I don’t seem to work with pastel colors. The starwort is what caught my attention with this tale, and everything else developed from that.
The Six Swans
Author: KA Byrnes
F.U.N.
ONE
Lunchtime at the Krusty Krab.
TWO
The French narrator explains how nice it is. Suddenly the lighting goes red and all the fish panic. Krabs at the cash register calls up to Squidward who’s in a crow’s nest (lol — wut?) with a spyglass.
Ah, it’s a Plankton episode! He’s stealing a Krabby Patty. With a laser he cuts a tiny hole in the wall and escapes outside. Little robot arms from a backpack carry the patty as Plankton says, “I win!”
THREE
The KK crew stands around. He got away. But, no. Spongebob rips off his skin to reveal another Spongebob skin. He’s a superhero to the rescue. Through town he chases the rogue patty.
Continue reading “F.U.N.”Ambush
I’ve been warned by the guard at the gate that suspicious people are asking about the Arisen. As we travel the roads at night we’re attacked.
A person named Raven, and others named Rouge and Noir, ambush us. Why? It’s never quite been clear to me, but I think they’re associates of Salomet.
Cool names, though.
SAMWELL TARLY, TWO
What sort of man proclaims himself a coward?
As a child Sam loved books, kittens, dancing, and cakes. His father hired men to make a knight of him, which failed. Eventually it’s take The Black or die. As eldest Sam is the heir. The only way the younger son, the preferred son, can ascend is if Sam is gone. How many sons over the years have been forced to join the Night’s Watch as a way to manipulate the inheritance?
His backstory is very pitiable. He’s an ugly duckling at the Night’s Watch. He’s so loyal he’ll take his vow before the Old Gods with Jon. And he’s quite wise. When Jon freaks out over being assigned to the stewards rather than the rangers it’s Sam who brings the facts. Jon is dense and Sam gives him a depth and breadth to his understanding. A true counsellor.
Both versions of Sam, Book and TV, are the same Enneagram. Hilariously, it’s the kittens and cakes that define him. He’s a Two and these are his childhood collections. It’s not his lack of physical mastery that is the key to understanding him, it’s his kindness. Another clue is his size. Twos more than any other number can be large. Their gentleness makes them vulnerable to abuse, as we see with Sam, and in defense they disappear into their bodies.
A Two is a great choice for a man of The Watch who must study and pursue book-learning. We all love Sam, right? The dichotomy of someone who collects — potions, crows, information — while finding his calling at a battle station is just lovely.
CULTURE SHOCK
ONE
The Krusty Krab. Business is at a lull. Spongebob and Mr. Krabs wait.
TWO
Squidward reads something called “Dance Now”, looking at pictures of human ballet dancers. A cutout of his head replaces the man’s head and Squid sighs.
THREE
A dust mote falls to the reflective table surface. Spongebob attacks it with cleaner. His obsession with tidiness is a perfect, defined beat.
Continue reading “CULTURE SHOCK”EDDARD STARK (BOOK), ONE
Book Ned has a lot more intel than TV Ned. Varys informs him that the tournament melee was going to have an assassin for Robert. Cersei openly forbade him from fighting, a devious way to get the king to insist. Only Ned being his brutally honest self diverted Robert. Ned’s consciousness of the swirling danger is much higher in this form and Ned seems smarter, more active. TV Ned seems like a well-meaning fool in comparison.
He has a duty to Robert, the realm, and the dead Hand Arryn to tell the king his children are not his offspring. The girls are booked on a ship home, and Ned will now speak. However, when the moment strikes, when Robert is deathly injured, Ned refuses to act. He’s offended at the suggestion. His sense of the flow of time and proper order for actions is completely out of sync with the reality of The Game. To be fair to Ned, grief plays a part in this. His best friend is dying.
Make your peace with the Lannisters, Littlefinger counsels. It’s really good advice, better than Renly’s more aggressive answer. Be the Protector of the Realm that Robert appointed you, basically. Guard and train the boy, build allies, position yourself. All the peace that Ned thinks he wants can be his. It’s reasonable and fair to all. But it’s treason. And wrongs have been done. Ned genuinely thinks he has no choice but Stannis and war. He never considers the kingdom, though, or the people in the streets. His choice will be the hardest on them.
Cersei, when the confrontation comes, offers him a deal similar to Littlefinger’s. Bend the knee, step down as Hand, and go home in peace. Does she mean it? She’s already ripped up the paper, removed his chance at Protector and shown how much power she believes she wields. She offers the deal in front of everyone. It might be an honest offer. Again, Ned underestimates her, but mostly he will refuse because of honor. He also completely misunderstands Littlefinger, who turns on him. And the letter he wrote to Stannis, committing his intentions to paper, is captured with his seal on it. What a blithering idiot.
Continue reading “EDDARD STARK (BOOK), ONE”More Salvation
We continue to investigate the cult. Skeletons appear at night and attack people on the roads. With a key we access a different part of the catacombs to discover another meeting. No Elysion this time, but some other believer leads them. They use their own followers as fodder for their dark arts. “Bone warriors wrought from living men are stronger than those come from corpses.”
It’s all part of preparing for the dragon and the chaos.
Toadette
Our girl from Mariokart 8. Since the internet, for some inexplicable reason, has few Toadette screengrabs, let me also include the original for others to find.
The original is so colorful. I almost regret how I covered the pink castle with encaustic layers. What do you think: Did I put the focus rightly on the toon, or did I lose the charm?
The Storm
ONE
The episode opens with Aang’s dream. The animation is in an altered style; we can tell right away that something’s not normal. Aang happily flying on Appa, with Katara on a overlarge Momo and Sokka using the air glider, is actually disturbing. The state of the world is unsettling. Aang’s mind is not at peace.
And I find this One unsettling. I don’t care that it’s weird. I’m bothered by how random the beat feels. This is too much information, too many feelings for us and them, for a One.
TWO
Part of the dream is a threatening cloud and a memory of the water bubble Aang made in the Avatar State. This aligns with the Eight. Now we have a solid beat.
THREE
And then we’re in confusion again. I don’t think there’s a Three. Katara asks if Aang’s okay and we see their campsite. This is normally how this show hits the One: establish their location. They’ve reversed the One and Three, subverted our expectations, in order to emphasize the uneasy feeling. I understand this intention, but I don’t think they’ve succeeded with it.
The next moment is a Sokka bit, which has been a go-to Three/Six for this series, but it doesn’t align with anything later.
Continue reading “The Storm”The Verdict
One of our required tasks has been to find evidence in a trial against Fournival. He’s a financier who may or may not be treasonous. This quest lasts for days in game time. I get all the documents and even escort in the witness. Just as a spoiler: I’m pretty sure that the witness is the key between guilty and innocent. The affidavits are busy work. I do it all, though.
Fournival is acquitted. I’m not sure if this has any meaning to the story, but it’s a quest that can’t be ignored. Why is he so critical? Well, the crown isn’t happy he’s loose, although they abide by the law. When he’s declared guilty he disappears from gameplay, imprisoned. So does his shop, which has almost nothing except one or two endgame items that are otherwise unavailable. Maybe the answer is that simple. You want some kind of magical one-shot arrow? Save Fournival.