ok but the TRAUMA of becoming a god. the literal dehumanization. sure, the old god of death had their name stricken from history, but the raven queen? she is what nobody was ever meant to be. she had a life, a name, a career, a friend. she was a person, with intricacies and flaws.
a thousand years from now, no one will remember her as she was. godhood is as much a prison as it is a privilege. it's a job you can never leave. a concept you can never not embody. imagine what it does to a person, to go from being a mortal individual to a fundamental piece of the laws of reality.
no wonder she destroyed the secrets to ascension.
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Get To Know Me Tag!
I was tagged by @hereforthehaunts, thank you very much! I’m doing this at work and have no idea who I’d tag in return, but if you see this and think it looks fun, consider yourself tagged.
Last Song: Purest Gold, by Miracle of Sound (and guest singer The Charismatic Voice) – a song inspired by Malenia, the legendarily cool and hard superboss from Elden Ring. MoS never fails to put out absolute bangers, so go give him a listen!
Currently Watching: Netflix Avatar, which is better than I expected, worse than I hoped, although in fairness I’m only three episodes in. We’ll see how it goes. Other than that, I’m approaching the halfway mark on Campaign 2 of Critical Role, being a very late comer to the show. I’m resigned to never managing to catch up to the live broadcasts, but hopefully I can at least finish Mighty Nein and the…Exandria? spin-offs by the end of the year.
Three Ships: I never really think of myself as being a shipper, to be honest…but I can still answer this lol.
Supercorp, which is to say, Supergirl (Kara Danvers)/Lena Luthor, from the Supergirl CW show that finished…last year? is basically my main ship, even though I’ve not finished watching the show yet. I sometimes question whether I actually like the ship or whether it’s more the creative fire that it kinda sorta lit in me (I’ve not actually written much of anything for them, but oh boy do I have ideas), but that probably doesn’t really matter.
Fem!Shep/Thane Krios, which is to say, Shepard and Thane from Mass Effect 2 onwards. Possibly somewhat unusually for a Mass Effect fan on Tumblr, I don’t actually have any real preference in ships for the series, but the playthrough where I did this romance was the one that tipped me over from “Mass Effect is a very good series of games that I enjoy a lot” to “Mass Effect is a core part of my personality, and I’m going to start a blog dedicated to the series (which has slowly but surely become a more general blog, as anyone who follows me can attest, but the point still stands)”
Tav/Shadowheart, from Baldurs Gate 3. I’m fully intending to do all the romances, but both my playthroughs so far have wound up with her…
Favourite Colour: dark blue, I guess?
Currently Consuming: On any given day, there’s a decent chance I’m watching something by Outside Xbox/Outside Xtra, two hugely entertaining gaming Youtube channels, or their TTRPG spin-off channel Oxventure. I’m also trying to catch up on the Worlds Beyond Number TTRPG actual play podcast, from some of the minds behind Dimension 20 (which I haven’t actually watched beyond clips). I’m trying to finish Dark Souls 3 after an intended short break turned into about two years – just the second DLC and final boss to beat now, so fingers crossed! And I’m reading Nona the 9th, by Tamsyn Muir – too early in the book to comment on that, but I loved the first two books.
First Ship: probably Batman/Catwoman, I guess? Although I had a soft spot for Jacen Solo and Tenel-Ka from the old Star Wars expanded universe.
Place of Birth: UK
Current Location: Work
Relationship status: long term single
Last Movie: American Fiction (loved it)
Currently Working on: I am always mentally rotating my various fiction ideas, but the main thing I’m actually working on is the D&D campaign I’m running - module based for the most part (Lost Mines of Phandelver, always a classic, with the intention of continuing into Princes of the Apocalypse), but one of the players came up with a backstory that’s going to require a homebrew plot if there’s ever going to be any resolution to it.
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get to know you meme
Tagged by @mikkeneko!
fave colour: Dark green and, more recently, teal
currently reading: Alice Isn't Dead by Joseph Fink, while I wait for the library to give me Nona the Ninth. I'm down to #15 on the waiting list!
last song: Living Dead Girl, Rob Zombie. It's been in my head since last week's Critical Role.
last series: Last one binged was The Sandman, which was fantastic. I also finally watched the last four episodes of Brooklyn 99 this weekend. It had a satisfying ending.
last movie: The Sea Beast on Netflix, it was very cute.
currently working on: Kinder des Lich as always. Trying very hard to get myself back into the routine of drawing two pages a week. So far it hasn't happened, but I'm trying.
share 10 different favorite characters from ten different pieces of media in no particular order, then tag 10 people
Anders, Dragon Age
Sollux Captor, Homestuck
Laudna, Critical Role
Osaki Nana, NANA
Saito Hajime, Rurouni Kenshin
Thane Krios, Mass Effect
Gambit, X-Men
Donna Noble, Doctor Who
Serpico, Berserk
Yagami Light, Death Note
tagging a random number 'cause I do what I want: @jude-ish @kinkypancakes @thethirdamell @arcanefeathers @overthinkingfeathers @solluxisms
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ok i know there’s a lot of debate about the m9 vs vm and what kind of family they are and the whole ~dynamic~ and everything, so here’s my take:
the biggest difference is that vox machina consists of enough siblings to form a pseudo-family dynamic, while the mighty nein is made up almost entirely of extremely awkward only children who are making up the whole dynamic as they go along.
in vox machina, you’ve got keyleth and scanlan, only children.
pike and grog, together for long enough pre campaign that they are essentially siblings.
