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alargehunkofdebris · 10 months

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the necessary anguish of the Good Omens 2 finale

Ah ok. So after 4 years of waiting post Season One and ten cumulative years of bookish fannery, I watched bonified New Content of Good Omens. And when those credits rolled, I sat there, not in my expected state of pleasant satisfaction, but in a state of abject shock.

I actually don’t know if I’ve ever had such a reaction to a show before. Or, rather, that I could still have such a reaction. I’m thirty, for goodness sakes – I was planning on being thrilled and charmed and entertained, not having my hands shake so much that it was hard to type a text. I wasn’t planning on losing an entire night of sleep because my heart wouldn’t stop pounding really hard, Neil. This was not expected. I had an estate sale to run the next day – by God, I needed that sleep.

Anyway. These are my thoughts on the season, and on this upswell of mourning/unhappiness at such a gut-wrenching ending. As always, this are my dumb opinions and nothing more; take with a grain of salt, etc.

I have seen a lot of suffering on Tumblr today. Everyone is in pain, and it makes sense. I, too, am in pain. But I might be in the minority, because I thanked God/Mr. Gaiman when things turned to pure pain in the end. Because narratively, despite the anguish we all feel, this is how it needs to be. And I was getting real worried there for a second.

When we have a mini-series (ie, a show with a set number of seasons) it can’t act the same as a series without a set end. We’ve got three potential seasons; therefore, they logically should behave like a three-act play, or the three acts in the standard Western movie/book plot. This middle season is the middle act, the second act. While it definitely doesn’t work exactly the same way, and needs its own story arc to work as a season, it is still functionally the middle part of one overarching plot.

And what usually happens near the end of the second act? All Is Lost, and the Dark Night of the Soul.

We NEED this to happen. This is what makes a plot delicious. If we’d had this perfect, lovely, romantic season where the stakes aren’t raised one bit and everything is fixed at the end, we would want for nothing and the gorgeous tension that keeps us waiting and watching would be lost. We wouldn’t feel that drive to create fanfics and fanart, we wouldn’t have the need to speculate or dream, because most of the tension was eased, and you just can’t have that if you want a highly anticipated third season. We’d have nothing huge and concrete to look forward to.

In fact, I was getting really worried once the Ineffable Bureaucracy started happening on screen, because I could see (I thought) past that bend in the road toward the end. I could see how this season might conclude, with big happy confessions of love and hugs and handholding (that’s all I expected, because I only expected the same chaste level of affection with both angelic/demonic couples) and then…then it’d all be over. What more could there be? I mean, there certainly could be more, but THIS is the main thing people waited for. The Happy Confession. The hug. The handholding. Whatever we got. And in my mind, having it now, at the end of season two, just wasn’t adding up – it did not fit. It couldn’t. No, we can’t have this now. It doesn’t work.

I get this peculiar thing that happens when things start getting too “everything is great!” in a story. I get the “someone needs to die” instinct. Instead of pure happiness that things are going great, there’s this feeling of intense discomfort, because I feel the weight of the shoe that’s failing to drop. I need it to drop, or else it throws off my entire standard-Western-narrative-trained brain’s balance. In the build up to The Scene, when things seem to be going swimmingly and heading directly towards the happiest and syrupiest of endings, I had to pause and pace my living room and roll around on the floor to alleviate the sheer build up of stress. Things can’t go this well. They can’t. There hasn’t been enough bad things, this is too sweet, too much. Can’t handle it. This can’t just be pure wish-fulfillment at this point; Good Omens shouldn’t work that way, it never has. We’d be happy in the moment, but then it’ll ultimately be a let down. No more danger. Nothing keeping them apart. No more tension, no more story. It was all too easy.

And then, finally, that shoe dropped. After a season of mainly getting along and being just thrilled with each other, they began to really argue. Things got horrific and serious, and I literally let out a breath of relief. I was able to watch without pausing every two minutes for a breather. Ok. Things weren’t over. This wasn’t the end. We had more to wait for.

