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lovee-infected · 4 years ago

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hi hi!!! i love your vil analysis post!! just wondering though...why does vil force epel to do traditionally “cute, feminine” things. i get that it’s, like, to counter neige for the vdc, but it kind of goes against vil’s ideology? like, how i see it, vil advocates for people to express themselves how they want without being bound by gender roles. i feel like if epel tried forcing his manliness ideology onto other people, he’d be justified in his “forcing epel to do cute things” plan, but i don’t think epel has ever shamed feminine guys? he just wants to be manly himself. could this be an allusion to how the evil queen turned ugly just to fulfill her goals? vil going against his core ideals and becoming “ugly” just to win?

Glad you enjoyed it dear! As for your question, I believe that'll be better if I go into details because I've seen many asking similar questions regarding chapter 5, and I guess that's causing some misunderstandings towards both Vil and Epel. Well, we're soon getting the rest of the Pomefiore Chapter, so I guess it's the best time for an analysis on Epel and Vil's relationship and how Chapter 5 has been going so far

First off, let me state something really really important about the Pomefiore chapter, this arc has got pretty wild spirits that are quite new compared to the previous chapters. We've got Neige, the first RSA character to appear as a real rival of a NRC student, Vil and Epel's rough relationship, Ace and Deuce joining MC on the new adventure once again and finally, the VDC: an event with is potentially important to not only the whole NRC but also Twisted Wonderland!

While all fans are surely excited to see what we'll be going through next, there are quite a few of misunderstandings and wrong interpretations that are considerably important regarding the Pomefiore chapter. In order to avoid possible dramas and more misinterpretions between the fans, let's try to take a better look at this Chapter and important Pomefiore hints that we've got so far:

(1)Epel's feelings; the most important element of chapter 5

One of the quite brilliant facts about Chapter 5, is the unique presence of characters and their roles in the story. This might seem quite unrecognizable, but right now Epel's appearance is effecting the audience way more than Vil's! This arc is mainly focusing on making the audience feel his pain and hard time, and I can say that they're doing it pretty well! We'll talk about how his feelings are being presented in part (6). Now, you may wonder why his feelings are so important in the Pomefiore arc? Isn't it supposed to be mostly about Vil? Well of course, the story is most likely leading us to Vil's overblot so he's the heart of this chapter, but the important thing is too see how crucial Epel's role is here. Watching how Epel is in pain, silenty crying and forced into doing something that he doesn't want to by Vil is savagely effecting this fandom's interpretation of Vil, some are commenting on how he's the worst or how horrible he is or hundreds of not really friendly critiques which is awfully frustrating... We'd continue to talk about this point in part (5)!

(2) Epel's relationship with Vil

Let's review what we've got through the side stories. To begin with, Epel obviously doesn't really like Vil, (I'm trying to cooperate and not say that he hates him) he didn't appreciate having him as the dorm leader from the very beginning. But he's got some strong reasons to dislike Vil so we can't really blame him:

1)Vil slapped him all of a sudden just because of his poor posture at the dinner table 2)Vil almost crashed Epels head between his hands while teaching him some manners 3)Vil's idealistic are just the opposite of Epel's 4)Vil is trying to change Epel, especially during chaptet 5. It sometimes feels like Vil is treating Epel like his puppet and Epel doesn't appreciate this all.

At the end of his SR lab story Epel stated how he's going to study his hardest in magic and potions, so maybe at some point he'd beat Vil, which goes to prove that he considers Vil a rival.

"Why is it so though? Isn't this pretty risky for Epel to challenge Vil, especially as Vil is a dorm leader and Epel's just a first year who's still an amateur at magic?"

Farewell, let me mention something about Epel, he's got a really strong will to the point of not giving up until proving everyone wrong. He's often looked down on, is called to be useless and dumb, and is sometimes insulted for being innocent and naïve. True, he still has a lot he needs to learn and he's aware, but he won't take being underestimated easily.

Just look at him! He's been raised in a farm and he still found his way to this school filled with stunning students coming from noble families while Epel is a simple country boy! He proved the point to us once again in his lab coat story where Crewel gave him an impossible task just to push him into giving up and coming to apologize afterwards. When Epel realized that he was just tricked by Crewel, he felt quite frustrated and started to cry, yet he didn't give up and used his personal experiments and what he'd learned back in his farm life and paved his road to success and impressing everyone including Crewel!

This is why he isn't backing up now, he doesn't want and isn't going to lose to Vil. Another important reason might be how Vil seems to have control over Epel, his manners, his attitude, the way he looks and basically, the person Epel is. Epel has indirectly said that Vil may be currently bounding his actions and life, but someday this will change. He mentioned similar lines several times and you can see he really has a strong will to prove everyone, especially Vil, that he's not a cute apple boy to sit still and look pretty. And if he's been waiting for the right time to stand against Vil, chapter 5 has got it. In part (7) you'll see why.

(3)What is happening in chapter 5?

Okay before we continue, let's just focus on what we've got in Pomefiore chapter: This year's vocal and dance championship has an unbelievable amount of media focused on it , because two of the world-famous influencers,Vil Schoenheit & Neige Leblanche, are joining. Both are great influencers and talented designers, but recently Neige has been getting really popular through the social media and TV, thus Vil realizes that the time to face his well-known rival, Neige, has come.

The VDC is no joke to him because hundreds of people are coming to watch this competition between two Celebrities, and his career is surely at risk. If the VDC doesn't go as well as he's planned, that'll be an end to his fame and clout, possibly his whole career! Therefore he has to make sure that nothing is going to ruin his plans for the big day, and that's why he is going to use his ultimate weapon, the red poisoned apple. Note that this isn't just about Vil, it's about protecting NRC's clout against RSA as well, so losing the VDC would seriously effect NRC's picture throughout the whole twisted wonderland. So a really important part of NRC's future is relying on Vil's hands right now.

Look, unlike the previous chapters, Vil's story is about nothing fictional or exaggerated; it's something that's pretty normal to see in real life! Two famous fashion designers joining a competition, both are giving in their best, aren't planning to lose, are going to be awfully strict towards training their models and making sure that nothing would be messed up, and are SERIOUS about winning because losing it to the other side would end in losing their clout and having the reports of their unfortunate fall-down spread worldwide.

Unlike the previous overblots, Vil's strictness and seriousness has NOTHING to do with being evil or crazy, he's just doing what he's supposed to be doing, working his hardest to defend his career. Anyone else who were in Vil's shoes would've done the same, and nothing about it chaotic, heartless or mad. His being pretty strict towards Epel because he's his main hope, Epel is the perfect beauty material and is definitely capable of achieving all the best through the VDC, that's why Vil's counting on him. Just as a fashion designer is strict with training their model, Vil is all serious with his way of couching Epel. And it's just about being professional, not being evil!

(4) It's not about Vil, it's about Epel

This is more of a continuation to part (3), but let's talk seriously about how wrong chapter 5 is being interpreted. "Vil is the worst! Can't he see that Epel doesn't want this?" or "Ew gross! People like Vil who use others for their very own benefits are just horrible" are some of the aggressive comments I've recently heard about how Vil is doing in Chapter 5, which is mainly because of Epel. I mentioned that Epel's feelings are most important element of chapter 5 and this is why!! Vil isn't doing anything that savage or mean but his actions seem to be a lot more appealing to fans due to how Epel's frustration and pain is being focused on. It's not because of Vil, it's because of Epel. Vil had been just the same with Leona back in the fairy gala event and most of the fans considered the story to be much of a comedy, but when Vil's treating Epel just the same way it sounds mean, cruel, harsh and heartless. See what I meant? Epel's presence was crucial to give Vil an evil perspective and make him seem just as bad as Azul or Leona.

I'm not defending his action since Epel as well is surely under a serious pressure. He doesn't even want to be joining the VDC, let alone having to follow all these strict rules that Vil's been teaching him so far. But since Epel forcedly made the deal with Vil and promised to help him for the VDC, there's no turning back now. Vil is counting on him as his very last hope and is putting his hardest of work and effort into training Epel, just like any professional fashion designer would've done.

(5)Vil is NOT the Evil Queen!

As for Vil's biggest difference with the Evil Queen, I must say that Vil does really work his hardest for what he desires. Evil Queen simply wanted Snow White dead while we've got Vil, working his ass off preparing everything for the VDC. He isn't just going to get mad and envies of Neige because his becoming popular, he doesn't want Neige dead either. All Vil has been doing so far was working and working and working and getting to be called cruel and heartless in return, I mean can't you just feel the amount of effort and nerve he's giving into work?

See, a considerable majority of the fandom is exaggerating the story of chapter 5 while Vil hasn't even shown a simple sign of having any ill intentions or evil plans in mind! We don't know what is going to happen i the next episodes but let's say that he hasn't done a single evil thing so far.

Just take a look at previous chapters! Leona was openly planning to unfairly harm and injure other students and Azul fooled nearly 200 students, took away their magic and forced them to work for him in Mostrolounge until they graduate from the very beginning. Heartslabyul and Scarabia weren't as severe as these two but they still did have some sort of a visibly unhealthy aura. Vil's current impression as the villain of chapter 5 is high-kay normal and chill compared to the previous chapters as he literally has done nothing evil so far, NOTHING. Most of the fandom is currently giving him the malicious aura that he doesn't have, or at least he doesn't yet have. Look, Vil's just doing his job. This doesn't even have anything to do with the Evil Queen! Also, Vil's rival ship with Neige has nothing to do with beauty, it's about fame, net-worth and popularity.

We don't know if he'd come up with any ill plans or serious intentions to harm Neige or anyone else in the new episodes, but his current impression in nothing more than going hard on Epel as his coach which is just being overly exaggerated by the fandom. A real life fashion designer would've done JUST the same thing! I know that this story is most likely going to end in Vil's overblot and him revealing his inner villain but come on, he hasn't done anything horrible so far!

(6)How Epel is being presented through Chapter 5

This point is the cause of many misunderstandings and confusions regarding Chapter 5, many find the context of Epel being forced to do what he doesn't like so cruel, some on the other hand are confused becaused Vil has clearly stated that his terms of beauty are gender neutral, so why would he force Epel to do these in the first place? As I said before, it's because of Epel, not Vil.

When it comes to perspectives on beauty, Epel's idealistics are just the opposite of Vil's. Look, Epel hates being mistaken with a girl or being considered soft and cute, this is something that has been bothering him for quite a long time. Being misgendered because of his appearance all over his life has had some negative effects on his perspective toward anything cute or feminine, as it just reminds him as how he often gets misunderstood because of his unwanted appearance and cuteness. Epel is awfully similar to Deuce and wants nothing more than getting to reveal the manliness he's holding within, through not only tastes but also abilities.

This is why he's been feeling quite uncomfortable in chapter 5 because Vil's basically pushing him into doing what he hates the most, looking cute and, well, something that Epel would consider feminine. The thing is, Vil does not consider stuff like 'Being able to sing beautifully, performing eye-catching movements voice, wearing stunning clothes and applying makeup' feminine at all, to Vil these are gender neutral terms of beauty and he doesn't get why Epel might consider them girlish or feminine either. Epel's comment on not wanting to do girlish things sounded naïve and low key rude to Vil because beauty isn't bound to being male or female, and he doesn't appreciate the idea of these works being called girlish at all.

This is neither Epel nor Vil's fault, it's just the difference in idealistics.

(7) Vil's on thin ice right now

Let me tell you a secret, 'choosing Epel to become the red poisoned apple wasn't an accidental act AT ALL'. Vil has been watching over Epel ever since he entered NRC and this is why he was so strict about changing this "Mudded potato" into a well-behaved Pomefiore student. Vil knew Epel's name and had discussed his case with Rook right at Epel's first day, and this is why he treated Epel so harshly at the dinner table because his plan to turn Epel into his red poisoned apple had already begun. He was preparing Epel from the very beginning and was just expecting the big day to arrive, the day he'd need Epel to defeat his rival, Neige.

Remember that I said how Epel's been waiting for a chance to stand against Vil and how Chapter 5 would be his BEST opportunity to do this? Before we explain this point, let's have a review on how Vil has been effecting and changing him so far. During his first days in NRC, Epel was more comfortable with shouting, fighting and opposing to other students including Vil. He used to disagree until Vil slapped him but now in Chapter 5, he doesn't even say a word when Vil tells him to do something, he just silently obeys as tears fall from his eyes. He no longer fights back as much as he used to.

But right now, Vil's career, status and future is bound to Epel. Vil has been working harder than ever trying to turn him into the Red poisoned Apple he's been expecting him to become, and if Epel backs up or decides to ruin the show and stop letting Vil have control over him, that'll seriously make Vil explode. And if you think that Vil deserves to be hurt like this, I gotta say that he doesn't, he seriously doesn't deserve this after all he's been going through. Just imagine being on Gil's shoes, how would you feel about having the result of all that hard work and effort you've given into work for YEARS ruined like this? Look, we need to judge this situation nonetheless, even is you don't really like Vil it's important to realize the unfairness of this possible future to the story.

Epel now has the opportunity to BREAK Vil like no one has ever done, after all Vil has been going through to coach Epel, teach him manners, change his nature and prepare him for the VDC this would certainly be the worst thing that may happen to him and it'll make him mad, like really really mad. The Vil we've seen through the story so far was nothing more than Vil's normal calm self so we can't even imagine how it might be to see him mad. At this point he won't be bound to any manners or consderations, and keep this in mind: "We won't like it when Vil is evil, and we can't imagine how evil he can be,"

I'm honestly so excited and terrified at the same time to see what we'll get to see in the rest of the Pomefiore chapter, the atmosphere is so nerve-wrecking right now and I can't help but to pray that the rest of this story doesn't traumatize us as much as it can- “Yana please, have mercy on us”

#Twst #twisted wonderland #Twst x reader #twisted Wonderland x reader #vil Schoenheit #Vil Schoenheit x reader #epel felmier #epel felmier x reader #rook hunt #Pomefiore #character analysis

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jordanr770-blog · 3 years ago

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America Needs Some Talent

I just needed someplace to write down my thoughts so here we are!

I have been watching America’s Got Talent since season 11 when the ukulele girl won. I personally didn’t vote for her but can understand why she won. Same goes for season 12. I was rooting super hard for Diavolo but can understand why puppet girl won. Season 13 had some of the best acts ever (Shin Lim-winner) and I know a lot of people disliked her, but Courtney Hadwin should have at least gotten 5th place over sob story “I’m such a good person and I hit my wife” Michael Ketterer. Kodi Lee was the obvious winner of season 14 and I personally thought he deserved it over the other acts. Other people did not think it was well deserved, and that’s ok too.

Last season we got a spoken word poet in the form of Brandon Leake. I did not enjoy the act AT ALL and was kind of mad that he won, but I will say that even though I did not enjoy him, spoken word poetry is indeed a talent.

Now, you may be thinking that season 16 would be a smidgeon of an improvement over season 15. Talent and reality shows should probably strive to become better every season. But if you thought this show isn’t capable of getting any worse, you haven’t been paying attention because this show will always find ways to disappoint. Last night we were told everyone voted for an INSPIRATIONAL speech giver as the winner. Or I’m sorry, apparently he does magic. His name is Dustin Tavella. But the thing is, he was HORRIBLE at both storytelling AND magic and nowhere near deserved the win. “It was well deserved.” How? How is a kindergarten level “magician” worth a million dollars and a Vegas show? I believe the show in Vegas is about an hour and a half and I am curious as to what is he going to do in that timeframe? Talk about how the folks living in Vegas are living in sin while simultaneously throwing paper in the air MAGICALLY? I’m sure the audience will go wild over that. Or maybe during all of his shows he will adopt a kid a day from different countries and then spend about an hour talking about Little ZimZam’s harsh life and while he’s babbling he’ll be semi incorporating his poor magic skills into the act in the last minute so the poster stating he’s a magician didn’t TECHNICALLY lie so nobody is getting their money back. I really don’t know. I have a lot of thoughts.

Plus, his sob story just did nothing for me whatsoever. Good for you for adapting 11 children, unless it has to do with whatever your act is, shut the hell up and do the trick! Not once did this guy impress or give even the best of a performance of the night. It was always 8+ minutes of “inspiration” and tirades about how we as a society need to be good to one another whilst doing crappy magic. Let me tell you, I know next to nothing about magic but even I could tell he was a less than stellar magician. Even calling him a magician is somewhat laughable. In reality he's a motivational speaker who does terrible magic tricks and who always somehow manages to suck at said terrible magic but America apparently doesn’t notice him screwing up his terrible magic because he’s too busy telling them to look at a crumpled up piece of paper or a ladder or the new photograph of his adopted son who has an extra eyeball or whatever. It’s stupid.

Last night for his final performance Dustin’s act was, and I kid you not, telling us all to be nice. FOR SEVEN UNNECESSARY MINUTES. And I do believe he started to fake cry. Dude, you’re acting is about as good as Heidi Klum’s. You can't act and you can barely do magic. Why are you here? What is your talent? Did he really join a talent show to become some type of inspirational God of obvious wisdom? If that’s the case, he should have gone and done a Ted Talk, many less victims of mediocrity that way. America somehow put him in the top 5 with actually talented people? I think not. The act itself was not impressive and he did the same thing every time, just told a different sob story. If you have to rely on a sad story to win, you don’t deserve to win a show where talent is the main objective.

In case my last few paragraphs were not made abundantly clear, I am not a fan of this dude. At all. I read a comment which stated that a message is not a talent and whoever said that is 100% correct and summed up my feelings pretty accurately. I'm not a fan or boring and basic tricks combined with even worse stories. He's the living embodiment of a motivational meme and anyone who voted for this guy is gullible and can fight me. Maybe people “voted” for him because he attempted to pull on the heartstrings? But because I sold my heart long ago his act didn’t effect me as much. /s But I swear every year they make it more clear that the entire show is rigged.

Well, maybe the voting ISN’T rigged entirely and all the boomers (first time I’ve ever used that term) and antivaxxers and easily swayed by sob story people on Twitter and Facebook voted for him. Doubtful, but you never know. HE WAS SO FREAKING BAD!!!

We are all allowed to have opinions and just because you don’t agree with me that doesn’t mean I am an awful person who deserves DEATH. I keep getting responses and messages on Twitter from angry folk who are calling me heartless because I questioned WHY they voted for him. “Well, IIIII gave Dustin all 10 of my votes!” That’s nice Karen. That is also not an answer and I cannot stress enough how much I do not care that you voted for the phony used cars salesman. Go tell your Prince from Nigeria all about it. Another guy got mad and reported me for “yelling at strangers.” Which is kind of a typical thing people do on Twitter. And I wasn’t even yelling! Lol.

