#Frankly I would applaud this character flaw

[ficks-of-fancy2]

MHA is a nightmare and my personal punching bag

A lot of people like to say that MHA is bad. But a large sum of the fandom has largely ignored the actually problems with the story and characters as a whole. The problems that have been applauded despite the gaping flaws. So let's discus.

Where do I start? My Hero Academia is the single most horrible show I have watched for some time. It's good points are far and few between the shit show of it's story and characters. So it's small problems first. It's over sexualizaton of it the teens in it's cast is just abhorrent and I hold similar sentiments for the fandom in some cases. The villains frankly get too much attention, with one crazy man's ideology pulling all the weight of their missguided motive. Or everything being a direct result of one delusional man's puppeteering. Not to mention the overall demonization of mental illness and inherently flawed take of forgiving your abusers.

Midoriya and All Might is a toxic relationship. Sorry about the whiplash, allow me to explain. From the start we get to see Midoriya as a victim of Bakugo's almost constant abuse, but also his love of All Might. The idyllic and 'perfect' hero he aspires to be and is convenient to. Izuku Midoriya is All Might's convenient child because Midoriya is too blinded by his idol worship to see that All Might is using him to continue his battles, slowly grooming Midoriya into the next him. All Might is the last oasis in the desert of his life and Midoriya has none of the tools necessary to leave, All Might wont let him leave. And he goes unchallenged by the story for lifting up Midoriya's suicidal tendencies by preying on his need for validation through action. All Might is using Midoriya to desperately cling to his golden years and that is actively detrimental to Midoriya's growth as a character.

If I may compare Izuku to another similar character, and I shall. Mahiru Shirota is one of the protagonists of Servamp, a character driven manga about servant vampires or Servamps and their masters or Eves. Mahiru is the eve of sloth, his Servamp, Kuro or Sleepy Ash. Mahiru at the start of the story is almost identical to Midoriya through out mha, Mahiru is a convenient child for everyone in the story. He doesn't voice his objection or opinions beyond what you would expect from a kid like him. He aims to please and is almost suicidal in his pursuit of validation. But were Midoriya stagnates, Mahiru blooms, he grows to be more selfish and loving thanks to the logical end point of that stagnant arc, Kuro. Kuro was killed by sloth, his willingness to take the blame for a crime he didn't commit for the sake of his village. His selflessness and the inherent selfish need of external validation was no different than suicide. But were Kuro and Mahiru grow, Midoriya just doesn't, he rots on the vine and fails to become anything. His lack of growth makes him come off as winey and pathetic or just boring because he doesn't change for the better. His stint of vigilantism is just every adult in his life telling him that sacrificing himself is how he will atone for his inherited burden. For the sin of All Might's sloth for what Yagi and the other holders allowed to fester in the dark.

Bakugo Katsuki is... a good premise with bad execution. Bakugo's entire arc is learning to not be a fucking asshole, simple in premise and absolute horse shit in execution. From the word go, Bakugo is shown to be an abuser. Midoriya's abuser to be precise. Going so far as to actively tell Midoriya to kill himself. Now, Bakugo's abuse is born from a place of projection, Bakugo is a narcissist, not in the traditional sense, but more in a way that makes him unable to empathize with positive emotion in relation to himself and others. He is the center of the world, but at the same time he thinks of himself as worthless without his strength, unable to exist with the knowledge that he isn't the best of the best. Bakugo's arc ends far too late. Bakugo's arc should had started after the sports festival at his interaction with Best Jeanist leading to an apology tour and ended during the culture festival, his payoff during the fight against AFO Shigaraki and the vigilante Deku arc. Bonus points if Midoriya doesn't forgive him at first, leading to Bakugo working to regain that trust in more tangible ways. Have Bakugo seek towards empathy.

Ochako Uraraka isn't a character, not a well made one at least. To be fair this is something most of the cast suffers from. If it isn't the main protagonists or antagonists, the writer doesn't care. Uraraka is just the love interest without any depth of character beyond that. People like to pretend there is more going on, but I just don't see it. All of her 'growth' is motivated by her obsessive and honestly one sided love for Midoriya, a love that is only returned when Midoriya and she are looking for something to fill the void. It's toxic and terribly familiar to his and All Might's relationship. Midoriya is constantly put into the role of savior to all of these characters that don't in turn assist in his growth.

Speaking of Midoriya's role of savior, we have finally arrived at the L.O.V. The League of Villains is a good premise for an exploration of the inner politics of a world where 20% of the world lacks a unique superpower (that's still a lot BTW). Or to dive into the segregation of those with detrimental, uncontrollable, or 'villainous' quirks. The bigotry towards mutagenic quirks. Or an actual exploration of the inherent flaws of a society that has put a price tag on altruism, something more than senseless slaughter spearheaded by manchilds and mass murderers. The L.O.V deserved to be something more than the flawed argument of some fanatical lack of worthiness and some vague notion that rebellion against a already broken system is a problem. It's stupid, The League of Villains had potential to be actually interesting, but it was made into anarchy for the sake of it never even attempting to offer a solution to a system broken for those already in power.

Yet somehow we have missed the biggest point of what a hero is. A hero is a person who does what they can to save people who are hurt, broken, or lost. Even when they are the 'villains' or more plainly the mentally ill and those rejected by society. Somehow we have forgotten or ignored all of the Wake the Deads, the For the Man Who Has Everythings, the Flash And Substances, and the Epilogues. All the stories that told us that sometimes the best thing to do is be there for people. Being a hero isn't about fighting. It's just about being there. For the people, all of the people. But also understanding that some people can't be helped. People like Baby Doll and Shigaraki, Dabi and All For One, people too far gone or too hurt to help. Toga and Twice just needed help they weren't given. It is what was born of the legacy of All Might, peace and complacency, a smile hiding everyone else's tears. Every single crime committed by Shigaraki and the L.O.V is the direct fault of All Might. Because he refused to see the people he was fighting as what they were. Evil is often relative because to an ant a boot is evil. Rarely in the world does true evil exist and often it is taught or held in those who believe themselves without betters or equals.

[ineffablecabbage]

ER was a fabulously complex show that committed a lot of good storytelling and some truly wild storytelling sins (THE FUCKING SWORD FIGHT). But one thing I will always be grateful for it is its ability to give us the character of Kerry Weaver. In Kerry (and her queer lady supporting casts), we got something that was truly rare in the late 90s/early 00s for primetime network TV. We had a truly well-rounded, flawed, realistic portrayal of a lesbian character.

Kerry went through it on this show. She lost her temper, she was wrong, she was right, she was petty, she was kind, she saved lives, she saved careers, she became a mom. (For those of you of a certain age, she was THE Meredith Brooks song.) She was allowed to be as screwed up as everyone else on this show, and everyone on this show was very much a mess. But there was no doubt that she was a competent doctor, a good mom, and a devoted partner.

She also dealt with comphet better than any modern show has ever dreamed of handling it, IMO. She worked through it and came out proud of her sexuality.

She was also disabled, and frankly, dealt with some pretty bullshit garbage from certain coworkers about it. She outranked, outsurvived, and outsucceeded everyone of those bastards.

And - and this is so fucking important - in the era in which AIDS was a death sentence, it was Kerry who stood by Jeanie. Jeanie wasn't gay and she didn't HIV because of anything related to being queer, but those of us alive in the 90s knew that this disease almost succeeded in killing off a generation of queer people, especially gay men. The worst detractor/villain in Jeanie's corner was Mark Greene, the show's "saintly" white straight dude. The biggest defender and friend was Kerry, who would later go on to become an out lesbiant. And that's fucking important.

And unlike other shows, Kerry's queer lady supporting cast was never cookie cutter or caricatures. They were 100% what you would find in the average lesbian group. The good, the bad, and the people you wished your ex would not fucking invite goddamn.

And yeah, their incircle was fucking messy. Because ... that's how it often is. Please see this reel so Jenny Hagel can explain that to you.

Kerry is a great fucking character. In an era in which Ross' ex-wife on that fucking sitcom was a punchline and Willow and Tara could barely be shown kissing, Kerry was everything to some of us. Even those of us who didn't know yet how much we need it.

When we discuss positive queer history on television, ER is absolutely up there in the top 5 of importance. Kerry Weaver as a character knocked down walls in a way that Kerry Weaver THE character would have applauded.

Fucking A+ of a character.

kerry weaver + season six appreciation

[breadedsinner]

I know I shouldn’t bring up the all-but-forced love triangle/ninja-mance from the first game, it’s really not fair to anyone. BUT...

It’s hard for my cynical ass not to assume people see the worst of Ashley come out in this scene. Like she’s supposed to be the jealous bitch and you’re SUPPOSED to pick sweet Liara. Which makes me spiteful and pick Ash anyway.

But she is pretty hostile. This shows an ugly side of her, no getting around it.

“Jealous?? Of you? You’re not even our species?” That IS pretty harsh but I think it’s more an apples and oranges kinda thing.

Of course, when Ashley points out Shepard is spending a lot of time with Liara there’s something about “bug-eyed monsters” which I don’t think means just asari. This feels very Space Marine Movie, where it’s humans and everyone else. And that’s the whole thing, she KNOWS everyone has an us-verses-them approach, so she does it too. Why shouldn’t she?

Again I think she deserves a little credit because Liara is Benezia’s daughter, really wants to get in Shepard’s mind, and the narrative just has you trusting her regardless. So I get it.

I will say the one good thing, Ashley *regards* Liara in the argument. It may be hostile, but she turns and speaks directly to HER. Ashley talks like this is a conversation between 3 people.

Liara, I feel, really only cares about Shepard. She may be “nicer” about it, but she only apologies to Shepard about the awkwardness.

“I understand the concept of jealousy,”, “I am a rival unlike any you have faced,” I am sorry but that is just SO condescending I frankly do not blame Ashley’s reaction at all.

[kidnappedbycartoons]

Thoughts on Hope

After I did Noah, you should’ve known I was doing Hope next. Frankly, she is my second favorite girl from that season (After Chelsea). I know a lot of people don’t like her, but let me give my thoughts about her.

At First:

It was obvious she was playing the game at first. She went straight for Noah without asking anyone to step forward, slept with him after Priya came in so that she couldn’t turn his head, inserted herself as the leader of the girls, and was lowkey performing with Noah in the first week. Remember how defensive she got during the Mean Tweets challenge even though Priya/MC gets the majority of votes for who is playing the game? But I always wondered why she was playing the game at first. Like, what could her reason be? Then I remembered a conversation she had with MC.

On Day 10, when MC goes to talk to Hope, she reveals that growing up her family didn’t have a lot of money and so she’s proud of her accomplishments because of that. That would also explain why she focused so much on Lucas’s money and why that comment about her having more money than Noah came out. Would it be right to say that she is financially insecure, I don’t know? But money might mean a lot to her because it gives her a form of security, not physically, but emotionally. It makes her feel important, accomplished, and confident. But she isn’t someone who will beg for money, no, she is someone who will get it on her own.

I also remember on one of the later days, she says that she wants to become the CEO of her own toy company and it costs a lot of money to start your own business. That could be part of the reason why she was playing the game. She splits the money when she and Noah wins and that’s for a multitude of reasons. Number one, that would be a heartless and selfish thing to do and she’s not that kind of person. Number two, she actually does have feelings for Noah and wasn’t going to hurt him like that. Number three, the public would dislike her if she did, which could cause problems for future endeavors.

Actually, I want to talk about the first reason, because I’ve noticed some people acting like Hope is some big, bad villain and I need to defend her.

Her Personality:

Hope is someone who naturally takes the lead. I don’t think she has a problem with control like Lottie does, but if no one else speaks up she’ll do so. I don’t know if I’m remembering wrong, but when MC takes over, she doesn’t interrupt her or downplay it. In fact, she agrees with MC and kind of stands by her. Yes, she does overdo it a bit in the beginning, but she loosens up a bit by the end.

Also, she’s not someone that likes drama. We see her try to calm things down on Day Five and on that stupid Girl’s Day Trip. Even when Operation Nope happens, she doesn’t drag it out like Lottie did with Marisol and Rocco. She even tries to act like nothing’s wrong in the few days following until something comes up, like finding out Noah had an ex named Priya. However, sometimes she does act a bit irrational.

The first instance that comes to mind is Day Ten. When she feels herself getting closer to Noah, the two end up arguing. Hope is upset because of the money comment and when MC calls her out on it sounding stupid, only then does she relax. This isn’t the first time either. The next day when she is in the lounge when MC gives her the hot chocolate, she says that Noah said she was upset with Priya because of her pride and it clearly affects her. And during Casa Amor, after the girls see the video, she starts stressing about Noah again, and only when MC gives her a reality check (If she didn’t participate in Operation Nope) does she come to her senses a bit. Hope gets in her head a lot and she needs someone who can call her out on it (Like Lucas), and that’s one of the reasons why she and Noah could never work. When she gets in her head, that’s when she gets a bit annoying to be around, but what she needs is a reality check.

Now. I have to talk about them. I’m going to focus on Hope and how people keep making her the villain though.

Nope:

They were never a good couple. Besides the fact that Hope was playing the game, they just didn’t mesh well. A lot of people say that Hope was keeping Noah on a leash and I do agree, to an extent. In the beginning, before Casa Amor, she definitely was. For example, she locked Noah in quickly when Priya came in but also didn’t bother to hide her excitement when Lucas came in. Remember when she was talking about them on Day Six and then MC says something about Noah being available and she gets upset? Or better yet, on Day Seven after Mr. Love Island. The girls are talking about the guys in the dressing room and when all the girls say that Noah saying that Hope is the only one he wants to date, she tells them to “Look, but don’t touch”. Or if MC takes Noah on a date on Day Nine, Hope feels the need to talk about how it doesn’t bother her. We all have to remember that is only the first week and that everyone is still getting to know each other, but she stops Noah from getting to know the girls while simultaneously letting herself interact with Lucas and Jakub.

Before the update, during the shower argument in Operation Nope, Hope had shamed Noah for not fighting for their relationship. They’ve changed it now to have her say “If you’re going to pie me off, I’d rather know about it before the entire villa” (Along those lines). But prior to that, that really shows her keeping him on a leash. She practically guilts him for not fighting for their relationship, only to then dump him the next day when Jakub picks her. I think it’s a mixture of two things. One, her playing the game and wanting to win and getting nervous when she sees how big of a risk MC/Priya is. Two, her actually developing feelings for Noah and not wanting to let him go. And remember that she gets in her head a lot and starts acting irrationally. All of this combined, caused her to say those words (Not justifying it, just explaining it).