And then it went on. The confession started, but in that gorgeously wrong way. And for the first time that season, I was actually feeling the stress of the story. Yes, there was danger throughout this season, but it was always layered with humour and wit. You didn’t get a demon scene without them doing something hilariously stupid. You didn’t get an angel scene without them being delightfully out-of-touch. The stakes were high, but they weren’t allowed to get EXTREMELY high. We never thought there was any question of them getting out of scrapes unscathed, because it was never all serious.

Never…until now. There was zero humour at this point. After 6 episodes of being pleasantly delighted, I was feeling the dread. However, I still thought I knew where it was going.

See, I thought I had it figured out. If I had any extra money, I would have bet some of it. I knew that, whilst they’d likely have some kind of subtle confession of love and caring, and perhaps a touch – a hug, or a hand-hold (like Gabe and Beez) – I knew we couldn’t expect a kiss. This is a story thirty-three years in the making, and it’s always been in that grey area. They weren’t humans; they didn’t necessarily show affection that way. Besides that, we’ve had so many TV shows that get close, but rarely ones that go all the way to smoochville. OFMD was one of the very first, but it was new. It wasn’t an old, established story from the 90s like this is. It didn’t have decades-old fans waiting with bated breath for canon content. For Good Omens, we heard it time and time again in interviews; it’s a kind of love story. They had this kind of marriage. They cared for each other. They had a bromance. It’s close, but never quite there. So I thought I knew exactly how this would go, and would be thrilled with what we got.

And then it absolutely didn’t go that way. It went exactly as far as so many hoped. And it went there like a knife to the gut.

And it was perfect.

Goddamn, what a season ending. Despite my lack of appetite and failure to sleep, I could not be happier with what Mr. Gaiman did. I am screaming crying throwing up and I’m thrilled about it.

The middle of a story is typically what drags; it never holds the highest stakes. Lord knows what we’re going to get in season three (knocking on wood), but I can only expect it to get bigger and heavier. And by God and/or Satan, am I prepared, in this deliciously painful purgatory, to wait and see.

#good omens #good omens 2 spoilers #go2 spoilers #good omens season 2 #good omens season 2 spoilers #good omens 2 #go2 #gos2 spoilers #gos2 #neil gaiman

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maaikeatthefullmoon · 10 months

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This contains Good Omens Season 2 Spoilers

It’s been a week since Good Omens S2 aired. I’m still crying. It’s been nestled in my brain. It HURTS. And today I finally figured out why it’s hurting me and why I’m clinging to the ‘theory’ I’ve developed as a coping mechanism.

First things first: I trust Neil Gaiman implicitly. He is an absolute MASTER storyteller and I know he’ll see us through to the most beautiful ending our demon, angel and the world deserve. Good Omens is the only show/story I have no worries about that I won’t love every second of it.

Anyway. My hurting & crying is Aziraphale’s reaction to Crowley’s kiss. There was no joy, no reciprocity, no softening. He doesn’t lovingly return the kiss like I want. He stands there, at best just a rigid pole, at worst he appears to be fighting it.

And that struck a personal chord. But from Crowley’s POV, and in a long-standing relationship. I live with a rigid pole that I’ve tied my life to. So I’ve just completely shoehorned my obvious trauma in there and taken it on myself. And that hurts and it’s raw and it’s kind of anguish-inducing at times.

So of course, I did what any person with trauma does and developed a coping mechanism: A Theory.

It’s not a new one, I’m not clever. Anyway, here it is:

Aziraphale is quite obviously flustered as when telling Crowley his ‘great news’, with his hands flying everywhere and eyes constantly darting outside. Crowley obviously picks up on this, after all, he told him in episode one that he knows what’s up from his tone of voice. I don’t think this was his “I’m going to pop” tone.

When Crowley kisses him, the miracle sound is heard. He also very subtly nods his head during the kiss and there appears to be an ‘aura’ as well.

I think Crowley stops time (making me ask again, just who WAS he before he fell sauntered vaguely downwards to be that powerful) and they manage to speak out of the Metatron’s view & hearing. (Perhaps even Muriel is involved?)

