, Best Director, Best Cinematography

TW SUICIDE MENTION

SPOILER WARNING IM GONNA GIVE AWAY THE ENDING IN THIS REVIEW DONT READ THIS SHIT IF U WANNA WATCH THIS MOVIE OK BYE LOVE U

well shit the oscars is only a week away!!!  and ive only seen like half of the movies i wanted to see!!!  how does this keep happening to me!!!!!!!!!!!

ok well no use crying over spilled milk im just gonna have to go on a massive movie-watching spree this week and try and consume as many films as possible, and in the meantime lets talk about the movie i saw last night.  this is probably the first year ive seen more than one movie in the foreign language film oscar category, mainly just because the foreign language films are typically harder to find unless a local movie theater happens to be playing them as part of an oscars season special event or something.  but now that two of our nominees this year have american distributors it makes watching them a lot easier. 

going into Cold War i had absolutely no idea what it was about except that its set in Poland during the, well, Cold War.  the trailers for this movie didnt really reveal much about the plot or characters, which honestly i kinda prefer with trailers.  sometimes they just give away waaaayyy too much and then whats the point of going to see the movie??  i did know beforehand that its a romance so i at least had that expectation.

and well yeah its a romance all right!!  its a very romeo and juliet star-crossed lovers kinda situation where a student who gets accepted into a state-run polish music academy becomes close with one of the instructors and they fall in love, however life circumstances keep pulling them away from each other over and over again.  the movie spans over a timeline of about a decade and a half, and in this time the two of them find other lovers, get married, travel from country to country, but always end up managing to find each other before theyre separated again by circumstances that usually involve the polish communist state.  so basically communism is a total cock block. 

acting in this movie is overall very solid with not really a weak link in the bunch, except for maybe tomasz kot who played wiktor cause he just felt a lil stiff to me.  however joanna kulig steals the fuckin show for me as zula, shes utterly captivating on screen and really takes advantage of all of the close-up shots of her face throughout this film.  it also helps that shes given a fantastic character to play in zula, shes a spitfire and strong-willed and will not take any mans bullshit but near the end of the film you do get to see her struggle as well.  the shit she has to put up with gets very harrowing at times and u do feel for her

and wiktor goes through his fair share of shitty situations as well, i mean damn he ends up in jail when he goes back to poland for zula and they mangle his hands so badly he’ll never be able to play piano again which was his livelihood.  its pretty tragic how these two people are just like little puppets for the communist state to toss around and play with to their hearts content until theyre both almost destroyed.  and really the whole underlying backdrop of communist poland is really what elevates this story from being just another romeo and juliet clone to something a little more profound. 

ill come back to the story in a bit cause there are a few things i took issue with but i wanna take a moment to praise the music in this film cause holy SHIT its so good.  im honestly really surprised it didnt get any music-related noms cause the music was probably my favorite part of Cold War.  the beginning is full of polish folk music with a full womens choir that sounds just delightful, and then we transition into classic jazz when our lovers end up in paris together in the early 1950′s, and then some american classic rock n’ roll music is thrown into the mix in a few scenes, and then at the end we have a performace thats like a weird polish version of mariachi music??  such a wide and complex musical palette that ebbs and flows with the story, and we also get to see performers doing their thing which is just the icing on the cake. 

so the movie sounds fantastic, and i mean i gotta say it looks fantastic too!  like Roma, Cold War is shot in black and white, which definitely fits the time period its set in and fits especially well with the jazz scenes.  we get a lot of close-up shots of peoples faces, but theyre balanced out well with wide shots that tend to put the focal points in the bottom third of the screen which i thought was an interesting touch.  gave it a very art house feel.  from what i could tell there were mostly still shots except for a few dance scenes, which kept the movie very grounded and kinda added a sense of realism.

