#and despite all this I must concede that it’s easier to criticize a script than write one myself

[avani008]

Was just reading your Padamavaat fics and wondered, if you had to rewrite the story of the film within the scope of the original ending, what changes would you make to plot or characterisations? Like, an adaption of the legend was always going to end in jauhar, but your way of writing the women and their motivations feels far more real, even though you dislike the ending.

AHAHAHAHA OH POOR ANON HERE I GO.

Above all I would most like to change the movie so it doesn’t specifically focus on literal children being, presumably, peer-pressured into the fire. For one thing, I believe in real life, children and pregnant women were smuggled out of the fort and excluded from the ritual. For another, the movie already ignores the narrative of anyone who isn’t a high caste warrior and/or wife, so do we really have to have the horribleness of children being forced into self-sacrifice rubbed in our faces?

*shudders*

That said, I think you are spot on when you say that the film really had to end in jauhar --anything less would feel like a cheat. I absolutely understand that--but from a narrative standpoint, my problems with it are (1) the fact that Padmavati never really articulates her motivations and (2) the lack of any other options presented for the women.

So. Starting with (1)--yes, Padmavati gets that big speech to the other women about valor and HONOR!, etc. and in her goodbye to Ratan Sen, gives that nauseating speech about how she must take his permission even to give up her life--

(Apologies. But. You guys, even Sita, who usually--though unfairly--gets turned into an excessively devoted wife in most mainstream media very much believed that her life was her own and not her husband’s, to the point where she outright defies him in returning to her mother/effectively committing suicide. The sheer horror of that dialogue makes me shudder all over again)

--but that said, what prompts her. Is it that she’d rather die than be made a prisoner? Is it that she knows Alauddin’s character well enough that she knows that failing to capture her will break him more than defeat on the battlefield? *throws hands up, because your guess is good as mine*

Or, I propose a change that would honestly work with the rest of film as scripted/directed, albeit probably come off very controversial: have Padmavati, disgusted by Ratan Sen’s disrespectful behavior both during and after her rescue of him, realize that both her husband and her enemy are equally bad, and that, therefore, whether Chittor wins or loses, she will still be in the hands of a man she cannot love or trust. Have her--in a shoutout to Sita, honestly--throw herself into the fire, if you must, so that they both can’t have her, as neither of them deserve her. Have the film really bite into its misandrist undertones, because surely I’m not the only one who watched Ratan Sen and just. recoiled with horror?

Also, Padmavati aside, I really wanted to see--well, options for the other women, Even if you say that a woman would rather kill herself than be abused by the invaders (a valid choice! that’s fine!), I hate the implied victim-blaming of those who decide that they’d rather take their chances with the invaders, or those who’d rather die fighting, or those who’d rather try and escape, or--

The point is there is no one right way to be a woman, and I hate that the movie breaks down its roles to either Rajput swords or Rajput bangles (also, in a really gender-essential way, but that’s a different discussion). Even a quick cut of some women being offered the chance to fight/escape/something, and taking it, would allow me to watch that final scene with the awe I am meant to feel rather than the horror. Because in all those women, you guys know there were at least a few who didn’t want to go through with jauhar, and didn’t feel they could speak up--and that , to me, is chilling.

Another way to solve this problem, TBH, is to make the film’s Mehrunissa’s, too. Make her more than the sad cipher she is for most of the movie--for example, can you guys imagine the movie starting with the shot of the desert and the ostricth and Mehru’s voice narrating, “We none of us guessed what he would come to mean for us...” (Mehru would add more color and personality as a narrator than Generic Woman Voiceover.

Pair Mehru and Padmavati’s stories--as Padmavati adjusts to Rajput customs, Mehru navigates the court she grew up in, now turned upside down by Khilji’s chaos. As Padmavati tries to bond with Nagmati, have Mehru reach out to and interact with Jhatyapali. Give Mehru a voice, so that the movie’s not just one woman’s story, but many others--and then, as a bonus, you can lose the annoying and redundant scenes of “....did you know Khilji is crazy” and the weird and historically inaccurate homophobic nature of Khilji and Kafur’s interactions. (Why couldn’t they just take delight in each other’s wickedness, even if they had to both be villains? Why is Khilji so OTT abusive, and Kafur gross and depraved? Why are their scenes honestly just used to mirror the Wholesome Heterosexual Love of Ratan Sen and Padmavati?)

what that gives you, then, is an end where Mehru--in contrast to Padmavati--is a woman who chooses to survive, so that you give equal screen time and respect to both choices women made in those days, rather than just one. And plus, having Mehru’s wistful voiceover narrate Padmavati’s sacrifice warms my shipper heart would hypothetically end the movie on a “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story” note (to paraphrase Hamilton), and hopefully dig into the characterization of both women.