And another point I’d like to make (about this and in general) is people really need to stop using the terms “all of us” and the word “we.” I am my own person and you do not get to speak for me.

“We were all crying when we saw him perform!” - No WE most certainly weren’t. I was seething with anger, yes. Crying? Not even close.

“His magic touched all of our hearts!” WHAT MAGIC? WHERE WAS THE MAGIC IN THIS MANS ENTIRE ACT? I MUST HAVE MISSED IT AFTER I PASSED OUT FROM HIS 7 MINUTE LONG STORY ABOUT HIS BORING LIFE.

His win was a complete insult.

* I personally voted for Aidan Bryant, but I really wanted Unicircle Flow to win before they got kicked off due to the judges having a tendency to suck at picking during judges choice. *

Edit: I apologize if this wasn’t articulated very well or if it seems I basically said the same thing over and over. To be fair it was 3 am when I wrote this and I was still irritated and questioning everything. Still doesn’t excuse the fact that this guy was lame and doesn’t deserve a Vegas show. My mom told me earlier today that people on the Internet are mad about his win and that it’s not fair to take it out on the guy, which I suppose is kind of true. Not exactly his fault the general public has failed and shown their stupidity yet again. If anyone is to blame it is the people who actually voted for this doofus. And AGT. And yeah, I guess I will blame him as well. But I’m not saying go to his Twitter or Instagram or whatever and call him out for being a con artist and bully him.

I think the MESSAGE =P I’m trying to display here is that someone has no business being on a talent show unless they have talent; self explanatory. A message isn’t talent. Being a narcissist isn’t talent. Exploiting your kids and wife isn’t talent. Speaking can be a talent (comedy, that poetry guy, acting, improv, probably a lot of other stuff I’m forgetting about) but one shouldn’t call themselves a magician if one is really a way less cool garage sale version of Talky Tina. Magic IS talent but if you want a million dollars you better have skills that are on par or better than the professionals.

#agt #rant #INSPIRATIONAL #Magic #Adoptakid

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rwdestuffs · 3 years ago

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There’s a lot of ironwood stans and a lot of ironwood haters out there. Now, to be fair, one’s opinion on the guy is likely dependent on that person’s view of the real-world military, as well as their own opinion of the writing in general.

Due to the… let’s be nice and use the phrase “lackluster writing”, ironwood is a very polarizing character. One can see his view on wanting to save people, but once a single chess price shows up, he loses it, and plans to abandon all of Remnant.

Keep in mind that the main characters have no reason to trust him. Not only has atlasian forces been around Mantle for a long time, causing distress and by extension, attracting Grimm, but ironwood seems to have no interest in using any atlas resources to build the communications tower. He only expends atlas military resources to protect it. Everything else comes from Mantle, including the time and energy of their best protector.

It took a submission post [here] to kinda spell it out:

The writing is so bad that we aren’t entirely sure if we should be sympathetic to ironprick or not. Given that I am calling him ironprick, you can probably tell where I lie on that whole thing.

Our own views of the US military has kinda skewed our view of ironwood and the atlasian military, so, let’s try to take a much more objective look at what they do, and how it either makes ironwood a tragic character, or a downright villainous one.

The discussion as to how the show has more or less demonized characters with prosthetics, has been done better in this post [here].

Our first introduction to Atlas in general is honestly… not that great. in this post [here], we see that right off the bat, Atlas is… well, sus. Their resident robot girl is “combat ready” and while this seems like an innocent line in this world, it makes one wonder “Why would she need to state that?”

In addition, with the SDC being a major point for resident racist turned un-racist off=screen, Weiss, the view of Atlas is already not that great. And as a quick tangent, but can we at least have mention of an apology? Like, just a random line of dialogue that tells us, yes, Weiss did in fact apologize? If these writers can’t resolve that conflict on-screen, the least they could do is give us the details of what happened off-screen.

With that rant done, it’s pretty clear that Atlas is either full of a bunch of trigger-happy gun-toting military personnel, or that they seem to be gearing up for a war with the rest of the world.

In Volume 2, we also get the reveal that Penny isn’t allowed to have social interaction, and that her status as an android is kept secret for unknown reasons. Had this show gone in the route of “Penny would absorb the Fall Maiden powers, but we run into the philosophical question of ‘She is also a living being, should she not also have a say in how her future is determined?’“, then that would have made sense.

In this Volume, and in Volume 3, we see that not only is the Ozluminati willing to sacrifice a young girl and rob her of her dreams, but that Atlas isn’t willing to expend any resources for her sake either.

With Volume 4, we kinda get a sort of insight into Ironwood and Jacques’ relationship. Jacques more or less tries to play the “I’m your friend” card with Ironwood. Given Jacques’ easily recognizable racism, it’s telling that Ironwood kept him as good company until he decided on an embargo, which, really only hurt the rest of the world. Ironwood wasn’t protecting anyone, he was trying to hold onto resources.

This is further exemplified in Volume 7, where, as mentioned earlier, he is taking Mantle’s resources to fuel his own pet project… And we later find out that that pet project was a total lie, as it turns out, it was just bait to lure out one of Shadow Queen’s minions.

We then see this all culminate in Volume 8, where Ironwood starts working with Watts to get payback on Penny for betraying him. His dialogue mirrors a lot of rhetoric that an abuser would use to try to coerce their victim to their side. And his casual discard of Penny is honestly something to take note of. Ironwood doesn’t value differing opinions. He never wanted anyone who would question him. He wanted loyalty. If he had his way, he would have installed Order 66 in all Atlasian troops to make them turn on any hunter that wasn’t loyal to him.

All of Volume 8 happened because he saw that his supposedly perfect defenses weren’t so perfect after all. And instead of resolving to try to do better once they expelled the intruder, he instead turns on the main heroes for not trusting him.

Now here comes the next question:

Should have team RWBY trusted ironwood from the start?

Now, we as the audience know that all of that stuff about Ironwood makes him look suspicious. But what do the characters know? Well, Weiss knows that they’re a bunch of militaristic assholes who refused to help her or her family escape from her abusive father even though one of their top specialists was her sister.

Ruby and Yang likely have a poor view on Atlas and Ironwood in general thanks to their conversations with Qrow.

And Blake knows that they’re basically the racism capital of the world.

As for team JNOR, their experiences likely come from how team rwby acts. With them being so close, and adding the fact that all of them got arrested for fighting grimm when they first arrived, their views are also negative.

On top of which, Ironwood is the headmaster of Atlas Academy. The last headmaster they trusted (Leo) stabbed them in the back, and the one before that (Oz) lied to them about their mission, so they have every right to be suspicious of Ironwood. They don’t exactly have a good track record with these headmasters.

So clearly, with what both the audience knows, and with what the characters know, their lack of trust in Ironwood was not misplaced.

With all that said and done, let’s dive into the final question of this post:

Is Ironwood a sympathetic villain?

As a blunt answer, yes. As an equally blunt answer, no.

Ironwood is a human character who is in charge of a military force. He hasn’t had to deal with racism like Ilia, Blake, or Velvet, but he also has been through a lot of battles if his large amount of prosthetics is to be seen.

Ironwood clearly has not had the world be kind to him, but by contrast, he hasn’t been kind to the world. As for which came first, is up to interpretation, but the point of the matter still stands: Ironwood was acting like a dictator.

Now, is his horribly described semblance Mettle to blame for this? Well, let’s think for a moment as to how it would have affected the story if we had known about it beforehand. Either in an interview, or because (in this hypothetical scenario) the writers were smart and had maybe Qrow try to talk him down by saying something like “James, calm down. You’re letting your semblance talk for you” really doesn’t matter. Let’s ask ourselves: How would knowing his semblance beforehand had affected our view of this?

Simply put, it would make us sympathetic to him, until we see his aura break and that he’s still going on his main goal of ditching all of Remnant and being selfish. It would have informed us that it wasn’t just Mettle driving Ironwood, Ironwood had that sort of thing in him the entire time, but he reached a breaking point. It’s been said that “people go from 0 to 60 over one little thing” but really, that’s not true. People don’t just go “from 0 to 60.″ People just don’t pay attention to how long a person has been at 59. And quite frankly, Ironwood was doing an admittedly good job at hiding how long he was at 59. He was constantly calm, cool, and collected in a lot of stressful situations, like when he had to confront the rest of the council.

But we also know that he was locking up dissenters. Labeling them as “traitors” and more or less, acting like he knew best. Plus, we know that he was doing a lot of questionable things in the past that makes a lot of his actions rather dubious at best.

But, once we view this with the view of the US Military, which Atlas is based on, intentionally or not, we kinda see something. Not some “grand protectors of the border and ideology of the country” but a bunch of power-hungry generals willing to throw bodies just to get their way, only for them to be unprepared when they are the ones who get invaded. And for them to basically be the fuel that gives their supposed enemies their power to cause so much destruction. Atlas was already at a breaking point. All Salem and her forces did was just add that one little extra bit of weight that caused it to all come crashing down.

In this case, literally.

#rwde #ironwood crit

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idreamtofmanderleyagain · 5 years ago

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Hellraiser Fandom and the Invisibility of Women’s Abuse

I’m starting to come to terms with why the Last Drive In interviews stuck with me in a bad way.

It kind of eluded me for a while, but to give you guys the emotional lead-up to what was underlying my sense of discomfort and irritation, let me explain a few things. When I heard the interview was going to happen, I watched some portions of a different Last Drive In episode to get a sense of what the whole thing was about. It’s your standard hosted horror movie show.

It’s also awkwardly sexist. They have a character on it, Darcy The Mail Girl, who as far as I could tell in my first viewing, basically exists on the show to be ogled and be the butt of sexual humor. The men filming would even break the fourth wall to snicker and whistle when she would say something sexual. In 2020, it was extraordinarily cringe-worthy to watch, and I’m at a loss that we’re still living in a world where this is normalized. It was like watching something from the 80′s. She is extremely objectified on the show.

I don’t blame her for this. Apparently, she was the victim of some awful bullying and body-shaming fairly recently, and I don’t want to put more suffering on that girl’s shoulders. I respect her. I think she respects herself. The circumstances surrounding a woman being in a position like this are complicated, and I do not pretend to understand her situation. She’s also allowed her own feelings about what she can and cannot handle, and what is and is not okay with her.

Nevertheless, the segment I saw in that other episode with Darcy was alienating and even rather upsetting. I felt a second-hand humiliation and pain. I didn’t feel like Darcy was put in a position where she was in control of her own sexual expression. Perhaps Darcy’s actress disagrees with me, and that’s fine. But as a female audience member, I was already feeling a sense of unease and unwelcome.

So I was obviously primed for discomfort before the interviews even started.

Joe Bob Briggs (the host) said a few things that did not sit quite right with me. Quite frankly, he repeated some more annoying fanboy statements that tend to stick in my craw. His rather basic interpretation of the film, juxtaposed against the awkward, stifling feeling of watching Doug and Ashley try to explain the deeper concepts that eluded him reminded my of my own frustrations listening to the male fans of these films’ constant comprehension failure.

How many times does Doug have to repeat the words he’s basically memorized by heart regarding the tragedy and complex nature of Pinhead? Why does this get forgotten, glossed over, even retconned so much?

Why does it always feel like Ashley gets disregarded? Every time we see an interview with her (which is comparatively rare), nobody really speaks to the deeper thoughts she expresses on her character or the narrative, but every man in the comments has something to say about her hotness level.

When we got to the point that Ashley tried to explain to Briggs that she thought Pinhead was fair in a certain scene, and that Pinhead was speaking to Kirsty’s accountability for her own desires, Briggs responds incredulously; “You think Kirsty OWES Pinhead?!”

Ashley had spent a portion of the interview having to dismiss the relevance of characters like Steve and Kyle in Kirsty’s life, and was now suggesting a deeper subtext in her interactions with Pinhead that both A) did not cast Kirsty as pure and sexless and without culpability, and B) did not cast Pinhead as her aggressor but as her psychological mirror.

This is the subtext that is most often disregarded by casual fans and some hardcore fans alike, that Kirsty may not be the innocent and sexless Final Girl, and that Pinhead may not be the predatory Slasher monster intent on using a sharp weapon to penetrate her violently for his own gratification, and that dynamic may not be the be-all-end all of their relationship for the rest of time.

I’ve been turning Brigg’s incredulous response around in my brain for a while. And it’s made me realize something about how men experience Hellraiser’s narrative, and why it differs so greatly for many women.

Doug has more than once spoken to the fact that women react to Pinhead very differently than men. He was of course speaking of the sexual interest he would get, but he has remarked upon the fact at least once that he’s not entirely sure why that is, exactly.

It’s...not that strange to me that women desire rather than fear the character, or that Ashley would have a more positive response to Kirsty’s relationship with him rather than her relationships with the seemingly benign boys of the films.

There is an order to which women first learn about sex. For some it’s a little different but I believe this is a fairly common experience: The very first thing we learn is that it’s going to hurt (but maybe also feel good after). The second thing we learn is that boys will want to take it from us and will manipulate and lie to us to get it, but that it’s supposed to happen in a loving relationship. The third thing we learn is that we want it too, but we aren’t supposed to because it’s dirty and wrong for us to want it.

Women grow up with an inherent anxiety around sex, an anxiety that is complicated by our own desires.

Everything in Hellraiser is perfectly reflective of a reality that men clearly do not have the context to fully comprehend, because women’s real experiences of desire, and of male violence, are a blind spot.

The men who hurt women don’t have pins in their head and wax gothic poetry about suffering. They don’t wear dark capes and turn into bats and hypnotize women from their windows to drink their blood.

The men who hurt women look like Frank, or J.P. Monroe, or Trevor, or Channard, or every bumbling aggressive fool Julia seduced home.

They look like Larry and Steve.

Larry let his wife scream “no” and “stop” several times before he responded, regardless of the true reasons she was screaming those words. And when he finally did stop, it was out of anger rather than concern. This is, as far as I’m aware, the most common form of sexual violence a woman can experience - a man they give their trust to suddenly doesn’t respect a “no.”

So, so many times, I have heard men say how badly they felt for Larry, how innocent poor Larry was.

Men live in a fantasy world where it’s more comfortable for them to imagine characters like Larry as good man, a victim of Julia’s callousness who isn’t in Hell not because he never touched the box, but because he is inherently innocent. They live in a fantasy world where it’s odd that Steve abandoned Kirsty the minute something deeply traumatic happened to her (Briggs remarked upon this). Raise your hand if a man has done the same to you when the cards where down.

Steve’s response to Kirsty getting too drunk to stand properly was to “jokingly” tell her to lie down in this sleazeball way that indicated he was insinuating taking advantage of her intoxicated state. Also one of the most common forms of sexual violence a woman can experience.

The men who Julia took home would respond aggressively when she chickened out of sex, either blindly or in an attempt to shame and guilt her into proceeding.

Should we talk about the fact that Kyle is a psychiatrist who shouldn’t be romancing a traumatized patient in his care who’s parent was just fucking brutally murdered? Or does that feel too petty in comparison?

The men who hurt women are more typically their friends, their fathers, their uncles, their boyfriends, their husbands.

What’s so funny about all of this is that Pinhead somehow does better at consent than these men, at least in a manner of speaking. He’s the only man who legitimately listens to Kirsty, and responds to her “no.” No matter what he threatens, he always stops to hear her out, lets her do what she wants, is always talking about her desires and pleasure, and in the end always ends up destroying the men abusing her rather than going through with ever harming her.

Briggs seemed keen on viewing Pinhead as a Satanic figure. Historically, what is the role of women who are in a position to encounter the devil? Usually, they are witches, wanton women who gain magical power through sexual communion with the devil. A framework of propaganda that men have historically used to persecute women.

The men who hurt and oppress women in real life don’t look or act like Satan, but they sure as hell are ready to write narrative after narrative of Satanic figures menacing women while they save the day, and they sure as hell like to blame women for preferring “bad boys” and “assholes” over the “nice guy.”

It’s more comfortable for men to imagine Pinhead as this cool figure of pure evil with no feelings or capacity for mercy, because they can live vicariously through his violence (particularly when they’re writing him doing it to half-naked women, looking at you H3) and yet simultaneously distance their moral identities from him.

It’s more comfortable to compartmentalize what good vs. predatory masculinity looks like in a way that benefits their self-image and the status quo. This is a lie men tell themselves.

It’s safer for men to point to Pinhead and say, “this is what a predator looks like,” while curiously never speaking of the callous, scummy and predatory behavior of every single other man in the films, even to the point of occasionally discussing the perceived tragedy of fucking Frank’s spiral into darkness long before they can feel entirely comfy imagining Pinhead as having a past where he was a good man with sad feelings, or regard his act of self-sacrifice for Kirsty as anything but a moment of weakness that was “bad writing” and therefore should never have happened.

There is an extraordinary irony in a man arguing with Pinhead’s own actor over the nature of his evil, while running a show where a female character’s fuckability is her main characteristic and it’s okay to behave as if she doesn’t even have real feelings.

All this nonsense in the spaces I go to have fun, while we’re dealing with the background radiation of a President who’s sexual abuses are swept under the rug, his masculinity praised regularly and his violence against our people gaslighted. While we’re dealing with the mass-recorded aggressive violence of police - white men in positions of authority whom we are supposed to trust to keep us safe. While men make other men laugh about the violation of girls so they don’t have to deal with the reality of one of the “nice” funny guys being a predator.

Fuck you. I’d rather burn.

#Hellraiser #rape cw #abuse cw

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letterstothemidnightsociety · 4 years ago

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Previously On Supernatural Season 3, we had a really rock solid trio of episodes to kick us off right, so what does SPN do next? It’s gonna lay the groundwork for some spicy character development that may or may not pay off by the end of the season. Let's find out!

To be honest, I felt the next three episodes just sort of plateau? There’s enough nuggets in these three eps - “Sin City”, “Bedtime Stories”, and “Red Sky at Morning” - that it does feel like they’re setting up for something big but it’s taking too much time. If the season had been longer, I don’t know that I’d be complaining, because there’s SO much potential introduced with these character developments, but I know it’s gonna get cut off at the knees in the very near future. 2021 Me has been trained on what to expect from a short season, so half of my brain wants to give the show slack for Unexpected Circumstances, but the other half of my brain is shouting YOUR NOT DRIVING THE BUS FAST ENOUGH, YOU’LL NEVER MAKE IT TO THE END OF THE LINE IN TIME!!!