so i think thats all the good shit i have to say and i wanna touch on the ending for the last part of this review, cause to be frank, this movie ended so abruptly it gave me whiplash.  i was going into this film expecting it to be like 2 hours long but the run time clocks in at just under an hour and thirty minutes.  usually this isnt a bad thing at all especially for quieter movies like this that take their time, but in this case it couldve used AT LEAST another ten to twenty minutes.  so wiktor is let out of prison early because his commie friend pulled some strings (probably due to zulas insistence) and we find out that zula has married this commie state official and had a kid with him.  and she now works as a performer (probably working for the state like she did when she was with the music academy) singing weird polish mariachi music.  shes clearly drunk off her ass when she sees that wiktor is out, runs to the bathroom to puke, and then he finds her in there and they decide to run away together again.  but its implied that this time its more of an uuhhh permanent escape.  like, PERMANENT permanent.  like no-longer-living permanent.  and this is the point of the movie where im like “oh god really theyre gonna keep THIS part of the romeo and juliet story they really think thats a good idea”

and then the next scene we see them going to an abandoned run-down church that was shown in the beginning of the movie, and they both have what looks like a shit ton of pills out in front of them.  they say wedding vows, then each take half of the giant pile of pills, and then go to watch the sunset.  and then thats where the movie ends.  it just like cuts to credits and thats it. 

idk man it just doesnt have the amount of emotional gravitas that i feel like a scene like that should have.  and it escalates so quickly too, like one minute theyre in a bathroom and the next theyre on a bus and the next theyre at the church with the pills in front of them.  its hard to explain how abrupt it all felt watching it, u have to see it for urself to get what i mean.  the pacing was just really off in the last third of this film, and with the severity of the act theyre committing u’d think the director would wanna spend more time on it.

so other than that i’d say if u like foreign films and good period pieces this is one to check out, i’d give it like a 7/10.  if anything go see it just to listen to the music cause good god its so gorgeous im gettin my hands on this soundtrack. 

OK Y’ALL i got lots of reviewing to do in the next few days so u’ll be seeing a log of long-ass posts from me soon!  i think The Favorite is on amazon video now so ill watch that for sure sometime this week, and then god knows what else i’ll watch i’ll just have to play it by ear.  have a relaxing fun and fresh sunday y’all try not to let the idea of having to go to school/work tomorrow fill u with too much existential dread  ;)

[fyasamisato]

how did you first joined the avatar fandom

Oh boy, this is probably gonna get me in trouble. Story time! As a kid I would spend many weekends at my grandmas house. Now this was fun but usually around super time, a lot of other family would show up, and all the adults would sit in the living room and talk politics or sports. Two things a kid me could not care less about. So i’d go to the basement where there was a TV with very basic channels. Alot of Toonami would happen, and a lot of cartoon network.

But every now and again, I’d flip the channels to Nick, and that’s when I first saw Avatar the Last air bender. And the first episode I saw was the last one! No idea what was happening or who these people were. All I knew was holy crap this whole martial art elementalism is awesome!!!

So I’d come back and watch it whenever I could. So my first experience with it was very sporadic, jumping from season to season, never able to watch them in order. Though thinking back, weirdly I think I watched a majority of the important episodes and very few of the filler.

The episode I watched that most captured my imagination and attention was the southern raiders. The rage in Katara as she stopped the rain and came so close to killing that man before showing mercy was something that really stuck with me.

But then I wasn’t able to watch it for a long period of time. High school came, and so did Korra. And I didn’t even start watching it till the end of the first season. (I watched it actually cause my friend was in a tuff cause she hated the ending of the first season so much lol) So I started watching when Korra season 2 was being released. I got the dvds for last airbender and watched it all before Korra season 3 came out, and then watched religiously till the series ended.

As for the fandom itself, I think i made this account the day of the finale. After Korrasami dropped, which I had been on board with since the beginning of season 3. I was just so into Korrasami itself that I wanted to dive into the community itself. It was the first ship I ever shipped and the first Internet community I ever really delved into that wasn’t horror or lotr based, and I’ve been here ever since. So it’s kinda funny, I got into the fandom itself the day content for it kind of ended, at least until now with the comic coming out.

So yeah. Can’t say i was there from day one lol. I’m a late comer. Still utterly love it though. Thanks for the ask :)

[ashesofus]

How to Build Wealth

Let me kickoff by admitting that I've been flat broke previously. I've had those times where I was altogether stressed about how I was going to pay the bills that were really past due! I’ve likewise had times where I've had more than adequate income to pay all my bills and purchase boats, autos and take big holidays.