But we also have to remember that Noah isn’t a saint either. After Operation Nope (If MC doesn’t participate), when he says that Hope was more upset at Priya because of her pride when Priya literally tried to kiss him earlier that day? She was actively trying to steal him away from Hope after going on about how cute of a couple they were just a few days ago, in front of Hope at that. And then not taking the blame for his part when he could’ve shut it down. If he had made it clear that he wanted to be with Hope to both of them, then Priya would’ve probably backed off. If he had said that he wanted to try things on with Priya to both of them, Hope would’ve been upset but she would’ve let him be. And if MC did participate in Operation Nope, then it’s just worse, but I already spoke about this on his post.

After Casa Amor, and I’m going to use it if MC didn’t participate in ON, she and Noah are kind of on a weird page. The two of them are saved by Lottie and Bobby, solely so they could get back together. I think both of them felt pressured to get back together after that since it seemed like everyone else was rooting for them to get back together. Once they do, we see that Hope is worried because she doesn’t want kids but Noah does. What I find interesting is that on Day Twenty-Six, Hope reveals that Noah would always talk about how he wanted a big family and it seemed he just assumed Hope did as well because he had these kinds of expectations about her. Like her being too much of a lady to get drunk at a waterpark. And during the Baby Boom episode, she starts getting in her head when she sees how much fun Noah is having with the doll baby and Noah gives in to calm her down and make her comfortable. It’s like, they both have feelings for each other, but they’re slowly realizing that they’re not a compatible couple, but they’re staying together because of the pressure of the show.

Her And The Girls:

I already know that she and Lottie don’t talk after the show. But I need to talk about her and Priya because I feel like Hope considered Priya a friend while Priya didn’t. She even tells Priya on Day Twelve that she was ready to be friends again if she backed off. But there are moments prior to that. I noticed that Hope and Priya hung around each other a lot. Like on Day Four, Hope went to check on Priya. On Day Six, the two were talking about Rocco and Marisol in the dressing room. On Day Seven, they were hanging around each other before Rocco showed up. Which makes ON worse for Hope because someone she considered a friend betrayed her.

As for her and Marisol, I never noticed the little moments between them until I had her hate my MC. On Day Eleven, Marisol talks with Hope if MC doesn’t give her the hot chocolate. During Casa Amor, it hints that she and Marisol have spoken to each other about something. Even in the first week, there were moments where Hope was doing Marisol’s hair and I don’t think I saw the other girls doing that. I think the reason why they meshed was probably that Hope tends to get in her head a lot and Marisol, with her psychoanalyzing skills, puts a bit of ease to Hope’s mind. Not to mention that Marisol doesn’t have much tact and would probably call her out when she starts acting that way.

Now, she and MC. No matter what I do, they always end up being close. The only time where they weren’t was during my second playthrough of Operation Nope. I’ve said before that she appreciates when MC calls her out on being irrational and is honest. She also applauds MC when she helps keep the peace in the group. Even during Operation Nope, as long as you stay loyal to Noah and are honest with your feelings, she won’t be that upset with you. I think she had a lot of respect for MC and her opinions on things. 

Final Thoughts:

Hope is a flawed character, but she’s not a villain like some people have painted her out to be. Her and Noah weren’t a good couple at all and because of the pressure of the show and her wanting to win, it got worse the longer they stayed together. After this, I’m debating about doing one of the guys. But it might not be who you expect.

[lgchunji]

   MERRY CHRISTMAS, LGC MEMBERS!

     merry christmas, lgc members! oops! this time you didn’t just send something to they mods, they also wanted to send something to YOU!! every single mod, below the cut, has something wonderful for you all to hear! (no, this is not the christmas present side event lol)      our mods deserve all the love in the world, but the members all deserve a little extra love too!      happy holidays and everyone have a good new years!

     admin l, writer of @lgcxjun, @lgcmiso, and @lgcnami says:      1) what is your favorite part about being a mod?      making the members happy. when we put out a new event or implement something new in the rp and members are super excited about it, that's what i like the most.      2) what is the most memorable moment from being a mod in lgc thus far?      hmm.. i think it's when we officially opened the rp for reservations and they came flooding. we weren't expecting this. we thought it would take weeks before we get enough reservations to open and were pleasantly surprised when in 48h we had the 10 minimum. we never expected to have over 50 members, either. so this whole experience has been amazing for us      3) what is the best part about lgc members/writers (characters or muns!)      seeing the characters grow right before our eyes, that's the part i love the most. seeing the progression of each and everyone of you all always make us happy. the admods are your biggest supports, i swear to god. i also love how our members aren't scared of giving ideas and participate in the growth and events of the rp! we always love incorporating our mun's ideas      4) anything else you would like to mention?      thank you for being here with us <3

     admin *, writer of @lgcdanbi​, @lgcnathan​, and @lgctaesung​ says:      1) what is your favorite part about being a mod?      oh gosh… i can’t pick just one! honestly, it’s just being able to plan and create stuff for our members with such a fun and dedicated team like the one we have here! we have so much in store for everyone, and we just hope y’all are as excited as we are for the big things to come!      2) what is the most memorable moment from being a mod in lgc thus far?: for me specifically, it had to be my *first* trimester change as the head of graphics. i literally SLAVED lmfao over our Q4 2020 graphics, and it was so nice to see how much everyone enjoyed the roleplay’s makeover. plus, now that we’re getting closer and closer to Q1 2021, i’m both excited yet SUPER nervous about the aesthetics i want to put out for lgc in the new year!      3) what is the best part about lgc members/writers (characters or muns!): character-wise, i can tell everyone is genuinely invested in their muses’ development and careers here. even though idol krps aren’t anything new, it’s such a breath of fresh air to be a part of a group where people want to see success with their muses from the very start to finish. mun-wise, it’s gotta be activity check sunday’s! seeing people’s live reactions to the queue is DEFINITELY the highlight of my week.      4) anything else you would like to mention?: we’re a small team here (but i swear it feels so much bigger!), and we dedicate a lot of our time in running lgc behind the scenes than in writing for our own characters. it can be a bit of a bummer and can definitely take a lot of muse and motivation out of you, but we’re always so appreciative of how considerate and thoughtful our members are of us. we’re not perfect—no one is!—but despite our flaws, it’s so inspiring to see a place (a home?) like lgc last for over a year and still be going on strong. and we can only thank you guys for all of that! so! thank you!

     admin g, writer of @lgchanbyul, @lgcjaesun, and @lgcyumi says:      1) what is your favorite part about being a mod?      i have a strange love for lists and stats, and so i actually really enjoy the administration part of being an admin. honestly, i would be the type of person to start a roleplay just to do the logistics lol. i enjoy helping to keep things neat and orderly, though admin a. has been doing a really great job of making my processes even better. my strong suits are not events or graphics, so i leave those tasks to the rest of the team. i think because of that, we make a really great team, and i just enjoy getting to see the fruits of our labor week after week and seeing people excited over them as well!      2) what is the most memorable moment from being a mod in lgc thus far?      there are many memorable moments, of course, and this might sound silly … but probably when we received our first application that was not from one of our og staff members. frankly, when we started this group, we were fairly certain no one would want to join, especially with so many other great roleplays around, so to have watched it grow over these last 16 months has been pretty incredible!      3) what is the best part about lgc members/writers (characters or muns!)      i wish i could give a special shoutout to each person, but that will quite literally take me a year so i apologize that i’m taking the easy road out. i think the best part about our members is just their willingness to help, whether it be helping others understand the points process, what is needed for an event, or just any of the other logistics that might lead to confusion. it puts a smile on my face to see that teamwork and selflessness exhibited by so many of you. when we mention that we’re stressed, there is never a shortage of eager hands being raised to offer help, and we always appreciate that. i think it’s not easy being a big group, and it can be easy to feel left out, so i just continue to applaud those who really help to make people feel at home!      4) anything else you would like to mention?      2020 has certainly been a wild roller coaster ride, but it’s certainly been made better by getting to write and interact with all of our members. i hope that those i haven’t had a chance to write with yet that i will get to do so soon! thank you all for your continued support and i hope everyone has a happy holidays and a happy new year! may 2021 be a better year for all of us!      thank you also to leaf for organizing this! you’re truly a trooper for putting together this special treat for our members ( and months ago for doing it for the admin staff as well )! always appreciate your thoughtfulness in spending the time to think of others. ❤️

     admin a, writer of @lgcaeri, @lgceunhye, and @lgcsanghyun says:      1) what is your favorite part about being a mod?      my favorite part is seeing people’s reactions to everything we do in lgc and using some of those elements to help build their character or celebrate their accomplishments. a good example of this are the events that have been revealed in the past and reading the reactions and feedbacks encourages us to think more about what kind of events we can make or improve on!      2) what is the most memorable moment from being a mod in lgc thus far?      i’ve only been here for a short period so i can’t quite name a lot, but the one that i can think of on top of my head is during the end of the trimester. it’s usually the busiest time for us for several reasons, but it feels the most rewarding to me personally because behind the scenes, we really try to make sure that everything goes smoothly. add that everyone is so patient during those times and we really appreciate it! i personally want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for all of the positive messages and support you have sent to us! it really means a lot to us! ❤️      3) what is the best part about lgc members/writers (characters or muns!)      i mentioned this previously in the one year anniversary post, but i would say it’s the community that has been created and developed over time. it’s gone through a lot and the fact that we’re still active now still shocks me sometimes! aside from that, i would also say reading through the solos and posts that we see on the dash (and yes, we see what is going on 👀). while there is so much that i don’t know about everyone’s muses, sometimes it’s nice to just sit back and see what everyone has been up to lately.

     admin c, writer of @lgcxking​ and @lgcjin​ says:      1) what is your favorite part about being a mod?      for me it’s seeing members get excited about events that we put out, and creating new canons based off them. i don’t think i would be able to keep being an admin if i didn’t feel this sense of wonder and excitement coming from everyone!      2) what is the most memorable moment from being a mod in lgc thus far?      i’ve probably mentioned it way too often by now, but when we created lgc we expected it to die off after a couple weeks/months. we never expected to last so long and it wasn’t easy in the beginning, but after a while, i’d say around october/november, we started welcoming a lot of new muns that have become such an integral part of the rp. the fact that we’d have enough members to form a lot more than one group for each gender is amazing in itself. and the 2020 family concert really had me realize just how far we’ve come! to see all of those muns and muses experiencing it for the first time even though they’ve been in the rp for so long and achieved so much.      3) what is the best part about lgc members/writers (characters or muns!)      i don’t want to name anyone in particular because i’d want to talk about everyone and that’s impossible, but like i mentioned above, it amazes me whenever i see everything that the muses have achieved in a year. i think i realize now just how many events we put out LMAO. some muses are fairly new but are already on future dreams or lgc girls japan, others have begun acting, producing, hosting, etc. i always love to see the very detailed plan everyone has for their characters and even though it might take a while to happen ic, it’s important to set goals! some that might not even happen in a near lgc future, but it gives such life to muses. i also love seeing friendships form, relationships grow, suddenly being on dash and realizing that a muse FINALLY confessed to another, or sometimes just discovering important information through someone else because we can’t possibly read every single thread on dash (i’d love to, though, trust me). there’s a ton of people i haven’t interacted with yet on my muses, and i would sooo love to do it but with the amount of work that goes behind the scenes… let’s just say though that we love every single muse and i’m probably a bigger fan of them than you are!!!!!      4) anything else you would like to mention?      small mention to you, leaf, for doing this! thank you for the love and care you put into these types of projects it’s very cute ;; we really liked getting messages from members last time too. also, to anyone reading this, just know that we’re glad you’ve decided to join us on this legacy journey!!!! why do i feel like i’m ending this too dryly but I LOVE YOU GUYS and thank you for all the support, patience, understanding and time investment <333

     admin y, writer of @lgcjaehwa says:      1) what is your favorite part about being a mod?      i'd say seeing members dropping random appreciation posts and messages would be my favorite part! there were times where i tend to overthink and become a mess. although it may just look like a simple ask, random messages like these really makes my day.      2) what is the most memorable moment from being a mod in lgc thus far?      my first 'project'! its something i planned all by myself and to receive positive feedbacks makes me feel proud of it! i'm usually pessimistic when it comes to myself so this is really a big deal for me. this project is not out yet but will definitely be revealed in the future ;)      3) what is the best part about lgc members/writers (characters or muns!)     the best part is of course the community!! i never expect myself to stick to a rp for this long. there is this saying, 'the muns keep the rp running'. without you guys, lgc will not be where we are today!      4) anything else you would like to mention?      i just want to say that although i'm not close with everyone, i do hope i can get to know more lovely people here! and i thank you guys for staying with us throughout this journey. i'm sure lgc will still continue to stand strongly for the months or even years to come <3

[thegaytwentysomething]

Smile - Katy Perry: Full Album Review

Track by Track:

1. Never Really Over - 9.5/10

2. Cry About It Later - 9/10

3. Teary Eyes - 9.5/10

4. Daisies - 8/10

5. Resilient - 7.5/10

6. Not the End of the World - 8.5/10

7. Smile - 6.5/10

8. Champagne Problems - 9/10

9. Tucked - 9.5/10

10. Harleys in Hawaii - 10/10

11. Only Love - 7/10

12. What Makes A Woman - 7/10

Katy Perry, the quintessential pop star of the 2010s, is no longer #1. After a disastrous Witness era marred by weak singles, poor promotion, and a lack of good PR, Katy’s gold star was left less shiny, very well-dented, and collecting some dust. The chapter of Katy’s career as the number one pop star in the world has closed. This is the scene for Smile: what to do once you’ve closed a chapter in your life. In a sonically mixed 12 tracks, Katy explores this topic head on, and though very much imperfect, she succeeds in embracing her flaws and creates a template for her years to come.

On the triumphant opening track “Never Really Over”, Katy starts a breathy vocal just a second after the initial synth note - a quick rebound from the past few years. Throughout the song, she bounces between airy syncopation, belted choruses, and rapid staccato over a glittery beat. Though not a career-defining track, the song never tries to be. Instead, Katy sounds beautifully vulnerable, carefree, and self-assured. We’re off to a good start.

After, Katy sinks into a cool, modern sound with “Cry About It Later”. This track is perhaps her most radio-ready in years, embracing the darker minimalist EDM of Ariana Grande and The Weeknd. With that said, it doesn’t sound like Katy is clawing for a hit. A guitar solo after the bridge breaks up an otherwise completely tailored-for-radio instrumental. Katy’s lyrical voice is clear with vivid idiosyncrasies about champagne, tattoos, devils, and angels. A team of songwriters hired to ensure a hit would have sanded off all of the character of the track. Luckily, Katy keeps her voice even under lots of filters on this radio-ready track with an ear worm chorus.