And that’s maybe unfair because there really are some great nuggets in here. We’ve got “Sin City”, which is Dean’s episode. I mean, they’re ALL Dean’s episode, but this one more so than the other two in this post. Dean gets trapped with a demon who turns out to be...kinda...nice? In kind of a Stockholm Syndromey way I guess? She let’s Dean in on the fate that awaits him when his year long contract is up and it is NOT great. This isn’t the first time we see that there’s more to the demons than SPN has shown us in the past (hello, Ruby), but it is the first time Dean chills out enough to actually have a conversation with one. Dean doesn’t really get it, like he’s still not interested in getting out of his deal, but the fear gets planted, it just needs some time to grow. Oh, also, the Colt Ex Machina is back in action, so that's important.

This dumb bitch thinks he can fool us with that devil-may-care side glance but he caaaan't

But then we get “Bedtime Stories”, the Sam episode, where Sam learns...to let go? That’s the point of this episode right? It’s about letting go of someone before that person becomes too toxic and dangerous? At least, that’s the lesson that Dean wants Sam to take away from this case. But Sam will NOT learn this lesson, so instead he tries to cancel Dean’s deal by killing the crossroads demon who wrote it. Spoiler Alert: it doesn't work.

And then we get “Red Sky At Morning”, which opens and closes with some heavy emotional baggage, but then is stuffed full of fun. Like, this episode ricochets wildly in terms of Feelings, but then that’s probably what we should expect from SPN. I mean, what show have I been watching for 3 seasons now?

Fun Facts guys: I’m a tired Millenial, and swapping DVD discs was too much work so I switched over to watching this season on Netflix and GUESS WHAT???? THESE EPISODES COME WITH A SUICIDE WARNING!?!?!

They're not wrong.

And like, if that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about this season I don’t know WHAT will. Cuz Dean is absolutely suicidal and I am surprised (??) I guess (???) by how much the show acknowledges that. Or I guess, surprised by how much Netflix acknowledges that. It’s something that I did not...pick up on the first go around on season 3, possibly because I was 19 and I was an idiot and found this sort of emotional vulnerability to be endearing. Listen, I know there’s a lot to be said about the producers of the show making...umm…poor decisions in regards to character developments? But if the target demographic of this show was anything like me - and I suspect they were - then the viewers were also...probably...responding inappropriately to some of those character developments. And here’s the thing - I’m looking at this from 12 years in the future, with 12 years worth of real life drama that makes the heavy handed melodrama of television feel...well, heavy handed. Maybe irresponsible? Certainly a little uncomfortable. Big Me is having A Time confronting Little Me’s taste in TV Characters. It’s one thing to have a kink, Little Me, it’s another thing to romanticize suicidal depression.

And hey, I can’t deny that the character development for Dean makes sense. I actually appreciate that the show is thinking through the world and the relationship dynamics that they’ve built and the toll that these misadventures are having on their main characters. These episodes all get bookended by Impala Fights where Sam keeps pushing Dean to give a shit about his own life and Dean responds with an inability to care. That’s just where he is right now, and I get that. We’re early in the season still. But how will the rest of the season handle this? I honestly can’t remember but I also don’t want this to be a throw-away issue that they use to remind us that Dean’s supposed to die at the end of the season. I’m prob gonna come back to this throughout the season because I ~just~want~this~show~to be~repsonsiblllllleeeeeeeeeeee.

Lol, I know, that’s a lot to ask from the CW.

ON TO MORE FUN THINGS!!

Sam is gettin’ reeeeeallll bitchy in these episodes and #1, I love it, Bitchy Sam 5Ever, but also #2, was this supposed to be the sign that Sam was going darkside? Like, he’s snarky, he’s angry, he’s not pulling any punches and that could just be him reacting to his brother’s situation but it could also be….you know...him...becoming slightly...evil? For instance in “Sin City”, he kills the two demons who kidnapped Dean without even thinking. On the one hand, this is the Winchester MO, they kill demons, that’s their job, but on the other hand, Dean is actively telling Sam to stop. Same deal in “Bed Time Stories” - Sam kills the crossroads demon in cold blood (or maybe viscera). Again, we could blame this on instinct - the Winchesters were brought up to do exactly this - but 1) Dean keeps telling Sam not to and 2) that’s not Sam. This show spent 2 seasons telling us that Sam is the Good Brother, the White Hat, the Touchy-Feely One. This is not the Touchy Feely Sam who reasons with ghosts and falls in love with werewolves. Like, everyone else sees it too, right? Also, he is usually very nice to everyone but he is a REAL BITCH to Gertrude in “Red Sky at Morning.” Like, come on, Sam, she just wants to have a nice time. She is OLD. You really think she’s got what it takes to climb that tree?

Honestly, how tall are this lady's heels?

I know that there was a plan for Sam to start Turning in this season before the show’s episode order got slashed due to the Writer’s Strike. And man, I really would have liked to have seen this play out. Like, first season Sam is the Innocent, right? He’s our stand in for the viewer in those first few episodes and then he’s revealed to be kind of the only thing that went right in the lives of both John and Dean, so Baby Must Be Protected at All Costs. The fact that John ultimately lets Sam go off to college and doesn’t contact him for the next four years says to me that on some level, John felt the need to preserve that innocence, that kind of untouched quality Sam has. Dean is very similar - whenever Sam gets too into the job, Dean calls him out on it. So in the second season when we find out that Sam might be evil, it’s a real punch in the gut, for Dean most of all. But then the show admittedly got bored with that storyline and it didn’t really go anywhere. So whereas Dean has personality in SPADES that fluctuates and changes and develops/maybe just gets more intense as the show goes on, Sam remains that kind of blank slate that the viewer can put their face on. Except now we’re in season three, and if you’ve bought into this show, then you’ve bought into it, so the audience doesn’t need a Blank Slate Sam anymore. And if you start with Sam the Innocent and then introduce the idea of Dark!Sam and then just leave that concept hanging, then isn’t this sort of like Checkov’s Evil Sam? If you introduce Evil Sam in the first act you really ought to deliver on Evil Sam by act three, right? Wouldn’t that have been A+ and Wild? Wouldn’t that have made Sam’s arc and emotional struggles over the previous seasons have more weight?

Will this be resolved in later seasons? Maybe. I’m gonna be honest, this is the last season I watched all the way through and seasons 4 through...like, 8 were real touch and go for me. I know that Sam ultimately is revealed to be a vessel for??? The devil??? And Dean is ultimately revealed to be a vessel for??? Michael??? And then the two of them???? Fight to the death???? Point is, season 5 got weird guys and I’m not there yet.

Back to more fun things! You know what guys?? I think I ship Dean and Bela. I’m...almost ashamed to admit it? Like, I remember Little Me watching this season and just dumping on Bela, I HATED her, but this time? I am 1,000% On Board This Ship. Like, there is an alternate universe somewhere where these two got a spinoff show that ran for 6 seasons and I watched EVERY episode. And then, like, 5 years after it ended, they rebooted it with Dean and Bela’s grown up daughter as the lead and the whole OG cast makes cameos over the three seasons it stays on the air and it’s amazing. I’d own both shows on DVD.

What I like about Bela this time around (and again, I am WILDLY surprised about this development), is that she can dish it just as hard as the Winchesters can. Like, every line Dean throws at her she holds up a mirror to say, “Oh yes, I know the Kettle is black, but what color are you, Pot?” and I’m just continually thrilled. She is also just as damaged as Dean is but somehow channeling it into a healthier way? Like, she’s true Chaotic Neutral, which is not necessarily healthy, it’s just healthier than Dean. Or maybe it’s just that she’s better at managing it. In either case, they are HOT MESSES and I love it. I just love it. I know I complained about shoehorned romances but Ackles and Lauren Cohan just totally crush it in every scene and when Dean walks down the stairs all She’s All That in “Red Sky at Morning”, I yelled at the screen OMG just BONE already!!!!! And then like, 5 seconds later, Bela literally says “We should really have angry sex,” and it was probably the most vindicating moment I’ve had on this ride so far.

I just think they're neat!

WHY did we cancel her? WHY?? I don’t want to believe it was the Wincest again, so I’m gonna pretend that it wasn’t, but it was definitely fans. According to Kripke, Bela gets the axe at the end of this season because of the fan hatred of her. Now, I’ve already admitted that I personally held a grudge, but good Lord, what was wrong with us, as a Fandom? To be fair to me (and all of us), would we have felt differently if we had not been introduced to Jo a mere season earlier?? I'm gonna say yes. Although I had misgivings about Jo the first episode we meet her, by the end of season 2 I was certainly on her side. Working through season 3, I am remembering that, when we were introduced to Bela, I was immediately FURIOUS because WTF, WHERE’S JO? SPN just introduced to her. They just settled on a love interest for Dean and the writer’s just got me on board with that. Now they’ve completely done away with both that character AND that dynamic and you want me to get on board this NEW thing? And be excited about it??? So I'm gonna blame the love-interest-whiplash, combined with the fact that Little Me related my own personal self more to Jo than to Bela, that made me hate Bela in the first place. When you look at how quickly the show abandoned one character to introduce another character, it makes sense why fans got mad, but I’m also mad that we continued to hate Bela when she turned out to be such an A+ Frenemy. It makes me want to shout at the writers through the time void COMMIT TO A FEMALE CHARACTER YOU JAGWEEDS.

What’s wild watching this show now is just how Male it was, especially considering its audience was already skewed heavily female by this point in the series. If you made this show today, I don’t know that you could do that. Today, there’s a real push for balanced, diverse casts in programming, especially in sci-fi/fantasy and young adult. I think if SPN had started in 2021, they would have introduced the Harvell’s or Bela up in season 1, and that introduction would have been much more intentional. The benefit of having a shorter episode count as the standard is that there’s less of the “throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks” approach. Looking at it from 2021, reading snippets of interviews from Kripke, that’s definitely what they’re doing with the side characters in these seasons and you can feel that in Jo and Bela. A shorter season means that the storytelling has to be tighter, it can’t wander, so every decision has to be a load-bearing decision. On the other hand, one of the down sides of having a shorter episode count is the exact same thing - less room to throw stuff, less room to experiment. Heck, Bobby was technically a character they threw at the wall and he didn’t just stick, he became a tentpole character of the series. The only side character that actually made it into the series finale even!

So how much room should we be giving our television programs? I think it depends on the show, honestly. I think you have to decide up front if you want space to experiment, or if you have one, tight, compact story line that’s gonna drive viewers from episode 1 right through the finale without giving them the chance to catch their breath. You have to make the decision, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop making one style of show in favor of the other. Just because we’re in the Age of Streaming doesn’t mean there isn’t room enough for both.

#Supernatural #Supernatural season 3 #Supernatural rewatch #Sin City #Bedtime Stories #Red Sky at Morning #Sam Winchester #Dean Winchester #Bobby Singer #Bela Talbot #TV #TV history #TV format

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miguel-manbemel · 4 years ago

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Aspects & Fanfics Ep. 38: Two Weddings and a Runaway

Once again, here I present you another episode of the main narrative of this fanfic blog inspired on Sanders Sides by Thomas Sanders, Joan S. and the Foster Dawg team. I have not much to say this time, so I’ll just leave you with the episode, and hope you enjoy it. Until next time.

SYNOPSIS: The day has finally come. Two weddings are taking place at the same time in the Royal Castle. Logan and Patton, and Janus and Remus, are getting married, and everything looks fine for them. However, tension between Virgil and his son Chris is building up. Virgil tries to control his life too much, overprotecting him, and Chris is getting fed up of not being able to live his life as he wants and being treated like a child.

WARNINGS: Mentions to fractures and bleeding wounds. Remus is there, throwing some inappropriate shenanigans. Of course, lots of romantic prinxiety, logicality and dukeceit.

EPISODE INDEX

[intro sequence]

[the main room in the Royal Castle of Sandersia is filled with people. Roland is at the altar waiting for the two couples to make an entrance. Joan and Talyn are sitting on the first line among many other Sandersian guests. Then we see the backstage where Thomas is waiting next to Logan and Ian is next to Janus. Thomas and Ian are wearing ordinary suits, Thomas with a necktie with embroidered flowers, Ian with a black shirt and yellow bow-tie. Logan is wearing an elegant suit, with an indigo jacket and necktie and a black shirt, full of sparks as if it was the sky at night full of stars. Janus wears a suit that is an inversion of Ian’s colors, a yellow shirt with a black bow-tie and jacket. The bow-tie has a drawing of a snake on each edge, each looking at the opposite direction. He still wears his habitual bowler hat, as no one could convince him to take it off. Chris is there too, next to a little table with baskets of flowers on it. Virgil arrives to drop the final basket, full of artichoke petals, on the table]

CHRIS: Do I really have to?

VIRGIL: Yes, you do, and don’t mess up. This is the most important day in our friends’ lives, it has to be perfect. When you’re done with a basket, go through the back door back here and pick up the next basket. Remember…

CHRIS: Yes, indigo gentians for Logan, light blue poppies for Patton, yellow chrysanthemums for Janus and green artichokes for Remus. We’ve rehearsed it again and again for the last two weeks, you almost didn’t let me do anything else but training on that.

VIRGIL: Okay, then use that training and do your work. I’m going back to the dressing room to see if Patton’s ready and to wear my royal outfit. It’s so uncomfy, and the crown ruins my hair…

CHRIS: Okay…

THOMAS: I’m so nervous, you guys, you have no idea.

LOGAN: Thomas, calm down. You make it look as if you were the one marrying.

THOMAS: Hehe, it’s funny. When Roman and Virgil married, it was you who said that, in a way, I was the one marrying, since both Roman and Virgil are both part of me.

LOGAN: Okay, you may have a point. But calm down please. Your state of nervousness is not adequate at all for the optimal development of this ceremony of marital sanctions we’re all about to commit, so please, take a deep breath and relax.

THOMAS: I deduce that you’re nervous too. You only start talking in that over the top technical language when you’re reaching the edge and want to pretend you’re keeping your cool.

LOGAN: You’re right, I’m nervous… because you’re making me nervous. Please, as I told you, relax.

THOMAS: I’ll try. You trusted me with the task of taking you to the altar and I’m not gonna fail you.

LOGAN: Thank you, Thomas. Janus had his brother Ian, Patton had his son Virgil and Remus had his brother Roman, so I was feeling a little alone in that walk through. Thank you for accepting being my groomsman.

THOMAS: It’s my pleasure, Logan. Remember that you are my family too. Of course I wouldn’t leave you all alone.

LOGAN: I know, thanks.

THOMAS: Okay, everyone remembers what we have to do and when, right? First the four of us come in the room in couples, following Chris throwing the petals, and then walk to the altar. But who enters first?

JANUS: Would you mind leading the way? I’m so nervous I couldn’t trip and fall at all. I’m not sorry for that lie… Ugh… I don’t hope I don’t mess up when Roland asks me for my consent to marry…

IAN: It’s okay, relax, Jan. You can do this. This is just a mere procedure. Before you know it, you will both be wearing your rings, you’ll see.

THOMAS: I’ll lead the way then, Janus, don’t worry, everything’s gonna be…

[sounds of trumpets are heard from the room]

THOMAS: [his voice cracks and sounds loud and squeaky] …fIne. [clears his throat] Okay, the time’s come. Hold my arm, Logan. [mumbling] Lord help me not to trip and fall…

LOGAN: I’m ready, Thomas. Let’s go.

THOMAS: When you’re ready, Chris.

[the double door opens. Chris opens the door with the first basket of indigo gentians and starts throwing petals all over the way. Logan and Thomas enter the room and walk solemnly. When Chris completes the route, he goes through the back door, almost running. In a few seconds, he appears through the double doors again with the second basket, full of yellow chrysanthemum petals and does the same, then Janus and Ian enter the room. They’re around ten steps behind Logan and Thomas, with Chris between them. Both couples are so nervous they can barely notice the people looking at them in awe. Finally they all reach the altar. Chris runs away through the back door and Thomas and Ian drop Logan and Janus’ arms and walk a few steps away. They all start looking at the doors. After a few seconds, Chris enters through the door. He shows a face of resignation while he throws petals of light blue poppies, then Virgil and Patton make an entrance. Virgil is wearing the royal gala uniform, similar to Roman’s uniform, but with a purple sash. He’s also wearing a small royal crown as the consort prince of Sandersia. Next to him, Patton is wearing a light blue suit with a gray vest and necktie. They both walk solemnly towards the altar. Patton looks at Logan and blushes. Logan notices Patton’s necktie and shows an emotional smile of pride. When they arrive to the altar, the music stops. Chris runs through the back door. Virgil leaves Patton with Logan, who holds his hands, and then Thomas and Virgil step aside. After a minute or so, hard rock music starts suddenly playing, startling everyone. Chris enters throwing full artichokes everywhere, a little frustrated, while Roman and Remus enter the room. Roman wears his royal gala uniform and shows a face of resignation while Remus is wearing his usual outfit and dancing to the music. When Chris reaches the altar Virgil speaks to him in a low voice]

VIRGIL: You were supposed to throw artichoke petals, not full edible artichokes!

CHRIS: [blushing with a mixed face of embarrassment and anger] I know, it was Remus’ idea to replace the basket. Don’t blame me! It was shameful enough already for me with the original basket, you know?

[Chris goes to sit down next to Joan and Talyn while Virgil sighs. When Remus gets closer to Janus he grabs his hands. Janus is blushing a little bit as the music stops, with a little gesture of shame, but smiles anyway]

ROLAND: Distinguished guests. We are gathered here to witness the union of Logan and Patton and of Janus and Remus as married couples. If anyone in this room knows a reason for which any of these unions should not take place, speak now or forever hold your tongue.

REMUS: Oh, don’t worry, they’ll hold their tongues… [looking threateningly at the audience] because you want to keep your tongues attached to your mouths, right?

JANUS: Remus!

REMUS: I’m just kidding. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t marry anyway, so you may continue…

[Roland looks at Remus in confusion. Then, he clears his throat and continues]

ROLAND: Let’s just go to the main ceremony then. As there are two couples, and I’m concerned about what Remus would have written, let’s skip the vows and go straight to the consent step. Each hold your partner’s hands and look at each other in the eye. Logan, do you take Patton to be your husband, to love and to cherish for as long as you both shall live?

LOGAN: That couldn’t be more adequate… I mean, I do.

ROLAND: Patton, do you take Logan to be your husband, to love and to cherish for as long as you both shall live?

PATTON: [emotional] Of course I do.

ROLAND: Now, Janus, do you take Remus to be your husband, to love and to cherish, for as long as you both shall live?

JANUS: I don’t… sorry, it’s the nerves. [he starts nodding nervously]

ROLAND: I’ll take that as a yes. Remus, do you take Janus to be your husband, to love and to cherish for as long as you both shall live.

