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firstfullmoon · 3 months

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SOLMAZ SHARIF: I was recently reminded of a story of a political prisoner—I don’t know if I want to share this. . . This political prisoner, who had been convicted and was facing the death penalty, was in a large cell with about twenty other political prisoners. Periodically, the guards would come and call one of their names and take that person out to be executed. When this political prisoner’s name was called, the prisoner stood up and started singing “The Internationale.” The whole cell sang along, and that was their farewell. But when the prisoner went into the hallway, the guards told them that they weren’t going to the gallows. They were being transferred to a different prison. The guards took them to the latrine, and while the prisoner was in there, they realized they wouldn’t have wanted “The Internationale” to be their last song, and started reciting a poem by, I believe, Hafez from memory.

For me, the why of poetry has become the reason revolution must happen to begin with. It’s no longer the conditions that make revolution inevitable, but what’s waiting for us on the other side of it. That required me to be more vulnerable—removing the conceptual frame was an act of that allowed vulnerability. . .

ALINA STEFANESCU: That reminds me of how my parents made me memorize poetry. They said: If you find yourself in prison, if you lose your home, family, livelihood, everything, the poems you remember will keep you whole. At the end of the day, alone in a cell, no one can steal the stanzas you remembered. The recitation itself is a radical act of refusal. Maybe poems sustain the hope and selfhood that carceral systems aim to extinguish.

SOLMAZ SHARIF: I love that. I was reminded of poetry’s capacities at the beginning of the pandemic. When lockdown started, some of my artist friends who work in other mediums suddenly couldn’t do any work. I remembered, for readers a poem is something you can carry with you anywhere, and for poets, writing a poem is an action that you can undertake anywhere. You don’t need physical materials. I hadn’t decided to turn my attention toward those qualities, however; I was forced to. My idea of poetry is tied inextricably to my early understanding of carcerality and war—both of which evaporate all that seems solid. And poetry seems especially able to survive these things. I bristle at the word hope, but the poem’s scrappy thereness is enough for me. In an interview late in his life, Mahmoud Darwish says, “poetry changes only the poet.” Some people understand that statement as pessimistic or cynical or jaded. Or maybe see it in line with Auden’s choppily quoted “poetry makes nothing happen”—a quote betrayed in the two words that follow: “it survives.” Auden is often quoted to fall neatly into that neoliberal ethical bypass of so much American literature. But I see the Darwish quote as honoring that even when a poem can’t be anything else, that it will be enough. I’m surprised by this turn in my own work, but the lived practice of poetry in my life made it inevitable.

— Solmaz Sharif and Alina Stefanescu, in conversation for BOMB Magazine

#maybe poems sustain the hope and selfhood that carceral systems aim to extinguish !#w #interview #solmaz sharif #all beautiful poetry is an act of resistance

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mirra-kan · 4 months

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@lotr20 Day 5 (15th Dec): loss | sacrifice | despair

"DARK TALES OF HORROR" The causes of the problems lie much deeper than just the Lord of The Rings story. We see the result. We see only one side of a coin. Here's another one, which refers to the deeds of the Second Age but persists until the fall of Dark Lord Sauron, which we witness in LOTR books and movies. Here're some quotes I find relatable to the topic overall, in case you're interested ❤

"I dislike the use of 'political' in such a context; it seems to me false. It seems clear to me that Frodo's duty was 'humane' not political. He naturally thought first of the Shire, since his roots were there, but the quest had as its object not the preserving of this or that polity, such as the half republic half aristocracy of the Shire, but the liberation from an evil tyranny of all the 'humane'* – including those, such as 'easterlings' and Haradrim, that were still servants of the tyranny. Denethor was tainted with mere politics: hence his failure, and his mistrust of Faramir. It had become for him a prime motive to preserve the polity of Gondor, as it was, against another potentate, who had made himself stronger and was to be feared and opposed for that reason rather than because he was ruthless and wicked. Denethor despised lesser men, and one may be sure did not distinguish between orcs and the allies of Mordor. If he had survived as victor, even without use of the Ring, he would have taken a long stride towards becoming himself a tyrant, and the terms and treatment he accorded to the deluded peoples of east and south would have been cruel and vengeful. He had become a 'political' leader: sc. Gondor against the rest." – letter 183 | Notes on W. H. Auden's review of The Return of the King Art quote:

"The Númenóreans carry their evil also to Middle-earth and there become cruel and wicked lords of necromancy, slaying and tormenting men; and the old legends are overlaid with dark tales of horror." Letter 131

#harad #lotrweek #silm art #artmirka #sauron #lotr art #numenor #haradrim #tolkienart #jrr tolkien #silmarillion #middle earth #arda

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sanjogsonsand · 1 year

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🇸 🇭 🇦 🇩 🇴 🇼 🇸

ɪɴ

🇼 🇮 🇳 🇹 🇪 🇷

" Every man carries with him through life a mirror, as unique and impossible to get rid of as his shadow.