Katy then does a 180 back to 2012 with “Teary Eyes”, a gay club-ready EDM house banger. The trope of dancing through adversity and heartbreak is a gay tale as old as Judy Garland’s ruby reds, and Katy gives us the goods on this campy, melodramatic, and infectious gem. The chanting choir mimicking the chorus’s melody in a grooving “oh oh oh” is the cherry on top of a saccharine, yet satisfying tune. The song takes the infectiousness of Britney Spears’s “Till the World Ends” and euphoria of Kylie Minogue’s “Get Outta My Way” and fuses it with the anthemic drama of Perry’s “Rise”. Will it succeed on 2020 radio? Absolutely not. Is it a worthy addition to her discography? Absolutely.

The album shifts gears into adult contemporary with the slightly banal “Daisies”, which marches confidently towards mom pop empowerment in the spirit of Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger” and Pink’s “Try”. Slightly more acoustic than your typical Democratic National Convention styled anthem, “Daises” comes from a place of earnestness. While it fails as a serious smash comeback single or a real classic like “Roar”, the track does just fine on the album, and doesn’t seem to be trying to prove anything in particular. Like the comfy Volvo station wagon in which this song may be played on adult contemporary radio, the song lacks sex appeal, but gets the job done.

“Daisies” almost perfectly segues into “Resilient” which sounds exactly as you’d expect. Safe, expected, and trite. On the plus side, the song does showcase some nice belts and is reminiscent of Katy’s very early pre One of the Boys lyricism. In an album context, the song succeeds quietly in letting Katheryn Hudson just be herself without pretense. There is a charm in the simplicity, and for that I won’t write the song off completely.

In a fairly jarring transition, Katy goes back to the trap-lite sound of “Dark Horse” with the over-baked “Not the End of the World”. This song isn’t bad, and in many respects, it is actually a banger. However, between the oddly-placed “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” sample and an aggressive use of auto tune, the song never seems to neatly achieve the impact for which it aims. Perhaps it is because the instrumental lacks the punch of “Dark Horse”, or perhaps it is because the triumphant theme is slightly discordant with a darker trap-pop sound, but the song never seems to really land quite as strongly as intended. It lacks focus. With that said, Katy’s Kim Petras-esque sing-talk verses are sung with a real swagger she so often lacks, and the song is anything but a bore. This track is certain to be polarizing, and on some level I applaud its chaotic approach.

After dancing through adversity and halfway creating a sense of empowerment through the first half of the album, Katy finally reclaims her “Smile” in the titular track. I recently heard the instrumental of this funk-lite track playing in the background of a Target advertisement, and frankly that is about all you need to know about the song. While I’m thrilled Katy has found joy, I’m less thrilled to hear corny lyrics like “I got a smile like Lionel Richie” on the title track of an otherwise good album. Katy truly doesn’t seem like she gives a fuck what I think on this track though, and for that I have to give some praise. It is nice when an artist isn’t seeking the public’s approval, and sometimes embracing joy can be cheesy. Maybe on a level, I want what she’s having.

The album starts anew in the second half with the very Harry Styles sounding track “Champagne Problems”. Like “Legendary Lovers” and “Roulette” before it, this song is sure to be an instant fan favorite. Every second is sonically interesting, mature, and satisfying. Like a crisp glass of bubbly, Katy seems mature, yet flirty and fun. I’m here for it. It’s great to be at a point where all you have is champagne problems, and this song sells that idea effectively. While not her best song, it is a good song, which is sometimes all you need need. Cheers!

If “Champagne Problems” was for those who love PRISM, then “Tucked” is for those who love Teenage Dream. From the strumming pop guitar to the big singalong chorus, “Tucked” leans into Katy’s strengths and embraces flirty fun in a way that she’s been trying to run away from for years. In the scope of the album and her career, the song is a blast from the past. It is a simpler Katy, and one which many have claimed to miss. At the same time, the return to form isn’t a desperate attempt at a hit. Simple pop songs like “Birthday” and “Last Friday Night” don’t make chart toppers in 2020. In that sense, this song is actually a bold choice, and a very confident one. To me, it says “I can still do that Teenage Dream stuff you always want me to do”, and it embraces it fully as one aspect of Katy Perry. Your past is still part of you, and you can go back to fun even when you’ve grown - and this song proves that. I quite love this little pop banger, and the album is much better for it.

I’ve written much in the past about my eternal love for Katy’s best song since “Dark Horse”, but let it just be said that I adore “Harleys in Hawaii”. Every second of this song is engaging, sexy, and sonically fabulous. For those who love the unique vocal and lyrical stylings of Katy Perry, this is a real treat. For those who don’t, this is probably just another so-so song. If you know what you’re listening for though, wow, what a track. It takes you to a fantasy, and immerses you in island vibes. This gem earned its place on this track list no matter what anyone says, and Katy knows it.

Then comes “Only Love” which drags on with trite, yet cute melodies and lyrics. For those who like the back half of PRISM, this song may really resonate, but for those of us who like a more sultry Perry, this track is a chore to listen to.

Closing the album is the personal “What Makes A Woman”. While not even Perry’s best album closer, the song is a cute cut, and may have done best replacing “Smile” in the middle of the album as an acoustic break between two pop halves.

All in all, this album does a good job of getting rid of the bitter taste of Witness and showcasing a broad spectrum of Katy’s distinctive artistic identity. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. Is it worthwhile? Absolutely. That seems to be the message here, both through the lyrics and through the meta messaging of the album’s direction in the context of Katy’s career. Cliche but true: you don’t have a thing to prove to anyone - just be you. Similarly, nobody can ever take away the gold star Katy earned during the first half of the 2010s. Her legacy is secure, the tragedies are behind her, and now she (and we) can enjoy the joy of the full spectrum of life without judgement or fear of failure.

Overall Grade: B+

[namtanlovesfilm]

axelle judges non bl shows > Who Are You

/!\ SPOILERS AHEAD

shitty summary: After suffering through very intense bullying, Mind, an orphan 17 years old girl attempts to their her own life. There starts a months-long adventure to reunite her with her seperated twin sister, Meen.

where to watch: youtube

grade: 9/10

pros:

- THE. ACTING!!! everyone did an amazing job but I have to applaud my queens namtan & jan who, for namtan was just an incredibly compelling character and for jan just so good at wanting me to end her life lmao. but the whole cast did a really great job & this show has some of the best acting (if not the best) I’ve witnessed from a 2020 show.

- the story is incredibly complex, interesting & well written. I legit have nothing bad to say about the writing of the show, it delivered a very entertaining & touching story with flawed but lovely characters.

- talking about characters, they were great. mind was such an amazing main character, even when she was frustrating bc of her kindness sometimes. she really reminded me of tonmai & namtan from the series happy birthday, who are incredibly kind & touching. so I did appreciate her greatly, as well as the two other leads who were lovely as fuck, if I was attracted to them physically I would’ve been IN LOVE. so yeah, again I don’t have anything bad to say bc even the side characters (with my babes ciize & jamie) were great & actually got the development they deserved!

- this show was so fucking entertaining, oh my god. I binged it in three days & I couldn’t think about anything else during that. it will keep you on your toes for 18 episodes straight AND for once the last episodes are just as good as the others. also, don’t read the summary on mydramalist, it will spoil you the first plot twist of many!

- the trailer was so cleverly done! it made me think a completely different story would go down so I was truly surprised by each and every plot twist this show offered (which was a lot lol)

cons:

- listen, I know buddhism is all about forgiveness & letting go, but... I just did not feel like tida got what she deserved at all. I don’t know the original show so this might’ve been the same outcome in the kdrama version, but... I swear I have never wanted to kill a bitch more than when watching this show huifvhhhijcehue! like I wish meen would’ve at least slapped her a little bit... maybe hit her head against a bathroom sink, idk... frankly I would’ve been happy with tida getting murdered lmaoooooo, that’s how much I hated her. so yeah I just feel like she got off way too easy & she should’ve suffered approximately x1000 more.

- no shade bc I love my bb ssing, but I felt like his characters kinda didn’t fit in with the rest of the show? all of the other characters are friends or at least linked through the main characters, yet he wasn’t. the only “friendship” we witness with him is with lyla and it’s just not enough imo to give him a whole separate storyline. it’s not that I didn’t enjoy it though, but more like I felt like the show could’ve done just as well without it & it felt a little out of place.

would I rewatch it: maybe not for a while bc I already know all of the twists & turns, but I would absolutely rewatch it in a year or more with friends to show them how amazing this show is!!!

I legit came in with quite mediocre expectations & was blown away. It was a show that managed to combine a crazy story with lovely characters and I appreciated it so much. I would definitely recommend it to everyone!

[claudia1829things]

"CLASS OF '61" (1993) Review

"CLASS OF '61" (1993) Review Twenty-six years, ABC Television aired the pilot episode for an American war drama about the U.S. Civil War. Written by Jonas McCord, "CLASS OF '61" told the story about three West Point graduates from the class of 1861, who found themselves on opposites sides following the outbreak of war. 

I have a few corrections to make. "CLASS OF '61" told the story about one West Point graduate, an Irish immigrant named Devlin O'Neil of Baltimore, and one cadet who had dropped out of the Academy following the outbreak of war, Shelby Peyton of Virginia. And the third man turned out to be a young George Armstrong Custer, who did graduate with the Class of '61, but only served as a supporting character in this production. Actually, the third major character in "CLASS OF '61" is a young man named Lucius, who happened to be a slave owned by Shelby's father, a doctor and plantation owner. The movie followed Devlin, Shelby, Lucius and yes, even young Custer from that last day of peace before the bombardment of Fort Sumter to the waning moment of the Battle of Bull Run (or Manassas). After Shelby dropped out of West Point, following the Fort Sumter bombardment and surrender, Shelby Peyton visits Devlin O'Neil's home in Baltimore and discovers that the latter's father has withdrawn his permission for Shelby to marry Devlin's sister, Shannon, due to Shelby's decision to follow his state into the Confederacy. Shelby also discovers that Devlin and Shannon's younger brother, Terry, has joined a local street mob that happened to be pro-Confederate. After participating in the Pratt Street Riot on April 19, 1861; Terry ends up temporarily imprisoned at Fort McHenry before heading south to join the Confederate Army. Following his graduation from West Point, Devlin experiences difficulty in receiving an Army assignment, due to Terry's actions. Devlin meets a Virginia belle from nearby Alexandria named Lily Magraw at a soirée hosted by long-time Washington socialite named Rose O'Neal Greenhow. Unbeknownst to Devil, both Lily and Mrs. Greenhow are Confederate spies. Shelby's friendship with his father's slave Lucius is tested due to the latter's brief attempt to escape slavery with his pregnant wife, Lavinia. After killing one (or two) of the slave catchers who had spotted him, Lucius is forced to leave the Shelby plantation without his wife and head north via the Underground Railroad. One would immediately notice that "CLASS OF '61" has no main narrative other than a handful of major characters experiencing the first three months of the U.S. Civil War. That is because this 93-minute movie was supposed to serve as a pilot for a new series . . . which never materialized. But this loose narrative structure featuring a handful of plot lines did not deter me from enjoying the production. When I first saw "CLASS OF '61", I was in the throes of an obsession for the U.S. Civil War. An obsession that has not abated with time, I might add. There is a possibility that due to this obsession, I may have viewed "CLASS OF '61" through rose-colored glasses when I first saw it. Do not get me wrong. I still managed to enjoy it. But due to the "sands of time", I have finally noticed the flaws. "CLASS OF '61" has a great deal of virtues. Its biggest virtue seemed to be the cast. The television pilot featured many young players who would eventually become well known or major stars. Dan Futterman, an excellent character actor in his own right and a two-time Academy Award nominated screenwriter, gave a complex performance as Shelby Peyton. Clive Owen, who became a bigger star, gave an emotional performance as Devlin O'Neil, the Irish immigrant torn between his friendship with Peyton and his family's patriotism toward their new country. Andre Braugher was already somewhat known for his performance in the 1989 movie, "GLORY", when he shot this pilot. He eventually became a major television star and has received numerous nominations and won two Emmys for his work. Frankly, I thought he gave the best performance in the production as the embittered Virginia slave whose initial attempt to escape slavery would lead to him being apart from his wife and mother for several years. The television movie also featured solid performances from the like of Josh Lucas (as George C. Custer) Dana Ivey, Penny Johnson, Sue-Ann Leeds, Barry Cullison, Peter Murnik, Timothy Scott, Stephen Root, Christien Anholt and Andrew Stahl. However, I believe there were better supporting performances. One came from Sophie Ward, who gave a poignant performance as Devlin's sister Shannon. Beverly Todd was excellent as Lucius' pragmatic mother. Mark Pelligrino gave a very interesting performance as a fellow cadet from South Carolina named Skinner, especially in a scene in which the character provided off-putting instructions on how to breed healthy slaves to the discomfort of the Peytons. Robert Newman gave an intelligent performance as one of the main characters' West Point instructors who become a Union artillery officer, Captain Wykoff. Len Cariou was effective as Shelby's warm and intelligent father, Dr. Leland Peyton. Lorraine Toussaint shone brilliantly in her brief role as a slave woman named Sarah, who was accompanying her mistress on a southbound train also conveying Shelby had encountered on a southbound train from New York City. Niall O'Brien gave a very complex performance as Devlin and Shannon's emotionally patriotic father, James O'Neil. The production values for "CLASS OF '61" struck me as solid, but not particularly top-notch. Although the movie's setting stretched from West Point, New York to the Peyton plantation outside of Richmond, Virginia; it was easy for me to see that the television movie was set in South Carolina and Georgia . . . in the Deep South. I have noticed that many of these productions with an Antebellum or Civil War setting are shot in the Deep South states, even the narratives are set in the Upper South. Has the Upper South been developed too extensively to serve as locations for such movies? I found Michael T. Boyd's costumes for the women characters very attractive and nearly accurate. However, I thought the men's costumes looked as if they had came straight from a costume warehouse in Hollywood. Recently, I had come across an old review of "CLASS OF '61". The New York Times reviewer seemed to dismiss the production as a nostalgic television movie with a failed plot. He seemed unaware that the movie was basically a pilot for a potential television series. When I first saw the movie, I knew that this was basically a pilot. Which is why I was not that surprised that it ended with the Battle of Bull Run without any of the plot lines being resolved. As for "CLASS OF '61" being nostalgic . . . I am not sure about that criticism. Jonas McCord's narrative seemed to be a mixture of a straight forward look at how Americans behaved and spoke during this tumultuous period in 19th century American history and a slightly critical look at their society. And I found its portrayal of the Bull Run battle rather interesting and detailed. However, the television movie featured a good deal more criticism of Northern racism and the Abraham Lincoln Administration. Shelby's encounter with an abolitionist, a Maryland woman and her enslaved maid led to the latter's soliloquy about the racism she had encountered in New York City. And another scene featured Devlin revealing his family troubles to Lily Magraw and Rose Greenhow - namely brother Terry's incarceration inside Baltimore's Fort McHenry and how this led to his failure to being assigned to an Army regiment. I must admit that I found it odd that McCord seemed to focus so much on the flaws of Northern society and the Lincoln's Administration . . . and not on the flaws of Confederate President Jefferson Davis' own administration. After all, the state of Virginia had lost its northwestern counties during the three-month period between Fort Sumter and Bull Run, due to its citizens breaking away from the state. Considering that Shelby's family lived in Virginia, I found it rather odd that western Virginia's break from the state was never mentioned. On the other hand, the series did focus a great deal on slavery. Although the Peyton family were portrayed as kind slave owners who almost treated their slaves as family, the movie still managed to portray their role in slavery as something to condemn - especially through Lucius' bitterness over being a slave, the patronizing manner of Dr. Peyton's kindness and Shelby's inability to understand Lucius' desire for freedom or lack of faith in the latter's ability to survive as a free man. I have noticed in many other productions about slavery during the Antebellum period or the Civil War, slave owners are either portrayed as kind or cruel . . . with no ambiguity in between. I must applaud McCord for his more ambiguous portrayal of Shelby and his family in regard to the slavery topic. Were there aspects of "CLASS OF '61" that troubled me? Well . . . yes. There were a few things. When Devlin was first introduced to Rose Greenhow at her soirée, the latter revealed that she knew a great deal about him - including where his family lived and his ranking among the West Point Class of '61. I am sorry, but I found this hard to swallow. Was this McCord's idea of conveying Mrs. Greenhow's greatness as a spy? Why on earth would she have bothered to collect so much information on a recent West Point graduate who had ranked in the middle of his class? Seriously? Also in the movie, Mr. O'Neil had accused a visiting Shelby of joining a volunteer regiment called the Palmetto Guards. Earlier in the production, a cadet named Upton had accused the South Carolinian Skinner of doing the same right after the news of Sumter was announced. So I checked the Internet and discovered that "Palmetto Guards" was one of the nicknames for the 2nd South Carolina Infantry. I could understand Skinner being considered for this regiment. But why on earth would Mr. O'Neil accuse Shelby, a Virginian, of joining it? Unsurprisingly, "CLASS OF '61" had failed to be picked up as a series. But imagine my surprise to discover that McCord had added a brief epilogue to reveal the characters' fates. He must have been very bitter over the pilot's fate, because he had committed some kind of "Scorch Earth" policy on the characters. Only three or four of them had survived the war . . . and one of them was George Armstrong Custer. Worse, two of his characters died in a way that was historically impossible. Ironically, my biggest problem with "CLASS OF '61" proved to be Shelby and Lucius' friendship. Now I realize that human beings are ambiguous creatures. And I am also aware that some complex friendships or relationships may have formed between slaves and the owners - especially relationships that began in childhood, like Shelby and Lucius. But there were aspects of the pair's friendship that struck me as unrealistic. I found it unrealistic that Lucius would honestly express his bitterness over being a slave to Shelby, of all people. I also found it unrealistic that Lucius would tell Shelby about his lethal encounter with those slave catchers. The movie never portrayed Shelby as someone with pro-abolitionist leanings. And although he was friendly and familiar with his father's slaves, he also shared Dr. Peyton's patronizing attitude. It just seemed unnatural that Shelby would react with nothing more than mere surprise after Lucius had confessed to killing two slave catchers. I do not care how friendly he was with Lucius or any of the other Peyton slaves. He still harbored a good deal of his society's casual racism and I could not see him allowing Lucius to leave the plantation after that confession. Even after twenty-six years, I still managed to enjoy "CLASS OF '61" Despite its flaws, the television movie managed to be an interesting and enjoying look into American society during the first three months of the U.S. Civil War. I thought Jonas McCord provided an interesting, yet inconclusive plot that showcased a first-rate cast starring Dan Futterman and Clive Owen. It is a pity that this pilot never became a series.

