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alsoanyways · 1 month

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@transgender-scout @1ight wait fuck now i have to compile them okay okay okay i have a feeling this is gonna get long so I'm gonna put it under a cut haha but for real thank you for asking!!

First things first! This is how I imagine the flock is able to disguise themselves. There's no going undercover at an actual school for them, but I don't think anyone's looking twice at a bulky coat, especially if it's set in the future. Not too far in the future though, still in the 21st century. I have no ideas for a plot restructuring or anything, I never read past Nevermore and I barely remember anything past the fourth book, so most of my headcanons are character dynamics and such. I do have some that aren't focused on the flock but not many. Anyways.

(also idk if most of this can even be considered headcanon bc its basically fanfic at this point)

A couple things I should've added to the design post are Toto's Total’s nonexistence (I'm sorry if you like him but I do not lmao) and the fact that their hair is feathers. Like those very fine and very long feathers that roosters get. The flock also doesn't develop superpowers.

In my version of things, there's a small town close-ish to the E shaped house. Far enough that no one in town is gonna drop by for a visit, but close enough to fly down to for some groceries, which they'd do after Jeb left and until the money was gone. I think he would've taught them how to forage for things and that's how they get by since then.

Max (21) isn't The Leader TM either, I think leadership is shared more with Fang/Friday and Iggy. She likes volleyball and usually the one to go foraging. She's never thought about it but if she did, she'd probably consider herself agender.

Fang/Friday (22) gets his name from a Friday the 13th DVD cover, Jeb thinks he wants to be called Jason when he first points to it. He used to help Nudge/Dora and Angel with their hair when they were little and still does occasionally. He likes to draw and he's the go-to when someone needs to be comforted. There's no way in hell I would let him be anything less than bisexual.

Iggy (20) is the one that probably hears Friday's voice the most. He was also taught braille and Jeb got them a labeling machine. He's still the best cook and he's very protective over the vinyls/tapes/cds in the house. He mourns the loss of them when they have to flee the house, but he is excited to finally have access to new music. He's also gay. Because I said so.

Nudge/Dora (17) still wishes she could live a normal life, but has accepted that it's just not a possibility. She clings to "Dorothy" when she learns it. Being talkative and into fashion are still part of her character, but now she also loves bugs. She tags along when Max goes foraging so she can try and get pictures of any new bugs she hasn't seen before. Friday often gets to hear which bugs and what they were doing when they're sketching together.

Gazzy/Gizmo (14) gets his name when he watches the Gremlins movie for two months straight and starts mimicking the mogwai noises. He almost kills everyone when he mixes a couple cleaners from under the kitchen sink. He's quickly enamored with the chemistry books he's given afterwards. Like any other teenage boy, he likes video games and has too much energy for his own good. Max offers to race him when he's particularly amped.

Angel (11) is the only one out of the group that wasn't experimented on and she doesn't get the protectiveness or why they never go anywhere. She likes sitcoms and never refuses an offer to forage with Max. She also took a liking to helping Iggy cook things. She was very quick to tell people she wasn't a boy once she had the vocabulary.

Ari (15) has chronic pain. Being turned to goo and rebuilt into something different will do that to you. It doesn't get better the second time. Nor the third. He used to live in the E shaped house, before Jeb brought Gizmo, back when he was a regular kid. He's always liked animals, caring for them. He wanted to be a farmer or something when he grew up. After he joins the flock, he and Gizmo are fast friends. (Watching him and Gizmo dick around is what makes Friday realize that he really is just a kid.)

Maya/Em (21, kinda) my identity issues queen!! Cloning keeps the original memories intact and then they were further messed with to ensure her allegiance. She has a hard time coming to terms with that, with not being Max, not being who she thought she was. Her friends aren't her friends, she didn't watch Gizmo and Angel grow up, she didn't go to Friday after another nightmare, or call Dora to come catch a spider. That wasn't her. Having time away from them before she joins the flock helps. She renames herself Em during that time, distinct enough from Max but not removed from it completely. She learns that she likes cooking and she discovers cheerleading. She thinks she'd like that if she got the chance to participate. She's also aroace. She wants nothing to do with any of that.

Dylan (21) sticks closest to Em, but he eventually grows close to Iggy as well. They share a soaring/gliding wing shape and Iggy is grateful to have someone who can fly as long as he can (recreational flying is always cut short in his opinion, because the others have to work harder to stay airborne and get tired). Dylan likes to tinker around with motors and mechanisms, trying to get them to work again or building them from the ground up. Not that he has an abundance of opportunities to do that, but being able to fix a busted car comes in handy. He's one of them gays that can drive.

Lastly, I do have ideas on Erasers and different classes of them and their usages but jesus christ this did in fact get very long and I need to go eat something lmao so that'll have to be a separate post for another time.

#maximum ride #the last media i have consumed of this book series #was the manga #and like a quarter of a five hour recap video of the plot #and i would like to keep it that way lmao #i only want nostalgia brain maximum ride

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ryoalouette · 2 years

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Customized Feanorian Stars

So the other day (or week?? Coz the idea has been sitting for quite a while between IRL’s busy af-ness) I had the idea to customize the Star of Feanor for his sons (and grandson). So that’s about what, 7-8 stars, kinda depending on the twins?

First star to be drawn was naturally Maedhros’. And just like every other Feanorians, he makes it hard for me coz... well. He got absolutely no mention about craft. A Discord fren who knows a whole lot of Tolkien more than I am suggested the use of sculpting, in reference of his mother name Maitimo, as in “well-formed”. I actually still have the sketch somewhere, but then I just. Hm, maybe I’d like to look at another angle of Maedhros. Oh I know! His capture, torture, and how he was freed by Fingon by cutting off his shackled right hand. Also the idea of bright flames inside the star being... Well, he certainly died a fiery death so..

And then we have my husbando the Drama King the last Feanorian Maglor. The idea was simple enough; inside the star being some form of water (coz he threw his Silmaril to the sea, and legends say that to this day he wondered near the shore, singing laments and Noldolante), outside being a harp. I was actually debating internally what kind of harp it should be, then pestered several of my discord servers if people there knows the anatomy of a harp (as in, how many strings to harps usually have?). And as I’m apparently a type of masochist (but kind of lazy), I also drew the tuning disks. Lazily. The color gold of his harp is a nod to his mother name. Hint: it have something to do with gold. Maglor’s star: simple in theory but effing troublesome (fondly).

Third to be drawn is naturally Celegorm’s star. He’s a hunter and he got Huan. Admittedly, the center of his star is rather confusing for me to draw coz it’s not like he got “an element” like his 2 older brothers have; he died in Doriath, so that’s trees? But then I didn’t want the brothers to have same “elements” coz if that’s the case, Celegorm, Caranthir and Curufin would have freaking trees as “elements”. So I just. You know what, he’s a hunter, let’s make his star somewhat furry. And you know what? It works. Sort of.

I might not render Huan perfectly, but I did use Irish blood hound as base and just googled how doggos sleep. So walla, a sleeping Huan somewhat surrounding Celegorm’s star. And a bow coz... hunter.

Nao the fourth one is equally as problematic as the first son: absolutely no mention about Caranthir having a craft. Actually, there’s barely anything about him unless if it’s about Haleth or how he manages to trade with the Dwarves and having a relation with Man (outside Haleth), until Ulfang betrays them all in Nirnaeth Arnoediad. So I just throw my hands and just go to that Discord friend that I mentioned, and just pokes him I guess lmao-

Ended up with that greenery in the middle of his star and green cloak (coz Discord fren said that he’s rather attached at the idea of Caranthir and green due to a Silm artist), with Haleth’s coat-of-arms barely visible. Also cloak be rather ragged coz I don’t think Caranthir and his brothers would have the luxury of having brand new items like High Kings would have?

Now Curufin. For the inside of his star, I might or might not be inspired from a fic where Celegorm said that Curufin makes him think of smokes? Eh, I’ll just put the link if someone asks what fic is that. Admittedly I also got to look for it so... And since Curufin is a smith, just go the easy way with anvil and hammer: blacksmith’s trusty items.

Ambarussa! The sixth out of seven stars- tho this one is for two people instead of one like the other Feanorian stars. Especially considering that they seem to never separated (unless in one version of which one of the twins get burned with the ships). They’re apparently also hunters. And for their “element”, well. You know what Havens of Sirion and the Burning of the Ships have in common? It’s near the sea. So if you take a minute to look at the inside of their star, bottom is the sea, above is fire. Yeah. RIP Ambarussa.

Celebrimbor, the last Feanorian Star I modified/made from the original Star of Feanor! At first I was tempted to draw the doors of Moria LOL then the One Ring. And then: oh right, One Ring was created by Sauron; Celebrimbor only does the three elven rings. Inside the star being metal-abstract thing. Am actually unsure if it shows you people that it’s supposed to be liquid silver.

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carewyncromwell · 3 years

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Hi guys! So I was chatting with my fellow Orion fangirl @lifeofkaze a while back about how we each write our own variations of Orion Amari, and dwelling on it and the post where I chatted with @kc-and-oc and @indigobackfire about how one could interpret Orion in Ravenclaw and Gryffindor...yeah, I decided I wanted to draw my favorite sunshine man! Specifically in actual Hogwarts robes, rather than his usual brown tunic.

So yeah, this is my Slytherin!Orion, and how he wears his school uniform: namely, messy AF.

His “whatever will be will be” attitude definitely applies to how he dresses himself -- if his robes flop open or his collar comes loose or his tie comes undone, so be it, and frankly Orion prefers it that way, rather than a tight collar or tie restricting his movement. He also wears his gloves constantly. (I personally imagine his trademark necklace ended up under his shirt in this particular sketch, as somehow I forgot to draw it too. Fail!)

For my personal headcanon version of Orion, he became the youngest Hogwarts Quidditch captain in just over a hundred years when he was a fourth year (15 years old, specifically, since I see this boy as a Libra born in October), so even compared to other versions of Orion, this sunshine man is wise beyond his years. Although yes, he is just as dreamy and in-his-own-head as most Orion’s, this Slytherin Quidditch Captain is very aware of how much his air of mystery tends to confuse people and makes it harder for them to get a good fix on him, and he takes advantage of that. He’s totally the sort to lull people into a false sense of security with his chill affect and then show remarkable insight, talent, and brilliance when they least expect it. His supreme chill and muted confidence can intimidate his opponents, but also reassure his teammates, and only those who either already think like or actively try to think like Orion does will understand him, making it easier for Orion to pinpoint kindred spirits. My Orion also uses that air of mystery to obscure his insecurities from public view -- most notably, his lonely past as an orphan; his slight awkwardness regarding displays of physical affection; and his anxiety, which he’s struggled with since he was very young and has gone to therapy to develop coping mechanisms for. Another rather prominent feature of my Orion is his, er...rather unique sense of humor, combining wit and supreme chill with the lightest, most laidback kind of snark.

"Is the meeting finally starting now?” asked Lucky.

Orion brought his broom up onto his shoulders behind his head, still grinning broadly. “This is the team meeting. I simply stand back and observe my teammates interacting in an unstructured setting.”

Skye wrinkled her nose in revulsion. “Orion! Most people call that snooping!”

“I prefer the term ‘discovery,’” Orion said smoothly.

***

“Mm. I’m not supposed to carry anything heavy or push myself too hard…and Chiara’s still going to have to make me Healing potions for the rest of the week…but I should be able to just take them at lunch and dinner now.”

[Carewyn’s] ruby red smile became a bit wryer as she added, “And at least now I can actually wear what I want again – except at the ceremony, of course.”

Orion grinned mischievously as he leaned back on his broom, resting his hands behind his head.

“Ah yes…I’d forgotten your fairy-like tendency to always want to have the brightest-colored wings in the room.”

