#and when they were revived they were written to have been in suspended animation and hadn’t changed from their Golden Age portrayal

[skaruresonic]

every once in a while my feed recommends thinkpieces on the Matrix films written by authors who miss the point of said films, so I guess it's time for yet another thrilling round of "watch the films"

Did. Did you see the part where Neo wakes up in his bed thinking the interrogation was just a dream. Because. Agents wiping people's memories is an established plot point.

Also, the Architect implies in Reloaded that most people plugged into the Matrix are aware deep down that they live in an artificial reality, but they agree to live in it at that near-subconscious level because they've been given the choice to accept or reject it. He says this was the most elegant solution the Oracle created to address the problem of people rejecting the dream world en masse. As long as people are made to believe they have a choice, even the illusion of choice will suffice. It paints a rather depressing portrait of humanity and its complacency, tbh.

---

No kidding.

The animated short detailing the history of the machines portrays scorching the sky as mankind's last-ditch effort to gain an advantage following a gruesome war. It wasn't something they approached lightly. Never mind the fact that mankind isn't exactly known for its long-term thinking and well-considered rationale in the face of terror (neither are the machines, for that matter; nuance whomst?). Morpheus furthermore claims that they don't know who struck first, machines or humans, but they do know humans "scorched the sky."

The original script specified the machines used human minds to boost the Matrix's processing power, but because that was a concept that would have flown over the audience's heads in the nineties, they changed it to "the machines harvest humans for energy."

---

To be fair, the sequels do take Morpheus somewhat to task for his dogma. His faith gets noticeably shaken by the events of Reloaded and Revolutions. Not everyone believes what he believes, but his beliefs do not require them to.

I won't argue that Morpheus is particularly righteous or even accurate most of the time, but I do think the notion that "anyone that hasn't been unplugged can turn into an Agent and kill you at any time" ought to be taken into account. Is it a little extreme that he calls every unplugged human "our enemy"? Yes. But… he kind of has good reason to, tbh. Agents can't exactly be reasoned with. The crew were fully prepared to pop a cap in Neo's ass "for [their] protection," as Trinity says, despite Morpheus' conviction that he was the man they were looking for.

---

Eh. Neo's muscle atrophy appears later, though I'm willing to suspend my disbelief for the sake of having a hard-hitting scene. Watch less CinemaSins, it's good for you. ironically enough, The Matrix is the narrator's favorite movie. lol and lmao

"Furthermore, there's an unresolved issue of why the spider-like machine simply doesn't kill him (and every other revived human) as they wake up."

Because you can't kill something you think is a corpse.

The maintenance machine removed Neo's cables because it registered him as dead… as a result of Neo taking the red pill. Morpheus says taking the red pill disrupts a person's input/output signals, meaning the connection between one's RSI and body has been severed, something that only happens if a podbound human dies. The signal disruption allows the rebels to pinpoint Neo's exact location in the real world.

While you could argue this technique potentially harbors its fair share of flaws - one can only assume human batteries die every so often, so how would they be able to pick Neo out from the unattended dead? - asking why the machine didn't kill him tells me you weren't exactly paying attention.

Things get a little more complicated in Reloaded when the Architect implies that the machines do willingly let a small portion of humans go as a sort of pressure valve to prevent the Matrix from collapsing under its own critical mass. Even then, the first film provides a coherent enough explanation that we don't need Reloaded's. You're assuming the machine believes Neo is alive when clearly it doesn't. It sees him struggle, yes, but because the red pill makes Neo emit the machine equivalent of an ant's death pheromones, the bot goes "welp, another one bit the dust" and proceeds to flush the "corpse" down the drain.

---

People always act like this is some fresh new take.

Well. That's kinda the whole point of his betrayal. To make you wonder what you would do in his situation. It's all well and good to speculate on what-ifs from the comfort of the fourth wall, but the film frames an otherwise abstract moral quandary in very clear terms. Is a life of hedonistic bliss better than one where you are painfully aware of the artifice of reality and constantly fighting for your life? It's not an accident---you're meant to ponder the question.

The Matrix franchise approaches the concept of freedom from a nihilistic lens. Nihilism often gets strawmanned in movies (Smith's own views function as a mouthpiece for such edgelord flanderizations) as a defeatist attitude of "Nothing matters, so why bother living?" Rather, a more accurate portrayal of nihilism contends that, because nothing has intrinsic meaning, you are free to create your own meaning. That it is dangerous to chase meaning as defined by premade structures like religion or philosophy, because these will dictate your thinking and keep you under another's control. In so doing, you surrender your freedom to truly discover for yourself what it is that makes life worth living to you. And indeed, Neo transcends Morpheus' and the Oracle's understandings of the Matrix and what it means to be The One in order to walk his own path.

The films ask you, "If freedom felt more like prison, would it still be worth striving for? What is the value of a freedom where you stand to lose more than you gain? Does freedom have inherent value, or is it hailed because of what it represents as yet another variable within these multi-tiered systems of control?"

Tbf, Cypher's resentment towards Morpheus was more understandable in earlier drafts of the script, where it's stated that Cypher was freed from an extremely young age and Morpheus had actually wound up killing five previous candidates he'd assumed to be The One. Some speculate that Cypher is jealous of Neo on the basis of having been a previous candidate, but I don't exactly think that's strictly necessary to understand his desire for a mindlessly hedonistic lifestyle.

---

Okay, I'll give you that one. Never really was sure how Cypher managed to catch the Agents' attention without getting shot on sight. Perhaps Smith recognized an offer he couldn't refuse, and, both characters being opportunists, he and Cypher leaped at the chance to strike a bargain.

It may also have something to do with Smith's ability to at least somewhat mimic human mannerisms on occasion. Agent Brown and Agent Jones are about as personable as cardboard, so it's my pet theory that Smith was designated to be the "human whisperer" of the trio. Hence why Cypher conducts his negotiations with Smith at a restaurant while the other two stand guard.

The scene where Neo sneaks up on Cypher implies Cypher had been doing some hacking in order to prepare for his meeting with Smith. He turns the screens off immediately afterwards.

Moreover, Enter the Matrix implies people are able to plug into simulations without help from others. I would assume Cypher used the same kind of equipment to plug himself into the Matrix.

During Morpheus' torture, the Agents manage to figure out that Cypher has been killed, thus implying that they were counting on disposing of him all along. Because Smith orders the others to continue as planned, it's kind of obvious they never really intended on giving Cypher what he wanted.

---

Petition to drop the phrase "hasn't aged well" from our collective lexicon. At best, it's a semantically null phrase. At worst, it's being deliberately obtuse towards media history as well as the creative process, a way for audiences to feel superior based on the fallacy of modernity. There have been tons of documentaries on the making of the first film, some of which are included as extras on the original DVD. I recommend you watch a few before you say stuff like this.

Admittedly, this one pisses me off a little because A.) yet again the "hasn't aged well" sentiment inevitably loops back around to overlooking the context and history in which the piece was made, and B.) fuck you, the crew worked incredibly hard on this shit.

"The most egregious offenders are scenes like the helicopter crash, where the building's windows warp unrealistically." - You can excuse people flying twenty feet through the air and dodging bullets, but draw the line at (flips through notes) glass exploding in a circle?

Imagine saying this about The Matrix of all films. The one movie that can handwave unrealistic elements through its premise alone. The film where the entire point is that unrealistic things are happening because you are not watching reality.

and then Neo was like "whoa.exe"

Secondly, the Wachowski sisters spent several months studying how glass explodes in order to achieve the ripple effect seen in the film. While CG was used to enhance the scene, the underlying framework rests on a foundation of practical effects. They made dummy rigs and ran through tons of tests to find the precise kind of glass that could accomplish what they envisioned.

The special effects director was pretty hard on himself during a watchthrough with Carrie-Anne Moss, actually. He thought some of the digital effects looked horrible, specifically Agent possessions, and said they could have done better. People saying stuff like this just makes me feel worse for him in retrospect.

Bullet-time looks unimpressive to you now because it's been parodied to death over the past twenty-five years. I fail to see how this is the film's fault.

Subjective perspective changes trying to pass themselves off as objective critique without taking any of a media's history or creative process into account are a part of the reason why I think "hasn't aged well" is a thought-terminating cliche and ultimately useless in discussions of this ilk. It doesn't effectively communicate anything of meaning. You might as well say "this film features moving pictures" or "this video game has controls" for all the information you're imparting.

---

I will concede that Resurrections was a glaringly obvious cash grab and a huge waste of potential. The first half of the film nearly rivals the the first act of M1 in terms of its psychological intrigue, building a slowburn of anticipation… Only to completely shit the bed, devolving into a cynical montage of fanservice and half-baked ideas that amount to nothing more than a shrug. I'm not a Neo/Trinity fan in the slightest, so the "hook" they hoped would reel me in didn't work on me.

However, I think there is more substance to Reloaded and Revolutions than people commonly give them credit for. Perhaps not as entertaining stories, but certainly there's a lot of cud to chew on in terms of the philosophical elements they offer. And this is coming from someone who thinks Reloaded is easily the most boring film of the quadrilogy narrative-wise. The sequels build coherently upon concepts established in the original, if you pay attention.

Reloaded's "We cannot see past the choices we don't understand" is a natural extension of the first film's mantra, "Know thyself." The inability or unwillingness to "know thyself" proves Smith's undoing in Revolutions, since during his "me, me, me" phase he does not do any of the self-actualization or self-reflection that Neo undertakes on his path to achieving peace.

Smith's fatal flaw is his self-myopia. He purports to know how the world works, but he remains blind to himself. And it is because he does not understand himself that he cannot understand others, and thus cannot see his own destruction beyond the brief moment of victory he glimpses with the Oracle's vision. Smith is painfully aware of every single thing except his own inner workings, and that creates in him a void that can never be sated. His myopia explains why he cannot conceive of why Neo fights out of choice. He cannot understand any choice because he does not understand the value of free will.

The inability to see how his character evolves throughout the "forgettable" sequels is what led to galaxy brains on Reddit concluding "Smith is actually The One huehuehuehue" based on the flimsiest of evidence (and a lot of pulling shit from the deepest sanctums of anus, since, let's be real, nobody in this Chili's particularly paid attention to what M1 had to say about him either) and it's like. bruh

[daydreamerdrew]

The New Champion of Shazam! (2022) #2

[lilydalexf]

Old School X is a project interviewing X-Files fanfic authors who were posting fic during the original run of the show. New interviews are posted every Tuesday.

Interview with Piper Sargasso

Piper Sargasso has 25 stories at Gossamer, but don’t miss her website where the fics each have cover collage art. If you are a fan of Mulder/Scully romance, there are a lot of MSR fics to read that are set in different seasons of the show. But like the show that never stuck to one type of story, Piper’s stories have variety, so you can also find AUs and /Other.  Big thanks to Piper for doing this interview.

Does it surprise you that people are still interested in reading your X-Files fanfics and others that were posted during the original run of the show (1993-2002)?

It does, but I love that people are still into it! Writers back in the day put so much work and love into their writing, and it's nice to know that the stories are still being appreciated to this day. As for my own stories, it puts a huge smile on my face to know there are still people out there checking them out and hopefully enjoying them.

What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience? What did you take away from it?

It was such a positive period of my life. I made some amazing friends who became something like older sisters (and some brothers) to me, even though I was a little ridiculous when I was in my early to mid-twenties. It was also a much-needed confidence booster. I was a pretty shy person and loved writing, but never had the nerve to show anything to anyone. My first fanfic was completely horrible, but because of it I made my first XF friend and super beta, Mimic117. Between her guidance and the encouraging words from my Yahoo group I was able to do something I really loved and felt great about myself and my abilities for the first time. That will stay with me forever. That first story was truly atrocious, but it was a catalyst for great things in my life when I needed them the most.

Social media didn't really exist during the show's original run. How were you most involved with the X-Files online (atxc, message board, email mailing list, etc.)?

I remember trying this cool new thing called an AOL chat room, but they were more interested in perving on each other than talking about the show. Once I knew about fanfiction I kept seeing that some of my favorite authors kept mentioning IWTBXF in their notes, a Yahoo group named I Want to Believe. I looked it up, joined, and with great trepidation made my introductory post. Everyone was so warm and welcoming, and talking to my favorite authors in the group was a little like meeting a celebrity and finding out that they're awesome in real life. After IWTBXF fell apart, an off-shoot called Beyond the Sea was created with almost all of the original group transferring over. I stuck to my little family there and didn't branch out into much else, other than the rare dip into Haven. Ephemeral and Gossamer, of course.

What did you take away from your experience with X-Files fic or with the fandom in general?

Mostly the overwhelming feeling of acceptance and confidence to write, something I was sorely lacking before in my life. I fell in with the best group, that's for sure! They made me feel like being a professional writer could be an achievable goal.

What was it that got you hooked on the X-Files as a show?

The commercial advertising. The pilot spoke to my supernatural-loving, angsty 15 year-old soul. I watched it religiously every week. There was nothing like it. It was off-beat, but serious (most of the time) and fulfilled my insatiable craving for the paranormal and weird. You just couldn't get that from Melrose Place and Beavis and Butthead, you know? It definitely helped that David Duchovny was adorable and the character of Scully was the strong and intelligent icon we needed in the 90's and beyond.

What got you involved with X-Files fanfic?

In high school I had a friend who was as obsessed with the show as I was. Maybe more, since she once had a slumber party that was exclusively to binge watch her taped episodes (the other girls who wanted to mess around with spells and the Ouija board weren't thrilled that she couldn't be swayed away from it) and she often drove me from play rehearsals in her convertible with the top down and the theme song blasting to the heavens, much to my delight and mortification. A couple years after we graduated she told me about the piece of fanfic she wrote. Insert a record screech here. What?! You mean there are thousands of stories dedicated to my favorite show? And hundreds more get added every month?! I was obsessed. If I could've stopped working and slept at my computer desk I would have.

What is your relationship like now to X-Files fandom?

Sadly it's nonexistent these days. I have great memories and it holds a big piece of my heart, but I haven't been active in a long time. I would love to see a huge revival, and would definitely want to be involved in that in some way, were it to happen.

Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?

I read a lot of Harry Potter fanfiction for a while, but I never could expend the kind of energy and time I did for the X-Files fandom. It came at a perfect time in my life, and so far nothing else has measured up to it.

Who are some of your favorite fictional characters? Why?

Besides XF characters? Off the top of my head I really love Hermione Granger, Buffy Summers, Elizabeth Bennet, and Claire Fraser for their sass and strength of character, Severus Snape for his complexity, and Christina Ricci's version of Wednesday Addams for her pure awesomeness. She's pretty much my spirit animal.

Do you ever still watch The X-Files or think about Mulder and Scully?

I do occasionally. I watched the series from season 1-7 so many times that I started to burn out, but I get on my X-Files kicks sometimes and binge it again.

Do you ever still read X-Files fic? Fic in another fandom?

Like with the show, I'll get nostalgic and need to consume all the fanfics my greedy little eyes can behold until I move on to something else. It can feel a little lonely though, if you'll excuse the drama. We're not in the heyday anymore, so it feels a little like walking through a ghost town. Many of the stories out there are suspended in time because the show ended, or people stopped writing.

Do you have any favorite X-Files fanfic stories or authors?

I know I have dozens, but I'm drawing a blank. My ultimate favorite is any well-written MSR casefile with UST finally resulting in RST. Those are my unicorns!

What is your favorite of your own fics, X-Files and/or otherwise?

I have a silly one called Baby, It's Cold Outside that I sometimes read around Christmastime. It was a fluffy song-fic, but I can see the scene so clearly in my mind when I read it and it's just pure fun. I also like my Donnie Pfaster series. I can see the potential in my writing with those, which makes me feel I could really write something special someday. Plus, he's such an interesting little slimeball to write and read about. Bless his heart.

Do you think you'll ever write another X-Files story? Or dust off and post an oldie that for whatever reason never made it online?

I still think about the two WIPs I haven't finished. I wrote myself into a corner with This Mortal Coil, and honestly I think it needs a total overhaul. I think Dana Scully's Diary would be a fun one to finish. I hate that I never finished them.

Do you still write fic now? Or other creative work?

I think about writing fanfic now and then and I've had a couple original novels sketched out, but there are so many other demands on my time that I haven't gotten very far. I still plan to see the novels through, even if no one but interested friends and family read them.  

Where do you get ideas for stories?

I used to watch an episode and really study the actors' expressions and actions, always trying to find new angles to the stories we all know. A lot of times things would just come to me and I'd get so excited I couldn't sleep until I wrote a good chunk of it down.

What's the story behind your pen name?

The friend who introduced me to fanfic told me the best way to choose a pen name was to make sure it derives from the show. For a couple days I looked at the titles and summaries of episodes and agonized over just the right name. Finally Piper Maru and the summary from Triangle, which mentions the Sargasso sea, stood out and just clicked.

Do your friends and family know about your fic and, if so, what have been their reactions?

My now husband always knew, and he thought it was cool that I had a hobby that made me so happy, but he was never a reader. My parents found out when I was about 24 and my step-dad would tell EVERYONE about it, much to my horror. Most reactions were of the bland, "Oh yeah? That's nice." variety but I definitely got some weird looks from others. The worst was when I found out how much of my racier MSR stories my parents read. My step-dad thought it was hilarious and teased me a little. My usually open-minded mom was uncomfortable, but tried to be supportive. It's all fun and games until your daughter starts writing psuedo-erotica for anyone to see!

Is there a place online (tumblr, twitter, AO3, etc.) where people can find you and/or your stories now?

Circe Invidiosa very generously hosts a page for me at http://pipers.invidiosa.com.

(Posted by Lilydale on January 26, 2021)

[correct4disneyprincesses]

Snow White or in German, Schneewitchen

POB: Kingdom of Bavaria, Germany 1868.

DOB: 1854

Evidence:

Exhibit A: Doc asks if Snow White can make apple dumplings which is a 18th century dish. She can also make plum pudding also known as Christmas pudding.