Whilst out of time, they then swap appearances, just like at the end of S1. …After all, Neil says S2 is a bridge between S1 & 3…

Then they come back into time, (?Aziraphale’s hand relaxes on Crowley’s back?) and we finish with them being on opposite sides to their usual ones, sudden mention of a nightingale after being told there wouldn’t be one and uncharacteristic Bentley music. Oh, and I will never forget that creepy smirk in the lift. Eek.

I’ve got other thoughts about half the street not being normal humans, but this is about my trauma response so I’m going to leave it at this.

Mr Gaiman, you’re a genius. You broke my heart in a personal way due to personal trauma but I love this show, this story, this universe that you and Sir Terry created and the entire huge team has brought to life on the screen, and obviously I adore how Michael Sheen & David Tennant have inhabited these characters and brought them to life.

Thank you 🖤

(Edited the morning after I wrote this for a little more clarity and when the rigid pole was no longer near me…which is not a euphemism…sadly)

#good omens #good omens 2 spoilers #go2 spoilers #good omens s2 #there’s so many tears #good omens season 2 #good omens 2 theory #neil gaiman #so much crying #so much angst #so much pain #sorry this is so long #sorry it gets a bit deep #michael sheen #david tennant #terry pratchett #i love good omens

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yourlakebed · 8 months

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a couple days ago I sent a letter here on tumblr to @neil-gaiman , to which he did not respond (fair enough, he was probably on strike that day from what I've seen on social media, and he also has so many asks per day that I'm honestly amazed how he manages to live his life answering so many of them). but i decided that i want to leave it here anyway. because it came out much more personal than I originally intended and I'd like to have it as a reminder to myself about these part of my life and this version of me.

so the letter goes like this:

hi, mr Gaiman!

I sincerely hope you're having a good day. I'll try to be brief, which is barely possible as I have so much to say.

first of all, I cannot put into words how thankful I am for all your work and especially for what you've done to good omens. throughout the history of tv we were queerbaited and gaslighted to the point where it was even hard to believe that what I'm seeing on the screen had actually happened, and had actually appeared on other people's screens (and I know for sure that lots of people in this fandom share this feelings of mine about season 2). and it's not only about the queerness, but the depth of the story itself. i would very much like to go into all the details about the way your art influenced me on a deep, profound level and helped me realise and accept some very vital aspects of my personality (I was in agony for two months, thank you 🖤).

secondly, I want to thank you on behalf of all your Ukrainian fans. I remember the first months of russian invasion, when was forced to move to Germany, and suddenly found myself completely isolated from everything i knew. it felt like Death, like I was practically separated from Life. so I clung to any type of mental support from the creators I new and loved before. lots of them broke my heart.. and then there were you with all your posts about our situation and encouragement of people to do everything in their power, and your participation in Lviv Book Forum with Noah Harari, and your post here about that one old Ukrainian church (yep, I remember everything!). that meant the world to me and still does.

it was summer and "Sandman". and then it was autumn, and I found myself still in Germany, still completely alone and isolated on a bench in a park reading "The Graveyard Book". and then "Good Omens". I practically used the second season to survive the august, and in the end it helped me to make one of the hardest decisions in my life. now I'm home, in Ukraine again. right now when I was writing this the air alarm went on, but I am happier than i ever had been in this past two years.

i know the chances that you'll see this are very low. but i needed to get this out of my chest and let you know how grateful I am.

and the last one - i finally got my physical copy of Good Omens, and decided to customise it myself. mostly to make the soft cover harder, but also to make it pretty✨️

thank you, mr Gaiman, for everything.

#look how i customised my good omens book!#good omens #neil gaiman #ukraine #i have no idea how to tag this #aziraphale #crowley #aziracrow #david tennant #michael sheen #aziraphale & crowley #my thoughts #my art

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themagiciansreccenter · 6 years

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Author Spotlight @echomoon

Every week we are going to be interviewing a writer from The Magicians fandom. If you would like to be interviewed or you want to nominate a writer, get in touch via our ask box.

First things first, tell us a little about yourself.

what up im jared, im 19 and i never learned how to fuckign read. JK my name is Theo and I super know how to read. Most of the time. Also I’m 22. Anyway I’m one of the more OG members of the Magicians fandom, having been here since back in the early days of early s1. Uhhh I’m nonbinary and hella queer. Metafic is my most favorite thing in the world other than puppies. I cry at least once a day. I have adhd and depression and chronic pain and hella other issues. I’m an anthropology major, in my third year. I’m a slytherin, an illusions discipline, and a pisces.

