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being-of-rain · 1 year ago

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So on a whim (and in an ungodly short amount of time) I relistened to all of the Eighth Doctor Time War series, because I missed the companion, Bliss. I don't think she gets anywhere near as much focus and development as she deserves by the writers, and I'd probably find her pretty dull if she wasn't played by Rakhee Thakrar, who somehow makes her every line terribly engaging and full of life.

I decided to take notes on Bliss as I listened to her just so I could have a strong grasp of her if I write fic with her in future (I really want a whole series of adventures with her travelling with the Doctor and the Twelve). Then, when I started linking ideas in those notes, I turned them into paragraphs, and pretty soon I'd accidentally written a whole wiki entry about her character, with episodes cited as sources 😂 I thought I'd share it here, because what else am I going to do with it?

Spoilers for the Eighth Doctor Time War series under the cut.

Bliss is from the human colony world Derilobia, studying a post-graduate degree in applied quantum astro-tech at Lunar University. She's empathetic and loyal, cool in a crisis, a natural initiative-taker, optimistic, and very intelligent (many sources). She described herself as liking to deconstruct, analyse, solve, and find a practical use for things and people (In the Garden of Death). She grew up in a city she considered dull. She looked forward to leaving the planet and delighted when she managed it for university (Salvage, State of Bliss).

She is rarely naive, but she makes friends easily and places trust and faith in people even when she has no reason to, or has good reason not to, such as the Doctor (The Starship of Theseus), a Dalek (Echoes of War), the Twelve, the Ogron Doctor (Planet of the Ogrons), the Time Lords in general (In the Garden of Death), Tamasan (Fugitive in Time), and the Valeyard (The War Valeyard).

On the other hand, when circumstances call for it she's happy to go on the offensive with any gun that she can get her hands on, more so as time has gone on, and in the face of the Doctor's express disapproval (Companion Piece, The Starship of Theseus, Palindrome, Restoration of the Daleks). She even went behind the Doctor's back to attempt the premeditated murder of Davros (Palindrome). And when the Doctor used scare tactics against an opponent, she enthusiastically played along (The Famished Lands). All of these instances were tied to self-defence (against Daleks and Time Lords) and her desire to protect others from injustice. She hates sacrificing people (many) but very willingly shot and killed a good man when he asked her to in extreme enough circumstances- in this case when he had a chance of surviving the death and stopping the Time War from restarting (Palindrome).

She has more than once impulsively used dangerously powerful devices to try and achieve the impossible, against the Doctor's wishes, such as the Salvage Train's engine (Salvage) and Professor Deepa's quantum tech (State of Bliss). She questioned if the Doctor was tempted to do something similar with the omniscient power of the Ourashima. In that case, the Doctor had declined the offer on the grounds that everyone in the room had been or could become a warrior, a statement which included Bliss (Jonah).

Indeed, during missions Bliss earned respect from war-hardened military types such as Rasmus, Davros (Restoration of the Daleks), some small begrudging amount from Tamasan (Fugitive in Time), and even acknowledgement of her usefulness from Ollistra (Jonah). She hates the destruction and pain the Time Lords wrought due to their lack of compassion (many) and has more reason than most to hate them after they locked her up and threatened her as first impressions (Echoes of War, The Conscript) and destroyed her homeworld and original timeline (The Lords of Terror). But she was still happy to work with them for the greater good, even contacting them to update them on a mission without telling the Doctor (Restoration of the Daleks).

Her first encounter with the Doctor was a complicated event and often difficult for either of them to remember due to several factors: Professor Deepa retroactively altering Bliss' timeline, creating many parallel lives, to steer her towards the Doctor (State of Bliss, Companion Piece), Bliss meeting the Doctor in a particularly unstable part of the War that altered timelines around people (The Starship of Theseus), their first adventure being more or less erased by Quarren (a powerful Time Lord at the centre of the events) erasing himself (One Life), and Bliss' entire original timeline later being overwritten by another Time Lord (The Lords of Terror).

Bliss travelled with the Doctor for some time between losing her home planet (The Lords of Terror) and meeting the Twelve (Planet of the Ogrons): visiting an ocean planet (Dreadshade), meeting space explorer Hudson Sage (Vespertine), saving the people on the Salvage Train (Salvage), and learning enough about the Doctor's adventures to make jokes about his way of travelling (Salvage etc).

At first she travelled with the Doctor because she had no choice, due to her home planet Derilobia being destroyed. The Doctor told her that he thinks he'll be able to bring Derilobia and her timeline back, "not now, not with the Time War going on, but someday, somehow," and until then they'll "look after one another, away from the battlefields" (The Lords of Terror). Bliss adapted to the change and loss well, probably helped by the fact that the changing timelines made it hard for her to remember her past (Jonah, Salvage). She soon described the TARDIS as "my home, for now" (Salvage). Eventually she was pulled back into the War doing missions with and for the Time Lords (Planet of the Ogrons, Jonah). When the Doctor finally tried but failed to settle her and her planet's timelines, he reassured a Bliss in an existential crisis that he's seen her "do good" and "make a difference," and Bliss resolved that he should take her somewhere she can "help other people" (State of Bliss).

After the Time War seemingly ended, Bliss still travels with the Doctor for "ages" despite (or maybe because of) the fact he hadn't yet managed to restore her home planet (The War Valeyard). It's when the War restarted and they're drawn back in that she shows a slightly more practical and trigger-happy side that appealed to the Time Lords and Davros. She called the Doctor "the best friend I've ever had" (Dreadshade) but pushed him to go to the front lines of the Time War when he was hesitant to. When offered by Rasmus to "find a place" for her, Bliss responded "My place is with the Doctor- for now, anyway" (Restoration of the Daleks). But soon after she seemed to be erased completely from the timeline and the Doctor's memory (Meanwhile, Elsewhere, Vepertine, Previously, Next Time).

I'll also share my issues with how Bliss was handled: she works fine in Eight's Time War Volume One as the one-off companion she was originally intended to be. I'm glad they kept her on, but after that she really needed a strong character focus or story arc, and she didn't get it.

Volume Two and Volume Three each dedicate one episode to her backstory, but neither does it well. Volume Two's episode (The Lords of Terror) edits her in to story about the loss of a planet by making it her homeworld, but so badly that we don't really learn anything new about her and she doesn't seem to care about the fact that it's her homeworld getting destroyed in half the scenes. The episodes immediately afterward had her acting totally fine and not addressing the loss of her planet at all.

Volume Three's Bliss episode (State of Bliss) attempts to address her multiple timelines, but does so in a way that's confusing, badly explained, and again doesn't end up saying or provoking much about her as a character. Both of Bliss' backstory episodes end by proposing things to do with her character moving forward (grieving her home planet in the first, and helping others affected by the Time War as a form of coping in the second) but no other episodes really pick up those threads in an explicit or meaningful way.

Despite not dedicating an episode to her, I think Volume Four gives some of the most interesting characterisation and story arc for Bliss. Namely, she butts heads with the Doctor a lot more in their slight philosophical differences: they both want to help people affected by the Time War, but Bliss is more willing than the Doctor to go near battlegrounds, to use violence in her own and others' defence, and to work with the Time Lords. What could be a better story arc for a companion with Time War-era Eight than her friendship with him gradually fracturing as she gets irritate by his desire to not interfere with the War, even when he could help others. The fact that these ideas are only really hinted at makes me wonder if any of it was intentional arc-hooks, but the hints were spread throughout the set, so who knows.

Then Rakhee Thakrar got too busy to keep playing Bliss, and good for her. Big Finish should've given her meatier stuff while they had her. I honestly hoped that they'd write her off in Volume Five as having left the Doctor on bad terms to work with other Time Lords instead, for maximum drama, especially if they can get her back. But instead she was simply erased from the timeline, which honestly feels very disrespectful if they never bring her back, but it would be in-keeping with her usually treatment. It's a knife in the back that the companion after her, Alex and Cass, immediately have slightly more interesting dynamics and arcs.

#my posts #bliss #big finish #time war #eight #watch me write SO many paragraphs just for my own peace of mind

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wayward-hums · 1 year ago

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For instance: recent studies on PTS have presented, that the diagnosed subjects show a significant difference in volume of hippocampus and amygdala. To me, this clearly indicates that those misdiagnosed with disorders of thought and affect, despite of showing signs of a psychotic breakdown, being administered medicines, must have turned out resilient to all treatment. It may take years, decades, until specialists realise the ‘worst’ option - I apologise for the bias - as it appears plausible that ‘the sufferers' (recent statistics: 1 out of 16-17 people last time I checked) aren’t really as mentally disordered as they are, I’d say, “idiosyncratically ‘retarded’".

The study of philosophy came next, as psychiatry could not bring satisfactory answers at all.

Thankfully, a significant amount of philosophical content, was already familiar to me, since the field of linguistics is concurrently linked to the studies on being. As the constructs described by psychiatry form a system of a written law, a set of rules, a guide into productivity, that is subsequently organised within an already existing foundation, it can be deconstructed with ease. However, the issue of ‘I’ - has always been problematic, even to the wisest of madmen - ever since an animal became self aware. As psychiatry fails to explain the very root of human error, one has to venture a wee bit further - just like with anything else really - to the very source of its existence. A psychotic episode could constitute a breakthrough…: surely - the mind gets lost, and the road that leads to its retrieval is immensely unwelcoming and unsightly - nevertheless, the wisdom given by insanity from within and from without is served freely, imposed forcibly within the flow, and exchanged automatically, as the societal 'soap bubble’, or the personal ‘wall’, depending on circumstance, vanishes. The ‘traps’ left by those in doubt who were before are stumbled upon throughout further discovery. They are there to remind that we are all human, despite of it all. And most, I reckon, have to start alike: “why am I, I?”, (so many get stuck at the hyperreal red stop of monkeys in the pale moonlight, or venturing further back, get mesmerised by lizards baking in the sun), to know how it goes. It is easier now to get out of these ‘traps’, though - from sinking into the realms of religious dogmas, or being lured into the Oedipal net, into a state of organised confusion, where enslaved with a vision of the fulfillment of desires designed externally “for you” one ceases becoming, to finding self at the dead-ends of internally hidden holes of solipsism, or - on the contrary - being locked in the anxious file cabinet of radical materialism… - as those in doubt who were before us, were there too, all human, after all; some of them wrote passages of their labored release from own past inclinations that signify the prevailing nature of some profound dream we are all, seemingly, after. Hence, as long as question is posed, there’s a chance the doors of endless possibilities have been unlocked already, and with each and every one originating from the exact same source, some were friendly enough to leave the copy of their copy of the key behind them.

What would I like you to think of me?

Know that I am

What do I think of us?

We come so anxious and worried about the hostility of the environment; the malice of sharp smiles and beady eyes is upon us. We've felt... We continuously feel heavy pain in our heart. Our chest is growing an evil lotus flower of pastel slime that bursts intensively out of our solar plexus. The only thing still intact is our spirit, and although its walls are being pricked constantly, we don't panic. On the outside of itself, people seem hostile. We sense danger. We feel too vulnerable, our sternum holds an invisible metal screw that is receding persistently, whilst our momentum is ebbing within it the entire time, as if we existed in the applied reality only as a heavy metal body, and the rest wasn't here anymore. People are looking at us with drone empty eyes, without any glimpse of selfhood, and the demons are standing still. Our belief is that people constitute a myriad of components that form different shades of grey while our strength is determined by how much force we possess to remain decent. It terrifies us, as the reality becomes less and less real and our mind more and more abstract. Life is a state of one's mind... Such state can be heavily affected by the environment, by the other. We perceive the hyperreality slowly mesmerising us into an anxious insignificant suit asking us to join the oblivion where nothing resides, where we are (not) in a way, already.

What do I think of you?

Sounds are essential, you know. The youth is - in fact - the key to salvation. I'm writing this to you at the age of 40, so I'd like you to think and feel the impossible: “escape”. The older you’ll get the more gradual the change will become, you will learn to defragment self, believe me, you will overcome self, you will reinvent self, to the point where you'll realise viscerally and absolutely that there is no self. Outside it is all a matter of libidinal force. One fine day your happy bubble’s gonna pop. They will start picking, and you're fragile, they will poke accordingly with their (dis) order, their musick (sick). You will start raising above, higher and higher due to your resistance, and if you’re strong you will prevail alive. The more you’ll resist, the higher you will get, there lies a issue ahead, never the less - you can’t escape societal gender binary no matter what you are, my little tree, my flower, my transgender love, my queer, my unique "transcendered". Let’s face it now - you’re fucked, fucked up, fucked over, and god help you if you just want to get off… At this point you are scared - it seems to you that the sound became a subconscious feeling on the move to find you: sharp teeth, crooked smiles, shiny eyes of beasts start reflecting your essence. Terror of the other, so remote from you out there, resisting to the further borders of sanity.

Now stop, and read me this: You’ve reached a channel you will surely fall from. My assumption is that your blooming understanding of violet makes you tread very carefully. As above so below.

So what do I think you should do with all this?

The only thing you should do, you should punch a Nazi

For poetic reasons.

All is transient, everything is temporary, you're capable of the personal flow, just know that you are, and everything else will unfold by itself, try not to try, accept setbacks, sit tight, and brace yourself in the face of the great annihilator and the absolute signifier, we are all scared shitless, we are in this together you and me. I hope my poetry isn't pure shite and you will find something wee for yourself within it so without further ado:

#zine #me #introduction #the death of the author

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katsidhe · 4 years ago

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Ranking Every SPN Season Premiere

15) 11.01 Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire. For an otherwise strong season, s11 sure started and ended in D tier. Not only is there a baffling amount of screen time spent on Cas’s weird and uninteresting rage spell, Crowley’s sexcapades, and too many one-episode characters, but the whole thing is sewn together with uneven flashbacks. The core concept itself is off: Darkness-as-rage-zombie-infection feels totally out of place in the rest of the season, and any personal fallout from 10.23 is mostly brushed aside. The only thing I like about 11.01 is Sam’s determination to find a cure and save everyone, and the mention of the cage.