percy, vax, and vex, all intimately familiar with the sibling experience.
the thing about vox machina is that the siblings can keep the only children in check (who are of course always demoted to youngest in a friend group setting) as well as each other--since percy is a middle child, the twins are twins, and pike and grog are of similar ages, none of them would ever allow anyone to usurp the position of oldest child. keyleth and scanlan both have enough of the confidence of only children to keep themselves from being knocked down too far. it’s a perfect system of sibling and nonsibling checks and balances.
the mighty nein, on the other hand, consist entirely of only children (or functionally only children in beau’s case), with the exception of caduceus.
which means that the m9 is entirely “how does found family?? hugging? relationships? i was flirting and then it was RECIPROCATED?? are we allowed to fight??? is....jealousy?? how does forgiveness? awkward? why awkward??”
they’re building a unique dynamic entirely from the ground up. beau and caleb were the first ones to figure it out wrt the sibling system of checks and balances.
and in the MEANTIME, caduceus, being a middle child suddenly in a position to seize the position of eldest child, has tricked all of them into thinking that he knows what he’s talking about, and none of them know any better because they have never witnessed a middle child grab for power before.
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So a while back, @monotonous-minutia did a short yet comprehensive review of every production of Les contes d’Hoffmann they’d seen, and now, in much the same vein and because a) I think about this opera way too much for my own good and b) I’ve actually seen all ten available filmed productions of this opera (and several multiple times), here is my semi-replication but with Les Huguenots instead of Les contes d’Hoffmann.
And yes I am up at 5:30 on a Friday morning DON’T JUDGE ME
The Productions And The Unique Attributes That Come To Mind Immediately:
Sydney 1990: the OG for yours truly that was also Joan Sutherland’s farewell to staged opera so that’s cool
Montpellier 1990: the production that had strikingly-colored sets but gave pretty much everyone a form of one of three or so costumes
Berlin 1991: there is a wall. also it is in German. also pretty much the entire third act is cut for some reason.
Bilbao 1999: the production that had horrible lighting and that’s most of what I remember thinking tbh
Metz 2004: the one that had the monstrosity of a Black and White Checkered Floor and also fucked up the ending very badly and I’m still mad about it almost a year and a half later
Liège 2005: one of only two productions to follow the stage direction of Nevers sailing in on a boat at the end of Act III (the other was Bilbao). fittingly, Nevers looked like a pirate.
Bard Summerscape 2009: the production where the director looked at the libretto and went “this opera isn’t dark and violent ENOUGH”
Budapest 2017: the one that looks like it was operated entirely with Baroque stage machines and also GIANT WORDS
Paris 2018: what if we set this opera in the future
Genève 2020: what if we set this opera in a movie studio but not consistently and then shipped pretty much everyone with everyone else
Further thoughts under the cut:
Sydney 1990: as mentioned, the first production I ever watched. a great way to hook first-timers. the production is rather heavily cut but in such a way that if you don’t know the opera well it seems to flow quite nicely, cutting about an hour of music. Urbain’s insert rondo is included but slightly cut, the ballet is cut in half, the ball scene is not included. the cast is one of the stronger ones out there: in addition to Sutherland, who still manages to be impressive, both of the other main ladies (Amanda Thane as Valentine and Suzanne Johnston as Urbain) are excellent. the guys are all good too; special mention to John Wegner, who is one of the few Saint-Brises who doesn’t disappoint me. production is traditional, occasionally a bit static, but it works well.
Montpellier 1990: despite my nagging about the costumes and the occasional standing around, probably my favorite overall production. the ball scene is included; neither Urbain’s rondo nor the ballet are. other cuts (remember, this is before the critical edition) are minimal. the most consistently strong leading septet; all of the principals are towards the top of my favorites for their respective roles. production is traditional erring towards minimalist; this works surprisingly well. unfortunately there are no subtitles and the video quality isn’t the greatest.
Berlin 1991: this production is just so confusing to me. cuts are...confusing to say the least. almost all of Act III is cut; all that remains are the first five or so minutes, the nightwatchman’s scene, and the finale, which are fused into an unrelated scene in which a Catholic/Huguenot game of tug-o’-war turns deadly. the ballet, the ball scene, and Urbain’s rondo are all cut. as earlier stated, it is in German, and the translation used has some odd differences (Marcel becomes Raoul’s brother in this staging for no specific reason). Richard Leech’s Raoul, Angela Denning’s Marguérite, and Camille Capasso’s Urbain are all excellent; the rest of the cast is decent but no more. setting seems to be Berlin in the 1960s but references to World War II are continually made through various production elements. the production handles the last two acts surprisingly well but messes with characterization some.
