#and simon's end of act 1 monologue is >>>

[unchartedentity]

#I wonder if lotf would be different if they were band kids instead of choir kids

Ralph was in the school orchestra!! (According to the stageplay at least)

He plays the flute (And/or sax and/or clarinet, it's kinda hard to tell). And that's also a marching band instrument. So yeah Band Kid Ralph headcannon

It makes me sad to think about how many people will never experience Marching Band 💔

[attorneys-against-court-violence]

(Image IDs featuring character dialogue are described as such:

Background

Character (Pose, additional character/elements):

"Dialogue")

Aura Blackquill fascinates me as a specimen. Much of that is tied to her initial introduction in Case 5-4 - specifically, how Athena reacted to her.

We've had our fair share of blowhards and hagglers that got under Athena's skin. She's complained a lot, got backed into a corner, even brought into an emotional shut-down on two occassions. Her reaction to Aura is unique, however.

She's quiet for a good chunk of the conversation, tucked away in her sad pose until Aura goes on her monologue about how she doesn't trust emotionally-motivated humans to run the courts. That causes Athena to pipe up a little, though she's not quite angry - Widget is still in it's "Sad" mode from earlier and only switches to "Angry" after Aura compares her to an animal (Athena isn't fond of that).

This doesn't hit me as a reaction Athena would have to any old cold-hearted cynic. She's seems genuinely hurt that Aura of all people is saying these things. When Phoenix tells her to get a hold of herself when she gets genuinely angry and wants to punch Aura, it doesn't carry the same comedic vibe that her doing the same with Gaspen or L'belle did; it's not righteous anger at a garden-variety scumbag. This is Athena hearing someone vilify everything she knows, is, and cares about in spite of whatever image she held of that person prior to this engagement. It's not like Simon either, who still held good intentions and Athena especially in high-regard. Aura's loathing is the real deal and it hurts Athena to witness.

So let's go over some connections and theming, shall we? Athena will stick around as our reference point but the focus from here-on will be discussing Aura and how her history and contrast to one or the other Cykes paint a picture of who she is, why that person would be uniquely equipped to push Athena's buttons and eventually force her to confront the even that changed both of them.

In order, we'll be discussing:

Aura Blackquill's relationship with the Cykes

How both of them treat Metis' creations

CLONCO and how it could act as a proxy for Athena

A small detour to discuss Aura's relation to Simon

(I'll be using it/its pronouns for PONCO and CLONCO)

Auf gehts!

Aura Blackquill & the Cykes

So who is Aura? At face-value, she's a robotics expert working for GYAXA. Her contributions are largely in the automated machines she has designed and built for the Space Centre, alongside her partner Metis Cykes (mother of Athena Cykes), an arrangement she was quite content with.

Aura is known to have collaberated with Metis on projects based around Athena's hearing, PONCO and CLONCO in particular. Her proximity to and implied relationship with Metis puts her in a uniquely knowledgeable position regarding the inventions made to improve Athena's life. Granted she handled the hardware side of things while Metis carried the psychological/software end, but they were still both building emotional robots based on and for an emotionally unique child.

We don't know much, or anyhting explicitly, about Aura and Athena's relationship prior to UR-1 and any information we can glean from current-day interactions are heavily coloured by Aura's suspicion and intense hatred. We could assume that Athena's condition (and the consequences of that on her social development) made her a difficult child to work with. Aura's grievences here would be an exaggeration of the problems she had with someone so high-maintanence. Athena's most relevant flaw, in Aura's eyes, is revealed in what she says here:

It's well-established that Athena did not believe Metis loved her when she was a child. Aura was the one working the closest with Metis to create the gifts that would help Athena, and yet? She still hated her mother. We know Aura finds human irrationality loathsome today; the idea that Athena could still despise Metis, even though she works so hard to help her daughter, goes against both Aura's values and the labour of someone she deeply cares about. Although this might also be in lack of consideration for Athena's unique emotional situation - this will be relevant when we come back to CLONCO so I'll cover that when we get there.

For now, we know that Aura was enough of a different person to willingly help Metis with projects that aided someone else; someone she saw as selfish and ignorant of her mother's efforts. Said projects were also research into psychology, as well as to provide emotionally intelligent companions to space-travellers. While I'm sure Aura enjoyed the prospect of building rational machines to stem emotional instability in human astronauts, she was still heavily involved in creations that tie strongly to emotionalism.

Her tirade denouncing that idea in favour of rational thought is a cut against Metis' work and what Athena had been surrounded with and chose to study with vigour. Notably - despite hating her mother - Athena felt as though Metis supported her pursuit of psychology from beyond the grave.

In short, Aura's rational mindset has gone so far as to vilify a strong passion that both Cykes held. Largely due to how her point of contact with the subject was making things for a strange, ungrateful little girl who seemd to have repaid them by killing her own mother.

The Robots: Athena's Affection & Aura's Abuse

I feel that both characters attitude towards the GYAXA robots visually represent the way they see and respect human emotion - a subject that both the Cykes intimately studied and that Aura appears to loathe in the present - when it's applied to something that has zero moral or social consequences for treating in any way (ie PONCO and CLONCO are effectively "Who You Are in the Dark" tests for these two).

Athena clearly loves the robots. PONCO especially with how she greeted it like we would a family pet while she was investigating with Phoenix:

As a child, Athena humanised the robots to a degree even she thought was excessive; most obviously by wrapping them in bandages and writing "get well soon!" messages on them:

Aura has no such respect for CLONCO. She hits it, leans on it like a prop, tinkers with its insides while it's still running, even strangling it at one point. She goes from altering its mind to full-on overriding CLONCO's control of its body for herself. She does have reasons for why this is fine; CLONCO is an unfeeling machine and its body is just a proxy for its actual "brain" that's running remotely somewhere in the Space Centre. That said it's not hard to see that her abuse is related to her anger - both the underlying grief for Metis and more explicit rage when kicking Phoenix and Trucy out of the lab.

Both of these robots are walking remnants of Metis' research, which has already been discussed. Even if Athena hated her mother, she was fascinated by Metis' work and inhereted a passion for psychology from her and the environment she created in the Space Centre. Understanding people's emotions with enough accuracy to mirror them yourself is a core trait of both her and the robots. Aura, on the other hand, has love for Metis but not the subject of human emotion that both Athena and the robots are intrinsicly tied to. Beyond that, she's acting irreverantly to an object that gave Athena fond memories of the days before UR-1. To Athena, these were the only positive connections she had besides Juniper and Simon. To Aura, they were just another inanimate creation and later something to take her grief-driven anger out on despite their connection to Metis.

CLONCO as a Young Athena Proxy

CLONCO already acts as an effective tool to show how Aura antagonises the things that make Athena, Athena; her dismissiveness of emotion, the mistreatment of Metis' research, the vitriol for what brings Athena joy in the past and present. An argument can be made that CLONCO also represents another angle to Aura's hatred; that of the young Athena Cykes she once knew in the past.

Let's take a quick look at CLONCO a moment:

It's almost identical to PONCO in that it's a robot built to understand and "feel" human emotions (to a dubious extent). Immediately though, we see that CLONCO unstable and uncanny compared to PONCO. It doesn't display the same emotional range as its counterpart - in fact, it largely remains in its "Neutral" state except for when Aura attacks and tinkers with it. There, it displays "Sad" and "Shocked" emotions that imply to be simulating discomfort and pain from what she does to it ("Sad" can also mean "Fearful" based on what we know of Widget's representation of emotions).

CLONCO's instability visibly affects its ability to emote and communicate with others. Both it and PONCO have childish personalities. This could act as a stand-in for Athena Cykes - at least, how Aura seems to see Athena Cykes.

Aura Blackquill sees Athena as an emotionally unstable child. It's not without precident; Athena was poorly socialised and likely couldn't process her hyper-empathy quite as deftly as today. People's emotions were the cause of most of her pain as a child due to her enhanced hearing. Her mother's inability to communicate effectively to her when giving her headphones that seemed to just hurt her definitely didn't help. Young Athena Cykes had plenty of issues that point to an emotionally unstable upbringing and she might have been in a bad state for longer than UR-1 (Widget having an 'emotionless' setting despite being made prior to that event speaks volumes).

Remember when I mentioned that Aura's annoyances with young Athena were not fully considerate of her situation? With CLONCO being an "emotionally" unstable, child-like entity that Aura seems to be fully responsible for, I believe that her abusive attitude towards it reflects how much she's come to loathe the image of Athena Cykes she has built in her head after years of dealing with intense grief and suspicion. CLONCO never acts maliciously of course but given that it's a creation of Metis Cykes that bears at least some resemblance to the person Aura believes is responsible for her murder, her violence towards it could have a deeper layer than CLONCO just being a convenient target for her wrath.

In short, Athena has witnessed someone she knew who cared about her mother very much do the following:

Mistreat the very inventions she (Aura) and Metis made together

Attack an object that brought Athena great joy as a child

Talk mad shit about Athena and Metis' main field(s) of study

Call Athena stupid for valuing emotions above rational thought

Smack what may be a stand-in for an emotionally stunted child

And all of the above with a tone of voice likely seeped in wrath towards her and grief for Metis.

Aura's antagonism towards Athena is what ultimately pushes the latter further in her character arc; that Aura hates the fact Athena managed to avoid the consequences of UR-1 is what drives her to push the issue, force Athena and her circle into a situation where they must confront this awful event head-on. For this, Aura needs to be someone who can and wants to push Athena's buttons in a way few (if any) others can, and that is achieved by establishing an intense loathing for everything that represents Athena as a person in just one scene. Later scenes with Aura further expand on this and it is a ride to watch unfold.

Brief Detour: Blackquill & Blackquill

Real quick, I wanted to highlight how Aura relates to her brother Simon. Both have traits and views on UR-1 that stand in stark contrast of one another and take actions that clashes with the other.

