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danielscarcello · 2 months

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Field of Lucid Dreams

Because I had a hard time getting my novel picked up, I decided to publish my short stories — my collection of coincidences — as a blog, hoping I would gain some traction that way. And before I even wrote a single post, a series of events proved this was the right choice.

At the library where I work, a book came across my desk, called Proof of Heaven, which was about a neurosurgeon who has a near-death experience and describes his vision of the afterlife. It was inside a box full of donated books. I stacked the donations on a cart to shelve them when Sarah, one of my colleagues, stopped me.

“Got one more for you,” she said. She handed me a picture book called Holly, which had a black cat on the cover.

As I filed away the books, I picked up Proof of Heaven and flipped through it. I found a withered prayer card tucked in the book, on page 24; someone must have used as it as a bookmark and forgot about it. I opened the card with one hand, while holding the book open with the other, and one word on the page, from this passage, happened to catch my eye.

Then, out of nowhere, I shouted three words. They were crystal clear, and heard by all the doctors and nurses present, as well as by Holley, who stood a few paces away, just on the other side of the curtain.

“God, help me!”

Holley.

Sarah had just handed me a book called — Holly. I put down Proof of Heaven and picked up Holly, and the first sentence said that last November, we lost our 14-year-old cat named Holly.

That was when Marianne came to mind. Marianne’s birthday was on November 14th. Her father died last year, after a long, grueling illness.

Instead of putting Proof of Heaven on the shelf, I kept it aside for her.

She texted me a few days later: “So I guess I have to read that book now. Last night, this lady at work mentioned that baseball movie, Field of Dreams. Later, I watched this YouTube video, and it mentioned Field of Dreams too. The crazy thing is that the video was about near-death experiences — just like the book.”

“Holy shit!” I wrote.

When I thought about Field of Dreams, I remembered this strange this little episode that took place the night before.

“Here’s another baseball coincidence for you,” I wrote. “Last night I was at Pita Land getting shawarma. I was standing in line, watching TV, and a headline flashed across the screen: ‘Jays sign new infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa’. But I caught it so quickly that I could have sworn it said infidel, not infielder. I stood by the TV, waiting for the headline to loop back around, so I could see what it actually said. And his name sounded just like what was on the menu — Falafel.”

She sent me a laughing emoji.

“It’s interesting,” she went on. “I never get any signs from my dad, and I want one so badly.”

A few days later, it was New Year’s Eve, and I spent the night at Robb’s place. At one point, he put on the new Dave Chappelle Netflix special: The Dreamer.

Thinking about Field of Dreams, I listened to his monologue, my eyes fixed on the screen.

In your life, at any given moment, the strongest dream in that moment wins that moment. I am a very powerful dreamer. I dreamed tonight as a fourteen-year-old boy, and I’m living it as a fifty-year-old man…

This gave me such a renewed sense of determination to publish my collection of coincidences online. Even if no publisher in the world wanted my book, I would still chase my dream.

And so, the next day, I set out to write my first blog post. I closed my eyes and waited for an idea to come to me. My thoughts went back to Pita Land, and I remembered how on that morning, at work, a bunch of us were talking about obscure horror movies; someone had brought up a documentary about the Donner Party, the group of American pioneers who were trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains and resorted to cannibalism to survive. Now, just before I saw the headline about Kiner-Falefa, I noticed — for the first time in all the years I’d been eating shawarma — one particular item on the menu: Beef Doner.

With a shudder, I started jotting all this down, wondering how I would string this together into a something worth reading. At first, I couldn’t figure it out, and so I took a break. With obscure horror movies on my mind, I started scrolling through YouTube, looking for something to watch. Then I found a channel called Renegade Films.

At random, I clicked a video called “Who Let Him Make This Movie?”. The movie, which I knew nothing about, was Babylon. As it turned out, much to my delight, Babylon was directed by Damien Chazelle — whose name echoed Dave Chappelle.

When it was over, another video on the channel, right next to the one about Babylon, caught my attention: “The Perfectly Logical Reason This Director Ate His Shoe (inspiring)”.

The director was Werner Herzog. It was about the time Herzog promised Errol Morris he would eat his shoe if he finished a movie about pet cemeteries he was working on. And, as I later read on Wikipedia, “In 1978, when the film Gates of Heaven premiered, Herzog cooked and publicly ate his shoe.”

Pet Cemeteries. Holly. The lost cat. Proof of Heaven. Gates of Heaven.

In other words, the perfectly logical reason this director ate his shoe was so that it would serve as a call to fearlessly chase your dreams. He said:

If I abandon this project, I would be a man without dreams, and I don’t want to live like that. I live my life, or I end my life with this project. All these dreams are yours as well… we have to articulate ourselves otherwise we would be cows in the field.

Field of Dreams.

My head was spinning. Finally, I read the Wikipedia page on Field of Dreams. And the first paragraph absolutely blew me away. Field of Dreams was based on a novel by W.P Kinsella called — Shoeless Joe.

The Perfectly Logical Reason This Director Ate His Shoe.

Frantically, I kept clicking all the links on Wikipedia, writing down all the connections I found — including the fact W.P Kinsella wrote a book called Butterfly Winter, Proof of Heaven had a blue butterfly on its cover, and Werner Herzog directed a movie called Fitzcarraldo, about a man determined to transport a steamship over a hill in the Amazon basin in order to build an opera house.

Field of Dreams gave us the phrase, “If you build it, they will come.”

If you build your website…

– they will come.

Finally, I jumped back to the Wikipedia page for Field of Dreams. In the movie, Ray, who was unable to reconcile with his father before he died, hears the ghost of “Shoeless” Joe Jackson tell him to build a baseball diamond in a cornfield. If you build it, they will come. Throughout the film, Ray sees the ghost of “Shoeless Joe” and other dead baseball players. Then, during a game, when the catcher removes his mask, Ray recognizes him as his father as a young man.

I stopped reading at that point, and I thought about something Dave Chappelle said:

You have to be wise enough to know when you’re living in your dream, and you have to be humble enough to accept when you’re in someone else’s…

All this time, I thought the coincidences were all about my writing, my blog — my dreams. But then I remembered what Marianne said about her father. And I knew I had to be humble enough to accept this wasn’t for me. It was for her.

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atmilliways · 3 years

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On the 5th day of Dethmas this writer gives to thee…

Dec 17 - Putting up decorations!

Nathan/Charles to go with some stick figure art I drew, like, a decade ago haha.

This Is Very Unsafe

Nathan had been thinking—a dangerous pastime, he knew, but it was either that or drink until he literally vomited out all the weird feelings swimming around in his guts, and that was a no-go because he’d already tried that. Charles had given him a disapproving look for needing another liver transplant again so soon. That look, weeks later, still haunted Nathan.

The problem was that Charles was the problem.

Ever since he’d died, Nathan had been drowning in trying to remember how the guy ran everything, hoping to somehow manage Dethklok himself and avoid replacing someone who, it turned out, was really fucking irreplaceable. No one else had any right to sit behind that desk, although Nathan had done it in the hopes of channeling some latent CFO wisdom to try and get his band out of the hole they’d dug themselves into.

Then, poof, Charles had turned out to be not dead after all. But nine months of drowning didn’t just go away; ever since their manager’s return, Nathan had felt as though he’d crawled from a bottomless ocean into a desert and now, ironically, was dying of thirst.