Exhibit B: Snow White’s hair bow. Hair bows originated from the 17th century and were used in wigs during the 17th and 18th century. That, and it’s an Alice band which came out some time in 1865 after Alice in Wonderland was published.

Exhibit C: Queen Grimhilde’s balaclava. The balaclava is named after the Battle of Balaclava from the Crimean War in 1854, the time when the Brothers Grimm completed the final revision of Snow White.

Exhibit D: Prince Florian’s feathered beret. Berets are an ancient type of hat but they were very popular in the 19th century and beyond.

Exhibit E: Snow White’s court shoes or pumps are very 17th century and the buckles had bows attached to them in the 19th century.

Exhibit F: There is a three-dimensional cuckoo clock with a frog coming out of it. Stuff like that wasn’t popularized for cuckoo clocks until 1860. One example is the 1861 Hunt piece design.

Exhibit G: Queen Grimhilde uses a Bunsen burner. Gas technology didn’t come about until 1852.

Exhibit H: Dopey uses a dustpan to sweep up the diamonds. The first dustpan, made from metal like in the movie, came out in the 1850s.

Fact 1: Although bob hairstyles didn’t technically exist back then, Snow White was 14 years old in the movie, so her hair was allowed to be short during that time because it was obviously naturally short but it could be curled up just like the long hair on girls.

Fact 2: Snow White has puffed sleeves with teardrop-shaped slashing designs on them, very popular in Tudor times. And the drops are red to symbolize the three drops of blood from Snow White’s mother the First Queen.

Fact 3: Humbert the Huntsman wears a bycocket which was very fashionable for hunters in the 13th to 16th century. They fell out of fashion in England, France, and Spain but were still worn in the Netherlands by merchants, in the Low Countries by Masters of the Guild, and by nobility as far as Hungary.

Fact 4: The Dwarf’s Cottage is located “over the seven jeweled hills and beyond the seventh fall” according to the Spirit of the Magic Mirror. The Seven Hills of Bamberg are near the Black Forest in which the seventh fall known as the Triberg Waterfalls is located.

Additional Information:

Despite Snow White being 14, Prince Florian is not a pedophile. When it came to marriage, the couple had to strictly be teenagers. Sometimes, the boys present at the birth of a daughter were 3 to 4 years older than the baby princess. So, Florian had to be at least 17 to 18 years old.

Also, there is evidence that Snow White met Florian long before they saw each other at the well. In the song, “I’m Wishing,” she clearly says, “I’m wishing for the one I love to find me today.” She could’ve said, “I’m wishing for someone to love.” Instead, she said, “I’m wishing for the one I love.” Past tense. This was never love at first sight. She loved Florian long before the well scene and only ran away from him because she was embarrassed. She thought he would laugh at her for wearing the rags Grimhilde made her wear as evidenced when she brushes them off after running away and hiding.

Also, Snow White isn’t the fairest of them all because of her physical beauty but because of her pure heart as evidenced when the Spirit of Magic Mirror says, “Rags cannot hide her gentle grace.” So, she’s beautiful on the inside because she’s really nice and considerate unlike Grimhilde who’s vain, coldhearted and evil.

Given the opportunity, the Queen would easily kill Snow White. But as a Queen, she has an image to protect and is aware that the citizens like Snow White more than her and the citizens know that the Queen is evil, so, if the Queen did murder Snow White, she would have the entirety of the kingdom on her tail, especially considering that Snow White is her stepdaughter. That was why she needed someone else to do the job for her. But when that fails, she decides to take it upon herself to kill her but knowing that she has an image to protect, she has to disguise herself so completely that no one would ever suspect. Her transformation into an old Hag worked but it also made her senile. The ingredients used to make the potion which were written in English for translation purposes by Disney, were:

1. Mummy Dust or Mummia to make her old.

3. Black of Night or Nightshade to shroud her clothes.

4. Old Hag’s Cackle or a mixture of dumbcane to irritate the voice and propolis to relax it and give it the orange color. Both age the voice.

5. Scream of Fright or a combination of rhubarb juice to give it a good taste, hydrogen peroxide, and ammonia to whiten the hair.

6. Wind to fan the drink’s heat.

7. A thunderbolt to conjoin the particles in the drink and mix it altogether.

In her senile state, she decided to use a special sort of death for Snow White. The poisoned apple that would put Snow White into a state of suspended animation.

Ingredients were:

Belladonna to cause delirium and hallucinations.

Henbane as an anesthetic potion, as well as for its psychoactive properties in "magic brews." These psychoactive properties include visual hallucinations and a sensation of flight. Common effects of ingestion of henbane in humans include hallucinations, dilated pupils, restlessness, and flushed skin. If you mix belladonna and henbane together, you have a very powerful anesthetic potion.

Aconite which causes asphyxiation and would've killed her but it would've made it painless and would've calmed her.

Jimson Weed would be added to the anesthetic potion, as it causes hallucinations. So, instead of dying, she would've been put to sleep because there are too many anesthetics in the brew. Of course, you wouldn't call it sleep, because it is a sleep in which there is no air. Like the Queen disguised as the old peddler woman said, when Snow White eats the apple, her breath will still, and her blood will congeal. So, the aconite would not only stop her breathing but it would cause her blood to clot excessively since the blood has oxygen in it, too. Of course, Snow White didn't die from it. All the ingredients I've mentioned would only put her in a state of suspended animation.

White Snakeroot is non-toxic unless in the milk of cattle. It is used for curing ague, diarrhea, kidney stones, and fever. It can also be used to revive unconscious people. It, of course, was added as a way for the real antidote, Love's First Kiss, to take affect and that antidote's power lies in the apple itself. Throughout history, the apple has been a symbol for love and sexuality, which is why Love's First Kiss woke her up. Apples are full of Vitamin C and promote strong bones and blood sugar regulation. It is also full of flavonoids and antioxidants that neutralize harmful free radicals.

The antidote in the Evil Queen’s senile old mind does not bother her because she believed the Dwarfs, thinking Snow White was dead, would bury her alive.

She goes to Snow White in her old hag form knowing that Snow White’s kindness towards others and inability to be deceived by appearances since beauty is found within would be easy to prey upon.

That and she’s also Christian as seen when she prays to God to “bless the seven little men who were so kind to her.” That Christianity plays a big role in the poisoned apple scene. It’s understandable, not just because she’s 14 and children are easier to take advantage of than adults but because of a Bible scripture that she may have heard of and took to heart.

Hebrews 13: 2 states, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so, some have shown hospitality to angels without even knowing it.”

Of course, we see that Snow White is clearly creeped out by the old woman as she backs away from her advances. So, she might’ve eaten the apple just to humor her so that she’d leave her alone. So, she was just being polite.

Now, contrary to what people believe, Prince Florian is not a necrophiliac. The kiss was a goodbye kiss. He was mourning for her.

I know that Snow White wouldn’t be rated G if it were made in present day.

We have scary images from when Snow White is in the Black Forest and the comeuppance of the Evil Queen.

But it was the first animated feature-length film and if it had flopped, Walt Disney would’ve lost everything. He wanted it to be timeless and he made it so.

[blueiscoool]

Casu marzu: The world's 'most dangerous' cheese

The Italian island of Sardinia sits in the middle of the Tyrrhenian Sea, gazing at Italy from a distance. Surrounded by a 1,849-kilometer coastline of white sandy beaches and emerald waters, the island's inland landscape rapidly rises to form hills and impervious mountains.

And it is within these edgy curves that shepherds produce casu marzu, a maggot-infested cheese that, in 2009, the Guinness World Record proclaimed the world's most dangerous cheese.

Cheese skipper flies, Piophila casei, lay their eggs in cracks that form in cheese, usually fiore sardo, the island's salty pecorino.

Maggots hatch, making their way through the paste, digesting proteins in the process, and transforming the product into a soft creamy cheese.

Then the cheesemonger cracks open the top -- which is almost untouched by maggots -- to scoop out a spoonful of the creamy delicacy.

It's not a moment for the faint-hearted. At this point, the grubs inside begin to writhe frantically.

Some locals spin the cheese through a centrifuge to merge the maggots with the cheese. Others like it au naturel. They open their mouths and eat everything.

If you are able to overcome the understandable disgust, marzu has a flavor that is intense with reminders of the Mediterranean pastures and spicy with an aftertaste that stays for hours.

Some say it's an aphrodisiac. Others say that it could be dangerous for human health as maggots could survive the bite and and create myiasis, micro-perforations in the intestine, but so far, no such case has been linked to casu marzu.

The cheese is banned from commercial sale, but Sardinians have been eating it, jumping grubs included, for centuries.

"The maggot infestation is the spell and delight of this cheese," says Paolo Solinas, a 29-year-old Sardinian gastronome.

He says some Sardinians cringe at the thought of casu marzu, but others raised on a lifetime of salty pecorino unabashedly love its strong flavors.

"Some shepherds see the cheese as a unique personal pleasure, something that just a few elects can try," Solinas adds.

When tourists visit Sardinia, they usually wind up in a restaurant that serves porceddu sardo, a slowly roasted suckling piglet, visit bakers who sell pane carasau, a traditional paper-thin flatbread, and meet shepherds who produce fiore sardo, the island pecorino cheese.

Yet, if you are adventurous enough, it's possible to find the casu marzu. It shouldn't be seen as a weird attraction, but a product that keeps alive an ancient tradition and hints at what the future of food might look like.

Giovanni Fancello, a 77-year-old Sardinian journalist and gastronome, spent his life researching local food history. He's traced it back to a time when Sardinia was a province of the Roman empire.

"Latin was our language, and it's in our dialect that we find traces of our archaic cuisine," Fancello says.

There is no written record of Sardinian recipes until 1909, according to Fancello. That's when Vittorio Agnetti, a doctor from mainland Modena, traveled to Sardinia and compiled six recipes in a book called "La nuova cucina delle specialità regionali."

"But we have always eaten worms," says Fancello. "Pliny the Elder and Aristotle talked about it."

Ten other Italian regions have their variant of maggot-infested cheese, but while the products elsewhere are regarded as one-offs, casu marzu is intrinsically part of Sardinian food culture.

The cheese has several different names, such as casu becciu, casu fattittu, hasu muhidu, formaggio marcio. Each sub-region of the island has its own way of producing it using different kinds of milk.

Foodies inspired by the exploits of chefs such as Gordon Ramsay often come in search of the cheese, says Fancello. "They ask us: 'How do you make casu marzu?' It's part of our history. We are the sons of this food. It's the result of chance, of magic and supernatural events."

Fancello grew up in the town of Thiesi with his father Sebastiano, who was a shepherd who made casu marzu. Facello shepherded his family's sheep to grazing grounds around rural Monte Ruju, lost in the clouds, where magic was believed to happen.

He recalls that, for his father, casu marzu was a divine gift. If his cheeses didn't become infested with maggots, he would be desperate. Some of the cheese he produced stayed for the family, others went to friends or people who asked for it.

Casu Marzu is typically produced at the end of June when local sheep milk begins to change as the animals enter their reproductive time and the grass dries from the summer heat.

If a warm sirocco wind blows on the cheesemaking day, the cheese-transforming magic works even harder. Fancello says it's because the cheese has a weaker structure, making the fly's job easier.

After three months, the delicacy is ready.

Mario Murrocu, 66, keeps casu marzu traditions alive at his farm, Agriturismo Sa Mandra, near Alghero in the north of Sardinia. He also keeps 300 sheep and hosts guests in his trattoria, and keeps casu marzu traditions alive.

"You know when a form will become casu marzu," he says. "You see it from the unusual spongy texture of the paste," Murrocu says.

Nowadays, this isn't so much down to luck as the ideal conditions that cheesemongers now use to ensure as many casu marzu as possible. They've also figured out a way to use glass jars to conserve the cheese, which traditionally never lasted beyond September, for years.

Though revered, the cheese's legal status is a gray area.

Casu marzu is registered as a traditional product of Sardinia and therefore is locally protected. Still, it has been deemed illegal by the Italian government since 1962 due to laws that prohibit the consumption of food infected by parasites.

Those who sell the cheese can face high fines up to €50,000 (about $60,000) but Sardinians laugh when asked about the prohibition of their beloved cheese.

In the past few years, the European Union has begun to study and revive the notion of eating grubs thanks to the concept of novel food, where insects are raised to be consumed.

Research shows that their consumption could help reduce carbon dioxide emissions associated with animal farming and help alleviate the climate crisis.

Roberto Flore, the Sardinian head of Skylab FoodLab, the food system change laboratory of the Technical University of Denmark's innovation hub, has long studied the concept of insect consumption.

For a few years, he led the Nordic Food Lab research and development team -- part of the three-Michelin-starred NOMA restaurant -- trying to figure out ways to insert insects into our diet.

"Lots of cultures associate the insect with an ingredient," Flore says. That said, Sardinians prefer the cheese to the maggot and are often horrified by the idea that people eat scorpions or crickets in Thailand.

Flore says he's traveled around the world to study how different cultures approach insects as food and believes that while psychological barriers make it difficult to radically alter eating habits, such consumption is widespread.

"How do you define edible food?" he says ."Every region of the world has a different way to eat insects."

He's convinced that Sardinia's delicacy is safe to eat.

"I believe that nobody has ever died eating casu marzu. If they did, maybe they were drunk. You know, when you eat it, you also drink lots of wine."

Flore hopes casu marzu will soon shed its clandestine status and become a symbol of Sardinia -- not because of its unusual production, but because it's emblematic of other foods now vanishing because they don't fit in with modern mainstream tastes.

In 2005, researchers from Sardinia's Sassari University made the first step in this direction: they raised flies in the lab and made them infect pecorino cheese to show that the process can happen in a controlled way.

Islanders and researchers hope that the European Union will soon rule in their favor. Until then, anyone who wants to sample it will need to ask around when they get to Sardinia.

For those willing to suspend concerns about what they're eating, it offers an authentic experience recalling a time when nothing was thrown away and when boundaries of what was edible or not were less well defined.

Cheesemonger Murrocu says that, fittingly, locals keep an open mind about the best way to eat casu marzu, but a few other regional treats have been known to help it slip down easier.

"We spread the cheese on wet pane carasau, and we eat it," he says. "But you can eat it as you want, as long as there is some formaggio marcio and a good cannonau wine."

By Agostino Petroni.

[throughyanderewindow]

Nothing Else Matters (2/?)

Pairing: Yandere Bucky Barnes x Yandere Fem!Reader

Warnings: Obsessive Behaviour

Part One

A/N: I’m not American by the way so let me know if I get anything comically wrong

Getting on the list to interview Captain America was surprisingly easy; maybe that's why it seemed like everyone and their dog had done it. Once it had been established publicly that the guy dressed as Captain America really was Steve Rogers himself, freshly revived from some suspended animation thing, everyone wanted a piece of him. You could understand, rationally, why it wasn't exactly a priority to be interviewed by a history student but that didn't make it less infuriating. You'd been lumped in with randos wanting to talk about the time their great grandpa got shrapnel in his knee but you were going to ask about someone actually important damn it!

"At present you're looking at a wait time of about two years to speak to the Captain." The receptionist patiently explained.

"Two years?!" You found yourself yelling "Is there any way you can tell him I want to speak specifically about Bucky Barnes? It's a topic he should be interested in."

"I don't actually speak to the Captain myself." She sighed "I'll see what I can do ma'am but I can't make any promises."

"Well thanks anyway." You hung up the phone dejectedly and tried to plan your next move. It seemed like your only good option was to finish the degree you were halfway through. It would be the first step towards possibly becoming a history teacher. If you never got to see Bucky Barnes alive ( a possibility that seemed more likely the longer you didn't hear of anyone else being brought back with Captain America) at least you could teach the world about him.

The idea that Bucky was really, actually dead forever had been bearable before; you knew he was dead going in. Steve Rogers was supposed to be dead too though and having him return made things feel so much more possible, yet you still had nothing. So you did what came naturally and threw yourself into your studies of the past. The only change was obsessively watching all news coverage of Captain America's activities and every interview he participated in hoping for the smallest glimmer of hope that he knew something.

The end of the bachelor's program was just coming into view when the next development in the Captain America story came to your attention. He'd somehow ended up in a fight in Washington D.C. with a metal armed assassin, you weren't exactly pleased.

"I swear to God if Rogers gets himself killed before I can talk to him I'll bring him back to life and inflict such tortures upon him that he'll wish he died in the war." You muttered to yourself, catching the attention of your dormmate, Sandra.

"You know Captain America has a pretty important job. If he dies it'll be really bad but not because he can't tell you about that dead guy you're always mooning over!" She scoffed.

It would be a shame to be ejected from the program for violence so close to the end but the idea of scalding her with your coffee was appealing. "You don't understand anything Sandra but I won't say that surprises me." You hissed at her.

You figured she'd let it go after that but Sandra was nothing if not persistent. She had decided it was now her mission to inform you that superheroes were important and you were self absorbed and blah, blah, blah. After a couple of days of this you needed to get out of your dorm and there was one place that always managed to bring your mood up.

The trip to Washington by car took the better part of four hours yet it was a trip you found yourself making every couple of months or so. Your teachers might have found it admirable had they known you took these trips entirely to visit the museum of history but less so if they knew you only ever looked at one exhibit.

Bucky Barnes wasn't completely sure this was a good idea. His instincts told him to get off the radar, get as far from Washington as he could as fast as he could; but when he'd heard of the exhibit on the Howling Commandos, an exhibit which talked a great deal about who he was he had to risk it.

When Bucky Barnes met Steve Rogers on the playgrounds of Brooklyn, little did he know that he was forging a bond that would take him to the battlefields of Europe and beyond. Read the text above a picture of what was clearly him, if a bit younger and a lot less burdened. The rest of the text was enlightening even if it didn't have nearly enough detail for him.