14) 10.01 Black. Just because I do quite like demon!Dean’s apathy doesn’t mean it’s gripping television: he’s much better in 10.02 and 10.03, and most of 10.01 is spent on Crowley’s overdramatic griping. Cole is objectively very silly, but, look, I’m only flesh: Sam bloodied and in a sling and tied to a chair is good content, and rescues this one from D tier.

13) 15.01 Back and to the Future. Just like 11.01, 15.01 has to brush past Dean’s willingness to execute a family member in the previous episode, and it introduces a pretty weak zombies plot. However, it gets major points for Sam’s bullet wound visions, and is generally much better staged than 11.01.

12) 6.01 Exile on Main St. A genuinely interesting episode for Dean--both his domestic montage and being faced with Samuel are fresh takes on his relationship with family. Soulless is great, but isn’t quite hitting his stride; 6.01 lays groundwork but hasn’t yet built into s6′s greatest strengths.

11) 3.01 The Magnificent Seven. This one’s kinda campy, but there is some legitimately horrifying imagery, like the guy forced to drink drain cleaner. The deadly sins demons are underwhelming on the whole, but Ruby shows up in fine form, and Sam’s anger with Dean’s willingness to throw his life away establishes a great tone for s3.

10) 8.01 We Need to Talk About Kevin. Kevin is badass, Amelia is amazingly, unapologetically polarizing, Dean is raw, and I don’t really care about Benny. Sam is in a healthier spot right here than we’ll see him for a long, long time, which tees up his anti-recovery arc quite nicely.

9) 1.01 Pilot. It’s a solid introduction. Sam and Dean’s chemistry is potent and undeniable from the get-go. The way they work together so well, layered on top of so much conflict both spoken and unspoken, the things they want and the things they deny wanting--their first time interacting as adults out from under their father’s influence. It’s good!

8) 12.01 Keep Calm and Carry On. Look, I pretend to have complex opinions, but actually I am very, very simple: I just want to watch Sam tied to a chair and tortured. This is the best BMoL episode of the season by a long shot. On top of that, Mary’s introduction forces the uncomfortable and fascinating realization that she’s not going to fit quietly into Dean’s expectations. That final scene of Sam hurt and imprisoned without hope is gorgeous and memorable. 12.01 promised a lot for s12, and it’s a shame that most of it didn’t get followthrough.

7) 14.01 Stranger in a Strange Land. These next four are difficult to arrange, because they’re all so different. This episode has pretty much the only even vaguely interesting material AU!Michael gets all season. Far more importantly, Sam has the weight of the world on his shoulders, and it’s a great look. He has a beard, and he’s looking after Nick (!!), and he’s leading a group of hunters, and he declares that Hell itself better stand the fuck down. Sam for King of Hell 2k18. Iconic.

6) 2.01 In My Time of Dying. John’s deal, and his directive for Dean to save Sam or kill him, is a major turning point that colors everything for years. The human intimacy of the small-scale family drama, unfolding with no magic besides a terrible soul deal to rely upon, feels personal and real. Plus, Sam and Dean communicate via ouija board.

5) 5.01 Sympathy for the Devil. Meg and Zachariah are both in fine form. The apocalyptic set pieces are teed up and ready to be set loose. Sam jumps on the bandwagon of his own castigation, and it aches. Lucifer’s introduction is quiet, and chilling, and note-perfect.

4) 13.01 Lost and Found. It’s hard to significantly change the landscape of a 13-year-old show, and for the better, but 13.01 does just that. Jack is a breath of fresh air. His dynamics with Sam and Dean are complex and heartbreaking--he asks after his father, Sam locks himself in a cell with him. Dean’s blank absolutism mixes uneasily with Sam’s relentless determination and Jack’s innocence. It’s a wonderful new twist on an old formula.

3) 4.01 Lazarus Rising. Dean crawls out of his own grave, Sam’s with Ruby, Cas blows out windows and burns out eyes. 4.01 throws the mythological doors wide open with the introduction of angels, and ratchets the season up to an apocalyptic scale: it’s awesome.

2) 9.01 I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here. I am always and forever intrigued by Sam’s Mind Forests. Dean does something unforgivably horrible to Sam, and in doing so, opens the door to a fascinating arc, wherein his choices here and his treatment of Sam are deconstructed and then reconstructed and then deconstructed again. I’ll never get tired of season 9, by which I mean I’ll never get tired of the fallout from the BOLD choice that 9.01 made to put this conflict front and center.

1) 7.01 Meet the New Boss. If you thought I wasn’t going to put Hallucifer first, you must be extremely new here. Sam’s psychological undoing is chilling and deeply claustrophobic and possibly my favorite thing the show has ever done. On top of that, we have Godstiel’s terrifying purges, Sam and Dean summoning Death in someone’s living room, and even a taste of cosmic horror in LeviaCas. I would tell you how many times I’ve watched 7.01-7.02, but I’ve wholly lost count.

#1.01 #2.01 #3.01 #4.01 #5.01 #6.01 #7.01 #8.01 #9.01 #10.01 #11.01 #12.01 #13.01 #14.01 #15.01 #ranking

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madmaddoxfuryroad · 3 years ago

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HSMTMTS: Season 3 thoughts

So I’ve been ruminating a lot about this show today (like every other day) and I got to thinking about what they might do for season 3. Less so plot-wise (I mean season 2 is just over halfway through), but more about what musical they might do, what the cast might be, and how that could tie into the individual characters and their arcs (some more so than others, but c’est la vie).

In trying to figure out what musical they might do, I started first with the obvious: what does Disney own? I don’t think they would return to the HSM franchise (until the final season, but thoughts on that for another day), so anything related to that and other DCOMs I counted out. I also eliminated all Disney animated/princess films. I love them, don’t get me wrong, but seeing as this season they are doing BATB, I don’t think they would immediately go into another animated-film-adapted-for-broadway right after that. So at that point I wasn’t quite sure where to go. Mary Poppins was really the only other thing that came to mind and while I love the film and broadway show I just don’t think it fits the cast well slash even has enough parts to really showcase them. You have Mary and Bert. And then I guess Mr. and Mrs. Banks? Then the kids are a whole other issue. It just felt messy. So I just started thinking about broadway shows that I like, I mean if they wanted to, Disney has the money and could pay for the rights to use most shows. Then everything fell into place.

Into the Woods. I am 100% positive I am letting my bias for this show cloud my judgement, but if you stick with me, I think I can persuade you (or not, your mind is your own and I respect that). First off, Disney owns it. At least I think they do. They made the movie (RIP), so I am going to safely assume they have the rights at this point. Next, yes it contains fairytale elements, which might make you feel it’s a little too close to BATB, but it is such a deconstruction of fairytales and their tropes that I almost feel like it is an amazing follow up to a more traditional fairytale. It introduces conflict and the real world into these fantasy scenarios, which I feel goes really well with high school in general and growing up, expectations being shattered, and learning to alter your world view (I really love this play). Plus, I think it would be exciting to see this cast do a more broadway-type show. Obviously BATB is a broadway show, but I think there is a lot of reliance on knowing the film and less on the play itself. And not going to lie after Julia Lester’s rendition of “Home” last week (which I have not STOPPED listening to) it would be amazing to hear these teens tackle more broadway-style music. Which, takes me to my final point: the cast. What I love so much about Into the Woods is how it is very much an ensemble cast. Yes some roles are bigger than others, but if you have a named character, odds are it’s a fairly good role. And the whole HSMTMTS cast is so talented, I like the idea of them picking a show where it does not feel like anyone is sidelined with their part. Now the only thing left to do is cast it…

FULL disclosure. I ran into an issue early on that I ended up thinking Ashlyn was perfect for every female role and Seb was perfect for every male role. But I was eventually able to push through and cast it (in my humble opinion) pretty well. So I am just going to go off in the order that I cast them, because I think it will help explain my thought process.

THE CAST

Cinderella - Nini. Once I got over my need to hear Julia/Ashlyn sing “No One Is Alone” (loophole to this coming later), this felt like a pretty natural fit and was one of the easiest to cast. For one, I just think Olivia’s vocal range pairs very well with Cinderella’s and she could do beautifully with her songs like “On the Steps Of The Palace”. But what really got me was the way she parallels the character so perfectly. Cinderella is a character who always dreams of more but isn’t quite sure what that “more” is. And because she isn’t *quite* sure what she wants, the character is often seen grappling with indecision (see: “On The Steps Of The Palace”). Most of Act I is her being stagnant and letting the Prince take the active role. Finally in Act II she starts to get a better sense of who she is, who she wants to be, and what she doesn’t want. So this felt like it tied in really nicely with Nini’s journey and would be a great role for her, especially when…

Cinderella’s Prince - Ricky. Yes, yes I know. Ricky and Nini playing love interests? Groundbreaking. But stay with me. For one, I just like the idea of Ricky not getting the lead male role, and this part is perfect for him, regardless. The whole relationship between Cinderella and her Prince mirrors Nini and Ricky remarkably well. The way the Prince sees Cinderella as this perfect maiden who, if he could just be with her, would be the only thing he would ever want/need. But of course this isn’t realistic and isn’t how relationships work, which they both come to terms with by the end of Act II. Their break-up/parting ways scene might be my favorite in the entire play and I think it would be so great for Ricky and Nini to get to perform. In part because the conclusion of the scene is basically them both admitting that they will always love the idea of the other, even though they don’t actually work as a couple. (**I am operating on the assumption that they will have broken up in season 2 and are still broken up, but never really dealt with it). Honestly I recommend just watching the scene I will link it here (it goes from about 2:12:35-2:15:00). Plus, I could totally see there being an episode where they are trying to rehearse this scene, but it just isn’t working so Miss Jenn has both of them improv it or rewrite the lines to something that might feel more comfortable or personal. And I just see that being a really beautiful moment for the two and a chance for growth and closure. I could go on about this dynamic, but I will move on to my final point: “Agony”. First, while it is mostly a comedic song, you can take just the first verse of the song and recontextualize it really nicely as a Ricky pining kind of song, which I absolutely dig (not quitting on my Rina endgame, and you can’t make me) I mean: “If I should lose her, how shall I regain the heart she has won from me? Agony, beyond power of speech, when the one thing you want is the only thing out of your reach”. And BONUS I think we could also get a full-on version of “Agony” in all its absurdist glory with…

Rapunzel’s Prince - EJ. Well, sort of. Technically, no. BUT for the purposes of “Agony”, yes. At this point EJ will have graduated, but I don’t think he will be written out of the show, so it remains to be seen exactly what his place will be. I just think these two 100% need a song together and this is 100% that song. I could see it being something as simple as EJ is helping out with the show, the unnamed kid playing Rapunzel’s Prince is out, so they have EJ fill in. Or they have to have him go on for that kid last minute during the performance. It’s a quick, easily explainable thing that would have SUCH a great payoff.

Jack - Big Red. This was certainly one of the easier ones to cast, but my first thought was of course Seb. Jack is just a boy whose best friend is his cow and Seb radiates that energy. But I needed him for something else. Enter Big Red, the perfect Jack. For one, Big Red has a lot of that starry eyed wonderment that Jack has, that none of the other characters do. There is a purity and innocence to the way Jack sees a lot of things. That pairs nicely with Big Red. And it also opens the door for him to grow and mature more as a character. By the end of the show, Jack is in a place where is needs to transition more to adulthood and with Big Red being a senior by season 3, I think there is a lot of potential here. Also, with Big Red as Jack, I really like the character he is often paired with in scenes, but I will hold back until I get to them.

Witch - Kourtney. Yes. It is her time. One can debate over which character is the “main character” of Into the Woods, but for me it’s the Witch. And Kourtney deserves this. Did I heavily consider Ashlyn for this as well? You know I did. But I grow more and more confident in the casting of Kourtney the more I think about it. First thing’s first: the Witch belts, and I mean BELTS. Dara is such a powerhouse vocally that she would crush every moment of that; I have total faith. But the Witch also has such quiet and tender moments that people don’t think about as much, but are so necessary for the character to be effective and I think she also has that on lock. We have not seen a ton of it (so I would be eager to get more) but when she did her version of “Beauty and the Beast” she was able to find soft but strong moments in the song, and it was so lovely. Then, from a more thematic POV, the Witch is characterized as “the voice of reason”. While everyone else is running around in their fairytale dream world, she is always the one there dolling out the reality checks. And if that ain’t Kourtney. Basically, I think it is her time to get the lead and she would be amazing in this role.

Baker - Seb. Finally settled on a role for him. But really, how could it be anything else? I have felt since the first time we heard him sing (in Truth, Justice, and Songs in our Key, I think) that he was severely underused. The Baker is essentially the male lead, and he has earned it. I don’t think there’s much more that needs to be said here.

Baker’s Wife - Ashlyn. Here’s the thing: could someone else be cast as Baker’s Wife? Yes. And I am sure they would do a fine job. But the thing about this role is that you often don’t realize how fantastic it is until you see someone really great playing it. There’s heart, humor, tragedy, and so much more all wrapped into this character and I would far and away trust Julia/Ashlyn with this above all others. And Baker’s Wife gets to sing a short reprise of “No One Is Alone” so I get to win both ways. No matter how I try to cast it or rearrange characters, I keep coming back to the fact that Ashlyn is just hands down the correct choice. Plus she is one of the better options when it comes to having chemistry with Seb. And I’m not even talking about romantic chemistry, just more about the camaraderie of it, and being able to really see them as a team worth rooting for. They both have an inherent sweetness that makes you care for them, which is crucial for the show. AND this would be another opportunity for Julia Lester to flex her acting after playing VERY different roles in HSM and BATB. Basically, I don’t know when it happened, but I think I am a Julia Lester stan and I only want what is best for her and I think this is it.