W. H Auden

19Ja23

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leupagus · 2 months

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Fic rec fic rec!

This absolutely lovely story "into this neutral air" by swat117, is set in the Ted Lasso Seraphinaverse and written especially for me (or at least that's how it feels).

Ted touches Trent’s cheek, brushing the hair out of his eyes, and neutralising any defence he had against Ted’s affection. “I’ve only got so many free nights during the season, sweetheart, and I want to spend them with you.” “Plus five hundred drunk German tourists and the song catalogue of ABBA?” Trent says into his pillow. “Exactly what I mean, Dancing Queen.” “No,” Trent rolls away, taking the duvet with him. “No no no.” Ted is stronger, and pulls him back by the blanket. And, while Trent stores the memory of a few other things that happened in the ensuing hour, he still can’t point to the actual moment he said si to Mamma Mia. The show proves exactly as painful as Trent expected it to be, made worse by the walk down a busy stretch of the Strand to get there. Cutting wind off the Thames, adverts of unconscionable copywriting, nearly having a foot amputated by a passing motorbike: so, Central London on a Friday. “Can I not just drop you off and go round to the National Portrait?” He had tried, even as Ted dragged him through the theatre doors. “No can do, Waterloo!” Ted grinned. “I wanna hold your hand while they sing ‘Chiquitita.’” Trent is doomed in so many, such exquisite ways.

This fic has everything: Auden quote for a title, ABBA, lots of feelings about goddamn Martin Sherman, front stoop confessions, bitchy!Ted, and a lovely lyricism the writer gives to Trent's narrative voice that I was continually in awe of. Run, don't walk. Unless you're carrying scissors or are at a pool.

#i'd say 'and it's not even my birthday!' but in fact it is #truly this is the best gift I could get #reccage of interest #sports geezers in love #believe mothereffers

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panelshowsource · 7 months

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could you make a post about all the books from comedians you own/have ordered and which are your favorites I want to buy all of them but don't know where to start ++++++++ would love to know if you know of a way to order a signed copy of David's book if I don't live in the UK

you know, in a stroke of what may be relevant information, i'm actually an editorial director by day and even used to be a literary agent here in nyc — none of which is obvious on account of my billion rushed typos and...just...general existence :) (i promise i'm supremely carefully handed in my editing!!! and have a lot of resources, at my job hahahahaha oh god maybe i shouldn't have mentioned this!!!) — but i'm really no book critic and have no idea how my tastes stack up against what a lot of you are looking for. i'm happy to share some of my general, poorly articulated internet thoughts but it may be more worth checking out goodreads or talking with others who have more experience with autobiographies (which a majority of these types of books are)!

to begin with a disclaimer, one of my friends texted me recently, "why do you only watch sad movies?" i love sad films, sad music, i love to cry, catharsis, sentimentality which is always a little self-indulgent. it's a bit ironic, because this is a comedy blog and you guys know me as someone who loves to find things to laugh about and i fill my life with so much silliness through his huge, life-long hobby, but, all the same, that is only one side of me, i guess. i'm saying this now because you're about to hear me talk briefly about a few somewhat-to-incredibly sad books and be like "oh i didn't know this what i was getting into" 😅

books i do recommend:

just ignore him by alan davies — this isn't a book review but i am self-conscious about just how i describe this book, because it's so sensitive and i carry a lot of respect for alan. at the time of publication, alan actually didn't want any of the press to know and/or discuss the most tragic elements of the book, so readers wouldn't be influenced in any direction before confronting it themselves. (it's okay to talk about now of course, and anyone should know there are major trigger warnings for death, child abuse, sexual abuse, and pedophilia.) it is a sad book about his earliest years: the complexities and nuances of male power and manipulation, of unimaginable loneliness, of a lost child. alan said it wasn't cathartic to write—that is was indeed very painful—but the vulnerability, the commitment to shirking himself of the painful silence he endured for most of his life, is exceptionally moving. alan's writing can be quite thorough, even flowery, in creating vivid places and images, so so much of the heaviness feels piercing and even disturbing. if you read other comedians' books, a decent majority of them are written in the style of standup or, say, a ted talk — with performance in mind, specific structures and beats that mimic how they'd tell these stories on stage. i would argue this is quite different to that, that while the writing is in a style and structure that benefits being read aloud this is a very different alan to alan the performer. and, very honestly, i'm really not an audiobook person, not to mention listening is a wholly different experience to reading — but the audiobook for this is phenomenal: alan narrates and, while of course it's his story so he'll tell it best, he is a very gentle, thoughtful storyteller. this will be you by chapter 4:

