#And what a voice. What a voice. Truly the best Cyrano's voice of them all. It is important in the play but until I started watching

[a3r3n]

You are my slavery, you are my freedom

Pairing: director!Seonghwa × actress!reader

Genre: non-idol!AU, suggestive, a little smut

Word count: 1.1k+

⚠️Warnings: implied? sex, 16+ probably

A/N: I'm sorry: I’ve never written something this explicit (it’s probably nothing but for me, it’s quite a lot), and I’m not sure how to classify this :(( I know it’s suggestive but is it enough to be considered smut? I don’t know, I’m new to this so please bear with me <3

(also, sorry for this very bad edit but I did my best)

He was deeply in love with you.

He loved how you always styled your hair in different ways, sometimes tied in a neat braid adorned with flowers, other times loose and free with rebel locks covering your face. He loved the way your eyes gleamed every time you spoke, intensely observing everything that surrounded you as if you had never seen anything like that before. He loved your voice, sweet and soft, never too high, never too low. He loved the way you moved on stage, always knowing what to do with each part of your body, was it your hand, your neck, or even your ankles. He loved how natural you sounded when you delivered your lines, never exaggerating but always able to show the right emotions.

But your face... God, how he loved your face. Beauty aside, your face had the astonishing ability to display everything you felt – or rather, everything you were supposed to feel – so perfectly that everyone in the audience could swear they were feeling it too. Whatever your role was, you had the unique talent to make it yours and play it as you owned it. And you did own it. That's why your performances were always so overwhelming, and that's why he loved you.

His closest friends – the only ones he told about you – often said he was just in love with your acting skills and with the roles you played, not with the real you. They told him many times to let you go, that actresses are always trouble, but they didn't know you. They didn't know how much effort you put in during rehearsals, how much time you spent on stage to improve your performances even when it was late at night, and the theater was dark and empty. They didn't know how kind you were to your colleagues, always willing to help and never blaming them if they made a mistake. But above all, his friends didn't know how warm and sweet you felt whenever he had you trapped underneath him, fingernails scratching his skin and moans muffled by his kisses. The way you pulled his hair while lifting your hips to feel him deeper inside you, the soft sounds that escaped your mouth when you couldn't stop calling his name... he could swear you would make him go crazy, sooner or later.

«Mr. Park, the final rehearsals start in forty minutes!» a loud voice says from the other side of the door. Seonghwa stops his movements and gently puts his index finger on your parted lips.

«Thank you, Miss Kim. I'll be there soon!» he shouts back, then waits for his assistant to go away until her footsteps can't be heard anymore, and starts moving again.

«I should be focusing on my-my performance right now,» you whimper, his finger still on your lips.

«Don't worry, honey, you'll be the perfect Titania,» he says, then moves his hand to your neck, feeling his orgasm close and knowing that's what it takes for you to reach your climax too.

You two didn't fuck often, but when you did, it was pure bliss.

The first time it'd happened was after your first performance as Roxane in Cyrano de Bergerac. That night, you felt his eyes on you throughout the entire play, and you knew it wasn't just because he wanted to make sure you didn't make any mistakes. He never looked at your colleagues like that.

What you didn't know, though, was that he was doing his best to prevent you from noticing the lust in his eyes because he initially didn't want to fulfill his sinful desire for you. He knew you weren't looking for love and didn't want to be bonded to anyone, but to focus only on your greatest passion: acting. He truly wanted to keep his love for you platonic, letting you pursue your dream without any distractions and avoiding the pain caused by the awareness he could have you, but you would never be entirely his. However, when you showed up in his office the next day, the bouquet he'd sent you in your hands and a well aware look on your face as if the role you'd played the previous night had never left you, he couldn't resist you. That's how you went from slightly teasing each other to openly flirting, to him having you pinned against the locked door, his lips on your neck, and your legs entwined around his waist.

Since then, you'd occasionally slept together another few times, but while he couldn't have enough of you and the time you spent together, you seemed to have no problems rejecting him. No matter how hard he tried to seduce you: you never gave in to temptation if you didn't want to. But the few times you accepted his flatteries and kept teasing him until it led to an intense fucking session were like heaven to him. He should have felt played, being rejected, and then tempted like that. He should have stopped all of that before you could definitely bruise his heart.

He just couldn't. He was too addicted to your scent, to your voice, to your gaze. He was addicted to the constant hide-and-seek he kept playing with you, even knowing you would always win because he'd let you decide all the rules in the first place.

A loud round of applause echoes in the large theater hall, filling both your ears and your heart. You have been the perfect Titania, indeed, and you deserve all the cheering and the clapping.

From his first row seat – the one reserved to the directors – Seonghwa is watching you in all your glory, unable to take his eyes off of your dazzling figure. You belong to the stage, and he's no one to deny you that.

All the actors and actresses bow one last time before the curtain falls, and your last gaze is dedicated to him. You know he's had a soft spot for you since the day you joined his company, and you like teasing him like that. However, you're unaware of the fact that the moment your eyes meet his, his heart's started spinning and twisting, then it's sunk and crumbled, and he's stopped breathing for a second.

He loved you, and because he did, he was ready to keep on with his permanent chase made of rare moments when he had you for himself and times when he felt you beyond reach. But because he loved you, he could bear the chains you'd put around his heart in exchange for those brief moments of fleeting happiness. Actually, he didn't even know if he wanted those chains to come undone. He couldn't stay away from you.

Because he was so deeply in love with you.

⬇️This one-shot has been inspired by the poem below⬇️

(Français)

Tu es ma servitude tu es ma liberté

Tu es ma chair brûlante

Comme la chair nue des nuits d'été

Tu es ma patrie

Toi, avec les reflets verts de tes yeux

Toi, grande et victorieuse

Tu es ma nostalgie

Pour savoir que vous êtes inaccessible

Au même moment

Dans lequel je vous attrape.

(Nazim Hikmet)

(English)

You are my slavery, you are my freedom,

You are my flesh burning

as the naked flesh of the summer nights.

You are my home

you, with green highlights of your eyes

you, high and victorious.

You are my nostalgia

of knowing how inaccessible you are

at the very moment when I grab you.

(Nazim Hikmet)

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©a3r3n All Rights Reserved. Please do not copy, repost or translate any of my works.

[life-rewritten]

SAYING GOODBYE TO START UP-FATE, DREAMS, AND LOVE STORIES

I thought I wouldn't get to say this, but I finally had a new Kdrama that took up my attention and heart. And it was a surprise. When it comes to this show, I'm familiar with the works of Park Hye Ryun; Dream high was one of my first Kdramas to dive into, and I loved it, didn't particularly enjoy Pinocchio and was obsessed with the scriptwriting of Why you were sleeping before I got bored of it as well. I absolutely adored the drama with I can hear your voice. These are unpopular opinions. Obviously, this woman is known as a great experienced writer with a lot of hits on her portfolio, and I think Start-Up made me finally get why:’

Ratings: Plot: 8.5/10 Directing: 8.5/10 Acting: 8.5/10 Satisfaction: 9/10 Overall: A Rewatch factor: 8.5/10

3D Characters and Their Journeys

From Episode 1, I was hooked into it emotionally; I had already found my self connecting to all the characters, their dynamics, their flaws, their story arcs. I was excited at the thought of Cyrano de Bergerac being used as a base for a love triangle, and this show focusing on a love story between the characters Christain (Dosan's base) and Roxane (Dalmi's base). Normally the new modern takes on this story gives Cyrano the girl because he's the one who knows her deeply and truly. But this drama swerved on that; instead, it made me fall for Han Ji Pyeong as Cyrano, he had the qualities in the first episode, he was the one who wrote Dalmi the letters that got her out of depression, he was the one who was close to her family, and he was a bit jaded, not trusting, and had a harsh upbringing but it made me root for him and care for him so much.

I didn't understand how Dosan would be better; I was very intrigued by where the story was going. But it's not just the love triangle that caught me with this show; it's the title, actually two of its titles;

THE TITLE

We have Startup basically a business term for companies that are starting up with dreams of becoming massive; that's intriguing you have entrepreneurship, inspirational ideas, inventions, innovations in the world of business, that's really great cause I like watching how businesses grow and how people discover or make their dreams a reality. So I already felt connected and ready to feel inspired by a drama like this. Our characters all start broken, down on their luck, mocked and seen as nobodies and failures. They have to start all over again.

The second title is even more intriguing; Sandbox the actual place where they start up their companies, the place where our characters are destined to go and learn and grow; for me, the idea of Sandbox is already interesting it ties back to our main character her family, her father's aspirations to find a way for entrepreneurs to be safe and survive through the obstacles, like falling soft sand when they fall,a safe space to land, it was his inspiration and her dreams. It's a place of learning, the place where she's going to grow and become who she's meant to be. And for me, I found it so interesting and I wanted to see how she fulfilled her purpose of being the girl who inspired Sandbox.

 And how the other characters found theirs as well. And this show did not fail me with that expectation; it left me so hungry to know, so desperate to discover, and just so intrigued about my self. Not only was the show focused on the business aspect of things, but it made a deal of focusing on our self-doubts, hates, and worries, all the obstacles that life throws at us; that make us feel small and make us feel like our dreams and wants are impossible. 

We see Dosan someone who is incredibly genius and honestly amazing with his talent, but he has no self-love or trust or experience in how to be the person he should be. And we see how Fate/Destiny keeps moving him forward through the ups and the downs to get to where he's meant to be, to be the person he's meant to be, and to find the girl he's meant to be with. She had already held and waited for him in her heart, and he showed up becoming her dream as she was his.

LOVE STORIES AND DREAMS

That's the basis of the romance in this show, and I loved it. Because both our main characters are equal to each other, we watch the writers show us through subtext, hints, clues, plots why they should be together, why they fit, why they need each other, why they inspire each other, they were so made for each other it made my heart soft, but also it wasn't just for romantic purposes, they also were each other's partners from day one in this start-up environment they were thrown into.They found each other, in this harsh world that felt cruel, and impossible to them, they helped each other grow, find their voice, their dreams, their goals, and they found it with each other. So, of course, it made me bawl like a baby seeing Dalmi and Dosan hold hands at the end of this episode as CEOS of their now big company named after her father, who inspired her the whole time.

FAMILY; DESTINIES AND LEGACIES

This drama also delved deeply into family, again Sandbox is inspired by Dalmi's father's last wishes, and the first episode shows you, family is important; we see the break down of the Seo family, the break down of unity, happiness and dreams they had for each other as they all end up being separated because of different mindsets on what is more important. Money or Dreams.  

This brings me to another character, the sister Injae, just as much as Dalmi is the main of this show fulfilling her father's dreams and hers and becoming great, Injae also goes through her own journey of self-learning, discovery and acceptance. She and Jipyeong are similar in this way; they learn as the show moves on to leave the idea of material things, and obsession with money, to find the meaning of family with Dalmi and her grandmother. Everyone returns back to the Seo family, healed, grown and matured. And everyone discovers what it is that they want to do and they come back full circle to complete their character arc from the beginning.

It's beautiful, family, love and dreams are what this show is focused on. How sometimes life seems purposeless, and a lost cause, a place where we have to keep gruelling and pushing and working with no purpose or meaning, but Startup showed that if you're brave enough, trust in your abilities enough, and do the right thing, work hard, open your mind and fight for what you want, you can make your dreams a reality. You can manifest what you wish to because Fate is on your side, driving you, pushing you and showing you clues for what it is you're meant to do.

We all have our own dreams, our own destinations, our own thing that make us feel complete, or we're still in search for that, just by not focusing too much on the future and just being brave and doing all you can in the present with a right attitude, and hope, you'll find who you're truly meant to be. You'll find your way; for why you do what you do. And I think that's what Start-Up was in a nutshell, a show about manifesting and believing in the hope that you can be who you want to be, and you can make a difference. Cheesy I know, but it's how I felt at the end of this show. I know people like to focus more on realism of the business aspect of things, focus on the logic and rules of the world that make Start-Up motto seem childish, unreal and cheesy, but sometimes in life, the things that happen for us, things that push us to our dreams, destination, to find our best self, happens illogically, weirdly without explanation. We call it luck, we call it Fate. Like Dosan a lot of people don't believe in that, but I do, and I liked that this show believed in that. I like how inspirational and positive this show made me feel, and I like how it affected me. For others, it may not be your cup of tea, but it was mine, and I am so incredibly grateful for this show.

