#i do think its a disservice to his character to not factor in his beautiful anger issues and homophobia tho

[pomodoriyum]

going to be slandering mr. irving even harder now

[c-aureus]

Ok, here’s a post I’ve been waiting to make: Why I’m worried about BotW2. Wall of text incoming. Now, I’m gonna preface this with a few things. Firstly, I waited to post this so that all of the immediate reactionary hype would die down a bit, and also so that I could contemplate on my thoughts for a while, before posting them. Secondly, this is not at all a criticism of the setting, or gameplay, both of which look incredible. However, for me at least, none of that was ever in doubt. Thirdly, I will freely admit that all of the forthcoming arguments are speculation. We do not yet know much of anything about the direction of the sequel, and I fully understand and admit that there is every chance that I could be completely wrong. In fact, I’d very much like for that to be the case. Alas, I am English, and cynicism is literally encoded into my DNA, so here’s a few things that I think are likely to happen, and why I’m so worried about them. My first point is kind of a big one, but honestly, it kinda sums my entire argument up: I’m worried that BotW2 is going to do everything it can to basically be a ‘soft reset’, regressing to the norm of BotW. What do I mean by this? Well. From a gameplay perspective, it will almost certainly use the time honoured Zelda tradition of resetting Link to 3 hearts and no powers at the beginning. Needless to say, I really do not want them to do this. From a story perspective, Link’s entire character arc in BotW was regaining the power he lost due to the Shrine of Resurrection. From a narrative perspective, I really do not want to see all of his growth and progress wiped away because ‘New Game lol’. Furthermore, on the topic of the Champions’ abilities... I honestly don’t think that any of them would just abandon him, however this argument goes 10x more for Mipha specifically. Mipha’s promise to Link in BotW was to ALWAYS heal him, and it is one of the most hauntingly beautiful things about her tragedy that she gets to fulfill her promise to him in death. Therefore, I simply cannot reconcile Mipha leaving Link (not sticking around to heal him) with her character. Because, BotW shows that her love and her devotion to Link are selfless, and absloute. She would NEVER renege on such a promise, even though Ganon was ‘defeated’. To do so is antithecal to her entire character. There’s also the matter of Link’s equipment. In a similar vein, I’d argue that much of Link’s equipment (including the Champions’ weapons and Zora Armour) hold enormous sentimental value to him, and if he is stripped of them for no good reason, then I will also be upset. Also, furthermore, BotW2 seems to be very strongly implying that Ganon was not ‘defeated’, which means that the Champions’ spirits cannot even be ‘at rest’, since surely their duty is not complete? Not that I think this should ever factor into Mipha’s personal motivation to continue healing Link, but whatever. What I fear is that there will be no mention nor presence of the Champions’ abilities, which... would really suck. Honestly, I’d even go so far as to say that it absolutely ruins Mipha’s character. Even if we’re being fooled and it’s not actually Ganon who is causing trouble (it does look pretty Malice-y, though...), I honestly, truly believe that they would not simply abandon Link. However, if it IS Ganon(dorf), then there is no excuse nor reason for their absence. This comes into my second point. I’m strongly suspecting that the plot of BotW2 is trying its absolute hardest to simply ‘reset the status quo’ that existed in BotW. By this, I mean that the trailers have already shown Ganon and implied him to be the villain, and Link and Zelda have been separated, presumably with Link having to rescue her. Again.

(On a side note, I do not believe that anyone truly believes that they’ve actually killed Zelda off, do they? I mean, come on. Her plot armour is thicker than the belt of a WW2 era dreadnought battleship. Which is a shame, tbh, becasuse it really prevents any kind of tension in the story, or interesting twists.) (On another side note, idk if I’ve actually seen anyone elaborate on how... depressing it is to have Ganon as the main villain AGAIN. The entirety of BotW was dedicated to defeating him, and many characters literally gave their lives to fight him, and now, after having been successful and defeated him, ‘lol he’s back again, lol.’ *Shrug*. I guess that it feels kinda cheap to me, along the lines of a last minute ‘oh wait, you didn’t REALLY beat him’, because they want to pad the game out more. Especially if there is no real consideration of this point from Link and Zelda’s pov: Namely, just how depressing it would be to lose everything to Ganon, finally defeat him, only to have him immediately return. At this point, I’d be lamenting on the unfairness that Ganon gets literally infinite chances to try again, but not all of his victims, which could be a really interesting psychological point of exploration, but I fear that the sequel will not make any effort to mention it. Hence my low-effort meme on the matter. ) So, basically, instead of giving us a new plot, in a new direction, with the consequences and events of the prequel fresh in mind and influencing character behaviour, we’re resetting the situation to how things were in BotW. Which... I’m extremely un-keen on. Since, it’s going to probably feel like a ‘we’ve already done this before’ kind of thing. A staleness, if you will. Again, I’d love to be proven wrong. However, what I suspect and fear is that we’re going to get this kind of situation, which I would really hate. The thing that I have been waiting for with the highest of anticipation was seeing how Link and Zelda would react to post-Calamity Hyrule, and how their failures and losses would impact them going forwards. I’m not going to give the Resurrection/Time Travel speech again, but I will mention it, since it is an absolutely valid goal, given the ‘rules’ by which the Zelda universe operates, and a valid response to the grief of losing characters that BotW/AoC establishes that they love. Again, I fear that the sequel will make no reference to this, which also feels like a massive disservice to the characters of the Champions. Also, it would be really unique, and not just the standard ‘defeat the Big Bad Evil Ganon’ that is every Zelda game. Ok, I really am done on that point here. It’s a topic for another rant, lol. TL;DR: I’m very, very worried that BotW2 will forgo narrative progression to simply reset the situation to how it was before, without any care for how that impacts the narrative. I mean, we saw how bad this ended up for the Star Wars sequels, so I think I have a right to be concerned... We know that this game grew out of being DLC for BotW. What I fear is that it will really end up looking like BotW DLC, rather than a sequel, from a narrative perspective. If anyone has any opinions or thoughts to add, then I’d love to hear them.

[thegaudiercollection]

The Last of Us Part II: The effects of exposure four days after completion

There is a plant in my apartment. When my partner and I moved into our unfurnished flat, it was one of the few things left behind. A scrawny, scraggly thing, we left to it’s own devices tucked away as we focused on populating the space with our own things and navigating the perils of quarantine. Naturally, months later, the plant was even worse off than before from neglect. After finishing The Last of Us Part II (TLOU2) I have become obsessed with nurturing and caring for this poor dead plant until I can bring it back to life. There are other factors to my huge emotional stake in this plant other than TLOU2, such as current political events and general ennui but that beautiful game is a final straw. I loved it. I think it’s a masterclass story of the perils of hate, of longing and loss, grief and collateral. Of pain and moving on. It is a tale desperately in need of being told during modern times as ideas of revenge and justification become muddled and blurred. Naturally there are spoilers to this so please do not continue reading if you don’t want that.

SPOILERS Below

Death

​I have seen many people talk of the main character death of Joel as being unnecessary and unwarranted. As a disservice to his character. I could not disagree more. I understand those thoughts and it was a devastating loss so many years after falling in love with the character in the first game. But his death is far from a lacklustre shock tactic in place of real narrative as we’ve seen with shows like Game of Thrones. It is not death for deaths sake. His entire death is central to the story and it’s protagonists. It of course completely encapsulates Ellie’s. Here is someone with so many mixed feelings for her father figure after the discovery of his actions at the end of the first game where he killed the fireflies and prevented a vaccine being made. She says at one point “My death would have mattered. You took that from me.” This complete betrayal coupled with her desire to try and forgive even if it’s impossible is a central theme. She has a lack of closure with him, and with it she becomes lost in navigating life without that purpose. She pours all her efforts into doing what he would do. “If it was you or me, Joel would be halfway to Seattle by now.” That’s why the parallels with her beating Nora for information and demanding a location on a map from Mel and Owen, all perpetrators in the murder, mirror Joel’s actions in the first game. He does the exact same thing while trying to find Ellie. But this is a man consumed by the loss of his daughter and the last twenty years of survival and all the horrible deeds he did in that time. When Ellie does it, she is shown to be deeply effected by the trauma of it. Her numb and shaking reaction to torturing Nora. Her breakdown at murdering the pregnant Mel. The costs of this hit her hard, because she is not Joel. Which is all he wanted for her.

​Joel never wanted Ellie to be like him. Ellie was what dragged him from that person into a better one. He learned to care again with all the vulnerability that brings. Ellie’s process is so similar with the narrative parallels. We spend the majority of the game begging Ellie not to go through with it when we see the adverse effect it has on her. The people around her and herself are hurt with every act of revenge. Where initially, we see Abby, the one who dealt the killing blow, we as an audience are calling for her death. We can’t wait to kill her. And the game solemnly shows us that cost. We sit there going wait no I don’t want Ellie to feel this way. But it’s what we wanted. This is the cost.

Playing as Abby

​I was initially reluctant to play as Abby for half of the game but it was a brilliant and integral part of the plot. We see so many parallels between her and Joel when she starts to look after Lev and Yara, two kids she discovers. We see the similarities between her and Ellie with her desire of vengeance. We see these interpersonal connections that grow on us, the very people we condemned immediately at the beginning. We see them as having their own complex lives, their own three dimensional narratives. We start to care about them and start to see how Abby and her friends have their own motives. Ones we want to disagree with because we love Joel but it’s hard to do so because it seems so right that he would be the antagonist to them. That’s not why we should disagree. The game shows us that the cycle of violence harms everyone in the vicinity of it. The only winning move is not to play. To say no and break the chain. Abby has the complexity of Joel. His brutality matched with their good deeds. It is a great opportunity for us to connect with a character that had she been introduced any other way we would have loved. Hell, when the trailer first showing Abby came out people lost their minds about how great she seemed. How capable and strong. The game tells us that if we love Joel then we should love her too because they both have the same flaws and same merits.

​Misery Porn

​I’ve seen people describe this game as unnecessary misery porn. I get why, and if you don’t want to play a game with a profound sense of loss and tragedy throughout then it won’t be for you. But it isn’t misery for misery’s sake. Every stroke of sorrow is either to drive us to empathise with characters feeling the same kind of way, or to show the cost of violence as an answer to overcoming grief. Some say that just because it’s post apocalyptic doesn’t mean it needs to be sad. I agree. The genre itself is far too often just a outlet for people to have gruesome and half baked plots with character death as a substitute for genuine plot. But a sequel to a game so routed in tragedy, a game called The Last of Us, you shouldn’t criticise it’s sequel for not being primarily focused on softer elements. The sadness of the sequel is a clear and direct progression of themes set up in the first one. It would a disservice to the series to change gear. That’s not the core themes of the games. If you think the ending of the first game is a happy one, you should revaluate the outcomes for both Ellie and Joel and the morality of Joel’s actions. If you still think the sequel does a disservice but filling itself with pointless misery then fair enough. But I think the sequel is entirely honest to its roots and if anything is better than the first one as it has that platform of character development there to springboard a emotionally stocked tale for fans to immediately dive into.

​Lastly

​I think people who think Joel’s death was out of character and sloppy writing should take that anger and pain and direct it towards the narrative as the game would want of us. The seemingly bold execution of a main character so shockingly and so early on is exactly the kind of pain Ellie felt at his death. To have someone who means a lot to you taken so quickly and ruthlessly is exactly what sets her on the path of the game. And the ultimate message is one of overcoming that grief. Her journey of violence that leads to nothing but more death ends with her leaving Joel’s guitar behind, literally moving on, from that pain. Trying to kill Abby, killing her friends, brings no solace. It costs so much. Her walking through and empty house is the cost of her leaving her family to pursue vengeance. As Dina says “She doesn’t get to be more important than us.” Ellie mad the very human choice to desperately try and force herself to overcome her PTSD and her loss of Joel by misguidedly going for revenge. But as she is moments away from getting this outcome she sees a flash of Joel the night she told him she was going to try and forgive him. And she stops. She finally allows herself to grieve without recompense. Greif doesn’t have a quick fix. It has to be felt, harshly and wholly. Working through the pain, letting time take its course, and getting to the place where you can evaluate your actions and their fruitfulness, is the only way forward. It cost Ellie a lot to learn that and to get to that point. But I think the end is ultimately a showcase of her process from where she was to where she is. I was so deeply affected by the end because it’s the greatest tale of grief and the cost of revenge as an answer I have ever experienced. For everyone who doesn’t like it I am sorry. I hope you can put that anger and disappointment into the narrative and use it to further connect with the characters. If you can do that, I think you’ll discover a fantastically told tale. I hope you do.

[captainkurosolaire]

J2. who makes them happy? K3. if they could kill anyone without punishment, would they? who? R1. do they follow rules?