moab is my washpot + fry chronicles by stephen fry — the first and second of his three autobiographies covering some of the most sensational times (stephen is willing to admit) of his childhood and teen years + his rise to fame through the cambridge footlights. these are good reads for 1) stephen fry fans duh and 2) people who can enjoy the inspiration of auden, waugh, wilde, wodehouse, quintessential english writers who inform the foundation of stephen's relationship with literature and appreciation. stephen is painfully honest — and often sorry for it, apologising for what he perceives to be his shortcomings — and you can't help but feel, even early on in the first book, that his view of his own world is somehow even more subjective than everyone else's views of their own worlds. maybe it's because he's so judgmental, maybe it's his oscillating mental health, maybe it's the shocking thrust with which he was confronted with the wideness of the world...i'm not sure, but stephen's life through stephen's eyes is so very stephen-y. i think that's why we love him‚ though i can see some people loathing the less admirable sides of him, which he does show, so don't read this if you want to maintain some image of him that helps you cope or keeps you perfectly entertained. if you're not british, the fry chronicles is an especially good read to scratch some of your anglophilic interests (lotsss of namedropping and backstage chat)!

delicacy: a memoir about cake and death by katy wix — one of my recent faves and another book that isn't thoroughly funny. told in 21 vignettes either centered around or vaguely related to cake, katy talks about her school life, grief and loss, self-esteem and body image, misogyny — in ways that are just...matter of fact...opposed to lessons learned or things she's working on through therapy. she's accepted a lot, but she's also afflicted by a lot to this day; she's capably honest about where her reality stands. for this reason, it can be a bleak and certainly very raw read. i listened to the audiobook for this one, which was nice, but i much recommend the actual written book as the vignettes are in different formats (short story prose, letters, email exchanges) that often anchor time and place, intention, even the little peeks of light of comedy. katy's writing is very lovely, both my heart and mind were touched.

back story by david mitchell — a mildly vulnerable, moderately insightful, and quite humorous exploration of david's up-and-coming years. i really appreciate the premise — due a bad back and sciatica, he begins taking very long walks every day, and these walks trigger memories and anecdotes as he passes certain places — that really doesn't come off as a gimmick. it's a very easy read (or listen) and what i'd consider an uncomplicated, unproblematic bio, but it would be difficult to enjoy if you're only a casual fan of david mitchell or only like him in his most recent dad years, as it was written in his peep show heyday and is so much about those years of his life, his relationship with robert webb, etc. a good intro-to-the-genre book and the very first britcom book i read way back in 2010!

i also really enjoy graham norton's books — especially for the goss, but he's a great writer and his debut fiction novel got quite good reviews! — and tim key's books of poetry, though you really need to be a fan of tim key to read tim key :')

books i do not recommend:

before & laughter by jimmy carr — this book is much less of an autobiography (details are scant and anecdotes are few; it's cute when he refers to karoline as "my girl") and much more a collection of 1) jimmy's interpretation of contemporary comedy and what it means to be a comedian, and 2) how that journey, and his evolving attitudes, shaped him + became advice he would offer to others. this is why he calls the book adjacent to self help & motivational speaking. i don't think it teaches you anything new about him — literally or as an writer — so i don't recommend reading it, though the audiobook (where he's truly performing the writing like a ted talk) is an easy listen. a lot of people will not understand that jimmy is overwhelmingly sincere in regards to all of the topics and personal philosophies the jimmy nearing 50 espouses. he's someone with very studied, thorough personal philosophies (if you've seen him on podcasts talking about his life and career then you'll know just what i mean) and he explains them deftly, but they can feel a bit...how should i say this...flat to people who have heard a lot of it before, in hollywood movies or from their own parents or wherever. he didn't write this just for another stream of income — he is passionate about these conversations and that counts for something. overall i already knew a bit about the guy and didn't need this.

