Adventures in Imaginary Worlds

I'm a Catholic writer and reader. I like books, TV shows, and movies and I talk about them here, and I'll reblog anything that catches my fancy.

[sisterdragonwithfeathers]

I love how many people over the years have been like “you know what would make the sky even cooler? Fish”

[ohandalso]

im sorry im sorry orpheus LAUGHED last night before sobbing when eurydice fell back to the underworld???????? oh im sick to my stomach. OH IM SICK. orpehus in shock fully dissociated from the moment just thinking about how absurd it all is. or even a moment of elation that it wasnt a trick after all, that she really followed him back only for it all to crash down on him IM SICKKKKKKKK !!!!!! JACK WOLFE YOU ARE SICK !!!!!!!!!!

[fictionadventurer]

My friend, I have been remiss! I never sent you an ask for the Conversation Hearts Exchange all those months ago, after I got behind. But I fully intended to do it, no matter how late. I wanted to tell you that I read The Romance of a Shop by Amy Levy, and I loved it! It definitely has similar vibes to Little Women. I loved the 1880s setting, in times that were changing but still tied to tradition. Since The Romance of a Shop is short as classics go, and since the writing style is accessible, direct, and smooth, I found it very readable. The book was interesting and truly profound, entertaining in a light and humorous and cheerful way, and fascinating in its portrayal of difficult events and realistic characters that made for a gripping read. The book kept me up late many nights while I became more and more invested in the story that was unfolding. I predicted most of the plot points before they happened, but it didn't feel predictable at all, especially since the events occurred in such an exciting way. The characters were very good and nicely varied. I liked that the sisters each had different personalities, and so did their friends. They seemed like real people. I really felt for the main sister in her struggles and her loneliness and her fight to keep her family afloat. I was very moved by her despair near the end when she believed she would never be happy. I'm so glad the book ended for her the way it did, even after tragedy. I really enjoy reading period books that were actually written IN the period, to see what it was actually like back then and what the real mindsets of the people were. I've read a few from various periods, but not this one, and this fit the bill nicely. (It shed some light on the parts of The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion that were accurate and other parts that were anachronistic.) I regret that I never told you how much I loved this book, because I truly did love it! It blew me away and became one of my favorite books I've read this year (and among my favorites from recent years as well). I recommended it to several friends while I read it, and I never breathed a word to you, because I wanted to surprise you with a Conversation Hearts ask. And so...here I am months later, finally telling you my tale. Thank you for such an excellent recommendation! You always have such good taste. I'm so glad I got to read this book.

I'm so thrilled that you enjoyed it! I wish that I had more to add to this, but you've covered so much of what I enjoy about it, and I don't have the brainpower for more commentary. But it always makes me happy when someone loves a book that I loved and recommended, and I'm glad that you found so much to enjoy.

[fictionadventurer]

Didst thou see!! New Christmas Carol adaptation this November. Johnny Depp as Scrooge, Sam Claflin as Fred, Rupert Grint as Bob Cratchit and Ian McKellan as Marley. Curiosity bids me watch it

I have seen, but most of the stuff I've seen about it has just been people mercilessly shredding the tagline for implying that it's a prequel. It seems that this might not be the case. I'm weary of internet discourse lately, so I've been afraid to look into it further. But a Christmas Carol adaptation always intrigues me, so I may have to look into it when it gets closer to release.

[fictionadventurer]

I visited the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam a while ago and I had a thought: I think the idea of art being merely expressing yourself and your feelings is a disastrous idea.

All throughout the exhibit they talked about Van Gogh's feelings on his subjects, how he observed them, how he tried to capture aspects of them. Yes he discussed the idea of expressing himself, but in context it felt more like trying to express how he felt about the thing he was showing. The focus was always on the outside world and other people, not himself.

I wonder if artists the art all about themselves is why modern art became so opaque, pretentious, and dull. And given how art tends to reflect us, our emotions, and our thoughts, I suspect the same principle applies to humans in general.

Yes, absolutely. In the age of AI art, we're aware that human self-expression is a vital part of the creative process, but it shouldn't be the focus. A creative work is most interesting when someone is looking at the world and saying, "This is what I see. I want you to see it, too." Pointing another person toward something else rather than at yourself.

[fictionadventurer]

16 and 19 for the simple asks!

16. what's a piece of advice you would give to yourself five years ago?

Start exercising more.

19. Write, type, or speak?

When it comes to text, I far prefer a keyboard to phone text.

[fictionadventurer]

13, 19, 20 🩷

13. what's something you learned recently?

I just watched a video about Annie Oakley's life, and let me tell you, I did not expect to be swooning over her husband. You're telling me that a guy from the 1880s who was working as a professional sharpshooter was beaten by a girl the first time she was ever in a shooting competition, and his reaction was to marry that girl and happily fade into the background as he supported her much more successful career? What a man!

19. Write, type, or speak?

In most daily circumstances, I would far rather speak to a person than try to muddle through written messages.

20. what do you wish someone would ask you?