Little Red - Gina. “Didn’t see that one coming did you?” -Pietro Maximoff. And honestly same. There’s always that tough moment in casting when you’ve done the more obvious ones and then you feel sort of stuck with cast choices that weren’t really your choice. But this one really grew on me. Hopefully, I can do it justice. And I will be the first to admit Gina deserves her time to shine because I do think she is amazing. It just isn’t her time yet. It also doesn’t help that Into the Woods is one of the LEAST dance-centered shows and dance it where she really puts all others to shame. So this is where we landed. But it works. I promise. Little Red as a character is pretty naïve, but covers it up with over the top confidence. That feels pretty Gina. I love where her character has gone and all the growth she is displayed in trying to be more vulnerable. But there is still a part of me that does miss mean girl Gina and I think Little Red is a great way to get that energy without backtracking the character development. I don’t think she would be the stereotypical “bratty” Little Red, but I think she could still do something great with it. Also very similar to Jack, Little Red is one of the more innocent characters that has to grow up and face a lot of harsh realities over the course of the play. And I have no doubt Gina would nail that aspect of it, too. And speaking of Jack, Little Red has a number of scenes interacting with him and you know what that means: Gina and Big Red bonding time! I really like the idea of these roles bringing the two closer as friends. And I already head-canon that they would have a ton of fun playing with the fact that they are now Big Red and Little Red (especially since he is on the shorter side and she is on the taller side). Basically I see this as a way for them to build up a really good rapport. I am also pretty convinced that Big Red is a secret Rina shipper, and this would only add to that. And finally even though this is not a dance-heavy show at all, one place where they could add a dance is during “Hello Little Girl”. Now I will be the first to admit that this song is dicey at best, particularly for Disney. But even a scene working on the dance with just the instrumental, no lyrics, could be great. I see it as a partner dance with the wolf (I don’t know dance terms, so maybe this is super vague). And oh, wouldn’t you know it? Cinderella’s Prince is often double-cast as the wolf! (WHAT ARE THE CHANCES) Meaning the Wolf would also be good ol’ Richard Bowen. And I like the idea of getting Rina scenes of them trying to work on the dance, but Ricky is super bad a leading, and they just have fun trying to figure it out. It’s also nice that it is absolutely not a romantic dance so the two wouldn’t feel any added pressure and could just have fun with one another, and that really is when Rina is at its best (not that I would say no to a scene where Gina has to teach Ricky the BATB waltz, but I digress).

Narrator/Mysterious Man - Carlos. By process of elimination, you probably could have guessed who was next. And I know this one also feels like a weird choice but I do kind of love it. First you have the narrator, which is another one of those roles that is only as memorable as the actor playing it, which I think is right up Carlos’ alley. He is always trying to put his unique stamp on things and be memorable and he would take the narrator in a very enjoyable direction. There’s also the matter that I see Carlos as something of an assistant director with Miss Jenn, which makes him a third-party observer of the shows inherently, so it is almost a little meta that he would also end up being the narrator. Then there’s is the mysterious man. I love the idea of Carlos getting to play two very different characters, but I love it even more because the mysterious man is the father of the baker which makes for a lot of sweet moments between the two of them. Yes it might be a little weird for Seblos to be playing father and son, but there is such a vulnerability and tenderness in the moments between the two characters, particularly during “No More” that I can get over it. Because I think they are one of the few pairings on this show that could really pull that off. I just think this character would be a great way to exhibit the range of Carlos.

**BONUS ALTERNATE CASTING**

I really, really love this idea and could not fault them if this was the direction they went, but I ultimately decided against it, mostly because I felt too strongly about another character having the role BUT:

Baker’s Husband - Carlos. I just really love the idea of Seblos getting to be front and center, with their dynamic as the focal point of the show. And honestly Carlos would also do an amazing job as this character. I mean, Seb and Carlos singing “It Takes Two”? How sweet is that? This would also be a great way for the development of their relationship to get a little bit more attention, instead of a side story here and there. There is a lot that could be done with this from a story perspective and I would be here for it.

Unfortunately, then that leaves me unsure of where to put Ashlyn. She could be Jack’s mother, but that feels like such a waste of her. I mean, she would do well and she does have the lead this year, so it’s not SO terrible her having a more minor character, but it just doesn’t feel right. And I really just feel so strongly that she would be the best option for Baker’s Wife out of everyone. And it opens the door to develop the Seb and Ashlyn friendship more, which I am always here for.

Anyway. Those are my thoughts. If you made it this far: wow and thank you!

#hsmtmts #rina #hsmtmts season 3

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minkdenmilo · 4 years ago

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💙 Autism Trait Listing Time 💙

I am self-diagnosed as of now but I'm in the process of trying to get tested and my diagnosed friend said that a lot of what I told her lines up so it's likely I am autistic.

+ Constant Fidgeting: Bouncing of my leg, Tapping of my fingers - If I stop I am physically uncomfortable and tend to shake my ankle/foot or shake my wrist/hand

+ Sensory Oveload at Noise: Usually it's not the loudness of noise for me, but the overlapping of noises. Hearing a television play a show + someone talking + someone somewhere else talking etc. makes me get a headache and I sometimes feel like crying because I can't focus or really hear myself think.

+ Sensitivity to Sudden/Loud Noises: I flinch and startle at loud noises frequently- to the point in which it is noticeable by friends. If the bell goes off when I don't expect it to or the fire alarm I nearly fall out of my chair. If my dad raises his voice or if anyone gets upset and raises there voice I instantly assume they're yelling and tense up- even if they're just raising their voice a little.

+ Tactical/Texture Sensitivity: I detest certain textures and actively avoid them like cotton balls (which feel like how nails on a chalkboard sound), fennel/rosemary, any texture in drinks, nuts in bread, etc. in which my family has noticed and teased me over. Where as other textures I adore and constantly seek out like tree bark or soft fur like textures.

+ Stimming(?): I constantly pick at my skin and when I try to stop I can briefly before I go back to doing it without thinking because it's relaxing. I constantly play with the joysticks on my Nintendo Switch to help compensate and give my hands something to do. I use a fidget spinner sometimes as well to help relax and when I get anxious I use it more often cause the noise it makes and the action of spinning it is helpful. I also do the ASL (sign language) alphabet without thinking to myself just cause it's relaxing and when told to stop I get a bit anxious. I tap my fingers together repetitively a lot and my friends have noted this and have mentioned I tend to do it more when I'm stressed or bored.

+ Hyperfixation: I have the habit of finding something I like and then focusing on it violently. When I was a kid I would watch the same three movies (Newsies, Highschool Musical, and Hairspray) on repeat until I memorized the lines. I went through a phase where everyday I watched Total Drama for like half a year- I still remember the events of each episode. If I watch a video on a video game I have to look up the Wikipedia entry on it, read everything in the fan wiki, and watch video after video deconstructing the game until I'm satisfied. I'll listen to the same song for hours at a time for a week or more and then ramble about it to my friends. My habit of infodumping everything I know about a subject bothers my families and friends. I'll ramble for an hour about an idea I have for a play to a friend before realizing I haven't shut up cause I know most people don't care about minute things like I tend to.

+ Being a Kid: As a kid I was definetely the odd one out. I would hug everyone regardless of who they were, how close we were, or if they were receptive. I just had to hug people- I would get upset if I couldn't hug people. To this day I have stuffed animals I hug because I get anxious without the physical sensation of hugging after too long. I never seemed to be on quite the same wavelength and would stare people down just randomly, even I didn't really understand why I'd do it but I would just lock eyes with someone and not stop until they told me to. People would openly mock me and it would go over my head because I genuinely thought they were my friends and were being nice (I would get called werewolf due to my messy hair and sharp teeth and I would just smile and say I preferred being a vampire). I wore the same velcro shoes everyday until they wore out and demanded my mom buy the exact same pair. I'd cry whenever someone hurt my feelings even once I turned 10 and 11. I accidentally hurt my friends by punching them or pinching them cause I didn't realize how much I was hurting them until I drew blood or they demanded I stop.

+ Routine: I hate being late. I hate being on time. I have to be 10 minutes early to everything. If I have to be somewhere at 9 and its a 30 minute drive then I have to leave the house at 8 or 8:10. If it hits 8:11 and we aren't on the road I lose it. I cry and panic and I shake like a leaf until my dad starts the car. In elementary if we were even a second late I'd sob uncontrollably and panic. Now I still cry and shake but it's not as bad. I am an avid rule follower even when I know I'm being silly. My friends and I went to an abandoned building and I was anxious that we'd be arrested despite knowing people did it all the time and it was fine. I had to stay at school after hours for a project and I wouldnt stop worrying we'd get caught and expelled even though our teacher said we could. When I was like 8 or 9 I read about how not turning off your heater started fires so every day before I left for school I'd check to make sure the heater and oven were turned off three times each. Even if we'd never turned them on in the first place. I haven't been able to focus in online school without the structure of being physically in school no matter how hard I try. When my dad takes the family places last minute I feel unbearably anxious and out of it, even when I am aware I am overreacting. I have noticed executive disfunction issues in the past and when presented with multiple things I need to do I get overwhelmed and panic and do nothing instead. I hate clutter and in the desire to clean one item I end up deep cleaning everything just because I start one chore then think of another in the process and it spirals from there.

+ Misc: I have always been the sensitive emotional child. My mom frequently teases that I never get her sarcasm. I can't decipher how people feel unless I can hear their voice and see their face which makes texting and to a lesser extent voice calling anxious and weird for me. I actively avoid eye contact with people I don't know well and avoid conversation on elevators or in public spaces. I adore watching slime videos and stim boards are wonderful now that I've discovered them. Math isn't my strong suit because the numbers don't make sense to me- I can't decipher even simple algebra equations but I've always been great at reading and I pride myself on my vocabulary and way with words. Despite this I can't give speeches or explain things to save my life even if I know exactly what I mean and want to say I just cannot verbalize it properly so I have to write down exactly what I want to say before I say it. Even then I ramble too long and my dad frequently notes I can never "get to the point and trim out the unnecessary details" but like- I can't tell which details are necessary or not. I can never be presented a broad piece of information and understand it, I need every minute detail first otherwise I cannot understand the bigger concept and thus when I speak I provide every detail to make my point crystal clear. I also feel uncomfortable around authority figures and adults- way more than seems normal- and avoid eye contact and tend to be especially anxious and respectful because adults and authority figures just scare me.

These are all just like the immediate things that jump into mind + context around them. Idk if these could actually point to me being autistic but if anyone has any advice or help then please let me know. I'm kinda worried I'm being a hypochondriac but that might just be because my dad doesn't believe in autism so I'm internalizing that.

I've had close friends say some of my symptoms seem like anxiety or OCD but the texture based stuff and the fact that I have purposefully tried to stop stimming and fidgeting and have tried to repress my natural behaviors due to being seen as like weird and "off" makes me think maybe it might be autism and I just didn't realize because I assumed everyone dealt with similar things and I just was bad at handling it.

#autism #possibly autistic #asd #autism advice?#plz help i am very worried im overreacting and i dont want to talk to my parents unless im like 100% i have it

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redrobin-detective · 6 years ago

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So this past week my boyfriend and I binged the Umbrella Academy on Netflix and we started it to make fun of it but then became pretty invested. We managed to get through all 10 episodes and I must say overall I really enjoyed it and I’m still musing on it. I have problems obviously and I don’t like some of the choices they made but overall it was a fascinating show. Imma put my thoughts under the cut, spoilers for the whole series.

- So I still hold that TUA was made as one of those superhero deconstruction where it’s like ‘owo superheroes irl aren’t real and sustainable’ which is a trope I usually hate but somehow it works out (though I still hate the trope and certain elements in the series). Reginald Hargreeves was, in my mind, modeled after Batman/Professor X stereotype of a mentor/teacher who wants to train heroes not raise kids which... yeah isn’t correct.

- I think what sticks with me the most about the series is that, in the end, it’s not a show about superpowers or time travel or the apocalypse. It’s about 6 extremely fucked up people who really can’t do much of anything. They had SO many opportunities to stop the end of the world. I was screaming at the TV because if they had one (1) family meeting where they talked through things everything would have been alright (if we assume Vanya causes it every single time). So many times there were ALMOSt there but inevitably one of them fucked it up.

-Like seriously, between Luther’s isolation/inability to think for himself, Allison’s selfishness and self-centered views, Diego’s inability to work well with others and listen, Klaus’s desire to run away into drugs and thus isn’t listened to when he actually sobered up and had good ideas, Five’s apathy, tendency to jump to extremes first and mental breakdown from decades of being alone/assassin, and Vanya’s enforced separation from her siblings and inferiority complex hiding massive repressed rage/trauma they were all at fault for the way things ended. People say “Luther was the bad guy” or “Five messed it all up” but the truth is? They ALL were victims and they all contributed to the clusterfuck.

- That said, I still have my favs. I loved Klaus for his emotional depth and journey and how he genuinely wanted the best for people but just couldn’t cope with his own demons. Once he sobered up he was one of the most stable, sensible siblings which is, wow. Five was just stellar. What a fucking prick but damn his character was such a kaleidoscope of disaster and anguish and the effects of what mental trauma DOES to a person. That kid deserves all the goddamn awards for that performance and I look forward to his future career.

- Allison was my least favorite, I understand why she was the way she was but she, not Luther, is the MOST responsible for Vanya’s breakdown in my mind. Time and again Allison lashed out at Vanya, verbally tore her down, pushed her away, disregarded Van’s opinions. Yeah Luther locked her away at the end but by that point the damage was done and no amount of “yay sisters” will deny how Allison dismissed and fought with her from minute one.

- I just fucking love time travel stories, I am so weak for them. Everything got so wibbly and Five, motherfucking Five, with his teleportation and briefcases just hopped around without realizing that he created no less than 3 separate timelines. I adored watching things unfold only to backtrack and restart on a different path. Man with one eye? Oh yeah he was relevant 2 timelines ago now it’s all about the Commission. fucking love that shit.

- Season Two wishlist: My ideal for S2 would be the 7 Hargreeves (BEEEEEN) going back to some point in their childhood and just, starting over. They keep it a secret from Reginald and the others but they start putting things into motion to avert future problems (Leonard/Harold, Commission, etc). Along the way, they confront, accept and heal from their traumas and start to bond as proper siblings and hone their abilities. Maybe the Commission comes to try and restart the apocalypse and they must avert it as the united Umbrella Academy.

- Also: more info on alien Reginald, the mysterious pregnancies because there were 43 total heLLO? Dave but unlikely, HazelxAgnes 5ever, more Commission info, give Five a decent coffee ffs, Claire.

