Ten people you'd like to know better!
Ok so, I may not be a boomer, but I do have the soul of one. This is the very first time I'm writing sth that isn't a commentary on another blog, so I don't know how this works. But hey, there's a first time for everything, eh? So I'll just be parroting the style of the person who tagged me. Speaking of...
Thank you @i-support-celeborn-wrongs for tagging me! :D
Last song: "The End and the Beginning - Song of Time" by Tamiya Terashima and Aoi Tejima from the Ghibli movie Tales from Earthsea. (hey, I know it is largely viewed as a mid movie at best - and yes, I have read the books and I agree with this statement to some degree - but the song really spoke to me for some reason).
Currently watching: Legend of the Galactic Heroes (1988) and Witch Hat Ateiler. My sister and I are in the process of watching LOGH's last season, and we have just finished watching all the available episodes of Witch Hat Atelier.
LOGH: Because this is somewhat of a niche anime, I will have to tell you a little about it. Nothing spoilery, don't worry!
This is a show that chronicles a portion of the 150 - year - old war between the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance at a time in the distant future when humanity has already reached out towards the stars and colonized other planets. On the Empire side we have the poster boy Reinhard von Lohengramm, who is a low-ranked aristocrat whose sister was taken by the last Emperor of the Goldenbaum dynasty as his mistress when both of them were children. With his trusted companion Siegfried Kircheis (historians will call them "close friends" ), Reinhard seeks to not topple the imperial system, but to become the Emperor himself to save his sister and the Empire from the tyranny of the Goldenbaum dynasty and its pompous aristocrats. His goal is to stop the war by "conquering the universe" and unifying humanity under one rule.
On the Free Planets Alliance side we have Reinhard's primary foil Yang Wen Li (the Trickster, the Magician of the battlefield), the unwilling participant of the war who tries to retire like 5 times over the course of the show but because of his tactical genius, he is repeatedly forced to take up the role of the leader to fight in order to protect those he holds dear. It also does not help that his superiors are mostly selfish pieces of shit. Yang Wen Li is THE definition of the meme "I accidentally became important at work and it's ruining my life right now". The dude would rather become a historian, stay at home, write a book, drink tea (and alcohol) and read. Despite his mild, non-ambitious nature, though, he is an idealist in the sense that he is hell-bent on protecting the (sometimes) vague ideal that is democracy.
Man, I just love this show and the nuances it puts into every single one of its characters (and trust me, there's A LOT of ppl in its main cast). The fact that NONE of the characters (even the frickin side and background characters) have the same "anime face" is a visual testament to that (is it obvious that I do not like the reboot bc of this?) Not to mention the way it explores concepts like imperialism and democracy through a relatively objective lens, considering both of their political strengths and weaknesses and how some people exploit both of these systems for their own benefits (Trunicht and Rubinsky I will fucking murder you both. I will take Oberstein's cold, extreme utilitarianism over these two any time, and that's saying something). I just love that the show goes beyond the surface-level "empire bad - democracy good" explanation by creating compelling characters from both sides with equally compelling philosophies and arguments. There are warmongers on both sides who use the masses as they see fit. There is a HUGE difference between democracy the idea and "democracy" the real-life system.
Although, I have to say that the source of inspiration for the Empire and the Free Planets Alliance is VERY MUCH on the nose. Like, COMICALLY on the nose. You will know what I mean by that if you somehow decide to watch this extremely niche and humongous anime lol. And aside from some German names that do not make sense as names, there's a fair amount of misogyny involved that sometimes makes one question whether it is just the in-universe misogyny or a product of its time/things that author kinda took for granted. Rare as they were, there were a few moments that made me go "I'm sorry, what???".
Also, I believe this has got to be said: Yoshiki Tanaka (the og author - the anime is actually adapted from a series of novels) clearly has a favorite character in the series (spoiler: it's Reinhard). Like, the amount of drama and nuance that he puts in Reinhard (and my baby boo Kircheis), the Empire Admirals and their relationships is kinda ridiculous compared to the lighthearted (but fun and wholesome) banter between the Alliance soldiers. 80% of the time, only Yang Wen Li carries the show on the Alliance side, both character-wise and military-wise. Also, I wish the author spent more time establishing Frederica's character like he did with Hilda (gosh I love her). *Sigh* He just loves his sexually repressed (gay) admirals. And honestly, I can't fault him for that. But some more nuance to other characters would be nice, ya know.
But enough about LOGH! As for Witch Hat Atelier, I'm gonna keep it short since it is fairly new and known: brilliant story, great characters, gorgeous animation and enchanting sountrack. Can't wait for season 2.
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas: for my book club, so it's sporadic. But I'm LOVING IT. Mmmm love me a good revenge story. One of the OGs, no less!
The Witchwood Crown by Tad Williams: on and off, the series is HUGE. It's a sequal series to the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn Saga. I ADORE listening to Andrew Wincott's narration - the voice actor of Raphael from BG3,
Black Leopard Red Wolf by Marlon James: this is a rather heavy book I guess - by heavy, I mean DARK dark fantasy - but since I was already slapped hard by Octavia Butler's brilliant Parable of the Sower beforehand I thought why the hell not. I have just begun this, and I'm slowly getting used to the rhythm of its language, which kinda reminds me of the lyrical language of The Silmarillion in the sense that the whole story is told as if according to an old, oral storytelling tradition, but also VASTLY different both in content and style. I like it so far!
