the tiny, dry sound of a spider weeping // what do you mean you have only seen the cartoon

SO YESTERDAY

Customer: Hey do you have any books by Peter Beagle

Me: Oh, The Last Unicorn is over here and the graphic novel is-

Customer: He's going to be in town tonight

Me: ARE YOU SHITTING ME

A lot of people are going to recognize that as a movie title, but if you've only seen the cartoon, you're missing out. TLU is one of two books whose first line I know by heart (the other is Watership Down), and it reads like poetry a lot of the time.

"The Red Bull could not see him, and would kill him without ever knowing that he had been in the way. Wonder and love and great sorrow shook Schmendrick the Magician then, and came together inside him and filled him, filled him until he felt himself brimming and flowing with something that was none of these. He did not believe it, but it came to him anyway, as it had touched him twice before and left him more barren than he had been. This time, there was too much of it for him to hold: it spilled through his skin, sprang from his fingers and toes, willed up equally in his eyes and his hair and the hollows of his shoulders. There was too much to hold, too much ever to use; and still he found himself weeping with the pain of his impossible greed. He thought, or said, or sang, I did not know that I was so empty, to be so full."

So previous evening plans were cancelled and my brother, who is a saint, drove me to a little movie theater in Meridian so that I, a grown woman, could watch a cartoon about a unicorn for the zillionth time. There was a Q/A section with PSB before the movie started, but I only asked if he was going to be signing things, because freaking out about bittersweet prose and themes about growing old and mortality and impermanence and acceptance and regret...I just, I don't know, I couldn't think of any questions that would help start a discussion about all that, and it didn't seem the proper forum. I figured I'd have a chance to talk to him a little more when he was signing things, so my brother (AGAIN: A SAINT) waited in line with me for an hour afterwards.

WIZARD PLZ

Sorry about the angle -- this awesomely smug Schmendrick picture was next to the table they set up; a table full of SHINY THINGS!

 

I got some rings (which I might turn into a necklace, since they're kind of large), and a copy of A Fine & Private Place, because I don't own it and haven't read it in a long time. I ALSO WON A STRIP OF FILM IN A RAAAAFFFFLLLLE! (Sorry again about the picture quality)

Love is slowing you down, my lady

I KNOW YOU! I almost knew you as soon as I saw you on the road, coming to my door -- since then, there is no movement of yours that has not betrayed you. A pace, a glance, a turn of the head, the flash of your throat as you breathe, even your way of standing perfectly still -- they were all my spies.

(Extra bonus saint points for my brother, by the way, because yes I did talk along with like the entire fucking movie)

So we finally got to the front of the line and I was all excited and nervous, but I wanted to show him my copy of the book, because I found it at a thrift store and it already had his signature in it, which I thought was cool.

He seemed really tired, though, so when he flipped by the page to sign it on a different one I didn't really speak up even though my inner fangirl was totally losing it about the aforementioned awesome writing and his book touching my life, and all the other fangirl things he has probably heard a million times over. So he signed a different page, but...but...guys.

Him: (tired, signing books, not really talking)
Me: (◎_◎;)
Me: (bright red, mumbling) M...my name is Katie
Him: (picks up next book, starts signing it)
Me: ヽ(ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ   M...my name is Katie!

 

Him: Oh, sorry, terribly embarrassing
Me: No no, it's fine, I'm sure you're all very tired! Besafehaveanicetourthankyousomuch!!!!! (flusterly splutters away)
Internal me: (panicked and screaming) OhgodIdidnotmeantoembarrassyouMrBeagleyouaresuchawonderfulauthorIamsosorryIjustwanttotalktoyouabouthowIloveyourwritinganduseofthemesandhowtragicitisthatweallgetoldandhavetoacceptlossandyouarelikeapoetandIjustlovethisbooksomuchIamsosorryIamsoawkwardohgodwhy

(╥_╥)

S...so but at least I got the graphic novel personalized? I really wish I'd gotten a chance/had the ability to talk to him a little bit about the book. D: WHY SO AWKWARD, SELF. WHYYYYY.

YOU GUYS, NO UNICORN WAS EVER BORN WHO COULD REGRET, BUT NOW I DO. I REGRET.

Aughulaughlblaughuhlaugh

How's your engine runnin'? // Wishes on a wheel

The contact that you make

The moment when a memory aches

Who can tell

You do it well

Wishes on a wheel

How's it supposed to feel

Happy harvest time, folks! Guess whose house has had a massive influx of vegetables.

Spoilers, now help us eat all these vegetables

I've been pretty busy -- Halloween was...interesting and mad. I didn't manage to complete my goals for the evening (get drunk, have someone recognize my costume, find a cute/geeky person to smooch). I didn't really expect the second or third, but I feel like completing the first would definitely have assisted with the overall madness that ended up overtaking the evening; ALAS. Still a good time, though -- ran into more people than I was expecting, and had a great fucking time at SpaceBar, wishing only that I'd pre-gamed (since they only serve beer/wine).

Costume was super lazy effort-wise, by the way; I just went as my waifu again, since it was simple and a good work costume -- again, I didn't really expect anyone to get it, but it was so fitting for work that I felt awesome all day anyway. BOOKS.

H...hon wa sukida

Also I am not photogenic

HON WA SUKIDA

My manager told me she trusted me the other day and then kind of(?) complimented me the other night? It didn't/doesn't feel real. All my paranoia is going off like this is leading up to some kind of horrible trap or something. She is waving a tiny scrap of bacon in front of a puppy that has been kicked a lot, and this puppy simply cannot gauge the legitimacy of said bacon and will instead err on the side of doubt, thank you. Or hey maybe, you know, maybe the bacon would be more enticing if it came with medical benefits.

Enough of that crap. Where did I put all the cool shit I was going to post?

OH SHIT YEAH SPEAKING OF BOOKS

Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiirl

You ready for some news stuff yo

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck this I don't even

This shit breaks my brain on a regular basis. Even Idaho is fucking beating you on this shit, Missouri; EVEN IDAHO. WE HAVE ASSHOLE PARADES. How are you a part of my country with this shit, fucking hell.

so copy/paste is a thing

This is food for post-apoc fiction, and/or....planet-fart-joke comedians?

Hey fuck you, Russia

That's it for me tonight; I've been swarmed with human interaction for like five days straight, and I'm beat. Every battery needs a recharge.

Won't you tell me my brother

I get lost