I’m sorry for the enormous essay! Thank you for the interesting question and lovely compliments :)

[kenkamishiro]

Jack Jeanne Playthrough Part 3 (April 5)

1 month later. April 5th in the VN. Kisa is at Univeil and excited she passed the entrance exam. She runs into her childhood friend Yonaga who's also been accepted. He's shocked that Kisa is attending too, but before she can explain Suzu joins them, introduces one each other.

Quartz's theme is "transparency" where many inexperienced performers who haven't specialized yet tend to go.

Onyx = Jacks whose forte is in dance.

Rhodonite = Jeannes who specialize in song.

Amber is where talented and unique students gather.

Suzu theorizes Kisa would be in Rhodonite because of her appearance, himself in Onyx because his physical abilities make him more suitable for dancing than singing or acting. Yonaga would like to be in Quartz.

Yonaga: Quartz...would be nice.

Suzu: I get what you mean!

Yonaga: Huh?

Suzu: Tbh I enrolled in Univeil cause I really admire Tachibana Tsuki, the legendary Jackace of Quartz!

Kisa: ...!

Suzu: That's why I wanna be in the same class as Tachibana Tsuki...come to think of it, your last names are the same.

Kisa: (If people find out I'm related to Tsuki-nii, it might make it even easier for them to discover my identity...! But it might be better than lying poorly...)

Kisa: It's true. It's the same (nonchalantly)

Yonaga: ......

Suzu: Maybe you guys are distant relatives!

Kisa: *nervous laughter*

Yonaga cuts in and says they should go check which class they're in. Kisa thanks Yonaga for the save. Their year is the 78th class of Univeil. All 3 are in Quartz.

Kisa gets called to the headmaster's office.

Chuuza congratulates her and informs her about her admission. The only ones who know that Kisa is a girl is him, Quartz's homeroom teacher Enishi Rokurou, and now Yonaga, Kisa's childhood friend. Chuuza is surprised that someone who knew about Kisa enrolled in the school.

But if anyone else finds out that she's a girl, expulsion. But since a lot of students are feminine, she won't have to go out of her way to act and dress like a boy. He reminds her to build trust with the rest of the students, and aim to become a lead and aim for the top.

Kisa arrives to Quartz's homeroom late.

??: Yes, yes, come right in.

Kisa: (The teacher...? But he's in a student uniform.)

??: You were called in quite loudly during the school announcements. Did you run into any issues on the first day? Theft, robbery, manslaughter, extortion, coercion, or a bank robbery, perhaps...?

(Please watch the clip of this scene. Can you tell he and Furuta share the same VA? 😄)

Fumi: No one like that would be in our school, Kuro.

??: But wouldn't be great to have such a plucky 1st year around, Fuumin! All the world's a stage!

Fumi: And, if the cops came?

??: I concede! Law is what keeps society together.

Kai: ...you two are bothering the 1st years.

Kisa finds a seat by Suzu and Yonaga.

Neji Kokuto (3rd year, 76th class of Univeil) welcomes the 1st year students to Univeil and Quartz. Class leader-slash-scriptwriter-slash-director-slash...all kinds of other things! He provides an info-dump about Univeil for us.

5 performances in total: Rookie, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Univeil Exhibitions. The Rookie Exhibition is where the 1st years take the lead roles, which is going to be held May 30th. Today is April 5th, so less than 2 months remain. Most viewers will watch over them warmly,  but others will be more strict, like journal reporters, critics and avid Univeil fans. Neji will write a script to allow even novices like them to shine on stage. Casting will be announced mid-April. Upper years are also participating and support the 1st years.