***

“But tying him up and throwing him in your cabin?” demanded Skye, as she pursued Orion down the stairs to the main deck. “He should be locked in irons in the brig – he’s our prisoner – ”

“‘Prisoner?’” Orion repeated airily, raising an eyebrow. “I believe I called him a guest, when I first ordered you to take him aboard.”

***

“You should get [your injury] looked at, all the same,” [Carewyn] said in a low, but very firm voice. She bent down to pick up her skirts, looking over them with a deeply troubled, thoughtful frown. “We can merely consider ourselves fortunate that it wasn’t worse – ”

“Certainly,” said Orion with a slightly wry smile. “I could’ve not caught you.”

My personal headcanon sunshine man most definitely is the kind of person whose insults would be so understated that it’d take someone really paying attention to realize just how sick of a burn his words are. 😂

But yeah, I hope you all enjoy this! My accompaniment while working on this was my own personal Orion playlist, as well as “I’m Gonna Fly” by Sydney Forest and “Through Heaven’s Eyes” from The Prince of Egypt. If you like this, please consider liking/reblogging/commenting, or maybe even clicking the links to the fanfictions above and giving those a read/like/reblog/comment too! 💚

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #orion amari #my art #headcanons #carewyn cromwell #slytherin pride baby!#slytherin #slytherin pride

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sleepyselkiesiren · 2 years

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This is a little art dump of everything I made on my very first day of owning a drawing tablet, in order of creation, plus a bonus

In the first one, I opened up krita and instantly saw all the different kind of brushes and got super excited and carried away XD no thoughts, just fun experimentation

Second one is where the thoughts begin. I was still adjusting to the artwork happening in front of my face instead of under my hands, so I started off simple and silly. I tried to focus more on the Feel than anything else

By the third one I was getting antsy and wanted to get back to my usual quality of work, so I tried to sketch my Generic Girl Character tm. Immediately realised this was extremely heccin Difficult. I would not learn what a stabiliser was for another month or so. I also realised that the number of brushes was truly overwhelming, and now that I wasn’t limited by colored pencils I had no idea what kind of Quality I wanted my art to have

The only thing I remember about the fourth one was being frustrated that I could only draw a face, and whenever I tried to get to the body the lines just wouldn’t go where I wanted them to. It was physically impossible for my brain and hands to do so much as general arm line. I assume this is the one where I discovered the color wheel and unlocked my obsession with the bubble brush. Other than that... idk what was going on XD

For the fifth one I accidentally discovered layers and didn’t know what to do with that information. I also realised that the fill-in-tool was nothing like the MS paint version of my youth. We remain bitter enemies to this day. At this point I was super overwhelmed and frustrated, so I drew my little calm-down guy and his bee friend.

Piece number 6 is the culmination of all my learnings; brushes I liked, what face and hair I could draw, multiple options from the color wheel, and accepting I wasn’t at a skill level to draw bodies yet. The color wheel was too much Choice for me so I just threw on Whatever. It was last time I would ever try using the fill-in tool. I named this guy Jeffery. I don’t think that’s how you spell it XD

Number 7 was me trying to sort out how layers worked. It took me a weirdly long time to work out how to move layers around and which ones went on top of the other. My adhd brain still refused to focus on any tutorials, but I worked it out in the end.

The fish-like guy is titled “I don’t know what this is.” I have no memory of drawing this. I only know that I’d had the tablet for a while by that point. Send help.

I must’ve been a really fast learner, because I did these that same day and I’m still proud of them

#actually put my thoughts in the post and not the tag for once XD #no one was supposed to see these #but I am a memory hoarder and I need somewhere to keep it all #I will never be able to progress in talent as much as I did that first day #straight up just opened up the tablet #downloaded krita #and plugged away at it the entire day until I was satisfied #and then a week later I did the EBony and Muriel in the rain #sleepyselkiesiren art #I had more to say but I got a phone call while making this and now my braincell i lost

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kenyizsuartblog · 2 years

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Dragon Design Adventures #1 - Hetra 2.0

Now you guys can see some of my more messier sketches. Musings about character design process below, read through if you are interested!

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So Hetra. My dear sweet Hetra.

She's a tough code to break, not gonna lie.

My first go at her ended with a Western-style design, with some colorful feathers. Functional, nothing ground-breaking. Something felt off about her, so I put her in the background and focused my efforts on another team member, Shirqi. Glad to report, she had been a success. But Hetra kept eluding me, because the root of the problem reaches far earlier than her first design.

Originally, I wanted the final team to have six members, however while I had had plenty ideas for the first four, the last two were just... there, in the "well, they have to be there!!" kind of spirit. You know, six dragon species, plus one human, seven magic number, all that good jazz. I'm very big on stuff like this, I admit. But currently... yeah, I think four is enough. There may come a day, when I get such a good idea for the last two members that I just have to include them. Or there may not come a day. Or I could eventually design the two races, without them being part of the core group. Anything goes.

I have originally intended for each member to reflect one "type" of dragon in their design - Western, Eastern, drake, Wyvern, maybe a wyrm or a full-on sea dragon, some more obscure versions of dragons, you get the picture. I would still like to preserve this line of thinking, even with only four members.

Marada is a tried and true Western dragon with an aquatic spin on it. Amphibian at its finest.

Shirqi is a very "modern" take on dragons, mostly covered in feathers, with some special wings. Very cat-like, more mammal than reptile.

The fourth member will more than likely be based on Hungarian dragons who are vastly different than the usual myths. Partly because I am Hungarian, of course, I'm absolutely shameless about it, sue me. But also Hungarian dragons have certain qualities that can fit well with what I have been planning for Four and his species in the story. So I have actual reason for this decision! (Man, I can't wait to get to him. Hetra comes first, tho.)

But Hetra? With the other two members gone for now, she could be the "Eastern dragon" of the group. Of course, not a full-blown Chinese dragon god of the Wind, no no no. Too easy. I want something just a bit extra. Something with leather wings - perhaps a harpy eagle kind of structure, broad but short wings for good maneuverability but weak long-distance soaring. Shirqi and Marada have that last part covered anyway. I am truly wondering if a long body can work with a broad wing. In silhouette, it might - a long and graceful creature when the wings are closed, but a surprisingly broad "paper kite"when flying. I must think on this more. Also, not entirely sure where this "butterfly vibe" came from, but I am liking it. She is a regal character who will have to go through a massive transformation in some sense, after all. Let's see if I can keep it.

Do feel free to share your thoughts on the matter. Lord knows, a fresh pair of eyes never hurts! Thank you for reading. Extra thank you, if you share your thoughts!

(Yes, I do draw other things besides Doc Ock. I am just as surprised as you guys are, trust me)

2022.02.05.

#hetra #fantasy #dragon #digital sketches #kenyizsu #original design #I'm gonna figure her out #just you wait

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pixelgrotto · 3 years

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Saltmarsh stories

One more Dungeons & Dragons campaign comes to completion! For over a year and a half, I’ve been running Ghosts of Saltmarsh for my girlfriend and her best friend, and the pair of them finally finished last Saturday after 23 sessions and nearly 100 hours of playtime. We started playing in person December 2019 and had to move online in March due to COVID, and eventually my gf’s best friend moved out of town and then out of the country. But in spite of global transitions and pandemics, we still surmounted the odds and finished without missing a single month.

Since Ghosts of Saltmarsh was my gf’s introduction to D&D (minus a few games she played as a child), it took up quite a bit of space in my crusty Dungeon Master mental cave of planning. Luckily, I found it to be a very enjoyable campaign to run, mostly because as an anthology of classic adventures, it lacks the overly convoluted storyline that plagues a lot of other D&D fifth edition campaigns I’ve either played through or DMed, like Tomb of Annihilation, Out of the Abyss and Waterdeep: Dragon Heist.

Ghosts of Saltmarsh contains eight adventures united by their seaside themes. Three of them are updated versions of the classic U1-U3 Saltmarsh modules, which were among the first British D&D products produced from 1981 to ‘83. These three tales revolve around the players befriending local villagers and helping a lizardfolk tribe fight off invading sauhaugin, and they’re good, mostly as an example of early D&D material that required players to treat so-called “monstrous races” with diplomacy rather than violence. The other adventures are from old issues of Dungeon magazine, and run the gamut from a decent lighthouse dungeon crawl (Isle of the Abbey, from Dungeon #34) to a nifty survival horror-style ship romp (Salvage Operation, from Dungeon #123). Additionally, Ghosts of Saltmarsh contains rules for ship battles, which are good enough considering that D&D isn’t a naval combat simulator, and the book also devotes its first chapter to describing a great new version of the town of Saltmarsh to serve as a central hub.

I think Ghosts of Saltmarsh’s anthology format is my preferred style of D&D hardcover book at this point. Just give me a main town that I can detail and populate with my own NPCs, a bunch of adventures taking place around the vicinity that I can hack as necessary for my players, and I’m good. This format is also reflective of D&D’s early roots, where campaigns weren’t 250-page books with save-the-world plots, but short modules focused on building clout in a certain region and establishing a base. I think it’s also a very newbie-friendly format, since beginning players can really become invested in one central location and the people residing in it.

Since I was only running this game for two people, I had plenty of time to help the girls grow attached to Saltmarsh and its denizens. These consisted of several faces from my other games, including the very first D&D character I played as - a ranger who settled down in Saltmarsh as the head of the city guard and served as mentor for the next generation of adventurers. Other NPCs evolved depending on what I thought might make my gf and her friend laugh. For instance, Oceanus the sea elf, a Saltmarsh mascot since the '80s, started out as a surfer bro but eventually morphed into a douchebag/dingbat a la Schmidt from New Girl, which I started watching with my gf sometime over the course of 2020. And Captain Xendros, the tiefling owner of the local magic item store, was only supposed to be a minor shopkeeper until her sassy banter stole everyone’s heart, winning her a place as a major character by the end of the game.

I also gave the girls their very own house to decorate and return to in between missions, which was another fun ode to the older D&D roots that Ghosts of Saltmarsh embraces, but also a chance to insert Animal Crossing-style interior decoration into our campaign. My girlfriend clocked a staggering 300+ hours into Animal Crossing: New Horizons at the start of the pandemic, and seeing her and her friend derive great pleasure from using Roll20′s wonky drawing tools to sketch out every room of the house (and create a shrine in the bathroom with random bits of gold on the floor, no less) was stellar.

Aside from a house, the gals also received two animal companions - a pseudodragon and a shadow mastiff. The pseudodragon appears as a familiar that can be found after Ghosts of Saltmarsh’s first adventure, The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, but the shadow mastiff was an inclusion of my own because my girlfriend really wanted a dog for the longest time, and I figured I would give her one in-game before we got one in real life. (Yup, we now have one in real life.) Generally, I’m a huge fan of injecting a little Pokémon into my games with animal buddies, but in this case the pets also served as valuable fighting companions that helped balance Ghosts of Saltmarsh’s combat encounters, which are meant for four people.

On the topic of inclusions, I stuck a bit closer to the content in Ghosts of Saltmarsh than I usually do when running a campaign based on an official D&D hardcover, probably because the book in question was just more usable this time around. The final split was maybe 60% book material and 40% my own stuff. The end of the campaign was nearly all me, since I couldn’t quite formulate a way to include the final two adventures in the book, Tammeraut's Fate and The Styes. So instead, I gutted them for concepts and created an overarching story that tied Saltmarsh’s threats to H.P. Lovecraft’s Esoteric Order of Dagon. There’s a ton of Lovecraft influence in The Styes, after all, and Dagon was included as a demon lord in third and fourth edition D&D, not to mention Pathfinder. I drew inspiration from all of those versions, along with the stats included in Sandy Peterson’s Cthulhu Mythos book for fifth edition.