my shit life so far by frankie boyle — i have never read one of frankie's fiction novels (crime is really not my thing, so someone needs to let me know if richard osman's book series is a smash because i'm only going to check them out if i'm convinced to), but as a long-time fan of his, knowing how much of a wordsmith he is, and how intentional he is in everything he says, i was surprised by how dull i found this. his shit life was just that — uninteresting, meandering. his anecdotes may have worked better aloud than on paper, but they didn't grab me. you learn a bit about his young adulthood, but like jimmy he's intensely private and i could feel that distance between us even while reading an autobiography. it didn't work for me, super sad about it :(

can everyone please calm down? by mae martin — instead of criticising this book, i'd rather just make a disclaimer or two. if you are already engaged in queer discourses and dialogues, you are not going to learn very much from this book. both the descriptive writing and presentation of research is "accessible" to the point i'd call it more adjacent to YA than adult literature; if you prefer more creative, complicated, and/or signature writing styles, this book is not for you. if you are a big fan of mae martin and would appreciate an overview of their journey on the identity spectrum (going so far as to even rejecting it, in some capacities) in one place, then this may be convenient — but even then, at this point, it's somewhat outdated. imo a well-intention skip.

phil wang and tom allen are two more i think don't convince me with their writing, but i'm still making my ways through a couple of books and could probably talk more about this later!

i have never made this kind of non-fiction bio a priority on my long reading list, so i still have a lot of exploring and catching up to do, but i'm finding that i do prefer the books that explore the events of comedian's past as well as those that walk the reader through experiences in the comedy & tv industries. there are a lot of books about mental health and identity, which may be more of what many of you are looking for (sara pascoe, fern brady, jon richardson, and more).

okaY PHEW SORRY i always type too much 😒

first, as for david mitchell's new book, you can order it signed from waterstones as they ship to the usa — and it's currently half off!!!!! if you want to buy it unsigned from a usa retailer amazon is cheapest and target & bookshop are the cheapest non-amazon options :) an audiobook is coming out as well, so i do believe i will be able to add that to googledrive before too long, but no guarantees on a good time frame!

you can go here to download any of the ebooks & audiobooks i have on my googledrive!

#a #long post

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nightwhispcrs · 3 months

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— valentines ball mini event starter call under the cut ; dont be shy !! 3 starter cap per mun , pls . if you want to plot anything for our event thread / if any of these blurbs give you an idea , dm me after requesting the starter ! otherwise i will be writing them random .

**if we have blind dates , i will dm you about plotting and which of us writes the starter , so please don't request those here .

adam newman , 33 yrs — ( 3/3 ) dru , maggie , olenna

adam will be his usual flirty , gossip-y self . coming from the soap opera world , the relationship drama the revolves around valentines day is his wheelhouse , so feel free to unload your tea on his ear at the bar and let him help you form revenge plans . ( date : olenna tyrell )

arnold novak , 28 yrs — ( 2/2 ) jester , shen wei

being on a blind date with a stranger is one of arnold's worst social nightmares , so please distract him with anything you can . a dance , illicit substances , some gossip , or whatever else your heart desires . he will however be very engrossed and excited to view the exhibits and will probably be using them to avoid social interaction . it's canon that he's a BIG fan of butterflies , so catch them there . ( blind date : shen wei )

charlie dalton , 26 yrs — ( 1/3 ) neil

they're having the time of their life . still in denial about the feelings he has for his best friend , so charlie will be running around being a menace . probably trying to break into anything and everything that they shouldn't , and probably carrying around a couple flasks of mysterious liquor . ( "platonic" date : neil perry )

craig manning , 23 yrs — ( 0/2 )

on a date with his boyfriend , but craig can either get involved in some chaos or lend an ear to someone who needs it . he's sober , so can take care of anyone who's been a bit .. less than sober . you may find him around the insect exhibits ? fell like he'd think bugs are interesting . ( date : j.t. yorke )

eli joseph stock , 22 yrs — ( 1/2 ) auden

on a date with their partner , but will be quietly strolling through the exhibits as well . probably spending most of their time in ocean hall . they're from a beach town , so feels like home . a bit skeptical of valentines and pda in general , but will withhold judgement to themself . ( date : auden west )

fred flintstone , 40 yrs — ( 1/2 ) meredith

he's pining for nigel and in denial . also , seeing his dinosaur pets as skeletons is scarring and upsetting , so he's really having a hell of a time . ( blind date : meredith grey )

irina denali , 28 yrs — ( 3/3 ) bella , vic , cindy moon

moody and broody but still a beauty . she'll use this as an opportunity to dress up and look absolutely stunning , and she'll be quietly observing everyone's relationship drama . being 'immortal' yet having died , mummies kind of freak her out so she'll prob be over there . ( blind date : belle french )

jack shephard , 35 yrs — ( 1/2 ) hannibal

if anyone needs medical assistance , jack can help ya out . otherwise , he'll probably be sipping a gin beverage as he strolls through the exhibits . it's rare he spends time just hanging out in museums for fun . the polar bear will prob trigger some memories from back home ... you might catch him trying to hide a spiral . ( date : michael corleone )