Let's start with their modes of thinking. Simon, as a psychologist, views the UR-1 incident within that framework. To him it isn't concievable that Athena Cykes would murder her own mother despite lacking concrete evidence against it. This and his reasonable assumption that the phantom could have swung by for the psyche profile (an event he planned in advance against by hiding it with Taka) were enough to motivate his taking of the blame. Even when no evidence had surfaced of the true series of events, Simon stuck with this until push comes to shove and he has no choice but to confirm that Athena is a very likely suspect (note that he never explicitly says that she did it even then!). Aura by contrast is a mechanical engineer. She uses deductive reasoning and verifiable evidence to piece things together. At face-value, looking at the events of UR-1 with that lens points to Athena being the one responsible. While her biases against Athena - emboldened by this percieved crime - had caused her to irrationally tunnel onto this conclusion, the fact that she's a rationally-minded scientist had caused her to assume that she was still being completely reasonable.

There's also Simon's self-sacrificing nature versus Aura's vengful tendancies. Protection versus persecution. One Blackquill literally gives up his own life to ensure that injustice doesn't pass to someone he cares about, while the other dedicates their life to enact justice on the one she believes is responsible. Part of that is making sure UR-1's ruling does not harm her brother of course, though as she says in the conversation that has taken up much of this essay:

Revenge is unavoidably a part of her motivation, contrasted with Simon who would rather sacrifice himself over anyone else.

It explains their conflict quite well; Aura is frustrated that Simon is taking what she sees as a very illogical, self-desctructive path to protect someone who doesn't deserve saving. Simon meanwhile disuades her from helping him escape, knowing that she would make damn sure Athena would get what she thinks she deserves. Interestingly this is where Aura and Athena's motivations line up the most. Both want Simon to be free and the latter comes to accept that freeing him means coming to terms with a terrible truth.

Both Aura and Athena take steps towards a conclusion that will ultimately harm Athena, the former already accepting the ugly truth and the latter so repressed the realisation can't take root until the matter is forced out. If anything, Simon is keeping both characters from dealing with this idea and would have completely removed himself from their lives, causing even greater loss for them.

Post-Essay Ramblings

Aura is a character I could chew on all day. Part of that is because she knocked it out of the park for me right off the bat with her initial introduction and Athena's reaction to it.

We have a character who's lesson is to embrace your emotions, to find those you can trust and give space to process the mental storm. As part of her arc, she has a connected character who beats the crap out of a product of emotion to push her to confront that storm by force. It genuinely makes me sad that this is the only time Athena and Aura interact in the entire game.

No, I'm serious, this scene is the only time these two ever talk to one another. These two, who have a fraught history and a setup for a tense dynamic while having the same motivation of saving Simon Blackquill, only interact once. I can begrudgingly see why in the sense that Aura wouldn't go out of her way to make chit-chat with the girl who killed Metis Cykes, though there are still things you could do with that idea in mind. Personally I'd have killed to see Athena's reaction to Aura finally accepting that she didn't kill her mother, especially when their first interaction had set up a great deal of conflict.

Athena was in the room when Simon apologised to Aura, maybe the two could have had a word there? Perhaps it would have cluttered between Apollo's resolution and Simon's apology. I don't know. I'm just sad we didn't get a follow-up on their first interaction.

Yeah, that's all I got. It's been a long post so to quote Aura herself:

Just don't spill it on the Kerfus.

[torihakaraublog]

Obey Me! NB Events 1 - 3

An archive of event blog post (1/5) from my twitter (originally posted before I started my tumblr). Gosh its so hard to go back and look at old twitter posts! Glad I started doing the event blogs here instead lol

Obey Me! NB "The Cursed Seed and the Fertilizing Flame" Pop Quiz

(idk where my post about this event went... thanks twitter...

At least the screenshots are saved on my phone :3 (I don't have the energy to find them rn tho)

But anyways I did some fan art for it with Lucifer and Asmo! <3 There is a whole monologue about how Lucifer hecking STOLE a kiss from me. It was too soon man!

Edit: omg I found a link to the post just as I finished posting event 12! We are winning today!)

Omg me and Lucifer kissed! That escalated quickly *blushes* Apparently I just acted in the wrong moment before and so he was not up to hand holding.

It didn't feel super romantic tho for some reason xD guess I'm still hurting from his previous rejection... honestly I would have rather gone with the hug option at this time, but I didn't like it's wording.

Me: "I'm here for Simeon and Levi only!" Also me: "Lucifer hold my hannnnndddd." "Let's kiss!"

(Turned some of the art into animatics as well!)

Thanks for checking in on me Simon TwT. Also Lucifer rejected my hond holding during the event *tear*

Obey Me! NB "The Demon's Gambit" Pop Quiz

(Note from future Brooke: Have good memories of this event - got to hang out with a irl friend while it was going on)

Beel getting scolded for eating treats Luke made *tear* poor Beel he has such a hard time with his urges.

"I've fallen for you all over again." How could I not Bel <3 I really appreciated getting some time with Bel as I haven't much in the main story yet <3

We ain't smooching, but I must say this is one of the cutest thing anyone has every done for me (well in game lol) <3 <3

Thank you Bel! <3 let's bake together next time <3

Cookie doodle :3 (bg on right is from the game wiki)

Suck it obey me! I finally got all S tiers with an hour left of the event!

Obey Me! NB "RAD on Stage" Pop Quiz

Lucifer: "I don't mind being on dance team."

Asmo: "Awe but I would like to put you in a sexy outfit."

Me: "let's pull straws."

Diavolo: "I'll make them."

*Diavolo conveniently ends up on fashion team with Lucifer.*

I kinda speed run this event and I have thoughts: Why are the event cards not related to the event story?? I like the stage outfits! Would have been cool to get cards with them *sad sigh* also was there a 'kiss' option with Simeon and I just chose all wrong options?

I only got to hold hands when we bowed on stage. Tho this interaction with him was pretty cute! Overall I think the event was all over the place and kinda dry. (I feel it may have been a bit more exciting for Mammon stans).

Think I finally settled on a hair design for MC!

[technicolorfamiliar]

Technicolor Familiar Watches Too Many Conrad Veidt Movies Part 4 of ?

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3

The Wandering Jew, 1933 Dir. Maurice Elvey ⭐2.5/5 Watched Nov 30, Youtube Maybe it was my mood, maybe my expectations were too high, maybe it was the poor quality of the version I watched on Youtube, but I kept waiting for this movie to get better. It sort of did, eventually. The whole last act, especially Mathathias' powerful monologue during the courtroom/Inquisition scene, almost made up for the rest. I get what they were going for style-wise, but I think this kind of epic, mythical story could have benefited from some more grounded writing and performances. Either that or it should have gone harder in the other direction to be more impressionistic, more dreamlike. In the end I feel like it didn’t know what kind of movie it wanted to be.

Casablanca, 1942 Dir. Michael Curtiz ⭐4/5 Watched Dec 2, Max The balls they had to make this movie in 1942. I think the first time I saw this a few years ago I must not have been paying very close attention. This time around I definitely appreciated the whole thing a lot more. The cast, the production design, the lighting, the atmosphere are all pitch perfect. Why not 5 stars then? Maybe because I'm greedy and I want more. This is the only film on this list so far that I wouldn't mind being longer. I want to get to know all the supporting and side characters more. It's nice to see Connie with an ensemble of other excellent actors for a change. It really let him off the hook to be purely unlikeable and not have to carry the movie. As Strasser, he's ice cold with only the slightest trace of camp (which was much more pronounced in the previous year's All Through the Night). He played a lot of villains and unfortunately was typecast in these kinds of roles late in his career, but I think he finally got to showcase here his fervent contempt for the Nazis by playing this utterly icky guy with zero redeeming qualities. He understood the assignment.

Whistling in the Dark, 1941 Dir. S. Sylvan Simon ⭐2.75/5 Watched Dec 3, Archive.org This makes All Through the Night look like auteur cinema. But once again Connie sells it by being totally deadpan amongst all the slapstick tomfoolery. Love to see him with a bunch of underlings, especially at the beginning as they hatch their plan. It's clear he's having a lot of fun with his line delivery. Kind of wish there was more cult/con artist stuff for him to do, but the premise is enjoyable in an absurd way. I love the two ladies, Ann Rutherford and Virginia Grey; they sort of make up for how obnoxious Red Skeleton is. Most of the bits go on far too long though. My main take away from this movie is that I'll now be leaving every future interaction saying, "We part in radiant contentment."

Der Gang in die Nacht, 1921 Dir. F. W. Murnau ⭐2.5/5 Watched Dec 10, Archive.org It's been a minute since my last foray into silent Connie, so I wanted to watch Kreuzzug des Weibes which recently surfaced on Youtube only to have since mysteriously disappeared. Figures. So I watched this instead. A lot of these movies, silents and talkies, have rushed and disjointed endings and this is no exception. The restoration of the version on Archive is amazing, the quality is just beautiful. But I had a hard time connecting with this one, and I don't think it has anything to do with the expressionistic performances. I feel like they were maybe trying to say something about science vs art, while also throwing in messages about infidelity, etc. I don't know what I wanted, but this wasn't it. But I can't complain too much, Connie's romantic anguish is a thrill to watch. When he wakes up after recovering from surgery, his intensity is something else. It's crazy how palpable his performances are across so many years.

King of the Damned, 1935 Dir. Walter Forde ⭐3.5/5 Watched Dec 11, Archive.org This is only 3.5 because of the absolutely god awful quality of the version that's on Archive -- it's like someone did 18 shots of jäger, picked up a camcorder and recorded a bootleg of the movie on tv. It made me kind of seasick. Probably the worst copy of any of these movies I've seen so far. And that really sucks because I actually really liked the movie. It's surprisingly progressive in a way I wasn't expecting. The conversation it's trying to start about prison reform is still really relevant. And we get wet, sweaty, grimy shirtless Connie gently caressing other men in the jungle. I wish we had learned his name at the end, once the revolt was successful and the prisoners had control of the island, it would have been really satisfying for him to reclaim his identity again. But I also completely understand that it needed to not be about him, that he was committed to serving and advocating for the collective. Ugh, love it.