J2. who makes them happy?   CKS: “Making me bring out th’ list aren’t ye...” He’d sigh before bringing out a literal scroll from his pocket of every person he’s ever encountered. “Strap in we’ll be here for a Summer.* A clear of his throat began before formulating his uncanny pitch . “Guy #1 who let me rail his wife whether he was influenced or not. Guy #2 who let me steal his Chocobo without his knowledge.” The list went on and on and on like that for many bells. Finally, he’d get to the people who he actually knew their names and actually surpassed just mentioning them by also their ‘wearing and appearance.’  “There’s ye of course Nini! Then there’s Naviah, Lady of Lavender, Sivir, Ayla, Masao, Shinji, Saya, Yuina, Bryte, Mishi, Seiwind, Pheli, Tempest, Sparrow, Faye.” A couple more bells passed without him relenting and stopping. “There’s Subetei, there’s Neyuki, Rose, Cheche, Endora, Fray, Verrine! Sol, Gark, Haelgeim, Roxi, Yuki, Shur, Silvana, A’yi, Kya, Little Abby, Kahn’a, Sun’ra.” He’d finally take his first-breath and then exhaled, “Veleda, Yvaine, Ufah, Valde, Eligos, Sol, Shiro, Fusumi, Sha, Chanai, Zhu, Sashana, Crowie, Cinna. ” No one was left out in expense. Every single person was recorded and written he’d even elaborately briefly put the summary of how they encountered in various situations. It eventually got so bad he’d eventually being reciting them without any scroll because the parchment didn’t go that far. He had literally collected them all closely to himself every piece they offered and he also once gave them for the shortest memory and tracing.   “All these. They’ve given me once happiness. Every last one of em’ no matter how small, how faint. It’s meeting and encountering. Whether they scarred me, they’ve almost killed me, they left their prints on me, n’ fondness or anger. They are what it means t’ LIVE. And I’m leaving out so many more... There’s still more to meet and encounter! That’s what it mean’s to be treasured by a pirate! Ye aren’t ever forgotten or thoughtless or least this is my code.” OOC: I’m probably personally missing some people but that’s a fault OOC, not an IC thing. I’ve eventually got to make a for-real list and go through all my archives. But yeah. This is sorta yet a glimpse or sneak-peek of what his real-ability and power stand as and when the story narrative gets to it. It’ll be more impactful and expansive. Though we’d literally be writing 300000+ stuff in one ask if I continued, which it no prob, it’s whatever and easy. But we’ll save it when I can give it polish in properly meaning. K3. if they could kill anyone without punishment,    would they?   CKS: “There’s no killing that isn’t ever without its punishment. Ye eventually are succumbed to pay fer it sooner or later. Whether a consciousness allows it, or something finds it. Doesn’t matter how hardened or emotionless intact ye may b’ if kill the wrong individual, it’ll have repercussions. However... Let’s assume I had this ‘magic solution’ without any ramifications and punishments, without any pain without any say or words. Where pain wasn’t an issue... Th’ person I choose is.” He’d bring his index finger out as if thinking and brainstorming before drawing it languidly to his own-face. “Myself.” May’ve sounded like a joke or him distastefully messing around but his tone and delivery weren’t without any delay. “If I could kill someone. As dark, as strange, emotionally, it sounds, it’d b’ me. Luckily. I don’t have yer power and that doesn’t exist. Think about what’d that’d mean? Who’d that affect? The people who’ve sacrificed and paved and cost risked, their lives, they left me with only scars, they’ve stitched me together even when I threw myself into hell-pit dens changing thing’s larger than life when I tried my mightiest to take an easy-outing.” “How fair would that be? Who the hell am I to call it to quit? There’s many people I’ve wronged. I’ve harmed, It won’t be the last. It’s their right to one day find me and exterminate me. But depending on the situation, I won’t lay down either. Because that implies, I’m not factoring the others who’ve came and paid the way to form me. All the tolls paid. The costs they’ve built me. I was more broken before than can be accounted for or attributed too. I’m a Seeker this is a fact. I find treasures. But -- people like ye, you’ve found me. I’m against myself, I’m an enemy in the cruelest parts and corners of myself. Though not all parts of me are this way. Another side of me watches and if I fall. It’ll know and If that comes out, that part. It’d still bring misery fer I’ve lost and abandoned all principals all morals and accepted becoming hollow. Death isn’t a type of freedom we should get t’ dictate for ourselves the one of only of ours in possessions that shouldn’t be ours. I sorta ov’ agree th’ obsidian scales in their warrior-like ways, they’ll fight n’ die until combat or battle takes them and then even still that doesn’t spell their end. Since I encountered and seen literal miracles happen with them that breaks all normality functions, I’ve met people only ye could fathom!” “I’ll die fer sure. I’m a’ make it happen with a contest and a slew of challenges if I can’t help it! I end after I’ve been bested n’ a lay, or t’ a slay. One-day someone’s going t’ strike true and when that time finally happens. I’ll b’ ready like my Captain prepared me for. T’ live to point ye can smile at yer death. Considering though at this rate all those that are counting on me to get t’ shores. T’ provide pleasures, to fulfill our quests, to solve our pacts, I’ve got a steep load to supply. In the event, I die without being able to issue anything I just mentioned, I’ve already won still. Cause to be the truth, I’m already smiling!” “Always.” OOC: His psychology is deeply a labyrinth of underline insanity and distortions, there’s no logic. No sense. No rhyme. It’s part of fabric and existence bent and warped and destroyed, repaired, destroyed, over and over because of mistreatment, neglect, and the most misfortune event of acquiring unintended something ancient that destroyed halve his soul. Inside him is already a place wicked enough for him when he tries to sleep. That is where his Tormented Planes exist because of these strange circumstances. Nightmares and mental anguish, fortitude, these are things that demolish him. But in living? When he’s awake. It’s all child-play. He’ll go out everything living to the fullest and if he’s trying to get some rest. That’s where all the vices come from. He can re-balance it all out by exhausting himself past nightmares and dreams. To a limited degree, he’s become somewhat a scuffed immortal almost practically a cursed one. He’s not invincible though. So he can’t stop inevitable turning events to change and dictate a stoppage of his life but his willpower has become its own entities the fractures between spirits, souls, mind everything that indifference's the comparison to ‘whole’ is like a mirror being shattered into many pieces of glass. With the right circumstance, advisory, conviction and truth behind a killing blow, eventually one of them will encounter all the plights and if they do it, they’d just learn. It was better off letting him live. He’s in more anguish and pain by this method. Though he’s not aware though just the levels of how easy it would be to kill him or what can do it cause he’s still receiving injuries and wounds like anything averagely would. Eventually, he’ll stumble probably against the wrong hole and it’ll be as they say, GG. ---But it has to happen organically and creatively with integrity without any odd attachment behind it. As this is a character literally who started off me trying to murder him in the beginning but for all six years other characters have invalidated those advances and together made complexity in evolution and progression with him and since he’s so brazenly open and free has become able to adapt with others to keep him aflame. I literally at this point he’s writing himself, I’m sort of just reading alongside you the next stupid or equally pro-founding stuff he says and does.  R1. do they follow rules?   CKS: He’d not even retort right away just laughing and cracking a rib.“...Sure.” He’d make an evident lie about it. OOC: This one is easy. He doesn’t follow any rules, ever. Humoring it sometimes maybe he’ll wear a shirt or something for a wedding for someone meaningful to him but depending on the levels of the rule of severity it’s taken and presented he’ll act minimum as possible or outright just piss on it.. Literally. ((Thanks for the ask @under-the-blood-moonlight I appreciate it. Lot of these questions would’ve been a lot less detailed and wordy if wasn’t for the established connection of who possibly and potentially could’ve asked this. Assuming IC she’d ask any of these. <3 <3 <3 Hope you’re well beauty. Shout out to a lot of the mentions. I disservice and downplay a lot of his reactions and abilities as a character, but eventually, slowly the mun is getting better and caught up to his level-sake.

[paragonrobits]

*deeeeep breath* 1, 2, 10, 12, 21, 22, 24 (I know you have but it'd be nice to see you talk about 'em here!), 25, 29, 43, 46, 49!

1. Books or Movies? To be honest, while i adore a lot of the visual aesthetics and inspirations of the films (taking Rohirrim’s Land Vikings to the logical extreme, Gondor’s Byzantium vibes), I have to say the books. It’s the original source material, its the books that defined the modern fantasy genre, and there is so much subtext and atmosphere that can’t be captured any adaptation so far!

2. Which character do you connect with the most? tbh I kind of really dig Gandalf’s vibe, from the little we know of him on a personal level. And while the hobbits are the most relatable characters, and I really GET frodo’s whole slow descent, i have to say it’s a toss up between Gimli and Treebeard. Gimli because he’s very relatable to me in a way i can’t quite articulate, and Treebeard’s sad note about his people’s inevitable decline and his benevolence in spite of how the world has largely forgotten him is very emotional to me.

10. Who is your OTP? Hard to say! I’m fond of Arwen/Aragorn for obvious reasons, but honestly, if there’s a ship, i probably dig it! pretty fond of a lot of brotps; among them, Eowyn and Merry, and Boromir and the collective hobbit people.

12. What unpopular opinons do you have about the movies? Honestly, Gimli gets played TOO much for laughs in the movies; he’s a fairly poetic warrior straight out of the norse Poetic Eddas and he consistently speaks in the most lyrical ways, so him being a comic relief bumbler feels a little like a disservice to him. (Granted, I still love movie Gimli, but where’s his loving speeches about the careful cultivations of a mine, eh???)

21. What is your favorite line from the movies? I have to say... Gandalf’s speech to Frodo when they discuss Bilbo’s choice to spare him. “Pity? It was pity that stopped his head. There are many, I daresay, that deserve life, and many living that deserve death. Can you give it to them? Then do not be so hasty to give judgement. For even Gollum, I think, has a part to play in all this.” (Sorry for paraphrasing!)

22. What is your favorite line from the books? While it got adapted into the movies, in a fashion, I’m very fond of Sam’s musing upon a fallen Haradrim warrior: “He was glad that he could not see the dead face. He wondered what the man's name was and where he came from; and if he was really evil of heart, or what lies or threats had led him on the long march from his home; and if he would rather have stayed there in peace.”

24. I have, certainly! I’m unsure how the earlier animated Hobbit movie factors into this (though i have a fairly clear memory of it as a kid, and the visual designs of the hobbits influenced me for a long time since), but then there’s the animated Lord of the Rings movie, by Ralph Bakshi. Hoo BOY you definitely know all about that one! Pros, the animation is genuinely experimental and intriguingly weird at times, the regular character animation is fantastic and i really love Aragorn’s grimy, ‘Kay from Sword in The Stone but brunette’ look. Cons: The animation is also experimental. Sometimes, it looks really weird. I MEAN THE BALROG. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ABOUT, I TELL YOU, aND WHATS GOING ON WITH THE ORCS. And poor Sam gets hit HARD With the comic bumbler button; that said, i think i would have liked to see how they handled the 3rd movie, and this movie DOES cover some things that didn’t make it into the Jackson films, such as Sauruman’s coat of many colors.

25. How has LOTR changed your life? It remains one of the most influential stories in my life, though I didn’t read it until the mvies came out; as a younger child, i found the tone of the book too difficult to readily grasp, and it wasn’t until later that I was able to do it, but it was a good thing i did; to this day, Tolkien’s writings remain a touchstone in my life, especially in terms of how people try to imitate him without considering the context of his writing, and his sub-text about the corrupting influence of power and the value in struggling against evil, even if it is hopeless, remains a big aspect of my ideas of heroic fantasy.

29. Most attractive character? Gandalf, obviously, that beard was crafted by the Valar themselves! Okay but I think Galadriel is probably my fav, both in terms of personal headcanons (i imagine her as being tall and perfectly capable of ripping foes in half), and canon implications that she is the fairest of all, sort of like an inverse fairy tale queen; she has the evil sorceress queen vibe, but is pure good.

43. “EXCUSE ME, WHO STOLE YOUR TASTE.” And then i prepare a lecture, with bullet points of interest, on the relevance lord of the rings has to the fiction genre as a whole, the symbolic elements of his work, the fact that the man made up several languages and did this story specifically to use them somewhere, the events of his life that likely influenced him and the course of story elements like Eowyn’s disgust at winning glory at the expense of her family’s lives... if they’re not bored to sleep, they will be part of the fandom. I SHALL SEE TO IT.

46. Have you seen the musical, or listened to it’s soundtrack? THERE’S A MUSICAL?! I NEED TO FIND THIS SOUNDTRACK PRONTO

49. Should more of Tolkien’s songs have been included in the movies? ABsolutely! You may assume that the songs/poems are too clunky or long-winded to be produced as good music, but from what I understand, Tolkien created them to be meant to be recited to music, in the style of the poetic tradition he was drawing from: there is a very good youtube channel called Clamavi De Profundis that does EXCELLT covers of Tolkien’s songs, that are often hauntingly beautiful to hear, and I highly recommend them. Here’s one of my personal favorites:

(the Song of Durin, if you’re not inclined to click the link without knowing which one!)

[magioftheseas]

theory asker anon here yet again! sorry for bothering you about tsukasa again hh, but i do want to ask for some advice! im considering writing something for him, both for his human self and current self, but im not super duper sure on how to portray his personality. and how to make him both sympathetic and.... not?? i suppose?? aaa i hope this is understandable.

You’re not bothering me, anon. It’s okay.

Tsukasa is a weird character to write because by nature you’re going to have to extrapolate due to a lack of information. Basically, a reliance on headcanon and theories as to how and why he is the way that he is. This is the case with pretty much every character, mind you, because fanfic writers tend to portray characters in situations that haven’t been explored in canon, but the more unknown variables you have, the more strongly this becomes the case.

This can be a good thing and a bad thing, but we haven’t the time to go into that.

I can’t really tell you how to portray the character because y’know, I’m not an authority on that, but for me... It’s a matter of paying attention to a lot of his little quirks and expanding on them, and also just...a matter of preference.

My favorite things about Tsukasa is his childishness, his matter-of-fact and sometimes literal-minded view, and his easygoing nature. He’s a character of simple joys, and I find that precious. However, he can and will kill you if it either suits his fancy or if you get in his way. Sometimes this can be done playfully but, much scarier is when violence is just his instinct at someone getting in his way and he has a blank expression on his face when he does it. I feel like a lot of people miss out on that which is a shame because it, to me, is far more worrying behavior.

To me, Tsukasa’s character is one of intense and unsettling contrast. He’s very cute and small, but he’s also a ticking time bomb. What gets me is the uncertainty. He does things, yes, but he doesn’t always do things, y’know? He can just as easily decide against hurting a person even when his instinct is to do so as he can decide to hurt someone to accomplish a goal. That he’s capable is scary enough, but it’s in being fickle/unpredictable where the true intimidation factor lies.

What really gets my attention though is just how unusual his relationship with Hanako really is. Like a lot of people go the obsessive brother route but while Tsukasa is that, he’s not to the extent that fans portray. He doesn’t mind Nene, in fact he definitely likes her as opposed to his utter indifference towards Kou. He actually shares his brother’s fascination with stars to the point where he gets really excited when trying to show what he sees with Amane/Hanako. While undoubtedly fixated on Amane/Hanako, it’s...really weird and difficult to explain the nuances between that and usual obsessive sibling behavior. It exists but it’s not a driving force in his character. While his instinct is to cling to Amane/Hanako, he’s not possessive. It’s actually very rare that he actively seeks out Amane/Hanako. Pretty much the only time I can think of where he does that is his first proper appearance and in an old announcement post on AidaIro’s twitter that included Tsukasa demanding “Amane” for Christmas.

(From here, for the curious.)

(Translation: 'What do you want for Christmas?' 'AMANE' 'That's what I thought you'd say...' 'You have him? Do you!?')

When it comes to sympathy I don’t...really think about that. There is definitely a stink of tragedy around him, because the fact of the matter is that he was killed young by someone he was very close to and loved quite dearly. He had not only his future taken away, but any chance of physical maturation, making him permanently stunted. Regardless of the circumstances, Tsukasa had been betrayed in a really terrible way...and yet, he still adores his brother whole-heartedly. Rather disturbingly, he’s seemed to have categorized his death as a good thing due to how it provided Amane with a sense of release and that...makes me pretty sad in its implications.

I guess...I find him a very pure-hearted character, overall. Innocent, definitely. And what’s that Pokemon BW quote? “There’s nothing more beautiful and terrifying than innocence”? Yeah. Tsukasa’s definitely an example of that, and we still don’t even know if he’s a victim of manipulation or not.

I don’t think Tsukasa is inherently sympathetic. I think he should be, but he’s probably not. He lacks consideration and remorse, be it for others or even himself on occasion. A lot of his personality could be chalked up to lack of maturity in addition to a lack of empathy. He’s a child, and he has some of the worst traits a child could have. Not all of them. But some of them. And for some people, that’s more than enough reason to not care for him. And while I think several fandom assumptions/interpretations are wrong, it’s not my business how people feel. It still saddens me how people miss out on the nuances of his character in favor of a more straight-forwardly villainous approach. I feel like if you miss out on the nuances, you’re doing yourself a disservice.

Sometimes, it’s all about the little things!