#the unbrella academy

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kdtheghostwriter · 6 years ago

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SNK 116: V Has Come To

Alexa: play “Roundabout”

When I first saw the Kanji that represents “rumbling,” my first two thoughts, in immediate succession where as follows: “Oh, shit, is it already happening” and “Oh, no, wait it’s just like JoJo.” (Fun fact about that ED, since Ded Memes live here. The little To Be Continued arrow always flies in before the drums hit. Like everything it gets adjusted for the purposes I suppose. Anyway!) Honestly, every chapter in this volume has ended like the episode of an anime, including this one with its hero/villain stare down and triumphant proclamation from the narrator. More on how those tables have turned later.

I want to spend most of this essay talking about Eren, since I spent most of the last one talking about his older brother. I’m not so much surprised at the direction his character has taken after so many years of pain and abuse. What does take me aback is how so many people are apparently sympathetic to Zeke while hating Eren, especially considering how Eren had a comparatively awful upbringing while spending a lot less time being shitty to people.

But maybe I shouldn’t be too shocked. Even as the main character, he’s always been controversial. Whether by people who want him to be paired with one character or another, or those who just plain don’t like him. Even in-story, good will has been hard to come by. One minute they’re honoring you and your friends in front of the Queen. A few years later, you’re locked underground as a fugitive of the military-controlled government.

It was the Chapter 112 recap where I broke down the nuance of a pro wrestling storyline – specifically in regards to their character-driven nature. I used performers like Shawn Michaels and Brett “The Hitman” Hart to outline the natural progression of a character from fan favorite to hated ne’er-do-well. Now, I’ll be using an example much more relevant to the story. The Rise then Fall then Return then “Turn” of Daniel Bryan.

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Most important thing to note about Daniel Bryan is that he’s not supposed to be in the ring at all. A series of concussions and other injuries forced him to retire from active in-ring competition. This was directly after a year-long saga of him trying to prove himself as a main event player. After what seemed like endless waves of red tape and front office hurdles, he achieved the absolute pinnacle of the business. Winning in the main event of the year’s biggest show, WrestleMania, and becoming the World Heavyweight Champion. It was always going to be downhill from that point. What couldn’t have been predicted was the suddenness of it.

Three years pass and Daniel Bryan announces his imminent return to active competition. His first match back is yet again at the Showcase of the Immortals. He receives a hero’s welcome and for several months is riding a familiar high as the most popular superstar in all of wrestling. And then, he fights AJ Styles and something changes.

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I must note here briefly that at this point in the latter part of 2018, AJ Styles himself is enjoying a year-long run as champion of the world’s largest federation. He and Daniel Bryan were scheduled to have a match at the Crown Jewel event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Yes, the same Saudi Arabia that allegedly orchestrated the murder of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi. Daniel Bryan, along with other members of the roster, refused to make the trip. As such, his WWE Championship match was pushed up a week to be contested on TV. Bryan lost this match, but that would not be the last time they faced. In fact, the very next time the two squared off, Bryan captured the title, albeit via some nefarious means. It was after this match (followed by a match with former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar) that something broke within Daniel Bryan.

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The WWE’s relentless media schedules as well as the punishment of months of fighting on the road finally broke him down mentally as well as physically, and he decided that enough was too much. Daniel Bryan utilized his newfound platform as champion and killed the movement that catapulted him to worldwide fame. In its place, a message of repentance. He replaced the leather strap of his title belt with one made of hemp and naturally fallen oak. He railed against the paying fans for their unchecked consumerism and even admonished his boss, billionaire Chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment Vince McMahon, for exploiting their more reductive tendencies.

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This is going to sound weird because, honestly, these things change month-to-month but, yes, Daniel Bryan is supposed to be the bad guy here. And for a segment of the audience he absolutely is. Live crowds across the country (excluding his home state of Washington) hate Bryan with a fiery passion. Meanwhile, all of Twitter asked all at once, “Wait, you want us to…boo him?” It’s the most famous Heel Turn in recent memory due in part to the circumstances and the performer involved. This was the most popular wrestler in the world not six months prior. But even though the crowd still loved him, they were not clamoring for him like they had been. The magic of the Yes Movement was largely gone.

In Shingeki no Kyojin, I’ve witnessed this cycle ad nauseum. It’s the ebb and flow of fandom. I’ve been reading this series long enough to recall a time when Eren was seen as a useless, whiny geek as opposed to the badass world-beater he is now. There was a time, believe it or not, where Reiner was as polarized and hated as Eren is now. Before that even! Reiner was little more than the cute, air-headed jock before he and Bertholt revealed themselves as spies. Isayama reveals him as his favorite character and he’s been the darling of the fandom ever since. Second perhaps only to Commander Handsome himself who is even more popular in death. Annie still has her fans, despite only being in maybe fifteen percent of this manga.

My point is the same that Isayama has been getting at for the past three volumes or so. (Maybe more than that if we accept Kruger’s monologue as the first example.) Your notion of how the world works has been fucked from the start. Good and evil; right and wrong; Marley and Paradis. Reality is only as good as your perspective. The author was not content with just stating this, though. To prove his point, he deconstructed his own carefully planned narrative, rebuilt it backwards, then flipped it upside down so that now, we’ve come back ‘round to this.

Funny thing, life is. When your idols become your rivals. Eren once confided in Reiner for support in his darkest moments. Now, it’s very likely he’s going to try and kill him. Simply for getting in his way. This is more of the framing I’ve talked about before from Isayama. This looks like any other match card from an actual title bout. To show you what I mean, I’m going to line up several examples.

Seeing it now? Classic promoter tactics. Building up the hype. People rib on the Dragon Ball series for doing this sometimes – in the case of Z – to a comical extent. But really, this method can be seen elsewhere in stuff like JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, One Piece, Yu Yu Hakusho, Lupin the Third; I really could just name twelve more titles.

This is a rematch four years in the making. Yes, they met in Liberio but I don’t count that as a fight, considering Eren won long before anyone even transformed and Reiner was literally begging for his death. In present day, the Warriors have caught The Usurper off guard and they have much needed backup. This conflict has been set up like the apex of any Marvel movie. The mismatched group of heroes converging on one point, because the only hope they have of defeating the super villain is if they do it together.

This is why Pieck didn’t pull the trigger when she had the chance and also why Eren didn’t transform and splatter her and Gabi against the dungeon walls. Pieck is part of a team. A team with a plan. Part of that plan involved getting Eren Jaeger out in the open where he would be exposed to an all-out attack. Eren had prior knowledge of the Warrior Unit’s arrival and knew his best option was to track their location and cut them off. Pieck was likely dead whether she cooperated or not. What Eren didn’t account for was Porco, who was actually in plain sight amongst the other Jaegerists, but in a world where photography has just recently been introduced, one could not expect them to recognize him out of his Titan.

Pieck trusted her friends, and now they are all dropping in to Shiganshina to aid in her rescue. Eren did not trust his friends, and now they are all dead, mutilated or locked in a cell and they won’t be coming to his rescue. In another manga, this would be the turning point of the story where the Big Bad got his comeuppance and learned the ultimate lesson about the Power of Friendship and the series would end with the two brothers embracing in a pile of rubble. This is not any manga. Eren has three Titan powers at his disposal. (Four if he can get his hands on Porco again.) Unless there is a legit airstrike of some sort or some other secondary offensive, Reiner has no chance of winning this. Maybe he doesn’t have to, depending on what the plan is.

We still don’t know what Eren’s plan is either! That’s probably the biggest difference between him and Daniel Bryan. The Daniel Bryan character was developed weekly on television over many months and his motivations up to this point have been fully fleshed out. Eren’s motivations are a mystery to everyone except Eren. Even his brother Zeke doesn’t know what he’s up to. Zeke who, by the way, can magically appear in this upcoming battle as well. No, I don’t think Eren is the final “bad guy” of this story. I just wish he was, because he’s damn good at doing it.

I do not know how this ends. I am, however, sure of one thing.

Stray Thoughts

- I wouldn’t say either Eren or Pieck had the other fooled at any point. They were at an impasse and Eren decided to move the plot along.

- Eren isn’t the classic mwahaha villain (yet) but wow is he angry. And not the violent, explosive anger we know him for. Cold, cunning, calculated. I genuinely feared for Pieck’s life despite her holding the gun.

- I know we’ve been conditioned by this story to search for subtext, even when it’s not there, but I wouldn’t read too much into certain…stuff that happened with the 104th. The point here was to re-establish what we already know about the crew. Jean is a very perceptive lad and almost certainly the next Commander if anyone survives this story. Armin is…having a moment.

- I have to wonder how good Magath’s intel is for this op. Does he know that Shiganshina is deserted? Has he accounted for Zeke’s appearance? Does he know the God of Destruction is nearby?

- Yelena has been a favorite of mine since her debut, when everyone thought Connie grew three times his size. I won’t call it a Heel Turn because it doesn’t count if you weren’t wearing the White Hat to begin with.

#snk meta #snk 116 #shingeki no spoilers #eren jaeger #eren kruger #pieck #gabi braun #porco galliard #yelena #onyankopon #armin arlert #mikasa ackerman #jean kirschstein #connie springer #nicolo #reiner braun #theo magath #character study #everything is a jojo's reference

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mahvaladara · 5 years ago

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Shah talks Psi - The beneficial effects of giving your kid nightmares

You know how people say children shouldn’t see certain shows because it’ll give them nightmares?

I only partially agree and disagree of this statement.

As a therapist I stand my ground that children SHOULD be allowed to have nightmares.

NIGHTMARES. Not night terrors, there’s a difference. A nightmare is a concrete dream the person remembers and can be discussed and deconstructed with the child. A night terror is a constant, insidious and persistent nightmare that the child may or may not remember, though most often the latter and therefore can not be broken down.

What do I mean with deconstruct a nightmare? Read on.

As a child, I loved movies. I grew up with Stallone, Van Dame, Seagal, Chuck Norris, Bruce Lee, Schwarzenegger and so on. I also grew up with the old school gory horror movies.

Three shows that I love but gave me nightmares as a child are, without a doubt, Robocop, Alien the 8th Passenger and yes, Jurassic Park. Now I am not saying you should let your child watch those movies. Robocop, especially the acid scene, is not a movie a kid should watch. HOWEVER, neither of those movies are that bad...

Most of today’s horrors movies aren’t that bad. I mean, you shouldn’t let your kid watch the Saw franchise, what form of sick fuck are you? But Anabelle? Pffft. Ouija (if anything maybe the kid grows to avoid those toys, like... for fuck sake mate!)? Sure. Aliens? Yup. Predator? That’s more of an action flick. Let’s see...

The Conjuring scares me, and it will scare you kid shitless. It will give them nightmares for weeks. They are going to start locking their bloody closets at night XD. The Bye Bye Man, the Others, Us. Get out.

Troll: But that’s going to give my kid nightmares!

Yes. And thank god it does. It means your kid’s brain is working correctly.

When it’s night terrors and constant everyday nightmares, then it is bad, something is failing. Either you have not broken down the “nightmare” correctly or something else entirely is scaring your kid.

My mother used to think my night terrors were caused by movies before she found out I was actually terrified of school because of my teacher’s physical abuse towards me. She removed the movies from my life, but the night terrors persisted all the way until I left that school (hope that teacher burns in hell).

A child having a nightmare every now and then it’s actually beneficial for them.

Nightmares have a very important role in emotional organization, emotional management and brain development. Nightmares are basically dreams, but dreams that are organizing negative concepts. Dreams that are organizing the concept of ghosts, death, blood, the concept of fear, anger. But also, and this is important, the concept of fiction, of security and above all, DISBELIEF.

It is okay for a child to EVERY NOW AND THEN watch a horror movie. A horror movie with a plot and preferably a good ending. A good resolution to the horror movie, like they kill or destroy the demon, is very important. Why? Closure. It tells the child, this terrifying thing existed in fiction and could be defeated.

But, the child must not watch the movie alone. It is important the parent is with the child, it can be at night, but the parent must be with the child. Because what’s going to happen is that that kid is going to ask questions, questions the parent must answer, question the parent must deconstruct. And at night, that kid is going to wake up crying that there’s the Conjuring Witch inside their closet.

What must the parent do at this point?

Deconstruct.

Basically the parent must break down the child’s fear, explain the notion of fiction, look for the child’s fear, show it is not real, or offer a solution. Lock the closet door, turn on the nightlight, offer to sleep with them. These are ways to break the fear, and offer security.

Troll: But isn’t it best to avoid this?

No. It isn’t. Because a child who does not have nightmares has a much worse skill at managing negative emotions. And a child who does not have nightmares, has night terrors. Because, as the brain is being literally prevented from organizing these negative emotions, it goes a-wire and doesn’t know what the fuck it is supposed to do.

Children who don’t have nightmares, are more prone to night terror, to emotional management dificulties, to outbursts and tantrums.

Nightmares helps them organize in a safe environment negative emotions, such as fear, anger and frustration. And it is very important a child know how to act with fearful things.

I advise you watch Black Mirror episode “Arkangel”, I think it shows perfectly the effects of painting the world pink for children and not allowing them to experience and organize their bad dreams, their bad emotions.

So. What should you do?

There’s a horror movie on TV or Netflix. Google the plot. Watch the movie on your own, and then make your own judgement if it’s really that bad.

Would I let my kid watch Alien, the 8th Passenger? I’d let them watch the entire franchise actually. Would I let them watch Saw? Nope. The Conjuring? The Walking Dead? Evil Dead? Yes. Sinister? Drag me to Hell? Nope.

Depends on your own suspension of disbelief. How real is this fear? And above all, does it have a good ending?

Horror movies with good endings? A-okay.

Gorefests, “bedisturbed” movies, and bad endings. Nope.

Basically use your common sense. You’re not about to watch the Human Centepide with your mother. But an X-Files marathon is awesome.

Last, but not least. It is important that, while the kid is watching and even if he has nightmares you explain to a child the notion of Fiction.