Ultimately, it all made for an entertaining story that scaled mightily. At level 2, Thea the tiefling rogue (played by my gf) and Zora the half-elf bard (played by her best friend) were utterly outclassed by smugglers in a haunted house and had to use a door as a shield to escape. At level 12, the pair defeated a demon lord and closed a portal to the Abyss. (To be fair, both accomplishments are pretty epic. The door escape was one of the most creative D&D moments I’ve ever seen, and we’re still talking about it today.)

While I wish we could’ve rolled physical dice together for a little longer, I’m glad Roll20 was available to keep our game going through a period of global strife. In the midst of it all, there was always D&D to fall back on. And hopefully, there will be more to come. I’ve got Candlekeep Mysteries on my shelf, another anthology of D&D short adventures...and it’s just waiting for me to formulate a plot to tie ‘em all together!

#pixel grotto #musings #tabletop games #dungeons & dragons #d&d #ghosts of saltmarsh

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kpopfanfictrash · 6 years

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Drawing Darcy

Rating: PG (part of the scenario ask game)

Word Count: 3,071

Summary: Tae loves taking random photos of you secretly, and one day when you're looking through his phone you find out

Taehyung’s hair is slightly fuzzy on the back of his neck.

The cut is messy, blending into the peach of his skin but you cannot tell him this, because then he would know you were staring. Right now, you are supposed to be looking at the professor’s slide deck, not at Taehyung but, sneaking another glance, you confirm this fact to yourself. Yes, definitely fuzzy.

Slouching lower, you drum your pen against the paper and pretend to be paying attention to the board when really, all you cant think about is him.

Him, meaning Taehyung. Your best friend, Taehyung, with the too-long fringe in the back. Taehyung, who is squinting up at the slides because he forgot his glasses in the dorm and cannot be bothered to grab them. Your best friend, Taehyung, who has no idea you are looking at him because your best friend, Taehyung, has no idea you like him.

It started out innocently enough, as most things do. He was the friend of a friend, the boy who roomed with the boy you crushed on freshman year. Each time you went over he would be present, hanging off the edge of his bunk bed and throwing out suggestive comments with the arrogance of someone who knows they will get away with it. When you and Taehyung’s roommate began to date, you wound up spending more time with Taehyung than anyone else. His roommate worked out a lot, was captain of the crew team and spent most of his free time in various states of gym clothes.

While you waited for your boyfriend to come home from practice (or ‘bulking up,’ as he called it), you would be in his room, sprawled out on their futon, eating their chips and inevitably watching Taehyung play video games out of boredom. He was fun to be around because you could pretty much tell him anything and he would just grunt and agree. You ended up telling him more than you meant to – and one day, you realized he was listening.

“It’s just...” Sighing, you dug around in the bag for that perfect crinkle-cut. “I feel like I have to filter everything I say around him. Anytime I give my actual opinion, he looks at me like I’m crazy – which drives me crazy. I have opinions!” you declared, waving the chip. “I have a lot of them and true, not all of them are winners, but I wish he didn’t make me feel so –”

“Y/N,” Taehyung interrupted, tossing his controller aside.

You blinked. You had never seen Taehyung stop playing like that. The game was still happening, his character getting pulverized onscreen but he turned roughly to face you.

“Taehyung, what are you doing?”

“Break up with him,” he demanded, completely serious.

“I – what?” you gaped. Taehyung was your boyfriend’s roommate, his friend – the turn of events was startling, to say the least.

Taehyung flicked the hair from his eyes. “I’ve been sitting here for months, listening to everything wrong about your relationship and while, yeah, everyone bitches about their significant other – not this much,” he informed, slightly red in the face. “It sounds like he’s a real dick, most of the time. Even if he’s my friend, that doesn’t give him a free pass and you deserve better.”

That was it.

Taehyung picked up the remote, sunk back into his game and you sat there, staring at him on the couch. Even after you and his roommate did break up (Taehyung was right, he was a prick), the two of you remained friends.

Which brings you full-circle to today’s state of affairs. You are completely, totally in love with your best friend and he has no idea.

It is not your fault, honestly. It is Taehyung’s fault, with his stupid, square smile and that stupid, high brow and his stupid, smooth skin. He has this way of making you feel at ease with just a look or a word, or a weird quirk of his eyebrows. It is his fault you like him, because Taehyung is perfect. Okay, maybe not perfect. Perfect is a dangerous word, as Taehyung likes to say. He laughs at your books and TV shows, since you tend you slot yourself with the hopeless romantics of the world – the ones who sit waiting for their perfect white knight, an ideal which Taehyung continuously scoffs at.

“None of those guys are real,” he chided you once, poking your sketchbook with his big toe. “You’re so obsessed with drawing that one guy – what’s his name, again?”

“Mr. Darcy,” you responded, automatic. “The Colin Firth version, not the reboot.”

“Right.” Taehyung arched a brow. “He’s not real, Y/N.”

“Oh?” Ignoring this, you continued to sketch – that was your major, after all. A graphic designer, always half-in and out of reality. “No shit, he’s a fictional character. He’s one I happen to like, though.”

“A romantic, idealistic character who urges the female population to buy into this notion that hey! That guy’s an ass but maybe he’s just misunderstood and maybe he likes me and how romantic,” Taehyung batted his eyelashes in your direction, “that all is!”

“Shut up,” you grunted, continuing to sketch. “Until I can find a normal guy who makes my heart flutter like he does, I’m going to continue to draw Darcy.”

Glancing down at your notebook, you quickly shut it, since it is all filled with Taehyung.

Taehyung stands from his seat, stretching both arms overhead and it seems almost on purpose – the bottom of his shirt rides up to reveal a tan, flat strip of stomach. You look quickly away. Taehyung is not perfect. He is better. He is real and solid and entirely human. He is different from you, always keeping you on your toes and making you discover things about yourself you did not think possible.

Taehyung is a business major of some sort, with a minor in Photography and while you always carry a sketchbook and pencils, he is continually lugging around a giant camera for ‘spontaneous brilliance.’

Like now. Taehyung finishes stretching, lowering his camera over the panes of his chest. He looks at you, quirking a brow. “That was boring,” Taehyung complains, watching students stream by. “Probably the worst lecture of the past three months, what do you think?”

Trying not to smile, you follow him up the steps of the lecture hall. “Oh, I don’t know. The one on endocrinology was stranger.”

“Really?” Taehyung pushes open the door. “I thought that one was interesting.”

“Well, sure.” You nod, tucking your sketchbook away. “What was weird is that it took place in Theology 101.”

“Ah, true.” Taehyung grins, spinning when you exit the quad. “Smile,” he instructs, snapping a pic. “Fuck, blurry.”

“Taehyung,” you groan, shoving both hands in between you. “Stop! I barely put on make-up this morning.”

“And still.” Taehyung snaps another pic. “You look ravishing. Oh – damn. Blurry again.”

“Lord,” you laugh, pushing past him. “I have to get to Anthro – see you later! We’re still on for dinner, right?” you ask, turning around as you walk.

“Yeah,” Taehyung nods, still observing his camera. “Meet at my dorm room, okay?”

“See you then!”

Walking away from him, you clutch your drawings tighter. You are not sure when the drawings began turning to Taehyung. There was a night last year, when you woke around 3:00 AM but, instead of doodling Darcy as usual, found the head shape you drew to be oddly familiar. Still half asleep, you squinted at the lines flowing forth until the portrait was complete and you sat frozen in shock.

It was Taehyung. Your favorite Taehyung, with his hair messy and shirt misbuttoned – which brought on another wave of shock, realizing you had a favorite Taehyung to draw. Fingers trembling, you set down your pencils and burrowed deep in your pillows. Sleep did not come easily that night, since although the sketch came out in perfect clarity, your thoughts certainly were not. You liked Kim Taehyung, but he was your best friend.

That was the first sketch you made of him, but it was not the last.

Taehyung’s dorm room is on the fourth floor of Sorin dorm, all the way at the end after three flights of stairs. He chose this room on purpose, since it is a turret and despite Taehyung’s hatred of romantic heroes, he certainly likes to act like one. The first time you visited, he sat hunched in his chair, all the blinds drawn while he stared at his table.

“Y/N,” he declared as you entered. A thin smile stretched his lips, nodding to himself. “Excellent, excellent. I knew it was you.”

“No shit, Taehyung.” Rolling your eyes, you closed his door. “Who else visits you?”

“Ladies,” he drawled, swirling a photo in the chemicals before him. Taehyung did not do that often, but occasionally he went for the darkroom effect. It explained all the blinds at least, which was a small relief. “I’m incredibly popular with the ladies.”

Thinking about this now, you push open the door to his room. It is empty, but you know on Wednesdays and Fridays Taehyung has a class which sometimes runs late. It is not concerning for you to be alone in his room; the two of you are close enough by now, that this hardly matters. Lowering your bag to his floor, you plop down on his bed and place your sketchbook before you.

Starting to shade in his jaw, you lose track in your work. It might be risky, working on a drawing of your best friend when he could walk in any moment – but Taehyung is smart enough not to look at your sketchbook. He learned this lesson firsthand when he tried to steal your notebook freshman year and you jabbed a pencil into his side.

Eraser first, yeah, but he got the point (ha).

There are just a few features left you find hard to draw – his eyes, for one. Taehyung’s eyes are crescent-like when he smiles, scrunched in when he laughs but always alive, always expressive. It can be hard to capture on the page and – oh, shit. A muffled thud hits the floor, caused by your foot lashing out. Leaning over the comforter, you see Taehyung’s phone on the ground.

Frick. Sitting up and forgetting your work, you glance at his door, which is closed. Taehyung must have forgotten his phone before class – lord knows he would forget his head if it was not screwed on straight. Bending to grab the device, you flip it over in your palm – only to freeze, seeing the wallpaper before you.

Curious, you swipe right on his phone. Taehyung really needs to update his passwords, you think, keying in the birthday of his mom. The intrusion is worth it though, when his phone is open and you can see clearly the face of his background.

It is you. Or – it is you, but not a photo you remember him taking. It is none of the ones from the quad, nor of the cheesy shots he forces you to take in the classrooms. You sit in your room, it seems – yes, that is the corner of your dresser, there – and are immersed in your drawing, lower lip held between teeth. Your expression seems softer, as it is one you have never seen on yourself. Then again, you have never seen yourself drawing before.

Without understanding why, your thumb hovers over the album icon on his phone. This is wrong, it is a complete invasion of privacy but for some reason, you click anyways. Unsure what you are looking for, you flick through his photos – until you find an album that stops you, staring down at the title.

Y/N, Candid.

Slowly, you press on the square and photos fill the screen, leaving you speechless. You dazedly swipe right, one after the other. There is one of you sitting, brow furrowed while attempting to play Taehyung’s video games. There is one of you in a park, bent over with laughter while Taehyung makes fun of your stride. So many photos, each one unique, each one different and none of them – none of them you can remember him taking.

“Oh, fuck.”

Head jerking up, his phone slips through your grasp. It clatters aimlessly against the floor while Taehyung stands framed in the doorway.

“Uh. Hey, Taehyung!”

He does not move, gaze traveling from your hand to his phone. “Is that…” He halts, shaking his head. “Is that my phone?”

“What, this?” you blurt, bending to scoop it up from the ground. “No – this is just a square, silvery mobile device. That… you use as a phone.”

Taehyung blinks. He adjusts the strap of his camera. “Were you… were you looking through my phone, Y/N?”

You hesitate because on the one hand, Taehyung saw you. On the other hand, blind denial is always good. “No.”

Slowly removing his camera, Taehyung places this down on his desk. He stares for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck. “Uh,” he exhales, glancing at you. “I don’t know how to put this. I have a lot of photos on my phone, a lot of ongoing projects and well, some of them are… personal.”