As for his human self, we literally have no idea what human Tsukasa was like beyond the fact that he can do katanuki for hours and threw fits when interrupted. My personal favorite headcanon is that he was super rambunctious but isn’t like...y’know super terrible. He could be tactless and shitty at times, being a child, but I prefer the idea of those traits being far more magnified as a supernatural. Still a little feral, but he could’ve turned out fine-ish under better circumstances. Unfortunately those better circumstances never came.

Ahhhh, I just went off and I have no idea if any of this is helpful. I hope it is. :’>

[orionsangel86]

im scared with where deancas is going and im actually really glad im not the only one, it was great to read your post on endgame destiel because i feel very strongly that way too. I want something to happen in the next couple of episodes. I hoped with the build up we saw in s12/13 was only back peddled because they want to leave destiel for the very endgame, but now they know s15 is the last and they knew that writing these episodes... i want to be optimistic, but have to be realistic too

The thing is, during the S12/13 escalation I was convinced Destiel was on the cards. The whole thing played out like a Victorian gothic romance novel. That ain’t subtext. That’s text. I maintain my stance that the mixtape was the point of no return on Destiel. They can’t come back from that. 

They HAVE hit the breaks since then, and it has constantly been a source of annoyance for me. Leaving me frustrated and confused that they would just stop like that. So yeah, we can float our theories and spec on the topic, but at the end of the day we have two directions left, either they pick up the pace and start making serious call backs to the S12/13 escalation right now and bringing that story to the front line again, or they keep it completely out of the main story, put all the focus on family instead of romance and leave the Destiel stuff out of the minds of the general audience. The second route could still give us something ambiguous at the very end, but it isn’t the grand love story I have always hoped for. I would still feel cheated if that happens. I just happen to think this is the more likely route. 

The next two episodes should give us an indication of which direction season 15 will follow. It all relies on several possible outcomes all related to Cas’s Empty Deal:

Option 1. The deal gets either no mention or only a very small mention and nothing happens in relation to it. Season 14 ends darkly, but not in a way that relates to Cas specifically. There is no obvious Destiel subtext, but Cas’s empty deal still looms over season 15.

This option means its all still up in the air but will leave me still feeling pretty negative over summer hiatus. By delaying the Empty deal completely until Season 15, there is still a potential for it to be triggered by romantic Destiel. The course could still change EVEN if Season 14 gives us nothing. I wouldn’t hold my breath, but I would still have a smidgen of hope that things could turn around.

Option 2. Cas goes to the Empty due to the deal triggering in the finale (as a Mary mirror this seems likely to me). It is NOT triggered by Destiel. It is triggered by Chuck’s return giving Jack a soul, fixing the current issues, and giving Cas the catharsis he has needed all series from his father that the boys got from John in 14x13. Cas finally being rid of his guilt over heaven and being able to finally free himself from heavens bonds could be enough to trigger the Empty deal if it is played alongside a happy Winchester family reunion.

In this option, Cas’s “permission to be happy” comes from Chuck, and him being accepted as a true Winchester brother. I think this option was foreshadowed in 14x18 especially with the MW carving on the table and the empty space still left under the SW:

If Cas’s deal is triggered this way, then I can’t see Destiel being a factor at all in Season 15 outside of the usual subtext. Simply because it takes away the one thing we all otherwise know to be as good as fact: that Cas is in love with Dean. For Cas to be truly happy, this option does imply that there is no unrequited (at least in his mind) love between him and Dean, and that he is completely at peace just being Dean’s brother. I feel this would be a huge disservice to Castiel as a character who has clearly IMO been written as in romantic love with Dean since at least season 6.

This option does however still give us something exciting - in terms of the poetic cyclic story telling currently being used in the show, having Season 15 start with Dean going to the Empty to rescue Cas in a reverse of Cas’s rescue of Dean in Season 4 is a beautiful potential plot that I would thoroughly enjoy. It doesn’t however mean Destiel - though I suppose there is a potential for them to explore even though it puts Cas’s feelings into question.

Option 3. Cas breaks or changes the terms of the Empty deal in some way - goes to the Empty of his own volition in order to save someone else or stop something.

This option is another potential cop out of the otherwise extremely tropey current deal. But writing it this way still does give us potential Destiel depending on Dean’s reaction and what happens next, because it once again leaves it open. It doesn’t confirm or deny Cas’s feelings for Dean. However it certainly wouldn’t rekindle my faith in endgame Destiel, but leave me even more curious as to what happens next.

Option 4. Cas goes to the Empty due to the elements in option 2 PLUS a confession or something from Dean giving us canon Destiel. 

Obviously this is the preferred option. In my opinion, the ONLY way that Cas would give himself permission to be TRULY happy and have the deal triggered in its current state would require the following things:

Jack’s soul is restored and he is back to normal

The Winchesters reunite as a strong family

Cas is TOLD that he is a part of that family unconditionally

Chuck returns and gives Cas the catharsis he needs to forgive himself for his actions in heaven

Dean confesses his love

(The final point being the trigger following all the previous elements taking place)

Do I think option 4 is likely? Not really. I just haven’t seen enough build up even in subtext for this to happen in the Season 14 finale. Do I think option 2 could happen without that final key point though? Yes.

At this stage I would honestly prefer options 1 or 3 taking place so I can at least still have hope in the ambiguity, but in my mind Cas is set up to go to the Empty at the end of the season. Mary’s death confirmed that to me, and the current treatment of Cas as well in the latest episode also seems to be setting up for his loss having a huge impact on the Winchesters. The story is being reset. Season 15 should start with Sam and Dean alone having lost everything, and then the course of the season leads them to fight for everything they desire. 

The reason I say this is that this season is all about asking the question “What do you want?” I want Season 15 to start with the Winchesters answering that question themselves, and then fighting to get it. 

Perhaps, if this does happen without the Destiel element at the end of season 14, there is STILL a small potential for Destiel to happen based on DEAN’S actions in Season 15, as Castiel’s return would be the answer to the question “what do you want?” when posed to Dean. I would still see it as a disservice to Castiel, but this would depend on how the show takes that potential story forward.

This is my spec anyway. Lets hope I’m wrong.

[amazildoessomethingstupid]

Character Re-imagined: Sandy

Well kids, we’re still doing our time for artist hiatus crimes so let’s move on to the next chapter! Chapter 100: High Expectatio-

OH FUCK RIGHT, I’M SO SORRY I DID NOT FORGET ABOUT YOU SANDY!  I SWEAR!

Okay, for those who haven’t dug too into this rant series.  A while back, I did a half-rant on the chapter Model Girlfriend, which of course was the chapter where Sandy came back to Roseville for a day.  I ended up not really finishing it because I found most of the talking points that I’d use, and the complaints I had with the chapter, weren’t necessarily with the chapter itself as much as it was with the characterization of Sandy.  And my problem with the characterization was more to do with how I wrote Sandy in comparison to how the canon wrote her.  And simply saying that my problem with a character was that she wasn’t how I wrote her just isn’t a fair critique by any measure.  And no matter what people may think about the rants, the one thing I don’t want the rants to be perceived as, is unfair.  

So I decided that I would do something similar to what I had done before, which was a Character Revisited which was for Paulo.  Where I talked about Paulo’s characterization before Boy Toy and how much of a difference was done to his personality, and demeanor in the recent chapters specifically Table for One (Actually, is it still technically “recent” if these chapters are 3 years old? Man this shit is long).  Anyway, I wanted to something similar for Sandy but be more of a Character Reimagined, talking about what I ended up having to do with the character and how I wrote them for January and False Idol.  It was SUPPOSED to be after the Pit Stop but I kind of forgot about it, and uhh…

I got distracted.  But nonetheless, we’re here now so let’s dive right into it.  This is Sandy Re-imagined.

So if we’re going to talk about my Sandy, and her development as a character we of course have to start with January, and January’s take on Just Beautiful.  And if you don’t know what January is, I’m not going to get too into it but it’s essentially my fancomic which is a faithful (as possible…) alternate take of the whole January arc, following the timeline from December to Happy Hour. And at its rough and rebellious beginnings, it was very run and gun in terms of writing.  I didn’t care as much about building characters outside of setting scenes, and focusing on Lucy and Susan…until…

I had to do Just Beautiful. A chapter that I hated, featuring a character that I hated, that was centered around a ship I didn’t care about, and had little effect on what was happening in the story aside from just making Mike remorseful, because of…

Yeeeah back then, I figured out that Sandy is more of a plot device, than an actual character (an opinion that still holds water today, and I swear to god I will get to that chapter). So I really did not care about her, or give her character any thought until I had to do this segment for January. Because, I cornered myself to do the chapter and realized something… “Hey, fuckface!  You’re a writer!  You don’t think this is interesting or fun?  Then just make it interesting and fun for you!” Sandy is such a blank slate of a character that I could kind of do anything I wanted for her outside of what’s established, and since there wasn’t much established it meant I had to…

Get creative! The first part of writing Sandy was tackling the issues I had with her character in comic, specifically how little we know of her personality, how she interacts not only with Mike, but with people outside of her relationship.  How does she take to adversity, how does she tackles problems, what problems does she face, how do they conflict with her relationship, and how does her relationship clash with that? And in January I couldn’t really dive too deep into that, especially because the story isn’t about her; it’s about Lucy.  But I wanted to at least give something, or hint at that with her little scene just to show that there is at least something there.  But more importantly, I wanted to establish one very key feature about Sandy. Something that I felt the comic left out, and it seems will never come true.

Sandy feels the distance too.  If you look at the scene in January, this is the one bit of dialogue (except on bit at the end) between Mike and Sandy that isn’t directly from the canon to stick to the canon.  And It is the main part of Sandy that I keep at her core because it is one of the one things we knew about Sandy which is that she loves Mike (aaaaand then Model Girlfriend came along and threw a wrench into that…) but at least for me this is what makes up Sandy.  And since we’re talking about Sandy as a character I am going to spoil False Idol quite a bit, because False Idol is essentially a story about finding out about Sandy.  Who she is, what her life is like, and how Mike plays into that.  But one of the main things about Sandy, that I changed about her is brought up in this one bit in January.

Sandy doesn’t tell anyone about Mike.  The more I thought about how little we know about Sandy as a person, the more I thought about how little Mike knows about Sandy as a person.  Which helped to expand her character more as a person.  Looking at Model Girlfriend the whole idea of “Mike really doesn’t know Sandy as a person” was realized…but taken to a more bitter end. Whereas I still held onto the idea of Sandy really loving Mike, but she doesn’t share that with anyone.  She keeps her romantic life separated from her co-workers and classmates, which is also touched on in False Idol.

And more importantly, it goes both ways.  In this way, there’s a lot more intrigue and options in Sandy’s character.  Why is she keeping Mike a secret?  Why did Sam have to steal Sandy’s phone to find this out? Is she ashamed of people knowing Mike’s her boyfriend or is there something more?  And Why haven’t we heard anything about these guys?  And the answer is something I won’t tell you, because that’d be too much of a spoiler, but what I will say is, that at her core the main statement I want to define Sandy is this: Sandy loves Mike.  She loves him as much as Mike loves her. BUT when creating a character, and understanding a character there is one big factor to consider which I found the most fun in writing Sandy and what elevated her into a character that I found myself very engrossed in as a writer.  To the point where even after 3 years I am still dedicated to writing her story in False Idol!  And the one thing to always remember is that no matter what as strong, complex, or emotional your character is.  They are only as interesting as the environment you put them in.  That’s why if you look at the Just Beautiful scene in January, the first time we see Sandy say anything, before she sees Mike; the first interaction we see to give us an idea of how she is outside of Mike is her talking to her best friend.

Sam!  Who has grown on me like an aggressive tumor, and will probably be the death of me.  The big part about writing Sandy and trying to make this character more interesting was building the environment around her.  Brainstorming ideas, and thinking about what her life is like outside of Mike. There is a joke song I wish to make someday parodying Avenue Q and BCB, called There is Life Outside of Your Plot Line, and that’s basically what I wanted to explore with Sandy.  Specifically her and the models.  It’d be easy to assume that the modeling business is cutthroat, and her coworkers are bitchy people, and it’s so taxing, and she hates it, and all that jazz.  But I wanted to take it in a different direction where her work environment isn’t actually that bad.  Her co-workers are nice and down to earth people, with their own personalities and viewpoints.  The first model to get expanded on like this of course being Sam, and her dynamic with Sandy.  This is where of course False Idol comes in and brings out that world more. To give us a better understanding of the kind of people that Sandy hangs around with. But in order to flesh that out I’d need more than Sam which is why in False Idol!

We get a slew of new characters!  In order: Charlie Hartman, Daniel “Dan” Mercado, Samantha “Sam” Cartwright, Ashley “Ash” Clements, Alice McCarthy, and Jason “Jay” Cartwright.  Oh and sadly I couldn’t fit him in here, but I would be doing my man a disservice by not mentioning him,

Tyrone the lovable meathead beefcake!  The only one who I didn’t make a last name for.  Because he doesn’t need it.  He’s just Tyrone.  Although I can only take half-credit for him, because he’s more of a shared joke between me and a friend that we both had a lot of fun working on.  All of these characters help to build the setting and world that Sandy lives in, with their own different personalities.  Sam being a spunky, rebellious, and surprisingly mature scamp; Alice being a very prideful, conceited, yet down to earth, and caring person; Ash being a grounded soft, cute, but hardened and smart girl.  All of the characters help to give us an idea of not only Sandy, but an idea of what she deals with and the people she associates with.  And one important thing about these characters, is the fact that I deliberately wrote it to where not one of these characters were assholes.  I didn’t want to fall into the trapping of having Sandy’s life outside of Mike be some like horrible mean world and Mike’s her only escape, or make it where “Oh little did we know that Sandy’s suffering from this one HORRIBLE MESSED UP THING! SO NOW YOU HAVE TO FEEL BAD FOR HER AND SYMPATHIZE WITH HER OR ELSE YOU’RE AN ASSHOLE!” No, I wanted Sandy to have a fairly average life.  So if you were thinking False Idol was gonna do some fucked up heel-turn like “OH BOY, LITTLE DID YOU KNOW THAT SANDY IS ACTUALLY A DRUG ADDICT AND WHORED HERSELF OUT TO GET THE JOB!” I’m sorry that’s not happening…Actually, fuck you I’m not sorry because that’s fucked up I’m not going there.  AND I SWEAR TO GOD IF TAESHI DOES SOMETHING LIKE THAT WHERE IT TURNS OUT OH NO, SANDY HAD SOME FUCKED UP SHIT GOING ON WE DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT AND NOW WE ARE FORCED TO FEEL SAD!  I am going to be fucking fuming mad.

The main thing I wanted to do when writing Sandy, given how little we know about her and the setting she is in.  Is to show this setting she’s in and give us an idea of what her life was like.  I wrote Sandy and False Idol, in a way where you can look at her and the characters that surround her and feel like there was another comic going on at the same time.  And we’re just coming in after they’ve gone through their own different mini story arcs and this is some big moment in their story too.  I mean imagine if Mike suddenly went missing, running away from home and then Sandy comes to Roseville to get answers.  And then she learns more about everyone, and all the stuff Mike’s been through…

Actually that’d be pretty damn cool honestly.  Damn. Taeshi should steal that.  That would be fucking awesome and turn this ship around quick…sigh…if only.  Anyway, what I’m trying to say here is this.