Children don’t have the capability of looking at a movie and seeing that as fiction, to them, those movies are real. All shows are real, when I was five I thought Lara Croft was a real woman. After I realized what was shown in games wasn’t real, I thought she was inspired on a real person, and eventually I was taught the notion of fictional characters.

Now, children cannot look at a movie and flat out realize nothing of that is real. The adult must explain that the Alien in the movies is a guy in a suit that happens to have very elongated arms.

Basically.

Nightmares are necessary evils for our emotional development.

And use your common sense.

Someone once told me:

“Raise your child the best you can, for regardless of what you do, you’ll be doing it wrong.”

So, my advice is do the best you can and don’t be so worried of shielding your child from all the dangers of Media. Children are not idiots, and if you sit down with your child and explain to them what they just watched or are about to, they themselves, will eventually form their own opinions and decisions about what they want to watch or not.

So, rest assured that your kid accidentally watching Vin Diesal fly over a truck in a car, or Steven Seagal breaking a guy’s arm, or Sam and Dean being ragdolled by a demon, is not going to “traumatize” them. It might give them nightmares, but they will, most likely, be fine.

Fiction is different from reality and that is something important for them to understand.

This was Shah. I am done here.

#shah talks psi

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boombitxh · 7 years ago

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Scandal Ruminations 7X07

I think that I can finally, for once in my life, with clarity, can tell where Scandal is going! It took me ten thousand years to finally get here but for some reason once I reached the point of indifference I was finally able to objectively watch this show.

Let’s face it, this show loves to tap dance on our very last nerve. First things first: For what it’s worth I don’t think that Quinn is dead. The actress gave no exit interviews to any press as is customary. I know she just had a baby but these interviews are arranged and conducted way ahead of time.

I will start by saying this: Olivia still has a few stages to go through before she gets to where she’s going and I’ve identified the stages as follow:

1) The Catharsis: the breakdown of what’s left of this version of Olivia. It began this last episode as she grappled with her very own chewy center. She has one but she has deluded herself into thinking that she doesn’t. All the baggage she dropped on Rowan’s living room floor is the most self-aware moment she’s had in years! I found her statement to contradict everything she told Fitz in that 509 argument but I will delve into that later and how S4B & S5 are what bring us the Olivia we see today.

2) The isolation: Olivia must spend time alone to come to grips with the choices she has made. The choices that affected her personally and the ones that affected her friends/family. This introspection will also serve as the foundation for what Olivia wants to do with her life. If you had asked me a week ago I would’ve told you she needed this introspection but I would have not been inclined to think that she was ready for it. Her moment of self-awareness, in which she acknowledges the root of her problems, her father, serves as the beginning of the breaking down and breaking through to move the show forward and onto her introspection.

3) The penance: Olivia is not a very verbal person in terms of apologies, I mean I can count on my hand the few times she’s apologized. I think her making amends will be more about actions and less about words.

4) The Rebuilding: Olivia will eventually power through and finally envision who it is she wants to be and what she wants to be doing. She looked so unenthused when Mellie was giving her the “No man between us” speech that I felt as if she was on the verge of quitting right then and there. The WH at the service of Mellie ain’t the place for her. She isn’t cut out to be command as we’ve clearly been shown. There’s only one place left for her to go: back to the white hat, whatever the white hat means for her from this point forward.

5) The reconciliation: this applies to all aspects of her life, with Fitz (I was a skeptic but if they’re going to make second-rate Dabby endgame then what has been the point of dragging Olitz out all these seasons. Come on!) and the reconciliation with what we were introduced to as her initial family: OPA.

I mentioned earlier how her speech to her father was the opposite parallel to what she tells Fitz in their argument in 509. Her words during that argument reflected her and were a deflection of her own actions that lead to that point in the relationship. In no way am I implying Fitz was innocent in all this. Olivia specifically hits Fitz where it hurts by saying she came from a palace compared to him but my oh my how the tides have turned and now she’s capable of acknowledging that she was emotionally deprived and made in her father’s image.

Kidnapping Arc Revisited

I am almost certain that Rowan was responsible for her kidnapping. Throughout the whole ordeal he behaved with such aplomb that no harm would come to Olivia and was so aloof that I have no doubt in my mind that he orchestrated the whole thing. It’s important to note that Quinn is wearing her ring when she is snatched in the elevator, thus leaving her ring behind for the crew to find is an intentional act that parallels Olivia’s kidnapping. Since Rowan snatched Quinn (although I’m positive it was Jake who physically did it because what other loyal goon does Rowan have otherwise?) As I was saying, since Rowan snatched Quinn I think the parallel is intentional and would connect him to both kidnappings.

I think that Rowan orchestrated the kidnapping to further separate Olivia and Fitz. The kidnapping placed Fitz between a rock and a hard place and no matter what he chose he would disappoint Olivia, so by design this would further drive a wedge between Olitz since little Jerry’s murder was not enough to keep them apart.

Fitz was torn between two choices:

Not rescue Olivia -this would disappoint her and make her believe he never loved her and would have destroyed her confidence in his love. Keep in mind she tells the kidnapper that the President would be looking for her.

Rescue Olivia –As Fitz acquiesces to go to war to save one person this also shatters Olivia because Fitz makes a choice that she vehemently disagrees with. She does not want to feel responsible for a war, much less the lives that will be given in exchange for her survival.

Fitz would lose no matter what choice he made, and either choice would forever change him in her eyes, further driving a wedge between them. No matter what he chose he could not win and would be tarnished in Olivia’s eyes, between a rock and a hard place.

Note that the S4 finale has Olitz reuniting but it is only possible because her father is finally locked away and out of her life. It is obvious that Olivia has not dealt with her PTSD at this point in S4 and all the trauma that remains bubbling beneath her surface comes to light in S5A.

Fitz’s marriage proposal under the worst circumstances possible triggers Olivia’s commitment issue which at that point in the story is not new. Under the pressure of an impending wedding that neither of them were ready for at that point in time Olivia does what she knows will relieve her of this - she frees her father. If her father is free Olivia is under his control, whether she knows it or not. Olivia’s PTSD reaches new heights when Fitz creepily moves her in without even asking and this is when it takes a drastic turn—Olivia is now caged and is reliving her prior traumatic experience. To free herself she severs all ties with Fitz, abortion included, and fully begins to live in her father’s image post 509.

Motherhood & Babies

Something that I’ve noticed for a while now is the consistent theme of babies and motherhood. All of which can be traced back to the very first season and I have confessed on here that I don’t think that Olivia wants to be a mother but it’s just so in your face that I had to stop and reconsider. It’s likely that Olivia thinks she won’t make a good mother, what could be called her family life has been nothing but torture so it’s not hard to see why she would think that, and that is further reiterated with her choice to have an abortion. HOWEVER, I have been having conversations with people analyzing the motherhood/babies theme for a few months now and it is obvious that on some level Olivia resents Quinn because she has a life that Olivia might’ve imagined for herself. In this season alone Olivia has touched her lower belly, like she did in 509 when she says there is no future for Olitz anymore, at least 3 times that I can easily remember. This is intentional

After thinking about it for a while I came to two conclusions: One that I’ve discussed on here before, the idea that Olivia having a child would further advocate for choice in alignment with the social messaging of the show. Allowing the character to experience both ends of the spectrum re motherhood would cement the idea that women are in control of their bodies and should be able to choose when to take on motherhood if they so desire.

The other conclusion is the fact that what Olivia has come to believe about herself & her abilities/lack thereof regarding motherhood are untrue. Olivia is the matriarch of OPA, it was her nurturing force that brought them together. She found all those people, took care of them, and put them back together! If that doesn’t stand out as one of the foundations of her mothering abilities, then I’m not sure what will.

Now that makeshift family is sort-of broken, and notice that every single member has done morally questionable things, all their ugly has been exposed and their relationships deconstructed. After they get over their final hurdle with this Olivia & Quinn situation they have nowhere to go but up. Notice that no one has said the words “over a cliff” in a while because they no longer have that sycophantic relationship with one another, and especially with Olivia. That wasn’t healthy, which is why the deconstruction is pivotal to change within this group of people.

Extraneous Characters

This episode confirmed my suspicions that Jake is working behind her back. My spidey senses tingled in the beginning of the season and I was right. Jake is not interested in bringing Olivia into the light, his only concern appears to be freedom. Therefore, he is participating in this whole charade with Rowan and undermining Olivia. He looks like he’s involved to the point where he is taking orders from both Rowan and Olivia, but at the end of the day he’s interested in freedom the same way other characters were interested in freedom this last episode. Rowan’s bones are just a sad euphemism for his freedom to take back command. Notice that Jake suggests Olivia kill Rowan because he is too weak himself and wants Olivia to subconsciously free him. That thing she told him about him needing her too much? It’s true. And Olivia gambles with her father until the very end so that she can prove that she is the one in control and free of him. The complete opposite is true; she is still his prisoner as she described how she was made in his image. Rowan has never stopped being in control.

Now that I mentioned Jake it’s also important to mention that I’m sure his days on here are numbered. This last episode planted the seed in Cy’s brain that something is amiss. Using Fenton as a scapegoat was a bad idea; Cy is now questioning the intel Jake claims he had and he seems to be the only person who remembers that this asshole killed James in cold blood. It’s the perfect time for revenge. Cy will help unfurl what exactly has been going on under the roof of this WH all along. THE TIME IS NIGH! PLEASE! PLEASE JUST GET RID OF JAKE!

Also, important to mention that Pryce of power guy was (is?) a member of the press just like James, it was no coincidence that Cy of all people has that discussion with Jake.

Mellie ,*cue eyeroll* The most useless character on here that can’t do anything unless she is coddled and spoon-fed. She needs Marcus for advice, she needs Olivia to hold her hand every second, SHE is the one that’s President but in the end, she relents and decides to pick Fitz’s brain (and reports) to see how she should propose Criminal Justice Reform. No idea ever comes from her! EVER!

Her whole “we don’t need no man” speech was one of the creepiest things I’ve ever witnessed on this show. I’m not sure if it was the acting or what but I picked up on the strangest tension. And about men coming between them? Fitz was between them in the beginning, and he is between them now because Mellie is discussing and setting policy goals with Fitz instead of with her COS, especially after Fitz has been pseudo-banished. No man between them? LIES! It’s always the same man, now it’s just not in a romantic context.

In the end this whole Rashad thing will blow up but I refuse to think that this bitch will have the satisfaction of firing Olivia. Olivia looks like she’s barely hanging on by a thread as it is, I want her to quit and reclaim her agency! For all the times that Mellie treated her like some whore that was responsible for serving her now ex-husband! And all the times she’s been dismissive of her this season! Or how she wants all sort of plausible deniability while Olivia gets her hands dirty as command! Enough of this kumbaya sisterhood shit, it’s fake, let’s end it!

The only thing I can’t quite decide on is Rowan’s fate. The kill order is still standing; we were left with that cliffhanger… But I wonder if the show is gonna go down the whole patricide route? I’m not sure. It is obvious that Rowan and Olivia cannot coexist, for her to be able to live her life she needs to be free of him. It is no coincidence that she was somewhat functional the first two seasons when Rowan was not in the picture. Once he entered the scene her life started to spiral, culminating with this last episode in which Olivia unloads all her baggage and all the fingers point to Rowan.

Last Few Words

For the first time in a long time I am eager to see the show return. We only have 11 episodes left but these are all loose ends that need to tied up. For a long time, I resented the show because I felt as if the writing was constantly contradictory and I felt like it was impossible to interpret it. The characters would act a certain way but their words were the complete opposite and I just found myself running out of patience and not knowing what to believe. I had to reach a place of indifference to be able to interpret it. I in no way believe that all, if any, of these predictions will come to fruition and this may be more along the lines of wishful thinking perhaps. I want to fall in love with Olivia the same way I did at the beginning and I REFUSE to think that they will let her go out unhappy. Whatever her version of happy is then so be it, but she is not cut out to be Command. The writing’s on the wall and we are reaching the end so everything tends to feel on the nose and too intentional for there to be coincidences. I’ve thought of other things that I did not include on here because this is so insanely long but would love to discuss and pick at other ideas. :)

I think that we will come to find that Olivia has a deliciously chewy center. (And I’m sure Fitz can attest to that!)

#Tony Goldwyn #TonyGoldwyn #Olitz #olivia pope #oliviapope #olivia and fitz #scandal #scandalabc #scandal abc #Fitzgerald Grant #KerryWashington #kerry washington #scandal 7x07 #mellie grant #olivia x mellie

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sunandrainfic · 7 years ago

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The Immorality of Honesty

OK BUT HWAYUGI THO

I need to get this off my chest. Because usually, a love spell trope is a deeply problematic trope and every time something cute happens between love-spell-impaired lovers onscreen, that whole consent thing roars its ugly head and I think “ah, damn, this is cute but also I’m deeply uncomfortable with the level of consent going on here.”

But Hwayugi is fully aware of this. In fact, it manages to deconstruct the love spell trope while also giving us exactly the kind of speedy romance we’d have the benefit of getting with a love spell. How do I know it’s doing this on purpose? Because its amazingly self-aware characters are also deeply uncomfortable with the level of consent going on.

Specifically, Mr. Cannot-Tell-A-Lie Son Oh Gong.

Oh, I know what you’re about to say. “Cannot tell a lie? Surely you jest. That Monkey lies all the time.” I direct you to the below clip:

Does he lie at any point during his epic fooling of Sun Mi? Indeed he does not. I encourage you to go back to all the instances he tries to fool people and pay attention to his dialogue.

Part of what makes Son Oh Gong such an amazingly well-written Trickster character is the fact that he never lies. He may conceal parts of the truth in order to get what he wants, but every bit of dialogue that comes out of his mouth is honest to a fault. He only tells the truth. (The truth as he knows it, at least.)***

And this is why he’s the perfect character for this kind of plot.

The Geumgango is, as our favorite Monkey rightly puts it, a prison. And because Oh Gong is fully aware of the prison being a love spell, he understandably assumes every loving thing that comes out of his mouth is a lie induced by the bracelet (since, no matter how much feels like true feeling, intellectually he can’t ever really know what’s real or what’s fake). This is why he can say things like “yes, it would be easier for me if you disappeared” and “If I were to lose her, I would be really lonely” and have both of them be the truth.