How long have you been writing for?

Since I learned how, basically, but I only really started posting things online because of the Magicians and also because of Twilight?

What inspired you to start writing for The Magicians?

It’s the BEST and I find it very easy to write from Quentin’s pov which means I actually finish things sometimes lol.

Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write? What it is about them that makes them your favourite?

Quentin, because he is essentially me if I was born as a cisdude except more repressed in terms of sexuality and also more wealthy, which makes him super easy to write and super easy to get ideas about. I also like Penny, because for some reason people think I’m good at writing him?

Do you have a preference for a particular season/point in time to write about?

I write a lot set in the Brakebills years because I like the whole magic school thing and the exploration of magic and interpersonal relationships without having to deal with the Beast or other threats trying to destroy everything they know and love? Like I like that slow burn, spread out, things are happening but they’re happening slowly and also heres some meta about magic kind of exploration that that time gives me the opportunity to do. I think this is partially influenced by that the first book has them in that setting so much longer, and partially because I’m still doing the whole college thing myself and find that easiest to relate to (because no one really wants to read ‘Quentin working two part time jobs and struggling to survive and nothing else happens’ unless it’s just a tiny segment of the fic lmao).

Are you working on anything right now? Care to give us an idea about it?

Well, in regards to Magicians fic, I’m still trudging along on chapter two of Magician’s Path - I’m trying to introduce more of Julia’s side of the story as well as working on how to warp the two canons into each other while also making the storyline unique - and also on the next part of crazy/classic/life, my paradise kiss and magicians crossover au. I’m also trying to find the time to record more podfic of my fics, because I think its important to have audiofic available. But nothing new, just continuations.

As for other fandoms, I’m working on a HELLA long reworking of the Descendants universe (hi i love disney channel movies dont judge), and that’s my primary focus right now in terms of fic.

How long is your “to do list”?

Very

What is your favourite fic that you’ve written for The Magicians? Why?

Oh heck, um… probably either all tied up or The Magician’s Path. all tied up was my first time writing PiV smut and also writing shadeless!Julia and I’m just really proud of it? And TMP is like, my baby, my huge multichapter canon reworking that I’m putting so much planning into and I’m always so excited to talk about it. I know it doesn’t seem like much yet but y’all I have so many plans for it and I hope you end up loving it as much as I do.

Many writers have a fic that they are passionate about that doesn’t get the reception from the fandom that they hoped for. Do you have a fic you would like more people to read and appreciate?

TMP for sure - I hope that when I’m done more people give it a try.

What is your writing process like? Do you have any traditions or superstitions that you like to stick to when you’re writing?

Ha my writing process is either ‘has no ideas for months straight and then suddenly idea when I’m supposed to be doing something else but I gotta write this down!!!’ or ‘one sentence every month at most’. Now that the FTB server has gotten bigger, I’ve found some people who will proofread for me, so there’s that editing process afterwards (thanks @oneeyeddestroyer for being the best beta).

I guess my only superstition is that if I’m doing a multichapter or big work I try not to give too much detail out when I talk about it because I get worried that saying about the plot too much will make me lose interest in it.

Do you write while the seasons are airing or do you prefer to wait for hiatus? How does the ongoing development of the canon influence and inspire your writing process?

I do tend to write more when the show is airing, because more people are engaged and it’s something to fill the void between episodes - during hiatus I tend to drift away a bit and focus on other fandoms. This is the first show thats been so all consuming for me, I don’t usually watch things while they air because I tend to forget about remembering to watch them after a week or so? But Magicians keeps pulling me back and keeping me in.

As for ongoing canon developments, it really depends on the thing. If it fits into my plot of it’s a detail I want to put in, I might, but otherwise I’m comfortable lifting what I want from canon and throwing the rest out for a fic - we follow a show with canon multiverses, we can do what we want lmao.

What has been the most challenging fic for you to write?