CYRANO DE BEGERAC; LOVE TRIANGLES AND THEIR PAINS

Now I can continue talking for ages about Manifesting, becoming big and successful, following your dreams, meeting the one, as this show showed, but I also need to mention the next part of this show that was a slight negative. The Love Triangle. Now remember this show has a literature base Cyrano, so of course, the love triangle was meant to be a big focus, the love triangle was part of the big picture for this show. People have said repeatedly that they hated that the writer focused on the love triangle, but when it was her aim from the start to flesh out her own characters based on Cyrano and tell her own love story through that, fans refused to accept it. And that's okay you don't have to like a love triangle, I didn't, I hated it too. 

Mostly because it made me dislike the character's actions that didn't still get the memo, i.e. Jipyeong. But what I do have to say about the love triangle is that it was needed, it was the most important device needed to push both Dosan to his growth and acceptance of himself, it made him have to tackle with his idea of how he sees himself, how he had no dreams, how he felt stagnant and alone, it made him have to deal with it when he was fighting for Dalmi.

And Jipyeong learnt about his flaws, how he hesitates, how he is too obsessed with material things, and money because that's all he's ever relied on, how he had to humble himself and finally become a good mentor. Jipyeong went through it because of the love triangle; he learnt a lot about himself and what he wanted because of losing in the love triangle. Plus Dalmi made him see how much he wanted to be part of her family.

The love triangle wasn't the best thing about this show, there were times it was too drawn out or damaging or filled with plot holes, but I appreciate this new twist on Cyrano. Like I said, usually Cyrano gets the girl (not in the original version but its adaptations in modern times).  The audience wants Cyrano to be with the girl because Christain is normally daft, and does not really know her etc. Christain is generally seen in a negative light, so for the writer to make Dosan, a newer version of Christain, someone who ultimately gets the girl from the start, who inspires her, who knows and loves her for her real self, who is her helping hand more than the Cyrano of the story, someone who grows and becomes so incredible. It's amazing. She got me, she made me like Christain and want him to be with Roxanne. And I loved it. 

JIPYEONG A GREAT SECOND LEAD

I loved this twist because even though it was apparent, it was Dosan, Jipyeong wasn't just a bland second lead, he wasn't stagnant, he wasn't stale with no personality, he wasn't just villainous for no reason, he was broken, and he was three dimensional, flawed, but understandable, petty but lovable. He had his own story to tell. He was important, he was Good boy, and he had his own way of making the audience root, and hurt for him. And that's excellent writing. For people to be so obsessed with his character, to find similarities with his character, to feel for his character, that's good writing.

That's a writer who made all her characters mean something. For me, Jipyeong is a second lead, and I'm not too fond of second leads, but I liked Jipyeong, and I cared about his journey for a long time. I may have become upset and disappointed at his character later on, but he was a good second lead, he made me feel conflicted at times not just because he wrote the letter, but some of his actions for her were sweet and cute. But it was nothing compared to Dosan. So as much I understand why so many people loved Jipyeong, I won't forgive the fangirls who became so delusional because of their obsession with his actor and their own feelings for him, they refused to see where the writer was going with the story.

It's not she like she lied or did things out of the blue, the writer set this up, she put clues, subtexts, foreshadowings, quotes, moments to show you; Jipyeong wasn't the kind of guy she wanted her character to be with. I wouldn't want to be with someone like Jipyeong, and that's why I'm happy he didn't end up with anyone as of that time in the ending, he wasn't still ready, he still had a lot to learn. This writer doesn't care about looks, or on the surface shows of affection, she makes you pity and care and understand the second lead, but it doesn't mean she accepts what he's doing as right. That's why she made him realise he was the one who needed to concede to Dosan, that's why he had to apologise, that's why he was the one at the end begging Dosan for an investment, he was never a good mentor to Samsan Tech, but now he will be.

So it's interesting to see what people saw in Jipyeong that I didn't, because it shows we all have our own perceptions of what we think is a good boyfriend, true love or soulmate. And fine you can have your perspectives but don't hate the writer for wanting to show a love story between someone who was not problematic, is not your typical Kdrama tsundere, cold chaebol character, but he's sweet, honest, proactive, genius and hard working. There was nothing wrong with Nam Do San, he might be unknowledgeable and slow to things because of lack of experience, he may have had such low self-esteem, but it made him modest, it made him kind, and he wasn't problematic, manipulative, toxic or whatever people liked to call him because they needed Jipyeong to be the hero. Nam Do San was a tremendous male romantic lead. And I hope I see more characters like him for our main girls in other dramas. I want a guy like Nam Do San, not going to lie, I truly fell in love with his character, and their love story so touched me despite the fact I disliked the noble idiocy plotline. The love triangle was annoying, but I enjoyed how it ended. And I hope people stop ruining the ratings of this show because they're petty that Jipyeong didn't get the girl.

THE WOMEN

I also want to mention how much I loved the women in this show, they were great, smart. important and fleshed out again. All the women Dalmi, Injae, Grandmum, Mum, Saha every one of them had something to do in the show, they all grew, they all learnt, they all became so great. I like how this show even though Dalmi relied on people, she still had to learn and rely on her self later on, with the help of Injae. I love how this show was focused on the two sisters journey and manifestation of their father’s legacy. Not only were they the mind of the company, but they did speeches, the invented, they helped with other inventions and they were the face of Sandbox. They were absolutely great and inspirational to watch. And I loved that about this show as well. 

I can talk a lot about Start-Up, about all the devices, all the subtext, foreshadowings, clues, hints, metaphors, meanings, that this show had in 16 episodes. In fact, you know  I can because that's all I've been doing since this show aired on my two blogs. I enjoyed analysing this show, and I think this show is now my favourite drama of this year, and I'm so grateful for it. On a serious note, it might be cheesy to believe in manifesting-dreams. All that finding true love business because sometimes life isn't easy like that, luck is very different in reality. Still, for me Start-Up really inspired me, and pushed me, it made me question what I want to do, what I have to do for my own dreams/ purpose to be a reality, it made me ask my self about how I see my self, and how I work. It taught me a lot of business terms, and it also inspired me to write an analysis. It made me look deeper into Korean dramas yet again, and I appreciate it. I have really enjoyed this drama, and I don't want to say goodbye. Maybe when I 'mature' and become colder this will all seem like rubbish to me, but I hope I keep on being this way, the girl who believes in love, the girl who believes in making dreams come true and fighting for what you want, the girl who believes in Fate and Destiny. Laugh all you want, but I like to be that girl, and I like to think that one day like Dosan and Dalmi, I'd get to where I'm meant to be and survive and make my own dreams, wants, aspirations become a reality. Thank you Start Up. And thank you to all who read my analysis of this  show. It was a great time and it won't be forgotten

[aion-rsa]

Ranking Cinderella Adaptations

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A dream is a wish your heart makes, and if your wish is to see countless takes on the beloved fairy tale of Cinderella, then consider your dreams having come true many times over—including this year, with a new Cinderella by way of Amazon Studios. This latest adaptation seems to have combined qualities of many of its predecessors: it’s playfully anachronistic and eschews the traditional Disney or Rodgers & Hammerstein songs in favor of a tracklist of modern pop covers; it also engages with Cinderella’s career aspirations beyond fitting her foot into a glass slipper.

But this Cinderella owes everything to the other soot-stained girls, animated and otherwise, who wished with all their hearts for decades before her. How does the new adaptation compare to the modern fairy tales, animated classics, and another fairy tale riff with an outstanding Stephen Sondheim tune? Check out our ranking of Cinderella adaptations, from worst to best.

10. A Cinderella Story (2004)

This cult classic is a clever retelling, with peak early-aughts casting of Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray as the star-crossed, Cyrano de Bergerac-inspired lovers: Sam toils away at her late father’s Southern California diner, under the heel of a delightful Jennifer Coolidge as her vain stepmother, while Austin is the closest thing to high school royalty as the quarterback with a sensitive side. Regina King as the longtime diner employee-turned-metaphorical fairy godmother who gets Sam to the homecoming masquerade dance is the other key bit of casting, but you’d have to really be a fan of the “fairy tales in high school” subgenre to get on board. Plus, the stable of derivative direct-to-video sequels makes the sparkle wear off with each new, formulaic installment released.

9. Cinderella (2021)

Kay Cannon’s (Pitch Perfect) progressive plot urging entrepreneurial dressmaker Ella (Camilla Cabello), her bitterly materialistic stepmother (Idina Menzel), and other original female characters to choose themselves over the supposed security of marriage is not quite enough to balance the cringey modern soundtrack and anachronistic witticisms. It’s too bad, because this Cinderella puts forth ambitious ideas, and any production with Billy Porter as the fairy godmother should be nothing but fabulous. Compared to most of her predecessors, this Cinderella is a distinctively fresh role model for the next generation of kids, but adults won’t find much magic in her story.

8. Ella Enchanted (2004)

This is a tough one, because the source material—that is, Gail Carson Levine’s 1997 middle grade novel—is unquestionably one of the very best Cinderella adaptations: Ella’s curse of obedience is an apt commentary on manipulating young girls into giving up their agency under the guise of people-pleasing. But the film—despite its adorable, baby-faced stars Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy—overcomplicates an already daring plot with a throne-stealing subplot (that Cary Elwes, as the unnecessary evil uncle, can’t save) and an unforgivably cheesy cover of Queen’s “Somebody to Love.” Hathaway’s voice is sweeter than Nicholas Galitzine’s rendition in the new Cinderella, but the giants dressed in early-aughts miniskirts strain even the most loose definitions of fantasy. Despite all that, it (mostly) sells Ella struggling against abuses of her obedience in a way that’s still more revelatory than many straight adaptations. Still, you’ve got plenty of better movie choices; forget this adaptation and just read the book.

7. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1965)

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II originally wrote their classic musical for television broadcast instead of the stage, though it has found its way to the latter. CBS’ second TV production (following the original 1957 version starring Julie Andrews) introduced a bright-eyed Lesley Ann Warren (a.k.a. Miss Scarlet from Clue) as Cinderella, and unlike its predecessor was able to be recorded in color. Between the vivid hues, Warren’s expressive acting, and the array of sets, it all contributed to the feeling of watching a taped performance—an incredibly charming one, at that. But the effect does come off as overwrought at times, making it the lowest of the three specifically Rodgers & Hammerstein adaptations on the list.

6. Cinderella (2015)

While visually Kenneth Branagh’s live-action adaptation of the animated Disney classic hews so closely to its source material that it feels like a lost opportunity to be more original, there are some sly plot tweaks. Lily James’ Ella is not hopelessly naïve about her abusive home situation, yet manages to keep up the mantra of “have courage and be kind” through even the worst mistreatment. Streamlining the classic songs to score strengthens the plot, with Ella’s rare occasion of singing being what ultimately saves her. Fans of the blue dress and romantic vibe will have much to swoon over, even if they’re not surprised.

5. Into the Woods (2014)

Or, then, what if I am? / What a Prince would envision? / But then how can you know / Who you are til you know / What you want? Which I don’t… Anna Kendrick brings us a relatably existential Cinderella in this movie adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s musical about various fairy tale characters who wind up with questionably happy ever afters—including Cinderella, who decides “not to decide,” then ends up with a philandering Prince. It’s not a complete Cinderella story, but it’s a more memorable performance in a handful of scenes than entire movies have attempted.

4. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1957)

Despite only surviving in black-and-white form, CBS’ original TV broadcast shines thanks to its star: Julie Andrews, then performing My Fair Lady on Broadway, who makes this Cinderella both an amalgamation of her then-current and future roles and a performance all its own. You can see glimmers of her comic talents as Maria in The Sound of Music—this Cinderella also has more wit than other versions—but it’s her voice that elevates Rodgers & Hammerstein’s adaptation of Charles Perrault’s fairy tale into something timeless.