And our viciously honest Monkey makes sure that Jin Sun Mi never forgets that, too: she’s imprisoned him. The prison she locked him in (as far as they know) magically forces him to be in love with her. She should be feeling uncomfortable about both his feelings and her own for him, because the very nature of the prison she locked around him nulls any consent that he might have in the relationship. And this is why his honesty is such an immoral, beautiful thing: it hurts as much as it heals, often more so.

WHICH IS ALSO WHY IT WAS SO IMPORTANT THEY DID WHAT THEY DID IN EPISODE 6. God bless the Hong Sisters for knowing exactly how long to linger in the drama of the uncomfortable, and exactly when to let us know it’s okay, the bracelet isn’t the love spell.

Ugh, I am really loving this show, cheesy slapstick and all.

***EDIT: I have to edit this and add “aside from when he teases people.”

youtube

#hwayugi #son oh gong #jin sun mi #meta

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amwritingmeta · 7 years ago

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I know its only one episode in so far, and in that one we have already gotten so many callbacks. I'm a sucker for bookends, and it pains me to have the thoughts but does this season feel a little bookendy to you? The bringing back of loved characters, and already all the callbacks. Are they wrapping up the story? I hope not, but my brain wont stop poking at the idea...

Hello my lovely Nonny!! (forgive this late reply)

And oh honey, my honeysuckling honey bee, I hope you didn’t come to me for reassurance that it clearly isn’t so! I’ve believed for a long time now (well if you can call six or so months a long time) (and you can) (when it includes hellatus) (am I right?), ever since 12x19 and the Phenomenal Callback Phenomenon introduced to us in that episode, that they’re wrapping up the narrative.

Oh yes.

But look at the rain-bow they’re creating for the wrapping. The parade and the confetti and the pink blues and purples all over. Look at what they are giving us!! (which is everything) This show is going to go out on such a high note it’s going to be heard around the fucking world. And these characters are going to get the ending they all deserve, that they’ve earned, after years of fuckery!!

And the world lives on in Wayward! Yayyyyy!

I see SPN as a three act structure, really, where we’re in the third act, climbing towards the climax. (it sounds so deliciously dirty) (and I have a feeling it will be)

I don’t know if we’ll get a full S14 - I mean, given how balls out they are this season I just doubt it, but if we do it will be the season of LOOK AT US AND SEE US AS WE REALLY ARE and it’ll be fucking mind blowing so sign me up. I think, though, that they might be aiming for episode 300 as the series finale… But that’s just a total hunch!! I could be wrong!

I do, however, very firmly believe that they are wrapping this narrative up towards an ending. We should celebrate these episodes for all that they represent. Deconstructing Dean is a narrative thread that keeps making me tear up, because he deserves to be happy and let go of all that baggage. BAMF Cas returning from the Empty blows my mind every ten minutes so yeah fun!! And Sam being so done and so strong and so amazing and just needing honesty and open communication is… everything. Jack is the key in the lock of TFW and I cannot wait to watch him slowly turn turn turn them around.

I hope that answers your question! Thanks for getting in touch, always a pleasure!

#answered asks #spn narrative structure #all good things must end sometime

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scriptscribbles · 7 years ago

Note

hey, i saw your post where you mentioned hoping to convince fans returning to the show to reconsider moffat's era, and i was wondering if you have any posts you'd suggest reading on that note? i'm one of those fans and am willing to reconsider but am not sure where to find comprehensive meta

Hello!

Well, more than any of us blathering on about the show, I’d say let it argue for itself. In particular, I recommend watching 2015′s three-parter of Face the Raven/Heaven Sent/Hell Bent, which is in my mind the finest feminist triumph in this show’s history and a damn good tale to boot, probably my favorite Doctor Who story. Basically, it sets up a mighty story of fridging angst and then swerves aside for an ode to women’s agency. It’s wonderful. @whovianfeminism called it “the most explicitly feminist call-out of the Doctor’s behavior I have ever seen,” and people often cynical toward Moffat even offered opinions like “For me, and I am not a Moffat fan in general (as those who read my blog will know), I thought Hell Bent was very satisfying, and definitely showed the character of Clara Oswald the respect she is owed.” (x)

Probably the most divisive element to the late Moffat era and what many people new to or returning to it might struggle with is Clara. She’s a complicated character, and people who love her generally love her for how she’s allowed to be a complicated and flawed equal to the Doctor. The first hurdle people often experience with her is the “impossible girl” arc. A common critique in the early backlash to Moffat was that he treats women as sexy plot devices, but this whole arc is a subversion of that. It’s just easy to miss because it’s a story through the Doctor’s perspective about him reducing her to a mystery.

Rather conveniently, we meta writers no longer need to spell that out (though we have on several occasions), because Moffat’s come along and said it himself. "The idea of ‘the Impossible Girl’ is because that name in no way applies to her properly. The Doctor thinks she’s impossible and then discovers she’s a perfectly real person, a perfectly ordinary person. His disposition is to treat people like puzzles to be deconstructed and what he learns in dealing with Clara is he was dealing with a real human being and if he’d picked up on that earlier they would have been better friends quicker. So that’s what ‘the Impossible girl’ is, it doesn’t exist, she’s just Clara Oswald." (x) @abossycontrolfreak writes some amazing meta on Clara and, as I recall, was able to basically work out her ending because of it.

From there, her arc revolves around her becoming more and more flawed and complicated and like the Doctor, but this is rather spelled out, honestly, within the episodes. Flatline, for example, has her running round with sonic in hand calling herself the Doctor while the Doctor is locked up and advising her over a communications device, and Death in Heaven has her proclaim herself to be the Doctor in the pre-titles, which then teasingly put Jenna Coleman’s name first and replace Capaldi’s eyes in the titles with hers. Her story arc, in essence, is a girl asking why she can’t be the Doctor, too. And the answer her arc eventually provides is that she can. I’ll leave specific pieces of meta recommendations to the reblogs, I can’t keep track of all of them! There’s many good ones.

Another big thing with Moffat that tend to rub people the wrong way is a tendency to tease certain stories but deliver other ones. It’s a common trick I basically take for granted at this point, but many don’t (and gosh, the week between World Enough and Time and The Doctor Falls was a mess as a result, I did keep saying there was no reason to panic about Bill but people didn’t listen...). Usually, this involves teasing a big, continuity-encompassing epic before scaling down to the more intimate character-driven story that’s needed. Doctor Who scholar @philsandifer terms it “narrative substitution.” Here’s the piece he did on that, though he’s got plenty of other good scholarly work about all sorts of corners of Doctor Who. So basically, set your expectations to the story teasing you about what story it is going to tell, because that’s the real question Moffat’s era repeatedly asks you. What story is it really all going to be? Every time, really, it’s one about the companions and their lives and agency. They’ll be put through the wringer first, of course, but they will come out triumphant.

As for the man himself, well, there’s a few things to note. I mapped out his position as I see it in the ideological discourse of Doctor Who here (1) (2). Might even need to do a third part in light of this Doctor casting. There are many interviews from him that are taken out of context, such as the “women are needy” one, in which he was talking about the perspective of a sexist character on his sitcom, Coupling. But beyond that, he’s just generally very sarcastic, and that can lead to some unfortunate out of context soundbites flying around. So while he’s on many occassions supported a woman Doctor (x) (x) and mentioned that the show is written to support that and make it possible, you’ve probably seen none of that and tons of references to his crappy joke about the queen becoming a man.

I hope this more or less covers it. I am so entrenched in picking apart this stuff that I take a lot of it for granted, so if you need any further explanation for your understanding, please let me know.

#steven moffat #doctor who #replies #Anonymous

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weerd1 · 5 years ago

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Star Trek DS9 Rewatch Log, Stardate 1909.24: Missions Reviewed, “Prodigal Daughter,” “The Emperor’s New Cloak,” and “Field of Fire.”

In “Prodigal Daughter,” Chief O’Brien has gone off to find the widow of the man Bilby he befriended in the Orion Syndicate the year before (I personally wonder if it is to return their cat) and gone missing. He happens to have disappeared on a world where Ezri’s family, the Tigans, own a mining business. Ezri has not been home in some time, but goes to see what she can do for Miles.

Getting there, she finds her younger brother emotionally troubled, her older brother trying to please mom running the business, and her mother fawning over and protecting the younger brother while sharply critical of the older. Through the uncomfortable family dynamics, Ezri’s mother does find O’Brien is in local custody, picked up having been in a fight with two Naausicans of the Orion Syndicate. He found Bilby’s wife, and she is dead.

She also worked for the Tigan family. Ezri and O’Brien start digging and find out her older brother made a deal with the syndicate when the mine his some hard times a while earlier. In exchange they wanted the company to “hire” Mrs. Bilby and pay her regardless of the work she did. Ezri confronts him on this, but it is her younger brother who comes forward to say that Bilby was going to extort them for more, so he handled it and killed her. After he’s arrested, Ezri’s mother ask Ezri to tell her that it’s not her fault. Ezri cannot and walks out.

Not that this is necessarily a bad episode, but the return to episodic tv is a little jarring with so many episodes in a row that tied to either the ongoing war story or story of the Bajoran Prophets and Pah-Wraiths. I need to remind myself that those contiguous arcs were NOT the norm then, and having them at all made DS9 ahead of its time. It was still an episodic landscape though, and each episode I watched last night being stand alone well, stands out. It also seems in a rewatch that the staff was trying very hard to get “caught up” on Ezri’s character development. They don’t pull a “Voyager” where every episode after Seven of Nine is introduced is about her, but all three tonight feature her prominently. Though, there are still ties here to earlier storylines, again engaging on O’Brien’s time undercover in the Orion Syndicate. Seems pretty coincidental though that in a big galaxy, Bilby’s widow happens to go to the family of the new counselor on DS9.

In “The Emperor’s New Cloak,” Quark continues to pursue Ezri when Rom tells him the Nagus is missing. They decide to look for him, when Ezri comes to Quark’s quarters but he realizes this isn’t “his” Ezri, but rather the one from the mirror universe. She has Zek, and will return him in exchange for a cloaking device since they don’t have them in the MU. Quark and Rom steal one, and Ezri takes them over where the Human Alliance lead by Smiley O’Brien immediately steals it (after killing Ezri’s co-conspirator a non-hologram Vic Fontaine).

Turns out Ezri is in league with The Intendant (Mirror Kira) who is trying to get the cloak for The Regent (Mirror Worf). Brunt appears and breaks Quark, Rom, and Ezri out of prison and they again steal the cloak and make a break for it. Getting to the Regent’s ship, they find that the Intendant never planned to trade Zek back. Ezri and Brunt help them all escape, though Brunt is killed in the process by the Intendant. When the Defiant under Smiley shows up, they help disable the Klingon flagship. The Terrans capture Worf and the cloaking device and send the Ferengi on their way.

I have long hated this episode, finding it pretty ridiculous. We saw the MU has cloaking tech already, but making it cloak allows for a gag scene of Quark and Rom walking around carrying an invisible box. Ezri being literally in bed with the Intendant feels very exploitative (the polar opposite of how well done the same-sex relationship was with Dax in “Rejoined). Reading up on this one though, it seems producer Ira Steven Behr wanted to point out the inherent ridiculous nature of a “mirror universe.” He does manage that well, particularly with Rom’s running commentary on how “alternate” this alternate universe is, making it something akin to Bizarro World in Superman comics. I will just say that I am glad “Discovery” doesn’t take this track when they get into the MU.

“Field of Fire” opens with the crew celebrating with the extremely talented new Defiant helmsman, whom Ezri walks back to his quarters after too much partying.

The next morning though, he is found dead, shot with a projectile weapon at close range, but no power burns, and no sign of anyone entering his quarters after Ezri left. At the scene she is struck by how happy he had been, even finding a picture of him smiling and laughing with fellow officers. Soon after, another crewmember is found killed the same way and O’Brien figures out the method of murder. A sniper rifle with a mini transporter and trans-dimensional scope that allows the person to stand anywhere on the station and fire a round into anyone without being in the same room. Ezri, seeing a happy wedding picture of the new victim decides to act. She calls forward the memories of her host Joran, the murderer, to solicit his advice on finding the killer. He seems pretty bent on driving her over the edge too, but his insight is helpful. A third victim appears and Ezri notices this one too has a smiling photograph. If the killer can see into anyone’s quarters, they must be triggered by the emotions in the pictures. She begins sorting through the records of Vulcans. Narrowing to 28 suspects, she is on her way to her quarters when a Vulcan gets on the turbolift, and the Joran echo is convinced it’s the killer. He has Ezri use their model of the rifle to spy on this Chu’lak in his quarters where he is looking at Ezri’s personnel file.

As she watches, he takes out a transporter sniper rifle and starts looking for her. Joran is telling her to shoot him, to kill him, and when Chu’lak sights in on her, she does fire, hitting him in the shoulder and causing him to miss her. She and “Joran” go to the Vulcan’s quarters where Joran urges her to use his rifle and finish the Vulcan off. Ezri does not, finding that the Vulcan just lost the crew of the ship he served on and has decided no one can ever be happy again. With Chu’lak stopped, she goes to reintegrate Joran, knowing that he will always be part of her, perhaps more so than Curzon and Jadzia; now he will not be buried.

Again, our third Ezri episode, but an effective locked door mystery. The method of murder is interesting, and Ezri dealing with Joran now calls to mind watching “Mindhunter” on Netflix. The idea they find the killer when he happens to get on the elevator with them seems like a bit of a shortcut in the story, and I think more investigation and less coincidence should have led to the end. Also, the motivation on the Vulcan seems a little suspect, but the writers wanted the surprise of it being a VULCAN SERIAL KILLER, which perhaps again ties to the deconstruction of the Vulcans so prevalent in “Enterprise” and first seen in “Take Me Out to the Holosuite.” Maybe I am comparing it too closely to “Mindhunter” which exists explicitly to explore murderer motivations, and here, it’s more of a character piece for Ezri. In the novels, Erzi will go on to become a starship captain in the fleet, more focused in sure of herself. I wonder if we can say that’s due to her “wolf” being more assertive, a callback to the original series “The Enemy Within” where Kirk without his predator instinct becomes an ineffective leader?