I've had both of the experiences in a matter of weeks. I'm going to explain, really simply, what I've done to return into alignment with producing more than enough revenue and more.

Steps to Build Wealth

Draw the line in the sand. Arrive at a choice. From this instant forward you'll draw in more revenue and produce a structure and habits that support a fresh and bettered level of wealth. You have to stand for this. You have to be thirsty for change.

You have to trust you are able to do this. Even if you're frightened that this time won't be different from the other times, you've made this selection. You'll take a few actions now that won't let you slip out the back entrance on yourself. Take a bit of effort now to back yourself in the larger goal.

What is it precisely that you wish to be different? If you wish more revenue to come in the door, how much and how frequently? Do you wish an additional ten thousand this year or monthly? Do you wish your business to gross an additional million or net an additional million? When? This month? This year? By next year? You have to decide or it becomes one of those "someday" things.

If, an amount feels unreachable, then make it littler. If the amount you've selected feels too little and you'll still be wishing you had more revenue, than make it larger. Above all, whatever sum of money you're deciding to have, mean what you state. This is so easy, but this is where most individuals fall and the rest their efforts don't generate successful results.

And one additional thing, its nobody else's business what numbers you pick. Some individuals may judge your numbers as being too little or large based on their own life. As long as you feel firm about your selection and you're not wimping out on yourself, go on it!

What will you spend the money on? Once more, this is your money and you have to be emotionally attached to it. Where is it going to go? If you're going to pay debts, arrive at a plan for how you'll accomplish it and then choose where the money will go when the debt is paid back. Now you've the origins of a plan. That was simple, eh?!

If you're going to save income, how much and to where? You might have to do a little imagining and inquiry to perfect this step. If you wish to expand your business with some of this additional money, it might take you a little extra planning, but you'll be very energized. This exhilaration will help move you towards success.

Now, clear up and put down how this is going to feel once achieved. I recognize to a few of you this step will sound like a waste. Don't skip over this step. You need to make this goal so real in your brain and heart that you run, not walk, to more riches. This step is essential in both technique and the Law of Attraction.

Produce precise actions and habits that you'll apply beginning now to support this goal of more riches. You might only require a couple of actions. This isn't rocket science. For a few of you, it might merely be a matter of producing accountability. You already understand what to do. For a few of you, it might be about producing an entire new relationship with income.

I know a couple of you need to quit your job or remove or add fresh team members. Yes, you might dread a few things on your list, but will you be glad once you do it? If the answer is yeah, keep it on your list. Dissect big actions into little steps so they're digestible.

Inspired action. Many of you've heard this a million times but you're still not applying it. Are you taking actions that feel great? Are they somebody else's "should's" or are they really something you've selected to do. Your intuition is speaking to you. Are you hearing?

Who's going to support you? Are you invested enough to see this goal through? Will you believe that you'll succeed even when you don't believe there are any signs of betterment over a long time period? Who's going to help you in a way that really works for you? Consistency is key.

If you truly wish to have more money in your bank account and wallet, then print this out and follow the steps in the next twenty-four hours. This whole process might take as little as an hour or two. How passionate are you about becoming wealthy? It's not a matter of "if" you'll be more prosperous, but "when."

How many have nearly accomplished the goal of their aspiration, but, losing faith in themselves, have loosened up their energies, and the golden prize has been lost eternally. If you pause, some bolder hand will stretch forth and acquire the prize. Recall the proverb of Solomon: “He becomes poor that deals with a slack hand; but the hand of the diligent gets rich.”

Perseverance is occasionally but a different word for self-reliance. A lot of individuals naturally look on the dark side of life, and adopt trouble. They're born so. Then they invite advice, and they'll be governed by one current of air and blown by a different, and can't rely on themselves. Till you are able to get so that you are able to rely on yourself, you need not expect to succeed.

Men who have met with monetary reverses, and utterly committed suicide, because they believed they could never overpower their misfortune. But I've known other people who have met graver financial troubles, and have bridged them over by mere perseverance, aided by a solid belief that they were doing right.