[petalsmooth]

People actually trying to argue shouldn't matter if Colin BRIDGERTON had less screentime than Penelope FEATHERINGTON by such a large degree because SIMON had less than Daphne.

Well first off season 1 as a WHOLE was longer than ANY other season. SO while may have had LESS time, STILL had a great deal.

Second...COLIN is the BRIDGERTON. Simon was the love interest of the Bridgerton. You can argue WHISTLEDOWN is a main character and you'd be right and I'd be fine with EQUAL time but spare me that you think for a moment Colin/Newton didn't get screwed. Especially when Pen/Whistledown has had TWO PRIOR seasons of significant screentime already surpassing his. It wasn't PEN'S perspective we needed. It was the character constantly left to have Luke convey meaning with his expressions (which he does admirably) but is rarely allowed to engage or develop his thoughts and feelings and motivations in dialogue or with other characters. We got more development this year but mainly just because he was PEN'S romantic interest. His own side story was barely discernable and most of the audience didn't have a clue what was happening in his head until the brief monologue at the Butterfly ball. This is not an acting fail, this is screentime discrepancy/writing failure.

I get some people are hardcore Pen/Nicola fans and don't really give a damn as long as she gets everything you want for her or people love her but some people are fans of Colin/Luke too (as well as her) and would have appreciated in his OWN SEASON having more equality and for his character to be understood. Not dumped on in the end with some ridiculous Cressida plot that served only to make him appear impotent (which was ENTIRELY unneeded) or sidelined for other plots. You all bemoan the hate he gets but don't seem to think there is correlation to the fact the show didn't give him a voice for large periods of time. And with the Bridgerton audience who has difficulty understanding things actually spelled out onscreen, it's ridiculous you'd think converting a narrative from the books that had significant inner monologues without converting it to verbal monologue would work.

Also I love the direction they went with Pen and Portia but you don't think it would have been nice if Colin, who feels his family does not need or care about him, had resolution as well? You don't think he deserved that moment where HIS family realized taking HIM for granted has impacted his own insecurities to point he felt he needed to become someone entirely different?

I dunno...I don't think an extra 20 minutes for Colin Bridgerton would have been too much to ask to add all this in.

The show even took away HIS big moment in the book where yes he struggles with jealousy but you see it come full circle in his PUBLIC display of pride for Pen as defiantly challenges the ton to accept her as Whistledown. This mattered to his character arc in the book and WOULD have helped greatly here too.

That speech at the end did next to nothing for Pen's arc. I hated it. It was anti-climatic and she apologized to her bullies. It was not an empowering moment and it was the WORST change they made. But even so, even if disagree, maybe should disengage yourself from Pen rose colored glasses to realize if you TAKE away a big defining moment for another character's evolution as they did with COLIN you have to REPLACE it with something equally grand. The show just gave him a quiet speech about being lucky to be in her light and doesn't matter if has a purpose outside of her. Again...you might find that romantic but not everyone does.

I am all in favor of a man being comfortable if spouse if more famous or financially or critically successful but that should NOT mean HIS purpose should be entirely supporting her. If THAT is your idea of romance, than essentially you are just saying you have no real issue with toxic tropes of the good little house wife supporting her man and basking in his acclaim to find her self worth. You just want the gender roles reversed. Maybe that's not what they meant to convey, but it sure sounded like that to me when they spoke about it.

Plus if they had DONE the book ending not only would it have been a good character evolution for COLIN and a call back to season one where Pen declares love should be proclaimed loudly, proudly, fervently but it would have been empowering for PEN as well to have the people who had slighted her, ignored her presence, bullied her and mocked her actually clapping FOR HER pointing out their own foibles and hypocrisies. There is a certain delicious justice in watching that crowd be challenged into clapping FOR someone who made them acknowledge their own faults and pay for it too. But then I never saw Whistle down as the issue the show made her to be. She only owed a few people an apology, not the whole bloody ton.

And lastly, while Simon may have had less screentime NO ONE can say he didn't have sounding boards to discuss his issues with in Will and Anthony and Lady Danbury and even a flashback with his father to better understand him. For Colin We got scenes with Benedict, but never opened up to him. We had Anthony and Kate, but still only one real line of admission to KATE. Violet mainly talked TOWARDS him, he didn't confide in her. Colin had no one to talk to except the worst person ever...the person blackmailing his wife. And the reason for this again goes back to the show not letting him resolve issues with his family the way they did Pen. Hell, they could have even had him develop a confidence with John if not his family to have the discussion with but they didn't care enough about his character to do it.

SO yes Colin/Luke fans will continue to be upset with it because this was it. If they aren't going to address this in his own SEASON they sure as hell won't in future ones. They already said their main sl for him was being a male wife while Pen gets to deal with WD fall out. Great for people who only care about Nicola and Pen, not so great for people who cared about both of them.

Oh and one more thing...SImon may have gotten less time than Daphne, but did he get less time than Anthony?

Because Colin/Luke didn't even get the same minutes as Benedict if the counters are right. Benedict's sl may not have been good but I'd say it's incredibly shady if he ends up the only Bridgerton who takes a back seat in screentime not only to his love interest but another sibling.

[captain-aralias]

fanfic writer challenge!

@mostlymaudlin invented this challenge and was kind enough to tag me. it took my brain a few days to wake up enough to respond, but here i am.

instructions:

list & explain the three lines/moments from canon that are most fundamental to how you write your fave character

challenge 3 more fic writers to do the same!

ok - i'll do baz too, so we can compare.

first thing from me is i'm going to cheat, because i can't cover baz in 3 quotes. both he and simon change so much between carry on and WS/AWTWB that although they have a trajectory from one state to the other, and though i love people backreading AWTWB into CO!Baz.... i write them super different.

CO!Baz

1. And I'm hopelessly in love with him.

this comes at the end of a massive monologue - and then leads into another massive monologue. all about how baz is SAD but his love for simon is BEAUTIFUL and all consuming. it's so dramatic that he literally puts it on its own line, and then cuts to a new chapter. but it's also... resigned. nothing to do about it, just pine.

these are the chapters that i tend to listen to most often, as it's a long run of baz stuff, but i also do think it's pretty typical. (and i love him)

2. The World of Mages never had taxes before. Taxes were for Normals. We had Standards instead.

i thought about removing this a few times, it seems harsh - i only get three choices. but going to keep it in. baz has internalised a lot of shit, he uses learned hatred of others to protect himself against simon amongst other things. speaking of self-protection ...

3. 'You slept in my arms,' he says. / 'Fitfully.'

baz has got what he wants, but he's not able to believe it's happening so backslides immediately. it's a funny line, too - like he knows the audience will laugh with him, even if he doesn't mean simon to laugh. it's also (obliquely) the last thing i would say about CO-era!baz, which is that when faced with an opportunity to kiss simon awake or tell him he's interested in him..... he chooses not to do that. baz doesn't act, things happen to him - except on his crazed quest about his mother.

WS/AWTWB!Baz

1. i'll have the cheesecake factory scene, too - it does what rory says, and also tells us what (i believe) simon loves about him.

my favourite line is:

"I would never want to date you," he earnestly replies. "But it's not because you're mule-headed. That's practically my type."

ha ha. but also - it's true! and it's very kind of him to try.

2. 'I love you," I say. (And I know that's not a thing. I know it doesn't matter.)

so brave to come at all and track simon down! so brave to say it! it feels so unexpected to me and changes a lot of my baz characterisation from here on. now, i'm like: woah, baz can be the proactive character.

3. n.b. i spent a while thinking about what this would be. there are things that i think should be baz characterisation that i don't use enough (the playfighting at the ren faire; the fact he considers his culpability after america), and there's like.... the formal politeness. i've got kindness from WS, so we don't need the bit where he takes daphne home.

i think i'm going to go with ...

Is he scared? Embarrassed? Overwhelmed? Did he even want that to happen? He's never been with a guy, maybe he didn't like it. Maybe it wasn't what he was expecting. It's messier than being with a girl. (Isn't it?) (I don't know anything about being with girls.) (I don't know anything about being with guys.) (I know a lot about furtively bashing one out while my roommate is off fighting magickal crime, then hoping he doesn't wonder why I'm taking a shower in the middle of the afternoon.)

this is just a really fun passage in lots of ways. it has lots of short clauses, repetition, baz correcting himself. being funny, but it also has two new things. the first is that baz is like 'oh no, simon will have a freak out' and doesn't NOTICE that he himself is having a freak out, right now, a terrible spiral ... massive deflection onto simon. and using humour to deflect from own feelings too! (a personal favourite).

and the other is that.... before AWTWB, i enjoyed the shared headcanon that baz had researched himself into being a gay sex savant. what we find out from this paragraph is that he has literally not researched it at ALL, the same as he hasn't researched vampirism AT ALL. he's useless.... in this one very specific way, because he does know loads of other things. but there are things that he's afraid to look at too closely and it's this stupid fucking blind spot - and apparently sex is one of them. simon has to take the lead from now on, RIP to all future sexgod!baz fics. sexgod!simon only from now on.

tagging 2xthree people, since i did two batches: @artsyunderstudy @annabellelux @bookish-bogwitch @chen-chen-chen-again-chen @carryonvisinata @nightimedreamersworld as well as anyone who sees this post and wants to write about a character. please tag me in your post, i'd love to see it.