Managing a nod, you push to your feet. “Right.” Swallowing hard, you shove your sketchpad into your bag. “Don’t worry, I didn’t see anything. I – uh, Taehyung I want to stay for dinner, but I actually just stopped by to say –”

When you attempt to leave, his hand closes over your upper arm. “Hey,” Taehyung breathes, effectively stopping you.

Freezing, you stare at the wood wall of his dorm. “What,” you mutter, still trying to make sense of it all. Taehyung has photos of you on his phone. An entire album of photos, ones taken when you were not looking and you do not understand why he would do that.

Slowly – gently – Taehyung turns you to face him. “I know you saw the album.”

Looking up, you cannot respond because yes, you saw but you still do not understand. “I saw,” you admit, meeting his gaze.

Taehyung’s eyes widen. Quickly, he lets go of your arm and steps backwards. “You saw?”

“You – what?” you respond, suddenly confused. “You said that you knew!”

“Well, yeah, I said that, but...” Taehyung trails off, stunned. “I wasn’t sure. I was trying to find out!”

“Well,” you sputter, crossing your arms over your chest. “You should have just asked!”

“I did! You lied!”

“Oh, right!” you yell back, the room falling silent between you.

Taehyung stares, slightly wild-eyed. “I,” he hesitates. “I can explain.”

The image of you sleeping sprawled on his couch comes to mind and you blush, remembering the drool hanging from the corner of your mouth. “Those moments were private,” you complain. “Taehyung, there are photos of me sleeping! There are photos of me at the gym, doing drunk karaoke, stuffing my face with burgers! Private moments,” you hiss, “between you and me! Those weren’t meant for your photography class, or whatever.”

“I know,” Taehyung nods, expression wretched. “Those pictures weren’t for my class, I swear it! No one has ever seen them but me.”

“No one has ever seen them but you,” you repeat, shaking your head. “What are you talking about? If no one has ever seen them, what were they for?”

“Me!” Taehyung yells – wincing, he lowers his voice. “They were for me,” he repeats, softer.

Staring back at him, it feels as though all the wind has been punched from your chest. “I – what?”

“They were for me,” he admits, flushing. “God.” Taehyung groans, burying his face in his hands. “This is so embarrassing. I like you, okay? I like you, Y/N,” he mumbles in-between fingertips. “I took all those photos because I like you, Y/N and you inspire me, and I just like all the ways that you look.”

“You…” This does not make any sense. It is ridiculous because Taehyung, your best friend, does not think of you like that. You would have known, somehow. You would have seen. “You... like me.”

“Yes.” Taehyung groans, face still covered by his hands. “I liked you from the minute I saw you but you were dating my roommate, and then we were just friends and now we’re still just friends – which is okay! It’s cool, it’s just... I also want to hold your hand and shit. I don’t know,” he exhales, dropping his hands to look at you. “Fuck, I’m sorry, Y/N. You shouldn’t have found out like that.”

“No,” you repeat, stunned. You want to move closer, but seem to be rooted to the carpet. “I shouldn’t have found out like that... I should have told you I liked you a long time ago.”

Now it is Taehyung’s turn to be confused. “You… what?”

“I like you,” you breathe, dropping your bag to the ground. Yanking free your notebook, you thrust this into his arms. “Look,” you nod, bracing yourself for the motion. “Look at my drawings, all of them. I won’t stop you.”

Taehyung frowns, not understanding until he flips open your notebook. Then he pauses, eyes wide as he stares down at his face – and flipping the page, he sees the panes of his back. The curves of his shoulders, the white fabric of his shirt. Taehyung quickly inhales in amazement.

“You,” he blinks, hand splayed on the page. “You draw… me?”

“Yes.”

Taehyung looks up in shock. “These are beautiful.”

“Well,” you stutter, glancing away. “That’s debatable. I do think you’re beautiful though, so... there’s that.”

“You... do?”

When you look up, Taehyung has set your sketchbook aside. Gently – lovingly, because he knows how much it means to you – but right now you do not care, because the way he looks at you means more.

“Well, yeah,” you stumble. “I think everything you do is amazing, and –”

Taehyung steps forward and kisses you. His lips are soft, open and you feel yourself melting. You feel yourself falling, even though you have already fallen. Hands rising to wrap around his neck, you pull him close and Taehyung lets out a groan. He walks you back towards the wall, body curving over yours, mouth opening while his tongue flicks to find yours.

There is always that kiss in your life. That one which defines all others, makes you realize you have never been truly kissed and for you, this is that kiss. Just the way Taehyung breathes, a sound hiccuped between movement, or the way he touches you, as though afraid you might fall through his grasp. It makes you want more, makes you want him and by the time he pulls back, you feel drunk on his lips.

“Taehyung,” you exhale, forehead bent to his own.

Taehyung’s lips brush your brow, then your nose. “Y/N,” he whispers. “You have no fucking idea, how long I’ve wanted to do that.”

“Oh?” you return, tightening your hands on his neck. “About as long as I have, I’d imagine.”

“Longer.”

“You wish.”

“Longer.”

He kisses you again.

#taehyung fanfiction #bts fanfiction #taehyung #bts #bangtan #kim taehyung #bts v #taehyung fluff #bts fluff #taehyung writing #bts writing #scenario ask game

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chanoyu-to-wa · 5 years

Text

Nampō Roku, Book 3 (18.1): Fukuro-dana, Two Arrangements for the Shoza.

18.1) Fukuro-dana: two arrangements for the shoza¹.

[The writing on the sketch reads: (on the right) ◎ Fukuro-dana kazari zu tadashi shu ﹆ ku-den kore-ari bun (袋棚飾圖但朱﹆口傳有之分)²; (on the left, with reference to the upper sketch) kōgō habōki hatsu-iri dai-tei no kazari (香合羽帚初入大テイノカザリ)³; (and on the left, referring to the lower sketch) kōgō hitotsu-mono oki (香合一ツ物置)⁴.]

_________________________

¹I have added this title, which briefly describes the two sketches found on the page. As I mentioned before, each page contains two sketches, which may or may not be sequential (in this case, they illustrate parallel cases showing the way that the objects may be arranged on the fukuro-dana when the guests enter the room for the shoza).

Such titles will be added to each of the sections, for the purpose of making them easier to index; and, in the future, this will be done without notice.

²◎ Fukuro-dana kazari zu tadashi shu ﹆ ku-den kore-ari bun [袋棚飾圖但朱﹆口傳有之分].

The (red) circle ( “◎”) indicates that this is a new and independent entry (rather than part of, or directly related to, the previous entry -- which dealt with the question of whether the guests should move on to the shoin, or another room, for usucha and sweets, or a formal banquet, after the service of tea in the small room has been concluded).

Fukuro-dana kazari zu [袋棚飾圖] means “sketches of the arrangements for the fukuro-dana”; and tadashi shu ﹆ ku-den kore-ari bun [但朱﹆口傳有之分], means “however, the red ‘﹆’ marks indicate secret teachings that should only be transmitted orally*.” The first statement is written† in such a way that it should be understood to be the title of this part of the book (the entire collection of sketches was included in a single entry‡.)

The reader will notice that I have restored the red color to the sketches, so that they more closely resemble those found in the original.

The fukuro-dana [袋棚], as has been mentioned before, was created by Jōō, albeit derived from a very similar tana that had traditionally been used by the Shino family during their incense-appreciation gatherings**. ___________ *Tanaka Senshō, however, suggests that the expression ku-den [口傳] was used in the sense of “things told (to Nambō Sōkei) by Rikyū” (and so the purpose of the red marks was simply to recollect to Sōkei of these pieces of information) -- rather than implying that the information was (necessarily) part of a secret corpus of orally transmitted teachings (this being the usual sense when the expression is found in the old writings): we must remember that Sōkei was annotating these documents for his own edification, without any intention of disseminating this material to others. More will be said on this later.

†In Shibayama Fugen’s commentary, the title (Fukuro-dana kazari zu [袋棚飾圖]), along with the statement on annotation that follows, are handled as a separate entry, apart from the sketches which follow; and he says nothing about how the page was formatted in the manuscript to which he had recourse.

Tanaka Senshō includes a discussion of the title line, and statement on annotation, together with his comments on the first sketch.

As was mentioned previously, Tanaka Senshō consulted several different (and, apparently, unrelated) manuscripts. In three of those, the formatting is identical to what is seen above -- the title, followed by the comment regarding the red marks, clearly extends beyond the lower edge of the first drawing (indicating that it is, indeed, the title for this part of the book -- and that, in the original, two sketches were found on each page of Jōō’s manuscript). In one of the manuscripts, however, the length of this line has been shortened so that the entire text extends no farther than the lower edge of the first sketch. Tanaka then devotes almost a full page of his commentary to a discussion of the significance which the two styles of formatting suggest.

Tanaka Senshō does not seem to have considered that the formatting of any version drafted, from memory, by someone who had not actually seen the way the original documents were done is, in fact, irrelevant. The formatting used in his teihon matches that of the Enkaku-ji manuscript, suggesting that both were done deliberately. (This is also true with regard to the sketches themselves: Tanaka Senshō also includes the sketches from his other sources, even though these almost always deviate from the sketches drawn by Tachibana Jitsuzan -- often markedly so -- implying, rather than “variations,” that the people responsible for these other sketches inadvertently distorted the material before they had the chance to set it down on paper, meaning that such illustrations have no real validity. Jitsuzan’s sketches always conform with each other and, as has been pointed out above, he was the only one who made sketches with the original documents spread out in front of him. As a result, I think it is best not to go into these other sketches here, since they will only serve to confuse the reader.)

‡The entries are not numbered in the original (I added the numbers to make referencing the different sections less confusing). However, they are indicated -- by a circle “◎” -- so that each entry’s contents remain clearly distinct from each other. A circle of this type is seen at the beginning of the two statements that are taken to be the title of this part of the book, but no further circles like this are encountered in the remainder of the material. Thus, (apparently) according to Tachibana Jitsuzan, this collection of sketches constitutes a single entry.

**The Shino-dana [志野棚] was created by the first (or possibly second) generation of the Shino family (in Japan), Shino Sōshin [志野宗信; c 1406 ~ 1490, or 1441 ~ 1522]. The father and son (both of whom used the same name -- though the son probably only assumed it following his father’s death) emigrated from Korea at the beginning of the second half of the fifteenth century.

The only real difference between the Shino-dana and Jōō‘s version was that Jōō replaced the pair of hinged doors (provided with a locking mechanism) with a single, lift-out door, to close the ji-fukuro. While the Shino family stored their collection of precious kyara [伽羅] incense in the ji-fukuro (meaning that it was off-limits to the guests), Jōō used the ji-fukuro as a place to cache those utensils that he did not want to include in the kane-wari count (though he did encourage his guests to open the ji-fukuro, and glance at the objects that had been placed therein -- so that the host’s temae would not cause any surprises). Both the Shino-dana and Jōō’s fukuro-dana came in a lacquered and an unpainted version -- though it is the kiri-kiji [桐木地] versions of both tana that are best known today.

The parts of the fukuro-dana are named in the above sketch. And, according to Shibayama Fugen, the dimensions of the fukuro-dana are as follows (the translations have been written on the sketch in the same manner as in Shibayama Fugen’s original -- which, like all his sketches, was redrawn for publication):

The ten-ita and ji-ita both measure 2-shaku 5-sun 5-bu by 1-shaku 3-sun., while the tana stands a total of 2-shaku 4-bu high. The kabura-ita [蕪板] is the upright board that forms the right side of the ji-fukuro, and supports the naka-dana (and in which the kōzama-sukashi [格狹間透] is cut between the kō-dana and the naka-dana).