You'll see this illustrated in any sphere of life. Work at it, if essential, early and late, in season and out of season, not leaving a stone unturned, and never putting off for a single hour that which may be done just as well right away. The old adage is full of truth and meaning, “Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well.”

Many a man develops a fortune by doing his business thoroughly, while his neighbor stays poor in life, because he only half does it. Ambitions, vitality, industry, doggedness, are indispensable essentials for success in business. Fortune forever favors the courageous, and never helps a man who doesn't help himself. It won’t do to spend your time in waiting for something to “turn up.”

To such men one of 2 things commonly “turns up:” the poorhouse or sorrow: for idleness breeds foul habits, and clothes a man in rags. The poor spendthrift vagrant says to a wealthy man:

“I have discovered there's enough money in the world for all of us, if it was evenly divided; this must be done, and we shall all be content together.”

“But,” was the reply, “if everyone was like you, it would be spent in 2 months, and what would you do then?” “Oh! Divide once more; keep dividing, naturally!”

Do your part of the work, or you can't succeed. Mohammad, one night, while camping in the desert, overheard one of his dog-tired followers note: “I'll loose my camel, and trust it to the higher power!” “No, no, not so,” stated the prophet, “tie thy camel, and trust it to the higher power!” Do all you are able to for yourselves, and then trust to luck, or whatever you call it, for the remainder.

In the nature of matters, an agent can't be as faithful to his employer as to himself. Several who are employers will call to mind cases where the best employees have neglected important points which may not have escaped their notice as an owner.

No man has a right to expect to win in life unless he understands his business, and nobody may understand his business thoroughly unless he studies it by personal application and experience. A man might be a manufacturer: he has got to study the many details of his business personally; he will discover something daily, and he will find he will make errors nearly daily.

And these very errors are helps to him in the way of experiences if he simply minds them. You have to exercise your caution in setting your plans, but be bold in carrying them out. A man who's all caution, will never dare to take charge and be successful; and a man who's all boldness, is simply foolhardy, and must finally fail.

A man may go on “’change” and make 50 thousand dollars in speculating in stocks, at a single procedure. But if he has mere boldness without care, it's simple chance, and what he gains now he will lose tomorrow. You have to have both the caution and the daring, to guarantee success.

Never have anything to do with an ill-fated man or place. That's to say, never have anything to do with a man or place which never wins, as, although a man might appear to be honest and smart, yet if he attempts this or that thing and forever fails, it is on account of some error or debility that you might not be able to discover but all the same which must exist.

There's no such thing in the world as luck. There never was a man who could go out in the morning and come across a purse full of gold in the street today, and another tomorrow, and so forth, day in day out: He might do so once in his life; but so far as simple luck is concerned, he's as liable to lose it as to discover it.

Like causes produce like consequences. If a man acquires the proper techniques to be successful, “luck” won't prevent him. If he doesn't succeed, there are reasons for it, although, maybe, he might not be able to see them.

source http://www.forcesalign.com/how-to-build-wealth/

[esonetwork]

A blog of ice and fire: Thoughts on Game of Thrones seasons 2 & 3

New Post has been published on https://esonetwork.com/a-blog-of-ice-and-fire-thoughts-on-game-of-thrones-seasons-2-3/

A blog of ice and fire: Thoughts on Game of Thrones seasons 2 & 3

“If you think this has a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention.”

If there’s one bit of dialogue you should keep in mind while watching Game of Thrones, it’s probably that one. While I’ve only just now finished season 3, multiple characters have already met untimely/unfair ends. There’s no telling who will actually make it to the end, and who will come out as a winner or a loser in the fight for the Iron Throne.

Earlier this year, I started watching Game of Thrones after years of hearing all the buzz about it. I purposely waited for the final episode to air before I began, so that I could experience the series as one complete arc. I also decided to blog my thoughts along the way. I’m not normally much of a binge-watcher, so I’ll probably be working on this project for a while, but it’s been a fascinating journey so far.

While I enjoyed the first season and meeting all the characters, the second season is where this show really started drawing me in. All the political maneuvering is captivating to watch, and even though I’ve already heard a decent amount of spoilers regarding the show’s ending, I quickly found out that, much like poor Jon Snow, there’s still a lot I don’t know.