Honestly, most of my fics? Because I try to improve every time I write and like, explore new things. So whatever I’m working on at the time is the most challenging.

Are there any themes or tropes that you particularly like to explore in your writing?

EVERYONE BEING HAPPY AND NOTHING BAD HAPPENING EVER cough cough I mean, um. I like meta, I like worldbuilding and exploring meta and seeing what I can change. I keep accidentally writing soulmate fics? So that’s a trend I guess.

Are there any writers that inspire your work? Fanfiction or otherwise?

Oh heck, so many dude, I don’t even know, I’m gonna just link you to my bookmarks because that’s the fic I love and probably unconsciously imitate on the often

As for nonfic, like I def want to write like Marisha Pessl or Tamora Pierce or Donna Tartt or Lev Grossman or Mark Z Danielewski but more in his house of leaves phase than his current stuff tbh or Neil Gaiman and also like. Everything that you read or watch or experience makes up how you see the world and how you create what you create and I consume so much stuff I can’t even begin to guess my influences beyond the little tidbits that I keep in my bookmarks or on my shelves.

What are you currently reading? Fanfiction or otherwise?

Currently I’m reading a lot of harry potter fic - the mood is the department of mysteries or other exploration of magic, so things related to that. HP fic is my go to when I’m not revving for any fandom in particular. Nonfic, I’m working my way through Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, which is hella fucking good, as well as a bajillion textbooks.

What is the most valuable piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given?

Fuck canon do what you want

Cringe time:

Are there any words or phrases you worry about over using in your work?

Yes but now that you ask can I remember any? Nope.

What was the first fanfic that you wrote? Do you still have access to it?

Oh shit dude I don’t even know. The earliest one I can remember was this like, post twilight self insert fic where the cullens came to my middle school for some reason? I barely finished the intro of it iirc but it might still be in my stack of papers in my old room somewhere.

Rapid Fire Round:

Self-edit or Beta? Beta (always get a beta kids! They’re worth their weight in gold)

Comments or Kudos/Reblogs or Likes? Comments!! (please, leave me comments, i live for them)

Smut, Fluff or Angst? fluff

Quick & Dirty or Slow Burn? Slow burn

Favourite season? All?????? Dont make me choose

Favourite episode? Im stuck between life in a day or all that josh

Favourite book(The Magicians books)? Probably book 2, i love seeing julia’s side of things and exploring hedge magic

Three favourite words? BUTTS, lore, hearth

Want to be interviewed for our author spotlight? Get in touch here.

#the magicians rec center #author spotlight #author spotlight: echomoon

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mask131 · 6 years

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Okay, some Media news

Thanks to @cinnamonandfeathers for warning me about it: @neil-gaiman confirmed on Twitter that New Media is an new separate character from Media, and that Media is not dead (and may, maybe, one day come back).

Sorry about the small freakout I had in my previous post about Media, but because of all the articles calling New Media an “updated” version or a “rebooted” version of Media, I was starting to believe that Media may have been “killed” (or rather since we’re talking of gods “forgotten”) off-screen, which would be completely illogical with the American God world’s rules.

Anyway, now theory time is here again!

So here’s my bet: Mr. World put Media “off” the current Wednesday-Shadow Moon business after seeing her failure. She was probably given some other job, maybe recruiting the New Gods and preparing them for the war. Meanwhile, Mr. World replaced Media by the younger and more efficient New Media to interract with the Old Gods/ennemies/our heroes.

Or maybe, New Media will have a more important role in this second season because she will be the one organizing all of the war logistic on the New Gods side? Because if she is the embodiment of social media, her being the New Gods war-general wouldn’t be too illogical, in our day and age, right?

And just a crazy thought, but, who here is seeing a Technical Boy X New Media ship coming? The two sides of the Internet... or maybe New Media will rather act as a sister to Technical Boy? Like a twin sister, or something?

The New God family is growing!

Well, we still have until next year, to place your bets, boys and girls! Come on, post your theories, as crazy as they sound, and we will see who is the winner!