REMUS: Of course I take him, [wiggling his eyebrows to Janus, who blushes] and how I’ll take him…

ROLAND: [frowning] “I do” would have been enough… Okay, who has the rings?

VIRGIL: I have Patton and Logan’s rings.

ROMAN: And I have Janus and Remus’ rings.

[Patton and Logan pick up their rings and so do Janus and Remus]

ROLAND: Okay, Logan, place the ring on Patton’s finger while you read from this book.

LOGAN: [reading and putting the ring on Patton’s finger] With this ring, Patton, I thee wed, and I promise to love and respect you in sickness and health, in richness and poorness, in good times and bad, until death do us part.

ROLAND: Now it’s your turn, Patton.

PATTON: [also reading while putting the ring on Logan’s finger] With this ring, Logan, I thee wed, and I promise to love and respect you in sickness and health, in richness and poorness, in good times and bad, until death do us part.

ROLAND: Very good, now it’s your turn, Janus. Don’t worry about the nerves, you just have to read from this book.

JANUS: [sighs, then puts the ring on Remus’ finger while reading] With this ring, Remus, I thee wed, and I promise to love and respect you in sickness and health, in richness and poorness, in good times and bad, until death do us part.

ROLAND: Your turn, Remus, and please, don’t be creative just right now. Stick to the book so that the ceremony can be valid.

REMUS: Okay, if you insist, but only because I can’t wait for the banquet to take place [wiggling his eyebrows at Janus again] as well as our own private dessert… Okay, sorry, I’ll read now. [reading from the book while putting the ring on Janus’ finger. Janus has previously taken his yellow glove off] With this ring, Janus, I thee wed, and I promise to love and respect you in sickness and health, in richness and poorness, in good times and bad, until death do us part.

ROLAND: Each couple has expressed their free consent in front of witnesses to be joined in wedlock, so by the powers vested on me by the state of Sandersia, I now pronounce you married couples. You may now kiss each other… Each his own husband only, Remus, before you ask.

[Patton and Logan kiss and so do Remus and Janus, while the audience cheers. Time goes by and everybody is in the big dining room in the royal castle, everybody is having their meal. Thomas and the Sides, as well as Roland and Ira, are sitting on the main table, the rest of the guests are in different tables. Everybody seems to be enjoying the party. The songs from the Sides playlists are being heard as a background music for the guests all the time]

THOMAS: What a party. This is what we missed on your wedding, Roman, Virgil. I’m glad that we are able to live it now, although I would have wished you’d have your own party too.

ROMAN: Me too, but, oh, well, the past is in the past, and the important thing is that we got married in the end, that we’re still together, and that we’re living happily ever after. Even If that “ever after” has discontinuities from time to time, but we always come through them eventually.

[Chris gets up from his chair]

VIRGIL: Are you going somewhere, Chris? You didn’t finish your dish yet.

CHRIS: [sardonic] If you must know, I need to go to the bathroom. Don’t worry, I can walk there by myself with my own two feet. I promise I’ll wash my hands like a good boy.

VIRGIL: I don’t like your attitude today, young boy.

CHRIS: Well, dad, like that song said, I’m sorry I can’t be perfect. See ya all in a minute.

[Chris leaves the table. Virgil sighs again]

VIRGIL: I don’t know what I’m gonna do with him… it seems like he puts himself against anything I ask him to to. It’s exhausting.

ROMAN: Well, you gotta understand that Chris has had a totally irregular development. He was an adult less than 24 hours after being born and we didn’t have time to process it. Maybe you should give him some space to spread his wings. We can’t control every step of his life, no matter how much we both would wish to do so.

VIRGIL: If only I could do that… but it’s like I can’t help it. Once a worrier, always a worrier, and I fear so much about Chris’ safety, all the time… And I know this is wrong because it leads to overprotection and that’s not good… but I can’t help it. I’m overprotective by nature and I don’t want anything wrong to happen to my son.

THOMAS: But you must give him some space, Virgil. Eventually, you will have no choice but to let him live his life. That has happened generation after generation in the human world and that’s how it’s gotta be.

[Virgil has no time to answer, as, suddenly, the music stops and the lights go dimmer. Some servants place what looks like a training dummy and a bullseye in the middle of the hall, in an empty space between tables. Then from the main doors, Chris makes an entrance. He’s carrying his fencing sword and has a belt full of little daggers]

VIRGIL: [in shock] What… is going on here?

CHRIS: [theatrical voice] Distinguished guests. In order to please my grandparents and uncles in their big day, I’ve set up a little show of fencing that I hope you will find entertaining.

VIRGIL: What? He prepared that ridiculous show despite me explicitly forbidding him to do so?

ROMAN: Let him do his show, Virgil. If you make him nervous now, he could really get injured if he makes a mistake.

[Chris starts his show. He showcases some fencing moves towards the training dummy. He looks majestic and everyone in the audience watch in awe. Roman even gets emotional with a little tear dropping down his cheek. After he’s done with the fencing, the audience applauds him]

CHRIS: Thank you so much, everyone. And now, to finish my show, a little practice of aiming. I don’t think anyone could be endangered, but just in case I recommend that everyone steps aside from the bullseye, for your own security.

[the guests that are the closest to the bullseye do as Chris asked and move a few steps away. Then Chris starts aiming at the bullseye, then throws a dagger. It sticks at the center of the bullseye. He throws six more daggers, they all land around the center, forming a perfect equilateral triangle. Everyone applauds. Then, Chris starts juggling with five of the daggers, walking around the tables as he keeps on juggling and the amused guests cheer and applaud. When he reaches the main table, he notices Virgil’s face of anger. Chris shows a face of doubt and fear, and accidentally grabs one of the daggers by the edge. He obviously cuts his hand. He groans in pain, dropping the dagger immediately and all the rest of the daggers fall to the floor next to his feet, while the audience screeches in fear]

VIRGIL: [scared] Chris! Are you okay!?

[Virgil jumps over the table to get to Chris and check his hand. Blood is spurting out of a long cut right in the middle of the palm, so he quickly grabs a napkin and puts it around Chris’ hand, tying it as tightly as he can so that the hemorrhage is contained. Then, Virgil takes Chris to the sick bay, almost dragging him, while Roman tries to assure the audience that everything’s fine. A nurse there attends the wound properly, disinfecting it and covering it with a proper bandage. Then, the nurse leaves Virgil and Chris alone in the room]

VIRGIL: [angry] I knew this was gonna happen! I knew it!

CHRIS: Don’t dramatize, dad. It’s just a little cut, that’s all. You heard the nurse. In a few days, I’ll be good as gravy.

VIRGIL: I told you not to do this, because I knew this would happen! But you never listen to me! And now you’re wounded! But it will be the last time!

CHRIS: [suspicious and afraid] What do you mean?

VIRGIL: Fencing is over for you, Chris. Since you’re not responsible enough to hold a knife safely, you will hold no knifes or swords at all.

CHRIS: [horrified] But dad! Fencing is my life! You can’t…!

VIRGIL: [sudden tempest tongue] Don’t argue with me! [beat, then normal voice] I’m tired of having to push my way through your stubborn skull! From this point on, you will obey me with no question! Is that clear!?

CHRIS: [mumbling] I hate you…

VIRGIL: What was that?

CHRIST: [yelling] I HATE YOU! And I wish you weren’t my father at all! You are the worst parent anyone could have! You’re not good enough to be a fa…!

[Virgil interrupts his statement by loudly slapping Chris in the face. Chris puts his hand on his cheek and looks at Virgil with his eyes full of tears. Virgil gets suddenly horrified when he realizes what he’s just done]

VIRGIL: [trying to reach his hand towards Chris] Chris… I’m… I’m sorry, I…

CHRIS: [yelling, on the verge of sobbing, slapping Virgil’s hand away from him] Don’t you ever touch me again!

[Chris runs away from the room]

VIRGIL: Chris, wait! Don’t go!

[Virgil runs behind Chris who is a much faster runner. Chris gets out of the castle, ignoring Virgil’s calls to come back. He summons a horse, jumps on it, and rides away to the distance. Virgil watches him go, with his eyes full of tears]

VIRGIL: I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…

[Roman gets next to him]

ROMAN: What happened, Virgil? Where is Chris?

VIRGIL: I messed everything up, that’s what happened. I knew I wasn’t good enough to be a father. Chris thinks that too. And I only gave him proof of that right now when I slapped him in the face like the monster that I am. I’m a horrible father and now Chris hates me!

[Virgil starts crying, Roman hugs him tightly]

ROMAN: It’s okay, calm down, my love… You’re not a horrible father and for certain you are not a monster. You… we are just doing our best, the best way that we can. We both love him and only want the best for him in his life, and that’s not my idea of being a bad parent. Is it?

VIRGIL: Well, my best is clearly not good enough, it seems.

ROMAN: Virgil, don’t let this unfortunate event overwhelm you. Chris and you just need to have a good old talk, and understand each other’s point of view. And then, everything will be fine, because you love each other, and that has to count.

VIRGIL: Chris hates me, with good reason, I must say. I don’t think he’ll ever want to see me again.

ROMAN: Don’t be so negative. Chris doesn’t hate you. No matter if he told you that, I’m positive he didn’t mean it, just as you didn’t mean to slap him in the face. It was all just a product of the emotional state you were both in.

[Roman summons a bright white horse]

ROMAN: Come on, let’s go back to the Mind Palace and look for Chris.

VIRGIL: But… the wedding?

ROMAN: Thomas and Roland will take care of the guests, and the grooms will understand. This is more important right now. Let’s go.

VIRGIL: I didn’t mean to drag you into this.

ROMAN: Drag me? Chris is my son too. I’m as responsible of his education as you are. We are in this together, and we’ll get out of this together. Now ride with me and let’s go fetch our son.

[Roman helps Virgil get on the horse, then he gets on behind him. Then they ride the horse, following Chris’ steps which, as they had guessed lead straight to Roman’s room. They get off the horse and enter the room]

VIRGIL: Chris? Chris, are you here?

[there’s no response. Virgil and Roman walk up the stairs and knock on the bedroom. They try to open it, but the door is locked]

VIRGIL: Chris, if you’re in there, open the door, please. I just want to talk to you. I’m with Roman too, so that you don’t feel uncomfortable being alone with me. Please, open the door.

[no response]

ROMAN: Chris? It’s your father. Please, open the door. I’m sure we can amend everything if we give a chance to dialogue. Please.

[still no response]

VIRGIL: I have a bad feeling about this…

[Virgil tries to peek through the keyhole. The room inside is in the dark]

VIRGIL: There’s no light inside. Either he’s there with the lights off, or he’s not in there at all. But why is the door locked then?

ROMAN: You’re right, there’s something wrong here. Wait a second.

[Roman summons a key. Then he unlocks the door and opens it. Inside, they find the room completely empty]

VIRGIL: Where is he? Where could he have gone?

ROMAN: Look, there’s a note on the bedside table.

[Roman picks up the note and reads it]

ROMAN: Oh, goodness…

VIRGIL: What does it say? Tell me!

ROMAN: You’re not gonna like what it says.

VIRGIL: Gimme that!

[Virgil takes the note from Roman’s hand and reads out loud]

VIRGIL: “Since you cannot respect my hopes and dreams and what I want to do in life as a Side, I have decided to move away to somewhere where I’ll be able to fulfill my goals without being a burden to anyone around. I’m moving to the Dark Realm. It is empty and calm right now and all I want now is peace. Don’t try to follow me. At least try to respect my wishes for once in your life. Signed ‘Chris’. P.S. Say goodbye to Thomas and the others for me and tell them they will always be in my heart.” Oh, no… not the Dark Realm. He won’t be able to survive there for long, Roman, he’s not a Dark Side!

ROMAN: You’re right. One thing is to visit that place from time to time, but staying there for the long term could be dangerous for him. My heart is torn between respecting his wishes and going after him, but we have no choice. We need to go after him.

VIRGIL: Let’s go, then.

ROMAN: Do you still remember the way, Virgil?

VIRGIL: I’ll never forget the way, Roman, even though I tried. Let’s go.

[Virgil holds Roman’s hand, then they both sink down. Then, they appear in the Dark Realm]

VIRGIL: Gosh, it’s all so void and empty… no sign of our old rooms anywhere. They were all gone when we transformed into Light Sides. Only Remus’ room remains… Do you think he may be there?

ROMAN: Who knows. It’s worth a try.

[Roman and Virgil start walking. After some time, they reach the wall behind which Remus’ room hides]

ROMAN: Okay, hold my hand. You know that only Remus and I, and now Chris, can go through this wall and any other Side needs our help.

VIRGIL: Okay…

[Roman and Virgil hold hands and cross the wall. Then they appear in Remus’ room]

ROMAN: Maybe it would have been better to go by the sea, if we had known.

VIRGIL: Chris? Are you here? Nothing, there’s no answer… but look, the front door is open. Could he be in Remus’ castle?

ROMAN: Again, it’s worth a try. Remus’ castle is an appropriate place for hiding and training in sword-fencing, if that’s what he wants in life, as long as he stays in the throne room and doesn’t venture inside the castle with all its traps scattered everywhere…

[Roman and Virgil enter the castle. They’ve only walked a few footsteps when they hear a desperate yell in the distance]

ROMAN: What was that!?

VIRGIL: I think it was Chris’ voice! [yelling as loud as his lungs allow him] Chris! Where are you!?

CHRIS: [from a distance] Dad! Is that you!? Please, help me! I can’t hold on much longer!

[Roman and Virgil show a face of horror]

ROMAN: He must have fallen in one of the traps! Oh, how I hate being right this time!

[Roman and Virgil start running in the direction where they heard the voice]

VIRGIL: Hold on! We’re on our way!

CHRIS: Hurry up, please! I’m falling!

[They finally get to the place where the voice was coming from. They find a corridor with a huge chasm in the middle. Chris is holding from the edge, but his hands are slowly slipping]

VIRGIL: Chris! I’m here! Hold on!

[Virgil runs, fast as a thunder, to the edge of the chasm. Roman follows him from behind. They find Chris there, with horror in his face]

CHRIS: Dad, father! Please, help me! I don’t wanna die!

VIRGIL: [kneeling towards the edge, reaching his hand] I promise you, you won’t die! Not today! Hold my hand!

CHRIS: If I drop my hand from the edge, I’ll fall. My other hand is wounded and I won’t last long holding from it!

[Virgil looks at Chris’ other hand. The bandage is stained in blood, proving that the wound is open again]

VIRGIL: If you don’t hold my hand, Chris, you’ll fall anyway. Please, trust me! I won’t let you down! I swear!

CHRIS: Okay… please, hold me, dad!

[Chris hesitates, then he drops the edge with the healthy hand and reaches Virgil’s hand. Before he can reach it, the wounded hand, unable to support Chris’ weight, slips out and he starts falling]

CHRIS: [yelling] No! DAD!

[before anyone can know how it happened, Virgil is holding Chris’ both hands. He’s hanging on the chasm, with his body in it down to the waist. He slowly starts slipping into the chasm, but Roman quickly reacts and holds Virgil’s legs, then Roman starts pulling with all his might, until both Virgil and Chris are safe and out of the chasm. They’re both breathing heavily, still terrified. After a second, Virgil hugs Chris tightly, and kisses his forehead and cheeks rapidly]

VIRGIL: My son, my dear son, I thought I was losing you! Oh, my goodness!

CHRIS: I’m sorry, dad! I’m so sorry!

[Roman joins them both in a group hug]

VIRGIL: Okay, can you walk?

CHRIS: I don’t know…

[Chris tries to stand up, he immediately falls down]

CHRIS: My leg! I hit my leg on the walls of the chasm when I fell in. I think my femur is broken.

VIRGIL: Oh, no…

ROMAN: This is troublesome… We are inside Remus’ castle and, as we have seen, his traps are still working. But Remus is at the wedding, so… [face of realization] wait a second.

VIRGIL: What?

ROMAN: We’re in Remus’ castle now, so that means we’re in Sandersia again. And that means that I… Give me a minute, guys.

[Roman closes his eyes and concentrates]

CHRIS: I’m so sorry, I caused two messes in one day. You were right, I’m not responsible at all. I’m just a spoiled child.

VIRGIL: No, Chris. You were right. My obsession with overprotecting you has caused all this. This is my fault. I’m so sorry I slapped you earlier. I was scared and frustrated and… I didn’t know what I was doing. You were right. You have all the right to experience life by yourself doing whatever fulfills you, no matter how dangerous I think it could be. You need to learn how to deal with these minor dangers and you never will if I get in the way. So, of course you can keep doing fencing if that’s your passion. I won’t object.

CHRIS: Thank you, dad. You were just trying to take care of me… as you’ve always done. I’m the one who’s sorry for telling you all these horrible things. Of course you’re good enough as my father. I wouldn’t want anyone else other than Roman and you as my dads. Would you please forgive me?

VIRGIL: Only if you forgive me too, my boy.

CHRIS: Deal.

[Chris and Virgil hug]

ROMAN: Okay, the help is on the way.

VIRGIL: What?

ROMAN: As we’re in Sandersia, I can make telepathic contact with any Sandersian, including Ira and my brother Roland. I’ve told them everything that happened and asked them to send help. I hope they don’t take too long.

CHRIS: I’m sorry I spoiled the wedding for everyone…

ROMAN: That doesn’t matter right now. The important thing now is that we get you to safety. And for that, we’ll need Remus to help us evade all the traps, if any. We were lucky enough that we got here without falling ourselves in another trap, and with you barely able to walk, we’re gonna need Remus’ guidance, so we’ll be staying right where we are until the rescue committee arrives. Now, let’s see that hand. I don’t like how it’s bleeding.

[Roman kneels towards Chris and takes the bandage off Chris’ hand. He summons a bottle of peroxide and some gauze, then starts cleaning the wound, which has effectively opened and is wider than before]

CHRIS: I didn’t know you had knowledge of first aid care, father. [grimace of pain when Roman touches the wound with the gauze] Ouch…

ROMAN: Sorry… I’m a warrior. I need to have knowledge of this kind of stuff just in case I need to use it in battle.

[Roman takes his red sash off, then rips it apart with his bare hands to make a bandage. He covers Chris’ hand with that bandage and ties it carefully, making sure that the hemorrhage is contained]

ROMAN: That should do it for the time being, at least your hand won’t get any worse. The leg is a different thing, though. I’m not versed in fractures, unfortunately. We’ll need to take you to the hospital in the Sandersian town so that they take care of it.

CHRIS: It’s okay, father. I’m sorry you had to ruin your precious sash.

