On chapter 15 of Endless Winter currently, and loving every moment of it but the lead up to some projects and finals is gonna gear up within the next week so I won't be able to finish as fast as I would like to. Given that, I wanted to verbally dog ear my place & jot down some thoughts before they escaped me (particularly my appreciation for the way you portray character dynamics and the nuance you provide that I could sit and stew on for hours).
I've been enjoying Rutherford and Pinefrost's interactions a great deal. I get the feeling he loves infodumping about his interests, and particularly likes how good a listener, as well as perceptive, that Pinefrost is. She's sharp in more ways than one! and I also particularly adore the way Pinefrost often uses his explanations and points when he is explaining things to her as an anchor for her wandering mind during the present in a way that doesn't make her feel as though she's out of the loop or excluded unlike past scenes when the gang is discussing whether to stay or leave the domicile. Those two bounce off one another so well, and in such a way that it makes it so apparent how isolated Pinefrost has been even amongst her surviving group, and even before that when Creek Clan was still intact. Her loneliness has been really keen in previous chapters, and it's nice to see her feeling like she has a companion that shows her just as many new things as she can with honing Rutherford different skills.
That being said, while I really enjoy Rutherford, I don't know if I trust him fully. He's been dependable and a great source of support for the group, but I can't help wondering about his intentions. Perhaps he just wants company! But it strikes me as odd that he's giving away resources when he was so skeptical of Pinefrost giving Sedgenose her fresh kill, and is directing them all out of the city purely out of the goodness of his heart and during the thick of winter, no less. It makes me wonder to what end he plans to act as a tag along with the group, and not to mention he'd have to make the entire trip back to the city by himself once they get to the river! He seems like too much of an intellectual city slicker to want to rough it with the gang when/if they reunite with the clans... clan??? (Creekwood consolidation with the survivors perhapseth???) Surely he's not doing all this JUST because he met our intriguing mule headed protagonist, could he?
Crackpot theory but maybe he's not leading them to where he say he is- but then again he hasn't lied even with the explanation of the atom to Pinefrost. Crackpot theory #2, he seems to have observed Pinefrost's reluctance to leave, and her feelings of insecurity that she confided over what they have the possibility to come back to with the clans and I have to wonder if he'll use that to either isolate her (unhealthy option) or encourage her (healthier alternative!!!) to stay with him instead. The summary certainly implies so! Crackpot theory #3 combination of both #1 & #2.
Then a random comment and some purely satirical jokes that are essentially nonsense, feel free to skip;
"She had one option, and that was through. Through the winter, through the atom."
SO INCREDIBLY METAL, LOVE THIS. HAUNTING, GUT WRENCHING, TRAGIC IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE- A CAR CRASH YOU CAN'T AVOID OR REDIRECT. So much of ch 11 in particular to be honest! Rutherford's entire explanation left me with dreams. I left it waking up and checking my little kitty cat's nose for black ash.
Pinefrost: Oh yeah we knew this would happen, sedgefrost had a vision from star clan that the great light would take us out :/
Rutherford: the FUCK? the HUH?
Everytime Sedgenose or Woolycloud have an interaction with Pinefrost, I'm that one twitter reaction video, "-and she's the mother, she's mother earth, she is mother gaia, she is YOUR mother 👁👄👁"
I AM ON THE FUVKING FLOOR WITH THOSE MEMES THATS SO FUCKING FUNNY
Good luck with your exams!!!
"I get the feeling he loves infodumping about his interests, and particularly likes how good a listener, as well as perceptive, that Pinefrost is" - It’s kinda shown but Rutherford starts talking to Sedge and Wooly first before diverting to Pinefrost, he couldn’t get the same conversation about the world and atom and stuff from them; they really just click. If they had a glass porch table and a bottle of wine they’d talk for hours and hours. They are both very curious cats, for better or worse.