3. Cinderella (1950)

Few Cinderella adaptations have achieved the same sweeping sense of sheer romance in the Disney animated classic: the painted backgrounds, the dreamy sequences reflected in soap bubbles and sparkling through the palace gardens, the surprisingly high emotional stakes that make the resolution all the sweeter. And while it’s become a common Disney trope, the requisite scene in which the stepsisters cruelly rip apart Cinderella’s dress adds a layer of wickedness not present in the Rodgers & Hammerstein adaptations, nor successfully recreated in any of the live-action versions. The same goes for the goofy mice singing “Cinderelly, Cinderelly”—every subsequent CGI mouse lacks the warmth that goes into a believable animal companion. That said, the animated movie’s legacy is somewhat marred by its direct-to-video sequels of diminishing returns, though you also have to give them props for pulling an Avengers: Endgame 12 years earlier with Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time.

2. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1997)

For many of us, Disney’s animated Cinderella was a childhood classic, but The Wonderful World of Disney’s ‘90s production was the first time the story truly felt magical. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s songs were updated with contemporary beats, bridging the forty years between the first broadcast and this version: “Impossible” is one of the best songs from the show, but it hasn’t been truly sung until Whitney Houston is belting it out to a starry-eyed Brandy. The production’s effortlessly diverse casting—Whoopi Goldberg as the queen, Paolo Montalban as the prince, Bernadette Peters as the stepmother—only amplifies the universal nature of the story. Almost twenty-five years later, this adaptation still feels like the television event it was when it premiered.

1. Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998)

A truly successful adaptation is one that doesn’t have to feel beholden to its source material. By opening with the Brothers Grimm explaining the inspiration behind their own interpretation of Cinderella, Ever After rewrites all of the familiar themes into a historical fiction—specifically, Renaissance-era France—context. Danielle’s (Drew Barrymore) misfortune as an orphan servant girl is so believable thanks to the cruelty of her stepmother’s (Anjelica Huston, a legend) abuse, but so is her determination and ingenuity to rise above her station. While Disney’s animated Cinderella is romantic, Ever After is a romance: Danielle disguises herself as a comtesse in order to spend time with Prince Henry (Dougray Scott), and they develop an actual relationship, complete with rejection once her subterfuge is revealed. Plus, Leonardo da Vinci is there for comic relief and an unintentional fairy godmother assist! If you want your Cinderella story with a compelling feminist arc but you’re also burnt out on the songs, this is your happily ever after.

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Cinderella will begin streaming on Amazon Video on September 3rd.

The post Ranking Cinderella Adaptations appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[kinetic-elaboration]

April 14: 2x15 The Trouble with Tribbles

Back to watching TOS on Wednesdays! We’ll see if I can keep this up because I do prefer it to Fridays.

Today’s episode: the Classic (tm) Trouble with Tribbles.

Starting out with a little test for Chekov lol. Just Chekov, his mentor, and his mentor-in-law.

My mom called Chekov “Kirk and Spock’s little project,” which I think is hilarious but also probably true. Only 22 years old and on the bridge crew? Private quiz by the top two people on the ship? Legit interpretation.

“It was just a little joke.” / “Extremely little, Ensign.” Classic Spock burn.

The Organian Peace Treaty--from Errand of Mercy??

I really do feel like Kirk is genuinely amused by Chekov.

You would never guess from this intro about tense diplomatic situations and number-one-top-priority-triple-red-alerts that this was going to be a crack-y episode about space bunnies.

Oh no, a fake red alert! Kirk is really angry now.

Kirk and Spock are very Married today.

STORAGE COMPARTMENTS?? StOrAgE cOmPaRtmEnTs?

WHEAT??

Do not try to imply that Spock doesn’t know things; he is contractually obligated to show off.

Canadian wheat.

Honestly, just let Kirk call it wheat.

Spock is using diplomacy to reign Kirk in. Sarek would be proud. And Spock would be insulted that Sarek is proud.

Kirk is very Sassy today.

Omg the waitresses have little wings.

Spock taking the wheat from behind his back and giving it to Kirk like a magician’s assistant.

I feel like Kirk is bitter about the wheat because it’s the one (1) thing he’s not a nerd about. And he’s from Iowa too!! He should know!

Uhura listening to the salesman; well she IS here to shop, after all.

Is it alive? Is it cute? Oh who am I kidding, I can see it’s cute!

Oh no the tribble is eating the grain.

Uhura is truly adorable.

I can’t believe she just made a joke about never getting any shore leave and here she is, back at her station again.

Can you even imagine AOS Kirk being tasked with protecting a bunch of grain? HE would make Iowa jokes.

And Spock is trying so hard not to laugh.

Tbh I have a real soft spot for these frustrated Kirk episodes. Poor, long-suffering Kirk. So much more serious than all of the nonsense going on around him.

I like this space station design.

Klingons on shore leave. They just want to have some fun. No bowling alleys on their ships!

Technical journal time for Scotty!

“I am immune to their effect....” Sure. What’s funny to me is that Kirk actually is immune to their effect. Truly at no point does he seem charmed or amused by or even interested in the tribbles, except in their capacity as Klingon detectors at the end

“I think they’re old enough [to be adopted].” Lol how can you tell?

One look from Spock reigns Kirk in. #spacehusbands

Oh, you noticed there are 11 tribbles instead of 1? How astute.

“What do you get when you feed a tribble too much?” / “A fat tribble.” This is ACTUAL DIALOGUE. Oh, Kirk.

Honestly McCoy is a medical doctor, so it kind of would make more sense for Spock to be doing these tribble experiments but he has his hands full with Kirk

Kirk is awfully insistent upon Scotty taking shore leave when he should very well remember what happened last time

“You’d think he’d be a vodka man.” And he is!

Klingons don’t understand Kirk at all. He IS a little soft <3

Where’s that post that’s like ‘the AOS writers just listened to this one Klingon speech about Kirk and wrote his character based on that?” I mean... not totally inaccurate.

Actually it is a potentially interesting speech. Is this really how his enemies see him based on his reputation? Or is it just, like, a bunch of generic insults you could apply to pretty much any captain of a group you didn’t like?

Poor Kirk, missing out on this fight scene.

Lol the drink joke. Does it make sense? No, but it’s funny all the same.

“Captain’s log: I am forced to cancel shore leave.”

Angry Daddy!Kirk and his unhelpful children. You’re ALL grounded!!

“No this is not off the record!” Not even gonna debate that Scotty.

This whole Kirk and Scotty scene deserves an Emmy.

Spones + Tribbles

The extra hilarious thing about Spock talking about the uselessness of the tribbles and Bones defending their cuteness as being an end in and of itself is that Spock DOES canonically like soft, pleasing animals. Even in this episode!!

The tribble wants to be captain.

Kirk collecting tribbles lmao.

“Don’t look at me, it’s the tribbles that are breeding.”

The tribbles are bisexual. Just like Captain Kirk. (Yes this is two different uses of the term that mean totally different things and I do NOT care I just like hearing the word “bisexual” in DeForest Kelley’s voice.)

I feel like Uhura must be so lonely.. Trying to talk to Spock about the moon. Meeting shape shifting aliens who become native Swahili speakers just for her. Trying to buy love in the form of small, cute animals.

The tribbles have been taken from their predator-filled environment. I am VERY curious about their native environment now. What eats tribbles?

“It’s you I take lightly.” Honestly this level of sass almost makes AOS Kirk seem IC.

“Licensed asteroid locator and prospector.” Brb changing careers.

“But he is after my grain!”

Kirk saying “au revoir” is funny on its face for how he echoes Cyrano what’s-his-face but also because it reminds me of Shatner saying “I’m from Canada, so I speak French.”

No, the tribbles got in his food! That is the last straw.

It’s hard to tell because it’s covered in tribbles, but Spock appears to have a very odd looking salad. (Or that large piece of fruit is a tribble, really hard to tell.)

Spock’s “fascinating” was so quiet.

“They’re into the machinery all right.” First, lol, and second, isn’t Scotty supposed to be in his room thinking about what he’s done?

You can really see that missing finger.

Gonna beam down some tribbles too.

And now to top off this bad day: the indignity of having a bunch of dead tribbles fall on his head. To wacky music.

“Gorged? On my grain?” It’s more likely than you think.

And like........you realize someone off set is just continuing to throw little puff balls at Shatner's head at regular intervals during this whole scene? One just bounced right off it.

And the answer to the tribble problem is literally “stop feeding them” which is so obvious that I assumed it was just harder than one would think not to feed a tribble. Since no one fed them. And they continued to eat.

I also love how Bones comes into his best friend literally buried in tribbles and doesn’t even blink.

Whereas Spock’s here with his mouth this thinnest possible line, trying not to laugh.

They like Vulcans! They have good taste.

Spock is definitely that type that has secret low self esteem so he builds himself up with confident comments at every opportunity.

“He’s a Klingon, Jim.”

Kirk REALLY likes threatening the Klingons with tribbles.

I feel like leaving Cyrano to single-handedly clean up the tribbles over 17 years is not a punishment that makes sense because like... must the station live with the tribbles until then? Also, where is he to put them?

I think they should be returned to their native habitat to be eaten by predators according to the natural cycle of life.

Are we to understand that SPOCK suggested beaming the tribbles on to the Klingon ship? Perhaps I have underestimated his prank war abilities.

I’ll be honest, this ep is very entertaining and for that reason one of my favorites, but I don’t know that it paints the Enterprise, and Kirk in particular, in the best light.

Like... I am really torn on Kirk’s treatment of the undersecretary. I know he often doesn’t much like administrators and diplomats and other people who don’t seem to have much RL experience, and certainly this Federation official got on his bad side immediately and understandably by misusing the red alert.

But... Kirk isn’t at all subtle about not liking him. I mean he literally says “I don’t like you” and that’s just objectively unprofessional, which he is not. The sassiness was way unsubtle, which could be funny, but it just didn’t seem IC.

I can almost justify it because of the red alert mix up--that’s everything Kirk hates: violating regulations, showing disrespect to him and his crew, uncalled for manipulation--and I think he has the right to be upset about it. But he continues holding this grudge for a long time. It feels like it’s just as much about not personally caring about the grain as about anything else. Like he’s dismissive about the grain because he personally has never heard of it. So obviously it’s not important.

That’s too much that conventional-wisdom arrogant, dumb Kirk for me.

I guess I just don’t understand, why so much hatred for the undersecretary? Because his two biggest sins were the red alert and employing a Klingon. But as I already said, I think Kirk’s ire is disproportionate to the first offense and no one knew about the Klingon until the end--because a tribble, not Kirk specifically, found him out.

Otherwise..this guy was right! The grain was important, losing it or having it sabotaged would have very bad consequences for the Federation, it is Kirk’s job to guard it, and he should do it well. He was also right that the Klingon threat was real!! He’d brought in the Klingon threat but he was still right about it existing. The Klingons did in fact sabotage the grain! And although we hear at the end that there was magically more grain out there... I don’t get how or from where.

Furthermore, he used the red alert specifically because he seemed to think Kirk wouldn’t rush over to protect the grain otherwise, and Kirk is so dismissive of this “just wheat” that he kinda proves the guy right!

Anyway, I can see the grains of this Kirk (lol pun not intended) in his general characterization, but it’s too over the top, to the point where it’s OOC. He does take his job, including the diplomatic aspects of it, very seriously, and I think an IC Kirk would protect the grain, and maybe be only occasionally, subtly sassy to the undersecretary.

But this was such a crack-y episode overall... it was like everyone was turned up to 11 and pushed slightly to the side.

It was a fun ep though with a lot of very classic scenes, and it’s another reminder that Spock likes soft, adorable animals.

I will admit that I actually do not think the tribbles are particularly cute. They kind of weird me out. They’re just lumps of fur.

Next is The Gamesters of Triskelion, which I vaguely remember as a decent but not great episode.

[calliecat93]

Top 15 Star Trek TOS Episodes (Part Two)

(Part One)

Continuing from the last post, here are the remaining seven episodes~! Also picking Number One was SUPER hard. I was stuck between it and two for a long while. But I finally picked, so here we go!

