#(yes i do have a specific retelling in mind)

[fictionadventurer]

Things To Make August (the Month of Existential Dread) Bearable

Pray. A lot.

Plan little summer adventures.

Write a fun little retelling (and hopefully finish it).

Read an Elizabeth Goudge book (Book 3 of the Elliot trilogy seems right, because Book 2 is coming to mind a lot as an appropriate summer book).

Remember that sunflowers exist. Find lots of them.

#random thought of the day #i had considered canceling august #just denying its existence and pretending it's july ii #because the whole month always feels like living beneath a guillotine blade that's about to drop #a downhill from summer and a dread of autumn and nothing actually good in and of itself #except for maybe sunsets when the melancholy at least feels a little right #but i've decided to embrace it and maybe find a better atmosphere for it #(yes i do have a specific retelling in mind) #(if you've been following the writing blog you know which one it is) #(but i'm not naming it because saying it aloud puts too much pressure on it) #(and this is supposed to be a pressure-free fun project) #(plus i recognize that i've not yet reached the one week mark) #(where i lose interest in most fun new projects) #(so i acknowledge the likelihood that in like 2-3 days i'll no longer want to write it) #(but for now i hold onto hope and think it has just the right vibe to make august something better)

[fdelopera]

Musings on the Moon Knight System for the High Holidays

BROKE: Moon Knight System in the comics are Jewish in name only. They’re basically pagan idolaters.

WOKE: Jake is MK System’s spiritual protector in the comics (especially MacKay), and connects the most with their Jewish identity.

BESPOKE: The Moon Knight System are very Jewish, but Marc, Steven, and Jake have a lot of specific religious trauma, and they each connect to their Jewishness in different ways and at different times ... just as most Jews do. Their Jewishness is an intrinsic part of who they are.

At the Rosh Hashanah 2nd day service yesterday, the Rabbi said something that brought Moon Knight System to mind.

During the Malchuyot, Zichronot, and Shofarot prayers, she said this before the Zichronot prayer:

“Jews are all about memory. We tell and retell the stories of our ancestors to link our generations together. We tell the story of the Exodus and redemption, and these are human memories. Here in the Zichronot section, we consider G-d's memory. What we are asking in Zichronot is, "Am I remembered? Is my life in G-d's memory?" And the answer is, yes. Adonai remembers each one of us, every single creature created in G-d's image is seen and noticed.”

And yet, what about those of us who are dissociative? What about those of us whose memory is scattered, fragmented, and traumatized, just like the Jewish people have been throughout our history?

What about those of us whose memory stops at a certain point, just as our family tree goes back only a few generations to those who escaped the pogroms and the Holocaust? Yes, we can trace some of our ancestors across the ocean to the shtetls, and we can search for the deep root systems that our people have grown from, but we know that if we do, we will only find tragedy and death.

For every one of our ancestors who has a gravestone in an intact Jewish cemetery in the Old Country, there are countless others whose roots were cut, who were murdered by Romans and Inquisitors and Cossacks and Nazis, whose bodies were desecrated, and who were never buried in Jewish soil. And yet, even as the Nazis and the Russians and the Spanish and the Romans and so many others tried to erase us from living memory, still we persevered. There are still some branches left. Our cultural memory endures, even though it is fragmented.

And yet, what of us who strain to remember? What of those of us who have high walls instead of doorways, keeping us out? Perhaps we can even see trees growing on the other side, but we cannot enter, not yet. How then can we connect to our past? Must we wander for another 40 years? And on Yom Kippur, how can we atone if remembrance is scattered and hidden like the Lost Tribes of Israel?

I imagine that Marc has wondered thoughts like these from time to time, especially around the High Holidays. Marc wants to think of himself as an apostate. If he’s being particularly edgy, he might even describe himself as an idolater. But I don’t think he is. Marc has a Jewish soul. So does Jake and so does Steven.

And as much as Marc might want to think that he is beyond atonement for the things he’s done, perhaps in quiet moments, he still hopes to atone as best he can. Perhaps some nights, Marc and Jake and Steven share dreams of teshuvah, of repentance, of making amends. With Gena. With Crawley. With Frenchie. And yet, how to even begin?

Perhaps Elias Spector, the Orthodox rabbi, might once have read the following passage on Rosh Hashanah as he spoke to the congregation from the bimah. And even if Marc was dissociating into the ether when he heard these words, sitting as far away from his father as possible, halfway to hiding deep within, the duty of being the Rabbi's son weighing heavy on his shoulders ... perhaps Jake and Steven listened, and they remembered for all of them:

“When a person commits a sin and does not turn in repentance, when that person forgets the sin, Hakadosh Baruch Hu remembers. When a person fulfills a commandment by doing a good deed, but forgets about it, Hakadosh Baruch Hu remembers. When a person commits a sin and later turns in repentance by remembering that sin, Hakadosh Baruch Hu grants atonement, and forgets the sin. But when a person fulfills a commandment and is constantly filled with self-praise because of it, Hakadosh Baruch Hu forgets it. What a person forgets, G-d remembers, and what a person remembers, G-d forgets.” -- The Hasidic Master Shmelke of Nikolsberg

Shana tovah and g’mar chatima tovah to the Moon Knight System. May they be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life.

#moon knight #marc spector #jake lockley #steven grant #rosh hashanah #moon knight comics #jed mackay #judaism tag

[butchhamlet]

are there any shakespeare retellings you recommend? i really enjoy retellings but it's also difficult to find ones that like. actually understand the source material... i've read your novella duodecimal and really liked it btw! excellent take on twelfth night :-)

THANK YOU SO MUCH WAH... yes, i can recommend some retellings! i keep intending to make a big post with my recs, actually, but there are so many out there that i haven't read yet... so for now here's an incomplete list:

a thousand acres by jane smiley: the first one that came to my mind seeing this ask. it's a retelling of lear set on an american farmstead, and the adaptation is done beautifully and smoothly--it's just distinct enough from OG Lear that you can judge it as a book on its own but also as a lear retelling. and it's sooooo good. it starts a little slow, but the character work is so excellent and it almost made me cry (i will note that there's a pretty hefty cw on this one but... saying what it is is technically spoilers? but feel free to send another ask or message if you want to know up-front)

the last true poets of the sea by julia drake: books that made me have to turn my camera off in zoom class so i could bawl properly. books written for me specifically. this is a loose YA retelling of twelfth night (looser than some of the other retellings on this list) and it's like. perfect. the teenage dialogue actually sounds like teenagers. every emotional beat clubbed me over the head. the love triangle is present--and done really well; it's not present for drama but because sometimes being a teenager is confusing--but more than that this is a book about the relationship between violet and her sibling, and about mental health, and god it makes me CRAZY. also girls kiss in this one

rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead by tom stoppard: i mean. i think most people into shakespeare know r&gad. but in case you haven't read it yet, it's an absurdist play from the point of view of rosencrantz and guildenstern and it's absolutely fucking brilliant. not sure what else to say about this; you've really just gotta read it

teenage dick by mike lew: another play, this one on the modern side--a retelling of richard iii set in a high school, focusing explicitly on disability issues. kind of more a reimagining than a retelling, honestly, but i really like the exploration of r3's themes and also it's fucking hysterical. although i will say there's a kind of jarring tonal shift in this one near the end, so don't go to it for something 100% comedic

american moor by keith hamilton cobb: okay this isn't exactly a retelling but if you've ever read othello you have to read it. you just have to. please god if you've ever read a shakespeare PLEASE. it's a monologue from the perspective of a black man trying out for the role of othello, half-resigned to being pigeonholed into playing that specific role in a very specific way as directed by a white director, but also half-chafing against that resignation, and also exploring the complexities of loving shakespeare as a black man, and it's soooooo so good

exit, pursued by a bear by e.k. johnston: this one is kind of cheating because it's not really a retelling, in that it has next to nothing to do with the winter's tale except that there is a hermione character and a leontes character and a paulina character. i still think it's a very very well-done YA book, though, and one of the only ones i've read that deals head-on with abortion

foul is fair by hannah capin: okay, i will admit i read this one some years ago when i was more into YA, so i'm not sure i would still go crazy over it now, but the plot of this book is that the modern lady macbeth character gets assaulted by a guy at a party and decides to kill everyone who let that happen. and then she does. and idk i read it in two days it felt like being on crack

the wednesday wars by gary schmidt: this one is DEFINITELY cheating, because this isn't a retelling of anything. but if you like shakespeare and you're open to reading historical fiction about a kid in the 60s using shakespeare as a lens through which to understand the chaos of his life (from the vietnam war to his school crush)... it's so good. it made me nearly sob. beautiful book

i'm also a fan of ryan north's shakespeare choose-your-own-adventure books, but those aren't exactly retellings and also the humor will probably not work for everyone. but i like em <3

and finally, i would be remiss not to shout out the fact that @suits-of-woe wrote an INCREDIBLE retelling of the two gentlemen of verona that, like, redeemed the fact that that play exists. if you've read that play and you thought, "wow, i wish this were explicitly homoerotic, or not a rape apologia, or good in any way," you will LOVE macy's book. unfortunately it isn't fucking published yet but WITH YOUR HELP--

#max.txt #feel free to send me recs for shakespeare retellings at any time btw! #i've been collecting a list #i just haven't gotten around to most of the books on it yet #asks

[taylorswiftstylequestions]

these mashups really make me feel like maybe Taylor *is* her own Taylor Swift. like when she’s feeling something, sometimes she does turn to her own songs for comfort, and right now she’s using her own words to create new stories that mean something different or are more relevant to her feelings now (whether that’s about something happening in her life right this moment, or retelling stories from the past in a different light)

as a songwriter myself (just for fun) I often play my own songs to reflect on the memories of writing them/get those feelings out again, and thinking of Taylor doing the same just makes me so 🥹🥹

Yes absolutely. Her even talking about how she's never needed songwriting more than she has in the last year imo is not just about her writing out the story of what she's been through the most recently but also turning to her own body of work and mining it for new metaphors, new meanings, new ways to communicate. She has specifically said 'metaphors' and 'creative' in her surprise song speeches and I absolutely think as part of the re-recording experience and going deep deep into herself that having her archive of songs documenting the evolution of her thoughts on life and love have been immensely helpful.

And this goes as far back imo (I have brought it up before) of her "retconning" songs that she wrote about other experiences like "White Horse" to be about something new she was feeling in that moment a la the 2008 AMAs and pointing to Joe Jonas in the audience. That song very likely was not about that breakup but it was a useful carrying device to get her through the heartbreak she was experiencing in that moment.

And now with the mashups, she's able to go through her oeuvre which has always inherently 'talked' across albums and documented her changing views based on experience because they all come from her and use this as another communication tool that goes one step further to communicate. Like A song may be about X but when you mash it up with B song which was about Y you get a multi-layered and faceted new thing that becomes the whole alphabet. The mashups give her the opportunity to use song as a language - like elevating from the basics to becoming fluent. They become greater than their parts, more complex and nuanced to reflect how more complex and nuanced adult feelings become when you turn things and experiences and emotions over in your mind.

#opinion

[multifandomeweirdo]

Psyche from Lore Olympus

I just needed to rant about her whole character in Lore Olympus. I am a non-black person of color, so this is my opinions of her through the lens of my experiences and knowledge.

This is how she first appears:

This is after Aphrodite turns her into a nymph:

This is her after her human form was restored:

Her while becoming a goddess:

And this is her after becoming a goddess:

Her design:

Some people complain about her design. I agree that her design is inconsistent. She had straight hair, even as a nymph, until over 100 episodes in. I personally don't mind the change in character design. I'll just headcanon that Psyche straightened her hair or styled it specifically in the earlier episodes, and wore her natural hair in the later episodes.