He felt someone staring at him and tensed, he knew coming here was foolish and now he was going to pay for it. Casting a careful glance backwards though he didn't see the expected HYDRA or SHIELD agent but a civilian woman, letting himself relax a little he examined her. She was startlingly beautiful and wearing a dress he was dimly aware was old fashioned nowadays but it suited her. He next became aware that it hadn't actually been him she was staring at, not exactly at least. She was staring at the picture in the exhibit behind him, his picture, like it was her whole world. Did she know him somehow? He didn't remember her but that didn't mean much these days.

Her eyes shifted to him then and grew almost comically wide. Shit. He ran through his options in seconds, there weren't many. He couldn't explain why but he felt drawn to this woman, he wouldn't hurt her, but it was clear she had recognized him. He grabbed her arm, firmly but not crushing. "Walk with me." He whispered. She nodded.

He led you out of the building and into a far less crowded area, though if you were inclined to scream for help someone could still hear you.

You became aware you were making a high pitched squealing noise which Bucky took to mean you were afraid.

"It's ok, I'm not going to hurt y-"

"I knew it!" You interrupted "I knew you couldn't really be gone, not forever! The world can be cruel and uncaring but even it wouldn't keep us separated."

"Do you know me?" he asked.

"Yes and no. We haven't actually met, I'll admit but I know everything that's ever been written about you. There's probably next to no one who knows more about your life than me." You gushed.

A distant siren made him flinch "I have to get out of here. I have to leave the country." He paused, trying to come to some kind of decision. He stared into your eyes and you hoped he'd like what he saw there.

He must have.

"Come with me?"

Taglist:

@yanderepeterparker (Let me know if you don’t want to be tagged anymore, I won’t be offended)

@rogueofbullshit @thomasthetankson​ @thatweirdwalangpake​

if you want to be tagged for the next part (or if you wanted to be tagged and I missed you T_T) let me know

divider by writeyourmindaway 

[dragonrajafanfiction]

The Greenland Incident

The post I typed up got deleted on Reddit (!!!) So I’m reposting here. :)

It’s a bit long but has the story written from professor Schneider’s POV. Enjoy!

This is taken from Dragon Raja III: Part I Chapter: Shadows of Greenland.

Schneider took off the oxygen mask and moved his face into the light. Even as he smoked cigarettes, he was on oxygen. When removing the oxygen mask, he will carefully hide his face in the shadow so this is the first time Manstein saw Ned's (Schneider's) face. It's a horror movie mask. The face is a nightmare, the flesh and blood under the eyes are completely dry, only a layer of dry skin is stuck to the bone, the lips and nose are atrophied, and the front teeth are directly exposed.

"It's ugly isn't it? Actually, I am only 37 years old this year but I have the half century old face of a mummy. When the students hear my cough, they think I am an old man in my 50s. But I am even younger than you." Schneider said, self-deprecating.

Manstein shivered slowly: "How can this be?"

"This is the mark left by a mission," Schneider said. "That was 11 years ago, when we first heard a heartbeat signal from the deep sea."

"This (The Japan sea mission) is not the first time we have found embryos in the sea?" Manstein was taken aback.

"No, No. Eleven years ago, that was in Greenland. We found a similar embryo." Schneider spit out a complete smoke ring. "You might have guessed it. I was talking about the  unresolved case in the Greenland Ice Sea. The dive team was annihilated, but the school board ordered all files to be sealed and the investigation was forcibly terminated. If you want to hear this story, you have to be patient, because this story is very long, and please order Norma (EVAs human personality) to leave this room. You with a black card now, you can do it."

"Why should Norma leave?"

"Because Norma doesn't know. The so-called top secret cannot be stored in the system or the drives. It can only be stored here." Schneider tapped on his forehead. "After listening to this story, you can't say a word. You can't even write a memo for yourself. This is a rigid rule of the college. You can only remember every detail I said firmly as far as you can. If you forget it, there's no remedy."

"What happened 11 years ago, can you still remember every detail of it now?"

"Of course, I can." Schneider said quietly. "That was the only trip to hell in my life. How could I forget?"

The icy cold permeated from Schneider's words. Manstein felt that when he mentioned something that happened 11 years ago, the ugly and powerful man in front of him ignited his anger, an anger restrained for 11 years.

"Norma, leave this room and leave the two of us alone for a while." Manstein said.

"Understand that, starting now, the central control room will be outside of my monitoring range for 15 minutes." Norma said.

All the equipment n the central control room stopped running, the cameras and recording equipment were locked, and the lights went out one by one. Norma left and the surveillance was lifted. At this moment, the central control room was independent of the campus, and the shadows of the trees swayed on the high windows, which looked like the depths of an ancient church.

"It was the autumn of 2001...." Schneider slowly began to narrate.

"It was the autumn of 2001. A person with the ID named 'Prince' posted a message on the Internet saying that his tugboat had caught strange bronze fragments deep in the Greenland Sea. He posted a photo and it seemed that there were some intricate ancient characters on them. These characters were completely consistent with the 'Ice Sea Bronze Column Tablet' secretly collected by the college."

"The Ice sea Bronze Pillar Tablet is considered to be a rare artifact that has been passed down from the Dragon Age to today. It once stood in the dragon-kin built cities. The dragons are accustomed to using pillars to record their history and the center of the city is always a huge pillar standing upright. However, the icy sea copper column tablet is only a part of a column that had broken and it is estimated that it is less than a third of its original length. It is the most detailed dragon text material that humans have found to today, recording the war history of the dragon clan, but we still can't interpret it because there is no text for comparison. Those texts are just meaningless patterns for us."

"I was just a young assistant professor at the time, keen to interpret Dragon Words. I think if there is another copper pillar in the depths of the Greenland Sea, then the comparison of the above text may be able to interpret the true history of dragons. So I contacted the 'Prince' anonymously, saying that we were an ancient writing research institute and hoped to purchase these fragments."

"At that time, someone offered an amazing price, but the Prince expressed that he was willing to donate the fragments to research institutions instead of selling them to merchants. He sent the fragments to us without taking any money, and attached the coordinates of where he found them. We immediately sent an elite team to scan the seabed with sonar. We originally hoped to find a huge pillar on the seabed, but we caught a strange heartbeat signal right on the seabed."

"The Greenland Ice Sea is not as deep as the Japanese Trench. Large animals like beluga and tiger sharks live in it. So we didn't think it was a dragon embryo at first. But we observed it for several months. Nothing moved. We had to focus our attention from the pillar to the heartbeat signal. This was too strange. If the thing is a whale or a shark, then it should hunt around. If it is a giant turtle of unknown species, but dormant, then its heartbeat shouldn't be so strong. 

Someone put forward an amazing idea, that is: it is the embryo of a dragon. The seabed is its burial ground, it has experienced death, and cocooning and then reviving turned it into a fetal state. It is undergoing a long incubation.

"The idea was too bold, but the heartbeat signal was too strange and too tempting. Everyone of us was fascinated by this speculation. Since the establishment of the Secret Party, we have only received one dragon embryo, which is a weak one out of three generations. Dragon blood lines are already weak. If we can get a strong embryo, analyzing it can help us learn more about this ancient life."

"So you decided to dive?" Manstein asked.

"No, we weren't so rash. Because everything is just guessing. The safest way before a human goes is to send out a remote controlled submersible to survey the area. But whenever the underwater robots approached the seabed, they would lose control. We recovered the underwater robots and found that their circuits somehow burned up. This added to the evidence that the thing on the seabed was an embryo of a dragon. When an elder dragon is said to be in the process of incubation, a certain field will be developed to protect themselves. People who step into this field will have fatal hallucinations. Biologically speaking, the hallucinations are all because the cerebral cortex is stimulated, and the cerebral cortex is most easily stimulated by an electrical current."

"So the electric field of embryos burned the robot's circuits?" Manstein said.

"We thought so. We didn't want to send people to dive. If it is indeed the embryonic field that burned down those robots, then the impact on the cerebral cortex would be terrible. Even though all my students are A pedigree, I'm still not sure if they can fight against the field of embryos. In the hallucinations created by dragons, only the most powerful hybrids can maintain self-awareness. Any gap in the psychological defense line will be crushed by the hallucination. This has been recorded in the archives of the secret party." Schneider said. "But this time the school board intervened. They ordered us to dive as soon as possible to confirm the target. Their reason was that we could not wait for the embryo to hatch. At that time, even if it was risky, we had to act."

"Diving was the decision of the school board?"

"Yes. Today they sent you to stop the Caesar Team Embryo dive, but they were the creators of the Greenland plan back then."

"Under pressure, we made a dive plan. We purchased the most advanced diving bell from Germany at the time. It was a kind of all-metal diving equipment. Metal is an  excellent conductor. It can form an electrostatic barrier and should weaken the embryo field. Everyone in the dive team was to wrap their whole body with a fine metal mesh and took nerve tranquilizers orally. They are all the best hybrids. We thought they should be able to resist the interference in the embryonic field after they were fully armed. There were six people in the group. If one person had a problem the other five could force him to evacuate. In order to kill the dangerous embryo we also made a special underwater rifle for the dive team, using bullets polished by the Philosopher's Stone which is lethal to dragons."

"Although they were going to perform a dangerous mission, the students were still excited. Young people are fearless and they had the opportunity to get lose to a dragon embryo, which was as exciting as the opportunity to visit the Kingdom of God."

The weather was unexpectedly good on the day of the dive. The six members of the dive team went down on three diving bells. I provided support on the ice. At first, everything went smoothly, the ocean current was calm. The marine life was calm. They even observed beluga whales. But when the depth reached 170 meters, the leader of the dive team suddenly yelled in surprise in the communication channel, saying that they saw a gate. This is very strange because the seabed in that area is 300 meters deep, and their depth is 170 meters, which means that they are still 130 meters from the bottom. Visibility was very low. But at this point, they saw this gate. Is there a gate suspended in the middle of the sea?

"I became alert and worried that they had strayed into the embryonic field and had begun to have hallucinations. They excitedly discussed the gate in the communication channel. This is completely against the rules of communications. They should not talk about it in the communication channel. This channel is for essential communication only to avoid misunderstandings. I loudly ordered them not to approach the gate. I wasn't sure if it really existed but my instinct told me that the gate should not be opened."

"But they completely ignored my orders. I only heard their hurried muttering and strange noises. It was like someone was breathlessly reading a certain scripture in a deep well. Then the team leader spoke and yelled, "The gate is open! The gate is opening!" Then, "No! Don't Go in!"

"Then the gunshots were heard, loud. I could hear them paddling and the sound of their respirators. They had left the diving bell and were fighting with something. The situation was very chaotic. Someone shouted in the channel but because of the current interference, I couldn't hear what they said."

"I originally told the diving team not to leave the diving bell, because the electrostatic barrier in the diving bell is their important protection, but why they violated my order... there's no perfect explanation. After five minutes, the communication was cut off. We could no longer receive signals from the depths of the ice sea. I decided to forcibly recover the diving bells. Those diving bells are connected to the ice breaker with safety lines. However, we recovered the safety lines, only to find that the safety lines were cut with diving knives. The cuts, judging from the fibers, were made by the diving teams own knives. They cut the safety lines themselves."

"I was frantic and decided to dive down to rescue them. There were no more bells, but I was confident in my physical fitness. I could dive to 300 meters without protective gear. I could dive to 170 on one breath. When I reached the waters where the incident occurred, there was no gate nor were their corpses. The water was clear with no trace of blood, even though I clearly heard the gunshots in the communication channel. At that time, the surrounding water temperature had dropped below zero. It was so cold that any disturbance in the water would form ice crystals."

"I then noticed something behind me that had been silently swimming with me!" "The predator was so cautious to keep itself from being discovered by me. But the super cold seawater was  formed a thin film of ice in front of me and it reflected the light on my diving helmet. I saw its dark shadow in the thin ice, just like the totem on an ancient mural. It was slender, its long and thin tail swung slowly in the sea, like a butterfly in flight. I heard a sound and my spotlight stopped working from the cold and I was surrounded in completely darkness. I thought I was going to die. The embryo had hatched. It killed my students! It was behind me but I can't do anything about it."

"Desperation brings out courage. So I remembered that I was still holding my underwater rifle. All the special ones were handed over to the dive team. I only had an ordinary one filled with ordinary bullets. But I can't sit and wait for death. So I turned and took a shot in the dark."

"I then saw blood. I had actually hurt it!"

"How can an ordinary rifle harm a dragon? That thing was only used by divers to kill sharks and can't even kill a large shark. And you were too far down for it to work effectively." Manstein said.

"I can't answer that, but there was a strong smell of blood penetrating the seals of my helmet. I wasn't injured. The dragon was." Schneider said.

"I could clearly feel it right in front of me. I and the injured dragon are facing each other in the dark, very close. But I still couldn't see it."

"It hissed at me and in an instant my oxygen mask shattered into pieces, and the cold current rushed into my air supply carrying with it, the dragon's blood. I lost consciousness."

"My companions heard my screams and brought me back up from the water with a safety cable. When the water rushed out, I was frozen in a piece of the sea ice weighing several tons. Like a fish frozen at a market."

"Fortunately, the rescue helicopter arrived in a few minutes. After I woke up, the doctor said that I had suffered from the extreme cold. I danced with the god of death and inhaled that cold air it breathed out at minus 200 degrees. It necrotized my face, the temperature of my brain dropped and my blood was frozen. My chance of survival should have been non-existent."

"The doctor tried his best and managed to save my tongue. But I must wear an oxygen mask at all time, and change the plastic trachea every two or three years, otherwise my respiratory system will fail and I will die."

"I used to love hand rolled cigarettes, but this box of shredded tobacco is what I have left over from 11 years ago and I haven't finished smoking it. I only roll one cigarette occasionally to smoke when I am reminiscing about that period. I remember the past more clearly. I assure that every detail I said is true, because I dare not forget. These memories are painfully carved into my mind."

"We were unable to successfully capture or kill that dragon. It is still alive, hidden in the deep sea of the world, looking for opportunities to surface. A few hours after the incident we used diving robots to explore again. The fish disappeared quietly in the ice sea and no trace was found. We explored the seabed but did not find embryos or copper pillars, as if everything we experienced was just a nightmare that disappeared when we woke up. A few years later, a marine minding company found a wealth of manganese in the seabed and build an offshore mining platform. Today there are thousands of marine miners working there. Nothing supernatural happened again, until not long ago, we observed exactly the same heartbeat signal deep in the Japanese Trench."

[skipping down because they talk about other things]

"Only one in 100,00 people can evolve safely after being in contact with the blood of an elder dragon. I was actually one of the lucky ones. I was able to survive the bottom of the sea because it had already begun to increase my potential. But I am not a person who is fully able to accept dragon blood. My body is riddled with holes. strengthening me while destroying me. I have endured the pain for 11 years. The most likely in the college to turn into a Death Servitor is not Chu Zihang, but me."

"I'm not afraid to dive, but my body can't bear it. Now sitting in front of you is a dying patient. Were it not for the dragon blood's corruption, I would have died already."

"Does the principal know?"

"He knows. The college has formulated a special medical plan for me. I change my blood every year, but the dragon blood can never be cleared. I'm not sure how much longer I have left." Schneider knocked on his heart. "I have an explosive device the size of a pacemaker right next to my heart. Once I lose control, it will explode. I will suddenly fall to the ground and it will not be of any trouble to you."

"Must you be so cruel to yourself?" Manstein whispered.

"People who are cruel to others must learn how to be cruel to themselves. Otherwise they are just cowards." Schneider said slowly, "many people think that I would never perform assignments after the Greenland incident. That I would shrink back into my research. Because of that incident, I lost six students and I am the way I am now. They thought that a person who survived hell should value their life all the more."

"But I chose to be the director of the executive department. I am the last member of the Greenland team. Those young people whose lives were blooming like flowers died. And I survived. If I were a stupid coward, wouldn't that be ridiculous?"

[dweemeister]

Movie Odyssey Retrospective

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

On December 21, 1937, Hollywood’s stars and executives strode a blue carpet ushering them into a packed Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles. The chilly night air typified expectations of the film premiering that evening. This was a premiere unlike any other, one for an animated feature film. During the silent film era and first decade of talkies, animated film evolved from simple gag drawings to endowing animated characters with personalities to character-driven short films heavy on slapstick (think Looney Tunes). For Walt Disney, supervising director David Hand, and the band of underpaid animators that they oversaw, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (the first cel-animated feature film; the oldest-surviving animated feature is from 1926 and the first animated feature is now lost) was a statement of purpose – an artistic culmination stemming from the Mickey Mouse shorts and especially the Silly Symphony series. But on the night of the premiere, Walt, Hand, and the animators that were invited or purchased a ticket had no clue how the audience would receive their work. With a fortune invested in the movie’s production, “Disney’s Folly” was predicted to be financially ruinous.

The lights dimmed. The audience found themselves entranced by the opening shot of the Queen’s castle; they applauded the background art when no animation was on the screen; they laughed at the dwarfs’ antics and adored the childlike Snow White. Then came Snow White’s presumed death. As her body rested in a glass coffin and the dwarfs and woodland animals tended to her wake, Walt, Hand, and the animators looked around the theater in disbelief. The calculating Hollywood executives, the pampered actors, and the cynical journalists and film reviewers sniffed their noses, some openly weeping. “Love’s first kiss” be damned; the animators, Hand, and Walt had triumphed. Walt’s dream of making animated cinema as dramatically and emotionally impactful as any live-action film had been realized. Securing the studio’s future to the temporary relief of Roy O. Disney (who managed the studio’s finances so often overspent by Walt), Snow White began the most important and accomplished run of consecutive animated features in history. By the end of that run with Bambi (1942), seldom would any animated films in the decades that followed achieve that mix of dramatic and emotional power without condescending to its audience.

I sometimes wonder about what it must have been like to be present when the Lumière brothers’ The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1896 short film, France) premiered to an audience that, according to some accounts, panicked and dove out of the way as the train moved closer to the camera. Or when Atlanta Mayor William B. Hartsfield organized three days of celebration prior to the whites-only premiere of Gone with the Wind (1939). These are moments where the spectators could rightfully say they had never seen anything like the film they had watched. The same is true with Snow White’s premiere.