#7. The Trouble With Tribbles

Up to this point, I hadn’t been crazy over some of the goofier episodes of Star Trek. Shore Leave was a mindscrew that left me uncertain about what was even happening by the end, though my opinion has lightened up upon looking back. The Squire of Gothos had a villain that I found far more annoying than entertaining and it remains one of my least favorite episodes. The only more silly one I did like was I, Mudd which remains an utter laugh riot once everyone acts as illogical as possible, including Spock. But then this episode came along, and Dear Lord it is hilarious. Our heroes stop at a space station, but it’s also occupied by Klingons. But wait, it gets better! A sleezy guy convinces Uhura to buy a Tribble, these little puff ball things that are kind of cute... until they begin to reproduce so rapidly that they infest the ship and base. To put it simply, it’s not a good time for Kirk. Honestly Kirk is the best part just because of how much he LOATHES every single thing about this episode. The scene where a whole bunch of Tribbles just topple over him and he just resigns himself to his fate and later his epic death glare at Bones when he orders him to figure out what killed the things. And then there’s what makes him come aorund to them, their shared hatred of Klingons. Seriosuly, Kirk is just So Done in this episode and it is amazing~

But seriously, it’s a very entertianing episode. Far more than I thought it was going to be when I read the description. It’s not an episode taken seriosuly, but not in the ‘they just gave up’ kind of way like in certain S3 episodes. The cast seem to be legit having a fun time with this one. The brawl between Scotty, Chekov, and a few other guys against the Klingons was super fun as was Kirk sulking when Scotty revelas that he got provoked over the Enteprise being insulted and not the captain. Poor Jim XD Cyrano Jones was also just a fun delight with how scummy yet amusing he is. The scene with him and the drinks during the brawl had me laughing so much XD Seriosuly there’s just so many good moments. Spock not being immune to the Tribble’s comforting effect and being embarassed at this revelaiton, Spock and McCoy’s snark, the Klingons utter horror at the tiny little furballs, it’s just an entertaining ride from beginning to end.

Not anything to really note flaws wise to justify the ranking. It doesn’t have that emotional or philosophical umph that I normally seek out in shows like this, so it’s here at seven. But that ain’t a bad thing at all. Not every episode has to have deep meanings or complex stories. Sometimes it can just be something fun and amusing, and the effort was still there to make it entertaining. It’s one of those episodes that I would watch above the others on a bad day just so I can laugh. Probably the most fun episode I have on this list, and that’s nothing to snuff at~!

#6. The Doomsday Machine

Our heroes find a Starship where the only survivor is Commadore Decker, his crew having all been killed when he beamed them to a planet that a planet destroyer... well, destroyed shortly after. The destroyer is still active and now the Enterprise is in danger. As Kirk remains on that ship, Decker is determined to destroyt he doomsday machine once and for all, including taking command of the Enteprrise and risking their lives to do so. Yeah, this is a pretty intense one. Decker, while his sucicdal actions were wrong, is VERY sympathetic. His crew was killed through no fault of his own, the machine that did it is still loose, and the losses have left him utterly broken. He’s very much traumatized but as he is the highest ranking officer and they can’t officially prove that he’s too mentlaly unfit to be relieved (which imo is idiotic cause even someone who isn’t a psycologist can tell he’s mentally unfit, but whatever), they can’t do much to stop him. Spock DOES finally manage to do so, and it leads to Decker’s ultimate choice that leads to his tragic end.

This one really gripped me. There’s this tension throughout. We have an unstable, suicidal man taking control of the Enterprise and willing to get them all killed to stop the doomsday machine. It’s scary to see how broken the man is. Again, he’s wrong to be willing to sacrifice everyone on The Enterprise to destroy the thing even though none of them want to die, but you understand why. I mean imagine if that happened to Kirk, he’d probably snap too if his actions in Obsession is any indication of how he handles major losses like that. Then we have Decker’s final act. Once relieved of command, he steals a shuttle and goes at the machine himself. He knows that he’s going to die and accepts that fact if it means some chance, any chance of destroying the machine once and for all. While he fails to destory it, he DOES give Kirk the opprotunity needed to do so with the ruined ship. A move that almost gets Kirk killed, but still Decker’s act was not in vain. It’s a very interesting character study with themes of guilt, trauma, and desperation. Kind of like in Obsession in a way, only Kirk manages to survive and pull himself together before it was too late. Decker’s only goal was to take down the machine that took his crew’s lives, even if that meant losing his own.

As I said, these are the kinds of episodes I live for. I guess self-sacrifice is also genetic consideirng what happened with his son in The Motion Picture, haha. Flaws... ugh... I guess McCoy disappeairng after the first half sucked? But that’s a me thing that doesn’t affect anything. I just remember watching it wide-eyed despite fully well knowing that everyone I cared about were going to be perfectly fine. It really gripped me! A great episode with great character exploration and themes which for a one off character, is pretty dang impressive!

#5. Journey to Babel

Meet the parents epidsode! Yay! The Enteprise is transporting various ambassadors of various planets to the Babel Conference. This includes the Vulcan Ambassador Sarek and his human wife Amanda, aka Spock’s parents. Yep, it’s time for some good ol’ fashioned family issues! Sarek wasn’t exactly happy with Spock choosing Starfleet and their relationship has been strained ever since. But when Sarek has severe heart problems, the only way to save him is via blood transfusion with Spock the only one compatible. But to make it worse, Kirk gets stabbed and put out of comission, forcing Spock to take command... at the same time that his father needs the surgery. Yeah... it sucks to be Spock in this episode. I know that Sarek is a bit divisive, but I like Spock’s parents. Sarek comes off as good at his job, but not great as a parent. He’s far fromt he worst and we do see that he does seem to still care about his son, he’s just God awful at admitting it and his previous mistakes. Like father, like son I guess. Amanda was a delight, especially when she tells McCoy about the sehlat aka giant teddy bear. Anyone who can make Bones smile that big deserves our thanks. Spock trying to make it less embarassing only made it funnier XD But back on topic, they come off as interesitng characters. They ain’t ideal, but they seem to genuinely be in love, which is nice.

Spock was just great here as we see him in one of the roughest spots he’s been in. He’s naturally not happy about being around the father that cast him aside again, though after his heart issues it’s clear that he IS concerned. Leonard Nimoy once again does such a fantastic job at having Spock express so much but without breaking character. It’s all in the eyes and the strained tone of voice. Then when Spock is more than willing to go through with the tranfusion, Kirk is injured. He has no choice but to take command, knowing that in doing so his father will die. While he COULD give command to Scotty, with the VERY intense circumstances of an assaliant on board and a ship ready to attack wit a number of ambassadors on board, he’s the best bet in handling it. Amanda is of course upset and even smacks him which IS overly harsh, but she’s about to lose her husband and her son, despite clealry hating the fact, has to place his duty above all else. Sarek dying is the least worst outcome to everyone else being killed. It’s the most logical route. Fortunately Kirk is able to pull himself together long enough to take over and the transfusion goes through perfectly despite the fight making it more difficult. Which again, McCoy is the true MVP here for managing to pull that off successfully under those conditions and Thank God that the episode rewarded him by letting him finally get the last word. He earned that one!

It’s such a great episode for me. Family drama, Spock conflict, political tensions, and just some relaly fun bits. Seriosuly, the teddy bear bit will NEVER stop being funny. Hoenstly these last five were all pretty tight and this ende dup here cause the other four had just a little bit mroe to keep me invested for reasons. Spock and Sarek don’t really reach a resolution but we do see that it has the chance to improve, and the movies do show that Sarek DOES truly care about his son and even admits that he had been wrong. It takes a lot for a man, even a Vulcan man, to do that. Although I DID double take when I realized that Sarek is played by the same guy who did the Romulan Captain in Balance of Terror. Guess he was that good XD. But yeah, a really great episode and very much my favorite Spock-centric episode.

#4. The Empath

TRIUMVIRATE FEELS BABY~! Our heroes end up trapped by a duo of aliens and encounter a mute empath woman that McCoy names Gem. They try to figure out how to escape as the aliens known as Vians plan to use them for an experiment as they have others. Shenanigains happen while elad to Kirk getting totured p, and then given the ultimate sadistic choice in having to decide if either Spock or McCoy get tortured to the point of either death (McCoy) or permenant brain damage (Spock). Now the episode has it’s issues, like why the Vians needed to do this to decide that Gem’s people were worth saivng is..l really baffling. But I’m also not a Vian so what do I know anout their mindset? But due to those kinds of plot holes, it landed here at four. It also kind of reads like a hurt/comfort fanfic, which isn’t a surprise when you find out that this was written and submitted by a fan. Which is freakin’ awesome and I can’t complain tbh cause it’s a good hurt/comfort fic. What it fails in some plot tightning it succeeds at in emphasizing the relationship between the main trio and it’s themes of emotion and self-sacrifice. Because OF COURSE that would be relevant for these three numbskulls at some point!

The second half is really what sells it. Kirk of course can’t make a choice like that, so Bones hypos him so that he’ll be spared of it. But that means that Spock is in command and he fully intends to hand himself over to the Vians to spare the two. Just the scene where he looks at Kirk, knowing that it’ll likely be the last time he sees him and Gem touching him to feel his emotions. Her smile sums it sll up. Which sidenote, the actress for Gem was freakin’ fantastic in how she displayed so much emotion and character without saying one word. Excellent acting. Anyways, Spock’s plan seems full-proof... except that he forgot that he’s dealing with McCoy, who promptly hypos him as well and sacrifices himself to the Vians. That was when McCoy became my favorite character, the moment he chose to be tortured to near death to save his two best friends and an innocent woman and even took the time to try and comfort her before being taken away. When we see the ifnal result and are greeted to DeForest Kelley looking at the camera with the most dead expression that he can muster... yeah the image STILL haunts me. Then Bones is dying with the two unable to do anything but try to give him some comfort and Gem is just so distraught and... heah this episode mad eit this high simply because it hit the emotional beats perfectly. That’s not even going into Gem trying to heal him to drive home the themes of the episode, also done VERY well.

This episode really shows how much the three care for one another. They’re all willing to be tortured and die to spare the other two. Ultimately McCoy gets the ‘honor’, but Kirk and Spock were absolutely ready to throw themselves to the fire. The characterization, interactions, and dynamic are just done so well that it’s why I can forgive the plot issues. I’m a sucker for feelings okay?! So yeah it’s not perfect but what it got right it got right. As such, it managed to land here at Number Four with only those plot holes keeping it from Number One. And trust me, I was tempted.

#3. The Tholian Web

Season 3 hadn’t been doing it for me with only one or two episodes really getitng my attention up to that point. This one though? This was the best episode in the seaosn bar none. Our heroes end up in a subspace where they find a starship and it’s crew all dead. Whien they teleport back to The Enterprise, it disappears... and takes Kirk with it. Okay, doesn’t sound liek anythignt hat new right? Kirk goes missing, the crew have to deal without him and find him as quickly as posisble. But this one has a bit of a twist... they cut Kirk out completely. Yeah, from the moment he vanishes in the first act to the very end he is out of the episode. Not only does the crew not know what happened to him, but neither does the audience, this ramps up the fear and emotional weight big time as the longer the crew is int hat space, the influence of it drives them to insanity. Bones wants to get out because of this, while Spock is unwilling to leave Kirk if he is alive. Needles to say, things go off the rails quickly.

With Kirk out of the equation, we keep our focus on Spock and McCoy. Their arguing is probably at the most personal it’s ever been with Kirk seming dead, the crew losing their minds, and it looking more and more uncertain that they can both treat the crew and ge tout alive. While one can say that McCoy may be too harsh here, I think along with the space affecting him in a less intense way, he’s also stressed from all the patients as well as his grief about Jim. Spock is the only one that he can take it out on, especially since his chocie to not leave is why they’re now int he mess that they’re in. Spock is trying to perform his duties despite the hostilities and his own grief that he’s trying to keep a grip on with all the responsibility of the crew and whatever happens due to his choice firmly sititng on his shoulders. What finally starts to get them to resolve this? A tape that Kirk made for them in the event of his death. He gives them his confidence that they can perform their duties withiut him, but that they need to lsiten to and support each other. They CAN go on without him. It’ll hurt but they’re now all that they each have and they need to work together now more than ever. It’s a sobering moment for both with McCoy realizng how ovelry harsh he had been and Spock expressing genuine grief. They do still bicke rone more time, but McCoy catches himself before it goes too far, apologizes, and Spock simply says what Jim would: “Forget it, Bones”. Cue Bones fainting like the Southern Bell that he is, haha!