[suitsusboth]

I agree something weird happened behind the scenes in Bridgerton because who vilifies the heroine in a romance? Who doesn’t give the heroine a good monologue? Especially after she’s been told off and treated like she’s conniving when we all know she sacrificed years of her life and was willing to sacrifice her happiness for her sister’s sake and suffered all season? Who doesn’t let the heroine say anything about that? Who doesn’t put the heroine front and center in promo? There were so many bad decisions in s2. It’s like they didn’t understand the expectations for historical romance or the audience for it at all. Forever grateful for Simone and JB but the writers and showrunner…I have no words!

I really think there’s layers to it but also just bad management. I think the writing team should have worked together to write episodes and not divided them up. It’s not cohesive.

I think they did want to do something different that season 1 which okay sure but they took it too far and completely missed the mark for the romance genre like you said.

I think CVD had a realllllly weird obsession with Edwina. Again, which I don’t understand? Like okay flesh her out more but good god they changed her completely??? And then try and make her the main character for some reason? We!! Aren’t!! Here!! For!! Edwina!!!! I don’t!!! Care!!!! About!!! The Goddamn wedding!!!!!!!! Screw all your BTS, the obsession with the dress, etc on that one terrible, episode where you basically assassinate characters left and right. I tried. I tried so hard to understand. But I’m so over it. Everything I have learned or heard about that episode makes me mad. I am not hating on the actress but good god everything she says just makes it worse and makes herself look worse. Did she think she was the hero? Even my causal viewer friends did not like edwina. (Also, that one quote where it felt like her wedding, etc and how she’s can’t quite separate herself from the character…like maybe you’re in the wrong career that’s really not good for your mental health. I’d say the same if it was any other person on who said that instead. A character is always going to get hate no matter who they are. You have to accept criticism. Note: she is a good actress so pls no one try and kill me)

tldr: How did noooo one turn around and say….this is bad?

Also let’s just try and villainize your leads (like let’s be honest there were points where we just didn’t want to root for Anthony with his behaviour) and let everyone shit on them and then try to sell the sister soulmates tag line and the family love (Christ we didn’t even see that with the Bridgertons they were just MEAN).

I’m not one to make conspiracy theories but a part of me really feels like they felt they couldn’t promote a openly gay man and an a brown woman for a romance so they didn’t try. I think CC had a louder voice than SA (who maybe is just quiet generally) and things went her way a bit more promo wise (why do I also think she got babied a bit bc she’s relatively new to acting? That might be my imagination though). I think they scrambled after rege’s exit but for the life of me can’t imagine how that effected the scripts that much (except maybe adding more Featherington scenes?).

Part of me thinks there was alterer motives but honestly I think it comes down to a lack of leadership/direction or at least some people up top had conflicting ideas about the season and this was the garbage they produced

Simone Ashley & Jonathan Bailey you always be famous to me, thank you for your outstanding performances and you did the eldest siblings proud and you deserved so much better 💜

End of rant ❤️‍🩹

[guardianreadersofthegalaxy]

My July ‘20 - June ‘21 film ranking:

1.       His House (AKA ‘Walls… I Scream’) – A Sudanese couple seek refuge in the UK, but are unable to escape the horror they left behind. It’s a tried and tested horror formula: a strained family unit try to come to terms with shared trauma against the backdrop of a serious social issue. But it’s really well executed. The understated tone left me unprepared for the brazenly nightmarish imagery.

2.       Sound Of Metal (AKA ‘Deaf Becomes Him’) – A punk drummer and recovering addict deals with a sudden and severe loss of hearing. I wish I’d gotten to see more of Riz Ahmed drumming with his shirt off but maybe that’s point? The sudden silence hits Ruben and the viewer like a tonne of bricks with ‘point of hearing’ sound design ensuring you empathise. Olivia Cooke is great too and the desperate romance between addicts really appealed to the angsty teen in me, until it resolves in an appropriately mature way.

3.       The Dig (AKA ‘Ralph Fiennes A Boat’) – On the eve of World War II, a wealthy widow hires excavator Basil Brown to dig up an Anglo Saxon burial mound. The stakes are low but it’s just nice to spend time in the countryside with these characters. I normally like shaky-cam and creative sound mixing but both are overused enough to be a bit distracting. Where director Simon Stone really shines is with his handling of the cast, who give some great naturalistic performances, particularly Ralph Fiennes who seems to be channelling Toby Jones.

4.       Nomadland (AKA ‘Van Clan Thank You Ma’am) – After losing her home, unemployed widow Fern takes to the road to join the American nomads. Why are non-actors so good at acting? This is pretty light on characterisation, to the extent that it wasn’t until halfway through that I started to get a grasp of Fern’s personality, but it makes up for that by immersing you in the nomad culture, as well as showing you tonnes of lovely nature porn. Paid for by the tourism board of Nevada.

5.       Mank (AKA ‘So What If It’s Not Citizen Kane?’) – Alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz draws on his experiences of 1930s Hollywood while writing the screenplay for ‘Citizen Kane’. I was more interested than emotionally invested. The old timey aesthetic felt like a gimmick, and though it was cool to hear Nine Inch Nails playing jazz tunes, the black & white gave me a headache. The real highlight was the late Jack Fincher’s screenplay, with tonnes of snappy and insightful dialogue.

6.       A Quiet Place Pt. 2 (AKA ‘Now With Talking!’) Pursued by monsters with powerful hearing, the Abbot family struggle to survive after the apocalypse. Remind me to always see horror in the cinema from now on. The big screen and sound system, and your inability to pause for a pee break, make all the difference. Though I prefer the first ‘Quiet Place’, this was a scarier watch, by virtue of me seeing it in the theatre. ‘Pt 2’ mostly lives up to the original, but lacks the emotional punch of its ending, and suffers from being split into two plots that don’t overlap.

7.       In The Heights (AKA ‘I Am Not Throwing Away My Shop’) – An adaptation of the Tony award winning show about Washington Heights’ Latin American community. It’s not easy adapting a stage musical for the screen, particularly a good one. And while I’ll still credit Lin Manuel Miranda’s source material for any and all gooseflesh I got, director John M. Chu did a pretty respectable job, with some nice creative flourishes. A lot of changes were made, many to the film’s detriment, but some provided new opportunities for characterisation.

8.       Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (AKA ‘I Miss Theatres’) – A 1920s Chicago blues band embark on a tumultuous recording session. This has all the strengths and weaknesses of a play. The spectacles of cinema are done away with in order to spotlight the many duologues and monologues in a way that feels unnatural for a film. But the source material is excellent and the cast definitely do it justice.

9.       Tenet (AKA ‘Taco Cat’) – A mercenary known only as ‘The Protagonist’ gets caught up with time travel, a Russian oligarch and the threat of Armageddon. This is way too long and the endless, inaudible exposition gets dull very quickly but the inventive and heart-racing action sequences more or less make up for that. The male actors all play their roles with charisma while Elizabeth Debicki is left to do the emotional heavy lifting.

10.   Saint Maud (AKA ‘I’m Walking On Thumb Tacks Oh-oh’) – A hospice nurse and recent Christian convert believes she must save the soul of her terminally ill patient. I never say this, but Saint Maud should have been longer. The first seventy minutes go for slow building tension but that leaves the last half hour with not enough time to bring things to a head. The creepy atmosphere is carried by the music and visuals more than the understated performance of the two leads.

11.   Luca (AKA ‘Started Out As A Fish, How Did I End Up Like This?) – Young sea monster Luca ventures onto dry land to see the world with his friend Alberto. It’s a much breezier story than Pixar’s ‘heavy hitters’ but there’s nothing wrong with that. The underwater animation was so beautiful I was disappointed when things moved to dry land but fortunately the seaside setting was just as evocative. Plot-wise, it’s pretty standard coming-of-age fare, with any pubescent ‘awakenings’ relegated to subtext.

12.   Soul (AKA ‘Jazz’) – A New York school band teacher struggles to escape the ‘Great Before’ in time to play a gig with his hero. This is absolute treacle to the eyes and ears as you’d expect from Pixar, and the narrative theme, of living for the sake of it rather than obsessing over your goals, is insightful and well delivered. The problem is that the story did too good a job of getting me invested in Joe’s hopes and dreams for me to be on board with his final epiphany. Perhaps it’s a lesson I still need to learn, and when I have, maybe I’ll appreciate ‘Soul’ more.

13.   News Of The World (AKA ‘Not Enough News’) – A travelling news reader takes a dangerous journey through post-civil war Texas to return a young girl to her relatives. This is one of the most unremarkable films I’ve ever seen. The plot is fine but predictable and its execution is forgettably competent across the board, with few distinguishing features. It adequately killed two hours of a lockdown evening, but then so would a screen of white noise.

14.   I’m Thinking Of Ending Things (AKA ‘The Arty-Farty Film For Clever Cloggses’) – A young woman goes to visit her new boyfriend’s parents as she contemplates ‘ending things’. This would have made a great short film in that it seems very deep and, for the 50 mins before I stopped watching, doesn’t really have a plot. Problem is it’s 135 mins long and I can’t take that much unbroken weirdness. Directing, acting and writing choices are all so offputtingly deliberate that watching it felt like listening to a band where every member is soloing at the same time.

15.   Uncorked (AKA ‘Billy Sommeliot’) – A young man from Memphis dreams of leaving his parents’ barbeque restaurant to become a sommelier. This is just kinda follows the formula of ‘young working class guy wants to do something his parents don’t approve of’. It’s competently made but not very imaginative and wastes the opportunity for some great food porn.

[monysmediareview]

Shadowhunters (Freeform show) Review

Review #2!!

In case you missed it, I wrote a review on the Mortal Instruments book series books 1-3 (they’re the only ones I read because a chapter into book 4 and I was over it). I had mixed feelings on it, as I do with most things - including the Shadowhunters TV show, which is what this review is about!