#media #new gods #new mythology #american gods #new pantheon #new media #Technical Boy

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dailybestiary · 7 years

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Knight & Megapon Ants

Knight ants are a special caste of ants dedicated to defending their colony’s home. They grow particularly wide heads to protect their colonymates, who also benefit from the greater coordination signaled by the knight ants’ pheromones.

Megapon ants, meanwhile, have the rare distinction of being (in the editions I own, anyway) the only Bestiary species I’ve seen to not merit a description. (Heck, I can’t even Google a good definition for megapon.) But at CR 6, they’re nothing to sneeze at; they can carry prodigious amounts of weight; and their Strength-sapping poison suggests the sting of a fire ant or some aggressive, prehistoric lineage.

A clan of dwarves uses alchemical scents to tame and coax behaviors out of their ant livestock. A local war calls most of the clan elders away from the hold, and when they return they discover that the artificial scents have spoiled. Their knight ant guards now bar the way to the lower levels, no longer recognizing the dwarves as friends.

A martial arts master with some training as a druid believes in basing his forms and stances off of those in nature. In order to learn his specialized skills (in game terms, teamwork feats), adventurers must study knight ants in the tunnels of their hill—without killing a single one.

Adventurers are racing through the canopy of the great god’s-home trees, fleeing cannibals hot on their trail. They come across a column of megapon ants using their bodies to create a bridge for themselves and their giant aphid thralls. If the adventurers can find a way to sneak across the ant bridge, they will easily lose their pursuers. Otherwise they might have to fight the enormous ants and the kuru-maddened cannibals at the same time.

—Pathfinder Bestiary 5 27

I recently relistened to the audiobook version of Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, read by the outstanding Simon Prebble. I first listened to it during a massive, speeding ticket-filled, two-day road trip from San Francisco to Portland via Crater Lake several years ago. I’m happy to say I loved it then—so much so that in my hunger for more I discovered Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series and Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey–Maturin books—and I loved it now—so much so that I accrued $28 in overdue fines because I had other books checked out and didn’t want to give any of them back. (If you throw in the speeding tickets, that’s compelling evidence that good books make me make bad choices, apparently.)

JS&MN truly is an extraordinary book—all the more so because it’s a first novel. (Neil Gaiman’s quote about a fragment from one of Clarke’s early drafts—“It was like watching someone sit down to play the piano for the first time and she plays a sonata”—still holds up.) The true-to-the-1800s language, the sense of place, and the treatment of academic arguments as being as important as a battle are nearly perfect. I love the characters; I love the world; I love the faerie lore; I love almost everything.

Because I love it so much, certain things still drive me nuts. Most of these little things are insufficiently answered (to my mind, at least) questions or breakdowns in verisimilitude: How can Mr Norrell justify obstructing the progress of all other magicians if he publicly claims to want to restore English magic…why does Childermass remain with Mr Norrell for so long even after the meanness of his master’s character is revealed…why do Lady Pole and Stephen Strange’s maladies go so long undiagnosed, even with a faerie glamour to blame…things like that. In reality, the book may be better for not answering these questions, but they still leave me fidgety with agitation.

A second listen did also confirm a major beef I had the first time I listened to it, though: It is a figure eight of a work, its whole shape constantly circling around two black holes of noninformation.

The first is that the actual working of magic is barely shown and never explained. Clarke has said that she “really like[s] magicians,” but weirdly she seems willing to gloss over the magic they do almost entirely. (Early in the book this is amusing—even the characters are impatient to see magic done—but by 2/3s of the way in it’s infuriatingly coy.) We almost never get a sense of how it feels for the magicians to do magic, or why these two men have succeeded where almost no one else has. (That they were prophesied doesn’t cut it.) It’s a staggeringly strange omission, especially to a fantasy fan audience used to reading about how it feels to come into one’s power, whatever that power may be. Strange in particular stumbles into magic and then the narrative curtain closes; when it reopens he is already a thaumaturgical Mozart. That is, as the South Park kids would say, some total BS right there.

The second problem is that this is a work of alternate history that refuses to share its alternate history. True, the novel purports to be written by someone from Strange’s acquaintance only a generation or so later, so much of this knowledge is assumed to be held by the reader. But despite all its many, many, many footnotes, the book barely gives us a coherent alternate timeline, and so much of how the novel’s history diverges from our own is unclear. (For comparison, Philip K. Dick is a downright clumsy author compared to Clarke, but I can tell you more about the history of Man in the High Castle, and it’s a mere pamphlet next to the Bible-fat JS&MN.) I don't need much more detail, but I do need more.