I see a lot of people criticizing her design saying rather racist things, such as "she looks ugly now and that her earlier design was much better." They also say things like "She's forced diversity. Why do we have to bring diversity into this?" I think the art quality as a whole has declined, so yes, Psyche looks worse, but all the characters do. Specifically calling out Psyche feels more like racist beauty standards than a criticism of the art decline. Also, phrases such as "forced diversity" are just silly. Andromeda, a figure from Greek myths, was the princess of Aethiopia, which was supposed to be somewhere below Egypt. She was described by Ovid as dark-skinned, though she has been white-washed by Western artists (that's why she is now portrayed as white). So yes, there was some (not a lot) diversity in Ancient Greek myths, and anyway, it's a modern retelling! In this modern age, with more awareness of race and issues surrounding it, I don't think it's a bad thing to have a more diverse cast of characters.

I don't think that Rachel Smythe originally intended for Psyche to be black, and it was a lazy choice to change her so late. Additionally, she remains the only black character. However, I'm glad that she met the bare minimum of including diversity, as many authors and artists, even today, don't do this.

I think her design is cute overall, though I wish there was more effort put into Psyche's hair. I do like that they kept her brown skin when making her a goddess, instead of giving her an unnatural skin color. My main gripe is that in the myths she had butterfly wings, not these weird purple feathery things. Even the pearlescent wings during her transition to a goddess were better. But the butterflies belong to Persephone in Rachel Smythe's retelling, so Psyche can't have what was one of her symbols.

Now for the criticisms:

I saw this on @genericpuff's page, but the trope of a white man (Eros) "saving" (kidnapping) a woman of color (Psyche) from her horrible arranged marriage is harmful. Again, I don't think Rachel Smythe included this part intending for Psyche to be black, but that doesn't change the fact that this trope has had very harmful implications and effects throughout history.

Then, Eros leaves her when she, tricked by her sisters into trying to kill him, realizes that he is a god. Aphrodite turns her into a nymph and uses her as a test for Eros.

In the original myths, she completed difficult tasks given to her by Aphrodite to prove her "worth" as Eros' wife. We could talk about how she got help for these tasks, but still. The point is that she chose to go through all that for love.

In Lore Olympus, she is merely a test for Eros to pass. Which has some implications, especially since she is a woman of color.

There's also the harmful trope of a woman of color being turned into a nonhuman. Add on the detail that in the Lore Olympus world, nymphs are lower class. Again, implications.

The gods and goddesses in Lore Olympus look down on nymphs while simultaneously fetishizing them. We see Hera be racist to MInthe and no one stands up for her. We see Hades, who has a flower nymph fetish, dating Minthe but not criticizing his family for their bigoted treatment of his own girlfriend.

I'm seeing some similarities to how people of color are treated. And Psyche, a woman of color, is turned into a nymph by Aphrodite, a goddess. Add on how Aphrodite did all this because she felt threatened by Psyche. In real life, we see how people of color suffer when white people feel threatened by them. So... implications.

Conclusion:

I don't think Rachel Smythe had any harmful intent when making Psyche's character. In fact, I think she probably felt that it might bring joy to some readers to see a black woman represented in Lore Olympus. However, she accidentally wrote Psyche into these tropes that have very real, very harmful implications for actual people of color. She could have used Psyche's suffering at the hands of Aphrodite and the treatment of nymphs as a way to speak on societal issues such as racism. However, she didn't. Hera, a canonical racist, is portrayed as a "good guy" and Hades is rewarded for his fetish with a goddess who looks exactly like a flower nymph but isn't one (similar to how white men fetishize women of color but will only date a white woman. And these white women specifically try to look like the race the man fetishizes, the the point where you could call it black-fishing or Asian-baiting or any other similar term). I don't think she meant to write it like this, but she did. It could be a reflection of her own internal biases, or maybe not.

Either way, this is exactly why research before including a non-white or otherwise marginalized character is so important, especially if you have not experienced that kind of marginalization. Even if your intentions are good, you can write harmful things. Being aware of such tropes and stereotypes can help you avoid them, or if necessary, use them to comment on larger issues. Rachel Smythe did not do that, and now we have a world where the racists are the good guys, rewarded with power and worship, and the oppressed, POC-coded, lower-class characters are punished unless they agree completely with the racist good guys (like the "one of the good ones" racial stereotype where a POC is the "exception" out of a "bad race" because they such up to the white main characters). Meanwhile, the only black character is "rewarded" with godhood, not for completing difficult tasks for love, but rather for doing a god's bidding.

I could be reaching. I could be biased because of my own experiences as a (non-black) person of color. However, I think my experiences are what allow me to recognize harmful things in writing.

So anyway, do your research if you want to include a minority character in your writing. Personally, I'd suggest checking out the @writingwithcolor blog. It's a great resource with lots of information.

Thanks for reading if you managed to survive this long rant.

#psyche #lore olympus criticism #anti lore olympus #lo critical #rant #rant post #harmful tropes #person of color #woman of color

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

WIP Questionnaire

Thanks @buffythevampirelover for the tag! This game looks fun!

Rules: answer as few or as many as you'd like!

1. What was the first part of your wip that you created?

TSP: Lexi was! TSP started out as a school project, and we had to create a character sheet for our first person narrator! That was "Alexia" who is now just "Lexi" (but her full name is still Alexia).

SOTL: The concept! "School for fairy tale characters" was basically it. I got discouraged a bit when I found out this concept already existed, but that didn't mean I couldn't do my own take!

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

My favorite types of intros for TV shows are original theme songs or very catchy instrumental music. 30-60 seconds is a good length. I'd hope that for TSP and SOTL. Hope this isn't a cop-out.

3. Who are your favourite characters you've made? Why?

TSP: My favorite characters to write for are Lexi, Gwen, Akash, Robbie, and Carmen. Lexi because the arc I gave her is an exaggerated version of something that speaks a lot to me. Gwen because I wasn't expecting her to be as interesting as she ended up being planned to be. Robbie and Akash because of how funny and sweet their dynamic is. Yes, I love them separately, but they're a package set. Carmen because she's just so damn interesting I love studying her under a microscope.

SOTL: I am barely into writing it, but it's Jack at the moment. Shocker, he has three chapters while Tierney and Úrsula have one each! But the reason is that he is average at everything, but he doesn't let that get him down! He's funny and relatable and a dork.

4. What other pieces of media do you think would share a fan base for your story?

TSP: Hm, good question. The only thing coming to mind right now is Young Justice (the cartoon). Starts out with this fun group of kids, becomes extremely dark. Ensemble cast. Sneaking around. Superpowers. Fight scenes. Drama.

SOTL: Insert fairy tale retelling here.

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your wip?

TSP: Juggling everything. The world building, I guess. Making all the characters distinct was something I struggled at for a while, but I'm getting much better at it. Trying to figure out how the world works is challenging, but I am having fun. But juggling all the moving parts to make it cohesive is a challenge.

SOTL: What is plot?!! Also battling my ambition to do every fairy tale ever. I'm gonna have to make a lot of background characters that will get their own side stories separate from the main series to get all that I want. I probably will do that.

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

TSP: Yep! Alium has a lot of fantasy creatures, animal hybrids, and fun things I just made up. Custos the dragon is the only truly prominent one right now. He's a blue fire dragon and is adorable. I also have kitsunes. Animal hybrids include unibison, ferretsnakes, cowyotes, beaverducks. Things I made up include the elemental foxes and blue hedgehogs.

SOTL: Hofiwi is an anthropomorphic bear! She was cursed to be anthropomorphic, this is not a normal thing in this world. I love her and she's just planned at the moment. Can't wait to do more.

7. How do your characters get around? (ex: trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

TSP: Hovercrafts, dragons, teleporting, trains, and some other power-based travel

SOTL: I'm still figuring this out no one has gone anywhere yet. Dragons or carriages would be cool. Maybe I can mix them with something modern to fit the setting.

8. What part of your wip are you working on rn?

TSP: World building! Specifically the power database since that will be the backbone for everything.

SOTL: Reading fairy tales... I need to do that more

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe?) of your wip do you think will draw people in?

TSP: Powers, diverse cast, queer/disability rep

SOTL: same as TSP but fairy tales!

10. What are your hopes for your wip?

If I see one (1) fanart between either my life will be complete.

This was fun!

Softly tagging @mk-writes-stuff @jezifster @blind-the-winds @little-peril-stories @sleepywriter00 @mysticstarlightduck @sarahlizziewrites @writernopal @gottestod-writes + anyone who wants to join!

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites - giving a slightly harder nudge than usual cause I really want to see what y'all have to say! Still optional obviously

Blanks below the cut!

1. What was the first part of your wip that you created?

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

3. Who are your favourite characters you've made? Why?

4. What other pieces of media do you think would share a fan base for your story?

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your wip?

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

7. How do your characters get around? (ex: trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

8. What part of your wip are you working on rn?

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe?) of your wip do you think will draw people in?

10. What are your hopes for your wip?

#writing tag game #wip questionnaire #the secret portal #tsp #teaspoon #school of the legends #sotl #writing blog #writers on tumblr #writing community #writers of tumblr #writing on tumblr #writeblr #writeblr community

[daresplaining]

Hiya~! You're always in the back of my mind as a kind and knowledgeable source for Daredevil. ♥

Do you know if it has ever been revealed exactly what chemical blinded Matt? Or even where it was coming from/going in the middle of the city? My knowledge of comic books exploiting all potential plots makes me feel like this is a thread that would have been pulled at some point over the last 60 years, but I don't see anything.

Aah, thank you! That's a great question, and the answer is that a lot of these details have actually been kept vague. There have been a lot of retellings of Matt's origin, but they haven't explored the actual context/nuances of the accident that much and the details they have included have tended to be inconsistent. The thing that blinded Matt was a radioactive substance of some kind, but visual depictions have varied wildly, from a glowing "radioactive cylinder" to leaky barrels of toxic sludge.

Matt's accident depicted by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, and Glynis Wein (left); and by Chris Samnee and Javier Rodriguez (right).

As I mentioned, the details of the accident itself also vary. In Daredevil #1, we learn that the substance that blinded Matt was being transported by Ajax Atomic Labs, and that the accident was caused by the truck's brakes malfunctioning:

Daredevil vol. 1 #1 by Stan Lee, Bill Everett, and Sam Rosen

In Daredevil #164's origin rehashing, Roger McKenzie tells us that it was the army transporting bomb materials through the city, and that the accident was caused by the driver suffering a sudden heart attack:

Daredevil vol. 1 #164 by Roger McKenzie, Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, Glynis Wein, and John Costanza

Perhaps most compellingly (at least to me), Tony Stark's notes on Daredevil in the Civil War Files identify a Stark Industries project (under the leadership of Tony's father) as the source of the substance, which is referred to as radioactive waste:

Civil War Files #1 by Anthony Flamini, Stuart Vandal, Ronald Byrd, Madison Carter, et al.

Mark Waid added one more detail, which gave voice to something that had previously just been implied: that this dangerous substance—whatever it was—was not supposed to be going through a populated area at all:

Caption: "That's when the driver opted to finally look up. His tires screaming, his cargo tumbled loose. It had been secured with the same kind of care one would expect—from a fly-by-night company that thought it'd be okay to illegally transport toxic waste through New York traffic." Daredevil vol. 3 #23 by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, Javier Rodriguez, and Joe Caramagna

To this, I might add the inference that it was likely being driven through Hell's Kitchen in particular because it was (at that time) a low income neighborhood where the authorities would be less likely to notice or care.