katniss everdeen , 22 yrs — ( 3/3 ) rue , a-xiang , peeta

please let this person live and have a good time for a night . i might allow katniss to just have a nice time and enjoy a romantic evening , in love once again . i don't trust the admins with a peaceful evening *eyes emoji* but ... we'll see how things pan out . ( date : peeta mellark )

lee jordan , 28 yrs — ( 2/2 ) wei wuxian , hongjo

distract lee from the very secret feelings he's rekindled towards draco . let him get caught up in your drama , or run around with him causing trouble as he whines about how very very single he is . expect him to pry about your love life for his podcast - he loves gossip . ( unofficial hate-date : draco malfoy )

max goodwin , 34 yrs — ( 1/2 ) carlisle

my medical director doesn't get much time to relax , so he's enjoying this night . max is very very friendly and will be genuinely interested in meeting and getting to know knew people . a very curious mind , expect him to share some good advice while gazing at the exhibits .

michael guerin , 31 yrs — ( 3/3 ) qingge , childe , tatia

being at museums like this is kind of horrifying for michael , because as a secret alien , michael's biggest fear is that the government will find him out and he'll end up himself as an exhibit in this place . also he's single and lonely - what's new - so he'll be drinking his worries away and gawking at the "human origins " . ( blind date : tatia )

monica geller , 27 yrs — ( 1/2 ) laurie

looking hot and stressed . don't think for a second that monica has forgotten how violent and chaotic balls of the past have been in washington . she'll be doing her best to stay present , but she's going to be waiting for something terrible to happen at any moment . ( "platonic" date : laurie strode )

naomi pierce , 34 yrs — ( 2/2 ) junyi , kendall

girly is looking like a 100/10 and will be happy to share some champagne and relationship advice . events , galas , museums , etc. are commonplace to her so she's in her usual public-facing-mask element . she probably wants some of the gems on display . ( date : kendall roy )

parvati patil , 22 yrs — ( 1/2 ) cho

she's feeling mischievous but doesn't know where to place that energy . eeriely familiar feelings of a ball are haunting her , but parvati doesn't have her memories of hogwarts back yet so she won't know why . will probably take this opportunity to make new friends or flirt . ( blind date : cerridwen )

ramona flowers , 25 yrs — ( 1/2 ) ellie

ramona is , of course , very open to being messy and kissing someone other than their date . they're very open to anything , actually , and they're not above putting some graffiti on some priceless artifacts . ( blind date : tigris snow )

reid oliver , 37 yrs — ( 1/2 ) brennan

dr . reid thinks this entire social event is a huge waste of time , but he is a biggg fan of the free food . for someone who makes as much money as him , a neurosurgeon , he really should have a better palate and spend money on quality food , but he loves free stuff . plus he's looking pretty good in a suit . ask him for a dance if you want , but he'll definitely deny you /: sorry he's a dance-hating bitch . ( blind date : brennan sorrengail )

richie jerimovich , 42 yrs — ( 2/3 ) nat , bellatrix

i bet you've never seen a man this drunk and messy looking this good in a suit before . if you want him to stop rambling about his former drunk adventures back home , just kiss him or something . ( blind date : bellatrix black )

robin buckley , 24 yrs — ( 2/2 ) nancy , maya

they're very excited to be on a date with a very pretty girl !! you might catch her freaking out in the bathroom about it tho . she's also very very impressed by all of the pretty things on display . plus she's looking cute in her vintage dress . ( blind date : maya hart )

roman roy , 36 yrs — ( 2/2 ) tatum , tyrell

will be judging everyone's attire , relationship , and the quality of the alcohol at the bar . but he'll look good while doing it ! he really doesn't understand consequences of actions , so feel free to pull my chaotic man into anything . ( date : tyrell wellick )

tucker mccall , 45 yrs — ( 1/2 ) ceres

mr. wildcard homewrecking gossip king himself . will certainly insert himself into anyone's relationship drama given the opportunity . if you want to flirt , gossip , or have any deep conversations about the meaning of life , he's your guy . ( blind date : ceres vurith )

zahra bankston , 40 years — ( 2/2 ) alex , qui-gon jinn

she's the director of national intelligence , so i promise if you're doing anything stupid , zahra already knows and it isn't getting past her . she's enjoying this time to bump elbows with washington's elite though , so whether she actually says or does anything at this very moment is another story . also , you bet she's looking absolutely incredible . ( blind date : qui-gon jinn )

zoe rivas , 24 years — ( 1/2 ) annabeth

wrapped up in a beautiful gown , zoe will be ready to mingle or invite you to dance . they'll probably be in the darker rooms centering around electricity and the night sky because it's more calming and beautiful than the main floors swarmed with the entire city . ( blind date : abigail mckinnon )