He’d been thinking, and thinking, and then thinking some more. He’d acted out by dating Trindle, to see if Charles would have any sort of reaction, but if he did then that was one hell of a poker face. After the explosion at Klokikon and taking approximately one hundred showers, Nathan had come to the conclusion that what he’d really liked about Trindle (aside from the rockin’ tits) was that she’d wrapped her entire life and identity around him—something hadn’t even begun to occur to until he’d grabbed an offered hand for help up the last couple rungs into the dethkopter, looked up, and realized that the hand he held was Charles’.

Every day, all the time, Charles was there. His life revolved around Dethklok so literally that he’d died and then come back from the dead for them. The only reason Nathan had let go of his hand was because his bandmates were right on his ass trying to climb to safety too, and he had to get out of the way.

The whole thing had caught him by surprise. For one thing, Charles did not have rockin’ tits.

After much reflection, he’d come to the conclusion that maybe that wasn’t such a dealbreaker. He was starting to get that feeling around the guy, like back in high school when he’d had a crush on the head cheerleader and whenever he tried to talk to her he either went non-verbal or everything came out sounding angry and sullen.

So . . . he had a crush on his manager. Great.

And it was driving him fucking nuts. Did Charles even like guys? If he didn’t, would he make an exception for Nathan Explosion? If he did, was Nathan Explosion even his type? Nathan liked to think that he was everyone’s type, being famous and all . . . but that wasn’t likely to impress a man who’d held his hair back while he puked blood onto yet another operating room floor after lying about when he’d last eaten again.

But Christmas was coming up, and the holiday season was all about having a good time with the people you didn’t hate being around and making . . . fond memories and cookies and shit. As tongue-tied and stupid as Nathan always felt around Charles now, surely the holiday could offer something to talk to him about. Even if it was just about—

“Christmas decorations,” Charles repeated. His right eyebrow eased upwards a fraction of an inch.

“Yeah,” Nathan growled in confirmation, standing firmly in the manager’s office. “All over the Haus.”

“What kind—”

“All of them. All kinds.”

“. . . Okay. All kinds of decorations.” Charles made a note on the legal pad on his desk. “Live greenery or artificial?”

Nathan barely avoided saying ‘Huh? ’ out loud, because he hadn’t actually anticipated any questions. He scowled hard as he thought faster than he’d ever thought before in his life. “Uhhh . . . live.”

“Alright, I’ll have a team of Klokateers—”

“No I’ll do it. I’ll tell them what to get, I know what Christmas looks like,” Nathan snapped, and wondered why he kept interrupting. Fuck. Charles was probably getting real annoyed somewhere behind that poker face.

Charles paused, then put his pen down. “I, ah, didn’t mean to imply that you don’t.”

“Well . . . good.” Nathan crossed his arms and shifted his weight from foot to foot, feeling like he should say more in order to not sound like such a jackass. “Uh, I’ll take care of the live stuff. You can do the rest, if you want.”

“Hm.” With an unreadable expression, Charles picked the pen back up. “I’m assuming you’d like the same as previous years, then? Everything in red, black, and silver?”

Nathan nodded. “And lots of candles this time,” he added, because candles were romantic and shit. Made for good mood lighting and creepy shadows.

“Lots of candles. Right.” Charles wrote that down too. His eyes flicked up to Nathan again. “Anything else?”

That’s when Nathan’s voice decided to desert him again, and he shook his head. He left shortly after, tugging his dethphone out of his pocket and searching ‘live Christmas decorations’ since he’d just fucking given himself that job. The conversation hadn’t even been worth it, all he’d done was snap at Charles again. Scowling, he thumbed through the search results and found pretty much what he’d expected.

Evergreens, ugh. Sure.

Pinecones, painful with thrown. Acceptable.

Logs. At least those could get set on fire.

Cinnamon sticks? No, Pickles would get drunk, try to eat them, and then whine about cinnamon buns.

Holly, fuck no. Not since that year Murderface had tried to make “homemade cranberry sauce.”

. . . Mistletoe.

A slow grin spread across Nathan’s broad face. Mistletoe. He could work with that.

By the start of the week before Christmas, everything was in place. Mordhaus was practically dripping with evergreen garlands and there was a dedicated contingent of Klokateers in charge of going around and making sure all the candles were either relit or replaced the moment they burned out, round the clock. In the pre-noon hours before the rest of the band was awake, at Nathan’s signal, the mistletoe was hoisted over the living room hot tub with care.

This took several Klokateers to accomplish, as Nathan had decided that mistletoe, a parasite, would be much more badass if hung up while still attached to its uprooted host tree. He settled into the hot tub beneath it with a mug of spiked eggnog and waited. Charles always showed up whenever any member of Dethklok did something stupid; all he had to do was wait.

Charles entered the room about fifteen minutes later, which Nathan found kind of flattering. He walked in eyeing the suspended tree warily, as though it might fall at any moment, and only glanced down at the front man when he’d reached just a bit closer than minimum safe distance. “Good morning, Nathan. May I, ah, ask what you’re doing?”

Nathan shrugged, stretching both arms out to rest casually along the edge of the hot tub. “Hanging out.” His stomach was doing spins and somersaults, but he was determined to play it cool.

Charles’ mouth compressed into a thin line—not that Nathan was staring or anything. “Under a tree? Nathan, please. I know you wanted to have some creative control in the decorations this year, but this is very unsafe.”

“Nope.”

“. . . Excuse me?”

“I’m hanging out,” Nathan explained, “under a tree with mistletoe in it.” He waited a beat. “I’m under the mistletoe.”

At that predetermined signal, a listening Klokateer dimmed the living room lights down to a faint glow, accentuated by flickering candlelight that lit the edges of the cavernous room like low-hanging stars. There were no lower windows, but the upper ones were shuttered to add to the sense of ethereal gloom.

“Ah. . . .” Charles looked around, trying to determine why the light levels were changing, but the Klokateer had already ducked out per Nathan’s instructions. “What’s going on?”

Okay, here it was. Moment of truth. And hey, if it went badly he could always say, Wasn’t me, it was the mistletoe and retreat to his room to get over this crush which would surely be smashed to pieces by robot-like rejection.

Nathan rose from the hot tub, knowing that the candlelight made his wet skin shine like one of those jacked dudes on the cover of romance novels. He automatically sucked his stomach in a little. “I’m under the mistletoe,” he said again, and his face felt warm but hopefully in the dimness it was hard to tell. “So, uh. That means you have to kiss me.”

“Kiss. . . ?” Charles started. He trailed off as Nathan took the first step away from the hot tub, black swim trunks dripping softly on the stone floor.

It was only one more step to reach the man, and Nathan took it. Took him by the shoulders, getting chlorinated water all over Charles’ expensive suit, and pulled him close, all but yanking him into a very self-conscious kiss in which Nathan was totally overthinking what to do with his crappy thin lips, eyes closed in concentration.

His eyes flew open when he felt Charles grab onto his arms and, instead of pushing him away, held on with completely unexpected strength. It was Charles who took control and deepened the kiss, maneuvering expertly until Nathan’s eyes drifted closed again, forgetting to be self-conscious and just . . . kissing back.

Fuck. Who knew that Charles would be such a good kisser? Totally worth it.

“Wow,” Nathan breathed when the kiss ended, their mouths still hovering mere millimeters apart.

Charles cleared his throat, not moving away either. “I second that. This was, ah, not what I was expecting when I came in here, but, well.” His gaze shifted pointedly towards Nathan’s kiss-bruised lips. “I suppose this sheds a new light on why you were so interested in decorating this Christmas.”

Above them, the hanging tree creaked. They glanced up at it in unison.

“Would you, ah, like to continue this discussion in my office?”

“. . . Yeah,” Nathan said with a slow grin. “Yeah, let’s do that.” He followed Charles, grabbing a towel along the way to dry off with.