Waid's description of the accident, and the visual of barrels of toxic waste rather than a radioactive cylinder, are reminiscent of the alternate universe version of Matt's origin that Frank Miller and John Romita, Jr. presented in Man Without Fear—which also included the juicy detail of lawyers for the corporation showing up at Matt and his father's apartment afterward and strong-arming Jack into not pressing charges.

But yes, though I understand keeping the science involved in superhero origin stories non-specific, this is definitely an area of the Daredevil lore that could use further clarification. For real-world inspiration, here's an interesting New York Times article from 1985 about the transportation of nuclear waste through New York City. This part in particular seems relevant, and fits the timing of the publication of Daredevil #1 in 1964:

"Brookhaven has had a nuclear reactor operating since 1954. From 1954 to 1976, the spent fuel - radioactive uranium - was carried by truck into New York City, across the 59th Street Bridge, north on Third Avenue and across town to the George Washington Bridge. It then went south to a site in South Carolina for reprocessing. But in 1976 the city passed a local law banning the shipments, and triggering a battle over who has authority to control the shipments."

Maybe Matt was blinded by radioactive uranium? That transport route doesn't hit Hell's Kitchen at all, but I will also point out that Matt's childhood neighborhood wasn't specified as being Hell's Kitchen until Daredevil #164. At the very least, we know that toxic stuff was going through Manhattan in 1964, so if you were interested in a potential real-world source for more details to add to Matt's accident, that seems like a good place to look.

#Daredevil #Matt Murdock #Asks #Adventures in Continuity #ID in alt text

[mask131]

Some times ago Neil Gaiman posted on his Tumblr blog about a project he had of, if I recall correctly, a movie adaptation of “Journey to the West”. One of the reasons he gave as to why he gave up on the project was that he realized that this work didn’t need to be retold by an European - I do not have the exact quote, I am just saying things out of memory. This post, and the topic of “Should non-Chinese people make fictional works based on Journey to the West?” made me think back to a book that would have made me answer “Yes, non-Chinese people can retell Journey to the West”. And this book would have made me answer that - if I had been asked - because it is such a beautiful and funny book. I even hesitated to share about it here because this book is truly one of my little treasures. I read it when I was a pre-teen and it marked me deeply and if I were ever to lost it I’d buy it again because I couldn’t imagine having a library and not having this book with me. And it isn’t just teenage nostalgia speaking because, re-reading it as an adult, I still find new entertainments and fascinating meanings and implications that I completely missed as a young kid not knowing much. 

I had a bad literature school-teacher at the time and when she heard about me reading it, she answered that it wasn’t good for young minds to read these kind of works because they “mixed the genres” and blurred the lines of the categories of literature - she much preferred that kids would have much more categorized works that clearly and easily fit into one genre or the other. That’s the kind of bad literature teacher you’ll probably all recognize somehow, and this already places this book as one of the things these people do not like. But to take this book merely to spite those that wrongly understand literature would be a shame, because this book deserves to be loved on its own for the shere amount of work, poetry and love that its own author put into it.

This book is probably the greatest French reimagination of “Journey to the West” I can think of - it is “Le Singe Egal du Ciel”, “The Monkey Equal to the Sky”, by Frédérick Tristan, originally published in 1972, but still printed to this day. And before the Journey to the West purist start attacking me like rabid dogs, I insist on the term “reimagining”. It isn’t an adaptation of the work, and it is not a question of being a faithful translation of the original epic. It reimagines, re-arranges, re-creates the Journey to the West plot and characters into a story that is, on its structure and foundations, identical, and yet couldn’t be more different than it. And it is a good thing, because it is the power and strength of this book.

I heard that Tristan’s books were translated in English - which doesn’t surprise me given he is one of the great French authors of the late 20th century - but since I do not know if this specific book was translated, and under which title, I’ll use the French title translated into English, The Monkey Equal to the Sky. What is “The Monkey Equal to the Sky”? It is, as I said, Journey to the West retold, but condensed, trimmed down and cut short to fit into one nice fantasy novel of forty-two chapters. Some of you hearing that might feel some sort of self-righteous nausea, saying “If they cut down anything from the original plotline, it is not worth it, better read the full original”. But again this would miss the point of this wonderful book: to someone with bare knowledge or no knowledge of the original epic, it is a great introduction and first discovery, by having a shortened story centered around the key characters and events, while also being different enough so that when said nocive in ancient literature gets to read the original epic, they’ll have an entirely new world to discover. But to the other side, to those who are very familiar with Journey to the West, it will be a fun entertainment and deforming mirror, as Frédérick Tristan truly plays with the original text, creating a game of correspondances and analogies, uniting several different characters into one, inter-connecting strongly the “before” and “after” parts surrounding Sun Wukong’s imprisonment under the mountain, and ultimately making it even more obvious than the greatest monkey of them all is the main character and protagonist of the tale. 

Because this is what Tristan wanted to do before all: tell the story of Wukong, all about Wukong, as the protagonist, hero, antagonist and villain of his own tale all at once. The story might be changed, but trust me, the character of Wukong isn’t in the least, because this book is filled with the spirit of Journey to the West and the Monkey King, if not with the detail. I will tell you already the very bold move Tristan did, to really make this story even more about Wukong than it was originally: in Tristan’s novel, there is no Tripitaka. The monk that is charged with fetching the sacred texts in India and who is surrounded by three disciples is rather... Sun Wukong himself, or rather his fictional equivalent here, The Monkey-Equal-to-the-Sky (also undergoing his religious name, Aware-of-the-Vacuity, Conscient-de-la-Vacuité). It might seem like an insane thing to do, but it WORKS. Of course, those that will be looking for some of the readings of the epic - such as a dissection, exploration and study of the human soul, psyche and personality between the various impulses, emotions and vices, throughout the metaphorical characters of Tripitaka and his disciples - will be disappointed because Tristan’s novel is not a psychological one. But instead, what you have is a careful balance between existential horror and a cosmic farce - some sort of impossible mix of Lovecraft’s cosmic dread mixed with the world-questioning humor of Good Omens, and even then the comparison is a very poor one missing out on the very peculiar, unique and poetic feel of this novel. It is about this monkey, who is all powerful and yet constantly bound and chained by something, it is this monkey that clearly is the voice of reason of the world and yet acts like a madman, this monkey that is a living paradox - and the story is about how his very existence throws an ordered world into chaos and forces it to be rebuilt and undergo a full renewal. It is the story of how, by merely existing, this character that does both heroic deed and monstrous actions, challenges the very notions of supreme powers, of existence, and of reality. It is a buffoonic Shakespearian comedy where the trickster-monkey mocks, beats up and scams everyone and everything, it is an apocalyptic work where we see what happens when something unexpected and that should not exist destroys the very foundations of the world, and it is a philosophical and religious investigation as the monkey searches for, studies, explores and quests for the powers, the meanings, the morals and the truths behind religion, absolute purity, true virtue, and the world. 

It sounds like a LOT for a novel that is actually a shortened and condensed version of Journey to the West, but that’s the secret: by mixing various characters into new ones, by changing slightly the focus of the story, by giving new angles to some episodes and scenes, Tristan opens up a whole new space and vast expanses of literary terrain on which he adds tons of fascinating content and fresh details to retell the story with new meanings. Frédérick Tristan himself put a Warning in his text as a foreword, explaining the various inspirations of his work so that people did not mistook his novel for a mere adaptation of Journey to the West: because beyond the great Chinese novel we all know, he also took elements from other texts that also told of the legend of Sun Wukong (Journey to the West merely being the most famous and most complete of the various tellings of this ancestral legends), as well as various stylistic ingredients and poetic tones from the various historical translations of the work in Europe - such as the first French and British translations. In the same foreword, Tristan does spell out his intentions of completely reversing the original meaning of the novel by making Sun Wukong take the place of Tripitaka during the pilgrimage to India. 

And even beyond his extensive researches surrounding the figure of Sun Wukong himself, Tristan also slid in his novel various elements from both European and Asian traditions. European because he places here and there subtle references to European fairytale structures or old European myths (though I have to say they were subtle enough that I didn’t notice them until it was pointed out to me). As for the Asian inspiration, this allows me to break down another of the arguments people who do not know about about Frédérick Tristan might raise: what does an old white French dude knows about China anyway? As it turns out, a lot, and that’s not just his obsession with the Sun Wukong legend. Frédérick Tristan lived from the late sixties to the mid-eighties half of the time in Eastern and South-East Asia. He was at the time not a yet recognized author, but a mere specalist of the textile industry, forced by his father to inherit the textile business of the family against his son’s poetic and literary aspirations. His positions led him to work on official business matters in China, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos - and during his trips, visits and stays there he became enamored and fascinating with their history and culture. China most of all became his main dream and subject of study: “The Monkey Equal to the Sky” is but the first of a series of six “Chinese novels” each one taking inspirations from various elements of Ancient China. Sometimes he retells and weaves stories based on Chinese myths, like with “The Monkey Equal to the Sky”, whereas other times he rather explores various religious and philosophical aspects of China through the means of fiction. In one he recreates the koan genre in the rules of the art, in another he proposes a fictional exploration of the roots and teachings of taoism, and in yet another novel he pays homage to the works and style of Pu Songling.

And if he knows so much about China, it isn’t just because he loves to write stories about it - he also published serious, profesionnal, recognized works about Ancient China. His most famous work being “Houng, les sociétés secrètes chinoises”, an essay about secret societies in China centered around the rites and practices of the Tiandihui. And his historical and cultural knowledge of Ancient China, its philosophies, its literature and its secret societies helped him recreate another semi-historical semi-mythical China for “Journey to the West” or rather an anti-Journey-to-the-West, to be played in. 

I could speak much more of Frédérick Tristan, of his work, and of the beauty of this novel, but I will merely say that, if you enjoyed Journey Through the West, and enjoyed its characters, you will definitively find Tristan’s novel very entertaining. And if you ever have the chance to read it in French, do so, because - again - I do not know if an English translation is available, and if it is I cannot attest of its quality since I never read it, but I hope the brilliantness and fun of the text will be carried on throughout the language barrier. 

#journey through the west #sun wukong #frédérick tristan #the monkey equal to the sky #novel #china #ancient china #french literature #my favorite books #books to be read at least once in your life #french novel

[acourtofthought]

One of the reasons I can never ship elriel is bc I clocked that Az the darker, quieter version of Rhys, and Elain the lighter, quieter version of feyre. There have been so many times I’ve seen feysand artwork and initially mistook it for elriel fanart and vice versa. Like Rhys’s whole thing is darkness shadows and night. Az is that but amplified. Likewise, feyre is light and was initially the bride of spring in pink gowns and flowers, as is Elain. Also sjm clearly wrote a Persephone Hades retelling in their story, not only in Rhys taking her away from spring but there are also crumbs like how one of feyre’s takes UTM was picking lint out of a fireplace and other things that are present in the original Persephone myth. It just confuses me how people ship elriel when the whole aesthetic has already been flushed out entirely in Feyre and Rhys lol I just think it’s redundant to look for it again in the quieter versions of those characters. I don’t judge anyone for who they ship and admittedly there’s beauty in the whole dark/light, corrupted/salvation, death/life type pairings, but they’re literally already there in feysand LOL. Alas have a good day

You're on the right track but I don't even seen Elain as the lighter, quieter version of Feyre.