#hw: starter call #hwminievent6 #going to get a head start on these :)

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masonkohler · 13 days

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The Exile (Part I)

Some time after the rediscovery of the Dragon Isles…

It had been years since Mason had stood outside these walls, raised with his own hands, a labor of love. A home he had reclaimed from Westfall’s ashes, a refuge for the drifters on those once-lush plains who had nowhere else to go. The shacks they raised behind the restored farmhouse remained, sturdier than before, and the small gardens he had planted with them had grown, bright splashes of cultivated life in a fallow land. They should have been dead and gone, with how it all had ended.

Whatever had happened, it had all happened without him, who now stood outside his own fence resting against his spear, hooded cloak pulled over his head to obscure his features, the unkempt beard now streaked with hints of gray doing the rest.

“Anyone ever tell you that you can’t go home again, kid?”

Mason started, snapped back to reality from his reverie. The voice from behind had appeared with no trace, not one grinding footfall in the dust to announce its presence.

The man who had spoken stepped up beside Mason, hands crossed behind his back, and continued, “A beautiful thing, here. I hear the people who’ve been squatting here even have been trading their produce with the squatters in Moonbrook. Hell, some of them I’ve even heard of stopping by Sentinel Hill to chat with those Brigade folks.”

While he spoke, Mason was set at ease somewhat by the drawl native to his own Westfall. Last time he had received a surprise visitor here, it had been the beginning of his exile, his sentence pronounced with the insincerity of those who had only ever dwelt in the halls of power.

“It’d sure be a shame if something were to happen, wouldn’t it? It’s got a future so bright, it positively burns, Mr. Kohler,” the stranger added, turning towards Mason and extending a hand, “You can call me Mr. Auden, by the by, or just Auden if you like.”

Auden had been the name attached to the letter that had called him home, slipped under his tentflap in the Waking Shores, a world away. WIth some hesitation, Mason took the proffered hand. The shake was firm, businesslike, but still carried a certain warmth.

“You sound like a man with something in mind, Mr. Auden,” the exile replied. The men waited there in silence, the only sound the rustling of the wind in dry grass until Mason spoke again, “How’d you find me, anyway? Not like I left much of a trail.”

“Certainly not. As far as most folks know, you died on the Broken Shore. But your kindness always manages to give you away, Mr. Kohler.”

The ragged smith snorted, shaking his head, “You’re telling me you tracked me to a work camp in the Dragon Isles by my kindness? Keep your secrets, then, if you’re not going to give me a straight answer.”

“I assure you, it is a straight answer. Your family knew you were alive, but didn’t know where you’d gone. Safer for them that way, wasn’t it? The money kept coming though, and had to be coming from somewhere,” Auden explained. There was a little smirk on his weathered face, a fox outwitting a hound.

“The folks who reclaimed Lakeshire after the Scourge attack years back sure didn’t forget their shield. That’s what they call you, you know. Mason Kohler, the Violet Aegis, and they keep getting supplies from some ‘anonymous benefactor’ for their rebuilding efforts.”

The Aegis. That was a title he had not heard, or thought of, in some time now. It seemed a relic of a past life. But Auden’s insinuations thus far had been true. How clever he thought he had been!

“And look there, Mr. Kohler,” Auden continued, pointing at the shacks – maybe “homes” would be more appropriate now, given how polished a few had started to look, “A mutual friend of ours cleared this whole place out, but still folks come back. Because they know that no matter how rough the seas, the Kohler Farm offers safe harbor.”

Mason wiped dampness from his eyes with the back of his hand, a surge of emotions welling up in his chest, threatening to burst from his throat if he opened his mouth to speak. The pride of work well done, the agony of looking at home as an outsider, and…anger. A mutual friend.

“You…” Mason measured his words carefully, “You know Hayes, don’t you.” Not a question, simply a request for confirmation.

“We’re acquainted. Not sure how well you can really get to know someone when they’re clapping you in irons and hauling you out of your home. It was that one,” Auden gestured towards a smaller house near the edge of a large garden plot, “Right over there.”

Mason finally turned to look at the other man fully. He looked to be about the same age as Mason himself, flecks of gray appearing at his temples, his sandy hair unkempt and his dark eyes tired, but still with a glint of sheer vivacity. Auden’s clothes were dusty, worn, but well cared for nonetheless, judging by their patches and seams from mended tears. What was around his neck, though, gave Mason pause.