Fuck yeah, mistletoe. Worked like a charm.

#metalocalypse #12 days of dethmas #nathan/charles #nathan explosion #charles foster offdensen #metalocalypse fanfic

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fortunatelylori · 5 years

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Next to being married, a girl likes to be crossed in love now and then

Thoughts on Sanditon finale

It is a truth universally acknowledged that you should never blog in anger. Last night’s Sanditon episode left the entire fandom in a state of uproar. Cancelations have been issued. Curses have been cast and tears have been shed … those were mostly mine, to be fair.

For once I decided not to start furiously typing just as the episode ended but wait out the inevitable momentary fury and return to the episode tonight for a second viewing. I have to thank @and-holly-goes-lightly and @kitten1618x for putting up with my temper tantrums late last night on private chat so all of you nice people wouldn’t have to endure my more volcanic outbursts. Being far more reasonable people than I, they pointed out the grayness in a sea of black and white and made me reconsider the episode.

In addition I would advise anyone to do a second viewing of the episode if you haven’t done so yet. Reason being that your first viewing of something that you are so deeply invested in will always be heated. I could hardly pay attention last night to the scenes I was watching because I was so desperate to get to the ending. On top of that, the reality of what you see on screen will fight with the theory you’ve already made in your head and more often than not you end up disliking canon not because it’s bad but because it’s not what you thought you were going to see.

That being said, after a thorough rewatch, I have to declare this episode as one of the finest finales to a season I’ve seen. I say finale to the season, not the series because as a series finale it would be more than a little disappointing. But if there is one silver lining to take from this episode is that we are getting a season 2. I just can’t see how we wouldn’t.

Now, nothing in life, has any business being perfect and this episode wasn’t either. So I will quickly list what I felt were the major flaws so we can proceed to the good stuff of which there is plenty.

Not sparkers of joy

The pacing and structure

It was somewhat rushed. Scenes jumped from one to the other without much preparation (particularly in the first half) and several things were not addressed. People have pointed to the fact that they did not include a Charlotte/Georgiana good-bye scene which I agree was a mistake. In addition, we were presented with a Georgiana and Arthur that were the best of friends even though in episode 7, Georgiana couldn’t stand him. That’s not to say they couldn’t reach this point but I expected to see that journey, not skip it.

Georgiana, on the whole, was odd. Aside from her rebuke of Sidney and conversation with Charlotte which were keeping in line with what she did in episode 7, the rest of her time on screen was perplexing. She was lively, dancing with everyone, huge smile on her face … this being the girl that refused to leave her bedroom a few days before. Again, not saying she couldn’t get to this stage but where did I see how she did that?!?

The whole Sidney/Eliza situation was resolved off screen which … why?!? First we weren’t given the scene of him sending her packing in ep 7 and now we have no idea how he turned that around to the extent that he got himself engaged to her and with the money to save Sanditon, all in a week.

I mean ok, I get that he’s got but ... OK, OK! He’s THAT hot!

There were other examples of shoddy storytelling but those stick out in my mind the most.

The sudden tone shift

The reason why I reacted so badly to the episode to start with was because for 7 hours I was led to believe this was a fluffy, cozy regency romance in the vein of Northanger Abbey or Emma. Sure, things happen to cause momentary sadness but it all gets resolved in the best way by the end of the episode.

Instead the Sanditon finale marked the tone shift from the fluffy to the angst. We are now firmly in Persuasion/Sense&Sensibility territory. It’s still Austen as I will explain below in more detail but I would have appreciated some warning that this is where we were heading.

The specifics of the cliffhanger

Now this is obviously personal preferences but I do have some issues with the manner in which they chose to separate Sidney and Charlotte. Having Sidney propose to Eliza in order to get the money to save Tom from prison does resolve several issues in a very expedient way: it forces the two young lovers apart; it creates angst and anticipation for the next season; it also allows for Charlotte and Sidney to both be victims of the separation and still desperately in love with each other and wanting to get married.

However, the cost is that Sidney is now in the position of doing to Charlotte exactly what Willoughby did to Marianne in Sense and Sensibility. Sidney is obviously not Willoughby and his motives are selfless. But his actions are a play by play of Willoughby’s betrayal: he pursues Charlotte, kisses her on the cliffs (substitute that for Willoughby taking a lock of Marianne’s hair), means to propose to her and then disappears, only to return engaged when a lack of money force him to choose between love and a fortune.

He even makes a “I don’t love her” confession, similar to Willoughby’s scene with Eleanor. Of course, Sidney tells Charlotte that not to victimize himself like Willoughby but rather because he can’t bare the thought that Charlotte might think he’s done this because he doesn’t love her. But you can see how this kind of narrative choice can really negatively impact Sidney’s character.

It’s sad that they chose this cliffhanger, particularly since they didn’t need to. I firmly believe that had they ended on a more hopefully note for Charlotte and Sidney we would have tuned in anyway for season 2. I wish they had had more confidence in their story and in their viewers.

But enough of the negative!

Sparks joy

Theme

I have to say that thematically, they hit this finale out of the park. The most important piece of dialogue in this whole episode occurs between Esther and Lady Denham:

Lady Denham: It is infinitely better to be loved than to love. Especially in a marriage.

Esther: You’re speaking from your own experience or someone else’s?

Lady Denham: My own. Not with my husband, of course. It was long before that. A man called Rowley. Some people said he was the handsomest man in all of Somerset. But to me he was the handsomest in the world. And he knew it!

Esther: What happened?

Lady Denham: He kept me dangling for a while. Trembling. Waiting for a look, for a smile, for a tender word … like one of his dogs. And then he up and married a girl from Gloucestershire, with 50.000. He had debts, of course. Couldn’t have afforded to marry me. Should have been obvious to me at the time but … you know what girls are.

May I just say that Anne Ried’s performance in this scene is a treasure trove of skill and emotion? You can just feel the longing and the sadness this story can still elicit from this seemingly cold matriarch. Lady Denham, like all our characters, is more than she seems. She starts off as a Lady Catherine de Bourgh clone and develops into one of the wisest, mot rational people in the show.

She gives Esther excellent advice and is compassionate when she realizes what Edward has been doing to her.

She also gives us our theme for the finale of Sanditon and perhaps of the whole show. Because her speech doesn’t just apply to Esther and her relationship to Edward. It applies to Georgiana’s heartbreak over Otis and Charlotte’s impeding heartbreak at the hands of Sidney. In even more general terms, it speaks to the heartbreak most Austen heroines experience at some point during her novels:

Next to being married, a girl likes to be crossed in love a little now and then. It is something to think of, and gives her a sort of distinction among her companions - Pride and Prejudice

Her whole speech reminded me of what my mother told me the first time I broke up with someone I loved. She said: “No girl can pass through life without having her heart broken”.

The show telegraphs this home by having the Sidney/Charlotte cliff walk follow immediately after this scene.

We are so distracted by the innocent beauty of Sidney and Charlotte being in love and so mesmerized by their first kiss:

That we fail to take Lady Denham’s warning seriously. And, just like Charlotte, we end up paying the price for it

The Austenverse

Lady Denham also clues us in to where exactly we are within the Austenverse. Many people have claimed that episode 8 marked the moment this stopped being an Austen story because Austen novels always have happy endings:

My characters shall have, after a little trouble, all that they desire.

Did you think we were just going to skip the “little trouble”part? Sweet summer children! We’re at the moment where Elizabeth finds out Lydia has run off with Wickham and thinks she’s lost Darcy for good. We’re at the moment where Knightly reprimands Emma for treating Miss Bates poorly and leaves for London. We’re at the moment where Anne is forced to join her father in Bath and believes Fredrick will soon marry Louisa Musgrove.