Bilbao 1999: it’s freaking DARK in here did the lighting designer later move to Vienna or something??? ball scene and ballet included; Urbain’s rondo no. one of the lesser-cut productions, actually: it’s in the ballpark of about thirty minutes. cast is mostly unmemorable (which is both a good and bad thing), with the exception of Marcello Giordani as a wonderful Raoul. production is traditional. would help if I could have SEEN MORE OF IT
Metz 2004: the production started off well enough and I had high hopes but things RAPIDLY went south in the final act. the amount of material cut wasn’t so much the issue as what they cut (more on that in a bit), as not much was actually cut. the ballet and Urbain’s rondo were cut; so was the aria portion of the ball scene but not the ballet, which meant (oh God how did I forget about this) we were treated (?) to what was presumably a group of Huguenot TAP DANCERS who were all eventually shot midroutine. total cuts are also around thirty minutes or so. cast once again mostly unmemorable, although Jean-Philippe Marlière is another of the very few who isn’t disappointing as Saint-Bris. speaking of which: the director completely fucked up the ending BY CUTTING THE PART WHERE SAINT-BRIS FINDS VALENTINE GODDAMMIT IT STILL MAKES ME SO ANGRY. production is traditional, except I certainly hope that hideous Black and White Checkered Floor didn’t exist in the 1570s
Liège 2005: pretty production although it also has some lighting issues. nowhere near as egregious as Bilbao, though. one of the more heavily-cut productions: Urbain’s rondo, the ballet, and the ball scene are all cut, as well as a whole lot else, shearing off about 75 minutes of music. cast mostly good: Philippe Rouillon may be my favorite Saint-Bris. I do apologize though for this but I gotta say it: the Raoul and Marcel are terrible. at any rate, the production is traditional. Saint-Bris shoots Valentine at the end, so there’s that.
Bard Summerscape 2009: what??? the??? ever-loving??? hell??? is??? this??? production??? it feels like an extremely violent fever dream. yes, this opera is violent. no, you do NOT need to hammer this into our heads through everything from a mixed martial arts match to onstage sexual violence to a dude getting stabbed with a processional cross. also the production aesthetic is WEIRD. one of the less-cut productions; Urbain’s rondo is not included. cast for the most part holds up admirably; Michael Spyres and Erin Morley are Babies but already great as Raoul and Marguérite. the Saint-Bris is a huge disappointment though (and the poor guy has to sport a hideous tiny beard). I don’t even know what time period this is supposed to take place in. I just don’t know.
Budapest 2017: very pretty production. also largely very boring. one of the more-cut productions, cutting a little over an hour (including the ballet and Urbain’s rondo) but almost paradoxically being one of only three productions to include the full ball scene (the Montpellier and Genève ones are the others) and the post-2011 production that uses the most critical edition material in Act III, including the only filmed production to include Marcel’s Act III aria. Catholics in white, Huguenots in black, the set consists largely of flats with 16th-century images that get raised and lowered; otherwise, the stagehands (and sometimes cast) move around big letters to form certain key words such as Bachus, Amor, the Hungarian word for mercy, etc. at various points in the score. cast is mostly decent. Gabor Bretz is an excellent Marcel. the main issue: there’s no life, no activity, no passion in this production. the Raoul and Valentine have zero chemistry. lot of standing around. it doesn’t feel compelling. in any rate it’s traditional.
Paris 2018: the concept is surprisingly sound albeit somewhat of a head-scratcher when considered on its own. production aesthetic is very minimalist, clean, and bright. about thirty or so minutes are cut, including both ballets (but not the aria in the ball scene) and Urbain’s rondo. one of the most solid overall principal casts. no one can top Lisette Oropesa’s Marguérite. Yosep Kang, particularly given the circumstances surrounding his participation in the production, is excellent and deserves better than what the Parisian public gives him. overall very good musically. the production is set in an imaginary France in the year 2063. it is very interesting.
Genève 2020: the least-cut production of the bunch; it mostly just cuts a bunch of critical-edition Act III material. as previously mentioned: it’s supposed to be set in a movie studio but this is largely pushed into the background for both better and worse. the cast, for the most part, is excellent (will give you one guess who disappointed me in this bunch). John Osborn and Rachel Willis-Sorensen are a phenomenal Raoul/Valentine duo, Michele Pertusi joins them for a thrilling final scene (having expertly navigated his other material), Léa Desandre is the world’s most adorable Urbain. production design is excellent. directorial choices are very interesting, to say the least. the directors apparently woke up and decided to try to establish as many romantic relationships as possible. I am not opposed to it in principle; in fact, I really like a lot of it. however, the directors completely ruined it by trying to put forth the idea that Marcel has a crush on Valentine??? that was just...extremely uncomfortable to watch (also it COMPLETELY missed the point of the duet) but yeah, the production, although weird and confusing in places, is mostly good. setting, specifically I’m not sure about the location but the time period is somewhere between interwar and WWII fashions. so yeah.
anyway, if you’re here now, thanks for reading this unsolicited article! ask me any questions you may have!
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OC Introduction - Jules Shepard
Feel free to use this template for your OCs - tag me if you do, I’d love to see them!
Fandom: Mass Effect
Role: Commander Shepard of the Normandy
Class: Vanguard | Infiltrator
Pre-Service History: Spacer
Psychological Profile: War Hero
BASICS
Full Name: Jules Olivia Shepard
Nickname(s): Shepard, Shep
Pronouns: She/her
Sexuality: Straight
Occupation and Titles: Commander of the SSV Normandy, N7, Veteran of the Skyllian Blitz, First Human Spectre
Birthday & Age: 11th of April 2154, 32 in ME3
Physical description: 1,70m (5' 7"), muscular & curvy, light skin with a few freckles, dark red hair, light green eyes
Clothing style: Casual clothes, tops, cargo pants and jeans, shirts, hoodies, flannels, mostly black and other dark colours, often sporting an N7 print
BACKGROUND
Jules Shepard grew up on a spaceship together with her parents and her older sister Jen. Since her childhood, she always wanted to be the Commander of her own ship, which came true when she was made leader of the Normandy SR-1. Before that though, Jules went through the hard training in the Alliance right after she turned 18, specialising in Sniper Rifles and enhancing her biotic talents until being accepted into the N7 program. Her dedication and ambition brought her a lot of respect in the Alliance, although privately, she’s quite the relaxed and funny person, lover of old books, cartoons and a good beer.