[roxannepolice]

Long asks anon again, here to offer my opinion on the current wank. Rey as a character is rather blatantly breaking sw story rules and nothing is going to get SFF fans hackles up like rule breakage. This is root of both the MarySue accusations and current wank. Rey has a tragic backstory thats doubling as the only failure she can call her own. But its a) damn near entirely offscreen and b) serves as convenient justification for why shes competent at near everything that comes up.

Reys instantly good at the force because of a convenient force download that to the best of my knowledge only occured in the noncanon KOTOR II and quite frankly cant blame most of the general audience for not getting because without prior knowledge or the novelizations why would they? She has darkness in her but as so far used and touched it consequence free and its almost entirely symbolically externalized on the Kylo (and in SW symbolism is Real in a way it isnt in other narratives) Shes strong in the force because Light rises to meet Dark but to quote the current crop of movies ‘thats not how the force works) or at least thats never how it worked before. Shes the first SW protagonist to go behind enemy lines and come out with both hands in the second movie. For ppl wondering how come Luke and Ani never get labeled MarySues, this is why, they got thier asses handed to them, Rey hasnt. There /is/ something /off/ in Reys story, and ppl pick up on it. if you can make a post (w/ over 1k notes!) about how great it is that a character meant to prop up 7hrs worth of movies has little to no character development to go through, somethings off. If multiple ppl can make posts about how its neat Rey can tap into the darkside (still characterized as evil in ST) consequence free (with some quite frankly stupid justifications, 'shes disciplined’ really? jedi lacked a lot of things thats not one of them) somethings off and again, if the only failure your main heroine has is /entirely retroactive something’s off/. If the story were getting with the is the story most ppl think we are, a 'female empowerment’ (i dont feel particularly empowered by being told I have an equal chance at being a deus ex machina but ok) than well, her story is over and theres no need for IX (hell it could have been over in TFA, most ppl assumed she had accepted her place as the future jedi in that one) and no need for reylo The ST was always gonna deconstruct all that came before it purely by virtue of being a sequel. The tragedy of anakin skywalker is now a farce, the happy ot ending now a tragedy, and the mythopoetic structure shot to shit in the name of serialization and perpetual warfare. this stand true for all the sequel characters including rey and ben. the only question is are we going to get anything out of it? I compare it to home renovation. You can knock out a wall and the walls gone, but new opportunities arise. With Benlo, I’m reasonably confident that there will be at least some attempt to take advantage of the new space. With rey and the resistance kids? not so much. it just feels like they knocked down a blue wall to rebuild it as pink one and at the point it just feels like a waste of time because ive seen this before. Ive seen pure cinnamon roll desert orphan reform jedi order If this was all youre going to do that the fuck was the point? which circles around to my problem with team good guy this go around and That Scene. JJ twisted the story into a pretzel to justify the winners of the last round being the underdogs again and then rian twisted so much further the storys head may as well be up its own ass. And then at the very end he shoots it all to shit and rushes to reassure us its all gonna be okay. He removes the entire point of the underdog trope /the tension that comes from the fact that they might lose/. I mean there wasnt a whole lot of that to begin with already but really? So theres no tension that Reys gonna win so her journey feels frictionless, and theres no question where shes gonna end up so full offense why give a shit? Thats where the whole 'can rey lose a fight?’ thing comes from. Ppl want conflict in her arc to justify its existence and give us a reason why this her story to begin with. if the only character going through growth for all three movies is ben, if the only characters whos fate is up in the air is ben, and if all the tension in the reylo relationship comes from ben, then why is this /reys story/? why not just make it about the character actually driving all the drama and thus, the story?   As a final thought, im going to add that having Kylo be aware and insecure that hes never gonna be as Iconic as Vader was a great story choice, regardless of where ends up. Current Rebels, on the other hand, seems to have not gotten the memo that they are never gonna be as iconic as Original Rebels, and the story itself seems to being trying to sell them to me as being better. Rey is Luke but better, Poe/Finn are Han wo the smuggler grit, and id be lying if i said it didnt piss me off.

&

Long asks anon to kick down ur door again, AND ANOTHER THING. SW is a lotta things. Subtle aint one of them, and St hasnt changed in that regard. If you have to debate it chances are either a) ur arguing counter to the text in which case mor power to you but not really helpful for predictions or intended meaning or b) /it aint there. A bunch of ppl didnt like anidala, but nobody doubted we were supposed to think they were in love by the end of AOTC, bunch of ppl didnt like poes arc, but no one doubts he fucked up by not listening to holdo was the intended take away. Which brings to rey and flaws or lack there of. Were told rey has flaws but she has yet to suffer any real consequences from them with the exception of The Damn Parentage Wank, which again, pulls the double duty of making her hyper competent at everything. Because rey has no consequences for her flaws, from a story function pov there aren’t any. If rey did have a flaw to overcome, we would all agree what it was

Now won’t you all just look at this beautiful, spot on rant which has been lagging in my askbox since the last time Rey’s flaws or lack thereof were the discourse’s focus (November, I believe?) and suddenly became a thing again, courtesy of Tweetgate. I think you really summed up the crux of this debate wonderfully, anon.

I particularly agree with the part about Rey not getting narratively punished for whatever flaws we’d like her to have (great point about returning from behind the enemy lines with both arms still in place), when SW don’t stay away from allowing characters to get “punished” even for otherwise applaudable features - vide Padmé, whose idealism is what Palps manipulates into gaining more power (this is why Padmé will never come off as a Mary Sue or too perfect, btw). But I’ll say even more - Rey doesn’t even get called out on her flaws, except for by Ben, who’s mostly dismissed as a baddie like Palpatine saying Luke was foolish to rely on his friends. Let’s just consider one thing - both Anakin and Luke get called out on their flaws by Yoda (Anakin repeatedly and by lots of other people for that matter) whereas with Rey, the same grumpy-yet-jolly senex pops up from the afterlife to further inform us what a great jedi material she is.

TBH, I have a very cynical theory as to why Rey is being pushed as the main character while it’s difficult to deny that it’s Kylo Ben who does all the plot heavy lifting. I’m pretty sure Ben’s arc was the first one DLF thought out (and the big question is, was it the only one they thought out) and only later on decided to make Rey the main character, which also involved much less spontaneous writing. Mind you, it’s not as if benepemption didn’t have a manufactured subtaste to it, but with Rey’s heroine’s journey stiff structure occasionally substitutes any in-world explanations of her actions (this is why I have to hope renperor has some narrative purpose rather than happening because lovers need to be separated and anti-hero needs to achieve what he wanted in 2nd act). I feel as if whatever potential her character had (and hopefully still has, pending IX) got smothered by layer upon layer of making her likable by everyone, which largely relied on negative characterization: she’s not helpless, she’s not too naive, not cynical, not too emotional, not too emotionless, not morally corruptible, not anything you’ve ever complained about regarding any SW character, not falling for the bad boy, not not not - and in the end it’s kinda difficult to say what Rey is like and while the goal of making her widely likable was achieved, it also made it almost impossible to view her as loveably flawed/annoying like the classic characters. And on top of all this is the matter of making her a nobody just like you!, as DLF appears to say with uncle Sam’s gesture (which also kinda assumes the existence of a Star Wars fan as some uniform entity? because if you identify with her, good for you, I just don’t understand why the franchise assumes I’ll identify with her by the grace of being a SW fan alone), because, as you excellently put it, the message here is that everyone can be chosen by God - which again, it’s not as if the saga ever contradicted this, so why the hell make a case of it? I can’t agree that it’s made into Rey’s flaw, though, imo her low birth only serves to further frame her as an oppressed virtue. And I definitely agree regarding too much of her growth being left off-screen, or before the story ever begins. The problem here isn’t even that it is left off-screen (it’s not as if we had huge insight into any of the pt or ot characters) but rather that her characterizations is left off-screen while being depicted as at least untypical (unique to put it bluntly) for her situation (same goes for Finn). A hopeful, kind person growing up on her on her own in slavery under a nicer name is a rarity and DLF makes a case for it being a rarity - and this sparks up curiosity in her past, as if market pandering to Re/sky wasn’t enough. So from this pov her un-reveal being frustrating isn’t just a case of not wanting to love her or her self only a potentially deeper psychological question getting answered with well, light.

I should add, Ben’s arc feels like the most spontaneous one (though Finn’s may yet be a masterpiece) and he’s the one to admit his fear of not living up to Vader’s legacy, because I think he’s the character serving as the creators’ vessel, more or less like Luke was Lucas’ avatar in ot. In his fear regarding Vader’s legacy one can feel Disney’s fear due to having bought popculture’s holy grail and not being entirely sure what to do with it. On this background, Rey (a literal scavenger of OT’s pieces) and rebels 2.0 repeatedly blessed by Leia come off as what DLF would want to be. And the result is that the character which was supposed to be Vader 2.0 proves the most original and surprising one, whereas “breaths of fresh air” come off as room aromatizers with “fresh” written on them.

And as far as the plot being bended into a pretzel and then disappearing up it’s own ass, well, a part of me is still hoping that taking virtually the same villains as before is a mythological-psychoanalitical metaphor of a nigredo repeating itself until the unconscious gets accepted by the conscious…. but, tbh, as the leaks flow this hope is withering.

[dewbond-blog]

Shallow Dive: Fate Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel II. Lost Butterfly

This shallow dive is going to be a bit different because to discuss this movie the way I want to, I have to get into major spoilers of the film itself and overall plot points of the main Fate timeline. So before the cut, I’m going to list off the main points that people will probably want to know about the flick, then get into more spoiler stuff afterward.

This movie is absolutely amazing and Ufotable has done it again. Well worth the wait and is the payoff we needed.

Yes, this movie has a “sex scene” in it and it is done in a tasteful way that strikes a perfect compromise between adaptation and tribute to the original visual novel. I expect a bit more skin in the blue-ray release. I applaud the director for having the courage to acknowledge the O.G Fate visual novel.

Illya’s role in the route has been scaled back significantly so far. Obviously, the director wanted to have the entire focus be on Sakura and Shirou. I (and I’m a huge Illya fan) agree that this was probably the best way to go. I’ll have more to say on this once I’ve read the Heaven’s Feel route.