Sandy is a character that I hated.  She was a character that I did not care about at all, and didn’t think anything of.  I saw her in the comic as a plot device and nothing more.  But with creative thinking, care, and love for the comic I reinvented her to be more than that.  To be a good character in her own right.  With her own message, with her own story to tell.  And I believe she has the potential to be just that.  To be more than what she is.  I didn’t want her to be a lie, or a complete fake of what Mike thought she was.  I wanted her to be nice, caring, wholesome, naïve, mature, a little selfish, sneaky, clever, but full of love and surrounded by love and support.   She loves her friends, she loves Mike, she loves her job.

And to see her in canon I just…

I feel disappointed to see her as nothing but a plot device to stab the reader in the gut with and make them feel bad.  I wish she was more.  More than an enigma, more than a bitch, more than another person to make Mike feel bad. Sandy could’ve been better.  She could’ve been so much better.  And I just wish Taeshi did better.  

As someone I looked up to, as someone who inspired me… I wish she’d be better than me.  

[evotter]

jan, march, sept + one of your choice, love. have a great day, u icon

thank u kyra i adore u

january: what was the first fic you posted this year?

the first fic i posted this year TECHNICALLY was the epilogue of a different path. the first standalone was chewbacca (aka my introduction to the jily world once again and i have such a soft spot for it)

march: do you listen to music whilst writing? 

yes! pretty much always; if it’s not music, it’s a TV show.

september: share a comment or review which still warms your heart?

quite literally anything you’ve left on any of my fics BUT there are a few that i hold dear to my heart. i’ll post them under the cut cause they are LONG :’)

ancient: the first fic you ever posted online?

hahahaaaaaaa. it was my own version of rick riordan’s the son of neptune before the actual book was published. it was on ff.net, and the first chapter got 7 reviews, and i felt so good about myself after that lmfao. who knew i’d still be writing 8 years later?

ask me questions!

OKAY so i have 3 top favorites:

from a different path:

okay so i had seen this in someone else’s bookmarks the other day, thought it was an interesting concept—especially since i too love slytherin!percy and strongly subscribe to ofswordsandpens’ headcanons about it—but didn’t give it another thought until i was listening to a video about the cursed child and went: wait, there’s a percabeth hogwarts au that i saw somewhere. and immediately i hunted this down and i’m just in awe? i tore through it. belatedly, i realized that i made a mistake: i didn’t write down my thoughts as i was reading, which is definitely a disservice to you. however, here are a generalized list of things that i loved.

first of all, with hogwarts au’s, there are three main aspects that i look for: plot, characterization, and quality of writing. normally, fics of this size lack one or more of these key factors, but i was astonished to find that the plot is tremendously tight and intriguing (my lip bled from biting it so much because i’ve been stressed to the max), you write these characters with such distinct voices i can easily picture them saying everything—except, of course, now in a little british accent—and your writing flows so well, it feels almost like i’m reading an actual harry potter book, just with percy and co. you also do a masterful job of weaving together aspects of the pjo universe with the established canon of hp.

and there are so many specific things that i love. primarily, the way you write the relationships in this story; not just concerning percabeth (though i will get to that in a minute), but also with each of the interactions between all of the characters. i applaud you for how you handled luke/annabeth and rachel/percy, and the friendship among them all is just incredibly well done. i especially love how well you wrote connor and zoë and just, a lot of characters that i don’t often think about when i think of pjo. grover and percy’s friendship especially is heartbreaking, i just. he’s so protective because he loves his friends and holy fuck i also love how you wrote grover in this. but i just adored how you wrote annabeth/percy—the love between them, both platonic in its early stages and the romantic all throughout, was doubly apparent. i ached when they kissed each other’s cheeks, and i inwardly cheered when she kissed him in the locker room. there was just such a natural progression, to me, of their relationship. and man did i dig it. i’m excited (and maybe a little scared) to see where you take their relationship in the future.

boy, this is getting long. sorry. but some more just little quick things: loved the b99 reference, with both of their competitive natures playing out in a similar way to jake and amy’s. i kind of want to go back and see if i can find any other references that i missed because i was just too engaged in the story to catch them. also, zoë’s death killed me all over again, thanks for that. i like how you’re working the kronos plot in, and i can’t wait to see how the Final Battle plays out. what else? oh! professor hestia? beautiful. eventual maybe professor percy? outstanding. percy kissing the top of annabeth’s head? breathtaking. rachel being a quidditch commentator? earth shattering. (truly i cackled when i saw that.) mrs. o’leary being a cat? incredible. how you incorporated percy’s water powers? stunning.

ooh, this exchange was beautiful and had me cackling it was so in-character:

“None of us are dying.” Connor clarifies. “Not you, not me, not Annie, not the rest of us.”

“I might have to dispute that.” Annabeth says, from Percy’s other side. “Call me ‘Annie’ one more time, Stoll, and I’ll kill you myself.”

Connor only grins at her. “Sorry, love. No more ‘Annie’. Can I call you Beth?”

“No.”

“Anna?”

“No.”

okay, so i just finished chapter nine and i am blown away. sorry for how long this comment was, but a fic of this magnitude truly warrants it. i can’t wait to see what happens next.

i leave you with just two words: “holy shit.”

from a different path: 

god, oh my god, am i the only dumb bitch who didn’t get what the prophecy was??

anyway, i stumbled on this fic last year, patiently waiting for its completion, and now that i’ve rediscovered it, i’m so glad i finished it all in one go! i couldn’t imagine the tension of waiting for the next chapter, especially since the tension is so well-crafted!! i hardly noticed the tonal shift even as the story got darker and darker as it led up to the war, and in that way i was reminded of how extremely similar it felt to reading the hp books for the first time! you nailed percy very well i might say, and the awkward-yet-caring relationship he has with his dad. i daresay you gave connor and zoe more characterization than rick riordan himself, and the percabeth you wrote is perfect to the nth degree. i appreciate that you didnt bother with all the love triangle and unrequited feelings nonsense as well.

but i have to say, even as i cried at sally and paul’s wedding, or at dionysus’ quiet mourning for castor, what really struck with me most was the way you handled silena. for that, i have no words. that was a job extremely well done. thank you so much for blessing us with this fic.

from chewbacca (a comment from u!): 

A girl in a bright yellow hooded raincoat stumbles into the cafe on one of the slowest nights James has ever seen. Her coat is dripping all over the floor he’d just cleaned (but it’s fine) and when he leans over the counter he sees that her boots match the coat.

First of all!!! Thats the best opening line in the world and nobody can convince me otherwise. I want to become a publisher just so that if you ever write a book, I’d be able to publish it. ( like omg, what an honor??? )

She looks like sunshine, standing there with the amount of yellow in her wardrobe. Briefly, James wonders if that’s her favorite color. It’s got to be.

Im going to quote this whole fic but I really love these lines? Like, you have this distinct style of writiting that I aim to acheive and you’re literally such a rolemodel!!! These are my favorite kind of fics to read. Funny story but I was going through a ‘no thanks Jily’ mood (  a horror, i know !! ) but your fics are just,,,,exceptions? You could write about trash and I’d love it and ask for you to sign me up.

 “Say it again, but convincingly this time.”

ooof this dialogue??? let me breathe

This is the longest he’s stood still since he started working. It’s actually a miracle.

and the funniest person award goes to YOU. also, the most talented and cutest but thats neither here nor there.

james taking care of fleamont, switching off the lights gives me just a nice and realistic vibe? its so simple but i love how you added it.

honestly at this point, ive been sucked again by the fanfic. it feels less like a fic and more like a masterpiece that belongs in a museum but anyway.

“James is supposed to be helping.

James is on his phone.”

ugh i love ur mind. im rereading and its so nice and lovely. even if its like 1am and im exhausted, this fic is sustaining me.

“Do it off the clock, would you?”

PEAK HUMOR

have i mentioned how much i love that scene with euphemia? she seems like such a lovely mom. i love ur euphemia the most. and ahh, both of them just rushing to the hospital ? another 100% good scene.

“Euphemia smiles too, but looks at Fleamont rather than at her son. “Yes,” she says. “It really does.””

fic? or shakspeare? HMMM

A girl in a bright yellow hooded raincoat stumbles into the cafe on one of the slowest nights James has ever seen // “Get fucked.”

the fic!! has made a circle!!! i love how it begins and ends along the same lines. I really want to know how??? are you so talented im in love.

i just really love this fic, okay? i love how james is just the kindest, lily is allowed to have feelings, its just so soft and warm. and it makes someone feel loved, want love anyway.

the dynamic between the characters are just so real and great and im astounded, in short.

your sirius is everything. so many fics potray him as a dick??? which is first of all #rude and also, not at all true. you made me love these characters even more so i sincerely hope you never stop writing.

you’re such a beautiful writer and the way you string words together is just poetic and gorgeous and all the other good adjectives you can think of. i read your spiderman x reader too and i was a goner for you. EVERYTHING YOU WRITE IS SO GOOD. i read it so long ago but i can vividly remember peter whipping the mask off and she just going wtf stop on the window ledge. what im trying to say is that you leave this lasting impression on people that make them remember random scenes and words / prose long after they’ve read it which is a remarkable feat, i believe.

and im so sorry im not on tumblr rn bc i cannot keep recing this fic but i have told my friends about your writing and they loved it too. you’ve got like a million fans. when i do get back from my hiatus, im going to keep recing your fics and people will cry because their universe will shift thanks to the newfound joy of your presence in their life.

lastly, im more of a dog person and that, more than anything, should tell you how much i love this fic. i love u. and basee on your writing, i want to hug you, be your best friend and make you cookies bc again

WOW

[silkandconvalescencerpg]

I’m honestly a little in disbelief that this has finally made its way into the light, and I apologize for how long it took for me to simply put this together. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy this little look into ballast and may it spur on any of your own musings!

001. OUT OF CHARACTER,

NAME/ALIAS + AGE. ↳ I’m Dea, eighteen, and my three favorite films are The Mummy, Moulin Rouge!, and Dead Poets Society (with Brother Bear rounding out as my closely-lagging fourth). I like to think they adequately spell out my character, if anything, representing the very core of my soul. (Evie O’Connell was my first crush and forevermore the love of my life, if that makes my personality any clearer.)

TIMEZONE + ACTIVITY. ↳ PST, and as for my activity, I try to be online as often as I can, and that’ll be a lot easier now that we’ve transitioned into the summer season. However, I still have work and that’ll take up a decent portion of my time, though I try to be as transparent as I can in terms of letting you all know when I’ll be absent from the main and such, and will continue to be so when game-play begins. Hopefully I manage to achieve the right balance between the main and James’ account!

TRIGGERS + PRONOUNS. ↳ I go by she/her, but have no problem with being referred to as they/them. Regarding triggers, visuals of excessive gore are pretty much the worst of what I can take.

002. IN CHARACTER INFORMATION,

MUSE DESIRED. ↳ Ballast & James Sirius Potter.

            JAMES, a gentle curse, an exhale, soft and affectionate and incapable of being said without a smile tugging at the corners of one’s mouth. spit in vexation, cursed in crimson-tinged anger, sighed in misled adoration, hiccuped in between gut-wrenching laughs. your mother whispers it (worry creasing lines on her otherwise youthful face, fingers twitching, longing to reach out to stroke your head like you loved when you could still fit in her hands) when she thinks you can’t hear and yells it (anxiety toppling into frustration, showering you in the spitfire that scorches in the center of her belly, distinct to the windswept fire of ginny weasley) when she knows you can’t hear anything but. your father, eighteen years of experience hardly denting the habit, sounds out the syllables of your name with a reverence (half respect for the father he never knew and half tender disbelief for the son he still can’t believe he had a part in creating) and groans them with an age-old tiredness (his scar may not pain him any longer, but you sure do). the very utterance of your name is followed by an exuberant eye roll, high in fashion with both your sister and brother. james, james, james. does it belong to you?

            SIRIUS, a bullet of a name. there are more legends than facts surrounding your namesake, and god, when did they become yours to swallow? you may not carry his blood (pure, black, rotten to the core) but your pout is sculpted from the same lips as his; your hair is as monstrously notorious and decadent; that gruff bark of laughter rings oh-so alike, except he was the grim and you’re a puppy; a leather jacket, illusory with the phantom heat of his flesh, and you can’t quite decide if the weight is a comforting warmth or if it burns, heavy and scathing. i mean, really ⏤ is it still just as funny when your telltale “sirius is my middle name” line is matched with a wince?

            POTTER, both a tragedy and a blessing. out of your unlucky lot, perhaps this is the worst card. your blood is tinged with the greats, the giants of wizarding lore, potters, and weasleys, and evans’ (singularly gifted witch that she was), and just about everything fucking else in between, because sometimes practically the entirety of the wizarding world wants to snatch their own piece and more the pity, you let them. resentment curls in your belly, curdling and hot, warring with the warmth of your love, the kind that seeps tender heat into one’s aching muscles, like the gentle caress of curling inside a bath, of a candle’s gentle flare in the center of your darkened home, rain softly wailing outside. it makes you want to weep; it makes you want to cry and scream and claw yourself inside out; it makes your heart want to burst from love, from bone-chattering laughter, from adoration, from responsibilities to ghosts, from the weight of it all.

            (  B A L L A S T  ), the solid stone beneath, the foundation everyone can’t help but stand upon. (and that’s it, folks, lmao.)

FACE CLAIM. ↳ Xavier Serrano.

GENDER + ORIENTATIONS. ↳ Cis male, he/him, and bisexual biromantic.

DATE OF BIRTH + BLOOD STATUS + YEAR. ↳ Born OCTOBER 30TH, 2005, as a HALFBLOOD, and currently enrolled as a SEVENTH YEAR at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

            This birth date falls under the SCORPIO star sign, in addition to being the day before Halloween, also known as the death day of his grandparents. Irony is a sharp bite to the ass, and this one particularly stings. He’s on the very edge of spilling into the sorrowful night, one brimming with the ghosts of old, beasts of legends, terrors lurking in the encompassing shadows. What is better: to be on the precipice of disaster (everyone sharply aware of just how close he came to being a masochist’s wet dream: firstborn son of Harry Potter emerging into the world on the night of his parents’ anniversary of being murdered; oh, our hearts are positively aching in bittersweet agony) or to narrowly miss another chance to align himself with the ghost who will forever haunt him?

            The exact date was chosen carefully, for the image of James being born in the high tide of the ever-haunting month, on the edge of leave-strewn and rust-tinted November and swarmed in the absolute magic that encompasses October, is one that is so wholly him. One might imagine him in the sweetness of spring, chaste and rosy and so heartwarmingly raw. Or perhaps in the heat of summer, where he is gold, gold, gold, and so unnervingly bright, it blinds you with its scorching radiance. Even winter could be his home, with its stark bitterness and empty promises of warmth and protection in a candle-lit home, cold snow blanketing all life. Yet, the season where leaves dance in the swirling winds and ugly beasts emerge into the night with the beauty of the divine is the one that holds his heart in its grip; fall, fall, fall, and he does.

