It's August, 2012. If a 2012 = The End, OMG! story hasn't hit the presses already, it's too late—by whatever eschatological perspective one might have.
Gunn: The final score can't be rigged. I don't care how many players you grease, that last shot always comes up a question mark. But here's the thing. You never know when you're taking it. It could be when you're duking it out with the Legion of Doom, or just crossing the street deciding where to have brunch. So you just treat it like it was up to you—the world in balance—'cause you never know when it is.
'Underneath'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Calli - Aug 30, 2012 6:15:19 am PDT #19610 of 28343
I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul—Calvin and Hobbs
Polter-Cow - Aug 30, 2012 6:20:00 am PDT #19611 of 28343
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
I have a SWTWC question (whitefonted for Amy): if your weakness is LAUGHTER, why the hell would you go around with a carnival? People have fun and laugh at carnivals! That's like invading a planet that's full of water when your weakness is water.
le nubian - Aug 30, 2012 10:00:35 am PDT #19612 of 28343
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."
Atropa - Aug 30, 2012 10:18:54 am PDT #19613 of 28343
The artist formerly associated with cupcakes.
P-C, it is a weak point in the plot, but I handwave it with the theory that Coodger and Dark's carnival may trigger laughter, but it's the screamy, uneasy type of laughter, the laughter that comes from being unsettled but wanting to hide it. While the laughter that defeats Mr. Dark is the full-fledged, open hearted laughter that comes from understanding the ridiculous nature of existence and being delighted by it.
Hi, my name is Jilli, and I have a lot of feelings about this book.
Polter-Cow - Aug 30, 2012 10:24:04 am PDT #19614 of 28343
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
Yeah, I guess I can buy that, although it sure seems risky! The whole "defeat them with laughter and happiness" is something I've seen before in other stories, but it just didn't make as much sense here (and I had to roll my eyes when Charles KILLED MR. DARK WITH LOVE and then they BROUGHT JIM BACK FROM THE DEAD WITH LAUGHTER). Still, that scene with the smile on the bullet was FUCKING AWESOME.
Atropa - Aug 30, 2012 10:54:07 am PDT #19615 of 28343
The artist formerly associated with cupcakes.
For me, the The whole "defeat them with laughter and happiness" trope is a reaffirmation of don't maintain an "ironic distance", don't be concerned with being "grown-up" and oh-so "cool, but embrace everything wholeheartedly! Be enthusiastic, be willing to look like a crazy fool, know that there are horrible awful things that happen and still allow yourself to feel and wonder.
Huh. I just realized that what I really want out of life is to be part of a carnival like Coodger and Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show, but with Charles Holloway as the ringmaster. Still spooky, still unsettling, but with heart and unbeatable optimism.
(Note to self, call dad tonight.)
Connie Neil - Aug 30, 2012 11:08:49 am PDT #19616 of 28343
brillig
I loved that essay! And this is partially me.
Suggested book-buster reads: Whatever you like, but buy a Kindle.
Sophia Brooks - Aug 31, 2012 6:01:57 am PDT #19617 of 28343
Cats to become a rabbit should gather immediately now here
I am so a book-buster! I love the analogy to Lennie from "Of Mice and Men".
Ginger - Aug 31, 2012 6:47:55 am PDT #19618 of 28343
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
I am a Delayed Onset Reader #1 Bookophile with Sleepy Bedtime tendencies.
Connie Neil - Aug 31, 2012 9:04:10 am PDT #19619 of 28343
brillig
I have Sleepy Bedtime tendencies, which can be bad if I'm reading my Nook or Palm, because I fall asleep and drop them on my nose.