Hashibami [端食み] -- the word literally means a bite taken out of the edge -- refers to pieces of wood inserted onto semi-triangular cuts at each end of a shelf (as can be seen on the right and left in the above sketch), with the grain perpendicular to the grain of the rest of the shelf, the purpose of which is to help prevent warping. Hashibami were also attached to the left and right sides of the door panel that closes the ji-fukuro, for the same purpose (a warped door might be difficult to open, or close; or, at the very least, would make a loud sound when it was being handled).

³Kōgō habōki hatsu-iri dai-tei no kazari [香合羽帚初入大テイノカザリ]*.

Kōgō habōki [香合羽帚] name the two objects of concern here -- the kōgō and the habōki (which are arranged on the ten-ita of the fukuro-dana†).

Hatsu-iri dai-tei no kazari [初入大テイノカザリ] seems to mean “the usual way‡ things are displayed the first time (the guests) enter the room.” ___________ *In Shibayama Fugen’s teihon [底本] (source book), the names kōgō and habōki are written above the objects in the sketch.

While Tanaka Senshō’s teihon (which was the manuscript that Tachibana Jitsuzan made with the Shū-un-an documents spread out in front of him) is as shown (the sketches that I will use throughout this section come from that source, since the only real difference is the degree of care used when executing the sketches: the original copy was taken quickly, while Jitsuzan spared no effort when preparing the presentation copy), in two of the other manuscripts these words are written above the ten-ita, but to the left of the sketches of the utensils that they name; and in the fourth manuscript, the names were omitted entirely (that sketch is sufficiently detailed that the names are not necessary -- though this is also true of the sketches in which the names were included).

Even when notations are found in the Enkaku-ji manuscript that seem to be supported by their presence in Jitsuzan’s original copy, this does not necessarily mean that they were part of the original documents. According to what Kanshū oshō-sama told me, it is almost certain that things have been surreptitiously added to the Enkaku-ji manuscript; and, once there, it would be incumbent on the family of Jitsuzan to add them to his other manuscript as well (so as to preserve the authenticity between the two).

†While most contemporary schools say that it is a rule that tea utensils must never be placed on the ten-ita of the fukuro-dana, this rule (which appears to be based on Rikyū’s own preferences that began to be expressed during the last decade of his life) did not exist at the time when Jōō wrote this book.

When Jōō began to use the fukuro-dana, it represented the first departure from the tea of the daisu. And his arrangements were all clearly based on, and mostly derived (often directly) from, those earlier conventions. Consequently, it would only have been remarkable (to his contemporaries) if he chosen not to place tea-related objects on the ten-ita -- and, in the case of a number of his kazari (which employ the large trays that were originally considered indispensable when tea was served using the daisu), there would be no other way to realize them if the ten-ita was eliminated from consideration.

‡While there are a number of ways that dai-tei [大テイ] could be interpreted, Shibayama Fugen narrows the list down to two possibilities:

- daitei [大抵], meaning “for the most part,” “commonly,” “ordinarily,” and things of that sort. In other words, “‘as a rule’ this is how the fukuro-dana would be arranged the first time (the guests) enter (the tearoom);”

- the kanji “大躰,” which is usually pronounced dai-tai (rather than dai-tei), means things like “generally,” but also “from the start.” That is, “‘from the start’ (the fukuro-dana) would be arranged (as shown) when (the guests) first entered (the tearoom).”

Shibayama Fugen also notes that the parallel case (where common utensils are arranged on the daisu) is termed jōtai-kazari [常躰飾] in Book Five. Jōtai-kazari means “the regular (or ordinary) way of displaying objects” on the daisu (this was the closest approach to something like wabi-chanoyu that was available in the early days). His implication is that perhaps the text of this entry may have become corrupted as a consequence of deterioration in the source material.

While Tanaka Senshō does not bother to analyze the language, he nevertheless interprets the phrase hatsu-iri dai-tei no kazari as suggesting that “the first time (they) enter, because the sumi-temae will be performed immediately, this kind of arrangement is shown as being the most usual (way to display things on the fukuro-dana).” He follows this by noting that this statement is unnecessary (and so, by implication, was likely added by someone else -- rather than Jōō, Rikyū, or even Nambō Sōkei). Tanaka’s approach seems to be that most (if not all) of the things written on the sketches were added by other hands, and at a later date (possibly even later than Jitsuzan, and so not by him).

⁴Kōgō hitotsu-mono oki [香合一ツ物置].

Hitotsu-mono oki [一ツ物置] is a style of arrangement that is discussed in detail in Book Six of the Nampō Roku. Put simply, it was a way to draw attention to the utensil in question (as if it were displayed in the center of the ten-ita of the daisu), and was almost exclusively used for very special meibutsu utensils when the setting was inherently “more wabi” than one would have expected to be appropriate for the use of such utensils.

The three red spots (one in the center of the ten-ita, one in the center of the right side of the ten-ita, and one in the center of the naka-dana above the drawing of the kōgō) indicate that all of these are possible “hitotsu-mono oki” positions for the kōgō: it was up to the host to decide which would be the most appropriate for his circumstances*.

The associated ku-den [口傳]† will be discussed below, in the commentary associated with the second sketch. ___________ *In the Enkaku-ji manuscript, Jitsuzan did not include the red spot which marked the kōgō that is placed on the naka-dana. In fact, this mark is not strictly necessary, since the kōgō has been rendered realistically in the sketch. Thus, any additional indication that that is one possible spot where a meibutsu kōgō might be displayed is superfluous -- except (as, perhaps, the mark was intended) to remind Nambō Sōkei of Rikyū’s explanation. (The original sketches reproduced in this series came from Jitsuzan’s original copy of the material, which he made with the Shū-un-an documents spread out in front of him. While it appears that he was working under pressure -- his access to the original documents was being strictly limited -- the sketches that he made at that time surely represent our best view of the now-lost original material. I am of two minds regarding whether I should modify these sketches so that they better conform with those in the Enkaku-ji version of the text.)

We must always keep in mind that Sōkei’s notations were intended for his own reference; Jitsuzan, on the other hand, was consciously producing a document intended for study by other people (though perhaps with the expectation that those who were granted access to it would be limited to those chajin who would respect the material -- and accepting of Jitsuzan’s interpretation, and opinions).

†A ku-den [口傳] is a secret teaching, one that was supposed to be transmitted directly from teacher to student only when (in the teacher’s opinion) the student was ready to receive it. The dissemination of the ku-den, even in this manner, was purely at the discretion of the teacher, and not guaranteed by the system.

That said, Tanaka Senshō seems to believe that Nambō Sōkei was using the word “ku-den” less strictly -- to remind himself of something that Rikyū had told him -- rather than as a reference to an “official” ku-den that had been handed down from ancient times.

❖ The material below the double line is not part of the original text of the Nampō Roku. Readers who wish to limit their exposure to the things found in Tachibana Jitsuzan’s manuscripts should stop reading here.

==============================================

◎ With respect to kane-wari, the fukuro-dana, as Jōō‘s creation, partakes of his system of seven kane. When arranged on a kyōma-tatami [京間疊], as shown in my sketches (below), the relationship between these seven kane and the original five kane that are used to subdivide the mat can be seen clearly (the system of five kane was historically derived, in turn, from the shiki-shi [敷き紙]).

As for the interpretation of the arrangements themselves, Shibayama Fugen and Tanaka Senshō not only fail to agree on almost every detail, but generally base their explanations on sketches that differ (often radically) from what is found in the actual Nampō Roku itself (which refers to the two manuscripts created by Tachibana Jitsuzan). Precisely why they chose to do so is not really explained in their commentaries -- though we might speculate that contemporary practices appear to have informed (or overwhelmed) their sense of propriety. (Both men were highly accomplished chajin long before they began their studies of the Nampō Roku.)

While there are two versions of the fukuro-dana (one made for use in a room where the katte is on the host’s right, and the other for the case where it is on his left), the compartment for the mizusashi always has to be located on the side of the tana closest to the ro. Thus, in my sketches, I have shown the ro on the right side of the utensil mat.

It appears that -- like many of the practices that survive from the early days of chanoyu in Japan -- these arrangements were originally conceived for a setting where the katte was located on the host’s right (and the ro cut on his left -- which was the configuration of Jōō’s 4.5-mat room). When the preferred orientation (and the tana) was reversed (this seems to have occurred, at the behest of Hideyoshi, during the 1580s), the objects displayed on the naka-dana and kō-dana were adjusted accordingly (since the location of the two shelves is directly connected with the location of the compartment in which the mizusashi is placed). But the things placed on the ten-ita remained as they had always been (this was also the case with the things arranged on the daisu, and even determined the way that the ko-ita furo was placed on the utensil mat). As a result, whereas the original rule had been that the more precious an object was, the farther it should be placed from the middle of the room, these things were now being placed closer to the place where the guests were sitting (this is illustrated very clearly in the two arrangements that are being considered in this installment: the ordinary kōgō in the first arrangement is located on the left side of the ten-ita, while the highest-ranked meibutsu in the second arrangement has been placed in the middle of the right half of the ten-ita). It may have been for precisely this reason that Rikyū came to prefer not placing any tea utensils on the ten-ita at all -- a convention that has now become widely accepted. Nevertheless, the reader should keep this in mind when studying the arrangements collected together here, so as to avoid confusion.

I. The first sketch.

The first arrangement shows the way that an ordinary kōgō is displayed on the fukuro-dana. The arrangement depicted in the sketch is interpreted in the following way:

Note that the kōgō is placed so that it is associated with its kane (which many commentators express as “overlapping the kane by one-third” -- actually, the foot of the kōgō is oriented so that it is immediately to one side of the kane), while the habōki is placed between kane (and pointedly not in contact with either). This is because, on ordinary occasions, the shoza is supposed to be chō [調] (“yin”): the kakemono in the toko makes the toko han [半]; the kama in the ro makes the room also han [半]; thus the tana must be chō [調] (the mizusashi rests on a kane and so is han; the kōgō is also associated with a kane, and so is han; while the habōki, which is not associated with a kane, is chō: han + han + chō is chō, both for the tana, and for the za as a whole).

That said, on occasions (such as at night) when the shoza needs to be han [半], then the habōki would be associated with its kane (in other words, placed so that the handle is adjacent to the kane, thus allowing the feather to overlap the kane).

——————————————--———-—————————————————

II. The second sketch.

This sketch shows three possible ways to display a meibutsu kōgō as an hitotsu-mono [一ツ物] on the fukuro-dana (while this sketch has a red mark on the kōgō arranged on the naka-dana, the kōgō is unmarked in the Enkaku-ji manuscript* -- though its literal representation in the sketch is sufficient to indicate that it is one of the three locations intended):

◦ first, with the kōgō arranged on the naka-dana (as shown most literally in the sketch);

◦ second, placed in the center of the ten-ita (as indicated by the left-most of the two red spots); and,

◦ third, placed on the ten-ita, but centered above the naka-dana.

The arrangements used on the smaller-sized tana (such as the Seirō-dana [城樓棚] and Hora-dana [洞棚]) derive from this last version of the kazari.

In all three cases, the meibutsu kōgō is placed squarely on its kane, while the habōki is not associated with a kane (for the same reason that was mentioned in the notes under the first arrangement).

The “ku-den” [口傳] relate to the fact that a kōgō displayed in this manner was supposed to be a meibutsu piece, specifically one of exceptional merit (such as a kōgō that had been owned and treasured by a great chajin of the past -- for example, by Ashikaga Yoshimasa), while also ranking the three possible locations (with the kōgō centered on the right side of the ten-ita being the position of greatest respect†, followed by its being centered on the ten-ita, and then centered on the naka-dana -- which was probably the most common form of the hitotsu-mono arrangement, if only due to an inclination to deprecate ones own possessions, irrespective of their antecedents).