            Moreover, this analysis cemented his star sign completely ⏤⏤ attracts people by: depth and allure, emotional bonding, safeguarding and undying protection, intellect and mystique, loyalty and slowly revealed vulnerability, ability to inspire inner confidence &  loses people by: antagonism, control and possession, withdrawal and reactivity, emotional coldness and emotional paralysis, self-righteousness, disconnecting privacy, staunch defence of personal ideologies.

HOUSE + ANALYSIS. ↳ GRYFFINDOR, and it almost seems a disservice to the gods above, to the spite burning in his blood and scorching his mind, begging to be contrary just for the sake of a rebellion, a piece of him that deviates from the path he was destined to crawl. Why couldn’t he be different? Why did his heart burst with the same roaring pound of a lion’s and bleed with the same passion and obnoxious sense of self? Courage was a pillar he conquered within his first breath, and nerve was the fire to his blood’s gasoline, lighting up with a stunning vengeance. But, oh no, these are not the grounds upon which his sorting was based on ⏤ if anything, his undying belief in morality, of all stupid things, is what so clearly planted him within the lions den. Even more so, it’s the fact that he values morality above all else, not the details of his beliefs. That dogged perseverance has the capability of swallowing him whole.

FUNCTIONS. ↳ DUELING CLUB & THE BONES CLUB, both sought him out, and though resistance tasted sweet, a part of him was soft for it, the idea of being apart of something other than within the barracks of his family. There’s a feral part of him, hunger aching in his bones, and it’s sated, buzzed on a high, when he’s in the midst of dueling for the fucking hell of it (spells teasing, a flirtatious back and forth of fatal proportions, a dark curiosity licking its paws in the corner, waiting to pounce, and god, does it fill him) or scheming in the dark, four heads weaving together, morbid mischief and jest galore reigning in their souls. The day that a bewitched note appeared in every page of every book he touched, flirting with him to join a club of bones (stupid fucking name, was the first thing out of his mouth in that beginning meeting of his, some years ago now) and daring him to chase (something? anything? everything?) was the day that some fragile chip of him sealed its way back on.

003. WRITING + EXTRAS,

INTERNAL ⏤ CHARACTER ANALYSIS. ↳ Because I’m lacking in time (entirely my fault, yikes, I know), I’ve chosen to highlight three individual aspects (headcanons) of his character as a whole in an attempt to puzzle together a tangible picture of who he is, and through the evulsion of these facets, other details and factors of his persona will become present (or at least that’s what I’m angling for, fingers crossed). Essentially, these are the corners of his character that breathed something a little more divine than life into him, conjuring him in a different light and contorting that light into something blindingly magnificent. 

            RELIGION, something that struck me as i was writing some part of the application above is my constant use of the word god, spitting out in my writing with a vicious ease. this isn’t my own, natural, guttural utterance of the word, but rather the voice of james, spilling out like an unwelcome grease. it started out as a small rebellion, more to himself than anything else, for isn’t it always? ⏤ something to distract himself, purge himself, from the person he is. he’s not a complete idiot, you know; he knew of a god, several of them, upon which muggles called upon, prayed upon, ached upon. magic was his god; his father, his mother, his grandparents, all of his blood family and all their friends; the titans of the wizarding world boiled down to human form, glorified and shining beyond belief; they were gods, or at least, they were treated as such. merlin was the force above them all; and circe and nimue and the founders of hogwarts and everybody else deemed a little bit special. well, perhaps the muggles had something better, and so, he checked. a copy of the bible was snatched by his hands, and the pages were devoured. greek myths were no longer fantasies, but reality; after all, if magic could existed, why couldn’t they? he scoured for any and all gods, learning the way of the old world and diving into cultures and religions with a swimmer’s finesse. he stuck to the idea like an indulgent tar, clinging to the idea with no small desperation; perhaps if there was a god(s), as the muggles proclaimed and spat, then who he is was no mistake ⏤ he was meant to be the firstborn of harry potter, meant to carry the weight of ghosts on his back, meant to feel a crumpling in his bones, meant to burn with a love for his family and yet freeze over with most others. it was out of his hands, yes, finally, thank god. for nearly the first time in his fifteen years of life, he breathed with ease, unfiltered and soft and free. and then, short of a blissful month later, he fell. not unlike a fallen angel, nor unlike a star toppling from the sky, crashing and burnt and dust. there was no fate or destiny of god above, watching and waiting and pulling strings like a grand and demented puppeteer. now, he spits the words, sarcasm denting every syllable, even in earnest. 

            JEWELRY, ever since he can remember, he’s liked the glint of jewels. the way they encompass a color, almost swallowing you alongside with it. the intricacy is unfamiliar to his own fingers, and yet they still grasp to hold it. there’s no explanation or reason behind it all, transparent and easy to receive. a cut, blood red ruby adorns a gold chain on his chest, and a sister piece sits on his finger as a ring, both a gift from his mother. he loathe to take either off in any case, and often treasures them as closely as his wand. moreover, he’s not been known to reject a little smear of matching lipstick, though on occasion it’s been used as a paintbrush for some doodle on his cheeks rather than lined on his lips. he has no qualms with revealing that shard of himself, and the swarm of deep red on golden flesh is quite the sight to behold, anyway.

            GOTTA DO MORE, GOTTA BE MORE, not all characters have an original muse, but mine was definitely charlie dalton from dead poets society, as well as the more obvious character parallel of neil perry. james was written and created for this verse with neither in mind, and a great part of my entire outlook and analysis of him was already set in stone by the time i rewatched the film, but then, it just hit me. the specific mannerisms of charlie’s character are so apparent in james, from his facial expressions to the false bravado and desperation to seek something a little more in life and shatter himself in the process, and of course the advice that would strike james just as severely as it did charlie: “sucking the marrow out of life doesn’t mean chocking on the bone.” moreover, this entire scene perfectly encapsulates a part of james that simply cannot be said through words, which is why it works so well. the loyalty that charlie holds, gritty and strong and unparalleled, is one that lives on within james as well. and then there’s neil perry, who is the brightest light with a heart of gold, passion and soul simply dripping off him in excess, yet is shackled down by the weight of his parents, though not in the same way as james. a darkness feeds off of him, deep inside and caving him in, and that is so true to james’ character. there are plenty more parallels to go over, but those can be dissected at another time (an actual detail-by-detail parallel analysis has been in the works, i can say). 

(And because I haven’t said much else, I’ll just add in this snippet of his character that I wrote a little while ago in response to a question!) To me, James is a highly emotional character who nearly bursts from the zest that breathes within him, but can almost be accused of being a masochist because he so forcefully attempts to swallow that down and play the role of one unbothered by life in whole. He has a great respect and fierce loyalty toward his family, yet this is what so severely hurts him, for in the times that he can’t help but resent the expectations that so massively fall on him, it tears him up inside, which just creates and perpetrates a vicious cycle. The Burrow is one of his favorite places to be, for sure. He’s at a standstill in life where he has no idea what he’s bound to do once he leaves the life he’s known for seven years, desperate to both leave and stay. He isn’t committed to academics in any way (for now), but that doesn’t account for his caustic wit. He’s wonderfully complex and contradictory, but he’s also a massive sweetheart, and I can’t help but simply think of heat in relation to him. Like he’s just That Person that constantly has warm, almost hot, skin and you don’t know how in the dead of winter that’s possible. He’s definitely an anchor, and that’s where my decision of ballast originates from.

EXTERNAL ⏤ CONNECTIONS + POTENTIAL PLOTLINES. ↳ I’m going to wait on divulging on any specific skeleton character connections in mind for fear of inducing any bias, though here are some plotlines I’d like to uncover.

            Something that I’m very eager to explore is the contrast that James feels in relation to his family, and how that positively tears him up inside. It’s likened to a battle of the heart versus the mind: who he truly is and who he feels he can’t be, in fear of sacrificing his soul in the process. Essentially, I want to push him to the breaking point, shattering his senses into some mangled ball of shit that he must sort out. He’s in desperate need a breath of fresh air, and he’s been suffocating for years.  Moreover, he’s never really faced this mass of contradiction within him, always turning a blind eye and swallowing it down, scorching his throat in the process and nailing his heart right through the center. And when he must, all hell will break loose, and what can I look forward to, if not that?

            James is a golden light that may dim, but has never been blown out. Until now. I want to see him untethered and catastrophically scratched, the golden, youthful and scarlet blush of his flesh waned and stark against the image of who he is. What will cause this, lead to this, pioneer his destruction? Furthermore, he’s a seventh year as this school year starts, and that means his ass is out in less than a year, and he is absolutely unsure of what awaits him once he’s left these halls. I want to plant the seeds of possibility, and what may come of them. 

EXTRAS, EXTRAS. ↳ (Uh, I’m enlisting admin privilege?? Once game play begins, trust that there’s going to be loads of unnecessary edits flooding his account, but for right now, it’s a little bare.)

[agentnico]

SUNDAY OLD SCHOOL: The Iron Giant (1999) Review

Sunday Old School - Every Sunday I pick a classic film to review and talk about, because that’s why they are classics, they should be remembered!

Before his days of being a talking tree fighting around in a galaxy far far away (I’m going to get into a lot of trouble for mixing those two franchises together, aren’t I?) Vin Diesel began his voice acting career in the most beautiful of places, as the Iron Giant!

Plot: In this animated adaptation of Ted Hughes' Cold War fable, a giant alien robot crash-lands near the small town of Rockwell, Maine, in 1957. Exploring the area, a local 9-year-old boy, Hogarth, discovers the robot, and soon forms an unlikely friendship with him.

Thinking of the best animated features ever made, ‘The Iron Giant’ is definitely up there. It’s been a long while since I’ve seen this film, and I was looking through my DVD collection a couple of days ago and came across ‘The Iron Giant: Signature Edition’ DVD, and I was like “hey, I haven’t watched this in a while, I probably should”. I have mostly forgotten this film, I just remembered enjoying it as a kid, so I put it on not expecting much, as I assumed that I would now be too grown up for it, but how wrong was I! This film brought back all the good memories of my childhood, and it also emphasised to me now that this is one animated movie that can be enjoyed by both kids and grown ups. And why’s that? Because it doesn’t rely upon a cheap gimmick of a bunch of weird yellow creatures running around screaming “BA-NA-NA!!”. That’s right, I fricking hate the minions! Those films are really dumb and they really do degenerate our modern generation!! But no, back in the day of ‘The Iron Giant’, animated films were made with a good story, interesting characters, a powerful message...I mean, just look at most of the Disney animated classics! I myself am not really a major fan of Disney films, but I can still appreciate them for what they are. Sorry, I’m being nostalgic, let’s get back to talking about ‘The Iron Giant’...

‘The Iron Giant’ is a great blend of animation and storytelling, and this was just at the time when 3D animation was being slowly introduced to our screens, so even though as a whole this is a 2D animated film, there are some 3D computer graphics in there also that are mixed really nicely and work for the film’s benefit. And we have ourselves a sweet tale of a boy meeting this giant robot, who at first glance seems to be this giant monster, but then you find out that even though he is big, he has the heart and innocence of a child, and so him and the boy create this special bond, and the latter starts teaching him about our world, and on the way the boy learns some things also. It’s a common lesson of ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’, and ‘don’t jump to violence straight away’, as later in the film the US army gets involved to go and destroy the Iron Giant. This was back in the time of the atomic scare, where people would shoot first then ask questions later. We as human beings are always terrified of the unknown, and our natural instinct is to destroy that unknown to defend ourselves. And that is really emphasised here. Humans are not the bad guys in the film, they are simply afraid. The film offers a great moral question of when we should be violent and when we should be accepting of something new. However the movie doesn’t just rely on serious undertones all the time. That’s the nice thing about it. It’s a good mixture of various genres, from drama to science fiction to, yes, comedy. There are some very hilarious moments, and every time this film tried to be funny, it succeeded. This is a rare film where ALL the jokes are hits, and not misses. Well at least that’s in my opinion, I can’t speak for others as comedy’s a very subjective thing.

The movie is also boosted by some great voice acting by everyone involved. Vin Diesel voices the Iron Giant, and for a character that doesn’t actually say much per se, he manages to infuse the character with so much emotion. Probably the reason why Marvel thought it be a good idea to then give him a character to voice that only says three words! Jennifer Aniston does a good job as the boy’s mother, Harry Connick Jr. had the right charisma for the character of Dean who ends up becoming a friendly companion to the Iron Giant and the boy. The boy himself is voiced by Eli Marienthal, who was just great at being, you know, a genuine kid. Then there is Christopher McDonald as agent Kent Mansley, and for a villainous character he does a spectacular job. He’s sleazy but at the same time has a very enjoyable on-screen presence; him and Vin Diesel are definitely the stand-outs of the voice cast here.

Overall this is a beautiful film and a masterpiece in animation. Brad Bird has really created something special here. My only complaint, and this is really a personal gripe, is the ending. More specifically the last scene. The film ends on a very sad note through a sacrifice, and yes it was sad, but I found it to be a powerful dramatic ending that the film’s story was building towards, but then at the very last second before the credits roll, the film gets rid of that sad ending by saying that everything is actually okay and its a happy ending, which I personally think takes away from the overall movie experience. I would have respected and appreciated the movie more if it stuck with the sad ending. But that’s only a personal little nit-pick, as a whole this film is superb, and if you’ve never seen it, boy you are doing yourself a disservice. And if you’ve seen it before, watch it again, for the nostalgia factor at least.