“So. He wasn’t lying to me after all,” the exile mused aloud, eyes transfixed by a single shred of ragged cloth peeking from under Auden’s coat. Faded, yes, but that sort of red could never truly fade, not here.

“You’ve got me, Mr. Kohler. I’m one of Hayes’ Defias bogeymen. But I’m also one of the nameless drifters that your kindness saved, left behind and forgotten about by the crown. That is, until Mr. Foster showed up and brought those SI:7 hawks down on us,” Auden sighed, a rueful smile on his face, “Those of us who got caught that day don’t blame him, or you. We know who to blame, but right now, all those old grievances we ought to be putting on hold.”

Auden began to walk away, striding confidently towards the farmhouse’s front door, good as new in the years since the scuffle that had cast Mason away from his homeland had torn it from its hinges.

“Wait, Mr. Auden! You can’t just say these things and–”

“Trust me, Mr. Kohler, you’re going to want to see this,” the other man said, not turning around or slowing his stride, leading him into the farmhouse. The door, though, he held open, “Come in, Mr. Kohler.”

Mason followed, his steps dragging as memories came unbidden to his mind. Flashes of childhood, peaceful as it could be when the Horde had burned the fields; the ruin the Legion brought, fel-blasted dirt all that remained of this place; the beams rising again, the people of Westfall coming together to rebuild; and then, of course, the exile.

When his feet crossed the threshold, though, his heart nearly stopped.

There was positively a crowd in the house. Some faces he knew, some he had never seen before, but all turned to face him.

The first he noticed was an old man with piercing blue eyes with hunched shoulders and a thin shock of white hair. The lines of his face were Mason’s own. How long had it been?

“I…” Mason choked, “Da?”

Art Kohler nodded, a facsimile of his son’s wide, joyous smile lighting up his face and wrinkling his eyes, “We’ll catch up soon, but you’ve got other folks to meet too, my boy.”

Auden gave Mason a firm pat on the back and ushered him the rest of the way inside. The others, then, awaited their introductions.

First, a thin, wild-eyed fellow with a scar on his brow, one arm around the shoulders of a steely-eyed woman with a firm, determined jaw. In front of them, a child, not much more than ten years old.

“Mason, these are–” Art began.

“The Fosters,” his son concluded. The last time he had seen Rickhard, it had been before the SI:7 raid on the homestead, “Rickhard, Becca, and…”

The woman, Becca, spoke up, “Edward.” The boy nodded as his mother introduced him, the mop of dark hair on his head obscuring his eyes from view, “He’s shy around this many folks.”

A cleared throat from the other end of the room near the hearth, and another voice, a slight nasal tinge to it, likely from the crooked break in the man’s nose, “We will all have plenty of time for reintroductions later, but now–”

Before he finished, Mason’s hands balled into fists and his feet took him striding across the floor. He had become a passenger in his own body, all the rage of a man stepped on one too many times by “the powers that be” he had bottled up burst out, and if it were not for hands on his shoulders – Art’s on one, Rickhard’s on the other – that fury would have found its mark on the broken-nosed man for a second time in this home.

“Hayes,” Mason spat, “You’ve got a lot of nerve–”

“Mr. Kohler,” the agent replied coolly, “Something is deeply wrong in Westfall. The company I am keeping should tell you that well enough. We need you.” He paused, as if mulling something over, and finally sighed, “Your home needs you.”

After a long silence, the smith let his shoulders slump, Rickhard pulling his hands away, though his father’s remained, a welcome source of grounding.

“Go on then. I’m listening.”

#story

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thethirdromana · 2 months

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Every so often my post about the Lord of the Rings as storytelling pops up in my notifications again, and that's prompted another thought about types of stories.

Specifically, two types of plot: And Then, and So That's Why.

The Lord of the Rings is an And Then plot. One of the main reasons you keep reading because you want to know what happens next. And then they travel to Bree. And then they meet Strider. And then they are attacked in their beds. And then they escape...

Murder mysteries, meanwhile, are the archetypal So That's Why plot. You keep reading not to find out what happens next; you can make a very good guess at what happens next because the investigation follows reasonably predictable lines. You keep reading for the resolution of the mystery: So That's Why!

The mystery in a So That's Why plot can be anything. Part of the reason I was thinking about this recently is that I've been racing through @derinthescarletpescatarian's excellent Time To Orbit: Unknown, which is a fantastic So That's Why story with many twisting and cascading layers of mystery that are mostly not murder-related, and more along the lines of "why is this ship so fucked?", "why are these people here?" and generally "why is any of this happening?"