Casting

Let’s talk about the casting in this show. First of all, I think the cast matched the physical descriptions of each character in the books and I very much enjoyed that. I do like when shows take liberties with casting, especially for the sake of things like diversity but there’s something very satisfying about seeing the characters exactly as they were written. 

I don’t think all of the acting was fantastic, but it’s FreeForm so I really didn’t expect much. It did get a lot better as the series went on and I think the actors really found their footing with these characters. It’s one of the reasons that I love series so much more than movies for things like this because there’s growth and the chance to really explore characters as they exist. These characters really took on a life of their own in a way, but we’ll get into that as I go through the rest of my points here. 

One thing I will say is, while this show did much better than others in terms of diversity it is not lost on me that the BIPOC characters in this show (and in the book series as well) were all “other” characters. As is often the case, people of color in fantasy media are usually portrayed as animals such as werewolves, or other “undesirable” characters. This is an incredibly complex part of casting, creating, and writing, and I will not get into it here, but I didn’t want to not mention it. 

Gay Pride & True Love

If you read my review of the Mortal Instruments series then you already know that I love love love Alec and Magnus, but that love grew exponentially when I watched the show. Magnus was an interesting character in the books but Harry Shum Jr. really brought the character to life and that show especially in the scenes with Alec. The show also gives Alec a ton more depth than in the books and I love that they didn’t keep him hung up on Jace (a straight man) for most of the story. He fell for Magnus and he fell for him hard. Magnus is the one that broke through Alec’s shell and encouraged him to be himself. By cutting away all the petty teenager shit that was in the books we were able to see this real, complex, but honest and deep love story that rivaled the main love interests immensely. I would watch this show over and over just to watch these two again. 

Representation and diversity are two huge factors when I think about whether or not I liked a piece of media. These kinds of things are what makes media so relatable, real, and ultimately enjoyable in a lot of ways. This show didn’t make the characters gay-ness a main factor of their relationship; they just showed a relationship as they would with a straight couple. They didn’t ignore their gay-ness either, though, and acknowledged the difficulties within that. By making this normal, they took huge strides in showing these kinds of relationships on TV and I adore that. And I just cannot get enough of this pairing in general - there are so many contrasts and compliments in their relationship and it’s what I honestly consider to be a perfect OTP relationship in any kind of romantic plot. 

10/10 would watch the show just for Alec and Magnus. 

I like Clary better in the show than in the books

Clary is by far, not one of my favorite characters in the fantasy genre. I find her to be selfish, martyr-like, and just kind of annoying but I really felt like the show was able to redeem the decent characteristics that she has and shed off most of the aggravating ones. 

As a whole, I am not a fan of how stupid the books make Clary out to be. Clary falls into the category of characters I don’t like because there is ultimately nothing very special about them yet they end up with a guy who is completely out of their league in every way who is head over heels in love with them. It infuriates me so much and Clary is not an exception to this rule. Her character is still this way in the show but it is much less evident because she seems to be more of an active participant in her own life and I don’t have to sit through her endless internal monologues about how attractive or strong or whatever Jace is. Thoughts that she still has while she thinks they’re siblings. At least in the show, these characters seem to draw a strong boundary here when they think they’re related rather than making out in a field like they did in the books. 

Clary also has a much stronger sense of self in the show and often reflects on what her life was and what it has become, how she’s grown. And I think that’s a huge part of it - that she has grown when in the books she was just constantly such a dumbstruck teenager who only thought of herself. I absolutely love the difference in her character here so I’ll give the show a star for that. 

Her relationships with other characters is also so much stronger. I believe this is in part because we don’t know her every inner thought about them and we also aren’t distracted by her distraction that is Jace. Her relationship with Izzy is so much better and stronger. I’ll always give good reviews to strong female relationships! Even her friendship and relationship with Simon is more in depth in the show. Their book friendship is very baseline; they constantly say they’re best friends but that’s not really reflected in the way they act around each other. In the show they have anecdotes about the past we never see in the books, they talk in a comfortable way and even show their relationship with each other’s families a lot more. This plays into her being an active participant in her own life as well. 

The Lightwood Family Drama

This might be something that happens later on in the books (however I don’t think so because of some spoilers I’ve received on my main account) but I really liked the Lightwood family subplot. I would imagine they have some marital problems after Max’s death in the books but considering they don’t kill him in the show, divorcing them earlier and giving Maryse a second chance was a fantastic choice. I kind of wish they had kept Max’s death because to me, it was the driving force between Izzy and Simon, but overall I don’t mind the way they did it. It just felt like a missed opportunity for drama and angst.

Back to the point at hand - families are complicated and the only “normal” or rather, nuclear family we see in this series is the Lightwoods. Clary was raised by a single parent, as was Simon, and no one else really has parents that we’re introduced to to be able to judge their family life. By making their family story a complicated one, rather than the “ideal”, it becomes not only more dramatic, which is fun and interesting, but real. And it may seem counterintuitive to make things seem real in a fantasy genre show/book series but that, in my opinion, is what makes it easier to believe the fake stuff. I can focus more on the magic and the demons and the end of the world as we know it if it’s grounded in something that’s familiar to me. The Lightwoods feel like a very real family with complicated relationships between kids and parents, adopted children/siblings, and marital issues that affect everyone differently, which invites us as an audience to relate to them and doesn’t make the Shadow world so different from ours. 

A scene I loved specifically is when Izzy brings the doctor she’s seeing to the Hunter’s Moon and they’re all messing with each other, eating, drinking, laughing, talking. They really felt like a family there, like adult siblings which can be a really difficult feeling to capture but I think it was done very well. I didn’t want to go through this review without mentioning that part since it was something very special for me. 

Design Choices

Changing topic just a little bit, I wanted to talk about the design of the show. First thing I noticed was that the runes were not at all how I pictured them. Now, that may be a fault of the writer because they weren’t very well described so it all landed on imagination which is different for everyone. The show design gave me kind of Henna tattoo vibes, whereas the books gave me full black ink vibes. 

The clothing was also something very strange to me. Izzy was always described as wearing long silvery skirts. I very much imagined her as wearing borderline rave outfits in most of these scenes but she mostly just wore crop tops and low cut shirts. I also noticed that as the series went on she dressed in a bit more of a conservative way compared to the first half of season 1 when I recall her wearing literally just a sports bra as a shirt in a few scenes. It was apparent to me in the books that the way Shadowhunters dressed was something that separated them from humans, made them stand out, and the show lacked that. I think this also took away the idea that Shadowhunters are a whole race of people with a history and culture separate from being human (they are, in essence mixed raced, but this comes with a lot of implications and is not a complete statement or comparison in any way). My point with this is mostly that I wish there had been more of a separation visually between Shadowhunters and humans beyond their runes. 

I also pictured the Institute to have a very non-human, Catholic type of design and instead just got pseudo-futuristic feel. I didn’t hate it, it just feels overdone in these kinds of shows and movies. For example, the Divergent series or Maze Runner or even Tomorrowland all have this type of vibe and I was hoping for more of a DmC: Devil May Cry approach. 

Jace Wayland is a beautiful character

I had mixed feelings about Jace in the books; he felt stale and like every other straight, white, male, romantic lead. In the show, however, I think Dominic Sherwood did him a great deal of justice and gave him the depth that actually made him a desirable person that I could understand someone being in love with. He’s charming, and a little cocky but we also get to see a deeper side of him than we do in the books. We see his emotions, especially his unconditional love for Clary (whether I agree with that or not). 

The Owl plotline was a waste of time in my opinion, but the scene when Izzy and Alec go to save him from inside his mind and we see him break down is absolutely beautiful. Jace is introduced to us from the start as hard, strong, calloused and here we see him vulnerable and scared with two of the people he trusts most in the world. I will accept the Owl plotline if only to keep this scene because I think it is absolutely essential to his character arc. 

I also found that scene to be indicative of his relationship with Izzy. In the books it’s often alluded to that he and Izzy had been together in one way or another but that’s not the case for the show (thank the angel) and here you can really see them as siblings more than in any ther scene, I think. But this takes me to his relationship with Alec as well. 

Parabatai 

I don’t remember Parabatai being mentioned much in the books but it is a huge deal and talked about quite a bit. I this this is super cool, personally and it’s not something I can really think of too much in fantasy outside of sires or singers or the like in many vampire novels but that has a whole “owner” vibe that doesn’t exist with Parabatai. I am super intrigued by this idea and I loved how much they played with it being a strength and an essential part of their existence. 

The relationship between Alec and Jace is obviously stronger than just brothers, but it also isn’t quite love in the romantic sense. It’s something else and it makes them vulnerable to each other. They feel everything the other person feels, sometimes literally, and while that can weaken them they use it as a strength. It’s really beautiful how honest and open these men are with each other. I feel like the Parabatai bond breaks down a lot of the toxic masculinity traits these characters might have otherwise and I will always be in favor of tearing down those walls. A+ characterization if you ask me. 

I thought Izzy deserved better in the books - the show gave it to her

In the show Izzy is way more badass than in the books, which I wasn’t sure was possible. They made her so much smarter, gave her important roles at the institute like head of weapons and she even did autopsies? In the last episodes we even see her as Head of the Institute. Beauty, brains, and brawn simply can’t be beat. 

Her love life was even more interesting! She wasn’t boiled down to just a slut who slept with everyone regardless of species: she was a lover who fell quickly and saw the best in people despite what people might tell her about “their kind”. She’s strong and very sure of herself; she doesn’t need a man in her life but she wants love and I think that’s a really amazing trait they gave her that deepens the character. 

They made her an activist, too in a way. She’s found really standing up for her beliefs in the show and challenging the way things are. In the books Izzy is pretty stuck in the way Shadowhunters do things but in the show she speaks up when something isn’t right. Her connections to downworlders does a lot of really great things for the Shadow world as a whole. They certainly could have beefed this up a little bit, but it wasn’t a huge part of the show in general so I’ll allow the pass on it. 