Overall score: 9/10

TOP MOVIE QUOTE: Truck Driver: “Hey!” Dean: “Yeah?” Truck Driver: “You’re right in the middle of the road!!” Dean: “YEAH??” Truck Driver: “Alright.” [drives off]

[bellabooks]

The Case for (Imagined) Queerness in the Works of Jane Austen

As 12 years of mandatory English classes taught us, a book’s impact and importance depend on a ton more factors than just “what the author decided the plot should be.” Every story is contextualized and processed by its individual readers. And if you think you understand the power of this reader/text relationship like the bookish queer youth does, oh boy are you out of your league. There’s an entire ocean of characters out there, and so shamefully few of them are non-hetero. Fan fiction, fan art and extensive Tumblr analyses abound trying to engineer Queer Subtext for any book, movie or television show you can imagine. LGBTQ folk are experts at collecting scraps of dialogue, stray looks or ambiguous moments, pinning them to the cork board of Accidental Queer Representation and connecting them with the red yarn of, uh, Extremely Biased Interpretation? Much like the metaphor in that last sentence, these cobbled-together narratives are often flimsy at best, but we stand behind them with conviction. See? I’m a weathered professional at holding together a trembling, papier-mâché construct despite all evidence to the contrary! Plenty of heteronormative franchises and stories have been given new life by the queer reader’s re-programming, but I have felt mostly alone in my bold quest to Gay Up the works of Jane Austen. These stories all at least partially revolve around the stirrings of Heterosexual Love in the hearts of young women and naturally have been favored mostly by my exceedingly hetero, female-identifiying peers. Therefore I have taken it upon myself to do this heavy lifting on behalf of the Queer Agenda. I have labored intensely for many years, and now at long last I present my findings on a few of Jane Austen’s most notable works.   Mansfield Park for Queer Youth Ah, Mansfield Park. The story of a mousy, impoverished heterosexual young woman fending off the advances of a wealthy and charming young heterosexual man in order to ultimately commit to an austere and boring heterosexual young man. Or is it?   Exhibit A: Mary Crawford, The Original Girlcrush   When Miss Mary Crawford and her wealthy and charming heterosexual brother Henry move into the neighborhood, young Fanny Price and her better-off cousins the Bertrams find their lives turned upside-down. Perhaps not quite in the way you would think. Miss Crawford’s beauty did her no disservice with the Miss Bertrams. They were too handsome themselves to dislike any woman for being so too, and were almost as much charmed as their brothers with her lively dark eye, clear brown complexion, and general prettiness. (Chapter 5) The first half of this excerpt is a very informative piece of intel on the lives of conventionally attractive, straight women. (Finally, Taylor Swift’s #girlsquad makes sense!) The second half, however, is queer as hell if you just believe hard enough. “Almost” as much charmed? Come on, Austen. Just give it to us straight. (Uh, no pun intended.) Everyone is in love with Mary Crawford, which is beautiful and tragic. The Bertram daughters are bound by custom and convention to marry men, but in the depths of their hearts, they clearly yearn to leave it all behind and run away with Mary.   Exhibit B: Wait, Is Mary Crawford after Edmund or Fanny?   The ongoing flirtation between Mary and Edmund is explicit enough. While they turn out to be ill-suited for one another, the initial sparks between them cannot be denied. Only slightly more subtle, however, is Mary’s fascination with Fanny which leads the two women to spend the majority of their free time together. Such was the origin of the sort of intimacy which took place between them within the first fortnight after the Miss Bertrams’ going away—an intimacy resulting principally from Miss Crawford’s desire of something new, and which had little reality in Fanny’s feelings.”(Chapter 22) Mary, girl, we’ve all been there. Experiment away! Bless Jane Austen for this completely unintended example of much-needed bisexual representation.   Exhibit C: Fanny Just Wants a Beard I have always found protagonist Fanny Price’s rejection of rich, effusive and affable Henry Crawford in favor of her stoic and dare I say withholding cousin Edmund Bertram to be one of the most frustrating heterosexual choices in literature, which is already full to bursting with the baffling entanglements of straight people. Ostensibly, Fanny has chosen a life of quiet morality as worth more to her than indulgence and having fun and being happy. And at first glance, the moral of this story seems to be the bland and inoffensive message that it’s actually okay for straight women to love solemn contemplation and quiet alone time and reading indoors on a rainy day. Oh, and being sexually attracted to one’s first cousin too, obviously. But is there perhaps a more original and insightful takeaway from this novel? Of course there is! Arguably, a queer reading of Mansfield Park is the only thing that would explain why in the end, Fanny falls for the least threatening or exciting man she has ever met. It also explains her intense discomfort with male attention. (She’s described in Chapter 21 as “almost as fearful of notice and praise as other women were of neglect.”) She’s not looking for sex appeal or chemistry, because she knows she will never find them in a man, nor does she want such a thing. The best case for Fanny is a dependable and amiable enough life partner with whom to pay the bills, share in life’s various duties and sleep in separate beds. Edmund is certainly that.   Emma, Obviously in Denial   In addition to having the most personally relatable protagonist I have ever encountered, Emma is coincidentally also the easiest of Jane Austen’s works to jam into a queer-shaped mold. You can read a good 85% of this novel as the story of a lady-loving lady in very deep denial struggling with the heterosexual inclinations of all the women she cares for. Unfortunately things go a little off the rails when Emma finally realizes her love for Mr. Knightley, which is difficult to handwave away seeing as how it is actually a rather compelling Heterosexual Romance. We’ll just ignore this minor detail that is arguably the culmination of the entire novel and focus on the rest.   Exhibit A: Feelings? For Men?   We are often reminded in this book that Emma has little to no interest in ever marrying. And why would she? She does not lack for money or status. Her only reason to marry would be True Hetero Love. “I have none of the usual inducements of women to marry. Were I to fall in love, indeed, it would be a different thing! but I never have been in love; it is not my way, or my nature; and I do not think I ever shall.” (Chapter 10) Okay but is it not your nature to be in love or to be in love with men? Maybe this requires just a bit more introspection, Emma. Indeed, let us examine Emma’s attempted quasi-relationship with Frank Churchill. Emma realizes that she feels left out of all the fun watching her friends fall in love and circle through flirtations and makes the decision to get a crush on Frank with the aim of adding a little excitement to her life. (Relatable!) She notices that there seems to be something missing in her feelings for Frank, but she boldly soldiers on through the motions of being In Love so as to better fit in. Eventually, even Emma, queen of self-delusion that she is, cannot continue to pretend to love a man as anything more than a friend. But, on the other hand, she could not admit herself to be unhappy, nor, after the first morning, to be less disposed for employment than usual; she was still busy and cheerful; and, pleasing as he was, she could yet imagine him to have faults; and farther, though thinking of him so much, and, as she sat drawing or working, forming a thousand amusing schemes for the progress and close of their attachment, fancying interesting dialogues, and inventing elegant letters; the conclusion of every imaginary declaration on his side was that she refused him. Their affection was always to subside into friendship…When she became sensible of this, it struck her that she could not be very much in love. (Chapter 13) Because “I can like Men if only I just try hard enough” has always worked out!   Exhibit B: I Only Sabotaged My Best Friend’s Relationship For Her Own Good   Who among us hasn’t vehemently encouraged our dearest friend Harriet to turn down the advances of a perfectly lovely boy whom she likes very much ostensibly because he’s not good enough but actually because lurking in the deepest recesses of our subconscious, we could not bear to see her with someone else? This is so classic, I could rest my case right here. I probably spent my entire teenhood trying to subtly manipulate my secret lady crushes into dumping their boyfriends. “I lay it down as a general rule, Harriet, that if a woman doubts as to whether she should accept a man or not, she certainly ought to refuse him. If she can hesitate as to ‘Yes,’ she ought to say ‘No’ directly. It is not a state to be safely entered into with doubtful feelings, with half a heart. I thought it my duty as a friend, and older than yourself, to say thus much to you. But do not imagine that I want to influence you.” (Chapter 7) I would never tell you what to do! I’m just saying maybe think about it. And while you’re thinking about it, think about the fact that you’re thinking about it. If you really loved him, would you even need to think about it? Makes you think, doesn’t it?   Exhibit C: Serial Monogamy   On the topic of Harriet, let’s take a closer look at a pattern of behavior Emma seems to set up. She was exceedingly close to Mrs. Weston, her old governess-turned-best-friend before this woman had the nerve to move out and get married to a man. Emma, drowning in sorrow at the loss of this relationship, cannot handle being single and working on herself for a while, therefore she immediately turns her faculties to selecting herself a new girlfriend. When Emma decides that Harriet shall be her next life partner, she cleaves to her wholly and immediately. Harriet must accompany Emma on all her errands, must call on her nearly daily and must attend every party Emma attends as well. The poor girl doesn’t know how to exist without being in the constant company of a woman who adores her. Have I mentioned how relatable Emma is enough times yet?   Pride and Prejudice and Homosexuality Yes, Pride and Prejudice is perhaps the most Heterosexual piece of literature ever written at first glance, but please! Do not doubt my ability to make Austen’s most enduring triumph Extremely Gay. I told you I was a professional. By the time my case is finished, you will see that Pride and Prejudice is one of the queerest classic works in the canon.   Exhibit A: Uhhh, Why Do Darcy and Bingley Have to Be Together All the Time?   Darcy has Pemberley. Bingley has enough money to buy any property he pleases. There is no reason these boys need to follow each other from estate to estate, attending parties together, traveling to all the same boroughs. Darcy, if you hate the country so much, why don’t you just go live at home in your home that you own? You know, the home that everyone constantly talks about how incredible it is? The home you can just ride a horse over to right now? That home? Darcy gets a lot of guff for convincing Bingley not to propose to Jane. And yeah, that screams Jealous Secret Crush on Darcy’s end. But one must also wonder why Bingley would have been so very easy to persuade. If he truly wanted to marry Jane, I think it would have taken more than a slight nudge from his platonic best bud to ghost her the way he did. I mean, he didn’t just stop answering her texts. He moved himself and his family out of town. However, it doesn’t seem quite so inexplicable to dump one’s beard at the urging of one’s Secret Boyfriend now does it?   Exhibit B: Everyone Is Gay for Georgiana   “I really do not think Georgiana Darcy has her equal for beauty, elegance, and accomplishments; and the affection she inspires in Louisa and myself is heightened into something still more interesting…” (Chapter 21) I swear to God, no one in this book will ever shut up about Georgiana Darcy. We get it! She’s so very beautiful and kind and charming and talented! The Bingley sisters practically salivate over her. Lady Catherine admires her in her own grumpy old elitist way. Elizabeth finds her fully delightful. Everyone is obsessed with Georgiana. She’s like the Shane McCutcheon of Regency England.   Exhibit C: Relax, Elizabeth, People Get Married.   Elizabeth has decidedly no interest in marrying the human embodiment of Oblivious Mansplaining, Mr. Collins. Elizabeth’s best friend Charlotte Lucas, however, seems to think the constant stream of ignorant babble is worth the cash money. So she locks it down, infuriating Elizabeth. She had always felt that Charlotte’s opinion of matrimony was not exactly like her own, but she had not supposed it to be possible that, when called into action, she would have sacrificed every better feeling to worldly advantage. Charlotte the wife of Mr. Collins was a most humiliating picture! And to the pang of a friend disgracing herself and sunk in her esteem, was added the distressing conviction that it was impossible for that friend to be tolerably happy in the lot she had chosen. (Chapter 22) Lizzy. We get that you weren’t into him, girl, but why are you, like… so upset about this? Could it be that your dearest partner and secret love Charlotte has accepted a Heterosexual Union. And immediately after you yourself made such a display of rejecting one? Ouch!   Sense and Sensibility   Guys, I tried with this one. I really did. But all the women in this book are related and also obsessed with dudes. I thought I could stick it to the straight people, but I must regretfully concede that this task is beyond even my expertise. If anyone has a queer angle on this one though, please contact me immediately. We queers have always been around, even when every offshoot of culture has tried to erase us from existence. Yeah, it’s super fun to retroactively barge our way back into old literature. But it’s also a much-needed assertion that we exist, we matter and we deserve to see ourselves. Even in light-hearted novels about manners and marrying rich and falling in love with one’s first cousin. Ashley Chupp is a Chicago-based writer, crossword enthusiast and frequent crier at the local Trader Joe’s.   Gif 1: fibu.tumblr.com Gif 2: teenvogue.tumblr.com Gif 3: BBC Gif 4: bringmybooks.com http://dlvr.it/PZ94CB

[holameamigo991-blog]

A Cure for What Ails Ya: A Review/Impression of Kumail Nanjiani’s “The Big Sick”

Before I begin, I figure it’d be a nice time to explain one thing about myself: I am that guy you see in every “loser rom-com”. I think I’m funny, sociable and maybe even sweet in some awkward, nerdy way. And, truthfully, I relate quite a bit with these main characters and their struggles to win the heart of a significant other, and maybe learn a little something about themselves along the way. I’ve never been lucky, or brave, or confident enough, to pursue romance, but I’ve watched a helluva lot of these amazing/boring/derivative/original stories. Because, truthfully, the rom-com is a simple formula: person meets person, and the two go on a journey of love and growth. There have been dozens of variations of the simple formula of two characters who, at their core, are in love with each other, and through this love, go on a journey. Sometimes the journey leads to a happily ever after, with kids, successful career, white-picket fence...pets. Sometimes, it ends with both characters separating and becoming better people, only to eventually reunite. Sometimes, they don’t even reunite and go on to live completely different lives. And sometimes, amidst all these formulas, these tropes and archetypes, you find a winning recipe. A unique take, a unique perspective on something that has been trod across for decades at this point. It is good to know that there is still world-record recipes to be discovered out there in the world, and The Big Sick is one of the best I’ve seen. You should see it, too, if you’ve been in love, or had friends, or, well, a beating heart. Anyway! 

The Big Sick tells the story of Kumail Nanjiani, a Pakistani-American who immigrated to the big U.S. when he was a teenager with his family. Right off the bat, you are introduced to Kumail and his life (Uber-Driver, Stand-Up, Slacking Son all with dreams of one day succeeding in the cut-throat world of stand-up comedy), his family and their habit of introducing him with arranged marriage candidates, his friends, also struggling stand-ups, and one-night stand turned girlfriend, Emily. All of this is done to introduce us to a roster of lovable, unique and relatable supporting characters that revolve around Kumail’s life of struggle and uncertainty. The movie takes its time to truly live in Kumail’s life and takes a focus on two avenues: his blossoming romance with Emily, and his family’s expectations of him to remain faithful to his culture, his heritage and his religion, all of which Kumail struggles with. The movie does an excellent job of displaying and explaining Pakistani customs, including history, pass-times, culture and even main exports (cotton and cement), while blending it with the life of the American single: a life of apartments, struggling to pay bills and build a life and friendship serving as both support and comfort. These two cultures, American-Single and Traditional-Pakistani do a wonderful job of breathing life into Kumail’s stand-up and observations, providing both story and evidence to something often relegated to background or a brief joke. Never in the movie does it come across as window dressing or sub-plot: these cultures are infused and displayed proudly, embraced and criticized and ruminated upon throughout, and even used to further develop a rapport with audience and character.

So, while this is definitely a movie about culture, it is also a movie about something that transcends culture: love. Kumail meets Emily, a young woman attending grad school in hopes of becoming a therapist. Immediately, the contrasts between the two are presented: male to female, slacker to career-mind, Pakistani to American, but prove to be little in the way of love. Despite protests and jokingly made decisions to never see other, the two fall in love. A beautiful, simple and often adorable love, the two are not without flaws, and these flaws are never shunned or dressed up, but presented straight. Kumail lies and is often silently agreeable to his parents demands to attend arranged marriage dinners, while Emily is often in denial about their relationship. Still, their love wins out for the most part, until the movie takes a turn for the dramatic: breakup, recovery, and then, the title of the movie, The Big Sick arrives. Emily is rendered comatose after an infection, and Kumail meets her parents, something that was a point of contention between the two. Emily’s parents, portrayed amazingly by Ray Romano and Holly Hunter as nervous, passionate and concerned and confrontational, are complex humans who, nonetheless, start to build a relationship with Kumail. Things spiral out from there. Characters grow. Plots thicken. Sickness pervades the story. Dreams rise and die. But to get further in would be a spoiler, and honestly, I’d be doing a disservice to the film to spoil it for you: instead, take solace in that the movie does not pull punches in drama or comedy, and instead, binds the two into a tale of love and all the complexities that come about from culture clash, awkward situations, and perceptions.