Since I've answered this question a lot, I'll just answer a question from the list that I haven't been asked yet.

To no one's surprise, the music that's been stuck in my head lately has mostly been the soundtrack of Hadestown. A lot of "Way Down Hadestown", "Wait for Me", "Road to Hell", and most recently "Why We Build the Wall".

[fictionadventurer]

19. Write, type, or speak?

7. what's your favorite way to travel? Is there a mode of travel you haven't done that you want to experience?

5. What's your drink of choice? (Coffee/tea order, alcohol of choice, pop, etc)

19. Write, type, or speak?

When it comes to text, I do much better typing on a keyboard, because my handwriting is increasingly terrible. I can also generally get out my thoughts more clearly when writing than when speaking.

However, I will always prefer a phone call to text or email. You can get everything done in one conversation instead of waiting for the back-and-forth of a million tiny messages, and you can get across all sorts of nuances with tone of voice instead of stressing over how someone might interpret your two sentences of text.

7. what's your favorite way to travel? Is there a mode of travel you haven't done that you want to experience?

I love a good road trip. One day, I'd like to try a train journey.

5. What's your drink of choice? (Coffee/tea order, alcohol of choice, pop, etc)

For tea: A chai latte, earl gray, or various kinds of herbal tea

Alcohol: Whiskey and cola

Pop: Lime Coke is my special treat that I can only get in a Freestyle machine.

[yellbug]

the panel from eloise that i hold in my mind like a talisman whenever i am even a little bit busy

[merefis18]

there’s a huge difference between the “I can fix him” and “I want to change because she inspires me” tropes and I need everyone to know the former sucks but the latter is beautiful

[huariqueje]

Afternoon Sun. - Lars Greger

Swedish , b. 1953 -

Oil on canvas , 95 x 94 cm.

[fictionadventurer]

8, 12, and 20?

8. favorite month of the year and why?

After May, probably October, for a lot of the same reasons,but in reverse. Bright colors on the trees, weather is still decently warm without being too warm. Plus, now it comes with the Inklings Challenge.

12. dishes or laundry?

Laundry, because the machine does most of the work and keeps the water all safely contained within itself.

20. what do you wish someone would ask you?

I kind of wish someone would ask me to join in a collaborative creative thing, because I can't muster up enthusiasm for my own creative projects, but it would be fun to brainstorm something just for fun. (I say this knowing that I can't even live up to my beta reading commitments right now. Which I do need to buckle down and get to.)

[fictionadventurer]

3, 4, 14, and 20 for the simple asks, if you please?

3. what are you looking forward to right now?

I've got my first overseas trip happening later this year. I'm terrified by all the logistics behind it, but beneath that, I am excited.

4. if you could do anything at all today, what would it be?

Honestly, at this point I'll settle for anything that's not "rotting on my phone".

14. if you could give a TED talk on anything, what would you talk about?

Maybe I'd just rant about the culture of negativity in creative/fandom spaces and how I just want people to appreciate things rather than nitpicking everything to death and being mean about everything and everyone they mildly dislike?

20. what do you wish someone would ask you?

I kind of wish I had someone in real life to talk to about Hadestown, because I'm alone in my fandom and my listening to it, and if I could just ramble about the details with someone for a few hours, maybe I could move on.

[fictionadventurer]

4, 14, and 20 💜

4. if you could do anything at all today, what would it be?

I really wish I could go on a day trip somewhere outside of my usual bubble. See some cute shops, maybe see some kind of festival with live music.

14. if you could give a TED talk on anything, what would you talk about?

Theology of the Body, maybe?

20. what do you wish someone would ask you?

I wish someone would ask me to go on some kind of day trip per the above. I never seem to be able to manage to arrange these things on my own, but I'd be the first to go along if someone else had someplace they wanted to go.

[fictionadventurer]

8. favorite month of the year and why?

18. Are you musical? Play any instruments or sing? Would you ever perform for an audience?

8. favorite month of the year and why?

May. Bright sunshine, flowers, trees, it's nice out while not being too warm. It's just perfect.

18. Are you musical? Play any instruments or sing? Would you ever perform for an audience?

I've been told I have a pretty good singing voice. I was in high school choir, and I've been singing in church choirs occasionally for the past couple of years. I don't have any trouble singing for an audience anymore. Especially in a church context, because they're just glad they can find anyone to sing, so the point is not to impress people or show off, but just not to majorly screw up, and I'm pretty good at that.

As far as instruments go, I play a mean recorder and a pretty decent tin whistle. I took about a year's worth of piano lessons in college and was decent at it, but never touched a piano afterward, and now the thought of relearning everything is so daunting that I can never manage to try again.

[fictionadventurer]

14 for the ask game

14. if you could give a TED talk on anything, what would you talk about?

Maybe something to do with fairy tale retellings? Idk, I just think that the concept of retelling old stories in a way that's both faithful to the storytelling tradition while doing something new and exciting and worth telling is applicable in the current creative landscape.

[frownyalfred]

watching a tiktok about reverse tropes in fics and i laughed so hard at this comment i rolled off my bed