#a fable

[tomoleary]

Mike Mignola “A Fable” Marvel Fanfare #16 Title Splash Sub-Mariner Namor Original Art (Marvel, 1984) Source

[darkworldlightwork]

The fable of the boy who lost as big as he dreamed.

A young man grew up with a dream. Some called it wacky, but the boy had a mission. He was determined to get on the show "Let's Make a Deal" get to the big showcase and choose door 2.

He was obsessed, confident and determined. After meany years of trying, he finally makes it on to the show. He is hyper focused and makes it to the final showcase and he wins!

When the host asks him what door he wants to choose, he panics. In the background, he hears someone in the audience screaming 'One!!!' Because of this, he accidently blurts out 'one.'

As soon as the words leave his lips, he is crushed. He has no idea what happened.

His goal was to get on the show, get to the showcase, choose door 2 and WIN!

When door one opens, the man is devastated to find it is the boobie prize. He is met with a goat chewing hay and a 'womp womp' from the sound department.

Next, it is revealed that the real prize was behind door 2 just as he'd suspected.

The man is crushed. He has no idea what happened on the stage. He has no idea why he blurted out the wrong number after all the time he spent preparing.

He'd dreamed and planned for the moment his whole life. He meditated, manifested, prayed and practiced for the show. Unfortunately, he didn't put the same effort into his real life, He focused on 'the show' and not reality.

The man had always been easily influenced and insecure with his decisions. He had a habit of letting others 'talk him into' things that he wasn't 100% sure about because he was never 100% sure about anything.

The man THOUGHT he was 100% sure about which door he wanted and he was... until it came time to see his vision through. In the moment, he simply folded under the pressure and went with someone else's suggestion.

All the world is a stage, but it's necessary to plan for more than just a show. It is important to have the courage to see your visions all the way through to reality.

-Dark World Light Work

[warblingandwriting]

I can't listen to these star trek podcasts anymore, these people whose ostensible job is media analysis apparently have absolutely no reading comprehension.

I was listening to this one podcast-made by people who are actually employed by a magazine/podcast network and not just some friends hanging out (in which case I'd be more lenient) and they just seemed to not understand certain episodes at all?

The two in particular were The Omega Glory and Let That be Your Last Battlefield, neither of which are particularly good, to be fair. BUT! A part of the reason they aren't great is because their messaging is so on the nose! Like It should be impossible to miss the messages these episodes are sending but somehow these folks do, in what I feel like is a truly idiotic way.

This podcast, in discussing these episodes, was assuming that the humans on the enterprise are the representation of contemporaneous (ie-60s) society, while the aliens are supposed to represent... other cultures I guess? Like on of them literally said that the point of Let That be Your Last Battlefield was that humans had reached equality (in the 60s, to be clear) and were now teaching aliens the same thing. Like what???

In that episode the Cheron are very obviously supposed to represent present day humanity and the inequalities and hatreds that tear us apart, and the fate of their planet is what, star trek says, will happen to use if we can't get over our prejudices to reach the idealistic future TOS provides. It's not saying we're already there! It's saying we have to work to get rid of the same prejudices the Charon have to reach that.

Now it doesn't do this very well I'll admit, it's too heavy handed, and the reactions to the Charon are far too 'both sides'-y for my liking, but to claim the episode is trying to say that humanity has already achieved balance indicates a lack of ability to analyze that is is frankly baffling to me.

And the same with the Omega Glory! Yes, Kirk reading out the constitution at the end is stupid, but again this Podcaster seemed to think he was saying that the United States as it was in the 60s was perfect when that is so clearly not the case! The episode is saying that, once again, we, as in present day humans, are not living by the values we set out for ourselves, and we'd do well to remember things like freedom for all.

Again, the episode is far too heavy handed, and weirdly America centric, but to claim its intention is to show off how good present day America is compared to a theoretical alien species is just ridiculous to me. THE ALIENS ARENT REAL they are us, the federation is what we could be if we choose to let go of prejudices and war, and the aliens in these episodes are what we become if we don't, other episodes of course handle this a lot better, but these two are still saying the thing.

They are demanding change, not claiming the status quo is right. And I don't know how anyone with a lick of actual analytical skill could see it otherwise.

[dragonflyxparodies]

‘kay so for A Fable, Agreed Upon, I have done but not yet posted;

- Daphne piece

- Aftermath of the Trix getting illegally incarcerated, In Which A Thing Happens

- Selina being a good girl doing ritualistic animal sacrifice for Science (Magic)!

Which means the next chronological piece I want to work on is FUCKING FINALLY THE PIECE WHERE AISHA COMES IN OH MY FUCKING GOD

Which will also be the piece Valtor comes in at but as i have said before he is but a footnote and I’m def worried y’all have gotten your hopes up about him. Most canon villains are not gonna be big in this AU though looking back I think i mention all the like. moderately cool ones.

I’m just. Aisha, my darling. I have had PLANS for her introduction. Because she’s a BAMF! and deserves to be treated as such. She will bring up the “total number of heirs to the throne committing actual fucking treason against said thrones” count to a whopping three. Bloom isn’t counted bc her birth parents would actively encourage her committing treason and her adoptive parents do actively encourage her committing treason.

What I also want to do (still) that would take place prior to this shit is;

- Stormy learning about the witch trials

- everyone goes to earth for Halloween

- Helia + the boys

- Helia + Flora

- Flora + Mirta bonding

- Stella doing Princess Treason Shit (this will extend past Field Trip)

- Diaspro doing Princess Treason Shit (this will extend past Field Trip)

so. We’ll see what I can pump out.

[the-final-sentence]

And so they argued, and to this day they are still arguing; and to this day they are still in their prison cells, their stomachs / trembling with fear.

Etheridge Knight, from “A Fable”

[imperiuswrecked]

Rereading A Fable, it really hits home just how much Namor actually cares more for animals than people, like he was trying to help the sailors (who attacked him) but when they drowned he didn’t give them a second thought but the horse, he couldn’t let it die and tried to save it even though he was injured.

The art by Mike Mingola (he of Hellboy fame, I believe this comic came out before hellboy though and it was one of his early works) really lends to just how dark and vicious the seas are, and how they threatened to engulf the horse.

Not a big story my any means, but I really do enjoy the art work (a bit meh on some of his Namor in close up panels though) and the ending really gave it a nice fantasy feel as Father Neptune changes the horse into a sea horse because Namor did not wish for it to die.

Marvel Fanfare (1982) #16

[infiniterichesinalittleroom]

A Fable

Two women with the same claim came to the feet of the wise king. Two women, but only one baby. The king knew someone was lying. What he said was Let the child be cut in half; that way no one will go empty-handed. He drew his sword. Then, of the two women, one renounced her share: this was the sign, the lesson. Suppose you saw your mother torn between two daughters: what could you do to save her but be willing to destroy yourself—she would know who was the rightful child, the one who couldn’t bear to divide the mother.

— Louise Glück • Ararat