And finally, and most pertinently since this is what Sanditon is trying to emulate, we’re at the moment where Edward’s engagement to Lucy Steele is made public and he and Eleanor say their final good-byes (supposedly).

Austen heroines are never spared heartache. But it is a depiction of heartache that is not gratuitous. It allows the characters to grow, to understand the true depth of their feelings and eventually to value the good fortune they have when it all turns out for the best in the end.

And no novel drives that point home more than Sense and Sensibility and Austen’s Eleanor character, the suffer in silence heroine who pretends she is fine, all the meanwhile dying on the inside. Kind of like this:

Honestly it shouldn’t surprise me that we’ve ended the season on this somber note. Sanditon visually owes a great deal to Davies’ Sense and Sensibility 2008 adaptation. That mini-series had a somewhat different feel to usual Austen productions, particularly in comparison to the 1995 Ang Lee film. It was darker, grittier and had a bit of a western feel to it than Sanditon reproduces to great effect, I think.

So it’s quite understandable, in retrospect, that Charlotte’s character arc would see her start off as a Marianne type character (open, romantic and impulsive) and slowly turn her into Eleanor by the end of the season.

In order to make that transition complete, a lot was asked of Rose Williams and she manages to convey the transformation in one breathtaking shot:

I am deeply, deeply impressed with her acting in this episode, and particularly in this scene. You can literally feel her heart breaking and see the mask that will dominate in the church scene fall into place.

Which brings us to Sidney …

I’ve said it a million times and I can’t help but say it again: Theo James OWNS this character. I don’t know if he simply hasn’t gotten the proper material in his career until now or if there’s something special about Sidney that resonates with him but his acting is so spot on that even when Sidney breaks Charlotte’s heart, behaving like Willoughby as I’ve said, you can’t hate him.

Not when he is the same man who gets chocked up as he tries to propose to Charlotte:

Not when he’s the man who tells her this:

Sidney: I have never wanted to put myself in someone else’s power before. I never wanted to care for anyone but myself.

And not when, with just one look, Theo James is able to convey Sidney’s despair and pain. How can you hate him when he’s clearly breaking himself into tiny pieces over giving Charlotte up?

And how the hell can you hate him when you can hate … this clown instead?

Oh, sorry I meant …

Words cannot describe how much I loathe Tom Parker. Well actually, my new fictional mum comes close to enunciating our common and general distaste:

Lady Denham: I will see you in the debtors prison! I will see you in the poor house! Where are your promises now? Dust and ashes! You might as well have lost my money at the gaming tables! You despicable man!

If only Lady D would have been allowed to go forth with her threat and hand Tom over to the debt collectors. How much happier everyone would be right now!

Unfortunately the Parkers are far too nice for their own good. They all jump in head first, trying to save this sorry excuse for a man. Arthur even offers up his entire inheritance. Tom refuses … Not because he thinks it’s not right for his youngest brother to risk his entire life’s comfort for his unworthy clown’s ass but because … IT’S NOT ENOUGH MONEY!

Tom Parker has amassed 80.000 pounds worth of debts. Luckily Google allows me to illustrate to you exactly what 80.000 pounds meant in 1820s era England:

80.000 pounds could have paid the wages of an immortal skilled worker in perpetuity!!!! And this MORON decided not to ensure it … Apparently, Kris Marshall has said that Tom is the Regency’s version of Steve Jobs … I assume Steve Jobs too let his younger brother prostitute himself for his benefit, after already taking a 3000 pounds “loan” from him and thinking up ways of spending his baby brother’s inheritance on top of that … Oh, wait! Steve Jobs was a visionary who died a billionaire. Take several sits, Kris!

What really irritates me is that everyone is very quick to absolve Tom of any blame, jump to his defense and in due course Tom, himself, decides he should not be so hard on himself, which is why he is ecstatic when Sidney returns to Sanditon, with the news of his engagement. This is what comes out of Tom Parker’s mouth:

Tom Parker: This is excellent news! Oh, Charlotte, glorious news! Sanditon is saved!

So he knows full well that Sidney has asked Mrs. Campion to marry him in order to save him and he is perfectly willing to let him go through with ruining his life. The saddest part is that the rest of the Parker family goes along with this lunacy.

That includes Mary who already knows that Sidney and Charlotte are in love. Kind and sensible as she might be, Mary decides to turn a blind eye to Sidney’s sacrifice and Charlotte’s pain in order to have her husband safe. And it shouldn’t come as a surprise since she’s the one that told Sidney this back in episode 1:

Sidney: And tomorrow is the famous ball, is it not?

Mary: Tom has been in such a state about it! You will do all you can to help him, won’t you?

I thought I’d mention this since everyone seems to be under the impression that Sidney sacrificing himself for Tom now is a sign of the growth of character Charlotte inspired in him. But it actually isn’t.

Both Tom and Mary make it very clear early on that they relay on Sidney’s help. He’s sort of the third member of their marriage (they do have a painting of him in their entryway) who is there to ensure Tom’s ass is saved from the fire of his own making. And both Tom and Mary are complacent in this.

Sidney choosing to marry Mrs. Campion over Charlotte isn’t a new development in his dedication to his family. It is the end result of years of emotional blackmail and dependency Tom has dished out, and Mary has, most likely unconsciously, supported.

And all of that spells disaster for Sidney who is left closing the door to the coach that will take the love of his life away from him:

I know we are all commiserating with Charlotte over what happened. But I think we should spare Sidney a thought as well. He is ruining his life, his integrity and his happiness for someone who will most likely waste his sacrifice in a matter of months. Add to that Eliza’s behavior at the wedding and it’s pretty safe to say Sidney will pay for the money he will give Tom in every which way possible.

The only glimmer of light in all this unbearable darkness is that Lord Babington (he still doesn’t have a first name … :( ) and Esther are now married. Their wedding is actually very much a visual representation of Austen type country weddings, down to everyone smiling and throwing petals at them:

However even in their case, there are still clouds on the horizon since Esther was pretty clear about not being in love with her husband. She took Lady D’s advice that “ being loved is better than loving: and season 2 will show us if that is enough for her or indeed her husband.

Unfortunately, our two protagonists weren’t as lucky as Lord and Lady Babington. The road ahead for them is hard and filled with angst. There’s bound to be a lot of darkness before the dawn. However, do not despair and listen to the only voice that matters:

Lady Denham: Well, Miss Heywood? You’re still proclaiming your independence? Or is it that none of our young men have taken your fancy? I’ll wager we’ll see you walk down the aisle very soon. What do you say, Mr. Parker?

My fictional mummy is never wrong!

#sanditon #sanditon 2019 #sanditon finale #sidlotte #sidney x charlotte #charlotte x sidney #sidney parker #charlotte heywood #my meta

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vicunaburger · 4 years

Text

Admittedly, I’m Hard to See

Fandom: Beetlejuice the Musical Chapters: 8/? Pairing: Beetlejuice x OC (Holidae) The Players: Beetlejuice, Lydia Deetz, Holidae Bell Word Count: 1,741 Warnings: M for Language and Suggestive Content

Notes: GETTING SPICY.

Chapter 8: In Which Courtship is an Abstract Concept

The dynamic in the house started to change after the photograph was taken.

Holidae found the image of her seemingly floating in mid air quote “haunted as fuck”, but relented when Lydia declared her intentions to use it in her next art show. If Beetlejuice had any sort of opinion on the photograph, he kept it to himself, much more interested in the fact that Lydia seemed happy and willing to talk to him again.