Feyre and Elain are almost nothing alike.

Feyre and Nesta were the ones who were completely over the ball in the human lands, barely wanting to interact with the people. Feyre was the one at the party in Spring wanting nothing to do with anyone. She was the one on Tarquins ship standing off by herself.

Elain was the one closing down the house, party still going until 2 in the morning as she was "flushed and brilliant, laughing among a circle of friends". The one who made it a point to dance with all the important lords sons. The one who can convince anyone to do anything with a few smiles. Elain is not like that in the NC because Elain is not really happy in the NC.

And yes, Feyre was the "bride of Spring" stolen away for a certain period of time by the "dark lord" (which is where the Hades / Persephone thing comes in) but that's not who she was. She never really belonged there and belonged in a place with darkness and a bit of deception.

Feyre and Nesta were always a bit pessimistic while Elain was optimistic (a difference Feyre notes in ACOTAR).

It's not like Feyre loves cruelty but she's not all that bothered by it when she thinks it's deserved (look at what she did to Ianthe) whereas we're specifically told cruelty bothers Elain.

Feyre's got a good heart but the only light about her is that she was given Helion's power. She says she could never be a fit for Tarquin because of her darkness, that he was too light and good for her.

Feyre and Rhys have light and dark powers together but their personalities are pretty similar. They're both willing to do whatever is needed to protect their loved ones and that includes being the monster if necessary. They are both kind of dark inside.

But I agree, Az is an even darker, quiet but deadlier version of Rhys. And that means his perfect match needs to be a lot more like Feyre is though even Feyre struggled with Az's torture session considering the soldiers weren't in their right minds, therefore she considered them blameless. And that is not Elain. Those two are at such opposite ends of the spectrum, it's basically the Grand Canyon. Like SJM said "the only bridge of connection...that knife." SJM told us she's blooming Spring, she is life and he is Death and they have nothing in common except for the knife in that moment.

If SJM liked the complete opposites attract trope then why did she have Feyre turn into "when you spend so long trapped in darkness, you find that the darkness begins to stare back". She could have made Feyre the quintessential bride of Spring, full of light and happiness and flowers. But instead she laid the clues as to how that wasn't ever going to be Feyre and showed us Feyre's transformation into a "monster" like Rhys. "And then, curled up trembling at every horrific and cruel and selfish thing I'd beheld within that monster- within me."

So really, the problem comes from them thinking SJM likes the light / dark aesthetic and that's why she'll like E/riel. SJM likes the imagery of light and dark (Rhys's shadows with Feyre's white light) but that aesthetic is only a surface level thing in these books. When you get to the important stuff, Feyre and Rhys are good but both dark. Nesta and Cassian are good but both dark in their own ways (Lady of Death / Lord of Bloodshed). Elain is good and light and Az is good and dark and that's not SJMs preference. Based on what she writes, Elain would need someone also good and light (like Lucien or Tarquin. Not that I think she'd end up with Tarquin, but that is the type of character I believe Sarah would pair her with if her own mate wasn't an option).

#elucien #anti e/riel #feysand

[bluesadansey]

Top 5 fairytale remakes!

•Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie Mclemore I highly reccomend all the books I’ve read by them, When The Moon Was Ours and Wild Beauty aren’t directly inspired by any one fairytale as far as I know but are fairytale-esque magical realism tales and Dark and Deepest Red is a retelling of  Hans Anderson’s “The Red Shoes”. I also did just start reading Lakelore but it was a library book and my flight to move back to college is tomorrow so I had to return it. But I love all the books I’ve read by theknand this is my favorite one it’s a Snow White and the Red Rose retelling. I absolutely loved the two sisters and how their dynamic was written and explored, the writing is gorgeous to me. 

•Deathless by Catherine M. Valente I read this book in high school and at the time it was a challenge so I definitely need to reread it however despite me maybe not being mature enough at that point to grasp everything in the story what I loved about it, specifically the main heroine Marya Morevna and how much I adored her and her arc really stuck with me. And again, beautiful writing style I need to read more by this author (I did read her book Refrigerator Monologues but it didn’t land for me in the same way and other sff things she’s written look more my speed so I should get on that ). it’s a Koschei and the Deathless retelling and I would say out of the death and the maiden related stuff I’ve read it’s one I’d recommend above others. 

•The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer hard pivot xd, these are very popular so I’m sure you’ve heard of them sci-fi futuristic fairytale retellings of Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White primarily. It’s been literal ages since I read these (I remember anticipating the release of Winter in 8th grade and then lending it to my irl friend after I was done with it that long) but at the time I was so into them. I would definitely want to reread these before the animated series comes out (which I hope is successful not just because I’m fond of tlc and would like to see it adapted well but in a long-game sense I think more ya series adaptations should be animated series. More specific long game the tlc series doing well is how I eventually get a faithful Daughter of Smoke and Bone animated adaptation (delusionalcoded). Also, want to state for the record I thought Fairest slapped. 

•Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust I remember really enjoying it’s a Snow White retelling. I remember picking it up because I heard it was wlw Snow White but it was the Queen and the Princess character’s fucked up mother-daughter dynamic that made an impression on me over anything else in the book, and I remember they made me cry in a scene towards the end.

•When Water Sang Fire from The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo. This was a collection of grishaverse fairytales she wrote and most of the stories I read and forgot about but this is the last one in the collection and it’s lived rent free in my mind since I’m not joking, I think the anthology is worth reading (if you like the grishaverse) solely for this one story. It’s inspired by The Little Mermaid and the character it’s most focused on is the Ursula character Ulla Morozova (yes Morozova as in half-sister to the Darkling) who is a song-caster/siren of sorts and it’s about her codependent homoerotic best friendship with another mermaid that ends tragically and is her villain origin story it had no right to make me feel as many things as it did, again after the previous stories were relatively mid (Leigh’s my bestie so I can slander her works that aren’t as good as what she’s capable of I have a right <3)  I was so caught off guard by how good it was. 

Tysm for asking <3

(ask me top 5/10 of anything)

#s speaks #asks #sergeantpixie #mutuals #to tag #anna marie mclemore #tlc #deathless #grishaverse #girls made of snow and glass

[thesistersarcheron]

Pairing: Feysand Rating: E Word Count: ~2.2k Summary: Feyre Archeron is the youngest member of the Fae nobility trapped in Amarantha’s court Under the Mountain. When her father presents her to the court, intending to pay off his debts by selling her hand in marriage, she faces scrutiny on all sides: the wicked queen herself; the leaders of the rebellion against her; and the cruel High Lord of the Night Court. [An ACOTAR retelling.] ----- Read more on my masterlist or on AO3!

Chapter 6: The Bargain

Rhysand’s brows shot up almost comically before he schooled his expression.

“Of course you want to make a deal.” The muttered aside was said more to himself than Feyre, and it was strangely weighted, oddly exasperated. He raised an eyebrow. “I come here to offer you help—several times over, may I add—and you have the nerve to bargain with me?”

If Feyre weren’t quite literally backed into a corner, anxiety once again twisting her stomach into knots, she might have even laughed at the way his mouth tightened almost imperceptibly.

As it was, she did her best to raise her chin and nod, despite being pinned by his incredulous stare. “Yes. Do you have a problem with that?”

He laughed under his breath then—at her, or maybe at the sheer audacity she must have possessed to ask a High Lord of Prythian to bargain with her. She could only imagine what it looked like, a slip of a thing that had spent the first twenty years of her life hidden in the deepest reaches of the Winter and Autumn Court annexes getting caught in Amarantha’s web and making deals with High Lords while she tried to untangle herself all in one terrible day.

“No. No problem at all. What would you like, Feyre?” he asked, his voice alight with humor. When she hesitated, he waved the hand he’d held out for her to take impatiently, casting a pointed glance down the hallway where the Vanserra brothers had disappeared. “Name it.”

And although she knew it was foolish to be the first to name her terms, she also knew there was no time to waste when his patience seemed to be thinning. 

“Silence. Yours.” She swallowed hard, reordering the words in her tired, panicked mind. “I want your silence.”

If silence was what she wanted, then silence was what she got. Rhysand said nothing for a long moment as his smooth brow furrowed, his head tilting as he studied her. Silence reigned for a long moment, and then he shrugged elegantly, a sly corner of his mouth lifting.

“Do you truly hate my voice that much?”

“Oh, you—” She cut herself off before she could fling the insult on the tip of her tongue at the High Lord of the Night Court. Nevertheless, his shoulders trembled with suppressed laughter at her expense, and Feyre’s cheeks burned. 

You have to be specific, the taunting words echoed in her mind, and her heart tumbled. I would never speak another word if you asked it, but that could hardly stop me from whispering my secrets in that scarlet bitch’s mind.

She tightened her fingers around the book hidden behind her back until the leather creaked. “I want your silence about my—”

He was upon her before she had the chance to finish.

Or scream. 

A large, callused hand covered her mouth as the scent of salt and citrus overtook her senses, and Feyre felt her eyes go wide as she stared at the acute point of his ear, the dark tuft of his hair, and the glittering lights that filled the darkness surrounding them. His touch invaded her senses, every thought eddying from her mind until she was left hanging onto rationality by a thread of spider silk.

“Shh, Feyre darling, don’t speak so loudly.” Rhysand’s voice was a mocking whisper in her ear, and she shivered as his cool breath gusted over skin still overheated by the long trek down the Mountain and her fight against the Vanserras. You want me to agree not to communicate in any way what I know about your participation in the rebellion against Amarantha, is that right?

Though she had to use the wall to steady herself, to keep from trembling with mixed rage and fear, Feyre nodded. 

Oh, he was an almighty prick, all right.

But she couldn’t let him leave, couldn’t let him return to Amaranatha’s bed, knowing what he knew. One whispered word about her loyalties, and Feyre and her entire family—and likely a good chunk of what remained of the Winter Court—would end up hanging on the wall of the throne room.

Well, they would end up pinned to the wall if they were lucky. If they weren’t…

The slight motion of her head made the hand Rhysand held over her mouth—the touch so featherlight that he barely made contact with her at all, she realized—brush her lips in a poor mimicry of a caress.

She swallowed, clinging to that tenuous thread of clarity.

The wall, she reminded herself. The throne room.

“I see.” His noncommittal answer made her grit her teeth as he pulled away, a wild smirk shaping his mouth. “I’ll agree—” Shock zinged through Feyre and died just as quickly as he held up the hand that had covered her mouth. “With the added caveat that, should you grant me your explicit permission, I may share what I know with select individuals.”

“Fine,” she breathed, desperate to be done with him. Foolish, perhaps, to allow a loophole of any size, but she added, quickly, remembering the way those talons had felt in her mind, “My explicit, uncoerced permission.”

Rhysand’s smile grew. “Very well.”

Feyre held out her hand.

“Is it a deal?”

He tilted his head at her, and dread sluiced through her. Already, she knew what that cunning look meant. “That doesn’t seem very fair now, does it?”

“What do you mean?” 

“I shall not communicate what I know about your loyalties without your explicit, uncoerced permission in exchange for… what, exactly?”

Shit. 

Shit, shit, shit. 

“In exchange for being your ally, as one of the High Queen’s favorites,” she said as sweetly as she could. “Like you asked.”

“Oh, no. I believe you misunderstand: I wasn’t asking. That’s going to happen one way or another. I want…” His eyes sparkled, and he stepped back, pacing a bit. “I want you.”