Tanaka Senshō argues that the red spots were added (to what was likely a copy that Sōkei had made of the original manuscript, which was in Rikyū’s archive‡) by Nambō Sōkei, as part of his own private scholarship. If this assessment is correct, then the purpose was to remind himself of things that Rikyū had told him about these arrangements. The same, Tanaka suggests, holds true for many of the words and comments that were written on, and beside, the sketches**. ___________ *As I mentioned above, I am of two minds regarding whether to let these differences stand. Since I am ostensibly using the Enkaku-ji manuscript as my source book, perhaps I should edit these sketches so that they more exactly reflect what is found in that source. Nevertheless, since the sketches in Jitsuzan’s original copy of the material were made, as I have said, with the Shū-un-an documents spread out in front of him, this earlier version of the sketches perhaps more accurately reflects the nature and contents of the original documents, making their contents worthy of preservation.

The question -- and it is one that I cannot really answer -- is whether the Nampō Roku should be perceived as primarily a faithful preservation of the original material, or accepted as a reworking of that material by Tachibana Jitsuzan, intended to fill a specific need (the refutation of Sōtan’s approach to chanoyu) -- a goal which may or may not have been contiguous with Sōkei’s own purposes. Jitsuzan eliminated the third red mark because it was superfluous (since the kōgō is already literally represented on the naka-dana); but (I suspect) Sōkei marked that kōgō with a red spot precisely because the teaching he received from Rikyū was as applicable to it, in that position, as it was to the others (which are solely represented by the red spots marked above the ten-ita). I cannot convince myself that fidelity to the Enkaku-ji manuscript trumps the potential insight which the full collection of marks on the original versions of the sketches provide.

†This may seem counterintuitive, since it locates the most precious kōgō “closest to the fire.” The convention, however, derives from the original arrangement of Jōō’s 4.5-mat room (where the ro was on the host’s left, and the katte on his right), making its being centered on the right side of the ten-ita “more safe” than its being placed in the center of the ten-ita. Other anomalies of this sort will be noted, from time to time, in the remaining sketches -- so the reader is advised to keep the reason in mind.

With respect to “closer to the fire,” this is an anachronistic argument (though it is the one that readers who have studied with one of the modern schools will most likely be familiar). The original idea was related to purity, rather than to danger. The movement of the guests (when taking their seats, or moving around to inspect the objects that the host has arranged in the room) was felt to stir up dust (of which, given the nature of the tatamai mat, the room cannot be made completely free). The rising heat and steam from the kama divides the air in the room into two fractions: that on the side of the guests (the heat lifts the dust raised by the guests’ movements up to the ceiling, and then back toward their seats), and that between the fire and the katte. The cleanest place, therefore, was the position closest to the katte, and it was originally for this reason that the most precious utensils were located on that side of the tana. This will become clearer in Book Five, where the arrangements related to the service of guests of different ranks (or different degrees of relationship to the host) -- things that were out of place in the wabi setting -- will be discussed.

‡It is possible that Rikyū discarded this document, along with most of his other papers, when he moved his Sakai household from Ima-ichi-machi to Mozuno. (What we know of Rikyū suggests that he was not a sentimentalist -- and he had long since moved on, with respect to the way he arranged his utensils on the fukuro-dana, making this material rather useless: as I mentioned before, of the numerous sketches for the fukuro-dana assembled here, only one made its way into Rikyu’s own practice, and his writings on the subject). In this case, Sōkei may have made his notations on the original Jōō document.

**Thus “ku-den” is used in a literal sense to mean something transmitted orally to Sōkei by Rikyū for his own edification, rather than a formal secret that was intended to be passed down from generation to generation. This would explain the lack of any record of many of these “secret” teachings, as is the case here.

As mentioned above, Tanaka Senshō also implies that at least some of these additions may have been entered into the manuscripts at an even later date -- perhaps even after the finished copy of the Nampō Roku had been presented to the Enkaku-ji.

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theprodigypenguin · 5 years

Text

TCC Headcanons (part three)

Next part~ I want to dabble more in the other Potter-Weasley kids, so if/when I do a fourth part, I’m going to add some of them. I did a bit of them here, I’m really loving Fred, or the version of Fred that’s stuck in my head, but yea. I’m having fun making these, they’re pretty relaxing.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

While attending school, Scorpius had a tendency to talk to the ghosts at Hogwarts; pretty much all of them.

He even became decent friends with Myrtle and would talk to her about bullies and how to deal with them.

He's an angel honestly and even Helena Ravenclaw loves him.

When he got on the train to Hogwarts for his fifth year he gave the Trolley Witch a homemade friendship bracelet to apologize for jumping out of the train the year before.

For the next three years on the train he would talk to her and hold conversations with her whenever she stopped at his and Albus' compartment.

He learned her name and asked her to tell at least one fun story when she was with them (he especially enjoyed the stories about school-age Dumbledore, Newt Scamander sneaking animals onto the train, and the Mauraders, just everything about them).

At one point he bought candy off the trolley and gave her a piece to enjoy because she sells them all the time but she should also be able to enjoy them once in a while.

She didn't eat it of course (idk does she even eat) but she keeps it in her pocket at all times and never takes her bracelet off.

Whenever Scorpius started regularly visiting the Potter's after their fourth year he would always end up washing dishes and doing random chores simply because he's just that sweet and nice.

And Albus would end up roped into the work because Scorpius is showing him up around his parents that's not cool.

Ginny: Al can you take the trash out please?

Albus: In a minute mum.

Ginny: I bet Scorpius would take it out when I asked.

Albus: Gimme the fuckin trash bag.

Scorpius and Albus commandeered the sofa under the window in the Slytherin common room during their second year.

By then no one wanted to sit with them anyway so no one ever took their couch and didn't go near it.

Even passing dumb rumors like "if you sit there you'll be cursed as Voldemort's trump card forever" or "that sofa saps all your magic, if you sit there you'll turn into a squib like Potter".

The window looks out into the Black Lake, and Scorpius has taken to trying to communicate with the merpeople who occasionally swim up to the enchanted glass.

Mainly he communicates in pictures, drawing the merpeople and holding his sketches up to the window so the merfolk can enjoy them.

He's not as good an artist as Albus of course but he tries.

And on occasion the merpeople will leave little gifts for Scorpius sitting on the window sill just outside in the water.

Of course Scorpius can't reach them, but it makes him happy to see the little collection of rocks and snails sitting there.

During their first year, Scorpius started getting pushed into closets and locked in.

A group of older Gryffindor's (friends of James), would steal his wand and lock him in for hours until someone found him (usually Filch or Neville).

He never mentions the names of the students so they never get in trouble.

And teaches himself a bit of wandless magic so by fifth year he can open the closet door without his wand.

James is the oldest but acts like quite a goofball the majority of the time.

He has a lot of trouble telling people "no" because he likes being helpful.

He wears his heart on his sleeve and bursts with positive energy, which draws people to him.

Has a bit of trouble taking things seriously.

He has excellent grades, and becomes Captain of the Quidditch team during his fifth year at Hogwarts.

Laughing is his favorite thing to do, and can usually be heard above the roar of voices in the Great Hall during meals.

He especially enjoys making other people laugh.

Everyone who meets him likes him, even the people who don't like him seem to respect him enough to tolerate him.

He's friends with pretty much everyone, which is stressful at times because sometimes he just doesn't know who he can talk to.

Having a lot of friends is nice, but it sort of blinds him from knowing who can keep a secret and who can't, so there are very few at the school who actually KNOW the real James Potter.

Teddy is one of the only people who knows him for him, and accepts him for it, and encourages him to be exactly who he is.

One of his closest friends is his cousin and dorm-mate Fred (jr).

Goofball he may be, if James is angered, he is absolutely terrifying.

Almost scarier than his mum when she's mad (and that's fucking petrifying).

He teases his siblings and cousins to death, but honestly loves Lily and Albus more than ANYTHING in the world, and would die for them without any hesitation.

He's a Hugger™ and tends to cling to the people he embraces (basically incapable of giving a normal hug, but most people don't care).

Lily returns all of his very frequent embraces, and clings to him as much as he clings to her (they do that cute penguin walk where they sway back and forth and shuffle because they don't want to let go).

Albus, on the other hand, tries desperately to escape whenever James hugs him, so usually he ends up hugged from behind and drags James along down the hall or room trying to get away.

It never, ever works, there is no escape, so he ends up just standing or sitting with a murderous expression on his face while James snuggles him.

His hugs with Fred consist of him throwing himself into Fred's arms so he's being carried bridal style (or Fred jumps into James' arms, one of them usually ends up being carried for some reason).

Hugs with Teddy are similar to hugs with Lily, but almost more tender. He likes keeping his arms around Teddy's neck and standing on Teddy's shoes to make himself tall enough to reach his shoulders.

James and Albus used to be very close, before Albus was sorted into Slytherin, when they were younger.

They'd all fall asleep curled on the couch together.

James would give Albus piggyback rides if he ever so much as stubbed his toe.

After a nightmare Albus would toddle into James' room and cuddle with him.

He loved to cook with them, despite how terrible Albus was at it, and ate every burnt cookie they offered him.

Lily adores him honestly, and secretly, Albus does as well, because James is an amazing brother.

At one point in time, the Gryffindor Quidditch team was absolutely dominated by the Potter-Weasley clan.

James - Captain and Chaser

Rose - Chaser

Louis - Chaser

Roxanne - Beater

Fred - Beater

Hugo - Keeper

Lily - Seeker

They were one of the best teams to come from Gryffindor and didn't lose a single game.

Teddy LOVES singing.

I honestly imagine he sounds something like Nick Jonas.

He can also play any instrument that's put in front of him.

He likes covering modern muggle bands (Imagine Dragons, American Authors, Panic! At the Disco, Nick Jonas, Adam Lambert, Louis Tomlinson, The Script, One Republic, etc) but also makes his own music and enjoys older bands like ACDC, Bon Jovi, etc.

Scorpius gets along with Mrs Norris and even does his best to start up conversations with Filch.

At one point Albus, somewhat desperate, confides in Filch about people calling him a Squib and asks for advice (cuz who else would even understand).

Filch gives crappy advice though.

Teddy's "Moon Sickness" consists of mainly migraines.

They start off small but grow worse with age.

They can be so bad he vomits, gets nose bleeds, or blacks out entirely, and can remain unconscious for days at a time.

We only have three confirmed godparents but here is my complete personal take:

James - Ron and Hermione

Albus - Neville and McGonagall (that's what I fucking said 👌)

Lily - Hagrid and Luna (fucking fight me about this one I fucking dare you)

Scorpius doesn't have godparents, but Albus said they could share Neville.

Harry is Teddy's only official godparent, but he calls Ginny his God-Mum because it makes her smile.

Harry and Ginny are also Rose's godparents.

George and Angelina are Hugo's.

Percy is Fred's (junior) godfather (George felt it was absolutely necessary).

16 notes · View notes

the-scenic-route-stories · 6 years

Text

Lost the Plot: A Parenthesis

The Doctor is (politely) displeased.

This follows on from my ACGAS/Fifth Doctor crossovers The Scenic Route and Tea in Bed but do be warned that it is written in a very different style from those previous pieces and is a piece of utter absurdity, inspired by a plot point in A Very Peculiar Practice and my love for ‘Castrovalva’ and the fictional worlds of Jorge Luis Borge as well as for All Creatures. Now with minor revisions.

Features Tricki-Woo and Mrs. Pumphrey, offstage.