The three housemates began a routine of sorts over the next few weeks: Lydia and Holidae would take care of the household chores, while BJ… really didn’t contribute anything besides the occasional prank and conversations during mealtime. He was given the important task of planning their weekly movie night, which he was extremely proud of himself for excellent choices in cinema.

Nine times out of ten he would choose The Exorcist.

Holidae, being rather unsubtle, avoided being alone with the ghost; taking great pains to make sure Lydia was always in the room, or just outright pretending she didn’t notice him when he caught her alone. It was a childish response, she knew, but that didn’t stop her from going along with her scheme.

Lydia spent most of her time preparing for the fall art show held in the next county over from Winter River, snapping candid shots during the evening hours throughout the house, or going out to shoot some more natural subjects. Until she had finished with her collections, Holidae was stuck in a bit of design limbo; unable to try and work up plans for her friend’s exhibit without knowing the theme of what Lydia was aiming for.

“You’ll know when it’s done,” Lydia told her one evening, packing up her camera to take on another visit to the local cemetery.

Holidae followed her into the front entryway, “Do you even know how big the space we need is going to be? Or how many photos this time? I can’t just… magic square footage. Let me come with you, at least; just to see what you’ve been shooting?”

Lydia shrugged, “Relax. I’ll be home soon, and I’ll show you what I have so far. Besides, you have Beej to keep you company. Why don’t you read that book you got the other day? One of those trashy things full of kissy faces and torn bodices?”

“Hey, they have a plot… sometimes.” Holidae waved her out the door, “Don’t get eaten by zombies, I don’t want to stuff bits of you into a casket. Too sticky.”

Lydia stuck her tongue out as she closed the door behind her, leaving Holidae alone - sort of - in the house for the time being. Beetlejuice hadn’t made an appearance since that morning over breakfast, but that didn’t stop the paranoia of him just… popping up when she least expected him to.

Dramatically throwing herself onto the living room sofa, Holidae pulled her book out from under a stack of paperwork on the coffee table, flipping it open to the page she had dogeared earlier. Sure, her taste in literature wasn’t always going to win a Pulitzer prize, but there was nothing more satisfying than just losing all thought in a steamy, badly written romance novel. She got herself comfortable, propping her head up with a pillow, and stretching her legs out on the soft couch cushions.

Holidae was so engrossed in her novel, that she failed to noticed the sudden weight that settled itself between her legs. Beetlejuice had noticed Lydia’s departure, taking it upon himself to find some entertainment with his other living roommate. He wasn’t oblivious to the fact that Holidae had been avoiding him since the roof incident; but whether it was because of the attempted murder, or the subsequent moment Lydia had caught them in afterward was hard to pinpoint.

Beetlejuice wrapped his arms around her midsection, resting his head by accident of course, on the cushion of her breasts. He could feel her tensing underneath him, shifting her position, but didn’t outright attempt to move him. She merely flipped another page of her book, lifting the novel a little higher so that he had room to lay his head down.

“Okay, really? You have an dead guy with his face in your tits and you’re just going to keep reading?” Beej headbutted her sternum with force. “Pay attention to me.”

Holidae thwapped him on top of his head with her book, “Shush. It’s just getting good. Besides, what could I possible do against you? I can’t move you, I don’t have any holy water to sprinkle on you, if I make a fuss you’ll just find some other way to annoy me… have I missed anything?”

He hummed, wiggling his body against hers, “No, that pretty much covers it.”

“See?” She flipped another page.

With a pout, he snatched the book out of her hands, adjusting his position so that he was straddling her hips. She tried to get it back, but he held it up above his head, shoving her back down on the sofa with his free hand.

“What is this… oh my god, this is why you’re ignoring me?” He laughed, showing off his mouthful of sharpened teeth. “Oh, we mustn't meet like this~ the scandal will be too great! She cried, throwing herself onto the chaise”

Holidae clawed at his jacket, trying to knock him off balance, “Give it back!”

In a puff of smoke, Beetlejuice was no longer sporting his favored suit, instead dressed in a striped black and white cotton shirt that was unbuttoned to the middle of his chest. A breeze somehow ruffled through his hair, adding to the dramatic effect. Holidae stuffed a pillow over her face, muffling the fit of giggles she burst into at his new appearance.

“Ah~ fair not, sweet dove, I have taken great pains to ensure we will not be discovered~” He reached down and took the pillow off her face, tossing it across the room. “It’s goddamn rude to not pay attention when someone is delivering this calibre of performance. Ahem. Now! I beg of thee, a simple kiss will not sustain me this night.”

Unable to contain herself, Holidae clutched her stomach in laughter, cackling at his theatrical display. She didn’t know why it was so funny to her; by all accounts it wasn’t the most unique humor, but something about him just set her off into a fit.

“Oh my God/Satan… I did it!” Beej stopped his recitation, tossing the book over his shoulder, and grabbing Holidae’s face with both hands. “I got you laughing. Geez, I didn’t think you had a sense of humor for a while, ya know? The whole uptight anxiety ball thing.”

She tried to pry herself out of his grasp, feeling his icy hands squish her cheeks, “Maybe you just aren’t funny most of the time. Let go, your hands are all dirty.”

“What? Dirty? Me? Excuse you, but I am not merely dirty. I am gross and proud. Look at me, baby; look at how gross. Really get in there up close and appreciate it.” He pulled her head closer, rubbing his scratchy beard stubble against her cheek. “Takes years of work. My morning beauty routine is legendary. Oh~ you’re warm. Nothing like a warm body sometimes, you know what I mean?”

“No no no. Stop. Don’t. I’m allergic to mold.” Holidae squirmed around, feeling his fluff of hair start to tickle her nose. “You want my lungs collapsing in on themselves? What are you going to tell Lyddy when she finds me puffy and dying? Get off.”

“Oh, I am definitely trying to do just that, Holiday Greetings,” Beetlejuice doubled his efforts, going so far as to lick a stripe of skin from her jaw to her ear, “You’ll be fine, that stuff hasn’t grown for years. You know what does grow? It’s my-”

“Don’t you dare. I mean it. You finish that sentence and I’ll kick you square in the crotch.” She managed to free one of her hands, covering his mouth with her palm. “Don’t test me, Juice.”

The demon gave a sharp bite against the flesh of her hand, causing her to yelp and move away, “My hair.”

Holidae had expected many inappropriate endings to his sentence. Most of them concerned the area she had threatened with violence just moments beforehand, but nothing prepared her for the sheer audacity of the response he actually gave. She had walked right into his joke, and proved that she was the one thinking unwholesome thoughts about his anatomy.

Beetlejuice 1, Holidae -100

Taking her silence in stride, Beetlejuice snapped his fingers, setting the two of them in a more comfortable position on the sofa, and changing back into his normal attire. Of course, his idea of comfortable was having Holidae perched on his lap with one hand pressing against her lower back, and the other holding her thigh… to balance. Didn’t want her to fall on the coffee table.

“Holli,” Beetlejuice tried to put on his best stern expression, “You were thinking I was going to say something naughty, weren’t you? For shame! What kind of influence are you having on my bestest best friend? What kind of upbringing did you have to think such thoughts about me? No, seriously, I want to find your parents and thank them.”

“You have my undivided attention, Lawrence, don’t waste it. Now, what can I do for you? Are you bored? I can get you one of my books to read. Or there’s a pack of cards in Lyddy’s room.” Holidae blinked slowly, reaching out and brushing a stray curl off of his forehead without much thought.

The reaction was instant.