Neji: If you have any questions, all you need is to ask. I'm sure all our seniors here will be more than happy to help you.

??: What, no way.

Neji: With some exceptions of course! Mwahaha. Mikki's a 2nd year now, you can be a little nice to your juniors, hm?

??: ...

Kisa notes he looks cute like a doll. Shirota Mitsuki, noted for his singing. He catches Kisa staring at him, and she apologizes.

Neji asks if anyone has any questions. You're given 3 options: 1) How casting is determined, 2) Type of training to be done, 3) No questions.

Casting is based on Neji's subjective judgment. Everything from how they're doing in lessons, campus life, the way they walk, talk, physique, voice, facial expressions. Essentially based on his intuition, which he uses to find gemstones in the rough.

Training I'll explain later, there's gameplay related to it.

Neji finishes his spiel and passes it on to Quartz's homeroom teacher, Enishi. Pretty low energy. Lessons start tomorrow. Class is dismissed.

Suzu meets Kisa outside the Quartz dorms and asks if she's ready to introduce herself to the other students. He notes it's hard to find people since Univeil is so large. They chat for a bit, Suzu asks Kisa to call him by his first name, so Suzu-kun it is.

Inside Yonaga's dorm. He's finished unpacking, though he's still yet to put away his books (on theatre). He asks how Kisa got into Univeil, and she explains what happened. Yonaga says he'll help Kisa to make sure she stays at Univeil. He's glad that Kisa is here with him.

Yonaga: Kisa-chan, about Tsuki-kun...

Kisa: I can't get in touch with Tsuki-nii, but I'm sure he's doing fine wherever he is. 

Yonaga: I see. Yeah, I'm sure he is.

(Isn't that sketchy? Maybe he turned into that weasel with the moon on its belly lol)

Kisa begins her search for the Quartz students. At the Univeil courtyard, Kisa hears Mitsuki singing.

"Within this chest of mine I dance, the rhythm of possibilities"

Kisa: (I'd heard he was lauded for his singing, but he really has a beautiful voice...the lyrics paint the scene in my head.)

Mitsuki: ...could you not stare at me like that? It's uncomfortable.

Kisa: Oh, I'm sorry!

Mitsuki: Oh, you again. The 1st year who came in late.

Kisa: Yes. My name is Tachibana Kisa. It's a pleasure to meet you.

Mitsuki: Huh...you've got a face like a girl.

Kisa: Eh? Y-yes, I suppose so.

Mitsuki: A high-pitch voice. A delicate figure. And a Jeanne at that. At least be aware of your own features.

Kisa: I-I'm sorry.

He sighs and introduces himself. 2nd year, 77th class of Univeil. A Jeanne and a tresor (songstress/diva) of Quartz. VA is Kajiwara Gakuto (Asta). Kisa compliments him on his singing.

Mitsuki: So you were eavesdropping.

Kisa: I-I'm sorry.

Mitsuki: Well, not like I care either way. Later.

Kisa: He left...I guess he doesn't really like interacting with people. But his voice really was beautiful.

(If I had to describe Mitsuki's tone, it would be similar to Kenma, but a bit more antisocial lol)

Kisa finds Kai in the forest, seemingly concentrating on something. She decides to come back later, but Kai notices her.

Kai: ...? Quartz's 1st year?

Kisa: Yes! I'm Tachibana Kisa.

Kai: I see, you're...

Kisa: Yes!

(awkward silence between the two)

Kai: Mutsumi Kai, 76th class of Univeil. I'm a 3rd year.

Kisa: So I should call you Mutsumi-senpai!

Kai: Kai is fine. You can call me that around other people too.

Kisa: But...

Kai: ...

Kisa: ...(agrees)

Kai: ...

Kisa: T-then, I'll call you Kai-san!

Kai: Okay.

Kisa notes Kai is the Jackace of Quartz. And since Tsuki was also the Jackace, that means he must be talented too.

Kai: I'm a vessel meant to garnish the Aljeanne. Nothing more, nothing less.

Kisa is confused by his statement. Convo ends.

Kisa runs into Neji next in the hallways. He enters a room then promptly comes back out.

Neji: Welcome!

Kisa: Ah!

Neji: What're you doing in a place like this?

