#wolfinthethorns

[britcommentaries]

Quick question about the Inside No. 9 commentaries - do they come on the DVD, BluRay, or both? I'm not usually one for commentaries, but as these seem to be half an hour of Those Two dicking about, I'm kinda sold.

Hi! Only the third series DVD and BluRay came with commentaries but they posted series two commentaries on SoundCloud. You can listen to those ones here as their account seems to have vanished: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbr6SDWOMec

[sweeneyxlaura]

wolfinthethorns: Gratifying to see someone else come to the same analysis... The one thing I would add is that I don't think Laura ever let Shadow in, that she very thoroughly hid her depression and anger from him. Sweeney has seen her at her absolute worst, whether she likes it or not.

pamdizzle: One think I think that is important to mention is that by challenging each other, they force each other to grow as people, which is something that wasn’t happening, rather obviously, between Laura and Shadow.

Perfectly stated, both of you. @wolfinthethorns - I think that’s very true, and there’s also this aspect of Laura’s foremost modus operandi being “numbness”...I think numbness, disconnect and/or apathy sort of leads one to ignore or downplay the various emotional states. Even if Laura was feeling depressed or angry or sad, it’s not as if Laura would find dwelling in those emotions or externalizing them as “useful”. It’s only when she experiences loss - loss of her life, Shadow’s love, her physical state - does she see and understand that desire, wanting things and striving for some modicum of happiness are good things, that life can be worth giving a fuck. 

And I think, with Shadow, once she got to know him better, maybe there was a part of her that decided to hide that side of her because she knew Shadow would feel burdened with that knowledge, and she didn’t want to do that to him. I think there’s something to be said about that moment Laura tells him she’s not happy, and how he goes to ridiculous lengths to rectify that. And I think Laura absolutely knew that about him, hence why she suggests they rob the casino. Sweeney, on the other hand, probably wouldn’t be as naive or self-sacrificing, but like you said, he has had the “advantage” of seeing Laura at her worst and Laura allowing herself to be at her worst, so all of that cuts through the bullshit right away. 

@pamdizzle - totally. I’m a sucker for ships where people keep each other honest. I just watched GLOW s3 (dunno if y’all watch, but it’s a great show) and I do ship the Sam/Ruth dynamic, even though there are dissenters who are like, “Omg, Sam is so mean to her!!” Um...he’s not trying to be “mean” - he’s being honest and he’s expressing his frustration towards her when Ruth’s being disingenuous, which is kinda often. It’s unfiltered communication, however unrefined it may strike you. Like, what do people want, Victorian England speak?

 And because Sweeney and Laura started off where the bar was low, like ofc things were only going to get better for them the more they got to know each other. And the more they did, the more they challenged each other and naturally offset the other’s weaknesses, e.g. 

...even if the intent was to hurt the other person,

...let it be said that it’s only because they CARE. That challenging someone can mean lots of things, but being passive and/or subscribing blindly to what the other person says or does ain’t one of them. And you only need to look at what happened after ^ those moments to see how they impacted Laura and Sweeney (even if what Laura said to him played a small part in him dying) in the growth aspect you mentioned. Laura should’ve handled that latter situation better, but we gotta cut her some slack cos she’s kind of a noob at this, lol. And it’s probably because she hasn’t been challenged emotionally for most of her life until Sweeney came along.

This is getting lengthy, so I’ll end it here. Great observations, thank you for sharing!

[verecunda]

wolfinthethorns replied to your post “Listen BBC, I don’t claim to be an expert, but I’m pretty sure an...”

I reckon it's because there's a subset of people who think Dickens is High Art and thus Serious, and forget he was writing relatable content for the masses. A bit like how until fairly recently most Shakespeare productions were super serious, even the comedies. It's intellectual snobbery, basically.

Oh, it’s absolutely that. It’s Literature™, so God forbid it actually be entertaining.

Though at the same time, there also seems to be this uncomfortable awareness of Dickens’ popular appeal, because so many new adaptations seem obsessed with presenting themselves as Deeper and somehow more psychologically profound than the originals. All the interviews I’ve read about this one keep talking about how it ~reads between the lines~ and takes us into Scrooge’s past to explore what made him the way he is. (Because that’s not a huge part of the original or anything, no sir.)

Honestly, right now I’m just boggling at the idea of giving the grimdark treatment to A Christmas Carol, of all stories. The one that’s not only about the importance, but the joy of being a decent human being. 

And they can make it as grimdark as they want, but let’s be honest, nothing they can do can go as hard as the scene with Want and Ignorance.

[gellavonhamster]

If you're still up for various moodboard/aesthetic memes, Laura Moon, Mad Sweeney, and/or MadWife, in whichever combination you find most entertaining... (🌌 ?)

long car rides, whiskey, gold coins, spiteful silence, stealing glances at each other and thinking the other person doesn’t notice, vast flower fields, gradually growing used to someone else’s presence, shitty motel rooms, memories of past lives, wiping blood off your face, the sense of longing for something your cannot describe, trading insults, looking at someone through cigarette smoke, angry kisses, sunlight

(went for both of them together because I love them both)

[shiftythrifting]

You like a cursed object, right? The Folklore Podcast has a great episode up right now about the The Curse Of The Crying Boy, this twee, ugly af painting of a little urchin kid crying, which was inexplicably hugely popular as an art print, until an urban legend started in the mid-80s that it was massively, burn your house down cursed. I can't send links through asks, but look it up, I think you'll have fun.

https://thefolklorepodcast.weebly.com/season-3

Thanks, I hate it!