Jules doesn’t have too many regrets, but will never forgive herself for joining the Alliance at such a young age, since her father died only a few months after. In her first years as an active member of the Alliance, she often felt lonely and missed her family a lot. When she was in her early twenties, she had a short affair with a doctor. Jules did fell in love with him, but he was around 12 years older and never wanted to make their relationship public. After this disappointment, she mostly kept to herself until she found a good friend in a guy named Robert Hopes who she met during N7 training. He taught her to loosen up a little, not to take everything too seriously and to start trusting people again. Even years after the War they’re still in contact.
Being the Commander of the Normandy SR-1 also had another advantage - Jules met and fell in love with Major Kaidan Alenko. After the War, they got married in a private ceremony with their closest friends. Both stay active in the Alliance, but take their time to go on vacation, which is either somewhere in the mountains (Kaidan’s choice) or near the ocean, preferably on Hawaii, because Jules loves surfing and her mother and grandmother settled down on O’ahu.
COMBAT & SKILLS
Preferred fighting style: Shooting from a distance with her Sniper Rifle, using her biotics when enemies are too close. Favourite biotic attack is throw.
Favourite weapon(s): Black Widow Sniper Rifle
Special skills: She’s a biotic
RELATIONSHIPS
Family: Her father Fred died shortly after Jules enlisted for the Alliance. Her mother Hannah Silvie retired from active duty and lives on Hawaii, together with her own mum, Jules’ grandmother Anne. Shepard also has an older sister named Jen who works as a journalist and travels a lot.
Love interest: Kaidan Alenko
Best friends: Garrus, Tali, Thane, Wrex
PERSONALITY
Positive traits: Brave, ambitious, humorous, selfless
Negative traits: Stubborn, proud, critical, irascible
Likes: The ocean, old books, ship models, cartoons
Dislikes: Injustice, politics, canned food, nosy people
Fears: Suffocation, not being good enough
Guilty Pleasure: Sharing a beer with Kaidan while watching old cartoons, staying up late
Hobbies: Watching shows, playing games, reading (especially about the culture and history of other species), surfing, spending time with family and friends, collecting ship models
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2018 Writing Review (#2)
I was tagged by the wonderful @barbex and @hollyand-writes for this more formatted writing review than the one I did before December was over (found here), so here goes!
Total number of completed stories:
17: 2 published to AO3 and 15 to tumblr
Of the things I worked on in 2018, two are still in progress: Albatross and Ferelden Fury
Total word count:
39,249 words published to AO3
Didn’t count words published to tumblr
Fandoms written in:
Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Overwatch, Critical Role, Fallout: New Vegas
Looking back, did you expect to write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected?
I don't know how much I expected to write this year, but I'm pretty sure I thought I'd do more than I ended up doing. I'm still proud of what I accomplished though.
What’s your own favourite story of the year?
tbh...Albatross. It’s the thing I keep coming back to, it’s constantly surprising and evolving, and I love everything about writing it.
Did you take any writing risks this year?
I wrote in a fandom I never had before! 2018 was the first year I wrote for Critical Role, which was very exciting and nerve wracking, especially since I wrote that fic within the first few episodes of the new campaign starting. Things have….definitely… changed... within the campaign since then.
Do you have any fanfic or profit goals for the new year?
I’d like to finish Albatross. It will be 3 this year and I think that’s a good time to finally wrap everything up and not have this giant thing looming over me anymore. (Not that it’s really Looming, per se, but having a WIP that big...does things to a person, y’know?)
I’d also like to finish up Ferelden Fury. You know what? Let’s make 2019 the year of finishing all these damn WIPs (and then starting a new one, because I have several ideas for new longfics, so help me).
Best story of the year?
Honestly, I’m so enamored of “And So It Goes,” the Albatross-adjacent fic I wrote for foxnonny after they gave me the idea for the scene set to Billy Joel’s song of the same name. I’m very proud of what I did with it.
Most popular story of the year?
The Fenhawke smut? The Fenhawke smut. Only by a few notes though! Next popular is the Fenhawke fluff, “Is that my shirt?” Both written for @xiz0r...I’m seeing a pattern here...
Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:
The Whumptober prompt for “bloody hands” that had my Hawke interacting with Merrill. I love it and I love them mostly because their relationship is a beautiful contradiction: she’s a blood mage he’s hellbent on protecting when his first reaction with mages is to either lock them up or kill them. He helps her, in some small ways, always hoping that if he’s there, if he guides her, that he’ll be able to mitigate any damage she might cause.
Most fun story to write:
Ferelden Fury, probably. That was/is probably one of the most self-indulgent fics I worked on last year and I had so much fun writing it. It's on my list of things to get back to as soon as I can (after the other two giveaway fics and the next chapter of Albatross), maybe this month or next.
Story with the single sexiest moment:
That would be the fic ask I wrote for xiz0r right after the ridiculous nsfw ban was announced. It is one entire sexy moment, and I didn’t otherwise really write any sexy stuff, though Albatross had a few very sweet moments but they all did the fade to black, iirc.
Most sweet story:
Tied between some Fenhawke fluff and “Brighter,” the Thane/Shep Mass Effect fic I wrote at the beginning of the year.
“Holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you!” story:
Eh, I don’t tend to write much of that. The thing that would be closest is the Whumptober “can you feel this?”/”stabbed” prompt fill, but I don’t call that “wrong” and especially not for me since that sort of thing is my fuckin jam, y’all.
Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters:
The Whumptober “electrocution” prompt really helped me get into Mirallen’s head some more, as he’s one of my OCs I’ve not written much for. It feels like cheating to say this, but continuing on Albatross teaches me so much about Hawke and Fenris (and everyone else) as I keep breaking canon to suit my whims I gotta have a (hopefully) decent grasp of the character at a base level.
Most unintentionally telling story:
Uuh, not sure I wrote anything like that this year? Unless you wanna consider Ferelden Fury as telling everyone what a fucking Nerd I am because I definitely watched that movie at least twice while writing the 7 parts that are up.
Hardest story to write:
As always and ever, Albatross remains the most difficult to write, both due to story content and to the fact that the more I write, the more I have to remember and keep straight and tie off in the end. My notebook is a mess. It's still incredibly rewarding to write, and I'm looking forward to finishing it up.
Biggest disappointment:
There were a few fics I’d hoped would maybe get more love, like the Hawke & Merrill one I mentioned before, but that’s the way things happen. Not a ton of people are going to be interested in reading about my very particular Hawke’s interactions with people, and I’m learning to be OK with that. I’m interested, and that’s really what matters at the end of the day.
Biggest surprise:
My Critical Role fic, “The Province of Marks,” got….So Many Notes in such a short time of me posting it, which I guess is what happens when you post content for a pair people are interested in and the fandom is very poppin’. So that was not what I’m used to with the DA/ME fandom, who seem to be a little more sedate on their commenting/kudosing.
Tagging:
At this point? Anyone who wants to do this! I find these helpful so if you do too, feel free to do this and tag me! If you don’t, no sweat ^_^
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Rules: Tag 9 people you want to know better or just because you feel like it. I was tagged by @saphistar , thank you!!!
Relationship status: Single and quite content.
Favorite colour: Blue! Tho I seem to lean towards maroon clothing these days??
Lipstick or chapstick: ....lipgloss?? That counts right?
Last song I listened to: Feel It Still by Portugal. The Man
Last movie I watched: Mrrrrrrrrr.... oh, the new Jumanji!!
Top 3 TV Shows: Critical Role (it counts right), Grimm, annnd... can I say Escaflowne even tho it’s old??
Top 3 Characters: Garrus Vakarian, Thane Krios, and Jak from Jak and Daxter (an oldie but a goodie! Will always be one of my favorite game series and characters ♥ )
Top 3 Bands: Don’t really... have any. Younger me would be screaming Backstreet Boys, now it’s just... meh?
Books I’m reading: Nothing atm! Haven’t gotten into any in ages! :o
I’ll taaaaaag.... @scientistsalarian , @turianeffect , @shiverpeakstraveler , @lynngo-art , @sephiratales , @natsora , @theladyw , @padawanminimilka , and @orokay ! If you feel like it :D
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ok i've been missing bits and pieces of episodes and so haven't had a whole lot to say but i cannot stop thinking about ashton's conversation with percy. in a meta way it's very funny because like obviously taliesin knows that everything he's yelling at percy for not understanding is something that percy fully understands in the worst possible way.
and i think part of this is just cathartic for taliesin; there's one interview he did that sticks in my head because he says people always get upset at him for saying that percy's an asshole when no really, percy is an asshole, and he finally got to give his own character a piece of his mind in a way that made sense in universe, you know?
but also this has always been what's wrong with percy. i've probably made like sixteen posts about it at this point, but percy's main thing is that he thinks he's special. and he's not.
yes he's had horrible things happen to him. yes he's deeply traumatized. yes he's had horrible thoughts, yes he's done horrible things. and at least early in c1, he's deeply convinced that all of those things together make him uniquely irredeemable, uniquely terrible, uniquely suited to carrying out his byronic revenge scheme, and uniquely deserving of the punishment that would follow.
if you think you're the only one to have ever been this terrible, then of course you can't heal. why would you? it's never been done before.
percy has grown, obviously, since the briarwood days. i don't think anyone who still fully held the idea that they were human garbage would've ever ended up with vex.
but ashton just gave him a hell of a reminder that every traumatized 20something thinks they're uniquely terrible and irredeemable and is only worth something because of the company they keep. everyone's fucked up. everyone can do better. everyone can be better.
there's gotta be some part of percy looking down at ashton and thinking "oh...right."
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@ionswitch, @actualcouncilorsparatus, @onderon, and @mordinette all tagged me to do some variant of a getting-to-know-you meme! Thanks for tagging me! I’ll tag @probablylostrightnow, @erubadhriell, @servantofclio, @acepilotkallo, @bloomingcnidarians, @alenkotrash, and/or anyone else who’d like to do this.
Star sign: Taurus
Height: 5′4″.
Time Right Now: 2:04
Last thing you googled: ‘computer generated christmas carol' (I was looking for this, if you’re curious)
Last book you read: Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente. It was ok, but it's one of those books that I felt went on longer than it needed to...
Favorite music artists: Andrew Bird. Also Regina Spektor!
Last TV show watched: Does Critical Role count? Still slowly watching Episode 1...
What are you wearing right now: Pajamas basically.
When did you create this blog: To find the KOTOR fandom.
What kind of stuff do you post: Mass Effect, puppies and other wonders, KOTOR, whatever other stuff catches my fancy. I also post stories and drawings when I have them.
Do you have instagram: No.
Do you have snapchat: No!
Do u get asks regularly: Sometimes.
How did you choose your url: I like books and games.