Kisa: I'm going around introducing myself to everyone in Quartz.

Neji invites her into his workroom where he writes his scripts and plans his staging. But he also performs on stage, any male or female role, from a shining prince/princess to old grannies/gramps.

He's currently working on the script for Quartz, but he won't reveal it just yet. Kisa asks if the other class leaders write the scripts like he does, but Neji is a special case, who screenwrites, directs and performs.

Neji: Once you get carried away, you can't see what's going on around you. What we do has no end to it. Acting, dancing, singing, they're fields that you can pursue for a lifetime. You could reach the stars, or merely end up as a master of none. No matter how much time,  it will never be enough. It's a terrifying world out there. That's why it's so engrossing. The stage is a colossal device. The Jacks and Jeannes make up the gears, and I am the craftsman who pieces them together. Let's create a fantastic stage together, Tachibana-kun!

Neji must continue writing, and wishes Kisa the best for the Rookie Exhibition. (Neji definitely talks the most out of the main cast lol. And fast too, talks a mile a minute and tone varies hugely)

Kisa finds Fumi standing languidly in the middle of the dance room, taking deep breaths before beginning to dance. A Japanese-style dance where his movements are gentle, beautiful and brilliant. He comments on Kisa staring intently at him, just like during the entrance exam.

Kisa is surprised that Fumi remembered, despite the number of applicants.

Fumi: I remember you and the red-haired guy well cause you two danced so terribly.

Kisa: Oh...

Fumi: I'm just kidding. Though the red-haired guy really did suck.

Kisa introduces herself, and Fumi pauses at hearing the name Tachibana. 3rd year Takashina Sarafumi, 76th class of Univeil, but he prefers being called Fumi, no senpai honorific attached. Kisa ends up calling him Fumi-san.

Fumi: Let's have fun, Kisa. (leaves)

Kisa: It's overwhelming seeing him up close. So that's the power of an Aljeanne.

Kisa goes to her room excited for her new life at Univeil and retires for the night for her 1st day of classes tomorrow.

＊＊＊

previous || next (to be updated)

[tracingpatterns]

Beyond the Wrong and into the Pattern

Last week, Kai Cole shocked the internet when she came clean about her ex-husband, the screenwriter and director Joss Whedon, who is best known as the creator of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In a scathing essay for the Wrap, Cole describes Whedon’s repeated violation of their relationship boundaries, his lying and gaslighting, and the ways that his neglect led her to compromise her integrity as she struggled to keep their 16-year marriage together:

“Joss admitted that for the next decade and a half, he hid multiple affairs and a number of inappropriate emotional ones that he had with his actresses, co-workers, fans and friends, while he stayed married to me,” Cole writes. “Despite understanding, on some level, that what he was doing was wrong, he never conceded the hypocrisy of being out in the world preaching feminist ideals, while at the same time taking away my right to make choices for my life and my body based on the truth. He said, after he left, he understood: ‘It’s not just like I killed you, but that I’d done it subtly, over years. That I’d been poisoning you. Chipping away at you.’ He made me doubt my own instincts and watched me move further away from my personal values and social mores, trying to connect with him, never telling me it was impossible."

Cheating is often perceived as a problem in a marriage rather than one of boundaries and consent. Marriage, after all, is easy to categorize as part of patriarchy’s structural constraints on women, a dated mechanism that cannot be expected to “work.” Looked at it a different way, however -- as an agreement made by people about their needs and limits -- it becomes much easier to understand how repeatedly stepping out without any effort to renegotiate the existing relationship agreement is, in essence, a denial of a partner’s right to exercise agency. “It’s not just like I killed you,” Whedon told her, referencing the ultimate denial of agency. But it’s worse than that: it’s that he acted like she didn’t have a right to agency.