ROMAN: Don’t worry, I’ve got lots of sashes like that one and it wasn’t one of my favorites. I only wore it on special occasions… precisely because I didn’t want to wear it often. I’m glad I finally gave it a good use for once.

CHRIS: Do you think they’ll take too long to get here? I mean, I can wait… but my leg hurts so much. I’m scared that I won’t be able to walk properly again if we wait too much.

VIRGIL: I know, Chris… but you must endure the pain. They have to cross the sea and get to Remus’ island, and then here safely. That will take time. But at least we’re together.

CHRIS: I know. I don’t know how I would have dealt with this on my own. Well, I do know, I’d be dead down in that chasm… Thank goodness you didn’t listen to me and that stupid note I wrote.

VIRGIL: Which reminds me… why did you lock your door if you weren’t planning to come back?

CHRIS: I was hoping that with the door locked I’d buy myself some time to run away while you were figuring out if I was in my room or not. It’s a good thing it didn’t work.

ROMAN: Yes, and it’s a good thing I can summon a key for every lock in my room, as well as in Sandersia. Please, don’t ever do something like that again.

VIRGIL: Yes, I was ready to respect your wishes and let you go. We only followed you because you said you were going to the Dark Realm. You can’t live in the Dark Realm, Chris. You’re not a Dark Side, and it would be dangerous for your safety to stay here for a long time. We can only visit that place from time to time, but we, Light Sides, can’t stay permanently, not anymore, at least. Corruption would eventually destroy us.

CHRIS: I didn’t know that… I’m sorry again. Dad?

VIRGIL: Yes?

CHRIS: I suddenly thought of something. Remus is a Dark Side, right? And Janus is a Light Side. Now that you’ve spoken about corruption, I remembered the story about how, when father was turned into a Dark Side, you two couldn’t be together for the corruption. Why doesn’t that happen with Remus and Janus?

ROMAN: Well, Remus is not an ordinary Dark Side, Chris. It wasn’t Thomas who repressed him and made him a Dark Side. It was me. Because of that, he’s now some sort of “hybrid Side”. He’s part Light Side and part Dark Side, so to speak. That means he can’t corrupt us and neither can the Dark Realm corrupt him. That also means he’s not immune to Sanders Sprites, like regular Dark Sides were. That’s why Ira was able to take control of him so many times.

CHRIS: I see…

REMUS: [voice from a distance] Roman? Guys? Are you there?

ROMAN: Remus? Speaking of the devil, never better said… [yelling] Remus, we’re here!

CHRIS: Wow, they surely crossed the sea really fast.

VIRGIL: Too fast to go by the sea, I think. Perhaps they went the same way we did, through Remus’ room, as a shortcut.

[Remus arrives, followed by Thomas and the other Sides]

REMUS: Are you okay?

VIRGIL: Roman and I are fine, but Chris’ leg is broken. He’ll need help to walk. And we need help to evade the traps.

REMUS: It’s okay, I’ve disabled them all when we arrived. I’ll keep them disabled as I don’t need them for the time being. Why did you get here on your own, boy? Don’t you know this place is dangerous?

CHRIS: I’m sorry, uncle Remus. I didn’t know about the traps.

REMUS: Well, if you were so anxious to see my home, you could have asked me. I’m more than willing to give you a touristic trip around the castle, but warn a dude next time.

CHRIS: [trying to stand still] Okay… Ow, it hurts…

REMUS: No, don’t try to get up, that fracture doesn’t look good. And I know a lot about fractures. By my own experience of suffering and inflicting them.

JANUS: That’s not disturbing to hear at all…

[Remus summons a stretcher. Roman and Virgil grab Chris and lay him carefully on the stretcher. Then they both carry him out of the trap area, back to the throne room]

CHRIS: I’m sorry I spoiled your weddings, uncle Remus, uncle Janus, grandpas, I’m really sorry.

PATTON: Well, to be fair the wedding was getting a bit boring until you stole the show. It was amazing what you did over there, kiddo. You are a great swordsman.

CHRIS: Thank you, grandpa.

LOGAN: And don’t worry about the weddings. The party was almost over, anyway, and the important thing which was the marriage, was already done and sealed.

REMUS: Also, this will be a fine anecdote to remember for years to come. I love anecdotes that involve broken bones and bleeding wounds.

VIRGIL: [sighs] Of course you do. But let’s get out of here, now. He needs to get to a hospital.

REMUS: Okay, my ship is on the dock ready to go.

[The gang gets out of the castle and into the ship at the dock. Then they sail back to the continent, docking in front of the castle. There, they carry Chris to the hospital to take care of the fracture. Time goes by. Chris has got surgery to fix the leg and is in his room in the hospital, already wearing a plaster on the leg and a thick bandage on the hand. Roman and Virgil are next to his bed. Chris then starts waking up. Virgil’s face lightens up when he sees Chris opening his eyes]

CHRIS: [drowsy voice] Hi, dad… Hi, father…

ROMAN: [with a bright loving smile] Hi son, welcome back.

VIRGIL: [sweet voice] Hello, my little boy. How are you feeling?

CHRIS: Drowsy… How did it go?

ROMAN: It was fine. The doctor said it was a clean fracture, so they managed to fix your leg perfectly, though you’ll have to wear that plaster for at least two months. After that, you’ll be ready to start rehabilitation and you’ll be walking and running like usual in six months from today. There will be no sequelae on your leg, the doctors said.

CHRIS: Six months! Oh, well, I had it coming, anyway. At least in six months, I’ll be fine.

ROMAN: Oh, and they also took the chance to properly stitch your wound in your hand so that it heals better. The scar in your hand will be unavoidable, they said, but your hand will be fully operational.

CHRIS: That’s good to know. And it’s a silver lining, I wanted a scar to look cool and I got it. Guess that saying of “be careful what you wish for” is true, after all. [chuckles and the others sigh and chuckle too] By the way, how long have I been out of it?

VIRGIL: Around eight hours since they took you to the operating room, up until now when you opened your eyes.

CHRIS: Eight hours!? Then it is already the morning after the wedding! Have you two been here all the time?

VIRGIL: We didn’t move from this room. First waiting for the surgery to end, then waiting for you to wake up.

CHRIS: I hope you have slept, at least.

VIRGIL: Roman had to, as Thomas did get some sleep, and you know the rest of the Sides fall asleep when he does. But I didn’t. I couldn’t get a wink. I’ve been watching you all night long, just in case.

CHRIS: Dad… you shouldn’t have. You must be exhausted right now.

VIRGIL: I am… but don’t worry. I’m used to these nights of vigil. It’s in my name after all. And besides, seeing you sleeping peacefully is the only thing that calmed my concern and brought me peace tonight.

CHRIS: Dad.

VIRGIL: Yes?

CHRIS: I love you. I feel like I don’t tell you as many times as you deserve, but it’s true. I love you so much and I’m so proud of being your son.

[Virgil looks at Chris, emotional]

VIRGIL: [trembling voice out of the emotion] I love you too, and every pain and struggle I’ve gone through in my life is worth it just for hearing these words coming out of your mouth.

CHRIS: Then hear them again. I love you, I love you, I love you.

[Virgil sniffs]

VIRGIL: Gosh, why I’m reminding myself so much of my father, Patton? They say like father, like son, but this is ridiculous. [chortles and sobs at the same time] Come here, kiddo.

[Virgil hugs Chris. Then Thomas and the other Sides enter the room]

THOMAS: Hello, guys. Hello, Chris, glad to see you waken. How are you feeling?

CHRIS: Hi, Thomas. Right now, I couldn’t feel better.

THOMAS: I’m happy to hear that.

PATTON: How are you three doing, kiddos?

VIRGIL: We’re fine, dad. But you shouldn’t be here. It’s the morning after your wedding, you should be on your way to your honeymoon.

LOGAN: Patton and I thought that if you two could wait to get your own honeymoon, so can we. We wouldn’t feel at ease if we left you here on your own when you may need us.

ROMAN: We appreciate it very much, but we’ll be fine, don’t worry. You can go on your honeymoon whenever you want. That goes for you too, brother, and Janus.

JANUS: We agree with Logan and Patton. If we left now, we wouldn’t enjoy our honeymoon. We prefer to wait until Chris is perfectly fine. We have plenty of time.

CHRIS: It’s gonna take six months, so don’t even think about it, uncle Janus. I’m already sorry I’m the cause of you delaying your trips, I won’t take being the cause of you canceling them altogether.

REMUS: Stop saying that. You are our nephew and grandson. If we didn’t do this for you, who would?

CHRIS: Gosh. It feels so good to be part of this huge fam. Did you notice? We’ve always been a fam, but now we are a fam, fam, for real, all of us. And I love my fam.

[Everybody goes to hug Chris, while Thomas looks at the camera]

THOMAS: Well, until next time, take it easy, guys, gals and non binary pals. Peace out!

[end card]

[a couple of days have passed. Chris is still in the hospital, recuperating from the surgery. Roman and Virgil keep him company. Ian enters the room]

IAN: Good morning, Chris. Good morning, guys.

CHRIS: Hi, Ian.

ROMAN: Hi Ian, how are you doing?

IAN: Not bad, actually. The guys are enjoying their honeymoons. It took time but we finally convinced them to get the heck out of here and enjoy their first days of marriage on their privacy.

VIRGIL: I’m glad to hear that. I was starting to think that they would cancel their honeymoons, and that’s not okay.

CHRIS: Agreed. I’m happy to know that I’m not the cause of them missing it.

IAN: It’s good that, at least, this has happened during quarantine in the outer world. At least Thomas doesn’t have urgent compromises for some time. I don’t know what we would have done if he had had his usual huge pile of working compromises and we weren’t able to help him.

CHRIS: Yeah, you’re right… Dad, father.

VIRGIL: Yes, Chris? Do you need something?

CHRIS: As a matter of fact, I do.

ROMAN: What is it?

CHRIS: I need that you two get out of this room for a couple of hours. You two didn’t leave my side in the past couple of days and you need to get out and feel the sun and fresh air as much as the next side.

VIRGIL: But, Chris, we’re fine. We…

CHRIS: Please, dad, don’t argue with me. And don’t worry about me. I’ll be perfectly fine. If you’re still concerned, Ian wouldn’t mind staying with me while you’re out having a break, right?

IAN: Oh, of course I wouldn’t. And Chris is right. You two need to get out of here and relax for some time.

ROMAN: Are you sure, Ian? The truth is I could use that break, my legs are aching of staying in that couch.

IAN: I am sure. Get out of here, guys. I’ll take care of Chris while you’re out, I promise.

VIRGIL: Okay, if you insist…

CHRIS: I insist. Get out and have some fun while you can.

ROMAN: See ya in a couple of hours, then. Come on, Virge.

VIRGIL: Okay… See ya later, guys. I love you, Chris.

CHRIS: I love you too, dad. Now get the heck out of here.

VIRGIL: Okay, okay. See ya.

[Roman and Virgil leave the room. Chris and Ian hear their footsteps fading in the distance]

CHRIS: Thank you, Ian. I thought they would never get out of here. And they really need it, even if they don’t want to acknowledge it.

IAN: Yeah… Okay, if you need me for anything don’t hesitate asking me.

CHRIS: Well, to be honest, there’s another reason why I wanted them out. I wanted to speak to you, alone.

IAN: To me? Why? Is there something wrong?

CHRIS: No, not really… I think. The truth is I wanted to talk to someone about something that is bothering me, something I don’t want my father and dad to know yet, especially my dad. If you promise that you won’t tell them anything, that is.

IAN: I hope you don’t put me in a serious compromise, Chris. You know I’m Honesty, and though I don’t support brutal honesty, I have to tell the truth if it’s serious business.

CHRIS: Don’t worry, it’s just the comfort of a friend what I’m asking for, or an uncle, if I can call you that. I don’t know if my uncle-in-law’s brother has a real relation with me, but I don’t mind calling you my uncle for all purpose, if you let me.

IAN: Of course I let you and it fills me with emotion that you would consider me your uncle. I’m certainly glad to call you my nephew too. Well, in that case, I’m here for you. What do you need to say?

CHRIS: Since all of this happened, I couldn’t stop thinking. I rushed everything by running away from my parent’s room as I did, and I’m facing the consequences of that… but the point is…

IAN: Yes?

CHRIS: The point is that, even if I tried to do it the wrong way, the motivation for me wanting to leave still stands. I love my dad and my father, and I will always love them with all my heart… but I’m an adult. Even if I was born only a few months ago, I’m certainly not a toddler. I’ve matured like an adult, both physically and mentally, and I’ve started longing to spread my wings and take flight on my own. I still want to leave my parent’s nest and build my own room in the Mind Palace.

IAN: Well, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. You’ve said it yourself. In all sense of the word, you truly are an adult. You’re only lacking experience of life, but that’s only gained by living life itself.

CHRIS: When I’m fully recovered, I want to tell them this… but I’m scared of their reaction. I don’t think that they would oppose, or anything, they already told me yesterday they were ready to support me. But I’m scared of breaking their hearts. Especially my dad Virgil’s heart. He’s so attached to me, so desperate to protect me from anything and everything, that I fear that I’ll cause him a panic attack if I tell him this now, after my accident.

IAN: Well, when someone becomes a parent, they know that, sooner or later, their child will leave to experience life on their own. If Virgil loves you, and I’m positive he loves you more than anything, he’ll understand, I’m sure of it. And besides, it’s not like you’re moving to a far away land or anything. You will still live in the same Mind Palace and you’ll never lose contact at all, don’t you think?

CHRIS: You’re right… Okay, there’s a long time ahead before that. I have six months of recovery to tackle on before I can think on that. In six months, we’ll have that talk. And I hope everything goes right.

IAN: Everything will be all right, you’ll see.

CHRIS: Thanks for listening to me. I needed so much to let this out of my head.

IAN: You’re welcome. Any time you need me, don’t hesitate calling me.

CHRIS: Thank you, uncle Ian.

[Chris holds Ian’s hand and gives him a heartwarming smile of gratitude]

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hatari-translations · 5 years ago

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Klámstrákur - analysis

Here I am, back again with some lyric analysis!

I think that it’s valid to interpret a song to have whatever meaning it evokes for you personally - but that it’s also useful, or at least interesting, to take a close look at what the lyrics say and what they imply if taken to be a reasonably literal whole, which will probably give the best possible insight when it comes to speculating on what the original intention behind the lyrics was, whether you then choose to make that guide your personal interpretation of the song or not. In this analysis, when I speak of ‘Klemens’, I’m referring to Klemens’ character, the narrator of the song, not to actual real-life Klemens, unless otherwise stated.

Content warning for discussion of sexual assault below.

What is Klámstrákur?

“Klámstrákur” is an unreleased song by Hatari, which you should listen to if you haven’t because it’s good and features some excellent Klemens. I’ve transcribed the lyrics and translated them into English to my best ability here. As Matthías writes the lyrics for Hatari, the lyrics can be presumed to be written by him, even though Klemens performs the song. You should read the lyrics in full to follow the rest of this post!

“Klámstrákur” is a favorite among Hatari fans, largely for Klemens’ seductive, emotional vocals and the way that, during live performances, Matthías will point into the audience, often specifically at people who are recording the song on their phones, and mercilessly growl “Þú ert klámstrákur” at them, which translates to “You’re a porn boy.”

So what is it about?

Well. The lyrics aren’t super explicit about what’s going on. But we can definitely glean a few things.

Klemens is unwell

In the first verse of the song, Klemens sings about an illness that he seems to be afflicted with - he’s shivering, coughing up stuff, getting weak. Klemens at least believes that he’s dying, but the doctors he’s seen about it are dismissive.

There are a couple of possible interpretations of this. The most straightforward is that Klemens is right: he really is dying, but the doctors aren’t listening to him. This probably suggests that he’s afflicted with a life-threatening condition of some kind, but dismissed because of social stigma against his condition or who he is generally.

It’s also possible that he only believes that he’s dying, but he’s really not, and that’s why the doctors are dismissive. In this case, what the verse is getting at is not physical illness, but mental: Klemens is so miserable and traumatized that he imagines he’s dying, even though he perhaps only has a common, non-life-threatening illness. (He probably has some kind of illness; the shivering could be psychological, but the specific reference to coughing up more as opposed to just coughing more is genuinely pretty worrying.)

Klemens is mentally unwell

Even if he’s really dying of a physical illness, Klemens is clearly not okay mentally either. He describes having a weak self-image, being an anxious wreck (in Icelandic he says kvíðasjúklingur, or literally ‘anxiety patient’, though it doesn’t sound that clinical), crying, lying alone unable to sleep. Moreover, “Sometimes I lie alone / utterly lonely / tied down, insomniac / a sticky boy” is kind of ambiguous (“tied down” suggests this is while engaged in a BDSM scene, but “insomniac” kind of suggests he’s in bed and supposed to be sleeping), but it makes me imagine him kind of lying there catatonic, not even cleaning himself. All in all, he’s in a poor state, suffering anxiety/depression.

Klemens is engaged in some kind of sex work

I say this mainly because of “I’ll do anything that sells”. Given the whole ‘porn boy’ thing, he may literally mean that he’s a pornographic model, or it may be less literal. Either way it seems pretty clear he’s engaging in sexual acts for money.

Klemens has been made to do things he’s not comfortable with, but blames himself

Okay. Let’s not kid ourselves; this is my big thesis here. This is the bit I don’t really see people talking about.

Let’s take a look at these lines:

Vomiting, crying, whining

I’m a mess

Easily hurt

I’m that type, a total prude making a scene

Klemens described himself as horny and doing anything that sells earlier in the song. So what’s this “total prude making a scene” thing about? Well, to me it’s pretty clear that he tried to refuse to do something, but was then convinced - by his clients, or simply by himself - that he was being a prude, that he was making a scene about nothing. And he bought it. He thinks he’s that type, an easily hurt mess, one who’s whining. He’s fine, right? He’s a horny little guy, isn’t he? A porn boy, a bad boy? He wants this, doesn’t he? Only some kind of spoiled creature would be complaining.

I think it’s pretty well implied that the Klemens character has suffered one kind of sexual assault or another here, but has convinced himself that wasn’t what happened, that he was making a big deal out of nothing, that he deserved it. He is a traumatized victim drowning in his own self-loathing, and this is probably a large part of why he has anxiety and finds himself crying uncontrollably and unable to sleep.

Matthías thinks he’s disgusting and despicable

So who exactly is Matthías in this song? I see three main possibilities here.

The first is that Matthías represents Klemens’ abusers, who personally feel nothing but contempt for him as a sex worker. If he has a physical illness, given the rest of the song, it’s probably sexually transmitted - very possibly AIDS - and they think it makes him disgusting.