The Silly Symphony series allowed Walt’s animators to experiment with techniques that might be used in a feature film; the multiplane camera introduced during these short films provided depth and dimension, infusing backgrounds with atmosphere to influence emotion. Snow White utilized the multiplane camera to create the grandeur of the Queen’s castle and, perhaps most astonishingly, capturing Snow White’s disorientation and fear after the Huntsman – ordered by the Queen to murder the Fairest of Them All – spares her, beseeching her to flee. During Snow White’s flight, the lighting, fast-moving multiplane camera effects (blink or you will miss them), and the personification of nature as she descends deeper into the forest can be attributed to the innovations of Silly Symphonies, particularly The Old Mill (1937 short). The techniques found in this scene alone (yes, this includes those mysterious eyes in the dark and mossy trees that bear human faces) continue to influence countless animated films and television shows. It is magnificent artwork in any era, deserving to be taught frame-by-frame to those aspiring to make animated cinema.

The expenses taken to make Snow White required that character designs and movements portray only what is essential. Characters are designed and move in a way that helps them act in their scenes. With little experience in animating humans prior to Snow White, the title character (designed by Charles Thorson, who left Disney in protest for Warner Bros. to design Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd) and the Prince’s facial movements occasionally awkward. The Queen, who becomes larger than life with her flowing black and red cloak, is imposing – before and after drinking her transfiguring formula. But the best work is animation supervisor Fred Moore’s (pre-donkey Lampwick from 1940’s Pinocchio, Timothy Q. Mouse in 1941’s Dumbo) character design for the seven dwarfs. If one had no idea of each dwarf’s name – Doc, Grumpy, Sleepy, Happy, Bashful, Sneezy, and Dopey – prior to watching Snow White, their personalities could be guessed even without audio or motion. Their features would be terrifying in live-action, but the audience has already accepted their design because they have suspended their disbelief in magic mirrors and a princess who is understood by animals. Their body shapes and exaggerated facial features (nobody in real life has a nose like Grumpy; no drowsy person’s eyelids stay that half-shut like Sleepy’s) make each dwarf distinct, allowing the audience to recognize which dwarf is which without much confusion.

The famous “Heigh-Ho” sets this table early. When animator Shamus Culhane (a Bray Productions animator during the silent era; an uncredited co-director on 1941’s Mr. Bug Goes to Town from Fleischer Studios) was assigned the sequence where the dwarfs march home, it took him and his assistants a half-year to complete the animation. With direction from Hand and Moore, Culhane was directed to have the dwarfs march to the tempo of the musical number, but to bestow each with their own physicality. For a moment that lasts less than fifty seconds within a song, Culhane and his assistants’ painstaking labors set the standard of granular detail and individuality that the animating teams working on Snow White took upon themselves. Snow White’s seven dwarfs are brilliant comic actors, prancing in front of gorgeous watercolor backgrounds. The character design practices implemented in Snow White were improved on each entry of Disney’s Golden Age (which I demarcate as Snow White to Bambi). This development saw the early Disney animated features – along with the best Technicolor films of the 1930s and ‘40s such as The Wizard of Oz (1939) – become instrumental in setting Western cinema’s color coding, where characters and backgrounds express ideas and emotions in conjunction with character and production design.

As Snow White is a fairy tale, so it has the logic of one. In a time where filmmakers and audiences obsess over plot rather than character-driven emotion and themes, viewers could be taken aback by how abruptly Snow White changes moods and the title character’s behavior. Snow White has been ridiculed by some feminist critics, but I find that many of their justified concerns about the character – from her unprompted cleaning of the dwarfs’ house and her pining for a handsome man to whisk her away upholding gendered roles – are too often based on the assumption that she is a woman and that this film was intended for children. That is incorrect on both counts. Snow White in the original Grimm fairytale is a child, and in Disney’s version she has been thankfully aged up to (or is on the cusp of becoming) an adolescent. Walt made a film appealing to people of any age, hoping that its humor and pathos could be accessible to all.

Snow White, a young girl who has known nothing but submission to her stepmother, the Queen, is quite naïve, knowing little of the dangers outside the castle walls. Her stepmother’s obsession of physical beauty has influenced how she thinks, especially as she seeks personal validation from others (be it the Prince or the dwarfs). In the context in which she was raised, her passivity is understandable. Even if that means Snow White is a passive, unambitious character, her gentleness, which remains after the trauma with the Huntsman, is what makes her the fairest of them all. Characters act the way they do because of her compassion. Snow White, with her romantic longings, probably should not be emulated, but she sets the template that the most fascinating Disney animated heroines have built on.

One of the common themes in fairy tales is the assumption of increasing responsibilities as an individual matures. Though far more obvious in Pinocchio and Bambi (the latter is not a fairy tale), this dynamic also exists in Snow White. With the Queen’s physical and sexual withering, it is Snow White’s time, the film implies, to become an adult – adulthood arrives at differing times among human cultures. Her interactions with the dwarfs serve as a kind of rehearsal for adulthood, effectuated the moment the Prince revives her. These adult responsibilities are communicated through the gendered lens of mainstream 1930s filmmakers. When a female character is the star in a Disney animated canon film, how these responsibilities are portrayed and related to the protagonist depend on how each film’s writers understood gendered roles of their respective eras – the submissiveness of the 1930s; the corporate (in the negative sense), sloganeering feminism of the 2010s; and the rare exceptions. No matter the Disney animated film, those themes of one’s duties in the natural order are omnipresent across the canon. Such lessons are not only for children. Don’t let those dismissive of animated cinema (especially if they think that film history can be written without the Disney animated canon) tell you otherwise.

Musical films became possible after the introduction of synchronized sound, which heralded the end of the silent film era. In the early talkie years, studios – looking to experiment with sound – saturated theaters with musicals. Across the 1930s, the popularity of the genre rose and fell. Snow White arrived at a low tide for musicals, with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’ partnership nearing its end and Shirley Temple, though still a massive draw, approaching her teenage years. Yet 1937 proved one of the most important years in musical film history, as those that adored Snow White linked animated features with musicals (the fact that Snow White boasted the world’s first soundtrack album for a film also helped). It is not coincidental that when Fleischer Studios set forth on Gulliver’s Travels (1939) – distributed by Paramount – as their response to Snow White, that film was also a musical. This link has proven resilient to the present day – pointless and unimaginative metatextual scoffing aside.

The creators of this early Disney sound are composer Frank Churchill (numerous Disney shorts and features from 1930 until Bambi) and lyricist Larry Morey (select shorts and Bambi) on the songs and composers Paul J. Smith (Pinocchio and 1954’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) and Leigh Harline (Pinocchio, Mr. Bug Goes to Town) for the score. Despite the audio quality showing its age and the somewhat limited orchestra, the collective musical work is sublime, representing one of the greatest musical movie soundtracks as well as one of the best film scores of all time.

After a grand overture from Smith and Harline, “I’m Wishing/One Song”, considered a single song with two halves, is sung by Snow White (Adriana Caselotti and her distinctive high-pitched voice that is perfect for the character), then the Prince (Henry Stockwell). Simple are the lyrics. In a world of love at first sight, we learn so much about Snow White, the Prince, and the Queen in just three minutes. Delicate strings and a subtle harp line reflect Snow White’s longing and the Prince’s passion (listen closely to the score from start to finish and you’ll hear a rare film score where the harpist does plenty of emotional heavy lifting). The second half, “One Song” introduces us all too briefly to Stockwell’s beautiful singing voice – a type of voice that would all but disappear from popular music after the 1930s ended – and lyrics that, to reiterate, seem simple but are tremendously evocative.

One song I have but one song One song Only for you

One heart Tenderly beating Ever entreating Constant and true

Other musical highlights appear as Snow White flees into the forest (a dynamic example of action scoring in a Disney animated film), as well as her accompaniment through the forest by the woodland animals with, “A Smile and a Song”. Soon after, “Whistle While You Work” appears as the film is barely thirty minutes in. “Heigh-Ho” follows immediately after that. Snow White is packed with hit songs that have gained pop culture cachet outside the film. The weakest song in Snow White might be “Dwarf’s Washing Song”, which adds nothing to the dwarfs’ characterization but exemplifies how committed the musical team are in supporting the animators’ use of slapstick. When articulating the Queen’s villainy and second act transformation, Smith and Harline depend on string tremolos and churning strings and brass to reflect her whirlwind of fury.

Snow White’s signature song speaks to her nascent romantic desires. In the film’s greater subtext, it is also about her coming of age, the end of childhood, to take her place in what she believes is the natural order of things. “Someday My Prince Will Come”, in a slow three-quarter time evoking a Strauss waltz, allows Caselotti to breathe. Listen to Caselotti’s musical phrasing. In each luftpause, Churchill’s music and Morey’s lyrics allow the lines to rise and fall between two words, imbuing each bar with torrents of feeling. The same thing exists in “I’m Wishing/One Song”, to breathtaking results. “Someday My Prince Will Come” is popular among jazz musicians due to its chord structure, becoming a jazz standard when a Jewish band named the Ghetto Swingers, taking inspiration in the song’s hope for happier days ahead, performed the song at Theresienstadt concentration camp in 1943.

No one composes songs like “Someday My Prince Will Come” or “I’m Wishing/One Song” in films anymore – yes, I realize how trite that statement is – as modern composers and lyricists working in musical films/theater oftentimes try to fill out a meter with a repeated lyric (which, to my ears, is an admission of creative surrender) or, more interestingly to yours truly, rely more on ballad-like tunes. The voices of Caselotti and Stockwell lend well to the compositions they sing – reminiscent of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy’s musical movies at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in the 1930s. The partnership of Churchill, Morey, Smith, and Harline produced a stunning musical gift to audiences, setting the Disney musical sound that would last through the mid-century.

As the attendees of Snow White’s premiere left in jubilation, few could have imagined how complete Disney’s victory would be. Charlie Chaplin extolled the film as surpassing even his wildest expectations; esteemed director Cecil B. DeMille expressed his desire to make films like Snow White. Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, who founded Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies for Warner Bros. and were currently Disney’s rivals at MGM, sent a telegram: “Our pride in the production is scarcely less than yours must be and we are grateful to you for fulfilling an ambition which many of us have long held for our industry.” In Europe, the admiration was just as vocal. Snow White’s native Germany received Disney’s adaptation ecstatically; the nation’s then-leader – soon to set Europe and North Africa aflame – considered it a great cinematic achievement. In the Soviet Union, the state media praised the dwarfs for reflecting communist ideals; outside of the Kremlin’s propagandists, no less than Sergei Eisenstein – the director of the most infamous massacre scene in cinematic history – proclaimed Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as the greatest film ever made.

After cinemagoers made Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs the highest-grossing film of all time when adjusting for inflation, Walt Disney, David Hand, and their crewmembers knew that the world’s expectations for animated feature films had been raised to unimaginable heights. The studio – soon to be housed in a Burbank headquarters designed and constructed thanks to the profits from Snow White – continued to make short films including Mickey Mouse and friends, but short films would no longer be its focus. The Disney animators soon set themselves to work on four history-altering films: a wooden boy who learns selflessness and integrity, a “concert feature”, a pachyderm who triumphs because of his difference, and the growth of the Young Prince of the Forest. Despite the financial windfall of Snow White, Disney did not distribute their own films – RKO distributed all Disney (which did not become a major studio until the 1990s) films until 1956 – and Snow White was the only Golden Age Disney film that was an immediate financial success upon release (the others would recoup their costs after 1945).

During Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ release and in the years immediately after, the world was shattered by violence and remade. Like its fellow great films of the 1930s, Snow White provided solace to those seeking escape from global forces beyond their control. But few of its contemporaries could be said to have been as influential. Almost every animated film – no matter its origin, style, or year released – owes something to Snow White. Animated film has existed since the nineteenth century and there were animated features before its release. Cinema is one of the youngest of artforms, but the mythos of Snow White does not look likely to change. It is the beginning of animated cinema as we know it.

My rating: 10/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was upgraded from an initial score of 9/10. It is the one hundred and sixtieth feature-length or short film I have rated a ten on imdb.

This is the fourteenth Movie Odyssey Retrospective. Movie Odyssey Retrospectives are reviews on films I had seen in their entirety before this blog’s creation or films I failed to give a full-length write-up to following the blog’s creation. Previous Retrospectives include Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Dumbo (1941), and Oliver! (1968).

NOTE: This is the 700th full-length Movie Odyssey review I have published on tumblr.

[diloph]

Pardon me, but it seemed from some of your posts on KOTM that you didn't like Mark Russell that much. I know he was a cliche everyman type, but what exactly made him any worse than others in these movies?

I apologise if this isn’t my most coherent answer. I’m a little bit stressed at the moment, trying to finish the next chapter of IIID and create relevant, if poorly assembled memes before the Invader Zim movie is released.

To be honest, some of it is a bit tongue-in cheek. Making fun of the most visible character in the film, considering that he hates Godzilla with a burning passion, is just a little bit of fun. It’s like how I refer to Rick Stanton with disdain sheerly because he’s somewhat based on Rick Sanchez, who I don’t dislike either.

The film isn’t about Mark: King of the Fathers anyway, so if I completely despised him, I could just zone out during his scenes, or skip them when the DVD comes out.

But… some of it wasn’t so jokey. He’s still an okayish protagonist, I’ve got nothing against the actor himself and his acting is fine. Still, Mark was loud, abrasive and hated Godzilla; you know, things that grate on my nerves when it comes to a 2+ hour Godzilla movie and that made the character… trying.

We’ve had them before, but Godzilla was generally more villainous and obviously, we feel sympathy and camaraderie with him as the title character and we are here to see him do cool things. Having a human protagonist who hates our cool monster protagonist makes sense in universe, but ultimately, it’s not what we’re here for. We can tune that out.

As for what makes me dislike Mark… for starters, he’s kind of a prick. I once saw somebody describe him as the type of guy who thinks that if he speaks loudly enough, shouts enough, he’ll get his way. I can’t say I blame them, in that first meeting with MONARCH, he’s downright hostile.

He’s also, for whatever reason, the guy that everybody turns to in the crisis. He might have a background in bioacoustics like his ex-wife and animal behaviour besides, but apparently nobody else at MONARCH is capable of doing things without the express instructions or approval of everyman Indiana Jones. Military procedures, common sense, the desperate plan to revive Godzilla; everybody seems to defer to him really quickly.

It took me out of the movie. I understand that he’s meant to be our relatable protagonist, but it’s a little bit jarring and it happens multiple times. Mark is either issuing instructions or is along where he shouldn’t be, given control of a situation where by all rights he shouldn’t have any other than spur of the moment hero stuff.

It’s like he believes that nobody has any common sense and frustratingly, a couple of times the narrative agrees with him or at least proves his actions right. For example, when Colonel Foster tries to brief MONARCH on the actions of Jonah and the terrorists, he shoots down her theory and proceeds to go on a rant as to why we should Destroy All Monsters.

He’s right, as Jonah wants to free King Ghidorah, but he has this frustrating “protagonist only” habit of noticing threads that other characters really should (nobody seems to notice that the Titans are attacking capital cities or at least very densely populated areas until he points it out), then speaks about it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

Which when MONARCH is meant to be staffed with scientists of multiple disciplines veers back into the incredulous. I can suspend disbelief when it comes to giant monsters, I don’t excuse people not seeing what’s in front of them.

And as for the moments where he really shouldn’t be issuing instructions, take a look at when Rodan is freed by Emma Russell. Serizawa instantly defers to him (I think that Mark might have been his senior before he left MONARCH and BOY do I want to talk about that plan later on) to cook up a plan instead of… himself (Director of MONARCH, or at least I assume so) or again, Foster, who controls the planes and men he wants to send at the giant pterodactyl that just shrugged off a molten lava flow.

Given his characterisation as an angry, driven father who is desperately looking out for his family after being bereaved by monsters and is butting heads with the scientists at MONARCH, I think it was an attempt by Legendary to recreate Joe Brody. Bryan Cranston’s character in the previous film was killed off too early and was featured in a lot of the trailers, giving a wonderful performance. When he died to be replaced by his son, Ford, it caused a backlash as a result.

Mark being that angry, snarky character definitely shares some similarities. But while Joe was a crusader for the truth and more than a little bit obsessive, he was trying to pierce the veil as to why his wife died, without realising that it drove his son away from him. He was trying to reveal this great coverup to the world and spent the rest of his life doing so with such conviction that he appeared crazy.

Mark… doesn’t have this driving force. He lives in a post-San Francisco universe. Monsters Exist and everybody knows it.

Now, that’s not to say he doesn’t have reasons for acting as he did. He lost his son and has driven a wedge in between his family via his drinking problem (but let’s face it, compared to unleashing the Titans by starting off with Space Dragon Satan, he’s taken it comparatively well) but he acts as if he’s the only person who has ever lost something to Godzilla and the rest of the monsters.

Even when that happens to characters in the film, Mark still acts like that and it doesn’t make him look like the grim, determined hero, it just makes him look like an obnoxious dick. It isn’t his way of coping with the trauma of loss, he just… does it.

Part of me does get why he’s annoyed and angry with MONARCH’s attitude towards the Titans. He’s correct that they’ve been keeping secrets, dangerous ones at that, but equally the kaiju are living things. They’re dangerous and unpredictable, yes, but MONARCH have been taking precautions; killswitches are present in even the supposedly benevolent Titan’s chambers like Mothra and as far as they know, all of the Titans bar Godzilla are dormant and those that aren’t are kept in check by him. Had the Ghidorah Crisis never arose, we may never have seen any other Titans for the rest of human history.

But he treats everybody around him like an idiot with little to no prompting. Mark is brought on as a consultant and he then proceeds to dominate the scene, either through his decisions in universe or the part written for him out of it. He gets the last word, the last say on a plan or a witty remark or whatever.