(Fair warning, spoilers abound!)

Pawns and players

Our heroes and villains have been scattered across Westeros (and beyond), every person working towards his or her own goal (some more altruistic than others). Robb continues to lead the war between the Starks and the Lannisters; Joffrey continues to be an utterly awful human being; Arya grows into a toughened survivor; Dany is nurturing her dragons and building an army; and Jon Snow is…well…doing whatever the heck he’s trying to do beyond the Wall. (I’m not totally sure what his ultimate plan is, but I don’t think he necessarily knows either. Jon is sometimes what I’d call “lovably clueless.” You know I still adore you, though, Jon!)

I just keep finding myself amazed at the scope of this show; the sets and costumes are even higher quality than some big-budget films I’ve seen. It’s also impressive the amount of depth the actors are able to add to their characters. There are some characters I didn’t really like when I first met them, but thanks to some subtle details added by the actors and/or the script, I actually pity them now. Many of these characters haven’t really led happy lives thus far, and they’re trying to survive in the only way they know how.

One of the main characters who really stands out to me after watching the first three seasons is Tyrion Lannister, played by Peter Dinklage. What an interesting character, and what a great performance. Tyrion can be both ruthless and compassionate, and he’s obviously one of the smartest players in the game of thrones going on around him. He cares more than he’s willing to let on, and he’s definitely the best of the Lannisters (though to be fair, that’s not really a high bar to clear).

Tyrion is treated cruelly by both his family and the people around him, simply because he is shorter than the average height. His father, Tywin, treats Tyrion and his other children as mere pawns to be used in building the family’s reputation. One of the hardest scenes to watch is the forced wedding between Tyrion and Ned Stark’s daughter, Sansa, because these are two people who are utterly miserable yet also utterly powerless. Tyrion is also one of the few people in King’s Landing who shows kindness to Sansa. I’m really hoping both of these two will be okay!

Another character whose arc really intrigues me is Tyrion’s brother, Jaime. I really hated Jaime at first, but the past several seasons have marked a rather intense period of personal growth for him. He loses his hand — and therefore, part of his identity as a warrior — and his interactions with Brienne of Tarth show that he does have a sense of nobility and decency buried deep within him. I also love how Brienne puts up with zero percent of his nonsense.

Speaking of Brienne, she has quickly become one of my favorite characters. Even in a society that’s prejudiced against her, she’s managed to become a female warrior and demands the respect of those who get to know her.

And I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention Olenna Tyrell. She is to Game of Thrones what the Dowager Countess is to Downton Abbey. Olenna has a sharp wit and an even sharper tongue, and she always has the best lines. She’s not intimidated by the Lannisters, and she is never afraid to speak her mind. If this was a democracy, she’d definitely have my vote to sit on the Iron Throne.

Themes in the narrative

I love digging deeper into stories and pondering what they’re trying to say, both about the world they’re depicting and the real world beyond the fantasy. And Game of Thrones has plenty to dig into.

In my first Game of Thrones blog, I mentioned that I was frustrated by how the show portrayed some of the female characters, and I hoped that future seasons would give them more of a voice. Although the show still could use some improvement in this department (female characters are still objectified far more than their male co-stars), I really love some of the arcs that are developing. Female characters also are being allowed to voice some of their frustrations about the system that is inherently biased against them.

And even though the society depicted here is set up to give men more power, the show’s oppressive system of government really isn’t doing anyone any favors. The monarchy based on birthright has resulted in some truly terrible rulers (looking at you, Joffrey), and only a few people really have the power to make significant decisions. Everyone else has to scheme behind the scenes and simply hope they can survive.

I’ll be curious to see if, in later seasons, characters are able to succeed in their quest to break the cycle of violence and abuse, or if they simply become part of the system, unable to diverge from the traditions of past generations.

It’s easy to look at the harsh world of Game of Thrones and think, “Oh yeah, we’re better than that!” But are we really? For example, even now, in 2019, issues like racism and misogyny rear their ugly heads. You don’t even have to dive that deeply into social media to find examples of this. And even though politicians may not be literally stabbing each other in the back, as they are in Game of Thrones, we’ve seen too many examples of power’s corrupting influence.