“What?” Feyre squawked.

“You may have my silence in exchange for you. For two weeks every month, two weeks of my choosing, you’ll live with me at the Night Court.”

Her jaw dropped. “No.” 

She’d already made one fool’s bargain, though she didn’t have much of a choice, by offering herself up as a surrogate sister to Amarantha.

“No?” He picked a bit of lint off his sleeve and leaned in again. “Really?”

Her head swam at the proximity of him. “Forget it. Just go. I’ll see myself back to Autumn,” she breathed.

“You’d turn down my offer—and for what?” She didn’t reply, so he went on. “You must be holding out for something.” He studied her for a long moment, as if piecing together some sort of puzzle, and then his brows rose again. When he spoke next, it was again in that ghostly, mental voice that scraped too-pleasantly across her mind. Do you think Amarantha will let you go Above? 

Feyre reeled—howdidheknowhowdidheknowhowdidheknow—and he snorted. 

Oh, don’t look so surprised. You’re a rebel and an assassin, so you must think you can get yourself out of here one way or another. But unless your father has the money that no one knows about to afford the dowry for a lord with privileges to go Above… and unless you manage to fall from Amarantha’s favor enough to be cast aside without being killed, I don’t think you’re getting out until the bitch is dead. 

He was so casual about his treason. Although his words were silent, Feyre still cast a nervous glance at the mouth of the passageway.

I could wipe the memory of it from your mind if you became a problem, he spoke into her head. He smiled blandly at her, as if erasing part of her mind were as simple as breathing… and, for him, it was. Feyre clenched the book again until she felt her nails tearing into the leather cover. It’s a shame you can’t do the same to me, isn’t it?

 “The way I see things, Feyre,” he said aloud before she could interrupt, “you have two options. The first, and the smartest, would be to accept my offer.”

She kicked a bit of frost at his feet, freezing the ground beneath his fine shoes, but he kept pacing undeterred, only giving her a scolding look.

“The second option—and the one only a fool would take—would be for you to refuse my offer and place your life in my hands anyway. You can risk your life by trusting me or you can gamble on distrusting me. Those are your options.”

He stopped pacing and stared hard at her. Something primal, something woven into the very fabric of Feyre’s being, went still and taut beneath that gaze.

“Let’s say I walk away from you right now. Perhaps it takes me five minutes to return to the Peak and share what I know. Perhaps I wait five days—I am rather excited to see how you react to meeting your first suitor. But perhaps I never say anything at all. Between you and me, that seems like quite the risk. What happens the next time Amarantha’s not exactly pleased with me? When I need leverage to get back into her good graces—shall I expose Kallias’s little scheme and wipe the Winter Court off the map entirely? She would listen, of course—but only after she made an example of you and your family.”

She started shaking again, sickened by the thought of Nesta and Elain, torn to shreds and scattered like their mother had been.

Rhysand shrugged, a beautiful, easy gesture. “I don’t want that to happen. In fact, I want to be your friend, Feyre—” He paused as Feyre scoffed, throwing her another wild grin. “So, it’s really a question of how much you’re willing to trust me—and how much you’re willing to risk for it. Yourself? Your family? Your court?”

Her stomach tightened into a painful ball.

“I don’t need to invade your thoughts to know you have reservations.” He looked her up and down, lifting a brow at the ice on the ground as if he were only just realizing it were there. “Rightfully so. I know my reputation. But I already know what you’ve slowly been realizing.” He again stopped in front of her, dipping his head down until they were eye-to-eye. “You have no choice but to trust me.”

Feyre’s eyes stung, and she sucked her lips into her mouth.

“It’s not easy, I know.” His voice was soft now, coaxing. “But it is easier than facing Amarantha alone. How much are you willing to risk in the hope that I stay silent, truly?”

Feyre considered it, looking closely at him. “Just two weeks?”

“Just two weeks,” he purred, and then his arm was around her waist, leading her away from the wall without even touching her. “Two teensy, tiny weeks with me every month is all I ask.”

"I’m supposed to be husband hunting. Who would marry a female who's bound to you?"she asked. “You said it yourself. You have a reputation.”

Rhysand's answering smile was a cold, brutal slash of white teeth in the dark. "You'll just have to find a husband with a pair of balls, then, won’t you, Feyre darling? As far as I see it, I'm helping you weed out the weak links."

Feyre scowled at him… but she couldn’t deny that he had a point. At the very least, it might be fun—if not a little bit terrifying—to see if Amarantha rose to the challenge.

And, Mother spare her. Her stomach turned over again, because he was using her to challenge Amarantha, wasn’t he? Was this the sort of sick foreplay they favored?

She chained down that horrific thought. “And the terms?”

“Ah,” he said, adjusting the lapel of his obsidian tunic. “If I told you those things, there’d be no fun in it, would there?”

Feyre looked at him—really looked at him. The choice was simple. He had her over a barrel, and he knew it, too. 

If Nesta were in Feyre’s shoes, she would have made the same deal for her, for Elain. Elain… Feyre had no doubt that Elain would have simply smiled at Rhysand until he capitulated and fell to his knees begging for her hand, charmed to the bone. And their mother—she had lost her life trying to get them all out from Under the Mountain and Amarantha’s heel. It was the least Feyre could do to ensure she survived long enough to see it through, to see them all to safety.

She couldn’t think entirely of the enormity of what she was about to give—or else she might try to refuse again. She met Rhysand’s gaze. “Five days.”

“You’re going to bargain?” Rhysand laughed under his breath. “Ten days.”

She held his stare with all her strength, imagining a thick wall between his mind and her own, so he might not feel the bleating fear as she said, “A week.”

Rhysand was silent for a long moment, his eyes traveling across my body and my face before he nodded: “A week it is.”

“Then it’s a deal,” Feyre said, magic that was entirely familiar and completely strange stirring in the air between them.

Then Rhysand murmured, the hand hovering above her waist suddenly clutching her, pulling her close as darkness and wind and shadows whipped around them: “One week of my choosing, starting now.”

#feysand #feyre archeron #rhysand #rhys #acotar #a court of thorns and roses fic #feyrhys #feyre #feyre x rhysand #of the archer and the dark #my fics #a court of thorns and roses #acotar fic

[vyladromeave]

26 and 28?

26. you're tasked with writing an official side story/spin-off roleplay (void paradox, mermaid tale, upside-down story), what would that look like?

Every day I am haunted by the fact that the original mcd spin-off stuff just became mystreet and i know I could do a modern au of MCD better than jess. I know it. but i cant pick that as my answer because mystreet already exists and is bad.

I kinda struggled with this for a while ngl, i have a lot of reject answers that will not be seeing the light of day. I'm an MCD guy, so my instinct is to do something more MCD-based, potentially still set in MCD's world. But keeping it within the same world but different characters usually makes series that are boring and hard for people to get attached to (for an Aphmau-specific example, see Phoenix Drop Days). But series with characters that are AU-ified and altered are often very hit or miss for me... I really didn't like how series like mermaid tale and royal tale treated returning characters, and mystreet is a whole separate train wreck entirely.. It's very hard to make things different but also respectful to the original source.

BUT. THAT BEING SAID. In the middle of this i was reminded of the au behind this post, the role swap of The Jury and Shadowknights, and I feel like that would be fun to cover!!! I need to make a whole nother post about the au as a whole just to solidify my ideas about it tbh. i have ideas.

But i think overall just covering like a short retelling (its just a spinoff, unfortunately I cannot cover all of MCD) of a time where we get a bunch of people involved on both sides on screen would be fun. I'm specifically thinking of the arc at the end of S1 with Katelyn and Lillian in town. I think a lot of the shadowknights and jury share a lot of parallels with each other already, which would be fun to explore, but also fun to look into how these people being a part of different organizations would change who they are and how they act massively.

28. if you could ask jess one question about the series and recieve a direct answer, what would it be? 

now here is where i get to cheat. because

i was asked this question TWO ADDITIONAL TIMES. so I get 3 questions total now. thats how this works. yes this is just straight up cheating. thank you.

QUESTION 1: i gotta give it to stellisketches. this is exactly where my mind went first too. i wish i could just say "Give me all your planning notes and script documents because I know you have them you mentioned them on stream years ago please let me see them." But that is unfortunately a demand, not a question. So asking about the intended direction and ending of S3/MCD as a whole will have to do.

^this is the main one that i would most want an answer to. The rest of these definitely aren't as important, but they do haunt me personally:

QUESTION 2: WHO THE FUCK ARE THE OTHER JURY MEMBERS AND WHAT ARE ALL THEIR TITLES. Its called the fucking Jury Of Nine, we're still very notably missing a whole third of their members. No, Garroth doesn't count, he was a temporary sub-in. We have 6 official members. We almost have more people on the official "could have been a jury member if we needed one replaced" list than there are actual jury members. Well ok not really, but it's closer than it should be. We didn't even know Ivan was supposed to be a jury member until Rebirth. Have we seen the others in og mcd (or other series?) and Jess just forgot to mention they were Jury like Ivan, or was Ivan a last-minute promotion plotwise? Is Zane supposed to be a member? To me it seemed like he was supposed to be leading them, but not strictly a part of them. They just answered to him. But was that me misreading things? Is Zane the secret 9th member? (I know a lot of people consider him one because of the S1 finale, since he powers up like Garroth does and Garroth seems to have Katelyn's like weird jury-relic thing. but ONE: the jury-relic things are stupid and never brought up again and TWO: Zane has Esmund's relic at this point, that's what's powering him up, not a jury-relic-thing. So?????) ARE there even other plans for the Jury members we haven't seen? Do they exist to Jess? Does she have any others in mind at all? I need to know these things. Also why do so many of them use scythes or have scythe in their titles. That's stupid. Stop that.

QUESTION 3: WHO THE FUCK IS VYLAD'S BIOLOGICAL FATHER, WERE THERE ANY PLANS FOR HIS (biological) PATERNAL SIDE OF THE FAMILY. Is this a bad question? Yes. Does Jess likely actually have any plans here? Probably not. Was obscuring Vylad's bio dad's name done so that Jess didn't have to invent a whole new character, and not because she had someone in mind and wanted to obscure who it was? Yeah probably. Are there better things to ask? Yeah. But this haunts me every single day. We don't even know if he's alive. We don't even know his fucking name. Is there an actual reason he looks like every other brown haired character in the series, or did Jess just want those sweet sweet Jeffory parallels? I need to know if there was at least some plan here, even if it was stupid. I need to know if Jess was just pulling shit directly out of her ass or not. It's important. I'm the Vylad guy you have to let me have this.

(ask prompts from here!)

#ask #mcd #mcd meta #long post #big post

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC Review: Salt Kiss by Sierra Simone

5/5. Out now!

Vibes: retellings, VIRGIN BODYGUARDS, two angry black cats falling in love with a golden retriever, local man never reads the room ever.

When PTSD-ridden veteran Tristan Thomas is offered a job as the bodyguard to his step-uncle, kink club owner Mark Trevena, it seems like the change he needs. The problem: Mark turns out to be quite dangerous, and Tristan turns out to be quite smitten. As the two engage in an ill-advised affair, he falls deeper and deeper, knowing Mark has secrets he refuses to tell. One of those secrets? Turns out to be a fiancee, Isolde. For Tristan, escorting her across the sea to Mark seems like a nightmare. But the more get gets to know her--the more he he realizes he's not just falling for Mark, but Isolde as well.

I have been dying to read this ever since I knocked out New Camelot earlier this year. Nobody does a menage romance better than Sierra Simone, and this kick off a new series once again retells an Arthurian legend--but in a very different way from New Camelot.