Beetlejuice’s hand snapped up and grabbed Holidae’s wrist before she could pull away, and he stared at her intently. Small, thin strips of pink highlights started to run through his hair, swirling around in a mix of green and dark emerald. Unsure of what he was thinking, Holidae stayed still and quiet, not wanting a repeat of the last time he held her with such intensity.

He still held her fast, shrugging in a very trying-to-be-nonchalant-and-failing manner, “Nothing. Just didn’t want you to have any peace and quiet.”

She frowned, watching the pink continue to invade his hairline, “There were easier ways of doing that.”

“Yeah, but not as fun.” He pulled her dangerously close, almost touching noses with her.

For a moment, Holidae was swept into the sudden… whatever this moment was. Romance? Flirtation? …awkward social convention? Her eyes fluttered closed, and she leaned forward to close the distance…

…right before she was met with a face full of sofa cushion.

Beetlejuice had literally disappeared out from under her like a bad magic trick.

Writing Tags: @mr-geuse @paxenera @leiasolo77 @go-commander-kim @ashemspirit

#beetlejuice broadway #beetlejuice fanfiction #beetlejuice musical #beetlejuice the musical #beetlejuice x oc #beetlejuice x self insert #writing time

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arsnovacadenza · 4 years

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So I finally played The Wolf Among Us

Being the big bad wolf fan that I am, I’d been dying to get my hands on the game after seeing images of Bigby floating around pinterest. Then I found out it was discounted around 50% yesterday and I knew I GOTTA have it.

Here’s a not-so-short rundown of my thoughts since no one’d read my full review anyway. Also, bear in mind that I never read the graphic novels so I’ll be judging the characters and plot solely on the first and (currently) only game. Spoilers under the cut!

The good:

Bigby. God I ENJOYED playing as him. There was great satisfaction being able to play this rough, potentially dangerous character and see him grow into this person that Fabletown finally grows to accept. During my first playthrough, I wasn’t able to play him as a brutal, full blown anti-hero because I need to keep him on the community’s good side. I’m definitely gonna replay the chapters and choose the more violent options and see him go full badass wolf on everyone. Speaking of badass, I constantly kept thinking to myself “Wow, I’d LOVE to play as him in an action game.” That one big fight scene against Bloody Mary made me go “You’re doing great, sweetie! Keep it up!”

The story definitely got me hooked. There wasn’t a time when I wished a speed button was available unlike Hashihime in the Old Book Town where I got bored during a sex scene.

It didn’t remind me of Happily N’ever After and its forced self-awareness that borders on annoying. Mini rant: I love when stories are set in a world where fairy tale characters meet and interact with each other, but that doesn’t mean every work that does it interests me because the handling of the theme may not quite work (for me at least). I haven’t rewatched Shrek, but I never rolled my eyes every time they make a joke about a fairytale character. I never watched Once Upon a Time but I feel it’s gonna be a pretty mixed bag? It’s just weird seeing all these adult characters taking the whole thing seriously and not in an endearingly self-aware kind of way. The Wolf Among Us kinda did it nicely in that yeah, these were fairy tale characters. Let’s see them work their way as poor people living in New York. I like how they take on the poverty angle because it kinda reminds me of my country, sorta.

To my surprise, the fight scenes DID IT for me. It’s satisfying to be able to beat the shit outta people I wanted to punch from the very beginning of the game (the Tweedles and Mary. Boy I wanted to see them banged up real badly). To be honest, I never played these Telltale games and I had my doubts about the combat mechanics. Turns out they were done pretty well. Also, I can’t shut up about the final brawl against Mary because....Big Bad Boi.

The meh:

Most of the character designs didn’t wow me. I could name the characters whose design I liked: Bigby, Georgie, Flycatcher, Bluebeard. The rest? Not so much. Some characters like Nerissa were a hit-or-miss while the rest are predictable (Bufkin, Crane, etc) or completely forgettable (Faith and Vivian’s design. Faith’s was at least memorable because her introduction was). The worst one, to me, was Bloody freakin’ Mary. Her design was simply underwhelming. I absolutely adored her true form, but her glamored form was simply...not there. I understand they don’t want to play the edgy up to eleven which was probably why they didn’t make her tattoo-ed up like Georgie (which is a shame because her emblem has a cool design. Imagine the cool tattoos she could’ve had), but her design was just half-assed (to me anyway). Not gonna lie, I actually was hooked up by her first appearance —a tough looking enemy with big butch energy —and then she opened her mouth and she sounds like fucking Bayonetta. This is probably just my personal taste, but I hate the femme fatale villain trope to death and I hate seeing this masculine lady sounding like a generic seductive villainess. Plus, I didn’t see her much during my playthrough so she ended up NOT coming across a real threat or a worthy opponent to Bigby, just a violent bully I need to get through.

The love interest character’s development was a mixed bag. I didn’t hate Snow White (like some people seem to do), but I was disappointed that she drifted away from Bigby before she gets the chance to solidify herself as his equal and partner. I know she marries him in the graphic novels, but I didn’t quite root for them to be together in the game. Mostly because of the boss-employee dynamic they had towards the end of the game, but it’s also because I also started to see how she didn’t grow to be somebody who understands Bigby and the plight of the non-human characters of Fabletown (case in point being Mr. Toad and TJ). She keeps saying that she does understand what life is like for people like Holly and I did sympathize with her when she talks to Bigby about her wanting to make Fabletown a better place, but the plot cuts her development once she has to act as Deputy Major in Crane’s place. She eventually becomes affixed as a cog in the machine. Sure, she’s needed to keep the system running, but her insisting on going by the (outdated) book just didn’t work I kept getting reminded of Louis from Beastars and how got his character development was. In Louis’ case, he started out as an covert bigot who strongarms his way to obtain authority, thinking he’d be able to make the world a better place. He does make good out of it, but we also see him coming to terms with his vulnerability which leads him to reach out towards other people with the same goals. Simply put, he changed from a know-it-all who wants to change the world so they’d suit his own views better to someone who genuinely wants to make a difference for other people. This....kinda doesn’t happen with Snow White. It’s probably because the POV (who stays on Bigby the entire time) or they’re saving her character development for the sequel; we can’t really tell until Season 2 comes out.

Speaking of which, how does being a giant, fearsome wolf in disguise reflect on Bigby’s relationship with other animal characters like Mr. Toad? I thought there was some potential in contrasting Mr Toad’s inability to afford glamor and Bigby having his lycantrophy knife handed to him by Snow. I imagine the animal townsfolk would take jabs at him having the privilege to remain constantly human without having to constantly return to the 13th floor but it never happened.

The resolution of the Crooked Man’s plot felt rushed and I was disappointed with how they handled the organized crime plot. It was built to be a grand scheme beyond Crane and the murder of the girls, but they resolved it way too quickly. It’s probably just me, but when you have organized crime and financial exploitation by (persumedly) a mafia, do you expect the villain to have their ass handed back to them in two chapters after their buildup?I mean, during Bigby and Crooked Man’s confrontation at the factory, I kept expecting the Crooked Man to make his escape after the battle against Mary — him being immediately dragged to court was anti-climatic. Does it really take that short a time to take down a big, magical mafia boss? Shouldn’t he have other witches at his beck and call (the secret lab at Johann’s place definitely hinted at that!)