[overelegantstranger]

wolfinthethorns replied to your post

Go ooonnnn...

So I base this on the concept that magic is energy harnessed and directed by intent (which i am sure some people will disagree with, because if i may borrow an adage, get four witches around a cauldron and you’ll come away with five opinions) and futher that the energy you harness changes the character of the spell.

For instance, if I were to use my energy to cast a spell that spell could operate in perpetuity because, while my energy has a limit, I can recharge myself when my energy runs low.

However, if an energy source is finite, for instance magic that uses a candle, the spell comes to an end when its energy source has gone.

Thus I think it follows that if you use stone as an energy “sponge”, you can have what is almost a magical solar panel. Depending on the heat of the day, the spell may be stronger or weaker, and may fade as the stone cools to then grow as the stone heats back up. Thus you have a continual, if erratic, source of energy to which to tie your spell.

[swan-orpheus]

wolfinthethorns replied to your post “pd”

Is any of PD worth watching? I keep seeing gif sets and it looks like an aesthetic I'd dig, but I've also heard a lot of people say the plot and script is terrible.

It definitely has its moments. There are some wonderful actors, beautiful characterizations, and whole episodes or scenes where the music and the visuals are quite stunning/poignant. However, there is also quite a bit of gratuitous gore, baffling/abrupt character deaths, wasted opportunities, later character inconsistencies, and as much as it attempts to preach about how ill-treated women are they still wind up insane, murdered, miserable, bereft.

 The overriding message that I saw was that you cannot be strong and beautiful (and I do not mean just in a standard way in face and form, whatever your age and social standing) unless you are allied with darkness. You cannot hold any true power of your own unless it is strength granted to you from on high (or on low, as the case may be). And woe betide you if you lose your faith because that is the only thing saving you from slipping and falling and never getting back up again. When I say “faith”, I mean the spiritual patriarchy in its myriad forms. Believe in the Almighty or be a wanderer of the outer darkness which is also within the purview of some “Masculine” Biggy. Even ladies (or gentleman) honoring female deities of the night ultimately fall within the dark umbrella of *pick whatever name you wish for him* or try to ally themselves with some other “masculine” force/mortal person in order to acquire more power. So disappointing. 

There is the question of what does it mean to be human, but I feel like it is trampled down by the overwrought religious symbolism and its insultingly campy, dark worn out stereotypes about Lucifer, and witchcraft as being predominantly evil, etc etc. There are one or two strong characters with their own code and sense of right, but they do not have enough power within the circuitous plot. 

I am a little torn because, as I said, it has its moments and someone went to a lot of effort and expense to produce it. I admire Eva Green’s Vanessa and I have some other much liked characters (FERDINAND LYLE, Evelyn Poole, Ethan Chandler, Mr. Clare). It just does not hang together very well and reinforces some disturbing stereotypes rather than effectively honoring the literary tropes it seeks to emulate. 

It could have been a lot more consistently elegant throughout and a lot less heavy-handed (and senselessly violent) and I would have enjoyed it much more. 

*Note: the first episode is shockingly, nearly hilariously physically disgusting. There is literally no other episode as gore-filled in terms of sheer volume. I am not sure what the thinking was there. I felt like it was gore and darkness for the sake of gore and darkness. It failed to be truly scary or even creepy. It was just wretched and nausea-inducing. 

[inclineto]

wolfinthethorns replied to your post “Cooking meme”

Heh, so here with you on the kholrabi conundrum - I'm a member of a community garden, and I get a veg box from a local farm, so every year they come into season and it's like "but what do I /do/ with this?" There's only so much coleslaw one can make, y'know?

I know the feeling! Don’t ask me about how much of the space in my fridge is, at this very moment, occupied by root vegetables, okay? As far as the kohlrabi goes, I recommend using it as a radish substitute, but I’m not super-creative with it, either.

vermiculated replied to your post “Cooking meme”

wait, you PREFER an electric stove? but what if you need to make s'mores? (i realize that's not so much a 'cooking project' as it is 'girl scouts!!' but still.) regardless: this is a great meme.

I know, I know: it's the sort of character flaw that would get me kicked out of some troops, but as for the specific question of s'mores: if there's no risk of getting pine needles in them or having them stolen by the counselor, then really, what is the point? (In my defense, my first - and only - gas stove was in the apartment that also had gas leaks and an ethusiastically incompetent DIY landlord.)

nasturtian replied to your post “Cooking meme”

Yay I'm so glad you did this! I love finding out about other people's cooking lives. I laughed at the bit about wanting to feel like Brother Cadfael with your mortar and pestle! :D

He and all his assistants seemed so satisfied by being herbalist Benedictines, even the clumsy ones! I wanted to be him, only female, not Christian, bad at gardening, unlikely to discover corpses, and less of a matchmaker. When I was 14, it seemed like an achievable goal.