The Doctor gently swung his legs down to the floor and used one hand to slowly push himself up into a standing position. Tentatively, he padded in his red socks across the Persian rug, holding on to various items of furniture for support. After his previous attempts, he was anxious lest a wave of dizziness or nausea should hit him, but succeeded in crossing the room without incident. He arrived at the fourth wall and cleared his throat.

“Excuse me,” he said, attempting to bring a tone of polite authority to his voice. “I’ve been lying in bed for a couple of weeks now. It’s been wonderful to be looked after and everything, Mrs Hall is a very kind lady, and I do like that green quilt, but the thing is that I’m stuck here while everyone except me is having adventures and I feel that I’m not really living up to my job description. James and Tristan have been up in space and Turlough is out there on the Eye of Orion – sketching, supposedly – while I’ve been languishing here on earth coughing and collapsing whenever you wanted the readers to feel sorry for me. Now I’m feeling more myself again, it’s getting to be really rather tedious. If you had to give me space flu – what sort of an unoriginal name was that, anyway? You could at least have come up with some fancy Latinate terminology – to facilitate your frankly ridiculous plot mechanics and have young Tristan crash my TARDIS, can’t you at least let me recover properly now so that I can repair her and resume my normal life of dashing about the cosmos? He’s a decent enough young fellow, if a little reckless, but it’s rather trying to look at a mirror image of yourself and be constantly reminded that with regeneration, you never know what you’re going to get.”

“I’m very sorry, Doctor,” I told him. “I had some plot ideas but wasn’t sure how to put them together. It really is a very nice quilt, and I even rescued that dressing-gown from Lady Cranleigh’s for you to wear, although that wasn’t mentioned in the episode at all.” I stopped there, realising that the dressing-gown thing had been pure self-indulgence on my part, based on how absolutely ripping he had looked in it when he wore it in 1925. “Isn’t it better than languishing in a dungeon while the writer figures out how to get you out of there? I thought it would be nice to have someone looking after you for once. In most of your adventures, you end up getting bashed about, locked up or tortured with nobody to take care of you. You just have to dust yourself down and get on with the story. I thought you would appreciate the soft bed, tea and crumpets after all that.”

“That was indeed very considerate of you, and you know how much I love tea. The crumpets were delicious, too. Thank you very much. But I am beginning to suspect your motives in some of this. Can you genuinely say that you have never daydreamed about mopping my fevered brow? Or building your own benevolent version of Castrovalva for me to recuperate in? In which I am not ‘trapped’ in the strict technical sense but develop a strong disinclination towards leaving while there is honey still for tea?”

“Er, well…” I suppose you don’t get to be an intergalactic hero without having a good deal of insight into other people’s motivations, and such insight comes more easily when you’re being written by the person who has those motivations. (It’s almost like telepathy.) “OK, yes. I did want to look after you. But I’m not trying to keep you trapped in this story. I just haven’t got round to writing the next part yet.”

“The lady doth protest too much, methinks,” he said, arching his eyebrows. He really is such a smart aleck. Pretty much everyone quotes that wrongly, apart from him, of course. Probably picked it up when he was drinking with Shakespeare, or ghostwrote it for him, or something. “'Look how much nicer I am to you than the BBC was', eh? What about the space flu, though? That wasn’t pleasant at all!”

“I’m sorry about the space flu. But if nothing unpleasant happened to you, there wouldn’t be a story, would there? I’m afraid that’s an occupational hazard of being a hero.”

“I suppose you’re right,” he said, with a universe-weary sigh. “Writers of stories really do seem to have it in for one, sometimes. Tea and crumpets are certainly better than Cybermen and Daleks, and you have promised that you are going to give me a chance to play cricket. But as for making me wear this absurd dressing-gown again…”

“I have given you pyjamas too, you know. With your favourite question-marks on them. You haven’t had to spend most of an episode walking down corridors with the dressing-gown open to your chest in my story. Nor wear a Pierrot costume. And in any case, this is just prose, without any visuals. For all the readers know, you could actually be wearing a baggy old cardigan.”

“Hmmm. But what about those illustrations of yours? To be fair, you haven’t done an illustration of me in the dressing-gown yet, but I suspect it’s only a matter of time. I wonder whether these illustrations aren’t something of a pretext for downloading a ridiculous number of pictures of me from the internet. Drawing references, indeed. How many drawing references does anyone need?”

“Have you been rummaging around on my hard drive while I’ve been asleep?”

“You’ve given me so little else to do, and one must keep oneself occupied somehow. There’s only so many hours one can spend doing crosswords. You still haven’t managed to draw me properly, you know, despite all your references. You’re nowhere near as good as Turlough. And you’ve started writing me out of character now, too. I’m not usually quite this sardonic.”

“In my defence, I’m not the first person ever to have done that, but I will try to do better from now on. So, what sort of plot do you want? How do you want me to get you out of here?” (First rule of plotting: consult your protagonist ahead of time about all important plot decisions. Except, perhaps, ones in which he is attacked by monsters that are made of rubber or green versions of Dobbin the pantomime horse from Rentaghost. Sometimes it is necessary to preserve the element of surprise, particularly when the special effects aren’t very convincing.)

At this point, Tristan came in and looked quizzically towards the Doctor.

“Authorial conference,” said the Doctor.

“Aha, I see. Good stuff. Perhaps I can contribute too. I used to read through some of Mr. Wight’s drafts and make notes for him, or rather the real person I’m based on did. Wonderful chap, Mr. Wight.”

“We’re discussing what should happen next in the plot,” said the Doctor. “I was feeling rather grumpy about not having had much to do in this story so far. It must have been the aftereffects of the space flu that made me feel so out of sorts and out of character. I’m feeling much better now, though. Quite my old self.” He rocked backwards and forwards on the balls of his feet to illustrate this, and grinned broadly.

“I didn’t cut a very good figure at all in the last section of ‘The Scenic Route’,” said Tristan, turning towards me. “Made rather an ass of myself sashaying around in the Doctor’s costume and then crashing the TARDIS. Any chance of a rewrite?”

“No, I’m afraid not,” said the Doctor, before I could answer. “Web of time, and all that.”

“Well, I think the first thing to do, since you’re feeling better, is for you to change back into your normal costume. You’ll feel much more like getting back into action, then! It’s laid out on the chair. Unfortunately, your celery buttonhole has wilted and Mrs Hall has had to throw it away. I think it might have caught the space flu from you. It's obviously a very important part of your outfit although no-one seems to have taken the trouble to explain why. But there’s no problem – I’ll bring you a nice new celery stalk from the vegetable rack. ”

“Ah, but my previous celery was imaginary,” said the Doctor. “It came from an Edwardian yacht in space. Imaginary space vegetables keep for much longer than real ones. My first stick of celery, which was produced by by block transfer computations, lasted for a year and a half before it started going a bit brown around the edges.”

“That’s no problem,” said Tristan, breezily. “The celery from downstairs is imaginary too. We’re imaginary. Well, I’m not entirely imaginary, but I’m a fictionalised version of a real person, and this conversation we’re having now certainly never happened in real life. It’s far too silly. We look so similar that we're clearly being played by the same actor - perhaps due to budgetary constraints at the BBC - and are only appearing together in these scenes thanks to CGI. Or smoke and mirrors, since I'm someone from the 1930s who hasn't heard of CGI."

“I meant imaginary in the context of this story. Things that we’re imagining. What we call in the trade second-order imaginariness or the doubly fictional. I would tell you to go and look up the entry on ‘Uqbar’ in James’s musty encyclopaedias in the cellar to give you an idea of what I mean, except that the episode in which James buys the encyclopaedias hasn’t happened yet and the encyclopaedia in question, despite being published in 1902, is the subject of a fiction that wasn’t written until 1940. Continuity can be rather confusing, sometimes, even when you’re not suffering from regeneration sickness.”

“Ah, I’m not sure how we’re going to manage to produce something that’s doubly imaginary in a veterinary practice in 1937. We do have quite a few interesting chemicals in the surgery…” mused Tristan. “Oh yes, I have an idea! I’ll ring Mrs Pumphrey, and ask her to ask Tricki-Woo to imagine one. I’m sure she won’t mind. She’s always been very forthcoming where food items are concerned.”

**********

“Here you are! To dear Uncle Doctor, from Tricki-Woo, Esquire,” said Tristan, bounding up the stairs with a very crisp-looking but entirely imaginary stick of celery. “Nothing but the best from Mrs. Pumphrey. She popped a very decent-looking bottle of port into the package, too.”

“Excellent,” I said. “Now, Doctor, if you’re ready to change, I’ll avert my gaze and insert a row of asterisks.”

Tristan gave a naughty grin. “If I were writing from the omniscient narrator point of view, I’d be sure to make full use of all the privileges that that afforded.”

“Yes, I rather imagine you would,” said the Doctor, with a raised eyebrow.

Tristan blushed and grinned again, a little sheepishly, realising that he must after all have left a copy of Health and Efficiency inside one of the more sedate publications that he had lent to his visitor.

“Tristan!” I said “Be more respectful! He’s very proper, you know. Hundreds of years old, and is supposed to be a good example to the young. No hanky-panky in the TARDIS, and all that.”

“I’m not supposed to be a good example to anyone. Quite the reverse, in fact!” said Tristan, laughing.

************

The Doctor, now back in his usual costume, turned to me: “Pleasant as this discussion has been, we don’t seem to have got much further with deciding on the plot.”

“There have been a lot of distractions. But look, I have got you better from the space flu, now. That’s progress.”

“Yes, indeed,” the Doctor said brightly. “No more shivering and shaking. Definitely an improvement.”

“I have a plot suggestion. You could write yourself into the story as a love-interest for me!” said Tristan. “Of course, our relationship would have to be ultimately doomed to failure because of a disapproving father or a strange obsession with goat dung, because the BBC has it in for me too, but we could have some fun first.” He gave me a very flirtatious look.

“Well… yes… I could do that…” I said, blushing and suddenly feeling very flustered.

“So, would your authorial avatar like to come to the Drovers’ with me this evening?”

It was very tempting, of course, but taking into account Tristan’s overdeveloped sense of humour and the presence of his exact lookalike, I was not at all convinced that I wouldn’t be the victim of some convoluted mistaken-identity prank sooner or later, even without the Doctor’s active collusion.

“Tristan. The author has to concentrate on writing the rest of the plot and doesn’t need this sort of distraction, and you know full well that Siegfried has forbidden you from going to the Drovers’ until we have finished mending the TARDIS,” said the Doctor. “Come on,” he added, putting his arm around Tristan’s shoulders, “Let’s go down to the paddock. While the author is working out where to go next with the plot, we can get started with the repairs, and then if the plot turns out to be too dull, we can fly off and have our own adventures instead.”

#lost the plot #fiction #doctor who #all creatures great and small #fifth doctor #tristan farnon #absurd and surreal humour #authorial avatar #celery #my fiction

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darrowbyeightfive · 6 years

Text

Lost the Plot

The Doctor is (politely) displeased.

Features Tricki-Woo and Mrs. Pumphrey, offstage.

(*) Just please don’t expect anything as good as AVPP, Castrovalva or, especially, Borges, or you will be very disappointed.

“Excuse me,” he said, attempting to bring a tone of polite authority to his voice. “I’ve been lying in bed for a couple of weeks now. It’s been wonderful to be looked after and everything, Mrs Hall is a very kind lady, and I do like that green quilt, but the thing is that I’m stuck here while everyone except me is having adventures and I feel that I’m not really living up to my job description. James and Tristan have been up in space and Turlough is out there on the Eye of Orion – sketching, supposedly – while I’ve been languishing here on earth coughing and collapsing whenever you wanted the readers to feel sorry for me. Now I’m feeling more myself again, it’s getting to be really rather tedious. If you had to give me space flu – what sort of an unoriginal name was that, anyway? You could at least have come up with some fancy Latin terminology – to facilitate your frankly ridiculous plot mechanics and have young Tristan crash my TARDIS, can’t you at least let me recover properly now so that I can repair her and resume my normal life of dashing about the cosmos? He’s a decent enough young fellow, if a little reckless, but it’s rather trying to look at a mirror image of yourself and be constantly reminded that with regeneration, you never know what you’re going to get.”