Now of course Kirk is alive and they manage to save him and get out of the situation fine. But I just loved this because of the focus on Spock and McCoy without Kirk. Why? Because Kirk is the one thing that can unite them. It’s not the only thing, but if anything can make them get over their disagreements quickly, it’s Kirk. So what happens when it looks like he’s gone and never coming back? How will the two deal with it now that that balance is gone? They don’t deal with it well, being at each other’s throats until they see that tape. But it DOES show that if they did lose Kirk, they CAN work together and go on. Like I said, I adore these two’s relationship and while not as slashy as All Our Yesterdays, this is such an excellent one for that relationship as we see that yes, they will bicker but they will also be there for each other when it all comes down to it. It’s such a great episode for that reason and the plot was just well done. Like I said, casitng out Jim and leaving us unsure of what happened to him was an excellent move for this one and I enjoyed the exploration that it allowed.

#2. The Immunity Syndrome

Out heroes are scent to investigate what caused a whole solar system to disappear just as they also receive a message from a Vulcan science vessel. Unfortunately, Spock senses he vessel’s destruction and the Enterprise finds itself against a giant space amoeba that will devour everything unless stopped. That may not sound like much, but it leads into what I think was the most intense situation that the Enterprise has been in. Everything, and I mean everything, is pushed to their limits here. This amoeba can outright destroy galaxies and utterly mindless, so there’s no reasoning with it. But it gets especially tense when, in order to understand exactly what’s going on, Kirk has to send someone in the space shuttle to observe, but in doing so, he’s sending someone to most likely die. And his choices? Either Spock or Bones... yeah.

This is what makes this episode great. Spock and Bones are already on rockier than usual terms due to McCoy treating the Vulcan deaths more like a statistic while Spock sensed all of it outright. That itself is an interesting observation on how we treat these kinds of things, not really understanding how horrific it is unless we’re involved in it outright, otherwise it’s sad and unfortunate but just another number. But then we have the suicide mission. Bones originally volunteers himself, after all he’s a doctor and would have the knowledge to make the necessary observaitons and likely the most fit for it. But Spock is not only also perfectly capable even if not specialized in medical science, but he’s also more fit physically and emotionally to undergo the risk and come out alive. In the end, Kirk picks Spock and McCoy ain’t happy about it. The scene with Spock about ready to go with McCoy still unhappy even when Spock asks him to wish him luck. He does... once the doors have shut and Spock can’t hear him anymore. It’s a very strong scene and it only gets more painful when it looks like Spock is truly going to die and his final words are that McCoy should have wished him luck. Bones’ face says everything.

The episode is just excellent. Great character moments. Great emotional weight. Great stakes that keep going up and up and it truly feels like the darkest hour for the crew. Kirk and Spock outright begin to record their respective final words. Even they’re convinced that this is most likely the end, which is just... dang man. I couldn’t look away during this one. They hit everything perfectly with pretty much everything. If I have any issues, none of them come to mind. It’s just an excellent episode and the best of Season 2. I had a REALLY hard time picking between this and my Number One for the top slot. The top one just had a little bit more emotional impact to get it, but it just barely topped this one. Regardless, it is still an excellent episode and one of the best by far. But what is Number One? Well...

#1. The City on the Edge of Forever

Yeah, yeah, obvious pick I know. I normally don’t go wth popular opinion... but sometimes it’s that way for a reason, and this one I can’t argue about. When McCoy gets badly drugged on accident, he goes into a derranged state and beams onto a planet. The crew is unable to stop him from entering a portal known as the Guardian of Forever that sends him into the distant past where he does something to change histry. In order to figure out what changed and to stop McCoy, Kirk and Spock travel into the 1930’s a few days earlier to cut him off and must now navigate their way though the time period where they end up at a soup kitchen run by a woman named Edith Keller. Which Edith is an excellent character. She’s kind, optimistic, charming, hard-working, ad caring towards those who need it. Kirk ends up falling for her, and... it’s legit really cute. Kirk isn’t being forced to make out with a woman or doing so for information. We see how Kirk is when he genunely likes someone, having been drawn to Edith’s optimism and hopes for a better future. A future that he is from and knows will be reality. He’s really sweet and it’s just cute... which makes what happens at the end all the more tragic.

The 1930’s were fun with Kirk trying to come up with an excuse for Spock’s ears having me dying from laughter. The acting was excellent with DeForest Kelley as drugged!Bones especially being both crazy and scary. I quit doubting that he played villains in Westerns after this episode, haha. But of course Spock soon discovers that the change that McCoy is to make is saving Edith form death, and in doing so she leads a pacifist campaign that delays America’s entry into World War II and... well, things go badly. They are in a time where sadly optimism and peace are simply not options, which is even crueler. In order for time to be restored, they have to let Edith die. Kirk is horrified by this and when the time comes (sidenote, the Triumvirate reunion is utterly adorable), he just grabs Bones, keeps his back turned, and can only listen as Edith screams and is killed via car colission. Whatever grievances I have about William Shatner, he absoluteley nailed Kirk’s utter heartbreak and pain as Kirk just looks utterly boken. His final wordds after they return to the 23rd Century simply being a bitter “Let’s get the Hell out of here” sums it all up perfectly. Bones’ horror at it, especially since he DID have to watch it and him being upset at Kirk is also heartbreaking as he asks him if he knows what he just did. Spock can only somberly inform him that yes, he does.

It’s one of those cases where I wish serialization was more of a thign cause DAMN this is some major emotional baggage for everyone but as per usual. It happens and they go on from there with no lingering development. I guess if I had to complain, that would be it but that’s jut the nature of these shows at the time. Kind of feel like Bones getting as bady overdosed as he did pretty much got forgotten after they enter the 1930’s, but I also know nothing about 23rd Century drugs so... ah well. But the rest of the episode is so good that I can forgive those issues and they clealry did nothing to impact the placing. It had a storgn story, great emotion, great acting, great pacing, and a heartbreaking but fitting ending. The episode has a LOT of history behind it’s making that could be a post all it’s own, but no mater how this episode came to be, it is very much the best of Star Trek TOS. It was fun yet sad and had me gripped form beginning to ed and just htinkign about it now still makes me sad. Thus, it earns it’s place as my favorite episode of Star Trek TOS.

And we are done! There were a lot of really good episodes and some i REALLY did consider. A Piece of the Action, The Enemy Within (that was skipped for... certian reasons), Is There in Truth No Beauty?, This Side of Paradise, and plenty of others that I enjoyed. There were others I.. well, didn’t, but I can’t recall outright hating anything. Regardless I came in apathetic at best, and I left a fan for it’s characters, interesting ideas, and I just had a lot of fun. It’s outdated in many ways, but still relevant in others. Overall, I’m glad to have finally watched it, and I hope that I enjoy TNG just as much. But if not, I’ll always have this~!

(Image Source: TrekCore TOS Gallery)

[theimpossiblescheme]

Olympia

(This one’s been in my drafts for a while... we all talk about Bi Disasters Cyrano and Christian, but the world needs more Bi Disaster Roxanne to balance them out.)

“Do my eyes deceive me, or have we at last seen the end of that eternal tapestry?”

Roxanne looked up at the familiar voice and smiled.  She wasn’t in her usual chair with her embroidery in front of her today; instead she sat beneath a tree in the orchard on a thin blanket, a small wicker basket beside her and papers upon papers strewn about her.  “No such luck, I’m afraid.  It’s been too cold for needlework, so I’ve left it waiting in my cell for warmer weather.”

“Then you’ve taken up your poems again, have you?”  Ducking under one of the branches and settling carefully on the ground next to her, Cyrano picked up one of the papers—her personal stationery, stained with a vaguely lavender shade and the lingering scent of old perfume, still folded neatly so the words were hidden—and couldn’t help a small half-smile of his own.  “I remember before you left for Paris, you used to slip these under my plate for me to read over dinner.”

“And you would make all sorts of annotations and corrections in the margins,” Roxanne retorted with a gently chiding look, but a twinkle in her eyes.  “By the time you were done, I could hardly make out my own writing.”

“You asked for my brutal honesty, and so I gave it.  Anything less would have been an insult to your talent—I noticed its kindling and tried to help you stoke a greater flame.”  What else could he have possibly done—leave a perfectly good bit of verse unfinished and fling her to the mercy of Paris’s intellectuals?  The very thought was almost criminal.  And Roxanne had a much thicker skin than most of the preciuses, he’d found; he could give her honest criticism, and she would take it.  Oh, she might pout a bit, but she would still take it, at least from him.  Such was their understanding.

The gleam in her eyes faded, and she suddenly looked very tired.  “For all the good it’s done me recently.  I haven’t written anything new in so long.”  She took the paper from him, unfolded it, and stared down at the words, but she didn’t seem to truly read or even see them.  There was something immaterial and so far away in her usually expressive face, and all at once the evening seemed that much colder.  “These past few years, I… I wanted to hear nothing but elegies, mourning for some great men and women, for my own sins.  And so that was all I wanted to write.  It was as though I opened a vein every time I refilled the ink.  But filling so much parchment with my own blood only turned me weak and cold… any more, and my heart would burst.  So I stopped.  I thought I would… look over some of my old things for inspiration. Stir some new life into myself.”

All Cyrano could do was nod. In truth, it was more than he’d managed for so many years.  Now, his own quill only scratched viciously across the page, denouncing the frauds, the sycophants, the false prophets of some counterfeit muse leering over Paris. His daily bread was funded by the vitriol he spat from the columns of the Gazette.  No more pretty words, no more beautiful metaphors singing up to their reader like a symphony of hand-picked stars, no more odes to those he loved instead of hated… who was left that he loved?  Roxanne was a widow forever in cloistered mourning, and Christian…

How could he possibly say? How could he possibly tell her when he’d so pointedly avoided breathing a word to either of them for so long?  It was too much… even if he waited another decade, he might never find the words.  And even if he did, he could never say them—not now.

Instead, he plucked at the edge of the paper she held with two fingers, his touch light and his voice lighter.  “Will you permit me?”

Rousing from her trance, Roxanne looked up again and gave a tinkling little laugh before loosening her grip.  “Of course.  Peruse the contents of my heart freely.  You alone know it best these days.”  Cyrano hoped he’d concealed the small hitch in his breath as he accepted it and read.

It was more list than poem, as though Roxanne had seen or thought of something exquisite and hastened to write it down before she forgot.  Flowing by in a breathless stream of consciousness, her words were simple, but so evocative.  Everything was so deeply felt—the orange guttering of streetlamps, the sudden heady rush of a lady’s sandalwood fan, the soaring crescendo of the Confiteor’s final verses, the inevitable streaks of cream and frosting punctuating Ragueneau’s handwriting—that each paper he read felt like a brief glimpse into her world, teased out through these seemingly trivial details.  Not exactly Shakespeare, but so… Roxanne, Cyrano concluded.  How like her, to transform the mundane into the sublime.

He reached for another paper, the title Olympia lovingly etched across the top in rose-red ink, but this time her hand darted out and snatched it away.  “Not that one.  Please don’t read that one.”

Cyrano’s hand drew back. “Does it embarrass you?”

“No.  Yes.  I don’t know.”  Roxanne had gone a deep, blotchy red and her chin tucked tightly against her collar, attempting to hide as she clutched her poem.  “Perhaps it should.  I don’t know what… what you would think of me if you read it.”

“I could never think any less of you, Roxanne.”  When she refused to relent, Cyrano switched tack.  “If you will not let me read it, perhaps you might describe it to me?”

For a long moment, she said nothing.  The blush across her face darkened, and she worried at her lower lip, no doubt pondering if she could dare betray her secret.  And still she clutched the poem under her ribs as though hoping she could absorb the words into her own body.  Cyrano was about to tell her not to mind, that he shouldn’t have asked and she should not have to reveal anything that caused her such discomfort, when her eyes darted back and forth across the orchard and she leaned toward him, like she was afraid someone else might be watching.  “You must promise never to tell anyone,” she urged him, voice dangerously low.  “Not even the Sisters—especially not the Sisters.”