I will advise: if you haven't read New Camelot, this book will have spoilers for that trilogy (and it's a fucking banger, so go read it). Additionally, I feel you are missing out a LOT if you don't read the "prequel novella" (aka first book) Salt in the Wound first. This shorter installment details Mark and Isolde's early "courtship", if you can call it that.

Anyway, I fucking loved this, let's get into it.

Quick Takes:

--Mark Trevena has been hyped throughout Sierra Simone's New Camelot-verse. I mean, he made Maxen Colchester try a butt plug. (And yes, Tristan is absolutely, physically, Baby Ash. In terms of personality... couldn't be further from him.) Does he live up to the hype? Yes, though I will say (and this is obviously on purpose) we still don't know a lot about him. He's snakey and sexy and a bit weird and boyishly excited about doing his little cat burglar things. He clearly controls a lot, but he also very clearly does not have control of nearly as much as Tristan thinks he does. This works, because for all that Tristan has experienced so much violence, psychologically and emotionally he's still something of a babe in the woods. Yes, Mark is hypercompetent and powerful, but you just feeeeeel the disaster lurking under the surface.

Which is one of many ways in which Sierra Simone distinguishes between the dynamic of Ash, Embry and Greer, compared to Mark, Tristan, and Isolde (Auden, St. Sebastian, and Poe were a whole other thing). Ash? Did have his shit together for much of New Camelot. Like, he was doing some galaxy brained shit, but until things really started to get out of control towards the end of the second book, he is like, the ultimate dom. He's got it together, he has the attention of his subs, he handles their specific individual needs, he puts them first.

Mark... is more chaotic. I think he very much wants to be a puppet master, and in some ways he genuinely is. But emotionally, you get these glimpses that suggest he's balancing on a knife's edge; and with Isolde in mind in particular, I don't think this is all going to work out exactly as he planned. At all. Which is delicious to read, right?

--Related: Mark is not a daddy, stop this slander of Mark and to daddies, he is a dominant (and I'll be real! I don't think he's as harsh a dominant as Ash or Auden) but not all doms are dom daddies, let's get this straight.

--While this is the beginning of a clear MMF series, you don't actually see the menage a trois on the page just yet. The first two thirds of this book are really Mark and Tristan getting to know each other and falling in love. The last third is the instant attraction between Tristan and Isolde. I knew this going in, and I was a bit concerned about the balance between relationships, and Mark/Tristan being favored over Tristan/Isolde. This is a frequent issue with MMF books--readers prioritize the MM over the F, and the girl is basically window dressing. I find that Sierra pretty much always avoids this, but still.

After reading, I totally get it. First off, a lot of that Mark/Tristan pagetime is, understandably, not only Tristan falling in love with Mark but Tristan becoming acquainted with kink, which is obviously going to figure into the triad dynamic. Tristan is a virgin when the book begins, and again, in many ways remarkably sheltered. So while you totally get this bond he and Mark develop, their pagetime is more than that.

Whereas Tristan and Isolde are pretty much all Tristan and Isolde. And it makes sense that while it takes a good amount of time for Mark to give in to Tristan's desires because of all the complex dynamics at play... And Mark being Mark... Tristan and Isolde can throw themselves headlong into this passionate, super horny affair in which, in many ways, they're both venting their emotional issues onto each other. It's like a breath of fresh air for them, a release (literal and metaphorical) they both need. And so it makes total sense to me that they connect as easily as they do. Neither of them have that easy connection with Mark, but as Tristan's employer and Isolde's fiance, he's accessible to both of them in a way they can't be to each other. Yet on an purely emotional level, their mutual bond is simple, straightforward; it's just thwarted by obligations practical and otherwise.

--You're in Tristan's head for the entire book, and it's a pretty head. I love the contrast of someone who's really good at killing and violence being so bighearted and sensitive. It really evokes the legends surrounding the original Tristan. Yes, he can fuck a dude up, but he just wants to fall in love and please and sing his little hymns.

I also just super enjoyed how many times Tristan would just let clear and present warnings sail over his head. The allusions to Mark's previous bodyguard Doing Stuff with him? Tristan didn't hear them. Everyone trying to suggest that Mark is getting married? Tristan doesn't notice. Mark telling Tristan to "be him" with Isolde? Repeatedly? Tristan sincerely does not get it. Himbo lovers, this may be a book for you.

--We still haven't experienced Isolde in her full form, in my opinion. Mark hasn't seen her for two years when this book begins, and she's a total stranger to Tristan. There's an underlying sense of both masochism and sadism in Isolde. She's someone who enjoys the pain, but on a much deeper level, seems capable of inflicting it. I definitely get the sense that Mark isn't the only one who's going to be fucking with Tristan's head, and I'm frankly about it.

--This series is being pitched as darker than New Camelot; and I will say, so far, I don't see that? But considering how dark Thornchapel (which is also in the same 'verse, albeit more tangentially) got, I trust and believe Sierra Simone can ramp it up. However, this first book is truly one where you the reader stumble into it knowing no more than Tristan does. You are fresh and new, as he is fresh and new. Even if you've read New Camelot, I feel like you're really stepping into an entirely different part of that world.

--I personally love the angst of a good "love triangle to MMF" angle, and we're most definitely getting that here. The way in which everybody is in love or at least close to it, while nobody is actually willing to admit it? Um, absolutely.

The Sex:

It's Sierra Simone, so obviously the sex is 10/10. She writes the best sex scenes in romance, for me. They're erotic and daring and explicit, but also so emotionally revealing and poetic? Her characters truly connect through sex, accessing a level of soulfulness and, like, honestly? Spirituality during sex.

With that in mind, people do fuck in church in this one--like I said, it's Sierra Simone. Tristan and Mark have a very intense sexual relationship that does involve D/s, though understandably, it's not quite as kinky as what other Sierra characters have gotten up to. Mark is very tender with Tristan's precious virginity (.... more emotionally than physically) which? Right now? Kinda makes him more of a soft dom than Ash or Auden. Or Father Bell, really.

I'm sure this will be completely subverted when Honey Cut comes out.

I really appreciated this book exploring things we don't see often in these big, sweeping romances--M/M breeding kink, which obviously is A Thing, but we often don't see it, I think, because there's this huge emphasis on heroes being hypermasculine. Which in some ways I enjoy, right? But here, Tristan is masculine and.... also wants to be bred. And he wants to breed Isolde. The duality of man!!!

Also--the face sitting scene was great. That's all.

It's just a different take on kink than we've seen in Sierra's other books. I think she also manages to give all her characters' sex styles, as it were, unique spins; but Salt Kiss's take felt particularly different from the other triad books she's written in that sense.

I'll also add--I was impressed by the tension-building moments in this book, especially with Tristan and Isolde. Neither of these relationships are truly slow burns in terms of time covered. But Tristan and Isolde definitely burn faster than Tristan and Mark, yet somehow Sierra made the tension so tight and delayed-feeling. There is a moment... when Isolde is wearing her swimsuit... and Tristan notices a thing... I gasped like it was the Pride and Prejudice hand flex. It might be my Pride and Prejudice hand flex. In a very different way.

I just super loved this. It definitely has more story to cover. You don't end on a one and done happy ending--we'll have to work for it a bit more with this trilogy. But I have a feeling that it will be worth it.

(And I cannot wait for the slutty vellum overlay version of this book.)

Thanks to Bloom Books and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#romance novel blogging #arc reviews #netgalley #book recs #book reviews #books #i'll reblog this tomorrow during the day but i want my thoughts out now!

[youareinlove]

Hi! I hope I’m not bothering you, but I’m the person that’s learning about Taylor’s discography because I properly joined last year! Can I ask you to give a run down of the themes of each song from folklore and evermore? I hope it’s not too big of a bother! I know that the songs are fictional, but I know that she infused her own feelings and took inspiration from her life, but I’m still pretty ignorant and I really like your analyses :)

omg anon ily, this is so pure and sweet. yes of course, feel free to ask anytime.

also, if you haven't already, i'd recommend watching folklore: long pond studio sessions. she talks a lot about what the songs on folklore mean, why she wrote them, etc. there isn't one for evermore but it'll at least help with one of the albums, and it's got a lot of meta-commentary about the circumstances of folklore's creation (pandemic)

folklore:

the 1 - the 1 is about running into an ex and thinking about what could've been. it's also the perfect album opener because she starts with "i'm doing good, i'm on some new shit, been saying yes instead of no" which both refers to her general state of mind (pandemic) and the genre shift. it's also the first song that introduces a theme we see a lot on folklore, which is love being likened to films. "you know the greatest films of all time were never made" = their love never came to fruition despite there being a lot of potential and chemistry. the actual song and story is fictional, just like most of the songs on folklore and evermore, but i think the emotional inspiration was less one person and just a general pattern she found herself in a lot. if we had to point directly to one person i'd say harry, but it's very subliminal and not at all a clear-cut comparison.

cardigan - cardigan is the first song out of 3 on folklore about a fictional teenage love triangle. this song is from the perspective of the adult version of "betty," the character who's cheated on by james. musically and lyrically you can tell that this character is far more mature than the other two in the love triangle because they're teenagers during their narration and she's an adult during hers. she kind of retells the story, but in a vague way that's way more focused on her growth as a character because of the relationship. i could talk about this aspect for hours, but essentially it's that she was struggling, needed his validation, lost it very suddenly, and had to learn to give that to herself. it's also very unclear if she took him back or not, which doesn't change in the other songs about the love triangle. i think taylor sees herself as all three of the characters in the love triangle, but cardigan's story of teenage douchery points to harry for me. the 1989 vault really reframed the folklore love triangle for me because it's a very similar story.

the last great american dynasty - the song is about taylor's rhode island house (named holiday house) and it's previous owner, rebekah harkness. rebekah was a real person and the lyrics of tlgad are pretty much exactly what her life was like, except she dyed a cat key-lime green, not a dog lol. in the song, taylor draws a parallel between herself and rebekah, specifically the ways they were viewed by the world for their romantic history (rebekah being shamed by society for being a divorcee, taylor being shamed for society for having exes), and how they were viewed by their community for throwing parties and existing as loud women unapologetically. it's also got the parallel to mad woman, because mad woman is about female rage and tlgad carries themes of women being blamed and shunned (for something that really wasn't their fault) and choosing to live for themselves.

exile - exile is about a relationship that falls apart because of miscommunication. it's also one of those songs that ended up becoming reality. he thinks she left him out of nowhere and moved on, she thinks she gave him signs and signals and chances to no avail until she had no choice but to leave. these two are just unable to get on the same page or hear each other, even now that they've broken up. by the time they do understand each other (the very end of the song), it's too late. we also see the return of the film theme in "i think i've seen this film before, and i didn't like the ending." the film is their love that's doomed to end the exact same way every time because there's a fundamental misunderstanding. i have no earthly clue what this song could be based on from her real life because it's like, ylm 0.5. emotionally i'm sure it just comes from her past experience with not feeling heard or seen

my tears ricochet - mtr is about a very long relationship that ends really badly. it explores the idea that the only reason there can be so much pain is because there was once so much trust. i believe she said in lpss that she was thinking a lot about how in many stories, the hero's greatest enemy was once his best friend. it's also extremely tied to her life in a really upsetting, and painful way. the song is about losing her masters, specifically the betrayal of scott borchetta selling them. her and scott were in business together for 15 years, starting when she was literally 15 years old. he was like a father figure to her, and his betrayal a) redefined betrayal entirely for her, and b) was the worst heartbreak of her life (i have no idea if this is still true post-joever but i'm inclined to think it is). the song uses a funeral as a metaphor for how scott tried to "bury" her - escape her legacy and erase their relationship. (if you want to know more about the masters debacle, ask me and i'll direct you to blogs that know more than me and are more detailed).