There is only one real action scene and while it is animated BEAUTIFULLY, it is a bit hard to follow sometimes.

This movie, along with Presage Flower is absolutely not for first time Fate Fans. I said that in the last review, but it goes double here. You need to have at least watched Fate/Zero and Unlimited Blade Works to fully enjoy this film

Alright, after the cut let’s take a dive into the second movie of the Heaven’s Feel trilogy: Fate Stay Night Heaven’s Feel II. Lost Butterfly.

I once said that I believed that it was Illyasviel von Einzbern who was the “great tragic character” of the Fate Franchise. After watching this movie, however, I feel I might have to eat some crow on that. While Illya’s own history is rife with and loss tragedy, it is not the raw naked nerve that is the history and life of Sakura Matou.

Sakura may be the third heroine of the Fate route, but she has been a character that has been criminally underused in the greater Fate Universe. Simply put, before this movie she didn’t have much to make her stand apart from the other two heroines. Saber is pretty much the mascot of Fate with her iconic design and fighting abilities, while Rin Tohsaka has slipped into the shoes of Final Fantasy’s Cid and is the most recurring character, as well as being one of the best female heroines in anime. Sakura, however, doesn’t have much going for her aside from being the “quiet kouhai with big boobs”

Until this movie.

If you’ve watched Fate/Zero you have a gist of Sakura’s history: the little sister of Rin who was given to the Matou family to be raised as a magus, because the mage laws forbid any family from raising more than one magical heir. While her parents in Fate/Zero attempt to justify this by saying that it was to protect her, Lost Butterfly reveals that their giving of Sakura to the Matou family pretty much doomed their youngest daughter to eleven years of absolute hell.

Lost Butterfly may tell the story of the holy grail war spinning out of control because of the mysterious shadow, it is really about revealing the absolute horrors that have been put on Sakura. In the span of this two-hour movie, we learn that Sakura has been subjected to numerous magical tortures, physically and verbally abused by her grandfather and brother, and worst of all, subjected to the repeated raping and sexual assault by Shinji, who loathes Sakura for usurping his place as the Matou family heir.

All of this has, in turn, made Sakura become withdrawn and emotionally dependant on Shirou the first person who has ever treated her with kindness. What’s worse is that the arrival of the Holy grail war and the rampage of the mysterious shadow is beginning to unravel the final defenses of Sakura’s sanity. Combined with the holy grail war causing Rin, who is apparently indifferent to Sakura, and Shirou to work together and grow closer, this risks taking away the one thing that Sakura has left. By the time the credits roll and the final levee has broken, we see that Sakura has fully embraced her darkness and will be ready unleash a tide almighty rage upon anyone in her way. This entire movie can be seen as escalation after escalation into madness until finally there is nothing left but an unfiltered rage of a woman who has learned to treat the world the way it’s treated her: Pure Hatred.

Frankly, there is so much I want to talk about with this movie, because despite being excellently paced (aside from maybe being a bit too rushed at the start) there is just so much that happens, and all of it so different from the previous route Unlimited Blade Works. One of the best things about Fate Stay Night is that the three routes help fill in corners that would have otherwise been neglected in a single story. Feeding in the subtext and character development from other routes helps fill out the characters that play only supporting roles here. Most notable for this is Archer whose path in Heaven’s Feel differs wildly from his start turn in Blade Works.

Then there is Shirou who is probably at his strongest as both a character and a man in this film. While Blade Works served as a rebuttal to the very idea of Shirou’s Dream, Lost Butterfly shows what happens when the weight of real life comes into conflict with it. Seeing Shirou make the choice to put Sakura over his dream, to abandon his desire to be a hero of justice to protect her, and support her is deeply moving and made, even more, better when you feed in everything from Blade Works into his personality. While I still think Rin and Shirou make the strongest couple, his relationship with Sakura is done extremely well and hits all the right notes perfectly.

And there is so much more. The dream sequence (oh the fucking dream sequence), Gilgamesh, The fight with Assassin, Saber, Rider’s role, everything to do with Shinji. All of it could be posts on their own, and none of it feels forced or tacked on. Ufotable and the directors have pulled off an amazing feat here, juggling multiple balls and being able to handle it with the skill of a master. If there is any minor flaw, it is that Illya’s role is again, significantly reduced, but if that was the price to pay for everything else to work, then I pay it gladly, and I am HUGE Illya fanboy.

I could go on guys, but Fate Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel II. Lost Butterfly is not only one of the best anime films in the last five years, it’s one of the best FILMs I’ve seen in that time. It is a success story in every which way, and while not perfect (nothing is) it is solid final proof that Fate Stay Night is more than just a cash cow franchise that lives off waifu figurines. I absolutely cannot WAIT to watch it again and to see everything come to together in the final installment Spring Song, next year. If you are a Fate Fan, don’t miss this movie.

[wallace-cup]

AESTHETIC QUALITY: 30/30

❝in kyogre’s name, what a masterpiece--and i don’t say that to just anyone. the beauty of your appeal left me awed in my seat. i searched for a flaw in the visuals, in the timing--but i could find none. your perfect score in this category has been earned with every movement, and you ought to give yourselves and your pokémon a reward. your extravagant depiction of a romance between two gods has left me, quite frankly, shipping it.❞ 

he winks and smirks at the pair. does he ship the characters they were playing, or the players themselves? that’s for them to figure out. ;)))))))))))

ADHERENCE TO THEME: 24/30

❝i think i understand what you were trying to get at--you were trying to show the greatness of the bond between you two, as well as the technical greatness of your pokémon. however, i think you could have done more to show the bond between the two of you, as most of the time you were simply dancing. it would have been more impactful if you had showed that bond being tested through some great trial.❞

ORIGINALITY: 27/30

❝whereas your move use was mostly expected, i think you managed to harness the contrast between light and dark in a unique and individual way--and i do enjoy the more unique touches, such as shattering the night shade with a focus blast and using the dragon that results from dragon pulse to wield a sword. you also managed to harness different moves to create diverse permanent visuals, which i applaud.❞

❝this brings us to a total of 81 collective points!❞

INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTION: 28/30

❝looking at you perform tonight, i would have had no idea that you were a first-time coordinator. well done to you and your pokémon for managing to hold your own next to a colleague of mine who is known for his flair. a few points off, however, since your partner appeared to do somewhat more of the complex work, and seemed to have a slightly greater command over the show.❞

TECHNICAL MASTERY: 28/30

❝you showed an admirable amount of finesse with lurantis and bold, sweeping movements with the rest of your pokémon. you also showed a great amount of trust between your pokémon by allowing them to throw each other the way they did. in the future i would like to see more fine-tuned work, especially since you have proven yourself capable of doing that alongside creating bold visuals.❞

TEAM EFFORT: 30/30

BONUSES AND ANTI-BONUSES

❝you receive +10 for using more than one pokémon individually, as well as +10 from the +15 bonus for using all six moves on all pokémon on the field. this means you have a total of 106 individual points!❞

INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTION: 30/30

❝as a master of water, you were absolutely in your element--your pokémon thrilled the crowd with their use of their surroundings. i also think you did well in the dance--my starmie tells me you improvised around your partner’s mistakes, which is the mark of a great performer.❞

TECHNICAL MASTERY: 28/30

❝your fine work in combination with your power work was amazing, a perfect balance between power and attention to detail--perhaps the best example of such in this contest so far. you would have a perfect score, but for one thing: i caught the nervousness in your voice as you announced the end of the appeal. i honestly expected better from you on that front, but you gave a dignified, confident and technically nuanced performance overall.❞

TEAM EFFORT: 30/30

BONUSES AND ANTI-BONUSES

❝you receive +10 for using more than one pokémon individually, as well as +10 from the +15 bonus for using all six moves on all pokémon on the field. you have a total of 108 individual points!❞

❝This means that Cerise, you have a total score of 187 POINTS, and Siebold, you have a total score of 189 POINTS!❞

@intelligentskull @sangmer 

[wandloreinamerica]

The Wands of Fantastic Beasts

So this is very different from what I normally post. I hope y’all enjoy and if you agree or disagree, I would love to hear what you have to say. This post is long and very picture heavy so I will continue below the cut.

Let me say that I think most of these wands are actually well executed individually, and I think the team who designed and made these wands is very talented. That being said, some have large flaws and when seen as a collection, they feel very lazy, especially the wands from the second movie. I am aware of three other wands (Bunty’s, one labled “Auror’s wand” and a purplish wand). However, I was unable to find good pictures or other reviews online, so I was forced to exclude them. 

1) Tina’s Wand

Tina’s wand features a well-defined handle and cleanly tapered shaft. It has very plain lines, and primarily adds visual interest with the grain and mild color variation. This wand is somewhat unusual because it is not in the Art Deco style. However, this works because Tina has a no nonsense, no frills approach to life, and this wand reflects that. The simple and clean lines speak to practical mind and an appreciation of a quiet beauty, much like Tina herself.  This wand is my favorite because it really does reflect its master and its understated beauty.

2) Bernadette’s Wand

Bernadette has a pale wand with a nodular shaft/handle and an offset pommel that has been carved into a face. Frankly, this wand is great. The detailed carving and the pale color make it stand out. I have seen the face described as either a mummy’s face or a faun’s. In either case, it is a unique and somewhat bold choice that I think paid off. That being said, I personally find the face a little creepy which is why Tina’s wand is Number 1.

3) Rosier’s Wand

Vinda Rosier wields a rather neutral looking wand. The wand is a rich, dark brown wood with reddish tones that become more pronounced towards mid shaft before fading into dark brown at the tip. The wand itself is made of several elongated ovals separated by smooth dips.  While I do not like silhouette of this wand, I think the color is lovely, and I applaud the designers for not giving a dark looking wand to a dark character. 

7) Skender’s Wand

Skender’s wand has a ball pommel and a minimally tapered shaft with a thick square tip. The two sections are joined by a gold band. What really stands out on this wand is the color: the shaft is a yellowy olive with pointed black striping and the pommel is bright red. The simple design really lets the colors be the stand out feature on this wand.

8) Spielman’s Wand

Spielman has a somewhat unusual square cross section wand. The shaft is a clean black taper. This simplicity forms a sharp contrast with the detailed off-white and silver handle. The pommel is a heavy silver thing with two meander/Greek key borders. A meander is also used to decorate the small silver cross guard. The bulk of the bone/ivory(?) handle is divided into four sections by three silver bands. All of these sections have a small silver stud on each face.

This wand is very well designed. The colors complement each other, and the meander is expertly used to highlight the square cross section. I like playing with the cross sections on wands, so seeing a well-executed square one is nice. That being said, I do think some decoration on the plain shaft would balance out the rich handle.

9) Leta’s Wand

Leta uses slender black and silver wand. The handle features two wide silver bands both covered with delicate, hammered scroll work. The remainder of the handle is made of an elegant, multi strand twist. The shaft is long and quite thin, giving the wand a unique silhouette.

This wand is well designed. It is feminine and classy, but not overstated. 

10) Percival Graves’ Wand

Perceval Graves has a deceptively simple wand. The glossy black shaft is separated from the handle by a thin silver ring. The silver pommel resembles an inverted rook, and is joined to the handle by a thinner silver rod.

I think this is a well-designed wand, and while I am generally not a fan of wands with lots of metal, I think it works in this case. Part of this comes from the wand echoing some of the more futuristic Art Deco schools, and part come from the black and silver color scheme. In the first series black and silver wands were rare, so this wand stood out because of the unusual colors. However, black and silver wands have become more common and robbed this wand of some of its uniqueness.

11) Abernathy’s Wand

Abernathy’s wand features a black handle with an asymmetric spiral and a large ¾ ball pommel. A silver band separates the handle from the plain, medium brown shaft.

I think this is serviceable wand. I like the asymmetrical twist, and think it goes nicely with the pommel. However, while the colors do complement each other, the shaft is very plain, and almost looks like it was made from a different material from the handle, though it is possible that the handle was painted.

12) Yusuf Kama’s Wand

Yusuf Kama’s wand shares a similar color palette with Abernathy’s: the shaft is slightly darker and there is a touch more silver. The additional silver comes in the form of a broad pommel cap that has a slightly pitted finish. From here, the wand flows into a slim handle with two raised rings marking the middle. The silver cross guard slightly tapers to the shaft. While most lines on this wand (the grooves, rings and color transitions) run perpendicular to the wand, the cross guard has some delicate fluting that lies parallel to the wand. While subtle, this does serve to make that element the focal point of the wand.

I like the fluting on the cross guard, and overall, think the wand is generally fine, even if the shaft is a tad plain.

13) Theseus’s Wand

Theseus Scamander’s wand has a simple, gently tapered silhouette, and a plain warm toned wooden shaft. The shaft contrasts nicely with the rich gold and tortoise shell handle.

I like the similarities in the Scamander brother’s wands: both are simple baton style with shell accents. In Theseus’ case the similarities have all been polished and the wand looks like it belongs to a member of the British upper class. That being said, this wand really does feel like a non-wood handle was added to the wand.

14) Newt’s Wand

Newt’s wand is a simple baton, with a rustic, well used finish. The darker handle is separated from the shaft by a blueish band. The wand has a hollow pommel lined with mother of pearl.

I do not like the hollow pommel, as that is a weak spot, susceptible to breaking, and it will get filled with dirt, water, and other debris. I know that the designers wanted a natural look, with animal elements, but I think they tried too hard and it shows.

15) Queenie’s Wand

Queenie’s is mostly a slim black shaft. The visual interesting parts are located in the elongated two-part pommel. The first part is bright gold, miter-eques band that is decorated with an incised banner pattern. The band grips a mother of pearl column which cumulates in a delicate shell. When seen in a void, this wand is incredibly Art Deco, both in materials and motifs.

I have read that this wand was supposed to be “sexy”, but I personally don’t see it. I question the inclusion of that much shell, which would be fragile and likely to break (although if this is painted wood, I applaud the skill that went into the carving and painting.). I also think too much emphasis is put in the pommel/handle to the detriment of the shaft. Part of Art Deco is showing of the richness, and if in every day use all you can see it the very plain shaft, it kind of fails as an Art Deco piece.

16) Flamel’s Wand

Flamel uses a very plain brown wand. Much like Queenie’s, the plain shaft makes up most of the wand. The handle/pommel is made from a slightly curved horn. The horn is joined to the shaft by an aged gold band that has a slightly raised, swirling pattern. I am very, very, disappointed with this design. Flamel is ancient and you would think his wand would have a radically different look. Instead with the very plain shaft and fancy handle, this wand fits in with the modern wands in the rest of the collection. I would expect this wand to have significant gothic influence, with intricate, allegorical scenes, lots of fine details, and, possibly, painted areas to mimic stained glass.