“My dear lady, nothing could be further from my mind.”  And he meant every word.

Satisfied, Roxanne drew closer and squeezed Cyrano’s hand, just as she had all those years ago in the bakery as she told him about Christian.  Her face was still red, but she no longer looked ill and afraid, even as she worked up the courage to speak.  “When I first debuted among the preciuses… there was a girl by that name.  The name from the poem.”  She raised the hand clutching the paper against her by a few inches.  “I never knew her well, but… I admired her so.  She was—she was breathtakingly beautiful.  She had the blackest hair, so dark it seemed to swallow the light, but in the evenings under the lamplight… it took on such a dazzling silvery glow, like a net of stars.  As though the heavens themselves had been spun into her skin.” Roxanne’s eyes shone as she spoke, a sheen of tears or memories descending upon her before the spell was broken and she looked back down to earth.  “I felt as though I—I had to commit the sight to memory and write it down in case I ever forgot.”

“But you never did forget.” Cyrano’s voice was soft, understanding.

“No… I could never have. It’s been almost twenty years… and I can’t recall ever having spoken more than five words to her.  Isn’t that silly?”

“Not at all.  This is in the same tradition of the knights of old, clinging to some token from a fair maiden who happened to smile upon them after a tournament.  Lancelot to Guinevere, Don Quixote to Dulcinea, Petrarch to Laura… all adoring from afar and never breathing a word.” If she only knew… and if she only knew how often, drafting his letters to her from Christian’s heart channeled into his pen, he found himself thinking of them both.  Every mention of her red-gold hair became a meditation on Christian’s golden curls, every gesture of hers a reminder of Christian’s easy smile, the stubborn set of his jaw, the softness of his hands that slowly lessened as he developed more callouses, the confidence in his gait contrasted with the quick-stop hesitation in how he moved his hands, the self-deprecation that would settle over him like a dark fog… all burned into his mind like the memory of the sun.  They were so closely entwined that they melted into one.

Sometimes Cyrano wondered how Christian would react if one of these letters arrived for him, a signatureless sigh of things he could never say out loud, not in front of him. Sometimes he wondered if it truly meant betraying Roxanne… could he not love them both?  God, whoever He was, crafted a man’s heart with the capability to hold so many people… could it not do the same with romantic love as it could with the love of friends and family?  Could a heart not rest as a word within parentheses, bracketed, sheltered, and safe between two gentle embraces?  Was there room for that in God’s plan, for two men to love the same woman and each other at the same time?

He didn’t suppose he would ever know the answers to any of those questions.  But listening to Roxanne now, Cyrano knew he hadn’t been the only person asking them once upon a time.  And he felt a slight pressure in his chest lighten at the thought.

Presently, Roxanne stroked a strand of hair back from her forehead, and Cyrano could have traced the path of her hand across her skin from memory.  “Perhaps I would have been happier that way.  Forever pining for Olympia, never turning my gaze elsewhere.  Perhaps… perhaps I would not be here now.”

Cyrano’s hand tightened around hers, and he could only pray she didn’t feel it shaking.  “You are here now because you have dared to love closer and dearer than that.  You have loved eyes that looked back in your direction and hands that warmed your own.  These are dearer than any net of stars.  You have been a mortal grasping at godhood only to find a sweeter mortality waiting… and I would never begrudge you either of them.”

Another long, silent moment passed between them.  Roxanne looked down at the paper in her hand and carefully unfolded it, smoothing out the well-worn creases between her fingers.  Then, still without saying a word, she handed it to him to read, and Cyrano accepted with a reverent nod.  Every detail was there as she’d said, listed like a map of stars—the stars in Olympia’s hair, the stars in her midnight-dark eyes, dancing across the fabric of her dress and the freckles across her arms and the back of her neck.  A diagram of heaven as she’d glimpsed it years and years ago.

He passed it back to her, pressing it into her free hand.  “Beautiful. Faultless, even, I would say.”

The roses in her cheeks returned as she smiled and dropped her head onto his shoulder.  “I am glad you think so.”

[lonelypond]

Casual Lunacy, Chapter 4

Chapter Four: The Moon Is Alive

Love Live, NicoMaki main pair, nearly 4K, 4/?

TRUE HORROR

Nico stared at the stage in disbelief. Next to her, Nozomi clutched Nico’s bicep so hard Nico felt like her skin might burst. Yuu Kashima, the dark haired darling of the theatre department, followed around campus by hordes of fans, truly extraordinary in such nuanced roles as Hamlet, Cyrano de Bergerac, Gary Lejeune and Faustus had just sung a note so low, flat and loud that Nico found herself believing that the sound ignored the curvature of the earth and pummelled its way through urban architecture until it fell off the edge of an alternate earth as flat as it was.

“Oh my gods,” Nico hissed at Nozomi as she pried the other woman’s fingers off her arm, “That’s why Kashima’s never auditioned for Waa-Mu.” Or any other musical, Nico added to herself.

“So why’s she on stage now?” Nozomi whispered.

“Looks the part?” Nico glanced up and caught a pair of piercing green eyes turned in her direction, attracted by the conversation. “Definitely tall and charismatic. And skinny androgynous pale enough to read only gets calories from blood? Those cheekbones…”

‘Hmmmmm…” Nozomi only had the attention for a speculative noise since the blonde econ genius dance goddess had just walked down the theatre aisle.

Nico ripped through the pages of her script and found the ‘Trance’ duet. Nico knew she was talented but there was no one cute and talented enough to sound good singing with a partner who continued to crash through a warm up like Kashima was crashing through hers. Or like Godzilla crashed through Tokyo. Nico saw the rehearsal pianist wince. Complete sympathy there. This wouldn’t do. Not even glancing at Nozomi, Nico bounced up to the stage, her cutest smile bright.

Kashima stopped singing – blessing there, Nico realized. The entire theatre seemed to sigh in relief.

“Nico Nico Ni,” Nico dialed up her own charisma, fluttering her eyelashes, flashing her standard greeting with both hands at her temples. “Nico has never gotten to work with Kashima before.” Nico’s hand hand dropped to skim Kashima’s sleeve, and the much taller woman smiled, the angles of her face chiseled like a marble Apollo. Damn, Nico thought, they’d look good together onstage too…but that voice.

“Nico?” Kashima asked, her speaking voice as high as her singing, a discord with the masculine dress and presentation.

“Nico Yazawa. I’m playing Mina Murray.” Nico took a deep breath, “We have the ‘Trance’ duet together.” The pianist sniggered. Nico’s foot twitched.

“Oh, Nico.” Recognition. Kashima’s smile got sharper and her voice dropped an octave, as she leaned in, “You would definitely draw Dracula’s attention, very biteable.”

Oh my gods, Nico thought, how could Kashima say that with a straight face. And judging by the reaction of the students in the front row, her singing voice didn’t affect the likelihood of any of the weak minded swooning over very questionable pickup lines. Nico shook her head, drawing her hand coyly up to her mouth. “Mina isn’t easy prey.” Neither was Nico.

Kashima flickered the fingers of her left hand in the air, open French cuff on her shirt sliding back and forth with the movement, “And yet, Dracula hypnotises you.”

Nico decided to change the subject before she got annoyed. “Maybe Nico could help…” Kashima’s face fell and she suddenly had a hunted aura. Perhaps she knew how bad she was. Nico quickly adjusted her approach, “Maybe we could rehearse together and Nico could give you a few tips.”

Kashima perked up. If she’d been a dog her tail would have wagged, Nico decided, and groaned. Why was she seeing dog behavioral tics in everyone now? One cute four legged redhead and suddenly Nico’s a dog person. No, Nico was not that easy.

“Oh good, you’re here, Yazawa.” The grad student in charge of musical rehearsals, Billie Suara, jumped up onto the stage. “Let’s give Kashima a rest and go through your solo.”

Maki was bored. She’d crashed in Rin and Hanayo’s room after classes and pretended to look over her research for a paper in CogPysch, but really she was considering whether she wanted to wander down to the Cup o’ as Nico had suggested yesterday. Bored led to restless which led to…

Rin. “Let’s go play”

“Sure.” Maki’s wasn’t surprised at her answer, although Rin was. Hanayo glanced up from her computer, considering. “Do you mind, Hanayo?”

“No. Do you care if I stay here? I’m developing a survey for my stats class.”

Rin hugged her, “We’ll be fine, Kayochin. Nobody pays attention to us on the Lakefill.”

“Be careful, Rin.” Hanayo frowned over her glasses. Maki thought her friend had gotten the same ‘take care of werewolves’ gene her own mother had. The gentle notes of warning reverberated the same.

Rin transformed immediately, clothes falling off her body, Maki stepped behind Rin’s closet curtain for privacy as Hanayo leaned in closer, watching Rin, transfixed.

Hanayo walked them out of the lobby and said she’d come down again in about an hour. Rin barked happily and tore off into the center of the Lakefill, daring Maki to catch her. Ha, Maki thought, easy. Rin might be fast, but she always checked back to see if Maki was following. Which Maki started to do when musk peach vanilla magic Nico caught her nose and she veered south. Maki heard a yelp behind and then a forlorn howl; Rin had noticed. Maki was sensing another smell near Nico, female overlayered by the woody, cinnamon notes of a strong cologne. Her pace picked up. Rin howled again.

Nico was in the arms of the taller female, who loomed over her, mouth open, staring at Nico’s neck, leaning in with a sneer. Maki charged, launching herself between them when she got within three body lengths of Nico. The other woman fell with a high scream, Maki’s weight half burying them both in a snowbank, Maki’s snout right in her face as the wolf growled, teeth visible. Nico was sprawled across Maki’s back and wrapped her arms around Maki’s neck, trying to pull her back. “Princess.” Nico’s voice was a barricade, free of surprise, full of command. Maki was impressed. But she kept snarling at the woman she had pinned as Nico knelt next to her, “Princess. Nico is fine. Nico is…” Nico inhaled, then snapped “Look at me.”

Maki whipped her head around, Nico’s ruby eyes were concerned. Not afraid. Maki snuffled Nico. Not afraid, unlike the other woman. Who was afraid of Maki. Good. But Nico didn’t like this. And she was shivering. Bad. Maki dropped her head. Nico rubbed affectionately around her ears again, “Nico is glad to see such a pretty girl again, but please let my friend up.”

Maki whined, but stepped back, and leaned into Nico’s petting, “That’s good, Princess.” Nico rose, “Stay.”

Maki sat, curious. Nico helped the other woman stand, “Sorry, Kashima, Princess is a little protective of me.”

The other woman brushed off her shirt, which had come untucked and no longer gleamed under her open jacket. Maki nodded, pleased at the disarray she’d caused while the other woman wondered, “Is she your dog?”

Nico glanced at Maki, who pushed her head into Nico’s side again, rather than make eye contact. “Nico was never really a dog person.” She laughed, “Nico also never knew they came this pretty.” Nico knelt again, taking Princess’s head in her hands and forcing Maki to make eye contact, “nearly lavender this time,” Nico said to herself, then spoke slowly, “Princess, this is Kashima.We were rehearsing. She has to play Dracula.” Nico wondered briefly if she was insane explaining this all to a dog, but as Princess was currently paying more attention than Kashima, who was busy winking at a giggling girl in a sorority jacket, Nico continued. “Not someone you tackle.”

Maki whined.

“Pet her and make friends, Kashima.” Nico ordered, keeping her hold on the wolf.

Kashima took a step back at the same time that Maki snarled. Guess that wasn’t the best idea, Nico decided.

“Okay, new plan.” Nico announced, stretching her cramping legs, “I’ll see you at rehearsal, Kashima. Try those exercises I showed you.”

“Thanks, Nico,” Kashima ran off in pursuit of the giggler.

Nico crossed her arms over her chest and glanced down at the wolf. “What am I going to do with you?”

Maki butted into Nico again, playful. Nico laughed, “Let’s see if we can find who actually owns you before Nico has to go to work. Maybe she’s as cute as you are.” Maki ran a few steps forward, then paused, looking back over her shoulder and sticking out her tongue.