I won’t refute if somebody brings up the lack of diversity in the entire cast. As far as I know, there was only one black person and they didn’t do anything with her character. I thought It would be nice if we get to see POC characters like Aladdin or Yeh-Shen (or replace Aladdin with Sinbad or Ali Baba if we want to go for total accuracy). It doesn’t help that the predominantly white characters look generic. Heck, some of the girls could have some variety in body shapes. For example, why not make Holly be a big beautiful woman? If you don’t want to make her morbidly obese, at least make her look heavier. You know, because she’s a troll. No, her wanting to look beautiful by concealing her troll form doesn’t work. Her wanting to be her own kind of beautiful (especially according to Troll standards) can be contrasted nicely to Lily having to wear her human skin because she needs to cater to her clientele, thus further emphasizing her lack of choice in her employment to Guido (and by extent the Crooked Man).

How long has it been since the exodus? Why is the Fabletown government still this terrible? I really want to be able to see the demographic at a bigger scope. For example, I’d like to see more of the dynamic between people like Bluebeard and the people at the Business Office. Also, what’s up with people with various problems going straight up to the Business Office? Do they not have accountants? How do they handle the legal stuff with the mundies? Who’s handling legal? The organization at the Business Office is just...weird. I thought they’d have some sort of higher council since I thought they’d need a bigger power to keep more powerful magic beings (like the witches) in place. Are things done better in the graphic novel?

Some of the animation lagged/look really janky on my Envy 13 laptop. Also, I encountered a bug at the beginning of some chapters where choices show up when they don’t need to, as well as some weird cuts during scene. Had to exit and reboot the game to proceed.

That’s all I can think of now. Feel free to send an ask so we can gush about the husbando material that is Bigby Wolf if you have other opinions!

#the wolf among us #snow white (twau)#bigby wolf #the crooked man (twau)#twau spoilers #the wolf among us spoilers #by the way hashihime isn't that bad check it out if you like lgbtq+ visual novels #or just yaoi #because it still handles stuff like consent issues wrong #also #where is red riding hood #is she going to be a boss or something #like jeanne was to bayonetta in the first game?

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lizabethstucker · 6 years

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Ex Libris: Stories of Librarians, Libraries & Lore

Edited by Paula Guran

Twenty-three tales of fantasy and science fiction that contain libraries and librarians as well as the magic of books. An absolutely wonderful collection, only one disappointment. And that was more about style of writing than the premise of the story itself. 4 out of 5.

“In the House of the Seven Librarians” by Ellen Klages

When the old Carnegie library was closed and much of its newer content moved to a brand-new library across town, seven librarians remained behind, moving into the library to stay. Their lives are changed when a baby is left as payment for an overdue book. A suspension of disbelief leads to a strange yet satisfying read. 4.5 out of 5.

“The Books” by Kage Baker

The Show traveled around the badly decimated U.S., providing entertainment and trade. In one larger city, three kids explore, stumbling on a library. All of them are determined to take books back with them, but it might not be that easy. This was almost like a section of a longer story, one that I'd love to read. Very intense. Baker does a marvelous job with atmosphere. 3.5 out of 5.

“Death and the Librarian” by Esther M. Friesner

Death has come at last for Miss Louisa Foster. Yet even Death can be surprised. This one came close to tearing my heart out, slamming it on the floor, and stomping on it repeatedly. 5 out of 5.

“In Libres” by Elizabeth Bear

Despite her thesis being complete, Euclavia is directed to the Library Special Collections to read another source. Accompanied reluctantly by her centaur friend Bucephalus, they dare to visit the dangerous place. Definitely dangerous! There’s a chill tap-dancing along your spine, especially for those readers who have been deep in the bowels of huge, older libraries. 4 out of 5.

“The King of the Big Night Hours” by Richard Bowes

Memories and suicides in the library. I’m not certain how I feel about this one. The writing is exquisite, the plot is intriguing, but the emotions invoked are not comfortable. If that was the author’s intent, mission accomplished. 3.5 out of 5.

“Those Who Watch” by Ruthanna Emrys

The library marks Elaine on her third day of work. Already dealing with various health and emotional issues, she must find a way to adapt or leave. Unusual and intriguing. Definitely deserves further exploration. 3.5 out of 5.

“Special Collections” by Norman Partridge

He went to work at the library as suggested by his court-appointed therapist. He started taking Library Science classes as suggested by the college archivist where he met Daphne. But there are secrets, deadly secrets swirling around the library and the narrator. More horror than fantasy, not one of my favorites. Despite ticking off some loved trope boxes, I struggled to finish. 3 out of 5.

“Exchange” by Ray Bradbury

Working in the library for forty some years is getting to Miss Adams. Too many children, too many books, too much noise. Then a former patron arrives after hours looking for a final goodbye before shipping out. There is no finer writer of fantasy on this planet. Or maybe it is more accurate to call him a weaver of magic. 5 out of 5.

“Paper Cuts Scissors” by Holly Black

Justin struggles to find a way to rescue his girlfriend Linda from the book she put herself into after they had a fight. His best hope is Mr. Sandlin, a man who can bring characters out of books. Thanks to another, as well as Sandlin, Justin finds answers and a possible solution. An intriguing premise handled with a delicate touch. Lovely. 4 out of 5.

“Summer Reading” by Ken Liu

When mankind left Earth for the stars, the planet was turned into a museum overseen by robots. CN-344315 was the robot docent of the library. It had been five thousand years since he last had human visitors. The servers are gone, but CN-344315 had a tiny room filled with his favorite treasures: a selection of books protected behind an airtight glass. A visitor reminds CN-344315 of why books are important. Wow! I’ve come across Liu’s work in my SF magazines over the years and have always enjoyed his stories. I do believe this might be one of my favorites. Short, sweet, and wonderful. 5 out of 5.

“Magic for Beginners” by Kelly Link

I’m not certain how to explain what this story is about. There’s a TV series and the characters in this story watch the series yet are also an episode of the same series. Gave me a bloody headache. There was so much potential, but it twists around itself until I finally gave up trying to understand it as a bad deal and just slogged through. Weird beginning, no real ending. Just a mess. 2.8 out of 5.

“The Inheritance of Barnabas Wilcox” by Sarah Monette

Booth is surprised to hear from Barnabas Wilcox, a former classmate and bully. Wilcox needs someone to catalog his late uncle’s library. Booth senses something twisted at Hollyhill, the uncle’s estate. Creepy, horror of the emotions rather than blood and guts. In other words, my kind of horror tale. 4 out of 5.

“The Midbury Lake Incident” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

When the Midbury Lake Public Library burned to the ground, librarian Mary Beth Wilkins was upset, not only because of the fire, but that she wasn’t notified. Grief would come later, once Mary Beth has left for a new life. Very nice, just enough backstory to intrigue the reader. I do wish there had been more. 3.5 out of 5.

“With Tales in Their Teeth, from the Mountain They Came” by A. C. Wise

After she loses her lover in the War, she goes to the Library on the Mountain, becoming an acolyte now named Alba. She stries to find solace in the quiet, but mostly struggles. Then she meets a novice named Eleuthere who hides secrets beneath his robes. Very magical, almost dreamlike. 4 out of 5.

“What Books Survive” by Tansy Rayner Roberts

When the Invaders came, every electronic device died immediately, even battery-run ones. Katie Scarlett Marsden was almost halfway through Wuthering Heights when her Kindle died. Once the town built a barricade, she was separated from the school library. Wanting more to read, Katie slips past the barricade one night, finding more than she expected. A very weird dystopian story, enthralling and filled with twists. 4.5 out of 5.

“The Librarian’s Dilemma” by E. Saxey

Jas was hired to bring libraries into the 21st Century. Saint Simon’s librarian Moira doesn’t mind the security measures he can provide, but she isn’t interested in sharing the contents of their Special Collection outside the library’s walls. I understand the dilemma in this story and, frankly, I’m not certain which side I would support in regards to the sharing of dangerous material. 4 out of 5.