17) Albus Dumbledore’s Wand

Dumbledore uses a black and silver wand. It features a broadly flared silver pommel that flows into the black handle. The handle is joined to the shaft by a broad silver band etched with runes. Just distal to this band is a delicate three-part hollow twist, smooth in the outside, yet rough on the inside. This then blends smoothly into the rest of the shaft.  This wand is visually interesting. But I have serious issues with the hollow twist. The location is where you would expect the most stress to be if you hit something while holding the wand, and with that area weakened, where you would expect the wand to snap. Additionally, how does the core run through that section?

18) Seraphina Picquery’s Wand

Seraphina uses a wand with a large amethyst crystal handle that draws most of the attention. The crystal is griped by a delicate silver cage which joins it to the shaft. The wood shaft is a very simple dark brown baton. Overall the color plate work’s well, and the silver cages serves as a textural focus point, with both the crystal and wood having almost no texture.  

While this wand does preserve the Art Deco feel, the large crystal looks like it belongs on a high fantasy fairy wand or a Wiccan wand rather than a Harry Potter wand. Additionally, the crystal is clearly grafted onto wood shaft, which raises questions about how the wand was originally constructed. Were the crystal and silver handle originally part of the wand? If so what was the cost of the wand? Was it added later, and how did that change the balance of the wand? To my mind, this wand is the epitome of an overly extravagant, inorganic handle grafted onto a very, very plain wooden shaft.

Overall thoughts:

Let me be clear, I think the props designers are fantastically talented, and by and large most of these wands are individually very well done. And there are some fantastic wands and some really awful ones. However, when you look at the overall collection it feels…lazy and over decorated.

Art Deco was clearly a major inspiration for the wands. I have also read that the design team wanted to go in a different direction, and separate these wands from those in the original series. And I think both ideas are good: it’s a different time, and Art Deco really is big at this point. But I think they got too wrapped up in the new, Art Deco direction and failed to adhere to the basics, both in wand design and in Art Deco.

 Too many of the wands look like they are plain batons grafted onto decorative handles. While there is nothing wrong with having a plain shaft, and most wands will have a plain shaft, here it is taken to an extreme.  Queenie, Picquery, Theseus, Speilman, Leta, and to a lesser extent Flamel, all have very rich, extremely detailed handles, that often seem to be made of non-wood materials. These handles stand in stark contrast to the shafts, all of which are very plain, and few have any notable grain. This contrast sharply with the books, in which wands are wood and the original series, where non wood accents are used sparingly. These new wands with their large non wood sections are a substantial reversal from the wood wands of both movie and book cannon. Secondly, as I noted for Queenie’s wand, part of Art Deco is showing off the rich exotic materials you are using. While these wands undoubtably have such materials used in their construction, they are exclusively confined to the handle which is covered in normal use. This means what you see most of the time, is a plain shaft, which really isn’t Art Deco.

The color palate is somewhat condensed, and this detrimental the Art Deco theme. A third of the wands use black and silver. This combination is very classy and elegant, but it is overdone. Before black and silver wands were unique, and stood out: now it is common, and slightly cheap. Wood comes in a staggering array of colors, and this collection does not reflect that. There are a myriad shades of brown, cream, tan and colors beyond that too. There is Padauk, Redheart, Redwood, Bloodwood, (all varying shades of red) Canarywood (gold and brown striped), Yellowheart (bright yellow), Osage Orange (orange), Purpleheart (purple), Pink Ivory (ranges from a pale pink to watermelon red), Lignum Vitae and Sassafras (both are often an olive green), and Holly (one of, if not the, whitest wood). And then there is grain. Black and White ebony is noted for its striking black and white stripping. Ziricote is valued for it’s beautiful landscape like grain, and the cream and chocolate stripping of zebra wood is always stunning. Spalting adds unique patterns and colors, while figured grain is not uncommon and can and an extra bit of oomph to another wise simple design. Using some of the above mentioned could have contributed that richness in the Art Deco style and added more variation.

There is also a huge missed opportunity here to show how different countries and wandmakers have different styles. There are American, British, German, and French wands here, but there is no real difference in the style, with the exception of Bernadette’s. We get a glimpse of this in the original series, with both Gregorovitch wands having a strong organic aesthetic (one can also include Grindelwald’s original wand in this group, as he appears to come from the same region).  Unfortunately, this does not carry over into this series.

 Sources:

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0221/1146/products/Porpentina_Goldstein_Collectable_Wand_2_grande.png?v=1532942253

https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB12FqqSVXXXXXEXVXXq6xXFXXXY/Newest-Metal-Core-Deluxe-Harry-Potter-Fantestic-Where-to-find-Bernadette-Magic-Wands-Stick-with-Gift.jpg_640x640.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpBiah84Xy4&t=429s (a very different take on these wands, that I would suggest watching, to get another view point)

http://www.thedailyowl.gr/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/vinda-rosier-wand.jpg

https://www.wbshop.com/collections/fantastic-beasts-wands

https://www.noblecollection.com/Fantastic-Beasts-Wands

[thehelpfilm]

A Critical Film Review of “The Help”

         An entertaining and somewhat light-hearted take on the harsh realities of racism in 1960’s Mississippi, “The Help” is a deeply moving, poignant, and hopeful story about how courage and working together can create change. It serves as a reminder of how compassion, strength, empathy, and honesty have helped in making the world a less horrific place to live in.

         The film is based on Kathryn Stockett’s bestselling novel “The Help” which tells the story of African American maids working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi, during the early 1960s.

Synopsis

Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan (played by Emma Stone) a young white woman who is an aspiring journalist starts by writing for a cleaning advice column “Miss Myrna” –– having no idea about how to clean, Skeeter enlists Aibileen (played by Viola Davis) to help her. Due to these series of events, they form a strong bond that later inspires Skeeter to write a book on the perspective of “The Help” –– that exposes the racism they are faced with as they work for white families.

Not only is this task illegal, it goes against all of her friends, her family, and her boyfriend as they all live quite happily with segregation in society. As time goes on, more maids get involved and have a great deal to say about their lives raising white children and serving their mothers.

Awards and Acclaim

Touchstone Pictures released The Help worldwide, with a general theatrical release in North America on August 10, 2011. The film was a critical and commercial success, receiving positive reviews and grossing $216 million in worldwide box office. The Help received four Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Actress for Davis, and Best Supporting Actress for both Chastain and Spencer, with the latter winning the award. The film also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

The Directing and Filming

The film is a historical period drama set in Mississippi. The setting looked realistic and it looks as if the movie was straight out from the 1960s. The costumes, the hair, even the television and other background props really encapsulated the time period. It was visually stunning. The transitions were on point. It was an immersive experience that really took you to the 60’s and I can’t see any flaws when it comes to the filming of the scenes.

Each frame meant something. Every scene was necessary in telling the story. An example would be the scene wherein Skeeter and Constantine, her family maid who happened to just disappear, were having a conversation about the school dance and how no boy has asked her yet. They were talking beneath a huge willow tree.

In this scene, Constantine and Skeeter feel safe under the shade. It shows how they are free to have a conversation there because they are hidden under the tree and no one else could judge them. This scene also shows how Constantine was more of like a mother to her than her actual mother which is a common theme in this movie.

The maids seem to know far more than the mothers of the white children they take care of. They motivated the kids and made them feel important.

The Characters

“You is Kind, You is Smart, You is Important” a significant line in the film said by Nanny Aibileen Clack. She says this to Moe Mobley, the child of Elizabeth, her boss. The character is seen to be taking care of the child even better than her actual mother.

The white women are seen as snarky and oppressive to their maids, but not all of them. Some have good stories and treat them well like in the case of Celia Foote –– who has never once hired a maid before. Minny becomes her maid and helps her in cleaning and cooking for Celia’s husband Johnny.

Celia is seen as an outcast because she comes from a trailer park community. People who come from that and suddenly get into the suburban lifestyle because they married a guy whose lifestyle is white, rich, elite often get shunned because they are seen as “white trash”.

This is seen when the ladies pretend to hide and turn off the music when Celia knocks at their door carrying a pie that Minny made.

I especially enjoyed the dynamic between Minny and Celia. It was sweet and serious at times. It showed that not all white people are bad, some were allies and good hearted people just like Skeeter and Celia.

The acting was believable and convincing. None of the characters seemed flat to me, everyone had character development, some stayed the same like Hilly Holbrook but as an antagonist, she did her job of being hated and despised.

Skeeter’s mom was another character I thoroughly enjoyed. Her journey throughout the film really made a good character story arc. At first we find out she has cancer and she wants Skeeter to get married and find a husband quick. Forcing her to go on dates and getting excited when Stuart came looking for Skeeter.

But she ignores Skeeter whenever she asks about what happened to their maid Constantine. She’s unsupportive of what Skeeter is writing about at first, turn off the television when the black servants and Skeeter were watching national news about the Civil Rights movement telling her to not inspire them or give them any ideas.

She has a change of heart in the end and reveals what happened to Constantine and ultimately becomes a supportive mother even defending Skeeter from Hilly who barges in their house threatening to ruin Skeeter’s life.

I enjoyed the strong female characters and the dynamic between all of them. The dialogue was also very well-written and humorous despite the fact that they are talking about racism, they still have some good comedy in there.

The Historical Context and Message Behind the Film

The stories that the Black maids told Skeeter for her novel revealed that the Jackson society at that time was very racist. The maids were unappreciated by their white employers as well as disrespected in the manner in which they were treated. The wages that they were paid were deplorable when compared to the work that was assigned to them. They were the ones that raised their white employers’ children without the input of the parents. This was despite the fact that the Blacks were considered dirty, lazy, disease–ridden and having less intelligence that the average white person.

Unfortunately, the film falls short of a credible presentation, as the reality of the situation is not tackled with any degree of seriousness. One of the most jarring elements is the absence of any reference to the mass struggles that shattered the Jim Crow structure –– which was the the name of the racial caste system which operated primarily. Jim Crow was more than a series of rigid anti-black laws. It was a way of life.

There were several area within the movie that describe how life was really like in Jackson was like.

There is a scene in the movie where Aibileen was in the bathroom, built specifically for her because Hilly says that black people are disease-ridden and should have separate bathrooms. In several scenes of the movie, the mothers tell their child to not go to those “dirty” bathrooms used by maids or else they will get sick.

The segregation of bathrooms was so real that in the first scenes of the movie we see Hilly putting pencil marks on the toilet paper in the bathroom to make sure that Minny wasn’t using her toilet.

The maids travel on buses that are for black people only or are at the back of a bus with the white people at the front.

This is similar to the situation back then where everything was separated. Similar to an apartheid in South Africa. Wherein, blacks could not attend the same schools and churches as the white people.

“They killed him” –– Aibileen tells the story of how her son died and explained that the white bosses loaded him up in the back of a pickup after being ran over. They dropped him off in front of the colored hospital, honked the horn, and drove away.

Also, a scene where Yule Mae gets arrested in a violent way and the white folks just watch and act as if nothing happened.

The movie shows some issues of discrimination and segregation but in my opinion it was a bit sugarcoated. Sure it can teach people about how life was like back then for African American but it does not show how bad it really was. It was violent, abusive, oppressive and frankly it was not funny. It could have done more but truth be told, the message was there and it did a great job of portraying it even if it was kind of stereotypical and whitewashed.

Whitewashing in a sense that Skeeter is seen as the hero and the brave one. Well she was brave but is it really appropriate that we are applauding this courageous, fictional white gIrl?

Truth be told it is fiction and it is meant to entertain but millions of people saw this film and might believe this to be real and an accurate representation of who were the real heroes of those times. It was a combination of black people who fought for their rights alongside white allies.

It’s not a perfect film, of course one movie cannot represent the vile actualities of the racism experienced by Black people during that time. In fact, this movie could have done more but chose to play it safe. Given the theme of the movie which is Racism during the 60’s, it’s a heavy topic that carries a lot of historical weight around it.

It could have been a more hard-hitting drama that would have made viewers bawl their eyes out after the film but like I said, it is a heavy topic to deal with. The writers and directors chose to make it light-hearted and easy to take in. It is told in an accessible and pleasurable way that almost anyone of all ages can watch and enjoy the film.

Do I recommend everyone to watch it? Yes. Do I think people should just stop at this film and use it as their basis for historical context on racism in the 60s? No.

Did I enjoy it? Yes, very much so.

[tubbotums]

((What do you think warrants a retelling of RWBY? Is it just a fun world, or is the story actually misguided?))

Oh boy, grab your popcorn and get ready to listen for a while. Gonna put this under a cut so people who don’t feel like reading it can skip.

Do I love RWBY? Yes, I 100%. This show has done so much to change my life and has quite literally changed me as a person. It’s put me on the career path of wanting to make my own animated show, tell stories etc. It’s allowed me to meet new friends, and had it not been for the show I wouldn’t even be here typing this. When the new episodes are coming out, every Saturday I wake up at like 10:50 in the morning and wait on both my laptop and phone app so I can watch the episode at exactly 11 when it drops. Most of the time I have to wait, but regardless you see the point. My drawer has RWBY merch, my desks have figures and plushes, hell even my backpack is a RWBY one and I wear a sweatshirt that’s RWBY related basically everyday.

However, in my opinion, the show is heavily flawed from a production standpoint.

RWBY is a very inventive show, I’ll give it that. It tries to do so much with so little, and I applaud it for that. What Rooster Teeth has created is a unique world with lovable characters that have inspired so many. It’s hard to believe that this company that made this show were making Halo parodies in 2007 and still are. RWBY is probably at this point their most popular show, and the most popular web series as of now (discounting live action stuff like Content Cop or whatever). Hell, Warner Bros. Japan went to RT wanting to dub it  and air it there so people could experience it in Japanese. It’s wonderful to see this show blossom and grow. But it has one thing holding it back from truly being great in my opinion.

It’s being produced by Rooster Teeth.

Like I said before, I applaud Rooster Teeth for doing what they’ve done with this show and for all the hard work they’ve done with it. I love their content and the people responsible for bringing the show to life. But for what it wants to do, Rooster Teeth is far too small of a company to produce it and don’t have the necessary people to make it what it can truly be. It’s a show that has so much untapped potential, and I keep waiting for it to tap into it and show me what it can really be. But I get nothing, and waiting every episode after every episode gets tiresome.