NEXT VOYAGE: Odo finds another one of the 100 Changelings sent out into the universe in “Chimera.”

#Star Trek #Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #DS9 Rewatch

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poorquentyn · 7 years ago

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Men’s Lives Have Meaning, Part 5: The Hour of Ghosts

Series so far here

“There’s a tipping point in every tragedy where inevitability locks the exit doors on free will and you know that after this, there is no turning back.”

-- @racefortheironthrone

Hello everyone. My name is Emmett, and I could have been imagined, designed, constructed, and sold as a consumer for the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. I had just turned twelve when the first one came out at the end of 2001, I’d read the books that summer, and the infusion of swelling Hollywood orchestras and Peter Jackson’s beloved action schlock was perfectly calibrated to take my love for the material and shoot it into the stratosphere. I still look back on those movies with love...mostly. There are moments, especially in Return of the King, where the tone tips overboard:

youtube

On one level, that’s what we want our heroes to say, right? We’re up against the odds, we might not be rewarded for our efforts, but let’s do it anyway; that’s the lesson a lot of great genre fiction is meant to leave us with, in one form or another. The problem with that clip is the knowing wink, the sly acknowledgement that after they’ve escaped so many other hair-raising disasters, this is just another day at work. I get the joke, but it would make more sense for (say) a Bond or Indy movie, where it really is just another day at work and part of the enjoyment comes from how what’s over-the-top for us is normal for them. In the context of LOTR, it’s tonally off, because this is not supposed to feel episodic. It’s supposed to feel climactic, like our heroes are genuinely in danger as everything comes to a head, and that’s marred when you expose the plot armor so blatantly. If this is just another day, why are we supposed to be invested in their risk?

Of course, Peter Jackson didn’t invent that problem. It’s a storytelling problem. And that is why GRRM created Quentyn Martell. It’s why he tries to tame a dragon and why he fails: to reclaim the stakes and re-sensitize us to the risk. It’s not just that he dies, it’s how and why he dies. What does it mean to not have plot armor? What does it say about quest narratives that they can collapse so completely and yet the quester clings to tropes as if they’ll save him? How are we to live if Story fails as an organizing principle? “The Spurned Suitor” brings these questions to the forefront, right before “The Dragontamer” sets it all on fire. It’s the most reflective and dialogue-heavy of Quent’s chapters, the most thematically explicit; it’s the one that cuts through the hellish imagery dominating this storyline right to what it all means. In genre terms, where previous Quent chapters soaked the fantasy tropes in blood-red horror, this chapter has a distinctly noirish feel to it, in terms of both imagery and theme.

“The Merchant’s Man” introduced Quent reeling from his friends’ deaths; “The Windblown” caught up with him in the wake of the Sack of Astapor. In both chapters, as I said in the essays in question, GRRM’s focus is less the traumatic event itself than the psychological impact on Quent--both are about how one processes these existential challenges to the hero’s journey, and why one would keep going in the face of them. “The Spurned Suitor” pulls the same trick, but with a twist. In this case, the pre-chapter trauma that shapes the chapter isn’t an obstacle to the quest. It’s the outright failure of it. Quent reached the beautiful princess, proved himself willing (though not exactly eager) to transform from a frog back into a prince...but she said no.

To be clear, chapter title aside, the horror here is not getting rejected by a pretty girl. (Like I said last time, Dany doesn’t reject Quent in favor of the dark dashing Daario and his lust for open war, but in favor of the dishwater-dull Hizdahr and the peace he ostensibly brings; as she tells herself upon agreeing to marry the latter, she’s trying to act on behalf of her people.) The horror here is getting rejected after losing your friends and killing screaming teenagers along the way; the horror is selling your soul to live a life you didn’t want to live, only to find you’re not even going to get that. The horror is that it wasn’t worth it. It all meant nothing. Story is a lie. Of course, if that’s all there was to Quent’s story, it would be tired and boring. What grounds it emotionally is that laserlike focus on the aftermath of that revelation, as it hits home harder with each step of the descent. What do you do when your easy narrative falls apart and you’re left with no good options?

In “The Merchant’s Man” and “The Windblown,” Quent’s reaction to this trauma and disillusionment was to repress what he’d gone through and done, soldiering on with the Windblown repeatedly intervening (as if sent by some sinister observing God-Author) to allow him to do so. Now that he’s faced with the failure of his quest, all the kid wants to do is to go home, but he can’t bring himself to face the shame of failure and (even more so) his survivor’s guilt...

“We should be heeding Selmy. When Barristan the Bold tells you to run, a wise man laces up his boots. We should find a ship for Volantis whilst the port is still open.”

Just the mention turned Ser Archibald’s cheeks green. “No more ships. I’d sooner hop back to Volantis on one foot.”

Volantis, Quentyn thought. Then Lys, then home. Back the way I came, empty-handed. Three brave men dead, for what?

It would be sweet to see the Greenblood again, to visit Sunspear and the Water Gardens and breathe the clean sweet mountain air of Yronwood in place of the hot, wet, filthy humors of Slaver’s Bay. His father would speak no word of rebuke, Quentyn knew, but the disappointment would be there in his eyes. His sister would be scornful, the Sand Snakes would mock him with smiles sharp as swords, and Lord Yronwood, his second father, who had sent his own son along to keep him safe…

“I will not keep you here,” Quentyn told his friends. “My father laid this task on me, not you. Go home, if that is what you want. By whatever means you like. I am staying.”

...and so instead, he reaches out to the Windblown in the hopes that they’ll once again keep his quest going, even as their actions and attitudes continue to undercut the ostensibly righteous and hopeful nature of said quest. We see that right from the beginning of Quent’s penultimate POV chapter:

The hour of ghosts was almost upon them when Ser Gerris Drinkwater returned to the pyramid to report that he had found Beans, Books, and Old Bill Bone in one of Meereen’s less savory cellars, drinking yellow wine and watching naked slaves kill one another with bare hands and filed teeth.

This fighting pit, an unofficial but not-so-secret alternative to Daznak’s, is a glimpse of the Meereen outside the rarified domain of the Masters. The black market sprang up as the sanctioned one shut down, and that the Windblown are taking part reminds us of the sellswords’ own analogous role in The System, straddling the line between a standard part of Essosi military coalitions and a wild card constantly in the position to upset the applecart.

That backdrop provides the thematic and emotional context for the decision Quent makes in this chapter. The hour of ghosts, indeed; the shadow city of alleys and cellars into which Team Quentyn descends in “The Spurned Suitor” is haunted, not only by those already dead but also by the deaths to come. As has been the case throughout Quent’s storyline, his personal struggles dovetail with (and are influenced by) the big picture of the Meereenese Knot. Just as Dany’s refusal obliterated the remnants of the “tale to tell our grandchildren” veneer, leading to Quent betting his life on a wild roll of the dice, so has her departure at Daznak’s shattered the pretense of peace, leading to the whole pot boiling over as ADWD comes to a close. Indeed, I’d argue that Quent’s quest and Hizdahr’s peace are analogous. They sound good on the surface, appealing to values we instinctively support, but quickly prove rotten underneath the gild, enabling the worst actors in the Meereenese Knot instead of righteous causes, before they both finally come crashing down at the same place and time in the Kingbreaker/Dragontamer two-sided setpiece. It’s all approaching the tipping point, personally and politically.

But as I said, what makes Quent’s chapters more than glum grim deconstruction is the extent to which the characters are aware of this tipping point, that the story is falling apart around them, and that’s made explicit in “The Spurned Suitor.” On their way to their fateful meeting with the Tattered Prince, Quent and Drink argue about the former’s plans, and IMO it’s one of the most important and profound passages in the series. Let’s break it down.

“ ‘The dragon has three heads,’ she said to me. ‘My marriage need not be the end of all your hopes,’ she said. ‘I know why you are here. For fire and blood.’ I have Targaryen blood in me, you know that. I can trace my lineage back —”

“Fuck your lineage,” said Gerris. “The dragons won’t care about your blood, except maybe how it tastes. You cannot tame a dragon with a history lesson. They’re monsters, not maesters. Quent, is this truly what you want to do?”

“This is what I have to do. For Dorne. For my father. For Cletus and Will and Maester Kedry.”

“They’re dead,” said Gerris. “They won’t care.”

“All dead,” Quentyn agreed. “For what? To bring me here, so I might wed the dragon queen. A grand adventure, Cletus called it. Demon roads and stormy seas, and at the end of it the most beautiful woman in the world. A tale to tell our grandchildren. But Cletus will never father a child, unless he left a bastard in the belly of that tavern wench he liked. Will will never have his wedding. Their deaths should have some meaning.”

Gerris pointed to where a corpse slumped against a brick wall, attended by a cloud of glistening green flies. “Did his death have meaning?”

Quentyn looked at the body with distaste. “He died of the flux. Stay well away from him.” The pale mare was inside the city walls. Small wonder that the streets seemed so empty. “The Unsullied will send a corpse cart for him.”

“No doubt. But that was not my question. Men’s lives have meaning, not their deaths. I loved Will and Cletus too, but this will not bring them back to us. This is a mistake, Quent. You cannot trust in sellswords.”

“They are men like any other men. They want gold, glory, power. That’s all I am trusting in.” That, and my own destiny. I am a prince of Dorne, and the blood of dragons is in my veins.

We see here that Quent’s sunk cost fallacy has completely taken over his decision-making process. Because his quest has already gotten people killed, it must continue, or in his mind, they died for nothing. This is, of course, extremely relatable. We’ve all made decisions like this, albeit usually on a much smaller scale. No one likes to admit failure, everyone wants to attach some meaning to their losses, and we’re meant to understand why Quent is so helplessly mired in panicked desperation. I can fix this, I will fix this, oh gods please I have to fix this...

GRRM makes this decision easy to empathize with in order to sucker punch us with the larger revelation: the basic mechanics of the genre are designed to create precisely such a sunk cost fallacy. You are supposed to lose companions--that raises the stakes, heightens our emotional involvement, and challenges the protagonist both externally (how do I logistically complete the quest without that companion?) and internally (how do I soldier on in the face of that loss?) You are supposed to have a low point where you question everything that’s led you to this moment. You are supposed to take an enormous risk. You are supposed to, literally or metaphorically, tame a dragon.

In Quent’s case, however, we’re dealing with a Last Hero who never finds the Children of the Forest--or perhaps, a Last Hero whom the Children pitilessly watch die. As such, when looking at his arc as a whole, those losses and low points don’t serve to allow our hero to prove himself and us to revel in victory snatched from the jaws of defeat. Instead, they are warning signs that our hero ignores. Quentyn’s story interrogates reader assumptions about quest narratives: why do we embrace such a narrative? What are we overlooking when we do so? What if the quest in question rips those assumptions limb from limb and leaves them to bleed out on the deck of the Meadowlark, in the ashes of Astapor, in that hellish pit beneath the Great Pyramid?

As far as what all this looks like to Quent himself, it’s made clear that what he’s relying on to save his quest (and his soul) isn’t anything intrinsic to his actions. He’s not counting on courage or ingenuity. He’s not even counting, first and foremost, on the Windblown. He’s counting on the story itself to save him, the elements of his narrative that would seem to demand he succeed: his princely heritage, his lost companions, the fact that he’s taking a big foolish romantic risk.

But as I said a few essays back, the story is in fact out to kill Quentyn Martell, and so Drink does what good friends have to do sometimes: tell you that you’re spouting BS. “Fuck your lineage” is GRRM speaking through Drink, launching a deconstructive nuke at the idea that your bloodline is what makes you The Hero. That holds true with the *actual* heroes as well, of course--one of the major themes of Jon’s story is that everything he’s learned and struggled with is what makes him a worthy savior figure, not R+L=J in and of itself. But it’s different with Quent because he doesn’t have a grand destiny, earned or otherwise. As such, he’s left alone in an existentialist void, trying to create meaning out of what’s befallen his quest.

And just as I wrote my series on Davos’s ADWD arc in order to talk about his letter to Marya, I wrote this series in order to talk about Drink’s response to Quent’s desperate plea to the gods that “their deaths should have some meaning.” This is a bold statement, I know, but: “Men’s lives have meaning, not their deaths” is the closest we’ve gotten to an overarching thesis statement for ASOIAF. It reaches all the way back to the first book, to Ned (who, like Quent, turns out to not be the protagonist after all) and his shocking demise. So many readers have interpreted that moment, as well as the Red Wedding two books later, as being indicative of nihilism on GRRM’s part. Everything is chaos, honor gets you killed and is therefore worthless, “power is power.” But this is not so. Ned’s legacy is not his death, it is his life. The children determined to find each other again because Dad taught them to stick together and be brave, the vassals who have set out to rescue and restore those children in his name, the memory both in-universe and IRL of a decent man who treated his servants like human beings worth listening to and who was determined to protect the young and innocent...all of this is the meaning of Ned Stark, not that he ended up as a head on a spike. By the same token, the meaning of Tywin Lannister isn’t that he died on the can. It’s why he died on the can, and that is because he lived a terrible life. His legacy is his family tearing itself apart, his hoped-for Lannister regime falling to pieces across Westeros, and his oh-so-symbolic reeking corpse. One of these men, for all his mistakes, found and spread a worthy meaning in his brief time on Terros, and the other, for all his triumphs, did not. We are all mortal; all of us, “from the highest lord to the lowest gutter rat,” are ultimately helpless before the abyss that Quent leaps into in his final chapter. No one (not even Euron, try as he might) can change that. What matters, what makes us who are, what means something, is how we live our lives knowing that in the end, the house always wins.