The second is that Matthías represents society as a whole. There’s a huge amount of stigma against sex work, and especially during the AIDS crisis back in the 80s, it was hugely stigmatized as well. Society considers him disgusting and refuses to see him as a human being. This would also explain the doctors, by the way; I think it’s pretty likely he is meant to have AIDS regardless of who Matthías represents.

The third possibility is that Matthías represents Klemens’ own self-loathing. He thinks he’s disgusting and repulsive, and just has a constant angry voice of judgement in his head reminding him that he’s a porn boy, despicable, a disgusting brat, the lowest of the low.

Perhaps he’s a bit of all three.

Klemens needs all of the hugs

I think I’ve made my case.

Okay, now I feel weird about being turned on by that song.

That’s a fair reaction. I think Hatari deliberately present the song in a way that’s seductive and suggestive while the lyrics are positively chilling and really anything but sexy, probably because the Klemens character has persuaded himself that this is all pretty sexy. You can appreciate the sensuality of actual-Klemens’ performance while aware that the fiction of the song describes something deeply messed up. I suspect that’s kind of the reaction that they’re going for.

To me, the song is about [x], though.

And that’s cool! Songs can be about many things at the same time, with a metaphorical layer as well as a literal layer, and even if it’s not what the author was actually thinking about while writing it, each listener brings their own experiences to the table and can find meaning in a song that the author didn’t even know was there!

But is it really about Klemens selling himself to act sexual on stage even though he doesn’t really want to?

Almost definitely not, since the song is 1) almost definitely not written by Klemens, 2) significant portions of the song don’t make any sense in that light, 3) I’m pretty sure Klámstrákur predates Hatari being famous or known for sexiness enough to feel any kind of pressure to put on a sexy show for the audience, and 4) have you seen Klemens, he really goes above and beyond what anyone would expect of him on stage, there is obviously such a thing as being in denial but if that were the case he wouldn’t be singing a very self-aware song about how much he actually hates doing this. While different interpretations of what it’s about are valid, I personally think it’s a bit tasteless to advance interpretations of what the intention behind it is that baselessly posit edgy things about the guys’ personal lives.

#hatari #klámstrákur #lyric analysis

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multimetaverse · 6 years ago

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Tyrus in 3c

I’ve gotten a lot of asks about what might happen with Tyrus in the rest of the season and I’ll use this post to answer them all. We can already tell by the fact that they started this story line without the audience actually knowing that TJ is gay and that he and Kira only have 3 eps left that most of this plot is going to be subtextual and off-screen. Things have to end on at least a strained note for Tyrus in 3x15, the real question is whether they reconcile in 3x19 or if they only end up on good terms again as they confess in 3x21. The latter is always an option with Disney’s restrictions but there are some reasons to be cautiously optimistic that we’ll get the former and I have to blindly hope that TJ and Cyrus won’t be made into victims and will be allowed to be the heroes of their own stories. This will be a long post but tldr: what we know of Kira’s screen-time suggests that she’s largely redeemed by the finale, some sort of big gesture is likely needed for TJ to truly apologize to Cyrus like a rap or hug, it’s noteworthy that TJ’s scenes in 3x19 are all at school, and there are some interesting similarities between what’s going on with Jandi and Tyrus and noticeable differences between what’s going on with those ships and Muffy.

TJ and Kira have 3 eps left while Marty has 4-5 and Amber has 6 so already we can tell which story lines are most important. TJ disappears for three eps after 3x15 which is the longest he’s been away since he returned this season and the longest they seem willing to let the important love interests be off-screen. The gap is largely because the wedding is in 3x18 and TJ isn’t allowed to be there but eps 16-18 are likely to span at least several weeks in universe and suggests an opportunity for off screen growth and change on his part. Perhaps most importantly we know for the finale that Raquel was only on set for one day and that was the same day that all of the other main and recurring kids were on set so Kira is not going to get very much screen-time in the finale which along with the fact that she is even at the party suggests she’s already on good terms with Cyrus and TJ.

We know that Raquel was on set for only one day for 3x15 and it seems likely that Luke was only on set for a day as well during the filming of an outdoor basketball game with teen boy players; probably the same set up we saw in 3x13. This must be where Cyrus tries to talk with TJ but doesn’t really get anywhere, it will be interesting to see how angsty of a note they end on and if it’s meant to be something that sticks with us or something that they want us to forget about until 3x19. Fwiw it does look like TJ is wearing the same camo hoodie in 3x15 as he was in 3x07 so an angsty callback to’’ you’re the only person I can talk to like this’’ may be in the cards. Raquel never posted from set during 3x19 (presumably that’s when she appears though if she for some reason needed to have solo scenes with Cyrus she could potentially appear in 3x16 or 3x17). She wasn’t seen in any of the casts posts from that week so she likely wasn’t on set for more than a day for that ep either.

Three days of filming spread over 3 eps means Kira will be lucky to have more than 5 minutes of screen-time the rest of the season and that her redemption arc will have to be fairly quick. I have to hope that her redemption arc will begin in 3x15 when she realizes or is made to realize the hurt she’s caused TJ and Cyrus. Since Raquel confirmed that Kira knows what’s up with Tyrus I’d expect that the only way to redeem her would be for her to become TJ’s Buffy and support him in his sexuality as Buffy has with Cyrus which would mostly happen off screen but since they’re willing to let them have solo scenes could begin in 3x15, maybe with Kira offering to hear TJ out if he wants to talk. We need to see something from her that shows that she’s not an evil person and that she can learn to do the right thing.

I’d expect this plot line to look like a peer pressure/manipulation/being true to yourself plot line to little kids and the fear of homophobia story line it is supposed to be for older audiences. It looks like they’re trying to show a coming out story line where the fear isn’t internalized homophobia such as it was with Cyrus but external homophobia but I think that difference will escape much of the audience. We’ve seen TJ be so happy to hang with Cyrus at school or the park or at the spoon or at his work or with his friends so I wonder what little kids think of him suddenly being afraid to be seen matching with Cyrus.

Where does this leave Cyrus after 3x15? Again the audience has never had it confirmed that Cyrus likes TJ so that affects how the audience sees this conflict. Is he going to be allowed to talk about what’s going on with his friends or will this just be ignored until 3x19? Letting TJ be able to have solo scenes with Kira means that the show can wall this plot off from the rest of the show until 3x19 which is the route they’re going, I fear.

For Cyrus I think this will primarily look to him like TJ is ashamed to be close to him which is why I find it noteworthy that TJ is at school in 3x19 especially since before the re-shoots 3x19 was the last time the show filmed scenes at school. Cyrus feeling that TJ doesn’t want to be close to him would be devastating for Cyrus even if he’s not allowed to express it on screen. They had TJ say I’m sorry for the first time in 3x13 and he can say it again to Cyrus but I think TJ needs to show Cyrus that he’s important to him.

Jonah left Cyrus upset after refusing to wear their matching jackets in S1 and even though Jonah didn’t realize or care the hurt he caused Cyrus he did end up making it up to him by publicly praising him at the awards dinner and giving him a space otters jersey and a hug. I don’t think TJ’s apology would get anywhere near that level of attention but I think another rap is likely but this time it’s a more personal message from TJ to Cyrus. Or something like a hug or a callback to’’ He’s with me’’ from 2x08, something that shows Cyrus that he’s important to TJ. I’d imagine Kira would have to help out with whatever spurs their reconciliation so the audience at least doesn’t hate her anymore. I’m not saying TJ has to jump on stage and rap or hug Cyrus on stage but some sort of moment at the school in front of at least a couple of other people is needed for Tyrus to move past this conflict.

Luke was on set for two days in 3x19 and he and Josh had at least one wardrobe change so we’re probably looking at more than one day in universe. The potential Jandi and Tyrus scenes at the game could be very important as I’ll get in to in a bit. It also looks like TJ may have scenes with Buffy and Cyrus and Cyrus has a scene with Gus in the theatre which suggests Cyrus is getting more focus than usual and could be set up for a callback to 3x13 where Cyrus was miserable on stage but in 3x19 he’s happy.

So far in S3 Tyrus has been cycling through all their big moments: muffin, swings, dyscalculia, and somersaults. If the pattern holds we should get a look back in 3x15. I do think the audience needs something to show that TJ is gay and has a crush on Cyrus if this plot is to have any hope of succeeding. It mirrors something that @cyrusgoodboye noted after S2 aired; that in 2x12 Andi listed all the things Jonah had failed to do in what she thought was their relationship and then in 2b Jonah did all those things in the order she listed as they rekindled their relationship.

One thing that really caught my eye in 3x13 is the out of nowhere Jandi/Tyrus parallel they threw in with both Jonah and TJ letting down Andi and Cyrus (though for obviously different reasons). All of the GHC have a thing for sporty white guys but Andi and Cyrus have a more specific type: green eyed captains with hidden depths and secrets and poor coping mechanisms; which is why the both liked Jonah in S1. Andi and Cyrus are more alike than they are with Buffy just as Jonah and TJ are more alike than they are with Marty. Jonah and TJ have been written as foils from the beginning of TJ’s arc and the show even invented a past for them and has now established them as friends.

In contrast things are going much smoother for Muffy. The show could have dug into Marty icing Buffy out but the show blamed Buffy and dismissed it out of hand. That’s not to say they won’t have drama and angst but ‘’the boy I like has a girlfriend’’ is an order of magnitude less than the issues Andi and Jonah and Cyrus and TJ are facing. What’s also interesting is that Muffy is the only endgame couple that are together by the wedding. We know that Machel sinks in 3x17 as Marty is at the wedding in 3x18; he’s not there as Buffy’s platonic plus one. But obviously Tyrus doesn’t canon until 3x21 and Jonah singing You Girl to Andi isn’t until 3x20 which seems like that’s the big Jandi get back together moment. So both Jandi and Tyrus having scenes together in 3x19 shortly before they canon is very interesting timing and opens up the potential for more endgame parallels.

Another reason I think there may be another rap is that Terri does like to recycle her work and Cyrus realized his crush on TJ during the first rapology and during the second he could realize that TJ likes him back; it’s like poetry it rhymes. It would also create another parallel between Tyrus and Jandi as both of their love interests make a big gesture.

That’s not to say that Tyrus will get anywhere near the attention Jandi or even Muffy gets, it’s far too late for that, but it is interesting that the writers seem to be linking Tyrus with Jandi more so than Muffy; it does suggest a certain ambition on their part even if those ambitions are frustrated.

There are lots of interesting paths for the show to take in 3x19, but as always when it involves Cyrus’ story line, it’s a question of what they’ll be allowed to do. We have Andi and Jonah and Cyrus and TJ in the same scenes for only the 3rd time in the show and the first time they’ve been at the same game since 2x18. There’s potential for Jonah to call back to his ‘’are they friends’’ line and they’ve gone out of their way to make Jonah and TJ friends, will there be any pay off to that? Jonah knows that Cyrus is gay and knows what a look back means, Andi knows that Cyrus is gay and suspects TJ has a crush on Cyrus and is only allowed into Cyrus’ sexuality story line rarely, Buffy would be at the game and she knows that Cyrus is gay and suspects that TJ has a crush on Cyrus and has always been Cyrus’ staunchest supporter, hell Cyrus even has scenes at the spoon with Amber who knows what look backs mean.

The posters we saw in 3x07 spell out the endgame of all this; for TJ to take pride in who he is and for Kira to learn to respect others. Does TJ resuming his openly affectionate ways give Cyrus the confidence to decide to come out to him? The narrative is asking TJ to in a fairly quick time span be okay with being out to the whole world; something it has never demanded of Cyrus. With Andi, Buffy, Jonah, and Kira all knowing about them does that mean Cyrus and TJ will be allowed to act coupley in front of everyone at the party after they confess or can only those four other characters know? Does TJ even have scenes with Marty and Amber? Bex and Bowie are at the party and Bex likely knows that Cyrus is gay from their talk in 2x07 and both of them know who TJ is from 2x18, are they allowed to be the supportive adults who congratulate Cyrus or must they be kept in the dark as well? I can only hope that Terri managed to convince Gary Marsh to let her pull off a satisfying arc in these remaining eps

#Andi Mack #Tyrus #TJ Kippen #Cyrus Goodman #Kira #Jonah Beck #Buffy Driscoll #Jandi #Muffy #Andi Mack Meta #Andi Mack Season 3

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nellie-elizabeth · 5 years ago

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The Walking Dead: Lines We Cross (10x01)

I did not actively dislike watching this, which is about as good as it gets for me when it comes to The Walking Dead. Objectively, this was a pretty good premiere!

Cons:

I do not blame the child actor for this, but the little boy they have playing RJ is... bad. I know some people who say Chandler Riggs was bad as Carl, but I always thought he did a serviceable job, even in the early seasons when he was just a little kid. But RJ is just wow. Distracting. Every line delivery stilted and strange. Especially when he's compared with the girl playing Judith, who actually does a pretty good job.

I have a theory about the Carol/Daryl situation. At the end of last season, they signaled romance between the two of them very hard. But in this premiere, they seem to be splitting the difference, trying to cater both to the shippers, and to those who see them as only friends. There was an almost sibling-like banter to Carol and Daryl for a lot of this episode, as Carol makes fun of Daryl for calling her his "best friend." But then the language shifts to them talking about "running away together," which is pretty romantic, no matter which way you look at it. I feel like they're trying to have the best of both worlds, falling into the classic TV trap of "will they, won't they" to keep audiences on the hook. This is Season Ten. It's time to stop messing around with long drawn out character arcs that make so little progress you can barely see them moving.

Pros:

Honestly, though, for the most part I found this premiere invigorating. Well, relatively speaking, anyway. The opening scene was a great way to start out, as we see a bunch of our characters on a beach in military formation with archers and infantry and shields, all practicing on a group of beach Walkers that are trapped in an isolated location. It was cool to see an organized force, and nice to see them practicing. They're doing what they should have done back in the prison, or when they first got to Alexandria - really preparing people for the realities of their world. I also continue to be impressed with new creative Walker designs. The driftwood zombie at the start of this episode was really creepy and well done!

There's something inherently comical about Rosita and her three men raising her new baby together. I'm fully prepared to hate this plot line later on, as it might turn in to something unbelievably stupid. But for now I like the interplay of Gabriel being all serious and dead inside, and Eugene charting everything about the baby's behavior, and Siddiq sliding in and out of pretty severe PTSD while trying to adjust to fatherhood. This is a plot thread to watch out for - it could break either way, but I'm looking forward to seeing what's next.

Sometimes I think to myself - what the heck is Negan doing here? But then Jeffrey Dean Morgan is an undeniably charming guy, and in some ways I get why he's still around. I still wish they would have killed him off, and I think that letting him live made the final confrontation with the Saviors much weaker. But if we're taking the long view, having Negan here is like having a human symbol of the future Carl and Rick were fighting for. He's still sleeping in a cell every night, he's still being watched by a guard, but he has somewhat integrated into society, and helps out in the gardens. With time, maybe he really will "pay his debt to society" or whatever, and integrate even more.

Despite the poor boy playing RJ's unfortunate performance, I really liked the scene where Judith told RJ the story of Rick's (supposed) death. Judith has actually been a lot of fun. The actress does a great job, and she also acts as yet another symbol of the future, of what a kid can look like in this world. She has never known a life before the zombie apocalypse, but she's still a kind and caring kid who goes to school and looks after her little brother. She's also a bad-ass who gets to come out on training assignments and kill Walkers with the grownups. This show has killed off some characters over the years that I never thought they'd kill off, but the main examples are Carl and Henry. I thought the show needed a child at its center, a symbol of what everyone was fighting so hard to achieve. I hope they don't kill off Judith, as she has become that symbol, and I think it's something that is sorely needed.

As I mentioned, I'm feeling ambivalent about Carol and Daryl and the direction they're going. I want romance, but I think they're going to tease us to the point of irritation. That said, I really liked their scenes together. Carol is acting almost too chipper, having taken to spending her time out on the sea, running errands for Oceanside and Alexandria that keep her away from the greater community. This is clearly a coping mechanism over losing Henry, and while she does seem content, there's always the very real chance that it's going to come crashing back around her now that Alpha appears to be returning. And Daryl is coping in his own way, stuck somewhere between being a loner and being part of the community. We see how happy he is to see Carol. We see him and Michonne reminiscing about Rick, as they talk about how nice it was to bring the kids to the beach. We see him learning some clumsy sign language to communicate with Connie. (If it weren't for Carol, by the way, I'd totally be on board for a Daryl/Connie romance, and I don't think I'll be all that mad if that's where they're going with this).

There are other things going on in this episode, little plot hooks that will be tugged on later - Aaron's isolationist and bleak world-view contrasted to Michonne's hopefulness. Ezekiel trying to find new purpose in his life. Connie's sister having trouble with her hearing, threatening Connie's ability to communicate without her interpreter. A satellite crashes to Earth and Eugene is interested in the potential technology. But all of these threads will develop more fully a little later on. I'll end this review by turning to the looming threat of the Whisperers.

We see our communities getting on with their lives after the painful double-disaster of the Whisperers' attack, and the big snow storm, several months ago. There are hints that they are well aware of the potential threat of the Whisperers returning, but they are mostly just doing their best to stay out of their territory and keep calm and carry on. As the episode ends, the satellite falling causes a fire and forces them into the Whisperers' territory in order to prevent that fire from spreading, and as the episode ends, we see Alpha staring up at Carol, the enmity bright in both of their eyes.

I'm pretty excited for this show-down. Alpha killed Carol's son, and from Alpha's perspective, Carol stole Alpha's daughter. The Whisperers were a really interesting and different villain last season, and I hope they don't overstay their welcome the way the Saviors did. But for now, I'm still on board.

That's that! I know a lot of people have been talking about the new show runner, and what this means for reinvigorating The Walking Dead. Speaking for myself, I have definitely felt disenchanted with the show for several years now, even as there have been moments, episodes, or characters that still intrigued me. I am excited for the show to improve, even while I privately feel that it should probably bow out before too much longer!

8.5/10

#review #the walking dead #the walking dead review #walking dead #walking dead review #twd

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facepalming-since-chernobyl · 5 years ago

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I agree with you, I think there is not a problem use Nazi, but CW makes in the most superficial way possible. And it actually a disservice, it promotes as a message the thing is supposed to be against (racism, xenophobia, bigotria...) Nazi is still a thing, is growing in the open again. So this missguided way to try to be edgey is hurtfull and perpetuats ignorance. Ignorance that makes people blind to see the problems with all poc being villains and jewish in gas chambers (part 1)

boo goo(part 2) It that kind of blindness people care to their lives. Tv is entertainment but it cares a responsabiliy, like any kid of art, especially one like CW that is market for young audience.