And some of that costs lives. Actually, no, a LOT of it costs lives.

So, to start off, when the operation in Antarctica goes tits up, Mark grabs a handgun and goes into Outpost 32 by himself (though what he and the central nervous system of MONARCH were doing on the ground and not supervising from the Argo remains to be seen, but I digress). He stops Jonah and the terrorists on the walkway… screwing up Foster’s attempt to take down Jonah, forcing her to snipe his henchman in order to save Mark’s life.

This leads to King Ghidorah waking up. Not going to extend him a great deal of blame for this one, as with a sniper present, Emma or Madison would have been forced (or “forced” in the former’s case) to retrieve the detonator and the Six-Eyed, Six-Horned, Flying-Golden-People-Eater would have gotten loose regardless. Hell, I spotted clues that he was gearing up to wake up without Emma Russell’s help.

In a narrative sense, its his character that also sets up Vivienne Graham’s death. If he hadn’t been stuck in the tangle of wires and metal aboard the Osprey, she would never have needed to stay behind to help and subsequently got singled out by King Ghidorah.

I’d definitely agree that this is more of a personal thing on my part, as I’d wanted to see more of Vivienne’s character thanks to her actress’, Sally Hawkins’ work in The Shape Of Water and that in the previous film. But in a way, he is still sort of responsible for her being written out and replaced with the vastly less interesting replacement characters of Rick and Mor- erm, Sam.

That said, I know that Ghidorah is 100% to blame in universe. He killed her because he was a bastard and I wanted to him to be a bastard, so the monkey’s paw curled a finger there, so that’s egg on my face. It certainly did wonders for establishing him as a monstrous villain who we love to hate.

I’m not wholly unsympathetic to Mark. Like I said before, the pain of loss over the 2014 attacks hurt him badly and the film doesn’t shy away from this. Mark’s descent into alcoholism is noted by both himself and his family as a rough time for all involved, part of the reason he left MONARCH in the first place. Having his daughter and ex-wife seemingly kidnapped by dangerous ecoterrorists who plan to unleash giant monsters to mass-cull humanity also wears his patience thin, as you might expect it.

But he keeps this… horrible attitude throughout the movie. The world is literally going to shit, another monster is about to be unleashed and he asks if MONARCH have had enough common sense to evacuate the town of Isla Del Mara and if Rodan has had a cutesy name all picked out from mythology for him ahead of time.

Fuck me, if I was Serizawa, having just lost my protégé and quite a few well-meaning soldiers who were trying to rescue somebody who turned out to be a massive ecoterrorist nutjob, I would have floored him. There is a time and a place for snarky comments and it is not after at least twenty people you worked with are dead and BILLIONS MORE MAY FOLLOW.

But now, one of the points that really got me disliking Mark Russell follows here. The scenes that start at Isla Del Mara and the luring of Rodan to King Ghidorah, all the way up until the detonation of the Oxygen Destroyer.

Rodan emerges from the volcano and asides from spreading his wings and roaring, doesn’t do much. He spots the incoming Argo and its entourage and narrows his eyes. Uh oh! Surely, at this point, the dastardly destruction god would leap from his perch in an attempt to chase this challenger from his territory?

Um… no. No, actually, he stays put.

Now, I get that Rodan might not have stayed that way for very long. From the ensuing chase scene, I can gather that the Monsterverse’s version of Rodan is a bit of a dick, but he still didn’t start the fight.

Instead, what happens is that Serizawa asks Mark what they should do and Mark comes up with the plan to get Rodan to fight King Ghidorah in the hopes that one will kill the other and that would at least solve one of their problems.

Sound in theory, yes, but it is not sound in execution. At all.

So, that little town that Mark kicked up quite a fuss about? As you might have noticed, it’s lying between Rodan and the Argo and is part of the reason that the big ol’ bird should be lured away, to complete the evacuation.

Mark’s brilliant plan has the jets surrounding the Argo to blast Rodan and 180 the superplane in order to get him to chase… without factoring in THE TOWN BETWEEN THEM AT ALL.

I get King Ghidorah was closing in. I get that Rodan is a wild, unpredictable animal who could go off the chain at any moment. But there was absolutely no time to get the ARGO to move a little ways around the island before beginning the attack? At worst, Rodan would make a dive for them anyway, but that’s what the jets are sent in to distract him are for. To grab his attention and then lure him to the Argo, which would then take him to Tricephalopathic Terror Town anyway.

As a result, Rodan utterly OBLITERATES Isla Del Mara simply by passing over it and so many of the people they were trying to evacuate die a horribly pointless death. It never once passes his mind (or let’s not beat him down solely) or that of anybody aboard the Argo that a creature with wings that size that can fly would generate an unbelievable amount of force simply by flapping once to create lift? He’s also dripping lava, so even if the hurricane level winds that follow him weren’t an issue, having something with that amount of residual molten rock passing overhead doesn’t seem like a healthy thing to expose Isla Del Mara to.

Further dislike ensues when one of the miraculously surviving Ospreys issues a mayday during the Rodan/Ghidorah fight and the cargo doors are jammed. Mark the Hero leaps up with gritted teeth and desire to get things done, asking the way to the hangar. After all, he’s had miraculous problem solving abilities so far, why not?

“Which way to the hangar?” he asks.

Sam, a character who I’m even less fond of, stands up and offers to show him the way. Fairly brave, considering that the Argo is rattling like a leaf in a thunderstorm as two daikaiju battle nearby. I found the character annoying and sort of… pointless, but I admire that bit of bravery.

“Anybody else?” Mark asks, making a face.

Dude. The man just offered to help you and people need that help. Get off your high horse, swallow your pride and just go without comment. God knows how many people your stupid plan just got killed.

The two run to the hangar and a crewman explains the door is jammed. Mark decides to drop a hanging Osprey onto the doors to get them off… without suggesting it to the crewman. He just fucking goes for the buttons, expecting his usual “my plan will work” attitude to succeed.

At last, one of Mark’s harebrained schemes is met with reasonable resistance for the first time and the crewman attempts to wrestle him off, before Mark Is Proven Right Again. But even suggesting it, getting a refusal and then doing it is more heroic than just going for the damn buttons like a lunatic.

He would have looked damn stupid if the weight of the Osprey wasn’t enough to open the doors and it instead just blocked them. The falling aircraft also almost hits the airborne one with its civilian payload as it also wasn’t warned, so again, he took an unnecessary risk that came off lucky because he couldn’t find the time to say “I have an idea”.

To round out the trifecta of what makes me dislike Mark in these scenes is what happens when the rest of the scene plays out:

Gravity Beams spew from Ghidorah’s mouth and blast Rodan into the ocean, defeated. Not satisfied with just this victory, the Golden Demise locks his terrible gaze on the Argo and with a sickening, gleeful cackle, closes in on the plane and its freshly arrived civilians.

All are stunned into a horrified silence. Even Mark, who has been having Unreasonable Protagonist Luck up until this point, bricks it.

“Oh, God.” he pleads.

God answers and he erupts from the ocean.

With a deafening roar, the mighty form of Godzilla slams into King Ghidorah with the force of a collapsing mountain. His dynamic, mid-air leap is enough to drag the foul hydra into the depths of the ocean and Godzilla proceeds to hold him there.

Ghidorah attempts to resurface and fly away, or at least lash out at the Argo in spite, but there Godzilla is again, yanking the head back underwater, biting and rolling like some mountainous crocodile, pinning the alien dragon under his weight.

Unbeknownst to our hero (Godzilla, obviously), the military has deployed the terrible Oxygen Destroyer in an attempt to Destroy All Monsters, giving only a cursory warning to the Argo to get out of there and fast. Mark makes his way onto the bridge and is informed of the decision.

“But he… he just saved us!” says Mark.

No, wait, he didn’t say that. Hold on…

“They… they didn’t even let us get clear?” says Mark.

Uh, no, sorry, trying again.

“Well, it’s not the worst idea.” he says.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUCK. YOU.

I get that you’re mad with Godzilla. I get that as the title character with a long history, we root for the kaiju more than anybody else. I get that he took your son from you, but twice… TWICE NOW, he has saved you and the people around you with PERFECTLY TIMED ENTRANCES. Even if it was just a coincidence, I’d be at least slightly more forgiving of the lion that killed my brother by accident if it jumped in front of a tiger that was slaughtering people left and right before it leapt at me.

Twice.

There’s not even a hesitant “oh, but he did help us”. Not even a shocked disbelief that the military has a weapon that they think will kill not just one, but two (because I’m willing to bet he thought Rodan was dead) Titans, much less them firing it without warning right on top of their position. Just a “well, fuck ‘em” shrug.

Godzilla nearly dies, Ghidorah seizes control of the Titans and sets about starting the apocalypse. Finally, Serizawa says what I’ve been thinking for quite a while and says “Well, it looks like you got your wish, Mark.” with a mixture of anger, sadness and disgust.

I could go on; the Titans are rampaging and Mark goes to leave Castle Bravo to strike out on his own and rescue Madison, despite the fact that he knows that Emma will probably try to keep her safe in whatever secure hidey hole she and the Kaiju Cultists have holed up in. In the novel, he’s outright going to steal one (also his first instinct when confronted by an alpha wolf in the novel, is to blow it away with a sidearm, before realising that’s absolutely callous and horrible and tries submissive behaviour tactics instead. So hey, Movie Mark is a slightly better person than Book Mark).

Mark suggests the nuke plan and goes down with Serizawa, Chen and Rick Sanch- Stanton. Everything goes sideways and he doesn’t even fucking blink when Serizawa decides that somebody’s gotta do it manually.

Back aboard the Argo? How does he break the news to Sam, the only member of the MONARCH team that wasn’t there? Shoving Serizawa’s notebook into his chest, saying that they better not screw this up and not even fucking pausing to tell him what happened.

Mark’s self-centred attitude keeps coming back and it gets people killed. My second time viewing this film, during the two confrontation scenes with Godzilla, I wasn’t getting the “There is a massive threat in my territory!” vibe from the King of the Monsters, I was getting a “Who the hell is this asshole and why does he hate me so much?” feeling from Our Glorious Boy.

It’s a recurring theme too. Mark experiences loss, but he feels as if his loss is the only one that matters. Both he and Emma do this to Madison and it makes me mad that in trying to cope with their own loss, they shunned the one remaining child they had left. By the time they realise that, the world is literally about to end and they’re still bickering at one another.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m very vocally critical of Mark and Emma’s treatment of Madison. Both she and Mark decide to put their own ways of coping with their son’s death (constructing a device to allow for the orchestration of mass human death and convincing oneself that it’s the correct course of action/drinking booze) above Madison’s own well being.

When the chips are down, of course, they care for her and ultimately risk their lives to save her, but… congratulations for the bare minimum parenting, guys? Physically, they want her out of harm, but mentally she should either fall into line with Emma’s thinking or be there for Mark.

Godzilla and Mothra feel more like her bloody parents in this film (Godzilla saving her life when she was facing down the literal fucking devil and Mothra’s gentle interaction at the temple and reviving her from death when she appeared to have died in the novel) than the other Russells do. Both fill the archetypes of “Father” (tough, stern, but ultimately your protector) and “Mother” (gentle, nurturing and wonderful) better than the people do.

…yeah, alright, that one is a stretch, but I had that idea a while ago and I wanted to put it to paper.

In short, I’m mad at Sad Mad Dad because his character shoves the waaaaaaaay more interesting, compelling and sympathetic characters of Serizawa, Graham and his own daughter (and the actual goddamned non-monster hero of the movie), Madison out of the way of main character-ness, just so we can have somebody who is about as pleasant to interact with as a cactus.

King of the Monsters is a film that has a lot of sacrifice in it, good and bad. Emma wants to sacrifice most of humanity to save the planet. Serizawa sacrifices himself to save Godzilla and thus, the planet. Mothra sacrifices her own life to save Godzilla from King Ghidorah and so does Emma, to save her family and as redemption for her sins.

Even Madison was also ready to at least risk her own life to distract the Titans and King Ghidorah if it would even slightly disrupt his efforts to conquer the planet. She goes against terrorists, her own mother and a demonic, nigh-omnipotent being of malicious intent and faces him down with a defiant roar of her own when it looks like the end.

But Mark doesn’t sacrifice. He wants his daughter back, but he never takes a hit. Other people die for him, as a result of him and he doesn’t even recognise it. The world is at stake and he keeps his focus on his own desires, ignorant to the people around him because only his loss matters.

He might not be the genocidal monster in the film that Emma was, that Jonah and of course, Ghidorah certainly were. But he has a very narrow and dispassionate world-view and outside of certain cartoons with comedic circumstances, I don’t care much for that at all.

TL;DR: Madison should have been the central protagonist, because I like her more.

[brevoorthistoryofcomics]

Today, there are thousands of books on vintage comics, both collections of material from decades ago or literary tomes discussing those works, how they were created, what impact they had and what they meant. But in the 1970s, the landscape for such volumes was exceedingly scarce. So it was positively an event when a new book about comics showed up at a local bookstore, And that’s exactly what happened this particular Saturday at the Smithhaven Mall when I first laid eyes on the just-released SHAZAM FROM THE 40s TO THE 70s. The book cost a whopping $12.95, but somehow my father agreed to buy it for me.

It had been years since the SUPERMAN and BATMAN volumes in this series of hardcovers had come out. (I owned the BATMAN volume, and read the SUPERMAN volume by taking it out of the local library) I presume that the success of the Saturday morning live action SHAZAM television series coupled with the overall nostalgia boom (plus DC making aggressive efforts to include the character in its licensing programs) led to the creation of this edition. At the time, the readers of Captain Marvel’s adventures in the 1940s and 1950s would have been the right age to have been prime targets for purchasing.

Regardless of how it happened, this book was a treasure trove of prime Marvel Family material. It opened with the very first Captain Marvel story, which I had already read in the FAMOUS 1ST EDITION Treasury that reprinted it,, then moved into the origin of Sivana, which I’d also read. From there, the origin stories of both Captain Marvel Jr. and Mary Marvel were reprinted--they had both previously shown up in a SHAZAM 100-Page Spectacular, but I hadn’t seen them there. And from there, the doors blew open to showcase a bunch of material that hadn’t seen the light of day since its original printings.

It must be said that, once they’d worked all of the kinks out, the Captain Marvel stories of the Golden Age were much more imaginative and much better written than a lot of what was done for other publishers, including a lot of the contemporary DC material. Much of this was the doing of writer Otto Binder, who once he came on board as a writer of Marvel Family adventures wound up writing something close to 53% of all of the material ever produced for the characters, a staggering achievement of high-quality output. Once Fawcett shut down production on the mighty Marvels, Binder wound up moving over to DC, where he plied his imagination in expanding the mythos of the Captain’s arch-rival Superman.

This was a grand collection of stories, assembled by DC’s reprint maestro and full-on Captain Marvel fanboy E. Nelson Bridwell. Nelson was, at the time, writing the ongoing SHAZAM comic book series, but he had been an avid reader of the character in his youth, and his introduction gives a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the history of the Big Red Cheese, and a glimpse at how the character was being produced in the contemporary 1970s.

The 1940s section of the book was the largest, given that there were no Captain Marvel stories produced during the 1960s as a result of DC’s lawsuit against Fawcett Publications and the good Captain as an infringement on Superman. This section included both the first and final chapters of the 25-part Monster Society of Evil serial that ran in CAPTAIN MARVEL ADVENTURES for close to two years (CMA was so popular during this period that it was published every three weeks.) It would be years before I’d get to read the balance of this seminal story once it was finally collected in a slipcased hardcover in the very late 1980s. (Recent plans to reprint it have fallen through, likely due to its wartime depiction of Japanese characters, to say nothing of the way it handles African-Americans.)

The book included the one and only Golden Age appearance of Black Adam, the proto-Marvel who had become corrupted by his powers, and whom Goeff Johns turned into a major character in the modern day. (Geoff himself didn’t realize that Black Adam had made only one appearance in the original Captain Marvel run until having written him for some time.) Rounding out the cast, teh first two stories of Mister tawny, the talking, intelligent tiger-man, were also included, as was a Justice Society-style tale in which the Marvel Family battles their rivals in the Sivana Family in a story that spans five chapters, with the Marvels splitting up throughout the middle and only uniting in the final chapter to defeat their opponents

Moving into the section on the 1950s, the crisp and polished artwork of C. C. Beck is in evidence, backed up by Pete Costanza and Kurt Schaffenberger among others. The Captain Marvel stories during this period had deceptively simple-seeming artwork, but it was always beautifully composed, animated, and told the story with fluidity and style. The fact that most of this volume was run in black and white was actually a plus for these stories, which were ideally suited for black and white reproduction.

The very end of the tome jumps to the relative present of the 1970s and DC’s attempts to revive the character in the modern day. Bridwell is canny about which stories he chooses to represent here--it’s a good assortment of the best efforts of the modern DC team, including artwork by Dave Cockrum and Bob Oskner. But even as a kid, I could see the difference here. The revival stories lacked the authenticity of the originals--they were too staged, too put-on, as though most of the creators involved, while they might be able to suspend their disbelief at Superman or Batman, weren’t able to treat Captain Marvel and his ilk with the same sense of verisimilitude. It was no wonder that the revival of SHAZAM ultimately failed--somehow, the spirit of Captain Marvel wasn’t as easy to capture as it may have appeared. But in any event, I adored this volume, probably my favorite of the set, and read it to bits.

[janephillipsblog]

One Yellow Rabbit’s 33rd Annual High Performance Rodeo

This year I decided to sign up as a volunteer, mostly as an usher, for the High Performance Rodeo which is a three week long international theatre festival, hosted by One Yellow Rabbit. I takes place here in Calgary every January and this year it was the 33rd year. I signed up for a lot of shows right away as the spots fill up fast.

Just before the festival began, I attended a volunteer session. Though I was late (my acting class ran over time), it was great as they went over all the shows (I found more that I wanted to see – somehow I had missed that Scott Thompson of Kids in the Hall was part of the line up), gave out door prizes (I was not lucky that day) and there were complimentary drinks and snacks (including wine and beer).