“The Green Book” by Amal El-Mohtar

There is little that I can tell you about the story without spoiling it, so I’ll live it with that it is a story about a mysterious green book and its contents. I mostly liked it. I think. Yet it felt like it was more a rough sketch than a complete story. 3 out of 5.

“In the Stacks” by Scott Lynch

Magical student Laszlo Jazera discovers the dangers of the final assignment for Fifth Year, one he must pass to make it to Sixth Year. It seemed simple enough, return a book to the Living Library. The task will be more frightening and intense than he could ever have expected. There is a tragic sadness throughout this story, but the universe created is horrifyingly compelling. 4.5 out of 5.

“A Woman’s Best Friend” by Robert Reed

On Christmas Eve, Mary sees a stranger stumbling through the snowy streets of her town. George is confused and frightened, soaked from head to toe. Mary impulsively takes him back to her home in the library. A strange retelling of a classic Christmas film, a mixture of fantasy and science fiction. Interesting, a bit strange at the end. 3.5 out of 5.

“If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler” by Xia Jia

A lonely librarian discovers a book of poetry that might expand his world. There is magic about this tale that touches the reader’s soul. I loved how the people who wanted the poetry read and appreciated on its own merits, not for the possible backstory of the author. 4 out of 5.

“The Sigma Structure Symphony” by Gregory Benford

Ruth is one of many librarians mining for useful information in recordings from the SETI project. After the death of a fellow librarian, Ruth is asked to take over his task, mining the Sigma Structures. Math and music, language and love. Are they simply human-based? Weird. Confusing. Engrossing at the time yet left a sour aftertaste. 3 out of 5.

“The Fort Moxie Branch” by Jack McDevitt

Mr. Wickham, in the process of disposing of his privately published novel, is caught in a blackout. During that darkness, he sees a strange glow in a long empty house. I love the idea of this story. A fascinating premise from start to finish. 4 out of 5.

“The Last Librarian” by Edoardo Albert

Books, actual physical books, have been ignored in favor of uploaded versions or neural inputs. The librarian at the British Library finagles a way to direct traffic physically into the building. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go well. In today’s world, I fear this could happen. Maybe not now, but very soon. I was surprised that the narrator remained at the end. 4 out of 5.

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hollybear008-blog · 7 years

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Hi, I’m Holly. this is my story!

Hi! My name is Holly. I'm 26 years old & Wiccan. My fave colors are black, white, gray (grey), brown & green. I am from Gettysburg,Pennsylvania United States! I am a small town girl seeking a new life & new beginning. Gettysburg is a small, poor, haunted, & historical town cause of the Civil War & Battle of Gettysburg occurring there years ago. It's said to be the "Most haunted town in America!" True fact. It's a nice little town. I am a HUGE FAN of Abraham Lincoln.

My twin brother Alex is Mixed Martial Arts Fighter & a USA Marine! We and myself are so proud of him for becoming a Marine. He's my fave brother and best friend! Anyways,continuing on. . .We are both High School Graduates (from different schools). i graduated June 6, 2008. i can't remember when my brother graduated. just my graduation. I am an English Major in School. Not kidding. I got 18 A+s in English 12. English 11 was a bit harder for me, but i made it through it, somehow.

Soon after graduating high school, i got my first job at a local market store in our town Gettysburg. i worked in the store's deli area. i enjoyed the whole experience of it! And got paid well for working as much i did there, which was part-time. $8.00 an hour! i miss that job. i no longer work there or any job at the moment, currently.

My parents divorced soon after i got my job. i, then, had a horrible event occur with then. i had a "psychotic break." i began hearing voices in my head. they caused me to experience a mental breakdown at home! i had to go to the hospital, in the Emergency Room there. They ran some tests to make sure that nothing else was causing it. They told us that i needed to go to medical doctors for treatment. They diagnosed me with schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, and depression disorder. Everything fell apart at that moment. i was on medicine for the problems i was experiencing then. i began to see places where I've been, like home (before the divorce happened.) the voices were horrible and i was freaking out badly! i'd stomp on the ground and banged my fist on the kitchen table when i was struggling with everything, and i called my mom "a traitor!" i didn't mean it though. i heard Satan tell me that i wasn't going to "cross over." Something like that. Everything changed in a very bad way. I couldn't stop crying and freaking out! i couldn't control myself. I had never experience something like this mental illnesses issues before! I never thought it'd happen to me! i'd put puzzles together to help calm me down. That was very bad too. i bawled my eyes out and once again freaked out! As if i could control it! which i couldn't. i changed medicine when others wouldn't help my problems. I got the side-effects of each medicines the doctor prescribed me. In fall 2009 i had to go to a mental hospital for a few days. That was a huge nightmare for me and my family, who visited me there. When i was released from the hospital, i was like "Thank God!"

Ever since then i've been getting shots for the voices and medicine to help with all of it. I go to therapy/counseling and a medical doctor too. I guess you can say that i've improved since then. Thank goodness! *update* i no longer get shots. i got new medicine & more treatment.

Right now, i live with my mom, (NEW!), hamster and cats in Gettysburg. My dad lives in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania with girlfriends (and one of the women he married and then divorced cause the relationship with them went wrong for him). He is with a very awesome woman who is really nice and funny! My twin brother Alex lives on his own in different places that he moves to when needed. We visit him and he visits us. He's a really cool, funny, caring, loving, and amusing. My mom, who i live with, and i volunteer at our nearby SPCA animal shelter to socialize with the animals & cats there. It's a great stress-reliever and we love being there with them. I always joke with my mom that we'd adopt another cat! LOL.XD

i'm a BIG FAN of Penn State, Baltimore Ravens, San Jose Sharks, Philadelphia Flyers, and Hershey, PA Bears. They're sports teams that i became a BIG fan of.

My fave music bands are My Chemical Romance, Evanescence, We are the Fallen, Within Temptation, Disturbed, Red (Christian Band), etc.

My fave anime/manga are Sailor Moon, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Blue Exorcist, The Black Butler, Naruto, Hamtaro, Inuyasha, etc.

My movies are Suicide Squad, Rufus (1 & 2-Nick movie), The Horse Whisperer, James Bond, Titanic, Band of Brothers, Anne Frank:The Whole Story, etc.

I like comic books about Harley Quinn & the Joker (Mr. J), & Suicide Squad comics.

I would like to be an author of poetry & stories (novels), a veterinarian or a vet technician as my dream careers. Too Bad that they can't be careers, though i may be able to write stories (novels) or poetry. I did write some stories and poetry in high school years ago. I don't anymore cause my mental issues are interfering with me doing them. It's hard to do stuff i used to do and enjoy anymore cause of my mental health issues affecting me so much all the time, leaving me with no confidence, interest, thoughts, or self-esteem to even try to do them anymore. It's very sad.

I am anti-social and can't leave the house without my family with me. I've tried programs that were said to help me. They didn't help me at all! They only made things worse for me no matter what i did as programs. i don't want to do them again! Never! I only trust my family & like spending all my time with them, instead of going places with other people. People scare me! I may have paranoia issues too. I'm not crazy or bad with all of this. I'm a really good person, honest. I'm funny, sweet, kind, friendly, & someone who tries to make everyone & animals happy in order for me to be happy myself. I'm basically an emo woman who is also an outcast, loner, and outsider. Sad but true. I always have been that way, growing up and nowadays. I was always bullied by others for no reason. I didn't really have any friends, just one good friend i went to school with years ago. (We are no longer friends at the moment.).

That's pretty much it. There's not much else to say about me right now.

If you like to know more about me, feel free to ask/talk to me! Bye for now! ♥

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