It’s time to talk about THAT scene

Finally, before I watched Game of Thrones, I’d heard about an infamous “red wedding” but I didn’t know what it was or when it was going to occur. Well, now I know what it is AND I HATE IT.

Apparently I was expressing my thoughts about this scene loudly enough that my husband (who was upstairs) could hear me complaining as I sat in front of the TV in the basement. I don’t know that I’ve ever been so mad about a fictional plot twist before, officially surpassing my feelings about “Mockingjay,” the final book in the Hunger Games series (and, to date, the only book I’ve ever thrown across the room after finishing it).

As I mentioned before, I’m definitely #TeamStark, and Robb and Catelyn were two of my favorite characters. I’m both mad that they died, and I’m mad about the way they died. I watched this episode Friday night and was haunted by it throughout the weekend. Game of Thrones, why????

All right — I could keep ranting for a while, but you get the idea. Even though I’m upset about saying goodbye to two of my favorite characters too soon (especially since Ned Stark already was on the show all-too-briefly), to be fair I did know going in that this show was going to kill off some major characters in upsetting ways.

This did get me to thinking about unexpected major character deaths as a narrative device, and how it’s not always my favorite type of plot twist.

Yes, it technically adds realism, because life doesn’t always follow a neatly plotted narrative. But personally, I’d rather sacrifice some realism to get more time with interesting characters. Ned, Catelyn, and Robb Stark, as well as Renly Baratheon (who died in season 2), are all characters I wanted to see more of.

This isn’t really a criticism of the show, because it’s not wrong to aim for more of a realistic style. It’s just a personal preference. Or maybe I’m just bitter because my favorite characters happen to be the ones targeted by these shocking plot twists. 

Anyway, despite my feelings about the red wedding, I now have season 4 of Game of Thrones on hold at the local library, and I’m planning to pick it up after work! Things are not looking good for the Starks, but I’m still rooting for them.

[thisnorwegianlife]

This American Life

America.  This land, your land, my land. For 36 years I have called this place home.  In this American life, I have lived in a variety of places: born and raised in Idaho Falls, ID,  a couple of years in Kansas City, MO, before moving back to Idaho.  Left Idaho for a short stint in Lubbock, TX, before settling down for 11 years in eastern New Mexico, where I attended university and grad school.  I left my rural New Mexico for the hot mess that is Las Vegas, NV, when I was recruited by the US Forest Service out of grad school.  The seasonal jobs I have worked and research I’ve conducted as I attained my degrees have taken me to even more places in the US, even to our neighbors to the north and south: La Pine, OR, Eatonville, WA, Conklin, Alberta, Hidalgo, Mexico, and Milnesand, NM.  Between the travel I was afforded in those jobs and the many road trips I have taken in my life, I can boast that I have seen a great deal of the western United States.  In particular, I have traveled extensively through Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming.  Not bad for a spud that grew up on a potato farm in southeastern Idaho.

And yet, for all of the beautiful, humbling, awe-inspiring, and desolate places I have lived in, visited, and traveled through in my American life, I am about to leave it behind.  In exactly seven weeks, I will board a plane in Las Vegas that will take me far away to my new home in Lillestrøm, Norway.  That’s right- Norway.  Usually when I tell someone that I am moving to Norway, their reaction is something akin to “Norway, wow!  Isn’t that supposed to be one of the happiest countries in the world?  You’re so lucky!”  I smile and agree and tell people the story of why I am moving to Norway.  It goes something like this:

A little more than three and a half years ago, I befriended a man from Norway on an obscure social networking site.  I noticed that he was a fellow scientist and someone that I wanted to get to know better.  So we struck up a friendship and talked regularly via DM conversations on our beloved, obscure social network.  There came a time when I realized I had stronger than friendly feelings for this man and a sort of flirtation ensued.  And then, one day many months later, I confronted the reality that this was no longer a crush or a friendly flirtation: I loved this man.  So I told him.  And he smiled his biggest, most beautiful smile and told me that he loved me back.