RWBY likes to take from a lot of different things for inspiration, but I feel like it’s too scattered and all over the place from it’s inspiration to make logical sense. I hear Final Fantasy (which I see in the character designs, weapons and dust as a concept), but then I see Game of Thrones, Gurren Lagann, and other things that don’t even remotely cover the genre that RWBY is in. I’ve brought this up to people before and have been told that it’s “Monty’s true vision” and that “I just don’t understand it and shouldn’t question it”. God bless Monty Oum, he was a great animator and a wonderful man who I would love to meet and pick apart at his brain. But the man couldn’t tell a story, which was why he brought on Miles Luna and Kerry Shawcross, the lead writers of the show.

But before I get into M&K (who I both met and are lovely people), I want to touch up on the show’s inspiration. Monty wanted to create a show that revolved around his fight scenes, you know the stuff that you saw in Dead Fantasy or Red vs Blue Seasons 8-10. He didn’t care about the story and wanted to show off his fights and creative, lovable characters. If that’s what the show was going to be, I wouldn’t watch and I wouldn’t care as much as I do to write this. In my unpopular opinion, the show needs to stray away from Monty’s original ideas and gather more from outside sources that are doing the genre right. Shows like Hunter X Hunter, My Hero Academia, Fullmetal Alchemist, Sailor Moon and more that I can’t even list off the top of my head. These shows tackles themes present in RWBY and do it leaps and bounds better than what the show does. It’s frustrating to watch Gon Freeces or Izuku Midoriya get character development and progression that changes them and the path of the story but see Ruby Rose become a side character with no development since the beginning of the show. I’ll also add this in, if you want to take out My Hero from this list you can since RWBY started airing before MHA first published, and it has it beat by a few months I think? But I think the point still stands.

Now for Miles and Kerry, who I both love so much, there’s a lot of controversy around them. A lot of people, especially on this site, hate them and want different writers for the show. I’ve heard names like Lindsay Jones (voice actress for Ruby) and Mica Burton (a RT employee) as people who “should” be writing the show. Here’s the big issue with that:

Neither one has produced a show before and has written a script. Know who has? Miles Luna, who wrote three seasons of Red vs Blue. 

Yes, both are still amateurs and not professionals. They’ve been doing this for about a little more than half a decade, which isn’t a lot of time in the content production world. But this leads to another problem: Amateurs are writing this show. I don’t doubt the effort both of them put into making this show. They have A LOT to deal with, considering what happened with Monty, the show’s sudden boom in popularity, and much much more. But the fact that more experienced script writers aren’t writing a show this big is an issue, and you see it all the time in the show. They like to go with this “tell don’t show” approach, which doesn’t allow us to see the world and make it feel alive. We have to trust everything the characters say instead of actually getting to see it ourselves. We don’t see the racism Blake talks about except for a sign in a background shot that shows up on screen for two seconds. TWO SECONDS of seeing this one “No Faunus” sign is more signs of racism than we ever got from 4 and a half volumes and almost 20 minutes of exposition on it. There’s also just some really bad characters in the show as well, just really poorly written. I think my best examples are almost every villain, especially Adam and Cinder. I think both are just really shitty in every aspect and don’t add anything unique? If Adam wasn’t abusive and crazy, his cause would be more sympathetic and the White Fang would feel more like a Civil Rights group like they should be instead of a terrorist group like they’re portrayed to be. Cinder’s whole deal is just “I want power”, and the big question is why. We have no explanation as to why she sides with Salem and what her motives are. She’s just a puppet for the big baddie and that’s not right considering Cinder was the main antagonist for three volumes and will have just as big of a role going forth. A backstory can really help with this, but until we get one she’s a mediocre, borderline shitty villain in my books.

If the show was handled by, lets say Studio Madhouse, or Studio Bones, and if those don’t really sound familiar lets even throw in Toei, the show would be a lot better handled. Shows like My Hero, Hunter X Hunter, One Punch Man Season 1, Fullmetal Alchemist, Miraculous Ladybug and more have come from them and have done phenomenal. The writing, worlds, characters, all written in this just amazing way that I can see RWBY being written in. I can see RWBY having this expansive, almost unexplored world that we the viewers and the characters are going to explore together. But Rooster Teeth can’t provide that simply because they don’t have the money to. That’s no knock against them either, it’s just a fact. A RWBY fight will never look as good as Midoriya vs Todoroki or Meruem vs Netero, and that’s because the budget and time isn’t there. I just want to see this show thrive and become something special like these other shows, because I know it can be that. I know it can be tightly written with a power system that makes sense and a world that’s rich and vast, with different people having different motives that makes us really question who is right and who is wrong.

Aside from all that, what do I think the show does write? It creates really likable characters that almost everyone can relate to. All of Team RWBY is really likable, same with JNPR. The cast as a whole is colorful, and they’re the main reason I come back to watch the show week after week. The music is also pretty good? But tbh I wish there was more variety in the soundtrack as well. But aside from the characters and music I can’t think of much else.

So, with all that being said, I want to rewrite RWBY to fix these issues and tell my own version of the story, the version I’d like to see. A lot of people in this fandom might not agree with me on the ideas I have and my opinions, but quite frankly I’ve gotten tired of hearing people tell me that my ideas about the show are lesser because it doesn’t align with their views or Monty’s views (which are basically the same thing). I’m doing this because of my immense love for the show and because I want to see it be better. Please don’t take these words as anything harmful and as an endorsement to not watch the show. If you haven’t, I’m actually begging you to go watch RWBY. It’s a fun adventure, but it’s just very flawed and something I as an objective viewer who pays Rooster Teeth for early access to episodes cannot overlook. I’ve done it for far too long thanks to people and I’m sick of it. This retelling also is going to help me as a writer in making a long running story, and while most of the outline is made thanks to the show, there are still going to be a lot of differences from the canon counterpart. 

So please, go watch RWBY if you haven’t so you can see what I’m talking about, and to also let yourself be immersed into a wonderful world with wonderful characters. I love this show with a passion, and this retelling is being done because I want to see it do better is all, like I know it’s capable of.

[broadwaybydesign]

Rose’s Turn: Costuming the 2008 “Gypsy” Revival

I’ve been on a bit of a Patti Lupone kick this year, as my reviews of War Paint probably showed, so I decided to take a look at a few of the costumes from her Tony-winning turn as Mama Rose in the 2008 revival of the musical Gypsy: A Musical Fable. I’m focusing on just the Mama Rose costumes this afternoon because I think that they deserve special attention, but in the future, I think I will go back and take a look at the other costumes.

Gypsy’s revival was costumed by the late Martin Pakledinaz, best known for his Tony Award-winning costumes in Thoroughly Modern Millie and the 2000-era revival of Kiss Me, Kate. Mr. Pakledinaz did a fantastic job capturing the original feel of the musical while still managing to infuse the dramatic, overbearing Rose character with rich, beautiful colors.

For those unfamiliar with the musical, Gypsy is the story of Rose Thompson Hovick, the mother to burlesque pioneer Gypsy Rose Lee (from whom the musical takes its title) and the very definition of a stage mother. You think the moms on Dance Moms or other reality shows are a little crazy? They’ve got nothing on Mama Rose. Take a read through Gypsy: A Memoir if you ever have the time or inclination. A dear friend of mine from college did her capstone on the influence of Gypsy Rose Lee on burlesque as an art form, and the story of her is absolutely fascinating, especially the domineering nature of her mother.

The role of Rose was originated on Broadway by a woman whose name is synonymous with theatre stardom, Ethel Merman, and has been since played on stage in New York by Dame Angela Lansbury (who won the 1975 Tony for her performance), Tyne Daly (who won the 1990 Tony for her performance), Bernadette Peters, Patti Lupone (whose revival is the subject of the review, and who won the 2008 Tony for her performance), and will be once again revived by Imelda Staunton in 2018 following a wildly successful West End revival. In other words, this is a role that commands an actress with power and the ability to belt out a melody that will be heard in the rafters. And any role that demanding deserves costumes that match. Let’s take a look:

The musical as a whole is set in the 1920s and 1930s, and follows a family of vaudevillians as they try and make it big, led by the domineering and overbearing Mama Rose. As a result, the costumes that Mr. Pakledinaz designed tend to be dramatic and showy, a little risqué, and intended to wow the audience without overpowering the character or actress (though, frankly, I’m not sure one can overpower Patti Lupone).

This first number is in a color palate I haven’t looked at much before, which is the golds and browns families. Typically, a designer will not mix two different patterns in fabric, but on occasion there can be a very good reason for doing so. Here, Mama Rose is wearing a brown-and-white checked jacket over a gold, orange, and white blouse and a slightly softer orange skirt. The overall effect that’s given off is one of the character being a bit off, like there’s something that isn’t quite right or expected about who and what they are. But that’s not a flaw in the costume design; it’s a feature in my book given that the musical follows Rose’s journey into losing everything--family included--in her quest for fame-by-proxy.

The color choices add to that overall effect, I think. Later in the musical, the palate Mr. Pakledinaz uses gets a bit darker and more muted, but here, it’s almost manic, clashing just a little bit without being unpleasing to the eye. The clash in the dual geometric patterns draws the eye, especially in comparison to the much plainer designs given to the supporting characters in this scene and in others. Clearly, this is where the attention should be, words or music be darned, and it’s a great effect. And, as I said, it’s not unpleasing to the eye. It’s just unusual.

I find that when I mention Gypsy to a person who isn’t a theatre fan, they don’t necessarily know what I’m talking about. But bring up the manic, show-stopping number “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” the light of recognition tends to cross their faces. In part, that’s because this is one of those showtunes that managed to get into the public mind because it’s a great phrase, and because of Bette Midler’s performance as Mama Rose in a mid-1990s television version of the musical. For those who might not know it, let me give you a taste of this number and why the costume gets some special attention in this post, with this clip of Patti Lupone performing it at the 2008 Tony Awards ceremony; the dialogue is important, but if you want to skip right to the music, it starts at the 1:12 mark:

This number closes the first Act of the musical, as Rose’s younger daughter June has eloped and left her stage-obsessed mother behind. The family (including older daughter Louise, the titular Gypsy, and Mama’s fiancé Herbie) believe that this will finally compel Mama Rose to give up her obsession with making it big and let them settle down. Instead, in the blink of an eye, Mama Rose transfers her dreams from one daughter to another in a show-stopping number that is as manic as it is memorable.

For this number, Mr. Pakledinaz has costumed Patti Lupone in a number of layers that can be seen both in the clip above and in this still from the stage production itself; it’s far more somber than the piece which started out this review, and that reflects that despite the new plan to make Louise into Gypsy Rose Lee, the character of Mama Rose is still in a darker place herself and is now clinging to one last hope of stardom. In full, the costume looks like this:

The coat she wears at the train station in this scene is a rich, deep maroon purple that almost drinks up the shadows while providing a contrast to the Mr Lupone’s skin as it’s illuminated by the stage lights. The fabric is heavy and woolen in a rare exception to the general rule that you avoid heavy fabrics in live theatre (even when the setting requires it), and I think you can read a little metaphor into it: the character is literally being weighed down by keeping out the cold, the way she is figuratively weighed down by her dreams of stardom even if it’s only by proxy.

Beneath that is a gorgeous blue dress with a cream scarf/collar that, unfortunately, has not been photographed much in the right lighting. I was, however, able to find one still that offered a little more perspective on it, however:

As you can somewhat see, the dress underneath the maroon coat is blue, with a wild and Bohemian paisley and swirled pattern that is alive with color, busy, and designed to catch the eye. As with Mama herself, a simple exterior embodied by the coat gives way to a much more complex interior, as embodied by this dress. The blue manages to not fade into the background thanks to the coat acting as a barrier, and I like the addition of the scarf/collar itself as a way to lighten up the whole ensemble, as well as to draw the eye down to the skirt; in the theatre, I do believe it would be much easier to see the pattern, at least from center orchestra.

The scarf/collar combination itself is a gridded white chiffon, as seen in this closeup which also lets us look at the dress’ hem in a tiny bit more detail:

More of a cream than a pure white, it’s there to provide covering on the bust as well as to lighten the ensemble, as I stated. It does that job well, and the use of a rougher fabric design as compared to the smoothness of the dress itself is a wise one. It adds just a little bit more contrast when viewed up close, and I like that. We can also see the Bohemian influence in the hem of the dress, with the somewhat funky and rule-less design in blues and oranges.

The final costume that Ms Lupone is outfitted in during the 2008 revival is also her simplest of the production, but that in no way makes it less impressive. As the show winds down, the 11 o’clock number, “Rose’s Turn,” represents Mama Rose coming to grips with the idea that not only will she never make it big, but that she’s lost everyone she might have cared about: June (the daughter who eloped), Louise (Gypsy Rose), and Herbie (Rose’s fiancé). She tries hard in this number to justify everything she’s done, and finally admits that it was all about her in the end. It’s a sad, powerful, memorable number and it has a costume to match:

The giant ROSE in lights is in fact part of the production; part of the sequence for this number is Rose fantasizing about seeing her own name up in lights and hearing the crowds applauding and cheering her name. But as she fantasized, she’s outfitted pretty plainly. The deep, burnt red that she wears here is far different from the manic pattern of the blue dress from the end of Act I. Instead, it is simple, cleanly cut, and even makes the character seem a bit small on the darkness of the stage. That’s obviously intentional: the designer wants the focus to be on this character, and this character alone, with no design elements to distract. The color has to do the work, not the costume.

The A-line cut of the dress, interrupted only by a band of satiny or silky fabric at the waste, is classical and believable as simply a dress that a woman in Mama Rose’s station would own and wear. The plainness is once again a feature rather than a bug: there is nothing to distract from the character, from the words, from the music. There is simply the deep red color against the blackness of the character’s fantasy, and the audience is left--in my opinion--a little bit haunted by the overall effect.

Mama Rose is one of the most challenging roles on Broadway, not only because of the need for belting vocals and a powerful voice, but because of the personality of the character. There is a reason, I think, that only the Broadway Greats have been cast in the role throughout the musical’s history; Merman, Lansbury, Lupone, all are the definition of a leading lady, and have been costumed to fit the part. For the 2008 revival, I think the choice of colors and styles was absolutely spot on, and the Tony nomination for Mr. Pakledinaz was well-deserved.

Gypsy is a fantastic musical that drips with classic Broadway style and flair, not to mention costuming. I highly recommend it as an entrée into the world of musical theatre, and especially recommend the 2008 recording of the production. Treat your ears to the show-stopping, powerful, bittersweet melodies and enjoy it for what it is: beautiful theatre.