“Men’s lives have meaning, not their deaths” is also the first arrow in my quiver when it comes to defending the worth of the new characters and storylines in the Feastdance. Why should we care about the Martells or the “Griffs” if they’re just showing up now and will probably die before endgame? Because moving the plot along to book seven is not actually what makes a story meaningful. Lives lived make stories meaningful:

The door to the roof of the tower was stuck so fast that it was plain no one had opened it in years. He had to put his shoulder to it to force it open. But when Jon Connington stepped out onto the high battlements, the view was just as intoxicating as he remembered: the crag with its wind-carved rocks and jagged spires, the sea below growling and worrying at the foot of the castle like some restless beast, endless leagues of sky and cloud, the wood with its autumnal colors. “Your father’s lands are beautiful,” Prince Rhaegar had said, standing right where Jon was standing now. And the boy he’d been had replied, “One day they will all be mine.” As if that could impress a prince who was heir to the entire realm, from the Arbor to the Wall.

Griffin’s Roost had been his, eventually, if only for a few short years. From here, Jon Connington had ruled broad lands extending many leagues to the west, north, and south, just as his father and his father’s father had before him. But his father and his father’s father had never lost their lands. He had. I rose too high, loved too hard, dared too much. I tried to grasp a star, overreached, and fell.

And of course, Drink’s powerful words are GRRM’s message to us about how to think about Quent. Do not think that he meant nothing because he failed and died or because he was never going to be the protagonist, the author is saying. What matters is his life, the POV we have experienced and come to understand. He lived, he tried, he died. It is for us to remember him. I only wish he had heeded the lesson Drink was trying to teach him, before it was far too late.

Only with that why firmly established does GRRM move onto the what, knowing that the former will lend resonance to the latter. The plot of “The Spurned Suitor” concerns Quent turning in desperation to the Tattered Prince and his Windblown for help taming one of Dany’s captive children, despite having betrayed them. As the city simmers and seethes around them, the princes meet in secret.

The sun had sunk below the city wall by the time they found the purple lotus, painted on the weathered wooden door of a low brick hovel squatting amidst a row of similar hovels in the shadow of the great yellow-and-green pyramid of Rhazdar. Quentyn knocked twice, as instructed. A gruff voice answered through the door, growling something unintelligible in the mongrel tongue of Slaver’s Bay, an ugly blend of Old Ghiscari and High Valyrian. The prince answered in the same tongue. “Freedom.”

The door opened. Gerris entered first, for caution’s sake, with Quentyn close behind him and the big man bringing up the rear. Within, the air was hazy with bluish smoke, whose sweet smell could not quite cover up the deeper stinks of piss and sour wine and rotting meat. The space was much larger than it had seemed from without, stretching off to right and left into the adjoining hovels. What had appeared to be a dozen structures from the street turned into one long hall inside.

At this hour the house was less than half full. A few of the patrons favored the Dornishmen with looks bored or hostile or curious. The rest were crowded around the pit at the far end of the room, where a pair of naked men were slashing at each other with knives whilst the watchers cheered them on.

Quentyn saw no sign of the men they had come to meet. Then a door he had not seen before swung open, and an old woman emerged, a shriveled thing in a dark red tokar fringed with tiny golden skulls. Her skin was white as mare’s milk, her hair so thin that he could see the scalp beneath.

“Dorne,” she said, “I be Zahrina. Purple Lotus. Go down here, you find them.” She held the door and gestured them through.

Team Quent is going underground and behind the curtain in “The Spurned Suitor.” In terms of the big picture, we’re seeing a Meereen that Dany never even glimpsed from atop the pyramid. On a more intimate scale, this imagery reflects the scales falling from Quent’s eyes about how the world works. He never thought his quest would involve cutting ethically murky deals in back-alley parlors (again, it’s suddenly a noir story), but if he wants to keep going for his fallen friends’ sake, it’s the only avenue he has left. It’s worth noting here how Quent contrasts with his fellow Questers for Dany. Where Quent wonders why Dany would ever choose him “among all the princes of the world,” Aegon has never even considered that she would reject him, because he was raised in a Perfect Prince bubble while Quent was told out of nowhere to Go West East, Young Man at age 18. Tyrion, too, wanders the shifting political sands of Essos in the wake of Dany’s crusade, but at this point in his storyline, he finds it hard to care about most of it, so his bitter detached cynicism makes for another illuminating contrast with Quent’s grief and desperation. And Victarion...well, as I’ve argued before, his story is the black comedy to Quent’s tragedy. Vic’s doom is presented as a huge joke on him by his puppetmasters: Euron, Moqorro, and George R.R. Martin. There’s no tragedy there because Vic keeps rejecting the possibility for growth or change. He’s there to be laughed at, by us as well as the monkeys. But with Quent, there really was a worthy life he could’ve lived (as I’ll get into next time). It’s just not this one, this one-way ride into fiery oblivion, escorted and enabled by the Satan of Slaver’s Bay and his motley crew. Speaking of which:

An undercellar. It was a long way down, and so dark that Quentyn had to feel his way to keep from slipping. Near the bottom Ser Archibald pulled his dagger.

They emerged in a brick vault thrice the size of the winesink above. Huge wooden vats lined the walls as far as the prince could see. A red lantern hung on a hook just inside the door, and a greasy black candle flickered on an overturned barrel serving as a table. That was the only light.

Caggo Corpsekiller was pacing by the wine vats, his black arakh hanging at his hip. Pretty Meris stood cradling a crossbow, her eyes as cold and dead as two grey stones. Denzo D’han barred the door once the Dornishmen were inside, then took up a position in front of it, arms crossed against his chest.

One too many, Quentyn thought.

The Tattered Prince himself was seated at the table, nursing a cup of wine. In the yellow candlelight his silver-grey hair seemed almost golden, though the pouches underneath his eyes were etched as large as saddlebags. He wore a brown wool traveler’s cloak, with silvery chain mail glimmering underneath. Did that betoken treachery or simple prudence? An old sellsword is a cautious sellsword. Quentyn approached his table. “My lord. You look different without your cloak.”

“My ragged raiment?” The Pentoshi gave a shrug. “A poor thing…yet those tatters fill my foes with fear, and on the battlefield the sight of my rags blowing in the wind emboldens my men more than any banner. And if I want to move unseen, I need only slip it off to become plain and unremarkable.” He gestured at the bench across from him. “Sit. I understand you are a prince. Would that I had known. Will you drink? Zahrina offers food as well. Her bread is stale and her stew is unspeakable. Grease and salt, with a morsel or two of meat. Dog, she says, but I think rat is more likely. It will not kill you, though. I have found that it is only when the food is tempting that one must beware. Poisoners invariably choose the choicest dishes.”

“You brought three men,” Ser Gerris pointed out, with an edge in his voice. “We agreed on two apiece.”

“Meris is no man. Meris, sweet, undo your shirt, show him.”

“That will not be necessary,” said Quentyn. If the talk he had heard was true, beneath that shirt Pretty Meris had only the scars left by the men who’d cut her breasts off. “Meris is a woman, I agree. You’ve still twisted the terms.”

“Tattered and twisty, what a rogue I am. Three to two is not much of an advantage, it must be admitted, but it counts for something. In this world, a man must learn to seize whatever gifts the gods chose to send him. That was a lesson I learned at some cost. I offer it to you as a sign of my good faith.”

We’ve got a literal descent matching the emotional/thematic one, to make a foolish risky deal that will end up claiming our protagonist body and soul, with someone who’s lying and spinning right off the bat, his deceptively simple appearance hiding a cruel sardonic heart...so yeah, like I said, the Tattered Prince is the devil of the Meereenese Knot, the tempter-corrupter figure luring Quent into hell. “Tattered and twisty, what a rogue I am” is precisely the sort of way Satan and characters similar to him talk; they lie to you, and then they make fun of you for believing them. After all, Quent, you only got into Meereen in the first place because of the Tattered Prince’s deceitfulness...and because of your own.

The Pentoshi gave a shrug. “One thing I am certain of. Someone will have need of our swords.”

“I have need of those swords. Dorne will hire you.”

The Tattered Prince glanced at Pretty Meris. “He does not lack for gall, this Frog. Must I remind him? My dear prince, the last contract we signed you used to wipe your pretty pink bottom.”

“I will double whatever the Yunkishmen are paying you.”

“And pay in gold upon the signing of our contract, yes?”

“I will pay you part when we reach Volantis, the rest when I am back in Sunspear. We brought gold with us when we set sail, but it would have been hard to conceal once we joined the company, so we gave it over to the banks. I can show you papers.”

“Ah. Papers. But we will be paid double.”

“Twice as many papers,” said Pretty Meris.

“The rest you’ll have in Dorne,” Quentyn insisted. “My father is a man of honor. If I put my seal to an agreement, he will fulfill its terms. You have my word on that.”

The Tattered Prince finished his wine, turned the cup over, and set it down between them. “So. Let me see if I understand. A proven liar and oathbreaker wishes to contract with us and pay in promises. And for what services? I wonder. Are my Windblown to smash the Yunkai’i and sack the Yellow City? Defeat a Dothraki khalasar in the field? Escort you home to your father? Or will you be content if we deliver Queen Daenerys to your bed wet and willing? Tell me true, Prince Frog. What would you have of me and mine?”

You’ve been lying this whole way, to the world and yourself. What’s one more piece of wood on that fire? Again, though, it’s precisely that sunk-cost fallacy, the panicked certainty that it’s too late to turn back, that gets Quent killed. In so much of genre fiction, that “I started this, I have to finish it” drive is celebrated, even cast as the thing that makes you the hero. Here, it is revealed as a sad self-delusion that only serves to throw another body on the pile of the dead. Quent needs so badly to make his friends’ sacrifice worth it that he’s willing to sell out an *entire city* (namely, Pentos) to make it happen. The cynical world-weary Windblown are here to cut through that fragile narrative, telling Quent that neither he nor his story is special:

“I ask your pardon for our deception. The only ships sailing for Slaver’s Bay were those that had been hired to bring you to the wars.”

The Tattered Prince gave a shrug. “Every turncloak has his tale. You are not the first to swear me your swords, take my coin, and run. All of them have reasons. ‘My little son is sick,’ or ‘My wife is putting horns on me,’ or ‘The other men all make me suck their cocks.’ Such a charming boy, the last, but I did not excuse his desertion. Another fellow told me our food was so wretched that he had to flee before it made him sick, so I had his foot cut off, roasted it up, and fed it to him. Then I made him our camp cook. Our meals improved markedly, and when his contract was fulfilled he signed another. You, though…several of my best are locked up in the queen’s dungeons thanks to that lying tongue of yours, and I doubt that you can even cook.”

“I am a prince of Dorne,” said Quentyn. “I had a duty to my father and my people. There was a secret marriage pact.”

“So I heard. And when the silver queen saw your scrap of parchment she fell into your arms, yes?”

“No,” said Pretty Meris.

“No? Oh, I recall. Your bride flew off on a dragon. Well, when she returns, do be sure to invite us to your nuptials. The men of the company would love to drink to your happiness, and I do love a Westerosi wedding. The bedding part especially, only…oh, wait…” He turned to Denzo D’han. “Denzo, I thought you told me that the dragon queen had married some Ghiscari.”

“A Meereenese nobleman. Rich.”

The Tattered Prince turned back to Quentyn. “Could that be true? Surely not. What of your marriage pact?”

“She laughed at him,” said Pretty Meris.

Daenerys never laughed. The rest of Meereen might see him as an amusing curiosity, like the exiled Summer Islander King Robert used to keep at King’s Landing, but the queen had always spoken to him gently. “We came too late,” said Quentyn.

Interesting to note that Quent is pulling an UnKiss here, convincing himself that Dany did not laugh upon him revealing his identity and mission, when in truth, she did. That just goes to show how thoroughly he’s backed himself into a corner. “We came too late,” and so again, we have a Quent chapter ending with the Windblown enabling our hero’s descent. Of course, Quent is responsible for this decision--he came to them, not the other way around. I’m not trying to strip him of agency, as that would be a much less engaging story. But what I’m interested in here is how the failure of the quest, the shattering of the ideal, has led to Quent making this terrible decision. Here’s where GRRM’s existentialist-romantic take on the genre comes into play: Quent was taught to uphold and believe in certain norms because an ordered universe will reward him for it, not because following the rules is the right thing to do in itself. As such, when Quent’s quest proves over and over again that there is no inherent order to the universe, and as such no automatic reward, Quent loses all moorings; he doesn’t have that Davos/Brienne “no chance and no choice” ethos to keep him going in the face of the abyss.

And that’s why he makes a deal with the devil: it seems like his best option.

“I need you to help me steal a dragon.”

Caggo Corpsekiller chuckled. Pretty Meris curled her lip in a half-smile. Denzo D’han whistled.

The Tattered Prince only leaned back on his stool and said, “Double does not pay for dragons, princeling. Even a frog should know that much. Dragons come dear. And men who pay in promises should have at least the sense to promise more.”

“If you want me to triple—”

“What I want,” said the Tattered Prince, “is Pentos.”

And as always, making a deal with the devil lands our protagonist in fiery torment, condemned by his own folly. After Quent’s death, Barristan takes responsibility for delivering Pentos to Tatters, and come TWOW, I think Dany will fulfill the bargain after confronting Illyrio RE Aegon. Because a deal with the devil can’t be undone--it just transfers from person to person.

Indeed, it’s tonally appropriate that Quent’s quest climaxes not with him becoming the hero, but with him letting the devil back into paradise. One thing I noticed in this reread is how closely the form of “The Spurned Suitor” matches that of “The Dragontamer.” In both chapters, Quent trembles on the edge of the Void, wondering am I really going to go through with this, decides that he is, and this descent is promptly made literal. In his third chapter, he descends to the cellar to face the Tattered Prince and his cronies, sealing the doom that unfolds in his fourth chapter, in which he descends into the dank dark hell beneath the Great Pyramid to face Rhaegal and Viserion. One inextricably leads to the other; symbolically, the Tattered Prince is the dragonfire, the epitome of how Quent trying to “fix” his own story only serves to keep revealing how it cannot be fixed. This is your life, Quentyn Martell. You are not the hero. And just as with my second favorite character in ASOIAF, Stannis Baratheon, this revelation will be rendered in fire and blood.

#quentyn martell #quentyn in adwd #gerris drinkwater #the tattered prince #asoiaf meta #the windblown #meereen #a dance with dragons

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