“I’m very sorry, Doctor,” I told him. “I had some plot ideas but wasn’t sure how to put them together. It really is a very nice quilt, and I even rescued that dressing-gown from Lady Cranleigh’s for you to wear, although that wasn’t mentioned in the episode at all.” I stopped there, realising that the dressing-gown thing had been pure self-indulgence on my part, based on how ‘absolutely ripping’ he had looked in it when he wore it in 1925. “Isn’t it better than languishing in a dungeon while the writer figures out how to get you out of there? I thought it would be nice to have someone looking after you for once. In most of your adventures, you end up getting bashed about, locked up or tortured with nobody to take care of you. You just have to dust yourself down and get on with the story. I thought you would appreciate the soft bed, tea and crumpets after all that.”

“The lady doth protest too much, methinks,” he said, arching his eyebrows. He really is such a smart aleck. Pretty much everyone quotes that wrongly, apart from him, of course. Probably picked it up when he was drinking with Shakespeare, or ghostwrote it for him, or something. “Look how much nicer I am to you than the BBC was, eh? What about the space flu, though? That wasn’t pleasant at all!”

“Yes, I’m sorry about the space flu. But if nothing unpleasant happened to you, there wouldn’t be a story, would there? I’m afraid that’s an occupational hazard of being a hero.”

“I suppose you’re right,” he said, with a universe-weary sigh. “Writers of stories really do seem to have it in for one, sometimes. Tea and crumpets are certainly better than Cybermen and Daleks, and you are going to give me a chance to play cricket. But as for making me wear this absurd dressing-gown again...”

“I have given you pyjamas too, you know. With your favourite question-marks on them. You haven’t had to spend most of an episode walking down corridors with the dressing-gown open to your chest in my story. And in any case, this is just prose, without any visuals. For all the readers know, you could actually be wearing a baggy old cardigan.”

“Have you been rummaging around on my hard drive while I’ve been asleep?”

“Yes, I’m sorry, I have. In my defence, I’m not the first person ever to have done that, but I will try to do better from now on. So, what sort of plot do you want? How do you want me to get you out of here?” (First rule of plotting: consult your protagonist ahead of time about all important plot decisions. Except, perhaps, ones in which he is attacked by large rubber monsters. Sometimes it is necessary to preserve the element of surprise, particularly on when the special effects aren’t very convincing.)

At this point, Tristan came in and looked quizzically towards the Doctor.

“Authorial conference,” said the Doctor.

“I didn’t cut a very good figure at all in the last section of ‘The Scenic Route’,” said Tristan, turning towards me. "Made rather an ass of myself sashaying around in the Doctor’s costume and then crashing the TARDIS. Any chance of a rewrite?”

“No, I’m afraid not,” said the Doctor, before I could answer. “Web of time, and all that.”

“Well, I think the first thing to do, since you’re feeling better, is for you to change back into your normal costume. You’ll feel much more like getting back into action, then! It’s laid out on the chair. Unfortunately, your celery buttonhole has wilted and Mrs Hall has had to throw it away. I think it might have caught the space flu from you. But there’s no problem – I’ll bring you a nice new celery stalk from the vegetable rack.”

**********

“Excellent,” I said. “Now, Doctor, if you’re ready to change into your costume, I’ll avert my gaze and insert a row of asterisks.”

Tristan gave a naughty grin. “If I were writing in the omniscient third person, I’d be sure to make full use of all the privileges that that afforded.”

“Yes, I rather imagine you would,” said the Doctor, with a raised eyebrow.

“Tristan!” I said “Be more respectful! He’s very proper, you know. Hundreds of years old, and is supposed to be a good example to the young. No hanky-panky in the TARDIS, and all that.”

“I’m not supposed to be a good example to anyone. Quite the reverse, in fact!” said Tristan, laughing. “Anyway, it was you who thought up that bit about the privileges of the omniscient narrator.”

“You said it, not me!”

“You put the words into my mouth! Trying to blame things on a fictional – or semi-fictional – character, indeed!”

************

The Doctor, now back in his usual costume, turned to me: “Pleasant as this discussion has been, we don’t seem to have got much further with deciding on the plot.”

“There have been a lot of distractions. But look, I have got you better from the space flu, now. That’s progress.”

“Yes, indeed,” the Doctor said brightly. “No more shivering and shaking. Definitely an improvement.”

“You could write yourself into the story as a love-interest for me,” said Tristan. “Of course, our relationship would have to be ultimately doomed to failure because of a disapproving father or a strange obsession with goat dung, because the BBC has it in for me too, but we could have some fun first.” He gave me a very flirtatious look.

“Well... yes... I could do that...” I said, blushing and suddenly feeling very flustered.

“So, would your authorial avatar like to come to the Drovers’ with me this evening?”

#all creatures great and small #doctor who #fristan farnon #fifth doctor #my fiction #absurdity #lost the plot #imaginary space vegetables

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soysaucevictim · 4 years

Text

Week 4s.

June 13

I woke up before 2PM today.

One of the first things I did was dishes and making our next HF meal. Roasted garlic and veggie flat breads. It went alright - I personally liked the flavor profile. Even though I wound up accidentally burning half of them while they were getting broiled. :P

I then spent much of my day updating some logs (since I was using primary computer to process vids) and dusting off my old dA account (in order to post the other versions of that recent drawing~.)

Got started with my exercise pretty late.

First, today’s DD. 2′ arm scissors with EC. I counted 223 reps by the end of it. Arms got modestly tired, but overall doable.

Second, Day 19 of the VP. Level 3, no rest. Breezy work, think I kept my balance for all but the first set (was getting self oriented.)

Third, Day 19 of the CSP. Level 3, 1′ rest. This started off a bit more intensive - and ended a bit too. But overall, it was manageable to shorten my rest periods, today.

Last, Day 19 of the MC. Backup & Restore + 10′ meditation. Sequence was tougher d/t muscle fatigue and session was a bit restless. But I put in the time and tried to appreciate it.

I spent rest of night troubleshooting a thing and video editing. Got to bed late... but oh well.

June 14

I woke up around 1:30PM

One of the first things I did today was watch YouTube and exercise.

First, today’s DD. 40 reverse crunches with EC. Probably one of my favorite types of crunches, if I’m going to be honest.

Second, Day 20 of the VP. Level 3, 30″ rest. Strictly arm work, fatigue basically required a bit more time to recover in between sets. But otherwise very doable.

Third, Day 20 of the CSP. Level 3, 1′ rest. I admit my cts got a bit fast- but I still felt it pretty noticeably. Just happy to knock it out~

Last, Day 20 of the MC. Was a bit restless and taken somewhat out of it due to external distractions. But decided to just stay there and attempt to return to the breath~

A good chunk of the day was spent watching Mirromask and Blazing Saddles.

Stayed up far too late doing more chatting and doing video-editing. :P

June 15

I woke up after 2PM, I think.

One of the first things I did today was exercise...

First, today’s DD. 60 shoulder taps with EC (30/30).

Second, Day 21 of the VP. Level 3, no rest. May’ve rushed the stretches a tad. But it’s still pretty fun and breezy work.

Third, Day 21 of the CSP. Level 3, no rest. The combo/load with these exercises was also pretty easy to get through. I liked this go-around.

(After some chatting, dinner, and dishes...)

Last, Day 21 of the MC. 15′ meditation with the OM Mantra. Found myself getting very fidgety as time went on. Leg fell asleep but recovery was fast, this time. Beginning to want to set up an interval timer again (or dust off Insight Timer or something). :Ic

I stayed up last again to do the second pass through the footage. But not as late as yesterday~

June 16

I definitely woke up after 2PM, today. Was getting a bit cranky - but food, watching SaSi bloopers, and getting to me exercise helped.

First, today’s DD. 40 scorpion twists with EC. I tried to be very deliberate about limiting floor shimmying. But I enjoy this one a lot.

Second, Day 22 of the VP. Level 3, no rest. I love balance stands so much - and watching DWIT spoilers while doing it was a treat. I needed the laughs.

Third, Day 22 of the CSP. Level 3, max rest. I kind of regret eating pizza, especially after accrued back extensions. Got me a touch queasy, but I got through it okay. At least I had enough sense to moderate my portions before setting out to doing this. Necessity of dropping to floor also helped endurance.

Last, Day 22 of the MC. 1′ equal breathing + 15′ meditation. I used and online meditation timer with interval chimes for sense of time. I was a bit restless and dealing with stomach trying to chill.

Did some more chatting. Pulled basically an all-nighter video editing and gaming, too. (Recorded a bed time at like 9AM tomorrow...)

June 17

I woke up at like 3PM... bleh,

My entire day was basically tanked by working on that video editing some more.

Did a little bit of chatting and ranting on Twitter about it... but I then decided to play a bit more KH that night. Got to bed late, but not as late as yesterday.

June 18

I barely woke up before yesterday.

One of the first things I did was doing some final touches to editing that stream footage, chatting, and doing dishes. After that, exercise.

First, yesterday’s DD. 2′ back arch balance hold with EC (1′/1′). Did take a bit of steady breathing to remain focused on my balance and form. But it was very doable work!

Second, today’s DD. 80 march twists with EC. Relatively breezy work, but I did start feeling some leg fatigue near the end. This takes a bit of mindfulness, don’t want to slam your knees against your elbows! :,D

Third, Day 23 of the VP. Level 3, 30″ rest. My forearms, man! Despite the fatigue needing a bit more recovery time (than what was offered by the bicep extensions), I do enjoy doing this stuff. (Holding my arms up wasn’t nearly as difficult as the un/clenching fists part throughout.)

Fourth, Day 23 of the CSP. Level 3, max rest. This definitely got quite a bit tougher walking into it with tired arms. Didn’t maintain stellar form, but I managed to get through it. Arms well and truly felt like noodles afterwards.

Last, Day 23 of the MC. Backup & Restore + 15′ meditation. Because of built up fatigue, I chose to meditate leaning against my bed, legs extended, hands in lap. Mind did wander a bit, but it was pretty relaxing to choose an easier sitting posture for my energy levels (did think to do this one lying down.)

More chatting and gaming happened before I turned in... at like 7AM.

June 19

I woke up at like... 3PM again.

First thing I did today was make the next Hello Fresh Meal. Bayou-style crispy tilapia. It was just alright taste-wise. Tilapia is a VERY mild fish, but I really enjoyed that remoulade with it. But it was a bit of a headache prep-wise. Not helped by missing both the fry seasoning and cornstarch in the kit. Thankfully I had everything on hand (and did my best to make the fry seasoning blend on the spot, with internet help).

After some dishes got done, and some time spent on YouTube, I did my exercise.

First, today’s DD. 2′ side-to-side chops with EC. I counted 144 reps by the end. Very doable to keep pace above 1/sec, pretty breezy exercise/pace. But consider it done.

Second, Day 24 of the VP. Level 3, no rest. Breezy stretching work.

Third, Day 24 of the CSP. Level 3, 1′ rest. A bit of neck strain noted, but manageable.

Last, Day 24 of the MC. 15′ meditation. Very fidgety/restless, because I was anxious to sketch another art project out. But I did my best to sit with it.

I then wound up taking a shower... and since tablet wasn’t responsive and internet went... I just spent rest of night playing games.

I did get to bed dramatically earlier than usual. But still technically in the red zone, target-wise. (A bit before 3AM...)

#adventures with fitness #adventures with hello fresh

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