My first usher shift was on the second day of the festival, January 10, and was for Pearle Harbour’s Chautauqua. It was sold out, so I almost did not get to see the show, but in the end there was room for the volunteers. Billed as “Part Cabaret, Part Tent Revival, All Drag”, this show was a unique, intimate and interactive experience created and performed by Justin Miller as Pearle Harbour, an all-American gal and World War II stewardess. I loved its originality and the pace of the show kept the audience engaged throughout. I was so engaged that when I left the tent, I forgot I was an usher with a duty to pick up empty cups around the seats. Oops!  

My second usher shift was on January 11 and was for How to Self-Suspend, written and performed by Mx Katie Sly. The piece promised to be provocative, thought-provoking and boundary pushing. We ushers were told that people may need to leave the space at some point (a few did) due to the subject matter dealing with trauma, abuse, pain, and sex. How to Self-Suspend is a performed memoir following Mx Sly escaping an abusive childhood in Montreal through to the discovery of their sexuality, gender-fluidity and eventually wholeness within themselves in the rope bondage scenes of Toronto and Vancouver. Mx Sly is a compelling storyteller who I found very likeable, which for me made the difficult subject matter easier to handle.

After a four day break I returned to the Rodeo to usher for Live Your Prime, with Damien Frost by the One Yellow Rabbit ensemble featuring Denise Clarke, Andy Curtis and John Murrell. This was a very fun and light-hearted show about an older man who had rose to fame starting with his book “Live Your Prime” and who now tours the country as a self-help guru with his son, Damien Jr. and wife, Darlene, a family who on the surface look like they have life figured out, but perhaps all is not what it seems. I loved the staging and the limited use of three, brightly coloured armchairs to create the various scenes. At the end of the festival, there were books for sale, including a lot of scripts by Canadian playwrights. With too many plays to choose from, I stuck this “non-fiction”. I bought copies of “Theatre of the Unimpressed” by Jordan Tannahill and Denise Clarke’s “The Big Secret Book”. After the festival, I got the chance to attend a talk at Poole Lawyers with Denise Clarke and so I got it signed there. Denise’s talk was about the book, Damien Frost, her life and One Yellow Rabbit which was very interesting and inspiring. My friend Denise (too many Denises!) and I had a nice chat with her afterwards too.

Crawlspace, written and performed from Karen Hines, was brilliant. The play is an account of her true- life real estate nightmare in 2006, after she purchased a tiny house in Toronto. Throughout the play, I empathized with Karen on many levels. Having worked as a REALTOR® now for nearly 12 years, I know that a real estate transaction really is all about caveat emptor (buyer beware). I have my own dead animals in houses stories (luckily not in my own residence) and I know the stressfulness of having to deal with pests and problems with the home (in my case, due to my own neglect). I also completely felt for Karen as she described how the home put her tens of thousands of dollars in debt and the traps that credit card companies created with their ever-increasing credit limits. Very inspiring and to think I almost didn’t get to see this play: first because the usher shift I signed up for was cancelled, then I was put on as an ambassador but this week warned that because it was sold out I would probably not get to see the play. I ended up doing coat check but there was room for all the ushers to watch the show so I was thrilled.

My fifth show to volunteer at was God’s Lake presented by A Castlereigh Theatre Project and Sage Theatre at the Pumphouse Theatres. The play, a work of documentary theatre, featured four actors playing members of the remote fly-in community of God’s Lake Narrows, Manitoba, following the murder of a young 15-year-old girl. The script is taken verbatim from actual interviews conducted in the community in 2017. I found this a raw and emotional piece and through the words of the community, it brought an understanding of the complex issues of life on the reserve and perhaps began to answer questions as to how a First Nations community can be torn apart by the cold-blooded murder of one of its youth. At each performance of a show during the High Performance Rodeo, a territorial acknowledgement of the Treaty 7 region is given and for this one, it was by a First Nations Elder. The performance ended with an Honour Song in which we all rose to our feet and then a short speech by the Elder indicating that as with a ceremony it is time to leave those negative thoughts with the Grandfathers and Grandmothers.

The sixth show for me was bug presented by the Manidoons Collective, written and performed by Yolanda Bonnell. The performance took place at the West Village Theatre in Sunalta and I loved how the stage was set up as if in a gathering with the audience all around. This one-woman performance was about indigenous women navigating addiction and inter-generational trauma. I found Yolanda Bonnell to be an extremely compelling and unique storyteller. At times, the story she wove was in places hard to watch and all emotional, however not without humour.  

Into the final week of the Rodeo and the first show of the week for me was Café Daughter by Kenneth T. Williams, presented by Alberta Theatre Projects, starring Tiffany Ayalik and directed by Lisa C. Ravensbergen. Inspired by the early life of The Honourable Dr. Lillian Eva Quan Dyck, Café Daughter is a coming of age story about a young woman of mixed heritage (part Cree, part Chinese) growing up in Canada in the 1950s and 1960s. Filled with humour, though in parts it was emotional, I felt that this show was amazing and so well done. Tiffany Ayalik, as the sole performer, commanded the stage not only as the main storyteller, Yvette Wong, but also as all the other characters in Yvette’s life. Her physicality was awesome and I was in awe of how she smoothly transitioned between all these characters and brought them all to life.

Hammered Hamlet was a completely different experience. Presented by The Shakespeare Company and Hit and Myth Productions at the Legion, three out of the five actors downed four shots of whiskey before the show with the encouragement of the audience. This show was a total riot – what a great way to present Shakespeare! The show was supposed to only be 90 minutes with the intermission and ended up being more than two hours! I actually wished I hadn’t ushered for this one, as I think it would have been more fun to watch after a couple of drinks.

And now for something completely different…….Cow Love! Created and performed by Federico Robledo and Nanda Suc for the Société Protectrice de Petites Idées from Guingamp, France, this was 50 minutes of offbeat physical comedy. It combined acrobatics, dance, slapstick and pantomime and was thoroughly enjoyable to watch.

Macbeth Muet played at the Pumphouse Theatres on the same days as Cow Love. As both were only about 60 minutes long and both works of physical comedy, the plays were scheduled so a patron could watch them on the same night if they wanted too. As an usher, I watched them on different nights. For Macbeth Muet¸ I knew, when I was instructed to tell people that the show contains eggs and blood, that we were in for treat. Created by Marie-Hélène Bélanger, Jon Lachlan Stewart, and of course, the Bard himself, this was unique retelling of the Scottish Play without spoken words and with only two actors (Jérémie Francoeur as Macbeth and Clara Prévost as Lady Macbeth) with some help from some homemade puppets. Another steller show that I have been lucky to attend and I loved the soundtrack.

A about this time in the festival, the days are starting to meld together. A couple that came to see Cow Love on the evening I ushered for Macbeth Muet, I recognized, but thought they had attended the previous evening’s performance of Cow Love, when it actually was from Hammered Hamlet which was earlier in the week. They also were at Après de Deluge: The Buddy Cole Monologues when I was ushering for that.

The last show, for me, of the Rodeo, was Après le Deluge: The Buddy Cole Monologues, created and performed by Scott Thompson. Originally a regular Kids in the Hall character, it was a real treat to get to see it live. The Kids in the Hall was a show I got into as a teenager when I first arrived in Canada and Buddy Cole was one of my favourite characters. This show was definitely in my top three shows and as I type, my face still hurts from smiling and laughing so much. Just over halfway through, the microphone decided to play up, but Scott incorporated it in to his act. It was Buddy Cole that was having mic issues and being driven insane with sounding like he was speaking into a tin can. In the end he took off the mic (you don’t really need it anyways in the Big Secret Theatre).

After the show, Scott and his team were having a drink at the Laycraft Lounge next to the theatre as well. I thought about approaching him just to say how much I enjoyed the show, but I was too shy and just headed home with the books I had bought, though I didn’t realize I had left behind my water bottle until the train was making its way through downtown.

And so that was my first experience of the One Yellow Rabbit High Performance Rodeo. What a fantastic, but busy, three weeks. I did not see every show that was a part of the festival and there were some recurring events that I did not experience this year such as the 10-Minute Play Festival and The Veronicas (an award show where everyone wins). Of the shows I did see, I did not see one bad show, they were all unique, well done and fabulous to watch. I loved how some shows – How to Self-Suspend, Crawlspace and Bug were examples of how artists had “taken their broken heart and made art”. Generally, I was most impressed with the one-person shows, with the performer’s ability to command the space and keep the audience engaged the entire time. My top three shows for this year’s festival were Café Daughter, Après le Deluge: The Buddy Cole Monologues, and Crawlspace.

I am already excited about next year!

[starrose17]

So I really want a SilverFlint AU to the movie Passengers.

Like, Silver has somehow snuck aboard the ship (The Walrus, of course) in a spare life pod without anyone noticing, but as it wasn’t properly configured to him it opens half way through the 200 year journey. He’s alone on this giant spaceship, no mechanical knowledge on how to get the pod working again, and with only minimal level pass to entertainment and food that he stole from another passenger before he went into suspended animation. 

(this turned into a bit of a fic half way through...)

At first it’s great, he was running away after all, and out here alone there was no one to hurt him. So he enjoys his time, plays the virtual computer games, breaks into the penthouse suite on the top deck and makes home there, gets into the space suit that’s tethered to the ship and goes for a float out in space where only he exists. Sure the same cereal every day for breakfast gets annoying, but at least he’s got the bar man to talk to, the robot behind the bar named Billy, even if he is rather surly.

But after 2 years, it’s not fun anymore. He’s got the endless high scores on all the games, he’d rather eat his socks then that same cereal again, he’s tired of his own voice echoing against the never ending metal hallways, and the space outside is just...cold. Empty. Alone.

He’s lets himself go, he doesn’t care anymore, doesn’t shower, doesn’t shave, soon his beard is as tangled as his unwashed curly hair, and every day he screams at the life pod that brought him to his own silent hell. He’d tried every possible way to get into the restricted life pod section where all the crew were, but nothing would open those heavily enforced doors.

Billy’s a robot, he doesn’t understand, he doesn’t feel, and after drinking what must be half the contents of that bar Silver finds himself standing in the air lock, without the tethered suit, hand hovering over the button that would open those doors and suck him out into oblivion.

But he scares himself, and he drops the bottle held in his other hand and runs, back through the the decks, through the life pod section, and in his haste trips over one of the many bottles surrounding his own pod. He tumbles and ends up splattered on top of another pod. Blinking through his drunken suicidal haze, he looks down at the red head beneath him. All it took was that look for all those dark thoughts to disappear.

He becomes rather obsessed with this passenger, this, ‘Flint, James’ written on the pod. He looks him up, find videos of interviews, the man was an author, ready to leave his life behind to start a new adventure out there in the unknown.  Silver talks about him endlessly with Billy, who just stares at him reminding him he told him this yesterday. And the day before that. And the week before that. In the end, it seemed even robots could get exasperated, as Billy finally suggests, 

“Why don’t you wake him up?”

Silvers immediately refuses, he couldn’t do that, he couldn’t put someone in his position, alone out here for the rest of his life. But the idea was there now, and it ate away at him. He’d spend hours staring at Flint in that pod, hands itching towards the controls, towards the “Emergency Revival” selection on the touch screen. He’d walk away, he’d walk back, he’d tell himself no, he’d dream about yes.

Eventually the loneliness starts to get at him again, and without even thinking of any consequences he can’t stand living like this anymore. He needs someone, anyone, please. He shaves off his beard, he showers for the first time in...when did he last shower? He makes himself look presentable and then suddenly he’s pressing the button.

Gorgeous green eyes open, and suddenly Silver is faced with the inevitably of what he’d just done. Lies pour from his mouth, that there were malfunctions with the pods, that it seemed it was just the two of them, that he has no idea what had happened.

This Flint was a determined man, and before barely saying hello he was up out of the pod and down yanking out wires from the console. He’s not a mechanic but he knew a bit and was going to try and get it working again. Silver tucked the few wires he’d cut out as he waited for Flint to fully revive into the back pocket of his trousers. 

After some time, and with the help of Silver being nice and chatty and knowing more about the ship having been awake for longer, Flint starts to relax, the initial fear and anger of knowing he was going to spend the rest of his life with just this curly haired man for company finally being accepted and put to one side.

Silver was so excited he couldn’t put it into words, he dragged Flint everywhere, showed him the ship, got him playing as Player Two on all the games he’d grown so bored of, games that were now fun with him there. They drank at the bar together, making fun of Billy wouldn’t didn’t understand he was being mocked, and talked about each others lives before, Flints books and Silver...well, Silver chose a set of lies and stuck to them. Flint was flabbergasted to find Silver had been eating the same breakfast and the same choice of 3 evening meals for 2 years, and got out his platinum access card and piled their table high with so much food Silver’s eyes practically bulged at the sight of it. They floated around in space together, laughing at first, Silver having forgotten what his own laugh sounded like, and very much loving the sound of Flints. They’d sit together in the observation deck, side by side, watching with heavy filters as the ship passed by a nearby sun, and Silver would sit closer, one knee touching Flints, and Flint wouldn’t move away.

Silver knew he’d fallen hard for Flint, probably the moment he saw him really, the man had saved his life in a way Flint would never know, so when Flint knocked on the broken door of Silvers penthouse suite, dressed in a dark navy suit and holding a bottle of champagne, asking Silver to join him for dinner, Silver could do nothing but grin.

It wasn’t long before they both ended up back at the penthouse, and that dark navy suit was discarded on the floor.

For a long time, everything was perfect. The food was perfect, the entertainment was perfect, the sex was perfect. Silver could not remember any point in his life where he’d been happier than stuck on this space ship now 97 years before landing, with a man so embedded into his heart he wasn’t sure if he could go just one day without being by his side.

Billy would serve them drinks with his ever present disapproving frown (”I’m sure he has to be broken, they wouldn’t have deliberately made him like that would they? And what robotic bartender needs arms like that?”), they’d swim naked in the pool with nothing but starlight coming in from the large windows to their space outside, and every night Silver would end up warm and sated and perfectly comfortable, wrapped up in those freckled arms without a care in the world.

Silver could have spent the rest of his life without telling the man he truly loved how he really came to be awake on this ship. He’d pushed that knowledge far away deep inside him with all the other unpleasant secrets in his life. But then a meteor storm hits, and one little shitty meteor gets through the shields and knocks into something that starts making everything electrical, which is everything, go haywire. It doesn’t last long, the computer system was smart and had a way of fixing itself, but the disruptions went on for long enough that it caused Billy to start spurting out random conversations he’d had with Silver years ago, including suggesting that Silver wake up Flint.

The held back fury in Flints eyes as Silver approached for their evening drink stops Silver in his tracks, wiping the grin from his face as he held onto the homemade ring in his pocket that he’d made from bits of scrap. He was going to ask tonight. He never got a chance.

He couldn’t lie now, and when Flint asked him through that suppressed rage if Silver had deliberately awoken him, deliberately stranded him here for the rest of his life, with no chance of getting home or to the colony of having any if his aspirations for his future come to light...Silver was silent for a moment, before the word “Yes” quietly passed his lips.

Flint doesn’t hit him, at least not yet, but his rage comes out in full force and he yells, screams, throws a bar stool barely missing Silvers head. He swears if he sees Silver again he’ll throw him out the airlock, to murder him just like Silver had done to him, before he smashes a glass at Silvers feet and leaves, still screaming in fury.

Silver is terrified, not just for the revelation of the truth, but what this would mean for him, for them, to be trapped on a ship not knowing if he’d wake up in the morning dead. One night that very thought almost came true, and Silver was awoken in the night by Flints fists punching him in the face, in the stomach, Silvers arms reaching up above him to try and shield the blows. Only when Flint reached for the knife he had on him ready to take the life of this man he now fucking despised...only then did he stop. Silver was still shielding himself, but he hadn’t said a word.

“Why are you just lying there? Why aren’t you telling me stop?!” he demanded through panting breaths where he straddled him, but Silver just continued to stare up at him through a bloody face, eyes so terribly, terribly sad, and didn’t say a word.

He deserved it. After what he’d done, he deserved to be killed by the love of his life.

Flint growls out a yell and throws the knife to the floor, getting up and disappearing as quickly as he came. Silver doesn’t see him for a long time, except for meals, where they’re forced into the same room. Flint no longer gives him any of his constantly changing food, and is stuck with the same sloppy cereal, looking utterly dejected. Flint always takes his food somewhere else, and Silver could see how much Flint still wanted to hurt him, so never said a word.

Eventually Silver figures out how to get on the speaker system for the ship, and knowing Flint is out jogging around somewhere he starts to tell the truth. The real truth. About how he was a thief back on earth, trying to escape some serious trouble he’d gotten into by sneaking on board this ship that would take him billions of miles away from those troubles. That he woke up not through a mechanical fault but because he wasn’t supposed to be there.   He told him how he’d tried to kill himself, how seeing Flint saved his life, about how long he’d spent wondering if he could wake him up. He admitted he knew what he did was wrong, but he was so desperate, so desperately desperate, he wasn’t thinking right. All he could think of was that a choice between eternal loneliness, or Flint, he picked Flint. He knew it was wrong, knew it was selfish, and he was so so sorry, but as he was being honest, he’d do it again. He said he knew Flint hated him now, and he had every right to, but Silver still loved him, forever would love him, and if there was any chance at all of reconciling this, to please, say something the next time they ran into each other. Please. Please. 

“Eternal loneliness is not a good prospect, believe me...I know.” he sobs.

The only words Flint says to him the next time they see eachother are:

“You’re a fucking murderer.”

And all hope is lost for Silver.

Months go by, and strange things keep happening on the ship, flickering lights, the little cleaning robots going haywire, the gravity going in the swimming pool area, nearly drowning Silver as he floated upwards in ball of water he couldn’t get out of. He wished he had drowned. Flint still hadn’t said anything else. Hadn’t said anything and yet, when they did run into each other, Flint would at least look back at him as they past, not that Silver had noticed. More and more times Flints eyes would linger on him, and more and more times it was less anger, more...something else, something calm.