Her Yin-Fen addiction was so interesting! Again, I don’t know if this is something that happened in later books in the series but this is just another layer to Isabelle that I really loved. No one is perfect, even her, and it built her relationship with Rafael (another plot I was a huge fan of) which was incredibly complex. 

All in all, I would die for Izzy. Please give me shows and books about her and more characters like her. 

This series was steamy as hell

I can’t write a review on this series without mentioning all of the steamy scenes with so many of the characters. I mean, of course, I expected as much with Jace and he got a lot but so did everyone else. We got saucy scenes with Alec, Magnus, Simon, Izzy, Maia, everyone. (Not all at the same time, thankfully). But they were all very well directed and acted and I enjoyed them quite a bit. What can I say? Sex sells. 

In conclusion, I liked this series a lot. I really was not expecting to. I was warned that it was bad, and to start off it was but I found myself unexpectedly enjoying a lot of it. There’s still work to be done and it is by no means perfect but it was entertaining and had some really good moments. I also give so much credit to the actors and creative team for doing so much with material that didn’t give them much depth in the first place. 

Would recommend for something to enjoy but maybe not think too hard about.

xoxo

Mony

[mermaidsirennikita]

I hope they rename Edwina’s love interest (and I pray he’s not white either) and also that Kate gets some suitors to make Anthony squirm. I don’t care how disagreeable and awkward and tall Kate is, it’s just not realistic absolutely no one would want her!!

Daphne was such a lame Diamond. Being the Diamond should be really fun and she was so dour about it!! I obviously get she was infatuated with the Duke but even in episode 1 they gave her that righteous ~I’m a woman~ monologue to Anthony and it was just so premature? I can understand there’s so pressure to make a good match if you’re the incomparable, and it might be embarrassing if you didn’t your first season, but she (and Violet) were acting as if she didn’t come from a super rich and well connected family. It wouldn’t have been the end of the world if she had a second season. The book conceit for the fake dating made so much more sense.

It is so unrealistic that someone played Simone would be going without attention; and she doesn't have to have a serious alternate suitor like Daphne did in order to make him jealous. Jealousy historical romance heroes are catnip, always stalking around and grumbling and being like "what is this in my chest part".

Lol the "I'm a woman speech"... Those are always hard fucking sells. The only time I've seen it work was in Little Women (2019) and I think that it did work because a) it was delivered by Florence Pugh and she's a fantastic actress and b) it was done in part to make Amy, a historically controversial character, more understandable for a modern audience. For Daphne? Like, yes, I get that making a good match matters hugely and certainly it mattered for her future happiness... But if there weren't any good matches for her first season, waiting for the second would have been nothing worse than embarrassing. The Bridgertons are such a liberal family for the time--like, honestly, if push came to shove and Eloise was like I'M NEVER GONNA MARRY to a truly serious degree I imagine that Anthony would probably suck it up and pay her bills for life.

I'm not sure why they changed the book conceit, tbh. Like, I get the fascination with the diamond~ being a good detail for a first season, but did we need it? Probably not.

[autumn-foxfire]

Izaya anon here! Honestly Drrr is such a dear fandom for me cuz thats kinda where all started for me, I wrote my first fanfics for drrr (they were awful cuz i was like 13-16 but i still keep em cuz i have no shame) which lead to my first online friend which introduced me to roleplaying. And honesly izaya is SUCH a perfect villain, like from the way he talks to the way he acts hes just impossible not to like but its just as satisfying to see him get what he deserves 1/2

Welp, I’ve waited long enough to see if I’m ever going to get the second part. I’ll guess I’ll just make do with what I’ve got XD

Honestly, to me what makes Izaya compelling as an antagonist is how human he is. He’s not cruel for the sake of being cruel, he’s cold and cruel (at times) because it suits his own interests, he’s the walking definition of doing things for the sake of himself with no regard to others because it’s himself that he wants to entertain. He also doesn’t care about the reactions his actions get either, in fact the more unpredictable a situation turns out, the more he ends up enjoying himself (unless it’s Shizu-chan who’s being unpredictable then we end up getting monologue after monologue how much he hates him :p).

Some of the best parts of the anime for me were when we saw him get what he deserved because they were timed so perfectly. Izaya messes with Masaomi and gets him severly injured? Simon punches him into a sign and calls him out for his behaviour (also I very much appreciate the anime for adding him having a Shizuo complex, we already knew but I’m glad it’s being acknowledged XD). He messes with Akane and Shizuo? He ends up getting stabbed. Karma instantly paid Izaya a visit after every horrible thing he did and it was glorious.

(The only issue I have with Izaya getting what he deserved was the final fight with Shizuo, really, and it’s not because he didn’t have it coming to him (he totally did) but rather other characters that were just as bad as Izaya didn’t get the same treatment that left it kinda unsatisfying for me personally. Especially when Izaya wasn’t the only antagonist of that season, we also have Kujiragi and Vorona (to an extent) but they both got off scot free.)

What also makes Izaya so compelling that he isn’t always a horrible person. He cares (as much as he tries to hide and deny it) and is, as said by Shinra, probably one of the most human characters in the series. He’s so complex and interesting and honestly I feel like I haven’t even done his character any justice in this mini speech of mine at all.

... I really love Izaya Orihara.

[literaryeagle]

Here is my review of Venom Annual (2019) #1. This comic actually came out on July 31st, so I'm a little late to the party. Oops. Sorry about that, but I had to track down the version with the variant cover art by Rian Gonzales, shown above. It's much cuter than the regular cover art, so I just had to have it!

As for the contents of the comic, there are two stories. The first is "Acts of Evil" written by Ryan Cady, with art drawn by Simone Di Meo and colors by Mattia Iacono. In this tale, Venom is captured by Lady Hellbender, AKA the Monster Queen of Seknarf Nine. Oh my! The second one is "Queen of the Monsters" written by Emily Ryan Lerner, with art by Victor Ibañez and colors by Triona Farrell. It's the origin story of Lady Hellbender, so there's no Venom, however it's a nifty way to learn more about her and why she collects/rescues monsters.

Since I review Venom stuff, I'll be focusing on the first story (although I enjoyed the second one as well). So after several months of... unspecified hardships... Eddie and the Venom symbiote are back together, but their relationship is strained. They end up getting captured and separated by Lady Hellbender, who believes the symbiote is a dishonorable creature that mistreats Eddie. Lady Hellbender loves "worthy" monsters, rescuing endangered ones from various planets and keeping them in her garden sanctuary. If Eddie was strong enough to survive everything he's been through, then he just might be the perfect specimen to add to her sanctuary... or her bedroom! Yowza! Will Eddie be seduced by this beautiful warrior queen? Will he end his relationship with the symbiote forever this time? Is this the end of Venom?

Nah.

"You won't tear us apart again." Awww yeah! That line made me so happy. Yes folks, this is a story about Eddie and the symbiote reaffirming their bond! For the rest of this review, I’ll use the same “The Good, the Bad, and the Symbrock” format that I did in some of my previous posts. In other words, I’m going to summarize what I liked, what I didn’t like, and also some points of interest for Symbrock fans. Keep reading for the complete review!

The Good:

-The variant cover art by Rian Gonzales! Such an adorable art style.

-I love how Simone Di Meo drew Venom. The pointy head, the barbed tongue... so magnificently monstrous!

-The lesson of the Venom story was that Eddie and the symbiote are stronger together. Their unity is what creates Venom, and what makes them extraordinary. The writer showed an excellent understanding of the characters here. Thank you, Ryan Cady!

-Lady Hellbender was interesting. (She first appeared in Totally Awesome Hulk, but I haven't read that series.) A warrior queen who loves monsters and wants to save them from extinction? Pretty cool! I didn't agree with what she did in the Venom story, like when she tried to kill the symbiote, but still she was fun to read about. And by the end of that story, she realized that Eddie and the symbiote together are what make Venom so special, plus she vowed to come back for them. So perhaps we haven't seen the last of her.

The Bad:

The regular cover art was... not to my taste, which is why I bought the Rian Gonzales variant cover instead. That's just my opinion, though.

The Symbrock:

-This was a story about repairing some of the damage that had been done to Eddie and the symbiote's relationship. There were some heartwarming realizations and reconciliation here.

-When the symbiote was imprisoned and possibly facing its doom, all it could think about was saving Eddie, and telling Eddie that they need to protect each other. This motivation to save Eddie was what enabled the symbiote to break free.

-Part of Eddie's internal monologue stated that his relationship with the symbiote wasn't about one of them controlling the other, but rather that they were strong together, and that was what made them unique. Casting aside his past doubts, Eddie ended this monologue with the assertion that "Venom is us."

-Lady Hellbender expelled the symbiote from her spaceship's airlock in a final attempt to have Eddie to herself, but Eddie jumped out of the airlock with no protection except his underwear! Normally that kind of fall would be fatal to a human, but Eddie had complete faith that the symbiote would be there for him. Take a look:

Sure enough, the symbiote appeared and began to wrap protectively around Eddie, and Eddie said "I'm sorry I ever doubted you." It was so extra and yet so poignant. I loved it!

Overall, I'm very pleased with Venom Annual (2019) #1. The Venom story was fun and showed a good understanding of the characters, and the artist's way of drawing Venom was a delight. The Lady Hellbender origin story was enjoyable as well, providing some insight into her motivations. I highly recommend this comic!

Well, that's it for this review. Keep checking my blog for more Venom content!

[attorneys-against-court-violence]

Alright sit down I'm ranking Dual Destinies culprits. Spoilers abound!

Just going to list my thoughts on all 5 culprits in order of beloved to beloathed. Expect me to be mean.