“Nico is usually the one being chased, you know.” Maki barked and ran forward again. Nico caught up and put a hand on her back, “Take me home, Princess.”

Maki wondered what would happen if she did.

“Nico Nico Ni!” The ringtone Nico had created for Nozomi’s phone drew the attention of most of the people left in the rehearsal space. The ones who knew Nico sniggered in Nozomi’s direction, probably thinking they were dating. But no, Nozomi was Nico’s product tester. If Nico had a promotional idea, she tried it out on either Nozomi or her roommate first. But Umi always refused to let Nico anywhere her phone, while Nozomi had been distracted enough by a Tarot reading one recent afternoon that Nico just lifted it out of her pocket, went into the nearest bathroom to record and returned it to Nozomi’s pocket. Nozomi hadn’t realized what Nico had done until Nico had texted her for her reaction later that night.

Nico: Can’t meet for dinner. Princess found me again; have to return her to SOMEONE （　･`ー･´） +

Nozo: Princess?

Nico: The cute redhead Nico’s been mentioning, the four legged one?

Nozomi considered Nico’s statement for a minute. Was she serious about there being a dog or was she just trying to keep the existence of an actual cute two legged redhead from Nozomi. Because Nico should realize by now that never works.

Nozo: Lunch tomorrow?

Nico: (o^-’)b ᕕ( ◎_◎)ᕗ ε=(｡ﾉ･ω･)ﾉ

Nozomi pulled out her well worn Tarot deck and sat with her back against the front of the stage. Two of the three Sisters were waiting for the third, as was Nozomi, but Nico’s recent actions puzzled her. She dealt three cards out. Eight of Pentacles. Hard work, improving in your craft, very Nico, past and present. Knight of Cups, flipped, someone moody, but genuine and loyal, so let emotions move forward. In the present position too. Nozomi stared at the card, could work for a dog, she supposed. Five of Swords, flipped. Let go of past frustrations, move on.

Not the clearest reading ever, but Nico was obviously on the brink of some change if she would open up and accept it…then Nozomi was distracted by a new sensation as she pulled out another card, someone was watching. She placed the Ace of Pentacles down and glanced up. Serious blue eyes followed her hand, examining the card.

Ah, a strong signal Nico-chi was on the verge of establishing her foundation for future success and tying together all her efforts, current and to come. Maybe the actress was right and Fangs was the opportunity she’d been waiting for. And here, standing next to her, was the opportunity Nozomi had been waiting for.

Nozomi waved her hands over the spread of cards, “I’m doing a reading about a friend. I’m worried about her.”

Eli nodded, “You just looked so…rapt.” There was a puzzled smile.

Nozomi swept up her cards and made them disappear and watched as Eli’s eyes searched to see where she’d stashed them, “ Nico-chi is on the verge of a big change. I think this play will be a decisive part of it.” Nozomi extended a hand, “I’m Nozomi Tojo. We have Economics of Gender together.”

The blonde took her hand with a firm grip, “Eli Ayase.”

“I can do a reading for you…” as Eli started to pull back, Nozomi flipped her hand over, and traced a finger across Eli’s palm, “Or do you prefer other forms of divination?”

Eli gulped and swallowed, “Uhhh no, I’ve never…tried anything like that before.”

“Not even a fortune cookie?” Nozomi continued to draw lines across Eli’s palm, enjoying the other woman’s attempts not to squirm, “Or a magic 8-ball?” She released the hand with a wink.

Eli rubbed her hand, Nozomi noticing a slight shiver, “I threw a coin in a fountain in Italy once.” Eli offered.

“What did you wish for?” Nozomi asked, surprised to see the other woman blush slightly.

ZZZZZZZKKKKKKKZZZZZZZZZKKKKKKKKZZZZZZZZZZKKKKKKKKKKZZZZZZZZ

A screamingly loud electronic noise pierced Nozomi’s skull, the lights exploded, and she heard Eli scream in the darkness and then she felt arms around her torso, someone breathing heavily into the back of her neck.

“Eli?”

“Just don’t leave me alone.” Eli whispered, terrified.

Nozomi was trying to remember if she’d ever wished the smart, sexy blonde of her dreams would be wrapped around her in need of comfort while the practical part of her mind was struggling with the best way to help Eli. She had a flashlight but her bag was out of reach and Eli seemed locked in place.

“Eli?”

“Uh huh?” Eli sounded worried.

“You don’t have to let go of me, but if we take a few steps forward, I can get my flashlight out of my bag.” Everyone else had started chattering, someone had run off to the backstage circuit breaker but from the profanity Nozomi could hear, they were having no luck with the cause. Nozomi wondered if the rest of the campus were dark.

Nozomi felt Eli nod into her shoulder. They took three steps forward together, Nozomi pulled her flashlight out. When she clicked it on, Eli let go.

“Sorry.” the blonde muttered.

“Nothing to be sorry for,” Nozomi held the flashlight between both of them. “I’m just glad I was here to help you.”

Eli, face ethereally gorgeous in the low light, looked up at Nozomi, almost expectant. Nozomi decided to take a leap without seeking guidance from the cards for once, “My friend just stood me up for a dog and I was on my way to dinner. Want to join me? Our latest assignment really irked me and I’d love to rant about it.”

Eli put her hands in her pockets, then glanced up at the dark stage, “I have rehearsal.”

Nozomi grabbed Eli’s hand again, it was now warm, a little sweaty. She pulled her up the aisle. “I bet they don’t miss you in the dark.”

Eli laughed, “You’re probably right. I know a nice little Russian place where we can rant as late as we want.”

“Sounds perfect.”

THIRSTY FOR….

Nico. Coffee. Not wolf. Maki paced. She’d led Nico to Hanayo and Rin, watched an ecstatic Rin jump and drool all over a friendly Nico, heard Hanayo stumble over the ownership question again, recovered her clothes, had a huge fight with Rin over Rin NOT visiting the coffee shop and stormed off to the music building, hoping to find an unused piano. She did run into one of her teachers, who let her use the upright in her office. Which calmed Maki down. But now the nerves and the tension was back. Maki fidgeted with Nico’s scarf, wrapped tightly around her wrist since that night, usually hidden under the cuff of her sweater.

Maki was outside, on the steps of the Crown Center, debating crossing the street into downtown Evanston. Cup o’ was about a quarter mile away so even in human form, Maki could smell and hear Nico when the door opened. The moon was waxing, not bright enough to be completely compelling, but its tug still a seductive crack in the facade of reason Maki liked to wrap around her impulses. Maki rolled her shoulders, sniffing the air, so many draws, so much information to pull in. She visualized the cold air and the clear moonlight as a corridor, buzzing with potential and vitality, ruby eyes and dark hair swirling in a silver cloud of sparks, reactions to the things Maki could not yet know. Eyes half green, quickened by the randomness she was about to trigger, she raised her head to howl, then ran down the stairs, aiming for Nico and whatever came next.

Nico looked up when the chime nearly bounced off the wall. Maki, serious sweater, coffee black, glorious eyes. Nico added loud entrances to the mental list and smiled to reassure the very shy engineering student, Irish breakfast tea, hot, honey shoved into one of the two booths that everything was all right. The Comp Lit TA at the counter, always flirty, espresso or Turkish coffee, little sugar, depends on the night, spent what Nico registered as too much time checking out Maki so Nico glared and slammed a metal pot into the sink and he jumped, nearly falling back off his stool. Nico raised her eyebrows at him and he put up a hand in surrender. Maki stared at them during the exchange, not understanding.

“Hey, serious sweater, glad you decided to come in and have Nico teach you about the arts.” Nico announced as Maki approached the counter, “But does Nico have to teach you how to wear a coat? It’s 12 degrees outside.”

Maki grinned, fangs prominent, amused by another temperature update from Nico. And when Nico frowned in his direction, Mr. CompLit suddenly got reinterested in his book of poetry.

“Ignore him.” Nico ordered. “He’s translating Neruda. It makes him thirsty.”

Maki shrugged, sitting on the other side of the counter, wondering if Nico was going to get him something else to drink. Nico watched the redhead for a minute, saw nothing register, knocked on the counter next to Mr. Comp Lit and when he looked up, she pointed in Maki’s direction and they both shrugged.

“Under her skin the moon is alive.” he intoned, his spare smile wry.

“Don’t I know it.” Nico dug out the copper pot used for Turkish coffee. She might drink a few cups herself tonight.

“Hello? Customer here.” Maki was genuinely puzzled at the interaction, but then Nico winked and Maki felt herself blushing, so she grabbed a menu, which Nico took out of her hands immediately.

“You are getting a coffee,” Nico peered closely into Maki’s eyes for the ten seconds before Maki looked away, “Probably decaf. Have you been running?”

“Walking fast.” Maki hesitated, wondering why Nico was scrutinizing her. “It’s how I stay warm.”

“Right.” Nico poured Maki a mug of whatever was on tap tonight, it had fewer caramel undertones than the last one and more tobacco. Maki sneered. Nico took the cup away.

“Hey.” Maki grumbled.

“You didn’t like it. I’m making Turkish coffee, with only a little sugar in it. You’ll enjoy that more, if you can wait.” Nico kept most of her attention on the pot she was heating, but smiled at Maki.

Maki nodded and watched as Nico started to stir.

Mr. Comp Lit, translating Neruda, Turkish coffee tonight had left. Maki was sitting at the counter, pushing her demitasse cup around with her left hand, not making eye contact with Nico. Nico was used to people who returned to the shop and became regulars to talk to her, sometimes even flirt, but Maki was just sitting there, staring out the front window, seemingly caught by the sight of the waxing moon lighting the sky. She pushed up her sleeve, restless. Nico wondered if she was getting overheated.

Then Nico noticed the fabric wrapped around Maki’s right wrist, familiar, the pink silk scarf Kotori had given Nico, with scattered petals that matched her eyes.

“Are you Princess’s owner?” Nico blurted.

Maki jumped, knocking over her cup, “w..what?”

“Princess, big red and cream wolf looking dog. She was wearing that scarf, “ Nico fingered the fabric, Maki’s wrist in her grasp “a day ago. Are you her owner? What’s her actual name?”

“N…no, I found it…” Maki stuttered, pulling her hand back, not convincing Nico at all.

“What is with all of you? Do you know how irresponsible it is to let that dog wander loose? Are you hiding her in a dorm or something?” Nico threw up her hands in frustration.

“N…no….” Maki felt trapped. She wondered what would happen if she just bolted.

“Did you get that from Rin or Hanayo? Or Princess?” Nico leaned into the counter, confronting Maki, much like the first night they met. “Are you the mystery owner?” Nico was sounding and smelling angry and Maki felt nervous. Would nervous trigger a change? That would be so bad right now.

“She’s not exactly mine.” Maki decided that was a safe statement, one that she hoped would calm Nico down. The hairs on Maki’s neck were starting to thrum with kinetic energy, adrenaline surging, Nico’s anger overwhelming all of Maki’s senses. Maki opened her mouth in a panic and stupid ran out, “Maybe she’s yours.”

Nico stepped back, just staring at Maki, eyes unamused, voice dangerously controlled. “That makes as much sense as anything any of you say.” Nico moved Maki’s cup to the sink and started to clean up the spill, “Maybe if I whistle, she’ll come and we can ask her.” Nico started to purse her lips and Maki watched her own fingers reach out to interrupt the process, brushing across Nico’s lips.

“Don’t.” Maki nearly cried. What the hell was she doing. Why was Nico so…

“What is going on?” Nico asked, grabbing Maki’s fingers tightly in her own. Nico wondered if everyone was playing a joke on her or if something had happened to Princess. And why had the touch of Maki’s fingers tingled like green Thai curry?

Maki ripped the scarf off her wrist. She knew wearing it had been a bad idea. Her eyes were so open, so vulnerable, Nico wasn’t surprised to see tears gathering. “I’m sorry, Nico. Please don’t worry. I have to go.” Maki ran, only just remembering to open the door first.

Nico stared after the redhead, completely confused, still caught by the lure of pouting, pleading eyes. She raised the scarf to her nose, dog smell, mostly. No surprise there. Surprises and confusion everywhere else. For the only time ever, she almost wished she believed in Nozomi’s psychic ability and could get some answers.