For a So That's Why plot to work, as a rule, the author needs to know the answers to all of that from the beginning. An And Then plot is much more forgiving. There's that great quote from a letter from Tolkien to WH Auden:

Strider sitting in the corner at the inn was a shock, and I had no more idea who he was than had Frodo. The Mines of Moria had been a mere name; and of Lothlorien no word had reached my mortal ears till I came there. Far away I knew there were the Horselords on the confines of an ancient Kingdom of Men, but Fanghorn Forest was an unforeseen adventure. I had never heard of the House of Eorl nor of the Stewards of Gondor. Most disquieting of all, Saruman had never been revealed to me, and I was as mystified as Frodo at Gandalf's failure to appear on September 22.

And OK, I'm sure Tolkien did a lot of work in editing, but an And Then plot lets you get away with working this kind of thing out along the way, because the mystery of - say - who the man in the corner of the inn is isn't the focus of the story. But you can't get away with not knowing in a So That's Why plot, because the mysteries are the whole point of the thing.

As a writer, it's useful to know what kind of plot you're writing. For instance, a So That's Why plot more-or-less has to finish once the mystery is resolved; there's not much else to carry on for. If there's a sequel, there needs to be a fresh mystery. And Then plots can carry on as long as you like, which is why the Return of the King has about 6 separate endings.

I think knowing which one you want and which one you're getting is important to your enjoyment as a viewer/reader as well. I realised while I was thinking about this that Doctor Who is usually an And Then plot, but there have been points where showrunners have tried a So That's Why plot instead. I don't get on all that well with Steven Moffat's tenure, personally, and I think a good part of that is that I'd have liked And Then, and he delivered So That's Why.

And of course some of the stories can work to combine both. I think there's nothing quite as exhilarating as a story that works as And Then, but you get to the end and are struck by the dominoes of So That's Why falling into place when you didn't even know they were there.

#lotr #doctor who #storytelling

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firewoodfigs · 6 months

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ayo … i’m on a poetry high and basically devouring every poetry website i can find and i’m still looking for new stuff. so please drop ur fave poets/poems 🙏🙏 or even ur fave poem u wrote urself i’m starved

omg aaaahhh i love questions about poetry and i'm always delighted to hear when people go on a poetry high (and that it's still very much alive)! unfortunately i read most of my poetry off books that i thrifted, but Poetry Foundation is a pretty reliable archive and fairly easy to navigate if you have a name in mind :) i also really enjoy the stuff curated on @secretchords_apoemfortheday and @apoemaday, and if i have a specific author/anthology i'm looking for i usually just try my luck with online PDFs.

in terms of specific recommendations, the following is a little list of mine (with links included!):

Louise Glück (who recently passed away, but left behind a very lasting legacy. A Summer Garden is marvelous; a field of stars.)

Mary Oliver (The Summer Day is one of my personal all-time favourites!)

e.e. cummings (i carry your heart with me(i carry it in) is a timeless classic)

Robert Frost (Nothing Gold Can Stay is especially apt for the fall!)

William Blake (The Tyger is terribly royai-coded lol)

Pablo Neruda (love is so short / forgetting is so long)

Frank O'Hara (Lunch Poems)

W.H. Auden (if equal affection cannot be / let the more loving one be me)

Richard Siken (Crush)

Carol Ann Duffy (there you are on the bed / like a gift, like a touchable dream)

Sylvia Plath (not technically poetry, and I know Plath has lamented her prose on multiple occasions, but The Bell Jar is easily one of my favourite novels and reads like a poem--the imagery is so visceral and gripping, and the overarching metaphor of a bell jar is just insane)

Ilya Kaminsky (Deaf Republic)

Mark Nepo (how the heart makes a duet of wonder and grief)

my own poems are generally marked #poetry on my tumblr page (although the tags are frustratingly uncooperative most of the time...). some of my favourite poems i wrote are:

the diametrics of dialogue (conversations with you) -- this is a deeply personal piece which i recently had the privilege of reading in new york thanks to the phenomenal @mirabile---visu, and i will cherish it dearly always :)

honeypot

when creation creates

an anthem for youth undoomed

America and the moon

queenfish

remember, beloved

we lived in a state

love crept through the garden gate (in the process of turning this into a song!)

magnum opus and the queen of hearts will always have a special place in my heart as well because they were the first ones that got published online :)

enjoy, lovely (and welcome to the wonderful star-eaten world of poetry)! <3

#poetry #asks #well that got longer than i anticipated LOL but i hope you enjoy and happy reading!!! <3

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