mirrorball - this song is about someone who feels like they always have to be "on" for everyone, always be performing, always be shining and bright. it's very "pathological people pleaser" - just someone who's a different version of themself for everyone they meet and tailors their personality to be liked, which comes at the cost of not being able to be vulnerable or show their sadness and pain. in fact, when that pain is shown, it's laughed at and treated as a joke or as content to be exploited. it's about taylor as a person and a lifelong struggle she's had, but also (pandemic). "when they called off the circus, burned the disco down, when they sent home the horses and the rodeo clowns" is a direct reference to the lover tour being cancelled because of the pandemic and it leaving her feeling purposeless. what does someone who's been performing, both literally and figuratively, their entire life, do when there's no audience anymore?

seven - seven is about the people who knew you before you were conditioned by society into being something or being one way, aka: childhood. when trusting was easy, when there was always a way to go home and escape the troubles, when fear was exciting and not paralyzing. when you could speak your mind freely and not think about what others would think. this is framed against a friend who didn't have it the best, and looking back on it as an adult and realizing that things were Not Okay there. it's a great exploration of childhood and all the layering shades of it, and no doubt inspired by if not directly pulled from taylor's own childhood in pennsylvania

august - august is another song from the love triangle! this is the perspective of augustine, the girl james cheated on betty with. we see that she was basically used, told she was loved, and then ditched by james as soon as he wanted to run back to betty. she was in love with him and he saw her as a summer thing to waste time on. i think taylor's felt like that a lot in her life, and it reminds me a lot of foolish one. less one person, more a pattern that doesn't stop hurting the more it happens

this is me trying - i seriously recommend either watching the long pond studio sessions for this song's description or finding a youtube clip of it because she articulates it in a way that i really can't. but it's basically about someone who feels like they once had a lot of potential and fell behind due to their mental health. it's about the daily struggle of someone who has an addiction or someone who has mental health issues to fight those battles and win every single day, even if no one is congratulating them because society sees it as the bare minimum. (also the film theme is back: you're a flashback on a film reel in the one screen in my town = memories with this person play over and over in her mind). taylor herself has struggled with anxiety, depression, and using alcohol as a vice of sorts, and this song reflects those things. it's also about turning towards someone when you need help through a tough time, which imo is heavily based on how she was with joe in 2016.

illicit affairs - illicit affairs is a sympathetic portrayal of what it means to be the "other woman" or a married man's mistress, and the emotional costs of being someone's dirty little secret. we can infer that it's unrelated to august because the song has a lot of emphasis on the guy being much older than the narrator. imo it's heavily based on how she felt in her relationship with jake, because it's basically "you kept me like a secret but i kept you like an oath" expanded upon for 3 minutes. she wasn't the other woman with jake (he literally cheated on her actually) but she knows how it feels for your older partner to be ashamed of you and treat you like something to be hidden from others

invisible string - this is one of the few songs on this album that fully isn't fictional at all. this is straight up about joe, down to the details about where he worked at sixteen and the first song he heard when he came to LA. the idea of the song is that you and your partner lived separate lives before meeting each other, but you know you were supposed to all along because of these little coincidences of fate that lined up perfectly

mad woman - the female rage motif from tlgad is in full swing here. this song is all about how it feels to be a woman and be talked over by men consistently. it's also about scooter braun and her masters, and how it felt to be ignored and belittled by him and the music industry while pitching the re-recordings

epiphany - i could summarize this entire thing with just (pandemic) tbh. it's about the healthcare workers during the pandemic (literally compares it to war) but also about the entire world, if that makes sense. when you think about what the world was like during the pandemic and kind of the collective trauma we all went through. i mean there are just some things you don't speak about.

betty - this is the final song in the folklore love triangle trilogy. this one is from the perspective of james, as he tries to apologize to betty for cheating on her. telling you the story would basically just be reading you the lyrics so i'll leave that to spotify, but it's also ambiguous about whether or not she takes him back. i think it's lowkey based on harry (see: 1989 vault) but also just the radical act of a man apologizing and showing up that i think taylor found interesting

peace - peace is also not fictional! it's about her relationship with her fame and how it affects her partner. kind of exploring the idea of things never being easy, or at least never being easy for long, because there's always a new threat looming. (which is 1000% going to be recontextualized as a Not Healthy Idea with the tortured poets department because she's now in a relationship where things are easy because they're just flexible about boundaries and deal with things as they come). it's also kind of about mental health and how that can affect one's partner, or at least that's how most people relate to it

hoax - hoax is about three things at the same time that all really hurt - a love, a business relationship, and a friend who was like family. (joe, scott/scooter, and KK. using initials for the last person for Reasons, ask separately if you don't know who it is). the point of the song is that all the lyrics point to all the people, and you can read them with 3 different views. joe's is that it was a point in time when it wasn't easy to be in love because she was hurting, but she was able to sit and be sad with him. scott/scooter's is like, betrayal and anguish and pain. and KK's is also betrayal but in a more targeted, friendship-fallout way. the entire thing is not fictional and it's very broad so it's hard to totally grasp the concept of, but think grief and pain and hit play (that's what i do). also the film thing returns once more. "you knew the hero died, so what's the movie for" = you know i have nothing left in me, so why do you keep trying to make this work.

the lakes - the lakes is about this dream she had of escaping the things that made creating hard for her (mostly the public pressure of the media and the world) and just running away with her and her partner (joe) to the lake district in england. it's kind of the thesis statement of folklore - things were tough, so she created a fictional cabin in the woods to find solace and comfort and took him with her. it's very rooted in (pandemic) because life was really hard for all of us in 2020/2021 and we all just wanted to escape a little bit

-

evermore:

willow - willow is about joe and how he came into her life at a very unexpected time and understood her in a way no one had before (rip). it frames the beginning of their relationship in a way that's narratively mystical as she portrays herself as a witch brewing up a love spell. also the perfect album opener for a million reasons, the best of which being "but i come back stronger than a 90s trend."

champagne problems - champagne problems is about a couple who meets up one night, one planning to end it and one bringing a ring. the narrator rejects his proposal, leaving him and their shared friend group reeling. it's also implied that she has mental health issues that they (their friends and his family) use to blame her and ostracize her for not saying yes. she's left to deal with the guilt and shame that comes with her decision while knowing it was the right choice in her heart. for taylor, i think the link to her life was how society often acted like she was supposed to be getting married and settling down, and when she made choices to further other parts of her life (e.g. her career) instead, she felt that shame as well.

gold rush - gold rush is about joe as well, specifically the early stages of their relationship where she wasn't sure if it would last or be defined or be real (see: cruel summer). it covers a lot of the emotional conflict and inner turmoil but in a fun and boppy way to reflect how falling in love was also exciting and refreshing (since most of it is her daydreaming). a fun fact about this song is that harry thinks it's about him and it is not

tis the damn season - ttds is one half of a dual-part story on evermore. it's from the perspective of a character called dorothea, who left her small town in search of fame (it's implied to be acting in the songs but i'm not certain), leaving behind her high school sweetheart. she goes home for the holidays and reconnects with him, and there's maybe even some left-behind jealousy and tension there? either way, they start hooking up for the week she'll be there. all the while, she's realizing that she'd be happy riding around in his truck with him because she doesn't have genuine connections in LA, and he's the only one who really truly knows her. but she won't ask him to wait for her if he doesn't ask her to stay for him. the parts about him being the only one who gets her is fictional, but the relationship is based on what she had with her high school sweetheart, drew (our song drew not teardrops on my guitar drew). see: midnight rain, which is the real life version of events and not the fictional one

tolerate it - this one's about being in a relationship where you give it your 100% and try your hardest to love them and care for them and it all just goes unnoticed or is taken for granted. the song portrays the narrator as a housewife and shows her daily struggle of wanting to leave, thinking for a second that she really could, but then settling back into her miserable lifestyle again. it's strongly based on how she felt when she was with calvin, and the "sad housewife" motif is very directly tied to what he wanted from her vs what she wanted to be

no body no crime - nbnc is pretty self-explanatory, it's about a woman who's friend (este) catches her husband cheating and goes "missing" implying that he killed her. the woman then kills the husband as revenge and pins it on his mistress. this one is honestly just fun and a cool fact is that este and danielle (the sister mentioned in the song) are both the names of two of the haim sisters, and HAIM features on the song

happiness - the song's about a divorce, or the end of a seven-year relationship (like exile, eventually became reality). it's about how the pain and bitterness associated with a relationship ending can exist, but it only gets you so far, and eventually you need to just accept that things are what they are. it's a really beautiful narrative about moving on and life and reinvention. because it's about a divorce, we can assume that it's at least partially based on her friend abigail's divorce in 2021 (i think) but it's also a metaphor for her relationship with her old record label and leaving. or at least a way of exploring her emotions about that whole process

dorothea - dorothea is the 2nd half of the ttds/dorothea duo. while in ttds, dorothea sings about how she won't ask him to wait for her because he isn't asking her to stay for him and she doesn't want to burden him like that, we see here that he (the narrator who's singing to dorothea) wants to wait for her and is just waiting for her to come back to him and say the word. it's what taylor, on some level, wants someone to think and feel about her (that someone being the ex she used to hook up with whenever she came back to town lmfao. it's pretty unserious and not actually about him but about fame and choices which i go into more with my midnight rain analysis).

coney island - coney island is a song about reflecting on a relationship, regretting what happened, and wondering what happened there. it captures this moment of longingness and pain fresh after something has ended, and in the bridge, we get references to multiple of her relationships (big cake / happy birthday = jake, bluest skies the darkest gray = j*hn, accident = harry, podium = calvin) and you realize that the song's actually about ALL of them. in the chorus, when she sings "over and over" it's because she's had this moment at coney island over and over again with all of these people, and she's terrified that it'll happen to her current relationship (which was joe at the time). she sees herself in this cycle and she doesn't want to be there anymore, so she uses the song to roleplay her fears in a way

ivy - ivy is about a woman who's with a husband that she does not love and is having an affair with someone she does love but can't be with because of the volatile husband. it's a classic story, but it's also the same one as high infidelity if you look closely enough. while she wasn't married to CH (calvin) and didn't technically cheat, the undertones of violence are the same (lock broken, slur spoken, picket fence as sharp as knives / what would he do if he found us out, he's going to burn this house to the ground) as well as someone being a strong enough force to wake you up and realize that the life you've been living isn't true to yourself

cowboy like me - this song uses two con artists ditching their swindling and scamming ways to find true love within each other as a metaphor for her and joe (think: put down our cloaks and our daggers because it's morning now). i saw someone describe it as "yeehaw ready for it" which is very accurate imo. they have to overcome a lot, but they end up realizing that "forever is the sweetest con" - the thing they wanted most wasn't something money could buy, it was the love and comfort they found in each other

long story short - this one's straight up not fictional. it's about the stuff she went through, specifically 2016-2017, the defense mechanisms she built up because of those experiences, and the work she had to do to get where she is, both in her personal life and in her relationship. also, "i dropped my sword, threw it in the bushes and knocked on your door" is basically the entire premise of cowboy like me, so putting them right next to each other on the tracklist was so smart.