Gender: Female
Favorite color: Cerulean
Average hours of sleep: 7ish
Favorite characters: Thane, Miranda, Remus Lupin, Eowyn...
How many blankets do you sleep with: 2 big fleecy ones.
Dream job: Professional hugger of dogs.
Random fact about yourself: I used to be allergic to carrots.
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wow ok so essek and verin really are loki and thor
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MACBETH Nick Howard-Brown (Banquo), Matt Stubbs (Macduff) and David Hywel Baynes (Macbeth) Photo Nick Rutter
St Paul’s Churchyard in Covent Garden is normally a haven of peace and tranquility away from the noise and people of central London. It is a spiritual place where a person can sit and take a look at the lovely flowers and just chill. However, if you pop into here at the moment, you will be in for a slightly different atmosphere, with war, murder, mayhem, witchcraft and betrayal as Iris Theatre present their promenade version of William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Macbeth.
The basic story is a very familiar one. A brave Scottish general named Macbeth (David Hywel Baynes) receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become Thane of Cawdor and then King of Scotland. Shortly after this, another Thane by the name of Ross (Linford Johnson) arrives and greets Macbeth by the title Thane of Cawdor. Now believing the witches may have been onto something, Macbeth is consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife (Mogali Masuku), He murders King Duncan (Stephen Boyce) and as the King’s heir, Prince Malcolm (Jenny Horsthuis) escapes to England, Macbeth takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia. Fearing the witches prophecy about his friend Banquo (Nick Howard-Brown) he is forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler, leaving good men such as the proud Macduff (Matt Stubbs) with no option but to flee to England and join Malcolm as he prepares to take back his homeland from the usurper. The bloodbath and consequent civil war swiftly take Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the realms of madness and death.
A beautiful summer’s evening in a picturesque churchyard and a murderous tale of hocus pocus and vile deaths should never be put together. Iris Theatre have not only done so but done it in tremendous style. The cast may be small but they are, as they say, perfectly formed. Set Designer Alice Channon uses every inch of the church and its yard to provide some great locations for the unfolding tale. Director Daniel Winder has made this a very dark and spooky version of the play and it really works. At times the action is quite brutal and I’m not too sure it would be completely suitable for youngsters of a nervous disposition. I don’t want to give too many details of the production away as it would spoil some of the very impressive surprises but, full credit to Anna Sances for some outstanding costumes and Fight Director Roger Bartlett who has produced some amazingly realistic fights, both with swords and up close.
David Hywel Baynes, in the title role, leads a multi-talented cast. We watch his Macbeth turn from affable lord of the manor to demented murderer doing anything to cling on to a power he doesn’t really have. The rest of the six cast play the other 13 roles in this version. A quick mention for Mogali Masuku as Lady Macbeth. Like her husband, she starts of proud and upright and is, in fact, the stronger of the two characters. However, she is the first to fall and Masuku plays her descent to madness brilliantly. Together, these two actors made the Macbeths into a formidable team and a joy to watch as an audience member.
One interesting point is that some of the characters are played by what could be perceived to be an actor of the wrong gender. The reality is that it doesn’t matter. In Shakespeare’s day, men played all the roles and the writing and acting are so good, the gender of the actor playing the role is totally irrelevant.
Again, without giving anything away, I will say I had a couple of favourite scenes. The end of the first act and opening of the second particularly stand out for me as does the final scene as Macbeth realises the truth of the witches prophesies but still tries to break them.
All told then, this is the best version of Macbeth I have seen so far. Beautifully staged in the Actor’s Church, the entire production is first rate. Shakespeare really did come to life as the sun went down and the evening took over, mirroring the fall of Macbeth as his plans and dreams disappeared over the horizon. Highly recommended.
Review by Terry Eastham
In a new production directed by Daniel Winder, experience the greatest psychological horror story ever told.
Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a terrifying journey into the mind of a murderer. Inspired by the psychosexual imagery of Hieronymus Bosch, this production will weave its way around the grounds of St Paul’s Church; reflecting the play’s journey into the twisted mental landscape of Macbeth as he rises to be king.
Returning to Iris Theatre after three years, David Hywel Baynes takes on the title role, following his critically-acclaimed and Offie-nominated performance in 2014’s Iris production of Richard III.
Macbeth cast:
David Hywel Baynes (Macbeth/Rebel Soldier)
Stephan Boyce (Duncan & Seyton/Porter & Padock & Apparitions)
Jenny Horsthuis (Malcolm & Lady Macduff & Second Witch)
Nick Howard-Brown (Banquo & Captain & Apparitions)
Linford Johnson (Ross/1st Witch)
Mogali Masuku (Lady Macbeth & Macduff’s Son & Captain’s Son & Fleance & Third Witch)
Matt Stubbs (Macduff & Murderer & Harpier & Apparitions)
Macbeth Creative Team: Director Daniel Winder. Set Designer Alice Channon. Costume Designer Anna Sances. Fight Director Roger Bartlett. Lighting Designer Benjamin Polya. Sound Designer and Composer Filipe Gomes. Movement Elissa Aravidou. Witches Choreographer Lina Johansson.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare, directed by Daniel Winder
Wednesday 21 June – Saturday 29 July.
http://iristheatre.com/
http://ift.tt/2ttzWV6 LondonTheatre1.com
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30 Day Shepard Challenge - Day 14
Companions [Mass Effect 3].
The Virmire Survivor?
Liara?
Vega?
Garrus?
EDI?
Tali?
Javik [if obtained]?
Traynor [yes she counts]?
What about former companions?