"Those two bounce off one another so well, and in such a way that it makes it so apparent how isolated Pinefrost has been even amongst her surviving group, and even before that when Creek Clan was still intact" - they do have such good chemistry imho. I wanted Rutherford to be a friend for Pinefrost, genuinely. She is a very lonely little cat. As is he, they are both on each others level, she is able to understand his city/atom terms where other cats cannot, and he is eager to learn more about the world outside the city. Pinefrost needs that understanding/knowledge of the world to feel more secure, and Rutherford gives it her in spades.
"it strikes me as odd that he's giving away resources when he was so skeptical of Pinefrost giving Sedgenose her fresh kill, and is directing them all out of the city purely out of the goodness of his heart" -everything is a means to an end ;) As for your theories… i love em both. I love getting people’s midway theories!
There is no way but through!!!
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[Fallow decides to clean around the office while Watts is away, but does so rather...unconventionally.]
transcript:
ah, sir? [cartoon blink/head shake sfx]
he must've left already...and did he leave his journal out? [swipe sfx] oh nah yeahyeahyeah i can take care of things, i can take care of things! it's cute that he mentioned me- i mean come on, this place is a mess, it's time someone tidied up. and, uh, [gulp] it looks like there's no...wizards...around to complain...?
Hoho, let's go.
[sung] Oh, I am...
Just a little rusty, sir, your desk is kinda dusty,
and I'm not sure this'll work because your antimagic's fussy but
I'm doin' it, I'm tappin' to the wonder of the dream
The hue that flows behind the notes and binds me at the seams
And sure, it doesn't do much-- 'til the acid sequence starts
But it's all rhyme and rhythm when you're... secretly a bard!
[spoken] why's it secret, again... Oh, right: we can't have our own community because of the fucking Witcher!
A batch of books upon his desk because he stayed up late
will shelve themselves in order if i know just what to say
I'll flip his journal closed, you know, it's just to be polite
And open up the curtains, let the darkness give to bright
I know that being miserable's the default starting card
But if you learn to LET YOUR WIGGLES FLY then that's just how you bard!!
[spoken] You know what...i think this could go a bit faster. How about we try something a little more... emotional?
Oh, sir, I know, sir
Your pain runs dark and deep
I'm not quite as oblivious
As i pretend to be
I know you only want me
for the work that i can do
But I'm just here cuz I'm a freak...
Who else would work for you~?
A vase of orange lilies like the time you planted mine
A wall of quotes so silly you can't help but crack a smile
A custom death-inspired couch I fixed up from the yard
They can't help but love or hate you--just a funky bard =]
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Would any folks from the disability side of Tumblr who have lost a limb (or were born without one) be interested in talking with me a bit?
I'm creating a graphic novel for the 10-12 age range about a girl who is training to be a knight. She loses a leg in an accident or illness and is considered "no longer a viable candidate" by the teacher, and is told to go home. Instead she takes a job taking care of the knights' horses until she can figure out what to do and ends up meeting another girl missing a leg who happens to be a smith's apprentice/inventor and who makes her own legs. The apprentice offers to make the girl a leg that she can use to continue her knight's training. I want part of it to be about adjusting to a new normal, being creative with her solutions, and working her butt off to be a knight. I have a chronic illness and a depiction that acknowledges the reality of the challenges of day to day feels really important to me.
Having the input of folks who have actually lost limbs (or were born without, since I think the apprentice will have been born without a leg) would be beyond helpful in making this realistic and grounded in the ways that matter.
This will be set in a fantasy world that has a tiny bit of steampunk feel and a lot of European fantasy feel. The knights project the realm from monsters. There is no magic, I think. The two main characters are poc and there will be queerness involved but I haven't decided whether I want the main two to be romantically involved or not! Decisions. But the main character's surrogate parent (the horsemaster) is def gonna be nonbinary.
Sorry i rambled so much, I'm just really excited!
Anyway, thanks for reading, pm me or comment if you have experiences or advice you want to share!
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