That wraps up this review of the 2008 revival of Gypsy. As I said, I may come back to look at some more of Mr. Pakledinaz’s designs for this production later on this year; there certainly is a lot to work with. On a personal note, this was the last production that I was able to enjoy before I took my hiatus from the theatre fandom, and it’s one that has always left fond memories in my mind. It’s worth looking into!

Later on this week, I’ll be posting some more full reviews and have a couple mini-reviews queued up. So stay tuned, dear readers!

Edit: A kindly Anon noticed that I had inadvertently reversed the birth order for Louise and June; June is, by a year, the younger of the two daughters, and this post has been updated accordingly!

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Man City aren’t in crisis despite Norwich shock. PLUS: Bayern’s Bundesliga dominance is under threat

There’s lots to talk about in this week’s Monday Musings following a wild weekend. Gab Marcotti is here to recap the big stories around soccer.

Jump to: No crisis yet for Man City | End of Bayern’s dominance? | Fati masks Barca’s issues | Juventus get lucky | Neymar gets rude welcome | Arsenal woe continues | | Neville harsh on Man United? | Chelsea’s youth movement | Dortmund ready for Barca | Odegaard dazzling for Sociedad | Why Firmino’s so special | Conte, Inter keep winning | The sad story of #BlueGirl

Sky isn’t falling for Man City despite Norwich shock

One of the more odd decisions this past summer was Manchester City not replacing Vincent Kompany. “Replace” is perhaps too strong a word. You can’t “replace” him but you can bring in another live body to give you an alternative at centre-back and provide some competition for John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi.

– Ogden: Man City might regret inspiring Liverpool – Miller: Have Norwich shown the league how to beat City? – ESPN’s Ultimate XI: This team would win everything

Many of us pointed this out but hey, it’s Pep Guardiola, so you naturally offer the benefit of the doubt. He must know something we don’t. Maybe Fernandinho (at 34) can fill in too. Maybe Eric Garcia is ready. Maybe Kyle Walker can slide across. Maybe Aymeric Laporte is Iron Man and will never get injured. (Oops: we already know that’s not the case.)

Pep Guardiola’s side looked vulnerable in Saturday’s shock defeat at Norwich but there’s still a lot of time left for them to get their balance back.

It’s not that Otamendi and Stones are bad defenders, it’s that the way City play can leave them vulnerable, which is pretty much what happened against Norwich in their 3-2 defeat. There’s a price you pay for choosing to play a certain way and evidently, for City it’s one worth paying. The problem is this is a low-scoring sport. Scoring goals is difficult and ideally, you want to make conceding them as difficult as possible for the opposition. With those two back there and this setup, it’s that much easier for them.

Updated Luck Index: Man City continue to be unfortunate

No, the sky isn’t falling. Even in this game, Man City could have grabbed the three points with a bit more luck. Nor will they always face someone as motivated and as intense as Daniel Farke’s crew who, severely depleted by injuries, went all out with nothing to lose. But the reality is that the gap separating them from Liverpool is already at five points, and the last time that happened was back in January.

Is time running out on Bayern’s Bundesliga dynasty?

Is this the year someone in the Bundesliga topples Galactus (read: Bayern)?

Leipzig had their audition on Saturday, holding the champions to a 1-1 draw. The result keeps Julian Nagelsmann’s crew top of the league with Bayern fourth, two points back. But other than the usual drive and running you’d expect from Leipzig — and, after the break, the character that wasn’t always there last season — I’m not sure we quite saw enough to predict they’ll prevail over the marathon that is a whole season.

Thomas Muller, right, and Bayern were forced to settle for a point vs. RB Leipzig thanks to some familiar flaws that manager Niko Kovac has yet to fix.

In fact, a lot of it had to do with Bayern’s deficiencies. Having gone ahead early thanks to the age-old Thomas Mueller-Robert Lewandowski connection, they failed to capitalise on their lead despite having the upper hand for much of the first half. Joshua Kimmich in central midfield alongside Thiago Alcantara gave them a bit more control against the press, but they were sterile in the final third. Leipzig deserved their equalizer after a bad error from Lucas Hernandez (the sort that prompts you to say “He cost how much?”) and while late chances meant it could have gone either way, there wasn’t too much separating these two.

The difference? Well, you try to imagine how they can get better and you can see far bigger margins for growth at the Bayern end. Nagelsmann can conjure up some more tactical voodoo, Emil Forsberg might last 90 minutes, Kevin Kampl might be fit again and maybe they’ll get something out of Patrik Schick. But it’s slim pickings.

As for Bayern, Nico Kovac lost David Alaba to injury in the warm-up. But he still has Philippe Coutinho, who only came on with two minutes to go, and Ivan Perisic, who stayed rooted to the bench: presumably both were signed for a reason. The question, really, is how much faith you have in Kovac.

Fabulous Fati obscures Barca’s issues

Ansu Fati, already the third-youngest goal scorer in the history of La Liga, got his first start for Barcelona on Saturday against Valencia and set the Camp Nou alight inside 10 minutes. He scored with a confident, accurate finish, set up a goal for Frenkie de Jong and came close to scoring two more times. Oh yeah, in case you didn’t know, the kid doesn’t turn 17 until Halloween.

His emergence, and that of Carles Perez, means that Lionel Messi (who was in the stands) and Luis Suarez (who came on and scored twice) can come back into the team in their own time. But equally, despite the gaudy scoreline (5-2) and the excitement over Fati, there is still plenty for Ernesto Valverde to work on.

Valencia are a mess right now (thanks, Peter Lim!), having sacked Marcelino and replaced him with Albert Celades. And they still stayed in the game thanks to Kevin Gameiro, falling apart only after Jasper Cillessen‘s mistake for the third Barca goal. Suarez, looking sharp and hungry (no, not in that way), later added two to put the game out of reach.

Defensively, Barca looked far from solid, not just at the back but also in midfield; the fact that it was the first choice trio of De Jong, Arthur and Sergio Busquets doesn’t bode well.

Juventus get lucky vs. Fiorentina

There’s a ton of ancient bad blood between Fiorentina and Juventus. Throw in the enthusiasm that new owner Rocco Commisso has engendered within the Viola organization, the fact that it was Maurizio Sarri’s official post-pneumonia debut and especially the fact that the visitors lost Douglas Costa, Miralem Pjanic and Danilo through injury during the match (and the first two are especially key to the way they play) and perhaps Juve should be happy with a point.

Why? They were poor for much of the game against an opponent who treats the match as if it was the Champions League final and “Avengers: Endgame” rolled into one. Sarri later blamed the heat of a mid-afternoon kickoff, which is a bit hard to stomach since presumably Fiorentina felt just as hot. It might have been better to just take it on the chin, be grateful for the point and move on.

PSG fans will take time to welcome Neymar back

Neymar made his first appearance of the season for Paris Saint-Germain at the weekend and was greeted, predictably, with boos and insults. It’s what you expect when, after pledging your loyalty to the club, you go out of your way to force a move back to Barcelona. So what did he do? Easy, he scored a “worldie” deep in injury time to secure the three points against Strasbourg.

– Laurens: The definitive story of the Neymar saga

“I expected it, but in the end I forced them to applaud,” he said afterwards, adding that every game will now feel like an away match.

He made his bed, he can lie in it now and won’t get much sympathy. But at the very least, he deserves recognition for the professionalism he showed Saturday. Whether he’ll ever get love from the Ultras given what happened is unclear but that doesn’t mean they can’t reach some mutually beneficial relationship.

What’s obvious is that if you’re Thomas Tuchel, you’re glad he’s back.

Arsenal’s issues are self-inflicted

The statistics say Arsenal conceded 23 shots on goal in the second half against Watford on Sunday. That’s one every two minutes and it’s frankly hard to do. It’s especially tough when you go in at half-time with a two-goal lead, one which, based on what we saw in the first half, was likely more than generous. And yes, they ended up settling for a 2-2 draw.

You can focus on individuals — Matteo Guendouzi, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, David Luiz — all you like and there’s another statistic floating around that says that since the start of last season no team has made more errors leading directly to opposition goals than Arsenal. But this is a team issue.

If you have error-prone players, you design tactical systems that protect them and don’t expose them. That’s just basic. And that’s on Unai Emery.

Real nearly throw it away before PSG trip

It’s a sign of Real Madrid’s current state that even after playing well, creating plenty of chances and racing to a 3-0 lead at home to Levante, they still required a last-ditch save from Thibaut Courtois to retain their three points. In the cold light of day, you’d look at this performance, note Madrid’s domination, the fact that the goals conceded were against the run of play and chalk up the 3-2 scoreline to the randomness of football. And you might even celebrate Eden Hazard‘s debut and look forward to what is next.

Instead, it’s all fraught nerves ahead of the trip to the Parc des Princes to face Paris Saint-Germain in midweek. Context matters, possibly because we’re in mid-September and we have no real idea what Zinedine Zidane has in mind.

Neville a bit harsh on Man United?

Manchester United squeezed out a victory over Leicester City, but I was struck by Gary Neville’s comments suggesting Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should get at least three more transfer windows “to clean up the trash in the dressing room, because there is trash in there.”

I have a lot of time for Neville, but I was wondering to whom he’s referring given a summer of significant departures. Of the guys who are most frequently targeted as “trash” (or “weeds,” to use another of his terms), Eric Bailly, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo haven’t played this year. Fred has been on the pitch for 24 minutes, Nemanja Matic has started one game. Who does he mean? Paul Pogba? Anthony Martial? Juan Mata?

I’m also not sure about the comparisons with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and how it took him time to produce. He reached a Europa League final after taking over in October and finished fourth the following year. Plus, he had a rather more credible résumé than Solskjaer did. By all means, give him time, but set credible targets and deadlines too.

Why Chelsea’s youth movement feels different

Chelsea’s 5-2 away win to Wolves brings their seasonal goals total to 11 and all of them scored by Academy graduates. Fikayo Tomori, Andreas Christensen, Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount all started at Molyneux and all look poised to play a big part in Chelsea’s season. With more homegrown players — Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi, possibly Reece James too — set to return from injury, there could be as many as seven of them in Frank Lampard‘s XI at some point.

What sets this group apart, though, is the fact that apart from Christensen, who joined at 16, the others have all been affiliated with the club since before they were 10 years old. We often play fast and loose with the homegrown label since so many clubs (including Chelsea, of course) cherry-pick top talent from elsewhere at 16, stick them in the Academy for a year or two and then count them as “club-trained.” Technically, that’s true but with these guys, it’s different.

Dortmund look ready for Barcelona

“Bouncebackability” isn’t a real word, but it applies here. Borussia Dortmund had a whole international break to stew over the humiliating 3-1 defeat to newly promoted Union Berlin and with Kai Havertz and Bayer Leverkusen rolling into town, the potential for aftereffects was still high. Instead, we got one of the most dominating Dortmund performances in recent memory. At the attacking end, Marco Reus got his mojo back, Jadon Sancho popped up with his usual two assists and Paco Alcacer scored in his eighth consecutive game, including internationals.

Roll on, Barcelona, this Tuesday.

Odegaard continues to dazzle

Martin Odegaard made his international debut for Norway at 15 years of age and moved to Real Madrid six months later. Too much, too soon? It felt that way to many, given he failed to establish himself at youth level and later spent two years on loan. But players develop at different speeds, and having rocketed to the international stage, he was due a breather.

This year, he’s on loan at Real Sociedad, where he’s already scored twice and, on Saturday night against Atletico Madrid, was arguably man of the match. He doesn’t even turn 21 until December, but it feels as if this could be the year it all comes together for him. Watch this space.

Meanwhile, for Atletico, the 2-0 defeat reinforces what we already know: losing four or five starters in a summer is tricky to metabolize and there will be days like this when Diego Simeone’s tinkering leads nowhere.

Why Roberto Firmino is so unique

My former colleague Matthew Syed, writing in The Times, made the point that Roberto Firmino appears to have 360-degree vision, a bit like those owls, whose heads seem to swivel all the way around. It’s not hard to see why, given his performance in Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Newcastle.

Some see him as a prototype of a modern center-forward, the “false nine” who is more creator than finisher. That certainly fits with Firmino’s strengths though another, equally formidable strength is the intensity and intelligence of his pressing game. But I’m not sure he’s a prototype of anything.

Most of Europe’s top teams — from Barcelona to Manchester City, from Tottenham to Real Madrid, from Bayern to Juventus — still have a genuine centerforward rather than a “false nine” (to use another hipsterish term). In other words, Firmino is not a trend as much as he has a nearly unique, extremely rare skill set, which comes as a result of his past as an attacking midfielder.

Conte keeping expectations down at Inter

Antonio Conte is playing that age-old game straight out of Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” — “when you are weak, appear strong and when you are strong, appear weak.” Following Inter’s third win on the bounce (one-nil against Udinese) he said, “We know the game. They build us up now to knock us down later. For us to win the title, other clubs would have to have disastrous seasons.”

– Schoenfeld: Romelu Lukaku talks about his Inter mission

It’s pretty transparent what he’s doing. And yes, Inter aren’t title favorites but he has the strike force he says he wanted (Romelu Lukaku, Lautaro Martinez, Alexis Sanchez), he has two of the best young midfielders in the league (Stefano Sensi and Nicolo Barella) and arguably the best center-back corps. There’s no reason to hide. Own the responsibility.

What needs to happen beyond #BlueGirl

The harrowing tale of Sahar Khodayari, the 29-year-old Iranian woman who set herself on fire (and later died from severe burns) after being sentenced to six months in prison for disguising herself as a man to attend a football match between her team, Esteghlal, and the UAE’s Al-Ain last March, shocked the world.

Like many such stories, it’s more complicated than it appears. There is no written law barring women from entering Iranian stadiums, so she was sentenced for not fully adhering to Islamic hijab laws and covering her head. But equally, since the Islamic revolution 40 years ago, women have been unofficially banned from watching men’s games with very few exceptions, like last November’s Asian Champions League final.

It shouldn’t take the tragic death of a vulnerable person for the world to take notice. The hashtag #BlueGirl is great to raise awareness but it can’t end there, particularly since there has been so much outrage and support for change, even in Iran.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has pushed Iran on this matter before and the stock answer has been that the “infrastructure” was not yet in place to allow women in on a regular basis. (What infrastructure? Women’s toilets? Surely they have port-a-potties in Iran…) That argument is nonsense as evidenced by the fact that women have been allowed in before. FIFA’s statutes are very clear when it comes to equality and access. They have the power to withhold development money and suspend the Iranian FA.

It’s time to take action and, given the support such action would have within Iran — from much of the population and virtually the entire football world — it feels like a no-brainer.

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