The movie, I feel, does an excellent job at portraying what all movies try to do, or at least, the ones that care about their audience: tell a story that is both human, and extraordinary. Characters reveal deep-seated complexities and beliefs that paint a full picture of each cast member. We learn of Kumail’s insecurities with connecting with his parent’s culture, of Emily’s struggles in high school and with her illness, of Terry and Beth, Emily’s parents, and the struggles they’ve faced in raising a daughter, marriage in the modern age, and with their own tumultuous romance. And it is through these different facets that the movie reveals a simple truth: history, culture and family all help create who we are, who we will be, and who we were, but truly, we are all united by these factors. Kumail and Terry, in particular, display a bromance for the ages, with both reaching catharsis through communication and comedy. Kumail and Beth, meanwhile, close the gap from open disdain and reluctance, to mutual assistance, to friend and beyond. And through their struggles in dealing with the stress, terror and pressure of the Big Sick, they come together and draw strength from each other. It is in these scenes of communication and earnest, open honesty that truly sets “The Big Sick” apart from rom-coms, which often times skirt the surface of human romance to focus on saccharine-sweet montages and pointless drama about he-said, she-said or “who has the meaner parents”.

Of course, like anybody, the movie also thrives in its depiction of the complexity of family. Beth and Terry are portrayed as loving parents and good people, who aside from an initial stand-offish appraoch to Kumail, are people I would love to have in my family. While flawed (Terry is a timid man and Beth is fierce and overly-judgmental), neither of them come across as insufferable, shallow or prejudiced. The hostility they show is portrayed as a human reaction to  a perceived harm done (In this case, Emily’s romantic relationship and the abrupt end of it), rather than an outright disdain for those different from them. It is in this strange, but sweet, situation that “The Big Sick” carves off a new, unique territory. Kumail’s own parents are also portrayed as strict and burdened with high-expectations, but nonetheless love and support their son. And while their is a scene with them that comes off as overly harsh and, in a way, heartless, it is resolved with humor and humanity and love, as the movie accomplishes in stride. The role of parent, and the relationship with children, is best summarized by a quote from Terry, spoken in Romano’s deep, nasally tone that lends both sincerity and humanity to the statement: 

“Loving someone this much, as a parent, is terrible...it sucks. Love isn’t easy...that’s why they call it love.”

And, honestly, that’s what “The Big Sick” is about: for all its humor, drama, commentary and struggle, it is a story about love. Love for family. Romantic love. Love for friends. Love for what one does. Self-love (Not that kind, silly) and even the anger and hate that comes from love. And not only is this a story about love. It’s a GREAT story about love. And honestly, in the political and social climate that, as I write this, pervades and suffuses itself into every aspect of American culture, it is nice to a see a movie about love that transcends borders, cultures, beliefs and hate. And does it with style, grace and humor. If you are looking for a deep, earnest and complex depiction of love and human interaction, then look no further: The Big Sick is the cure for what ails ya (See what I did there? I worked the title into the ending paragraph. Nice). 

Thanks for reading!

TL;DR: The Big Sick is a great movie and this gif above summarizes my opinion on it quite accurately. Hopefully, this won’t be the last movie Mr. Nanjiani pens with his wife, because if they can tell this extremely personal and intimate story, I look forward to whatever other stories they can create together.

[hawk-in-a-jazzy-hat]

Anime Review: Gosick

In the year of 1924, in the fictional European country of Sauville, lies the prestigious Saint Marguerite academy; a place for students to reach the best of their ability. One such student is Kazuya Kujo; thierd son of an imperial soldier determined to make a name for himself away from the shadow of his two older brothers. Not that it’s easy, as due to his appearance he is quickly dubbed the Reaper that Comes in the Spring, as to a local ghost story, and his very appearance is made synonymous with bad luck.

On his first day at the academy, however, he makes a chance encounter. In the towering library on the ground, he discovers a beautiful garden on the top floor. And in there, he discovers a mysterious doll-like girl with beautiful golden hair; the Golden Fairy that supposedly steals the souls of men. He soon finds out however that this is no fairy, but a genius young girl called Victorique, who is kept in isolation at the academy for somewhat dubious reasons.

Kujo quickly takes a liking to her, and as they get involved in spooky goings on and grisly murder cases around the country, she soon takes a liking to him. But a storm is coming, and their happiness is threatened by the very forces that kept Victorique shut away in the first place...

The Reaper, and the Golden Fairy. Two terrifying beings, and two people totally unsuited to be with one another. Yet though the gale threatens to tear them apart, their hearts will always be together.

It’s time to consult the wellspring of wisdom and assemble the fragments of chaos once again.

Every time I start a ‘block’ of new anime series from my overwhelmingly large backlog, I’m always hoping for that ‘one’ series to come up. The series which seemingly comes out of nowhere, that I know very little about, and yet which somehow, inexplicably makes it onto my favourites list. A couple of blocks ago, it was Fate/Zero and Rozen Maiden. The block after that, it was Jormungand. And when I did my little Urobuchi retrospective, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet was the show which really stuck out to me. It’s a nice feeling when it happens; finding something excellent completely by accident.

In many ways it’s these kind of shows which essentially ‘save’ anime for me; there’s only so much stuff which is mediocre-to-average you can sit through before you begin to question why you’re bothering. I try and mix things up a bit; mixing the things I’m genuinely excited for with shows like the ones above that I’m practically going into blind. Perhaps it’s the lack of hype which makes them stand out, or perhaps I do, occasionally just find diamonds in the rough. It certainly doesn’t always work; shows such as Haibane Renmei or Requiem for the Phantom, while technically impressive, can fall a bit flat under an emotional scrutiny, whereas others like Aldnoah.Zero and Umineko are just plain crap.

But when these shows come along, it’s well worth the wait and the drivel I forced myself through to find them. I was slightly concerned with this current block; while it did give me Tokyo Ghoul and Eureka Seven, both of which are great, the latter I was kind of expecting to enjoy anyway and the former only really became great in its second half after a pretty dull first half. As for the rest of the things I’ve been watching, Ghost Hound was technically sound but ultimately a bit of a let-down, Clannad annoyed me for several reasons, Umineko, as I’ve stated, was pure crap, and we don’t talk about Elfen Lied ever again. I was beginning to worry that I wasn’t going to find my ‘undiscovered gem’ as it were for this block.

Then I saw Gosick; a show which has assuaged my fears and reinstalled my faith in anime once again.

It’s not perfect. It has problems, some of them rather major. But when you actually get down to what matters, Gosick is actually a pretty fantastic show.

It helps that the production is done by my absolute favourite of all anime studios; Studio Bones, baby! These guys can take on any genre and any art style and make it work, I swear. It’s funny, because by Bones standards Gosick isn’t actually that impressive on a technical level; the character designs, while striking, are simple, the direction is merely fine, and the animation is really quite restrained. Yet even a Bones show on a budget looks better than about 80% of other anime out there, and at its best Gosick is a really pretty show, really making the most of its gothic setting. The standout moments are few and far between, but when they come around they really make the most of it. Overall Gosick is just a really purty show; perhaps not with quite the sparkle and flair of a KyoAni or a P.A. Works show, but honestly, I prefer a style that’s a little more grounded anyway.

As for the music, you’re honestly not going to notice it. Aside from a couple of notable insert pieces and two really good ending themes (the opening looks pretty but the song is pretty meh), most of the music just basically does its job; accentuating the mood and blending into the background. I can’t fault it for that, though I can’t see myself revisiting the soundtrack like I do for, say, Eureka Seven.

So here’s a thing which took me far too long to figure out; the title Gosick isn’t a referencing to a plot point or a character in the series, but is in fact just a corruption of the word Gothic. I’m not making a point here, other than the fact that I feel silly for not working it out.

Although technically it is an important point, because when it comes to whether this show works from a story perspective, the important factor is literally staring at you right in the title. From the early episodes Gosick has a tendency to paint itself as a season long mystery show, which honestly is doing itself a disservice. If you’re watching Gosick for a good mystery, you’re probably going to feel rather let down. Even if you’re watching for a thriller or a crime drama or something, it’s really quite basic in that regard.

But if you’re looking for the best example of a purely gothic anime you can find, I can’t think of any better example than this.

(or Rozen Maiden, but...you know...one thing at a time)

It’s not just the visuals and the sound that lead to this. It’s the lore. It’s the setting. It’s the ghost stories and folklore playing along with politics, science and the occult. It’s a tension that never really goes away, and a constant feeling of dread for both our main characters at any given time. It’s pure black comedy mixed with goofy slapstick, and it’s genuine terror mixed with cheesy horror.

Good, proper gothic is a hard thing to get right. In the west, Laika and Tim Burton are probably the only ones who really know what they’re doing in that regard, and even then the latter has the tendency to overdo things here and there. Gosick however strikes the balance just right; it is one of the most consistently entertaining series I’ve ever watched. Even in shows I loved, I can generally point to moments that are better than others. Gosick is basically an extended anthology; two or three episodes a time dedicated to the current mystery, with hints thrown in now and again towards the overall plot. But the thing is, it works, because all the individual mysteries are seriously engaging, as is the main plot. Sure, not everything hits, and not every single plot twist is truly warranted (I am reminded of a certain late revelation which is highly uncomfortable and really could and should have been done another way) but honestly everything that needs to slot into place, really does.

It helps that the show has a strong cast. Again though, not strong in the traditional sense; most of them don’t really go through a proper arc or have much development at all. Even the main hero Kujo pretty much stays the same throughout the whole series, and if there is a weak spot to the show I’d have to point to him. He’s kind, charming and performs the every-man role fairly well...

...buuuuut he’s also a blithering idiot. Like, really. You wonder how he even managed to find his way off the boat.

Okay, okay, he’s not that bad. And frankly, I’ll take his idiocy and his many, many poor decisions with slightly more leeway given the fact that he is such a charming person. It’s not like Shirou from Fate, who is such a blithering moron yet is also so convinced he’s right that you just want to punch him. Kujo’s idiocy is harmless. Most of the time. I did want to slap him once. Maybe twice.

The rest of the supporting cast fill their roles well. The hyperactive teacher, the friendly cook, the flamboyant detective, the secondary love-interest who doesn’t have a chance at all; they’re all interesting and distinguishable in their own way, frankly fitting a gothic story to a tee. They don’t have to have fully fleshed out characters just so long as they’re instantly recognisable, which they are.

Also, props to the show for having a character with ridiculous anime hair, where, not only is this actually acknowledged in the show, but is also a vital plot point. That did make me chuckle.

But of course we’re just skirting around the edges here; the real reason to watch this show and the reason it is so dang entertaining is Victorique herself.

Victorique is basically the Sherlock for the show, but she has an awful lot of layers to her. She’s grumpy and stroppy, but also adorable with a childlike innocence. She can be badass when she puts together a mystery from the smallest cues, yet also badass when she fights for her own happiness. Her relationship with Kujo is what makes the entire series for me; they both fill each others weaknesses, and bring out the best in one another. It’s a deep, mutual respect and friendship that lies beneath the surface teasing and baiting, which honestly is the thing I think was missing from Spice and Wolf.

Honestly, I think Kujo and Victorique have one of the best relationships I’ve seen in any anime. And the show knows this, and is constantly threatening to wreck everything; I won’t spoil anything, but when the feels hit, they hit hard.

Gosick is a show that really shouldn’t be as good as it is, and in fact may not be. It has issues with storytelling, with characterisation, with a bit of major plot contrivance near the end and with the fact that one member of the main duo is, as I’ve mentioned, a complete blithering idiot. But honestly, it doesn’t matter; Gosick does so many things so, so right during its run that I can’t help but instantly love it. If you’re one for sweet, delicious Victorian gothicness or just want to see an adorable and really well realised relationship (which may or may not be romantic) between two very different people, I can’t recommend Gosick highly enough. And even if you’re not sure, give it a try. I did, and while I certainly wasn’t expecting anything truly fantastic, I most certainly got it.

My score: 8/10

Well, one more show from this block to go. Will it round it off nicely, or will it bring the whole thing crashing down. We may never know.

Well, we will. That’s why I do this stuff.

Next classic review will be RahXephon.

[aion-rsa]

To Sing or Not to Sing in Disney Live-Action Remakes

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Since Disney began rolling out live-action adaptations of its animated classics in 2015, the past five years have seen roughly one new release per year, each one confronting the question of whether or not to attempt the musical numbers—arguably the most emblematic element—without the aid of animation and trained singers.

In the case of movies like 2020’s live-action Mulan, many directors have eschewed the earworm-y songs and complex musical set pieces altogether, with the argument that it’s simply too difficult to manage the tonal shifts from stories that have become a bit darker in translation with songs that are bright and palatable enough for young audiences. But even those movies that have taken direction from successful movie musicals have not always recaptured the magic of Disney musical numbers. Here, we analyze which movies were right to ditch the music, and which get points for trying.

A note on judging: I defined “musical numbers” as featuring singing and some form of choreography, so snippets of songs were out. I didn’t include any ending credits songs (a common factor among these adaptations) in my count since they’re audio-only. Each movie I ranked by High/Middle/Low Notes, which is by no means by any professional musical standards and should be pretty self-explanatory.

Cinderella (2015)

Musical Numbers: 0

Success: High Note

As the first live-action adaptation, there were of course questions of whether Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella would have its actors crooning “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” or CGI mice working along to “Cinderelly Cinderelly”—whimsical moments for the kiddos, but tougher to suspend disbelief for when it’s real people in front of the camera.

“I don’t know how to write that kind of thing really,” screenwriter Chris Weitz told Cinema Blend in 2015, “and I think that that’s something that, for me, it’s much easier to do that with an animated film. That’s why many of the Disney animated films are musicals. With live action, sort of getting into and out of those moments of song is really super tricky.”

Instead, Weitz and Branagh opted to score the iconic melodies—which are just as recognizable in instrumental form as sung—to key emotional moments. Lily James’ Cinderella also receives a new mantra: have courage and be kind. It’s a rough translation of the lyrics from “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes”: no matter how your heart is grieving / if you keep on believing / the dream that you wish will come true. But instead of it being a subconscious desire that gets solved while one snoozes, the mantra reminds the heroine to consciously hold strong to her faith in the goodness of other people, and she will eventually be rewarded for that belief.

The movie reflects this in how it recreates the fairy godmother’s (Helena Bonham Carter) “Bibbity Bobbity Boo” scene without the actual song (it plays over the credits) but maintaining the whimsy. Magic replaces music, and the movie does not suffer for the lack. (Let’s also not forget that Ever After, the beloved 1998 adaptation starring Drew Barrymore, didn’t need music to be affecting, either.)

Crucially, it is Ella’s singing that saves her: The king’s men are about to leave her home, having failed to make the glass slipper fit either of her stepsisters, when her voice comes drifting from the attic—thanks to the mice, who may not be able to sing, but who are still clever enough to open the latch on the window. Her crooning of the English folk song “Lavender’s Blue” (when I am king dilly-dilly / you shall be queen) alerts the men to her presence, and is how Kit identifies her even before the slipper meets her foot.