Marlon Rimes

Easily the most nuanced and sympathetic of them all, and a well-written one to boot! His grudge against the orca is understandable, yet flawed in a very human way. He had no intentions of harming anyone - in fact he wanted to save his co-workers from what he saw as a dangerous animal. When Sasha was arrested he went out of his way to lie in order to get her off the hook. When push came to shove, he accepted his sentence to save her and punish himself for unintentionally setting up the Captain's death. It's all the more heartbreaking that Azura wasn't even killed by the previous orca, rendering all of his hatred and actions resulting from it irrational and unfounded. He sort of reminds me of both Simon and Aura in a few ways; taking the fall to save a friend, trying to enact revenge on someone he saw as a crazed, emotionless animal... his plight has plenty in common with both. 5-DLC gets a lot of praise in my books for its parallels to the main conflict (not that the other cases lack them) and Marlon is no exception.

The thing that makes Marlon so compelling is that he isn't a monster. He doesn't even have much of an ego, calling himself too weak to save anyone. He's a man who acted on his rage and made a dreadful mistake in doing so, trying to right his wrongs and eventually being forced to give up and admit that he had no right to do what he had done. Even agreeing that he had no right pruely on the basis of it causing someone to die inderectly. Him being rehabilitated at the end is the feather-on-the-cap to show that he's someone the characters genuinely care about and wish to do better in spite of his flaws. It took a while and plenty of evidence, but the Captain's words finally got through to him and he's a lot better for it. His animations are wonderfully creative, by the way! Turning the spyglass into a faux microphone, re-using the bucket of fish for a Popeye-esque transformation, the name-tag turning into a rapper's gold chain, his breakdown turning the witness stand into both a helm and a set of prison bars - so much visual creativity with this guy! It's such a treat.

The worst I can say about him is that the rapping is a bit of a stereotype. Yes, this is the same game that body-shames the one fat character, has no idea what a trans person is, and... well we'll save that part for later. No one enjoys that. That said, I'm willing to say the good far outways the bad here. It lead to one of the funniest witness testimonies in the series so I can't be too mad!

2. Ted Tonate

What a peculiar character... semi-verbal, anti-social, obsessed with explosives, and overall a strange specimen to behold. It doesn't feel like he has a specific quirk more than it feels like everything about him is off-beat, ranging from uncomfortably still to absolutely feral. I like it!

More importantly - while he did commit murder and assault - he does serve an important role in the plot and is not completely incompetent or heartless. That courtroom would have become a graveyard without his warning, after all! He's a bit like Frank Sawhit where he'll resort to physical violence under pressure but doesn't seem to have intended to kill necessarily. Difference is Frank was a common thief, while Ted's a bona-fide member of the police's bomb disposal unit who - black market deals aside - actually carries his duties out and does a good job. Nice little misdirection there too. That opening monologue fits the phantom better than Ted but we don't figure that until near the end. It doesn't erase the fact he's done some terrible things but at he's not a monster. Just a woefully anti-social guy who doesn't respond well to being called out.

Dual Destinies gets a surprising amount of mileage out of its Case 1 antagonist and it's a treat to watch. There's plenty that case does to give the game a bad first impression, but Ted's not one of them. He can stay!

3. Aristotle Means Aaaaaaaand we've nose-dived. Prepare for snark.

Means is emblematic of a much larger issue with Dual Destinies; it doesn't seem interested in treating the main conflicts of its cases as much more than generic good vs evil despite having an abundance of material to make things more interesting. Yes, I know Ace Attorney culprits aren't the most 3-dimensional bunch - usually the character conflicts they cause are the most interesting parts. Though they usually make things fun by being smarmy bastards. Means is just repeatitive. It's one thing to be a shallow bad guy, it's another thing entirely to beat you over the head with a single catchphrase without putting any spins on it. Manfred has the same one-track mind in his philosophy but he never felt this aggressively tedious about it. There's also the fact that, well... the ends DID justify the means in the end. Dual Destinies' main conflict would not have been solved without Aura taking extreme measures to save Simon. Having that while saying "doing bad things is bad no matter what!" with this guy makes him feel all the more flimsy and misguided. Him wanting to save Juniper and honour her wishes by any means necessary is a nice way to add flavour to the conflict but it's grossly overshadowed by him being a flat cartoon for the most part.

I feel like there's a sorely missed opportunity here for him to point out that Phoenix Wright also exercised that philosophy at times. Yes I'm talking about forging evidence in 4-1, it would have been a nice way to make his conflict with Athena more interesting. Pointing out that her boss is an exemplar of "the ends justifies the means" - especially with Apollo in the same room - is an idea that fills my brain with thinks. Might have even been the reason why he invited Nick to the academy too... oh well. It takes a lot to bouy a one-track villain like him up as it is without actively adding more baggage through redundancy and lack of presence. He doesn't even do much of anything or have a chance to BE evil before his hair stands up like other villains. He's just. Annoying. I know I keep comparing him to Manfred, but imagine a version of him that didn't do anything until the tail-end of the last trial and with none of the backstory and gravitas. That's the level Means is at.

A crappier Manfred. Joy to the world!

4. ???

YOU COULD HAVE BEEN SOMEBODY! YOU HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL! Hell, he arguably does have dramatic weight as-written. He's the embodiment of the distrust and denial of ones true feelings/identity that has caused this racket in the first place. Dual Destinies as a whole is a game about people who put on masks to do what they feel is right or necessary, then being forced to take the mask off, confront themselves and their actions for what they truly are. Having a villain who's hidden his identity this entire time is such a fitting choice! It's just a shame that he, oh you know, it's small thing it doesn't really matter... DIDN'T HAVE AN IDENTITY WORTH HIDING TO BEGIN WITH!!! Dual Destinies beats you over the head about how scary this guy is for having no personality. And that's exactly the problem. When you spend that much time telling people the villain isn't worth caring about then that's what people are going to take away. Nevermind that his personality for most of the game was a goofy detective man who valued JUSTICE! above all else, a man who is willing to question his own definitions of it despite what others may think but still allows it to justify doing awful things like zapping Simon. Maybe that could have been the answer! That he allowed his perception of JUSTICE! to warp so much that he became this ghoulish ghost who kills and commits acts of terrorism without remorse. His life being threatened when his literal mask falls acting as a metaphor for how he is unable to confront himself for who he is and what he's done; he, in his own eyes, would be the least justified of them all, and so he has forsaken his identity to avoid that truth. A truth that would spell the end both within and without.

But no. The game does everything in its power to tell you he's a hollow, empty husk of a human being. More importantly, even if the above was the case it doesn't do anything at all with the concept. It just comes across that his main conflict is "who tf am I?" Which is... oddly sad and worrying? Yes, I do think the idea of letting your true self go leading to awful, terrible things and the horror of realising that that's exactly what you did - even denying it or using it as a point of strength - is an interesting and befitting idea. They just don't do anything with it before he's already carted off to the pile of characters we'll never hear from again. There's nothing there by design to the point where it doesn't feel like there was anything he COULD have discarded in the first place. His lack of identity feels less like a concept the writers wanted to explore and more of an excuse to get a twist villain who could pretend to be anybody.

It's a diservice to both the story and to the false identity he had before this. "Bobby Fulbright" somehow ended up a more interesting character and he's the one who's chastised by other characters for being a simple idiot! And he was discarded for this guy! "Bobby" should have mattered more, both to the characters and to the phantom's identity. Not get an unceremonial "he was dead the whole time" reveal and be completely divorced from the phantom's character in every way the story can think to do. Erasure in more ways than one... no wonder people felt betrayed. In a bad way. You shouldn't feel betrayed by the writing if it's any good and that's how plenty - myself included - felt. Oh, and having the only character who's low/no emotion be the shallow bad guy is not a great look... I'll say it again; the problem isn't that he's the antagonist. It's that he's not a well-written one. A psychopath would be fascinating as a character in ANY role in this psychology-focused mystery game if Dual Destinies had the gall to make one that's actually interesting. Remember what I said about Means crushing the conflict into something too simple for the concept behind it? The phantom does that on a wider scale and it deals a massive blow to Dual Destinies to have its overarching villain so infuriatingly empty and disposable. It makes themes of trust and masks I mentioned fall flat.

I'd rather Athena kill Metis over this. It'd be a similar concept with more justification behind it without completely dismissing the players emotional investment or cheapening the themes of the game. Or at least execute those things in a better way than this. In justice we trusted...

Sidenote: I was torn between ranking Means or the phantom here. While Phanty is definitely more interesting to talk about than the living staute, him sucking hurts more than Means due to his status as the main villain. It's easier to get away with being a shallow puddle when you weren't meant to swim much in it to begin with.

5. Florent L'belle

You'll notice I didn't put an emotional marker on this guy. That should tell you everything you need to know. At least the phantom makes me feel something, even if it is abject despair at how much of a gaping hole he leaves in the story. Florent just... I mean he's... His breakdown's creepy, that's kinda fun... I got nothing, he's just sort of there.

Lick a toad, you inferior Redd White. I'm going need to borrow Bobby's Jolt of Justice next time you show up.

At least I'd feel something that way.

[hlupdate]

Boy band heartthrob-turned-rocker Harry Styles hasn't released new music or toured in more than a year now -- but that doesn't mean he hasn't been busy.

In fact, the "Sign of the Times" crooner has stayed plenty active. Since releasing his self-titled debut in May 2017, Styles starred in his first feature film with Dunkirk, embarked on a world tour, co-chaired the Met Gala and even modeled for Gucci.

And with the news that he will grace the cover of Rolling Stone next month, it can only be expected that new music is on the way from the One Direction singer. So before the world is swept up in a new era of Styles, catch yourself up on what he's been up to below.

Since going solo, Styles has...

Released a documentary

Just a week after his debut album Harry Styles dropped, Harry Styles: Behind the Album was released via Apple Music. The documentary-style film chronicles the making of the record with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews.