marjorie - marjorie was the name of taylor's grandma. she had a huge impact on her life and was one of the people who first inspired her to pursue music, as she herself was an opera singer. she always dreamed of making it big with her music, but had to give up those dreams to start a family. in many ways, taylor feels like she's fulfilling those dreams for the both of them. the song's basically about grief and how we have to hold on to the pieces of someone (which is often just our memories of them) and believe that they're watching because that's how we get through loss and hard things.

closure - closure is about a friendship breakup with someone who then reaches out later to try to smooth things over, but you know it's not really to take accountability or mend things, but to settle scores and get it off of their conscience. the song proclaims that actually, she doesn't owe anyone closure, and she's totally okay with stewing in her bitterness about it because the other person doesn't deserve to have that wrinkle in their past ironed out. it's a really interesting message because most media would encourage the opposite, and say to forgive and forget. closure lays out what happened as a heartbreak first, and the fact that it was a friendship and not a relationship doesn't matter because the emotional impact was the same. (it's about KK as well btw)

evermore - this one is about 2016 and the pain and devastation she suffered, mostly with her mental health and with depression. there were clearly times when it felt like nothing would get better and she outlines it really clearly. but there was something that was "real enough to get her through" something she dreamed of in the cracks of light. this originally meant joe, but i think it also meant us, the fans, who saw her and appreciated her and loved her at her lowest. it's a real tribute to her connection with us. the song uses wading through the ocean as a metaphor for depression, and it ends with "floors of a cabin creaking under my step" - she's found shelter. the chorus then switches from "that this pain would be forevermore" to "this pain wouldn't be for evermore." evermore (the album) has been song after song of things that you think will be forever and aren't - namely relationships with people. but it switches in evermore, because pain is what won't last forever. it becomes a hopeful message instead of a despondent one (and taylor's albums, at least the standard versions, are known for ending with hope).

right where you left me - rwylm is about someone who was broken up with at a restaurant years ago and can't move on emotionally. they're metaphorically stuck at that very restaurant, sitting at the booth for years to come, watching the world pass them by as they feel stagnant in their own life. it's very much a metaphor for how it feels to grow up famous - frozen at the age that you blew up and unable to move past that as you watch everyone else grow up around you. the age specifically mentioned in the song is 23, which we know was a really hard age for taylor where she went through a lot, both with fame and relationships.

it's time to go - it's time to go, in a broad sense, is about any moment when you feel like it's just time to let something be and that giving up is the right decision. whether that's a relationship, a job, a friendship, etc. ("when the words of a sister come back in whispers that prove she was not / in fact what she seemed not a twin from your dreams she's a crook who was caught" is about the same person as closure btw). but more specifically, the song is a way to explore taylor having to leave her old record label and the emotions surrounding that. it ends on the poignant lyric "he's got my past frozen behind glass, but i've got me." keep in mind, this is pre-re-recordings, although they were definitely in the works. it was a moment in time when she was really betting on herself against all odds and this song just encapsulates that

#i hope this was helpful anon - i still super recommend watching folklore: lpss #folklore #evermore #anon asks #asks

[tizzymcwizzy]

I've read through what a few others have said and I hope you dont mind someone else chiming in as well-- It started out as a comment reply on the post but it got too long ;;

Alongside being a retelling, Stampede, or at least S1, is technically a kinda-sorta prequel sort of situation, since the final event of Stampede is something that happens before the main story of '98 and the manga.

The characterisation in Stampede isn't exactly inaccurate to the manga per se, but since it is a retelling that recontextualises and restructures a ton, it's definitely not 1:1. But for that matter the 1998 anime is also not 1:1 with characterisation, and I'd argue that it's just a bit farther off due to some of the comedy choices that were made, which were rather OOC in comparison to the manga, and also because of some of the plot changes due to the manga not being finished, as you previously mentioned.

Many of the more serious themes present in the manga also come through much stronger in Stampede, so far, than in 1998 despite the greater deviance from the manga's plot right off the bat. But I would say the first part of the manga is a lot easier to read through if you've watched 1998 first, since beat-for-beat, there's generally more similarities between the two, which makes sparsing out what's happening less of a task. The manga's pacing however, imo, is actually more similar to Stampede's (fast, a lot happening) ironically. 1998 has a lot of filler very early on which makes it the odd one out in terms of pacing.

The manga is definitely darker than the 1998 anime, and Stampede seems to, so far at least, not be shying away from those darker elements. While there is some of the same fun in the first portion of the manga as in 1998, the latter portion is very much a seinen, and Nightow takes full advantage of the ability to explore more mature themes that being under this demographic label offers.

Also, as a side note, some of the production team for Stampede actually hadn't watched the 1998 anime prior to making Stampede, and had only read the manga, which is part of why there's such a stark tonal difference between the two anime specifically. It's very hard to pit them against each other in any definitive way, so I definitely second that it's worth experiencing each iteration!

YEAH!!! i really appreciate it this!!!! yeah, i know fuck all about what the manga has and doesn't have cause ive been trying to avoid as many spoilers as i can for it so this is really helpful, i didn't know that the characterization is so different within 98 and the manga, that's gonna be fun to explore lol, also that the tone was pretty different! i know trigun is lighter than trigun maximum so im also interested to see how that plays out

and also yes! i do know stampede is a prequel, retelling, sorta thing,, it just rolls over a lot of the character introductions and like, early storybeats within it's prequel to the main storyline while also including flashbacks and shit that happen later in the 98 anime so it's confusing to classify

thanks so much for your input! i really appreciate it cause i have no clue abt this stuff, again, haven't read the manga yet :)

#super helpful #also i hope i didnt like disuade anyone with my incorrect info abt the similarities from 98 to the manga! #ask #trigun #anon #tizzy talks

[dawnanddorisqna]

How do you two feel about Disney's recent "live-action" remakes? I mean I can safely assume you're not fans but could you be more specific?

I don’t mind some of them really. The ones that tell a new story are kinda fun for me. Like Cruella. And Doris is shaking her head at me so I’m going to keep talking out loud while I type. Seeing real actors do a new twist on something can be fun. It’s just when they tell the same story that I think it’s boring, and the CG characters rarely hit as well as the hand drawn ones. Those full on remakes that just rinse and repeat are not really allowed in this house. Only 90’s Lion King here. A movie like the Little Mermaid could be great with a new story. Go closer to the crazy dark story or something, but don’t just retread. And Doris is pacing and wanting to rant probably….so…I…won’t….take…..toooooooo….much…..time…to…

Thank you so much for this question, it’s something I do think of a lot. Now of course, remakes of animated properties isn’t anything new. It’s been something of an event for years, having major stars play live versions of animated characters. It never overshadowed the animated characters, and actually brought more attention to them, and Disney was at the forefront of this, producing live versions of classics.

Yes, This is a Disney produced film, and I enjoyed it.

It wasn’t until about the 1990s that they brought an adaptation to theaters based on one of their own films. The Jungle Book.

This was under the leadership of Michael Eisner, who would also see the studio create remakes of 101 Dalmatians. His protege Bob Igor would take these same practices and continue them once he became CEO. I was honestly fine with these remakes, mostly because they were telling new stories or a different perspective. That changed once Alice in Wonderland came out in 2010

This was a troubling film. Not for being a poor view in my opinion, but for being so successful. This film made a Billion at the box office. When something makes that much, that’s basically film now. It hit that mark and I saw a flood of remakes coming, and they did.

Animation has always had a difficult time in the minds of studio execs. They see it as for kids and rarely want to try anything new or invest in stories with it. Alice breaking the box office confirmed to them that live action and photo realistic is for kids AND adults. So why invest in what’s only for kids when they could also get the adults?

I really hate this form of thinking, because these films wouldn’t exist without the original animated version. That’s all they stand on. There’s a reason the Aladdin trailer has the cave of wonders and why the Lion King showed the circle of life. It’s all just nostalgia bait. No creativity, nothing new, just a checklist of familiar things. It’s lazy and unfortunate that it keeps bringing in so much money for the studios.

Like Dawn said, Some of these films do tell new stories, and I wish all went that route, but most are simply painting over films to retell the same story but with lifeless visuals.

Animation is so deeply undervalued, and this is a crime, as it’s one of the most heartfelt methods of storytelling. Every frame is cared for, characters becoming so expressive and visuals that can connect to any generation and grip your heart. It’s magic on film, and there’s now people in charge of this industry who couldn’t care less about it.

This was on full display at the 2022 Academy Awards (at really every Oscars, but this one is of note)

These ladies are lovely, but this was a low moment. Taking the time before the award to show a trailer for the live action little mermaid, having the host put down animation, and then the award presenters being 3 actresses who play live action versions of animated characters, the message was clear. This industry doesn’t care about animation, live action is what really matters.

There were apologies after this, but if you look at how Disney advertises their films, the live action remakes get the brunt of the advertising, animation gets the scraps. Where the 90s remakes were simply fun, we’re now in a full overdrive of them.

None of this should be a surprise. Studios go for whatever makes money and what seems easier, and these films have a formula they find very simple. Choose something people remember, get a popular actor, add CG and a lot of familiar scenes and watch the money flow in.

A real show of how greedy this system has become came in the same year as that Oscar display. A year Disney would take one of their most beloved films, one that was Walt’s favorite, one that became part of the theme of Disney and was considered untouchable…and they remade it.

The original Pinocchio didn’t perform well when it opened (due to a war breaking out on its premiere date). This was crushing for Walt, but when it was rereleased it found an audience and became a classic. This film has a lot of amazing effects with water, magic and references being used in a clever way. Ideas of a sequel or any continuation were always shut down because this was one of the special films of the studio. But as time went on, and the remakes proved wildly profitable, we were bound to see this care fade away and bring us what many of us feared.

Nothing is untouchable after this. And sure enough, we’ll soon be getting Bambi, Moana, Lilo and Stitch, the Aristocats and countless others. While on the animation front? Those are announced, like Wish, but not with the fervent need that the live action films are.

Now, do I hate the idea of live action remakes? Not really, but obviously there are things I wish they’d change. For one, I think it would be great if animated films were treated equally and given the same amount of attention by studios. If they were, I think we’d have another renaissance on our hands.

Second, STOP JUST TELLING THE SAME STORY! It’s all nostalgia references, and if the studio couldn’t plug in familiar songs, scenes and lines throughout, these films wouldn’t be made. But I think it would be far more rewarding to get a new experience with familiar characters. Tell us what happened years later, focus on a new character, or retell it and stick to the original story or let a director really put their stamp on it and create something different. Right now these films are amazingly dull with the same story and visuals that are pointlessly realistic. How do you remake something and take the life out of the characters and call it a feature!? If you don’t know how to show an animal with emotion (embarrassing, that’s animation 101. The directors should trust animation more), then find another way or just don’t do it.

Third, use these remakes as a vehicle to lift new artists. Give a new promising actor a chance to become the live face of this character. Let a new director show their style and start a career. These are guaranteed hits and it would be good to bring some new talent into the industry with it.

And last, limit yourself on these. With so many being rushed into live action remakes, I feel like Pixar films aren’t far behind. And now that Universal is getting into it by remaking Dreamwork’s How To Train Your Dragon, we seem to be on a path of over abundance. Wild, as we seem to already be there, but it’s getting worse.

I would much rather see a remake that takes a new path come out every few years, than the constant barrage we have now.

Thank you again for the question,

Doris.

#animation #doris doodle #toontown #dawn doodle #cartoon #doris and dawn #doris #animated #disney #disney remakes #live action remakes #opinion post