How did your Shepard react to Mordin’s death?
Thane’s?
Did any other former companions meet a grisly end? If so, who, and what was your Shepard’s reaction?
Did Shepard’s relationship with any of their former companions change between games? What brought this on?
Kaidan: While she would like to be his friend, it all still feels a bit too raw with him for her liking. It doesn’t help in her eyes that he’s always busy whenever she approaches him to talk. While he had two years, for her it feels like it’s only been just over half a year since they broke up. Whenever he mentions what she used to be like, she usually has to bite down on a surge or irritation and anger. She is who she is now and him lingering on the past isn’t helping matters in her opinion. They have good and bad days.
Liara: Elentari misses the long rambling conversations they used to have during their downtime, and just spending time with her. She feels that becoming the Shadow Broker has consumed Liara far more than she realises. Elentari tries to make sure Liara takes breaks from all the monitors when she can manage to pry her from them. She also worries about what will happen to Liara: the matriarchs were worried enough to send Aethya to keep an eye on her. The other fact that Elentari hasn’t forgotten is how they themselves dealt with the previous Shadow Broker. She hopes Liara beats those odds and somehow manages to retire from the position and gets a nice job somewhere with all the Prothean artifacts she could ever want.
Vega: If ever pressed, Elentari really can’t explain how she took such a shine to James so quickly. She was expecting a judgmental asshole like her previous guard. What she never expected was the direct, refreshing honesty from him when she prompted him to. The fact that he speaks Spanish also helps and it’s not uncommon for their conversations to flit back and forth between the two. They developed an easy and pretty solid rapport back on Earth, with a lot of good natured flirting that both know will go absolutely nowhere. It initially threw off Kaidan, who thought they were together until he found out otherwise. As she considers Tali to be her sister, James Vega is the closest person she has to a brother.
Garrus: Elentari was massively relieved to find Garrus on Menae when she went looking for the Primarch. She wouldn’t hear of Garrus bunking down in the battery again, inviting him to move into her quarters. As the Reaper War drags on, they try to take a step back from the constant battles and the ever staggering, and increasing, casualty count when they can. However the best they seem to manage it only responding to messages EDI flagged as high priority or time-critical. Elentari is absolutely convinced that they both can make it through this war. They might be more battered and grieving, but alive and relatively whole.
EDI: She was so accustomed to EDI simply being the Normandy that it took Elentari a long while to remember she could actually bring EDI on a squad with her. She usually sees EDI mobile unit in the cockpit when she goes to talk to Joker or EDI and mentally reminds herself. Elentari and EDI usually discuss the more metaphysical aspects of self, identity and what exactly makes humans human. It was also fairly common for them to discuss pop culture and other sundry as well. Elentari thinks EDI’s deadpan humour is pretty much bang on and she loves watching Joker fall for it repeatedly.
Tali: Elentari was glad that the admirals saw sense and didn’t exile Tali. But she never expected them to do something sensible and make Tali a full Admiral on the Board. As soon as they had a private moment, she congratulated Tali, breaking out the dextro brandy for her and providing her with a specialty sterilizing straw. Tali expressed some doubts about being named to the board, but Elentari thinks Shala’Raan is right and that Tali is selling herself short of her capabilities. She frankly tells Tali as much and tells her, “It’ll be good to have one more voice of reason to help sort out this mess.”
Javik: At first, Elentari isn’t too sure what to make of Javik. He’s surly, refers to everyone as ‘primitive’ and is usually such a dick that most of the crew gave up trying to be friendly. Yet, with Beacon and the Cipher in her brain, she knows how bad it was for the Protheans, of what had been sacrificed in the name of trying to survive and win the ever-increasingly dire war. She knows how badly it can go in their cycle, since theirs is just starting. Javik is a remnant from the last dying gasps of his. As such, she goes out of her way, leading by example in regard to him. She engages with him for minimal interaction when he emerges from his quarters. Nothing too long, but enough for a short, if terse conversation. Javik slowly learned how to ‘relax’ when the Cipher provided yet another quirk she wasn’t expecting in the slightest: her speaking Prothean to him. However, Elentari has noticed that Javik is decidedly more tolerant of her than he is of others. Coupled with some puzzling, oblique references, she suspects it’s because he knows bits of her past, probably more than anyone else does barring Garrus.
Traynor: As Traynor came with two recommendations to her name - one from EDI and the other from James Vega - Elentari decided to have Traynor stay onboard in her role as a comm specialist. It was a move that paid off big time as Traynor proved to be especially adept at her job and then some, collaborating with EDI on multiple projects to make the Normandy better. They became friends, discussing strategy and such after Traynor mentioned playing chess. Once Elentari mentioned she sometimes plays Galaxy of Fantasy to unwind, she and Traynor eventually came up with Game Night. It started as chess matches between them or one-on-one battles in Galaxy of Fantasy with a special mod Traynor wrote in the privacy of the Loft. Now, every seven days, the games are set up in Port Observation and it’s not uncommon for a crowd to form when Traynor and Elentari get into one of their pitched battles.
Cortez: Elentari befriended Steve, helping him through his grief over Robert as best she could. Her own memories of grief have the benefit of time; losing her squad on Akuze was nearly a decade ago, Northey’s death was about fifteen years ago and she can’t even recall the faces of her parents. She simply spoke from the heart to try and help him. Elentari appreciates Steve’s level-headedness along with his dry wit as well as the fact that he does not make fun of her dancing. Every so often she’ll pop by the hangar deck to chat with him, maybe join in on teasing James a bit. If she knows a poker night is happening, she tries to get a six pack of Pacífico ordered in from Zakera Cafe since she knows both he and James drink it.