Guest-starred on The Late Late Show With James Corden three times

Styles' first Late Late Show appearance after his album release was in May 2017, accompanied by a charming episode of Carpool Karaoke.

Styles returned on Dec. 13 of that year to guest-host the show while Corden's wife gave birth, manning the stage like a pro with a witty monologue.

Most recently, Styles joined Corden for a dodgeball game in London this June, teaming up with Corden, John Bradley, Benedict Cumberbatch and Reggie Watts for a must-see competition (and plenty of cute moments from Styles).

Appeared in Dunkirk

In what was an unexpected career move, Styles appeared as a soldier in Christopher Nolan's war epic Dunkirk in July 2017. Though his role was minor, Styles' performance packed enough of a punch to impress.

Performed on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge

In September 2017, Styles stopped by BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge to perform two covers: "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac and DJ Khaled's "Wild Thoughts." Putting his own spin on each, Styles once again proved his raw talent.

Embarked on a world tour

Beginning in San Francisco on Sept. 19, 2017, and ending in Los Angeles on July 14, 2018, Harry Styles: Live On Tour took the star throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and South America for 89 total shows. The tour was sold-out and had Kacey Musgraves, Warpaint and Leon Bridges as opening acts.

Proved himself a true philanthropist

Though Styles has always been vocal about his beliefs, he's really stepped it up as a solo act. In October 2017, he performed at CBS Radio's We Can Survive concert for breast cancer awareness at the Hollywood Bowl and sold tees and hoodies throughout his tour sporting the phrase "Treat People With Kindness" in order to advocate for LGBTQ rights. In total, Styles' tour raised more than $1.2 million for various charities, helped attendees register to vote and engaged in a water conservation effort. In addition, Harry Styles: Live On Tour was named on sexual harassment prevention charity Time's Up's 2018 donor list.

Had his own special on the BBC

The hour-long special Harry Styles at the BBC aired on Nov. 2, 2017, including a live performance from Styles and interview with BBC Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw.

Won two iHeartRadio Music Awards

On March 3, 2018, Styles won two iHeartRadio Music Awards: best music video for "Sign of the Times" and best cover song for his performance of "Still the One" by Shania Twain with Kacey Musgraves.

Co-wrote a song

Styles has a writing credit on Bleachers' "Alfie's Song (Not So Typical Love Song)," which appeared on the soundtrack for the 2018 film Love, Simon. However, this was not Styles' first time writing a song for someone else: He has also co-written songs for Ariana Grande and Michael Bublé.

Modeled for Gucci

The singer has become a mainstay for Gucci, appearing in three of their campaigns thus far -- two for Gucci Tailoring and most recently for Gucci's newest perfume, Mémoire d'une Odeur. The promotional videos for each are almost too much to handle.

Executive-produced a TV show

One of the least-known facts about Styles: He was actually an executive producer on the CBS sitcom Happy Together, which was loosely based on his own life. Sadly, the show was canceled in May after just one season.

Interviewed Timothée Chalamet

Ah, the interview that almost broke the internet. On Nov. 1, 2018, a match made in heaven became a reality when Harry Styles chatted with fellow dreamboat Timothée Chalamet for i-D. Touching on everything from masculinity to that peach scene in Call Me by Your Name, it's a thrilling read to say the least.

Won Gay Times' Honour for LGBTQ Advocate

As a result of his "Treat People With Kindness" campaign and The Rainbow Project that his fans carried out at his MSG show, Gay Times gave Styles their Honour for LGBTQ Advocate Award on Nov. 8, 2018. "Styles uses his platform to make sure his LGBTQ fans feel accepted and noticed, which was most superbly displayed earlier this year with The Rainbow Project," Gay Times' announcement article said.

Gone to a lot of concerts

Seriously, it's almost too many. On Nov. 30, 2018, Styles made an appearance at Bring Me the Horizon's London show, even posing for this cute selfie with lead singer Oli Sykes.

On Dec. 13, 2018, Styles was spotted supporting friend Stevie Nicks at Fleetwood Mac's concert in Los Angeles. Enjoy this blurry video of him singing along to "Go Your Own Way."

Only three days later, Styles went to Paul McCartney's show in London, even pausing to take a few pics with fans.

The next time Styles was seen out at a concert was to catch Van Morrison at The Wiltern in Los Angeles on Feb. 5. The two hung out backstage and snapped this adorable pic, which also sparks the realization that Styles has worn that gray cap to every concert thus far...

Next up on Styles' concert schedule was an LA show from King Princess, whom Styles reportedly asked to open for him at Madison Square Garden. Though she declined, it's great to see that Styles is still supportive.

Styles also saw K-pop group BlackPink on April 17 in Los Angeles, adding fuel to the fire that he was dating BlackPink member Jennie.

Styles caught a Fleetwood Mac show on June 18, but this time in London, where Nicks actually dedicated her performance of "Landslide" to him.

One Direction stans everywhere freaked out when both Styles and Niall Horan went to the Eagles concert in London on June 23. Though the photos are almost too blurry to tell, just the thought of the two enjoying a night out together had Directioners speculating at a 1D reunion.

The most recent Styles concert outing was Ariana Grande's London show on Aug. 17, where he hung out with Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown, getting the Internet very excited.

Partied it up in Japan

Styles has spent a good amount of time in Tokyo this year, even meeting up with some of the Queer Eye guys for karaoke. Here's him and Bobby Berk singing "Bohemian Rhapsody" for your viewing pleasure.

Become besties with Stevie Nicks and inducted her into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Styles and Nicks have sparked up quite a friendship since his album dropped, performing several times together including at the 2019 Gucci Cruise. The two are so close that Styles inducted Nicks into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this March, making a sweet speech and joining her to sing "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around."

Co-chaired the Met Gala

In a look that truly broke the Internet, Styles stunned at the 2019 Met Gala on May 6 as a co-chair. Dressed in a gender-blurring Gucci getup, Styles proved himself a fashion icon.

In an interview at the event with Liza Koshy, Styles said that the theme of camp is about "enjoyment, non-judgment and having fun with clothes."

Almost had two huge movie roles

This summer, Styles was in the running to play Elvis in Baz Luhrmann's upcoming biopic and even "in talks" with Disney to be Prince Eric in the upcoming Little Mermaid live-action remake. Despite initial conflicting reports about Prince Eric, Styles will not be playing either role.

Worked on new music (and music videos)

Styles has been spotted on set for a music video (or maybe two?) in both Scotland and Mexico this August -- which can only mean that new music must be coming soon. Check out these behind-the-scenes snaps.

Graces the cover of Rolling Stone's next issue

And finally, in another telltale hint that new music is to come, Styles was revealed as the cover star for Rolling Stone's September issue on Aug. 19. The sizzling-hot shirtless cover came with reports from Us Weekly that his next album would be coming late this summer or early fall. One can only hope!

[mthelenaa]

It seems like most everyone in my company hates Our Town and so I wanted to make a post appreciating all of it. I was the Asst. Sound Technician for the show and watched it in the box at least 12 times.

1. Everyone gets so bored with the first two acts because they are so mundane but they don’t notice that it was meant to be that way because the theme is that no one appreciates life the mundane way that it is until it is gone.

2. The simplicity of the set allows for the sound techs to really shine because of the way that the sound effects are the major thing creating a picture of what is happening for the audience (ie milk bottle clanking, horse whinnies, or train noises)

3. Just the ladder scene with the moon in the middle of them. I could look at that lighting cue for hours.

4. The complexity of Emily wanting to return to her world to live a day over, and then watching herself take the life that she had for granted, and not being able to make use of what she was given after her death.

5. The usage of Simon Stimson in act three to show the beliefs of all the people in the afterlife in a harsh way, and make the audience really stop to consider their own lives.

6. The stage manager helpfully explaining what was going on and then jarringly interjecting right after Simon’s big monologue to end the play

7. How cute Emily and George were

[living-my-adventure]

Review: Sea Wall @ The Old Vic (18/June/2018)

★★★★★

Let me start by saying “Oh my god, Andrew Scott!”. If you’ve never seen him on stage: 1) Why? 2) Seriously, why? and 3) Go to the Old Vic now to see him in Simon Stephens’ Sea Wall, a play that was written for Andrew Scott and was first performed at the Bush Theatre in 2008. It’s only on until 30 June, so if you want to go you need to hurry up.

Now, about the play and why I’m praising Andrew Scott so much. Sea Wall is a one-act play, a monologue, delivered in 30 minutes. As the audience enters the room to take their seat they are greeted by Alex (Andrew Scott) who stands alone on an empty stage. Casually dressed and with only a bottle of water in his hands he’s looking at the audience as they arrive sometimes even smiling at them. You can already feel the connection being established and starting to grow. 

Lights still on and Alex starts talking about his family. Him and his wife and daughter are taking a trip to visit his father-in-law in his summer house at the south of France. The play starts light, playful, humorous with Scott doing impressions of either his lovable daughter one minute or his strict father-in-law the next one.

In those 30 minutes it takes Alex to tell his story, Andrew Scott delivers an electrifying performance and captivates you with every single word that comes out of his mouth. Towards the end, it’s even the words he doesn’t say that stay with you the most. 

“There’s a hole running through the centre of my stomach. You must have all felt a bit awkward because you can probably see it.”

And then lights off. Total darkness. You are transported back to the theatre room thinking about what went on. Starting to question if everything you knew is the same as it was before or if after experiencing this you will see things from a different light. God, family.

There was no shortage of dramatic monologues in London stages lately (Carey Mulligan in Girls & Boys at the Royal Court, Laura Linney in My Name is Lucy Barton at the Bridge Theatre to name a few) but somehow Andrew Scott in Sea Wall seems to stand out from all the rest. His charisma shines through. Just like when he did Hamlet last year, it will be hard to imagine someone else in this role.