Tiamat by İhsan Oktay Anar: just about to begin this, so I will withold judgement for now. But I remember loving his previous book Puslu Kıtalar Atlası (The Atlas of Invisible Continents), so we will see how this one goes.
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu: I like this lovely, wholesome snack so far :) I had started the TV adaptation before (The Untamed), but I think it was after ep 35 that I wanted to borrow the books from my friend and read the books first. Now that I am relatively more free, no time like the present!
Hay bin Yakzan by Ibn Sina (Avicenna) & Ibn Tufeyl (separate stories from 2 authors, but in one book): I have wanted to brush up on my knowledge of Islamic philosophy and mysticism for AGES, and this is a good start!
Current obsession: LOGH, The Silmarillion, BG3, Final Fantasy VII (OG and remakes. FFVII REVELATION LET'S FUCKING GOOOO).
Ulmo's Wager books: my Silmarillion fanfic, one main story and the other a book of one-shots. They're already out so I won't say much about them.
Those that I haven't shared yet
A LOGH fanfic that has no name yet: I'm writing this with my sister, and for now the story is in its baby stages. It's gonna center around an OFC Karin who is the twin sister of one of Reinhard's fleet admirals, Neidhart Müller. She is a feisty field medic trainee who wants to become a trauma surgeon. The only thing that stands in her way to get promoted is a system that does not favor women :). Years ago, at Iserlohn Fortress, she treated teenage Reinhard and Kircheis after the latter was badly injured in a plot meant for their assassination (the plot is canon btw). Back then she just chuckled affectionately at their passionately ambitious declaration that they would not forget her kindness, and now she finds herself as part of newly appointed Fleet Admiral Reinhard's flagship Brünhild's medical crew. She will (hopefully) be paired with Oskar von Reuenthal, one of Reinhard's trusted (*ahem*) fleet admirals. If I have to describe Reuenthal... hoo boy. My sister categorizes him and the other LOGH characters perfectly: "There are some (Reinhard) whom I want to wrap in a burrito blanket and then afterwards snog them to death, and there are some characters (Reuenthal) whom I just want to put in a jar and observe them in their natural habitats."Gwindor and Maeglin from the Silmarillion are kinda like these two categories for me, for example. The goal of this pairing is not just that "I can fix him." Trust me, Reuenthal is fucked up in SO many ways that it is sometimes unreal. The man is his own biggest hater (to the point of suicidal in a massively destructive way) and also a hardcore misogynist in a Freudian way (yes, he has immense mommy issues. AND daddy issues). No, I want him to BREAK in Karin's hands. I want this man to weep and bend the knee to my healer queen ("healer" as in "I'm a healer, but... *cocks gun*) and fuck up the one potentially good thing in his life. Does that make sense? Anyway.
Haunted by Memories: So this is a sequel to Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla that I wrote for one of my undergraduate courses a few years ago. It's about Laura's mental struggles almost ten years after the events of the novella. She has grown much since then (sexually and mentally), and while her experiences in the novella have strengthened her in so many ways, they also caused her to be plagued by night terrors involving a dark shape (usually in the form of a giant cat with blood-red eyes) sitting on her chest, suffocating her and drinking her blood. Resolved to deal with this once and for all, she finally decides to visit the medical philosopher Dr. Martin Heselius, whom she had written to before (Carmilla is originally part of a psychological horror anthology in which Heselius is a character who tries to help patients with "supernatural" issues. Laura's story, narrated by her, is a part of this anthology). I want to write more about their sessions, and have Laura eventually become his assistant of sorts, in which she not only helps him with his work, but is also trained by him to become a doctor - sorry, a "medical philosopher" - herself. Will she be able to conquer the malicious remnants of Carmilla (whom she hates AND still loves) and use them to protect herself in paranormal situations in the future, or will she succumb to them and lose her mind? The whole premise of this story was inspired by Mononoke (the anime series, NOT the Ghibli movie). So I thought with this fic: what if Mononoke, but Victorian? The fic will involve crossovers from other 19th century gothic novels as well.
Last search: the English name for sandpaper numbers, to be used for the next chapter of my Silm fic.
Favorite flower: I genuinely don't know... I wish I knew more about flowers, their language and botany in general for this ;) All I can say is that I do not have a favorite. I like them all, really.
I... don't believe I have personally and regularly interacted with anyone on a direct level even in comment sections pffft. Except for the very few people who follow me and like and RB the same stuff as me, of course. And with some I privately talk already. So I don't know if I can (or should) tag anyone. My lack of social media knowledge and etiquette really shows lol. But for the sake of finding people who would like to talk/discuss more about all these things above and more: @namixart, @thewritersatlas, @insidethehalloftheflame-eyedking, @marionpoinsotarts
Absolutely no pressure, though! And whoever sees this post and would like to comment on it/write their version of it are welcome to do so.