A recurring pattern of cheating is emotionally destabilizing -- in order to keep the relationship going, a partner must be lied to and sometimes gaslit. As instances of emotional neglect, disconnection and misattunement pile up, the partner being lied to begins to exercise betrayal blindness to cope with the mounting cognitive dissonance. This process is largely not conscious. As the betrayal scholar Dr. Jennifer Freyd writes, “unawareness helps the victim survive. [Betrayal theory] draws on two facts about our nature as social beings and our dependence and reliance on others. First, we are extremely vulnerable in infancy, which gives rise to a powerful attachment system [that views maintaining the bonds we form with others as a biological imperative]. Second, we have a constant need to make ‘social contracts’ with other people in order to get needs met. This has led to the development of a powerful cheater-detector system. These two aspects of our humanity serve us well, but when the person we are dependent on is also the person betraying us, our two standard responses to trouble conflict with each other. [ ... ] The standard response to betrayal -- confrontation or withdrawal -- may only make the situation worse for the person who depends on the [person doing the betraying], because confrontation and withdrawal are generally not good for inspiring attachment and caregiving.” Freyd’s research and that of others in the past 30 years indicate that terror and violence are not the only things capable of traumatizing someone: betrayal does as well.  

Cole’s account illustrates why Lundy Bancroft recognizes “the Player” as one of the archetypal patterns of abuse in his seminal work on relational harm Why Does He Do That? Abuse is defined by entitlement (or to use Whedon’s own words: “When I was running Buffy, I was surrounded by beautiful, needy, aggressive young women [ ... ] I am a powerful producer and the world is laid out at my feet and I can’t touch it.” Except he did touch it and he felt justified in touching it (“In many ways I was the height of normal, in this culture. We’re taught to be providers and companions and at the same time, to conquer and acquire -- specifically sexually -- and I was pulling off both!”). Even as he admits that he had affairs that violated his wife’s consent and created literal hostile workplace environments on his sets, Whedon frames it not as deeply troubling pattern he needs to address but as a banquet laid out for him. The women with whom he had affairs aren’t agents any more than Cole is -- they are food items laid out for him. Like his then-wife, Whedon’s sexual partners are not humans with a right to self-determine. The world laid out a table and cruelly told him not to eat -- there are no other humans in this picture. “He is incapable of taking women seriously as human beings rather than playthings,” to quote Bancroft.

Whedon has suggested over the years that cheating on Cole was a personal problem specific to the tragedy of their growing apart over the course of nearly two decades together. However, his troubled history of relationships with other women -- from actresses and crew working on his shows, to other romantic partners -- and his work loudly contradict this assertion. In a 2015 analysis of his work, Laurel Jupiter spoke to the core of Whedon’s pattern:

The initial patriarchal villains of the Buffyverse were men who abused women using either brute strength or political power, but the three nerds [introduced later on in Buffy] are another kind of misogynistic male antagonist that grew to dominate and completely consume Joss’s work in the 00s: the nerdy, story-obsessed guy who used his intelligence and mastery of technology to abuse and control strong, heroic women. Nerdy men who, like Joss, either created or tampered with the women they wanted total control over, either by building androids or altering existing women, usually via invasive medical torture. 

Joss the writer invents the character of Buffy while having workplace clashes with her actress Sarah Michelle Gellar; [the three nerd villains in Buffy] Andrew, Warren, and Jonathan drug their girlfriends into compliance and create the BuffyBot to obey their will. This villain character would show up again and again in Joss’ later works: the scientist who had, thanks to his technical and storytelling skills, been given custody by higher powers over women who would normally be far out of his range of influence. And, uncomfortably, all of the actors cast for these roles bore a striking physical resemblance to Joss.

[The episode “Storyteller” in Buffy] was a story about Andrew the Joss-doppelgänger filming the house of potential Slayers for a series he called Buffy, Slayer of the Vampyres. A major theme of “Storyteller” was Andrew’s intrusive use of the Buffy cast’s personal lives and pain to make a good story, his refusal to acknowledge their privacy, and possibly, as Anya kept insisting, to use his videos as masturbation material. It seemed like a huge moment of self-awareness and self-reflection about the relationship Joss had to the real and fictional women who worked for him, especially given the conflicts he had at the time with actresses like Charisma Carpenter over her character Cordelia and personal bodily autonomy (pregnancy) [He reportedly fired Carpenter for getting pregnant as well as other abuses]. It was self-critical and raw and I was proud of Joss for being willing to go there in such a public way.