Flint had tried to imagine, after Silvers speech over the speaker system, what it would have been like to be alone for so long. He couldn’t image it really. He’d spoken to the repaired Billy about it, about exactly the kind of hardship Silver had gone through, and Billy would tell him how tragically terrible Silver had looked for a long time, and how morally conflicted he was over waking Flint up. When he asked Billy if he knew Silver had tried to kill himself, Billy had just shrugged,

“Selfish if you ask me. Who was I going to make drinks for if he killed himself just because he was lonely.”

Something had been tugging inside Flint for almost a year now, every time he saw Silver, and saw just how dejected he looked.  It was difficult to remain angry with the only other human being on the ship, and despite knowing what Silver had done, despite knowing that Flints life was now permanently confined to these metal walls, he found himself...missing him. He missed their conversations, he missed the flirting, hell he missed that obnoxious little snorting laugh he did when he’d regain his high score from Flint on one of the VR games. He missed the company. He missed his warmth in bed. Jesus Christ he missed the little shit, and despite everything he still felt something for him. He’d loved him once, and it was still there, buried under alot of anger, but it was there.

He’d walked past Silver with his tray of bacon, eggs, sausages and toast with jam one morning, placing the tray next to Silvers pointless little cereal bowl and walking away without saying a word.

If he had turned around and seen that glimmer of hope in Silvers eyes, he probably would have run back to him.

The electronic failures were getting worse, something truly wasn’t right, and it came to it that they were going to have to work together to find out what was wrong. For the first time they held a tentative conversation, and after a long search of the ship found the meteor from over a year ago and gone straight through the fusion engine, and not being repaired the damn thing was close to exploding. The release valve to vent the engine was smashed to bits, and knowing about ships from his book research Flint knew there had to be a manual release from the outside.  Without even asking Silver puts on the one space suit in tact, Flint asking what the hell he was doing.

“Well I can’t let you risk your life...I’ve done enough to you already.”

He pauses in putting on the helmet, quickly deciding to lean up to steal a kiss from Flint before putting it on and picking up part of the heat shield off the engine that had broken. Silver then heads outside the ship and down into the vent, releases the valve and uses the shield that barely covers his body as protection from the radiation that goes shooting past him. Flint is yelling into his comm, telling Silver to get out of there, that he won’t survive this, that Silver was the one who woke him up he can’t leave him alone now don’t fucking leave me alone!

The vent is too strong, too much, and eventually it blasts Silver away from the ship, heading off into space with a cracked visor, oxygen escaping fast. Flint runs faster than ever before to the airlock, space suit on, Silver still slowly talking in his ear, saying he’s sorry for everything, that he wishes Flint to be happy, to write his books so when everyone else wakes up they can read about the best author this ship will ever have. To know about the best man there ever was.

“Fucking shut up! I’m coming to get you! You think I’m gonna forgive you if you die I fucking love you stay the fuck alive!!”

But the space suit is the one with the tether, and as he pushes himself off from the ship, floating quickly towards Silver who’s now quite far away, the tether pulls him short just inches from Silvers outstretched hand, and he can do nothing but watch that small, sad smile, obscured by the oxygen leaking from his helmet, as he floats away  “I love you... and I’m sorry...for everything.”

“Fuck that.”

Flint unhooks himself from the tether and cuts his own oxygen line, pushing himself towards Silver, grabbing him, turning the line behind them and pushing them back towards the ship. By the time they get back inside and remove their helmets both are gasping for air, collapsing to the ground in a heaving heap. Silver then pushes the rest of the suit off him while Flint is still on the ground, pounces on him, and kisses him hard. He pulls back quickly though, eyes asking if this is ok, and Flint just cups the back of his head and brings him down for another kiss.

“We’re alive. And we’re staying that way. You shit.” Flint grins.

They do the remaining repairs to the shield as best that can, and find themselves standing, hand in hand, in the main communal area that leads off to restaurants and clubs, Billy’s bar, and what would have been the night life of the ship.

“This place needs a little green, don’t you think?” Flint asks.

In 95 years, the rest of the passengers and the crew would awake to a communal area filled with trees and flowers and small forest animals and birds, once all in suspended animation in the hold in a lot less complicated life pods, now all wild and free. And there, in a makeshift hut amongst the greenery, would lie a pile of books, now covered in dust, the series entitled;

‘Never Alone’ - by James Flint and John Silver.

[tipsycad147]

3 Unique Ways To Use Mirrors In Your Magic

SL Bear

Defensive Mirrors

Did you know mirrors were once made from silver? That is supposedly why vampires couldn’t see their reflections. But this is only one reason mirrors are associated with the detection of dangerous beings. Fogging up a mirror and reciting an incantation is said to reveal to you those who seek to harm you. In the right conditions, mirrors are able to show a person’s true soul and whether or not they are good or bad.

I don’t find these types of magic particularly useful, however, that doesn’t mean I don’t use mirrors for defensive situations. One of my favourite methods of using mirrors is for binding. I’ve written before about placing a target’s name between two mirrors and taping those mirrors together. Recently, I’ve updated this method because it bothered me only one side of the paper was facing one mirror. The other mirror was reflecting a blank piece of paper. Since intention is where true magic comes from it wasn’t that big of a deal, but I don’t like doubt. So, how to remedy this tiny flaw? Simply write the name on the mirror with a permanent marker instead of using paper. The name touches both mirrors and is reflected forever. A much stronger binding, in my opinion. You can also add a line about what you wish the target would stop doing, binding that particular action.

Another way to bind using mirrors is to place a picture of your target between two separated mirrors, usually performed in a hallway, symbolically holding the target in suspended animation. I haven’t tried this, though I think you’d have to leave it set up indefinitely, which seems like an inconvenience. Instead, I suggest getting a tube (from a toilet paper roll, for example), securing a small poppet in the middle of this tube and then slot two mirrors on each end of the tube. Paint the tube black or wrap a black cord around it, then pop it in the freezer. If you wish, you could also place a clear quartz in with the poppet to amplify the binding. If you’re wondering, yes, I do have more banishing and binding spells in my freezer than actual food. No regrets.

You can also add a mirror to your altar in the same way you’d add one to your front door as a defence against spells cast at you. The only problem with this is that I like adding mirrors to my altar to boost the magic I perform there (instead of doing something once, I’m working with my reflections and performing it three times simultaneously), and I don’t like confusing energies by having identical mirrors that are supposed to work in different ways. The solution was to create a protective sigil and paint it on the mirror, giving that defensive mirror a distinct purpose. Protection runes can also be painted on the mirror.

Charging Mirrors & Using Mirrors To Trap Energy

When I learned about charging mirrors, I was so in love with the idea that I ran to my craft store, loaded up on little mirrors, and started manically charging them by leaving them all over the yard and carrying them to different locations to “trap” the energies I found so helpful and calming. How amazing is that?!

Do thunderstorms make you feel particularly powerful? Leave a mirror out and let the thunderstorm charge it, use the mirror on bright and sunny days, then recharge it when it rains again. Snowstorms, the beach, autumn weather… charge mirrors with this energy and keep it with you. Harness these energies for spells, meditation or even enhancing dreams. Add a sigil to the mirror to give these “trapped” energies specific purposes. For example, if you’re charging the mirror with moonlight and you want to use this for cleansing, make a cleansing sigil and draw it on the mirror. Then you can place what you want cleansed directly on the mirror and leave it — like stones and talismans.

If you’d like to use this moonlight for spells that are best performed under specific moon phases, draw the moon phase on the charged mirror and use it as a substitute. This is great when you don’t want to wait a month for a specific moon, or you need to do a spell fast, maybe when the sun is out.

Mirrors In Spells

Amplifying Magic

I’ve recently been reading up on clear quartz and like clear quartz, mirrors can act as an amplifier in spells because it multiplies your actions. I mentioned above about leaving mirrors on the altar for this purpose, but mirrors can be set up for any spell to significantly boost the power of individual elements! Strategically placing mirrors around whatever aspect you want amplified (candles, stones, yourself) will have the most impact and I recommend using multiples of three when deciding how many mirrors to use.

Breaking Mirrors

People have major reservations about breaking mirrors and this superstition goes back a long way. Symbolically, breaking a mirror can represent breaking some aspect of yourself or “breaking through” to an enlightenment. You’ll see this a lot in movies because it’s very dramatic and cinematically gets a point across quickly. For spells involving moving past old obstacles, breaking bad habits or cycles of behaviour, you can look into the mirror and tell yourself what you want to change, what habits are coming to an end, then put the mirror into a cloth bag and break it (safely). These pieces can then be discarded or used in a larger self-altering ritual.  

Bridging Worlds

Mirrors are sometimes seen as windows into other dimensions or a way to look in on others without their knowledge. This made mirrors tools of divination. It was believed that your reflection was your soul and therefore when used for scrying or divination, you could theoretically ask your soul-self questions or ask to see something happening elsewhere. Black scrying mirrors are actually less reflective so you don’t see yourself as clearly. The reason for this being that your own reflection was considered a distraction from whatever you’re actually hoping to find in the mirror’s surface. I see the point, to be honest. If I stared into a mirror, I would never be able to focus on anything but flaws and I’d end up getting the tweezers and eyeliner before I’d get any answers. So, to save money on expensive black mirrors while completely limiting distractions when using mirrors for astral travel, divination, scrying, you can close your eyes and simply touch the mirror or rub it with your thumb to conduct its power — particularly useful if the mirror is charged first!

Alternative Mirror

Water was the first reflective surface we used to see ourselves and lots of superstitions and lore cropped up about what this reflection truly meant. If the water rippled while you were looking into it, well, that was bad news because whatever happened to your mirror self would obviously happen to you (not sure why ripples were bad for you… they sound kind of fun). You could become transfixed by your reflection like Narcissus, or unwillingly invite cruel spirits through. Water, though, is a very gentle mirror and conducts energy well. Remember what I said about trapping? You can use the water’s smooth surface in the same way, and then have a more tangible ingredient for spells. Witches have used water for divination just as they have used mirrors and if you’re more comfortable using water, then it’s a perfect alternative. It’s also easier to use for divination, in my opinion.

Today using mirrors isn’t as common as it used to be, so experiment to find the best way to incorporate mirrors into your craft and revive this ancient and effective practice!

Ever wondered if you’re really prepared to handle the dangers of the craft?

Or maybe you've recently come face to face with these dangers and you're determined to be better prepared next time.

Either way, you need to learn magical defence. This set of skills is absolutely paramount for new witches, witches looking to take their work to the next level, and even witches who are just looking for a little more peace and quiet in their spiritual lives. The craft doesn't have to be dangerous, stressful, or traumatic!

In Defensive Magic For Beginners, I’ve created a step by step learning path that will give you the boost you need to start defending yourself confidently today.

Learn More Here >>

https://thetravelingwitch.com/blog/2018/8/26/3-unique-ways-to-use-mirrors-in-your-magic

[ljones41]

"THOR: THE DARK WORLD" (2013) Review

"THOR: THE DARK WORLD" (2013) Review A few years ago, I had assumed that the release of the 2012 blockbuster, "THE AVENGERS" would signal the end of Marvel's multi-film saga about the group of comic book heroes and their government allies, S.H.I.E.L.D. But "IRON MAN 3" and the television series, "AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D." proved me wrong.  So did the second movie about the God of Thunder, "THOR: THE DARK WORLD".

Like the 2011 movie, “THOR”, this latest film begins thousands of years ago. Back in day (or year); Bor, the father of Odin, clash with the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim and their leader Malekith, who seeks to destroy the universe using a weapon known as the Aether. After conquering Malekith's forces, Bor hides the Aether within a stone column. He was also unaware that Malekith, his lieutenant Algrim, and a handful of Dark Elves have managed to escape by going into suspended animation. Many years later, Thor and his fellow Asgardians (which include his friends Lady Sif, Fandral and Volstagg) help their comrade Hogun repel marauders on the latter's homeworld, Vanaheim. It proves to be the last battle in a war to pacify the Nine Realms, which had fallen into chaos following the destruction of the Bifröst. And in London, astrophysicist Dr. Jane Foster is led by her intern Darcy Lewis and the latter's intern, Ian, to an abandoned factory where objects have begun to disobey the laws of physics by disappearing into thin air. Jane is teleported to another world, where she is infected by the Aether. Both the Asgardians and Jane's former mentor, Dr. Erik Selvig learn on separate occasions that the Convergence, a rare alignment of the Nine Realms, is imminent. While the event approaches, portals (one of which Jane had fallen into) linking the worlds appear at random. Heimdall alerts Thor of Jane's recent disappearance, leading the latter to search for her on Earth. When she inadvertently releases an unearthly force upon a group of London policemen, Thor takes her to Asgard. Unfortunately, the Asgardian healers do not know how to treat her. Odin, recognizing the Aether, warns Jane's infection will kill her given enough time, and that the Aether's return heralds a catastrophic prophecy. Unbeknownst to Odin, the re-emergence of the Aether also ends the Dark Elves' suspended animation and revives their determination to use the substance to darken the universe. "THOR: THE DARK WORLD" proved to be a major box office, following its release nearly four years ago. This is not surprising, considering the enormous success of Marvel's Avenger saga. "IRON MAN 3", set six months after the events of the 2012 film, also proved to be a big hit. Some people have claimed that the first film about Thor was superior. As much as I had enjoyed "THOR", I cannot say that I would agree. It reeked a bit too much of a superhero origin tale. Personally, I found the plot for "THOR: THE DARK WORLD" more satisfying. Mind you, this second God of Thunder movie did not strike me as perfect. It had a few flaws. Although I applaud director Alan Taylor and cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau's expansion of the Asgard setting beyond the royal palace and the Bifröst, the latter's photography for that particular setting seemed to lack Haris Zambarloukos' dazzling and colorful photography from the 2011 film. Instead, there seemed to be a slightly dull cast to Morgenthau's photography of Asgard. Thor's friends did not particularly project that same screen chemistry that I found so enjoyable in the first film. Aside from one major scene in which Thor plotted Jane's escape from Asgard, they rarely had any scenes together. And Tadanobu Asano's Hogun had even less scenes. I wonder if this was due to the actor's major role in the upcoming movie, "47 RONIN". Aside from these nitpicks, I enjoyed "THOR: THE DARK WORLD" very much. As I had earlier stated, I found it more enjoyable than the first film. Thanks to the screenplay written by Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the movie provided a stronger narrative, beyond a simple origin tale. The three screenwriters explored the consequences of past events from both "THOR" and "THE AVENGERS" - Loki's actions in both movies; Thor's original destruction of the Bifröst, which led to chaos in the Nine Realms and his long separation from Jane Foster, the latter's inability to move on, and the impact upon Erik Selvig from being possessed by Loki. However, the movie also explored how a past event in the Asgardians' history - their conflict with the Dark Elves - managed to once again, have a negative impact upon Earth. For a movie that was juggling a good number of subplots, along with a major plot, I thought the writers and director Alan Taylor did a first-rate job in balancing it all in the end. Taylor had limited experience as a movie director when he made this film, but he also has a long history as a television direction. Despite his longer experience with television, I must admit that I found myself more than pleased with his direction of"THOR: THE DARK WORLD". And I was also very impressed. I was especially impressed by his handling of certain action scenes, like the Dark Elves' invasion of Asgard, the fight scene between Queen Frigga and Malekith, the escape from Asgard, and Thor and Loki's confrontation against Malekith and the Dark Elves. But the one action sequence that really impressed me turned out to be the “Battle of Greenwich’, in which Thor, Jane and their friends attempted to prevent Malekith's use of the Aether against Earth and the rest of the universe. It proved to be one of the most off-the-wall and entertaining action sequences I have seen on film.  This sequence not only benefited from Taylor's direction, but also Dan Lebental and Wyatt Smith's editing. In fact, the movie's action sequences were nicely balanced by some of its dramatic and comedic scenes. I especially enjoyed Thor and Loki's quarrel over the latter's past actions, Thor's reunion with Jane, and Darcy and Ian's attempt to free Erik from a mental institution. One particular scene featured a quarrel between Thor and Odin over how to deal with the threat of the Dark Elves. It strongly reminded me of the two men's quarrel over the Frost Giants in the first film . . . but with an ironic twist. Instead of Odin being the mature and reasonable one, this time it is Thor. My only complaint about the movie's performances has to do with Tadanobu Asano. Due to his limited appearance in the film, he never really had a chance to give a memorable performance. I hope to see more of him in the next film. Both Jamie Alexander and Ray Stevenson gave competent performances as Thor's two other friends - Lady Sif and Volstagg. Instead of Josh Dallas, this movie featured Zachary Levi in the role of Thor's fourth friend, Fandral. Levi had been originally cast in the role for the 2011 film. But due to his commitments to NBC's "CHUCK", Dallas got the role. But the latter's commitment to ABC's "ONCE UPON A TIME" forced Marvel and Disney to give the role back to Levi. Aside from the initial shock of seeing him in a blond wig, I must admit that Levi made a very dashing Fandral. I was very happy to see Kat Dennings reprise her role of Jane's intern, Darcy Lewis. She was as funny as ever. She also had an extra straight man in the form of Jonathan Howard, who portrayed "her" intern, Ian Boothby. The movie also featured a very funny cameo by Chris Evans, who portrayed Loki disguised as Steve Rogers/Captain America. Christopher Eccleston may not have made the most witty or charismatic  villain from the Marvel canon, but I found his portrayal of Malekith very scary . . . in an unrelenting way.  Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje struck me as equally impressive as Malekith's lieutenant, Algrim. It was a pity that I could barely make him out in his new appearance as the Kurse. Renee Russo's role as Queen Frigga was expanded in this second film and I am so thankful that it was. Not only did she have a marvelous dramatic scene with Tom Hiddleston's Loki, but watching her sword fight against Eccleston's Malekith reminded me of her role in the "LETHAL WEAPON" films. Idris Elba repeated his masterful portrayal of Asgard's gatekeeper, Heimdall. I especially enjoyed him in two scenes - Heimdall's efforts to prevent the Dark Elves' attack and his discussion with Thor about helping Jane leave Asgard against Odin's will. More importantly, audiences get to see him in even more scenes. Stellan Skarsgård was very hilarious in his portrayal of Dr. Erik Selvig in this film. I realize that one should not laugh at the idea of someone suffering from a mental trauma, but I could not help it. I do not think I have ever seen Skarsgård so entertaining in a Marvel film. Anthony Hopkins did a marvelous job in conveying Odin's increasing fragile rule over Asgard and control of his emotions. This was especially apparent in the scene featuring Odin and Thor's disagreement over the Dark Elves. For the first time in a Marvel film, Tom Hiddleston's Loki was not portrayed as an out-and-out villain, but a more morally complex character, thanks to his relationships with Asgard's royal family - especially Thor and Frigga. Hiddleston was as playful and witty as ever. And I especially enjoyed his interactions with Chris Hemsworth. In fact, I can say the same about Natalie Portman's portrayal of Thor's love, astrophysicist Dr. Jane Foster. Personally, I found her funnier and her chemistry with Hemsworth a lot stronger in this second film. And I was especially happy to see her take a more active role in helping Thor defeat the main villain. As for Chris Hemsworth, he continued to roll with a great talent for both drama and comedy as the God of Thunder, Thor. He did a marvelous job in developing his character into more complex waters, especially in regard to his relationships with Jane, Loki and Odin. And one of my favorite scenes in the movie featured Thor's silent reaction to his discovery that Jane had a date with another man. I hope that one day, people will truly appreciate what a first-rate actor he is. "THOR: THE DARK WORLD" had a few flaws. What movie does not? But thanks to Alan Taylor's direction, an excellent cast led by a talented Chris Hemsworth and a very complex script written by Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, it not only turned to be very entertaining, but also better than the previous film. At least for me.

