*passes u a glass of water* leverage ot3 Halloween pranks?
***
Thank you for the water reminder, dearest. I needed that.
We never did get Haloween and Leverage, did we? Seems like a lost opportunity. I got distracted by the banter so it’s not very prank centric.
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“You’re not wearing a costume.” Parker, mask perched on the top of her head, crossed her arms and glared at Eliot.
“No, I’m not.” There was no concession to the holiday in his outfit, not even a little orange to balance out the black he wore from head to toe.
“How are you going to get any candy if you’re not wearing any costume? And a mask. The mask is essential so no one knows how old we are.” For a moment Parker switched her focus. “Hardison, aren’t you ready yet?”
“I’ll get my candy the same way I always do; by tempering the chocolate correctly when I make myself a batch of truffles. And unlike some people, no one’s going to believe I am a teenage boy.” Eliot made a pointed look at his bare arms, the muscled not easily hidden. Parker had to admit that he might have a point. “Hardison, on the other hand…”
“You’re just jealous because some of us know how to hide our finer attributes under layers and blend in.” Hardison came into the room with a trio of pillowcases in one hand and a plastic pumpkin in the other. “We’re not sharing our candy with you, by the way. It’s every man for himself tonight.”
“You’re a six foot tall Buzz Lightyear, Hardison. You’re not blending in anywhere.”
“Green Lantern. How many times do I have to explain to you that it’s Green Lantern. They’re not even the same…”
“Don’t you have some candy to be stealing or something?” Parker almost laughed; Eliot knew perfectly well what the costume was; Hardison had been talking about it for days and had tried it on for them once. It hadn’t taken very long to get him out of it that first night. Tonight they’d be more patient.
“You can't come with us if you’re dressed like that. People will see you.” Parker did a mental inventory of their room, trying to think of a quick costume they could pull together. “You could be a bank robber.”
“No.”
“Country music star?”
“Don’t you remember the last time? They didn’t leave me alone until I posted an obituary for the guy.”
“A lawyer?” He had a rarely worn suit that might work.
“No.”
“A one handed lawyer? Zombie lawyer? Demon lawyer?”
“Parker.”
“Sexy vampire? You don’t have to glitter. I have some fake blood.”
“Hell no. I hate vampires.” From his back pocked Eliot reached for a baseball cap. “This is as good as it gets. I’d stay home but I’m not leaving the two of you alone. I don’t have the bail money on hand.”
“One time and you’re never going to let it go, are you?” Hardison handed one of the pillowcases to Parker, looked at Eliot, and handed her a second one.
“Do you really want to tell me that you don’t have anything planned for tonight?” Eliot raised an eyebrow.
“Not as long as they give us candy.” Parker looked at her pillowcases speculatively. “What’s the load-bearing weight of these? I’m not sure two is enough.”
“Great. Parker and enough sugar for an elementary school full of children, and Hardison with whatever is in that pumpkin. Don’t try to tell me it’s empty.” Eliot sighed. It was going to be a long night.
“It’s nothing. Barely anything. Just, you know, if someone has their lights on but they’re not handing out candy then they shouldn’t have their lights. Right?” Hardison grinned as he tied a green mask over his eyes. “It only works for about an hour.”
“Wicked.” Parker slid her mask over her face and pulled the red cloak up to cover her head. “Are we ready?”
“It’s Red Riding Hood or the wolf, Parker. Not both.” Eliot shook his head.