This Cinderella has to do (almost) everything herself, from helping out with chores even before she is forced to wait on her stepmother and stepsisters to charming the prince to securing her own freedom, and is the better for it.

The Jungle Book (2016)

Musical Numbers: 2

Success: Low Note

“What’s a song?” young Mowgli asks before one of The Jungle Book’s two main musical numbers. “You never heard a song before?” Baloo (Bill Murray) gasps. “Everyone’s got a song.” And then he jumps—both literally, as the CGI bear, and figuratively, for the actor—into “The Bare Necessities.” It’s not a skilled rendition by far, but compared to the uncanny auto-tuning in other entries, it actually sounds like him.

The same goes for “I Wanna Be Like You,” wherein Christopher Walken channels his best King Louie: It loses the hyperactive energy of the animated version, but it’s undeniably him doo-wopping his way through the song. Both numbers demonstrate how The Jungle Book ultimately succeeds over later film The Lion King (both directed by Jon Favreau): The CG animals at least resemble the people voicing them, so even though they’re imperfect, they’re still personal.

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Musical Numbers: 10

Success: Middle Note

The only thing that saves Beauty and the Beast is “Gaston.” This adaptation beats the others in the musical numbers count, but almost all of them fall short of both the animated original and the Broadway musical. (The new numbers expound on the former, interestingly, with very little overlap with the latter.) This video essay from Sideways best illustrates the movie’s fatal flaw: Casting actors who are not singers as the leads. Emma Watson’s Belle has one of the most recognizable Disney “I Want” songs, and her voice is entirely flattened out by auto-tune. In songs like “Evermore,” where Dan Stevens is supposed to convince us that there’s still a man hidden beneath the Beast, he’s stripped of any longing.

The actors who are trained singers, like Audra McDonald as Madame de Garderobe, or who have proven themselves in movie musicals previously, like Ewan McGregor as Lumière, get too little screen time. “Be Our Guest,” charmingly mimicking the entire hospitality industry in its attempts to change with the times with clever new lyrics and dazzling CG animation, winds up feeling like a heartless attempt at copying the original’s magic. The best way I can sum up Beauty and the Beast’s music overall is that the opening prelude theme has more character than half the numbers.

Thank goodness, then, for “Gaston.” It arrives at the perfect point to perk up both its boorish antagonist (Luke Evans) and the audience. That’s mainly due to Le Fou (Josh Gad, bringing a mix of his Broadway experience and his goofy Olaf-from-Frozen charm) and the slyly meta details that he is literally paying everyone in that tavern to start singing Gaston’s praises. As Le Fou keeps surreptitiously tossing coins to ladies to sing over Gaston’s muscles, to men to dance around and mock-duel him, and to the chorus of patrons to keep generating new refrains, Gaston eventually is encouraged enough to take the lead and keep this drinking song-slash-tribute going on ad infinitum until Maurice (Kevin Kline) bursts in. Well, all good things must end.

Aladdin (2019)

Musical Numbers: 5

Success: High Note

Guy Ritchie’s adventurous adaptation is the most successful of the bunch, even though it too falls short of being entirely as convincing as one of the Genie’s schemes. The movie’s stubborn adherence to Robin Williams’ rendition of “Friend Like Me”—again, the Sideways video has more in-depth analysis—does a disservice to Will Smith, who unlike the other actors in this list does have the chops to take on this iconic role. It’s especially baffling that there is a different cover, with Smith in his element, playing over the credits that very much slaps.

It’s not as if Ritchie treated every element of the animated Aladdin as untouchable: “One Jump” gets recontextualized as Aladdin (Mena Massoud) touring Jasmine (Naomi Scott) through the city. As she tags along on his petty thievery, skilled sleight of hand, and ingenious misdirection, she gets to know the street rat better than any dialogue could have achieved. That number is shot a bit frenetically, which comes through in the spoken-word style of singing, but it’s still undeniably fun.

“Prince Ali” has this same gleeful energy, and gives the Genie a little more wiggle room. There’s a great “drop the beat” moment partway through that could have been ad libbed or could have been built in, but either way it’s completely unexpected. Several dance sequences conjure A Knight’s Tale in their anachronistic style but still strengthen the movie by showing just how much Genie can make people do his bidding in service to his master.

Alas, “A Whole New World” is entirely forgettable, and shot so dark that you miss all of the details that made the magic carpet ride such a thrill for the princess and for audiences. Ditto Jasmine’s “Speechless” number and its tragic refrain. If the Broadway adaptation taught us anything, it’s that you don’t mess with a good thing.

The Lion King (2019)

Musical Numbers: 7

Success: Low Note

Finally, the Disney movie that asks why anyone would think a remake is necessary. Without the aid of stunning animation, “Circle of Life” and “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” fall short of the epic scale of their predecessors, so both early numbers are just underwhelming. Though Chiwetel Ejiofor is a great choice for the voice of Scar, it’s clear that director Favreau and collaborator Tim Rice did not know what to do with “Be Prepared.” Running into the same issue of tonal shifts, they adjusted it to be part spoken-word monologue, part song; but the number itself is so confused that one might get halfway through it before realizing where in the movie they’re supposed to be.

The CG-animated animals lose all character, and it’s incredibly uncanny to watch their mouths open and close without enunciating lyrics. Auto-tuning flattens out supporting characters like Seth Rogen’s Pumbaa, though somehow his and Timon’s (Billy Eichner) cover of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” is still incredibly charming. And then there’s “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.”

Donald Glover (a.k.a. Childish Gambino) and Beyoncé Knowles were perfect casting for adult Simba and Nala, but the tracks they’re given to work with just don’t match the energy of the original. If you’re going to tone down every single song to either meet an untrained singer where they’re at or to match the other newly low-key numbers, then why have Beyoncé at all?

Elton John’s GQ interview around the film’s release better delves into all of what went wrong with the soundtrack, but even just this quote is pretty damning: “Music was so much a part of the original and the music in the current film didn’t have the same impact. The magic and joy were lost. […] I wish I’d been invited to the party more, but the creative vision for the film and its music was different this time around and I wasn’t really welcomed or treated with the same level of respect. That makes me extremely sad. I’m so happy that the right spirit for the music lives on with the Lion King stage musical.”

Mulan (2020)

Musical Numbers: 0

Success: Middle Note

Five years after Cinderella’s release, the live-action Mulan cycles back to its formula—doing away with all of the songs in favor of instrumental tracks—out of the same considerations of tone.

“It will not be traditional ‘break into musical’ [songs],” producer Jason Reed explained to Collider during a 2018 set visit. “They’re not going to stop their workouts to do a big musical number to camera. However, there are a number of songs that are iconic for the movie and tell a great version of the story and they are very helpful to us in how we’re putting the movie together. It gets a little easier in animation to keep the tension and the reality in place and still have people break into song and sing to camera. We made the decision that we wanted to keep the world—even though it’s a fantasy—more grounded, more realistic so those emotions really played and the threat is very real. So we are using music in a slightly different way.”

Unfortunately, Mulan tries to have its cake and eat it, too, when it comes to the animated film’s beloved soundtrack. A scene with Hua Jun and the other men at the training camp puts the lyrics to “A Girl Worth Fighting For” into their mouths as dialogue, except it comes out jarringly sing-songy. There’s a throwaway line about making them into men that should have just been dropped; it’s mister I’ll make a man out of you or it’s nothing. 

But the biggest misstep is with “Reflection”—which, to be clear, is transformed from humble “I want” song into epic instrumental strains backing sequences in which Mulan first disguises herself as Hua Jun, and then throws off her disguise to triumphantly ride back into battle to save her fellow soldiers. 

There’s just one big problem: Because Mulan never sings “Reflection” and articulates her ambivalence about the face staring back at her, it doesn’t actually mean anything to the plot of this movie when the refrain plays. That doesn’t stop it from tugging at the heartstrings, but that’s solely a chemical reaction based on music ingrained in our brains twenty-plus years ago. Having two covers of “Reflection”—Christina Aguilera recording a new version, and Liu singing the Mandarin version—play over the credits fills in those lyrics for anyone who doesn’t know them, but it’s retroactive.

Interestingly, Disney brought back Christina Aguilera to record a new number, no doubt trying to tap into audiences’ nostalgia for her rendition of “Reflection.” Personally I would have loved to see Lea Salonga return for “Loyal Brave and True,” but Disney was banking on its former Mouseketeer and pop star to further tie audiences to the original.

What Reed had wrong was that the animated Mulan did manage to balance the drama and grim reality of war with tension-breaking musical numbers. We need look no further than “A Girl Worth Fighting For,” the soldiers’ cheery, jibing ode to their rewards for victory, abruptly stopping short when they come across the burned-out village—a stark reminder that they are nowhere near the end of the war. Now, this live-action Mulan clearly wasn’t set up for that same tone-shifting, but it still tricks emotional resonance out of disconnected musical cues.

Mulan is available now on Disney+.

The post To Sing or Not to Sing in Disney Live-Action Remakes appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2Zar8C0

[paoulkaye-blog]

Good Publicity, or Good Story?

So… Suicide Squad. Okay, I know. I know. I keep saying I’ll get to DC vs. Marvel at some point, but come on. It isn’t even a contest at this point, is it? DC’s last hope to keep me at all interested is the Wonder Woman movie, and I hope against hope that they don’t completely screw it up somehow, because my wife is very much looking forward to it. Marvel won this fight ages ago when the possibilities became endless simply by putting Samuel L Jackson in a post credits scene in Iron Man. The only thing DC seems to have going for it, aside from a horde of blind fanboys who ceaselessly shout down the detractors of the collection of messes DC is trying to put together into a collected movie universe, is that they can make a damn fine commercial. DC’s movie trailers, I will admit, are good at building hype. They have successfully convinced many, many people to keep going to DC movies, oftentimes against their better judgement. DC’s marketing budget is ridiculous, if only in the fact that it seems to outstrip their budget for pretty much everything else that isn’t actors and special effects in their movies. Certainly the writing and editing don’t factor in here. Jabs aside, DC’s marketing team is without peer. Marvel’s trailers have a decade plus of material to draw on and legitimately anticipated movies coming out. DC’s ads are, by comparison, magic for making something out of nothing. Repeatedly. And while that works out for DC because they can post good opening weekends out of sheer marketing draw, it does have… let’s say collateral damage. When Suicide Squad opened in theaters, the world met it with a collective “… meh?” The story is a mess, the characters are wasted with the exception of Harley and Deadshot, the much-advertised appearance of Jared Leto’s Joker was quite possibly the most vicious letdown in recent film history, and the whole movie literally only happened because Amanda Waller is portrayed as a world-class idiot who would, ironically, probably be right at home in the current administration. If that was intentional, bravo, but the body of available evidence does not strain to suggest as such. So if the Marvel movies are clearly better, as I have stated, why talk about Suicide Squad at all? Well, because it impacted the movie landscape when it came out the same way any blockbuster does. It drowns out everything around it. Because for a few weeks, all anyone seemed to care about was Suicide Squad and the amount that it made, despite being an objectively bad movie on a lot of levels, and other movies fell by the wayside. Buried under DC’s marketing blitz. Such a movie was Kubo and the Two Strings, made by the studio that brought you Coraline and ParaNorman. I don’t tend to get into dollar amounts when I choose to care about one movie versus another movie, but I feel it’s instructional here. On its opening weekend, Suicide Squad raked in about $147 million against the $175 million the film cost to make. Making that amount of its costs back on opening weekend is, by all measurements, a successful film. From a purely financial standpoint at the very least. By contrast, Kubo and the Two Strings, a movie which hit theaters roughly a week or so after Suicide Squad, brought in about $12.6 million against a production cost of $55 million. This was, by the financial metric, a flop. Partially, it can be surmised, because many people went to see Suicide Squad to see if it was really as bad as they had been told. Here is my problem: Kubo and the Two Strings is unquestionably a better movie. Almost a third of the cost, and not even 10% of the opening weekend, and you may ask how that’s possible. If you haven’t seen Kubo and the Two Strings, I invite you to do so now. It’s on Netflix. Go ahead. I can wait. Okay, so since we’re all on the same page now, you may understand my problem a little better. Kubo and the Two Strings, for those who have ignored my advice and just kept reading, is a stop-motion animated movie based on Japanese folklore that tells the story of a boy who can control little pieces of paper by playing his magic Shamisen (a three-stringed guitar, effectively). He goes on a journey to learn about the fate of his father and to take up his quest to find three ancient magical artifacts to combat the villainous moon king. And that really is the least of it. Kubo’s story is beautiful. It’s touching, funny, awe inspiring, and frightening in a mix unlike any I have seen since… I dunno, Secret of Nihm? Not only is this movie critically acclaimed, it is also a much better fit for its rating than Suicide Squad’s ‘We can swear this many times without getting an R so we can appeal to a wider audience’ brand of nonsense that drives me up the damn wall. Kubo is, by all of the metrics I care about, a much, much better movie than Suicide Squad. And I don’t think I’d have a hard time finding a lot of people who agree with me. DC’s movie-making army, able as it was to leverage release dates and marketing pushes to plan and scheme about the perfect time to unleash its mediocrity on the world, inflicted a lot of damage on the studios and films that did not have the financial clout to play that game. Kubo came out when it did because that’s when it was done, and the studio wanted you to see it. Suicide Squad came out when it did to compete with Guardians of the Galaxy, which had come out the previous year, because DC was trying to imply that their movie would be a similar fun-fest to Marvel’s surprise blockbuster. And DC is well within its rights to play that game, because apparently that matters to marketing people. But I think they have managed to do us a disservice. For that matter, Marvel does the same thing. When one of these action-blockbusters with the trailers with over 2 million views on YouTube comes out, it buries everything else. Sometimes that’s not a bad thing, and bad movies get buried without getting condemned like they should because no one cares. But sometimes a good movie, a really good story told well and presented in a wonderful visual style gets buried by a bloated budget movie that claims to do the same thing. Kubo is a beautiful movie, with a great story, fantastic pacing, wonderful visuals and a message that is truly heartwarming. Suicide Squad is so obviously a cash-grabbing copy-cat that fails at being half as good as the movie it is trying to ape. One of these movies made $147 million on its opening weekend. The other made $12.6 million. One of these movies was trying so damn hard to be part of a larger, consistent universe of movies in a desperate attempt to catch up to the competition that has literally been doing this for a decade, and the other is a stand-alone story with no expectation for a sequel. One of these movies was a massive disappointment because of how it was built up, and the other was a delightful surprise the likes of which I haven’t seen in a long, long time. Suicide Squad had good publicity. Kubo and the Two Strings had a good story. The difference should not be so staggering. If there was justice, really, in the world, nothing but the financial scores would be exchanged. Even just on a percentage basis. Alas. I’ll admit. I don’t really have a point to this, but it was bothering me. If I did my job right, now it’s bothering you, too. Thanks for reading.