[advancedpottery217x2]

Tears to Tiara II: Haou no Matsuei Review

A post was initially planned to be a /r/visualnovels WAYR post for Tears to Tiara II: Haou no Matsuei (TtT2) but I wanted to say too much so it expanded to become more personal and contain my thoughts on the series as a whole (including Tears to Tiara: Kakan no Daichi (TtT1) and Tears to Tiara Gaiden: Avalon no Nazo (Gaiden)) in addition to my feelings towards the main scenario writer Marui Takeshi).

Have you ever encountered a piece of fiction that conformed to your tastes exceedingly well and seemed to be what you were looking for your entire life? After finishing TtT1 (and Gaiden) last year and 2 half a year ago, I've found myself thinking about why I love this series so much, and what I’ve been looking to get out of visual novels and fiction as a whole.

First, my thoughts on TtT2. For reference, here are thoughts I wrote on TtT1 last year.

Some parts will contain spoilers written in white text and placed in brackets. [Like this.] Tread carefully if you are reading this in an environment where you cannot highlight text.

Story/Characters

失われた女神と覇王の物語

As the tagline above suggests, the story is ultimately about the growth of the protagonist Hamil and the heroine Tarte; there is a much smaller focus on the side characters compared to TtT1. Although this made me feel disappointed, the increased amount of focus on Hamil/Tarte versus Arawn/Riannon made me enjoy the main pair much more than I initially expected and became one of the highest points of the game for me. In this case it more than made up for the otherwise loss of enjoyment from decreased side character events, but it in no way erased that loss. I think whether or not you will enjoy the game depends on this point.

Like TtT1, the plot can be summed up with the word 王道, as an adjective as well as a noun. I liked how Hamil’s struggles finding his place in the world amidst the expectations placed on him seemed to be a natural extension of what Arthur went through in TtT1. The existence of Melqart “within” him and the added contrast with his lineage/surroundings supporting his 覇道 side made for more interesting character growth. This is only enhanced by Matsuoka Yoshitsugu's incredible performance as Hamil (true gap 燃え). I really appreciated how his relationship with Tarte felt more equal and mutual than the one between Arawn and Riannon in 1; while the latter are still a very solid couple, I enjoyed the feeling that the former gave off of being two people struggling to sort out their feelings towards each other while also figuring out themselves and the future of Hispania. 初々しい少年���女という感じで大変可愛いであります！！！ Tarte is a heroine with clear motives who is ready to dedicate herself to Hispania and Hamil (for reasons made clear later in the story) while also not afraid to be harsher to push him in the right direction, a position not unlike Arawn towards Arthur in TtT1. The actual reason that I like these two better is probably because they have more イチャイチャ scenes. They can get ridiculously adorable in one scene and then be deadly serious for the next, which is my ideal for fictional couples honestly.

While the plot developments were also very 王道, I was even able to look over the more overbearing ones due to how they fit in the narrative and/or the atmosphere of the series as I understood it. ...Except for [reviving Monomachus. I can see needing a spear unit, but this was just way too convenient. The case of Tarte in the final chapter had build up (along with that fantastic CG parallel) when compared to Monomachus just... coming back.] In the grand scheme of things, that's my biggest complaint about the game.

There is also a clear divide between the first and second halves of the game at the end of Chapter 6. I've seen reviews saying the second half is lacking (and I can understand why), but I honestly think the game kept up my interest more after the middle climax until the story starts moving towards the end then TtT1 did (although I did think "ah... I guess it can't be a true TtT game without a 闘技大会 stage..."), which is something I can praise 2 for.

The distinctly lower amount of events focused on everyday life made me disappointed a little, as these were a large part of what made me enjoy the cast of 1 and made me see them as a family. Dion being the butt monkey of most of the jokes also got stale after a while, although I didn't expect [for him to get all those events relating to Simon, which gives him a great role which makes him more than that at least]. In terms of my overall opinion of the cast, 1's is much higher but in 2 Hamil and Tarte are just very, very good. Some of my favorites this time around other than the main pair were Kleito, Elissa, [Hasdrubal, Ishtar], and Izebel.

System/Gameplay

The system/UI functions are mainly the same as the previous two games (which also means the one line backlog is still present..,), although I was pleased to find that the possible characters for the system voice-like things you hear when you select an item in the menu in the base screen expanded from just two (Limwris/Ermin) to all the female party members (and the male characters on the map screen). It’s fun hearing all the characters telling you you’re about to save (or be disappointed when you back out of it). Not being able to check your items/character stats at the mid-story save points anymore was a downgrade, though. I also felt that there were less of those save points than in 1, which hurts during some of the longer story segments.

The battle system keeps/expands the elements introduced in Gaiden (item synthesis, traps, magic circles) and reworks what was formerly the changeling system into the Quadriga. While I’m happy about not being forced to use the latter unlike the former, sometimes the Quadriga just goes down too quickly... (´・ω・`) taking all the units inside down with it... (´・ω・`) But luckily in this game there’s a rewind feature that can send you to the start of a turn!! No more fucking around with save states While not as good as the one in Utawarerumono 2/3 (although I can’t complain too much seeing how this came before them), it gets the job done speedily.

Another new feature is the ability to use animals as party members, whether buying them as units from the shop or having Charis charm an enemy animal in battle. I didn’t actually use this that much, except for putting Charis on the gryphon you can buy for better mobility or the boar you can buy for better defense. The elephant that pulls the Quadriga is also a great tank so sometimes I put Charis on her too I guess. I also didn’t use the Melqart/Tanit transformations much, mostly because I didn’t feel like dealing with the decreased stats after the transformation wears off, although the increased stats during the change saved my ass a couple of times. Not being able to use chain attacks is also a marked con, but I guess it’s a price that must be paid to be OP. (´・ω・`)

In terms of game difficulty, I played on Normal and felt that it was harder than Normal in TtT1 and around the same level or higher than Easy in Gaiden (although I did get the all bonus and overall S rank trophies on my first run, which may influence this impression). I don’t know how someone who plays this as their first game in the series would feel though, as I was making sure to avoid common mistakes (not paying attention to element cycle, not using skills, etc.) early on. As the game goes on, spending an hour on a stage becomes commonplace rather than an exception. However, I found myself having fun figuring out strategies to clear every stage so sometimes I wouldn’t even notice how much time I was spending. Except the second fucking dragon stage in the main story fuck you ("ah... I guess it can't be a true TtT game without a BS dragon stage...").

The 50 stage (versus 100 in Gaiden) dungeon in the post-game is where I really felt the pain as everything is just out to get you (and there’s way more dragons). I just decided to grind everyone to level 99 halfway through, which made things easier until you reach the point where you can’t just go around whacking things into submission without thinking. The rewind system is not available for use which factors into the difficulty, but there is a poverty substitution in the suspend save feature. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the plot(?) surrounding exploring the dungeon was much more serious that what Gaiden had, although it was still pretty bare. The ending was nice and sweet as someone who did TtT1 but there was no credits roll like Gaiden had. My only real complaint is that it wasn’t voiced. (´・ω・`)

I bought all the DLC units after the main story and Arawn and Riannon were lifesavers due to their attributes more than once; if you end you playing the game I recommend getting these two if nothing else, especially because the chibi Riannon model is very cute (although Arawn is now 100% an ossan). The other units got some use (except for Beard who is mostly used for MP/CS boosting and/or memes) but they had cute models and level up lines so no regrets.

My main frustration is with how low the drop rates for items are, especially since now I’m looking to synthesize the OP weapons which require some of the rarest drops. Taking an hour to get one item is a bit much. (´・ω・`)

Visuals

Why is this game so pretty!!!! Seriously, everything from the backgrounds to the OP movie to the UI to the character sprites to the character cut-ins to the CGs are extremely pleasing to look at. Honjou Tatami’s character designs go way too well with the Aquaplus coloring team, and this game boasts some of my all time favorite CGs. The character sprites are also quite varied, although I’d have to say Tarte is my top pick in this regard. I also liked the character designs themselves in this game much more than the ones in 1, if only for how much more ｙａｂａｉ they are, especially Tarte and Izebel. It kind of feels odd comparing them to the simpler designs in 1, but at the end of the day I love the designs in both.

I think the 3D models worked well in translating those designs to a smaller size (although I can’t help but wonder about the gap between the models’ feet and the actual floor...) and don’t understand the people who were disappointed that they’re in chibi proportions. They’re cute!! I don’t know enough to say anything about the quality of the 3D maps/areas, but the greater location variety is a big plus; for some reason I really love the wheat field one.

The backgrounds have the soft, almost painting-like feel I’ve come to appreciate in Aquaplus games (thanks Kusanagi). There were even some surprise background appearances from 1 which made me smile.

My only negative in this category is that there are simply too few CGs for how long the game is. There is no excusing this point.

Music

How does Kinugasa keep doing it???? I had taken notice of Kinugasa Michio as a composer who does songs right up my alley (even among all the Aquaplus composers who generally hit that sweet spot) after realizing he composed Remote Viewing for Routes, and greatly enjoyed his work in Utawarerumono 2/3, especially 麗しき世界. The fact that Utaware 2/3 came after TtT2 could never prepare me for the ultimate nut awaiting me in this game: 君の前では少年のまま. This song encapsulates the relationship between Hamil and Tarte through very passionate guitar, Sutani Naoko’s wonderful lyrics, and Suara’s vocals. This deadly combination has led to this becoming one of my top two favorite Aquaplus songs (the other being 星座 from Kusari). I had some worries about the transition to the ED as this transition in 1 was one of my favorite parts of the game but those scattered quickly when I reached that point. The catharsis contained in these moments in both games is unreal.

The game’s soundtrack as a whole is quite good at expressing the idealistic and gentle, yet realistic and tenacious nature of the game and series as a whole. There are a few tracks from 1 with new arrangements and they either made me love a track even more or vastly improve my opinions on it which is a great accomplishment. I also enjoyed the new tracks very much, and the combination of these two elements make for a satisfying music experience on the whole, the amount and variety also being a positive factor. The increased amount of comfy tracks makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

The vocals songs were also to my taste with all of the new ones having lyrics about the Hamil/Tarte relationship being extremely up my alley. 🙏 thank you Sutani Naoko 🙏 I appreciate the fact that Suara, Uehara Rena, and Tsuda Akari are all in the soundtrack as this has not happened in an Aquaplus game before or since. The returning songs have arrangements befitting of the story and still hold great emotional weight. Except Until which somehow gets even more ずるい how the fuck do the lyrics fit so good every single time it plays how the fuck does it get me every time god I could write a whole new post on this song alone.

However, what elevates this to being my favorite game soundtrack at this point of my life is the usage. The amount of times that I have felt that playing a certain song during a certain part of the story was simply ずるい is not much, but the majority of them are from the Tears to Tiara series. The ずるい level in TtT2 manages to surpass the already high bar set by 1 by refining the art of layering the ずるい , leaving me staring at the screen in shock multiple times. Even in moments not as clearly defined, I generally liked the length that each each track played. I distinctly remember thinking in Chapter 1 that it was cool that the BGM changed whenever I felt like certain songs were beginning to overstay their welcome, which is pretty refreshing. I definitely feel that this game has the best use of music among all the Aquaplus games I’ve played (yes, this includes Utawarerumono 3).

Voice Acting

Someone please stop Matsuoka Yoshitsugu before he loses his voice!!, is a thought I held many times when listening to Hamil’s screams throughout the game. After reading the very interesting blog post by Mochizuki Yuutarou (voice recording director for Aquaplus) about some of the game’s voice recording and how he initially thought about having an additional person voice Hamil, I find it more incredible how Matsuoka managed to handle everything. The contrast between the soft spoken and reserved side of Hamil (his soft laugh is so good) and his hot-blooded and unrelenting side in the context of the story feels very satisfying to experience; the point where he snaps in the climax of Chapter 1 is a scene that has still not left my mind.

While Hamil is definitely the star performance for me, Kugimiya Rie as Tarte and Saitou Chiwa as Izebel were some of my favorites among the lovely voice cast. There were quite a few voice actors that I have since started paying attention to thanks to this game. On the negative side, I think a lot of the mob characters were too monotone.

Final Thoughts

Tears to Tiara 2 is a game that carries the spiritedness and positivity (:elatedsquirtleface:) of the first game and takes it to a logical next step while improving pretty much every part of the experience for a long (79 hours for main story on Easy without skipping voices), emotional journey. This is most of the reason I rated this a 10 on VNDB; the overall experience is very polished and it was the most fun I’ve had with a game that I can remember. There are definitely flaws, but I feel that what I gained from TtT2 was enough to overpower those shortcomings.

Next Post | Tear to Tiara: A Return to One’s Roots →

[tuppencetrinkets-a]

( will be re-written / polished soon! )

Name: Triintel Mesika

Current Alias: Roxanne “Roxy” Morrison

Face Claim: Rhona Mitra

Physical Age: approximately 30 years

Actual Age: ~100+ (exact age unknown)

Birthplace: Romania

Parents: Alin & Tereza Mesika (deceased)

Siblings: Virgil, Sofia & twin brother Teodor (all deceased)

Species: mutant / meta human / altered human / typhoid mary / succubus - she isn’t certain of the exact term that would be used to describe her particular condition

HISTORY / TIMELINE (SUPER BRIEF)

father owned a jewel mine, family was well to do.  mother was titled.

from an early age she was quiet, listless, lacked energy. her brother had more concern than others, mother wrote it off to her weak disposition, father was focused on business.

saw several doctors who bled her, gave her various compounds, to no avail.

brother became more and more obsessed, focusing on science and medicine in an attempt to find the cause of her illness, and she continued to get worse.

she studied his books, talked to him, helped him with his studies during his medical studied, and in the mid 20′s he was offered a position in a corporation that knew of his / her plight and suggested that his line of study might be furthered with their technology and resources.  

they moved to paris, where they lived in a residential wing on premise where she was able to socialize and befriend other members of the staff’s family and children, allowing her to interact more fully than ever before.

she was showing progress until an adverse reaction to the latest round of treatment sent her plummeting and her brother was forced to take drastic measures to put her into a form of suspended animation.

she woke a decade later, in and out of consciousness for several years while tests were run etc. before finally being awakened, healed.

during the next several years, she began to have her suspicions about the corporation that her brother worked for, the families and children that she had once been roomed with were long gone, now only scientists and laboratory assistants and bustling faceless nurses who were always too busy to answer questions.

she and her brother now lived in an estate off the grounds, but he spent so much of his time there that she was mostly left to her own devices and enrolled in university etc.

she was in a trolley accident two years after she was revived, taken to the local emergency room while they attempted to treat her wounds, brother tried to insist that she go to the companies facilities but she brushed off his worries as just him being paranoid, only after several days in the hospital, her wounds showed no signs of healing and she began to feel weaker rather than better.

he finally convinced her to go back to the company where she learned more about her treatment, which had involved a bioelectrical feedback of energy into her system -- from other people.  the original steps taken to put her into a state of stasis had trapped her at that age permanently.  further steps had been taken after that to heal the original source of crisis, only her body no longer created the energy necessary to heal herself -- she has to absorb energy from others.

she was horrified, and refused, shocked when she did more digging into the research, demanding to see the records and saw what all her brother had done to try and help her, and how the company had intentions to use this technique, when perfected, into creating soldiers.

tried to refuse ‘treatments’ necessary to revive herself until she was so weak that she couldn’t control herself and attacked several members of the staff.

escaped from the facility, leaving her brother behind, abandoning any contact with her family and went into hiding.  eventually learned to control her ability out of sheer necessity after realizing that she couldn’t just wither away or let herself fade out, her survival instinct would force her to find and ‘feed’ without control.

eventually learned that she could draw out illnesses, wounds from others and either inflict them onto others or heal them in herself with the next dose of energy drawn from someone else.

has led a couple of lives, her latest is as a resident doctor in oncology where she uses her abilities when she can without drawing attention to herself to help patients.