Plus, my biggest problem with SG - it wants to be progressive, wants to teach people good ways and behaviors, opens their minds, broads their horizons while being cheesy, stereotypical, super narrow-minded, ignorant and just ugh.

Feminism in SG is a fucking BULLSHIT. It promotes the view of or super young, genius/talented, skinny, beautiful, succesfull women (Kara, Alex, Nia, LENA, Sam, Eve, Kelly (not white, but follows the rest), Andrea, Lucy) or super successfull mean, bossy, abusive bitches (Cat). In the big part SG represents the white feminism. And sorry not sorry, feminism is about EQUALITY, not making every male character depowered (J’onn, Kal, Mon-El) or dumbed down (Brainiac, Winn), so the females can be stronger, smarter etc. Because I guess only being BETTER than the other gender makes you valuable. What, guess what?, is a male point of view. And well, very American, but that’s another story.

Representation? LGBT+ is represented, but I feel it’s only because it’s about SHIPS, that are the main reason why SOME people watch. And again, smells like “white” spirit, because oh how Dansen is IGNORED by some.

Kara’s job - it’s a fucking NIGHTMARE to watch. It only made sense and had something in common with reality in s2, when Snapper wanted to teach Kara some shit, what is happily ignored later, because I guess mean, old fart guy is not a good representation. Mean and old(er) can be only Cat.

Being an alien? Such an amazing opportunity to tell a story about being an immigrant on Earth and how you balance being alien and human... on Earth... Oops, sorry, you need to only be the American way girl (blonde and white and slender and pretty and...) and totally forget about your HERTIAGE aka you have to assimilate to the high and mighty, best in the world, American society. Oh, you look like an alien? You will have to do something to look like a human (J’onn, Brainiac). But yeah, sure, let’s blame the cost of CGI or make up. Ugh. But hey! You can be an alien only when the story needs some dumb, teary aliens vs bad nazis theme. And then it’s going to be forgotten and solved, even if it’s not, because all what we need is a cheesy, teary story of “working together” changing the world! go go power rangers! (bad example, because it is based on Japanese show, but 仕方がない)

This is a story of HOPE! ... for Americans... and American aliens, the rest of the world can go fuck themselves and drown in vodka, chai and barszcz. And you all smell, are poor and corrupted, so just die in your Eastern European holes.

There are so many amazing stories to tell about diseases, mental issues and addiction. Alex and her alcoholism. Kara and J’onn about PTSD and depression after losing everything. Mon-El and his lead allergy and other mental problems. Winn and his abusive-parent’s past. But naaaaah, who needs ugly representation like that? Who needs people with VULNERABILITIES and DISEASES? We are here to tell stories about pretty, healthy, slim people! And buy some Xanax after watching! And some diet suplements to look like our heroes and...!

Yo know, I could go like that much longer. The point is, you want to enjoy the show - focus on realtionships and DON’T THINK.

ps. I feel a little salty today

#anons #anti sg

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gothamiteneko · 6 years ago

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I watched the fifth season's premiere of Gotham some days ago and since then, there have been running some comments about what happened, but i'm not talking about everything about it, i mean, not like general impressions or something like that (it was such a great and exciting episode, btw, i still can't get over with it, omg... But that's another story, lol), but especifically about that scene with Oswald and Tabitha and the whole drama around it... that also has it's own issues for the way the show decided to go with it, but yeah, is not the main discussion here.

My point to walk out of my usual silence, is cuz one dear friend of mine said something like "Robin has tweeted that all of Oswald's humanity will be gone. This hurts me so much" and as much as i love Robin (just like everyone else does, i'm sure), since my friend said that and apparently is not the only one feeling like this, i felt the necessity to share MY POINT OF VIEW of what i think (and told my friend) about this particular topic, so, here we go (this will be long and i'm not that bad with english, but is not my mother language either, so i apologize for the mistakes, hope it can make some sense anyway xD)...

So, about what Robin tweeted... I wouldn't worry that much x) he said the same thing when he realized about Butch's death in the script xD but what happened? nothing, in fact we all celebrated that finally Ozzy had revenge for his mother's death (i mean, c'mon, Tabitha really deserved it, she deeply dug her own grave, literally and figuratively).

If with "Oswald will becomes a monster" Robin means that he will suffer again another lose of a very important person for him (aka Martin) so he will lose his temper and will go berserk seeking revenge against whoever dared to do such a thing (probably will be Barbara... Or maybe Mother?) and when he found them, he will kill each one of them slowly, painfully and without any remorse seen on his face, then will be the same thing like when Butch or Tabitha died, cuz it was something they forced him to do, i mean, even when Butch or Barbara, or Ed or Jim (or in whoever you like to think... Except Tabitha or Theo, of course xD) betrayed him the way they did, Oswald forgave them and tried to pass through it in order to stay at peace with himself and cuz, as he always says -referring here especifically to people with who he is fond of in some way- "for the old times", so if he will "become a monster" then he will REALLY need a HUGE reason to become the cold-hearted and ruthless villain that Robin asures he will become, and even then, i doubt it, because of how the series (forget the comics, let's treat this like the legit AU from the DC world it is) had portrayed -till now- Ozzy's behaviour and development as a character:

Oswald doesn't kill without a reason if it is possible, he almost always needs a motivation to do it (like that time when he killed a man for a tuna sandwich... that could count as self-preservation... In a slightly creepy way but still, lol. Or when after that, he killed that guy in the car that insulted him calling him "penguin", i mean, if the guy would have kept his mouth shut, nothing would had happen to him cuz Oswald was supposed to stay lowkey since that moment), and loves to have the control over any situation, so he usually needs to know that those murders have a purpose (even the most tiny one) in his elaborated plans or to know/be sure that he won't need that person once again (then he will prefer to keep them alive for a while... if they don't cause him any other problem first). But even if he starts killing without feeling nothing while doing it on this season, that wouldn't be new cuz he was already like that too, just right in the first season! i mean, c'mon! he killed a man for a tuna sandwich, he killed one of Maroni's employees just to get his boots, he sat down waiting patiently and smiling while watched how those foolish robbers died for the poisoned cannoli and then he just left with the money as fresh and calm as if nothing would have ever happened, he stabbed a man right in the front door of HIS MOM'S HOUSE... and i could keep going and going with examples just for the S1. So he is not an innocent creature, he can be a very dangerous man despite his short height and general physical appereance, and is very visceral when he is blinded by rage and fear (like when he killed Tarquin using just his hands and a statue that the poor man had on his desk, cuz Oswald thought that he took his father's remains off of his grave to make Os fell in some kind of trap for an unknown reason or just to make him go crazy, ruin his reputation and make him seem weak in front of his enemies), so is not a surprise if he now seems to be absolutely heartless and behaves like an unpredictable and capricious dictator with the people at his service or with anyone in general. In fact, i personally find that change very suitable for him after all the physical and emotional damage he has been receiving all his life, after all those betrayals he had to endure from those who were supposed to be his friends and in who Oswald trusted. So, in contrary, i love how he now says "enough!" and closes his heart to everyone, cuz he is done of being him the one who always gives several opportunities and/or warnings; or the one who always trusts, loves and shares but despite any good intention he could have with anyone, he always continues being underestimated, hurt, humiliated, called names and judged by his acts and thoughts as if they really knew him or like if Oswald was the only one who is being selfish or like if he was the only one to blame for everything cuz he is the only "monster" and psychopath in the room, but not. Also i love how he is absolutely conscious of the enormous power and influence he has now, cuz he earned it all by himself, from the very ashes, from the very beginning all over again, and overall now, in the middle of the worst crisis the city had ever experienced, he is rising and climbing higher than ever before, he is swimming in familiar waters and as everyone very well know, penguins can perfectly fly in the water; so the cold behaviour he has now is not just very well justified but it is also more than necessary for him to embrace it fully, because he is surrounded by a very hostile environment, so then he knows that the desperation and the general knowledge about how he has every resource he could ask (guns, rounds, food, water, territory, minions, "muscle", etc) will make everyone to try to steal anything from him, at least once, and he obviously won't let that happen. He has always been a survivor and he knows with what kind of enemies and obstacles he is dealing with.

Now, if the writers, producers and Robin himself (and i say this with all my love and respect for Robin) want to think and believe that we fans will hate Ozzy because his behaviour "took us all by surprise" and "did a so unexpected 180° turn without any kind of warning", just cuz he is now acting like the villain he has always been, i think they will be the ones that will be surprised when they find out that nothing has really changed about the love of the fandom for our dear angry and murderous birb (is not like if he really suddenly would had went from a tender and sweet boy that we learnt to love from S1 to S4, to a cold-hearted murderer for the sake of "YOLO, haters gonna hate" in S5, pleeeease).

I think that Gotham's version in particular, of Oswald "The Penguin" Cobblepot, has a place very well earned in our hearts thanks to Robin's interpretation (he really embraced the character and brought him to life) and all the other people involved in the character's development,who have give him a complexity, a charisma, a background, etc. so well established and explored until now, that he is more than just another villain (not just in the series but into any kind of media -even written-, including other versions and portrayals of this same character, where his personality and story is not really taken more seriously, or is being exaggerated or being taken out of context or is simply not known enough by the general audience -besides comics' readers or the DC fans, especially if they actually take a moment to try to understand the characters- to make them have sympathy and a deeper and better conection with him, so he would be more loved and popular by who he is, as it happens with other characters/villains, like the Joker's case, for example); now "The Penguin" has become one villain that is also very relatable cuz now we can be first-line witnesses, so we have the opportunity to take a closer and better look into a ONE (1) more tangible POINT OF VIEW (i want to be very clear with this, cuz is Gotham's version, is Gotham's point of view) of his tragic story (his childhood as a bullied kid, his relationship with his mom and his dad including their deaths, all the very few people he once really trusted and/or loved and betrayed him or instead, in some cases, were taken away from him -permanently or temporary- to hurt him), his motivations (he does it cuz he wants recognition because he is ambicious and has always been invisible, outcasted, underestimated; but also cuz he wants a better life for him and his mom, for example; to protect and give her everything they lacked for years, aka, he does a lot of things for LOVE -an irony, considering that this is precisely the main point of his whole tragedy in almost any version of his character, i mean, the lack or absence of it for real in his life-. He is mainly driven by his emotions/his heart, doesn't matter if he is cautious and afraid at first, but after some time he opens his heart and gives it to someone in who he really wants to believe that is a person worth of take care of it... or if he now prefers to hide it to don't get hurt again) his actions and decisions (he is evil, cunning, intelligent, etc. but he is not undefeatable, he is human too, he has his flaws and can do mistakes as everyone else) that now is almost impossible to try to convince us that he is the embodiment of the worst atrocity ever created, doesn't matter how he looks or what he does, even if he never will be redeemed, cuz we all know why he is how he is and why he behaves like that (as i said, he is a very relatable character).

In conclusion, i'm sure Ozzy will always be our fav if they keep his development as solid and well constructed as it has been all this time, i mean, if they keep him in character, if they remain loyal to the story they have been telling us about him along these years (i mean, have been FIVE years, that must mean something for them, some effort and non sleep-time at least) and don't suddenly go 100% OoC just cuz they are forcing the plot to justify his villainy to the point of finally make him "become a monster" (like in "see what he did??? *insert a forced series of absurd and unbelievable nonsense for the sake of it* he is a monster! He is a horrible person who doesn't deserve any kindness or love in his life!") like SERIOUSLY? Are you really throwing to the trash the complex character that Oswald is, just for THIS? *points to the absurd and nonsense plot they throw at us*, are you despising one of the best and well written characters in the show just cuz you are hurry to end the series and you can't go before make your point very clear at all costs, of how you were always right about why we shouldn't like Ozzy so much if he is who he is, and then shove it in our faces? Well, news flash! we already knew it, we know who he is and we still love him and will always do. If we have forgiven (or at least i'm at peace with that) the poor plots involving our dear birb (like the Nygmob cockblock cuz Kristen 2.0, the stupid ending of his friendship with Ivy, the not permanent death of Sofia or the whole absurd drama and betrayal of Ed and Lee or *insert your fav poor birb-related plot's issue here*), i think is safe enough to say that we will be ok with whatever can come to us now and we will remain loving Ozzy to the very end... as long as they don't destroy what they had reached with Oswald as a character after all this time (again, FIVE years), just to try to change our minds and hearts at the last moment, cuz it was already too late for that since years ago.

P.d. Also, there always will exist the fandom to adopt this character (or any other fav you want, depending of the fandom we are talking about) and give him a better treatment cuz that's how should happen, aka, "fix what canon ruined", so the fandom will make our dreams come true xD whichever they are xD and we will be able to happily ignore or change the canon at any point, to give that place to our own versions of the facts instead xD

#sorry for the oh so long post #it was supposed to be just a short comment to cheer up a dear friend and nothing more :`v #but i got such a monsterous thesis about it #sorry i just can`t keep my fingers steady when is about something that interest me #aka fandoms #lol #oh well #i`ll tag just cuz easier self-research xd #oswald cobblepot #the penguin #gotham #king of gotham #season 5 #s5ep1 #neko thoughts #thank you gotham

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i-may-have-a-point · 7 years ago

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Review of 14x04 “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head”

Sorry for the delay in posting! Life. Amelia - I mentioned this last week, but I want to say again how surprised I am that Amelia’s brain tumor story moved so quickly. I guess her real story this year will be figuring out who she is without this tumor impacting her actions and decisions. Marlana Hope is a welcome addition to the writing team after seeing how she wrote this particular story in this episode. Dr. Koracick is arrogant but likable, Amelia’s reactions are realistic, and humor is interjected well for a story about such a tough topic. April being Amelia’s POA and explaining, “What? Was I supposed to say no?” added levity to a scene where Amelia said her good-byes to her loved ones. “In this moment, I love you people tremendously.” What a perfect line. The scene transitions to Amelia and her team standing in the superhero pose, and Dr. Koracick speaks for all of us when he whispers, “I love this,” over the stunning instrumental music. “With surgery, you worry that you won’t wake up. With brain surgery, you worry that you will wake up, but you won’t be there when you do.” That is a beautiful way to explain Amelia’s fear. Who is she without this tumor? Well, we are about to find out as we watch Dr. Koracick cut her tumor out while singing along to the Beach Boys. The contrast of the music with the seriousness of the scene could not have been better. Whoever chose the music for this episode should choose the music for the rest of the season. After surgery, Amelia being aware of what was happening but not being able to communicate was terrifying to watch but a nice nod to Derek’s death. I also thought Deluca was a nice addition to this story. He never quite found his place in seasons past, but so far, I like him in neuro with Amelia. The scene where he forced her to sit in the chair because she made him promise to do so was brilliant. Amelia screaming in her head while collapsed against his chest, weeping, was one of my favorite scenes of the night.

I think Caterina has done an amazing job with this story, but I have to mention my issues with the story as well. Using a brain tumor to rewrite Amelia’s personality is frustrating to me. I didn’t think her personality was THAT bad, and it’s unrealistic. My dad passed away from cancer a little over a month ago. It spread to his brain, and he had his brain tumor removed in April. His tumor may have been different from the one Amelia has, but brain tumors don’t just make people act a little odd. They are debilitating. They affect memory, speech, vision, and motor skills. They don’t just cause you to make poor life choices.. I know I have to look past reality to accept this story, and that’s fine because it’s a TV show, but a part of me wishes they hadn’t depicted brain tumors so inaccurately.

Bailey/Webber/Interns - Some of these scenes were funny, but I know we are all side-eyeing these new interns wondering how they are going to shake up Grey-Sloan Memorial. Part of me doesn’t want to know.

Megan/Nathan/Meredith - I have been so impressed with how this story has been written. I was not feeling Griggs last season, mainly because it was written so poorly. This season has been just the opposite. This story has been written so well that I want Nathan with both Megan and Meredith. Not in a sister wives type way. It’s just that they are all handling an unimaginable situation with maturity and class, and I want a happy ending for all of them. Megan is incredibly likable. She is understanding of Nathan moving on, she adopted an orphaned child and raised him in a war zone, and she has been through hell and back. She deserves happiness. Meredith has been understanding of Nathan’s history with Megan, she helped him bring Farouk to Megan, and she also has been through hell and back. She deserves happiness. I am genuinely interested to see how this story plays out. I still assume Meredith will get the man in the end because she is Meredith, but if they keep writing this story this well, I will stay invested for as long as they want. (Side note: I like the parallel between Meredith telling Megan that she kidnapped her own daughter and then Meredith helping Nathan, in a way, kidnap Farouk.)

Catherine/Webber/Jackson/Koracick - I laughed out loud when Koracick said he wanted to make sure Jackson wasn’t his and Jackson said, “Nope,” and walked away. I’m not entirely sure what the point of adding in the Koracick/Catherine connection was, but it was a funny little moment.

Jo/Alex - Either Jo is going to decide to put her name on the article despite her husband possibly finding her, or I think he will be at the Harper Avery awards. He feels like a shadow closing in on Jolex. We are all just waiting for him to step out of the darkness. But what a refreshing switch it is to see Alex be her rock as opposed to last season when she feared Paul alone. This is a more realistic portrayal of their relationship and who Alex is.

April/Arizona/Alex/Mer/Maggie scene - I like scenes like this. I always have. I think this particular scene is another way the writers are taking jabs at the terrible stories of last season. Alex says, “I just wish I had a tumor to blame my stupid crap on,” and they proceed to yell out stories from last season that we could have done without. As if wishing all of them could be explained away by tumors. “Deluca, I’m sorry I hit you. Tumor.” “Riggs. Tumor.” “Minnick!” It was a subtle jab at the ridiculous writing of season 13. Thanks Marlana.

Jackson/April/Maggie - After watching this week’s episode, I stand by what I said last week. Jackson and April are both going to have individual journeys (for the most part) this season, but they will find their way back to each other. I expect some of you to call me delusional or say I am wrong, but I only write what I see. The first time we see Jackson and Maggie interact, she comments on his suit only to quickly realize he was at a funeral. Again, I saw no flirting there. And after she awkwardly walked away, Jackson very noticeably adjusted Alex’s collar. I’m not sure how the writers/directors/show could send a more intentional message to the audience than that. Jackson and Alex don’t touch. That two second gesture was put in there in response to Maggie fixing Jackson’s collar. Because that is what colleagues/friends do. It doesn’t mean that Jackson wants to drag Alex to an on-call room, and it didn’t mean that for Maggie either. Yes, they are intentionally toying with the audience by throwing stuff like that in there, but so many people are taking the bait and crazy tweeting about it, so why wouldn’t they? That moment leads into Jackson’s talk with Meredith about the Harper Avery award, further supporting my thoughts from last week that Jackson will spend a good deal of the season figuring out what it means for him to be an Avery. He is visibly annoyed that he cannot be considered for an award since he is a great surgeon and deserves recognition.