Worse yet, not only has Clarke created a fictional northern England with a fictional Raven King that we don't know enough about, but she also seems to have fallen a little in love with him. (Strong evidence of this is that the characters positively won’t shut up about him; he even gives his name to the novel’s third act.) It is dangerous to fall in love with fictional people or settings, and doing so is a surefire way to undermine the story. (Notice, for instance, how Tolkien burns the Shire, and how J. K. Rowling—whose writerly smarts are often underrated—is careful to get her characters out of Hogwarts after the love letter to it that is The Order of the Phoenix. Now compare that to, say, The Name of the Wind, which struck me as loving its central character just a bit too much, or the insufferable anime Clamp School Detectives, whose love for its own impossible setting is a veritable fountain of onanism (see what I did there?) that eventually feels like a taunt to the viewer who will never attend there. You can’t love your fictional children too hard, and Clarke loves John Uskglass.

So as I said, a great novel, but a figure eight thanks to these two crucial holes. Do not under *any* circumstances let these prevent you from reading it though!

Unfortunately, a new qualm came up as I was listening this time: the novel’s hagiography of Englishness. In a 2005 interview with Locus, Susanna Clarke practically quoted Tolkien word for word in her lament that England did not have a myth of its own. (Sidebar: English culture is odd in that its most famous legend, Beowulf, takes place in Denmark, a divorce of a people from its mythic geography that seems to really bother certain writers. In fact, this lack is responsible for both The Silmarillion and JS&MN. King Arthur doesn’t work for them for some reason; he’s either too British rather than English—a distinction too arcane for my American mind, but there it is—or too Welsh, and his legend has definitely become too French. Robin Hood doesn’t work either, for some reason, despite his being safely nestled in the East Midlands. The tl;dr of all this is that there is no understanding the English mythic imagination when you’re a fat Yank git.) So Clarke fills JS&MN with her love for England—its people, its cities, and its countryside, especially the North, where she revels in its preindustrial wildness. And Englishness as a laudatory attribute fills nearly every page. (More on this can be found over on Wikipedia, but don’t go there until you’ve read/listened to the book, because it’s spoiler central.)

The thing is though, Clarke is smart enough to know that glorifying England, Englishness, Englishmen (emphasis on the “men” there), and king/queen and country has caused a lot of pain for other folks in the world. So she works very hard to undercut this worship of Englishness, giving strong roles to women, nonwhite, and poor characters, and amplifying their voicelessness in the society of that time through the narrative. It’s all a genius balancing act, and it all serves to intentionally undercut and deflate the project of England worship that the novel is busily engaged in…

…And yet, Englishness, in the end, wins out. England remains the hero. The English countryside itself is instrumental in turning the tide in the final encounter. Lovely, lush, green, hilly, moor-covered England is still the hero.

Which should be all well and good, but… Well, I’m just not on board with cheering for England right now.

I’m a Top Gear fan. And I watched Jeremy Clarkson’s no-one-is-better-than-us casual racism—as an American I’m spared the overt racism of his other appearances—wax stronger with every season, slowly curdling my affection. And I watched Brexit throw my expatriate scientist friends’ careers into a tumult and imperil their research. It was also, more to the point, a triumph of Englishness over the needs of Britishness.

And here on this side of the pond, I’ve watched a similar dynamic play out, as many Americans have taken to celebrating America—or at least, their mean, small-minded, and resentful notion of it—to the point that pride of place and race have become more important than the principals that make America work.

So I still love JS&MN. And I think you should read and even love JS&MN. And zero of what I’ve said in the previous two paragraphs is Susanna Clarke’s fault. But in JS&MN, a country is a character—the protagonist even. And right now, in 2017, loving a place more than people doesn’t feel that good.

So I’m going to return JS&MN back to the library for another 7 years or so, or maybe for longer. And the next time I get it out, I hope I’ve fallen back in love with England and America.