A/N The Neruda poem is called Ode To A Naked Beauty. I ran across it fairly randomly and the line I lifted seemed to suit the werewolf concept I have in my head. Neruda is one of my favorite poets.I needed a Dracula and I wanted to make it a girl and I remembered Kashima from Monthly Girl’s Nozaki-kun. I don’t think you need to be familiar with Nozaki-kun to enjoy Nico and Maki’s interactions with Kashima, but that’s where she’s crossed over from.Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the return of Princess. 

[placetobenation]

The Coronavirus has us in her mighty grip and besides claiming over 3,000 lives now, she has managed to kill the opening of the 25th James Bond film.

No Time To Die, supposedly Daniel Craig’s last turn as the British super spy was all set to debut April 10. MGM has now pushed that back for safety reasons and in doing so will automatically take a hit of 30 – 50 million dollars.  All this from a marketing campaign that didn’t even hit full stride yet. With 4 weeks to go, the publicity was just about to ramp up, before MGM put the brakes on it. So this massive sum of money was really only the preliminary round of a major marketing campaign.  Now you know why movies have to make so much money to gain a profit. If 50 million dollars is not even a full publicity push, imagine what is.  This includes a single Super Bowl commercial that cost them 4.5 million alone.

Naturally this pre-emptive strike was the lesser of two evils. They way, way lesser of two evils. With over 70,000 theaters shut down in China alone, currently, it was predicted that this James Bond film could have been cheated out of 30% of their global box office take. Meaning roughly 300 million, as it was expected to do somewhere near 1 billion globally. So, really, 30 million ain’t so bad. Maybe they could shoot for next year’s Super Bowl commercial and just rerun the ad to save money.

Pixar’s Onward is on track to have one of the lowest Pixar box office openings in history.  Now I know what you’re thinking – Pixar? Really? The Toy Story people? Yup. I mean it’s two blue trolls on a journey with a pair of pants. Really? The only other Pixar movie I had a bad taste about before this was The Good Dinosaur, and that was a very bad taste. Like Broccoli bad taste. You do have to give them credit though, because when they miss, they miss huge. I am talking epic fail. A pair of pants? Really? So it’s their dad, but that is meaningless because it’s just his pants! So it could be Uncle Jerry for all we care. Plus using the voices and personalities of the Marvel Universe such as Tom Holland and Chris Pratt is just bad. Those two are already over saturated, and this just makes it worse. Chris is in all the MCU movies, plus Jurassic Park franchise, so we’ve had enough of him, and Holland is in all the MCU movies plus Spiderman so we’ve had enough of him. I know for a fact there are thousands of waiters just dying for a movie role, no need to use the same two people for everything. Just another dumb move by the uninspired studio heads who are probably younger then me by now. 

Let me follow up with recommending some great entertainment after covering some crap entertainment.  James McAvoy is making waves again and in a very good way. The British actor who impressed us all in the movie Split by M Night Shyamalan, has done it again proving that his greatness was no fluke. 

James McAvoy teamed up with director Jamie Lloyd for a stage production of one of my favorites, Cyrano de Bergerac. It has been playing in London’s West End to absolutely marvelous reviews. It scored 5 Olivier Award nominations, including best actor and best director and the great news is it’s coming to Brooklyn. 

Cyrano will play at Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Harvey Theater, (BAM Theater) from May 8 – May 31 of this year and I truly suggest to go get some tickets. This play will most likely be better then any play that bloated Broadway has to offer any day of the week. Congrats to McAvoy and Lloyd. 

Speaking of bloated Broadway, and to address the other side of the artistic spectrum, a Britney Spears musical is coming to the Great White Way. God help us all. 

[marketrendy]

The Future Of Sales: What If The Best Salesperson Is A Robot?

In an ongoing scene of Last Week Tonight, have John Oliver handled developing feelings of trepidation encompassing occupation uprooting because of robotization. "What would you like to do when you grow up?" he solicited a gathering from delightful 4-

what's more, 5-year-olds who provided the regular answers: pilot, legal advisor, specialist — and obviously, mermaid specialist.

Pouring water on these little children's fantasies — and those of grown-ups alike, Oliver refered to a disturbing University of Oxford ponder foreseeing up to 50 percent of human employments are in danger of being usurped by robots. (Albeit perhaps not the much-pined for mermaid specialist position.) By the sketch's end, Oliver made a forecast that different intellectuals have proposed: In the future "more secure" professions will include non-standard, particular work including imagination and enthusiastic knowledge (EQ.)

Quite a bit of what I have gained from cowriting the forthcoming book, Own the A.I. Upheaval: Unlock Your Artificial Intelligence Strategy to Disrupt Your Competition with U.N. Computer based intelligence counselor Neil Sahota has affirmed reality of Oliver's attestation. Numerous specialists have disclosed to us that advertise powers in the fourth Industrial Revolution will extend the requirement for people equipped for comprehension and reacting to others' passionate states. However, imagine a scenario where PCs could figure out how to distinguish and show sympathy superior to us.

Familiarity with this plausibility drove tech pioneer Scott Sandland to help establish Cyrano.ai, consolidating AI and EQ for business advancement. A Southern California-based business person, Sandland is an eminence subliminal specialist who sees the benefit of preparing machines to comprehend the lavishness of language, explicitly subtext, to convey feelings. "For quite a while now, PCs had not too bad voice acknowledgment equipped for understanding human discourse," says Sandland. "In any case, language is more unpredictable than the strict words we use. Which means can likewise be imparted through tone, setting, social channels, and subtext."

To outline what he implies by subtext, Sandland refers to the case of a companion welcoming you to their Super Bowl party. On the off chance that you state, "I'll attempt to be there," what you're truly saying is, "Much appreciated, yet I presumably won't come." Your wary reaction signs to your buddy the unrealisticness that you will eat jalapeno poppers on his lounge chair next Sunday. "You were being gracious in your answer," Sandland clarifies, "which any individual fit for perusing expressive gestures would get on. What we're doing now at Cyrano is instructing machines to distinguish such subtlety since it likely contains the genuine message being conveyed."

Without minds advanced to recognize the scarcest pitch change to uncover how another is feeling, Sandland and his group prepared their PCs to review printed signs for passionate states, including length of reaction, explicitness, the sort and assortment of words picked, avoidance, and the nearness or absence of duty words. As Disruptive Technology Director at Elsevier Labs Paul Groth, Ph.D., proposes, information is critical to utilitarian AI. Cyrano's A.I., in this manner, figured out how to identify phonetic hints by perusing transcripts among prospects and vehicle vendor agents. In time, their framework developed a calculation to anticipate if a prospect would purchase or not just founded on the words they utilized in an online interaction.Let's progression back for a minute and enable this plan to soak in. What Cyrano's organization does is out and out uncommon. Generally, the group has shown a PC to decide the internal passionate conditions of an individual — including their probability of purchasing from you — all dependent on as meager as the words composed to a sales bot. Presently, simply envision how much better an AI's end rate may be in the event that it had significantly more information to use.

For a look at what's conceivable, meet Cheri Tree. Tree helped to establish Codebreaker Technologies, Inc. with Esther Wildenberg, the organization's leader. As Tree depicts in her book, Why They Buy, she grew up adoring the surge of sales — even minimal ones like those she made pitching snacks to her companions at life experience school. Nonetheless, she hit a stopping point in her youngster profession as a monetary consultant by following conventional sales guidance. "Specialists will disclose to you sales is a numbers amusement," says Tree. "They state so as to get more yeses, you need to get more nos. I state that is one of the best legends at any point advised in light of the fact that the fact of the matter is to get more yeses you need to get more yeses, not more nos."

The following legitimate inquiry would be: So how could you get those yeses?

To answer this, Tree designed a logically approved appraisal procedure called B.A.N.K.; it has been included at the absolute biggest business gatherings around the globe, at Harvard University, and has been sponsored by research from San Francisco State University. "You may as of now be comfortable with Disk or MBTI," says Tree. "I basically figured out identity science and instead of structure it utilizing brain science, I assembled it utilizing BUYology, the investigation of purchasing conduct. Rather than surveying your identity, I constructed an appraisal dependent on who your client, depends on four identity types: Blueprint, Action, Nurturing and Knowledge. Our attention is on why they purchase and what triggers the yes and tripwires the no."

Drawing on a similar acknowledgment as Sandland, Tree perceived the key to sales includes correspondence authority. Shunning the common universality proposing a salesperson needs to just chip away at their introduction, Tree perceived the Dale Carnegie-esque truth that Sandland's sympathy driven bots flourish with: sales happen most every now and again when the qualities between a purchaser and dealer are adjusted. She often refers to an examination done by the Chally Group that just 18 percent of purchasers will purchase from a salesperson who doesn't coordinate the purchaser's identity type versus a 82 percent achievement rate when identity types are adjusted. Coming up short on the empathic authority shown by Cyrano's A.I. bots, many failing to meet expectations salespeople, in this way, end up rehashing a similar message, trusting the sheer number of endeavors will yield constructive outcomes and exposing themselves to the notorious numbers diversion.

As any veteran cold-guest will bear witness to, following a numbers approach can be productive — yet in addition tedious and crippling. Why trouble, asks Tree when you can alternate route the procedure and increase better outcomes (as much as 300% or higher) by realizing your prospect better. "The B.A.N.K. framework depends on an esteem framework," says Tree. "You can't simply consequently realize what somebody esteems. You can positively make suppositions, yet why B.A.N.K. has been so ground-breaking for sales is that it uncovers the needs of its prospects."

As of not long ago, Tree and her numerous followers have had the capacity to decide the purchasing propensities for their prospects inside 90 seconds by utilizing a card framework. In the case of gathering eye to eye or taking a snappy online appraisal, prospects are allowed the chance to choose which of the four identity types best speak to them arranged by significance. They can choose in the event that they see themselves as somebody who organizes steadiness and structure (Blueprint), a full-speed-ahead mover/shaker daring person, (Action), a warm and amicable relationship-driven sort (Nurturing), or an explanatory, legitimate mastermind (Knowledge).

"We found each client isn't only one of these four, they're really a mix of every one of the four," says Tree. "Along these lines, every individual has their very own B.A.N.K. code. Think about a B.A.N.K. code like a PIN code to your charge card. Each human has a four-digit B.A.N.K. code. Eventually, there are 24 mixes, which implies the normal salesperson has about a 4 percent shot of addressing their client in their careful code — which isn't exceptionally high."

B.A.N.K. Code tries to significantly expand sales adequacy from a troubling 4 percent to something a lot higher, which is the place Cyrano comes in. Inside the previous year, Sandland and Tree have joined to make DAVINCI. Fueled by Cyrano and educated by Tree's identity technique, it will be the world's first advanced specialist fit for unraveling a prospect's code. Utilizing an exclusive calculation, it can foresee an individual's purchasing conduct in nanoseconds.

"Here's a case of how this functions," says Sandland. "Envision you have been seeking a prospect for quite a while. DAVINCI can take a bunch of messages this individual has thought of you and with a push of a catch decide this present individual's code. In any case, that is not all. It can even prescribe how to tailor your composed reactions in order to best line up with your prospect's qualities. For instance, after I've composed my answer email, the framework can let me know whether I'm talking my client's language. In case I'm not, it will consequently disclose to me how to modify the email like the way A.I. autocompletes sentences."

This sort of A.I.- helped sales direction just indicates the future of DAVINCI's offerings. At this moment, it's being taken off to examine content, yet it will likewise work with voice information and video. In time, its advanced examination will include handfuls more measurements, estimating numerous parts of identity to best figure out what will at last lead to a yes. In light of these capacities, both Sandland and Tree concur PCs will before long beat the best salespeople. Past the straightforward actuality, AI is unequipped for having a self image or becoming exhausted of an extensive sales experience, it is enriched with a tremendous database of inquiries, answers, and reactions it has collected after some time. Accordingly, it can attract on memorable examples to decide the best game-plan. Or then again to utilize another abbreviation — A.B.C. — the one Alec Baldwin's character utilizes in the motion picture, Glengarry Glen Ross, AIs can truly "Dependably Be Closing."

Coming back to the subject of computerization raised toward the start of this article, does the rise of DAVINCI port