“Silly Eliot. Haven’t you learned by now that two is more fun than one?” She slipped an arm around both of her boys and dragged them out the door.
while you're ted talking about lewis and gender, any chance of hearing your thoughts on That Scene from the space trilogy - where what's-her-face is told she'll never be happy if she continues to reject both the male and the Masculine? i'd be more specific but it's been a few years, i just remember being... a bit weirded out by the raising of the Masculine and definitely not the Feminine to divinity (i could be totally wrong on that impression! i read it in hs and am open to correction)
I could give you a very long thesis about why the Cosmic Trilogy–specifically “That Hideous Strength”–is almost the worst thing Lewis has ever written gender-wise. (Note I said almost…yes. There is something worse.) Which is kind of sad, because I really love what “That Hideous Strength” tries to do (YEAH ARTHURIAN LORE) and “Perelandra” is in my top five favorite C.S. Lewis books. (”It is not for nothing you were named Ransom” always sends me to tears.) Of course, there are many who don’t agree with me and I’ve seen a couple of female scholars try and defend the gender problems in the trilogy, but…at least in my opinion, their arguments don’t really hold up.
In this case, there isn’t really a good way of justifying or defending the character of Jane Studdock. The character of Jane Studdock is essentially a tool for Lewis to play with his idea that hierarchical marriage could be a living symbol of God’s relationship to humanity. For example, as the wife submits to the husband (and BOY do Evangelicals love this), this is a representation of humanity submitting to God, and that the only way we can truly find joy is if we fully submit to God. (And a wife can only be truly happy if she submits fully to her husband.) It’s a very neat little metaphor and Lewis, for as much as I love him, he was overly fond of neat little spiritual metaphors that tie everything up cleanly. Theology is messy. Which Lewis found out later in life.
Anyway, it gets way more hilarious if you know anything about my fave Joy Davidman Lewis who was pretty much the antithesis of submissive. (Sometimes I think Joy was God’s little joke to Lewis for writing so much about hierarchical marriage).
Scholars on the egalitarian side of things usually divvy Lewis’ works into two sections: Pre-Joy Davidman and Post-Joy Davidman. Because yes, there is a significant shift in how he writes women (and marriage) before his marriage and after–culminating in his masterpiece “Till We Have Faces”, which is intensely progressive for its time. Now, this isn’t a perfect system (as I discovered two years ago, during my research in Oxford for my independent study) and Lewis is more nuanced than simply “he got better after he met Joy”, but there is weight to the idea that conversations with Joy (and her own amazing editing/collaborating skills) improved his ideas on gender and how he wrote female characters.
You guys are really improving my day, asking my analyses and criticisms on my favorite author. This is my favorite thing to talk about.
shipping's more of a bitch than i thought, i'm sorry. i'm glad you guys won't be paying out of pocket for this year though! (i'm still getting one; it's my christmas present to myself, and i LOVED last year's bag of glorious goods, and i'm still using the bag for various things)
Thank you so much!! Hearing feedback on last year’s bags is soooo good! <3
scarletclarinet replied to your post “I’m trying to get away with having my cursed!faux!incest Mr Gold have...”
how much of their fake childhood do u have? most of my siblings' nicknames are based off memorable things done when little, or names that v young kids couldn't pronounce so instead said [nickname]
It’s all very vague, kinda mimicking how the curse itself works.
you need to know that i broke down laughing at "all dogs are puppies" bless this weirdly happy and fluffy werewolf!au i love it so much (i love all your fic so much, your writing style is so smooth, and pleasant and easy to read, and your dialogue is spot on, bless your pen and/or keyboard)
Thank you <3
And my keyboard appreciates your blessings. My pen tries its best, but legibility is still one of those things we’re working on.
"as well as full character sheets" qu'est-que c'est? this sounds like my jam (i mean, all your creations are, but that's not the point right now)
Well, since it’s been a while since I’ve actively opened my commissions or added anything new, I’m thinking of making a new set of samples that will spice things up for both me and this blog’s audience. Ideas include:
Coloured spirals
Typography characters from popular media instead of only gaming OCs
Personalised designs suitable for tattoos / stickers / T-shirts
and of course, D&D / OC / various games character sheets, with a full-body shot, a portrait closeup, and a breakdown of the char’s inventory.
But I’m too busy making vegan stickers and Sense8 prints and translating Esmé for Cyprus Con. HELP ME.