Because that is the magic I most want to see.

#pathfinder #paizo #3.5 #dungeons & dragons #dungeons and dragons #d&d #dnd #knight ant #megapon ant #ant #vermin #jonathan strange and mr norrell #jonathan strange & mr norrell #susanna clarke

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spiceukonline · 7 years

Text

'American Gods' Review (TV Show)

Dialogue

Acting

Development

Shock Factor

Visuals

2017-07-12

4.0/FIVE

ANYONE who’s a fan of Hannibal knows that anything made by its creator, Bryan Fuller, will not be for the faint-hearted.

Alongside Michael Green, Fuller brings us American Gods. Based on the bestselling novel by Neil Gaiman, the show centres on Shadow Moon (Ricky Wittle), who is released early from prison after his wife (Emily Browning) dies in a car accident. With nothing left, Shadow finds himself working for a man known as Mr Wednesday as he travels across America recruiting soldiers for a mysterious war. Shadow soon discovers that this mysterious war is being fought between The Old Gods and The New Gods.

Source: wildhunt.org

Having never heard of the book prior to its TV adaption, I was drawn by its intriguing concept. The people of the modern world are not worshipping The Old Gods as much as they used to (think Anubis, Odin, Bilquis, jinn from Islamic mythology, and leprechauns.) Just to say, a six-foot-five leprechaun played by Orange is the New Black‘s Pablo Schreiber is one of the best characters on the show – despite being a massive arse.

The six-foot-five leprechaun in question… Photograph: wikia

Anyway, these Old Gods are getting weaker as they exist purely from humans worshipping and following them. Bilquis, an Old Goddess of love once revered for her sexuality, is reduced to living on the streets and then having to use a dating app to find worshippers. A jinn who emigrated from the Middle East finds himself working as a taxi driver in New York. And Anubis – the Egyptian god of the afterlife – owns a funeral parlour.

Thanks to our modern obsession with social media, new ways of ‘worshipping’ have birthed New Gods – Media (Gillian Anderson), Technical Boy (Bruce Langley), and Mr. World (Crispin Glover).

Gillian Anderson and her many faces. Photograph: geektown.co.uk

Modern people are constantly worshipping and strengthening these Gods, despite being completely unaware that this is what they are doing. Gillian Anderson of The X-Files fame pulls out all of her acting skills for her role as Media: a personification of television and entertainment. Throughout the series, Anderson portrays a multitude of famous characters from TV and film including Ziggy Stardust, Marilyn Monroe, and Lucy Ricardo.

A word of warning: Do not watch this show with your parents. I made this mistake after witnessing Bilquis (Yetide Badaki) literally suck a man into her vagina, which whilst admirable is not family friendly viewing.

“A word of warning- do not watch this show with your parents.”

Granted the show is full of explicit sex scenes and is probably blowing most of their budget on fake blood, but American Gods isn’t just an excuse for sex, guts and gore; it also involves great storytelling. Each episode begins with a ‘Coming to America’ chapter which focuses on a different group of people throughout history coming to America and the Old Gods they brought with them. From ships transporting slaves as well as their trickster spider God Anansi to the first Siberian immigrants to North America whose Old God dies after being forgotten.

Each episode begins with a ‘Coming to America’ chapter which focuses on a different group of people throughout history coming to America and the Old Gods they brought with them. From ships transporting slaves as well as their trickster spider God Anansi to the first Siberian immigrants to North America whose Old God dies after being forgotten.

From left to right; Shadow Moon, Bilquis and Mr Nancy. Photograph: shadowandact.com

Also, the title sequence is ingenious, combining religious and mythological imagery with modern images, from a Buddha surrounded by party drugs and a fibre optic Medusa to a smartphone brandishing Ganesha and a crucified astronaut.

The show’s only critical flaw was the season finale; primarily the fact that I didn’t even realise it was the season finale. Abrupt and lacklustre, the final episode is disappointing and lets the rest of the season down.

The entire first season of American Gods if currently available on Amazon Prime, so go and binge the whole thing right now, for god’s sake.

#amazon prime #American Gods #Kyle Grizzell #tv #TV Review

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