From there, we were involved in the typical, painful long-distance relationship- nightly video dates on Google Hangout (back then it was G-chat or something, I think), gifts sent from afar, cutesy little love notes left to each other, pining, etc.  After nearly a year of this, he came to visit me for the first time in Las Vegas.  Completely and utterly freaked out doesn’t even to describe it (“what if we don’t have any physical chemistry?”), but it was clear from the beginning that our flesh and blood selves fit as seamlessly together as our online versions.  We had a beautiful time together and he returned to Norway and I returned to pining.

Pining.

Pining.

Pining.

Pining.  Start to get the picture?  Long distance relationships are really, incredibly tough.

Oh, we have had many times together since then: I went to Oslo for a couple weeks, he’s been here for probably 8 times now, and we recently traveled to Greece together.  We’ve been all over the place when he visits and each time is special and lovely and then he leaves.  Or I leave. Or we both leave.  Whatever, it sucks.

Pining.

Pining.

Pining.

Pining.  Last November, he came here and we took a trip to California.  On a chilly Thanksgiving morning in Yosemite National Park, on the Merced River, he proposed to me.  Later, we drove to San Francisco and I dropped off my documentation and application for a fiance residency permit at the Norwegian Consulate.  That was kind of the moment where it all sunk in for me: Oh my god, I am planning on leaving everything I have known and loved and hated and whatever, but my home.  I am planning on leaving my home.

My American life…I am about to leave it all behind.  I think, for some, the response “OMGNORWAY” is enough.  Or “It’s a western European country, it can’t be that different.” Or “Jesus, I would kill to live in Norway!”  Fine, it’s fine.  I understand the reactions, but I have visited and I understand that Norway really isn’t like the US.  IT REALLY ISN’T.  Oh sure, they like American tv and movies and music and fashion, but that is about where the similarities end.

Would you like to know some of the reasons I am scared about leaving my American life behind? <ol> <li>Amazon Prime/eBay/ModCloth/Etsy/Zappos/NewEgg/etc/</li> </ol> Cheap internet shopping with free (or cheap), fast shipping.  Near instant gratification without having to step in a single store.  I hate shopping in stores.  I hate being approached by clerks.  I hate being watched while I shop (which is not the same as cookies, so shut it).  I hate having to spend a penny more than is necessary.  I love an internet bargain.  Period.

Norway has 5 million people.  They don’t have an Amazon distribution center of their own.  They have to go through the UK.  The luxury of 2-day shipping is about to become a thing of the past.  Norway is expensive.  Oh, I am sure you have heard that before, but I am not sure you can really appreciate how expensive it is in Norway.  Going out to eat at McDonalds is a luxury.  A luxury, people.  No dollar or value menus to be found.  Going out to eat at a nice restaurant is almost cost prohibitive and something you would do very, very rarely.  Food at the grocery store, cosmetics, toiletries, linen, anything…more money than you would normally dream of paying for such things.  That is the reality of buying things in Norway.

Needless to say, my shopping habits are about to change dramatically and I am not terribly excited about that. <ol start="2"> <li>Kraft Dinner//Rotel &Velveeta/505 Salsa/Weinhard’s Cream Soda/Amy’s frozen burritos/In-n-Out Burger/etc/</li> </ol> My little guilty pleasures, my comfort foods, my go-to when I am hungry and I don’t want to properly cook something.  Norway has none of these things.  When I am down in the dumps and I want to feel better, I want Kraft macaroni and cheese or Rotel Queso.  It’s the only thing that will do.  After a long, exhausting day at work, I want tortilla chips and medium 505 salsa.  Weinhard’s Vanilla Cream Soda is quite possibly the best soda I’ve had in my life and I am not thrilled about giving it up. Amy’s frozen burritos are a staple of lazing living.  What will I do without them?  And In -n- Out?  I am a proper Las Vegan now.  I expect to enjoy the heavenly deliciousness of an In-n-Out burger at 2 am when I fancy one.