It was nice to see more of Webbery’s home. How many of us have forgiven Catherine Avery all her sins after the way she seemed annoyed at Maggie’s very presence at their dinner? We feel that on a spiritual level, Catherine. When Jackson walked in, he said, “Oh. Hey,” the way I greet acquaintances. Again, nothing. He looked a little surprised to see her maybe, but that’s about it. And the couple of times he smiled at her in the episode did not scream romantic feeling to me. She is his step-sister and friend. He should smile at her. It would be weird if he didn’t. He smiled at Meredith the exact same way before stealing her chips. Awkward, boring scenes aside, I think the main point of these scenes was for the audience to know how much money Jackson inherited. The discussion centered around the money and what he should do with it. I suspect we will see something come of Jackson inheriting this money. This was brought up for a reason.

The scene that I think most people were so angered by was when Jackson said, “I appreciate you,” to Maggie. Guys. Come on. If that was supposed to be a “moment” it would be the most lackluster romantic scene in the history of Grey’s I appreciate you? I appreciate the guy with one tooth who held the door open for me this morning. I appreciate when my waitress refills my drink. I appreciate when someone lets me merge on the interstate. However, I have absolutely no romantic interest in any of these people. That was not a Grey’s line that starts a romance. Grey’s starts a romance by two people being drawn together in a bar, spending the night together, and then finding out he is her new boss. Or two people connecting over their mutual understanding of what it means to lose the love of your life. Or two people understanding that having demons in their past (drugs, ptsd) does mean you are unlovable. Or two people who were beaten and broken down and told they were nothing can rise out of their circumstances. Or best friends turning into soul mates who only need “me and you” to make it. Epic love stories on Grey’s don’t begin with “I appreciate you.”

Were they thinking about it? Yes. April planted the idea in their heads, and they had to at least consider what the other was thinking or feeling. But, once again, the writers called them family in this episode. Catherine called Maggie his sister. SISTER. Last week, Harper called April his wife. WIFE. The writers are feeding us crumbs, and that is damn annoying, but no matter how little we are getting, there is a big difference between being called the sister and the wife when it comes to Grey’s writing.

Seeing April in the chapel just feels right. And I love that Marlana covered all aspects of who April is - religious, a fiercely loving mother, funny, and someone who feels things deeply. April is such a complex, well-developed character. Hearing April pray “Please don’t make me have to unplug her,” was both funny and true to her character. She wants Amelia to survive, but she has the strength to do what she needs to if it comes down to it. We also saw that April is continuing to evaluate her life, what she wants, what makes her happy, and where she goes from here, just like last week. Arizona seemed to be talking April into dating or having “new grown-up fun,” but I think most of that was just Arizona speaking for her own experience. April may or may not date this season as part of her journey, but if she does, I don’t think it will be anytime soon. She is focused on herself right now, as she should be. Like she said, she doesn’t want a new normal. Right now, she is surviving and that is the best she can do. There was a quick line in the scene where they were all drinking coffee outside that caught my attention and may be insignificant, but I think it is another example of the introspection and reflection April is doing. Meredith commented on how Riggs packed his bags and left to which April responds, “Riggs panicked. People panic.” n that line, I heard April relating to Riggs because she packed her bags and left once, too. That’s just one more part of her past that must be on her mind lately. And the chapel scene. How is it that Sarah Drew can have a ten second scene where she says two words, and it is breathtaking? When April is unsure, hurting, or troubled, she turns to God. But here, she went for a different reason. April is thankful. And not just that Amelia survived. Despite all the hurt and heartache in her life, April is thankful. And that just makes me love her even more.

I know many of you are angry and even jumping ship, but my feet are still planted firmly on the deck at this point. Japril has a long journey, which is frustrating, but it’s only because they can have a story like this and remain one of the most popular couples on the show. They have had two scenes together in six months, yet Grey’s posts are full of fans talking about Japril on every form of social media. They are strong enough to get a story like this, and I hesitantly say, the writers this season are strong enough to make this into an amazing story.

#grey's anatomy #japril #jolex #griggs #omelia #14x04

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mothermaidenclone-blog · 7 years ago

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Downsizing or Blame Women For All Your Shortcomings

It's been a day and a half since I saw Downsizing and I’m still not sure what I think about it. The problem was mostly a tonal one, which was partly the fault of the trailer for advertising it as a whimsical comedy, when I’m not sure if Downsizing wants me to be moved by the good that people are capable of or gloomily contemplate the downfall of humanity, or just laugh at a few dick and butt jokes. The messages from the women in this film are just as mixed.

*Downsizing spoilers follow*

Most of the women in Downsizing fall into the reductive and derogatory category of “look at all these women who let Paul (Matt Damon) down even though he’s such a nice guy.” The first woman to be guilty of such a crime is Paul’s unnamed mother (Jayne Houdyshell) who does nothing but complain, and Paul later goes on to imply that the reason he never rose to meteoric heights as a surgeon is that he had to put his own life on hold to care for her in her illness. She promptly dies off screen and is replaced by Paul’s wife, Audrey (Kristen Wiig), who is in the same room of the same house still bemoaning her own pain, whilst Paul does what he can to care for her. Audrey also disappoints Paul by failing to downsize with him, therefore robbing him of his life of luxury, forcing him to live in a humble apartment rather than a mansion and hold down a job in a call centre. She is shown to be greedy and materialistic - she’s the one who wants the big house, Paul just wants to make her happy, and she appears to force a better deal out of the divorce settlement. Furthermore, her decision making is irrational, vain and selfish; it’s having her head shaved that triggers her decision not to downsize and she’s constantly wailing about how everything affects her, showing little consideration for how Paul feels. Therefore, both Paul’s wife and mother seem to merge into one female proxy that symbolises how women keep taking the things he deserves away from him - his career, dream house and life of leisure are all kept from him by these women.

Once he is small, women continue to let Paul down. He attempts to start dating again, and meets single Kristen (Kerri Kenney), a single mother also coping with some of the unforeseen problems of downsizing - such as her son being afraid of his enormous grandparents. Paul willingly subverts her saying that it’s too soon for him to meet her son into Kristen dumping him and storms off, leaving her calling after him in the corridor; in his mind, once again abandoned by a woman. Even when he tries to blow off some steam at a party, Paul is “deceived” by an anonymous woman who offers him drugs, which Paul appears to believe is some sort of unspoken contract for a sexual encounter, but once he has taken the pill she returns to the party, leaving Paul alone and hard done by again.

The only female character with any substance is Ngoc Lan Tran (Hong Chan), a Vietnamese activist who was downsized against her will in a prison which killed her sister before becoming the only survivor of a perilous crossing to America in a television box which cost her one of her legs. Her backstory alone immediately makes her a much more interesting character than Paul, whose only real problem is that he is divorced and not quite as rich as he would like to be. Additionally, she has a personality, which is more than can be said for Paul. Instead of a meek and mild mannered martyr, she is fiery, direct, honest and pragmatic, showing her care for others through useful actions. She is at the utter bottom of the socio-economic chain of the supposedly idyllic Leisureland community, but she never laments her situation, she just does what she can to make it better for those around her, caring for the sick and collecting food for the rest of her community.

Paul is also shown to be a good person, he constantly tends to the injuries of those around him, but these gestures almost seem superimposed onto the film, a big, flashy sign that says, “look at poor Paul, he’s such a nice guy.” If these instances were removed from Downsizing, he’s just a man constantly believing that he’s been short-changed by life, chasing the idea that he deserves better and is meant to be part of something bigger. He also seems to feel the need to bring women with him on these ventures, first (unsuccessfully) talking Audrey into downsizing with him, then attempting to bring Ngoc Lan into a doomsday cult vault with him where they would spend the rest of their lives. Their two responses to this situation sum up the differences in their characters perfectly - Paul wants to go because he believes he is intrinsically important and destined to become a part of something monumental, whereas Ngoc Lan chooses to stay because she knows for a fact that she can still do good to actually help people out in the real world.

The romance between these two characters is completely inexplicable; it comes out of nowhere, neither of them seem to have actually had feelings for each other up to that point, and appears to only serve to give Paul a reason to come out of the vault and back to reality at the end. Friendship and the value of the common sense in Ngoc Lan’s advice to stay and deliver pragmatic aid to people in need could have been enough, but apparently sex had to be the main motivator.

There are a few other named female characters, and women are very present in the background as nurses, administrators, real estate agents and sales representatives. One of the latter is Laura Lonowski (Laura Dern) who we briefly meet in a bath trying to convince people to downsize because they can have lots of diamonds, just like her. Anne-Helene Asbjørnsen (Ingjerd Egeberg) makes several short appearances as the wife of Dr. Jørgen Asbjørnsen (Rolf Lassgård), the scientist who made downsizing possible. In some respects she is a pioneer, as one of the first people ever to downsize, but she is mostly portrayed as a devoted wife, supporting Jørgen in all of his decisions and endeavours, even if they involve starting a doomsday cult. Finally, there is Solveig Edvardsen (Margareta Peterson), a fellow believer in the apocalypse, who seems to exist to emphasise the fanaticism of the Norwegian colony, with her eccentric behaviour and appearance, as well as making Paul (and presumably, the intended audience) uncomfortable with the sexuality of a comfortable older woman, as her talking about mountain Paul as a pony in her dream is one of the moments that Downsizing seems to be reminding us that it’s maybe a comedy.

Overall, the women in Downsizing are mostly used as the root cause of all the shortcomings in the life of one fairly uncharismatic and uninteresting man. Thankfully, Ngoc Lan rises above this as a human being with an actual personality and sense of purpose. She overcomes so much adversity and remains positive without becoming a sappy stereotype of a do-gooder. It’s just a shame to see such a unique female character suffer a fate as old as cinema itself, falling into an unfathomable romance with the main white man, when friendship could have been just as poignant.

And now for some asides:

I really enjoyed how many satisfying levers, dials and switches there were in this film, the fidgeter in me wanted to play with them all.

Umm, excuse me, why was there such an extended colonic irrigation scene? Can we please never do that again?

I think if I was supposed to be sickened by anything in this film it was humanity (maybe?) but really it was the proliferation of McMansions. My eyes!

#downsizing #sci-fi #scifi #science fiction #film review #movie review #feminism #matt damon #Jayne Houdyshell #Kristen Wiig #Kerri Kenney #Hong Chan #Laura Dern #Ingjerd Egeberg #Rolf Lassgård #Margareta Peterson #mothermaidenclone

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slamsams-blog · 4 years ago

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Quantum of Solace - #24WeeksofBond

And we are back with another Daniel Craig installment of the James Bond franchise for this week’s Bond movie, “Quantum Of Solace”. Don’t ask me about the name of the film because I don’t really get it. I know that the organization’s name is Quantum, but that’s as far as my understanding goes. Is it in reference to Camille’s story of her family being pillaged and burned and how she comes to deal with it? Who knows, but confusion is kinda the theme here with this movie...it’s just a little confusing. For those of you who watched this for the first time and completely understood it, then I applaud you. I’ve seen this movie countless times and still can’t figure it out. I’d be willing to bet that I’ve watched Quantum more than any other Bond movie because, for a while, it was just always on TV. Seriously, everyday I would see this movie playing somewhere.

This is a direct sequel to Casino Royale, the 2006 film where EON productions and producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson decided to hit the reset button on the franchise to freshen it up and give the Bond movies a little more grit, thrill, and depth. This was just odd seeing as all the previous Bond movies were stand alone installments that you could just pick up and not really have to wonder what the hell was going on. But now we are forever stuck with a Bond movie that is so reliant on the story of Casino Royale that one cannot simply pick this up and enjoy it. The Bond fan and traditionalist in me dies a little when I watch this movie for that reason.

This film, even when knowing the story of Casino Royale, is difficult to follow. There are so many different avenues this film takes with little to no explanation. It gets to a point where you are hearing new bits of information about the plot in the final scenes of the movie. I’m not going to lie - I’m still not too sure I have all the answers but I will do my best.

Basically, this is the story of a pissed off Bond who is carrying the weight of Vesper’s death with him. (Vesper is his love interest in Casino Royale - sorry for the spoiler if you haven’t seen it.). At this point we are still building up to the James Bond that we know and love...the James Bond we will eventually get come “Spectre”. Bond had just gotten to double 0 status, so he is not exactly seasoned - quite the opposite, actually. Bond is so blinded by revenge on the man who betrayed and played Vesper into what she does in Casino Royale that he ends up killing every lead he comes across. Bond is sloppy, and M is losing trust in him.

Lol, look at that GIF above...I’m noticing that guy in the background isn’t sweeping the floor...hahaha.

This movie opens up with a pre-title sequence of a high speed car chase for a reason unbeknownst to us. This car chase, like all the other action scenes in this film, is so choppy and hard to watch without it giving you a headache. The shots are so fast and cut to hell that they are hard to follow and difficult to understand what is happening. Bond gets away and opens up the trunk where Mr. White is lying. Mr. White is the man at the end of Casino Royale who Bond delivers his famous “Bond, James Bond” line to.

Mr. White explains that his organization has people everywhere and that they are so hidden, MI6 doesn’t even know they exist. This is made more evident when one of M’s men, who’d worked for her for years, ends up trying to kill her. Now M really needs to know how this organization has slipped through their fingers. So Bond is out to find out and to avenge Vesper in the process. After Bond accidentally kills a lead, he does some improv that would earn him a spot on Second City’s main stage and runs into Camille who was supposed to be the target of a hit. I do enjoy that scene where Bond jokingly says “I think someone wants to kill you”, then subsequently flips that guys bike. Makes me chuckle.

Camille (Olga Kurylenko) plays a Bolivian secret service agent who has infiltrated the organization in question to satisfy a revenge mission of her own. She is out to kill General Medrano for murdering her family and burning her house down when she was just a little girl. Olga Kurylenko does fine in this film as far as dark, brooding, mysterious, and spiteful goes, but her performance is rather un-inspiring, and not on my most memorable “Bond Girl” list.

Dominic Green (Mathieu Amalric) turns out to be the man heading this secret band of fools, a band in which - to my understanding - does all the logistics work for a dirty politician to gain power for a price. Enter General Medrano who is a dictator at heart and is seeking to overthrow the current Bolivian government to make way for his tyrannical leadership. So now we have Bond on the heels of Greene to get to Vesper’s betrayer, and Camille on the heels of Green to get to Medrano.

One scene that I find enjoyable in this film is where Bond follows Greene to the opera where his secret organization is to discretely meet and chat over ear piece in the audience while the show is going. (I would’ve been hushing them the whole time). Bond has infiltrated and gotten ahold of an ear piece and interrupts the conversation letting them know they are comprised. I love it when Bond cleverly bests the bad guys.

Like Camille, Mathieu Amalric’s performance as Dominic Green doesn’t really do much for me. His end goal with Medrano’s partnership is to basically become the Comcast of his water supply. Monopolize and then charge whatever you want. Not exactly super villain material. This happens because he has tricked Medrano into giving him ownership of land that Medrano thinks he wants for the oil. It’s actually the water Greene is after. He has created a drought in Bolivia and now everyone will need to turn to him for their lives. Well, when I put it like THAT then I guess that could be somewhat super villain.

The plot doesn’t exactly scream “get off your couch and pick this movie up now”, and it has some really dark undertones of sexual violence. General Medrano is an all around creep and scum bag who rapes and kills, and we see that on full display at the end when a poor cocktail waitress almost falls victim to his “needs”. It’s rather uncomfortable.

We also have Fields (Gemma Arterton) who is basically there to give us the “Goldfinger” shoutout to Jill Masterson with her dead body lying on the bed covered in oil, black oil. (You’ll get that joke when we watch Goldfinger). We also have the return of Mathis who was Bond’s contact for Casino Royale who Bond mistakingly accused as being a traitor. Well he got an acquittal, and now finds himself helping Bond again after Bond’s cards and passport was frozen. Mathis eventually gets killed at the hands of one of his connections who ends up betraying him. Plenty of betrayal to go around.

In the end, Bond ends up sparing the life of Greene to find out more about Quantum - the name of the organization that we just find out about at the very end of the film. Bond leaves him in the middle of the desert. Then he spares the life of the man who betrayed Vesper - leaving M to be impressed with Bond’s newfound restraint. He’s slowly becoming James Bond!

Apart from some amusing scenes and a great Bond theme by Jack White and Alicia Keys, Quantum Of Solace is Craig’s least inspired film. Only time will tell how “No Time To Die” ends up being, but I’ve noticed that the longer we have to wait for a Bond movie, the better the film is going to be....

After Licence To Kill we waited 6 years and got Goldeneye, after Die Another Day we waited 4 years and got Casino Royale, after Quantum we waited 4 years and got Skyfall...we’re on year 5 now, so you can imagine that No Time To Die has potential to be amazing! (Its slated to be the longest Bond movie in history.)

Too much confusion, open ended questions, and hard to follow action makes Quantum of Solace one of my least favorite Bond films. That isn’t to say that I can’t follow complexity, I love a good puzzle as much as the next guy...but this just feels like it is confusing on accident. It is worth noting that this film was in production during the infamous writers strike of 2007, not sure if that is to blame or not, but it is not well thought out or executed. And that, my friends, is all I got to say about that. What did you think?

Let your voices be heard! See you next week!

Reviews from Friends:

My Mom

I am relieved to hear that you "younguns" did not follow this film either. It is very frustrating to turn the volume up so high that the ensuing music blasts lifts the speakers off the wall, and you still don't understand what they are talking about. I agree that Dominic Green was not the most interesting villain. Just kind of creepy. I have never seen Casino Royale, so I guess I'll be in for a treat. Here is what I googled about the title: "It was the name of a short story in Ian Fleming's anthology For Your Eyes Only (1960). The film is related to the title in one of its thematic elements: "when the 'Quantum of Solace' drops to zero, humanity and consideration of one human for another is gone."

Tyler Dahlgren

Yep don’t like any part of this one. The only part I was liking was Mathis...and then they kill him.

Jake Benrud

I feel like I understood this movie and the plot progression, but it was still just kind of meh. If you didn't see Casino Royale, you would be really lost.

24 Weeks of Bond will return next Monday with -

Octopussy

#James Bond #daniel craig #quantum of solace #24WeeksofBond

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