Buffy ended, and Andrew redeemed himself, but the misogynist-nerd-self-loathing metastory intensified. One of the aspects of the Three Nerds villain arc that had always made me profoundly uncomfortable was the way Joss positioned the boys’ nerdy pursuits and lack of traditional masculinity -- not just their treatment of women -- as something inherently repulsive. Viewers were supposed to be disgusted by the sight of three dorky boys nerding out over Star Wars figurines. Buffy and the house full of potential slayers call Andrew vile names for being a nerd, not in response to his behavior [toward them]; by the end of his run, I felt the urge to protect Andrew -- not from the girls, but from Joss -- who was clearly using him as a punching bag onto which he was projecting his own self-loathing. 

The next major Joss project was Dollhouse, with evil scientist and Joss-lookalike Topher Brink programming, manipulating, and violating various women into playacting roles he’d scripted for them. It was such a blatant story about Joss and his actresses it was difficult to watch. Like, My Feminism Is Just An Excuse To Exploit Hot Actresses, I Am Such A Disgusting Creature!!! Coming soon to the CW!  

At some point in his career, Joss became so intent on the masochistic fantasy of being hated by strong women for being a nerd that he spent a decade writing stories about violating those women to ensure they would hate him. 

This pattern shows through in Cole’s essay. She, a strong and self-possessed woman, supported and buttressed Whedon’s dreams and pushed him to develop these into a career. She cofounded Bellwether Pictures with him. She kept their life together as he worked on numerous projects. She adored him, and he ensured her destruction and through it, that of their marriage. 

It’s tempting to imagine that marriage is complicated, that the fault hides in the love and attention Whedon was not receiving from his wife. But then why would he destroy the next relationship he had in which a new partner offered to explore a non-exclusive relationship together? 

After his separation from Cole, Whedon had the opportunity to have a nonmonogamous relationship in which he could explore his interest in power-exchange (that is, erotic play involving power and control, or BDSM). He chose instead to slowly poison this partner too, to use his own words, but in a different way. Arden Leigh, singer songwriter of Arden and the Wolves, writes:

In the wake of his separation I offered him a consensual non-monogamous BDSM relationship so he could have his fantasies responsibly, and he STILL chose monogamy and lying.

I figured hey, marriages are messy, and while there was no question he made mistakes (which he admitted), I chalked it up to societal default monogamy and sexual repression being the problem. I thought he deserved a chance at having what he wanted in an honest way, and I offered him that. And in return he took everything I offered and then piled so much shame on me for it that I spent a good year of my life thinking I was completely unworthy of love, that I'd always fall on the wrong side of someone's Madonna/whore complex. The effort I've undertaken since the start of 2016 to undo this fuckery has been monumental.

Monogamy is not the problem. One troublesome marriage is not the problem. When you hate yourself so much that you only get off when the women you desire hate you too, then you will continue to hurt people so that you can revel in the guilt over what a piece of shit you are. And when you are a rich white man who has every resource to heal and instead you consciously choose not to so that you can stay in the comfort of your patterns of hurting both others and yourself, that's no different from abuse. And I'm glad to see it made public.

Looking over the archetypes of abuse that Bancroft describes in Why Does He Do That? we begin to recognize that the infidelity described by both of Whedon’s former partners is actually a symptom, rather than the problem itself. In many ways, Whedon’s use of his position as a feminist ally bears more resemblance to Bancroft’s “Mr. Sensitive” than “the Player”: 

He loves the language of feelings, openly sharing his insecurities, his fears, and his emotional injuries. [ ... ] Often he has participated extensively in therapy or twelve-step programs, or reads all the big self-help books, so he speaks the language of popular psychology and introspection. His vocabulary is sprinkled with jargon like developing closeness, working out our issues, and facing up to hard things about myself. He presents himself to women as an ally in the struggle against sex-role limitations. 

Mr. Sensitive wraps himself in one of the most persuasive covers a man can have. If you start to feel chronically mistreated by him, you are likely to assume that something is wrong with you, and if you complain about him to other people, they may think you must be spoiled: ‘You have the New Age man, what more do you want?’ 

He blames his behavior on you or on his emotional ‘issues,’ saying that his feelings were so deeply wounded he had no other choice. [ ... ] The “gentle man” style of abuser tends to be highly self-centered and demanding of emotional catering. He plays up how fragile he is to divert attention from the swatch of destruction he leaves behind him.