So much of my American life is about cheap, readily available conveniences.  And I am accustomed to those conveniences.  I rely on those conveniences.  So much so that sometimes I forget how to live without my little conveniences.  But I will have to and I will have to develop entirely new comfort foods. <ol start="3"> <li>Transportation</li> </ol> I am giving up my car.  The import taxes placed on cars in Norway are just way too high.  I love my car.  I love road tripping.  I love jumping in my car and traveling around the west.  I’ve slept in my car, I’ve watched movies in my car, I use it to go camping, it takes me to remote trailheads, it has hauled flooring and molding, and bookcases, and home improvement materials from Home Depot and Ikea, it has been a refuge when the only place I have to go for a good cry is my car.  But now it won’t be there.

Norway has a fabulous public transportation system.  They have passenger train routes all over the country.  They have express trains to Oslo, trams, and a subway in Oslo. Buses that are on time and that don’t suck.  Public transportation that is affordable.  I am not going to lie, I am pretty excited about that.  Excited that I’ll finally live in a place where you can walk to the store and a river greenbelt within a few minutes by foot. Excited that I’ll live ten minutes out of Oslo and have the convenience of trains running back and forth all day long.  And amazing network of hiking/x-country ski trails within and hop, skip, and a jump.

However, I will still miss my car.  We’ll probably buy one before too long, but it will be strange not being able to just jump in the car and set out for adventure. <ol start="4"> <li>Language</li> </ol> Oh yeah, did I neglect to mention that I don’t actually know Norwegian?  Pardon me.  I don’t speak or understand Norwegian.  That’s kind of a big deal when it comes to assimilating into the country, getting a job, knowing what your in-laws are saying about you.

Sure, most Norwegians under 60 can understand English and speak it to varying degrees.  It wasn’t a huge barrier when I was visiting the country.  But there is a big difference from being a tourist in Norway and being a resident of Norway.  The idea of a solo grocery store trip, my first train ride alone, applying for jobs terrifies me.  My fiance is my crutch, my beloved translator, but he has a job and I can’t always rely on him to be there to help me figure out road signs and what people are talking about.

I have to learn a new language at 36 and that is pretty damn intimidating. Norway is awesome when it comes to immigrants learning their language, though.  They have free, state-sponsored language classes that you can take in the day or evening.  They want you to learn the language and will help you succeed in that endeavor, which is really cool. Still, this will take time and I need to find employment before I have fully learned the language.  That scares the shit out of me.

Then there is just the fact that I will miss hearing my native tongue. Miss the luxury of eavesdropping without having a painful translation session in my head. Miss hearing people sing in English (as I often hear strangers doing on the streets of Las Vegas). Miss just being able to walk up to someone and say, “I think you dropped something” or “Do you know how I can find _____?” Culture Norwegians, like many Europeans, don’t exhibit social niceties the way Americans do.  They don’t smile at strangers on the street, hell, they often won’t even look at strangers on the street.  Forget small talk as you know it.  Norwegians are direct and they talk about the same subjects casually that Americans go out of their way to avoid. Sex, politics, religion?  Ya, you betcha.  Totally acceptable conversation topics.  They do not spare you difficult questions just because they barely know you.  It’s just not their thing.

Boobs, beavers, and wangs are on the front page of newspapers.  Sex is a favorite topic in the news.  Norwegians love tawdry subjects.  They don’t shy away from nudity.  Mind you, I am no prude, but I am just not prepared to see those sorts of things in the newspaper.

Norwegians, like Americans, are obsessed with reality tv.  I hate reality tv.  I am a little curious about the slow-tv movement Norway is cultivating. Cruising the coastline, watching logs split and burned, knitting, etc.  I kind of want to see what that’s all about.

Norway has royalty and a completely different political system than the US.  They have many political parties that don’t even remotely resemble Democrats or Republicans.  I know next to nothing about Norwegian politics and that is pretty intimidating to me, as well.  I am overjoyed, however, to be moving to a socialist country.

What this all adds up to is that my life is about to radically change.  I am following my happiness and that is the most important thing to me.  I am excited to start this new chapter and to live somewhere so different than what I have always know.  But I am also scared shitless about it. I am leaving behind my family, my friends, my homeland to be be with the one I love.  To put a stop to the endless waiting and pining and the sad goodbyes and to start a life beside the man I love so much. To say goodbye to this American life and say hello to this Norwegian life.