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WHEN THE MORAL COMPASS IS SPINNING
Storytelling is one of the most powerful ways for society to recalibrate its moral compass.
Throughout his long career, Sidney Lumet was obsessed with stories of moral courage – the lone individual who has the guts to risk everything and stand up against the crowd for what he/she believes is right.
His own courage and commitment as a filmmaker resulted in 46 Academy Award nominations and 6 Academy Awards, including 4 for Network.
Call us crazy, but here at The Thread, we are actually chumps enough to believe in this stuff. To us, it felt like no coincidence that American Masters chose this moment to premiere By Sidney Lumet.
It was a great profile, and inspired us to put together this list of Lumet favorites.
BY SIDNEY LUMET (2017)
In By Sidney Lumet, Lumet tells his own story in a never-before-seen interview shot in 2008 by late filmmaker Daniel Anker and producer Thane Rosenbaum—directed by Nancy Buirski.
With honesty and humor, Lumet reveals what matters to him as an artist and as a human being. He talks about his early years growing up in NYC tenement housing where he quotes Brecht: “First feed the face, then tell me right from wrong.”
As a young soldier in Calcutta he witnessed the brutal rape of a young girl by a group of G.I.’s but was powerless to stop it—this criminal act and his inability to stop it shadowed him through his life and his work on the fight for justice.
Lumet often used New York City’s urban spirit to infuse his films with a realism and intensity that kept audiences in suspense while pushing them to consider their own morality. His consistent dedication to truth and what drives human behavior makes him a unique and philosophical director who is sorely missed.
12 ANGRY MEN (1957)
In 1956, Reginald Rose and Henry Fonda commissioned Lumet to turn Rose’s Studio One teleplay of 12 Angry Men into a Hollywood movie. Before this, Lumet had only directed TV dramas, but it was this first feature that defined Lumet as one of the industry’s most socially conscious directors. Themes of justice, personal integrity, and radicalism would later appear in the scripts he chose, as well as the people he chose to work with.
In the film Fonda plays Juror 8, who casts the lone ‘not guilty’ vote as he and his fellow jurors deliberate the fate of a young Puerto Rican boy facing the death penalty for his father’s murder. A symbolic counterargument to the witch hunts of McCarthyism, it is also a quest for social justice, this time by way of that iconic American institution – the jury.
Critic Roger Ebert called it “a masterpiece of stylized realism.” Even skeptical New Yorker critic Pauline Kael said that it was, “so sure-fire it has the crackle of a hit.”
Justice Sonia M. Sotomayor has credited it with inspiring her career in law. “It sold me that I was on the right path, “she said. “This movie continued to ring the chords within me.”
SERPICO (1973)
Serpico was a police thriller starring Al Pacino, this time in the role of an isolated and intense undercover cop whose radical idealism defines his search for justice as he blows the whistle on payoffs and corruption in the police department.
Based on a true story (written by Peter Maas; screenplay co-written by blacklisted writer Waldo Salt) the movie showed Lumet at his best, filming on New York City streets with a talented crew of actors playing characters in moral conflict and a story that was in perfect sync with the mood of the country.
Lumet has said of Serpico, “I’m not directing a moral message. I’m directing that piece and those people, and if I do it well, the moral message will come through.” Near the end of the film as Al Pacino is testifies before the Knapp Commission, Lumet mentions that he was often criticized for not having a thematic line in his work and for doing many different kinds of movies. “It’s nonsense,” he said. “There is always a bedrock concern: Is it fair?”
DOG DAY AFTERNOON (1975)
“Talk about radical,” says Lumet. “What could be more radical than a guy robbing a bank so that he can get the money to pay for his boyfriend’s sex operation?”
“The thing that I think makes Dog Day what it is Pacino’s performance. Because it could have easily degenerated into a sensational piece,” he says. “We have got to reach, on a fundamental level, into anybody watching this movie, to make them aware of the humanity of these two men. And I couldn’t have had a better person unearth that feeling than Pacino because he is like an open wound up there.”
In the end of this film even the hostages are rooting for them.
NETWORK (1976)
Lumet said of Network, “For me and [writer] Paddy Chayefsky, the network was a metaphor for America and the corruption of the American spirit.” He noted Chayefsky’s prescience and said, “It’s only gotten worse,” at the time referring indirectly to the war in Iraq.
Faye Dunaway and Peter Finch star in this powerful satire of the news industry. When anchorman Howard Beale is forced to retire his 25-year post because of his age, he announces to his viewers that he’s going to commit suicide on his final program. When his announcement looks like it will improve the ratings, the entire event is turned into a garish entertainment spectacle.
THE VERDICT (1982)
Based on a script by David Mamet. Paul Newman stars as Frank Galvin, an alcoholic Boston lawyer who tries to redeem his personal and professional reputation by winning a difficult medical malpractice case against a large Catholic hospital.
Helped by his assistant Mickey (Jack Warden) and his new girlfriend, Laura (Charlotte Rampling) The Verdict is an outstanding, if not very legally accurate, courtroom drama; his decision to try the case without telling the family of the settlement offer would probably lead to his real-life disbarment.
The central theme concerns a man who overcomes his own impulses toward self-destruction and summons the courage to challenge the system – even though it will inevitably turn him into a pariah.
WHEN THE MORAL COMPASS IS SPINNING was originally published on FollowTheThread
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